KIRYUN PART 1

Michael burst out of the Inn and took a look around for any hint of a fight. Nothing caught his eye so Michael was conflicted about where to start. His body moved before his mind even processed the second scream and he ran down the street towards a large bar. There were usually some hired guards around bars and the lack of guards hinted at a problem. In front of the bar doors was a large sign with a golden crest on a green background. The crest was in the shape of a wolf’s head with a spear through it.

The streets held no one but a few wanderers. It was almost noon so most of the citizens were still in the center of the city and away from the Inns and bars so there was no need to walk through a large mass of people. Michael’s run attracted no special stares and the few glances from the guards told Michael that he would receive no help or interruptions from them.

Michael pushed open the double doors and surveyed the room. A large counter was on his left and some stairs were placed at the far corner of it - meant to lead to the living spaces of the proprietors. The rest of the space was given to large and small round tables with stools and the far right corner had another set of stairs leading to the basement. A set of doors was placed beside those stairs and had the words ‘Private Rooms’ overhead. It was from these doors that a third scream emerged.

Michael whispered “Stealth” since he didn’t want to give any warning to the enemy. There were no other signs of people in the bar and the owner, an old but sturdy man with a gaunt look, was behind the counter. He had been eying the private rooms but hadn’t made a single move towards it and he gave a hopeful look to Michael. Michael gave a small disgusted look back and the old man turned his head in embarrassment.

Michael rushed past the tables and a few dozen men arrived at the entrance to the bar. Michael’s speed further increased the distance so there wasn’t much worry there. He switched sights as he ran through the ‘Private Room’ doors and used some Mana to manipulate the green Mana and create small blocks to rise from the wooden floor. A miniature version of his ‘Forest Wall’ skill.

The door held under the mass of rushing bodies with the help of the door stoppers and even if it looked rather weak it at least didn’t give off the telltale groan of stress. Michael gave a sigh of relief and then made his way down a short hall. There were three private rooms all side by side and Michael noted the thick walls. His Sight was still switched and he also noted a slight amount of wind Mana inside the walls. Something to block sound? Michael headed towards the sounds coming from an open door at the end of the hall.

“Porter! Hurry up with the capture and help me!”

“Handle that yourself! We have our hands full trying to tie this girl up. Shes strong and heavy, even for us.”

‘Kidnappers?’

Michael had some confusion about the situation since he doubted any lowly group should have been able to handle Liera. Peering into the room, Michael saw 3 men in light armor, 2 wielding clubs. They had green cloaks on that had the same crest on the back and Michael saw that they had swords sheathed on their belts. The use of clubs instead of swords meant that they didn’t want bloodshed.

Two of the men were struggling with Jemma. She was being held by one man who was also trying to tie her up while the other was trying to jam his club into her mouth. It was a rather harsh scene but their struggling showed that it was more troublesome than violent. They didn’t actively abuse her and Jemma had few injuries; her body had no cracks or paint smudges from rough treatment.

Liera was trapped in a corner and fighting a man with her quick speed. Her hits couldn’t get under his range though and the occasional counter knocked her back into the walls, although she recovered quickly. Her injuries were more numerous than Jemma’s but she didn’t seem to be critically wounded. Liera was trying to go to Jemma’s rescue but her opponent was far too skilled for her to deal with quickly. She needed to calm down more than anything. Michael noted that her features were becoming more wolf-like as she got angrier which meant she was probably gonna snap and transform soon.

Michael didn’t see any Mana changes on the men but he did note some changes in the clubs they held. He couldn’t figure out what the clubs did but he guessed it had something to do with fortifying since Liera’s opponent was using it without reserve. Touching those or the swords later would be of great use.

“IA.”

The whisper was actually caught by the skilled warrior and he shouted a warning to his companions. He was smart enough to not let down his guard and the man who was trying to shut Jemma up turned to face Michael. Michael however had turned IA up to 4:1 speed so everything was quite slow. Michael moved into the room and used every second properly.

Drawing his attack dagger with his left, Michael specially flexed his right arm and two throwing daggers sprung into his open hand. Michael took aim and threw the daggers at the group; one towards the turning man and the other towards Liera’s opponent. The turning man caught they dagger directly in his neck and toppled over while the other dagger plunged into the side of Liera’s opponent. Michael didn’t want to kill Liera’s prey.

Michael turned off IA as he wanted to conserve as much Mana as he could. Approaching the final man, Michael noted that Liera had taken advantage of the momentary lapse from the skilled man and dug her transformed teeth into his shoulder. She was angry enough to actually draw a large amount of blood from the man and his screams made Michael wish she had taken him down quicker. The final man had given up on tying Jemma and drew his sword. The sword was then placed on Jemma’s shoulder with the edge close to her neck.

“Stop! Stop in the name of my Lord, Sir Orwell or I will have to resort to drastic measures. We are to take these two to see him in Carihaven. Cease your actions and comply with his ruling. I will overlook the murder of my comrades but you must not interfere anymore.”

“Murder? The man I hit  is still alive. The damage to his health shouldn’t have been too high, even for a critical hit.  And Liera won’t kill her prey quickly anyways. I don’t know what power your lord has but this is Kiryun not Carihaven. Besides, these two are my companions and I cannot overlook what is happening here.”

At the word ‘Companion’ the man’s relief turned into stoic determination and his blade’s edge touched Jemma’s neck. Michael had approached during the discussion and he was close enough to bend down and touch the fallen man’s sword. The slight gurgle from the man was an enjoyable sound.

Steel Sword

Uncommon

Durability: 137/150

Attack: 30-50

A well made steel sword created by an Expert. Swords of this calibre are produced in sets and are specially made for the warriors of important households.

Requires:

Strength - 60

Vitality - 40

Agility - 45

A good sword. Michael judged that the man’s story was true since their equipment and weapons were of proper quality. Their master’s crest must also be rather important since the Barkeeper was willing to let their actions continue instead of driving them out. Actually that would mean that their master was a person of high ranking.

All of this was listed and then ignored by Michael. Now that he had information MIchael thought about the effects of that sword trying to slice a stone and accepted the answer in his head. He stood and once again approached the man.

The look in Michael’s eyes must have told the man something because he gave up trying to convince Michael and shut his opening mouth. He gave an agonizing groan before moving the sword and sliding it along Jemma’s throat. A long shcreeech sounded and Jemma giggled a bit at the touch. The man was gaping in surprise but that was wiped off his face when Michael approached close enough to thrust his dagger into the man’s sword arm. A punch cut off the man’s groan and he collapsed, dropping the blade and releasing Jemma into Michael arms.

Michael almost toppled over himself from Jemma’s weight. She didn’t seem to want to stand up himself and he contemplated stepping back and letting her drop. He stopped that thought and used a little more strength and concentration as he pulled her upwards and forced her to stand. She complied and Michael glanced over at Liera. Her blood soaked face greeted him.

The man she was facing was on the ground, clutching his nearly unattached right arm and writhing in pain. Michael noted that there was probably a difference in pain between getting an arm cut off or getting a good chunk bitten off. He lightly whacked Liera’s head and didn’t say anything as she looked sullen enough. She knew it wasn’t good to lose control of herself.

Michael took out some small to moderate health potions and approached the man with the neck hole. Pouring a bit into the wound, Michael watched as it very slowly closed up. The man was constantly spitting out blood to clear his airway but he could survive without air for a few minutes. Michael forced the potion bottle into his hand and then moved on to Liera’s victim.

The man was a bleeding mess. His arm was dangling by bone and a little flesh and the man was near mad with the pain. Liera didn’t bite down hard enough to crush and rip apart the bone so she caused needless pain. Michael drew his sword and eyed the man. The man wasn’t far enough not to understand and he nodded in near relief. There was no healing magic that can specifically heal this much specific damage. It was better to cut off the entire arm and heal the entire limb. Michael swung the sword and quickly knocked the man out with a kick. Michael formed some air into a small ball in his hands and sparked it alight before placing it on the man’s wound and cauterizing it.

All of this took half an hour and Michael noted that the banging on the door down the hallway had stopped much earlier. The screams from the men must have deterred them or Jemma’s Cry of a Maiden had worn off. All of this made his next task easier since he didn’t have to worry about interruptions.

The least injured man was starting to stir as Michael approached him and Liera had tied him up properly when Michael was treating the other two. The neck man had swallowed the health potion and was visibly recovering so Michael directed Jemma to sit on the man. His near scream and the sound of his ribs breaking caused Michael to note that he needed to get some information on how much she weighed. It would also have to be when no one else was around…

Michael slapped the man a few times to wake him. Michael poured a small bit of a moderate health potion on his arm wound before letting the man hold the rest. Michael watched as the man recovered slowly. Michael noted that he would need to try and find out the ingredients for a general cure potion in case of headaches or illnesses like what these people may experience from getting knocked out all the time.

“So why does Sir Owen want with these two anyways?”

