9 Growth

Sea Salt City. The docks.

James was currently in his common solider uniform. He was leaning against a wall and peeking around a corner. He could see Lumi and Beardy-face searching for him. James could hear Lumi's voice. "I'm going to catch that pervert! I know for sure that the naked man was really James Dawn!" Lumi gave Beardy-face a sharp look, "You still don't believe me, do you? You'll see I'm right!" Beardy-face nodded in agreement, "Sure. Sure. You're right. You're right. Whatever you say."

James was shocked. "How did they find out? Who would believe I'm me when I change into my original appearance!?" James snuck away in the opposite direction of Lumi. He found a secluded area and sat down on a crate. He closed his eyes and rested them on his hands to think, "I can't work at the dock as originally planned anymore. Lumi will keep looking for me here. I need to gain strength to join the academy though. I also need enough points for a Sea Salt Academy uniform. Based on what I read about academies in the library those uniforms are probably mid-grade, so I would need 100 energy units… Maybe I could rob a bank and then use the money to buy uniforms? No, that's stupid. Do banks even exist in this world? I would probably be better off just robbing a clothing store or blacksmith. Even if I could pick the locks though would I even be able to open the doors? This isn't going to work. I'm going to have to find somewhere else to work."

With those thoughts in mind James stood up and headed back towards the city. As he was walking he happened to see the boy that first introduced the town to him. James called out to him, "Oy!!! Scuttle!" Scuttle heard James and waved at him while heading over. He spoke, "Good to see you again mister. Did you need something?"

James smiled, "I have a friend looking for work right now. You said your father was a coal miner? Do you think you could introduce my friend to the work?" Scuttle smiled, "My dad is retired but the coal mines are always looking for new hands. If you head out the city gates, you'll find a dirt road that heads east. Follow the road for two hours and you'll find the mines."

James thanked the boy and started to head towards the city gates. On the way he saw a middle-aged man passed out in an alleyway. James walked over and could smell his breath from a few feet away. It reeked of alcohol. James hesitated for a moment, "Should I do it? Hmm. I've already stolen those knight suits before. This isn't as bad compared to that…"

James looked around to make sure no one was watching. Then he stripped the middle-aged man of his clothes. James used the system to remove the common soldier appearance. His skin turned pale, his hair black, and his body became thin. He once again looked like a handsome young man. However, he was still nude from before! James hurriedly put on the clothes he stripped from the middle-aged man. He now wore a pair of white trousers and a gray tunic. Unfortunately, the shoes did not fit, so James still wore his dress shoes from Earth.

James walked away while sighing aloud, "You'll thank me for this good deed someday middle-aged drunk man. Perhaps this incident will help you get your life together. I didn't take your clothes because I wanted to. It was out of the pure kindness of my heart. Even Buddha would praise me for my selflessness."

James left the city and headed to the coal mines. It took him two hours to get there. An old man could be seen in front of the mines. He was holding a scroll and was writing down numbers on it. He saw James and spoke, "I'm the mine supervisor. What are you doing here boy?"

James spoke, "I heard the mines were hiring and I'm in desperate need of employment. So, here I am!"

The old man nodded and questioned James, "Alright then. Have any knight training?"

James shook his head, "None."

The old man sighed, "That's a shame. Figures a knight wouldn't come here though. How much weight can you lift?" James raised his head confidently and replied, "I can bench press 250 lbs.! With my left arm I can curl 30 lbs. With my right arm I can curl 40 lbs.!"

The old man stared at James, "I don't got time for Jokes lad. My five-year-old grandson can lift more than that. Are you messing with me?" James was startled. He had momentarily forgotten how strong ordinary people were in this world. James smiled bashfully and spoke, "It's the truth. I was in a bit of an accident and so this is all I can do. My doctor recommended physical work to help with my recovery."

The old man thought for a minute and spoke, "Okay. I'll hire you, but I'll only pay you a tenth of what I pay my other miners. That comes out to 8 silver coins a month. It isn't much but you're not very useful. You can choose to head back to the city at night or stay in the shared room and board we offer. Want the job or not?"

James nodded his head in agreement. The money was awful but since it included room and board he wouldn't starve at least. The old man pointed at a big building in the distance. That's where you'll be staying. There's a shed nearby where you can grab a mining helmet, overalls, boots, and a pickaxe. You start immediately."

James headed towards the shed. He got changed into the mining outfit and headed into the mines. *Clink, clink, clink*. James did his best to mine the coal deep within the mines. Other men were carrying giant scuttles full of hundreds of pounds of coal back and forth like it was nothing. James barely put any coal in his scuttle before heading towards the mining carts to dump the coal.

Sunset. James dragged his tired body towards the coal mine exit. He felt dizzy and his whole body was shaking from exhaustion. He passed out on his way towards the exit!

*rumble, rumble* James felt the ground shaking. He felt like he was moving up and down as if he was on a boat. He slowly opened his eyes. He saw two black eyes, dark skin, and bright white teeth. "Gahhhh!" James screamed!

Several voices could be heard laughing, "Hahahhahaha!!! James looked around and saw several other dark-skinned men laughing. James looked around in confusion before realizing it was miners covered in coal-soot laughing at him. James glanced back at the face he saw earlier. It was a large muscular man carrying James. One of the miners spoke, "Haha! Big Jim, I told you he wouldn't want to be princess carried by you. You should have just left him there!"

