《Magriculture (Rewrite)》 MAG - Chapter 1 - Edited John looked up from the laptop he was studying as the front door opened, admitting his father, Derrick, into their small apartment. The older man took a moment to remove his suit jacket and hang it near the door, then flopped into one of the old but comfortable chairs that made up the majority of their small living room. ¡°So,¡± his father began, sounding tired, ¡°how¡¯s it going? Learn anything interesting while I was out?¡± ¡°It¡¯s¡­ going.¡± John replied. ¡°Mostly down rabbit holes. I¡¯m also not sure I¡¯m retaining enough of this to be worthwhile.¡± ¡°Write notes?¡± ¡°How am I going to get the notepad in game?¡± ¡°Couldn¡¯t you do research using the headset? They¡¯ve got to have some kind of note taking system in there.¡± John paused and looked at his father with annoyance. ¡°You couldn¡¯t have suggested that before you left this morning?¡± The older man smirked. ¡°You¡¯re going to need problem solving skills of your own if you want to make this work. I can¡¯t just hand you the answers, especially not with this farming business. Though if you¡¯d like I¡¯ll happily help you devise a spreadsheet or three.¡± John eyed his father askance. ¡°Why would I need spreadsheets for farming?¡± ¡°Spreadsheets can be used for everything. Also, lord knows I love you son, but you are to organization what train wrecks are to travel.¡± Derrick replied. ¡°Thank you for that stunning vote of confidence,¡± John groused. ¡°You¡¯re welcome!¡± his father replied cheerily, then sobered a bit. ¡°That said, you¡¯re sure actual agricultural farming is part of the game?¡± ¡°Yeah, they¡¯re touting it as a fully simulated world, and even games of your era had some farming mechanics, basic as they were.¡± ¡°Are you calling me basic?¡± ¡°I would never.¡± ¡°I should hurt whoever taught you such sass.¡± ¡°The apple doesn¡¯t fall far from the tree.¡± Derrick snorted. ¡°I suppose it doesn¡¯t. How are you planning to sell your produce? I¡¯m pretty sure it used to be against several EULAs to sell in-game items for real money.¡± ¡°It did for lots of games, but that didn¡¯t stop it from happening. As for Limitless Online, they¡¯ve built in a marketplace for selling your in game items. They of course get five percent of the profits off the top, and let¡¯s not forget sales tax, which is currently hovering around ten percent, for a total of fifteen percent of my profits being skimmed,¡± John explained. ¡°You sure you don¡¯t want to go to college? It might be simpler¡­¡± John sighed. ¡°We both know I¡¯d have to take out a loan for college, and it just doesn¡¯t guarantee a stable job on graduating. Without that guarantee it¡¯d be irresponsible to take out a loan that could take as much as twenty years to pay off.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure this is any more responsible,¡± his father grumbled. ¡°And that¡¯s why we agreed I would have six months to show it¡¯s a viable plan,¡± John reminded him. ¡°And that¡¯s why we agreed on six months,¡± Derrick echoed. ¡°Alright, I won¡¯t nag you about it. Why don¡¯t you tell me your plans.¡± ¡°Well, basically, I need to find farmland somewhere, one of the starting towns or nearby environs should be fine. After the subscription to the game and the headset I¡¯ve got two hundred left over, which translates to about two hundred silver in game. That should be more than enough to find me some land. Hopefully from there it¡¯s as simple as laying down some fields, watering, tending, and then harvesting.¡± ¡°That¡¯s pretty non-specific,¡± Derrick. ¡°I mean, it¡¯s not like they¡¯ve released maps and town names and stuff,¡± John grumbled. ¡°Still. Buy land, plant stuff, harvest, sell, profit, is really bare bones. Practically a meme; all you¡¯re missing is a step full of question marks.¡± John gave his parental unit a glare, but the man seemed unaffected. ¡°It¡¯s a work in progress,¡± he muttered finally. ¡°Alright, what crops are you going to grow?¡± ¡°I was thinking I¡¯d start with the basics. Wheat, Corn, and other grains. Staples; things everyone needs.¡± ¡°What about luxury crops?¡± ¡°Most require specific growing environments, if I find myself in some tropics or subtropics, then great, I can grow all kinds of really nice things. Otherwise I¡¯ll need to build greenhouses first and that takes money,¡± John explained. ¡°Fair enough,¡± Derrick replied. ¡°Alright, I guess that¡¯s plan-like.¡± John grumbled. ¡°Gonna ¡®plan-like¡¯ you.¡± ¡°I really wish you would, your life would be a lot simpler with a spreadsheet or three,¡± his father shot back in amusement. A frustrated noise was John¡¯s only reply. ¡°Alright, try not to stay up too late, you¡¯ve got a big day ahead of you,¡± the older man said, slowly standing and heading for his own room. ¡°¡®Kay, goodnight,¡± John said, closing his laptop. ¡°Night,¡± his father echoed. ¡ª John had, in fact, stayed up too late. Though not for lack of trying. As the alarm went off he opened bleary eyes and slapped at his phone, a surefire way to accomplish nothing. Finally he sat up, picked the device up and carefully navigated through the popups to turn off the alarm. ¡°I swear,¡± he muttered as he trudged toward the bathroom. ¡°If I ever get the chance I¡¯m going to seriously hurt past me for thinking a puzzle lock on the alarm was a good idea.¡± Morning routine quickly cared for, John made his way back to his room and picked up the other device sitting on his night stand. It was a slim, circular band that went around the head and it had a single button meant to rest above the right ear. He put it on, laid down, and then pressed the button. It took the VR crown about thirty seconds to boot up fully, giving him plenty of time to position himself comfortably. After it finished its cycle a small line of perfectly legible text appeared in his vision. [Would you like to activate the virtual headset?] With a thought, he selected yes and a small, fifteen second countdown appeared along with a new line. [Please make sure you¡¯re in a comfortable position.] Not long after, the countdown hit zero and the world went black, only to reappear seconds later. This time, however, he was standing in an all white room with a single door leading out of it. John wasn¡¯t surprised that his home room was bland and mostly featureless; he¡¯d been too busy to decorate it, so the only change was the door labeled ¡®Limitless Online¡¯ on the northern wall. Looking around he willed a mirror into existence on the eastern wall and took one last look at his avatar. He¡¯d not strayed far from his normal appearance which meant that the man looking back at him was remarkably similar. The same mousy-brown hair, startling green eyes, straight nose, and square jaw looked out at him. He¡¯d left his build slim, like its real life model, though the temptation to add some muscle had been great. He¡¯d lost to the temptation of height increase though. In real life he stood a little over five feet while here he was pushing six; if not for his bronze skin tone (which he could only assume matched or resembled his mother¡¯s) he would look much like his father. Satisfied he stepped away from the mirror and approached the door, an act that elicited a prompt as he came close. [Limitless Online will not be open for 0h 50m 29s. Would you like to spend this time in character creation instead?] ¡°Yes,¡± John verbalized; another thing he¡¯d neglected to change was the pitch and timbre of his voice, leaving it at its natural tenor. This further separated him from being his father¡¯s shadow as the older man¡¯s voice was deeper, verging on bass. With his confirmation the world folded around him, and he found himself standing in a hall of mirrors. He looked around for a moment, and then chose one at random. As he walked up to it, he could see his reflected image, but it was off in several ways. First, the apparition was taller, clocking in at an impressive six and half feet. Next was the lithe, willowy, and graceful lines his body had taken on, making his slim build look more regal and refined. The final tipoff was the ears though, long and pointed. This reflection was obviously himself as an elf and a quick glance at the mirror¡¯s plaque confirmed it. Slowly he began to prowl the room, quickly passing the other standard fantasy races. Elves might work for what he wanted, they tended to be pretty nature themed, but he bet that if he looked he¡¯d find something better, so he began checking all the mirrors. After twenty minutes he was getting frustrated. There seemed to be every type of race imaginable, however none of them came with statistics, just a name and appearance. ¡°How am I supposed to choose what will work best if I can¡¯t tell what each race gives!¡± he cried in frustration. ¡°Well,¡± rumbled the reflection in front of him. ¡°You could just ask.¡± John stared at the mirror, it depicted a large ursine man and was labeled ¡®Bear Folk¡¯. He gaped for a moment before finding his voice. ¡°You can talk?!¡± Bear-John rumbled with laughter. ¡°Yes, we can talk, we thought you knew that, or I promise we would have said something earlier.¡± ¡°I just assumed it¡¯d all be prompts like in old-school MMOs and those LitRPG books.¡± He mumbled, face warming. ¡°The designers considered that, but a hall of dry statistics sounds boring, doesn¡¯t it?¡± Bear-John asked. ¡°If you¡¯re looking for something specific, I could tell you where to go.¡± With a sigh of relief John nodded. ¡°I¡¯m looking for a race that¡¯ll be good for farming.¡± ¡°Well, Ursine Folk are particularly strong, and our claws make for good weapons so-¡± the bear began. ¡°No, sorry,¡± John said, cutting him off. ¡°I mean agricultural farming. Like planting crops and such.¡± Bear-John blinked, looking taken aback for a moment. ¡°I¡­ see. Hmm¡­ Give me a moment.¡± The bear then walked out of his mirror and entered another nearby mirror with a Cat Folk version of John in it. They began an animated whisper. Then they both left their mirror and moved to the next, and then the next. Until an entire parade of johns was moving about in a single mirror, all having animated discussions that he couldn¡¯t hear. After ten minutes the different Johns all exited the mirror they were in and returned to their own reflective surfaces. ¡°Sorry about that.¡± Ursine-John said. ¡°We needed to pool resources. That¡¯s a pretty odd request you have, and it wasn¡¯t really considered until now. Looks like the ones you¡¯re looking for are a bit all over the place, so we¡¯re gonna collapse down into just the mirrors you want.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ uh, thank you, then. You¡¯ve been a big help.¡± ¡°No problem, it¡¯s our job.¡± With that the Ursine man made a gesture and all the nearby mirrors began to fold in on themselves. As they did so new mirrors moved to take their place, and then folded in on themselves as well. The process began to speed up, becoming so quick that the mirrors were little more than a blur until only four mirrors remained. The first and second mirror contained female versions of John, the first with thick, bark-like skin and vine-like hair, the second a fair maiden in diaphanous robes. They were labeled Dryad and Nymph respectively. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. ¡°Sorry ladies, but I¡¯m not feeling up to a sex change at the moment.¡± He said to the two mirrors. The Dryad shrugged and the Nymph sniffed, both mirrors folded in on themselves and disappeared even as John looked to the other two mirrors. In the first mirror was a reflection of John with the same face, but a small goatee, two small horns, and goat ears. From the neck to the waist he appeared to be entirely human, and then he transitioned into goat legs. Unfortunately, he also appeared to have no notion of modesty. John fidgeted uncomfortably and switched his view from the Satyr to the second mirror. The mirror read ¡®Basajaun¡¯ and depicted a very hairy version of John, complete with thick beard and mane-like hair. ¡°What the heck are Basajaun?¡± He asked as he looked over the hairy man. ¡°Basajaunak, that¡¯s the plural form,¡± the image began, his voice only slightly deeper than John¡¯s normal timbre, ¡°are a race of forest folk characterized by their hirsute appearance and gentle nature. They¡¯ve been known to share the secrets of agriculture and tool use with other races they encounter, and often give warnings of danger that approach, such as particularly violent storms. They are also known as builders of Megaliths. In game terms, you get bonuses to farming, megalith construction, and limited prognostication related specifically to natural disasters.¡± John nodded as he listened, still studiously avoiding the Satyr who was obviously enjoying John¡¯s discomfort. ¡°And¡­ uh¡­ what does he give?¡± He jerked a thumb at the goat man. ¡°I!¡± Satyr-John declared. ¡°Give bonuses to nature related tasks, such as charming wild animals, growing things, and,¡± here he waggled his brows. ¡°Fertility!¡± John shifted uncomfortably again. ¡°I¡­ uh¡­ just¡­ no.¡± Satyr-John blew a raspberry. ¡°Suit yourself!¡± he said even as the mirror folded up on itself and disappeared. ¡°I guess that leaves Basajaun.¡± John said, looking at the final mirror. ¡°How do I choose?¡± ¡°Just step into the mirror,¡± Basajohn said. With a deep breath John stepped forward into the mirror and, after a brief sensation of falling, out the other side. Immediately he felt different. Warmer, almost too warm, and slightly itchy, especially where the clothing rubbed against his dense hair. ¡°Oh that¡¯s weird,¡± he muttered to himself, even as he looked down at the hairy backs of his hands. For the next several moments John familiarized himself with his new form, running his hands over his hairy arms, and then through his beard, and finding himself glad that he wore only a short-sleeved shirt and long, loose shorts. Finally satisfied with his self-examination he looked around and found himself in a room full of statues. Each statue depicted himself (as a Basajaun, of course) in various outfits, gear, and poses. Reading the plaques at the bottom he found them to be different classes. ¡°Okay, how much time do we have left.¡± He asked aloud. One of the statues, a version of John wearing heavy armor, turned and spoke. ¡°You have about ten minutes left before the game goes live.¡± Paladin-John told him. ¡°Thanks. I don¡¯t suppose you guys have any class recommendations that¡¯ll go well with Farming?¡± he asked the statue. There was a long pause as the various statues looked at each other, finally the Paladin spoke again. ¡°That one¡¯s a lot harder than the racial selection one. Most packages aren¡¯t geared toward farming, though one or two are being put together right now. They¡¯d include a few spells and skills that would get you on your way, but¡­ it might be better to choose the base package, Adventurer.¡± The paladin gestured and the ground before John erupted as a new statue burst forth. The plaque at the bottom simply read ¡®Adventurer¡¯ and the statue was just John as he stood now. ¡°What¡¯s so special about adventurer?¡± He asked after examining the statue. The statue looked down at him. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t have any Build Points spent, I¡¯m a blank slate.¡± ¡°What does that mean?¡± John asked. ¡°Each level, instead of getting new spells, skills, or attributes each player gains Build Points,¡± the adventurer explained, ¡°which can be spent to increase any of those things, or purchase new ones. In addition every fifth level allows you to purchase, or upgrade, a feat.¡± ¡°And the other classes?¡± ¡°There are no ¡®other classes¡¯ as you think of them. What you¡¯re seeing here are starting packages, that means their points for level zero have already been spent. This allows someone to get a quick start.¡± Adventurer John clarified. ¡°Alright, the¡­ paladin? Said that a couple farming packages are being made, how long is that going to take?¡± ¡°Not long, maybe 10 to 20 minutes.¡± ¡°Or I could just build my own really quick, alright, how do I choose a starting package?¡± John inquired. ¡°Just place your hand on the pedestal and will it,¡± advised Adventurer-John. Nodding, John touched the adventurer pedestal and focused on the idea of it becoming him. He heard a cracking, crumbling sound and opened his eyes to see the other statues around them falling apart, until he stood in a field of rubble with only the adventurer pedestal left, though it was now empty of its statue and he could see stairs leading up to the top. Quickly he climbed up them and took its place. The world tilted crazily for a moment, and then he found himself standing back in his home room, the door to Limitless Online standing before him, the countdown showing five minutes left. As he looked at it another prompt appeared. [Adventurer Package Chosen! Distributing Build Points.] [1000 Build Points distributed.] [Please Enter a Name.] John paused, looking at the blinking cursor. He considered for a moment, and then shrugged. Did he really need a gaming handle? He entered his first name. [Name Registered, please distribute your Build Points before entering Limitless Online.] John glanced at the timer. Only three minutes remained. He sighed, realizing he was likely going to be a few minutes late. ¡°Status¡± he said [Name: John] [Race: Basajaun] [Level: 0] [Mana: 100] [MRegen: 5/Minute] [Build Points: 1000] [Attributes] [Skills] [Spells] [Racial Perks] ¡°How many points to raise an Attribute.¡± [The formula for raising an attribute is the Current Attribute multiplied by five, or CA*5] ¡°How many points for a new Skill?¡± [New Skills at Novice rank cost 100 Build Points.] ¡°How much to advance a Skill?¡± [The cost to raise a Skill from Novice to Apprentice is 500 Build Points.] [The cost to raise a Skill from Apprentice to Journeyman is 1,400 Build Points.] [The cost to raise a Skill from Journeyman to Expert is 3,000 Build Points.] [The cost to raise a Skill from Expert to Master is 5,500 Build Points.] [The cost to raise a Skill from Master to Grandmaster is 9,100 Build Points.] ¡°How much for a new Spell?¡± [Spell costs are the same as Skill Costs.] ¡°Well that¡¯s easy enough to remember. Purchase two Dexterity, and two Magic for one hundred ninety BP. Purchase Farming for one hundred. Purchase¡­¡± John hesitated for a moment. ¡°Is there a list of skills and spells I can look through?¡± No sooner had he asked then two new windows opened before him. Giving them a quick once over he made a few hasty choices. ¡°Purchase Control Earth. Purchase Create Water. Purchase Light Armor and Swordplay. Purchase¡­¡± He hesitated again. ¡°Engineering.¡± [Processing] [Two Dexterity, and Magic purchased: 190 BP] [Farming, Light Armor, Swordplay, and Engineering Skills purchased: 400 BP.] [Control Earth and Create Water Spells purchased: 200 BP] He had two hundred and ten BP left. He glanced over at the door and the now displayed negative two minutes and twenty-six seconds. He sighed and spent another moment considering. ¡°Can I bank BP for later?¡± he asked. [You may not bank any starting Build Points unless it¡¯s impossible to make more purchases.] ¡°Alright, add two to Strength and Dexterity for two hundred and ten points.¡± [Two Dexterity and Strength purchased: 210 BP.] [Would you like to review your status and confirm all purchases?] ¡°Yes please.¡± [Name: John] [Race: Basajaun] [Level: 0] [Build Points: 0] [Attributes] [Skills] [Spells] [Confirm Purchases?] ¡°Yes, thank you,¡± John confirmed. [Purchases confirmed, have a pleasant game experience.] There was a brief moment of disorientation as John felt a cool trickle, like water over his scalp, but it quickly passed and he moved to touch the door again, only to receive a new prompt. [Please Select Starting Location] John sighed, it looked like those¡­ five minutes and twenty seconds¡­ really had cost him. ¡°Please limit selection to open locations,¡± he said and the list immediately shortened. [Please Select Starting Location] John looked at the new list with a critical eye. Uniformly they were all at the edge of the empire and small communities. He spent a few minutes scrolling through the options. He considered Bella¡¯s Wish carefully for a few moments, but ultimately decided he didn¡¯t like the look of the ¡®untamed¡¯ modifier; the last thing he needed was monster attacks ruining his farm. After a few more minutes of consideration he finally selected Runic Rock. ¡°If the farming doesn¡¯t pan out, at least I¡¯ll have a dungeon to delve,¡± he muttered to himself. [Runic Rock selected, initiating transport.] MAG - Chapter 2 - Edited A sudden and total darkness enveloped him, followed by the sensation of quick movement and an abrupt stop. When the darkness cleared he was standing in the middle of a small village that consisted of no more than twenty buildings. He looked around while scratching idly at his beard. He appeared to be in the middle of a square next to a giant boulder covered in dense runework. Around the square he could see an Inn, three shops (Butcher, Baker, General Goods), and a smattering of small stalls selling what looked to be produce. [Congratulations on taking your first steps in Limitless Online. As part of your starter package you have been granted, in accordance with your skills:] John blinked at the message and then looked around. He didn¡¯t appear to have any bags or to be carrying anything other than his clothes. An inventory system then, he thought to himself. ¡°Inventory,¡± he said aloud and a window appeared showing his current inventory. It looked like he had twenty-five inventory slots, and a money pouch down in the corner. He looked over the items and then nodded. ¡°You know,¡± said a grandmotherly voice. ¡°You don¡¯t have to actually say the words out loud.¡± John looked about, startled by the sudden intrusion into his thoughts. He looked left, then right, then finally turned around. Behind him he found that the giant rock actually had a circular bench that ran all around the base, and sitting on it was an elderly human woman. She looked back at him with a kind smile as she stood to her diminutive four-foot height and shuffled forward, leaning on an old, twisted cane for support. Her keen black eyes watching him as she made her way forward. ¡°Also,¡± she said as she stopped next to John, ¡°you should never just leave your inventory open, or someone might do this.¡± She then stretched forth her hand, pushing it into the inventory screen and pulling out a package of nails and showed it to a wide-eyed John. ¡°Inventories are not secured against theft while open, unless you happen to have a skill or spell that prevents it, and such things are rare.¡± She handed the nails back to him. ¡°Go ahead and put that away and close the screen dear. There¡¯s a good lad. Now sit with Grandma Loren and tell me what you¡¯re doing all the way out here.¡± She shuffled back to the bench even as John threw the nail into his inventory and closed it, this time just by willing it so. Taking a seat next to the old woman he mumbled out a ¡®thank you.¡¯ She grinned back at him. ¡°Don¡¯t mention it, I¡¯ve been sitting here all day waiting for players to show up. Yes yes, we know about players, your coming has been foretold by the gods, blah blah.¡± She waved a hand as if brushing something away. ¡°We even know you view this world as a game. I pity the idiots who treat it that way though. They¡¯re going to find prison is no joke. Where were we? Oh right, you were going to tell me what brings you out this way.¡± John blinked, and then stupidly said, ¡°All the main cities were locked out due to too many players.¡± Loren snorted. ¡°Not by choice then.¡± The old woman shook her head. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you got lucky. The people who started in the core cities aren¡¯t going to have a very good day. The people there hate anyone who was born outside the core; apparently they¡¯re not good enough for them or something. The players that started there are going to find no jobs nor prospects, nor customers if it comes to that. I imagine we¡¯ll be seeing quite the migration to the outer towns and villages in the coming weeks and months. Here, have a candy.¡± She passed him a small hard candy wrapped in waxed paper. John took it hesitantly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not going to poison you in the middle of town. It¡¯s just a Honey Candy.¡± Tentatively John unwrapped it and popped it in his mouth. It was, as she said, a Honey Candy. He sucked on it for a moment and then crunched it between his teeth. Immediately a popup appeared. [Buff Wisdom of the Bees applied.] A thought pulled up the buff¡¯s information. [Wisdom of the Bees] His brows went up and he smiled. ¡°Oh good, food does give buffs!¡± Loren smirked. ¡°Yes, it does. Better the food, better the buffs. Course what goes into it affects that as well. This is a wildflower honey candy, it gives a short buff to mana regeneration, as you just found out. Other types will give other bonuses. Of course, the bonus also depends on the quality of the maker¡¯s skill and the product itself. This stuff is imported, and it¡¯s not very good. We don¡¯t have any apiarist yet. That¡¯s a bee keeper. Though I dare say you may want to keep some, you¡¯re going to need bees to pollinate some of your crops.¡± ¡°How did you¡­¡± John began. ¡°I saw your inventory, remember? The seed bag was a dead giveaway, though I¡¯ll admit the sword and armor have me confused. Planning on doing some dungeon delving on the side? Or just worried about defending your farm?¡± ¡°Well, I figured if I couldn¡¯t make it as a farmer then I could maybe do some adventuring,¡± John admitted. ¡°Not a bad plan, but I wouldn¡¯t spend any points in those two unless you¡¯re going to switch right now. You just don¡¯t get that many to be spreading them about like that. Though I suppose you might get more experience from dungeon delves than farming, in the end you¡¯d be trying to go too many different directions.¡± John tugged on his beard. ¡°I can get experience from farming?¡± ¡°Hm? Oh Sure. There are two ways to get experience. Killing monsters or doing crafts. Working at your craft, in this case farming, will give you experience. Though less than killing a monster would. Still, it¡¯s slow and steady and will get you there eventually. Of course, the better item you craft, or in this case grow, the more xp you get,¡± she explained. ¡°So if I want to increase my farming xp I need to increase my Farming skill?¡± Loren bobbed her head from side to side. ¡°Yes and no. Having a better skill will yield better results. However there are other factors too, such as the materials used. In your case it¡¯s going to also depend on soil quality, how well you water your crops, perhaps even what you water them with. What fertilizers you use and so on. All the skill in the world isn¡¯t going to help if you don¡¯t apply it correctly.¡± John nodded as he listened. ¡°So how does xp work? I don¡¯t see bars for it or any numerical representations¡­¡± ¡°You won¡¯t,¡± Loren responded. ¡°While we know xp exists, it¡¯s a silent calculation, much like you won¡¯t find hit points, or stamina. Yes, we know about those things, what you call ¡®devs¡¯ decided that you didn¡¯t need that kind of information if you could feel yourself getting hurt, or tired. The only exception to that is Mana, though we don¡¯t know why.¡± This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. ¡°This seems like really specific knowledge for you to have.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m a scholar, I read a lot of the collected works about Players and what they would expect and wouldn¡¯t know.¡± She paused to eat another candy before continuing. ¡°To be honest, I¡¯m surprised you actually took the time to sit and listen. From the texts I expected Players to be a lot more¡­ flighty.¡± John smiled at that. ¡°To be honest in turn, you surprised me. I knew this was supposed to be a fully simulated world but I didn¡¯t expect the people to be so¡­ um¡­¡± ¡°Real?¡± she finished for him, even as she crunched down on her hard candy. John nodded, thankful that the beard covered the rising heat in his cheeks. ¡°We are real, or at least I choose to think so. So someone else made us and put our lives and world into motion. I understand that some of your own people believe someone else did the same to you. Does that make you feel any less real?¡± She didn¡¯t seem offended, merely bemused. ¡°I guess when you put it that way, then it makes a lot of sense. Although that raises a lot of questions about morality that I¡¯m not sure I¡¯m qualified to deal with,¡± John said disconcerted. ¡°Does it? I suppose if you treat this like a game, and like it¡¯s not real then it does.¡± ¡°If this is real then are the Devs your gods?¡± ¡°No, well, not my gods. Most people haven¡¯t done the necessary reading to really understand our world, they believe only in the Pantheon and the creation story set forth. Which is mostly true, the eleven Intelligences that govern our world did create most of it as described. Even if someone else put them into motion and gave them instructions,¡± she explained. At that moment a flash of light drew both their attention to where a youngish looking cat-woman had just appeared. She looked around the town with the same interest John must have had when he appeared. ¡°Ah, it looks like we have a second arrival. I should probably greet her, thank you for taking the time to sit and talk with an old woman,¡± Loren said as she patted him on the knee. ¡°Oh, uh, yeah, no problem. Oh! My name is John, it was good to meet you!¡± ¡°You too dear, best run along and find a good place to set up before someone else beats you to it,¡± she said with a wink before standing up and tottering over to the beastkin to strike up a conversation. ¡°No no dear, you don¡¯t want to stand there with your inventory open¡­ anyone can see inside it¡­¡± John stood as Grandma Loren talked to the beast woman, who seemed a lot more dismissive of the old woman. To be honest, John himself wasn¡¯t sure how he felt. Could NPCs be real people? She¡¯d seemed real enough. But as he told Loren, he wasn¡¯t sure what that would really mean. He didn¡¯t come here to rape, pillage, and plunder. He just wanted to farm and make some money. He began walking down the straight, single road of the town, toward where he could see the start of the vast plains nearby. As he got closer to them, he realized he didn¡¯t have a plan. He¡¯d been given an ax, but there were precious few trees that he could see. Most of the buildings were made of stone with tiled roofs. What did these people burn in the winter? Who did he talk to about getting land? Grandma Loren implied he should just pick a spot. But how would he¡­ He stopped and went back to the square. Grandma Loren was now talking to a large orcish man, the cat girl had disappeared to somewhere else. John headed toward the general store; he knew what he needed. A small bell tinkled as he came through the door and he found himself in a surprisingly well-lit interior. He was greeted by tall shelves covered in goods, and a counter off to one side manned by a large ursine man. What really caught his eye though were the ornate glowing cages hung from the rafters. ¡°First,¡± rumbled the bear-man. ¡°Don¡¯t block the door. ¡¯S rude. Second, those are light enchantments, running on Light Mana Stones. You can find the stones near the back..¡± John blinked and looked at the man, then moved away from the door as his words registered. ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t expect such an¡­ elegant lighting solution,¡± he explained. ¡°Expected lamps and candles eh? You¡¯d be right in most other places, but the dungeon not far from here puts out all kinds of Mana Stones, so they¡¯re pretty cheap to use. Give it a few years and it¡¯ll be a major export, then we¡¯ll really see money come into town.¡± John nodded his understanding. ¡°I need a few supplies. I¡¯m setting up a farm and I¡¯m honestly not sure what I¡¯m supposed to do to claim land, so if you could tell me about that while I¡¯m here that¡¯d be great.¡± The bear man rumbled quietly before speaking. ¡°Claiming land is pretty easy, technically the Emperor owns all the land, but if you can tame it and use it for a year and a day it¡¯s yours in perpetuity. As for how to stake your claim, there¡¯re Claim Spikes in the back, just place one at each of the four corners of your claim and give it some mana, then it¡¯ll show up on the town map, that¡¯s in town hall. It¡¯s the big two story building cross the square.¡± ¡°Thanks. I also want some string, and stakes for laying out plots. Can I get those here?¡± John queried. ¡°Sure, string is on that shelf there ¡®n stakes are over in that barrel. Anything else?¡± John hesitated a moment before asking, ¡°who do I talk to about building some structures?¡± ¡°Hmmmm,¡± the bear man hummed. ¡°Most of the buildings round here were all built at the same time, by everyone involved. I¡¯m afraid you¡¯re probably gonna have to do it on your own. Or maybe pay some of the local folk to help ya. But I¡¯m guessin¡¯ you don¡¯t have a lot of money?¡± John shook his head and the Ursine continued, ¡°in that case you could try your luck with the dungeon, if you can clear a room or three you might find items worth selling, or bartering. Bit of a crap shoot really; poor thing hasn¡¯t had much to absorb but what we brought with us.¡± ¡°Absorb?¡± John asked. ¡°Look,¡± the man rumbled. ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m not willing to help a newcomer out. But I¡¯m not exactly here for teaching. You gonna actually buy that stuff you were talkin bout? Or you just gonna keep jawin?¡± John ducked his head. ¡°Sorry,¡± he said as he started picking through the items in the shop, grabbing up twine, and wooden stakes, then pausing to pick up a tent and sleeping roll as well. He laid the items on the counter and the man behind it grunted. ¡°Yeah, absorbed. Dungeons absorb things and then can recreate them. There¡¯re laws about giving them too much expensive stuff though. Don¡¯t want to wreck the economy. For instance don¡¯t give a one level dungeon gaulau. Copper and such is fine though,¡± he said as he moved a paw over each item, eliciting a small glow around each one. ¡°Stakes are one copper each, you¡¯ve got twenty altogether, Twine is five copper a spool and you¡¯ve got five, Bedroll is fifteen copper and the tent is thirty. So, ninety copper total.¡± John winced but opened his inventory and pulled out small handfuls of the tiny coins until most of his worldly wealth was on the counter. The big man counted each copper and then nodded satisfied. ¡°Go ahead and pack up your purchases. Also, you can will things into and out of your inventory, it takes a moment, isn¡¯t as fast as opening it and putting things in or pulling them out. But it means people can¡¯t get at your stuff easy either.¡± Closing his inventory John started picking up items and willing them into his inventory. It took a moment to get the knack for it down, but even then it required a good bit of concentration; not something you¡¯d want to do in battle then. ¡°Thank you mister¡­?¡± John intentionally trailed off. ¡°Theodore.¡± The man grunted. ¡°It was good to meet you, mister Theodore, I¡¯m John. I¡¯ll see you around!¡± John said as he started moving toward the front door. Theodore just grunted. Back outside John started once more for the edge of town, not bothering to stop at the rock as he could see Loren was entertaining three more newcomers; so he strolled down the lane and out past the few nearby farms. He stopped when the road ended and looked out over the plains and considered. I should have looked at that map, he thought to himself. See if there were any features worth investigating. With a sigh he started walking out onto the plains, looking for¡­ he really didn¡¯t know what. Something. He walked for nearly an hour before he gave up, there wasn¡¯t much in the area, just flat grassy plains far as the eye could see. ¡°Good a place as any,¡± he muttered and pulled out the Claim Spikes. He oriented himself toward the village and then paced off a square two hundred strides, when he placed the last flag a prompt popped up. [You have staked out an area of 270,400 square feet, do you wish to claim it?] John focused on the Y, giving his assent. [Land Claim Formed. Do you wish to register this claim with the nearest town?] Finished, he realized he had no clue what to do next. He didn¡¯t actually have a plan, how could he have, not knowing what to expect? However he¡¯d never really envisioned having to clear a large swath of land before using it, and now that he was here he didn¡¯t really know where to start. Unsure of what to do he decided to log out and take a few moments to mull the problem over. MAG - Chapter 3 - Edited It was just after noon when John logged back in. He¡¯d taken the time to think, eat, and see to his bodily needs. After some careful consideration he decided to clear about an acre of land, plant it, and then work on clearing the next section. With that in mind he looked around, considering his options. He could cut the grass with his sword, but that would take more than a little while and would likely dull the blade. He had a shovel he could use to dig up the grass, but that would take forever. He could¡­ he could use magic. Surely the Control Earth spell could be used to till and then flatten the ground, ripping up all the grass in the process. He quickly pulled up his stats and opened the Control Earth spell. [Name: Control Earth] Okay, he thought to himself, so I just channel the spell and I can move a ¡®small¡¯ amount of earth at a time. How deep do grass roots go? I need Google! [Would you like to purchase the In Game Web Browser for 50 USD or 500 Gold? Please be aware that this is a per-character purchase, and will be lost if you replace your current character with a new one.] John looked at the prompt and sighed. He had the money, after purchasing the head set and a year-long subscription he had approximately two hundred dollars left, but he hated to spend more money when he wasn¡¯t even sure he¡¯d have an income any time soon. He wavered for a moment, but then decided the benefits outweighed the cost. ¡°Yes, please purchase the In Game Web Browser for fifty USD,¡± he said with a sigh, glad that he¡¯d already attached his bank account to his game account and wouldn¡¯t need to log out to find the information. [Verifying Purchase] [Purchase Approved] Okay, Let¡¯s see. He pulled up the browser with an effort of will. Ugh, roots can go as deep as two feet. And I need to¡­. Huh, what if I do the opposite¡­ With a thought he closed the browser and looked to the ground below him. He considered his idea for a moment and then shrugged. ¡°Nothing ventured, nothing gained,¡± he murmured. He focused on the Control Earth spell, on the desire to cast it, and he felt a tingle as energy moved through him, terminating in his now outstretched hand. Suddenly he felt a connection to the earth beneath his feet, and he began shifting it minutely with his thoughts. With care he began to loosen the soil around his feet, pushing his power down into the soil and simply breaking it up, making it loose. After a few moments he started to feel a bit tired, so he stopped, and then reached down to test his theory. Grabbing a handful of grass he pulled, and to his surprise it moved readily. Though he found to his disgruntlement that the roots were matted with all the other nearby grasses, making it impossible to pull it fully free. Still, this was better than digging it out. He looked out across the grassland. It was going to be a long day. ¡ª He spent three days working on grass removal. He had to loosen the soil, cut the roots with the shovel, and then pull up the grass. Despite the grueling task he was pleased with the results. While he had cleared only an eighth of the plot, he gained some surprising notifications. [Attribute Increase!] [Attribute Increase!] [Attribute Increase!] [Rank Up!] With each attribute point he could feel himself get just that bit stronger, his body that much heartier, and he could see his mana and regeneration increase. The final message had only just appeared, but he was most excited about that, bringing the description up so he could look for changes. [Name: Control Earth] He dropped his shovel and did a little dance in the bare earth. It wasn¡¯t much to be excited about, but it should make the work go quicker. Which was good, because he¡¯d run out of Trail Rations and was going to have to find something else to eat. He was also curious about the points he¡¯d gained. ¡°System? Why did I gain Build Points when my rank advanced?¡± [It looks like you¡¯re trying to use the Help Module, would you like to purchase the Help Module for 20 USD or 200 Gold Coins? Please be aware that this is a per-character purchase, and will be lost if you replace your current character with a new one.] ¡°No, I¡¯ll just ask someone in town,¡± John muttered as he waved away the prompt. He picked up his shovel and trudged over to where he¡¯d set up his tent. Most people, from what he read on the forums, were just logging their character out entirely at night. He, however, had decided that if there were buffs for eating, there must be buffs for resting as well. So, for the last three days, his character had been left logged in and sleeping when he left the game; and each morning he¡¯d been greeted by a prompt. [Buff Rested applied.] [Rested I] He was curious to see if a better bed would give a better bonus, but he didn¡¯t have the money for that. Or for much of anything, for that matter, all he had at the moment was a partially cleared vacant lot. He sighed and packed away his items and stopped dead as he looked around. ¡°Oh crap. Which way was town?¡± He scanned the horizon for several moments, and found he could make out what might be some buildings to what he presumed was the west, but just before he could start walking that way to be sure a popup appeared. [Would you like to install the Player Map Module for 20 USD or 200 gold? Please be aware that this is a per-character purchase, and will be lost if you replace your current character with a new one.] He sighed. ¡°Yes.¡± He said wearily, already certain that he¡¯d also be spending real money for food today. [Verifying Purchase] [Purchase Approved] With a thought he pulled up the Map, which showed a fairly accurate rendering of the area out to about the distance he could clearly see showing that, yes, those were buildings in the distance. Almost all the rest of the map was nothing more than dark fog however. Orienting himself in the right direction John began walking west, even as he minimized the map and willed it into the upper left of his vision. The walk back, unsurprisingly, took an hour, just like the walk out had, and he found himself walking into town in the late afternoon. To his surprise there were people everywhere, wandering around the town, exiting and entering the stores and inn. He stopped and gawked for a moment. ¡°Dude, you¡¯re blocking the road.¡± Came a voice behind him. It had an odd, echoy quality to it. He quickly sidestepped and then turned to look. A large person in heavy plate breezed past him, followed by three others; one in robes with a stave, one with leathers and a bow, and finally one in leathers with a pair of obvious daggers at his hips. A classic adventuring party. The mage gave him a polite nod as she went by, as did the ranger. Blinking away his confusion John walked further into town, heading for the general store while doing his best not to hit anyone on the crowded street. Once more the bell above the door tinkled, but this time the store was crowded. Not so much that one couldn¡¯t move, but enough to make getting inside uncomfortable. John, who was never one for much human interaction, steeled himself and made his way through the crowd toward the shelves, looking for foodstuffs. To his dismay, most of the shelves were entirely bare. Near the back however he found flat bricks of individually wrapped¡­ something. They looked like dense, brown bricks and didn¡¯t have any kind of particular smell. The label was just ¡®Meal Cake¡¯. Shrugging he picked up a couple stacks and slowly made his way toward the counter. He had almost reached the line when someone shoved in front of him, obviously in a hurry to get there first. John sighed but let it pass. Honestly it was less rudeness than he expected from other players. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. It took several minutes but eventually he made it to the counter where he put down his purchases and flashed a smile that immediately died on his lips. Theodore did not look happy, not in the least. ¡°Everything okay?¡± John asked without thinking. ¡°No,¡± the Ursine man replied succinctly as he began waving his hand over the piles of Meal Cake. ¡°Uh¡­ is there anything I can help with?¡± John asked taken aback. ¡°Yeah, you can get out of the freaking way!¡± Someone behind him called out to a chorus of grumbled assent. Theodore snorted. ¡°No, you cannot. Please stop asking if I have quests for you.¡± ¡°S-sorry, I was just¡­ never mind.¡± John said, taken aback. Theodore nodded, and then spoke again. ¡°It¡¯s two meal cakes to the copper, you have twenty-eight here, that¡¯s fourteen coppers.¡± John sighed, and then mentally ordered a currency transfer. Ten USD (the smallest transfer available) became ten silver coins in his wallet. ¡°Can you break a silver?¡± He asked tentatively. Theodore sighed and then nodded, pulling money out of a locked box behind him. The rest of the line groaned. Carefully the big man counted out eighty-six copper onto the counter, and pushed the neat stacks over to John, who passed the man a silver coin. He then scooped up the coppers and willed them into his inventory along with the bars of meal cake. ¡°Final freaking-lee.¡± The same person from earlier muttered near the end of the line. John made his way quickly out the front door and into the crowded square. He looked around and saw Grandma Loren sitting in her spot next to the megalith in the town center. Seeing she was alone he walked over toward her, dodging around the other people milling about. As he approached, he heard some snickers behind him and turned to look. There were a few players watching him and whispering to each other. He looked down at himself, to find nothing amiss and then looked curiously at the others, who just smirked back at him. He frowned and turned back to Grandma Loren. ¡°Grandma Loren-¡± he began, only to be cut off. ¡°I SAID ENOUGH!¡± The old woman shouted, striking her cane against the ground. A wave of visible force pushed outward from the strike, and pushed out in a full circle about her. John felt himself blown off his feet as he went tumbling across the hard packed dirt. The snickers became full laughs. John pushed himself to his feet with a mumbled ¡°Sorry.¡± Loren looked at him with a glare, that quickly softened into a look of contrition. ¡°Oh. Well now I feel like a right heel. I¡¯m sorry John, these nut jobs have been pestering me all day for my ¡®Secret Quest¡¯. Which they are certain I have because I am old and sit next to a rune covered rock.¡± She harrumphed after explaining. ¡°Come, sit by me and I¡¯ll make it up to you.¡± ¡°Ooo granny¡¯s gonna make it up to you!¡± One of the onlookers said aloud, which garnered a few laughs. John looked at the players around him. He then looked back to Loren and hesitantly moved to take a seat next to her. ¡°There¡¯s a good lad.¡± She said, and then struck her cane against the ground again. A wavering wall of thick air encircled them, and sounds from the rest of the square abruptly cut off, even as the haze made it difficult to see what was happening outside. ¡°A privacy ward,¡± she explained to him. John nodded and looked at the ward with interest. Loren smiled. ¡°I suppose I could teach that to you if you want. Though I had something more useful in mind. Your choice though.¡± John looked back at her and hesitated for a moment before saying, ¡°Whatever you think is going to help me the most.¡± She nodded. ¡°Knew you were a smart one. Now, I¡¯m going to teach you a Skill, and this one is important so you¡¯d better pay attention.¡± She looked at him to see if she had his interest, which she of course did. ¡°It¡¯s called Mana Manipulation, and it¡¯s the basis for learning Mana Sight, which lets you see the flow of mana around you, which in turn lets you make, and learn, new spells.¡± John frowned ¡°I thought I could already learn spells?¡± Loren grinned. ¡°You can, sort of. Have you used any spells?¡± ¡°Yes, Control Earth to help clear land and Create Water to refill my water skin,¡± John admitted. She nodded. ¡°Good choices for a farmer. Now, explain to me how they work.¡± ¡°Well they¡­¡± John started, and then stopped. He¡¯d used the spells, he knew what it felt like to use them, but he didn¡¯t actually know what he¡¯d done to make it happen. ¡°They just worked, right?¡± John nodded in response. ¡°That¡¯s the short way of doing magic. Simple, easy, effective. Completely impossible to explain. If you can¡¯t see mana,¡± she explained. ¡°Each spell is composed of three things. Will, gesture, and pattern. Spells are interwoven threads of mana in a specific pattern, when properly constructed and then utilized as a filter, they produce a desired effect.¡± ¡°So when I cast spells, I¡¯m actually drawing a pattern?¡± He asked, curious. ¡°Yes and no. When you cast a system assisted spell the system draws the pattern for you, but it¡¯s impacted by your spell rank. If you have a low rank in the spell, it will produce a low rank pattern, full of holes and riddled with errors, leading to a reduced effect. If you¡¯re high ranked, on the other hand, it can produce a flawless pattern. This is why your low rank spells can¡¯t do as much as the high rank spells, some of the power is being lost to a poorly formed pattern.¡± She explained. ¡°Wait,¡± John said excited, ¡°doesn¡¯t that mean that if I draw the patterns manually they can come out more or less perfect than system created patterns?¡± ¡°See? Smart. That¡¯s exactly what it means. That said, it¡¯s not always the best choice, drawing a pattern yourself takes time, especially if you¡¯re trying to avoid mistakes. It¡¯s far from the instant casting that the system provides. What¡¯s more, it doesn¡¯t give you any experience toward ranking up a spell you know.¡± ¡°So, I shouldn¡¯t use pattern casting for everything, because eventually that will hinder me.¡± ¡°Exactly. Now, are you ready to learn?¡± Loren asked him. John nodded. ¡°To begin, you need to find your core. That is to say the place where your mana is centered. That¡¯s almost always in the chest, about where your heart is. You¡¯ve likely already felt it while casting spells. It¡¯s that slight warmth in your chest that seems to trickle down to your hands,¡± She began. ¡°Close your eyes and focus on that memory of warmth, I¡¯m going to cast a spell to help you, don¡¯t fight it.¡± As John closed his eyes and tried to imagine the warmth she spoke of, the elderly woman raised her hand and lightly touched his forehead. [Buff Still Mind applied.] [Still Mind] Suddenly John¡¯s mind was calm, there were no intrusive thoughts, no outside distractions. Just him and the remembered warmth. For a long moment nothing happened, and then he felt it, a pulsing, glowing warmth in his center. ¡°I can feel it.¡± His voice was soft and calm. ¡°Good, now imagine pinching the tiniest bit between two fingers and pulling it up to your eyes. Don¡¯t worry if it takes you a few tries, that¡¯s normal,¡± Loren guided. John imagined pinching the edge of the warmth, and for a moment he felt a brief pressure on the edge of it, but then his ¡®mental fingers¡¯ slipped, and he lost it. With a frown he tried again, this time pinching harder, only to meet with the same results. He tried a third time, now trying to grab a bigger piece, hoping that¡¯d give better traction. His fingers began to slip and he increased his hold, yanking all at once. He felt a thick strand of power spool outward from his center, and before he could lose it he guided it up and into his eyes. ¡°No, I can see your eyes glowing through your lids, you¡¯ve pulled too much, let it go and try again or you¡¯ll get a terrible headache when you open your eyes,¡± she admonished him. Reluctantly letting go of the mana he tried again, once more going for a little pinch. This time seemed easier and he managed to hold a thin strand which he brought up to his eyes. ¡°Much better,¡± Loren said even as two notifications appeared. [Skill Gained:] [Skill Gained:] ¡°Ah, I got the skills!¡± he exclaimed. ¡°Good! Now be sure to practice them, and don¡¯t be afraid to spend your points on them at later levels, just not now,¡± Grandma Loren advised. John opened his eyes and blinked, the world around him was suddenly entirely different, with flows and whorls of multicolored light moving all around him. It¡¯s like someone animated a Van Gogh, he thought to himself. He looked at the privacy ward around them, and there, at the base of it he could make out hazy strands of interlocking mana. They were indistinct and hard to see, as if they were blurred out. ¡°It¡¯s really blurry, like trying to look at something through warped glass,¡± he explained. ¡°That¡¯s normal, clarity will come with ranks. By Journeyman you¡¯ll be able to make out most patterns. At Expert it¡¯ll be clear as words on a page. Masters can start to see the natural patterns made by free floating mana, and Grandmasters can read them clearly.¡± ¡°Thanks¡­ uh.. Grandma,¡± John said, the word feeling awkward on his tongue. ¡°It¡¯s no trouble, and it¡¯s nice to have someone to talk to. Do you know you¡¯re the only player who actually sat and let me explain things to them? The rest were quite dismissive, wanted to be gone as fast as possible.¡± She gave a heavy sigh. ¡°Still, I suppose it is what it is.¡± ¡°Well, for what it¡¯s worth, I thought it was a very useful and helpful introduction. Oh! Before I forget I had a question if you¡¯ve got another moment?¡± John said. ¡°Thank you. And I suppose I¡¯ve got some time.¡± She looked around at the empty privacy bubble, as if to accentuate her lack of things to do. ¡°Well, when I ranked up Control Earth, and just now when I learned those skills, it gave me Build Points. Is that normal?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s how you get enough points for feats and advancing your skills at the same time,¡± She nodded. ¡°What do you mean by that? What¡¯s a feat, those were mentioned at character creation but I didn¡¯t think much of it,¡± John confessed. ¡°Feats are a special brand of magic or skill that elevates your abilities above the norm, or gives you access to special abilities, Skills, or Spells. You can purchase them at every fifth level, but they¡¯re terribly expensive. A base feat costs one thousand points, without saving most of your points for the first five levels you¡¯d be unable to purchase even one. And if you want two you have to save all your points and level skills and abilities the hard way in order to make up the difference.¡± John stared at her for a moment. ¡°Five levels worth of points?¡± He asked, unsure of himself. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ how am I supposed to advance if I¡¯m saving everything for feats?¡± Loren tsked. ¡°Listen, I said you¡¯d need to level your skills the hard way, it takes about twenty-four hours of work to raise a skill or spell from novice to apprentice and will give you one hundred twenty five Build Points, raising any attribute will give you a number of BP equal to the new rank of the attribute, and learning a new skill or spell always nets you twenty-five points. You¡¯re already a good bit of the way there, so long as you don¡¯t spend any points. Then you just need to find new skills or spells to level. Like Mana Manipulation, or Mana Sight. The more skills you level, and the further you level them, the more points you¡¯ll bank for later. Trust me, you want feats, they change everything.¡± John frowned as he considered what she¡¯d said. ¡°I¡¯m going to need to learn new spells and skills. Any suggestions?¡± ¡°As a matter of fact, I have several. The Measuring skill, for instance is great for eyeballing areas, though imprecise at low ranks. The Mana Imprinting skill will allow you to directly aspect your own mana, which saves on mana stones. The Meditation skill will give you the ability to better access your mana, as well as let you better learn skills like Mana Imprinting and Mana Drawing. There are dozens that are useful, as for spells, the basic movement and creation spells are easy enough to pick up, fairly low complexity makes mimicking the weaves easier.¡± Loren took out another candy. ¡°All of that sounds great! I don¡¯t suppose I could convince you to teach them to me?¡± John asked, hopefully. ¡°Ha, greedy child!¡± Loren said with no little mirth. ¡°Think I have nothing better to do than sit about teaching young people skills? I could be taking a nap right now, or a brisk walk around the village. Brooding some more is also an option I haven¡¯t ruled out.¡± She popped the candy into her mouth and seemed to consider. John hesitated. ¡°I could pay you?¡± he asked finally. ¡°Payment? There¡¯s a thought, it¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve sold services. Truth be told though, I have no need for money. Hmmm what to do, what to do,¡± She murmured to herself as she looked at John speculatively. ¡°Alright John, I¡¯ll teach you. But not today. You need to show some dedication first. Thus, homework. You need to obtain Meditation and Measuring on your own and bring them up to Apprentice rank along with Mana Manipulation and Mana Sight. All without using points, of course.¡± John nodded. ¡°I can do that!¡± Loren nodded back at him. ¡°I¡¯m sure you can, now, run along, I think I¡¯m going to go take that nap I mentioned. Be sure to visit when you¡¯re in town next though, and I expect to hear progress!¡± ¡°Will do!¡± With that Loren stood up and made a gesture, the privacy ward popped like a soap bubble and the sounds of the square came rushing back. The hecklers had moved on, though a few people gave John curious looks as he stood up. Looking about, he decided he was done with town, and headed back towards his farm. MAG - Chapter 4 - Edited It was another three days of work to finish rooting out all the grass in the first quarter obtaining for him several more notifications about ability increases along with an increase to Mana Sight. He¡¯d been using the skill constantly since he got it, and was now mostly used to the swirls and rivers of mana that he could see moving about, still it could be distracting, and he was glad he could stop now. He hadn¡¯t had the same luck with Mana Manipulation though, it was much harder to use on the fly. He couldn¡¯t manipulate his mana and clear the land at the same time, it just took too much concentration. Still, he felt he was making good progress, and now that he had his first acre cleared he could plant something and then take a day or three to work on skills. [Attribute Increase!] [Attribute Increase!] [Attribute Increase!] [Rank Up!] In addition, it seemed he¡¯d made enough progress that his level finally increased. [Level Up!] [Please distribute or bank your Build Points now.] John threw the clump of grass he was holding onto the nearby pile, one of many which now dotted his land. Running a hand through his dirty beard he considered. It had taken six days to reach level one, and he wondered how many more it would take for level two. Glancing at the notification again he spoke quickly, before his desire for advancement overcame good sense. ¡°Bank all Build Points.¡± [100 Build Points Banked.] John smiled, that gave him one thousand one hundred forty-one Build Points. Taking out some stakes and a roll of twine John started pacing off an acre worth of land in the cleared space. He knew from doing the math that his stride was around two and a half feet in length, slightly more actually. So an acre paced off this way should be between eighty and eighty-one strides to a side. After pacing out the length of it, John set down a spike at each corner and tied them off, he then paced and re-paced again, adjusting each time. Soon enough he got the desired message. [Skill Gained:] Smiling to himself he paced off the other sides and soon had a box cordoned off for his first field. Measuring told him it was an acre, though Loren had said it was imprecise at low levels, so he didn¡¯t take that at face value. Looking around John decided to take the last few hours of daylight to work on Meditation, and then call it a night. Sitting down in his tent he pulled open the web browser and delved back into the rabbit hole that was meditation research. He¡¯d been looking into it a lot over the last few days, and after fifteen minutes or so decided he¡¯d got the basics down. He needed to do two things, clear his mind, and not fall asleep. Easy, right? John wriggled around until he found a comfortable position and then closed his eyes, turning off mana sight as well, as it now allowed him to faintly see mana even past the obstruction of his eye lids. He then started breathing in a slow, steady rhythm. Breathe in the light, he thought to himself, breathe out the darkness. It was a silly little mantra, but he¡¯d decided it would work for his purposes. As he breathed he imagined taking in a stream of light, and letting out a stream of darkness. Each time he told himself to relax, and tried to ease the tension out of his body. Thirty minutes later he was still trying. After an hour John found his mind wandering aimlessly, and tried to task it back onto paying attention to his breathing again. Keeping it there was difficult, especially without ruining the near meditative state he¡¯d finally achieved, but as he continued he slowly felt himself sinking deeper and deeper into a state of concentration, and finally he felt himself enter that space that Still Mind had brought upon him. John just floated for a time, letting the world pass by around him, until finally a small chime interrupted him, knocking him back to full consciousness. [Attention: You have been in game for more than 8 hours, as it has been determined that you are in a relatively safe space, you will be logged out at this time. You will receive a one hour lock out, during this time please see to your personal needs.] Abruptly John found himself laying in bed. Reaching up he took off the headset and put it on the night stand to charge while he stood up and stretched. Running through a quick set of exercises (as suggested by the manual) he prepared himself for dinner and bed. Tomorrow he had to till the field, and it was going to be a long day. ¡ª The first thing that happened when John logged in was a message from the system. [Skill Gained:] He wasn¡¯t terribly surprised at the gain, as he had been fairly sure he¡¯d succeeded at the end there. However, it was nice for the system to agree with him. Standing up and exiting the tent John Looked out over the cleared portion of his plot and realized he had a problem. He hadn¡¯t been thinking about it last night, but he had several piles of grass that needed to be dealt with before he could move on. He was tempted to till it right back into the soil, but he didn¡¯t want to risk the roots sprouting again and having to fight grass. That left composting and burning, the former would take time and needed a composting location, and the latter he didn¡¯t have the materials for, and couldn¡¯t risk since it hadn¡¯t rained since, apparently, before he¡¯d first come to Runic Rock. Looking at the piles he tugged at his beard and then sighed. He got to work moving all the grass off the cleared land and into the untamed grasses beyond his plot. After several hours the grass was out of the way and he was ready to begin tilling. Lifting his hand he began to cast Control Earth, shifting the dirt in his plot to make it loose and ready for planting. It was slow going, he could only move a ¡®Moderate¡¯ amount of earth at a time, and only for twenty-five seconds before he ran out of mana, then it was a twenty minute wait to recover his pool, during which time he sat and did his best to meditate. ¡ª For the next five days he tilled the acre and worked on his Meditation, and during that time he gained six increases to Mana and, after much effort, brought Meditation to Apprentice rank. Standing from his final bout of Meditation, John finished the last section of tilling and looked over the plot. Just as he was about to reach for his seeds, the thought hit him. ¡°How am I going to water all this?¡± He asked in exasperation. The simplest answer was magic. The problem with that answer was a lack of Mana. He could only hold the spell for thirty-one seconds and by his best estimate he was getting only about three to four gallons per second out of the spell. That was somewhere around ninety-three to one hundred twenty-four gallons per casting, and in order to get an inch of water across an acre you need twenty-seven thousand one hundred fifty-four gallons. That would be around two hundred seventy-two castings of the spell at its current rank, or almost four solid days of doing nothing but casting. It wasn¡¯t quite that bad of course, if he used the spell for a solid day it¡¯d rank up, which would likely shorten the amount of time considerably. Still, perhaps there was a better way? Both Theodore and Grandma Loren had mentioned Mana Stones, and if this was like other games those were receptacles for mana that could be tapped for use in spells. So what he probably needed were Mana Stones to draw from somehow, which would then give him more mana, faster. John nodded and rinsed himself off with Create Water, then started the walk toward town. ¡ª The town was much as he left it, bustling with people, though this time he noticed new stalls set up, hawking all sorts of goods, though most of it clearly was poor quality. Pieces of battered armor, tattered clothes, lumps of unprocessed ore, even some cracked and occluded gems. John slowed down to take it all in, and found that several of the stalls were also selling Mana Stones of different varieties. He was tempted to stop and purchase them right then, but he decided he¡¯d check the price at the general store first. Stolen novel; please report. Once more he entered the well-lit interior, and this time skirted around the other shoppers to make his way to the back of the store. Once there he found large baskets each with a little card that said they were Mana Stones and then listed their particular element. There were six large baskets labeled air, earth, fire, water, light, and dark, and then five smaller baskets labeled time, death, life, space, and raw. The life basket was empty, and the fire basket was only a quarter full. Air was about half full, and water and earth were each at three quarters capacity. The rest of the baskets were filled to the brim. John checked the prices and found that the major elemental stones were going for only a couple coppers each, while the minor elemental ones (time, space, life, and death) were five coppers each. The raw stones were most expensive at ten coppers each. Given that there were elemental types, John deduced that using the correct elemental type must have some kind of benefit, and he further guessed that Raw was pure, unaspected mana, which he supposed could be used for anything. Unsure how many he would need, John grabbed a handful of the thumb-sized Water Stones and poured them into one of the nearby pouches (which he assumed had been placed there for just that purpose), and then put five of the thumbnail sized Raw Stones into another, smaller pouch. Ten minutes of waiting in line later he found himself a silver poorer. Walking out into the bustling square he made a beeline toward the rock and checked its bench. Sure enough here was Grandma Loren talking with a tiny Ursine. ¡°Grandma Loren!¡± he called out in greeting as he made his way over. She looked up and smiled at him, then gave the kid some candy. The little bear-child giggled and ran off clutching its prize. ¡°Well, hello again John. How¡¯s your homework coming?¡± She asked as she gestured for John to take a seat next to her. ¡°Pretty good, I¡¯ve got Meditation and Mana Sight up to Apprentice rank, and I figured out how to get Measuring, but I haven¡¯t spent much time on it yet,¡± He explained as he sat down. ¡°A good start,¡± Loren said with a nod. ¡°If you dedicate yourself to it you could be done in a couple days. That in mind, what brings you into town?¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m about to plant my first crop, and the only way I currently have to water them is magic. Using my own mana pool would take a while, so I decided to come buy some Mana Stones.¡± He pulled one out to show her. She looked at the stone and then nodded. ¡°A good idea, make sure you use all your own Mana before drawing from a stone though. If you just draw directly from stones you won¡¯t increase your Magic attribute over time, your pool and regeneration are like muscles, they need to be used.¡± John thought about that for a moment and then nodded. ¡°Thanks for the advice. Uh¡­ can I ask you one more thing?¡± ¡°Of course, but I don¡¯t promise to answer if it infringes on your lessons.¡± ¡°How do I use a Mana Stone?¡± ¡°You need an implement. That¡¯d be a wand, stave, or even piece of jewelry that you set the stone into, and the implement needs to have skin contact with you. For the Raw Shards you showed me, I¡¯d suggest a ring, or maybe several of them in an amulet or a bracelet. If you¡¯ve got something bigger like an Earth Stone I¡¯d suggest a wand, unless it¡¯s truly massive, then you¡¯d want a stave.¡± ¡°Why a wand?¡± John puzzled. ¡°Because it¡¯s easier to point with. Remember that gesturing is one of the requirements of casting. A stave is unwieldy, and can only be moved so much. Rings, bracelets, amulets, even crowns and some pieces of armor don¡¯t require that you hold them at all, making them an almost perfect choice. The middle ground is a wand, or short rod. They can hold larger stones, are light weight, easy to store on your person, and easy to point with,¡± Loren explained. ¡°What about some kind of wrist armor, like a bracer? Couldn¡¯t that hold larger stones and leave your hands free?¡± John turned to look at the owner of the new voice, it was a drakekin who¡¯d stopped to listen. ¡°A bracer could work, yes, but usually you don¡¯t find any with sockets in them, not if you intend to use them as armor anyway,¡± Loren considered. ¡°I¡¯m Grandma Loren, and this is John.¡± ¡°Ah, sorry, I¡¯m Sally.¡± The drakekin, Sally, said. ¡°I couldn¡¯t help but overhear.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine dear, I wasn¡¯t trying to keep this conversation secret,¡± Loren said in a kindly voice. ¡°Oh, uh, so, why do Mana Stones disappear when empty?¡± Sally asked, looking a little awkward. ¡°Because a Mana Stone is just crystallized mana. When you use it, you¡¯re unbinding it from its crystal state, if you use all of it, there¡¯s nothing left to hold a physical form.¡± ¡°Can you recharge a stone then? If you don¡¯t use all of it?¡± John asked, curious. ¡°Hmmm there¡¯s a feat that allows you to crystallize mana, I suppose that¡¯d also let you ¡®refill¡¯ a nearly empty one. Though it¡¯s hard to get that feat,¡± Loren said as she pulled out one of her ubiquitous honey candies. ¡°Hard to get? I thought you just bought feats like skills and spells?¡± John asked, perplexed. ¡°Oh! Oh! I know this one!¡± Sally all but jumped up and down, Loren popped the candy into her mouth and nodded, prompting the drakekin to continue. ¡°According to the forums there are hidden feats that can only be obtained by doing special things or accomplishing special tasks! Like the Dynamo Feat, which increases mana regeneration by one hundred percent which requires that you regenerate one hundred thousand mana.¡± Loren crunched on her candy and then nodded. ¡°Just so, for creating Mana Stones you need to make a Mana Stone manually using nothing but Mana Manipulation and your own pool. It¡¯s very difficult without system assistance.¡± ¡°Sounds like a good way to try training Mana Manipulation.¡± John said with a grin. ¡°Cheeky boy.¡± Loren swatted him. ¡°Alright, it¡¯s time for my nap, and you need to find an implement. Maybe Sally here could sell you some? She seems like the dungeon delving type.¡± ¡°Could I ever!¡± Sally said enthusiastically. ¡°I can hardly get rid of these things, most of them are junk.¡± ¡°Good, then I¡¯ll leave you two to it,¡± the elderly woman said as she shuffled off. John watched her go and then looked at Sally awkwardly. ¡°Uh¡­ I guess show me what you¡¯ve got?¡± he said uncertainly. ¡°Come on! My friend Ex has a stall set up where he¡¯s selling our things,¡± Sally said, and then grabbed John by the arm, dragging him toward one of the nearby stalls. ¡°EX! I¡¯VE GOT A CUSTOMER!¡± Sally yelled over the crowd. A thin elven man looked up from where he¡¯d been staring into space. His look of interest became one of bemusement when he saw Sally all but dragging John his way. ¡°Look,¡± he said in a high voice. ¡°I know business has been slow, but you don¡¯t need to kidnap new customers for us.¡± ¡°Grandma Loren told me to sell him some implements, and then he asked to see them! I¡¯ve kidnapped no one!¡± Sally said with mirth. Ex looked at John. ¡°Are you okay? Do you need an adult?¡± John choked on a laugh. ¡°No, I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m John.¡± ¡°Excelsior, at your service. Sally says you¡¯re looking for Implements? What kind?¡± ¡°Jewelry and wands or rods!¡± Sally said and John nodded in bemusement. ¡°Show him the good stuff!¡± Ex raised a brow. ¡°We have good stuff?¡± ¡°You know what I mean!¡± Sally all but shouted. With a grin Ex started clearing a section of the makeshift stall, putting pieces of mismatched armor into his inventory. Once cleared he started pulling out items instead. Soon there were five items on the counter. Two bracelets, an amulet, a ring, and a short, stubby wand. ¡°And the other thing!¡± Sally said excitedly. ¡°There¡¯s no way he wants that.¡± Excelsior said. ¡°You don¡¯t know! He might!¡± With a sigh and rolled eyes Ex put a tiara on the counter as well. ¡°Happy?¡± He asked. ¡°Very!¡± She responded. John looked over the items. They were all clearly pretty poor quality, dented, chipped and scratched, but still serviceable. The Bracelets had three empty sockets each, the ring had one, the amulet had a full five, the wand looked like it could hold one larger mana crystal at the end, and the tiara looked like it could hold eight, three of which could be larger. ¡°Are these all from the dungeon?¡± John asked as he examined them. ¡°Yep! We¡¯ve run it several times now! I¡¯m level five already!¡± Sally said with an enthusiastic grin. ¡°Run is a bit of misnomer, we¡¯ve not gotten past the second floor, and it¡¯s currently a three floor dungeon,¡± Ex explained. ¡°Level five huh? I guess adventuring does level you faster.¡± John muttered. ¡°Faster than what?¡± Sally asked. ¡°Crafting¡­ well, farming in my case,¡± John replied. ¡°Farming? Like planting things in the dirt farming?¡± Ex asked, looking intrigued. ¡°Yep, food gives buffs, better food gives better buffs, food is made from ingredients and if I grow those ingredients, I can sell them to people who want to make food,¡± John explained. ¡°Nice!¡± Sally exclaimed. ¡°Well, that¡¯s currently a better business plan than we¡¯ve got, dungeon running isn¡¯t bringing in the cash like we¡¯d hoped. No one is buying because we¡¯re all getting the same stuff. Except the tiara, we¡¯re the only ones that¡¯ve found a tiara,¡± Ex commented. ¡°Well, I do need some implements, and that amulet and the wand look about right for my needs. How much do they cost?¡± John asked. ¡°Well, the smith offered to buy them off us as scrap for a few coppers each, so let¡¯s call it¡­ two coppers per socket for the jewelry, and ten coppers for the wand,¡± Ex replied hopefully. John mulled it over for a few moments and then nodded. ¡°Alright,¡± John said as he deposited twenty coppers on the counter. ¡°I¡¯ll take the amulet and the wand.¡± ¡°WOOOO WE MADE A SALE!¡± Sally cried, several of the other nearby vendors gave her the stink eye. She didn¡¯t seem to care. ¡°Yes, yes, simmer down.¡± Ex said as he passed the two objects to John. ¡°You know, if you want levels we wouldn¡¯t be opposed to having you join us in the dungeon.¡± John shook his head. ¡°Not combat oriented, it¡¯d basically be an escort mission.¡± ¡°Eh, we could work something out. Let us know if you change your mind,¡± Ex said, and then John received a prompt. [Excelsior would like to add you as a friend.] With a mental nudge John accepted the request, then did the same again when Sally¡¯s prompt came up. ¡°Thanks, I¡¯ll keep it in mind. Oh¡­ hey, do you have any Earth Stones? I just realized I¡¯m probably going to need some.¡± John said. ¡°Sure, we¡¯ve got ten. No one is buying earth, and Theodore refuses to purchase any more. I can give them to you at a copper each,¡± Ex said. ¡°Perfect. I¡¯ll take all of them,¡± John replied. MAG - Chapter 5 - Edited It was late in the afternoon when John made it back to his plot. Once there he immediately set about figuring out how the implements worked. First he took out the amulet and the raw shards. The shards were all mismatched shapes, and clearly not made for the sockets on the implement, but he decided to try placing one anyway. To John¡¯s surprise the socket reshaped itself to fit the shard. With a pleased grin he socketed the other four raw shards as well, then hung the amulet around his neck. He then fitted one of the Water Stones into his new wand, which also shifted to accept the irregularly shaped stone. ¡°Alright, now how do I see the stats on these things? Uh¡­ I¡¯m going to need the Help Module aren¡¯t I?¡± [Would you like to purchase the Help Module for 20 USD or 200 gold? Please be aware that this is a per-character purchase, and will be lost if you replace your current character with a new one.] John sighed and then spoke. ¡°Purchase the Help Module for 20 USD.¡± [Verifying Purchase] [Purchase Approved] ¡°Help, Identify objects.¡± [Answer: Objects, creatures, and even places can be identified using the Inspect skill for more information. Please purchase a month-long subscription to the Tutoring Module for 100 USD or 1000 Gold.] ¡°Great¡­ a skill I don¡¯t have and a module I¡¯m not buying. Maybe I can learn it on my own? How do you learn to Inspect items¡­¡± John looked around, then sat on the ground and started examining the amulet in his hand. Staring at it intently he started carefully cataloging everything he could sense about it. He began with the color, it was an iron gray color, though the amulet was too light to actually be made of iron. The device was circular, with five irregular gems socketed into it. Around the edge was what appeared to be scrollwork in a Celtic Knot type pattern, though it was heavily scratched, making it difficult to see. He brought it to his nose and sniffed, catching a faint metallic tang from it. Then he ran his hands over its surface, noting how the metal was smooth in some places and rough in others where it had been damaged or the scrollwork had been placed. Flipping it over he revealed a shiny smooth back without adornment. At the top of the amulet was a loop, running through which was a fine chain made of the same material. John finished surveying and waited for a moment. When nothing happened he made his last ditch attempt. He licked the amulet, receiving a metallic taste for his troubles, followed by a much welcome popup. [Skill Gained:] John grinned. ¡°Help, how does Inspect work?¡± [Answer: Using Inspect on an object, item, or place will give an amount of information based on your rank in inspect, the quality and rarity of the opposing object, the level of the person, or relative level of the location.] John nodded and then inspected the amulet again. [Battered Amulet] Finished eying the amulet he turned inspect on the wand instead. [Stubby Wand] Then he pulled up the information for Create Water and gave it a quick review. [Create Water] Turning to his empty field John cast the spell and held it for his best count of three seconds, then examined the wand again. [Stubby Wand] John grinned. It had only taken twelve mana instead of the normal sixty, which meant an aspected mana stone was five times more efficient than using raw mana. With a flick of his wrist he put the wand away and started walking across the field. As he did so he opened his inventory and began pulling out wheat kernels by the handful. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. His first few broadcasts of wheat were awkward and left the kernels more clumped than not. However, he then felt something like a mental tickle, and his next cast was far more smooth, almost practiced feeling. With a gesture and an effort of will John used the smallest amount of mana possible to cover the newly broadcast kernels. To his surprise he could use as little as one point of mana, allowing him to move a very tiny amount of soil indeed. Falling into a rhythm, John walked forward, threw down seeds, and then covered them with dirt. It took most of the rest of the day, but eventually the entire field was seeded and covered. Pleased with his progress John took out the wand and began to pour water into the irrigation channels he¡¯d been smart enough to include when he tilled the field. It took forty-five solid minutes of casting Create Water before he started to get the feeling that he¡¯d used enough. Cutting off the flow he pondered why that was, and then decided it must be the Farming skill at work. Looking around, John found that it¡¯d become almost too dark to see. With a sigh and a shake of his head he made his way over to the tent, and crawled inside. ¡ª John examined his field the next morning to find that it had already started pushing up shoots, and he had to wonder how fast the crops would grow, if they had already germinated and broke the surface. He spent about an hour examining the field from every angle to be sure there wasn¡¯t anything that immediately needed his attention. However, as far as he could tell, everything seemed to be in order. Sitting down inside his tent John decided it was time to work on Mana Manipulation and see if he couldn¡¯t raise it to Apprentice rank as well. Getting comfortable he began by Meditating, pulling himself into that state which allowed him to access his core. After a solid half hour he could feel his core and he tried to take a small pinch of mana. It was much like trying to pick up a single noodle with a pair of chopsticks, the mana kept sliding out of his grasp. Each time he lost his hold, he pulled on a slightly larger clump of mana, until eventually he had managed to hold a fat strand between mental fingers. It writhed and squirmed like a living thing, but he clamped down on it and held on. Now he had a dilemma, what to do with it? He wanted to try making a Mana Stone, but with so little control that seemed like a pipe dream. ¡°Nothing ventured, nothing gained.¡± He muttered to himself. Pulling on the mana he began pooling it in the palm of his hand as he tried to figure out how to go about it. Mana Stones were crystals, and at their base a crystal is a rigid repeating pattern, so if he organized the energy in a lattice, perhaps he could create a crystal? Focusing, he took the pooled energy and started pushing and pulling the strand, trying to force structure on the fluid like energy. It resisted his efforts, always falling apart and returning to its pool like state over and over again. Eventually he stopped, deciding this route was a dead end. As he held the mana in his palm, he considered what to do. After a moment he decided to try a different tactic. He once again brought the full bearing of his focus onto the mana he was holding. What he wanted wasn¡¯t a crystal, or rather, being crystal was a byproduct of what he wanted. Mana Stones were solid mana, much like ice was solid water, the fact that it was a crystal was secondary. With that in mind he began again. John pushed his will onto the mana, that it be still, solid, unmoving. As he did so he felt resistance, mana wanted to flow, to move, to be free. Pushing against the resistance he continued to bear down on the mana, imagining its fluid motions becoming slow, and rigid, stilling. As he fought against it, he lost all sense of time outside the back and forth of his will pressed against the natural tendencies of the mana he sought to master, and soon he found himself kicked from the game once more. For a moment John tried to continue pressing his will forward, only to realize it was meaningless in the real world. Blinking up at the ceiling he lay there as reality slowly came back into focus. Sitting up, he frowned. He had felt like he was on the right track, but it¡¯d been more than eight hours without success. Perhaps his Mana Manipulation simply wasn¡¯t up to the task? He pondered this as he stood and ran through some quick stretches and exercises. Afterward he had lunch and saw to his other bodily needs before laying back down on the bed. Logging back in, John found himself once more in the tent, the mana he¡¯d been working with had long since evaded the grasp of his avatar and evaporated. He popped out to take a look at his field, which had clearly experienced some growth, and finding nothing amiss he returned to the tent where he opened the web interface and pulled up the forums. The first thing he searched was Mana Stones. It got more than a few hits, mostly about people complaining that they needed to purchase them to supplement their mana pools. Many people seemed to agree that building as a mage was a trap, not enough mana to be truly effective, which meant they had to buy stones. He further found that the price he had paid for his Mana Stones was outrageously low, in other non-dungeon towns they could cost upwards of ten times what he¡¯d paid. Shaking his head he redefined his search, looking for references to making Mana Stones. The new terms only pulled up a few threads, many of which were people asking how to do so. One in particular however seemed to be a player who claimed to have managed it. John quickly read the entry. Right, so, the first thing you¡¯re going to need is somewhere comfortable to sit, you¡¯re going to be at this for hours, like, seriously, I got kicked twice before I finally managed to make my first stone. The second thing you¡¯ll need is patience, and a lot of it. Now you might be tempted to try something fancy like imagine a lattice and force the mana to take that shape piece by piece or something, I know I was, but that doesn¡¯t work. Mana wants to flow like water so forcing it into a rigid shape piece by piece is impossible. No, you¡¯ve got to change the mana all at once. You need to impress on the mana what you want it to be, all at once, in a single go. The more mana you try to change at once, the harder this is going to be. I know I started out with a good portion of my pool, and had to pare it down to a mere sliver. Another thing to know is that it¡¯s a 10 to 1 ratio. For every 10 mana you put in you¡¯re only going to get 1 point in a stone, I don¡¯t know why that is, it might just be that my rank is too low, I¡¯m only an Apprentice at Mana Manipulation. Anyway, where was I? Right, you need to impress on it what you want. In this case I used the image of a crystal, lattice and all, and I basically forced the mana into the mold until it took. Once there, you need to hold it, it took almost ten minutes for it to finally solidify completely. Once done though you¡¯ll have a mana stone¡­ a really small, poor quality mana stone. I really hope this feat is worth it. John considered the post and wondered if he could even achieve this with a novice level of Mana Manipulation. He really wasn¡¯t sure, it seemed like visualization was key however, so he was willing to give it another go. Sinking into Meditation once more he grabbed the smallest portion of mana he could reliably hold and got to work. He built in his mind the image of a shard of crystal. He began by imagining its base, the perfect repeating structure of a crystalline lattice, followed by outlining its shape, then adding facets, he considered the color that rich mana-blue of the stones he had in his inventory, and how the light would play off its surface. Carefully, piece by piece he constructed the image, until he started to lose details with every new one he added. Knowing that this was the best it¡¯d get, John started forcing the mana into the image. Once more he came against that feeling of resistance and pressure, and once more he began to fight against it. The constant back and forth, especially on top of the struggle from the morning, was quickly wearing on John, and he knew he wouldn¡¯t be able to keep up the mental effort for long. So he pushed harder, straining against the barrier that seemed to block him. Eventually, something gave, John wasn¡¯t sure what, but he felt the resistance falter and then disappear. The mana slid into his mental image like water into a jar, and he made sure to grasp and hold it there, even as he poured in as much mana as he could. Finally, he could feel the solid, cool weight of something small in the palm of his hand. Opening his eyes, John looked at his creation. It was tiny, barely larger than a kernel of wheat and a rough prism in shape. With a thought he Inspected it. [Mana Stone, Raw] John smiled¡­ and then got kicked from the game for the second time. MAG - Chapter 6 - Edited Logging in the next morning John exited the tent and stretched. It was odd that his virtual body felt the need to stretch, but there it was. Looking around he caught sight of several somethings moving over near the edge of his field. Frowning, he started walking that way. The creatures immediately looked in his direction, and he could easily see it was a small colony of rabbits. The rabbits stared at him for a few moments, and then went back to gnawing on the hand length shoots of wheat. John stared back at the rabbits, he hadn¡¯t realized this was going to be a problem, though in hindsight he should have known there¡¯d be animals that want to eat his crops. Sighing he began moving in the direction of the rabbits. ¡°Hey!¡± He yelled at them as his walk became a brisk jog. ¡°Shoo! Away!¡± The rabbits scattered at his approach, running back into the grass at the edge of the property. John sighed as he watched them go. They¡¯d be back, he knew it. Looking at his field he saw that the damage was fairly minimal. There¡¯d been maybe seven bunnies in all, and they had put only a small dent in the tender shoots. Shaking his head he added ¡®build a wall¡¯ to his list of things to do. ¡°Maybe I should get some kind of pet. A dog maybe?¡± He muttered to himself. [It seems you¡¯re contemplating purchasing a pet, would you like to see the selection of pets that can be purchased?] ¡°No, please don¡¯t ask again.¡± John said, annoyed. With another heavy sigh John checked the soil and got a nagging feeling that it wasn¡¯t quite damp enough. Taking out his wand he began to water the field, emptying his own Mana first and then moving on to the partially used water stone he already had slotted. It took maybe a fourth the water as the initial planting had, which was good because John was running out of stones quite fast. He was down to only four out of his initial ten, and while not extremely expensive, they were still an expense. As he put away his wand John contemplated other options for watering his field. Magic was easiest but with a bit of investment he could dig out a well and put in a windmill pump. He¡¯d need piping and components however. How much, he wondered, was that going to cost? Sighing he shook his head. It¡¯d be better to invest now rather than spend all his money on a short-term solution like the stones. For now though he needed to finish practicing with Mana Manipulation, and then work on Measuring. John sat down at the edge of the field, hoping his presence would deter any unwanted herbivores, and began practicing Mana Manipulation. He practiced grabbing the mana, pooling it in his palm, and forcing it to take shapes. He practiced until it was time to log for lunch, and then when he returned he continued practicing until he finally got the desired notification. [Rank Up!] With a thankful smile he stood up and did some stretches, he then took out some twine and measured off the length of his forearm. The average human forearm was one and a half feet long. He figured it was close enough to work. He then started Measuring everything, first with his eyes, then with the string, then he started over again. John quickly ran out of actual objects to measure, so he started putting out stakes and measuring the distances between them. Then to mix it up he tried to measure distances and place stakes where he thought the correct locations were. It was boring, mind numbing work, but he stuck to it until it was time to log out for the night. He logged in the next morning to find the rabbits once again at his crops. Once more he ran at them to drive them off. The damage wasn¡¯t much worse this time, but it was still adding up. Fortunately it looked like the crops would be too big to be easily eaten by tomorrow. They were growing quite fast and John had to wonder if that was normal. At this rate it seemed like it¡¯d only be a few more days before it was ready to harvest, and he resolved to ask the other farmers in Runic Rock about it next time he was in town. For now though, back to measuring. John got out his bit of string again and began to once more measure out objects and distances. It took the entire day but eventually Measuring ranked up to Apprentice, bringing with it another one hundred twenty-five points. John checked his sheet and was pleased to see he was now sitting at one thousand six hundred thirty-seven points. He almost had enough for two feats and he was only level 1. He wondered, briefly, if people who were out-leveling him were finding enough time to grind out points as well. Logging in the next morning John found the rabbits at it again, and this time they seemed both bigger and less willing to be driven off easily, leaving only reluctantly when he charged them. Frowning, John watched the bunnies go and realized they were going to be more of a problem than he¡¯d thought. They seemed to be getting bolder and bigger, and he wondered if eating crops was some kind of leveling requirement for them. If so, was he going to have to fight monster bunnies? [New Quest:] John groaned. While it was nice to know quests were a thing, how was he supposed to deal with the rabbits? It wasn¡¯t like they were leaving distinct and clear tracks to their warren, at least, not ones he could follow. Killing them would be easier said than done, they were small and agile and all he had was a sword and a spell that moved dirt. With a frustrated sigh John looked around. Was it safe to leave his farm to go and talk to Grandma Loren? He also needed to talk to someone who knew farming as well, he had a nagging feeling his crops were growing too fast. He needed a better way to water his crops as well, which might mean working with the local blacksmith to build a windmill or something. It was a shame he didn¡¯t have a way to get more Mana, that would solve his problem neatly. ¡°Help,¡± he muttered, ¡°how do I get more mana?¡± [Answer: A person¡¯s Mana Pool and Mana Regeneration can be increased by increasing their Magic attribute. Mana can also be drawn from natural or unnatural sources, such as Mana Wells, Ley Lines, Mana Stones, and in some rare cases people and beasts.] ¡°Huh.. Help, what¡¯s a Mana Well?¡± [Answer: Mana Wells are artificial constructs that gather and contain ambient mana which can then be tapped for later use through attuned implements.] [It seems you are interested in Mana Wells; would you like to purchase the Blueprint Interface and the Mana Well blueprint for 50 USD or 500 Gold?] ¡°Maybe later.¡± He muttered as he mulled the idea over. An artificial reservoir of mana sounded exactly like what he needed, especially if it charged passively. But perhaps he should check on Ley Lines first? ¡°Help, what are Ley Lines?¡± Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. [Answer: Ley Lines are naturally occurring pathways in which magic concentrates. They can be found almost anywhere, from the deepest of ocean trenches to the highest of mountain tops.] ¡°Help, how can I find Ley Lines?¡± [Answer: A Mana Sight skill level of Expert or greater can see Ley Lines in their natural state. Alternatively certain magical items, or rituals may make Ley Lines visible to the user or those nearby.] ¡°Great¡­ so even if I were standing right on top of a ley line I wouldn¡¯t even know it.¡± John sighed and looked around. It was no wonder that certain stones were almost out of stock, people would go through them like crazy if they needed to do any continuous magic. He couldn¡¯t imagine slinging fireballs would be any less mana intensive than what he was doing. Sitting down at the edge of his field John pulled up the Web Interface and started browsing the forums. He started by looking up what people were saying about spellcasting. Most were calling it a trap, saying that the ridiculous mana costs were there solely to make sure mages had to buy mana stones, and that it was too hard to keep ahead of the purchases. His next search was for Mana Well, which came up with only a handful of results, though one of them seemed more useful than the others, it even had pictures. ¡°The Mana Well is a structure built to collect and contain ambient mana. As you can see from these various pictures it can take any shape or form so long as the runes, sigils, and lines that cover it are precise and ordered correctly. Why, one may wonder, not just make Mana Wells out of bricks? The answer appears to be that certain materials have a higher Mana Capacity than others. For instance your basic rock might only be able to hold a small handful of mana, while a high quality mana core would be able to hold hundreds of thousands. Now, it¡¯s unlikely that you¡¯re going to find a mana core that big, we¡¯re not even through the first month of game play after all! But Mana Wells don¡¯t have to be a large static item, despite their name. The runes for a Mana Well can fit on something as small as a 14-inch rod or wand. How fast a Mana Well recharges seems to be based on the grade of the Mana Well, a Poor Mana Well recharges its full capacity in 24 hours, while each increase in quality seems to shorten that requirement by three hours, to a minimum of one hour for Artifact ranked wells.¡± John studied the pictures carefully, and even examined the closeups for the rune sequences. He was pretty sure that with this post as a guide someone could build a Mana Well, if they had the requisite Enchanting skills. Despite that, something at the back of his brain was nagging him, and it took a moment for it to resolve into an actual question. ¡°Help, can I draw directly from the ambient mana?¡± [Answer: Through the use of Mana Drawing ambient mana can be drawn in to refill your mana pool.] He remembered that Loren had mentioned Mana Drawing as one of the skills he¡¯d find useful, he¡¯d ask her about it specifically when he went into town. He¡¯d also have to ask her about Ley Lines and Mana Wells, maybe he¡¯d get lucky and there was someone who could build one for him. John looked around again, but couldn¡¯t see any sign of the rabbits; so he deemed it safe enough to take a trip into town. Turning away from his field he struck out westward and began walking. ¡ª The trip into town was uneventful as was his arrival. The town was mostly as he¡¯d last seen it, players everywhere trying to sell things to each other. Unfortunately for them it seemed no one was buying. Looking around it was obvious there was a glut of low-quality items due to the frequent dungeon delving. The square was relatively open, surprisingly, with just the few stalls of the locals selling produce. Taking a brief glance at the rock, John didn¡¯t see Loren, so he decided to start with one of the produce stalls. He walked a short way and then stopped at a stall selling bags of beans, corn, and some kind of small, round grain he couldn¡¯t immediately identify. ¡°Excuse me,¡± he said to the older man who was watching him intently. ¡°I was wondering if you could answer some questions for me?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve time for questions if you¡¯ve got coin for spending.¡± The man indicated his stock with a wave of his hand. ¡°Er, sure. How much for a couple bushels of corn?¡± The man eyed him. ¡°Kernels or Cob?¡± ¡°Kernels.¡± John replied promptly. ¡°You¡¯d be the lad who¡¯s starting a farm then?¡± the man inquired. John nodded. ¡°I¡¯m John.¡± He stuck out his hand and the man took it. ¡°Frank,¡± he introduced himself. ¡°Two bushels is a lot of corn, son. How much are you planning to grow? Or are you going to mill it down for meal?¡± ¡°Well, I was planning on about an acre of corn, I¡¯ve already got an acre of wheat in the ground¡­¡± John trailed off as Frank started shaking his head. ¡°Son, you¡¯ve got too much in the ground at once. How fast is it growing?¡± Frank questioned. ¡°It¡¯s a little more than half grown, I think?¡± John said tentatively. Frank gave a disapproving frown. ¡°It¡¯s going to be Poor quality then¡­¡± He paused and looked at John and revised his statement. ¡°Maybe Common, I hear Basajaunak have a talent for growing plants. But it¡¯s not going to be a Good crop I¡¯m afraid.¡± John looked at Frank with some consternation. ¡°You can tell that just by how fast it¡¯s growing?¡± Frank nodded. ¡°Crop quality changes how fast they grow. It¡¯s seven days per quality ranking for your common crops. More exotic crops have different time tables, but it¡¯s always multiplied by the rank. Poor quality crops take exactly seven days to grow. Even the best cook will have trouble using them to make a passable meal, and they¡¯ll barely sustain you.¡± ¡°So my entire crop is basically worthless,¡± John said glumly. ¡°It¡¯s still good as seed, son,¡± Frank offered. ¡°And it¡¯s not like you knew any better. Everyone grows a low-quality crop or two when they start off. Most grow them in much smaller batches. For instance, I¡¯ve got maybe a whole acre planted at once for all my crops combined. I manage Good quality most of the time, and occasionally Great, that¡¯s about the sweet spot for daily use.¡± John tugged at his beard. ¡°So I should harvest this crop, keep it as seed, and plant in smaller batches? How do I increase the quality of my crop?¡± ¡°Depends on the route you want to take. I use frequent watering, crop rotations, and fertilizer. Ellie uses some similar methods, but she also dabbles in a bit of fertility magic. I hear there are other techniques you can use. I once met a man who sang to his crops, something about infusing his voice with mana. It all comes down to what you¡¯ve got and are willing to do,¡± the old farmer explained. ¡°What do you use for fertilizer? Compost?¡± John inquired. Frank nodded. ¡°Aye, that, there are also alchemical mixtures you can buy, but we don¡¯t have an alchemist so you have to hope one of the infrequent traders brings some with them.¡± ¡°Alright¡­ What kind of pests should I be looking out for? Aside from rabbits.¡± ¡°Rabbits? You got rabbits son? Nasty buggers, eat too much of your crop and they become big and belligerent. Best get yourself a good hound or maybe one of them big cats. A wall might work if they haven¡¯t gotten big enough to jump over it yet.¡± Frank paused for thought and then continued. ¡°Bugs¡¯ll prey on your crops too, probably hasn¡¯t come up yet because it¡¯s only been a few days, but there are a few nasty varieties about. Quail¡¯ll take care of them for you, so long as you don¡¯t let them out until the shoots are too big for easy eating. Finally there¡¯s blight, which can take out a crop in just a few days. Fortunately Grandma Loren knows Cleanse, which can purify blight as easy as most other diseases, so iffn you get that you be sure to ask her about it.¡± ¡°Thanks, that¡¯s all extremely helpful,¡± John said sincerely. ¡°You¡¯re welcome. You still want two bushels of seed corn?¡± John shook his head. ¡°How much would you suggest?¡± ¡°Well, you¡¯d need around three to four pounds for an eighth of an acre, which is what I suggest you start with. I sell at a couple coppers a pound,¡± Frank explained. ¡°Four pounds then,¡± John said decisively. Frank measured out the corn into a bag and passed it over, John handed him eight coppers. John took the bag and thanked the man, only to pause when he remembered one last thing he needed. ¡°Sorry, one last question. How do you thresh your wheat, not by hand, right?¡± Frank gave a short bark of laughter. ¡°By Hand! Son, I ain''t never hand threshed a day in my life. Nah, Ellie owns a Thresher.¡± He pointed to a middle-aged woman running another stall filled with fruits. ¡°She used to grow grains as well, but decided she liked fruits more, now she Lets anyone use it so long as they schedule ahead of time and bring their own Mana Stones.¡± ¡°Ah, thanks, I¡¯ll be sure to ask her about it,¡± John said. ¡°Thanks for your time.¡± ¡°No skin off my nose son.¡± John nodded and left, though he wasn¡¯t very far away when he heard a soft chuckle and the words ¡°By hand!¡± MAG - Chapter 7 - Edited Looking around the square, John found that Grandma Loren had wandered out at some point and taken up her usual post. Wandering over to the bench he sat down next to her. ¡°Ah, John, good to see you. How¡¯s your training coming?¡± She asked genially. ¡°Good! I¡¯ve reached Apprentice rank in Mana Sight, Mana Manipulation, Meditation, Measuring, and Control Earth.¡± ¡°Excellent! Then you¡¯re ready for a few new skills, and maybe a spell or two, if you can see the weaves well enough,¡± Loren said with a satisfied nod. ¡°About that, I was wondering about Mana Drawing? I¡¯m having trouble getting enough mana for all the work I¡¯m doing, and stones are turning out to be expensive,¡± John explained. The old woman thought about it for a moment. ¡°Yes, I can see how that¡¯d be useful to you. That and Mana Imprinting would be good starters, I think. Both of those require working with your mana, though at Apprentice rank you should be able to manage them to a degree. And then maybe a spell¡­¡± ¡°Anything that¡¯ll help with my rabbit problem?¡± John inquired. ¡°Rabbits? Hmm a fire spell, maybe Create Flame, could be very useful, and if you know Control Earth you can probably figure out Control Flame pretty easily. You won¡¯t be able to dual cast until at least Journeyman rank of Mana Manipulation though,¡± she mused. ¡°Is fire safe out here? It seems like it¡¯d be really easy to set the plains on fire.¡± ¡°Safe enough if you¡¯re careful, but perhaps a more basic spell would do you. Earth Spike for instance, does what it says on the tin. Of course, you could always learn Create Earth and just build a wall.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t have enough mana,¡± John said with a grimace. ¡°Hmmm Mana Drawing and Imprinting should alleviate that some, wouldn¡¯t need to be a very high wall either, maybe three to four feet,¡± she pointed out. John thought about it and then nodded his head. ¡°Yeah, alright, that should work.¡± ¡°Well then, you¡¯d best get to it. I believe you mentioned you already have Control Earth, do you have any other spells?¡± Loren inquired. ¡°Just Create Water.¡± ¡°Good, then I will teach you Create Flame and Control Flame from there you should be able to distinguish the weaves for movement and creation. That¡¯ll be part of your new homework. But first, Mana Drawing and Mana Imprinting,¡± she began. ¡°Now listen carefully, aspected mana is all about perception, specifically you need to dye your mana with your perception of the thing you want it to act like. For instance, water is wet, that¡¯s the most basic perception of water. Once you have a basic perception start adding in new things. Water is fluid, water can be vapor or solid, water envelopes, water buoys. Think of its taste, smell, and texture, imprint those things on the mana as you draw it.¡± As he listened John worked to block out the extraneous noises around them and tried to find his center once more. Grandma Loren chattered on quietly, extolling the virtues of water, the various states it could be found in, and even how it tasted. Anything she could identify about water was discussed. Slowly he sank from awareness into that place his mana lived. Once there he grasped it with firm mental fingers and drew out a strand. It was still a bit of a struggle, but he managed to keep his hold. His strand of mana caught; he pushed his will against it, bringing to mind what he knew about water. He began with something many people of his era knew. Water is composed of two things, Hydrogen and Oxygen in a two to one ratio. Pure water is clear and, at least to the human mind, tasteless. Pure water does not conduct electricity, though water heavy with particulates can be an excellent conductor. On and on his thoughts went as he pressed his will against the single strand of mana, and slowly it began to turn the deep blue he associated with water mana. Swiftly he let his consciousness rise and found himself in the square once more, though clearly some time had passed. There were far more players and stalls than there had been earlier, and Grandma Loren was reading a book. Opening his hand palm up John let his mana unfurl within it. The deep blue mana sat on his palm like a placid pool and with a smile he released it. [Skill Gained:] John¡¯s smile widened as the system informed him of his success. ¡°Got it!¡± he said happily. ¡°Good, it¡¯ll get easier, and faster, with rank,¡± Loren informed him. ¡°How long was I working on it?¡± he asked, looking up at the sky. ¡°About an hour and a half,¡± she said as the now closed book disappeared from her hand. ¡°Are you ready for your next lesson? This one is going to be far more difficult.¡± John nodded. ¡°Ready.¡± ¡°Good, now Mana Drawing requires that you circulate mana through your body in specific patterns, which is why you needed Mana Manipulation at apprentice rank, it¡¯s the first rank at which you could conceivably do this,¡± Loren explained. ¡°Now, activate your Mana Sight and watch the way I push mana through my body, I¡¯ll be using the simplest technique. Ready? Good.¡± John did as instructed and the world became swirling masses of colors once more. Ignoring the free-floating mana around them, John focused on Grandma Loren. For a moment he couldn¡¯t see anything, and then in the center of her chest was a flare of mana, shining like a miniature sun. As he watched a tendril of mana slowly and smoothly moved out of her core, did a loop down into her stomach, and then connected back to the core on the opposite side. As he watched he could see the free-floating mana around them agitating, being drawn toward her. ¡°The simplest form is just a loop,¡± she explained. ¡°It doesn¡¯t have to be fancy, simple works just as well as complex knots and swirls. With each rank of Mana Drawing you¡¯ll find you can create another loop.¡± as she spoke a second string of mana spooled out, found its way down her left arm, and then looped back on itself to return to the core. ¡°Each loop should occupy a separate limb or body space; you gain no benefit from having two loops in the same area. Thus, one for each limb, the head, and your abdomen for a total of six loops.¡± The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. John watched for a moment more until the lines of mana began to fade from sight. ¡°Okay, so I grab a strand of mana and make a circuit through my stomach? Why does that work to draw in more mana?¡± he wondered aloud. ¡°Because you¡¯re using more of your body to attract ambient mana. Your mana regeneration is limited because you currently only draw in mana from where your core is located, your chest. Wherever mana saturates will also draw in mana, the reason to return the loop to your core is because it then carries that gathered mana back,¡± she explained. ¡°Now it¡¯s your turn.¡± The book reappeared in her hand and she opened it. ¡°Take as long as you need.¡± John nodded to signify his understanding, then got comfortable against the rock. Once more he closed his eyes and worked to block out the sounds of the market. It took about as long this time as it had the last, but soon he was floating in that meditative space that made it possible to work with his core. Once he was certain he could feel it he grabbed at the mana once more, pinching a large strand and wrestling against it. Unlike Grandma Loren¡¯s smooth demonstration, his movements were jerky and unrefined. Instead of a smooth flow of mana he had to wrestle it into submission inch by inch as he pulled it out and down. By the time he reached his navel he was feeling mentally taxed and was dreading the return trip to his core. However, to his pleasant surprise, the mana was more accommodating on the upstroke, flowing almost smoothly in his grasp, as if eager to return from whence it came. The moment the circuit made the connection he felt the change, the line smoothed out and became regular, creating a circuit through which he could feel energy flowing. Opening his eyes, he looked around. For a moment he was confused, there was no flow of mana toward him, and then he realized his mana was full, which meant there wouldn¡¯t be. [Skill Gained:] ¡°I¡¯ll be honest, for a moment there I thought you were going to lose it,¡± Loren commented as she put her book away. ¡°Good job, don¡¯t worry, it¡¯ll become easier with better mana control.¡± ¡°I hope so, that was pretty taxing,¡± John admitted. ¡° If you haven¡¯t figured it out yet, Mana Manipulation is an essential skill. Don¡¯t be afraid to spend points on it when you reach higher levels,¡± she replied. ¡°Now, these next lessons aren¡¯t going to be much easier, not with your Mana Sight at only Apprentice rank. I¡¯m going to show you Create Flame, the weave is going to look fuzzy to you but I¡¯ve faith you can figure it out. And no, squinting doesn¡¯t help.¡± With that, Loren held up a hand and a small flame appeared in it, hovering just above her palm. John focused on the fire. At first he couldn¡¯t see anything, until he focused on the core of the flame, where he could see a hazy repeating pattern of mana. ¡°How am I supposed to copy that, I have to meditate just to use Mana Manipulation,¡± he complained. Loren snorted. ¡°Silly child, who told you that? Have you tried using it without Meditation? What good is a skill if you can only use it under one specific set of conditions.¡± John blinked at her. ¡°Wait¡­ then why did you let me sit here and meditate for¡­ what? Four hours?¡± ¡°Do you think you could have learned either of those skills without the extra concentration it imparted?¡± Loren questioned. John thought about it for a moment, and then shook his head. ¡°No, you¡¯re probably right.¡± She nodded in satisfaction. ¡°Now, focus on the flame and replicate it.¡± Looking at the fire once more, John imagined grabbing his mana and moving it about. To his surprise it worked, though it felt slightly more sluggish than when he meditated. Concentrating he held up his own hand and, remembering the trouble he had previously with the mana, tried to imprint the pattern all at once upon it. The mana writhed and bucked in his grasp, and he pushed it against the mental image of the pattern that he held, until slowly it started to take form. Finally with a popping sensation the mana flowed into the pattern and a small, guttering flame appeared over his own palm. [Spell Gained:] He smiled and looked up at Loren, who was frowning. After a moment her frown turned into a look of enlightenment. ¡°I forgot for a moment that you¡¯re only Apprenticed ranked. You can¡¯t move individual strands of mana yet,¡± she explained at his questioning look. ¡°Wait, what does that mean?¡± he asked. ¡°It means that at Journeyman and above you¡¯ll be able to hold multiple strands of mana and weave an actual pattern, instead of just pushing the entire thing into place. Don¡¯t worry, Control Flame is next, and it¡¯s actually a simpler weave.¡± She held up her other hand, and he could see a new pattern appear in it, fire swirled out of her right hand and into her left as she manipulated it. John looked at the new pattern and once more started forcing his own mana to replicate it. It didn¡¯t take any less effort this time, and a small headache had started up by the time he managed it. [Spell Gained:] ¡°Got it,¡± He said, exhausted. ¡°Good. Now, your next assignment is to make Create Earth and Control Water, and rank Mana Drawing and Mana Imprinting up to Apprentice.¡± She took out a couple of candies, offering one to John and popping the other into her mouth. John took the candy, unwrapped it, and tucked it into his cheek. ¡°So,¡± he said, voice slightly distorted by the sweet. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose there¡¯s anyone who can build me a Mana Well?¡± Loren immediately shook her head. ¡°No, you need at least Apprentice rank enchanting, and even then you¡¯d need a blueprint to follow, only Journeyman and above can build a Mana Well with just system knowledge.¡± ¡°So everyone gains knowledge from the system?¡± John asked curiously. ¡°It depends. If you rank up your skill by effort or points the system will give you knowledge commensurate with your rank, but it¡¯s generalized knowledge, things that are easy to learn or common. However, if you were to actually study enchanting the system will give you a rank commensurate with your knowledge. In addition you¡¯d know all the little quirks and foibles, you¡¯d understand the whys and hows, and you¡¯d have an easier time creating your own enchantments. It¡¯s the same for most knowledge based skills,¡± she explained. ¡°I take it you don¡¯t know Enchanting?¡± John asked. ¡°I considered it, but I never found a compelling need to know it,¡± she responded. ¡°Still, if you can find the points, nothing is stopping you from buying it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true I guess,¡± John said as he looked at the sky. ¡°Alright¡­ I think I have to get back to the farm. I¡¯ve got to log out for a bit, and then I have to build a wall.¡± ¡°Good luck with your rabbit situation, do come and visit me again,¡± Loren said as she waved him off. ¡°I¡¯ll be sure to, and¡­ thanks for your help, I really appreciate it.¡± ¡°To be honest, it¡¯s been nice to teach again. Maybe I¡¯ll start teaching some of these other players¡­ if they show the same respect¡­¡± She eyed the other players in the vicinity, who had been watching with rapt interest. ¡°Best get going though, as you said, you¡¯ve a wall to finish.¡± John nodded with a smile, stood, and headed toward the edge of town. MAG - Chapter 8 - Edited By the time John got back to his farm it was almost noon, and therefore time to log out and see to his personal necessities. However, he still had some time before that and he decided it would be best to learn Create Earth as quickly as possible. Sitting down at the edge of his field he began comparing spell weaves. First he compared Control Earth and Control Flame, and then Create Water and Create Flame. It took him almost twenty minutes to determine the similarities and differences, but eventually he felt he had the weaves for creation and movement down. The problem was holding the weave for creation in his head while he also learned the weave for earth. He kept having to switch back and forth between the two, making it hard to hold completely. What he needed was a way to model the weaves in three dimensions. Gritting his teeth John asked, ¡°How much for the Blueprint Module?¡± [It seems you¡¯re considering purchasing the Blueprint Module, would you like to do so for 20 USD or 200 Gold? Please be aware that this is a per-character purchase, and will be lost if you replace your current character with a new one.] He sighed heavily. ¡°Yes.¡± [Verifying Purchase] [Purchase Approved] Opening the Blueprint screen, John quickly modeled both the weaves he needed in it, then he began linking them together in his best guess as to how a complete weave of Create Earth should look. It was becoming perilously close to the forced logout time before he had a weave he thought would work. After a few moments he found a setting that let him project the weave as a holographic construct into the world, and he soon had it floating just above his palm. Concentrating, John pushed his mana against the construct, and after a few minutes of straining he felt the mana give and flow into the desired form. A small pile of dirt appeared in his hand and he cut off the flow of mana. [Spell Gained:] John smiled and stood up, not bothering to read the rest of the text right now, then he logged out, just before the game kicked him. ¡ª Logging back in John immediately rechecked the information on his new spell. [Create Earth] He found it a little odd that the cost didn¡¯t change depending on the type of material, but it was good for him with his small mana pool. Taking stakes and twine out of his inventory he began measuring out the length and breadth of his new wall. It didn¡¯t need to be pretty, just functional. He was probably going to tear it down after this harvest anyway; he was going to create smaller plots, like Frank had suggested. After measuring out the wall, and some time with the calculator, John determined it¡¯d take somewhere around sixteen thousand nine hundred earth mana to complete. That was almost seven earth stones. At first he considered only using mana stones, then he stopped to think about it. Using Mana Drawing his regeneration rate was doubled, meaning it¡¯d be ten minutes to regenerate all his mana, not twenty, that meant he could slowly create the wall over the course of ten hours instead. The benefit of using his own mana was that he¡¯d work out his Magic score as well. It was a little past noon now, call it one in the afternoon. If he worked a full eight hours, then logged out for a short time, he could log back in after and work the last two hours¡­ It¡¯d be midnight before he was done though¡­ No, best to work the full eight hours and then finish it off with mana stones. The decision made, he started casting. Holding the image of a solid, granite wall in his mind¡¯s eye he first used Mana Imprinting to color his mana with earth, and then began to create the wall itself. The mental effort turned out to be much higher than he expected, apparently it wasn¡¯t terribly easy to use Imprinting and cast a spell at the same time, and he was grateful when he finally ran out of mana several moments later. For the next ten minutes John focused on using Mana Drawing instead, which was far easier on his mind. Quickly after that John fell into a rhythm, imprint, cast, draw. Over and over again he performed the requisite tasks and a little over an hour later he had a wall that spanned an entire side of his field. He also had a budding headache, and he decided to take a few minutes to just relax before tackling the second wall. After thirty minutes he felt refreshed enough to continue and began once more. By the end of the second wall he officially had a full blown headache, but he wasn¡¯t willing to give up just yet. This was good practice for both the skills and the spell, and something he¡¯d have to learn to deal with if he wanted to use Mana Imprinting with spells. After another short break John worked on the third wall. By the time he finished he really wished he was less stubborn, the headache was starting to edge into migraine territory. Still, he took only another half-hour, and then got back to it. By the time eight hours rolled around the wall was almost entirely finished, and John had a headache that pounded with each beat of his heart. Unfortunately he knew he wasn¡¯t done yet. Taking out his wand he affixed an earth stone and began casting once more. It cost him one and two fifths a stone, but the wall was complete. Groaning, he crawled into his tent and logged off. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡ª John logged in the next morning and crawled out of the tent to find that the bunnies were back. They were sitting at the edge of his plot looking at the wall morosely, clearly dismayed at being stymied by the stone construct. Some of them were half-heartedly chewing at the nearby grass. Interestingly, they were indeed bigger today than they had been yesterday. Though the largest of them still only came up to his shins. Looking at the field itself, John could see the now waist high grains were beginning to ripen, giving it a nice, waving field of green. If one ignored the bald patch where the bunnies had been at it. Satisfied he looked back at the rabbits and moved to shoo them away. With great reluctance and tiny growls they left the property. [Quest Complete:] John looked at the notification and shrugged. He wasn¡¯t sure what he¡¯d missed out on, but the two hundred fifty Build Points were more than enough for him. He did a quick check of his character sheet to see how many he had. [Name: John] [Race: Basajaun] [Level: 1] [Mana: 310] [MRegen: 15/minute] [Build Points: 1,987] [Attributes] [Skills] [Spells] [Racial Perks] John grinned as he saw that he had nearly two thousand points banked. That was almost enough for two feats, and most of it came from just learning and growing. If he kept gaining points like this he might be able to afford four or even five feats. Looking around once more, John began planning his next moves. First he needed to go into town and talk to Ellie so that he could schedule the use of her Thresher, then he needed to work on clearing more of the land. He might erect a small hut to store some of his inventory in. He really didn¡¯t need the tools on hand at all times. As he contemplated storage, he looked at the field and realized something. He had nowhere to store his wheat. Worse, how was he going to carry all of it once he¡¯d finished harvesting? He only had thirteen storage slots open, and each slot could only hold twenty-five of a given item. He might be able to bundle large handfuls of stalks together as sheaves and have them stack, but he figured that still wouldn¡¯t be enough. And then of course he came back to the issue of where to store the kernels once threshed. The more John looked at the field, the more he realized he¡¯d made an error. He¡¯d prepped and planted the field without having any of the support in place for the harvest. He didn¡¯t have a wagon or cart to ferry his wheat, nor was there a road upon which to take it. He had no silo in which to store the grain, nor even convenient shelves on which to place bushels. This had been poorly thought out, with no real planning involved. His father had been right about his planning ability, which was really infuriating in so many ways. Sighing, John leaned against the fence and thought. He needed a plan of action, one that would address these issues. First thing on the agenda was to recoup his losses. He had most of an acre of wheat, which supposedly would produce around sixty bushels of grain, though given the Poor quality of the wheat, the flood irrigation, and the bunny predation it was actually likely to be less than that. However, so long as he gained a few bushels it¡¯d be enough. He¡¯d have seed to try again later. So, harvest the crop but only process part of it. What to do with the rest though? For that matter, what would he do with the straw once he¡¯d processed the wheat? ¡°I have to compost it,¡± he muttered to himself while he ran his fingers through his beard. The problem he had now was the same one he had earlier when clearing the land. Where was he going to compost it? He decided that would inform his actions after harvesting. He needed to clear an area, and create a composting site. A pit maybe. He then briefly wondered if there was a spell that could make the composting go faster and resolved to ask Ellie when he went to see her today. After that he needed to devise some kind of storage space. Perhaps a cellar or barn of some kind, maybe both. With Create Earth he should be able to generate the needed stone, even if it would be slow. After he finished with the composting pit and storage he¡¯d need to clear the rest of the land. From there he could consider designing new garden plots of smaller size. Then he needed some way to fertilize his plants. He didn¡¯t have any animals, and without manure there was precious little else he could compost to create good fertilizer. Maybe he should get animals? He decided to table that idea for the moment, animals were a lot of work. John snorted at his own thoughts. Animals are a lot of work? What exactly have I been doing these past two weeks? Shaking his head he looked around at the farm and, finding nothing amiss, decided it was time to head into town and speak with Ellie. MAG - Chapter 9 - Edited The walk into town was uneventful and he arrived in time to find several players setting up stalls, including Sally and Ex. Seeing the two getting ready to sell, or try anyway, he drifted in their direction. Sally spotted him first eliciting a loud ¡°HI JOHN!¡± and frantic waving as he approached. John waved back. ¡°Hi Sally, Ex, how¡¯s it going?¡± ¡°Eh, not great,¡± Ex grumbled. ¡°Don¡¯t listen to him! It¡¯s going great! We¡¯re level 7 now and can take three levels of the dungeon!¡± Sally boasted. ¡°Doesn¡¯t it only have three?¡± John inquired. ¡°Nope, it has at least four now,¡± Ex said, ¡°No one has beat the fourth level yet though, so there may be more.¡± ¡°Huh, so the dungeon can grow?¡± ¡°YEP! Grandma Loren says that dungeons can level up by eating people who die! It had only three levels when we started,¡± Sally shared exuberantly. ¡°Makes sense I guess. Theodore also told me that items fed to a dungeon can be replicated by the dungeon,¡± John mused. ¡°Really?¡± Ex asked. ¡°Maybe we should feed it more items then, all we¡¯re getting is junk so far, and there¡¯s no one to sell it to. Thirty-eight million players in the Americas alone and we can¡¯t find anyone to buy our junk.