[Improvements.]

The next few days, I roughly went around few places to have a look around. Being a newcomer to this world, I noticed that I would be required to put in more effort before I could actually say It is easy to survive within here. Visiting the Ore Cave for a few times in this few days, I managed to obtain a total of 60 Brass Rods (1%), and luckily, I actually managed to spot a special part of the ore dust which is good for me to produce a single Copper Rod (1%).

While in the meantime, not only I managed to refined almost all of the available crystals in hand, I actually exchanged the remaining 500 crystal tickets into another 500 Lower Grade 10 Green Crystals and refines it all together. So in total, the 1500 Lower Grade 10 Crystals had been refined into a total of 27 Medium Grade 10 Red Power Crystals, and another 55 Medium Grade 10 Green Physical Crystals. Just like this, I managed to reach my quota for the month.

Of course, being a more cautious person living in this world, I immediately deliver the 90 Medium Crystals to the Management Office, and allows them to put a note within that I had fulfilled my this month task. On that spot, I received a total of 30 Black Spirit Crystals and 100 Points for my labour, and in the next fourteen days, I will be able to exchange any remaining Medium Grade 10 Crystals for the price of 1 Black Spirit Crystal each or convert it into points.

The point system is quite good because the moment you're able to reach the quota, you will be instantly rewarded with 100 points. Any subsequent contribution would be treated as points as well, depending on your needs. Of course, if you prefer to change it into cash, the rates will be lower compared to the points. After all, the points could only be used by the members of the Refining Workshop and not any other visitors or clients of the Refining Workshop.

After I went over to have a look at the board with the list of items to exchange, I am pretty much quite surprised. The item within is quite attractive, to be honest. Some of it is even hard to obtain from where I am currently. I guess next time, I could start to contribute more as well, to obtain some of those items listed in this exchange board.

List of Item for Exchange:

Lower Grade 10 Crystals

Red Power Crystal

Green Physical Crystal

Yellow Speed Crystal

Blue Magical Crystal

Violet Resistant Crystal

10 Units for 2 Points

Medium Grade 10 Crystals

Red Power Crystal

Green Physical Crystal

Yellow Speed Crystal

Blue Magical Crystal

Violet Resistant Crystal

10 Units for 20 Points

Special Grade 10 Crystals

(Lower)

Blood Crystal

Mana Crystal

Stamina Crystal

Breath Crystal

Fatigue Crystal

10 Units for 20 Points

Others

Crystalized Stone (0.05gm)

Crystalized Core (0.05gm)

Crystalized Metal (0.05gm)

1 Unit for 10 Points

Others

Portable Workstation

Includes:

Smelter / Refiner / Concocter / Blacksmith /

Creator / Producer / Builder.

1 Unit for 100 Points

After I checked with this list, I have the urge to get either the Stamina Crystal or the Fatigue Crystals, because, through the name, I could roughly guess that most probably it would help in recovering Stamina and Fatigue in the user's body. Other than that, the Portable Workstation is quite attractive, as it would mean that I will be able to start making things I want anywhere if needed.

Nevermind, let us take thing slowly but steady. And with this mindset, I went to the Blacksmithing Workshop to begins my work on upgrading my tools. I wonder why there are no stats includes in my Upper Grade 10 Brass Pickaxe, but for now, it is not my total concern. I should quickly repair and strengthen this pickaxe before I continue to mine the Ore Dust in the Ling Hun Ore Cave.

Since I had already completed my this month Quota, I should have the privilege to use the crystals am I correct? I will take on the Ore Cave and the Crystal Cave for five hours daily, and see what would I get for this short two weeks until the month is over. If I could actually get more crystals and Brass in my inventory, perhaps I could start doing something else again.

With the 60 Brass Rod (1%) in my pocket, I went straight to the smelter section to begins with my upgrading attempts. Since my Upper Grade 10 Brass Pickaxe is quite worn out, first, I would need to put some effort to repair it first, to allow it to maintain the Upper-Grade quality. Just like this, the repairing work did take about an hour of mine, and also around 15 Brass Rod to properly repair it.

With only 45 Brass Rod left, I put some effort into adding more layer of the overall Pickaxe Head and allows its Brass Component within to increase slightly. After putting in my own effort into the upgrading works, I finally start to realize the difficulties in this topic. Upgrading is much more different compared to creating because the two topic is entirely different in their essence.

Creating allows one to properly insert most of the component of Metal within before starting the process of moulding the Tools. Once the Tool is properly formed, the creator will then put an effort in perfecting his creation, making it come out in a better result as it complete. But in Upgrading, it is totally a different matter.

Upgrading required one to properly repair the tools before it would be put into the mould once again to forcefully mixed together with other newer components to form a final product. The tool, of course, will vary in its final results, depending on the blacksmith's skills in performing the upgrading technique. But this technique has the greatest disadvantage, where because the remoulding process is quite difficult to get it properly done, a part of the newer and older components will slowly be cast away from the main body, thus, even if 20% component is used to upgrade the item, perhaps only 10% would properly mixed within, while the remaining will be wasted.

But in exchange for this loss, the gain is enormous as well. The upgraded tools would fare much better compared to a recently created tool, and inefficiency and durability, it would be increased as well. This is why, although the risk and wastage are quite hard to bear by normal people, some of them still consider Upgrades as one of their main choices.

