[Anastasia’s POV]
I walk to the town. I’m tired. The goods are really heavy. Good thing I already see Fikeral’s walls. The old, half-crumbling walls nobody cares to repair. I walk through the gate. There is a guardsman, but he is half asleep, leaning on the wall. There isn’t much trouble here, especially for a guard. There’s no entry tax or anything like that. There is traffic for merchants, but I can just tell I’m an adventurer returning with a bounty.
I'm a bit afraid they will notice something is wrong, but they don't. The second title makes it obvious that I'm not a witch yet. Smag and Axi didn't notice any substantial increase in how they thought of me. It would probably require spending some time with me to notice I have cursed titles. After all, it's hard to say someone has a cursed title just because you don't particularly like them when seeing them for the first time.
I enter the town and immediately go to the craftsman area. The Adventurers Guild likes to be a middleman so they can profit, but while it’s convenient for me, I don’t want to be seen there. I know people there, and they are going to ask questions.
Gangs are my second problem. Attacking adventurers is bad business and rather unprofitable. Gang members usually don’t have the means to get Experience, so they are low-level. They could maybe jump someone, but again, they have no reason to kill adventurers. My true problem is once again related to the Guild. I have taken out a loan for starting equipment. I mostly paid it off, but not all of it. I had missed a few payments by now.
The most likely scenario for the guild is that I’m dead. The guild is not going to just assume, though. There is almost certainly a reward for any information about me. It’s not innately hostile; I could be trapped somewhere, for example. But there is money to find me. Most locals don’t care, but gangs do. It’s a possible source of income just for being attentive. I could maybe even pay off my debt with the materials I have, but that’s not the problem. Once again, they will have questions.
Should I just maybe come clean about everything? Such thoughts come to mind. Why not abandon Smag and Axi? I sigh. I could. Would I be better for it? My eyes become a bit wattery and I blink it away.
I go to the craftsman district. I have been selling material to the guild, only coming here to buy. I pick a store specializing in dealing with monster parts.
“Hello. How can I help you?” A young girl, maybe fifteen years old, greets me.
“I’m looking to sell pelts and bones.”
“We buy from the guild since dad doesn’t like to inspect things.”
“I have a large package, though. We could find a good price for us both.” I counter.
“Fine. Show me first.”
I let go of my pack, and it hits the ground loudly. “It’s all here.” I open it up.
“That’s a lot… Fine. I will bring father.” She yells, “Dad! Come here!”
Soon, a middle-aged man comes over. “What’s going on? Is there a problem?”
“This lady wants to sell materials to us. She has quite a lot, so I decided to bother you.”
The crafter comes over and starts to brink goods out, inspecting them. “These are days old.”
“Yes. I joined a new group. They are strong enough to camp in the woods, so they rarely come to the town, just hunting all the time. Anyway, I’m the weakest, so I’m left with odd jobs, like selling materials.” This is my excuse. I look rather shabby. Axi did a good job, but my armor doesn’t look very expensive. Essentially, I’m saying I’m a new member of a strong party that uses me, potentially including things like sexual favors.
“I see. That would drop the price.”
“Sure, but those are still pelts from 2nd tier monsters. I also have some bones.” He takes everything out. He looks interested; it’s just a matter of price. We start to haggle. We settle for 60 bronze coins. I could maybe raise it more, but I’m not that knowledgeable. I would rather take a slightly worse offer now than look around for a better one, seeking trouble. I take my empty bag and leave.
Smag told me to buy runic schematics, if possible. There are only three places where I can find such information. The first one is the Adventurers Guild. It’s the best option normally, but not in my situation. The second option is a temple. Once again, I’m afraid they have the means to easily detect my new titles. It’s too much of a risk. The last option is to buy enchantments from the best smiths. I know it would be super expensive. Simply put, there’s no way I can get new runes for Smag. I told him that, but he still insisted. Well, I’m not killing all of us because of his obsession.
The best way to do it is to use someone less suspicious than me. Preferably, I could find someone half trustworthy from the gangs, pay for that person's tuition to Adventurers Guild, and reap benefits. The Guild obviously doesn’t like adventurers teaching each other basic stuff, since that decreases their profits. It's not like they can enforce it, but if they find out, your career in the Guild is going to stop. That’s why I want someone from a gang who doesn't care too much. Sixty bronze coins are too little, though. I also don’t like choosing someone in a hurry.
