Chapter 11
“Huff… Huff… Huff…”
It had been seven days since I started climbing the rocky hill outside the Calamari Mine.
Which meant I’d dragged myself up here seven nights in a row—just to swing a pickaxe twice before trudging back down.
And it had cost me a total of 700 Dalings so far.
And the worst part? I still had to do it three more times.
“Ugh… this is so depressing…”
The full moon loomed unusually large tonight, somehow making me even more painfully aware of how ridiculous this was.
“No, no. Just three more days…”
My legs were threatening to give out, but I clenched the handle of my mithril pickaxe tighter and kept moving.
Before long, the all-too-familiar spot came into view.
That clover-marked stone, once a symbol of luck, now felt more like a cursed signpost pointing straight to hell.
“Get it together.”
Conveniently, the cooldown on my pickaxe restriction ended the moment I arrived.
Muttering to myself in an attempt at self-motivation, I raised the mithril pickaxe high over my head.
Then—
“Ghh!”
Bracing my core, I slammed the pickaxe into the ground using everything I had.
Thud!
I’d gotten the hang of this. I’d even figured out how to swing the damn thing more efficiently.
How did I learn? From doing it over and over again. Not because I wanted to, mind you.
But even with good form, it was still backbreaking labor. Something I never really grasped while playing Ark.
Especially when you’re hammering into solid stone like this.
“Hahh… Hahhh…”
The shock from the impact rattled my entire body. Even after doing this every night for a week, it never got easier.
If anything, the mounting muscle fatigue made each day harder than the last.
“Damn it… SYSTEM!”
This damned system.
I’d been out here, working like a dog every night for a week. Shouldn’t I get some kind of reward?
If you’re going to slap me with a ‘two swings per day’ penalty, couldn’t you at least boost my Core Power a little?
[SYSTEM] As the top villainess of the Bregenz Empire, you’ve demonstrated unwavering tenacity by attacking the same spot for seven consecutive days!
Congratulations! Please continue your noble efforts with the same enthusiasm!
That’s it?! THAT’S your reward?!
[SYSTEM] Blood pressure control is essential for a long life. Please don’t be discouraged! Stress +10
I was so mad I could scream—but then I realized, fighting with a lunatic system would only wear me down further.
“Haaah…”
The spike in my blood pressure left me briefly buffering like a laggy game character, but I managed to pull myself together.
Maybe the shock helped; my breathing steadied without me even realizing it.
“Fine. Let’s just get this over with.”
I raised the pickaxe again and brought it crashing down.
THUD!
“Gah!”
The impact jolted up my arm like a live wire. I collapsed to the ground, and—yep, here it comes—the oh-so-familiar system window popped up again.
[SYSTEM] Core Power insufficient! Due to your lack of Core Power, pickaxe usage is now restricted for 24 hours.
Time Remaining: 23:59
“Huff… Huff…”
Panting, I glanced at the timer and let out a despairing sigh.
Wasn’t there any way to shorten this cooldown?
How much Core Power did I need to pickaxe freely?
Just then, something blinked in the top-right corner of my vision like it had been waiting for me to ask.
‘Huh? Oh…’
Midnight had passed—meaning daily quests had refreshed.
And the blinking icon? It probably meant that clearing the quest could maybe lift the pickaxe restriction… though, knowing this game, it could also be a total bait.
I’d been baited more than enough times by now, but curiosity still got the better of me. I opened the quest menu.
[SYSTEM] A new daily quest has arrived! A perfect chance to build your villainess credentials—at the upcoming Spring Ball! In order to step on someone’s foot “by accident” during your debut dance, you must master the basics!
Complete your goal to increase ‘Core Power’ and ‘Grace.’
· Dance Practice (1): Perform basic footwork for 3 minutes (0/20)
“…Excuse me?”
Of all the possible quests… a dance tutorial?
All the previous quests had been geared toward villainy: slapping people, flipping tables, delivering killer glares, or shredding books into confetti.
But this? Practicing dance steps to step on someone’s foot?
A whole different genre.
‘Must be because of the Spring Ball.’
Come to think of it, a few days ago, some so-called “dance instructor” had shown up to give me lessons in preparation for my debut at the event.
I think they taught me some footwork then…
“…Did they?”
I’d been so focused on the mana stone mine that I completely tuned out during class. And now the system throws this at me?
Had I known, I would’ve paid attention.
“What did they show me again…?”
Now that my stamina was mostly recovered, I tossed the pickaxe aside and stood up.
Might as well try to remember.
But—
[SYSTEM] Intelligence insufficient! Your rock-hard brain cannot recall lessons taken within the past 24 hours!
…What?
How low could my Intelligence stat possibly be?
Oh.
· Intelligence: 3/100
…Oof.
Okay, yeah, that’s pretty bad.
I’d always suspected I had the cognitive power of a particularly dim-witted ant, but surprisingly, it hadn’t really affected my daily life.
I could speak, read, write, and walk just fine.
‘So I figured it wasn’t urgent to improve it…’
Even in Ark, unless you were going for a scholar or teacher ending, you could ignore Intelligence.
But apparently, low INT also tanked your memory.
The dance instructor’s horrified expression from that day came back to me crystal clear—the way they smiled awkwardly every time I botched a step.
So it seems Intelligence only kicks in for certain kinds of recall.
Anyway, in a fantasy world like this, letting any stat fall into ant-tier territory was asking for trouble.
Guess I’d have to raise it eventually.
“But for now… let’s just wing it.”
No music. No mirror. Not even a flat surface—just a rocky patch of ground. But I had to burn through this quest time anyway.
I cautiously lifted one foot…
‘Wait, which foot first?’
My mind blanked, but thankfully, not completely.
“Take one step forward.”
Right. Let’s stick with the basics.
If I wasn’t planning to kick someone, stepping forward seemed like a reasonable start.
But then…
‘What comes next?’
I wanted to remember—but only fragments surfaced.
“And… touch when it connects… the rhythm…”
Like a badly tuned radio, the instructor’s voice flickered in and out of my memory.
That’s when I realized: this penalty was real.
Seriously, if they were going to make this a quest, why didn’t they do it on the day the instructor came?
My frustration rose from my toes to the top of my head, but I grit my teeth and tried to piece together what scraps I had.
Step forward with one foot… and then?
Didn’t they say something about touching with the other foot once the first lands?
Like assembling a puzzle with missing pieces, I just moved.
One foot forward, then touch with the other.
Wait—this actually worked?
“Hey… I think this is right.”
Confidence growing, I began to dance in earnest.
I had to give myself credit—figuring this out from crumbs was impressive.
Fueled by a sense of satisfaction, I kept moving, light on my feet.
Thanks to all the recent daily quests, my Core Power had gone up a bit. Even after pickaxing, I wasn’t as tired as before.
“Hm hm~”
Humming to myself, I was in the zone.
“Hm hm hmm~ …hm?”
Wait—what was that feeling?
I froze.
It wasn’t exactly a sound, or a presence—but something felt off.
The kind of sensation you don’t want to feel when you’re dancing like an idiot in the middle of nowhere.
For the sake of my mental health, I debated not confirming it.
But… what if it was just my imagination?
I cautiously looked around.
And then—
“…!”
I saw them.
Far away, in a watchtower I’d never noticed before.
Two silhouettes—men, by the look of them—watching me.
