Nikola woke to see a system screen before him. He tried to focus his eyes on it, but it was hard. It was written in orange with a yellow background.
"System, what happened?" The brunette asked as he stood up and went to take his glasses.
"Oh, nothing much. It is just that a dungeon has a proposal for you," the system sounded so as if she couldn't think about anything better than that. Her snark was reaching that soft 100% which Nikola knew from their first days together.
"And what does the dungeon want?" He already had a guess, but he wasn't sure. Besides, the system was already burning with desire to tell him.
"You are to give it agricultural mana crystals and vouch for it for the peaceful dungeon status!" The system chirped at him. "And if you do, then she will give you some books on magic! Songweaver magic! Heck, she might even teach you how to play more than one melody on that flute of yours."
"I gave the flute back," Nikola protested. "It wasn't right to keep it, seeing as I quit the guild!"
The system let out a snort.
"Fine then, she will give you a new flute." It was so, as if the argument was won so.
Nikola wasn't so sure.
"Just one thing before you sell my soul," Nikola began, as he splashed a bit cold water on his face. He still felt odd to be getting such an offer.
"Yes?" The system asked as she began to highlight the Yes button.
"May I first talk it through with my family?" Nikola asked. Not really sure if he had the right to, but still wanting to try.
"Your family? Niki, you won't be leaving Oak's Rest! What do you need your family to mull over this for?"
Now that changed the whole game, Nikola thought to himself.
"Fine then! What sort of mobs does the dungeon have?"
For a while, there were just three dots. Nikola sighed, clicked on the yes button, and the system's response finally appeared.
"Hamsters and some dwarf pigs. And I think there was a capybara in there. But the dungeon wasn't sure if the animal had simply walked in one day or if she had created it."
Nikola blinked. He tried to imagine a dungeon with hamsters and a capybara.
The only thing that came to mind was that the hamsters needed to eat. And a lot.
"I will go speak to the kobolds," he said as he headed to the bathroom. The cool breeze ruffled his hair.
****
Nikola found the kobolds by a huge dining table. There were all sorts of gems on it.
Some even had bite marks on them.
The brunette cleared his throat. The kobolds, half-sleeping by the table as they were, began to grumble.
Only the chief waved him over.
"Yes, Nikola? What is the matter?"
"The thing is, I need to create nature mana crystals for a project. But I have no idea how," he said, as he sat by the chief. The grass was soft under him. The earth was giving off its healthy smell, proof that it had enough compost and worms in it.
It was all a part of the cycle of life, Nikola knew.
It was something he knew to value.
"That is not an easy thing to do," the kobold told him. "Your mana control has to be perfect. Otherwise, you risk losing your soul."
These grim words made Nikola narrow his eyes. Had guild master Arnold and the system known the risks?
"So, what I suggest is for you to spend a bit of time with us. Just two weeks. Why don't you call your husband and tell him that you will be here? Your young cubs are well taken care of, right?"
Nikola nodded, already taking out the pendant. He tried to call Dimitri, only for the vampire to hang up.
"Dear Dimitri, I will be learning mana control with the kobolds. Don't forget to read Timmy and Vera their afternoon fairy tales!"
"Ok, now I'm ready," Nikola told the chieftain.
"Then feel the earth. Feel every single pathway in it. Feel the worms. Not as harbingers of death, but as givers of life."
The brunette closed his eyes. He began to run his hands over the blades of grass by his side.
A minute passed. Then two.
Nothing happened.
"This is just earth," Nikola finally said as he opened his eyes. The chieftain shook his head.
"You will need a more hands-on approach, it seems. Don't you worry, more than one druid has gone through a mine to get to know the earth better!"
The brunette blinked as the kobold gave him a pickaxe.
"Today is our off day, but feel free to go and mine to your heart's content!"
With that, Nikola was clapped on the shoulder and send off.
All the while thinking that something was wrong with the entire situation.
Using mining to teach someone about mana was something Nikola thought too much.
The mine loomed before him like a dark tower. The lights were on. There was a certain coolness coming from it.
Nikola took one step inside, then another one back.
The mine felt eerie to him. Something meant for kobolds and goblins. Something that needed people from sturdier stock.
"You are one of these people," the system told him as she gave him a gentle nudge inside. "Don't doubt yourself now! Just get in!"
With a heavy heart, Nikola began to walk into the mine. He noted that the support beams were from sturdy timber. That the ceiling was far enough that he wouldn't hit his head on the way in.
When he turned a corner, he saw something that made him blink. There was a worm there. One giving off steam.
"Go back! Go back! That is a fire worm!" The system screeched in his ear.
The worm turned its head, or that which Nikola thought was a head, to look at him.
Nikola gripped the pickaxe.
He was done running.