On their way to the bath house, I run into everyone else. Victoria tries to convince me to join them, and the offer is so tempting, but I know there will be time for that soon.
"Oh, Rachel, please tell Ardy what you told us earlier," Vic says and it reminds me that I never gave Rachel my full name.
"So, like, since I haven't officially left the Guild, I received a mass notification that the raid will happen in, like, two days instead of five. I'm sorry, Ardy, guess they found out when the players respawned. You know what though, everyone keeps calling you Ardy, but all I see are question marks. What's up with that?"
"Sorry, I never fully introduced myself. Ardacen Winters."
"Oh. Em. Gee! You're that Ardacen Winters?! Like, for real?" I sigh and nod my head. She looks up at my name, "Wow! I can see your name now! How weird is that?"
"Huh? Oh, I guess because my mask is cursed, but back to the Guild. What are they going to do now?"
Kona stays beside her as the others leave. She continues to explain how the original force was going to be about ten and how it should have been enough for a camp of handicapped citizens and disabled soldiers. But because I cleared them out so quickly and easily, they doubled their number and an instructor-to-be-decided that day will be joining them. I thank her and send the two of them on their way. My mind is flooding with questions as I step into the General Workshop.
Crafting tables line the walls and stations of tools dot the inner part. There's room for a dozen people to be working on various kinds of projects. I sit close to the door and take out the leatherworker's kit and the tailor's kit. I use the interface to move the stations to the other side of the room and organize my materials in front of me. I take in a deep steady breath and exhale quickly through my nose. I access my bracelet to see if I had anything left in there. I notice the unknown shoulder armor and withdraw it. It looks like I'm holding up the dotted outline of a coat.
[Wow, Ardy! You're going to want to appraise that right away!]
"Yeah? Can you tell me what it is?"
[I do not have clearence to do so. It will be a total shame if you are unable to before the attack. Hmm. I have an idea, if you're willing to try Y/N?]
I choose yes, though Sonny never explained her plan. My status screen startles me by popping up without a prompt from me. The selector arrow is moving slowly and methodicaly through my menus.
"Sonny, please tell me that's you?"
She doesn't respond and the arrow stops on my Minor Appraisal ability.
"Sonny? Sonasolaria?"
The ghost arrow selects it and targets the armor. A thousand alarms go off in my head and I drop to the ground, completely tense from the pain. My eyes feel like they're too large for my skull and are trying to expand everything around them. Every tooth in my head seems to have a fist sized cavity and I have a mouthful of ice cream.
[I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Hold on! I can fix this!]
I can barely hear her as I grind my teeth into powder, eyes pinched shut. I'm not sure if I'm sweating or dripping blood from my orifices.
[Execute override! Code 1717A-W release all locks! Admin ID Sonasolaria! Edit line 88897S rewrite to Unique! Execute!]
Everything stops and becomes white. There is a single ringing now, but that might just be tinnitus. The white slowly fades into the workshop. I'm looking around and I notice my bars are refilling from one as if I had just respawned. I wipe my face and check my hands.
Sweat.
"Son… Sonny? What happened?" I push myself up to stand.
[I am so sorry, Sir Ardacen! Please forgive me! I just tried to help!]
"Its okay," I stumble forward on weak legs, "Just tell me I'll be okay."
[Yes! Yes, of course! You should be much better now. It won't happen again.]
"Okay, but what did you do?"
[I tried to borrow your menu, since we are connected, to interact with and appraise the armor. The game saw it as an attack on the game and the firewall tried to delete you.]
My God, if that's how it feels then I empathize with every file I've ever gotten rid of on my computer. "And then what happened?"
[Okay, so, I can't do this a lot, but I managed to rewrite some of your player's code to sort of make it seem like what you did was normal and the system allowed it. Observe your new Feat]
I accessed my status screen and saw that she upgraded my Appraisal ability to Unique class. It raised the cap of the item or person to one hundred above my own level and to all classes of items. Without hesitation I try again.
