Chapter 9
The path to Strength
Crane returned to the library, more specifically, the autobiography section of famous warriors. He took a large stack of books to his table and began to read the first few chapters of each. Unlike adventure stories, autobiographies contained the how the person started out, and how they became strong. If it was through some lucky incident or encounter he closed it up and put it back. Crane felt he had used up all his luck and wasted it, so that kind of information was useless to him. But if he found a way to become stronger, he would write it down to put into action as soon as he could. There were locations where one could learn powerful and useful skills, there were methods of raising stats without leveling up, and there were hidden uses of common skills. However the list was still small, too small for him to take back the difference from the -20% stat debuff he now permanently had. He had to incorporate his own training into each training to increase his strength and skills. He knew where to start.
Crane knew of the training hall of Yarsan since he first mapped the city, the building was so large it could probably be seen from space, if Versailles had any satellites. According to several autobiographies, those powerful people got their start by training at a Basic Training hall until several of their base stats rose to a max of 40 points. But for Crane that would only be half the practice.
As Crane walked in, a burly man at the door looked at his beginner clothes and said, "Young adventurer, I presume you have arrived at the Versailles continent very recently."
Crane smiled lightly, "Not exactly sir, I came here for basic training."
The man gave a mildly impressed look at the young Crane and said, "You can gain strength in this place, but it takes more than most have, do you have it in you complete the basic training?"
Crane looked down for a moment then up at instructor and said, "We shall see."
Crane walked over to the wall and picked up one of the thousands of swords that hung there and walked over to a dummy, he took a deep breath and said, "Show stats."
Status WindowAvatar- Crane.Alignment- NeutralLevel 92Class- Kallamore WarriorTitle- NoneFame- 240Health- 2830Mana- 1340Strength- 200-30Agility- 205-31Wisdom- 70-4Intellect- 70-4Vitality- 50+0Luck- 0+10Leadership 12+8Finesse- XX+10Fighting Spirit- 28+3Perseverance 34+6Endurance- 40+2Attack- 98Defense- 28+ All stats are added 10
+ While using a sword you receive +50% bonus to Attack
+ Decreases Mana Cost for Sword Skills by 50%
+ Can learn skills that use the Stat Finesse
+ All stats increase by 20% while wearing the Kallamore Warrior's helmet
+ All stats decrease by 20% while not wearing the Kallamore Warrior's helmet
The difference between wearing and not wearing the helmet he could no longer wear was 40%. Over time no amount of training could make up for the difference but there was a way to cover for it.
Crane closed the screen and took his majestic stance, imagining cutting the dummy into sixteen pieces. 71! He struck the dummy in four, fast precise regular attacks and took his stance again, this time imagining his sword was a light-saber that could cut through anything as if it were made of mist. 69! He struck the dummy another four times and took the stance again.
All the routines within Soa's routine increased in proficiency together, it did not matter which one he used. How much the proficiency increased when used was determined by its level and the finesse stat of the routine used. Even Crane's shout skill only increased in proficiency if the strength boost was used on an attack which caused damage, but a routine could increase as long as the stat boost was used. Crane could get similar results by running a few paces after using Noble step but the training hall was more efficient. The proficiency increase of a 80 finesse routine was four times that of a 40 finesse routine. Cranes came here with several things in mind. He knew that it took anywhere from one to three months to complete the training, Crane goal wasn't speed but effect. By the time Crane completed his training, whenever it was, he wanted to be able to get 90 or higher on his finesse each and every time he used it. And if possible Crane wanted to raise Soa's Routine proficiency as high as he could.
Crane used a routine before every attack and practiced different images and emotions. When his mana had reached zero he would whack the scarecrow every way he knew how until his mana fully returned and he would go back to practicing. In this way he continued for seven hours and he got his first point.
