FEW HOURS AGO
Following the directions given by the Weary Dwarf, Vox found himself walking straight toward a massive mining cave area.
He froze at the sight of more than a thousand Dwarves were already there, swinging pickaxes worth at least 500 crystal shards each—gear expensive enough to make Vox feel even poorer than he already was.
He carefully navigated the rugged ground, looking for a spot to start. He tried to settle near two Dwarves, but the moment they saw him, they huffed in unison.
The one with a thick black beard growled, "This is our spot," He said, "Go find another place. Yes, you must!"
His partner followed up with a sharp nod. "...Yes, go find another place."
They didn't give him a second to speak before turning their backs and returning to their work.
Vox frowned, muttering, "I never knew Dwarves were this grumpy. I guess I'll just find a spot where I won't be a nuisance."
Deep down, he knew they wouldn't be this cold over a simple misunderstanding. He saw other Dwarves working together, laughing and sharing tools. But the instant he passed one, they treated him like he carried a contagious virus. It was as if even smiling at him was a crime.
Not wanting to start a one-man war against a thousand armed miners, he stayed clear of the crowd. He retreated toward a lonely corner of the cave that offered few crystal shards but plenty of peace.
He raised his starter pickaxe and struck a black rock. A chunk broke off, leaving behind small, white, shimmering objects.
As he picked one up, he caught his reflection on its surface again—the face that wasn't his. He knew deep down, but he couldn't understand why he had another face all together.
However, the moment he touched the object, it dematerialized into his palm, and a tab opened;
[Item: Crystal Shard]
His profile updated with every shard that fell:
[PROFILE]
Name: Vox
Progress: 1.0%
Crystal Shards: 30
Health:30/30 HP]
Slowly but steadily, he managed to gather 100 shards, all while watching the Dwarves nearby pull 100 shards out with a single strike of their high-tier tools.
Nevertheless, he stayed content, and at the hundredth shard, a notification popped up:
[SIDE QUEST: Pay up the Grumpy Mine Dwarf]
Progress: 100/600 Crystal Shards]
Wiping the sweat from his brow, Vox exhaled. "Even the system knows he's a grumpy man. That makes two of us."
Just as he raised his tool again, the wood of his pickaxe snapped, "HUH?" Vox blinked.
The metal head went flying, leaving Vox standing there with a useless stick and a sinking feeling of lost hope.
"...At least it lasted a while for a garbage pickaxe," he muttered, reaching for the metal head. "If this is not broken, I can still make it work."
He gripped the metal head directly in his hands and struck the stone. Each impact sent a jar of pain through the small bones of his fingers, his skin bruising against the cold metal, but the weight of the debt kept him going.
He didn't stop, even when the metal head snapped into two pieces, he held both pieces in each hand.
With fire in his eyes, he struck the mine wall again, gaining double the shards with twice the effort.
The Dwarves nearby paused, watching in awe. They couldn't understand what gave such a fragile-looking being the strength to keep mining after his tools had literally turned to scrap.
Vox ignored them, he worked until the metal shards were completely useless, his hands red and numb, but He had reached 300 shards through sheer intensity.
"I can't stop now," he panted. "I have to pay that man... Dwarf... Whatever. Who knows when he'll come for it? I could go to the store, but those bats might still be—"
"Hey, Strange looking human..." a harsh voice called out.
Vox turned instinctively. One of the miners was standing there, holding out a Bronze Pickaxe.
Vox's eyes went wide. "Thanks a lot!"
The Dwarf just grunted. "I thought an Elven-human looking young man like you wouldn't stand the dirt, I was wrong. Use this to get enough shards so you can stop gracing us with your presence. This shouldn't be your daily spot."
Before Vox could ask what he meant, the Dwarf walked away.
"Well, nice pep talk," He gripped the new tool. It was smooth to the touch, strong, and rust-free.
With 500 uses remaining, Vox smirked. "Now that's a blessing."
'CLANG!' It gave off a sweet resonating sound, rather than the sound of a two gravel getting rubbed together, and the Crystal shard fell off easily and more than before.
By the time he had 1,000 shards, the Bronze Pickaxe had only five uses left, and enough shards to pay off the grumpy Mine Dwarf.
