The oasis waters were objectively tepid, but compared to the scorching heat it was cool and refreshing. Silas wanted to spend an extended time playing around, but Samantha didn’t allow herself to fully relax and indulge just yet. As tempting as the prospect was, there was still work to be done.
“I’m headed to the mansion!” she informed her companion, stepping out onto the shore and wringing out her soggy clothes.
“Already?” he whined.
Samantha chuckled, “You can stay here if you want. Just be aware of any new scorpis that may hatch.”
The main nest entrance was actually visible from here, which was a double-edged sword if they ended up spending extended time near the oasis. They’d know right away of any unusual movements or activity from the scorpis, but they also wouldn’t have much time to react if something dangerous decided to emerge.
“I will!” Silas chirped, his mood once again upbeat. Using his wings as a sort of unconventional floatation device, he flipped over onto his back and leisurely drifted along.
Sending him a mental ‘farewell’, she walked the short distance to the mansion and stepped inside. Without the pressing concerns of saving survivors or watching her back for hostile spirit beasts, she found she was better able to appreciate the quality of the home and its contents than during her previous visits. The exterior of the three-storey structure was coated in some sort of smooth, earth-toned mud mixture with decorative stonework around the base of the building and windows. The inside, however, was mostly wood–an extreme luxury in a place where trees were so scarce.
Wanting to save the best for last, she started her search for useful items on the third floor. Mostly consisting of bedrooms and a couple bathrooms, she came away with several sets of mundane clothing she could tailor to fit herself as well as hygienic items. Though not the most exciting finds, she was happy to have a supply of high-quality clothing, soaps, and brushes to take care of herself with for the duration of her stay.
The second floor included workspaces and offices, which unfortunately didn’t have much that interested her at this time. There were some books on business, documents detailing family dealings, and a variety of artwork, but nothing that she thought would help her grow stronger. The main thing she took from this floor was an enchanted leather notebook and pen set. Rather than the pen possessing an inkwell, the notebook was somehow scripted to ‘write’ wherever the tip of the pen touched its pages. She also discovered that things could be erased from the pages by touching the end of the pen to unwanted markings. With this, so long as she occasionally erased things to prevent all the pages from filling, she could write into the book indefinitely.
Returning to the first floor, she went to the kitchen and started making good use of her newest enchanted item. Searching the space thoroughly, she cataloged what food and beverages were present into the notebook and moved as much of it as she could into the main larder to make it easily accessible.
The larder itself was well-stocked, neatly organized, and seemed to be heavily enchanted to preserve the food that was stored inside of it. The temperature was bordering on cold inside of the room, and several cuts of meat were openly hanging from hooks without any visible salts or waxes applied to their surfaces. Tall shelves along the walls were filled with fresh-looking fruits, vegetables, and herbs to cook with. Throughout the room were areas where spirit pearls were placed to power the various enchantments.
Writing down what was inside of the larder–as well as noting the positions and rough qi amounts remaining in the installed spirit pearls–took several hours, but she felt the time investment was worth it. Keeping a list of all the food they had access to would help her estimate how long she could prolong the quest to train.
Checking the library next, she picked out any books she believed could help her with her fighting abilities or long-term survival. Unfortunately, due to the family living in this house being mortal there weren’t any books detailing arts or cultivation techniques. This didn’t mean she came away empty-handed, however. By the time she’d made her way through the shelves, she had a small mountain of tomes, scrolls, and manuals covering all sorts of topics from martial arts forms to crafting and farming.
That task completed, she mentally readied herself for the room she was most excited for: the armory. Walking over to the hidden door–still open from when she rescued the combative father–she stepped inside and took in the view.
The armory measured a modest 15 by 15 feet, but was chock full of gleaming metal, sharp weaponry, and polished leather. Some were even enchanted. Along the left wall were armaments that were best suited for Strength-based fighters such as plate armor, tower shields, claymores, battle axes, and war hammers. Against the right wall were arms that Endurance specialists might enjoy, such as chain mail, lamellar, flails, swords, and round shields. On the far wall were items that Agility fighters like herself might gravitate to, including reinforced robes, leather armor, daggers, bows, and bucklers.
Moving methodically through the room, she fed a bit of qi into the information plaques hung near each item. With each new notification the smile that had spread across her face grew a little wider. Everything in this room was of at least Uncommon quality. In the end, she picked out three Rare items that she felt best suited her fighting style.
Her first acquisition was a robe that was crafted from the materials of a Bristleback Peccary–a creature similar to the Steel Boar according to the bestiary she’d found earlier. The hair the robe was woven from made the fabric tough and wiry, so there was a silken lining for comfort. The armor wasn’t enchanted, but the materials made it even more protective than her Silver Weaver robes had been. Though she did pine for a set of Lamellar that had a cooling enchantment scripted into it, this robe was the only armor that reasonably fit her. Most of it was clearly tailored for a warrior of greater stature.
Her second pick was a spear with a shaft carved from the heartwood of something called a ‘Bloodfruit Tree’ and a spearhead shaped from qi-forged steel. The spearhead possessed a simple but effective durability enchantment. The spear shaft, while not enchanted, had one very unique property: it could absorb blood to both strengthen and repair itself.