-Strength increased by 1 point. (+1 STR)
Crane had doubts at first of whether or not the training hall would work but after seeing its truth he redoubled his efforts. However after a few hours more, the pain and monotony of the exercise, as well as the mental stress of repeatedly using powerful emotions to summon high finesse, weakened Crane's resolve. 'Why do I have to do this,' 'why am I putting myself through this,' 'this isn't worth it, this isn't even real,' But at those thoughts he remembered the people under his command who died screaming for his help before his eyes, he remembered the smiling faces of his subordinates when he let them hit him before his next strike ended their lives, he remembered the wise soldier who wanted to become a chief and died because of the greed of others and Crane's own arrogance. Crane gripped the handle of his sword so hard he felt it would splinter and attacked the scarecrow with every piece of strength he had until his mana returned. He then took a deep breath and went back to finesse training.
After two weeks of pushing himself through the toughest challenge he had ever experienced, he received a long awaited message.
Skill Level Up: Soa's Routine [5]
Crane smiled and went back to hitting the scarecrow.
Another month and a half went by and Crane's mind had changed. Two months of mental practice had granted him heightened will power and imagery skills. Although there was no stat to prove it, the fact that Crane hadn't hit a finesse rating of less than 92 in the past week showed he was capable of invoking any degree of thought and pressure in an instant.
Strength rises by 1 point. (+1 STR)
Agility rises by 1 point. (+1 AGI)
Vitality rises by 1 point. (+1 VIT)
Fame rises by 20 point. (+20 FAME)
Life rises by 100 point. (+100 HP)
Crane stopped and looked at his messages, "Show stat window."
Status WindowAvatar- Crane.Alignment- NeutralLevel 92Class- Kallamore WarriorTitle- NoneFame- 260Health- 2830Mana- 1340Strength- 240-38Agility- 245-39Wisdom- 70-4Intellect- 70-4Vitality- 90-8Luck- 0+10Leadership 12+8Finesse- XX+10Fighting Spirit- 68-4Perseverance 98-9Endurance- 40+2Attack- 122Defense- 40+ All stats are added 10
+ While using a sword you receive +50% bonus to Attack
+ Decreases Mana Consuption for Sword Skills by 50%
+ Can learn skills that use the Stat Finesse
+ All stats increase by 20% while wearing the Kallamore Warrior's helmet
+ All stats decrease by 20% while not wearing the Kallamore Warrior's helmet
He gained 40 points in three stats but his -20% stats meant he had only earned a net 32 points. His greatest increase was in the Perseverance stat, which increased when one performed the same action over and over, it increased defense and stamina by a large margin. Although he had not reached the level he once was, his now level 6 Soa's routine would fill the gap. However this was only a single step, Crane had a long way to go.
On his way out, he was stopped by the instructor. "You have thoroughly impressed me, not something easily accomplished, and I have a gift for you."
Crane was aware of the training sword, but he had not use for it. "Thank you but-"
"This is not a gift from me," he interrupted, "I am aware that the sword I usually give out is useless to you, but when I told a friend of mine about a routine using foreigner who practiced here daily, this man gave this to me and asked I give it to you when you were ready."
The instructor pulled out an elegant rapier Crane immediately recognized as his former commander's blade. Crane took it and said, "Give your friend my thanks and tell him.." Crane could not think of what to say next when the instructor suggested, "That you continue forward and well." Crane nodded and headed back to the library.
On the way there he took out the sword, "Identify."
Owen's Rapier
Durability: 130/130
Damage- 29
Made by the great Blacksmith Oralast, this blade was made specifically for fencers.
Options:
+10 Finesse
Requirement:
Level 120
Finesse stat
This was Owen's personal weapon, likely made for him years ago. If the training hall instructor told Owens that Crane was using routines in his practice Owens would have known the reason, and that a sword with +10 finesse would be immeasurably useful when he could equip it.
Crane knew that he had looked through every available book shelf and had written down every way he could find to become stronger. But while he was training he remembered the second quest he received in Royal Road and where he found the answer to it. He walked up to the woman at the front counter or the library and said, "I would like to look through the restricted section."
"I suppose telling you that access to the restricted section is in fact restricted is pointless. There are records in there people sleep better at night knowing are kept secure. So why don't you tell me why you want access and we'll go from there."
Crane told her his tale from leaving the library five months prior, to returning two months ago to now.