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t there some kind of auction function?¡± John asked quizzically, only to be interrupted by a popup. [It appears you¡¯re attempting to access the Auction. Would you like to purchase a year-long subscription to the Auction Module for 20 USD or 200 Gold?] ¡°Seriously?¡± he asked the air. ¡°No thank you.¡± ¡°Seriously,¡± Ex repeated. ¡°Honestly twenty bucks isn¡¯t so bad, if we had anything worth selling over the Auction. The Mana Stones might count, but we haven¡¯t found any that aren¡¯t Poor quality and low capacity yet.¡± ¡°There¡¯s got to be some other way to move your items? Traveling traders maybe?¡± John asked. ¡°The townsfolk say that one stops here every month or so. He¡¯s probably making a killing on mana stones given that he usually buys the town¡¯s entire stock. But he buys them at rock bottom prices, so that¡¯s barely any return.¡± Ex shook his head. ¡°What this town desperately needs is a Portal.¡± ¡°Portal?¡± John echoed. ¡°Yeah! A Portal! Ex found out about them on the forums! They open gateways or teleport people to different places depending on the type!¡± Sally broke in enthusiastically. Ex gestured to Sally. ¡°That¡¯s about the long and short of it. Most large cities have one or two. And from the sounds of it they¡¯re mostly used to move small goods. But it¡¯d be perfect for allowing us to export things like Mana Stones.¡± ¡°Huh, that¡¯d be actually really helpful to me too, I don¡¯t know who I¡¯m selling my produce to at this point,¡± John admitted. ¡°Oh yeah, you¡¯re a farmer, you would need people to sell food to. Have you considered NPCs? Word is that at the end of this month they¡¯re going to implement a way to pull money out of the game instead of just putting it in,¡± Ex continued as he slotted the last parts of the stall together. ¡°Really? I guess that could make the¡­ it feels weird to call them NPCs, they¡¯re pretty real¡­¡± John trailed off. ¡°They think therefore they are!¡± Proclaimed Sally. Ex shook his head. ¡°Got a better word for them? They reference themselves as people, and us as Players.¡± ¡°No, it just feels weird. Anyway, yeah, that could make NPCs a potential market, but the people around here don¡¯t need my food. Besides, my first crop is a failure anyway,¡± John said with a head shake of his own. ¡°It can¡¯t be that bad!¡± Sally pressed. ¡°Frank says it¡¯s going to be Poor quality since it¡¯s growing so fast, maybe Common because of one of my racial traits, but I don¡¯t think so. The trait is called Plant Tender and I haven¡¯t done any real tending of my crops besides planting them,¡± John explained. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°Well that sucks. Still, live and learn,¡± Ex said. ¡°So what brings you into town today? Need more Mana Stones? We¡¯ve got plenty of Earth Stones!¡± ¡°Nah, well¡­ maybe. I¡¯m actually here to talk to a farmer called Ellie, apparently she owns a Thresher.¡± ¡°Oh! Ellie!¡± Sally exclaimed. ¡°She¡¯s nice, she runs the fruit stall over there,¡± A clawed finger pointed toward the square where John could make out a fruit stall being tended by a woman. ¡°What¡¯s a Thresher?¡± Ex asked after Sally finished. ¡°It¡¯s a machine that beats grain stalks until all the seeds fall off, then blows away all the chaff leaving you with just the kernels, which it dispenses into a pan, tray, or bag,¡± John explained. ¡°That sounds really convenient!¡± Sally exclaimed. ¡°It is!¡± John said with a grin. ¡°I honestly thought I was going to have to thresh the entire field by hand, I was not looking forward to that.¡± ¡°It sounds like you got really lucky that someone here owns one,¡± Ex said as he started pulling out pieces of armor, implements, and Mana Stones to place on the counter. ¡°Yeah¡­¡± John trailed off as he looked at the booth some more. ¡°Hey, where did you get the wood for the booth?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Both Sally and Ex looked at the booth. ¡°Oh, the dungeon sometimes spits out wood, usually in the form of planks or small logs. We got the local carpenter to put this together for us for a few coppers. Nice guy, really chatty, apparently he doesn¡¯t get a huge amount of work out here,¡± Excelsior explained. ¡°Good to know, I was wondering where they were finding things like fire wood out here,¡± John said. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s one of the few things we can sell easily,¡± Ex said with a nod as he finished straightening out the objects on the counter. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll let you get back to your selling,¡± John said to the two of them. ¡°Ha! I wish,¡± Ex muttered in response. ¡°BYE JOHN!¡± shouted Sally from just a few feet away. ¡°Bye.¡± John said even as his ears rang slightly. Leaving Ex and Sally to tend their booth he made his way across the square towards Ellie¡¯s, pausing to wave to Grandma Loren as he went by. She gave him a smile and waved back, then turned her attention to the plated warrior sitting on the bench, apparently she was explaining something to him. John arrived at Ellie¡¯s stall just as she was putting out the last of a series of baskets, each containing a different kind of berry. ¡°Hi,¡± He said as he walked up. ¡°Oh, hello hon,¡± She said as she looked him up and down. ¡°You must be John, Frank said you¡¯d probably be by soon.¡± ¡°How did you¡­¡± John paused and then thought it over. ¡°I¡¯m the only Basajaun in town aren¡¯t I?¡± Ellie smiled at him. ¡°Yes, you are,¡± she confirmed. ¡°Well, then I guess you also know that I¡¯d like to use your Thresher?¡± He asked. ¡°Yes, I heard you¡¯d be wanting that soon. Shame about your first crop, but we¡¯ve all been there so don¡¯t take it too hard,¡± she said compassionately. ¡°Nah, I¡¯m viewing it as a learning experience. I tried to jump in immediately when what I should have done was sat down and planned everything out. If I¡¯d just started by talking to people who knew what they were doing I wouldn¡¯t have planted so early.¡± John shook his head ruefully. ¡°Mmm, Grandma Loren said you were a smart one. It¡¯s good to learn from your mistakes. Now, when do you think you¡¯ll be needing the Thresher?¡± ¡°Depends, how long do I need to wait for a crop of wheat to dry out before I can harvest it?¡± John asked. ¡°Two to three days, unless it rains, then it could be longer. If it¡¯s a rainy season you can harvest it and then store it someplace dry to prepare it,¡± she explained. ¡°Rainy season?¡± John inquired. ¡°Hm? Oh, yes, it¡¯s currently summer, which we often call the dry seasons, on account of how little rain we get out here during it. Fall and Spring are where you¡¯ll see most of the rains, and winter we¡¯ll see a fair amount of snow. Fall is of course right around the corner, could start raining any day now. Usually comes with a nasty storm or two.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± John said as he absorbed that. ¡°Well alright then, I guess I¡¯d best work on getting my farm cleared and some structures built before that happens then¡­¡± Ellie nodded. ¡°You¡¯re going to want somewhere to keep things dry, and you¡¯re going to need storage space for food and crops. You may even want a storm cellar, sometimes those are needed out here.¡± ¡°Alright, thanks for the warning, I¡¯ll have to speed up my work. Oh right, uh, does six days from now work for you? That should be two more days of growth and three days for drying and then of course a day of harvest,¡± He explained. ¡°That¡¯ll be fine hon. You¡¯ll be needing a few tiny Raw Stones, an Earth Stone, a Fire Stone, and an Air Stone,¡± she informed him. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be sure to bring them with me, thanks Ellie!¡± ¡°Any time hon!¡± His business with Ellie finished, John stopped by the store to purchase a few more water stones, and then headed home. MAG - Chapter 10 - Edited The return trip to the farm was, as usual, uneventful. Once on his property again John immediately turned his attention to the still grassy portions. It had taken him six days total to clear a fourth of his plot, which meant he could almost complete another fourth in the five days he had before harvest. However, that¡¯d leave him little time to do anything else, and he definitely needed a storage space. With that thought in mind he decided he¡¯d do three days of work on the land to clear some space, and then the next two on some sort of storage. Course determined John got to work clearing the upper north-eastern corner of his plot. For the next three days he cleared out grass once more, piling it off to the side of his plot where it would be out of the way. He did have to stop to water his crops once but that was a quick affair using the water stones he had previously purchased. During the work however he got four more increases to each Constitution, and Strength, but only three increases in Magic. On the fourth day he exited his tent to the distinct smell of ozone in the air. For a moment he thought the promised rains had come, but a quick look at the sky showed it to be free of heavy clouds. With a shrug he went about his business. Looking at the cleared area he decided that he¡¯d build a combination storage area storm shelter. A short bit of googling later told him that he wanted the shelter to be about twelve feet underground. With that in mind, chose a spot near the northwestern end of the cleared space and began to dig using Control Earth. Between his new regeneration rate, Mana Drawing, Mana Imprinting, and Control Earth it took him seven hours to fully dig the hole, by which point he had a migraine brewing. But once done it was about twenty-one feet long, twenty-seven wide, and twenty-three deep. Despite his migraine John created a steep ramp along one wall, so that he could walk down into the pit, and then he started creating gravel. According to what he¡¯d read, this would allow for drainage below the foundation of his shelter, allowing him to create drains in case water got inside, say from rain. It took him slightly more than a half hour to create a compact layer of gravel a foot deep, at which point he decided to log out and take lunch slightly early. Logging back in an hour later John found the migraine had abated and immediately started on the stone foundation for his storage. It took him slightly more than an hour to add in the two feet of stone he¡¯d envisioned. He smoothed out the surface and then made it slant ever so slightly to the south, so that any liquids that got inside would run that way, to where he installed a drain in what would become the landing for the stairs. Next on his agenda were the walls. It took him another hour and a half to raise the walls and the central support pillar, each of which was eight feet high. The central support was two feet by two feet and sat in the precise center of what would be the storage area. Moving on he worked on the stairs, which he put against the southern wall and made four feet in width. It cost him another hour and a half to extend the southern wall all the way to the top of the hole, add the stairs, and then add a second wall cutting them off from the interior of the storage area along with a sloping roof to go over them. Then he added the roof which, being a foot thick, took him another thirty minutes. Finally he looked at the door he had created as an entrance and, using a bit of twine, measured it several times, adjusting it to be of uniform height and width. By the time John was done he¡¯d spent over five hours creating stone while using Mana Imprinting and he had a nice headache brewing. Unfortunately he knew he wasn¡¯t done yet, now he had to move all the dirt back into the hole, tamping it down as he went to create a solid plug of soil over the storage. Looking around he realized he had only a few hours of light left, and wouldn¡¯t be able to fully finish today, still, he could easily manage another two and a half hours before the system kicked him, so he got back to work. By the time he logged off for the night he¡¯d managed to move almost a third of the dirt back into the hole. ¡ª The next morning the smell of Ozone was back, and stronger than ever, it permeated everything, overpowering all other scents. John ignored it, assuming it would go away, just like it had yesterday. But it was annoyingly persistent. Still, he didn¡¯t let it get in the way of his work. He moved back to the shelter and began moving dirt back into the hole once more. Within the first hour he got four very welcome messages. [Attribute Increase!] [Rank Up!] [Rank Up!] The change in rank was immediately apparent, the strain of holding Mana Imprinting while casting was noticeably lessened by more than half. He could still tell it was taking a toll, but it was now more than manageable. The change in Mana Drawing was just as profound. He could now hold two loops, one down to his navel and one down his right arm. Instead of merely doubling his Mana Regeneration it now quadrupled it, meaning he could regenerate sixty-eight mana per minute instead of just thirty-four, filling his Mana Pool (which now sat at three hundred fifty mana), in just over five minutes. Grinning, John got back to work, and had finished filling the hole within only two hours. By the time John was finished the smell of Ozone still hadn¡¯t gone away, and it was beginning to grate on his nerves. Determined to find the source he began walking all along his plot, checking even the still grassy areas. However, no matter where he went the smell was unchanging. Frustrated he struck out toward town, deciding to see how far the smell persisted. By the time he reached the halfway point he realized the smell wasn¡¯t going to abate at all, and decided that he should go and see if anyone else knew what was causing it. Walking into town John looked around, expecting to see agitated players yet, to his surprise, everything seemed entirely normal. He walked a short distance, keeping an ear out, but heard no complaints. Finally he zeroed in on Ex¡¯s booth and wandered over. ¡°Hey John.¡± Ex said. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°HI JOHN!¡± Sally exclaimed. ¡°Calm down Sally.¡± Ex made a lowering motion with his hand. ¡°Hey guys. Do either of you smell that?¡± John jumped straight to the topic that¡¯d brought him into town. ¡°Smell what?¡± Ex asked as Sally began sniffing the air industriously. ¡°Ozone. It¡¯s overpowering everything and has been all day. It¡¯s literally all I can smell!¡± John exclaimed, agitated. ¡°Weird, I don¡¯t smell anything like that,¡± Ex said, giving an experimental sniff of his own. ¡°Nope! But I can smell dirt, it¡¯s all over you!¡± Sally chimed in cheerfully. ¡°Well yeah, I¡¯ve been moving dirt all morning, I just finished my storage area,¡± John admitted, agitated. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s something on you?¡± Excelsior considered. Sally leaned in close to John and took a deep sniff. ¡°Nope, or at least not that I can smell.¡± ¡°Maybe ask Grandma Loren? She knows all kinds of esoteric stuff, doesn¡¯t she? Maybe this is something magical.¡± Ex leaned on the counter and grinned as he spoke. ¡°Hey! There¡¯s Grandma Loren! HEY OVER HERE!¡± Sally jumped and waved her arms about. Loren, for her part, had been about to sit down when she heard her name and then turned to see the exuberant drakekin. She eyed Sally, then her seat, then Sally again, and wondered how willing the girl would be to accept an ¡®I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t hear you.¡¯ She then tossed that idea aside as Sally started waving harder, clearly having seen Loren looking. With a sigh she started trudging over to the stand. ¡°What can I do for you dear?¡± the elderly woman said as she drew near. ¡°Not me! John! He¡¯s having smelling problems!¡± Sally ¡®explained¡¯. ¡°Well tell him to take a bath then!¡± John sighed. ¡°No, my problem is that I can¡¯t smell anything except ozone!¡± ¡°What¡¯s ozone?¡± Loren asked, looking mildly annoyed and perplexed. ¡°The smell after a lightning strike!¡± Sally interjected before either John or Ex could open their mouths. Loren froze and then looked at John intently. ¡°John, how long have you been smelling this¡­ ozone?¡± ¡°Well I caught a whiff of it yesterday morning, but it faded pretty quickly. But it¡¯s been constant all throughout today.¡± ¡°Is it getting stronger?¡± she inquired. ¡°No, at least I don¡¯t think so. It¡¯s really hard to tell.¡± ¡°Right, I want you to imagine a powerful lightning storm, can you do that?¡± Loren instructed while Ex and Sally watched on, mildly interested. ¡°Sure, now what?¡± ¡°Now I want you to imagine it happening tomorrow.¡± John immediately got a feeling that something was wrong with the image and the word ¡°no¡± popped out of his mouth. ¡°And the day after?¡± Loren asked. This time the feeling was right and something clicked. [Basajaun Racial Prognostication Successful!] The smell of ozone fled John¡¯s nostrils as his eyes popped open. ¡°It¡¯s a storm, an extreme one. The system says it¡¯ll happen in 47 hours and 52 minutes,¡± he explained without preamble. ¡°Wait! John can tell the future?! TELL MY FUTURE JOHN!¡± Sally said, grabbing John by the shoulders and shaking him. ¡°Cut it out Sally!¡± Ex exclaimed while giving the drakekin a swat on the arm. ¡°Ow,¡± John complained as Sally stopped. Loren shook her head at the foolishness. ¡°John is a Basajaun, they¡¯re able to predict natural disasters, as you¡¯ve just seen. If you¡¯ll excuse me, I¡¯ll spread the word a storm is coming.¡± John watched as Loren shuffled off towards the produce stalls, no doubt in his mind that the news would be all over town by the end of the day. ¡°So what was that about?¡± Ex asked. ¡°John saw the future! DUH!¡± Sally exclaimed. ¡°It¡¯s one of my racial traits¡­ I think it¡¯s called¡­ uh,¡± he paused to check his sheet, ¡°Disaster Prognosticator.¡± ¡°So it lets you know when natural disasters are going to happen? That¡¯s pretty handy.¡± ¡°Super awesome you mean!¡± Sally grinned widely, then her grin faltered. ¡°Wait, what does that mean for players?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± John asked eloquently. ¡°Well if storms happen out here regularly then the locals probably have storm cellars or something right? Well, where are the players all going to stay? Should we just not log in?¡± Sally looked between John and Ex, her reptilian face somehow conveying a worried expression. ¡°Uh¡­ that¡¯s actually a really good question,¡± Ex responded after a moment. ¡°Ah crap, I¡¯m going to lose almost half my wheat,¡± John muttered. ¡°As for what to do, you¡¯re welcome to come wait out the storm on my farm, I just built a storm cellar.¡± ¡°Well that¡¯s convenient,¡± Ex said, eyeing John speculatively. ¡°Not really, Frank and Ellie both warned me we get storms out here, so I knew I¡¯d want one at some point. Come to think of it, Ellie said we¡¯d be expecting rains any day now, so this isn¡¯t all the unexpected either,¡± John mused. ¡°Well, I think I¡¯m gonna just wait out the storm,¡± Ex replied. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve got some schoolwork I could do,¡± Sally said glumly. ¡°Alright then. Anyway, I should get back to work, my crop might be dry enough to begin harvesting, so I should get as much of it out as possible.¡± ¡°Bye!¡± Sally said. ¡°Later,¡± said Ex. With that, John headed back to the farm. MAG - Chapter 11 - Edited Once he¡¯d returned to the farm John immediately went to his field and checked the wheat. It was a beautiful golden color that seemed to indicate it was ready for harvesting. He grabbed one of the stalks and detached a wheatberry, then popped it into his mouth and carefully bit down. The kernel was hard and difficult to break, that meant they were dry. Hopping over the fence John got to work. He harvested his wheat the same way he¡¯d been pulling up grass. Loosening the roots with Control Earth, pulling it free, and then he bundled it up into sheaves. After he had ten sheaves, he bundled them all together with a piece of twine and tried to put the resulting mega-sheaf into his inventory. To his surprise it fit easily, taking up only one space. Grinning, he got back to work. By the end of the day he¡¯d cleared almost a sixth of the field, resulting in seventy of the mega-sheaves taking up four of his inventory spaces. The next day he spent the morning working on clearing more of the field, managing to fit in almost another sixth, his vastly improved stats making the work go faster. With his current Mana Pool the real slowdown was actually having to stop, pull up, and tie off the wheat. By noon (and his obligatory hour-long log out) he¡¯d managed to secure another seventy mega-sheaves, clearing a third of his land and filling five and a half inventory slots. Logging back in, John headed straight for town. He¡¯d told Ellie he¡¯d be coming to thresh his wheat today and he wanted to get that done before the storm hit. The walk was, as usual, uneventful, so John took the time to read up on other crops he might grow, including checking what types of fruit trees might be grown in this type of region. Upon arriving in town he made his way straight to the general store, where he purchased one each of Fire and Air Stones, and twenty burlap bags suitable for holding grain. Heading out of the store he walked over to Ellie¡¯s stall, where he found her packing up. ¡°Hello hon,¡± she said to him with a smile. ¡°Ready to thresh your wheat?¡± ¡°Yeah, sorry about arriving so early in the day, I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d need to close up for this,¡± he apologized. ¡°Oh it¡¯s no trouble, I¡¯m mostly out of stock anyway; one of the mages discovered that something called ¡®fruit smoothies¡¯ give a moderate buff to Magic for a short time,¡± she explained as she popped the last empty basket into her inventory. ¡°Come this way then, the Thresher is in a shed here in town, it¡¯s easiest on everyone that way.¡± John followed as she led him round back of some of the nearby buildings to a large shed. Throwing open the doors she revealed a large contraption made of metal and covered in dozens of runes, lines, and sigils all filled in with bronze. ¡°Here we are!¡± she exclaimed. ¡°Raw Stones go in these slots here, Fire in this one, Earth in that one, and finally Air in this slot here. The Thresher has two settings, the first will thresh the wheat, burn off the chaff, and bundle the straw into bales for you. The second setting will burn both chaff and straw, but it¡¯ll put extra strain on the Fire Stone, so you may need a second. This lever here turns the machine on and off and your kernels will be output down there at that spout.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± John said as he took the first mega-sheaf out of his inventory and unbound it. He then popped the required stones into the required slots. ¡°So, I want some of the bales, so let¡¯s start with just burning the chaff,¡± he said as he set the dial to the correct setting. ¡°And I just unbind the sheaves and then feed them in as it runs, right?¡± ¡°Right,¡± Ellie affirmed as John turned on the machine, unbound the first sheaf, and fed it in. ¡°But you¡¯re going to want to put something under that spout.¡± John hurriedly took out one of the burlap bags and slid it under the spout just in time to catch the first bits of grain. ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°No problem hon, just be sure to turn it off and close it all up when you¡¯re done,¡± she said, then she walked away. Turning back to the machine, John started to feed it the sheaves in earnest. As the grain went in one end the machine clattered and clunked as a fine ash and compressed bales came out the other end. Quicker than he¡¯d have thought possible he¡¯d filled up the first bag, and then the second. In total he managed to get five bushels out of the grain he¡¯d brought with him. The straw had all been compressed down extensively, and he found himself the owner of seventy straw bales. They were large things, the kind you see displayed around fall. Picking the first one up he was surprised at how light it felt, and then he realized it wasn¡¯t light, he was just strong. For the first time he found himself wondering where the cap on naturally growing statistics was. It had to cap off at some point or else anyone who worked in a labor-intensive job would have extraordinarily high physical stats, and any caster would find themselves with extremely high Magic. Shrugging it off, John started putting the bales in his inventory and as the last one entered, he got a very welcome notification. [Level Up!] [Please distribute or bank your Build Points now.] With a grin John told it to bank all the Build Points and cleaned up the machine. Then he started on his way back to the farm, where he spent the last few hours of the day working on clearing the field, netting about four hours of work and another thirty-five mega-sheaves and another point in each Constitution, Magic, and Strength. Logging in the next morning he got back to work, determined to save as much of the crop as he could. He¡¯d started using Mana Drawing and Mana Imprinting while working yesterday morning (having realized there was no reason not to train the two while he worked since they no longer caused headaches) and that accounted for how he¡¯d been managing about a sixth of the field per eight hours. It still wasn¡¯t enough however, there was no way he¡¯d be done in time for the storm¡­ Unless he didn¡¯t sleep tonight. At first he wondered if it was worth the effort, however just an hour into his work he realized it definitely was. [Rank Up!] If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Obviously this was increasing his Farming skill, and given that this was his ¡®craft¡¯ as Grandma Loren had put it, he was probably getting xp as well. If he finished the whole crop he might just get another level, and that would be well worth the effort. With that in mind, he got back to work with a will. Sixteen hours later saw almost five sixths of the crop harvested and another point in both Constitution and Strength, and John now had so much wheat he was leaving it bundled in shocks (piles of sheaves), dotting the cleared earth. He had just logged off and then back on for the second time since he¡¯d started, and was determined to finish off the field. But first he started moving all the wheat into the storage while there was still some fading twilight to see by. The storage room was unfortunately pitch black, making it difficult to see. However, he managed and by the time full darkness had set in he¡¯d cleared both his inventory and the land of bundles of wheat. As the moon rose (an unfortunately anemic crescent), John got back to work. Over the next few hours he finished off the field, shoving the last mega-sheaf into his inventory, and obtaining the desired message along with another increase to Magic. [Level Up!] [Please distribute or bank your Build Points now.] Smiling wearily, John banked the points, broke down his tent, and moved his sleeping mat into the shelter, where he laid his avatar down to rest. ¡ª John slept a few hours extra the next morning. There was no pressing business on his farm, what with the storm rolling in, and it was unlikely him being up to greet it would do any good. So he didn¡¯t log in until after ten, well after the time the storm was supposed to hit. Opening his eyes to see the dark interior of his storage space, they were almost immediately seared by a bright flash of light while his ears were, moments later, similarly assaulted by the boom of thunder. Sitting up, John looked around. Finding the storage space much as he had left it, though it was difficult to see in the dim light filtering in from the doorway. He could hear the steady fall of rain in what must be a torrential downpour. Looking to the drain at the bottom of the stairs he could see a small stream of water pouring into it from above. Standing from his pallet John walked carefully over to the straw bales and sat down on one of them. Now, he decided, would be a good time to work on the rest of his homework for Grandma Loren. He¡¯d already increased Mana Drawing and Mana Imprinting to Apprentice rank, as well as created the Create Earth spell. All he had to do now was create Control Water. Standing, he walked over to the doorway, and cast Create Water above the drain, using as little mana as possible. The result was a tiny stream of water that fell into the drain, mingling with the rain water. Looking closely at the weave of the spell as he cast, John copied it to the Blueprint Module, creating a three dimensional representation of the weave. Moving back to his straw bale, John cast Control Earth and copied its weave as well. He then compared the two new weaves with Create Earth. It was immediately clear to him which portions of Create Earth and Control Earth had to do with Earth rather than Creation or Control. Which made it easy to isolate the weave for water. Snipping out the water weave and the control weave, John aligned them and projected the new spell form over his upturned palm. He then once more began pushing mana against the new design, concentrating intensely on forcing it to take shape. He was forced to start over several times when the boom of thunder broke him out of concentration. However, he eventually forced the mana into place, and the spell clicked. [Spell Gained:] Settling back onto the bales of straw, John checked the time. It was a little past noon and he decided to log out and then back in to reset the logout timer. That done he pulled up his character sheet to see what he might work on. [Name: John] [Race: Basajaun] [Level: 3] [Mana: 360] [MRegen: 18/minute] [Build Points: 3,404] [Attributes] [Skills] [Spells] [Racial Perks] Looking at the lists of skills and spells John decided there probably weren¡¯t any that he could rank up today, there also weren¡¯t many that would be easy to practice while huddled down here in the dark. That left mostly spells, and Mana Sight. John paused as he considered Mana Sight, and then he grimaced. Lately he¡¯d only been using Mana Sight when he needed it, which was no doubt drastically slowing its growth, he should just be leaving it on at all times, and learn to live with seeing mana. Resolved to do so he activated the skill, and then decided he¡¯d work on Create Flame. For the next eight hours John sat there and held a flame, using only one mana per second he could create a small, flickering pinprick of fire. By practicing Mana Drawing at the same time (which proved to be only slightly harder than Mana Imprinting) he was able to maintain the flame indefinitely. To stave off boredom he watched some movies via the web interface and realized it was the first time he¡¯d relaxed (aside from the meditation) in a little over three weeks. As night started to roll around the sounds of wind, rain, and thunder began to die out, leaving a quiet calm in their wake. John released his flame and cautiously made his way up the stairs. Poking his head above ground he could see the grasses of his plot had been blown flat, and the areas of bare earth were a muddy mire. Clearly the storm had put down more water than the ground could easily absorb. Shaking his head, he returned to the cellar, laid himself down, and logged out for the night. MAG - Chapter 12 - Edited Logging in the next morning John wandered out of the cellar to look around. The grass had mostly sprung back into place, but the ground was still wet and muddy. John gingerly stepped out onto it, immediately sinking a good inch into the soggy soil. He was pleased that his starting gear had involved solid boots, but less pleased that it had given him shorts and short sleeved tunic. His legs were certainly going to get splattered with mud, and it was probably only a matter of time before it got into his boots. Schlepping through the mud John made his way to the edge of the property where he stepped off the mud and onto sodden grass. While each step still squelched, and the wet grass brushed against him all the way to the hip, it was still preferable to walking in the waterlogged earth. Now free of the sticky menace John surveyed his property. The wall was still there, though it had sunk slightly in the wet ground, and not at all evenly. That was fine, John was going to get rid of it anyway. The cleared sections were all mud, and the grassy sections were soaked. John shook his head. He wanted to wait for the ground to dry before he did anything else, but Ellie had said the rainy season was coming. If that storm hadn¡¯t been the start of the rainy season John would eat his left boot. That meant he could look forward to more rain. So, he¡¯d best get used to working in the mud. However, he had finished his homework, which meant he could go see Grandma Loren and find out if she had anything new to teach him. Yes, that seemed like a good idea. Maybe by the time he got back it¡¯d be less muddy. So, in the grand tradition of procrastination, John set out for town. By the time he reached the village he was sopping wet to the hip, and his boots were indeed wet on the inside. However, after stepping out of the grass, he used a quick application of Control Water to remove the excess moisture, leaving his legs and boots dry. He deposited the water itself back into the tall grass and then started moving down the road. There were precious few players in town, and even as he watched several of them logged off. Apparently they were about as pleased with the mud as he was. Still, it wasn¡¯t going to get better, not without some serious road work. Thinking of road work, John briefly wondered if he could get paid for upgrading the road, he bet he could find some good tutorials on building stone roads online. Putting the idea away for later, John continued his trek toward the center of town. Arriving at the Runic Rock John used a quick casting of Control Water to dry off the bench and then sat down. By this time the sun had made itself known, and the day was turning pleasantly warm, despite the dampness that had pervaded everything. Grandma Loren didn¡¯t seem to be around, but that was okay, John was happy to wait, and if she didn¡¯t come out at some point he could always go back to the farm and do some work. Looking about John found that the town had survived the storm with relatively few casualties. There were some missing roof tiles, and a few missing shutters, but other than that everything seemed fine. As he looked about, he could see Frank setting up his stall, and just a few minutes later out came Ellie, and she started piecing together her own. It looked like they weren¡¯t going to let the mud stop them. John smiled and waved, both of them waved back and then returned to their work. A few minutes later found John getting restless, and he pulled open the Web Interface. For a while John lost himself in videos and tutorials on road building. It looked like he could devise something similar to a Roman Road, which were still famous for their durability. Eventually someone sat down beside him and he looked over to see Loren peering over his shoulder. ¡°What are you doing?¡± she asked. ¡°Learning to build roads,¡± John admitted. ¡°Changing profession already? Decided being a farmer is too hard?¡± she asked with a twinkle. ¡°Nah, just tired of mud.¡± John gestured to the ground around him. ¡°Well get used to it, we¡¯ve got three or so months of rain coming. After that¡¯ll be about the same for snow.¡± John grimaced. ¡°Guess I¡¯ve only got a couple more months to make a profit then,¡± he muttered. ¡°Hm?¡± Loren looked away from the video he¡¯d been watching. ¡°Something wrong?¡± John waved a hand dismissively. ¡°Nothing, it¡¯s just. I¡¯ve got about five months before I have to show I¡¯ve made a profit or quit and find something else.¡± ¡°Hmmm then why are you sitting around doing nothing,¡± Loren asked as she poked him in the side with a bony finger. ¡°Gah! Hey, stop that. I was waiting for you!¡± ¡°Hm a likely story,¡± she said, though it seemed she needed little convincing to believe him. ¡°I take it you finished your homework then? ¡°Yep!¡± He held up a hand and created a small pile of dirt in it, then he gestured at the mud around their feet and pulled a small amount of water out of it. He discarded both to the side. Loren nodded. ¡°Very good then, show me your Mana Drawing. Just will your Mana to burn brightly, so that it can be easily seen.¡± John drew out two loops, one for his navel and one for his right arm. Loren looked at him and nodded. ¡°Very good, now show me two strands of imprinted mana at once.¡± John hesitated and looked at Loren. ¡°Uh.. I can¡¯t? I can only control one strand of mana at a time.¡± ¡°Oh bother, right, I forgot you¡¯re only an apprentice at Mana Manipulation. Fine, I¡¯ll take your word for Mana Imprinting. So, that¡¯s all the easy and most useful skills out of the way, what to teach you next¡­ Hmmm Cleanse would be a good spell for you to have, it¡¯ll cure crops of infection. Decay is a good spell for creating fertilizer. Growth is good if you need something to grow fast, but can be hard on the crops. How¡¯s your Mana Sight coming along?¡± ¡°Not¡­ as well as it could be. I haven¡¯t been running it all the time,¡± John replied reluctantly. Loren tsked. ¡°Then Cleanse is right out, too complicated for an Apprentice of Mana Sight. Decay and Growth are probably within your reach, barely. Hmmm.¡± She leaned against the rock with a thoughtful expression. ¡°What about other kinds of magic? Like rituals and stuff?¡± John asked. ¡°Hm? Rituals? Ah, hmm¡­ Ritual Magic relies on precise placements, timing, and reagents to release very complex patterns of mana. The big draw of a ritual is that they can achieve long lasting results and be very powerful, the detriment is that they can cost a lot of mana.¡± ¡°I think Frank mentioned some kind of magic singing, and he said Ellie uses fertility magics?¡± John pressed. ¡°Magic singing? I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve heard of that one¡­ As for the fertility magics Ellie uses, they¡¯re mostly rituals empowered by Ledos and Ira. She does use a few spells, Enrich Soil, Fertilize, and Pollinate, but those are complex weaves you won¡¯t be able to replicate yet,¡± Loren explained. ¡°Who are Ledos and Ira? I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve met them yet.¡± Loren gave a laugh. ¡°Ha! That¡¯ll be the day. Ledos is the God of Magic and Knowledge, and Ira is the Goddess of Civilization and Cultivation. Ellie worships both and has built shrines to them on her farm. When I say they ¡®empower her rituals¡¯ I mean that she sets up the ritual and then entreats the gods to grant power to them.¡± ¡°All it requires to get their help is a shrine?¡± John asked skeptically. ¡°Well Ellie gets by on devotion, mostly. She believes in them as her gods, so they support her. There are other ways to get their patronage though. Ledos looks fondly on all magic users, and Ira looks fondly on builders and those of an agricultural persuasion. It¡¯s usually not hard to convince them to help their favored peoples, even if they aren¡¯t worshipers. If you want major help from them though, like powering powerful rituals, you¡¯ll either need to devote yourself to them, or perform tasks for them,¡± Loren said. ¡°What kind of tasks?¡± John wondered aloud. ¡°Depends on the level of help you want and the god in question. The most basic task is building a shrine or other place of worship. Sacrifices of goods and time are occasionally asked for, and of course there¡¯s always quests.¡± John ran his fingers through his beard as he considered. ¡°Do you think I should build shrines to them? What should a shrine look like? I¡¯m not exactly a talented artist¡­¡± ¡°Hm¡­ Well, Ellie had her shrines commissioned. They¡¯re small wooden huts with scrollwork, a small altar and a depiction of the deity inside. Very pretty, quite expensive. As to whether or not you should build them¡­¡± Loren shrugged. ¡°That really depends on if you¡¯re going to entreat them for aid or not. If you think you¡¯d like some deific intervention then I¡¯d say yes. Though remember, unless you truly venerate them, it¡¯s going to be a business transaction. In order to get something out you¡¯ll have to put something in.¡± John nodded as he considered what she¡¯d said. After a moment of contemplation he tabled the idea of a shrine. ¡°Alright, I think I¡¯d like to know Decay, Growth, and Ritual Magic, if you¡¯re willing to teach me.¡± This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Very well, the first two will be easy enough, I¡¯ll show you the weaves and you copy them. For Ritual Magic I¡¯ll have to go get a primer. That one requires a lot more information than I can give you in a single sitting,¡± she admitted. ¡°Well, if it helps I bought the Blueprint Module and could copy down the weaves, then practice them while you go get the primer,¡± John offered. ¡°Hmmm not a bad purchase I suppose, I wouldn¡¯t rely too hard on system granted Blueprints though, they tend to be the bare minimum. Well, let me show you the weaves.¡± She held up her hand and a spell weave took shape in it. ¡°This is Decay.¡± She then held up her other hand, and a second weave appeared. ¡°And this is Growth.¡± John studied the weaves for a few moments, copying them into the Blueprint Module as best he could. They were indeed more complex than any of the other spells he¡¯d used yet, and the fuzziness of the lines made it more difficult than previous spells, but he was fairly certain he¡¯d gotten a good representation of them. ¡°Alright,¡± he said at last. ¡°I think I have them.¡± ¡°Good, I¡¯ll be back in a few minutes,¡± Loren said as she stood and walked off. John immediately called Decay up and projected the weave over his upturned hand. He then began to push his mana against it. He met the familiar resistance, and continued to push his will against the wall. Eventually it gave, though John realized he felt far more mentally taxed than usual, likely a result of trying to force a higher ranked weave. [Spell Gained:] ¡°That¡¯s one,¡± Loren said, startling John. He hadn¡¯t noticed her return. ¡°Now the other, I¡¯ll wait.¡± John nodded and began working on Growth. Looking at the new weave he could see the similarities with the one he¡¯d just finished, and oddly that actually made it harder. Even with the representation in front of him, his mind kept wandering to the previous weave. Still, after what felt like an age he managed to push through, and the weave snapped into place. [Spell Gained:] John put a hand to his head, his brain felt sore and overtaxed. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯ll get easier as you increase Mana Manipulation. Once you can weave individual strands of mana you can build a weave piece by piece instead of all at once,¡± Loren said in a conciliatory tone. ¡°Now, this will teach you the basics of Ritual Magic,¡± she continued as she pulled a book out of seemingly thin air. It was a slim volume, and slightly tattered. ¡°Though I wouldn¡¯t be too excited, the rituals depicted are basic, and won¡¯t do much for you I¡¯m afraid, but you should be able to cobble something together that will get you the skill.¡± John took the book and flipped it open. The interior was filled with diagrams and pictures, along with lists of possible reagents and discussions of what each ritual did. ¡°Well, something is better than nothing. Looks like I might need some basic tools though¡­¡± ¡°Yes, you¡¯ll need something to measure with at the least, the Measure skill at apprentice rank is simply too imprecise. In fact, most ritualists don¡¯t rely on the skill until they have it at Master rank,¡± Loren cautioned. ¡°Alright, I don¡¯t suppose anyone sells measuring sticks or something like that?¡± John inquired. ¡°Not as such, no. You could probably get Phillip to measure out some twine in different lengths for you. He¡¯s quite good at Measuring. His is the woodworking shop over there.¡± Loren gestured toward the end of the street. ¡°I¡¯ll do that then. I should probably see him about getting a door made for my cellar anyway.¡± ¡°Well then, your homework is to, without using points, raise any skill or spell to the Journeyman rank, gain the Ritual Magic skill, and increase Decay and Growth to the Apprentice rank,¡± Loren informed him. ¡°How long does it take to increase a skill to Journeyman through use?¡± John wondered. ¡°One week of continuous use. You¡¯re probably close in one or two abilities already,¡± she said. John winced. ¡°I¡¯m not going to have time to grind out any skills I don¡¯t use regularly.¡± ¡°With your time restraints? I imagine not. Though you may be able to take the winter to do some ¡®grinding¡¯ as you call it. Unless you build a greenhouse, or some other temperature-controlled environment,¡± Loren mused. ¡°So, I suppose you¡¯ll just have to do as most people do, and rank up by using skills in your normal life.¡± John nodded. ¡°Also, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve said this enough, thank you, you¡¯ve been a tremendous help.¡± Loren smiled. ¡°It¡¯s no trouble. Now you¡¯d best get going, you don¡¯t have time to waste.¡± John smiled back as he stood. ¡°Bye, I¡¯ll see you next time I¡¯m in town.¡± ¡°Goodbye,¡± she said with a wave. John left the square and headed down the street toward where he could see a shop displaying several pieces of woodworking. He paused out front to examine the sturdy tables, desks, and chairs that were on display. They seemed to be well made, but then again everything John knew about woodworking could fill maybe half a page. Giving one last glance to the display John walked into the shop, his coming heralded by the tinkling of a bell. The interior was crammed with finished products; most of which suffered from a case of sturdy and practical. But a few pieces stood out as having intricate detailed work. All of it was finely sanded and smooth, though only a few pieces were varnished. As he looked about a small man, maybe four feet tall and balding, came out of the back room, wiping his fingers on a cloth. ¡°Hello hello! Oh you must be John! It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you!¡± The man stuck out one rough and calloused hand and John shook it firmly. ¡°Hi, you must be Phillip?¡± John said with a friendly smile. ¡°Oh indeed! Welcome to my shop, please tell me you want something other than a booth?¡± Phillip said. ¡°Is making booths that bad?¡± John asked. ¡°Making booths is boring,¡± Phillip said. ¡°I used to wish I had more to do out here. In a small town there¡¯s not a lot of call for a woodworker unless something breaks. Now we have all these players and all they want are booths. Plain booths at that, too cheap to spring for some decoration. All function, no form, that¡¯s what they want.¡± The man paused, looking abashed. ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t mean to complain.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, I can see how making the same thing over and over again would be less than thrilling,¡± John said. ¡°Quite! I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯re here for something more interesting?¡± Phillip looked at John hopefully. ¡°Probably not. I need a door,¡± John admitted. ¡°A door?¡± Phillip asked, looking slightly crestfallen. ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t need much woodwork right now,¡± John said apologetically. ¡°No,¡± Phillip replied with a sigh. ¡°I suppose you wouldn¡¯t. Let¡¯s see, I¡¯ve a couple of finished doors in the back, or I could come measure your doorway and build one specifically for it if you prefer.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯d love to take home a finished door today. It¡¯s for my storm cellar,¡± John explained. ¡°Ah, as good a place to start as any, you¡¯ll be wanting one of the heavy doors then.¡± Phillip started heading for the back of the shop and motioned for John to follow. The back room was larger than the front, and packed with even more items, almost all of them entirely utilitarian. Leaning against the back wall were several doors (complete in frames), from a thin interior door, to what appeared to be a thick slab of solid wood, that John suspected would be perfect for his storm cellar. Indeed, Phillip walked over to the heavy-duty door and rapped on it. ¡°This is probably the one you want. It¡¯s solid oak all the way through, it¡¯s been varnished so it should be waterproof, and it has a heavy-duty bolt to help hold it closed,¡± the smaller man explained. ¡°It does sound good. How much does it cost?¡± John inquired. ¡°Normally the door would only cost about fifty coppers, but the varnish has to be imported, can¡¯t make the stuff locally, not enough trees. So the final price comes out to about a silver.¡± John grimaced at the price, but gave careful consideration to the door. It wasn¡¯t elaborate, or pretty, but he could tell it was solid, and would almost certainly hold against high winds and heavy rain. After a short moment of indecision, he finally nodded his head. ¡°I¡¯ll take it.¡± ¡°Excellent choice!¡± Phillip said even as John handed him a silver. ¡°Will you be needing help getting it installed?¡± Moving forward John picked up the door awkwardly and disappeared it into his inventory. ¡°Nah, I¡¯ll just mold the stone around the frame to hold it in place.¡± ¡°Ah, be careful not to apply too much pressure when you do that, otherwise you could warp or break the frame,¡± Phillip cautioned. ¡°Thanks, I¡¯ll be sure to take it as slow as possible,¡± John promised. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose there¡¯s anything else I can interest you in while you¡¯re here?¡± ¡°Um¡­ I think there was something¡­ Oh right! Can I get you to measure some pieces of twine for me? I¡¯m going to do some ritual work and I need precise measurements, Grandma Loren said you¡¯d be my best bet at getting those,¡± John said. ¡°That¡¯s no problem, I¡¯ll even do it for free, provided you have the twine. What lengths do you need?¡± Phillip asked. ¡°Uh, let¡¯s go with a Yard, a Foot, and an Inch,¡± John said as he took out a spool of twine. Phillip took the spool and measured out a few lengths of twine, cutting them with is belt knife. He then handed the cut pieces and the spool back. ¡°There you go, anything else?¡± John paused and thought it over, then shook his head. ¡°Sorry, not yet. I¡¯m going to need barn doors in the future, and a gate for my farm once I put up a wall, but those are a bit off.¡± ¡°Hmmm,¡± Phillip hummed in disappointment. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll be here when you¡¯re ready. It was nice meeting you John.¡± ¡°You as well,¡± John replied, and then left the store. MAG - Chapter 13 - Edited John squelched his way back to the farm, which he found to be much as he left it. Making his way over to the storm cellar he popped the door out of his inventory and maneuvered it over the hole. He then used a slow, and low power application of Control Earth to sink the frame into the stone. He leaned down and opened the door, tested the steps, and then made adjustments. In the end he had to adjust the steps to be slightly steeper in order to accommodate the doorway, but it was worth it in his opinion. Door dealt with, he got back to work. First thing on his agenda was figuring out composting, so he wandered down into the cellar and sat on one of the straw bales while he googled the process. After a short time of searching he determined that composting did not work as he¡¯d imagined. He had assumed he could just pile all of the grass, straw, and wheat together and that it¡¯d break down and turn into soil eventually. This was only partially true, and really only if he used the anaerobic composting method, which tended to have bad side effects. The other popular method was aerobic composting, which required that the composted material be aerated regularly by stirring it, a difficult process for the sheer amount of material he was working with; and that didn¡¯t include the fact that grass needed a secondary material to keep it from collapsing into a black, slimy, stinking mass. If he had manure that would fix the problem, but he didn¡¯t, and to be honest he was unlikely to ever have enough cows to produce manure in quantities he would need. It was too bad there wasn¡¯t a way to produce fertilizer out of thin air. John paused at that thought, because he realized there was a way for that to happen. John pulled up a new search tab and spent several minutes sifting through various articles until he was certain of his plan. He then checked his contacts list and saw that Sally and Ex were online. Clicking on Ex¡¯s name he got a prompt. [It appears you would like to communicate with a contact. Would you like to purchase the Communications Module for 10 USD or 100 gold? Please be aware that this is a per-character purchase, and will be lost if you replace your current character with a new one.] John narrowed his eyes and considered. He was already one hundred twenty dollars into modules and he wasn¡¯t sure he wanted to purchase another one. How often was he going to want to contact someone via the game interface? After several moments of thought he decided against it. He could always purchase the module later if it became an issue. For now he¡¯d just talk to Sally and Excelsior when he went into town next. Turning back to the problem of the grass, John decided he¡¯d pile it and burn it. The plains were wet enough now that chances of a large brush fire were practically non-existent. Standing up he left the cellar and began the next task on his list, clearing the land. For the remainder of the day John worked on clearing out grass. The mud proved difficult to move with just Control Earth, and after the first frustrating hour of work, John began using Control Water to dry out the patch of earth he was working with. This further slowed his work, cutting his speed almost in half. However, he pushed on, and he managed to clear maybe a twelfth of an acre. Fortunately by morning the ground was dry enough to easily work with Control Earth which sped up the process enormously, and by the end of the day he¡¯d managed to finish clearing the north-eastern quadrant of his plot. Further, he¡¯d found that he no longer needed the shovel, he¡¯d become strong enough to simply rip apart the roots, which only increased his speed. In addition his Constitution, Strength, and Magic all increased once more. ¡ª The next six days followed a similar pattern, though it did rain twice, which meant that he had to add Control Water into the routine for four of the days. Working in the rain, John found, was even more miserable than working with the muddy ground on the days after; he was wet, cold, and constantly worried he was going to catch a fantasy virus of some kind. Fortunately his hearty Constitution seemed powerful enough to keep him from getting sick, and made the cold just unpleasant instead of unbearable. By the end of the seventh day he was thoroughly sick of the work, even though he¡¯d seen great returns. The southeastern quadrant was clear as well as about a sixth of the southwestern quadrant. In addition, he¡¯d also gained six points in Constitution and Strength, and five in Magic. However, his best gains came in the form of two spell increases when Control Earth jumped to Journeyman rank and Control Water jumped to Apprentice, netting him another four hundred seventy-five Build Points. On the eighth day John headed back for town. He¡¯d eaten the last meal bar the day before, and he didn¡¯t want to find out what happened if he let his avatar starve. The walk to town was, as usual, uneventful, and John wondered if there weren¡¯t any monsters that lived on the plains, or if they just didn¡¯t live so close to a human town. He hadn¡¯t seen much out there, aside from the rabbits that had menaced his wheat and the bugs he¡¯d had to contend with while clearing the grass. Could it be that there weren¡¯t many natural threats on the plains? He decided he¡¯d have to ask someone about that. Walking into town he looked around at the stalls and booths that players were just putting up. After a moment he spied his targets and wandered over toward their booth. Sally and Ex paused in their setup to wave as he walked over and then they continued pulling pieces out of their inventories. ¡°How do you keep so much in your inventories?¡± John wondered aloud as he stopped next to them. ¡°Hi John!¡± Sally said excitedly. ¡°Hey John, and mostly it¡¯s just Sally; she took the Bigger on the Inside feat at level five, it quadrupled her inventory capacity,¡± Ex explained as he slotted boards together. ¡°Yeah! It¡¯s pretty awesome! I got that and Claws of Steel! It¡¯s a racial feat that allows me to turn my fingers into claws!¡± Sally held up her hands and demonstrated, her fingers growing more bestial, the ends becoming sharp and pointy. ¡°Wow! That¡¯s pretty cool actually. More storage space could be really useful, I¡¯ll have to keep that in mind for level five,¡± John said, impressed at the display. ¡°You¡¯re still not level five?¡± Ex sounded surprised. ¡°Nope, leveling happens really slowly when you¡¯re clearing land. I got two levels out of a single crop though, so hopefully it speeds up once I grow more. Still, it¡¯s been really good for my skill points, I¡¯ve gotten a bunch of skills to Apprentice rank and Control Earth is Journeyman now,¡± John explained. ¡°Huh, how many points are you sitting on now?¡± Ex inquired. ¡°Uh¡­¡± John pulled up his sheet and checked it. ¡°Four thousand six hundred fifty-six,¡± he said finally. Ex and Sally both looked shocked. ¡°Holy cow! You might be able to afford six or seven feats at level five!¡± Sally said excitedly. ¡°That¡¯s really good, I barely scraped by at two thousand points, and only because we got a last minute quest,¡± Ex admitted, sounding slightly sour. ¡°I saved all my points! I had five hundred left over after buying my feats!¡± Sally said with a grin. ¡°Yeah yeah, you were right, I was wrong, saving points is the way to go,¡± Excelsior said with a roll of his eyes. ¡°What did you take Ex?¡± John asked. ¡°I took Dynamo and Deep Pool. Dynamo doubles your mana regeneration rate, and Deep Pool doubles your mana pool,¡± he explained. ¡°Huh, I wonder if Dynamo stacks with Mana Drawing,¡± John mused. ¡°The forums say it does, but I don¡¯t actually know Mana Drawing so I couldn¡¯t say from personal experience.¡± ¡°You should ask Grandma Loren to teach you,¡± John told him. ¡°You think she would?¡± Ex asked. ¡°She teaches me!¡± Sally said with a grin. ¡°What! When?! You¡¯re practically never on without me!¡± Ex exclaimed. ¡°Fridays, when you have those work meetings! It¡¯s how I knew to save points for feats!¡± ¡°Ugh, so I could have been getting magic lessons all this time?!¡± Ex sounded aggravated. ¡°Probably,¡± John replied with his own grin. ¡°Just be sure to be nice, respectful, and listen to her.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll talk to her when she shows up,¡± Ex muttered. ¡°Anyway, what brings you into town today? Anything we can help with? Mana Stones? Implements? Armor?¡± ¡°Nah, I¡¯m here to get more food, I ran out of meal cakes yesterday,¡± John explained. ¡°Oh yeah! I also wanted to ask you guys, what happens to the bodies of the creatures you kill in the dungeon?¡± Sally and Ex gave John a perplexed look. ¡°Mostly we just leave them there after we dig out the Cores,¡± Ex said. ¡°Grandma Loren says they probably have parts that can be used for making potions and stuff, but there are no alchemists out here, so we don¡¯t usually harvest them,¡± Sally said a moment later. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. ¡°Cores?¡± John asked, remembering seeing a mention of those in the writeup he¡¯d read on Mana Wells. ¡°Huh? Oh, yeah, Cores.¡± Ex held up his hand and a small milky-white sphere appeared in it. ¡°These things, not all monsters have them, but they¡¯re pretty useful if you know what you¡¯re doing. They¡¯re a lot like a reusable mana stone, they can store mana and you can retrieve it later. They don¡¯t have very good capacity though. This one can only store about six hundred points, but the forums say that alchemists and some casters can refine them down into purer forms, and even combine them to make larger containers.¡± John took a moment to Inspect the core. [Mana Core] ¡°Huh,¡± John said. ¡°I wonder why the help system didn¡¯t mention these when I asked how to get more mana.¡± ¡°Probably because of how uncommon they are. The NPC- erm, townsfolk, didn¡¯t even know that the dungeon could produce them until we started bringing them back,¡± Ex said. ¡°They¡¯re not super reliable though,¡± Sally said. ¡°They can break if you overfill them, or drain them too quick, or sometimes just because. Mostly we just use Mana Stones instead, we find bunches of them anyway.¡± ¡°What happens when they break?¡± John asked. ¡°They evaporate, just like a spent Mana Stone,¡± Ex said. ¡°Anyway, you wanted to know about creature corpses?¡± ¡°Oh yeah! I was wondering if the dungeon produced creatures I could turn into fertilizer,¡± John explained. ¡°OH! That¡¯s smart!¡± Sally exclaimed. ¡°The dungeon is basically an infinite source of carcasses!¡± John nodded and Ex looked thoughtful. ¡°Well, the Slimes probably wouldn¡¯t work¡­ actually, no, Sally, aren¡¯t there Herb Slimes in The Garden?¡± ¡°Yeah, why- OH! Right! When they die, plants grow around them!¡± Sally said with sudden realization. ¡°What?¡± John asked. ¡°The first floor of the dungeon is all Slimes, you know, like slimy balls that roam around and try to dissolve you?¡± Ex asked, and John nodded to show he was following. ¡°Well, there¡¯s this one room called The Garden, it¡¯s all full of trees and plants and stuff, mostly we just leave it alone because there¡¯s no one to process any of the stuff we could harvest there.¡± ¡°And it has Herb Slimes in it!¡± Sally butted in excitedly ¡°They¡¯re not aggressive unless you harm the plants, but if you do, they swarm you!¡± ¡°And,¡± Ex said, giving Sally the stink eye and taking back the conversation. ¡°If you kill them, the plants around them grow really fast.¡± ¡°Oh! Like a magic fertilizer!¡± John said. Ex and Sally both nodded. ¡°You could probably pay people to get Herb Slimes for you, or their ooze at least. You¡¯d need to provide some way to transport it though.¡± John nodded as he considered the possibilities, then he asked, ¡°What other kinds of Slimes are there?¡± ¡°There¡¯s Earth Slimes, and Metal Slimes, and Crystal Slimes.¡± Sally ticked off the different kinds of slimes on her fingers. ¡°I wonder how plants would react to those ones,¡± John said. ¡°OH! Are you gonna experiment with Slimes and plants!¡± Sally asked excitedly. ¡°I don¡¯t see why I shouldn¡¯t,¡± John replied. ¡°What else does the dungeon generate?¡± ¡°Well the second floor is all twisty tunnels and caves with roaming swarms of bats and rats. Normal sized, but dozens of them at a time, sometimes both types at once,¡± Ex said. ¡°After that is The Spider Level, it¡¯s filled with¡­ wait for it-¡± ¡°SPIDERS!¡± Sally cut him off. Ex rolled his eyes and nodded. ¡°Then there¡¯s the Rodents of Unusual Size, giant rats, bats, prairie dogs, marmots, that sort of thing, ranging from the size of large dogs to people.¡± Ex continued. ¡°The fifth floor is all Oozes, they¡¯re like Slimes but they don¡¯t have a core and move really fast. They¡¯re really hard to kill without magic since they just reform after most physical attacks. That¡¯s all the floors that¡¯ve been accessed so far, no one has gotten past the Prismatic Ooze Lord yet.¡± ¡°Prismatic Ooze Lord?¡± John echoed. ¡°YEAH! It¡¯s super cool, it looks like a giant puddle that scintillates with all the colors you can imagine! It even glows! It¡¯s super hard to kill though, if you hit it with an elemental attack its color changes to match the type of attack and it becomes immune. Ex and I only have fire and life magic, so we¡¯ve been unable to beat it alone,¡± Sally explained. ¡°That does sound really cool,¡± John affirmed. ¡°It¡¯d be more cool if we could kill it, no one has gotten level five loot yet, hopefully it¡¯s something better than this trash we keep picking up. Honestly, we¡¯ve started leaving most stuff behind, there¡¯s just no market for it. We don¡¯t have enough new players showing up to purchase this stuff, and none of us need it aside from the occasional piece of armor,¡± Ex complained. ¡°Have you tried teaming up with a water user?¡± John asked. ¡°Huh? Why?¡± Ex asked in turn. ¡°Because water and fire are opposites, maybe when it makes itself immune to fire it makes itself weak to the opposed element, water. Then you can alternate between the two,¡± John theorized. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ not a terrible idea,¡± Ex admitted. ¡°We¡¯ll have to find someone who knows water or ice magic. Ice would be better.¡± ¡°Not a common choice I take it?¡± John inquired. ¡°Nah! Most people like fire! It¡¯s really easy to kill things with fire!¡± Sally explained. ¡°Sally¡¯s mostly correct,¡± Ex interjected. ¡°Fire is what the majority of mage builds went with. The second most prevalent is probably Life, on account of healers always being useful.¡± ¡°I wonder what the benefit of joining a church is, given that healing magic isn¡¯t tied to deities,¡± John wondered aloud. ¡°Boons,¡± Excelsior answered immediately. ¡°Deities can grant Boons, they¡¯re like feats, and in some cases replicate feats exactly. Basically, if you show enough devotion, or do enough quests or help the church in a meaningful way you can get a Boon from the deity. You have to keep doing whatever you were doing to get the Boon, but it can be worth it, especially since the Boons aren¡¯t level restricted. In theory a Boon could be equal to a rank twenty feat, though I¡¯d bet you have to do something really spectacular to get one that high.¡± ¡°Huh, that makes me rethink building a couple of shrines,¡± John admitted. ¡°Ooooh! Who would you build shrines too?¡± Sally asked. ¡°Probably Ledos and Ira,¡± John said. Sally¡¯s eyes focused briefly in the air before her. ¡°Oh, God of Magic and Goddess of Cultivation, nice. But you wanna sell things, right? Maybe you should include Aarus, he¡¯s the God of Trade!¡± ¡°I take it there¡¯s a forum post about the gods?¡± John asked. ¡°Loads of them,¡± Ex replied. ¡°Mostly people asking how to get Boons. There¡¯s a ton of suggestions, but most of them don¡¯t actually work. Except Aarus, he¡¯s easy, just fork over something with enough value.¡± ¡°Well that¡¯s good to know, I wonder what the cost of a Boon is,¡± John said. ¡°It varies, he offered one guy a Boon for a literal arm and a leg!¡± Sally said with some mirth. ¡°They didn¡¯t take him up on that offer, did they?¡± John inquired. ¡°Nah, that¡¯d make the character basically unplayable, so they refused,¡± Ex interjected. John shook his head. ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll build the shrines and see where it takes me. I could use all the help I can get.¡± ¡°Farming not working out?¡± Ex asked. ¡°I¡¯ve planted one crop, which came out Poor quality. The majority of my time has been spent clearing land to get it ready, and to be honest I have no idea what I¡¯m going to do next, beyond a vague idea of making plots and experimenting with different fertilizers and substances.¡± John shook his head. ¡°Are you on some kind of time limit?¡± Ex inquired. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve got five months left to turn a profit,¡± John admitted. ¡°And two of those months are the winter season, when I doubt anything will grow.¡± ¡°Ouch, can I ask the reason for the limit?¡± Ex asked cautiously. ¡°Yeah, my dad thinks I¡¯d be better off going to college,¡± John said. ¡°College isn¡¯t a bad thing!¡± Sally chimed in. ¡°I¡¯m learning all sorts of interesting things!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to college so I can be someone¡¯s secretary and earn minimum wage,¡± John said, disgruntled. ¡°And that doesn¡¯t even touch on the subject of student loans. Do you know the average person spends twenty years paying off a college loan? That¡¯s double what it took just twenty years ago.¡± ¡°It does?¡± Sally asked, looking startled. ¡°Yeah, didn¡¯t you research it before you started college?¡± John asked, puzzled. ¡°Uhm¡­ Not really.¡± She admitted reluctantly. ¡°I didn¡¯t have to take out a loan.¡± John, sensing this was something Sally didn''t want to talk about, didn¡¯t press her. The trio fell into a slightly uncomfortable silence for a few moments. ¡°Uh, anyway,¡± John began. ¡°I should go pick up some food before I forget.¡± ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll see you later,¡± Ex said. ¡°Yeah, later,¡± Sally echoed. Giving an awkward wave, John headed off for the store. MAG - Chapter 14 - Edited John returned to his farm fifteen coppers poorer, having bought thirty of the meal cakes. He immediately set back to work, and by the time night rolled around he¡¯d finished clearing almost half of the last quadrant. In addition Strength, Constitution, and Magic all ticked up by another point. The biggest gain of the day was another rank up. [Rank Up!] During work the next day John got a similar message along with an extra point in both Strength and Constitution. [Rank Up!] After eight hours of work on the tenth day, the plot was finally fully cleared. And as a bonus Mana Sight had ranked up to Journeyman early in the day, netting him another three hundred fifty points, putting him at a nice five thousand eight hundred twenty-seven. As John took the obligatory hour-long break from the game, he decided to browse the forums, specifically the game guides. Much to his disgruntlement, many of the guides were locked behind paywalls, the people who¡¯d written them unwilling to share without monetary compensation. However, after a bit of searching he found a few gems. One was a list of feats and their unlock requirements, and the other was a brief introduction to Enchanting. John gave the feats list a cursory glance, seeing only a few that seemed applicable to his situation. Dynamo would double his mana regeneration, Deep Pool would double his mana pool, Endless Stamina would double how long he could go without tiring (though that felt redundant with his high con, also, tiredness hadn¡¯t actually stopped him from working yet), Increased Size would multiply the volume and area of his spells by ten, and Bigger on the Inside would quadruple his inventory capacity. Other than those, most of the feats involved fighting in some fashion, or were race specific. Interestingly some of the feats appeared to be one offs, meaning they didn¡¯t have advanced levels you could purchase. The guide to Enchanting was short, giving only a few basic enchantments to work with. The author did note that if you had the blueprint module and the Enchanting skill you¡¯d gain access to the Enchantments tab. This would allow you to design your own Enchantment Blueprints, provided you knew the correct runes and sigils. The most helpful part was by far the part at the end. One of the things you should know about enchanting is that it¡¯s more like circuitry than anything else. Those lines, swirls, flares, and whorls all serve a purpose. Some of them slow down mana, some of them speed it up, others make it harder for mana to pass, meaning it has to reach a certain power threshold to activate. While the runes themselves determine what the mana will do, the lines determine how and when they activate, making them of paramount importance to the structure of a well-designed enchantment. After that paragraph it went on to explain many of the connecting lines in great detail, describing how they worked and giving examples of their use. After that there were several common runes and an explanation of what each one did. After reading for several minutes, John realized his hour was well and truly up, and he logged out of the forums, and into the game. Once back in the game he looked around the now barren patch of ground he was calling a farm. Currently it had a storm cellar, and a wall that enclosed about an acre of land. John decided that the first thing he needed to do was enclose the entire area in a wall. Four or five feet tall should be sufficient, but it also needed to extend underground a few feet, in order to give it a solid foundation. So the first order of business was digging a trench. Getting to work, John spent the next two hours digging a trench all around the perimeter of the farm. The ditch was approximately five feet deep, one foot wide, and five hundred twenty feet long. Next he began filling it with stone. Each depression was filled, and then the stone was extended upward, five feet above ground level, to create a solid plug with a total area of five hundred twenty feet in length, one foot in width, and ten feet in height. The creation of each section took four hours, which unfortunately meant he didn¡¯t finish the final two sections until noon the next day. However, he got a nice bonus in the form of Create Earth increasing to Apprentice rank. After that was finished, he decided to work on creating garden plots. At first John wanted to just dive in and start building, however a moment of thought brought forth the idea to design the plots in the Blueprint Module first. Doing so would allow him to better place and space the plots, as well as giving him a template to fill, instead of just winging it. So he wandered down into the cellar, sat on his favorite straw bale, and began to design. John emerged from the cellar two hours later, layout in hand, and got to work. He began by projecting the garden plots onto the northwestern section of the land, the same area that already had a wall in it. Ghostly images of the plots appeared, each one was thirty feet north to south and eighty-five feet east to west, to enclose a total of two thousand five hundred fifty square feet. The walls were three feet high, but they were more for delineating the area, rather than keeping anything out. There were six plots to a side, with a gap of about six feet between each plot, and an aisle running down the center of the plots that was almost forty feet wide and ran the entire length of an acre, almost two hundred and nine feet. He began by digging the trenches, with each trench being five feet deep and a foot in width. He then moved all the stone from the original fence into the first two trenches, creating two enclosed plots with a wall five feet high and a foot thick; perfectly fitting the displayed dimensions of the plot. He then spent the rest of the day, and all of the next day, filling the trenches with stone; and gaining another point in Magic for his efforts. As he finished filling the last trench he got another unexpected popup. [Level Up!] [Please distribute or bank your Build Points now.] ¡°Bank 400 Build Points,¡± John said immediately. [400 Build Points Banked] Next John pulled up his character sheet to take a look at his progress. [Name: John] [Race: Basajaun] [Level: 4] [Mana: 440] [MRegen: 22/minute] [Build Points: 6,396] [Attributes] [Skills] [Spells] [Racial Perks] John grinned as he saw the number of Build Points he¡¯d banked. Six feats next level were an absolute certainty, and if he could get two more skills to Journeyman, or five more skills to Apprentice, he¡¯d even be able to buy seven. Looking at his sheet he decided that there was little to no chance of getting two skills to Journeyman in a timely fashion. However, if he focused on his spells he could probably get to apprentice in most of them in a week, a week and a half at most. Shaking his head, John logged out. Taking the headset off, John set it on the bedside table. He then stood and did the recommended stretches and exercises meant to ward off muscle atrophy. As he worked out he considered what to do next. He wanted to sit down and grind out spells, but he was already strapped for time, and really couldn¡¯t waste a week to do so. On the other hand, having seven feats at level five could be a game changer. Grandma Loren had implied that each feat was a force multiplier, and he wasn¡¯t sure that he could afford to miss out on something that may well help him make more money in the future. Finishing his exercise John wandered out into the kitchenette and nuked a frozen meal. While he waited for it to heat he continued his internal debate. By the time the microwave dinged, he¡¯d come to a decision. He wouldn¡¯t focus on his skills. He could save the extra points for level ten, and maybe scoop up an extra feat then. Besides, if he gained more than one ranked feat he¡¯d want to level them up at ten anyway, and he may need the extra points for it. Satisfied with his decision, he ate his meal, and went to bed. ¡ª After logging in the next morning, John decided he had some decisions to make. He had cleared the land, prepared the plots, and now he needed to decide what to do next. He could plant a crop, but odds were good it¡¯d turn out like his last crop. He could start paying for monster bodies and parts, but he had nowhere to store them nor did he have a way to cook them in order to prevent parasites and disease from infecting his crops. Further he needed a way to determine if they were toxic or not. What John wanted to do was learn Ritual Magic and Enchanting. Both, he felt, would open the doorway to better ways to manage his crops. The real question was, however, did he dare take the time to learn and train them? He¡¯d been playing for thirty-eight days and what did he have to show for it? Basically nothing but a cleared patch of land. This was a far cry from where he imagined he¡¯d be at this point. Sighing, John sat on one of the garden plot walls and considered. Pros and Cons, He thought to himself. Pros: Ritual Magic and Enchanting are cool, they can do lasting, ongoing magic without needing me there to use it directly. Ritual Magic and Enchanting may have the ability to give me unique solutions to common problems, or help me better raise and protect my crops. Now for the Cons: Time! Time, time, time. I feel like I¡¯ve spent a lot of time doing nothing, I need to show forward progress. Yes, all the time I¡¯ve put in is an investment in future gains, but I can¡¯t be positive Enchanting and Ritual Magic will grant future gains. The cost in mana for the Enchantments is going to be high, I don¡¯t have a Mana Well so I¡¯d need to use Mana Stones. John paused in thought, was that actually true? Hadn¡¯t Ex shown him something that could ameliorate the cost of mana stones? If he could purchase mana cores from the other players, he could refill them himself. He ran his fingers through his beard as he considered. Finally he came to a decision. He sat himself down on one of the low, garden plot walls and took out the book on rituals. He would start by giving it a brief read through, and if he didn¡¯t see anything applicable he¡¯d pass on rituals for now. Opening the book once more he began to leaf through the drawings and diagrams, skimming the contents of the descriptions. There were several rituals that looked like they might be useful, such as the Ritual of the Green Grove which improved the health and sped the growth of plants within its radius. The Ritual of Cleansing which cleaned things put inside. The Ritual of Purification which would condense something into a purer form. The Ritual of Unification which would fuse like objects to create a new whole. John paused as he read the last two rituals, they were in the back and clearly more advanced than the rest of the manual. Purification and unification, those reminded him of something Ex had said; Alchemists and some Mages could purify and unify mana cores to create better versions. If these rituals could do that, they might be extremely useful to him in the long run. However, by the look of them, he¡¯d need to do more than merely dabble in rituals to master them. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Flipping back to the Ritual of Cleansing, he looked it over and considered. It said it removed contaminants, poisons, diseases, and ¡°other detrimental substances and energies¡±. As he considered it, John realized this was exactly what he needed. If he used this to clean monster corpses he could be sure of them not having a harmful impact on his crops. The requirements were odd though, requiring four different items representing cleansing or cleanliness, and indicated that the stronger the representation, the more powerful the ritual became. The other requirements, sources of fire, life, death, and water mana, were easy enough to get. He pondered the ritual for some time, considering what objects or items he might use. Soap was an obvious choice, but what else? He could use Lye, but that was present in a lot of primitive soaps, so did it really count as different? If this were the real world there¡¯d be all kinds of options in the form of cleaning supplies. Maybe a cleaning implement would work? In that case a broom would be an appropriate item. Honey has antibacterial properties so that could work, and a quick google search showed that wild garlic had multiple properties related to health and healing. If he wanted to set up the ritual he¡¯d need to pick up some things from town, that¡¯d have to wait. Putting the book away John considered what to do next. He wanted to learn enchanting, and with that forum guide he was pretty sure he could. Pulling up the web interface he found the relevant page and read it once more. He then held out his hand and created a flat disk of stone about the size of a dinner plate. Using the site as a guide and Control Earth to carve, he carefully traced oversized runes and patterns into the plate. When it was finally finished, he Inspected it. [Name: Light Plate] [Skill Gained:] John fed the device some mana and regretted it immediately. The light it gave off was stark and brilliant, powerful enough that he could see it clearly through closed eyelids. He stopped feeding it mana and the light winked out instantly. ¡°I should have put in limiters,¡± he muttered to himself then smoothed out the plate. With a sigh he melded it into the wall he was sitting on. ¡°And I need to get a Mana Well so I can run things.¡± What had Grandma Loren said? Apprentice in enchanting to follow the instructions, Journeyman to actually design and build? He didn¡¯t have eight consecutive days he could just spend on Enchanting, and he certainly didn¡¯t have the points to buy it outright. John grunted in frustration. There were so many things he needed and not nearly enough time or resources. And none of this musing even touched on who was going to buy his stuff, he still hadn¡¯t figured that part out. [New Quest:] John frowned at the quest, all well and good to entice him to do something he already wanted to do, that didn¡¯t fix the issue of not having the knowhow. There was something weird about that reward though. ¡°Help, what does ¡®System Granted Ownership¡¯ mean?¡± he asked. [Answer: System Granted Ownership cannot be taken away from a person by force of arms and is legally acknowledged to supersede all other claims to a location, item, or place. Such things can only be given away by the owner¡¯s direct choice, at which point System Granted Ownership is revoked, and local legal precedent takes over.] ¡°So, it¡¯s a lot like the ¡®Soulbound¡¯ attribute of other games.¡± [Answer: Correct.] John ran his fingers through his beard. This was basically an impossible task, he didn¡¯t have the time to do it himself, and there was no one in Runic Rock with a high enough Enchanting skill to do it for him. ¡°Help, is it possible to receive an impossible quest?¡± [Answer: No, it is always possible to complete a given quest.] Well, that was something he supposed. Alright, so if the system had issued a quest, that meant there was a way to complete it. What did that mean? If he devoted the next twelve days to learning to Enchant he could reach Journeyman rank, was that enough to create a Portal? Portals sounded pretty advanced. But maybe he didn¡¯t need to know how to make a Portal, just how to follow the instructions? He¡¯d need a blueprint then, one he was sure the system would be willing to sell him. [It appears you¡¯re considering the construction of a Portal. Would you like to purchase the Portal and Portal Anchor blueprints for 30 USD or 300 gold?] John waved the message away. So a blueprint was available, which meant he could probably use it as a Journeyman to build a basic Portal. But it would cost him money, he¡¯d already spent too much without seeing any return. It would also be using up time he should be using for farming. Farming that was useless without a Portal, because he needed to be able to sell what he produced. John groaned. He was going in circles. He needed the Portal so he could sell things, he needed the time to grow things. He could just plant seed and hope for the best, but that¡¯d produce Poor quality crops, which wouldn¡¯t do him any good. There was an alternative of course. He could just bite the bullet and buy the Auction Module. It was how much? [It appears you¡¯re looking for the Auction function. Would you like to purchase a year-long subscription to the Auction Module for 20 USD or 200 gold?] Dismissing the message, he considered his options. The Auction Module would immediately open him up to anyone else who owned it, but that alone could be a problem, how many other people had purchased the module? ¡°Help, can you tell me how many people have purchased the Auction Module?¡± [Answer: To date, only 3.2% of players have purchased the Auction Module.] ¡°And how many players are there worldwide?¡± [Answer: 167,594,875 accounts have been registered worldwide.] John knew that number was actually fairly impressive for any game. At the height of its popularity (forty years ago) World of Warcraft had only one hundred million accounts, not even active players. Still, in a world of ten billion people it seemed small. And three point two percent of that came out to about five million people. That was more than enough people to make the purchase worthwhile in his estimation, and the number would only grow. Nodding to himself, John made his choice. ¡°Purchase a subscription to the Auction Module for twenty USD,¡± he said. [Verifying Purchase] [Purchase Approved] John immediately pulled up the Auction tab to find an orderly list of items for sale. Each item had a picture, a name, and when examined, a description. The current filter was set to ¡®newest first¡¯ but he found that he could filter the auctions by just about any criteria he might want. Contrary to its name, however, the Auction didn¡¯t just deal in actual auctions, there were plenty of fixed price items mixed in as well. Wondering how delivery worked, he decided to purchase something cheap. John did a quick search for seeds, and was surprised to see a fair number of listings come up. More, a button called ¡®similar items¡¯ had lit up, and clicking on it showed a list of seed-adjacent results, specifically plants. Turning back to the seeds he quickly perused the listing. He didn¡¯t need wheat, or corn, so he excluded those two from the search terms, which left him with about half the original list, maybe twenty items in all, most all mundane. There was one entry however called ¡®Mystery Seed¡¯. Intrigued, John examined the listing more closely. It had a picture of a thumbnail sized seed that shimmered with an opaline iridescence. After examining the picture closely he read the description. Right, so I have no idea what this seed is, I got it as part of a reward for a quest, and my Inspect is too low to identify it. It could be really valuable, or it could be complete garbage, no clue. I¡¯m tired of it taking up my inventory space and it¡¯s way too expensive to store things at a bank, so I¡¯m putting this up here. John looked at the picture of a small, silvery seed that seemed to glow with a rainbow of colors and then back to the description. His Inspect was too low to identify the seed? Hadn¡¯t the system told him that rank impacted the ability to Inspect higher tier items? Even if the guy was just a Novice, that could indicate the seed itself was rare or valuable. John dithered a bit, but then finally decided he¡¯d take the chance, the cost was a silver and he needed more crops anyway. What was the worst that could happen? He clicked the purchase button. [Purchase Complete, 1 silver has been deducted from your funds, please make room in your inventory for your purchase.] [Inventory space detected, depositing purchase, purchase deposited. Have a nice day.] John opened his inventory and looked inside. There, was the seed, sitting pretty as a picture in one of his inventory slots. He took the seed out and carefully looked it over, attempting to Inspect it as he did so. [Name: ???] Shrugging he put the seed away and stood up. First thing was first, he had a Ritual of Cleansing to set up. Taking out the ritual primer he made his way to the south eastern corner of his plot, well away from everything else. Here he created a large, circular expanse of stone with a diameter of twenty Feet. The Ritual of Cleansing was fairly simple, at least in comparison to some of the later rituals in the book. It consisted of a platform covered in interlocking glyphs, sigils, and patterns, with four pedestals or altars at the cardinal compass points. Having no trouble finding true north (thanks to his map), John lined up the first of the four constructs at the very edge of the circle, using first his eyes, and then the twine to measure the distance from the center of the platform. He then started to create stone. What began to take shape in front of him wasn¡¯t a mere plinth, or altar, but instead a monolithic piece of rock; six feet wide, three feet thick and twelve feet tall, with a slight concave curve in the front. Through the center of the Megalith was a large hole two feet in diameter, right at eye level. John knew, intellectually, that what he was doing was dangerous. Modifying a ritual like this on the fly, without the skill to advise him, could end pretty poorly. However, he¡¯d noticed while looking over the rituals earlier that it was all math, precisely calculated geometry, and John was good at geometry. Whether his confidence in his skill was well placed¡­ well, time would tell. The first monolith completed, John moved on to the second, positioned to the west, then the south, then the east, with each one being a physical copy of the first. When he was finished with the monoliths (which, all together, officially created a megalithic structure) he started on the actual carvings of the ritual. Taking out his measuring strings, he got down on hands and knees, and began to create precise markings in the stone. Four hours of work later, John stood up and surveyed the platform. It was covered in large lines, runes, and sigils forming geometric designs that interlocked in precise patterns. After a careful last inspection of the design a pair of prompts popped up. [Skill Gained:] [Skill Gained:] John frowned, why had he only just gained the Mathematics skill, he was doing math all the time¡­ on a calculator. For a moment he felt incredibly stupid, he¡¯d been doing all his math on a calculator, of course the game wouldn¡¯t recognize that as a skill. Shaking his head, he Inspected the megalith. [Megalithic Ritual of Cleansing (Inactive)] John grunted in annoyance at the cost in mana. He¡¯d known that scaling it up would increase the mana cost. The original ritual was only five feet in diameter after all, this one was twenty; that made it sixty-four times the volume and thus carried an equal increase in mana cost. Hopefully he wouldn¡¯t need absurdly large amounts of reagents. Opening the Auction once more he began searching for qualifying items. Soap was the first item he purchased; someone was selling it for ten coppers a pound despite its Good quality. The next item was an alchemical potion (called Krystal) which the seller swore would clean anything; that cost fifty coppers. The final item he bought was another alchemical item called Pure Philter; ostensibly the potion could cure many low-grade poisons and diseases, it also cost fifty copper. Once he was finished with his little shopping spree, John realized it was about noon, so he logged out for lunch. MAG - Chapter 15 - Edited After logging back in, John immediately headed west toward town. The hour-long walk went by quickly and he found himself once more surrounded by stalls of cheap, useless junk. Navigating the street, he quickly found Ex sitting behind a booth looking terribly bored. ¡°The stool is new, how much for that?¡± John asked. ¡°Ha-ha,¡± Ex said dryly. ¡°Where¡¯s Sally?¡± John asked, looking around for the silver drakekin. ¡°She¡¯s at a class, should be back in an hour or two,¡± Ex explained. ¡°Ah, well, hopefully what I need isn¡¯t in her inventory.¡± Ex perked up at that sentence. ¡°What are you looking for?¡± ¡°Three Fire Stones, three Life Stones, three Death Stones, and three Water Stones,¡± John rattled off. ¡°Hmmm, I¡¯ve got everything but the Life Stones, all of those get snapped up by healers, myself included,¡± Ex said. John frowned and ran his fingers through his beard, considering. ¡°What about those Mana Cores? Can you put aspected mana in them?¡± ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know, actually. Most of us can¡¯t aspect our mana. Grandma Loren only showed me how recently. Let¡¯s find out.¡± Ex held up a hand and a mana core popped into existence. He stared at it for a moment and it took on a subtle green glow. ¡°Huh, it can, that¡¯s actually really useful.¡± ¡°Great! How much for twelve cores and the other stones then?¡± John asked. ¡°Five minutes ago I would have given you the cores for a copper a piece, now I¡¯m re-evaluating their worth,¡± Ex said as he eyed the orb, he then shook his head. ¡°Whatever, I¡¯ve got a whole stack of them, a copper each, and five coppers for each of the Fire Stones, one each for the Death, and one each for Water.¡± ¡°Five coppers for a Fire Stone? Isn¡¯t that a bit much?¡± John asked even as he willed a silver out of his inventory. ¡°Still less than half what they charge everywhere else,¡± Ex pointed out. ¡°And we have a lot of fire mages about.¡± John handed over the silver and received the cores, the stones, and sixty-seven coppers back. ¡°Need anything else?¡± Ex asked. ¡°Yes actually, I¡¯m ready for some dead bodies,¡± John said. ¡°Really? How much are you paying?¡± ¡°Well, you¡¯re going to kill and eviscerate them anyway, all I¡¯m asking for is that you bring them out with you¡­ so¡­ maybe a few coppers a stack? The bodies stack in your inventory, right?¡± John asked. ¡°Yeah, Sally checked that already. So long as the bodies are all in one piece they stack. And I don¡¯t know John, inventory space is valuable¡­¡± John snorted. ¡°Really? What are you spending it on?¡± His eyes raked over the poor quality pieces of armor and implements on display. ¡°I mean, I doubt armor stacks, and you¡¯re going to get maybe a couple coppers for a piece at some point? I¡¯m offering, call it five coppers per twenty-five corpses, that¡¯s a guaranteed return!¡± Ex wobbled his head side to side. ¡°Can¡¯t blame me for trying. That said, I¡¯m holding you to that per twenty-five bit.¡± ¡°Why was that impor- ugh, Sally can fit a hundred corpses per inventory space can¡¯t she.¡± ¡°Yup! I¡¯ll be nice though and assume you meant large creatures only. No stacks of twenty-five regular rats and bats,¡± Ex said with a grin. ¡°Uh, yeah, large corpses are what I was imagining,¡± John admitted. ¡°I should probably be more careful about my wording. Which brings me to my next request, Herb Slime Goo.¡± ¡°Ah yes, I was wondering when you¡¯d want that. Honestly I don¡¯t mind stopping at the first floor to pick some up, especially if you¡¯re paying for it, but we¡¯ve got nothing to keep it in,¡± Ex said. ¡°Hmmm okay I can see that being a problem¡­ Uh¡­ hmmm I wonder if I can create jugs¡­¡± John pondered aloud. ¡°What do you mean ¡®create jugs¡¯,¡± Ex asked. ¡°I have Create Earth, it allows you to make stone, dirt, gravel, sand, stuff like that, so long as it can be found in the region,¡± John explained. ¡°That sounds really useful. So what, you just imagine what you want and then create it?¡± ¡°Sort of, yeah. I¡¯ve not tried to make anything really delicate with it yet, that might require more precision than I have,¡± John admitted. ¡°Well, go ahead and try it, what¡¯s the worst that can happen?¡± Ex said encouragingly. ¡°Alright, here goes nothing.¡± John held his hand over the counter and started gesturing as he cast Create Earth. He slowed down the creation to a crawl, using a small amount of mana and, for the first time, purposefully choosing to create less material than the spell allowed. Slowly he generated a simple bowl of granite, then he brought the sides up further until it was more like an Urn. Letting the magic go he inspected the object. [Granite Urn] ¡°Well, that seems to have worked,¡± Ex said as he picked up the urn. ¡°Bit heavy, though I suppose we won¡¯t notice that once it¡¯s in our inventories. No lid?¡± ¡°I mean, I could make a lid, but there¡¯s nothing to hold it on. I think I could try making some threads on the inside lip and a matching set on a lid, but it certainly wouldn¡¯t be water tight,¡± John returned. ¡°Eh, go for it, some proof against spillage is better than none,¡± Ex advised. John concentrated again, adding large threads to the inside rim of the urn, and then creating a lid which would fit inside. He tested it, and it didn¡¯t work right. He adjusted the threads on the lid and tried again, it almost fit that time, but not quite. He tried a third time, and this time managed a loose fit. Not wanting to have to go through that ordeal again, John took blueprints of both the urn and the lid, so he¡¯d be able to recreate them more easily. Ex examined the two pieces and then screwed the lid on. It wasn¡¯t a tight fit, and it wobbled a little when he tilted the urn from side to side, but in the end he nodded. ¡°That¡¯ll do. Now you just twenty-four more of them.¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Pulling up the blueprint, John filled in the ghostly outlines with stone, a task that was both much quicker and easier than trying to wing it, and soon enough he¡¯d finished with all twenty-four of the urns. ¡°There, that should be sufficient. Same price as bodies?¡± ¡°Double,¡± Ex said firmly. ¡°The bodies we¡¯re going to kill anyway. For this we have to capture the slime, then basically squeeze it out into a jar. Even at one copper per two and a half pots I¡¯m being generous.¡± John thought it over and then nodded. ¡°Deal, ten coppers per stack. But I probably only need a few pots, call it four, to start off with.¡± ¡°Deal, Sally and I will be headed to the dungeon when she gets back. We should have some corpses and goo for you by this evening. How many corpses were you thinking to start with?¡± Ex asked. ¡°Uh¡­ two stacks? I¡¯ve set up a large Ritual of Cleansing to clean them of toxins and diseases and stuff, it should be able to hold fifty bodies if we pile them up, I think. How big are the bodies?¡± ¡°Spiders can get up to four feet if they spread their legs out fully, the big rodents can get as large as five,¡± Ex informed him. ¡°Yeah, fifty should be fine,¡± John said. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll see you both this evening then.¡± ¡°Yep, this evening, thanks for buying! Oh wait, where¡¯s your farm?¡± Ex asked as John started to walk off. ¡°Straight east from the road, you can¡¯t miss it!¡± John called back and kept walking. Arriving in the square John found Grandma Loren surrounded by a small knot of people, all players by the look of their equipment. At first he feared something was wrong, but as he got closer he could hear that she was instructing them on how to go about learning Mana Manipulation and Mana Sight. Not wanting to interrupt, he waited until her current lecture seemed to be done, then approached as the players started to drift off. ¡°Ah, John, how are you doing today dear?¡± She asked affably. ¡°Pretty good, I set up a ritual earlier today and just brokered a deal with Excelsior to bring me bodies,¡± John said. ¡°Bodies? You¡¯re not becoming a necromancer are you? Nasty business necromancy, people won¡¯t be happy if you take it up.¡± She said sharply. ¡°Uh, no, nothing like that. I just realized the other day that the dungeon was basically providing free fertilizer in the form of dead bodies, and figured I could take advantage. The ritual I set up is to clean them of disease and poisons and stuff,¡± He hastily explained. Loren eyed him for a moment then nodded. ¡°That¡¯s not a bad plan at all, I¡¯ll have to admit the idea hasn¡¯t crossed any of our minds, bodies aren¡¯t usually useful unless you¡¯ve got an alchemist to process them¡­ hmm, I wonder what other uses we¡¯ve been overlooking,¡± she mused. John shrugged. ¡°Couldn¡¯t tell you, to be honest the idea only came to me just the other day when I was trying to figure out how to compost all that grass I have.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re going to cleanse the bodies, then compost them, that¡¯s pretty clever. Disgusting, but so is most composting to be honest. You¡¯ll want to ensure the compost pile heats up properly, even if you kill off any diseases they already have, you don¡¯t want to tempt fate,¡± she said. John nodded. ¡°I hope to use Decay to help speed that up, but I¡¯m going to need some way to make it cover a larger area.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a feat for that, Increased Size, it multiplies the amount of matter and energy you can manipulate by ten,¡± Loren informed him. ¡°That¡¯s pretty good, I¡¯m honestly not sure what feats I¡¯m going to take at five, but that one definitely makes the ¡®maybe¡¯ list.¡± Loren nodded. ¡°There are lots of good options, and depending on how you¡¯ve been doing your work you might have some unique possibilities, so I can¡¯t really give you too much advice. Unfortunately, I¡¯m unlikely to be nearby when you level up, or I¡¯d be happy to help you make choices.¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s too bad there¡¯s no way to gauge how close I am,¡± he griped. Grandma Loren tsked. ¡°What is, is. Now, what brings you into town today?¡± ¡°I needed Mana Stones for my ritual, I scaled it up to hold the bodies, and now it costs over ten thousand fire, life, death, and water mana,¡± John explained. ¡°Hmmm,¡± she sounded disapproving. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t go messing with rituals at your rank, they can do weird things if you mess them up. Exploding is the least of your worries.¡± ¡°Well, I think I got it right, the system says it¡¯s a Ritual of Cleansing, so here¡¯s hoping. Oh! Right, I also picked up this.¡± John willed the iridescent seed into his hand and showed it to her. Loren looked at the seed, and then said. ¡°Now where did you find a Prismatic Tree Pit?¡± ¡°Someone had it listed for a silver on the auction. I figured I¡¯d take a chance since it looked interesting,¡± John admitted. ¡°Hmmm a good purchase, I take it they had no idea what they were selling?¡± ¡°Nope, said they had no idea what it was,¡± he confirmed. Loren nodded her head. ¡°A very good investment indeed. These seeds are usually priced in gold, not silver. You have to understand that each tree produces very few viable seeds, approximately one in every million fruits it spawns will have a seed. Some farming families go entire generations without ever seeing one from their trees.¡± ¡°So¡­ what¡¯s it good for? Does it just make fruit?¡± John asked. ¡°Ha! Just make fruit. Prismatic Trees grow differently depending on how you tend them, no two trees are the same. Give them the right materials and they won¡¯t just grow fruit, they¡¯ll also develop magical effects, though those can be many and varied,¡± she explained. ¡°So I should probably wait to plant it, given how rare it is.¡± ¡°Usually you¡¯d be right. Planting something this rare at your level of experience and ability would be foolhardy. I¡¯m afraid that¡¯s not an option though. Prismatic Seeds are only viable for a short time, and this one is almost done for, you¡¯ve got about a week before it expires.¡± Loren shook her head. ¡°You¡¯ll have to make a plan for it now.¡± John ran his fingers through his beard as he digested that. ¡°Alright,¡± he said after a long moment of silence. ¡°What do you suggest?¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t help you with this one John, I¡¯ve never grown a Prismatic Tree before. No one here has. They¡¯re just that rare. Best I can tell you is to think about what you want it to be, and then give it what you think will work best toward that goal,¡± she advised. John gave a nod and was just settling back to think when a new popup appeared. [New Quest:] John grunted in surprise. ¡°I just got a quest.¡± Grandma Loren looked over at him. ¡°For planting the tree?¡± ¡°Yeah, it says I have six days to plant it, and then I need to nurture it into a tree, the reward is ¡®a prismatic tree, variable¡¯ and two thousand to twenty thousand Build Points,¡± He explained. ¡°The points are probably based on the quality ranking of the resulting tree. It¡¯s too bad you don¡¯t have more time to prepare,¡± she said with a sigh. John shook his head. ¡°It is what it is. Do you think it¡¯d be better to give it to Frank, or maybe Ellie to plant?¡± Loren gave him an appraising look. ¡°You¡¯d really give it up to someone else?¡± ¡°I mean, I recognize I don¡¯t have the skills required to grow this right, it¡¯d be horrible if we ended up with a Poor prismatic tree because I¡¯m a bad farmer,¡± John said. After a moment Loren shook her head. ¡°No, you should plant it, John. It¡¯s good to know your limitations, but you also need to try and exceed them or you¡¯ll never grow. Just do your best.¡± John nodded, and then stood, a crazy little idea worming its way into his thoughts. ¡°Alright, I think I have an idea.¡± ¡°Well, then you¡¯d best get to it!¡± Loren said with a smile. John nodded, and then walked back out into the market. MAG - Chapter 16 - Edited The first thing John did was buy up all the Space Stones he could find. This turned out to be quite a lot. While Space Stones were a rare drop in the dungeon, over the last month people had found dozens, and since no one was buying it was easy to convince them to let the stones go for a copper each. By the time he was done he had one hundred in his possession and was a silver poorer. Then, after consulting the ritual primer, he purchased two each of Fire, Water, Light, and Time Stones, costing him another sixteen coppers. Finally he headed into Phillip¡¯s shop and picked up a square, a three sided device for measuring angles, for which he paid a few coppers. By the time he arrived home it was late afternoon and he judged there were still a few hours before Ex and Sally arrived, probably just enough time to design and build his second ritual. John knew that what he was about to do was far more dangerous than modifying the Ritual of Cleansing, that was a low ranked ritual, the stuff you gave novices. What he was considering, the Ritual of Purification, was markedly more difficult to set up, and he was going to modify it into another megalithic ritual. Still, he was confident in his ability to do the math. He began by creating another circular slab, this one only a five foot radius. He then generated the four standing stones, this time pointing northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest. Then he got down on his hands and knees and started scribing. Four hours later found him putting the finishing touches on the ritual when he heard a noise from the western edge of his farm. ¡°HELLO THE FARM!¡± Came Sally¡¯s booming voice. John ignored her for a moment, putting the final lines into place, then he stood and looked towards where the shouting had come from. He could see Sally and Ex standing just outside the wall and he walked over to greet them. ¡°Hey Sally, Ex, you¡¯ve got the goods?¡± ¡°Got the goods? What are we, drug dealers?¡± Ex asked, bemused. ¡°Plant drug dealers!¡± Sally exclaimed. ¡°Yeah, we¡¯ve got the stuff, you going to let us in? Where¡¯s the gate?¡± Ex said, looking around. ¡°There isn¡¯t one yet, I have to open it manually,¡± John said as he used an effort of will and magic to pull open the stone and let them inside. ¡°Well that¡¯s handy, though not much of a deterrent to other mages,¡± Ex noted. ¡°Yeah, I haven¡¯t quite figured out what stops people from just walking through walls yet,¡± John admitted. Sally looked around. ¡°It doesn¡¯t look very farmy.¡± ¡°I only just finished clearing the land and making the plots,¡± John said with a gesture to the garden plots. ¡°Aren¡¯t those a little small for growing crops?¡± Ex asked. ¡°Apparently they don¡¯t farm here like they do in our world, since food can grow so fast they do smaller batches,¡± John explained. ¡°That makes sense,¡± Sally said. ¡°Where am I putting these bodies?¡± ¡°Over this way,¡± John said as he led them over to the larger of the two ritual sites. ¡°This is the Megalithic Ritual of Cleansing, just drop the bodies in the center.¡± He willed seven coppers into his hand and handed them to Ex as Sally deposited the bodies. ¡°Thank you,¡± Ex said happily as he disappeared the coins. ¡°Where do you want the buckets of goop?¡± John pointed to the other ritual. ¡°That¡¯s the Megalithic Ritual of Purification. Hopefully it¡¯ll be able to purify the liquid into a stronger form.¡± ¡°Well alright then,¡± Ex said as he set four of the urns in the center of the ritual space. ¡°Is it going to work faster because there¡¯s so little of it?¡± ¡°Probably not,¡± John admitted. ¡°But I wanted the bonus from my racial feature, Megalith Mastery, it increases the potency by twenty-five percent. Also, building it bigger meant I had an easier time getting the lines right. I¡¯m not so good at carving that I want to try this on something only five feet across.¡± ¡°Can we watch you start them up?!¡± Sally asked excitedly. ¡°Well, I have to fill all these mana cores with life mana first and that¡¯ll take me¡­¡± He hesitated as he did the math, using his own brain for once instead of the calculator. ¡°Almost an hour and a half¡­ I think? And it¡¯s almost night, so I¡¯ll need to log. I probably won¡¯t activate it until tomorrow morning.¡± ¡°Boo!¡± Sally said, though without any real malice. ¡°It is what it is,¡± John said with a shrug. ¡°Alright, well, I¡¯m going to head back to town and then log,¡± Ex said. ¡°You coming Sally?¡± ¡°Yeah, I guess. See you later John!¡± The drakekin waved as they walked out the same way they¡¯d come in. ¡°Bye!¡± John called as he waved back. He then closed up the hole in his wall, walked down to the cellar, sat down, and filled mana cores until it was time to log out. ¡ª John finished filling the cores the next morning. It had been a fairly easy process; he just held the core and guided mana into it using Mana Manipulation. Finally finished he had twelve of the cores all glowing a soft green color. Taking them out to the ritual site his nose was immediately assaulted by the smell of offal and rotting meat. He grimaced, realizing that leaving the carcasses out overnight may have been a poor idea. Especially since it seemed several birds had decided the corpses would make a fine meal. They took off at his approach, circling the area from above. John gagged as he got closer, the smell was overpowering and he felt bile welling up in the back of his throat. Heaving he took out the materials for the ritual and went about placing them in the hollows of the monoliths, creating a small stone bowl and filling it with pure water for the fourth. Stepping back, he directed a flow of mana into the circle, which immediately pulsed with a faint light. The precise lines and runes on the monoliths lit up, each in the color of the mana they were channeling from their respective sources. As he watched, the glows slowly flowed down the monoliths and into the circle, filling the precisely drawn lines and runes. Soon the entire circle was lit in hues of red, blue, violet, and green, shining even in the daylight. After a moment the smell noticeably diminished, and soon it was gone all together. John, uncovering his mouth and, after mastering his gag reflex, Inspected the circle. [Megalithic Ritual of Cleansing (Active)] John frowned, the quality ranking had increased. Was that because of the materials he used? He wasn¡¯t sure. Still, it was a good thing, he thought. Determined not to worry about the cleansing ritual, he turned his eyes to his next project, the purification ritual. With a thought he inspected the ritual circle. [Megalithic Ritual of Purification (Inactive)] John grimaced at the quality ranking, but was hoping he could make up for it using quality reagents. Wandering back down into the cellar he sat on his favorite straw bale and opened the auction interface. After scrolling through the auction for some time, John finally settled on four items. The first item was a bottle of Pure Philter, however this time John purchased a Great quality version of the product, costing him an entire silver. The next item was another alchemical solution, called Cleanse, which would clear most low ranked debuffs, again at Great quality for a silver. The final item he purchased was actually a flower called a Moon Blossom; the description stated that it was considered a powerful symbol of purity for its ability to cleanse poison, disease, and debuffs alike. The moon blossom also cost a silver, though its quality was only Good. Finished with his shopping, John looked at his inventory and started divesting it of things he didn¡¯t need to have on hand. The short sword, armor, hoe, shovel, hammer, nails and ax didn¡¯t need to be with him at all times, so he lined them up in the Cellar, freeing up several slots of inventory space. Similarly, he only needed the speed square when he was doing rituals, and the burlap bags were for storage of grains which he currently didn¡¯t have, so they also ended up in the cellar. Now that he had enough room in his inventory, he divested his pockets of the mana stones he¡¯d been carrying around, and added them to it. Finally John turned his eyes to the currency bar, which showed exactly forty-eight coppers. He grimaced and combed his beard with his fingers. He needed more money if his next plan was going to work. It was crazy, but if he could pull it off he¡¯d complete two quests at once. Still, it was probably a pipe dream, but he was going to try it anyway. ¡°Purchase ten silver for ten USD,¡± he said after a moment of deliberation. [Verifying Purchase] [Purchase Approved] He then began searching the auction for other items. Within a few minutes he¡¯d found a half-dozen items that might work for what he wanted, the problem was that the cheapest of them cost fifty silvers, making it impossible for him to obtain. Grimacing he changed his search terms, looking now for raw materials instead of finished products. The new search proved just as fruitful and just as futile, even the raw goods were expensive. He could purchase maybe one of the cheapest, a Displacer Stone, which was down for ten silvers, but it was unlikely to help bestow the properties he wanted all on its own. With a sigh he closed the auction tab. It looked increasingly unlikely that he¡¯d get lucky twice. Feeling slightly despondent he pulled out the seed and looked at it. ¡°Well, I guess we plant and hope for the best¡­¡± he said as he looked at it. Still, he was certain there was something more he could do. But what? He glanced at the time, it was ten thirty, and he once more was thankful that the day-night cycle of runic rock matched up with his time zone. So he logged out, taking his obligatory hour-long break early; so that he wouldn¡¯t be booted before he could start the purity ritual. Standing up and taking the headband off, John got to work on his exercises. Forty-five minutes later he wandered out into the kitchenette and made a sandwich. As he sat eating, he ran the problem around in his head. He wanted to turn the tree into a portal, the tree had to be nurtured in such a way as to produce that result, ergo he needed items associated with teleportation and gateways to incorporate into the tree¡¯s growth. Didn¡¯t he? He thought back over the skills he had, and one of them stuck out to him, Mana Imprinting. That skill was more about intent than it was about skill. Sure the rank made it faster and easier, and Loren implied he could create multiple strands of different mana types at once because of his rank. But in the end, it came down to how well you could impress your intent upon the mana. Was it possible to do the same thing here? Could he somehow impress his intent on the seed? He pondered that thought for a few minutes, until a beeping from his room told him it was time to log back in. Finishing up his sandwich with a glass of water, he wandered back into his room, and logged back into the game. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Once more in the world of Limitless Online, John stood from the straw bale and made his way outside. It was almost noon, and he wanted to be prepared to start the ritual immediately. As he approached the megalithic structure he started taking out the space stones. Once he arrived he began to lay them down inside the circle until all hundred of them were situated around the four pots. Hopefully the ritual would ¡®purify¡¯ the crystals as well, making them more potent, or perhaps changing them in some other, meaningful way. That finished he stepped outside the circle and started filling the hollows in the monoliths with the items he¡¯d purchased. Once more he filled the final hole with a bowl of pure water. He then placed the Fire, Water, Light, and Time Shards and stepped back to examine the whole. It looked ready, and he hoped it¡¯d work right. Finally, it was time. As the clock ticked over to noon he infused the circle with a bit of mana. Once more the monoliths began to glow, consuming their respective reagents and mana crystals. Like the Ritual of Cleansing these monoliths gave off colored light that represented the elements they¡¯d absorbed. Red for fire, blue for water, a brilliant gold for light, and a strange, shimmering opaline light for time. The colors quickly bled down their respective monoliths and pooled into the precise grooves of the ritual, filling, turning the once lifeless carvings into scintillating bands of color. For a moment, the light in the ritual sputtered, becoming dim almost to the point of non-existence, and John was certain he¡¯d failed. Then the light bounced back, and a subtle hum permeated the air as the ritual fully took form. With a sigh of relief he inspected the circle once more. [Megalithic Ritual of Purification (Active)] ¡°Help, what are the quality rankings?¡± John asked. [Answer: The quality rankings are as follows, from least to greatest] ¡°Does Trash count as a ranking for the purposes of this ritual?¡± [Answer: Yes, to purify from Trash to Poor would take two hours, from Poor to Common would take four hours, from Common to Good would take six hours, and from Good to Great would take eight hours.] ¡°Right, so 18 hours total to purify from Poor to Great.¡± [Answer: Correct.] ¡°That wasn¡¯t- nevermind,¡± John said as he waved off the notification, only to be interrupted by a new one. [Level Up!] [Please distribute or bank your Build Points now.] [Feats may be purchased at this level, as it is divisible by five. Feats purchased at this level have a maximum ranking of I] John looked at the prompt and smiled, he then immediately pulled up the Feats listing. There actually weren¡¯t a lot of feats to choose from. There were a few generic feats, Strong Back which gave a percentage bonus to Strength equal to its rank, Magically Inclined, and Hearty did the same for Magic and Constitution respectively. Dynamo was on the list, as were Deep Pool and Increased Size. Tireless was one he¡¯d gained for pushing through exhaustion repeatedly, that increased the nebulous ¡®stamina¡¯ the same way Deep Pool increased Mana. Bigger on the Inside was present, as were improvements to his racial features, Disaster Precognition I, Megalith Master I, and Green Thumb I. However, out of all of those, what immediately caught his eye were two he¡¯d never heard of before. Domain and Magriculture. [Domain] [Magriculture] ¡°Help, what does unranked mean?¡± John asked as he read over the feats. [Answer: Unranked means that the feat only has a singular rank.] John nodded at the answer, and then continued to peruse the feats. He was going to take Domain and Magriculture, those two were a shoe in. Green Thumb was also highly tempting, so he looked it over once more. [Green Thumb] ¡°Come to think of it, I never did actually look at what my Racial Traits do¡­¡± John muttered, quickly pulling them up for review. [Disaster Prognosticator] [Megalith Mastery] [Plant Tender] He dismissed the windows and reoriented on the feat list once more. He was going to take Magriculture, Domain I, and Green Thumb I. That left him with enough points for three more feats, but what to pick? Megalith Master I would further increase megalith output by twenty-five percent, which wasn¡¯t great right now, but if it had twenty ranks that would become five hundred percent at level one hundred, for a total of five hundred twenty-five percent increase to any megalithic structure he made. How often was he going to make megaliths though, and could he afford to pass up on something like Bigger on the Inside? He had so few inventory spaces that too was a tempting offer. He scanned the list again and his eyes fell on two other entries. [Mana Stone Maker] [Rare Earth Reaching] The idea of being able to make his own mana stones was pretty tempting, he needed a way to power enchantments, and barring a Mana Well of his own, Mana Stones were the only way he could do so. Rare Earth Reaching was also looking tempting, there were a lot of ¡®earthen substances¡¯ that could be useful to farming. He dithered for a few more minutes, then finally committed. ¡°Purchase Domain, Magriculture, Green Thumb, Bigger on the Inside, Rare Earth Reaching, and Mana Stone Maker for 1,000 points each.¡± [Processing] [Domain Feat purchased: 1,000 Points] [Magriculture Feat purchased: 1,000 Points] [Green Thumb Feat purchased: 1,000 Points] [Bigger on the Inside Feat purchased: 1,000 Points] [Rare earth Reaching Feat purchased: 1,000 Points] [Mana Stone Maker Feat purchased: 1,000 Points] ¡°Bank remaining points,¡± John finished, after a further moment of thought. [500 Points banked] Interested to see what he¡¯d purchased, John pulled up the text of his new spell. [Name: Crystallize Mana] Finding the description to be less than helpful, John decided to test it out. He held out his hand, and summoned up the spell. The first thing he noticed was that his mana didn¡¯t want to flow smoothly into the spell, it instead bucked and writhed like a living thing, meaning he had to mentally clamp down on it. In many ways it felt like the first few times he tried making mana move to his will, and he struggled to pull the mana into submission. He reduced the flow of mana to the stone to a trickle and it became far more manageable, allowing him to smooth out the process somewhat. Opening his eyes, he looked at his hand where a small crystal was growing. It glowed the faint pale blue of unaspected mana. Cutting off the flow of mana he inspected the gem. [Mana Stone, Raw] John frowned. For 212 mana it seemed small, barely one sixth the size of the tiny mana stones he already had in his amulet. With that much mana he thought it should be almost twice that big. ¡°Help, why is this mana stone so small?¡± he asked. [Answer: Mana stones become denser the higher the quality, leading to a reduction in size. The mana stones you¡¯ve used so far are all Poor quality, making them quite large for their capacity. The mana stone you just made is Common quality, which is twice the density of a Poor quality stone.] John finished reading and then pondered the stone for a few more moments. If he could make Common stones, they would probably sell for more than the Poor stones, possibly more than double the price. Opening the auction interface he did a search for mana stones. There were a variety on sale of all shapes and sizes. The majority of stones on sale were Poor quality, and the elements least represented (and thus selling for the most) were fire, life, and death. The fire stones ranged from fifteen to thirty coppers each, and the life and death stones went for easily double that. John smiled widely and closed the auction window. Heading down to the cellar he sat on the straw bale and considered what to do. The stone he¡¯d just made had been a one-to-one ratio of mana to stone, making it a much better investment than the original mana speck he¡¯d made at a ten-to-one ratio. So if he poured his whole pool into a stone he could make a mana stone with four hundred forty mana every five minutes. He paused, realizing something was wrong with that math. He had the Domain feat now; his mana pool and regeneration were doubled while on his land. That meant every two and a half minutes he could make a mana stone with eight hundred eighty mana instead. It was really too bad he couldn¡¯t use Mana Imprinting and Mana Drawing at the same time yet; but he had the feeling that¡¯d be coming soon. MAG - Chapter 17 - Edited While John was tempted to sit down and do nothing but make mana stones for the next seven hours he knew he had some work to do first. The bodies would be cleaned by tomorrow morning, which meant they had to go somewhere when they were done. His basic plan was to dig a pit, throw all the bodies inside, and then use Decay to break it down quickly. The only question was if he should break the bodies up first, and if so how. Breaking the bodies up would make them decay faster, however it would be a laborious process to do without tools. Not breaking them up was much simpler, but would likely result in costing more time and mana. While he mulled it over, he pulled up the information on Decay. [Name: Decay] According to what he could find on the internet, cold composting could take anywhere from one to two years, which meant at his current rate of one day to one second it would take a minimum of three hundred sixty-five seconds to turn the target into usable compost. If he aspected his mana to the correct mana types (which he couldn¡¯t all at once) it¡¯d cost four mana per second to use which, with his current mana pool, was around two hundred twenty seconds, of course he was regenerating mana at almost three fourths a mana per second, so in reality he could probably hold the spell almost twice that long. The next thing he had to decide was where he was going to deposit the first load of carcasses. Originally he¡¯d intended to divide them up between a couple garden beds, but the Prismatic Seed changed his plans a bit. He hated to wait until the last minute to plant the seed, but he needed to hold off as long as possible if he was going to give it the best chance he could. The first problem was picking a site, it couldn¡¯t be here on his farm, he didn¡¯t have space for what he was hoping to grow. That said, this was now his place of power, his ability to clear and nurture the land would drastically decrease once he left his claim. Was there a way to extend it? Thinking about it, the only thing John had done that might qualify him for Domain was the way he¡¯d cleared his land. Instead of clear-cutting or burning he¡¯d dug it up with Control Earth, using his magic to make the task manageable. That must have been how he ¡®saturated¡¯ it with his magic. Could he expand his domain the same way? There was only one way to find out. Standing up, John left the cellar and headed for the southern wall of his farm. Once there he opened the wall up so he could exit, and waded out into the grass outside. Grabbing up some wooden stakes he placed one at each southern corner of his existing claim, and then paced off another section of territory. When he placed the final stake he got the same notification as last time. [You have staked out an area of 270,400 square feet, do you wish to add it to your existing claim?] ¡°Yes,¡± John said aloud. [New claim size registered.] Stepping onto the new claim, John checked his mana pool, it was at Four hundred forty. He then walked back into the walled portion of his farm, and his pool jumped up to eight hundred eighty. So, he could have part of a claim that was saturated and part that wasn¡¯t, making it possible to expand. The first thing to do, then, was to expand outward to the center of the newly claimed section, and clear an area large enough for the pit. With that plan in mind, he got to work. Starting at the center of the southern section of his plot, he began to clear the grass in a three-foot path toward the center of the new claim. As he¡¯d hoped, the domain expanded with him as he performed the work. By the time he was ready to log out he¡¯d managed to make a path to the center of the new plot, and clear a circle with a diameter of roughly eighty feet, more, he suspected, than enough space to begin with. ¡ª Logging in the next morning, the first thing John did was head out to the newly cleared site where, over the course of ten minutes, he dug out a pit ten feet deep with a twenty-foot diameter. Turning from the pit he headed back inside the wall and over to the cleansing ritual. He arrived to find the ritual had fully run its course and was no longer active. The vultures from yesterday had returned, as had some of the smell, though it was markedly less terrible. John began touching the bodies and willing them into his inventory. Soon he had two stacks of twenty-five, one of spiders, and one of giant rodents. He walked back out to the pit and deposited the bodies inside. He then went to the cellar and started grabbing up bundles of wheat. He made a couple trips before he¡¯d fully filled the hole with the leftover grains. Then, taking up position at the edge of the pit, he started to cast Decay. For the next thirty-one minutes he stood there and alternated between the spell and mana drawing. By the time he was done the initial area he¡¯d been working on was a thick brown mess which, given its similarity to the pictures he¡¯d seen, seemed to indicate a successful compost. However in those thirty-one minutes he¡¯d only covered maybe one three-hundredth of the pit; that meant it¡¯d take him almost thirteen days to completely decay everything at this rate. Much too long. ¡°Help, show me the Apprentice rank information for Decay,¡± he said. [Name: Decay] John looked over the numbers and did some quick math. Moderate size seemed to be about double Small size, and one week per second reduced the required time from six minutes of casing (and thus twenty-five minutes of Mana Drawing) down to just one minute with five minutes of recover, which would mean he could complete the entire pit in just thirteen hours, still a bit long. However, he didn¡¯t actually have to cover the entire area of the pit, did he? The meat was the important part, if he bunched it together he would have a smaller area to cover. If he condensed it down to two six feet across instead of twenty it would take only a little under five hours. That would be close, but doable. If he used Decay for the rest of the day, and half of the next it should rank up, then the second half of the day would finish off the pit. That would leave only two days until the seed had to be planted though, and he needed to make mana stones so he could gain enough money to purchase reagents for it. Running his fingers through his beard, John did a little more math. If he could produce a Life mana stone worth three thousand two hundred forty-seven mana every hour, that meant that in one and a half days he could produce twenty-four Common quality stones; or he could combine them to make larger stones. Say fifteen stones worth five thousand mana each. Those would all be about the same size as the stones he could currently buy, but have twice the capacity. He opened the auction once more and checked the prices on stones. There were very few Common stones, and they were easily going for double the cost of the Poor ones. That meant he could easily net a gold or more per stone. If they sold in time, and that was a big if. Nodding to himself he got back to work casting Decay. For the next seven hours John cast the spell and regenerated mana over and over again. He logged out at noon for the obligatory hour of exercise, restroom, and lunch, then logged back in and went straight to the purification ritual. Checking the contents of the pots, he found that they were now only a quarter full each, with a thick, vibrantly green sludge. He combined them all into one pot, using Control Water to squeeze every last drop out of the three empty urns. He then collected the Mana Stones which had become a quarter of their original size, giving him one hundred tiny Space Mana Stones, each with two thousand five hundred mana. Popping the pot and the stones into his inventory he got back to work. