Tian swung his axe, cleaving through the snarling wolf that lunged at him with a final, desperate attempt. As the creature fell to the ground, joining the rest of its pack, Tian caught his breath, feeling the thrill of combat course through his veins. It wasn't a grand victory, but it was a start. He took a moment to appreciate the weapon in his hand. A F-rank axe, nothing compared to the weapons he used to wield, but it was all he had now.
While he was being hunted down he had pawned off most all of his usable gear, as he hadn’t a need for it and he needed quick cash, a good way to quickly collect was through items especially higher ranked ones.
Item Status:
Name: Rusted Cleaver
Rank: F
Description: A once sturdy axe, now showing signs of wear and neglect. Its edge is dull, but it still has the potential to deal damage.
Tian knelt down to inspect the loot scattered around the clearing. Mostly F-rank "Scrap Hide," worthless, but among the pile, he found a few E-rank "Tough Furs."
Item Status:
Name: Tough Furs
Rank: E
Description: A durable material capable of being fashioned into basic armor.
'This brings back memories,' Tian thought, recalling his early days as a ranker. His first set of armor was made from these very furs, a gift from his then-guild. However, now he had neither the skills nor the means to craft anything out of it. Or so he thought until a prompt appeared before him:
'The Ember Forge (C) awakens, process material?'
With a spark of curiosity, Tian accepted the prompt. The furs in his hand began to glow a bright red, reminiscent of molten metal being shaped by a blacksmith's hammer. Yet, before anything significant could occur, another prompt appeared:
'Insufficient material, the Ember Forge (C) sleeps.'
Despite the process halting midway, Tian was overjoyed. 'This...this is something I can work with,' he thought, the fiery glow from the furs now dimmed, but the spark it ignited in Tian was blazing. He had witnessed blacksmiths and craftsmen at work before, the way they molded materials into works of art.
The brief spectacle he just witnessed was a glimpse of that craftsmanship, albeit on a much smaller scale. 'With more materials I could craft my own gear,' Tian mused, his heart racing with the new possibilities unfolding before him. He gathered the remaining fur carefully, tucking it into his pack and moving on.
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Upon collecting the last of the E-rank Tough Furs, Tian couldn’t help but feel the pressure of time weighing on him. The few hours he had before a guild would claim this portal was dwindling fast. 'Guilds typically take about six hours after the auction to enter a portal, thanks to all the bureaucracy and preparation,' he mused, wishing he had the luxury to pick off different groups of monsters at different times to collect more materials.
His gaze shifted to his golems, and an idea began to take shape.
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After roughly an hour of preparation Tian heard mighty footsteps in the distance as he figured it was about time. Looking over towards the sound Tian was taken aback.
The sight of his mighty golem, albeit clumsy in its movements, knocking down trees as it lumbered away from a pack of thirty wolves brought a subtle grin to his face. Though the golem wasn't exactly faster than the wolves, the creatures weren't causing much damage to its rugged exterior.
Peering into the distance, Tian gauged the scene, deciding it was about time to intervene. With a simple command, his other golem, which had somehow managed to perch itself high up in a tree like a stealthy ninja awaiting its cue, leaped down, landing amidst the wolves with a ground-shaking thud. The comical yet effective entrance of the golem made Tian chuckle. He joined the fray, and together with his golems, they dispatched the wolves in a matter of minutes.
As the two-hour mark approached since his entry into the dungeon, Tian found himself frowning. He had cleared all the extra monsters, and now only the boss remained. Yet, the number of Tough Furs he'd collected was still insufficient to activate 'the Ember Forge'. 'Guess it's time to improvise,' he sighed, deciding to try using the pile of Scrap Hide that had accumulated in his inventory.
To his astonishment, the prompt for the Ember Forge appeared once again: 'The Ember Forge awakens, process material?' With a sense of anticipation, Tian pressed 'Yes', and watched as the pile of inferior materials was engulfed in a bright, warm glow. When the process concluded, a new item lay before him.
Item Status:
Name: Wolves Bane
Rank: E
Description: A cloak fashioned from the remains of defeated wolves, enhancing damage dealt to wolves, lycanthropes, and canines by 10%. Provides a modest increase to defense.
'Not bad for a bunch of scrap,' Tian thought, draping the cloak around his shoulders. It was only an E-rank item, but the added defense and damage were welcome additions.
With a newfound sense of readiness, Tian made his way to the boss room. Its location had been discovered earlier while he was clearing out the wolves. The entrance to the boss instance beckoned, a hidden doorway to the final challenge of this portal.
Sending his golems in first, Tian took a deep breath. The serene forest that had witnessed his battles was left behind as he stepped into the unknown of the boss room. He was about to face the portal’s boss, a test of his current abilities.
‘No problem.’ Tian calmed himself, last time he had the help of at least 6 people, their group was over 15 strong beforehand. Now it’s a bit different. He was going in alone.
Inside was a large circular cave, a strong scent of wet fur and dirt pungently lurked in the air. Tian watched as a wolf significantly larger than the others stood from a lofted structure that seemed to have been naturally formed in the rocks.
It nimbly jumped down from the rocks as fire seemed to spark off it with each step.