Viperwolf

One month later,

"Alright, it's lunch break, so you can rest now," the captain's voice echoed in the mine, prompting everyone to drop their tools and head outside.

Eric carried his pickaxe with him as he exited the tunnel, shielding his eyes from the piercing sunlight.

After leaving the dark, suffocating tunnel where he had worked for over a month, Eric sat on a rock a little further away from where the other workers usually took their breaks.

He always ate his lunch here because of the scene in front of him. Just a little further away was the beginning of the forest, with tall and lush green trees. The air was refreshing and calming, unlike the suffocating feeling he experienced inside the mine.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Eric retrieved a piece of bread and a small bottle of water from his bag. Unwrapping the bread, he took a big bite but soon grimaced.

"Tch, bland as always."

He had grown accustomed to eating tasteless food back on Earth, so the blandness of the bread didn't bother him much, but that didn't mean he enjoyed it.

What he hated was that this kind of food was all he could currently afford after cutting down on necessary expenses.

"Anyway, today should be the last one, huh?"

Over the past month, he hasn't wasted time or slackened off. After work, he trained his body with basic exercises and tried to control the mana in his body.

At first, it was difficult for Eric to manipulate Mana as he wanted because he hadn't inherited the original owner's memories. However, slowly he started to get the hang of it, and after a week of daily practice, he finally managed to move Mana to his bidding.

Next, he learned how to strengthen his body and augment it with Mana, which wasn't easy, and took him two more weeks to figure out the right amount to use without straining his muscles.

Even though his progress was slow, he was nevertheless happy as he grew stronger every day. Thinking of this, he pulled out his character sheet and looked at his attributes.

****

Name: Eric Walker

Level: 8 (unranked)

Health: 180/180

Stamina: 210/210

Mana: 350/350

Status:

Strength: 21

Dexterity: 23

Vitality: 18

Constitution: 21

Intelligence: 35

Spiritual Power: 15

Unique abilities:

- Drain: Second grade - lvl 4

Skills:

-Vanir Standard Language lvl 5

- Identify lvl 3

- Iron Wall

****

"My stats sure changed a lot since the last time I saw them. All of that was the result of working in the mines."

Not only did his Mana experience explosive growth from absorbing all those Mana crystals he secretly took but even his strength and agility increased a few points due to all the mining he did.

'But unfortunately, my time here is up. The Mana crystals no longer increase my magic power, no matter how much I absorb.'

After absorbing hundreds of Mana crystals, his magic power no longer increased, which made him realize that he had already reached the limit and could no longer increase his Mana using the crystals alone.

"I guess it's time for me to join the hunting team."

Since he could no longer increase his magic power in the mines, there was no need for him to stay any longer. He was ready to leave and join the hunting team he had been aiming for ever since John told him about them.

"But I need to think about a plan on how to approach this. I can't exactly go to them and say I've awakened while working in the mines; that's not how awakening works."

According to the information mentioned in the novel, the ability to wield Mana was decided at birth. People born with high sensitivity to Mana could absorb it from the atmosphere and slowly form a core that acted as a vessel to carry the Mana they stored.

If you couldn't sense Mana, you could never form your own core; that was the rule. But like everything in life, there were exceptions to the rules, and in this case, the exception was the phenomenon known as Awakening.

The people who experience awakening are those who used to be normal individuals without any core to use Mana. However, under certain circumstances, they acquire the ability to use Mana like those gifted individuals who were born with it. But this is only one side of the truth.

The real reason why these people experience awakening is because they were actually born with Mana sensitivity, but it's so minimal to the point of being almost neglected and nonexistent. However, in extreme situations, some might be able to feel Mana and therefore awaken.

But it's only a small percentage of people who can do that since the conditions for awakening are too harsh. Only under the threat of death can one have the chance to awaken if they are lucky enough to survive.

"I already can use Mana, so what I need now is to find the right moment and pretend to awaken."

He already knew what he had to do, but he was still stuck on execution. Officially, he's still a miner, and he can't just go to the forest anytime he wants without permission. If the captain of the mining team reports him for desertion and abandoning his position in an attempt to escape, he'll be in real trouble, maybe even risking his life.

"Well, like they say, if there's no opportunity, then create one yourself."

He already had a backup plan in case he didn't find the chance to 'awaken,' but he really didn't want to resort to such a plan. Not only might it not work, but it would be risky if he were ever found out.

"Let's hope things don't come to that. Some people will not like what happens to them."

"Here you are."

Eric was snapped out of his thoughts after hearing the familiar voice near him. Glancing sideways, he saw the old man, Gus, standing close to him.

"Here," Gus said, handing a loaf of bread to him. It wasn't the same as the one Eric had just eaten; there was something inside the bread. The smell of meat and green vegetables was visible on the side of the bread.

"Thank you, old man," Eric said, accepting the bread from Gus's hands.

