"Have you thought about your options for the skills you get for free?" Al'Doran said after my training had been completed.
"I have been thinking about it, but I am not sure I can make a selection yet. Do I have all the info I need to make a decision?"
"What other info could you need, young rider?"
"Do I need to know what kind of dragon Aeolith is? Will she have any special abilities that make my selections better or worse? What about her attributes? Should I know what will be chosen before picking skills? If I pick will we have to make our fighting style work with the choices? If we do what if we choose wrong?"
"Settle your mind young rider. You are right to ask questions, but you need to be sure you are not causing yourself to freeze in your decision-making purely because there are unknowns. Life is full of unknowns. We simply make the best decision with the information we have."
That was sage advice. I sat thinking about it for a few minutes and decided Al'Doran was right. I couldn't become stagnant or not gain useful skills simply because there was some unknown. I would never be able to make a decision if I waited for all the information to be available.
"That being said though, I can likely help with at least a couple of those questions."
"I would really appreciate any information you could give me to help with making decisions."
"Let's see, first, what kind of dragon Aeolith is."
He stared intently at Aeolith for a long moment, then looked back at me.
"Very interesting, she is a Chromatic dragon."
I wracked my brain trying to remember where I had heard that before. Then it hit me.
"Isn't Chromatic the term used to define the colors of dragons?"
"It is. It is also a very rare variant of dragon type as well. While most dragons are classified as a single chromatic color which are red, blue, green, black, and white or a metallic color which are copper, brass, silver, gold, and bronze, there is one type called a Chromatic dragon that has aspects of all the basic chromatic dragons, and one type called Metallic that has aspects of all the metallic colors as well. These are very rare types of dragons, and you are lucky to have found her."
"So, this means...what exactly?"
"Usually a dragon gets a breath attack that is specific to its color. Chromatic and Metallic dragons usually can use a breath attack relevant to each color in their group of colors. There are also specialties that each dragon color has that make them effective in a certain respect. Red dragons are known to be aggressive and strong, Black dragons are known to be stealthy and agile, green dragons are known for their poison, blue dragons for their ability to swim, and white dragons for their ability to withstand cold temperatures. Chromatic dragons usually have some of each of these aspects that, while not as powerful as the individual colors, help to balance out the abilities of a dragon."
This was amazing news. This meant we could work on making a well-rounded fighting style. Everyone knew that when it came to fighting or games, that well-rounded fighting was always better than focusing on one aspect. Big strong guys were just glass cannons that wasted their efforts too quickly in battle, little tiny fast guys could move around forever, but had no attacks with enough power to hurt someone with a strong defense. This talk of colors made me think though.
"What kind of dragon are you Al'Doran?"
"I am a copper dragon. I know I don't have the shine that I used to, but that has come from centuries of combat as well as just old age causing my scales to dull with time."
That did explain the brownish color. Human skin didn't look so shiny and new when we were old either.
"Back to your dragon though, will Aeolith have special abilities that cause skill choices to be bad...No, that should not ever be an issue. These skills are designed to make a dragon and rider a team that works well together. They are not specific to dragon types." Al'Doran Continued. "As for attributes, since you know she is Chromatic and not color specific, a well-rounded placement of attribute points is likely best, as I'm sure you already assumed. The rest seemed to be insecurity questions you had that only you will be able to solve. You will want to learn as many fighting styles as you can to combat any you might run into. While it is possible to pick skills in an order that is not ideal, it is likely you will not be unwise enough to pick the worst skills for you on purpose. All of the second-tier skills will be helpful, and at their skill cost point, would be valuable to pick up earlier rather than later."
"That helps a lot. It is a relief knowing that I am likely not going to be picking bad skills no matter the direction I go."
"You know how you fight. I have seen you move and you are no helpless hatchling who cannot defend itself. Think about your fighting style and use that to your advantage. Your dragon will instinctively use that and fight alongside you."
"Thank you Al'Doran for your advice," I said, bowing to him slightly. "I think I know what I should do for now. I will take Breath Attack, Dragon Shield, and Dragon Scales. This will open up the opportunity for attacks of different elements, and up our defense. A strong defense, in the beginning, has always shown to be most effective for me when learning to fight."