>Scan<[Mantle of the Gray Wanderer
[Legendary, Shoulder
[Dura: 140/140
[+2Dex, +2Armor, +2Will, ???]
The pain of almost being deleted seems worth it to a player like me, just to complete my first set so early in the game. And to think, I had it with me the whole time. I equip it right away and a fiery surge of power courses through me. I feel invigorated. I feel invincible. I see that the durability of each item jumps by one hundred points each, making them near indestructable. Not only that, but the reason I feel the way I do is all of my regen points went up by three! I'm pumped to get back to crafting with so much energy and a clear head.
"Thank you, Sonny! No wonder you were so excited. Okay, let's just repress that memory or I'll never be able to play again, shall we? Sonny, can you display a list of the blueprints?"
[Yes, of course. Again, I am truly sorry. Here.]
There are catalogs of all kinds of weapons ranging from specially designed swords to armor to bows made with magic string. Bows! I grab some lumber and start carving out the bow itself, keeping a close eye on the blueprints, but also letting my skill's autopilot assist. I watch as an ornate longbow forms in my hands. Now, the fun part. I search through the pile of stuff I brought and pick up a drider web spool. The webbing doesn't feel sticky at all as I craft it just like the blueprints want it. Then, I string up the wooden part by bending it surely but carefully.
[Success! You have crafted an advanced item!
[Dridersilk Longbow, advanced improv.
[Dura: 120/120
[Dex, 300ft, 0
[Base: 8
[25% chance for debuff Slow on target]
Oh, Elsbeth is going to love this! Not only that, but I can easily make four more for Gorm's men, since only four have both arms. I set it down and add notes to the blueprint. I proceed to carve out each one and string them up. I noticed that the spool has plenty left and there are still fourteen spools left. It doesn't take me long by now, so I move on to the next project.
I grab some boar hide and the leatherworker's kit. Since the hide isn't really good for anything other than an extra pad for sleeping, I see no problem converting all thirty seven into sheets of leather. Now, I know IRL it would take longer to make real leather, but the magic of being in a game like this is like cooking on a TV cooking show. And look, its already done! I cut some sheets into pieces for bracers and gauntlets and remembering how Elsbeth did it, I'm able to replicate it only needing half the materials without sacrificing the Armor rating. We don't have many green cobra scales, since they're harder to kill for the soldiers than the boars and wolves, but there was enough for two pairs of each, greaves and bracers.
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Okay, now to be a little selfish. I alter a pair of gloves so my claws wouldn't destroy them by removing part of the fingers and reinforcing them with some left over cobra scale.
[Success! You have created an advanced item!
[Reinforced Cobra Gloves, advanced improv
[Dura: 110/110
[+2Armor, +5% chance of inflicting poison by attacks]
And then, there is this. I pick up one of the minor orbs. I analyze it and the description differentiates it from the ankh by stating the former is used for Arcane and the latter is used for Faith based magic. I realize my original plan to use regular lumber to create a staff or something isn't going to work this time. I would need to use a special kind of material for it, but the details are lost to me. Using one of the blueprints, I grab a pair of the Giant Lizard spines, sharpen them, create a special spear handle for them and attach them easily to one end. It's similar to the cobra fang spear, but much longer and more wicked looking.
[Success! You have created an advanced item!]
[Dual Needles, advanced improv
[Dura: 120/120
[Str/Melee,Throwable/ 1
[Base: 12
[Once per day, you may ignore the Armor of a target for a single attack.]
Yes, yes, yes! I really like this one! Two more and I use the last spine to make another rapier. I take in a big yawn and check the in game clock. It's nearly 6 am and the big yawn I do is justified. I put away the pile of stuff, but leave out the crafted items: 3*Dual Needles, 1*Giant Lizard Rapier, 2*Cobra Bracers, 2*Cobra Greaves, and 4*Dridersilk Longbows. The class XP that isn't leatherwork is exchanged for regular XP, 377XP to be exact, pushing me into the next level.
