“Well, looks like you impressed the boss man. Either that, or you really pissed him off. He left quite the kill quest for you.”
Luke was looking at the list of monsters Bran wanted me to kill. I gave him my guild tag so he could add the quest to my log. When he handed it back to me, I pulled up my quest list. He had removed the two ongoing quests and replaced it with one long quest.
Quests [1]
Monster Hit List
* Wolves 0/10
* Hobgoblins 0/10
* Killer Kobolds 0/10
* Giant Slimes 0/10
* Skeletons 0/10
Optional
* Orcs 0/∞
* Ogres 0/∞
* Trolls 0/∞
* Spiders 0/∞
* Dire Wolves 0/∞
* Dire Rats 0/∞
* Dire Spiders 0/∞
“From what I can tell,” Luke said, “Bran wants you to go to the Dark Forest. That’s the closest place around to get skeletons and giant slimes. The rest can be pretty local, within a 30 mile radius of Silface, but those two specifically paired with the optional unlimited kills means you’ll have to go there.”
“Well damn.” Is he trying to get me killed? I’m not ready for that place yet!
“Damn indeed.” Bran said behind me.
“GAH! How the hell are you so quiet in that bulky ass armor of yours?”
Luke looks horrified by what I said about Bran right to his face.
“Call it practice. But yes, I want you to head to the Dark Forest and stay there for about a week. If you come back alive with the required monster kills, I'll give you your promotion on the spot. A Dark Forest raid is also one of the requirements to be promoted to Gold Rank as well, so this is more of a two birds situation.” Bran looked pleased with himself.
“While I want you to do this solo,” he continued, “I will allow you to bring anyone you want, as long as they agree to join you. None from my gold rank party may join, obviously, but any copper or silver ranks may join you. I will even go so far as to count this as a silver rank promotion exam as well. So that can be an incentive for others to join you. Luke here will assign them the same quest you have now. A party will make things easier on yourself in some ways, however, it also means you need to kill more monsters, depending on how many you have joining you.”
“The Dark Forest is a dangerous place, Claff.” Luke warned me. “You should bring at least one person with you, if not more. I can put a word out that you’re forming a raiding party, if you want. I’m sure there will be plenty of people willing to jump at the chance to be promoted to silver. And Silvers would go at the chance to get on Bran’s good side.”
Bran laughed at that. “It’s true. However, I'd recommend not joining people you don’t trust. It is a dangerous place after all.”
I didn’t even have to think about it. “I’ll invite Grifith, but that’s it. But if he says no, then I'm going solo. I don’t know too many other people, and I don't think this kind of quest is one to be introduced to unfamiliar faces.”
“I see. Like I said, I'd prefer you do this solo, but it’s your quest, ultimately. The only stipulation is that you have one month maximum to come back with everything done. Travel time should only take 3 days there, plus 3 back. Add that to the 7 days of being in the forest, you’ll have plenty of time.” He’s reasonable at least. A month should be plenty of time. “I also made sure to make it so you don’t need to go more than 10 miles deep into the forest. You can if you want, just know that the deeper you go, the stronger the monsters get.”
“10 miles deep, got it. That shouldn't be any problem. I want to go back to the slime dungeon first to finish getting my bracelet upgraded to 500 before I go, but that should only take me a couple days. Oh right! I got an extra Slime bracelet on my last run through the dungeon.”
I pulled the bralet out and showed it to them.
“Impressive.” Bran said. “What are you planning to do with it? We could buy it from you if you want to sell it.”
“Well, I was planning to sell it to Paris. I forgot to tell him about it last night. I’ll mention it when I go later.”
“Understood. He mentioned you selling your mana to him, and how you had such high purity and a large quantity for such a new adventurer.” He then got serious. “Be careful around him. He’s one of the oldest people on this continent, if not the world. He might appear friendly at times, but I can tell you he’s done some things in his past.” The shadow passed from his face.
“Alrighty then, on the note, i’ll be heading upstairs to get my new robe fixed. Hopefully Sarah can get the blood out of it too.” I waved the two men off and left. I was trying to be in a good mood today, so I definitely don’t need that dampener.
