“Boss, wake up!” Lil Hu’s voice echoed within Gon’s mind, awakening him from his sleep. Gon rose groggily and rubbed his eyes. This was a first. After st night's talk with Old Qiang, Gon entered a deep slumber. Usually, Gon would be the first to rise and st to sleep, yet now he had to be woken up.

  Unfortunately, Old Qiang didn’t mention much about his past, blue balling Gon. He couldn’t help but be quite interested in that old man’s backstory.

  “I’m awake.” Gon stifled a yawn and waved Lil Hu away.

  “Guam and Quma are back.” Lil Hu muttered under his breath.

  “Hah, about time!” Gon rose like a slumbering dragon awoken by a thief and looked around. He saw the twins seated having breakfast. Gon dashed across the grass and grabbed them from behind, bringing them into a bear hug. The twins stumbled forward, almost falling from the mere push from Gon.

  “B-Boss, what’s going on?” Guam and Quma barely muttered out, choking on their food.

  “Nothing, nothing, I’m just excited to see the work you’ve done.”

  “Boss, you’re heavy.” Quma said quietly.

  “Sorry, sorry, I seem to have gotten ahead of myself.” Gon extended his hands and brought the duo up. “Let’s have some grub, then tell me about the trip.”

  The miners gathered around the fire and dug into their breakfast, listening intently as Guam expined their two day trip.

  “Luckily, we still had most of our gear in the smithy. No one noticed much since it’s on the outskirts of the town.” Guam began.

  “Starting the smithy took longer than expected. It hadn’t been used in months so restarting the furnace was quite complicated.”

  “Lots of wood and coal was needed.” Quma slipped in.

  “And once we got the fire rolling, we could begin.” Guam continued. “The material you gave us was much harder than expected to work with.”

  Thus, Guam described what they did. He began with the smelting of the Volcanic Leijen Sb, mixing it with iron and steel alloy and finally filling the pickaxe mold. A smile was present on his face the whole time as he enthusiastically described the process.

  “And this is what we were left with.” Guam reached for the bag that was beside his leg and brought out a pickaxe. “I call it the Volcanic Pickaxe.”

  The Volcanic Pickaxe was slightly smaller than the iron pickaxes everyone used. Its handle was a dark brown while its head shone a mix of red and orange. There were bck cracks present on its surface that caused the pickaxe head to resemble magma.

  “Here you go, Boss.” Guam handed the Volcanic Pickaxe to Gon.

  Gon carefully accepted the pickaxe and gave it a long hard look.

  System notification.

  Congratutions! You have acquired a F Grade Pickaxe: The Volcanic Pickaxe.

  Description: A pickaxe crafted for Ghost Axe Gon by his friends Quma and Guam. It is extremely durable and has an innate resistance to fire. Suitable for mining in hot conditions.

  Well, don't think I need you to identify that much for me, silly Tim. Gon gave the popup a gnce before waving it away.

  “Thanks, you two.” Gon couldn’t help but smile. He got up and announced to the group.

  “I’m feeling great. You boys up for another half hour tea break?!”

  The group of miners shouted together, their voices resembling a battlecry.

  “Yes, Boss Gon!”

  Letting everyone enjoy some time to rex some more, Gon got up to stretch his shoulders and move on.

  And when he thought back to the other weapon he had received from the lotto, Gon couldn’t help but have a thought. I probably should give that Bcksteel Bde to someone, right? I saw Persimmon training with a sword the other day, so maybe he could help me out hunting and butchering some beasts?

  Gon looked around, and saw Persimmon rest on his table as he slept.

  It was quite obvious why he was so sleepy.

  Gon had noticed him practising the Tradies Body Manual and the weapon throughout the night, while trying to cultivate.

  He’s got potential. If he can get to my level and just bulk up some more, that’ll be perfect.

  Gon carried the Volcanic Pickaxe over his shoulder. The handle felt cool to the touch while the head emitted a slight warmth. He entered the mine first and made his way towards Bom’s secret stash.

  Usually, the act of mining caused strain on his body, causing him to develop his Blue Colr Physique. But it had been a while since his body had improved much. Only when he entered that fiery tunnel would his physique continue to improve.

  So he needed to continue to temper himself in that strange heat tunnel.