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Around two in the afternoon John got the notice he¡¯d been working toward. [Rank Up!] After that notification the work went much more quickly, and by the end of the day John had a pit full of dark, brown compost. Using Control Earth he mixed in some of the dirt from the large pile nearby, and churned the entire pit to be sure he¡¯d gotten everything. He didn¡¯t see anything but a few bones that hadn¡¯t quite broken down, but he wasn¡¯t concerned about those. He finished mixing in about a quarter of the soil he¡¯d originally excavated, and then went to bed. The next morning he began making mana stones. After about an hour of experimentation with the spell he found that he could Crystallize Mana at the rate of four mana per second, four times the speed at which he¡¯d been expecting. In addition, his original time and mana estimates had been off, meaning his actual time to create a stone was twelve minutes (including the time spent using Mana Drawing) to create a stone with one thousand eighty-seven mana. This meant he could produce a stone worth five thousand every fifty-five minutes, for a total of twenty-four stones. Returning to his work, he began producing stones and placing them in the auction as fast as he could finish them. In just a few hours John was exhausted. It took an enormous amount of mental energy to control the flow of mana so that it was stable instead of irregular bursts. He¡¯d been less than diligent on one of the first stones, and had ended up with a stone of Poor ranking, after that he¡¯d been extra vigilant. By noon he had a burgeoning headache, and he welcomed the chance to log out and relax for an hour. Once he logged back in the torture began anew, and he pushed himself to continually make stones. By the time he went to sleep that night he¡¯d pushed himself into another migraine and was not looking forward to the next day. The migraine had dissipated by the morning, but it had left John tired due to interrupted sleep. Still, he knew he needed to press on. He¡¯d already made sixteen stones, and of those all but five had sold, netting him eleven gold, and he was hoping that by the end of the day he¡¯d sell all of them. So he sat down once more and began creating mana stones. Eight hours later he both got a notification and kicked from the game. [Rank Up!] [Attention: You have been in game for more than 8 hours, as it has been determined that you are in a relatively safe space, you will be logged out at this time. You will receive a one hour lock out, during this time please see to your personal needs.] Logging back in an hour later, John immediately checked the auction. All but three of his stones had sold, giving him twenty-one gold total. He decided there wasn¡¯t time to wait for more and began making purchases. The first thing John bought was a Potion of Blink, which went for eight gold and allowed the imbiber to make short range teleports for thirty seconds. The next item on his list was actually a plant called a Displacer Lily; the plant was difficult to collect because it could teleport itself to nearby locations as a form of protection. That cost another five gold. While he was purchasing those two his final stones sold, leaving him with elven gold. Knowing he needed to make it count, John carefully went over all the listings. He finally settled on a single item, this one a mineral. It was called Void Stone and was apparently the preferred material for building Portal Gates, because it was attuned to the space element. Indeed, it was so attuned that large concentrations would sometimes generate natural portals of their own, which could lead to almost anywhere. He had just enough gold for a quarter-pound of material. Stepping up and out of the cellar he found it was nearing evening and he knew he had to hurry, the seed didn¡¯t have much viability left, just a few hours according to the quest prompt. Making haste out to the patch of fertilized earth. John took out the pot of Great quality Herb Slime Goo and set it down to one side. He then started casting Create Earth and formed a large bowl and a hefty pestle. Opening his inventory, he started shoving the tiny Space Stones into the bowl until all hundred of them were contained within. He grabbed the pestle, which was really just an oblong piece of granite, thicker at one end than the other, and began to slowly crush the crystals. He wasn¡¯t actually sure this would work, he¡¯d never tried breaking down mana stones before, but he had high hopes. He slowly ground the crystals up, and was pleasantly surprised to find them making a fine dust. After a few minutes all the crystals were reduced to powder. Opening the urn of goo, he poured the dust into it, scraping out the bowl with his hands to get as much as possible. He immediately got a popup. [Skill Gained:] John looked from the prompt to the urn, which had started fizzing. He suddenly knew that he needed something else to stabilize the solution, something that bridged the two magics he was trying to mix. Hastily he took out the Displacer Lily and started mashing it in the bowl he¡¯d used for the stones. Hopefully the natural balance of space and plant would stabilize the goo, because he had a feeling it was going to go very badly if it didn¡¯t. The lily paste got poured into the goo mixture, and he used the pestle to give it a good stir, counterclockwise, because that felt right. The mixture still bubbled, and he felt he needed to add heat. So he used Create Flame to create a halo of fire around the base of the Urn as he continued to frantically stir. Slowly, ever so slowly, the goop thickened, becoming almost jelly like. He didn¡¯t know what to do next, but it didn¡¯t seem like it was going to explode, so he stopped both the heat and the stirring. He inspected the pot. [Crude Void Serum] This was¡­ good? Especially for bathtub¡­ er¡­ urn alchemy. Hopefully the sum would be greater than the parts, or he¡¯d just ruined some perfectly good materials. Next came the Void Stone. He wasn¡¯t sure how to grind this up, as it seemed just as hard as granite. Decided that maybe it was time to try something new, he held the stone in his hand, and cast Control Earth. Instead of reshaping the Void Stone he imagined it crumbling into a fine sand. He felt the mana resisting him, and he pushed harder. Slowly the stone began to crumble in his hand, tiny flakes dropping into the bowl he was holding below it, until the entire stone was nothing more than a fine sand. He looked at it, and then decided he didn¡¯t dare mix it into the Crude Void Serum. Instead, he mixed it into the dirt where he intended to plant the seed. Finally it was time. The sun was getting low, and the seed didn¡¯t have much time left; it was now or never. John took out the seed, the colors of which were faded to almost nothing. He then hesitated. Once more instincts kicked to life that he didn¡¯t know he had. Hesitantly he took the seed and dropped it into the urn. Immediately the gelatin-like substance began to froth and churn again, but as it did so the level of the goo slowly dropped, as if it was being drained. After a few minutes all that was left in the urn was the tiny seed. It had turned entirely black, and seemed to suck in the light around it. Further he could feel that it was about ready to sprout. Hastily he plucked it out of the urn and buried it in the fertile ground where he¡¯d spread the Void Stone sand. Finally, he pulled out the potion and poured it over the now buried seed. For a moment, nothing happened, then a tiny little sprout pushed its way out of the moist ground. John held his breath, but nothing else happened. There were no visible signs of it growing quickly, and he hoped that was a good thing. He inspected the sprout. [Prismatic Sapling] John gave a sigh of relief, then looked around. It was almost dark, and he didn¡¯t have much time left. He needed to wall off the sapling lest the bunnies come back and make a snack of it. He immediately began casting Create Earth, building a wall five feet high with a radius of only ten feet around the sapling. He finished the wall with but moments to spare. [Attention: You have been in game for more than 8 hours, as it has been determined that you are in a relatively safe space, you will be logged out at this time. You will receive a one hour lock out, during this time please see to your personal needs.] MAG - Chapter 18 - Edited John logged in the next morning and immediately got a prompt. [New Quest:] John immediately created a hole in the wall and stepped out, sealing it behind him. There was a small army of bunnies outside, at least 30 of them. They were throwing themselves at the wall and some of them had started digging. ¡°Oh, not even!¡± John said as he brought up his hands. This was his land and his tree and no bunnies were going to even nibble on it! With a gesture and a thought, fire blossomed in his hands. He began to throw the fire around with reckless abandon. He didn¡¯t care if the entire plains burned at this point, he was not going to lose to a bunch of rabbits! The rabbits nearby screamed, a sound eerily close to that of a human, but those further away merely turned and hissed. John played the fire over them like a flamethrower. The stench of burnt hair and flesh was thick in the air around him. The rabbits, for their part, weren¡¯t going to take it lying down. And they began to charge at him. The ones in front fared poorly, getting caught in the bursts of fire. But the ones behind him were the real danger. He felt them impacting his legs and lower back. For something so small they could certainly pack a punch. One rabbit hit him just right, causing his knee to fold beneath him. John suddenly found himself on the ground and the bunnies surged in, their little teeth gnashing as they bit and scratched at him. With a yell of anger John created a burst of flame all around himself. Nothing said the fire had to come from his hands, so he expelled it from every portion of himself. The rabbits screamed and John rolled back to his feet. The bunnies were scattering but John had no intention of letting them go. He called up Control Earth and slammed gouts of dirt into the fleeing pests, knocking them about and dazing them. He then finished them off with fire. John huffed and puffed as he looked around at the leporine carnage. A prompt flashed in his vision. [Quest Complete:] John sighed in relief and looked around. Some of the nearby grass was on fire, but it wasn¡¯t spreading quickly. With an effort of Control Flame he corralled the errant blaze and let it burn out. Then he saw it, something moving at speed through the grass, coming right for him. [New Quest:] With a shrill cry a rabbit the size of a large dog barreled out of the grass and rammed John in the midsection. It was like being punched in the gut, and all the air went out of him as he tumbled back to the ground. For its part the rabbit was off again like a bullet, bounding back into the grass. John tried to stand only to be rammed again, this time from the side, knocking him to the ground once more. Again and again John was tenderized, unable to get his feet beneath him and catch his breath. Slowly the bruises were piling up and John realized that, given enough time, the creature would eventually ram him to death. He needed a plan, a way to stop it. With that thought in mind he began to move, rolling to the side until he ran into the nearby wall. Now the rabbit could only attack from three sides instead of four. With an effort of will John created another section of the wall to his left, even as the rabbit rammed him from the right. Again it was off like a shot, and John willed more wall into existence on the right. Leaving the rabbit no choice but to attack from the front. He clambered to his feet, using the walls for support. The rabbit rammed into his stomach once more and then bounced off. He was slammed backward into the wall as the air was knocked out of him again. John, however, was getting used to gasping for air, and this time motored through the distress and pain. He could see the grass moving and the rabbit was coming around for another attack. He readied himself, and, just as the grass nearby began to part, he moved the wall to his left in front of himself. There was a solid thunk as the rabbit collided head first with the barrier. With a flick of his wrist John moved the wall out of the way so he could see his foe. The large hare lay on the ground stunned by its sudden interaction with a solid object. Without missing a beat John leapt forward and got his hands close to the giant leporine creature. Fire burst forth, searing the flesh and hair of the rabbit. The monstrous bunny let out a high-pitched scream that was loud enough to make John¡¯s ears ring; but he didn¡¯t stop. He poured on more fire until his mana pool finally bottomed out and there was nothing left to give. The rabbit, for its part, still moved weakly, making little mewling noises. John let out a ragged breath, then reached down and wrung its neck. [Quest Complete:] John stumbled back to the wall and slumped against it. He felt pulverized and it hurt to move and breathe. There were even little spots swimming in his vision, which he was sure was a bad sign. Slowly his vision stabilized and John dragged himself back to his feet. He wobbled unsteadily, and he didn¡¯t seem to be getting any better. He checked his debuffs. [Ruptured Organs] Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. [Mild Concussion] [Fractured Bones] John stared at the entries. It took him more than a little time to figure out what he was looking at, the concussion at work, no doubt. He hadn¡¯t realized this game was so brutal in terms of healing. Forcing himself to his feet, he started walking toward town with a stumbling gait. It took him two hours to make it to town, and when he got there it took him a moment to recall his reason for coming in the first place. He looked around dully, his eyes weren¡¯t working quite right, everything kept fuzzing in and out. Several people were giving him funny looks as he swayed in place and he was starting to think maybe he needed to lay down. That was when the ground came up and hit him. John awoke with a start to find Excelsior crouching over him. Ex had his wand in hand and streamers of green light spilled out of the equally green stone on its end. The light seemed to be flowing into John, and he was slowly feeling better. ¡°Good lord John, how much con do you have? I bottomed out my entire pool, which is a thousand mana by the by, and now I¡¯ve used most of a stone,¡± Ex said, sounding annoyed. ¡°Uh¡­¡± John blinked up at him, then his brain started working. ¡°Thirty something, let me check, yeah, thirty-nine.¡± ¡°Thirty-nine con and you¡¯re this beat up? What the hell lives out there that can do that and why haven¡¯t we seen it before?¡± Ex asked. ¡°A Rabbit Matriarch, it was the size of a large dog, fast as a speeding bullet. It kept ramming me until I burned it to death,¡± John explained as the healing magic stopped, the stone was almost entirely spent. ¡°Seriously, a rabbit?¡± Ex said incredulously as Sally helped John to his feet. John was about to reply when a popup obscured his vision. [Level Up!] [Please distribute or bank your Build Points now.] ¡°That¡¯s weird, I just leveled up,¡± John muttered. ¡°Not really, the game holds your notices for leveling until you¡¯re out of danger or finished doing things.¡± Sally explained. ¡°Huh¡­ Bank all Build Points,¡± John said. [600 Build Points banked] ¡°I can see why you guys are leveling so fast, I got a whole level out of that, and I only just leveled up a few days ago,¡± he continued, then looked around, there was a small crowd around them, but it was starting to disperse now that he was on his feet. ¡°You owe me a life stone, these things aren¡¯t cheap,¡± Ex said. ¡°Yeah, alright, I¡¯ll make you one later,¡± John said. ¡°Make one?¡± Ex echoed. ¡°Ooo did you take the Mana Stone Maker feat?!¡± Sally asked excitedly. ¡°Yeah, I got six feats. Domain, Green Thumb, Magriculture, Bigger on the Inside, Rare Earth Reaching, and Mana Stone Maker,¡± John admitted as Ex started leading them back toward his booth. ¡°Cool! What do they do?¡± Sally all but bounced as she asked the question. ¡°Domain gives me the benefits of Dynamo, Expanded Pool, and Increased Size while I¡¯m on my land. Green Thumb increased my chances of getting a higher ranked crop by twenty-five percent, Rare Earth Reaching lets me use Create Earth to make rarer earthen materials, and Magriculture helps me plant and raise magical plants and animals,¡± John explained as they walked. When they reached Ex¡¯s booth, they found Grandma Loren sitting on the stool. ¡°I figured you didn¡¯t want anyone taking anything while you were gone.¡± The old woman said. ¡°I also figured you¡¯d be coming back this way with John. What happened?¡± ¡°Rabbits attacked and I had to fight the Matriarch,¡± John said. ¡°That¡¯s never going to sound less lame,¡± Ex said. ¡°Hmmm,¡± Loren said. ¡°They attacked? I take it you planted the seed then?¡± ¡°Yeah, then when I logged in this morning they were everywhere,¡± John said. ¡°Oh! Oh! What seed?! Was it a magic seed?! Do you have a magic plant?!¡± Sally asked excitedly. ¡°Yeah, I got a seed on auction that turned out to be magical. I planted it yesterday and it¡¯s a little sprout now. The rabbits wanted to eat it. Honestly, I should probably go back and check on it. I wasn¡¯t really thinking when I started walking this way,¡± John said, sounding a bit worried. ¡°Do you have to do magic things to help it grow? Are you going to feed it mana stones? What about more Herb Slime Goo?!¡± Sally continued. ¡°Maybe? I don¡¯t know yet. I already fed it some mana stones, but I¡¯ll probably make more for it later. I¡¯m definitely going to want more Herb Slime Goo, speaking of¡­¡± John pulled the empty urns from his inventory and put them on the stall¡¯s counter. Ex made the urns disappear into his own inventory even as he spoke. ¡°How many this time?¡± ¡°All of them,¡± John answered. ¡°Herb Slime Ooze as fertilizer, now there¡¯s an idea,¡± Loren muttered. ¡°Yeah!¡± Sally said exuberantly. ¡°And John is going to try other slimes too!¡± ¡°Too bad there¡¯s no space slime, I could really use some more space attuned materials,¡± John said and then made an annoyed grunt. ¡°I should have fed some of that Void Stone to the dungeon, now I¡¯ll have to buy more.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s not go too crazy with feeding the dungeon,¡± Loren cautioned. ¡°There are laws about that sort of thing. Besides, it probably isn¡¯t powerful enough to produce anything of very high rarity or quality.¡± ¡°Right, still I should feed it some things now that I have access to the auction and a way to make money,¡± John said. ¡°Just so long as you don¡¯t feed it anything too expensive,¡± Grandma Loren said with a nod. ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m glad to see that you¡¯re doing better, and it¡¯s good to hear that you got the seed in the ground on time.¡± The old woman stood up and started heading toward the square. ¡°Good to see you three as always, but I¡¯m heading back to my spot before someone else steals it.¡± ¡°Bye!¡± The three chorused. ¡°Why does she like that specific spot?¡± John wondered. ¡°Because it gets the most sun!¡± Sally supplied. ¡°She asked a while back,¡± Ex informed John. ¡°Ah, thanks again Ex, I¡¯ll bring you a mana stone next time I¡¯m in town,¡± John said. ¡°Alright, try not to be bleeding next time,¡± Ex advised. ¡°See you later John!¡± Sally said as John headed off. ¡°Bye!¡± He waved to them as he left. MAG - Chapter 19 - Edited John arrived back at the farm to find it much as he¡¯d left it. He made his way over to the wall around the sapling and peeked inside. The sprout looked fine, it didn¡¯t seem to have grown at all, which he felt was a good thing. But also, maybe a bad thing. He was hoping to get some kind of Portal Tree, which (hopefully) would fulfill the requirements of his quest, Build It and They Will Come. If the quest hadn¡¯t finished, then either the tree would need to be fully grown, or its course wasn¡¯t yet set. If the tree had to be fully formed before the quest could be completed, then it wasn¡¯t happening. He didn¡¯t know how long a tree took to fully grow in this world, but it was almost certainly more than a month, probably a lot longer if he wanted it to be of high quality. He could try using Growth on it, but those new instincts warned him away from using the spell. Still, there were other things he could do to help. The first thing was the Ritual of the Green Grove. Taking out the ritual primer he quickly found the correct page. The Ritual of the Green Grove was actually a bit different from the other rituals, it wasn¡¯t meant to be inscribed on a flat surface, but on an encircling wall or set of stones. In addition, this ritual was supposed to last for weeks, not days or hours. He could use the wall he¡¯d already built, but he decided that instead he wanted to take advantage of Megalith Mastery and build a large set of standing stones. Walking to the edge of the circle he¡¯d cleared in the grass he considered if he needed to enlarge the clearing first. It already had a forty foot radius, but maybe he should increase that? He was going to dig down a little, probably around three feet, and he didn¡¯t want to impinge on any roots that may one day fill the area. Nodding to himself, he began to clear grass. For the rest of the day John cleared away grass, and was well into the next day before he finished. The sapling, which he had paused to water earlier, now sat in a clearing with a diameter of roughly one hundred sixty feet. Feeling like that was sufficient space, John began. This time he intended to create a true megalithic structure; specifically a henge. He began by creating a ditch approximately thirteen feet wide at the top, and three feet wide at the bottom with the walls sloping down at approximately a thirty degree angle, to form a height difference of about three feet from top to bottom. The dirt he removed got piled on the outside edge of the ditch and compressed down to create an earthen berm, further increasing the height of the outer edge. John was awed by the speed with which he was able to complete the ditch. The effects of Increased Size on his spells cut the mana and time costs drastically, and he was able to complete the ditch in only six minutes. Stepping back he examined the circle, it wasn¡¯t perfect, his Measuring wasn¡¯t a high enough level for that, but that just gave it a certain level of realism, given that most real life megalithic structures weren¡¯t perfect either. He paused, deciding where to place the entrance to the circle, and finally he decided due west, toward the town. With that decision made he parted the berm so that there was a hole eighteen feet in width, and then created two heavy stone blocks on the bottom of the ditch, and an even larger, heavier stone slab to go atop them, forming a bridge. Ditch done, entrance sorted, bridge placed. It was time to move on to the main event, the standing stones. For this John had decided to create a large ring of standing stones that were capped with large stones of their own to complete a ring around the entire site. Each standing stone would be around six feet wide and thick, reaching up to twelve feet in height. They would be spaced out six feet apart for a total of thirty-six standing stones. Atop them would perch another set of stones, of approximately the same dimensions though placed on their sides so that they would span the gaps between the pillars. This made thirty-five covered gaps of six feet between each of the pillars, with a single, wider gap of eighteen feet where the bridge connected to the inside of the circle. Seeing it all in his mind¡¯s eye, John raised his hands to begin working, but he paused, thinking. He had been going to make it all of granite, that was what the spell naturally made, but he wanted something different, something to signify the importance of the site. Running his fingers through his beard he brought up the web interface and began examining the different types or rock that might be available. The more he read about plains regions, the more he realized that Granite probably shouldn¡¯t be the rock that was most prevalent. Certainly at the very bottom, deep in the crust, there was granite. But according to everything he read, limestone, sandstone, and dolomite should be the prevalent stones of the area. The only thing he could think was that because he¡¯d believed granite would be what he got, the spell created that for him. If that was the case, then he should be able to mimic any type of stone that could be found in the area, which might mean some specialty stones could be available; especially since he now had Rare Earth Reaching. After about an hour of going down several internet rabbit holes, John felt ready to give it a try. He raised his hands and concentrated, holding the vision of what he wanted in his mind. Pushing mana into the Create Earth spell he felt it twist and writhe like a live wire. He clamped his will down upon it and reduced the speed at which he tried to expend it. The result between the slower speed and his extreme focus was a slowly growing sphere of marble in his hand. The marble was jet black with swirling bands of multiple colors and little pinpricks of white, making it look like stars and nebulas dotting the night sky. John cut off the flow of mana and took a deep breath. It had been arduous, mostly because he had to build the stone piece by piece, as natural marble would never form this way. Still, he understood now, intent mattered. More than that, he could feel that control over mana would be key to turning that intent into reality. Turning the sphere over in his hands he Inspected it. [Nebula Marble] John was surprised the marble had a grade, when he glanced at the nearby granite wall it simply said the quality was not available. Maybe it was because the marble was a luxury good? He wasn¡¯t sure. What he was sure of was that he could build megaliths out of the stuff, if he had the patience and control to sit here and create stone at one tenth his maximum speed. He paused and did some math. Each of the standing stones had a volume of about four hundred thirty cubic feet. He was creating thirty-four standing stones, and thirty-three capstones. That was around twenty-eight thousand nine hundred cubic feet all together. At one tenth his speed he could create around one cubic foot of rock per second at the cost of four earth mana. So just making the stones themselves would take around eight hours and, if it was anything like making mana stones, he¡¯d have a splitting headache at the end of it. The actual rate of creation however would be much longer, because he only had eight hundred eighty mana in his pool and regenerated at a rate of forty-four mana per minute, meaning he could only cast for about four and a half minutes before he was completely out of mana, then he would have to spend five minutes using Mana Drawing to refill. Meaning he would take twice as long to make all the stones. He could, of course, use Earth Mana Stones to supplement, but was it worth saving eight hours? Especially since it would mean he wasn¡¯t training his stats and skills if he did it that way. Was it worth the migraine he would no doubt develop not to? John decided he must be a masochist, because he¡¯d settled on making the megalith the hard way. Sitting down, he began to do just that. ¡ª It had been four hours since John began creating stone, and he already had a pounding headache. Making the marble, it turned out, cost even more concentration than making the Mana Stones. He was barely a fourth of the way through his self-imposed torture and already his eyes were crossing and his vision was going fuzzy. He was currently using Mana Drawing to regain his spent mana, and was just about to continue his new masochistic pastime when a voice rang out. ¡°HELLO! JOHN! WE¡¯RE HERE WITH GOOP!¡± Sally¡¯s voice echoed across the plains. John winced as the sound pounded its way into his brain. ¡°Maybe he¡¯s over there, near those big black stones?¡± he heard Ex¡¯s voice say faintly. A few moments later the rustling of grass heralded the arrival of the two. ¡°Oh wow! That¡¯s black marble! It looks so pretty!¡± Sally said as she bounced across the bridge and up to the first of the standing stones. ¡°It¡¯s like looking at a starry sky!¡± John groaned and held a finger to his lips. ¡°Shhhhhh quieter please.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Sally asked, dropping her voice to a loud whisper. ¡°He looks hungover,¡± said Ex, not bothering to lower his voice. ¡°No, just overtaxed. I figured out how to make specialty stones, but it requires a lot of concentration. I may have overdone it, and I¡¯ve got a terrible migraine,¡± John said quietly. ¡°Oh,¡± Ex whispered back, looking slightly abashed. ¡°Wow, it takes that much out of you and it¡¯s only Poor quality? What¡¯s your level of Mana Manipulation?¡± Sally wondered quietly. ¡°Apprentice, but I¡¯m pretty sure this is proving to be an amazing workout for it,¡± John muttered, rubbing his temples. ¡°Well, we¡¯ve got your jugs of goo,¡± Ex said, his voice also at a loud whisper as he appeared urn after urn and lined them up in front of John until all twenty were present and accounted for. ¡°We didn¡¯t pick up any bodies, because you didn¡¯t ask for them, hope that¡¯s okay,¡± Sally said. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s fine,¡± John said with a nod, even as he made ten coppers appear in his hand. He passed them over to Ex who took them happily. ¡°Should we just leave you here?¡± Sally inquired, looking around as if a threat might jump out of the tall grass. ¡°Yeah, nothing out here seems dangerous, except the bunnies and they¡¯ve been dealt with,¡± John informed her. ¡°Besides, I¡¯m logging out for lunch in a few minutes anyway.¡± ¡°Alright, don¡¯t work too hard! You should probably take a break from this for the rest of the day if it¡¯s so taxing,¡± Sally said. ¡°I just might,¡± John muttered as he picked up the urns and disappeared them into his own inventory. ¡°Bye!¡± Sally whispered. ¡°Later,¡± whispered Ex. John just waved as they both turned and left. Then, true to his word, he logged off. ¡ª John spent the rest of the day torturing himself, as well as five hours the next day. By the time he was done he never wanted to make marble again. However, even in his pain-addled state, he admitted that the marble megaliths looked good. In addition, his Magic attribute had increased once more, to a total of forty-five. With a groan of relief, John sprawled on the ground. It was time, he decided, to take a break. Maybe he could watch a movie, or actually play a game. He¡¯d been running full tilt for almost a month now, with only that single day of relaxation to break up the monotony. As he stared up at the sky he noticed the gray clouds rolling in. A few minutes later a light drizzle started up. Normally he¡¯d be annoyed, but the cool water actually felt good right now. Stolen story; please report. For a while he just lay on the ground, letting the rain soak him and the mud seep into his back. The migraine slowly eased and eventually it dissipated all together. He sat up then and looked around at what he¡¯d made. The rain ruined the tableau a little, but the megalith certainly was striking. The black circle of standing stones with little white pinpricks and swirling nebulas of color. It seemed more worthy of a temple than a farm. [New Deific Quest:] John groaned. This was the kind of thing he needed to ask someone about. But, with only ten minutes, it was impossible to reach the only source of knowledge that might be able to help him. That, he realized in a flash of inspiration, was the point. He was too far away from anyone with the knowledge to help him, from that he could infer that maybe this offer wasn¡¯t on the up and up. Something about this stank. [New Deific Quest:] ¡°Oh now we¡¯re just getting ridiculous,¡± John muttered as he looked between the two notifications. Apparently two different deities wanted his site as a shrine and neither of them wanted to take no for an answer. He could just decline both quests, but that¡¯d make an enemy of both of them, and they both seemed to control domains that aligned with his interests. If both of them aligned against him, he¡¯d be in for a world of trouble. ¡°How do I designate a site as a shrine?¡± He asked the air about him. [Answer: Offer it to the god or gods in question and make an appropriate sacrifice.] God or gods? He could work with that. He needed a sacrifice though, what did he have? He quickly checked his inventory. Nothing in there that would work. He could promise a sacrifice of time, but he wasn¡¯t sure he¡¯d like what the Goddess of chaos tasked him with. That didn¡¯t leave much. He didn¡¯t really have anything else. Blood wasn¡¯t an appropriate sacrifice, the bunny corpses he¡¯d buried under the berm were no good. What else did he have? Maybe he could sacrifice a skill or a spell but what would apply to multiple gods? He briefly pulled up his character sheet and looked at it. [Name: John] [Race: Basajaun] [Level: 6] [Mana: 450] [MRegen: 22/minute] [Build Points: 2,141] [Attributes] [Skills] [Spells] [Racial Perks] [Feats] No dice, there were no skills or spells that would work. He paused, about to close the screen when something else caught his eyes. That¡­ might work. He closed his status screen and strode back into the circle. Stopping just before the inner wall, he turned to look at the entrance. He was probably about to royally piss off two goddesses, but to hell with it, they put him in this position so they could deal. How to do this though? He glanced at the timer in the corner of his screen, it had appeared when the countdown hit five minutes. There was only one more to go. He took a deep breath, and just went for it. ¡°I dedicate this site to Thuana, Goddess of Chaos and Void, for the gift of space which it bears. I dedicate this site to Ira, Goddess of Civilization and Cultivation, for her knowledges, of which civilized structures are formed. I dedicate this site to Ledos, God of Knowledge and Magic, for it was his power which made all of this possible. I offer as sacrifice my essence, five hundred Build Points, to each of the gods so named!¡± He decreed to the overcast sky. For a moment nothing happened, then the world seemed to shiver. The clouds above became dark and turbulent, the ground beneath his feet trembled, and the very air became thick in his lungs. The stones about him groaned as if in agony, and two distinct yet oppressive weights bore down on him. He fell to his knees, no longer able to stand. He writhed for a moment, unable to breath, certain that he was going to die his first death. Then, something curious happened. He felt a pulse of warmth and power from his chest. No, not his chest, his core. A flooding torrent of power ripped out of his core and rushed to every corner of his body. The weights upon him didn¡¯t lessen, but suddenly he felt able to bear the burden. Slowly he got one foot under him, then the other and pushed into a standing position. He took a breath, his lungs filling with air. It appeared he¡¯d chosen right; he had an ally in this fight. [New Deific Quest:] John¡¯s eyes widened in alarm and he flicked open his sheet to look at his mana. It was ticking down quickly, he had a minute, maybe two at best. He needed a name! Something that combined three of the concepts the deities represented maybe? What were they? Chaos and Void, Civilization and Cultivation, Magic and Knowledge. Combinations ran through John¡¯s mind as he watched the numbers tick ever downward, he was running out of time! Alright, take a breath, take it one at a time. Civilization and Cultivation. Civilization, Tomb, Cathedral, Vault. No no no! Cultivation then, Plant, Garden, Grove.. Grove! Void and Chaos. Void, space? Space, wormholes, gateways.. Wait, Gates, like to cities, a sign of civilization and gates like a magical portal. Gateway of¡­ the void? No, Space? No, what exists in space? Oh wow that bar is getting low. Planets.. Worlds! ¡°GATEWAY OF WORLDS!¡± he shouted, just before the last point of mana expended itself. The weight bearing down on him disappeared at the same moment the mana propping him up was extinguished. He stumbled but managed to retain his footing. The sky above slowly cleared, even the natural clouds seemed to dissipate. Sunlight streamed down and John took a deep, cleansing breath. Then the popups hit. [Deific Quest Complete:] [Deific Quest Complete:] [Deific Quest Complete:] [New Deific Quest:] John sighed. What was with these people? First they fight over a crappy shrine in the middle of nowhere, now they wanted him to build roads? And they weren¡¯t even going to tell him what the rewards were. He shook his head and looked around; he then Inspected the shrine. [Name: Gateway of Worlds] The next thing he did was pull out the Gateway Serum. It was a small crystal decanter filled with a dark black liquid and just returned question marks when he tried to inspect it. The name, however, gave him a good guess as to what it did. He checked his inventory and, finding nothing else new, then pulled open the Blueprint Module. There was a new tab at the top labeled ¡®Rituals¡¯. Opening it he found a single entry, the Ritual of the Space Grove. Opening the ritual he was immediately presented with a 3D rendering of the Gateway of Worlds. It was perfect down to every detail, except that in this model the standing stones were all covered in geometric glyphs, lines, and designs. Clearly this was meant to be applied to the Gateway of Worlds only, and given the name it would likely have a similar effect to the Ritual of the Green Grove. John closed the Blueprint Module. He wasn¡¯t going to do anything until he had a talk with Grandma Loren. He had no idea what was going on, what just happened, or why. Hopefully she¡¯d be able to offer some insights and help him decide what to do. That decided, he logged out for lunch. MAG - Chapter 20 - Edited John walked into town and headed directly for the square. When he arrived, he found Grandma Loren sitting in her usual position and reading a book. ¡°Afternoon,¡± he said as he sat down next to her. ¡°Hello again John. What brings you into town today?¡± she asked him as her book disappeared. ¡°Well, I may have done something really bad,¡± he started off. ¡°Hmm, you¡¯d probably best start at the beginning,¡± she said. So, John told her the story. He began with the preparations he¡¯d made for the seed, then how he¡¯d planted it, and what he hoped it¡¯d become. How he¡¯d defended it against the rabbits and then the design he¡¯d made for the henge. His discovery of how intent modified magic, and then his grueling slog as he made the marble monstrosity. Then he finally came to the part about the quests. ¡°So I finished the henge and suddenly I got quests from both Thuana and Ira to dedicate it as a shrine to them. Except each one came with ¡®The displeasure of a goddess¡¯ as a failure clause,¡± he explained. Loren frowned but made a ¡®continue¡¯ gesture. ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t want to upset Thuana because she could neuter my tree, and I didn¡¯t want to upset Ira because she governs all plants and growing things, which would make farming pretty hard. So I¡­ dedicated the henge to both of them and added in Ledos as a third,¡± he said. ¡°Hmmm that worked did it?¡± she asked, sounding skeptical. ¡°Sort of? I think both Ira and Thuana tried to kill me, but Ledos intervened and gave me a new quest to name the shrine something appropriate to all three gods. Said that if I did he¡¯d bind them to make good on their quests.¡± ¡°Oh? What did you name it?¡± Loren looked surprised and intrigued. ¡°The.. uh.. Gateway of Worlds,¡± John said, looking a bit abashed. Unexpectedly, at least to John, the old woman didn¡¯t laugh at the pretentious name, instead she just looked thoughtful. ¡°Gateway of Worlds¡­ they must have very high hopes for that tree of yours.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± John blinked, confused. ¡°Use your head John, you didn¡¯t really think it was the structure that caught their attention, did you? You made that in less than twenty-four hours with Poor quality materials. Any fool with Create Earth, Rare Earth Reaching, Mana Manipulation and a smidge of artistic talent could build a henge of marble. It¡¯s what you built it around that¡¯s important. The tree is what made it special,¡± Loren admonished him. ¡°But the tree is a half-formed idea at best. It probably won¡¯t even work out! I¡¯ll most likely end up with a tree that teleports itself around, or gives out fruit that displaces you or something,¡± he responded. ¡°Because there are so many different trees that can teleport or give out fruits that take the user to other places,¡± Loren said sarcastically. ¡°Besides that, these were quests, which means they came with rewards. What did you get?¡± ¡°Uh, well I got something called a Gateway Serum and a blueprint for a ritual called the Ritual of the Space Grove,¡± John said as he took out the crystal vial and showed it to her. Loren looked at the vial for a moment. ¡°A potion that grants the imbiber a limited portal ability for a short time. Very rare and of Exquisite quality. Give it to a plant that changes based on the magic it absorbs and you¡¯ve a strong contender for a portal power,¡± she explained after a moment. ¡°As for the ritual, it sounds like it¡¯s made to nurture a plant with a Space affinity, likely strengthening any powers it already has.¡± She paused here and considered. ¡°What did you offer as your sacrifice?¡± ¡°Five hundred Build Points to each deity,¡± John admitted reluctantly. Loren winced, but nodded. ¡°That¡¯s probably the only thing you could have offered that would satisfy all three. And because of how much that means at your level they had to give equally good gifts. Which explains why you got such a rare potion, and I suspect that ritual is tailor made for the shrine.¡± ¡°I still can¡¯t help but feel like I¡¯ve made a bad deal,¡± John said as he put the vial away. ¡°It¡¯s not the worst thing that could have happened, and you weren¡¯t wrong, having the displeasure of either of the two would have been bad. Though they¡¯re probably displeased with you anyway, they¡¯re just not allowed to act on it,¡± Loren said. ¡°Anyway, I¡¯d take that serum back to your farm and feed it to the tree right away. The Prismatic Trees are most impressionable when they¡¯re young, and their powers ossify as they get older. Load it up with as many spatial magics as you can get your hands on as fast as you can.¡± John nodded, and then hesitated. ¡°Can¡­ can I feed it mana directly?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see why not, I wouldn¡¯t feed it anything other than Space mana though, and be careful not to oversaturate it. When things get too full of mana they tend to explode,¡± she advised. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. ¡°That sounds bad,¡± John said. ¡°If it were any other plant I¡¯d be worried about the idea, but a Prismatic Sapling? Odds are you can¡¯t feed it enough mana to impact it in a negative fashion, they use the stuff to grow after all,¡± Loren said with a dismissive wave of her hand. ¡°Wait, does that mean it¡¯ll grow faster if I feed it mana?¡± ¡°Probably, I¡¯m not sure, most farming families never tell anyone what precisely they did to rear a Prismatic Tree, and they¡¯re too rare and valuable to do any real studies. Also, no one has ever had the insane idea to turn one into a Portal before. You¡¯re in uncharted waters John, you¡¯ll have to find your own way out. Oh, and you¡¯ll probably be in a world of trouble if you kill the tree now that it resides in a shrine. So don¡¯t do that,¡± Loren said with an amused smile. ¡°Great, no pressure,¡± John muttered. ¡°Indeed. Now, run along and play with your plants, I¡¯ve got a novel to finish,¡± she said, and then lowered her voice conspiratorially. ¡°Sir Percy just saved the fair maiden and is about to get his reward.¡± ¡°That was more than I needed to know,¡± John said as he stood up. ¡°Goodbye John,¡± Loren cackled. ¡°Bye!¡± he called back as he headed out of town. ¡ª Upon his return to the farm John went straight to the prismatic sapling and applied the Gateway Serum. The magic goop soaked directly into the plant, but seemed to have no other effect. Hoping he¡¯d used it right he put the bottle (which was a beautiful crystal decanter) away and then turned his attention to the Ritual of the Space Grove. Pulling open the blueprint he projected it onto the henge. The stones lit up with perfect geometric designs and shapes, each of which seemed like it belonged exactly where it was placed. After looking at it for a short time John was certain that he definitely could not have created something that fit so perfectly or was even half as elaborate. After a moment he decided to use this as a learning opportunity, and check every measurement, curve, and rune against the knowledge in the book. One thing was certain, this was going to take more than a few hours; the time required might even be measured in days. However, he also had to build a road within the month. Leaning against the wall around the tree, John started doing a bit of math. He needed to build a road from here to Runic Rock, and given that the reward was variable it needed to be a good road, not just a dirt trail. So, he started with the basics, how far was it from here to Runic Rock? A quick internet search told him the average person walked at a speed of three to four miles per hour. Err on the side of four miles, just for caution¡¯s sake. A good road would allow space for two wagons to pass each other. The internet once again provided a few numbers, it appeared wagons tended to vary in width from four to six feet. So assume you need at least two to three feet between wagons that were passing, and maybe a foot to the edge of the road, call it seventeen feet wide. So, four miles was twenty-one thousand one hundred twenty feet long, the road width would be seventeen feet, and the road bed would have a depth of about five feet. So, twenty-one thousand one hundred twenty times seventeen times five came out to¡­ John struggled for a moment with the large number then finally gave in and used a calculator. One million seven hundred ninety-five thousand two hundred cubic feet of earth that would need to be moved. He could Control Earth at around four cubic feet per second at a cost of two earth mana per second which meant it would take him¡­ one hundred twenty-five hours to dig out the road bed, call it eight days of work. The big problem now was Mana. John only had a pool of four hundred fifty while off his land and a regeneration rate of twenty-two mana per minute, which meant he could only continuously cast for about four and a half minutes, then he would need five minutes to regenerate his full pool. The slow regeneration rate meant that it¡¯d take a little more than twice as long to complete the project, ten or eleven days of work, and he wouldn¡¯t have even started laying the road yet. This meant he couldn¡¯t afford to use his own mana for the project, he¡¯d need to use earth stones, of which he¡¯d need three hundred sixty, which at a cost of one copper a piece would come out to three silvers and sixty coppers. He would then need to lay the road, which had the same dimensions as digging it out, but would cost twice the mana, and progress at half the speed. That meant he¡¯d need another seven hundred twenty earth stones and it¡¯d take ten days. This meant a total road construction time of thirty-two days and a cost of ten silvers and eighty coppers. John grunted in annoyance. First, there was no way he could take thirty-two days away from his work to just build a road, that was insane. He needed to set up the Ritual of the Space Grove and get new plants in the ground. Second, he didn¡¯t have thirty-two days in which to do the work. It would be so much easier if the road were part of his Domain, then he¡¯d be able to do ten times the work for the same cost in mana. There was nothing stopping him from claiming that stretch of land, the big problem was saturating it with his mana. The only method he knew to do that was to clear the land the same way he had been. ¡°Help, is there a faster way to saturate land with my mana?¡± he asked. [Answer: Yes.] ¡°Let me guess, I¡¯d need to buy the Tutoring Module if I want to know more,¡± he muttered in annoyance. [Answer: Correct.] John took a calming breath. He needed to know how to expand his Domain, and he needed to know pretty much now. He could directly impart mana to things, Grandma Loren had confirmed that. So maybe he could impart mana directly to the land? He didn¡¯t use all that much mana when he was clearing it. Ten unaspected mana, or two earth mana. Two earth mana per square foot wasn¡¯t much, but it was still seven hundred eighteen thousand and eighty mana to cover the entire stretch of the road. That would take him¡­ eight hundred sixteen full mana pools to cover, if he was in his domain; sixty-eight hours of casting and regenerating his mana pool. But, he would complete the digging and construction ten times faster. That would mean actually digging the road would only cost twelve and a half hours, and laying the road would cost twice that. In total it would take him almost three sixteen-hour days to complete, for a total of almost seven days of work. Another calming breath. Break it down into smaller pieces, John thought to himself. As he thought about it, the problem was that he kept approaching this as a single block of time. It didn¡¯t have to be though, he could break the project up into sections, taking a day here and there to do the work. The same was true of tending crops. The only thing he had to do immediately was the ritual. If he planted a crop now, there would be stretches of days that he didn¡¯t need to tend the crops, he could work on the road during those times. It would mean he couldn¡¯t do much experimentation this month, but he needed a solid foundation for his work anyway. Nodding his head, John stood up, and got to work. MAG - Chapter 21 - Edited The first thing John did was spend a day creating life stones. He was badly in need of money for ritual components. The primer had been clear that the quality of the components used could degrade the ritual just as easily as they could empower it. The general rule of thumb was that components couldn¡¯t degrade or improve a ritual beyond two steps. Thus, a Poor ritual could never rise above Good, no matter how much money you spent on good materials. However, this also meant an Exquisite ritual could be degraded as far as Exceptional by poor quality materials. John didn¡¯t want to degrade the Ritual of the Space Grove if he could help it, and that meant he needed money. The day after he made the mana stones, John got to work on the ritual itself. The ritual was complicated, beyond even the Ritual of Purification which he¡¯d almost flubbed. However, the blueprint was an excellent and almost perfect guide. More, every time he drew a line correctly the overlay turned a soft green color, but if he was off by even a little it turned a bright red. Thanks to that, the work might have gone quite quickly, but John stubbornly measured and examined every inch of it, comparing entire sections to the primer and doing his best to understand the why of the ritual as well. Slowly it came together and by the end of the first day his efforts bore fruit. [Attribute Increase!] [Rank Up!] [Rank Up!] By the end of the third day John had finished all but the topside of the structure and gained another point in Magic for his troubles. Getting on top of the structure provided about the same difficulty that drawing on the overhanging parts had, which was to say almost none at all. John simply borrowed dirt from the berm about the ditch and created a ramp up to the top. From there he continued to work, until finally, at the end of the fourth day, the ritual markings were complete. The first thing he did on the fifth day was put the berm back in place around the ditch. The second thing he did was inspect the shrine. [Name: Gateway of Worlds] John focused on the second benefit and it expanded. [Ritual of the Space Grove (Inactive)] The mana costs were¡­ high seemed such a small word, astronomic probably fit better. The mana costs were astronomic. It took John an entire day to make eighty-thousand mana. That meant it would take over thirty-three days per mana type just to power the ritual, for a total of one hundred thirty-four days spent just making stones. He simply didn¡¯t have the time, and forget buying enough stones to power the ritual. John wasn¡¯t even sure there were that many mana stones in circulation. With a heavy sigh he walked back into the henge. Opening a hole in the wall around the tree he wandered into the enclosure and began to carefully water the sapling. It¡¯d barely grown at all, the only sign of its advancement being the third leaf it¡¯d sprouted recently. John hoped the slow growth signified it was going to be high quality, but he feared that Prismatic Trees just had a slow growth cycle. ¡°What do I do?¡± He asked it. There was no response from the tree, however a popup appeared almost immediately. [New Deific Quest:] ¡°What does it mean by ¡®Oversee and Guard¡¯? I¡¯m not giving up my rights to the tree just for a bunch of mana. If you want control over it there are going to be rules and stipulations, ones that are fair and not one-sided.¡± John crossed his arms and glared at nothing. [Deific Quest Failed:] Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. [System Contract Offered by Ledos, God of Magic and Knowledge] Primary Stipulation:
  1. John will retain ownership of The Gateway of Worlds and the tree around which it is based.
    1. John will not be coerced nor tricked into giving up his claim by Ledos nor those working for or in Ledos¡¯ name.
John¡¯s Commitments:
  1. Allow unfettered access to the Gateway of Worlds to the Knights Magi.
  2. Allow the Knights Magi to collect a toll of one silver per person on those entering and exiting the Gateway of Worlds.
    1. 25% of the toll so collected will be paid directly to the order of the Knights Magi.
    2. 20% of the toll will be donated in John¡¯s name to the Church of Ledos.
    3. 20% of the toll will be donated in John¡¯s name to the Church of Ira.
    4. 20% of the toll will be donated in John¡¯s name to the Church of Thuana.
    5. 05% of the toll will be held by the Knights Magi for improvements, repairs, and other necessities of the Gateway of Worlds (as decided by the stationed commander).
    6. 05% of the toll will be paid to the Eternal Empire as taxes
    7. 05% of the toll will be paid directly to John.
    8. The toll will be equal for all comers regardless of age, rank, race, or religion.
    9. John will be exempt from the toll.
  3. John will continue as the primary groundskeeper for the Gateway of Worlds.
Ledos¡¯ Commitments:
  1. Ledos will supply all mana costs for any Ritual or Enchantment enacted to enhance, aid, or otherwise benefit the occupants (including sapients, plants, and animals) of the Gateway of Worlds.
  2. The Knights Magi will protect and oversee the Gateway of Worlds.
    1. This protection may extend to the groundskeeper and his assistants at the discretion of the stationed commander.
  3. The Knights Magi will not interfere with lawful business conducted at, near, or within the Gateway of Worlds, except to enforce the collection of a toll of one silver per person upon those passing through.
    1. 25% of the toll so collected will be paid directly to the order of the Knights Magi.
    2. 20% of the toll will be donated in John¡¯s name to the Church of Ledos.
    3. 20% of the toll will be donated in John¡¯s name to the Church of Ira.
    4. 20% of the toll will be donated in John¡¯s name to the Church of Thuana.
    5. 05% of the toll will be held by the Knights Magi for improvements, repairs, and other necessities of the Gateway of Worlds (as decided by the stationed commander).
    6. 05% of the toll will be paid to the Eternal Empire as taxes
    7. 05% of the toll will be paid directly to John.
    8. The toll will be equal for all comers regardless of age, rank, race, or religion.
    9. John will be exempt from the toll.
Both parties will be held to the spirit of the contract. Should either party break the terms of this agreement they will be subject to discipline by the system equal in severity to the breach. After a period of one year has passed (or at any time upon which both parties agree) this contract may be terminated or renegotiated. [Accept Contract?] John read over the contract. It was simple and straightforward, containing none of the legal jargon that John would have expected in such a thing. He ran his fingers through his beard as he thought. The bit about the toll was a little confusing at first, then he thought it over. Deific help in this world came either as devotion, or as a business transaction. If he was paying donations (forced or otherwise) to three separate churches wouldn¡¯t that mean he¡¯d be getting reciprocal benefits? The idea of having a garrison of friendly knights nearby was also quite appealing. Currently John had no way to protect himself, or his farm. He¡¯d been trying not to think about it but if the tree turned out as he hoped, someone would almost certainly try to strong arm him into giving it up. Having protection was no small thing. Them also being in charge of tolls on any potential gateway solved the problem of him having to collect such on his own, or hire people to do it for him. John continued to examine the contract for several minutes, weighing the pros and cons. What finally decided him was that it came with an exit clause. If he really couldn¡¯t live with it then after a year he could terminate it. With a nod he accepted the contract. [Contract Complete!] The mana problem settled, John looked to what was next on the list. Two items each of life and space. He¡¯d made sixteen gold from Mana Stones, so now was the time to use it. Opening the auction interface, he began examining the listings. There were more than a few things that seemed to be life oriented, and as before the spatial items were easy to find, but very expensive. After a couple of hours of dithering he settled on two things, a Potion of Healing (which was Great quality and cost five gold), and a Golden Ginseng Root (which cost two gold and only had a quality of Good). He then turned his eyes to the spatial items, of which he¡¯d found very few of note. However, with only nine gold left he had very few options. Sighing, he resigned himself to lowering the quality of the ritual, and purchased an eighth of a pound of Void Stone for five and a half gold, then a Potion of Displacement (Poor quality), for another three gold. John took the items from his inventory and placed them at the cardinal points just inside the standing stones. He then tried pushing mana into the ritual. Instantly he felt a large rush of mana push his own feeble tendril aside and flood into the structure. The items fuzzed away to mist that was instantly pulled into the runework which now shone with a dazzling display of colors. Violet for space, green for life, blue for water, and the ever-shifting oil-on-water opalescence of time. Walking outside the circle, John turned back and inspected the structure, once more opening the information on the Ritual of the Space Grove. [Ritual of the Space Grove (Active)] He ran his fingers through his beard as he looked at the quality ranking. It wasn¡¯t as bad as it could be, he¡¯d been expecting a drop all the way to good. Still, it was a blow to not have the skills or money to take full advantage. Perhaps, in the future, he could replace it with something better. For now, he had what he had. Shaking his head, he walked back to the farm, and wandered down to the cellar where he sat down and started making a life stone. MAG - Chapter 22 - Edited Two hours later John walked into town. It was a little more than an hour till noon and lots of people were packing up their stalls in preparation for their lunch log out. Bypassing most of the stalls he found his way over to Ex and Sally, who both had stools now. ¡°Hi John!¡± Sally exclaimed while Ex just gave a sedate wave. ¡°Hey Sally, Hi Ex, I brought you something,¡± John said as he appeared the life stone he¡¯d just made. ¡°Excellent!¡± Ex said as he took it, his brows then went up in surprise. ¡°Five thousand mana? Nice!¡± He disappeared the stone into his own inventory. ¡°So, what brings you into town today?¡± ¡°I need more bodies. I¡¯m ready to actually start growing things now, so I need to fertilize a couple plots and get some seeds into the ground,¡± John explained. ¡°Great! I¡¯ve got lots of bodies already!¡± Sally said happily. ¡°Really?¡± John asked, surprised. ¡°Yeah, we hit level ten yesterday and she took Bigger on the Inside again. She now has two hundred inventory spaces that each holds two hundred items,¡± Ex said. ¡°And I got an upgrade to my Dragon¡¯s Breath ability! I can now mold its area of effect to exclude creatures and objects!¡± The drakekin fairly bounced in her seat. ¡°That¡¯s really cool! I didn¡¯t even know you had a breath ability.¡± John said. ¡°Yeah! Drakekin get Dragon¡¯s Breath and Scales as starting abilities, and then there are a bunch of racial feats you can take!¡± Sally spoke excitedly. John smiled and then looked to Excelsior. ¡°You get anything fun?¡± ¡°Nah, just upgrades to Bigger Pool and Dynamo, I¡¯ve got a pool of fifteen hundred now, and I regenerate seventy-five mana per minute,¡± Ex said. ¡°Nice! I wish I had that much mana, it¡¯d make building my road so much easier,¡± John grumbled. ¡°You¡¯re building a road? Why?¡± Ex asked, looking perplexed. ¡°Because I got a quest I can¡¯t refuse,¡± John explained. ¡°That henge I was building? I turned it into a Shrine, and the deities weren¡¯t particularly happy with the way I did it. Now they¡¯re demanding I build a road all the way to town.¡± ¡°Oh wow! What did you do to anger them?¡± Sally asked. ¡°I made them share; they both sent me quests to dedicate the Shrine to themselves, and I dedicated it to both of them at the same time,¡± John continued. Ex snorted. ¡°Sounds like they got what they were asking for.¡± ¡°Right? Still, I¡¯ve got to keep them happy or they destroy the shrine.¡± ¡°Oh! And it has your special tree in it!¡± Sally exclaimed. ¡°Yup,¡± John agreed. ¡°Well, nothing for it but to build a road I guess,¡± Ex said. ¡°Easier said than done, it¡¯s gonna take me at least a week of work,¡± John complained. ¡°Eh, could be worse, you could be building it by hand, that¡¯d take forever,¡± Ex pointed out. ¡°Wait, you are using magic right?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m using magic,¡± John said, slightly waspish. ¡°Then suck it up!¡± Ex said, unphased. ¡°Bah, how many corpses do you have?¡± John asked, changing the subject abruptly. ¡°Forty! All rodents today!¡± Sally said. ¡°Great,¡± John said as he took out ten coppers and passed them to Ex while Sally started appearing bodies onto the dirt of the street. Reaching down, John started disappearing the bodies into his own inventory. After a few moments the exchange was over. ¡°Thanks,¡± John said. ¡°No problem!¡± said Sally. ¡°A pleasure doing business with you!¡± Ex said with a grin. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m going to head back to the farm before I have to log out,¡± John said. ¡°I¡¯ll see you both later.¡± ¡°Bye John!¡± Sally exclaimed and waved. ¡°Later,¡± said Ex. With that, John turned and headed back out of town. ¡ª After logging back in John sat himself down to make more mana stones. He needed twenty-one thousand mana all told for the cleansing ritual, five thousand two hundred thirty-five of each life, death, fire, and water. The first two hours of work were entirely uninterrupted, leaving him with a ten thousand mana in stones. As he was about to start the second set, however, a noise from outside caught his ear. Frowning, he stood up and started up the stairs of the cellar. As he ascended he heard the noise again, it sounded like talking. He came out of the cellar and looked around. It wasn¡¯t until he looked towards the shrine that he found what had captured his attention. It was a small knot of people standing in front of the Gateway of Worlds, they seemed to be discussing something. John walked that way and as he got closer he could make out details. All of the people were dressed similarly, with military style uniforms and long cloaks with some form of insignia on it. They were looking around warily, hands on their weapons of which no two were alike. The moment they spotted John was clear, as their attention swiveled swiftly in his direction, then, as if deciding he was no threat, they went back to scanning the area. ¡°Hello?¡± John said as he approached. Their ongoing discussion immediately stopped and one of the five turned to look at him. She was a young-looking Orc. ¡°Are you the groundskeeper?¡± She asked bluntly, and without preamble. It took John a moment to process that, not yet used to his new position. ¡°Er, yes.¡± He said finally. ¡°You¡¯re the Knights Magi then?¡± The woman nodded. ¡°We are indeed, what¡¯s the wall meant to keep out?¡± she asked as the others continued to watch the grassland cautiously. ¡°I had a rabbit problem,¡± John said. Slowly they let down their guard. ¡°Rabbits? You¡¯re kidding right?¡± she asked. ¡°Unfortunately no, the matriarch was a real pain in the butt to kill.¡± A couple of them scoffed at that, but the orc woman just frowned. She then took out a small stone and looked at it for a moment. The stone flashed green and she put it away. A few moments later the air in one of the shrine¡¯s archways seemed to cut away, and in its place was an image of a walled courtyard filled with young people of all races wearing similar uniforms (but insignia free cloaks) and carrying large packs. Behind them John could see several wagons. ¡°Oh¡­¡± John said, as he realized what was about to happen. The first group of people came through and stepped quickly away from the portal, only to be swiftly followed by the next, and then the next group. All in all, there were around five groups of ten followed by two large wagons which appeared to be filled with supplies. Finally a last group stepped through, Two men and three women, all of them clearly older than the previous groups. As they exited the portal closed behind them. John looked around at the groups, which were now milling about, trampling down the grass and in general looking unsure of what they were doing. The five, John couldn¡¯t help but think of them as ¡®adults¡¯, approached the original invaders and had a low conversation with them for a moment. The young orc woman gestured in John¡¯s direction and the newcomers looked over at him. He waved awkwardly, and one of the newcomers, a large, eight-foot-tall giant of a man, came walking slowly over. ¡°So, you¡¯re the Groundskeeper?¡± He rumbled, looking unimpressed. ¡°Yep, that¡¯s me. I¡¯m John.¡± He held out his hand and the large man took it. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. John immediately regretted going for the handshake, as the large man tried earnestly to grind his bones to dust. John gritted his teeth and squeezed back, surprised at how well he was holding up under the vice-like grip. After a moment the man grunted and released the stranglehold. ¡°Not as weak as you look,¡± He didn¡¯t sound impressed, just surprised. ¡°I did clear all this land myself,¡± John said calmly as he decided whether or not this was going well. ¡°Don¡¯t mind him,¡± said an older Catfolk woman with steel-gray fur. ¡°He doesn¡¯t like anyone who can¡¯t press their own weight.¡± She strolled up and eyed John critically. The large man grunted. ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t like them, it¡¯s simply that people can, and should, be better. It¡¯s not hard to raise your stats without points, it¡¯s just time and effort.¡± ¡°Not everyone needs a strength of one hundred Axia. Common folk get by just fine with the stats the gods gave them all the time,¡± The catfolk woman said. ¡°And they¡¯re wasting potential,¡± Axia growled, but seemed more annoyed than upset. ¡°And then some of them waste more by spending precious points on increasing their statistics. How many points has our groundskeeper wasted to get his strength as high as it is?¡± ¡°One hundred and five, though that was at character creation and I didn¡¯t know I was wasting them. After that I saved all my points for feats, of which I purchased six, if you must know,¡± John said waspishly. Axia looked taken aback, the woman just laughed. ¡°Ha! He¡¯s got you there, maybe you shouldn¡¯t judge our groundskeeper by how young he looks, eh? I¡¯m Helen, a pleasure to meet you mister¡­.?¡± ¡°John, forgive me if I don¡¯t shake your hand, I¡¯m still recovering from an earlier encounter,¡± John said, eliciting another laugh from Helen as Axia had the grace to look uncomfortable. ¡°Well, first thing, can you tell us where your land ends so we can start getting set up? We hope to have a barracks up by sundown, but we¡¯ll need to claim and clear some land,¡± Helen explained. ¡°That¡¯s easy enough, I left the Claim Spikes in the ground since I haven¡¯t finished clearing this section yet. Makes it easy to know where to stop,¡± John said as he led the way past the shrine to where he had a Claim Spike stuck into the ground. ¡°The other spike lines up with this one, about five hundred twenty feet to the east.¡± ¡°Excellent, Axia, please go get the work details ready, I¡¯m going to go over some things with mister John,¡± Helen said, then watched quietly as Axia trotted off to do as he was bid, she then turned back to John. ¡°Now, there are some things we need to discuss,¡± she continued and started walking back toward the entrance to the shrine. ¡°First, tell me everything about this¡­ Gateway of Worlds.¡± John cleared his throat uncomfortably and she raised a brow and chuckled. ¡°Uncomfortable with the name? Good, it¡¯s pretentious and far too grand for this structure. Your fault, I presume.¡± ¡°Well, it was either name it something that fit all three gods involved, or lose everything I had. So¡­¡± John trailed off and shrugged. ¡°So you shouted the first thing that popped into your head that might work. Could have been worse, I suppose. What three deities did you dedicate it to? Ledos is one of them, obviously, but who else?¡± Helen came to a stop in front of the shrine. ¡°Ira and Thuana,¡± John told her. ¡°Hmmm, interesting choices. What drew the attention of the two goddesses? Not the structure itself, certainly,¡± Helen said. ¡°No¡­ not exactly, come on.¡± John waved for her to follow and then walked into the shrine. With a gesture he parted the inner wall to expose the sapling within. John stopped dead, the sapling had grown a bit since he¡¯d checked it that morning, almost by a full three inches. Worry gripped him. That was too fast, was the tree¡¯s quality going to be that low? ¡°Hmm interesting, a Prismatic Sapling with a space affinity. But why¡­ Oh! You¡¯re trying to grow a tree that makes Portals! Ambitious!¡± Helen sounded both excited and entertained. ¡°What have you fed it so far?¡± ¡°Uh, a Crude Void Serum, a Potion of Blink, a Gateway Serum, and I seeded the soil with about a quarter pound of Void Stone. It was all I could afford, and the Gateway Serum was a reward from Thuana, just like the ritual in effect here was a reward from Ira,¡± John explained. ¡°Hmmm¡­ What else are you going to do? I take it you don¡¯t have much money or you¡¯d be shoving magical trinkets down this tree¡¯s throat like there was no tomorrow,¡± she deduced. ¡°I¡¯ve had a thought, but¡­ it sounds kind of stupid,¡± John admitted. Helen snorted, ¡°You see all those squires running around? Each of them isn¡¯t much older than you look. I train about fifty of them each year, and each and every one of them has a stupid idea or three they want to try. You can¡¯t say anything stupider than what I¡¯ve already heard, so spit it out.¡± ¡°I¡¯m¡­ going to try and tell it what I want,¡± John said a bit hesitantly. Helen¡¯s brows went up. ¡°Tell it what you want?¡± ¡°Well, magic, at least so far, seems to change based on intent. Like, I was able to make this marble because I impressed my will upon the magic, right? So, I was thinking I could feed it space mana and¡­ imprint my desires on the mana?¡± He half explained, half asked. Helen looked like she was thinking it over. ¡°It¡¯s¡­ not something I¡¯ve ever heard of anyone trying. But you¡¯re right, a lot of magic can be changed with intent, though not all of it. Hmmm.¡± She seemed to think about it for a moment. ¡°Well, we¡¯ll have to see how it goes I suppose,¡± she said finally. John just nodded uncertainly. ¡°Now,¡± she continued, ¡°tell me what your plans are going forward.¡± ¡°My plans? Well, I need to get some crops in the ground pretty much as soon as possible, I was hoping for the day after tomorrow, but I don¡¯t have enough time to make all the Mana Stones I need now, so I guess it¡¯ll be two days before I can get them in the ground. I also have a quest to build a road that I need to complete, and I¡¯m going to need to spend some time with the tree each day,¡± John explained. ¡°I see, tell me about the road quest,¡± she said. ¡°Well, I got a quest to build a road from here to Runic Rock. I¡¯ve got twenty-five days left to complete it, I could just build a dirt trail but¡­ well, the goddesses are already displeased with me, and the reward is variable, so I figured I should do the best job I could,¡± John told her. ¡°And what would your best effort look like?¡± Helen pressed. ¡°Well, I need to dig a road bed about four feet deep and seventeen feet wide. Compact the dirt at the bottom so it¡¯s solid and mostly level, then fill it with a foot of fine sand, then a foot of fine gravel, followed by a foot of large stones. Then cover the entire thing in about a foot of stone, normally I¡¯d use cement but I don¡¯t think I can create that with the Create Earth spell. After, I¡¯d cover the very top in pavers, slightly elevated in the middle to cause water to run off to the sides. Finally line the sides of the road with a raised curb,¡± John quickly outlined. ¡°And why not just lay down solid slabs of stone from here to Runic Rock?¡± Helen inquired. ¡°Because without a foundation they¡¯d sink and drainage would be an issue. This way the road has a solid bed and drains adequately,¡± John said. Helen nodded thoughtfully. ¡°Good design, now tell me how you¡¯re going to execute it.¡± ¡°Well, I need to claim the entire stretch from here to Runic Rock, then expand my Domain over it, after that it¡¯ll be relatively simple uses of Control Earth and Create Earth to clear out the road bed and then generate the required materials. Once it¡¯s inside my domain it shouldn¡¯t take me more than three days to complete.¡± ¡°Oh, Domain was one of your feats then? Interesting, not many people get that one. How long will it take you to expand your domain that far?¡± she inquired. ¡°About four days,¡± he said. ¡°You¡¯ve got a lot of work laid out for yourself,¡± Helen noted. John shrugged. ¡°I only have until near the end of winter to prove I can make money doing this, and the quest is non-optional, the failure clause is the destruction of the Gateway of Worlds.¡± Helen made a disgruntled noise, but gestured for John to continue. ¡°Well, I¡¯ve currently got no way to grow crops during the winter, so I¡¯ve got to get them growing now. As it is I¡¯ve only got two and a half months of growing time left,¡± he finished. ¡°Hmmm,¡± Helen hummed thoughtfully. ¡°Have you considered hiring out the road building?¡± ¡°Hiring out to who? One or two of the citizens of Runic Rock might be able to build a road, but if so they¡¯re not in a hurry to pave even their own roads. The other players certainly aren¡¯t interested in the labor required. And even if I did hire it out, how do I know they¡¯re going to do a good job? It¡¯s not like anyone here is beholden to an official organization I could complain to about quality,¡± John said. Helen nodded. ¡°And if I said that I could make the squires do it?¡± John looked at her for a long moment. ¡°No,¡± he said finally. ¡°Not if it¡¯s not part of their duties already or I¡¯m paying for it.¡± Helen bobbed her head from side to side. ¡°You could argue it¡¯s a requirement of the Knights, as it¡¯s our job to protect the shrine.¡± ¡°I could, but it doesn¡¯t make the argument right. Don¡¯t get me wrong, I¡¯d love it if you built the road, ecstatic even. But I¡¯m not going to waste whatever of your good graces I might have trying to get you to do things that are blatantly for my personal benefit,¡± John explained. Helen nodded again. ¡°A good answer, how much would you be offering in compensation for construction of a roadway?¡± John considered for several minutes in silence. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± he said finally. ¡°I honestly have no way to determine the value of such a service, not in a world where magic makes the labor so easy.¡± ¡°Also a good answer. As for the amount of money it would cost to have a road like the one you described built, it¡¯d be around a gold per mile, more if you actually import the materials to make it and have them laid by hand,¡± Helen explained. ¡°Why would anyone do that?¡± John asked, perplexed. ¡°Because the system takes into account the amount of effort you put into something. Things that you pour your time, money, and effort into have an intrinsic value that can¡¯t be found in something you just magicked up with a spell, and the system rewards accordingly,¡± she explained. ¡°Now, all that said, if I offered to let you pay us to build you a road, would you accept it?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± John said without hesitation, he¡¯d been watching the squires working for some time now, and they¡¯d nearly cleared an area twice the size of his farm and shrine combined. He could even see some of them working on structures together. Helen followed his gaze and nodded. ¡°Some of the first spells we teach them are for use in building. Sometimes the knights are called to places like this, where there¡¯s precious little infrastructure, and they need to be able to build their own shelters and prepare living spaces. You have my promise that the road will be built right.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± John said gratefully. ¡°That¡¯s a load off my mind.¡± ¡°I think we¡¯re going to get along just fine John. Now if you¡¯ll excuse me, I need to go check in.¡± John bobbed his head as she walked toward the newly cleared area, he then sighed in relief, and headed back toward his cellar. MAG - Chapter 23 - Edited John was ready to activate the Ritual of Cleansing by early afternoon. He set it up and dumped the bodies inside, then activated it, watching once more as the glow of mana overtook the ritual as it began its task. He then headed directly for the Gateway of Worlds only to stop as he noticed the now extensive compound that sat next to it. The squires had, apparently, been working non-stop and John could see a half-dozen different buildings all made of stone with windows that appeared to be filled with some form of clear substance, possibly glass or¡­ maybe quartz? That was a pretty nifty idea, quartz windows, he¡¯d have to try that. The buildings were all situated around a central yard which had several large sand pits spaced evenly about. Judging by the people sparring in them, they were used for training. ¡°What did they do with all the displaced dirt?¡± John muttered to himself. ¡°Used Dirt to Stone on most of it,¡± someone said next to him. John looked over to find the orc woman he¡¯d spoken with yesterday. She was standing on one side of the bridge, there was another of the knights on the other side. ¡°Sorry, didn¡¯t see you there. Dirt to Stone? I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve heard of that one,¡± he admitted. ¡°It¡¯s a first-tier spell, pretty easy to learn,¡± she said, sounding a little short. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, have I offended you somehow?¡± John asked, baffled. The woman made to reply, but visibly stopped herself, she spoke a moment later, her tone almost emotionless. ¡°No, you haven¡¯t. I merely didn¡¯t expect my first assignment to be guarding a farmer and his tree.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± John said, unsure of how he should respond to that. ¡°Well, I appreciate it, for what that¡¯s worth?¡± he said after another beat of silence. The orcish woman just huffed out a breath and her partner, a wolfkin, simply avoided John¡¯s gaze. ¡°Alright then,¡± John said and headed into the shrine. Once more he parted the wall so he could get inside, and once more he was dismayed that the tree had grown. It was almost a foot tall now. He sealed the wall behind him and then Pulled a bit of it in to form a seat. Sitting himself down he looked at the tree and sighed. ¡°What do I do with you?¡± He muttered, then reached out and touched one of the leaves. The leaf had a strange, almost slippery texture, and it felt cool against his fingertips. Slowly he extruded a thread of mana and ran it down his arm toward the tree. As he formed it, he began to impress upon it the concept of space until the strand of mana was void black with little flashes of white and color. He began feeding the strand of mana into the tree, slowly so as not to hurt it. John watched the tendril of mana as it leapt from his hand to the tree, passing from his fingertips into the leaf and spreading through the sapling like blood through capillaries. He could feel the tree in a way he¡¯d never felt another being before. It was like having a second body, but made of leaves and branches. He could feel the air on his stem and leaves, the gentle pressure of his own hand on his leaf, the joy of water and nutrients around his roots, the beauty of sunlight as it gave him vital energy. And above it all he could feel a desire, a longing, but for what he didn¡¯t know or understand. He could feel the magic inside himself, all tangled up in void and space, but with barely any direction of which to speak. There were tiny hints of organization, of instructions, but there was no unifying cause. This was wrong, it was frustrating, it was unacceptable. He wanted to be more, to have unity and purpose for his magic, not this jumbled jigsaw puzzle with pieces missing. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. John pulled away in shock and looked around. The sun had changed position, and his reserves of mana were empty. According to his clock almost seventy-eight minutes had passed. What had that been? He¡¯d felt like he was the tree. Those experiences, they hadn¡¯t been thinking, not strictly, more like that was how his mind interpreted it, since he had no other frame of reference. He slowly exhaled. He wasn¡¯t entirely sure what to do now. He understood that the magic in the tree was only partially formed, right now it wasn¡¯t anything. If the tree were left alone, with nothing else added, its magic would be wild and unformed, it could become almost anything so long as it related to space magic. But that wasn¡¯t what he wanted, he needed a portal, a way to connect to the rest of the world. The auction was good, but empire wide distribution was better. He took a few minutes to use Mana Drawing, and then he began feeding space mana into the tree once more. He was the tree, a calm, blissful experience, marred only by the uncertainty of his own magic. How he wished to understand it, to have direction and purpose. He was¡­ he was¡­ he was John, his name was John, and he was not a tree. He was the large hairy thing that had planted the seed, that had given it such rich food and good magic. But he hadn¡¯t given it enough, it didn¡¯t know what to do, who to be! John came to sitting next to the tree once more. The sun had moved again, and once more he¡¯d lost over an hour. It had felt like only minutes. Whenever he connected like this it was as if his thoughts became glacially slow. How was he supposed to get anything done? He¡¯d barely come to an awareness of himself when he¡¯d run out of mana! Hesitating, he decided to try something he¡¯d never done before. He actively used Mana Drawing at the Novice level to create a single loop, doubling his mana regeneration, putting him over one mana per second. He then concentrated and created another tendril of space mana. It was difficult, holding the two skills at once, but not as difficult as making mana stones. He once more touched the sapling, sending his mana, and consciousness, into it. The sun was nice on his leaves, he could use some more water though, the growth was so fast it was making him thirsty. He felt vibrant though, alive! He soaked in the magic that was being fed to him from all around, and the direct line from the hairy one. John! I am John! He broke away from the pseudo-consciousness of the plant. He was not a tree. He was John, and he had a mission. Shifting his mind he could feel the core of the tree, the place its magic converged. It was chaotic, a jumble of concepts and half formed ideas all mashed together, vying for dominance. Left alone it¡¯d ossify into something strange and likely useless. He could already see the chaotic tides slowly settling. That was unacceptable. At first he tried finding a single piece of a concept, the idea of portals, but it was like looking for a needle in a haystack made of similar needles. There was nothing he could latch onto and start building around. He needed to change his approach. He had told Helen that he was going to simply try talking to it, telling it what he wanted. So, he¡¯d start there. John focused on the idea of a portal. A gateway that led from one place to another. He felt a resonance within the roiling mass of magic, but it was faint, and hard to find. He considered for a few moments and started describing different types of portals. The first that came to mind was the ever-popular wormholes used in sci-fi books and movies since long before John had been born. The idea of a fold in space that connected two distant locations did seem to have some resonance in the magic, and he pushed on, imagining the simple illustration of a flat plane folded in on itself with a hole punched through. The resonance grew stronger, but was still weak. The next portal that came to mind was one from legend, the Bifrost of old Norse mythology, once again popularized by modern media. John ruminated on the idea, a rainbow bridge that carried people from one place to another, even across worlds. The resonance was building, he could almost find it now, so he continued, drawing an idea from popular media. There was the Castle Perilous with its many magic doors, each leading to a parallel world. That found less resonance, but it was still there. He could feel the idea of portals emerging, but he was running out of examples. Finally he gave up and released his contact with the tree. Looking around he found that it was late evening. Twilight was setting in and his clock told him it was almost time to log out for the night. He stood up, willing the stone he¡¯d been using as a seat back into the wall. Looking around he saw that the guard on the shrine had been changed. He watered the tree, then opened a hole in the wall and walked out, closing it up behind him. Nodding to the two knights on duty (who studiously ignored him) he made his way back to the storm cellar, and logged out. MAG - Chapter 24 - Edited The next day started as the last ended, with John communing with the tree. He sat with it until noon, trying once more to find that resonance with portals. He thought of the doorway of Howl¡¯s Moving Castle, the Stargate of both movie and television fame, and even the idea of ¡®Stepping¡¯ from The Long Earth; though that last one found the least resonance. Still, the magic seemed to be solidifying in the direction desired, but he wasn¡¯t sure; there were still echoes of other abilities he could feel, such as teleportation and displacement. He focused on the image of the portal the Knights had arrived through, but it didn¡¯t get a strong reaction, likely because he didn¡¯t know exactly how it worked. He did, however, gain another point in Magic. After noon had passed and he¡¯d taken his obligatory lunch break john went and checked on the cleansing ritual. It had finished running and now that the bodies were clean, he could finally work with them. So he loaded them into his inventory and headed for the garden plots. He filled the first one with all fifty bodies and topped it off with grass from a nearby pile. As he did so he realized the grass piles were starting to give off a certain odor, and that it was probably time to burn them. Turning back to the plot, he began to decay the bodies and grass. As with his last experiments in composting the smell was both intense and awful as waves of thick air came off the decaying materials. Just like his previous experiences with the spell, it took him almost five hours to finish off all of the bodies. But when he was done, he had a rich brown sludge which he happily mixed into the dirt below using Control Earth. Following that, he created deep furrows for water to flow along and prepared the raised portions to hold seeds. Using Control Earth he opened a hole in the plot wall and walked inside. The ground was unpleasantly squishy, and smelled, but that was okay. He started seeding the bed with wheat. It didn¡¯t take very long until he¡¯d seeded the plot with about a sixth of the bushel. He put it away and carefully covered the seeds in the dark soil. He then began to water the plot, a job that took a few minutes before his instincts told him that was enough. John looked around at the growing twilight. It was getting darker sooner, he realized. When he¡¯d first started, he¡¯d been able to get up near four and go to bed near eight and have light for most of that time. Now, however, it was dark most mornings and heading toward true dark around the time he logged off. He was going to either have to work less hours, or learn a light spell. Or maybe make some kind of light enchantment he could wear. He sighed as he thought of all the things he still had left to do. He needed to continue paying attention to the tree so that Green Thumb would kick in. He had to take care of the wheat field too now, and he needed to get and cleanse more bodies, which meant he needed more money. For that matter he should redraw the rituals he¡¯d set up since he now had a better grasp of how they should work. He also needed to find time to work on Enchantment. More and more Enchantment seemed like an automation solution, and he definitely needed more automation. And last, but certainly not least, he was going to need more storage space. He¡¯d need to build a barn, or perhaps pay the squires to do it. Speaking of paying squires he also needed to spend another few hours making life stones so he could pay for the road they were going to make. Thinking of the road, John looked over the wall. Sure enough, there was a trench. The bottom of the trench even appeared to have sand and gravel in it already, no doubt the work of a Dirt to Stone spell. Someone had apparently even lined up the road so that it ran straight east-west from town, which meant it terminated dead center of his farm with a turnoff toward the shrine. He wondered if that was going to cost extra, he hoped not. Turning back toward the cellar he created a small flame for light, found his way to the bedroll, and logged out for the night. ¡ª Once again John¡¯s morning was taken up by feeding the tree and trying to coax it into developing a portal affinity. He was certain now that it was working, the resonance was even stronger today than it had been yesterday, but he also felt he was getting diminishing returns by reiterating the same knowledge over and over again. He wasn¡¯t sure what else he should do though, and the roiling mass of magic within the tree was heading in the right direction for now. However, he did only work with the tree for four hours, as he needed to head into town and talk to Ex and Sally. This would be so much easier if he bought the communications module, but he didn¡¯t have a lot of cash left. Perhaps he could make some extra life stones and save up the gold for it. Standing up he dusted himself off and began the long trek toward town. Along the way he got to see the progress of the road so far. It had only been a day and change, but they¡¯d managed to get halfway to town already. When he finally caught up with the current progress, he found six of the squires working together. They alternated between digging the ditch and turning the resulting dirt into stone and sand. They also did not look happy, with more than one glare being thrown his way. He chose, wisely he thought, not to stop and talk. Arriving in town he headed straight for Ex and Sally¡¯s stall where he found both of them sitting on stools and staring into space. ¡°Hey Ex, Sally,¡± he said as he walked up. The two blinked and then their eyes focused on John. ¡°Oh, hey John,¡± Ex said. ¡°Hi!¡± Sally said with a cheery wave. ¡°We were just watching some movies!¡± ¡°I figured it was something like that. Why don¡¯t you guys run the dungeon more? It seems like you spend a lot of time in town.¡± John remarked. ¡°Limitations of a low-level dungeon, it can only split itself so many times. The dungeon can create instances, but only so many, so we normally only get a few runs in a day. We already had our morning run, so mostly it¡¯s just waiting around until our evening one,¡± Ex explained. ¡°Ah, you guys have any luck getting past that Prismatic Ooze?¡± John asked. ¡°Yeah! We teamed up with this ice user, Sarah, she¡¯s great! It worked pretty much like you thought; it would adapt to one of us and then the other could get in a shot, so we ping ponged back and forth until it was dead!¡± Sally said, sounding pleased. ¡°What was the loot like?¡± John inquired. ¡°Mostly the same, we got a couple small Raw Mana Stones though. Better than getting the tiny ones, but still not worth much without a market,¡± Ex said. ¡°Hmmm, anything interesting on the sixth floor?¡± ¡°Packs of large rodents,¡± Sally said, sounding mostly disinterested. ¡°I thought that was floor three?¡± John asked, confused. ¡°Nah, floor three is large rodents in singletons or pairs. Floor six is packs ranging between four and six,¡± Ex explained. ¡°And floor seven?¡± ¡°Not a clue, haven¡¯t beaten floor six yet. Keep dying to the Rat King.¡± Ex explained. ¡°Tell me that¡¯s not what it sounds like,¡± John said. ¡°It¡¯s exactly what it sounds like!¡± exclaimed Sally. ¡°A set of giant rats with their tails all tied together, it¡¯s horrible! And they¡¯re weirdly coordinated. On top of that, if you kill one the others consume it and get more powerful!¡± ¡°That¡¯s gross and makes me glad I¡¯m doing a different kind of farming,¡± John said with a wrinkled nose. ¡°Speaking of, you here because you need more bodies?¡± Ex asked. ¡°Yeah, I could use more bodies. I want to plant some corn next. Once that¡¯s in the ground I can take some time to work on other things, like Enchanting, and maybe Alchemy.¡± John replied. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Ooooo Alchemy sounds fun!¡± Sally said excitedly. ¡°I don¡¯t know about fun, but it could certainly be useful. I got really lucky and managed to make a Crude Void Serum in one of those urns. I was never much for chemistry though, so I probably won¡¯t do more than dabble.¡± ¡°How are you planning on powering enchantments?¡± Ex asked ¡°Don¡¯t know yet, I¡¯d really like a Mana Well, but you need to be Apprentice rank just to follow the basic blueprint, and Journeyman to actually understand it. So it¡¯s a long way off, especially since I don¡¯t have a week to just sit down and work on it,¡± John explained. ¡°Well, you could try embedding Mana Cores in the enchantments, I read somewhere they can be used as a power source. Course we only have the Poor ones, so those are likely to break,¡± Ex said. ¡°Yeah, all the ones I purchased last time broke when they were discharged.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you set up some kind of purification ritual? Maybe that can purify the cores too!¡± Sally enthused. ¡°You know, I remember thinking that, but I¡¯d forgotten about it until now. I need to redraw that ritual though, last time it almost failed to work,¡± John admitted. ¡°Well, it sounds like you still have a lot of work to do,¡± Ex said. ¡°Forever and always,¡± John agreed. ¡°How many bodies do you want this time?¡± Sally asked. ¡°Let¡¯s go with a hundred, that should give me enough for two more plots,¡± John said. ¡°Alrighty! We can pick them up during our evening run!¡± she said. ¡°Thanks,¡± John said. ¡°Same rate as before, right?¡± Asked Ex. ¡°Yep, same rate,¡± confirmed John. ¡°Excellent. A pleasure as always John,¡± Ex said with a smile. John smiled back. ¡°The pleasure is all mine. Thanks for the help guys!¡± ¡°No problem John!¡± Sally said. ¡°Talk to you later!¡± ¡°Later!¡± John said back, then waved to the two as he headed for the square. Heading into the square, John looked around and spotted Grandma Loren sitting in her usual place, once more reading a book. ¡°Morning,¡± he said as he took a seat next to her. ¡°Good morning dear, how¡¯s the tree?¡± she asked as she closed the book. ¡°Pretty well, I think I¡¯m making headway, though it¡¯s growing much faster than I expected, I¡¯m worried I¡¯ve ruined its quality,¡± John admitted. ¡°Hmmm, you set up that ritual didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yeah, that was one of the first things I did,¡± he said. ¡°I don¡¯t know much about rituals, but I suspect therein lies your answer. I¡¯d bet the ritual has a growth acceleration component,¡± she said. John pondered that for a moment, thinking back to the description and effects. ¡°It¡­ did seem to say it¡¯d do that,¡± he said with a grimace at having already forgotten what the ritual did. ¡°There you have it. Besides, there¡¯s no fixing it now so don¡¯t worry over it. Besides, trees are one of the few things that can change their quality over time, assuming they¡¯re well taken care of,¡± she explained. ¡°That actually makes me feel a lot better.¡± ¡°Thought it might. How¡¯s your homework coming? I know things have been a bit hectic for you, but there¡¯s no reason to go slacking now.¡± Loren said. ¡°Pretty well, I¡¯ve got everything done except Growth. Honestly I¡¯m not sure I¡¯m going to get that one to Apprentice rank. I don¡¯t want to use it on the tree and the only other crop I have going right now is a small bed of wheat. Also, now that I think about it, I have this feeling it¡¯s not good for the crops,¡± John admitted. ¡°It¡¯s not, unless you know what you¡¯re doing. I¡¯d guess your farming level is too low, a Journeyman of the skill would know how to offset the effects of Growth. Usually the answer is more fertilizer, more water, only do it during the day, and depending on the crop you might want a secondary spell, such as Pollinate,¡± she explained. ¡°How¡¯s your Mana Sight and Mana Manipulation coming along?¡± ¡°I¡¯m using Mana Sight constantly. It¡¯s weird, I thought it¡¯d affect my ability to see things, given that there¡¯s mana everywhere, but it¡¯s actually really easy to ignore if I¡¯m not looking specifically at it,¡± John said. ¡°Mana Manipulation though¡­ I haven¡¯t gotten a lot of chances to practice it. I use it whenever I have to make mana stones, and when I made the marble for the shrine, but there¡¯s not a lot of time to just sit down and practice.¡± Loren nodded. ¡°You¡¯ll get there, though I¡¯m afraid you¡¯re going to need it for more advanced spells. Normally I¡¯d say you could buy a few of those at your next level, but with the sacrifice you made¡­¡± she trailed off. John grimaced. ¡°Yeah, I get the feeling I¡¯m going to regret that later.¡± ¡°Well, what¡¯s done is done. You may want to find a quest or three to help get you more points, though.¡± ¡°About quests, how do those work? I¡¯ve only gotten a few non-deific ones,¡± John said. ¡°Hmmm, as far as I know it depends on the difficulty of the task. The more difficult it is for you, the more likely the system is to assign a quest. The reward is also based on how difficult it is and can range from almost nothing to Deific ranked items and great piles of Build Points,¡± she explained. ¡°I guess that makes sense. I haven¡¯t really been in a lot of positions where a task was extremely difficult. Except with the rabbits,¡± he said. ¡°Just so. Though with your goals I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if a quest or two popped up to help encourage your success.¡± ¡°Here¡¯s hoping,¡± John said. ¡°Alright, I really stopped just to say hi, I¡¯ve got to get back to work if I¡¯m going to get everything done.¡± ¡°Best of luck to you dear,¡± Loren said as she took her book back out. ¡°Thanks,¡± John said as he stood. ¡°I think I¡¯m going to need it.¡± With a wave he headed toward Ellie¡¯s stall, which was the second to last stop he intended to make today. ¡°Hi Ellie, how are the sales?¡± he asked as he walked up. ¡°Hello Hon. They¡¯re doing pretty well, thank you for asking. What brings you by today?¡± She asked. ¡°Well, I was thinking of growing some fruits, but I honestly don¡¯t know how to start a berry plant from seeds and I was wondering if you could help me with that,¡± he explained. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s not hard hon, you just use Growth. It¡¯ll work on seeds just as well as on crops, just don¡¯t hold it too long, the equivalent of a day¡¯s worth of growth should be fine. Something to remember is that you don¡¯t have to use the spell at its fastest rate, you can always tone it down to get a slower speed out of it,¡± Ellie explained. ¡°Thanks, that¡¯s really helpful, I thought I was going to have to learn a new spell to germinate plants,¡± John admitted. ¡°Nah, just Growth, do you know the spell already?¡± she asked. ¡°Yeah, Grandma Loren taught it to me,¡± John said. ¡°Well there you go then! Anything else I can do for you hon?¡± ¡°How much for¡­ how do you sell the berries?¡± he asked. Ellie pulled a small reed basket out from behind the stall, it was about the size of a small dessert plate. ¡°I usually fill one of these and charge a copper for it.¡± ¡°Ah, alright, I¡¯ll take one each of strawberries, blackberries, raspberries and blueberries,¡± John said as he pulled out four coppers. Ellie filled the four small baskets and covered them with tiny reed lids. ¡°All yours hon,¡± she said as she passed them over and received her coin in turn. ¡°Thanks Ellie, I¡¯ll see you later,¡± John said with a parting wave. ¡°Bye,¡± she responded with a wave of her own. Berries safely deposited in his inventory, John stopped by the store where he topped off his meal bars and then returned to his farm, where he spent the remainder of the day making Mana Stones. MAG - Chapter 25 - Edited Ex and Sally hadn¡¯t shown up last night, but he had gotten a message from them (apparently the communication module was only required to send messages). They¡¯d only managed to get about half the bodies he wanted, so they were going to collect more with the morning run. John was fine with that as it gave him time to do some morning work. For the first four hours he worked with the tree, feeding it mana and trying to impress upon it his desires once more. The magic within it was nearly unresponsive, it appeared it was solidifying quickly. At this point he was fairly certain it wouldn¡¯t be changing without drastic measures, like the introduction of a powerful magical effect or item. Breaking from the tree, he watered it, and then moved on with his morning. John made Mana stones for the next four hours, unlike the four he¡¯d made last night (which were for the cleansing ritual) these were for sale, so that he¡¯d be able to pay the Knights when the road was complete. It was closing in on noon when he was interrupted by the sound of Sally bellowing his name. ¡°HEY JOHN! WE¡¯RE HERE!¡± she shouted. John wandered up and out of the cellar where he¡¯d been working, and waved as Sally leapt over the wall. Ex just leaned against it and waited to be let in. ¡°Hey Sally, try not to disturb the neighbors, I want to stay on their good side,¡± John said as he approached. Sally and Ex glanced over toward the shrine, where they were getting the stink eye from the same orc woman who¡¯d voiced her disgruntlement the other day. ¡°Oops,¡± Sally said, she didn¡¯t seem terribly apologetic. ¡°Who are those guys anyway?¡± Excelsior asked. ¡°The Knights Magi, they worship Ledos, or work for him, at least. They basically protect the shrine and take care of things like controlling the toll for entry and exit,¡± John told them as he opened the wall and let Ex in. ¡°Why do they all look so disgruntled?¡± Sally wondered aloud. ¡°Well, the woman giving you the stink eye said this wasn¡¯t what she expected, so I¡¯m assuming she¡¯s mad about being posted in the middle of nowhere. The ones digging the road though¡­ I¡¯m not sure, they glared at me both times I passed them yesterday,¡± John said. ¡°Punishment detail,¡± Ex said in a knowing fashion. ¡°Punishment detail?¡± John echoed. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s not any different than digging ditches or latrines. My dad¡¯s a big military history buff, it¡¯s the kind of thing that¡¯s done to punish people; well, unless there¡¯s no one to punish, then you¡¯re just unlucky because it¡¯s got to be done by someone,¡± Ex explained. ¡°I guess that makes sense?¡± said John as he started leading them toward the ritual site. ¡°What are they guarding?¡± Sally asked as she followed John, one eye on the shrine. ¡°The tree, mostly. It¡¯s magical and we¡¯re all really hoping it turns out to be a certain kind of magic.¡± John said. ¡°Oh! That tree! What kind of magic does it have?!¡± Sally all but bounced with excitement. ¡°Portal, we¡¯re hoping. Not entirely sure that¡¯s what we¡¯re going to get though, making a tree like this has never been done before. So far as we know,¡± John explained as he came to a stop in front of the ritual circle. ¡°Just put them here like last time.¡± ¡°Cool!¡± Sally said, and started dumping the bodies onto the stone slab. ¡°A Portal tree?¡± Ex asked. ¡°I suppose that¡¯s one way to fix our transportation issue. Hope it pans out for you.¡± ¡°So do I,¡± John said. Sally dropped the last of the bodies and stepped outside the circle. ¡°All done!¡± ¡°Great, do you want to watch me start it this time? I¡¯ve just got to buy some items that represent purity for it, then I can start it,¡± John said. ¡°Sure!¡± Sally said excitedly. John pulled up the auction tab and searched for the same items he¡¯d use last time. One silver and ten coppers later John had the three items. He set them, the bowl of clean water, and the mana stones in the provided hollows, then activated the ritual. Sally made some appropriate oohs and aahs as the ritual displayed its light show. ¡°That¡¯s cool!¡± Sally said after it¡¯d died down to its more subtle glow. ¡°Eh, it was alright,¡± said Ex. ¡°So how long will it take?¡± asked Sally. ¡°Twenty-four hours,¡± John replied. ¡°Seems like a really long time just for a Cleanse,¡± Ex said skeptically. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. John shrugged. ¡°Dunno, I don¡¯t have the spell, I do know it¡¯s supposed to be able to cleanse most things up to¡­ uh¡­¡± He quickly inspected the ritual. ¡°Exceptional rank poisons, diseases, and contaminants. Not sure how that compares to the actual Cleanse spell though.¡± Ex looked thoughtful for a moment. ¡°I¡¯m not sure actually, Cleanse is hard to level up, so I¡¯m still only at Apprentice rank. It¡¯s never mentioned grades of disease or poisons. Some things do take longer to cleanse than others though,¡± he admitted. ¡°Does it work on dead things?¡± John asked. ¡°You know, I¡¯ve never tried,¡± Ex replied. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll give it a go when we run the dungeon this evening.¡± ¡°Let me know how that turns out,¡± John said. ¡°Will do,¡± Ex said. Sally, meanwhile, had wandered over to (and was looking at) the purification ritual. ¡°This is the one that purifies things, right? Want to try it on some mana cores?¡± She asked as the other two lapsed into silence. ¡°I¡¯d love to,¡± John told her. ¡°But it¡¯s expensive to run and I need to redraw it anyway, it barely worked last time. I won¡¯t have time for that for a couple of days. I need to make more mana stones for sale, get these bodies cleansed and decomposed, plant corn and berries, and work some more with the tree.¡± ¡°Boooooooring!¡± Sally exclaimed. ¡°Very,¡± John admitted. ¡°But hopefully it¡¯ll pay off.¡± ¡°Maybe you should look into getting the Media Interface,¡± Ex said. ¡°Media Interface?¡± John asked. ¡°Yeah!¡± Sally said. ¡°It lets you download movies and music to watch and listen to while you do other things!¡± ¡°Sally likes to play music while we delve. The media interface can be set up to allow those nearby to hear it as well,¡± Ex explained. ¡°I guess that sounds useful, but I can do a lot of that already with the web interface,¡± John said skeptically. ¡°Yeah, but the Web Interface has a HUD that can get in the way of things, the Media Interface can be minimized and still work!¡± Sally expounded. ¡°I¡¯ll think about it, I haven¡¯t got much money left, and I¡¯d probably need to sell a good chunk of mana stones before I could afford it,¡± John said. ¡°Oh,¡± Sally said, less enthusiastically. Ex shrugged. ¡°Anyway, you need anything else while we¡¯re here?¡± ¡°Nah, thanks though. I still need to figure out how I¡¯m delivering all this Herb Slime Goo to my plants, so the urns are all still full, and these bodies should be enough for two more plots,¡± John said. ¡°Well, let us know. C¡¯mon Sally, let¡¯s head back to town,¡± Ex said and headed toward the way they¡¯d come in. ¡°Bye!¡± Sally said with a wave as she followed Ex. ¡°Later!¡± said John. John watched them go for a few minutes, and then logged off as it was about that time. Coming to in his bed, John slipped off the headset and sat up. He then went through some exercises shown to prevent atrophy, and then made some lunch. While he did so he considered what he wanted to do. His plan currently consisted of getting his plants in the ground and then doing his best to ¡®tend¡¯ to them so they¡¯d increase in quality. The big problem was, what did he do next? Were there even player chefs who¡¯d purchase his ingredients? Should he mill the wheat into flour himself? What about corn? Should he mill some of that down into cornmeal or flour? How do you make corn flour? John tried to open the web interface. Nothing happened. ¡°Signs you¡¯ve been playing too much VR,¡± he muttered to himself and then finished the last of his sandwich. He stood, washed his plate, and then returned to his room. There were still a solid fifteen minutes before he could log back into the game, so he opened his laptop and looked up how to make masa. It turned out to be a frustrating experience, as most recipes simply used pre-made chemicals, and it wasn¡¯t until he actively searched Native American history that he figured out how they¡¯d done it. They¡¯d used ash from their fires to make Lye and then soaked the corn in that before processing it. John glanced at the time and saw that he¡¯d spent a good forty-five minutes on his research. With a disgruntled sigh he closed the laptop, put on the headset, and logged back into the game. Finding the farm much as he had left it, John returned to the cellar and made mana stones for the rest of the day. The next morning passed the same way the last few had. He began by feeding mana directly to the tree, which continued to soak it up like a sponge. By this time its magic seemed to have well and truly solidified, making his attempts at further coaxing fruitless. After four hours of that he spent the next four making mana stones, putting the total production at sixteen for the last two days, twelve of which had already sold. In addition he received another point in Magic, bringing him up to a total of Fifty. After lunch he checked on the Ritual of Cleansing, which should have finished just before he logged out. He found the ritual had indeed finished its run, letting him collect the bodies. He then moved over to the second of his twelve plots and dropped fifty of the bodies into it. He then went to work on them with Decay, a task that took about five hours. After mixing the freshly composted material with the dirt, he shaped the soil into rows and furrows ready to receive both water and seed. Taking out the package of corn he used about half of it broadcasting seed onto the raised portions of the garden bed. Finally he watered the field until he felt he¡¯d given it enough. After finishing with the water, John was about to call it a night when he remembered one last task he had to do. Turning away from the plot he moved to the first large pile of grass and, with an effort of Create Flame, lit it on fire. At first the fire didn¡¯t want to take, it was simply too damp, however John had started with a very small amount of flame rather than overdo it, so he ramped up the heat until the pile blazed merrily. He then exerted his will over the fire using Control Flame and coaxed the flames to burn faster. Eventually nothing was left of the pile but ash, and he moved on to the next pile. Between the two spells it didn¡¯t take him long to finish off the grass piles within the wall, leaving him with a few patches of blackened earth and ash. Both of which disappeared with an effort of Control Earth. Then, finally, he went and logged off. MAG - Chapter 26 - Edited Logging in the next morning, John began by checking on the wheat. His instincts (which he assumed, at this point, were the system) were telling him that he needed to water the field. In addition, he felt that now was a good time to apply any growth enhancers he had. So, he walked out to the garden plot that contained the wheat and looked at it. He could see tiny sprouts had poked through the soil and seemed to be doing well. Considering his options, he decided to apply the Herb Slime Goo now, and then water it in a couple hours after the goop had time to soak into the ground and plants alike. To that end he took out the ten urns and lined them up in front of the plot, then unscrewed their lids. For a moment he contemplated the contents, and wondered how he was supposed to apply the ooze to his plants. Finally he settled on direct application. With a gesture he focused on the first urn and tried to pull the goop out of it with Control Water. The ooze moved sluggishly, and he felt that if he really wanted he could separate the water out of the slime. Wondering what would happen, he focused on the idea of the water separating out. After a moment of concerted effort water began to condense out of the ooze, quickly depleting it and leaving an oily, scummy residue behind. Keeping the ball of clean water floating in the air, John examined the residue. [Herb Slime Goo Concentrate] ¡°So a more concentrated effect on a small area, not really ideal for this,¡± John muttered to himself, then carefully mixed the water back in, rehydrating the mixture. Lifting his hands, John used Control Water to slowly empty the pots into one massive ball of goo. From there he caused it to drift out over the plot. Once it was in the approximate center, he began manipulating it. Instead of a large ball of goo he wanted a flat plane that would cover most of the field and apply at least a small amount to all the burgeoning plants. Getting the goop to flatten out was much harder than he¡¯d thought it would be, and took a concerted effort of will and careful manipulation of the mana to achieve. After several minutes he was feeling the strain, and he¡¯d only managed to cover maybe a fourth of the plot. As it was the goop was becoming stretched quite thin, and soon it started developing holes where it was stretched too far. After several more minutes John had to admit there wasn¡¯t enough to cover the entire field. Carefully, with shaky control, he deposited the goop back in its vessels and stopped to think. After a few moments he decided to approach this differently. What if, instead of trying to keep the use of the goop and the watering of the field separate, he instead combined the two? Nodding to himself at the idea John did a little math and then created a large reservoir attached to the back of the plot. The construction stretched the full thirty foot width of the plot, the full three feet from the top of the wall to the ground (and two feet beneath the ground as well), and a good four feet out from the wall itself. With foot thick walls and floor this gave it internal dimensions of twenty-eight feet in length, three feet in width, and four feet in depth. Thus its total capacity was around three hundred thirty-six square feet, and it could store about twenty-five hundred gallons of water, about five hundred gallons more than the plot would actually need. Nodding in satisfaction John filled the reservoir to about the two thirds mark and then began to empty the urns into it. Once all the containers were empty he used Control Water to agitate the entire reservoir, ensuring that the goo mixed well with the water. After a few minutes he couldn¡¯t see any thick strands of green goop anymore and he declared it done. Then, out of curiosity, he did a quick Inspect of the water. [Very Diluted Herb Slime Water] John considered the water for a moment and then nodded. It wasn¡¯t going to be as good as applying the slime directly to the plants, but it would ensure a more even spread across the entire field. With that in mind he started using Control Water to create a large rivulet which he began to feed into the furrows of the field, filling them up with water until the basin was dry. He then collected the urns and went to check on the tree. He found the tree much as he had left it yesterday, although it seemed slightly taller, now reaching almost to his chest. He made a seat from the wall and sat down next to it and set a four-hour timer. Then, placing his hand on a small branch, he began feeding it space mana once more. As he fed it he allowed himself to be carried away into the tree once more. For a while he was the tree, and the tree was him. He could feel it was less confused now, and more confident in its purpose. Its magic, it seemed, wasn¡¯t going to ever be all one thing, and instead felt like it would have an innate flexibility to it, whatever form it finally took. Four hours later John was jolted out of his reverie by the alarm. He broke the connection to the tree and stood up, stretching. ¡°So,¡± came Helen¡¯s voice from nearby. ¡°Do we have a portal tree?¡± John looked around and found her standing not far away, looking at the sapling thoughtfully. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± he answered truthfully. ¡°Its magic has pretty much settled, and mostly in that direction, I think. But only mostly. I think it¡¯s going to have some flexibility in what its magic can do, but I don¡¯t know what that will look like.¡± ¡°Hmmm, perhaps the ritual was a poor idea. It seems to be encouraging swift growth, which may have limited your time to influence it,¡± she theorized. ¡°Yeah, I considered that. Though, I don¡¯t know what more I could do. I don¡¯t have the gold to feed it more magic items, and I only met with limited success in directing its magic manually,¡± John admitted. ¡°A shame, but we will see what happens,¡± Helen said with a nod. She then turned to look at the entrance to the shrine, where John could see the new road stretching off into the distance. ¡°The road will be completed by tomorrow,¡± she informed him. ¡°Alright, I have the funds required. How many miles does it stretch?¡± John asked. ¡°Two and a quarter, so around two gold and twenty-five silvers.¡± John nodded. ¡°I have that. I¡¯m glad I¡¯ll be finishing at least one of my quests.¡± ¡°Oh? Have a quest you won¡¯t be finishing?¡± Helen asked. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ¡°I got a quest to build or commission a Portal and Anchor. It¡¯s only got eight days left on it. If the tree doesn¡¯t count then I¡¯m going to fail it,¡± John explained. ¡°Ah, yes, it does seem unlikely at this point. Though, in eight days the tree¡¯s magic might finally reveal itself. If so, you may yet succeed,¡± Helen said encouragingly. ¡°Here¡¯s hoping,¡± John replied. ¡°Anyway, I need to go into town¡­¡± he paused, struck by a thought. ¡°Will the, uh, squires? be running the dungeon?¡± ¡°We will likely run many of them through it for confined area combat training, and they will have days where they are free to do what they wish, so some may attempt it. Why?¡± Helen asked. ¡°Well, I need bodies and Herb Slime Goop from the dungeon for fertilizer, currently I pay a couple of other players to get them for me. But if your people are going to be running the dungeon it might make sense if I paid them to bring things back,¡± John explained. ¡°Hm, an interesting thought, the squires won¡¯t have much to spend coin on for a while, however they may enjoy pocket change. I suggest having a Job Board constructed, and leaving jobs posted on it, so that you¡¯re not overwhelmed by dozens of answers to your request at once. In fact, it¡¯d be best if one was placed in the village itself. Perhaps you should speak to some of the townsfolk about it?¡± She suggested. John nodded. ¡°A good idea, I¡¯ll talk to Grandma Loren about it.¡± Helen¡¯s brow twitched slightly, and then she nodded her head. ¡°Good luck to you then.¡± ¡°Thanks, good luck with your own work,¡± John responded. Helen gave a slight nod, then turned to leave. John exited the wall, closed it up, and then headed for town. The first part of his walk was actually quite nice, the finished portion of the road made the walk smooth and easy and he made more than double time toward town. It was only as he reached the end of the finished portion and stepped off onto the grass that he realized how much quicker he¡¯d been moving. Pausing, he turned and stepped back onto the road and checked his status effects. [Road] ¡°Wait, roads have qualities?¡± John asked no one in particular. ¡°Of course roads have qualities, everything has a quality,¡± One of the nearby squires snapped even as he magicked new stone pavers into place. John paused and gave the demonkin man a long, level look. ¡°Thank you, I didn¡¯t know that,¡± he said, without a hint of ire or annoyance. ¡°Oh, great, so you just wanted your road to be pretty, thought you¡¯d make us do all this extra work for no real reason,¡± the man said in disgust. ¡°Actually, I requested this road be built to this standard because it¡¯s one of the best road designs ever used in my own world,¡± He patiently explained. The other five squires had stopped and were watching the exchange with some interest. John could easily tell that they were no warmer to him than the man talking though, and he wondered if maybe he should just walk away. ¡°Oh, great, you¡¯re a player, so you don¡¯t actually know anything. Wonderful, not only are we in the back end of nowhere guarding a useless plant, we¡¯re doing it at the behest of an ignoramus,¡± The devilkin said, giving John a withering glare. John just stared at the man for a moment, then decided that walking away actually wasn¡¯t that bad of a plan. ¡°Yup,¡± he said finally. Then he stepped off the road, walked pointedly around the group, and continued on toward town. As he walked he could hear the Devilkin muttering imprecations, though none of them were loud enough that he could clearly hear what was being said. Still, he made a note to avoid the man if they ever met elsewhere. The town looked about the same as when John had last seen it. Although now there was a road bed that terminated at the main thoroughfare. More than one curious glance was thrown his way as he walked out of the grass next to it, and he just waved and walked on. He glanced around for Sally and Ex but didn¡¯t see them; either they were in the dungeon or doing something else. So, he continued on to the square where he found Grandma Loren sitting and eying the sky. John looked up and noticed the gathering clouds. It was going to rain soon it seemed. ¡°Hello John, what brings you into town? It seems you were here just recently,¡± She asked as she turned to look at him instead. John sat down next to her. ¡°Helen, that¡¯s the commander of the Knights Magi, said I should talk to some of the folks in town about setting up a Job Board. So I thought I¡¯d come ask you about it,¡± he explained. ¡°Knights Magi? I thought I saw some squires running around. I take it they¡¯re out guarding the shrine and tree?¡± she asked. ¡°Yeah, Ledos offered me a contract, basically I¡¯m still the owner of the shrine, but they get to control access to, and in addition protect, it and collect the appropriate toll for its use. I get some of that but the majority goes to the knights and the churches of Ira, Ledos, and Thuana.¡± ¡°Hmmmm, an interesting arrangement. Before we get too far off topic, I think a Job Board is a fine idea, we hadn¡¯t needed one until now, what with having such a small population, but I suppose that¡¯s since changed hasn¡¯t it? I¡¯ll talk to Phillip about building one for the square here. Now, tell me how the tree is doing, has the system named it yet?¡± Loren Asked. ¡°It¡¯s doing well, no system given name yet though. It¡¯s growing really fast, but we think that¡¯s because of the ritual, unfortunately that means its magic solidified much faster than we expected. I tried to influence it towards Portals, but the best I could do was explain the effects of Portals to it repeatedly. There was some resonance but, I just don¡¯t know. I get the feeling its magic is going to be more flexible than I was hoping,¡± John explained. ¡°Flexibility might not be a bad thing, it¡¯s a living organism, they tend to need a little flexibility. I wouldn¡¯t be too worried about what comes out of it though. Odds are good it¡¯s going to be something worth having, even if it¡¯s not what you were looking for,¡± she said in a reassuring manner. ¡°Besides, the God of Magic sent his Knights to oversee it, he must be expecting great things.¡± John nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s hope.¡± ¡°What else have you been up to out there? I hear someone dug a ditch all the way to the town and filled it with sand and gravel, the start of a road perhaps?¡± she commented. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m paying the Knights to build it. Well, that sounds far more commercial than it is¡­ was? Basically, Helen offered and told me the cost and I accepted,¡± John explained. ¡°You know John, most people don¡¯t call the leaders of Knightly organizations by name. You should probably learn her rank and use it,¡± Loren admonished. John paused, thinking it over. ¡°I suppose I should,¡± he said finally. ¡°Honestly, she introduced herself and didn¡¯t give me a rank to work with. I guess I just assumed that was normal.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not, though if she didn¡¯t introduce herself by rank means she probably doesn¡¯t mind. Still, best to try not to throw her name around too much in public,¡± she said. John nodded once more. ¡°Got it.