“You made it back alive!” Sarah ran and jumped at me in a hug. Duke was close behind her, though he only patted my shoulder in congratulations.
“How'd it go? How many runs did the two of you do? I thought you’d be back by lunch, but I don't think I saw Bran return until almost dinner time!” The two of them started questioning me.
I told them the full story, including the delve of the Lizardman dungeon.
“Damn dude! That sounds pretty badass! Taking on over 70 Lizardmen at once is pretty damn impressive! Sucks about your leg, but at least you made it out alive!” Duke gave his praises.
“So you went from soloing an E rank dungeon to a D rank dungeon in the span of what, two days? You bump your head as a kid?” Sarah smacked me upside the head as I told her about the horde chasing me on purpose. “Give me your robe so I can get started on mending it for you.”
She gasped a little when she saw the burn marks going through where my leg would’ve been.
“You need practice on how to use your barrier skill better. Things like this shouldn’t be happening to a skilled guy like you.” She berated me. “Not many people get promoted in under a month of being an adventurer. So you need to work all the harder in order to catch up to your soon to be new peers.”
“Okay mooooom, I’ll do better.” I rolled my eyes and stuck my tongue out at her. She stuck hers out in return. Duke just rolled his eyes at the two of us.
“Okay, so while you get the robe started, I’m going to do some more shopping. I’ll be getting a bunch of rations, so be prepared for that. I’ll also be getting a ton of potions too. Bran gave me a Dark Forest quest that I have to get done in a month, so I'll stock up now while I can. After selling mana last night and all the drops I got from the Lizardman Dungeon, I’m up to over a gold and a half!”
I pulled up my UI to see how much I was up to now. Sweet, it leveled to 11!
Storage (10/24)
1 g 55s 77 c
1. Bowie knife
2. 25 Shirts (varied colors, cloth)
3. 10 Pants (cloth)
4. 10 Underwear (5 boxers, 5 sock pairs )
5. 13 Rations (varied flavors)
6. 10 Potions (varied)
7. 2 Leather Armor Sets
8. 5 Books
9. Water skin
10. Camping Gear (tent, placemat, sleeping bag)
Duke and Sarah’s jaws dropped at that. Duke was the first to say anything though.
“How the hell did you get so much money so quickly! Were you secretly an adventurer in a different city before you got here? That’s like four month’s rent for me!”
“Same! What the hell man! Most adventurers don't get their first gold until after half a year, if not longer. You need to start spending more so I can get my commissions damn it!” Sarah smacked my arm this time.
The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
“Well, I've been mostly farming a goblin spawn site with Grifith. Other than that, I started selling my mana. Each time I go to sell it, it's like 30 silver for now. Everything sort of adds up.”
“DAMN!” They both exclaimed in unison.
“Well, I have a lot of mana now, and I get a premium for having pretty high mana purity.”
“Understatement.” Duke said with an exasperated look on his face.
“Anyways, let me do some shopping real quick. Before I do that though, how much are the repairs gonna be, Sarah? I need to know how much to set aside for that.”
She held the robe in her hands and had a pondering look on her face.
“Well, these robes weren’t cheap to begin with. I’d estimate around 15 silver to get it fixed completely. I need to get some help fixing the enchantment though. That’s where the bulk of the cost is coming from. It might be up to 20 silver, though no more than that.”
“Thank you, I'll set aside 25 just in case. Let me know when you have a good pick up time for me, yeah?” She nodded then left.
“Alright, what flavors you got for me today?” I went over to the rations shelves and started picking out multiple. I had over 30 pulled to the side when Duke let me know What my total so far was, just from the rations.
“Claff, you’ve already got 6 silver worth of food. I think you’ll be fine. And I don't want to restock the rations again today.”
“Fair enough. Here’s the silver for the food.” I put all the rations I gathered into my storage and went to look around for anything else I might have needed. I Decided to grab 5 more regular health potions and called it good. I still had plenty from what Duke got me on Bran’s coin yesterday, but I wanted to be extra sure.
