The next day, Koll looks through the digital forum for planet Ruun.

The posts are as chaotic as one might imagine.

An open flame war has started between the lawful good Arclight kingdom players and the chaotic evil Red Sect players. The players haven't even had the opportunity to meet in the game. But, they already hate each other just by being keyboard warriors.

[Hella Jealous: Hahaha, you Arclight plebians. You know nothing of power. Our Red Sect faction has a bonified hero character whereas you only know feeble NPCs.]

[Arc the Lad: Yeah, yeah. You've been talking about him a lot. He's just a quest-giver. Grow up.]

[Hella Jealous: Stfu Noob. Your news is outdated. Koll Luna is confirmed to be a hero character. He fought beside our forces during the demon tide. Bonafide hero unit. Can't wait to see your face when we wipe your ass on the battlefield.]

[Arc the Lad: Quit lying, kid.]

[Singer's Song: It's true. Koll Luna is a hero unit. Changed the course of the battle all on his own. Didn't see the red priests make a move. Just Koll.]

The debate carries on for hundreds of pages, with mostly venom being passed between the factions.

Koll looks over the other threads and doesn't see anything useful or interesting.

Closing the menu, Koll returns to the forum below the temple and checks the general store vendor.

"Hey," the middle-aged shopkeeper says in casual recognition. "What can I get for you?"

Koll scans the available supplies and settles on another table. Only this one is double the length of the one he uses for his craft.

"Sure," the woman says when he tells her his purchase.

"Come again."

Koll returns to his traditional spot and sets up the long table beside his smaller one with the chair.

Koll sets down a few items on the long table. Class change manuals, dragonfly ink, harpy feather quills, and pristine stones.

Other than the class change manuals, the players bring him a steady supply of the materials he's planning to sell.

Some might recognize the exploitation. But, none would question an NPC's use of items earned through such means.

Koll draws the attention of the nearby players for his new and novel action. Some of the players have been keeping an eye on Koll so that whenever he does something new they'll be the first to reap the rewards.

Koll uses the [Vendor] function through the menu, turning his table into an official store. The items on the table turn illusory. They can be touched and picked up by the players. But, unless paid for, can't be taken away.

Of course, high-level thieves would have no issue stealing from Koll's table. Fortunately, there aren't any thieves skilled enough to rob a vendor... yet.

Koll takes some time to price each item. There's no need to gouge his clients, so Koll doesn't charge more than a few silver for the materials. While the class change manuals cost several gold coins.

This arrangement should benefit the players who jump into the engraver class with him. He becomes the medium by which they avoid hours of fruitless searching in the wilds for materials. While he gets a token offering of silver.

The first of the customers approaches with curiosity. The man looks like a barbarian with a crude axe. He steps up to the table and reviews the items.

"Hey, Koll," he says with a familiar tone in his voice. "I'm glad you're selling goods. But, don't you think you should sell some scrolls or maybe even those engraved stones?"

Koll looks up from his inscription.

"I'll think about it."

The barbarian clicks his tongue, "I get you. I'll be waiting."

With that, the barbarian shuffles off.

Koll doesn't get a moment alone before several other players approach.

"Damn," one says. "Not just a class trainer. But, a class vendor. I'm actually kind of envious of those switching over to the engraver class."

"I know what you mean. Koll's the only class trainer in the Red Sect. I had to learn my class the hard way. While the engravers get loads of help."

Koll disregards the rabble and waits for someone to step forward and buy one of the class change manuals.

"It's kind of intimidating," the woman says. "But, I admire you, Koll. There's something wonderful about how you overcome adversity."

Koll looks at the lunatic for a moment before nodding.

"Ah," she says. "I'll also need some stones."

The woman finishes her purchase, bows, and walks away.

Koll doesn't know when it happened. But, at some point, the players started treating him like a friend they could trust.

He shakes his head. Wierdos will do as wierdos do.

Koll looks over his shoulder and sees Jake Snow busy carving one of the many pristine stones Koll had given him.

Standing up, Koll walks over to the boy and looks at a pile of engraved stones.

The stones each carry a rudimentary sigil with shaky lines. They almost look pretty.

At this point, the boy's engraved spells are functional. But, they are lacking significantly in power compared to similar [Saint Stones] Koll would carve.

It's not bad progress all told.

"How do you feel you're doing Jake?"

