[Copperplate Shoes] = 20 Copper (Bar, 0.1-0.12m) + 80 Copper (Rivet, 0.02-0.025m) + 2 Leather (level 11+, 0.3-0.5m) + 10 Twine (Hemp+1, 0.15-0.2m) + [Knife] (Copper) + [Hammer] (Copper) + [Workbench] (Any)
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The winged monstrosity dove forth.
Time slowed down as it swooped right for him, and as it entered the dim glow of the mushroom island, Jay could make out every nuance.
Only the barest layer of skin clung to the bones that composed its body, with the thinnest membranes along the wings. A spike-laced tail curled behind, large enough to cleave a watermelon in two, exploded from paws that dangled beneath, ready to capture its prey. Burning, scarlet fires glinted across its skull like eyes, four total. And as it drew near, it spread its maw wide, revealing a black pit laced with a thousand barbs.
Instinct took control, and Jay [Leaped] to the side, praying that would be enough to dodge this initial attack.
The bone monster soared past without paying him the slightest bit of mind.
The serpentine creature with the crimson torch shrieked again, but it was too late. It was enveloped beneath the bone monster’s claws and torn asunder, ichor gushing free.
More of those alien screams came moments later, and Jay watched as arrows began to launch through the air, across the chasm where the first serpentine monster came from. The bone monster flinched where the arrows pierced its bones.
And Jay decided there’d never be a better time than now to continue his escape. He yanked his softwood torch and broke across the stone tendril bridge, back into the darkness whence he came.
They could have their fight.
The environment shifted again before long, with the light of the torch flickering against a sudden cold wind, and Jay shivering before long, his body adopting the “Chilled” Condition again. Though this pathway twisted and turned, it never became too steep to force him to climb, nor was the wind intense enough to extinguish his torch completely. The square footage merely narrowed or expanded with time, slowing his progress as he navigated to the next island.
He grinned as he approached this locale. Though the landmass itself was shrouded in darkness like everywhere else, it rose up into the gargantuan column behind, and the light from the crystals on the cavern roof could just reach this space. Even without [Sharpshooter] active, Jay could make out the thin outline of Ben’s mortared stone barricade, its alchemic blue fire beside.
He was almost home.
But as Jay drew closer, the sight became obscured by a cluster of rising cliffs, perfect in shape and black as sin. Closer still, the island took form, with a foundation formed from obsidian, and bleached sand running along its surface. He stepped across its barriers, eyes fixed on an obelisk in the middle.
He recognized the symbols that ran along its length. Glowing only in the faintest of light, with an unknown script devoid of earthly comparison. These were the same scattered around every cairn he’d entered.
Jay gave the obelisk a really wide berth, disappearing between the obsidian cliffs instead.
The path varied from narrow to winding, but some petrified trees rose from the ashen earth, their still forms twinkling with a mix of quartz and silica. Curiosity got the better of Jay, and he approached the first, Guide in hand.
Stonebark Wood – A tree containing wood petrified with stone, providing superior durability and added weight to whatever becomes crafted with it. A minimum strength of a [Copper Axe+2] is required to break this material.
He glanced at winding obsidian cliffs, the ominous obelisk behind, the blank cavern space above, still twinkling with crystal lights, and back to the stonebark wood, along with the benefits it contained. His finger graced the hilt of his copper axe.
And Jay kept walking. He wasn’t going to fall for this stupidity twice in one day.
As misfortune would have it, the cliffs became tighter soon after, with the rolling flats and bleached dunes disappearing beneath a maze of these cliffs. And with that, an even more discouraging truth.
He was out of rope.
Sure, he could whip out the extra mats, craft a fresh workbench, and make more, but Jay dared not waste any more time in this place than needed.
So instead, he did what he could and maneuvered around the cliffs on his own.
It was tedious work. Though Jay could see the column and his destination more clearly the further he went, the winding dunes of this lower island gave way to a mess of crags and cliffs, with shadows shifting at the cusp of his vision. Jay clutched his sword close, knowing that he’d have to [Leap] at a moment’s notice.
How much further? The deeper Jay went, the more the passages tightened, with the obsidian cliffs starting to form at sharper, artificial angles. Whether by sculptors coming through or the natural weathering of this alien place, none could say.
