Note: I have decided to freely change perspectives from first and third person depending on the situation (since describing internal monologues in third person just gives everyone a headache) so apologies to all the grammar Nazis out there.
As I walked away from the square into the darkened alleyway I decided to try and make a plan for my immediate future since in almost all the other rpg games I have played the biggest dilemna I always faced was building a proper skill tree with complementary abilities.
Obviously the ultimate goal for every character is to level up to the max and fill up the skill tree, but sometimes its better to concentrate one's efforts on smaller subsets of skills that have a more immediate usage. For now I decided to check up on my stats.
Character Name: KriosLevel: 1Alignment: NeutralClass: N/AFame: 0Health: 100Mana: 650Stamina: 10Strength: 10Agility: 10Intellect: 65Wisdom: 10Luck: 0Leadership: 0Magic ResistanceFire: 0%Water: 0%Earth: 0%Black Magic: 0%
Everything was average except for my intelligence which I got a boost in for racial characteristics and for my unique skill which I received from the AI. Other than my massive intellect I was just like all the other noobs that start out with base 10 stats. So I decided to head for the library first in order to increase my intellect and wisdom stats. I was aware that new players were trapped in there starting cities for the first in game month before they could even go out to hunt rabbits so I was determined to at least prepare for my first encounter with the enemy by powering up. I wasn't sure what class to pick just yet but I knew that I wanted to use magic because what's the point of playing virtual reality games if you don't do all the more unrealistic things that are available. Those idiots over at the training center swinging around swords are missing out on the more fantastic aspects of the game so they can mundanely swing pieces of iron at each other. Maybe being a warrior has its merits as a front-line melee character but that just wasn't for me.
I walked down the different streets looking for some kind of directory but I couldn't find anything to guide me to the library. Eventually I gave up on finding it on my own and tried to ask someone for directions. There was a big building nearby that was a few blocks off the main square bustling with activity so I decided to stop and ask someone that was working there for help. A stocky muscular man was outside carrying sacks of what looked like iron ores. The man was relatively short with a bald head and shaved face. His arms were pockmarked with burn scars but corded over with thick muscle making his overall appearance quite fearsome.
"Excuse me sir..."
"What! You too! Every damn day more a more kids with their heads up their asses come and tell me 'I want to be a blacksmith please teach me.' but the morons never last more than a week. They all give up and run away in the night. Freya's Tits! the youth nowadays have no backbone. Before the vampires came and petrified the lot of us I remember when everyone took pride in their work and put in that extra effort to make the finished product perfect. It used to be that..."
The man continued his rant as Krios just stood there with a hand up uselessly trying to get the smith's attention.
"Um sir, I'm sorry i just wanted to ask..."
"Fine! Fine! I'll give ya a chance. If you ask me your better off trying to learn from the old spinsters down at the tailors guild what with your scrawny little arms and girly hands."
"What! Girly?!"
"What are you standing there for? GET INSIDE AND GET TO WORK YA WORTHLESS PILE OF SLAG!"
Apprentice Blacksmithing
Complete the tasks assigned to you by the master blacksmith to gain an apprenticeship at the forge.
Difficulty Level: F
Quest Requirements: None
Rewards: Blacksmithing Skill
Unable to mount a counteroffensive Krios was dragged inside to begin work as a laborer for the smith.
Inside the air shimmered with heat and the rang with the sound of hammers on hot metal. A symphony of clanks and squeaks accompanied the bustling activity at the forges keeping time with the steady groan of the massive bellows attached to a huge furnace steadily pumping out high quality iron ingots for the mountain of ores piled off to the side.
The fire inside the furnace burned brightly with an almost visible aura of heat coming out of the main door.
"Ah yes I see you like the great hearth. That right there was gifted to us by the great Lord Weed, praise be his name. The Lord Weed spent his own funds to build us this here large hearth all to help the blacksmith's guild to advance their craft.