The boy looks up with intense eyes.

"Not well," he says with some consternation.

Koll cocks his head to the side, "Why do you say that?"

The boy huffs, "They're all scratchy. I can't get the smooth lines like in your stones."

Koll nods, "I suppose you're right. What level is your [Steady Hand] trait and your [Dexterity] attribute?"

The boy hesitates before looking at his menu.

"My [Steady Hand] is at 1 and I don't have a [Dexterity] attribute."

Koll nods, "Invest a few potential points into Steady Hand and keep working till you get Dexterity unlocked."

The boy's gaze fills with resolve as he says, "Yes, teacher."

Koll leaves the boy to his work and minds his own.

The days proceed pleasantly for Koll.

Even though the percentage of players who want to class change to engraver remains around 1%, there are thousands of players in the region. With more players starting every day.

In addition to the high demand for class change manuals, the professional materials Koll sells are hot items. Fortunately, new supplies come in every hour of the day.

While preoccupied with thoughts of his business ventures, Koll doesn't notice a large-figure approach.

The barbarian from before stands before him, a satisfied glimmer in his eye.

"Yes?" Koll asks.

"I found it."

Koll blinks audibly, "It?"

"Your blasted proof, Koll."

Understanding dawns on Koll, "I see."

The barbarian pulls out a padded drumstick like one would use to strike a gong.

Koll takes the item and looks at the inscription.

[The king's burrow rests where night is eternal.]

Comprehension dawns on Koll. The tomb is, fittingly, in a dangerous part of the valley where undead roam freely.

"Thank you," he looks at the barbarian's name, "Gol D."

Gol D smiles as his quest is confirmed to be completed.

"I want in," the barbarian says.

"In?" Koll questions.

"Yeah," Gol D says. "I want in on the expedition. I'm assuming you know where to find the tomb from the clue."

Koll nods, "Okay. That seems fair."

Gol D smiles a fierce smile, "And, start selling some inscriptions. They would've helped me get the blasted drumstick."

Koll looks away, "I'll think about it."

The barbarian sighs. "Anyways keep me informed. You're the only NP- I mean member of the Red Sect who's doing anything interesting."

Koll nods. These days the players have high expectations for him.

Cosmos does have impressive quest lines and NPC interactions. Though, to be fair, Koll had experienced 6 expansions of improvements over the life cycle of the game. The vanilla version of Cosmos could be said to have a more bare-bones system.

Koll provides several services that can be said to be nonexistent in any one NPC besides him.

There were other hero characters across Cosmos. Ruun had a number of them that wouldn't rise to acclaim until after the players advanced beyond the starting zones.

Koll's actions break with the system's standard. And, he has an intuitive understanding of the system that allows him to exploit the players in ways the other NPCs wouldn't consider.

Koll brings up his reputation tab. A long list of players descends from highest affinity to lowest.

A few players, like Wu Lan and Dancing Dagger, have thousands of points of reputation with him, almost breaking out from neutral to friendly.

Every reputation advance will provide the users with exclusive perks like discounts and specialized quests. He would have to figure out what rewards he would give the players when they reach a breakthrough.

Koll clears his mind of random thoughts and continues his work.

The Holy Daughter of the Red Sect is seated upon a pristine white throne in a secret room of the temple of her sect. Before her is a line of red priests.

"There have been rumors of the Immortals discovering clues to the location of the tombs of the 4 kings of corruption," a priest says with reverence.

The Holy Daughter's head is turned to the side, a vacant look on her face.

"My lady," the priest continues. "It seems that Acolyte Luna is collecting these proofs."

At the mention of the enigmatic acolyte, the Holy Daughter turns to look at the priest.

The look in her eyes causes a shiver to course through the priest's body.

"How are his lessons proceeding?"

Her question startles the priest.

"Uh," he stumbles for words. "Acolyte Luna has been actively attending his lessons in blood magic and participates in the indoctrination when directed to."

"Perhaps," the Holy Daughter says, "he should advance to the rank of red priest."

The red priests present bristle at the suggestion.

"My lady, it may be true that this acolyte has demonstrated high aptitude in his study and has an abnormal comprehension of symbols of power. But, the sect has set laws on the seniority system. Acolyte Luna has not even been a part of the sect for half a year.

"Concerning your eminence, it is simply not possible to promote this acolyte at this time."

