It didn’t take Weed long to reach Lavias. His running stat was already beginner level 3 and it boosted his speed by about twice but the real added benefit was that stamina consumption while running had been reduced by at about 15%. Weed could only imagine what Master level running would be like.
He slipped past the guards and through the intricate mesh of streets in the eastern bloc of the city. Past the Central Market and West to Rodriguez house. The master of all identification experts was bound to be Rodriguez the Wise. The stamina taxing journey which normally would take him a day, now took half an hour to get from one end of the city to the other. Weed felt a sense of accomplishment and triumph; the progress he had made felt incredible. Others might have laughed at him for achieving so little during his game play time. But they would have never known of that Weeds quest was level E and it was something he successfully did while at level 0. A level at which everyone would have struggled. Add to it the fact, he was elvish race, the journey from Rodriguez home to Theodores’ would have taken others over 15 days but through sole determination Weed accomplished the same in less than 7 days. Only those who experienced and overcame great struggle could appreciate the joy of small victories.
Weed crossed Lisa who was teaching another new student archery and dashed straight into the house. He didn’t bother knocking at the door anymore as it was always open. As always, the old man was confined in his armchair
“Amazing! You really finished the quest,” Rodriguez said. “I was wondering how you fared because you had not appeared on my doorstep for a long time.”
Weed smiled, he didn’t have the time to visit the old man, since time was so precious in this quest. Weed handed Rodriguez the moon stone, who took it from his hands with great care.
“I must confess, this is the first time I have ever seen one and let alone been able to hold one in my hands. Who knew I would have had the opportunity in my lifetime to see a real moonstone.”
Rodriguez said as he examined the moonstone carefully. “Shall we proceed to my study room?”
Weed nodded happily. Rodriguez walked up to the same door which led to the library and opened it….this time however it led to a small study room Weed stood dazed as Rodriguez searched his study table for something. He could have sworn that the same door led to the massive underground library yet here once again the very same door led to a small study room.
Weed decided that his memory was at fault and not to probe deeper into it.
“Ah here it is!” Rodriguez exclaimed as he took out a magnifying glass from one of the drawers of the study table. From the moment Rodriguez held the moonstone, he noted what seemed to be an unusual aura around the moonstone.
“Item Identification!”
Rodriguez’s hands shined as he touched the moonstone. The information of the moonstone was revealed.
- Moonstone Fragment –
A fragment of the moon that fell down on the Versailles continent tens of thousands of years ago; this fragment contains the same properties as that of the moon. In the darkness it will shine white light. Monsters exposed to its white light will become stronger.
The moonstone also affects certain races, dwarves who see the moonlight’s beauty will become more productive. The undead will become more powerful. Although moonlight exposure does not affect elves and humans, the fragment’s concentrated light may have effects on these races as well.
To unlock the powers of the Moonstone, test the moonstone in darkness.
Weed looked around the house to draw shut the curtains but noticed the strange absence of them. He also noticed now how strangely the house had more mirrors reflecting more light into the house.
“Well, I guess, it can only be tested at night then?” Weed asked.
Rodriguez thought for a while before replying, “There may be another way….”
“Which would be?” Weed asked greedily, he was dying to unlock the moonstones secrets and get on with his quest.
“Considered swallowing it?” Rodriguez asked.
“….You are serious?” Weed asked just to confirm again.
Rodriguez nodded. Weed stared at the moonstone, it was probably as big as an orange and as hard as any stone one could find.
“I can’t swallow this! It’s too big! I don’t think we can cut it either!”
Rodriguez simply washed the moonstone in the kitchen sink and took an ordinary kitchen knife and began cutting the moonstone like one would cut an apple. He cut the stone into eight slices and served them on a plate to Weed.
Weed stared at the plate on display. He didn’t even have a chance to stop Rodriguez. ‘What if the moonstone doesn’t work when cut? What if I am supposed to do something else with it? What if eating moonstone turns out to be poisonous?’ These and many more questions swarmed Weed’s mind.
Rodriguez patiently waited for Weed to try a slice. He too was most curious to learn how to unlock the potential of the moonstone. The two silently stared at the plate of moonstones, till Weed finally picked up a slice and swallowed it whole. He didn’t want to test whether it was actually chewable with the inherent risk of breaking his teeth.
TRRRINNG!