¡± Loren gave a nod of her own. ¡°Good. Now, I¡¯m going to get inside before it rains.¡± The elderly woman used her cane to lever herself up off the seat and dusted off the front of her robes. ¡°Have a good day dear. And good luck with your farming.¡± ¡°Bye,¡± John said with a wave as she walked off. Standing, John wandered through the stalls for a few minutes then, as it started to rain, began to make his way back toward the farm. MAG - Chapter 27 - Edited By the time John arrived at the farm it was about an hour until noon and his obligatory log out. Heading down into the cellar, John dried himself with an application of Control Water, and then sat down on his favorite straw bale. Pulling up the web interface he started looking at ways to handle planting and harvesting berries. The task occupied him until it was time to log out, and gave him some good ideas for his berry plants. Logging back in, John went back out into the rain and mud and headed for the third garden plot. Dropping the last fifty bodies into the plot he began casting Decay on them; a task that he was now well familiar with, and resigned to. He couldn¡¯t wait until the spell hit the Journeyman rank, hopefully it would increase in speed again. Five hours later found him with the now familiar composted mulch which he quickly tilled into the sodden soil. Then he began his planning. The first thing he needed to do was divide the garden bed into four segments. He dug out three foot wide and two-foot-deep lines, dividing the bed into four sections of about twenty feet long each, then filled the lines with stone to create a dividing line that roots wouldn¡¯t cross easily. Next he ran a line of stone (four-feet-wide) down the very center, further dividing the plot into eight beds of roughly thirteen feet by twenty feet. Deciding that the first two beds would be strawberries, John created a three foot walkway around the outside edges, further reducing the plots to ten by seventeen and then formed a raised bed about three feet high, piling all the displaced dirt into them to level them out at the lip. That finished, John decided to call it a night; between the clouds, the rain, and the late hour it was almost impossible to see. He conjured a small flame to light the way back to his shelter. Once inside he dried himself off, laid down, and logged out. The next morning was blessedly rain free. John made his trip out to the tree and fed it mana for the next four hours. It was a nice way to start the morning. The tree was reveling in the feeling of water around its roots. While he fed the tree he thought he felt something else as well, a sort of¡­ echo of magic about it. He wasn¡¯t sure what that meant, but thought it might mean the tree was going to manifest its magic soon. Finished with his morning ministrations. John returned to his current project. He took out the basket of strawberries and started by cutting them in eighths and placing one eighth of a strawberry (seed side up, and under a very fine layer of dirt) every twelve inches or so. He fell short by several strawberries, managing to only cover about three fourths of one bed. But that was fine, he didn¡¯t need two full beds of strawberries right now. Finally ready, he pulled up the information on Growth. [Name: Growth] John sighed as he read the prompt. He¡¯d been hoping it would mirror Decay and start at 1 day per second. Apparently that had been too optimistic. Still, one hour to a second was better than one second to a second. Nodding to himself he got to work. Fortunately, with the help of his Domain feat, the area he could cover (when he only wanted to cover a surface area) was quite large, allowing him to hold the spell over the entire garden bed. It wasn¡¯t long before he had little green shoots appearing from the soil and he cut off the spell, not wanting to overdo it. Pleased with the progress, he turned to plant the blackberries next, only to be stopped by a notification. [Quest Complete:] John was both pleased and disconcerted. He was happy the road was completed, and given what he¡¯d seen of it yesterday it definitely met the standard he¡¯d desired. But the fact that the rewards needed to be collected elsewhere was somewhat disconcerting. Still, it couldn¡¯t be anything bad¡­ right? First thing though, was payment for the Knights, no need to wait on them to come and collect. With a confident gait John headed toward the Knights¡¯ compound, which now had multiple buildings, a sturdy wall, and even a gate. John paused; he couldn¡¯t help but feel that his own farm was quite lacking in comparison. Still, he walked up to the gate (which was open) and nodded politely to the two knights guarding it. ¡°Excuse me, but I¡¯m here to see¡­¡± he paused a moment realizing it probably would look terribly disrespectful to call Helen by name. ¡°The commander?¡± he said hesitantly. ¡°Commander First Class Helen,¡± one of the knights said waspishly, ¡°is not to be disturbed with petty matters. What¡¯s your business?¡± John was taken slightly aback by the tone. Did all of the knights and squires dislike him and this job? Still, he needed to settle accounts. ¡°I¡¯m here to pay for the finished construction of the road,¡± he answered truthfully. ¡°Then you¡¯ll want to speak to Knight First Class Tet, he handles finances and supplies,¡± the same knight, an elven man, said. ¡°I will escort you to him. To see that you don¡¯t get lost.¡± The last part carried the clear implication that John wasn¡¯t trusted. ¡°Thank you,¡± John said tersely, becoming annoyed at the treatment. The knight began walking with a long, swift stride, forcing John to scramble to catch up. They entered the compound and made a line straight for the largest of the four buildings that made up the encampment. As they hurried through the compound he could see several sanded arenas and an obstacle course where squires were currently training under the watchful eye of Axia. The training area was quickly left behind as they entered the building, which turned out to be a large warehouse. They walked a short distance to a door in one wall. The knight knocked on it politely. ¡°Enter,¡± came an annoyed voice from the other side. Opening the door slightly the elven knight stuck his head inside. ¡°The Groundskeeper is here to see you regarding the road payment.¡± ¡°Send him in,¡± the same voice said. The knight stepped back and gestured to the now open door. ¡°I¡¯ll just wait here until you¡¯re done.¡± ¡°No. You won¡¯t. Get back to the gate,¡± came the curt order from Tet, whom John could now see was a large half-orc. The elven man scowled, but moved to do as he was ordered. ¡°Come in Mister John, I don¡¯t have all day,¡± Tet said. John walked into the office and, at Tet¡¯s gesture, closed the door and took a seat across from him. ¡°So, you¡¯ve come to pay for the road construction. I take it they¡¯ve finished then?¡± Tet asked. John nodded. ¡°Yes, I received a notification not long ago.¡± Tet grunted. ¡°Good to know. The road was measured at just over two miles and a quarter so call it two gold and twenty-five silvers,¡± the man said as he took out a form and began to fill in several boxes. ¡°Will you be wanting a receipt?¡± ¡°Uh¡­ no, thank you,¡± John said hesitantly. Tet just grunted again. ¡°Just need your signature and the coinage,¡± he said as he pushed the form across the table and handed John the quill. John fumbled with the quill for a moment before he managed to scratch out a barely legible signature. Tet frowned. ¡°Never used a quill before, we have¡­ different writing implements in our world,¡± John explained as he willed the coins into his palm. He set them on the form and slid both back across the desk. Tet grunted again, this one seemed thoughtful. ¡°Well, it¡¯ll do. Thank you for paying punctually, not often I get people paying before they¡¯re officially informed of a job done.¡± ¡°Do the knights often take jobs like this?¡± John asked. ¡°It¡¯s not that unusual. Basic engineering is something we try to teach to all our squires, along with basic Geomantic spells such as Control Earth, Create Earth, and Dirt to Stone. Usually we only get such requests in areas where there aren¡¯t people who can already do that sort of thing,¡± Tet explained. ¡°Now, if there wasn¡¯t anything else, I do have to get back to the accounts.¡± ¡°Uh, no, nothing else, thank you for your time,¡± John said as he stood up. Then, with a grunt of assent from Tet, he left. The walk out of the compound was just as quick as the walk in, and the guards at the gate didn¡¯t give him any kind of hassle as he left; though the elven man did glare at him. John determined he needed to do something about this growing disdain for his person, though he couldn¡¯t think of what. Walking the short distance down the road to the shrine, he nodded to the two knights on duty and entered it. Once inside he paused and looked around. He honestly wasn¡¯t sure what to do from here. Looking around he Inspected the structure once more. [Name: Gateway of Worlds] Seeing the new tab John opened it. [Reward: The Enchanter¡¯s Handbook (Farming Edition) deposited in inventory] The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. [Reward: Chooker Starter Package deposited in inventory; Chookers deposited at shrine] [Reward: Displacer Cloak deposited in inventory.] John looked around, and then down. On the ground in front of him was a gaggle of small creatures that looked like some horrific hybrid of dragon and chicken. They had two dragon-like wings with feather covered backsides, a draconic snout on a long, feathered neck, two wickedly clawed feet, and a long saurian tail that came to a sharp, stinger-laden tip. The thirteen chicken-sized lizards looked up at him in return. The largest of them, which had gold and blue feathers and a magnificent set of horns, took up a small rapid-fire noise. ¡°Chook chook chook chook,¡± it went, and the gaggle of slightly smaller, unhorned creatures quickly took up the cry as well, until the entire area was ringing with the noise. John looked down at them, and once more instincts he didn¡¯t know he had kicked in. Reaching down he made a grab for the large one, which he was certain was male. The chooker immediately bit John, however, despite its ferocious appearance and supreme belief in its own prowess, it failed to pierce John¡¯s constitution strengthened skin. John, expecting it to hurt, flinched back in surprise, then scowled as he realized no harm had been done. Seeing the ¡®retreat¡¯ of the tall one, the chooker let out a loud cry of triumph and immediately barreled at John, attempting to scratch, bite, and sting him. The biting and stinging failed to elicit more than mild pinpricks of pain, the claws however left light scratches. Bending down once more John followed his instincts, grabbing the chooker by the back of the neck and the tail he picked it up and gave it a little shake. The chooker immediately went docile, giving a few pitiful little chooks. John continued to hold it by the back of the neck and opened his inventory, looking for the ¡®starter package¡¯. He found he had a new book, a pamphlet, a package simply labeled bugs, and a neatly folded piece of cloth. He took out the pamphlet and closed the inventory. Flipping it open (still one handed) he gave it a brief skim. It didn¡¯t look promising. The entire pamphlet gave off the air of something written by a used car salesman desperately trying to get rid of a broken-down wreck. Flipping through, the high points seemed to be that the Chookers could produce an astounding number of eggs daily (six to be precise), but could also go through an astounding amount of food, needing to eat almost their body weight in bugs and small rodents to do so. The pamphlet didn¡¯t say anything about how to tame or control them. John eyed the creature hanging from his hand, it gave him a piteous look and chooked again. He looked down at the chookers on the ground, to find he had their rapt attention. Sighing he tried to puzzle through what to do with the creatures. His instincts were telling him that the chooker male would only be docile so long as he held it like this. He¡¯d need to do something else to ensure it didn¡¯t try to assert dominance once more. He wasn¡¯t sure what though. While he pondered the problem he Inspected the creature. [Unnamed Chooker]. John shook his head, there was nothing there about how to tame them. He looked back to the chooker. Putting the pamphlet away he took out the package of bugs. The chooker¡¯s eyes immediately snapped to the package. It chooked quietly and wriggled until John firmed up his grip. Fumbling with the pouch he managed to open it using his mouth and hand, then looked inside. True to its name, it was full of dead bugs of all kinds. Sighing, John walked over to the wall and placed the now open pouch on it. He dipped his hand into it and pulled out a small mass of the dead critters. Looking at the chooker he tried to let those ever-elusive instincts guide him. He felt that he needed to do something now, but it definitely wasn¡¯t to feed the thing. With a slowly dawning suspicion he looked at the bugs, then at the chooker, then at the flock. Who always gets first pick? The alpha, of course. John closed his eyes and screwed up his courage. He ate the bugs. The chookers around him all chooked, the one in his hand remained silent. He masticated slowly, the crunchy, gushy, uncooked and disgusting bits rolling around his mouth. Sliding between his teeth and leaving an unpalatable flavor in their wake. Finally he swallowed. Taking a deep, slightly nauseated breath, he looked down at the chooker females. Digging into the bag again he tossed bugs down at his feet, the females waited a moment, then tentatively began eating them. Once all the females had finished picking at the ground he turned his eyes to the male. It looked sad and defeated. Finally he dipped his hand into the bag once more and pulled out a small portion which he carefully fed to the male. It ate despondently. Closing the pouch back up, John put it in his inventory and began walking back to the farm. The small army of Chookers following behind him. As he passed the guards they smirked at him, having clearly caught the exchange between him and his new flock. John just grimaced and carried on. Opening a hole in the wall he brought the chookers inside and then close it up again. Looking about John realized quickly that he was going to need somewhere to keep the things, Currently he didn¡¯t have a coop of any kind, though he had plenty of straw as nesting materials. Sighing, John dropped the chooker male, which squawked indignantly, flapped its wings, and landed awkwardly. It glared up at John in mute defiance, and John knew he¡¯d have to give more than one example of why he was in charge. [Skill Gained:] ¡°Yeah, yeah,¡± John muttered, then conjured a bit of water directly into his mouth. He swished and spat. Then conjured more and swallowed. Ignoring the flock of reptiles for the moment, John tried to decide where to place the new coop. He eventually settled on putting it at the end of the garden beds, that way the chookers would be close to them, allowing them to more easily clean out small pests such as rodents and bugs. Moving to the southern end of the plots he started digging out a rectangular section of earth. The area was only ten feet by twenty feet, and he made it no deeper than 3, compacting the earth at the bottom as hard as he could. He then started filling it in with stone, a task that took all of thirty seconds. Pausing he looked behind him. The chookers had spread out somewhat, though the females were mostly following the male about as it strutted about, observing the area. Hoping the things wouldn¡¯t run off, John turned to the coop he was building and added foot thick walls to a height of six feet, then capped the thing with a slightly domed roof. As he¡¯d been working, John had been considering the chicken coops he¡¯d seen online, and had left large windows near the top of the northern wall, and most of the southern wall to let in light, and a regular sized doorway to the east. He¡¯d install a door for himself, and then a smaller door flap for the chookers. Looking up at the windows John considered what he might do with them. The most obvious answer was shutters. He could slip them into place the same way he slipped the door to his cellar into place. But he¡¯d need to be constantly opening and closing them. Glass would be great, but he had no way to get glass. There was, however, one other option he¡¯d been mulling over. If he could create granite, shale, and marble, why couldn¡¯t he make quartz? With a determined look, John raised his hands and cast Create Earth, focusing on the idea of crystal-clear quartz. The mana got twisty and squirmy, but John was prepared for that. He clamped down on it with his will and continued to push for the result he desired. After a moment the windows began to fill with the substance. It was harder than creating regular granite, but not as hard as the marble he¡¯d made earlier. It took him only a short while to fill the windows, and he barely felt the strain. The end result was pleasing, crystal clear panes of thick quartz. The only downside was a slight distortion due to the thickness. Nodding, John poked his head outside and looked around. The chookers were still wandering about the area, but he could see the male eying the fence. The pamphlet had indicated that chookers were prodigious jumpers, even if their wings were clipped. John had no doubt the wall would pose little problem for the creatures, and he had a suspicion these ones didn¡¯t have clipped wings. He needed to get a nesting area designed and established pronto, otherwise the entire flock might disappear over the wall, never to return. Ducking back inside, he turned to the walls and considered, the pamphlet had said that regular chicken coops could be easily converted to house chookers. Nesting boxes for chickens needed to be elevated about twenty inches off the ground and around a foot cubed in size. The chookers were a little bigger than your average chicken, so John figured that maybe the dimensions used for larger breeds might be more appropriate; that would be about fourteen inches to a side. He couldn¡¯t Measure down to the inch yet, of course, but he figured close would be good enough in this case. With a gesture he started creating nesting boxes on the northern wall, about twenty inches up, and about fourteen inches in depth, width, and height. In all he fit in seventeen nesting boxes; far more than the chookers should need. He then turned to the southern wall, and raised small stone dowels out of the floor. The first set of dowels, close to the window, were almost four feet tall, and he ran a stone bar across the top of them from east to west. The second set, which were about a foot away from the first to the north, were only a couple feet high, and he ran another bar across the top of them from east to west. He didn¡¯t know if chookers liked to roost, but these bars should be the perfect place to do so. Finally he added two troughs, both shallow, and both elevated about twenty inches off the floor. He filled one of them with water, the other he left for later. He walked back outside, the chookers were all clustered up near the wall, and the male was obviously considering an escape. John took the bugs back out of his inventory and gave a sharp whistle. The chookers all looked in his direction, startled by the noise. He then opened the bag and scattered some bugs on the ground. The male glared balefully at John, but the females started over to partake of the offering. Reluctantly the male followed them, muscling his way to the front and taking first pick. Hoping that¡¯d keep their attention for a little bit. John disappeared the baggy and quickly strode toward the cellar. Pulling open the door he walked down inside. Selecting six of the large straw bales he disappeared them into his inventory and made his way back out. The chookers were wandering aimlessly again, which John took as a good sign. The sooner they associated John and the farm with food the sooner they¡¯d decide that it was a good place to stay. Moving back to the new coop John began to break up the bales and scatter the straw across the floor. Until it was completely covered, and then put down a thick layer in the bottom of the nesting boxes. That done he went outside to find the chookers once more considering the wall. With a sigh he pulled out the bugs once more and gave another whistle. They immediately turned and a couple of the females even trotted in his direction. He sprinkled more bugs on the ground, which the females were happy to peck at, even if the male was belligerent about it. John didn¡¯t want to draw the chookers into the coop just yet. It was nearing midday, and usually you lured new chickens into the coop at night, so they¡¯d get used to sleeping there. John wasn¡¯t sure what to do now though. He had to log out soon, which would mean leaving the chookers unsupervised. Would they even be here when he returned? If not, how would the plains handle a chooker invasion? He couldn¡¯t see the little monsters being considered anything but an invasive species. He checked the pouch of bugs, it was about three quarters full. A couple of the chookers had hesitantly moved toward him the last time he whistled. Maybe he could teach them to come whenever he did that? It might take a few days though, not all animals were quick on the uptake. Still, it was a better plan than no plan. For now he¡¯d just have to hope the chookers didn¡¯t run very far. With a resigned sigh, he logged off. When John returned, an hour later, the chookers were nowhere to be seen. However he could hear them. They were making their customary chooking noise and it was coming from the other side of the wall. Moving over and looking, he could see the grass outside rustling as multiple something ran around outside. Occasionally he¡¯d see the chookers jump and snatch bugs out of the air. It appeared they¡¯d decided to go hunting. John gave a sharp whistle and watched as some of the movement stopped. One of the female chookers even jumped up onto the wall nearby and looked at him. ¡°Chook chook chook,¡± she went, and John fed her some bugs. Hearing the triumphant chooking of their comrade, several of the other chookers came running and jumped over the wall. John fed them too. Soon he had most of the flock and was missing only the male and a couple females. After a few minutes the last two females showed up as well. Finally the male jumped up onto the wall. Taking one look at the feeding females he chooked aggressively and flung himself at John. John responded by covering his face and weathering the first part of the assault. Then, when the chooker¡¯s momentum was spent and it fluttered back to the ground, John uncovered and reached down to grab the thing. The chooker dodged, quickly evading John¡¯s grasp. It then attempted to bite him again. This continued for several moments until John finally got hold of the thing again. Picking the chooker up he gave it a good shake. Once more the creature went docile. John sighed, wondering if this would be a regular occurrence. After a few minutes of consideration, John did a google search on how to deal with aggressive roosters. There seemed to be a variety of different approaches, but one of the most common suggestions was to just carry the rooster around under one arm. John wasn¡¯t sure that was going to work, though his ¡®instincts¡¯ didn¡¯t seem to have an opinion one way or another. With a shrug, John tucked the chooker under his left arm and got back to work. Working one handed was awkward, and the chooker would occasionally struggle for freedom making it more difficult. However John persevered, getting his blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries into the ground, and hitting them all with Growth until sprouts started coming out. Every so often John would pause in his work and let out another piercing whistle. He would then feed the chookers (who were following him about) some of the bugs. After he¡¯d scatter some for the females he would feed a small handful to the male. He sincerely hoped that the chookers were associating the whistling with food, but without letting the male go he really couldn¡¯t test it. Finally, as night fell, John led the chookers over to the coop and lured them inside using the last couple handfuls of bugs. He dumped the last of the bugs into the empty trough and then, tentatively, set the male down. The male chooker gave him a glare, then quickly looked away. It strutted over to the roosting poles, jumped up onto one, and settled down. John watched it as it watched the females picking bugs out of the straw and trough. Then, as they finished with all the treats, the females began joining the male on the perches. They hadn¡¯t gone to sleep yet, but they looked to be getting comfortable, so John left. Heading back to his berry patches, John made sure to give them plenty of water. He then headed for the storm cellar, laid down his avatar, and logged out. MAG - Chapter 28 - Edited Logging in the next morning, the first thing John did was go check on the chookers. He found them roosting peacefully; all except the male, of course. John held up a flame so that he could see the interior and the male¡¯s head whipped around, its beady little eyes glaring at him. John, not wanting to deal with the angry reptile right now, slowly backed out, making sure not to turn his back on the thing. Then, secure in the knowledge that the chookers would stay put for the moment, he went to examine the tree. The tree was looking much as it had been, though it had once again grown slightly bigger. The leaves had also darkened over the past few days, becoming a deep gray-green, a few even turning black. John had initially been worried when he¡¯d started noticing the change, however communing with the tree had washed his worries away. The tree seemed to be in good health, and his instincts were telling him all was well. Making his customary rock chair, John sat, set an alarm, and touched the tree. As soon as the mana began to flow from him and into the tree he was swept away once more. Normally he felt the tree¡¯s morning lethargy and contentment. Today, however, the tree seemed to have different plans. He could feel the magic moving around inside it, and as his own added to it that feeling of movement became more turbulent. Soon he could feel power amassing, doing¡­ something. Releasing the flow of magic, he opened his eyes and looked at the sapling. He could just barely make out the flow of mana inside it, all converging. There, at the end of one of its branches was a bright, glowing point of mana, as he watched the glow grew stronger, and then faded, leaving a small, black bud behind. Even as he watched the bud unfurled to reveal a brilliantly white flower that glowed with a light so soft it was visible only because the pre-dawn light hadn¡¯t taken hold yet. He stared at the flower for a few moments. John honestly wasn¡¯t sure what to do. Should he tell someone? After a moment of thought he decided he¡¯d tell the knights on duty as he left. It wasn¡¯t imperative that the commander be informed of it immediately, so it could follow what he assumed would be the chain of command. That sorted, he moved on and tried Inspecting the flower. [???] John made an annoyed noise and ran a hand through his beard. He absolutely needed to find the points to increase Inspect to a higher rank, but he wasn¡¯t sure where those would come from. He was fairly certain at this point that he was going to fail the Portal quest, what with the deadline being just six days away. Perhaps he could find a few more quests? Thinking about it, the portal quest seemed like it¡¯d come out of nowhere. He had simply been thinking about how badly the area needed one and the quest had appeared. Was it possible that he¡¯d generated his own quest? ¡°Help, is it possible to generate your own quests?¡± John murmured quietly. [Answer: To a limited degree it is possible to generate a quest, usually such quests involve something or someone that is of primary concern to multiple people, or will have a large impact on the location. For instance, your desire for a Portal was mirrored by many people in the settlement of Runic Rock, you were also not the only one who received said quest.] John nodded as that made sense to him. Everyone would care if a Portal sprung up, but almost no one would care if he tried pushing his own limits. For now he supposed he¡¯d just need to make do with increasing his skills and the points that came from leveling. Shaking himself out of his musings, John looked back to the tree. He could see that mana was still shifting inside it and had started pooling at other various points. All the little pools of mana were on branches and as he watched they slowly resolved themselves into nine new buds, all smaller than the original one. One by one the new buds flowered, but unlike the first, none of them were pure white. Two of the flowers had petals that started white at the center and slowly changed to a deep, almost midnight blue at the edges, three of them were edged in a beautiful yellow-gold instead, and the final four went from white to a deep, sanguine red. All of the blossoms glowed with the same soft radiance as the first. John tried Inspecting each of them in turn, only to come away with more question marks. Sighing in frustration John reached out and connected with the tree once more. Flowing into its consciousness he could feel that it had used a fair amount of magic and was now starting to restore its nearly empty pool. His power trickled into it, barely a drop in the bucket. It seemed like the tree might have just expended several days¡¯ worth of power just to make those ten blossoms. For a while, he just sat and continued to feed the tree power, then, when his alarm went off, he broke the connection and stood. Walking out, he put the wall back to rights, and then headed for the entrance to the shrine. When he reached it, he paused to look between the two knights. One of them was the Orc woman he¡¯d spoken to before, the other was a Human he didn¡¯t recognize. Stepping toward the Orc he stopped a few feet away and spoke. ¡°The tree has bloomed. I can¡¯t identify the blossoms or their properties, but I thought Commander First Class Helen should probably be made aware at some point,¡± he said, being sure to get the title right. ¡°I¡¯ll submit a report,¡± the woman said. ¡°Is that all?¡± Her voice was clipped and unfriendly. John sighed. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s all.¡± He said wearily. The knight simply nodded, and then went back to watching the road. John, who knew a dismissal when he saw one, headed back to the farm, where he could already hear the chookers making a racket as they ran around the area. He could see them jumping the fence and running out into the grass again. He sighed at the sight. There was no way he could keep them corralled, and he currently had nothing to feed them. Given how much the pamphlet said they could eat, that¡¯d be a problem sooner rather than later. Checking the coop, John found that the water trough was mostly empty, so he used an application of Control Water to clean it out and then Create Water to refill it. Next he checked the nesting boxes which, to his surprise, appeared to have been recently disturbed. Crouching down and searching inside them he found nineteen chooker eggs which he disappeared into his inventory. John wasn¡¯t sure what he was going to do with the eggs just yet. Preserving them was difficult and as he¡¯d already seen his inventory did not prevent things from decaying. His cellar was pretty cool, being twelve feet under the ground kept the temperature pretty stable, so that was a storage option for the short term. For now, he decided he¡¯d see if anyone in town wanted them. He needed to get some corpses from Sally anyway; dungeon creatures being the only way he could afford to feed the chookers long term. After checking on his growing plants, John started the walk into town. What had originally taken him an hour in uneven, grass covered terrain, now took little more than twenty minutes at a leisurely pace. It was amazing the difference a good road could make. Unfortunately, the road also seemed to attract more than a little attention. He passed no less than three groups headed the opposite direction, and had to wonder what he¡¯d do if they messed with his farm. A not unlikely event given the way some players acted in other games. Upon reaching town John found that a lot of players had set up their booths nearby the road; though as usual they were making little in the way of actual sales. ¡°Oh hey!¡± Someone said from one of the nearby stalls. ¡°You¡¯re that farmer guy that got beat up by rabbits! It¡¯s John, right?¡± John turned his head to see a gnomish woman sitting behind a stall. She was wearing the same ratty, patchwork armor as everyone else. ¡°Uh, yeah.¡± John admitted, feeling slightly silly when she said it like that. ¡°Awesome! I¡¯m Sarah, I delve with Ex and Sally sometimes,¡± she said with a grin. ¡°Oh right, Sally mentioned you, you¡¯re an Ice user, right?¡± John responded as he gravitated toward her stall. ¡°Yep! Pretty much the only one in town too, I do a pretty brisk business fighting the Ooze Lord with other teams these days. It¡¯s only a couple coppers per trip but it adds up!¡± she said cheerily. ¡°That¡¯s pretty cool, getting any good drops?¡± he asked. ¡°Nothing but some small Mana Stones,¡± she replied. ¡°Which I¡¯d be happy to sell you if you needed?¡± she asked hopefully, then sighed at the shake of John¡¯s head. ¡°Never hurts to try. Anyway, I was wondering if you¡¯d tell me, what¡¯s the road for?¡± John looked back at the road and realized what an incongruity it was. It was a well-made, paved, double wide stretch of road that looked fit for a major thoroughfare rather than the backend of nowhere. ¡°Well,¡± he began. ¡°I had a quest from three gods to build a road out to their shrine, and the reward was variable so I decided I should design the best road I could.¡± ¡°Huh, so it just goes out to your farm and a shrine? Who built it? I don¡¯t think we¡¯d ever seen anyone in that particular uniform before,¡± she inquired further. ¡°Those are squires for the Knights Magi, they¡¯re Ledos¡¯ order of Knights. They teach their squires engineering and construction, and their commanding officer offered to build the road for a few gold,¡± John explained. ¡°Gold? You have gold?!¡± Sarah asked excitedly. ¡°Where did you get it?! Was it a quest reward? The most I¡¯ve seen anywhere around here is silver!¡± ¡°Uh¡­ I make Mana Stones and sell them on the Auction,¡± John replied as he held up two hands in a warding gesture. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°Ugh, but that costs twenty dollars,¡± Sara grumbled. ¡°Yeah, but it was worth it, the Module directly takes from, and delivers to, your inventory upon sale or purchase, respectively. Mana Stones go for a fair amount, especially the life and fire ones,¡± John explained. ¡°Eh, I¡¯ll have to think about it. It¡¯d be more enticing if the dungeon dropped more things worth selling than just mana stones,¡± she said. ¡°Alright, thanks for sating my curiosity.¡± ¡°No problem, it was nice meeting you. Oh, wait, do you know if they put up a job board yet?¡± John asked. ¡°Huh? Oh, yeah, it¡¯s in the square out front of the store, can¡¯t miss it,¡± Sarah replied. ¡°Thanks,¡± John said as he walked toward the square. Making his way into the square he saw that Loren was talking with a small group of (presumably) players. She appeared to be taking them through some kind of mana exercise. Having nothing pressing to discuss with her, he didn¡¯t intrude and instead made his way over to the store. Sure enough, there was a large board standing outside. The board was about four feet tall, set on three-foot stilts, and had a one-foot overhang all around the top, obviously to keep off water. Attached to the front, bottom left corner of the board was a wooden box filled with small nails, a tiny hammer sticking out of them. The only thing that was missing was paper. John stepped past the board and into the interior of Theodore¡¯s store. The large ursine man was, as usual, behind his counter. The rest of the store was mostly empty, with only a couple people browsing the shelves. John walked up to the counter. ¡°Sorry to bother you, but I¡¯m looking for paper and something to write with?¡± John said to the large man. In response, Theodore reached under the counter and pulled out a small stack of paper and a couple of what looked to be pointy bits of charcoal. ¡°¡¯s a copper for a sheet, usin¡¯ the charcoal is free,¡± he said. John nodded and passed him a copper. He then took one of the sheets and picked up the charcoal stick. He quickly found that writing with charcoal was almost as bad as using the quill had been, however a few moments later he had a (mostly) legible notice promising 1 copper per urn for Herb Slime Goo, with a notice to see John for urns. ¡°Thanks mister Theodore,¡± John said as he put down the charcoal. Theodore just nodded. Heading back outside John tacked the sheet to the board and then used the hammer to drive the nail in deeper. That done he stepped back and read the notice, which he¡¯d put at around eye level. Purchasing: Herb Slime Goo Unit Size: 1 Urn (see John for Urns) Pay: 1 copper per urn Deliver To: John¡¯s Farm (at the end of the eastern road) Satisfied with the notice, John turned to find that several people had drifted over to see what he was doing. ¡°Herb Slime Goo? Gross,¡± said a catkin woman. ¡°You get to handle the slimes,¡± she pointed at a wolfkin man to her left. He rolled his eyes and looked to John. ¡°You¡¯re John I take it?¡± John nodded. ¡°That¡¯s me, I take it you guys are interested in gathering some materials for me?¡± ¡°Sure, is the price set in stone?¡± the man asked. ¡°Yep,¡± John replied. ¡°How many urns have you got?¡± the wolfkin asked. ¡°I can make however many you need,¡± John said. ¡°Great, I¡¯ll take twenty.¡± John gestured toward the runed rock and its bench. ¡°Let me have a seat and I can start making them.¡± John moved from the board over to the bench, sitting well away from Loren¡¯s ongoing class, and started making urns. It was quick work and soon he¡¯d given out three batches of twenty, one to the wolf-cat duo, another to a trio of humans, and the final set to a lone ursakin. She¡¯d just left when Sally and Ex sat to either side of him. ¡°John,¡± said Excelsior seriously. ¡°We need to have a talk.¡± ¡°Yeah! A talk!¡± Sally echoed enthusiastically. ¡°You¡¯ve been offering other parties better rates than us,¡± Ex said in his best godfather impression. ¡°We can¡¯t have that from you John.¡± ¡°We want better pay!¡± Sally interjected. ¡°Also, I need more urns, it¡¯s really silly to take up an entire inventory slot for just twenty of them.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you have like, two hundred inventory slots?¡± John asked. ¡°That¡¯s not important! What¡¯s important is that she can carry two hundred urns in a single slot! That¡¯s two hundred coppers, or two silvers. There are exactly eight Herb Slimes on the first floor, each of them produces enough goo to fill half an urn and we can clear the first floor in less than fifteen minutes. That¡¯s four urns per run and about thirty runs per eight-hour day, which nets us one hundred and twenty urns of herb goo. Or one point two silver coins per day!¡± Ex expounded. ¡°I see you¡¯ve been thinking about this,¡± John quipped. ¡°Ex likes money!¡± Sally interjected. ¡°Right, but what¡¯s he going to spend it on?¡± John asked. ¡°He doesn¡¯t, I¡¯m pretty sure he hoards it like a dragon,¡± Sally said in a conspiratorial tone. ¡°I do not hoard money!¡± Ex said haughtily. ¡°I acquire it against future need and spend only frugally!¡± ¡°Then you should get the Auction Module. You can sell Poor quality mana stones for ten to twenty coppers, two to three times that if they¡¯re fire or life,¡± John told him. ¡°Oh, you bought it? How does it work?¡± Ex asked, haughtiness forgotten. ¡°It deposits to, and takes from, your inventory, so there¡¯s no physical auction house. Items I put up for sale are ¡®held¡¯ until sold or until their listing is up, I assume, I¡¯ve never not sold anything,¡± John explained. ¡°That¡¯s pretty nice,¡± Ex admitted. ¡°It¡¯d also mean we didn¡¯t have to trek out to the farm to sell you bodies. Though I guess the road¡¯ll make that trip easier.¡± ¡°Oh yeah, it¡¯s much faster!¡± John said. ¡°It took me only twenty minutes to get here, apparently roads have qualities, and the higher the quality the faster it boosts your movement.¡± ¡°Cool!¡± Sally exclaimed. ¡°Nice,¡± Ex said at almost the same time, though more sedately. ¡°Anyway, back to the original subject, we need more urns, and you¡¯re paying us the new rate too, right?¡± John grinned. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m paying you the new rate,¡± he said even as he started to churn out more urns. ¡°Great!¡± Sally said. ¡°We¡¯ve got another dungeon run after lunch. Anything else you need?¡± ¡°I could use several more rodent bodies. Maybe four? I just got some carnivorous farm animals that eat a ton of food every day. Honestly, if the dungeon wasn¡¯t here, I probably couldn¡¯t afford to feed them. As it is, I¡¯m going to need new corpses daily for them.¡± John explained. ¡°Oh! What are they?!¡± Sally asked excitedly. ¡°They¡¯re called chookers and they look like tiny wyverns, you know, the kind you see in Dungeons and Dragons art?¡± John said. ¡°Tiny wyverns? That sounds like trouble,¡± Ex said. ¡°Yeah, they keep hopping the wall, and I¡¯m certain if I¡¯m not careful they¡¯ll run off and become a horribly invasive species,¡± John grumbled. ¡°Well, we can get you some more bodies, try not to ruin the plains before this afternoon, okay?¡± Ex said, amused. ¡°Yeah yeah, yuck it up,¡± John said good naturedly. ¡°So what kind of animal are they? Meat? Egg? What do wyvern eggs taste like?!¡± Sally asked enthusiastically. ¡°Well apparently chooker eggs are delicious, at least according to inspect and the pamphlet that came with them. I haven¡¯t tried them yet. No way to cook anything,¡± John admitted. ¡°What have you been eating?¡± Ex asked incredulously. ¡°Meal bars.¡± John admitted. ¡°Those nasty brick things Theodore sells?¡± Sally inquired. ¡°They¡¯re not nasty, mostly they¡¯re tasteless,¡± John said. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what I said,¡± Sally rejoined. ¡°You should get some fruits and vegetables, Frank and Ellie sell them pretty cheap, and what¡¯s the point of eating virtual food if it doesn¡¯t taste good?¡± ¡°Where would I keep them? Not all of us have two hundred inventory spaces!¡± John said in annoyance. ¡°Well who¡¯s fault is that? Besides, you have a hundred!¡± Sally asked with a grin as Ex snorted. John grumbled about that not being the point as he handed Sally the last urn. ¡°There, one hundred extra urns, that brings you up to one twenty, right?¡± ¡°Yep!¡± Sally said. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m going to log for lunch then,¡± John said as he stood, stretching. ¡°Yeah, we should probably do the same, then get going to the dungeon,¡± Ex said. ¡°Later John!¡± said Sally. ¡°Later!¡± John replied. MAG - Chapter 29 - Edited When John logged back in Sally and Ex were nowhere to be seen and Grandma Loren once more had a gaggle of people all listening raptly as she explained what sounded like Mana Imprinting. Seeing that she wasn¡¯t available for a question-and-answer session he wandered over to Frank¡¯s booth. ¡°Hey Frank,¡± he said in greeting. ¡°John, what brings you around today?¡± the older man asked. ¡°I was wondering what to do with these, actually,¡± John said as he appeared a chooker egg in his hand. The egg was hard but leathery, like a cross between that of a bird and a lizard, and as Frank looked at it his face turned sour. ¡°Who sold you chookers, son? We don¡¯t need that kind of person around here.¡± ¡°No one, they were a ¡®reward¡¯ from Ira for completing a quest,¡± John replied. Frank grunted in displeasure. ¡°Well if a goddess gave them to you, I guess there¡¯s nothing to be done.¡± He looked at the egg and shook his head. ¡°Their eggs are great for eating and cooking, but the beasts themselves are mean little cusses. The drakes are the worst, convincing them you¡¯re the boss is an ongoing, daily effort, and they¡¯ll harass any other animals you keep. Seen more than one chooker get itself killed because it harassed something bigger. Normally I¡¯d tell you to kill and cook them, but with a goddess involved¡­ Well, you¡¯ll just have to figure it out, I guess.¡± John sighed. ¡°That sounds about as bad as I figured. I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯re in the market for chooker eggs?¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯ll happily buy your eggs son, but I can only eat so many, you¡¯re going to be swimming in the things soon,¡± Frank replied. ¡°How many have you got?¡± ¡°Nineteen,¡± John said. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll take em, chooker eggs are a bit of a delicacy so you should be expecting them to sell for easily five to ten coppers per quality ranking in most places. I don¡¯t have that kind of money, but I could do two or so an egg,¡± Frank said. Nodding, John started appearing the eggs and passing them to the man, who in turn passed back thirty-eight coppers. ¡°You said per quality ranking, how do I increase the quality of the eggs?¡± John asked even as he Inspected one of the eggs. [Chooker Egg] ¡°I can¡¯t rightly say, never tried raising chookers myself, I guess you¡¯ll just have to experiment.¡± Frank told him. ¡°Alright, I know a few ways to preserve eggs, but do you have any suggestions?¡± John asked. ¡°Well, a fresh egg¡¯ll last around two weeks on its own. If you want them to last longer you might consider brining or waxing the eggs. Though where you¡¯re going to get wax around here I couldn¡¯t tell you,¡± the older man suggested. ¡°That, or maybe find someone to enchant a stasis box for you.¡± ¡°A stasis box?¡± John asked, intrigued. Frank nodded. ¡°It¡¯s an engraved container that suspends time for the things put inside, it¡¯s the best option for long term storage.¡± ¡°That sounds super useful, it¡¯s too bad we don¡¯t have any enchanters yet,¡± John said with a frown. ¡°I¡¯m sure someone will pick it up soon. Now, was there anything else I can do for you?¡± Frank asked. ¡°No, thanks though,¡± John replied. ¡°Good luck with the chookers then, you¡¯re gonna need it,¡± the old man said in parting. Turning back to the square John saw that Loren had just finished up with the group she was working with. Wandering over he sat down next to her. ¡°Ah, my erstwhile student returns, how¡¯s the farm life?¡± she asked him. ¡°Not super great, Ira gave me chookers,¡± he responded. Loren snorted a laugh. ¡°Chookers, that¡¯s beautiful. A legitimately magical farm creature for a magical farmer, and a backhanded gift if I¡¯ve ever seen one.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve no idea what I¡¯m doing with them,¡± John admitted. ¡°Build them a coop, feed them, and hope to the gods they don¡¯t antagonize the rest of your animals too badly. That¡¯s about all you can do,¡± Loren told him. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t have any other animals yet, but I was hoping to have some at some point. I guess I¡¯ll work with what I¡¯ve got for now,¡± John said. ¡°All you can do,¡± Loren repeated. ¡°Anything else I can help you with today?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you could teach me Dirt to Stone?¡± John asked hopefully. ¡°I suppose I could, though you still haven¡¯t brought Growth up to Apprentice rank,¡± she said, sounding slightly disappointed. ¡°I haven¡¯t wanted to harm the growth of my plants, and there¡¯s just been so little time otherwise,¡± John explained. ¡°Reasonable I suppose, though you shouldn¡¯t let ignoring skills or spells become a habit, you never know when you¡¯re going to need one,¡± she admonished. ¡°That said, I should have taught you this spell first thing, it¡¯s very simple.¡± Loren held up her hand and a pattern appeared above it as she cast the spell. John made sure to examine it closely and take a blueprint of it. He could clearly see that she was right, it was a very simple spell. He held up his own hand, projected the blueprint into it, and pushed his mana until it snapped into the correct shape; a process that took no more than ten minutes. [Spell Gained:] ¡°I see you still haven¡¯t ranked up Mana Manipulation either,¡± Loren tutted once he was done. ¡°You¡¯ll need to work on that, and everything else, you don¡¯t have Build Points to spare at this point.¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s just finding the time,¡± John replied. ¡°You¡¯d best find some time, or come level ten you¡¯ll be unable to purchase any new feats or upgrades, then you¡¯ll have to wait until fifteen,¡± she admonished. John sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll try,¡± he promised. ¡°Good,¡± she said emphatically. ¡°Now, it¡¯s been good talking to you, but there are already people waiting for me to teach them Mana Manipulation,¡± she said with a gesture to some people who were standing nearby. ¡°So, unless you¡¯re looking for a refresher, it¡¯s probably time for you to get going. Besides, who knows what your chookers are up to.¡± ¡°Ugh, don¡¯t remind me,¡± John grumbled as he stood up. ¡°Thanks for everything grandma.¡± ¡°Any time dear,¡± Loren said with a smile. John stood up and stepped out of the way, allowing several other people to wander in and close ranks around Loren. He then started heading back toward the farm. The walk was quick and relatively uneventful and soon he could see the farm and shrine. He could also see a couple dozen people, squires and players, running around in the tall grass to either side of the road. As he watched one of them dove into the grass, and then a moment later came out holding aloft a chooker. ¡°GOT ONE!¡± The man, a young looking human, shouted, even as the chooker squawked in annoyance and struggled to break free. ¡°WATCH OUT! HE¡¯S COMING!¡± Shouted one of the squires. The man clutched the chooker to his chest and took off running, even as the thing bit and scratched at him. He¡¯d just made it to the road and was running for the farm when the male chooker came crashing out of the grass nearby. The alpha took one look at the fleeing player, chooked out a rapid-fire battle cry, and gave chase. John watched as the chooker ran the player down and jumped onto his back with a cry of triumph. The shallow red slashes the claws left on his back made it clear the man didn¡¯t have a very high constitution. With a gasp he released the female chooker which went tearing off into the tall grass again. John stepped forward to put a stop to¡­ whatever this was when the rumbling voice of Axia brought him up short. ¡°They¡¯ve got a quest.¡± John looked to his left and then up. ¡°A quest? To antagonize my chookers?¡± ¡°To catch them, here.¡± The big man made a gesture and a new text appeared in front of John. [Commander Second Class Axia would like to share a quest with you. Do you accept?] ¡°Yes,¡± John said, wondering why it would ask if he wanted the quest shared. [New Deific Quest:] A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. John just stared at Axia, who returned a wolf-like smile. ¡°Can you even do that?¡± John asked curiously. ¡°Do you really want to find out?¡± Axia rumbled back. John sighed. ¡°This is just going to make them hate me more,¡± he grumbled. ¡°They¡¯ll get over it, after all, things out here are about to get interesting,¡± Axia said, his grin never shifting. ¡°Now, are you going to help, or do I get to see what our groundskeeper can do in the obstacle course?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going! I¡¯m going!¡± John said as he took off at a run towards the downed player who was protecting his head from the chooker male. As he approached the chooker let up its furious assault and whirled to face John. Upon seeing who it was, the drake let out an enraged chook and flung itself at him. John took the attack in the chest and clamped his arms around the thing, holding it tight as it squawked and squirmed. It continued to struggle even as he shifted around and got it tucked under his arm. ¡°That¡¯s one down,¡± he muttered to himself, then raised his voice. ¡°I¡¯VE GOT THE DRAKE, GRAB THE HENS!¡± A chorus of ragged cheers came from the nearby people, squires and players alike, and they dove into the grass with renewed enthusiasm; all but the player still on the ground and the squire tending him. The woman looked like a model and John wasn¡¯t sure if she was just a very beautiful human or some other race. ¡°Never seen an angelkin before?¡± she asked waspishly, and John realized he¡¯d been staring. ¡°Uh¡­ no, actually,¡± he said as he adjusted the struggling chooker once more. The woman glared at him as she continued to hold her hands over the wounded man, a green glow surrounding both them and his wounds. ¡°Sorry, I was just caught off guard,¡± he continued, averting his gaze. She gave an inarticulate annoyed sound before she spoke again. ¡°How is that thing not tearing you to shreds, your shirt is ruined but you¡¯ve got nothing worse than welts.¡± ¡°I have a constitution of¡­ um¡­.¡± John paused and checked his status. [Name: John] [Race: Basajaun] [Level: 6] [Mana: 500] [MRegen: 25/minute] [Build Points: 1,181] [Attributes] [Skills] [Spells] [Racial Perks] [Feats] ¡°Thirty-nine,¡± he said finally. ¡°I assume that has something to do with it?¡± She grunted, still sounding annoyed. The glow around her hands died and the player she was working on got up and thanked her, then ran off back into the grass. Standing, the angelkin threw one last glare at John and then stalked out into the grass herself. John shook his head, the attitude of the squires was getting out of hand, but he honestly didn¡¯t know what to do about it. Speaking to their superiors would just make them resent him more, even if they didn¡¯t outwardly show it afterward. With a sigh he readjusted the drake and turned to survey the ongoing chase. Four people had managed to capture a chooker each, and were walking over to join him. As they approached the drake chooked angrily and tried to bite at John again, he studiously ignored the little tingling pinpricks its teeth left and nodded to the newcomers, all of whom were squires and one of which was the devilkin from the other day. They just gave him fulminating looks, and John sighed. ¡°You can¡¯t possibly blame this one on me.¡± John grumbled. ¡°And who exactly should we blame it on?¡± the devilkin sneered. John looked at him for a moment and then shrugged. ¡°Yourselves,¡± he stated without animosity. ¡°Excuse me?¡± the devilkin said in outrage. ¡°I thought the chain of logic was pretty clear. You decided to become a knight, you accepted it¡¯d mean training and doing what your god asked, and you decided to continue with your training even though you clearly have an issue with it. You literally have no one to blame but yourself.¡± The devilkin looked furious now, and the other squires weren¡¯t looking too pleased either. The man opened his mouth to speak, but John continued in that same level tone. ¡°If you don¡¯t like what¡¯s asked of you, in your training or your duties, you can quit. You obviously have some problem, but the reality is that it¡¯s entirely yours, no one is forcing you to be here, no one is making you become a knight. So, either deal with it like an adult or keep it to yourself.¡± ¡°Well said,¡± rumbled Axia, who seemed to appear out of thin air next to John. John looked over in startlement, as did the squires, one of whom dropped his chooker. The lizard, for its part, took the opportunity at freedom and ran. ¡°How do you do that?¡± John asked. Axia just smiled and turned to the squires, pinning them with his gaze. ¡°When the exercise is over you four and I will discuss your¡­ misgivings. Until then I expect you to treat our groundskeeper with respect as you would any other citizen of the empire,¡± the big man rumbled. The four squires gave John a sour look, but remained silent. Axia stared at them for a few moments more, then returned to watching the people still running about in the grass. They stood there in silence for some time, and John took the opportunity to check the auction for a new shirt. There were several on offer and he took his time scrolling through them. Finally he settled on a shirt made of a material that was supposed to be highly resistant to piercing and slashing. He decided that if he was going to be attacked by chookers regularly it was worth the investment and paid a full silver for it. By the time Sally and Ex came walking down the road the chookers had been captured, though the final one had been picked up only moments ago. The squires and players looked bedraggled and worn out. ¡°What happened here?¡± Ex said as he looked at the clump of people and the chookers several of them carried. ¡°Oh man! Are those chookers! They¡¯re adorable!¡± Sally gushed even as she walked over to John. The drake he was holding hissed at her in warning and struggled to break free once more. John just tightened his grip. ¡°Yeah, the knights were given a training quest to capture them.¡± He said, giving Axia a look, the giant man seemed unphased. ¡°I really hope you brought meat, because I¡¯ve got no way to keep these guys from running off once people start letting them go.¡± ¡°Yeah! We got some bodies for you.¡± Sally said, then appeared a few giant rats. John disappeared them just as quickly, but the chookers had gotten a good look at their dinner and redoubled their attempts to escape. ¡°Alright, everyone with a chooker, please follow me.¡± John said and walked toward the wall that encircled his farm. With a motion of his hand, he opened a hole in it and walked inside, twelve other people, three players and nine squires, followed him in. John walked over to the coop and placed the four rodent corpses into the feeding trough, he then turned to the others. ¡°Alright, you can put them down now.¡± With sighs of relief the twelve people put down their angry reptiles and made their way for the exit, post-haste. [Deific Quest Complete:] The chookers all squawked angrily and crowded into the coop to gather around the trough even as John gave a sharp whistle. He then put the drake down. It trumpeted at him, but made no move to attack. The chookers then fell on to the meat with a will and John walked back outside. The remaining players (aside from Ex and Sally) and the squires had all skedaddled. ¡°John!¡± Sally exclaimed excitedly. ¡°Sally!¡± He quipped back. ¡°Can I pet the chookers?!¡± She asked, bouncing from one foot to the other. ¡°You can try,¡± he said as he paid Ex. With a whoop of excitement Sally ran into the coop, which elicited a cacophony of angry chooking. ¡°She going to be okay in there?¡± Ex asked. ¡°Eh, probably?¡± John replied. ¡°HELP! THE CHOOKERS ARE REVOLTING!¡± Sally yelled from inside, though her voice held no real notes of fear or worry. ¡°Yeah, she¡¯ll be fine,¡± John affirmed. ¡°Sorry for making you guys walk all the way out here.¡± ¡°Nah, I wanted to see what the road was like anyway. That movement bonus is nothing to scoff at. Think we can convince the knights to do that for the entire town and the road to the dungeon?¡± Ex asked. ¡°Maybe? They apparently do civic jobs from time to time. You do have to pay them though. The road cost me over two gold. ¡°Oof, never mind,¡± the elven player grumbled. ¡°Anyway, thanks for bringing the bodies, I¡¯ll swing by town tomorrow morning and pick some more up if that¡¯s okay?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Ex said. Sally came out of the coop, the bull strutting and squawking behind her, its feathers all puffed up. ¡°Alright! Alright! I¡¯m leaving!¡± She said, even as the chooker gave another angry chook for good measure. It then stalked back into the coop. ¡°A door!¡± John suddenly exclaimed in an aggravated voice. ¡°I forgot to get a door for the coop.¡± ¡°Guess you¡¯ll have to pick one up tomorrow while you¡¯re in town.¡± Ex said with a grin. John just sighed. ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m gonna head back before logging off. You coming, Sally?¡± Ex asked. ¡°Yeah, thanks for letting me pet the chookers John!¡± Sally said as she followed Excelsior. ¡°Anytime!¡± John said as he closed the wall behind them. ¡°Later!¡± ¡°Bye!¡± Sally exclaimed, and then the two started quickly down the road. John watched them go for a few minutes. Then he returned to his cellar, changed out his damaged shirt for the new one, and logged out. MAG - Chapter 30 - Edited The next day was dreary and drizzly and after only a few moments outside John gave serious thought to going back into the cellar and spending the day there. However, he knew he couldn¡¯t. He needed to check on the tree, then he had to go into town and see if Sally and Ex had any bodies for him, and purchase a door, couldn¡¯t forget that. Then it was time to work on another plot, though that would have to wait until tomorrow. This time he wanted to try creating a magical plant. He wasn¡¯t sure what would cause a plant to become magical, but the Magriculture feat seemed to imply he could. John made his way out to the tree. A quick glance showed him that it looked much as it had yesterday, though the flowers were a bit wilted with a few petals falling off. Hopefully that didn¡¯t mean anything bad. He sat down and touched the tree, sending his awareness into it once more. The magic of the tree pulsed around him, along with its perceptions of the world. It was well, and content, he could feel the water around its roots and the nutrients in the soil. He could tell it would need more fertilizer soon, so he put that on the ever-growing list of things to do. As he mingled his own magic with that of the tree, he could feel its mana moving in patterns centered around where the blossoms were. The tree seemed to be causing the decay in the blossoms. Could it be getting ready to produce fruit? It seemed too early for that. Should he have pinched the blossoms off as was occasionally done with younger trees? He felt a violent rejection from the tree at that thought. He continued to observe and feed the tree mana until his alarm finally went off. Shaking off the lethargy of the tree, he stood and was greeted by a welcome message. [Rank Up!] John grinned. Finally he¡¯d reached the point where he¡¯d be able to manipulate separate strands of mana! That meant it¡¯d be possible to build more complex weaves, not to mention lessening the strain when doing things like creating mana stones or using several mana-based skills at once. Smiling despite the ongoing drizzle, John made his way back toward the farm. The first thing he did was check the chookers, it was around eight now and they should be awake. He was surprised they hadn¡¯t run out again yet. Checking the coop he could see the chookers all clustered around the door and chooking softly. They didn¡¯t seem to want to go out in the rain. John couldn¡¯t blame them. Wading through the small sea of chookers he removed the bones from last night¡¯s meal, changed out their water, and checked for eggs. There were a lot of the latter. When John was finished with the nesting boxes he¡¯d counted forty-four eggs, all of which were of Common quality. As he disappeared the eggs into his inventory John wondered if maybe the Knights would like to purchase them. He would put a few up on the auction, but he got the feeling they wouldn¡¯t be great sellers just yet. It was probably too early to have players that were serious about crafting skills like cooking; still, it was worth a try. Pausing in the doorway of the coop, John did just that, listing a dozen eggs at three coppers each. He then stepped back out into the rain and headed for town. The village was mostly deserted, it seemed no one else wanted to be out in the rain either. So, he decided to stop by Phillip¡¯s store first. The little bell tinkled once more as he opened the door. ¡°Hello?¡± Phillip asked as he poked his head out of the back room. ¡°Ah! John. Good to see you again! What can I help you with today?¡± ¡°Not too much,¡± John admitted as he made sure the door was fully closed behind him, blocking out the damp. ¡°Just need a door for my coop, and a flap for the chookers.¡± ¡°Ah yes, the infamous chookers. I¡¯d heard you¡¯d picked some up; a quest reward, wasn¡¯t it?¡± The short man asked with a bit of mirth. John grunted and tugged a hand through his damp beard. ¡°Yeah, from a goddess no less.¡± Phillip gave a short chuckle. ¡°Could be worse, and look on the bright side, all the eggs you can eat.¡± ¡°Yeah, I got forty-four just this morning,¡± John replied. ¡°Well I¡¯m sure you can find someone to buy eggs, maybe those knights that live out near you?¡± Phillip suggested. ¡°Yeah, I was considering that this morning,¡± John admitted. ¡°Not sure how to approach them about it. Especially since I don¡¯t know how steady a supply I¡¯ll have. Yesterday I only got nineteen, not sure how many I¡¯ll have tomorrow.¡± ¡°Well, just keep track for a few days and eventually you¡¯ll have a good idea of how many you¡¯ll have day to day. Besides, they¡¯ll probably be happy for any fresh eggs they get.¡± Phillip said dismissively as he came to a stop in front of the door selection once more. ¡°I haven¡¯t got anything with a flap built in, but I could put together a simple flap that you can sink into a wall with little trouble. It wouldn¡¯t be varnished mind you, but it¡¯d get the job done for now.¡± John nodded as he listened, examining the doors. The selection was pretty much the same as last time, though the cellar door hadn¡¯t been replaced yet. John selected a similarly sturdy looking door and frame, though unvarnished this time. ¡°I think this one will do,¡± he said, gesturing to it. ¡°Excellent choice. That¡¯ll be fifty coppers,¡± Phillip said. John passed over the coppers and disappeared the door into his inventory. ¡°About how long will it take you to make a flap?¡± he inquired. ¡°An hour should be sufficient for something basic,¡± Phillip said. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll pick it up before I head back to the farm then,¡± John said. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Phillip nodded. ¡°See you then.¡± John headed for the exit, as the old man turned back to his workbench. Exiting the store, John found that it was still raining. With a sigh he trudged down the muddy road toward the center of town. Like most of the rest of the roads, the square was deserted and John wasn¡¯t sure where to look for Ex and Sally. Usually the two would be manning their stall between dungeon runs, but he wasn¡¯t sure where they¡¯d go in the case of rain. Maybe they just logged out? He grunted in annoyance and wondered if maybe it wasn¡¯t time to buy the Communications Module; it was only ten dollars. Sighing at the expenditure he purchased the module, and then immediately opened the Communications tab. Ex and Sally were indeed online, so he sent Ex a quick text asking where they were, and stating that he was looking for forty more bodies in addition to the four he¡¯d need for the chookers. Looking around he wasn¡¯t sure what to do next; there wasn¡¯t much more he needed to do in town. As he looked around, he heard a small ping and a small notification flashed. [You¡¯ve got mail!] Checking the communications module he found he did indeed have a message and it was from Ex. We¡¯ll be out of the dungeon in ten minutes or so, we just have to backtrack to pick up some corpses and then try the rat king once more. If we succeed we¡¯ll see you in maybe half an hour, if we fail, well, it¡¯ll be like 15 minutes. Either way, have our money ready! Also, Sally says hi. John finished the message and decided he could wait thirty minutes. Crossing over to the bench in the middle of the square he used a gesture and an effort of Control Water to brush the puddling rain off it, he then started experimenting with using the spell to keep the rain off himself. He first tried just pushing the raindrops away, but he had trouble controlling droplets he couldn¡¯t see directly (which was most of them), so after a few attempts at that he tried something different. Using the same spell he grabbed the puddling water off the ground around himself and floated a thin sheet up and over his head, creating a water umbrella. The water umbrella seemed to work at first, and he found he had no trouble holding Mana Drawing (at its lowest tier) and Control Water at the same time. However, as the minutes ticked past he could feel the draw on his mana slowly increasing and it took him several more minutes to realize why. The rain falling on his umbrella wasn¡¯t sliding off of it, but being absorbed by it, adding to the mass of water he was controlling. Grumbling in annoyance he began manually dump water from the sides, only to find that took more concentration than merely holding the shape. He pondered for a moment, and wondered why he couldn¡¯t just use a thin slab of stone. Shaking his head, he realized he¡¯d gotten caught in the trap of thinking about something only one way; because he¡¯d started with water, he¡¯d felt he needed to continue with water even when a much easier solution was at hand. Dumping the water on the ground he used Create Earth to generate a thin, concave shell of stone on the ground in front of him, and then switched to Control Earth, forcing it to hover above his head. Grinning, John wondered how many spells he could carry at the same time now. Still keeping his new stone umbrella above his head and his low-level Mana Drawing running, he invoked Control Water once more and began to coax the excess water out of his clothes and hair and onto the ground. After several minutes of work he was dry. ¡°Showoff,¡± said an annoyed looking Ex as he muscled his way under the umbrella. ¡°Hey! Stop! I just got dry!¡± John exclaimed as the elf proceeded to dribble all over him. ¡°Share the love, John! Share the love!¡± Sally said as she crowded in on the other side, leaving John nowhere to go. ¡°Ugh, I hate both of you, you¡¯re getting me all damp again!¡± He complained, though there was little heat in it. Then he gestured and with an effort of will enlarged the umbrella to cover all three of them. ¡°Oh how gracious of you!¡± Ex intoned. ¡°So kind,¡± murmured Sally. John rolled his eyes. ¡°Given that it¡¯s been, maybe twenty minutes, I¡¯m guessing you guys died again?¡± ¡°Yeeeeeah,¡± Sally drew out the word with a dejected sigh at the end. ¡°The stupid thing always gets us.¡± ¡°But we still got your bodies,¡± Ex said and Sally, as if on cue, started dumping rodent corpses at their feet. John handed Ex his coppers then reached out and started disappearing the bodies just as fast. ¡°Thanks, I¡¯m going to have to leave a standing order to have people bring me bodies I think, especially if you guys are going to focus more on the Herb Slimes.¡± ¡°Where are you going to put the excess bodies people bring you? There¡¯s no way you¡¯re not going to have too many if you leave a standing order,¡± Ex pointed out. ¡°That¡¯s the part I can¡¯t figure out, short of coming into town every day and putting up a post for it,¡± John grumbled. ¡°Well, aside from feeding the chookers, do you really need the bodies?¡± Sally asked. ¡°Well yeah, I¡¯m using them for compost,¡± John said, perplexed; he was sure Sally already knew that. ¡°Yes, but you¡¯re using that for fertilizer right? But doesn¡¯t the Herb Slime Goo fill the same niche?¡± she inquired. John thought about it for a moment, and then made a so-so gesture. ¡°The goo seems to interact with the plants magically, rather than actually provide nutrients. While I could probably survive on one or the other, I think I need both if I¡¯m going to grow the best crops I can.¡± Sally thought about that and then nodded. The three then sat in silence for a while before Ex spoke up. ¡°What if you just paid Theodore to set up the post for you each morning and afternoon?¡± ¡°Not a bad idea,¡± John said as Sally nodded in agreement. ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°No problem,¡± Excelsior said. ¡°Alright, I should go talk to Theodore about that then, then I need to pick up the door for the chookers, and start working on some Mana Stones,¡± John said as he stood, taking his umbrella with him. ¡°GAH! Wet!¡± said Ex. ¡°Treachery!¡± shouted Sally. ¡°Bye!¡± said John with a grin. MAG - Chapter 31 - Edited The talk with Theodore had turned out to be entirely painless, the ursine man agreed to post a notice twice daily, once when the store opened, and once after noon, for the low price of two coppers per post. John paid him for a month¡¯s worth of posts and topped off his meal bars. Proceeding to Phillip¡¯s he picked up the chooker door, for which he paid another fifteen coppers. Afterward he started on the walk back to his farm, keeping his improvised umbrella up the whole way. Upon returning the first thing John did was check on the chookers. As he had suspected, he found them roosting inside the coop. Entering he made his way over to the two troughs and gave a shrill whistle, causing all the chookers to look at him. Finally he dropped the bodies in the trough, and the flock immediately moved to partake in the morning offering. It was only once he was outside that he realized the drake hadn¡¯t given him any guff this morning, and he had to peek back inside to be sure it was still there. After confirming that the drake was indeed both alive and with the flock, John took out the door, and pushed it into the doorway using Control Earth to seal it in. He then proceeded to do the same with the flap door, pushing it in off to the left of the main door. Stepping back, John took in his coop. While it didn¡¯t look good per se, it was certainly functional, and finally secured against the elements. Satisfied, he turned and headed toward the storm cellar. Once inside he sat down to make the mana stones he was going to need for the Ritual of Cleansing. The change in quality of his control was immediately apparent, it took him almost no mental effort to create a Common quality stone now and, with a little experimentation, he found that if he devoted all his attention to the task he could create a Good quality stone. Further, the speed at which he could produce the stone had increased to twenty-four mana per second instead of the original four mana per second. As a final experiment he attempted to use the lowest tier of Mana Drawing at the same time, and found that it was possible so long as he kept the quality at Common or lower. Going off that he decreased the quality of the mana stone, and found that he could use the second tier of Mana Drawing if he made only Poor quality stones. However some quick math made it clear that taking breaks to use the full power of Mana Drawing would actually make the work go faster. After a few moments of thought John didn¡¯t see any reason not to use Poor quality stones for the task, he wasn¡¯t selling them after all. It was the work of only twenty-two minutes to generate a mana stone containing a little over five thousand water mana. The resulting stone was smaller than a golf ball and he set it off to the side as he created the others. An hour and change later he¡¯d finished with the task and had moved on to purchasing the reagents he¡¯d need to start the ritual. One silver and ten coppers later he had his standard Soap, Krystal, and Pure Philter and was ready to go. He headed out for the ritual where he wasted no time dumping out the bodies and activating it. As he watched the colorful glows spreading across the engraved geometric designs he felt vaguely guilty that he wasn¡¯t purifying the corpses he was feeding the chookers. It was a risk he knew, but he couldn¡¯t run a cleansing ritual every single day. Maybe he could get Ex to teach him the Cleanse spell instead, that might work. With that thought in mind he headed back for the storm cellar and logged out for lunch. Returning an hour later John was surprised to find the cat and wolf kin duo waiting for him outside the wall. When they saw him, the woman waved and gestured him over. Walking to the wall, John made it part so they could come in. ¡°Hello, welcome to the farm,¡± John said as the two peered about. ¡°Not as much here as I expected,¡± the woman said. ¡°No house or barn?¡± ¡°Not yet,¡± John said. ¡°I¡¯ll get there eventually but there¡¯s always been something else that needed doing first.¡± The wolfkin grunted and then spoke. ¡°Where do you want the urns?¡± John looked around and tugged at his beard before speaking. ¡°Give me a moment, I didn¡¯t think about that.¡± He then turned and used a quick application of Create Earth to generate a raised stone slab roughly eight feet east to west and four feet north to south, stopping only when it reached four feet in height. The duo watched, looking intrigued at the blatant display of magic. ¡°There we go, you can set them there,¡± John said. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen anyone generate so much material that fast,¡± The man replied, even as he started appearing the urns onto the impromptu table. ¡°I¡¯ve got a feat that lets me do large volume spells while on my farm,¡± John admitted freely. ¡°Just while you¡¯re on your farm?¡± The woman queried. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s called Domain. It requires that I saturate land I own with my mana before I can use it,¡± John replied. ¡°Drat, it¡¯d be really useful in the dungeon, I¡¯m AshWolf by the by,¡± the man said. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ¡°And I¡¯m CallyCat,¡± the woman interjected. John nodded at the introductions. ¡°You can achieve the same effect with the Dynamo, Increased Size, and Expanded Pool feats,¡± he explained. ¡°It¡¯s costly to purchase three feats, but if you¡¯re going for a mage build it¡¯s well worth it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s really good to know,¡± Cally said. ¡°Any other tips?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± John said with a smirk. ¡°Talk to Grandma Loren and do what she tells you. She knows a lot.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll keep that in mind,¡± Ash said as he set out the last urn. ¡°That¡¯s twenty urns of goo.¡± John nodded and paid out twenty coppers. ¡°Thanks guys, do you want me to make more urns for you before you head back?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± said Cally, and John took a moment to generate the new vessels. ¡°Thanks,¡± said Ash. ¡°No problem, I¡¯m happy to have the materials,¡± John explained. ¡°Well, we¡¯ll be heading out then,¡± Ash said in parting. ¡°Later,¡± said Cally as the two left. John closed up the wall behind them and then looked at the urns on the table, they were getting rained on and the lids weren¡¯t liquid tight. With a sigh he created a stone awning over the table to keep the rain off. He then considered what to do next. He wanted to try creating magic plants and he had a couple ideas. The ones that involved the slime goo, however, related to Alchemy, and he didn¡¯t want to try any more of that in urns over uneven heat sources. John had never been really good at chemistry, but he knew you needed to be precise in whatever you were doing. Be it with heat or measurements. In this case that might also mean brushing up on the metric system which, come to think of it, he might want to use for his rituals as well, given the need for precise measurements. That said, the rituals had been designed with feet and inches in mind, so he wasn¡¯t sure that¡¯d translate well. In any case, he¡¯d need equipment to do alchemy in, and on, which was just another thing he¡¯d have to build or buy. Rubbing his forehead, he sat down on the covered table and took a moment to think about the things he needed to do right now, what he could do later, and what he might be able to pay other people to do for him. The list of ¡®right now¡¯ chores was actually pretty short. There wasn¡¯t much else he could do today, since mostly it all involved waiting for other things to finish. The ritual wouldn¡¯t be done with the bodies until tomorrow. The chooker meals were pretty much automated with the requests (which he¡¯d offered at a copper per body). And finally, the garden plots didn¡¯t need much more than a cursory examination for pests or other ailments. The list of things to do later was a bit longer. He needed to learn more enchanting, purchase alchemy equipment (and books), create someplace to store belongings, build a barn for animals, equipment, and more food storage, and perhaps expand his storm cellar. Also, he needed a Mana Well to run the enchantments he wanted to add to everything, and to claim more of the surrounding land. Finally he came to the list of ¡®things I can pay people to do¡¯. He could probably pay the knights to design and erect some buildings for him, namely a house with attached storage and crafting space, and a barn. He could almost certainly buy the alchemy equipment from the Auction, and that seemed the best choice, since he didn¡¯t even know what he needed. And he could continue paying Sally, Ex, and the other players for bodies and slime goo, so that problem was sorted, at least until people found a better revenue source. His thoughts settled, John decided to start with checking on his plants, so he made his way around the table and coop and moved to check the three planted crops. The wheat was a little over a foot tall at this point and seemed to be having no troubles, though he dutifully checked it for pests, only to find none. The corn was much smaller at only a few inches in height and also showed no obvious problems. The berries were as he¡¯d left them, small sprouts that barely poked above the soil, like the other two plants, there were no issues he could see. Moving on he decided that now was as good a time as any to expand his land so he grabbed the Claim Spikes from the storm cellar and headed out the western portion of the wall. He spent the next little while measuring out what he wanted and then planted the stakes, extending his claim by another five hundred forty thousand eight hundred square feet, making the entire claim a large square once more. Returning to the storm cellar he put the Claim Spikes down and considered what to do next. If he wanted the knights to raise buildings for him, he¡¯d need to pay them, he¡¯d also be needing money to buy alchemy equipment, so the next thing he should do was get more of that, this meant making more mana stones. Fortunately with his new ranks in Mana Manipulation he could make Good stones now, which were even smaller than Common stones, and thus could hold more mana and demand a better price. Setting to work he started creating new mana stones. He found that the Good quality stones could hold seventy-five hundred mana at about the same size as a common held five thousand and a Poor held twenty-five hundred, which was to say a stone about the size of his thumb, or close to about two cubic inches. Better, it only took him about thirty minutes per stone now meaning that over the next six hours he was able to produce a dozen Good quality life mana stones. When he opened the Auction to list them, he found a nice surprise in that all his chooker eggs had sold, giving him thirty-six more coppers. Pleased, he listed the rest of the chooker eggs for the same price. He then took a chance and placed all his new stones each in its own day-long auction with a minimum bid of one gold and fifty silver and a buyout price of four gold. John didn¡¯t actually expect anyone to buy the stones for four gold pieces, however it¡¯d be good to see how far he could push the price on the Good stones. As John had worked both other parties had dropped off their urns of goo, bringing his total up to sixty. The lone ursakin from earlier had also dropped off the four bodies needed for the chookers¡¯ dinner. Content with the day¡¯s work, John went to bed. MAG - Interlude: Shale - Edited A tiny sphere of pure white marble hovered in the center of a small cavern, the walls of which were made of black marble shot through with various colors. It was called Nebula Marble; Gire had brought a small orb of it back from one of his excursions almost half a month ago, and Shale loved the way its white orb contrasted with the dark backdrop. It made them feel like a small star sitting in the vastness of space. Gire flittered about nearby in the shape of a small dust devil. He was an ifrit, a spirit of heat and air. He often scouted the area outside the dungeon for Shale, who couldn¡¯t see anything outside their sphere of influence. Today Gire had brought back something new; it was a feather in gold and blue, and it fluttered around inside his swirling winds in beautifully mesmerizing twisting patterns. ¡°What is it?¡± Shale asked its bond. ¡°It¡¯s a chooker feather,¡± Gire responded. Shale gave an exasperated sigh. ¡°But what is a chooker.¡± Gire stopped swirling, his form taking on that of a small man, dark of skin and wearing loose clothes. ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡± He said excitedly as he waved the feather about. ¡°Some kind of lizard thing I¡¯ve never seen before! Lots of people were chasing them, so it was easy to grab this feather when it fell off the big one!¡± ¡°How big was the big one? Can you show me?¡± Shale asked excitedly. Gire nodded and brought up his free hand, creating an illusion of the drake the feather had fallen from. Shale watched excitedly, the reptile looked like it¡¯d be a great addition to the dungeon, it could already see how they¡¯d modify it to fit. ¡°Give me the feather! Quick quick!¡± they said eagerly. With an elegant little bow Gire dropped the feather on the floor beneath the core where it immediately sank into the marble with a tiny ripple. [Pattern Obtained] With a thought and an effort of will Shale created a chooker. The small wyvern-like creature slowly took form out of the mana that was poured into it. Shale had decided to keep the blue and gold color scheme of the feather, and had not yet modified the drake to be anything more. It stood there for a moment, reptilian eyes taking in the room. Then it turned to Shale and, looking up at the core, it ducked in subservience. ¡°Chook chook chook,¡± it said tamely. Shale was fascinated by the lizard, they could see so many possibilities. Lengthening the claws, increasing the mass, and sharpening the teeth were just the tips of the iceberg. Something in their magic resonated inside the chooker, and Shale could feel that this was a monster that could evolve. That was rare, it didn¡¯t have any evolving monsters. The slimes didn¡¯t count, their only evolutionary option being oozes. Shale looked at the beast and was giddy with excitement. They couldn¡¯t wait to build a floor around this creature. In fact, they decided that the seventh floor would work nicely. It was just a blank slate right now. Turning their attention toward the seventh (and currently final) floor, Shale looked at it with a critical eye. It was a large network of twisting caves and tunnels. That wouldn¡¯t do, no; instead, they should build an environment more suited to the creature. Shale could tell that the chookers preferred dense forest and underbrush to hide in, so they began to carve out a simply massive cavern instead. The new cavern stretched the whole length of the floor, almost five hundred fifty yards in both length and width, with a ceiling twenty-five yards high. Shale saturated the stone with their aura as they went, ensuring there would be no collapse as it strengthened beyond its normal properties. Next came the dirt, a solid five yards covered the floor of the cavern and Shale began to sculpt and mold the terrain until it was uneven and hilly. Looking at the current landscaping with satisfaction, Shale began to seed plants into the area, starting with the trees. It only had a few types available, all of which it¡¯d been seeded with by the original founders of Runic Rock. So it was a forest of Oak, interspersed with a few plum and peach trees. Shale began to will the seeds to grow faster and they felt the mana flowing out of them. The seeds sprouted and the trees grew, Shale kept going until they reached their full, mature height. Shale then started seeding the underbrush. Mostly small shrubs, however Gire had stolen some berries of different kinds from some garden or another, so it had blackberry, blueberry, red and black currant, and a few others to place. Like the trees, they accelerated the growth, leaving large thickets of impassable dense shrubbery and large piles of thorny berry bushes. Finally came the small plants and grasses, which Shale blanketed the floor with. Looking around, Shale was pleased with its work. There was only one remaining problem. The room was dark. The plants could live off mana, but it was more efficient to provide them with light. Then again, maybe Shale should leave it dark, giving the chookers the cover of darkness might be a good edge for them. Shale could tell that the beasts had good night vision, for all that they were a daytime creature. Considering the options, Shale finally settled on creating a faux night sky. They peppered the ceiling with tiny runes of light, creating twinkling ¡®stars¡¯ just above the canopy. It wouldn¡¯t be enough for a human to see by, but it¡¯d be enough for the chookers. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Pleased, Shale turned back to the chooker in its sanctum. Carefully it started making little edits. The claws and teeth became sharp and dense, now capable of puncturing metal given enough force. The scales became hard and thick enough to turn aside a blade. Muscles became more dense, more efficient, allowing greater leaps and higher strength. The feathers became more muted browns and greens to better blend in with the underbrush. Then just a slight change to the eyes, making them even sharper, better able to see be it in darkness or light. Then Shale killed the creature, gaining the new pattern. With another expenditure of power they began seeding the forest with this new menace, keeping the population mostly male, but with a few females thrown in. Soon the area was crawling with the things, their rapid fire chooking filling the silence. Content with the number of chookers, Shale decided to take it a step further, and added small rodents and bugs, giving the forest all the nighttime sounds and noises. Finally, they were content in all but two aspects. The floor needed a boss, and loot. Creating another chooker, Shale began to pour mana into it. They weren¡¯t looking for anything fancy, not this time. Instead they just wanted a big, mean, bull of a chooker. When they were done it stood six feet tall at the shoulder with claws like vicious scythes and teeth almost five inches long. It let out a deep, rumbling chook. It was perfect. Shale moved it to the forest floor, creating a giant nest at the far end for it to live in. Now for loot. The loot that Shale had been providing didn¡¯t seem to be interesting to the adventurers, they¡¯d started leaving large portions of it behind. Shale didn¡¯t like that. If they didn¡¯t like the loot they¡¯d stop delving, and then Shale¡¯s progress would stall. But what could Shale give them that they wanted? Adventurers always took the Mana Stones, and the money. So maybe more of those? Dissatisfied, Shale set loot seeds in various locations, setting them to randomly generate mana crystals and coins for the most part. ¡°Gire,¡± Shale said. ¡°Yeah?¡± asked the ifrit. ¡°We need better loot,¡± Shale explained. ¡°Yeah,¡± agreed Gire with a sad sigh. The two sat in silence for a while, before Gire spoke again. ¡°What about upgrading the Mana Stones?¡± ¡°Too expensive,¡± grunted Shale. ¡°You¡¯re a miser, it¡¯s not like we¡¯d be destitute,¡± Gire argued. ¡°It¡¯s ten thousand Essence, that¡¯s basically all we have,¡± Shale shot back. ¡°Alright, then maybe something else? A new metal perhaps?¡± Gire suggested. ¡°All the good metals cost even more than the stones,¡± Shale replied glumly. ¡°Well, there¡¯s got to be something we could purchase,¡± Gire said, even as he shifted back into his dust devil form. ¡°We can afford plants, but people aren¡¯t taking those,¡± Shale complained. ¡°Apparently there are no alchemists in the town to use them¡­ What if we bought alchemical items instead?¡± Gire suggested as he swirled around the core. Shale gave a dissatisfied grunt. ¡°Alchemical items are expensive.¡± ¡°Everything is expensive, we have to spend Essence sometime,¡± Gire rebutted. ¡°Fine, but only one!¡± ¡°Three! We need variety.¡± ¡°Two, and that¡¯s the maximum,¡± Shale said firmly. ¡°Fine, two,¡± Gire agreed as he swirled down to the ground and started kicking up dust. Shale gave an internal sigh and opened the Essence store. They quickly filtered their search to alchemical items and came up with a whole slew of options. The Healing and Mana Potions were marked as popular, so they considered them carefully before discarding the mana potions. It already had mana stones, no need to double down. ¡°Healing Potions and what else?¡± they asked Gire. ¡°Um¡­ I don¡¯t know¡­ Maybe something like a buff?¡± the ifrit suggested. Shale turned back to the screen and tweaked the filter. The list shortened considerably, unfortunately most items it contained were much more expensive. Still, there were a few that might be viable. They scrolled through the offering for a moment before selecting another item. Then, with what amounted to physical pain, Shale clicked the purchase button. [Pattern Obtained] [Pattern Obtained] ¡°It¡¯s done,¡± Shale said wearily, even as they modified loot spawns for the seventh floor once more. ¡°Good! Let¡¯s hope they like it!¡± Gire replied hopefully. ¡°They¡¯d better,¡± Shale muttered sullenly before turning its attention to the groups currently delving. Everything was mostly the same as it left them, though it could see another group squeezing Herb Slimes. ¡°Why are they squeezing the goop out of slimes?¡± ¡°The farmer who owns the chookers is using it for fertilizer or something,¡± Gire responded as he swooped about the chamber. Shale pondered that for a few moments, then gave the mental equivalent of a shrug. ¡°People are weird,¡± it said finally. ¡°Yeah, they are,¡± Gire agreed. MAG - Chapter 32 - Edited The next morning was blessedly clear, though the ground remained well sodden. John exited the cellar, holding up a small flame to light his way in the dark. He made his way over to the tree; the blossoms had fallen off, he could see the crumpled petals in the mud around its base, and in their place were small, green fruits. Taking his customary seat, he connected with the tree and could sense that its power was flowing mostly to these new adornments. With care he started slipping his own energy into the flow once more, even as he let the tree¡¯s proto-consciousness flow over him. It was still happy, the rain had been good, and it was creating something, a task in which it seemed to find immense satisfaction. It was, however, depleting the nearby soil, and had started stretching its roots further and deeper. John frowned, he¡¯d known he would need more bodies for the tree, but he¡¯d forgotten. It was just one more thing he¡¯d have to take care of. It would be easier if he had built closer to the dungeon, or even the town. As time went by he was going to need more and more bodies to satisfy the growing requirements of his farm, and he wasn¡¯t sure how to handle that. While automating the requests for chooker food had been easy enough, he didn¡¯t need fifty bodies daily, making that quest much harder to automate. As his alarm went off John broke contact with the tree and returned to the farm to find a human and orc duo waiting to drop off this morning¡¯s deliveries. He paid them and threw in a few extra coppers for the wait. To his dismay he was running low on coppers and would need to break another silver before this evening¡¯s drop off. Idly he wondered if he could do that through the Auction. Gathering up the bodies he made his way into the coop and replaced both food and water while giving the now usual sharp whistle. The chookers were definitely associating it with food now, which meant they¡¯d probably come when he called them. Probably. Checking the nesting boxes John found fifty-three eggs, ten of which were actually Good quality instead of just Common. He wondered what made the difference even as he opened the Auction. First he checked his ongoing auctions and found that the stones were up to around two gold each. The chooker eggs had all sold, netting him ninety-six coppers, neatly dealing with the low copper situation. Briefly he wondered who was buying all the eggs, but he didn¡¯t actually care. He put all the chooker eggs up for auction, though he placed the Good quality eggs up for six coppers each instead of three. Checking the time he had about three and a half hours before the Ritual of Cleansing would finish, so he had some time to take care of things. The first thing he did was send a text to Ex and Sally asking for yet more bodies. That taken care of, he turned his mind to the idea of farm buildings. The question was, did he pay the knights to take care of it, or just do it himself? He spent a few minutes considering it and then decided to just do it himself. Moving toward the northern edge of the farm he decided to build near the storm cellar, allowing him to create a set of stairs that would lead to it from the inside of the house as well. Opening the Blueprint Module, he began designing. About an hour later he finally settled on a rectangular building about forty feet long and thirty wide. That¡¯d give him room for a kitchen, living area, work space, a bedroom and above ground storage. He then extended it downward into a three-room basement with a tunnel stair combo that led down the last bit to connect with the storm cellar. With a gesture the blueprint expanded out of his interface to leave a holographic representation overlaying the area he¡¯d decided to build in. Then, with an effort of will and a gesture, he started digging out the area. Back when he¡¯d built the storm cellar, it¡¯d cost him over seven hours of time just to dig a hole of lower total volume than this one. In sharp contrast, it took only ten minutes to fully excavate the foundation and basement of the new building. John paused to marvel at how far he¡¯d come. Between the Domain feat and the ranks he¡¯d banked in the skills, the task had become entirely trivial. Less trivial was the use of his new Earth to Stone spell. Being at Novice rank the spell¡¯s volume per second was about a fourth that of the Journeyman ranked Control Earth. Meaning it actually took him fourteen minutes to convert the loose dirt to first a foot of gravel at the bottom of the hole, and then six feet of solid granite on top of that. Next, he used Control Earth to gather the few large piles of dirt he still had from previous construction, and started turning it into stone for the walls of his basement. The construction of the basement walls, stairs, and ceiling took another four minutes and used up almost all the leftover soil. Then, still following the projected blueprint, he began to fill in the walls of the building. The interior was divided into five rooms, a kitchen, a combined living and dining area, a bedroom so small it bordered on a closet, a storage room, and finally the workshop area, which took up almost a full third of the space on its own. John left space for three exterior doors, one to the living area, one to the kitchen, and one to the workshop. Each of the rooms also included a generous number of quartz windows through which to let in light, as well as a skylight built into the slightly domed roof. All together the construction of the building took him less than an hour, though it was nothing more than an empty shell at this point, without doors or furniture other than the built-in granite workbenches, shelving, and countertops. Still, it would work for now, and he was certain Phillip would have some standard furniture he could purchase. Though he¡¯d need to commission doors, as the carpenter didn¡¯t have nearly enough in his pre-made stock. Checking the time John determined he had a bit more than an hour and a half before the ritual was done. Looking around he conjured a stone bench near the front door, sat down, and began designing the barn. An hour and twenty minutes later he¡¯d decided on a large building with a forty by eighty foot floor plan, with an attached twenty by forty foot creamery. He¡¯d included four ten by ten foot stalls for cows and two ten by twenty foot stalls for goats and sheep respectively. This left him with an aisle of twenty feet in the center, and a forty by forty foot area at the front of the barn for storage. Satisfied, John saved the blueprint and then just relaxed into his seat for the next ten minutes. Then with a sigh he stood, stretched, and made his way over to the Ritual of Cleansing. He had to wait a few minutes as the ritual spooled down, but eventually it finished and he collected the now cleaned bodies. Then, checking the time, he decided to take the obligatory lunch break slightly early. Returning from lunch, John headed toward the garden plots and dumped the bodies into the fourth plot and started decaying them. As with the last time he performed the task, it took a full five hours to reduce the bodies to the mushy, smelly, and rich compost that would be useful for plant growth. During that time he was forced to stop to receive the delivery of more bodies from Ex and Sally, and another set of Herb Slime Goop from Ash and Cally. Finally, however, it was done and he moved on to making the mana stones he would need to run the Ritual of Cleansing again. So, he spent the next two hours making the required mana stones, only to receive a welcome notification at the end. [Attribute Increase!] Smiling, John purchased the same ingredients he always used; though he held off on actually performing the ritual, deciding that would wait until morning. With that taken care of, he checked on the chookers one last time, and then went to bed himself. The first thing John did the next morning was start the Ritual of Cleansing, after which he went and had his daily communion with the tree. It was doing just fine, and its little fruits were slightly bigger and a slightly lighter shade this morning. The ursakin from the other day (who turned out to be named Kodiak Maximus, though he was fine with just Kodi) dropped off the morning bodies for the chookers and yet another set of Herb Slime Goo. After feeding the chookers, John gathered their eggs, of which there were an even fifty, ten of which were Good quality. He added them to the auction and received money for the ones he¡¯d placed yesterday, as well as twenty-three gold, twenty-one silver, and ten copper for the life mana stones. Determined to take care of the goo urns next, John gathered them into his inventory and walked them over to the wheat plot where he deposited them on the ground next to it. He then went through the tedious process of removing all the lids. After that was done he used Move Water to pull the large mass of goo out of the jars and began to slowly deposit it over the field, doing his best to spread it in an even film over the area. Once he was finished the plants briefly glistened with a layer of green slime, however that quickly faded as the film was absorbed and the plants grew a few inches. Satisfied, John re-collected all the urns, lidded them, and returned them to the table from whence they¡¯d came. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! That finished, John turned to his newest plot which he had decided to use as a testbed. He began by dividing the plot much like he had for the berries and then raising all the disparate sections up to waist height. Next he divided the westernmost part of the raised beds even further, creating dozens upon dozens of small square plots no more than four inches in length and width. These would be where he tried germinating new crops, and he wasted no time preparing the first test. Holding his hand out over the first of the many squares he began creating life Mana Stone, however instead of a solid crystal he imagined making a trickle of fine dust. He was rewarded for his efforts with a grainy powder pouring out of his hand and into the test bed until he had a fine layer of the stuff, which he quickly mixed into the soil. John next took out a small handful of wheat kernels and planted them, then he moved on to the next plot, repeating the process, except this time with death stone. John proceeded in this way until he¡¯d finished another six plots; one for each of the four basic elements as well as life and death. Then, holding his hand out over the area, he cast Growth. After almost half a minute the first few shoots began to appear, poking out of the contaminated soils. After a full minute most of the plants had died, leaving only a few stragglers in each of the plots. After two minutes most of those had died off as well, leaving only three stalks of almost fully matured wheat, two in the life plot and one in the water plot. By three minutes the stalks were fully mature, though they looked sickly. John Inspected the stalks. [Life Tainted Wheat] [Water Tainted Wheat] This was¡­ Not what John had been hoping for. Taint was generally a word with negative connotations, which probably meant bad things for whoever consumed the wheat. Still, maybe a few iterations would produce a more useful change? He harvested the stalks, dried them with Control Water, and spent a few minutes divesting them of their kernels, which went right back into the soil from whence they came. He watered the plots, then used Growth once more. All of the kernels sprouted, and more than half made it to maturity. Unfortunately none of them had a different descriptor. Selecting the plants that looked healthiest, John discarded the rest and began a new cycle. For the next hour John repeatedly grew and discarded plants. By the end all the plants he¡¯d grown were looking healthy, but they still carried the ¡®tainted¡¯ descriptor. With a sigh, he decided there was nothing to do but eat some and see what happened. Grabbing one of the stalks he divested it of its wheatberries and popped them in his mouth, chewing slowly and carefully. Almost immediately a new prompt appeared. [Life Tainted] John looked at the debuff and considered it carefully. It was a way to automatically aspect your mana, it seemed. This was actually not a terrible thing, unless of course you were in a situation where you needed to cast spells of different elements quickly. The debuff was short lived, but that was probably because he¡¯d only eaten a few kernels. Who knew what actual prepared food would do? Still, interesting as the debuff was, it wasn¡¯t really what John had been hoping for. After a few minutes of pondering, John pulled up the remaining stalks, tied them into little bundles, and set them aside. He wasn¡¯t prepared to just throw them out yet, but it was time to try a different experiment, which meant cleaning up the old one. Holding his hand over the first of the plots he called on Control Earth, and tried to sift the mana dust out of the soil. Other than taking a bit of time it proved to be a fairly painless process, and soon he¡¯d separated out six piles of magical dust. Another moment of concentration saw those small piles fused into tiny stones, which he promptly dropped into his pocket for later disposal. Next he replaced the soil in the small plots with some from the nearby larger plot, and proceeded with his next test. Taking out a handful of kernels, John tried channeling mana into them directly, as he regularly did with the tree. He took it as slow as possible, adding only a single point of mana. Unfortunately this proved to be more than the kernels could handle, and they immediately exploded into tiny pieces, pelting John with plant shrapnel. John yelped, more surprised than hurt, even the hand that had been holding the kernels looked unmarred. Wiping off his hand with a frown, he picked up the bushel of life tainted wheat, and pulled the water out of the kernels to dry them. He then repeated the previous test with several of those. This time the mana took hold, and he slowly added another point, then a third. As he added the mana to the kernels, he felt a strange echo of his communion with the tree, and gained a distant sense of how much mana they could hold. Four points each seemed to be the limit, and he paused to Inspect the handful of kernels in his hand. [Life Saturated Wheat Kernels] John rolled the kernels around in his hand for a moment, then chose one of the testing plots and planted them. As he finished covering them, he knew something wasn¡¯t right with the soil, these plants wouldn¡¯t be able to grow as they were. Following that ¡®instinct¡¯ he took the tiny life mana stone out and turned it back into fine dust which he mixed in with the soil. Feeling better about it, he cast Growth and watched as little stalks began to poke out of the soil. Three minutes later he had a small handful of fully grown wheat. Plucking it from the soil he examined it again. [Life Saturated Wheat] Smiling John pulled the water from the wheat and plucked another handful of kernels. Once again he infused them with life mana, managing to double the previous amount, and then went to return the seeds to the soil. As he did so he once more sensed this soil wasn¡¯t right for the seeds. Thanks to Mana Sight he could still see there was life stone dust left in the soil, but not much. Perhaps it needed more? He concentrated and another small pile of dust formed. After mixing it into the soil he felt better about it, but it still wasn¡¯t quite right. He wasn¡¯t exactly sure how to fix it though, he hadn¡¯t felt the need to better prepare the soil for the tree, but he had mixed in the void stone already, so maybe that¡¯d been enough? Alternatively, the tree was already magical in nature, perhaps its innate magic meant the soil didn¡¯t need any special additives? Frowning he thought about it for a few minutes more but didn¡¯t have any bright ideas nor system supplied inspirations. It was possible his Farming skill simply wasn¡¯t a high enough level; he was only Apprentice in Farming after all. Still, maybe there was something alchemical he could add to the soil? Pulling open the auction he ticked the filter for alchemical items, then specified ¡®Life¡¯. There weren¡¯t many results, in fact there was only one: Golden Ginseng Syrup. The cost was five and a half gold, and the quality was Common. By its description, it was meant to be used in further alchemical refinements. John debated buying the syrup for several minutes. It would take almost a third of his gold, and more than half his silvers, and there was no guarantee it¡¯d be what he needed. With a shake of his head, he decided against it. What else could he do? He could try creating another serum, but that could go disastrously bad without actual equipment, besides, he was out of Herb Slime Goo. Tugging at his beard he gave a frustrated sigh. It didn¡¯t seem like there was anything more he could do. Looking down at the kernels in his hand he wasn¡¯t sure what to do with them. He didn¡¯t want to throw them away, but at the same time he had no way to really store them; keeping them in his inventory was only viable for so long after all. With a sigh he pushed the kernels into the prepared soil anyway. Perhaps he¡¯d get something out of it. He then bundled up what remained of the Life Tainted and Water Tainted stalks, and took them down to the storm cellar. MAG - Chapter 33 - Edited John sat in the cellar and thought about what he could and couldn¡¯t do. He couldn¡¯t make a plant more complicated than saturated at the moment, speaking of which he didn¡¯t know what the effects of life saturated wheat were. Grabbing one of the few stalks of life saturated wheat he manually extracted a wheatberry and ate it. [Fast Healing (Minor)] John looked at the prompt with pleasant surprise. This was the kind of thing he¡¯d been looking for. He remembered all too well how the game simulated injury and that it didn¡¯t seem to accelerate natural healing at all. This made everyone reliant on magical healing, and was probably why life stones sold so well. However if you could accelerate healing with food items, especially cheap food items, then it¡¯d be a viable out of combat healing method. The only question would be: is it cheaper than a spell or a potion? John was just considering planting an entire field of the saturated wheat, when he realized he¡¯d need to fill the soil with Life Stone dust. While filling a four-inch square with a sprinkling of dust didn¡¯t take a long time, filling an entire field would take quite a while. One cubic inch of Poor quality Mana Stone was worth one thousand two hundred fifty mana, and cost him three and a half minutes. Each field was thirty feet by eighty-five feet¡­ Filling an entire plot with an inch deep of mana dust would cost four hundred fifty-nine million mana and take him just under three years to generate. That was unreasonable, and impossible. Even if he cut it down to a tenth of an inch of dust (which he was certain wouldn¡¯t be enough), it¡¯d still take over three months. Sighing, he leaned back against the wall. He needed more mana, and maybe a way to concentrate specific kinds of mana in one place? Idly he took The Enchanter¡¯s Handbook out of his inventory and checked to see if it had anything on Mana Wells. It did, indeed, cover Mana Wells, unfortunately the runework was entirely beyond him at this point. With a sigh he put the book away and let his eyes wander over the cellar. At this point it felt like his goal was impossibly far out of reach. He¡¯d sunk a hundred and fifty dollars (not including what he¡¯d paid for the headset) into this, and he had basically no return. Worse, he was two months in and, aside from the magic tree, he had no crops worth mentioning. John ran his fingers through his beard as he thought. He should have argued for a year, not six months. As it was, two thirds of his time would be taken up by winter, making it impossible for him to grow any standard plants. He just didn¡¯t have time, he needed an enchanter and an alchemist if he couldn¡¯t do those things himself. Perhaps the knights had an enchanter on hand? How did he go about soliciting their assistance? Who was the appropriate person to speak with? John tugged at his beard in annoyance. With a sigh, he stood and stretched. Sitting down here moping wasn¡¯t going to get him anywhere and he had a couple hours before he needed to log for lunch; he might as well use that time to good effect. Exiting the storage cellar, he moved to the north-eastern part of the wall around his farm. With a few moments of fiddling, he expanded the blueprint for his new barn and placed it abutting the wall itself. He¡¯d be using the eastern half of his claimed land as pasture for his animals, if he ever got any. Between Control earth, Earth to Stone, Create Earth, and his prepared blueprint, it didn¡¯t take him more than an hour to raise the barn. Finished, he looked over the structure critically. It was boxy, being forty feet wide, eighty long, and twelve tall. There were two spaces for barn doors, one facing the pasture land to the east, and one facing the rest of the farm to the west. Both doorways were designed for large barn doors, ten feet in width and eight feet tall. The attached creamery had a doorway to both the interior of the barn and the exterior, so one could get in either way. The interior stalls each had their own window (made of clear quartz), taking up most of the wall behind each stall. The creamery itself had large granite work stations and most of the southern wall was taken up by quartz windows, letting in plenty of light. The hardest part of the design had been the roof. John had worried it would collapse under its own weight, so he¡¯d added support pillars down the length of the center aisle, which seemed to have worked just fine. Once more he¡¯d included plenty of skylights, ensuring that the entire interior was well lit, at least during daytime hours. Nodding to himself, John decided it would do. Now he just needed to put in orders for the doors, and maybe find some more animals. Hopefully ones less aggressive than the chookers. Speaking of, the little terrors had been quiet for a few days, and he wondered if he should be worried. He glanced over at the coop. Even from this distance he could see the drake poking its head out of the flap. It seemed to be examining the ground, and tentatively put one taloned foot out to test it. Seemingly satisfied the chooker strutted out and was followed by the gaggle of hens. Once more the entire flock went over the wall. John sighed and hoped there¡¯d be no more ¡®training exercises¡¯ involving his flock. Since the chookers were out, and John had some time left, he decided it would be a good idea to clean out the coop. Walking over he created a small rock and used it to prop open the door. He then got to work. Using Control and Create water he used a small wave to scour the floor clean and sweep up all the used straw. He swept it out the door and into a floating ball in front of him. He walked the ball of filthy water and straw over to the testing plot and dropped it inside. A few minutes with Decay turned it into a new patch of fertilizer, and he headed toward the storm cellar. He grabbed a bit more straw and hauled it up to the coop where he scattered it once more. Satisfied, he decided it was time for an early lunch. Logging out John immediately took care of his bodily necessities. Then (as usual) he spent the next half hour doing stretches and exercises. Afterward he took out a frozen meal and nuked it, then settled down to eat. As he spooned the mush (which was pretending to be potatoes) into his mouth he considered his problem some more. What could he do to deal with his current problems? Both Alchemy and Enchanting would take twelve days each to reach Journeyman, that was most of a month he really didn¡¯t have. But he needed at least one or the other to progress. He sighed and tried to tug a non-existent beard. Maybe, he considered, I should choose one or the other, I could maybe sacrifice twelve days. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. He considered the choice for a few moments. Alchemy would likely give him better options for growing plants, from elixirs that would increase growth rate or quality, to potions that might enhance or help create magical plants. It was useful and something he¡¯d need¡­ eventually. Enchanting on the other hand would give him the ability to create a Mana Well, which would increase his available mana immensely. In addition, it might actually allow him to create contained environments in his garden beds, which would allow him to grow crops during the cold months, extending his growing time by two months. Thinking of it that way, Enchanting was the clear winner. Nodding to himself, John finished his lackluster meal, and logged back in. John came back to his avatar in the cellar, where he¡¯d left it. The first thing he needed to do was visit town and have Phillip make doors for him. Setting down the road he noted that the chookers hadn¡¯t gone very far this time. He could easily hear them nearby and see the grass move as they ran through it. He was glad they weren¡¯t ranging far, but he wasn¡¯t really glad they were ranging at all. Still, the only alternative was to lock them up, and he expected that would impact the quality of their eggs. Shaking his head, he continued down the road, and soon found himself walking down the main street. The street was¡­ different. There seemed to be a lot more players than normal milling about. In fact the street seemed to be almost packed, making it difficult to navigate without running into someone. John did his best not to run into anyone, but there was a lot of jostling going on anyway. Still, he managed to make it to Phillip¡¯s shop, which was fortunately empty of all but the carpenter himself. ¡°Ah! John, how are you?¡± The small man asked as he sat on a table and whittled at a small piece of wood that was swiftly transforming into a detailed figurine of a horse. ¡°I¡¯m alright,¡± John replied as he glanced out the window at the crowded street. ¡°Any idea what¡¯s going on? That¡¯s a lot of people¡­¡± ¡°Players from the inner empire,¡± Phillip said, as if that explained everything. John pondered that for a moment, and then remembered a conversation he¡¯d had with Loren after he¡¯d first logged in. Hadn¡¯t she said players who started in the core cities would be looking to leave soon enough? It seemed they¡¯d finally made it all the way out the Runic Rock. ¡°Have they been causing any problems?¡± He asked. Phillip paused in his carving to make a so-so gesture. ¡°Some of them are clearly itching for a fight. Others are obviously treating this world like the game you believe it to be. I honestly wouldn¡¯t be surprised if there are more than a few bad apples in this bunch. From what grandma Loren has said, we¡¯ve been relatively lucky in who we got until now.¡± John nodded. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s been surprisingly pleasant, I honestly expected more griefers and player killers.¡± Phillip paused as he looked at John, ¡°I¡¯m not sure what either of those are, but I can guess the last one from context.¡± ¡°Ah, a griefer is someone who,¡± John hesitated, never having had to put the actual meaning into words before. ¡°Someone who¡­ does their best to ruin other people¡¯s fun. Usually that involves destroying things, or doing things purely to upset someone. And a player killer is what it sounds like, someone who kills other players for fun.¡± Phillip nodded and resumed his carving, though he was now frowning. ¡°There are people like that in this world too, we just call them criminals though.¡± John nodded and looked around, a little uncomfortable. The store was as he¡¯d seen it last, filled mostly with functional and sturdy wooden furniture, with a couple of intricately carved display pieces thrown in. ¡°Well enough about that,¡± Phillip said with slightly forced cheer. ¡°What brings you in today? Something interesting I hope?¡± ¡°Oh¡­ uh, not really,¡± John said apologetically. ¡°I actually need doors, four interior doors and three exterior doors, along with two sets of barn doors to fill a pair of ten foot wide and eight feet tall frames.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t suppose I could interest you in some carving work on the barn doors? They do make such a wonderful canvas¡­¡± The little man trailed off hopefully. John hesitated, he didn¡¯t need fancy barn doors, but he was going to pay to have them varnished, so if it didn¡¯t cost much more he could probably safely indulge the carpenter. ¡°Well, I¡¯d like them to be solid like the cellar door I bought from you, the three exterior doors as well. How much is that going to cost to start off?¡± ¡°Well, the exterior doors will cost you a silver each, same as the last one. Interior doors, depends on how solid you want them, the cheapest is just fifteen coppers, but they tend to be flimsy things. I would suggest something like what you bought last time, good and solid, those run fifty coppers. For the barn doors, unadorned but varnished will cost you something like one silver per door, or eight silvers total as you¡¯ll be wanting two upper and two lower doors in each frame.¡± Phillip explained as he put the finishing touches on the miniature horse, which looked quite lifelike. ¡°And how much to make them interesting?¡± John asked. Phillip grinned. ¡°That depends on how interesting you want them! I could do something basic for a few silvers, though the more complicated it gets the more it¡¯ll cost you.¡± John thought about it for a few moments then shrugged and nodded. ¡°Alright, whatever ten silvers will get me on one set of barn doors, the other set will be facing the pasture, so no one will ever see it. Oh, and actually, let¡¯s change one of those interior doors to another exterior, I can swap out the door on the coop so it¡¯s waterproof and use that one as an interior door.¡± ¡°Excellent choice!¡± Phillip said ecstatically. ¡°Do you have a particular theme in mind?¡± ¡°Um¡­ no?¡± John half asked. ¡°True creative freedom! Excellent! I do love it when I¡¯m allowed to work without constraints,¡± Phillip was positively beaming at this point. ¡°I¡¯ll get started immediately, unless there was something else you needed?¡± ¡°No, that was everything,¡± John assured him, feeling slightly bemused. ¡°I¡¯ll see you¡­ in a few days, to pick up the first few doors?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯ll be fine,¡± Phillip assured him. ¡°Alright, see you later then.¡± John said and headed for the door. ¡°Goodbye,¡± Phillip replied, even as he set the horse carving down next to an equally detailed knight. MAG - Chapter 34 - Edited Stepping out of the store John was once more greeted by the now crowded streets. Pushing his way through the crowd he made his way to the road leading out of town and was once more on his way home. As usual it was a short trip back down the road and his farm was soon in sight. However, as he approached, he realized something was wrong. There was a hole in his wall, a fairly substantial one as well. He slowed and looked at the hole, the ground around it was covered in sand, as if someone had pulverized the stone. Stepping carefully through the hole John looked around. Everything seemed fine at first, however as he drew nearer to the house he saw movement through its windows. For a moment he wasn¡¯t sure what to do, then, ducking out of the doorway, came a woman as tall as Axia. She was wearing thin leather armor and had a pair of daggers at her hip. She was also extremely good looking, as were the three men who exited the house after her. John could tell from looking at them that they shared a race; they were in the same height range, same perfectly sculpted physique, and had supernaturally good looks. ¡°Well!¡± said the woman in an exasperated tone. ¡°It took you long enough!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡± John asked, confused as he looked between the four. Two of the men were identical blue-eyed blonds wearing identical leather and cloth outfits, carrying identical rapiers, the other had dark skin and a bald head, he was wearing dark brown robes with a silver trim. The woman had long, bubblegum pink hair and red lacquered nails. ¡°A good start!¡± She said cheerily and the dark man rolled his eyes. ¡°Now, you are John, groundskeeper of the Gateway of Worlds, correct?¡± John looked at the four of them warily. ¡°Yes, and you are?¡± He said even as he shifted slightly away from them. The woman smiled as the bald man waved his hand through the air. There was a pause, and then John heard the cellar door open behind him. Looking over his shoulder he could see two more women exit, one in heavier armor, with a sword on her hip and shield on her back, and the other in flowing white robes. Neither sported outlandish hair colors, being a brunette and a redhead respectively. They also shared the height, perfect form, and good looks of the other four. John looked back to miss bubblegum, his stomach sinking. ¡°Oh good, we¡¯re all here. I¡¯m Mageslaya, the twins are Da Capo and Coda, don¡¯t ask who is who, because I don¡¯t know. Our mage friend here,¡± she pointed to the bald man, ¡°is Shinespark, and the two lovely ladies behind you are Zena, our lovely warrior princess, and last but certainly not least, Healz4Pay, or just Healz for short.¡± ¡°Now that we¡¯ve all been introduced, hopefully this will go swiftly and smoothly.¡± Slaya smiled at John. ¡°Now, mister John the farmer, we find ourselves in need of your assistance. We,¡± she gestured at her cohorts, ¡°have been tasked with taking the Gateway of Worlds for our patron.¡± John looked at the woman, and then glanced at the rest of her posse. ¡°So, what¡­ you want me to give you the Gateway of Worlds?¡± he asked finally. Slaya beamed at him. ¡°Exactly! I¡¯m glad we¡¯re on the same page. All you need to do is transfer your claim to us and we¡¯ll be on our way. Easy as that.¡± ¡°Easy as that?¡± John asked, perplexed. ¡°Yep! Easy as that,¡± she said with a smile. ¡°And what do I get out of this?¡± John asked. ¡°Well, to begin with, we won¡¯t burn all your crops and tear down your farm around your ears.¡± She replied cheerfully. ¡°So, your plan is to coerce me by force?¡± he asked incredulously. ¡°By any means necessary, really,¡± Slaya said more seriously. ¡°If I thought it¡¯d do any good, I¡¯d invite you to our guild. You¡¯d have to rebuild your character as a Titan of course, but we¡¯d happily help you get a solid set of levels under your belt. That said, from what I hear that¡¯s not an option for you is it?¡± Her eyes flicked around the farm. ¡°Word is you¡¯re on a bit of a timer out here, and I¡¯d bet we can wait you out. How long, I wonder, will it take you to give up?¡± John gave her a sour look, then glanced at the other titans, they had varying expressions of boredom. His gaze returned to the woman with the pink hair. ¡°So, to clarify, you¡¯re going to grief me until I give you what you want?¡± ¡°That¡¯s about the long and short of it. Unless you¡¯ve got some other deal you¡¯d like to propose?¡± She asked. ¡°I mean, unless you¡¯re going to offer me a lot of money the answer is going to be no,¡± he replied. Slaya paused and seemed to consider. ¡°How much are we talking, I could maybe swing a couple hundred.¡± John snorted. ¡°This is a one of a kind, unique, never before seen tree. I¡¯d be hesitant to part with it for several thousand.¡± The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Tree? What tree? We¡¯re talking about the shrine,¡± the woman said, beginning to sound annoyed. ¡°The shrine is there because the tree is there,¡± John informed her. ¡°The Gateway of Worlds only exists because it¡¯s built around a unique tree.