When all three men had been healed and tied up, they were planted on their knees before the Tribunal. That is, they were before Michael and Liera was glaring at them. Jemma was taking a nap on one of the chairs in the room.

The private room had essentials for basically any parties. The chairs ranged from child sized to regular size and the large table in the center could become a makeshift bed if needed. The two closets in the corners of the room were large and spacious and the drawer beside the door held papers with charcoal and pens. The room was paid by the hour and was relatively expensive but Michael Managed to extend the time for the room by several hours with the help of Jemma. Their funds were large when you included what they made from the Ancient Coins and the amount they won from betting on Michael.

The three men were placed on the far side of the room, away from the door. Their hands were tied with some strips from their expensive looking cloaks that Michael disassembled with his Tailoring. Michael was seated a metre away from the group and he had IA on 2:1 just in case of surprises. His chair was creaking under the weight of him and the ring bonuses. On a side note, he usually removes the rings when sleeping so that the bed doesn’t break. Liera was behind Michael and to the left, seated on top of the table while Jemma was seated on a chair that was placed right in front of the door. Michael didn’t want any interruptions so Jemma was the doorstop.

“How dare you! My Lord is Sir Orwell and my Lord’s wishes must be complied. As one of his blood I cannot -”

“Useless.”

The people who worked for nobles and signed and swore family blood oaths were extremely fanatic in what they did. So Michael quickly knocked the man out again and placed him the side. Blood oaths were very powerful but rare so Michael highly doubted all three of them were Bloods. Michael turned towards the one armed man.

“How about you two? Want to answer me?”

“We weren’t told anything. We’re hired mercs from ‘Rising Phoenix’ and we were told to follow that one. We wish that you won’t treat us any worse. Under contract we had to follow orders. Plus we technically didn’t permanently injure anyone.”

The polite tone from the man was in direct contrast with the messy look he had. Blood had soaked his armor and leathers and his cloak was being used to wrap the bloody remains of his arm. A faint smell of burnt flesh was still in the room and the man was probably in a great deal of pain.

There were two ways to recover limbs. If the entire limb was only cut off, you would only need the services of surgeons and a light healer to reattach it. For more serious wounds you need a master ranking healer and some remains of the arm. Recovering limbs without the actual limb is a God-ranking skill.

Michael assembled the rest of the pieces of the puzzle in his head. The Blood member was probably given short orders to take Liera and Jemma to Sir Orwell. He was to resort to any means necessary which is why he was able to threaten Michael with hurting Jemma and even if he did cut her neck he probably had some way to heal her. Obviously as a statue that destroyed any sort of planning they did.

The other two were hired to help bolster the mission. One skilled person to handle any problems and one grunt to help. Liera was probably stronger than they thought but the man was definitely skilled. Jemma that was the largest anomaly in their plan. Her scream had the added bonus of the skill and stats that was specifically aimed to get help so she was the main reason it all failed. Michael ended his thoughts with a plan to train Jemma in some way. The shield he won earlier came to mind but Michael had zero training in fighting with a shield and Jemma would need a proper teacher.

Michael sighed at the growing problems. He didn’t wish to cause any more problems and he was sure that further damage to the three would be exactly that. Letting the Blood member go would be a mistake but Michael couldn’t see any good ending if he killed him. The other two…

“How much were you two paid?”

“H-huh?”

“I wish to buy your contract. How much were you two paid?”

“300 gold total, 250 for me and 50 for him. I don’t think you can-”

“I’ll give a thousand if you tell your guild not to continue helping him. Tell the other mercenary guilds the same.”

The man looked shocked at the amount and Michael would have been as well. The last he looked though, he had about 9000 gold in total. 6000 was from the selling of Ancient coins earlier and he spent about 1000 on supplies across the city. 5000 gold was left and 200 coins were betted on Michael during the Tournament. Michael was overstating his ranking and he didn’t know that the more important watchers of the tournament had seen his skills and bet on him as well. As more and more people bet on him, Michael’s odds when they placed the bet was at 20/1 which was lower than he had thought. In the end the 200 gold coins turned into 4000 instead of the hundred of thousands that Michael had anticipated.

Afterwards, Michael agreed to 1250 gold coins - the other man was very shrewd and actually Managed to increase how much he could be bought off with - as well as having them deal with the problem of Sir Orwell. The Blood member was handed off to them and Michael went to get 5 large bags filled with gold coins. The bar was empty of anybody and even the owner had disappeared. A sign at the door said that the bar was closed until further notice.

With the trade off complete, Michael and the rest went back to the inn and into their respective rooms. Michael had seen Liera’s sullen look but he knew that he made the right decision. Gaining further ire from a powerful noble would cause greater problems in the future. Especially when their goal in the future was to head to Carihaven.

Lerisa hadn’t awoken from Jemma’s scream and she was still sleeping in. She usually awoke only when the sun was fully in the sky so it was still early for her. Lerisa was by herself in a double room since Catherine was staying at the Church for a month and Michael decided to switch the two doubles with a triple the next day. In his own room Michael stayed up a while and devised a schedule for the next few weeks.

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The next day, Michael went into the Craft Series district and went inside the blacksmiths area. He was greeted with nods from people who had been there when he first went and he politely returned the greetings. Michael went towards the back of the area where there was only one smiths station. The station mysteriously was placed far away from the other areas but he wasn’t denied the right to work there so he didn’t think much of it.

Michael took out various pieces of metal that he had bought. He bought a moderate quantity of alloys from respectable areas so he could create the items he wanted today.

Bronze was the alloy he would be working with mainly but Michael also took out small chunks of pure Gold and Mythril. He heated the forge patiently band melted down the Bronze.

Michael switched sights and focused deeply on the Mana within the liquid Bronze. Finding the right shades of color, Michael poured Mana into his work and twisted the liquid metal. He kept the Fire Mana from leaking from the metal which kept the metal hot and easy to manipulate. Michael fashioned several rings from the previous chunk of metal and when 5 rings were created in midair he slowly cooled down two of them.

Releasing his hold of heat aspect of the metal, Michael noted down any changes in the metal’s body. He once tried to rip out all of the heat from a sheet of metal and the thing crumpled inwards like paper. This time he kept an eye on the shape of the rings and nodded in satisfaction when the rings were properly cooled and in the right shape. The rings were deceptively thin and each weighed almost 800 grams each.

With those two done, Michael took out a small piece of gold and melted it down to a tiny sliver. He manipulated it the same way he did with the rings and he created a thin string of gold. Then he moved back towards the three rings.

For the last three rings he wanted to work on them one by one. He didn’t use a lot of Mana but he also had Mana potions available just in case so he was able to concentrate on each properly.

For the first ring, Michael created a groove that spiraled around the ring and ended where it started. Michael took his string of gold and placed it within the groove and then cut it off when it completed its circuit. He patiently cooled the ring as he kept watch of the two different metals inside of the ring. When it finished cooling, Michael placed it alongside the finished two rings and moved back towards the forge.

Taking out the Mythril, Michael stared at it for a bit. He had never been allowed to work with it before but he understood the information about it. Under his sight the metal was abundant with Mana and appeared as almost a shining rock. The Mana inside of it was a mixture of every type and it did not help him at all in his manipulation of the metal. It would require a constant heavy usage of Mana to work with it. Michael took out several moderate Mana potions after consuming the weaker potions he had left out before. His mana recovered to a proper quantity and he placed the Mythril inside of the forge.

The Mythril required a very high temperature in order to melt and after waiting ten minutes, Michael decided to increase the temperature. Using the bellows he pumped air into the forge and it roared with greater intensity. It still wasn’t enough though so Michael decided on a different way. Michael took out several more Mana potions and then focused on the wind inside and outside of the workshop. With a huge surge of Mana, Michael rushed as much of the air as he could into the forge and the amount of heat was staggering. The colour of the fire was flickering between a clear orange and white flame.

Michael had to back up a few metres before he was sure he wouldn’t get burned but he continued to push air into the forge. He downed several potions whenever he saw that his Mana was approaching dangerous levels. Using his sight, Michael saw the increasing glow from the Mythril and when it stopped growing Michael immediately used a large chunk of mana to halt the decrease of heat from the liquid metal. Michael stopped the air manipulation and approached the forge.

Michael needed to decrease his sight as he approached. The liquid Mythril was practically pulsing with white light and Michael would have gone blind if he had looked at it in full Mana sight.

Gulping down a few more potions, Michael quickly manipulated the liquid Mythril and created a string of it like he had done with the gold. The silvery blue-white metal was then placed the groove of a ring and cut off when it successfully filled the groove. The end result was a liquid Bronze ring with a band of Mythril wrapped around it. Michael cooled this ring slowly and carefully. He couldn’t afford to waste time in redoing it. When the ring was complete he reverently placed the ring beside the others.

Now it was time for the last ring. Everything up till now was an experiment and the best ring would be done now. The last Bronze piece was the thickest one and had the greatest shine. Carefully, Michael used his drawing skills that he had obtained from ‘painting’ and created a beautiful and smooth design on the ring, then manipulated the Gold and Mythril strings towards the band. The outline of the ring was made with the Mythril and the detailed inside were enshrined in gold.