[Received: +9 stat points to allocate]
I drop one into Arcane and eight into Dexterity, giving me another Skill. I almost feel like just throwing the point into something I already have to level it up, but I check the pool anyway. The very first one captures my attention so hard, I don't bother looking at the rest.
[Discipline/Tempest Palm, white
[Restriction/ Unarmed, Gloves, Claws
[Unlock passive ability every other level
[-all unarmed strikes may use Str or Dex
[as the modifier
[-???
[-???
[-???
[-???]
It functions similarly to the tiered spells, but for skills. There are more unlockables, but they take two levels. The abilities are passive, but it still gave me an idea, as long as Ramona is willing to teach me. By now, I'm wondering how Dawn is doing when the door bursts open.
In the doorway, a short Infernus is yawning wide, covered in soot and sweat and the barest of underwear.
"Dawn! What the hell?" I'm averting my eyes, fully awake now.
"Huh? Ah, sorry!" She re-equips her tunic in the very least, "Sorry! Please don't tell Vic about this! I don't wanna have to respawn! It was just too hot for the gear and my natural resistance and I totally forgot!"
"Geez! Are you dressed yet? Get in here!"
**************************
The door closes and she's finally made it home. This is where she wanted to be this whole time. This is the place that called to her. This is the place where she can create things that will matter.
Dawn accesses the forge and refinery prompts. Mana fuels both of them, but they still need a spark to light. She tosses them both a Hellfire each and they activate. The refining process is simplified, just needing to drop in a couple ores and waiting for it to produce an ingot. Then, one uses the ingots to smith just about anything. She starts when the refinery's heat light turns from black to red to orange and finally yellow. There appear to be other levels of heat but she "knows" that yellow is the one she needs right now. Her Blacksmith Artisan class is gently nudging her along the way. “Sonny? Can you display the blueprints side by side slightly above my eye level?”
[With pleasure, Lady Dawn. If you would like, I can automate the production of ingots if you just pour all the ore into the refinery. The finished products will be cooled quickly and placed on the rack next to it.]
She nods her head, “Thank you, Sonny,” and transfers all of the ores from her rucksack. Large sheets of blue menus materialize and she moves them around, occasionally pulling one down and looking it over. The rucksack is placed near the forge and she withdraws her tools. She grabs a finished ingot and places it on the anvil. Prompts appear, asking if she would like to use a known blueprint. For now she picks one for a simple iron helm.
[If I may, the trick is to keep a clear picture of what you want in your head. No matter how complex the thing you want to create, you need to simply will it into existence]
Dawn closes her eyes and takes several deep breaths. Her armor feels restrictive so she stores them, but then she worries her clothes will catch fire being made of simple cloth. Assured that everyone would be asleep and that Ardacen would be busy with his own crafting, she strips to a modest set of underwear. "If this won't get ratings…" She's modeled before IRL in more provocative clothes and intimate settings, so she is not embarrassed by nudity even if the current body she is in isn't really hers. The heat from all the fires burning isn't enough to cause the slightest bit of discomfort. She is smiling, truly smiling as the first hammer hit falls, ringing in a new era for Linqs.
The picture in her head is crystal clear, she only has to strike and give it life. Although some people would find it would be easy to just grind out useless items to level up her Artisan class, those people know nothing of Dawn Nobel. It is not the perfect item she seeks in this first endeavor. This item can and will be replaced over time. What she seeks is more in the act of it's creation. Hitting it, shaping it, thrusting the cooling metal into the fire and bending it to her will. The item itself won't be perfect. In the end, after hundreds of thousands of items, it will be her that nears perfection. Knowing exactly what to do and when and having the strength to act. Knowing when to bend and break or resist and withstand. Knowing who she is and what she is capable of in a world she helped shape. She hears the bell of a notification, hopefully the first of many.
