Had to rewrite this entire chapter. Instead of adding more action with dialogue, I chose to convey a few things through conversation instead and limited anything that showed what other people were thinking to focus on what Garnet could see. Main change was the removal of one sub-plot that will probably not occur until way later (like 20 chapters later), so I took out most of the references to it from this chapter. The next one should not have the same problem and the references should stay in the next one because it makes a lot more sense there.
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The only way for Garnet to advance more quickly through the ranks was by participating in a King's Expedition. An Expedition was a special type of request that gathered many people together in order in search of something whether it be a rare material or a powerful monster. Normally, they required people of a certain rank to participate, but the one issued by the King was different. In order to participate in the King's Expedition, you only had to pass a test of strength. The problem was that they were rare. They only occurred when there was a powerful creature that was discovered or some place was to be explored and others were unwilling to issue a request of their own. It was something that was very unlikely to happen.
"So bored," said Garnet as she sat at one of the tables at the Guild. "There's no decent requests on this thing," she said. She had looked through the list of requests for several days, but there was nothing she was allowed to do and fighting a powerful creature was just too risky.
"You can't expect a request like that to come that easily," said Riley. "After all, they're only issued by the King himself when there is significant trouble."
"I know," said Garnet. So far, all of the requests she found had been gathering simple items from the countryside. Most of it was lower end animal parts and some of it was local plants. Garnet's Inspection skill allowed her to find plants based on their names so it was easy. However, despite all of this, she had only advanced to the three copper coin rank in the Guild. There was a big difference between ranks. "It's not helpful at all," she thought to herself as she made her way to the request wall to look again.
"Why don't you do something else for now?" asked Riley. "You're not making progress here."
Garnet was stubborn. She would spend most of her time focused on one goal. Currently, it was to advance through the ranks by completing requests. She was unwilling to take on the dangerous hunts for a chance to advance quickly because failure to understand your opponent's strength was certain death. If she was working with a large group, that would be different. It was too risky at the moment though.
So, Garnet decided to try something else at the request of Riley. "Let's go," said Garnet.
"Where to?" asked Riley.
"To look for some medicinal plants," said Garnet. She took out the magicraft book that she had received from Rita. If Garnet could improve the quality of raw materials, it was likely that she could also improve the quality of medicines and other items she made. She had learn the recipes for some of the basic items before.
Recipe: Healing Potion
Requires: 2 Bunches of Magic Grass (Powdered), Water, Water Spirit
MP Cost: 100
Note: This recipe is stored in your sub-class menu
Recipe: Antidote
Requires: 1 Bunch of Magic Grass, 1 Drop of Flower Nectar, Water Spirit
MP Cost: 100
Note: This recipe is stored in your sub-class menu
Garnet opened her Class and went to the Alchemist sub-class. Sure enough, there was a sub-option: "Recipes Learned." She was able to see the items that she could make along with all the items needed to make them. She pushed on the Magic Grass. There was a description box that told her how to get the item as well.
Name: Magic Grass
This item is used as a base for nearly every medicine. It is a result of grass absorbing mana from the water or the ground.
In other words, all Garnet needed to do was find grass and infuse it with mana. It was literally that simple. Item Enhancement made acquiring high quality basic materials extremely easy. From there, Garnet could use it to make other things if she had the skills. But for now, she could rely on other people to make things as long as she gathered the materials. It was impossible to master every skill and Garnet had neglected some of the skills she learned.
"We just have to find grass," said Garnet. "I can make it into Magic Grass with Item Enhancement."
"Seriously?" said Riley. "We're going to pull grass?"
"Yes," said Garnet.
The two headed outside of town and went off the main road. There was literally grass everywhere. She sat on the ground and started to pull some of the grass out.
"I thought you were joking," said Riley.
"I'm not," said Garnet. "The recipe calls for Magic Grass, which is made by infusing normal grass with mana."
Garnet gathered a few handfuls of grass. She would need a mortar and pestle to grind it down. For now though, she just wanted to enhance it. Anything that was enhanced by mana would instantly become much more potent.
Garnet spotted some grass that stood out as Magic Grass, but she could not actually feel any mana coming from it, probably because it was that weak.
