Peter left the part after chatting a bit with the girls. The water crystal had increased water affinity by 10%. He still needs to find a fire and air crystal. There was still time so, he decided to head back to the town and meet Aster.
The town was crowded recently thanks to him establishing the guild. There were representatives of multiple major guilds trying to recruit the crafters in the area. Due to the sudden lowering of the gold exchange rates, a vast majority of mediocre crafters lost their income. The guilds have been prying on these people by trapping them into none breachable contracts.
Peter entered the tavern as the run from the forest over had drained his stamina. Peter's race bonus gave him a huge boost to his stamina but the map was incredibly huge. The to and fro journey was enough to exhaust it. The tavern served drinks that could replenish stamina faster than just resting but could only be consumed within the premises.
"Hi, sir. Might I take a bit of your time?", a good looking player approached Peter. From a glace, Peter could tell it was a contractor. The guy took the chair next to him without his permission. The few guards inside quickly become attentive due to the lack of respect towards a knight but seeing Peter smile decided to stand back ready to interfere.
" Hi, I'm from the Frost Blade guild. I was wondering if you would be interested in an offer to work with us as an exclusive crafter." Seeing Peter showing interest, the recruiter pushed a bit closer. "How do you know I'm a crafter?", asked Peter. "I could tell a master hen I see one." 'Well, your eyes are good.' Peter smiled internally. "What can the Frost Blade give me that I already don't have?", Peter curious. Eric had already mentioned that the guild lost two master smiths.
"All tier 2 and above crafters now get 10,000 bucks a month pay. If you have any rare unique recipes then we can give you a further bonus. I'm pretty sure eleven the Black Flames cannot match such a high payout." "Yes, they only pay me with gold. Since the gold exchange value is too low now, it's become a bit hard.", Peter decided to play along. "We require good talents. If you can provide us with good weapons we would appreciate it." "I will contact you back in a few hours. Will you still be here?" Peter decided to leave since his stamina had already recovered. "Of course, I will be here later." The recruiter had a dejected feeling as he knew this crafter didn't take his bait.
Peter strolled towards Aster's mansion. He was given an audience immediately.
"What are you here for?" Aster was sleepy. It was getting late. "I got a water crystal. I still need a fire and air crystal to complete my quest. Do you know where I could them?" Peter got straight to the point. After a few seconds of pondering, Aster said," There is a master mage in Port Blair. I will give you an introduction. He might know where you could get the crystals from." Aster took a card from one of her drawers scribbled something on top and handed it over to Peter. "Make sure you visit him during the mornings." Thanking Aster he left the mansion to look for Eric.
Eric was busy in the guild. So far he had only recruited 12 people to the guild workshop. Ever since the gold value dropped, there was a leakage do talent from the guild. Today, a few tier 2 crafters abandoned their contracts. Since there was no ending clause to any of their contracts, he was powerless to stop them. Peter's arrival was a godsend to him.
"There had been an increase in the price of weapons but not enough to retain the profits. Most of the guilds are trying to acquire as much property as they could. Summerbrook and a few other villages around the town have sold out all their shops. Three major shops next to the suction house were also bought by these major guilds." After a short pause, he continued. "Some of our master crafters are pressed for money. The best ones are now being roped in by the Frost Blade. I'm not sure how much they are being offered."
"Someone came to me and offered ten thousand to join them. Since gold is not as valuable as it used to be, we don't have a lot of deference lower. Looks like I will have to make a few extra armours." Peter was planning to make a few extra recipes and share them in the guild. All guild members could donate their soulbound recipes and blueprints. Peter was planning on registering a few recipes as guild recipes but none that he had on hand could be mass-produced by others.
"Eric, how much is one of my words selling for now?" "Around 300 gold. Most of the guilds can now make good quality weapons. Even Alex is not interested in anything that's too high priced. Unless we make rare quality it above, I think they will just ignore our items." "Common and uncommon have become cheap, ha? Alright, I will try and make a few higher-quality recipes once I get back. Make a contract for all the good craftsmen. Give them all 3000 bucks and 70% of the profits from weapon sales. I will place these few blueprints in the guild warehouse." Saying so, Peter decided to leave for Port Blair to meet the master mage.
There were many carriages available for quick transport. The stable right next to the carriage allowed renting of horses for travels along designated paths. These services were restricted to high famed or noble denizens of the game world. The only difficulty was the inability to stop in between travels. Unless one had a horse riding skill, it wasn't possible to use a horse for travel. The stable keeper as soon as he saw Peter gave a short bow and greeted him. "I would like to rent a horse. I wish to reach Port Blair as soon as possible." A black steed was brought forward and handed over to Peter.
Peter entered Port Blair City for the first time. Previously he was on his travel to the ruined temple but couldn't explore the city. The game world was still night and he still had to wait a few hours for the sun to show. After the system recognised Peter's new spawn point, he logged out for the day.
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
After a quick six-hour sleep, Peter logged back online to meet with Jester Hall, the head mage in Port Blair. Since most were yet to unlock the magic classes, the mage guilds were deserted. The receptionist let peter in after verifying the letter of introduction.
Jester Hall had a small frame. His eyes had a piercing gaze but the outfit was casual as he started at the few papers placed on his table. The receptionist introduced Peter and left the two alone.
"Did Aster pick you as her apprentice?" Jester broke the silence. "She introduced me to magic. She is my mentor." Jester gestured to Peter to sit. "What can I help you with, apprentice elemental mage?" Jester asked. "I need a fire and a wind crystal. Aster said you would be able to help." "There is a Salamander cave towards the south-west. You could get the fire crystal from one of them. As for the wind crystal, I had heard rummers of a wind fae somewhere in the eastern forest. She is supposedly strong. I'm afraid you won't be able to kill it."
