His heart skipped a beat as Soren gained another insight into the System. Real-world actions could be recognized by the System, just as he had now learned the Coal Mining skill.
Raising the pickaxe, Soren realized that after acquiring the Coal Mining skill, his mastery over the tool had subtly improved. It was a feeling of control, though the improvement was only slight.
"Thud—"
The sound of metal penetrating coal layers echoed as another chunk tumbled down.
"Suggest elevating thirty-five degrees, make minor force adjustments"
The System's voice persisted. Learning the Coal Mining skill didn't mean Soren's mining technique was perfect. Level zero of the Coal Mining skill still had many flaws, and the System tirelessly corrected him.
"This skill can also be upgraded, but I wonder what changes will come with the next level," Soren thought to himself as he continued swinging the pickaxe at the coal face. Food was extremely scarce in the Great Collapse era. In the Extraction Zone, exchanging for one kilogram of food required a full ton of coal. At Soren's current rate, mining three hundred kilograms of coal this afternoon would already be a tremendous achievement.
"Angle error twenty degrees, suggest angle adjustment, posture error eighteen, suggest..."
The mechanical voice continued as the empty space before Soren gradually filled with a small pile of coal. Breathing heavily, sweat poured from his body. The continuous coal extraction had consumed a significant amount of his energy. Tossing the pickaxe aside, Soren decided to rest for a moment.
...
...
Sitting on the ground, sensing that Prime Restoration had completed its cooldown, Soren traced patterns in the air with his fingers. The familiar green light reappeared in the darkness, faint but full of vitality.
"Tssss—"
The green light sank into Soren's chest again. His festering wounds began to emit slow crackling sounds. Through his nerve endings, Soren could even sense his skin gradually healing!
Without much reaction, he quietly experienced the healing brought by the green light. Gradually, the glow dissipated again, leaving a sense of emptiness in Soren's chest. The fatigue from earlier had diminished by nearly half!
"So Prime Restoration can actually eliminate fatigue!"
With a look of understanding on his face, Soren got up from the ground. The pickaxe returned to his hand. The afternoon hours were limited, and if he didn't hurry to mine more coal, he might not get enough food for the evening.
Moving again, Soren sensed that his body's strength had increased further. Though he knew this was merely the effect of removing negative status effects, Soren was still secretly delighted. At this rate, his body would likely return to full health within a day.
"Crack—"
The pickaxe sank into the wall, and a large chunk of coal was pried loose. Feeling its weight—a good thirty kilograms—a slight curve appeared at the corner of Soren's mouth. He was beginning to gain confidence in this world.
The mechanical mining continued. Advancing from level zero to level one of Coal Mining required five hundred experience points, with each mining action earning Soren one experience point. An hour later, the Coal Mining skill's experience had grown from zero to four hundred and ninety-nine points.
[Coal Mining skill upgraded, now level 1]
[Skill upgrade reward: +1 base strength point]
[Skill: Coal Mining, Level: 1, Coal chunk drop rate increased by 5%, stamina consumption reduced by 5%, mastery of pickaxe-type blunt tools enhanced by 5%, this skill can be used for mining other deposits with the same effect]
With the five hundredth swing of the pickaxe, the Coal Mining skill finally upgraded from level zero to level one. Simultaneously, a surge of strength coursed through Soren's arms, flowing freely. Soren had a feeling that a single punch from him could now kill a bull!
Focusing his consciousness inward, Soren examined his attribute panel:
Host: Soren
Class: Blade Initiate (Unactivated)
Strength: 11
Agility: 10
Intelligence: 9
Skills: Coal Mining (Level 1), Prime Restoration (Level 0)
Remaining Skill Points: None
His strength had indeed increased. The reward of one base strength point had raised his strength from ten to eleven—a one-tenth increase, which was substantial progress!
With a hint of anticipation, Soren also checked his health bar. His original five hundred health points had now increased to five hundred and fifty. Increased strength also meant increased health!
"These are digitized physical attributes, but their reliability is quite high."
After pondering this in his mind, seeing that Prime Restoration still had half an hour of cooldown, Soren picked up the pickaxe and continued mining coal.
Mining again, Soren clearly felt the difference. The pickaxe in his hand swung more easily than before, and the coal production rate had increased. With enhanced strength and improved physique, Soren's mining rate was now nearly twice what it had been!
"Thunk—"
Another twenty-kilogram coal chunk was extracted. In just three hours, Soren had already mined four hundred kilograms of coal!
Using Prime Restoration again, Soren's hand movements were noticeably faster than before. A green light appeared, once more driving away his fatigue. After three consecutive uses of Prime Restoration, Soren's health had climbed to three hundred points!
The three uses of Prime Restoration also gave Soren more insight into the skill. Its healing effect wasn't fixed—it restored around twenty health points each time, but the exact amount varied.
Feeling his fatigue disappear again, Soren picked up the pickaxe and continued digging into the mine shaft!
The afternoon passed quickly. Five hours later, the world grew dim, and the regulated mining time reached its end. Casting Prime Restoration on himself for the fifth time, Soren felt his spirit surge as much of his fatigue dissipated again. Loading the coal chunks onto the mine cart, he strained his arms and pushed it laboriously toward the exit.
"Come on, dirty mules! Let your Uncle Harry see what you've got today!" As Soren pushed the cart out of the mine shaft, the last rays of sunset shone on his head. The slightly blinding light made his eyes blur. Through the haze, Soren saw a greasy fat man in the golden light, waving his thick palms and shouting loudly at the Extraction Zone. One by one, coal-blackened, bare-chested men pushed their carts eagerly toward the fat man.
Harry, the actual controller of Extraction Zone T1193. Through the memories in his mind, Soren connected the two figures.