The path suddenly forked, with the whitened sand clinging to a perfectly steep cliff in front, flanked by equally impassible cliffs on the backside. Two identical routes split off to either side, with no way of knowing which would bring him closer. Jay glanced up, no longer able to discern his orientation between the randomly arranged crystals and the repetitive cliffs.
A low grunt rolled out from the recesses of these shadows, its direction unidentifiable. Incomprehensible whispers followed.
And it was at this point where Jay did what he should have done long before now, turned around, and doubled back into more manageable terrain.
No more fighting from him today.
One of the cliffs took a jagged and uneven shape, and Jay had his exit point. He holstered his cutlass, dropped his torch, and began to scale it by hand.
Unlike the rest of the Evershadow he’d seen, this island was surprisingly arid, with a chilled temperature to the air, and bone-dry rocks. Jay made the steady advance easily, his arms moving mechanically as he pinched his fingers between simpler rock holds.
But then he escaped the boundary of his softwood torch’s glow, and the shadows swallowed him at once. His heart began to race, and his pace slowed to a trickle.
Whispers echoed out again. His stomach tightened, once again reminded of that cairn’s trap.
He had to get home.
His fingers missed the wall, only to strike a flat plane moments later. He raised his head an inch. The column entered his field of view again, its mortared stone barricade more pronounced than ever before.
Jay breathed easy. He’d reached the top.
With his position secured and another quick craft, he struck his flint and lit his next softwood torch. The area exploded in a brilliant display of fresh light.
Only for his heart to sink further. Though this plateau was flat as far as the torch could reach, crags split apart at random angles, crisscrossing the terrain into an unassailable mess. Even if he could see the column’s boundary only a few hundred yards away, it might have been miles with so many ridges blocking the way… Almost unnaturally so.
No, this wasn’t a random arrangement of obsidian within a desert.
Jay was standing atop a maze.
He peered back and forth for an escape, but without a frame of reference to his starting point and only a tiny field of vision, it was impossible to say how far in he’d wandered or where it even began.
The guttural howl cut off his thoughts. This time, the sound was inarguably closer.
He peered over his shoulder, down the cliff he had scaled, and into the dwindling light of the torch he’d left behind.
A monster stared back, its muscular body rising above a pair of hooves, and gnarled horns besides blood-red eyes. It gripped a crude axe in each hand, its teeth exposed with a snarl.
Jay recognized the minotaur on sight, but it wasn’t until a moment later that he experienced true terror.
A second minotaur stepped forth, and then a third, and a fourth, and a fifth… As Jay stared into the path in which he’d come, an entire squadron of minotaurs stepped forth. Their eyes locked with his.
They saw him, and he saw them.
Then one snuffed out the torch, and the area went dark.
Jay scanned frantically for an escape, but none were available. None that would take him forward.
He couldn’t see them closing in. He didn’t need to, either. Out from the pit where they had come, the menacing aura of a dozen monsters grew ever closer. Their brutish bodies clattered as they scaled the obsidian wall, and their snarls grew louder by the second.
Jay retreated, back along the length he had come. The grunts grew quieter.
But not for long. Though this part of the maze had walls that were less pronounced, they were just as winding as the canyons beneath, forming a maze atop the maze. Where was he supposed to go?
Then he caught sight of his enemies. With the dull glow of the mushroom island at their flank, their silhouettes scaled the cliff before shifting out of frame, into the darkness where they became invisible again.
Jay buried his face in his palm, desperate for answers. He had to have some tool… Some weapon… Some skill to see himself out of this trap.
Ball bearings? No, not with this coarse sand as traction. The gun? Not enough bullets. [Rend]? [Dash]? [Stampede]? If only he had heavy armor. His medium set wasn’t built for shoving enemies aside, only…
An epiphany came to mind. Could that work? There was nothing that said he couldn’t.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
The minotaurs approached, their red, beating eyes staring with nothing but death in their gaze. Jay took a beeline for where the chasm was narrowest, gripped his cutlass tight, and braced for impact. There was no time to think this through.
[Rend], then [Leap]. His body launched like a missile before tumbling into the sand on the other side.
A standard [Leap] wouldn’t have been enough, but [Rend] functioned in part by combining a slash with an almost instant step to close the distance to his enemy, and by stacking it with a [Leap], momentum compounded to create a super-charged jump. But the power of both skills simultaneously felt like pouring lava into his muscles, and he crumbled to his knees the moment he hit the ground.
