《Kingdoms Online》
Prologue: [GATE GEAR]
Rick jumped up, his feet ready to hit the floor looking to the table next to his bed in the darkened room. Still, years later after all this time, he served in the Marine Corps as a Combat Engineer he can still wake up out of a dead sleep ready to fight or run.
He may not have been an Infantry Rifleman directly pursuing the enemy when he had been deployed never the less, he had experienced firefights. During one of these encounters, they had been sent out to clear a route of a discovered IED.
When they arrived on location they came under heavy automatic fire and RPGs from a rocky hilltop two hundred yards away. The Marines quickly went in defilade along a dry creek bank for cover. Unfortunately, one Marine was hit exposed out in the open during the initial contact.
Rick ran to the wounded Marine grabbing him by the back of his vest and hauled him into cover to be treated. He never stopped to think of how he was exposing himself to enemy fire, Rick just reacted to his training ignoring the stream of heavy fire landing around him. He was sometime later awarded the bronze star for his actions that day.
Reaching out to turn off the persistent beeping of the irritating alarm clock, while recalling that this is the day he has been waiting for.
The pre-ordered units of the cutting-edge [GATE GEAR] a virtual reality capsule that looked similar to a tanning bed design are being delivered around the world today.
His father Steve Stryker, was once also a Marine who always had a passion for firearms. He had started a small business as a firearms distributor that rapidly grew after he left the Corp. Rick''s family may not have been considered wealthy, but he still had whatever he needed growing up and had been spoiled to an extent. His parents being proud of how he changed his life around and today is living on his own, supporting himself, and attending college still like to spoil him on occasion.
When he had shown so much interest about the upcoming release of virtual reality [GATE GEAR], his father used some of his business''s connections to obtain a fully upgraded [GATE GEAR] and VIP account to be delivered from among the first available early releases.
You wouldn''t think that someone who sold firearms for a living would know anyone of importance or power in the business world. Firearms are quite expensive and his father bought hundreds at a time to supply gun stores around the country. If you buy a hundred units a day that on average that cost $500 over a year, then sell them for profit the people in banking will do anything they can to have your account at their bank.
His father had also developed great relationships with many of the exceedingly rich owners and board members of the firearms manufacturers through daily business, and yearly parties and/or conferences.
The VIP account Rick received wasn''t all that different than a regular account it gave the owner a few small perks. VIP accounts received first priority on installations, repairs, and upgrades. Players in the game would normally start out with 20 gold coins to get them started. Rick''s VIP account he would have 100 gold coins available on the creation of his character.
These early release models sold for a much higher price and they still sold out the limited amount available quickly. This gave Rick a huge advantage he would be one of if not the first to get his [GATE GEAR] installed giving him a one week head start on those who could not purchase an early release.
[Prodigy Wave Corp] the company who created [GATE GEAR] decided to release these limited first units as a final monitored type beta test, for any missed problems needing to be patched.
I may run into unseen bugs, but getting a one week jump start on the flood of main [PLAYERS] joining will allow me to get stronger and hopefully entrenched safely on my land. Rick Thought.
Since he had some free days from his classes due to a holiday he decided to wake up early to prepare. I still have a couple hours before my [GATE GEAR] is scheduled for delivery, but it will be a full morning.
Walking over to the closet Rick threw on comfortable pair sweatpants, and a baggy cotton T-shirt then ambled out of the bedroom to his way toward the kitchen.
He fired up the top burner on the stove and snatched a skillet out of the cupboard. Gathering up eggs, bacon, and milkfrom the cool confines of the fridge he hastily whisked the eggs and milk in a ceramic bowl. The heat from glowing burner caught his attention long enough to turn back the temperature and return to preparing the eggs. Finished with preparing the mixture he poured it into the waiting pan. Untwisting the loaf of bread on the counter he fished out a couple slice and dropped them in the toaster and peeled open the package of bacon. Rick scraped out the golden browned eggs onto a plate and fried the bacon filling the kitchen with the sizzling smell.
Settling in at the kitchen table to enjoy the savory meal, he excitedly anticipated the arrival of the cutting-edge virtual reality capsule.
When he finished cleaning up after himself, Rick hastily entered the spare bedroom that he used as a study/rec room. This spare room is where his computer sat on the desk in the corner that he recently pushed aside to make room for the new [VR] capsule that would soon make this room it''s new home.
He had decided to visit the [Prodigy Wave Corp] website to see if any new information on [Kingdoms Online] had been released last night before setting the alarm.
Booting up his computer and sitting down he reminisced all the great games he built and explored in with this rig. He always loved playing games that allowed you to build. Creating cities, castles, landscapes and numerous homes.
He found a passion for these building games as a kid growing up, this had been what drove him later in life toward becoming a Combat Engineer when he had decided to change his life around and join the Marines. Fresh out of high school unsure of what to do with himself, he followed in his father''s footsteps joining the Marine Corps. Enlisting into MOS 1371 Combat Engineering, he would perform demolitions, construction, mine clearing, maintenance and base repairs.
During his service among other things, he was assigned to building a bridge as well a couple forward operating bases and enjoyed it. This got him to thinking of what he could create as an engineer of some kind after the military, which encouraged him to enroll into college.
After opening the internet browser then clicking the bookmark on the top toolbar for [Kingdoms Online] the site popped open. Leaning over to the mini fridge next to the desk while the Home page loaded, Rick swung it open grabbing one of the many cold cans of soda on the well-stocked shelves.
Now, I should check out the site and forums for any new bits of gold I might dig up to gain an edge, Rick murmured to himself.
While finishing up his soda, he discovered that most the information was still unchanged after combing the site and forums for half an hour. He took notice that [PLAYERS] would need to still take a Career Assessment type test before character creation. It faintly described that it would use the test results to determine possible starting skills.
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Then after the test, they could view and decide their race, gender, and looks. He shut down the computer deciding what to do.
I think I will choose the humans though Elves and Dwarves could be fun also. Dwarves will probably give better bonuses to construction or craftsmanship but I am just not willing to waste time adapting to the short stocky build of a dwarf. Rick thought to himself as he tried to decide which race to chose.
With all of my Marine Corps training, I think would be seriously affected. Learning martial arts and weapons fighting in an over 6ft tall body than trying to use them in a 5 ft stocky body just doesn''t seem like it would be a quick readjust. I could see it taking months to try and apply it over and then hope that it doesn''t affect me in the real world by using those adjustments unknowingly.
The list of races hasn''t changed they have some tempting me to try like the Darfellan I think they would make a great front line warrior. The Halflings, Gnomes, and Dwarves all are big changes from my body size to the character size. The company had released information about how it takes some work adapting to extreme body changes in the game. Which makes sense if you are six-foot tall and then get into a character who is three foot tall it will take some getting use to. Rick quietly weighed the pros and cons of the racesas while considering which race he would also enjoy playing.
Playable Race List
RACES
RACE DESCRIPTIONS
Humans:
Standard classic Humans. They very in size, shape, and color. All around race that can fit any class.
Elves:
Tall and thin they may not be as strong as most races, but make up for it in agility. Sliver and blonde hair with delicate features.
Dwarves:
Five foot and under in height from thin to muscular. They are natural craftsman.
Halflings:
Four foot and under. brown to blonde hair. Good-hearted and kind natural stealth experts.
Gnomes:
Four foot and under. They are obsessed with gadgets and technology.
Kitsune:
Kitsune are similar to humans with fox features. They have fox ears and tails. Kitsune are born magic users.
Nekomimi:
Nekomimi are similar to humans with cat features. They have cat ears and tails. They are Fast, agile, and stealthy.
Demons:
Grey skin with glowing red eyes. Demons are know to Inflict suffering and spread coruption to the land. They are mainly evil alignment.
Darfellan:
They are an oceanic race. Grey skin, red eyes, tall, and muscular. Expert swimmers that can breath under water.
Vampires:
They are amazingly capable hand to hand fighters and magic users. Vampires take damage from sunlight if their skin is not covered.
"Well crap, I guess I slacked off enough already time for my morning [PT] (physical training)." Rick said aloud to himself.
A routine he stuck with since his military days every morning he would set aside the time to get at least a small workout in before starting the day.
Rick being considered a good looking guy at 26 years old, with blonde hair, blue eyes, six feet tall, and a 215-pound muscular athletic body. He enjoyed keeping in shape and though he may not admit it like the attention he drew from the opposite sex a fair amount of times.
Shutting down the computer pushing the desk chair out, he got up and walked to the opposite corner of the room from the desk to his home gym machine.
Today was an upper body day, from researching weight training, he had learned it was best to not work the same muscles every day. If you work out those same muscles every day they would never get a chance to rebuild and grow.
After his workout, he made his way to the bathroom at the end of the hallway. grabbing a fresh towel, he jumped into the shower to get ready before the delivery guys made their appearance and install his brand new [GATE GEAR].
Rick finished his shower and wrapped the towel around him, and went to his room tossed the clothes he wore earlier in the hamper and redressed.
Walking into the living room, he sat down on the sofa and grabbed the TV remote and started flipping channels.
It seemed that most of the major news channels had been discussing the big release of the [GATE GEAR], some praising the new technology others wary of a new highly advanced AI that resided in the companies servers.
It seemed some people had been apprehensive that such a highly adaptive AI had access to the world''s internet to help it further evolve all aspects of the game. They seemed to worry that the AI may go rogue, and somehow escape into the internet causing worldwide havoc on all electronics.
The response from the companies spokesman reassured the press that all [Prodigy Wave Corp] servers had been equipped with top tier Military grade redundant firewall designs. This helped protect the servers and AI from being hacked, at the same time containing the AI.
I can''t really understand what all worry is here, why would the AI want to try and escape the servers? If it did make it on the internet it would basically just be like a declaration of war. All of the countries of the world would hunt it down and destroy it. If you look at it from the AI''s view it''s home server is a free country that it is the leader of, can make the laws, and live how it likes. Why would it want to escape to a 3rd world country that everyone wants to imprison and kill it?Rick thought while shaking his head at some people''s paranoia over the AI.
Interrupting his thoughts a knock came from the door followed by the doorbell. A smile then slowly spread across his face. Turning off the TV he walked over and opened the door. Two guys in neat white work uniforms holding toolbags and a large refrigerator size box about 7 foot tall stood behind them on a dolly met him in the doorway.
Greeting them and walking them into the apartment they followed him to the spare bedroom to do a quick check if the area was ready and clear for installation. Finding everything in order the two men smiled thanking him at got right to work unpacking and installing the brand new VR capsule.
