Ajax nodded to Hatchet and began downing one potion after another. Surprisingly he didn’t feel all that different at first but by the time he was halfway through them a dull pain started spreading through his body. It was nothing at first but by the end Hatchet had to feed him the last two.
The pain wasn’t all that bad, at least not to him after his pain resistance kicked in, but as his body processed the potions he started losing control of it slightly. After finishing the last potion he focused on standing perfectly still and meditating. As he finally felt the pain subside Ajax opened his eyes to see that the sun had moved from high above at midday all the way to dusk.
“You finally awake?” Judy called out to him as she noticed him open his eyes.
Ajax nodded and moved to get out of the chair only to crush the break the right handle as he pushed himself off it with a small hop.
“Ah, sorry” he said as he looked at the broken armrest. He knew that this was a distinct possibility as he no longer had the increased adaptability to stat changes that his trait had given him before. He opened his stats to see the progress he finally made.
Name : Ajax
Level :31
Experience : 1310/55100
Traits: Divine Witness
Health: 2240/2240
Mana: 2250/2250
Stamina :1850/1850
Vitality :188 -> 224
Strength :154 -> 185
Endurance :155 -> 185
Dexterity : 154 -> 185
Intellect : 191 ->225
Wisdom : 190 -> 225
Mind : 190 -> 225
Perception : 162 -> 185
Stat Points :0
Skills :
* Common :[Mathematics Lvl 25] [Stealth Lvl 30][Drawing Lvl 35][Athleticism Lvl 35] [Running Lvl 36][Reading Lvl 22][Writing Lvl 22][Cooking Lvl 25][Sewing Lvl 20] [Cleaning Lvl 20][Haggling Lvl 20][Gardening Lvl 20][Axes Lvl 40][Hammers Lvl 40 [Deception Lvl 26][Sword Lvl 40][Shield Lvl 40][Bow Lvl 40][Spear Lvl 40][Throwing Lvl 30][Persuasion Lvl 10][Unarmed Combat Lvl 35][Knives Lvl 40][Skinning Lvl 30][Tanning Lvl 10][Dismantle Lvl 40][Climbing Lvl 30][Tracking Lvl 30][Heat Resistance Lvl 19] [Poison Resistance Lvl 25][Pain Resistance Lvl 20][Trapping Lvl 25][Cold Resistance Lvl 5]
* Uncommon :[Meditation Lvl 50][Sense Mana Lvl 50][Expel Mana Lvl 50][Sprinting Lvl 35][Mining Lvl 10][Lumberjack Lvl 10][Smelting Lvl 10][Blacksmithing Lvl 10] [Chanting Lvl 11][Mana Farming Lvl 12][Increase Price Lvl 10][Lower Price Lvl 10][Danger Sense Lvl 30][Leatherworking Lvl 10][Alchemy Lvl 10][Mana Milling Lvl 6][Precise Cut Lvl 35][Precise Blow Lvl 35][Judge Threat Lvl 30][ Piercing Shot Lvl 35] [Berserker Lvl 10][Cooperation Lvl 20][Berserker Style Lvl 10]
* Rare : [Manipulate Mana Lvl 40][Water Aspect Mana Lvl 40][Fire Aspect Mana Lvl 40] [Air Aspect Mana Lvl 40][Earth Aspect Mana Lvl 40][Inject Mana Lvl 40][Spot Weakness Lvl 25][Residue Recognition Lvl 20] [Light Aspect Mana Lvl 40][Shadow Aspect Mana Lvl 40][Mana Skin Lvl 20][Teamwork Lvl 12]
* Epic : [Mana Augmentation Lvl 30][Mana Conjuration Lvl 25][Lightning Aspect Mana Lvl 20][Metal Aspect Mana Lvl 20][Ice Aspect Mana Lvl 20][Magma Aspect Mana Lvl 20][Holy Aspect Mana Lvl 12][Void Aspect Mana Lvl 20]
* Legendary : [Mana Syphon Lvl 26]
New :
Cold Resistance 0 -> 5
Upgrades:
Mathematics 22 -> 25
Stealth 30 -> 35
Athleticism 30 -> 35
Running 30 ->36
Reading 20 -> 22
Writing 20 -> 22
Cooking 20 -> 25
Cleaning 15 -> 20
Haggling 19 -> 20
Axes 33 -> 40
Hammers 33 -> 40
Deception 21 -> 26
Swords 30 -> 40
Shield 30 -> 40
Bow 30 -> 40
Spear 30 -> 40
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Throwing 24 -> 30
Persuasion 10 -> 20
Unarmed combat 24 -> 35
Knives 31 -> 40
Skinning 22 -> 30
Dismantle 27 -> 40
Climbing 20 -> 30
Tracking 26 -> 30
Heat Resistance 17 -> 19
Poison Resistance 24 -> 25
Pain Resistance 16 -> 20
Trapping 18 -> 25
Meditation 41 -> 50
Sense Mana 44 -> 50
Expel Mana 44 -> 50
Sprinting 29 -> 35
Chanting 11 -> 12
Danger Sense 22 -> 30
Precise Cut 27 -> 35
Precise Blow 27 -> 35
Judge Threat 24 -> 30
Piercing Shot 27 -> 35
Berserker 3 -> 10
Cooperation 5 -> 20
Berserker Style 2 -> 10
Manipulate Mana 36 -> 40
Water Aspect Mana 30 -> 40
Fire Aspect Mana 30 -> 40
Air Aspect Mana 30 -> 40
Earth Aspect Mana 30 -> 40
Light Aspect Mana 28 -> 40
Shadow Aspect Mana 30 -> 40
Inject Mana 30 -> 40
Spot Weakness 20 -> 25
Residue Recognition 15 -> 20
Mana Skin 5 -> 20
Teamwork 4 -> 12
Mana Augmentation 25 -> 30
Mana Conjuration 21 -> 25
Lightning Aspect Mana 15 -> 20
Metal Aspect Mana 15 -> 20
Ice Aspect Mana 15 -> 20
Magma Aspect Mana 15 -> 20
Holy Aspect Mana 9 -> 12
Void Aspect Mana 15 -> 20
Mana Syphon 25 -> 26
A grin split his face as he looked at the progress the potions gave him. Before he took them he had a total of 1490 stat points and now he had 1639, 120 of them had been in Perception Endurance Strength and Dexterity but the last 29 had been a lot more expensive as they pushed stats that were already above 200 from his extra five levels.
