The sun blazed brightly in a cloudless blue sky. Below it, countless mountain peaks stretched toward the heavens, each one standing proudly, as if locked in an eternal contest for supremacy.
Among them, one peak towered above the rest. It rose so high that it pierced the sea of clouds, its summit nearly touching the edge of the sky.
Atop this highest peak, a man stood, still and elegant, like a figure untouched by time.
His silky robe, draped over his shoulders, fluttered gently in the wind.
He kept his eyes closed, waiting. Calm. Patient. As though sensing something far beyond mortal perception.
Time passed in utter silence.
Then, without warning, his eyes snapped open.
And in the next instant, like a bubble bursting in the air, he vanished.
***
Wang Lei awoke, his eyes staring blankly at the stone ceiling. He blinked a few times, then slowly rose from his bed, sitting at the edge with a groan. He massaged his temples.
"Was that… a dream?" he muttered.
His eyes rested on the floor, but his thoughts were far away, at the peak of a mountain, where an elegant man once stood.
Wang Lei shook his head, snapping himself out of it.
"Anyway, time for some breakfast."
He made his way toward the dining room, which used to be the old meeting hall.
What greeted Wang Lei in the dining room was a mountain of coal ore piled high on the table, so large it could almost be mistaken for a miniature hill.
He instinctively wiped away the drool that was shamelessly trickling down his chin.
All of it had been gathered during his return from leveling up Poison Resistance.
The journey from the mining house to the toxic zone took over half an hour. Considering this site had been abandoned for years, it was no surprise he stumbled upon an abundance of untouched ore along the way.
And of course, Wang Lei wasn't blind.
There was no way he'd just leave all that ore to rot out there. Obviously, he had to collect them. It's not like anyone was going to use them anymore, right?
If taking them meant getting stronger, meant surviving, then what harm was there?
And so, Wang Lei didn't hold back.
He devoured the small mountain of coal ore in no time at all, shoveling it down like a starving beast.
[Defense +8]
Wang Lei licked the last stubborn crumbs from his lips, a satisfied smile spreading across his face.
However, the satisfaction didn't last.
The memory of yesterday came rushing back, dousing his joy like cold water. His smile turning backwards.
He massaged the temple of his forehead.
Wang Lei had thought everything was going smoothly.
He ventured deeper into the toxic mist, endured a bit of pain, healed himself with Poison Resistance, and leveled up the skill. Rinse and repeat. It had become a routine.
Surprisingly, he hadn't encountered a single monster. Not one thing had tried to stop him. It was all too easy.
So easy, in fact, that it left him uneasy.
He skipped along the path, practically turning the entire toxic zone into his own private playground.
That was… until he bumped into that thing.
That—
"…pure blue mist," Wang Lei muttered, his tone darkening as the memory surfaced.
Wang Lei strolled leisurely through the poisonous fog, as if taking a casual walk in the park.
It was almost too easy, he felt like he could cross the entire toxic zone in just a day.
That thought pleased him. Escaping this mountain was his goal, and the only way to do that was to pass through the toxic zone. The faster he got through it, the sooner he'd be free. He had no reason to complain.
As he ventured deeper, Wang Lei began to notice something strange—it was suddenly harder to breathe. The air felt thin, like he was climbing a high mountain.
Though hesitation crept in, he pressed forward.
He couldn't tell when it happened exactly, but the dense green toxic mist slowly faded away… replaced by a vast, enchanting sky-blue one.
The entire cave was bathed in the glow of the strange mist, revealing its hidden splendor.
Only one word surfaced in Wang Lei's mind as he took it all in—beautiful.
But nothing captivated him more than the object standing before him.
A massive, blue crystalline ore jutted from the ground, rooted like an ancient tree. Though motionless, it shimmered with a soft inner light, releasing glittering dust into the air that drifted like stardust, painting the cave in a dreamlike glow.
Wang Lei couldn't afford to admire the breathtaking scene any longer, he was running out of breath. No, like, literally.
His lungs screamed for air, forcing him to stumble out of the cave in a panic. He gasped deeply, sucking in what could only be described as "fresh" poison-laced air.
Strangely enough, it felt refreshing compared to what he'd just experienced.
Turning back, he tried to catch one last glimpse of that mesmerizing ore—but the blue mist had already swallowed it whole.
Only one thought lingered in his mind:
"I wonder how delicious that ore would be if I ate it…" he muttered, his expression melting into a blank, muddy stare.
Realizing what he'd just said, he gasped and shook his head in disbelief.
"…What the hell is wrong with me?"
He let out a dry laugh. "The more I use that skill, the weirder I get."
"Anyway, this is turning into a real headache," Wang Lei muttered, rubbing his temples. "With that strange place blocking the way, there's no way I can cross the toxic zone like this."
His thoughts drifted back to the dazzling blue crystal.
"What was that ore, anyway?" he asked aloud, the image of its glittering dust replaying vividly in his mind.
Wang Lei dug deep into the dusty corners of his memory, trying to recall anything he knew about minerals. It had been a long time since he'd last studied that kind of thing, but the ore was too unique, too dazzling to simply forget. If anything, its sheer brilliance burned itself into his mind.
He crossed his arms and muttered to himself, "It had that deep blue color like lapis lazuli… the almost transparent clearness of topaz… and the crystalline texture of sapphire…"
A long sigh escaped his lips.
"…Yeah, I might as well admit I have no clue."
Wang Lei couldn't identify what the ore was. Its structure was unlike anything he recognized—strange, beautiful, and entirely alien. Maybe it was just his memory failing him, but he doubted that.
For one, the ore constantly released a glittering dust into the air. That alone set it apart. As far as he knew, no known mineral in the world behaved like that.
"It might be something that only exists because of that voice," he muttered, narrowing his eyes.
His mind flashed back to the moment he was starving, on the brink of death, and that strange, monotone voice echoed in his ears, granting him a skill in exchange for survival.
"It wouldn't be much of a surprise if that thing was behind it all…" Wang Lei muttered, as if the truth had already been decided.
"The real problem is… how do I get past that place?"
He closed his eyes, letting silence settle in as he ran through possibilities in his head.
First things first, he needed to piece together everything he knew so far.
First, for reasons he couldn't fully grasp, it seemed like he couldn't breathe in that place. It wasn't just hard to breathe, it was as if the air itself simply didn't exist within that space. The only explanation he could come up with was the blue dust constantly released by that strange ore. Perhaps it wasn't just for show.
Second, and more concerning, neither of his skills, Ore Consumption nor Poison Resistance, had activated. Despite being in what was clearly an abnormal, possibly hazardous situation, there wasn't even a notification.
"If neither of those two skills activated… then that must mean the blue dust isn't poisonous."
After carefully analyzing all the clues, Wang Lei arrived at a single, confident conclusion.
That was—
"That beautiful, enchanting blue ore… is completely edible!" He declared with a face of unwavering seriousness, completely at odds with the absurdity of what he had just said.