Shaun had never used anything like the Xamium slivers before, so he was slightly unsure on how to proceed, he got the feeling that the shard itself was going to need to be in contact with the material he used, at least when he used the Disintegrating Worm Teeth, so that was where he started. Taking at one of the teeth, he had to spend a decent amount of time shaping it into an arrowhead, the tooth was much more resistant to the change that anything he had used before, that meant that any mistake he made would need send him straight back to the beginning. He had completely forgotten about Jack who was sitting so silently that he was just another piece of furniture in Shaun’s mind.
He had to concentrate fully on his task, but eventually he got it into the desired shape without any issues, the tooth was still holding the same power it had originally which was a good sign. What came next he was more hesitant about, Jack had told him that breaking the slivers would lead to a blow back on the user that would be rather unpleasant, so he needed to work carefully. Fusing the tiny point of the sliver into the arrow head was nerve racking, and if it wasn’t for all of his profession skills working in tandem he would have failed miserably. As it was he nearly broke the sliver three times, and each time he couldn’t help but flinch, waiting for disaster to strike.
When the sliver was set into he arrowhead he then worked on coating the sliver with metal and slowly working down until the full shaft of the arrow was formed, adding another sparrow feather to the end. With the hard part done he needed to add the spell, and he had very little experience with the runes he needed to work with. Pulling out his notes again, as well as the book on runes, he checked over everything he needed, spending a good 30 minutes making sure he was comfortable with the script.
Adding this to the arrow was stressful, if he put to much power into it too quickly the sliver wouldn’t form into the runes and would end up overloading, cracking in the process. He had to work with a certain amount of finesse rather than brute power to get the job done. The tooth, now arrowhead, seemed to consume some of the mana he put into the runes, disintegrating the work he had done, which then led him to have to add runes into the arrowhead itself to allow it to hold mana without consuming it and looping it back into the arrow itself, creating a circuit of power, the trigger being impact. Making the one arrow took longer than making the 6 he had already done, but when the runes all clicked and settled into the arrow, the result was fantastic.
*Successful New Creation – Bonus Experience provided*
*[Epic] Devouring Arrow – An arrow that unleashes a consuming force, devouring all within its range, reducing it into atoms which is then absorbed by the arrow, allowing it to gain power. Growth Item.*
*Profession: Elemental Creator has levelled up by 2 levels. [Advanced] Elemental Creator has reached Level 38. +10 Int, +4 Wil, +6 Per, +10 Soul *
*Race: Human has levelled up by +1 levels. Human (E) has reached Level 40. +16 Ap gained*
“Damn, another epic.” He didn’t expect that, it was an impressive arrow, sure, but epic? He didn’t think it was anywhere near as impressive as the armour he had made, or the gauntlet, so he didn’t get why it was rated so highly.
“It is incredible!” Jack shouted at him. “Do you have any idea what you have created boy?”
“Ummm, not really? Its an epic ranked arrow?” That was apparently the wrong thing to say as Jack just looked at him like he was completely a oblivious fool.
“Of course not.” Jack then let out a breath before composing himself. “That arrow, it is not just a normal arrow. Yes it is epic, which in itself is impressive for one such as yourself. But what truly makes it special, more so than anything else, is that it will grow! Increase in power! And if used correctly, in rank!”
Shaun read the description again, it had growth item on the end of it, something he had never seen before. And when he tied that into the arrow growing in power by consuming the atoms in which it creates from what it hits, it started to make sense.
“Shaun, any archer, from F grade to B would wish for such an arrow. To have something that grows as you do is rare, And when they are sold they sell for not just a few measly coins but 100’s of gold, sometimes even platinum if it is the right item. Do you understand what you have done? You, an E grade, just created a growth item!”
When he finally processed what Jack just told him, he was impressed, sure, but outside of its worth it was still just an arrow to him, useless unless he wanted to pick up a bow, which he really didn’t. “I guess I just made an archer really happy then, right?”
“You are still just going to give that to your friend? Knowing how much it is worth?” Jack looked at him as if he had grown a second head.
“Yeah, why not? I have no use for it. Better in their hands than someone else’s.”
“You are not like most people, Shaun. Better, I would say.” Jack then sat back down, looking at the arrow with disbelief. He then looked up at Shaun again, a smile growing on his face. “Can you do it again though? That is the real question.”
Shaun accepted the challenge happily. He had 7 more teeth to use, and he was going to make the most out of them. He spent hours sitting in the room making more arrows, until finally he had 8 identical epic ranked growth arrows in front of him. By this point he was completely out of mana and exhausted, but he had repeated the process 7 more times, gaining another 2 levels in his profession in the process.
He only planned to give three arrows to Gabe and Viv each, which left two more left over, which he was now planning on selling. He no longer had the concentration to make the final arrow out of the heart but that was fine. He would be happy with only paying 4 silver coins for the slivers and shards. He needed to get some sleep before he went and did his dungeon run, his mana was depleted and he just needed to rest.
When he tried to pay for the slivers and shards Jack just laughed at him and told him that there was no need, he had gotten more out of watching him craft than he ever expected and he said they were even, saying that he looked forward to the next time Shaun came in and he was always happy to bargain for a good deal.