¡± Slaya squinted at him then glanced in the direction of the shrine. ¡°Seriously? Well, I guess it doesn¡¯t change much. We still need the shrine, and we definitely can¡¯t swing several thousand. Which I guess puts us back at square one, sorry.¡± She said in an almost apologetic fashion. ¡°Then it appears we¡¯re at an impasse, because I¡¯m not giving up the shrine,¡± John stated firmly. She shrugged. ¡°Then we¡¯ll just have to get you to change your mind. Alright folks! Plan B it is!¡± she said, clearly to her compatriots. A wand appeared in Shine¡¯s hand and both the blonds drew their rapiers, similarly John could hear the sound of a sword leaving its sheath behind him. He glanced back, to see Zena slowly advancing, then sucked in a sudden gasp of air as two lines of fire cut their way across his side and arm. He looked back in time to see the twins retreating from a lunge. Looking down he could see they¡¯d scored two long gashes on him, and even managed to cut the puncture resistant tunic. John scowled, the pain wasn¡¯t that bad, it didn¡¯t hurt nearly as much as it should, but it was still enough to be distracting. He wanted to back up, but the woman with the sword was behind him. The twins smirked at him, Slaya shrugged at him, and Shine was slowly turning his house to sand. Taking a deep breath John ignored the pain and started to aspect his mana toward fire. He wasn¡¯t going to go down without a fight, even if he knew he was going to go down in the end. He watched the twins for a moment, and then twisted to see Zena once more, and then he gestured with his hand, releasing his first spell of the fight. Flame blossomed from him, radiating like a small nova. John felt a small moment of satisfaction as he heard the blond men yelp in pain. They had obviously been coming in for another lunge, as he¡¯d expected them to. The armored woman came to a halt and backed up slightly. John looked at the twins, they were scowling and one seemed to have a burned hand. Slaya looked mildly interested. Still radiating fire, John did a full turn and examined his target. In an enemy group you always singled out one person first, the healer. Fortunately this group had color coordinated, and named, theirs. Healz had already brought up her hands, and John could see the mana coalescing in front of her, forming some sort of shield. That was fine, he wasn¡¯t going to shoot anything at her. He made another gesture, channeling some of his pure mana, and the earth below her exploded as nearly a ton rose up and smote her. There was some strain from maintaining his flame shield and casting another spell at the same time, but he¡¯d endured worse before. The brunette swore and stepped in towards John, who brought up one hand and used Control Flame to grab the corona around him and flare it outward. Her shield came up and glowed faintly blue as the fire was drawn to it like a magnet. The flame splashed against the surface and seemed to dissipate. John frowned, then inhaled suddenly as two lines of pain etched themselves across his back. He turned quickly to see the twins, both faintly outlined in red as they drew back. The two were also chanting in low, rhythmic tones and the glow around them pulsed in time to whatever they were singing. Obviously, they had used something that would protect them from fire. But that was fine, he had two other elements to choose from. As he began to raise his hand to cast another spell something ran into the back of his knee, and then his head, forcing him to the ground. John dropped the fire spell and rolled over to see Zena standing above him, her sword falling swiftly. With a thought and a gesture he brought up a slab of earth to interpose the strike, he then kept it going and pushed it up against her, forcing the woman to step back. Two more painful strikes came from the twins as he was dealing with the brunette. For the first time since the fight started, Slaya moved. She was fast, fast enough John couldn¡¯t see much but a blur as she moved forward and stabbed both her daggers at his belly. They barely penetrated but the pain was on a whole different level. He gasped and brought a hand up, calling on Control Earth once more. Nothing happened. ¡°Sorry John, but I think we¡¯re done with the magical portion of this event,¡± she said as she stood, ripping the blades out of his abdomen, then backing off almost as fast as she¡¯d pounced. ¡°See you after respawn, yeah?¡± ¡°What-¡± John began but was interrupted as Zena swung her sword downward once more. Swiftly he brought up his arm to block. There was a meaty thwack and a reverberation he felt through his whole arm as the sword bounced off bone. Zena grunted. ¡°What the hell are you made of? Did you drop all your points in constitution?¡± The woman complained even as she drew back her arm for another swing. John wasn¡¯t sure what to do, he couldn¡¯t feel his mana anymore and he wasn¡¯t carrying any weapons. The sword came down and John rolled, to his right, doing his best to get out of the way and up off the ground. Unfortunately, his lack of dexterity was making itself known, and his injured arm wasn¡¯t responding right. Rather than springing to his feet he made it to his hands and knees. A pointed metal boot buried itself in his gut as Zena did her best imitation of a kick off. John oofed as the air was forcefully expelled from his lungs and he was thrown to the ground once more. He could hear the twins raising their voices once more, this time in a wordless song. He could see the mana swirling around him, pulsing to the rhythm of their song. He felt it as the mana pressed down on him, slowing him further and trying to secure him to the ground. He pushed against it, and made some headway, forcing himself up to a sitting position, only to receive another boot, to the face this time. It was a testament to his constitution that the full force kick didn¡¯t break anything; however, he could feel teeth loosen in their sockets and blood poured from his nose. Fortunately, or unfortunately, that state of affairs didn¡¯t last long. John¡¯s eyes came into focus just in time to see the sword descending toward his neck. He tried to get another arm up and twist out of the way, but the mana holding him down made the actions too slow and too late. The blade parted the skin of his neck in a spray of blood, though it stopped short of his spine. Zena retracted the blade and stepped away, leaving him to bleed out. John clutched futilely at his neck as the blood pumped itself out. He gasped for breath that would do him no good, and then struggled to sit or move. Unfortunately none of these actions had a beneficial effect, and darkness swiftly encroached until finally his vision went dark and a few lines of text flashed before his eyes. [You Have Died.] [You have dropped 3 gold, 5 silvers, 25 coppers.] [You have dropped your Belt Knife.] [You have dropped your Battered Amulet.] [You have dropped 2 Tiny Poor Raw Mana Stones.] MAG - Chapter 35 - Edited John found himself standing in the square of Runic Rock, looking around at the players nearby. He felt¡­ Fine, actually. A little disoriented, but other than that he felt fine. He peered around, confused. A moment ago he was certain he¡¯d been feeling fear and anxiety over the fact that his throat was cut. Now¡­ it just didn¡¯t matter, it was like it had happened to someone else, or had been part of a movie he¡¯d watched. ¡°John?¡± came Grandma Loren¡¯s voice. John turned around to see her sitting in her usual spot by the rock. It appeared that he¡¯d respawned in the same place he¡¯d originally logged in at. ¡°John, what happened?¡± Loren sounded concerned and was looking at him intently. John looked down. His shirt was in tatters from all the slices and holes it¡¯d accumulated, not to mention the rather large blood stain around the collar and the minor stains around each gash. So much for his expensive, puncture resistant attire. ¡°I was attacked.¡± He said after a moment, still feeling a bit confused. Loren frowned at him. ¡°Yes, I can see that!¡± she said, sounding exasperated. ¡°Who attacked you, and why?¡± ¡°It was¡­ some group of titans, they want me to cede the Gateway of Worlds to them. They¡­¡± he paused, his mind clearing. ¡°They¡¯re tearing apart my farm!¡± He said in anger and annoyance, causing more than a few of the milling crowd to turn and look at him. Loren¡¯s frown deepened and the book she was holding disappeared from her hand, her cane taking its place. ¡°Titans you say? Six of them total, right? Three men and women? I knew they were trouble when they started asking questions.¡± She bent forward, placing the end of her cane on the ground and leaning on it. ¡°So, what are you going to do?¡± She asked. ¡°I¡­¡± He looked around, fists clenching in anger. It hadn¡¯t really sunk in, until they¡¯d started attacking him, that this was really happening; then it¡¯d been too late to really take stock of how he felt. But yeah, he was angry. He was also starting to feel despair as well. There was no way he could stop them on his own. Even if he could, how would he keep them from returning? ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± He said finally. ¡°Well, let¡¯s stop and think about your options,¡± Loren said and patted the seat next to her. With a sigh John trudged over and sat down, slumping against the rock the bench surrounded. ¡°There¡¯s not a lot of options. I can¡¯t defeat them. Even if I could, how would I stop them from returning? They¡¯ll respawn just like I do, you probably already saw one of them, a redhead in white robes.¡± John said, despondently. ¡°Yes, I saw her. Now John, why are you approaching this as if you¡¯re alone?¡± She asked him, not unkindly. John looked at her for a moment, then shrugged. ¡°Because I am? I could maybe pay Ex and Sally to help me, but it¡¯d still be three on six. Worse, I¡¯m not really a fighter, I caught them by surprise and even that wasn¡¯t enough to do more than kill one of them and lightly wound another.¡± ¡°Hmmm, and where are the Knights in all of this?¡± Loren asked as she leaned more heavily on her cane. ¡°Dunno, they didn¡¯t show up to help, so I guess they¡¯ve decided they don¡¯t need, or want, to protect me,¡± John said with a hint of bitterness. ¡°Possible, but it could just as easily be that they didn¡¯t notice immediately. Perhaps you should ask?¡± she said. John¡¯s shoulders rose in a noncommittal shrug. ¡°Maybe, but even if they protect my farm, are they going to protect me when I go to town? They can¡¯t watch me all the time, and if they did it¡¯d win me no friends. The squires already hate me and the knights themselves don¡¯t seem to like me much more,¡± he all but complained. ¡°I just don¡¯t know what to do. I have only four months left and they¡¯re literally destroying everything I own.¡± ¡°Well, you¡¯ve already done the first thing. You¡¯ve talked to me about it, and I¡¯ll be sure to pass it on. We don¡¯t have anything as formal as a jail or a group of soldiers or guards to protect us. But we don¡¯t take kindly to those who don¡¯t follow the law, and just because you get up after dying doesn¡¯t mean you weren¡¯t murdered. By tomorrow they won¡¯t find a single person in town who¡¯s willing to deal with them, aside from other players.¡± She said sternly, her face set in unforgiving lines. ¡°Next, we¡¯re going to go have a discussion with Knight Commander First Class Helen.¡± Loren used her cane to lever herself to her feet and John quickly followed her. ¡°Er¡­ I can talk to her myself; you don¡¯t need to walk all the way out there¡­¡± John said, unsure as he watched her shuffle forward. ¡°First, that¡¯s rude, I can decide how far I¡¯m able to walk all on my own, thank you. Been doing it for years, if you must know. Second, who said anything about walking anywhere?¡± she said with a mild cackle and brought the tip of her cane down on the hard packed dirt. John watched in fascination as a new, complex weave took shape at the point of impact. He could see hints of Control Earth, along with Control¡­ something he recognized, and other parts of the design were just as foreign and unfamiliar. As he watched a ripple of magic burst from the pattern to encompass Loren and himself. Then the world moved around them. After a moment of disorientation, John realized the world wasn¡¯t moving, they were. Loren had ripped a hemisphere of hard packed dirt out of the road, and they were standing atop it as it flew through the air. He looked out amazed as the world began to swiftly pass them by. There was no sensation of movement, nor any variation in air speed or temperature, it was as if they were standing in place. In mere moments they had passed the outskirts of the town and were racing down the road at speeds that put a galloping horse to shame. They quickly came up on, and then passed Healz, who was trudging her way back toward the farm and her companions. As the farm came into sight John could see trails of smoke coming up from the garden beds; apparently they had made good on their promise to burn his crops. Further, his house was more than half demolished, leaving nothing but a large pile of fine sand. Loren made a tut sound and the flying platform swerved, heading toward the knights¡¯ compound. They floated over the compound for a moment as people streamed out of the barracks and off the training grounds to confront the old woman and young man who were invading their air space. Slowly Loren lowered the platform until it touched the ground, where its bottom flattened out and the front half turned itself into four shallow, long steps. The barrier around them disappeared and she stepped down onto the hard packed dirt. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°I believe I am looking for Knight Commander First Class Helen of High Vale,¡± Loren began, her head swiveling to take in the knights and squires, many of whom were armed and wary. ¡°Look lady,¡± began the same elf who¡¯d let John in last time, ¡°I don¡¯t know who you think you are but you can¡¯t just come barging-¡± he cut off suddenly as Axia¡¯s large hand came down on his shoulder. ¡°That¡¯s enough,¡± the big man rumbled, he then gave Loren a long, penetrating look before he dipped his head ever so slightly. ¡°Commander Helen asks that you both please join her in her office for a discussion. Elenia,¡± he said, indicating one of the squires, a young halfling woman. ¡°Please show our guests the way.¡± ¡°Yes sir!¡± Elenia replied cheerily, gave a small salute, and then waved for the two to follow her as she started in toward one of the smaller buildings. Both Loren and John followed after her, and John was surprised to see that there was no sign of Loren¡¯s usual shuffling gait. In fact, it seemed she barely needed the cane at all as she kept pace with the younger woman. John glanced around as they walked and noticed more than a few hostile stares as they passed the crowd of squires and knights. However, they were soon at the entrance to, what John assumed were, the offices. Entering they made their way through the entry room to a door directly opposite from the entrance where Elenia knocked sharply. ¡°Enter,¡± came the voice of Helen, muffled by the door. Elenia opened the door and saluted. ¡°John and Guest to see you Commander,¡± she said formally. ¡°Excellent, send them in and then please return to your training.¡± Helen commanded. Elenia gestured them into the room and John followed Loren into the spacious office. The room wasn¡¯t overly large, however it felt big given the lack of adornment, containing only Helen¡¯s desk, a bookshelf filled with ledgers, and a small table with an arrangement of knickknacks on it. ¡°Please be seated, Loren, John,¡± Helen said, gesturing to the seats, one of which already held Loren. ¡°Now I¡¯m sure you¡¯re here about the unpleasantness occurring next door,¡± Helen began after John had seated himself. ¡°Oooh, ¡®Unpleasantness¡¯ is that what we¡¯re calling murder and pillage now?¡± Loren said derisively. ¡°Technically it¡¯s only claimed land, not actual property, and the owner has to show he can defend it from all comers, not just the local wildlife,¡± Helen rebutted as she folded her hands on the desk in front of her. ¡°Normally his claim would have evaporated with his death, however as all the players do, he has returned to life, complicating the matter. Technically he can still defend his claim, thus it has not yet been forfeited.¡± Loren made a rude noise. ¡°A mere technicality, and one below you. It also doesn¡¯t explain why you, a Knight Magi, allowed it to happen,¡± she said as she tapped her fingers on the chair arm. ¡°No, it doesn¡¯t,¡± Helen said calmly. There was a moment of silence as the two women looked at each other. ¡°So?¡± Loren said finally. ¡°It wasn¡¯t reported until after John was dead,¡± Helen said softly. Loren gave a start, her face contorting in anger. ¡°Wasn¡¯t reported?¡± she asked, and her voice held a note of rage John had never heard from her before. Helen nodded. ¡°Just so. The knight who finally reported it¡­ was conflicted. It seems that the knight she was on duty with attempted to coerce her into leaving it be. In the end she chose not to, however by then it was too late to do anything about the fight.¡± ¡°But why haven¡¯t you stopped them now?¡± John asked, more worried about what was left of his farm than who or why of what had happened. ¡°Axia was about to take care of it when you arrived. I suspect it¡¯s already over,¡± Helen replied. ¡°John,¡± Loren said, still looking at Helen. ¡°Go see to your farm. The Commander and I have to speak about a few things.¡± John looked at her uncertainly. She was sitting ramrod straight and something in her eyes and posture spoke to someone with authority. He looked back to Helen, who¡¯s own aura of command seemed a pale intimidation. The catkin woman nodded to him and he slowly rose, leaving the room. Once outside he walked through the entry room and back out into the yard. There didn¡¯t appear to be anyone waiting for him so he made his own way to the open gate. Walking out he bobbed his head to the knights who were guarding it. They made no move to return the courtesy. A short walk later and he was at his farm where he found Axia standing next to the large sandy mound where his house had been. ¡°Ah, you¡¯ve finished with your meeting, I see,¡± the large man rumbled. John looked around. There were several dark stains on the ground, only one of which he could identify as his own. Nearby was the pit that formed when he blasted Healz, with several scattered heaps of dirt haphazardly piled in the nearby area. Then there was his house. By the look of it, he was fortunate. It seemed they had only collapsed the first floor, leaving the basement untouched. John gave a heavy sigh. ¡°I guess¡­ I should start rebuilding.¡± He said, almost despondently. ¡°It could have been worse,¡± the big man said. ¡°You had what, basic wheat and berries? You were never going to make a living off those.¡± John nodded, it stung, but the titan was right. What could he do though? He had only four months left, and two of those were winter months. He might be able to build a greenhouse and grow some plants that way. ¡°I just¡­ Don¡¯t know what to do.¡± He said finally. ¡°Prepare new fields and plant cash crops,¡± Axia said without preamble. ¡°You want alchemical ingredients and magical reagents, though oftentimes those are the same thing. Even a common quality crop will bring in some gold. Also, don¡¯t neglect existing resources. You¡¯ve done well using the dungeon to help further your work, but the Knights Magi aren¡¯t just good for hitting things and building roads. We have enchanters, ritualists, and alchemists as well. You could easily hire someone to Enchant those gardens of yours, create alchemical concoctions to enrich the soil, or even craft a ritual to enhance crop growth.¡± John considered Axia¡¯s words for a few moments, then said reluctantly, ¡°I had considered asking if you had any enchanters, but I wasn¡¯t sure they¡¯d be willing to work with me if I did.¡± Axia rumbled in anger, and at first John thought it might be directed at him, though he saw no reason why it would be, then Axia spoke. ¡°Our order has not been kind toward you, and for that I apologize. I also apologize for letting it go as far as it did. The squires are one thing, most of them are noble brats who don¡¯t know any better, and eventually the bad ones will be weeded out. But the knights themselves? They are expected to adhere to a higher standard. To have fallen so far shows a distinct lack of character that cannot be tolerated.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± John said after a few moments of silence. ¡°Though I¡¯m still not sure I would trust the few knights I¡¯ve met to do their best. Before now I wouldn¡¯t have even considered the idea of them leaving malicious surprises either, but¡­ All of this,¡± he gestured at his farm, then his blood-stained shirt. ¡°Feels pretty malicious.¡± Axia was quiet for a long moment. ¡°I understand,¡± he said softly, then turned to leave. MAG - Chapter 36 - Edited After Axia left, John got to work. He began by rebuilding his house, an easy enough task given that he still had the blueprint for it. That finished he went and checked his cellar. Most everything was still there, though someone had clearly gone through his things. Fortunately it seemed they weren¡¯t interested in his farming equipment, nor the short sword or armor he¡¯d spawned with. Assured that nothing important was missing he walked back up the stairs and sat on a bench he conjured outside his house. Axia had been right about focusing on in-demand crops, he just needed to figure out what those were. He then needed to prepare more garden plots. While his new crop was growing he could dedicate himself to learning Enchanting. Hopefully by the end of the month he¡¯d have a Journeyman ranking under his belt and could build his own Mana Well. As he contemplated, he saw Grandma Loren come through the hole in his wall. She walked slowly toward him, her gait no longer that of a simple old woman. Where once she had shuffled, now she strode. She walked over and, without waiting for invitation, sat on the bench next to him with a weary sigh. ¡°I spoke with Commander Helen,¡± she said after making herself comfortable. ¡°Your farm will be watched, and you¡¯ll be protected if threatened. There¡¯s not much they can do for you if you leave the farm, but it¡¯s better than nothing.¡± John looked at the elderly woman and considered for a few moments. ¡°You¡¯re not really a scholar, are you?¡± he asked finally. Loren gave him a sad smile. ¡°As a profession? No, not really.¡± She sighed heavily. ¡°But what, and who, I am is more complicated than I care to get into right now. I¡¯d much prefer to just stay old Grandma Loren. But¡­ needs must, and I¡¯m afraid these needs are great. I¡¯ve neglected things too long, and now problems have arisen that need to be dealt with.¡± John looked at her for a few moments, then looked away. ¡°You¡¯re leaving, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be a few days yet, but yes; and I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s not going to be a short trip either,¡± she admitted sadly. John wasn¡¯t sure how to feel. It¡¯s not like the old woman was family to him, but she¡¯d been the first to greet him when he logged in, and a valuable source of help and information. At the very least he would classify her as a friend. He looked down at the ground, contemplatively, this may be his last chance to speak to her. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I can succeed,¡± he said finally. Loren looked out over his farm for several silent moments, then spoke. ¡°Sometimes, try as hard as we might, we fall short of our hopes and desires. That said, I wouldn¡¯t give up yet. You¡¯ve got two months of growing time left, though it¡¯ll be cutting it close. And a greenhouse or Heat Ward could see you through the two months of winter you have after that. But you¡¯re going to have to grow something other than wheat, corn, or berries.¡± ¡°Axia made a similar suggestion about crops, but I¡¯m not sure what to do. I succeeded in making a magical plant, but it requires soil saturated with Mana Dust to grow, and I just can¡¯t make that much.¡± John said. ¡°Mana dust?¡± asked Loren. ¡°Mana Stone but made into fine sand,¡± he explained. ¡°You grew plants in soil tainted with Mana Stone?¡± She sounded intrigued. ¡°What were the results?¡± ¡°Life Tainted Wheat, but that was only the first few generations. Then I infused the kernels with life magic and it became Life Saturated Wheat. I tried infusing the kernels again after that, but the soil felt wrong for the resulting seeds; I planted them anyway, but didn¡¯t see any results. I was going to grow a whole plot of life saturated wheat but it¡¯d take me something like a year to make that much mana,¡± Loren made a thoughtful noise. ¡°Life saturated plants aren¡¯t unheard of, though they usually grow only in areas of highly concentrated life mana. You can simulate such environments with several layers of wards and a Mana Well. I don¡¯t think anyone has tried crushing up Mana Stones for the endeavor though. Then again, most farmers can¡¯t make their own.¡± She seemed to ponder the idea for a moment more. ¡°I can see how it might be a better choice though. Instead of constantly feeding the enchantments power you could get it all over with at once. You¡¯d need quite a large Mana Well to supply you with the initial cost though, or a very good one I suppose.¡± ¡°The initial cost for one of my regular plots is around four hundred fifty-nine million mana,¡± John said dryly. ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s in anyone¡¯s budget. It probably costs more than just concentrating life mana in an area.¡± ¡°You might be right at that,¡± Loren acquiesced. ¡°Then again, you might be overestimating how much you need. I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anyone out there who could tell you the proper soil to mana stone ratio.¡± John nodded, it was a fair point. They lapsed into silence again until Loren finally stood with a sigh. She looked old once more. ¡°Alright, I have to go put the road in town back together, and you need to get started on fixing this mess,¡± she said. ¡°Grandma Loren?¡± John said, and she turned toward him. ¡°Thanks for helping me,¡± he said with sincere gratitude. ¡°It was my pleasure John,¡± she responded with her own sincerity. ¡°Now, when I come back I expect to see a fully-fledged farm!¡± She waved her cane at him menacingly. ¡°Or else!¡± John smiled. ¡°You got it.¡± Loren nodded, then walked back toward the knights¡¯ compound. John watched her go for a few minutes, then opened the Auction. He quickly navigated to see seeds and plants. Axia had suggested cash crops, so he started taking note of what was going for high prices. There were lots of plants that seemed to be flagged for alchemical use, but many of them seemed to be magical, and he couldn¡¯t imagine that his farm (as it currently was) could support those kinds of plants. However, there were a few that were more mundane that he assumed would be used in low level potions. The problem was that he had no idea what to buy, where to plant it, how to plant it, or how to care for it. The farming skill would help with some of that, but only while actually planting the plants. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Running his fingers through his beard he did a quick search combining the tags alchemy and farming. To his surprise several books came up, but only one of them caught his eye. The Basics of Alchemical Farming seemed to be exactly what he was looking for, however it was a full gold to purchase; obviously someone was re-selling things at a hefty markup. Still, John wasn¡¯t hurting for gold right now so he purchased the book and was soon holding a slim volume. Leafing through the book John found that it contained information on dozens of commonly grown alchemical herbs. Many of them needed specific environmental factors to improve their quality or even grow at all; environmental factors he currently couldn¡¯t replicate, as he¡¯d already surmised. However, he did find several options, and one in particular jumped out at him. Alchemist¡¯s Sponge (a large, flowering herb) was a plant used in every alchemical recipe. When distilled, the sap from the plant absorbed magical energy like, well, a sponge, and helped different types of energy bind together. John considered it, the book had a pricing guide, and it indicated that Alchemist¡¯s Sponge was actually very cheap, probably because it was so easy to grow and in such demand. That said, it was required in massive quantities by most alchemists, as it apparently only distilled down into an ounce of liquid per quality ranking. This, combined with the fact that it could be planted just about anywhere, meant it would be quite easy for him to farm, and possibly bring in some cash; actual cash, if he could get the quality high enough. The more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea. Every player who wanted to be an alchemist would be buying the herb in bulk, and despite the low price (only a silver per pound) the cost would add up quickly. According to the book, the plant produced one pound (and thus one ounce) of usable material per quality ranking above Trash. Depending on the potion you were making, the number of ounces required ranged from one to eight. John considered for a long moment, then decided that he¡¯d plant a few beds of alchemist¡¯s sponge. While adventuring players might be able to afford the exorbitant cost of Mana Stones, crafters in games were always famously in need of supplies as crafting rarely showed a return in the early days. Surely if he sold multiple pounds for a low price, say ten pounds a dollar, he¡¯d entice some of those players to purchase. After all, that same dollar only became a single silver in game. Standing, John stretched and looked around. The chookers were coming in through the fence hole, and he could see Kodi cautiously following along behind them. The drake was giving the ursakin the side eye and chooking menacingly. Standing, John decided he¡¯d deal with the chookers, and then take an early evening. A half hour later John had received his shipment of dead rodents from Kodi along with another twenty urns of Herb Slime. He¡¯d fed the chookers, replaced their water, and then logged out. Now he was laying in his bed staring at the ceiling. Despite having a plan he still felt despondent as doubts plagued him. What if people wouldn¡¯t buy the herbs for money? What if someone destroyed his farm again? What if he couldn¡¯t grow enough crops? What if, what if, what if? He let out a long sigh and stood up, then proceeded to perform his nightly routine. Once finished with that he wandered out toward the kitchenette where he found his father already halfway through a meal of his own. ¡°Ah, the sleeper awakens!¡± Derrick said. ¡°Most of the time you¡¯re still in game well after I go to bed. And by ¡®most¡¯ I mean ¡®all¡¯.¡± His tone was light, but John could hear an undercurrent of worry. John shrugged as he got out his own meal. ¡°I didn¡¯t get the option to purchase pre-cleared land like I¡¯d hoped. So, I¡¯ve had to do everything myself. It¡¯s taken more effort than I¡¯d care to admit, and that doesn¡¯t even involve what happened today.¡± He said, slightly glumly. ¡°What happened?¡± His father asked, sounding genuinely curious. ¡°Someone burned my crops and destroyed one of my buildings, all because I wouldn¡¯t give up something they wanted,¡± He explained. Derrick made a contemplative noise. ¡°Honestly, if that¡¯s the worst that¡¯s happened so far, you¡¯re lucky. I would have expected that you¡¯d need to be fending off griefers and player killers from day one.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve¡­ actually we¡¯ve been pretty good about not getting that kind of person out where I am. Or maybe I¡¯m just not interesting enough for them to bother with. Until recently it was an hour long walk from town to reach me, so I can¡¯t imagine there was much incentive to make the trip.¡± John explained. Derrick nodded and ate another bite of his pre-packaged meal. He chewed for a few moments, then swallowed. ¡°So they burned your crops,¡± he said. ¡°What are you doing next, I don¡¯t imagine you¡¯re giving up with four months left?¡± John shook his head. ¡°I¡­ there¡¯s a group that¡¯s willing to protect my farm from further attacks, and I¡¯m going to try and plant a crop I can sell for cash. Then I need to figure out some other things. I need to figure out enchanting so that I can change parts of my farm to environments that¡¯ll better suit certain types of crops; but that¡¯s going to take at least twelve days of work all on its own, that¡¯s without interruptions,¡± he explained as he popped his own meal into the microwave. ¡°So you¡¯re in the ¡®raise your skills manually and hoard your points¡¯ camp?¡± his father asked. John gave him a curious look and Derrick chuckled. ¡°Just because I don¡¯t play games anymore doesn¡¯t mean I forgot how forums work.¡± John gave a nod. ¡°It¡¯s what one of the NPCs I know suggested, so I¡¯ve stuck with it. I managed to eke out six feats, so it¡¯s working pretty well for me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s pretty good, almost amazing really; the average for the first wave players is around one from what I¡¯ve read. What level are you now?¡± Derrick asked. ¡°Still level six, I was hoping to increase it after my next harvest but¡­¡± John trailed off and shrugged. ¡°But some people can¡¯t be happy without ruining things for everyone else,¡± Derrick finished for him. John just nodded and took his now heated meal out of the microwave. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll be honest, two months without any return isn¡¯t looking good, especially with the amount of time you¡¯ve been putting into it. So I hope this new venture pans out. And hey, try to find some time to do something other than work, okay? I can tell you from personal experience that you¡¯re going to burn out at this rate, so take the time to do, or learn, something fun. Delve a dungeon, go on an adventure, take a few days off. I know you have a deadline, and it seems like you¡¯ve got to push to get everything done, but you still need to take time for you. Got it?¡± Derrick asked, looking at his son intently. John nodded. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve got it. I¡¯ll try not to burn myself out.¡± ¡°Do or do not, there is no try,¡± Derrick said in a truly horrendous imitation of Yoda. ¡°Yoda was senile! That sentence doesn¡¯t even make sense! You can¡¯t do something without trying it!¡± John responded in good humor as his father laughed. MAG - Chapter 37 - Edited John logged in to darkness and the sound of heavy rainfall. Sighing he navigated to the doorway by light of a conjured flame. Walking up the steps the sound of pounding rain became clearer, and John realized this wasn¡¯t just a normal spat. Slowly he pushed open the door to the cellar to be greeted by near torrential downpour. With a quick effort of will he shaped a stone umbrella above himself, but by that time he was already soaked so it merely served to keep his light source from sputtering. Stepping out of the cellar he kicked the door closed behind himself and began trudging through the already thick mud toward the Ritual of Cleansing where he collected all the cleaned bodies and started his trek toward the Gateway of Worlds. As he approached he saw a large form in the rain, a few steps more and it resolved into the figure of Axia. He stood calmly outside the henge, looking completely unperturbed by the weather. John stopped short of the large man. ¡°Good morning?¡± he asked tentatively. ¡°Good morning,¡± Axia replied. ¡°Where are the normal guards?¡± John asked, perplexed. ¡°Surely you don¡¯t think we¡¯d let the knights we brought with us continue such important duties when they failed to help in a task as simple as defeating some bandits?¡± the big man questioned back. John paused and thought about it. It made sense, if they couldn¡¯t be trusted to do one duty, how could they be trusted to do another? But weren¡¯t there only three senior officers? They couldn¡¯t possibly cover everything on their own, could they? Something was wrong with that thought, and then he remembered, there had been five senior officers; he just hadn¡¯t met the other two. ¡°It¡¯s not yours to worry about, John,¡± Axia rumbled, not unkindly, as the moments stretched on. ¡°It¡¯s not the first time I¡¯ve sat sentry duty, and it won¡¯t be the last. Commander Helen and Knight Tet have both suffered such indignities as well, and are perfectly capable. In a few days more knights will arrive to take the place of those who will be leaving.¡± John nodded his head, a little uncertainly. ¡°Right, alright. I¡¯m going to go sit with the tree then.¡± He gestured toward where the tree sat in the interior of the henge, now visible over the wall he¡¯d placed to protect it from the rabbits what seemed like ages ago. Axia nodded in return, then returned his gaze to the rain shrouded land around them. Stepping into the henge John shaped a bench in the wall for him to sit on and attached his rain shield above it, he then made contact with the tree. He felt his mana pouring into the sedate flow of the nearly six-foot sapling. Rapidly his power was swallowed up and he felt as it flowed through the tree to the ten fruits it had created. Looking at them he could see that they¡¯d started to take on the coloration of the flowers that had birthed them. One white, two blue, three yellow, and four red. The fruits were small yet, but he could tell they¡¯d be ready within a few days at the latest. As he sat connected to the tree, he started taking out bodies and dumping them inside the wall. Once he had them piled up he brought his second hand up and started casting Decay. For the next five hours he just sat there, alternating between feeding the tree mana and decaying the bodies. By the time he was done he had a large pile of rich, smelly mulch and had, for some reason, gained another point in Constitution. Now, of course, came the hard part. He needed to mix the new fertilizer in with the old dirt around the roots of the tree. Carefully he connected with the tree once more, letting his mind teeter on the edge of being subsumed. He could feel the tree, and trace the flows of mana through it, and through those flows he could see what he wanted, where the roots were. Splitting his attention even further he used Control Earth to carefully clamp down on roots as he moved the dirt around them. Over the course of the next hour he mixed in the fertilizer with what felt like agonizing slowness. The tree was vaguely uncomfortable with the treatment, however it remained unharmed by the time he was finished. Sighing and standing he whacked his head on the rain shield and, being thrown off balance more than hurt, was forced to sit back down. Giving an exasperated sigh John detached his shield, stood, and reformed the wall as he exited the shrine. Giving a nod to Axia in passing, he slogged back toward the farm. As he got closer he saw a very wet looking catkin and wolfkin taking advantage of the roofed table he¡¯d built near the coop. ¡°You¡¯re late!¡± Callie complained. ¡°Sorry,¡± John responded as he stopped in front of the duo. ¡°We have been here for almost two hours!¡± Callie continued. John winced. ¡°Sorry, I was fertilizing a tree,¡± he said by way of explanation. ¡°That the ¡®magic tree¡¯ people are saying you¡¯ve got out here?¡± Ash asked, far less vexed sounding than his partner. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s growth is being magically accelerated, so it needs to be fertilized more regularly. I¡¯m really sorry for the delay, but I swear it was important.¡± Ash shrugged, ¡°It¡¯s fine, we don¡¯t have another dungeon slot until tomorrow anyway, so it¡¯s not like there¡¯s much to do around here right now. Honestly, we¡¯d have probably just logged off if we weren¡¯t waiting for you.¡± ¡°What do you mean by ¡®slot¡¯?¡± John asked even as he took out ten coppers and handed them over in exchange for the two bodies, hoping the extra cash would alleviate their anger. ¡°Ugh, ever since the new people started showing up from the rest of the empire, we¡¯ve had to go to an actual dungeon schedule,¡± Callie complained. ¡°The dungeon can only instance itself so many times, something like three or four times per floor it has or something like that. So now there¡¯s a big schedule and you have to put your name down ahead of time to get in.¡± The catkin woman sounded frustrated and annoyed and her tail was lashing all over the place. John frowned. ¡°That sucks, but don¡¯t you guys have anything else you can do? Maybe take up one of the crafting skills?¡± ¡°I mean, I¡¯d love to, but the only crafts folk in town are the rural kind, you know, wood crafters, weavers, seamsters, smithing, I think someone mentioned a mason? Though I understand you can just raise buildings with magic, so I¡¯m not sure what the purpose of masonry is,¡± Ash said, his ears flicking in annoyance. ¡°Because everything has a quality rating, and the rating takes into account the amount of effort put into the construction, not just the skill level of the person constructing it,¡± John commented off hand as an idea started to take form. ¡°Huh,¡± Ash said, his ears shifting forward in interest. ¡°That actually makes sense.¡± ¡°What about picking up skills off the forums?¡± John asked. ¡°Most everything is locked behind paywalls,¡± Callie complained. ¡°And the stuff that isn¡¯t is really basic. No one wants to give away stuff for free.¡± Ash just nodded his head. John looked at the two of them and became more certain as he turned the idea over in his head, he just needed to figure out how to make it work. ¡°Look, can you guys take the evening quest to bring me bodies? I have an idea, but I want to see what I¡¯ll need to make it work before I start.¡± The two exchanged glances and, John assumed, messages, then Callie nodded. ¡°Yeah, I guess, but you¡¯d better not be late this time!¡± She shook a warning finger at him. Then the two reluctantly started back toward town in the rain. John took the bodies, fed and watered the chookers (who were not at all happy about the late timing) and collected the eggs (of which there were a full seventy-two, all of them Common quality) and then returned to his cellar to sit and fiddle with the auction. First, he collected his earnings from chooker eggs (one hundred eighty coppers), then he listed the new eggs at the same price as the old ones. Ordered a new shirt to replace his ruined one. Then he finally started looking up books. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. There weren¡¯t a lot of options, there were only a few books on lore. Even the few books on farming he¡¯d seen yesterday were gone. That was unfortunate, he had wanted to purchase text books about various crafts and loan them out to other players. If he could convince someone else, preferably several someones, to take up professions he needed (such as Enchanting or Alchemy) then he could just buy what he needed from them. It looked like that idea wasn¡¯t going to pan out though. Flicking open his inventory he started at the slot filled with The Enchanter¡¯s Handbook (Farming Edition). It would be invaluable to anyone trying to learn enchanting, even if it was geared in a specific direction. The problem was he only had the one, and he didn¡¯t want to just hand it over to someone. He could try building a library, but where would he put it? Who would staff it? How would he ensure people followed the rules? Not to mention, where would he get the books? John ran his fingers through his beard as he contemplated. Maybe he was going about this wrong, he was trying to do everything himself again. But who could he ask for help this time? Loren was leaving, and the knights (or their rank and file at least) had shown themselves to be unreliable. Thinking of the knights sparked another idea and he hopped to his feet. Making his way out of the cellar and into the pounding rain once more, John began walking toward the shrine for the second time that day. As he approached he could see Axia still standing watch and noticed that the big man was clearly as unperturbed by the rain now as he was before. Briefly John wondered how Axia wasn¡¯t cold and miserable, then he realized he didn¡¯t feel all that cold either, despite having been recently soaked. A moment of consideration led him to the idea that maybe his high constitution had something to do with it. Passing Axia, John walked into the shrine and looked around. Now, the real question, how did one speak to a god? The normal answer was ¡®prayer¡¯, but John felt that a prayer he didn¡¯t believe in was probably more disrespectful than not. Shrugging, he decided to try just talking, though he did wish there was some kind of altar or other structure he could speak at. Looking around once more, John started speaking. ¡°Alright Ledos, I don¡¯t know if you can hear me, but I¡¯m looking for a way to help people and spread knowledge. There are lots of people here who would like to learn the magical and mundane crafts available in this land, but the out of the way location, the greed of others, and the lack of suitable teachers makes it impossible for them. So, I¡¯m looking for a way to teach them that everyone can access and use, like some kind of learning library, maybe?¡± John finished speaking and felt¡­ silly. He felt really silly, this had sounded like a better idea in his head. For a moment nothing happened, and then Axia rumbled from behind him. ¡°When speaking at a shrine dedicated to more than one deity it is expected you will speak to all deities at once, unless directing your query to an altar denoting a specific deity. As there are currently no specific altars, nor even a generic altar, all requests must be to the three deities of the shrine, rather than to just one of them.¡± John looked back at the titan. ¡°Does that mean I¡¯m going to need all three of them to agree with my request for assistance?¡± he asked uncertainly. ¡°Not necessarily, but they will all be aware of your request, and they may choose to intervene.¡± Axia replied, never once turning to look at John. John turned back to the shrine and considered what he should do. If he was going to address all three of them, then he¡¯d best have an argument for each. Ledos was easy, he was the god of knowledge and John wanted to spread knowledge. Ira wasn¡¯t particularly difficult, she was the goddess of civilization, and many, if not all, crafts were the building blocks of civilization. Thuana¡­ Thuana was harder. She was the goddess of Chaos and Void; what did those have to do with learning crafting? John stood and thought for several moments before he decided on an argument. Taking a deep breath, John began speaking again, this time trying to put a bit of formality into his words. ¡°Gods of the Gateway of Worlds, I come before you to request your aid. The people of my world, called players by many, are in need of assistance and instructions, many seek the knowledge of trades and crafts that are not available to them due to location, lack of reliable teachers, and simple greed of those who would keep that knowledge contained. Therefore I would like a way to teach them the crafts and trades they desire.¡± John paused, mentally reviewing what he was about to say, then continued. ¡°To Ledos, I say this is a thing you should desire, for it spreads knowledge, denying those who would see it held hostage to trade. To Ira, this should please you, for civilization is founded on the backs of those who learn and create. To Thuana, I say this is a thing you should seek, for what is chaos but change, and how much change will the players bring to this world if given the proper tools?¡± As John finished speaking the shrine fell silent, despite the still pouring rain, and John could feel a familiar pressure brush against his consciousness. The touch was featherlight, yet John flinched away, remembering when it had fallen on him like a crushing weight. His physical response made no difference and from the pressure he could feel a mixture of interest, consideration, and contempt. After a few moments he could discern that each was coming from a different source, though he could not have said who was feeling what. A moment later he received a prompt. [New Deific Quest:] The sound of rain came crashing back in as the moment passed, and John sighed with relief that he hadn¡¯t been smitten on the spot. The quest didn¡¯t seem unreasonable, although he wasn¡¯t sure how many takers there would be for a trial that came with a failure clause that involved the words Divine Curse but no one could fault him for that. ¡°You really know how to upset everyone don¡¯t you?¡± Axia asked, his voice pitched loud to carry over the heavy rainfall. ¡°Huh?¡± John asked, looking to the big knight and then moving in his direction. ¡°Think about it John, in any society there are secrets that people keep, especially the kind that have monetary value. Why do you think information on things like crafts is so expensive and scarce? Anything special is a secret that someone, at some point, has died for. And here you are throwing the gates of knowledge open for all comers.¡± Axia explained. John frowned. ¡°That could make sense for Alchemy, and maybe Ritual Magic, but surely not for something like Enchanting? Someone could just look at the enchantment and copy it, hell, I¡¯ve done that.¡± ¡°Copy? Yes. But did you understand the enchantment? Why it worked? What it did? Similarly this ritual you set up for the shrine, can you tell me why everything is as it is, or did you just copy what you saw?¡± the Titan asked. John paused and considered. The answer about Enchanting was easy, he actually didn¡¯t know much at all, the forum he¡¯d copied the enchantment off of had been the barest of basics. Ritual Magic was a bit better, he¡¯d read a good portion of the primer he had, but it mostly just showed him existing rituals and minor ways they could be tweaked. Axia took the long pause as admission and continued. ¡°There are complexities to such crafts that you¡¯ll never learn from just copying the work you see. You¡¯ll gain skill ranks, and they¡¯ll improve your instincts for the craft, letting them stretch further and giving you an idea of what different things will do. But it¡¯s no substitute for actual teaching.¡± He tore his eyes away from the surrounding area for a moment and glanced down at John. ¡°You can¡¯t learn how mana flows through an enchantment or a ritual just by copying it. And you could spend a lifetime learning a fraction of what we already know by experimenting on your own.¡± His eyes returned to the road and the plains. ¡°But now? You¡¯ve opened a door that will let anyone learn what they want. People are going to want it destroyed, or controlled.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± John said quietly. ¡°Oh indeed,¡± rumbled Axia. There was a long moment of silence before John spoke again. ¡°Crap, what about the entrance fee? Are people going to have to pay to take the trial?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Axia affirmed. ¡°Normally one doesn¡¯t make a supplicant pay to visit a shrine, but you also made it a place of business, so the norm doesn¡¯t apply here.¡± ¡°Great, another thing for people to be mad about,¡± John said with some aggravation. Axia just smiled. MAG - Chapter 38 - Edited Returning to his storm cellar, John spent the remainder of the morning making Life Stones and placing them on the auction for two and a half gold each. Then, after lunch, he practiced with Create Flame for several hours, receiving a very welcome system message. [Rank Up!] Not long after he heard someone calling for him. Popping his head out of the cellar he saw it was Ash and Callie, and he hurried over to take receipt of his order from the two. Approaching, he expanded his stone umbrella to cover all three of them with a comfortable amount of space to spare. ¡°Well, that¡¯s nifty,¡± Callie commented, clearly glad to be out of the rain. ¡°Some kind of umbrella spell?¡± Ash asked, poking at the stone shell. ¡°Nah, just an application of Create Earth to make it and Control Earth to carry it,¡± John explained. ¡°Huh, I didn¡¯t realize Control Earth could levitate rock,¡± Ash said as he unloaded the bodies. John disappeared them just as quickly as they appeared, and then handed over the cash. ¡°Well, the spell didn¡¯t say it had to remain in contact with the ground¡­ But honestly, I didn¡¯t think about it that much, I just did it,¡± John admitted. ¡°I¡¯ll add it to the list of things we need,¡± Callie grumbled. ¡°Speaking of,¡± John interjected. ¡°Did you two get a Deific Quest earlier?¡± ¡°Yeah, it sounds like a pretty great opportunity, but I have no idea where to go for the trial,¡± Ash admitted. John simply pointed toward the shrine, which could only be dimly seen through the heavy rain and twilight. ¡°You¡¯re kidding,¡± Callie said irritably. ¡°That¡¯s this ¡®Gateway of Worlds¡¯?¡± ¡°Yup,¡± John said. ¡°Though I should warn you, the entrance fee is a silver.¡± John told them. Callie snorted and Ash made a face. ¡°I guess we could scrape that together, not like there¡¯s a lot to spend money on out here,¡± he half-complained. ¡°I get the feeling that¡¯s going to change once people start learning crafts,¡± John assured him. ¡°What were you thinking of learning anyway?¡± ¡°Alchemy,¡± Callie said immediately and Ash nodded in agreement. ¡°Both of you?¡± John asked with some surprise. Ash nodded again before speaking. ¡°Yeah, Callie and I were both chemical engineers before we retired, we figured it¡¯d be cool to see how magical chemicals work,¡± the wolfkin said, sounding genuinely interested. ¡°Retired?¡± John echoed in further surprise. Callie gave a short sharp laugh. ¡°You didn¡¯t think this game was just for young people, did you? I¡¯ve waited almost sixty years for full immersion virtual reality. Now that it¡¯s here I¡¯m not going to let a little thing like the advancing march of time get in my way!¡± John looked at them, slightly dumbfounded. ¡°I just kind of assumed¡­¡± he trailed off. ¡°That because our avatars are young, we¡¯re young?¡± Ash asked with a wolfish grin. ¡°Nah, we chose young avatars because what¡¯s the point in escaping into fantasy if you just bring all your reality with you? And can I just say it feels amazing to be young again,¡± the, apparently quite old, wolf-man said with a large stretch. John blinked, but nodded after a moment, digesting this new information. ¡°So, was the whole trial thing the idea you had earlier?¡± Callie asked. ¡°Huh? Oh, yeah; well, no. I was originally going to see if I couldn¡¯t get some sort of library going, but there was no one to talk to about that so I asked the gods of the Gateway of Worlds for help and their response was the trials,¡± John admitted. ¡°Huh, that¡¯s an interesting response for a request like that. I wonder what prompted them to answer this way; it seems like a lot of effort for the middle of nowhere,¡± Ash mused. John just shrugged in response. ¡°Well, anyway, we¡¯ll probably try for the trial tomorrow. We¡¯ll bring the morning corpses, and isn¡¯t that a weird thing to say, with us and try it then,¡± Ash continued. ¡°Alright, uh, go ahead and spread the word about the shrine? People will probably want to know if they all got the quest,¡± John said as the two began to make their exit. ¡°Sure,¡± Callie said, then the two walked off in the direction of town and were quickly lost in the rain. Breaking off the excess stone of the umbrella into chunks, John dropped them by the hole in the wall and proceeded to take care of the chookers. The tiny draconic monsters were subdued today, as they usually were during the rain. He cleaned out the old bones and dropped the new bodies into the trough, then cleaned out the water. Finished with that he dropped the skeletal remains in the nearby field as he¡¯d done with all the rest; they¡¯d go in the next batch of fertilizer just fine, and so far only a few birds had been attracted by them. ¡°Well, aren¡¯t those quaint little beasties?¡± Came the voice of Mageslaya. John whipped around to see the woman poking her head around from the southern side of the coop, the windowed side, he realized a moment later. He looked past the woman to see her other party members arrayed a couple yards back. There would be no ambush this time it seemed. ¡°Relax John, you¡¯re too tense, it¡¯s gonna give you wrinkles,¡± she started, then paused, considering. ¡°Though I suppose that¡¯s not an issue, what with this not being real and all.¡± She came fully around the coop and leaned on it. ¡°Still, we¡¯re not here to fight you today, that big hunk of beef outside the shrine made his stance on that pretty clear last time.¡± John glanced in the direction of the shrine, but the rain was still too dense to see much from this distance. ¡°Then why are you here?¡± John asked warily. ¡°Because you still have something we need, of course,¡± she said like it was obvious. ¡°The Gateway of Worlds just became even more valuable. An unlimited trial, do you know how many of those there are in the empire? Only a dozen or so, and they¡¯re all tightly controlled by the nobles who own the shrines.¡± ¡°And telling me this is going to make me give it to you how?¡± John asked, glancing in Axia¡¯s direction again. ¡°I¡¯m just letting you know what the stakes are before we move on to the negotiations. See, here¡¯s the thing, you now have something not just the gods want, but that we players want as well, and you¡¯re na?ve if you think no one else is going to come for it. In fact, our guild is already considering a move to this area,¡± she said with a genial smile. ¡°It has a dungeon, a valuable resource in its own right, and now the only set of trials open to players. Possessing it would be a real feather in our cap and could catapult us to the top of the rankings.¡± John frowned, he didn¡¯t like where this was going at all. ¡°So¡­ what? You¡¯re going to force out the NPCs? Take over the dungeon, then strongarm me into giving you the shrine?¡± Mageslaya made a so-so gesture. ¡°Something like that, I wouldn¡¯t worry your hairy little head about it though, because I¡¯ve been authorized to make you a very generous offer. We¡¯re going to end up with Runic Rock in our pocket, that much is pretty much guaranteed,¡± she said with utter confidence. ¡°All that¡¯s to be decided afterward is who gets to stay and who has to go. And, in case there was any doubt, you currently have to go. ¡°But! It doesn¡¯t have to be that way. If you¡¯re willing to work with our guild and transfer the Gateway of Worlds into our care, we¡¯ll take you on as the first non-titan guild member. We¡¯ll ensure the safety of your farm and support you with good deals on crafters and items. We¡¯ll even buy your crops at a premium should the guild have use for them. That¡¯s on top of the benefits that come from being in a guild. You want to hit level ten by next week? The guild can make it happen, hell my team will take you through the dungeon ourselves, you can even keep the loot. You need help with unfriendly NPCs and players? The guild will be there for you. Want rare seeds and plants? The guild can find them. Having a guild behind you will lend weight to all your actions.¡± She said, seemingly totally sincere in her offer. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. John wavered. She wasn¡¯t necessarily wrong. Having the backing of a guild would be helpful, they¡¯d almost certainly be a dedicated buyer as well, especially of alchemical ingredients and highly magical food stuffs. But¡­ he¡¯d have to give up the gateway and the tree. He¡¯d have to break his contract with Ledos, and while the knights hadn¡¯t been good to him, he wasn¡¯t sure what the consequences would be. Also, he really didn¡¯t like Mageslaya, her crew, and by extension, their guild. ¡°I already have guards, and the Auction provides for my selling needs. I couldn¡¯t use rare and exotic plants right now if I had them. If I needed levels that badly I could probably get some of the players in town to take me through the dungeon for a bit of coin. Eventually Runic Rock will have its own crafters, courtesy of the three trials.¡± John countered after a few moments. ¡°Please, the Knights Magi let you die, they let us demolish part of your farm and burn your crops before they stepped in. Do you really trust them to have your back? What about when there¡¯s a small army of players bearing down on you? Worse for them, they don¡¯t get back up when they die. In the end there¡¯s a finite amount of defenders they can send against players, simple attrition dictates we¡¯ll win,¡± Slaya said with a dismissive wave. ¡°Sure, the big one was able to take us all out, but we¡¯re a fraction of the players in the Titans, how will he fare against twenty, or thirty players? How long can he hold out if we just keep getting up and coming back, over and over? Eventually he¡¯ll tire, run out of mana, and then he¡¯ll fall. How long will the knights try to hold on after that? How many of their members will they throw into the meat grinder before they give up entirely?¡± John ran his fingers through his beard. She was probably right, there were only so many knights, and they didn¡¯t resurrect like players. He didn¡¯t like the knights, but he didn¡¯t want to see them destroyed either. And that didn¡¯t even include the squires, a bunch of people his age and younger, who would almost certainly be caught in the crossfire. Maybe he should- ¡°As many as it takes,¡± Came the voice of Knight Commander First Class Helen from above. The players all looked up to find the steel gray catkin sitting atop the roof of the coop, one leg dangling languidly off the side, the other pulled up so her knee was against her chest. There was something subtly off about her though, John just couldn¡¯t figure out what. ¡°You players,¡± she said with a huff. ¡°You all think yourselves immortal because you can get back up again. You boast about it, flaunt it, count on it. But we know there are consequences, especially for those who die repeatedly in rapid succession. Do you think there are no criminals among you upon whom we can test solutions? Do you think we would let such a threat pass unnoticed? Already the gods grant boons and miracles that can hinder, or even eliminate this aspect of your powers.¡± The catkin woman gazed down at Mageslaya, who looked back with annoyance. Helen turned her gaze to John. ¡°None of us would blame you if you took this offer. I admit the knights have failed you, but I also promise that those involved are being dealt with; many will bear our symbol no longer and their patrons will be¡­¡± She paused to smile wickedly. ¡°Admonished.¡± She leapt from the roof to the ground in a fluid motion, placing herself between Mageslaya and John. ¡°However, unless and until you take their offer, you have my protection.¡± ¡°Ugh, so dramatic,¡± said Mageslaya. ¡°Think about our offer, John. We¡¯ll be waiting,¡± she continued as she turned to leave. Helen watched as the group made their way onto the road and became lost in the rain. John didn¡¯t, he was focused far too much on the woman as the wrongness had finally become apparent. ¡°You¡¯re not actually here, are you?¡± he asked finally. Helen made a tsking noise. ¡°I hate rain, too much to compensate for all at once.¡± The image of the woman turned to look at John. ¡°What gave it away?¡± ¡°The rain doesn¡¯t roll off you right, and it always drips off you in the same places, it¡¯s like watching a looping video¡± he said as he continued to stare. ¡°I don¡¯t know what a video is, but I can guess it¡¯s some kind of visual medium? If you noticed, they probably did as well.¡± She sounded slightly vexed. ¡°Is this how Axia appears without warning? Some kind of illusion?¡± John questioned as he poked a finger at, and then into the projection. ¡°Stop that. Axia has his own ways that aren¡¯t mine to tell,¡± Helen admonished. ¡°Could you have actually stopped them if they¡¯d attacked?¡± John wondered aloud. ¡°Yes,¡± she said definitively. John considered the illusion for a moment, then spoke again. ¡°How?¡± he asked simply. Helen just smiled at him, clearly refusing to answer that one. After a moment John shook his head. ¡°They¡¯re going to be back, with their guild,¡± he said finally. ¡°They don¡¯t seem like they¡¯d be averse to taking the town by force either, which will leave me in a bad position.¡± ¡°An empty threat,¡± she scoffed. ¡°Oh, it might have worked before the shrine became a place of interest to the empire. But now? Now Runic Rock is on the map, so to speak. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if The King of the East declared the creation of a new barony soon. The land will then officially be part of the empire proper, not just unclaimed wilderness. The formation of new claims will come to a halt, while existing claims will become fully owned property. And most importantly, the new lord or lady will be expected to hire troops to patrol their land and maintain order. Troops that will certainly take exception to anyone trying to conquer the barony. And should the baron fall¡­ Well, the Emperors of the past are not known for their moderation in putting down upstarts and rebellion, and I¡¯ve no reason to believe the current Emperor is any different.¡± John listened in silence, and then spoke once it was clear she had finished her explanation. ¡°What does that mean for my land claims?¡± Helen¡¯s image turned to face him, her look considering. ¡°It means they¡¯re going to try to claim you haven¡¯t held it long enough, and that it should revert to the barony.¡± ¡°Try?¡± John asked, latching onto that key word. ¡°Try,¡± Helen affirmed. ¡°The Emperor¡¯s Law stands above even kings. The formation of a new barony can have no impact upon that. This land was wild when you claimed it, so it remains in your care until you either solidify your claim through time, abandon it, or fail to pay your taxes.¡± ¡°And how much are taxes going to run me?¡± John asked, concern clear in his voice. ¡°The land will be evaluated and a static tax will be assigned, usually a few silvers yearly unless it contains highly valuable natural resources,¡± Helen said. John sighed. ¡°I was just supposed to farm some crops and make some money,¡± he said mournfully. ¡°You do not seem to be hurting for gold, is farming really the best choice? It seems you may have other means at your disposal,¡± Helen commented. John shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s not that simple. I can make money off of selling Mana Stones to other players for now. But eventually people are going to realize it¡¯s more efficient to take feats like Dynamo and Expanded Pool. They¡¯ll learn how to use Mana Imprinting to reduce spell costs, Mana Drawing to increase mana regen speed, and then they¡¯ll stop buying stones for ridiculously high prices.¡± John paused and looked around his farm. ¡°I use mana for almost all my work,¡± he continued a moment later. ¡°And I¡¯ve stopped using stones for everything except rituals because of those feats and skills. So, I could dedicate every hour of every day to just making Mana Stones, but what happens when that well dries up? I¡¯ll have spent all that time specializing in a single thing that¡¯s not viable any longer. However, food? Alchemical plants? Those are always going to be in demand,¡± he finished. ¡°Hmm¡­ you will need them for Enchantments as well; every such working needs a power source. Otherwise you are somewhat correct in that Mana Stones are used by low level mages, alchemists, and those who are not dedicated spellcasters,¡± Helen admitted. ¡°Though, if you get good enough at it, there will always be a market for high quality, large capacity Mana Stones. There are few who can make them, after all.¡± ¡°That¡¯s another part of it,¡± John said, shaking his head. ¡°Grandma Loren said it was hard to make Mana Stones manually, but I was able to obtain it with only a day of effort.¡± Helen frowned as he explained. ¡°And I think it¡¯s because of the different way players view the world. We have some more advanced knowledge that seems to apply here. If I were to ask you to describe the fundamentals of a crystal, what would you say?¡± Helen gave him an odd look at the apparent non sequitur, but took a moment to consider the question anyway. ¡°That is a difficult question to answer, crystals vary so widely¡­ I would say that they all share some similar traits, such as a certain amount of opacity, and natural facets but even that varies greatly,¡± she admitted finally. ¡°Though I am not dedicated to the studies of the earth, so my answer is woefully lacking.¡± ¡°In our society it¡¯s quite easy to find out that crystals have a specific pattern or structure to their makeup, a pattern made up of tiny pieces so small that you can¡¯t see them individually with the naked eye. I didn¡¯t just visualize a mana stone when I tried making one, I visualized a repeating pattern, building up from smallest piece to largest in a symmetrical form.¡± John explained. ¡°The biggest problem was that I had to move all the mana at once and couldn¡¯t build it from the ground up. After I found that out, it clicked quickly.¡± Helen didn¡¯t move, while she¡¯d made no extraneous movements through the entire conversation (likely due to being little more than a projected image) this non-movement seemed¡­ more profound. ¡°I see,¡± she said after a moment. ¡°If a Novice could use such information to make a Mana Crystal and unlock the feat, it¡¯d be trivial for a Master of Mana Manipulation. It could very well make Mana Stones far more common.¡± ¡°And that would devalue my ability to create them. How long will it be before someone shares that kind of information, and then how long until it spreads? It could be years, or it could be days. It could have even already happened,¡± John explained. Helen nodded her head to show her understanding. ¡°If you¡¯re sure then.¡± ¡°I am,¡± John stated firmly. ¡°Then I shall return to my paperwork, a good evening to you,¡± Helen said. ¡°To you as well,¡± John returned politely. The image of the Knight Commander gave a small nod and then flickered out, leaving John standing alone in the rain and darkness. MAG - Chapter 39 - Edited The next morning wasn¡¯t rainy, but thick cloud cover conspired to hide the stars and setting moon. John trudged through the muddy farm, thinking that maybe it was time to lay down some actual stone pathways of his own. Finally he made it to the road and enjoyed a very short walk over to the shrine where he found Tet standing watch. ¡°Good morning¡­ uh¡­ Sir Tet? Knight Tet? What form of address should I be using?¡± John asked the half-orc. ¡°Sir is fine in an informal setting, in a formal setting you¡¯d use my title, Knight Second Class,¡± the man replied, sounding slightly annoyed. John slowed to a stop. ¡°Have I done something wrong?¡± he asked worriedly. Tet grunted and shook his head, but failed to elaborate. John just nodded then continued on, into the shrine itself, and took his customary seat next to the sapling. Connecting to it, he let the drowsy, content feeling flow into him, after a while he determined that something was different, he could feel that the flow to the fruits was slow, and sluggish, a bare trickle of what it had been before. Blinking out of the daze he looked at them closely. The ten fruits had grown overnight, becoming as large as ripe peaches. It seemed, to his eye, that they were finally ready to be plucked. Attempting to appraise the fruits revealed another frustrating set of question marks. He simply didn¡¯t have the Inspect skill up high enough to see what they did. Glancing in the direction of Tet he wondered if he should bother the man. He didn¡¯t want to disturb the knight any more than he had, but he needed to know what the fruits did. As if sensing his indecision, the flow of mana in the sapling shifted, the flow reversing. For the first time since it¡¯d grown the sapling gave instead of taking. John was overwhelmed by the sensations that came with the mana. He was once more the tree, and the tree was him. They stood proud, topping six feet now, their leaves were lush and black, their roots deep and firm. The ground was fertile, the water plentiful, and soon there would be sun. But most of all they had a sense of success, of accomplishment, for they had born fruit. Better, because they had created the fruit, they knew what each one did, and their images and knowledge flashed through the shared consciousness. A moment later John came to himself once more. He knew what the fruits did, but it was the same way someone knew what a complex piece of classical music sounded like. Impossible to describe unless you had the score or the other person could also hear it. Shaking his head, he looked at the fruits again, and tried Inspecting them once more. To his surprise, and delight, he could see their information now. [True Portal Fruit] [Name: Pseudo-Portal Fruit] [Name: Blink Fruit] [Name: Displacer Fruit] John read the descriptions, then looked at the sapling. It was still willowy, but it stood over six feet tall now, and its canopy was clearly starting to develop, pushing outward in an expanding mushroom. All the leaves had turned black, and he could see faint imperfections on them in the dim light. As he watched them, the dots and swirls took on a faint glimmer, shining in blues, purples, golds, reds, and purest white. For a brief moment it was like looking at an artist¡¯s concept of a galaxy. Then the lights dimmed to darkness once more. Still in awe, John Inspected the tree. [Name: Galaxy Tree] Reaching out, John touched the True Portal Fruit, and then scrambled to catch it as it fell from its branch; he barely succeeded. He then instantly received a message. [Level Up!] [Please distribute or bank your Build Points now.] John banked the seven hundred Build Points, then looked down at the fruit in his hand, wondering what to do with it. This seemed like an incredibly rare item¡­ it also seemed incredibly dangerous. It could open a portal from anywhere, to anywhere, without knowing the destination beforehand. How do you protect against that? Sighing, he resigned himself to another discussion with Helen. Popping the fruit into his inventory he headed for the Knights¡¯ Compound. Passing Tet with a nod he proceeded down the road to the entrance of the compound. The fact that no one was watching the gate gave him a slight pause, then (after deciding Tet would likely be able to see and deal with anyone they didn¡¯t want inside), he entered. Walking through the Yard he could see (and hear) Axia already putting recruits through their paces on the obstacle course. He could also smell delicious scents wafting out of what he assumed was the mess hall. Bypassing the tantalizing aromas, John headed straight for the small building he knew Helen¡¯s office was in. As he drew closer he heard Axia bark a command for the recruits to take a short break. Then, the commander was there next to him, almost as if he¡¯d teleported the distance between them. ¡°John,¡± the titan rumbled. John gave a polite nod. ¡°Sir Axia,¡± he said respectfully. Axia nodded. ¡°Sir is a good choice; it conveys respect without being formal. I take it you wish to speak with Commander Helen?¡± ¡°Yeah, there¡¯s a potential problem that I think she¡¯s going to want to get in front of,¡± John explained. ¡°Very good then, however, we¡¯re expecting a new batch of Knights in the next few days, one of them will be working as Commander Helen¡¯s aide, and will be keeping track of her time, including things like appointments,¡± the big man commented. ¡°So I¡¯ll need to talk to her aide to arrange meeting times if I want to talk with her?¡± John guessed. ¡°Yes, though normally one of your station wouldn¡¯t approach the commander directly, you¡¯d approach one of the lesser officers, Tet perhaps? And he would either take the matter to the commander, or arrange with her aide for you to see her directly,¡± Axia explained. John processed that for a moment then nodded. ¡°Part of the reason the squires and the knights were angry with me was because I¡¯ve been ignoring protocol?¡± he guessed. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Axia nodded in the affirmative. ¡°The commander, Knight Tet, and myself haven¡¯t held it against you because we recognize you come from a different society where, we assume, such things are less formal. However, going forward I think it would be best if you tried to match societal expectations.¡± John nodded as well. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll do my best to make sure that I do so.¡± ¡°Excellent, the Commander is waiting for you, you may head on in,¡± Axia said, and then returned to his recruits. John didn¡¯t watch the big man go, if it was rude to simply barge in expecting to be seen, then it was doubly rude to make the person you¡¯d come to see wait. He quickly passed through the small waiting area and knocked on the office door. ¡°Please enter,¡± came Helen¡¯s voice. John entered the office and closed the door behind him. ¡°John,¡± she said with a nod of greeting. ¡°Please have a seat.¡± She gestured to one of the chairs in front of her desk. ¡°Thank you,¡± John replied and sat down. ¡°Now, what brings you here today?¡± she asked as she shuffled some papers off her blotter and into a pile. John produced the fruit from his inventory and leaned forward, placing it on her desk. Helen quirked a quizzical brown, but picked up and examined the fruit. Her face became immediately passive, but John caught a single agitated flick of her tail before she stilled it. The catkin woman tsked. ¡°One in a hundred it says, that¡¯s not a useful statistic. How often does a Galaxy Tree fruit? How many fruits per year? What months does it fruit in?¡± she grumbled, mostly to herself. Then she let out an annoyed sigh. ¡°It¡¯s just one thing after another isn¡¯t it? I assume you brought this to me because you understand the security implications?¡± ¡°Yes, I needed to know if it was safe for me to sell them or¡­¡± he trailed off with a shrug. Helen nodded her understanding. ¡°Well, they won¡¯t be burning down the tree any time soon, but if I had to guess it¡¯s about to become listed as an imperial asset.¡± She saw John¡¯s look of inquiry and explained. ¡°An imperial asset is an object, place, device, creature, or plant that has the potential to affect the empire itself in some profound manner but can also be controlled. The tree is of no danger and the True Portal Fruits can all be gathered easily enough, I assume. So, it¡¯s an asset and not a liability.¡± She looked at the fruit again and shook her head. ¡°The empire is going to demand a monopoly on the True Portal Fruits, and you should give it to them.¡± She raised a forestalling hand as John opened his mouth to protest. ¡°I know this is hard to hear, as these could bring quite a substantial sum on the open market, but they¡¯re literally too dangerous to be allowed out in the world uncontrolled.¡± John let out an exasperated sigh. True Portal Fruits could have been sold for a tidy sum of real-world money, who wouldn¡¯t want a fruit that could open a portal to say ¡®the nearest undiscovered treasure¡¯ or ¡®The location of my quest¡¯? But no, that¡¯d be too easy, wouldn¡¯t it? ¡°Are they at least going to pay me?¡± he asked, almost despondently. ¡°Probably not a lot,¡± Helen admitted somberly. ¡°In fact, you¡¯ll probably be lucky to get one part in a hundred out of them. These fruits could easily sell for thousands of gold to the nobility, that¡¯s before the Kings and Queens get involved, and the high-nobility of the empire could possibly field even more.¡± Because he liked torturing himself, John looked up the gold to dollar conversion rate. Ten gold to the dollar. He¡¯d be losing out on hundreds, perhaps thousands, of dollars. His face must have shown his dismay and anger. ¡°John, you can¡¯t fight the empire,¡± Helen said hastily. ¡°Not even we knights could protect you from that. We¡¯ve got contracts with the empire that supersede just about every other contract we have. In fact, we¡¯d probably have to help apprehend you.¡± Sighing, John deflated slightly. ¡°This would have solved a lot of my problems,¡± John muttered bitterly. ¡°These fruits could have easily fulfilled my needs, and you¡¯re telling me I¡¯ll be lucky to get one hundredth of what I could have sold them for. Less even, because I could have sold them for the currency of my world. I should have hidden the fruit and kept my mouth shut.¡± ¡°And done what when someone Inspected a growing fruit? Or once they started appearing on the market, one way or the other? The description makes it clear where they came from. Then the empire would have stomped on you for allowing a massive breach of security. There were no good options here,¡± Helen pointed out. John huffed, but nodded reluctantly, then took in a deep and steadying breath. ¡°So what do I do?¡± he asked. ¡°That¡¯s a good question. Normally I would tell you to speak with your mentor, I mean, Grandma Loren. She is better informed on these matters than I. However, she left early this morning, and will not return for some time,¡± Helen confessed. The catkin woman then paused and considered, her ears and tail carefully controlled so as not to give away a hint of her thoughts. Finally, she nodded. ¡°The first thing you should do is send the emperor a gift. This will show your willingness to work with him, and will likely result in a more favorable evaluation.¡± She placed the True Portal Fruit on the table with care, the movement was not lost on John. John looked at the fruit first, then at her, his gaze quizzical. ¡°Isn¡¯t it a bit presumptuous for me to be sending the emperor anything? I mean, Axia just talked to me about protocol. Shouldn¡¯t we, I don¡¯t know¡­ contact the lowest noble in the chain and let it work its way up?¡± Helen snorted. ¡°If you¡¯d like to add to your growing pile of problems, yes. No noble is going to look at what you have and decide it¡¯s best to send it up the chain. They¡¯ll want to find a way to take it for themselves. They¡¯ll stall any and all questions about you, the tree, and possibly even the entire town while they try to find a way to take it, legal or illegal,¡± she explained. ¡°However,¡± she continued. ¡°You¡¯re right, normally you¡¯d never get a package anywhere near the emperor¡¯s palace, it would be stopped and examined by so many functionaries that there is an absolute certainty you¡¯d get the same outcome as trying to go through a lesser noble. Unless, of course, you know someone who¡¯s going to be going to court soon and carries a powerful enough reputation and trust that they can present the emperor with a gift on the behalf of a talented student.¡± John blinked. ¡°Do I know someone like that?¡± Helen gave him a brief smile full of far too many teeth. ¡°Perhaps, more importantly, they know you, and have reason to assist.¡± He considered her words for a few moments, weighing them. It didn¡¯t take a genius to figure out who she was talking about, but it raised more questions that it answered. Finally, he sighed and spoke with some small resignation. ¡°If I¡¯m sending the emperor a gift, it should be a full set, that way he knows I¡¯m dealing above board.¡± Helen nodded. ¡°A wise choice. There are ten fruits all together, I take it?¡± John nodded. ¡°Four Displacer, three Blink, two Pseudo-Portal, and that one there.¡± ¡°Hmmm, I would like to examine the others as well, but that can wait. We will need a container for the fruits, and we will send them by portal direct to the capital. We don¡¯t want the fruits to spoil before they arrive.¡± She tapped a finger on the desktop as she considered, her finger then paused. ¡°This gift needs to reflect you John, so tell me how you¡¯d go about putting it together.¡± John frowned and then began thinking. In the real world he¡¯d just buy a fancy box or basket, put the fruits inside and call it a day. Helen was hinting that wasn¡¯t the way to go here. He thought for several long moments but really couldn¡¯t come up with much, then he remembered the conversation he¡¯d had with Ash the other day. Things are graded by effort put into them. Something that took effort then, and maybe showcased some of the workers in the local area? Slowly, John began thinking out loud. ¡°I could make the box of wood, but all we have is dungeon created wood, which has no fancy origins or special properties. There¡¯s no local stone of note, no, that¡¯s not true. I created Nebula Marble, and the shrine is made out of it, the shrine that exists because of the tree. Alright, so I should make a block of Nebula Marble, and then have a stone carver create a box out of it. We don¡¯t have any special metals either, so the clasp and hinges will have to be made from steel.¡± He paused and looked at Helen, she nodded at him encouragingly, so he continued. ¡°We do have giant spiders in the dungeon, and I suspect that means spider silk can be collected? If that¡¯s so, and we have a weaver, we might be able to get a spider-silk cloth to line the interior. And our biggest product so far, other than the tree¡¯s fruits, are Mana Stones, so maybe it should have some mana stones embedded in it?¡± Helen looked at John for a long moment, her face carefully blank. Spider silk? She didn¡¯t know where to begin with that thought. She decided not to mention her misgivings and see where this went. Realizing that John was waiting for a response, shook her head. ¡°Using mana stones as decoration is usually considered wasteful. However, if you could tie the stone into an enchantment then it could be justified.¡± ¡°Well, a cooling or stasis enchantment would help preserve the fruits, but we don¡¯t have anyone who can perform such an enchantment yet,¡± John pointed out. Helen didn¡¯t mention there were knights who could perform the enchantment, she simply accepted his statement as fact. ¡°Then we shall leave the Mana Stones off the box. Can you think of anything else?¡± she prodded him. John ran his fingers through his beard as he considered, what else was there? Finally, he shook his head, unable to come up with anything else. Helen nodded. ¡°Good enough, I think. Do you wish for me to store the fruits? I have a personal stasis box they can be placed in until it¡¯s time to send your gift.¡± John hesitated, he wanted to say no, he didn¡¯t want the fruits out of his sight as this seemed really important. But after a moment of thought he nodded reluctantly. It might take days to prepare the box, and he had no way to preserve the fruits. Helen nodded. ¡°Would you like to collect the fruits from the tree, or shall I?¡± John almost said he¡¯d do it, the collection of such high quality and rarity goods could likely catapult him up in levels, but then he realized what a stupid and terrible idea that was. With so few Build Points rushing to ten was a horrible idea; it¡¯d leave him stunted until at least level fifteen, if not longer. ¡°You should collect them,¡± he said. ¡°I will collect the fruits from the tree then. We can do so now if you wish to supervise?¡± she offered. John wanted to say yes. He really wanted to say yes. But that would show a lack of trust, and while he didn¡¯t trust the knights as a whole, he wanted to trust Helen. With a shake of his head, he stood. ¡°I need to get started on the box; I get the feeling it¡¯ll take all day to get what I need.¡± Helen stood as he did, and walked him out of the building. ¡°Just do your best John, no one can justly ask any more than that.¡± she told him. John nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll be back soon, and thanks.¡± Helen nodded, acknowledging his thanks, then disappeared back inside the building. John turned and headed for his farm where he first took care of the chookers and the auction, then spent a grueling hour carefully constructing Nebula Marble. John ended up with two blocks each twenty-eight inches in length, nine inches in width, and seven inches tall. The resulting marble was a glossy black with beautifully contrasting multicolored lines and whorls. A quick Inspect showed that they were Good quality, putting them two steps above that of the Gateway of Worlds. Fortunately, taking it slowly and carefully had alleviated the worst of the pain he¡¯d endured last time. Putting the two blocks in his inventory, he headed for town. MAG - Chapter 40 - Edited John stepped into town, walking with a purpose. The first thing he needed to do was see if there was a tailor, or perhaps seamstress in town. He quickly perused the signs on the street, they weren¡¯t many. There were signs for a bakery, a forge, Phillip¡¯s woodworking shop, Theodore¡¯s store, and the inn with an attached tavern. Most of the other buildings seemed to be actual homes. Sighing he walked toward Ellie¡¯s stall. The woman saw him coming and gave a smile and a wave. ¡°Hey hon, how¡¯s it going? I heard you had some bad visitors over the other day. You doin okay?¡± Her smile segued into a concerned look. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m okay, thanks for asking. Just got some¡­ interesting news about the tree today, and now I¡¯ve got to send someone a gift over it,¡± he explained. ¡°A gift, huh? Must be some important news. I take it you don¡¯t need fruits then?¡± she asked. ¡°No, well, I mean, I haven¡¯t actually eaten anything but meal cakes in a while, so maybe something different couldn¡¯t hurt,¡± he said, eyeing her selection. ¡°I suggest the pears, they came out particularly well this time around.¡± She gestured to several large, inviting pears. Their skin was shiny and had a lovely shade of yellow. ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll take one, how much?¡± John asked. ¡°A copper a pair hon,¡± Ellie informed him. John picked out two pears and handed her a coin. ¡°Now, how about you tell me what you¡¯re really looking for?¡± Ellie said as she made the copper disappear. ¡°Well, I need a stone carver and weaver. Do you know anyone in town with those skills?¡± he asked as he put one of the pears in his inventory. ¡°Hmmm stone carving is Frank, along with some masonry. Weaving, that¡¯s a bit harder; Samantha used to be a seamstress by trade, and even made her own cloth, but we¡¯ve got no thread or yarn production aside from a few dogs we shear occasionally,¡± Ellie explained. John gave her a funny look, and not just over the idea of shearing dogs. ¡°What do you mean we don¡¯t have any thread? We¡¯ve got a whole dungeon floor full of thread.¡± Ellie gave him a quizzical look. ¡°Not sure what you mean hon.¡± ¡°The spiders? They¡¯ve got to have spider silk, I imagine it¡¯d make great thread and yarn,¡± he explained. The woman looked at him like he was mad. ¡°How are you going to get silk from the spiders?¡± ¡°Well, I imagine they leave a good portion of it laying around, we could start with that, and I think there¡¯s a technique for getting silk out of living spiders? I know it was tried before synthetic spider silk became a thing,¡± John said. ¡°Syn-what-now?¡± Ellie asked, looking lost and confused. John paused, remembering where he was and who he was talking to. ¡°Right, different world. Okay, so basically spider thread is a type of silk, and there are ways to extract it from living spiders. But with how big these spiders are we might be able to just use threads they¡¯ve already created, if they¡¯re not sticky¡­ Or maybe if they are? I bet there¡¯s some kind of alchemical treatment we could use to make them not sticky,¡± he mused half to himself. Ellie just shook her head. ¡°If you say so hon. I guess if you can get some¡­ Silk? Did you say? Then I could introduce you to Sam, see if she¡¯s interested.¡± ¡°Thanks Ellie! I¡¯ll get back to you soon!¡± he said and hurried away as Ellie watched with a bemused smile. John bit into a pear as he headed toward the general store. He came to a dead stop and looked down at what he was holding. Yep, that was a pear, and it tasted amazing. It was better than any pear he¡¯d ever had. The smell was fragrant, the flesh just the right amount of soft, the juice was the perfect amount of sweet. For a moment he wondered if the taste of food had been made purposefully better than life to entice people, but then decided he didn¡¯t care and continued to devour the fruit, and then the second. Pears finished; John continued on his journey to the store while silently mourning the loss of his ignorance. There was no way he¡¯d be able to forget that while eating meal bars. Entering the store, John walked up to the counter. ¡°Hey mister Theodore, how¡¯s it going?¡± The ursakin grunted and gave John an appraising look. John nodded as if he¡¯d received a response. ¡°I need paper and charcoal for the board,¡± he said, placing a copper on the counter. Theodore produced the requested items and John spent a moment writing out what he was looking for. Purchasing: Spider Silk (non-sticky) Unit Size: 1 Yard Pay: 10 copper per yard Deliver To: John¡¯s Farm (at the end of the road) ¡°Thanks mister Theodore,¡± John said, putting the charcoal back on the counter. The bear man just went back to manning his store with another grunt. John walked outside and tacked up the request, he then turned and headed for Frank¡¯s stall. The older man watched him come with a speculative eye. ¡°What are you up to son?¡± he asked in his no-nonsense manner. ¡°Ellie says you¡¯ve got some crazy idea about spider webs being silk and that you need a weaver and a mason.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not crazy! Spiders produce silk! I don¡¯t understand how you guys can have such large spiders and not have figured out their strands are good for thread,¡± John said defensively. One of Frank¡¯s eyebrows went up. ¡°Son, you do realize that giant spiders are horrifically dangerous right? Something that size has no problem preying on regular folk. Children, pets, even some of the smaller folk are on the menu for giant spiders. Their colonies are burned out wherever they¡¯re found. Keeping them around and trying to make a product out of them is sheer lunacy!¡± If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. John scratched his head, considering what the man was saying, then nodded. ¡°Was lunacy,¡± he said finally. ¡°Now you¡¯ve got a bunch of crazy immortals willing to do the work for you.¡± Frank snorted. ¡°Crazy is right!¡± With a shake of his head he let the topic go and asked his next question. ¡°What do you need a stone carver for? Ellie said something about a gift?¡± ¡°I need a box made of Nebula Marble,¡± John said as he took one of the slabs out of his inventory, showing it to Frank. The old man gave a low whistle. ¡°Don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen a stone quite like that,¡± he muttered. ¡°And you want a box you say? How big? And where¡¯s it going?¡± he asked John. ¡°About the size of this slab, including the lid, I have a second slab if you need more material. As for where it¡¯s going¡­ It¡¯s headed to the capital,¡± he admitted after some hesitation. Frank blinked. ¡°Of the kingdom?¡± John shook his head. Frank frowned deeply. ¡°The empire? What are you doing sending things to the capital of the empire?¡± ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m not sure I should talk about that?¡± John said. Frank snorted and shook his head. ¡°Alright then, get out the second slab and let¡¯s talk designs and payment.¡± John happily obliged, handing the older man the first slab and then taking out the second, passing it over as well. ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t actually really have any request beyond that it look nice,¡± John confessed. Frank gave him a derisive look. ¡°Son, Phillip might have a field day if you give him a blank canvas and tell him to have at it. For the rest of us, we need to work in a direction. But given that you¡¯re reluctant to talk about it, I¡¯m going to guess it¡¯s something to do with the Gateway and that Prismatic Sapling you grew. Just keep looking straight at me and gape your mouth slightly if I¡¯m right.¡± John most carefully did not gape at Frank, and instead gave him a very clear eye roll. The old man chuckled at the antics, then continued. ¡°I can see this going one of a few ways, I could carve the chest with symbols associated with Ledos, Ira, and Thuana. Or I could do a depiction of the gateway itself. Finally, I could do something really simple, like a tree.¡± John considered for a moment. He hadn¡¯t really thought of what the box should look like, just that it should look nice. The first two options didn¡¯t feel right, but the third¡­. ¡°Simple is best I think, a tree will do fine.¡± Frank nodded. ¡°Now for payment, I¡¯m guessing you want this done fast, but also done well?¡± John nodded in the affirmative. ¡°Then it¡¯s going to cost you twenty silvers,¡± Frank said. John pursed his lips. Twenty silver was more than he was paying for his new barn doors, with the fancy work Phillip was doing included. ¡°Son, you want this done fast, you want it done right, those two are not incompatible, but they are force multipliers for coin. For twenty silver I can have a box for you by tomorrow,¡± Frank explained. Reluctantly John nodded. ¡°Alright then, it¡¯s a deal.¡± Frank nodded in turn and disappeared both slabs of marble. ¡°Alright, then, if you¡¯ll excuse me, I¡¯d best get packed up and go get started.¡± John stepped away as the older man started bagging up his produce. He then turned back to the square and the steadily increasing number of people who were wandering around. Not seeing any of the people he was looking for, John took a seat around the Runic Rock and pulled up the web browser. He quickly pulled up information on spider silk, how it was produced, and what it was used for. It was no surprise to him that it had a variety of applications in everyday use, even if he personally didn¡¯t own any synth-silk items. After twenty minutes of skimming the surface, John dug deeper, looking for what people had done before silk could be grown and harvested in a lab. The answer turned out to be not much, aside from a few people who gushed about making their own spider silk thread from cobwebs they collected in their garden. The images were of lumpy, ugly threads that left John dissatisfied. It wasn¡¯t until some thirty minutes later that he finally found what he was looking for. On a whim he¡¯d searched for the oldest existing piece of spider silk cloth. The result was almost instant, and left him looking at a stunningly beautiful golden cape. The article that came with it was fascinating, about a man who¡¯d set out to make a garment entirely out of spider silk, and how seventy people had spent four years extracting silk from spiders to make it possible. The garment was even still on display at the American Museum of Natural History. More importantly, this also led to the discovery of a video on how the extraction process worked. It was disgusting, and pretty much exactly what he needed. ¡°Spider silk? Really?¡± came Ex¡¯s voice from his right. Looking up John saw the annoyed looking elf glaring at him. ¡°What?¡± he asked defensively. ¡°He¡¯s just mad he didn¡¯t think of it first!¡± Sally said with a grin as she stepped up beside her companion. ¡°Yeah, well, apparently neither did anyone else. They kill all the giant spiders they come across, so spider silk isn¡¯t really a thing,¡± John said. ¡°Yet,¡± Ex groused. ¡°You know, you could learn weaving and become a dedicated creator of spider silk cloth,¡± John informed the salty elf. Ex gave a grumpy harrumph. ¡°I know what¡¯ll cheer you up!¡± John said with a grin. ¡°Is it money? Money always makes him happier!¡± Sally exclaimed even as Ex swatted at her ineffectually. ¡°Yes, actually! I was just thinking I needed someone to take me through the dungeon to collect spider silk directly. I¡¯d still be paying per yard of silk, but if it works like the video suggests each spider we ¡®milk¡¯ should net us between thirty and eighty yards,¡± John explained. Ex immediately looked more friendly and accommodating. ¡°John, my good friend John, why would you ever need to wonder who might take you through the dungeon! You know your good friends Ex and Sally are always available to help you at any time!¡± he said with shameless enthusiasm. John snorted, and Sally laughed out loud. ¡°In all seriousness,¡± Sally said through a giggle, ¡°We¡¯d be happy to take you, we¡¯ve actually got a time slot coming up in about twenty minutes here, though we¡¯d been planning to tackle the Rat King again.¡± ¡°Still haven¡¯t beat it?¡± John asked and his two friends shook their heads in unison. ¡°Well if you guys want to tackle the Rat King I won¡¯t stop you,¡± John began, only to be cut off by Sally. ¡°Nah, the rat king is boring, we¡¯ve tried and failed to kill it for a while now. Maybe spider wrestling is just the change of pace we need!¡± Ex shuddered. ¡°Spider wrestling?!¡± ¡°Well yeah, you didn¡¯t think they were just going to stand around and let John hoover silk out of their butts, did you? Someone¡¯s got to hold the suckers down!¡± Sally retorted with a grin. ¡°Ugh, fine, but you do the holding,¡± Ex said, jabbing a finger at Sally. ¡°Gladly!¡± exclaimed the silver drakekin even as she reached out and pulled John to his feet. ¡°Come on! We¡¯d better get going unless we want to miss our slot! MAG - Chapter 41 - Edited The walk to the dungeon wasn¡¯t long, taking only ten or so minutes along a well-worn dirt road heading north out of town. Arriving at their destination, John was taken aback by the sight of a marble pavilion in the middle of nowhere. It was octagonal in design, with eight sides supported by eight romanesque columns. The roof was a perfect dome, smooth, glossy white, and seeming to glow despite the cloud cover. As they approached, John noticed a group of people milling about the base of the southern steps, one of whom appeared to have something analogous to a clipboard. The human woman looked up at them as they joined at the edge of the small crowd. ¡°Ah! Ex and Sally, excellent. Crunch and Munch just came out, so you¡¯re free to go in.¡± the woman said, primly. ¡°Hi Addy! This is John! He¡¯s going in with us today!¡± Sally exclaimed with typical exuberance. ¡°So long as it doesn¡¯t mean you go over your time slot, I don¡¯t actually care,¡± Addy responded with a wave of her clipboard. ¡°You¡¯re the best Addy!¡± Sally gushed. ¡°Yes, I know. Now go before I declare you late and give your slot to someone else!¡± Addy pointed at the pavilion with her charcoal stick. Ex hurried up the stairs and John rushed to follow. Sally, for her part, walked up the stairs like she had all the time in the world. The center of the structure was a solid expanse of smooth, flat marble. And standing in the middle of it was what appeared to be an enormous set of mirrors. There were seven in all, each nine feet tall and six feet wide. While they didn¡¯t dominate the center of the large construction, they were certainly eye-catching, with golden frames and flawless flat surfaces. Ex immediately walked to the third mirror and pressed his hand against it. The mirror flashed with light briefly then the image on it changed to a dark, oppressive cave filled with thick strands of spider webbing. ¡°Just so you¡¯re aware, we¡¯re not responsible if you die,¡± Ex said. Sally snorted and John just shook his head. With that out of the way, Ex stepped into the mirror, and the other two followed him. The transition from pavilion to cave was smooth, like stepping from one room to another. The only way one could tell they¡¯d traveled any distance at all was the abrupt change in scenery. The Portal behind them closed, plunging the cave into darkness that lasted only a brief moment. A golden light appeared hovering over Ex, filling the cave with a soft, illuminating radiance. ¡°Remind me to get that spell from you later,¡± John said, even as he looked around. The cave looked much like it had through the mirror, however looking behind himself he could now see a series of stairs headed upwards. It appeared the portal placed them at the beginning of the third floor. Walking over to one of the spider webs hanging from the wall, John tested it. It wasn¡¯t a sticky web, but it felt both strong and tough. It was a bit thicker than he¡¯d been hoping for. John had expected something more like thin thread, like one might use for sewing. This was more like thread you might use for leather working. You could make a cloth out of it, but it wouldn¡¯t be the beautiful, flowing silk he¡¯d imagined. ¡°Alright, how long do we have?¡± John asked, turning back to Ex and Sally who were checking every corner and crevice of the room. ¡°About two hours,¡± Sally replied. ¡°Ah! Found one!¡± Her hands lashed out lightning fast and she grabbed out an eight-legged abomination. It was squirming in her grasp but she held it by the back of its head and cephalothorax. The spider was maybe a foot and a half in size, its coloration was brown with designs of silver and gold, and it was covered in tiny bristles. The giant eyes and mandibles were what had John¡¯s attention though. They were both highly creepy and made him regret his life choices. ¡°Well,¡± said Ex with a grin. ¡°Don¡¯t just stand there John, milk the giant spider for webbing!¡± ¡°I hate you,¡± John said, even as he slowly approached the struggling creature. It hissed and redoubled its efforts to escape, but Sally had a good grip and it was unable to extract itself. Reaching forward, John grabbed the spiky, rough abdomen and pulled it forward, finding the spinnerets. The thrashing spider made it hard to keep his grip and he honestly wasn¡¯t sure where to go from here. The video had involved sedating the spider, not manhandling it! Looking at the spinneret he could see a small piece of silk poking out. Steeling himself, he grabbed the fine strand and pulled with slowly increasing strength. The silken thread stretched out but the thrashing of the spider made it difficult to pull consistently. Still, John had a good grip now and he released the abdomen and backed away. Using his free hand, he created a dowel of stone which he started wrapping the strand around. Again, the jostling and jerking made the task difficult, but once he had it tightly wrapped, he started rotating the stone with a bit of magic, spinning it to extract more of the silk. Ex whistled. ¡°I didn¡¯t actually think that was going to work,¡± he said and John gave him a glare even as he sped up the draw, letting the dowel drift left and then right, to cover the entire thing in an even coating of thread. Extracting the silk took almost seventeen minutes and netted John around what he estimated to be eighty yards of silvery silk. Upon inspection, John found that the silk of this spider was much thinner than that which he¡¯d found attached to the wall, being maybe one fourth the width and much more suited for regular tailoring or weaving. ¡°Is this the smallest the spiders get?¡± he asked curiously. ¡°Nah, there are some as small as Ex¡¯s hand, but they come in colonies so we usually wipe those out with fire,¡± Sally explained. John frowned, this thread was probably still too thick for what he wanted, but he¡¯d need smaller spiders for smaller thread. He supposed this would just have to do. ¡°Next we should try killing one and see if we can still extract the silk,¡± he commented. Sally and Ex just nodded, then carefully walked into the next room, burning the long, blocking strands of webbing as they went. Killing a spider and extracting its webbing proved to be a no go, something about being dead prevented the webbing from flowing anymore, so John and Sally had to wrangle the live spiders when they could catch them. This was in between fighting off colonies of small spiders and ambushes from the larger ones. Spiders had dropped on John more than once, and at first he panicked and did the spider dance. However, he eventually realized the spiders were actually having a harder time hurting him than he did them. It turned out that having a high constitution was good for more than just dealing with chookers. Eventually their time in the dungeon came to an end. After collecting an estimated three hundred yards of spider silk they made their way to the final chamber where a giant spider dominated the room. It was easily six feet across, and covered in sharp bristles. Despite that, its carapace was actually quite beautiful, all gold and royal blue. Of course, the effect was ruined by the eight enormous eyes and the fangs as long as John¡¯s forearms. Sally immediately charged forward, slamming into the bulk of the creature while wrapping herself in a corona of fire. Ex followed her in, his shield and mace leading the way. The two wailed on the giant spider in what was hardly a fair fight. The spider danced and jumped, it even tried to entangle them in webbing. Sally however, was faster, always being where the spider was headed, and her fire was more than hot enough to burn away the webbing. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. For his part, Ex was more about keeping the creature off balance and stealing focus away from Sally. His attacks lacked her punch, and he used no offensive magic, but he managed to make a nuisance of himself that the queen just couldn¡¯t ignore. In a few moments the two had beaten the queen down and burned most of her to ash. As the body ceased moving a griding sound heralded a new set of stairs appearing at the back of the room. In addition, a mirror rose out of the floor, showing the image of a familiar pavilion. Meanwhile, right next to the stairs a wall slid out of place to reveal a large chest. Ex hurried over to open it with Sally right on his heels. John followed them both at a more leisurely pace, knowing that nothing in the chest was for him. ¡°Trash, some coins, and a few earth stones,¡± Ex muttered annoyedly. Sally just shrugged. ¡°Hey, at least I¡¯m paying you for the spider silk!¡± John said cheerily. ¡°That¡¯s thirty silver you just made!¡± Ex perked up at that. ¡°You¡¯re right! We should do this more often!¡± ¡°Maybe, I¡¯m not sure how much more silk I¡¯ll need, but I suspect this will actually be enough. Which means I need to take that post I made down,¡± John explained. ¡°That said, if Sam, the weaver, likes this stuff, it might become an export, in which case she¡¯d probably pay to have it harvested.¡± ¡°Here¡¯s hoping!¡± Sally exclaimed as she jumped through the mirror. Standing back in the pavilion they could hear Addy shouting ¡°Ex and Sally are out! NEXT!¡± The woman then glared at them until they got out of the pavilion. ¡°She seems high strung,¡± John commented. ¡°She took the task of organizing all the delves on her own, without support or pay. The only reason it sticks is because most of us like her way better than the first come first serve option,¡± Ex explained. ¡°She doesn¡¯t actually have any authority beyond what we give her, and some days not even that.¡± ¡°That sounds like a sucky job, why does she do it?¡± John asked. ¡°Don¡¯t know, but she did name her character Administrator, so¡­ maybe she just likes organizing things?¡± Ex suggested. ¡°Now, enough about Addy! Silver!¡± John snorted and passed Ex the coins as they started the walk towards town. Once more the walk was short, and once they were in town Sally and Ex announced that they were off to watch a movie while they waited for their next slot. John bid them farewell then (after stopping to remove the post from the job board) made his way over to Ellie¡¯s stall. ¡°Hey Ellie!¡± John said brightly. ¡°Oh! John, did you get what you were looking for hon?¡± she asked, eyeing a bit of webbing that was still stuck in John¡¯s hair. ¡°Yep!¡± he said happily, appearing one of the spools and showing off the pearly white silk. Ellie looked at the spool with wide eyes, then tentatively touched the silk. ¡°It¡¯s not sticky?¡± she asked, perplexed. ¡°Not all spider webs are sticky, they have to intentionally decide to have sticky silk,¡± John explained. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll be honest, I thought you were entirely crazy. But this is quite fine. Not as thin as I think Sam would like, but she should be able to make something out of it,¡± Ellie explained. John nodded. ¡°Where can I find her?¡± ¡°Give me a minute and I¡¯ll show you to her house hon,¡± Ellie said as she started disappearing baskets. A moment later the stall was empty and she was leading John down the street to a small house near Phillip¡¯s shop. She knocked on the door and then waited patiently. After a few moments a faint shuffling could be heard from within the house, then the sound of a chain rattling as the door opened a crack. ¡°Whoizzit,¡± the voice was muffled, but the speaker sounded both sleepy and annoyed. ¡°It¡¯s Ellie hon, I¡¯ve got John with me, he wants to talk to you about some weaving,¡± Ellie responded with pleasant cheerfulness. ¡°Do you know what time it is?¡± the voice, ostensibly Samantha, replied. ¡°Almost noon, well time for people to be up and about,¡± Ellie continued her cheerful assault. ¡°No weaving to be done, don¡¯t shear the dogs for another month,¡± Sam groused. ¡°John has a new type of thread he wants you to look at,¡± Ellie said, making a grabbing gesture to John. He handed her a dowel of thread. ¡°Lemme see,¡± Sam said, just before a knobby old hand snaked through the door and grabbed the dowel from Ellie¡¯s hand. Ellie let it go without hesitation. There was a long moment of silence from inside, then the door closed, the chain rattled, and it opened fully to reveal an elderly woman in a heavy dress and shawl. Her face was weathered and craggy, and she had a slight stoop. Gnarled and wrinkled hands danced across the silken threads as ancient eyes squinted at John thoughtfully, ¡°What is this? It¡¯s silk but it¡¯s not worm silk, too thick, not in enough strands. All one piece? Eighty yards on this spool. Light, very light. Spider silk?! I¡¯ve heard of spider thread but rarely, every so often some fool tries to use tiny strands of webbing to make clothes. I suppose you¡¯d get something very fine if you could use that but it¡¯s silly. This comes from the dungeon spiders? Giant breeds I¡¯d guess, still remarkably fine though,¡± Sam muttered, mostly to herself it seemed. Finally, after another minute of pawing at the strands she looked at John intently. ¡°How much cloth were you hoping for?¡± ¡°A piece of fabric about thirty inches by ten,¡± he replied. ¡°Well this won¡¯t cut it, you¡¯ll need at least¡­¡± she trailed off as she examined the thread again. ¡°forty-two hundred yards,¡± she pronounced finally and nodded her head in a sagely fashion. ¡°Forty-two hundred?¡± he asked dumbly. The old woman shrugged. ¡°Give or take a few yards, yeah. How much you got?¡± ¡°Three hundred,¡± John said almost numbly. It¡¯d taken almost two hours to gain three hundred yards of silk, if he needed almost four thousand more it¡¯d take him nearly twenty-four hours of just harvesting to get the amount he needed. It¡¯d also cost him almost four gold to pay for that much silk. There was no way he could gather this all himself, he¡¯d have to convince other people to do it for him, that meant he¡¯d have to take their word on how much they brought out¡­ or did he? ¡°How did you know how much was on the dowel?¡± he asked Sam. ¡°Well, I used Inspect on it, didn¡¯t I? Don¡¯t tell me you didn¡¯t try identifying your own spool of thread?¡± The old woman proceeded to cackle as John shook his head. ¡°Always Inspect everything. You can get taken for a ride if you don¡¯t.¡± John eyed the spool and used Inspect. [Spider Silk Spool] ¡°Why does it say about eighty yards?¡± he asked, perplexed. ¡°Cross skill interaction. Your Measure isn¡¯t high enough to give a precise amount but it¡¯s high enough to measure the bulk to within a certain tolerance, about eighty yards, give or take,¡± Sam said. ¡°Now hand me the rest of it,¡± she said, making a grabby motion with her unoccupied hand and John passed her the other three dowels. She took them and disappeared them into her own inventory. ¡°Come back when you¡¯ve got the rest,¡± she said, and then promptly closed the door. A moment later the rattling of the chain pronounced it locked once more. ¡°And that,¡± Ellie said with her ever present smile, ¡°was Sam.¡± ¡°O-okay,¡± John stammered a little, slightly shocked at the abrupt ending to the conversation. ¡°Don¡¯t worry hon, she¡¯s not the most agreeable sort, but she¡¯s still good people,¡± Ellie assured him, then started on her way back down the street. ¡°Anyway, it sounds like you need more silk! Best get to it I think.¡± John nodded and sighed, then followed her back to the square where he logged out for lunch. MAG - Chapter 42 - Edited John logged back in after lunch and immediately set out for the dungeon. He knew he wouldn¡¯t be getting in today, not unless he went in with Sally and Ex who had implied that they¡¯d somehow obtained an evening slot as well. Still, that didn¡¯t mean he couldn¡¯t convince other people to collect silk for him. Or even, perhaps, convince a couple to escort him while he collected it. Reaching the site of the dungeon he found a small crowd around the southern end of the pavilion, just as there had been originally. And, also as last time, Addy was there fending off people with her clipboard. ¡°No, you cannot go in, because the dungeon is full. It can only have forty-two instances open at a time, there are forty-two different groups inside, the dungeon is full. You literally cannot enter,¡± she was explaining in that too patient ¡®I¡¯ve said this a dozen times to you already¡¯ way. ¡°But the pavilion is right there! Why won¡¯t you just let me go in?!¡± a goatkin asked, clearly for the umpteenth time. Addy grit her teeth, and the people around her groaned. Apparently, they were all quite tired of this as well. ¡°You know what? Fine. Go in,¡± Addy said, her annoyed face smoothing out into an almost gleeful smile. ¡°I hereby give you permission to enter the dungeon. But run fast because I¡¯m prone to change my mind.¡± ¡°See! I knew she was keeping us out for no reason!¡± the goatkin said triumphantly, then ran directly for the pavilion. Upon reaching it he tried to leap up the stairs only to come to an abrupt, bone-crunching halt in mid air as he impacted some form of impenetrable field. The man screamed a shrill note as he fell to the ground just at the bottom of the stairs. He rolled around for several moments, clutching at his clearly broken nose. John winced at the ongoing screeching, it was excessively aggravating. ¡°I swear to the gods Jack, if you don¡¯t shut up I will send you back to town!¡± a foxkin yelled at the goat man. Jack shut up and then glared at everyone, most of whom had chuckled or laughed at his mid-air face plant. ¡°I¡¯m gonna remember this!¡± he howled and pointed. ¡°You¡¯re all going to pay!¡± he then ran off down the road. ¡°Good lord, was that guy twelve?!¡± someone exclaimed, then said mockingly ¡°You¡¯re all going to pay!¡± Several other people guffawed. John took the moment to approach Addy. ¡°Excuse me, it¡¯s Addy right?¡± John asked. Addy looked at him, and brought her hand up to her face, as if to adjust spectacles that weren¡¯t there. She made a frustrated noise at encountering no resistance. ¡°You¡¯re John, right? If you¡¯d like to schedule a dungeon delve it¡¯s going to be a couple days before I can fit you into the rotation,¡± she said in a no-nonsense tone. ¡°Uh, no, I actually wanted to ask about paying delvers to bring me back items, that¡¯s not a problem, is it?¡± he asked, and several heads in the gathered crowd swiveled to look at him. ¡°Not so long as you don¡¯t hold anyone up. People show up and come out late as it is, and that¡¯s hell on the schedule!¡± she tapped her clipboard as if for emphasis. ¡°Other than that, I really don¡¯t care.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine then! I¡¯ll be sure to keep from distracting the ones going in,¡± he assured her. ¡°Then we should get along fine,¡± she affirmed. John then turned to find several people looking at him. ¡°What are you looking for, and how much are you paying?¡± asked a devilkin woman, clearly the elected spokesperson. ¡°Spider silk,¡± John started, only to be cut off. ¡°Oh! I thought I saw a posting for that, but it got taken down,¡± the woman remarked. John nodded. ¡°I thought I had enough, but it turns out I need more, a lot more. And just gathering it from the walls isn¡¯t going to be enough. It¡¯s got to be from the spiders between one and two feet in size, and it needs to be extracted while they¡¯re alive,¡± he explained. ¡°Ew, how do you extract webbing?¡± she sounded equal parts horrified and fascinated. ¡°You have someone hold down the spider while you grab the silk hanging from the spinnerets, then you pull on it to spool it out. I make little dowels I wrap the silk around and then you can just spin the dowel to pull out the silk.¡± John made a stone dowel as an example. ¡°That¡¯s just gross!¡± a man in the crowd said. ¡°But also fascinating,¡± another, a woman this time, noted. ¡°How much are you payin?¡± the devilkin asked. ¡°Ten copper per yard. Sally and Ex helped me get three hundred yards this morning, so they got thirty silvers. I need three thousand and nine hundred more yards,¡± John explained. ¡°How long did it take you to get three hundred yards?¡± the devil woman probed. ¡°About two hours,¡± John admitted. ¡°Thirty silvers? I¡¯m in,¡± said an ursakin man, followed by the agreement of several other people, the devilkin woman among them. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Can you make us some of those dowels?¡± she asked. ¡°Sure! You shouldn¡¯t need more than four per two people I don¡¯t think. The most we got out of a spider was eighty yards, the least was about thirty,¡± John said as he started magicking up dowels for any who would take them. ¡°Pops is out of the dungeon, as are Princess Do-nut and Corl. The teams We Bear Bears and Team Prada are up! You have one minute before I give your slots up!¡± Addy yelled. ¡°That¡¯s us!¡± rumbled the ursakin, and three more ursine men appeared behind him as if by magic. ¡°We¡¯ll be back with your silk in no time, have your money ready!¡± the man said, swiping a sixth dowel. ¡°Us too,¡± said the devilkin, and John found himself surrounded by a small gaggle of devil women. ¡°Make with the dowels money man!¡± she said fervently, even as he passed them to all takers. ¡°John! You had better not be holding up people! I distinctly recall you telling me you wouldn¡¯t hold anyone up!¡± Addy yelled, sounding unhappy. ¡°He¡¯s not! We just needed one last piece of equipment!¡± the first devilkin said innocently, even as her group hurried toward the stairs. Addy gave a grunt that said she didn¡¯t believe her, but wasn¡¯t going to press it. The next two hours blurred by as John passed out dowels and gave his same terms to just about anyone else who would listen. Finally, the first group returned, it was We Bear Bears, and they came with a full ten dowels of spider silk, all of which they proudly displayed to John. ¡°We had a couple false starts,¡± one of them said as John Inspected the dowels. ¡°But we got the hang of it pretty quick!¡± ¡°These are great!¡± John exclaimed, ¡°Looks like five hundred and ninety yards!¡± ¡°Wait, how¡¯d you know that?¡± One of them asked, looking taken aback. ¡°Inspect can also show measurements if you have the Measure skill,¡± John informed them. ¡°I just found out today myself.¡± ¡°Ugh, we spent all that time measuring, and even got the skill for it,¡± One of them groused, even as John handed over fifty-nine silvers. ¡°Pleasure doing business with you guys,¡± John said cheerily. ¡°I¡¯m John by the way.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m Sir Bearington the Second, these are The Third, The Fourth, and The Fifth,¡± Sir Bearington the Second informed John with a grin. John couldn¡¯t help but snort. ¡°I know, it¡¯s unbearable right? I mean, I could bearly believe they went along with it. But I suppose one must bear up under the burden of leadership,¡± the Second soldiered on. ¡°Please stop!¡± John groaned. ¡°Oh lord, is he making you listen to bear puns?!¡± the leader of the Prada party asked with her own groan, even as she pushed her way through the large ursakin to present John with twelve dowels of spider silk. John took them one by one, tallying up their final amount. ¡°One thousand one hundred and twenty-six,¡± John remarked. ¡°Ugh! I can¡¯t believe they beat us! This is unbearlivable!¡± The Fourth shouted to a chorus of good-natured groaning, even from his own people. John just grinned and handed over one gold, twelve silver, and sixty copper. ¡°Thanks guys!¡± he said with a wave to them as the groups dispersed. Over the next few hours John managed to get six more groups to take in dowels and harvest silk for him. By the fourth hour he¡¯d actually managed to exceed his goal by almost a hundred yards, and he stopped handing out blank dowels. By the sixth hour he¡¯d finally greeted the last of the players who¡¯d gone in for him, and paid out the last of the coin. Leaving him a total of five and a half gold poorer, but with more than seven thousand yards of silk. He¡¯d also procured dinner for the Chookers, there was no sense making someone walk all the way out to the farm if he was already here. Standing from the boulder he¡¯d crafted into a chair, John headed back to town in the fading light. It wasn¡¯t long at all before he was in front of Samantha¡¯s house. He knocked on the door politely and waited, and waited¡­ and waited. Just when he thought he¡¯d need to knock again the door flew open, banged on the end of its chain, and immediately slammed shut again even as muffled curses came from the house. The chain on the door rattled and this time it flew open in a proper fit. ¡°Boy! Do you know what time it is?!¡± Sam screeched at him. ¡°About six thirty?¡± John hazarded, not having actually looked at the time. ¡°Six thirty-eight in the evening!¡± she cried in an accusing fashion. ¡°Don¡¯t you know some people need sleep?! How would you like it if I came around knocking on your door when you¡¯re taking your well-deserved evening nap?!¡± ¡°Uh¡­ I wouldn¡¯t?¡± John hazarded, trying to figure out exactly which words would get him out of this. ¡°Of course you wouldn¡¯t!¡± she huffed at him, but she was clearly running out of steam. ¡°Sorry, for disturbing you, I just thought you¡¯d like to have the rest of the silk tonight instead of tomorrow,¡± John explained, doing his best to sound contrite. ¡°Course I want the silk tonight instead of tomorrow! Got a whole night¡¯s worth of moonlight to weave by! Doesn¡¯t mean you should interrupt an old woman¡¯s nap!¡± she groused. ¡°Fine, give me the silk,¡± she said, making a ¡®come on¡¯ motion with her hands. John handed over the spools of silk until they were all gone. Sam sniffed. ¡°A little more than seven thousand yards, that¡¯s good, might be a market for this yet. How much were you paying per yard?¡± ¡°Ten copper a yard,¡± John admitted. ¡°Hm, bit steep for non-magical threads, you might consider half that, maybe a third if you can get away with it. That said, it might be worth exporting, especially since I¡¯m certain no-one else will be for the moment. Now what did you want? A cloth thirty inches by ten? Any specific color? Do you want a pattern of any kind? ¡°Uh, black would be great. If you could do a pattern of leaves, that¡¯d be even better!¡± John exclaimed. Sam nodded. ¡°One gold, no haggling, it¡¯ll be done tomorrow morning at dawn, you either pick it up then or wait until the afternoon.¡± John ran his fingers through his beard, one gold was expensive! But apparently there were no other weavers in town, and he certainly didn¡¯t know how himself. Also, she had all the thread already. He let out a breath and nodded. ¡°Alright, one gold.¡± ¡°Good,¡± the old woman said, then slammed the door in his face. John stared at the door for a moment more before he started his walk out of town. It wasn¡¯t until he was well on his way to the farm that he finally looked up at the sky to see a dark expanse littered with stars and the moon rising. Apparently the cloud cover had lifted, and it would indeed be a nice, moonlit night. MAG - Chapter 43 - Edited John logged in to a very unwelcome notification the next morning. [Quest Failed:] He¡¯d hoped that the tree would count for the purposes of the quest, but it appeared that the quest was either more literal than he expected, or the tree simply didn¡¯t count. Missing out on two thousand Build Points certainly hurt, especially with the fifteen hundred he¡¯d spent on the shrine. Still, it was what it was and he went about his morning routine. His time with the tree was marred only by the lack of the fruits it had been growing, and a faint sense of loss and accomplishment that came with their disappearance. The food for the chookers arrived earlier than usual, but that was fine because he was in a hurry after finishing with the tree. By the time true dawn approached he was already headed down the road to town and as the first rays peaked over the horizon he was outside Samantha¡¯s door. He knocked tentatively, and immediately heard the rattling of the chain, followed by the door springing open. ¡°You¡¯re late!¡± Sam said in a shrill hiss. ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for almost ten minutes!¡± She then thrust out her hand. John looked at it for a moment, and she gave a small growl. ¡°The money boy! The money!¡± ¡°Oh,¡± John said, then appeared a gold coin and handed it over. Sam looked at it for a moment and then grunted, disappearing it into her own inventory. Then, in the same hand, appeared a piece of deep, black cloth. She thrust it at John who scrambled to take the piece. It was light, and airy, weighing so little he wasn¡¯t actually sure he was holding anything. Quickly he inspected it. [???] ¡°I¡­ uh¡­ I can¡¯t Inspect this,¡± he admitted. ¡°Then I guess you¡¯re going to just have to trust I did a good job with the materials I was given aren¡¯t you?