1-2 Slave of Frost

Arhen

There is something to be said about the struggles that miners go through. After this Gold Quest, I might definitely have a newfound respect for miners that can go this deep to mine. Especially if they have all of their stats halved through [Heat Exhaustion].

The wooden elevator had stopped already and opened up to a series of new tunnels. Despite the sudden rise in heat, I found a wooden table nearby with a lamp shining over a couple of folded documents. Neatly hidden between stone.

When I took the documents in hand and unfolded them, to my surprise, it was a sketch of the tunnel systems below. Most likely what the overseers used to get around, seemingly unnoticed and without danger, at seemingly the worst of times.

The drafts were a rough sketch at best. Some edges of the tunnels were rubbed off whilst some were smudged or incomplete. But the quality was irrelevant. The rough sketch had served its purpose.

You see, the Skill [System Analysis] is far more powerful than the Skill [Observe] that gamers usually make use of. It has two functions, one as a skill that can be triggered and one as a skill that is automatically active at all times--the function that I'm trying to restore by getting out of this mine.

Despite being damaged, it's still able to analyze items even without using [System Scan]. That much has been proven by this pickaxe I carry.

I was bagging on the ability to analyze places of interest still remaining unscathed. And was pleasantly surprised when mere moments after holding the rough sketch of the tunnel in my hands, a familiar message appeared, unaffected by the malware running down my right palm.

Map Data serialized.

Display distilled Area Map?

One would be surprised at the sheer rarity that maps represent in countless worlds. How often does one find a map? How often are they saved by it? Perhaps this is the Gold Quest being kind to me.

Regardless, the situation just got significantly easier to deal with.

"Yes."

Acknowledged.

A 3-D holographic map of the tunnel system appeared just below my peripheral vision. It was low enough not to bother my sight whilst walking and inspecting the dangers of the tunnels.

Despite not being able to see accurate statistics no longer, having some kind of functional map made me feel a bit better about my situation.

As I continued further into the second level of the mineshaft, to my surprise, I could still hear the sound of people mining down here in this crazy heat. I shook my head.

Concentrating on other people will not help me get done sooner. I don't want my stats to stay halved for too long in case Lucille drops by. My limbs already feel sluggish thanks to the heat. Luckily there weren't many tunnels in this level to explore.

Though I loathe to realize that Ore Vein 36 may be somewhere deeper within the mineshaft. Given by how relatively large the holographic map seemed to be, this mineshaft seemed to run pretty deep underground. About 30 Kilometers.

Unfortunately, none of the tunnels were labeled. So searching these tunnels one by one and going deeper is going to be rough. Then again, I expected it from a quest such as this.

I never thought while I was fighting Lucille that as a System I would one day be exploring a mine like this. Perhaps I should be grateful that I still exist, but I'm not.

As a system, the shame of losing to Lucille still rests upon my tongue. And only now as I descend into the blazing heat of this mine, do I recognize the frustration I feel at lacking the time to process my defeat.

But what choice do I have to make time for things like that? Despite how often she rejects the notion, Lucille is much like Shiro. They don't make a habit of keeping their foes alive. It matters not whether she was caught by the God-King or not. She'll inevitably return to finish me off.

Perhaps worrying about her arrival is the only way I can wash off the feeling of shame.

Regardless, I stepped deeper into the mineshaft. The heat was obviously getting to me. It was becoming increasingly harder to carry the heavy pickaxe in my arms. The dastardly scraping of the rusty metal against hard stone was making my ears bleed.

Amongst the other dastardly sounds of hammering metal, I also found the source of all those cave-ins from earlier.

BOOM!

The sound of the explosion was small enough to be drowned out by the sounds of mining. Too bad that couldn't also be said for the severe tremors that knocked me onto the ground.

A quick look onto the map of the mineshaft shows that one of the many blue tunnels have now been greyed out. I assume it's because it's now inaccessible due to a cave-in caused by the explosion.

To my surprise, I could still hear them mining. It's understandable that the other miners didn't hear the explosion, but one would expect them to get a move on when they felt the tremor. Perhaps their being watched over by an Overseer? Or perhaps they are broken by the conditions of this mine?

I can only deduce that the cave-ins occur often enough for them to stop caring. And in an effort to control the integrity of the various ores, the Overseers restricted the use of dynamite to lower tunnels.

Rising to my feet, I carefully walked past the tunnel to which I heard the miners. As expected, the miners didn't move because the overseers were watching. It was intriguing. Watching the looks of bitter frustration stain and darken each one of their faces.

Did I look like that before? Despite being slaves, each one of the miners has a decent build. Why do they not revolt?