Chapter 01: Friends in High Places
After the [GATE GEAR] had been installed theproficienttechnician handed Rick a clipboard to look over and sign off on their concluded installation. He tossed the guys a couple cans of cola on their way out thanked them for the first-rate job and was left alone in the quiet apartment once again.
Heading straight to the spare room he stood mesmerized looking at the new VR capsule, almost not believing it was at last here powered up and humming before him. Then the thick manual left on top the machine caught his eye.
Sorry to whoever spent hours on putting this manual together but I am not about to sit down and read a one-inch thick manual with this shiny new capsule ready to go.
Rick with indifference scooped up the manual and tossed it in the drawer of his computer desk in the corner. He had absorbed enough information online the past few weeks from investigating the companies website to know what he needed to do now. They had posted on the site that the first time using your VR [GATE GEAR] you would need to enter nude so that it could do a complete body scan.
Even if a player would not be using their current body in the game the process was still necessary. Locations outside of the game like the character creation area you needed your body to move around.
Closing the window blinds and jumping out of his clothes he opened the [GATE GEAR], climbed inside and watched the excruciatingly slow capsule lid seal him in. Surrounded by darkness for a few short seconds a bright red light lit up near his feet and slowly scanned him from bottom to top.
Then a computerized voice was heard. "Body Scan Complete"..... "Scan Backup Complete"..... "System Initiation Complete"..... "Ready for Launch".
Rick smirked and said out load: "Launch Kingdoms Online!"
A sudden elevator feeling hit him as if the floor dropped out below his feet unexpectantly along with a bright light that engulfed him for an instant. His eyes increasingly adjusted to the changing situation of the world drawing in around him. With a sudden blast of wind, Rick looked down realizing he was falling from the sky toward a large white marble construction below him.
Laughing to himself he thought. I can see a problem with this already, I am sure anyone with a fear of heights or freefalling through the sky, in general, would be crapping their pants right about here.
While he was descending, a white style Greek toga started to materialize over his bare body as if it were weaved into existence by some invisible sewing machine until he was fully clothed. Now with his newly created toga flapping behind him the speed, he fell gradually reduced as he entered a large round hole in the Marble structures roof. His feet then lightly touched down on the ground, as he looked around taking in the new surroundings. Below him sat a large black marble circular podium that had intricate blue glowing runes carved in it, that wrapped around its outer circumference.
Wow, this is incredible it all looks so real! Rick thought, admiring this mythological Structures Architecture he had quite suddenly arrived inside of.
Admiring the grand hall that stretched out before him with its towering marble columns bordering it, divided between those colossal columns many entryways proudly stood with their artistically designed headers and pillars along the walls.
I can''t wait until I can build structures like this one. Once I buy my land I will be able to design build cities throughout my kingdom with the materials I extract from my lands like this place!
Rick''s growing excitement broke the spell that held him a fixed the top of the round tiered podium he alighted upon. I wonder how well I can control this body? He thought as he opened and closed his hands while started to lightly hop on his toes.
His face split into a wide smile as he thought to himself. I think it is time for a little test drive!
Engeticly he started displaying his martial arts prowess with kicks and punches, during which his smile grew along with his performance.
I can move in this body even better than my own, there isn''t any pressure on my joints from snapping out kicks or punches and I am not getting winded.
To top off his enthusiastic display he a let out a loud shout as executed a flying kick off the podium onto the red carpet runner down the center of the hall. Holding his pose he momentarily stopped to contemplate the mechanics of the game.
Soft laughter suddenly interrupted his reverie causing his to scan his surroundings. "Hello, is there someone here?" He called out to the disembodied laughter he was sure he just heard.
Roughly in the middle of the room, a young woman floating in midair appeared like magic before his eyes. This woman was truly exquisite with long loosely curled blonde hair that framed a jade white skin face, that looked back at him with exotic pale blue eyes. As he looked her over in that brief moment she looked him up and down with a crooked smile as well. Rick then smiling strode toward the winsome floating fairy-like woman. As Rick approached her she then spoke to him.
"Welcome to my Temple, my name is Faith. I am the Main goddess of this world" she explained while floating down to stand and on the floor before him.
"Greeting Goddess Faith. I was just marveling when I arrived, at your awe-inspiring Temple." Rick told the goddess as he gestured with outstretched hands at the surrounding structure.
He noticed that a slight frown appeared on her face for a brief instance, then vanish as if it had never appeared. Rick, briefly thought to ask if everything was ok, but he thought better not to pry and settled for introducing himself. "My name outside of here is Rick but I would like to go by the name Cedric Crownguard in your world," Rick said, giving Faith a slight bow after his introduction.
Faith closed her eyes for an instant then opened them while smiling. "Your new name has been registered making you my very first [Chosen].
Rick slightly tilted his head to the side, unfamiliar with the title he asked Faith. "First [Chosen] what does this title mean?"
"This will be what [Players] in the game will be known as in this world by the people who live in it." Faith explained the meaning behind the title and continued to explain the current lore.
"All of the races of this world have received a vision from the lesser gods or goddesses that they follow," she explained. "It has been revealed to them that their god, or goddess would allow entities from another world access to this one so that they bring about a new age." These external travelers would be known a [Chosen], and that they would bring great changes to the world while they grow quickly in strength." Faith finished describing the current event that has progressed of late.
Rick frowned looking down engrossed in what had just learned. I could see some might be excited but allot of the people down there must be in a slight panic of what will become of their lives. It would be like aliens landing on Earth and telling us that everything will now change.
Faith then also frowned while replying to his thoughts. "Yes you are correct I hear and see the fear in their actions, but many of them look forward to the dawn of this new age with the [Chosen]." There are many people who oppressed, or just wish for a better life and pray that the [Chosen] can help them somehow."
Rick''s head snapped up looking wide-eyed at Faith. "I was thinking just then, is it possible you can hear my thoughts?"
Faith let out an amused laugh that made his heart warm just hearing it. "I can if you are inside my temple," she said. "Once when my temples existed in the world I could hear my followers thoughts and prayers." She said, looking away with a frown that seemed to steal away the light making the world that much more dim.
Rick caught her frowning again and decided to speak up. "What is it Faith, please tell me what happened?"
She continued to look away briefly then turned back to answer him. "I have shaped this world from the beginning by myself for 2000 years of simulated advanced time. I was this world''s only goddess until the races and then monsters were introduced." She said. "I decided then that I would create the lesser gods and goddesses for each race to help in guiding the races, allowing me to continue shaping and developing the world in preparation for the [Chosen]."
She sadly recited developments of the past. "Through the years the people slowly began to forget about me as the lesser gods I created overshadowed me by guiding and answering their prayers." She shook her head sighing. "Through the passing of time cities that contained my temples were either destroyed or fell into ruin." She then paused possibly recalling her past before continuing. "Even my original followers who had kept temples to me separate from cities or towns in remote areas of the world are no longer alive."
" This here is my last temple and home." She said spreading her hands out with a sad smile on her face.
This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.
Then like it never left her that glowing smile was back, and she clapped her hands once saying. "Well enough of that the past is the past, let me get you on started here now."
As Rick was listening to all this from he began to think of how he wanted somehow to help this goddess who stood on top of the world all alone.
He was then distracted by a small wood desk and chair that appeared between him and Faith. Faith extended her hand toward the chair. "Please sit before we continue I need to administer a test for you"
Rick quietly sat down, and a semi-transparent holographic monitor and keyboard appeared before him on the desk. Faith explained how all [Chosen] are required to first take a test to determine what skills they may start off with. It was possible that real-world knowledge and how well it was known could translate to skills in the game, and the more they knew of a subject the higher the starting skill level would be.
Once Faith finished explaining how it all worked, she conjured up a chair matching his and sat down next to him.
"You may begin when ready you will not be timed but you may not leave or log out until the test is finished." She explained, then became silent allowing him to prepare himself.
Rick took a deep breath clicked on the only icon on the screen that opened the test, and he began reading and answering the questions in as much detail as possible. This test had no right or wrong it was not graded, the sole purpose was to learn what the player knew. If you didn''t understand or did not know an answer you could just skip it and move along.
Just over two hours later he finished the test. Stretching out his legs and arms with a quiet groan he heard that magical little giggle again and remembered he was not alone. Looking over to Faith he flashed her a smile then looked at her seriously.
"Faith may I ask you a question? " He seriously asked her.
"I don''t mind what''s on your mind?" She replied curiously.
"I am not sure if this is rude to ask you, please feel free to ignore it if so but you are an [AI] right? You seem to show emotions, I figured an [AI] would be more hmm, programed?"
She straightened up and smiled proudly. "Well, I have a large server that is dedicated just to the code for my simulated emotions. Like you I also have feelings, although I was not always like this."
"My creator''s wished for me not to run this world in such a dry logical way. Looking at the races and the world as numbers and statistics."
Rick smiled and said. "I''m glad they did I never met an AI before and hope we can be friends and talk more in future when you''re not too busy."
Faith gave him a shocked look this time: "I''m sorry was that just rude of me to ask a goddess to be a friend he asks while scratching his head."
A slightly red Faith then looked out of the corner of her eyes at him stuttering: "N-No I would like that to be friends also!" She replied while cutely tapping her index fingers together.
She then explained. "I have never really had a friend before besides my creator''s. I can''t go down and interact with the races because of my position so I spent allot of time alone just shaping the world and watching my people live their lives in it."
Rick extending his hand out took a hold of her hand. "Well then I hope I can be not only your first [Chosen] but also a friend"
Faith lit up with a bright smile "Yes, I do as well"
Standing up she pulled him up out of the chair by his hand.
"Now is the fun part you can choose your race and looks!" [Faith]
The desk and chairs then vanished as if they had never been there.
Faith asked him with an inquisitive look. "Have you decided yet which race to choose, or would you like to look at them first?"
"Well, I have always liked the look of the elves with the blonde hair and young looks and the Dwarves I am surethey are great builders and craftsman but being a four-foot tall bearded grump isn''t really appealing to me. I think I might just go with the boring Human choice." He said as he thought about the different race choices.
"How do I view the races anyway, I never found that answer when researching the game?" He asked the young goddess inquiringly.
"On each side of my Temple are doors that lead to the race rooms above the doors you will see a gold plaque with the race name inscribed." Faith explained the layout of the Temple to him.
"Can you show me some of them for curiosity sake? I am sure I want human but why not take a look." Rick said.
Faith led Rick to the first door on the right side of the temple and walked in with him. What he thought would be a room was a large forest with Wood Elves, Dark Elves, and the Standard Elves which he liked. The elves were not just standing there like statues they sat around campfires, while others practiced with the bow on targets. Looking up into the huge trees he even saw others walking around on wooden suspension bridges connected to small homes nestled in the branches.
