Raine made his way to the northern outskirts of Vile Peak Town. The comforting buzz, whirrs, and bangs of machines could be heard long before his destination came into view. Rounding the last bend, a squat log cabin came into view. It was out in the open and half of its length had been converted into a covered workshop. The ground was littered with tools and several Gromglenns bustled about, their tiny, attribute-enhanced bodies a blur.
They were one of the more intelligent races in ZionLine, though most players avoided them due to their quirky and unreliable nature. Currently, one was sitting inside the cockpit of a heavy resource extractor that was several times larger than him. He shouted in the typical Gromglenn style; an angry voice that was equal parts high pitched and gravely, “No-no. Core socket go here-here. Or engine go boom-boom.”
From inside a hatch in the top of the suit, another voice argued back, “No-no! Core socket go there-there and engine definitely go boom-boom! You-you dumb like rock. Not big rock, tiiiiiny rock.”
“You-you shut face and work-work. Put core socket where I say-say!”
“Yes-yes bigboss. Looking forward to boom-boom.”
image [https://i.imgur.com/DO8NsHc.jpg]
Raine stopped well in advance of getting in their way. He watched them work, their efficiency depicting long practice with their craft. Eventually, one of the engineers threw down his tools in frustration and stomped over to him.
An inner glow lit up one eye at a time in an oscillating pattern as it appraised him, “You-you, why here? Not-not invite. Come to steal trade secrets, yes-yes?”
“No sir. I came to return this. I found it a few days ago and recognized your logo.”
The Gromglenn moved like lightning, snatching the sprocket before Raine perceived its movement. Excitedly, he danced toward the extractor while shouting, “Gizmo-Gazmo! Come quick-quick. Mount stabilizer find-find!”
The two inside climbed out, blurring to the first Gromglenn. They proceeded to dance around each other excitedly with their hands in the air. Raine waited patiently until they finished. The one who had been in the cockpit, and was clearly the ‘bigboss,’ zipped over.
“Very good-good. Many thanks! You take reward and go-go we busy now-now.”
[Chain Quest: Melacor’s Machinery: You have discover the rightful owner of the mysterious sprocket and returned the item to him]
[Chain Quest: Melacor’s Machinery completed. Obtained 50,000 SP]
[Rewards: 5 gold / Melacor Inc. reputation +15]
Raine whistled appreciatively at the hefty five gold reward. He definitely wouldn’t have gotten that much if he sold it to a random blacksmith. It wasn’t nearly as much as he would be getting from his equipment sales, but it was more than enough to cover the crafting rentals he was about to need.
Perfect! This is definitely the same chain quest that DyingNight royally screwed up. This time, I’ll make sure Melacor doesn’t leave the Tri-glades. Having such amazing engineers in my pocket will be way too useful.
“Thank you, sir. Is there anything else I can assist with?” Raine knew quite a bit about their unique technology, including exactly what the problem with their extractor was. Fortunately, he also knew enough not to mention that he knew. They were a secretive bunch and would certainly accuse him of stealing, which wouldn’t help getting in their good graces at all.
“Meatyhead like you-you? No-no. No help. Nothing you can do-do.”
“Wait-wait,” the Gromglenn who originally took the sprocket from Raine dashed over and pointed at him while talking to bigboss, “He-he meatyhead like said. Maybe find krotanium deposit.”
Bigboss screeched loud enough for anyone within five blocks to hear, “You-you hush-hush! That secret of Melacor!”
Gizmo, or Gazmo—Raine wasn’t sure—chortled from near the foot of the extractor, “Liiiiiitle rock.”
Bigboss flipped around at a dizzying speed. He zoomed to the snarky little Gromglenn and whacked his head something fierce with a wrench he snatched from the ground. While the little one cried pitifully, bigboss made his way back to Raine with a satisfied smile, “Fine-fine. Give chance since you find mount stabilizer. What want-want in return?”
Raine didn’t have to think about it for a second, “Please train me in engineering.”
