CHAPTER 7 DAY 5

The alarm sounded too soon. I hit the snooze and found Flicka on the pillow next to me stretched out on her back wanting her belly rubbed and pretending to sleep. “You are not fooling me girl. Off the pillow.” She yawned and went to the foot of the bed and curled up. I moved my foot and she exposed belly and I rubbed it with my foot till the snooze ran out. Turning off the alarm I went to the fridge and grabbed the sandwiches and made quick work of them. I got Flicka her dog food and she reluctantly started eating. She probably wanted some of the roast beef sandwiches. Too bad I was hungry. I drank some water, went to the bathroom and went to the Cocoon to log in. Flicka jumped up into the Cocoon before I closed it. She wanted to keep an eye on me. I felt sorry for her. I over road the close sequence and left the Cocoon open while I logged in. That way Flicka could sleep in the Cocoon while I played.

I had this game session to do whatever I wanted. I figured it would be smart to learn how to use my sword. I went to the warriors guild and paid 50 silver for instruction. An hour later I had learned blade: medium skill from a female elf. She wasn’t too impressed with me and I actually found her good looks distracting.

Blade: Medium 1 Tier 1 unlocked: +1 Strength, Tier 1 attacks can be learned, +2% damage with Medium Blades

I then purchased two tier 1 attacks from the elf to study back at my room for 10 silver each. Heavy swing cost 20 stamina and added 25% damage. Quick stab cost 50 stamina and added 50% damage. Looking at my stamina I was worried I wouldn’t last long. I then asked the elf to train me in wielding my daggers. She said she would have to go get a master with short blades and went into the guild. I middle aged human male came out a short time later. He had daggers secured all over his body. The training was intense and took two hours. He was not gentle. But the investment of one gold was worth it.

Blade: Short 1 Tier 1 unlocked: +1 Agility, Tier 1 attacks can be learned, +2% damage with Short Blades

Two Weapon Fighting 1 Tier 1 unlocked: +1 Agility, Tier 1 attacks can be learned

I was happy that I could now defend myself effectively. The daggers were back up weapons. I was anxious to try my new skills on those rats. On my way back to my room I passed a small magic shop with an elderly gnome behind the counter. He convinced me to come in. Many weird objects were strung around the shop. My eyes went straight to the books he had behind the counter. Most of the books were interesting and expensive but I found the one I was very interested in.

Enchant: Imbue Basic Flame Weapon Tier 3, add 5 fire damage to a weapon (Cost 60 Silver)

With this spell I could make the flame blades I needed, so I dropped the silver. He also had some improved bags of holding. You could only be bound to one bag of holding. Basically anything inside would be protected in PvP and would respawn with you. Worn gear would have to be picked up. My current bag, Basic Bag of Holding (BOUND), weight 5 lbs, capacity 250 pounds was probably good for a character up to 10th level according to the forums. I really liked one bag though, Black Dragon Hide Bag of Holding (Can only be bound once), weight 10 lbs, capacity 500 lbs, +1 to all stats. It was 5 gold. There was another bag that gave +2 to all stats but it was 60 gold. Plus the black dragon hide bag was the most bad ass looking one here. I overcame my inner scrooge and purchased the black bag. My other bag was unbound and I was able to sell it for 10 silver.

This shop was quickly draining my funds as every time I asked the shopkeeper about an item I thought, I could use that. I needed to leave and kill some rate but he brought out this black dragon hide belt that matched my new bag. The basted! The belt was a Black Dragon Hide Belt of Magic, +5 Magic, Doubles Magic Regeneration. It was two gold. The magic regen was too good to pass up and I put the 200 silver down. It was basically a scaling item and for a measly 2 gold a steal.

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Finally tearing myself aware from the money pit I headed to the gates. I had just over four hours of panned game time left. I talked to the guards briefly and found out the rats were causing major problems with the city’s grains stores. I had to go to the barracks and talk to Captain Bellomy to get the quest.

