Free Project Daily Grind (Mirror World Book #1) by Alexey Osadchuk Page B

in dust, a piece of cobweb clinging to his left shoulder. Had it not been for his gray skin tone, I'd have thought he had turned crimson from the effort.
    “Here,” he said victoriously, setting a dusty wooden box onto the counter. “I thought I wouldn't find it. This is a relic, heh!”
    He wiped the box clean with his sleeve. “Yet another beta testing sample. You can't imagine how much of this junk has gone through my hands. Look,” he opened the lid. Four gray—or rather, earth-colored—runes lay at the bottom of the box.
    “Zero-level Clay Runes,” he grinned. “I don't think anyone still has any of these anymore. They're ancient. The admins got rid of them at an early stage as no one used them. But I stashed them away... just in case.”
    “Why did no one use them?”
    “Why would they? The zero-level gear has a week's durability. Once the item's broken, the rune's gone with it. And they're fifteen gold each. Seasoned Diggers don't need clay: they can afford the malachite ones. No idea why the admins decided to get rid of them. Wouldn't it have been easier to simply drop the price? Never mind.”
    “I beg your pardon, sir,” my voice began to shake, “Do you think these runes might fit my gear?”
    “That's exactly what I'm driving at,” he said. “I've never in my life seen anyone install runes on zero-level items. It's actually the first time I see a Goner’s kit in the flesh, if you know what I mean. All thanks to you—a player who thinks out of the box.”
    I forced a skittish grin, unable to take my eyes off the clay tablets. Three runes of +3 to Strength each and one of +7 to Stamina. This was a treasure trove! Installing these runes would have considerably boosted my gear stats—without leaving me out of pocket, either. If my items were indestructible, the runes too would last me an eternity! If only they fit!
    “So what do you think? Would you like to try them?”
    I gave a nervous nod.
    “Do you have the money?” the Dwand double-checked. “Once a rune is installed, it can't be removed.”
    “I do have the money,” I reassured him. “If it works, I'll buy all four of them.”
    “Let's do it, then,” he said. “Take a rune. The system will ask you to choose an item you'd like to use it on. After that, you know what to do. God bless!”
    I reached out and picked up a clay tablet. Was it indeed warm or was it my imagination?
    The rune began to glow.
     
    Name: Clay Rune of Strength.
    Effect: +3 to Strength
    Restrictions: None
    Choose the item you would like to install the rune on.
 
    I chose the shirt.
     
    Congratulations! You've received +3 to Strength!
     
    The rune crumbled in my hands and disappeared without a trace. A complex earth-color sign appeared on my shirt above my heart.
    “I got it!” I raised my hands, celebrating.
    Strangely enough, Rrhorgus seemed to be celebrating with me.
    I hurried to shell out sixty gold and installed the remaining runes. This was how my stats looked now:
     
    Speed: 19
    Strength: 18
    Stamina: 10
     
    My Energy bar had grown to 240. Excellent. All wasn't as bad as I'd thought. I compared my finished kit to the Speedo and was pleasantly surprised. I had 10 pt. less Speed but 3 pt. more Strength and 2 pt. more Stamina. So even without a bonus my kit was nothing to sniff at.
    On Rrhorgus’ advice I also purchased a 10-slot leather belt to stash away elixirs. It also had 30 pt. Durability. We spent the next quarter of an hour chatting. I bade him a warm farewell and walked out of the shop. Hope gave me wings.

 
     
     
     
    Chapter Eight
     
     
    I perched myself on a bench in the shade of a large tree and tried to calm down. I was done with the shopping. Now all I had to do was distribute the additional skills.
    Thirty points was desperately not enough, but I hoped this was only the beginning. Let's do it, then.
    I invested 20 pt. into the True Heroes Take Devious Routes skill. The catchy phrase belonged to a Soviet-era song lyricist Vadim