[Success! You have crafted a unique item!
[Dawn's Iron Helm, Unique Minor, Head
[Dura: 100/100
[Armor: +3
[+1Agi if worn by Dawn Nobel, -1Agi if worn by anyone else]
That was more of a success than she thought it was going to be. The iron helmet had special grooves for her horns to stick out, but still extends to cover up to the bridge of her nose. She equips it and instandly feels the ease of movement from it being fit to her. She stows it and begins working on another piece. In the end, her full set consisted of bracers, greaves, a cuirass, and paldrons. She drew most of her inspiration from the samurai movies she loved as a kid and from watching Victoria in battle. In the end, her whole set used a total of eleven of the twenty five iron ingots. She could make another set, but she was planning on making tools for the people to use: shovels, pick axes, hatchets, and such. She didn't think her armor was going to consume so much. If only she had an abundant source of--
"The shadow carapace! Ardacen said it felt like metal, that's why he told me to take it! Sonny, if I pop one in the refinery, can you tell me how many I would need to make an ore or if its possible?"
[Certainly. Let. Us. See... Oh, the ratio is 1 carapace to 1 ingot. We have a total of 150 shadow carapace. Would you like me to refine them as well Y/N?]
"Yes!" Dawn picks up the jet black ingot and checks out it's description.
[Umbramium Ingot. 9lbs. As a metal, Umbramium is lighter, but hardier than iron. When refined, the labor is equal to forging with iron into armor pieces, but it is much more difficult to sharpen unless found naturally sharp.]
"Aw, I should have used this for my armor."
[We can smelt it down and redo the process.]
"No, I already put a lot of time and work into it and I haven't even used it yet. We'll see how it handles in battle and if I want to make changes, I can. Besides, my goal is to better equip the under leveled soldiers of Linqs."
[Well put, Lady Dawn. I can estimate a resource map of Arc as long as someone has been in the area. If there is anyone you may know that has visited many places please send them to the dungeon core]
"Great idea! Okay. Lets see…" she looks through the blueprints and adds some to the ones she used earlier for her own set. "For a full set of bracers, greaves, boots, and a simple breastplate it comes to ten ingots. If I add a simple helm for one ingot… seven soldiers... Seventy seven ingots. Plus I can craft three extra sets for Ramona, Victoria, and Ardacen, or who ever wants one. Guess I'll get to it then, can't keep putting it off!"
The hours fly by as Dawn hammers out piece after piece. Her stamina refilling just fast enough in between each item so she didn't need a break. The stacks of the jet black metal slowly transforming into an organized pile on the side. Normally she would toss them in the rucksack, but the satisfaction of watching her finished work pile up is intoxicating. She is transforming into a one person factory. She lays the helmet down and completes the last armor puzzle. She's staring at the set, tilting her head in the hopes that the answer would fall in. Is there someone we forgot?
[Have you considered weapons Y/N?]
She face palms and then looks through the rucksack, “Where… where… Here!”
She brandishes one of the shadow scythes, the edge on it can split a hair.
"It just needs a tang," she sticks it in the fire and waits for the yellow notifier. With the hammer and some pliers, she smoothes out the back and gives the tang just enough room for two hands. "All it needs is some leather to give it a better grip!"
[Success! You have created an apprentice item
[Dark Mantis Katana, apprentice
[Main hand, Off hand
[Strength/Melee/1
[Dura: 110/110
[Base: 10
[This weapon has the darkness attribute]
Even with its relative ease, Dawn manages one more before the lack of sleep sneaks a yawn in. When her eyes open, she has to rub them to get some of that tired feeling out. "Sonny? Is Ardacen still awake?"
[Yes, Lady Dawn. Though I believe he is finishing up as well.]
Another big yawn and she trudges the short walk to the workshop next door, distractedly rubbing her eyes…