Jay huffed in fresh air and [Recovered], his legs spiking in pain. His enemies stared warily from the other side before disappearing into the shadows, with some quickly jumping back into the canyon, no doubt to scale again from the bottom.
He grinned, his legs once again relaxing. Before the minotaurs could reach his new spot, he selected the next location, breathed deep, and went again.
[Rend], then [Leap].
The timing didn't go well this time. He activated the [Leap] a fraction of a second too late, and the force did not multiply as planned. He gasped in shock as his torso struck the rim, and only by reflex did he capture the edge before falling down completely. The torch flickered against the sand where it had landed.
But he did not fall. Jay squirmed over the edge with a grunt, rolled onto his legs, and [Recovered] again. His body grew to ease.
More minotaurs entered his field of vision, once again baffled by the distance he had covered. Jay rushed for his next jump point.
On and on, the chase went. With each attempt to combine his skills, his technique became stronger, and the landings were better. His body screamed in pain no matter how hard he tried to [Recover] the tension, but there was no way out of it.
Doing multiple skills in rapid succession taxed him enough. Combining them at once was a different beast. Some vitality was definitely being lost with this trick, in the same way his flint spear couldn’t handle high-level core.
His body just wasn’t strong enough.
The column became closer and the minotaurs dwindled, and it wasn’t long until he was free altogether. With one final [Leap], he escaped the maze entirely.
Jay beamed. Another stone tendril winded against the column’s length, and more natural paths split from there, right up to the barricade. Blue alchemic light radiated as he scrambled up the jagged cliffside.
He couldn’t believe it. After days trapped in the dark, he was finally on his way home! He could see the sun in the sky again, taste the ocean’s salt on his tongue, and feel the warm embrace of his lodge’s bed at night. Oh, what a story this would make.
He rounded the corner. There it was. The wall. His escape. His freedom.
His death?
A pair of mechanical turrets sat below. The moment Jay entered range, their blue alchemic beams narrowed onto him. He gaped.
They clattered in sudden life, but Jay [Leaped] out of view just in time. Gravel exploded out where chunks of metal struck the wall.
He inched his head forth, only to immediately lurch back. The turrets were fed by vasts filled with scrap heap that seemed to have no end.
“Come on!” he shouted aloud. Of course Ben would keep this place secure to deal with future threats. Why wouldn’t he? But the problem here was that they were shooting anyone on sight.
Maybe Jay could get them to waste their ammo… There appeared to be a pause between volleys he could exploit. Yeah, he could just keep dipping out of cover until th–
The yank grabbed him from behind. Jay cried out as he flew down the cliff, dropping his cutlass along the way. His body crashed into uneven boulders. He wheezed for air.
Above, a minotaur stood. This one was lankier than the others, with its biceps lean above bony arms, and thighs not much larger than Jay’s. A bandana trailed behind its horns, and it spread its mouth into a grin.
The Guide lay open beside.
Minotaur Scout (level 33) – A minotaur commonly found within the Evershadow. This scout is more dexterous than most of its kindred and will traverse inhospitable terrain to capture its prey.
Contains a monster core.
Research still available.
Dammit. While the other monsters would be far slower to respond, this one had closed the gap.
The minotaur scout marched down the cliff-side, twirling its knife in hand. Its crimson eyes glared into his own as it readied for the kill.
Jay considered how to play this encounter before landing on the simplest of all solutions. He ripped the 9mm pistol from his back and took aim. He’d wasted enough time screwing around.
Click.
Nothing.
His eyes widened as Jay stared at the barrel. Did he forget to remove the safety again!?
The knife took him in the chest, cleaving into his copperplate coat. A second slash came just as quickly, knocking the gun away. Jay vomited out a mouthful of blood, his limbs quivering from shock.
Snap.
The blade came forth again, but reflex got the better of Jay, and he [Leaped] to safety. He clutched his chest tight, pain roiling where his armor shattered. Blurred vision merged with the cavern’s darkness, and he couldn’t figure out where his pistol dropped.
His enemy licked the blood off the tip of its blade. It grinned.
Jay [Leaped] before the next hit could land, but that was all he could afford. His legs failed to find purchase against the uneven terrain. He fell again, his chest throbbing.
