All told it had taken Daniel 21 days to finally get to this moment. With the realization of metal quality affecting the overall quality of everything he had crafted, the base quality of the items he could craft had risen by a step. Before he had struggled to make items of Superb Quality now they were significantly easier. While he did mess up a few times and made only Fine Quality items, those were now the minority. Over the last 21 days he had relentlessly smelted steel to a higher level of quality, and then used it to make his better quality weapons. He had also gained a decent amount of profession exp in the process.
In total he had crafted 18 items. Out of those 18, four were of Fine Quality, a level under what his quest required. 7 of them were of Superb Quality and the last 7 were of Exceptional Quality. Meaning that three of the items had exceeded what the quest required.
With all of the crafting experience he had gained he had also leveled up his class once and his profession twice. With his profession points he gained the skill ‘Powerful Grip.’ He didn't have any other skill to use his last profession point on, so he held onto it. With his skill points he used three of them to level up ‘Powerful Organs’ to level 3 which as a side benefit also revealed the 4th skill in his reinforcement skill tree. Having no reason not to he put his last skill point into the skill
Dense Tendons and Efficient veins ( 1/5 ): Your Tendons are strong like corded rope and your veins are a perfect vessel for blood. Cost to increase 2 Skill point(s).
Level 1 (Passive): Your tendons are stronger and able to better absorb shock and decrease the effectiveness of all negative impacts to your body by 5%. Your veins are more efficient at carrying oxygenated blood, nutrients, and water decreasing all stamina drain from skills and actions by 1%
Level 2 (Passive): decrease the effectiveness of all impacts to your body by an additional 10% and decreasing all stamina drain from skills and actions by an additional 2%
The skill had further increased his forging speed. He grew tired slower, and the reduction to negative impacts also reduced the shock he received while using a hand hammer while forging.
All of those things had finally led to this moment. He only had a single item left to complete his quest and its parts were all sitting before him ready for their final fitting. For his final piece he had decided to go with a long sword. It was probably the weapon he was most familiar with for forging.
Before he began this final assembly he looked over each piece with an inquisitive eye: looking for even the slightest imperfection in any of the components. He held the blade in his hand and observed the patterned Damascus it was made from. He had smelted two different types of steel to make the blade. He had smelted the metal over and over trying to remove even the smallest imperfection in the metal. His dedication had eventually paid off since he was able to get two ingots of Superb Quality. It had taken a lot of effort to not only source the highest quality metal he could find, but also do his own refinement of the metal to push it from Fine to Superb Quality.
He had meticulously planned the Damascus pattern, and the end result was gorgeous. He had gone with a ladder pattern, and it had turned out the best he had ever made it.
Daniel thought back to the many strange dreams he had had over the last two and a half weeks. Before he had been unable to understand or even remember most of what took place in the dreams. However, ever since he had completed ‘For the Forge 4’ and the voice had spoken to him Daniel was able to vividly remember every single dream.
In most he would be forging some items. In some he would be alone in a workshop and in others he would have students that he was teaching. In these dreams he would be forging some item, and the dream would not end until he was finished.
The most disturbing thing about the dreams was his body. It would be his hands making the item, but upon waking he would realize that it had not been him, but someone else. He had just been an inhabitant along for the ride, unable to control what his vessel did. While in the dream he had fully believed that he was the person who he was inhabiting, but upon waking he would be able to separate the experience of the dream and his own memories.
While the foreign memories were concerning they also had a benefit. He had been able to further increase his blacksmithing prowess which brought him back to the present moment. Before him was the best item he had ever crafted. He set down the blade he had been examining, unable to locate any flaws in its construction.
Next was the guard. He had engraved complicated designs into the guard then inlaid gold into the designs. He had been happy to find out through his use of ‘Identify’ that gold was considered a Widespread material. He fit the guard onto the tang of the handle and its fit was near perfect. He could hardly even locate a gap between the blade and the guard.
Next was the handle. He had sourced some foe ivory for its construction. This had been one of the items that he had been forced to redo. The handle was double fluted in design and if his geometry was even slightly off it would ruin the whole design. He could find no flaws and when he slid it on to the tang it too had close to a perfect fit. Lastly was the pummel.
This was also a piece that he had engraved and set with gold, but for this piece it was used as an accent. He had made intricate carvings in the metal to give it his desired look as well as a few gems that he had set into the metal that had been Widespread in Rarity. The pummel and tang were threaded, and as he screwed it on he looked at the sword now that it was fully dry fitted.
Happy with the results and unable to find flaws in its overall construction he removed the pummel and handle. He was ready for the final assembly. Picking up the handle he put some epoxy in the handle and also on the tang of the sword to make sure he got a good bond. Refitting the handle he made sure to wipe up any excess glue so that it did not get on the guard.