The Holy Daughter gazes at the priests and priestesses. Their resolve is firm on the matter.

With a sigh, she looks away. Among the members of the Red Sect, she was the only one to see the demonstration of acolyte Luna's power. But, there is no point in arguing his renown.

Procedure is procedure.

"What do you propose we do about these proofs?" she asks, returning to the main issue.

The priest speaks again, "We should demand that acolyte Luna relinquish these proofs to our priests. We may then search out these tombs."

The Holy Daughter waves her hand dismissively.

"Not one of you knew of the kings of corruption before acolyte Luna spread the word of the tombs. By all rights, none but I should have known of their existence. Even then, I did not know of hidden tombs.

"We will not interfere with Acolyte Luna's business at this juncture. But, he is to be monitored at all times. His coming and his going. Should he venture into the valley, I want to be informed immediately."

The priests look among themselves with uncertainty. Never had an acolyte received such attention from the Holy Daughter.

The Holy Daughter herself ignores them until they excuse themselves.

Koll feels a sense of danger flash over him for a moment before it dissipates.

The only thing he can do is focus on his tasks.

Over the course of a couple of weeks, Koll's status as an official class trainer is solidified. The number of class change manuals stacks up at a rapid pace, freeing Koll up to turn to his next endeavors.

He has a fair amount of experience drawing inscriptions using the blood of beasts found in the Crimson Valley. Now though, he has much more magical blood to work with.

The green demon blood is filled with mystical potency. But, the souls of demons are far more unruly than mere beasts. And, the blood isn't technically of a dead being.

Demons exist in twisted domains. Elemental and primal. In these domains, the souls of demons are bound and to these domains, they return when killed in realms beyond.

The demons that had been killed in the Crimson Valley of planet Ruun returned to their home domains on death waiting for the fel energies to resurrect them.

The only true way to kill a demon is to go into its home dimension and kill it where its soul is bound.

This is why Koll feels no urgency to use the demon blood in inscriptions. The chaotic energies will continue to be difficult to work with no matter how long he keeps the blood.

Now though, Koll feels prepared to tangle with the dangerous blood.

Sitting by his shop, Koll put quill to vellum and drew decisive lines and cuniform runes.

But, as soon as he begins, Koll feels a backlash in his psyche. The demon, in its twisted realm, struck out with a mental attack.

Koll spasms in his chair and watches a drop of red blood fall down onto the vellum. He brings his hand to his nose and feels wetness. His fingers came away bloody.

[Attribute Unlocked: Mental Resistance]

[Mental Resistance:1]

Koll chuckled, all he'd received was a bloody nose to unlock a new attribute. Not a bad trade.

Koll had stockpiled a sizeable amount of Legacy Experience for his Evolution Meter. But, now it's time to splurge.

Koll spends a tragic amount of XP to buy 4 points in Mental Resistance to bring it to a total of 5 points.

Koll discards the wasted parchment and begins with a new demon's blood.

This time, he feels the demon lash out at him as before. But, he doesn't receive any psychological damage.

It becomes a competition of stamina and resilience.

He fails again. But, his proficiency grows by a small measure.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

Koll spends the day filling vellum after vellum with demon blood. All to get a few successful scrolls.

But, these scrolls carry a power that far outstrips the beast's blood inscriptions.

That said, for the first time since he came to Cosmos, he truly feels beat.

The day done, Koll finds sleep in his room easily.

The following day sees more vellum spent.

"Are you alright, Koll?" the voice is familiar.

"Ah, it's you, Wu Lan."

Koll looks up with sunken eyes. The demon blood is more difficult to manage than he had expected. But, that doesn't mean he isn't making progress.

"Yep, it's me."

The young woman is a fairy-like existence, coming and going like the wind.

"But," she continues. "What's wrong with you? You seem weaker than usual. Not that you're weak. Just... You seem sick."

"Ah," he says tiredly. "Just dealing with demons. It's nothing I can't handle."

"Demons," she echoes. Her eyes lingering on the green blood smeared on the vellum.

"I see," she says. "Well don't overdo it. Go take a nap when you get the chance."

Koll nods and casts aside the ruined vellum before starting on another.

Wu Lan watches him for a while before interrupting him again.

"Koll, when will we be going on the expedition?"

He takes a deep breath, steadying his hand.