'Is he thinking about Vayazi?', thought Peter. Jester took out a map of Alder forest that had a few caves marked on it. "This is the salamander cave. If you don't have enough fire resistance, you could die from burns. So I'd suggest getting a few elemental resistance before you try and kill them." Jester dismissed Peter and went back into his papers.
'Back to the forest.' The further one travelled from the western forest, the stronger the monsters became. Unless it's a full flushed party, the chances of killing a beast were close to none. Peter had the confidence he could handle them due to his massive mana pool. As he walked further south he met a familiar enemy.
Elder Black Bear ELITE LVL 60.
HP: 150,000
AP: 4500 - 8700
DEF: 12000
Aura, Fear, Provoke, Grasp
"We meet again", said Peter to the bear. It let out a roar and released a weakening aura. Peter could feel his speed lower.
Landslide
Landslide
Landslide
Landslide
Landslide
Landslide
You killed an elder black bear. You gained 4800 experience.
You levelled up.
Mystery achieved:
Elder killer LVL 1 (10/10)
Reward: All juvenile beasts are neutral to you.
Mystery unlocked:
Elder killer LVL 2 (0/20)
Reward: Unknown
Peter kept strolling around and killed the isolated monsters. There were many elder black bears in the area. After about forty minutes of walking towards the salamander cave, he had already killed 18 bears levelling him up a few times.
You are under the influence of the enemy aura. You cannot leave the battle.
Black Bear BOSS LVL 60.
HP: 500,000
AP: 12000
DEF: 24000
Leader's Aura, Rage, Strike down
Peter had barely 5000 mana remaining and started spamming landslide again. Thankfully to it's frozen stat effect, the bear was killed off after eighteen landslides.
You killed a Black bear BOSS. You gained 6000 experience, Boss Bear pelt, Fangs, Blood vail.
You received a tome: Strike down
You received a blueprint: Bear armour set (soulbound)
You received a beast crystal.
You unlocked a mystery.
Mystery unlocked:
Boss killer LVL 1 (1/5)
Reward: Unknown
Skill tome: Strike Down
Type: Active Single-Use
Req: Strength 80, Mana 20.
Class: Heavy Armour
Use a vertical downward strike with a great sword or hammer and cause 250% added damage. Causes stunned status.
Bear Armour Set Blueprint(R)
Upgradeable: No
Difficulty: A
Item level: 55
Soulbound: Blackbeak
STR: 120
VIT: 200
AGI: 15
DEF: 8600
Beast Crystal(R)
Used by beast tamers or summoners
Tradable at mage towers.
Value: 30,000 gold or 3 mana crystal shards.
Keeping his loot in his inventory, peter went ahead looking for his cave. In ten minutes, he reached in front of a smaller cave that went deeper into the ground.
Peter walked into the cave. He could feel the heat on his face as he walked further down. The car became wider as he went further down, exiting out into a mining tunnel. There was a small drop he had to jump to enter into the mining tunnel.
You have entered the salamander cave.
Dungeon: Salamander Cave
Location: Southwest Alderriver Forest
Difficulty: Hard
Affinity: Fire
Recommended: 1 member. LVL 60
Would you like to enter the dungeon? (Yes/No)
"Yes", Peter thought in his mind. He walked in and the cave diverged into multiple tunnels. He followed further down one of the tracks and soon reached its end. A few stairs were present as it let peter enter a secluded underground space.
Dungeon quests received:
1. Rescue the miners(optional)
Miners are trapped in the dungeon. Find them and save them before the monsters kill them. (40% completion)
2. Kill salamander queen(optional)
The salamander queen nest inside the dungeon is agitated. The juvenile salamanders are out of food. Kill her or be killed. (30% completion)
3. Dungeon completionist(optional)
Kill the salamander king in the deepest point of the cave. Kill the creature and obtain the deeds to the mana crystal mine. (30% completion)
Dungeon progress: 0% complete.
Peter went deeper into the cave as a few juvenile salamanders appeared. They seem to ignore the intruder and kept nibbling on a few meat chunks laying around. The few guarding adults were too far further down the cave as Peter sat outside their aggro range checking out their stats.
*****
Profile
Name: Peter
Race: illicote(L)
Title: Creative Artisan II(R), Knight
LVL: 30
Gold: 1.9M
Credit: 21.4M
Available points: 84
STR: 672
VIT: 200
AGI: 50 (max: 50)
INT: 226
AP: 6720
HP: 2000
SPD: 100
MANA: 22600
DEF: 5920 90%
Weapon damage: 510
Sword mage(L): T2 L11 (16,500/16,500)locked
Elemental mage(U): T2 L20 (4388/20000)
Blacksmith: T2 L21 (22050/31,500)
Alchemist: T2 L12 (5560/6000)
Herbalist: T1 L13(1060/6500)
Miner: T1 L10
World fame: 170
Blacksmith fame: 1050
Swordsman fame: 10
Elemental affinity
Fire: 1%
Water: 10%
Earth: 20%
Air: 1%
Mana manipulation: 2.3%
Magic damage base values
Fire damage: 7.458
Earth damage: 50.398
Water damage: 27.798
Air damage: 7.458
Armour
STR: 40(+16)
VIT: 80(+32)
AGI: 10(+4)
DEF: 4800(+1920)
Weapon
STR: 510
AGI: 10
Race
STR: 30
AGI: 25
VIT: 40
INT: 70