When Shaun got back to his apartment he crashed immediately, when he woke a good few hours had passed and he was way later in his usual daily routine than he should have been, but considering he spent the night doing some pretty amazing crafting he wasn’t upset about it. He managed to finish the 20th wave again, but he was still in no shape to continue afterwards, even after all of the levels he had gained. That put him in a bad mood, but he also couldn’t help but kick himself when he realised he still hadn’t applied any of his AP, which he immediately applied to his physical stats outside of Dexterity. He had also only gained one level in his class from the entire dungeon, and the reward wasn’t that great, a potion that recovered his Health, Stamina and Mana all by 2000 points. Sure it could be helpful but nothing he could truly utilise in his crafting.
This would usually be the time that he crafted but as he was running late for the day he decided to just make a few more arrows, just from the remaining crowns and feathers, enough so that Gabe and Viv would have 3 of each arrow, totalling 10 each when he got around to making the ones from the hearts, this left him with no more gem shards and only 4 slivers left for the hearts, as he had plans for two of the epic arrow.
When he was done he tried to find the others, they weren’t in their rooms but he did manage to find them in a restaurant. He quickly went in and pulled up a chair to join them. “Sorry I missed you guys this morning, had a late night.”
“We know, we knocked, and you didn’t answer. Figured we would leave you there. Our dungeon run was nowhere near as good without Eric’s sword and shield though.” Viv gave him a glare at that.
Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.
“Shit! Sorry, I forgot all about them!”
When food came out they also took Shaun’s order, they ate pretty causally, not rushing through it at all. When they were done Shaun told them he would meet them back at his apartment, he needed to go sell some stuff first. They decided to come with him, being in no rush to get back. When they got to the shop to sell, there was a lot of people waiting in line, annoying but he would wait. As soon as others noticed he was there though the entire atmosphere changed, the person in front of him stood out of the line and went behind him, he tried to tell the guy it wasn’t needed but he refused to go back to his spot in front of Shaun. This occurred again and again until everyone moved out of the way for him to just walk straight up to the counter where Ulorid stood behind the counter. Rather than argue with anyone he just walked up to the counter.
“You will get used to it Master Shaun. This is a common occurrence in the multiverse, those in power are always treated as such.” The goblin told him, seeing how uncomfortable he was with the situation.
He gave a short nod before getting on with the task at hand. “I have a few things to sell today, and a question or two.” Shaun put down all of the loot he wanted to sell and then pulled out one of the epic ranked arrows. “I have been told that this could fetch a lot of coin?”
The moment the goblin took in the arrow, he took first a step back from the counter, then another. “Impossible.” The goblin then looked at him with no small amount of fear. “Do you know what that is?”
“I do.” Not wanting to go into detail with so many people around.
“Then you know what such a thing is worth? What it would mean that you crafted such a thing?” The goblin was still looking at him with fear in his eyes, although Shaun really didn’t know why.
“I have some idea.”
“I am sorry, Master Shaun. But I can’t buy it from you.”
“Seriously! But why? I though you could buy anything we wanted to sell?” He was confused now, he thought this would be a simple sell and get rich deal, apparently not though. He was border on annoyed at the situation.
“You misunderstand.” The moment the goblin said those words he turned ashen and dropped to his knees. “No sorry, I misspoke. Please forgive me for my previous words.”
What the hell! “Ulorid please stand up, its fine. I just wanted to know why you couldn’t buy it.” Please just get off the ground.
People were talking about what was happening now, his own group looking at him weirdly, giving him questioning looks as to what the big deal was about the arrow.
“Apologies Master Shaun.” Ulorid finally stood from the ground. “I am authorised to buy your loot and good, yes. But only up to a certain amount.” He looked nervously around at everyone before saying what he had dreaded. “I only have 100 gold coin for this tutorial to buy the wares that everyone wishes to sell. The arrow is worth more, much more than what I have. And because of that I do not have the funds to buy it.”
The entire store went into uproar at the goblin’s words, people questioning why the hell an arrow is worth so much, how it was even possible that he could have created it. And lastly how unfair the entire thing was, why should Shaun get such an advantage over everyone in every way possible.
“Shaun, explain what the hell is happening!” Viv yelled at him, all sense of decorum gone.
“Miss, it is a growth item.” Ulorid said to her, loud enough for everyone to hear. “The more you fight with it, the more power it takes in, the more powerful the arrow grows. It is epic now, yes, and if it was just an epic arrow I could buy it for 10 maybe even 15 gold coin. But as it is a growth and its potential is only limited by the user, it has the ability to grow to the highest rank, because of that its worth increases beyond anything that you could imagine.”
“And you were just going to sell it for coin?” Viv directed at him, angry would have been an understatement for the emotion radiating form her. “What happened to doing everything you could to help us? What about the fight for Earth? You promised that you would support us, and as soon as you have a chance to get rich you just throw it away?”
“Viv, later.” Shaun tried to shut it down immediately but she kept going.
“No. There is no later. I don’t care if you didn’t want to give it to me, but Gabe? He is your friend! Does that mean nothing to you?”
