Chapter 16: The End of Day Two!
"Damn!"
Kaiden cursed aloud as he picked himself up off the ground. As he did, he caught sight of a group of villagers running toward him with clear concern on their faces, and quickly waved them off: "I'm fine! Go eat dinner, and tell Sidra to bring my meal to the Lord's Hall later."
Kaiden felt a new and strange sensation in his mind. Despite the darkness that had fallen, he could see small colored specks filling the air around him on every side. On top of that, he felt a peculiar sense of familiarity with the ground beneath his feet — as though it were an extension of his own body.
He couldn't describe the feeling precisely, but by any measure it was extraordinary.
Kaiden wanted to read the notifications that had appeared during his bout of agonizing pain, but first, he needed to wash his face and shake the dust from his clothes. The dried blood and mucus were still clinging to his face, and the sensation was revolting and deeply uncomfortable.
At that moment, Luther was approaching from a distance, clearly eager to tell the Lord something. But as he drew closer and saw Kaiden stumbling toward the Lord's Hall in a pitiful state, face smeared and steps unsteady, he instantly swallowed whatever he had been about to say. He wisely decided to put it off until tomorrow.
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Later, in the Lord's Hall:
After cleaning the dried blood and dust from himself, Kaiden lay back on his luxurious bed and let out a long, relieved sigh. "Now I feel like I'm back among the living," he murmured, closing his eyes for a moment to rest them.
Once he had caught his breath, he read through all the notifications slowly. His eyes stopped at one particular line: "Earth element affinity of 85%?" Kaiden muttered in puzzlement. He didn't know whether that affinity was good or not — but it seemed his dream of raining fireballs down on the battlefield had been shattered.
But Kaiden wasn't the type to stay discouraged for long. He quickly muttered a few consoling words to himself: "Ah~ well, I can still skewer enemies with a pointy earth spike."
"Oh — so that strange sense of familiarity with the ground was because of this." Kaiden began piecing things together gradually. He recalled the glowing specks he had seen — one of the notifications had stated he had acquired a passive skill called Mana Sense. He opened his status interface, and indeed, it had changed entirely to match his new path:
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[Lord's Status Board]
Name: Kaiden
Class: Nascent Mage (Earth Affinity 85%)
Level: 1 (0/100)
Race: Human
Traits:
- Health: 13 (HP: 130)
- Strength: 12 (STR: 120)
- Speed: 14 (AGI: 140)
- Endurance: 14 (STA: 140)
- Intelligence: 18 (MP: 180)
Skills:
- Mana Sense (Passive Skill)
Description: You can passively see and sense mana points.
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Just as Kaiden had suspected, his newly unlocked board had undergone sweeping changes. These included the addition of abbreviated stat labels — similar to those found in role-playing game interfaces — as well as his new class "Nascent Mage" and his Earth affinity. Being someone who worked in programming, Kaiden absorbed these numerical changes faster than the average person might.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
"My lord, dinner is ready."
Suddenly, Sidra's voice from behind his bedroom door on the second floor broke through his deep contemplation. So focused had he been that he hadn't even heard her footsteps approaching.
"Come in," he said, sitting up slightly.
Upon hearing the Lord's voice, Sidra entered carrying a simple wooden tray in her hands. On it she had arranged several modest dishes — skewers of grilled meat, hot broth, and slices of white bread. Kaiden had a large amount of the rice he had gained from the treasure chest ready to be cooked, but by the time he had acquired it the hour was already late and Sidra had already begun preparing the meal, so he put off using it until breakfast.
Sidra set the dishes on the small table beside Kaiden's bed. He thanked her and dismissed her to take her rest.
The room returned to the quiet of the night. Kaiden was eager to try out magic, but he fought the urge with great resolve. It was nighttime, peace had settled over the territory, and he had no wish to disturb the residents of his territory who had worked hard all day long. Besides, he was utterly exhausted and had no desire to move so much as an inch. That wretched body preparation process had drained every last bit of his strength.
Kaiden lay back on his bed and felt his eyelids grow heavier and heavier. Usually, when a person lies down, their mind begins replaying everything that happened throughout the day — and Kaiden was no exception.
"The treasure chest… Damn!! I almost forgot the Silver Treasure Chest!!!"
Suddenly, Kaiden leapt from his bed with a loud shout. His drowsiness vanished entirely — along with 90% of his exhaustion.
He took the Silver Treasure Chest from his inventory and regarded it with appreciation. Its color was a pale metallic gleam with a brilliant silver sheen, and its appearance was strikingly beautiful. It radiated an aura that screamed "valuable chest" no matter what angle you looked at it from. Kaiden rubbed his hands together eagerly — no need to wash his face for luck this time, he had already done that earlier. Then, without hesitation, he selected confirm to open the chest:
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Opened — You have received:
- Iron × 400 units
- Mithril Ore × 20 units
- Common Vegetable Seed Bundle × 1
- 10-Ton Water Tank Blueprint (Rare) × 1
- Earth Manipulation Skill (Epic) × 1
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"I'll never suffer from an iron shortage again!" Kaiden announced with overflowing joy. Then he murmured in puzzlement: "But — what is Mithril?" He took out a single unit and examined it carefully. The ore was light in weight, resembling iron but with a noticeably more silvery hue. Kaiden turned it over in his hands for a moment, then returned it to his inventory, deciding he would ask Hook the Blacksmith about it tomorrow.
He then turned his attention to the seed bundle. It was a small pouch tied with a festive red ribbon, and its information interface appeared:
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Name: Vegetable Seed Bundle
Description: Upon opening, you will receive 1,000 seeds each of: Tomatoes, Cabbage, Eggplant, Potatoes, Onions, Cucumbers.
Time to Maturity: Two days (within territory borders only).
Note: Full germination guarantee depends on the quality of the target soil and daily watering.
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"The farming era has finally arrived!" Kaiden exclaimed. Two straight days of eating nothing but meat had been making him feel like a primitive cave-dweller. He decided that come morning, he would activate the Land Improvement Voucher immediately, then have the villagers plant this varied selection of vegetables.
He then turned his attention to the Water Tank Blueprint. The blueprint, as described, was for a massive water tank with a ten-ton capacity — something that would solve a great many logistical problems for him. No more need to build large barrels.
Finally, Kaiden looked at the last item gained from the Silver Treasure Chest. His eyes went wide. It was an Epic-tier skill.
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Skill Name: Earth Manipulation
Rarity: Epic
Description: Active skill. Upon activation, consumes 20 mana points per second, allowing the user to freely shape the earth through thought alone.
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"This is insane! Absolutely insane!" Kaiden shouted with tremendous excitement. He had unlocked his class today, and an Epic skill had followed immediately after. Good lord! It was fortunate he hadn't opened the Silver Treasure Chest before awakening his Mage class — otherwise he would never have acquired this skill. If that had happened, he wouldn't have known where to go and weep.
A confirmation interface appeared asking whether he wanted to activate the skill — but Kaiden didn't dare take it now. He was afraid of potentially feeling that pain again. Besides, this was no time to be testing skills.
Once the excitement of the moment faded, the feeling of exhaustion returned to fill Kaiden's body, proving it had never truly left — it had merely been waiting for the right opportunity.
He yawned with deep drowsiness and collapsed like a dead weight onto the bed. It had been a long day, overflowing with events. As though someone had pressed a switch to shut him off the moment he lay down, Kaiden sank into a deep sleep — and that was the clearest testament to just how exhausted he truly was.
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— End of Chapter Sixteen —
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*Author's Note: I hope this exhausting chapter met your expectations… I'm still just a new writer and I'd love to hear your suggestions. Thank you for reading, everyone~*