Chapter Five
Fred ended up getting Jackson quite a few sapphires, indeed. He even got him another ruby and diamond to play around with. The orcish blacksmith did not stick around and watch Jackson enchant, however. Fred spent a lot of the day at the forge, the sound of his hammer echoing throughout the area. Mixing with all the other sounds of the safe zone, it was really a small drop in the ocean. In the end, Jackson was able to produce twenty daggers and made five more blood-shard bombs, bringing his total to eight. However, he had the problem of where to put them. Jackson figured he would simply ask Fred for a bag. He didn’t feel too guilty about asking for things; they were partners now, after all, and Fred seemed very happy with the deal.
After finishing the last dagger, Jackson received an intriguing message from the Judge.
Congratulations, Jackson! You have reached Journeyman Rank in your Enchanting Skill!
Jackson rubbed his chin thoughtfully and brought up the skill.
Enchanting (Journeyman Level 1)
He felt his mouth fall open; apparently, with each rank, you started at level 1. Jackson looked at the previous notification of when he had gained a level in enchanting.
Your enchanting is now at basic level 25. Enchanting is now Journeyman Rank.
Ah, he saw it now. When a skill leveled to twenty-five, it went up a rank. Jackson wondered about the other ranks and if it was always every twenty levels. Fred was not there to ask, so Jackson filed it away for later. He was resting when Fred came back, practically dancing into the tent with a giant, goofy grin on his face.
“This venture of ours has been truly profitable, lad! I sold every single one of your daggers!”
Jackson laughed. “Every one? Wow! So, what was our profit?”
Fred grinned. “I bought the sapphires from a gem merchant who had a surplus of basic ones. There were twenty-five of them, and I got them for two thousand EC. We sold all twenty daggers for twenty thousand EC, so what does basic math tell you, lad?”
Jackson whooped, pumping a fist. “We made a profit of eighteen thousand EC!”
Fred high-fived Jackson, who ignored the jolt of pain that lanced through his body at the gesture. Fred really was massive. Fred handed Jackson a sack—a small and nondescript-looking bag.
“This is a bag of holding. I spent another thousand EC on it, but trust me, it’s worth it. It has a little pocket realm inside of it, which is very useful for storage. Also, I transferred ten thousand EC to your account!”
Jackson gaped, shaking his head at the sum. “Why, Fred? You didn’t need to do that!”
Fred laughed. “Sure, I did, lad. You needed a bank account, and trust me, that sum will be gone a little faster than you might think. Now then, you’ve detoured here long enough, yes? You can’t stay forever; there’s exploring to be done! I suggest you hit up the other stalls and get yourself some gear. Come back here before you leave; however, I have a gift for you.”
Jackson shook his head, and his chest tightened as the weight of Fred’s generosity settled over him like a heavy blanket. He accepted it, though, and took a breath. It was time to go shopping.
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Jackson really hadn’t explored the bazaar much. He had been stuck, though not unwillingly, working on his enchanting. Also, he didn't have any money at the time. The noise was still very prevalent, but that was the nature of shopping areas: forever loud. Merchants shouted at other players, trying to get their attention with various deals and wares.
“Health potions at a discount! This way!”
“Premium rations at a great price!”
On it went. As Jackson walked, he considered what he wanted. He knew that he would need food, so he did purchase some of those premium rations, which he wasn’t so sure were actually premium, but he put them in the bag of holding nonetheless. They would serve. Jackson didn’t want to wear any heavy armor; he needed to be able to move. That was important. With that in mind, he headed to a clothing shop. The merchant was a short man—the shortest Jackson had ever seen, in fact—with silver gray hair, silver and circular-rimmed spectacles, and smile lines that touched his aged features. His blue eyes twinkled at Jackson, and he noticed the merchant wore the tiniest suit he believed he had ever seen, even if he couldn’t remember about his past life.
“Ah, a customer. Hello there, young man, how can I help you?”
Jackson smiled at him and nodded. “I’m looking for an upgrade to my wardrobe.” He indicated his peasant garb in all of its ripped and tattered glory. The short man nodded, chuckling a bit. Jackson analyzed him as he did.
This is a level 199 merchant. He is a gnome. Your analyze has been detected!
The gnome, as Jackson now knew him to be, frowned at him. “Didn’t anyone ever teach you basic manners, Sonny? Keep up that rudeness and see if I can help you.” The gnome snapped at him, his blue eyes glaring in cold anger. Jackson held up his hands; he had no clue that analyzing people like that was considered rude. He figured it was just par for the course. The gnome shook his head but gestured for Jackson to follow, and they entered his tent.
It was absolutely filled with clothing. There were mannequins everywhere, with coats, robes, breeches, leather armor, suits, gloves, boots, and shoes of all different styles adorning them. The gnome nodded, a proud tilt in his chin.
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“Ya see, Sonny? I’m the best clothing merchant in this bazaar and probably in all of Eden. This is my shop, Glimmer’s Garments! You definitely got lucky when you talked to me, don’t you know? Now, you take your time and tell me what you like, and we can talk price.”
Jackson nodded almost absently at the old gnome and looked around. He dismissed much of what he saw for various reasons. Some of it he just didn’t like, and some of it he felt would hinder him in some way. Jackson wanted to find something he would look good in and that he could potentially enchant to last him a while. He dismissed some dark robes; they were a little too dark for him in the sense that he wasn’t trying to be a dark overlord kind of guy. He didn’t like the white robes; they would just get needlessly dirty.