'SNNIFFFFF'
Yes it brings a tear to me eye knowing how much the great lord cares for all us normal folk. Heck! the Lord Weed was the one to free us from our stone prisons, defeat the evil vampire clan, and rebuild this entire city all thanks to the Lord's generosity. Yes sir, Weed is a great man. And don't you forget that!"
I could only nod dumbly to the sudden outburst as the man continued to speak without taking a break.
"Anyways you can start here shoveling the coal into the furnace. Once you finish putting in this whole pile here come see me again and I'll have something else for you to do. Oh almost forgot, the name's Ironhand. Just ask around for the dwarf if you can't find me."
"But I thought all dwarves had thick beards?" I dumbly replied.
"DUMBASSS! If I came into the forge with me full set of whiskers me face would catch fire just looking at the forge. You oughta trim that stupid girly hair of yours too if you don't want a case of the boiling brains. Happens to a couple of the newer apprentices that wander through here, mind you they tend to be the dumber ones. Fool kids don't realize that all that stupid long hair just fuel waiting to catch fire. They end up with a head full of flames for their troubles. Never quite the same afterwards most end up quitting. Now enough talk, GET TO WORK GRUB!"
Krios stood there for a little while and then seeing no way to get out of his situation without creating even more problems for himself, he picked up the shovel laying on the ground and began to scoop up the coal into the furnace.
Scrape up the coal. Lift up the load. Open the furnace door. Deposit the coal. And Repeat.
The work itself was infinitely simple but doing it next to a furnace heat to be more than 3000 degrees Fahrenheit makes each shovelful seem to weigh more and causes the body to sweat even more than normal. Krios was suffering through the worst of it when.
DING
Strength rises by 1 point. (+1 STR)
Fire Resistance increases by 1%
"YES! who knew such mundane tasks increases stats."
Although It's not what I was going for all stats are welcome. And the fire resistance is an added bonus that will definitely help out when I learn magic.
***
3 days had passed since Krios began shoveling coal into the furnace. Since there was only one great hearth and such a high demand for beginner swords and equipment, the furnace ran all day 6 days a week. The 7 day was reserve for cleaning out the furnace, a dirty and cramped job used to punish lazy and incompetent apprentices. Krios had long since run out of bread and water. He was reaching the limits of his endurance but at the same time his pile of coal had grown noticeably smaller than before. At his current rate he would finish in another few hours. His satiety was at 30% so it would be a race to see if he starved to death or completed his task first. He was sustained by the knowledge that his labor would soon end and by the pop-ups that had steadily notified him of his progress. So far he had gained +9 STR and +5 STA. He could feel himself growing stronger, but the hunger was slowly weakening him. Each shovelful got smaller as the max load he could carry also got smaller.
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"Hahahah, looks like it was harder than I thought it would be. I'm almost there though so don't give me. fight on!"
Satiety depleted. You will lose 1 health/5 sec.
"Fuck, fuck, FUCK! I did not do all this work just to die from starvation at the finish line!"
With renewed vigor Krios continued to shovel in the coal. Finally as he put in the last load of coal Krios received several pop-ups at once.
Quest complete!
Apprentice Blacksmithing
After showing the master your determination he has agreed to accept you as his student.
+5 STR
+100 Life
+10% Fire Resistance
Reward: Return to Master Ironhand to learn the skill
New Stat: Sustenance
Sustenance: increased metabolic efficiency allowing you to continue working even after your energy is depleted. Actions require less stamina to complete. You are prohibited from distributing points to this stat.
New Stat: Endurance
Endurance: through your actions you have gained increased tolerance for pain. You are able to continue fighting with decreased penalties when low on satiety or health. You are prohibited from distributing points to this stat.
"HAHAHAHAH! I DID IT! TAKE THAT SHOVEL!"
As Krios celebrated his success he suddenly was overcome with weakness.
"Shit, my health is almost gone, I got lucky thanks to the vitality upgrade as part of the quest but I better hurry and get to Ironhand before it's too late."
He rushed out from the furnace room as fast as he could over to the forges to find the loud dwarf.
