System: Ordinary Schoolboy's Level-Up

THREE

The pickaxe was just like a weak object in Robert's hands. He swung it again, and it made a clanging sound. A small piece of blue rock broke off from it, making him scream in pain as he stretched his arms. He was not used to this kind of work.

BEEP! [Mining Skill (Basic) Activated. Progress: 5 XP. Quest: 0.1% Complete.]

Robert blinked and stretched his arm, ignoring the pain. The numbers were real. He was not used to this kind of work.

Next to him, Garret worked with a firm stance. Clang. Clang. Clang. He broke off bigger pieces faster.

Don't fight it," Garret said without stopping. "Use the weight of the tool. Let it fall." Robert watched him.

[Observation Skill Activated: Analyzing force vectors.] Robert tried. He let the pickaxe head do the work. Clang. BEEP! [Success. Efficiency +12%. +7 XP.]

It was easier for Robert. His mind, now linked to the System, saw the math working.

Hours passed. The air was still full of intense heat. Robert's shirt got soaked with sweat. His hands were already becoming pale. Even blisters formed and broke open. The pain kept burning him deep in his muscles.

He looked around. The cavern was huge. Workers everywhere, all in grey, some swinging picks and the others moving rocks. The black-armored guards walked between them. Their red eye-slits watched everything.

Suddenly, a loud buzzer made a noise through the cavern. Everyone stopped working.

"Shift change!" A guard's strong voice cut through the silence. "Line up for rations."

The workers formed a slow, tired line. Robert and Garret joined it. They moved toward a small window in the stone wall. A worker behind it handed out bowls of pale grey soup and a small piece of hard bread.

Robert took his bowl. He and Garret found a spot on the floor to sit and eat. As soon as his tongue made contact with the soup, he realized something had changed in his expression. He shunned it, "This soup has no taste at all." The bread was like rock. But Robert was so hungry he ate it all.

"The first day is the worst," Garret said, gulping his bread. "One day, your body will get used to it. Or it will break."

"What is this place called?" Robert asked quietly. "And who are those guards? Why are they here?"

Garret shrugged. "We call them the Wardens. This is the Pits. We mine crystonium here. That's the blue rock. What do they use it for? About that, I have no idea. Where are we? Somewhere under a mountain, I think. No one gets out."

Robert's heart felt heavy. No one was allowed to move out. "Why us?" He asked.

"I don't know. They just take people. From all over, I think. I was a builder. I got pulled from a worksite in the rain, and then I woke up here, just like you did."

Robert thought of his dorm room. He recalled the interesting moments he spent with his mathematics books. It felt like a dream from another life.

A Warden walked past. The workers all looked down at their bowls, and Robert copied them, staring at the Warden's face.

After the meal, the buzzer sounded again. It was time to get back to work.

Robert picked up his pickaxe. The pain was worse now. His muscles had already shrinked together. Every swing needed a part of his strength. But he did not stop. He thought of the voices from his old life. How they called him useless. But he would not be useless here. He would survive.

He focused on the rock and finally found a weak point. It was a small crack almost invisible for anyone else to see. He aimed at it and clang. A bigger piece broke off, and for him, he was making his scores, winning and still calculating everything.

Robert looked at the pile of rock he had broken. It was very small, "This is not worth my plan yet. My quota is one ton. I think this seems impossible right now."

"No, Robert... Don't look at the whole pile," Garret said, as if he was reading his mind. "Just break one rock. Then break the next and do the same to the others coming after it."

Robert nodded, refusing to say a word. Very quickly, he broke one rock and then the next.

The shift felt like it would never end. But finally and suddenly, the gong sounded. The Wardens marched them back to the stone room. The heavy door slammed shut. The lock clicked. And they were all alone.

Robert collapsed on the stone floor. He became too tired to move.

"Here," Garret said. He tore a strip of cloth from his own shirt and handed it over to Robert. "For your hands."

Robert looked at his bloodily weakened and pale palms. "Thank you," he said, as he wrapped the cloth around them. It hurt, but it helped.

"You're tough, kid," Garret said. "Sincerely. Most new guys cry on the first day. And some of them even fight the Wardens. They don't last long."

"I have to last," Robert snapped, his voice quiet but firm. "I have to get back and regain my energy."

Garret just shook his head. "Hope is a dangerous thing here. It can break you faster than the work."

Immediately, Robert began to feel discouraged by Garret's word. Indeed, Garret wasn't lying to him.

But Robert followed the hopeful part of his heart, holding onto it, seeing it was all he had left.

He rested on the cold stone and closed his eyes. He focused on the pain, calculating the real force that would break his hands. Then, he focused on the progress bar for the [Mine 1 Ton] quest. It was a tiny green line that was captured by his sight. 38% complete.

"Not enough," he thought, "I need a better plan... A plan B." The pain from his hands was unbearable, and he felt he was losing his consciousness. Suddenly, the entire screen showed red, and a very loud gong echoed only in his mind. [Attention Stat: 100% CERTAIN. Quest Complete: Survive First Shift (Bonus XP Awarded).] [LEVEL UP! (Level 2). STATS REFRESHING.]

Robert’s heart pounded. A move of cool energy crossed into his body, mending the broken skin on his hands. He sighed and sat up, his eyes wide in the dark room. The pain was already gone. But the System wasn't done yet.

[New Quest: Acquire Better Tools. Reward: Unlock Skill: Intermediate Calculation.] He had survived, but the game had just gotten harder.