Hours had passed since Artanis first clumsy pickaxe swings, by now she had managed to fill two carts full of varied ores; increasing her mining skill level along the way. Her incessant swings only came to halt, when she noticed a certain message window; among the dozens, she hadn't bothered to read as she mined.

You have obtained a small amount of zinc.

You have obtained a small piece of topaz.

Endurance has permanently been increased by 1

You have obtained a small amount of copper.

You have obtained a small copper chunk.

Among all her stats, Endurance was one of the lowest; as it was only raised through two events. One was suffering constant damage, as if forging one’s body; hardening it as it was hit, The other one, the one behind its lasted increase, was to strain the body through constant physical exertion, in other words; constant exercise.

Having broken her concentration by reading the message window, her focus skill was deactivated. Letting Artanis feel all her fatigue, hunger; and thirst.

‘The lunch hours have already passed, but maybe i can find some leftovers.’ Artanis thought, as she walked to the mine’s exit; towards the cabin which served as the miners dining hall.

Tired, thirsty; and famished, she entered the dining hall in search of a meal, on that moment rather than an elf; she resembled wild animal rummaging the hall’s cabinets for any food. And as they say, whosoever seeks; shall find.

“No, this... This can’t be the only thing left!” She said, nearly screaming in despair. Indeed whosoever seeks, shall find. And on this case, she found it; the dreadful thing which populated the nightmares of every Royal Road beginner, rye bread.

Suddenly, a staring contest started. The contenders were a beautiful elf maiden, and a lump of foul tasting rye bread. Both stood silently glaring at each other, in her hunger; Artanis could swear she heard someone mocking her. However, the only thing that could be really heard, was her stomach growling.

“May Tyr protect me.” Spoke Artanis as she reached for the bread, in the end her hunger won; despite her mind protests. Chewing it as fast she could, and swallowing it even faster, her hunger was satiated.

Unsurprisingly, the taste was awful. But not as much as she expected, a certain saying came to mind; ‘Hunger truly is the greatest spice.’ Artanis though as she gulped down the water on her canteen.

Meanwhile, on the guard’s private quarters, a certain dwarf chewed a tough looking meat jerky, beside him on his bed, laid a sack full of food, which he looked at proudly.

‘That will teach that stupid elf to not miss the lunch hours.’ Yedlar thought as he held back his laughter. When he found out Artanis did not arrive to the dining hall, he and his accomplice waited for the cooks to leave. When they did, he immediately stole all the food he could find, leaving behind only the rocklike bread. In his mind, he saw the target of his hate crying as she ate; begging Yedlar for his forgiveness.

“Indeed, revenge is a dish served cold.” He mumbled before taking another piece of meat from within his stolen food supply. Yedlar, also known as Thomas da Silva Gomes; happily chewed his food. His revenge however, as well as his fun, had just started.

Now properly fed, Artanis returned to the mine. Not before however, looking inside the cabin, which served as the miners sleeping quarters, immediately she knew why Wystan made her buy a sleeping bag. In the room, dozens of men slept, some of them naked. To a woman, especially one such as her, sleeping on such place would be a bad idea.

So she decided to sleep inside the mine, as it was wide and had many ramifications; meaning she would most likely not be disturbed during her sleep. Although her hunger and thirst had been taken care of, her stamina forbids Artanis from returning to her work. One might wonder why she put so much effort in building her character, why she cared so much about increasing her stats; the answer however was simple. She was left behind.

Even her best friend Laura, who mainly spent her time dancing and socializing with the inhabitants of this fantastic world, were over a hundred levels ahead of her. Since the day, Royal Road was launched, since the first outsider stepped on the continent of Versailles; nearly a decade had passed. Only two years had passed in the real world, but inside the game that meant eight years, eight years in which nearly everyone she knew left her behind.

But right now, as she doozed off; what populated her mind were not thoughts about how far behind she was compared to her acquaintances. In her dream, she had been invited to a large feast; with an large table filled with all kinds of dishes. From Brazilian culinary such as Feijoada¹, Brigadeiro²; Pão de queijo.³

To foreign dishes, such as pelmeni; pignolata and bulgogi, she ended sitting beside the table, and cutting of a piece of beef; and placing on her mouth. Its texture, its taste; was of... rye bread.

She had woken up tired, at least mentally, while her dream lingered on her mind as she placed her sleeping bag back into her backpack. That’s when she noticed him, the man called Aaron; observing her from afar.

