Chapter 8: Silver Star Mine
"Esteemed Kai, I've asked you here so I could ask for your assistance," the elder began with a grave voice,"Our First Village is one of the most important hubs for collecting silver in all of the First Floor."
The elder's thin eyebrows came together as he scrunched his forehead as he continued,"We are in danger of losing one of our best mines, Silver Star Mine. Many of our villagers are employed by this mine, be it as an administrator, guard, or miner. Over the past few months there have been increased beast attacks from the scorpions that live deep in the mine."
As Elder Coron spoke in a desperate tone, his visage ghastly. His vibrant pink skin was a dull gray, his face was paling just thinking about their situation. He was wringing his hands together on his desk as he continued, "Usually our guards are able to fend off the scorpions and keep their population under control, however, with the Shadow Coyote terrorizing our village and the increased attacks by the scorpions, we have begun to lose ground... My people are dying and many may lose their livelihood as well... Please, Kai, would you please save my village by helping with this issue?"
Kai thought on this situation as he sat in the office, he worse a serious expression and held his chin in his hand as if he was deep in thought,'I wonder how much loot I can get from these scorpions and if they're edible. I'll have to ask Mrs. Innkeeper if she has a good recipe so I can eat good on the job.'
He looked around with a serious expression as if contemplating this issue deeply, he saw the room was decorated like some kind of art exhibit. There were beautiful paintings lining the walls, showing exotic scenes of gardens and creatures in nature. There was even a self portrait of old man Coron hanging on the wall behind his desk.
The right wall was lined with shelves containing artifacts and trophies of dead beasts. There were knick-knacks as well of which Kai didn't know the use. 'Rich people always have such weird shit laying around,' Kai thought as he continued to "contemplate a decision".
'All gramps had to do was point me in the direction of some baddies to kill, I didn't really need the sob story. But since he's so sincere and he did heal me, I'm gonna go save that mine and collect all the goodies for myself,' Kai thought as a gleam lit in his eyes.
"Elder Coron, of course I'll help with the mine, it's my duty as a guest of the village to make sure you're taken care of as well. You've shown me mighty generosity and hospitality, just point me in the direction of your enemies and I shall slay them!" The grandstanding reached an all time high as Kai stood up and showed an earnest expression towards Elder Coron.
The elder stood with a bright smile on his face, hands clasped together in thanks as he continually nodded.
"Thank you! Thank you! I promise you if you can help us, we shall be forever in your debt!" The Elder's eyes were leaking tears down his face like waterfalls. His hunched back even straightened a bit from the relief.
Kai got the information and made sure to check if anyone had a recipe for scorpion stew. Leaving the village headed towards a mountain about two miles away, Kai sighed in relief.
'The luxury is nice and all, but I'm not meant for being cooped up in a room. My body needs to breeeeaaaathe,' he thought as he stretched, taking in the cold morning air.
'The First Floor has such a nice climate compared to old Summerville.'
Thinking of Earth brought a frown to his face. He felt he was starting something good in the tower and didn't want it to be brought down by any humans. Kai had had nothing but a good experience with the denizens of the First Village, every one of them was respectful and generous in their dealings. Not to mention their food was the best.
He went back to gramps and asked his advice on something.
"I was wondering if there are any artifacts around that can disguise my identity without being uncomfortable..." Kai explained some of his history and told the elder he didn't really want anything to do with humans while he was on the First Floor, at least until he could get strong enough to defend himself.
The elder had the perfect item and gave it to Kai for free in exchange for him helping with the scorpions at the mine.
Kai wore a mask that seemed to suction itself directly to his face. As soon as it was suctioned on, it felt as if it had disappeared and he still had a full range of vision. The mask covered his entire face and was split directly down the middle with the right half being black as night and the left being the purest white. The mask also didn't have eye holes, which made it kind of spooky to look at when someone had it on.
The mask gave stats but Kai decided to stop worrying about stats so much and just enjoy his adventure. He wasn't too worried with the strength of the scorpions because he'd been working on using his shadow element and he wanted to test it out. A strong opponent would make the perfect guinea pig.
As Kai walked through the tall grass he whistled. He'd been told that First Village was partnered with a human corporation for the exporting of minerals, so a few humans were on sight at the mine to oversee operations in tandem to a few of the village's people. It was quite a profitable business, so the humans were also desperate for assistance.
Thinking back on it, he'd never really wondered what the corporations wanted from The Tower of Life, but he learned the reason why from his conversation with the elder.
Humans couldn't bring many things into the tower, all electronics immediately failed upon entering the tower. However, they could take some items out of the tower. The thing humans wanted the most were magical artifacts. The sad news was that no artifacts could leave the tower; upon exiting, the artifacts would be stored by the system and only be accessible once you reentered.