New Quest Tracking: “City Rat Menace”, Captain Bellomy needs the rat population thinned. Bring him 25 large rat tails to prove you have helped

That was a pretty simple quest. With my new skills I could probably do it solo as well. I went back and thanked the guards as I headed out rat killing and herb gathering. My strategy was to cast a 10 second charged rockball spell for 70 damage and then finish the rat off with a single swing from my sword. As long as I hit with both I had 100% kill rate. If I missed with either then things got dicey. I usually only took one or two hits but they hurt. Fortunately I had my heal spell which restored 100 health for 50 magic. Soon I was taking down a rat every five minutes. I tried to skin a few but failed miserably and just cut the tail off and tossed it into my bag without thinking. I was having a blast battling the rats and kept killing into the night and into sunup. I even got a few rabbits. I had better success skinning them. My Earth: Stone magic also hit 99.9% but would level up to 3 because my Earth magic was only at level 1. Earth magic made it to 89% when I had enough but I was frustrated it gained so much slower experience. My herbalism did level which allowed me to start harvesting tier 2 ingredients. I had dozens of plants and fungus which I had no idea what to do with yet.

Herbalism 2 Tier 2 unlocked: +1 Intelligence, identify and safely harvest tier 2 plant and fungus

It was time to log off and I had stayed logged in too long, it was 4:11am. I went to Captain Bellomy and emptied my bag of rat tails, 53 in total. He counted each one with a smile on his face. My reward was 530 copper and a skill book. The skill was Analyze Monster. From the forums I knew this was a basic skill that was invaluable so I was happy I had gotten the book. I also received 100 experience and leveled up!

Ding! You have gained one level. You have 5 stat points and 2 skill points to distribute.

I almost forget that you could level in this game. I dropped two stat points into intelligence and three into magic. I increased intelligence because I had 4 skill books and it reduced the time to digest their contents. The skill points went directly into Magic: Imbue to bring it to level 5.

Enchant: Imbue 4 +1 Magic

Enchant: Imbue 5 Tier 4 unlocked: +1 Magic, Tier 4 imbue spells can now be learned

This unlocked tier 4 enchantments for me. I didn’t have enough money to buy any new enchantments but I knew the first one would be +4 magic, and I would replace my rings and sell the old ones. I was backdooring myself into becoming a powerful stone mage.

I went back to my room, gathered everything into my new bag and logged out.

Flicka was waiting for me. Curled up into my side. I petted her head for a few minutes before climbing down out of the cocoon and bringing her outside. The morning air was chilly. The sky was beginning to lighten. I thought about my building projects, the game, my father and started to form some life plans. I wanted to complete the trailers as soon as possible. The pool and guest house would take 3 months but most of the work would be through the contractor. The pavillon would take about two months. After everything was complete I would yield about $25,000 after taxes and living expenses each month. I pulled out my phone and brought up interested renters. I selected the first eight women on the list, confirmed they were all college students, and sent them a message that units would be available in five weeks. This was a fast timeline but I wanted to push myself to get them done. I went inside to sleep for six hours. My plan was to get up and work all day on the trailers. With Flicka fed I collapsed on the bed. Flicka settled on the floor and went to sleep.

My phone alarm chirped bringing me awake. I dressed and went to the fridge. I made some bagels and had two yogurts. I ordered two large steak subs to be delivered at noon while I worked. I left the cabin with Flicka and went to the trailer site. I worked with a focused intensity. I finished all the floors on the trailers and got almost all the walls framed on the ground. Raising the walls and squaring them would take the entire day tomorrow and I might not quite finish but I was surprised how far I had gotten today. I had devoured lunch and ordered the same thing for tomorrow.

I showered and make three baked potatoes that I topped with greek yogurt and chives. I then ate a pint of Chunky Monkey. Flicka ate her food and cleaned the pint of Chunky Monkey. I gave her some milk as treat before going to the Cocoon. I was right on time when I logged in.