Book 2: Chapter 103: Miner and Thinking

Book 2: Chapter 103: Miner and Thinking

Ding... Ding... Ding... Ding...

The rhythmic sound of metal slamming into stone and metal alike was the first thing Soph's senses picked up as she awoke. It wasn't a close sound but it also wasn't distant. It originated perhaps 50 or so metres from her.

She yawned as she stretched a bit and opened her eyes. "Good morning Lone..."

She looked around with bleary eyes when the information her Mana Sensing had been collecting fully processed in her mind. "Wha...?"

'Soph, why were we asleep? We were waiting for Lone to finish his meeting. With the two of us, there is no way we would have missed his consciousness returning, yet now we awake only to see him mining a tunnel through the road's walls,' Sophie pointed out.

Soph slowly clambered out of her and Lone's tent. 'I don't know. I can ask though.'

Not a moment later, Hamish and Breena stumbled out of their own tents, both looked a bit confused but well-rested.

"Uh, I'm gonna go talk to Lone," Soph said to them.

Hamish slowly nodded when his stomach rumbled. "Aye, ye dae 'at. Ah'll work on breakfast."

"I-I'll help. I want to try levelling Cooking Mastery," Breena shyly added.

Soph smiled at the two of them as she wiped some of the crust from her eyes. Hamish was a useful person even if she detested him, and Breena was a sweet girl trying her best. Soph couldn't ever dislike her for that.

With no particular hurry, she made her way down Lone's tunnel and was a bit surprised that he didn't stop mining the ore and stone in his way when she had reached his side.

"What are you doing, Lone?" Soph asked curiously.

He stopped briefly to look at her. Smiling weakly, Lone replied, "Going over it again and again and again."

Soph wore a confused look. "You're not making any sense."

'He is shaking,' Sophie conveyed.

'Well, yeah, he's been digging a tunnel for who knows how many hours,' Soph replied.

Sophie scoffed in her mind. 'No, he could mine for days before the exhaustion started hitting his muscles. Soph, he is afraid of something.'

"Lone... what happened when we were asleep?" Soph asked softly. "Why... why wasn't I awake when you returned?"

Lone looked at his pickaxe and clearly considered going back to swinging it but he ultimately decided to sigh and slump down onto the ground. "When I woke up, you were passed out and a devil told me he'd put you, Breena, and Hamish, to sleep. That was... well, you're up now, so about 22 hours ago."

"A devil?" Soph cocked her head curiously, though she was mostly still just concerned for Lone. "Didn't Gilbert mention those during one of your calls?"

Lone laughed weakly. "No, he mentioned demons since he's considering invoking the hells to empower his spells. A devil is to a demon what a bug is to a blade of grass."

"A bug isn't so bad. I don't get why you're so spooke-"

"An Arch Devil is to a devil what a person is to a bug," Lone interrupted. "And I tell you what, Soph, I'm feelin' an awful lot like a bug right now, dancing in the palm of a very powerful person."

'He is being stupid. We are taking over,' Sophie informed her softer self.

The look in her eyes hardened and Lone smiled at her once more. "Hi, Sophie."

"You are looking pretty pathetic," Sophie jabbed. "You never look like this, even when you so foolishly threatened a demigod. Do you remember the Djinn?"

Lone nodded. "Sure do."

"Then why are you so frightened?" Sophie asked, a rare hint of warmth in her voice.

"Because the denizens of hell are born of trickery. I did everything I was supposed to. I didn't do what the devil said, nor did I even look at him before I got him to sign my first ever level four True Contract Magic contract," Lone explained to her. "We had a back-and-forth discussion that followed some simple but very binding rules. I learned why a being as strong or stronger than a Divine showed up in our camp. I can't give you any details because the contract binds me."

That shocked Sophie greatly. It made sense now why Lone was so shaken up. This 'Arch Devil' could have killed her before he had returned from his meeting.

It terrified her that it could have killed Lone and kept her asleep long enough for Minor Time Control to be worthless in any attempt to save his life. Considering how strong Lone's love was for her, Sophie now understood his terror.

"Why didn't it?" Sophie asked.

"What?" Lone asked.

"Why didn't it kill us, Breena, and Hamish?" Sophie inquired.

Lone put his hands together and clasped them over his knees. "I don't know and I can't mention anything he said, but if think it might have to do with a certain 'minor Luck deity'. Considering your stats, I bet we both know who that means."

"Oh... Well, that is fortunate," Sophie said as she bent down and rubbed Lone's head.

She was smart enough to read between the lines. At some point during this secret conversation between her man and this Arch Devil, it had confessed to being thwarted somehow by her Luck.

"What're you doing?" Lone asked.

Sophie smirked at him. "Comforting you. Stop shaking like a wet dog and tell us exactly what has you worried and what this devil wanted from you, without telling us what it wanted from you. You are clever, so we expect you to word it sufficiently enough to satisfy your unique skill."

Lone chuckled faintly. "I love you, you know that, right?"