- You ate a Moonstone Fragment –
A fragment of the moon that fell down on the Versailles continent tens of thousands of years ago; this fragment contains the same properties as that of the moon. In the darkness it will shine white light. Monsters exposed to its white light will become stronger.
Through the moons mysterious powers:
Your dexterity increases by 100.
Your weight increased by 1KG.
Weed smiled, though eating rock was painful and awkward it worked. He swallowed another piece.
TRRRINNG!
- You ate a Moonstone Fragment –
Monsters become nearly 50% stronger in the moonlight. The moon light affects different creatures differently, while some become more powerful, others will become faster.
Through the moons mysterious powers:
Your dexterity increases by 100!
Your skin will become fairer with each passing day!
It came as a surprise that the second piece had a different effect when compared to the first. Weed tried another piece.
TRRRINNG!
- You ate a Moonstone Fragment –
Moonlight has strange effects on dwarves and none on elves. Elves have dismissed the claim that the moonlight contains strange powers.
Through the moons mysterious powers:
You gained a new stat Creativity!
Your skin will glow white at night!
Weed stood shocked! ‘Glow in the dark? WTF!’
TRRRINNG!
- You ate a Moonstone Fragment –
The moonstone affects certain races, dwarves who see the moonlight’s beauty will become more productive. The undead will become more powerful. Although moonlight exposure does not affect elves and humans, the fragment’s concentrated light may have effects on these races as well.
Through the moons mysterious powers:
Your creativity increases by 100.
All stats will be boosted by 3% at night.
TRRRINNG!
- You ate a Moonstone Fragment –
Though moonlight has no effect on elves or humans, it is suspected that concentrated moonlight might have some effect.
Through the moons mysterious powers:
Your dexterity increases by 50.
Your creativity increases by 100.
All stats will be boosted by 2% at night.
TRRRINNG!
- You ate a Moonstone Fragment –
The dwarves think highly of the moon and went through the trouble of redesigning their entire dwarven city ceiling to match the moonstone fragment they found.
Through the moons mysterious powers:
Your creativity increases by 50.
You gained new stat perseverance!
Weed finally had the three stats needed for the quest. He wondered how many other players would be able to unlock these stats without the moonstone?
TRRRINNG!
- You ate a Moonstone Fragment –
Through the moons mysterious powers:
Your perseverance increases by 100.
Your stamina increases by 100.
Your hair is now white in color!
Weed stared back into one of the many mirrors in the house. His hair had indeed turned from black to white. The many unintended consequences of eating moonstones! Weed stared at the last moonstone slice, he wondered what horrors or miracles awaited for him in the last slice.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
TRRRINNG!
- You ate a Moonstone Fragment –
Through the moons mysterious powers:
- Your perseverance increases by 150.
- Your HP increases by 100.
- Your agility increases by 50.
- All elemental affinities increase by 1%.
- All elemental resistance increase by 0.5%
-Mana Conversion increases by 0.001
- Your weight has increased by 7kgs.
- Your eye sight will become better at night.
- When engaged in combat at night, your reflexes will be faster.
Weed’s mouth was left wide open. The moonstone may have been painful to eat but the rewards could not be compared to other rewards. The moonstone would be worth thousands of gold coins and at least a few hundred dollars in RL. Weed thanked Rodriguez for his guidance and told him of his new stats and abilities. He then requested to be taught the 'identification skill' from Rodriguez, who was most happy to teach him so. Thereafter, he rushed towards Theodore’s cabin, it was time to get the seal of approval.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Weed was greeted with stares as he hurried across the central town square, he had indeed grown fairer and his white / silver hair began attracting a lot of attention. Being elf, it only complimented his looks further. He could hear players taking photos of him as he rushed across the square. Some players even began chasing him assuming him to be a rare NPC or a player on a secret mission, however they could not match Weed’s running speed. Even though some were at a higher level than Weed, none of them possessed high stats like Weed.
Weed stood outside Theodore’s cabin door, there were three other dwarves dressed in white robes waiting for Theodore to answer. Seeing Weed the elf approach the cabin irked them. They could not understand what an elf could possibly have to do with a dwarf. Weed could only guess by looking at their robes that these dwarves were players too. They were wind affinity based users as most wind affinity based users at beginner levels wore the same type of attire.
A human stepped out of the cabin, he wore a big smile on his face. Apparently, the human player cleared the initial test.
