The Treads of the Ashen Dune lived up to their item description.
Kage moved across the surface of the grey drifts, the hollow-bone soles displacing his weight with an airy lightness that made him feel like he was gliding over a frozen lake.
Val, however, was disturbing to watch.
The "Curator" walked with steady grace. He stayed atop the surface. As he walked, the hem of his tattered coat seemed to dissolve into the environment, his form losing cohesion at the edges. The ash welcomed him, swirling around his legs like a loyal pet greeting its master. He flowed through the dunes, a ghost haunting his own graveyard.
It was efficient, sure, but it was eerie enough to make the hair on Kage's arms stand up.
Val was humming a low tune, clutching the heavy iron-bound tome to his chest. His scarf had slipped down, shedding flakes of grey skin that turned into dust before they hit the ground.
They breached the cloud layer, or rather, the ash-fog layer.
The slope flattened out. The endless, soft grey dunes gave way to a hard plateau of obsidian-black rock. The texture was too smooth to be volcanic, almost like polished bone that had been charred in a kiln.
[Zone Alert: You have entered 'The Seat of Regret'.]
[Quest Complete: The Curator's Request]
[Objective Met: Escort Val to the summit.]
[Rewards: +10,000 EXP]
A golden pillar of light erupted from Kage’s avatar.
[Level Up!]
[You have reached Level 19.]
[Global Ranking Update.]
[Current Standing: 777.]
[You have 2 Stat Points available.]
Kage dismissed the notification and dumped both points into Artistry.
[Artistry: 76 -> 78]
"We... we are here," Val whispered.
The Scholar drifted past Kage, his gait finally solidifying as he stepped onto the hard rock.
Kage surveyed the plateau. It was a bleak, circular mesa, about the size of a football field. In the center lay a depression in the black rock, a natural pool about five meters wide filled with a thick, viscous black liquid that reflected no light.
Around the rim of the pool lay three statues.
Kage walked closer, his boots clicking softly on the hard stone. They were petrified figures. Adventurers? Miners? They were frozen in desperate poses, hands outstretched toward the black pool, their faces locked in silent screams.
Don't touch the water, Kage noted, the cynic in him immediately tagging the pool as a hazard. textbook insta-kill trap.
Val ignored the danger. The NPC practically threw himself at the edge of the pool. He dropped his heavy book and plunged his hands, gloves and all, straight into the black sludge.
"Well, that's sanitary," Kage deadpanned.
Val sighed. It was the sound of a man dying of thirst finally finding a river. The grey, parchment-like dryness of his skin began to darken. The black ink pumped into his arms, traveling up his veins.
"Okay," Kage muttered. "He’s the car, that’s the pump."
While the NPC indulged in his ink bath, Kage turned his attention to the real payout.
The rock formations around the pool were fractured. Heat, or something like it, radiating from the black liquid had cracked the obsidian crust, revealing veins of ore that pulsed with a slow, rhythmic silvery light.
He approached one of the fissures.
[Resource Node: Weeping Mnemosyne Vein]
[Rarity: Rare]
Kage equipped [Grom's Oath-Pick]. The heavy iron sat comfortably in his grip.
Standard procedure, his mind calculated. Strike. Loot. Move.
He raised the pick.
Then, he paused.
The Legendary Poet class hated standard procedure.
Mining is violence against the earth, Kage thought, eyes narrowing at the glowing silver vein. I am breaking the rock to take the prize. But this rock...
He focused on the smell of the stone.
It smelled like panic. It smelled like a tightly clenched jaw holding back a scream.
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It doesn't want to break. It's holding on because it's afraid to let go.
"So," Kage murmured, tapping the pickaxe against his thigh. "If I convince the rock to relax, the yield might actually double."
He activated [Verse-Crafting]. The quill materialized in the air, glowing with pale blue fire.
Haiku would probably work best. A Domain Expansion of mining yield?
He needed three Keywords.
[Weaken] - To lower the defense.
[Shape] - To define the fault.
[Betrayal] - To make the earth give up its own.
He visualized the vein not as rock to be smashed, but as a hand that needed to be opened.
Kage wrote, and the air on the plateau vibrated with the heavy power of the Verse.
Title: The Fracture Point
"Solid walls [Weaken],"
The black rock around the silver vein turned matte, losing its glossy hardness. It looked suddenly brittle, like dried clay.
"[Shape] the fault line deep inside,"
The fissures widened. The rock groaned. The silver ore seemed to push outward, bulging from the rock face.
"[Betrayal] of stone."
[-350 Awen]
[Truth Factor: Medium. Logic: Mining as theft.]
[Domain Effect: The Miser's Open Hand (Duration: 2 Minutes)]
[Mining Critical Chance +50%. Yield +100%.]
"Acceptable," Kage said.
He swung Grom's Oath-Pick.
Clang.
It produced a dull thud, like hitting a ripe melon. The rock shattered effortlessly.
[Loot Acquired]
[Mnemosyne Ore (Uncommon)] x4
Type: Crafting Material
Properties: Extremely heavy. Used in memory-retention alloys.
Description: Ore that refuses to forget its original shape.
[Mining Success!]
[Experience Gained: 130]
[Basic Mining Skill Increased: +10%]
[Titan’s Tear (Rare)] x1
Type: Gemstone / Catalyst
Effect: Deals an additional 15% of total damage as [Emotional] damage when socketed.
Description: A crystallized drop of pure regret. It is cold to the touch.
[Mining Success!]
[Experience Gained: 215]
[Basic Mining Skill Increased: +15%]
"Jackpot," Kage whispered. The Gemstone was currently unusable, as he didn't have a socket to put it into, but that stayed a problem only until his next city visit. Probably.
He fell into a rhythm. Swing. Collect. Step. Swing.
The Mnemosyne Ore was strange stuff. It flowed like mercury in his hand for a split second before solidifying into a metal harder than steel.
[Mining (Basic) Level Up (Lvl 4)]
Ping.
A blue notification box slid into his peripheral vision.
[Private Message: Lily]
Kage groaned. He kept swinging, the motion automatic thanks to the Verse effect softening the rock.
Lily: Kage!!! Oh my god, did you die? We haven't seen you since the Zara quest!
Kage: Busy. What do you want?
Lily: Rude! >:( We made it North to Korros! It's HUGE. Way bigger than Oakhaven. There's an actual castle!
Kage moved to the next node. Swing. [Mnemosyne Ore x3].
Kage: Good for you. Tell me you finally picked past the starting classes.
Lily: Yes!! It's so cool. I went Holy Priest because, well, someone has to keep Jax alive lol. Jax went Fighter (boring), and Finn is a Pathfinder! He gets a pet hawk!
Kage: And the new asse
He frowned. Missclick.
Lily: ? :o
Kage: And the new party member? Valdrias.
Lily: Oh, Val! He’s crazy. He picked a Guardian spec. But get this: he keeps yelling about world domination and tyranny every time we engage! He says, 'It's a mechanic. Kage said so in the ruins.' It’s frustrating! Can you tell him you were joking next time?
Kage paused mid-swing, and a smile cracked his face.
Kage: He'll figure it out. Eventually.
Kage: And Zara?
Lily: Frost mage. She says it's 'optimal thermal dynamics to cool her down while playing with Jax'.
Kage snorted. That sounded like her.
Kage: Sounds like a balanced comp. Tank, Healer, Scout, Magic DPS, Melee DPS. You don't need me.
Lily: Wait... you mean you aren't in Korros? Where did you go? Did you stay in the starter zone?
Kage looked around the desolate, ash-choked plateau, the petrified corpses, and the NPC drinking ink from a black pool.
Kage: I went East.
Lily: East? But the forums say it's 25lvl+?
Kage: I found an easier path. Listen, I have to go. My buff is wearing off.
Lily: Kage, wait! Promise me something. If you ever come North, message us. You have to!
Kage hesitated. The social battery in his brain was already flashing low. Groups were inefficient. They required improved social skills he didn't possess and emotional labor he couldn't afford.
But then, he remembered the Moon Altar quest. He, deep down, actually tolerated their noise. More importantly, seeing how Valdrias developed was professionally relevant. Yeah, that was it.
Kage: If I'm in the area.
[Mining (Basic) Level Up (Lvl 5)]
Lily: I'll take it! Stay alive, mystery man! C:
Kage closed the window just as his buffs faded. The rock hardened instantly, the grey, brittle texture snapping back to obsidian.
He checked his inventory.
[Mnemosyne Ore: 42 units]
[Titan’s Tear: 3 units]
Estimated market value? Currently incalculable. He doubted there was a supply.
"Beautiful," Kage whispered. "Monopoly is the sweetest word in the English language."
"It is done."
The voice was dry, scratchy, but stronger than before.
Kage turned. Val was standing. He looked... restored. The frantic, twitching energy was gone, replaced by a cold, somber stillness. His hands were stained entirely black up to the elbows, dripping ink onto the stone.
He picked up his massive book and closed it with a heavy thud.
Val walked to the edge of the plateau, overlooking the drop-off into the next valley.
"What now? Got another quest?" Kage asked, stretching his shoulder.
"I… I cannot go there," Val said. His voice was flat, devoid of the stutter he'd had earlier. He stared down into the abyss. "My ink... it doesn't work there. The story in that valley is too loud for me to reach it."
Kage joined him at the edge.
"The Chapter of Silence ends here," Val said. He turned to Kage, his cracked spectacles reflecting the grey sky. "You, however... I see the weight of your name."
Fame? Kage theorized. Does he mean my high fame?
Val pointed a black-stained finger at Kage’s chest.
"You might actually retrieve it."
[Quest Alert: The Voice in the Screams]
Grade: Rare
Objective: Descend into the Valley of Cacophony. Locate and retrieve the 'Silenced Bell'.
Reward: 25,000 EXP, [UNKNOWN]
Accept? [Yes/No]
"Great," Kage sighed, walking to the edge of the obsidian shelf. "Why does the loot always have to be in a pit?"
He looked down, and from this height, the fog had thinned just enough to reveal the true geography of the Valley of Cacophony.
It was an oval. A perfect, symmetrical ellipse stretching for miles. The cliffs on either side arched with precision, meeting at sharp corners in the east and west. The rim was lined with those towering, curved spires of petrified smoke. Hundreds of them, evenly spaced.
He looked at Val, then back at the drop, and pressed Yes.