"Soon. I'm still waiting for 1 more proof. The expeditions will follow."

This news brings a smile to the fairy's face.

"I'll be prepared when the time comes."

Koll nods absentmindedly and returns to his work.

The young woman disappears unnoticed.

[Mental Resistance: 7]

He couldn't help it. As much as he needs to upgrade his evolutionary rank, the demon blood is too taxing for him to not boost his resistance.

Otherwise, he will just be wasting perfectly good demon blood.

He may still have thousands of vials of demon blood. But, at the rate he's wasting it, it won't last long.

Fortunately, these new points of resistance make a world of difference.

As the days progress, his sunken eyes and ashen face brighten with renewed vigor.

Gol D returned repeatedly, always asking for stones and scrolls.

Koll thinks for a while and realizes that the players were not the same noobs they had been before. He can share the [Saint Stones] and dragonfly ink scrolls and not wreck the balance... Probably.

Throwing his hands up in the air, Koll exclaims, "Fine."

"Really?" Gol D asks blankly.

The barbarian might have made the request. But, it was more out of habit than true expectation.

A sudden grin claims Gol D's face.

"Well come on man, let me see your wares."

Koll sighs and organizes his table to add space for the stones and scrolls.

These new items will be hot ticket items. Not the niche crafting materials he had been selling. Thus Koll feels no guilt in elevating the prices of the [Saint Stones] and scrolls to what would be higher than market value if there were a market for the items.

Gol D looks at the prices with a serious expression. He's running calculations in his head. He had to balance the cost of the items against the other things he needs to buy for his leveling progress.

"Can I.. uh.. get a discount?"

Koll looks at the man blankly, "You're neutral with me. If you want a discount, at least reach friendly."

Gol D has a vacant look in his eyes as he pulls up the reputation tab and sees how far from friendly he is. A smile comes over his face.

"Koll, my friend. Do you by any chance have any new quests you would be willing to share with me? Something you value. Like enough to give me 50 reputation points."

Koll stares at the greedy bastard for a few minutes.

The fearsome barbarian feels uncomfortable under the intense gaze but doesn't walk away. He wonders if a new quest is being generated and that is why the NPC had frozen.

He isn't wrong either. Koll had thought of something he would be needing soon.

[Quest Name: Elemental Madness (5)]

[Description: Koll Luna has tasked you with harvesting 10 null-element crystals from the corpses of elite elementals in the time-lost grotto in the Southeastern Crimson Valley. The player is advised to hunt in a party of 5 members.]

[Rewards: 10,000 XP, +50 Reputation with Koll Luna.]

The quest is shared and Gol D examines it for a moment before licking his lips.

"Now, that's what I'm talking about brother."

Koll waves the burly man away and continues working on his inscription.

It doesn't take long for word of the new quest to spread throughout the faction's players. A rush of eager players comes, excited about the new party play.

Koll freely gives out the quest to any and an exodus of sorts happens. Where players advertise themselves and their growing parties.

[LFG, ranger with 10 agility and 10 dexterity.]

[LF1M, need a healer.]

[LF4M, no scrubs.]

If Koll didn't know any better, he'd think that a festival had started.

In the excitement for the new quest, few notice the new items in Koll's store.

The few that did have little reservation in buying up as many stones and scrolls as they can. Not everyone is as stingy as the barbarian.

The clamor of excitement carries on for some time. But, Koll is able to tune it out and focus on his craft. He even boosts his success rate to over 30%.

A lot of demon blood goes to waste. But, the scrolls he does create could completely change the dynamic of the player community. That is of course if they could afford the high-value items.

As the day runs down, the first teams are returning with the spoils of their campaign.

Each member brings back 10 null-element crystals. 50 per group.

Gol D is among the first to reach a friendly reputation with Koll. And, he's eager to take advantage of that friendship.

"A 10% discount. You sure it's not 15%?"

Koll stares blankly at Gol D.

This causes the barbarian to chuckle sheepishly.

"Okay," the big man says. "I'll buy this. And, this. And, oh definitely this."

Koll sighs, "I don't need to hear your inner monologue."

Gol D smiles wolfishly, "Come on. We're friends now. No need for hostility."

Koll just rolls his eyes.

As the players return, bloodied and battered, they proceed directly to Koll to complete their quests.

Only then do most of the players realize that Koll had broken his taboo on selling his high-value wares.