Not good. A single shot from his pistol would end the fight, but between the dull lighting and pain, he couldn’t keep track of his enemy. And without his cutlass, he was entirely defenseless. Where the hell did his gear go!?
The scout jumped forth before he could find out. Jay [Leaped] to safety. Metal chunks whizzed past his head as he crossed the turrets’ line of sight.
And another plan came to mind.
The minotaur closed the distance, but its blade hit nothing but air as Jay bobbed and weaved. If he could just line up the angle…
There!
Jay huffed in fresh air and [Leaped]. His body collided with the minotaur, sending them both uphill.
Right into the turrets’ line of sight.
A cavalcade of shrapnel battered them both, but Jay shifted into [Waterform] before they could land. The pellets zipped past as Jay dodged, but his enemy was less fortunate. The minotaur roared, its body exploding in fresh wounds.
[Waterform] ended, and Jay expended the last of his strength to [Leap] again. The scout gripped futilely for the space he’d once been in. The turrets continued without remorse.
It was over soon after. Despite the pause between bursts, the damage was too severe for the scout to run away. It limped for safety, only to get incapacitated completely.
Jay gleamed, [Recovered] his lost energy, and fumbled down the hill. With the threat neutralized, his weapons were easy to track down, and after letting the turrets expend their ammo another few minutes, the way forth was clear. He harvested the dead minotaur’s mats and kept moving.
Though the whole cave had been walled off with stone bricks, a wooden door sat to the side. A single [Power Attack] was all Jay required to break through.
Daylight flashed in front as Jay marched up the mineshaft, clutching his Bag ‘a Mats tight and salivating over all it contained.
He marched for the surface.
“Jay?” Ben asked, his goggles raised as Jay strolled by. “What are you doing here?”
Sure, he could’ve given the whole story, but right now, all he wanted was to taste the sun again.
“Don’t mind me,” Jay said. “I’m just passing through.”
Ben stared down the tunnel and blinked. “But you just came from down there. Nobody comes from there…”
“I did.”
“I don’t… Huh?”
You can explain this all later. Jay continued to make for freedom, a swagger to his step.
Before leaving the area completely, he glanced over his shoulder. This higher Rank Expat watched on, trapped somewhere between confusion and shock at his impossible victory march.
“By the way, Ben…” Jay started.
“Yeah?”
He smirked. “You need a new door.”
Name: Jay Reis (Copper Age)
Vitality – ??/42
Hunger – ??/72
Thirst – ??/24
Fatigue – ??/40 (Poorly Rested)
Sanity – ??/100
Main Crafts: Alchemy 1, Armor Crafting 2, Base Building 2, Cooking 1, Medicine 1, Tailoring 1, Tool Crafting 3, Weapon Crafting 2.
Weapon Crafts: Axes 3, Bows 4, Clubs 3, Daggers 3, Spears 5, Swords 7.
Armor Crafts: Heavy Armor 5, Light Armor 2, Medium Armor 6, Shields 6.
Character Skills:
[Forbidden Knowledge]
Armor Skills:
Heavy Armor: [Push], [Stampede]
Medium Armor: [Recover], [Leap], [Waterform]
Light Armor: [Dash]
Shield: [Brace], [Track], [Break]
Weapon Skills:
Axes: [Chop]
Bows: [Sharpshooter], [Longshot]
Clubs: [Bash]
Daggers: [Slice]
Spears: [Thrust], [Sweep]
Swords: [Power Attack], [Slash], [Rend]
Cursed Items:
[Bag ‘a Mats]
Armor:
[Copperplate Hat] (Buttressed+2), (Reinforced)
[Copperplate Coat] (Buttressed+2), (Reinforced)
[Copperplate Leggings] (Buttressed+2), (Reinforced)
[Copperplate Shoes] (Buttressed+2), (Reinforced)
[Copperplate Gloves] (Buttressed+2), (Reinforced)
Weapons:
[Pig Iron Cutlass+1] (Sharpened), (Affinity+1)
[Crude Bow] (Elemental)
[9mm Semi-Automatic Pistol] (Accurate+2), (Quick): Contains 4 [9mm Cartridge] (JHP)
Tools:
[Copper Axe+3]
[Copper Kni
[Copper Pickaxe+3]
Boons:
[Minor (Speed)]