It had been two months since Alex started working as a collector.
In that time, he had learned more about the new world than he ever expected.
His role was simple—but dangerous.
After a raid team cleared a tunnel—a portal leading into another world—Alex would follow behind. His job was to mine mana crystals, gather monster remains, and salvage anything of value left behind.
It sounded easy.
It wasn't.
The tunnels were unpredictable, and even after a raid, they were never truly safe.
Still, Alex was surprisingly good at it.
His golems did most of the heavy lifting—literally. They were far stronger and more durable than he was, able to carry loads of crystal that would have crushed a normal person.
But they weren't perfect.
Any damage they took reduced their lifespan, sometimes drastically. If one was destroyed too early, it meant wasted mana—and wasted time.
So Alex had learned to be careful.
Very careful.
Over the past two months, he had also come to understand his stats better.
His Intelligence wasn't just for spellcasting—it determined how well he could comprehend higher-level skills and magic. It also directly affected his mana regeneration.
Which mattered.
A lot.
Because his abilities burned through mana like fire through dry wood.
His Alchemy skill, in particular, was terrifyingly versatile.
With enough focus, he could manipulate matter at a basic level—pulling elements from the air itself to create things like water or small bursts of flame.
But the cost…
The cost was brutal.
The first time he pushed too far, he experienced what the system labeled as Mana Sickness.
It felt like dying.
His body had locked up, his vision blurred, and every breath felt like it was tearing his lungs apart. It had taken hours before he could even stand again.
Since then, he'd been a lot more cautious.
Right now, he could comfortably maintain three golems at once while still keeping enough mana in reserve to summon another if needed.
It wasn't impressive compared to frontline fighters—
But it kept him alive.
"Man… this is annoying," Alex muttered, lazily swinging his pickaxe into a small cluster of dull-blue crystals embedded in the tunnel wall.
Chunks broke off with a faint glow.
"All I do is mine these things, and I get paid ten system coins a week."
He sighed, gesturing for one of his golems to collect the pieces.
"I mean, it'd be nice if I could exchange them for real money—but no. System-only. And ten coins is nothing when the fighters are pulling in hundreds from missions and kills…"
He clicked his tongue in frustration.
He was stuck in the lowest-tier areas—E-rank tunnels, and occasionally some low D-rank ones that were deemed "safe enough" for weaker awakened.
Anything higher was completely restricted by the government.
Not until more people were trained.
Not until they were stronger.
Alex glanced at his golems as they worked.
They had killed a few monsters here and there—mostly giant ants and the occasional goblin—but it barely made a difference.
In two months…
He had only leveled up once.
One level.
And what did he get?
An inventory.
And a single stat point in stamina.
"Yeah… amazing," he muttered dryly.
Meanwhile, other awakened were gaining flashy abilities, powerful combat skills, and climbing ranks.
He was just… digging.
After a few more hours of work, Alex finally stepped back and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
At his feet sat a small pile of mana crystals—just over four pounds.
"...Huh. That's actually not bad," he said, surprised.
He checked his quota.
Met.
A day early.
"Guess I got a little lucky," he said with a small smirk. "You don't usually find this many clustered together."
He gestured to his golems.
"Alright, let's head—"
He stopped.
The exit portal—
Was blocked.
A translucent barrier shimmered across the tunnel entrance, faintly pulsing with an unnatural light.
"...What?"
Alex frowned and approached cautiously.
"That wasn't there before…"
He motioned for one of his golems.
"Break it."
The golem stepped forward and slammed its fist into the barrier.
The moment it made contact—
The golem shattered.
Not cracked.
Not damaged.
Completely destroyed, as if the force had been violently reflected back onto it.
Alex stumbled back slightly.
"What the hell?!"
Then—
Screaming.
Echoing from deeper within the tunnel.
Alex turned sharply.
Three awakened came running into view—bleeding, panicked, barely holding themselves together.
They rushed toward the barrier, slamming into it, trying desperately to escape.
"What happened?!" Alex called out. "Where's the guard?!"
There was always a military guard assigned to each raid group.
Always.
One of the awakened turned to him, face pale.
"One of the goblins—" he gasped, struggling to breathe. "It had… a spontaneous evolution skill… it killed the guard!"
Alex's stomach dropped.
"What?!"
"Now there's a whole squad of goblin assassins coming this way!" another shouted. "Why can't we get through this thing?!"
That wasn't supposed to happen.
They had all been told the same thing—
Spontaneous Evolution was extremely rare.
Nearly impossible in low-tier tunnels.
But if it did happen…
It created monsters on an entirely different level.
Boss-level threats.
Worse—
They adapted.
The goblin hadn't just evolved.
It had evolved specifically to counter their group.
And Alex could already guess what they had been—
Magic users.
Swordsmen.
Levels 10 to 15.
No support.
No detection.
Perfect targets.
"...So it became an assassin-type," Alex muttered grimly.
Of course it did.
He raised his hand.
"Stay behind me."
With a surge of mana, he summoned a golem in front of the group.
The ground twisted and rose, forming a jagged guardian between them and the darkness ahead.
Then—
Laughter.
High-pitched.
Mocking.
Echoing through the tunnel.
But nothing was visible.
Alex's grip tightened.
"…I hate stealth enemies."
A notification flashed in front of his eyes.
Mission Alert!Defeat: Assassin Goblin General
Reward: Random Loot Box (Based on Participation)Failure: Death
"...Well, that's reassuring," Alex muttered.
He tapped the mission target.
Information flooded his vision.
Assassin Goblin GeneralRank: D+Level: 22
Skills:
Assassin General (Passive):All subordinate goblins gain Assassin Class (D- Rank).Receives 50% of all experience earned by subordinates.
Stealth (D):Conceals presence, scent, and movement from detection skills E-Rank or lower.
Critical Strike Command (D+):Increases critical chance and damage of all allied units by 5%.
Alex exhaled slowly.
"...Yeah. That's bad."
Then he grimaced.
"Of course it has a plus skill…"
The laughter grew closer.
Still unseen.
Still circling.
Alex steadied himself, positioning his golem defensively in front of the injured awakened.
"Alright…" he muttered under his breath. "Guess I'm not just a miner today."
The shadows shifted.
And something moved.
[Bonus Info: Plus Skills or items (Often a rank followed by the plus sign) and much more desired than normal skills or items but extremely rare. Plus items and skills have one or more effects that are percentage based instead of a fixed number. Meaning it will be more useful in the long term. (Example: D+ strength ring increases strength by 5% compared to a D strength ring which increases strength by 12)]