Chapter 16

Pierce continued his enchanting, achieving a significant milestone by unlocking a new skill at level 15. However, he soon encountered a frustrating obstacle: a dwindling supply of enchantable materials.

"Enchant an item or weapon based on Cadium applied to three random stats or damage types; these stats can be duplicates for double or triple the effect," Pierce recited aloud, primarily to tease his friends. None of them had accumulated enough materials to even reach level five in their respective professions.

"Alright, this is getting a bit absurd," Flint chuckled. "We're talking about a potential stat boost of 500 to 1000 points across armor, damage, or other attributes."

"My inventory is nearly depleted," Pierce explained as he enchanted the last few items. "You guys get the first pick of the best armor and weapons; we'll sell the rest."

"Pierce, now that you possess this enchanting ability, how much would you be willing to pay for this?" Gustavo inquired, producing a striking metal staff adorned with an orange, glowing gemstone at its apex.

“It depends on what it does,” Pierce said, carefully inspecting the item. “Staff of Healing: All heal spells use 10% less mana and apply this weapon's damage as healing to all heal spells.”

“That's it,” Flint exclaimed, slapping his belly with laughter. "Make the broken guy even more broken, but as long as he's healing me, I'll give it a pass."

"What is your commission for selling our items?" Pierce inquired.

"Three percent is standard for high-end magical items," Gustavo replied, his tone laced with uncertainty.

"How does four percent for this batch sound, and I get the staff? Also, for any other valuable items my friends could use, we add another one percent to the commission, up to a maximum of ten percent total," Pierce proposed, adopting the air of a seasoned negotiator.

"SOLD!" Gustavo declared before anyone could perform the calculations and potentially reconsider.

Pierce enchanted the staff with his final enchantment, resulting in a potent combination of 41 fire, 33 cold, and 50 acid damage, effectively increasing the potency of all his heal spells by a substantial +124. He also selected a Leather Breastplate boasting 31 Dexterity, 30 Wisdom, and 45 Intelligence.

"What other armor slots are there?" Pierce inquired, his greed for enhanced stats insatiable.

"Helmet, gloves, Vambraces, leggings, boots, one ring on each hand, one earring in each ear, and a necklace," Gustavo replied, his eyes gleaming with anticipation of future sales.

"I'm now healing for 255 with every cast... I could push this to absolutely insane levels," Pierce exclaimed, awestruck by the potential.

"Such is the power of Cadium," Gustavo declared, almost reverently.

"After Lulu defiles your body," Gustavo said, "we can start looking for more pieces for you."

"Who is going to what?" Evolon demanded, her voice rising in alarm.

Gustavo calmly withdrew a small, smooth rock from his pocket and tapped it against his head. "There she is now," he declared, proceeding to unlatch and open the door.

In walks a tall, pale woman with an hourglass figure and pointy ears. She is wearing what appears to be a bendable metal two-piece swimsuit that leaves little to the imagination. All across her skin are vibrant, glowing tattoos, making her body resemble a living, breathing LCD screen. Magical beasts roamed across these images, as if someone were playing a real-time strategy game with her body as the monitor. The woman began speaking in a language none of the humans in the room could comprehend.

"While she's here, do not speak of your Cadium, the stats on your crafted items, or, well, it's best if you simply remain silent," Grok cautioned through the mental link, ensuring Gustavo and Lulu were excluded from the conversation.

"Jes, jes, Lulu," Gustavo began, adopting the slick, persuasive tone of a seasoned used car salesman. "I have a small job that will only require a small portion of your valuable time, and the compensation will be most generous."

Lulu fixed her gaze directly upon the cat-man, squinting her eyes and responding with another string of unintelligible words.

"She's negotiating the price first," Grok informed the group chat, translating the conversation over the mental link. "It seems Gustavo has stiffed her in the past."

"The price is two tickets to this week's auction where the items will sell for no less than 2,000 gold each!" Gustavo announced, pulling out an enchanted breastplate boasting 11 Strength, 23 Dexterity, and 10 Stamina for her to touch and inspect. "As a token of my gratitude, I will allow you a private viewing of one of the six items up for sale."