The end result was an exquisite silvery blue-white wolf with golden eyes, fangs, and claws. The entire design was miniature in size but grand in detail. It probably wasn’t a world greatest but Michael’s skills will only increase over time. Michael cooled the ring with a patient and pleasing aura. He had nearly finished and it was probably not evening yet.

The final touch after the cooling was making the ring to last. Since each metal piece was attached during their liquid state, the rings were seamless and nearly perfect. There was still the occasional bumps though and Michael took out his sculpting knife to solve that. Slowly, Michael carved each ring slowly and sliced away the excess metal from the rings. He used quite a bit of strength and he went through several knives as they dulled beneath the strength of the Mythril, but in the end smooth and beautiful rings were left over.

The entire process took around 7 hours. Michael had been there since the morning and the Blacksmiths shop had been filled to capacity as people entered and stayed to watch Michael’s motions. None of the blacksmiths had ever seen anyone use Magic in the creation of equipment and Michael’s use of magic to keep the metals in liquid state, increase the heat of the forge with a large quantity of air, and then delicately combine metals to form jewelry left everyone there gaping. The only ones who didn’t seem to care were the ‘Otherworlders’ who had even tried to interrupt Michael’s work and ask for advice. They were promptly beat up and thrown out and a sign was placed to warn off ‘Otherworlders’ and non-blacksmiths.

Michael opened up the information boxes that he had been ignoring for the hours he had worked.

Bronze

A large piece of pure bronze. The alloy is made of a composition of Copper and Tin. Heavier than Steel.

Composition:

Copper - 88%

Tin - 12%

5 kilograms

About 25-30 Gold pieces worth.

Gold

A small chunk of pure Gold. Malleable and Soft metal, it is not recommended to create an object made entirely of Gold.

500 grams

Pure form. Worth about 12 gold pieces.

Mythril

A small chunk of precious Mythril. A strange metal that can be used in a variety of items, this metal has incredible mana stored within. Using this metal can grant special properties to items. Enchanting items made of Mythril will grant special characteristics. The creation of this metal is currently unknown and various religions state Mythril as a God ranked metal.

500 grams.

Pure form. Worth about 200-300 gold pieces.

You have halted the cooling aspect of ‘liquid Bronze’. Mana will decrease at a rate of 50 per minute.

You are manipulating ‘liquid Bronze’. Mana will decrease at a rate of 10 mana per minute per kilograms controlled. You have a current mana upkeep of 47 Mana per minute.

You have changed the cooling aspect of ‘liquid Bronze’. Metal will now cool at 70% the normal speed.

You have a current total mana upkeep of 66 Mana per minute.

You have halted the cooling aspect of ‘liquid Gold’. Mana will decrease at a rate of 40 per minute.

You are manipulating ‘liquid Gold’. Mana will decrease at a rate of 18 mana per minute per kilograms controlled. You have a current mana upkeep of 9 Mana per minute.

You have changed the cooling aspect of ‘liquid Bronze’ and ‘liquid Gold’. Metal will now cool at 50% the normal speed.

You have a current total mana upkeep of 100 Mana per minute.

You have a current total mana upkeep of 734 Mana per minute.

You have been slightly burned and damaged due to intense flames.

Health - 300.

You have halted the cooling aspect of ‘liquid Mythril’. Mana will decrease at a rate of 90 per minute.

You are manipulating ‘liquid Mythril’. Mana will decrease at a rate of 40 mana per minute per kilograms controlled. You have a current mana upkeep of 20 Mana per minute.

You have changed the cooling aspect of ‘liquid Bronze’ and ‘liquid Mythril’. Metal will now cool at 40% the normal speed.

You have a current total mana upkeep of 149 Mana per minute.

You have changed the cooling aspect of ‘liquid Bronze’, ‘liquid Gold’, and ‘liquid Mythril’. Metal will now cool at 20% the normal speed.

’Elemental Manipulation’ has leveled up.

’Sculpting’ has leveled up.

Bronze Ring

Common

Durability: 400/400

A heavy ring made of pure Bronze. The workmanship is highly skilled and the ring is deceivingly heavy.

Can add a total of 1 Enchantment.

Twisted Gold Ring

Uncommon

Durability: 350/350

A heavy Bronze ring with an infused Golden band. The workmanship is highly skilled and the ring is an incredible piece in its simplicity.

Charm + 10

Mana + 20

Can add a total of 3 Enchantments.

Twisted Mythril Ring

Rare (High Class)

Durability: 320/320

A heavy Bronze ring with an infused Mythril band. No mana has been lost in the making of this ring. The purity of the Mythril causes slight damage to any Dark-aligned creatures that see it. An incredible piece of jewelry with high magic potential.

Mana + 200.

Mana regeneration + 10 per minute.

Can add a total of 5 Enchantments.

Devouring Fenrir Ring

Unique

Durability: 500/500 (Very hard to break. Resistant to physical and magical damage)

An incredibly detailed Bronze ring with Mythril and Gold embedded into the design. This piece of work will be highly sought after and the magic potential in this ring is incredible. The wolf design is highly detailed and shows a great understanding of the species.

Charisma + 30

Presence + 40

Health + 300

Mana + 400

Mana regeneration + 14 per minute

Mana Control + 40

Can add a total of 9 enchantments. All enchantments are 30% more effective.

*Due to your characteristics of ‘Wolf Pack Leader’ all members of the pack gain a 5% increase in stats. Orders are more likely to be obeyed.

The quality of what Michael had created was a little shocking but he based most of it on the incredible power of the Mythril being used. Gold wasn’t a very powerful metal and was only precious due to its rarity and specific characteristics. The pure form of Gold was a little better but it was weak by itself and not a satisfactory metal. Mythril however was even rarer than Gold and was a powerful metal in its own right. With its own source of Mana regeneration and a hardness that steel can’t compare to, it was an extremely valuable metal. The difference in stats between the ‘Twisted Gold Ring’ and the ‘Twisted Mythril Ring’ displayed the discrepancy. If the gold ring could be sold for 20-30 gold, then the Mythril ring would have been worth around 1200. The untouched Enchantment slots were also part of it.

Enchantments were different from the usual magic or skills everyone has. For one, there was no skill for Enchanters to benefit from so their numbers were few and rare. The skills needed to enchant were hard to acquire since there was a lack of teachers and the Enchanters themselves had low skills.

Harold olr Opinio was a different kind of person altogether. He had a near God ranked level of magic and he was a Master Alchemist. His enchantments were also extremely powerful and Harold taught Michael a few techniques of Enchanting. One of these techniques was gravity increasing.

The basics of Enchanting is basically a connection between the user and a Magic Crafting God Weland. The user plunges the item into a specific task, pours a mixture of Earth and Fire Mana from their own body into the item, and then prays to Weland every day in order to solidify the magic. The type of prayer is as important as the task and getting either wrong could result in random stats.

For example, to create a Gravity Ring you would first need to place a proper ring on a surface and then place a heavy object over it. The object should only be twice as heavy as the ring. You will than have to fill the ring with your personal supply of Earth and Fire Mana and then simply pray to Weland. The prayer is just a simple plea to create a Gravity increasing ring. This is repeated the next day as the Earth and Fire Mana has been absorbed by the ring and the user will need to increase the weight by double again. This will be repeated until the user wishes it to be complete or the ring cannot absorb more Mana.

If the user does not say the prayer right than some other stats may be given. For example the weight on the Ring may just cause the Ring to gain an increase in weight. This will cause the user to equip 10-40 kilogram useless ring.

The accumulation of stats depends on the ring. For a simple Bronze ring it would be 2% then 4% then 8% all the way to a max of 64%. An Iron ring will start at 5% and double. A Steel Ring will start at 12.5% and a mixed ring will have different results. Doing multiple enchantments is possible but it is more safer to do it one at a time.

Now that Michael was finished, he looked over his station and noted the mess. The flakes of metal was mixed and it would be difficult to divvy up the different metals so Michael just piled the flakes together along with whatever left over metal he had and then melted the lot as one. If he collected enough crap metals like that he could later split them apart and gain a sizable quantity of recycled metal. Michael placed the messed up metal ball in his bag and then wrapped the rings individually. He would use the bronze ring and the gold ring and make Gravity enchantment on those. The Mythril rings will have different enchantments.

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Heading back to the Inn, Michael bought a few weighted pieces of metal. He needed solid weights that would be perfect for the enchantments so he went to specialists and freely used his money to buy dense small weights made of heavy materials. A month in the city would be enough time to add several proper enchantments.

Afterwards, Michael headed back towards Sam’s place. Crossing the city and taking in the sights, Michael mentally listed everything he needed to do.

First was to get the guild points from Sam. Questions would need to be asked about what the points can even be used for and then Michael needed to get more information on this Sir Orwell. Next was to inquire about a shield user that can teach Jemma. The actual shield was different so Jemma would only need to know the basics and then train herself in the skills. Like how Michael needed to create his own way of fighting with the curved blade.

