First things first however, he had to open the lootbox before him. He had set it aside while doing his breakthrough, so now was as good a time as ever. Crouching down, he touched the box and, on instinct, put mana into it. It seemed most things could be activated like this here so he would just do that from now on.
The top of the box slid slightly into four parts as light glowed from within.It shook and Tyler backed up slightly. Just in case it, you know, exploded. The box shook more violently until it spat out an item with a small trumpet of fanfare of all things, disappearing and spitting out an item that hit the ground. It was a staff, that much was obvious as he looked at it. It looked like the sort of item buddhist priests would use, with metal rings at the top near the center. The new item clattered to the floor and the box vanished with a wink.
With haste, Tyler stooped down to grab the metallic object and immediately used [Analyze] on it.
[Ironsoul Staff of the Oceanic Mind]
Type: Staff
Rarity: Uncommon/Growth
Description: A type of staff common in the Eastern continents of Aurelia. This growth staff will grow in power up until True Bronze, where it will be needed to be replaced. Reduces cast time of all INT, WIS and WILL related abilities with a Dark or Water affinity by 25%. Reduces mana cost of spells of that nature by 10%. Can store one use of a spell via infusing mana and using your Will, that will be cast upon striking an enemy with this weapon.
+10 INT
+10 WIS
Huh, that was something new. He had never seen a Growth type of item, so it was a slight shock to him to see that such a thing existed. Still, he had a weapon now so that was good. While he wouldn’t just stop using his hands and fists to fight, he also needed reach in combat. Not only that but the weapon could hold a charge of any spell he cast on so that would be a nasty surprise for anyone he fought. Immediately, he set to the task, shoving his mana into the staff and sounding out the pattern for [Geyser] in his head. He would have to see just how well it worked the next time he fought.
Either way, there was no use standing about in the cave for now. He had more important things to do, like Runesmithing and taking Agha out on a…date? Wait, how does that even work in a world like this. Well, whatever, he’d just do what he always did. The ‘go with the flow’ mindset. It usually tended to work. Okay maybe half the time, but it’s not like he could ask around or look up a book about dating rules. Regardless, he’d just have to see what happened. So, with that in mind, Tyler quickly made his way out of the cave and back to the town.
A couple hours later he found himself strolling through the streets of the Duergar settlement, Agha by his side. The two of them chatted here and there, mostly about classes and potential evolutions they might achieve. Tyler wasn’t exactly sure what his class, Eldritch Scion, would evolve to, but he hoped it would be something strong. Tyler made some flirtatious remarks and Agha did the same, Honestly he was just trying to keep up with her if he was being honest. Dear god she could get raunchy.
They made their way towards a stall and got some food before continuing to talk. All in all, it was a nice reprieve and it gave Tyler time to wind down and think things over. When the conversation lulled, usually due to the flock of people rushing to quit their day jobs ,he had time to think. About a variety of things really, but mostly he was reminded of home for some reason.
He thought of his time as a kid on Earth. Of playing with his brother by attacking invisible creatures with sticks, of beating up a boy who had cheated on his sister. Of his mother and how hard she worked. That led to him thinking of his bastard father, who was an alcoholic for most of Tyler’s life until the man left. Good riddance. Spotting an elderly Duergar with a cane also made him think of his grandmother, who had passed not long before he was diagnosed with cancer. SHe was a good person, kind and caring but stern when she needed to be. She had helped him when he was in a rut in his late twenties, and visiting her when she got sick and had to be in a nursing home made him depressed.
He never wanted to just…expire like that. Mind slowly wasting away until you forget who your family is, and eventually you are until you are just a husk who repeats the same phrase over and over until your body fails. That just formed his resolve. Back on Earth he would have preferred having some control over his death, but with the cancer and no kids, well…not much he could do there.
Tyler scrunched his nose and buried his more depressing thoughts deep into the recesses of his mind where they belonged. It was his coping mechanism. Luckily, the time it took him to think was much slower than the time in the outside world, so only a few seconds had passed and he caught the tail end of Agha’s words.
“And so, I think trying tae go fer a metal and fire Dao and combine them into something like a Dao of the Forge would be good. Especially fer my class and shite. What do you think?”
He hummed and mulled it over, happy to have a distraction from other thoughts.
“Well, that should be simple enough. I wouldn’t know much about containing Dao since I just unlocked my first one. Though you should probably take steps to avoid creating something like a molten metal Dao if you’re looking to make a forge one.”
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He shrugged, offering advice the best he could with his limited knowledge, and taking the time to finish off the meat skewer he had obtained from one of the many vendors they had purchased from on their way. The taste was excellent, the savory and slightly spicy meat leaving his mouth tingly. He wasn’t sure what kind of creature it was from and honestly, he’d probably prefer NOT to know.