Are the Overseers that strong?

If I'm not able to cause the slaves to revolt, then escaping this mine is going to prove rather difficult in the future. Despite the overwhelming advantage that the slaves have over the overseers, they still have severe power over them.

Was it blackmail? Or sheer terror of the unknown? Perhaps they are afraid by what is known, what lurks outside this mine.

In spite of the sudden element of extreme danger due to the random cave-ins, the quest made me realize that escaping by means of causing a revolt shall prove futile. The slaves are useless to me because of these Overseers.

Whoever created this Gold Quest has my thanks for providing this information.

Hurriedly, I moved along to the other tunnels before the Overseers watching over the other miners catches me. The tunnel leading towards another one of the wooden elevators lays before me, shining in the feint orange hue of flashlights.

BOOM!!

Suddenly, I heard a loud explosion behind me. When the severe tremors came again, I began to hear cracks split the rocks around me.

Quickly, I held my pickaxe in both hands and dashed straight towards the wooden elevator. Dodging some of the stones descending upon me because of the explosion.

-5 HP

A rather small one got a lucky hit and struck me against the head. But considering that I was still on my feet--running towards the elevator. I can assume that the hit didn't kill me. I'll assess the damage and the change to the mineshaft when I reach the elevator.

I wasted no time in pressing the button to descend the elevator when I reached it. No sooner than when the elevator fell did another large explosion sound above me.

BOOM!!

I stepped to the side, narrowly avoiding the large stone that smashed into the side of the wooden elevator. The orifice shook violently, all of a sudden lightened intensely compared to before. With the obvious hole in the side of the wooden elevator.

After a while, the chaos subsided and the elevator slowly descended deeper into the mine.

The first thing I checked was the holographic map. Several of the tunnels that branched out from the shaft I came from were grayed out, and the main shaft was flashing between turquoise and light grey. Perhaps that means that the shaft is still accessible, but it will be difficult and may require a dexterity check.

It's going to be hell. But I might just make the check if I receive the [Full Recovery] Status effect.

Somehow, the elevator slowed into a complete stop inside another tunnel. Again, this was similar to the last mineshaft. I could hear the rapid strikes of rusted metal hitting stone and small tremors booming across fragile stone.

Status Effect [Heat Exhaustion] has Evolved into [Severe Heat Exhaustion]

Duration [59:00]

The moment I set foot onto the tunnel. I was brought to my knees as a wave of heat far powerful than the last one. As it became harder to breathe my pores began to sweat. I was getting dizzy.

It was only when my vision became coherent enough to no longer make me spin. I looked at the notification and wasted no time in making way into the mineshaft.

Obviously, [Severe Heat Exhaustion] is a whole lot worse than [Heat Exhaustion]. But most Gamers don't know the severity of this status effect until it's too late and it gets them killed.

Stats are still halved by the effect and don't stack. However, it slows your movement and HP Regen. And while I don't have a Regen rate of my HP, I'm still effected by the severe penalty when the duration of the Status effect hits zero.

When that happens, I get a heat stroke. Which deals 100 points of damage, which then scales with the original CON stat that is needed to resist [Heat Exhaustion]. And applies the Status Effect [Unconscious] instantly if you were able to survive.

The unconscious effect is self-explanatory. However I wouldn't be too comfortable lying unconscious in a mine. With all the cave-ins that occur and all the opportunities the overseers can take while I am vulnerable like that, if I'm not killed by the heat.

Despite being slowed by the heat, I kept running through the mineshaft with the pickaxe in hand. Still dragging along the stone. Amongst the numerous crescendos of sounds being made in the mine, the scratching sound of the pickaxe is almost masked.

It certainly caused a few heads to turn my way, before facing the rocky wall again. Continuing their work in fear of the overseers catching them.

The elevator shaft was a bit further down than the earlier shaft, but it had more lights to it. Which I could assume that it was more protected. This stopped me in my tracks. The explosions stopped. They would be able to hear me if I continue running while dragging the pickaxe on the floor.

I stopped, leaning on a wall against another vein on my way to the elevator shaft. This tunnel included a conveyor belt as well. With the large bag sitting deeper inside the ore vein tunnel. Guarded by an overseer.

Similar to the one I've seen before, the women sorted the various crystals that were dug out by the men. Both burly and scrawny, young and old. Angrily hitting against the hard stone as though it were to the beat of an eerie song.

I couldn't do much until those protecting the shaft move away. Or until more explosions occur. Because as I am know, I have not the strength to lift the pickaxe up with one hand off the ground and run.

They'll hear me, and I don't wish for a second encounter.

