Would you like to add an additional enchantment?

The very moment that single sentence graced my sight, my heartrate spiked through the roof. I imagine that an onlooker would have seen my eyeballs extend out of their sockets while I shouted “Awooga!”, then panting. I immediately willed the Dancing Blade to float in front of me and I grabbed it out of the air and held it tightly. I focused on the Toggle Invisibility enchantment.

Enchanted bladed weapon “Dancing Blade” detected. Tier 2 material, small size. Required Soul Energy for enchantment doubled due to existing enchantment, requires 20. Requires 2 Mana. Warning! Material poorly suited to hold multiple enchantments, 75% chance of failure and destruction of item.

Oh baby I was in love and her name is Enchantment. I knew I’d have to be careful, I’d need backups of everything if I wanted to stack up the enchants. I also knew that I would be needing more Mana than I currently possessed. I would be figuring out the recharge rate of it later, but for now I had no choice but to leave the blade as it was. Already, with the Limited Animation on it, it would be a useful weapon.

Something else that needed testing was the durability of the Abyssal Iron. The last thing I needed was a bunch of flying knives made of styrofoam. I touched the chunk another time, imagining a half inch thick square that was three inches by three inches.

Ability: Quick Craft activated

Mana: 0/3

I waited only seconds for the tiny iron plate to be full formed and separated from the chunk. I carried it to the very end of the north hallway and say it down, then walked back. I took careful aim with my rifle at the dead center and fired at it with a standard 7.62x39 123gr. I heard the familiar loud ding of metal impacting metal, and walked over to inspect the damage. I ran my finger over the surface, and found only the slightest dimple.

I smiled, because that small amount of damage was suggesting that this stuff was somewhere up there with AR500 steel. The next test required my .308, since it was the most powerful rifle I owned at the time. I pulled it out of the safe, loaded a single round of 150gr FMJ, and set back up the plate. I fired at it again. This time, the dimple was just a bit more noticeable, but I could tell the little iron plate was still perfectly good to go.

My final test had me loading a single round of my 110gr AP, since it was the only armor-piercing ammo that I had (for now). I could see from my shooting line that the projectile smoked right through the plate without a care in the world. Charlie had already told me that it could defeat a half inch AR500 plate at a hundred yards, so the Abyssal Iron at less than 30 yards had no chance. I was still happy with the results of the tests, and with the plate sporting a new hole in it I tossed it on my workbench to try some other things with it later.

I decided that it was a good time to go and test out my new magic knife in a live combat scenario. Down the south hallway I walked until I found the stairs, which I ascended and peeked into the room at the top. There were only two lone goblins standing there this time, but I recalled several more being in the next room last time through. I directed the blade to go up near the ceiling, and it slowly glided along until it was right over their heads. They didn’t seem to notice it, so I whistled softly to get their attention. Both of them turned to investigate the noise, and then I struck. The blade dropped down to neck level in the blink of an eye and flashed across the room. They clutched at their throats as blood began to spigot out, unable to do anything more than gurgle as they dropped to the floor. It was a few more seconds before they actually died.

Five more goblins were waiting in the next room, and I readied my rifle. The blade flew past my head and sailed right into the heart of the furthest goblin. It didn’t pierce clean through, as it got hung up on the small hilt guard I had given it. With a thought it pulled back out of his chest and flipped around, rocketing into the next goblin’s neck. The three survivors flew into a panic as their fellows died suddenly and quietly. They began to flee up the stairs in a bid to escape. The knife buried itself in one’s back while the last two fell to a pair of gunshots to the back of their heads.

The Dancing Blade came back to float just above my shoulder. I was very quickly growing to enjoy this weapon. It took a few seconds to gather up my XP gems and gold, getting only two nuggets from the seven kills.

