Exiting Nature’s Meditation, Archie felt his mana and stamina pools were now fully replenished. He looked up at the hole in his base's ceiling and saw the sun now emerging.
Archie returned his forging equipment into his spatial ring and walked towards the nearest wall. He quickly began scaling the cave walls, leaving behind various five-digit holes across the walls of his new base. Upon emerging through his base's ceiling, he paused, confusion flickering across his face as he surveyed his surroundings.
“Where am I? I was just by the beach.” Archie wondered aloud, taking in the jungle surrounding the top of his base.
The jungle foliage was too thick to see any hint of where he was, regarding the two places he knew, the Assistant village and Michael’s camp. To ensure that he wouldn’t forget where his base was, Archie started to mark the trees that he went past with his dagger.
Archie left a small ‘x’ on the base of the trees and started to walk through the jungle in a straight line. Unfortunately, his tree-jumping adventures would have to take a pause until he figured out where he was in regard to the two locations that he knew.
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While walking through the jungle, Archie noticed something weird: not a single creature looked to be above level 20. Either the system had created a zone only for beginners, or something was killing anything above level 20, Archie poised. Either way, this was weird.
Pushing past an umbrella plant, Archie finally saw something that he recognized, the Assistant village.
Now that he knew where he was, Archie sprinted towards the village. Intent on asking Syllia where he could get a crucible and how to make some molds.
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Knocking on Syllia’s building door, Archie heard the words, “Come in,” from Syllia.
Opening the door, Archie saw Syllia sitting on a chair, looking at a metallic tablet, and eating some type of weird-looking sandwich.
“Hello, Syllia,” Archie said while closing the door behind him.
Syllia looked up from her tablet and smiled when she saw Archie. “Hello, Archie,” Syllia said while placing down her tablet and sandwich.
“How have you been?” Archie asked.
“I’ve been great. How have you been?” Syllia questioned, tapping the side of her neck with two fingers.
“…Good. What was that?” Archie asked, confused as to why Syllia randomly tapped her neck.
“What was what?” Syllia asked, confused as to what Archie meant until Archie started to mimic what she did.
“Oh, that? I just disconnected from my Aetherglass,” Syllia explained, but it seemed to draw an even more confused look from Archie.
“What’s an Aetherglass?” Archie asked.
“It acts similar to a smartphone in your world,” Syllia responded garnering Archie’s full attention.
“I don't mean to be rude, but how do you know what a smartphone is? And where can I get one?” Archie questioned, now confused as to how Syllia knew about smartphones from Earth and where he could get one.
“Various factions gather information about new universes and sell their information. I found a broker who was willing to sell me everything that your world has about circuitry, so I can better understand those who mention it.” Syllia explained. "I purchased mine from the Workshop, so I guess you can purchase one from there as well."
“Oh, nice. What caught your attention?” Archie asked. “You looked really interested at what was on your Aetherglass. Did you find anything cool?”
“Nothing circuitry, I was just watching a few shows I’ve been stockpiling for a while now,” Syllia answered while getting up from her seat. “So, what do you need?”
“I was wondering if you could teach me how to make a crucible and molds,” Archie asked.
Syllia smiled and asked Archie, “What do you intend to do with the crucible and molds?”
“I’ll use them to create weapons and armor faster as well as to recycle my scraps,” Archie explained, confused at her sudden question.
“This is your first smithing Profession, correct?” Syllia asked, getting a nod from Archie. “Right now, you shouldn’t be using molds or crucibles. You just started learning how to forge properly, which means using armor and weapon molds now will ruin your fundamentals. As an E-Grade, you gain levels quickly, but your records will be diluted since you wouldn’t really be doing much of anything other than heating and pouring liquid metal into a cast…That’s a bad thing.”
“They would affect my evolution options.” A look of understanding dawned on Archie’s face, “Would my Profession have a focus on mass-producing items if I used molds and made a bunch of weapons and armor?”
