The miners dropped their axes, some collapsing onto the ground, while others rushed to gulp down water.
Twenty miners in total—five went straight to the Overseer, reporting symptoms of nausea from the Gate's side effects.
It was a priority to use the oxygen dispenser after breathing in the air of this world.
Everyone did, except Valtor.
When he took off his helmet, he faced the desolate land, inhaling deeply, like the air here carried twice the oxygen of his home.
Some miners had been watching him since the work began, whispering about his unusual strength.
"The new guy sure has a lot of Muscles for a new comer," one murmured, eyeing Valtor who stared at the wasteland.
"Yeah," another agreed. "Think the Overseer noticed? What if he's actually higher rank and came blended in as a Miner? Or something else?"
Pete chimed in, "Maybe he has a lot of experience mining crystals? Probably worked with another team?"
The two miners exchanged glances but shrugged. "Say what you want, but I'm not letting some newcomer earn a bigger paycheck than me."
Pete ignored their mumbling, though he couldn't deny the thought had crossed his mind too. He had seen Valtor's strength firsthand.
Even the most experienced miners had to put in a good amount of raw strength to break a corrupted crystal. But when Valtor swung his axe, it barely touched the surface before shattering the piece.
And then there was the air.
Even Pete, whose years as a Miner was about five-years in total, had to wear his helmet now and then to keep from inhaling too much of the dust and corrupted energy.
Yet, there stood Valtor, breathing it in like it was nothing.
"Hey," Pete called, making Valtor turn. "Want some water? Breaking those crystals like that must have drained you, right?"
Valtor raised a brow, he wasn't a bit thirsty. But, this changed after glancing at the others.
The miners were exhausted.
"Oh," he said, rubbing his neck with a sheepish grin. "Yeah, I'm super tired! Can't believe this world turned into a wasteland like this," He drank down some.
Pete nodded. "Yeah, terrible, right? Hope nothing like this happens to our world... Imagine getting wiped out, erased like we never existed. You've heard about the Finality, right?"
"The Finality?" Valtor asked, curious. Pete was about twenty-five, yet seemed to know more about this prophecy.
"Yeah! I heard story of The Supreme Goddess warning about it—a prophecy that'll bring the end of everything. Not just our world, but the entire universe, wiped out like it was never here. Crazy, right?"
"Yes!." 'The Finality?' Valtor made a mental note to ask Blobby about it later. Then he quickly changed the subject. "Well, I really need to go… uh, release all this water I've been drinking."
Pete raised a brow, "You barely had a drink..."
"I have sensitive kidneys!"
Pete gave him a thumbs-up after that statement, watching as Valtor hurried off. Then, he mumbled, "You could've just said 'pee,' you know."
"VALTOR!" Pete suddenly remembered something important and called out, stopping Valtor in his tracks, "You should ask permission from the Supervising Rank!"
*****
Rest Time was the best chance for Valtor to explore this terrible wasteland. Everyone was focused on recovering their strength, while the Overseer spoke to the Rank C about some Rank Raid Team, planning to destroy the World Core.
When Valtor stepped in to ask the Rank C for permission about leaving the specific area to 'pee', he got a simple nod, followed by a stern warning: "MAKE IT QUICK!" and "DON'T CROSS THE SAFETY ZONE!" from the Overseer.
Of course, he would cross the Safety Zone.
The Safety Zone was where the mining took place, and it was close to the Portal. If anything went wrong, escape would still be possible.
No one was allowed beyond it. The CSP orbs hovered there, lined with glowing blue energy—ready to trigger an alarm or some other warning if anyone stepped past the barrier.
Jumping over it wasn't an option. The blue lines stood about seven inches high, and worse, they were positioned too close to the resting miners—some of whom were still awake. The Overseer was speaking with the Rank C just within range. Any reckless move would ruin the mission.
Sneaking underneath wasn't an option either. The energy from the lines extended down into the ground.
Circling around the perimeter? Impossible. The orbs formed a continuous barrier.
Valtor tapped his chin, realizing he was out of options.
Then, something caught his attention.
The Corrupted walked right through the field—without triggering the alarm.
When Valtor first entered the barren wasteland, he could feel and see the presence of 'Gi' radiating—not just from the land itself, but from the Corrupted.
The black smoke escaping their bones wasn't just some eerie effect—it was the remnants of their destroyed life force, a lingering darkness. Just like how fire leaves behind smoke when it consumes something.
"They're surrounded by 'Gi'," Valtor muttered, a slow smile creeping onto his face. "That's why the barrier doesn't detect them at all… Master Gap actually said something about humans have 'Ni' deep within them." His smile widened. "This orb is a Techno-Magic creation, designed to detect anything carrying the presence of life… SMART! But the developers would need to be a whole lot smarter if they ever hope to catch something far worse than they can imagine."
The Pain Tolerance Control from his Endo-training had been designed to use a specific amount of Ni to bind his Gi—restricting the presence of darkness within him.
But this time… the reverse would be the case.
He closed his eyes briefly. "Tap into the darkness… deep within… and hide the presence of the Light."
Slowly, a dark aura began to seep from his body—a deep presence of something similar to death.
The Rank C felt it instantly.
"HEY!" he called out to the miners. "Is the one with black hair and blue eyes back yet?"
The miners knew exactly who he was asking about because no one else had such combo, except... The new comer.
They exchanged glances, tension slowly building up, but, Pete spoke up. "Um… Yes! I saw him a few seconds ago. He went back to where he left his axe. He's kind of an introvert—doesn't really mix with the others."
The Rank C nodded but didn't seem satisfied. His eyes narrowed as he turned to the Overseer.
"I felt death in the air…"
The Overseer scanned the surroundings, his tone calm but firm. "This world is dangerous."
At this same time, Pete thought to himself, 'Valtor, I hope you haven't gone to do something stupid! I covered for you, so don't risk my paycheck, or else you'll be my lifetime supply of food!'
Just then, the Raid Team of four entered the wasteland, instantly drawing the attention of the miners. Two ranked A, a Rank C and D.
The Overseer wasted no time, stepping forward. "Mission?"
The team leader—one of the Rank A—smirked. Unlike the others, he wore no armor against the dark energy, only gear designed for defense against unexpected attacks.
"YES!" He grinned. "We're here to wipe out this dead world and be the heroes we were meant to be! So, you all need to get moving. Your mining takes time, and we're expected to leave this place in less than fifteen minutes after destroying the core."
The Overseer gave a firm nod before turning to the miners. "Work's over for today! GET THE CRYSTALS INTO THE BARROWS! Pack them up, and move them out through the Gate into the storage boxes! GET GOING NOW!"
His commanding tone jolted the miners into action, scrambling to complete their tasks.
Pete, however, ran a hand through his hair, anxiety creeping in. 'VALTOR! WHERE ARE YOU?!'
Meanwhile, Valtor had crossed the Safety Zone.
"That was too easy," he muttered, glancing back at the barrier as the dark aura slowly retreated into his soul. He couldn't bind that much energy at once—the pain would weaken him too much.
Turning back to the wasteland, he steeled himself. "I need to be done before fifteen minutes, then I'll find a way to escape the Overseer and the Rank C supervi—"
Something caught his eye.
One of the Corrupted was staring at him.
But more than that—it had a glowing core in the sternum of its skeletal form.