"A wise choice. May I ask why you didn't take the Sharp Claws skill?"
"I thought about that, but until she is bigger I don't really want her too close to enemies. I would rather protect her in the beginning. I plan to take that skill next though so she is not helpless if she gets in close."
"Very good. Your strategy is sound and a good starting point. I look forward to watching your growth. Now it is time for us to begin your training. I will fly you to the mainland and you will fight there. Fight to gain levels for you and your dragon. I will return to meet you on the shore at nightfall. You should avoid going to towns to sell goods for now, as we must be sure to keep Aeolith hidden for now. We do not want her to be discovered until you are able to take on the Shadow Beasts. Should she meet them this young, she would be no match for them. For this first foray, I will be dropping you in a remote location so as to attract as little attention as possible. You can take supplies from the larder here on the island to sustain the both of you while you train."
"Can you tell us what kind of fights we should be looking at while in this area?"
"Mostly low-level monsters. Wolves, goblins, bears, mountain lions, Kobolds, Gnolls, and maybe the occasional giant snake. Things you should be able to handle. Watch out for the more sentient of the creatures such as Goblins, Kobolds, and Gnolls as they may travel in packs and have a settlement nearby. Too many of them will overrun you."
"And our just running around killing random monsters is OK? Nothing we need to worry about with things like disrupting the environment?"
"This area is already overrun with monsters. It was made uninhabitable because of the number of monsters. You will be helping to remove these monsters. The environment was already disrupted and you are doing a small part to help set it right. Now come, I will show you to the armory and the larder."
We followed Al'Doran back up from the beach and to the city, down the streets to a large building with iron banded doors. Al'Doran pushed it open to reveal what was clearly the armory. One wall to the left was filled with all the armor sitting on shelves. New leather armor, chain mail armor, and shining plate armor sat on the shelves. There were racks holding weapons along the back wall. Every weapon I could imagine was there, swords of all sizes, maces, axes, spears, polearms, knives, and so many other items all sitting glimmering in the sunlight that came through the windows. On the wall to the right were other shelves holding things such as vials with colored liquids that appeared to be potions, satchels for carrying things, rope, grappling hooks, and many other adventuring items.
"How are these items not rusted and dirty from age?"
"There is a magic that is able to keep things from deteriorating called preservation magic. It is used on things like larders or pantries and in this case armories to keep things from spoiling or rusting. Take what you feel you need. You are the sole heir to the Dragonriders at this point in time so we need to be sure you are protected. I suspect that your armor though will be about as good as what you will find here, and your weapon seems to be superior to most I have seen."
He was right. Most of my equipment was pretty amazing for my level. The one thing I could probably do is upgrade my secondary weapons. One should never go into battle with just one weapon. If you lost it, you were at a severe disadvantage. I walked inside to see what I could find for myself. Looking first at the armor, I found that most of my armor was close to what I could find here, but I did find a leather helmet to go with my armor to complete the set I was already wearing. I held and considered the chain mail for a long moment, thinking about the type of defense it would give me. I decided to forgo it in the end though, due to the extra weight. Once I improved my strength and agility more though I would likely wear it.
Moving on next to the weapons I pulled all the weapons I had from my bags of holding and put them on a table in the middle of the room. I had a short spear, two rusty daggers, and three short words. All of which were on the sad side of terrible weapons. Leaving those there for now I went to look at the weapons on the racks. Knowing that my main weapon would be my attuned longsword, I looked first at the knives they had on stands on a shelf.
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Item:
Iron Dagger of Piercing
Item Type: Weapon
Durability: 350/350
Attack: 8-15
Item Quality: Well Crafted
Item Rarity: Uncommon
Effect: This dagger has added piercing enchantments that allow the user to ignore up to 30% of an enemy's armor when attacking.
Now, this was a cool dagger. I took two of those and put them on the table for exchanging for my equipment. Since I had found a use for it in the past, I also went to take a look at a spear. Nothing too audacious, but at the same time an option with some reach was going to come in handy. There was an Iron Spear of piercing that caught my eye as the daggers had, but right next to it was a spear with wicked-looking serrated edges that I needed to inspect.