Name: Magic Grass
Quality: Very Low
Effect: Slightly increases the effects of medicine
"Item Enhancement!" Garnet repeated the process until it failed because of her skill level. There was a little more mana radiating from those plants, but they were still very low in terms of quality.
Name: Magic Grass+5
Quality: Medium
Effect: Increases the effects of medicine by a moderate amount
Garnet repeated the process with about two dozen more bunches of grass so that she could build a stock. When she gathered a lot together, she could feel some of the mana that radiated out from the plants.
With that, Garnet headed back to town and purchased a mortar and pestle from a general supply store. Most people used it to grind down things like herbs for food, but she was going to use it to make medicine.
Garnet set the cauldron up in the extra room in the house. "Call: Mazu!" Garnet summoned her water spirit and went to work making the Magic Grass into a fine powder with the mortar and pestle.
"You know, an earth spirit can help you with that," said Mazu.
New Quest: Seek Out an Earth Spirit
Earth Spirits traditionally live in either caves, deserts, or mountainous areas. Find one.
Reward: Two Spirits
"I would use one if I had one," said Garnet. She still only had a fire and water spirit. She had no luck finding more.
For now, Garnet would have to do it by hand. She tossed the ground Magic Grass into the cauldron along with some water and had Mazu get to work. The liquid in the cauldron began to turn and mix slowly. The green color of the Magic Grass lightened and reduced to a slightly thicker liquid. "It's done," said Mazu.
Name: Healing Potion
Quality: Low
Effect: Increases health regeneration by 50 per second for 10 seconds.
It actually restored quite a decent amount of health. It could be useful in battles. The problem was the low quality. But if this was low quality, high quality medicines might be far more effective.
"Item Enhancement!" Garnet tried to upgrade the medicine she made as well.
Failure! This item cannot be enhanced.
It did not work. Item Enhancement was limited. It probably did not work because it was an item created through Alchemy. Then again, there were signs that weapons and armor could be enhanced, so this was confusing. There was most likely something that prevented medicines from being upgraded by just adding mana to it. It was most likely the ingredients used or the process for making medicines. Both of which could affect the quality and thus the effectiveness of medicines. There was still a lot to learn.
Other things interested Garnet as well, such as Zedd's ability to seal spells into paper for other people to use. She had no idea where to even start with something like that. For now, all she could do was improve her Alchemy. The first step, was to find an earth spirit. The only place that resembled something like that was the mountains to the North. Without requests to make significant progress, Garnet decided to just go in search of a spirit, after all, it would be more productive.
"I'm heading to the mountains in search of an earth spirit," said Garnet. "And you're coming with."
"Alright," said Riley. "I don't even know what earth spirits look like."
"As a spirit, you should be able to feel it to," said Garnet. "Or at least Nuria and Mazu can feel it."
"It's better than wandering around lost," said Riley. "That's tough if its in the mountains."
A lot of people froze when they went through the mountains unprepared. So, Garnet decided to take some precautions. She went over to Peter's shop first.
"I need something warm," said Garnet.
Peter was still working with some of the boar hides that Garnet had brought over, but Garnet could not tell what he was doing. "Take a look at this," said Peter as he pulled out a fur coat fashioned from Wolf Pelts.
Name: Wolf Cloak
Quality: High
Effects: Immunity to Cold, Cannot be Detected by Smell, Resistance to Slashing
"How much?" Garnet asked.
"I'll trade you for some more Wolf Pelts," said Peter. "How about five?"
"Done," said Garnet. This was not an item she could make herself, at least not with her current skill level. People seemed to value high quality materials due to its rarity, so Garnet was able to trade them for many valuable things.
"You're not going to barter?" asked Peter.
"I told you, i have a few dozen and I can make more," said Garnet. "Five isn't much."
"Doesn't your friend need one?" Peter asked pointing at Riley.
"No, she's unaffected by weather conditions," said Garnet. "It won't do much for her."
"That must be rough," said Peter. "Unable to feel the warmth of the sun or the cold of another person's hands."
Garnet had never thought of it like that. To not be able to feel anything would definitely be strange and discomforting. "Thanks for the coat," said Garnet as she put it on. It was kind of big for her, but she did not mind.