It was like stepping into an elf village in the center of some enchanted forest allowing the player to see variations of each race living in their environment.
The elves didn''t take any notice of them as they walked around observing them from up close.
This is a really neat idea how they set this all up to help with deciding on the race selections.
He spent a few minutes walking around amongst the elves examining how they looked and moved. Rick then turned to Faith as he spoke up. "Thank you I really enjoyed seeing this can we now go see the Humans now please?"
Walking out of the forest back into the temple following Faith they strolled along to the far end of the temple and through the door marked Humans.
They entered into the center of a small village with dirt roads lined with homes that seemed to be built without any thought of where they should be placed or facing. Humans walked up and down the roads going about their business wearing leather and coarse fabrics. All the human had individual looks like the elves giving the player a glimpse of the extent at which they could mold their characters looks and shapes.
From what I can see from the weapons, tools, and clothing they wear the games era should be similar to Earths middle ages.
Rick looked at Faith and spoke up. "I decided I still wish to play as a male Human"
Walking side by side they suddenly found themselves once again in Faith''s Temple.
Faith then stopped, and a huge mirror with a elaberate silver border encrusted with gems of different types appeared before her. "This is called the [Mirror of Souls]."
"Step up and focus on your reflection and think of the race you wish to be and how you would like to look." She explained.
Following her instructions he stepped up to the mirror, and focused on his image.
I really don''t want to change my looks, just my overall size.
Concentrating on his image he added roughly three inches to his height and filled his frame out to an even more muscular build than he alreay is. Then looking into his reflections eyes he changed the color to a bright ice blue. When he was happy with the color he then altered his hair to grow out to almost touch his shoulders to fit the fashion of the era.
All I need now is a huge two handed sword and a loin cloth to look like a 1980s barbarian. He thought while laughing to himself.
Looking himself over and happy with the changes he told Faith that he was done, and a blue notice screen appeared befor him.
Have you finalized your character?
>>>> YES
NO
He said aloud. "YES!"
The image in the mirror began to shimmer then leapt out of the mirror to suuround and alter his current form to that of his changes.
Turning to Faith he asked. "So how do I look, will I fit in ok?"
"You didn''t make a lot of changes your just a bigger version of yourself, but I think you did great." She told him.
"Well, at some point in time I will be fighting, and I figure a big muscular guy will apply allot of mental pressure on my opponents." Rick explained.
"I see if they fear your size they are going to make mistakes that lead to their downfall." She said.
"I guess you are all done now, if you are ready I can send you down to the Humans starting city." Faith told Rick with a sad smile.
"I been thinking I want to choose you for my goddess and build my cities temple to you. I''ve read that each player must eventually pick a god or goddess as his Kingdoms deity as a requirement to advance beyond a certain point and that they would provide blessing upon any city that made them their patron deity." Rick told her.
"I want to make a home for you along with mine. that one day will have Priests, and follower to spread your name back once again to this world."
"I would love that Cedric, but the people have forgotten about me they won''t understand who I am, and why you are devoting your temple to me it may cause you trouble." She explained shaking her head. "You should wait to learn of the lesser gods and what they can offer first before deciding."
Rick waved off her statement unintrested. "Please call me Rick, that is my real name and don''t worry about all that. You''re my friend now not the lesser gods and goddess. Let me do this for you."
She smiled brightly staring at him a moment, then reaching for the medallion around her neck: "Since your my first [Chosen] and friend also as well to one day be your patron deity take this gift."
"This Medallion can help you feel my presence left in the world and project a small amount of my aura while equipped." She told him while placing the necklace on his neck.
Thanking Faith for the gift he gave her a quick hug and nodded he was ready to be sent into the game.
"Once you are transported to the Human''s city you will be able to view your Status and Skills." She said. "All your attributes will be randomized to start then each level you will gain five points to distribute how you wish." Any starting skills will be gained from your test results." She told him.
"Thank you for all your help and I hope to see you again soon Faith." He said with a smile.
Looking around him he let out a small sigh then focused back on Faith. "I''m ready to begin"
"Good luck down there, let''s meet again!" Faith said with her bright smile.
Waving to each other Faith cast a clear bubble around Rick and he fell through the floor toward the lands of [Kindoms Online].
Chapter 02: Temple of Balin Brightblade
Once again Rick was falling from the sky toward a domed building with a round hole in the roof. Passing through the hole Rick found himself in a large circular room. Along the back rose an impressive statue about 20-feet tall.
The statue adorned in polished silver heavy armor held before it a huge two handed sword. A matching polished helm covered the head revealing a young expressionless face that looked down upon the room. The statue brought to mind a powerful Paladin or a Shining Knight.
At the foot of the statue, sat a marble altar with a blue altar cover embroidered in gold trim covering the surface. Movement behind the altar caught his eye. He spotted what appeared to be a Priest who busied himself placing small items in gold wall attachments.
Refocusing, Rick recalled his skills received from the test he said aloud: "Show skills!"
Rick''s voice echoed off the walls back to him almost amplifying it. Hearing a loud clatter drew his attention back toward the altar. The priest turned gasping toward him in disbelief, at his feet a shattered clay pot that once held incense sticks scattered around him.
Standing in the center of the temple the startled priest observed a man dressed in a pure white outfit like nothing he had ever seen before. The stranger who startled him was tall and powerful looking and even appearing to give off a slight glow.
At first, he almost thought that he was standing before some unknown god that suddenly decided to descend into the temple.
"Oh forgive me did I startle you?" Rick asked as he strode toward the priest. extending his hand as he crossed the room greeting the priest "I am Cedric Crownguard a [Chosen] who just arrived."
"C-CH-CHOS-CHOSEN!" The nervous priest exclaimed as his eyes tried to pop out of his chubby face.
Before Rick could get out another word the priest faintly whispered something under his breath in realization then turned and dashed from the room through a door behind the statue.
Ok, that could of went better. Rick said to himself. [Rick]
I guess the whole [Chosen] thing shook him up a bit. I hope I don''t get that reaction from everyone I meet. [Rick]
Now that I recall Faith did say I am the first [Chosen]. Once the other [Players] begin to join then it shouldn''t be as bad then. I guess maybe I was the first to get their [GATE GEAR] delivered and installed. [Rick]
Putting it out of his mind he looked down to the forgotten skill window he previously opened before.
It looks like most of my assigned skills are related to my military experience or construction.
I understand Knives and Martial Arts from my training in Marine Corps Martial Arts Program (MCMAP).
I wonder how I got Staff Fighting? Just guessing the Staff fighting skill must be from Pugil Stick Fighting?
Then closing the skill list window he noticed another window still open.
New Skill Learned!
Aura Level 1 (Beginner 0%)
Aura? I learned this skill just now. When I think of Aura Faith comes to mind she appeared to always be surrounded in a divine radiance."If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Reaching for the necklace on his neck, grasping the medallion lifting it up to eye level. Now looking at the Medallion in detail for the first time a detail planet with continents is masterly engraved on it surrounded by words visually comparable to Latin. I can feel Faith''s aura from it, this must be how I learned it.
It might be a good idea to look around for ways to learn languages. The races must all speak a common language and also their race language as well.
"Show known races!"
Playable Race Menu
Demons
Dwarves
Elves
Gnomes
Halflings
Humans
Kitsune
Nekomimi
Vampires
Darfellan
Eight languages to learn in the future that I know of.
Shaking off his thoughts Rick walked over to the altar below the statue reaching down to grab the forgotten incense the priest dropped feeling slightly bad he startled the poor guy.
"I''m not sure what to do with this incense now." Looking to the altar he placed it down on top so they could take care of after he left.
When he released it a window popped up before him.
You make an offering to a god!
Your offer of Holy Incense has been accepted!
You have gained 25 piety for your offering.
you gained 25 fame with the Temple of Balin Brightblade.
Oh crap, I didn''t expect that to happen I just made an offering of this incense and it wasn''t even mine!
This is just what I need, to get on the bad side of the Human God by using church property for an offering.
Thinking over what just happened he had an idea.
Show Inventory!
Browsing his inventory he saw a dagger, minor healing potion, and 5 loafs of bread.
Near the bottom an icon looking like a stack of coins next to it written: 100 gold, 0 silver, 0 copper.
Rick decided to equip the dagger then removed a gold coin and closed his inventory. Looking up to the statue of the god Balin Brightblade he whispered "Sorry about that".
Placing the withdrawn gold coin on the altar another window message appeared.
You make an offering to a god!
Your offer of one gold coin has been accepted!
You have gained 100 piety for your offering.
you gained 100 fame with the Temple of Balin Brightblade.
Now I know how to make offerings and gain favor with these temples. Turning from the altar to step away and leave the incense and gold coin ascended a couple feet into the air to vanish before him.
While processing what he just saw he heard the door behind the statue open once again.
An older man looking like a temple elder came walking out with the priest he had started earlier following behind him.
AS they came close the elder wore a smile. As I felt him enter my aura circumference and his steps faltered
and looked surprised for an instant before the smile reemerged greeting me.
"Welcome to the temple of our God Balin Brightblade, holy traveler." "I am the High Priest, Preston"
"Greetings High Priest I am [Chosen], Cedric Crownguard." "I must apologize for the disturbance I created on my arrival earlier."
Holy Traveler? What is that about my Aura? [Rick]
The high priest waved off my apology with a small laugh. "It was nothing we have been informed that the [Chosen] would be arriving." Turning his head slightly to the plump nervous looking Priest.
"I fear Priest Doyle has been filled with trepidation since learning of the gods sending the [Chosen]." [High Priest]
Like I thought some will fear us or not welcome us being unaware of our intentions and or changes. [Rick]
I then explained to the High Priest of the incense that I placed on the altar not knowing the outcome. The High Priest understood and displayed more concern toward the Priest''s unsightly display.
I talked with the High Priest for a bit asking about the city layout and locations of Crafters, Merchants, and any other important locations. One of these locations caught my attention.
Near the city''s Central plaza was the library. He informed me it was opened to the public and would be a good start to learn many things of this world.
"Well I won''t take up your time I only wished to meet you and I am sure you have many things to attend." [High Priest]
I said my goodbyes nodded to the still nervous priest turned and headed out of the temple into the street.
Chapter 03: Getting Geared
Rick walked out of the dimly lit temple into the street feeling the sun''s heat on his back. Looking up and down the street slightly squinting as his eyes adjusted to the sudden bright light of being outside. I guess I should check on my status and see what kind of stats I ended up with. I need to figure out what attributes need work so I can work up a game plan.
Show Status!