As anxiety-inducing as it is to wait as the duration timer counts down, it seems as though I have no choice in the matter.

I could only hope that an incident occurs soon. So that I may capitalize on the chaos, and perhaps the poor corpses that are bound to litter this mine, to run.

Weiss

The hand stung. It stung a lot. It stung a lot more each second, or perhaps each time Klein completed a loop with the bandage wrapping around her hand.

The beds of the medic bay were as hard as ever. Not up to code with the way her family lived. Although she couldn't blame them. Not everyone was stupid enough to deflect a greatsword with their wrist and expect nothing to happen.

Bots dressed as nurses patrolled the bay, roughly three. Ignoring their state of clothing, Weiss found them to be quite good at caretaking despite being machines of dust and iron. Even if said 'caretaking' involved delegating most of the tasks onto her head servant kneeling at her feet right now.

Klein tightened the bandage then moved onto her feet, then proceeded to give them both a little wiggle to the side.

"Klein. My feet weren't damaged in the bout." Weiss stated, looking down on her headservant fiddling with her feet.

"I know, my lady. I'm just making sure." He sung.

Weiss narrowed her eyes a bit at her servant.

"You were battling against the White Knight your mother summoned. It's not uncommon for more than one injury to appear as a cause of it." Klein explained.

"Should you endure critical injury, it shall prove rather detrimental to the prosperity of the Schnee Family and the Dust Mines."

She placed her hand on her chin.

"Speaking of."

Weiss then furrowed her eyebrows. "Klein." She called.

He had immediately ceased checking her foot and stood to her side. Awaiting for her command.

"Have the caravans prepared for transportation by tomorrow. I want the workers in the mine on the plantation by Thursday." She commanded.

Klein did a slight bow. "I take it that the Schnee Family is hosting the Auction this year?"

"Yes. I would rather not have to deal with the beaurocrats if the slaves are on display."

Weiss stood up from the bed and with a little hop, she flexed her ankles. She then grabbed her gloves of the sides of the bed and slid them on her palm.

"The White Fang prisoners can work in the ore mines while the Auction occurs--"

The door suddenly swung wide open, given by the short frame of the figure that laid behind the it, Weiss had little doubt that Whitley had come to pester her again.

And she was right. Whitley was oddly energetic when he popped into the medbay. "Hi, Weiss!" he called.

Weiss sighed as Klein stood silent.

"Whitley."

"I was quite worried when I saw the slash on your arm. But I'm glad that your ok--"

"What do you want?"

Whitley pouted a bit. "Do I need to have a reason to visit you when you are unwell?"

She silenced Whitley with a particularly cold glare. He still stood there, holding a rather eerie smile as his blue eyes scanned her top to bottom.

Weiss sent a look to Klein, who stood behind her. He gave a nod and with a small bow of respect, he left the medbay in a hurry, making sure to close the door shut.

Weiss's cold glare then fell back on Whitley. Now left alone to their own devices in the privacy of the medbay, Whitley dropped his smile as his lips formed a still line, much like Jacques.

He leaned back onto one of the various frames that suspended a curtain covering the bed. For some reason that Weiss couldn't fathom, he kept staring at her. His eyes never leaving her body.

Weiss would sooner die than admit this aloud, but the casual stare that he would send her way at times greatly unnerved her. Long did she desire to remove his eyes from their sockets, but no. She couldn't.

He was the favorite. Jacques would notice too quickly.

Whitley's eyes dropped to her lips. And suddenly, small tempers had begun to flare.

"Where exactly are you staring?" She questioned, folding her arms.

"Your lips. Where else?"

She narrowed her eyes.

"Why?"

Whitley held in a smirk. "Is it not natural? To want to read upon the lips what one wishes to say?"

"It would be if you had actually listened."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

The chill behind Weiss's glare had intensified. She wasn't able to deny the bit of pride she had at making Whitley flinch with her own stare. Even if it barely noticeable to the unknowing eye.

"I'll be blunt. What are you doing in my mine, Whitley?" She questioned.

He stood there, silent. In what seemed like bafflement rather than shock or panic. Afterwards rapidly cycling through various emotions namely frustration and boredom before looking at Weiss with confidence.

"You're really boring sometimes. That's really all you wanted to know?" Whitley asked.

"Is there something I should?"

He placed his hand on his chin in thought. Tilting his head with a hum before brandishing a small smile and folding his arms.

"No...no I don't think you should." He said. Rather darkly. With his eyes still continuing to leer at her.

Weiss sighed at the antics of Whitley. "Frankly, I can't even be bothered by what you are planning at the moment." She stated.

"Good. You really shouldn't."

