Mike awoke several hours later, feeling more refreshed than he had been in a long time. It had been a deep, dreamless sleep that felt like it had lasted an eternity. He had that happy fuzzy feeling you only get when you don't know exactly how long you had been asleep for. If Mike ever found someone who could make him an epic rarity bed, he would pay a premium to get one. Just another thing to add to the list of luxuries for when he got rich.
Mike walked over to the door and pulled his hammer into his soul. It didn't weigh on his body like it did when he wielded it, but it definitely was present. Mike would liken it to having a full stomach after a good meal. Mike left his house, still in the happy haze of waking up fully rested.
His mood was further lifted when he saw that Hobbes wasn't waiting for him outside of his door. That man made a good administrator, but he definitely got on Mike's nerves from time to time. Mike was pretty used to opening his door and seeing the man with a paper filled with meetings and tasks for the day. He wandered over to Otto's restaurant, and his nose was assaulted with the pleasant scents of a good morning breakfast. He walked in, catching Otto's attention as he spoke.
“Yo, Otto! Whatcha cookin?” He said, eyeing the meat being seared in the pan Otto was holding.
“Just practicing working with the meat you brought in from that deer.” The chef responded. “Tough stuff, but it tastes great.”
“How much to make a sandwich with it?” Mike asked.
“3 silver.”
Mike sucked in a breath. That was a lot for a simple sandwich. Hell, three people would need to pool their initial silver coins they got from making a bank account just to get one. “Why is it so expensive?”
“You are requesting a meal made by the village's head chef. Said meal consists of the meat from a monster that only a single man in the entire village can kill alone. Oh, and by the way, that is with the friends and family discount.” Otto slid over a plate, which had a sandwich on it that looked like it had come from a commercial with professional photographers involved. “Tell you what, this one is in the house.”
Mike looked down at the plate. Last time Otto had given him something “on the house”, it had turned out to be spider meat. He identified the meal, definitely not having trust issues from the incident.
Venison Club Sandwich (Epic)
This sandwich was made from the meat of a Nature Stag, and the properties of this being have been partially carried over into its ingredients. This sandwich was made by the head chef of Thudfall, and gets a slight bonus to effectiveness. Gain 5% manipulation of nature affinity mana for 6 hours upon consumption.
Apparently even his identity skill felt the need to point out that the great and powerful Otto had made this meal. Maybe, just maybe, it would be worth the price that the chef had set for it. Mike slid three silver coins to the man. “I’ll pay, I don't want to end up owing you a favor for getting so much free food.”
He took a bite of the sandwich, his mouth exploding with flavor from the meal. It was better than any meal he had ever had before. People often felt nostalgic and longed for the meals they ate as a child, and in the few seconds before Mike took another bite of his sandwich, he had begun feeling such emotions. Each bite he took was followed by him wishing he could chew faster, wanting to eat more and more of the meal.
The “taste” of nature that Mike had gotten from the sword he had crafted from the Stags horn was fully present here, Making him feel like he was deep within a serene forest. He closed his eyes as he ate the meal, and he could practically feel the longing to escape into the woods and become one with the trees. He took the last bite of the meal, and these feelings faded away in a flash.
“What-” Mike said, shuddering as he pushed the plate away. “was that?”
“That, my good friend, was amazing. Don't worry about all of those feelings it forced into you, it just happens whenever people eat an epic rarity meal for the first time. I imagine it happens again when reaching heroic rank with food, but for the moment I can only dream of cooking such a thing.” Otto responded. “So, was it worth the price?”
“Worth every copper.”
Mike left the building, feeling completely satiated. The amazing feelings he had felt from the meal had brought back the memory of the sword made from the stag's horn, and he figured it was time for him to take a trip. He made a stop at his home, grabbing Stags bane off of the rack he had left it on. He also took a few minutes to make a thin sheath out of spare metals he had lying around, and fastened it to his back. He sheathed the weapon, feeling kind of badass. He was in a full set of spider carapace armor, with a wicked looking sword on his back. Mike thought he looked pretty cool.
He walked out of his Workshop, chest puffed out in pride. He nearly ran into Hobbes, who was standing outside of his door with a piece of paper in his hand. “Sir, I have- what is that thing on your back?” He said.
Mike pulled the sheath off of his back and looked at it. In his rush to make something to hold the weapon, he hadn't put much into making the sheath aesthetically pleasing. Now that he looked at it closely, it was a mismatched mess of several metals he had used to make it, and the splotchy colors that had resulted were very displeasing to the eye. Mike simply took three steps back, closed the door, and proceeded to crumple the damned thing into a cube with his bare hands.
5 minutes later, Mike opened the door once more, with a much better looking sheath that was made from the hide of the Stag. Hobbes was still standing outside, with the piece of paper still in hand. ‘Has he moved even an inch?’ Mike wondered as his assistant began speaking.
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“We have several people who are requesting your presence to assist with a project of theirs, and upon asking a few questions, I do believe it is worth your time.”
“Is it something that needs to be done immediately?”
“No, they expected you to take several days to get around to it after putting in the request, and are working on side projects in the meantime.”
“Perfect, I’ll get around to it in a few days. I'll find you when I get back.” Mike said, stepping past the man.
“Where are you headed?” Hobbes asked, puzzled.
