by Park Saenal
‘I can’t afford to spend my money on a warehouse when I am desperately needing a carriage.’
Money was money, but there was also the expectation that the act of enduring the ‘slow pace’ would have an impact on my persistence stat.
“Okay, let’s just go.”
I headed towards the mountain at a slow pace. The distance between the smithy and the mountain wasn’t far. Would it take around 30 minutes with the average speed of an adult male? But my movement speed fell by a huge 100%! It took me one hour to arrive at the base of the mountain.
“Phew.”
I was tired, despite walking even more slowly than others. It was amazing how creatures like turtles and slugs could live with their slow movement speed. After three hours,
“Pant pant…”
I was barely able to climb to the middle of the mountain. The mountain path was well constructed and the slope wasn’t steep, but it took me this long to arrive at the end of the path. It was now dark.
“I just need to go a little further…”
The light from the entrance of the mine wasn’t far away, but it wasn’t easy to reach. My poor stamina was already depleted.
“Shit…”
I didn’t want to delay arriving at my destination.
I barely suppressed my desire to rest and struggled to move on. One step, another step, each step was filled with a heavy weight. It felt like I was walking in deep water while wearing thick cotton clothes. But I went forward.
The moment I arrived at the mine!
[Your persistence has risen.]
“As I expected!”
I laughed as I looked at my rising stat. It felt like I recovered from my tired spirit instantly. While I couldn’t raise these stats through leveling up, the ones that grew through certain behaviors gave me a tremendous sense of accomplishment and pleasure, like a drug. It seemed like I would never be able to stop grinding stats for the rest of my life.
I entered the mine and literally sat down with joy. I took a break and consumed bread and water, then my stamina slowly recovered.
“Then shall I start? Appraisal.”
After judging that I had rested enough, I took out the pickaxe and used the Legendary Blacksmith’s Appraisal skill.
[Smith’s Pickaxe]
Rating: Normal
Durability: 19/19 Attack Power: 7~9
A pickaxe used by the blacksmith, Smith. It was used by Smith to build up his skills.
Thanks to the strong durability, Smith collected 120 iron ore in a single day with this pickaxe. Since that day, the miners in this village have acknowledged Smith.
Weight: 40
[A hidden function doesn’t exist.]
[You have grasped the materials that make up Smith’s Pickaxe, the production method, and the intentions of its creator.]
[Your understanding of Smith’s Pickaxe is now at 100%. You can use Smith’s Pickaxe perfectly.]
[You have learned how to make a pickaxe.]
I received a great stimulus after reading the description of the pickaxe.
‘T-That old man mined 120 iron ores in one day?’
I received a quest to mine 80 iron ores. There was no time limit. Yes, it would take a few days to gather the 80 iron ores needed to complete the quest. But I couldn’t relax after finding out that Smith obtained 120 iron ores in one day.
‘I am going to obtain 200 pieces in one day and then make that old man recognize me!’
I looked around the mine with the pickaxe in my hand. Red dots glittered all over the walls.
‘I am supposed to hit those spots.’
As I moved to one red dot, the miners resting on the side discovered me.
“Hey Newbie, why are you holding a pickaxe in your hand? Surely you aren’t trying to mine?”
“I am.”
“What? Puhahahat!!”
The miners laughed. Some of them rolled across the floor with tears in their eyes. Another person frowned and said. “Cut it out. A newbie like you can swing all day and not even obtain a single iron ore.”
The others agreed.
“You should be glad if you don’t break your wrist.”
“We are saying this because we are worried, so just go home. New. Bie.”
‘Yes, laugh now.’
I didn’t respond to them. I would show them with my actions!
Kaaang! Kaaang!
[Iron ore has been acquired.]
The iron ore emerged after I hit the red dot three or four times. The miners were amazed at the sight.
“Ah, no? How can he do it so easily…?”
“Hey, it’s just a coincidence.”
Kaaang! Kaaang!
[Iron ore has been acquired.]
“Wow…”
“What, that guy? Why is he so good when he looks so incompetent?”
“Fools. That isn’t his skill. The pickaxe is special.”
One of the whispering miners approached me before reaching out and saying,.
“That pickaxe, can I try it?”
Did they think I was mining using the power of an item because they couldn’t recognize my skills? I wanted to see the expressions of the miners change when they realize that my pickaxe was ordinary. So I handed the pickaxe to the miner.
“Look carefully. I’ll prove that this pickaxe isn’t an ordinary one.” The miner declared and wielded the pickaxe with confidence.
Kakang! Kakakang! Kang! Kaaang! Kang!
“Pant pant… it’s just an ordinary pickaxe…”
The minor said awkwardly after repeating the swing of the pickaxe many times and only obtaining one iron ore. The miners who saw it were agitated.
“Then he is good at mining…”
“We shouldn’t judge people by their appearance. Anyway, it’s time for us to leave. Let’s head down.”
The miners ignored me and left the mine. They didn’t apologize for their mistake and or acknowledge my skills.
Anyway, I started the full-scale mining work.
[Iron ore has been acquired.]
“It’s really easy.”