She made motions to leave the medbay, but once she crossed paths with Whitley, she froze and drove a chilling glare down his spine.

"I'm only going to tell you this once Whitley. Stay the hell away from my mine. And my slaves."

She pulled her rapier from seemingly out of nowhere, and pushed the very tip against Whitley's throat.

"They are not yours to toy with or control."

Whitley fearlessly chuckled as he held up both his hands in mock surrender.

"Temper, temper. Big Sister. Try not to let your rage blind you to the sharpness of that edge there." Whitley teased before letting his hands drop to the sides.

"I mean. It's not like I don't replace the ones I took from you." He shrugged.

"I don't care. Stop it."

Whitley folded his arms. "You seem oddly upset over a couple of slaves."

Ignoring Whitley, Weiss reached towards the slim glass door of the medbay.

However, she froze at Whitley's next accusatory words.

"Could it be that you're going soft?"

Weiss turned her head and faced Whitley.

"It's never about what they are, it's about what they represent."

She let go of the door handle and fully turned her body to face him. "Freedom is your birthright. Not mine or either of the slaves in the mine. So I don't you'd be able to understand." she spat.

Whitley smiled. "Freedom is as much yours as it is mine. As members of the Schnee Family."

He walked towards her and touched Weiss's gloved hand, then slowly trailed up her arm until he slid against the smooth skin of her slender arms.

"We are of the same blood, Weiss."

Up her arms and across her shoulders with great speed as though Whitley was rubbing something on her, he trailed across her body and rested his small palm on her cheek.

Weiss didn't move, perhaps out of the interest that disgust brings. His actions unnerved her greatly yet she stood frozen as through she were a deer.

He then gave an eerie smile. "So can you really say that freedom isn't your birthright?"

"I can."

Whitley blinked. "How?"

She yanked his hand away from her cheek and quickly threw it to his side. "Because my chains are not made of iron."

"And they can't be seen by those who are free."

Arhen

It certainly is taking quite a while.

Given by how many cave-ins that I had to narrowly escape from to reach here, I thought it would only take a little moment for tunnels to cave again.

Lord knows that I can use the distraction. I was cutting it real close with the duration of the status effect.

Duration [32:48]

Effectively, I have roughly about 30 minutes before I fall unconscious or die of heat stroke. Neither of which are particularly good things.

However, after a few agonizing minutes of waiting. Looking down the tunnel, it seemed as though the fruit of my patience and fortitude shall bear fruit.

Most of the workers mined at a similar pace, not daring to slow down or divert their attention in fear of the overseers catching them. I could see one particular worker with dog-like ears protruding out his head mining slower than the others.

As he mined, his face paled with frustration. He eventually struck a red crystal and in a panic, he paled and stepped away from the ore.

The overseers ebony whip swung a wide arc and struck the back of the worker, ripping through his rags. He grunted, holding in a scream as he tried not to fall to the ground.

"Get back to work."

The worker frantically looked back at the overseer, who dialed back his hand with the whip, seemingly ready to strike again.

He turned back to the wall, picked up his pickaxe and began to frantically pound the stone.

Red crystals began to drop down at extraordinary speed, constantly flowing as a result of the efforts of the frantic worker.

The dwarfing speed of his efforts stunned the other workers as they stole a few glances while they continued with their own work.

Eventually, as the worker split stone with his pickaxe. A big red crystal stuck out proudly out of the stone. Blinded by the frantic speed he worked at, the worker struck the crystal.

Soon, the crystal began to glow. And only a few seconds later, it exploded.

BOOM!

It was quite shocking. So I assume those red crystals are what caused those cave-ins and explosions from earlier. They seem rather fragile, and perhaps they were triggered the same way at the earlier tunnels because of some loose pebbles from the ceiling.

The mineshaft connecting the various tunnels were destroyed by a one of the workers striking the crystal much like the dog-worker. And that set off a chain reaction that destroyed the shaft.

Entire chunks of the worker splattered across his rocky wall and what remained of the dog-like worker, moving purely from the last reactive movements it can scrap by were a pair of skinny legs missing the top half of it's body.

As it fell against the wall, it smashed the red crystals and ended up exploding again. Splashing blood against the rocky wall, some of the workers and most of the female sorters.

As blood stained the faces of the sorters. They bit down a instinctual scream as they faced the conveyor belt and continued working, tears streaming down their eyes as they fearfully sorted the crystals.

One of the sorters. Possibly the dog-workers lover, just continued to stare in silence at the giant patch of blood where the worker once stood.