He walked away from the mining area, ignoring the suspicious glares from the local miners.
"Why do they stare at me? Is it because of my terrible hair color, maybe I'm too old for my young age?" His question nagged at him, and it definitely was a strange thought to carry as he walked back to the Grumpy Mine Dwarf, who hadn't moved an inch from his spot.
The moment the old Dwarf saw him, he spoke up sharply, "I hope you didn't come to say hi. I'll add a 100-shard penalty fee!"
Vox shook his head violently. "No! I came to pay the debt."
As he stepped close to the Mine Dwarf, his shard count depleted instantly.
[SIDE QUEST COMPLETED: Pay up the Grumpy Mine Dwarf.
600/600 Crystal Shards.
Reward: +50 Crystal Shards]
[Total Shards: 450]
The Dwarf turned his back immediately, returning to smooth his stone slab.
"I'm sorry for disturbing you," Vox asked, "but... Do I look strange? Have you seen any humans with—"
The Dwarf turned and gave him a look that resembled a possessed nutcracker. He didn't answer, simply returning to his work.
Vox sighed. "I should have learned my lesson by now."
He turned to leave, but a split-second later, a scream of pure terror sounded through Vox's soul, so loud he didn't know when he spun around.
The Mine Dwarf was gone.
Goosebumps appeared across Vox's skin. That wasn't a scream for attention. It was the sound of a man facing his end.
"Mr. Dwarf? Sir?" Vox called out, his heart rate spiking as he crept toward the stone slab.
He had two fears: What made the Dwarf scream was one, and the other was whether the Dwarf was okay enough, and might charge him another debt for not minding his business.
But when he stepped behind the slab, his breath caught.
He saw the clothes of the Mine Dwarf, still fully dressed, but inside... A clean, white skeleton of a Dwarf.
Vox's temperature dropped, "Mine Dwarf ?.."
That's when he heard it.
'Coo...'
He quickly turned his head to see a gnome standing on the stone slab, blinking at him.
It was only a foot tall, wearing a pointed hat and the same replica of the Dwarf's clothes—just shrunk down.
But its outfit was pitch black, but those eyes were like an innocent puppy's.
"Um, hi, Even if the Mine Dwarf is gone, I'm sure his soul won't want anyone touching his 5000 hours work,"Vox said and the creature just blinked, prompting him to ask. "If you're here, you must know what attacked the Dwarf..."
The gnome answered in a voice like honey. "Me? Noooo..."
"Is that so?" Vox pointed behind the creature. "Then why is your friend chewing on the Dwarf's ribs?"
A second gnome was there, grating the bones with razor-sharp teeth.
In an instant, the puppy-dog eyes turned into the eyes of a rabid beast. The sweet cooing turned into the snapping of a serrated jaw. Suddenly, more heads popped up....Two... ten... a hundred... a thousand.
Vox gulped, "...I never knew they moved in large numbers.... but, maybe I can do something to protect myself," after saying that to himself, he tried something courageously stupid—he swung his Bronze Pickaxe at the first gnome.
The creature dodged it with impossible speed, allowing the pickaxe to crack the stone slab, before it snatched the tool from his hands with brute strength, and chewed the bronze to dust.
Then it let out a deafening yell:
"YAKAWASHA!!"
"Yeah... time to run," Vox didn't wait before racing through the tunnels. When he burst back into the mining area, the guard at the entrance rolled his eyes. "Look at him practicing his 'graceful' steps..."
The guard's sarcasm died instantly when he saw the black tide of gnomes rushing behind Vox, screaming their war cry.
The guard forgot his pride and sprinted the other way, screaming, "CORRUPTED GNOMES! RUN! SAVE THYSELF!! YES YOU MUST!!"
The entire mine turned into a chaotic escape as the "land-walking piranhas" swarmed in.
*PRESENT TIME:
"YAKAWASHA!!" The horde screamed, axes they had stolen from the nearby miners, raised high, as they chased Vox and the terrified Dwarves through the cave.
"Oh, come on!" Vox cried, as he looked back just in time to dodge a thrown axe. "I finally get it! I am never saying 'what's the worst that could happen' ever again!"