“What can I help you with?” Artanis asked, as Aaron approached her. He looked at her with contempt, as if he did not wish to speak with her.

“Nothing, it’s Ornvand who wish to see you.” Aaron said, leaving immediately after he did so. Leaving Artanis alone, to wonder the reason behind her summoning.

Bring along her backpack, Artanis left the mine’s tunnels and entered Ornvand’s cabin. Sitting behind his table, the diminutive men shared the same look of contempt as Aaron; he however did not look at her for long changing the focus of his gaze to the papers lying on his table.

“Ya disappointed me elf, I did not expect much from you; but even so you managed to go below my expectations.” Spoke Ornvand as he read yet another piece of paper.

“What exactly do you mean.” Artanis said, holding back the urge to add the word midget to her phrase. She started to dislike the man before her, not just his words; but also everything about him.

“Yar production is abysmal, even lower than Jestahad; and I am not even sure how that mummy is even able to hold a pickaxe on such age.” Ornvand said, now looking directly at Artanis eyes, seemingly annoyed with her question.

“Okay, I will work harder from now on.” Spoke Artanis, leaving before any sort of answer could come from Ornvand’s mouth. With an irritated expression on her face, she ran back into the mine.

From a safe distance a certain dwarf observed her, smiling as he noticed her expression; his plan was starting to bear fruit. As he imagined Artanis suffering from his actions, he involuntarily started to laugh like a maniac, only stopping when a message window appeared before him.

Due to your strange behavior you fame has decreased by 10

‘Damn it, this is all her fault!’ Yedlar thought, as he cursed Artanis in his mind. The typical behavior of an conceited person, always blaming others for the results of his own actions. Everything, from his lost fame; to his demotion had been his fault. He however could not see that, and choose to blame Artanis.

Leaving Yedlar, and his delusions behind, Artanis had once again returned to her usual work place. With her pickaxe in her hands, she took her stance and swung her pick towards the cave’s wall. Each time she did so, Artanis imagined Ornvand’s face at the point of impact.

‘That damn racist bastard, whit his elf this, and ya elf that... I got a name, don’t I?’ Artanis thought as she remembered Ornvand attitude towards her. With each passing second her rage increased, as did her rage increased, so did the strength behind each of her strikes.

You have obtained a small amount of tin.

You have obtained a small iron chunk.

You have obtained a small piece of amethyst.

Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

Strike, after strike, she cracked the rock wall with her blows. Each blow had more strength, more speed, and more anger behind it; than on their predecessors. Until, it snapped.

Not Artanis’s mind, but her tool, in her hands all that remained, was a part of the pickaxe head, and its handle. The rest of it was lodged into the wall before her. Her focus now broken, she stood still, staring at the tool she had broken. That is, until she heard laughter behind her.

“Who are you?!” Screamed Artanis, who no longer could keep her usual behavior she used to deal with others, she was far too frustrated to do so.

“Kekeke, calm down sweetie, don’t want wrinkles on that pretty face of yours, do you?” The old man said, while a smile formed on his nearly toothless mouth, showing his remaining; yellowed teeth to her as he smiled.

“Calm down? You were laughing at me! Plus, you didn’t even answer my question.” Artanis said as she glared at him.

“True, but who wouldn’t laugh, at the sight of someone swinging a pickaxe as if it were an war hammer? As for your first question, the name’s Jestahad Crownest, also known as Jester.”Spoke the man, before doing a crude reverence.

“Fine, you had your Jester, now leave me alone; so I can to work in peace.” Said Artanis sighing as she grabbed the pickaxe part that had been lodged unto the wall.

“Kekeke, don’t you mean to say, work in pieces?” Spoke Jestahad, seeming proud of his own joke.

“Ha, ha, that was hilarious...” Spoke Artanis with an annoyed expression on her face, “Repair” Moments after she said so, her pickaxe emitted a faint glow; and both parts became once again a whole. Thanks to her repairing skill, which allowed her to immediately, repair anything at the cost of a few points of mana.

However, differently from how she normally used such skill, if one were to take such shortcut: instead of actually using a tool to make the needed repairs. The result and skill experience received were far worse.

“Che, so you do know how to repair it. Big deal, you’re still a lousy miner.” Spoke Jestahad, who had taken Artanis actions as an attempt to show off.

“So what, unless you have a magic spell to change that, there’s nothing I can do about it right now.” Said Artanis, resigning herself to the fact that, the old man before her; had no plans to leave her alone.

