The noon-day sun punched itself into Colthorn’s eyes as he stepped outside for the first time that day. He had to blink several times before his eyes could adjust to the natural light. He’d been training all morning so even with the dull ache from the light change, it felt good to take a small break. Even if that break was just to walk to the bakery right next-door for a cake.
Wa Lin’s Bakery was a quaint little shop and, unlike Perfect Potions, had large display windows showcasing several baskets of breads, a few trays of pastries, and some stands with cakes. Beneath the windows were flower boxes; red, yellow, white, and blue flowers enlivened the front of the shop. Hanging over the door was a wooden sign with the symbol of the bakery, which looked like a coat of arms with two long bread loafs crossed in the center behind a large cake.
“Come on Coal,” Alagossa said, placing a hand on his shoulder, “let’s see what cakes they have today.”
Jornan stayed behind to man the counter to deal with the customers, and to let Alagossa take a break as well. She had been in the middle of arguing with a problematic adventurer when they came out of the laboratory, so she gladly left the situation before she gave in to the desire to punch the guy in the throat.
They walked into the store to the smell of freshly baked bread and sugary treats. On the far wall behind the counter was an open window into the kitchen to pass the bread directly into the storefront. Also behind the counter was Wa Yong, son of Wa Lin and one of the only children around Colthorn’s age that he actually talked to semi-regularly. Wa Yong, being an Orc, had forest-green skin and two small tusks sticking up slightly from his lower jaw. He also had dark brown hair combed back underneath a hairnet, and wore a pristine white apron over his well-kept shirt. He was reading a book when they walked in.
“Yong!” Colthorn shouted, “I learned a new potion today!”
“Oh, hi Colthorn,” Yong said, smiling as he placed a bookmark and set his book aside. “You’re a quick learner as always. And I see that you are already level 68. Congratulations.”
Colthorn Analyzed Yong.
Child of Wa Jian/Lin 0th 54
Yong was three years older than Colthorn, but Yong’s level was average for his age. It was Colthorn whose level was strange. Despite being only 7 years old, Colthorn was training harder and had leveled faster than his peers. That is also why Colthorn’s Friend list was just his parents, Yong, and Alissa, because he never really talked to anyone else.
“Thanks!” He said, “You leveled up too, that’s great!”
“Thanks,” Yong murmured, a dark green blush slowly spread across his cheeks.
“Good Job, Yong,” Alagossa chimed in, “Keep it up and one day you’ll be the finest baker in Malroth!” She peered over Yong’s head through the window into the back kitchen, where she could see Lin was kneading a large batch of dough. “Speaking of baking, we’re here for a cake to celebrate Colthorn learning a new potion recipe. What cakes do you have today?”
Yong immediately straightened his apron and put on a business face.
“We have chocolate cakes with chocolate, vanilla, and lemon frosting. Vanilla cakes with chocolate and orange frosting, and one with whipped cream. A carrot cake with chocolate frosting, and a pumpkin cake with vanilla frosting.”
“The pumpkin cake!” Colthorn shouted, pumping his fist into the air.
Yong glanced at Alagossa, who nodded, before saying, “Alright, that will be 90 silver.”
“Do you have change for a gold chip?” She asked, holding up the small gold coin.
“Yes, here you go,” Yong said, handing her a silver plate, “I’ll be right back with your cake.”
Yong disappeared into the back, and returned a short time later holding a small wooden box with the bakery’s symbol burned onto the top.
“Is there anything else I can do for you?” Yong asked.
“Nope, the cake was all we needed. Thanks for your hard work Yong!” Alagossa said cheerily, “come on Colthorn! Let’s get back home.”
“Ah! Wait, I was wondering if Colthorn can come play with me and Alissa later today,” Yong started talking loudly but his voice lowered to a murmur as he continued, a blush slowly covered his face, “mom bought me a new ball and we’re going to play Queen’s Gem with some other kids...”
Colthorn’s face lit up. It’s been a long time since he’d been able to play with other kids, and he’s heard of the game Queen’s Gem... something about it being based off of the time some ancient queen kicked a melon-sized diamond into the face of an assassin. Why a diamond of that size was on the floor for the queen to kick, Colthorn didn’t know, but the game sounded fun. But as Colthorn thought about it, his smile faded.
“Sorry Yong, I don’t think I’ll be able to make it. I have training to do later today,” he said, but then smiled, “Maybe next time! Say hi to Alissa for me.”
