System: Ordinary Schoolboy's Level-Up

FOUR

Robert was awake. He looked at his hands. They were tough now, not pale like before. [Basic Healing Active: Minor Injuries Repaired.] The pain was gone. Days had turned into weeks under the same stressful work—waking to the gong, the grey soup, swinging the pickaxe.

But Robert was now different. His thin arms had new muscles. The work was still hard, but he no longer collapsed. He had learned the style with which the calculations worked. [Skill: Intermediate Calculation Unlocked.]

It was more than that. While Robert was still at his own duty, he collapsed on the floor, and a ray of light disturbed his head, seeming to sharpen his brain even more.

Struggling to be composed, Robert's body changed. The soft student's hands became hard and twisted, his thin arms growing a new array of muscle. The work was still hard, but it did not stress him. He had learned the style with which the calculations worked.

"I should look around them..." he whispered, his eyes still shut as he tried to stand properly. "There must be a smooth result of this calculation going on in my head."

He continued watching the Wardens. They always walked through the same paths. They checked the same stations at the same time, and their movements were like a machine, completely predictable.

Then, Robert moved closer to the other workers, watching them as most looked like they weren't present there, just like ghosts. Their eyes were empty. They did their work and said nothing feeling broken.

But a few of them remained strong like Garret. They were still strong inside as they watched the Wardens, too.

In the noon, during the meal break, Robert sat with Garret. "The Wardens," Robert said softly. "They are not smart. They only follow a pattern."

Garret looked at him. "What do you mean?"

"Look," Robert said, trying to prove the point in his mind as he used his finger to draw in the dust on the floor. "They start at point A. They walk to point B in exactly four minutes. They stop for one minute. Then, to point C. It is always the same move. Every shift."

Garret stared at the lines in the dust. "So? They are machines."

"Machines can be predicted," Robert snapped. "If you know what they will do, you can find the gaps. The moments when they do not focus on the other sides."

A light rushed into Garret's eyes. It was the first time Robert had seen it. "The blind spots."

Robert nodded. "Yes. The blind spots."

...

For the next few days, they did not discuss it again. But they both watched. Robert used his intelligence, his mathematical mind. [Intermediate Calculation: Analyzing Target Movement.] He timed the Wardens.

BEEP!

[Pattern Found. Warden Path Stability: 99.8%.] He swiftly found the patterns. [Success. Gap Identified: Time 2 minutes, 15 seconds. Location: Water Barrel near Pump.] He found a gap. A small one.

For two minutes, a corner of the cavern was not watched. It was near a large, noisy machine that pumped steam. The Wardens avoided it.

During their next work shift, Robert caught Garret's eye. He nodded toward the machine. Garret looked straight at it and saw the gap. He gave a small, slow nod.

That night, in their stone room, they whispered.

"By the big pump," Robert said. "Two minutes. Right after the third check of the shift."

"What do we do there?" Garret asked. "We can't get out. The main gate is always guarded."

"I don't know yet," Robert admitted. "But it is a start. It is something they do not control."

Robert saw hope clearly written on Garret's face. It was dangerous, but it meant power.

....

The next day, they put the plan into action. It was just a simple plan meant to see if they could win.

When the time came, Robert picked up a large piece of blue crystonium. He walked, as if tired, toward the water barrel near the big pump. It was in the blind spot.

A Warden's red eye-slit turned his way. Robert's heart pounded. But he kept walking. He reached the water barrel. The Warden's gaze moved on, following its pattern.

Robert was alone. For two minutes, no one was watching him.

He looked around quickly. The wall behind the pump was rough stone. He saw a deep crack. A strange and sudden idea dropped in his mind.

BEEP! [Urgent Hidden Quest Activated: Acquire Illegal Material (Crystonium)]. Danger Rating: High. Reward: 500 XP, Unlock Skill: Elementary Stealth.] Robert froze, but the Warden’s gaze moved on. He quickly dropped the piece of blue rock into the crack. It was hidden. The small act of rebellion felt good to him.

He drank some water and walked back to his station. Garret looked at him. Robert gave a slight nod.

That night, they were both different. They were not just surviving. They were fighting back.

Robert lay on the stone floor. He did not see numbers. He saw the crack in the wall. He saw the hidden blue rock.

The small, stolen piece of crystonium felt like the first key to a difficult equation. Robert knew the rock was powerful. He just didn't know how. The System had given him 500 XP for stealing it, and it was a large amount compared to the 10 XP he got for a full hour of mining. He knew this rock was his way out.

That night, lying next to the silent, sleeping Garret, Robert focused entirely on the small, glowing blue icon that represented the stolen rock in his Inventory tab.

[Item: Raw Crystonium. Status: Unrefined. Potential Energy: Extreme.]

He tried to use his newly unlocked skill: [Elementary Stealth (Level 1)]. He concentrated, and a tiny gauge appeared on his screen. [Stealth Activated: 5%. Duration: 10 seconds.] He moved his arm slowly, testing it. The feeling was a secret, as if the air around him was suddenly a little quieter. He quietly sat up, feeling the cold stone floor under him.

"What are you doing, kid?" Garret’s voice was a rough whisper.

Robert jumped. [Stealth Failed. Detection Chance: 98%.]

"Just… checking my hands," Robert lied, lowering himself back down.

Garret grunted and turned over. "Get some sleep. We have two more shifts before the rest period."

Robert closed his eyes, his mind racing. He had failed the stealth test, but the System had already rewarded him with knowledge. Garret is still faster than my skill, he calculated.

He needed to level up that skill, and to do that, he had to get more Crystonium. He needed more than two minutes near a pump and a true blind spot, one that wouldn't just hide him from the guards, but from everyone.

....

Later on, as Robert swung the pickaxe, he focused on a new equation. He began to calculate the total tonnage of the rock pile and the number of workers assigned to it. He watched the long conveyor belt that took the mined material away.

He knew that if he could break into the main loading dock, where the finished crystonium was shipped out, he could steal enough to level up twenty times. That area, however, was guarded by four Wardens at all times.

Robert had his new goal. He just needed to figure out the math. He raised his pickaxe, not thinking about the pain, but the perfect, calculated angle of escape.

[Quest: Acquire Illegal Material (Crystonium) — Ongoing. Current Quantity: 1 Piece.] [Quest: Find Loading Dock Blind Spot — New Quest Activated.] [Time is running out.]