James realized he was indeed being carried princess style. He blushed and yelled, "Put me down! I can walk by myself now!" Big Jim put James down only for James to immediately fall to the ground. James panicked internally, "I can't feel my legs?!"

Big Jim smiled, "Just let me carry you. It's not far." Another miner whistled using two fingers, "Ya newbie! Just enjoy the ride! Bwhahaha!" James blushed in embarrassment and yelled at the miner, "Fuck off! I'll head back on my own. I don't need help!" James turned to look at big Jim and spoke again, "Sorry, I'll head back on my own. Thanks for the help earlier." Big Jim nodded and headed back with the other miners. James crawled towards the miner's lodge. It was dark before he made it back. He immediately went to his room and fell asleep.

The next day James woke up and ate breakfast with the other miners. He then headed for the mines and worked all day. The supervisor was constantly yelling at him, "Pick up the pace! Hurry the hell up! My grandmother can do better than you!" One of the miners yelled, "Oy! Boss! Your grandma is a 6th grade knight. What the hell are you comparing us too?!" The old supervisor yelled, "No backtalking!"

The day ended. James made it back to the miner's lodge okay this time. He was already feeling stronger than yesterday. His body was naturally absorbing mana each time he exhausted himself. A miner slapped James on the back and spoke, "Good work today Righty!" Another miner laughed, "Haha. If Righty was as weak as a kitten yesterday, then today he was only as weak as a toddler!" A third miner spoke, "Why are you calling him Righty?" The first miner laughed aloud, "Didn't you hear from the supervisor? James can lift 40 lbs. with his right arm and 30 lbs. with his left! Hahahaha!" The miner gave James a knowing look.

James blushed, "Fuck off! I'm just right-handed! And you couldn't come up with anything cleverer as a nickname? I'm insulted by the lack of originality!"

The miners laughed and continued to poke fun at him. And so, the days continued to pass for James as the supervisor hurled insults at him and his fellow miners poked fun at him. James grew used to these things and eventually even came to like the job. As he got stronger the physical work no longer bothered him and he felt accomplished after each day's work.

8 months later.

James exited the mines at the end of the day. He was no longer as thin as previously. He was still lean, but his body had well defined muscles and abs. His short black hair had grown down to his shoulders and was messy. His skin was even paler than before due to working in the mines all day every day. The hard work over the last 8 months didn't significantly change James personality but he appeared more mature. This had been his first real job. On Earth he had never even worked part-time. James had also lived independently for 8 months now. He missed his parents, but this experience helped him grow up tremendously.

The old supervisor walked over towards James and spoke, "So this is your last day. You're sure I can't convince you to stay? You finally caught up to the rest of the men's workloads. It'd be a shame to see you leave now."

James nodded. "I've reached my limit here. My primary reason for working here was to gain strength. I have nothing holding me here anymore." James shook the supervisors hand, "Thank you for everything." The supervisor sighed, "Oh well. Good luck out there. The jobs always here if you change your mind."

James headed towards the shack where he first got his mining outfit. He took off the helmet and overalls. He left them there with the pickaxe. He looked around the shack and saw several dozen mining outfits. James sighed, "These outfits are only worth 0.1 energy units each. The system marked them as bottom-grade. I previously thought low-grade was the lowest grade for uniforms. It turns out bottom-grade is the lowest grade accepted by the uniform system. They're not even worth taking. Besides, the old supervisor has treated me with kindness. He probably lost money on me the first couple months as weak as I was." James got dressed. He wore a pair of high-quality brown boots, black trousers, and a dark-blue tunic. He previously bought the clothes in Sea Salt City. James then put on a dark-gray cloak to cover his head. As far as he knew, Lumi was no longer chasing him. However, he wanted to be careful and avoid being recognized.

James left the mines and headed for Sea Salt City. By the time he got there the gates were just about to close. Fortunately, he made it in time. James checked into an expensive inn. The building was made of stone. James entered his room on the 4th floor. He pressed a button on the wall and a light shone from the ceiling. "To think the more expensive hotels use light magic-beast cores as lightbulbs. How extravagant." James then walked over towards a stone wall and pressed another button. *Rumble* A square block of stone lowered down on the wall. This created an opening to the outside that acted as a window. "Heh, they even use earth magic-beast cores to create windows. I always wondered how people stood living in these stone buildings. I suppose they're actually quite nice. The cold winter air feels great"

James sat down in the lotus position on his bed. He closed his eyes and rested them on his hands to think, "I've finally reached the strength threshold for a normal human. I can easily lift 500 lbs. with two hands. I am now eligible to train as a knight. Now I just need to enter the academy in one month. However, they won't let a 19-year-old like me join. Therefore, I need to use the system to create an academy student uniform. When I used the system to scan a student a few months ago I confirmed that the student uniform costs 100 energy units. I've only managed to save up 3 gold from my mining job. I'm fortunate to even save that much due to the raises I got as my strength increased… If I were to buy outfits to feed the system I would need at least 1000 gold. It's not possible. I suppose I have no other choice. I'll have to implement plan B!"

James opened his eyes with a sharp look. He pulled a sheet of paper out of his pocket and unfolded it. It was a map of Sea Salt City. It had quite a few red X's marked on it. There were three locations that instead had red circle marks. James spoke aloud, "All my spare time was used to create this plan over the past three months. It's time to pull a heist!"