All three of them stopped in their tracks, staring at him with wide open eyes. They huddled, whispering too quietly and quickly to understand before bigboss huffed and faced Raine once more, “Deal-deal. Gazmo lead you to mine entrance and you find-find krotanium deposit. Then, I train-train personally.”
[Chain Quest: Melacor’s Melancholy accepted]
[Escort Gazmo to a nearby abandoned mine and locate the krotanium deposit inside]
[Rewards: Variable]
[Warning: Failure to complete this quest may have unforeseen consequences. Quest may not be abandoned]
The quest was exactly as he remembered in the post from DyingKnight so many years ago. He knew they had failed it, which wasn’t surprising considering where the krotanium was—not being located for several years after the quest was first given. DyingKnight had been given several more chances to locate a krotanium deposit but failed each time, and eventually, Melacor Inc. left for greener pastures.
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Gazmo appeared before Raine, looking up at him with large eyes lit by an inner glow, “You-you ready now-now? Alone, very dangerous. Get-get friends and return.”
“Yes, I’m ready now. It’ll be fine with just you and me. Can we stop somewhere on the way out of town or do you want me to come back?”
“Can make stop-stop. You sure-sure go alone? Monsters very strong and I no help-help.”
Raine waved off his concern and Gazmo relented with a shrug, “Your-your funeral.” He climbed into a skinny, fast-looking mecha and Raine led the way to a street vendor that sold miscellaneous adventuring items. He spent half the gold he just earned to buy several items that would be useful for where they were going.
They left through the back gate of Vile Peak Town and slowly ascended a steep zigzagging path up the nearest mountain. Raine forced Gazmo to slow down several times to avoid the eyes of the Great Eagles that occasionally passed far above. If they drew the attention of even one, it would call more and more in a never-ending annoyance.
Gazmo grumbled each time, but ultimately didn’t make escorting him any more difficult than it needed to be. Unfortunately, the other monsters that inhabited the trail weren’t so easily avoided.
[Boulder Golem - level 13 - HP ????/????]
image [https://i.imgur.com/Owwu9Tn.jpg]
Raine grinned when one of his two-handed weapons appeared at the mere sight of the monster. Ever since his fight with Froust, his muscles itched with the desire to kill. Apparently, that bloodlust had something to do with triggering the cursed ring.
[Hard Iron 2-H Mace: Common Gray - LVL 5 (AP +19) (DEF +12) (PTC +4) (PHY +6) (Durability 40/40)]
Excited for the fight, and not wanting to draw the wrong kind of attention by dallying, Raine burned Discipline and leaped forward. He swung well before reaching the magical construct. The flanged head of his mace crashed into the air. Like it struck a massive bell, ripples of energy blasted away from the point of impact, washing over the golem in an undodgeable Rupture.
It rocked back on its heels as the first wave stripped forty percent of its hardened defenses. The second wave ripped into it, dealing a devastating five hundred percent follow-up attack. With the addition of the Rock Crusher title, massive chunks of soil and minerals were torn away, releasing a barrage of sharp stones. The golem couldn’t even roar as its body was thoroughly sundered. [-1,063]
Raine landed, and recalling Froust's footwork, stepped forward to strategically position himself for a powerful swing. His mace whistled forward in an arc, slamming into its knee with a Bash. [-212] The golem recovered, its hulking arm glowing as it swiped at the nearby cliff face, sending a dozen shards of Shrapnel directly at Raine. He bent at the hips, avoiding half the projectiles and taking the rest on his armor.[-56] Each hit felt like a full-powered punch to the gut, and by the end of the rapid burst, blood trickled from his mouth.
The magical attack took over a tenth of his total health, reminding him that he didn’t have any accessories to boost his Resistance. He could have thrown himself completely out of the way, but wanted to get the most out of Rupture’s ten second window of reduced defenses. While his mace connected with the same knee again, he decided it wasn’t worth trading hits with a golem just to end the fight a few seconds sooner.
