Gromnald has invited you to join a group.
You have joined the group.
“Before we get started, you need some equipment,” he said, handing me a hard hat and a pair of safety goggles.
Excavator’s Cap
Class Item
Stats: Defense +5
Special: Collapse Immunity
Level to equip: 1
Excavator’s Goggles
Class Item
Stats: Accuracy +5
Special: Vision-Based Impairment Immunity
Level to equip: 1
Grolmnald pulled his goggles down and motioned for me to do the same. “You can’t ignore the darkness if you’re blind.”
“That’s useful,” I admitted. “What’s collapse immunity?”
“Well, that should be obvious,” he guffawed. “You won’t die if the roof falls on your head.”
“Does that happen often?” I asked.
“It does when you break stuff,” he replied. “Those other dwarves never appreciated my ingenuity.”
“I thought you weren’t a dwarf,” I said, wondering how many hits he took to the noggin before he got his hard hat.
“I used to be,” he sighed. “Not anymore though.”
“How did you used to be a dwarf?” I asked. “That doesn’t make any sense at all.”
Gromnald snorted. “I stopped being a dwarf when they exiled me from the mountain just because I don’t swing a pick the way they do. Curse those short beards, all of them.”
“You mean they don’t break stuff?” I asked, finding the situation both funny and a little sad at the same time.
“Not with style they don’t,” he replied. “My former brothers insult the great mountain with their feeble attempts at mining, and they always wonder why they never find the promised ore.”
“Promised ore?” I asked, smelling a quest.
“Yes!” his eyes lit up. “Dwarves have been searching for the heart of Mount Drunder for a very long time.”
“What is Mount Drunder?” I asked.
“It was my home,” he replied. “Drunderhold is the father of all mountains—a power rivaling even the mighty World Tree. It is the vessel of the fiery heart of the planet that beats beneath the frozen land of Permafrost.”
I made a mental note to visit Mount Drunder when I could, even if I didn’t get a quest.
“Let’s focus on your training,” Gromnald grunted, taking out his pickaxe. The first skill you need to acquaint yourself with is Break Stuff. The name is fairly self-explanatory but I’ll give you a demonstration in case you haven’t used a skill before. The first thing you need to know is some skills only work with the appropriate tool. That isn’t the case with Break Stuff, but you do get a bonus when you use your class tools.”
“This is a normal strike without any skill at all,” He swiped at a rock jutting out of the wall. Pebbles shot off in every direction as it crumbled under the blow.
You have gained group experience.
He explained. “Every time you strike a rock, you gain some experience. Next, I will demonstrate how Break Stuff works. To activate a skill, you need to think about it. You can think about the action but it’s usually easier to think of the name. The skill will take it from there. If you have trouble doing that, the skill will activate if you say the name out loud.”
“Break Stuff!” He demonstrated in a gruff voice as he raised the pickaxe again.
His muscles bulged and the pickaxe blurred as he swung it a second time. The rock and part of the wall exploded, causing the entire cave to shudder from the impact.
You have gained group experience.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
“As you can see, cave-ins are fairly common for an Excavator,” he said when the dust settled. “That’s why it’s important to always wear your safety equipment.”
“I get the goggles but how exactly is this hard hat supposed to help me?” I asked. “Won’t I still be trapped under the rubble?”
Gromnald sighed and readied the pickaxe again. “I was hoping you wouldn’t ask that but hold onto your hat because here we go.”
Even louder than before, he shouted, “Break stuff!”
The swing was several times more powerful than the first time he used the skill. His pickaxe melted into the wall like a knife through butter. The impact followed a second later. I didn’t believe what I was seeing. A crater rippled out around his embedded tool and the mine rumbled once again. The next thing I knew my vision was obscured as tons of rock and debris crashed all around me. I mistook it as darkness at first. Then I realized, I was buried in a cave-in.
Gromnald sounded distant when he spoke. “This is how the hard hat works. You take no damage no matter how much rock you’re buried under. Use your skill to clear the rubble off of yourself.”
I assumed he meant Break Stuff, so I thought of the name while I wriggled around under an impossible amount of debris. My arm only moved an inch but it was enough and the earth around it exploded into dust.
You have gained group experience.
I got more reports immediately after which I assumed was Gromnald also clearing rubble. The process was slow but eventually, the two of us cleared the tunnel.
“That…” he paused for emphasis. “Is an unfortunate side effect of our trade, and is why you must always wear your safety equipment when excavating.”
“Understood,” I replied. He had a point. I hadn’t taken any damage from a cave-in that normally would have killed me. That combined with the Break Stuff skill and I was able to quickly dig myself out; a feat that would normally be impossible for a victim even if they weren’t injured.
“Next, I’m going to show you how to use the Ping skill,” he continued the lesson, placing a gloved hand on the wall. “By using this skill, you will be able to detect anomalies underground. Valuable ore will call to you when it’s nearby. Ping!”
