Mike left the cave he was in, with the staff he had made in hand. He had redone the enchantment on it before leaving, making it slightly stronger with his now higher stats. He inspected it, wanting to know exactly what he was gifting to his friend.
Infused Bone Staff (Rare)
A bone staff infused with mana to increase mana conductivity as well as durability. Enchanted to increase potency of all mana channeled by a moderate amount.
It was certainly the most difficult thing for him to make so far. He’d spent quite a while trying to figure out how to enchant the item, and it was certainly harder than mindlessly sharpening a knife for a few dozen minutes. He had a feeling that between the two, the staff was more truly deserving of the “rare” moniker. He located Aaron, who was hard at work healing a man who had been grievously injured. The man laid on the ground unconscious, blood pooling around him from a large hole in the man's thigh.
Mike watched Aaron work at healing the man, and barely losing the race to save his life. Mike quickly got the healers attention, handing him the new staff. Aaron hadn't taken even 2 seconds to figure out that this was a significantly better conduit for his healing. He slowly began winning the fight for the man's life, the bleeding coming to a stop as the wound closed.
“Thank you,” Aaron said, grabbing Mike in a bear hug as soon as the injured man was stable. “I almost lost him. He almost died because of me.” Aaron said, tears forming in the corners of his eyes.
“It was not going to be your fault if he died,” Mike said, trying to wriggle out of the embrace. “Whatever stabbed that huge hole in him would be at fault.”
Aaron let go of Mike, wiping his face with a sleeve caked in dried blood. “I would have been partly at fault. I tried, I really did. If he had died, it would be because I wasn't good enough at this. I thought by being a healer, I could avoid the fear of fighting a monster, but the fear of someone dying in my arms is just so much worse.” The man vented, and Mike was there to listen. Aaron went on about the terrible things he had already seen people go through in these few short days. He had seen people with injuries that would have killed any normal human before the system.
“People aren’t meant to live through that shit,” He said, “the trauma of enduring something like that can get to people, and we have already had 2 people just give up fighting all together. Not everyone is cut out for this new reality, and I’m not sure I am either.”
Mike tried consoling the man. They talked for several minutes, and Mike knew the man was truly beginning to feel the weight of all that had changed. Mike had a very boring and monotonous life before the system, and he’d had more excitement in the past few days than he had ever had before. Aaron clearly didn't share the feeling, and Mike understood.
When Aaron was done speaking, Mike sat with him in silence for a few minutes. He didn't try to lie to the man, to tell him everything would be okay. He knew that this new reality was going to be tough for some, and the people who had their bearings were going to need to help those who hadn't.
After a few more minutes of silence, Mike got up and left the healer with his thoughts. He walked through the camp, looking for Jonas. He wasn't sure if it was his higher perception, or if Aaron had opened his eyes to how others viewed their situation, but he began noticing the low energy of the camp.
He had been absorbed by something or another at every moment ever since he joined the group, and that had made him ignorant to others around him. Now that he had finally slowed down, he took in the general vibe of the place. People sat, not talking too much to one another, and just focusing on their own tasks. Mike finally found Jonas, the man talking with the archer who had identified him the first day he met them.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
“We need to do something about morale,” He overheard the archer say, “people are getting ready to just pack up and leave. Don’t know where they are going to go, but they just want away.”
“We need to get them off the ground, laying on the cold, damp floor each night is the biggest issue right now.” Jonas said, noticing Mike after he’d said this. “Mike, I need to talk to you.” He said, looking away from the archer, who seemed a bit annoyed at getting their conversation cut short.
“What is it?” Mike asked.
“You are a crafter, right? I know that you have already done so much to help us, but we need more help.”
“I was a crafter, I’m an artisan now.” Mike responded, leaving out the arcane part of his new profession. “But pretty much the same thing.”
Jonas gave him a confused look briefly, continuing after a brief pause. “Whatever, look, we need some form of beds, and more importantly people need somewhere to sleep where they actually feel safe. Is there anything you could do that would achieve that?”
“Walls would help, but if you want beds, we need people who can make linen, or something similar.” He said, trying to think of what people would even use to make said linen.
“Walls would be great,” the archer cut in, “that would help people feel safe, and would make nights less rough for our warriors. It's a good thing they have a high constitution, since they are getting less sleep than everyone else.”
“What are we going to make the walls out of?” Jonas asked.
“Tree trunks, they are strong, and with enough mana and time, I can make them stronger.” Mike said, confident his new profession would be up to the task. The only thing that worried him was the sheer amount of mana that would be needed to infuse so much material.
“Gathering the wood would need to be done by the warriors, since they are the only ones strong enough to cut through it at the moment. The problem is that they are already stretched thin between guarding and gathering food.”
“Maybe I can convince some of the archers to help with the hunting. Most of them are too scared to go out on their own for a hunt, but maybe if we go out as a team I can convince a few.” The archer once more added.
“It would be great if you could convince them to hunt, but don't worry about diverting the warriors to tree cutting, I can handle that.” Mike said.
“That could take days, those trees are not easy to bring down.” Jonas said, and was promptly shut up as Mike walked over to a tree, knocking it down with 2 swift hits to the base.
“Now imagine what I could do with something actually sharp.” He said, feeling a little proud as many looked at him, awe in their eyes. His hammer was good for a lot of things, but cutting down trees was not something a maul was meant for.
“You could trade weapons with one of the warriors for a bit, we have a guy who has a battle ax that should make that easier.” Jonas said, looking at the tree trunk on the ground. Mike didn't like the idea of parting with his precious hammer. It had been with him for some of the best moments of his life, and was more reliable than anyone else to him. Putting aside the fact that the unbreakable bond was created in just a few days, he just didn't want to take the weapon that man had gotten familiar with and potentially kill him because of it.
“I’ll manage.” Mike said, already getting an idea for where he could get an ax.
“If you say so, just please try and get those walls up as quickly as you can.” Jonas said.
“I’ll work on getting someone to try and make linens to be used for beds.” The archer said, walking away to try and find someone willing to make the required material. Mike remembered something he had been meaning to tell Jonas, but had forgotten after getting smacked square in the face with the problems everyone faced.
“I made a bunch of weapons that could benefit the warriors. It’s mostly swords, but there are a few daggers that the archers may find useful.”
“I’ll hand those out.” Jonas responded, before walking to the cave, disappearing past its entrance. It was about time Mike started testing the limits of his new power, so he found a peaceful tree to perch on, laying across a branch and entering meditation. He looked at the numerous uncommon fragments he had accumulated, ready to try his hand at soul smithing again.