Eventually, Tyler and Agha reached a small house and bid their farewells. Though Agha left him a gift of sorts. The Duergar woman grabbed him by the shirt and tugged him down, capturing his lips with hers. Tyler was stunned for a second, before he reciprocated the kiss. Her lips were much hotter than his, scalding almost. He was sure that, were he back on Earth, he would get burnt. But with his 70 points in Constitution, the heat of her skin was negligible.
He was surprised however, when the woman slipped her tongue into his mouth, the hot muscle sliding inside to battle with his own. Shit, it was pierced even. That was kinda hot. No pun not intended. They made out for an inordinate amount of time until Agha pulled away, a devilish grin on her face that was only marred by the dark gray blush that accentuated her freckled visage.
“Not a bad kisser fer a tall-man.” She said, wiping some spit from her lips. “I’ll have tae do that more often. Now off ye go. Ye gotta finish that work Fizzlespark gave ya if yer gonna keep gettin’ paid. And if ye do it fast enough, well…my door’s always open.”
With a wink, Agha turned around and strode towards his door, leaving him to watch her hips sway as she opened the door and closed it behind her. Tyler stood there for a good ten seconds, stiffly adjusting himself, which was weird with his new body, before he did a 180 and headed towards the Runesmithery. Right, that was a pleasant date. Far more pleasant than any date he’d been on back on Earth. But now he had actual work to do, even if the kiss had shaken him a bit.
Luckily it seemed his…mentor was away gathering reagents or something, so he had some alone time in the underground area to work on his profession. He withdrew the blank slab and looked at the book before him. He planned to create a Cleansing Rune. Something he could either carry around or attach to clothing to keep him clean from gore, viscera and impurities. This beginner’s book should have what he needed.
Tyler thumbed through the pages and wrote down notes on a miniature blackboard. Runic symbols for water and fire, to create a hot steam. But he needed to use more fire than water or it wouldn’t wash anything anyway. Another symbol for grinding, which was apparently a subset of Earth runes. Followed up by a combined rune using fire and air to essentially dry the item which would become damp after a washing.
Carefully, he worked. He grabbed a nearby chisel and made the necessary adjustments. It was like a puzzle, trying to fit all the combined runes to make a new one. He also had to add various logic gates and booleans to the new rune as well. Things like ‘IF equipped, grind dirt && sweat && blood NOT living THEN, et cetera’ and things like that, just to make sure that the rune wouldn’t attempt to grind to grind living flesh. He thanked his prior experience as a programmer for figuring this part out.
Tyler chipped away at the slate, his Perception, which sat at 76 points now, helping him focus in on the tiny details needed to chisel fine lines and connections. Using [Mana Manipulation] he also grabbed some things he needed. Such as a rag to wipe away any dust he created, bags of magical powder that the book said were required and more. Eventually, he finished the basic layout of his work and stared at the confusing array of runes and patterns. It was a mess, and probably not all that great. But it SHOULD work.
Grabbing the bag of magic powder, which was made from crushed malachite and tigereyes, he slowly poured the material into the groves created by his chisel, making sure to fill them to the brim so to speak and blowing away any excess gem dust. With that finished, there was only one thing left to do to see his creation take foot.
Hovering both hands over the slate, he let his mana flow like a river. The blue energy emanated from his hands and slid down to encompass the entirety of his rune. The table shook, making him worry for a second but Tyler focused and honed in on what he wanted to create. The time ticked by as his mana bar slowly trickled down. Out of his current pool of 1898, it took over a thousand mana before the result was created. With a tiny flash of light, Tyler looked down.
The runes on his slate began to swirl in real time, flicking in and out of existence before they converged into a single, more steady rune that inherited all of his previous ones’ aspects. It pulsed for a few seconds before it died down and Tyler gave a heavy sigh of exhaustion as he read the system prompt that came up. He had done it.
Congratulations, you have unlocked the skill: Runesmithing.
[Runesmithing]
Rare
Level 1
A variation of enchanting that focuses on stonework and gems, It is primarily used by Dwarves and Gnomes in lands where timber is hard to come by. Ease of creating, understanding, and using runes or enchantments in many different applications rises slightly per level of this skill. Look at you, actually putting in work. It’s adorable.
Runesmithing is Level 2
…
Runesmithing is Level 13
You have created the following:
[Scouring Rune of Cleansing]
Type: Logic Rune
Rarity: Uncommon
Description: An uncommon rune using logic and booleans that will, when activated, scour anything it is attached to of a variety of dead matter, sweat, and grime, wash it thoroughly, and then dry it. Yep, it’s a god damned laundry and shower rune rolled into one. Good thinking, because you STINK.
Cost Per Use: 100 Mana
Well, that was just great. More sass from the System. Whatever he’d basically gotten used to the remarks by now. Stretching, Tyler pocketed the rune in his travel bag and headed up the stairs. As he went outside, he wondered how long it had taken. There was no sun in the underground and he had no clock. Still, he was going to take Agha up on her offer if she was still up. So with that in mind, he walked back to where he had dropped her off and knocked on her door. She answered in a few seconds and looked up at him, grinning. Then she grabbed him by the arm and tugged her inside her house.