¡± Sam said smugly. John just nodded, his eyes still traveling over the bolt of cloth which, in the rapidly rising light, he could now see wasn¡¯t pure black, but shades of deep, dark gray, giving it a texture and helping him to pick out the images of leaves woven into it. ¡°Was there something else you needed?¡± Sam asked, sounding annoyed. ¡°Uh,¡± John thought quickly. ¡°I need some kind of padding to go under this, I think.¡± Sam grunted, then appeared a large bundle of soft wool. She thrust it at John, who once again found himself grabbing frantically. ¡°There, now, git, it¡¯s time for my nap!¡± And with that, the old woman slammed the door once more. John shook his head and then wandered toward the square. He could go back to the farm and prepare the plots to receive the alchemist¡¯s sponge, but he¡¯d have to come back to town eventually to get the box from Frank anyway. Figuring he could relax for a bit, John sat down in the square and brought up the web browser. For the next couple of hours John relaxed, taking some time to do some reading, and catch up on his emails. There were a lot of things to read, but not much of it in his inbox. Most of the people he¡¯d known in school had moved on to either job apprenticeships or college and didn¡¯t really have much time for anything else. Still, it was a relaxing way to spend some time. ¡°A little eager this morning son?¡± Frank asked as the older man sat down next to John. Closing his browser John gave the man a half-smile. ¡°Figured there wasn¡¯t much reason to go back to my farm when I¡¯d have to come right back to pick up the box anyway,¡± he admitted. ¡°Fair enough,¡± Frank said as he appeared a long box in his hands. It was simple yet elegant, wrought of the nebula marble with a flourishing tree carved on the top and the sides textured with roots. branches, and leaves. The lid sat so flush that John couldn¡¯t tell it was there until Frank took it off to show him the inside. The bottom of the box was blank and smooth, but the bottom of the lid had a raised relief of the same tree as was on its top. ¡°Perfect!¡± John said happily. ¡°Glad you like it son,¡± Frank said, handing it over. John disappeared the box and then appeared the twenty silvers he owed the man. Frank took them without fanfare. ¡°Hope you know what you¡¯re getting yourself in for John. The capital isn¡¯t a place you want having eyes on you most times.¡± John¡¯s elation died down and he gave a somber nod. ¡°Unfortunately, I think their eyes are going to turn this way one way or another anyway. At the very least Knight Commander Helen thinks so,¡± he confided in the older man. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Frank nodded and sighed. ¡°Well, best of luck to you son.¡± The older man then slapped John¡¯s knee, stood, and then headed for his stall. Standing up John stretched, and then headed down the road. Less than thirty minutes later he was standing outside the knights¡¯ outpost, this time, however, there was a squire waiting. It was the young halfling girl from before. Elenia, if John recalled her name correctly. ¡°Good morning Groundskeeper John!¡± she said cheerily. ¡°Knight Commander Helen is expecting you; she says you are free to visit her in her office when you arrive.¡± John nodded politely. ¡°Thanks¡­ uh¡­ Squire Elenia?¡± Elenia giggled. ¡°Yep! And no problem, now head on in!¡± She gestured for him to go through the gate. Following the prompting, John made his way inside, and then turned toward the commander¡¯s office. He quickly crossed the compound, once more ignoring the smells coming from the mess hall, and entered the small building that held Helen¡¯s office and (he suspected) her personal rooms. Knocking on the door to her office he was met with an instant ¡°Enter.¡± Opening the door and entering the office, John found Helen sitting at her desk, and a slim, wiry young angelkin sitting across from her. ¡°Come in John,¡± Helen said and gestured to the other empty chair. ¡°This is Gary, he¡¯ll be taking your package to the capital with him.¡± Gary gave a somewhat lazy wave to John, and Helen frowned but forbore to comment. John closed the door behind him and then navigated to the seat. Settling himself down he gave Gary an interested look. ¡°Gary is a Courier, with the imperial courier¡¯s guild. He¡¯s worked with us before and I trust him implicitly,¡± Helen said, her tone indicating that she¡¯d better be able to or else. Gary shrugged in that same lazy fashion. ¡°You pay well, and I know better than to make an enemy of the Knights Magi.¡± Helen nodded, then looked to John. ¡°I take it you¡¯ve prepared the items we spoke of?¡± John nodded and reached over to the desk, appearing the box, the silk, and the wool. Gary looked at the items quizzically, then his eyes widened and he whistled inaudibly as he eyed the silk. Helen controlled her own reactions much better, and simply watched as John took the lid off the box and arranged the wool and silk inside. Satisfied, John leaned back. Helen, needing no prompting, pulled a large box out from behind her desk and reached inside, pulling out the familiar fruits one by one and placing them in the box. She then placed the lid on top. Box closed, she picked it up, one handed, and slid it into a satchel that was already half filled with papers. She firmly latched the satchel and then held it out to Gary. The angelkin man leapt to his feet, suddenly far more serious, and took the satchel with great care. ¡°You know who to deliver those to?¡± Helen asked. ¡°No one other than Commander Grand Cross Regius will see these,¡± the man affirmed. He then gave a nod to both John and Helen, and walked out of the room. ¡°Hmmm good timing John. I was worried I¡¯d have to hold him here for a day or two. Couriers always get antsy when you make them wait,¡± Helen explained. ¡°Is he going to ride all the way to the capital?¡± John asked. ¡°Hah, no, he¡¯ll call for a Portal at the Gateway of Worlds. Speaking of, Tet has some pay for you. The trials saw heavy use yesterday, and we expect the same today,¡± Helen further informed him. John nodded, then asked, ¡°Is there anything else I should do?¡± ¡°Not at the moment,¡± Helen said in return. ¡°The best you can do now is wait and pray for a favorable outcome.¡± John ran his fingers through his beard but nodded. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll get back to my farm, I need to prepare some new plots.¡± ¡°A good enough plan. And a good day to you John,¡± Helen said as she picked up her next piece of paperwork. ¡°You as well,¡± John said, and then left the study and headed out of the compound. Once safely back on his farm, John realized what he needed to do first thing wasn¡¯t prepare new plots, but enlarge his owned area. Currently he had something like twenty-four acres, but six of those were tied up by the Gateway of Worlds, which sat right in the middle of them. He¡¯d planned twelve of them as pasture land, which left only the six or so that his plots, rituals, barn, and house were on. If he was going to give this a serious go, he would eventually need more land, and soon he wouldn¡¯t be able to claim more easily, he''d have to buy it. Taking out his Claim Spikes, John headed north to the edge of his current claim. He then measured off one thousand forty feet to the north, placed another spike, and then measured off another one thousand forty feet to the east. Finally he planted the final Claim Spike and received a prompt. [You have staked out an area of 1,081,600 square feet, do you wish to add it to your existing claim?] ¡°Yes,¡± John said. [New claim size registered.] John picked up his Claim Spikes and headed back to the cellar. He needed to prepare his plots for planting, which meant he needed more bodies, so he sent a note off to Ex and Sally, asking them to bring him a full three hundred bodies today, and the same tomorrow. He then made the mana stones he¡¯d need for the cleansing ritual and then started preparing the plots to receive new planting. By the time noon had rolled around Ex and Sally had come and gone, and John had shoved the massive pile of bodies into the cleansing ritual. The plots were clear and ready for the new fertilizer (though once the bodies were cleaned, he¡¯d only have enough for six of them), and he was finally able to contemplate his next task on the list. He had to saturate his new land with his mana so it¡¯d be part of his Domain. He¡¯d done the math (twice) and it would take him more than two hundred hours to generate enough mana to completely saturate his full set of lands. Fortunately, nothing said he had to do that all at once, so he¡¯d decided he would take it as it came, one hour at a time; which was how he found himself setting in for a long afternoon of mana wasting. MAG - Interlude: Regius - Edited Lord of the Eternal Empire, Overseer of Vaults of Creation, Keeper of the Celestial Gate, Ruler of the Four Kingdoms, Warmer of The Throne (though some contested that title as unseemly), his Eminence and Grace, Victorious Regius the Fourth, was bored. Victorious (known as Vic to his wife, Dad to his Children, and Vikky to one aunt whom he hadn¡¯t seen in more than a decade) was sitting on the throne, dutifully warming it as was the mandate of the Regius family, while he watched a bunch of nobles partake in extensive games of one-upmanship. Oh, there was backstabbing, intrigue, the fall of houses, the rise of new ones. The problem was that none of those were aimed at him, and it wasn¡¯t like some kind of play being put on where he got to see everyone, hear their motivations, and know what they all were doing. No, he got second-hand dry reports from his spymaster who mostly just assured him that everything was working right and no one was plotting to overthrow him. Not that they could anyway. It was an interesting tidbit of lore, but only a Regius by birth could sit upon the throne. It was literally impossible for anyone else to place their posterior on its wretchedly uncomfortable surface. Pillows were also not allowed; they had a bad habit of spontaneously combusting if placed between the hard granite surface and the royal posterior. His father had learned that one the hard way, and Victorious had no wish to repeat the experiment. To further add to the mystery, the throne could not be moved. Not by any means known to the sapient races of the empire anyway. So, a Regius sat on the throne or no one did, and Vic rather thought it¡¯d be very hard to dictate your will while sitting in front of or to the side of the throne. Not that it hadn¡¯t been tried by some very determined regents, it just hadn¡¯t gone over very well. Inevitably such men and women came to a Bad End. So here Vic sat, warming the imperial seat and watching nobles bicker, simper, argue, and insult. There was a rather interesting spat going on between Lady Gloria of the Thousand Fountains (the representative of the King of the East) and Lord Oswald the Stalwart (her distant cousin, who just happened to be in court for this season¡¯s round of balls, parties, and general soirees). Apparently, a new barony was being formed in the Eastern Kingdom around some little place called Runic Rock. Someone had convinced not one but three gods to place unlimited trials there. Word was that the King of the East would be holding some form of competition for the noble youth to partake in, and Lady Gloria was certain that only one representative of their family needed to be present. Lord Oswald did not agree, and had made clear he was going to send his youngest daughter to represent his branch of the family. Vic had met all the children of Lady Gloria and Lord Oswald, and he rather liked little Susanna Oswald much more than any of the other brats. She was a good girl, with an excellent head on shoulders. It was too bad her peers would likely tear her apart. There, off in a corner were Lords Jeremiah and Ells, both of them were having an affair¡­ with the wife of the other. Neither, of course, was aware of the other man¡¯s perfidy, or they wouldn¡¯t be engaged in amicable conversation. Both thought themselves incredibly clever as they dropped cryptic hints to the other about their goings on. Then, near the middle of the room was a group of young noblewomen, this their first time in the imperial court. They had their fans out and were hiding their mouths and noses. This did nothing to prevent anyone from noticing their goggle-eyed gawking. Not far from them was a group of young noble-men, who had been in the capital for exactly a single season now and believed themselves old hands at this game. Strutting about like peacocks and showing off for the ladies. All of that didn¡¯t even begin to touch on the other hundred or so nobles who were scattered around the large room, making small talk, building alliances, destroying friendships, and in general doing nothing at all worth mentioning. Vic did not do anything as undignified as sighing, however his shoulders did droop just a hair, and his impassive face trembled at the edge of a frown. The nobility vexed him; so much power and they played stupid games with it. Not to mention the stranglehold they had on certain trades and most of the unlimited trials in the empire. They¡¯d also done their level best to run out all the players, forcing them to the edges of the empire. Perhaps it was time he moved the royal posterior to perform some act of change to set everything on its head. The real problem, he decided after a moment of thought, was that there weren¡¯t a lot of things he could turn on their heads. And if he made any kind of imperial decree now, he might not be able to make one later when it mattered. It was vexing, very vexing. He was the emperor! And yet¡­ that didn¡¯t just let him do what he wanted. So, uncertain of what he should, or could, do, he went back to people watching. Having just decided that there was nothing he could immediately do, Vic settled down to continue his rampant boredom, however, he¡¯d just barely readjusted the royal rump when the Herald at the door suddenly went wide eyed and stood up straight. He banged his stave of office on the tiled floor once, releasing a chime easily heard through the entire room, and then said in a booming (and artificially enhanced) voice. ¡°Now announcing Knight Commander Grand Cross, Keeper of the Records, Hero of Ledos, The Arch Magus Loren Regius!¡± The room took upon itself the silence of a tomb. Those titles and that name hadn¡¯t been uttered in this room in over a decade. The woman to whom they belonged was fondly believed dead by many, and those who knew better simply thanked their deity of choice that she¡¯d disappeared. That she was being announced now was a surprise for all, and a special treat for the emperor. Auntie Loren always brought the best presents after all! The doors to the grand chamber swung open on well-oiled hinges, making not a sound. They revealed an old woman wearing drab, common garb. She looked old, or older rather, but there was a certain vitality to her. An energy that Vic had often envied. The same energy that had allowed her to defy his grandfather and foist the throne on her younger brother. She stood tall, cane in one hand, face set in a regal mask, her white hair tumbling down her back in a wild torrent. With all the grace good tutoring and high dexterity could instill, she flowed into the room. Her presence a weight that bore down on all within. It was there that the silence cracked and the whispers begun. The courtiers were suddenly all abuzz with speculation and worry. What was she doing here? Why now? Where had she been? What did this mean? The whispering ran rampant about her as she walked serenely across the floor and approached the dais upon which stood the throne. She stopped at the foot of it, as was only proper, and then curtsied low and slowly, showing a spryness that belied her age. ¡°My emperor,¡± she said respectfully. ¡°Arch Magus,¡± he said, choosing the least unwieldy of her titles, ¡°You may rise and stand within my sight.¡± He gave the traditional leniency. It was rare that the emperor did not allow someone to rise, and it signaled deep displeasure, usually of the fatal kind. Loren returned to her full height. ¡°I thank you for your kindness and would show my gratitude with a gift,¡± she continued the traditional script, and then held forth her free hand. Upon her upraised palm appeared a box which must have been almost twenty-nine inches in length, nine in width, and seven inches deep. It was made of a beautiful black marble which contained swirls of colors in various jewel tones. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Vic reflexively used Inspect. [Nebula Box] The box had been made specifically for this gift, it seemed. That was not unusual, but the part about the farmer did beg some questions. ¡°It is a strange thing with which you present me. But I see it is not only from your hand from which it comes. Tell me, who is the farmer whose work you carry?¡± he asked in formal tones. Loren smiled. ¡°His name is John, just John, and he has been part of our world for little more than two months now. While he shows only the barest spark of ambition, he pursues that which he desires with total devotion. At the same time, he does not shun the wisdom of others, and seeks it out when he finds that which he does not know or understand. He¡¯s a good lad, and with proper nurturing he will be a fine addition to your empire.¡± Vic inclined his head, the closest he could give to a proper nod. He then gestured to one of his aides. The woman walked gracefully down the stairs and took the proffered box. She examined it, visually and magically. She didn¡¯t do something as sinful as draw a sharp breath, but the slight thinning of her lips and a tiny widening of her eyes told him that she was shocked by what she saw. Carefully, with almost reverence, she ascended the stairs once more. Approaching the throne, she lowered herself and presented the box. Vic reached out and carefully lifted it from her grasp, then lowered it to his lap. Next, he took off the lid and stared at the contents. He Inspected the ten fruits one by one, fixing their abilities in his mind. Then, reaching into the box he tested the fabric in which they nestled, it definitely was a type of silk, but not one he immediately recognized, so he Inspected it as well. [Spider Silk Cloth] The spider silk was¡­ something new, and quite interesting, but it wasn¡¯t the main prize here. That was the True Portal Fruit, and what a prize it was. An instant Portal to anywhere from anywhere? Unrestricted by Portal Anchors? That was unheard of, not to mention a massive security risk. They had to be controlled, and clearly this John had been made aware of that fact, and chosen to send the fruits of his labor as a gift. ¡°Truly this is an imperial gift of no little worth. Tell me, where might this John and the Galaxy Tree be found?¡± Vic said at last, as he placed the lid back on the box. ¡°John can be found working his farm in the far eastern town of Runic Rock. Where he is the groundskeeper for The Galaxy Tree, the Gateway of Worlds, and the three trials which reside within,¡± Loren explained, her voice and face serene, though he was certain she was laughing inside. Runic Rock, wasn¡¯t he just wishing he could do something about the new barony that was forming? And along comes auntie Loren to help him upend everything. Now he could not only do something, he had to do something. ¡°Tell me, what claim does John have to these things?¡± Vic asked, though he already suspected the answer. ¡°John claimed the land, built the shrine and grew the tree, with his own hands, under his own power, then, in what I can only call a fit of inspiration, he beseeched the gods for knowledge, and they have given it through the sacred site which he has constructed,¡± Loren said. ¡°I see,¡± the emperor said with another inclination of his head. ¡°Very well, for what this John has done, and what I am afraid I must ask of him in the future, he deserves a boon. As it appears he cannot speak for himself at this time, it falls to the one with whom he has entrusted his gift. What boon should I grant our young farmer?¡± Loren pursed her lips, then nodded slowly as if she were thinking of something. Finally, she spoke. ¡°Fairness,¡± was all she said. The emperor did not smile, to smile would be to give away the game. Fairness? What a horribly open-ended boon, it could mean anything or nothing! That meant he got to interpret it how he pleased. ¡°Very well,¡± he said finally. ¡°Fairness shall be the boon, and let it be applied equally to all who have interest in Runic Rock. I believe the King of the East is forming a new barony in that region with the town as its anchor?¡± He turned his gaze to Lady Gloria and gestured her direction. Taking the gesture as her cue, the dwarven woman stood straighter and stepped forward into the bubble that had grown around Loren. She performed a courtly curtsy and then spoke in a strong voice that carried to the crowd. ¡°It is true, the King of the East seeks a noble to hold these lands that they may become a part of the empire proper.¡± ¡°And that he may control the Trials no doubt,¡± the emperor noted without apparent malice. ¡°It had crossed his mind that such things left in the hands of common folk and the new player rabble could be a danger to the wellbeing and stability of the empire,¡± Lady Gloria said carefully, to murmurs of agreement from the other nobles in the room. Vic nodded thoughtfully as if he was carefully weighing her words, then gave a heavy, almost put-upon sigh. ¡°I fear, Lady Gloria, that I must put a crimp in King East¡¯s plans, for a boon of Fairness has been entreated from me. The formation of the Barony will occur, however I¡¯m afraid the gods must be entreated in the matter of who shall rule. I shall ask they grant a Limited Trial to test the candidates put forth and give their blessing to the one who should rule.¡± Lady Gloria managed not to let her feelings show on her face, but inside she was reeling. The emperor, unlike most mere mortals, had access to the Celestial Vaults. Even if most of the vaults were sealed (since time immemorial and for reasons unknown) what could be accessed still contained treasures that would make any of the high nobles, no matter how wealthy, bankrupt should they try to purchase even a hundredth of them. Among these treasures was a doorway carved of simple oak and lacking any door to fill it. The doorway, more appropriately known as The Door of Trials, had a singular purpose. Once in an emperor¡¯s life he (or she) could entreat the gods for a Limited Trial and dictate its exact specifications. Those specifications had to include ways the trial could be defeated, and the reward specified must be equal to the trials of the challenge, but other than that there was little the emperor couldn¡¯t dictate with the sole exception of who would win the trial. It was inconceivable to the dwarven noble, and to most of her compatriots, that the emperor should waste his one use on a matter so small as the formation of a barony. What could he possibly hope to accomplish? Why would he care so much? What was he planning? These thoughts flashed through her head even as she stepped back into the waiting crowd, unfortunately for her, no answer was forthcoming. MAG - Chapter 44 - Edited The next morning was accompanied by a light drizzle, the sight of which caused John to sigh in annoyance. It seemed the further they got into the ¡®rainy¡¯ season, the more rain they got. He supposed that made sense, but the mud and poor visibility were starting to get to him. The one bright spot was that the chookers didn¡¯t want to leave their coop at all, which meant no spontaneous field exercises to capture his farm animals. The downside was that he had to clean out the straw more often. While he wasn¡¯t hurting for straw at the moment, he was going to have to grow more grain for it eventually, or maybe he could just buy some from Frank. After reforming his umbrella, John made his way over to the shrine and spent some time with the tree. While he¡¯d been saturating his domain, John had spent some time thinking about the tree and its quick development. Normally, after a certain point of growth, you start pruning a tree to help it grow in specific directions. Mostly this is to encourage airflow through the canopy and help ensure sunlight reaches the lower parts of the tree, however it could also be used to encourage fruiting. John wasn¡¯t sure he wanted to prune the tree at all; he knew intellectually that it was to help it, however, having felt its proto-sapience, he didn¡¯t want to do anything that might cause it pain or grief. Having considered the problem, he decided to try simply telling it what was needed. As he fed mana to the tree, he consciously tried to impress on it the need to keep its canopy loose and to focus its energies on existing branches instead of creating new ones. The tree didn¡¯t seem to respond to the imagery, so he supposed he¡¯d just have to wait and see what happened. Finished with the tree he stood and returned to his farm. It was a couple hours yet until the bodies were finished in the purification ritual so John dealt with the chookers and retreated to the cellar once more. Settling down on a straw bale he quickly dealt with retrieving his new earnings from the auction (netting a nice two hundred sixteen coppers) and placed the next batch of eggs (of which there were only forty) up for sale at the same price of three coppers each. Then settled in to spend some more time pushing mana into his land. Connecting to his domain was strange, but not unlike his communion with the tree. The moment his mana connected he felt like he¡¯d become a part of the land, or it had become part of him. The connection wasn¡¯t terribly strong, nor was it precise and detailed. For instance, he couldn¡¯t single out any of his garden plots, nor could he have picked out a specific set of footfalls upon its surface. Despite this, the connection was profound, like suddenly being able to see after having spent an interminable time in darkness. He could feel the land about him, welcoming and bolstering him. He could also feel where it ended. The contrast between his land and ¡®not his land¡¯ was sharp and defined. The land went from warm and welcoming to cold and indifferent without any gradient in between. All his attempts to push past that barrier were met with failure, he simply couldn¡¯t gain purchase. However, the land he had claimed but not made part of his domain was different. It still felt indifferent, yes, but it was porous and pliable, willing to change its mind. Making the pliable land part of his domain was as simple as pushing mana into it. He¡¯d done some experimenting that first evening and had found that earth mana was not in fact the best option for this task. The land would accept it, but he could sense there was something missing from it. He¡¯d tried raw mana next, though the efficiency was terrible and the land found it even less satisfying than the earth mana. Of the other elements, the only one it responded to was life, and it was much like earth mana, missing something. After considering the conundrum for a moment, he decided to try something different. With some concentration he¡¯d created two aspects at once, life and earth, and fed both into the land at the same time. The result was that each point of mana spent gained him twice the coverage. While it took more effort to maintain two aspects, John felt it was well worth it, given that it would reduce the required time by half, leaving only a hundred or so hours of work. Better, he found that he didn¡¯t need to concentrate too much on the task; which meant he could do things like reading or watching movies. He had decided not to work on other things at the same time; not just because controlling more strands of mana would have been difficult, but also because he needed some time to relax and an evening of binging tv shows had been just the thing. His only regret was the lack of snacks to go along with it. After a couple of hours, John returned to the surface where he found that the drizzle had stopped, and the ground was only lightly muddy. Pleased that he didn¡¯t need to lug around his makeshift umbrella, John made his way over to the ritual of cleansing. Gathering up the bodies, John took them over to the plots and deposited fifty in the northwestern most plot, the one he¡¯d originally had wheat in. He then repeated the process five times, depositing fifty bodies in each plot, until the six eastern plots were filled. He then considered his second problem. He¡¯d been using Decay to reduce the bodies, however his previous method was to just plop them down in a pile and then work at them piece by piece. He¡¯d spent five hours on the task each previous time, but in reality there was a lot of wasted space between (and inside) all the bodies in question. What this meant is it didn¡¯t need to take that long. Better, he didn¡¯t need the meat, bones, or organs in pristine condition, in fact mulched was better for his purposes. John considered the problem for a moment, and then decided that the best option was to try compacting the bodies. After several minutes of thought, and taking into consideration the strength of his Control Earth spell, he decided on a cube five feet to a side. He moved to the northern end of the aisle between plots, and created a three-foot-deep pit that abutted the exterior wall. He lined the bottom with granite a foot deep, and then created foot-thick walls that were five feet high, for a full two feet below ground and three feet above. Next he created the lid, making it slightly less than five feet to a side, so that he could easily lower it into the pit. After a bit of careful testing, he found that he could indeed lower it into the pit and raise it up without too much grinding at the sides. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. With the pit finished, he started moving the bodies into it. After the first thirty bodies the pit was looking remarkably full, however some quick calculations told him it¡¯d only take thirty-two minutes or so to decay the entire thing. He¡¯d been way over-casting, which was not a pleasant thought given the amount of time it had cost him. Grabbing the lid with his magic, he dropped it on top of the bodies. There came a sickening squelching sound as it settled on top, however it didn¡¯t descend very far. That was fine however, as he had intended to force it from the very beginning. With an effort of will, he began pushing on the rock, trying to move it further down. He was rewarded by further squelching and cracking along with a plethora of noxious and disgusting odors. How, he wondered, did something that was cleansed so thoroughly smell so bad? After a moment spent fighting his gag reflex, John continued his disgusting self-imposed task. When the lid was finally about half-way down the pit, and fluids were starting to collect on top, John figured his task was finished. He lifted the plug out, cleaned it with some water magic, then put it off to the side as he threw in the last twenty bodies. Once more the plug went in, and once more he fought to reduce the filled area. By the time he was done he judged the pit was about four-fifths full. A bit of math told him that it¡¯d take about twenty-four minutes to decay the sludgy mess. John let out an annoyed growl. It had taken him almost ten minutes to crush the bodies, and it would take him twenty-four to decay them. That was a total time of thirty-four minutes. Given that it would take thirty-two minutes to decay just thirty bodies, he could assume it¡¯d take little more than another ten to fifteen to finish off the rest. He wasn¡¯t saving enough time to be worth the extra effort. He sighed and set about decaying the goopy, soupy mess of broken bones, torn flesh, and mixed liquids and after a half hour or so it had turned into a rich brown slop. With a gesture and a thought, he began moving large chunks of it out and transferring them to the first plot. He then moved on to the next set of bodies. By the time lunch rolled around he¡¯d finished three of the plots. After lunch he spent a little over an hour and a half preparing the last three. Sally and Ex dropped off the next set of bodies not long after he¡¯d finished setting up his plots, forcing him to take a break to make the required mana stones for the ritual. Fortunately, with his current stats it was possible to make a stone with ten thousand mana in just over half an hour. Unfortunately, two hours was more than enough time to draw scavengers and he had to chase off a half dozen birds and twice that many in small rodents. It was a good thing the ritual cut off scent, though the birds would probably be back anyway; they could still see the bodies after all. Ritual activated, John returned to his garden plots. There wasn¡¯t a lot more he could do tonight other than purchase the seeds he needed. Pulling up the auction he quickly filtered to plants and then seeds, then looked specifically for alchemist¡¯s sponge. It wasn¡¯t particularly difficult to find and for the low price of a silver each he purchased twelve bags of seed. Each seed bag was slightly larger than a fat grapefruit and had a definite heft. When he opened one of the bags he was surprised; he had expected to find them packed full of small, fine seeds. Most research he did on herbs suggested that was typically the norm. These however were more like the size of dried peas. Thinking perhaps he¡¯d bought the wrong thing, he Inspected the seed. [Alchemist¡¯s Sponge Seed] As he continued to examine the seed, John began to feel the tingle of his ¡®instincts¡¯ once more. This time they were telling him there was more to this plant than he¡¯d read. In fact, the more he looked at the seed the more certain he became that it was, in fact, a magical plant all on its own. He wasn¡¯t sure exactly what was magical about it (aside from its properties as an alchemical base) but he was sure that without that understanding he wouldn¡¯t be able to get the best out of it. Checking the book again yielded no insights into his sudden feelings. It was as he recalled, the plant had no special restrictions or instructions for growing other than optimal planting depth (one half to one inch), planting distance (thirty-six inches apart), and optimal sunlight (full). It did however note that it was rare to see one above Good quality outside of specific regions of the empire. John pondered the information for a moment. It sounded like certain areas had something the plant needed to truly flourish. From the list, Runic Rock was not in one of those regions. Still, it would grow here, and that¡¯s what he needed right now. Moving to the plot in the upper north-western corner, he quickly used Move Earth to create inch-deep furrows thirty-six inches apart. Then, after opening a hole in the low wall, he walked in and started dropping seeds into the furrows one by one. While this method of planting was much more efficient than the broadcasting he¡¯d done for his previous crops, it also took interminably longer. Broadcasting just required that he walk at a reduced pace while throwing seeds; this method required actually measuring (if only visually) the distance between each seed, and all but stopping to drop the next seed into the furrow. All together it took him almost an hour and almost six hundred seeds to finish the plot. He was unhappy about the number of seeds required, as he¡¯d barely put a dent in the first bag. It seemed he was going to have a lot of leftover seed. Still, he supposed that it was better than having to buy more. A quick use of Control Earth saw all the seeds covered, and then an application of Create Water further wetted the already damp soil. After that he moved on, finishing the next three plots before it was time to log out. MAG - Chapter 45 - Edited Yet more rain greeted John as he left the cellar the next morning. It was stronger than a drizzle but nothing like the torrential downpour that¡¯d occurred a few days earlier. Still, it was annoying and he was forced to carry around the slab of stone he called an umbrella again. As usual the first four hours were taken up with tree duty, and once more he tried to impress upon it the need to grow in specific ways. Once more he wasn¡¯t sure it even noticed, or cared. The bodies for the chookers were a little later than usual, but he busied himself with cleaning out their straw, refilling their water, and collecting the eggs while he waited. He was thankful that people were still willing to bring bodies though the goo collection had seemingly come to a halt. He suspected that the players who¡¯d been gathering it had out-leveled the herb slime areas. With the chookers settled, John turned his eyes to the plots he¡¯d planted yesterday. He could see the little sprouts coming up in near-perfect rows, but there appeared to be a few sprouts that weren¡¯t in the rows he¡¯d planted. It took him a moment to figure out what they were, and then he remembered he could just Inspect them. [Crabgrass, Common] John made a vexed sound. He hadn¡¯t had to deal with weeds up until this point. The dense way he¡¯d seeded his previous plots had precluded the growth of other plants; they¡¯d simply been strangled by lack of room. Now, however, with his neat, orderly, and well-spaced rows there was plenty of room for them to grow in. To be honest, it was surprising he didn¡¯t have things like crabgrass popping up all over his cleared land. Perhaps it was some kind of game mechanic? After all, the regular plants on the plains didn¡¯t seem to be perpetually growing and dying in an accelerated cycle; perhaps designating something as a plot of land to be cultivated triggered some fast growth mechanism. Whatever the case may be, it didn¡¯t solve the current problem, which was weeds in his gardens. Unfortunately the only solution for that, currently, was to go and pluck them out one by one. While weeding wasn¡¯t a difficult process, consisting of little more than bending over and an application of move earth to eject the offending sprout from the soil, it was tedious and time consuming. Over all, weeding the four plots he¡¯d already seeded cost him nearly two hours of his day, and he swore that finding a better way was going to be a priority. However, as if the game were trying to make up for the inconvenience, he did gain another point in each Constitution and Magic. The rest of the morning was spent planting the last two plots, which was a severely unpleasant task in the rain. By the time he was done John¡¯s ankles were thoroughly caked in mud and despite the umbrella (Which he¡¯d had to physically hold more than once while he regenerated mana) he was somehow drenched. Taken all together, the experience had been thoroughly exhausting; mentally, if not physically, and he was more than ready to log out and have lunch. One hour (and a lunch) later saw John sitting in his storm cellar considering his options for the next few hours. The current set of bodies wouldn¡¯t be ready for composting for another four hours or so, which meant he had some time. There were several things he could do, but very few of them could be done without going back out into the rain. Finally, he settled on expanding his domain, as it was both something he needed to do and didn¡¯t require going outside. Once again, he sunk into the connection with his land and started feeding it mana. After the process was going he let his consciousness surface enough that he could watch some movies while he worked. For a while it was nice to sit and relax without feeling like he was wasting time. However, all too soon it was over and time to get back to it. Emerging from the cellar, John found it just as wet as earlier. This, however, did not deter him from heading out to the cleansing ritual and begin the process of moving the bodies over to the plots. Once finished he set about decaying the remains and mixing them into the soil of the remaining six gardens. By the time he finished it was dark enough that he had to conjure a flame in order to see, putting further strain on his already taxed mana pool and regeneration. While John hadn¡¯t yet fully tested the limits of Mana Manipulation, he was currently fueling two separate spells and low-key Mana Drawing, and was beginning to feel the strain. He figured that, in a pinch, he could control up to six different strands of mana, be it for spell or skill, but he didn¡¯t want to test that unless he had to. Beyond that, it was maybe two hours before he had to get off for the night anyway, and he couldn¡¯t see getting any real work done before then. With that in mind, he decided to log off early and get some extra sleep. By the next morning the rain had turned into more of a drizzle than a downfall, but it was still more than enough to make the day unpleasant. As he went about his morning tasks, John idly wondered if he could find an actual umbrella in town. He only needed one hand free to cast spells, which meant it would be far more efficient than his magic umbrella. After dealing with the chookers (who were vocally unhappy about the extended rain), he made his way over to check on the plots he¡¯d already planted. To his dismay there were more weeds to be pulled. The first four plots had maybe half the weeds of the preceding day, so instead of the two hours it¡¯d taken him last time, it only cost him about an hour. Plots five and six though had enough weeds between them to cost him another hour of time. This meant that by the time he could start planting, he only had about an hour and a half left before lunch. John planted right up until lunch time when he took the obligatory hour-long break. He then continued on to spend several more hours seeding the plots, pausing only briefly to feed the chookers. By the time he was finished it had grown dark once more and he was in no mood to continue any outdoor activities, given his wet and muddy state. With that in mind he retreated to the cellar, and spent the last few hours pushing mana into his land. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. The first half of the next day went much as that of the previous. After sitting with the tree and dealing with the chookers John found himself weeding right up until lunch and then another half hour after that. As if to further complicate things, he found that several of the plants were showing signs of insect activity. The problem was that he didn¡¯t have a lot of good ways to deal with insects at the moment. Most natural insecticides required plant products in quantities he probably wouldn¡¯t have much access to for a while yet. The most common of course would be insecticidal soap, which usually used plant oils, such as olive oil, coconut oil, or linseed oil; the first two wouldn¡¯t grow in this climate, though flax would. There were some mineral options, but mostly he wouldn¡¯t be able to get his hands on those; all but sulfur were rare enough that he probably couldn¡¯t just conjure them. John paused and then shook his head. He was thinking too mundane. In a world of magic there were going to be magical solutions to problems; possibly in the form of actual alchemical solutions. Other possibilities involved rituals, enchantments, and even perhaps a spell that targeted bugs specifically. What he really needed to do was ask Frank or Ellie what they did for pests. He decided he¡¯d take care of that when he went to pick up his doors from Phillip; it had been over a week since he¡¯d ordered them, so they were probably ready. Checking on the chookers one last time, John headed for the road only to pause as he heard voices coming from the shrine. This wasn¡¯t actually as unusual as it had once been; people had been coming for days to try their luck at the trials. However, those people usually showed up in ones or twos, with only the occasional larger group showing up. What caught his attention was the larger than average composition of the group, and the fact that they were coming out of a portal set in one of the arches. A quick look was all it took to figure out who these newcomers were; their cloaks gave them away as Knights Magi. John spent a few minutes watching them come through the portal and exit the shrine. He wasn¡¯t sure how he felt. The last batch of knights hadn¡¯t endeared themselves to him, though Helen and Axia had treated him well, and Tet didn¡¯t seem to care either way. After watching them a few more moments he turned and headed for town. Hopefully these new knights were going to be different, but he wouldn¡¯t count on it. As he walked, John was once again thankful for the construction of the road. Not only did it speed up travel, but it also had the virtue of being made of stone, which meant no mud. John was thoroughly sick of being soggy and dirty up to his ankles, and once again promised to find time to set up stone walkways around his farm. Unfortunately, he wasn¡¯t certain when he¡¯d find time for that, if ever. He arrived in town to find that the few booths that normally existed had proliferated, with many of them gaining signs as well. There were signs for alchemy, enchanting, and even a couple for ritual services. The enchanting and alchemy booths were seeing a fair bit of traffic, and John could see that some of the booths were also purchasing plants from their would-be customers. Weaving between the people wandering the streets, he made his way to Phillip¡¯s shop and entered. The small bell above the door gave a little tinkle and the short proprietor came out from the back room. ¡°Ah! John!¡± he said with a smile. ¡°I was wondering when I might be seeing you. Your doors have been ready for a couple of days now. Not the barn doors though, those I¡¯m taking my time with.¡± The small gnome like man gestured for John to follow him into the back. ¡°Here we are,¡± Phillip said, gesturing to several doors leaning against the back wall. A quick count affirmed that there were four lacquered doors and three plain. ¡°Perfect,¡± John said. ¡°How much do I owe you?¡± ¡°Five silvers and fifty coppers,¡± the short man rattled off. John produced the required money and passed it over, he then started lifting the doors (complete with frames) off the ground and disappearing them into his inventory. It was amazing how light the doors felt, even though he knew they were of solid construction; obviously having a high strength stat was paying dividends. ¡°The barn doors will be done in a few more days, call it three,¡± Phillip said from where he now perched on a tall stool. His hands were working at another tiny figurine, this time of a princess complete with ball gown and coronet. John glanced around the room, it was large, but clearly not big enough for ten foot tall and wide doors. ¡°Where are you making them?¡± he asked. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s over there,¡± Phillip responded, taking a moment to gesture at a tarp covered pile off to one side. ¡°I¡¯m actually carving four doors for each side, two upper and two lower, and I¡¯m going to have to deliver the pieces and help you install the frames once they¡¯re done; they¡¯d be too unwieldy to pick up and pop in your inventory.¡± John nodded, eyeing the tarp covered pieces. ¡°So¡­ what design did you go with?¡± he asked curiously. ¡°Ha! None of that now! I¡¯ll reveal it when it¡¯s done!¡± the older man said with a grin. ¡°Now, away with you! I have things to work on. Oh! Right, I¡¯m supposed to help with some advertising. There¡¯s a player, Amber; well, his name is actually PrinceOfAmber but that sounds weird when you smoosh it together and it¡¯s unwieldy besides, so we all just call him Amber. Anyway, he¡¯s taken up Golemancy, you can find his stall in the square, go to him for all your golem needs.¡± John¡¯s brow rose. ¡°Golems?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I said!¡± Phillip responded. ¡°Like, large creatures made of inanimate materials that follow orders autonomously?¡± John asked, clearly seeking confirmation that he had the idea right. ¡°Well large is quite a big stretch, but other than that, you¡¯re basically correct,¡± Phillip responded. ¡°I might take a look, I could use some extra labor,¡± John said as he headed for the door. ¡°Good luck, I¡¯ll see you in, let¡¯s call it three days? Early afternoon?¡± the gnome-like man asked. ¡°Sounds good!¡± John called back, then he exited the store. MAG - Chapter 46 - Edited John left Phillip¡¯s store and headed for the square. He still needed to speak with Frank and Ellie about pesticides, and now he wanted to see the golems. Fortunately, none of the people he wanted to see were hard to find. Frank and Ellie could clearly be seen at their stalls, and it wasn¡¯t at all hard to pick out PrinceOfAmber¡¯s stall, it was after all the only one with tiny knights having a tiny duel. John wandered over in that direction and paused to watch as the two wooden miniatures fought a tiny battle for dominance. The two golems weren¡¯t anything like fluid in their motions, in fact they seemed stiff, almost robotic, and they were clearly replaying a simple pattern of strikes over and over again. Still, there was something endearing about the tiny constructs. ¡°Ah! Welcome!¡± came a smooth, baritone voice. ¡°I see you¡¯ve been entranced by my fine wares!¡± John looked up to see a surprisingly small man behind the booth. He was maybe five feet tall and more slender than not. ¡°Oh, uh, yeah, they¡¯re pretty eye-catching,¡± John admitted, slightly embarrassed that he¡¯d ignored the man in favor of watching. ¡°They are, aren¡¯t they? With a few more ranks in Golemcraft I should be able to make them even more lifelike. Of course, they¡¯ll also have a higher mana cost, but that¡¯s the cost of quality,¡± Amber explained. ¡°Still pretty neat, sorry for ignoring you there, I was just thinking that I have a problem these little guys might be able to help with, depending on how autonomous they are,¡± John explained. ¡°Mostly? It depends on what I write into their creation,¡± the golemancer replied. ¡°Write into their creation?¡± John echoed, uncertainly. ¡°Oh yeah, golem creation in this game is pretty old school!¡± Amber responded enthusiastically. ¡°You have to write a golem contract and imbue it into the construct. It¡¯s also super complicated, you have to have alchemically treated inks and parchment, and the golem¡¯s body has to have the ¡®Phrase of Life¡¯ written on it somewhere, which is just a fancy way of saying it needs an enchantment that¡¯ll draw in mana from a source, then finally you¡¯ve got to perform a ritual to bind the contract to it.¡± ¡°Are you doing all that yourself?¡± John asked, surprised. ¡°Ha, no, I¡¯m buying the necessary bits from the other crafters now, it does mean my golems cost more though. That said, the cost for something this small isn¡¯t exactly going to break the bank; after all, most of us don¡¯t have access to the Auction yet, so pretty much we¡¯re paying in coppers and silvers.¡± Amber explained. ¡°Alright, so, say I wanted a golem that could pull weeds, could you do that?¡± John inquired. ¡°To be honest? Probably not at this rank. The problem isn¡¯t getting them to pull plants out of the ground, the problem is getting them to pull the right plants out of the ground. You¡¯d need to be able to tell the golem what plants not to pull, and they¡¯d need to be able to distinguish them from any kind of weed which would likely mean you have to show them what the plant looks like at each stage of life¡­.¡± Amber trailed off as he considered the problem. ¡°So, not really possible.¡± John surmised. ¡°Well... I mean¡­ I guess it depends on how precisely you¡¯ve seeded your garden? If the garden was laid out in a grid pattern, we could write specific instructions not to pull any plants at the grid intersections, but to pull all other plants. Any golem like that would be essentially locked into one pattern though, you¡¯d never be able to plant outside those intersections if you wanted to keep using the golem,¡± Amber offered. ¡°So I¡¯d have to buy a new one if I wanted to plant anything else,¡± John said with a nod. ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯ll work for me, sorry.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Amber said with a sigh. ¡°Golems really aren¡¯t working for anyone to be honest. I went into the trials thinking ¡®Golems are cool! Everyone will want a golem!¡¯ And then I completed all three trials, not easy mind you, and got some great gear and a book on Golemancy, and found I could only make three-inch-tall little men that sort of follow really basic instructions.¡± John winced. ¡°I know that feeling, I came into this game expecting to set up on some pre-cleared land and immediately start growing crops for sale, here I am two months later and I¡¯ve only just got something that might earn cash growing.¡± ¡°Oh! You¡¯re the farmer guy¡­ uh.., Joe?¡± Amber asked. ¡°John,¡± John replied with a smile. ¡°Right, That¡¯s it! Guess that explains the whole weeding thing, I probably should have put that together faster. I¡¯m PrinceOfAmber by the way!¡± Amber said, sticking his hand out and receiving a brief shake for his trouble. ¡°Sorry I¡¯m not more help, I¡¯m hoping that once I hit Journeyman I¡¯ll be able to give them more flexible instructions.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, sometimes the only solution is the mundane one, I was just hoping to get out of weeding,¡± John replied with a dismissive wave. ¡°Speaking of solutions, I have to go and talk to Frank and Ellie about a bug problem, I¡¯ll see you around.¡± ¡°Good luck with your bugs,¡± Amber said as John turned to depart. Heading away from the golemancer¡¯s stall, John threaded his way through the various groups in the square and made his way to Frank¡¯s stall. ¡°Hey Frank,¡± he said in greeting. ¡°Son, what brings you my way today? Not more carving work I hope,¡± Frank said. ¡°No, I was actually wondering what to do about bugs on my crops,¡± John admitted. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Frank shook his head. ¡°Son, it ever occur to you that you only show up when you need somethin? You never just stop to say hi, or chat about the weather, have a drink or any of the other neighborly things that make a community work.¡± John opened his mouth and then paused in thought. Frank was actually right; he couldn¡¯t think of any time he¡¯d just stopped in to have casual conversation. It would be really easy to blame his time limit for that problem, he wouldn¡¯t have a lot of time to socialize until he had an income. But the bigger issue was that he had been so very focused on what he was doing that he¡¯d pretty much neglected everything else. Even his relationship with Ex and Sally was more about business than any kind of actual friendship. He blew out a slow breath. ¡°Thought not,¡± Frank said with a small chuckle. ¡°You need to slow down and take some time to get to know the people around you. I know you¡¯re on a time limit and all that, but keep in mind there¡¯s more to life, or this ¡®game¡¯ if you prefer to think of it that way, than just work.¡± ¡°My dad told me something similar not long ago,¡± John admitted ruefully. ¡°Sounds like a smart man, you should listen,¡± Frank said with a nod. ¡°Now you said you need to know what to do about bugs?¡± John nodded. ¡°Yeah, looks like aphids and beetles mostly, but there could be other pests I haven¡¯t noticed or don¡¯t know about.¡± ¡°Well, your options mostly depend on what you¡¯re growing. There are a few solutions our budding alchemists could probably whip up. Other than that I know Ellie uses a ritual, not sure which one, but it has to encompass whatever garden she¡¯s growing in at the time, I guess you¡¯re still doing large batches?¡± Frank looked to John, who nodded. ¡°In that case you¡¯re probably not going to go the ritual route. Other than that, sulfur is a fair choice, or a blessing on your field from Ira.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t suppose there are any spells?¡± John asked. ¡°Well of course there are spells son, the trick is not killing your crops with them. For someone with good Mana Manipulation you might be able to exclude your plants from the spell, but you¡¯d be walking a mighty fine line,¡± Frank explained. ¡°So alchemical solutions are probably my best bet, are there any plants I shouldn¡¯t use them on?¡± John inquired. ¡°Not usually, the only one I¡¯ve ever had a bad reaction with is alchemist¡¯s sponge, it absorbed the solution and tainted the entire crop,¡± Frank said. ¡°Wait, it absorbed the solution?¡± John asked, certain that this related to his earlier feelings that the herb was a magical plant. ¡°Apparently the plant is just as capable of absorbing magic before processing as after,¡± the older man explained with a nod. ¡°Thanks, I¡¯m actually growing alchemist¡¯s sponge, ruining this batch would have been a disaster, will active spells affect them as well?¡± John wondered. ¡°Not so far as I know, but I¡¯ve never tested a direct spell on them, it¡¯s not often that I grow alchemical plants these days.¡± John nodded. ¡°Well, that¡¯s really helpful, thanks.¡± ¡°No problem son, make sure to stop by for somethin more than questions in the future. Also, if you feel up to it, lots of us spend the evenings in the tavern, you¡¯re welcome to join,¡± Frank offered. ¡°I¡­ can probably visit occasionally,¡± John said noncommittally. ¡°I¡¯m just¡­ having a hard time finding the time to do everything I need as it is.¡± Frank nodded. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll get there, just think on it, son. Just think on it.¡± ¡°I will,¡± John said, then walked away with a wave. Mindful of the conversation he¡¯d just had with Frank, John stopped by Ellie¡¯s stall as well and spent a few moments talking with the woman. They had a short conversation about the weather (the near constant rain was normal, apparently), how her garden was doing, and a few bits and bobs about village life. It was actually more relaxing than he¡¯d expected. Eventually they said their farewells, and John started back toward his farm. A short walk later saw him at the entrance, which was still a hole in the wall that he opened and closed at need. He¡¯d forgotten about that when he was ordering doors and he vowed he¡¯d ask Phillip about it when he came to install the ones for the barn. John started with the chooker coop. A quick use of Control Earth and a tug saw the door on the coop come free, and he put it directly into his inventory, revealing a mass of angry chookers on the other side. The reptiles made their displeasure at the missing door vocally clear, right up until John installed the new one. Finished with the coop, John headed to the house and installed the three outer doors. One to the front entrance, one to the kitchen, and one to the work space. He then proceeded to slot the four interior doors as well, making the shelter an actual building. Finished with the doors, a quick glance outside showed that the light was beginning to fade and he had maybe an hour before it got truly dark. Despite the impending gloom, he didn¡¯t want to leave his plants to the pests for more time than he had to, and decided that the best time to take care of them would be now. Given his lack of plant-based oils, and the inability to use alchemical solutions on the alchemist¡¯s sponge, John resigned himself to using sulfur. There wasn¡¯t anything wrong with sulfur, per se, it¡¯d been used as an insecticide and fungicide for a very, very long time. However, it just wasn¡¯t as effective as some other, more modern solutions. Also, it tended to smell and the rain would wash it off regularly. Still, it was what it was. Moving to the first plot John invoked Create Earth, focusing on the specific material he wanted. As he¡¯d expected, the spell fought against him, though it was only a little more difficult than creating quartz. Sulfur was very abundant after all, and one of the few elements that could be found pure in nature and he had the feat that expanded what he could make with the spell. A few moments later he¡¯d generated a small pile of fine sulfur on the ground. It was, he judged, no more than a few pounds. Each acre of crops required between ten and thirty pounds of sulfur when dusting it; given that each of his plots was around one eighteenth of an acre, thus he only needed around a pound or two per plot. With another gesture John took control of the sulfur and dispersed the fine powder, which he then began guiding through the plot, being sure to finely coat all the plants. It was a difficult process, and he actually had to stop and make more sulfur. Just because the amount needed was only a couple pounds didn¡¯t mean he was actually capable of applying it with perfect coverage. Having finished the first plot, John darted a look at the sky. It had taken him maybe half an hour of work, but he felt that he could now do it in maybe fifteen minutes. Quickly he got to work on the next plot, and showed that yes, he could make it in just about fifteen. A little under three hours later saw him finished with all the plots. However, he¡¯d had to finish the last few in the dark, so he wasn¡¯t sure he¡¯d gotten full coverage on those. Finished with his crop dusting, John retreated to the cellar where he gathered up his bedroll, then took the stairs up into his new house. Spreading the bedroll out onto the raised sleeping platform he¡¯d made, he laid down, got comfortable, and spent the last hour or so pushing mana into the land. MAG - Chapter - 47 For a wonder the next morning was neither rainy, nor overcast. This made John¡¯s time with the tree and weeding the plots far more palatable, although it was still noon before he finished. As he ate lunch, he had to wonder how long this was going to be his routine. He wasn¡¯t opposed to putting in the effort, he¡¯d been doing that for over two months now, but the early mornings and late nights had begun to get wearing. Unfortunately, he wasn¡¯t sure exactly what he could cut out and when. The tree was growing visibly each day and he suspected that wouldn¡¯t stop until it hit a certain threshold; what that might be he didn¡¯t know, and until then he couldn¡¯t stop his daily work with it. Though, if he was being honest, he didn¡¯t actually know if his daily ministrations were helping it or not; the amount of mana flowing through the sapling was starting to dwarf the amount he could give it each morning. Given that fact, it might be time to start cutting down on how much time he spent with it. The weeding was another matter, it was taking him a full three hours each day. While that didn¡¯t sound exorbitant, especially for almost an acre of land, it was still nearly a full half of his morning. He wasn¡¯t sure what to do about that though, he didn¡¯t have any herbicides and wasn¡¯t sure he¡¯d use them if he did. A more mundane approach would be to lay down mulch, but he didn¡¯t have much in the way of ground cover. John¡¯s fork paused partway to his mouth as a thought struck him. He actually did have a good ground cover available, and quite a lot of it actually. He¡¯d literally been sitting on it for a while now. His first adventure into farming around two months ago had been an entire acre of wheat and the byproduct of that had been around seventy bales of straw. He was down by maybe ten now, as he¡¯d been using them in the chooker coop, but that still left him with¡­ at sixty to seventy pounds per bale, and over sixty bales, somewhere near two tons of straw. That was enough for his purposes, possibly more than enough. Quickly finishing his meal John hurried back into the game. Reappearing on his farm, he immediately set out of the cellar. Once there he cleaned out all the straw bales and ended up leaving a pile of equipment on the floor. There were all sorts of things he¡¯d forgotten he had down here; the tent, his sword and armor, even the nails he¡¯d started with. All of these could go on the shelves in his new house, he¡¯d just have to remember to move them later. Heading back out to the plots, John began to spread a thick layer of straw on the ground, making sure to leave a good three inches or so around each of the sprouts. While the work wasn¡¯t exactly back breaking it was tedious and John once more considered purchasing the entertainment module. Not wanting to spend either gold or money on it though, he resigned himself to silence. Four hours later saw the last of the plots mulched, leaving John with only three or so bales of straw left. He returned the bales to the cellar and then moved his stored items to the shelves in the house. This wasn¡¯t actually any more secure than the cellar, as the only locks they had were bolts that needed to be thrown from the inside, but it was what it was. With that finished John went and saw to the chookers, who¡¯s evening meal had arrived. As he finished feeding them he got a notification that Animal Husbandry had reached Apprentice rank, granting him another hundred twenty five Build Points. With darkness setting in, John retired to his room and laid down. Content to spend the rest of the evening reading and sending mana into his land. The next dawn was dark and wet, and thus promised a thoroughly miserable day. John made the trek out to the shrine, and paused before entering. Two of the new knights had been on duty yesterday, and it seemed that another pair had the duty today. The two were wearing heavy cloaks with their hoods up, clearly trying to ward off the rain, and for a moment John wondered why they didn¡¯t just build an awning, or perhaps even a booth, which might provide cover. Then it hit him, this was his land. They didn¡¯t have the right to change it, and they were probably observing the law by not doing so, if not just being polite. Shaking his head John admonished himself for not recognizing it sooner. How many times had Axia and Tet stood out here in the rain? That didn¡¯t even mention the previous batch of knights; which had likely fed into their prejudice against him, no doubt. What should he build though? Seating seemed unlikely¡­ He was an idiot, he didn¡¯t need to build anything, he could just give them permission to build an appropriate shelter. ¡°Excuse me,¡± he said to the knight on the left of the bridge. The knight, who looked like a very short, almost child sized drakekin, turned their head to look at John. ¡°What can I do for you, groundskeeper?¡± He asked in a sibilant voice. ¡°It¡¯s more of what I can do for you this morning. I¡¯m afraid I hadn¡¯t given much thought to what it must be like to stand duty rain or shine until right now, and I was just thinking that you needed some kind of guard post or checkpoint to shelter under. Who would I talk to about arranging that?¡± ¡°Knight First Class Tet would be an appropriate person to speak with about that,¡± he responded. ¡°Perfect, thanks, I¡¯ll see about talking to him today,¡± John said and then went to spend time with the tree. Once finished with his morning communion and the chookers¡¯ breakfast John made his way down the road to the knights¡¯ compound. It didn¡¯t take him long to get a conversation with Tet, as he was apparently not busy at the moment, and it took even less time to explain that he simply wanted to give them permission to build whatever accommodation was necessary for those standing guard. Tet let him know it¡¯d be taken care of, then provided him with his share of what the gateway had so far earned (a modest five silvers), and then sent him on his way. Upon exiting the compound John found himself looking at a pair of large people across the road. They appeared to have Claim Spikes in their hands and one of them was pacing off a length diligently, the other just looked bored. It took John a moment to connect their large size with their race, and then he felt stupid for not realizing it immediately; they were Titans. But why would a pair of titans be setting up Claim Spikes way out here? John got a sinking feeling in his gut. He knew the answer, he just didn¡¯t like it. The Titan¡¯s Guild had arrived in Runic Rock, and they were clearly setting up shop. He watched them for a few moments more, but ultimately there was nothing he could do to stop them. For all intents and purposes that was free land, even if it was closer to the Gateway of Worlds and his farm than he ever wanted the guild. With a sigh and a shake of his head he returned to his farm, only to find another Titan standing on the road outside his wall and surveying the interior. John paused, uncertain whether he should just ignore the man or not, he could open a hole to get in just about anywhere after all. Unfortunately ignoring him stopped being an option when the man turned to look at John. ¡°You must be John,¡± the man rumbled, his voice low, but not as low as Axia¡¯s. ¡°Yep,¡± John said, not feeling particularly chatty. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. ¡°I¡¯m Chronos,¡± the titan introduced himself. ¡°I understand a few of my guilders have been giving you trouble?¡± ¡°If by giving me trouble you mean destroying my things, yeah,¡± John stated bluntly. Chronos looked unmoved by the statement. ¡°I see, I take it they¡¯ve soured the well on purchasing the Shrine?¡± ¡°To be honest, I probably wouldn¡¯t have sold it anyway, but I definitely won¡¯t be selling it to you,¡± John continued his blunt assault. ¡°In honesty, I don¡¯t really care,¡± Chronos decided to be blunt himself. ¡°They had some quest or another to obtain it, which would have been nice, I¡¯ll admit. But the reality is there¡¯s just as much money to be made owning the land around the gateway as there is owning the gateway itself.¡± ¡°What?¡± John asked, looking surprised and perplexed. ¡°It¡¯s simple really, the gateway is going to be both a Portal Hub, and a trial location for some time to come. People are going to want accommodations, lodging, storage, and such, after using it, or while waiting to use it. If we own the land we can build taverns, inns, warehouses; all the amenities that people will pay to use,¡± Chronos explained. John just stared at him for a moment. That wasn¡¯t a bad plan at all, and John was annoyed it hadn¡¯t occurred to him. Not that he had time to go building all those things, but he certainly could have claimed the land and then sold it, or rented it out. ¡°And you¡¯re telling me this, why?¡± John asked. ¡°Because I want you to see that we¡¯ve no need to be enemies. We¡¯re going to be neighbors for a long time after all, and there¡¯s no need to hold pointless grudges,¡± the leader of the titans said. ¡°Not sure calling it pointless is correct. They did kill me and destroy my crops,¡± John rebutted. ¡°Then let the blame lie at their feet, not that of the guild,¡± Chronos suggested. ¡°Isn¡¯t the point of a guild to regulate its members and set policy? Do you really want your guild to be known as a bunch of players who just kill to take what they want?¡± John challenged. Chronos seemed to pause and consider that for a moment. ¡°Hmmm a fair point, I¡¯ll talk with them and see it doesn¡¯t happen again. Fair?¡± ¡°Maybe, it¡¯s not going to get me my lost time back. As for future relations, that¡¯ll have to wait for the future I suppose,¡± John stated. ¡°Fair enough,¡± Chronos said with a nod of his head. ¡°I suppose I¡¯ll leave you to it then, neighbor.¡± With that the big man walked off, headed back down the road. John glanced to the two titans with Claim Spikes. They were still pacing off, it seemed they wanted a very large parcel of land which wasn¡¯t surprising given Chronos¡¯s professed plans. Shaking his head, John entered his farm, resealing the wall behind himself. As he headed toward the garden plots, he briefly considered expanding his land once more. However, considering that he had the equivalent of thirty-seven acres worth (most of which he currently wasn¡¯t actually using) and his lack of desire to rent land out to others, it seemed pointless to try and out-claim the guild, which almost certainly had dozens of members working on it already. Arriving at plot number twelve, John opened a hole in the surrounding wall and stepped inside. For a moment he just walked among the plants, examining them. They were small, as to be expected given they were only three days old and hopefully of at least Good quality ranking. They still had signs of insect activity, but it was less than it had been. All told, they looked mostly healthy. Satisfied with what he was seeing physically he focused on his mana sight as well. He¡¯d had mana sight active for a long time now, well over a month of constant use (though only for about sixteen hours a day) and he¡¯d mostly learned to tune out what he was seeing magically. Now however, he paid close attention. The mana in the air seemed to be swirling around the plants, though he couldn¡¯t tell exactly what was happening. However, as he watched John became more and more certain that this was the key to whatever made this plant magical. Focusing back on the physical, John made his way to the southwestern most corner of the plot, and stopped next to the plant there. Crouching down he reached out and touched the plant. Frank had said he¡¯d ruined an entire crop by using an alchemical pesticide, that it had absorbed the magic of the substance. The problem there was that the alchemical solution almost certainly hadn¡¯t been made with pure mana, and he wondered what would happen if that was used instead. Taking a quick look with Inspect, John got the plant¡¯s starting information. [Alchemist¡¯s Sponge Seedling] A quick look to the nearest plant in the row showed the same information. Having confirmed that the plants were functionally identical as far as Inspect was concerned, John began his experiment. With an effort of will he pushed out a tendril of pure mana, and let a few points flow into the plant. There was no sense of connection like he had with the tree, it seemed that was indeed a special case, however he could tell that the plant was doing something with the mana, and it seemed to be greedy for more. Slowly he ramped up how much mana he was extruding, going from a single point to ten points over the course of just as many seconds. It didn¡¯t seem to matter how much mana he poured into it; the plant simply drank it up. By the time he bottomed out his mana pool he was up to forty-five mana in a single second, with no apparent end in sight. The seedling had just absorbed over a thousand mana in a little under a minute and showed no outward sign of it. With a thought he Inspected the seedling again. [Alchemist¡¯s Sponge Seedling] To his disappointment there didn¡¯t seem to be any change to its description John was, however, painfully aware that his Inspect skill was still at the Novice rank, it was possible he was just missing lots of nuance that someone more skilled might obtain. Still, did the plant seem a bit bigger or healthier? It was hard to tell, but he thought it might be. Standing from his crouch, John picked up his makeshift umbrella from where he¡¯d set it next to the wall and held it over his now thoroughly soaked head even as he continued to contemplate the plant. Was it possible that alchemist¡¯s sponge was actually some kind of manavore? Did it eat mana, or somehow supplement itself with it? If so, that might explain why it did better in some places than in others. If ambient mana was a thing (and both Grandma Loren and the Help Module said it was so) then it made sense some places might have higher ambient mana than others. In turn, if alchemist¡¯s sponge drank in mana, then a higher mana density would mean it could draw in more mana at any given time. The question was whether or not this was a correct summation. If so, he needed a way to increase the ambient mana, or somehow concentrate it around the plants, that would make them grow better. It probably wasn¡¯t going to happen for this batch, but he¡¯d have to keep it in mind for the next set he grew. Finished with his experiment for now, John made his way back to the house. A quick application of Control Water saw him more damp than wet, and he then settled in for a session of land saturation. By his calculations he¡¯d filled in almost a quarter of his remaining land now, leaving maybe eighty hours of work left. Given that he had nothing better to do for the rest of the day, he felt it was acceptable to kick back and relax while he solidified his claim. So he settled down with a book, and got to work. MAG - Chapter 48 - Edited Much like the previous day this new one was wet and drizzly. Given the very frequent rains John was beginning to wonder if his crops might be getting too much water. Worriedly he picked up a handful of soil from one of the plots and gave it a good squeeze. Some mud squished out between his fingers but a larger portion of the soil remained in a clump. He gave it a poke with a finger and it mostly came apart. This, while not a perfect test, was a good indicator that the plot at least was draining well enough. That and the fact that he hadn¡¯t actually ever felt his boots were in danger of coming off, indicated that the mud wasn¡¯t a sign that the soil was waterlogged; even if it did get everywhere. Satisfied that his crops weren¡¯t about to die from overwatering, he continued on with his morning. The quick walk to the shrine revealed two new structures that were some kind of cross between a toll booth and an awning, allowing the knights to see the area around the shrine without getting wet while on duty. In addition, both the knights on duty this morning responded to his polite nod with nods of their own, a marked step up from the last batch. The tree was well and seemed to be pleased with the amount of water it was getting, though he could feel a longing for the sun. It also seemed to be doing something odd with its roots. Following the paths of mana through it he could feel fifteen large roots stretching toward arches to either side of the entry; eight to the left and seven to the right. John wasn¡¯t sure what the roots were doing, but the tree seemed to be spending a lot of energy on them, so he assumed it was important and thus didn¡¯t interfere. Finished with the tree he returned to his farm and took care of the chookers and then opened a large hole in the wall that led onto the road. Phillip would be by today with the barn doors and John didn¡¯t want to sit out in the rain waiting for him; he¡¯d prefer to be inside his house, where it was dry. He figured that leaving an opening in the wall would let the man (and anyone he had helping him) in and from there they could just knock on the house door. That done he did a quick run around the plots, checking on the plants. There were some signs of aphid activity, but with all the rain any sulfur he put down would just be washed off, so he wasn¡¯t sure there was much he could do about that. The mulch was working just fine to keep down the weeds; he had seen a couple in a few of the beds but it had been the work of moments to remove them. All in all, his plants looked good and for his final morning task he stopped at his experimentation plant and drained all his mana into it. After finishing with the plots he retreated inside to continue working on his domain. It was some time later, around early afternoon, when a knock came on his door. John stood from where he¡¯d been sitting on the floor of the main room, and opened the door to reveal Phillip who was holding a hide umbrella and looking a bit damp. ¡°Hello John,¡± the man said. ¡°Nice little place you¡¯ve got. I see you¡¯re putting the doors to good use!¡± ¡°Yep! One of my better investments to be honest. I¡¯d invite you inside but¡­¡± John gestured to the empty room behind him. Phillip peered inside with a furrowed brow. ¡°John, you know I sell furniture, right?¡± John paused a moment to think about that. He¡¯d been in Phillip¡¯s shop several times now, and it hadn¡¯t occurred to him even once to buy actual furniture despite it being on display. ¡°I¡­ didn¡¯t think of it,¡± he admitted, finally. The older man snorted in amusement. ¡°Well, I suggest a few chairs, maybe a table. But that¡¯s for later I suppose. For now, why don¡¯t we go get your doors installed?¡± Phillip stepped back to clear the doorway and gestured to the barn. John nodded and stepped outside and gestured, causing the lump of stone by the door to reform into his customary stone umbrella. He heard Phillip snort in amusement again, though the man didn¡¯t choose to comment this time. The walk to the barn was short and soon they were standing inside the dim, cavernous interior. Phillip looked around for a moment, taking in the stalls and then poking his head through the door to the creamery. ¡°So,¡± he said with a little mirth. ¡°Were you planning on putting doors in here too?¡± John looked at the creamery door. He¡¯d completely forgotten about that addition when he made the original order. ¡°Eventually,¡± he hedged. Phillip gave him a knowing look but forbore to comment further. He instead turned his attention back to the rest of the barn. ¡°You¡¯re going to need gates for these stalls as well, but I suppose that since you have no animals it¡¯s not really a problem right now,¡± the small man said as he made his way to the back entrance that looked out onto the grassy plains. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Finally finished taking in the sights, Phillip crouched down and started appearing items from his inventory. The first things he placed out were the long pieces that would become the door frame. He then proceeded to produce the four squares that were the upper and lower doors of the barn. Each square was around five feet in width and about four feet in height, which (taken all together) would make them the perfect size for the ten-foot-wide, eight-foot-tall doorway. With quick deftness the carpenter made the final connections at the joints, then attached the hinges and locks. Finally finished he stepped back to reveal a fully functional set of barn doors, ready to be raised up and put into place. ¡°Alright, we just need to get this up and into the doorway,¡± he said. ¡°Not a problem,¡± John replied even as he made a gesture. A half dozen lumps of stone rose up from the floor and folded themselves around the frame, two to a side. Then, with another gesture John used Control Earth to raise the door into opening and merged the frame with the doorway. He then smoothed out the now pocked floor. ¡°Oh, that was very good, quite smooth,¡± Phillip commented. ¡°I use Control Earth pretty constantly, it¡¯s easily my most practiced spell,¡± John admitted. ¡°I suppose that makes sense,¡± the shorter man said with a nod. ¡°Well then, on to the main event!¡± With that, Phillip turned and moved to the other barn entrance and started laying out the next door. John followed him, eager to finally see what he¡¯d purchased. After a few moments of work the pieces were all laid out and connected, and John walked around to the front to get a good view of the finished doors. Upon the doors was a rendition of the plains during a thunderstorm. The tall blades of grass bent heavily under the blowing wind and driving rain. The dark clouds above gave an ominous and foreboding feeling and gave birth to a thin bolt of lightning in the backdrop. It wasn¡¯t a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination. But John hadn¡¯t paid for a masterpiece, and despite that it was still quite good. ¡°Well?¡± The older man asked. ¡°Huh?¡± John replied, looking away from the doors. ¡°What do you think?¡± Phillip prodded. ¡°Oh! It¡¯s good, really good. But, why a storm?¡± John wondered. ¡°Because it¡¯s really the first I heard of you, aside from the fact that you were one of the few who actually paid attention to Loren as she greeted you. You saved a lot of people a whole heap of trouble by giving us early warning. We¡¯ve been known to lose all sorts of things during storms like that, up to and including pets and farm animals. We¡¯ve never actually lost a person, mind you, but property damage isn¡¯t unusual. This time though? Minor damage, a few lost shutters,¡± the other man said with a throwing away gesture. ¡°So, I thought the storm was an appropriate image.¡± John nodded. ¡°I guess it is,¡± he admitted, and then used Control Earth to move the door into position and lock it there. He then drew out the eighteen silvers he owed Phillip and passed them over. ¡°Thanks for the delivery and the help.¡± ¡°It was my pleasure, John. Now, while I¡¯m here, would you like me to take some measurements for the stalls, and perhaps a front gate so that you don¡¯t have an empty hole in your wall? Also, perhaps you¡¯d like to order a couple of doors for that¡­ what is it that¡¯s attached to the barn?¡± The shorter man inquired. ¡°It¡¯s a creamery, or it will be once I get equipment. And yeah, all that sounds good,¡± John agreed. For the next few minutes Phillip took measurements of the stalls, and then the two walked out to the road, where he had John open the wall to about the size he¡¯d want if he were going to transport anything large in or out, and then took another measurement. ¡°The stalls will come out to about ninety coppers, another silver for the exterior door, another fifty coppers for the interior door, and about two silvers for the front gates, assuming you want a gate that opens in the middle. So, three silvers and forty coppers,¡± he said finally. ¡°They should all be ready in about a week at most.¡± ¡°Sounds good,¡± John replied. ¡°I¡¯ll see you in about a week then?¡± ¡°Looking forward to it!¡± the older man replied. ¡°A good day to you then.¡± ¡°You as well,¡± John said, and then waved as Phillip started heading back down the road. John watched the man go for a moment, then he closed up the hole in his wall and returned to the house, where he sat down and returned to saturating his land. MAG - Chapter 49 - Edited John was beginning to detest rain and, not for the first time, considered taking time to set up covered walkways from his house to the various locations around his farm. As he listened to the rain drive itself against the stone roof and saw it through the window, he briefly wondered if he could just take a sick day. Of course, if he didn¡¯t feed the chookers no one else was going to, so he¡¯d still have to go out for that. And, if he was already going to have to get wet, there was no reason not to check on the plots, and spend some time with the tree. With a sigh he rolled off the sleeping platform and onto his feet. To be honest, he hadn¡¯t really expected this to be as hard as it was. He¡¯d never expected to have to clear his own land and build his own structures. Nor had he expected to be working sixteen hour days, not including the hour-long lunch break and the thirty minutes or so breakfast and dinner cost him. The long days and short nights were beginning to wear on him, however he felt he was almost to a point where he could start to cut back. Once his land was saturated the only things left on his plate would be the chookers, the tree, and the plots. The chookers only needed to be taken care of twice a day, morning and evening, and while it was raining and they were well fed, they were disinclined to get into trouble. The tree wasn¡¯t really a problem, it probably wouldn¡¯t notice if he switched their daily sessions to a different time. The plots could be checked at any hour of the day, so long as it was fairly consistent. So early nights and late mornings might be in his near future. As he went about his morning, he tried to think of the other things he¡¯d need to do. The first was grow some more wheat, he needed more straw for both ground cover and the coop. Next, he¡¯d need to see if anyone could make enchantments for him, and perhaps a Mana Well. The reality was that he would need certain enchantments for the winter. The coop, while mostly weatherproof, was not well insulated, it would need some heating if the chookers were to survive. The barn would need the same eventually. To keep growing plants he¡¯d need greenhouses, and those would work best if he could control the ambient temperature. This of course didn¡¯t mention his plan to simulate different environments, nor create elementally saturated plots. Finishing with the tree, he received another increase to Magic. Once more he wondered what the cap was. Hellen had mentioned something about not everyone needing a hundred in their stats to Axia, so perhaps that was the cap for any given stat? He shook his head, unsure and not really caring at the moment, and carried on with his day. After he took care of the chookers he once more visited the plots, and spent some time looking over the plants. The straw was doing a good job of keeping the weeds down, and he saw only a couple poking through. The plants themselves were looking good, except for the few signs of insect activity and again he wished for a liquid pesticide he could spray. Finally, he stopped at the last plot and examined his test plant. It was smaller than all the other plants, but was clearly just as healthy, if not more so. Deciding to continue on with the experiment he dumped his mana pool into the plant and then returned to the house. A quick gesture and an application of Control Water saw most of the excess water sluice off of John and out the door. He then wandered into the bedroom and sat on the raised platform. He reached out and began feeding mana into his land. Meanwhile he opened the web interface and brought up what information he could find on wettable sulfur. Normally sulfur is non-water soluble, that is to say when it¡¯s mixed with water the two separate. Wettable sulfur was a type of gardening sulfur that had been treated to become, somehow, water soluble. The problem was figuring out what that process entailed. While he did find a glue-based recipe dating back to 1919, he also found a patent that indicated that the recipe would cause a marked reduction in the effectiveness of the sulfur. The patent itself described a process to make wettable sulfur, but it was obtuse, extremely involved, and lacking in specifics. After about an hour more of searching, he gave up; there was simply no way he could make it with his limited resources. John ran his fingers through his beard as he considered. The insect activity wasn¡¯t too bad right now, it was only showing on a few of the plants, but he was sure it¡¯d spread. He couldn¡¯t make any of the pesticides he knew about, alchemical pesticides would taint the crop, and the sulfur was just getting washed off by the rain. This didn¡¯t leave him with a lot of options, except perhaps the obvious. If he covered the crops, he could control both the amount of water they were getting and, more importantly, when they were getting it. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. This brought him to a new problem; if he was going to build greenhouses, what should he build them out of? The obvious answer was quartz of course, he could make it translucent instead of transparent so that it caused diffused light instead of direct light, and he could make it fairly easily with Create Earth. The downside was that he was building it out of magic and there¡¯d be very little labor involved, which meant his greenhouses likely wouldn¡¯t have any special properties. On the other hand, he had no way to source materials for any other kind of construction, making it mostly a moot point. Having decided on his course of action, John opened the Blueprint Module, and spent the hour before lunch designing a greenhouse. ¡ª Upon returning from lunch the first thing John did was create pieces of quartz with varying translucency. Giving him a range of samples from nearly perfectly clear, to almost totally opaque. He then proceeded to create a flame and hold each sample in front of it until he found one that diffused the image sufficiently, but still let most of the light through. Discarding the other samples he headed out to the plots and began his work. He started with the north-western most plot, the one he thought of as the ¡®first¡¯ plot. With a gesture and an effort of will he used Move Earth to bring the wall down, turn it into a fine sand, much as Shinespark the mage had done to his house a few weeks ago. He then started building up new, thick walls of perfectly transparent quartz. Raising the walls about eight feet high with a gentle inward curve to finally create a domed roof. At first he¡¯d thought he¡¯d need to add interior pillars to hold it up, but then he realized what he really wanted was just an elongated arch which made it perfectly capable of holding itself up. With the basic structure finished, he proceeded to lay a thin film of the translucent quartz over the inside of the structure, taking it from perfectly clear to an almost milky white. Finished with that he proceeded to ensure proper ventilation for the area, placing small holes near ground level on the north and south sides of the structure to encourage crossflow of air, and a few ventilation holes near the ceiling to allow heat to escape. The creation of the structure took no more than twenty minutes thanks to his familiarity with Create Earth and the benefits of the Domain feat. John was particularly pleased by this as it meant he¡¯d be finished with the final plot around the time it was getting dark. He had no wish at all to be building in the dark, and he¡¯d much prefer to give the plants the night to dry off so that he could dust them in the morning. Taking a moment, John Inspected the greenhouse. [Quartz Greenhouse] Good was a surprising ranking, but probably came from the fact that Rare Earth Reaching was required to make quartz in the first place; he was just glad it wasn¡¯t lower, as it seemed to imply that¡¯d give a malus to growth. He moved quickly to the next plot, and began altering it as well. About four hours later it was fully dark, but all twelve of the plots had been covered in greenhouses. He had actually built the last one in semi-darkness, because he¡¯d forgotten he¡¯d need to stop and feed the chookers; however, he¡¯d gotten it done. Retreating indoors and out of the rain he sat down once more on the slab he generously termed a bed and began planning for the morrow even as he started pushing more mana into the land. He would need to head into town and see if he could purchase straw from Frank, and if that didn¡¯t work out he¡¯d have to create more greenhouses to grow wheat in. He was starting to run low on straw for the coop and he¡¯d be needing more ground cover once this batch of alchemist¡¯s sponge was grown. Plans set, John leaned back, and pulled up the browser. It was time to relax for the evening. MAG - Chapter 50 - Edited After his time with the tree (which was doing well, even if he was concerned about what the roots were doing), and feeding the chookers, John checked on his new greenhouses. The arch-like structures were doing fine at keeping the water off, and the leaves of the plants weren¡¯t damp any longer, making it possible for him to finally dust the crops. Three hours later he¡¯d finished spreading sulfur to the last of the plants, he¡¯d dumped his mana pool into the test plant, and he was on his way towards town. Walking the road, John could see where the Titans were hard at work clearing swaths of land in preparation for construction. Given how the cleared patches were spaced, it seemed they were planning on roads of similar size to the existing one, which would mean they could expand north to south as well as east to west. It was interesting to see how they were going about the same task that had given him so much trouble initially. They clearly had some mages working at the task, but it was equally clear they were not specialized for moving large volumes of material. In addition, many of them could be seen using earth stones, which told him that they either couldn¡¯t aspect their mana correctly, or they had small mana pools. He paused a moment to watch one of the casters at work. The man was oddly familiar and it took John a moment to place him. It was Shinespark, the mage who¡¯d turned his house to a pile of sand. John continued to watch for several minutes even as a smile crept onto his face. Shinespark, for his part, studiously ignored the farmer, though the sour look on his face made it clear he¡¯d noticed his watcher. John started back down the road, still smiling at the thought of the mage working in the rain. In fairness, the man had been doing well. He was using Control Earth to rip out large chunks of soil, invert them, and put them back; effectively burying the grass four feet deep. However, he clearly didn¡¯t have Increased Size, and by the look of it he was moving at a rate of a foot every five to ten seconds. Given a plot the size of a modest house, such as John¡¯s own, it¡¯d take the mage anywhere from one to two hundred minutes to complete such an area. However, the staked-out area was more like four times that size, and although they seemed to have a dozen or so mages at work, they had plots stretching all the way to town. John¡¯s smile grew as he realized the mage must have been clearing plots for days already. Never had John been happier for the constant rain. Despite his momentary detour John made it to town in good time. He wandered the street for a few minutes, looking at all the new stalls. There seemed to be brisk business in selling both alchemical and enchanted items. He also heard one or two people haggling over ritual services. After a short perusal he determined he¡¯d be back to talk to some enchanters after lunch. He needed to get straw from Frank first, before he got sidetracked doing other things. Finally making his way into the square John headed straight for Frank¡¯s booth. ¡°Hey Frank,¡± John said as he approached. ¡°Hello John, what can I do for you today?¡± Frank asked. ¡°I actually need some straw, and was wondering if you had any you could spare?¡± the younger man inquired. Frank snorted. ¡°I¡¯ve got spare straw coming out my ears son, there¡¯s only so much you can do with the stuff. How much do you want?¡± ¡°Well, I can carry twenty bales easily, so let¡¯s go with that,¡± John replied. ¡°Well, lunch isn¡¯t far away, so I¡¯ll be packing up here shortly and heading home, call it two hours before I¡¯m back. I can bring some bales with me then if you¡¯re willing to wait,¡± Frank said. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯d work, I¡¯ve got to disappear for my own lunch for a bit anyway, so the timing works out for me,¡± John agreed. ¡°Thanks Frank!¡± ¡°No trouble son, see you then,¡± the older man replied. John nodded and then nipped into the general store to resupply on meal cakes. However, as he contemplated the near tasteless, but clearly acceptably nutritional, meal replacement he remembered the pair of pears he¡¯d bought from Ellie, and decided that maybe it¡¯d be okay to spend a few coppers on something that had flavor. So he purchased a bowl of mixed berries from Ellie and stowed them for eating after lunch. An hour later the rain had (for the moment) stopped, and saw John sitting in the square and munching his treat contentedly. The berries were excellent, easily the best he¡¯d ever tasted. Once again he wondered if the flavors of in game items were being exaggerated, he¡¯d certainly never eaten a strawberry with such depth and richness before. However, he did have to admit that the fruits he was used to eating were produced by a society that had only embraced truly sustainable and natural farming practices within the last few decades, and before then had modified all its crops to look pretty instead of taste good. He shuddered to think what it was like when his father was a child, what with the chemical fertilizers and pesticides they used as a matter of course. Fortunately, food laws had evolved in lockstep with environmental laws, to the betterment of both. Sally plopped onto the bench next to him. ¡°Hi John!¡± she said in her typical exuberant manner. ¡°Hello Sally,¡± he replied after swallowing the strawberry he¡¯d been chewing. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°Waiting for Ex, we¡¯ve got a delve slot in twenty minutes or so, but he hasn¡¯t logged in yet,¡± Sally explained, even as she eyed John¡¯s bowl of berries. ¡°No,¡± he said immediately as he shielded his berry bounty. ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to steal your berries!¡± Sally exclaimed, looking hurt. ¡°I never accused you of intending to, but it stands out to me that you used the word steal!¡± John exclaimed right back. ¡°I am offend!¡± Sally said in mock indignation. John looked at her for a moment, puzzled. ¡°Don¡¯t you mean offended?¡± ¡°No, I was quoting a line from an old book, don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Sally said with a shake of her head. John looked at her askance for a few moments longer, but then popped another berry in his mouth. ¡°You know it¡¯s polite to share.¡± Sally wheedled. ¡°And I know you have your own money,¡± John mumbled through a blueberry. ¡°But Ellie¡¯s not here right now,¡± Sally rejoined with, doing her best to look pitiable. John snorted at the image of the large drakekin doing her best puppy dog expression. ¡°Nice try, but no!¡± ¡°Bah, was worth a try,¡± Sally said in more normal tones. John bit into another berry and privately agreed with her. Given how the berries tasted, it was definitely worth a try. ¡°So, have you tried the trials yet?¡± John asked after swallowing. ¡°Nah, haven¡¯t decided if I want to take up a craft yet. Ex thinks he might want to but he can¡¯t decide between Alchemy and Enchanting.¡± Sally replied. ¡°You going to try them?¡± ¡°Nah, I¡¯ve got enough on my plate right now without learning a craft, other than farming anyway,¡± John explained. ¡°I mean, is farming a viable craft for the trials? Could you get some kind of super cool magical farming guide?¡± she questioned further. John paused, a blueberry half-way to his mouth as he thought about it. Was farming a craft? That was an¡­ interesting view. He wasn¡¯t sure he could trust the trials run by either Thuana or Ira though, neither was happy with him. That did, however, leave the Trial of the Mind, Ledos¡¯ trial. A book on magical plants would be really nice, but what if he failed? He really couldn¡¯t afford a curse right now. Finally he shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m too worried about the failure clause,¡± he confided. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s gotten a few people already. The curses are pretty specific to the craft, like there¡¯s the one guy who wanted to be a ritualist, but now any time he tries to craft a ritual he becomes confused and draws the wrong things. One of the aspiring alchemists can¡¯t read or hear alchemical recipes. Everything else is fine, but alchemical writings? Completely illegible and whenever someone reads them to him it sounds like static,¡± Sally explained. ¡°Is there some kind of way to lift the curse?¡± John asked even as he polished off the last of the berries. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°Oh sure, they all come with an escape clause. But usually it has to do with the god that cursed them, and some kind of divine quest,¡± she replied. ¡°Oof,¡± John said in sympathy. ¡°Oof indeed,¡± said Ex as he sat down on the other side of John. ¡°What are we talking about?¡± ¡°Divine curses!¡± Sally said with some enthusiasm. ¡°Ah yes, the lament of everyone who¡¯s failed one or more of the trials,¡± Ex said without much sympathy. ¡°Wait, there are people who failed multiple trials?¡± John asked in surprise. ¡°Oh yeah, there¡¯s the one guy who failed all three of them, each one updated his curse with some new aspect. Let¡¯s see, the physical part of the curse was an inability to taste and smell ingredients he intends to use, the mental part was that he misreads or mishears recipes, and the spiritual one was that any food he cooks is only fifty percent as effective, or something like that,¡± Ex explained. John shook his head. ¡°And that is why I¡¯m not willing to risk going and taking the trials over farming. A book on magical or rare plants would be great, but the chance of getting a curse that cripples my ability to farm is just too high.¡± ¡°Safe, but booooooooriiiiiiing,¡± Sally intoned. ¡°Though I suppose it¡¯s a good choice, what with this being your actual job and all,¡± she continued. ¡°Speaking of Jobs, we¡¯ve got a dungeon to raid!¡± Ex said as he sprang to his feet. ¡°Come Sally! Riches await!¡± ¡°More like ¡®horrible death at the hands of the rat king again¡¯ but sure!¡± Sally replied with a grin even as she too leapt up. ¡°You still haven¡¯t killed that thing?¡± John asked, sounding surprised. ¡°Nope, and our levels seem to have plateaued around twelve,¡± Ex replied in annoyance. ¡°From what we¡¯ve read online that¡¯s pretty normal, apparently no one has even breached fifteen yet. Best anyone can figure xp requirements are non-linear in addition to requiring more effort or more powerful enemies to continue increasing.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that a good thing? If you could reach level one hundred in just a few months I imagine the game would be pretty boring,¡± John said. ¡°Ex likes seeing numbers go up,¡± Sally replied in a loud stage whisper. Ex swatted at the drakekin, who deftly got out of reach. ¡°Hmph,¡± he intoned, but didn¡¯t refute the statement. ¡°Anyway, later John. C¡¯mon Sally!¡± ¡°Bye John!¡± Sally said with an energetic wave as she followed Ex. ¡°Bye,¡± John called back as they left. John watched them go for a moment and then looked around the square. The crowds were a little thinner than they had been earlier. Probably because the other players were either done for the day, or taking long and leisurely lunches. He glanced over at Frank¡¯s stall, but the older farmer was nowhere to be seen, which made sense; it¡¯d been maybe an hour and a half since he left. After a few more moments, John decided to take this time to see if he couldn¡¯t find someone with Journeyman rank or better in Enchanting. For the next few minutes he wandered between the still active stalls, taking in the various players and their crafts. Finally he came upon a stall that was just being set up by what appeared to be a half-elven woman, given her fuller figure and shorter ears. Her sign simply read ¡®Enchanter¡¯ in plain bold text, and she had set out two medallions made of wood, three stone tablets, and a dagger. As he approached, he could see that the two wooden medallions were identical, and the stone tablets were all the same as well. In addition all their etchings seemed to be lined with some kind of metal, brass he thought. Curious, he Inspected an example of each and then the dagger. [Umbrella Medallion] [Boiler Plate] [Neverdull Knife] John blinked away the messages only to find the half-elf looking at him with some bemusement. ¡°Do they pass muster?¡± She asked politely. ¡°Uh, yeah,¡± John replied. ¡°The umbrella medallions in particular look useful.¡± ¡°Oh, they are. They also take me two hours with a magnifying glass and a set of carving tools to make each one, so they don¡¯t come cheap,¡± she warned. ¡°How ¡®not cheap¡¯?¡± John asked as he picked one up and looked at it more closely. Some of the lines were indeed quite tiny and precise. ¡°Two silvers,¡± she responded firmly. John considered carefully. He certainly had enough money to purchase one, the chookers alone netted him nearly a silver every couple days or so. Finally he nodded and made two silvers appear on the counter. The half-elf snapped them up quickly and gave him a grin. ¡°I¡¯ll even throw in a necklace to hang it from, on the house,¡± she said even as she made a thin strip of braided leather cord appear. John took the cord, threaded the medallion onto it, and then hung it around his neck. ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°No problem, anything else I can help you with?¡± she inquired. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m actually looking for an enchanter who can make a Mana Well for me. I hear you need to be at least Journeyman rank though,¡± John explained. ¡°Sorry, can¡¯t help you with that, most of us are still sitting pretty at Apprentice. Apparently you can¡¯t use points to increase your rank to Journeyman without being at least level twenty. You can still learn the skills the hard way though, so most of us are practicing every chance we get,¡± she explained. John took a moment to digest that tidbit. It seemed like there was a barrier to just buying your way to high rank in a skill at low levels. That made sense but was also mildly irritating. Still, it shouldn¡¯t be more than a week or two before the local players made it to the required rank. ¡°I didn¡¯t know that,¡± he said finally. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you know about how long it¡¯s going to take you to rank up?¡± She wobbled her head side to side and made an expression of uncertainty. ¡°At the pace I¡¯ve been going, probably another couple of months, three at the outside. I can only do the evenings and even then it¡¯s a fight to find any space to work in. The townsfolk aren¡¯t keen on renting out their houses and work spaces to players, and the tavern gets really crowded in the afternoon.¡± John pondered the problem for a moment. ¡°So, what if you had a place that you could count on always being available?¡± ¡°If I really dedicated myself to it? Maybe a month. That¡¯d mean spending all my play time crafting though which, honestly, doesn¡¯t sound like all that much fun,¡± she replied. ¡°Though, to be honest, playing shopkeep isn¡¯t all that fun either, and the dungeon is pretty packed making it hard to get in. So the entertainment quotient has been going down pretty steadily.¡± John shrugged. ¡°From what I can see, we have the option to do pretty much anything, but that means you have to actually want to do things to begin with. If you¡¯re expecting the game to be like the old MMOs that involved just running out and fighting monsters over and over again with scripted story lines and quests, you¡¯re probably not going to find all that much interesting to do,¡± he paused as a thought struck him. ¡°Do monsters even respawn?¡± ¡°The general consensus on the forums is ¡®no, unless there¡¯s a dungeon somewhere nearby¡¯,¡± the half-elf said helpfully. ¡°Good to know,¡± John replied. ¡°Anyway, the game seems to be what you make of it, so, if you¡¯re not having fun, I guess try something different?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give it some thought,¡± she said, though she sounded less than convinced. ¡°Anyway, if you¡¯re looking for someone trying to get to Journeyman ASAP then you want BR. He pretty much eats, breathes, and sleeps enchanting at this point.¡± ¡°BR?¡± John questioned. ¡°His tag is BambooRooster, but we mostly call him BR,¡± she supplied. ¡°Ah, alright, any idea where I can find him?¡± he asked. ¡°The tavern, if he was able to find a spot. He¡¯s also pretty hard to miss, what with being the only gnome player I¡¯ve seen and his shock of bright pink hair.¡± she said. ¡°Bright pink hair?¡± John asked. The woman shrugged. ¡°He said, and I quote, ¡®it¡¯s a gnome thing¡¯.¡± ¡°Alright then. Thanks for the information, and the medallion,¡± John said. ¡°Any time,¡± she replied. With that, John made his way back toward the square. MAG - Chapter 51 - Edited By the time John had returned to the square, Frank was already ready and waiting. After a brief exchange they settled on a price of a copper per bale and John loaded up all twenty bales of straw. He then headed for the tavern. The tavern, or rather the Inn with attached tavern, was a large building on the north side of the square. It was, like most all the other buildings, made of stone, and only differed in that it was two stories instead of one. He pulled open the door and stepped inside to find a large room full of tables, chairs, and people. It was obvious from a glance that most of the people were players, given how engrossed they were in various tasks of the crafting variety. From his position at the door he could see people etching, chiseling, cutting, and drawing on a variety of substances. Interestingly enough, the bartender didn¡¯t seem to mind; it probably had to do with the fact that there was at least one mug within easy reach of each of the ¡®customers¡¯. Finding BambooRooster turned out to be quite easy. He was, after all, the only person under four feet tall with bright pink hair that stuck up in spikes, like some anime protagonist; he even had an equally bright and bristly mustache. As John drew nearer, he could see the entire table was taken up with drawings and notes piled around a thin sheet of metal about the size of a serving tray. BR was carefully making small etchings on the sheet with a metal stylus. Not wanting to interrupt, John sat at the table quietly, preparing to wait. He was, however, swiftly interrupted by a light touch on his shoulder. Looking over he found a young man with a tray looking at him expectantly. For a moment John wasn¡¯t sure what the man wanted, then the server gestured to the (clearly untouched) mug that was already on the table. Ah, I¡¯ve got to buy something. I guess that¡¯s why they don¡¯t look too upset about people squatting at the tables to craft, John mused even as he murmured ¡°Juice?¡± The server gave a polite nod and then headed off. A few moments later he returned with a mug that he slid onto the table, he then looked at John expectantly once more while holding up three fingers. John produced five coppers and handed them over, receiving a flash of a grin before the server hurried off to bug others. John had to wait for about fifteen minutes before BR finished his etching and put the stylus aside. The first thing the gnome did was grab the nearby mug and drain its contents. Then, finished with that, he pulled out another large sheet of metal that he placed in the center of the table. After a moment of concentration the bronze filled etchings on this new device glowed, and a familiar bubble of distorted air surrounded the table. ¡°Huh, privacy barrier, nice,¡± John commented aloud, no longer worried about his voice carrying and disturbing other people at work. ¡°I certainly find it convenient,¡± BR responded. ¡°Now what can I do for you mister¡­?¡± ¡°John,¡± John supplied. ¡°Ah, the farmer guy. Need some enchanting work done for the farm?¡± The pink haired gnome looked hopeful. ¡°Yes, actually, I need all sorts of enchantments done, and I¡¯m going to need a Mana Well to support them,¡± John replied. ¡°Bah, can barely follow the basic designs at Apprentice; need to be Journeyman to even attempt to make your own,¡± BR said dismissively. ¡°So I¡¯ve been told, though I don¡¯t understand why, if you have a blueprint can¡¯t you just follow that?¡± John asked. ¡°Nope, basic Enchanting involves just carving or etching whatever but it¡¯s going to lead to a poorer product with low efficiency for anything that¡¯s not super simple,¡± BR explained. ¡°True Enchanting requires that you saturate the lines with mana as you go along. The thing is, you don¡¯t just lay it down and forget about it, you¡¯ve got an awareness of the mana the entire time, and there¡¯s only so much you can concentrate on at once. This concentration improves with each rank in Enchanting, making it easier to hold a complex mana pattern in your mind all at once.¡± John thought about that for a moment. ¡°That sounds a lot like Mana Manipulation,¡± he said finally. ¡°Mana Manipulation is considered a foundational skill for Enchanting. In fact, if you¡¯re doing Enchanting right, you¡¯ll be training your Mana Manipulation at the same time. Mana Imprinting too at later levels, since using the correct aspect in the construction can improve the quality of the finished product.¡± BR said. ¡°Huh, why do you have to saturate it that way? What does it do?¡± John asked. ¡°It lets you see how mana will flow through the channels and compensate for or correct any deviancy. No material is perfectly uniform, nor is every movement of the chisel or stylus perfect, the imperfections can add up over time to warp the mana flow and cause efficiency loss, or outright failure of the device. The more complex the enchantment, the more likely that is to happen,¡± the gnome elaborated as he started picking up papers and adding notes to them. ¡°Well, I guess that explains why you need to be Journeyman ranked. Anyway, I understand you¡¯ve not got the best working conditions at the moment, so I was thinking I could make you an offer?¡± John said hesitantly, this idea had sounded a lot better in his head, and now he was worried it¡¯d sound lame out loud. ¡°What kind of offer? I¡¯m already willing to tromp out to your farm and enchant stuff for money, what more do you think you need to sweeten the pot with?¡± BR asked as he marked several things down. ¡°Well, what I really want is for you to push for Journeyman as soon as possible, and I¡¯m willing to provide a private workspace for you to do so in,¡± John explained. BR¡¯s charcoal stick stopped moving briefly, then continued. ¡°What kind of space are we looking at?¡± he asked. ¡°Honestly? It¡¯s just a big room, about ten feet by thirty, with a bunch of granite surfaces at the moment, most of which I¡¯ll have to move closer to the ground for your comfort. But you¡¯d certainly be welcome to customize it as you desired,¡± John replied. The gnome paused as he considered. ¡°You¡¯re not going to charge me rent, are you?¡± he asked eventually. ¡°I won¡¯t charge rent so long as you¡¯re working on reaching Journeyman, and I¡¯ll pay you for whatever enchantments you make for me as well. But what I¡¯m looking for is commitment to reaching that point as swiftly as you can. I¡¯m not expecting you to pull sixteen-hour days, but I would be expecting most of your time in game to be working on Enchanting.¡± John explained, and as he did so he realized how stupid that sounded, no one was going to just give up all their play time to work with such single-minded devotion on a project for so little return. BR shook his head. ¡°I¡¯d want at least several months of rent-free work space,¡± he said firmly. John perked up. ¡°How many months is ¡®several¡¯?¡± ¡°At least three,¡± the gnome replied. ¡°I could do three, I don¡¯t see myself needing the workshop any time soon anyway,¡± John offered. ¡°Alright then,¡± BR said as he started picking up notes and shoving them in a folder. ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here before they want us to buy another drink.¡± John nodded and then waited patiently as BR picked up all his stuff. The gnome put everything away then let the privacy plate run itself out of mana before disappearing that too. With that, the small man jumped off his chair and made a gesture for John to lead the way. The two exited the tavern and were soon on their way. Not wanting to walk entirely in silence John decided to try learning more about his new tenant. ¡°So, what made you choose gnome?¡± John began. ¡°It¡¯s the race with the best crafting abilities. They get a large negative to Strength and moderate one to Constitution, and only one racial trait, Master Crafter. The trait is perfect for anyone who wants to play a crafter, it acts as a prerequisite for all the master feats that have to do with magical crafts.¡± BR explained. John thought about that for a moment before replying. ¡°But you only have so many Build Points, best you could do is, what? Three or four feats if you¡¯ve been saving all your points and got a few nice quests?¡± ¡°Two feats, I wasn¡¯t lucky enough to get a quest, but I have been leveling my skills the hard way. Unfortunately I¡¯ve only been playing this character for about six weeks. I had to scrap the first one because I didn¡¯t know better than to purchase skill ranks; the woes of being one of the frontrunners I suppose,¡± BambooRooster explained. ¡°What feats did you pick up? If you don¡¯t mind me asking,¡± John inquired. ¡°Enchanting Master and Ritual Master,¡± BR rattled off. ¡°I was tempted by the Alchemic Master feat too, but alchemy requires a lot of specialized equipment and currently there¡¯s nowhere to set that stuff up. Most of the alchemists in town are making do with mortar, pestle, and a magical hot plate.¡± The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Any thought to Megalith Master?¡± John prodded. ¡°Megalith Master? I don¡¯t think I saw that on the list, it doesn¡¯t sound like a magical craft, so my racial trait probably doesn¡¯t grant access to it,¡± the gnome explained. ¡°Ah, right, magical crafts only. It¡¯s too bad, I think it¡¯d compound with any other magical crafting feat you applied. I know the megalithic rituals I made benefited from my racial bonus,¡± John told him. ¡°Huh, that¡¯s pretty cool. Sounds like it might be hard to get that racial trait and a magical crafting trait though. From what the forums say, most races have between one and three set traits, with the only exception being humans and half humans. Humans get to choose one to two traits from a pool, how many you get depends on if you take a stat boost or not. Half-humans gain one of the traits of their non-human parentage and then get to pick a trait if they don¡¯t take a stat boost. Humans and half humans don¡¯t take a negative though, so there¡¯s that,¡± BR said. ¡°So you¡¯d basically have to be half-human and half-basajaun, and hope you got Megalith Mastery instead of Disaster Prognosticator or Plant Tender. I guess you could always re-make and hope for a different combo. It¡¯s weird that stat boosts are worth as much as a racial trait though,¡± John mused. ¡°Not really, while it doesn¡¯t cost any more than normal to increase the stat, you actually gain a buff or debuff to the stat based on the size of the increase. Magic is actually the stat that let people figure it out. Each point of bonus stat means that you gain a ten percent increase to the effectiveness of that stat, so a plus two Magic actually makes your mana pool twenty percent bigger, while a minus two would make it twenty percent smaller,¡± BR expounded. ¡°Do you¡­ not read the forums regularly?¡± ¡°Not a lot, no. I¡¯ve mostly been focused on getting my farm together,¡± John admitted. ¡°But in fairness, this does explain why I seem to take less damage than other people, basajaun get a plus two bonus to con.¡± ¡°Less damage? What¡¯s your con at?¡± ¡°Uh¡­ let me check,¡± John said, even as he pulled up his status. [Name: John] [Race: Basajaun] [Level: 7] [Mana: 530] [MRegen: 26/minute] [Build Points: 2,838] [Attributes] [Skills] [Spells] [Racial Perks] [Feats] ¡°Forty-one,¡± he said after a moment. ¡°That¡¯s an effective constitution of about forty-nine, that¡¯s pretty high from what I hear. Apparently training it requires constant exposure to elemental effects, damage, and pushing through weariness,¡± BR said. ¡°Most of that came from working sixteen-hour days clearing land in full sunlight. It was also good for my strength stat,¡± John explained. ¡°Yardwork as a form of strength and constitution training huh? I bet we can sell that to someone,¡± BR replied with a grin. ¡°It certainly sounds more pleasant than getting hit over and over again,¡± John agreed. ¡°So you¡¯re farming for money right? And on some kind of time limit?¡± BR asked. ¡°Yeah, my dad wants me to go to college, which I¡¯d be happy to do if it guaranteed a job, but all it guarantees is debt at this point. So, I told him I¡¯d like to try making money another way, and this seemed like a good idea at the time. Honestly I thought there¡¯d be lots of farming practices from the modern era I could apply to the game world, but that doesn¡¯t really seem to be the case.¡± John said. ¡°What do you mean? I¡¯m pretty sure we could whip up a magical combine harvester,¡± BR replied. ¡°Well, that¡¯s just it. We could, but that¡¯s designed for harvesting quantity, but what I¡¯m seeing here in game is that it¡¯s all about quality. The higher the quality of the crops, the better they are, the more they¡¯re worth. The big problem is that in order to get a higher quality product you have to pay more and better attention to the crop. For instance, I have the Plant Tender racial, and the Green Thumb feat, combined they give a fifty percent chance at a quality increase for any crop I personally tend. But the key there is that I have to tend to it. I can¡¯t just throw down the seeds and then let impersonal machines or even other people take over. If I¡¯m not actively involved then my bonuses mean nothing,¡± John explained. BR nodded as he listened. ¡°So basically, you need to keep your crop setup small enough that you can personally spend time with each batch of plants, otherwise you won¡¯t get higher quality, which means it¡¯ll sell for less.¡± ¡°Exactly. If this were the real world I¡¯d want to grab as much land as I could, and then have someone build me magical devices that would let me till, seed, and harvest large swaths of land, because quantity would be king. Here, it¡¯s only seven days per quality ranking for a basic crop, so wheat, for instance. A Good quality wheat crop will be fully grown in just under a month, that¡¯s one fourth the time it takes to grow wheat in reality, so you can get four harvests done in the same time, meaning you only need one fourth the land. Further, I suspect that my trait and feat only come into play after the crop is grown, that means that a Good quality crop has a fifty percent chance to become a Great quality crop, without the extra seven days of growth time,¡± John expounded. ¡°And if the feat goes all the way up to rank twenty, and assuming a twenty-five percent boost per rank, then at level one hundred you¡¯d have a five hundred and twenty-five percent chance of a quality increase, which means your Good quality crop could jump all the way to Artifact quality for just twenty-eight days of growth,¡± the gnome said with a nod. ¡°In other words, the higher your level the less sense it makes for you to stretch yourself over a large area.¡± ¡°Right,¡± John said. ¡°The only reason I might want more land at this point is for cattle, but even then I probably can¡¯t personally handle too many of those on top of crops.¡± ¡°You know, you might want to consider seeing if someone wants to join you in this endeavor, I¡¯m sure there¡¯s probably a race that gets bonuses to animal-based products, like milk, wool, and meat,¡± BR said speculatively. John considered that in silence for a moment. ¡°Maybe, but what¡¯s the draw to work with me when they could just establish a ranch of their own somewhere? They¡¯d have to build their character specifically to get those bonuses, which would mean it¡¯s not great for other activities like dungeon diving or adventuring, and as far as I¡¯m aware you can only have one character at a time.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ a good point. I mean I suppose the biggest draw would be that you¡¯ve got a location set up already, but that¡¯d be more of a renting space kind of scenario than a partnering scenario,¡± BR admitted, he then got a thoughtful look. ¡°What about one of the natives?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± John asked, unsure what he meant. ¡°The NPCs, people on the forums are calling them natives, it seems more appropriate since they¡¯re so lifelike. The thing is that they don¡¯t get a choice in what they¡¯re born with, so it¡¯s possible there¡¯s someone with an animal husbandry trait who might be looking for a job,¡± BambooRooster explained. ¡°Well, we¡¯d need to know what species even gets an animal husbandry trait, and then we¡¯d have to search specifically for someone of that species, who¡¯s low enough level that they haven¡¯t made decisions about their feats yet. Something seems off about selecting people for their species talents and I¡¯m not even sure I¡¯ll be around for more than another four months,¡± John replied. BR bobbed his head. ¡°Still might want to think on it.¡± ¡°I will,¡± John said. The conversation died soon after that, however the remaining walk wasn¡¯t that long and soon they found themselves at John¡¯s farm. It didn¡¯t take long to acquaint BR with the buildings or to get him settled into the workshop. Although John did indeed need to lower the surfaces to a more manageable level for the gnome. ¡°You don¡¯t have any chairs,¡± BR pointed out. ¡°Ugh, I knew there was something I wanted while I was in town,¡± John muttered. The gnome just smiled and pulled a stool out of his inventory. ¡°I¡¯ll make do for now, I suppose. Do you have any projects you want me to work on right now?¡± ¡°Not really, though I do have a book you might be interested in,¡± John said as he took out The Enchanter¡¯s Handbook (Farming Edition) and placed it on the workbench. ¡°Got this from a quest a while back, it¡¯s got some ideas and patterns for enchantments that are useful on a farm in it.¡± ¡°That certainly sounds useful. My own books cover the basics and some advanced stuff, but they¡¯re not big enough to cover everything. I¡¯ll give it a look and see if there¡¯s anything I can¡¯t already do in there. For now, I think I could do with some heating in this room, and maybe something to keep the damp out,¡± the gnome said as he looked around. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll leave you to it then,¡± John replied, then left after BR gave him a parting nod. MAG - Interlude: Ice Cream - Edited Melanie (or Mel, as she preferred to be called) logged into Eternal Online and got up from the bed in which she found herself. She swiftly dressed and exited the small room she¡¯d been given by her boss. Well, he wasn¡¯t really her boss, this was a game after all, and she could just stop playing at any time. But she thought of him as her boss anyway, he was the only person to offer her a chance, without his intervention she¡¯d have been forced out of the eastern capital with all the other players. Mel didn¡¯t want to be an adventurer, or a pioneer, or any kind of thing that involved going somewhere and starting entirely from scratch, so she was reasonably grateful when the old half-orc had given her a chance to prove herself. ¡°You have one chance,¡± he¡¯d said, ¡°to impress me. Failing that, I¡¯ll throw you out with all the other rabble.