The 100% understanding corrected my pickaxe swinging posture and accurately pinpointed the position I needed to hit. It felt like I could gather 200~300 iron ores. But that confidence only lasted a short moment. I became exhausted after a while. The act of hitting a wall in a semi-enclosed space consumed more stamina than chopping firewood.
“Pant pant… this damned…”
My breathing worsened when I obtained the 26th iron ore. My waist and arms started twitching. My level -3 body was screaming at me to take a break. But I couldn’t rest. It was because my desire to raise my level quickly was greater than my desire to rest.
After adjusting my breathing, I straightened my posture and swung the pickaxe again.
Kaaang! Kakang!
“Ugh…”
By the time I extracted the 41st iron ore, the sensations from my wrist and waist started to disappear. Sweat poured like rain down my body. My legs weakened by I persisted in swinging the pickaxe. I couldn’t see the sky when I raised my head, only the stifling ceiling.
I wanted to rest. But I wanted to earn money by learning how to make items quickly. My hands trembled as I moved my pickaxe.
Kakang! Kajajak!
“Pant… pant… ah, I’m dying.”
Once it was the 59th piece of iron ore, my vision became blurry from fatigue. My muscles screamed. My shaking hands couldn’t hold the pickaxe tightly. I soothed my hunger with bread and water and persisted.
This was my limit. Right now, I wanted to throw the pickaxe in my hand away. But I actually gripped the pickaxe tighter.
“I won’t give up because of this. My job is labour! Uraaaaat!”
Kakang! Kakang! Kakakang!
I was debt-ridden because of the game; I was a loser in reality. One day, I heard from a friend that my high school alumni ignored me and ridiculed me. It was bitter because I knew that the friend who delivered the news had acted the
same as the alumni.
My friends from the army and university? I hadn’t been in touch with them for a long time. Ah, I was contacted four months ago by an army buddy. He was working for a multi-level (pyramid scheme) company and was willing to offer me a job. It was easy to see who disregarded me.
I didn’t bother speaking to them to change their opinion.
If I told them that I was crazy about a game, they would just look at me like I was pathetic.
I was so embarrassed about my pathetic self that I couldn’t go to the second reunion. However, it was the only way to meet my first love, Ahyoung, so I attended an alumni meeting when I was on vacation from the army…
There was nothing pleasing about what happened. I was only able to forget about reality and find stability when I logged into Satisfy.
But that was a while ago. Now, Satisfy was no different from the real world. Even the NPCs were ignoring me! This wasn’t the real world. I needed to grow as quickly as possible. I would raise my level, earn money and escape my debt. Then I would become a ranker. Then like Katz not long ago, I would be interviewed on TV.
I was Pagma’s Descendant! The epic classes that made two billion users astonished? They were nothing in front of the legendary class!
“I will show the worldddd!!!”
Kaaang!
[Iron ore has been acquired.]
“I must succeed.”
Due to the debt, I was doing labor work every day. Then I would tell all those who ignored me. I wouldn’t ignore the abuse again. In fact, you lot weren’t that great either!
My pickaxe moved again. My persistence stat steadily grew. As I became more and more familiar with the mining technique, the speed that the durability decreased slowed. Before I knew it, the bright morning sun shone. The miners who came to work were amazed to see me.
“Did that guy work all night?”
“Unlike how he looks, he has enormous stamina. No, how is his mental state still fine? What an amazing guy.”
“Heok! Look at the amount of iron ore! Has he broken Smith’s record?”
“Aish, how can he break Smith’s record? I honestly admit that he is doing well but… eh? Hey, hasn’t his mining skill improved overnight?”
During that day, I fell into a critical state several times and minimized the amount of time spent mining. I experienced dangerous situations and almost died several times while mining, but was able to pass the crisis and got 170 iron ore by lunch time.
Despite it being less than my target of 200 iron ores, I couldn’t continue any longer because my water ran out.
Stagger. Stagger stagger.
The miners watched as I left the mine with barely any strength left.
“This person, great… I have to admit it. I apologize for what I said yesterday and for ignoring you. Please forgive me for my rudeness.”
“You will surely be a great miner! No, with this great spirit, you will succeed in whatever you want to do!”
The miners who ignored me yesterday now acknowledged me. Being acknowledged by someone, it was a valuable experience that I only had a few times in my life. I was proud, even if the other people were NPCs.
I descended the mountain with lighter steps. Overnight, my persistence stat had risen to 16 points. My stamina also rose, so I was able to descend the mountain without becoming tired.
I dragged the heavy sack of iron ores towards the smithy. It felt like the gazes of the villages had significantly changed. The miners had spread my story through the village.
“Uh, I’m sorry for yesterday, Miner.”
The kid from yesterday had a complete 180-degree change in attitude as he apologized to me. His father also smiled at me.
My level was still minus. However, the attitude of the minors and people who ignored me suddenly changed in a day. It seemed that the ‘easily acknowledged’ characteristic of my title was applied.
‘I feel good…’
The world of Satisfy, which had grown similar to reality after I became a minus level, now felt like a haven again. I smiled and gave the boy a light pat. Shortly afterwards, I arrived at the smithy.
