With her newfound skill, Artanis mining output had increased considerably as the skill itself increased in level. Her efforts had awarded her with a single point increase in both strength and vitality, and two points of endurance.
You have obtained a medium sized fire agate.
Luck has permanently been increased by 1.
“I guess it would be somewhat redundant to say I am lucky?” Artanis mumbled as she read the message, which appeared, before her eyes. Curious about what she had mined, she crouched down to inspect the chunk of stone in which said agate were lodged on.
Fire AgateType:MineralDurability:50 / 50Fire agate, a variety of chalcedony with an ancient and fiery beginning, formed in areas which were subjected to volcanic activities ages ago.
Possesses beautiful iridescent rainbow colors, valued by mages specializing in fire.
‘Fire mages? So it must have some magic power within it.’ She thought while closing the message window, done so, Artanis returned to work; or would have if her stomach had not protested.
Deciding to avoid having to eat the rye bread leftovers again, she took her backpack and left the mines, when she finally reached the dining hall and opened its doors she was greeted with silence. Everyone inside took a moment to observe her, as she walked towards the chef to ask for a plate of food.
“Here, enjoy it.” Said the rotund man, which worked as the chef, as he handed her a spoon and a plate filled with what she sincerely hoped to be chili.
“Thanks.” Said Artanis bringing a smile unto the chef’s face, as those who thanked him for what he did were rare, since he knew his food was horrible, but Ornvand cared more about how cheap it was to hire him. Than how skilled he was.
Sitting on an empty chair, Artanis took a spoonful of the mysterious substance on her place, and placed it unto her mouth. Immediately she concluded, it wasn't chili, or at least not what she remembered chili to be. Even with its weird texture, taste, and aroma. The food before her was better than the rye bread she had forced herself to swallow last night, albeit not much better.
As she ate, Artanis could feel the miners looking at her while talking amongst each other. They did not however, approach, or talk with her, seemingly satisfied to have something pleasing to watch.
Charm has permanently been increased by 1.
‘And so it increases again.’ Thought Artanis as she ate eat another spoonful of chili. Charm was the easiest attribute for her to increase, since she hadn’t to do anything special to increase it, it just did whatever others felt attracted to her; and as she frequently found herself amongst men that happened often.
Everyone’s peaceful meal suddenly came to a halt, as a man opened the dining hall’s door in a hurry, a man that Artanis immediately recognized as Aaron.
“Finally found you, you’re coming with me right now!” Said Aaron in a threatening tone, as he grabbed and dragged Artanis by the arm, all she managed to do was leave her plate on the table, as the angry man’s higher strength level made it impossible for her to react in any other way.
She was taken to the front of Ornvand's cabin, where he and another waited for her. Behind Artanis and Aaron were the rest of the miners, who tagged along to find out what was happening. Seeing Artanis, the shady looking man beside Ornvand pointed at her and screamed.
“That’s her, she the one who paid me to do it!” He said holding a bag full of coins in one hand, while pointing in Artanis direction with the other. While Ornvand walked towards her, sighing.
“Ya dumb elf, I knew ya were not worth my time, but I still took ya as a favor to Wystan. Shame on ya, instead of stopping your lazing inside the mine after being scolded, ya went and bribed Gustaf here to place other’s ore inside yar cart!” Screamed Ornvand as he pointed to her face, hearing their boss’s words, the crowd started to insult Artanis and hurl food in her direction.
You have earned the title: Shameful Ore Thief.
Decreases fame adquired through mining by half, while doubling any increase to infamy.
Any mining claims you have, or acquire will be doubted by the authorities.
Both guards, regular NPCs and players will be suspicious of you as you now possess a shady aura.
Infamy has increased by 200 thanks to the effects of one of your titles.
“What are you talking about? I’ve never met that man before!” Artanis said with an angry expression on her face however, the midget before her simply shrugged and snorted as he heard her words.
“Everyone says that when they are caught, don’t they? Aaron himself saw Gustaf following your orders, and I believe his words, far more than the ones from an unknown elf.” Said Orvand while pointing towards her, with a smug look on his face.
“Kekeke, then you’re sadly mistaken.” Spoke a man from within the angry miner’s mob.
“What do you mean, Jester?” Asked Aaron, immediately after he recognized the old man which walked away from within the mob, towards Artanis side.
“I’ve been observing this elf, as you call her Ornvand. And she has no reason to pay anyone to fill her carts, she has been doing so herself quite frequently.” Spoke Jestahad before patting Artanis’s shoulder. Hearing the old man’s words, all eyes shifted to Gustaf who now took a step back.
“I... I, can explain it!” Screamed Gustaf in despair, before mumbling something to himself, done so, the color from his face faded away, and tears formed within his eyes.
