An enormous monstrosity with a mechanical slug-like body that was covered with clawed limbs dragged itself across the ground, leaving a small trench in its wake. A pulse traveled up one of its arms as a mechanical insect landed on top of it.
“At last.”
A bellowing voice boomed out:
“We have found our next target.”
A swarm of metal forms glimmered beneath the trees as they marched toward the next village they would raze. Two thousand years had passed and their goal was still not in sight, but it did not matter. As with every town that they burned, they moved one step closer to the paradise that he and his brothers envisioned.
When Ray next awoke, it was dark. Remembering the pain, he quickly felt his chest and was surprised to find only a scar where the damage had been. He got to his feet, scanning his surroundings when his eyes landed on the two halves of the creature.
If a shrieker is already this close to town, will we even have time to reach level 10 before the rest of the Hord appears?
He pondered to himself. He finally decided that he would bring the body back to town, but after facing that thing, he had no delusions of being able to take on the hordes yet. If he and Erith could not get the levels that they needed, then he would try to get her to run away with him.
The villagers should be able to get away without two additional human sacrifices.
He tried to convince himself. Finally, feeling happy with his plan, he went to gather up his belongings before leaving. As he walked back towards the tree, he almost screamed in alation as he found his enhanced dagger fully intact once again. But that soon turned to anguish as he saw the splintered remains of his father's bow. He gathered up all the pieces that he could and placed them into a pouch at his side. Ray then went to retrieve his second dagger. He found his second dagger embedded in a nearby tree. Upon removing it, he was disheartened to find a significant crack down the blade. He frowned before dividing to try to enhance the weapon to give it the auto-repair augment.
Artisan Panel
Current skill: 1
Crafting points: 6
Please select an item to augment.
This time he decided to only use 3 points on his weapon, wanting to save the rest just in case. The glowing runes appeared again, covering and then sinking into the weapon. After he finished, the dagger morphed, adding several slots along the blade; Ray used appraisal to see the result.
Uncommon Sword Breaker:
A dagger that a beginner artisan has enhanced, increasing its grade
Grade: Uncommon
Durability: 50/100
Attributes
Auto repair
Sword Breaker: Infuse 20MP before blocking a strike to reflect the force of the attack back to the paired object.
He was overjoyed with the result. Even with the higher mana cost, this would be a great defensive tool for him going forward. After examining the weapon for a few more minutes, he finally gathered the two halves of the shrieker before heading back to the village. After the walk back, some guards stopped him when they saw what he was carrying.
“Hold it. Where did ya find that?”
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“I was hunting near the creek not too far in that direction and it came out of the woods.”
Ray responded, pointing toward the creek. The guard's eyebrows furrowed, and he motioned for a younger-looking guard to come over.
“Get the clan elder. The horde might be closer than we first thought.”
“Right away, sir.”
The younger guard said before running off. Ray placed the body on the ground while they waited. He tried to make small talk with the guard for a minute but did not respond, only staring in the direction the other guard had run off in. Instead, he looked at his status as he had not done so since fighting the boars this morning.
Status
Name: Ray
Leval: 5
Ascension: 0
Class: Beginner Artisan (Rare)
Mana: 160/160
Stamina: 40/40
Stats
Strength 3
Endurance 4
Dexterity 16
Intelligence 34
Wisdom 16
Available Points: 2
Multipliers
Strength 0.5
Endurance 0.5
Dexterity 2
Intelligence 2
Wisdom 1
Skills
Appraisal
Titles
[System appointed artisan]
Skill Choice available
Reading the page, Ray was shocked by how rapidly his intelligence was increasing. His eyes finally came to rest on the last line that had appeared on his screen. Focusing on it, another screen popped up.
Skills currently available
Piercing strike: Imbue your next strike to deal additional damage based on dexterity
Stamina cost: 10
Damage bonus is doubled against armored targets
Disassemble: Turn an item into its core components
Mana cost: 20
Gain Crafting points based on the disassembled item's grade
Mana shot: fire a beam of mana at a target, increased damage based on mana spent and intelligence
Mana cost: 10-100
Repair: Restore an item to its full durability.
Mana cost: based on item grade
Weapon bond: Forge a bond with your crafted or empowered items. When wielding items that have been created or modified by you, deal bonus damage based on intelligence
Ray examined each one, rejecting the first, since he still lacked sufficient stamina for proper use and wanted to avoid running out during a fight again. He thought about repair for a few moments, wondering if he could fix his father's bow before ruling it out as well. A shrieking horde would be here soon, and he needed a skill that would help him with that. For the same reason, he ruled out dismantling, as the two points that he seemed to gain with every level were enough for what he needed to do. The last choice was not as easy for him. While mana shot would serve as a nice ranged option, he felt he would gain more from the weapon bond skill. This would not only improve his melee combat, but he could also craft and upgrade a new bow that would give him a ranged option as well. Finally deciding, he selected the weapon bond skill. As Ray selected his new skill, he finally saw the young guard returning with the clan elder. The elder's eyebrows furrowed at the two halves of the creature on the ground.
“And where did you say you found this?”
The old man asked.
Ray pointed again to the creek where he had been attacked.
“Not good.”
The elder said, rubbing his chin.
“Please leave me with the boy for a moment.”
He said, waving for the guards to return to their positions. Ray screamed internally. Would the elder send him out allow when the next horde came now that he saw he could kill a shrieker? Thoughts flew like a tornado through Ray's mind before they all came to a screeching halt with the elder's next words.
“Listen, boy. If my granddaughter does not reach at least level 6 in tomorrow's hunt, then I want you to go with her and leave this place before the horde gets here.”