“Just going to meet some friends.”
Mike launched into the air, his jump being powered by a burst step. He flew high into the air, catching the wind in his wings as he began his glide. Mike had a very vague idea of where he was going, but he wasn't known for having a great sense of direction. The only reason he had made it back to the village from Dune was that he had a faint connection to Thudfall, and was always aware of his position relative to it. If that hadn't been the case, Mike likely wouldn't have been able to find his way quite so easily. His destination was Gratsden, the settlement that Isaiah’s party had been from. They had told him roughly where it was, and Mike was confident that he could find it.
He made it to the mana barrier separating the safezone from the dangerous wilds, and instead of crossing through it, he began gliding along the perimeter. Isaiah had told him that Gratsden was situated along the edge of the barrier, which was extremely helpful to Mike. If he somehow managed to get lost when following a wall, he didn't know what he would do with himself. He followed the barrier for several hours before seeing his destination in the distance.
A large tree peaked over the horizon as he glided along, and as he got closer, it only seemed to get bigger and bigger as more and more of it crested the horizon. By the time he could see the base of the tree, he had been able to make out the nearly 1000 foot tall behemoth. His breath shook as he identified it, already having a pretty good idea of what he was going to see.
Identify Attempt Blocked
“Huh?” Mike said, going into his menu to reread the notification. He had been expecting to see yet another Heroic rarity creation that beat out his own. Instead his attempts were disregarded entirely. “What do you mean blocked? You can't just- ugh, fine.” Mike tried again, trying to focus really hard this time when he identified it. His angry glare at the tree didn't accomplish much, until he infused a touch of mana into his eyes. A new notification appeared after his semi successful attempt, which would have prompted a cheer from Mike if the information he received hadn't been so useless.
Tree (rarity unknown)
*Skill Upgraded! Inspect, becomes Identify (Uncommon)*
Mike tried to put some more mana into the effort, but that had just resulted in his eyes itching really bad. He grumbled a bit as he landed about a mile away from the settlement. He walked the rest of the way, dismissing his wings as he didn't want to make a scene. He made it to the entrance of what looked like a large wall constructed entirely from roots. They were weaved together so tight that they nearly blended together, creating the illusion that it was an oddly textured wall. He approached the front gate, with several guards stepping in his path before he could walk through.
“New entrants must pass through that gate over there.” One said, pointing to a smaller, less ornate looking gate off to the left of the main one.
“How do you know I am a new entrant?” Mike asked.
“I see the same faces pass through this gate every day. It really stands out when a new one appears.
“Fair enough.” Mike said. He walked over to the gate, entering a room that was eerily similar to the security checkpoint in an airport. There was a wooden ring that encompassed the entire entrance about halfway through the wall, and in total the wall was about 10 feet thick.
“Welcome to Gratsden, we have a few terms to your residence if you decide to remain here.” A bored sounding voice said to his right. He looked over to see a woman that could only be described as the average middle aged secretary. Mike was getting more and more uncomfortable with the entire thing as he answered.
“Oh, I’m not here to live here. I am visiting for a day or two.” He said.
“That doesn't change anything in the grand scheme of things. We still have some rules you must follow while within our walls.” She said, pulling out a piece of paper that looked much nicer than any of the paper that Thudfall had managed to make. Mike couldn't even tell it hadn't come from a standard office supplies store with how bland and plain it looked. “Firstly, you will need to follow all laws we currently have in place, as well as helping to uphold the law to the best of your abilities should the need arise.”
“Seems a bit excessive, but I guess I can handle that.”
“Second,” the woman pulled a wooden bracelet out from under her desk. “ you will be required to wear this at all times while within our walls. It will siphon out a portion of your mana regeneration in order to help upkeep the settlement.” Mike tried to identify the bracelet as he took it from the woman's hand.
Mana Siphoning Bracelet (uncommon)
His newly upgraded skill once more failed him, with it not even providing a description of the item. He was about to put it on when he was interrupted.
“Please, do not put that on until you have passed through the scanning roots.” She said, motioning to the ring Mike had noticed upon first entering. Mike walked through, feeling roots brush against his skin, having sprouted from the walls around him. The woman's eyes widened substantially after he had walked through. Her tone became much more respectful very quickly.
“Oh my, I hadn't realized your level was so high. Apologies for my rudeness. I am sure whatever you are here for is important, so go on ahead and enter. I will notify the guards outside to let you in and out of the settlement freely in the future.”
Something about what the woman’s shift in demeanor, along with what she had said didn't sit well with Mike. What did she mean by “let you in and out freely”? Were people not allowed to freely leave this place? Questions shot through Mike's mind as he exited the room and entered the settlement proper. He put the bracelet on, feeling the significant drain on his mana regeneration as he did. Before he had a chance to stop it, his aura immediately attacked the enchanted item, destroying all traces of the mana that had been within it just moments ago.
“Oops.” Mike said, looking around to make sure nobody around him noticed. He wasn't paid any attention, much to his relief. It would have been awkward if his debut into the settlement involved him breaking rule number 2. “Well, I guess they didn't say the bracelet needed to be active, just that I needed to wear it.” He said, trying to hide the grin that he couldn't stop from spreading on his face. “I’m sure that won’t come back to bite me.”