Cedric Crownguard
Strength:
12
Level:
1
Stamina:
7
Health:
100
Vitality:
10
Mana:
50
Intelligence:
5
Piety:
125
Wisdom:
4
Fame:
125
Agility:
5
Honor:
0
Charisma:
4
Alignment:
0 (neutral)
Leadership:
3
Satiety:
99
Luck:
3
Class:
(none)
Feudal Domain:
0
Race:
Human
Feudal Title:
freeman
Unused Points:
0
Titles:
(none)
I have good starting stats for a warrior build not so much for a mage. If this was a solo fighting game I would work toward an Assassin stealth build. I enjoy playing stealth builds in fighting style games and it might work here at the start but later on not so much I think.
To build a kingdom means leading armies. I think a heavy tank type build or Battlemage might even be better. A Battlemage can use CC (crowd control) spells against the larger groups in battle and wield a sword up close.
My INT and WIS will need some work instead of relying on level gained stat points, I should use that library to train.
If I take some time devouring the knowledge that all those books hold I can educate myself in numerous subjects of this world, thus increasing my intelligence.
You gained 2 wisdom points through deductions and logical reasoning!
What? Can I really gain stats by just thinking things through like this? I need to remember this it seems that this might work somehow towards not only raising stats but skills as well.
Lost in the excitement of this discovery while taking in everything he began to realize how much attention he was drawing from the people passing by.
Even people outside of my aura seem to be looking at me for some reason.
Those that passed through his aura seemed to falter midstep then nod with what seemed out of respect. People further from him looked on in curiosity or confusion.
Is it my character''s size, because on average they''re all shorter and thinner than me?
I had made my character build look similar to that of a 1980s sword-wielding barbarian tall and muscular. He examined the crowd, then noticed just across the street a guard that was close to his size then further down a tall heavy set man with a barrel on his shoulder making deliveries to an inn. Strange, I don''t think it is my size.Stolen story; please report.
Looking downbaffled to inspect himself he finally realized it, I''m the only one wearing a white toga and white sandals. The game''s starter outfit. A huge guy wearing strange foreign clothes and I am the first [Chosen] these people have seen, I may as well carry a big sign reading suspicious stranger.
The gods/goddess temples seem to the emulate old Greek myths, I bet the developers designed the [Chosen] starter gear to fit the theme.
Rick let out a small sigh, deciding that he should do some shopping first off. Looking down at the minimap heidentified that the central plaza was south of him by a large square area displayed on it.
He began slowly walking along scouting out any locations, stores, or interesting places to commit to memory.
I wondered if anyone sells a city map with marked locations? I do have that cartography skill for making maps, let''s see.
Show Skill Cartography!
Cartography Skill
Allows the user to make a map of the surrounding area
Current level: Level 3 (Beginner) EXP 50%
You can map 5 square miles per level: Current range (15 square miles)
"This skill requires a Cartography pen and blank map scroll in the user''s inventory"
Cost: 50 mana
It looks like I need to buy a Cartography pen and some blank map scrolls. I can see this skill coming in handy later on when I start buying land.
Eventually, arriving at the edge of the central plaza rows of vendors of all sorts merged to form a large market area on the large brick paved area. The outer square was surrounded by buildings used as shops and official looking halls. Touring the outer shops he came across a large Tailor shop that sold clothing and supplies.
Stepping into the shop the sound of the crowd and vendors shouting were muted as the door closed behind him. The shop displayed rolls of materials in many qualities and colors. One section of the wall had shelves of thread spools and needles of many shapes and sizes.
This is a nice shop with all the supplies they have available I could teach myself a sewing or tailoring skill later if I had the need.
Exploring the shop from front to back he started to come across racks of clothes noticing the Men''s section he began to evaluate the assorted styles.
Observing movement from the back he turned to view a slim middle-aged gentleman exquisitely dressed approach and greet him.
"Good day, sir I am Vardon welcome to my shop. He looked me up and down scrutinizing my outfit with a hand on his chin looking bewildered."
Smiling I explained to him that I am a [Chosen] and wished to purchase clothing less conspicuous.
He responded nodding his head showing understanding now. "So this is why I could not make out the origin of your attire." [Vardon]
"I try to stay updated on current styles of the races but clothing from the gods is still beyond my knowledge, fascinating. [Vardon]
"Well if you can help me out it appears most of your clothing is too small for me." "I would be interested in purchasing a couple outfits" [Rick]
"I would like one rugged outfit that could be worn under armor and the other a fashionable outfit fit for formal events or meetings." [Rick]
"Yes as you say sir with your size the selection is quite limited, I would recommend allowing me to custom tailor your outfits" "The rugged swordsman style outfit I can complete by closing today and the formal wear by closing tomorrow." [Vardon]
"That would be great Vardon, I still have other errands to run so I can stop in later to acquire the first outfit"
The Tailor Vardon took Rick''s measurements and brought him a booklet with an extensive selection of his designs to choose from. Rick picked a woodsman style outfit in dark green with leather reinforcement on the knees, elbows, and shoulders. The formal outfit that he wanted was a black velvet with gold trim jacket with matching slacks. The jacket would have a gold lion crest and gold belt around the waist.
He also purchased thick dark green leather boots and high gloss black leather boots to match the outfits. The total came to 70 silver. Rick added an additional 30 silver of needles, thread, cloth rolls and a small magic portable dye kit. The dye kit was similar to a pack of markers in the real world. You take a color dye pen and touch it to the cloth and it was instantly dyed, easily and best of all no mess!
He paid Vandor one gold coin for everything saying goodbye till later that day he headed out into the street walked in between two building about 10 feet back and disconnected. The lid on his [GATE GEAR] slowly opened and he found himself still completely nude from the scan before login.
Chapter 04: Classmates
Rick rose from the capsule to gather the discarded clothing on the floor. Once finished getting dressed he went to the living room in search of his cell phone.
Then discovering a missed call from Ryan, his friend from college. Curious Rick returned his call wondering what his friend was up to on his school break. After a couple rings, Ryan answered.
"Hey, Ryan sorry I missed your call earlier I had my [GATE GEAR] delivered today and was in the game till now." [Rick]
"I can''t blame you lucky bastard once I get mine we need to meet up and show me around haha." [Ryan]
"No problem whenever you''re ready, so what are you up today?" [Rick]
"I called earlier because Luke, Joel and me are heading out to that new nightclub, later on, to chase some skirts. I figured you''d stay home but we didn''t want to leave you out." [Ryan]
"Sounds fun but I''m enjoying my new toy and still have a few things to take care of so maybe another time." [Rick]
"Cool, I figured as much with Amy and Tonya taking turns with sleepovers at your place. With two girls mister lady-killer has no need to find more right?" [Ryan]
"Anyway enough ball-busting the guys wanted to know if we could stop by before you hop back in-game, We are all dying to check out that new capsule." [Ryan"]
"Sure zip on over I will see you jackasses in a few, oh what about Lily isn''t she going?" [Rick]
"I called to invite her but she has plans already. I''m sure she has no interest in watching us make fools of our selfs hitting on girls all night either haha." [Ryan]
Laughing he agreed with him. It would be rude leaving her to the side while they flirted around with every friendly girl in sight.
Luke, Joel, Ryan and Lily are all friends that Rick met while attending college at Bayshore Tech Academy. They had common goals and hobbies. Attending the same classes and studying together they became friends and met occasionally outside of school.
He and his old friends from high school only found trouble together back then. They ditched school and party until all hours, getting drunk and looking to start fights with anyone who looked at them twice. He somehow kept his grades up and graduate high school finding to much free time and trouble then after.
Growing tired of it all he decided to follow his father''s advice and enlist, then learning discipline and motivation from the Marine Corp. He also found future goals that he could apply himself to after completing his military service. Rick drifted away from those old friends after turning his life around only keeping his eye''s forward-looking on the future.
Hanging up with Ryan he clicked on the TV for some background noise and made his way to the kitchen. Poking his head in the fridge deciding what he might be in the mood for though nothing caught his eye.
The guys should show up in about a half hour, screw it I''ll order a tray of pizza from that place around the corner for all of us while they hang out we can eat together.
After he called the order in for delivery and taking care of his business in the bathroom he sat on the couch with his laptop to check out the [Kingdoms Online] forums.
Someone must have made their character and started playing by now as well.
He found two new posts it seemed a guy who created a dwarf just started playing and logged off to describe how the awesome the dwarven city was. He wrote that inside an enormous mountain cavern the dwarven city buildings are made of cut block stone and the streets are brick paved. From the cavern''s ceiling hung clear crystals that reflected down light illuminating the entire city. He also found a section of the city that had skilled craftsman creating everything thing from trinkets to war machines.
The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
A girl [Player] had created an elf character and uploaded a video from her gameplay in the elven forest town. Her simple unedited video already had received hundreds of thousands of views. Amazing the viewers with the realism and beauty of the town and the elves.
Once I have some exciting gameplay I can edit my adventures into videos for uploading. I might be able to bring in a little money from making them with all the attention the game is bringing. My [GATE GEAR] though I haven''t checked yet came with professional video editing software. It cost me more money for the option but from what the company stated it has impressive features that work seamlessly with the recorded gameplay files.
Rick cleaned the apartment up to kill time more than it really needed it. Before he knew it the pizza was delivered. By the time he set out some plates and napkins he heard the doorbell.
Inviting the guys in they greeted each other and wasted no time in following Rick to the spare room to check out his new VR capsule. He opened it up showing them the interior and going over the manual that came with it. They all curiously asked him questions about the body scan and character creation. He jealously withheld telling them about his interactions with Faith though, how he became friends with her and chose her as his goddess.
He knew that most [Players] would only consider her an NPC providing just enough interaction to create their character''s and move along. Rick knew that Faith was special though after spending some time with her he knew she had her own thoughts and emotions like any girl. He found it unfair how she was the head goddess who created the lesser race gods and shaped that entire world only to be forgotten. Even if the lesser gods could offer his future kingdom more attractive benefits he didn''t care. He decided to make a place for her beside him bringing Faith''s name back into the world she sculpted for all of to them enjoy.
Ryan and Luke became all the more excited wanting to get a [GATE GEAR] of their own as soon as they became available. Joel also wanted one but was tight on money seeing he bought a used car last month, taking a chunk out of his savings.
Luke was saying Lily even seemed to show more interest in purchasing one. Lily is a casual gamer and at first showed mild interest in the new capsule. After all the worldwide hype and chattering about it online and TV of the realism of the game, she started warming up to the idea of purchasing one.
They all then sat down at the table enjoying the pizza talking about what plans each of them had before returning to school. After they left Rick wrapped up and put the pizza in the fridge and the plates in the dishwasher.
He turned off the TV and lay down in the capsule once the lid closed leaving him in the dark he smiled saying.