The final item of note was something that she had thought to be an arm guard at first glance. The leather was mottled tan and brown, and at least two or three times as thick as a regular bracer would be. She thought it was odd that it didn’t appear to be part of a set, but the information from the plaque made the reason clear.
Shield Bracer (Rare)
A leather bracer crafted from the hide of a Silt Crocodile (Rank 5 - Mid).
Enchantment 1: Minor Right Sizing (Common)
Will expand or contract a small amount to fit the wearer.
Enchantment 2: Indurate (Uncommon)
Will harden the material when qi is fed into it (Cost: 1 qi/ minute).
Enchantment 3: Minor Qi Reserve (Common)
Can store up to 5 qi points.
Enchantment 4: Minor Self-Repair (Rare)
Damage will very slowly mend over time.
She slid her arm through the two straps connected to the inside of the bracer and they gently tightened until they were perfectly snug around her wrist and forearm. Feeding a qi point into the armor experimentally, she flinched as the thick leather instantly unfolded into a buckler that was 1 foot in diameter. The now-much-thinner leather shield didn’t look to be very sturdy, but several test hits to its surface proved her assumption wrong. Though it likely wouldn’t stand up well to a strong direct attack, it was more than suitable for deflecting blows and protecting her from lesser cuts. Once a minute had passed, the material seemed to go slack and folded back into its original shape.
She was a bit disappointed at the possibility of being forced to leave the rest of the unused equipment behind once she finished the quest, but reminded herself not to be too greedy. Even if she could somehow find a good way to carry all of it out of the rift with her, carrying so much extra gear would make her overburdened when facing the Ancient Cliff Drake.
As she left the mansion she checked the casters that she’d confiscated from the father and son in hopes that she might find a replacement for Nethershot. Unfortunately, while the weapons were useful for mortals, they were even weaker than the yellow-beamed casters were. The red beams they shot could kill other mortals or low-ranked spirit beasts, but wouldn’t work well on anything with more than 10 or so Resilience. Even on her bare skin it didn’t do much more than leave a circular burn. Once she took the spirit pearls out of the weapons she placed the casters in the armory in case she found a use for them later.
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Her next planned stop was the training center but she wanted to do a quick check in with Silas before she headed that way. As she approached the oasis she found a semi-fresh scorpis worker carcass near the water's edge. Its body was sprawled out awkwardly in the sand while its head rested several feet away with a distinctly [Antler Shot] shaped hole in it. Her companion was still aimlessly floating on his back looking completely carefree.
“I’m finished with searching the house now–I got some good things out of it. Have you been having fun?”
A lazy ‘flap’ of one wing rotated him so that he was looking in her approximate direction, “That bug made me get out of the water. Other than that, yes!”
“I’m glad,” she said, enjoying his feelings of contentment and relaxation, “I’m headed to the barracks, did you want to come or stay a bit longer?”
Silas flapped his wing in the other direction to turn back around, “I’ll stay! Someone needs to watch the nest anyway.”
“That’s fine for now, but remember… you’re going to have to train while we’re here too. We can’t play around the entire time.”
He huffed and gave her a non-committal, “Mhmmm.”
She laughed and shook her head. She’d have to find a way to properly motivate him later.
Making her way to the barracks, it didn’t take her long to find the training center that Tobias had mentioned. Searching through the various shelves and cabinets she found a large amount of medicinal ‘resources’, but only a small supply of training alchemicals she could use. If she took some every day, it would perhaps last her two weeks. Three, if she were very frugal and took partial doses. She hoped that she could find more later, but it would do for now.
The training room itself was like nothing she’d ever seen before. There were several pieces of strange, padded furniture, as well as metal bars and circular metal plates with a hole in their center. There was also a wall where weighted vests and other equipment hung, a padded sparring circle, and a small but complex looking agility course. Though she’d initially turned down Tobias’s offer to show her to the training center, now that she was faced with the foreign equipment, she decided it would be a good idea to get him to explain all of the different activities.
Entering spectral form to try and find him quickly, she flew out of the barracks and over the city to see if she could catch a glimpse of him or a filled cart. Knowing that he planned to start at the homes nearest the farmstead and work his way inwards, she headed that direction first. Before long, she found him en route to the rift exit with a cart practically overflowing with quest resources.
She canceled [Spectral Projection] and jogged until she met up with him.
“Hey, Tobias!” she called out as she approached.
The man turned and gave her a friendly wave, “You’re just in time to help me unload everything.”
As they walked the final distance towards the rift exit, Samantha’s eyes widened at the large mound of items Tobias had already managed to gather. It was at least four feet tall and 10 feet in diameter. He had clearly been hard at work this entire time.
“Not bad, right?” he asked with a hint of pride.
“How many carts have you unloaded already?” she asked incredulously.
“I do about one an hour? Usually two or three houses worth.”
“Nice work!” she complimented, “This is really helpful. I hope you’re taking breaks and saving some food and water for yourself too, though.”
He nodded, “I was just about to take a short rest after this latest load, actually.”