Gained 7 Soul Energy, 62/115

I slowly crept up the stairs, and saw the two hobgoblins waiting at the very top. They blocked the way, peeking out from behind their shields like a two man phalanx. I launched the blade at the face of the left one, and fired three rounds through the shield of the right. My blade sunk hilt deep into the left’s shield, and I couldn’t get it to pull itself free. I am not sure if the hobgoblin had simply gotten lucky, or if his reaction speed had been great enough to block in time and save his life. Either way, a wood shield can’t stop a 7.62x39, and I put four in him. I manually pulled the blade free of the shield and let it return to the air.

I briefly considered continuing on, but then remembered that the very next room was the one that had sealed me in. If I continued, then I'd have to commit to a full boss run. While I was infinitely better equipped than last time, I still didn’t want to do that just yet. I turned right around and headed back.

I took some time to migrate the majority of my stuff back into the workshop, though I left the chair and table behind. With some effort, I wheeled the Abyssal Iron out as well, just to make dead certain it wouldn’t despawn. For a few minutes I sat in the shop and repacked the handful of rounds that I’d fired, then propped the rifle against the bench and took off all of my gear. It still wasn’t even 6:30am. Most of the last half hour had been spent moving stuff around, and I spent maybe two total hours in the dungeon itself.

With my remaining surplus of time to waste, I decided that I’d do some cleaning here and there around the house. I swept up all the cat and dog hair around the house (ending up with enough to make a new dog out of), vacuumed in the few spots that had carpet or rugs.

All of that took me less than two hours to finish.

I found myself absolutely itching to get back into the dungeon and do more dungeoneering. It was like a constant growing pressure, and I had to keep myself from walking into the workshop to mitigate the urge.

Mana: 1/3

On the positive side, while I was working I learned that my Mana seemed to regenerate by one point about every two hours. That meant I could have twelve points a day if I utilized them properly. Already I was setting alarms on my phone to wake me up to use any Mana I restored in my sleep. I calculated that I’d have enough mana to make a second Dancing Blade just before I’d have to leave for Charlie’s. I already knew that I wanted two of them anyway, but I really needed the spare in the event that my enchanting attempt failed and destroyed one.

Mana: 2/3

I looked at the time, and knew I’d have to leave here within half an hour. It was going to cut close, but I really wanted my second blade. I wanted it real bad. Call it a need, if you will.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Ability: Quick Craft activated

Mana: 1/3

I made the second iteration into a double edged blade, basing it on the Fairbairn–Sykes fighting knife but with a reduced guard on it. I wasn’t planning on holding the thing by the grip personally, I had my ka-bar for personal melee, so I wasn’t too particularly worried about the safety of my hand while holding it. Honestly, looking back a few hours, I wished I had made the tanto the same. I could always replace it entirely later.

Enchant bladed weapon with Limited Animation (Flight)?

Christ, System, I’m on a deadline here.

Soul Energy 52/115

Bladed weapon has been enchanted! Would you like to name it?

Name: Dancing Blade v2

Confirm?

Dancing Blade v2

This blade will float according to the user’s direction, up to a distance of twenty feet off the floor, moving at up to 50 feet per second. It will cease following directions if further than three hundred feet from the user, and simply hover in place.

Mana: 0/3

In the little time I had left I gave the knife a few test flights around the house which scared the living daylights out of my cats. I found that it was performing far better than the tanto did, pulling sharper turns, less wobble, more responsive. I tried to move both at once, and could do it but it was clumsy as hell. I definitely needed to practice before trying in a real fight. The v1 ended up parked on my TV stand, where I had some other decorative knives. Nobody would really question it there, and I could have it in the air and ready to go in a moment’s notice.

I had the v2 doing laps around the living room when I was distracted by my phone dinging. The blade buried itself in the wall, right next to the coat rack.

“Shit!”

I looked at the phone, and saw it was a text from Charlie.

“Truck loaded up, cash withdrawn. You mind showing up a bit earlier to go over the game plan?”

That gave me no time to patch up the new hole in my wall. I threw one of my coats over it and hoped nobody would notice if they came to visit. I could fix it when I got home.

