"He said I'll be coming down to keep him company soon?"
Yang Ling's face was dark and uncertain in the firelight.
The first thing that came to mind was Overseer Wu.
"Could the contest between the major veins carry the risk of deaths?"
"If that's really the case, then I need to level up even more, and best of all secure an identity before the contest — only then will I be safe..."
"Wait, why did killing Fifth Brother give no experience?"
Yang Ling's expression turned a little odd.
The several mine bandits he'd killed earlier had all given experience, yet Fifth Brother alone gave none.
By rights, Fifth Brother's attributes were the highest of these bandits.
"Could it be because it was too easy? Experience only counts when it's a true life-and-death struggle?"
"That must be it. Otherwise, once certain players grew strong enough, you might see whole villages and cities slaughtered..."
Having reasoned this out, Yang Ling turned his attention to Fifth Brother and the others.
He first checked the map, settled on a very out-of-the-way spot, then moved the bodies of Fifth Brother and his men there one by one.
Then he dug some earth to bury them, and tamped the ground down firm with his feet.
"Under normal circumstances, it'll be hard for anyone to find their bodies. And even if they do, I probably won't be at the vein by then."
Yang Ling's heart settled a little.
Only then, belatedly, did the nausea hit him.
The games he'd played before were never this real, and knowing this one was wrong, he was certain he'd truly killed people!
Five minutes passed.
Yang Ling's breathing gradually steadied.
His mind, too, settled.
"These mine bandits — if I didn't kill them, they'd have killed me. To survive, what's killing a few mine bandits?"
Muttering to himself, Yang Ling began checking his spoils.
First was the Fire Crystal Ore Fifth Brother had used as bait.
He'd deliberately spread it on the ground.
Three catties in all, worth three hundred coppers.
Then, from the other bodies, he scavenged some Fire Crystal Ore and coppers.
Together that came to nearly a catty of ore and four hundred copper coins.
"I mined two catties myself, plus these four catties, makes six catties — worth six hundred coppers."
"Then there's over four hundred coppers in cash here."
"Altogether, exactly one tael of silver."
A smile surfaced on Yang Ling's face.
This way of making money really was fast — no wonder Fifth Brother and his lot turned to banditry.
"Old Fifth's coin purse feels rather light?"
Yang Ling began checking Fifth Brother's purse.
A light shake turned out a broken silver ingot!
"A silver bit? This has to be at least two taels?!"
Yang Ling weighed it in delighted surprise.
With this, his fortune had reached a full three taels.
Another two taels and he could buy an identity in Qingshan City!
"Once I have a Qingshan City identity, I can look for other ways to level up, or switch to a vein with richer experience..."
Yang Ling packed up his things and, still thinking, pressed on deeper into the cave.
He didn't dare use the fire-starter on the way, feeling forward in the dark instead.
Every few steps he stopped to listen.
Fortunately the system map showed clearly even without light, and with its help he went deeper and deeper, until at last he found a vein of Fire Crystal Ore.
No ambush this time. Yang Ling swung his pick and single-mindedly grinded experience.
One strike after another!
Every strike sent icy experience into his body, easing his fatigue and muscle ache, and indirectly building his endurance!
When hungry, he ate flatbread.
When thirsty, he drank water.
When tired, he rested a while.
Yang Ling wasn't sure how many spots he'd worked.
He only knew his cloth pouches were getting fuller and fuller.
Good thing he'd prepared several extra.
One pouch could hold about ten catties of Fire Crystal Ore.
When he'd filled three pouches, the pleasant chime rang out once more.
"Ding!"
「Congratulations, you have leveled up and gained 1 Free Attribute Point」
"Level 6!"
Yang Ling was overjoyed.
This trip into the caves, and he'd gained two levels in a row!
Once again he put the point into Strength.
Knowing how important Strength was for mining, there was no way he'd choose Agility or Spirit.
He opened his attribute panel:
Name: Yang Ling
Class: Miner
Level: 6
Strength: 12 (3)
Agility: 5
Spirit: 10
HP: 90/90
"Pure Strength has already reached 9. Counting the pick's bonus, my Strength is now on par with Overseer Wu."
"My Agility's 3 points behind, but my Spirit is 7 points higher than his."
"In total attributes, I'm far ahead of Overseer Wu."
Yang Ling was very satisfied.
If things went smoothly from here, a month from now his overall attributes would surely take a huge leap!
"First, let me hit Level 10. In other games, a class-change quest opens after Level 10. No telling if 「Divine Realm」 is the same."
Yang Ling once more set to mining with full focus.
Only when he noticed his flatbread running low did he start heading back.
For safety, though, he took a different route on the way out, adding some extra distance.
By the time he left the cave, it was deep night.
A few figures could faintly be seen on the vein.
"Thirty-odd catties of Fire Crystal Ore — I wonder if it'll draw Steward Niu's suspicion."
"Too bad this game didn't give me a storage slot..."
Gritting his teeth, Yang Ling decided to take the gamble.
It wasn't that he hadn't thought about burying the ore somewhere first.
But he knew his mining speed would only get faster from here.
By then, burying that much ore would make it even harder to cash in!
Rather than that, better to see how Steward Niu reacted.
Reaching the exit, a vein guard shot him a glance and called Steward Niu out.
Steward Niu gave a yawn:
"Yang Ling, you've been in the caves for several days."
"Steward Niu, I found a very rich vein of Fire Crystal Ore, so I dug for all I was worth."
Yang Ling said in a low voice.
"Very rich?"
Steward Niu was slightly taken aback. "How rich?"
Yang Ling tossed the three bulging pouches onto the table.
Steward Niu was stunned.
Then he quickly took up his small scale.
After a good while, his expression turned odd: "Thirty-two catties..."
"You didn't go turn mine bandit, did you?"
"Steward Niu, I wouldn't dare!"
Yang Ling gave a violent start.
"Scared you? Just a joke."
Steward Niu said with a chuckle: "Since it's thirty-two catties, paying you in coppers would be inconvenient. Let me give you silver instead."
"Steward Niu, isn't it thirty catties?"
Yang Ling said.
Steward Niu looked Yang Ling up and down, then suddenly smiled and nodded:
"Right. It's thirty catties."
With that, he took out a broken silver ingot, weighed it, and tossed it to Yang Ling.
The moment it hit his hand, Yang Ling knew it was a full three taels.
His heart burned.
Together with Old Fifth's two taels of silver, he now had enough to buy an identity.
But... buying one directly right now would be too conspicuous. Best to wait a while longer.
"Thank you, Steward Niu."
Yang Ling thanked him politely, then hurried off.
"Steward Niu, there's something odd about that kid."
A vein guard quietly sidled up, eyeing Yang Ling's back with suspicion.
"He's a vagrant."
Steward Niu said mildly.
The vein guard said, puzzled: "I know that."
"Not long ago, Hongkun City was struck by disaster and a riot broke out. Bandits took the chance to raid the city and cleaned out its foremost clan, the Yang family. The Yang family's enemies moved in to finish them, and after that the Yang family scattered. Not long after, this kid showed up."
Steward Niu smiled.
The vein guard started slightly: "You're saying he might be a scion of the Yang family?"
"Possibly. Before it was only a suspicion, but the more I look, the more it fits. He probably has martial arts on him — he's a Martial Artist."
"A Martial Artist? Like Overseer Wu?!"
The vein guard was shocked.
Steward Niu waved a hand: "I'm merely doing a good turn, to leave myself an extra way out down the road."
"Steward Niu really is impressive — such a sharp eye."
The vein guard gave a thumbs-up, full of admiration.