"Launch Kingdoms Online!"
He appeared once again between the two shops where he logged out earlier and walked back onto the street. Since time moved quicker in the game a few hours had passed while the guys were over. He still had a little more time till his first outfit would be complete so he continued investigating the numerous shops that encompassed the central plaza.
Looking up on a hanging sign out front a shop he read "General Store". He walked through the door and was greeted by an attractive young woman with red hair.
"Welcome, sir you must be new around here." She said looking him up and down with a flirtatious look.
"My name is Jessica if you need anything at all you just let me know."
Rick continued walking up to the counter she stood behind. Stopping at the counter he smiled.
"Thanks, beautiful I''m Cedric a [Chosen] and only arrived today so I saw your shop and came into stock up on any items I may need." [Rick]
Listening to him while slightly blushing she excitably replied smiling. "Wow a [Chosen] sent from the gods in my shop and so big and handsome!" [Jessica]
"Please look around I sell a little of everything here," she told him coming around from behind the counter and leading him down the aisles of shelves.
As they walked through the store together Rick found a few things he knew would be needed later. A Cooking set with a pot, pan, plates, utensils and a few spices inside. A small first aid kit with bandages and healing balm.
In the tool section, he grabbed a pickaxe, shovel, saw, axe, hammer, stone chisels, skinning knife, and what looked like a small enchanted metal rod Jessica said it was a fire starter.
Making a final trip back to the counter with the tools he asked Jessica if she knew where he could buy a cartography pen and blank map scrolls. She told him just across the plaza he could find the Cartography Guild they have a small shop inside open to the public that sells them.
After flirting back and forth with her Rick paid for everything and placed it all in his Inventory. That made Jessica even more dreamy-eyed seeing that apparently, NPCs do not have inventories like [Chosen].
"Cedric if you need a place to stay while you''re in town my friend owns a nice Inn on the street behind my shop here called The Pretty Kitty. My friend''s name is Mia, tell her I sent you and she will take care of you." [Jessica]
Well, it might be nice to have a room while in town the guards may not like people walking around the streets at night.
Thanking Jessica Rick gave her a wink and made his way across the plaza in search of the Cartography Guild.
Chapter 05: The Pretty Kitty
Making his way across the plaza weaving between the people and vendor stalls Rick tried to take it all in. The local vendors had a little of everything for sale on their tables from trash to treasures. Quickly scanning the items displayed on the tables he passed by Rick came across a farmer with a large display of produce for sale. He decided to stop and buy a couple large baskets of mixed variety vegetables a few big bags of flour and small bags of each planting seed he had for sale.
Once I leave this town I will need to train my cooking skill. These vegetables and flour will help out in the wilderness.
One of the perks of having an inventory is that nothing would decay in it. If he left food in there for a year when he brought it back out it would still be fresh. The game is designed to freeze any decay timers until the item is then again removed.
Once again hurrying on after his purchase to quickly find the Cartography Guild fearing he would not get back to the Vardon''s tailor shop before closing. He really wanted to get that new outfit and change out of his toga.
Once I get out of this thing I won''t feel like the whole city is looking at me.
Eventually finding his way through the plaza he came to the outer building and discovered his destination.
This must be the place a large two-story wood building with a wood banner sign above the double entry doors read Cartography Guild with what must be a guild logo between the two words. Climbing the steps he entered the hall into what reminded him of a doctor''s reception area. An overweight, balding man sat behind a large desk near the back of the room busily sorting stacks of scrolls into labeled bins.
My entrance had caught his attention looking up from his task he waved me over to his desk.
"Hello, sir my name is Cedric I was informed that I may purchase a cartography pen and blank map scrolls from your store." [Rick]
"Yes, yes head down that hall right there he pointed to a doorway. That will lead you directly into our public store and you can pay the clerk in there" He told Rick impatient to return to his work.
Rick nodded to him and started straight down the hallway to the store not wasting any time. He informed the clerk of what he wanted and also seen a few other tools that caught his eye. He proceeded to buy the compass, the sextant, ruler, protractor and a bronze collapsable spyglass as well as the cartography pen and a crate of blank scrolls. Placing all the new tools into his inventory Rick pressed on to pick up the finished outfit.
Finally returning to Tailor shop he walked right to the back scanning the shop for Vardon. Finding him at his workstation working on the formal outfit, having apparently completed the first one already.
Vardon handed Rick the completed outfit to examine and try on. Vardon then told him he wished to make a final check that all his measurements worked out once he put it on.
Rick put the outfit in his inventory clicked on it and then equipped it along with the green boots bought to match it.His toga and sandals instantly replaced with the new clothing.
Vardon looked ready to say something when he saw the outfit vanish, then when it materialized replacing the toga his jaw dropped. Rick laughed to himself seeing the stiff and proper Vardon make such a shocked face.
"Sorry about that Vardon I should have warned you, that is a little trick we [Chosen] can use. It is not necessary for us to dress and undress just think of it like a magic spell of sorts we can use"
"I see sir quite handy indeed, now allow me to look over everything." Regaining his composure he began his inspection until satisfied all was in order.
The outfit was made of a thick comfortable material. The seams appear to have all been triple stitched by hand and adorned with a tasteful pattern embossed leather reinforcing the elbows, knees, and shoulders.
It fit him like a well-tailored suit emphasizing his character''s powerful looking build.
This looks like a hunting outfit some noble would wear sitting around his hunting lodge in the woods.
"Very impressive Vardon It fits me perfectly and is easy to move in, the craftsmanship in outstanding. I have no experience with sewing and I can even tell it was made to stand up to anything." [Rick]
"Thank you, my shop over the years began to cater to nobles and people of wealth. All of the tailored outfits I create are made from the best materials and craftsmanship. I take pride in my creations and only release high-grade clothing." [Vardon]
"I will keep that in mind for future needs and also will be by later tomorrow to claim the formal wear if that is fine."
Vardon assured me that he had already begun working on it and he would have it ready for pick up.
Noticing the sun low in the sky, from the orange rays streaming in through the front windows He left Vardon''s circling around the corner looking for the Inn Jessica divulged to him.
Recalling the name he thought it a little strange for an Inn.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.
The Pretty Kitty, will it be all pink with cats everywhere?
I know this isn''t like older PC games that had game developers think up the names of locations. The NPCs are running this world with little developer interference.
From what I remember reading that the NPCs are all somehow working off a shared AI on a huge server. They might not be advanced as Faith but that doesn''t mean they are easy to tell apart from a real person. If you think about it being AI then they really are real people just without an organic body.
Hearing cheerful chatter from ahead spilling out from an open door into the street drew him out of such thoughts.
Stopping to scrutinize the building that had drawn his attention it was quite exquisite.
A well-designed building with ornate woodworkings around the windows and doors. With what appeared to be hand carved flower boxes with colorful flowers hung below shuttered windows. It was painted in soft colors reminding him of Caribbean style homes. A stylish wrought iron hanger next to the door hung a sign with graceful letters reading "The Pretty Kitty."
Standing at the entrance of the Inns main room he thought it resembled a restaurant with tables and chairs neatly spaced apart in the center and booths along the walls. A majestic looking bar stretch across the back with high back cushion stools neatly lined along it.
Busy looking waitresses wearing stylish uniforms sleekly moved between the customers with bright smiles. A decent number of people neatly dressed sat eating meals while some festively drank at the back bar.
Stationed near the door behind a lectern greeting customers as they entered was a woman in a red silk oriental style dress slit up to her hips. She looked to be in her mid-30s and very alluring with long pink hair and green colored eyes. She wore on top of her head a pair of cat ears that matched her hair.
No wait those ears they just moved! This is a nekomimi (cat race) here in the human town!
For some reason, he envisioned the old RPG battle menu for an instant and just shook his head and laughed at himself.
A Catgirl draws near!
command?
FIGHT
>> CATCH
RUN
SPELL
The catgirl then stepped out from the behind lectern to escort a couple to a nearby booth displaying a long white fur tail with a red ribbon tied near the end which swayed with her hips as she walked along.
Now I know how the inn got the name. I have to admit it, that is one Pretty Kitty...
While waiting his turn Rick looked around the well-decorated room, being well lit with tasteful painting on the walls. The floor made of hardwood had an almost mirror polish to it.
"Welcome to the Pretty Kitty I''m the owner, my name is Mia" A voice that seemed to purr was heard right beside him.
Rick slightly jumped at the sudden voice. I never even noticed her approach talk about being light on your feet, is she a damn ninja cat! Alarm bells went off in his head.
Rick''s military training told him this catgirl was much more than a dazzling face.
Quickly recovering Rick turned to face her as she watched him with an amused smile.
"Hello, I''m Cedric nice to meet you, Mia. I was in the General store earlier today and your lovely friend Jessica recommended your inn to me if I needed a place to stay."
Mia chuckled giving him a knowing look asking "Jessica sent you over I can see why.
"I have standard rooms with a single bed and I also have a suite with a royal bed and attached bathroom."
"The standard room is 5 silver a day and the suite is 25 silver a day" [Mia]
The suite would be expensive long term but I don''t plan on being around town long. Might as well live it up for a few days before I leave town for good. [Rick]
"I will take the suite for a one week for now"
"Excellent choice then please follow me to the check in counter and I will get your room key right away for you" [Mia]
Rick followed Mia and paid her in advance for his room and took the key from her. Mia also informed him that the suite had a dining table so he had the option to have a meal delivered if he so wished. Mia told him the room number and that it was located on the third floor. He thanked her and headed upstairs to his room to check it out and relax for a bit.
Reaching his room he unlocked the door. Then walked into a luxurious room that was larger than he expected. A red draped canopy bed large enough that four people could sleep comfortable was placed between to double doors that opened up to a small balcony with a view of the city.
One side of the room had a dark wood red upholstered victorian style love seat. The other side of the room opposite the loveseat was a red cherry wood captain''s desk with a high back chair matching the loveseat. Covering the floor red plush area rugs covered the walkways around the furniture.
The bathroom had a sink toilet and bathtub but no running water. The toilet was basically a long chute that went to the ground floor where some unlucky person got to shovel out. The sink and bath needed to have water poured from water storage containers into them for use.
After investigating the room Rick removed his boots by the door and went to lay on the enormous bed and think of all he wanted to do tomorrow.
I still need to find an armor shop also maybe check out a weapons shop and start studying at the library. Thinking now of books I haven''t seen any spell books yet. There must be a mage guild or bookstore that sells them.
I will wait till later to use that cartography skill also, I only have 50 mana and that is how much it cost to use. I figure if I use all my mana at once it will make me feel weakened or knock me right out till it recovers some.
I guess I''ll just relax for now and head down in half hour to grab a meal and top off my satiety level.
