A Golem made of Mithril kneels in front of a construct of pure Mana and light. One of the least known things about Rafnov's was that once he achieved complete mastery of ore manipulation, he not only was already the greatest miner to ever exist, but that he had a wide range of interests when it came to crafting.

One of them was golem-making.

"Milord," the Mithril Golem speaks with the kind of intellect one would only expect from an actual human being. "The young Human has passed the thirteenth trial. He's approaching the last room."

"He is," the soul fragment of Rafnov says slowly, pondering. "How long has it been since this Secret Room has been touched by someone?"

"Long, sir. This is the first time someone manages to find it. We might have hidden the portal too well. Many high-level Knights passed right above it."

"How come this child is the only one who noticed, then?"

"The Minor Mineral Sense Skill, milord," the Mithril Golem speaks obsequiously.

"How is it possible that no other Knight ever carried one in this Dungeon?"

The Mithril Golem is aware of some of the minor faults with being a soul fragment attached to a Dungeon. In fact, the Golem itself had more vitality and consciousness in many ways than the soul. The soul, having to consume a large amount of energy to stay active, would only wake up temporarily when someone entered the Secret Room. The Golem, instead, had been awake since time immemorial, since the original Rafnov himself had carved him out of a pure chunk of Mithril.

"Knights in the current era consider mining a job well below their means and station, milord. Your heritage, despite being coveted by many, has not led anyone to learn mining Skills. And since it's only commoners who do, the pool of those who have had mining Skills as Knights and entered this Dungeon has been so far negligible. Even then, they'd have to almost trip on the pond itself for their Skills to pick anything up."

"And the boy has Karma for ages," the soul fragment mutters. "Fascinating coincidence. Tell me, friend, do you think he can actually pass the later trials?"

"Milord, you must already know the answer," the Mithril Golem replies.

"Why don't you humor me?" Rafnov's soul fragment replies.

Mithril is the metal that represented the first Rank of the Mythic Veins, a realm that only the best of the best among Knights would ever enter. Once there, they'd already be able to influence the course of entire kingdoms.

Since the golem is made of such a rare metal, it was only natural for it to possess an otherworldly intellect. Most importantly, it's made by Rafnov, one of the best masters a Golem could ever hope for.

"I would suspect that, given the young age of the helpers, they might not be able to make it. However, I can sense a great deal of Karma surrounding the entire group, milord. Is that why you ask? You already infer that they will make it?"

"I did not say any such thing," the soul fragment replies, yet it carries some mischief in its voice.

What the Golem just said is true and Rafnov knows it very well. Despite having been secluded from the world for long, his real body has lived a long time and knows very well what Karma such as the one surrounding these kids means.

"Their fates are thick and intertwined," the soul fragments says. "If they manage to extract the totality of our reward from this room, my friend, I would like for you to follow the boy."

"Should I become his guardian?" the Golem asks, confused. "Am I supposed to protect him as your apprentice?"

"No," the soul fragments explains. "You shall not interfere with his life. Our own Karma is too great for him to be touched by it like this. It would ruin his perfect Karma. If his fate is to die on the way to his dream, he shall die. What I want you to do is to take note of what he's doing. I want you to watch him from the shadows until he reaches the next heritage of mine--if he ever will. If he dies before, consider yourself freed. You might want to enjoy a different life than one of servitude. You've been faithful long enough."

"Milord, I shall never leave your side," the Mithril Golem replies. And not because it's bound by spells, but because of the loyalty and honor that its own metal infused in him. "I can't see any greater purpose in my life than serving your great mission and avenging you, milord."

"Do what you shall do," the soul fragment says. "But follow him. Look at what he does. When you meet another fragment of me, report. I shall adjust our interference in his life by then. Do you understand?"

"Loud and clear, milord. Now, he's just entered the fourteenth trial. If he passes this one, it's only one more."

"Let's watch, then," Rafnov replies. "And hope that he's humble enough in his heart to be able to do this."

* * *

I take a look at my updated status. I've fought a few monsters directly while in the Rafnov's trial but I'm more interested in the Skills upgrades and evolutions. I've almost lost count of everything since entering this place.