“Yes,” Syllia sighed, a weary expression on her face. “It’s not a good Profession, to say the least. Mass Production Professions are generally looked down on since the qualities of the items produced from them aren’t…great to say the least. I haven’t heard of any Mass Production focused Profession getting past C-Grade, most consider it to be a dead end for your Journey.”
“Alright,” Archie nodded, heeding Syllia’s words. “I should hold back on using molds and crucibles for now. I should just focus on making things that I find interesting and useful. But what should I do with any warped metal? How do I make them back into ingots?”
“Oh, you can use a crucible and mold for that and it will not influence your records. Making ingots with ore and melting back down ruined crafts is Basic Smithing 101.” Syllia said while producing a small crucible and an ingot mold and handing them to Archie.
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“Oh, I was meaning to get upgrades for my boots, but I’d rather not make them out of metal. I was thinking about getting some leather boots and modifying them a bit, would that improve their stats.” Archie asked, he’d been thinking about getting upgrades for his feet, however the idea of steel or iron boots felt like a hassle to make. He would have to make so many modifications to allow them to be as flexible as normal leather boots.
“Of course,” Syllia responded.
“Alright, thanks. I’ll come back when I have some more questions,” Archie said as he sent the crucible and mold away and headed out the door. “Take care.”
“Take care,” Syllia said as Archie closed the door behind himself.
Syllia quickly opened her Aetherglass and swiped a few times before a video started to play. “Oh my…” Syllia blushed as various scenes started to show up on the Aetherglass.
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Archie entered the camp without issue. The only thing that grabbed his attention was the number of people patrolling around.
Looking around, within the camp, everything looked just as it did the day before. ‘Was there always this amount of people patrolling the camp?’ Archie thought.
Archie made his way towards Eveyln’s stand and found her stirring a large pot with her usual smile.
“Hello, Miss Evelyn! How are you?” Archie asked.
Evelyn looked up from her pot and her smile widened, “Hello Archie. Where were you last night? I had a large kebab tray ready for you.”
Archie rubbed the back of his neck and said, “Sorry, I was doing something far away from the camp and lost track of time.”
Evelyn smiled at Archie’s expression and got back to stirring her pot. “I know that look. You did something reckless.”
Archie rolled his eyes, grandmas and mom always knew when you did something stupid. “Do you have anything ready?”
“Come back in 10 and I’ll have some soup ready,” Evelyn said, causing Archie to pout. Ever since he evolved, he’d been feeling more and more hungry, but that could just be due to Evelyn and her amazing cooking.
Archie sighed before nodding and sadly walked towards Bill’s stand.
Archie found Bill hanging up pieces of hide onto his tannery. “Hey Bill.”
Bill turned around and looked at who called him, “Hello, Archie. You use the straps?”
Archie chuckled and lifted his right arm, showing Bill the leather straps he used for his sleeves. Bill’s eyes glowed green as he intensely stared at Archie’s sleeves.
“Looks good from what I can tell. I’m glad that my leather strips were of use. Next time, if you want, I can make them like small belts, but without the metal bits; you gotta do that yourself.” Bill said, his eyes returning back to their normal greys.
“I’ll take you up on that offer.” Archie smiled, “You got any decent boots?”
Bill reached under his stand and pulled out a pair of leather boots before placing them in front of Archie.
Shadowstalker Boots (Uncommon):
Dark leather boots made with the hide of a Shadowstalker. Crafted by Bill Evans, an F-Grade Novice Leatherworker. Due to the innate abilities of Shadowstalker hide, your footsteps are silent, enhanced when within the shadows. Effects: Soul-Bound, Self-Repair & Shadowstalker Steps. Provides: +25 Agi & +15 End. Status: Perfect. Requirement: Lv 45+ & Humanoid Race.
“These look great, but you sure they’re gonna fit me?” Archie asked, picking up the boots.
“It shouldn’t be a problem. So long as you’re a humanoid they’ll fit on you, due to system bullshittery.” Bill explained.
“Huh…Thanks for the info. How much do I owe you?” Archie asked.