She brought up her hand, wiped her cheek and touched something wet. When she looked at the hand she used to wipe her cheek, she saw it was stained with the exact blood that stained the floor and the wall.

She shrieked.

Streams of tears fell from her dull eyes as she clenched fistfuls of her hair and wildly cried.

The lights that shown on the pathway to the elevator began to move. The other sorters had noticed this too, faces turning pale as the quickly tried to silence the crying woman before getting struck by the whip themselves.

Upon looking at how close the lights came to the tunnel. I backed against the wall and slowly slid away. Trailing back until I encountered another tunnel that was caved in and hid against the small indent of the tunnel that was left untouched by the rock.

Peeking outside, I saw two more overseers walking into the tunnel I was just watching. One looked different, wore different, thicker armor than the rest of the overseers I've encountered.

And not only that, he was accompanied by a figure much like the workers. Decked out in a full suit much like the overseers. He didn't have long ears or animal-like appendages like the other workers in the mine. Furthermore, it seems as though he also didn't have the barcode on his nape.

He smiled as he went inside. That same moment, I rushed to the elevator, not even bothering to look inside.

The cries of the woman stopped when I reached the elevator and descended even further into the mine. Surprisingly, the heat of the shaft stayed consistent and didn't suddenly surge again.

Looking at the map, the elevator was going pretty deep underground, so the heat did slowly ramp up in intensity. I started to even see small embers float right past my eye.

Duration: [29:16]

The duration sped up as a result. But not by much. That's good.

Once again, the elevator stopped at a lower shaft. And as I stepped out it was clear that the shaft was vastly more different than any other I came across.

Mainly because there was a large area plastered with huge machines that slammed into the ground. The tremors it made were heavy, but not enough to reach the upper floors like the red crystal explosions.

The map showed that I couldn't go any lower, so I assume that these machines were meant for digging deeper. But strangely, these machines remain unguarded.

There was not even a single overseer in sight. Nor any workers. And the tunnels are close enough to the machines that I could see down the ore vein without moving from the elevator.

A vast amount of the tunnels were blocked from sight thanks to the machines, so it was a challenge to navigate through the series of blocked tunnels and shafts.

Some of the machines are out of order. Their rusted iron and cobwebs give indication that they haven't been used in a while.

As I was completely and utterly alone in this shaft, I walked around trying to find the correct ore vein. It didn't take too long before I stumbled into one of the many empty tunnels and received a notification.

Quest Updated.

[Gold Quest: Below Ground]

Description: Your theories have led you to believe that this is in fact a mine. Whilst traversing the mineshaft, you ran into an Overseer who ordered you to reach Ore Vein 36.

Despite your frustrations, you reluctantly decide to follow his instruction to avoid confrontation.

Clear Conditions:

[Reach Ore Vein 36] [✓]

[Mine 5 Fire Dust Ores]

Reward: 2000 EXP, 15 Stat Points, Status Effect [Full Recovery], Ability [Information Matrix]

This quest certainly wants me dead.

I assume the [Fire Dust] ores are those red crystals that are very fragile like glass and explode when broken.

If glass is exposed to high temperature. It gets weaker and more fragile and stands a significant chance of being broken.

So I need to mine 5 of those crystals without breaking them in the span of about 30 minutes, with my strength and vitality halved and my movement slowed by heat exhaustion.

I grabbed hold of the heavy pickaxe with both hands, raised it in the air and began pounding hard on the rock.

It was a slow process until one crystal dropped to the floor. Thankfully without breaking.

After a few more minutes. A second one dropped, unbowed. Then a third a few seconds later.

Through the act of deep-level mining, your [Strength] has increased.

I forget that usually stats get increased through repeated stressful actions. The stat that gets increased will vary from what stressful activity is performed.

Perhaps it's because I chose to switch up the way I mined. Chosing to instead raise the pickaxe in a circular arc before plunging it onto the stone.

A large stone cracked away under the strike. A large crystal much like what the dog-worker mined before he died stuck out of the rock before falling.

Quickly I ditched the pickaxe and caught the crystal before it can hit the others on the floor and explode.

DEX Check l Req: 3 l Current: 3 l PASSED

Since the crystal was slipping in my hand, it didn't take too much effort to catch and hold onto it and place it gently on the other side of the three other crystals.

The last crystal was significantly smaller than the other one that nearly killed me. But mining it proved to be no problem. In fact, the experience seemed oddly relaxing compared to dodging cave-ins and overseers. An extra crystal dropped as well. This one was clear and transparent.

Soon after the fifth crystal fell to the floor, the countdown duration stopped. And my entire body cooled down from the heat.

Quest Completed.