Samantha started picking resources up by the armful and setting them down in the pile, “Would you mind coming back to the barracks with me after we finish up here? I found the training center and supplies easily enough, but the equipment is…”
“Odd?” he offered with a chuckle.
“Yeah. I’m not sure how most of it is supposed to be used.” she confirmed a bit sheepishly.
“It’s easier than it looks! You’ll get the hang of it in no time.”
As Samantha continued emptying the cart, she realized that not a single non-resource item had been gathered. Checking the larger pile she found the case was the same. Tobias must have his own way to tell what counted as a resource or not, and was only grabbing what could be turned in for the quest.
“You know, I think I wasn’t giving you quite enough trust before.” she began.
“In what way?”
“I had you pile everything over here because I wanted to go through everything myself. Seeing the quality work you’ve done so far, I realize that’s unnecessary. I made things more difficult than they needed to be for the both of us.”
“It’s no trouble at all. I’m happy to do whatever I can to help.” Tobias gave her an assuring smile, “What would you like to do going forward?”
Samantha picked up a resource and held it out in front of her until its color began to fade. Pulling it back, its color returned. She set it down in the sand at the approximate border where resources would be ‘turned in’.
“Are you able to set the items down behind this point? Or, will that cause you to… uh… leave town?”
Since Tobias counted as a resource, if he spent too long near the rift exit then he would be ‘turned in’ as well. She didn’t want to risk him accidentally disappearing, but was unsure how best to phrase her question in a way that he could understand.
He shook his head, “You don’t have to worry. I won’t leave until I’ve accomplished everything you’ve wanted me to do. See?”
Tobias picked up an item and confidently stepped over the marked threshold. His color remained unfaded while he was over the border, but the resource he held slowly dissolved into motes of light. Once it was completely gone he crossed back over the marker and smiled.
Quest progress updated!
Hostiles Remaining: 5/150
Resource Points Gathered (Optional): 5
Survivors Rescued (Optional - Completed): 8/9 survivors saved
She let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding.
“So, I’ll handle moving all this over.” he gestured to the large pile beside the cart, “But let me show you how to use all that equipment first.”
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Tobias spent the next couple of hours guiding her through every exercise activity and the different room functions.
The bars and weight plates were for Strength training, and the padded furniture allowed for specific muscle groups to be targeted while lifting on them. He pointed out that under each station was a scripted area on the floor to increase how strongly the weights were pulled downwards. If the enchantment was not activated the plates and bars would weigh the same as they would normally. Once activated, it could make them feel heavy enough that even Peak Bronzes would be strained lifting them. This allowed for all the guards–even mortals–to benefit from the equipment. In case she wanted more detailed information, he pointed out a book which gave notes on the different exercise forms including how many repetitions and sets she should do and recommended recovery times.
After that, he showed her how to best utilize the agility course. Similar to the weight lifting stations, this course was also enchanted so that its difficulty could be adjusted. The weighted clothing she’d seen hanging on the wall could be worn and have their weight ‘increased’ with the script for added challenge. If that still wasn’t enough, there were separate enchantments that would randomly change the height of some obstacles, rotate them, or even strike out with hidden, mechanical limbs.
Both impressed and a touch overwhelmed by it all, she was glad when Tobias offered his continued help if she needed it. Even with her mind meridian giving her near perfect memory for recent events, it wasn’t a full substitute for experience or someone correcting small mistakes in her lifting forms.
She got to work on training as soon as Tobias returned to his own task of collecting resources. Taking a dose of the training enhancement powder, she began the lengthy process of working out at every station. Going through the guide book, she performed as many exercises as she could until she nearly collapsed from exhaustion. The recommended rest time for many of the exercises were between 1-2 days, but she could tell that it was only applicable to those without a regeneration ability like her Rebirth Core gave her. As the minutes passed, she could feel her muscles being rebuilt and her energy coming back to her. She should be ready for another round of workouts within the hour.
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The impossibly heavy bar slipped from her grasp as she struggled to straighten her legs and complete the lift. Suddenly freed from the counterweight, she stumbled backwards and fell backwards onto the nearby padded bench. She let out a defeated groan as her stomach loudly rumbled.
I’m going to call it there for the day.
She’d spent close to eight hours doing nothing but training. She found that running the agility course directly after finishing her round of strength training made it harder without hindering her recovery process, so she’d essentially been exercising nonstop after her initial workout cycle. She also found, unsurprisingly, that all of the breaking down and rebuilding of her muscles cost a lot of energy, and she was feeling ravenous.
She headed back to the mansion to eat and bathe, then tided up the main entryway in preparation for staying here long-term. The front door was still mostly intact, and she just needed to slide the frame back into position and fix it in place with some strategically placed furniture on each side. It wouldn’t keep anything out, but it was nice that there was no longer a gaping hole in the wall.
Stepping out into the light of everlasting-day, she looked over her new domain with appreciation. She was nicely set up to be here for a long while. Once she settled on a daily routine which maximized her training time without driving her mad with boredom, she could see herself really improving over the next few months. Silas too, if she could convince him properly to put in effort.
She just hoped it would be enough.