Chapter 14A: Pepper Ridge Farm

Inside the large wooden chest laid a pile of weaponry. There were a total of four visible ones while the rest looked like they were just painted directly onto the inner walls of the chest. It was realistic enough to fool the untrained eye into believing that the chest really was full of treasure.

Alex decided to take them out one by one and laid them on the floor.

It would seem Al personally made each weapon as the label monitor that appeared next to the weapon had his name under [Manufacturer].

Each of the weapons was made with Alex and her friends in mind. First up was Kurt’s weapon. It was the largest and most eye-catching. A black wooden pole with golden metal tips glimmered under the dusk sky.

Kurt held the stick and looked at the stats.

[Albert’s Bo Staff: A strong but flexible staff made by a decent craftsman for a beginner. This weapon will enhance a user’s physical strength by 20% but reduces speed by 5%. One must be able to properly wield the weapon to display its full effects.]

The stats it offered suited Kurt. He was already incredibly fast, far faster than most can keep up. But even with his great strength buffed, he didn’t have a way to deal damage. This was why Ruri had to constantly conjure up makeshift weapons for him. This pole will allow him to have a proper weapon. It is a weapon used for blunt swings and blunt stabs. It is nonlethal under the hands of a weak person, but with Kurt’s powerful strength, it was like swinging around a cement pole. The blunt force trauma can break bones and rupture organs. Perfect for dealing with heavily armored enemies.

Kurt looked at the staff with glee. A piece of paper suddenly appeared next to the staff addressed from Al.

______

“Dear Kurt,

As lore has it, many masters of the monkey arts use the staff. Whether it was the king of monkeys or the god-hero of chimps, they all used the staff. Why? I do not know. But seeing how your ability has manifested in the blessings of three great apes, perhaps this staff will give you a pleasant surprise when you master it.

Good luck my pupil, and remember to rely more on your friends.

-Albert.”

______

While Kurt was reading the letter, Nell looked at her weapon. It was a fan. A large folded fan around the length of her forearm. It was made out of a light metal that shined silver under the dusk sunset. Nell was confused. She had never used a fan in her life, let alone using it as a weapon. She couldn’t help but look more closely at the stats.

[Albert’s Metal Fan: A sturdy and light-weight fan crafted by a decent craftsman for a budding beginner. This fan has a very sharp tip that can cut like a blade. It is possible to use it to generate strong gusts of winds. Once mastered, one may even be able to generate blades of winds using it.]

Nell was astonished at the settings. Although it didn’t provide a straight up percentage buff like Kurt’s weapon, it did have a bonus skill attached to it. Nell currently lacked a form of attack. During the beginner quest, all she could do was rely on her mushroom summons. She was pretty much defenseless. The most obvious downside was her lack of an offense. Perhaps with this metal fan, she will now have a way to contribute more to the party.

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A single note slipped out of the fan and landed in Nell’s hands. She began to read it.

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“Dear Nell,

I have seen the look on your face during combat. Remember that a party is not defined by a single person. It is a team. Just because you are currently unable to attack, it doesn’t mean what you CAN do is useless. Your team relies heavily on your mushrooms. Keep your chin up and smile with them. This fan may calm your feelings.

Have more self-confidence my student.

-Albert.”

______

Ruri looked down at his weapon. It couldn’t really be called a weapon though. The gift was a pair of gloves. It looked exquisitely designed. A sharp navy blue with golden inlays. The golden lines form a circle on the palm of the glove and lead up to the tips of each finger. Ruri looked at the stats.

[Albert’s Alchemical Gloves: A pair of gloves made by a powerful enchanter for an apprentice mage. The inlays allow ease of transfer of magic and is customizable. One can improve the strength or the speed of the spell through the glove depending on the inlaid structure.]

Ruri looked at the piece of note stuffed inside the glove.

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“Dear Ruri,

As mages go, there are three types. The offensive mage, the enchanter, and the supporter. I know deep down you don’t want to be a supporter. You want to feel more useful, just like your friend Nell. You perhaps realized how difficult your path would be. Magic is something new to humans, and it takes a long time to get used to it. I hope this pair of gloves will help give you confidence and the determination to take this path.

Remember you have friends.

-Albert.”

______

Finally, Alex looked at her weapon. It was a metal wrist brace. She snapped it on before looking at the stats.

[Albert’s Wrist Bow: A lightweight hidden bow hiding within a metal wrist guard. It can fire a small projectile to damage the enemy. Projectile strength is fixed damage but the type of material used and the enchantment on said projectile can affect the final damage. Able to hold ten bolts at a time for rapid fire.]

Alex looked at the wrist guard in surprise. It had a really intricate mechanism inside of it. She can tighten her wrist, and two arms would spring out from the sides. It looked like a crossbow. A single bolt immediately appeared on the string as it was magically loaded. The string pulled back as Alex relaxed her wrist and the bolt fire immediately afterward. It hit a tree off in the distance. Thankfully, she was not facing her friends when she tested it, or it might have hurt them.

Alex looked at the efficiency of the weapon with glee.

Then she looked at the letter she found stuffed in the wrist brace.

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“Dear Alex,

You are the leader of your party. Start acting as such. You have the responsibility of all your friends sitting on your shoulders. You need to stop acting like you don’t belong to this world. Alienating yourself from humanity is impossible. You are human, act as such. Don’t let your human rights become wasted. Just look at me. I am still going through the test to become a true person. All in all, I hope this weapon will become a symbol. You are the glue that holds your friends tight together.

Live strong, live like a human.

-Albert.”

______

With their weapons and letters in hand, Alex and her friends looked at each other with a half sigh.

“Al really took great care of us.”

“Yea, I’m gonna miss him.”

“Perhaps one day we will see him again,” Alex comforted her friends.

“Indeed, a man as strong and resourceful as him will never fade away in silence,” Kurt agreed.

Suddenly a notice popped up in front of them.

[Instance Dungeon: Beginners’ field, has ended. Massive amount of EXP gained.]

Instantly, Alex and her friends were enveloped by a powerful glow. They all had leveled up.

Alex suddenly realized something wrong. Her level was fixed at lvl 9 99.99%.

Her friends were all the same.

“This…”

A notification suddenly appeared before them that answered this conundrum.

[Beginner level cap reached. Please do Job Advancement to level further.]

[Job advancement quest: Finish an instance dungeon other than Beginners’ field.]

“Looks like we have something important to do now,” Alex said.

“It would seem that the beginner progression is mostly linear,” Ruri added, “The data I saw said something about a level cap for each tier, but it didn’t say what the specifics were.”

“So we need to go find an instance dungeon that we can complete,” Kurt said.

Everyone nodded. But they were not scared. With new weapons on hand and renewed confidence, they were ready to take on anything.

“Let’s make Albert proud!” They said in unison.

They vanished as the instance dungeon closed. Alex and her friends stepped out of the pods with a new goal in mind now.