  He pushed aside the rock that sealed the entrance and quickly made his way to the tunnel. Gon could feel it. The fiery aura that came from deep inside. He had been stopped before, unable to go any further. But now, with the Volcanic Pickaxe in hand, he would see what secrets y ahead.

  “Now, let’s see what secrets lie in this mine.”

  Gon encountered the red-brown deposit and gripped the Volcanic Pickaxe tightly. He tensed his muscles and focused his strength on the tip of the pickaxe. He swung down. The igneous rock fell apart like snow, a loud hissing sound rang out and steam arose from where it nded. Beads of sweat had already formed on Gon’s skin. He looked down at the Volcanic Pickaxe and noticed it was fine.

  “Perfectomundo.” Gon smiled with satisfaction and got to work.

  System Announcement: Copper Physique (45%) is being upgraded…46%.

  The number that had stopped growing for the past few days finally increased, and Gon felt eted. He no longer paid attention to the system notifications and focused his mind on the task ahead.

  As Gon travelled further inside, the temperature within the tunnel began to rise and rise. The colour of the rocks had also changed, from the starting red-brown to a deeper and darker bck-red.

  The heat was starting to become unbearable. It was getting worse than the saunas Gon would try out in the past. Sweat poured like rain and Gon’s clothes were slightly singed. Gon wiped his seat away with a cloth and pced the Volcanic Pickaxe down.

  “Phew, how long have I been doing this?” Gon exhaled deeply and rubbed his stomach. The woes of an empty stomach drummed within the tunnel.

  “I think it’s time to get some more grub. Let’s get lunch.”

  Just like that, two weeks had passed. Work had been peaceful. The miners fulfilled their quota with increasing speed and focused their attention on the Tradies Body Manual. All of them had reached the First Stage and could now call themselves Qi Condensation Cultivators.

  Or as Gon would call them, call themselves proper miners.

  They didn’t gain the ability to control qi and form spells and techniques. Nor did they achieve the usage of mystical weapon arts.

  They were now miners capable of breaking through stone with their bare hands, able to bear the burden of boulders on their back, and have the stamina of a world css marathon runner.

  Persimmon was even more passionate than the rest. He was the first to fulfil his quota and would spend the rest of his days training in the Tradies Body Manual. He trained with endless grit and fervent ardour, with brilliant blue eyes that held a newfound fme.

  His efforts had paid off, with Persimmon reaching the Third Stage in the Tradies Body Manual.

  While the group revelled in their newfound success and power, Gon was facing a dilemma. Within the two weeks, he had maintained his speed of mining and dug out a rge chunk of the heat tunnel. He could tell he was getting close. But the problem he faced was different.

  Gon had not only focused on raising his Blue Colr Physique in this time but also spent a sufficient amount of time in The Depths. He had successfully created the sixth cloud…but could not fill it up.

  “Status.” Gon called out. The familiar grey interface appeared.

  Status:

  Name: Gon (Kuang Gong)

  Age: 21 years old (36 years old)

  Title: Ghost Axe Gon

  Blue Colr Physique: Copper Physique (49%)

  25%- Increased resistance to blunt attacks

  Cultivation Level: Ore Refining Layer (Shallow)- 6th cloud

  Mining Altar:

  Gem Slot 1: Onyx Shadow (Uncut)

  Why can’t I gather qi in the sixth cloud? Does the Spiritual Jade no longer have an effect?

  Gon pondered to himself and chose to ask Old Qiang. As a former cultivator, Old Qiang could probably diagnose what was wrong with Gon. He expined his situation and waited for a reply.

  “What kind of technique have you learnt? You’ve reached Mid Stage Qi Condensation already?” Old Qiang couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. Then again, noticing it was Gon, he could only sigh and continue his expnation.

  “The grade of Spiritual Jade is too low. You’re going to need a higher grade of Spiritual Jade to continue absorbing qi from.” Old Qiang pointed out the issue instantaneously.

  The System cssified the Spiritual Jade they mined as ‘Fwed’. This meant higher grades existed within this world, but Gon didn’t know where to find them.

  “So where can I find them?” He listened attentively..

  Old Qiang pointed behind him into the forest. He was not pointing at the forest but what y further ahead; the Ethereal Life Sect.