Alagossa’s grip tightened on the sides of the box as she saw her son’s face. That’s not a real smile, little Coal... If it weren’t for that gods-forsaken Quest! She shook her head slightly and relaxed her grip. No, it was the gods that gave him the Quest. There must be a good reason. He’ll get through this; he can play all he wants with friends when the Quest is done.
“We’ll see if we can’t make some time during the week for you all to play, ok?” she said, “Oh, tell your mom we said hi for us.”
They made their way out of the store, leaving behind a slightly disappointed Yong, and went back into their own store. There weren't any customers inside, so Alagossa hung a “closed for lunch” sign on the front of the door then closed and bolted it.
Lunch was simple ham and cheese sandwiches made by Colthorn, which earned him a level in Cooking. Skills were always easier to level, at least in the beginning, than they are to get them. Colthorn told his mom about all the new ingredients that he learned about and the new potion that took him all morning to learn. He provided his own sound effects when he spoke about how the potion mixture often exploded into pink foam. Jornan and Alagossa both oohed and awed at the appropriate times of his storytelling. After the sandwiches, they cut up the cake and dug in.
When they finished eating, Alagossa ruffled Colthorn's hair and went to open the shop back up.
"Come on Coal," his dad said, "let's go make some more of those potions."
They spent the next three hours making +50 and +100 HP potions, earning Colthorn a level-up, 3 levels in Basic Alchemy, and 1 level in Cleaning. He put one free Stat into Alacrity, bringing it up to 39, then put the last free Stat into Acuity, bringing it up to 38.
Colthorn gulped when he saw his dad pull out two tall chairs from one of the storage rooms. It was time for resistance training.
"We'll do poison training first," Jornan said, grabbing a box that clinked when he set it down. “These are today’s poisons. I measured out a few new ones to try out today.”
They were sitting, facing each other with the counter on Jornan's left and Colthorn's right. The box contained 16 vials, 4 rows of 4, each containing a different kind of poison. That's how these training sessions went, take one of the poisons, suffer the effects, heal if necessary, then take the next vial. Usually the poisons were the same poisons from previous training sessions, but sometimes there were new poisons for him to try.
As he was looking at the poisons, his dad set another box down. This box was full of HP potions. Most likely they were +50 HP, but they were more than enough to heal him from these simpler poisons.
"Well, let's get this started," Jornan said, his hand hovering circles over the poisons before he grabbed one of the vials. "Start with this one. Remember to try to Appraise it first so you can get that Skill as well."
Colthorn took the vial from his dad, his hand shaking slightly, and studied the contents. The poison was clear, as most of them were, but had a very faint tinge of yellow to it. He popped the cork off and smelled it; it smelled almost like rotten eggs. He remembered this one.
“This is the Poison of Suffocation, right?” he asked, looking up to his father, before he tilted the vial back and chugged it. Immediately, he could feel his throat start to swell and constrict his airways. He could still breathe but only with a raspy wheeze. It will be over soon; it never went on for more than a minute, his dad always made sure to measure the poisons accurately.
When the poison finally passed, Jornan was already holding out the vial for him. Colthorn grabbed it, taking deep breaths, and examined the contents. A clear liquid, like water, no tinges of color, and no smell. There were a lot of poisons that had no color and no smell, but they were all painful. He drank the vial. It tasted like moldy grass. Pain radiated out from his stomach, flowing throughout his body in waves. Sweat beaded on his face.
He opened his Status to check his HP.
Health: 185.3/220
Health: 180.1/220
Health: 174.9/220
Health: 169.7/220
Every second, his HP dropped. Colthorn’s mind, nearly delirious with pain, couldn’t work out the math to figure out the rate he was losing HP, but it didn’t matter because it stopped after ten seconds.
Health: 153.3/220
The pain didn’t stop, though he wasn’t taking anymore damage, and he stopped sweating.
“Here, drink these, Coal,” his dad said, handing him two of the HP potions.
Colthorn took them gladly.
Health: 220/220
He breathed a small sigh of relief as his pains faded away as if they never existed. Was still sore from the hunting trip yesterday, because his Stamina was low, but all the tiny little cuts and bruises were healed.
