Aimless Ascension

Two hours into the mining and I barely had four fist-sized crystallised stones to show for it. I'm definitely getting that lashing.

Well, others' luck was no better, either. Cameron got about a bucketful of crystallised stones, and that made him pant like a dying man. He was resting next to his trolley now, breathing heavily.

303, the insane man, was still at it, and his collection wasn't that far off from Cameron either. I reckoned he would beat the former accountant just with the intensity of his work.

They would probably make it if they worked an extra two hours. Well, it was allowed, though I wasn't sure if their body would allow that.

Anyway, it was obviously the worst for me. With just one hand, I wasn't capable of producing the strength required to pick for a longer period of time. So I dedicated myself to using the most potent weapon in my arsenal. My head.

No, I wasn't going to ram my head against the stonewalls. I'm not that stupid.

I was talking about my big-brainpower.

Evidently, whatever I could think of the others who came before me should have thought in their long run as well. So I didn't use my brain power much and decided to watch how others were working. I could pick up some cheat codes from them. I hoped.

Apparently, nobody was working around us or behind us. Most people went deeper. That led me to believe that the deeper you go, the more fruitful your collection would be. However, there was a terrible constraint as well. The temperature rose drastically as we went down. By we meant me and Cameron.

The air was stuffy, too. Just staying there for a longer period of time would trouble my breathing, much less working in such situations. Definitely, the heat was the worst.

Just a couple of hundred metres deeper and we were already getting heated up. It was unbearable to the point where the most I could endure was a few minutes. And other people were mining there. Their hands moved in unrelenting motions as glittering crystallised stones came out every once in a while.

"How are they enduring?" Cameron muttered.

"These people are built differently," I concluded.

Although most people were soaking, most seemed like people of this realm as well. Their build was just about the same as the average earthling, though through very careful observation I could make the distinction.

They were fairly built and somewhat prettier than the average earthling. Their endurance and body-to-muscle mass were better as well. Then came bone density. I think this world is much larger than the earth, as its gravity was at least 1.2 to 1.4 times Earths.

I was mostly beaten up badly or not in a fair state to think all this till that point. Anyway, you guys are probably confused having no concept of gravity. Well, for you barbarian, I'll dumb it down.

Apparently, gravity plays a big role in regulating blood pressure and bone density. Since I came from a world with less gravity than yours, my bones had a lower mineral density than that of a native. How would that affect me, you ask?

Well, bone density affects most weight-bearing features of us humans. Since my bones have a lower density than natives, and I'm in a higher gravity world, it would make me sluggish, easy to exhaust and always tired. It has a worse effect on blood pressure as well, which in retrospect influences the brain. It was nothing good; I promise you.

In case you're wondering, it's beatable with purposeful exercise and adaptation. In case you failed to adapt, then you'll be crippled and die a slow death. The people here had no kindness or patience. They would throw you away before you become a burden.

Linlin, remember to remind me to explain more about this. I can't let my disciple stay barbarian, after all.

Anyway, back to the story.

"Let's go to where earthlings are mining," I said, and we took a different route in the adjacent direction. Moving the trolley was no easy job, either. I couldn't say I ever worked this hard in my life.

We moved through the stone splinters and debris, pushing the trolley with us. We did find a few fellow earthlings, but they were unapproachable just by the way they were working relentlessly.

We went to work side by side there too, but cold gazes from them stopped us on our track. Those looks weren't welcoming at all, and I was pretty sure they would do something if we didn't leave them to their mining. Well, life was so hard there, they hardly cared about being a prick.

So at last, after loitering for a few more minutes, we got a relatively better spot. Although a few degrees warmer, it should produce better results.

We got to work, and we did produce better results. Cameron would probably make it in time, though he would have to stay bedridden the rest of the time after this. My situation wasn't any better. Actually, it was worse. I wasn't any bit resistant to the high temperature compared to Cameron.

Although I produced better results, as finally, my trolley held some weight of the crystallised stones, it still wouldn't make it by a large margin. Crap, I would get beaten to death at this rate.

No, I'm not being dramatic. That actually happened multiple times. People won't make it if they don't make the quota for about a week or so. There was no way I was seeing myself growing in strength in just a week. Not to mention, my left hand would take a month at the very least to heal properly and be workable again.

"Fuck!" I screamed as realisation dawned on me. Again, sorry for the profanity, but I got to show my frustration somehow. Linlin, don't look down on your master for this.

"I won't," Xiaolin said as Gale smiled. "Then, Master, how did you make it? Did you learn to weird Qi on those seven days and miraculously saved yourself?"

"That is still far away," Gale said and brought out a drink from his void lock. All the narration made his throat sore, although he was more than half a magical entity himself. There was a theory on why that too. We'll get to that at a later date. "No, I haven't managed to weird Qi. I didn't even know what Qi was or even the basic theory behind cycling at that time. How can you expect me to wield Qi? I was no secret son of some sage, either.

"Unlike the Dragon Prince, mines weren't really a place full of fortuitous encounters either."

"Then how did you manage to save yourself?" Xiaolin asked with a quizzical expression. "Did that Cameron Guy help you?"

"Nah, Cam's hand was full with taking care of his quota to help me," Gale said. "But you're thinking on the correct line. . . Someone did help me. . . Someone came out of nowhere and became my guardian angel. . . ."

"Let me guess," Wang Li chimed in, "is it one of those women you love that others didn't have the gall to speak to?"

She remembered that, didn't she? From the looks of his disciple's expression, she remembered that, too. 'Damn, me and my big mouth! It's going to be so embarrassing.'

"Why aren't you answering?" she asked again. "Did I hit the bullseye?"

"Perhaps, perhaps not. Don't ask spoilery questions. Anyway, back to my narration . . .

After seeing no way to solve my problem, I decided I needed to do something drastic to get out of there. Of course, I wasn't planning to get out there that day. . . I could endure a few dozen lashes. Thankfully, the punishment only accumulated 10 lashes more with each day. I had to thank Rips, Kiln and a few others for making me endurable.

"I hope you guys choke on your nicer food and drop-dead," I hoped for them.

Anyway, as I was crazing over to discover some way to solve my issue with no blood when my guardian angel showed up. . .

Don't be mistaken, even if she didn't have the wings to show for it. . .

It was a woman in soaking grey robes. She was black-skinned, beautiful with her black shorthair that seemed to have lost its colour after working too many hours in this mine. But she was beautiful. f𝚛e𝚎𝘄𝒆𝚋𝚗𝚘ѵ𝑒𝚕.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"I knew it," Wang Li said in a victorious tone. "I knew it was a woman."

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Achievement Unlocked! 100 chapters. Although they are short and mostly parts of a chapter, it is still a small achievement.

In case you don't know, we have discord now. I plan on publishing my other stories—which are: Reincarnated with the Unrivalled Thief System (I know it's a generic name, I'm working on it) and Apotheosis Online—there for free.

Of course, the release rate won't be as fast as this one, but the chapter will be a bit longer. I have like 20 chapters on AP already. . .

These extra words don't cost you coins. . .