[Gold Quest: Below Ground]

Description: Your theories have led you to believe that this is in fact a mine. Whilst traversing the mineshaft, you ran into an Overseer who ordered you to reach Ore Vein 36.

Despite your frustrations, you reluctantly decide to follow his instruction to avoid confrontation.

Clear Conditions:

[Reach Ore Vein 36] ]

[Mine 5 Fire Dust Ores]

Reward: 2000 EXP, 15 Stat Points, Status Effect [Full Recovery, Ability [Information Matrix]

My head began to surge with a painful headache as the pores of my began to sting with a foreign sensation.

Ability [Information Matrix] has been added.

Status Effect [Full Recovery] has been received.

Duration: [01:59:48]

Status Effect [Severe Heat Exhaustion] was negated by [Full Recovery]

Suddenly I jolted up, as if something was entering my system.

Stat Points Received.

Your Level has increased.

I felt better than I have ever had in a while. My body felt stronger that it was before.

"Status."

Name: Arhen

Age: [̝̝̩͚̺̬̹͎͕ͪ̾ͧ͛̄͏̨́?̢̹͔͚̠͙̩̤̗̭̦̯͐̀̅̋̒̾̿͜?̵̷̷̧̛̰ͥ̒̐́̀ͧ͊̽͑̀́́̚̚͘͟͞?̰̩͉͕͉͔ͯ͌ͣ̊̾ͨ̎̀͞͞]̵̡̢̠̠̺͇̹̱̯̲͉̈́̚͘͠͞͠͠

Race: ̴̡̨̛̌̾̒ͩ̒̓̕͟͜͠͏͞?̶̴̨ͣ̏̚̕͟͡?̶̷̷̡̨ͨ́ͮͦ́́͠͏?̷̌̀͝]̸̕/Homunculi

Title: [̝̝̩͚̺̬̹͎͕ͪ̾ͧ͛̄͏̨́?̢̹͔͚̠͙̩̤̗̭̦̯͐̀̅̋̒̾̿͜?̵̷̷̧̛̰ͥ̒̐́̀ͧ͊̽͑̀́́̚̚͘͟͞?̰̩͉͕͉͔ͯ͌ͣ̊̾ͨ̎̀͞͞]̵̡̢̠̠̺͇̹̱̯̲͉̈́̚͘͠͞͠͠

Tier: ?̷̷̷̶̡̧̅̀̆̀͂̅̈̆̚͟͜͞͝͞?̓̇̈͊̎̀̂́͠?̴̨̑̇ͪͭ͒̅ͥͨ̂ͭͦͯͤ͌̑͘͟/̴̡̛̀́͜͡?̶̛̀̈́ͤ͛̆͛ͩ͊̈̅͐͏̴̨̢͜͢͠?̧̢̍͛͋̐ͯ̑̀̕͝?̃̌ͬͩ̂ͭ͜͝]̸̴̵̨̡̀ͦ̉̈́͘͟͟͡͠͠ ̴̡̨̛̌̾̒ͩ̒̓̕͟͜͠͏͞?̶̴̨ͣ̏̚̕͟͡?̶̷̷̡̨ͨ́ͮͦ́́͠͏?̷̌̀͝]̸̕

[Level: 7] [Exp: 0/800]

[HP: 1,777/1,777]

[MP: 807/807]

STR: 19

VIT: 17

DEX: 12

CON: 11

INT: 21

WIS: 16

CHA: 14

Remaining Stat Points: 22

Thinking of the caved-in tunnel I need to get through, I placed a stat point into strength, three in vitality and the rest into my constitution.

Name: Arhen

Age: [̝̝̩͚̺̬̹͎͕ͪ̾ͧ͛̄͏̨́?̢̹͔͚̠͙̩̤̗̭̦̯͐̀̅̋̒̾̿͜?̵̷̷̧̛̰ͥ̒̐́̀ͧ͊̽͑̀́́̚̚͘͟͞?̰̩͉͕͉͔ͯ͌ͣ̊̾ͨ̎̀͞͞]̵̡̢̠̠̺͇̹̱̯̲͉̈́̚͘͠͞͠͠

Race: [̝̝̩͚̺̬̹͎͕ͪ̾ͧ͛̄͏̨́?̢̹͔͚̠͙̩̤̗̭̦̯͐̀̅̋̒̾̿͜?̵̷̷̧̛̰ͥ̒̐́̀ͧ͊̽͑̀́́̚̚͘͟͞?̰̩͉͕͉͔ͯ͌ͣ̊̾ͨ̎̀͞͞]̵̡̢̠̠̺͇̹̱̯̲͉̈́̚͘͠͞͠͠/Homunculi