“Ya will, I am sure of it. Aaron go and call the guards to have him arrested. As for the elf, yar free to finish eating before going back to work.” Spoke Ornvand looking at the man beside Artanis, who nodded before running off towards the guards. Moments after two guards came and apprehended Gustaf.
Seeing Yedlar among the guards who came for him, Gustaf’s face changed from one of fear, to one of rage and disgust; he had been betrayed.
You have lost the title: Shameful Ore Thief.
You’re no longer affected by it.
The charges against you have been cleared, infamy returned to 0.
“Not so fast!” Screamed Artanis, before holding the diminutive man’s shoulder, Which caused him to turn around and look at her.
“Huh? What do ya want?” Asked Ornvand surprised with Artanis’s scream.
“Compensation for the emotionally damaged caused by you, and the public humiliation which you caused. You could have dealt with this more discreetly, there was no need to do so in front of everyone else!” Screamed Artanis, whose turn for pointing into others faces had arrived. Hearing her words, Jestahad and the other miners which had stayed around, nodded and gave words of agreement.
“...Fine, I am sorry for what I did, satisfied?” Said Ornvand with an annoyed expression, to which Artanis responded to one of disgust.
“If apologies could solve anything, guards would not be needed. I have said before and will repeat it. I want to be compensated.” Said Artanis, whose beautiful blue eyes were now filled with rage as she looked at Ornvand’s eyes.
“Okay, okay. I will give you a 10% extra to yar payment.” Spoke Ornvand while taking a step back, the expression on the elf before him seriously scared him. He was sure that if there weren’t so many people nearby to protect him, she would have beaten him to death by now.
“No, I would rather keep all I mine, during the course of the next week.” Spoke Artanis who still stared at Ornvand, knowing full well that she was intimidating him.
“Yer insane, all I can give ya is a 20% increase on yer salary.” Said Ornvand, surprised at the shameless request from the elf before him.
“I will compromise, rather than keeping everything I mine, let me buy it with an 80% discount.” Spoke Artanis, who now wore a smile on her lips, her eyes however were still the same, turning what should be an angelic smile, into one, which would have belonged to a demon.
“30% increase and that’s my final offer!” Screamed Ornvand, as he tried to hide his fear, he would already have accepted her request, so he could get away from her if his money was not so important to him.
“I wonder how Wystan and Hilliard will react when they hear about this.” Said Artanis smiling, enjoying the fearful expression Ornvand made after she mentioned such names.
“... 40% discount?” Asked Ornvand with a sour look on his face, his actions nearly costed him his connection with Rockheim’s best smith, not to mention his image with the captain of Rockheim’s guards; who’s his business’s protection depended on.
“50% and we have a deal.” Said Artanis smiling, hearing her words, Ornvand groaned and nodded signaling he had accepted the deal. Done so, the crowd finally dispersed and Ornvand left to his cabin, hopefully, to cry, thought Artanis. Who now could say without any doubt, that she hated him.
You have completed an advantageous negotiation.
Fame has increased by 10.
Charisma has been permanently increased by 4
Wisdom has been permanently increased by 2
You will receive a 50% discount, to any purchase done from Ulta Mountain Mines, at the Kingdom Of Norton.
‘I almost could thank that moron who tried to frame me; I got such a good deal out of this.’ Thought Artanis as she held back her urge to smile, while she walked back into the mine. She had now a newfound motivation to work, as she could buy anything produced by the mine for half the price, which, of course also included anything she mined herself.
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To any miner without a mining claim, such deal was quite advantageous, who otherwise could only get paid a miserly amount for their work, and were treated as regular clients when it came to buying the ore themselves had excavated.
All things considered, Yedlar and Gustaf had done her a favor, and that fact filled the dwarven guard with rage. Repeatedly, that damn elf had screwed his plans, and this time she could have him arrested and kicked out of Rockheim’s guard.
He knew Gustaf would not keep his mouth shut for long, he knew his soon to be former companions would chase and capture him for what he did, he knew that to them he would be seen as a common criminal, he knew, so he ran.
But not away from his soon to be chasers, no, he ran into the mines towards the source of all his problems, towards the target of all his hate, towards Artanis.
‘That damn elf will pay, I’ve been taught not to hit women, but she’s no women, that elf is a goddamn fat dude playing as a female, using those cow udders to seduce fools who do not know the truth!’ Thought Yedlar as he ran, to him a female with such an appearance wouldn’t be working in a mine, plus imagining her as an ugly lonely man helped him feel better about himself.
Time is of essence for his plan, so Yedlar unequipped all his armor to increase his speed, done so he ran with all his might, which would be hilarious for any observer thanks to the short legs the dwarf had. Artanis of course knew nothing of this, and was focused mining the ore in front of her, she didn’t even notice when Yedlar finally appeared running towards her, and without slowing he drew back his arm before punching her with all his might, weight and speed.
