Paragon of Skills

Rafnov is a legendary figure, Cloud. Beyond your wildest imagination. I regret to say, he's way more known than me. He belongs to the Class of people who have changed this world for good, not unlike that bastard of the Headmaster.

I keep hearing so many people talk about the Headmaster's real identity without mentioning what it is that it's slowly driving me insane. Yet, I've asked King Baalrek enough times that I know that asking again won't have any effect.

Rafnov was a master of Primordial Magic. A master of the kind you'd NEVER understand. He is... the greatest Miner. It's not even a contest. He could infuse magic into vein ores and generate ANY Skill Crystal of that Rank. He's famed for CREATING Skills. From scratch. He was a Miner, a Battlefield Control Specialist. A Guide, too, if I remember correctly. He was IT. HIM. He was famously as powerful as a God and he reached the highest Level.

There's something in what King Baalrek is saying that stops me for a moment. He's just compared this Rafnov to the Headmaster, right? Then, when he says that this Rafnov is as powerful as God, does that mean that the Headmaster...

Rafnov will have hidden great riches here. This is just a Platinum Rank Dungeon, Cloud, but it's a RAFNOV'S LEGACY. Enter that immediately. Leave these bastards behind and loot the place by yourself. You'll solve your money problems for years to come. And you'll also find Skill Crystals like you wouldn't believe.

That sounds enticing, but...

"Guys, would you care to join me into a little foray into a Special Room of the Dungeon?" I ask to the Champions behind me.

"A Special Room?" Vyrrak asks, curious. "What kind? Is this just more monsters? I'm not really keen on fighting useless stone constructs."

"Pass," Sabrina Margrave says. "I don't want to waste my time either. We should just go for the Dungeon Boss and kill it. I don't care about Platinum Rank Skill Crystals in such a Dungeon. I'm already looking at Diamond Skill Crystals. I have my Platinum set ready for when I need to evolve my Class."

But then, I see Boomgar looking at my smirk with a knowing smile himself.

"Lad, say, do you know what Secret Room this is?"

"Well..." an even wider smile gets painted on my face. "How would you guys like to make some money?"

The others stare at me like I've gone mad, but Baalrek's voice in my head still thunders.

Do you even understand what this means, Jacob Cloud?! A Rafnov Vein is not just a deposit of minerals—it's a gate to one of the most forbidden legacies the world has ever seen!

"Forbidden legacy?" I whisper under my breath.

"Jacob?" Kai frowns at me. "What's going on?"

I wave him off and keep my focus on the pond. The Grimoire is still pulsing faintly, words shimmering in my vision.

[Portal of Rafnov: Dormant]

King Baalrek, who the hell is Rafnov?

The Infernal King doesn't answer right away. I feel him pacing inside my soul. Then his growl cuts through.

Rafnov was no ordinary mortal. He was a Titan-born miner who defied his own God. He dug into the bones of the world and carved veins of magic out of it. Do you realize what that means?

That he was a miner? I mutter internally

No. Baalrek's voice shakes. It means he mined Skills.

I freeze. "...Excuse me?"

The others keep staring at me. Sabrina raises a brow, dripping sarcasm. "Talking to yourself again, Fake Champion?"

"Not to myself," I mutter. "Just thinking out loud."

I focus on the portal beneath the water, barely being able to see it.

[Skill Node Detected: Fragment of the Great Miner's Legacy]

The words burn themselves into my mind, and suddenly, my heartbeat feels too loud in my ears.

King Baalrek, please explain to me what's going on? What do you mean mining Skills?

"RAFNOV?!" Sabrina Margrave shakes my body so strongly I'm pretty sure a bone somewhere just snapped. Maybe in my shoulder, maybe in my spine. My head spins so much that I can barely think straight.

I try to nod in return but there's Vyrrak, usually so composed, right next to her, shouting as well, "CLOUD, ARE YOU SURE?! RAFNOV'S LEGACY?! DEAD DRAGONS DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH MONEY THERE'S GOING TO BE THERE?!"

"Even if it's a Platinum Secret Room, it's most likely as valuable as a True Diamond one," Zibrek says shakily.

Asterion, who had looked sad and pensive so far, is now blushing, trying to rein in the excitement. Yet, his eyes look like two gold coins.