With the coat in hand, Garnet and Riley went North towards the mountains. They ran by at speeds that surprised other people. It was much faster than by horse or by carriage. The further North they went, the fewer people that she saw. By the time she reached the base of the mountains, there was no one there. The peaks of the mountains started to have a bit of snow. At the entrance was a sign, Apennine Mountains.
"Can you feel anything like a spirit here?" Garnet asked Riley.
"I don't even know what a spirit feels like," Riley responded.
"Call: Nuria! Call: Mazu!" Garnet summoned the fire and water spirits. "Do either of you feel anything like a spirit here?" Garnet asked them.
"No," said Nuria.
"Me neither," said Mazu. "Maybe if we go further in, we will find something."
The four of them began to ascend the mountain together. There was something that resembled a trail, so there were at least some travelers here. A short while into the trail, there was a split. One headed up the mountain, one headed down to the side of the mountain. "Which way?" Garnet asked.
"There's something strange higher up," said Riley.
"What do you mean by strange?" Garnet asked.
"I don't know," said Riley. "There's like a cold and empty feeling."
"We should at least check it out since were here," said Garnet. "To the top then!"
The four of them made their way up the mountain. "I feel it now too," said Nuria. "There's definitely something strange up there."
Along the way, Garnet saw that snow was beginning to fall. After all, it was winter already. It did not snow to the South and this was her first time actually seeing snow. Garnet was glad that she went to Peter's for the Wolf Cloak.
"I hear something," said Garnet. BAA. It was the sound of most likely a sheep or a goat.
Name: Goat
Level: 10
Class: Beast
Sub-Class: None
Stats: High Vitality
There was a goat chewing on some of the grass on the ground. "Is it aggressive?" Riley asked.
"Go check, Nuria," said Garnet. Nearly everything she encountered was aggressive.
Nuria flew up to its face. The goat seemed to ignore her. "I think its fine," said Nuria.
"Alright, lets go then," said Garnet. They slowly made their way around the goat who was chewing on the grass. The goat looked at them and then continued eating. Garnet was glad that not everything was trying to kill her. All the boars, wolves, and bears that she encountered before were aggressive.
They soon reached a cave about a third of the way up the mountain. "It's coming from in here," said Riley.
Garnet, Nuria, and Mazu all could not feel anything, but for some reason Riley could. It was almost like she was sensitive to the presence of life. They proceeded into the cave. Nuria's flames managed to provide light for the others, but Garnet did not need it. After all, she could see in the dark thanks to Night Vision. "There's nothing in here," said Garnet.
"No there definitely is," said Riley. "It's further in."
The cave stretched deep into the mountain. Garnet cautiously made her way in. The last cave she saw had a bear in it. The one before that was filled with undead. CLICK CLICK CREAK CRACK CLACK. It was like the sound of numerous cracks and creaks. HISS. There was definitely something here.
HISS. A large insect with numerous legs appeared.
Name: Causeyella
Level: 20
Class: Insect
Sub-class: Poison
Stats: High Agility
"Attack!" Garnet ordered. Riley, Nuria, and Mazu are moved forward.
The giant insect dove right towards them. Mazu trapped the insect in some ice. Riley intercepted it with a fierce punch. BANG. It spewed out green blood from its mouth. HISS. The blood of the creature burned away at the ground.
"Be careful of its blood!" shouted Garnet.
SQUEAK. The insect squealed in pain from Riley's attack. Despite its large size, it was not that strong. Nuria set the entire insect on fire. SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK. It was squirming in pain. "Lightning Fire Bolt!" Garnet fired off a spell at it to finish it off. BOOM. The explosion blew a hole into the side of it. The blood splattered everywhere.
"Watch out!" shouted Riley.
"Blood Absorption!" Even though the body was partially burnt, Garnet could still absorb it. The acidic blood entered Garnet. She felt a little pain in her body as she absorbed it.
Stat Increase: Agility +5
"At least with Blood Absorption, I can get stronger without having to gain levels," Garnet thought to herself.
Stolen story; please report.
"It's further in," said Riley. They continued on the path inside the mountain.
"Woah," said Garnet. In front of her was a giant block of ice. Inside of it was a pale woman who seemed to have light blue skin, dark blue lips, and black hair and a blue and white halter top dress. It almost seemed like she died of hypothermia. "Who is that?!?" cried Garnet.
"She's not dead, she's an ice spirit," said Mazu.
