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Mining Node (1)

Chapter 24: Mining Node (1)

Blake logged out of the game world.

The gaming capsule’s lid opened, showing him lying there, silently staring at the ceiling. He didn’t have his usual blank look; instead, he looked like he was still in battle.

‘Beatrix can keep up with me. She’s great at spotting openings. I need to power both of us up with more skills and stats,’ he thought, considering the different ways players could improve those attributes.

Upgrading weapons and armor with Skill Runes was a popular way to get stronger.

Each piece of armor and every weapon had a limited rune capacity, which made Blake’s blacksmith and enchanter skills even more valuable since he could add one or two effects.

Another way to get stronger was to upgrade existing skills with Evolution Shards.

For example, those shards could increase the range of his Prideful Step or reduce the cooldown of his Sheathed Pride.

Those were basic bonuses, and depending on the Evolution Shard’s grade, they could be much more powerful.

Getting a title, like Blake had done, was also an option, but that route was much harder than the others.

‘Because my tutorial zone is unique, I doubt I can find Skill Runes or Evolution Shards in the usual ways. Vargar mentioned mining nodes somewhere, so I should track those down and look for valuable ores that could help me or Beatrix get stronger,’ Blake thought, stepping out of his gaming capsule.

When he put his foot on the floor, his leg bone cracked.

Clicking his tongue, Blake stretched his leg to ease the pain.

The gap between his gaming avatar’s condition and his real body was like night and day.

Even during his time as a beta tester, he hadn’t been in such bad shape, because his friends used to get him out for some physical activities.

If it weren’t for his job, Blake would have been in even worse shape. But work drained him so much that he could barely think about taking care of himself, let alone eat well.

His late dinner was just a cup of instant noodles. His stomach rumbled at the sight of the steaming noodles.

Blake, however, wasn’t feeling so great.

He clenched his hands and took a deep breath.

He’d taken a step toward a better version of himself in the game world.

His current lifestyle was his punishment for ignoring his relationships and schoolwork. He also knew he couldn’t wait around for something or someone to jump in and fix his life.

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Just like he’d changed in the game world, Blake decided it was time to break out of his shell in real life.

‘I’ll rework the gatekeeper’s armor into simple steel armor, then sell it on the market. I still don’t have the battle pass or any way to connect with other players. I guess I need to leave the tutorial zone first,’ Blake thought.

He didn’t want to use that cursed money, so the quickest way to make some cash for better food was to forge new armor from the gatekeeper’s set.

Because it took effort and time, Blake slowly nibbled his instant noodles like a rabbit.

-

Right when Blake logged in, he felt two beings watching him.

One was behind him, clearly relieved that he was finally awake. The other was his Sun Elemental, who had just finished a long nap.

Sol rolled off Blake’s head and landed on the workbench.

His eyes gleamed like stars, and his shiny glow looked stronger than before. The cute little creature wobbled happily on the table, ready for another adventure.

“You missed some good stuff, Sol,” Blake said, surprising him. “We caused quite a scene in the forest while you were asleep.”

Sol’s cute wobbles turned into quick thrashing as he threw a fit. He wanted to go on the same adventure now, but Blake had other ideas.

Ignoring the angry rolling apple, Blake fired up the furnace and opened the wooden chest, taking out iron ore and flux.

“I’m gonna make a pickaxe. Beatrix, you want one?” Blake asked.

Stepping out of his shadow, Beatrix nodded. She could use some training, even with her steel muscles.

Just then, Sol let out a whine.

“You want a pickaxe too? I’ll make you a toy,” Blake said with a shrug.

Sol kept whining.

It looked like Blake had misunderstood again. He turned to the golden apple, whose eyes were locked on the furnace’s opening.

“…you wanna go in?” Blake asked hesitantly.

Sol’s eyes lit up, confirming it. Blake held him near the furnace, told him he couldn’t stick his own hand inside, then tossed him in as promised.

Sol landed in the furnace, soaking up the heat happily.

“I figured you’d be fine since you’re a Sun Elemental, but this is awesome, Sol!” Blake shouted.

Sol wobbled in place, finally joining in on the work.