"Jacob found this out, he gets to call the loot!" Kai shouts above everyone.

"To hell with that!" Sabrina Margrave puts an arm around my neck like I'm an object she now owns. "We're all Champions! And this loot does not fall under the purview of the stupid Academy! We'll split it equally among those who enter the room! And I say that we only need a few members of a party to do so! I'll take the role of Shield!"

"I am a Shield and I'm his brother!" Kai shouts at her.

"Half-brother!" Sabrina says, squeezing my neck so hard I can barely breathe now.

"Sabrina," I croak from her steely hold.

She looks at me horrified and immediately releases me, "oops!" She dusts my clothes without any need to do so and just smiles apologetically. "Don't worry about that. You're great. I have a potion, take it."

Before I can even ask, she downs a potion in my mouth and I feel the stiffness go away.

"Can we discuss this calmly?" I say, but then I see Vyrrak taking out his daggers. "I challenge everyone who wants to take the role of Dagger. Daggers are fundamental in the makeup of a party."

Boomgar eyes Asterion since they're both Breakers. "Tall blond lad," the Dwarf says. "I like you, but I'm going to blow you up if you want my place."

"We've been running two Guides all this time! I've got a claim on the loot!"

Orrivane and Kaelric step toward Boomgar and Asterion, both looking very seriously at the other Champions.

It looks like a very serious fight is about to break out at any moment.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

"STOP!" I say, shouting at the top of my lungs. "Have you all lost your damn mind?!"

That gives the Champions pause as they look at me, awaiting for me, the one who found the Rafnov's legacy, to speak.

"First of all, we still have to see if we can turn on the portal. Second of all, ALL of you will come. I was joking before. We are Champions and all of you—us—have money problems. You got them because of Karma, I do because I do not come from money. Now, there's no reason why we can't split the loot equally. At least the money. As for the Skills, we can evaluate how much they're worth and exchange money for them if we find any that one wants. If not, we'll just sell them back at Ytrial."

For a moment, everyone looks at each other in a way that makes me think they're still thinking about stabbing the closest person to them. Then, however, they seem to decide to hear me out.

"Jacob, you're very wise," Asterion says, relaxing his posture.

How is he, the calmest person here, ready to become so childish over this?

I don't think you understand just how rare a Rafnov's Legacy is. Imagine if you told them you have me in your soul, Jacob Cloud. They'd be very surprised to hear you have tutoring from someone as strong as me. And you obtained a piece of my soul from a lowly Dungeon. Sure, Platinum-Rank Dungeons are not much, but the kind of heritage and loot you could find in here are manyfold rarer than what I could have given you.

Listening to King Baalrek, I start getting an idea of what we might find.

"Now what?" Boomgar asks. "How do we enter?"

"Let me see," I say, using the Grimoire again, this time focusing on the information about the portal.

[Analysis Completed]

[Flaw of the Prerequisites for Portal of Rafnov (Dormant): None.]

Well, there are no flaws here, I tell King Baalrek.

Just swim up to it and touch it, Jacob Cloud. Rafnov was not a sadist. You'll hear what you need to do from the portal itself. The fact that you were able to locate it might make it good enough to gain entrance.

That said, I remove my leather armor and jump into the pond, finding it much deeper than I had originally envisioned. It feels like it's about ten meters deep. Without my Attributes, as someone with barely any swimming experience, I would have never made it this deep.

Once I'm at the portal, a circular structure of stone with many runes inscribed on it, I gently brush the stone. The runes hum to life and the water around me starts bubbling up.

"Welcome."

The voice that sounds in my ears rings so clear, so close, that I snap my head right and left.

"Do not worry. This is just a minor sentient portal. You're safe, child. In fact, you're free to breathe."

What?

But seeing the portal humming, I try to breathe and, to my absolute astonishment, I find myself capable of doing so. I don't know how that's possible since I'm underwater, but it seems like something happened. What, exactly, is unclear to me.

"I can feel you have companions--great ones, with you. And you, yourself, carry a great strand of Karma. Fascinating. May I ask your name before we continue?"

"Jacob Cloud."

Despite being underwater, I seem to be able to speak as if we were both above the surface.

"Jacob Cloud. This is a fragment of my soul. I'm Rafnov. Do you know about me? I suspect that the mighty Infernal in your soul might have told you something--are you aware of him, though? Sometimes they might parasitize people. In that case, I can get rid of him for you."