“NEXT!” came a coarse voice from the cabin, it belonged to Theodore’s, though he sounded tired and irritated. One of the dwarves standing next to Weed, walked in. He gave a confident and smug smile to Weed as he walked in. After a few minutes, he walked out and shook hands with the other dwarves.
“Passed it.” He whispered to them. They heartily congratulated him and wished him luck for the final test.
“Next!”
Another dwarf entered the cabin and exited in a few minutes. It was finally Weed’s turn, he entered the cabin and greeted Theodore. Theodore greeted Weed back and smiled as Weed took his seat. He had been impatiently waiting for Weed. He had his hopes pinned that Weed had suffered as much as he had hoped he would and would fail the test. Failing the test would give him the much needed opportunity to humiliate the elf and the scores would finally be settled between them. Blinded by revenge, Theodore failed to realize Weed's unnaturally fair complexion or the newly acquired white hair; signs of moonstone side effects.
“Ok elf, show me your stats.”
Physical Status WindowNameWeedClass / LevelFF/013Health350Mana Conversion/Sec0.001Health Regen/Sec0Stamina Regen/Sec0.08Strength85Agility135Wisdom51Intelligence51Stamina310Defense55+15Dexterity250Luck200Creativity250Perseverance250Looks/Beauty18
The dwarf was left with his mouth dangling open. All thoughts of humiliating Weed went out the window. A single level up would reward a player with 5 skill points, the stats that Weed had would imply he was over level 150. The last time Theodore had seen Weed’s stats he was just level one and barely had any high level stats. Weed was now at level 13 and he invested all bonus SP and the bonus gained from the moonstone. At the very least all stats improved by at least +1 and some stats like stamina had increased by +200.
As they moved over to the elemental skills, Theodore witnessed the same thing. Neutral players were usually unable to increase even a single percentage of elemental affinity. Yet here again Weed managed to increase all elemental affinities and resistance!
Elemental Affinity Status WindowFire Affinity3.5%Resistance0.5%Wind Affinity3.5%Resistance0.5%Earth Affinity3.5%Resistance0.5%Water Affinity3.5%Resistance0.5%Other Affinities1%Resistance0.5%
Theodore’s bare minimum expectation for the test was that players had to increase some stats. If players were able to increase stats by more than 10 levels worth of SP they were qualified to learn basic blacksmithing. Those who went more than 20 levels worth of SP got the chance to learn normal blacksmithing. A few rare applicants who had gained more than 200 SP, learnt the dwarvish blacksmithing. The difference between the blacksmithing techniques varied. Basic blacksmithing technique was very low level and could be learnt anywhere. Where as dwarvish blacksmithing could only be learnt through a qualified dwarf master. For players the differences were in the booster effects of blacksmithing that each profession added. Basic blacksmithing was cumbersome to use and added little to no boost effects when applying the skill. Dwarvish Blacksmithing would apply 10% increased effects and usually required players no more than a few hammer swings to use. To sum it up, the more a player could change his character it was more likely that they would learn a better blacksmithing profession.
Theodore had never expected his students to solve the hidden riddle within his riddle, he had given thousands of students this test but all did the same thing. Some used bonus SP to increase stats while others leveled up. None of them had bothered to dig deeper into the riddle. Weed solved the riddle and used bonus SP. He had over 800 SP invested in his character, he didn’t exactly fit into the categories of normal players. Theodore stared at the stats silently…’Just maybe this type of blacksmithing would be the right choice for him. Theodore considered it for a moment, no player before had received this profession as it required ridiculously high level stat increase requirements and came with several restrictions of its own. Weed easily met all the conditions…in the end the decision was obvious.
TRRRING!
You have passed Theodore’s test! Would you like to learn the profession 'Elemental Blacksmithing'?
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Authors Note:
1. Edited by Knaivvs.
2. I would like to thank Alakokaine and Twelve for their inputs in this chapter. Will be posting more about this.
3. I hope the stats in the physical stats table are correct, if someone can cross check the numbers and point out to me if I have gone wrong that would be swell. Hopefully, I am close to the actual figure or even correct.
4. Just added a little navigation feature to all chapters! :) <---- Really pleased with the outcome. And I am not adding a previous chapter button. ~_~ looks uncool.
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Connect to Royal Road – Elementarem Vim next Chapter?YesNo
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