Tarren swung the pick hard into the rock wall, ignoring the rough wood digging painfully into his palms. The pick sheared more deeply into the stone than brute strength alone would allow, and a large chunk of rock crashed into his collector.
Alteriad... v31.391.338
Quota [Daily Mining]... Met!
> Experience Gained: 0.003%
> Skill [Miner > Shear Stone] has advanced to 62.8%!
> Trait [Greater Endurance] has advanced to 21.2%!
> Trait [Discomfort Tolerance] has advanced to 58.6%!
> Authenticate your daily contributions at the nearest node to receive your allotted mana!
The text pulsed briefly in his vision before fading away as Tarren rested his pick on the tunnel floor. All around him, workers also finishing their daily quotas were leaning against walls, breathing heavily, or even sitting slumped on the ground.
“You nearly done?” Tarren asked after a minute. The steady rhythm of the pick to his right didn’t slow as its bearer huffed out
“Damn... you... and... your... greater... endurance”
Tarren tried to chuckle, but the sound turned into a cough leaving his parched throat. Rhys still hadn’t let that go, though it had been almost a year since the unexpected upgrade.
Finally, after another quarter hour. Rhys groaned in triumph and dropped his pick too, slumping to the tunnel wall beside Tarren.
“You’d think it’d eventually get easier.” Rhys groaned, after his breathing had stabilized. “What with us doing this every damn day.”
“Would you?” Tarren asked.
“No.” Rhys said, darkly. “I just wish it would.”
The two rose and trudged down the tunnel, passing by workers still attempting to meet their quota, heading to the center of the sprawling labyrinth that was Miner’s Rest. As the tunnels widened into caverns and the sounds of smashing picks faded to the murmurs of the populace, they passed a man eagerly preaching to a crowd of hopeful, destitute looking young men and women.
“It is not out of reach! If you work hard enough, if you have faith, you too can evolve your class! You too can grow through these tribulations towards glory! Glory for your name, for your clan, and for the Alteriad!”
The bustling crowd surrounding him cheered at his words, before the man continued.
“And the first step on that path is here once again, my friends! The army is calling on all Miners to join the trials for the next generation of Sappers! Nothing will grow your class more than reaping the lives of the Horde through military service!”
The crowd cheered again, many eagerly calling out their intent to enlist. At the man’s sermon, Rhys’s face had descended into even greater darkness, but Tarren knew better than to dredge up old trauma.
As they finally entered the city proper, the harsh rock walls of the tunnels fell away to reveal the large, bowl-like cavern that housed the majority of the populace. Ramshackle homes and shops climbed up the sloping cavern walls like a strange lichen, and swinging rope walkways criss-crossed the air around them, connecting houses across different levels and positions along the walls.. Soft orange light blanketed the sprawling, mess of a city, the responsible glowstones anchored into the ceiling far above. But despite all of that chaos, and despite the milling crowds, the Node was still visible.
It stood in the center of the cavern---a tall, thin spike of shining silver that emanated a harsh, white aura in stark contrast to the soft patina offered by the glowstones. A long line already snaked away from the Node, but Tarren and Rhys didn’t complain as they joined the end of the queue.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
“Hoping for anything good today?” Tarren asked, hoping to pull Rhys out of his dark thoughts.
Rhy snorted disdainfully, glancing at Tarren. “Yeah, right. Like I’d bother to hope for anything good next to Mr. Spontaneous Upgrades over here.” He said, sarcastically.
“Oh, come on. That happened one time!” Tarren protested good-naturedly. This was a well-trod argument. A safe argument.
“Twice! At least!” Rhys countered. “I was stuck at Deficient Discomfort Tolerance a whole 3 months longer than you!”
“Everyone gets Discomfort Tolerance at around 65%. It’s practically guaranteed.” Tarren scoffed. “Mine just happened earlier because I had to work the prior three weeks with two broken toes! You really want to trade places there?”
“Fair point.” Rhys said, grinning. “But I’d never get stuck in such a situation, as I’d never drop a rock on my foot.”
“My pick slipped!” Tarren said. “It could’ve happened to anyone.”
The pair continued to bicker as they approached the Node, until finally the last of the tired workers in front of them had received their allotment.
“You want--?” Tarren started to ask, but before he could finish the question, Rhys darted in front of him, his good humor apparently restored.
“I’ve got first!” he said, slapping a palm to the node. He stiffened slightly as he made contact, muscles all tensing at once as the Node examined him. Then, his eyes brightened and he turned back around, grinning.
“Finally!” He said, “I came out ahead for once.”
“What’d you get?” Tarren asked, curiously. “An endurance upgrade?”
“Nope! This might be even better.” Rhys said happily. “I got Stone Sight!” he continued, eyes growing unfocused as he read. “It’s a perception ability that lets me see weak points in the stone and identify areas where there are likely to be denser pockets of ore! If I play it right, this should majorly cut down on how long it takes to hit my quota each day.”
“I see, I see.” Tarren said, feigning a contemplative expression. “That makes a lot of sense for you.”
“What do you mean?” Rhys asked, wary.
“Well, it is only natural that you’d get an upgraded ability for finding ways to do less work.” Tarren said, still feigning seriousness.
“You know. Because you’re lazy.” He finished.
“Ha ha.” Rhys said, drolly. “Very funny. Maybe you’ll get an ability to offer you an actual sense of humor this time.”
“Unlikely” Tarren said, mirth fading as he stepped up to the Node. “The Alteriad never gives anything away for free.”
Then, without waiting for a response, he slapped his own hand onto the Node. As always, time seemed to slow slightly as the Node scanned him and words unspooled in his vision.
Alteriad... v31.391.338
> Node A5139C.FE2490.000451
> Allotment Assessment
Daily Allotment... Confirmed!
Units:
> Stone [Subtype - FE4288.5531A9] - 175.5% of Daily Quota
> Stone [Subtype - 35AD12.88123F] - 138.6% of Daily Quota
> Stone [Non-quota Subtypes] - 0.85 RU
> Ore [Subtype - 48F2DD.9035F8] - 101.2 % of Daily Quota
Allotment Allocated: 104.8% MDM
Granting
As the text finished unspooling, Tarren felt energy rush through his limbs, the purified Alteriad Mana quenching his parched cells, repairing and strengthening muscles, and easing the weariness and stress from his mind. His hunger and thirst from the day’s labor faded down to manageable levels as mana pushed aside the necessity of biological fuel. He felt the familiar rush of pleasure that accompanied the sensation, and, as always, did his best to push it aside. Mana addicts were all too present, and that was a road he was determined to stay away from.
The extra chunk of mana beyond his minimum daily requirements for basic subsistence went into his core, filling up the slowly churning ball of energy in his midriff. His core was, like everyone’s here, a pitiful thing, and the extra mana he gained on a day-to-day basis would inevitably be spent on other expenses.
He was disappointed at the lack of upgrades, but he hadn’t really expected any different. However, as he moved to pull his hand off the Node, another flash of energy passed through him, and more text unspooled below the allotment message.
Karmic Balance Flag Triggered
Assessing...
> Lesser Boon Selected.
> Analyzing...
Karmic Boon (lesser) Awarded!
> Boon: Static 2 Level and Permanent 2.5% Increase (Full) to Auxiliary Characteristic - Intelligence
> Boon acceptance... NA
> Allocating...
As he read the last word, another surge of energy washed through him, alighting his world in pain.
When his vision cleared, Tarren found he was lying on his back in front of the pillar, Rhys standing over him, gently slapping his face.
“Tarren! Tarren, talk to me!” He said, voice ringing in Tarren’s splitting head. His eyes were wild and panicked.
“I’m ok...” Tarren choked out.
“What happened?” Rhys said worriedly as he helped Tarren to his feet.
“I... I got a lesser boon.” Tarren said, voice still hoarse as he thought through the implications.
“What?! Why?” Rhys asked, concerned.
“Karmic Balance.” Tarren said.
Rhys stared at Tarren, eyes widening in horror, as Tarren was sure the same thought ran through both their minds. The Alteriad gave nothing away for free, and no matter how much this boon would give him, Tarren was sure he didn’t want to pay its cost.