That settled; I just need to buy metal or just ores. I obviously don’t go to smiths. They buy ore to use for crafting, not to trade it. There is a local iron mine, and merchants transport ore from it to the town. I go to such a merchant.
“Hello. I would like to buy iron ore, or maybe even some iron scraps. My younger brother decided to become a smith, and I want to support him a bit.” I tell the new story.
“Sure, I have ore. I’m not sure about scraps, though.”
“It’s fine. Just throw in things you want to get rid of. He is just starting, so he probably just makes more scraps.” I joke.
After haggling a bit, I get a bunch of ore and some scraps for 22 bronze coins. Good enough. Metal is way heavier; I really don’t want to buy more. I leave town just like I entered. I have to take a small break a few times. The bag is just too heavy, and I’m already tired after bringing merchandise to town earlier. A few hours after midday, I find Smag and the rest of the goblins.
“Finally! I'm going to rest. Yoiu can drag the ore back!” I let go of the bag and lie down. I can rest now!
We bring metal to the tribe without complications. Axi will need to build a smelter, but she can still move soil with magic, so it shouldn’t be too hard. Smag teaches her about metallurgy but also encourages her to experiment on her own. He tells me he only knows about mundane metals, and stuff like mithril he has no knowledge of how to handle.
[Axi’s POV]
A month passed since I got iron ore. I think I like crafting. I always liked it, but more as a way to get a stronger weapon. As a means to an end. Now, I like seeing how Smag and Anastasia wear my creations and use them. It makes me useful, even if I no longer fight. I think about it sometimes. There were times when fighting was my second most pleasurable activity, just right behind fooling out with Smag. Actually, I still like fighting. I just panic every time I try to. It's annoying. I hate myself sometimes for it.
I observe my bloomery. Smag explained to me the whole smithing and smelting thing, but I’m not sure I got it. I place ore in the bloomery and place charcoal beneath it to burn, some with ore. This should turn the ore into iron, according to Smag. Actually, the whole process is about impurities. The fewer impurities, the stronger the metal. Smag told me to test various substances in the future to check if maybe they remove them, like limestone.
Then there is also something called carbon. Too much carbon makes metal brittle. Too little, and metal is weak and malleable.
Smag told me to melt metal, blow air at it to burn impurities and carbon, and add charcoal to increase carbon. That’s simple enough.
I have cut down several trees, using my axe again. Then I burned charcoal in it. Honesty, it’s all a lot of hard work. I’m not sure it’s worth it. I then built a bloomery and got some iron out of it. Unfortunately, it’s not the end; the iron is spongy, and I had to beat out all the slag from it.
I have already done that, so I have some wrought iron. I even tried to shape it into a sword, but the sword is rather curvy. Whatever. Now, I need to increase its carbon content to make it steel. There are two options. The first one is to heat it up with charcoal. It’s very long, and frankly, I don’t think I can justify doing this for a long time for a bad sword.
The second option is to build a crucible. I need to melt ore to get pig iron and then soak the sword in it. It looks like less work, but I would need a very hot fire. I wish I could find fire mana treasure. It would make this way easier. Regardless, I at least learned a bunch of new skills.