The leg gave way when his mace crunched deep into connective minerals. Its arms reached out and he jumped back, avoiding its attempt to fall forward and flatten him. Raine danced around its grasping hands to Bash into its armpit. Another two swings disconnected the arm, leaving half its body completely exposed to his repeated attacks.
Despite all his advantages, the golem refused to die easily. It regenerated the leg within a few seconds, pulling chunks of rock from the abundant environment. Pushing off the ground, it landed on its feet in a Charge that had it racing forward much faster than something that heavy should naturally move. Three points of Discipline allowed Raine to leap to the side, his mace connecting with its blurring body gave him the last bit of acceleration to throw himself out of the way.
The golem crashed into the rocky wall, and Raine was at its back in a heartbeat. Another devastating Bash tore a chunky rock from its head. A flash of light swept across its body as its defenses returned to normal. Its missing arm restored itself at almost the exact same instant. Raine got in one more regular hit, only boosted by his title, before backing off as both its arms began to glow. Not wanting anything to do with a double Shrapnel, he dove behind a nearby boulder just before it was washed in loud machine gun fire.
Raine looked up, sighing when he saw only clear skies. He counted down as rumbling steps sent tremors through the ground. When he felt and heard the hesitation between one step and the next, he leaped straight up as high as he could. The rock he’d been hiding behind exploded as two clasped fists crashed into it. Rising above the golem’s head, Raine’s mace cracked against the air once more, his second Rupture reducing its durable body to rubble.
[Obtained 2,000 Superiority. 150% bonus for defeating a monster 3 levels above you]
[Obtained 5% Attunement. 150% bonus for defeating a monster 3 levels above you]
Raine landed lightly, his breaths easy and relaxed. He eyed Gazmo threateningly as he snatched up the single silver piece the monster dropped. Gazmo shook his head with a derisive grunt, not having anything to say to the paranoid adventurer. Raine waited in the shadows for a few minutes as his Discipline recovered, then the two continued their trek.
That thing had over three thousand health. With its regeneration, it was probably closer to five. Level thirteens usually have half that. Not a great place to grind. Especially with the risk from the skies. Last Chance’s Gambit is still at level five. I’ll keep myself at ten for now so I can get the most out of killing these.
Raine pulled his dagger from his inventory and it glowed brightly as he sank the hundred-and-six thousand Superiority he’d accumulated into it, instantly bringing it to level seven.
[Last Chance’s Gambit - Common Gray - LVL 7 - 30,000/50,000 SP: (AP 12 > 16) (EP 12 > 16) (AS +1) (FNS 5 > 7) (CNC 5 > 7) (Durability 45/45) Innate Skill - Final Gambit: Convert 100% remaining EP into a single target non-elemental attack. 15 > 17 damage per EP converted]
Seventeen per MP? That’s going to hit so hard after Rupture. It should evolve at level ten or fifteen. Can’t wait to see what it can do then.
Their climb was slow and steady, interspersed by the occasional golem pulling itself from the rocks to attack. He failed to automatically trigger the cursed ring again, but felt like he was getting closer to understanding it. In the fifth encounter, Raine had a close call when a second golem dropped on him from above right as the fight started. With little choice, he took his time circling the two, using their bodies to block each other’s Shrapnels while slowly whittling them down with repeated uses of Rupture.
The uneventful battle left his blood sizzling, yearning for a challenge. Unfortunately, with the narrow trail and the size of the golems, he didn’t have much of a chance to stretch his legs.
Ten kills later, they reached a cave and Gazmo angled himself into the shaded entrance, “This-this mine place. Magic man said krotanium inside but we no find-find. Strong monsters make search-search difficult. Good luck, no die-die big meatyhead man.”
“Thanks, I’ll be careful,” Raine nodded, ducking inside the low entrance.
His steps froze when he spotted a tall bat with the body of a man hanging from the ceiling. Its large ears twitched and swiveled his direction before small eyes snapped open, glowing a menacing orange. It licked its lips, revealing long, bone-white fangs. Raine instantly realized he had no business going any further and dove for the exit.
[Juvenile Sanguine Supper - Level 27 - ?????/?????]