Lastly he put some lock tight on the threads on the tang and in the pummel before he also screwed it back on. Just like that he was finished. Before him laid a fully assembled longsword. Soon enough Daniel received the notification he had been waiting for, but before he was even able to open it pain greater than anything he had ever experienced filled his mind.
Kota, who had been laying in the corner ran up to him as he fell to his knees clutching his head. Moments of unconsciousness took him far away from the pain. However while it took him away from the pain it brought him closer to the voices, and he experienced a whole new kind of torment as the babbling of the mad, the screams of the insane, and the pleadings of the desperate assaulted his subconscious mind.
~~~~~~
When he finally awoke Kota was licking his face, and the echo of voices he could no longer hear still filled his mind. He remembered nothing of what had been said, just the feelings they had given off. Daniel reached up and touched his face. It was wet, but that was to be expected since he had woken to Kota licking him. However, when he removed his hand it came away red.
As he laid on the floor there was a notification floating in his vision. He tried to dismiss it, but it wouldn't go away. Seeing no other option and with his head still throbbing he read the message
Psionic Awakening now at 42%
Daniel assumed the message had something to do with him being unable to choose his tier 5 specialization, but he didn't care about that at the moment. He rose from the ground and dragged himself to his shop bathroom where there was a mirror. The sight that greeted him was ghastly. Blood even now still leaked from his eyes, nose, and ears however the flow was diminishing as he watched. His shirt which had been gray was now a pinkish red color. He stripped off his shirt and began to try and rinse off most of the blood. The process took him over half an hour and he was only marginally better than before. He would need to go home and take a nice long shower if he wanted to get the rest of the blood off.
Now that he was… clean he turned to Kota who had followed him into the bathroom and had been watching over Daniel as he got cleaned up. He pet his loyal pupper and let him know that he was alright before he turned his attention over to something else. This whole time an unread notification had been blinking in his vision demanding his attention. Now felt like a person again he opened it up to look over its contents.
Congratulations, you have crafted a Flawless Quality Steel Longsword, and have received 3,200 profession experience (1600 experience directed to main class: Juggernaut)
Item: Steel Longsword
Item Type(s): Weapon, One-Handed, piercing, slashing
Quality: Flawless
Rarity: Common
Suspected worth: 10,412 coins
Features: A steel longsword of near flawless craftsmanship. While it was made by a mundane smith they have brought this weapon to the peak of what their materials would allow.
Appearance: A double edged sword measuring 53 inches in length with the blade being 42 inches long. The blade is made of patterned Damascus steel and the guard and pommel are both inlaid with gold. It has a foe ivory handle and the pummel is carved and set with semi precious gemstones
Congratulations, you have completed the Quest: For the Forge 5 and have been rewarded with Profession experience, a random general skill, Knowledge, and the Quest: In Pursuit of Advancement 1. Experience reward has been increased for exceeding the base requirements for the quest
You have received 14,000 Profession Experience (7,000 experience directed to main class: Juggernaut)
~~~~~~
You have received the General Profession Skill.
Master of the Forge ( 1/5 ): You are the ruler of your forge and metal is what you command. Cost to increase 2 Profession Point(s).
Level 1 (Passive): you have a tiny chance when completing an item that you made entirely by yourself that its quality will be automatically increased by one level
If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Level 2 (Passive): you have a small chance when completing an item that you made entirely by yourself that its quality will be automatically increased by one level
~~~~~~
You have received knowledge
Blacksmithing Lore: Lv. 12 -> Lv. 17
~~~~~~
Quest:
In Pursuit of Advancement 1: Crafting 1 item of Decent Quality or better out of Common Rarity materials.
Reward(s): Profession Experience based on quest completion, Quest: In Pursuit of Advancement 2
Daniel looked at the rewards he had gained. The amount of experience for completing the quest was amazing, and the new skill while having a low chance to activate would be amazing. Out of all of the rewards however the 5 levels he had gained in his ‘Blacksmithing Lore’ skill gave him the most pause. He knew that he gained a level each time he had finished one of the quests, but was the skill itself the reason why he had experienced such intense pain. However, before he could ponder that line of thought any more a new screen entered his vision.
Congratulations, you have reached level 9 (6 -> 9) in your blacksmithing profession, and have received +3 Strength, +3 Endurance, and +3 profession points.
Your class juggernaut has reached level 6 (4 -> 6) you gain +8 points to strength, +8 points to constitution, +2 free attribute points and +8 Skill points.
With the massive amount of experience he had received he had leveled up 3 times in his profession and another 2 in his class. Daniel quickly decided what he would use his profession points on and leveled up his new skill ‘Master of the Forge’ to level 2. He then put his last 2 points into ‘Hammer Strength.’