"I thought you were ice," said Garnet pointing to Mazu.
"I'm water," said Mazu. "I can change between the three forms of water: ice, water, and steam, but this is a true ice spirit."
"What's the difference?" Garnet asked.
"An ice spirit is a combination of wind and water," said Nuria.
"Think it will make a contract with me?" asked Garnet.
"Only way to do it is try," said Riley.
Garnet looked through her books for the character for ice. She drew the magic circle on the ground. The character on front of it this time was ice (冰). It was far more complex than the other ones. She channeled her mana through it.
BANG. The ice around the woman suddenly exploded. "Oh a mage?" said a seductive voice. The woman that was in the block of ice began to walk forward, swinging her hips. She was much bigger than the other spirits, she was basically a full sized human by comparison.
"I wish to make a contract with you," said Garnet.
"Oh?" said the ice spirit. She approached Garnet and took her hand. She bit directly into Garnet's finger.
"Ow!" shouted Garnet. All the spirits seemed to have a taste for blood.
"It's worthy," said the ice spirit.
"What is your name?" Garnet asked.
"My name is Sino," said the ice spirit.
New Skill: Call: Sino
Summon forth a the combination of wind and water, the ice spirit Sino.
MP Cost: 2000
"It's nice to have you with us," said Garnet. "Not quite what I was expecting though."
"What were you expecting?" Sino asked.
"I came up here looking for an earth spirit," said Garnet. "But, I found you instead."
"The earth spirit lives at the base of the mountain," said Sino. "You went the wrong way."
Garnet placed her palm to her face when she heard that. "Well we're going back the way we came anyways, we can make another stop," said Garnet.
As Garnet headed exited the cave, it was already dark. "I think we should just camp here," said Riley.
"Camp in the mountains?" said Garnet. "That's dangerous."
"It's even more dangerous to try to get around at night, even if you can see in the dark," said Riley.
"I suppose," said Garnet. She and Riley sat outside the cave. She used Nuria to create a small fire. After all, she still felt cold. Riley did not because she was a spirit. They were largely unaffected by anything other than magic.
"Is it strange being unable to feel anything?" asked Garnet.
"It's been like this for a while," said Riley. "I'm used to it already. I can feel a little mana though, which is better than feeling absolutely nothing."
It was not something pleasant to be used to. Being used to having breakfast every day was good. Being used to playing in the snow was good. Being used to not feeling anything felt like a nightmare. Garnet would have probably tried to do anything, just to feel something that made her know that she was alive. Riley was more or less a walking corpse bound to Garnet.
"Like I said, I'm going to help you make a new body," said Garnet.
"I know," said Riley. "I've already waited something like five years. It's important to take one thing at a time."
"And first is to find a way to create a body for you," said Garnet.
Once there was light again, the group made their way down the mountain and down the trail. Going down the mountain was much scarier than going up the mountain because you were looking at where you could potentially fall the whole time. Garnet could fly though, so it did not really bother her that much. Even if she fell, she just had to activate flight and she could get back up. The only danger was potentially any flying creatures she did not know about. The most dangerous things were the things that you could not see.
They eventually reached the path where there was a split. This time, Garnet went the other way and down the side of the mountain. It was here that Garnet found a large cave. "Here we are," said Sino.
The cave was enormous. There was even a small stream running the side of it. Inside of it were several holes where light could shine in. At the center of it, was a tree that received light from all the different openings in the cave. "So where is this spirit?" asked Garnet.
"Right in front of you," said Sino as she pointed at the tree. "That's a wood spirit."
A wood spirit, a combination of water and earth. With this, Garnet would literally have three spirits that could be capable of using water, not counting Riley. "Come out!" shouted Sino.
The wood of the tree began to distort and a figure began to emerge. What looked like a walking piece of wood began to take on the form of a humanoid woman. She had slightly tanned skin, long brown hair, green eyes, and round ears. She wore a green tube top and pants paired with brown boots. She was almost like an elf in terms of appearance, but without the white skin or pointy ears. "What are you doing here Sino?" asked the wood spirit. "I thought we agreed you would stay in the top half and I would stay in the bottom half."
"I've formed a contract," said Sino. "She's quite powerful."
"You actually formed a contract with a human?" said the wood spirit. "You must be getting weak."
