They got six more delves done before calling it for the day, which put Jake just past what he’d need to rank up. Having Felix back to tell them this was all training had let them use his enhanced recovery trait to its fullest extent.
Both Alan and Nepthys had enough as well which meant that they were right on the cusp of being able to really attempt it.
They’d harvested a dozen Oaken arms for Varin on the last delve, and Jake made sure to deliver them to the crafter before they all settled down for dinner.
“So, we’re really doing this then?” Alan asked, looking at Jake and Felix. “We’re going to attempt a full delve?”
“I think it's the best option we have,” Felix said, sharing a look with Ari. “You won’t find another Dungeon you are so suited to as a group anytime soon, after all.”
“I agree, and I think we can spend some of our leftover Wyrdgeld to make sure we’re as well-equipped as we can be,” Jake said, thinking of the flat rates that Ivaldi had in his store for basic equipment. “We’ll take it steadily and be careful.”
“We could always wait for those infused items that Varin is making,” Alan said, not seeming fully convinced of their odds.
“That would be several days, we can’t wait that long,” Nepthys said firmly.
“Agreed, this is important, but the Corruptors should be our next priority,” Gargan said in support, catching Jake by surprise.
“We can save that particular decision for when you’ve completed the Dungeon,” Felix said quickly, before anyone else could speak up. “Regardless, however, time is sensitive. The Triarchy Seekers will be spreading further into the south with each day.”
“Alright, so we head in tomorrow then?” Jake asked, looking around at the others questioningly.
“Agreed,” Nepthys said, the others nodding along a moment later.
“Alright, in that case, let’s pool our Wyrdgeld and see what we can buy,” Jake said, calling forth the dozen Wyrdgeld he had left after he deducted what he needed to rank up.
Nepthys and Alan did the same, but Jake restricted Aspen and Gargan to only matching his own contribution.
The more he thought about things, the more he felt that Felix was right. They had to do this off of their own merits if they wanted to truly grow and better themselves.
With everything going on, Jake needed to be getting the most out of all of this, not stunting his growth relying on things he hadn’t earned.
By that same token, though, he would accept a reasonable amount from the other two, as they were part of the team now.
“This is more than I expected,” Alan said, looking down at the pile of Wyrdgeld thoughtfully. “We could probably buy a few pieces of armour with this, as well as plenty more potions.”
Jake cast his mind back to when he’d last looked at Ivaldi’s prices, recalling that armour was a flat cost per piece, and it was all of a single Wyrdgeld for a pair of normal healing potions.
A quick estimate of what they had told him they could actually do far more than he’d hoped.
They’d been holding out for infused armour, but this was too important a delve to risk carrying on without it.
“I’d recommend waiting to see if you are offered any new Skills or Traits with the rank up,” Felix said before they began to mix things up.
“Yeah, probably a good idea,” Jake said, taking his Wyrdgeld back, albeit reluctantly. Part of him wanted to get everything ready now so they could just push straight on with it tomorrow.
“Let’s get some last training done then,” Nepthys said, giving Jake a smile that seemed oddly sinister. “Got to make sure we’re in top form for tomorrow.”
“A good point,” Gargan said, turning to Alan with a far more serious expression than Nepthys. “We’ll begin whenever you’re ready, Jake can join after his martial training.”
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Jake nodded and they split up into small groups, with Ari, Felix and Aspen following Jake and Nepthys over to where they’d been practising.
“Don’t worry about us, I’m just going to put Aspen through his paces,” Ari said at Jake’s questioning look, sliding his sword off his shoulder as he did.
Aspen was quick to bring his spear up as well, and Jake noted that it was sheathed in a familiar thin layer of Wyrd.
Looking back at Felix, Jake saw him hold his hand out and apply the same sheath to Nepthys’s swords before motioning for Jake to hold out his weapons.
“Push yourselves as best you can,” Felix said as he finished using his Skill. “You want any Abilities that are offered to be as strong as possible.”
Jake nodded before dodging to the side as Nepthys came in fast, her swords blurring through the air to strike at his neck and hip.
A spray of blunted thorns bought Jake some space, but he quickly found himself being pressed hard once more as Nepthys kept up the assault, pushing him onto the back foot.
Dodging what he could and parrying as much of the rest as possible, Jake lost himself in the frantic rhythm of the fight as Nepthys did her best to push him to the limit.
