I didn't move too far in. Once we were fully inside the cavern, I found an exposed vein. It was much larger than the small amount of iron that I previously stumbled across by chance. Streaks of dull gray metal ran along the jiggered cavern wall near me, which was partially exposed between thick layers of darkened stone. Portions of the surrounding rock looked chipped and uneven, almost as if something had already been digging away at the surface. Did these Kobolds actually know how to mine ore? Considering everything else I'd seen inside this cavern, I wouldn't be surprised if they did.
It wasn't just that dull gray metal, either. Hints of a reddish-brown metal could be seen scattered throughout the vein, occasionally peaking through the surrounding stone wherever the rock had been worn away. I could only guess that it was Copper. I didn't have much experience identifying raw metals by sight, but being close enough to this vein was all it took to prompt some Gamer Notifications. I paused for a moment reviewing them. It was simple, but necessary.
[Ding! A new Quest has been issued to you.]
[Ding! Mine Ore I can now be challenged.]
[Ding! Your Quest Log has been updated!]
[Mine Ore I]
You have discovered that Instance Dungeons aren't just about fighting monsters and defeating Bosses. Depending on the Instance Dungeon created, countless resources may be waiting to be discovered, gathered, and exploited. Further progression may eventually allow the Gamer System to automate portions of this process, but before you can enjoy such conveniences, you'll first have to get your hands dirty. Use any means necessary to extract the ore around you, and completely exhaust a Mining Node.
Task:
1/10 Iron Ore
0/10 Copper Ore
0/1 Mining Node
Reward:
50,000 EXP
Mining LV1 (0.0%)
Inventory Option - Ore Pouch
Durable Pickaxe (Blue - 2 Options)
Have to start somewhere, right? But I like this. This is what I mean that it isn't just about fighting monsters. And this Quest will even give me the Mining Skill. Since Gathering triggered on the previous piece of Iron Ore, it didn't trigger the Mining Skill. The Skill might be locked behind a Pickaxe, and unsurprisingly, Mine Ore I is rewarding me with a pickaxe.
But right now, I am in a bit of a conundrum. This exposed vein is much larger too. I can't use Gathering here. Seeing confusion in my eyes, Frigga caught up and arrived beside me.
"You seem to be confused about what to do here.", Frigga said, calling out to me. "This appears to be an ore vein. Back on Asgard, we have long since created the technology to automatically gather mundane resources since we have been around for eons, but sadly, we do not have that luxury here. I take it you plan to do something?"
"You could say that.", I replied with a nod. "Sadly, I lack the tools to efficiently extract said ore. I won't go into full detail, but this ability of mine can assign tasks, based on my location and progress. It just assigned me a new task to do, and well, I need to exhaust this ore vein before we head deeper inside. Granted, it doesn't have to be this particular one, but I just chose the closest vein I could see."
"Interesting. What are these tasks called?", Frigga decided to ask with a raised eyebrow.
"Quests. They come in various shapes and sizes.", I answered. "There's also Quests particularly designated to all members of the Party, but it has not issued one. I call those Party Quests. You needn't pay attention to that as you would see it happen on your own person when one is triggered."
"I see. And through these Quests, they offer you another means to grow stronger. It isn't all tied to fighting.", Frigga responded, assuming that was the case.
"Nothing gets by you now, does it, Master?", I replied with a smile. "This might not be widely known to Asgardians yet but back in Midgard, in recent times, we have what are called video games. Through the power of technology, us humans can create worlds that only appear in fantasy. While none of it might be real, this ability practically turns me into a game character from one of those worlds. Its primary function, like I've brought up before, turns our surroundings into numbers, but it can do a variety of functions, like providing me with tasks."
I don't think I need to go that much more into detail of what the Gamer System is. I've brought it up before, but if I try to explain the concept of what a System is, it'll just mostly confuse people. And the less people know about the fact that what I have is a System, the better. I have a much easier time putting it into words about calling it an ability. It looks like people are accepting that explanation too, with Frigga being the latest. Normally, people would try to hide this until the very last moment or not explain its existence at all. I don't fall within that category, as I have the Party. It's been working like this so far, and I'd like to keep it that way.
"I have not paid Midgard a visit in a long while. It sounds like it has received quite a lot of developments as of late. It might do me good to pay a visit sometime soon. Heimdall should approve of it easily, as he can't exactly turn down a request from someone in my position, who holds equivalent power to the Allfather.", Frigga explained. "And when the time comes, I would like it if you could show me around."
"Of course. It's the least I can do, considering the Allmother accepted me as your direct disciple. We'll just need to figure out when.", I happily answered. 'But the one thing I will warn you now is, when the time comes, I would like you to remain in the Party. If some time passes between now and then, I will create a new one."