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“Ahhhh Welcome back Michael. I finisssshed examining your coinssss yesssterday and I’m jussst compiling how much pointsssss it all comesss down to. Pleassse. Ssssit and wait.”

After welcoming Michael, Sam went back into the innermost area of the house leaving Michael sitting in the foyer he had never been in before. The room was small and felt it would be cramped if more than 4 people were inside. At the center of the room was a low table with short stools around it. If Michael was any taller it probably would have been uncomfortable but he sat down easily and made himself comfortable.

When Sam came back a while later, he was holding a small booklet of paper with a pen and an ink jar. Seating himself across from Michael, Sam flipped through to booklet and then dipped the pen in the ink, dabbed the excess on his stained cuffs and wrote.

“The coinsss you gave me causssed alot of problemss when I sssshowed them to my companionsss. They were exccccited about the find and wondering about where they were found. I told them and they all agreed that the mountain was virtually untouched for a long while. Examining the coinsss, I have consssulted with the rulesss of the guild and entered the following information. Since the coinsss were made individually in the passst, the quality of each differsss but they each alssso give valuable information on the techniquesss used as well as informtion on how the ancientsss used currency. Thossse coins will be crosssssreferenced with whatever coins were already found. Based on the importance of the find, I have decided to examine the information of each coin and reward points individually.”

Sam had taken up several coins throughout the explanation and pointed vaguely at the discrepancies between each. Michael’s eye had caught small details such as the maker’s mark on several and the slight difference in size. Sam continued after putting down the coins and picking up the booklet.

“All in all, I have counted a total of 613 pointsss. The amount hassss already been distributed into your account and a report hassss just been sssent to Carihaven. I will keep the coinss and sssstudy them before sssending them to Carihaven asss well.”

“Show my Guild Status.”

Guild StatusNameMichael KaneGuildHistorical SocietyPosition in GuildMemberGuild Points613Ranking in GuildC# of Guild Members142

Michael nodded in appreciation of Sam’s work before going through his mental list of questions.

“Thank you, if I may ask some questions…? Alright, first what can I actually use my guild points on? As in how much are the guild points worth?”

“An underssstandable quessstion. Guild pointsss can be usssed for a variety of thingsss. Firssst, each guild point can be equated to 20 modern gold piecesss. You may ussse the pointsss to hire a member or someone through guild connectionsss. You may alssso rent or buy sssome of the itemsss the guild obtainssss. Members are usssssually hired from 10-30 guild pointssss and only people who volunteer may be hired. Items ranging from Uncommon to Unique costssss a hefty ssssum. 10-200 pointssss for the itemsss. You will have to get more information in Carihaven. Artifactsss cannot be traded.”

“Is there any other way to use it?”

“Hmmm ah yes, the new Quest teachings has also been added to the Guild. Depending on the ranking of a quest you wish to post, you will need to give a proper amount of points. Rank F quests costs just 1 guild point and also a small reward for the person who finishes it. For example, if I give you a quest to buy some supplies across the city it would cost 1 guild point and some gold as a reward. Not a very good system, I know, but the higher ranking quests make more sense. Rank E quests costs 3 points, D costs 5, C costs 10 and B costs 20. Rank B quests are basically dungeon hunting quests that have a very high potential for rewards. That mountain you were in can be designated as a low Rank B or high rank C quest.”

Sam stood up after the information and went through a door to the kitchen. Michael sat there organising the information he had gotten and decided on a few more questions when Sam came back. Carrying a tea set, Sam poured both of them a cup before settling back.

“You said quest ranking up to B rank. What about higher ranks.”

“Its a little difficult to say...here, ‘Show Guild Quest Requirements to Michael’.”

Guild Quests CostsRank F

* 1 guild point

* Max of 5 gold reward

* Only common type rewards

Rank E

* 3 guild point

* Max of 15 gold reward

* Only common type rewards

Rank D

* 5 guild point

* Max of 50 gold reward

* Only common and uncommon type rewards

Rank C

* 10 guild point

* Max of 100 gold reward

* Only common to Rare type rewards

Rank B

* 20 guild point

* Max of 500 gold reward

* Only common to Unique type rewards

Rank A

* Only Guild Master or a respected Leader can give A rank quests

* Given 50 guild points to help accomplish the quest

* Items and rewards are dictated by the person assigning the quest

Rank S

* Only Gods and Goddesses or beings of immense power can give S rank quests

* Given as many points as dictated by the being in order to help accomplish the quest

* Guild points, items, and other rewards are dictated by the person assigning the quest

Rank SA

* Only one of the True-Neutral God or Goddesses can give SA rank quests

* Given free reign over Guild items including Artifacts

Rank SS

* Only Janira can give SS rank quests

* Given free reign over the Guild in order to accomplish the task

“I-isn’t S rank quests and higher kind of going overboard?”

“I agree but no one can change it. SsssA and SsssSsss rank questsss pretty much grant the usssser more power than the Guild Massster which will cause disssassstroussss resultsss after the completion of the quesssst. What happens if the person abusssesss the free reign and causssesss the dessstruction of the guild? Or what happens when factionsss of the Guild ssstart to ssssupport different leaderssss? Thisss issss all too recent and difficult to adapt to.”

Michael agreed with Sam’s points but he had a different worry. Joining a guild was voluntary and usually members were granted a high degree of freedom to do what they wanted. This quest system however was a great deterrent to Michael’s freedom. If a person manages to get an SS rank quest then Michael will not be able to freely do what he wanted.

Michael and Sam sipped tea for a bit and they both contemplated the problems associated with the questing system. Guild Quests didn’t seem very worth it until C and B rank so that caused problems for lower ranking members who could have benefited from it all. The Guild Master can probably give churn out quests whenever it was possible but that couldn’t be relied on either.

Stopping the useless train of thought - it would be best to get information in Carihaven itself - Michael focused back on Sam and caught his eye.

“Another thing I am here for is information. I’ll be staying in the city for the next month so I would like to talk about some things.”

“Of courssse. Go right ahead.”

Michael’s thoughts flashed towards the items he had in his bag before he focused on Sam again. Gravity Enchantments were low end items since they had a specific use and function and he could probably do all three rings by the end of the month. The other two were being saved for later, when he could get more information on other types of Enchantments.

“First, is there any such thing as a Shield master? I would like to train someone in using a shield and I don’t think a sword and shield wielder would help.”

“You may have better luck asssking the Combat Sssseriessss people that quessstion. However, to my knowledge there isss no one that is renowned for their ssshield sssskillss.”

Michael nodded at the answer. He had never seen, heard, or imagined anyone that could use a shield extensively. Michael didn’t think he could get Jemma to wield a weapon to kill a person so the Shield was a compromise. She could block with it and attack if necessary. Fists were too up close and personal, swords were too bloody, blunt weapons were too simple, bows were too dextrous, and Michael didn’t think she could use magic all that well.

“Lastly then, I would like to know more about Sir Orwell of Carihaven.”

Sam went upright at that and Michael did the same in response. The shock on Sam’s face was swiftly replaced with a curious look but Michael wasn’t getting tricked by this blue haired old man.

“Tell me. I’m going to Carihaven anyways so it would be best to get to know the Nobles in the city.”

“Noble. There issss only one noble in Carihaven and he controlsss the city with nearly an iron fissst. Guildsss are the only autonomousss groupssss but he dealssss with them by increasing taxessss for whatever they wisssh to buy. Why do you wissh to know about thisss particular noble? He isss actually well received by the citizensss of Carihaven.”

The curious gaze was nearly too much but Michael focused back on what he had said. The only Noble? Michael had never heard of any city that housed only a single Noble. Usually it was several Nobles that each vied for control of the city. Should either become too greedy or corrupt, the citizens usually gathered enough coin to contract guilds to help take them down. If only one Noble controlled  the city…

Michael decided not to tell Sam about the problem he had with Orwell. The information would probably come out soon anyways, especially if those two mercs from before told more people than necessary. Rumours spread quickly, even in large cities like this.

“I think that’s all Sam. I should get going before it starts to get dark. I need to check with the Combat Series before finishing the day.”

Sam eyed him a bit and almost seemed on the point of asking some questions before shaking his head and guiding Michael out. His moustache was hiding it but Michael noted the worried frown on Sam’s face and Michael almost gave in and told. He was a new members and didn’t wish to start his membership off with causing problems for the main branch of the guild. He stopped himself before doing so and walked away. The problem would be big enough when he arrived in Carihaven, there was no reason to bring the Kiryun faction into it.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

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Arriving at the Inn, Michael removed his rings before flinging himself onto the bed. It had become an ingrained movement in Michael to remove his rings before doing anything rushed like sleeping or sitting on something weak. Reaching into his pack, Michael brought out the Wolf ring and examined it in detail. His sculpting of the ring caused the smooth surface to reflect what little light was entering the window and Michael just stared at it. He needed to distract himself for a while. Needed to calm himself.

