Thomas carried the leather breastplate to his work table and looked it over. He was honestly wondering how he should go about carving the symbol into the leather. There were obviously major differences between metal and leather and he didn't want to risk ruining the leather armor. Thomas looked through the available engraving tools and found one he felt he could use. The sharp end of the tool was bent into a U shape that would allow him to carve a thin trench into the leather. With his tool selected he picked up a mana crystal and ground it into powder then added the oil.
With all of his prep done he flipped the armor over so he could carve the symbol he came up with on the interior and offer it some extra protection. Thomas picked up the tag describing the desired enchantment and checked it out. Thomas arched an eyebrow when the tag read 'stealth'. Looking at the brown armor, Thomas couldn't help but wonder if black or mottled green and brown armor would have been better for stealth than relying on light brown leather with an enchantment. It really wasn't any of his business though so instead he spent his time thinking about what a good image for stealth might be.
After thinking for a while he decided to go with the sci-fi staple of active camouflage. Thomas focused on the image of light and sound bending around a human body and decided the symbol for the enchantment would be a circuit board-like pattern once again. With everything prepped, Thomas dipped the engraver's tool into the oil and mana crystal mix and activated his 'All Seeing Eyes' before he began to slowly and carefully carve out a shallow trench while depositing the mana crystal shards. Thomas spent a good twenty minutes painstakingly carving the symbol into the armor before finishing the work necessary.
System Notice: You have completed an enchantment on a Normal grade item. Quality: Perfect. You have gained 76 Enchanting experience.
Armor Type: Leather Breastplate Rarity: Normal (Enchanted) Quality: Average Description: A very basic leather breastplate that barely qualifies as protection. However, thanks to its Stealth enchantment it is excellent for stealth operations. Enchantment: Stealth - While worn this armor lowers the wearer's Magic attribute by 5 but allows for the wearer to slightly blend into their surroundings while muffling the sound of their movements.
Thomas couldn't help but smile as he looked over the completed armor. This was the first enchanted item he had created that would have a visible effect. Unfortunately, he wouldn't be seeing it in action since he felt it would be rude to wear someone else's armor. Thomas set the armor to the side and got back to work. He picked up a weapon this time, a large two-handed sword that the owner wanted to be enchanted with durability. The edge of the sword wasn't sharp at all, so clearly the owner only intended to bludgeon things to death with it and wanted enhanced durability to keep the sword from breaking while it smashed things.
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In that manner, the day quickly passed with Thomas enchanting another fourteen items, for a total of fifteen for the day. As the day had progressed Thomas had noticed a marked increase in his enchanting so he actually took an hour off to enjoy a nice lunch for a change. All in all, he had gained a total of 1,140 enchanting experience for the day and brought his Enchanting up to rank 22. He'd also managed to rank up his 'All Seeing Eyes' once more bringing it up to rank fourteen.
With his work done he turned the finished products in to Emmerick for him to examine. Aside from the one stealth leather armor Thomas had only repeated adding sharpness, durability or piercing to weapons and armor during the rest of the day. Emmerick examined all fifteen items and nodded in satisfaction, "You do good work. Though I really don't understand the reasoning behind some of the symbols you use for the engravings."
Thomas just smiled, he couldn't explain what a circuit board was to Emmerick so he just left it to Emmericks imagination. Emmerick went over to his lockbox and retrieved some gold to hand over to Thomas, "Fifteen pieces at fifteen gold each comes to a total of 225 gold for today."
System Notice: Quest Complete x15! Emmerick Lorens has requested that you enchant various weapons, armors, and items for him. Once your enchantment is done, turn the item in to Emmerick. This quest can be repeated until all items have been enchanted.
Rewards: 25 experience and 15 gold per successfully Enchanted item.
Failure: 10 gold plus the cost of the item you failed to enchant.
System Notice: You have gained 375 experience.
Thomas added the gold to his storage ring and brought the amount he was carrying on his person to 957 gold, he'd spent 20 gold on his lunch earlier in the day. Thomas bid farewell to Emmerick and headed towards the front door to leave. While inside the storefront he sent another wink at Sara to tease her. In reply, she glared daggers at him and huffed.
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Thomas retired to The Swans Nest for the night, not forgetting to grind his 'All Seeing Eyes' for nearly an hour before using 'Serenity' to drift off to sleep. When Thomas awoke the following morning he couldn't keep himself from getting excited. How could he not be excited? Today was the final day he would have to work towards unlocking Magitech Engineering. He just needed to enchant nine more items to reach rank 25 in enchanting. Once that was done he could rush over to Hekrin's and turn the quest in. He'd finally be able to work on what he wanted to work on! The only fear he had was that Magitech Engineering wouldn't be worth all the work and wouldn't live up to his expectations.
Thomas rushed to get dressed and devoured his breakfast without paying any attention to it. Four weeks, it had been almost an entire four weeks since he first logged in and began the journey to unlock the profession. It was all about to pay off and he just couldn't wait any longer. After his food was gone he practically ran to Emmerick's Enchantments to get started for the day.
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At Emmerick's he enthusiastically greeted Sara, which seemed to piss her off. After arriving in the back room he greeted Emmerick just as enthusiastically. Emmerick arched a thin eyebrow and asked, "Why so happy this morning Thomas?"
"Today I should be finished getting enchanting up to rank 25 and once I do I can head over to Hekrin's and let him know. After that, he should finally be willing to teach me Magitech Engineering."