“Of course it does. But if you will wait I will explain later…..”
“No. There is no later Shaun. I thought I knew you better than that.” Viv started to turn to leave, but he was angry, how dare she peak to him like that! How dare she turn her back on him! Had he not proven himself, done so much for her! And she treats him like that!
“Enough!” He yelled at the room. “Gabe come here.” He gestured for him to walk over to where he was standing at the counter.
“Shaun you don’t have to…”
“Oh no, I do.” Shaun looked directly at Viv when he spoke. “You say that I don’t care for my friends? That money is worth more? I spent all night, spending my own money to make things for you! For Gabe! And you can’t trust me for 2 seconds so that I can explain?” He turned to Gabe again. “These are for you.” He pulled out the three arrows made from the crowns first. “Three arrows, spelled to unleash a devastating blast of mana at whatever they hit. Crafted with gem shards so you wont even have to use your mana in battle to use them.”
“Holy shit! Shaun, these are incredible!” Gabe exclaimed when he took the arrows.
“I am not done.” He then pulled out three more arrows, this time the ones from the starling feathers. “These arrows are called Stars Decent, they hold the power of a star, unleash it at your target and don’t expect them to get back up. Again no need to use mana in the fight, they all have gem shards that will be able to be powered before a fight. 2,000 mana all in one destructive arrow.”
The crowd was dead silent, no longer angry or annoyed at the advantages he had, they just looked on with utter fear on their face at the priceless arrows he was handing over like it was nothing.
“Shaun, I don’t know if I can take these, they…”
“Don’t worry, your my friend Gabe, I will do everything I can to see you live, to grow.” Gabe nodded at him and accepted the arrows. He then turned back to Viv. “You might be thinking, they are good arrows, but nothing like the growth one I gave Ulorid to sell?” Shaun turned back to Gabe, taking out the last three arrows. “These are called The Devouring Arrow, they are identical to the one I just gave Ulorid to sell. All growth items, all epic. When they hit a target the will literally turn what they hit to atoms, the arrow will consume these atoms, gaining power, and rising in rank. All three, for you.”
“These are worth hundreds of gold Shaun! You can’t just give them to me! Are you insane!”
“Selling one of these arrows would set the whole team up, with gold to spare. You are worth more than extra coin.” He said to him.
The moment he finished talking Gabe wrapped him in a hug, he didn’t hesitate to hug him back, being careful of the arrows in Gabe’s hand. When he finally let go Gabe had tears in his eyes and Eric walked up and pulled him into a hug. Mouthing the words thank you at Shaun.
He was doing a lot for Eric and Gabe, but they were the only two that he felt like he would be able to fully rely on here. Friendship meant something to him. He was so tired of being alone.
“Shaun, I didn’t know.” Viv said to him, looking like someone had just kicked her dog.
“No, you didn’t, but you wouldn’t even give me a chance to tell you. You just assumed the worst.” He then pulled out 9 more arrows out of his inventory. “These were for you, you know.”
Viv was barely holding herself together at that point, she had tears running down her face, her eyes were red, and she looked ashamed of herself. “I’m sorry. I am so sorry. I didn’t know, I just lost it.” Shaun just walked up to her and handed her the arrows. “I don’t deserve these.” She said, not taking the arrows he had offered.
“No, you don’t.” Shaun composed himself, wanting to lash out but held himself back. “I am giving them to you though. For no other reason except that Gabe and Eric are part of your team. The stronger you all are the more protected they will be.” That and he still had plans for her. If he could get her in a position to rule it would only benefit him. He didn’t want to find someone else, not with so little time remaining before heading to Earth again. This just put her further into debt with him.
“Shaun can we talk about this.”
“No. Just leave, I am not done talking to Ulorid about the arrow yet.” He turned around and went back to the goblin. “Is there anything you can do with the arrow?” He directed at Ulorid.
“Master Shaun, sir. I may be able to submit them to an auction on your behalf. But I would need approval to do so. And I would need to keep the arrow. Even if they allowed it you would not get the coin until after the weeks end. But I can try for you, sir.” The goblin barely stumbled the words out, but he was fine with the outcome.
“Fine, take this one too.” He pulled out the last of the arrows and put it on the counter. “I am trusting you, Ulorid. Don’t let me down.”
“Never sir. I will do my best, I promise on my clans honour.” Ulorid picked up both arrows and walked out the back of the shop, another goblin coming out to take his place.
With that done Shaun turned and left the store. He was angry still, both at the scene that happened with Viv and how little she had trusted him after everything he had done, and truly just wanted to be left alone. He wasn’t in the best mindset and decided he was done with being around people for a while. He walked straight to the dungeons, Eric and Gabe followed him, Viv and Li further behind.
“Shaun what are you doing?” Eric asked him, concern plainly heard in his voice.
“Something stupid.”
“Do you want to talk about it first?”
“No, but in 30 minutes, I’m either going to come out of the dungeon dead, or near it. So, wish me luck.” He accepted the prompt to enter the dungeon, choosing the E grade on this time as it was larger, had more mana in the air. Eric tried to stop him, but he was too late, Shaun disappeared from the room and reappeared in the dungeon.