Michael had entered the coliseum once again and asked the trainers if they knew anyone that knew how to use a shield properly. Some of them laughed right out at him but most responded in the negative. They knew people who coupled the shield with some other weapon like a sword or hammer or even a spear. No one was exceptional though and Michael had to visit other areas of the district.

Repeatedly told the same thing, Michael started to despair about finding a good teacher. He didn’t know anything about teaching a pupil since he was only recently a student himself. Barely a month of travelling and he already had to teach someone else. And the subject was about a technique that Michael had next to know training in.

The ring was shining between his fingers and Michael almost lost his train of thought as he gazed into it. The golden eye staring at him were almost lively in its intensity and Michael imagined the feel of its teeth in his arms. In his side. In his neck -

Michael jerked himself upright when a knock hit his door. He already forgot everything that happened earlier and was surprised to find that outside the Inn was dark and lit by a few lanterns. He had arrived at the Inn when the sun was only halfway to setting. How had he lost track of the time?

Michael opened the door and peered outside. It had only been a single knock and there was no one else outside of the door. Michael guessed someone accidently hit his door so he went back into his room and placed the ring back into his bag. He equipped the gravity rings and then walked out of the room and into the full room at the ground floor. A few tables were placed around the room as Supper was being served for the people who were staying at the inn. The most crowded area was in front of a Minstrel as people danced to the song being played.

Scanning the room, Michael saw Liera and Jemma sitting in the corner of the room. The corner seats were imbedded into the wall and Liera positioned herself so that she could see the entrance, the kitchen doors, the stairs, and all of the people inside of the Inn. Jemma was lightly sitting beside her and Michael guessed she was squatting more than sitting. As a stone being her muscles - if she had any - weren’t easily strained so she could sit like that for a long while. Liera saw Michael when he came down and made some eye contact before continuing her vigil. They were too far to have knocked on his door and made to that table so Michael mentally agreed at it must have been an accidental hit.

Meandering himself through the close group of dancers and then through the tables, Michael sat down beside Liera and relaxed. He was a little stressed from the amount of work he had done earlier in the day so he felt better when he was sitting down and doing nothing. Studying the other two, he didn’t notice any changes in them although Liera was pointedly avoiding eye contact with him. He had told her to stay and protect Jemma just in case anything bad happened and he even bought a few magic scrolls to give to her. She was supposed to protect him and listen to his orders as the pack leader but there was a limit and she was definitely getting pissed at not doing her duty.

“I guess we should talk a bit about what is going to happen now. Wheres Lerisa?”

“Out. Doing her merchant things.”

Liera’s response was short and curt so Michael just sighed and decided to continue the discussion.

“We’ll stay in the city for the next month so that I can improve on a few things and make sure we’re ready to head towards Carihaven. The trek there will be longer and more dangerous so it’s better to be prepared. Jemma I will try to teach some combat skills for her to defend with and Liera will need to hunt some of the monsters outside of the city as training. There are quite a few dungeons around the city so that will be best.”

Jemma seemed happy enough to finally do something but Liera gave a slight glare at Michael before looking away quickly. Michael took that as an affirmative to his decisions.

“Take as much of the gold you need to buy whatever you need. I’ll also send Lerisa to accompany you in the shopping. Or do you want to go with Jemma?”

As Michael spoke, Liera became more and more sullen and Michael decided she was probably against going alone. Telling her that Lerisa would accompany her didn’t seem to help as her eyes took on a dark light so Michael rushed and asked if she wanted Jemma. This erased the dark light but her sullenness didn’t go away. He kind of pitied how much Lerisa was being hated but decided that her two attempts to kill them was kind of difficult to ignore.

“Then how about if all of us go?”

This seemed to considerably brighten her mood although she was still a little hesitant. Really, how badly is Lerisa being hated?

----------------------------------------

Early the next day, Michael burst into Lerisa’s room and dragged her awake. He completely ignored her grumblings and then her shrieks and immediately told her to get ready and accompany them for shopping. Her expression seemed to switch from anger to fear to something indescribable but Michael didn’t focus much on that. He walked out of the room and in a few minutes the entire group met up in front of the building. The tables and chairs of the previous night were already stacked away and it would be weird to gather in the empty room.

Liera was glaring openly at Michael and he mentally apologized for Lerisa’s presence as the group made their way towards the different areas of the city. The crafting series was the closest so they made their way towards the loud stands. Even if the day was early, the stands were displaying many wares and there were quite a few people in the streets and inside buildings. Liera was measured by various tailors and told that the equipment would be complete in a few hours while Jemma and Lerisa were haggling the price. Jemma talked quietly with the men and Lerisa handled the woman and Michael and Liera watched silently at the abilites of the pair. Jemma was extremely close to the men and while she didn’t touch them she was close enough that they could smell the perfume Lerisa put on her and hear the whispers that Lerisa had taught her. Lerisa was arguing with the females and commenting on the different ranges of quality in the clothing being displayed. She swiftly dodged any promises of better quality and the group ended up saving a few dozen pieces of gold. Michael thought it was a complete waste of time but agreed that it gave some experience to Jemma and allowed Lerisa to be happy at the increase in her Merchant skill. Michael had a large amount of funds that will be spent so Lerisa’s Merchant skill will at least increase while she was around Michael…

The group made their way across the city buying various items and more equipment for Liera. Although Michael was completely able to make items for her, there was the problem of time and material that would cause some problems. Tailors and blacksmiths had the economic abilities to buy items cheaper in bulk while Michael could only buy individual materials to work with and most of those were quite expensive. Buying straight from Tailors and Blacksmiths was cheaper and faster and the quality was also quite good. Michael even bought a few different ranges of shields which earned a confused glance from Liera. She knew he had never learned to use them so he just winked at her playfully in response. Her quick look away made him realize that she was probably still angry.

A problem occurred when noon arrived during their shopping. The group was in the Combat series area and Michael was trying to haggle with the Training Center instructor about renting a private room for the month. The Instructor was hired based off his credentials - Expert ranking in 3 different combat skills and at least 20 years teaching an apprentice. Combat experience was not required but it was more favorable to have it than to not. The one in front of Michael was the rare teacher that focused more on training than on the actual fighting. His bulging muscles lacked the telltale scars and he did not have the look of a battle veteran. He was probably well liked due to his teaching methods rather than his actual skills.

The training centers were large buildings that were placed right at the city walls and took up an enormous amount of space. They included a spacious indoor area filled with a few straw and wooden dummies and various areas with mats that people use to perform skill lessons or sparring matches. There was only the single floor but the ceiling was high enough to allow for the rare war scenarios that include archers - blunted arrows are used of course. The building had separate rooms that were 10 metres by 8 metres in size and were used for one on one practice by masters and their apprentice. Outside of the center was a large array of wooden dummies that were usually filled with novices that needed to practise skill repetitions or veterans that needed to practice their skills for a bit. There were spacious areas as well that were used for Archery practices and the area was usually off limits for anything else. The entire area was made in the shape of a square in mind and the four corners had short obelisks with a glowing crystal middle. These were magic artifacts that created a large cubed off area that repelled powerful gusts and water.

Michael was hoping to schedule a private room for at least a few days of the month. He didn’t wish to practice outside in view of others and the Combat series usually viewed non-members with antagonistic feelings. Michael didn’t know the rules but he wanted to at least try for a private room. He could order dummies for Jemma to practice against and there was a large assortment of regular wooden weapons for him to use. He doubted they had wooden versions of his curved sword but Jemma was probably not gonna face anyone holding that kind of weapon. Michael wished to get some clubs and wooden shortswords to train with.

“I don’t know if it’s even allowed. I usually create the schedule once per month and everyone follows what is written so it may be difficult and expensive to get a room. Why can’t you just train regularly?”

The big man was rubbing his chin as he contemplated Michael’s request. He didn’t seem to like Michael’s wish for a private room and he didn’t bother hiding it as he responded in a bored tone of voice. Michael viewed his response as bothersome. It would make everything much faster if the man did everything quickly and professionally.

“You and I both know that as an Neutral Series member I won’t be viewed favorably if I trained here. It would be very bothersome if I have to deal with constant requests for duels and interruptions during the training. I wish to properly teach my student before we continue on our journey.”

The instructor looked amused at Michael’s proclamation. Indeed he had viewed Michael as a nuisance more than anything. Average in height, Michael was dressed in a full sleeved cotton shirt and wool pants. Everything but his head and hands were covered by the clothing so he looked quite skinny and weak. He didn’t have any weapons visible on him and although he was standing straight and had a small aura around him, Michael probably only looked like a soft Noble.

Actually since Michael had given Ferocious the stronger ring, the amount of gravity on him had decreased a little to only 335%. He spent a little less time concentrating on moving his body and more on his actual self so his presence and charisma were suitably suppressed. He also had a rather large amount of hidden throwing daggers on his person and they were placed so that they could be easily and quickly reached. Michael also had some small skill in hand-to-hand combat, just not enough to create the skill with. His ‘High Champion’s Combat Mastery’ probably helped in that though.