Title: ̴̡̨̛̌̾̒ͩ̒̓̕͟͜͠͏͞?̶̴̨ͣ̏̚̕͟͡?̶̷̷̡̨ͨ́ͮͦ́́͠͏?̷̌̀͝]̸̕

Tier: ?̷̷̷̶̡̧̅̀̆̀͂̅̈̆̚͟͜͞͝͞?̓̇̈͊̎̀̂́͠?̴̨̑̇ͪͭ͒̅ͥͨ̂ͭͦͯͤ͌̑͘͟/̴̡̛̀́͜͡?̶̛̀̈́ͤ͛̆͛ͩ͊̈̅͐͏̴̨̢͜͢͠?̧̢̍͛͋̐ͯ̑̀̕͝?̃̌ͬͩ̂ͭ͜͝]̸̴̵̨̡̀ͦ̉̈́͘͟͟͡͠͠[̝̝̩͚̺̬̹͎͕ͪ̾ͧ͛̄͏̨́?̢̹͔͚̠͙̩̤̗̭̦̯͐̀̅̋̒̾̿͜?̵̷̷̧̛̰ͥ̒̐́̀ͧ͊̽͑̀́́̚̚͘͟͞?̰̩͉͕͉͔ͯ͌ͣ̊̾ͨ̎̀͞͞]̵̡̢̠̠̺͇̹̱̯̲͉̈́̚͘͠͞͠͠

[Level: 7] [Exp: 0/800] [Multiplier X2]

[HP: 6,000/6,000]

[MP: 807/807]

STR: 20

VIT: 20

DEX: 12

CON: 30

INT: 21

WIS: 16

CHA: 14

Remaining Stat Points: 0

Satisfied. I closed the window and waited for the information matrix to take effect. Seems like the [Full Recovery] status effect doubled my Experience gain temporarily.

Nice. Should prove useful.

Proficiency Level in Skill [Gamer's Mind] has been increased.

Information Matrix Established.

Ready to collect core data.

I picked up the red crystal and it's larger counterpart as well as the transparent one that fell out when I mined the last shard.

First, I looked at the large red crystal.

[Fire Dust Ore (Large)]

Rarity: Uncommon

Description: A fragile crystal with the same consistency as glass. Stores large quantities of Fire Essence which can be grinded and used to construct projectiles and enhanced clothing.

This one is larger than most of it's counterparts, and is quite rare but not uncommon to find one in mines.

So this is one of the main substances used in this world. If there is one used to construct projectiles, then the world I arrived in should be highly advanced technologically speaking.

I saw different variations of these crystals, so it's not unusual to think that one crystal can be used as a power system.

[Fire Dust Ore] Added to Information Matrix.

[Fire Dust Ore (Large)] Added to Information Matrix.

Key Word Added--[Fire Essence]

Its a shame that the Information Matrix isn't as powerful or contains as much as it did once before, but it was still a lucky break to get it again.

As I was about to leave with the ores, I heard a loud shriek inside the mineshaft.

It seemed like a confrontation, but I was to far away to hear anything. It came from near the elevator anyway, so I had no reason not to observe and see what I can find.

The closer I got, the more that it seemed like the person who screamed was not alone. I could hear sounds of a struggle and dragging noises against the ground.

"No! Please No! Leave me alone!"

That sounded clear as day. It came from the small crevice nearby the elevator shaft.

I stayed silent, leaning against the wall and stalking the scene that occured inside. Just because my health pool is significantly larger than before doesn't mean I have reason to be careless or to pick a fight.

As I watched from behind the wall, I spotted the two overseers that walked into the tunnel I was watching before on the upper level. The one with the crying woman who to my surprise is being dragged by the hair into the crevice by the human-like overseer.

Now that they were closer to my sight, I could have a good look at the overseer holding the crying woman.

[Name: [̝̝̩͚̺̬̹͎͕ͪ̾ͧ͛̄͏̨́?̢̹͔͚̠͙̩̤̗̭̦̯͐̀̅̋̒̾̿͜?̵̷̷̧̛̰ͥ̒̐́̀ͧ͊̽͑̀́́̚̚͘͟͞?̰̩͉͕͉͔ͯ͌ͣ̊̾ͨ̎̀͞͞]̵̡̢̠̠̺͇̹̱̯̲͉̈́̚͘͠͞͠͠

[Race: Greater Wolf-Morph]

