Chapter 162: Chapter 162: Ratman Miner Aekte
Translator: 549690339
Song Jian cautiously advanced several meters along the subway rails, finally spotting the body of the Armored Zombie lying across the track. Its body was slowly burning to black ashes, and several items were scattered around him. “The one who killed it actually didn’t take the opportunity to take the spoils?” Song Jian was a bit surprised; the other party had dealt the final blow to the Armored Zombie, and was entitled to seize spoils of battle.
Next to the Armored Zombie’s corpse, a small figure stood, resembling a thirteen- or fourteen-year-old child, about 1.2 to 1.3 meters tall. When Song Jian drew closer, he jumped in surprise: this person looked like a giant rat walking upright.
Clasping his dagger, Song Jian seemed a bit tense.
“Greetings, human youngster. Don’t be nervous, I’m just a miner.” The rat person surprisingly could speak: “My name is Eckert Claw. I killed the Zombie when he charged at me while 1 was mining. I didn’t know it was your prey. For this, 1 offer my apologies and hope for your understanding.”
Rat-person Eckert bowed to Song Jian, his right hand on his chest, bending towards Song Jian in respect.
Song Jian didn’t speak, staring at the rat-person’s head. Soon, rat-person Eckert’s attributes were revealed.
“LV30 Rat Miner Eckert (Elite), Vitality Points: ???, Traits: ???, Skills: ???”
Apart from the level, race, profession and name, all the other properties were question marks, clearly hidden by Eckert. However, Eckert’s entire attribute bar was light green, indicating that Eckert and Song Jian had a friendly relationship and wouldn’t attack Song Jian unprovoked.
Seeing this, Song Jian breathed a sigh of relief. Although his Vitality Points had fully restored after the fight, his Mental Strength was already on the brink. His battle power had drastically diminished, and even if in full form, he could not possibly match a level 30 Elite Boss.
“Hello, Mr. Eckert, I’m pleased to meet you here. As it happens, I’m also here to mine.” Song Jian extended his right hand, giving Eckert a greeting.
“Oh, you’re also a miner? What a coincidence!” Eckert’s eyes lit up, a hint of a smile on his face.
Seeing a rat grin at you made Song Jian feel a bit bizarre, but he didn’t show it on his face.
“Come, human lad, these are your spoils and should be yours. 1 again apologize for my recklessness.” Eckert said with a smile.
“Don’t say that. If it wasn’t for you, the creature might have escaped. 1 am grateful to you for killing it and these spoils include your share as well,” Song Jian hastily replied.
“Haha, it was just a level 10 monster. The items it dropped aren’t really useful to me. Moreover, this monster had been in the mine for too long, and almost all it dropped were ores. For a miner, there’s nothing more common than ores.” Rat-person Eckert burst out laughing.
This time, Song Jian didn’t refuse—instead, he nodded at Eckert and picked up all the items dropped by the Armored Zombie Boss.
Three units of Obsidian and five units of Bloodstone, along with five or six other types of ores. Among these, two of them were materials for Song Jian to make “T-11 High-Explosive Grenades,” which brought him considerable joy. “Hm? There’s even an equipment piece,” Song Jian said, somewhat surprised, as he picked up a gauntlet.
“Miner’s Glove (White), Main Hand Weapon, Equipment Effect: Attack 1-1, enhances mining efficiency by 50%, automatic ore detection. Usage Condition: Level 10. Can the equipment be carried out of the game: Yes.”
It was another piece of equipment that could be taken out of the game, but for Song Jian, it seemed more useful inside the game.
“Equipping it means 1 can’t use the dagger. Switching weapons during a battle would take a few seconds.” Song Jian thought after stretching his fingers with the Miner’s Glove on.
“So you are a God Favored, and you have not yet taken up a profession!” Rat-person Eckert eyed Song Jian up and down in surprise, exclaiming aloud.
“Yes, my name is Song Jian. Nice to meet you, Ekt!” Song Jian said with a slight smile.
“Impressive, it seems you’re quite powerful. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have ventured here alone. You should know that even the weakest monsters here are level ten…” Ekt wore a face of admiration.
Song Jian’s expression froze. The minimum level here is ten?
Ekt gave a slight smile to Song Jian, pulled out a pickaxe emitting a faint golden glow, and began to strike the rock wall. Song Jian noticed that within a few minutes, five or six streaks of various colored light flew into Ekt.
“Are miners able to mine this fast?” Song Jian was taken aback, but he quickly moved on and began to explore.
The mining glove could automatically prospect, similarly to a prospector. On the back of the glove, there is a similar device. However, the range of the mining glove was slightly larger than the prospector, reaching five meters.
The mining glove increased mining speed by 50%. A level 5 Mining Skill could also improve efficiency by 30%. Beating the wall with his fist, Song Jian could collect a piece of ore in just a few minutes. His speed wasn’t slow, but when compared to Ekt, it was like heaven and earth.
“These gloves are quite impressive!” Song Jian said excitedly as he touched the mining glove on his right hand.
“That’s just a novice mining gadget. For a true miner, it’s nothing more than a toy.” Ekt suddenly remarked.
“Truthfully, I’m not a miner. But, these gloves are quite useful to me,” Song Jian chuckled.
“As an armed miner, I’d be glad to give you some advice regarding mining. 1 don’t know if you’re interested in listening to my ramblings?” Ekt suddenly offered.
“Armed miner? Really? I’d love to know more about this profession. If you could explain it to me, I’d be extremely grateful.” Song Jian exclaimed, surprised and excited to have encountered an armed miner here. However, looking at Ekt, his combat strength didn’t seem too powerful.
“An armed miner is still a miner at their core, whose primary profession is to gather various ores. Wherever there is a mine, there are armed miners.” Ekt placed his faintly golden-glowing pickaxe aside, sat cross-legged on a rock, and took out a box of cigarettes. He lit one up.
Seeing a giant rat smoking a cigarette in such a stylish manner, Song Jian felt this image was strange and off-beat.
“However, the more precious ores a mine produces, the more dangerous it is. This forces miners to learn some self-defense martial arts, hence the origin of the armed miner.”
“A novice armed miner’s core skill is the Mining Skill. Only those with level ten or above Mining Skill are worthy of calling themselves miners. Additionally, there are dozens of skills related to Mining Skill, which include Prospecting Skill, Ore Seeking Skill, and Ore Identification Skill. As for self-defense martial skills, the core skill is Magma Body Refining Skill. It can absorb energy from various ores to strengthen oneself. With Magma Body Refining Skill as the core, many other martial skills can be developed, which you will need to choose again when you reach level thirty for the second class transfer…”
Ekt talked incessantly and told Song Jian all the characteristics of the armed miner without any reservations.
System: You attentively listened to Armed Miner Ekt’s explanation, the Skill ‘Mining Skill’ (LV5) evolves into ‘Mining Skill’ (LV3).
[Mining Skill]: Passive, Level 3, when collecting ores increases efficiency by 35%, increases the probability of obtaining rare ores by 12%.
System: After carefully listening to Armed Miner Ekt’s explanation, your Mining Skill levels up.
[Mining Skill]: Passive, Level 4, when collecting ores increases efficiency by 40%, increases the probability of obtaining rare ores by 15%.