"No, no, I'm perfectly aware of him. Don't worry. But thanks for the offer. He told me you're the greatest Miner ever."

"Flattery," the voice replies. "But it's not that far from reality, I fear. People have never appreciated the craft of Miners. Extracting and refining ores is just the start of our path. There's much more to it. Yet, most abandon it because they just can't seem to accept the inherent humility of it. Too many want to forge out of rare materials or, worse, to wield weapons they haven't earned. You, however... I feel some nobility in you. But then, why do you have such Skills? Why learn mining?"

"My mother is Royalty, but I grew up with my father. He's a dirty poor miner who's sometimes taken to selling wares. He met my mother by accident and they, well..." I clear my voice. "I wasn't born in a palace. I was born in a small town called Shit's Creek. Not having much and with my father having to take care of himself, I learned his craft very early."

I wouldn't usually call mining a 'craft' but it feels right in the presence of this soul fragment.

"You learned mining out of necessity," the voice says, curiously. "Have you started appreciating it, then? Or did you just mine to escape your condition?"

For a moment, I feel like lying.

"I never minded the mines themselves. I loved being alone, despite always being reprimanded for wandering by myself. I disliked the people in the mines. But the mining itself was rather fun in a way..." I hesitate. "I have to be honest, however. I never wanted to stay a Miner. So, the latter. I surely appreciated some aspects of it, but I used it to get out of Shit's Creek."

The voice seems to smile.

"Your sincerity is admirable. Many would lie straight to my face, as if I couldn't tell. So, Jacob, can I tell you a secret?"

I nod, unsure where this is going. I don't think I'm about to get access to the legacy of the greatest Miner ever after telling him that no, I don't enjoy mining that much.

"But this is going to be our little secret. Sorry, Infernal friend, you'll be deafened for a moment."

I feel an incredible pressure in my soul for a second.

"I didn't want him to listen to this. We all have our secrets and our private life, right? And don't worry. They're trying to understand what's happening from above, but I've blocked this conversation from them and even access to the pond."

"Oh, thank you."

"I had gambling debts—lots of them," the voice says. "The reason why I went crazy for mining is not pure, is not high. Not everything needs to be a heroic story right off the bat. You can start something for all the wrong reasons, Jacob. In fact, I encourage it. If I hadn't been that desperate, I wouldn't have had the courage to take chances. I'm not saying to put yourself in a terrible situation like mine, but look at it like this: what matters in life is to go fast, break things, and not die. As long as you go fast, at some point you'll find your path."

"I never thought of it like that," I say.

"You must have chosen a path after leaving the mines. What was it?"

"I'm trying to become a Knight, a hero."

"You might one day realize you entered this path for all the wrong reasons. Yet, the most important thing is always what you're going to do next, not what you've just done."

"Oh," I say. "That's... wise."

"No, it's just common sense. Now, though, I can see you squirming. You're wondering if I'm about to kick you out and whether you'll be able to access the riches in this place. I did hear you and your friends."

"Oh."

The voice laughs again.

"Don't worry. Greed is perfectly understandable. Sometimes, even justified. So, let me give you some good news."

"Oh?"

"You may enter. You and your friends. I feel thick threads of Karma following your group. You will need what you'll find in this Secret Room. Plus, no one with the Grimoire ever became a Miner."

"HUH?!"

"I can see things, Cloud. I've created Rainbow Skills and... well, let me not mention the abominations I made too. What I want to tell you, though, is that you will have to undertake mining tasks to get the riches in there. If you're fine revisiting the path of a Miner, even for the wrong reason, you'll have access to it."

"Just like that?" I ask.

"Just like that. No catch. The tests in there are not deadly. They're made for those who want to pass them but there's no great downside. You might not get all the Skills that I've left for my heirs, but... who cares, right? You'll still get some money."

"You're incredibly relaxed about this," I note.

"Life flows in the same direction whether we want it or not. We can glide around fate, but never stop it. We can choose, but how much? How many things can we change if we're stiff, if we're worrying about everything? Maybe you'll become a Miner, maybe not. Maybe you'll be a villain and not a hero. I have to make a decision with what I can see and what I know right now. And for now, I extend my invitation to you."

The voice pauses.

"Do you accept?"