  “Higher grades of Spiritual Jade are managed by the sects. You won’t be able to find any here. All currency and jades are controlled by the sects. They have refinement techniques capable of advancing the grade of Spiritual Jade. So unless you can find some in this mine or refine some yourself, you’re stuck.” Old Qiang patted Gon’s shoulder and walked off.

  This is some bullshit! The mine has only ever produced the lowest grade of Spiritual Jade and the rest is monopolised by the sects? Bloody hell. May as well return to the tunnel and finish what I started.

  Gon made his way back to the heat tunnel and approached the bck-red wall.

  The moment he stepped in, sweat once more covered his body, showing off the tan Gon had developed on his bronze muscur body.

  The temperature had risen to unbearable limits. Standing alone made Gon feel like he was encased in molten va. He brought out the Volcanic Pickaxe and resolved himself.

  Today he would see this journey to the end!

  Clunk. Clunk. Clunk.

  The sounds of Gon’s pickaxe reverberated throughout the small tunnel and the crumble of rocks echoed within. Not one spot on Gon’s body was dry, a droplet of sweat covered every surface. He could feel sweat form in pces he didn’t know he had.

  “It’s bloody hot!” Gon cried out as he exhaled sharply. His lips were chaffed, mouth dry and breathing ragged. The water he had brought had long since run dry. Yet, the wall didn’t seem to end. His Blue Colr Physique also retained itself at 49%.

  “Can’t stop now. I can feel it. I’m almost there.” Gon grabbed his pickaxe and proceeded to throw his final hits.

  His legs began shivering, and soreness encapsuted his entire body, with even his biceps refusing to flex. But Gon refused to give up, going further just one more time.

  One strike. Two strikes. Three strikes…and the wall colpsed.

  The bottleneck that Gon faced finally succumbed to his might. A sigh of relief escaped his mouth as he sat down, trying to catch his breath.

  System announcement.

  Congratutions. Copper Physique has been upgraded to 50%.

  You have unlocked the following effect:

  50%- gain increased resistance to heat/cold.

  Congratutions. You have unlocked Gem Slot No. 2.

  Congratutions. You have unlocked the Gem Furnace.

  Following the notification, Gon could feel his physique undergo a change. His body suddenly felt relieved. Like a man dying of thirst in the desert and finally being given water, Gon felt the heat evaporate from his body. He felt like he had dive bombed straight into a cold ke.

  “That feels good. This quarterly bonus sure is a good one. Couldn’t you give this before, Old Tim?”

  No.

  The cold voice of the System was the same.

  “What a sour puss. At least pretend to talk with some emotion. Well, at least your naming sense has gotten better. Gem Furnace is simple and effective.”

  Gon controlled his breathing and got up. He crossed the fallen wall and came face to face with a glowing, orange orb. On the wall in front, a rge piece of orange ore was embedded within. Surrounded by what looked like mineral deposits of a mixture of quartz and cinnabar, It pulsated with a yellow light. Waves of heat emitted from its centre. It was like a miniature sun.

  “So that’s the source of the commotion, ay.”

  Gon utilised the Volcanic Pickaxe and gripped it tightly. Unlike before, he didn’t sm the pickaxe down. Instead, he delivered a restrained strike to the edge of the ore, where the orange met the bck-red wall. Just like that, Gon masterfully eroded the surrounding wall away. Bit by bit, until the ore fell out. It was free from its constraint, like a cow leaving its fence.

  This object wasn’t much difficult to pry out compared to the Onyx Shadow Gem. Most of the hard work had been done, actually tunnelling through the heat.

  He picked up the deposit of a cinnabar lump and pced it in his p. Thanks to the advancement of his Blue Colr Physique, the radiating heat didn’t feel like it could do much to Gon. Gon used the Volcanic Pickaxe to skillfully chip away at the orange surroundings. After some time had passed, a yellow, spherical gem could be seen.

  Gon waved his hand and sent it into the Inner World. He then walked out of the tunnels until he reached the cache of Spiritual Jades that Bom hid. He sat down, closed his eyes and envisioned the Mining Altar.

  And just like that, Gon stood in his Inner World, a boundless bleached nd that had a bit more life to it than before.

  Having just unlocked a second gem slot, this could potentially be used in tandem with the Onyx Shadow Gem.

  With exhiration, Gon could only shout to himself in the solitude of his Inner World.

  “Let’s find out what this gem is!”