“Then how about this. Since I feel very uncomfortable in giving out rooms to non-members all you have to do is spar with one of our regular members. If you win then I suppose you will have the requirements to use the room. If you lose then it would be a waste of time to give you the room anyways and I will have to ask you to leave. Good?”

The Instructor’s smile seemed filled with confidence and Michael was rather hesitant about it. A regular member seemed to imply a long time user of the Training Center. Michael wondered if that gave a hint of the skills to be used. Michael knew that he may be in trouble if a veteran like Serena was to face him one on one. This was actually a very off view since Serena was a 400 year old veteran so Michael was thinking nonsense.

Liera saw the hesitance in Michael’s eyes and decided to take it upon herself. She was more skilled in solo matches anyways so this seemed like a good idea on her part. She stepped up beside Michael and pulled on his sleeve.

“Hmm? You want to do it Liera? You’re sure?”

Liera’s nods at his questions caused him to think seriously. He had only fought her when she tag teamed with either Serena and his Father so he didn’t actually know her skills. He did know that the tag team was a form of lesson for Liera though and he had glanced at her solo matches with his two teachers from time to time. She went bare handed while his teachers used weapons but that wasn’t unusual anyways. He decided that she could probably handle this better than he could so he nodded back at her.

“How about this. You send out your regular member and Liera here can fight him. She was taught alongside me and I actually wish to see how strong she is.”

“Hahaha what? This little girl fighting against one of us? Do you think this is a joke?”

“Please take this seriously. She killed at least 700 goblins in a few days.”

Liera’s lack of expression, Lerisa’s white face, Michael’s smile, and Michael’s words showed the seriousness of that statement. The Instructor unconsciously backed up a bit at Liera’s small burst of Bloodthirst in response to his condescending words. Sweating, the Instructor called out a name and a tall middle aged man walked up.

A few years younger than the Instructor, Ledden was impressive. A few inches taller than Michael, he had thick hard muscle that would have made him rather thin if he wore a shirt like Michael’s and numerous scars could be seen on those arms and his chest. His face was relatively clear except for the aged lines and his hair was a dark black with specks of white. Tied near the end, his hair reached his waist where a wooden short sword had been temporarily sheathed. A small smile was on his face but he didn’t give off a slimy feeling that Michael seemed to find in too many people these days.

“What do you need Jimmy? I was about to go and spar with a few people. Haven’t met anyone worth a good challenge for quite a while.”

With those words, Ledden flexed his arms slightly and stood in a pose that exposed his arms. He was glancing at Liera, Lerisa’s, and Jemma’s response but they completely ignored him. Jemma was glancing at everything in the hall and her points prompted Lerisa to say the name of the object and what it did. Liera was expressionless as ever and she even gave a sigh at Ledden’s showing off. Michael had seen bigger and more even muscles on his dad so he didn’t feel anything special in these thin and less powerful muscles or the weird posture.

Pointing at Liera, Jimmy gave a brief explanation to Ledden whose eyebrows pointedly rose. As he was about to comment in some obviously negative way however, Liera gave a large burst of Bloodthirst and his eyebrows rose even more. Bloodthirst wasn’t actually a skill but a projection of the self. If Michael focused on limiting his Presence, a regular person had an easier time projecting it outwards. Michael didn’t understand the details but he was told that Bloodthirst was the accumulation of experience, skills, and quality of monsters and people the person had killed. The Instructor could project his presence in a way but it would be rather limited due to his lack of hunting. Michael was rather the same but he killed a variety of strong monsters and he killed the people Lerisa had hired as well as Necromn. He also had the actual stat which gave him a large boost.

Clearing a sparring space, Jimmy called out the rules to both sides. No sharp or deadly weapons. No blows that will cause a quick death. No use of poisons or magic. Fight will be until the other side is knocked out or gives up. They will be healed until either happens.

Liera stood on one side of the 5 metre ring. She had taken out some of her old training leathers and she equipped the metal gloves they had bought a few hours earlier. Her shoes had been taken off so that she could have more freedom of movement and she took a stance with bent knees and raised hands that could cover her face from any quick blow. Ledden was on the other side and he had equipped the Training Center’s armor and safety items. His elbows and knees were covered and he wore soft shoes that had gripped soles. The armor he wore didn’t fully cover his body but protected the more critical areas like his heart and lungs, his kidneys, his groin, and his back. He did not wear a head protector but instead had a mask that covered everything but the eyes. He seemed to not like anything damaging his face. His long hair was tucked under his clothes and he was equipped with the wooden shortsword and buckler. The shield made Michael pay more attention.

Counting down, the Instructor raised a hand in the air and slowly backed out of the ring. The match had acquired quite the large audience and Michael heard snatches of ‘Undefeated Ledden facing a little girl’ or ‘is this some promotional stunt’ and the like. At the last count, the Instructor jumped the rest of the distance out of the ring and his arm dropped down, signaling the start of the match.

Immediately Liera made a quick dash to the right and then left an afterimage that slowly disappeared from regular sight. Her erratic movement actually caused her image to be left imprinted to the regular eye and she was jumping from side to side leaving different levels of afterimages. She didn’t keep to a left and right pattern but changed it a bit by moving backwards quickly or moving somewhere completely opposite what she did before. Even Michael was having trouble keeping an eye on her.

When she finally reached Ledden she gave a quick straight punch to his exposed stomach. Ledden moved the sword to block it but she immediately brought her fist back and attacked his now exposed shoulder. Again he raised the sword and this time he blocked it in time but grunted when her left fist drove into his side. Ledden quickly dashed to the side but Leira was one step ahead and she appeared behind him and gave three quick punches to his back. Twisting, Ledden stepped away from her and swung his sword in a counter but all it did was pass through another afterimage of her. A sharp punch to his sword hands and he dropped the sword which left him open to her barrage. Punches rained down on him from the front, back, and side as his head, chest, legs, and arms were repeatedly assaulted. Just as quickly, Liera jumped back to the other side of the ring and Ledden fell in a heap.

Michael was severely disappointed by the outcome. Ledden was pretty skilled if he could block her attacks somewhat but he didn’t even properly use the buckler in his hand. He instead used the sword to block and the shield seemed more like an afterthought more than anything. Michael didn’t get any useful information on using the shield and he sighed in sadness as he approached Liera. She raised an eyebrow at him but all he said was that the opponent didn’t match his expectations and she gave a wide smile in response. It was the first one he received for a long time so he patted her head and smiled as well.

Meanwhile the rest of the audience were shocked. The first thing they were surprised at was Liera’s speed as she approached Ledden. Most of the group didn’t see her approach and the few who did were properly approving of her confusing movements. Her attacks on Ledden were also solid and well thought out as her two straight punches were meant to test his combat skills. The punch to the stomach was to test his sword arm’s reaction speed and the shoulder was to test his shield skills. When he blocked the shoulder attack with his sword she took full advantage of that and used her left. From then on her attacks were focused on leaving him in a disadvantaged position and to leave his sword arm exposed to a hit. When that was done she had free reign to demolish him.

When a training Paladin healed Ledden and said he was ok, the audience somewhat dispersed and went back to what they were doing. Jimmy reluctantly took out his Private Room scheduler and started to go over it and mark off the times that Michael could use while Liera went to unequip her stuff and repack them. Michael and Jimmy talked and argued about the different times but finally decided on a 3 day per week system. It cost about 200 gold per week which seemed rather cheap to Michael, not that he was gonna say anything.

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By the end of the day, Michael and co. had spent around 300 gold pieces on Liera’s equipment and some extra items for Michael and Jemma’s training. Since Liera was of a rather unusual size, all of her equipment had to be sized appropriately which increased the costs. It wasn’t a large increase since they had to reduce instead of enlarge but it was still a rather sizable chunk that would have been impossible to easily buy without their large amount of funds. Michael again thanked that goldmine of a mountain.

The next day, Michael and Jemma went to the Training Center for their first lesson. Liera had left early in order to get a head start on the dungeon and Lerisa was sleeping in once again. The Training Center was open all day so Michael and Jemma walked in without trouble and Michael signed the sheet saying he was inside the room at the moment. They had the entire day to use it and Michael planned to create a rough regiment for now.

In the room, Michael took out the equipment he had bought. Several different shields including a wooden shield with a metal base that was far heavier than regular shields. Wooden weapons that included swords, hammers, clubs, and staffs that he will use. And then a large assortment of wooden daggers that ranged from the heavy and strong kind to the light but quick ones.

“Alright Jemma, equip this and stand with your legs apart. One leg should be a little forward and your feet should be pointing in different directions. Fix your posture if you think you will fall and try to find a position that best keeps your body upright. Bend your knees a little too.”

Hefting the wooden shield, Michael gave it to her slowly but she didn’t seem to have any problems. She swiftly lifted the mass of wood and metal and positioned herself as he told her. When she got into a solid state he tried to push her in various areas and was pleased to see that she wouldn’t fall very easily. Everything was going nice and quickly.