The only thing keeping his stock from selling out is the high cost. But, even the cheapest player buys one item.

As the day's light dwindles, Koll yawns and closes shop.

There is disappointment in the hearts of those who returned too late and will have to wait for the following day to turn in their quests.

Koll finds sleep easily and washes away a lot of the weariness that had accumulated in recent days.

Truly, dealing with demonic forces is not good for one's health.

But, Koll is insistent on the need to continue his current project.

Jake Snow watches his teacher in the following days. The boy can't help but be concerned by the change in the NPC.

He's more irritatable and short with the players. And, by the evening of every day, Koll slouches over from exhaustion as he closes up shop and goes to bed.

"Teacher," the boy interrupts his mentor early in the afternoon one day.

"Hmm?"

"Teacher, you don't seem well."

Koll sighs, "Yeah, I know."

"Teacher, why do you need to practice with demon blood?"

Koll thinks about it for a minute.

"It's not so much a need as a task. I have been amassing several tools that can assist me in the future. The demon blood inscriptions are just one of the tools I intend to have in my arsenal."

Jake Snow looks down and mumbles, "You shouldn't do so many."

Koll raises an eyebrow hearing the boy express himself. Usually, Jake wouldn't tell him what to do. But, he feels strongly on this issue.

"Hah," Koll sighs.

Getting told off by his pupil leaves a bad taste in his mouth.

"You're right," Koll admits.

The boy looks up, pleased to hear his teacher accept what he'd said.

"I won't give up on them entirely. But, I'll only do 3 a day. That way I should get at least 1 success each day."

The boy nods his agreement.

"Besides," Koll continues. "I have something else worth working on. Come over here."

The boy approached Koll's crafting table where Koll brings out a pair of translucent white crystals.

"Do you know what these are?"

The boy nods, "Those are the crystals you sent the players to get."

"Exactly," Koll confirms.

"Here, this one's for you."

Jake Snow receives one of the crystals and watches as Koll brings out his engraving knife.

"Do you know anything about runes?"

The boy shakes his head.

"Runes," Koll continues, "are words of power in arcane languages. They're like sigils. But, their expression is less abstract and more definite.

"Runes for fire and fire-type spells can be engraved into objects like these null-element crystals, changing the attribute of the crystal from null to fire. The same can be done with other elements.

"Depending on the sequence of runes a story can be scripted into the crystal. Say I engrave runes for fire, tempest, and wall, I can create a spell that consumes the enemy in a barrier of flowing fire.

"Essentially, I create a spell. But, it's different from what I would make with a scroll. When a scroll is activated, it casts its spell and the scroll disintegrates. But, with a crystal-like this I can imbue not only a spell but several charges. The more mana imbued into the crystal the more charges.

"And, the mana can come from anyone. Not just the engraver. The Immortals can even charge their crystal many times over after using them."

Jake Snow listens in rapt attention. This was the first time his teacher had gone into such depth on the technique behind the class. Up till now, Jake hadn't even touched a vellum and now Koll was teaching him about engraving crystals.

"Watch," Koll says as he begins engraving a simple set of runes into the crystal.

It doesn't take long and soon Koll has a finished crystal.

Seeking to demonstrate the effect he turns to an empty patch of land and activates the charge.

A small magic circle forms in the air before the crystal and a jet of water flows out in a line for some distance.

The spell looks like it would have the force to strip skin from bone if used in offense.

Jake Snow watches with wide-eyed interest as the demonstration ends.

"Alright, here," Koll hands the boy the finished crystal and a dozen more raw crystals.

"Practice with these in addition to your stone engravings. I'll work on some more crystals on my own for the rest of the day."

The boy is relieved that his mentor is willing to cut back on the demon blood inscriptions. And, even more excited to have a new training exercise to practice.

Koll turns from the boy and starts to work in earnest on the null-element crystals.

The new routine, and particularly the limit of demon blood inscriptions, does a world of good for Koll's psyche. He is still sufficiently challenged to grow his understanding of the souls of demons. And, the switch to null-element crystal engravings adds a new and formidable tool to his arsenal.

The sale of [Saint Stones] and magic scrolls levels off to an equilibrium where he only needs to expend a little of his time resupplying the spent merchandise. And, the customer base is only too happy to buy from his stock.

