Time smoothly entered the afternoon, and Soren's coal extraction had reached five hundred kilograms. Five hundred kilograms in just one morning—something even the burly men in the Extraction Zone couldn't accomplish.
Without pausing, the pickaxe continued to swing. More coal chunks meant more food, and Soren couldn't possibly come here to mine coal every day. Stockpiling food was a necessity.
Ding…
[Coal Mining skill upgraded, gained 1 base strength point]
[Skill: Coal Mining, Level: 2, Coal chunk drop rate increased by 10%, stamina consumption reduced by 10%, mastery of pickaxe-type blunt tools enhanced by 10%, this skill can be used for mining other deposits with the same effect]
As the mechanical voice sounded, another warm current surged through Soren's body. His strength of eleven points increased again, reaching twelve.
"Prime Restoration"
Seeing that Prime Restoration's cooldown had ended, Soren moved his fingers, and the green light emerged.
Ding…
[Prime Restoration skill upgraded, gained 1 base intelligence point]
[Skill: Prime Restoration, Level: 1, Healing effect enhanced, restores 40 health points, improved ability to remove negative effects, enhances body resilience, cooldown time 30 minutes]
...
As the consecutive sounds rang out, Soren felt a cooling sensation in his mind. His vision of the world before him suddenly became peculiar. The world was still the same world, but Soren could see more things. In the previously pitch-black mine shaft where Soren couldn't see anything, after gaining one point of intelligence, he could now vaguely make out some outlines. Intelligence points could actually enhance a person's vision!
Looking at his attribute panel again, Soren saw that his attributes had changed once more.
Name: Soren
Class: Blade Initiate (Unactivated)
Strength: 12
Agility: 10
Intelligence: 10
Skills: Coal Mining (Level 2), Prime Restoration (Level 1)
Skill Points Remaining: None
With the enhancement of his three-dimensional attributes, Soren felt his body becoming increasingly powerful. The use of the pickaxe also became more intuitive, allowing Soren to experience the benefits of leveling up. However, correspondingly, the experience required for Coal Mining and Prime Restoration skills had increased again.
"If just skill upgrades can bring so many benefits, what advantages would leveling up the character itself bring?"
"And how do I activate the Blade Initiate class? What level is required for activation?"
...
Time passed, and another day went by. The enhancement of Prime Restoration made Soren's body recover even more rapidly. After just three uses, Soren's body had returned to normal, with 600 health points and good condition. The growths on his body quickly softened and fell off under the effect of Prime Restoration. If not for the black coal dust covering him, Soren would have seen his smooth skin.
"Come on, dirty mules, how's your harvest today? Hurry up and let me see!"
Harry's raspy voice sounded outside the mine shaft again. His greasy palm beat against the wooden box behind him as he hollered, a gesture that made him feel imposing.
One after another, people emerged from the mine shaft. Five hundred kilograms, seven hundred kilograms—one bare-chested man after another pushed their carts out of the cave.
"Clang—"
The scale was pushed high, only settling when the weight was pushed to the edge. A full ton of coal.
"Oh, big guy, you're really capable!" Harry shouted exaggeratedly, his greasy palm even patting the coal-blackened man's shoulder.
"Lord Harry, you know this is nothing," the man said, raising his head proudly, not considering this amount of coal anything special.
"Yes, it's nothing. So what would you like to exchange it for?" Harry asked, his smile fading.
"Sir, I want food."
...
"Eight hundred kilograms today?" Looking at the data on the scale, Harry gave Soren a surprised glance. Eight hundred kilograms wasn't an astonishing figure, but for a sixteen-year-old boy, it was remarkable.
"Yes."
Quietly looking at the other man, Soren could have actually mined a ton of coal today at his speed. But to avoid attention, he had only mined eight hundred before coming out. He hadn't expected to attract notice anyway.
"Well, here's your food." As usual, Harry took out two cans from the wooden box, their combined weight reaching a full kilogram.
"That's too much."
Without accepting the food, Soren quietly said to Harry.
"Consider it a loan from me."
Waving his hand, Harry's interest in Soren grew stronger.
Walking quickly toward his dwelling, looking at the food in his hand, Soren planned to conduct an experiment today. He wanted to know if Prime Restoration had a purifying effect on food.
Just as he reached the doorway, Mia's petite figure emerged from the house. Mia now looked slightly different from a day ago. Her body movements were no longer as stiff as before, and much of the growths on her face had receded, replaced by a hint of rosiness. However, Mia clearly didn't know that the growths on her face were receding, and she still kept her face tense as she looked at Soren.
"Today's food is here, but we'll eat it in a while," Soren said to Mia, waving the cans in his hand.
She nodded stiffly, as if afraid that nodding too vigorously would tear the growths on her neck. Mia's nod was very restrained.
"Don't be surprised by what I'm about to do, and don't tell anyone else." Inside the small house, Soren looked at Mia with a serious expression. Although Prime Restoration was his secret, Soren clearly didn't intend to hide it from Mia. His emotional connection to the girl made him feel there was no need for concealment.
"Mm."
After receiving Mia's promise, Soren moved his fingers in the air, and the green light appeared. However, Mia across from him seemed not to see it, just staring at Soren with confusion on her face.
'Can only I see the external effect of the skill?'
With a hint of doubt, Soren moved his hand with the green light closer to Mia's eyes.
"Do you notice anything?" he asked.
"Brother's hand feels very comfortable," Mia's answer told Soren the truth. It seemed only he could see the light of Prime Restoration; others couldn't.
'That's good. I won't have to worry about being discovered when using Prime Restoration in public,' Soren nodded and directed the light toward the food cans, slowly pressing down. He wanted to know if the food could be purified.
"Tssss—"
A strange sound emerged. Under Soren's excited gaze, the food clearly underwent a subtle change.
[Canned food, Level 1, No contamination]
[Drinking water, Level 1, No contamination]
The mechanical voice clearly informed Soren that the food purification had succeeded…