Lifting the heavy club - all of the wooden weapons had a metal base - Michael positioned himself a few steps away from Jemma.

“When an attack approaches you, it is best to try to deflect the attack instead of block it. That is, turn your shield at an angle and push the weapon away instead of taking the entire blow. Lets try it a bit.”

Jemma had a few problems here but Michael knew this was the more difficult part. His swings were average in speed and he made sure to target the center of her shield but Jemma couldn’t seem to get the timing right. Her twists were either too early and left her wide open or they were too late and Michael lightly hit her shield right on. When she finally got the timing right they moved on to pushing the attacks up in the air and soon they were both gasping for air although Jemma suspiciously looked like she was faking it.

While Michael was resting he thought a little more about Jemma’s attributes. As a statue she didn’t have the organs or weaknesses of other races and instead she seemed to have most of the same attributes as a regular statue; that is, she’s resilient, doesn’t need to breathe, doesn’t sweat, doesn’t ache easily, weighs the same as when she was a statue, and her strength was pretty high. A shield is mostly used to block projectiles and deflect strong attacks. It isn’t proper to block the attack fully because usually the attack does more damage than the shield can block. But thats because the attacker has the added advantage of force from their blows, body movements (a swing with the sword gives more force than a stationary object), and the actual weight of their body. Blocking attacks still gave partial damage and the strain on the arm is rather heavy. Deflecting attacks pushes that extra damage away. But what if you can fully block the attack and you don’t have muscles to strain? Jemma wasn’t unbreakable but she was a statue with added stats. If a person of lower weight, strength, and speed were to attack her and she blocked it…

“Alright! Lets try this again. Jemma this time block my attack. Don’t bother defending and just push the shield into my attack.”

Michael raised the club again and took a few steps back from her. He hefted it on his shoulder and then gave himself a running start at Jemma. Jemma eyed his attack and then raised her shield when he got close enough. Aiming for her shield, Michael swung down the club with all his might. Everything turned black.

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Waking up, Michael immediately opened up his information screen to see what happened.

Training Shield

Common

Durability: 200/200

Defense: 50

A simple wooden shield with a metal core. The core adds some extra Durability and Defense but also adds quite a bit of weight.

Training Club

Common

Durability: 100/100

Attack: 20-30

A simple club with a metal core. The core adds some extra Durability but also adds quite a bit of weight. The added weight will increase the amount of force from swings.

Warning, continued use of heavy weapon will strain body and increase Stamina consumption.

Warning, Stamina is very low. It is advised that you rest and recover. All stats have temporarily decreased by 20% until Stamina recovers.

Training Club has broke.

Shock from your attack being blocked has inflicted your body. Temporarily knocked out for 2 seconds.

You have been inflicted with the ‘Bleeding’ debuff. Health decreases at a rate of 30 per second..

What’s with this shock? Michael mentally probed his body but didn’t find anything hurting immediately. Until he reached his hands and felt some pain there which he stopped by focusing on his breathing. Opening his eyes, Michael sat up and looked up at the shocked Jemma. Her ‘Training Shield’ was thrust forward with her elbows locked and it seemed that the shield itself was broken in half. Lying around Michael was the remnants of the ‘Training Club’ and then he saw his hands. Bloody and painful, his hands were a complete mess. His thumbs had been stretched all the way backwards and were touching his arms while his fingers were broken in several areas. White bone can be seen sticking out and there were some slivers of the ‘Training Club’ inside.

Sighing a bit, Michael took a glance at his health and saw that it was decreasing quite fast so he got up as quickly as he could without hands and walked towards the door. He motioned Jemma to open it and she snapped out of her stupor and opened it, then walked a bit behind him as he entered the large space.

As the trainers and trainees saw him, they all stopped what they were doing one by one. It was rather rare to see any large damage in the Training Center and most injuries that occurred were either some head trauma from an idiot student or a couple of broken bones. The excessive blood leaking from Michael’s hands as well as the bone sticking out and thumbs bent all the way back made more than one person lose their lunch. Which was some bread and chicken anyways so the mess wasn’t that large.

“Anyone have any healing skills? I would drink a Health Potion but my hands are rather busy…”

Michael said the last with a rather bright smile and a slight laugh but everyone there was mentally screaming ‘MONSTER!’ at him. Just trying to imagine the pain he was in made some of the younger trainees lose feelings in their legs. Jimmy had his back to Michael and jumped when he heard his voice, but when he turned around in order to chide Michael for his lousy teaching skills, he paused and stared at the wounds he had. Michael’s stoic expression with that much damage caused Jimmy to swallow his words.

Eventually a group of Paladins came up and all of them used moderate level healing spells on Michael and patched him up quite nicely.

“Ah thanks. Anyways, is there anyone here who would like to help me with my lesson? Doing one on one lessons is good for teaching theory but groups would speed up the practicing more.”

No one stepped forward to volunteer. They didn’t know exactly what he had done to get that much damage but they decided that volunteering would be near suicidal. A brave soul eventually worked up the nerve to ask.

“Ummm what exactly do you want us to do?”

“Ah, just spar with my student here. I’m trying to teach her how to use a shield so as long as everyone has a weapon and doesn’t try any kill moves, it all should be fine. She will try out blocking and deflection.”

At these words, most of the young men volunteered. These people were the most numerous in the building and the young women didn’t seem very interested in ganging up on a girl. The older veterans had already put 2 and 2 together and got 4. That is, they knew that one of Michael’s female companions was a beast of a fighter so this companion had a high chance of being the same.

Gathering a group of 5, Michael herded the group to a free corner of the room. The lesson garnered some attention from the other training groups and the Center was unusually quiet.

“Jemma, use this metal shield and either deflect it like we did earlier or block it. You can choose whichever works. And for you five, please go one or two at a time and seriously hit. If you go easy on her I’ll replace you.

Positioning themselves in a half-circle, the group of 5 changed their happy and slightly lust filled faces into more serious ones. Several deep breathes and some stretches and they adopted a proper stance and demeanor. Jemma faced them in the same position she was in during the one on one and her metal shield was raised with the edge just below her eyes. The metal shield was much stronger than the ‘Training Shield’ and should be lighter as well based off the stat information.

Steel Shield

Common

Durability: 140/140

Defense: 90

A simple steel shield made with a strong defense in mind, the padded inner lining was made so that the shock of the blows and the damage to the arm would spread out and lessen.

With a shout, the match began under the watchful eye of Michael. Two similar looking men gave a signal with their eyes and they both rushed Jemma at the same time. The smaller man swept his wooden staff in a diagonal strike over his head which Jemma blocked by raising her shield a little lightly pushing off. Her weight and stance however was more than enough to properly repel the staff and it was knocked out of his hands and hit him back. The other man had gone in for a low side attack with his wooden sword on her exposed legs but Jemma calmly lowered the shield and held it at an angle. The blade’s direction changed from the straight hit and the sword banged on the ground instead. The man was still charging in her direction and Jemma quickly used her shield to knock the man out.

Michael noted down what she did and what she would need to fix. The staff user’s overhand blow was easily seen and Jemma should have dodged it instead and gave more attention to the bigger man. Her block was excellent though and Michael could see how his hands had been damaged. The staff user had swung his weapon in a way that would have had the same effects as just smashing a boulder. In Jemma’s case, since she moved and pushed back, the force increased to the point that his hands couldn’t handle it and the weapon was knocked out. For the second man she made made the decision to deflect the slash into the ground and then knocking him out. A better response was either to step forward and deal with him quickly or step back and find a better position. If she made a mistake then the sword would have successfully hit her leg or foot and disabled her. Wait...can she even be disabled that way?

The next three men were hesitant this time. They didn’t seem to know one another so Michael knew this would be solo fights instead. Two were holding clubs like he had and the last was using dual swords. They all seemed rather proficient in the use of those weapons so this would be interesting.

The swords user went first and he used his speed to his advantage. Since Jemma was limited to the shield only she would not have the chance to properly block and attack which would usually be a proper way of fighting. The man swung his right sword in large slashes while the left was used for pinpoint piercing and the effect was devastating. Jemma had to contend with large powerful hits while also watching out for the thrusts that poked through her exposed areas.

A few minutes in though, the fight was dieing down. The sword user was breathing hard and his attacks were sluggish and weak. Jemma didn’t seem fatigued at all and when the man’s slash failed to start she rushed forward and bashed the shield into his chest. The man flew and hit the wall, still alive.

The last two seemed to have made a plan of attack while the solo match was going on and the skinny man went up to face her. His swings were rather far and weak but they succeeded in drawing Jemma towards him and soon she was in the middle of the old half circle stand off and the other club user positioned himself behind her. He was bigger and his club was incredibly large. The combination was a devastating force for the outnumbered Jemma and she tried to position herself away from the poor spot. The skinny man quickly stopped that and Jemma’s expression turned more and more strained.