I holstered my 10mm and put it on my side, then put my plate carrier in the back of the car. I wore my gloves, inside of which was my spare mags and my Shield Plus for good measure. I found that the Dancing Blade fit as well, oddly enough given the size. If everything went to plan, I wouldn’t need the knife, but it was better to have it and not need it.

Then came the long drive to Charlie’s.

Between the roadwork that was doomed to go on until the end of time, and the train crossing, I made it to his place just before 11am. He was leaning against the truck, wearing a suit. That was odd. I’d never seen Charlie in a suit. He looked at me as I pulled the vest from the back and put it on.

“Well, don’t you look the part. Almost surprised you didn’t show up with a buzzcut and sunglasses.”

“Ah, shit, you’re right. Now they’ll never take me seriously. Should I go and get a haircut real quick? Got any Oakleys I can borrow?”

“You’ll just have to make do… Hard to get proper tough guy security these days. Let’s get going, it’s a forty minute drive to the meeting place when traffic is good.”

“Hour drive then, got it.”

I climbed into the passenger seat, and he got into the driver’s side. He’d bought the moving truck a few years back, and had the side of it made up to look like a delivery truck for a non-existent butcher shop. I’d seen the back a few times, it had a legit refrigeration system, with frozen meat and all, but with hidden compartments for the goods in case he got pulled over and searched.

It had never happened so far though.

“So this guy we’re meeting, Geoni’s brother, he goes by the name “Lil Marky”

“Really trying to capitalize on his big bro’s reputation, isn’t he?”

“Big Geoni” was one of the biggest players on the board, very little happened in the city without him approving it or at least having a hand in it. Most of the gangs answered to him.

“Yep. He leads his own gang, but it’s all small time stuff. Gas station robberies, drug dealing, mugging.”

“Right… So where do you come in?”

“He wants some items of dubious legality, and Geoni wants to make sure his little brother doesn’t get nabbed by the feds the very first time he buys something.”

“Every time after that?”

“After that? He figures that Marky will have to figure it out.”

So it was a one time deal. I didn’t always agree with some of the clients Charlie dealt with, but in this case I could understand. Working with Geoni wasn’t great, but he was right in that if Geoni wasn’t around, the city would get worse over night. The guy really did keep the gangs in line, kept them from duking it out in the streets.

“What all is he buying?”

“The grocery list I got was four uzi’s, five Mac 9’s, and a few Dracos.”

“Christ… The kid really is going for the banger loadout.”

“I just hope he doesn’t do too much damage before the cops nab him.”

“Or that he doesn’t rat on you, tell them who he got them from.”

“I suspect his brother might kill the fucker himself if he did.”

“Very wishful thinking.”

“It’s either I hope for the best and go through with this, or Geoni stops buying from me, along with everyone else that he talks to.”

“I get it. You gotta protect your livelihood. Can’t let—”

My phone started ringing. I looked at the screen. It was my manager at work.

“Ah shit… I forgot I had work today…”

“You didn’t call off?”

“Nope. I’ll take care of this.”

I hit accept call, and held the phone to my ear.

“Hello?”

“James! This is Davis, where the fuck are you? Work started at ten!”

“Ah, hey Davie, yeah… I ain’t coming in.”

“What the fuck! You know that’ll leave us shorthanded! You think just cause you put in your two week you—”

“Hold the fuck up. You remember how I asked you for a raise six months ago? You recall how you’ve done jack shit about that? Consider yourself lucky I even gave you two weeks. In fact, go ahead and clear me from the schedule for this week. I quit.”

“I—”

I hung up on him and turned off my phone. No sense in letting him waste my battery if he called or texted after that.

“What was I saying?”

“I don’t even know. You really just quitting your job? Like that?”

“Not like I need it anymore.”

“I guess so…”

We continued chatting on the way to the meetup. Since I had just taken a flamethrower with me to burn bridges with the local gun store by quitting early, Charlie was likely going to be my go-to source from then on for anything I needed. That wasn't such a bad thing, he had things the gunstore didn't after all.

It felt liberating, not being tied to that job anymore. It meant I could spend more time in the dungeon!