Lulu's posture and tone shifted dramatically after examining the item. A genuine smile graced her lips, and the animated creatures on her body began to dance with excitement. Lulu produced a maroon flower bulb and cast a spell upon it. She then approached Pierce, grasped his left ear, and traced a small, glowing maroon rune with her right index finger. As promised, the magical tattoo was invisible to anyone lacking the ability to perceive raw magic.

"That was easy," Pierce exclaimed, a wide grin spreading across his face. "Actually, that was kind of fun. Could she do it again?"

Gustavo grunted in response, then directed Lulu to apply the tattoo to the three other humans, none of whom objected.

As Lulu departed, Gustavo handed her the two auction tickets. "It's been a pleasure working with you... this time," she remarked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

After she left, Ignis exclaimed, "DID WE JUST MEET AN ELF?!"

"She was possibly the most beautiful woman I have ever met," Flint sighed contentedly.

"I know, right?!" Pierce agreed.

"I'm as straight as my arrows, but I wouldn't kick her out of bed," Evolon admitted, earning a collective look of surprise from the others in the room.

"She would likely produce weak-boned children," Grok conceded, "but I'd still give it a shot."

"Wait a minute," Flint interjected, a puzzled expression on his face. "How do two women produce a child?"

"Magic, of course," Gustavo declared with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"Now that the four of you can communicate and understand others," Gustavo continued, "Pierce, bring out your finest enchanted armor and weapons. Oh, and I have this for the spellboy over there to be enchanted. My commission is now at five percent." He held out a small, thin, metallic rod.

"Is that a Magic Wand?" Ignis inquired.

"What else would it be?" Grok boomed with laughter. "Half of a magical pair of chopsticks?"

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Pierce summoned the finest weapons and armor onto the mannequins, allowing each of his party members to select their preferred equipment.

Evolon chose a breastplate boasting 78 Dexterity and 46 Wisdom, but opted to have Pierce enchant her compound bow, likely due to her extensive familiarity with the weapon. "Not bad," she commented. "128 health, 83 mana, 260 damage, plus whatever the arrows contribute, which isn't a fixed value. It could range from 1 to 4 damage, but at this point, Pierce's enchantments make everything else seem insignificant in comparison."

Flint chose to have Pierce enchant his Chronite Armor and Titanium hammer and shield. "197 health, 192 damage with the hammer, and 98 defense with no kinetic force damage," he declared triumphantly. "I'M THE JUGGERNAUT BIIIIITCH!"

Ignis chose to have his robe and magic wand enchanted. "78 Mana, 7.8 Mana regeneration, 221 Spell Strength," he exclaimed. "ALL THE BALLS ARE FIRE NOW!"

Grok approached, a sheepish expression on her face as she selected a short sword and a leather breastplate. "Grok not feel like she deserves Donner Party gear," she admitted. "Grok health up to 46, Mana to 37, physical damage to 85." Her expression suddenly shifted, her head turning to the side with a glazed look in her eyes.

"Endless Demon hordes could not defeat Grok, but a simple math problem breaks her" Flint declared, slapping her on the back. However, given his short stature and Groks considerable height, the gesture was more of an enthusiastic upper-butt pat.

This abrupt physical contact broke her from her reverie. Grok slapped the short man's hand away with the force of a whip. "Keep your stubby fingers to yourself, tiny human," she growled, "unless you are ready for Grok the Pelvis Crusher!"

"NOPE, NOPE NOPE NOPE!" Flint shrieked, scrambling back towards his small smithy area within the cave.

Ignis produced some meat skewered on a spit, the meat seasoned with a tantalizing blend of spices. The group gathered around to partake in the meal.

"I'm not sure what this beast was," Ignis remarked between bites, "but you'll enjoy a ten percent health buff for the next twenty-four hours."

"It helps that it's delicious," Flint exclaimed, gulping down the meat with barely a chew. "But that buff is a game-changer!"

"I'm exhausted," Pierce declared. "Gustavo, are we good to crash in the bunks back there?" He gestured towards the three-tiered bunk beds stacked in the far corner of the cave.

"Jes, jes," Gustavo agreed. "We need to lay low for a few days while I spread the word about the auction. Feel free to use this cave as you see fit, but please refrain from leaving, or we'll have to start answering questions I'd rather avoid for the time being."