It’s not like they’ll go bad in my storage. The same goes for the food. Time seems to stop inside the skill. As long as whatever isn’t living, I can put it in storage and not have to worry about the item spoiling or rotting or losing effectiveness. It’s great. I only need to make sure I have enough slots. And that hasn’t been an issue for quite a while.
I brought the potions up to the counter and paid. Duke asked if I had run out already, but I told him, “I'd rather have them and not need them than need them and not have them. They won't go bad in my storage anyways, it’s fine.”
He nodded and I added them to my collection in storage.
Already down 56 silver. I hope the robes don't take too much. Even though I'll be getting more from mana selling later, I don't want to spend too much.
Sarah came back out 10 minutes later and told me that the enchantments would take a while to fix, and that it’ll be ready in about 3 days. “Unfortunately, our in house Enchanter doesn’t have access to the Enchanter’s Guild mana supply, so I can't put a rush on this for you. It’s already at the front of the line as is, it will just take a while to get to.”
“I see. In that case, I'll be back in 3 days. I’m going back to Slime Dungeon to upgrade my Bracelet to 500. I’ll be back as soon as I can, definitely before the 3 days are over.” Sarah started to protest. “And don’t worry, I still have my leather armor to wear though my delves.”
That seemed to alleviate her worries for now.
“I'll see you guys when I get back, so stay safe yeah?” I tried being light hearted to make the best of the situation.
Sarah hugged me and I got a fist bump from Duke. Then I went to the Enchanter’s Guild to sell and see if Paris wanted my spare Slime Bracelet. He did not, but he did want my mana. I got my 30 silver and went on my merry way. I decided to stop by the enchanter’s shop on my way back to see what else he had available.
“My friend! Welcome back! It has been too long!” Greeted me before I even put my first foot inside the door.
I still don’t know this guy's name. Huh.
“Yes, I came to see about buying some spell rings. I’ve been thinking about that firebolt ring you showed me last time, and I wanted to see what else you had in stock.”
“Right to the point, I like it! Now my friend, what element were you looking for? I still have the same ring as last time, if that’s to your taste? Or I also have a ring for water bolt, stone bullet, air slicer, and even a light ball ring, though that’s strictly for illuminating dark places.”
Dark places? Like the Dark Forest I'll be going to soon? Yes please!
“I’ll be taking that light ring, but I also want the stone bullet ring and I'll look at the air slicer, though I might not be taking it.”
I want to see ALL the enchanted stuff! How can I be in a fantasy world and not?!
Storage (10/24)
1 g 29s 77 c
Besides, I can afford it, so why not?
“Of course, my friend! The light ball ring will cast a ball of light that will either remain in place above the caster’s head, or stay in a targeted location. I recommend the stationary effect, otherwise you’d essentially be broadcasting your location to any monsters nearby. It does do decent damage to the undead if aimed at them, though that is the only category of monsters it affects.”
He brought me the ring, and I put it on the middle finger of my left hand. I channeled 3 points of mana through it. I felt my mana corrupt as it went through, then a fist sized ball of light appeared above my head. It moved as I mentally commanded it to.
“Sweet, I’ll use this with gusto. How much is it?”
“That is 10 silver.” His pearly whites shined even brighter in the light of my new ring.
I handed him the money as he showed me the Stone Bullet ring. I figured I would need it in case I met an enemy that was resistant to arcane damage. This way I can still use a physical based spell.
Always be prepared.
I put the stone bullet ring on the ring finger of my right hand. I was going to pour mana through it until I remembered where I was.
“Do you have an area I can test this out at? I’d rather not damage anything in your shop here if I can help it.”
“RIght this way. I’ll also bring the air slicer ring as well for you to try.”
I smiled my appreciation and followed him past a curtain of red beads. It led to a room that hummed with magic. It housed a desk that was as wide as the 5 foot wide room. There were plenty of other rings and charms on it, but the man faced me to the right, where the hallway stretched for 30 feet. There were burn marks and small scratches all on the walls, but nothing major.