"For the last time, I told you to call me Gus, not an old man. I'm only fifty years old," the old man insisted, taking a seat on the rock near Eric.

Eric side-glanced at the old man, his eyes squinting as the sunlight reflected off Gus's bald head.

"Sure," Eric said, turning his head away since the old man's head was too shiny to look at for a long time. Holding the sandwich in his hand, he took a bite. The flavor exploded in his mouth as he exclaimed, "This tastes as good as always, old man."

"Glad you like it. I'm sure my wife will be glad someone's praising her cooking," the old man chuckled, ignoring the fact that Eric ignored his request and called him "old man" instead of his name. But Gus didn't dwell on that; he had known this young man for over a week and could understand his personality to a certain extent.

"Well, send her my regards then, and tell her this is one of the best sandwiches I've ever eaten," Eric said with a smile. In this world. But he didn't say the last few words.

This wasn't the first time Gus had offered Eric food. On the second day of working in the mines, Gus noticed that Eric didn't bring any food with him for the break time. The old man tried to give him his lunch, but Eric refused, saying he had a big breakfast and wasn't hungry anymore.

Eric was telling the truth; his skill "Iron Wall" made him less prone to hunger. But Gus didn't believe him and insisted he take the food, threatening not to eat his own lunch if Eric didn't accept.

Eric tried his best to convince Gus that he really wasn't hungry and suggested Gus eat the food himself since he could hear Gus's stomach protesting. But the stubborn old man wouldn't budge. In the end, they reached a compromise and settled things by splitting the lunch, each taking half.

Since that incident, Gus started bringing extra food, one for himself and the other for Eric. Seeing that Gus did have his own lunch, Eric didn't refuse his gesture anymore, as it would be disrespectful. But inside, he was very grateful for Gus's consideration, even though Gus told him he was doing this because Eric was the reason their team came in the first place.

"I'll make sure to let her hear that."

Eric and Gus ate the rest of their food in silence, and once they were done, Gus broke the silence.

"By the way, I meant to ask. I noticed that you don't seem to enjoy working in the mines anymore. Did anything happen? Is something wrong?" The old man said, looking at Eric with concern.

"Huh. Why would you say that?" Eric replied.

"Well, at first, you used to smile whenever you worked and always managed to do the work of the entire group on your own. But now, you're barely reaching the quota requirements. Every time I see you work, you look like there's something on your mind, and you're always thinking about something," Gus explained.

"Well.. that.." Eric scratched his cheek, unsure of what to say. He used to smile during mining because his stats were increasing. The reason behind his recent decline in productivity, as Gus put it, wasn't because he got bored or tired. Instead, it was because the mines had already reached the limit of what could help him increase his strength.

That's why he always looked absent-minded while working; in fact, he was busy formulating plans to join the hunting team.

"Well?" Gus prompted.

"Hmm, how could I put it?" Eric crossed his arms, closed his eyes, and appeared to be in deep thought. He couldn't just tell Gus he was thinking about joining the hunting team. Even though the old man was kind to him, Eric still wasn't willing to foolishly expose himself, even if he knew the chances of Gus telling anyone else about this matter were quite small.

"Watch out!"

Just as Eric was trying to come up with a believable excuse, he heard Gus shouting before feeling something hit him on the side, sending him rolling on the ground.

"Shit!"

By this point, Eric's eyes were already wide open, and he could see what had hit him. He saw Gus lying on the ground, so he rushed to help him up.

"Old man!"

Eric helped him to his feet, but while doing so, he noticed a cut on Gus's shoulder, and the old man was bleeding.

"Old man, what happened?"

"I'm fine; more importantly, you have to run away. It's not safe here," Gus said with difficulty, holding his shoulder and pressing his arm on the wound.

Eric was already scanning his surroundings while Gus was talking. About 9 meters away, he spotted the creature that had attacked them.

It was a furless wolf-like carnivore that had six legs, a lean, powerful torso, and four eyes.

What the hell is this thing?

He never read about such a creature in the novel.

As he kept looking at the monster, a notification appeared above its head.

[ViperWolf- lvl 9]

The wolf's saliva dripped as it eyed its prey, circling around Eric.

With a pounding heart, Eric looked around for anything he could use as a weapon to fight the monster. He spotted the pickaxe, but it was about 6 meters away from him.

"Damnit."

The distance wasn't too far, and with his increased stats, he was confident he could reach the pickaxe before the wolf.

"What are you doing, you fool? I told you to run!" Gus shouted.

That's what kept Eric from moving. If he ran to take the pickaxe, he was sure the wolf would attack the vulnerable old man.

"Didn't you hear what I said-"

"Shut up, old man!" Eric snapped, unwilling to listen. "Quit with your nonsense. I'm not leaving you behind."

"You... foul..." Stunned, Gus stumbled over his words, only able to utter those words while a small tear slipped from his eye.