Waking to some pleasant bird song and a chilly morning Adam chose not to get straight out from under the covers in his tent. Instead he checked for any updates. A report from Sharky completed the quest about the sunken ship so Adam pulled up his map.

Sunken Ship - high threat, level 5-10. When he thought about sending Sharky to the ship the threat level adjusted down to medium. This was interesting. The default setting on the map would be the threat to him rather than a general threat level. Pushing the thought towards Sharky he set a new quest: Explore ship, eliminate threat, don't die. He wasn't sure how necessary the last part was but Sharky was very obedient. This safety net on the quest would probably temper his desire to complete the quest above all else.

With the new concept of the map adjusting to his follower Adam noticed the area of the sea that had been explored was faded a light grey and around camp there was an area of light brown. It didn't take a detective to work out that one outlined the area Sharky had explored and the other the area for Ti. Thinking about the excitable vermite he concentrated on the link telling him that they were all back in their burrow for the day.

His report from Ti was a jumbled mess and included a detailed story about the first apple tree she found and the need to run straight back to update the others. While not necessary as Adam already knew where the trees were it made him smile as he set her a couple of quests that she would enjoy. Even the system seemed to agree these didn't really count and created a submenu for them.

Side Quests: (Ti/Scout) Quests Complete? Exp Fully explore Orchard 3% 10 Find ten fruit trees 10% 10 Collect exp Y/N

Switching the link to Pa and Ma Adam lacked the ability to tell exactly what they had been up to the night before so left setting them a task until later. Having sorted the others for the day; Adam pulled up the full quest menu to decide what he would do.

Quests: Quests Complete? Exp Explore Mine, entrance 1% 50 Explore Forest, outer 0% 50 Explore Mountain, slope 1% 100 Convert vermite 50% 30 Explore ship, eliminate threat, don't die 1% 120 Unlock [Elemental manipulation] 0% 60 Collect exp Y/N

A review of his map reminded him that while the forest and mine were both marked as low threat, the Forest, outer was level 2-4 and the Mine, entrance only level 2. Since Person could act as a source of light that made the mine the easier choice. Probably scarier as he would be in the dark exploring with only one way out, but he was God Class level three, surely he would be fine.

Adam had walked to the mine. He had told himself this was so he could conserve all his stamina but knew that really it was to stall the idea of deliberately putting himself in harm's way. He had considered turning around and waiting for his followers to gain experience for him but if he expected others to go into danger he had to be prepared to do the same himself. Staff in hand as he didn't want anything getting close enough that he would need his hatchet. He walked determinedly in to the mine.

He quickly passed the point reached before. Person bravely leading the way with their mini miner's helmet shining into the darkness throwing shadows up onto the wall. Once inside the threshold Adam activated stealth and slowed his pace. Adam was not sure how much stealth would help given he was walking next to the only light source in the mine; but it made him feel better having it on. He got Person to switch his head-torch to a lantern that better lit the surroundings than the directional beam.

There was no option initially; just one tunnel leading steadily down from the entrance. Adam kept an eye on the percentage completion as he walked slowly forward. The ground changed from packed earth to a sandier mix covering slabs of stone. As he decended the walls of the mine closed in and the passageway narrowed.

He was twenty percent complete as he reached the first fork in the tunnel. It was pretty obvious which was the main passage and the branch. Turning to Person for guidance the small miner shrugged and pointed at the side tunnel. Adam agreed; it was likely the danger would increase the deeper he went and if he left places unexplored then there could also be something behind him waiting for his return. The first of these branches was a dead-end, the passageway shrinking down until it closed off. Returning back to the main tunnel Adam continued along to find another branch. The second branch led to a small circular cave bringing his completion up to forty percent.

Thoroughly checking his surroundings and knowing the area was relatively safe Adam used Inspect on the surrounding rocks. As well as the previously discovered pyrite he found: Chalcopyrite - Common ore containing Copper and Iron; Cassiterite - Common ore containing Tin and Haematite - Common ore containing Iron. As fasinating as the chemical names were he was pleased that the system had the power to convert these to simply: Copper ore; Tin ore and Iron ore.

Picking up a selection of these ores unlocked a new Profession of Miner.

Profession Benefit Skills Miner Ability to mine and collect ores; increased strength Please select initial skill. [summon pick]; [torch]; [detect]; [smelt]

Adam concentrated on the skill list and looked over at the small amount of light being produced by Person. Checking [torch] he discovered that it allowed the user to create a torch that would light the surrounding area for the next twelve hours for one SP. The first skill had been free before meaning he could hold on to the ten experience he currently had. Remembering that only one miner would need to unlock more skills for the next miner to start with whichever skill they chose was the deciding fact. He selected [torch] as the starting skill.

He checked his watch confirming he had been in the mine for about an hour leaving him with five SP currently. Guessing that the rest of the exploring would take another two hours and leaving a spare SP just in case he could now make two torches. That would give him one to leave somewhere and another to carry with him. On summoning the first torch the ring of light around Adam and Person expanded; pushing the shadows back. Adam shivered as at the edge of the light chased a creature further back into the darkness. He quickly used Discern to find out more and his suspicion was correct. Cave Spider - level 2. Commonly found in dark places; weak against fire. The snapshot mental image showed him a spider about the size of his hand. He shivered again, he hated spiders. Torch in one hand and staff in the other he set aside his fears at the moment and concentrated on the task in hand, exploring.

