CHAPTER 16 DAY 14

I logged into the game and it was still dark in the village. I was about 30 minutes early today. I went to a table and sat down to craft until the sun came up. We had five possible new guild members coming tomorrow and I planned to make the some gifts. I started with making ten ying-yang rings with emeralds. I was not sure what their classes would be so I made five of them +5 constitution and the other five +5 stamina rings. I figured all classes could make use of these.

Enchant: Imbue 10 +1 Magic

It was probably a good time to check my skills. I opened the tab.

Level

Percent

Air Magic

2

0.0%

Air Magic: Force

1

0.0%

Air Magic: Lightning

1

0.0%

Alchemy

2

34.0%

Analyze Monster

2

2.0%

Artistry: Gem Crafting

1

43.0%

Artistry: Sculture

3

88.0%

Axe: Two Handed

1

13.0%

Blade: Medium

1

81.0%

Blade: Short

1

0.0%

Bowyer/Fletcher

1

1.0%

Construction: Small Water Craft

1

3.0%

Earth Magic

2

52.0%

Earth Magic: Stone

4

99.9%

Enchant

11

33.0%

Enchant: Imbue

10

1.0%

Fire Magic

1

88.0%

Fire Magic: Heat

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

2

92.0%

Herbalism

2

54.0%

Lumberjack

1

11.0%

Ranged Weapon: Bows

1

3.0%

Running

1

22.0%

Sailing: Small Craft

1

65.0%

Skinning

0

34.0%

Spirit

1

7.0%

Spirit: Life

1

29.0%

Stealth: Move Silently

2

17.0%

Swimming

2

20.0%

Swimming: Diving

2

17.0%

Two Weapon Fighting

1

0.0%

Damn I had a lot of skills. It also looked like my Earth: Stone skill was stuck again because the primary Earth skill was too low. I had to fix that. The only earth spell I had was summon earth. The village could use some simple defense structures. Maybe an earth wall with a simple gate at the front and rear to funnel enemies. It would not stand up too well to the elements but it would be a stop gap for now. I started walking the perimeter and noticed the translocation stone in the center of the village, nice! The village was about ¼ mile in diameter so I would need almost a mile of wall. If I made it 5’ thick and 10’ high I would need how much magic…about half a million. Whoa. Not a good use of my time. I would probably be better served making all the archers 10 rings with +5 agility. I didn’t want to make more rings until I could also raise my Earth: Stone skill so I decided to go to Bluewater Bay. I remembered Celina wanted to go so I went and got her and restocked my magic potions while I was in her house.

I went to my old haunt, the Union Mage Hall to see the Earth master mage again.

He was happy to see me, knowing I was here to spend coins.

I purchased a new earth spells.

Summon Earth II Tier 2 Earth, 19+ magic, Summon 1 cu feet of earth for every 19 magic

Summon Earth III Tier 2 Earth, 18+ magic, Summon 1 cu feet of earth for every 18 magic

The summon earth spell went up to ten. There were no other earth spells for purchase. There was a form earth spell which allowed you to manipulate existing earth but it was a tier 5 spell. I asked the master mage what I would have to do to earn the Earth mark. I figured if I got the skill book it would be cheaper than buying it. The mage wanted the horn of earth mole. Ok…I went to the forums…an earth mole was the size of a horse. The nearest one siting was 15 miles north of the city. A farmer was paying for the slaying of the beasts. They also had about 500 health and traveled solo. They moved beneath the earth quickly but could be drawn out if you attacked their lair, usually an earth cave. Not an easy assignment. I marked the location on my map.

Fifteen miles was a hike so I bought me and Celina some cheap riding horses. Although neither of us knew how to ride. Well in four hours of discomfort I should have it figured out.

I don’t think the horses got us there any quicker. It was a two hour ride to the farm. After talking with the farmer to pick up his quest we left the horses there and went to the cave. It was an earthen cave. I told Celina to stay outside while I went in. I followed it a hundred yards before I heard the beast stir. I started charging fire bolt and waited. Two minutes later I was still waiting so I shuffled forward. I started to yell and still nothing. Then the wall to my left exploded and I lost focus on the spell, losing the pooled magic. I was buried under a few inches of dirt and felt my leg being bit.