His leveling speed was also a bit faster than what a normally dedicated level twenty six would have gone through but Hatchet assured him that it was because he was going into a dungeon and fighting way above his level. Even then the leveling speed increase was only about 10%.
Not only that but the training he had been pushing himself through started hitting walls in most of his skills. When he asked Hatchet about this he was told that it was expected, almost everyone hit a solid wall with their skills, it just usually happened a year after they spent their initial stat points from reaching the age of ten. In this time earning levels would be relatively easy but afterwards that would all stop and it would become a slow grind to reach the point where they could contribute in a dungeon and start speeding up their leveling again.
“How do you feel?” his mother asked him. She had a supporting smile but couldn’t manage to keep all her worry from her voice.
“A little uncomfortable actually.” he admitted as he felt like he was moving in a new body, stretching and twitching all over as he got used to the new stats.
“It should pass in a few minutes.” Hatchet said confidently.
“Even without the help of the trait in getting used to it?” he asked, surprised at the quick timeframe.
“You didn’t do anything quite as shocking as doubling or tripling every attribute so it should be fine,” he said.
“The hard part will come now that you will have to find a way to finance these potions for yourself.” Alana teased him a little. “It might only be two stat points a level but it all adds up.”
Ajax took the teasing in good spirit, especially since he knew his sister and Alana had basically shackled themselves to this place for the next two years just to help get him the potions without being bought out. Her comment however made him think about just how strong his DIvine Witness trait really was, basically giving him a free set of potions without diminishing returns.
The entire family had a nice dinner that night however Ajax had gone to sleep shortly after eating, the immediate energy of the potions wearing off and the stress of the increase finally hitting him.
The following morning was the first Monday in a long time when Ajax didn’t head out with the Collectors. The team as a whole had agreed to travel towards the capital together, however since they wanted to get Tristan, Nelly’s son that had finished his learning as a healer, a run through the dungeon first and give Ajax a week to say goodbye to his family.
Ajax looked around the unfamiliar room without getting out of bed. He had spent the night in his parent’s guest room as opposed to his brothers. It was very similar in layout to his first bedroom he had back in the village, the difference was that everything was that the woodwork was made to a better standard having been bought here in the city.
He had initially planned to lay about for longer but after ten minutes he was getting bored so got dressed and went into the living room. In the kitchen he found his parents had already started eating breakfast yet there was an extra plate already set up for him.
“Good morning.” he greeted them as he took a seat.
“Are you feeling better now?” his mother asked as he started to eat.
“I feel great.” Ajax answered. “So how can I help today?”
“You don’t have to do -.” his mother tried to say but didn’t quite manage to say.
“Well a large shipment of iron just came in, if you could move it inside the smithy.” his dad interrupted but quickly looked away once he noticed the glare Silvia was giving him. “If you’re offering,” he added.
Ajax didn’t have a problem with it at all so he quickly finished his food and followed his dad outside. In front of the smithy, a smithy that was much larger than his old one in the village, he found three carts piled high with sacks of ore.
“Dad, what kind of order was this?” he asked as the amount of iron would be enough to outfit a small army with weapons.
“Well,” his dad scratched the back of his head.” Do you remember that curved sword you drew and asked your sisters about?”
Ajax had to think for a few seconds but he finally remembered. It was about four months back when he drew an Egyptian Khopesh, he asked about curved swords as they would probably be better for cavalry.
“I do, but I don’t think you should make this many of them just on my say so, I am not even a trained rider.” He did appreciate his father’s trust in him but he knew just how hard change was to accept, especially in such a medieval society.
“Oh, no,” he shook his head in denial. “I tried my hand at making them about three months ago. Out of the five I initially set out to make three I had to smelt back down, but the other two turned out well.”
“One of the men in the baron’s personal army happened to see them and he asked me about them. I tried to say that it was something I tried to make for mounted combat and sold it to him at a discount with another sword he bought. Nobody else showed much interest in them.”
Ajax doubted a trend would form that quickly and was worried that this might be the baron making a last ditch effort to get to him, Tom, Katy, Judy or Alana.
“That was a month ago,” his father continued “Two days ago, the same soldier returned with his captain and they asked if I had any more. Apparently wielding them while riding led to them having an easier time increasing their sword skill.”
A lot of the worry left Ajax with this explanation. It did in fact make sense, he knew that new applications of skills would help them grow quicker but he never considered that such changed forms would also apply.
For the rest of the morning Ajax emptying the carts as he thought about what other odd weapons different people back on earth came up with that were different variations on common weapons.