Jemma then gave a frustrated scream and focused all of her attention on the big man. She approached him quickly and used her shield to powerfully block his club attacks and Michael saw the pain as his club was knocked back with incredible force. Quickly she was in front of the big man and she swung her shield into his arms, side, and head with wincing accuracy. He dropped into a heap as she turned to the last opponent.

Breathing deeply she glared at the other man and he instinctively backed up a few steps. When Jemma took one step he quickly threw away his club and begged his surrender. And so, Jemma’s first group battle ended in her overall victory.

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Entering the Inn, Michael went to his room and did the daily ritual for the rings. He decided to do all three at once and to limit the mistakes. He had enough weights for a week of strengthening and he hoped to have three 100% gravity rings by then. He had eaten earlier and was going straight to sleep. Lying on his bed his mind wandered to the near future.

The schedule for the next few weeks was so:

* Train Jemma at the Training Center and maybe get some helpful victims as her sparring partners

* On the off days that they do not have access to Private Training Center Rooms, go to dungeons for some live action

* Test out some different types of Potion and poison making

* Create a few sets of equipment and clothing and sell for some profit. AKA train Blacksmith and Tailoring

* Do the same with Sculptures to train Sculpting and Woodworking

* Solo a few floors of a dungeon for experience

Michael slept peacefully as he looked forward to the hopefully quiet days.

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“What do mean you couldn’t get them…”

tap tap tap tap tap

The impatient tapping sound came from a solid silver cane against a metal chair. The man sitting on the chair didn’t seem to have any physical abnormalities that would promote the usage of the cane and instead he seemed exude an abundance of physical energy. The man opposite him was kneeling on the ground and shaking like a leaf.

“Please Sir! I-it wasn’t my fault! There as an anomaly, an extra member of the group that we somehow missed during the initial viewings! Please send a stronger team team next time and we can take them!”

The man had stopped shaking in the middle of his spiel and instead took on a fervent look. His eyes danced with light of madness and the seated man looked away in disgust. He was severely disappointed with the quality of followers. The longer a family contracts itself by blood, the more mad the descendants become.

“Fine. I’ll send Richard and some of the Young along. They will go by regular travel though. Wasting Teleport scrolls four times is stupid. You will travel with them and explain why they aren’t teleporting.”

The seated man blankly watched the other man express his desire to be of help, his eternal wishes for the health of the Family, and his devotion to him before rushing out of the room. Sighing, the seated man stopped his tapping and stared at a small hand drawn picture. it was crude but the important part was drawn carefully. A plant with one special characteristic; square leaves with a spiraled center.

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You have entered the well known Draanuk’s Cave. Due to the circumstances of the cave, all stats increase by 20% and Plutys’ Curse has been halved as long as you are inside.

Draanuk’s Cave

A prison that once imprisoned the excommunicated Necromancer Bishop Hallere, he broke out of his cell, slaughtered all of the other prisoners and guards, and took up the name Draaknuk which was supposed to mean ‘Death Walking’ in some obscure tongue. He then used a forbidden spell that combined the Evil energies of several gods with Plutys’ to enchant the very walls of the cave and countless undead now walk its halls.

Cave Skeleton, Level 91Health: 3000

A low level Skeleton equipped with either a sword and buckler or a bow, these Skeletons are created by the high level magic imbedded in the cave. They will continue to spawn indefinitely. If a person dies in these caves they will be added to the Skeleton hoard. Killing these Skeletons will only temporarily disable them and they will recover over time.

Low to mid ranking Priests cannot release the souls of Skeletons inside the Cave. High ranking priests also face difficulties trying to release even one soul.

Skeleton Mage, Level 121Health: 2000

Mana: 8000

A mid level Skeleton equipped with a magic enhancing staff and other magic accessories, these Skeletons are created by the high level magic imbedded in the cave. They will continue to spawn indefinitely. Created when a mage dies in the caves, the knowledge acquired by the mage is absorbed into the generated skeleton and they are allowed to freely wield Magic. Incredibly dangerous when backed by other Skeleton Mages or a Skeleton army.

Low to mid ranking Priests cannot release the souls of Skeletons inside the Cave. High ranking priests also face difficulties trying to release even one soul.

*Extra* Once a set number of Skeletons have been reached they will gather out of the cave and attack the nearby Settlement. Approximate number of Skeleton needed will have to be 300,000 to attack ‘Kiryun’. These Skeleton souls can be released easily out of the cave.

Michael encountered undead after undead and ceaselessly slashed them with his sword and bashed them with his fist. His unarmed movements and damage was definitely better than they had been during his training and caused greater damage than if he used the piercing daggers. Skeletons had too many gaps between their bones so Michael needed to rely on slashes and punches.

The number of Skeletons was overwhelming. Michael had heard that the cave was avoided because of the hoards within but there were always the few idiots who wished to see it for themselves. Michael was not one of them. Taking out a mana vial he switched his sights, used ‘IA’, and then started his favorite large scale Magic. He had more trouble than usual gathering the right kind of air but once he ignited it, the inferno raged down the corridor and hundreds of Skeletons perished.

Taking a breather, Michael replenished his mana and the little health he lost and waited. When no more skeletons appeared he tentatively took a few steps forward and waited again before walking straight down the hall. He could feel empty eyes staring at him but he couldn’t do anything about that so he ignored them.

For the next few levels, Michael did not encounter any more Skeletons. Either the Skeletons were all dead, which was unlikely, or they knew it was best to avoid a person that could physically handle himself against a hoard of Skeletons and then use large scale magic very quickly. Michael walked and descended into the depths.

For the past few weeks Michael had diligently trained Jemma and created different sparring scenarios for her. She would face groups of attackers at a time or against two opposite foes like before. This time she was told not to lose control and to concentrate which seemed quite difficult for the newborn statue. Practice did help a lot though and Michael knew she was good enough to manage by herself. She had also taken to dressing up in the same way as Liera and the two looked quite similar when beside one another...except when one looked at the difference in body type. No matter how you tried, Liera was a pretty and cute little woman while Jemma was a beautiful, tall, seducing lady with an almost unapprochable aura. Her personality may have been quite different but it’s always the initial look that creates the atmosphere.

Michael stopped when the straight journey placed him before a ominous black door. The design on the door was a skull that seemed to have been crudely carved and Michael noted that the background of it was actually that of prison bars. Michael guessed that the actual prison was behind this door and there may be quite old and powerful beings...or just one boss monster. Michael opened up the information boxes before doing anything else.

High Champion’s Combat Mastery has leveled up.

You have destroyed 832 Cave Skeletons and 9 Skeleton Mages. Leveled x34.

Elemental Manipulation has leveled up.

Affinity with Dark has increased by 2.

When Michael got closer, the door automatically swung open and Michael readied his weapons. He had throwing daggers in his left hand so that he could give some quick damage and his sight was shifted as well in order to allow for any Magic needs as well to see if the Mana around his is being used.

Michael slowly walked into the room and immediately put up 4:1 ‘IA’.

Franky the Corrupted Skeleton, Level 340, Mass Skeleton (Boss Class)Health: 200,000

Mana: 10,000

A remnant of Draanuk’s first use of the forbidden spell, all of the undead bodies in the Prison merged together to form this abomination. Over time the imbedded spells inside of the cave has permeated the being’s body and has granted it some semblance of sentience. It has taken the name of an ancient undead creator for itself.

All metal weapons inside of the skeleton disintegrates and combines to form a larger weapon. This happens over the course of several years and the formed weapon takes on special properties.

Over a short period of time, Franky’s body starts to repair itself using a personal version of the Forbidden Magic that has been imbedded into the Cave. Also if Franky has his hands on any undead, he can absorb and assimilate them into his body.

Extremely Vulnerable to Light aligned attacks. Blessings are also effective but the curse inside of Franky can repel a certain amount of it.

Piercing attacks are quite ineffective.

Blunt attacks are extremely effective.

Will start to regen after 10 minutes has passed or Health reaches below 60%

Low-Moderate Intelligence

Vulnerable to Silver

Well this made Michael appropriately nervous.

Kiryun Prologue(?)

Boss Fight!

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Well, this chapter took a while to do. I had this list of what to add but as I wrote there was a bunch of different things to include. Fight scenes are short...cause fights are usually short. Rather confusing to make sure the fight scenes work as well…

There is also Michael's unique Blacksmith skills. He can level both Elemental Manipulation and Blacksmith that way.

Anyones this is part one of Kiryun. Part two will probably be shorter and have the party getting ready to head to Carihaven. I have 3 things due in the next few weeks as well as 2 exams so I may or may not give chapters...meh.

What kind of Enchantments should go on his Devouring Fenrir Ring? Also give an explanation of how to do it as well...lol.

Questions? Please ask.

You want to rate me low? Please tell me why so I don’t feel spited…

As an afterthought: How was Liera's fight? Was it too short? Or was it alright. That kind of fight is basically what I want the future ones to be. I don't like pages of fighting.