He already heard. Smith had a stunned expression as I handed him the bag containing 170 iron ore.
“How is it? Can you still call me a newbie?”
“Haha…” Smith checked the number and condition of the iron ores, then shook his head with a thrilled expression. “No, you’re a great person, not a newbie. You have great talent and will grow to be a great person by overcoming any hardships.”
Smith asked me for a handshake.
“Someone like you dreaming of becoming a blacksmith, all blacksmiths on the continent will rejoice. Thank you for giving me the glory of teaching you.”
I willingly shook hands with Smith.
Smith smiled warmly and continued, “You were very good. You also broke my mining record, which no one else has done. I will give you twice the promised reward.”
There was a notification information me of the quest’s success, then the rewards started coming in.
[Reputation in Bairan Village has increased by 200.]
[1 silver has been acquired.]
[Affinity with Smith has risen to 60.]
[Your level has risen.]
[Your level has risen.]
[Your level has risen.]
[Your level has risen.]
[You are now level 1. Your stats, which were fixed to a minimum due to the minus level penalty, have been restored to their normal state.]
[The basic stats of Pagma’s Descendant have been applied.]
Finally…
“This is the start.”
Chapter 16
Chapter 16
[You are now level 1. Your stats, which were fixed to a minimum due to the minus level penalty, have been restored to their normal state.]
[The basic stats of Pagma’s Descendant have been applied.]
These were phrases that made my heart pound in anticipation.
Dugun dugun!
My heart was beating so fast, it found like the sound was coming up to my ears. I was extremely excited and hurriedly opened the status window.
Name: Grid
Level: 1 (45/100)
Class: Pagma’s Descendant
* The probability of adding additional options when making items will increase.
* The probably of item enhancement will increase.
* All equipment items can be worn unconditionally. However, there will be a penalty depending on the rating of the item.
Title: One who Became a Legend
* Abnormal conditions don’t work well on you.
* You won’t die when health is at the minimum.
* Easily acknowledged.
Health: 280/280 Mana: 75/75
Strength: 20 + 5 Stamina: 18 Agility: 12 Intelligence: 25
Dexterity: 50 Persistence: 16
Composure: 10 Indomitable: 11 Dignity: 10 Insight: 10
Stat Points: 40
Weight: 3,035/820
* The weight limit exceeds 200%, so movement speed is reduced by 100%.
The body is heavy and cannot exert any power properly.
The probability of receiving the ‘weakened’ state has become really high.
“A dream?”
Was it a dream? I didn’t panic. If I were in reality, I would’ve pinched myself. However, I just calmly logged out of the game. I lay in the capsule in my room and stared for a few moments.
“I was sleeping without knowing it.”
This was a good possibility because I didn’t have the capsule switched to sleep mode. I went to the bathroom to resolve my bodily needs, poured cold water over my head, and returned to the capsule. I logged in again.
Just like in my dream, I was standing in the smithy.
“Was it not a dream…? No, I shouldn’t anticipate anything.”
If an unlucky person like me started expecting things, the wounds on my heart would also grow. I opened the status window with
out any inspiration and literally froze.
“…An amazing jackpot.”
There were no changes to the contents of the status window. It wasn’t a dream. My heart started beating quickly again.
“Wow…”
The basic stats of a level 1 character were 6 strength, 7 stamina, 4 agility, and 5 intelligence. In other words, the total number of stats for a level 1 character was 22 points.
However, the basic stats of Pagma’s Descendant added up to 165 points in total. In addition, there were the 16 points in persistence that I grew as well as 1 point in indomitable, making a huge total of 182 points.
Using simple calculations, my stats were higher than level 15 users, which meant that I had an overwhelming advantage. I realized the greatness of a legendary profession.
Besides…
‘These are just the basic stats but…’
I paid attention to the extra 40 stat points I had.
‘Why was I given stat points?’
Stat points were increased by 10 points every time someone gained a level, so I should have 0 points at level 1. Therefore, I pondered upon the reason why I was given 40 points. There were many theories, but there was only one hypothesis that was persuasive.
‘Perhaps… are stat points obtained every time you level up, even at the minus level?’
I was level -3 and leveled up four times in order to reach level 1. This was the only reason I could think of for the 40 stat points. I rubbed my eyes but the 40 stat points didn’t disappear. I was so thrilled that I starting shaking.
‘My experience in the minus level wasn’t in vain!’
All of my struggles were meaningful. Maybe I wasn’t as unlucky as I thought was.
“Kuk! Kukuk…!”
Was there a language in this world that could express this joy? I could only laugh.
“Puhahahahahat ~ ~ ~ ~!!!”
The sound of my laughter was proportional to my joy. The people in the smithy left as I laughed so loudly that my belly hurt. However, I just couldn’t stop. After a while, “He! Keke! Puha…! Urghh…”
Smith stared at me as I laughed through the pain and raised his thumb. “This is a hero’s excited laugh! You are such an outstanding figure that I don’t know how I mistook your identity yesterday. My vision was lacking. I am ashamed and embarrassed.”
