Outside the mine was an old railway track for what was probably a minecart. A few miners were standing around, looking perplexededly at the entrance to the mine. A few hunks of ore lay unprocessed next to a smelter and a long line of tools was sitting unused at the entrance.

" Hey! I wouldn't go in there if I was you..."

A miner had walked up to Dorian, pickaxe in hand. His beard had a thick layer of stone dust clinging to it.

" There's a troll down there. And it brought its friends. "

The stone walls of the mine shook at that moment, seemingly emphasising the risk.

" Is there a way to kill it? " This quest seemed pretty stupid, now. No wonder it was still on the noticeboard.

" Only way we found, was to blow it up. That seemed to work for the first one. And none of us are stupid enough to go back in there to die trying to kill the other."

" Thanks for the advice. I've been given a quest from blacksmith Karsi though, so I might as well just get it out the way now..."

Dorian looked over to the ores by the smelter. "How much can I buy those for, then? "

"Those? Let's say 20 copper for each ore. How does that sound?"

Looking at his money, Dorian was left sorely disappointed. The only thing in his pockets seemed to be moths.

[ 0 Gold, 0 Silver, 50 Copper. ]

"Ah, actually....I'll just try mine...."

" Okay. Here, then. Take my lamp. You'll need it where you're going. " The kind miner seemed to misunderstand Dorians predicament.

"Do you have enough food? Are you eating well?"

" Hah yes, I'm doing well, thank you for your concern..."

'I really do need to think about getting myself some better gear...'

[ Miners lamp has been aqquired ]

[ Miners oil has been aqquired ] (3)

[ Miners lamp (full) ]

a lamp safe for use in mines.

> when in use, illuminates your surroundings. Can be worn on the hip.

> burns one jar of oil for one hour. Refillable. Time left: 60/60 Minutes

When the trolls had first been found, the miners hadn't even stayed long enough for the shit to stop dripping down their legs, before running for the exit. It was pure luck that one of their lanterns had been knocked over in the rush, igniting the entire quarry and the barrels of explosives that they had used to blow up obstinate rocks. The miner that knocked over the lantern was probably dead by now. An explosion that could kill a troll was almost certainly going to kill the miner that started it.The surviving troll was probably heavily wounded, although for a level 1, it would still be impossible to kill. The bigger question was why the trolls were there in the first place.

The death penalty, for a level 1, wasn't all that bad. It was basically just creating a new character. Even the tutorial was optional. Thankfully.

Putting his hand on the wooden gate leading to the mine, he pushed open.

[ entering Small Mine ]

[ enemies are present. Small Mine is changing status to Trolls' Dungeon ]

[ To exit, the dungeon must be cleared ]

He grunted with displeasure. It wouldn't kill to have those notifications pop up before someone goes into the dungeon... Dorian equipped his training sword, miners lamp and the beginners buckler, wishing he had at least bought a slightly better weapon. Walking onwards, his footsteps echoed against the tracks, until he heard an unintellible gibbering from up ahead. Immediately, he squatted down, sneaking forwards just enough to get a look at the creatures ahead.

They were crowded around a fire, all chattering away in their unintelligble tongue. A rat was slowly roasting over it, being turned on a makeshift spit. The creatures looked like goblins, ugly, gnarly things with pointed ears and sharp teeth. One of them wore a stick doll around its neck, tied together with twine and prayers.

He looked at the names above their heads. Fortunately, they were white. Common mobs.

[ Goblin rogue. Lvl 10 ]

So the fodder was probably going to kill him with one swing. Great. Dorian started sneaking backwards, when, SCREEEEECH. His pickaxe, which was on his waist, had caught against a metal frame and started dragging along it.

All three of the goblins looked over, still jibbering. It was starting to get annoying. Well. Since his cover was blown, he might as well make the most of their surprise.

I'm going to have to try it...I hope Miner isn't too annoyed...

Sprinting up towards them, he equipped the lantern in one hand and oil in the other, letting the sword and shield go back to his inventory. Throw.

[ you have thrown Miners oil ]

[you have thrown Miners oil ]

...

[ you have thrown Miners lamp ]

The oil doused the goblins, blinding them for a second. Enough for the lantern to arrive. Swoosh. The goblins rolled on the floor, taking damage each second as the fire continued to burn.

-30

-30

-30

-30

...

Running in, he swung his training sword as hard as his level 1 body would allow. A satisfying thunk sounded from the impact.

[ critical hit! ]

-8

"......"

Dorian was reminded once again that he was using the [ training sword ]. And that he was level 1. How useless.

After a few minutes of them burning and Dorian doing his best to hack away at them, they were all probably on very low health. However, the problem now was that the fire had gone out, and their steel cleavers looked a lot more threatening than his flimsy sword. they rushed him, swinging their cleavers in an overhead arc. Dorian raised his shield to block, squatting downwards slightly to disperse the force into the ground. This is where his years of practice from Immerse came in useful.

[ you have taken 15 damage]

[ the cleaver is stuck in your shield. ]

[ You have lost mobility in your left arm ]

[ durability of beginners buckler has decreased by 20 ]

[ You have learned Beginners shield technique! ]

The goblin tried to pull out its cleaver, yanking so hard that Dorians' arm felt like it was about to become dislocated from the socket. But there was an opening, and Dorian was definitely going for it.

" Die! "

[ Critical ! ]

- 8

[ you have learned Beginners Swordsmanship! ]

[ you have defeated Goblin Rogue Lvl 10! ]

[ +150 xp ]

[ Level up! ]

[ Level up! ]

Looking at his Hp, Dorian realised that it was still bottomed out. The level ups did absolutely nothing for replenishment. Pulling out a potion from his inventory, he chugged it, praying that it would work before the next attack. The potion restored 50Hp, and was one of the three that he spawned with after the tutorial. It's a pity that his max Hp was so low that he couldn't make full use of the potion.

[ you have taken 18 damage ]

- 4

[ you have defeated goblin rogue Lvl 10! ]

[ +150 xp ]

[ Level up! ]

Dorian drank another potion, killing the last goblin rogue with a simple swing of his training sword. He didn't drink his last potion, letting his health naturally regen while he was out of combat.

"Heh. Now, I just have the boss to kill, and I'll be free! "

"Status"

Name: Dorian

Lvl : 4

Race: Human

Titles: N/A

Class: N/A

Hp(regen/hour):2/55(11)

MP(regen/min):11/11(5)

Stamina(regen/min):5/11(5)

Strength: 11

Dexterity:16

MagicAttack:11

Skills: Beginners Swordsmanship Lvl 1, Beginners Shield Technique Lvl 1.

Items: Training sword (damaged), Beginners buckler (damaged).

[ Stat Points: 30 ]

Checking his newly learned skills, Dorian chuckled. This was the beginning.

[ Beginners Swordsmanship Lvl 1]

>When equipped with a sword, +2 Strength.

[ Beginners Shield Technique Lvl 1 ]

>You have a slightly higher chance to block attacks when using a shield.

>Attacks are slightly more likely to land as glancing hits, even if you don't block.

Although he used all but one of his potions, Dorian was pretty happy with the outcome. He learned two new skills and levelled up, all with the cost of a lamp and a few jars of oil. Now, he has to decide where to invest his stat points...