“Kekeke, a magic spell huh?” Said Jestahad as a smile formed in his wrinkled face, “I don’t know any spells, but a skill... That I do.” He spoke as he stared unto Artanis’s chest.

With a look of contempt, aimed at the senile, and perverted old man before her, Artanis turned around and resumed her work. Only to stop a few swings later, thanks to a certain message who appeared before her eyes.

Charm has permanently been increased by 1

Immediately she turned around, and glared at Jestahad, who had his head raised high, as he stared at her drooling.

“Leave, now!” Artanis shouted, unable to contain her annoyance anymore. Ornvand’s words, Jestahad’s laugh, the rye bread she were forced to eat; and the nightmare, which followed that. She was starting to hate these mountains, nothing but bad things had happened to her, since she set her feet into it; and to close it with a gold key. Artanis was being stared by a perverted old fart.

“Finally decided to speak with Grandpa Jester? Did you finally succumb to curiosity? You want to know about the skill don’t you?” Jestahad said, ignoring Artanis threatening expression.

“No. I want you far away from me.” Spoke Artanis, as she pondered the consequences of bashing the old fart’s head. She almost did it, as she was convinced that her jail time would be short, since anyone would understand why she attacked such a hateful old man. Wystan however, could not want to associate with an criminal, and stop teaching her.

“I can teach you for cheap, just a third of anything you mine during a week.” Spoke Jestahad as he wiped off the drool from his mouth. Hearing his words, Artanis drew a long sigh with a face that looked devoid of energy.

“If I was to accept your offer, and learned that skill of yours. Will you promise to leave me alone during said week?” Asked Artanis, hoping she could rid herself of him.

“Kekeke, okay sweetie, we have a deal.” Said Jestahad as he extended his bony and grimy hand towards Artanis, waiting for her to grab it, she however didn’t, and if he would only move after she did, that would be his dying pose.

“Che, fine let’s start then. First, let me point out what’s wrong with how you mine. You aren't taking advantage of the rock’s natural formation, you’re supposed to aim for the cracks and gaps, not pound the stone as an angry troll.” Spoke Jestahad as he touched the gaps on the rock wall.

“Second, pay more attention to where you’re mining, while you’re also getting paid for the rocks; the ores are more valuable.” He said grinning, as he picked a piece of stone she had mined.

“So that’s what the skill is about?” Asked Artanis, whose curiosity had finally been piqued. Indeed, if she could somehow know, exactly where the ore was mining would become much more efficient.

“...How’d you figure it out?” Jestahad asked, with a surprised expression on his face.

“How wouldn’t I? Why else would you speak, about knowing where to mine?” Answered Artanis, hoping he would finish teaching her faster.

“I see, well sweetie. The secret here is learning how to recognize deposits of gems and minerals, most don’t know how to do so. Not really that surprising, since there are fools who cannot differentiate between a nugget of gold, and a pyrite¹.” Spoke Jestahad before grinning, as he reminded himself of a few of the said fools.

Done with his reminiscing, Jestahad started to explain to Artanis exactly what she should look for, and where to look for it. During the course of Jestahad’s lecture, Artanis opinion of him slowly changed, he was no longer an old perverted man; he was a knowledgeable perverted old man.

You have learned the skill: Prospecting.

Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:ProspectingBasic10%By learning, how to finds signs of probable mineral veins, one can decrease the time spent mining, and increases the amount of minerals excavated.

Allows one to see which areas may contain minerals.

At higher levels, the size and type of minerals may also be discovered.

Increases the amount of ore excavated, by 2% per level.

Increases the quality of the excavated ore by 1% per level.

“Thank you for teaching me, now please leave.” Artanis said before smiling at the old man before her. And as he had promised her, he left Artanis alone to work.

You have obtained a small amount of tin.

You have obtained a small amount of silver.

You have obtained a small piece of malachite.

Charm has permanently been increased by 1

You have obtained a small amount of silver.

Seeing that her charm had increased, Artanis immediately searched for Jestahad’s presence. Not managing to find him, she sighed and returned to work. Away from her view, hidden behind a rock formation, the old pervert grinned as he observed Artanis’s figure as she worked.

‘I promised I would leave her alone, but I didn’t say anything about not watching her.’ Jestahad thought as he started to drool once again.

<<< Last ChapterNext Chapter >>>Proof read by dezzter.