-**-
Eventually, they called the sparring to a halt, but not until they’d swapped partners a few times.
Even with Felix’s Skill, Jake could feel a few bruises forming on his ribs from the last fight with Ari.
The way that Ari could move that huge blade of his was downright frightening, and it hit like a sledgehammer to boot.
Alan and Gargan were still discussing whatever this magic training was, so Jake made his way over to them, one hand holding his bruised ribs.
“Jake, I’m glad you joined us,” Gargan said, motioning to the floor next to him. “Alan has told me that you’ve dabbled in infusing your weapons, what success have you had?”
“Well, I can do it, and I earned a Skill from it, but not much more than that.” Jake took the offered spot and sat down with a wince.
“A fine starting point, and one that many classers never progress from,” Gargan said, motioning in the direction of Ari and Aspen. “Many classers learn a single basic infusion and then focus on using it, relying on the System to advance it and provide the knowledge they need.”
Jake nodded, that made sense from what he’d seen so far. Infusions were tough. “You said single, does that mean there are more types?”
“Of course,” Gargan said, his hazel eyes bright and his expression the most animated that Jake had seen since they met. “Tell me of your infusion, what does it do?”
“Well, it makes it hit harder…” Jake began to say before pausing as he realised that he didn’t really know what it did. It let him hurt tough creatures and it felt like it hit harder, but that was just the effect he saw.
“Check your Skill, if it was based off of your work, it should be the same,” Gargan said, smiling a little at Jake’s abortive explanation.
Jake did just that, calling up the System to see what the description said.
Active - Infused Strike (II) - Uncommon - You are able to infuse your weapon with a small amount of Wyrd, strengthening your blows and sharpening the edges of your weapon.
“It says that it strengthens my blows and sharpens the edge of my weapon.”
“Good, two modifiers is reasonable for an infusion. You’ve used a wand now, though. Would this infusion assist it?”
“No?” Jake frowned, considering it for a moment more before answering more confidently. “No, because there’s no blow to strengthen and no edge involved.”
It was just like the Trait and Skill effects he’d discussed in the past; the wording was crucial.
“Exactly, and because most infusions are developed for melee weapons, very few of them can be used on anything else. Alan’s Skill has the reverse issue, where it applies specifically to ammunition.”
“So, how many infusions are there?” Jake asked, wondering if there was a list somewhere he could try and find to work out what would be best for him.
“As many as you can make,” Gargan said, rasping out a laugh at Jake’s expression. “Alan, you explain it. Let’s see what you’ve learned so far.”
Alan shifted uncomfortably for a moment before clearing his throat. “The main thing about infusions are the modifiers, and they work together to produce countless variants. To truly learn how to infuse your weapons, you need to learn how to adjust the Weave of the Wyrd you use.”
“Not a bad summary,” Gargan said, giving Alan an approving nod. “Basically, what I learned at an early age, and what I will be teaching both of you, is how to properly control the Weave you use, and what patterns create what effects.”
“Wait, so what is the difference between the Weave and the patterns?” Jake asked, thinking back to his discussions with Alan before about the patterns and how he’d gotten his Skill when he formed a complete one.
“A Weave is a complete working of Wyrd, so in this case, it would be the infusion itself,” Gargan said, lifting a finger to hold off Jake’s next question. “It also applies to many other things, such as manually creating magical effects rather than using a Skill or Trait. All require a complete Weave.”
Jake nodded, kind of understanding all that.
“Patterns, however, are the parts of the Weave that give specific effects. So for your infusion Skill, you will have two patterns within the Weave, creating the overall effect. Do you understand?”
“I think I do,” Jake said, pulling out his sword and going through the manual process to infuse it.
As he coaxed the Wyrd into shape, which still took a few moments, even now, Jake saw what Gargan was talking about.
Within this Weave that Jake made, he could see two distinct patterns, each one flowing organically into the whole.
“Wait, so what if I….” Jake muttered, letting the Weave fade away before recreating it, and this time focusing on creating those two patterns.
The Weave snapped into place twice as quickly this time, Jake’s visualisation of the infusion letting his Wyrd rapidly form the right shapes.
“Excellent work,” Gargan said, his smile widening as he motioned for Jake to continue. “Now you understand the process; do it again, but faster.”