The main resources corporations were siphoning from the First Floor were herbs and minerals. Medicine was advancing by leaps and bounds because of the herbs found in the First Floor and structures were sturdier than ever using the minerals.
Kai now realized why access to the tower had been marginalized. The governments were owned by the corporations and the corporations wanted the resources for themselves. Sure, the armies were training to clear the First Floor but that was mainly to gain more resources and wealth. Sure, people were dying but the corporations didn't care.
'No matter where I go, there'll always be someone trying to bully people for money...' Kai sighed as he thought about this.
Kai traveled for a couple of hours at a slow pace, practicing his shadow arts as he decided to call them. He'd reached a higher tier with Mana Cycling and it was becoming second nature to continually cycle his mana at all times. It put a bit of a strain on his body after a while, but it felt as if his body was growing stronger under the pressure so he kept at it.
As he approached the mine he saw many people standing around doing nothing. 'Has the entire operation already stopped due to the beasts?' he wondered.
He headed to a two story stone structure that stood beside the mouth of the mine. It was built from grey stone bricks and looked purely utilitarian in nature.
Workers stared at the imposing diminutive cloaked figure with a menacing mask and cloak walking through their midst.
"Do you think that's whose gonna clear out the mine?"
"That person sure is kinda scary, hah," said one worker with a nervous laugh.
"That's gotta be a human, it's so small."
Kai heard that last comment and turned to face the speaker as he continued walking.
"I didn't mean nothin' by it!"
As Kai reached the building the door opened before him. A powerful human stood in the doorway, wafting an aura of superiority out of the door. Her stern gaze held a sneer as it looked Kai over. Her black hair was done up in a bun and she looked to be of Asian decent. Her beauty was soured by her sense of superiority.
"And just who do you think you are to be walking up to my mine, interrupting operations?!" The woman shrieked as she dismissed Kai as a worthless vagabond.
'What the hell is going on here? Like... Excuse me, ma'am I just need some ingredients for my scorpion stew,' Kai lamented in his mind, thinking this was going to be much more of a pain than he realized. He turned his charm level up to 11 and began his spill.
"Excuse me, ma'am, I'm sorry for interrupting your business. I was asked to come here by Elder Coron of First Village. He bade me come to the mine so I can clear out the infestation once and for all." Kai bowed as he finished his stupid speech. 'I hate this...' Kai sighed in his mind.
He was grateful to Elder Coron for giving him this mask, with it, he didn't even have to hold a silly expression on his face as he bullshitted people. He could have any expression he liked!
As Kai almost laughed out loud, he focused back on the nice lady he was speaking to.
"Elder Coron really sent a pipsqueak like you to take care of the problem? You know what? Go for it. I don't need any more information, just head right into the mine and get to it," the woman said condescendingly.
Kai cupped his hands and bowed once more before heading into the mine.
'Wonder what her problem is...' Kai thought as he entered the mine.
Every few feet he could see a bright gemstone shining on the walls providing perfect lighting in the tunnel. 'I thought it'd be dark and dank in here, but it doesn't seem too bad,' he mused as he continued down the passage.
He had been told that the mine continued on for half a mile slowly sloping downwards before it started to enter the scorpion's territory. The scorpions were said to have a petrifying toxin in their stinger and their carapace was quite sturdy. They had control over the earth element, which is what provided this variety of toxin and sturdy shell.
Kai had been working with his shadow element and was able to use them to bind a target. It currently didn't have much strength and was easy to break, but it might be able to help in the fight ahead.
Kai continued to hum, not bothering to hide his presence, as he neared the scorpion territory.
Ahead he head skittering on the stone and soon saw three scorpions appear around a corner. The scorpions came up to Kai's waist and clacked their claws viciously as they rushed towards him.
Kai readied his Tusk Blades as he cycled his mana through his entire body. He sped forward like an Olympic athlete and didn't slow as he approached the first scorpion.
His blade shot forward, dipping under the approaching pincer and severing a joint on it's leg. As he passed the first scorpion he swung both blades again and severed two more legs. The only weak point for these scorpions were their leg joints and their mouth, so they were fairly difficult to deal with without a blunt weapon that could damage them internally, unless you could damage the minuscule area between their plated exoskeleton.
As the first scorpion tipped over, Kai sent a tendril of shadow to grab the pincer of the second scorpion. With the slight delay, Kai bypassed the pincer and repeated the same treating to the legs of the second scorpion.
The third scorpion didn't like Kai's treatment of his pals, so he rushed forward with claws clacking and feet skittering to attack Kai's back.
A shadow rose up and grabbed the leg of the scorpion which made it slightly stumble in it's approach. Kai spun as he crouched and sent his blade directly into the fiend's mouth. He tore through the inside of the mouth and destroyed the scorpion's brain instantly.
[You have slain an Earth Scorpion. You have gained an Earth Essence. Will you absorb this now?]