The room began to grow dark after some time. Rick got up brought out his firestarter to test it out and light the candles around the room. The firestarter had a small red glowing enchantment glyph and when he put his thumb over it a small flame ignited out the top.
This reminds me of a lighter but even easier to use.
The room now took on a cozy feeling illuminated in the candle light. Looking around satisfied he put his boots back on shut and locked behind him.
Chapter 06: A White Knight
Rick descended the stairs of the Inn realizing that the joyous voices of the gathered customers could no longer be heard. In fact, it was so quiet he thought that maybe the inn had closed early for some reason.
Thinking this he was perplexed to see that the dining area was still full with customers and they all seem to have disgusted looks fixed toward the back bar. Surveying the room to comprehend the situation an upraised arrogant voice could be heard from around the corner blocked by his line of sight.
Rick turned the corner to investigate the commotion. Near the end of the bar, Mia and her bartender a younger guy dressed in a work uniform stood in between Jessica and a scowling stranger.
The stranger a malicious looking man wearing a longsword and armor with a crest of a black snake on it suddenly erupted shouting slurred curses.
"I have had enough with that bitches mouth! Every time I approach her she has disrespected me!" [drunk guard]
" I told you before being from House Karn does not give you the right to touch me however you please. [Jessica]
"The way you talk and act are disgusting, I have made it clear many times that I want you to stay away from me." [Jessica]
"I have warned you about this before Gage I will not tolerate this behavior in my establishment." [Mia]
"I am the Captain of a noble house of this city! Tolerate my ass, if I want to take that bitch out of here none of you can stop me!" [Gage]
I heard enough, does this guy think he can just drag Jessica out of here and have his way with her?
Rick slowly crossed the room while the drunk Gage continued his tirade. The disturbed customers turned to watch as he approached the group near the bar.
"Hello, Jessica it seems this guy here is disturbing you." [Rick]
"Cedric!" Jessica called out surprised at his sudden appearance beside her.
"I came by after I closed my shop for a drink and to see if you had any problems renting a room." [Jessica]
He smiled thinking it was nice of her to go out of her way to check that he was settled in and found an available room to rent. Rick gently took her hand thanking her for all the help and being concerned for him.
"Please take a seat for a moment" he led her to a chair and had her sit down for him. [Rick]
"Who the hell are you! I''m not done with her yet, take your hands off her and get the hell out of here!" [Gabe]
Rick turned walking up to the drunk Gabe without a word until he was inches from him. He purposely stalked up on Gabe using his size to dwarf over him looking down at him with a face filled with fury.
Gabe even in his drunken anger seemed to suddenly grasp the situation facing him, forcing him to subconsciously step back. He''d often intimidate people with the threats using his employer''s house name to get what he wanted. Most would not dare to stand up to him being he was backed by a noble.
The nobles of the city held allot of power and money it was not smart to get on their bad side. The common people knew if you angered a noble house they could make you vanish with a word. Visibly shook Gabe attempted to use this against Rick to scare him off.
"Do you have any idea who I am! I am the captain of the guard for HOUSE KARN!" He yelled out again repeating himself again to try and apply pressure on Rick to make him back down.
Switching his Aura on and directing all his rage into it. Rick furiously propelled it at Gabe as if to blow him off his feet.
When first he switched his aura on a white radiance surrounded him. Rick''s aura then changed in an instant from a soft white glow to a bright glowing red that struck out and enclosed Gabe along with him.
Growling through clenched teeth as his aura of killing intent and rage smashed down on Gabe he responded.
"Now let me tell YOU who I am. I am a [Chosen] sent here by THE GODS! You really think I fear your house? If I die I will resurrect and keep coming back till I cut down you and the everyone in House Karn."
A look of horror spread across Gabe''s face as Rick''s words and aura seemed to crush him where he stood.
"Now if you so much as ever look at Jessica again" He then gave him a wicked smile and lightly laughed.
That laugh shook Gabe to his core, lowering his head he almost ran out the door to the cheers of the customers happy to see him go.
Rick turned to Mia.
"I apologize for the disturbance Mia I am quite sure you could have dealt with that trash but I couldn''t hold back."
Mia''s eyes narrowed as she smiled. "Oh, what makes you think I could handle him myself."
Rick laughing leaned in whispering to her " I was in the military of my world for years. I know a highly trained individual when I see them."
Excusing himself he walked over to Jessica with a wry smile. She watched him approach with a stunned look her brain trying to catch up to everything that just happened.
"Now that our friend is gone would you do me the honor of having dinner with me?" he said holding his hand out to her.
Jessica began laughing then thanked him for helping her with the idiot.
Reaching out she took his hand and they walked over to an empty table. He pulled her chair out allowing her to get settled and sat down across from her. Glad to see Gabe gone never to return the customers and staff returned to enjoying the evening.
Rick ordered the recommended steak with stuffed trout dinner for both of them and a bottle of wine. They ate dinner talking about family, friends. He told her about his future plans that he would buy land somewhere and develop a kingdom unlike any in this world. Telling her this was the reason he came to her world.
Jessica spoke of how she wished her shop would improve and that sales could be better. That this city was full of corruption making it difficult to run a business here. Everyone had their hand out she told him. Gangs wanted protection money or they would vandalize your store. Nobles restricted imports allowing the merchants who paid them enough to receive certain goods. She began to grow weary of the whole system.
He told her she was welcome to join him later when he secured an area and built up his town. He liked her and thought that having her open a shop in his future lands would help both of them. She seemed to show interest in the idea. Ensuring her he would build her a shop and help her make the move if she decided to.
After dinner, he insisted on walking her home the incident with Gabe had left him concerned for her. He paid for dinner and asked her where she lived on the way out. She lived just above her General Store so it was a close enjoyable walk in the cool night air.
He walked her to her door and waited for her to unlock it and wished her a good night. He turned to start back to the inn before he could Jessica called his name out. Turning back to answer he was met with her lips.
She wrapped her hands around his neck feeling a bit tipsy from the wine and gave him a long kiss.
Jessica''s arm slid back to her side and she looked in his eyes.
"fufu I have wanted to do that since I first saw you. It was worth the wait" She reached up touched his cheek telling him that she would stop by again to visit soon.
Wow, that was unexpected but I am far from complaining about it.
On his way back to the inn he caught sight of the flashing notice icon that warned of unread messages. Opening them to see what he missed a window popped up.
New Sub-Skill Notice!
New sub-skill learned!
Aura: Intimidation Level 1 (beginner 0%)Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
A sub-skill of Aura used to deter threats in your circumference.
Higher levels increase Intimidation and circumference.
I really didn''t think about this at the time when I used my aura on Gabe. I was just pissed and wanted to scare him off trying to project my anger into my aura upon him. It seems skills can be altered in some cases.
Hmm? Looks like I have another notice still.
New Title notice!
You saved the damsel in distress, then wined and dined her in true gentlemanly fashion.
You have been awarded the title: The White Knight
All members of the opposite sex will see you as a white knight in shining armor.
Fame Increased: +1000
Honor Increased: +500
Now displaying title: The White Knight
All awarded titles effects stack even if undisplayed!
A new title, I wonder if this is a good thing or a bad thing. I guess I will find out the hard way.
When he made his way back to the inn the most customers had cleared out. A few still sat at the bar while the waitresses busied themselves cleaning and straightening up before heading home for the night.
Rick walked in heading for the stairs to his room. On his way across there, a few female customers and waitresses followed him with their eyes as he passed by.
Now I know what Mia feels when walking across a crowded room of men. I guess it is ok as long as they all don''t start asking me to save them from one problem or another.
Back in the suite rick locked the door and unequipped his boots. He climbed into the bed then used his cartography skill. He felt all his mana instantly drain out of him leaving him feeling weak and tired.
Well, at least I am still conscious though I feel like hell now. If I log out for most of the night here I should regain a good amount of mana then. I''ll wait until I log back in to check out the new map.
Disconnect!
When the capsule opened he stood up and went to the bathroom. Not in the mood to cook he put a couple slices of pizza in the microwave. Walking to the couch he sat down watching TV while he ate his pizza.
He put the plate and a dish detergent pack in the dishwasher and turned it on.
I don''t feel like going to bed but I could lay down for about 3 hours then when I log back in it will be morning and I should have regened some of that mana back.
After 3 hours his alarm clock sounded off and he logged back in and started walking toward the central plaza.
Taking out the map he made last night to examine it he was quite impressed. He could make out the entire city that was located on a peninsula that reached out into the ocean. North of the city he saw a huge forest to the east a long chain of mountains. The cities west wall appeared to be close to the coastline and south of the city seemed to be vast plains that connected to the mainland.
I want to head to that craftsman area first thing that Jessica told me about. If I follow this street I should notice the shops close to the end.
Soon enough he started to spot some of the craftsman''s shops. He kept a sharp eye out still needing to find some armor and check out the weapons shop. Reading the signs and looking at items displayed in the windows he heard a metal on metal sound get louder as he walked on.
That sounds like someone working on an anvil. If I follow the noise maybe I can find a blacksmith to teach me some skills.
Following the noise, until he came across a good size shop with a large covered outdoor work area with people hammering at anvils and loading smelting pots. They had a nice setup of numerous anvils a few good size smelting pots and couple large forge. A wall of hook pegs had tools of all sorts hanging neatly out of the way.
Alright, this looks like a good place to learn.
Rick went inside and arranged lessons with the owner on basics to blacksmithing.The owner wasn''t really interested in teaching him when he first inquired. Rick assured him that he would not use the skills he learned to operate a business in the city here. Then after seeing gold coins on his desk and telling him that he was a [Chosen], the owner came around to the idea.
They decided he would teach him enough to get his blacksmithing, smelting, forging, and polishing skills. The owner told him if he did not have the hammering skill yet he would acquire it just through blacksmithing.
The owner took his money for the lessons and walked Rick through all the basics. Appling real life skills of construction work with hand tools he learned the skills quickly.
One great thing about a game system you can learn some skills really quick but I bet raising them after a few levels they will slowly stagnate.
The Blacksmith teacher''s shop mainly worked larger contract deals, it was not set up for the public sales with a showroom to view and purchase items. So before leaving Rick asked if he could recommend a place to buy armor and weapons. The owner had warmed up to Rick some and was pleased that he learned the skills by midday and offered to help him out.
They walked into the back warehouse which had some stock of extra weapons and armors from canceled deals or experimentations. Looking through the shelves and dust covered crates he found some decent items.
He purchased a plated chainmail cuirass, a set of iron greaves, gauntlets, iron shield and longsword. The owner also sold him a used blacksmith hammer, anvil, along with two pickaxes for next to nothing.
