Master Of None

The metal chest was rusted shut and it took Walker, Gil, and the wandering blacksmith together to get the hammer and a chisel the wandering blacksmith brought in to the opening. The three held the chest in place while Midnight and Si put all their weight on the chisel to pop open the top in a large cracking sound. Remey was startled since she was watching the cave entrance but did not freak out once she realized the sound. Instead, she stole small glances to see what had been found. 

" It's just as I expected. It's full of rocks." Gil was activating as if he had known a great secret all along. But in reality, they all knew it had to be ore inside the chest. 

"Gil, you may be a genius among men." Even Su couldn't help but throw some sarcasm at Gil after his bad joke. 

However, what was really shocking was the face the wandering blacksmith was making. His jaw had dropped and he was looking at the contents of the box as if he was afraid to touch it. Walker looked back and forth waiting for the wandering blacksmith to react but found that he was totally frozen in place as he processed whatever the ore was. There was no choice but to use his all around appraisal skill to check things out. 

'Cold Iron ore

Rare ore that is formed in mountains that experience extreme prolonged cold. Traces of water element mana seeped in to normal iron causing the change to occur. Due to the water elemental mana within it naturally causes frost to form even on the hottest days. It is ideal for traveling in intense heat. Many desert tribes trade for rings made of this material so that they can more easily cross the large spans of the desert.'

"It should be very useful for forging then. I haven't heard of cold iron before. Just normal iron mostly, so this is pretty different." Walker could tell why the wandering blacksmith was so glad to see it. He would be able to forge with so much of a rare material. 

"If that is cold iron then this must be moreover here in the walls. It looks the same, well, I think." Remey was not at all an expert in ores and metals. Yet, she had perfectly found a small vein in the wall that was of the same color and even had a bit of frost running along it indicating that it was the same cold iron. 

"I guess that means I get to mine." Walker knew that it was his job as soon as Remey had said it. There was also the fact that the wandering blacksmith looked too greedy to just let the additional cold iron ore go. 

Looking at the broken pick axes, Walker knew that using them was out of the question. However, the wandering blacksmith checked the metal part of the pickaxe and gave a nod after he found that it was solid enough to use. "Hmm, let me try something." Walker placed a hand on the ground and began to shape the earth. The small amount of mana he used was enough for him to quickly shape an ideal handle out of the stone beneath his feet. 

When he lifted the pickaxe on to his shoulder some rust dropped off but otherwise, it was good to go. He had never really done anything like this and was looking forward to a new skill. However, he was not excited about the soreness in his muscles the unfamiliar action would cause. Even more, he had an audience which didn't help. It was the problem with him being the only one that could mine and learn how to use mining skills. If any of the others attempted it they most likely would damage the ore in some way or worse, cause a collapse. 

With a deep breath, Walker swung the pickaxe against the wall. He had underestimated his own strength and a solid chip of stone shattered off the wall revealing more of the cold iron. It was not what he expected but gave him a lot more of a baseline to go off of for the next swing. After the twentieth swing, he finally started to see the piece of cold iron ending and where it grouped to a second piece further down the wall. 

'The skill precise mining has been taken from the elite miner system. The skill precise mining has been learned through user action.

Precise mining- passive

The user has an innate sense of the best place to smash the pickaxe while mining. This precise movement will often allow for a better and more intact ore at the end result. There will be fewer chances of a collapse or a broken pickaxe while mining.'

The party watched as Walker began to break away the stone in much cleaner swings and pieces. The movements even became more fluid showing off that he had learned another skill. Once the large chunk of cold iron fell from the wall, the wandering blacksmith collected it with a small whistle. He was impressed with the effort and skill that came from this process along with how well the ore was left for him to mold later. 

"Is there more?" The sweat that had built up on Walker was easily manipulated with his skills to evaporate and dry. However, when Walker looked at his system he was surprised that such a simple action was rewarded with a skill. 

'The skill cleanse has been taken from the high noble system. The user has automatically learned the skill cleanse.

Cleanse- 2 mana cost 

Very different from the skill cleansing from the exorcist type systems. The skill cleanse allows the user to manipulate the dirt, sweat, and grime on their body to leave their person. This skill is a must for most nobles and is often the key to a good first impression.'

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