"Why don't you taste her blood yourself?" asked Sino.
The wood spirit turned into leaves and disappeared. Something was wrong. Garnet felt the ground vibrate beneath her and quickly moved out of place. In an instant, the tree spirit appeared. "Oh you felt me coming?" said the wood spirit.
Riley grabbed her sword and began to run. "Don't interfere with their fight!" Sino shouted as she ran in front of Riley. "The wood spirit must approve of her."
"The ground was shaking funny so I decided to move," said Garnet. She was unsure if the wood spirit was going to actually hurt her, so she had to be safe.
"I just want a drop of your blood," said the wood spirit.
"You can have a drop from my finger if you want," said Garnet. "But nowhere else."
"That's no fun," said the wood spirit. Her arm turned into a vine and she swung it across the room.
Garnet raised her staff and blocked it. CLANG. The wood spirit was seriously trying to kill Garnet. The vine twisted and grabbed onto Garnet's staff. Garnet tried to pull the staff back, but the wood spirit's grip on it was too strong. Garnet had to let go. The wood spirit pulled the staff backed and wielded it on her own. "That was too easy," said the wood spirit.
Garnet pulled out her sword. This was her real weapon anyways. The staff was mainly so that she did not have to seriously hurt anyone. Garnet fired the crossbow in her arm at the tree spirit. CHUNK. The arrow hit the wood spirit right in the chest, but the arrow was just stuck there. The wood spirit did not have the physiology of a regular person, such an injury was just superficial.
The wood spirit threw its other arm as a vine at Garnet. With a single swing of her sword, the vine was cut. The wood spirit did not feel any pain. The vine retracted and it was a fully formed arm again. Like a plant, she could regrow her parts if she lost them.
"Lightning Ray!" Garnet fired six bolts of lightning at the wood spirit.
"Learn your elements!" shouted the wood spirit. The lightning bolts were not very effective. It continued to advance.
A wood type like the one in front of Garnet was probably resistant to lightning. The one element that would work on the wood spirit was fire since it would burn like wood. "Fire Bolt!" Garnet fired a bolt of fire at the wood spirit.
In an instant, the wood spirit disappeared again. BOOM. The explosive power of the Fire Bolt caught the shoulder of the wood spirit. The part that had turned black from the flames quickly restored its color. Fire was not effective either. It needed to be something stronger.
"Everyone get back!" shouted Garnet. She ran to the side and put her back to the wall. "Heat Wave!" This was the one spell Garnet was reluctant to use because it super heated everything it came into contact with. It was a spell that would kill normal people.
"AHH," the wood spirit screamed. It emerged from the ground a few feet away from Garnet. She could see that there were orange parts that glowed all over her body and some of the green parts even turned brown as a result. Even with its resistance, it was no match for the heat.
"Help her Mazu," said Garnet.
Mazu splashed some water onto the wood spirit. "Thanks," said the wood spirit. "Why didn't you use that spell first? You could have won immediately."
"That spell can kill," said Garnet. "I don't want to use it unnecessarily."
"I see," said the wood spirit. "I lose, so I'll just take a drop from your finger."
Garnet drew the magic circle onto the ground with the symbol for wood on it (木). It was fairly simple compared to the symbol for ice.
"What's your name?" Garnet asked.
"My name is Meliae," said the wood spirit.
New Skill: Call: Meliae
Summon forth a spirit of earth and water, the wood spirit Meliae.
MP Cost: 2000
"Welcome to the group," said Garnet.
Quest Complete: Seek Out an Earth Spirit
With this Garnet had acquired an ice and a wood spirit, which meant that she could use the four basic elements of earth, fire, air, and water in addition to two additional elements of wood and ice. It was enough for all the magicraft types that she had seen so far. "I wish I had spells of those elements as well," Garnet thought to herself. But sadly, she was still restricted to lightning, fire, wind, and blood. There had to be a way to learn the other elements, but for now, she had to work with what she had.
