TRGBM 06

Episode 6

006. The God of Mining

A dull, almost eerie, splitting sound.
The worn pickaxe in Geumsom’s hands pierced precisely through the Kobold’s skull.
Like a ripe watermelon bursting, the monster’s head shattered into pieces with a red effect, scattering into ashen dust.

[Weak Point Strike Successful.]
[Critical Hit Confirmed.]
[Kobold has been slain.]

Seeing that message, Geumsom couldn’t help but smile.

‘A Critical Hit on top of it… a one-shot?’

A clean one-shot.
No matter how weak Kobolds were, Geumsom was also only Level 1.
They weren’t monsters meant to be finished in one hit.
But the moment ‘Intuition of Resolution’ combined with Geumsom’s focus to strike it accurately, the Kobold became a one-hit monster.

And then the Kobolds that charged in succession.
But Geumsom had no reason to fear monsters that died in one hit.

Keeeeek! Kyeek!

Whoosh—
Thwump—
Whoosh— Thwack—
Whoosh— Thwack—
Whoosh— Thwack—
.
.
.

The Kobolds turned to ashen dust one after another, unable to even scream properly.
Just as the sounds started feeling cleaner, a new message appeared before his eyes.

[Achievement: Head Hunter]
[You are the first to slay 10 monsters using only headshots.]
[The system admires your tenacity in targeting only heads.]
[Effect: Final damage from headshots increases by an additional 10%.]

“Oho, didn’t expect this one.”

An unexpected harvest brought a faint smile to Geumsom’s lips.
He wasn’t familiar with this type of reward.
In his past life, he wasn’t a combat-focused player.
He was decent at fighting but not skilled enough to achieve such achievements—a微妙 position.
In the later period of the Age of Ruin, he focused more on crafting equipment than combat.
Thus, combat-related achievements were unfamiliar to Geumsom too.
However, even with that thrilling message, Geumsom’s hands didn’t stop.

Whoosh— Thwack—
Whoosh— Thwack—
Whoosh— Thwack—
.
.
.

He advanced, emotionlessly splitting Kobold skulls like a farmer harvesting ripe fruit.
Getting a combat achievement was good, but that wasn’t why he came here.

[Level has increased! Lv. 2]
[Level has increased! Lv. 3]
.
.
.
[Level has increased! Lv. 5]

Thanks to the extra headshot damage from ‘Head Hunter,’ the hunting was smooth.
Mindlessly, mechanically hunting only Kobolds, his level reached 5 in no time.
His level skyrocketed in an instant.
With each level-up, a warm energy swirled through his body, a feeling of power rising.

A nostalgic sensation.
This feeling of leveling up was also a long time coming.
In the late Age of Ruin, right before the end, leveling up was difficult.
But there was no time to indulge in that feeling.
Geumsom merely dispassionately rechecked his status.

[Player Information]

– Name: Geumsom
– Level: 5
– Class: Stranger
– Titles:

1. Narcissist
   – Achievements:

2. Unwavering Conviction

3. Head Hunter
   – Skills:

4. Intuition of Resolution [Hidden]

5. Mining
   – Fame: 50

Compared to his Level 5 status in his past life, this was a luxurious player information window.
In the past, it was just name, level, and class.
But now it was different.
Skills, titles, achievements, even fame.
It was a player info window he somehow couldn’t get used to.

“A lot has changed indeed.”

He had just started playing, yet unlike his past life, he had gained so much.
But that was it.
He couldn’t be satisfied here.

Geumsom briefly checked the info and opened his detailed player stats.
To allocate the points gained from leveling up.

[Player Detailed Information]

[Base Stats]
– Strength: 11
– Agility: 11
– Stamina: 11
– Magic: 11
[Open Stat]
– Luck: 16
[Remaining Stat Points: 20]

Remaining stat points: 20.
At Level 5, the normal amount would be 16 stat points.
But thanks to the opened Luck stat, an additional 4 stat points had been added.
Moreover, there was the +1 to all stats reward.
Compared to an average Level 5 player, he had already started 9 stat points ahead.
Despite such astonishing results, Geumsom’s mind was only occupied with where to invest the remaining points.

‘Where should I dump all the stat points?’

Geumsom pondered for a moment.
But the contemplation was brief.
He invested them all into Strength.

[Investing all 20 remaining stat points into Strength.]
[Strength: 11 → 31]

Crrk—

Along with the brief message, he felt power filling his entire body, packed tight.
It was almost visible, his muscles bulging in real-time.
Compared to Tuban, he still looked scrawny, but it was definitely different from Level 1 Geumsom.

‘Still insufficient. But it’ll improve gradually.’

He had argued with Tuban’s words, but the smith wasn’t wrong.
Blacksmithing was fundamentally rough work.
To perform it perfectly, a certain level of strength was essential.
That’s why he invested all the stat points into Strength for now.

After a short rest, Geumsom glanced at the changed detailed info and, without any particular emotion, turned his body toward his next goal.
This was just a side achievement.
He couldn’t be satisfied with such small changes.
Geumsom’s real target wasn’t the Kobolds, but what lay deeper inside the mine.

Geumsom, now Level 5, didn’t even glance at the Kobolds.
He had just cleared obstacles on the way into the mine.
His purpose here wasn’t hunting Kobolds.

‘About here?’