The group completed their crafting tasks, stowed their tools, and then retired for the night, each individual donning their newly enchanted armor and eagerly sharing their enhanced stat sheets.

Pierce, as always, went first.

Impiercenator (Pierce), healer, level 12

Defense base 3, modified 29

Strength base 9, modified 19

Dexterity 10, modified 51

Stamina 10, modified 20

Constitution 10, modified 30

Wisdom 10, modified 60

Intelligence 10, modified 75

Cadium 513

Hit Points: 121

Mana: 578

Mana Regen: 57

HP Regen: 12

Spell Strength: 255

Physical Damage: 32

Spells: Basic Heal, Cure Ailment, Boon

Class Perk: Overhealth, Spell Cascade

Enchanter level 16

Enchantments: Enchant item or weapon with up to your base Cadium applied to three random stats or damage types, those stats can be duplicates for double or triple the amount.

Items: Staff of healing 10% less mana for healing spells +124 to healing spells,

Leather Breastplate + 31 dex, 30 wisdom, 45 int.

Evolon, Archer, level 11

Defense base 2, modified 38

Strength base 7, modified 7

Dexterity base 30, modified 108

Stamina base 7, modified 7

Constitution base 4, modified 5

Wisdom base 7, modified 54

Intelligence base 5, modified 6

Cadium 27

Hit Points: 128

Mana: 83

Mana Regen: 8

HP Regen: 12

Spell Strength: 12

Physical Damage: 260

Spells: Pierce, Piercer, Harvest

Class Perk: Bleed, Critical Shot

Fletcher level 3

Create magical bows from a stick and string, additional damage is equal to your Cadium.

Bowyer level 4

Create magical arrows of random damage types up to your base Cadium.

Items: Compound Bow: 90 fire damage, 48 shadow damage.

Leather Breastplate: 78 Dex, 46 Wisdom.

Flint Hammerbrew, Fighter, level 11

Defense base 5, modified 98 (immune to kinetic force)

Strength base 20, modified 71

Dexterity base 14, modified 46

Stamina base 6, modified 41

Constitution base 12, modified 37

Wisdom base 5, modified 5

Intelligence base 4, modified 4

Cadium 22

Hit Points: 197

Mana: 29

Mana Regen: 2

HP Regen: 19

Spell Strength: 9

Physical Damage: 192

Spells: Challenge, Shield Bash, Bastion

Class Perk: Armor Up, Shockwave

Metalsmith level 2

Hammer metal to create armor, add up to your Cadium to the base armor value of the item.

Weaponsmith level 2

Create weapons of random damage types adding up to your Cadium to the base damage values.

Items: Titanium Hammer 39 fire, 45 ice, 22 crushing damage.

Chronite Armor 50 armor, 32 dex, 25 con, immune to kinetic force.

Captains Shield 32 armor, 51 str, 35 stam

Ignis, Wizard, level 11

Defense base 3, modified 13

Strength base 4, modified 4

Dexterity base 5, modified 5

Stamina base 5, modified 5

Constitution base 8, modified 27

Wisdom base 16, modified 49

Intelligence base 18, modified 59

Cadium 20

Hit Points: 43

Mana: 78

Mana Regen: 7

HP Regen: 4

Spell Strength: 212

Physical damage: 4

Spells: Fireblast, Iceblast, Timestop

Class Perks: Resistance, Doublecast

Chef - Butcher magical animals

Cook magical meals that bestow stat and effect buffs.

Items: Azure Arcanum - Increase spell effect duration by 20%, 41 int, 33 wis, 19 con

Magic Wand, 132 to all spell damage.

Grok, Beast Master, Level 11

Defense base 4, modified 17

Strength base 7, modified 7

Dexterity base 7, modified 26

Stamina base 6, modified 6

Constitution base 7, modified 7

Wisdom base 9, modified 31

Intelligence base 9, modified 29

Cadium 2

Hit Points: 46

Mana: 37

Mana Regen: 3

HP Regen: 4

Spell Strength: 34

Physical Damage: 85

Spells known: Charm Animal, Roar

Class perk: Share Roar, Danger Sense

Alchemist: Create potions with affect based on your Cadium modifier.

Items: Short Sword 20 fire, 15 ice, 11 acid damage

leather breastplate: 19 dex, 22 int, 20 wis.