As for his Skill Points Daniel really didn’t know how he wanted to use them. He could use all 8 of them to reveal his capstone skill for his reinforcement skill tree, but he felt like he was putting too many of his skill points into the tree as it was. However the skill in his reinforcement tree did also help with his blacksmithing. He decided to hold off for the moment. With everything taken care of Daniel looked at his new and improved character sheet.
Name: Daniel Martin
Age: 27
Race: Basic Human
Gender: Male
Level: 6
Tier 4 Class: Juggernaut (Please select your tier 5 class from the available options)
Crafting legacy professions:
Level: 9
Tier 1 profession: Blacksmithing
Physical Attributes:
Agility: 14
Constitution: 30 -> 42
Dexterity: 16
Endurance: 21 -> 26
Strength: 36 -> 53
Mental Attributes:
Charisma: 12
Intelligence: 13
Perception: 15
Willpower: 19
Wisdom: 11
Free Attribute Points: 6
Free Skill Points: 8
Free Profession Points: 0
Coins: 4
Class experience to the next level: 3,577 out of 6,000
Profession experience to the next level: 734 out of 9,000
Feats: Comprehend Languages, Troll Regeneration, The Crafters Legacy
Lore Skills: Blacksmithing Lore: Lv. 17,
General Skills: Identification ( 2/5 ),
Class Skills: Tough Skin ( 2/5 ), Heavy Blow ( 1/5 ), Enhanced Muscles ( 2/5 ), Powerful Organs ( 3/5 ), Death Blows ( 1/5 ), Quickened Blow ( 1/5 ), Dense Tendons and Efficient veins ( 1/5 ),
Profession Skills: Hammer Speed ( 2/5 ), Hammer Strength ( 2/5 ), Powerful Grip ( 1/5 ),
General Profession Skills: Hammer technique ( 2/5 ), Shaping ( 2/5 ), Smelting ( 2/5 ), Master of the Forge ( 2/5 ),
Spells: N/A
Once done Daniel also went back and read his new crafting quest. He once again only needed to craft a single item just like ‘For the Forge 1,’ but this time the item started at a single quality higher than before and he needed Common Materials. The rarity of materials would be a problem: the only metal he had found so far that was a Common Quality was titanium, but it was no good for making weapons. Also if the pattern of this quest was the same then at the fifth quest in the chain he would need to make a flawless item out of materials that he had never worked with before.
That was a problem for later though. Even now Daniel still felt terrible, and he really wanted to go home to get the rest of the blood off of his body. Decision made Daniel locked up his shop, put Kota in his car then drove home. He was also careful to sit and not get blood all over his car. He would hate to stain the seats.
~~~~~~
That evening after he had gotten clean up Daniel was lying on the sofa with Kota laying on the floor next to him. Daniel even now still felt subpar and even now he could still hear the echo of voices that were no longer there. As a way to distract his mind and relax Daniel was watching TV, and was catching up on one of his favorite shows when he was very suddenly and rudely interrupted by a system message that forced itself into his vision.
Warning! All 10,000 heroes have been selected. Time until full integration. 2 months, 29 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes, and 57 seconds.
Users now have access to the system ‘Wiki’ and the ‘Training Hall.’ Good luck Heros.
Total Heros Remaining: 10,000
Daniel read the message and felt that the blade that had been invisible hanging over his head all this time had finally just dropped. He stood up and began to pace around the room as Kota watched him curiously, his head following him back and forth as he paced. The show he had been watching was completely forgotten: He needed a plan. He had three months to prepare for whatever The System had coming happened.
He knew that crafting gave him experience, both for his profession, and to a lesser extent his class. He could try and make as many items as possible to level up his class and profession. With a bit of luck and hard work he might be able to get his main class all the way up to level 10 or 11 before the time limit was up and his profession to level to level 18. That might just give him enough of an edge for whatever came next. However in the back of his mind he knew he was ignoring something important.
The message had said something about a Wiki. He would need to start going over as much of the wiki as he could. It might have some important information that he would need to advance quickly. The message had also mentioned something called the training hall that would need to be the next more important thing to look into.
His mind made up, he went and sat back down on the sofa. Looking at his character page he saw a new window labeled ‘WIki.’ He quickly opened it up and was flooded with options. He was paralyzed by choice for a minute, but quickly remembered his earlier thoughts and began to search for any information on crafting, and how he could further improve.
~~~~~~
The next evening Daniel was once again sitting on his sofa eating dinner. He stayed home in favor of looking over the new Wiki that the system message had mentioned. The wiki contained a lot of amazing information, but he could only read for so long without getting bored, so he decided to watch the news while he ate. He was hardly even paying attention to what the reporters were saying, his mind still preoccupied with planning when something the news reporter said grabbed his attention.