“As long as you avoid aiming behind this line,” he pointed at a yellow line at our feet, “you should be fine to use most spells with a cost of under 10 mana. Anything above that threshold will damage the protective enchantments I have in place.”
“I see, thank you.”
I aimed my fist at the opposite wall and ran 3 mana through the ring. I felt the familiar mana corruption but tried to keep pressing more in. I wanted to push 5 though, but the ring seemed to protest.
I guess 3 mana is the limit of the enchantment. I wonder if that’s due to the enchantment itself, or if that’s how much the spell usually costs. My Basic Barrier spell only costs 3 mana, before I pack it full of mana to make it stronger.
I loosed the spell and a stone projectile about 3 inches in diameter fired from my fist. It flew towards the wall I aimed at and exploded on impact. There was a small mark on the wall from where it lande.
I wonder how big it would be if I could push more into it.
“How much do spells normally cost? It seems both the Ball of Light and the Stone Bullet both cost 3 mana, but the spells from my skills are different.”
“Yes my friend, Ball of Light and Stone Bullet are both starter spells for their respective affinities of magic. However, since it’s being fired from an enchanted ring, it increased the cost by 1 point.”
“It increases? But my Mana Bolt spell costs 5 points for its base form. How are other affinities so cheap?” I know that Arcane Magic is supposed to be more expensive than other magics that actually have an affinity, but I didn't realize it’d be more than double.
“Yes, I figured as much. I asked around, and it seems very few people actually pick Arcane Magic due to its… excessive mana costs. My friend, do you realize yet what an anomaly you are? The regeneration requirements must be insane, though I won't ask further. You truly picked quite the impressive skill set, my friend. Truly impressive.”
“I see. In that case, I'll take the Stone Bullet ring. Price?”
I handed him the 10 silver he asked for and he gave me the Air Slicer ring. I doubt I'll actually take it, but I need to at least try it once.
I put it on my right index finger and poured 3 points of mana in. It corrupted, then a strong gust of wind was flung from my hand towards the opposite wall.
Unimpressive. I’d almost rather use it as an air conditioner.
I handed it back to him and said it wasn’t my style.
“Not every ring is for every customer, my friend. Pick what you feel suits you best, and move along with life. Now, would that be all for you, or would you like to look around some more?”
“I think that will do for now, thank you.”
“Feel free to come in any time. I will always be open to you, my friend.”
With that, I left to go to Half Moon for some dinner. I informed Thaggard and Theona that I'd be leaving again after lunch and heading back to the slime dungeon.
“I had planned on staying here for a few days, but something came up and I need to reach my benchmark before I have to deal with some stuff.”
I didn’t mention the Silver promotion exam to them, nor did I mention me going to the Dark Forest soon. I’d rather not have them worry about me when they didn’t have to.
They seemed to understand. Most adventurers came and went as they pleased. Apparently most were civil with dwarves, but few were as nice as I was to them.
“We’ll miss you, my boy. But don’t go getting all sentimental. Do as you will. Just promise to stay safe and never be afraid of running from anything. If you see a dragon though, be sure to kick its ugly snout before you turn tail. I hate those buggards.”
That has got to be the most stereotypical dwarven thing I've ever heard him say. Well, besides drinking so much alcohol, his blood is made of the stuff. Whatever, I'll miss this place while I'm gone.
As it stood, I'll be leaving for the slime dungeon in a few minutes, then when i’ done there, I'll be seeing if Grifith wants to join me on my Silver promotion quest. If not, I’ll be going at it solo. I could already see the light blue indicator of the quests monster location about 450 miles southeast of me. I should be able to get to the edge of the area in 4 days, but I still planned on 5 days just to be sure.
Though if Grifith comes with me, he’ll make it so i’m there in two days. Maybe I won't invite him after all.
I’d be inviting him regardless, but the thought made me laugh.
I finished my meal and paid a whole silver for it. I got up and left for the Slime dungeon.
Time to get back to the grind.