The first batch of players who raise their reputation points with him to Friendly get a 10% discount from his store. These trailblazers incentivize other, more casual players, to apply themselves to his numerous repeatable quests.

That's not to say that all of the players are completely satisfied.

One day, while Koll is busy etching a sequence of runes and sigils into a crystal, a familiar figure is complaining.

"Come on, Koll. I know you have blood inscriptions burning a hole in your inventory. Just sell me one or two. Or even give me a quest with one as a reward."

Koll tries to ignore the greedy barbarian.

"And," Gol D continues. "Those crystals look good too. I'll pay extra."

Koll looks up from his engraving, "Aren't you a warrior? What do you need so many magic items for?"

Gol D smiles a vicious smile. "Utility is utility. If I can blow up a monster with an item rather than bringing my axe down on its head, I might as well."

Koll shrugs, "That's your prerogative. But, I'm not selling these items at the moment."

The barbarian sighs, "But, you will sell them soon?"

Koll's eyes narrow, "Don't put words in my mouth."

"Alright. Alright. I'll just take the usual."

Gol D is a particularly spendthrift player when it comes to Koll's store. He stocks up on mostly buffing [Saint Stones]. But, his taste for magic scrolls is wide and varied. This time, he buys several area of effect lightning and fire scrolls.

The barbarian is very active in hunting the elementals in the Time Lost Grotto. He's farming reputation points with Koll. And, the 5 man party quest gives the most bang for the buck in terms of reputation points.

Koll has to wonder if he has kicked off an escalation in player capability by sending the players off on high-level quests and supplying them with superior magic items.

The players in the other territories are still questing on stale quest lines. The daily repeatable quests are a specialty of Koll's at this stage of the game.

By the time the Red Sect players encounter the lawful good players, they might just steamroll over the opposing force.

In Cosmos, territorial wars fought by players can decide the flow of resources and even change the political status of kingdoms.

In some ways, Koll feels pity for the Arclight kingdom that shares a border with the Red Sect. Not enough to stop his plans. But, he still isn't sure how the world would look if the chaotic evil Red Sect rose to preeminence.

Koll puts such thoughts aside and focuses on his etching.

He can feel a growing wellspring of comprehension filling his mind.

Class advancements aren't all hierarchical. It isn't as simple as advancing to a higher class. Engraver was already a defined class. Turning it into [Caligrapher] was an option and would refine his skills in engraving to some extent.

However, narrowing the advancement would limit the variety of abilities he could employ.

And, the class advancement won't get rid of his Engraver class. Engraver will just become his subclass while the new class became the primary.

Still, to advance without losing the subclass, one had to choose a relevant class to advance to.

Koll wasn't gonna become a knight or samurai with his engraver class. Instead, it would be something similar in the skill tree.

And, Koll had known for some time what class he was going to advance to. A humble crafting class known as [Enchanter].

The enchanter class will provide a qualitative boost to his engravings.

Whereas engravers carved and drew, enchanters used dust and mana. Both professions could synergize to a great effect.

Usually, one would need a class change manual to advance to enchanter. But, there was no such item in existence at this point in the game.

Koll will have to improvise.

The null-element crystals he'd been carving into aren't meant for sale. They're meant for his efforts to cultivate the enchanter class.

The elemental runes he carves into the crystals changes the very makeup of the items.

When crushed into powder, the resulting magical dust carries unique characteristics that will imbue whatever items he enchants with those attributes.

There is much more involved than just drizzling a handful of powder onto an item. Many other materials rarer than null-element crystals will be necessary.

However, his overflowing supply of crystals will provide a strong foundation for the class advancement.

Settling his thoughts, Koll approaches the general store.

"Hey there, Koll. What can I get for you?"

The middle-aged woman was familiar and friendly.

Due to how many purchases he's made from her store, he had become friendly with her. And, received a 10% discount on all of her goods.

Koll finds an item that had been in his eye for some time. A large mortar and pestle.

In addition, he purchases a large number of flasks he can use to hold the resulting dust.

The woman is only too happy to accept his coin, smiling ear to ear at his order.

"Take care, Koll. I'll let you know if I get any new stock."

Koll nods and returns to his place in the forum.

Placing the mortar and pestle on his work table, Koll pulls out a finished crystal.

Unconcerned for the value of the item if he were to sell it to the players, he decisively begins to pulverize the item. Then comes another of the same kind. And, another.

