Present:

‘Fuu… I guess everyone should’ve turned in for the night by now.’ Odin thought as he stood up from the bed, his footsteps carrying him into the empty hallway.

There were three layers in the underground mine, and mined vidre stones were kept at the deepest part. Contrary to what one might expect, the security at the bottom layer was actually pretty low.

After all who would steal from there? And even if someone was stupid enough and managed to stole something, where would they go afterwards?

The place with the most security, even more so than the gate at the central cliff was ironically the kitchen. After all, hunger is much harder to resist than the urge of freedom.

Not to mention that none of the slaves even knew what the stones were used for. Nobody could take them out, as the only way going aboveground was guarded by Shane.

Hence, the only chance of him getting exposed would be if he ran into the patrol team. They were walking around just for formality, their main ‘surveillance targets’ being little kids who were running around at night.

The crime rate at the mine was so ridiculously low that one might wonder what the safest place in this city is, the Nobel’s district or the underground mine.

As for tonight, luck was on his side as he did not come across anyone patrolling along the way.

As Odin went on his trip from the first layer towards the storage area in the bottom of the second layer, he walked across the carved caves that stretched deep into the heart of the mine.

Stairs were chiseled into the cliffs which guided their descent. Each step was full of risk and with the echoes in the dark, this made the situation even more eerie.

Dim lights coming from embedded crystals illuminated the hallway, casting an ethereal glow upon the rough walls. The air became colder as he headed downwards, acting as a subtle reminder of the depth and mystery that lay on the cliff’s lower layers.

The damp earth and weeds, combined with the scent of minerals filled Odin’s nose with a myriad of smells.

He passed by the complex network of intercrossing hallways, The echoes of water drops landing on the surface getting fainter with every step he took.

After a while Odin finally reached the storage area. There wasn’t even a lock, so the door was opened just like that.

Looking at the the storage room, Odin’s eyes widened in stupor at the sight before him.

His heart beat faster as he stood there perplexed, unable to make sense of the scene in front of him. It was not that the storage room was empty, but there were just too many stones! Piles upon piles of stones stood there like mountains.

As Odin focused his senses, he discovered that the air was humming with energy waves. Despite the strange situation, the feeling of satisfaction washed over him after getting the fruits of his risky move.

The sheer numbers of the Vidre stones were awe-inspiring, acting as symbols of tireless work done by generations of miners.

'I don't even know what the hack these things are used for,'

'Don't tell me they just want us to mine this stone and pile them off for no fucking reason,'

He was pissed because this meant that their generations of work served no purpose whatsoever.

‘Well, I guess I should feel thankful about this. If these can give me energy it would solve all my problems currently.’ He trudged towards a corner where a pile of stone were, kicking the stone in his way with reluctant gratitude.

With a mixture of annoyance and anticipation, he touched the stone with his heightened senses. His fingers scratched against the rough surface, but his gaze was focused on something else.

He looked at the kaleidoscope of colors and energy waves, something he had never seen in Vidre stones before. It was like he had discovered a treasure trove hidden from the history.

‘Tch…Tch… the little me was right afterall’

He had a premonition that this thing shouldn’t have been in this world. Unfortunately with his current limited access to ominira, he couldn’t find out anything more.

He then randomly picked one stone and fiddled with it but nothing happened. ‘As expected, if it was just this simple then someone would have already figured it out.’

An idea sparked in his mind and he envisioned his state of mind when he got Ominira. A foreign energy surged through his right hand, traveling through his body and headed towards his right eye. It calmed the slight pain and itchiness that remained in his missing eye socket, giving a cool and refreshing feeling.

‘As expected! even though I cannot control this energy, I can use ominira with my right eye to turn it on and off.’

Odin once again reached out in order to touch another stone, but unlike before something did happen this time without him doing anything.

Suction force originated from his right eye, and spread towards the tip of his finger. From the Vidre stone, a strand of energy started flowing out from it's crystalline surface. It flowed towards his body, spreading everywhere.

Even without looking at the message, He felt the transformation of his body improving. However, the amount was way too low.

After a few seconds, the flowing energy stopped and the stone returned to its original state. If someone didn't look carefully, they wouldn't even realize the difference before and after, alebit the stone did lose a bit of its luster.

He saw the message floating in the air with his right eye and a smile crept up on his face.

[Synchronization rate 13…14…15%]

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

It was even better than a full meal. However, he knew that there was no way it would keep increasing like this till 100%

‘It's quite possible that more energy will be needed for further process, but with these amounts of stones, even 1000% wouldn’t be a problem.’

Of course, poor Odin had no idea that he would use up almost half of the storage for this, and as for 1000%, even the energy of this entire world wouldn’t be enough. Every pile of Vidre stones were more valuable than the City of Mizar, not that anyone in this world knew about it.

‘If I were to progress at this rate, with me being contact with these stones for about twelve hours, I can complete my transformation in a month.'

'Well for starters, I need to find a way to constantly be in contact with these stones.’ thought Odin while strutting around.

Although he had no idea what changes this transformation would bring, or what he would do after it was complete, he still wanted to finish this as fast as possible. He was perfectly calm in this situation where he could potentially die in a month, something the old him wouldn't be able to do.

As Odin decided to depart, he couldn't help but feel a sense of loss. On this short trip, from the stairs carved into the cliffs to the storage area, it all showed the magnitude of work done by the slaves throughout thousands of years.

The stones they extracted with blood and sweat, even if they looked sparkly in appearance, had no use whatsoever.

He had no idea as to why this mine was created and where Vidre stones came from, but using them for his selfish reasons still made him feel guilty.

As he left the storage room, echoes of his footsteps rang in tandem with his heartbeat. He vowed in his heart that when he becomes strong enough, he would pay this debt and seek justice on their behalf.