"So that's how it is, but I still can't let you inside to read those books. The only way inside is if you're an authorized library staff member or if you're returning an overdue book."
Crane asked, "Are you hiring?"
"Nope, we got several foreigners working here for next to nothing, though even they are not authorized to access it."
"Well, is there anything I can do? Like when you waved my fee?"
"Hmm, it just so happened that someone who can't be punished for doing so borrowed a book from the restricted section, left the city, and hasn't returned it."
"Why can't he be punished? I thought everyone had to sign that waiver thing."
"Now they do, it is because of him that we started that, he borrowed it shortly after the library opened. The book in question is now 170 years overdue."
Crane was shocked, she must have been joking, "Umm, wouldn't he be dead by now?"
"Probably, in any case, I can't grant you access to the restricted section, but if you get the book he borrowed, I'll let you put it back in its bookshelf. You can take as long to put it back as you want."
Retrieve the book
Before it was illegal to do so, someone borrowed a book from the restricted section. Find the book to gain one time access to the Yarsan library's restricted section.
Difficulty Unknown
Crane wasn't certain about the unknown difficulty, but if there was even one more way to get stronger inside than it was worth it.
"I'll get that book."
You accepted the quest
"Good luck, the book is called Herbs of Senbain Mountains"
Crane went back to the library and piled up every book on the Senbain mountains he could find. With his Potent Recipes of Kallamore book as a guide, Crane looked up the possible locations of the best place for the rarest and most useful herbs to grow. His alchemy book was several hundred years old and the person who borrowed the book may have had the very same book. With those two books and the alchemy skill, one could make powerful potions. However there was a great risk, The mountains were covered in powerful monsters, and although no one knew exactly where they were, the Ekril likely lived there as well.
There were no books that had exact herb locations, but by cross referencing the general medical references within the history of the areas with herbs that commonly grew together that could make potions that matched that area along with several agriculture books, Crane got a general idea of places within the Senbain mountains with high chances of growing rare herbs that could be used to make powerful potions.
After four days or research, Crane had a general map of the 3 areas that likely possessed herbs that could be used in a large number of powerful potions. He left the library for the Dark Djinn guild house where he had been keeping his stuff in storage since he no longer had access to the base storage. When he arrived he saw that there were a several members there gathered around a board. The board had information on it which updated weekly, it told of secret rumors and contacts that often lead to quests. As he always did he passed it by without reading it and went to his room. He opened his storage and found something he didn't expect. There was always a chance of something getting stolen though he was assured it would not happen, but Crane found an extra item inside his storage. He took it out and said, "Identify."
Dark Djinn welcome package
One week after joining the Dark Djinns, low level members receive guild equipment to help them along.
Crane figured that he hadn't gotten a uniform before because he was required to wear the Kallamore uniform. "Open."
You have receivedDark Blue Overcoat
Durability 80/80
Defense 16
Made with the skin of a lizardman beneath soft fabric, this jacket provides the highest defense without limiting mobility.
Options:
Weather resistant
Hidden pockets
Requirements:
Level 70 Dark Djinn memberBlack Shirt
Durability 40/40
Defense 6
Requirements:
Level 20 Dark Djinn memberBlack pants
Durability 35/35
Defense 4
Requirements:
Level 20 Dark Djinn memberBlack boots
Durability 60/60
Defense 5
Options:
Muffles the sound of footsteps
Requirements:
Level 40 Dark Djinn memberDark Blue Gloves
Durability 40/40
Defense 3
Options:
Leave no fingerprints
Requirements:
Level 40 Dark Djinn memberDark Blue wide brimmed Feather hat
Durability 30/30
Defense 3
Contains the feather of a white Crane
Requirements:
Level 40
Crane didn't mind that fact that the Dark Djinns' standard colors were black and dark blue. The equipment usually enabled you to move through the night unseen of that is what you wanted, and combined it had greater defense than his now non equippable officer uniform. But what he did mind was that with all this equipment on, he would look like a cartoon character.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
"A feather hat? Seriously?" He would bet that the hat wasn't even apart of the set.