He closed his eyes for a moment before continuing. “There is a small amount of copper twenty feet that way. Go on, try it for yourself.”
I touched the wall like he had and closed my eyes. “Ping.”
A sound like radar echoed in all directions. The world lit up with tiny sparkles all around me. There were also…other things.
“What is the darkness?” I asked, opening my eyes.
“That is open space,” Gromnald explained. “It’s useful to see because you can still take damage if you fall into a chasm or dungeon you didn’t know about. Also, when you do see a dungeon, don’t be fooled by the shinies. Those are treasure chests which are likely guarded by powerful monsters.”
“Don’t you want to kill the boss monster and take the treasure?” I asked.
“What for?” He asked, tilting his head to the side as though I’d suggested he eat his glove. “Why bother with dungeon treasure when you have full access to the bounties of the planet? There is nothing you could want that Father won’t provide.”
“Father?” I asked.
“Aye,” he grunted. “Lord Drunder. Father of the Dwarves and The God of the Under-Realm.”
I made a note of my first god as Gromnald went on to the next skill. “Are you ready to learn Wallop?”
“Sure,” I replied right as he jumped and slugged me in the face.
It would have been funny if it didn’t hurt so much. I fell to my knees and stars danced around my vision.
“That is a skill I designed to deal with pesky cave trolls and mole rats,” he explained. “Like Break Stuff, Whallop can be used without a weapon but it is much more efficient if you use a shovel or pickaxe. Unlike Break Stuff, Whallop is designed to be used on living beings. It has no impact on stone while doing bonus damage to anything with a pulse. Do you have any questions?”
I focused on the skill name and swung at my mentor. “Whallop!”
He spun around and dropped to a knee as my blow struck him on the chin.
“Good one, Lad,” he huffed after taking a moment to collect himself. “I suppose I had that coming.”
“Yeah,” I grumbled. “You didn’t have to demonstrate on me.”
“Well, I didn’t exactly have a cave troll handy, now did I?” He shot back
We both laughed for a moment before I asked, “Now what?”
“Now, we get to work!”
----------------------------------------
We mined side by side for several hours and I even made it to level ten. Gromnald let me keep most of the ore we mined. He only kept a strange blue ore that the system identified as Unknown. He also gifted me a few more tools for my class.
Basic Shovel
Class Item
Stats: Attack +5
Special: Dig
Level to Equip: 1
Basic Pickaxe
Class Item
Stats: Attack +5
Special: Strike Rock
Level to equip: 1
While both tools appeared to grant skills, they actually provided bonuses to basic activities. Gromnald assured me they were significantly better than any random junk I could buy at any general store. I wanted his tools though.
Master Excavator’s Shovel
Class Item
Stats: Attack +50, Str +5, Dex +5, Sta +5 Agi +5 Int +5 Wis +5 Cha +5
Special: Maximum Effort
Level to equip: 50
Master Excavator’s Pickaxe
Class Item
Stats: Attack +50, Str +5, Dex +5, Sta +5 Agi +5 Int +5 Wis +5 Cha +5
Special: True Strike
Level to equip: 50
They reminded me of the spear I’d gotten from the statue in the hidden dungeon. Perhaps all weapons were the same at that level after all.
Gromnald saw me looking and smiled. “All in due time, My Apprentice. Have patience and keep on digging. You’ll get there.”
The last thing he taught me was how to use my skills to greater effect. “Break Stuff normally only uses ten stamina. However, as you saw when I triggered the cave-in, you can increase the potency by putting more stamina into it. To do that, you need to focus on your stamina gauge while also focusing on the skill. While you’re learning, I suggest you call out the name of the skill while looking at the green stamina bar in your upper left vision.”
He was right, my basic stats were right there next to my name.
Veritas - HP: 1000/1000 MP: - SP: 2000/2000
I clenched my pickaxe and was about to try it when Gromnald stopped me. “Wait, Lad. If you put all of your stamina into that blow, you’ll collapse the whole mine, and while that may be funny to you, I have to mine here tomorrow. Please only use one hundred stamina if you want to try it out.”
I was disappointed but I did as instructed. Once again, the impact caused a crater in the wall and the ceiling collapsed. We dug ourselves out quickly and headed back to town.
“If you still have the class at level twenty, come back and I’ll teach you some more tricks,” he said when we got to town.
“What do you mean if?” I asked.
He laughed. “You may not know this yet, but you already have the opportunity to change classes. You received your first at level five and your second at ten. I’ll understand if you find something better and move on. But if you don’t, I’ll always be here for you.”
“Don’t worry,” I attempted to soothe him. “I have zero intentions of swapping to a different class. I already have plans for this one.”
“Well, I’ll see you again soon then,” he replied, turning away and wiping his face. Could the not-a-dwarf be crying?
I strolled past the inn when I remembered. There was something I wanted to test. Entering the inn, I found Phylis and said, “I’d like a room, please.”