Health lowered by 80 (170 / 250)
Artanis groaned as she fell on the ground, all she knew was that something had struck her, and that she did not need the message window to inform her she had been hurt, the pain she felt on her back was far enough for that.
“Stand elf, you’re gonna pay for what you did.” Spoke Yedlar grinning as he thought of beating down the filthy elf before him, and how he would enjoy every single moment of it.
“Who are you? Why did you hit me?!” Screamed Artanis, as she turned towards her assaulter, she had no idea of why she had been hit, even though the dwarf before her seemed familiar; then again, all dwarfs looked almost the same.
Health lowered by 20 (150 / 250)
Her answer came in the form of a punch towards her face, “Who said you could speak?!” Screamed Yedlar before a smile forced in his lips, as he looked at the elf before him. who now held her bleeding nose, with a pained expression on her face.
“How does it feel? When there’s no one around which you had spread your legs for, when there's no one to protect you from me, huh? Answer me, you damn faggot!” Screamed Yedlar once again, looking with eyes filled with disgust, before he kicked Artanis in her stomach.
Health lowered by 30 (120 / 250)
She tried to scream, instead of words, however, what came from within her mouth was the food she had eaten earlier. As she vomited, Artanis tried to think of how to defend herself of the man assaulting her, she did not know any offensive spells, the dwarf’s strength far surpassed her, and she hadn’t any weapon.
‘I have one, I have that dagger!’ Thought Artanis, as she remembered the weapon she had placed inside her backpack, as she crawled towards it.
“Yes, crawl like the vermin you’re!” Screamed Yedlar before he burst into laughter, the sight of his enemy desperately crawling away from him brought joy to his heart.
Reaching the backpack, Artanis crouched beside the backpack, using it to support part of her body weight. The dwarf’s laughter had ceased, and she knew that soon he would continue his assault, desperate Artanis REPLACEed her arm inside the backpack, searching for the dagger she had taken from Wystan’s workshop.
“Unfortunately, our little fun game has to be ended; it won’t be long till they arrive, but before that I will beat you to death.” Spoke Yedlar smiling as he grabbed Artanis’s left arm forcing her to face him.
Fatal blow struck. 29% damage has been added. The enemy is now bleeding.
His Health decreases by 2.5 every second.
Yedlar screamed placing his hand in front of his eye; blood flowed from within the wound, as he instinctively backed away from the source of his injury. As he did so, he stepped on a loose rock and fell on the ground with his back. Before he could even try to stand again, a blur flew towards his remaining eye, while he felt a heavy impact on his stomach.
Fatal blow struck. 46% damage has been added. The enemy injuries have increased.
Both eyes of the enemy have been damaged blinding him.
His Health decreases by 5.0 every second.
Artanis screamed as she pulled her dagger from within Yedlar’s eyes, only to once again REPLACE it. Immediately her focus skill activated, and around her, the world faded, all that was left was her, her dagger and the dwarf below her.
Fatal blow struck. 95% damage has been added. The enemy injuries have increased.
His Health decreases by 10.0 every second.
Yedlar now desperately tried to fend off Artanis attacks, unable to see he relied on his tact to find her arms. Finding one he grabbed it will all the strength he could muster, which was far smaller than the usual thanks to pain he now felt, that nearly paralyzed his entire body.
Fatal blow struck. 129% damage has been added. The enemy injuries have increased.
His Health decreases by 20.0 every second.
Unable to see, hear, or feel anything. Artanis onslaught continued even as Yedlar grip shattered the bone of the arm he had managed to grab. Her repeated attacks towards the same area had increased the damage of each blow exponentially, coupled with the speed which he was bleeding, Yedlar knew he was losing large chunks of his health even though he was unable to see exactly how much damage he were suffering.
Fatal blow struck. 167% damage has been added. The enemy injuries have increased.
His Health decreases by 20.0 every second.
Fatal blow struck. 215% damage has been added. The enemy injuries have increased.
His Health decreases by 20.0 every second.
You have killed another player, since it was an act of self defense you won't be marked as a killer.
You have killed an higher level player, your fame has increased by 100
You have leveled up.
You have leveled up.
You have leveled up.
You have leveled up.
You have leveled up.
Such messages, informing her of the multiple increases in her level appeared before her eyes, totaling ten. She however couldn’t care less about then. Having dealt the last blow on Yedlar, his body disappeared causing Artanis to fall on the ground as the dagger in her hand struck the dirt below her.
She stood still as she stared to the blood pool that had formed below her, staring at the bloody dagger craved on the earth, to her hands full of the blood from the man she had killed.
Her focus skill then deactivated, and she screamed. Suddenly all the pain she had blocked came back to her, with tears in her eyes she looked at the fracture on her arm.
“I've found her! Hurry up, she is bleeding!” Screamed Aaron as he ran towards her, with his face filled with worry.
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