Crane walked down the stairs with his starter equipment on and his guild equipment in his inventory when he was stopped at the stairs by the hostess.
She said with a smile, "Did you not get the equipment I made?"
"Um I did but, well, can I put it on later?"
Like a mother speaking to a child trying to get out of doing the chores, she said "Now now, you joined this guild and said you wanted to be a good public face of the guild. You have the duty to your guild to look the part. Unless you don't like my handmade equipment..."
Crane was now felt the eyes of every person in the house and realized he didn't have a choice. He brought up his inventory screen and double clicked each item.
The snickering began. He barely made it to the door before the entire house had burst out into hysterical laughter. With the exception of the hostess, every person there was a user. Just so he could stop the laughter, Crane yelled, "Hey, Does Anyone wanna go with me to the Senbain Mountains?!" And just like that, the users shut up. The dangers of the Senbain mountain range were well known. Going there was as good as a death sentence.
Crane left the house but after saying it outloud, it did occur to him that maybe he should not go alone. No matter how much preparation you have done, someone to watch your back always helps. At that thought Crane heard a "Hey!" Crane turned around to see a little girl in a magician's hat who had been one of the ones laughing at his outfit earlier. "Are you really going into the Senbain Mountains?"
Not much good would come from lying so he gave an affirmative nod.
"Which part?"
Crane pulled out a map of Kallamore Kingdom and pointed to the mountain range closest to Yarsan. Although there were other places with rarer herbs, Crane had a suspicion that this was the most likely place, the potion that could be made from that herb had a very particular effect, so that was where he would start. The girl's eyes' lit up and she said, "Me and a party are going there too! I don't know how strong you are, but if our destination is the same, shall we go there together?"
After rag spider canyon, Crane was very wary of joining another party, but the party wasn't of NPCs, but users, as long as they could take care of themselves he didn't mind watching their back while they watched his. "Alright, when are you heading off?
She smiled and said, "later today, I'm meeting with my party at the front gate. Can you meet us there around 3pm?"
"Yea, that's fine."
Crane went to the market to buy throwing knives and a large variety of herbs to create most basic potions and a few poisons. Crane neglected to ask about the parties other members but the girl at least would probably be a spellcaster from the looks of her equipment, so Crane bought extra ingredients for mana potions. He did not know what potions he would need so Crane did not mix them. After storing some knives in the hidden pockets of his overcoat, he headed out for the meeting place.
Crane walked out the gate a little early and saw a girl wearing the magician hat. "Hey, I'm here, where are the others?"
She turned around and said," What? Who are you?"
Crane saw her face and realized his mistake, this girl wore the same outfit but was taller and looked closer to his age than the other girl did. He was about to apologize when another little girl, this time in a white cleric's robe, came running over to Crane and the other girl. The little cleric was the youngest so far, and crane became suspicious of the fact that these two magicians showed up in the place where he was told to meet for the party.
"Umm, is this the party heading for the Senbain Mountains?"
The older one said, "Yes, but.. Wait, my sister messaged me about you, she said she found some swordsmans in the shopping district saying he was heading to the mountains. So that's you huh?"
Crane realized that these three magicians were sisters and that the middle one who invited him had not told these two she was a member of a dark guild. Crane decided it was best to say as little as possible for now and nodded to the older sister's question.
A few minutes later the last little magician showed up and said, "Ah, I guess you already met my sisters.. Well , introduction time, my name is Salem, and I am a black mage specializing in fire."
The little one spoke next and said, "Hiiii! Im Tonya, and Imma priestess. Im good at healing and buff spells."
Crane looked up to the eldest one but she avoided eye contact and said nothing, Salem then said, "And she's Eris, she's a black mage like me, but she specializes in dark magic. We're all sisters in real life and fight together as the three witches!"
If Crane had not been training mentally for two months he would've cracked up badly, but he kept his poker face and said, "Well, my name is Crane, and I am a swordsman." He whipped his rapier up for emphasis on the obvious and said, "Well, now that introductions are done, would you like to share what you're going to the the mountains for or just leave now?"