Deep in the mine, at a mining spot favored by beginners, he arrived and looked around.
Several players were already there, groaning as they swung their pickaxes.

“Ugh, it really won’t break. Is it supposed to be this hard?”
“You have to hit this thing like 30 times to get one piece of iron ore. Total grind.”
“And iron ore fragments are trash… Does this make sense? How are we supposed to gather 5 top-quality pieces? Do we really have to do this?”

It seemed other players had also received Tuban’s quest.
But things weren’t going their way, and complaints were plentiful.
Seeing them reminded Geumsom of his past self.
He too had been one of those complaining players.

‘They really are disgustingly hard to get.’

Tuban did give the Mining skill.
But even if you diligently beat the mine walls with the Mining skill, all you’d get was low-grade iron ore.
To gather top-quality iron ore, you’d have to ‘commute’ to this mine daily for a while.

Moreover, Geumsom had penalties other players didn’t.
The first was a time limit.
Unlike others, Geumsom had a time limit attached.
And also…

“Huh? You got the blacksmith quest too? But the state of your pickaxe…”

Players frowned looking at the pickaxe he held.
This was the second penalty.
The pickaxe itself was more worn than those of other players.
As if it would break any moment.
The price for provoking Tuban.
Players looking at Geumsom with pity began to offer their comments.

“You won’t manage with that pickaxe, will you? Even with a new one it’s hard. With that, you don’t stand a chance.”
“Hey? Just give up! You’ll only waste your time, I’m telling you! How about partying up to hunt Kobolds instead?”
“Tch! I can’t do this! I’m going to another village for a new quest! Crazy Tuban! I knew he was trouble when he was showing off his muscles! What kind of pointless task is this?! You should quit too. Getting a different class seems better.”

While some players worried for Geumsom, others seemed to be giving up on the quest one by one.
But they all said the same thing to Geumsom.
Don’t waste time, give up the quest.
That’s how bad Geumsom’s pickaxe looked.
But Geumsom ignored their words.
He had prepared for this in advance.

‘Intuition of Resolution’ from Bark.
He hadn’t prepared ‘Intuition of Resolution’ for combat.
It was for its third effect.

– Usable even in non-combat situations. Can discern hidden value or flaws in objects.

This.
He aimed for this effect when obtaining ‘Intuition of Resolution’ from Bark.
And now, this moment, was the time for that effect to shine.

‘Intuition of Resolution!’

Geumsom stood before an empty mine wall and activated the skill.
Instantly, his vision changed.

The massive rock face that had seemed ordinary and bland.
Countless red lines and dots appeared on its surface.
Like seeing the blood vessels and vital points of a living creature.
The flow of the ore vein, its weakest points, and the ‘core points’ where the highest purity minerals were concentrated—all became visible at a glance.

Geumsom examined the red dots and lines marked by ‘Intuition of Resolution,’ then chose the closest one.
A point that glowed particularly bright and thick red. He put all his strength into a swing aimed there.

KWA-AAANG!

It was on a different level from the ‘clang, clang’ sounds heard nearby.
A clear, crisp cracking sound.
It reverberated throughout the mine.

The hard mine wall that normal players would need dozens of hits to even scratch crumbled away as if lying.
And within it, a chunk glowing with a radiance incomparable to ordinary iron ore came into view.
Along with a simultaneous message.

[Top-Quality Iron Ore acquired.]

One swing.
With a single swing of the pickaxe, he had mined top-quality iron ore.
The other players witnessing Geumsom’s play couldn’t close their mouths.

“C-crazy…”
“What? What did he do? Is that a hack?”
“Why did it collapse in one hit? That pickaxe… a legendary item or something?”
“Is Tuban discriminating against players? Giving someone a super good pickaxe, and others just a normal one like this!”
“Maybe the more worn the pickaxe, the better? Should I get a worn pickaxe too…”

The players who had told him to give up after seeing his worn pickaxe.
Their attitudes switched faster than anyone’s after Geumsom’s single swing.
But Geumsom paid no mind to their reactions.
With trembling hands, he picked up the top-quality iron ore.

‘It works! Intuition of Resolution… it truly is the skill that makes you the God of Mining!’

Geumsom cheered internally.
Even if you obtain a skill, utilizing it is entirely up to the player.
That’s precisely how ‘Lepion’ differed from ordinary games.

But he couldn’t just rejoice.
He confirmed that ‘Intuition of Resolution’ worked perfectly.
So what Geumsom had to do was clear.
Immerse himself in mining immediately.
With a time limit on the quest, he had to hurry.

KWA-AANG!
KWA-AANG!

Targeting only the red dots required little effort, and the efficiency was beyond imagination.

[Mining Skill proficiency has increased.]
[Top-Quality Iron Ore acquired.]
[Top-Quality Iron Ore acquired.]
[Mining Skill has reached Lv.2.]
[Intuition of Resolution Skill proficiency has increased.]
[Top-Quality Copper acquired.]
[Intuition of Resolution Skill has reached Lv.2.]
.
.
.

As the skill levels rose, the red dots became clearer. Later, they even started appearing in different colors depending on the mineral type.
Iron was red, copper yellow, and the rare gemstone ores embedded within glowed with a brilliant rainbow hue.

“Hahahahat! I am the God of Mining!”

Geumsom’s cheerful shout echoed through the mine before he knew it.
The other players could only watch his play with eyes full of envy.