Name: NA
Age: 0
Race: Goblin
Level:10/10
Strength: 16
Vitality: 14
Endurance: 15
Dexterity: 25 (24) +5%
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Intelligence: 34 (33) +5%
Will: 35 (34) +5%
Affinity: 32 (31) +5%
Health:47/47
Stamina:46/103
Mana:0/0
Traits
Iron Stomach 8 (Uncommon)
Combat skills
Ax Fighting 38 (Common) – Strength I, Basic Heavy Style I, Counterweight
Sneaking 16 (Common) – Silent Walk I
Dodging 18 (Common) – Dodge Specialist I
Throwing 25 (Common) - Strong Arm I, Aim I
Spear Fighting 18 (Common) – Basic Spear Style I
Battle Concentration 28 (Uncommon) – Awareness, Pain Tolerance
Magic Skills
Mana Perception 16 (Common) – Sense Earth
Move Mana 23 (Common) – Mana Shield, Structured Mana Shield
Earth Mana Control 16 (Rare) – Move Soil I,
Superior Earth Armor 23 (Very Rare) – Speed I, Dense Soil,
Mana Infusion 16 (Uncommon) - Sacrifice Strike I
Crafting Skills
Wood Working 28 (Common) – Dexterity I, An Eye for Flaws,
Bow Making 18 (Common) – Carve Wood,
Bone Working 26 (Common) - Dexterity I, Find Weakness
Leather Working 28 (Common) Assess Material, Hardening I
Rune Scribbling 21 (Uncommon) - Rune Scribbling Specialist I, Rune Scribbling Specialist II
Planning 12 (Common) – Measurement I
Weapon Making 27 (Common) – Swords I, Spears I
Armor Making 18 (Common) – Leather Armors I
Smelting 21 (Uncommon) – Temperature Gauge I, Taste Ore,
Metal Working 13 (Common) – Smith’s Endurance,
Titles
Slayer of Titans (+10 All Stats, +5% All Stats)
I dropped Trap Making and picked Bow Making. I’m practically caped all the time. Anastasia keeps bringing 2nd tier monsters to the tribe, and Smag lets me kill them, then he brings them alive so more goblins can gain experience.
I should have probably evolved already, but I hesitate. Choosing a crafting evolution is final. Unless I die again, I suppose, but I don’t want to. I’m not sure I’m committed. I tell myself it’s fine to raise skill levels for better options, but I know it is a lie.
I take spongy iron from the bloomery and start hitting it. I crafted heavy leather gloves for myself, so I’m fine. At first, I had to use a bone hammer, but metal is indeed better. After removing the slag, I can start on something new. I don’t want to continue with swords. They are a bit too complicated for me. I start with a knife.
I forge the blade, then quench it in water. Then I temper it over the fire. Honestly, there are so many steps. Finally, I carve a wooden handle and finish the weapon.
You have created a Knife!
Rarity: Common
Quality: Poor
You have earned 50 Experience Points!
Wow! I got a crafting massage! You only get crafting massages the first time you make something. Does this mean the system acknowledges my effort? It still says it’s poor quality, but maybe only compared to the best smiths? Hehe, it seems I’m also good at crafting!
[Smag’s POV]
Three months passed after Anastasia got us the first batch of ore. A month later, we went to the iron mine in the south. It took us two days of travel in one direction, but we were able to get a bunch of ore without arousing suspicion in the town, plus it was cheaper. I briefly wondered about becoming bandits and getting human money this way, but Anastasia said it would bring too much attention to us.
In those three months, I started using a sword. It’s the easiest weapon to use for an amateur, so it’s no wonder I feel more comfortable with it. Axi’s first sword was only made of wrought iron, so it wore fast. My newest sword is part steel. It’s still low quality, as it's hard to get good steel from the primitive methods Axi uses, but it’s still a fine sword. I will have to replace it again in a few months since it still deteriorates.
I continued my research and training. The tribe progressed as well. Axi finally evolved into a Rare 1st tier option based on crafting. She had a Very Rare option based on Ax fighting, but she ultimately decided to go for crafting. Just as I thought, the achievement of killing 4th tier snake only counted once. Anastasia also got more class levels.
More hobgoblins evolved. We now have forty hobgoblins and sixty goblins. Many of those goblins have already picked a path, so they will soon become elite hobgoblins, not the basic version.
I finally caped all my skills.
You have killed 168 1st tier monsters. You have earned 7560 Experience Points.
You have killed 46 2nd tier monsters. You have earned 22400 Experience Points.
You have advanced to level 6!
Your Vitality Mana Control skill has advanced to level 26!
Your Vitality Buff skill has advanced to level 20!
Your Mana Sense skill has advanced to level 45!
Your Mana Manipulation skill has advanced to level 44!
Your Vitality Bank skill has advanced to level 16!
Your Soul Perception skill has advanced to level 21!
Your Move Soul skill has advanced to level 15!
Your Transplant Soul skill has advanced to level 12!
Your Sword Fighting skill has advanced to level 26!
Your Dodging skill has advanced to level 12!
Your Strategy skill has advanced to level 28!
Your Sneaking skill has advanced to level 25!
Your Hiding skill has advanced to level 25!
Your Vitality Clot skill has advanced to level 18!