“Give me 275 for ‘em,” Bill said, offering the back of his palm. Archie nodded and paid Bill the amount and sent the boots to his spatial ring.
“Take care, Bill,” Archie said before heading back to Evelyn.
“You too,” Bill replied, going back to tending to his hides.
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Bralmir placed his hammer down and picked up the dagger he had been working on. He stared at it intently, its aura shining brightly. The dagger was 30cm long, and the hilt and grip looked to be made out of twisted tree roots. But the most interesting feature about the knife was its blade, it looked to be made out of light given physical form.
He tossed the dagger into a large pile of weapons, each radiating a similar aura. Just as Bralmir reached for a smaller pile of slightly rusted weapons, he paused, sensing a presence just outside his door.
“Come in Diana,” Bralmir said while picking up the dagger from the pile he threw it in, his back still facing the door.
The door opened to reveal a figure with long, flowing white hair that sharply contrasted against her dark, ebony-colored skin. A braided crown adorned her head, giving her an air of regal authority. She wore intricately detailed dark leather armor, adorned with elegant patterns, and a dark cloak flowed behind her, adding to her imposing presence. A quiver of arrows and a finely crafted bow rested on her back, hinting at her prowess as a skilled archer. Her eyes, resembling twin moons, stared intently at Bralmir.
"Hello, Bralmir. It’s good to see you again." Diana said, a smile adorning her face.
Bralmir turned around, a small smile on his face and the dagger in his right hand. “It’s good to see you too. It’s been far too long.” He saw a glint in her eye that caused him to quickly send the dagger away.
And just in time as Diana closed the distance between them and pulled Bralmir into a hug. After a while, Bralmir and Diana separated.
“Are you feeling better now?” Diana asked, with a somber look.
“I am,” Bralmir said before producing the dagger and handing it to Diana.
Diana accepted the dagger and looked at it fondly, “I asked you to repair it almost 50 cycles ago. Do you even remember what I asked you to repair it with?”
“I repaired it using twin moons surrounding an uninhabited planet,” Bralmir responded.
“Have there been any sightings of any Veldrens lingering?” Bralmir asked, anger lacing his tone.
“That would be impossible,” Diana responded, softly patting Bralmir’s arm. “With the way you slaughtered everyone in their Pantheon.”
Bralmir looked at his forge, his anger slowly leaving him.
“You never did explain what you did to them for their race to go into extinction,” Diana said, looking at Bralmir.
“I shattered their evolutionary Journey to reach godhood,” Bralmir said, staring into his Forgesmith’s Flame.
“I-,” Diana looked at Bralmir with wide eyes, before looking away and into the forge’s flame. “I assume the backlash was brutal.”
A large toothy smile spread across Bralmir’s face, “The joy I gained when I heard their screams…Far surpassed any pain from the backlash I experienced.”
Diana leaned against Bralmir, “Are you going to visit the Workshop? I hear poor Balgid barely has time to drink with all the work you’ve piled on him. And for a dwarf, you know as much as I do that’s akin to taking away oxygen from an E-Grade.”
Bralmir’s toothy smile faded at the thought of his friend, “I should. Does the multiverse know of my return?”
Diana released a chuckle before saying, “With the way you started to forge again after 50 cycles? I’d be surprised if any god didn’t know you were back. You woke everyone up, even the Undead Queen and she’s been sleeping for the past few cycles out of boredom.”
Bralmir chuckled, “I guess I gotta finish these orders up soon. I’ve been late on getting them repaired.”
“I can see Ragnvald’s boots in that pile. If you hold them for any longer, he’s gonna visit. I remember when he made you his test dummy for his ‘food’ experiments.” Diana teased, making quotation marks when she said food. Causing Bralmir to twitch a bit, muttering the words, never again, under his breath.
Diana chuckled before pulling Bralmir down and giving him a kiss. “I’ll see you soon?”
“When I’m done. I’ll make up for lost time.” Bralmir responded, causing a grin to appear on her face.