Name: Jacob Cloud

Class: Infernal Architect - Lv. 169 > 172

Core Skills:

Hellbane's Sword - Lv. 60 > 65 (Platinum - Offensive)

Flame Slash - Lv. 78 > 85 (Gold - Offensive)

Flame Shield - Lv. 85 > 89 (Gold - Defensive)

Flame Armor - Lv. 93 > 100 (Gold - Defensive)

Infernal Veins - Lv. 88 > 89 (Platinum - Constitution)

The Grimoire Extraordinaire (Rainbow - Support)

Class Skills:

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Furnace Core (Passive) - Lv. 100

Flameform Blueprint (Active) - Lv. 100

Infernal Thread (Passive) - Lv. 100

Ember Keystone (Active) - Lv. 42 > 44

Architect's Insight (Passive) - Lv. 100

Hellspire (Active) - Lv. 100

Ignition Array (Active) - Lv. 52 > 57

Attributes:

Attributes:

Strength (STR): 342 → 345

Dexterity (DEX): 398 → 404

Endurance (END): 242 → 245

Vitality (VIT): 398 → 404

Intelligence (INT): 768 → 780

Spirit (SPI): 768 → 780

Wisdom (WIS): 626 → 635

Charisma (CHA): 18 → 18

Luck (LCK): 10 → 10

Unassigned Points: 245 → 260

Other Skills:

Minor Cookery - Lv. 34 (Iron)

Minor Night Vision (Iron) > Night Vision (Bronze) > Advanced Night Vision (Silver) > Greater Night Vision - Lv. 92 (Gold)

Light - Lv. 67 (Bronze)

Pickaxe Mastery (Bronze) > Advanced Pickaxe Mastery (Silver) > Greater Pickaxe Mastery (Gold) > Expert Pickaxe Mastery - Lv. 91 (Platinum)

Minor Mineral Sense (Bronze) > Mineral Sense (Silver) > Advanced Mineral Sense (Gold) > Greater Mineral Sense Lv. 94 (Platinum)

Mana Well - Lv. 78 > 100 (Gold)

Echolocation (Silver) > Seismic Sense (Gold) > Vibrational Hyperawareness - Lv.100 (Platinum)

Heavenly Intuition - Lv. 62 > 89 (Platinum)

Silver Grip (Silver) > Gold Grip (Gold) > Platinum Grip - Lv. 42 (Platinum)

Advanced Endurance (Silver) > Greater Endurance (Gold) > Expert Endurance - Lv. 87 (Platinum)

Advanced Strength > Expert Strength - Lv. 77 (Platinum)

Infernal Wings of Ash - Lv. 100 (Gold)

Web of Withering - Lv. 100 (Gold)

Diavolo Draw - Lv. 76 > 78 (Gold)

Black Flame Lv. 34 > 35 (Fusion Skill - Platinum)

Blood of the Ancients - Lv. 55 > 58 (Platinum)

Tribulation of the Damned - Lv. 25 > 26 (Platinum)

First Step of Mephistus - Lv. 20 > 22 (Platinum)

Sigil of Baal - Lv. 15 > 16 (Platinum)

??? - Lv. 1

Minor Fire Resistance (Bronze) > Fire Resistance (Silver) > Advanced Fire Resistance (Gold) > Greater Fire Resistance - Lv. 100 (Platinum)

Shard Scatter (Bronze) > Shard Redirection (Silver) > Shard Control (Gold) > Shard Dominion - Lv. 94 (Platinum)

Strike Rhythm (Silver) > Advanced Striking Rhythm (Gold) > Greater Striking Rhythm - Lv. 100 (Platinum)

Stonefoot (Silver) > Quake Balance - Lv. 100 (Gold)

Fault Line Instinct (Silver) > Advanced Fault Line Instinct (Gold) > Greater Fault Line Instinct - Lv. 100 (Platinum)

Flame Armor is the only Core Skill that has already reached level one-hundred since I had to keep it on while passing the trials. Sometimes, not even the other Champions were enough to shield me from all the hits that came my way.

"Let's go," I say, and we all step inside the fourteenth room of this place. Calling Rafnov's trial a mere Secret Room would have been a massive understatement. If anything, this appeared to be an entire different Dungeon—a secondary Dungeon inside the Tomb of Fate.