¡± Mel, not wanting to be thrown out, had rolled up her sleeves and marched straight into the kitchen. There had been¡­ problems, magical equipment had a bit of a learning curve, but the other three cooks had been happy to show her how everything worked, including a magical mixing bowl and an ice maker. From there she¡¯d decided to make something simple but good; ice cream. Here she began to run into true problems, the first of which was that there didn¡¯t seem to be a local equivalent of vanilla extract. In fact, after quizzing the other cooks, she was able to determine that if vanilla existed in this world, it hadn¡¯t been discovered yet. Thus, scrapping the idea of vanilla ice cream, she moved on, thinking perhaps chocolate. It was only after she asked about it (and found they didn¡¯t know what that was either) that she remembered that vanilla and chocolate came from the same region; this, of course, meant that if they didn¡¯t have one, they were unlikely to have the other. Unwilling to let that little setback get her down, she took a look at the fruit options. The pantry was well stocked with all sorts of food stuff, including several different fruit types. There were pears, plums, passion fruit, assorted berries, and there, weirdly, a small basket of lemons. She¡¯d plucked out five of the yellow fruits, giving one a good sniff while she did so. They were not Meyer lemons, that was certain, which meant she¡¯d need to adjust the sweetness a bit, fortunately that wouldn¡¯t be much of a problem. Upon returning to the kitchen with her yellow bounty she ran into her second problem; the kitchen did not have a zester. A little searching turned up a cheese grater, and with some reluctance she carefully used that to grate the peel of a couple of lemons, doing her best to avoid the pith. That accomplished she juiced the lemons, a process that involved squeezing the juice out by hand and running it through a strainer due to lack of a juicer. She left the juice to simmer in a self-heating bowl and went to get the milk and cream. She had initially been concerned when she¡¯d seen the milk in the pantry, however the others explained that the shelves all had a stasis enchantment. She didn¡¯t quite know what the limits of such an enchantment were, however the dairy products smelled and looked fresh as the day they were delivered. Milk and peel went into one of the self-heating and mixing bowls and within a few minutes she had a steaming bowl of milk. She deactivated the enchantments and set the bowl aside to steep. While that was happening, she cleaned up the few items she¡¯d used and wiped down the counter, receiving approving nods from the others. She then proceeded to gather the eggs and then separate the yolks from the whites. She set the whites aside, ideas for their use percolating in the back of her mind. A quick check on the lemon juice showed it had reduced by about three quarters, which was exactly what she was looking for. She turned off the heat so the juice could cool, then turned her attention to the yolks. This was where things got dicey. There was no sugar, at least not in the form that she was used to. They had honey, and a syrup that looked at tasted a lot like maple. For a moment she was unsure of what to do, both would impart a new flavor to the finished product. Finally she decided to go with the honey, it would pair better with the lemon than the maple, in addition she knew the sugar to honey ratio; she didn¡¯t know the same for the syrup. Quickly, she added another egg yolk to balance the extra liquid from the honey, then she added about half the honey she would sugar. With a touch of her hand the bowl sprung to life and the egg-honey mixture began beating itself. She waited a moment to be sure it was working right, then left it be; she wanted it to beat until it turned a nice pale color. Satisfied it was going well, she turned her attention to the ice maker. For this next part she¡¯d need an ice bath to help cool the custard. A few minutes of poking and prodding produced a large bowl full of ice which she immediately set to the side. Moving back to the milk she returned it to a simmer and lowered the mixing speed on the yolk bowl. She poured small amounts of the steaming liquid into the slowly churning egg mixture, being careful to temper the eggs instead of cooking them. Once she¡¯d added about half the milk she put the bowl back down, and then transferred the yolk mixture fully to the milk bowl, using another enchantment to make the surface of the bowl hydrophobic, so all of it slid right out, leaving the container mostly spotless. She kept the custard simmering until it reached the right thickness, then turned off the heat and proceeded to stir in the cream. Once fully combined she poured the entire concoction through a strainer, removing all the little bits of lemon peel, then placed the new bowl in the ice bath, setting it to continue mixing. Turning her attention back to the whites she knew exactly what she was going to do. First, she divided the whites, she didn¡¯t need all of them, then returned to the pantry and grabbed a small basket of strawberries. Returning to the kitchen she cut off the tops, mashed the berries, and then ran them through the magical version of a dehydrator. Watching the device at work was fascinating, it literally ripped the water out of the mash, leaving behind a thick syrupy mush. Belatedly she realized she could have used this to reduce the lemon juice, but it was too late to look back now. Running the dehydrator a couple more times netted her a thick strawberry paste which, she hoped, didn¡¯t contain enough moisture to ruin the meringue. A quick taste told her that it needed to be slightly sweeter, so she added a bit of honey until it was just right. Returning to her work area she set the lesser portion of egg whites to mixing, watching as they moved like an imaginary whisk was beating them. Once they were stiff she added her berry paste and turned the bowl to its lowest setting, which was more like a gentle folding motion than anything else. Finally satisfied, she stopped the device and turned to the oven, which she found could heat almost instantly to most temperatures used in a standard range of cooking. Oven heated, she spooned the fluffy pink mixture onto a cooking sheet and shaped it into bowls. Then, into the oven they went even as she set a timer on her HUD. Stolen novel; please report. Turning back to the custard, she found it completely cooled. Now came the moment of truth as she poured the condensed juice into it, praying to all the cooking gods that it wouldn¡¯t split. The concentrate poured in smoothly, and the mixture incorporated without a hitch, much to her relief. She stopped the mixing function and removed the bowl from the now watery ice bath. She covered the bowl, and placed it in the pantry, taking advantage of the stasis enchantment to keep it exactly as it was. Now she had reached the ¡®hurry up and wait¡¯ part of her task. The custard was ready for churning whenever, and the meringues would need another forty-five minutes of cooking time and then an hour to cool down after that. Meanwhile she took the time to clean up her area and all the dishes she¡¯d used so far. As she cleaned, she considered if there was anything else she should add. A sauce might go over well, but it could also be too much if the flavors didn¡¯t all play well together; worse, she ran the risk of it being too much all together. After a moment of thought she realized she could make the sauce and put it on the side, so that the diner could choose if they wanted it or not. That just left the decision of what sauce to make. After a few moments of thought she decided on blackberry. She knew blackberry and strawberry could work well together, as could blackberry and lemon, though she¡¯d never tried pairing all three at the same time. However, her gut told her it wouldn¡¯t be a bad combination, and she was inclined to listen; it was, after all, where she liked to keep her food. Returning to the pantry she grabbed a bowl of blackberries then returned to the kitchen where she proceeded to mash them into a consistency as close to liquid as she could get. As she did so she wished fervently for a Victorio strainer, as it would make the process so much smoother. Perhaps she could suggest the idea to someone later. Still, it was what it was, which meant this sauce would have seeds. Using the dehydrator once more she pulled a good portion of the water out of the mash, leaving a thick syrup behind. Then, after adding a little honey for sweetness, squeezed a few more drops of juice out of one of the discarded lemons into it, and then heated it until it all but boiled, making sure the berries had broken down as completely as possible. Removing it from the heat she set it aside to cool even as she settled in to wait. Eventually, it was time, the meringues were cooling in the oven (which she had politely asked the others to leave closed) and would be for about the next forty-five minutes, just enough time to churn the ice cream. Retrieving the bowl from the pantry she placed it in another container filled with ice, and activated the mixing function once more. From there it was a simple matter of watching, waiting, and refilling the ice. Eventually it hit the right consistency, though she had begun to wonder if the enchantment would be able to keep going; it had gotten markedly slower as the mixture thickened. Still, they¡¯d gotten there in the end. With the ice cream finished, she turned to the meringues which had (miraculously) not cracked during their baking or cooling, leaving a half-dozen perfect bowls. Carefully she plated one of the airy confections, scooped a generous helping of frozen lemon dessert into it. Finally she scraped the cooled sauce into a small, porcelain creamer and looked around. ¡°It¡¯s ready,¡± she had said to no one in particular. However, one of the other cooks immediately left the room even as the other two moved to inspect the dish. The two cooks, a fuzzy black male catkin, and a heavyset human woman (who would have looked right at home in a Wagner opera), hemmed and hawed as they looked at what she had wrought, but forbore to comment. After a few moments the door opened and the final cook, a tall elven woman, indicated that Mel should plate another serving, and then bring the dessert and follow. After quickly arranging another plate, Mel put the two plates and the creamer on a tray, and followed the woman out. They headed swiftly to a private dining room where they found the proprietor, a half-orc who was going gray at the temples and looked to enjoy his food more than a little. He was sitting at a table with a human woman of similar age but less bulk. The two had clearly been conversing, however they fell silent once she entered. Heading over to the table she carefully lowered the tray down to rest on the edge, and then doled out the plates, finally placing the creamer of sauce halfway between the two of them. Mel stepped back, tray held close to her chest, and waited. Both diners examined the dessert with a critical eye searching, it seemed, for any flaw. Satisfied that it at least looked edible, they examined the creamer, each pouring a small dollop of sauce onto the edge of their plate, and then touched their spoons to it, raising the bare smear of concoction to their mouths and testing it. The ice cream came next, a tiny spoonful to taste, and then the barest sliver of meringue. Mel all but broke into a sweat as they tasted each part individually, she seriously hoped none of the parts was lacking. The two conferred silently for a moment, and then they both drizzled a light helping of the sauce over their desserts, completing the confection. Finally, both of them took a bite of the full combination. For a moment, silence reigned. The woman raised a brow, the man closed his eyes. Finally, both of them nodded. ¡°It is much like the creamed ice,¡± the woman began, ¡°though it is smoother and has more of the flavor of a custard with no hints of flour or other thickener. The blackberry sauce isn¡¯t special, but provides a nice, flavorful addition. The real thing of interest here, however, is this strawberry confection.¡± She tapped the meringue lightly with her spoon. ¡°It¡¯s intriguing; light, with a fluffy interior and a crunchy exterior, and I presume it can be made in a variety of flavors as well, though strawberry was a good choice for this particular combination.¡± The half-orc nodded along with the commentary. ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯ve ever seen anything quite like it, something from their world, perhaps?¡± He turned his gaze on Mel, who felt compelled to speak. ¡°It¡¯s called a meringue, it¡¯s made from egg whites, sweetener, and usually something for flavor. It¡¯s a very temperamental confection, and can be hard to get right,¡± she explained. ¡°I¡¯ll have to take your word for that,¡± he rumbled in reply. ¡°For now, I think we can find a place for you here. Especially if you can produce other such delights.¡± After that he¡¯d seen to her lodging, gotten her acquainted with the rest of the staff of his restaurant, and helped her settle in. All of that had led to where she was now. Standing in a kitchen some two months later and considering a small pile of chooker eggs. MAG - Chapter 52 - Edited When John had logged off last night, BR had still been going strong in the workshop, and he¡¯d briefly stuck his head in on the gnome to wish him a good evening and exchange contact requests. This, it turned out, had been a good move, as he logged in to find a message waiting for him in his inbox. With a thought he opened it and began reading. Did some reading last night, and compared some schematics, and came to the conclusion that you¡¯re going to need to start stockpiling some materials to build the Mana Well. The first thing we¡¯re going to need is something with a moderate to high mana conductivity to form the base. Having examined your windows, the easiest option is probably going to be infused quartz, although that nebula marble might be an option too. I know a couple of ritualists who¡¯d be happy to come out and set up an Infusing Ritual for you; I¡¯d do it myself but I haven¡¯t taken the trials for ritual magic yet. From there it¡¯s a simple matter of generating the stone and hitting it with enough mana. Keep in mind that because you made the stone instead of mining it, the result will probably be lower quality. Next thing you¡¯re going to need is a way to store the mana. There are half a dozen materials I could name that have a mana capacity, but the best option you likely have here are mana cores. Basically a mana core is a small mana battery that some creatures develop, and they occasionally show up in dungeon monsters. Given that no one in town yet has a use for them that isn¡¯t the same as a mana stone, they¡¯re pretty easy to get. You¡¯re going to want a lot of mana cores. The ones people are pulling out of the dungeon are only poor quality, which means they hold about 625 mana each. A bit of math says that in order to run 20 devices (assuming each device requires 20 mana) you¡¯ll need about 300 cores. Keep in mind that poor cores are super fragile, they have about a 90% chance of breaking when quickly discharged or totally emptied, so you¡¯ll want extras. As John went about his (thankfully not wet) morning, he considered the message. At the price he¡¯d paid for cores last time, three hundred would cost three silvers. However, it was extremely unlikely cores were still going for a copper each. It was more likely that they were worth just as much as a Life Stone now, given that they could be filled with life mana. It was best to assume they were going for at least the cost of Fire Stones, which was five copper last time he looked, but it could easily be as much as double or triple that. So, assume around forty-five silvers assuming no one upped the price once he started buying cores. Finishing up his morning communion with the tree, he did a quick check of his funds. Fifty-one gold, ninety-three silver, one thousand nine hundred and thirty-nine copper. More than enough to purchase cores. The real question was whether or not he wanted to pay a ritualist to improve the cores for him. He knew that the Ritual of Purification could increase the quality of the cores, and thus reduce their fragility, but he wasn¡¯t sure about the cost. Ideally he¡¯d redraw his own purification ritual, and maybe he could try that thing BR used for enchanting, where he drew the pathways in mana¡­ actually that sounded exactly like the key element he¡¯d been missing when he made his own rituals. He¡¯d need to try that. Standing he started to turn away from the tree when not one, but five portals shimmered into existence in an equal number of archways. Immediately each disgorged a dozen or so men and women in various livery. The five groups looked at each other and exchanged brief nods before they began examining the rest of the gateway area. Their eyes took in the structure, the nearby farm, the knights¡¯ compound, and the newly cleared plots just across the road. They also briefly considered John, but he could see the dismissal in their eyes when they looked at him. Not wanting to be in the middle of whatever was happening, John exited the shrine and stepped off the road. ¡°Good call,¡± one of the on-duty knights said. She was a tall and broad woman who looked well suited to the large sword she wore. ¡°Those are guards, likely for eastern nobles, you can tell by the colors. Whatever happens next, you don¡¯t want to be in the middle of it.¡± John nodded, then turned and walked back to his farm. Whatever this was, it wasn¡¯t his problem, and he had chookers to feed. This was, of course, invariably the wrong thing to think, because no sooner had he finished feeding the chookers when it became very much his problem. Walking out of the coop John was surprised to see a carriage sitting in the middle of his farm. For a moment he thought he was seeing things, because in lieu of wheels the conveyance was floating about two feet off the ground. However, the presence of the four guards around the vehicle assured him he wasn¡¯t; especially once one of them noticed John and gestured in his direction, prompting the other three to take notice. With a sigh, John began walking toward the carriage, slowly and without hint of aggression. The last thing he needed was a fight with some noble¡¯s retainers. As he approached another guard appeared from around one of the greenhouses; given the direction she¡¯d clearly come from the house, where she¡¯d likely been looking for John. She immediately walked past the carriage and headed in John¡¯s direction, holding up one hand in indication that he should stop. Given that he didn¡¯t particularly care where they talked, he stopped and waited. ¡°You¡¯re the holder of this property?¡± the elven woman asked in a no-nonsense tone. ¡°As far as I¡¯m aware I am the owner, yes,¡± John replied, careful to use the word owner. Something flickered in the woman¡¯s eyes, contempt? Annoyance? John wasn¡¯t sure, it was gone too quickly for him to catch. ¡°Lord Tragwynn will be requiring the use of your house and these smaller outbuildings for the next week, you will be compensated a gold for your trouble,¡± she informed him. John sighed, seeing all too well how this was going to go, still, he wasn¡¯t going to give in without a fight. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I must decline your lord¡¯s offer.¡± The woman stared at him for a moment before speaking. ¡°I do not think I was clear,¡± she said, her words clear and precise. ¡°Lord Tragwynn will be staying here, the recompense he is offering is more than generous, and I suggest you take it before he changes his mind.¡± John gave her a long-suffering look. ¡°Perhaps I was not clear. This is my land, I will not be hosting Lord Tragwynn, nor is he welcome any longer upon it. You may leave at any time, and I suggest you do so.¡± The elven woman¡¯s eyes flashed with anger, no doubt at the tone a mere peasant had chosen to take with her, and her hand drifted toward the mace she carried at her side. ¡°Perhaps,¡± came a cheery and familiar voice. ¡°You may wish to consider the implications of harming the Groundskeeper of the Gateway of worlds, while the Knights Magi are chartered to protect both him and it.¡± Both the guardswoman and John turned to regard the smiling halfling wearing the outfit of a Knight Magi, complete with the cloak that indicated full membership. The elven woman opened her mouth as if to speak, but John beat her by a fraction of a moment. ¡°Squire Elenia? Or is it Knight now?¡± John asked with a smile. Elenia puffed out her chest proudly. ¡°Knight Elenia at your service!¡± John nodded and gave her a smile, but his intended congratulations were cut off by the guardswoman. ¡°We do not require the services, or help, of the Knights Magi at this time. The issue is between the land holder and Lord Tragwynn. You will kindly return to your post and inform your commander to reign in their subordinates.¡± Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Elenia¡¯s head tilted to the side and she got a thoughtful look. ¡°That¡¯s funny, it looked a lot like you wanted to bash the land owner¡¯s, sorry, John¡¯s head in. Given that he¡¯s under the protection of the Knights Magi, as I believe I already stated, that would put you in direct contention with our order. Unless I¡¯ve misunderstood?¡± ¡°We were simply discussing the terms of Lord Tragwynn¡¯s stay upon his land,¡± the elf snapped. ¡°The ¡®terms¡¯,¡± John said with air quotes, ¡°being that he¡¯s not staying on my land, and that I¡¯ve asked that he and his people leave.¡± The guardswoman¡¯s jaw tensed and she shot a furious look at John, she then looked back to Elenia. ¡°This is surely a misunderstanding. Knight Elenia, was it? Perhaps you aren¡¯t aware that Commander Grand Cross Elsorwys is Lord Tragwynn¡¯s first cousin by marriage? Might you not see if your commander would like you to reconsider your stance?¡± Elenia let out a little giggle then quickly covered her mouth. ¡°Sorry, not supposed to do that, unbecoming of a Knight and all that. But I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll find that former Commander Grand Cross Elsorwys has decided that a quiet life of retirement suits him better than active duty. Apparently, Commander Grand Cross Regius was¡­ persuasive, when she suggested it.¡± The guardswoman seemed to have briefly been caught off guard if the look of surprise on her face was any measure, however she quickly covered it with a scowl. ¡°I see, I was not aware of that, I will inform Lord Tragwynn in due course. However this has little bearing on the negotiation of accommodations.¡± ¡°Of which there are exactly none,¡± John rejoined. ¡°Knight Elenia, is there any law that requires I house, feed, help, or otherwise treat with Lord Tragwynn?¡± ¡°Technically no, while the Kingdom of the East has some claim on the plains, until an official barony or other land title is formed, any land claimed by citizens of the empire falls only under empire laws. Which are, surprisingly, quite strict when it comes to the prerogatives of nobles on the lands of other people,¡± the halfling knight responded, quite seriously. ¡°They may not seize or destroy items or property, nor may they demand compliance, and fair prices are expected in all transactions. You are, however, expected to treat them with the respect their station deserves, and true offenses may be punished by fine or, in the case of those who cannot pay, lashings. The exact terms of the punishment will be adjudicated by a ¡®neutral¡¯ third party.¡± ¡°I see,¡± John said, and then turned back to the elven woman. ¡°I believe our business is concluded, please give your lord my respects and well wishes. I suggest he speak with Chronos, leader of the Titans guild, I believe he has plans to rent land to those who require it.¡± The woman¡¯s lips compressed into a thin line as she glared at first John, then Elenia. Then, without a word, she turned and marched back to the horseless, floating carriage. ¡°They¡¯re not going away, are they,¡± John stated more than asked. Elenia giggled again. ¡°Not a chance.¡± They watched as the guardswoman walked up to the carriage, politely knocked on the door, and then spoke at length with the occupant. After a moment a young but tall and regal looking elven man came into view, walking down a set of steps the guardswoman had unhooked from beneath the conveyance. As Lord Tragwynn stepped off the stairs, the still damp ground beneath his feet firmed as water was pulled out of it and then spread to either side, leaving a dry place for him to stand. This display of magic continued as he walked with casual grace toward John and Elenia. ¡°I do believe we¡¯ve not had the pleasure,¡± the high elf (for surely that¡¯s what he was), said. ¡°I am Lord Illyrid Tragwynn, fourth son of the Countess of Cameneas, Lady Pyria Tragwynn. You might be?¡± John gave a respectful nod of his head. ¡°John, Groundskeeper of the Gateway of Worlds.¡± Elenia also gave an acknowledging nod, though hers was slighter. ¡°Knight Elenia of the Knights Magi,¡± she introduced herself. ¡°Ah, I had heard that the Knights Magi were working as toll keepers now, it¡¯s a shame to see a once noble organization fall so far. Might I ask exactly what your interest is in my attempts to secure lodging?¡± Illyrid asked, feigning puzzlement. ¡°As I explained to your retainer, I am here to assure that no unpleasantness occurs during any such negotiations,¡± Elenia replied cheerily. An immaculate brow rose. ¡°Surely you¡¯re not suggesting that I or my guards would stoop to trickery or violence?¡± the noble said, sounding almost offended. ¡°Of course not, your lordship. However, accidents have been known to occur,¡± Elenia explained affably. ¡°Indeed. Well, in that case, I believe my business is with¡­ John? Was it? I believe you have been offered a gold for the use of your abode and the greenhouses for the duration of our stay, which I am assured should be no more than one week. This is amenable, is it not?¡± the elven man asked, as if he expected John to agree. ¡°It is not,¡± John rebutted. ¡°I would, respectfully, ask you please vacate my lands, and once again suggest seeking out the leader of the Titans, Chronos. I believe you will find him far more interested in your offer.¡± ¡°I see,¡± Illyrid said, his politely indifferent face shifting into a mild frown, even as he glanced past John, ostensibly looking at the emptied lots adjacent to the roadway. ¡°It does appear, however, that your friend Chronos doesn¡¯t have any accommodations prepared. I¡¯m afraid that won¡¯t do at all. No, your lot truly is the only one suitable.¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t help you with that,¡± John replied, he then turned to Elenia. ¡°Knight Elenia, it appears the good lord is having some trouble finding his way off my property, would it be possible for you to arrange an escort?¡± Elenia looked to John, and then to Illyrid. After a moment she nodded. ¡°I believe that can be arranged. Do excuse me Lord Tragwynn, I will return shortly with a guard befitting your station.¡± With that, she turned and headed for the road. The high elf watched her go for a moment then turned his head to look at John once more. ¡°This is a mistake,¡± he said, the words carrying a threat even as his tone remained polite. ¡°I would like you to remember that this area will soon be a barony of the Eastern Kingdom, and its laws will become your laws. I would urge you to think very carefully before you commit to this course of action. Right now I am merely annoyed, and annoyances can be overlooked. I hope that is clear?¡± John gave a quiet sigh. ¡°You are very clear. Now, I believe that¡¯s your escort.¡± John said with a gesture to an approaching group of Knights Magi. ¡°Good luck in your search for accommodations.¡± The elven man didn¡¯t bother to respond, he simply turned and walked back to his carriage. Within minutes the group of knights had taken up station around it and its guards. A few moments later saw the entire party off his land and onto the road outside. The knights then turned and came back, with Elenia leading the way. ¡°Thank you,¡± John said as they approached. Elenia beamed at him. ¡°No problem!¡± she replied. ¡°Commander Axia was thinking that maybe you¡¯d like to keep a few of the knights on hand for the next few days, as that¡¯s unlikely to be the last noble you¡¯ll have to interact with.¡± John thought about it for a moment and then nodded. ¡°That seems like a good idea, however that seems¡­ uh¡­¡± ¡°Like a babysitting job?¡± Chimed in one of the knights, a sturdy looking orc. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, we¡¯re not like the previous batch of idiots.¡± A round of nodding greeted the man¡¯s words. Then, seeing the confusion on John¡¯s face, he continued. ¡°Look, the last group of knights sent out here were all political. People who got into the knights because they wanted a prestigious title and all the privileges that came with it. They got where they were because they had the money or influence needed to pull strings, not because they were doing their job.¡± ¡°And¡­ you¡¯re not?¡± John hazarded a guess. Several of the knights chuckled. ¡°We¡¯re the real knights, not some idiots playing dress up, putting on airs, and deciding some tasks are ¡®beneath¡¯ us,¡± a foxkin woman chimed in. ¡°We¡¯re perfectly happy to sit around and watch your farm, especially if it means we get to tell entitled brats to shove off.¡± John blinked but nodded. ¡°Alright then. Do you need anything from me?¡± ¡°Permission to set up some kind of shelter near the road would be great,¡± Elenia said. ¡°Other than that, we can mostly manage ourselves.¡± ¡°Sure, I¡¯m not ready to build anything over there yet, so feel free,¡± John replied. ¡°Great! Also, do you want us to just turn away any nobles that show up?¡± the halfling inquired. John hesitated a moment before speaking. ¡°Use your best judgment maybe? I¡¯m not opposed to renting out a portion of my land, but I¡¯m not going to let anyone walk over me to get it.¡± Elenia nodded. ¡°Alright then. We¡¯ll let you get back to your work. Later John.¡± ¡°Yeah, later, let me know if you guys need anything,¡± he said. The knights nodded, and then headed back toward the entrance to the farm. MAG - Chapter 53 - Edited John considered the morning as he did his midday stretches and exercises. He hadn¡¯t had any more trouble since Lord Tragwynn had left, mostly (he suspected) because the knights had taken care of everyone else who might have disturbed him. So he¡¯d had plenty of time to tend to his crops. He started by checking for weeds, of which there were (thankfully) precious few, and then moved on to checking for insect activity. There were some signs that insects were still a problem, fortunately there was no sign of disease or rot. He had done a little more research since his last pesticidal attempts and had decided to try a different substance; kaolin clay. The material was said to be an irritant to all manner of pests, which caused them to ignore plants upon which it was spread. The only problem was that he wasn¡¯t sure he could create it specifically. In the past he¡¯d let the spell take care of the specific composition of what he was making, with the exception of sulfur, and that hardly counted since it was a single element substance. For instance, John didn¡¯t need to know the specific makeup of quartz, he simply pictured quartz and that¡¯s what he got. Similarly, dirt and rock came out mixed the way they were supposed to be. The one thing he¡¯d really enforced his will on was the Nebula Marble, and even then, he hadn¡¯t tried to dictate specific chemical compositions, he¡¯d just used an image of what he wanted it to look like. Kaolin clay however had a very specific composition indeed and he wasn¡¯t sure he¡¯d get what he wanted if he just pictured a fine, white clay. He¡¯d wanted to just try it and see what happened, but how would he know if he¡¯d gotten the right substance or not? With that in mind he resigned himself to trying to force a specific composition. He¡¯d begun by imagining what the clay should look like, an easy task given the plethora of pictures he¡¯d seen on the internet. Next he brought to mind the specific composition of the clay, which consisted mostly of aluminum, silicon, oxygen, and hydrogen. Finally, he pictured the models he¡¯d seen of the clay¡¯s chemical structure. Then, with a gesture and a thought, he tried to bring it into being. The magic had resisted him, not as strongly as it had when he¡¯d been making nebula marble for the first time, but enough to be noticeable. He¡¯d pushed through and succeeded in creating a large pile of the powdery white material. From there coating the plants had been an easy application of Control Earth. He¡¯d then moved on to the next greenhouse, and the next. By the time he¡¯d finished all twelve of the plots he had a slight headache brewing, proof that he was pushing the boundaries of his magical ability. Fortunately, however, that had used up the rest of his morning, which led to where he was now; heating up another frozen meal and considering his plans for the evening. What he needed to do first and foremost was go into town and purchase any mana core he could find. If mana stones and cores were rare in the rest of the empire then it was only a matter of time before the nobles caught wind of the fact that people were selling them for coppers. Once that happened they¡¯d probably buy every crystal and core they could get their hands on. Or maybe they wouldn¡¯t? The crystals and cores were only poor quality after all. Still, better not to take the risk. After purchasing the cores he¡¯d need to find a ritualist to refine and combine them. He could have made the rituals himself, of course, but he was only Apprentice ranked and he didn¡¯t have any of the resources the trial takers had gained. That meant they likely were better at making rituals than he was. Once he¡¯d taken care of that he could focus on expanding his Domain for the rest of the evening. He was more than halfway done but was by no means eager to be finished with the task. It had been nice, this last week or so, to have some downtime in which he wasn¡¯t constantly running around doing something. Once he had the farming well in hand he would be able to cut down on his working hours, and he could hardly wait for that. Finishing his meal he cleaned the dishes and set them aside to dry, and then returned to his room and logged back in. ¡ª After checking with the knights on duty (who had constructed a nice little guard post complete with built-in benches) John made his way into town. The walk was interesting as he got to a few dozen new buildings being erected by both the Titan guild members and the nobles alike. Some, mostly the ones the nobles and their guards were building, looked like proper houses, if overly fancy, while others looked like little more than stone shelters. It was also easy to tell who had and hadn¡¯t brought dedicated mages, given that some buildings were being constructed in moments while others had clearly been under construction for a while. Arriving in town, John found it to be a hive of activity. Apparently word had gotten out that nobles were arriving for some reason, and everyone wanted to be on in case it was some kind of event. This seemed to be both a good and bad thing, as it meant there were more people to buy from, but also some of them were already increasing their prices. For the next two hours John went on a spending spree, buying up every core he could convince people to part with. About thirty minutes in word got around that he was looking for cores, and from there it mostly devolved into standing in one spot as people came to him instead. By the time it was over he¡¯d managed to purchase eight hundred and twelve cores, at an average price of around half a silver each. Spending four gold and six silvers was painful, but probably worth it in the end. Finished with that he started moving around again, looking for a ritualist that could do what he needed. There were more than a few to choose from, but he knew he wanted one with Ritual Master and a racial feat that increased ritual bonuses. It took about thirty minutes to find someone, but he eventually ended up standing in front of a very bored looking human sitting at a small wooden table and etching a metal plate. After a few moments he seemed to notice John waiting politely, and looked up at him owlishly. The ritualist then put down the etching stylus and plate, sat up a little straighter and gave John his best smile. ¡°Sorry, I got a little lost in my work there, you¡¯re John right? The guy buying all the cores? Sorry, I don¡¯t have any I¡¯m willing to sell.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine, I¡¯ve got plenty already. You¡¯re uh¡­ SlipperyWhenWet? Right? I¡¯m looking for a ritualist with the Ritual Master and Ritual Mastery abilities,¡± John said. ¡°Call me Slip, and yes, I¡¯ve got both those. They give my rituals fifty percent more efficacy, which means their resulting effect in quality is increased by half again. For example, a Ritual of Cleansing that¡¯s Good quality will be able to cleanse up to Great quality poisons before modifiers are applied.¡± Slip explained. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I¡¯m looking for,¡± John replied. ¡°I need you to make a few rituals for me. A Ritual of Purification, a Ritual of Fusion, and a Ritual of Imbuing.¡± ¡°I can do that, but all three of those are a bit more advanced, so don¡¯t expect a quality rating above Good,¡± Slip cautioned. ¡°That¡¯s fine. How big can you make them?¡± John inquired. ¡°Uh¡­ What?¡± Slip asked, looking a little surprised. ¡°Well, I need to imbue a big chunk of stone, maybe a rectangle about four feet tall and then three in width and length?¡± Slip looked thoughtful for a moment. ¡°I guess if I had a flat surface to work with that was big enough for it. Though I¡¯d want to be paid extra for the time and discomfort, since I¡¯m assuming I¡¯ll be doing this at ground level.¡± John nodded. ¡°That makes sense,¡± he said, and then paused as a thought struck him. ¡°Hey, how does the Ritual of Fusion work anyway? The primer that I have just said it can combine substances and that caution should be used.¡± ¡°That¡¯s basically it. There¡¯s no real limit to the things you can combine, but it always lowers the quality rating by at least one step, assuming both items are of the same quality and of different materials. Items of the same material and same quality always maintain their quality rating. You can fuse Poor quality items of different substances, but that results in items with a rating of Trash, which usually just fall apart,¡± Slip explained. John pondered that for a moment. ¡°What happens if you try to fuse Mana Crystals or cores with objects?¡± ¡°From what I¡¯ve read, crystals tend to react violently when combined with other materials. No idea what happens to cores, they aren¡¯t mentioned,¡± Slip said with a shrug. John nodded, then asked his next question. ¡°And how does the Ritual of Imbuing work?¡± ¡°Basically, it alters the structure of the material inside so that it¡¯s more receptive to mana. Though weirdly infused items are also harder to change using magic. Infused stone can¡¯t be shifted using Control Earth and stuff like that,¡± Slip replied. ¡°What happens if you infuse a core?¡± John inquired. ¡°You¡¯re just full of hard questions aren¡¯t you? I have no idea, not even mana crystals were mentioned in this one,¡± the ritualist explained. John pondered for a moment before speaking again. ¡°Well, it sounds like I might be paying you to do a few experiments as well, I¡¯d like to see what happens when you combine cores with other materials, and what happens if you then try to infuse those materials.¡± ¡°Just so long as I don¡¯t have to be in the vicinity when you try that. It sounds horribly dangerous,¡± Slip said. ¡°That¡¯s fine, I¡¯ll probably only need you to come back if the rituals get damaged, so you should be free to leave once they¡¯re set up,¡± John agreed. ¡°Then I guess I can come make the rituals whenever you¡¯re ready,¡± Slip returned. ¡°Now is as good a time as any,¡± John said. ¡°Fine, just let me pack up my stuff,¡± Slip replied. John nodded, then got immediately distracted as a new popup appeared in his vision. [Rank Up!] The change in his sight was almost instant, the colors and swirls of mana he¡¯d managed to ignore all became sharper and more vibrant. Further he could now see even the most delicate of strands, such as those SlipperyWhenWet had been maintaining in the ritual plate he¡¯d been etching. There were two other major changes that he could suddenly see now. The first was that he could clearly see the mana inside others now, their cores were visible as glowing masses in their torsos, and he could see mana moving around in some people as they used Mana Drawing or spells. The second change was even more drastic, as he could see a massive vein of mana pulsing through the ground beneath his feet. John stared at the Ley Line, for that¡¯s what it had to be. It looked like it ran east to west, right down the main thoroughfare, and thus directly down the road the knights had built for him. That was great news, it meant that it probably ran right under his farm as well, now he just needed to figure out how to tap it. It was a bit odd though, why had they lined the village up so that it ran directly down the street? Was it a deliberate choice or just coincidence? He wished Grandma Loren was around so he could ask her. He took a quick glance toward the town square, where the Runic Rock of town fame was sitting. It looked like there was a massive pool of mana sitting under it, with the Ley Line feeding into (and coming out of) it. Briefly John wondered what that meant. Was the rock some kind of Ley Line anchor perhaps? Or was it creating a pool beneath itself to draw from? Shaking his head, John looked back to Slip, to find the man had finished packing up his items and was just staring at John. ¡°Is the ground really that fascinating?¡± the ritualist asked. ¡°No, but the Ley Line we¡¯re standing on is,¡± John rebutted. ¡°Mana Sight just leveled up to Expert.¡± ¡°Huh, that¡¯s good to know, pretty sure there are some enchanters who can create something to tap a Ley Line. Might be good to get something like that set up,¡± Slip commented. ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s get going before we¡¯re out of light. John nodded, and then led Slippery down the road, and towards his farm. MAG - Chapter 54 - Edited The view on the way back to the farm was far different than when John had walked through just three hours ago. Much of the cleared land to either side of the road had been expanded with dwellings and outbuildings, many of which were elaborate, large, or both. Further, someone had gone to the trouble of creating side streets branching off the main road, which had expanded the available land dramatically. ¡°Oh wow, are these people moving here? Some of this stuff is pretty fancy,¡± Slip commented. ¡°I don¡¯t think so; the one noble I talked to seemed to think it wouldn¡¯t be more than a week before he was done here,¡± John replied. ¡°I¡¯d honestly expected magic tents and the like, but maybe it¡¯s just cheaper to have an earth mage raise a building?¡± ¡°Seems like a waste of time and money,¡± Slip commented. ¡°I don¡¯t think these people have a money issue,¡± John assured him. As they continued walking more than one horseless, floating carriage passed them with an entourage in tow. It seemed that nobles were still arriving, however it was also apparent they were quickly running out of space to set up. Some were even being forced to employ their mages to clear new swaths of land adjacent to the side streets. Arriving at the farm they found one of the on-duty knights waving off another carriage. The man, large for a human, but too small to be a titan, gave John a grin. ¡°Good to see you back; we were beginning to worry someone had waylaid you. Might be best if one or two of us went with you next time, yeah?¡± the knight said, though his tone and face indicated more joke than actual worry. ¡°Actually, that might not be a bad idea,¡± said Elenia as she walked up to the wall and peeked over it. ¡°Didn¡¯t expect this many new people or I¡¯d have insisted that you take someone with you. Most of these nobles don¡¯t know who you are, but once word gets around they might try some more forceful methods of persuasion.¡± John stopped, looking at the little knight. ¡°You really think they might? Actually, no, if they¡¯re all like Lord Tragwynn I could definitely see that. Okay, no going out without a knight or two, got it.¡± ¡°Knew you¡¯d understand!¡± Elenia replied cheerfully. ¡°That settled, we¡¯ve got someone you might want to meet.¡± She waved toward the pavilion which John could see had been substantially enlarged and now contained a half-dozen more people, all of which appeared to be dwarves. A quick look showed that five of the dwarves were male, armed to the teeth, and (thankfully) happily playing cards with the still seated knights. The final member of the party was a dwarven woman who appeared to be on the younger side. She was sitting slightly apart from the guards and reading from a small book. John looked around with a frown. ¡°I don¡¯t see a carriage.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not my story to tell,¡± Elenia replied. ¡°But you should talk to Lady Oswald, I think you¡¯ll find her a nice and refreshing experience after Lord Tragwynn. Wouldn¡¯t want you to think all nobles are like that.¡± ¡°Do I greet her now and ask her to wait a moment while I get things settled with Slip, or do I get Slip settled and then come talk to her?¡± John asked Elenia. ¡°Best to greet her first but let her know you¡¯ve got a moment of business to take care of. If she¡¯s the type of person we think she is, she¡¯ll tell you to take care of it. If she¡¯s not¡­ well, then what you do is up to you,¡± the short knight replied. John nodded and headed over to the pavilion and stopped near the dwarven woman. ¡°Lady Oswald?¡± he said, uncertain whether he should show some other form of respect, such as bowing. Susanna looked up from her book. ¡°Yes? How can I help you? Oh, are you John, the groundskeeper?¡± John nodded. ¡°It seemed polite to come greet you before I dealt with a few things that require my attention. I¡¯m afraid I don¡¯t have much in the way of refreshments that I can offer you while you wait, I wasn¡¯t really expecting guests.¡± The dwarven lady waved him off. ¡°It¡¯s fine, we have water and we brought plenty¡­¡± she paused, uncertain. ¡°We brought some food,¡± she finished finally. ¡°Do take care of your farm, and then we can speak again.¡± John nodded. ¡°It hopefully won¡¯t be more than a few minutes.¡± Susanna nodded and then turned her attention back to her book. John stepped back and then gestured for Slip to join him. With a quick pace he took the other player to the house and helped him outline the locations for the various rituals. Seeing how big John wanted them (about five feet in diameter) Slip quoted a price of a silver an hour. John agreed and created pedestals in the locations Slip indicated. He then left the man to it and headed back out into the twilight. A few moments later saw him standing in front of Lady Oswald once more. ¡°Sorry about that, I needed to get Slip working before we ran out of light totally.¡± ¡°Slip? The human who came in with you, I take it?¡± she responded. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s a ritualist I¡¯ve hired. Now what can I do for you?¡± John asked. The woman hesitated for a moment. ¡°We were actually hoping we could convince you to let us bunk in your house,¡± she said. ¡°Our traveling companions brought us as far as the Gateway of Worlds and then firmly suggested that we make our own way. I¡¯m afraid that we had been relying on the mage in their employ to provide us with shelter, but it seems we don¡¯t have that option anymore. But I see you had other intentions for your dwelling¡­ Could we perhaps convince you to let us use one of the greenhouses instead? I understand it¡¯s an imposition and would likely ruin the crop within, but I¡¯m sure f- Lord Oswald the Stalwart would be willing to repay you.¡± John ran his fingers through his beard. ¡°I take it you don¡¯t have many funds on you?¡± Susanna shook her head with a vaguely glum expression. ¡°We were told that we wouldn¡¯t need to worry about that, however it seems¡­ we were misinformed.¡± John frowned. It sounded like someone had deliberately set Lady Oswald up in this position. That, and the fact that she wasn¡¯t pushy and demanding, made him want to help her. ¡°I see. Well, it¡¯s almost too dark, so we can discuss payment later. I¡¯ll set up a place for you to sleep.¡± ¡°Set up?¡± Susanna asked, clearly confused. ¡°Sure, who do you think built my existing structures?¡± John asked. ¡°It shouldn¡¯t take me long to set up another house, I¡¯ve still got the blueprint.¡± ¡°That would be exceptionally gracious of you,¡± Lady Oswald said. ¡°It¡¯s not that big a deal,¡± John said, and then turned towards the knights. ¡°Could I get one of you to come provide a light for me? I¡¯m afraid I still don¡¯t know that spell.¡± ¡°Sure!¡± Elenia replied cheerily. ¡°I can teach it to you later too, it¡¯s not a hard pattern to learn.¡± John nodded and headed off toward the eastern part of his farm. As he neared the wall he called up the house blueprint he¡¯d saved and overlaid it in the area. The ghostly outline of the house took shape and with a thought and a gesture he began to excavate the basement and foundation. As with his last endeavor it took about an hour to create the structure, meaning it was quite dark by the time he finished. However, thanks to Elenia¡¯s light, the area was nearly as bright as day. Walking into the building, John headed toward what was the storage space in his own home. A quick effort of will and a use of Create Earth saw a series of five sleeping platforms created, turning it into a dorm room instead. He then headed for what was, in his house, the work room. A few moments of work saw all the windows occluded and the room split into three spaces instead of one large space. The wall between the original bedroom was removed, creating a much larger bedroom. The two remaining spaces were turned into bathrooms. One that was accessible only via the bedroom, and one that could be accessed from the living room. Unfortunately, the accommodations were fairly basic, being little more than a large tub, a wash basin, and an enclosed latrine. Returning to the outside of the house he and Elenia (who had given more than a few pointers on the creation of a latrine that wasn¡¯t going to stink up the whole house) returned to the pavilion. Lady Oswald stood at his return. ¡°That was quite the display of magic for someone who¡¯s only been part of our world for a few months,¡± she said, seeming impressed. ¡°I got lucky with my feat selections and had a good teacher,¡± John said with a shrug. ¡°I see,¡± the noble woman replied. ¡°May we move into the building, or is there more that needs to be done?¡± ¡°Nope, should be good now. I¡¯m afraid there¡¯s no running water, so I hope you know the Create Water spell,¡± John said. Susanna nodded. ¡°That won¡¯t be a problem, fa- Lord Oswald the Stalwart made sure we all knew basic survival spells.¡± John nodded back. ¡°Alright then, it¡¯s all yours.¡± ¡°Ah, we didn¡¯t discuss the subject of payment,¡± Lady Oswald said. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t offer you much, but we do have a few golds we can spare.¡± John paused for a moment. More gold would be welcome, but it seemed like they might need that money for other things. While he had no doubt even a single gold would normally see them through an entire week here, the prices in town might spike dramatically given the sudden influx of people. Finally he shook his head. ¡°Keep your money for now, we can discuss a fair price tomorrow, and you can pay me when you¡¯ve got access to more funds.¡± Susanna surprised him by giving a short curtsy. ¡°That is generous of you, and the kindness will be remembered.¡± With that, the woman and her entourage departed. ¡°Well,¡± asked Elenia, ¡°What did you think?¡± ¡°She seems nice for a noble, not at all like Lord Tragwynn. Uh¡­ what is a fair price for her renting¡­ I guess my guest house?¡± John replied. ¡°Eh, it varies. You could probably squeeze her for as much as a gold a day. That said, a fair price is probably much, much lower. Lord Tragwynn was probably right in that a gold for the week isn¡¯t unreasonable, assuming they aren¡¯t bunking in your greenhouses and destroying your crops,¡± Elenia explained. ¡°That said, the Oswalds are known for being generous to a fault. She¡¯ll probably insist on paying you more. I¡¯d argue her down to two gold for the week, maybe three. Keep in mind you¡¯re not feeding her, and it¡¯s land you¡¯re not currently using. Basically, letting them stay here costs you nothing aside from the hour and a half you spent on housing them.¡± John nodded. ¡°Alright, thanks for the advice. Will you guys be staying the night or¡­?¡± ¡°No problem, and nah, we¡¯ll be swapping with another group here soon. Commander Axia wants eyes on your farm at all times while this¡­ whatever is going on,¡± the short knight responded. ¡°Alright, have a good night then,¡± John said. ¡°You too. Oh, right, before we forget!¡± Elenia held up a hand and a small pattern of mana appeared in it even as a light hovered over her head. ¡°You might want to try and learn Create Light, it¡¯s pretty handy.¡± John grinned and nodded; he then took a blueprint of the pattern. ¡°Got it, thanks!¡± ¡°No problem! Now if you¡¯ll excuse me, my relief should be here any minute,¡± Elenia said, and then headed for the pavilion. MAG - Chapter 55 - Edited The rain returned the next day, pouring down as if to make up for the previous day¡¯s lack. John stood with his door open, looking out into the steady downward stream as he combed fingers through his beard. His plans for today had involved creating stone pathways so that neither he nor his guests had to suffer the indignity of mud, however he was re-evaluating that idea. While he could create pathways, he didn¡¯t want to have water trapped between the layers of stone he¡¯d be placing down, which meant he¡¯d have to juggle at least two spells to get the job done, probably more like three, as the mud was unlikely to stay in place while he worked. With a sigh of annoyance, he sent a bit of mana into the umbrella medallion and stepped out into the rain. John was quite pleased to find that the water parted around him like a curtain, clearly being repulsed by the enchanted item. A quick test showed that the repulsion effect covered maybe a three-foot diameter, meaning his legs were unprotected from any water that might splash on them, and his hands would get wet if he extended them out too far. All together he was pleased with the device. With a thought and a gesture a small ball of light appeared over John¡¯s head, the result of spending a few minutes last night learning the Create Light spell, and he made a pleased noise. The quality and strength of the lighting was much greater than the tiny flame he¡¯d been using all this time, and as he walked toward the Gateway of Worlds he wondered what other utility spells he might be missing from his kit. The four hours of communing with the tree went by quickly, and John could feel that its roots were nearing their destinations and he wondered what their purpose was. Thinking of the roots drew John¡¯s attention to the interior of the henge, which was currently a dirt ring surrounding the wall around the tree. As he stood, he made a mental note to pave the interior area when he got the chance. Then he remembered that altars to the three divinities the Shrine was dedicated to wouldn¡¯t go amiss either; in fact, it was strangely gracious of the gods to not have demanded such already. Shaking off his musings he returned to the farm and began dealing with the chookers. As he raided the nesting boxes for eggs (of which there were an astonishing sixty-six) he considered that perhaps his guests might be interested in eggs for breakfast. Popping the last egg into his inventory he looked around the coop and then watched the chookers for a moment. They were a bit lethargic and their heads seemed to droop. Considering them for a moment John got the feeling that they weren¡¯t enjoying their current confinement, self-imposed though it was. A few moments of thought brought to mind the images he¡¯d seen of fenced off, covered areas around chicken coops. Perhaps the chookers would go outside if they could exit to an area without rain and mud? It was worth trying, so he added it to his growing list of things to do. Heading out of the coop he schlepped his way across the farm to the newly built guest house. To his surprise, someone had rigged a sliding stone door for the place. He gave a thump on the door and waited. Hopefully it wasn¡¯t too early in the morning, the sun was up after all, and even if it was there should be at least one person on guard. Sure enough, a few moments later the door slid ponderously open with a grinding noise and an armed and armored dwarven man stared up at John. ¡°Good morning mister John, I¡¯m afraid Lady Oswald isn¡¯t up yet. Is there something I can help you with?¡± the man asked cordially. John nodded. ¡°Sorry for disturbing you, but I just picked up this morning¡¯s eggs and it turns out I¡¯ve got quite the surplus. I was wondering if you like some of them for breakfast?¡± The dwarf hesitated for a moment. ¡°Those are chooker eggs, right? I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t offer that much for them, not without the lady¡¯s approval.¡± Shaking his head, John gave a smile. ¡°My treat this morning, I¡¯ve got plenty to share.¡± ¡°Then we¡¯d be happy to accept your hospitality,¡± the man said, sounding considerably more cheered. He then paused and peered up at John once more. ¡°You uh¡­ don¡¯t happen to have a frying pan, do you?¡± John paused, he did not, in fact, have a frying pan, or any kind of kitchen utensils for that matter. It hadn¡¯t occurred to him that he might need them in the near future, so he hadn¡¯t purchased any. ¡°Uh¡­ No,¡± he said finally. ¡°Though town isn¡¯t more than twenty or so minutes away at a fast pace, so if you were to send someone now, you¡¯d be able to have basic cookware in under an hour.¡± The man nodded. ¡°The others will be up soon, I¡¯m sure we can manage without a couple of them for an hour.¡± ¡°Great, mind if I put these in the kitchen? It¡¯d be less awkward than handing them to you a couple at a time,¡± John said. ¡°Oh, of course,¡± the guardsman replied, stepping aside so John could enter. Entering the house, John headed to the kitchen and quickly created a stone bowl to hold forty of the gathered eggs. Then, not wanting to strain the guard¡¯s good will, he headed back out of the house. ¡°Tell Lady Oswald good morning for me, and sorry about the mud, I keep meaning to set up paths but I haven¡¯t gotten there yet.¡± The dwarf bobbed his head. ¡°I¡¯ll tell her.¡± Heading away from the dwelling, John made his way to the greenhouses where he checked on the plants. The first thing he noticed as he drew closer was the far lower density of Mana in the air. John had grown used to peering through the mist-like haze of free-floating mana, just as he¡¯d learned to ignore the swirls and eddies that sometimes appeared in it. It was interesting in that, once he learned to ignore it, it was like it didn¡¯t seem to actually impede his sense of sight at all. Despite that, he could still ¡®see¡¯ it around him, and as he got closer he was seeing less and less mana. Upon reaching the north-western greenhouses he found that there was almost none. Frowning, he checked his mana regeneration rate, finding that it was basically non-existent. Nervously he went and checked on the plants. They all looked fine, and he got the feeling they weren¡¯t in danger of dying, but he also suspected they¡¯d reached the limits of what this area could sustain. With a shake of his head, he started checking the plants for insect activity. There really was nothing he could do about the predicament right now, he just had to hope that the mana in the area would equalize over time. Other than the dearth of mana, everything seemed fine. There were no new signs of insect activity, which suggested the clay was doing its job, and the moisture content of the dirt seemed adequate. The plants themselves were growing quite large, having developed into small bushes almost half a foot in diameter and height. Meanwhile, the mulch was doing a fine job of keeping the weeds at bay, and he only had to pull a few especially hardy specimens in each of the beds. Finished with the gardens, John checked the time and found that he still had a couple hours before he had to break for lunch, making now the perfect time to start working on those walkways. The first thing he did was plot out where he wanted them. Obviously he was going to have a straight shot down the center of the greenhouses, with walkways branching off to each of the entrances. Then it¡¯d run down to the south until it reached even with where the entry gate would be, where it would split into a T, heading west toward the gate, and east toward the new guest house. He¡¯d then start a second set running from his house, down the backsides of the eastern greenhouses, and then around the south side of the twelfth greenhouse to hook up with the first walkway. Finally, he¡¯d branch off from the pathway in front of the house to run a branch to the barn and creamery. Nodding to himself, he began the work. Because of the ongoing rain, John had to do the walkways in parts. First he had to excavate a section, turning the resulting dirt into gravel and stone, then he had to use Control Water at each step to keep the water from building up between the layers. As with his road proposal so long ago he started with a foot of fine sand, followed by a foot of gravel, then a foot of larger stones, and finally topped it with foot thick slabs that curved upward ever so slightly in the middle. As the finishing touch he added small curbs to either side. The task was grueling as he had to keep up three different spells almost constantly. By the end of the first hour he was feeling the strain, but he¡¯d completed almost a third of the work, so he pushed on until he was forced to break for lunch. After he¡¯d finished eating and was allowed to log back in it took only another hour or so to finish off the walkways¡­ well, roads, really, given that they were ten feet wide. Finished with that, John made his way over to the coop where he spent a good half-hour designing and creating a quartz-covered patio for the chookers. He had to remove the covered table he¡¯d built nearby, but that was fine, he hardly needed the thing. When he was done, the chookers had an extra thirty-five or so square feet of area to roam. No sooner had he finished than the drake stuck its head out through the flap. Seeing that the ground was firm and there was no rain falling on its head, the little beast strutted out of the coop and chooked to the heavens. Soon the females had all joined it outside, and they were strutting around examining every inch of their new space. Content with his work for the day, John retreated to his house, where he found SlipperyWhenWet putting the finishing touches on the Ritual of Imbuing, the final of the three rituals he¡¯d purchased. The man looked up as John entered and gave him a nod before he looked back to the circle he was working on. ¡°Pretty much done here, just a last touch or two and you should be good to go,¡± Slip said. ¡°Great, how much do I owe you? I know you mentioned it while we were getting you set up last night but I can¡¯t seem to remember what it was,¡± John replied. ¡°Five silvers each for the oversized circles,¡± the ritualist informed him. With a nod John produced the coin and handed it to Slip. ¡°Thanks for the help.¡± ¡°No problem, just don¡¯t do anything weird before I get out of the potential blast radius, okay?¡± Slip said. ¡°Heh, it¡¯ll probably be fine, empty mana cores are unlikely to explode,¡± John said. ¡°Yeah, right up until they do. Let me know if it works though, the results would be interesting,¡± Slippery responded. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m out, have fun!¡± ¡°You too,¡± John replied even as the man beat a hasty retreat out the door. Turning back to the circles, John inspected them. [Ritual of Purification (Inactive)] [Ritual of Fusion (Inactive)] [Ritual of Imbuing (Inactive)] John was pleased with the results. As Slippery had mentioned, none of the circles was more than Good quality, but as he¡¯d also mentioned that meant the base quality was actually Great. With the right materials he might even be able to push that beyond great to Exceptional. Anything higher was probably out of his grasp simply because of the prices, but he hoped not by too much. He did, however, wonder what the fifty percent bonus was going to do for the fusion and imbuing rituals. After a bit of careful thought, he decided to start with the fusion ritual. If his previous experience with the purification ritual was anything to go by, the cores would lose size as they purified. Each of the cores was currently the size of a ping pong ball (about an inch and a half in diameter) and Poor quality. Assuming a core would lose half its size per rank, then by the time it reached Great quality they¡¯d be little bigger than marbles. It seemed best to him to start off with larger cores. Finally, he decided that he''d combine the cores in four batches of two hundred three each. With that in mind he opened the auction and started perusing the options. From past experience John knew that items of space were expensive, and he assumed items of time would be similarly priced, so he started his search there as the quality of those goods would dictate the quality of the rest. To his annoyance the space items were just as expensive as he recalled, with Poor quality goods clocking in at a minimum of three gold. John checked his funds and grimaced, he only had forty-seven gold at the moment, certainly not enough for the profligate spending he¡¯d have to do for this project. He supposed that he could make some more mana stones and sell them¡­ John paused and checked the description of the ritual again. Idly, he wondered if an earth mana stone counted as an ¡®item of earth¡¯, if it did¡­ It couldn¡¯t be that simple; could it? ¡°Help, does an Earth Mana Crystal count as an ¡®item of earth¡¯ for the purposes of a ritual?¡± John asked hopefully. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. [Answer: No.] He gave a small, exasperated sigh and turned his attention back to the Auction. He spent several more minutes looking at things with a space attunement and eventually resigned himself to buying something of only Good quality. His final decision was a chunk of Void Stone which clocked in at a whole nine gold. Wincing at the expenditure he moved on to the other items. Air, earth, fire, and water were easy to find items for as there were dozens of plants and minerals with elemental affinities. He ended up purchasing Cumulous Cattails for air, a chunk of Good quality iron for earth, Blazing Peppers for fire, and Spring Water for water; in total the cost came to five gold. The final thing he needed was an ¡®item of time¡¯, which, as he¡¯d guessed, was almost as rare and costly as the void stone. Eventually he settled on a plant called Timeless Ivy, which cost him another eight gold. Finished with his shopping spree, John went about setting up the ritual, placing the six items on the pedestals at the points of a hexagram drawn within the circle. Considering the cost of the materials, John had decided to revise his plan, and fuse all the cores into one single large core. He would simply have to hope that BambooRooster could come up with a way to prevent discharging too swiftly or completely emptying the core. He quickly created a lip around the circle to keep the cores in, and then started piling them inside. After a few minutes he had a large mound of cores inside the ritual, and was prepared to start it. Stepping back, John tried creating six different strands of mana and found that it was difficult, but possible. He then tried to infuse each of the strands with a different element. Holding them stable became much, much harder, and he could feel he was straining at the edge of what he could accomplish with his current level of mastery. Unsure that he could hold it for very long, he fed the strings of mana into the ritual, and watched as glowing lights began radiating along the lines and patterns carved into the floor. After a few moments he could tell the ritual was satiated and cut the flow of mana, feeling more than a little relief at no longer having to maintain the six different strands. Taking a step back, he examined the ritual once more. [Ritual of Fusion (Active)] It was a little odd, he realized, that he could actually see the statistics of the rituals, given how low his Inspect skill was. However, after a few moments of thought he realized it was probably because someone had told him what their base ratings would be, and which ritual was which. The rest came down to materials used, all of which had been Good quality, which meant the ritual¡¯s efficacy wouldn¡¯t be raised or lowered, so the final result would have to be the same as the base quality; or one step higher in this case, thanks to Slippery¡¯s bonuses. Satisfied with his own reasoning, he turned to the next matter at hand; money. He¡¯d forgotten how expensive it was to purchase items for rituals, which meant he was wholly unprepared for the cost. Twenty-four gold was, ultimately, a small amount (representing little more than two and a half dollars were he to take it out of game), but it was still half of his current funds. Unfortunately, this meant he probably couldn¡¯t afford to run both the other rituals just yet. He paused in his musings as the message module pinged him. A quick look showed the sender as ¡®Aurum Industries¡¯ and it was simply labeled ¡®Patch Notes¡¯. John wrinkled his brow in confusion. Over the last two and a half months there¡¯d been more than one patch to the game, after all, no game was perfect right out the doors. However, this was the first time John had been notified directly. Curiously he opened the message. To whom it may concern, A new series of patches have just been implemented and we have determined that several of them will impact you directly. Because of this we strongly suggest you read the relevant notes immediately so as to ensure that you are not led astray by false expectations. You may view the patch notes online, or via the help module. Sincerely, Aurum Industries John ran his fingers through his beard as he considered the message. There were no hyperlinks, odd spellings or phrases, or anything else that suggested it might be spam, so it was probably a legitimate note generated by the system because it associated one or more of his actions with something that was patched. ¡°Help, what are the most recent patch notes?¡± John asked [V 3.1.102 Patch Notes:] John frowned as he read the notes. ¡°Help, what¡¯s changed with Mana Sight and Mana Manipulation?¡± [Answer: Mana Manipulation now allows manipulating multiple strands of mana starting at Novice rank instead of Journeyman, and allowing for two strands per ranking to a total of twelve at Grandmaster. Mana Sight will require one strand to maintain. Mana Drawing will require one strand per rank to maintain. Spells will require one strand per spell past the first. Mana Imprinting may be applied to any strand but will double the strain, causing it to act as two strands instead. In addition, a new feat (Mana Manipulator) will grant an extra two strands per rank.] John pondered the implications of that for a moment. From the sounds of it the biggest change was to how Mana Imprinting worked. Originally, he could just apply any aspect to any strand of mana he was using, as he¡¯d just done not long ago while activating the Ritual of Fusion. Now, however, he¡¯d be restricted to three aspects at a time, as each ¡®strand¡¯ would count as two. This didn¡¯t really impact him beyond activating rituals, so it was probably fine. The cost of upkeep for Mana Sight was annoying, but he could count on one hand the number of times he¡¯d needed to keep up six magical effects at once, which meant he likely could keep Mana Sight running most of the time anyway. As for Mana Drawing, he rarely used it at more than its lowest rank when doing other things, so this likely wouldn¡¯t affect it too badly. Finished with that, he turned his thoughts to the other changes. A quick check of his spells showed that the mana costs had been adjusted from multiples of five, to multiples of ten. In other words, spell costs had doubled. For instance, a spell that used to cost five mana (such as Earth to Stone) would now cost ten mana, where as a spell that once cost ten mana (such as Control Earth) now cost twenty. This didn¡¯t really affect John, given that the cost for a spell using the correct mana type remained the same, so Earth to Stone would still cost one earth mana, while Control Earth would still cost two. The change to the way Plant Tender and Green Thumb worked troubled him the most and prompted his next question. ¡°Help, if I plant a crop and my perk and feat work to upgrade its quality, will that also increase the amount of time it takes to grow?¡± [Answer: No, the quality increase from a feat or perk will not increase the growth time of a plant unless it specifically states otherwise.] John gave a quiet sigh of relief and then turned his eyes to the next potential problem. ¡°Help, how will the changes to Crystallize Mana affect me?¡± [Answer: The maximum rate at which you can generate a mana stone is now dependent on the number of mana strands you dedicate to the project, your rank in the Crystallize Mana, and feats and effects that multiply spell volumes. Further, the quality of the stone will now be correctly dictated by the combined total of your ranks in Mana Manipulation and the Crystallize Mana Spell. For you specifically, this means that your base creation rate (using all six strands of mana) will be twelve mana per second, increasing to one hundred and twenty while within your domain, and the maximum quality of your stones will be Exceptional instead of Good.] The change in speed was interesting, but not great, and if he used all his mana strands at once it¡¯d be a raw mana stone instead of an aspected one. A little math showed him that it¡¯d run at sixty mana per second using only three strands, which meant it would take almost four seconds longer to empty his pool and would be able to produce an aspected mana stone (because he could use Mana Imprinting at the same time). The big limit on this cycle was his mana regeneration rate which (when he was using Mana Drawing at its maximum and in his Domain) was only five mana per second, meaning it took about three and a half minutes to fill his pool. No, the real gem with this change was that he could make Exceptional ranked stones now. People had been paying two and a half gold for Good ranked stones, so he could easily expect twice that for a higher grade. The rest of the notes didn¡¯t really pertain to him (except the bit about the cookie, if the pears and berries were amazing, he couldn¡¯t wait to see what sugar tasted like), although it was interesting to note that there were Golden Apples of Immortality. Apples indicated seeds, which indicated a plant. John briefly wondered if Ophanim113 had kept the seeds, but quickly realized that he probably couldn¡¯t get his hands on them even if the player had. They were almost certainly being buried under an avalanche of emails and messages right now. The final one that might be interesting was the bit about cats. For a long moment John debated saying ¡®I would like a free kitten,¡¯ however, sanity quickly prevailed. What would he feed a cat? Where would he keep it? How would he prevent the chookers from eating it? Also, the text didn¡¯t say what kind of cat, and if he were a betting man either Thuana or Ira would intervene and give him something exotic and problematic like a displacer cat or a lion. No, he was best off not treading that road. Content with his choice, John went and sat in his room. He had six hours before the ritual finished, and maybe ten minutes more than that before he was booted from the game, that meant he could make about one hundred thousand mana worth of stones in that time. Given that an Exceptional stone (by his math) should be able to hold six thousand two hundred and fifty mana per inch, that meant a little more than eight two-inch stones. Hopefully each stone would sell for three or four gold. By the time the Ritual of Fusion was finished, John had made all eight mana stones and gained another point in Magic. Pleased he placed the life stones in a sixteen-hour auction with a starting bid of three gold, and a buyout of five. Heading out to the main room, John examined the results of the Ritual of Fusion. It was a large, off-white sphere over a foot in diameter. Carefully he picked it up and inspected it. [Mana Core] With a thought, John disappeared the core into his inventory and retrieved the cookie that¡¯d been inside it ever since he read the patch notes. For the next few moments he slowly devoured the chocolate chip treat, savoring every last crumb. The cookie was just the right amount of bittersweet chocolate lodged in soft, indulgent vanilla laced baked goods. It was possibly the best he¡¯d ever had and it sparked a thought. He¡¯d been considering just buffs and utilitarian uses when he¡¯d been looking at plants, but given the amazing flavors in game there was a whole market for luxury foods as well. With a sigh of pleasure, he put ¡®obtain cacao and vanilla¡¯ on his to do list, finished the last bite of his cookie, and logged off for the night. MAG - Chapter 56 - Edited The next morning passed much like any other these last few weeks. John logged in to find it drizzling, then made his way to the Gateway of Worlds and spent the first four hours sending mana into the tree. He probably didn¡¯t need to do that anymore, but something about the routine was comforting, and the tree seemed to enjoy it. The roots of the tree had finally reached their destinations and had split, running to either side of each opening and started growing upward. Even now John could see little sprouts pushing through the ground at the base of the fifteen arches that had been chosen. He still wasn¡¯t sure what the tree was up to, it seemed like it was sending out runners to create new trees, but why in those locations? Shaking his head at the mystery, John returned to the farm and his other chores. The chookers had produced well once more, leaving him with another sixty-two eggs, forty of which he dropped off at the guest house. He gave a brief thought to how his guests must be doing. The house kept the weather off but it wasn¡¯t exactly warm and cheery inside. With that thought in mind he made his way back to his own abode and checked in the work room. To his surprise BambooRooster was inside working diligently. He honestly hadn¡¯t expected the player to be on this early. ¡°Morning,¡± John said as he fully entered. BR didn¡¯t look up from what he was doing. ¡°Morning to you too.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t suppose to have a half-dozen heating and light plates hanging around? I need some for the guest house,¡± John inquired. ¡°Not at the moment, thought I could make some if you¡¯ve got materials; shouldn¡¯t take more than a few hours,¡± BR replied. ¡°Will stone circles do?¡± John asked. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯d be fine. How many do you need, and do you want them to hold mana stones?¡± Bamboo said, finally looking up. ¡°Six of each should do I think, and yes,¡± John answered as he created twelve stone circles the size of overly large dinner plates. ¡°I¡¯ll have them done before lunch. Anything else?¡± The gnome inquired. ¡°Nope, thanks for the help,¡± John said, then left after a brief exchange of goodbyes. For the next couple of hours John checked on his plants, giving them a bit of water and spreading more sulfur and clay. The area around the greenhouses was still devoid of mana, and he could actively see the mana that trickled in being pulled into the plants. Given the rate at which the mana was flowing back into the area, it¡¯d probably take days, maybe even weeks, to even out once the plants were harvested. John briefly wondered if this could have long term effects on the local mana. There had to be a reason that farmers didn¡¯t just grow tons of alchemist¡¯s sponge. By his calculations even a Good quality crop of this size should pull in a fair amount of gold. He decided he¡¯d need to ask Frank next time he was in town. The older man had mentioned having grown the plant before, so he¡¯d likely know. Finished with his plants there was only about an hour or so before noon, which meant his auctions should have finished running their course. Checking he found that the stones had sold for a solid thirty-three gold. Hopefully that was enough to cover the expenses of the next two rituals. Heading back into the house he began preparing to activate the ritual of purification. The base purification rate would be Great if he used Good materials, but he was hoping he could find at least Great materials to run it with. Exceptional would be better, but they¡¯d also cost an arm and a leg. For the next fifty minutes he did nothing but search the auction for ¡®items of purity¡¯. He¡¯d easily found the three items he¡¯d used last time, but the only one he could get in Great quality was the cleanse compound. The Pure Philter and Moon Blossom both topped out at Good. So, he spent more than a little time whittling away at the problem. Eventually he managed to grab a vial of Pristine Snow, a bottle of Glacier Water, and a diamond. All together the ingredients cost around fifty gold, almost his total supply. He wasn¡¯t particularly happy to pay that amount, but if that meant his Mana Well wouldn¡¯t break, it was probably worth the cost. The diamond had been the toughest decision. Diamonds weren¡¯t exactly a symbol of purity; however, the specific wording was an item of purity, not a symbol. A clear diamond (which is what he¡¯d made sure to get) is made of pure carbon; if being made of a single pure element didn¡¯t count as being an item of purity, he wasn¡¯t sure what did. Worst came to worst, the ritual simply wouldn¡¯t work and he¡¯d have to wait until tomorrow to try again. Setting the items out he quickly placed the core inside the circle and then spun out four mana stones to power the ritual. Then, when the clock hit noon exactly, he activated it. The mana stones quickly melted, supplying the ritual with all the power it required, and the material components shimmered out of existence, melding into the energy flowing through the precise geometric lines. With a thought John Inspected the ritual. [Ritual of Purification (Active)] A quick calculation showed him that it¡¯d be about eight hours before the core was purified. That meant it¡¯d be just before he logged off for the night. This was good in that he didn¡¯t want to leave his massive mana core laying around for just anyone to waltz in and carry off. Though he probably didn¡¯t have to worry about that with the knights standing guard. With that thought in mind he logged off for lunch before the game could kick him. A quick set of exercises and a frozen meal later John found himself back in game staring at the final ritual. It was going to be the costliest of them all, requiring an item for each magical element. He also wasn¡¯t entirely sure what it would do, or how a higher quality would affect the end product. Briefly he considered trawling the forums for information, but then he remembered that BR was the one who suggested the imbuing in the first place. He poked his head into the work room once more, finding Bamboo still hunched over the table and working. Off to one side was the pile of stone disks he¡¯d provided earlier, all of which now bore the signs and sigils of enchantments. ¡°Hey,¡± John began, but BR held up a finger, his concentration never wavering from whatever project he was doing. Going silent, John took the moment to examine the two enchantments. [Light Plate] [Heater Plate] It wasn¡¯t long after he¡¯d finished reading when the gnome spoke. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°I was wondering what exactly imbuing does? Also, what does its quality ranking mean for it?¡± John inquired. ¡°Imbued objects are a bit of an oxymoron. They conduct mana much better than their unimbued counterparts, but at the same time are more resistant to being changed by magic. The higher the quality the better the efficiency, and the more effort required to achieve meaningful change to the object in question. A Deific quality imbued item will have a one hundred percent mana efficiency and require one hundred times the mana to affect one hundredth of the spell¡¯s area. That is to say, if you put one hundred mana in one side then one hundred will come out the other and it¡¯ll cost two thousand mana from a twenty mana spell to affect a very small area. For each rank below Deific you lose ten percent efficiency, so a Poor rank imbued item will have an efficiency of only ten percent. This is further complicated by whatever material you line an enchanted device with, as it¡¯ll create interference, further degrading the mana throughput. In the case of your Mana Well I¡¯m planning on using brass, which will give it an efficiency of about nine percent. Wells take ten hours to recharge to full, so that¡¯s a recharge rate of thirty-six mana per minute,¡± BR explained. John considered that for a moment. ¡°Did you get that all from your books?¡± he asked finally. ¡°A good portion, yeah. Any enchantment that pulls in ambient mana, such as a Mana Well, has to go through imbued materials,¡± BambooRooster said. ¡°For most basic enchantments it doesn¡¯t matter, because you¡¯ll be supplying the mana from a targeted source such as a stone or direct supply. But say I made a flaming sword that charges itself, the mana charging enchantment would need to be on imbued materials connected to the mana core used to hold energy.¡± ¡°Alright, anything else I should be aware of before I start the ritual?¡± John replied. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Yeah, the quality of the imbuement can¡¯t exceed the quality of the object being imbued, so don¡¯t bother increasing it beyond that,¡± BR further advised. ¡°Got it, thanks. How much for the plates?¡± John said. ¡°No problem. A silver each, they¡¯re super basic.¡± the gnomish player responded before returning to his work. John scooped up the finished plates and dropped the requested twelve silver on the counter then headed toward the guest house. Arriving at the door, John thumped on the thick stone and waited. A few seconds passed and then the door ground open, revealing one of the dwarven guards. ¡°Good day to you Mister John,¡± the man said by way of greeting. ¡°Are you perhaps here to speak with her ladyship?¡± he followed, his tone indicating that John should indeed be here to speak with her. There was a brief silence as John tried to puzzle through why it was important that he speak with Lady Oswald. Then he remembered, he was supposed to speak with her yesterday on the matter of payment, and that in all likelihood he was supposed to approach her, and not the other way around. ¡°Uh, yes, sorry about the delay,¡± he said awkwardly. The dwarven man nodded and then stood aside in clear invitation. John entered the house and was thankful that he¡¯d put in both windows and skylights, as it made the interior quite well lit. He would have felt a dozen times worse if they¡¯d had to have this conversation in the dark. The common room had been furnished with an assortment of stone chairs, benches, and a table made out of rock, and the front windows had been frosted over with translucent quartz, much like the greenhouses. Lady Oswald was sitting in one of the chairs at the table, drinking from a stone mug which she immediately put down as he entered. John hesitated upon seeing her, but then gave a reasonable facsimile of a bow. ¡°Forgive me Lady Oswald, I didn¡¯t mean to keep you waiting,¡± he said politely. The dwarven woman smiled at him. ¡°Though my guards will protest, it is forgiven,¡± she replied. ¡°Honestly, I might have resented it more had I not been able to see you working for myself; and had you not supplied us with breakfast these last two mornings. Although, I think you vastly overestimate how many eggs we can consume, especially without more appropriate cooking and baking apparatuses.¡± John frowned and considered that for a moment. ¡°Sorry, I hadn¡¯t considered it, but yeah, there¡¯s not a lot to burn out here and nothing in there is magical. I can probably have the stove enchanted, though I¡¯m not sure how long that¡¯d take. Speaking of, I thought you might like some light and heat fixtures,¡± he said, placing the twelve disks on the table. One of the nearby guardsmen scooped the plates up and immediately began examining them. A moment later he gave a nod and set them back down where Susanna could examine them herself. ¡°Thank you, these will be quite useful, and your offer of having the stove enchanted is most gracious. However, perhaps you should sit and speak with me, that we might come to an agreement on the price of our stay? I would not wish you to feel slighted after going to so much trouble, and I fear our finances are somewhat strained at the moment,¡± she commented. ¡°Alright,¡± John replied even as he took the indicated chair. ¡°Excellent, now, given the amenities and provisions provided, as well as the work you did to produce this abode, the enchanted plates, and your gracious acceptance of deferred payment, I believe it would be reasonable to offer you ten gold for the week. Does that sound acceptable to you?¡± Lady Oswald asked. John smiled and shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m afraid you¡¯re over-valuing what I¡¯ve offered. The house is simple stone, nothing more, with no protections against magical intrusion nor amenities beyond the absolute basics. Even if I pay to have the stove enchanted it¡¯ll be maybe three or four silvers, five at the outside. The light and heat plates cost me only a silver each, and the chooker eggs sell for only three coppers apiece. Even were I to give you forty eggs every morning for the rest of the week it¡¯d only amount to a total of eight silver and forty copper. In total my expenses for this entire house would come out to maybe twenty-six silver and a bit of time. Under your proposed payment I¡¯d be receiving almost thirty-nine times the cost of my labor.¡± Susanna gave a small smile of her own. ¡°Alright, what do you think a fair price looks like Mister John?¡± ¡°Three gold would be an acceptable amount. I¡¯d still be making a hefty return on my investment, and I¡¯ve been told it¡¯s not an unreasonable price,¡± John suggested. After a few seconds of thought Lady Oswald nodded. ¡°While I think you value your services lightly, I am afraid we¡¯re not in a position to turn down such largess right at this moment. You have my gratitude for your moderation and considerations.¡± John bobbed his head. ¡°It¡¯s no trouble. Also, I¡¯m hoping you¡¯ll tell me why exactly all the nobles are showing up.¡± The dwarven woman made a face. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard that this area is going to be folded into a new barony?¡± she asked. ¡°Yeah, I heard something like that not long ago,¡± John admitted. ¡°Well, originally there was going to be a minor event held in the kingdom¡¯s capital to determine candidacy for the position of Baron or Baroness. However, the Emperor recently received a gift that prompted his personal intervention. He¡¯s decreed that within the week a Limited Trial will be held here in Runic Rock to determine which candidates are suitable, and further that the newly raised noble will become an imperial noble,¡± Susanna explained. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what the difference between a regular noble and an imperial noble is,¡± John admitted. Susanna took a moment to consider how best to answer before she spoke again. ¡°The simplest breakdown is that there are nobles who are associated with one of the four kingdoms, North, East, South, and West. Then, there are imperial nobles who are associated directly with the empire. Mostly you find imperial nobles within the heart of the empire, as they¡¯re the titles that belonged to the nobles who supported the first empress in the war of unification. After the war was over, she declared that her nobles would bow to neither queen, nor king, and that the dispensation of justice over them was imperial prerogative alone.¡± John ran his fingers through his beard as he thought. ¡°So, do they outrank the kings and queens? Or are they equals?¡± he asked finally. The dwarven lady tilted her head from side to side for a moment. ¡°It¡¯s a bit of a delicate balancing act. The kings and queens are imperial nobles in all but name; there¡¯s literally no one who can pass judgment on them other than the emperor. That said, they¡¯re not allowed to enforce their will on the imperials and must bring their grievances before the emperor as any other imperial noble would. That¡¯s not to say that a king isn¡¯t going to win out over an imperial baron. If their title were put into imperial terms, it¡¯d basically be a step above a duke or duchess, given the amount of land and lesser nobles they rule over.¡± ¡°Mind if I ask how the rankings break down?¡± John inquired. ¡°Not at all. At the top you have the emperor, followed by the kings and queens, then in order dukes, counts, and barons. They rule over, respectively, the empire, kingdoms, duchies, counties, and baronies. The empire is made up of four kingdoms, although five really if you count the inner empire as its own entity, the kingdoms are made up of multiple duchies, there at least a couple counties in each duchy, and each county has two or more baronies assigned to it,¡± Susanna explained. ¡°If the new baron of Runic Rock is going to be an imperial noble, where does that place them? It seems like they¡¯d need to be folded into an imperial county, right?¡± John asked. Susanna nodded. ¡°That¡¯s correct, though I¡¯m not sure which imperial county it¡¯ll be assigned to. And that¡¯s not to say that the King of the East won¡¯t have any influence on how the barony is run. Given that it¡¯s all the way out here on the frontier, the newly appointed baron or baroness is going to need the support.¡± ¡°Huh, so you¡¯re hoping to become the new baroness?¡± John said. Lady Oswald grimaced. ¡°More my father¡¯s hope than my own. Don¡¯t get me wrong, I¡¯d be happy to take up the position and I¡¯d do my best to fulfill its duties and obligations, but I would have been just as happy spending my life handling a small estate.¡± John gave her a quizzical look and she sighed. ¡°I¡¯m a fourth child of a small barony. The only way I was inheriting anything was if some catastrophic event killed off my elder siblings, and that¡¯s unlikely. My father made sure that all of us had the knowledge we¡¯d need if we were to inherit, but he also made sure we had no illusions about our chances. My Sister will become Baroness when my father steps down or, heavens forbid, dies, and both of my brothers have advantageous marriages that they¡¯re actually quite happy in. I had expected much of the same for myself until this opportunity came along.¡± ¡°It sounds like you aren¡¯t really happy to be here,¡± John commented. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ more unhappy at the situation. There are noble scions from all over the Eastern Kingdom arriving to compete in this trial, many of whom are the sons and daughters of nobles much higher placed than my father, and thus have access to better resources than I do. Even were I to somehow succeed, the resources I can bring to bear in managing the barony wouldn¡¯t be worth mentioning.¡± ¡°So you feel like you¡¯re outclassed and wouldn¡¯t have the support required for the job?¡± he probed. ¡°Essentially,¡± Susanna agreed and then grimaced as she sipped from her now cold mug. ¡°What kind of resources would you feel that you need?¡± John asked. ¡°Money and materials are going to be the biggest issue. Currently this area exports almost nothing and has very few natural resources worth mentioning. It¡¯s essentially little more than farm land. Some of that can be alleviated with the use of Create Earth to make stone, but the gods don¡¯t give rewards for easily made things, as I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve noticed.¡± John nodded at that before speaking again. ¡°But it does have the Galaxy Tree, the Trials, and the Dungeon,¡± he pointed out. ¡°The Trials and the Galaxy Tree are a bit of a thorny issue. For a Portal you usually pay an amount based on the distance crossed and the duration open, because all that mana has to come from somewhere, either attending mages or Mana Stones. Currently your tree isn¡¯t acting as a portal, it¡¯s acting only as a beacon, and you¡¯re charging only for entry and exit. Given that the trials take place inside the shrine, you¡¯re not actually charging anything extra for their use, not that you should mind you, but lots of nobles won¡¯t feel the same way,¡± Susanna explained. ¡°A better choice would have been to invest in land and the build things such as inns, warehouses, and other merchant adjacent things nearby.¡± ¡°Which is exactly what the Titans Guild is in the process of doing,¡± John noted. The dwarven lady bobbed her head. ¡°No offense, but putting the tree next to your farm wasn¡¯t the best move. Although it¡¯s left plenty of room to expand, it¡¯s also not ideal placement for your farm, given that all the land around you is going to be snapped up. The owners of said land will probably want to elevate the area as well, in order to draw in a richer class of merchants and even some low nobility. They¡¯re going to almost certainly put pressure on you to move somewhere else.¡± John gave a weary sigh. ¡°And what about you? If you become this area¡¯s noble, what will you do?¡± ¡°In regards to your farm? Nothing. It¡¯s your land to do with as you see fit, though I¡¯d suggest finding a way to corral your chookers as you¡¯ll be legally liable for any problems they cause.¡± Susanna replied, she then moved to lift her mug again only to realize that it was still cold. ¡°Easier said than done,¡± John muttered and Susanna¡¯s mouth quirked in a small smile. ¡°Well, thank you for enlightening me.¡± ¡°It was no trouble,¡± Lady Oswald said, ¡°And thank you for the enchantments.¡± ¡°Do¡­ do I need to wait to be excused? I¡¯m not sure what the proper protocol for this is,¡± John admitted. ¡°Usually that¡¯s the safest choice, most nobles won¡¯t get mad at you for waiting to be explicitly told to leave. It¡¯s also customary to give a bow upon departing as well as greeting. If there are multiple ranking nobles present you should, in theory, bow to the highest ranked and it will be assumed all others are included. If you can¡¯t figure out who has the highest title, try not to bow to any one specific person and it will usually be accepted,¡± she instructed. ¡°In this instance, you may both leave, and forego the bowing.¡± With a grateful nod John stood, and then bowed anyway. ¡°Thank you, this has been very helpful.¡± ¡°It was no trouble,¡± Susanna replied. ¡°Have a good afternoon.¡± ¡°You as well,¡± John replied even as he headed for the door. MAG - Chapter 57 - Edited There hadn¡¯t been much left for John to do after speaking with Lady Oswald. He¡¯d spoken to BR and gotten the gnome to enchant the guest house stove for another ten silvers (because apparently temperature control was a little more involved and the player was running out of brass) and then sat down to make Mana Stones for the next seven hours. After creating nine life stones of Exceptional quality and putting them up for auction (this time with a buyout of seven gold) he retrieved the now much-diminished Mana Core and logged off for the night. Coming to, he pulled off the headset and put it aside even as he got up to perform his nightly exercises. While he ran through the series of squats, pushups, lunges, and jumping jacks he considered the last few days. Things seemed to be going well, and he was on track to have a good crop. His current neighbors left something to be desired but one couldn¡¯t have everything he supposed. Lady Oswald was right about the location of the tree and his farm though. There were probably things he could do to mitigate the problem; he¡¯d need to think on it. He needed more straw so he¡¯d have to grow more wheat or see if he could buy some from Frank. The various thoughts, and his workout, came to a halt as someone knocked on the door. ¡°Come in,¡± John said and the door opened to reveal his father. ¡°Hey dad, what¡¯s up?¡± ¡°Not much, just thought I¡¯d see how you were doing and figured that, since I could hear jumping, you were probably awake,¡± his father offered. ¡°I¡¯m okay, still pretty busy. What are you doing up? Normally you have work at like six.¡± John replied. ¡°Mondays through Fridays, yeah,¡± Derrick said with some bemusement. It took John a moment to get it. ¡°It¡¯s Friday.¡± ¡°Yes, yes it is. Why don¡¯t you come have dinner and tell me about what you¡¯re doing? I¡¯ll try not to keep you up too late,¡± Derrick said with a half-smile. ¡°Sure, just let me change.¡± A few minutes later John sat at the counter next to his father, an open pizza box between them. ¡°Alright, so, tell me all about what¡¯s been happening. The forums are all abuzz about someplace called Runic Rock where some farmer has planted a magic tree and unlocked a set of trials. Sound familiar?¡± Derrick said. John snorted. ¡°I¡¯d bet the forums didn¡¯t say ¡®some farmer¡¯.¡± ¡°Nope, they said ¡®John¡¯.¡± His father replied with a grin. ¡°Real catchy screen name by the way. Very you.¡± ¡°Well I wasn¡¯t going to call myself x x Dark Lord x x,¡± John snarked back. ¡°I will have you know my gaming tag was both feared and revered in my time!¡± ¡°Feared because of the cringe it induced, and revered because someone had the gall.¡± ¡°What an unfilial son I have raised!¡± ¡°You should be proud, I¡¯m truthful and honest; isn¡¯t that what people always say they want in a child?¡± ¡°Touch¨¦!¡± Derrick said as he lifted another slice of pizza. ¡°So, tell me about your ¡®magic tree¡¯.¡± ¡°Well, I was trying to create a tree that makes portals, but I ended up with a ¡®Galaxy Tree¡¯. Which so far just acts as a portal beacon, er, a way for portals to lock on to an area, and produced fruits with spatial effects,¡± John explained. ¡°What kind of effects?¡± ¡°Well, the big one is the true portal fruit, which lets you make a portal to anywhere you can name or describe. But they¡¯ve been declared a national treasure, and I¡¯m going to get a measly amount of compensation for them,¡± came John¡¯s sour reply. ¡°So you¡¯ve got empire wide renown then,¡± Derrick said. ¡°What?¡± John blinked. ¡°John, you¡¯re growing what sounds to be either a very rare, or one-of-a-kind item that the local government has acknowledged. Odds are good people very high up now know who you are and are watching. Sure, you could have sold said fruits for a fair amount of money. Possibly as much as a grand per, and yeah, that¡¯d have netted you a fair amount per year. But what did you actually put into getting that item?¡± John thought about it for a moment. ¡°About a month of time, and maybe twenty dollars?¡± ¡°So basically, nothing in the grand scheme of things. Meanwhile you¡¯ve netted the good-will of the emperor and a magical tree that I assume has other fruits, given the way you said ¡®the big one¡¯.¡± ¡°Yeah, it also produces a fruit that allows you to open a portal at the Gateway of Worlds, that¡¯s¡­ uh¡­ the name of the shrine¡­¡± ¡°Awww Dark Lord Junior I am so proud of you!¡± John groaned. ¡°Please don¡¯t call me that.¡± Derrick grinned. ¡°Alright, so that sounds like it functions like a normal portal, that¡¯s what you wanted in the first place, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, I guess,¡± John admitted. ¡°So you got the thing you wanted, and some extra. What else?¡± ¡°Well, one of the fruits gives a line-of-sight teleport ability for a short time, and the final one just gives you a displacer effect.¡± ¡°True displacement or visual displacement?¡± ¡°True displacement, so you¡¯re both there and not there, whatever that means,¡± John said. ¡°It means that you¡¯re solid for all beneficial purposes but intangible whenever it¡¯d be convenient. In most games it¡¯ll be bypassed by some form of magic or special weapons. It¡¯s gonna be great for low level players though, and that line-of-sight teleport thing is going to be great for just about anything that needs mobility. Imagine if your tank can literally teleport in front of oncoming threats, or your rogue can teleport behind people, or hell, your healer being able to teleport around a battlefield. And let¡¯s not forget the possibility of Tele-skimming,¡± Derrick said. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ¡°Tele-skimming?¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s where you use line of sight to teleport from point you can see to point you can see. If you¡¯re in a hilly region, flying, or someplace else that lets you see far away it can be a very fast mode of travel. Was that everything the tree makes? Can you grow more trees?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s a special type of tree the doesn¡¯t produce viable seeds very often. Although the pits do have magical effects. The two portal pits produce a portal to the Gateway of Worlds when planted, and the other two teleport you back to the shrine when you swallow them,¡± John explained. ¡°Huh¡­ do you have to eat the fruit off the pit to activate the magic?¡± Derrick inquired. ¡°Uh¡­ I don¡¯t know.¡± John admitted. ¡°Well, I suggest you find out, because if not, selling a whole fruit is leaving money on the table. In your place, I¡¯d determine exactly what factors go in to deciding how the magic activates. Like, what happens if you puree the fruit and drink it? What if it¡¯s baked into a pie? If you eat a quarter of four different fruits of the same type, does it count as eating a whole fruit? If each fruit weighs exactly half a pound, then does all that weight have to come from the same fruit? What happens if you eat only half a fruit? Do you get half the benefit? What happens if you eat half of two different fruits, does something new happen?¡± Derrick questioned. John paused, pizza halfway to his mouth as he considered the questions, he then put the slice down. ¡°And if it doesn¡¯t need to be eaten off the pit I can sell the pit separately¡­¡± he murmured to himself. ¡°Yes, that was one of my points. So, the big bad government came and took away the super-special-awesome-over-the-top magic item. Big deal, you¡¯ve got tons of profit to be made off these other fruits. Also, you¡¯re gonna make a ton of in game money from charging people to use the shrine.¡± ¡°Wait, how did you know about that?¡± John asked. ¡°Because people complain when they have to pay money for things, even if it is a very small amount. So, what else has been happening?¡± ¡°Well, I managed to unlock a set of what¡¯s called ¡®unlimited trials¡¯. Basically, they¡¯re tests the gods let you take, and if you pass you get an item that will help you in whatever trade you¡¯ve decided to study, but if you fail you get a curse that relates to it instead,¡± John explained. ¡°Alright, so high risk, high reward. Did you take the trials?¡± John shook his head as his mouth was full. ¡°Let me guess, too risky?¡± John nodded and swallowed. ¡°Two of the goddesses are not happy with me, and they control the trials of the body and soul. If I fail either I¡¯m guaranteed to get a curse that¡¯ll screw me over.¡± ¡°Have you considered doing something to make them not mad at you?¡± Derrick asked. ¡°Like what? They¡¯re mad because I didn¡¯t let them bully me into giving one of them sole control of the shrine.¡± ¡°Well, typically religions have rituals to observe that are said to appease the gods. Sacrifice of animals, goods, or time, that sort of thing. Maybe you should consult the priest of their churches and see what can be done,¡± his father advised. ¡°Still don¡¯t see why I should have to be the one to make amends,¡± John grumped. ¡°Because that¡¯s how people with power work.¡± John gave an annoyed sigh but nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll think about it.¡± ¡°Alright, so what else are you doing?¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m currently growing a cash crop and hoping to sell it for real money. I¡¯m estimating around seven thousand plants with a quality of around good, which will mean about twenty-one thousand pounds. If I can sell ten pounds for a dollar then I¡¯d make a profit of around twenty-one hundred dollars. One thousand nine hundred ninety-five after Aurum takes their cut,¡± John explained. ¡°You¡¯re forgetting the government¡¯s cut, which is also around ten percent, so you¡¯re actually looking at one thousand seven hundred eighty-five. But, that¡¯s not bad at all. You paid¡­ what? Five hundred for the headset and another two hundred for a year¡¯s subscription? Two thousand isn¡¯t great for three months of work, but given that you¡¯ve had a rough start I¡¯d be willing to bet that number is going to go up,¡± Derrick replied. ¡°What are you planning on doing next?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure, to be honest. The alchemist¡¯s sponge, that¡¯s what I¡¯m growing right now, is just a stop gap. That, and I¡¯m pretty sure there¡¯s a reason most people aren¡¯t growing it almost exclusively, I¡¯d bet growing it too many more times in a row is a bad idea. I was thinking that I should try some luxury crops, because the flavors in game are so amazing. I don¡¯t know if they¡¯re boosting the sensation or if we¡¯re just eating substandard foods but I¡¯ve never had chocolate that tasted that good before,¡± John explained. ¡°Probably a little of column a, little of column b to be honest. That said, where¡¯d you get chocolate?¡± his father wondered. ¡°Huh? Oh, it was a chocolate chip cookie I got as part of the last update. Why?¡± ¡°You really need to pay more attention to the forums, you¡¯re in the Eternal Empire, right? Like everyone else from the northern Americas. Just like everyone in the south Americas are in the Central Wastes Republic, everyone in Europe is in the Kingdom of the Moon, everyone in India is in the Free States, and everyone in Asia is in the Tranquiline Courts. There are a couple other small countries dotted about, but you get the general gist. Thing is, things we take for granted as being available worldwide can¡¯t be obtained outside of their natural regions. Like chocolate, vanilla, and sugar cane. Most of those haven¡¯t been transported around the world yet. There are a few that have, like lemons and wheat, but they¡¯re absolutely the exception.¡± Derrick explained. There was a moment of silence as John digested that. ¡°But¡­ but what about portals, and people with large inventories¡­ that kind of stuff should make travel around the world possible, if not normal.¡± ¡°Well, the current assumption is that the game world is as big as earth, and portals cost one hundred mana per mile per second. Or per fifteen minutes if they¡¯re a good grade enchanted structure. Let¡¯s say you want to go from the center of the Eternal Empire to the center of the Central Wastes Republic. The forum post I read assumes they¡¯re about as far apart as Canada and Brazil, so call it five and a half thousand miles. That¡¯s a total of five hundred fifty thousand mana. In other words, it costs waaaaaay too much. And that ignores the problems of whether you want another nation¡¯s citizens teleporting into your cities.¡± ¡°How much of the forums did you say you¡¯d read?¡± John asked with a quirked brow. ¡°Do we need to get you your own account and headset?¡± ¡°I¡¯m considering it,¡± his father replied. They spent the next few minutes in companionable silence as they finished off the pizza. Then John spoke. ¡°Well, if you do decide to play, I¡¯m ninety percent certain that x x Dark Lord x x has already been taken.¡± ¡°Ugh, what has this world come to?!¡± MAG - Chapter 58 - Edited Morning came far too early for John¡¯s liking; he¡¯d stayed up far too late last night talking with his father and doing some research. Now he was regretting it. He could have slept in and skipped communing with the tree, but that didn¡¯t feel right. The tree might not be fully sapient, having more impressions and feelings than true thought (when John wasn¡¯t losing himself in it, anyway), but he still felt his absence would likely be noticed by it. So he pulled himself from the warm embrace of sleep, slipped on the headset, and logged into the game. When he stepped out of his front door it was, of course, raining. Sending a trickle of mana to his umbrella token he made his way toward the shrine, stopping only to give a brief ¡°Good morning¡± to the knights who were currently on guard duty at his front gate (or, where it would be once he got the actual gate from Phillip), and the ones at the shrine. Then, shaping his customary stone bench, he began to feed his mana into the tree. Once more he found himself in the proto-mind of the tree, experiencing its feelings and gaining brief images of the way it saw the world around them. It was strange to him that something with no eyes should have such a clear image of the world around itself, but he supposed that some form of magic was at work. He could feel the water in the ground, the rain pelting against leaves, and the annoyance at the lack of unobstructed sunlight. It seemed even the tree was starting to get tired of the constant rain. He could also feel the runners as they slowly grew up the sides of the arches the tree had chosen. John wasn¡¯t sure what those were for, and the tree wasn¡¯t telling, not yet anyway. However, given their rate of growth he was certain he¡¯d find out in little more than three or four days. The alarm he¡¯d set went off, and John disengaged from the tree and started running mana back to his umbrella charm and began using Mana Sight once more. As the mana in the air snapped into focus, John realized that it wasn¡¯t as thick as he was used to, and that it wasn¡¯t nearly so overwhelmingly space and life attuned. A quick look to the arches showed that the mana flowing through the ritual lines was slowly fading and a quick recounting of the days told him it had about three days of functional lifetime left. Running his fingers through his beard, he considered if he should reactivate the ritual immediately, or if he should take a few days to go over the ritual and see if he couldn¡¯t refine the structure so that it could achieve a higher grade. After perhaps two minutes of back and forth he decided to simply reactivate the ritual once it¡¯d run out. He simply didn¡¯t have the money for higher grade materials, which meant it didn¡¯t matter how much better he might be able to make the ritual. Returning to his farm, John fed and watered the chookers, collected the eggs (dropping a dozen or so off with his guests) and checked the auction. All of his life stones had already sold, netting him a solid fifty-four gold. John smiled at the number; he was fairly certain he¡¯d have enough to run the final ritual now. Finished with the auction he spent some time in the greenhouses, checking over the plants and making sure they were in good health. There were some complications while doing so. He couldn¡¯t regenerate mana while within the area they¡¯d cleared of ambient energy so in order to water them appropriately he had to keep heading out to the higher density locations nearby. Finally finished with the plants, John returned to his house and sat down near the Ritual of Imbuing. The first thing he needed to do was create the material that would house the core of his Mana Well. Pulling out the oversized sphere, he carefully considered it using Measuring. The core itself was around seven inches in diameter, which made it a little smaller than a volleyball. At first he figured he¡¯d need to shape the stone specifically to hold the core, but then he remembered how the sockets on his amulet had worked. Specifically, the fact that they¡¯d morphed to fit the stones he tried to place in them. He suspected that something similar would happen with the enchanted stone this core was supposed to sit in. Putting the core away he turned his mind toward what he¡¯d be using. BR had suggested quartz or Nebula Marble. Of the two, nebula marble was harder to create given that it didn¡¯t form naturally and had to be forced into existence against the natural inclinations of the spell. As was a reoccurring theme effort equaled quality, so it was a no brainer to take the option that would require more effort on his part. With a thought John spun out a thread of earth mana and fed it into the pattern for the Create Earth spell and began focusing his intent. This was the part that was tricky, because just visualizing the end goal had led to the Poor quality stone of the henge. Later, an increase in his skill had pushed the quality from Poor to Good. But he didn¡¯t want just Good quality, he wanted Exceptional quality. John had spoken with his father about that and been given some advice; what happened if, instead of just letting the spell figure out the details, he gave specific instructions instead? That had led to a couple of hours of figuring out what metals made which colors. So now he bent his mind to not just visualizing the end product, but considering precisely what it was made of. The basic stone was dolomite fused with carbon by extremes of pressure and heat. Shot through it were veins of dolomite that had been otherwise colored by different materials. For red of ruby brilliance, chromium. Followed by a cadmium compound for a deep and powerful orange. There a brilliant gold created by inclusion of arsenic trisulfide, a pigment once known as ¡®King¡¯s Yellow¡¯. Copper, acetate, and arsenite to make a brilliant emerald also called ¡®Paris Green¡¯. Here a vibrant lapis blue, created by sulfur, and chloride. Finally, a combination of aluminum and sulfur to create a deep violet. The spell fought against him, bucking and twisting in his mental grip. Some of these pigments weren¡¯t found regularly (or in some cases, at all) in nature and the spell wasn¡¯t necessarily meant to be used this way. Still, he narrowed all his focus down to this one task, letting the colors mix and match in his mind, creating blends and variations of intensity even as he forced his will on the weave of the spell. Eventually the spell gave and a large block of marble manifested in the center of the Ritual of Imbuing. John gasped as a lance of pain spiked into his brain, a clear result of pushing the spell further than it was meant to go. He grunted and spoke out loud, not feeling up to navigating a menu. ¡°System, reduce pain threshold by fifty percent.¡± Immediately the pain dropped from mind numbing to merely annoying. He was glad to have figured out that feature, he only wished he¡¯d read the full manual before his first run in with Nebula Marble; it could have saved him literal hours of headaches. The only downside was that the system would eventually revert the pain settings to the recommended 80 percent. Apparently bad things happened if you got used to the pain being too dulled. Pain managed; John turned his eyes to the stone block he¡¯d created. It was a deep, polished black shot through with lines of color that glimmered in brilliant jewel tones. Just looking at it he knew that this marble was on a whole different level than that which he¡¯d used for construction. With little preamble he identified it. [Nebula Marble] This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. John sighed. Even with all of that he¡¯d only managed Great quality. That was better than his last attempt, but fell just short of what he was aiming for. He had been hoping for Exceptional, which would have been fifty percent conductivity, Great would mean only forty percent. It wasn¡¯t a huge difference, but it would be noticeable. He quickly did some calculations and came to the conclusion that he could probably survive with only forty percent efficiency. That was a mana regeneration rate of about fifty-six mana per second, a little under three-thousand four hundred per minute. In other words, he could run almost one hundred seventy items at twenty mana per minute. For the first time John considered that he might have overengineered the materials he was planning to use. Shaking his head, he opened the auction interface and started looking through the items on offer. He needed one item for each of the elements and they all needed to be at least Great quality. Fire, air, water, and earth were easy enough. He bought Cumulous Cattails, iron, Blazing Peppers, and Spring Water once more, all coming to five gold. Ten gold saw him in possession of more Void Stone, and another eight got him more Timeless Ivy. Light and dark were a little cheaper, with the Glowstone clocking in at four gold, and Shadow Ferns costing only three. In total it only cost him thirty gold, which left him a nice buffer of twenty-eight gold. Placing all the items on their pedestals, John pushed the required mana into the circle and watched as the precise lines lit up with an ethereal white glow. Stepping back, he eyed the circle and activated Inspect. [Ritual of Imbuing (Active)] Nodding in satisfaction, John turned and headed for the workroom. Poking his head in, he could see that BR was reading from a large tome. The gnome looked up as he entered and put the book down. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got the stone imbuing and wanted to talk to you a little about the design,¡± John replied. Bamboo hummed in what sounded like annoyance. ¡°You know I¡¯ve never made a Mana Well before, I¡¯d prefer not to stray too far from the common designs.¡± John nodded. ¡°I understand that, but I was wondering if you could work in a way to limit discharge and prevent the Mana Well from fully emptying?¡± BR was shaking his head even as John was speaking. ¡°Those are features that could maybe be included, but I¡¯m not quite sure how to go about it, and I certainly wouldn¡¯t want to try it on a final product.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± John replied with a nod. He¡¯d been hoping for those two features, but it wasn¡¯t a surprise to him that they might be out of reach. ¡°Do you know what the effects of a Mana Well will be on the local mana?¡± ¡°Sure, a Mana Well will disrupt the local mana in a radius equal to one foot per mana per minute,¡± BR rattled off. ¡°So if my well could absorb, say, three thousand, three hundred, and eighty-three mana per minute¡­¡± John trailed off. ¡°That¡¯d be like, half a mile. But you¡¯d need a stupid amount of cores to hold that much mana at ten percent efficiency,¡± the gnome noted. ¡°Yeah, about eight hundred and twelve of them at forty percent efficiency,¡± John replied with a vaguely sinking sensation. ¡°Those are oddly specific numbers, in fact, so was that mana absorption rate. Is that how many cores you purchased? You¡¯d need a massive chunk of rock to place them all.¡± ¡°Well, I fused them all together and then purified them,¡± John supplied. ¡°So you have one massive mana core, and I¡¯m going to guess you¡¯ve got, what? A Great quality slab of stone to put it in?¡± BR just shook his head as he looked at John. ¡°I can see why you wanted the two safety features; they¡¯d probably prevent the core from breaking.¡± ¡°Ugh, the forum post never mentioned this,¡± John muttered, and then frowned as he thought back to that original forum post he¡¯d read on Mana Wells. ¡°In fact, I¡¯m pretty sure it gave some completely different information on how Mana Wells worked.¡± ¡°I¡¯m betting I know the post you¡¯re talking about, it¡¯s the one that mentions rocks can hold mana right? That thing is almost entirely bunk. Parts of it are pure speculation and other bits are from a previous era,¡± BR groused. ¡°Previous era?¡± John asked, confused. ¡°That¡¯s what the locals call time periods between major patches. We¡¯re currently in the¡­ thirteenth? Era. They¡¯re further divided into early, middle, and late periods, but those are only classified after an era is over,¡± the gnome explained. ¡°Alright, I guess that makes sense. Alright, if the Mana Well is going to be that big a disruption, what about hooking it to a Ley Line?¡± BR frowned at John. ¡°You want a Ley Line tap? That¡¯d certainly be easier on the local mana, but we¡¯d need a Ley Line. Wait, are you saying we¡¯re on top of a Ley Line?¡± ¡°Yeah, I increased mana sight a few days ago and there¡¯s a Ley Line that runs right down the road and under the farm,¡± John replied. ¡°Wow, that¡¯s both convenient and lucky. Yeah, we could do a Ley Line tap instead. It uses basically all the same stuff, though it¡¯s supposed to be slightly more difficult to set up.¡± ¡°Why¡¯s it more difficult?¡± John wondered. ¡°Because if you fill something with more mana than it can hold it tends to explode and Ley Lines tend to ¡®push¡¯ their mana into anything connected to them,¡± BR replied. ¡°Also, you have to dig down to the Ley Line and place the tap directly inside it. Honestly, it¡¯s basically a Mana Well with a fancy set of runes that keeps it from overfilling.¡± ¡°Alright, so new plan, Ley Line tap?¡± ¡°You¡¯re the boss. But you¡¯re going to want to think about what you¡¯ll do if that core breaks.¡± ¡°Will do, thanks,¡± John replied. ¡°It¡¯s what I¡¯m here for,¡± BR said, then turned back to his book. MAG - Chapter 59 - Edited Lunch came and went and John found himself with a bit of free time. He didn¡¯t need to worry about the plants right now, and feeding the chookers wouldn¡¯t come until later. There were some things that he¡¯d need to do, such as creating an access to the area they¡¯d be installing the Ley Line tap, but nothing needed his immediate attention. With that in mind, John sat down to examine the Auction. He¡¯d been considering what his father had said about the different regions, and wondered why he wasn¡¯t seeing anything in the auction that might come from other nations. A few minutes of poking and prodding the interface revealed that the Auction had a ¡®region¡¯ setting. John prodded the button and received a drop-down menu listing all the countries his father had mentioned and several others he hadn¡¯t. Every option except ¡®The Eternal Empire¡¯ was grayed out. ¡°Help, why can¡¯t I access the auctions of other regions?¡± he asked aloud. [Answer: Because your area does not currently support international trade.] ¡°So if we were to open a trade route, magical or mundane, with another nation I¡¯d have access to their auction as well?¡± [Answer: Correct.] ¡°I don¡¯t suppose there¡¯s an extension for the Auction Module that will allow international trade without an existing trade route?¡± [Answer: There is not.] John frowned at that. He didn¡¯t actually want to purchase another module (he already felt a bit silly that he¡¯d spent real money on some of the modules he already had) but it would have been nice to know that the Auction Module wasn¡¯t actually worldwide. Or, not yet, at least. That said, he did wonder if he might not have a way to reach those other locations already. ¡°Help, what¡¯s the range limit on a Pseudo-Portal Fruit?¡± he inquired. [Answer: The Pseudo-Portal Fruit has no known distance limitations at this time.] ¡°Is it possible it has unknown limitations?¡± John pressed. [Answer: As a new magical item that has not been fully tested, its properties are not fully known, it is possible that limitations may be discovered at a later date.] John made an acknowledging grunt, waved the answer away, and stood up. There were a lot of ifs and maybes in that idea, but he liked where it was going. If the Pseudo-Portal Fruits could take him to other nations across the world, then the problem simply became getting portal coordinates. John wasn¡¯t sure how one found out the specific¡­ frequencies? Of Portal Anchors but he was willing to bet he didn¡¯t have to walk to the other side of the planet to find out. Of course, this would be so much easier if he could just use a True Portal Fruit, and he briefly wondered if the emperor would grant a special dispensation for the use of one. He shook his head after a moment of thought; that¡¯d be a pretty tough sell. Heading into the storage room he took the stairs down to the basement, spinning a ball of light above and behind his right shoulder as he did so. He quickly passed through the basement to reach the tunnel that led to his storm cellar, realizing as he did so that he¡¯d forgotten doors for the basement rooms as well. After a second of thought he decided that they weren¡¯t important enough to worry about right now. Once in the cellar he turned his attention to the south where he could see the thick cord of focused mana flowing under the property. It was positioned so that it ran right through the center of his original claim, lining up almost perfectly with the road. He briefly reflected on what BR had said earlier; it was indeed serendipitous that the Ley Line was here, and that it ran under his farm. It was almost too convenient. With a shake of his head to dispel the unwanted (and probably unimportant) thoughts, John moved to the south-western corner of the cellar and (with a thought and gesture) created an archway that ran under the highest point of the stairs. Carefully he moved the stone about, pulling out the excess until he revealed the compacted dirt behind the thick wall. Now came the tricky part, because John would have to extinguish his light in order to use the spells he needed. Taking a deep breath John let the light go. Then he slowly reached out with his awareness and connected to the land around him. An immediate sensation of rightness came over him, letting him know that the land was healthy and prepared for whatever he intended for it. Narrowing his focus, he tried to consciously sense the specific area around himself. It was difficult, he still didn¡¯t have the granularity required for sensing specific objects or people, but he could get a general sense of the area he was in. Where he was standing was a void in the ground, and he could sense its edges and shape. He then expanded that sense forward from himself, and began to move. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. A gesture with both right and left hands activated Dirt to Stone and Control Earth as well. He could instantly feel the strain as four of his six mana strands were in use to support the two different spells. He didn¡¯t let that distract him however; instead he started weaving the two spells together, turning the dirt in front of him to stone and manipulating it into an arched tunnel, while occasionally stopping to swap Dirt to Stone for Create Earth. All the while keeping track of his progress by following the void he was creating in the land. Two and a half minutes in he was forced to stop due to running out of mana. For the next three minutes and change he stood there and refilled his energy, then he started the process all over again. Normally John would have been able to dig a long, wide tunnel in maybe three minutes. However, he was being slowed down by the much lower leveled Dirt to Stone spell, and the fact that he had to literally feel his way forward. Still, even with the limitations he was working under it only took about twenty minutes for him to excavate a downward sloping tunnel that was almost one hundred eighty feet long, eight feet wide, and eight feet tall. John stood at the end of the tunnel, looking at the Ley Line that was just beyond the wall of dirt in front of him. Were it made of actual light it would be blinding him right now and he wondered if the thing would have a physical presence in the world. He pondered that thought for a moment, took a deep breath, and then dug out the final few feet. He wasn¡¯t sure what he¡¯d expected. Perhaps he¡¯d break into some hardened tube that carried magic like a conduit. Perhaps he¡¯d find a strange ore or stone that had magical properties. What he hadn¡¯t really expected was just plain dirt. More than a little disappointed He cleared out a ten-by-ten room with the Ley Line running through the center. Finished he released the three spells and his focus on the domain. Then, with a gesture and a thought, he activated his light spell once more. The room was, as expected, a dull grey stone box. It was also slightly lopsided, as was the tunnel that connect to it. A few moments with Control Earth adjusted both the tunnel and the room to be less crooked. John then exited back to the storm cellar and took the stairs up to ground level where he could survey the farm. A quick check showed no areas where the land had dipped or sunken, so he probably didn¡¯t have to worry about a collapse anywhere. Still, he spread out his domain sense and swept it over the area around the tunnel and new room. Getting back a sense of solidity, he nodded in satisfaction. Finished with that side project, he retreated to his house and sat down to begin filling his land with more mana. ¡ª Four(ish) hours later saw him standing in front of the Ritual of Imbuing as it spooled down. The block of marble looked much as it had before, although a quick Inspect put the lie to that. [Nebula Marble] It was annoying that the description didn¡¯t say how easily it conducted mana, nor how hard it would be to affect it with spells, but a little math told him what he needed to know. If a Deific quality imbued material cost on hundred times the mana and affected ten percent of the normal total volume, then a Great quality material should cost forty times the mana and affect sixty percent of the normal total volume. John paused for a moment as he considered that. Shouldn¡¯t one hundred percent effectiveness cause spells to have no effect? Maybe there was just a minimum threshold that couldn¡¯t be overcome? That seemed most likely. Shrugging off the consideration, he turned his attention back to the block of stone. More specifically, how he was going to move it. A quick casting of Control Earth showed that wasn¡¯t going to work. The mana cost was insane at eighty mana per second, and he couldn¡¯t quite control all of the stone at once, but it was close. He couldn¡¯t lift the block either, he didn¡¯t even try that, twenty-seven cubic feet of marble had to weigh more than he did, so picking it up was out of the question. That really left only one option. He was going to have to move it by moving the stone around it. Checking the ritual circle was completely spent he smoothed it out with Control earth. He hadn¡¯t wanted to destroy the circle, but he also didn¡¯t really want these circles in the front room of his house forever. They¡¯d have to go eventually, so it might as well be now. Next, he molded the stone under the marble block and started moving it in a wave motion towards the storage room. The offending chunk of rock began to move with agonizing slowness and he stopped to reassess. This particular method wasn¡¯t working very well, so maybe time to try something different. Instead of creating waves, he reshaped the stone into rollers and pushed the marble across the top of them as he forced them to turn beneath it. The resulting screech of stone on stone was unpleasant, but the block moved, if almost as slowly as the original wave method. For what felt like forever (but couldn¡¯t have been more than an hour or so) John struggled to get the marble block into place in the Ley Line chamber. Eventually, with a final grunt and a heave, he pushed it into the center of the empty room and gave a huff. He hadn¡¯t expended this much effort since his first few days pulling up grass. [Attribute Increase!] John snorted. That point of strength would have been way more useful about an hour ago. Still, it was nice to see your efforts rewarded. It was even nicer that players didn¡¯t sweat, because he could only imagine how much less pleasant such physical exertions would have been if they did. Turning away from the now firmly emplaced imbued marble, John began to clean up the mess he¡¯d left in his wake. He smoothed over scrapes in the floor, rippled stone, and the occasional roller he¡¯d missed. Soon enough the path he¡¯d taken looked like it¡¯d never been trod. With that finished he headed back to his room, and spent the rest of the evening working on expanding his Domain. MAG - Chapter 60 - Edited The next four days passed with very little of note happening. Almost all the nobles had arrived in those first couple of days, so there were no new overtures made to procure space on his farm. The doors and gates were finished and delivered, finally completing the barn and giving him a front gate for the farm. His guests were polite in the few times they interacted, but didn¡¯t go out of their way to seek him out, or indicate that he should seek them out (though they were still grateful for the supply of eggs). The only thing that was truly of note (aside from gaining two points in Magic and fully saturating his land) was that the Ritual of the Space Grove finally ran out, upon which he then spent another eleven and a half gold restarting. Reactivating the ritual had prompted him to take a good, long look at the tree, which now was almost forty feet tall with a canopy that spread almost as wide, while its trunk was almost three feet in diameter. Much more interesting was the corona of space mana he could see hanging around the tree. At first he couldn¡¯t figure out what it was for, but then he noticed that the leaves in the interior seemed to be getting just as much light as the exterior leaves. That¡¯s when it clicked, the tree was warping space around itself to move light around in its branches! Smiling at that thought, John checked the fifteen arches the runners had tunneled out to, and found them almost entirely outlined in vine like branches. He wasn¡¯t sure what was going on there, but he got the feeling they¡¯d all find out soon. It was on the fifth day that something interesting finally happened. Just as John was finishing his daily communion with the tree, four gateways opened, disgorging a legion of soldiers wearing black and gold livery that bore a crest that was nothing but a simple golden circlet. John started to head for the exit, but suddenly Knight Commander First Class Helen was standing next to him. She put a hand on his shoulder and whispered quietly. ¡°Be polite, and follow my lead, kneel when I kneel, and do not rise until given grace to do so. You are about to speak with an Emperor, be polite and respectful, but do not be afraid to speak your mind, he is no petty noble to take out his ire on one with lesser station.¡± John gave her a hesitant nod then allowed himself to be pulled inside the circular wall that surrounded the tree. The soldiers moved past with a quick economy of motion and some spread out to fully encircle the shrine, while yet more began to clear the road outside of the few gawkers who were around at this hour. John watched as the men and women paraded past, and wondered where they were all going to stay. There had to be at least three thousand of them! Finally, the last of the soldiers passed and only then did John notice that at some point Knight Commander Second Class Axia and Knight First Class Tet had joined them. They, like Helen, were wearing their full knightly regalia, which prompted him to think that now was definitely a time for full titles, if there ever was one. Now that the foot soldiers were passed three of the gates had closed, through the fourth a veritable throng of unarmored people in some form of uniform could be seen. The people in question came to a complete stop just at the threshold and a single older goatkin stepped through. She gave the shrine a quick once over, her face impassive, and then her eyes settled on the trio of knights and John. Efficient strides brought her over to the four where she gave a partial bow to Helen and then stood straight. ¡°Knight Commander First Class Helen I presume?¡± she asked, receiving an affirming nod from the woman in question. ¡°Excellent, I assume then that you are Groundskeeper John?¡± ¡°Uh, yes?¡± John replied and immediately wished he hadn¡¯t made that sound like a question. ¡°Wonderful. I am Assistant of Ceremonies Abigail, as my official title is a bit of a mouthful you may refer to me merely as Assistant Abigail,¡± she introduced herself before continuing. ¡°I have been informed that you¡¯ve claimed a substantial bit of land but are currently only using a portion of it. One therefore wonders if it would be possible to negotiate the use of an unused portion to host the emperor and his guests during the day¡¯s proceedings.¡± John took a second to compose himself. He did indeed have a good bit of land he wasn¡¯t currently using and by the sound of it they weren¡¯t attempting to take it without compensation. ¡°I don¡¯t see a problem with that,¡± he replied. ¡°But in fairness I should tell you the land is undeveloped and the road doesn¡¯t run along the full stretch of my land.¡± ¡°That won¡¯t be a problem, there are many mages with competent geomantic skills on staff, it will be no trouble to extend the road to the destination and erect temporary buildings,¡± the woman assured, her eyes then flicked heavenward. ¡°We will also have someone deal with the weather.¡± ¡°Then I see no reason not to say yes,¡± John responded. ¡°Excellent, Will a payment of ten gold be enough? Or if you prefer, we could offer items in trade instead. I understand you are a farmer by trade? While the palace does not normally stock goods a farmer might find useful, we would be more than happy to make the effort to find some,¡± she offered. John was sorely tempted to take her up on the second offer, however a quick squeeze of Helen¡¯s shoulder made him think maybe it wasn¡¯t the best idea. ¡°Ten gold will be more than sufficient; do you need any help finding the correct area?¡± he asked in turn. ¡°Thank you, but we¡¯ve got that well in hand,¡± she replied, and with a gesture held out a small pile of gold coins which John accepted. ¡°Thank you for your considerations, Groundskeeper John. If you will excuse me, I must see to my duties.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± John said, even as the woman turned and made a gesture to the waiting horde of what John now presumed were servants. Perhaps a hundred servants in total exited the portal and walked briskly through the shrine to the road and then started down it. John didn¡¯t have time to watch them go however, for almost immediately several people in intimidating plate armor exited the portal and took up station around it. Their armor was matte black, with the exception of that single golden circlet on the breastplate. The most fascinating thing about the armor, however, was that it seemed to flow around the joints like water, changing shape to conform to the wearer¡¯s every move. ¡°The Imperial Guard,¡± Helen murmured softly. ¡°They exclusively escort the emperor.¡± ¡°Why is the emperor coming before everything is set up?¡± John whispered in turn. ¡°He will wish to tour the village and perhaps take stock of the dungeon before the festivities. In addition, think how quickly you can set up your buildings or create a road, and you are a young, barely leveled farmer. Imagine how quickly trained and experienced servants could perform such tasks,¡± came her soft response. John considered that and then nodded. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. The Imperial Guard stood there for maybe a minute before a man dressed in midnight black tunic and loose trousers of the same color walked through the gateway. He was short, perhaps five feet over all, with chestnut brown hair, a well kempt beard, and storm gray eyes. He wasn¡¯t obviously well muscled, nor however did he seem to be overweight, instead he was that happy medium that spoke of someone who took care of themselves without being obsessive. Finally, crowning his head was a thin golden circlet. Behind the emperor (for that¡¯s who John assumed the crowned man to be) could be seen the large courtyard, now devoid of all but a handful of people who were dutifully following the emperor through, and the rest of the imperial guard who were creating a shrinking perimeter as everyone filed through the gate. As the last of the guard came through the portal closed. The emperor looked around the shrine for a few moments, his eyes taking in everything. From the way he paused at each new sight it was clear he was Inspecting it all and drinking in the information. Finally, his eyes landed on the Galaxy Tree. Whatever he saw took far longer to digest than the rest, as he stared at it for a good minute, a small but genuine smile slowly growing on his face. Turning his attention from the tree he looked to John and the three knights. A gesture with one of his hands and the guard expanded forward, preceding him as he walked towards the quartet. As he arrived the three knights went to one knee, John mimicked them quickly. ¡°Groundskeeper, Knights Magi,¡± the man said. ¡°You may rise and stand within my sight.¡± He intoned. The three knights stood swiftly, John once more only a beat behind them. The emperor gave John a long, appraising look. ¡°So,¡± he said finally, ¡°You are the man who was insane enough to break from tradition and try to create a new type of Prismatic Tree,¡± he said, sounding far more interested than anything else. ¡°Tell me, what prompted you to try creating a space aligned Prismatic Tree?¡± John flashed a brief glance to Helen, who nodded almost imperceptibly. ¡°Honestly? I had a quest to build a Portal, and knew I¡¯d need one eventually to move goods. But I didn¡¯t have the money, and no one had the skill, to make one. So, I thought maybe I could grow one instead,¡± he admitted. ¡°How did you fund it? Normally Prismatic Trees take traits from the magical items they absorb, however if you didn¡¯t have the money to build a Portal you almost certainly didn¡¯t have the money to buy the expensive and exotic items this tree should have required to grow,¡± the emperor quizzed. ¡°Well, no, I didn¡¯t. I was able to afford a few items, and I got a special serum from Thuana as a quest reward, but other than that I just told the tree what I wanted,¡± John explained. ¡°Told the tree what you wanted?¡± The emperor raised a brow. ¡°Each morning I sit with the tree and feed it space aligned mana, and during its growth I impressed on it the ideas of Portals and Travel. It moved its own mana in that direction over time and eventually created the fruits after its mana seemed to solidify.¡± ¡°Fascinating, I wonder if anyone else has tried to commune with a Prismatic Tree before. Tell me, does the tree talk back?¡± the emperor inquired curiously. ¡°No, but I get impressions and feelings. It¡¯s like it¡¯s not quite got a mind but is close. It recognizes me and somehow can sense the world around itself as it knows what I look like, not just how my mana feels,¡± John said. ¡°Amazing. I shall have to have someone look into this further, as it sounds like your tree is well on the way to sapience and it¡¯d be interesting to know if all Prismatic Trees are like that, or if you¡¯ve stumbled upon a way to uplift them,¡± Emperor Regius mused. ¡°As for the fruits, I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the only surprise your leafy friend has in store.¡± The man gestured to the fifteen arches encased in interwoven branches and then passed a system notification to John. [Arboreal Gateway] John was surprised, partly because of what the tree was doing, but also because he hadn¡¯t known you could share system messages. ¡°Thanks, I didn¡¯t know that,¡± he said. ¡°It was no trouble, hopefully this will count as completion for your quest,¡± Regius replied. John shook his head. ¡°It was a timed quest, so I failed it weeks ago.¡± ¡°That is unfortunate, especially given the time and care it sounds like you¡¯ve put into this project,¡± the emperor commiserated. ¡°Still, you¡¯ve done remarkably well with so little, I look forward to seeing what other miracles you might produce, and please let me know if there¡¯s anything the empire can do to aid you.¡± John looked at the emperor for a heartbeat, and then up at Helen. The Knight Commander could tell he wanted something from the emperor and was checking to see what the protocol might be. She simply nodded at him, and his gaze returned to the ruler of the nation. ¡°I¡­ I have a request, actually. There are certain plants that don¡¯t grow in this part of the world, they¡¯re called sugar cane, cacao, and vanilla. In my world they¡¯re considered some of the greatest luxury food stuffs,¡± he explained, and the emperor¡¯s face took on a thoughtful cast. ¡°I have reason to believe that sugar cane can be found far to the east, while cacao and vanilla can be found a great distance to the south. However, I have neither the time to make such journeys, nor the money to fund them for others. So I was hoping to that maybe we could use a True Portal Fruit to get them¡­¡± he trailed off uncertainly. The emperor considered the request for no small amount of time, and John began to worry that he¡¯d made a mistake. However, a reassuring squeeze of his shoulder helped him remain calm. ¡°I might be willing to allow it,¡± the emperor stated. ¡°Though I¡¯m afraid I cannot before the tree produces its first full harvest. Currently we have but one True Portal Fruit, and while I could authorize it for this use, it would be considered a frivolous waste of a valuable resource; which, given the true power it possesses, this would be. However, once we have a stable supply and an accurate assessment of how many we can expect over what time period, options open up. What was once a frivolous waste might become nothing more than bestowing a boon on someone has provided the empire with exemplary service.¡± John nodded, it wasn¡¯t the answer he wanted to hear, but it was one that made sense. ¡°Thank you for considering it,¡± he responded. The emperor gave a shallow nod. ¡°It has been a pleasure John, but time moves forward ever apace and I must move with it. Be well, Groundskeeper, Knights.¡± All of the knights gave shallow bows and John copied them once more. When they straightened the emperor was already on the move, and soon they were left standing alone inside the Gateway of Worlds. ¡°You did well,¡± rumbled Axia. ¡°Though that last request might have been stretching things.¡± ¡°All is well,¡± Helen said with a wave of one hand. ¡°The emperor took no offense, and while he did not promise you what you sought, he implied it might be a possibility, and the emperor never idly does such things.¡± John looked between the two then nodded, unsure what else to do. Helen smiled back. ¡°Come, we should return to our work and leave the rest of today¡¯s business to nobles,¡± she said. And with that, the four went on about their day. MAG - Chapter 61 - Edited Returning to his farm, John fed the chookers and then went to check on his plants. Over the course of the last week they had all grown to be the size of small bushes, and John had a feeling they¡¯d reach their full growth soon. Given that, he¡¯d need to obtain a pair of shears from somewhere, otherwise he¡¯d have to uproot each plant in order to harvest. He made a note to check the auction later, and if he couldn¡¯t find something there, to see the blacksmith in town. After checking on the soil¡¯s moisture level he paused to give each of the plots a bit more water, and then went to check his workroom. As he¡¯d hoped BR was inside working on some project or another. A few moments of waiting saw the gnome look up and then put his project aside. ¡°Good morning,¡± he said even as he stood up. ¡°Morning,¡± John replied. ¡°How¡¯s your progress?¡± ¡°I reached Journeyman just a few minutes ago and was testing a few harder enchantments,¡± BR explained. ¡°I should be good to create the Ley Line tap any time now.¡± ¡°Great! The sooner we can get this up and running the better,¡± John responded, a trace of excitement leaking into his voice. ¡°If you follow me, I can show you where it¡¯s set up.¡± BambooRooster nodded and then followed John out of the workroom, through the house, and down to the basement where they paused only a moment to cast light spells. From there a short trip down the stairs to the cellar and then a walk down the tunnel found them in the ley room. When BR saw the large chunk of marble he paused to inspect it, his brows rising slightly. ¡°I know you said it was Great quality, but I don¡¯t think a part of me really believed that. How did you get it to such a high quality?¡± ¡°I visualized exactly what I wanted. Not just had an image, but also the knowledge of how it would work, the chemicals and stones involved. Then I forced my will on the spell,¡± John explained. BR shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ve heard of players trying similar things, they said the result is usually a very accurate simulation of a migraine.¡± ¡°It is,¡± John admitted with a grimace. ¡°The first time I made Nebula Marble was torture, I hadn¡¯t yet figured out how to dim the pain settings.¡± The gnomish player snorted. ¡°Someone didn¡¯t read the manual.¡± ¡°I have now,¡± John replied crossly. ¡°Anyway, the harder something is to do, the better the end result, thus, Great quality nebula marble.¡± ¡°I guess that makes sense for a stone type that doesn¡¯t occur naturally, but I wonder if you can do the same with regular stone,¡± BR mused. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t bother trying. It¡¯d be easier on me to just purchase the stuff,¡± John said. The gnome nodded. ¡°Alright then, I¡¯ve seen it. I¡¯m gonna go make a few light plates so I don¡¯t have to keep up a spell while I work. Think you can create some light stones for me to power them with?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± John said as the two made their way back up the tunnel. Once they reached the main floor BR headed for the workshop and John went and took a seat in the bedroom. Making himself as comfortable as he could on the stone bench, he started channeling Create Mana Stone and began to shape light stones. A little over half an hour later he had eleven light stones with one thousand mana each. Heading into the workshop, he found BR fiddling with a small metal plate attached to a leather strap. It took him a moment to understand what he was seeing, but once he figured it out, it made sense. ¡°It¡¯s a head lamp,¡± he noted. ¡°Correct. I realized that instead of placing light plates all over the room I could just tie one to my head and I¡¯d always have perfect lighting,¡± the enchanter replied. John walked over and placed the small pile of crystals on the bench. ¡°This should probably be enough. They¡¯re a thousand mana each.¡± BR paused a moment and then nodded. ¡°That¡¯s several hundred hours of light, it should be more than enough.¡± Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Great! How much are you going to charge?¡± John inquired. The gnome shrugged. ¡°Depends on how many times I need to start over and the end quality. I¡¯ll be honest, odds are good we¡¯re not going to end up with anything better than Good, and that¡¯s really hopeful. So, let¡¯s assume this takes me a couple of days to figure out, and the quality is Common. Let¡¯s call it¡­ three or four gold?¡± John nodded. ¡°Alright, if it¡¯s better or worse we can discuss it then I guess.¡± ¡°Well, if there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯m going to go get started,¡± BR said as he strapped on the head light and scooped up the crystals. ¡°Whish me luck!¡± ¡°Luck,¡± John replied as he watched the shorter man head toward the basement. With that taken care of John took a quick look through the option for a set of garden shears. As he¡¯d mostly expected there weren¡¯t any, however after a few moments of prodding at the interface he remembered something that¡¯d come up when he was researching tools. In ancient Japan they¡¯d used a tool called a kama for cutting crops. What made it important here was that it had eventually also been used as a weapon, and it had even been incorporated into more than one martial art. With a quick change of search terms, a new list spawned and John found himself with a small wealth of choices. As he¡¯d hoped, the kama was popular with at least a small subsection of players. The quality of the items on offer was pretty low, with Good being the highest. That was expected though, given that this was the wrong country for an eastern style weapon they almost certainly were all player made. With only a moment of thought he purchased the Good quality Kama for twenty-five silvers. Taking out his new tool he Inspected it. [Kama] It was about as he expected, and a quick visual examination didn¡¯t show any problems or defects. The shaft was smooth and felt good in his grip, and the blade appeared well sharpened. All in all, he was pleased with his purchase, though he¡¯d need to be sure to pick up a whetstone, oil, and wax for blade care. He paused as he considered that. Did he need to sharpen and coat the blade? A quick forum search said yes, just as damaged armor needed to be repaired so did damaged weaponry. That said, it didn¡¯t seem to be the hours long process it would take in real life, simply running a whetstone and a rag of oil down a blade was sufficient. Armor was similar for small dings and dents, but required an actual blacksmith for heavier wear and tear. Just as John was finishing his forum search, a change occurred. At first, he had a hard time pinpointing the source, but then it hit him; the problem was a sound, or rather, the lack of one. The rain had stopped. He looked up and through the skylight to see the clouds above slowly dissipating, leaving blue sky in their wake. Only now did he remember that Abigail had mentioned they¡¯d do something about the weather. At first, he smiled, it was nice to have a rain free day, even if it was almost half over. Then he frowned suddenly. No rain meant the chookers would be free to roam. That could be¡­ problematic. He left the house in a hurry and started toward the coop. Fortunately he reached it just as the drake was sticking his head out. ¡°Oh no you don¡¯t,¡± John muttered. ¡°You¡¯re just liable to get yourself killed by someone and me fined!¡± A quick gesture and a thought saw a latticework of stone growing between the support pillars of the coop¡¯s awning, cutting off its open-air portion from the rest of the world and neatly penning the chookers inside. The drake chooked in outrage and threw itself at the nearest lattice, but alas it was too late; John had effectively sealed them in. The young man breathed a sigh of relief; the last thing he needed was chookers running around and upsetting the nobles or running afoul of the imperial guard. Still, this was a temporary solution at best, he really needed a better way to corral them on the farm without also letting them run wild across the entirety of the local area. Maybe I can erect some kind of anti-animal force-field around the farm, he mused to himself. After a moment he shook his head. The cost of such an enchantment in terms of mana would likely be very high, and it wasn¡¯t worth it. It¡¯d probably be better to just expand the chookers¡¯ patio but keep it enclosed. Although that would prevent them from doing their job of eating small rodents and bugs. A job they weren¡¯t currently doing anyway. Shaking his head, John decided there wasn¡¯t really a good answer right now; he¡¯d have to think on it more. As he made his way back to the house, John considered what he was going to do after his current harvest. If things went well, he¡¯d be basically breaking even in terms of money spent so far. That was a good start, but he couldn¡¯t just keep growing alchemist¡¯s sponge over and over again; the increasingly thin mana on the farm suggested that was a bad plan. So, what did he grow next? With his soon to be installed Ley Line tap he could continue his previous experiments with mana infused grains; the life infused wheat alone would probably go for a pretty penny if he could create a stable growing environment. Other options included rare plants, or just trying to grow the best possible versions of the current plants he had. How well would Exceptional quality grain sell? Could he even get it up there? He was still considering the problem when he logged out for lunch. MAG - Interlude: The Trial - Edited Emperor Regius gave a sad sigh as he sat down on the throne like chair and leaned back into the comfort of its cushions. The morning had been interesting. Meeting the not-so-mysterious farmer that had prompted this whole thing had been almost painful; it was clear the boy was out of his depth, but he¡¯d done well enough, and asked for a boon the emperor might just be willing to grant. The town was quaint, and he could tell it held more than one master of a craft, although the fact that they were out here in the middle of nowhere meant they likely hadn¡¯t gotten along all that well with whatever noble they¡¯d originally been under. The dungeon he¡¯d toured was nothing special, rodents, spiders, and slimes seemed to be its theme for all but the last level which had involved, of all things, chookers. The really interesting bits had been some of the people he¡¯d met. The woman called Administrator had somehow corralled a large number of players into doing what she wanted, and he could tell she had a feat that empowered her based on that; she could be a formidable opponent given the right circumstance and he thought that perhaps he should bring her to the attention of whoever ended up ruling the barony. Among the other ¡®players¡¯ he¡¯d seen dozens of people plying crafts right out in the open. Alchemists, ritualists, enchanters, even a golem crafter; it was clear that the trial here was doing the local area more than a little good. He¡¯d have to subsidize infrastructure for the new barony; it needed a craft hall at the least, and a big one at that. All together this had been a welcome reprieve from his normal duties. Alas, these precious few hours of freedom were coming to a close. Over the last four hours the aides and servants had prepared not only this open-air building, but also laid out the feast tables, decorated the venue, corralled the local weather, and a dozen other minor and not-so-minor things. All of it would be culminating soon in the reveal of the trial devised for the baronial hopefuls. Even now the servants were still rushing to and fro; there were still a few decorations missing and they were just now laying out the food. After a few more minutes of waiting he could see they were mostly finished so he nodded to the two liveried men standing at the large, ornate double doors. They acknowledged his signal and opened the doors to reveal a small horde of waiting lords and ladies, all dressed in their court finery and arranged in little gaggles and cliques with only a few standing outside of established social circles. The next hour passed in an interminable blur as each of the attendees was announced as they entered the hall. There were over two hundred of the hopefuls and each had to be introduced before they could be let in. Normally it wouldn¡¯t be all that bad, except he¡¯d opened the trial to anyone of noble birth, including branch families. This was, quite literally, the only chance some of them would have at becoming a noble in their own right so the swelled ranks were no surprise. Eventually, however, the last few people filtered in and it was time to begin. ¡°Lords and ladies,¡± the emperor began, ¡°you have all traveled both far and wide to be in this place today and I shall come straight to the point. The empire is expanding, and the Runic Rock Barony will be only the first of many that I foresee arising in the coming years. While you may have been led to believe that today¡¯s trial will be solely for the benefit of picking a singular baron or baroness, that is untrue. The reality is that any who pass the trial will have the qualities I desire in my vassals and their names will go on the short list of people who will, eventually, be elevated.¡± The emperor paused to let that sink in for a moment, then continued before the whispering could get into full swing. ¡°As this is a trial, no matter the way it came into being, there will be boons for completion, and curses for failure. Because of this you are entitled to know what this trial seeks to test, and the answer to that is ¡®fairness¡¯. If you feel you cannot show an even hand to all peoples, I urge you to bow out. There is no shame in knowing your limits, nor backing away from a task at which you know you cannot succeed.¡± He looked around the room at the waiting lords and ladies, none looked to be backing away and he resisted the urge to shake his head. ¡°For those who would try the challenge. I officially bid you come forth and enter The Doorway of Trials. Once all participants have entered, the trial will begin. Good luck.¡± Standing from his seat, the emperor waved his hand at the seemingly innocuous doorway set against one wall. Instantly a shimmering curtain of blue-white light filled it and several people pulled away in surprise. However, they soon came to their senses and started moving in the direction of the doorway, entering it one by one. Within minutes the entire room was deserted save for the emperor and his servants. Happily returning to his seat he turned his attention to a mirror that he pulled from his inventory. Now all that was left to do, was wait and watch. ¡ª Emperor Edward Woodward, first of his name, sat upon his horrifically uncomfortable throne and held court. Today was a bad day, he was expected to give judgment over a man accused of treason, a man whom he knew, for a fact, was innocent of all supposed crimes; he even had documentation and witnesses to prove it. Alas, the man had political enemies of high birth and deep pockets who had done a thorough job of discrediting the supposed traitor and fabricating evidence from thin air. Even as the emperor he could not simply ignore these people of means. Should he upend their schemes they¡¯d no doubt retaliate. They would block his civic works, raise prices on goods sent to the capital, fight his plans at every turn, and in general make a nuisance of themselves. They wouldn¡¯t stop him from doing what he needed to, of course, he was the emperor after all and there was only so much they could do; but they could make him fight for every step forward, and meanwhile the common folk would suffer for the struggle. No, this man had to die, and may the gods forgive him for his cowardice. ¡ª Empress Elysia Hayes, first of her name, sat upon her ridiculously uncomfortable throne and sighed. Today was a good day; she was expected to hold trial over a supposed traitor whom, she knew, was actually quite innocent. The fact of his innocence was inconsequential however, what mattered was the political capital she could wring from his execution. The man had powerful enemies amongst the peerage and she had already made sure they knew that she understood what they had done, and what she expected in return for doing her part. Yes, the ¡®traitor¡¯ would be dead by sundown, and she¡¯d have all the support she needed going forward. Today was a good day indeed. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡ª Empress Lilliana Chambers, first of her name¡­ The man had to die, for the good of the country. Emperor Ambrose Chapel, first of his name¡­ The traitor had to die; the man may yet live. It was a compromise, and none would be happy, but it was the fairest he could be in the circumstances. The former duke would be well taken care of, a new home, new identity. He could make this work. Emperor Elliot Waters, First of his name¡­ The man would live, there would be no lies and half-truths in his court, the nobles would fight him, people would be hurt, but truth would prevail. ¡ª Regius sat upon his actually quite comfortable chair and watched as one by one the applicants exited the doorway. The mirror he held allowed him to watch the trials in action, but with over two hundred running at once he¡¯d had to pick and choose so he didn¡¯t know how each had turned out. It had been some hours now since they entered, and he was beginning to despair. There were more looks of dismay and anger than joy or eagerness. From what he¡¯d watched and what he was seeing now there were more curses being bestowed than boons. He knew this was a hard trial, no matter the choice that was made, someone would suffer unfairly. The reality was that there was no true way to be equally fair to all peoples, the only option was to choose the path that led to the least suffering possible. No, for a trial of fairness, this was remarkably unfair. ¡ª Empress Susanna Oswald, first of her name, sat upon her remarkably uncomfortable throne. Today¡­ today was the day she changed things. The day she stopped playing stupid games. A man would be brought before her today, and she would pass judgment. That he was innocent was no doubt, she had the proof to hand and would examine it openly in excruciating detail even as she deconstructed the falsehoods and lies that had brought them to this point. Then, she would strike. The peerage believed their titles and status protected them, kept them safe because they had lands, servants, and yes, guards aplenty. Some had what amounted to small standing armies, and they believed such would make her stay her hand. Somewhere, somehow, they had forgotten how her ancestor had subjugated the five kingdoms and made an empire. Today they would remember; today, an empress went to war. ¡ª A tremor ran through the doorway, the magical curtain trembled and flickered. There were still twenty candidates left inside and they had been for almost two hours past the last to exit. Regius watched his mirror intently, fascinated by the choices that had been made. He¡¯d jumped between all twenty currently running trials and each seemed to be in the midst of a war. How had their tests taken this turn? What exactly had they done to escalate to this level? The speed of the projection suggested days were passing like minutes, which no doubt explained the strain on the doorway. Eventually, the wars seemed to come to an end and the doorway stilled. They exited the doorway, all twenty of them in a line. They were¡­ different. Not the people who had gone in, there was a resolve and confidence in each of them that hadn¡¯t existed before; there was also a look in their eyes that spoke of hard decisions made. Regius wasted no time in raising a monocle to his eye; it was the second companion to the doorway, and let him examine the boons and curses of any who had used it. They all had a boon, the same boon. [Dominion] A boon that came with two blessings? And one that scaled at that? It was unusual to say the least, and Regius quickly dug into what the blessings did. [Blessing of Bysem] [Blessing of Ira] The emperor almost dropped his artifact. At surface glance those boons didn¡¯t seem all that good at only ten percent, however they were scaling bonuses. If, like normal boons, they could scale up to rank twenty, then those bonuses would become two hundred percent. In other words, all goods would automatically upgrade by two ranks, and the time to learn a skill would be reduced to a third. Lowering the monocle, he took in the twenty men and women now arrayed before his dais. Almost as one they made their bows. He took a short breath and then spoke. ¡°You may rise, and stand within my sight.¡± MAG - Chapter 62 - Edited After he finished lunch, John logged back in and took a trip to town; though with two knights in tow. He was almost certainly going to need more cores at some point, so he figured it¡¯d be best to get a head start on that. The main thoroughfare wasn¡¯t quite as lively as his last trip, though that might have something to do with the soldiers stationed around the area. The liveried men and women mostly appeared to be ignoring the players and towns folk, but both were wary of them none the less. A quick stop at the general store and a minute of writing saw his new request for cores pinned to the bulletin board. He was offering to purchase them at the same rate he had previously and once more left directions to his farm. While there he checked his other postings, to be sure they were still present and legible, and found that they were. It had been a while since he¡¯d gotten any Herb Slime Goo, and he suspected most people had simply leveled out of that part of the dungeon. Maybe he should try to have someone capture live specimens that he could breed? Duplicate? Split via asexual-fission? How did slimes multiply when not being created by a dungeon? Retreating from the square, John headed back down the road. He paused several times to observe the buildings that had been put up by the Titans and nobles alike. It was obvious who¡¯d built what. The housing erected by players had a severe, functional air to it, usually consisting of little more than boxes with windows. The nobles, on the other hand, had larger buildings with ostentatious decorations, multiple stories, and planned layouts. Some even had raised garden beds out front, although those contained nothing more than dirt at the moment. It said something, John thought, about those who¡¯d designed their temporary housing as if it were going to be more permanent. What kind of arrogance did it require to believe you¡¯d be chosen over all others vying for a position? Further, how long did they expect to live in a small house out here, when no doubt there¡¯d be construction of a baronial seat at some point. John couldn¡¯t imagine most nobles putting off the construction of a larger, even more elaborate building for long. Lady Oswald might, but she seemed fairly reserved, nothing at all like that elven lord he¡¯d had to deal with that first day. While he mused, his feet had returned him to the farm, where he paused to think about what he needed to do next. It¡¯d be about four more days before he needed to deal with the first of his fully grown plants, there wasn¡¯t anything to compost, and aside from feeding the chookers later he didn¡¯t have much else to do at this point. He had the time to do some experiments, but that would be easier later, once he had the Ley Line Tap. Thinking of the tap gave him a little anxiety, he only had the single core after all and that¡¯d be all but impossible to replace if it broke too soon. Still, it¡¯d probably be fine so long as he didn¡¯t use too much mana too fast. He wasn¡¯t entirely sure if you could pull mana from a Ley Tap or Mana Well directly, but he decided it¡¯d be best not to try; while enchantments could be carefully metered and calibrated it¡¯d be all too easy to run the tap dry in just a few moments with an actual spell. Maybe he should have used only half the cores, just in case. Thinking of mana cores made John wonder if it was possible to create them the same way he made mana stones. They did have a similar function, however one was reusable while the other was decidedly not. ¡°Help,¡± he said out loud, ¡°is it possible to create mana cores?¡± [Answer: Yes.] Helpful, John groused internally. Although, to be fair, it did answer his question, and if he wanted to know more he¡¯d have to purchase the Tutoring Module, which he wasn¡¯t ready to do. So it was possible, but the question was how. Once more he wished he hadn¡¯t combined all the cores at once, having one to study would have been useful right now, and he couldn¡¯t test anything with the large core, that might break it. He could, of course, play twenty questions with the help module, but he figured there¡¯d be safeguards in place to stop him from just asking questions until he got the right answers; the Tutoring Module had to be worth buying, after all, and that wouldn¡¯t be the case if anyone with the help module could get around it by asking dozens of questions and narrowing down on the answers. Right, think about this logically, John thought to himself as he wandered back into his house. Mana stones are solidified mana, held in a crystalline pattern. It¡¯s not hard to make one in the shape of a sphere, but that doesn¡¯t make it a core. So what¡¯s the difference? A core doesn¡¯t dissolve immediately when emptied, and it can be refilled. Obviously it¡¯s made of a mana conductive material. Maybe some kind of imbued stone? That doesn¡¯t really make sense, imbued stone lets mana pass through more easily, but is resistant to change by it. Maybe if you coated it with a non-imbued material afterward? But how would you get the mana into it in the first place? John gave a grunt of annoyance as he considered the problem; maybe he¡¯d ask BR about it once the gnome was finished with his current project. He sighed and laid back on his bedroll, then sat back up after being reminded how uncomfortable the stone slab actually was; maybe he should invest in a bed, that might even get him better sleep bonuses. Looking out the northern facing window, he stared at the newly constructed building at the far edge of his property. It appeared to be some kind of grandiose hall or other meeting area. The outside was decorated in lifelike three-dimensional renditions of growing plants and trees, and it seemed to be missing a roof entirely. The fact that it had gone up in so little time but had such detailed workmanship was impressive, but this was a world of magic, so perhaps less of an accomplishment than he might be thinking. Returning his mind to the problem of what to do with himself, he considered his options once more. He could make more mana stones, those sold well for now and had been an invaluable source of income. Making stones had the benefit of training both Mana Manipulation and Mana Imprinting as well, so it was a good overall choice. His other options were mostly just training spells and skills; he was feeling a bit light on Build Points ever since he¡¯d made the sacrifice of fifteen hundred at the shrine. Thinking of the shrine reminded him that he needed to have altars made for it. He was honestly surprised he hadn¡¯t received a mandatory quest for such, given how grumpy the two goddesses seemed to be with him. [New Deific Quest] You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. John looked at the new quest with a skeptical eye. Why hadn¡¯t this come up before? This wasn¡¯t even the first time he¡¯d thought about Altars. Also, what was the difference between a Minor Altar, and a Major Altar? Size? ¡°Help, what are the different types of Altars?¡± he asked aloud. [Answer: There are three different rankings of Altar: Minor, Major, and Grand. Minor Altars are usually found in smaller shrines, or in buildings dedicated to multiple deities and have only the requirement of being consecrated to the deity in question; they are also usually smaller in size. A Major Altar is usually the main altar of a church or other moderately sized building; in order to be considered a Major Altar it must not only be consecrated but also requires an appropriate sacrifice for each deity to which it is being attuned. Grand Altars are rarely seen outside of temples in well-established cities as they have more stringent construction requirements. Grand Altars require not only an appropriate sacrifice at their consecration, but must also be constructed of materials that align with whichever deity (or deities) it is to be dedicated to. No part of a Grand Altar may be conjured with magic.] John ran his fingers through his beard as he spent a long moment pondering his options. Now that he knew there was a third, and higher, ranking of Altar his immediate thought was to leverage that into his quest. However, the stringent requirement of no magically conjured materials made it a difficult task. Further, what materials would be used for the construction of such an altar? Nebula Marble was right out, it literally didn¡¯t exist out of magical conjuration, Void Stone would appease Thuana, but was much too expensive to build even a third of an Altar out of, and what would he use for Ira and Ledos? He simply didn¡¯t know what materials to even consider. No, a Grand Altar was too ambitious, better to stick with three Minor and a Major. That left the question of what to make them out of, and what to sacrifice for the Major Altar. Nebula Marble would match the current aesthetic of the shrine, and would definitely be his go-to for the Minor Altars, but would it be appropriate for the Major? After a few moments of consideration, he decided he didn¡¯t have a much better option. Standing up, John made his way out of the house, across the farm, and out through the gate. A short jaunt down the road saw him roaming the interior of the Gateway of Worlds as he considered the best possible places to put the altars. It was pretty easy to decide where to put the Major Altar; it would go right in front of the tree and across from the entrance. Deciding where the Minor Altars would go was much more problematic; he didn¡¯t want to slight any of the gods by making their altar seem less important. However, as he neared the back of the shrine, he realized the answer was obvious. Three of the arches at the very back had been taken up by the trial gateways and as he passed them, he realized the best places for the altars would be right in front of their respective trials. This would put all three Altars at the back of the shrine, which might be seen as a slight, however given that the trials were one of the most important aspects of the area It¡¯d probably balance out. Now, the final problem was the floor of the henge. When he¡¯d built it, he hadn¡¯t really been thinking about logistics and thus hadn¡¯t given a thought to how the lack of solid footing might affect things. In essence, the shrine was a bunch of giant rocks around a tree growing in a barren patch of mud. While the ground might become compact at some point, he couldn¡¯t imagine that this was a good look for a shrine. The problem was that he couldn¡¯t dig up the area and lay foundations and stone slabs without disturbing the tree and possibly toppling part (or all) of the henge. He gave an annoyed grunt as he considered the problem; why couldn¡¯t he have thought of this before he built the henge? Maybe what he needed was to pass this on to someone with more experience? The Knights Magi might have a way to floor or tile the shrine without too much disruption of its existing balance. With that thought in mind he headed for the Knights¡¯ compound, looking to have a conversation with Tet. To John¡¯s surprise, Tet had not been too busy to see him. In truth John had asked to schedule a meeting with the Knight First Class, however it appeared the man didn¡¯t have an aide of his own, and thus did his own scheduling. When interrupted he¡¯d indicated there was time for a meeting right then. ¡°What is it you wished to speak to me about?¡± The Knight Magi asked even as he flipped through several documents on his desk. ¡°A couple of things. I¡¯d like to outfit the shrine with Altars and a floor, or a walkway at the very least,¡± John explained. ¡°The problem is, I don¡¯t want to just put the Altars in the mud, and I¡¯m not sure how to go about installing any kind of foundation or road at this late date.¡± Tet grunted, seemingly lost in thought as he picked up a quill, inked it, and then signed something. A quick finger movement saw the ink dried and then he placed the document in a new pile. ¡°A not insurmountable problem, although it will require that we not only forcefully disperse the ritual in progress, but also have it carved anew once the construction is done. This is going to require moving the henge piece by piece so that appropriate foundations can be laid. To be honest, it¡¯s a bit of a miracle the entire thing hasn¡¯t fallen over as is,¡± the half-orc said. John frowned as he considered that, fingers of his left hand combing his beard thoughtfully. ¡°Would it be easier to just destroy the henge and start over? I can create a higher quality of nebula marble now, we could just replace it pillar by pillar,¡± he suggested. ¡°Hmmm, that would necessitate either the repurposing or destruction of the existing pillars. How would you go about that?¡± Tet asked. ¡°Uh¡­ I don¡¯t really know? Maybe invert the Dirt to Stone spell and try turning it into Stone to Dirt? But I guess I¡¯d have a lot of dirt then¡­¡± ¡°Indeed you would,¡± the knight said as he picked up another document and glanced at it. ¡°At this juncture, however, I think replacing the pillars would be a poor use of your time. You are still on a deadline, and you¡¯ve got a crop coming in shortly. You should focus on your farm. It¡¯ll cost a good few silvers for the labor. Probably most of that can come out of the funds set aside for the shrine, there¡¯s about eighty-seven silvers available in that. Given the effort involved in this, I¡¯d estimate about fifty silver, assuming you don¡¯t want to import actual stone from somewhere else.¡± John shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t think I can afford the portal fees for stone delivery.¡± ¡°Probably not. I will discuss this with Commander First Class Helen, as all modifications to the shrine are, according to the contract, her purview, however I cannot imagine her finding any fault in this plan. Should she agree, we can start construction tomorrow or the day after.¡± ¡°That should work,¡± John agreed. ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯ll give you your pay from the shrine and you can be on your way,¡± the half-orc rumbled as he pulled open a drawer and retrieved a small pouch. He placed it on the desk in front of John. ¡°We have collected one thousand, seven hundred, and twenty-five silvers in tolls so far, eighty-six silvers and twenty-five coppers is your pay out of that.¡± Scooping up the bag, John willed it into his inventory. ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°Until next time Groundskeeper,¡± Tet said with what was clearly a dismissive gesture. ¡°Until next time,¡± John echoed after a moment of hesitation; that seemed more appropriate than a less formal farewell. He then left the office and headed back out of the compound. Returning to his farm, John settled in to spend the evening making Life Stones. MAG - Chapter 63 - Edited The first four hours of the morning passed quickly; John was up before dawn and spent four hours feeding the tree space mana while he perused the forums and made notes on special plants people had found. There weren¡¯t a lot, or at least not many people had bothered to note down plants that didn¡¯t immediately affect or benefit them. The few that were mentioned were intriguing though. First was the Golden Apples of Immortality, of which one total had been found and consumed. Ophanim113 had graciously (and after more than a little pestering) posted what he knew about them. First, he had obtained it as a quest reward, so he couldn¡¯t say where they actually grew, or if they were anything other than system generated. Second, the description said the apple had to be eaten whole, core, seeds, and all, this neatly prevented anyone from trying to get the seeds for replanting (unless of course they wanted to forego the buff). Finally, the apple applied a buff to the user called ¡®Contingent Resurrection¡¯. The buff didn¡¯t have a countdown timer, so it seemed to be static until used, meaning it was one of the few ¡®indefinite¡¯ buffs discovered. However, it did have the note ¡®Use Limit: 1¡¯ attached, which suggested it would resurrect him once and then be spent. The fact that it had a use limit and bothered to tell you the number suggested there were ways to get more Contingent Resurrections, but no one was sure if that just meant eating more apples, or if the effect didn¡¯t stack from the same source. The next item to catch his eye was Moly, which was obviously the plant from Greek mythology, with its white drooping flowers and black bulbous root. This was, again, a quest reward, and the only reason it¡¯d come up in his search was that the owner was looking for an alchemist who could refine it. Apparently the description mentioned it could ¡®break curses and cure poisons¡¯ when properly prepared. There were a handful of other hits, but most were for mundane herbs used in making alchemical concoctions such as Health and Mana Potions. Of those, the one that most intrigued him was the mandrake root which, apparently, was used in several alchemical elixirs; that one had potential for planting. Although, depending on how heavily the devs went in on the myth, harvesting could be tricky. Finished with the tree and his impromptu research, John headed back to the farm where he took care of the chookers and checked the auction. His eight Life Stones (which he¡¯d put up for seven gold each) had all sold, as had the previous day¡¯s eggs. Exiting the coop he found one of Lady Oswald¡¯s guards waiting for him. Seeing the man at arms he silently cursed; he¡¯d forgotten to reserve some of the eggs for them. ¡°Good morning to you Mister John,¡± the stout man began. ¡°If you would not mind Lady Oswald would like a moment of your time.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± John said, and then fell into step behind the dwarf. Entering the guest house John found Susanna sitting at the table once more. He paused to give a bow and she waved toward the seat across from her, a clear invitation to sit. Taking the seat John looked at the dwarven woman and couldn¡¯t help noticing that she seemed different. It was in the way she held herself; more self-confidence and with a certain steeliness to her spine. ¡°Thank you for joining me,¡± she said as she lifted a stone pot from the heating plate it¡¯d been resting on. With a practiced motion she poured steaming tea into two stone mugs. ¡°As you¡¯ll no doubt learn later today, the testing was completed yesterday afternoon. I am pleased to say I, along with several others, passed. This does not mean that I will be the new baroness of Runic Rock; that has yet to be decided and will be announced today before the emperor leaves.¡± She offered one of the mugs to John, who accepted it and then took a tentative sip. It seemed to be a strong and slightly bitter tea and he couldn¡¯t quite keep his face from showing his thoughts on the matter. Susanna gave a small smile. ¡°Sorry, we didn¡¯t pack cream or honey, to be honest we only have the tea because it¡¯s my favorite blend so I keep some on me. That said, I think you¡¯ll find the buff useful, so I do suggest drinking it all.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, it just wasn¡¯t what I was expecting. What¡¯s the tea do?¡± ¡°The buff is called Steady Hand, Sound Mind, and it, like all food buffs, scales to the quality of the product. In this case the tea is Incredible quality, but thanks to using basic, conjured water and less than stellar cooking options the quality of the tea has degraded to Good. In this case it will grant a fifteen percent increase to Dexterity and Magic,¡± she explained. ¡°So, what? Five percent per quality ranking?¡± John inquired and the dwarven woman nodded. ¡°That¡¯s actually really useful, I¡¯ll have to look into growing the herbs it¡¯s made out of.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t, not with your setup. You¡¯re better off growing small batches of high value items, at least for now. While you could no doubt grow some high-quality herbs, the market for teas is already well established and unless you can grow them all at Exquisite quality or greater you¡¯d be hard pressed to break into it,¡± Lady Oswald explained. ¡°But I digress. I wanted to thank you once more for your hospitality these last few days; few of my peers would have extended such largess, and we could not have paid, at least up front, the frankly ludicrous rates being asked by the Titans.¡± John gave a small shrug. ¡°If you really want to thank someone, I suggest Knight Elenia, she¡¯s the one who suggested I hear you out.¡± Susanna gave a thoughtful nod. ¡°I will extend my thanks to her as well, however just because you did something at the behest of another doesn¡¯t mean you don¡¯t deserve thanks.¡± She then made a dismissive motion with her hand. ¡°In any case, I suspect that I will be leaving by the end of today one way or another and wished to convey my gratitude.¡± John bobbed his head and took a long drink of his tea while trying to decide what to say. The small smile on Lady Oswald¡¯s face said that she knew what he was doing. Finally, he put the now drained cup down. ¡°I will accept your thanks in the spirit in which they were offered then. And I¡¯d like to give my sincere congratulations on your success yesterday.¡± The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. She inclined her head in acknowledgement then continued. ¡°As you have refused more gold for my stay, and I still desire to give you some repayment, I would like to offer some advice before we leave, if you are amenable?¡± ¡°I suppose? Though you really don¡¯t owe me anything.¡± Susanna gave another slight smile before continuing. ¡°If you¡¯re going to keep animals, you¡¯ll almost certainly need a farm hand whose talents lay in the direction. To that end I would suggest you hire a Nymph, Domovoy, Glaistig, or Gruagach. All four species are good with animals and can leverage that into feats that will increase yield, quality of products, and livestock health.¡± She paused as she looked at John¡¯s expression. ¡°Is something wrong?¡± Giving an uncomfortable shrug he gave voice to his thoughts. ¡°It just seems wrong to hire people based on their species. It feels like I¡¯m saying others aren¡¯t good enough just because they didn¡¯t have the fortune to be born into a specific species.¡± Lady Oswald paused for a second, her face showing consideration, then she spoke. ¡°John, say you needed to hire a musician, you have two candidates who¡¯ve worked their entire lives to be the best they can, but one was born with an innate talent for music. Assume for our purposes that they are both of the same species and tell me, which do you hire?¡± There was a moment of hesitation before john responded. ¡°Probably the one with the innate talent,¡± he said reluctantly. ¡°Just so, they are, in every measurable aspect, simply better by chance of birth and I suspect you only hesitated in your answer because you see my point. We cannot help our circumstances of birth; some people are just innately better at some things than others. Does that mean we have to be defined by them? No, but all things being equal, those without talent will rarely reach the same heights as those with talent. You are doing no one an injustice by hiring those with innate talent who wish to leverage it,¡± she explained, not unkindly. ¡°That said, if you¡¯re still hesitant, you could entreat Ira for a Boon that would substitute for an innate ability, though if you do so you will be building on a foundation that can be lost later should you fail to uphold your end or in some other way offend the goddess.¡± John winced. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯m her favorite person right now,¡± he admitted. ¡°I sense a story there, but I won¡¯t pry. Still, you should give both options some thought. Now, for my next piece of advice. There is a feat chain called Overseer that I think you might want to invest in as well. It¡¯s unlocked by hiring an employee and walking them through what work you need done. Each rank in it grants five percent of your bonuses to those who work for you. It¡¯s often used by large operations, such as quarries, lumber mills, and other people who want to employ others who may not have the same talents or feats they themselves do. While you can survive selling small batches of high value crops, there¡¯s no reason you can¡¯t also employ others at the same time and increase your profit margin,¡± she explained. John blinked as he considered that. ¡°Does that work for all my abilities?¡± ¡°Any ability that can be quantified numerically, yes.¡± ¡°So, say I have the Domain feat, would they gain five percent of the bonuses from that?¡± Susanna smiled. ¡°Yes, they would, though at only five percent it wouldn¡¯t be terribly noticeable.¡± John nodded. ¡°That¡¯s really helpful, thank you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s my pleasure, but I have one more piece of wisdom to dispense, though I recognize this one is going to be a bit hard to swallow. You should either sell most of your current land, or rent it out. While its obvious this area was untamed wilderness when you started, it¡¯s swiftly becoming a more commercial area, and having a farm in the middle is just begging for trouble, if not from locals trying to get you to leave, then from your chookers getting out and causing mischief. It¡¯s clear you¡¯ve put a lot of effort into your current setup, but with the money you could make from what is now very high value land, you could easily pay someone to clear out and set up a new area for you.¡± John ran his fingers through his beard as he considered her suggestion. ¡°I¡¯m just not sure I want to be that far away from the tree, its still my job to take care of it.¡± ¡°Then I suggest learning the Teleport or Portal spells. Given that you won¡¯t be moving more than a few miles, the mana cost of reaching the shrine would be almost inconsequential if you use Imprinting; which I know you can do given your displays of earth magic.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you know either of those spells and could show me how to cast them?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t, but Lex does,¡± Susanna said, gesturing to one of her guards. ¡°You should be aware that compensation in the form of trade or gold is the norm; usually you trade spells of the same tier, or you pay a gold per tier of the spell. Portal, which is the spell Lex knows, is a tier ten spell, that means it costs one hundred mana per second at its base. Because this spell also deals with distances, that multiplies the cost by each mile traveled. Of course, if you have certain feats such as Increased Distance, you can expand the range while minimizing costs, though normally only dedicated specialists take such feats. Finally, all Portal Beacons also act as Dimensional Anchors; that means any Teleports or Portals activated within five miles of the beacon will be automatically redirected to it. This includes ones that are outbound. So you¡¯ll want to set your new farm up at least six miles away if you intend to Portal back and forth.¡± Lex stepped forward and gave john a polite nod. John returned it and then willed ten golds into his hand and placed them on the table. ¡°Alright, watch closely now,¡± the dwarf said, and then made a gesture. Nothing seemed to happened, however John could see the weave of mana in the dwarf¡¯s hand; focusing on it, he took a blueprint and then nodded his head. ¡°I got a blueprint of it and should be able to learn it from that. Thank you.¡± ¡°No need for thanks, you are paying after all,¡± Lex said with a grin as he scooped up the gold coins. He then turned to Susanna. ¡°M¡¯lady, I believe you¡¯re short on funds to pay for our lodgings, please allow me to offer what I have.¡± Lady Oswald nodded her head graciously. ¡°Thank you, Guardsman Lex, I will be sure that you are fully compensated upon our return.¡± She then took the proffered coins and immediately placed three of them on the table. ¡°I believe this was our agreed upon sum, Mister John?¡± Bobbing his head, John scooped up the coins and willed them back into his inventory. ¡°That it was Lady Oswald. It¡¯s been a pleasure hosting you,¡± he said, bemused by the exchange. ¡°And I thank you once more for your hospitality. Please do not let me keep you any longer, I suspect you have work to do, and we must prepare to depart.¡± John stood and gave another bow. ¡°Farewell Lady Oswald.¡± She nodded in turn. ¡°Farewell, Mister John.¡± With that, John left the house. MAG - Chapter 64 - Edited John exited the guest house into the slightly chilly but also brightly sunny day. If the barony was about to be formed, he¡¯d have to move fast. Once the baron or baroness was appointed all land in the barony would become ¡®locked in¡¯ and he¡¯d have to pay for any new land he wanted. While he hadn¡¯t wanted to admit it, what Lady Oswald had said made sense; he should move his farm. But that meant he needed to get his stakes and quickly find a new area to claim before the barony became a reality. Striding with purpose he headed toward his house, where he retrieved the spikes from storage. He then considered his options. Or, option, rather. There was only one way to go, east. He needed to follow the Ley Line, so that he¡¯d be able to reinstall his tap wherever he set up. The question was, how far east? Also, how was he going to move the tap? He couldn¡¯t lift it, and thus couldn¡¯t put it in his inventory¡­ maybe there was a spell for that? ¡°Help, is there a spell that will let me lift heavier objects?¡± [Answer: The Strengthen spell can increase the user¡¯s Strength by a percentage based on the rank of the spell and appropriate modifiers such as the Increased Size feat. The Tactile Telekinesis skill will allow the user to lift objects based on their Magic statistic instead of their Strength statistic and will multiply its impact in the same fashion as the Strengthen spell does Strength. The Telekinesis spell will allow the user to lift, move, and manipulate objects based on their Magic statistic, which will be multiplied in the same fashion as the bonus to Tactile Telekinesis.] John pulled up his character sheet to take a quick look at his statistics. [Name: John] [Race: Basajaun] [Level: 7] [Mana: 560] [MRegen: 28/minute] [Build Points: 3,818] [Attributes] [Skills] [Spells] [Racial Perks] [Feats] His strength was currently at forty, even if the spell gave him a one hundred percent increase to strength, that¡¯d only give him a total strength of eighty and a quick internet search told him that a block of marble of the size he was using weighed two tons and change; he highly doubted he could lift that. Both the telekinetic spells were right out, as they¡¯d be trying to magically affect the block, which would resist them and massively inflate the mana cost. After a moment John realized the error in his thinking. He now had the Portal spell; he could just open a gateway and shift it through the same way he¡¯d moved it originally. Nodding to himself at the simplicity of the fix, he headed out, walking out the back of his property, and heading east. ¡ª John walked for a solid two hours, following the Ley Line. He wasn¡¯t sure what he was looking for, he just didn¡¯t want to pick generic spot number two. Not much thought had gone into his original farm location and although it¡¯d worked out better than it might have, he was hoping to find something better, or at least different. However, it seemed that wasn¡¯t to be, at least not so close to the town. In a way that made sense, if there were anything truly marvelous out here someone would certainly have noticed it by now. After all, he was only about nine miles away from Runic Rock. Taking out his Claim Spikes, he measured off four hundred paces to the north, eight hundred paces to the east, then eight hundred paces to the south, and finally another eight hundred to the west, giving him a square parcel of land eight hundred paces to a side. [You have staked out an area of 4,326,400 square feet, do you wish to claim it?] John nodded his head, even as he mentally gave the go ahead. [Land Claim Formed. Do you wish to register this claim with the nearest town?] Once more John gave his assent and the prompt disappeared; he then looked about and sighed. It was going to be a lot of work to get this patch of land changed into something usable. The first thing he needed to do was make part of it his Domain. Stepping into the patch of land that was now officially his, John emptied his mana pool into the ground, sending a flood of life and earth mana rushing out and claiming a good two hundred and eighty square feet as his. From there he was standing within his Domain, doubling his pool and regeneration, which would make the next steps easier. A little math told him that he would need somewhere around four hundred and ninety-one hours to fully saturate his new land. Fortunately, he only needed a portion of it for now, about three hundred thousand square feet should be fine, and that¡¯d only take him about thirty-five hours; a pain to be sure, but a bearable one. For the next hour he worked his way around the perimeter of what would be the first (and central) section of his new farm, saturating the edges, then creating a waist high wall all around it. Finished with that, he turned his attention to clearing out the grasses and other plants that currently clogged the interior. As his hand rose to cast Control Earth, he had a realization. He¡¯d been saturating his land originally by the act of using Control Earth spell on it, but that was back before he had such a ridiculously large size; before that it¡¯d been a relatively slow way to increase the domain¡¯s size. However, now it should be much, much faster given the large area he could cover per second. Waving his hand, he poured mana into the weave that made up the spell, and began to till the grasses and weeds under at a prodigious rate. With the spell consuming two earth mana per second, and tying up two of his mana strands, he could run three strands through his body to activate Mana Drawing, which made his regeneration rate five mana per second. In other words, he could run the spell indefinitely. It was really too bad he had only the one mana strand left, or he could have run a second Control Earth in parallel, and doubled his efficiency; although, if he used only the second tier of Mana Drawing and ran a second Control Earth spell he could sustain that for a little more than an hour, as he¡¯d lose less than one mana per three seconds. Then, once he was empty, it¡¯d only take another three and a third minutes to regenerate his full pool. Nodding to himself, he released the third strand of Mana Drawing, and cast a second Control Earth. Over the next half-hour he cleared out one eighth of the three hundred thousand feet he¡¯d boxed in. Satisfied with that, he logged out for lunch. ¡ª After logging back in John spent the next three and a half hours working even as he pondered why this act of magic counted as ¡®saturating¡¯ the land. Finally, when he was done, he asked the question. ¡°Help, why does altering the terrain with magic count as saturating it with my mana?¡± [Answer: By magically forcing your will onto a location which you have claimed you attune the already present mana with your own, making it count as yours.] John pondered that for a moment before asking his next question. ¡°Help, is there a faster way to attune existing mana to my own?¡± [Answer: That information is covered by the Tutoring Module, would you like to purchase a month-long subscription to the Tutoring Module for 100 USD or 1000 Gold?] John let out a small huff; he walked into that one. ¡°No,¡± he said even as he considered putting it on his purchase list for after his harvest. Maybe he should ask some of the Knights Magi, they might be willing to teach for a price. Moving over to the wall, John hopped up and sat on it even as he pulled up the blueprint of the Portal spell. The blueprint was complicated, and it took him almost an hour of trying to successfully complete the spell on his own, and even then he managed it only barely. Had he not been using the blueprint module, he was certain he couldn¡¯t have done it at all, not without having someone there guiding him through it and displaying it each time he tried, anyway. Given the time and effort it would take a teacher, it was no wonder the price of spells was in golds. Sliding off his perch, he waved a hand and opened a portal. A line of light appeared in the air before him and quickly opened into a full-size gateway showing the Galaxy Tree and interior of the Gateway of Worlds on the other end. He nodded his head and stepped through. He¡¯d been trying to Portal onto his farm, but it was as Lady Oswald had said; all Portals would be redirected to the Shrine. This would mean he had to move the Ley Line Tap to the Shrine before he could portal it to his new location, but that was less effort than trying to drag it six miles. He had just stepped through and released the spell¡¯s weave when a couple of notifications popped up. [Congratulations to Lady Susanna Oswald, the newly minted Baroness of the Runic Rock Barony] [Congratulations to all new Land Owners of the Runic Rock Barony, your Land Claims have been folded into the new barony and are officially yours so long as you can pay the taxes.] The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. John dismissed the notifications and then made his way out of the shrine, which was already filling up with the carriages of nobles trying to get home. The problem seemed to be that they had to call for portals from other locations, since the shrine couldn¡¯t currently create its own. On his way by John couldn¡¯t help but notice the unhappy, and occasionally downright furious, faces of the few nobles he could see. It appeared this was not a joyous occasion for them. Arriving back at his farm, John was surprised to see the new baroness sitting under the pavilion by the gate and sipping from a mug of tea. ¡°Did you have someone watching the Shrine so you¡¯d know exactly when to be in the right position for my return?¡± he asked in some amusement even as he bowed to acknowledge her station. Susanna merely smiled at him as she sipped her drink, she then put the mug down and gestured to the seat across from her. ¡°I assume, from your return via Portal, that you went and found a new location for your farm?¡± she asked as he made himself comfortable. ¡°Yeah, about six miles out. I spent most of the day prepping a section so I could move things to it. It¡¯s going to be a pain, but you¡¯re right that staying here is going to cause me more problems than not,¡± John admitted. The Baroness nodded, even as she poured a second cup for John. ¡°Good, in that case I have a request. I would like you to sell me the northern third of this plot.¡± John sipped his tea as he considered the request. ¡°Can I ask why?¡± he asked finally. ¡°Of course. As the new baroness I¡¯ll be expected to maintain a baronial seat, which is to say a place from which the barony is run. In most cases that is a modest mansion with perhaps two or three out buildings. The land there should suffice and it¡¯s easier to work with you than with the Titans, who hold the land north of you, and south of the Knights¡¯ compound,¡± she explained. ¡°I take it they weren¡¯t in a selling mood?¡± ¡°They said they¡¯d be happy to set up a lease. I declined.¡± John nodded. ¡°I suppose I could sell it to you, sure. Though, I¡¯m not really sure what the land is worth.¡± ¡°A lot, actually. This close to what¡¯s going to become a center of trade you could easily charge as much as a copper per square foot,¡± Baroness Oswald said. There was a moment of silence as John did some mental math. ¡°So¡­ what? Fifty-four gold?¡± ¡°And a little silver, I believe,¡± the baroness said with a nod. ¡°That doesn¡¯t seem like a lot,¡± he said with a slight frown. Susanna paused; her cup barely lifted off the table. ¡°Mister John, how much do you think is a lot of gold?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, A few hundred gold, maybe?¡± John responded hesitantly. ¡°Hmmm¡­ That¡¯d be quite a sum indeed. But it¡¯d be unusual to pay that much for almost anything below a Exquisite or Perfect ranking. Do you often pay for things in gold?¡± she asked thoughtfully. ¡°Well, most things on the Auction are pretty expensive, especially rarer items,¡± he explained. ¡°Can you give me some examples?¡± Susanna asked. ¡°Um, let¡¯s see, I paid around five gold for a Displacer Lily, and eleven or so for a quarter pound of Void Stone, eight gold for Timeless Ivy¡­¡± he trailed off as he saw Baroness Oswald¡¯s eyebrow raise slightly. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Those were some rather expensive purchases. What exactly do you think copper and silver are worth?¡± She inquired. ¡°Well, I assumed day to day items would be worth a few coppers at most, luxury but non-magical items are probably priced in silver, and most other stuff would be priced in gold, I guess,¡± John said. The baroness shook her head. ¡°Gold isn¡¯t something you earn so easily, whoever you¡¯ve been buying from has been fleecing you, unless those items were all very high quality, and I¡¯m guessing from the face you¡¯re making that they weren¡¯t.¡± She set down her cup, not having taken a sip. ¡°Alright, there are a few things that are obvious, such as the rarer the material the more it costs, and the higher the quality the more it costs. The problem you¡¯re having is that the items you¡¯ve purchased aren¡¯t all that rare, and aren¡¯t high quality. Void Stone isn¡¯t common, but if it was rare enough to be priced in gold we wouldn¡¯t build portals out of it; similarly Displacer Lilies and Timeless Ivy are rare, but not so rare as to be all that hard to get.¡± John stared at her in consternation for a moment, as he realized that what she was saying made sense. He¡¯d paid two master craftsmen in silvers for their work, granted it hadn¡¯t been with magical materials, but one had been a rush job and resulted in a high quality container. Further, everything in the general store was priced in coppers, including the mana stones. It probably meant he was being grossly overpaid for the stones he was putting up for sale. ¡°How much would two cubic inches of Exceptional quality Mana Stone cost?¡± he asked. ¡°Well, that¡¯s a bit rarer and it really depends on the element of the stone and how available they are. But a good rule of thumb would be to pay a copper per hundred points of mana they hold for an aspected stone. That really only holds true until you hit the higher ranks of course, but that¡¯s only because there are very few people who can make Mana Stones with a rank greater than Incredible. Also, I expect that price to drop at some point, apparently someone figured out a way to teach people to make Mana Stones easily, so we¡¯re going to see a lot more of them on the market in the coming years,¡± the baroness explained before taking a sip of her tea. ¡°You do have to understand,¡± she continued, ¡°that, ultimately, you¡¯re not looking at a finite item; while any given stone will run out eventually, people can just make more. Further, if such things were very expensive, how would common people afford them?¡± ¡°And how much should I be paying for enchantment work?¡± John asked. ¡°Depends on the enchantment and the skill of the enchanter, but I would expect most enchantments to be in the mid silver range, high silver if they¡¯re of middle quality, a low count in gold for anything truly outstanding. Again, anything above Exquisite is going to jump the price drastically, and Divine is all but off the table; even if someone had a Divine rank enchantment, selling it would be silly unless they were in the direst of financial straits. And if they did, only high nobles would be able to afford the cost.¡± Susanna explained. ¡°So, if someone was charging me three gold for a Ley Line Tap¡­¡± John suggested. ¡°Hmmm¡­ how good is the enchanter?¡± she rejoined. ¡°Newly minted Journeyman, making the most basic of taps,¡± he admitted. ¡°You¡¯re basically being robbed. For a Ley Line Tap of that cost I would expect at least Exceptional quality with several safety features built in to help prevent the cracking of cores and at least four, maybe five, elemental converters,¡± the baroness said. ¡°Elemental converters?¡± John inquired. ¡°Ah, it lets an enchantment change the elemental affiliation of the mana flowing through it. It¡¯s the same difference as imprinting an elemental concept on raw mana. Granted, you¡¯ll almost only ever see them for the four prime elements, light, darkness, and occasionally life and death; time and space are harder for most of our people to grasp, though the players seem to have a much easier time for some reason,¡± she replied. ¡°So, I¡¯m definitely overpaying,¡± John noted. ¡°Yes, though I would have thought you¡¯d pay the Knights Magi for such a task?¡± her tone made the sentence more question than statement. ¡°I¡­ had some trouble with the knights originally which hurt my trust in them, so I didn¡¯t really want to involve them,¡± John admitted. ¡°Another story I sense, but once again I won¡¯t pry. That said, odds are good you could have hired them for much less. Though, I suppose I should encourage people to hire the new craftsmen more than the knights. Still, I would let your enchanter know that you¡¯re on to them, and haggle for future upgrades of some kind as their skill advances,¡± Susanna advised. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll do that, thanks. Wait, doesn¡¯t that mean you overpaid me for your stay? In fact, you were willing to way overpay!¡± John said. ¡°You clearly haven¡¯t seen what the Titans were charging. As much as thirty gold for a plot of empty land. It was frankly scandalous and certainly won¡¯t be tolerated in the future, I was actually expecting you to ask me for more; it was a pleasant surprise when you insisted on only three gold,¡± She admitted. There was a moment of silence as John contemplated this, then frowned. ¡°But what about the crop I¡¯m growing? Alchemist¡¯s Sponge sells for silvers, not coppers. In fact, if I¡¯ve done my math right it¡¯s worth almost two hundred and ten gold.¡± The baroness bobbed her head. ¡°And how many times do you think you can grow that crop in a row? For that matter, how many do you think you can usually grow at once? You¡¯ve pressed right up against the edge of what you can have in a given area, and the local mana saturation is suffering for it. It¡¯ll be months before this area fully recovers, possibly as long as half a year. During that time Mana Wells nearby will work at reduced rates, and people will have a harder time regenerating mana. You¡¯ve probably already noticed you can¡¯t regenerate mana as fast as normal near your greenhouses. When mana starts to equalize it¡¯ll create a noticeable dip for probably a couple miles. That¡¯s why most grow only a few plants at a time, spread them over large areas, and demand a high price.¡± ¡°Am I going to get in trouble for lowering the local mana?¡± John asked worriedly. ¡°No; though mostly because there was no one to complain, and no one to complain to. A fine would have been the likely outcome; not enough to dip too substantially into your profits, but enough to hurt,¡± Susanna explained. ¡°In this case, we can¡¯t fine you for people choosing to move into the area after you set up your crops, that¡¯d be both unfair and unjust.¡± ¡°Alright, thanks for explaining things to me,¡± he said. ¡°It was no trouble, though I fear we¡¯ve strayed far from the topic at hand,¡± the baroness replied. John nodded to her then spoke. ¡°I would be happy to sell you the land,¡± ¡°Excellent! Now, if I may inquire, what do you intend to do with the rest of the land?¡± Baroness Oswald asked. ¡°I don¡¯t really know. I¡¯ll be taking pretty much everything to the new farm once I¡¯ve set it up. I don¡¯t really have plans past that,¡± he admitted. ¡°Here¡¯s what I would suggest then,¡± the baroness began. ¡°Either rent the land out to others and put the onus of development on them, or develop the land yourself and diversify your business. There are several good options for the location, but I would split it between warehouses and crafting halls. The Titans will be setting up individual shops with housing, and that¡¯ll be useful for those with money to pay for them, but that¡¯s also a long-term investment that most of your people don¡¯t seem keen on. They¡¯d prefer to have somewhere they can do a bit of work before going off to do something else. The warehouses will be required for pickup and drop off by couriers, and for long term storage of goods. Having them adjacent to the portal would allow you to charge a premium for the space.¡± John combed his beard with his fingers as he listened, then thought for a moment before he commented. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t the warehouse walls need to be imbued to stop people from breaking in?¡± ¡°Yes, but you can get imbued bricks fairly cheap, depending on their quality. At just Good quality, bricks run somewhere around twenty-five per copper,¡± the baroness explained. John gave her a goggle-eyed stare. ¡°That can¡¯t be right!¡± he protested. ¡°While I cannot give you the specifics on how stone for building is imbued, I assure you that number is fairly accurate for most mundane stones; though the price just about quadruples for each subsequent quality increase, excepting of course for Perfect, Artifact, and Deific, which are much, much more expensive. The price also increases if you want luxury stones, but that¡¯d be a poor choice for warehouses,¡± Susanna said. John sipped his tea as he thought over everything he¡¯d just been told. Diversifying his business would be good for his in-game wallet, but it¡¯d be problematic to try and get any actual real-world cash for storage space unless he could guarantee safety or was willing to reimburse losses. Crafting halls¡­ if a system existed for leasing in-game areas for real world cash, maybe; he¡¯d have to look into it. ¡°Do you really want warehouses and crafting halls next to your baronial seat?¡± he asked after a moment of thought. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t bother me a bit; the Oswalds have never had an issue with mingling with what our peers might derisively call the ¡®common folk¡¯.¡± John thought that over for a moment, and then nodded.¡± Thank you,¡± he said. ¡°You¡¯ve been really helpful.¡± ¡°It¡¯s my pleasure,¡± Baroness Oswald replied. ¡°I¡¯ll have a contract drawn up for the sale of the land and you can confirm everything is in order. Then¡­¡± she paused and frowned. ¡°We need to get a bank in the area¡­ actually that¡¯d be another good option for part of your land. The Eternal Vaults would happily buy a portion of your land to set up on. In fact, if I were you, I¡¯d do just that, and make a permanent account and a vault box part of the sale price.¡± ¡°I take it a vault box is some kind of storage?¡± John asked. ¡°Quite so, they come in varying sizes with the smallest being no bigger than a jewelry box, and the largest being about three cubic yards. Keep in mind that the larger your demand, the less they¡¯ll be willing to pay for the land. That said, given the rarity of some of the items you¡¯re already growing, you may want to push for an actual room,¡± she replied. John nodded. ¡°Alright, say I wanted a room sized vault box, and a permanent bank account, what should I be asking for the land?¡± The baroness gave the question some thought as she finished her tea. ¡°I would push for a merchant grade account, that¡¯ll get you some level of priority and is the highest rank you can get outside the peerage. That combined with the storage, I¡¯d say don¡¯t go any lower than a copper per thirty square feet. Keep in mind you¡¯re looking for lifetime coverage, so they¡¯ll want the land for cheap.¡± ¡°Alright, thanks again.¡± ¡°As I said, it¡¯s my pleasure.¡± Announcement Hi, it''s been a while (almost a year, in fact) since my last update here, and I''m sorry to have left you all hanging. I really wish I had some great excuse as to why I stopped writing Magriculture, but I really don''t. There are a lot of inconsistencies and inadequacies that I can see in the story that have added up over time to bug me, and I really wanted to fix that. So for a while I worked on a re-write. It went okay, however I''ll be honest, it didn''t quite have the same spirit or flare as the current version, and the John of that version was perhaps a little too competent and put together. Anyway, recently a lot of people have been reminding me how much they enjoyed this story, flaws and all, and that''s moved me to return to it. At first I wanted to import parts of the latest re-write; do a sort of patch job. That didn''t really pan out, it changed too much and would have severely altered the course of the early story. Instead I limited myself to making mostly minor changes, cleaning up the text boxes, and making the entire thing easier to read. (You''ll see what I mean when I start posting). If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. So, starting probably next month, I''m going to be overwriting the old chapters with the new ones, and once that''s finished I''ll begin posting again. Sorry it''s taken me so long to get my rear in gear, and thank you all for your patience and your acceptance of my story, flaws and all. I look forward to entertaining you. -NullMagic MAG - Chapter 65 The meeting with the baroness concluded not long after, though she promised to have the land contract to him no later than the next morning. After she departed, he returned to his house and made his way to the room that had been intended for the Ley Line Tap. He walked in to find BR hunched over the marble block, carefully etching away at the surface with a metal stylus. ¡°Almost done outlining,¡± the gnome said, clearly having heard John coming. ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± John said. ¡°Would it disrupt the enchantment if we moved the tap further down the Ley Line?¡± ¡°Hm? Maybe, maybe not. Why?¡± BR asked as he paused to look at John. ¡°I¡¯m moving my farm further out,¡± John explained. ¡°Ah, I guess that makes sense what with this becoming more of a trade center than a rural farming area,¡± BR replied. ¡°How are you going to move the tap? It can¡¯t have been easy to get it down here in the first place.¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t. I had to basically carry it on a wave of moving earth.¡± ¡°Well, I guess if you¡¯re going to move it, you should do so now, before I do any actual cutting. How long do you think it¡¯s going to take you to get it to the new site?¡± ¡°Call it an hour,¡± John replied. ¡°Half to get it there and half to build an appropriate room for it.¡± ¡°Alright, I guess I¡¯ll go back to practicing,¡± BR said. ¡°Sure. Oh, uh¡­¡± John paused, unsure how to broach the subject of payment. He didn¡¯t want to alienate BambooRooster but he also didn¡¯t want to be taken advantage of. BR looked at him questioningly and John realized he was going to have to say something. ¡°So, I talked with the baroness earlier,¡± he started, finally, ¡°and she says our view of currency has been warped by the prices of the Auction, and now that I think about it that probably extends to the artificial scarcity in the area, anyway. I¡¯m still going to pay you what we agreed, but we should probably figure out what the rest of the empire would charge going forward.¡± The gnome looked at him for a few moments with a vaguely annoyed facial expression. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s probably fair,¡± he said after a further few seconds of thought, and John gave an internal sigh of relief. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be in the workroom when you need me.¡± John watched the other player leave and then turned his attention back to the imbued marble. Getting it out was going to be a pain; specifically getting it up the stairs. ¡°Best get moving I guess¡­¡± he muttered to himself. Then, with a gesture, he created stone rollers once more. Getting it down the hallway was a slow process, but nothing compared to getting up the stairs. In the end he resorted to using magic on it directly. At eighty mana per second he could only lift it for fourteen seconds at a time, meaning he lifted it up one stair, rested to regain mana, and then repeated until he reached the top. He quickly got it out of the house and to the gate of the farm, but there he ran into another problem; he didn¡¯t want to use move earth on the road as he wasn¡¯t sure he wouldn¡¯t ruin its quality rating. With a sigh, he resigned himself to walking along-side the road instead. At least that was still on his claim and thus inside his domain. He was perhaps halfway to the shrine when he saw Knight Elenia come out of the compound and walk down the road toward him. ¡°Mister John, what are you doing with a giant block of marble?¡± She inquired as she walked up. ¡°Taking it to my new farm location,¡± he replied, even as he rested to regenerate mana. ¡°New farm location?¡± she asked, looking vaguely concerned. ¡°You¡¯re moving your farm?¡± ¡°Yeah, there¡¯s too much going on in this area, and I have to keep the chookers locked up, so the Baroness suggested I might want to move it, and I agreed,¡± John said. Elenia, contrary to her usual easy-going personality, gave him a slightly pained look. ¡°John, we may not be obligated to protect you, but you¡¯re not an unimportant nobody. How are we supposed to know where to go to help you if you don¡¯t tell us things like this?¡± John paused and looked at her. He really hadn¡¯t considered that he¡¯d be moving further away from the Knights and thus safety, but he should have. ¡°Sorry,¡± he replied finally. ¡°I didn¡¯t think about it. Now I¡¯m not really sure what to do¡­¡± ¡°Probably finish your move. The Commander will probably want to station some Knights out wherever you are to prevent more incidents. Given we can¡¯t claim any more land, and figuring out land prices is going to take a few weeks, you might consider setting aside some land they can use to build accommodations, at least in the short term,¡± the normally cheery halfling suggested. John nodded. ¡°I can do that.¡± ¡°Good, now, can I ask what the block is actually for?¡± she inquired. ¡°It¡¯s going to be a Ley Line Tap,¡± John explained. Elenia frowned briefly and then focused on the block. ¡°Oh! It¡¯s imbued; I guess that explains why you were having such a hard time with it; Great quality too, not bad. Who¡¯s doing the Enchanting?¡± Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°BambooRooster, he¡¯s one of the people who completed the trials and got a lot of Enchanting material.¡± ¡°You know there are knights who know Enchanting right?¡± she asked. ¡°I do but¡­ you know how it was before you got promoted and the new knights showed up. And now I¡¯ve already agreed to work with him, so I¡¯d feel bad backing out,¡± John admitted. ¡°That¡¯s fair. Maybe just have someone else look it over before you turn it on? Taps and Wells can be dangerous if enchanted wrong. While the guilds make it hard for anyone to learn certain trades, there was originally a reason for the master-apprentice relationship. Just because you have the theoretical knowledge you need doesn¡¯t mean you have the requisite skill, and the system will only give you so much insight,¡± Elenia explained. ¡°That makes sense I guess,¡± he admitted. ¡°Who do I talk to about Enchanting then?¡± ¡°Knight Fornweth is one of the three enchanters we currently have, and probably the most approachable. I¡¯ll let him know you¡¯ll be wanting to talk with him about the tap, and then you can drop by and ask for him when it¡¯s done. Sound like a plan?¡± the halfling asked. ¡°Yeah, that sounds pretty good,¡± John agreed. ¡°Great, now why don¡¯t we get this block moved and you can show me where your new farm is.¡± John nodded, and then began moving the stone again. ¡ª John closed the portal right after Knight Elenia had finished passing through. Casting the spell and shifting the block through had cost pretty much his entire mana pool. The halfling woman looked around the walled in, barren earth patch with a critical eye. ¡°How much of this is your domain already?¡± she wondered aloud. ¡°Mostly just the walled area. I found that I can make it part of my domain by altering the landscape, so it went pretty quickly. Still not sure why that works. It seems like I should have to flood the land with my mana to make it mine,¡± John explained. Elenia shook her head. ¡°The land already has mana in it, so do most things, for that matter. All you need to do is align that mana with yourself. By changing the landscape you¡¯re impressing your will on it, so the mana is altered in your favor. There are other ways to do this, the easiest of which is probably to use Mana Drawing to pull the land¡¯s mana into your pool and then return it.¡± ¡°Wait, how do I do that?¡± John asked. ¡°It¡¯s a simple alteration to the basic pattern, but you shouldn¡¯t try it before Journeyman rank. Basically, you extend the loop outside of your body into whatever you¡¯re trying to draw mana out of. Word of warning though, don¡¯t try that with the Ley Line; they tend to push their mana into whatever tries to pull from them, and that usually ends explosively,¡± the young knight explained. John paused for a minute while he did some quick mental calculations. With mana drawing John could pull in five-point-six mana per second, and theoretically expel that much back into the land. If it took one mana per square foot, he could saturate a little more than five and a half square feet per second. With that speed it¡¯d be¡­ what? Two hundred hours to saturate the rest of his new land, give or take a bit. However, if he used Control Earth to till the entire area it would take him less than thirty hours, assuming he could run the spell non-stop. Call it forty with breaks to restore mana. ¡°It¡¯s faster to use move earth to change the landscape,¡± he said finally and Elenia nodded. ¡°With your bonuses, that¡¯s probably true; but you¡¯ll want to keep it in mind if you ever need to saturate land you can¡¯t just rip up and replace.¡± ¡°Good point,¡± he agreed. ¡°We¡¯re how far away from the Shrine?¡± Elenia asked as she looked around. ¡°About six miles, give or take. Far enough out that, as you saw, we can Portal back and forth,¡± John said. ¡°I guess that makes it quick and easy to get out here,¡± the halfling noted. ¡°We¡¯re going to have to make sure that anyone sent out this way knows the spell though.¡± John shrugged uncomfortably. ¡°It just seemed like this solved a lot of issues.¡± ¡°I mean it does, but it also makes another issue; not an insurmountable one though. You¡¯re going back to your house to sleep, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, just going to get this settled in a new room and then it¡¯ll probably be time for me to¡­¡± he hesitated. ¡°Log out?¡± Elenia asked with a smile. John huffed. ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Just because we don¡¯t do the same doesn¡¯t mean we can¡¯t understand the concept. As I understand you¡¯re basically using some kind of magic to possess a body that was created for you, and you can leave the body to return to your world. You call it ¡®logging out¡¯,¡± Elenia said. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s about right,¡± John said, bemused at the description. ¡°In any case, I¡¯ll be logging out in bed, so that this body can rest while I do.¡± ¡°Good, then you can take me back when you go, and in the morning another group will be ready for you to bring them here so they can watch your back and get familiar with the location for portalling,¡± Elenia stated. John nodded. ¡°Works for me.¡± He then turned and found the midpoint of his new farm and began to excavate. With his bonuses, and this being his domain, it didn¡¯t take him long to create a spiraled ramp that led to a ten-foot by ten-foot stone box some fifteen feet underground. From there it was simply a matter of getting the tap-to-be down the ramp and he was ready to be done for the day. A thought and a gesture were all it took to seal up the ramp and cover it with a thick layer of dirt, making it look just like any other part of the farm. Elenia nodded approvingly as she watched, and then the two returned to the Gateway of Worlds via another Portal. ¡°Alright, remember, we¡¯ll have some knights to go with you in the morning, so don¡¯t forget them,¡± the halfling reminded him. ¡°Got it, take the knights with me,¡± John replied agreeably. ¡°Good! With that I¡¯ll head back to the compound. Goodnight John,¡± Elenia said. ¡°Night!¡± John replied, then headed for his own beds, both real and electronic. MAG - Chapter 66 John logged in the next morning and, as usual, went straight to the tree. Forming his customary seat, he got comfortable, laid a hand on the trunk, and sent a stream of space mana into it. For a moment, everything was normal; his mana entered the tree, mingled, and became part of it, he kept control of himself and wasn¡¯t washed away by the experience. However, something was different this time, as he could feel a small strand of mana push back into his palm. The mana wasn¡¯t his, he could tell that immediately, however it didn¡¯t feel hostile, it felt curious and perhaps a tinge worried. With a thought he guided the new strand of mana into his body and to his own core, where the mana mingled freely with his own, diluting into it and becoming part of it. The moment the foreign mana touched his own he understood the tree was actively trying to converse with him. From the stream of mana came impressions and feelings that he could tell amounted to a question. ¡°Where did you go?¡± John paused, unsure of what the question meant exactly, he returned feelings of uncertainty and the tree¡¯s mana carried back more impressions. He felt the presence of people, perhaps as many as two or three hundred; some were close by, others far away. Most of the people were gathered in a large knot perhaps three miles to the west. The realization of distance caused him to delve further into the feeling he was receiving, and he quickly understood that he was feeling all the people currently within about five miles; the range of the Dimensional Anchor effect. It was with some slight bit of awe that he realized the tree could see everyone within that radius; sensing this, the tree changed its impressions slightly. There were still many people, but one of them shone brighter in its senses than the others. The person was quite close by, touching the tree¡¯s trunk even. That¡¯s me, John realized. The impressions shifted once more, and he got the sense of time passing and the bright spark that was himself wandering back and forth in the area that must be his farm, with occasional trips to the village, and even that one trip he took out to the dungeon, which was just in range of the tree¡¯s senses. Then came a day when John passed out of the tree¡¯s senses. One moment he was in the tree¡¯s sight, and then he walked right out of it¡¯s field; just gone. Time passed and John was suddenly back having appeared near the tree from a portal, he stayed for a while, and moved slowly back to the gateway, and then disappeared through another portal, this time with another person. Yesterday, when I first walked to the new farm, then used gateways to move back and forth. The original questioning feelings returned, combined with a bit of worry and anxiety. ¡°Where did you go?¡± John was a little stunned; the tree had been watching him this entire time, and for the first time he¡¯d gone somewhere it couldn¡¯t see. And that worries it, he thought. Taking a moment, he composed his response, pushing images of his walk to the new farm and the land he¡¯d claimed out there, the feeling that he was making it his own, and the bit of sadness he now felt now knowing that he wouldn¡¯t be within the tree¡¯s sight. The tree trembled; an actual physical sensation that he could feel in the trunk. Worry and anxiety grew stronger in their communication, and a hint of determination. There was no true question or thought this time, just the desire to be closer to him and the determination to make that happen. Mana began to move quickly in the tree as it had only done once before when creating the fruits; this time however it was centered right under his hand. For a moment he considered pulling away, but then decided against it. The tree might not be fully sapient, but it seemed to be getting there, and showing a lack of trust could be harmful to it, so he kept his hand firmly on its trunk. For a moment nothing happened, then a thick and complicated knot of pure mana began to form around his hand and the trunk of the tree. [The Galaxy Tree would like to enter a Soul Bond with you. Would you like to accept?] John considered the prompt for a moment. He didn¡¯t actually know what a soul bond was, but it seemed like it should be a good thing. ¡°Yes,¡± he agreed, with only a slight amount of trepidation. Not a moment after he accepted, the knot of mana seemed to settle and sunk into his hand and the tree. Seconds later the back of his hand, hair and all, was stained the void black color of the tree¡¯s leaves. Startled, he pulled away, and noticed that the black shimmered and changed as it moved, revealing vibrant colors and pricks of white. Glancing back to the tree, he could see a handprint in its bark, a light mousey brown color, like that of his normal hair. [Rank 1 Soul Bond created.] [Please Select the Racial Perk or Feat you would like to share with your partner.] [Racial Perks] [Feats] John looked at the choices and hesitated. The racial perks Green Thumb, Plant Tender, and Magriculture were right out. The tree wasn¡¯t raising any plants other than, perhaps, itself and that was easily debatable. Disaster Prognosticator might be vaguely helpful, but it was immobile and couldn¡¯t tell anyone, so that was unlikely. Megalith Mastery was useless for something (someone?) that couldn¡¯t build megaliths. That left only Bigger on the Inside, Mana Stone Maker, Rare Earth Reaching, and Domain. While it would likely be a boon for the tree if it could make mana stones, it might not be capable of casting mana the same way he could; that might make it useless to the tree. More inventory space wasn¡¯t likely to impact something without an inventory, and the ability to make rarer earth materials likely wasn¡¯t helpful either. On the other hand, the tree could certainly benefit from access to his Domain, that would double its regeneration and pool size, something it might find very beneficial in the future. ¡°Domain,¡± he said. [Domain I has been set as the Shared Feat for your half of the Soul Bond.] [As your bound partner is non-sapient it is up to you to decide which Racial Perk you will benefit from, please select from those available.] [Racial Perks] Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. Unsure of what to pick, John concentrated on each of the options in turn, trying to prompt the system for more information. [Beyond Dimensions] [Destination Unknown] [Dimensional Sight] [Portal Savant] [Warped Space] Looking at the options, he let out a small huff. Of course the tree was capable of the same thing the true portal fruit could do, why not? Portal Savant was also amazing; it would mean greatly reduced cost to run Portals and would allow the tree to act as an extremely efficient Portal hub. Both would be great to have if he had any intentions of Portaling to distant places regularly. Beyond Dimensions and Dimensional Sight weren¡¯t really worth considering; the first would be great if he were an adventurer, but the second would require that he be tied into a dimensional enchantment of some kind, which he wasn¡¯t. That left only Warp Space, which sounded useful as both utility and defense; it was probably also how the tree was meant to see when people didn¡¯t tie it into giant dimensional effects. [Warped Space has been set as the shared Racial Perk for your partner¡¯s half of the Soul Bond.] Waving away the prompt he asked a question. ¡°Help, what is a Soul Bond?¡± [Answer: A Soul Bond is a contract offered from one person or creature to another. The intent of a Soul Bond is to share lives, allowing those so bound to share power. Benefits normally include the ability to tap each other for mana or special abilities, and knowledge of each other¡¯s health and location. As a Player you also have the ability to revive your Soul Bound partner should it die, and you may choose to revive at your partner¡¯s location should you die; assuming they are out of combat and in a safe location. You may only have one Soul Bond at any given time, and may not create any new bond for a year and a day after the old was broken.] John dismissed the prompt and then looked up at the tree. He could feel it now that he knew to look for it, a little knot at the edge of his consciousness; a strange feeling given that no such thing existed in real life. Mentally he reached out and connected with it; immediately he could feel the tree and its impression like thoughts. He felt its worry and anxiety ease and a sense of contentment flowed from it, there was also something else, a sense of¡­ elation? He fell deeper into the connection and found that he could feel the flow of mana in the tree, the same as when he pushed his own power into it. It was instantly apparent that the inflow of mana to the tree had doubled, and its pool had grown deeper. ¡°Pleased to be sharing my Domain,¡± he muttered, and then looked at his blackened hand. With a thought he brought up his status. [Name: John] [Race: Basajaun] [Level: 7] [Mana: 570] [MRegen: 28/minute] [Build Points: 3,843] [Attributes] [Skills] [Spells] [Racial Perks] [Feats] [Soul Bond] ¡°I suppose that settles the debate as to the tree¡¯s sentience,¡± came Commander Helen¡¯s voice from behind him. John glanced over at her. ¡°I guess plants can¡¯t normally soul bond?¡± ¡°Not outside those few with sentience or sapience, no,¡± she replied, then moved her gaze from the tree to John. ¡°I understand you wanted the Gateway of Worlds paved. I¡¯m afraid that¡¯s not as easily done as you or Tet seemed to think. The problem is the tree¡¯s roots and the runners it¡¯s sent up around the arches,¡± she said with a gesture to the standing stones that were becoming entwined in woody growths. ¡°Depending on how shallow these roots are we can¡¯t dig up the area without doing potential harm to the tree. John paused as he considered the problem; he hadn¡¯t really thought of the roots and runners, but they were definitely an issue. ¡°One moment,¡± he replied as he had an idea. Placing his hand back on the tree¡¯s trunk he connected his mana to it once more, and did his best to get a feel for where the roots were. It took a moment but he was able to gauge their depth at about six feet or so, a whole two feet below the depth needed for a foundation. ¡°The roots shouldn¡¯t be a problem, they¡¯re about six feet deep; though I guess we can¡¯t move the arches, given the runners are already growing around them, so we¡¯ll just have to settle for what we can do.¡± Helen nodded. ¡°Very well, construction will begin today. Finish your daily communion; your entourage will be ready by the time you¡¯re done.¡± ¡°Alright, and sorry for the inconvenience; I¡¯m not used to having guards.¡± ¡°Very few are,¡± the catkin woman said as she departed. ¡°Good day Groundskeeper.¡± ¡°You too,¡± he replied and then turned his attention back to the tree, placing his hand on it once more. MAG - Chapter 67 True to Helen¡¯s word, the knights were ready by the time John was done with the tree. He, however, still had to take time to care for his plants, the chookers and deal with the land sale contract sent over by the Baroness. It wasn¡¯t until an hour later that the five knights, BR, and he made their way to the new location by portal. Upon their arrival the knights spread out to examine the area, while John opened the staircase that led down to the Ley Line Tap for BambooRooster. Once the gnome was situated, he began the tedious task of preparing new buildings; fortunately, he had blueprints of the originals so he wasn¡¯t starting from scratch. By the time lunch rolled around he¡¯d set up a house, the barn, the chooker coop, and not twelve but twenty-four greenhouses, though he had plans to construct easily that many again before he logged out for the night. Satisfied, he lay down in the virtual world and sat up in the real one where he quickly went through his small exercise routine and took care of his bodily needs. Wandering out into the kitchen area, he pulled out a frozen meal and popped it into the microwave. While he waited, he brought up the virtual reality overlay of his headset and began browsing the forums, something he knew he should have been doing more of. There were plenty of threads and topics, but many of them were hidden behind paywalls and didn¡¯t really look relevant to him anyway. Of the free topics, there were only a handful he actually bothered to read. Of the topics the most interesting was the bit about attributes; apparently there was a soft cap of one hundred in any attribute, but that could be extended by taking one of the Enhanced Attribute feats, which (according to the feats¡¯ texts) would allow you to grow the specific attribute by another hundred. So when Helen told Axia that not everyone needed a strength of one hundred, she was referencing the soft cap, he mused as he moved on to look at more threads. Another interesting one was on hiring NPC workers; it turned out that the bonuses from Overseer fell off if you were away from your workers for more than eight hours. That was good to know, though he figured it wouldn¡¯t be a problem since he always left his avatar logged in anyway and rarely took trips more than a few hours long. He paused to consider once more whether he really wanted to hire people to work for him. It wasn¡¯t a bad idea, and there¡¯d always be a call for lower level ingredients; for training new characters if nothing else. While high tier crops would bring in the most money even mid-tier plants would be good. He also needed to find someone to take care of animals and maybe someone who could cook and brew; having those last two ¡®in house¡¯ would increase his profit margin by a fair amount. The microwave beeped, probably for the fifth, or maybe sixth time, and he realized he¡¯d gotten lost in the weeds. Closing the virtual overlay, he took out his food and quickly ate it, then got back to browsing. If he was going to have employees he needed to get them from somewhere, and he doubted Runic Rock had an abundance of people who weren¡¯t already employed or working in some way; that meant getting them from another village, town, or city. Given what Grandma Loren had said about the inner parts of the empire being insular, he wondered if it was even possible to recruit from there. He could, of course, pivot to recruiting players, but he didn¡¯t have a lot to offer them; it¡¯d be just as easy for them to start their own farm or get their own animals and he wasn¡¯t keen on paying real money to anyone. ¡°What¡¯s got you looking so annoyed?¡± came his father¡¯s voice, and John swiped away all the virtual overlays to see his father popping his own meal into the microwave. ¡°Just trying to figure out a staffing issue,¡± he replied. ¡°I could hire players, but they¡¯ll want pay in real money, which is more expensive for me than paying in in-game cash. I could hire NPCs but I¡¯ll have a harder time finding them, and I don¡¯t even know where to start.¡± ¡°What do you need employees for?¡± Derrick asked. ¡°Well, apparently I can take a feat tree that allows me to share some of my bonuses with people who are working for me, so I¡¯ll be able to play both wide and tall. Also, I need someone to take care of the animals because I¡¯m not specialized in it; it¡¯d also be nice to have a cook and a brewer in house, though I suppose I could do without those if necessary,¡± the younger man explained. ¡°Have you considered joining or founding a guild?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°A guild, you know, a place where people of like mind get together to help each other out?¡± ¡°I know what a guild is,¡± John said annoyed. ¡°I was just surprised.¡± ¡°I know!¡± his father replied cheerfully and John made an exasperated noise. ¡°Anyway, a guild with people who want the same thing and support each other wouldn¡¯t be a bad idea, would it? While being independent and reaping all the profits for yourself has appeal, it also has the downside of having no support from¡­ well¡­ anyone you can¡¯t pay or who doesn¡¯t owe you for something else. Like, for instance you¡¯ve got some knightly order protecting you, right? But they¡¯re probably not there because you¡¯re paying them are they?¡± ¡°No, they¡¯re there because I made a contract with their god, and technically they aren¡¯t even required to protect me, just the tree,¡± John admitted. ¡°Right, so they¡¯re protecting you pretty much out of the goodness of their hearts, so it might behoove you to find some other type of protection or support. A guild doesn¡¯t have to just be people making products, if you have the members pay some kind of dues you could hire people to protect investments, do the selling and haggling for you, even find people to work for you; not to mention someone to do all the paperwork that comes from being part of a guild and someone to figure out taxes and such,¡± Derrick said, punctuating his points by waving a fork he¡¯d pulled out of a drawer. ¡°You make it sound more like a company than a guild,¡± John noted. ¡°Guilds are the precursors to companies and unions. Why do you think they¡¯re a staple of medieval stories? Sure, you might have a dozen stone masons in a city, but they¡¯re all part of the Mason¡¯s guild, which helps them and takes care of things political, religious, social, while making sure they get fair compensation and are held to a certain standard,¡± his father explained as he removed his own meal from the microwave. ¡°And if it helps you to think of it in terms of a company, then do so. You want to farm, that¡¯s fine, you can do that, but it¡¯ll be easier if you¡¯re under someone else¡¯s umbrella. Someone who will take your product and turn it into profit by connecting people with other specialties and making sure everyone gets a fair slice of the pie.¡± The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°How would I even go about setting up a guild?¡± John wondered. ¡°Well, I¡¯d start by finding people with the same idea or goals, and pitching it to them. Or perhaps find an already forming group and suggest that if they included you that you could offer them something useful; like land right next to what¡¯s about to become a commercial hub. Guilds always need someplace to set up after all,¡± his father suggested. John mulled that over for a minute. ¡°Alright, I can see the benefits, but what downsides would I be looking at?¡± ¡°Slightly less short term profits, you¡¯d have to actually interact with people and you¡¯ll probably need to learn to make spreadsheets,¡± Derrick rattled off and his son groaned. ¡°Why does it have to be spreadsheets?!¡± ¡°John, spreadsheets are love, spreadsheets are life!¡± ¡°I hate you.¡± ¡°Love you too!¡± his father replied as he picked up his meal and wandered back to his room. John watched him go with a less than amused look, then brought the virtual screens back up and navigated to the forums once more, now looking for guilds that might fit the criteria. ¡ª Logging back in some time later, John found everything pretty much as he¡¯d left it, with the only exception being the small gazebo-like construction the knights had thrown up. Seeing that everything was in order, he got back to work, and within a few hours had the second set of greenhouses completed. Stepping back from the final one he took a long moment to consider. It might be better to have some materials imported and have someone with an actual profession rebuild them; it would obviously lead to better quality and possibly bonuses for the things grown inside. He decided to ask someone about that later, perhaps one of the knights? Elenia could probably point him in the right direction. Next on the agenda were the walkways; he wasn¡¯t going to spend time schlepping through mud again, no thank you. A few hours later saw that project finished as well, and he then took the time to connect the house¡¯s basement to the tap room, where BR was still working diligently at the construction of the device in question. That had taken up most of the rest of the day, however, so he put his avatar to bed, and logged off a little early to get some extra sleep. When he logged in the next morning, BR was waiting for him. ¡°All done,¡± the gnomish player said. ¡°Great!¡± John exclaimed. ¡°Should we go test it?¡± ¡°Sure, but don¡¯t blame me if your core breaks.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t. How many cores can it actually hold?¡± John asked as they started walking toward the stairs down. ¡°Depends on the size of the cores. At the size we normally find? About three hundred or so? Smaller cores would fit more, but the only way to make them smaller would be to refine them, and in that instance it may be better to combine them back into bigger cores,¡± the enchanter explained. ¡°That seems like a lot,¡± John said with slight skepticism. ¡°Well, the tap is a yard to a side, which means the surface area of the top is a square yard, if you convert that to square inches it¡¯s approximately one thousand two hundred ninety-six. Each core is approximately one and a half inches in diameter, let¡¯s assume they take up four square inches each, so divide that number by four and you get a little over three hundred; but things rarely work out perfectly, so might as well just call it three hundred and take any extras as a bonus,¡± the gnome explained. ¡°Huh, I guess that makes sense,¡± John admitted as he spun out a ball of light so they could see their way down the dark stairs. A moment later they were in the tap room, and he could see the finished product. The nebula marble had been etched and chiseled with esoteric patterns, all of which had been filled in with what appeared to be iron. ¡°What rank is it?¡± He asked. ¡°I managed to eek out Good, which is why it¡¯s lined with iron. That should last a year before it burns away entirely, at which point you¡¯ll need an enchanter to refill it; you can get it touched up before that though. Given that you¡¯ll be running items from it constantly, I suggest you do,¡± the enchanter explained, and John Inspected the device. [Ley Line Tap] ¡°Four point five percent charge rate isn¡¯t too fast for the core, right?¡± John asked, slightly concerned. ¡°Nah, cores don¡¯t break if you fill them quickly, only if you drain them too fast. According to my books the limit for safe drawing is one tenth the core¡¯s capacity at once. Given the size of your core you shouldn¡¯t have much problem,¡± BR replied. John nodded then called the core out of his inventory and placed it gently atop the tap. Immediately it sunk into the stone as the carvings warped around it to make space. Mere seconds later it began to glow with a faint internal light. ¡°Looks like it¡¯s working,¡± John said happily, then willed four gold out of his inventory and handed them to the gnome who returned the smile. ¡°What¡¯s next?¡± BR asked. ¡°Temperature control for the house and chooker coops. While you do that I¡¯ll find someone to build better greenhouses,¡± John replied. ¡°Didn¡¯t you just build those?¡± the gnome asked, incredulously. ¡°Yeah, but I just realized that if I don¡¯t have them rebuilt before we put enchantments in, I¡¯m going to have to pay for them twice, and that¡¯s dumber than building them just to tear them down,¡± John explained. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll give you that,¡± the enchanter agreed. ¡°Heating and cooling enchantments shouldn¡¯t cost much, let¡¯s call it a silver per room?¡± BR looked uncertain. John shrugged. ¡°Your guess as to actual pricing is as good as mine. How much does iron cost?¡± ¡°It¡¯s pretty cheap thanks to all the iron items they pull out of the dungeon, so like, maybe ten coppers a pound? Though that¡¯s probably way cheeper than anywhere else.¡± BR said. ¡°So let¡¯s call it twenty coppers per pound of iron you use, and fifty coppers for every hour of work?¡± the farmer suggested. ¡°Less than I¡¯d like, but a hundred percent return on the cost of iron is probably more than most people would expect,¡± BR grumbled. ¡°But yeah, that¡¯ll work until we know the actual value of things.¡± Satisfied, John shook the gnome¡¯s hand, and they both returned to the surface.