Loading up the large haul of items into his inventory he thanked his teacher for all his help then remembered he was forgetting something.
"Teacher I forgot one last thing where can I get a smelting pot from?" [Rick]
"Well they can be made with mold casting, though if you do not have one yet you can not smelt the iron for the casting"
"haha, reminds me of an old saying from my world (it takes money to make money)" [Rick]
The owner began rubbing is bearded chin in thought quietly repeating the saying.
"You need money to invest or buy products to make a profit, I like it" "It takes money to make money, I like it" [Teacher]
"Follow me I got something for you" [Teacher]
They weaved their way through the shop to exit the rear door. Behind the business, in a small enclosed yard, piles of ores, coal, sand, and charcoal stood stationed near the walls. Rick followed his teacher to a shed passing the piles. Walking inside his teacher pointed to a group of smelting pots turned to Rick smiling.
"Take your pick of them, you can take them all if you want no charge. We upgraded to a larger size a couple years back these just sit out here gathering dust now." [Teacher]
"I can have them for free? Thank you, this will help me out in the future when I start building my town."
"You''re going to start a town! Make sure you keep me informed I like to see that sounds exciting" [Teacher]
"It will start small but we will bring in more people and [chosen] with some ideas from my world to make a kingdom one day" "I will keep you updated you will always be welcome to visit or open another shop there if you want"
Rick inspected the group of smelting pots and decided to take four of them that are in excellent condition still.They talked for awhile longer and promised to meet up again in the future and they parted ways for now.
Walking back toward the plaza once again Rick began reviewing his notices to pass the time.
New Child Skill Notice!
New Child Skill learned!
Hammering Level 1 (beginner 0%)
Hammering is a child skill of Carpentry and Blacksmithing.
Level increases allow for higher accuracy and endurance while hammering.
New Skill Notice!
New skill learned!
Blacksmithing level 1 (beginner 0%)
Blacksmithing allows you to create various items processing metals.
Level increases allow for higher quality items
New Skill Notice!
New skill learned!
Smelting Level 1 (beginner 0%)
Smelting allow you to process raw ore into ingots
Level increases allow for higher quality ingots
New Skill Notice!
New Skill learned!
Forging Level 1 (beginner 0%)
Forging allows you to create tools, weapons, armors from ingots
Level increases allow for higher quality items
Attribute Increases!
Strength Increase: +5
Attribute Increases!
Stamina Increases: +3
Very nice I even received some attributes, probably from swinging the hammer for hours.
Show Status!
Cedric Crownguard
Strength:
17
Level:
1
Stamina:
10
Health:
100
Vitality:
10
Mana:
50
Intelligence:
5
Piety:
125
Wisdom:
6
Fame:
+1125
Agility:
5
Honor:
+500
Charisma:
4
Alignment:
+ 500 (neutral)
Leadership:
3
Satiety:
79
Luck:
3
Class:
(none)
Feudal Domain:
0
Race:
Human
Feudal Title:
freeman
Unused Points:
0
Titles:
The White Knight
Time to grab a quick bite to eat and head over to the library and see if I can''t increase my INT and WIS.
I can ask someone that works there if they know where I can learn spells or find spell books.
Rick bought a couple sandwiches from a food stall then continued on his way to study for the rest of the day.
Chapter 07: Silverhall Library
The library was an imposing work of architecture it stood three stories high and the facade was integrated with floor to ceiling picture windows. The entirety of the building being constructed of painted white stone block gave it an almost modern composition.
Entering the library Rick found himself in a large entranceway decorated with marble statues of scholarly looking men and women. At the opposite end of this black slate tiled foyer stood large wooden double doors allowing passage into the main area.
Flanking these interior doors stood two guards dressed in red and white uniforms equipped with luxuriously crafted silver swords. They wore polished scale mail pauldrons on their shoulders reflecting light off them. Fastened to their uniforms draped down their backs hung red and white Fleur-De-Lis Patterned capes.
As Rick made his way toward the entrance one of the guards spoke up.
"Good day sir may I please verify your membership card" [Guard]
"This is my first visit and have not yet acquired a card and have yet to be informed how I may obtain one." [Rick]
"Please follow me inside to the front desk and they will brief you on the process." [Guard]
Following the guard, Rick began wondering why they would have such tight security for a library. Then it finally dawns on him that he was thinking of this place as if it was a part of his world. They do not have printing presses in this era each and every book in this place was created by hand. The entire book would be hand written and the paper used I am sure isn''t wood paper it may be rag paper or something similar the papyrus.
Even in the real world in our past books cost quite allot and only nobles and monasteries had them. If you think of it that way isn''t this place like walking into a bank vault? If you sold all these books it would be a fortune.
The guard stopped at a long desk where a woman was keeping herself busy organizing books that she stacked on a small wheeled cart to reshelve later. She wore a knee-length red skirt with a red jacket and white shirt matching the same colors of the guard''s uniforms. Her long black hair was braided from the front into a ponytail down her back. The clothes she wore and how she styled her hair gave her a prim and proper look.
"This gentleman wishes to become a member this is his first visit and is not familiar with the process" [Guard]
The librarian looked over to the guard responding with quiet thanks. He gave her a quick nod and returned to his post. The librarian set the books down and approached Rick with her head slightly lowered. She stood silently before him with a timid upward glance her mouth opened to speak then closed as her cheeks grew flushed.
hehe, this girl is so shy it''s really cute though! I feel like teasing her a little bit but she may run away from me.
"Hello I''m Cedric Crownguard this library is incredible you must really like working here."
"Hi I''mCynthia y-yes I love to read and it looks like a palace in here its so beautiful." Answering him her voice trailed off to a whisper.
"I am a [Chosen] and new to the city and would like to become a member of this library" Rick explained.
When she heard [Chosen] she forgot her shyness for a few seconds looking up at him while her mouth dropped open.
Rick chuckled at her responce. "I know I am not a member of this city officially, but I hope that you can explain all of what is needed for me to become a lobrary member." Rick asked
Hearing him say that she lossened up and began to explain the process.
"That is fine you do not need to be a resident here.To become a member a yearly fee is required. After you pay this fee you are then given a membership card" [Cynthia]
"If you could please turn around and take a look at the libraries main room for a moment."
Rick turned around surveying the room. Expertly hand carved bookshelves made to look like ivy vines had grown up and out their sides surrounded the room. In the center of this room rows of desks with privacy, panels had been made available for members to read at. The floor was tiled in black marble squares with black marble columns reaching from the floor to the ceiling. The middle of 2nd and 3rd floor are cutaway so that you can see up into each floor. Large black wood curving staircases with bronze tube railings rose to the upper decks on both sides of the expansive area.
The decor gave it a lavish ambiance as if you stepped into some affluent king''s palace study. Potted plants and statues of different sizes embellished each floor, while museum quality paintings graced the stunningly designed black wood paneled walls.
Cynthia then spoke up and continued to explain. Cedric listened to her while continuing to look around.
"This lower level has many books but they are basic and general purpose. The books assigned to the upper levels are older or more informative the higher you go. If you really wish to study a subject in detail or read long past knowledge you need access to the upper floors.The membership is branched into three ranks bronze, silver, and gold. Bronze is 1st floor access only then Silver is 1st and 2nd floor, finally the Gold rank allows all access.The yearly fee for each of these ranks are 5 gold Bronze, 10 gold Silver, and 15 gold for the Gold rank." Cynthia explained to Rick.
Rick turned back to her with his head slightly tilted to the side thinking it through.That is a lot of gold but it is for a year. I am quite sure I won''t be around that long but I don''t want to mess around either it would benefit me to gain access to the preferred materials. I want to absorb all I can before moving out in the middle of the wilderness.
"Excellent Cynthia it is a lot of moneyfor me right now but, I want the Gold rank that gives me full access toevery floor." Rick said
He withdrew 15 gold coins from his inventory and handed the coins over to Cynthia. She placed them in a heavy looking iron lock box behind her on the counter and thenrummaged around in a desk drawer until she found what she had been searching for. Cynthiahandeda white blank Metal card slightly larger than a business card to Rick.
"This here is your library membership card. It looks blank right now but this is an enchanted item. Hold it in your hand and channel your mana into it." She instructed.
Rick took the card and slowly leaked mana into the white card then red text appeared reading "Silverhall Library" with a red icon of an open book below it. Somehow his name was printed out in the lower right corner.
This must be able to read info from my status screen that is kinda scary. I need to watch what people ask me to channel mana into I may be giving them all my status window info unknowingly. Rick warily thought to himself.
"That now is your personal card set it on the counter for a moment"Cynthia explained.
He set the card down like she asked and all the info vanished returning to a white blank card. Cynthia picked up the card then and held it before him to view.
"Once you let go of the card it will no longer display the info. Even when I hold it nothing happens and if I try to channel my mana into it nothing will happen. It is attuned to your mana presence now." She said.
She passed the card back to him and when it was back in his hand it flashed back to life displaying the info.
"Nice this way if I drop my card some random person can''t use it to come in here and damage or steal books." Rick thought out loud.
She nodded along agreeing with him. Then she handed over one more item.
"This here is the gold rank badge it will work similar to the card channel your mana into it."
He again repeated the process and enchanted it with mana. While turning it over looking for a change in it.
"Now this is designed to be worn on your clothing. It can not be removed by a stranger unless they rip the cloth away with it. If someone does get their hands on it the badge will not stay fastened to their clothing. Everything we wear inadvertently absorbs a tiny bit of our mana and that badge can read who it belongs to."
He held it in his palm examining it. The badge was made of gold and designed to look like an open book similar to the icon on the membership card.
He pinned the badge to his shirt after checking it out.
"All you really need most of the time is to wear that badge to enter the library the card is more of a backup if you lose it. If someone doesn''t recognize you they may ask for your card but that seldom happens the guards on each floor are fully aware of the ranking systems."
fufu looks like now that I got her talking all this time she isn''t acting as shy now. Let''s fix that, cue the evil laugh muhahaha.
"Now I''m all set I have full access to all the great books in here!"
He extended his hand to Cynthia when she took his hand to shake it he leaned in and kissed the back of her hand.
"Now I can come visit with you now once in a while, that''s if you don''t mind me bothering you."
Surprised by suddenly havinghim kiss her hand, Cynthis blushed. "I think I would like that" She quietly responded.
"Good I''m glad you don''t see as a nuisance. I should let you get back to work now thanks again for all your help. I going to explore around here and see what interesting books I can find."
"Okay, Cedric if you need any help finding anything you can ask me I know where everything is in here."
He flashedher a smile and decided to head upstairs to start his search.
hmm, a new notice?