"We do, now explain yourself, you filthy miner," Sophie replied.

Lone nodded faintly. "The bloodline of a dwarf of no particular interest to us has been aware of a certain being's true name for generations, and in exchange for removing that particular trait from this dwarf's bloodline, the magic binding her which is forcing her to try to someone me was offered to be removed when she thought she was requesting that person's death."

Cost:80 SP [-10 SP] per 15-minutes [+5-minutes]. Mastery:Advanced Level 1 Cost:N/A Mastery:Beginner Level 1 Cost:N/A Mastery:Advanced Level 4

It was, however, concerning to see what the skill protected him from since that implied he was subject to all of those things while in Zel's presence.

The madness and pure damage could be dealt with by Basic Regeneration but the two soul afflictions worried Lone incredibly.

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Fear Resistance] has levelled up! It is now Intermediate Level 8!

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Fear Resistance] has levelled up! It is now Intermediate Level 9!

At this point in the log, Zel had left and now the following notifications were born of Lone's reaction and mulling over the conversation.

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Panic Resistance] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 9!

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Panic Resistance] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 10!

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Panic Resistance] has levelled up! It is now Intermediate Level 1!

Passive Skill: Panic Resistance

A skill that helps protect the host from panic attacks.

Reduces the chances that the host will experience a panic attack in a stressful situation by 15% [+10%].

Cost:N/A Mastery:Intermediate Level 1

Every hour, every minute, Panic Resistance had slowly been levelling all the way up until Soph and then Sophie came to talk to him, so it didn't stop at just intermediate level one.

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Panic Resistance] has levelled up! It is now Intermediate Level 2!

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Panic Resistance] has levelled up! It is now Intermediate Level 3!

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Panic Resistance] has levelled up! It is now Intermediate Level 4!

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Panic Resistance] has levelled up! It is now Intermediate Level 5!

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Panic Resistance] has levelled up! It is now Intermediate Level 6!

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Panic Resistance] has levelled up! It is now Intermediate Level 7!

'And here's where I decided to start mindlessly mining,' Lone commented as a new set of notifications filled his vision.

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Mining Mastery] has levelled up! It is now Intermediate Level 1!

Passive Skill: Mining Mastery

A skill that allows the host to more efficiently mine through materials with a pickaxe.

Increases the host's mining speed by 15% [+10%] and increases the host's ability to spot structural weaknesses in stone structures like caves, walls, and buildings, by 15% [+10%].

Cost:N/A Mastery:Intermediate Level 1

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Mining Mastery] has levelled up! It is now Intermediate Level 2!

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Mining Mastery] has levelled up! It is now Intermediate Level 3!

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Mining Mastery] has levelled up! It is now Intermediate Level 4!

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Panic Resistance] has levelled up! It is now Intermediate Level 8!

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Panic Resistance] has levelled up! It is now Intermediate Level 9!

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Panic Resistance] has levelled up! It is now Intermediate Level 10!

'What're we gonna do about Sheelda?' Soph suddenly asked him mentally. 'Sophie wants to kill her and I kinda agree.'

He glanced over to her and he stirred his dinner with his spoon. 'Nothing. I can't be sure but I'd bet damn near everything I own that if I killed Sheelda I'd somehow enter a deal with Zel.'

'And we don't want that...' Soph mumbled mentally in response.

Lone nodded and repeated, 'And we don't want that.'

'What if I did it?' Soph asked.

'What?' Lone had a feeling he knew what she was asking but he didn't want to even entertain that possibility.

'I mean, I could teleport to the capital, find her, and then launch a Barrier Maelstrom at her. If I kill her, it isn't you doing it, the devil then leaves happy that his trick on her worked and he shouldn't bother us again,' Sophie explained.

'Absolutely fucking not. Soph, if I even so much as suggest you do that, it'll be as good as me having done it myself in an Arch Devil's eyes,' Lone stated.

Soph stared at her stack of syrup-covered pancakes and replied, 'If you're worried about your 'minor Luck deity' being gone which would allow him to kill you, you can unsummon and resummon me at will. It'll only take me a couple of days, maybe less, to get to the capital and back.'

'No, and that is final. You and Sophie keep harping on at me to keep myself safe, right? Well, I'm trying my best over here so do me the courtesy of not risking yourself either, at least not until you have your Immortality skill back,' Lone said.

'Yeah... Sorry. It was a stupid idea. I just... I just want this to be over, the whole Sheelda thing. Who'd have thought she'd send something so strong after us? I thought it'd end with the assassins,' Soph chuckled sadly.

'Same. I mean, we both planned to kill her before leaving. Loose ends and all that. I'll think of something, so just take it easy and keep training, okay?' Lone asked.

Soph nodded. 'I trust you. We both do. Whatever you choose to do, we're with you one million percent of the way there!'

Lone smiled at her wordlessly.

'Now!' she exclaimed telepathically. 'Tell me all about your secret meeting!'Ñøv€lRapture marked the initial hosting of this chapter on Ñôv€lß¡n.