Your Iron Stomach trait has advanced to level 23!
Your Vitality Mana Affinity trait has advanced to level 8!
Your Rune Basics skill has advanced to level 31!
Your Plotting skill has advanced to level 19!
Your Leadership skill has advanced to level 21!
Your Rune Scribbling skill has advanced to level 31!
I believe that just like higher race levels require more Experience points per level, skills are the same; just the required amount doesn’t increase as fast. I think rarity also increases the required amount.
For the perks, I picked Master of Own Body for Mana Sense, just like before.
For Sword Fighting, I rotated all styles and techniques available to me, trying to learn more. I have currently Basic Sword Moves and Deflecting I, both perks teaching me new moves. I also picked up the Dodging skill and leveled it a bit.
Reflexes I
React slightly faster to attacks
Strong Legs I
When trying to dodge, do so as if you have 30% more strength.
Basic Footwork I
Learn how to move easier and more efficiently.
I picked Basic Footwork I at first, then Strong Legs I after re-leveling the skill. I can say I’m now a decent fighter in terms of fighting technique. A master swordsman would still destroy me in an instant, even without superior stats; there’s a limit to my martial talent.
On the other hand, I’m happy with my progress in magical studies. The two new perks for Mana Manipulation:
Mana Connection
Learn to connect two mana types by ambient mana into a semi-stable structure.
Rune Efficiency
Make manipulating ambient mana into runes less tiring.
At this point, I’m considering dropping the skill. It’s only about ambient mana, and I’m using mostly vitality mana these days. I hope the skill will upgrade in the future, so I’m still keeping it. I picked Mana Insulation from the previous list. It helps with isolating two mana types. I hope to use it to figure out how to create better mana shields using vitality mana. Vitality Buff perks were those.
Gates II
Upgrade the runic vitality gates to offload the spell even further.
Berserk Strike
Use vitality to temporarily increase your strength beyond what is normally possible. Will damage the body.
I picked Gates II for more runes, though Berserk Strike is tempting. Maybe I will reset the skill later. For Soul Perception, I reset it many times, picking different first perks to check more options.
Tier Sense
Learn how to find a being's tier by soul sense.
Alignment
Learn to distinguish the souls of monsters from enlightened
Remaining Time
Be able to better sense decay, to the point of roughly guessing a dead soul’s remaining time.
I picked all learning skills for knowledge, then settled on the Remaining Time perk. I've been most excited about the Move Soul and Transplant Soul perks.
Grip
Slightly increase the influence your mana has on souls.
Bag
Carry numerous souls in one hold.
I picked Grip. No learning skills, which I hoped for. Grip helped, though not much, just as described.
Vitality Merge
Easier attach vitality to a soul.
Borrowed Vitality
Plant a soul with some original vitality to increase the chance of successful transplantation.
Another set of rather disappointing perks. I picked Borrowed Vitality. I never had a big problem with attaching vitality flow to the soul, so the second option. Next: Vitality Mana Control
Vitality Flow II
Become even better at controlling vitality.
Vitality Runes
Become better at creating runes from vitality mana.
I picked Vitality Runes. Learning vitality runes is one of my major goals. The last magic skill with a perk available is Rune Basics. I have three new options.
Basic Fire Runes
Learn basic fire mana runes.
Basic Water Runes
Learn basic water mana runes.
Basic Air Runes
Learn basic air mana runes.
I want them all. I picked fire the first time, then reset the skill and picked Transfer Runes at level 20 and Air Runes at 30. Water will have to wait for the next iteration at level 40. Runes Basic is my most reset skill and consumes too much experience. At least the skill has an uncommon rarity.
This leaves crafting skills—or semi-crafting, I suppose. Is Leadership community crafting? I know it’s probably an anachronism from the enlightened system. Anastasia said she has an enlightened skills group instead, which is probably a better name for it. For Rune Scribbling, I got options that help with various surfaces, like Stone Expertise, which helps carve runes in stone. I picked Wood Expertise since it is my most used material. Leadership next.
Loud and Clear
Make your voice very loud.
Treason Sense
Notice minions who are dissatisfied with your rules.
No more mind fuckery, unlike the previous set. I picked Load and Clear.
On the other hand, it’s now time for another trip to town.