Eris started walking in the direction of the mountains with Tonya following. Salem said, "She is not very quick to trust people." Salem and Crane caught up to the girls headed for the the most dangerous area in the Kallamore kingdom.
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Crane and the three witches had been walking for about ten hours without a single word shared between them. Crane didn't mind silence, but their destination was about an eleven day walk and Crane needed to know a few things. He walked up to the group so they were all in eyeshot and said, "How much experience do you have?"
Little Tonya said, "We have looooaads!" We've fought rabbits, and foxes, and wolves, and snakes, and bears, an-" "Enough, We are strong enough to take care of ourselves."
Saying two things at once, Eris effectively put the entire group on mute for the rest of the day.
At night they group set up camp in a small grove of trees, monsters were 50% stronger at night and it was not worth the risk to continue. Crane was on lookout duty, or so he told them. Truth was, Crane was practicing battle aura. It was a learn through practice skill he read about before going to the training hall and required 60 fighting spirit to learn. Fighting spirit itself weakens monsters around the user and can even make them think twice about attacking. Battle aura replaces the effect of fighting spirit with a powerful thought generated by the user. If it is a weak thought about cutting up anything that comes close to pieces, it has about the same effect and range as fighting spirit. But if it is a powerful thought, like, "I will make everything I see suffer a fate that will make them beg for death," while imagining said fate, the effect of battle aura changes into a powerful intimidation that affects only the area in front of you. It can not inflict damage but the effects are as wide and flexible as the user's mind and just as powerful. The skill however is not widely known because it is almost impossible to accidentally train. To train it Crane needed to practice using powerful images in his head to scare off monsters, while completely surrounded by monsters for a period of several hours. That is why Crane chose this place. The girls didn't know it, but they were completely surrounded. The reason was because Crane suggested they stay the night inside the tree grove. The books Crane read included more than just herb references, Crane looked up every report of every monster ever spotted in the Senbain mountains. One of the monsters responsible for many sneak attacks was a weaker type monster than hid in plain sight and waited for the prey to let down their guard. Crane and the witches set up camp in a grove of trees but the truth was that there wasn't a single tree in that area. Trick Trees as they were called, were around level 55, and could easily be mistaken for a tree if it stood still. Everytime he saw one move, Crane would imagine chopping it up while laughing manically. Afterwards it would immediately stop moving.
After about 2 hours, all the Trick Trees knew they had been made, they had planned to attack at once but the every time they tried to move closer they felt death's hand grip them. They could feel that Crane was dangerous but they were carnivores posing as a plant and they were hungry. One of them inched closer and Crane turned on it with a glare so fierce, the trick tree felt that he was the one about to be eaten. It backed away from the man slowly but the further away it got, the closer the man felt, it didn't make sense. When it had backed away so much there were no trees behind it, it separated its legs and ran away into the night. One by one, brave trees attempted to approach the man, only to feel a fear like the were in the presence of a hungry fire breathing dragon.
You have learned New Skill: Battle Aura
-----------------------------------
"Morning.... Did we move?"
"Heeeeeey, where'd the treeeess go?"
"..."
Crane got up and said, "Time to hit the road, I'll take lead."
"Skill window Battle Aura"
Battle Aura [1] 0%
Converts fighting spirit into directed aura based off the user's thought. Power determined by strength of thought, area value determined by Fighting spirit, area position determined by thought itself
Mana Cost: 1 every 3 seconds
The skill used mana very slowly, however in royal road, mana does not recharge while using a skill, though there are skills that temporarily decrease maximum mana when used. Crane did not use the skill yet, he wanted to see the monsters that were close by and see how fast he could make them run away, but then he had an idea. Crane lead them on a small detour into an area where a certain monster was known to roam. After the group entered an area that had different plants, Eris said, "Hey! Where are you talking us! That tree only grows in the area southwest of Yarsan. We shouldn't see them on a direct southern route the the mountains!"
Crane was mildly impresses, "You are correct, this is not the straight route, the straight route will take another ten days, there is a faster way."
She spoke up again, "If there were a faster way I would know about it!"