The room is similar to the other ones. Yet, unlike the rest, this one has a swapped layout. Before, rooms had the focus of the trial at the center, either on a pedestal or a pit, and enemies coming from the walls. This one is the opposite. There's a pool of magma right in the middle of the room and protruding walls all around.

"For this trial, your task is to extract all the ore from the walls before you are swarmed by the Lava Golems."

"That's pretty straightforward," I hear Boomgar say.

Then, thirty Lava Golems appear from the center of the room.

[Lava Golem - Level 400]

"Damn it," I mutter, looking at the levels. These are Peak Platinum Rank monsters. I can't believe how many there are here. It's too many already since—

"Oi, lad, that's still not too bad. Don't worry about it. Just focus on the mining and we'll take care of the rest," Boomgar says, taking out a very small bomb from his Interspatial Ring. He can't really use the big ones or everything might collapse on top of our heads.

I groan when I hear what the Dwarf just said. "Boomgar, shut up. It's—"

Before I can even finish the sentence, the very large chamber swells with heat and sixty more Lava Golems appear from the center of the pool.

"Just a few more," I hear Boomgar say, but I can see his narrowed eyes and serious expression on his face. "Just get the ore, lad. I want the money at the end of this damned Dungeon. I've lost count of how many days we've spent here."

I nod back and clutch the pickaxe tightly in my hands.

Boomgar is right, we've spent a long time here already. The first tests have been very easy and I have managed to max out the Silver and Gold Skills in a matter of hours. However, the tests have started giving me Platinum Skills. And those, even with Heavenly Intuition and the Grimoire, take longer to master. If I had to guess, we've been here for about three weeks now.

There are few things I'd rather have done, though. Three weeks of training here are eye‑opening when it comes to training experiences. Spending time learning the right Skills, evolving them, and maxing them out has been the absolute best for my personal growth. Plus, with all the Lava Golems the Champions have been fighting, even they—and their bad Karma—have started encroaching on Platinum Rank.

I activate the Grimoire, Architect's Insight, and Heavenly Intuition. That has been my go‑to trinity so far when it comes to mining. By using the Grimoire, I can immediately scout the parts of the rock that I can carve out more easily. See, now that I'm starting to get challenged with Platinum‑Ranked ore, the problem is summoning enough strength to break through the stone.

I've been told by Rafnov during a previous trial that once ore starts getting charged with Mana, the surrounding rock becomes much harder to split. It takes genuine Platinum‑Ranked strength to get through this stone. And, if it weren't for my new Skills and for the Grimoire, I wouldn't be able to make any significant progress here.

This, by the way, also explains why high‑level miners are so rare. Mining would require one to fully dedicate themselves to the profession of splitting rocks, making tunnels, and so on and so forth. The problem is that when compared to the position of a Knight, a miner's job is infinitely more humble and humbling.

I feel my muscles swell with the power of Expert Strength and, relying on Greater Mineral Sense, I pinpoint where the ore is. When I start hacking away at the stone in measured blows, I also lean on my Vibrational Hyperawareness since the blows create vibrations that travel through the wall and allow me to better learn where there's ore and where there's just hard stone instead.

I can hear the sounds of battle as the Champions make short work of the Lava Golems. I turn briefly to see Zibrek, with an arm fully covered in a metal contraption, swatting the Lava Golems to pieces as if they were flies, and then I turn back to the wall.

I extract some Platinum ore and then I move on to the next.

It takes me less than an hour to fully extract all the ore in the chamber.

If my Skills hadn't been maxed out or close to it, a trial like this might very well have taken as long as a couple of days.

Now, as the magma pool cools down and stops spitting out Lava Golems, we hear Rafnov's voice once again.

"Congratulations for a display of superior Skills! You've only got one more trial in front of you! You should all rest before and heed my warning."

I raise an eyebrow. This is the first time that Rafnov gives out a warning.

"The last trial involves only the miner. While most times you won't be alone, you still might find yourself surrounded by monsters and on your own whether you planned it or not. To receive my inheritance, you'll have to prove yourself in the same way I had to prove myself every time monsters didn't want me to burrow through their home. You'll face an opponent that is much stronger than what you've seen so far. If you triumph, you will be inheriting the first part of my legacy. If you don't, however, you will die. Choose wisely."

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