Stuffing the food into his mouth, Soren clearly felt the change in quality. Both the texture and taste of the canned food were significantly better than before. Mia's small face lit up with surprise, clearly amazed by the improvement. Soren, however, had no intention of explaining.
After dinner, the night passed without incident.
Over the next few days, Soren continued working in Extraction Zone T1193. His daily coal output increased from eight hundred kilograms to over a ton, naturally drawing attention from others. Workers from other mine shafts began flocking to Soren's pit.
Swinging his pickaxe diligently, Soren's Coal Mining skill improved again after three days of hard work. His strength increased by another point, and his mining speed rose accordingly. As for Prime Restoration, its progression had slowed considerably. Both his and Mia's bodies had been fully repaired during this period, so using Prime Restoration on them yielded much less experience than before.
With thirteen points in strength and level three Coal Mining, the System could no longer find fault with Soren's pickaxe angle or force. The only way forward was more practice.
"Goddamnit, I've been digging here forever and haven't found shit!"
A clear curse rang out from nearby in the pit. Others had seen how Soren's seemingly frail body could extract a ton of coal and naturally assumed the area was rich with deposits. But upon arrival, they discovered they couldn't mine anything.
"Kid, move aside. This spot belongs to me now!"
As Soren worked diligently, a discordant voice suddenly interrupted. Dark-skinned and towering at nearly six and a half feet tall, the man gave Soren an overwhelming sense of intimidation. Clearly, seeing Soren's success, he believed this particular spot must be rich with coal.
Gripping his pickaxe tightly, Soren didn't react to the man's unreasonable demand. He simply moved aside and continued swinging his tool at another section of the rock face.
"Hmph, smart little bastard, knowing your place!"
An ugly sneer spread across the man's dark face as he swung his tool at the rock wall. He had clearly seen the kid extract plenty of coal from this spot!
One minute, two minutes—after dozens of swings, the man hadn't found a single piece of coal.
"Thud—"
A coal chunk weighing over thirty pounds tumbled from the rock wall. The man's face lit up, only to realize the coal had been extracted by the boy behind him.
"Move it! This spot's mine now!"
Shoving Soren aside, the man continued swinging his pickaxe. He managed to extract a few lumps of coal, but the quantity was obviously much less than what Soren had been mining. Looking back at the boy, the man grew furious to see that Soren had already accumulated another pile of coal, far exceeding his own.
"Kid, you know some mining trick, don't you?" The man twisted his neck, addressing Soren with clear menace in his voice.
"No, I don't."
Without stopping his rhythmic swinging, Soren continued working. Just two hundred more kilograms and he'd complete today's one-ton quota, ensuring a decent surplus in his reserves.
"Boy, are you deaf?"
Seeing Soren ignore him, the man took a large step forward and suddenly reached for Soren, intending to teach him a lesson.
Quickly dodging, Soren eyed the man warily.
"You dare dodge me? I'll show you what I'm capable of!" Seeing Soren evade his grasp, the man's face darkened. He swung his arm again, this time with considerably more force—the man was angry now.
The attack caught Soren off guard. Sometimes, no matter how much you try to avoid trouble, trouble finds you anyway. The massive fist connected squarely with Soren's chest.
"Thud—"
A dull impact, and Soren felt his feet leave the ground as he was sent flying. The power behind the man's punch was evident.
"Ugh—" His body slammed against the rock wall behind him, and Soren felt a wave of dizziness wash over him. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
[Attack received]
[-43]
A crimson number floated up, and Soren knew he was injured.
Gripping his pickaxe tightly and regaining some strength, Soren stared coldly at the man, his face filled with hostility.
"What? You dare glare at me?"
Seeing Soren's expression, the man's face twisted with contempt. Taking another step forward, he threw another punch—if this one connected squarely, Soren's small frame would likely lose half his life, if not more!
"Tap-tap-tap—"
Moving his feet quickly, Soren avoided the man's attack. A rush of air brushed past his ear, the sound alarmingly loud. Having dodged the attack, Soren's expression grew increasingly grim. The extraction zone didn't prohibit armed combat, so fights broke out daily. Most of the bodies the guards dragged out each day were victims of these brawls. As for the law? This world had no such concept. Here, only the living were useful!
"Let's see how many times you can dodge!"
Soren evading his attack again only fueled the man's rage. With only six points in intelligence, he lost all rationality once the fight began. His punches were thrown with lethal intent, and there were no consequences for killing in this place.
"Thud—"
Another punch connected, and this time Soren took it head-on. More blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
[-46]
Two punches had already taken nearly a sixth of Soren's health, putting him in a lightly wounded state. His stance grew unsteady.
"What a weakling."
Seeing his opponent barely able to stand after just two hits, the man's face filled with mockery as he stepped toward Soren again.
"Do you have a trick for mining coal?" Standing beside Soren, the man remembered why he'd started the fight.
"Yes."
Wiping his lips, Soren tasted blood.
"Tell me what it is, and I might spare your life."
Seeing Soren's compliance, the man's face broke into a smile. This tactic had worked on many before.
"I mine more because I choose the right spots. Look over there—that's where the most coal is," Soren said, raising his arm to point at a corner of the pit.
"Over there?"
Looking in the direction Soren indicated, the man instinctively turned his head.
"Whoosh—"
The sound of a blunt object cutting through air suddenly rang out. The man whipped his head back around, but his movement froze halfway. A pickaxe had been driven into his back and emerged through his chest.
[-370]
Blood sprayed everywhere.