On reaching another side tunnel Adam decided to summon the second torch so he could leave one at the branching point in the hope it would hold back the Cave Spider. Now he had caught the creature with Discern he could sense it waiting just outside the ring of light. It was moving deeper into the mine as he did staying hidden from sight. The side tunnel branched once more with one ending forming another small cave and the other a deadend. Both were empty save some small deposits of ore. Returning back to the main tunnel Adam checked the spider was where he had left it. There were now two spiders; one waiting on the ceiling and the other on the left hand wall.

Not wanting to go any further but knowing the whole point had been to come here and push himself Adam made a decision. He placed the second torch on the ground next to the first by the right wall and made his way over in line with the lower of the two spiders. Creeping slowly he reached the point where the light was fading and waited for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. As they did so he could make out the outline of the spider; his sight enhanced by Discern and his scout class. He crept closer still and was relieved to see that the spider did not seem aware of his presence. Adam swung his staff as hard as he could against the body of the spider. He hit it square on; the spider falling to the floor stunned but not beaten. At it tried to roll off its back Adam struck again aiming for the join of the legs and the body. He connected with a crunch and struck twice more in quick succession until the spider lay still.

Absorbed in his attack he barely noticed the second spider had slowly moved from its original position and was now almost over his head. He brought the staff up in a sweeping motion that batted the spider back into the darkness. Not feeling brave enough to follow and finish it off he retreated back into the light to catch his breath. A notification ignored during the heat of the fight now drew his attention.

You defeated Cave Spider - level 2. You gained 10 exp

A chitinous noise stopped him considering this any further and made him look back down the tunnel. Discern revealed the spider returning and no longer alone. Standing next to his torches Adam could sense five of the cave spiders spread out around the tunnel moving towards his location. Between them was something else; larger and slower than the spiders he had seen so far making most of the noise that had alerted him. He pulsed with Discern at the space and was rewarded with a description. Queen Cave Spider - level 3. A larger variety of cave spider, normally leads a small cluster. Weak against fire.

Panicking and unsure what else to do Adam picked up one of the torches and threw it down the tunnel towards the approaching spiders. He missed completely with the torch landing between the group; splitting two off on his side and the rest behind the torch. Trying to take no notice of the larger spider that hissed and reared up on four legs when the torch was thrown Adam moved forward to attack the two spiders nearest him. Temporarily disorientated by the light of the torch Adam took advantage and lent his full weight down through the staff while pushing down onto the torso of the nearest spider. A crack then squelch and though its legs were twitching Adam knew it was dead. The other spider was limping slightly already and through Discern Adam could tell that it was the spider he had encountered already. Slower than its deceased companion Adam managed to catch it once more with a swing of the staff; knocking it back again into the dark.

A louder hiss warned Adam that the Queen had overcome her fear of the torch. Knowing it had been the only thing stopping her from approaching sooner Adam grabbed the torch in one hand and swung it wildly in the direction of the Queen. She dodged and came in closer; dodging once more as Adam tried to use his staff one handed. He felt and saw the Queen bite down on the hand holding his staff. It was only by trying to push her away with his free arm that he realised he had shoved the torch into the spider's face. The resulting sound was more of a scream than a hiss. The Queen let go of his hand and retreated back up the tunnel. Adam was about to sigh in relief when he noticed that in the fight they had been turned and now the Queen was between him and the other torch and exit from the mine. Pressing his current advantage rather than waiting he swung the torch like a club at the Queen spider once more. She scuttled further back towards the exit trying to avoid rather than defend against the onslaught. With each swing small flames were erupting on the hairy abdomen and thorax.

Eventually there were more flames than spider visible and the hissing had turned to a sound more like a boiling kettle. He watched as it collapsed and the flames guttered out leaving behind a charred corpse. The other spiders had stayed out of the area lit by the torches but remained nearby. On the death of their Queen they turned and fled back into the darkness. Adam sat and rested his back against one of the tunnel walls. He looked down at his hand, inspecting the puncture wounds where he had been bitten. A bruise was already forming around the area but the bite was no longer bleeding and his fingers moving fine. Ignoring the notifications received after the fight rather than follow his first instinct and run from the cave he picked up both the torches and headed on down the tunnel to complete his exploration.

It was not far to a fork in the tunnel. Here both the branches were equal in size so Adam chose the left; leaving one of the torches as before at the branch. He could sense the widening of the space in front of him and the air changing before the torchlight revealed the same. Several stalagmites rose up out of the floor in a larger cave that opened before him. At the edge of his vision; in the centre of the space was a hole that seemed to absorb the light. Pulsing with the feeling of a more dangerous area. Adam cautiously approached; ready to turn and run if needed. When he was ten paces from the hole Inspect informed him of a new area. Mine, upper - Level 4-6, medium threat. Having gained this knowledge Adam backed off from the hole; not turning until he had reached the entrance to the cave.

He was at ninety percent completion with only the other branch of the tunnel left. Knowing this was the only way the remaining spiders could have retreated he took both torches with him. Cobwebs hanging across the tunnel confirmed his suspicion and thankfully burnt easily with a touch from a torch. He could sense the remaining four spiders clustered together in the darkness. Rather than enter the last area he threw one of the torches into the centre of the space. An unexpected blaze erupted due to the density of the webs and a sack of spiderlings burst under the pressure spreading the flames around the entire room. A part of him felt bad at the final demise of the spiders. He had only been attempting to clear the exploration task by throwing the torch.

Leaving the flames behind him Adam made his way back out of the mine; collecting his staff on the way. Once he got back out into the sunlight he pulled some food and water from his pack and sat to see what the rewards for his exploring had been.