“Hello, ladies and gentlemen, I am Ted Sherman, and we have an interesting story for you all tonight. We have someone here tonight who is claiming that the end of the world will happen in just three months' time. More on that at 10” after the news reporter finished talking the station switched to commercials.
Daniel focused intensely on the TV. He sat on the edge of his seat waiting for the commercials to end. It felt like they lasted for an eternity, but finally, the news came back on the air.
The screen showed a reporter in the middle of a field with a man. The man had long blond hair pulled back into a ponytail. He had very fine features as if sculpted from marble. He almost looked like he could have been a supermodel. He wore a white button-up shirt with a bolo tie and black slacks.
After a short pause the reporter started speaking. “Hello my name is Kelly Winchester and I am reporting live with Mr. Steve Johnson. He is claiming that the end of the world will happen in three months’ time and has offered to show us proof of his claim tonight. Steve, if you wouldn't mind could you explain what you mean by ‘the end of the world as you put it?’”
The reporter and Steve, as Daniel now knew him by, stood in the middle of what looked like a football field surrounded by stadium lights that illuminated the whole area. Then Steve began to talk.
“Thank you Kelly before I show you all my proof. I would first like to tell you a brief story before I show you my proof.” Steve took a deep breath before continuing. “A little more than a week ago now I was taking a hike through the woods when I was attacked by an extremely aggressive and abnormally massive boar. It charged me as soon as it saw me, but I was lucky enough to be carrying a weapon with me that day. I'll spare you all of the gory details, but after dumping my whole 15-round clip into the thing I managed to take it down after a few well placed shots in its eyes. It was a big bastard-- pardon my language, but when I say big I mean when it was standing it was as tall as me. When it died a screen as we might see in a video game appeared in my vision and told me that I had just killed a Tier 1 Titan Boar and gained access to The System. I will go ahead and skip all the details that follow after that happened: all you need to know is that the ‘system’ as it calls itself gave me magic. Real honest to god magic. The kind we only see in fiction.”
turning away from the camera that he had been talking to up until that moment he raised his hand pointing off into the field, his hands began to glow a faint red as fire condensed in his palm then all of a sudden a straight line of fire shot out of his hand and off into the distance. It reached at least 60 feet when it started to fade and then vanish entirely. It left behind a line of fire in the grass over where it had passed.
Steve turned back to face the camera and began to speak as if nothing at all had just happened. I was informed again by this very system that gave me this power that all people like me had been Chosen, and that the end of the world would happen in three months’ time starting yesterday. Consider this a warning that all of us need to prepare for what comes next. I also hope that others like me will find this video, and reach out to me, or to others like me.” With those words, Steve turned and started to walk away from the camera and news reporter.
The camera followed him for a second until the stunned reporter Kelly finally began to speak and the camera turned back to her. “Umm, we will be bringing you back to Ted right after these messages.”
Daniel sat thinking for a solid minute before he decided on what to do. He would try and contact this Steve character and prove to him that he was also another of the chosen heroes. It shouldn't be too hard to do since Steve had left out a lot of information in his story that only one of the ‘Hero's’ like Daniel would be able to fill in.
Pulling out his phone he went onto social media and typed in Steve's full name to see if he could find his profile where he could contact the man. It took him several minutes to find his page since he had a fairly common name, but once he did he quickly typed out a message. He only gave just enough information to prove he was one of the chosen heroes. Daniel read his message aloud one time to make sure it was good before sending it.
“Hello, Steve, I saw that you were looking for others like yourself. I too am one of the 10,000 ‘Heroes’ gifted with a class by The System. I hope this is enough information for you to confirm my identity.”
Daniel figured that would be enough information for the man to take Daniels' message seriously, and not some random spam he was sure to receive because of the stunt that he just pulled on live TV; many would probably think that it was fake or just some kind of special effects and would want to know how he had pulled it off.
Daniel sat back on his sofa and changed the channel to something that would be more entertaining. He didn't expect to get a message until at least tomorrow, but to his surprise, he got a reply almost ten minutes later.
“Hello, Daniel, your message has caught my attention, I would like to meet up with you if possible. Don't worry about coming to me, I will come to you, just give me a time and place and I will get there as fast as possible.”
He hadn't really expected that Steve would take this kind of direct approach. He had expected that they might exchange a few messages and exchange some information, but not for the man to immediately want to meet up in person. Daniel was a little hesitant, but in the end, decided to give him the address to his workshop and told Steve that he would be there tomorrow morning.
A minute later he got an affirmative response. “I see you live not far from me, I expected that I would have to catch the first plane out of here, but it seems that won't be necessary for now. You're about a two-hour drive away from me. I will be seeing you tomorrow morning then.”
That was the last message he received from Steve. Daniel just hoped things would go well tomorrow when they met up face to face. He could only hope.