And the cycle continued. He would examine the poison. They were all clear with a faint coloring of blue, or pink, or orange, or gray; one was just straight black. Some had smells of sweet fruits or flowers, others had smells of rotten and decaying things, and others had no smell at all. Each poison tasted differently some good, most bad; only one had no taste. He had had these poisons before, so he was able to recognize most of them.
He honestly didn’t mind the Poison Resistance training; only a few of the poisons actually hurt him. There were poisons that made him blind, paralyzed, fall asleep, feverish, nauseous, itchy, break out in hives, and covered him in black spots. The ones that actually hurt him were terrible. One poison rotted his flesh when applied to the skin, while another made his flesh pucker and split like a sausage. Colthorn hated those ones. Seeing his own skin slough off his arm and seeing his muscles open themselves... He had had nightmares for months when he’d first used those poisons. Now, he just grimaced at the sight and waited a bit before drinking the health potion his dad gave him.
“Here’s the last one for today, it’s a new poison that you haven’t had yet. I’m confident I measured it correctly but, since it’s a new one, we can never be too careful,” Jornan said. He had two vials in his hand, one with black liquid and one with bright red liquid. “So I have a +200 HP potion here just in case I made a mistake. You’re at full health right now, so this poison should bring you down to 100 health... This will be the lowest you’ve ever gotten before, but try to keep a clear head and if you go below 100 health, take this HP potion.”
Colthorn gently grabbed both the vials. He’d never had a +200 HP potion before, but he doubted that he’d need to today. Colthorn trusted that his dad wouldn’t give him a deadly poison without first knowing exactly what it did and how much to give.
He studied the black vial. Its liquid seemed to swirl by itself, but he couldn’t be sure. He popped the cork and smelled it. It smelled sweet, like a freshly squeezed fruit. The smell was unexpected; the only other dark colored poison he had before had smelled like something rotten. He shrugged and drank the poison.
At first nothing happened, but then he felt a growing sense of unease. He checked his health to see if something happened.
Health: 220/220
Health: 218/220
Health: 216/220
Health: 214/220
Health: 212/220
Health: 210/220
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His Health was dropping faster than he’d ever seen it before. It wasn’t dropping by a lot, only by 2 at a time, but it was dropping by 2 every quarter of a second. Colthorn could only watch as his health continued to tick downwards.
Why doesn’t it hurt? He wondered, holding his breath as his health reached 150. A cold sweat of anxiety beaded on his skin. This should be hurting a ton right now.
Health: 150/220
Health: 148/220
Health: 146/220
Health: 144/220
Health: 142/220
The sense of unease grew stronger as his health got closer to 100. The feeling grew and grew until a sense of dread seemed to fill his entire chest.
Health: 106/220
Health: 104/220
Health: 102/220
Health: 100/220
He held his breath, eyes intent on the 100 in front of him... it didn’t go down any further. He breathed out a sigh of relief and looked up just as his dad hugged him. Colthorn wasn’t expecting the hug, but it was always welcome.
“Uh, dad? I’m...”
The sense of dread in his chest unraveled, spreading throughout his entire body. He screamed. Ripples of pain raced over and through him. The accumulated hundred and twenty health worth of agony left Colthorn screaming and sobbing in his father’s arms. Only his father’s embrace kept him from falling to the floor writhing. A few seconds passed and the pain finally settled itself into its place in Colthorn’s body. With the pain no longer racing through him, Colthorn was able to stop wailing, though the tears still flowed freely as he clutched his father’s shirt with his trembling hands.
He felt his dad reach for something on the counter.
“Here, drink this,” Jornan said quietly as he pulled back slightly.
He was holding a +100 HP potion. Colthorn took it and drank the potion, before returning his forehead to his dad’s chest to continue to cry. He heard a few chime sounds but he dismissed them without looking.
When Colthorn stopped crying, he leaned back into his own chair. He wiped his tears and snot on the sleeves of his shirt. He looked up and saw that his dad was also wiping his tears away with his own sleeve.
“What was that poison called?” He asked, his voice raspy from his screaming.
“It’s called The Silent Agony,” Jornan replied, sniffling, “It’s a Tier 1 poison.”
“... that’s cool,” Colthorn chuckled weakly. He took a deep breath in and a slow breath out to compose himself. “I got some notifications earlier, but I didn’t look at them yet.”
Since he already dismissed the blue boxes, Colthorn willed his Status page to open. He tapped on the tab at the top that said “Notices”.