Item:
Iron Spear of Bloodletting
Item Type: Weapon
Durability: 350/350
Attack: 15-25 + causes Bleeding
Item Quality: Well Crafted
Item Rarity: Uncommon
Effect: This spear was forged with a serrated edge that will catch on flesh both as it goes into the enemy and on its way out causing a bleeding effect. The bleeding effect will cause the enemy to lose 5 points of health per second until the bleeding is stopped.
This weapon was mean. I put it on the table as well. Lastly, I decided to look at some hand axes this time instead of the shortswords. This gave me a hand-to-hand combat option while also giving me a thrown weapon. Once again there were some great options for the axes, but one pair really caught my eye and intrigued me more than any of the others.
Item:
Iron Boomerang Axes
Item Type: Weapon
Durability: 350/350
Attack: 10-16
Item Quality: Well Crafted
Item Rarity: Uncommon
Effect: When the user imbues this axe with a small bit of mana before throwing it at an enemy, they can call it back to their hand.
I really almost didn't believe it. This seemed too good to be true. Everything else had worked as described so far, so why not these? I looked around the room and there was a little door off to the side of the room. I looked at the axe in my hand and thought about my mana and tried to push it into the axe. As I did I noticed a blueish glow start to surround the axe. Looking at my mana that only took about five mana to imbue. I then aimed at the door and threw the axe. As expected the axe flew end over end and hit the door...handle first. That was disappointing, but I guess since I haven't practiced that, I shouldn't have expected it to have gone right the first time. I held out my hand and thought about the axe again. It shook on the floor and then flew off the ground and up toward my hand. Unlike my throwing attempt though, the axe handle slapped the palm of my hand and I closed my fingers around it catching it deftly from the air.
"Whoa," I actually whispered out loud, staring at the axe.
The glow around the axe didn't actually go away yet. So, I guess that I could throw it multiple times with the imbued mana. That would definitely be handy. I put the axe down on the table with its counterpart, and then the glow dispersed. This was a seriously cool weapon. That meant enchanting was something that seemed to be possible here and could open up all kinds of possibilities. I will need to make a note to look into finding someone who does enchanting in the future.
Lastly, I looked at the third wall where the items were housed. I went over to the wall to look at the potions first. There were potions in four colors. Red potions said Healing Potion on the label. Blue Potions said Mana Potions on the label. Green potions said Stamina Potions on the labels. Purple potions said Status Potions on the label. Most of those were pretty obvious what they did, but the Status Potion label was a little confusing. I reached out to Al'Doran with my mind.
"These purple potions, they say Status Potion on the label. Are they for things like poison?"
"That is one type of help they give. They can also help with things like confusion, paralysis, or other negative statuses you might encounter. Though poison is the most common status it is used to help as without it you have to have the specific antidote to counteract the poison."
"That does seem very helpful. Thank you Al'Doran for your help."
There were a lot of red, blue, and green potions, but less of the purple. Clearly, those were harder to make or more expensive. I took ten vials of each of the potions, and placed them in my bag of holding, leaving more on the shelf for if I came back and needed them or if Al'Doran needed them while I was gone. Looking at the other items on the wall, I took a length of rope, a grappling hook, a hammer, a tent, and a bedroll. Putting all of this in my larger bag of holding, I went back over to the table to look at what I had. I realized I needed to take out the rags and goblin clothes as well and should take out the iron armor also and leave it here. After taking those things out I put all my weapons in except the daggers, which I put in sheathes on my waist.
"Before you finish, check the chest under the table as well," Al'Doran said in my mind.
I hadn't even noticed the chest under the table. The items in the rest of the room had caught my attention so entirely I didn't see it hidden there. I would need to work on my perception. I didn't want to miss treasure chests in this world. I comforted myself by thinking about the fact that all the other treasures were what distracted me and that it was not just some plain room where I walked in with my head up my own backside and didn't see a freaking treasure chest. I bent over and grabbed the handle on one side of the chest and drug it out from under the table. It was unlocked so I opened the lid. Inside were four stones that looked like the fire gem I had put in my sword and a gold ring. The stones were blue, green, purple, and black. Wondering what they did, I inspected the blue stone first.