Under the shocked gazes of many players, Koll reduced valuable and coveted items to dust. Indifferent to the horror of the players.

When the bowl is filled with fine dust, Koll takes out flasks and scoops the arcane dust into them.

And then, he begins the process again.

Eventually, the horror on the faces of the players turns to curiosity.

While Koll busily destroys engraved crystals a blonde man approaches.

"Watcha doing?" comes the attractive Dancing Dagger's query.

Koll looks up, "Preparing."

Dancing Dagger cocks his head to the side, "Preparing for what?"

Koll leans back in his seat.

"I'm preparing to advance."

Dancing Dagger had already reached friendly with him, so he doesn't need to be dismissive. Plus, there was no point in hiding it.

The blonde man's eyes narrow.

"You mean a class advancement?"

Koll nods. NPCs could grow just like players, though most don't.

The thing was that this early in the expansion, none of the players know the process.

Unless they find an advanced spell book or class trainer and master their base class, advancement is impossible.

Koll's advantage is a decade of experience in a game he loved. He knew how to brute force his way to the next step.

Dancing Dagger looks from him to his table.

"Is there anything you can't do, Koll?"

The question is flattering. But, also skeptical.

Koll thinks for a moment, "I can't die and come back to life."

Dancing Dagger smiles, "I think what you can do is much more amazing."

Koll shrugs and asks, "Are you buying or talking?"

Dancing Dagger shrugs, "Just talking, this time."

"Well then, go away. I'm busy."

The blonde man nods and says in parting, "See you later."

The process of getting dust carries over to the next day until he runs out of engraved crystals. But, it's fine. He'd engrave more as he needs them. But, he has enough to begin.

Among the many vendors of the forum, several blacksmiths sell their wares. The items are mostly junk in Koll's eyes. But, they will serve his purposes.

Koll buys a large number of daggers and swords.

The advantage of the junk status of the iron weapons is that they were cheap. The reason there are so many to buy is that weapons have a high propensity for breaking during use.

He gains a reputation with the vendors, causing their eyes to soften towards him.

Koll purchases another table that he stowes in his inventory and returns to work.

When he begins the process, he does not differentiate between engraving and enchanting.

He carves runes of power into the iron blades, creating spell structures focussed on a base of increased durability and certain buffs to the user of the blade. The dusts are imbued with mana and differentiated between the various types of magic formations borne into the crystals before they were dusted.

The process is considerably more time-intensive than when drawing sigils on vellum. And, there's no first and last between engraving and enchanting. Both were cooccuring efforts.

The first dagger he successfully enchants has a nice silver aura around it that testifies to the new magical qualities in it.

Then, Koll repeats the process with a sword. Certain augments like durability and self-sharpening form the base of the remade sword.

It has to be said that there was a limit to the load a given item could take. There was only so much room on the blade for engraving. And, too much dust would overwrite other enchantments.

As Koll fashions the basic weapons into something far more formidable, he draws the attention of the players.

"What's he doing?" a voice questions.

"I think he's turning the sword into a spell sword."

"Does that mean he's an enchanter?"

"I don't know. I thought his class was engraver."

The rabble gossips amongst themselves while Koll completes and stows magic daggers and swords.

Cosmos had an item rating system. And, more specifically, weapons and armor ratings.

The weapons Koll had purchased were of the common rating.

Above the common rating were uncommon, rare, epic, legendary, and artifact.

With Koll's level of skill in enchanting, most of his finished pieces were a rank higher than their base as uncommon finished works. But, due to the addition of the engravings he modified the pieces with, he would occasionally succeed in creating a rare item.

As the day grows long, a familiar blonde man approaches.

"Hey, Koll," he says in a friendly tone.

Koll looks up from his work on an enchanted dagger. He can see the covetous look in Dancing Dagger's eyes.

"Hey," he says in greeting.

The attractive man looks from Koll to the dagger and back.

"I don't suppose you're selling weapons now, are you?"

Koll shakes his head, "I'm not planning to."

Dancing Dagger's shoulders deflate, "Then what are you doing with so many weapons? I heard you've been working all day."

Koll looks down at the dagger on his table.

"I was thinking of giving them out as rewards."

The word reward immediately reenergizes Dancing Dagger.

"Oh, what do you need done? You know you can count on me for whatever quest you need to be completed."