Kai ignored the Goddess as the scorpion crumbled, and it took his left blade with it. He was down a weapon. The other two scorpions were unbalanced but scampered quickly towards him in the cramped tunnel. He deflected a pincer from the first scorpion as the second one's pincer clamped onto his blade.
He let go of the blade and dove toward the third scorpion's dead body, ripping his other blade free so he could defend himself. The second scorpion's stinger flew towards Kai's chest as he turned towards it.
He leapt backwards to avoid the stinger, but ended up taking a hard hit from the first scorpion's pincer, forcing him to stumble. As he stumbled, he was stabbed by the second scorpion's stinger as it flew towards him once again.
He could feel a trickle of essence enter his right arm from the sting and switched his blade to his other hand. He needed to end this fight quickly or he'd get turned to stone. His right arm was already losing its function as he rushed towards the two scorpions.
He dove below the first scorpion's strike and rolled sideways to avoid it's stinger. He was brought directly in front of the second scorpion and inside it's guard. He rammed his blade home, directly into its brain through the roof of the fiend's mouth.
[You have slain an Earth Scorpion. You have gained an Earth Essence. Will you absorb this now?]
As he heard the tinkling voice, he dove to his dagger on the floor, ripping the blade from the scorpion's head as he went. He could barely hold a dagger in his right hand, so he dropped it to the floor again as the petrification crept to his collar bone and his wrist. He forced mana directly against the spreading stoneskin and it slowly abated it's advance.
It wasn't retreating, but he'd have time to figure something out in a minute.
He ran towards the last scorpion and ruined it as if it was simplicity itself. He parried the incoming pincer with his left dagger as a shadow grabbed the other one. He shoved his dagger in the scorpion's mouth like it was a sheath.
[You have slain an Earth Scorpion. You have gained an Earth Essence. Will you absorb this now?]
Kai thought yes to the three prompts and the essence filled his body as he crumbled to the floor and sat against the wall. As the essence began to merge with his internal mana, he cycled his mana mainly around his right arm and shoulder.
The essence began to run dry and the stone had only abated slightly. He grabbed a health potion from his pack, removing the wrapping keeping it safe. He guzzled it down and felt a warmth enter his stomach. The warmth began to be picked up by his mana stream and filtered towards his right shoulder.
His shoulder burst into pain as the stone was forcibly reverted into living flesh. He muffled his scream as his eyes watered.
'What the fuck is wrong with healing in this world?! The Goddess was so gentle, but her world is a hell pit!' He screamed internally, writhing on the floor as his arm turned back to normal slowly.
Moments passed as Kai lost himself to the agony. He refused to black out for fear of the petrification spreading without his treatment.
He lay in a puddle of cold sweat as the burning fire of healing finally stopped. He was gasping for air and let out a low groan as the pain ended.
'Why me... Why me...' he repeated like a mantra, lamenting the unfair treatment in this universe.
He didn't know how long he lay there, but he finally returned to himself. He cycled his mana slowly like a cooldown routine after working out. He grabbed two scorpions by their tails and began dragging the heavy corpses back up the mine shaft. An hour later he emerged with his bounty to the confused and surprised gazes of others.
"There's another body laying down there, whoever brings it up for me will get half of it," he shouted tiredly as he ignored their stares. 'What are they even doing just standing around anyway?'
He set up a small encampment on the outskirts of the mining complex so that no one was near him. He had been tugging along a big cooking pot on his way to talk to the boss lady and was probably why he got strange stares when he first arrived -- or maybe it was his Halloween-esque mask. He hadn't brought the pot down with him into the mine of course.
With his cook pot simmering boiling water and vegetables, he spread his herbs and spices from a pouch in his pack into the liquid to get his recipe started. He smiled as he smelled the herbal scent waft up from the pot.
As he finished removing the edible flesh from the giant scorpion and seasoning it, he threw it in the pot and sat back on the ground, patiently waiting for the magic to happen. Some time later he was ready to enjoy his meal when a disgruntled miner hauled over the last scorpion corpse.
"If you've got a bowl bring it over and you can take some of my stew, it should be great!" Kai was salivating as he spoke to the Godon man.
Soon they were sharing the food and having a nice conversation about the miner's daily duties in the mine. Kai learned a lot about the risks and rewards of working in the mine and thought it wasn't the worst job in this world.
He'd taken off his mask because the man wasn't human, but he still had his back facing away from the main mining complex.
Later that night he sighed softly as he lay on his bedroll with his head on his backpack. 'I can't fight that risky anymore, I had to waste a whole health potion just to recover. Before I go back into the mines, I need to get a lot more proficient at using mana so I have a chance of clearing out this mine. My Tusk Blades are a terrible match against the hardened shells of the scorpions, so I need to think of a better way to fight them...'
Kai made plans for the next day's mission as he lay on his bedroll, mask lightly reflecting the glow of the small fire, as it sat upon his face.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone