Ting! Ting! Ting!

Using the newly traded stone hatchet, Jem Hansen repeatedly strikes the stone and rock to dislodge the shining crystals.

The system told him that he could only trade with things he knew and saw and existed in the world. The same goes for the skills.

After several smashes, one of the crystals finally fell and rolled several times on the ground, producing low noises.

Jem stared at it. The crystal briefly spun before it settled beneath him. Some sweats tickled his chin before they dropped to the ground. He used his arm to wipe it. Then, he released his grip on the hatchet handle and let it fall below him.

Thud!

He bent down and took the crystal which was on his feet. It was a little smaller than a golf ball. After picking it, the same notification appeared in the air in front of him.

[You obtained Shiny Emerald Crystal!]

“Hmm, looks like whenever I pick something, the notification will appear…” Upon muttering it, he noticed another thing. “Eh! It’s warm?” He uttered in surprise. ‘Looks like, this thing is the reason why it’s hot here…’ He thought.

The text [Tradable] could be seen beside the same as the broken saber a while ago.

When he looked closely at it, he noticed a small icon beside it. However, since he only had one arm, he could not tap it naturally. He could use his finger, nevertheless.

He turned his hand upside-down and clicked the small icon. After tapping it with his index finger, a larger rectangular box floated in front of him. In it were the details regarding the crystal.

[Shiny Emerald Crystal — A rare crystal that could only be found in an area 200 feet under the surface. It emits warmth and light.]

He did not continue reading it as it was long. There were more important things he had to do first.

Regardless, he was dumbfounded to know that he was currently 200 feet underground. He traveled that far?! Unbelievable!

Well, since he was so frightened at that time, and his mind was only about escaping, he didn’t notice the distance he traveled.

Jem shook his head slightly to get rid of the thought. He then asked the system about the points he could get if he traded it.

“Uh, system, how much will it be if traded?”

<Although it is a rare crystal, it had the lowest grade among its category. So 10 points.> Replied the system.

“10 only…” he mumbled in doubt. But anyway, he could not argue with the system. Jem checked the price of the first promotion for his Exo Points.

He had no idea if it was a fair price, but he felt happy and excited after checking the promotion price. “I see…”

“Okay, I want to trade!”

Just after saying it, the crystal disappeared in his hand. But on his status screen, the amount (10) was in the trade points section.

He then tapped the Exo Points section and promoted the quantity on it.

[Spend 10 Trade Points?]

[Confirm] [Cancel]

He tapped the [Confirm] choices.

[Exo Points: 1 >>> 2]

Finally! His growth potential, the Exo Points, was successfully promoted. From now on, every time he gains Ascendance points, it will always be 2x more than before.

But before he could feel happy, he should observe first whether it truly reflects on his growth later.

Yeah, the best way to test out its credibility is to check later. But before that, more crystals were waiting to be dislodged!

Jem picked up the lying hatchet once again. He had to continue gathering these crystals before the other monsters noticed him. He had no clue about the place. Or what kind of monsters were lurking in it. That’s why he couldn’t waste more time here. He had to find a way that may lead to the surface.

But for now,

Sparks flew everywhere and debris of stones and rocks rained down on the ground when he forcefully struck the hatchet against the wall. Ting! Ting! Ting! Smashing noises had once again reverberated in the area. The noise echoed as they traveled further and further into the distance. As though it sunk in a deep ocean.

After a few minutes, he finally finished gathering the Shiny Emerald Crystals. Though, he dislodged only those reachable to him. Those located at the higher wall and those on the ceiling, none of those were reachable to him. So he skipped them.

However, the noise coming from the smashes awakened a sleeping predator. Somewhere in the dark, an entity with slick black scales crawled, following the noise.

“1, 2, 3…” Jem, who was sitting cross-legged on the ground, started counting the crystals. He gathered them in front of him. And the hatchet was lying beside him.

“…7.”

He thought for a moment before he decided to trade five of them. When he glanced around him, he noticed that the two passages were all dark. He stored the other one inside his torn-up jacket. Then used the other one as his light source.

He traded five of the Shiny Emerald Crystals. Now, he accumulated 50 Trade Points. But when he tried to promote his Exo Points, a notification saying his Trade Points wasn’t enough appeared in front of him. It said that he needed 100 Trade Points to improve his growth potential for the second time.

Jem Hansen almost spat an insult towards the system when he noticed the rise in the quantity he needed.

He sighed despondently.

He decided to reserve the points first.

Before that, he needed to do something about the hatchet and the Shiny Emerald Crystal. He could not hold them together. He glanced around him and saw nothing that could help him. His eyes landed on his torn clothes.

“Looks like there’s no other way,” he whispered.

He bit the sleeve and tore it.

BRRRRRRRTTT!!!

He used the torn part of the sleeve to tie the crystal. After confirming that it was well-tied, firm, and not easy to loosen, he finally proceeded on his search for the way out.

From the torn sleeve and crystal, he made it into a necklace. Then he started advancing while gripping the hatchet in hand. On the other hand, he needed to find food as soon as possible.

Although he was lonely and scared, he had to steel himself if he wanted to survive in this place.