I requested that of Frigga for one reason. Soul Protection. This Skill might only trigger when someone is active in the Party, or within my immediate proximity. While I would guide Frigga around, if she happens to wander off unexpectedly and she is not within the Party, someone like the Ancient One could come knocking. I don't want that to happen. I do have plans to eventually meet her, but I want to do it on my terms. By me paying a visit to the sanctum in New York. I want enough strength to protect myself first!
"Very well. Then we shall put that matter on hold for the time being. What is the task that you have to do now?", Frigga asked.
"A simple one. Extract all of the ore from a vein until it is exhausted, and acquire a certain number of ore. Iron and Copper.", I explained.
"Extract this ore without the means of a tool?", Frigga responded, taking a moment to ponder my predicament. "With that being the case, I might just have the solution for you. Why don't I do another demonstration?"
"A demonstration? Of what kind?", I said, my interest immediately piqued.
"Why, with our Runes, of course.", Frigga said, a knowing smile appeared on her face. "This is as good a time as any for you to see how they can be applied practically to the world around us. Last time, I used Perceive directly on your back, but the Rune only remained active for a brief period. More importantly, its effects were confined entirely to you. It had no lasting influence on your surroundings. Here, however..."
Frigga intentionally trailed off as she turned her attention toward the exposed ore vein. The Quest just says I need to exhaust it entirely, but it didn't tell who had to do it. Frigga's in the Party, so it's possible her action in doing this could trigger the completion of the Task. Let's see if that does end up happening. Thinking that, Frigga began to explain yet another application of the Asgardian Runes. I slowly watched her raise her staff upward and extend it toward the cavern wall.
It did not take long for the tip of Frigga's staff to glow as she steadily traced a symbol through the air. Golden Mana flourished from her body, which followed her every movement. She was deliberately slow, but moved quick enough, making it appear that she wasn't stalling. Before long, we saw a completed Asgardian Rune float brilliantly before us.
"Sever.", Frigga calmly said. By her command, the Asgardian Rune flashed.
A thin line of golden light immediately raced across the cavern wall, but instead of spreading wildly through the stone, it curved around the exposed vein with almost unnatural precision. I watched as the golden light dispersed into every crevice around the metal, tracing alongside its boundary line. This might sound cringe, but the immediate feeling I got from witnessing this was that one minigame in Mario Party where you trace along jagged stone with a jackhammer to see how close you can get to the completed object. But with Frigga, her precision was...dare I say it, ungodly? Haha!
Joking aside, I did not hear a single explosion. Not even a violent crack broke through the exposed vein. There was simply a low, grinding sound, before I saw a web of hairline-like fractures appear around the ore. Pebbles trickled onto the cavern floor around us, quietly separating the stone from said ore. It didn't take long for an entire chunk of the mineral deposit to fall down from the wall. THUD.
"Like that.", Frigga said, before turning around and looking back at me, and smiled.
"That's cheating.", I replied, and sighed. Still, the entire node was on the ground before us, completely pulled away from the wall.
"Is it really though?", Frigga responded. "You're much more of a "cheater" in that regard. I merely requested the ore to sever itself from its current position. That is how practical our Runes can be used. You'll learn plenty of them in due time."
"Hahaha...", I said, laughing dryly at that remark. "Well, enough about that. That was a good demonstration, but with the big chunk like this, it still hasn't split out into their respective counterparts, Iron and Copper. I take it this "Sever" can go a step further and do that?"
"Indeed it can. Have a look.", Frigga said, only to do the same motion as she did the first time around.
The golden light appeared once again around the giant metal chunk before us. It traced along the finer lines this time.
"Sever.", Frigga said, and chanted the same Asgardian Rune. Thud. Thud. Thud!
Talk about being efficient. I wonder how far can Sever go. There's no way it could sever something like a soul...could it? I quickly shook that thought aside, not wanting to think about it. That sounds way too dangerous.
Instead, my eyes just remained in front of us. Sever did its job, and one after another, smaller bits of Iron and Copper appeared, around the same size that I had last time. My eyes lit up seeing how much ore there was.
"Clean and efficient. I like that.", I said, and approached the ore.
"Most of our Runes are designed that way. They do what they do. You can also stack them for additional, more complex situations, but one like Sever is enough to get what you are wanting. Is the ore created from it sufficient for this "Quest" of yours?", Frigga aske me.
"I'm about to find out.", I said. I saw several pieces of each, so it might be enough!
Let's get to work. It's already beginning to feel like Minecraft~