Leaving the future things aside, another thing that piqued his interest was that when he was absorbing the energy, some sort of connection was formed with his blood.

‘If I didn't guess wrong, these stones definitely have something related to my Bloodline.’

And as most of the slaves here shared similar origin from generation to generation, it was very likely that a lot of people would have a similar Bloodline.

Maybe the reason they were captured in the first place was because only they were able to harvest the mine and no one else could, the current situation of the mine could be explained this way.

'The only thing I can't find heads and tails of, is that what does this Vidre stone have to do with people in power?'

'fuu..' Odin let out a deep breath of contemplation as he climbed the stairs.

'I will find the answer to this question when I escape from this place. Now I will just focus on getting energy, I don't believe that anyone will notice my actions if am careful enough with this.'

With his newfound resolve, he made his way back to the familiar hallway.

‘Tomorrow I will ask sister to give me a job which allows me to work with these stones.'

Due to his injury, he had a valid excuse as well. There was a very high chance that he would be assigned a new job.

'That aside, I should attempt this now as I've gotten used to my body'

Odin concentrated and the information he desired floated up in front of him

[Dungeon key “The Ironclad keep” (Outskirts)]

[Dungeon information:]

[Initiates quest “The foe from afar” upon arrival]

[Objective: Challenge the orc patrolling squad]

[Reward: Full recovery, Unlocks more knowledge from Ominira, Synchronization Efficiency + 20%]

[Penalty: None]

…

With the dawn of new morning , Odin decided to plan out all the things he had to do today.

He had to make sure that he came across various knowledge related to the power system or profession in this world, and also find a job that allowed him to come in contact with vidre stones.

Although it was not possible to do both at the same time, but if he got the job in the logistics department, he would have access to vidre stones. As far as the knowledge of progression and power system is concerned, he would have to ask sister about it.

He only knew that there are generally two ways for a person to become stronger. One way was to become a mage, and the other was to become a warrior.

How they train or cultivate and what they would achieve afterwards, he had no idea whatsoever. The only powerful people he knew were Lucas and Shane, who were both mages and he had no idea about how they cultivated their power.

As he thought this far, he once again came to the conclusion that he was really lacking in fundamental knowledge, and before he himself started his journey to become strong, he definitely had to do something about it.

‘For now, what I can do is to meditate with ominira and see if I can access any knowledge.’

After a couple of futile attempts, he realized that even though ominira contained a boundless amount of knowledge, if he didn't have the basic idea about his query, then he would not be able to get an answer.

At least before he becomes completely synchronized with it.

It was like a 2-year-old child asking a question to an adult, even if they answer him truthfully, he wouldn’t understand it.

Disappointed, Odin decided to stop things here for today and got up. He dragged his feet across the hallway and headed towards the central cliff.

When he came out of his room to the hallway he realized that it was already 12 pm. One of the side effects of using ominira was that due to extreme focus he loses the grip of time, like today for example.

He even forgot to take this breakfast.

‘And there goes my 1.5% synchronization’ Mumbled Odin in a dejected tone. He felt like he had exhausted all of his luck on the trip yesterday.

He went to the crossing which joined central cliff to the dining hall and before he could even look for his sister, she walked towards him with hurried footsteps, beckoning Odin to come and walk with her.

“What exactly are you up to?” she asked with a frown. She had a white work dress on, one that actually looked ‘White.'

She gave off an aura of authority with her hair were meticulously gathered in a bun.

“Nothing particularly, why are you asking me this?” replied Odin with a shrug.

“After you woke up a day ago, I observed that you're acting more and more weirdly, don't tell me you’re planning to do something like Lucas."

"..."

"You know if something bad happens to you, that would make me really sad.” She said with concern etched in her every word.

Odin felt very guilty for making her worried. He had indeed not been paying much attention to his surroundings as of late.

“You don't have to worry about me, I won't do something like that.” Replied Odin with a calm tone, his gaze filled with resolution.

“Well, I'm glad you understand that.” As he had always been a cautious kid, she didn't pester him more about it.

Although he had been acting strange after waking up, as long as she reminded him to be careful, he wouldn't behave like an impulsive teenager that he is.

They had reached the dining area by now and clamoring noises and the smell of food filled their surroundings.

“Also, I have a favor to ask you,” Odin spoke with a bit of hesitation. He didn't like to burden her with his matters, but she was the only one who could possibly help him.

“Tell me about it first. I'll try my best to help you in anyway I can.”

Odin felt warmth in his heart, and he once again promised to himself that he would do all he can to make her life better.

“I want you to arrange me in the logistics department.”

“It won’t be a problem. I’ll write that you had lost your right eye and are not suitable to mine so it won't be an issue to arrange you there.”

Of course that was total bullshit, but one of the perks of being in charge was that you can use excuses like this. As long as it didn't cross the line that is.

He strolled along with his sister to get their food. She was a head shorter than him, looking like his younger sister despite her bring five years older.

No matter where they passed by, people would nod at her in respect.

Although there were females in charge of the central cliff before, it was very rare. Getting everyone’s acknowledgment at such a young age proved how capable she was.

Odin felt proud and happy for her, but his feelings vanished the next second when she put a bunch of kale leaves in his dish.

“Don’t give me that look, it’s good for your eyes” She said in a serious tone after Odin looked at her pleadingly.

She of course treated Odin like thin air and kept getting her own food.

Left with no other choice, Odin gave up in defeat and started eating with reluctance, feeling annoyed at her smug smile.

“If possible, I would like to work near the storage room or something related to Vidre stones at the very least."

"Also one more thing, I would like you to give me some information regarding the Profession or cultivation methods of this world.”

“Profession? cultivation? what do you mean by that? I have never heard of these words before.” she replied in a voice laden with bewilderment.