Hey, You Cryin'? "My Money, My Living Expenses...!"

Vulcan, who had crossed through the gate to somewhere unknown, couldn't pull himself together for a while. With a half-sobbing look on his face, he just stared off into space, still chasing the mountain of gold coins flickering in his mind's eye.

Next to him, Tud seemed bothered by Vulcan's odd reaction and prodded him lightly with his tail, gauging the situation.

- Aing!!Whack!!

Then, as if he couldn't stand it anymore, Tud swung his tail hard. He smacked Vulcan squarely on the back of the head and bellowed.

- How long are you gonna whine over that piddly cash?! We'll rake in way more treasure than that soon enough! Hell, my lair's already stuffed with that kinda chump change...

"Lair? Wasn't that place back there your lair?"

- Wh-what? Why're your eyes glinting like that?

At those words, Vulcan switched gears in an instant.

"Pfft, what're you talking about? Look at these innocent eyes of mine! Anyway, so you have a separate lair, huh?"

A dragon's lair. The common belief was that they overflowed with unimaginable riches and treasures beyond mortal dreams. And if a mere warehouse—not even the real lair—had been piled high with that much wealth, how insane must the actual treasure vault be?

- Yeah, I've got a lair, and a bunch of workshops too...

Vulcan's mind raced there, and he quickly let go of his regrets over the treasure he'd left behind. Tud, caught off guard by the sudden shift, mumbled awkwardly in response—but that only made Vulcan flash a sleazy, toothy grin.

"Jeez, why didn't you say so sooner! But uh, that stuff's still there, right?"

- Dunno how much time has passed, but probably. I set it up so no unqualified scrub can get in.

Vulcan caught the implication right away. Just like how the Soul Stone had forced a class change on him, the setup was likely rigged so only his incarnation could enter. Even if not, whatever a dragon had left behind wouldn't be easily found or breached. Top rankers were barely pushing past mid-300s levels, but a dragon's estimated level was at least 400. Consensus was that even if every ranker swarmed one, taking down a dragon was impossible—for now, anyway. No dragons had shown up yet.

People say 400, but it could be 500 or higher.

Either way, the key point was that those places wouldn't get looted before he could reach them. Finally, Vulcan snapped back to reality.

"So, what should I do first? Level up?"

To find the lair or workshops, he'd need to raise his level anyway.

- Level? You mean soul growth?

His levels had reset, and he lacked combat-class attack skills, but with his experience and control, he could grow fast enough at first.

Tud eyed Vulcan's sudden enthusiasm with a squint, then plopped back down on his head and replied.

- Nah. First, we build that body of yours.

"My body?"

- Pointless for great ones like us, but you're not there yet, right? Soul growth matters, but before that, we'll toughen your flesh and test your grit.

"Ack?!"

What popped up before Vulcan's eyes was none other than a job quest. Normally given to newbies at level 10 after picking a class to unlock ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠job skills, but since he'd already changed classes via forced reincarnation, it started from level 1.

"...Why are the numbers and types like this?"

But this Tempering quest for a production class had special twists. Action stats—gains from specific activities. Mining iron ore burned strength and stamina, so repeating it naturally boosted muscle and vitality stats. Separate from level-up stat points.

Combat classes got similar quests like dummy training, but production ones reportedly gave bigger boosts. To help underpowered crafters who struggled to level without combat skills. The problem? The quantities and variety.

A common blacksmith might get "mine 10 iron ores." Even for a Legendary class, 100? Plus wood, herbs, fur balls? What kind of trial was this? Was it just screwing with him?

At least he regained his lost gathering skills, but the ranks he'd grinded to C were reset to F.

"And flame resistance too?!"

On top of that, a tough-to-raise attribute resistance. F-rank to 10% proficiency was doable, but he'd hit level 30 just scraping by the bare minimums.

Other players might've cursed and rage-quit as impossible.

...Isn't this straight honey?

But Vulcan thought differently. He knew Gloria Saga's systems better than most.

Tempering actions gave tiny XP. Even with jacked-up requirements, completing them barely hit level 30—the sheer repetition was the point.

So, massive action stat gains? Early-game action stats were gold; later, only achievements or special items gave extras beyond points. This was a chance. Restart with a huge edge.

"Time limit's 3 days to cap the OP growth, huh? But I can milk this dry."

"Heh heh heh heh!"

- ...What? You losing it already?

"Pfft, as if. Leave it to me. I'll show you real grit!"

Tud tried slipping off his head at the creepy laugh, but Vulcan declared boldly. He'd deliver beyond expectations.

"Uh, first though... could you hit me one more time?"

- What?!

"Y'see, inventory's full—over weight limit, can't move. Like before, smack me to the warehouse...?"

But first, fix the movement lock. Emptying inventory was an ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠option, but it was packed with valuables—ditching ores? Never.

- Fine by me. I'll whale on ya!

In the end, Vulcan lurched to the warehouse like a lagging game, one smack per step. He grinned proudly at safeguarding his pricey ores, while rumors spread of a pervert in the newbie village.

"Goddamn binding..."

With Tud's help, Vulcan reached the warehouse NPC—only to slump again. Trying to store, he found everything but his personally mined iron was bound from Tud's trove.

Rare ores worth a fortune, now useless. Lightning strike.

Fine. Bound as ore, but crafting might free 'em. It has to.

He steeled himself, but top ores needed time to process—no quick cash. At least he could move freely now, no more beatings.

Chest out, he finally surveyed his surroundings.

"Regon Village... been forever."

- Snooore~

Ignoring Tud, who conked out snoring atop his head after the escort, Vulcan reminisced.

The dungeon where he'd met Tud was far in frontier lands, but the gate led straight to newbie hub Regon. Smart—reset level might've trapped him ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠otherwise.

Perfect for the job quest. Regon was his starting village way back.

"Lemme see. Grab pickaxe, lantern..."

Luckily, warehouse items and gold were accessible. Not a delete, just reset—so he bought quest gear, plus food and lanterns for the grind. Dragon Eye might not light caves fully.

Gear up, he bolted to the nearest mine.

Route's long, but optimize for efficiency.

Iron ore first. Wood forest seemed closer, but mining maxed strength best. Boost carry weight, then multitask: forests had herbs, fur from beasts/mobs.

"Huh?"

"It works on me too?"

Stepping out, a pleasant alert made him smile. Beginner's Luck—buff for newbies to hook 'em. Never thought it'd apply post-reset.

"Changes everything."

F-rank skills were rough, but Vulcan trusted himself. Grinding was his jam.

He hustled to the mine and plunged in.

"Nice."

Newbie mines were pitch-black by design, sparse torches for "darkness" experience. But Vulcan saw clearly. Dragon Eye banished the gloom.

"Hm?"

Something odd: beyond cleared dark, faint white glimmers dotted the tunnel. Tiny specks like light grains, sharp in his vision.

"What the...?"

Even Vulcan, who'd mined to C-rank pre-reset, hadn't seen this. Dragon Eye effect?

Too little info to confirm.

"No way..."

Deeper in, more glows welcomed him. Focusing sharpened them.

"Veins?"

Iron veins invisible ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to others now shone clear in Vulcan's eyes.