You have been hit by Earth Mole, 47 damage

Shit. I scrambled away trying to orient myself but the dirt in the air had made it very dark. I drew my sword and used the light of the flame blade to locate my target.

You have been hit by Earth Mole, 42 damage

I cast a heal on myself.

You have been hit by Earth Mole, 42 damage

I was in close combat but cast flame arrow. It turned into a battle of damage, flame arrow, damage, heal repeat. My massive magic pool allowed me to eventually win out. I was filthy. I took off the blasted things horn. It was a hideous unicorn mole as far as I was concerned. I had planned to hunt in the last three caves on the farmers property but that kind of sucked.

Fire: Heat 3 Tier 3 unlocked, +1 Agility, tier 3 spells unlocked

Something useful out of that mess at least…

Exiting the cave Celina came rushing up to me, worried plastered on her face. I took a few minutes before going to the next lair. This time I was smart enough to backpeddle and not get bowled over by the emerging mole. The hail of stones did its job and two flame arrows took it down. The last two moles were much easier now that I was aware of their tactics.

The farmer gave us a few silver for the effort. We rode back to the city in good spirits.

Riding: Horse 1 +1 Agility

We did notice an immediate improvement in our speed with the horses with the skill and it made riding more enjoyable. Celina wanted to take the horses back with us to the island so she could practice and I agreed.

It was dark when we passed through the gates which meant it was getting close to the time for me to log out.

I went into the Union Hall to turn in the four horns while Celina held the horses.

The master mage was very happy with the horns and I was rewarded with the mark, a skill book for Earth, skill book for Earth: Stone and a skill book for Earth: Metal. An excellent haul for me. I looked over his metal spells and selected two for purchase.

Metal Shape Tier 1 Earth: Metal, 25 magic, shape up to ¼ pound of metal

Iron to Steel Tier 3 Earth: Metal, 100+ magic, convert 1 pound of metal per 100 magic

With my new spells in my bag I returned to Celina and transported us and the horses back to the island.

I used my replenished magic to create a +5 magic emerald ying-yang ring.

Then I put on my intellect rings and got work on learning.

Earth Magic 3 Tier 3 unlocked: +1 Channeling, +2% damage Earth Spells

Earth Magic: Stone 5 Tier 4 unlocked: +1 Constitution, Tier 4 stone spells can now be learned

Earth Magic: Metal 1 Tier 1 unlocked: +1 Strength, +2% damage Earth Spells

Water Magic 1 Tier 1 unlocked: +1 Speed, Tier 1 water spells can now be learned

I then learned five spells before logging out, metal shape, summon earth III, minor rock boulder, water breathing and flame spear. I realized my Summon Earth II was kind of useless. I noticed my summon earth was overwritten in my spell book with summon earth III. I logged out.

It was 7:17am. I yawned. As I was getting out of the Cocoon I heard Flicka coming down the stairs to great me. I went to fridge and drank a half gallon of orange juice. Gina left a note there was a frozen meal in the freezer. She hadn’t had time to make something. I sighed and opened the freezer. There were 8 pints of Ben and Jerry’s and a half dozen frozen meals. I grabbed a pint of ice cream and made it breakfast.

I went to sleep for 6 hours and then went and finished the electrical. My lunch was a second pint of Ben and Jerry’s. It was 7pm when I got back to the cabin. Gina was watching TV with Flicka in her lap. I went to the fridge a salad was on the top shelf. It had grilled chicken, tomatoes, feta, olives and cucumbers. A weird mix and not gourmet. I wondered if the honeymoon was over with Gina.

We chatted a bit and I found out she had some exams and papers. She didn’t have much free time to cook. She had on shorts and my eyes kept drifting to her legs. Before my hormones got too far out of control I went to the Cocoon. It was almost 8pm and I figured everyone should be in game now.