"Oh it's you kid, did ya finally give up?"
"No I completed the task you assigned me, can you teach me the skill now?"
"WHAT! Seriously? I thought I made it big enough this time so that they couldn't finish "
"What was that sir?"
"Nothing, don't worry about it. Actually you don't look so good kid. Here you can have some of me lunch. Ya look like your about to fall over with the next breeze."
"Thank you, thank you so much" Krios proceeded to shamelessly stuff his face with the food.
"Alright, come over here boy. I'll show you some of the basics, the rest is all just practice, practice, practice. Ya got that!?!"
"Yes sir!"
After spending a little time observing Ironhand work the metal into a blade.
[rtr]
Quest Complete!
After completing the labor assigned to you by the master smith, you have proven your determination to learn the craft and earned his respect.
You have leveled up!
You have leveled up!
You have leveled up!
You have leveled up!
Skill:
You have acquired a new skill, Blacksmithing.
+5% STR
+5% STA
"Alright! show skill Blacksmithing."
[tr]
* Repair (Lv. 1 0%): Enables you to repair weapons and armors. Beyond Lv. 5, you can forge new weapons and gears.
* Identify (Lv. 1 0%):Enables you to investigate the nature of objects. Beyond Lv. 5 you can begin to identify artifacts.
* Handicraft (Lv. 1 0%): Has extra effects on various types of craft skills, and sword mastery.
* Metallurgy (Lv. 1 0%): Increases proficiency when handling and refining metallic ores and recycling old scrap metal.
"You're alright kid. If you ever need some work, come back and find me. The forges need good workers like you. Keep up the effort and someday maybe you can be almost as good as a dwarf!"
"Thanks master."
"None of that master crap now boy! You sure you don't want to become a smith full time?"
Class Change!
You can convert to the Blacksmith class. If you accept it you can learn skills withheld from the primary classes.
Do you want to convert to Blacksmith?
"Sorry Ironhand, I am still searching for what makes me feel passionate about life. Blacksmithing is a noble art, but my heart is still restless and I want to go and seek out more adventures and see what else life has to offer. Maybe I'll come back after I have experienced a bit more in life."
"That's okay boy I understand. Young people are full of energy and they aren't ready to settle down and learn the deeper intricacies of the craft. Takes too much patience that only develops with age. HARHARHARHAR! You'll do well in life boy. Just remember this old smith from time to time and maybe come back and visit if you feel like it."
"Thanks Ironhand."
"Here boy I've got something special for you since you seem determined to go out on adventures. Your gonna need a weapon if you want to survive outside Morata. This here...
hmmmmppph...THUD
hammer is an old relic that I've been holding onto. It's too big for a dwarf to use and I never would have thought an elf could lift it but I think it will suit you perfectly."
"I shall take good care of the gift sir."
You have received Ancient Hammer ???
"Umm, Ironhand I can't identify this weapon. Is it really high level or something?"
"Nah, that old relic is just so bloody ancient nobody could figure out what it really does. Maybe you can unravel its mysteries on your journey, eh boy?"
Secret of the warhammer:
You have received a mystery hammer from Ironhand. The ancient relic was unearthed while mining diamonds deep in the earth. The hammer is made of an unknown substance of exquisite durability and has strange markings engraved all along the shaft. Rumor has it that the hammer is an ancient remnant of a people long forgotten in history. Discover the truth behind the relic and report back to Ironhand.
Difficulty level: A
Unable to refuse quest.
Whoa! an A level quest right away. I have no idea how to complete it though so it's kind of a pain and now I only have 2 slots left for quests. This is somewhat depressing.
"Thank you again for all you have given me. I'll return someday and show you how much I improved Ironhand. Maybe I'll even become more famous than you!"
"HAHAHAHAH! that's the spirit boy! Now get out here. Go on an adventure or something."
As Krios walked away carrying the war hammer that was a little taller than him he was surprised by its lightness.
'hmm. Maybe I've become even stronger than I thought I did. Maybe this thing is actually pretty good...'