[Level: ̴̡̨̛̌̾̒ͩ̒̓̕͟͜͠͏͞?̶̴̨ͣ̏̚̕͟͡?̶̷̷̡̨ͨ́ͮͦ́́͠͏?̷̌̀͝]̸̕

[HP: ?̷̷̷̶̡̧̅̀̆̀͂̅̈̆̚͟͜͞͝͞?̓̇̈͊̎̀̂́͠?̴̨̑̇ͪͭ͒̅ͥͨ̂ͭͦͯͤ͌̑͘͟/̴̡̛̀́͜͡?̶̛̀̈́ͤ͛̆͛ͩ͊̈̅͐͏̴̨̢͜͢͠?̧̢̍͛͋̐ͯ̑̀̕͝?̃̌ͬͩ̂ͭ͜͝]̸̴̵̨̡̀ͦ̉̈́͘͟͟͡͠͠

[MP: 12,000/12,000]

The information matrix is doing it's work. Thanks to my observations, I can see Races and items again. And the fact that I could see his MP means that were not that far apart in level.

"Shut up!"

The Wolf-Morph slapped the woman and sent her to the floor. The other overseers eye's glowed for a second as the Wolf-Morph Overseer held her down.

He then folded his arms. "Bad. She's septic from the Asbestos. And the dog gave her syphilis."

"So she's bad for him? Well if she's going to get thrown away, might as well have fun."

The Wolf-Morph unbuckled his pants and let it drop to the ground. He then brandished his claws and ripped off the woman's rags.

The woman screamed as she was forced to the ground with her naked ass sticking out to the Wolf-Morph.

"Have at it. Careful with the STD."

The Wolf-Morph grinned. "Don't worry, Unit Alpha. My wolf-blood resists all diseases so I should be ok."

He then turned to the woman on the ground.

"Now. Where were we?"

Trigger Warning (Rape, Non-Con)

As he grinned, he retrsained the crying woman on the ground before plunging his dick into her dry cunt.

The Wolf-Morph roughly rutted into woman, uncaring of her cries and pleas. As I watched, I was slightly unnerved at how lacking in entertainment this seemed to have.

He finished quicker than I expected from a Wolf-Morph. Emptying his load into the woman's pussy. All the while he ruthlessly kept slamming her head against the ground.

As she bled, she spotted me out of the corner of her eye. She raised a bloodied hand to me, seemingly asking for my help as the Wolf Overseer pulled out of her cunt and roughly slammed deep into her asshole.

He grabbed the hand that the woman used to motion to me and broke it while trying to pull both her arms back.

She screamed and cried each time he thrusted Into her. And when he finished inside her ass, he pulled out yet again and found his way back to her pussy.

The overseer. Now known as Unit Alpha watched emotionlessly as the Wolf-Morph rutted into the helpless woman. It looks like that they have no prior knowledge of me being here. They think that they are alone.

I looked at the woman again, even with her arm blackened from being broken she still tried to call out to me for help. The slight still in her eyes even as she was violently raped.

True, some gamers would take this opportunity to save the damzel in seemingly very significant distress. Except Shiro. She was decent, but not enough to cull the favor of the God-King. Nor to brush over the fact that she just became a second hand item.

As for me. Huh. I never had to think about what would I do in this situation before.

What would I do?

I looked at the pleading woman again and weighed my options. Afterwards, my thoughts went black as I turned away from her.

As I turned my back to her, I began walking towards the elevator shaft. I turned just slowly enough to watch the light in her eyes die as her screams gave out and just stared out emptily as she got pounded.

When I got near the elevator, Unit Alpha also pulled down his pants. And although smaller than the Wolf-morph, he plunged his cock into the woman's mouth.

The woman was getting a rough fucking. Her asshole and pussy was drilled by the biggest cock she had ever taken in her life while she got emotionlessly skull-fucked by the silent overseer.

I didn't bother to stay and watch. Meeting only her dead eyes as I pressed the button on the elevator and ascended.

She watches me as though she wanted me dead but is too weak to reach me. Her eyes fell into despair as I was cut from her sight by the stone ceiling.

Irrelevant.

She wasn't going to get me out of this mine. Nor was she going to aid me in anyway to fight Lucille.

She was just one of the many NPC's the Metaverse created. To suit the scenario of a quest.

She was nothing. No use, no purpose. And would serve nothing to aid me in getting closer to my goal.

Therefore…

She's Irrelevant.

...

Another chapter complete. And it was a pretty dark one at that. The smut was a bit hard to write cause I don't really have experience in writing scenes like that so I'm counting on you all to tell me if I should work on it.

To those who could tell I yanked a few of the races in this fic from Lilith's Throne and other series.

Really excited now that the Information Matrix has been restored and Weiss is coming over to the mine soon.

Things are going to get pretty heated, so see you next chapter!