Emmerick laughs and nods, "I see. I think you're the first person I've ever heard of who actually managed to get through everything that old codger could throw at them. It might be a bit early but congratulations! Now get to work you bum!"
Thomas laughed because of Emmerick's playful tone when speaking. Thomas picked a random piece of gear and got to work adding a sharpness enchantment onto it. He'd become rather proficient in making the three enchantments that he'd spent the most time working on during the last two days. His high Agility, 'All Seeing Eyes', and Enchanting skill all came together and allowed him to work at a decent speed. He'd managed to cut his enchanting time down to just twenty minutes per item.
During the day, Thomas became more and more excited as he finished each enchantment and came closer and closer to finishing the quest for Hekrin. He even started to count out loud each time he finished an item, which somewhat annoyed Emmerick. Though Emmerick didn't say anything after seeing just how hyped Thomas was.
"Three."
... Twenty minutes later...
"Two."
... Twenty-two minutes later...
System Notice: You have completed an enchantment on a Normal grade item. Quality: Perfect. You have gained 77 Enchanting experience.
"Just one more to go!"
Thomas glanced at his character sheet and froze...
Enchanting // Rank 25 // 4/260 Exp
"DONE!", Thomas threw his arms in the air and yelled out loud.
Emmerick laughed and shook his head, "Is it really something to be so excited about, Thomas?"
Thomas turned to Emmerick and gave him a broad overly-excited grin, "I've been working towards this for nearly four weeks! FOUR WEEKS! It's finally over and I can finally get to work on what I've wanted since I was first summoned! The absolute best things in the world are the things you work hard to attain and I have worked non-stop to achieve this."
Emmerick laughed and just shook his head in resignation, "Alright, alright. Let's get you paid so you can go visit Hekrin."
Emmerick looked over the eight items Thomas had enchanted and nodded in approval. Every single item had a perfect quality enchantment on them. With the work done, Emmerick went to fetch Thomas his payment. Emmerick handed Thomas 120 gold as he said, "Well done Thomas. I'm honestly surprised that you managed to get to rank 25 in enchanting in just two and a half days. It really is quite impressive!"
System Notice: Quest Complete x8! Emmerick Lorens has requested that you enchant various weapons, armors, and items for him. Once your enchantment is done, turn the item in to Emmerick. This quest can be repeated until all items have been enchanted.
Rewards: 25 experience and 15 gold per successfully Enchanted item.
Failure: 10 gold plus the cost of the item you failed to enchant.
System Notice: You have gained 200 experience.
Thomas smiled as he stored the gold away inside of his storage ring, "Thanks for everything Emmerick!"
Emmerick waved dismissively, "No need to thank me, Thomas. You've actually helped me out quite a lot in getting through my backlog. Maybe I'll get lucky and a few more otherworlders will come over to learn enchanting and help me out."
Thomas waved to Emmerick and made his way into the storefront. He looked at Sara and grinned, "Ah Sara, sadly we must part, for now, I do not know when I shall return, but return I shall!"
Sara glared daggers at him and huffed in a dour tone, "I'd prefer if you didn't come back!"
Thomas laughed and left the store. He wasn't too far from Hekrin's so it only took moments for him to jog over and enter Hekrin's shop. Sadly the woman with the dark hair wasn't present in the store. It seemed like she may have listened to Hekrin and hadn't returned, or at the very least she just wasn't there at the same time as him. A sad affair in Thomas's opinion. Hekrin looked at Thomas and if looks could kill, Thomas's brains would be splattered all over the door behind him.
Hekrin roared, "Gods dammit kid! What in tha ninety-nine hells are ya doin' back here so soon again!"
Thomas couldn't stop himself from grinning at Hekrin's frustration and said in a somewhat cheeky tone, "I finished my enchantment training at Emmerick's place as you requested."
Hekrin groaned and rubbed his face with his thick stubby hand, "Are ya just 'ere ta mess wit' me life kid? Are ya really that determined ta learn Magitech Engineerin'?"
Thomas continued to smile as he made his way up to the sales counter and offered his hands to Hekrin for examination. Hekrin looked at Thomas's outstretched hands and groaned. Hekrin knew Thomas was aware that he could see his ranks in a profession and offering his hands for examination proved that he had achieved what he had been sent out to do. Still, Hekrin grabbed Thomas's wrists tightly and examined his hands closely.
With a defeated sigh, Hekrin released Thomas's wrists and nodded in defeat, "Ya did it kid. Ya passed all me tests."
System Notice: Quest Complete! Hekrin Graveljaw has tasked you with becoming a rank 25 enchanter. You may train at Emmerick's Enchantments.
Rewards: 2,500 experience. Reputation with Hekrin improves moderately.
Failure: Hekrin Graveljaw will refuse to teach you Magitech Engineering.
Time Limit: 1 Week
Hidden Bonus: Because you completed Hekrin's requests much faster than anticipated your reputation with Hekrin greatly improves.
System Notice: You have gained 2,500 experience.
Hekrin, still looking defeated, turned to Thomas and sighed, "Ya did everythin' I asked, and even did it faster than I woulda expected anyone ta do it. Ya've proved yurself worthy. As a dwarf of me word, I will now teach ya Magitech Engineerin'. Follow me."
Hekrin hopped off of the stool he had been standing on behind the counter and made his way towards the door leading into his workshop. Grinning from ear to ear, Thomas followed behind him with his heart throbbing in excitement.