Koll shrugs, "I'm still thinking about it."

The player isn't discouraged and says, "I'll be sure to check with you often. Don't leave me hanging too long."

Koll nods and continues his work as Dancing Dagger walks away.

The next few days are busy, with Koll modifying weapons of increasing variety. From axes to hammers. Anything he can get from the vendors dealing in such items.

All the while players spy on his labors from a distance.

Some come up, fishing for some rare quest that Koll was rumored to be preparing.

As an NPC, Koll has grown quite aloof to the persistent attention of the players. So long as they don't attack him, he doesn't mind them following his every move.

One day, while he's busy with his crafting, a dark figure in gray leather armor approaches his table.

As with most of the players, Koll recognizes the player. But, this player isn't talkative like Dancing Dagger or Gol D.

Still, the player had been dutifully farming reputation with him for some time and had reached the friendly status. His name was Shadowmaster.

The black-haired figure, of a vaguely Asian ethnicity, simply places a beautiful gold pen in front of Koll.

It takes a moment for Koll to understand. And, he picks up the proof.

Engraved into the side of the pen are the words,

[Fallen is the moon, our king's teeth are broken.]

The proof should be referencing a part of the valley inhabited by the lycanthrope.

Koll nods and completes Shadowmaster's quest.

The silent figure hesitates for a moment.

Koll understands, "When I go, I'll be sure to bring you."

The player nods and quietly leaves.

Left alone, Koll is in deep thought. The 4 proofs have been found. A ring, a shield, a drumstick, and a pen.

These items will be necessary for entering the tombs for the first time.

In his previous lifetime, the players didn't discover the tombs until the second expansion. Most players in the vanilla game simply killed monsters and completed the odd quest that came from the NPCs.

Koll had already changed the course of Cosmos history by introducing advanced engraving items to the populace. But, that would be as nothing before opening the dungeons of the 4 kings of corruption to the players.

Koll sets aside the pen and returns to his work. He will need a sufficient stockpile of enchanted weapons for this next step.

The days drag on as the arsenal of uncommon and rare weapons filled Koll's limitless inventory.

He feels that his proficiency in enchanting is close to a breakthrough. Yet, he has not received a notification of class change. It truly wasn't so easy to break through to an advanced class.

It would be different if he had a class trainer or even a class change manual. But, no. He has to build his proficiency the old-fashioned way.

Fortunately, very few of his augmented weapons were failures. He might have 2% of his engraved and enchanted weapons turn to scrap under botched crafting. Which is a high level of success for any craftsman.

Koll minds his business, unconcerned for the world, when Dancing Dagger approaches.

"Howdy," the blonde man says in greeting.

Koll looks up from his work and greets the friendly player.

"So," Dancing Dagger says. "Have you possibly come up with a quest worthy of one of your mighty weapons?"

The player asks as he had asked many times over the previous days.

Koll doesn't say anything. Instead, he sends a mental command through the menu.

[Quest Name: Tomb of the King of Tempests (5)]

[Descrption: Escort Koll Luna into the depths of the tomb of the king of corruption. Seek out the hand of God near the salt flats.]

[Reward: 500,000 XP, +500 Reputation with Koll Luna, 1 rare weapon suited to the player's class]

Dancing Dagger's pupils shrink as he reads the sudden quest prompt.

A smile crosses his lips as he looks at Koll.

"Awesome," he says happily.

Koll nods and says, "Collect your party, and let me know when you're ready to depart."

Dancing Dagger doesn't waste any more time and rushes off to find his friends.

Others who witnessed Dancing Dagger's excitement rush over and asked if there is a new quest.

Koll merely shakes his head and continues his crafting.

Alone in his thoughts, Koll considers what is to follow. Merely getting to the entrance of the dungeon will take several hours of travel. The beasts of the valley won't pose much challenge to a 5 man party. But, it's necessary for Koll's safety that he be escorted to the dungeon, and even more so when he enters it.

After some time, Dancing Dagger returns with 4 other players. Each member of the motley crew looks excited by the dungeon quest. As far as they are aware, this is the first dungeon found across the dozen or so populated worlds of Cosmos.

Koll closes up shop, storing his items for later use.

"If you're ready, we should depart now."

The players have no complaints and follow Koll out of the forum and into the dusty Crimson Valley.