Item:
Lightning Gem
Item Type: Slottable item
Durability: 500/500
Enchantment: This item, when added to the slot of a weapon, will add +10-12 lightning damage to a weapon.
Item Quality: Excellent
Item Rarity: Rare
Now that was a great combo, fire, and lightning. The green stone next.
Item:
Wind Gem
Item Type: Slottable item
Durability: 500/500
Enchantment: This item, when added to the slot of a weapon, will add +10-12 wind damage to a weapon and has a chance to cause knockback on an opponent. If the opponent is knocked back, they are thrown 10 feet.
Item Quality: Excellent
Item Rarity: Rare
That would be hard to pass up. The possibility of throwing your opponents back. Next up, the purple gem.
Item:
Poison Gem
Item Type: Slottable item
Durability: 500/500
Enchantment: This item, when added to the slot of a weapon, will add +10-12 poison damage to a weapon and inflicts poison status on the opponent. Poison status will cause the user to lose 1 hit point every second until the poison is cured.
Item Quality: Excellent
Item Rarity: Rare
That was just plain mean. Slowly killing your opponent unless they can heal it with just a single cut. Lastly was the black gem.
Item:
Corruption Gem
Item Type: Slottable item
Durability: 500/500
Enchantment: This item, when added to the slot of a weapon, will add +10-12 corruption damage to a weapon. Corruption damage, like poison, causes whatever it touches to deteriorate. The difference is that it does not have an antidote and must be cured through purification. This effect is not limited to only creatures, but also armor, and weapons.
Item Quality: Excellent
Item Rarity: Rare
That gem was downright evil. It did have an interesting effect though. If I could cause armor and weapons to deteriorate, then I would gain a huge advantage. I moved on to inspecting the ring.
Item:
Ring of Intellect
Item Type: Accessory
Durability: 50/50
Enchantment: The wearer of this ring is granted a +5 to Intelligence
Item Quality: Average
Item Rarity: Uncommon
This was definitely going on my finger. I slipped the ring on and felt my mana bar grow. It was weird to feel that happening, but it had happened when I equipped the Ring of Mana as well. On a subconscious level, I was able to feel the mana in my body running through some kind of network that circulated through my body. I had no idea how that happened, but it was there, and whenever it grew, the flow felt stronger. So this increase, being the largest I had done all at one time, was noticeable.
Looking again at the gems, I was pretty sure which direction I was going to go, but wanted to be certain. After reviewing what each one did, I settled on the Corruption Gem. I had reservations at first about using it, but then I realized after my encounters in the dungeon that this was a place where death was something one faced every day. If I could find a way to keep it away longer I would take that option. I took the gem and placed it over the slot and inspected it at the same time as Brutus had taught me.
Fill Slot:
You are attempting to add a gem to an empty weapon slot. Would you like to equip Corruption Gem to the Longsword of Knight's Resolve?
Yes No
Selecting Yes, the gem slid into the slot, and the light traced around the gem just as it had before. With that put into place, I slid the sword back into its sheath.
"You've been awfully quiet Brutus."
"Sorry, Callan. I didn't want to interrupt Al'Doran. He's been here a lot longer than I have and I have no knowledge of the Dragonrider class. I will be with you though when we go to the mainland and will help with monsters as we come across them. I won't be much use in a fight, but I can help you identify them."
"Thank you, Brutus. I would feel lost without you here with me."
Aeolith blew hot air into my ear at this moment.
"Ah! That feels weird. Aeolith are you jealous? You are my soul bond. You need never worry about my feelings for you. Brutus is my oldest friend though. At least in this world. And you will love him too when you get to know him. And he is a fairy and is very helpful."
She seemed to be content with this answer and laid back down across my shoulders. I walked outside of the building and looked up at the dragon laying and waiting.
"Al'Doran?"
"Yes, young rider?"
"Do you have instructions on axe throwing you could show me before we go?"