Just like this, I wasted all 45 of my Brass Rod (1%) to upgrade this Pickaxe head. In the end results, I managed to increase its grade, and after a check, it actually contains a total of 71% of Brass Component within, which allows it to be ranked as a Fine Grade Tools. But in exchange for this upgrades, I actually spent 45% of the total Brass Components to successfully mixed in 11% of the Brass Components into this Pickaxe.

From this, it is easily seen why the weapon above Fine Grade is so hard to come by. But with my hand holding a pickaxe of this grade, it feels like I could mine anything easily, as I went to the Ling Hun Ore Cave first. On the way over there, I checked on my experience for the Smelting is Life. It seems like, the number of experience points is totally depending on the number of tools I am making. Since I am only remoulding the Pickaxe and Repairing it, I only able to obtain two points of experience from all that amount of Brass Rod being used.

Put differently, when I am refining the Three-Piece Lightweight Armour, I actually obtained a total of 30 points for the Smelting is life skill instead. In my mind, I could only say that "The Experience Points calculation is pretty much f**ked up huh?" but without bothering those little calculations, I entered the Cave as I soon I reached. Like a normal procedure, I check in, signed and starts to push a cart and start to scratch the wall of rocks.

The moment I started to use that Fine Grade 10 Brass Pickaxe that I upgraded myself to hit on those rocks, I happened to feel the reason why higher ranked tools are better. With each strike I landed on the rocks, plenty of rock pieces fell without any resistance. It was like I am hitting on the glass, one efficient strike could bring the whole piece of glass shattered into pieces. This way, my Mining process has gone even smoother, that I could fill my cart in merely 40 Minutes.

With a reduction of a good 20 minutes from my cart filling time, I managed to speed up a little, as the grinding process and sieving process does not take too long. I stored all the Tin Dust and Zinc Dust I've collected first before I decided to smelt them altogether. Just like this, a normal 5 cart full mining progress is completed in mere three hours and twenty minutes. Of course, if I still have extra time, I will continue. I get three more full carts before I stopped, as the time exactly 5 hours and twenty minutes.

With that eight full cart of Tin and Zinc Dust, I managed to smelt them into a total of 26 Brass Rod (1%), and without further ado, I went straight to the Crystal Cave next, after taking a short break. Almost like repeating what I am doing daily, I end my Crystal Mining Attempts also in about five hours, as it allows me to obtain a total of 310 Red Crystals, 320 Green Crystals, and also another 61 pieces of Crystalized Stone (0.01mg).

I went back to the town, but today, there is actually some event is going on. I walked into the square that I rarely went in, and take a look at that stuff they were promoting. Soon, I actually noticed something different. There is actually more than this two cave surrounding the Ling Hun Town. There were many memberships and one-time entry passes for sale, and also some description of the resources available within the Cave.

Some of this is still called as a cave because their choice of resources is not too many. Another kind of it is called as Mines. The mines contain a greater amount of resources within, and furthermore, they actually do possess some different kind of monsters within, one will need to be able to protect themselves as they enter the mines. The final kind of location with plentiful resources is known as Realms.

The Realms is slightly special. Not only they must be entered by a group, the minimal entrance condition is quite strict as well because it is said that among ten groups entering, at least half of them will end up dead if they are not well prepared. But since my strength is too low, it would be pointless for me to approach this kind of knowledge.

Then, as I explore the other stalls, I finally noticed on a specific stall with plenty of brochures on top of their tables. I walked over and take a look, and noticed what this shop is all about. "Hey, there is actually an Accommodation Selling Stall here!"

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Status Panel (end Chapter 9)

Name: Lu Bu

Age: 20

Wealth: 296 Black Spirit Crystals

Refining Workshop Points: 100

Strength:

5+(1.03)

Physical:

5+(1.04)

Agility:

Locked

Magic:

Locked

???

Locked

???

Locked

???

Locked

???

Locked

Item:

Upper Grade 10 Brass Pickaxe

314 x Lower Grade 10 Red Power Crystals

53 x Medium Grade 10 Red Power Crystals

333 x Lower Grade 10 Green Physical Crystals

23 x Medium Grade 10 Green Physical Crystals

62 x 0.01gm Crystalized Stone

12 x 0.05gm Crystalized Stone

7 x Accompanied Materials

26 x Brass Rod (1%)

1 x Copper Rod (1%)

Skills:

Scan Level 4 (24/80) (4 Metre Distance)

(Able to Scan the surrounding for threats, treasures, materials and hidden secrets.)

Tenth Grade Crystal Refining Level 7 (314/640) (14% Success Rate Increment)

(Level 5 - 5% chance to immediately refine a Crystal into one rank higher without cost)

(allows user to refine the Crystal into a higher Rank/Upgrade for more special quirks)

Tenth Grade Pinpoint Strike Level 4 (65/80) (0.4% rate in critically strikes the targets)

(Allows the Critical Hit possibility in any usage. Upgrade for more special quirks)

Tenth Grade Tenacity Level 1 (393/10,000) (0.1% Increase in all actions)

(Allows the user to have a better results from his tenacity in struggling across all challenges.)

Ore Dust Gatherer Level 1 (33/10,000) (1% Increase in gathering more Ore Dust)

(Allows more efficient Ore Dust Gathering during Mining, Upgrade for more special quirks)

Smelting Is Life Level 4 (14/160) (0.4% Increase of possibility of doubling the production when smelting)

(Allows more bonus during smelting. Upgrade for more special quirks)

Traits: Unknown

More information: Unknown

Friends:

Han Li (20 years old childhood friend)

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