Status
Skills
Quests
Library
Friends
[Notices]
Settings
New Quest!: Novice Alchemist.
You have crafted (10) +100 HP potion. +10 EXP.
Quest Completed!: Novice Alchemist. +1 WIL.
Basic Alchemy gained 7 levels. +7 EXP.
Cleaning gained 2 levels. +2 EXP.
Analyzed Child of Wa Jian/Lin 0th 54.
Cooking gained 1 level. +1 EXP.
Basic Alchemy gained 3 levels. +3 EXP.
Cleaning gained 1 level. +1 EXP.
You have crafted (10) +100 HP potion. +10 EXP.
You have crafted (10) +100 HP potion. +10 EXP.
You gained 1 level. +1 INT, +2 Free Stats.
You have crafted (10) +100 HP potion. +10 EXP.
You have crafted (10) +100 HP potion. +10 EXP.
You have crafted (10) +50 HP potion. +5 EXP.
You have crafted (10) +50 HP potion. +5 EXP.
You have crafted (10) +50 HP potion. +5 EXP.
You have crafted (10) +50 HP potion. +5 EXP.
Basic Alchemy gained 5 levels. +5 EXP.
Congratulations! You learned the Skill Pain Resistance! +50 EXP.
You gained 1 level. +1 INT, +2 Free Stats.
Congratulations! You learned the Skill Appraise! +50 EXP.
You gained 1 level. +1 INT, +2 Free Stats.
The last four entries were new. Colthorn tapped on the words “Pain Resistance”. Another blue box appeared in front of the Notices page.
Pain Resistance
You have dealt with pain time and time again and you have proven that you are able to quickly recover despite the trauma.
Passive Effects: Pain has +0.1% per skill level less of an effect on you.
He thought back to five minutes ago when he was sobbing in his dad’s arms. Right... quickly recover, that’s for sure what I did. He was grateful for the Skill though. It will certainly help with his future resistance training. He tapped on Appraise.
Appraise
You have carefully studied items and have proven that you are able to appraise them accurately.
Active Effect: You can look at something and know what it is and does. Knowledge gained varies depending on Skill level.
Having read up on the notifications, and having gained two new levels, Colthorn tapped on the Tab at the top that said “Status”. Then he put three of his free Stats into Acuity, and one free Stat into Alacrity, so that they were 41 and 40 respectively. He watched as the numbers automatically adjusted themselves to match his new Stats.
[Status]
Skills
Quests
Library
Friends
Notices
Settings
General Info
Name: Colthorn Leokast
Class: [Child of Jornan/Alagossa Leokast (Sta)]
Race: Half-Human, Half-Elf
Level: 0th 71
Age: 7
Experience: 8.7/71
Health: 200/220
H. Regen: 4.05/day
Stamina: 78.65/135
S. Regen: 2.9/day
Mana: 530/530
M. Regen: 5.6/day
Stats
Strength: 18
Intelligence: 71
Constitution: 9
Will: 35
Alacrity: 40
Acuity: 41
Pending Stat Points: 0
Favored Skills:
Botanize 0th 54
Standard Language 0th 19
Basic Alchemy 0th 49
Glanic Language 0th 13
Drawing 0th 34
Geologize 0th 30
Skills:
Analyze 0th 45 Appraise 0th 1 Archery 0th 43 Astronomy 0th 1 Cleaning 0th 38 Climbing 0th 37 Cooking 0th 2 Field Dressing 0th 30 Follower of the Sibling Moons 0th 2 Harvest Plant 0th 45 Hunting 0th 35 Jumping 0th 24 Knife Handling 0th 30 Pain Resistance 0th 1 Running 0th 50 Stealth 0th 50 Tracking 0th 36
Tumbling 0th 21
“I got two new skills! And two levels, I’m level 71 now! I got Pain Resistance and Appraise... I didn’t get Poison Resistance though,” he said, closing the page.
“That’s alright, Coal. We’ve been doing this for a few months now, I’m sure you’ll get it any day now,” Jornan reassured him, placing a hand on Colthorn’s shoulder. “Let’s take a small break before we continue, ok?”
“Ok, thanks dad.” Colthorn said, unrolling his long sleeves—which had been rolled up so some of the poisons could be applied to the skin—to cover the patch of new skin on one forearm and the new faint scars on his other forearm.