At first Crane thought she may have been arrogant, but then he realized that as the eldest of three sisters she likely looked after the other two and protected them. She probably already researched the fastest route and the area around it to best protect her sisters.
"I'm sure you would Eris, but the way we are going to get there has never been attempted before, so of course you have never heard of it."
She looked at him with a doubting expression and said, "And if it has never been tried before, how do you know of it?"
Crane smiled and said, "Because I just thought of it."
Crane sat down and took out his cauldron, pile of ingredients and herbs, and his recipe book. Crane asked Tonya, "Can you heal well and cure ailments?"
She quickly replied "Of Course I can!"
Crane had bought a rare and expensive ingredient a while back that could be used to make a potion that gave a fairly substantial buff. But it required alchemy mastery a few levels higher than he had. Crane wanted to make as many potions as he could to level up his proficiency so he confirmed that he didn't need anything but mana potions. Crane started dumping ingredients and herbs into his cauldron and mixing them in slow deliberate motions. The witches gathered around him to see what he was doing, trying to find some clue as to how this would help them get to their destination faster. But crane started to fill up bottle after bottle with his brew, replacing the emptying cauldron with more and more ingredients. After Crane had filled up twenty bottles, Eris finally said, "Ok, I give, what are you making?"
"These are mana potions, they're pretty decent and two or three could probably fill any of you up."
The girls each let out a unique gasp. The alchemy skill was so well regulated and rare among users they had not even considered that mana potions, highly expensive item sold in store were being made en masse in front of them. Eris looked for a moment at the ever rising pile of potions and said, "None of us have a teleport spell of any length, you're not going to use us like a mana potion powered car that'll zip you across the planes in a day or two."
This woman was being very negative Crane noticed. If gold fell from the sky she would probably find some way to complain. Not that it was entirely a bad thing, trusting or believing in someone could turn around and bite you in the butt. She probably thought that someone with people to protect couldn't risk trusting others because if she was betrayed then the people she cared for could be hurt. Even though Crane was about the same age she was, she only saw him as a potential threat. That did not matter to Crane though, honestly he approved of her suspicions. Whether or not she and Crane got along didn't matter that much to him, she had her duties, and he had his.
"I won’t deny that I'm going to use these potions to zip across the planes in a day or two, but that is for later, for now you and your sisters can do whatever you want until I am done. However I'm quite sure you are not aware of this area's monster population. It is safest to stay here at the moment."
Eris crossed her arms and said, "I know way more about the local monsters than you!"
Crane sighed as he stirred the cauldron and said, "Then where did the trees go last night?"
She knew she had to stop talking, it was obvious her bluff had been called and if she continued Crane may embarrass her in front of her sisters. Crane on the other hand was glad she didn't ask him, if she had, he would have a hard time explaining why he purposely camped inside a pack of carnivorous trees without warning them.
After Crane made about a hundred mana potions, a few health potions, and four antidotes, he would never travel without a couple of his own again, his potion mastery had leveled up to 5 and he was as ready as he could be to make the the potion. He only had one shot, and if it wasn't strong enough, coming here was a complete waste. He slowly and carefully mixed in the ingredient and after letting it cure, poured it into a bottle. "Identify."
Knight's Potions
Strength +50
Agility +50
Vitality +50
Honor +50
Lasts 3 minutes
Does not stack with other Potions
Crane took a sigh of relief. The point of a knight potions was honor points and Crane was relieved it gave enough, but only three minutes. It went to prove he still wasn't good enough to make the high level potions in the book. But even though three minutes was going to be difficult, he had to believe it was going to work. "Part one complete."
Salem overhead Crane and said, "Part one? What's part two? How many parts are there?"
"Just three, part one was elevate potion making to where I could make this, now I'm going to find part two. You should stay here."
Eris said, "Like hell! You lead us here, where you go, we go."
Tonya and Salem nodded in unison.
"Alright, but just so you know, part two is going to try to eat me." With that Crane headed further into the territory.
Chapter 9 part 2 viewtopic.php?f=91&t=581
Chapter 8 Into the Spider's web viewtopic.php?f=91&t=579