After ignoring much of the mannequins for one reason or another, Jackson found himself looking at one that he thought he could see himself in. It started with a white undershirt, and a deep, dark blue vest was over it. Jackson really liked the color of the vest, as it reminded him of a patch of dark sky that twinkled with starlight; buttons adorned it. The breeches were black, and utterly so. The boots had a combination of silver and gray leather that extended into a black sole. Over the whole thing was a long black coat that Jackson imagined flaring dramatically in the wind. It came complete with a set of gloves and silver gray vambraces. Jackson pointed at the set-up.
“How about a price for this, sir?”
The old gnome looked at him as if gauging something, and then his blue eyes flicked to the outfit. He stroked his chin. “I’d say 150 EC is a fair deal, sonny.”
Honestly, Jackson would have paid more than that, but he sensed the gnome was expecting him to haggle.
“How about 80 EC? I think that’s more than fair, and you aren’t likely to sell it to someone else any time soon.”
The gnome grinned at Jackson, clearly pleased about something. “Ah, but I don’t really need the EC, you see, so that is no leverage at all, young man! 140 would be a steal for this!”
Jackson shook his head, schooling his expression. “I think you’re trying to take advantage of me due to my youth, sir! Surely you can part with this for 90 EC!”
It went on like that for a bit, with the old gnome coming up with every reason under the sun for why Jackson should pay more. Jackson started pointing out flaws, even if they weren’t actually flaws, and the old gnome guffawed and harrumphed at him. In the end, though, they settled on 115 EC for the set. Jackson probably would have paid much more if he were being honest, but he couldn’t know when he would need his funds or for what, so being shrewd was the safer bet.
The old gnome had a privacy screen, and Jackson used it to get dressed. The Judge had a message for Jackson when he did so.
You have discarded the apprentice peasant garb and put on the Dark Wanderers Set. This set offers zero protection physically, slight protection against spells, and is designed with enchanting in mind!
Jackson smiled at the message. He almost could not wait to enchant this!
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Your level is too low to enchant this clothing set. Your enchanting skill must be Journeyman Level 10 before being able to enchant this set.
Jackson was back at Fred’s tent, waiting for him to finish what he was doing at the forge, and he was not too happy about the Judge’s message. That seemed like a high requirement just for some clothes, but there really was nothing he could do about it. Jackson sighed, disappointment fluttering through his mind, but he shook his head. It was what it was.
Fred soon opened the tent flap and came in. He was grinning. “Ah, there you are, lad! Are you ready for your parting gift?”
Jackson nodded. “What do you have for me, Fred?”
Fred produced a katana in a dark sheath. Jackson's eyes widened. The handle was wrapped in some kind of black material, but it was made of a shiny white oak. Jackson carefully unsheathed the blade, and it was patterned; it looked like raindrops in the steel. The steel, for its part, gleamed dark blue, so the silver raindrop pattern really stood out. Fred grinned, clearly pleased with Jackson's reaction.
“Raindrop damascus is one of my favorite things to do when forging any blade. See, it requires forge welding the pieces together to create a single billet, and the—” Fred cut himself off and rubbed the back of his great neck sheepishly. “Listen to me, Prattle; you don’t need the details. Now you just need to enchant it!”
Jackson chuckled. Fred was a smith through and through; that was clear. Jackson took out a diamond; he wanted the katana’s enchantment to be powerful. But what kind of enchantment did he want to give it? Jackson sat down while he thought about it. He could put a life-stealing enchantment on it; that would be useful, clearly. However, couldn’t he do more? Fred had told him imagination was a big deal with enchanting.
Fred had also told Jackson that he couldn’t go against an item's nature. With that in mind, Jackson thought about the katana’s nature. Obviously, it cut, killed—that was clear as day—but was it more than that? Did the blade truly just represent killing? No, in a way, it meant defending oneself and even others as well. That was just as true of the katana as anything else. Moreover, it could mean pride in one’s skill to wield it well. It could also mean honor, because one faced foes head-on with it most of the time. What Jackson needed to lean into was the destroying part, the cutting part of the blade. He knew this because his aspects were blood and destruction, so whatever enchantment he did would have to fit inside that, regardless of his imagination or intent.
Blood and destruction. Jackson rubbed his chin and chewed on his inner lip. Weaves were such a big deal in this world; they were what made up spells or magic. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a way to deal with that? Struck by sudden inspiration, Jackson nodded his head and gripped the blade in one hand and the diamond in the other, and he began to enchant.
First, Jackson layered the blade with weaves of destruction. He put those weaves through the core of it, making each individual weave almost a blade itself. Then he entwined blood weaves through it but inverted them, making the weaves almost inward, creating a kind of funnel with them. Jackson anchored that funnel to the hilt of the katana, so it flowed all through the handle and the entire blade.
Through the whole process, Jackson infused his imagination into the weaves, directing them with his will and intent, and they responded to his imagination as if the threads of mana had a mind of their own. When Jackson finished, they glowed, and he received the message he hoped for.
Your enchanting has increased! Congratulations, Jackson! You have created an apprentice-level katana of spell destruction and absorption! This enchantment will allow you to disrupt all weaves, though it will not allow you to destroy all weaves; only weaves of the same level or lower will be destroyed. Any destroyed weave will be absorbed, granting you the mana used for that weave!
Jackson grinned and showed Fred. Fred looked impressed, but also disappointed.
“What’s wrong?” Jackson asked.
“Ah, lad, I am sorry. It is just that I thought I would finally level to two hundred! I wish I knew what the damnable problem was all about.”
Jackson nodded.
“I understand. We will figure it out, Fred. I promise. However, I am sorry, my friend; I need to leave.”