He left the laboratory and went down the hall into the storefront. His mother was there, sitting on a stool behind the counter. He ran forward and hugged her waist, burying his face in her side.
“I got Pain Resistance and Appraise,” He mumbled with his face still buried.
“...You’re working hard Coal. I’m proud of you,” she said, hugging him tight with the arm that he was under.
They stayed like that for a few minutes. Alagossa worked the counter with her free hand for the occasional customer that came and went. Eventually, Colthorn slowly let go.
“I’m going to go train some more.”
“I’ll keep my arms open for hugs afterwards, ok?” She leaned down and kissed his forehead. “You’re almost there, Coal... Just a little more and then you don’t have to do it anymore if you don’t want to.”
“Thanks mom.”
He went back to the laboratory. The mess that was made from the Poison Resistance training had been cleaned up. On the floor between the island counter and the storage room door, his dad was sitting with two boxes of vials next to him. Jornan was sitting, back against the storage door, eyes closed, face tilted up towards the enchanted light-ball fixture in the ceiling. He looked over to Colthorn when he walked in.
“You ready, Coal?” Jornan asked, patting the floor in front of him. “Take off your shirt and sit here.”
Colthorn did as he was asked, pulling his shirt over his head. He sat cross-legged with his back to his dad. Jornan slid one of the vial boxes forward so it was in front of Colthorn; it had HP potions.
“Ready dad.”
Jornan stared at his son’s tiny back. Colthorn was Half-Elf, so he aged slower than humans. If not for his pointed ears, one would think Colthorn was a 5 year old Human child.
And yet your back is already like this... Jornan thought, pressing a hand against Colthorn’s pock-marked and scarred back. Potions only healed as much as a body could naturally heal, so even if wounds healed instantly there would still be some scars left behind. For things that can’t be naturally healed, Healing magic is necessary. Jornan already planned to take Colthorn to a Healer once the Quest was completed.
“Remember, take a health potion every time you lose 50 Health. And if you ever need a break, tell me and I’ll Neutralize the acid immediately.”
“I will.”
“Good, let’s begin.” Jornan said, popping the cork off a vial with green liquid and poured the vial across the top of Colthorn’s back. The acid ran down his back before it seemed to stick to his skin. Wispy trails of smoke or steam wafted up from the acid as it started eating away. A rancid smell of dissolved flesh filled the space around them.
Colthorn gritted his teeth, and tried to unclench his muscles but he couldn’t quite force himself to relax. So instead he opened his Status to watch his Health. Every other minute, he drank a HP potion. After about thirty minutes the acid finally neutralized itself, and Jornan poured a fresh vial across his back again. The process continued. Sweat dripped off of Colthorn’s body; the pain was almost too much to bear. The only sound was the sound of ragged breathing, sizzling acid on flesh, and the faint sound of customers at the storefront.
Three health potions into the fourth vial of acid, Colthorn cried out.
“Dad!” His voice quaked, tears flowing down his cheeks. A soft green light flashed from Jornan’s hand and the acid was immediately neutralized.
“Drink a potion, Coal,” his father said, toweling off the remnants of the now-grey liquid.
Colthorn downed the potion, then turned around and hugged his dad, silently sobbing from the experience of constant pain and HP loss. A chime sounded, and this time he looked at the notification.
Pain Resistance gained 7 levels. +7 EXP.
Congratulations
You’ve gained the skill: Acid Resistance!
+50 EXP
You are no stranger to acid. You have trained with acids and have dealt with its effects admirably well for one so young.
Passive Effects: Acid has +0.1% per skill level less of an effect on you.
“I got it,” Colthorn gasped, almost unbelieving. “I got Acid Resistance.”
“That’s great news!” Jornan said, squeezing Colthorn in a tighter hug and, after hugging in silence for a bit, asked, “do you want to do another round of poison training? If you got Acid Resistance today, then you should be getting Poison Resistance after another round or two.”
Colthorn thought about it. He really didn't like the acid, but...
“To get the Survivalist Class like mom, all I needed was to get Acid Resistance, right?” He asked. When his dad hummed an affirmation, he continued, “and you said that if I got Skills to the Tier Cap then I would for sure get a higher rarity class, right?” There was another sound of affirmation. Colthorn took a deep breath. “Then I want to continue the acid training. I’ll get these resistances to the Tier Cap.”
Jornan squeezed Colthorn tight. “...ok.”