Spoiler :
Name: Garnet
Level: 30
Class: Chaos Mage / Queen Consort / Hero
Sub-class: Temptress of the Night
Stats:
HP: 2290/2290
MP: 7020/7020
Fame: 130
Strength: 57 (+5)
Dexterity: 49 (+7)
Intelligence: 202 (+22)
Vitality: 64 (+5)
Agility: 64 (+7)
Charisma: 37 (+20)
PROFICIENCY:Weapon:
- One Handed Sword – 7
- Hand to Hand – 3
- Staff - 1
Magic:
- Fire – 7
- Lightning – 12
- Wind – 4
- Summoning – 12
- Blood – 6
- Spatial - 0
SKILLS:Weapon (One Handed Sword):
- Horizontal Slash (Level 3)
- Double Slash (Level 3)
- Crescent Slash (Level 1)
- Triple Slash (Level 1)
- Delta Attack (Level 1)
- Spiral (Level 1)
Weapon (Hand to Hand):
- Palm Strike (Level 1)
- Wind Palm (Level 1)
- Explosive Palm (Level 3)
- Lightning Palm (Level 1)
- Sweeping Kick (Level 1)
- Horizontal Kick (Level 1)
- Uppercut (Level 1)
- Ki Burst (Level 1)
- Demsey Roll (Level 1)
Weapon (Staff):
- Thrust (Level 2)
- Swinging Smash (Level 1)
- Double Strike (Level 1)
- Triple Strike (Level 1)
- Quadruple Strike (Level 1)
- Vertical Smash (Level 1)
Class (Dark Mage):
- Fire Bolt (Level 5)
- Fire Ball (Level 1)
- Lightning Bolt (Level 8)
- Chain Lightning (Level 4)
- Lightning Ray (Level 2)
- Light (Level 1)
- Air Bullet (Level 4)
- Wind Blade (Level 1)
- Heat Wave (Level 1)
- Lightning Fire Bolt (Level 1)
- Crimson Lotus: Blade of Lightning (Level 2)
- Mana Armor (Level 2)
- Call: Cerberus (Level 1)
- Call: Revenant (Level 1)
- Call: Death Knight (Level 1)
- Call: Romulus, Knight of Blood (Level 1)
- Call: Sylvia, Priestess of Blood (Level 1)
- Call: Lilith (Level 1)
- Call: Nuria (Level 1)
- Call: Mazu (Level 1)
- Call: Sino (Level 1)
- Call: Meliae (Level 1)
- Recall
- Dismiss
- Enhanced Mana Regeneration (Level 4)
- Lightning Fire (Passive)
- Blood Absorption (Level 7)
- Blood Bind (Level 1)
- Blood Scythe (Level 2)
- Blood Sacrifice (Level 1)
- Blood Bullet (Level 1)
- Transformation: Blood Reaper (Level 1)
- Dance of Blood (Level 1)
- Teleportation (Level 1)
- Teleportation Summoning Circle (Level 1)
Sub-class (Temptress of the Night):
- Enhanced Body (Level 3)
- Captivation: (Level 3)
- Mind Read: (Level 1)
- Pleasure Inducement (Level 3)
- Sexy Walk (Level 1)
- Stealth (Level 2)
- Shadow Walk (Level 2)
- Sonic Scream (Level 1)
- Illusion (Level 2)
- Alluring Song (Level 1)
- Flight (Level 1)
- Aura of Fear (Level 2)
- Scale Armor (Level 1, Passive)
- Transformation (Level 1)
- Partial Transformation (Level 1)
- Transformation: Temptress of the Night (Level 1)
Tradeskills:
- Hunting (Level 5) - Hunter
- Cooking (Level 9) - Cook
- Inspection (Level 5)
- Sewing (Level 4) – Tailor
- Magicraft (Level 5) – Alchemist
- Item Enhancement (Level 5)
- Disassemble (Level 1)
- Inventory Expansion (Level 4)
Passives:
- Hand to Hand (Level 1)
- One Handed Sword (Level 1)
- Staff (Level 1)
- Reflex (Level 5)
- Haste (Level 2)
- Scale Armor (Level 1)
- Aura of Leadership (Level 1)
- Aura of the Hero (Level 1)
- Summoning Commander (Level 1)
- Queen's Presence (Level 1)
- Fire Mastery (Level 1)
Unique:
- Hero System (Level 3, Passive)
- Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive)
- Golden Tongue (Passive)
- Mana Compatibility (Passive)
- Quick Learner (Passive)
- Channeling (Passive)
- Charging (Passive)
- Night Vision (Passive)