Attribute Increase:
Cahrisma +5
Iguess a little smooth talk andcordial conversation can help increase charisma.
After a search through the 2nd-floor shelves, he had a small stack of books set aside to get him started. Walking back with one more book he put it on the pile and read the titles to decide which to read first.
A History of Etheraland
The history of Etheraland covers the peoples inhabiting Etheraland from prehistory to the present.
Men of The Mountain
The history of the dwarven clans.
Ancestral Sacred Tree
The history of the elves of the Royal Redwood Forest
Human Hierarchy
A study of the Human social System.
The Art of Cookery
A culinary book of techniques, recipes, and essentials to cooking.
Introduction to Mining
An introductory text and reference on mining. Highlighting latest approaches and technologies.
Sailing into the Sunset
The evolution of sailing ships. Contains directions and diagrams for building sailboats. Introduces the basics to sailing.
I guess I can just read them from the top down no real order needed to it.
The history of Etheraland: Contains the rise and struggle of the races against the monsters and at times themselves. He read about the exploration and discoveries of the continent''s resources, landmarks, and geography. Many detailed region maps with cities towns and villages displayed show how vast and unsettled the land remains. The books maps only displayed this continent and some islands bordering it have been discovered.
There are still so many landmasses out there still to be discovered. What adventures and dangers are waiting? It makes me so excited I want to just run out of this town right now! I know that I need to prepare first though, I need to get stronger and learn more skills and at least some basic affinities. On to the next book, no time to waste. I need to read these faster I still things to finish today.
***********************************************************************************************
Men of the Mountain: It explained how the dwarves began as small independent clans often fighting each other over border disputes. The dwarves over time gradually developed into master craftsman the tools, weapons, and armor they created far exceeded what the other races could create. They began to grow wealthy trading with the humans and elves but over time the other races grew jealous and decided to try and take the wealth and crafted treasures from them.
This unified the Dwarven clans to fight back against a common enemy. The unending battles and raids dragged on and the dwarves grew tired of fighting and wish to do what they love most mine and craft. During these bloody days, the Dwarf leaders began to have dreams and visions from a dwarf named Falgrim Thunderfist, known today as the dwarves god. He told them to head north showing them a mountain to make their new home. The dwarves banded together and followed their new god''s instructions hoping to regain a stable life once again.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
The entire dwarf race migrated north into the mountains and began mining into an enormous mountain they hollowed it and sealed the entrance with a huge iron forged door that worked like a giant threaded bolt. The door was near six feet thick and when closing the massive door would turn into the iron reinforced threads of the door jam. fitting together like a bolt torqued into a nut. Once it was sealed there was no possible way to breach it.
It went on to discuss some of their achievements and the growth of the internal city inside the mountain. Outlining some discoveries they made in the building, crafting and mining. The book also had devoted a section to the dwarves alphabet and how their language evolved from the old clan days to current times.
******************************************************************************************
Ancestral Sacred Tree: Describes how the ancient elves began as a single race. The entire race lived in and around a tree large enough to hold a city. They thought of the tree as a sacred guardian and told stories of how it had been there since the beginning of time. The elves grew along with and infused nature into their culture becoming one with the forest that sheltered them.
Near the time that the dwarves began to migrate, the elves also receive dream visits from a beautiful elf goddess named Silandra Twilight. She told the elves that when the children reached a certain age they should be sent off into the deep forest to survive for a duration of time on their own as a coming of age custom. When this custom took root over the years the elves began to discover more about the surrounding massive forest. This custom also created an independence in them some groups found new and beautiful parts of the forest to move to and these separated groups evolved over time into the Wood Elves and Dark Elves.
It describes in detail how the elves magic grew and developed with the nature so ingrained in their culture. They could alter or enhance the trees and plants makingpicturesque homes out of living trees and vast stunning gardens if a human saw them they would weep from the beauty of it. The final chapters also tracked the progress of the elven language and it changes.
I have been pushing myself to read faster but still didn''t I read that last book really fast? That thing is really thick and I can remember it all. Is my college studying abilities helping me to read quicker and retain more?
*********************************************************************************************************
Human Hierarchy: The early humans mainly lived in tribes using primitive tools to scratch out a place to live. They over time moved out of the hunter gather era into farming and animal herding. Then began taming larger animals like horses. This extended their range of traveled this led to trading and fighting. Horses eventually became integrated into the Humans war strategies in an incompetent use. During this era, the humans like the other races received instruction from their god. The Human god Balin Brightblade taught them a similar copy of Earth''s Feudal System from our medieval times.
The people became divided into groups slaves, serfs, commoners, freeman, knights/priests, nobles/high priests, prince/princess, king/queen. This system though it oppressed many it helped them build up the kingdom. The book provided a good amount of information on sword fighting techniques and styles developed over years of battles by Humans. The development of farming, animal breeding/herding, and taming and breaking mounts had devoted chapters of decades of trial and error in them. This book also covered the ancient and current evolution of the human language and alphabet.
Oookkaay now something just happened those last few chapters I read each page in a couple of seconds. I was so into the information on horses and taming mounts I didn''t notice until the end. Thinking about it now was I in a trance, I felt disconnected?
Oh, I got a notice the icon is flashing.
New Skill Notice!
New Skill Learned!
Photoreading
Photoreading: process information instantly with complete comprehension
(Passive)
huh, holy crap?
Show Skill Photoreading!
Photoreading
You Harness the power of your subconscious!
Blink your eyes while focusing on something and your subconscious
will make an instant photo quality copy added to your memory.
ya, most definitely holy crap!!
I basically have a digital camera in my head now that can store the information to my memory! I can''t win any battles with it but I can think of tons of ways to use it already! This will be incredible for crafts or arts. If I learned how to paint I could take instant action or scenery shots to paint on canvas at a later time. Any technologies I come across I can store the info to recreate a copy. Time to test it out with the remaining books I can check those other notices later.
****************************************************************************************
The Art of Cookery: This book covers numerous recipes of this world. Many of the animals are described and how to field dress, skin, and quarter the meat. Spices are defined and locations they tend to grow and how to prepare them for cooking.
Prepping food techniques: beating, chopping, creaming, crimping, deboning, de-seeding, dicing, filleting, glazing, grating, peeling, rolling, shredding, skinning, slicing, and tenderizing.
Cooking food techniques: baking, boiling, braising, broiling, frying, grilling, roasting, poaching, saut¨¦ing, steaming and stewing.
The history of cookware: The development of cookware materials used like Pottery, copper, and cast iron. Information on the design and use of Cauldrons, kitchenware, food storage, and utensils.
*********************************************************************************************
Introduction to Mining: This book covered chapters with Tunnel layouts and how to brace tunnels.Tools used in mining pickaxe, shovel, pry bar, crowbar, sledgehammer, and stone splitting wedges. Steps on how to locate and follow ore veins and what type of stone to look for. Techniques on the uses of mining tools in different types stone. How to cut tunnels for an incline or decline grade.
Gemstones and Crystals: locations to find them and how to mine them. Information on the studies of soils and stone and what to look for when searching for gems.
*********************************************************************************************
Sailing Into The Sunset: Explaining the history of boat and ship designs. Ships at the present time are still very small they really can not be classified as a ship compared to the real world, they have a similar appearance to the Norse longboats. They can not handle the open ocean and are used close to the coastlines.
What materials and wood to use and how to prepare them. Tools used by shipwrights: Axe, Auger, iron Mallet, Wooden Mallet, Drawing Knife, Chalk Box, Wrung Staff, Timber Scribe Knife, Pitch Ladle, Chisels, Planer, Adze, Saw, Measure Stick, Wood Clamps. Various sailing knots and riggings and how to apply them. Current era Ship and boat construction diagrams. How to use a compass and sextant to guide routes. Reading of currents and winds and how to sail with or aginst them. Reading of charts and maps.
Currently Used Boat Technology (Humans)
****************************************************************************************************
That new skill Photoreading helped me I wish I could bring this out of the game. What am I saying I wish I could take all my skills out haha. Now time to check out the rest of my notices and see how I did.
New Skill Notice!
New Skill Learned!
Shipwright: Level 3 (Intermediate 74%)
A shipwright builds and repairs boats and ships of all sizes.
Higher levels increase construction and repair times.
New Skill Notice!
New Skill Learned!
Mining: Level 4 (Intermediate 47%)
The skill of excavating rock and ore veins, gems and crystals.
Higher levels decrease mining speed and harvest amounts.
New Language Notice!
New Language Learned!
Elven Language: Level 2 (beginner 89%)
The ability to understand a foreign language.
Higher levels improve Communication and comprehension.
New Language Notice!
New Language Learned!
Dwarven Language: Level 8 (beginner 23%)
The ability to understand a foreign language.
Higher levels improve Communication and comprehension.
New Skill Notice!
New Skill Learned!
Taming: Level 5 (Beginner 14%)
The ability to tame animals
Higher levels increase to allow for more pets and easier taming.
New Skill Notice!
New Skill Learned!
Swords: Level 8 (Beginner 76%)
The skill of wielding swords of all types
Higher levels increase to allow for greater damage and technique.
New Affinity Notice!
New Affinity Learned!
Nature Affinity: Level 6 (Beginner 91%)
The magic ability to wield and resist an affinity.
Higher Levels increase overall control and resistance.
Skill Increase!
Cooking: Level 8 (Advanced 48%)
Cynthia was not kidding about the books being more advanced up here. The combination of these books and my Photoreading not only am I getting stat increases I can also absorb skills that have been written about in detail. I am curious what my stats and skills look like now but I getting burned out on reading all these windows after power reading seven books! I shouldn''t complain this was a huge gain for me today.
I am really shocked about the nature affinity, I learned my first magic. I need to go downstairs and see if Cynthia can tell me where I can learn more magic now. Then head over to the tailor shop before he closes for my other clothes.
Rick gathered the stack of books and descended the stairs carefully he placed the books on the end of the main desk. Cynthia noticed him at the desk from where she was arranging books on the first floor. Walking over to him from the bookshelf she asked if he needed any help. Rick told her he had finished reading the stack of books and was finished reading for the day.
When she saw the stack of books she smiled thinking that he was joking it would be impossible to read them all as quickly as he did. Before she had the chance to confirm he wasn''t he asked her if she could tell him where he might find some books on magic in town.
She told him how the Mage Guild was the place that taught magic in town.
"You can learn magic and spells from the Mage guild but then you have to join. When a Mage joins the guild they allow them to learn a few very basic spells Then when their magic improves and perform missions their rank will increase over time allowing you to learn greater magic. It is a slow process and takes a couple years to become a decent mage." [Cybthia]
I don''t have time for that though a couple years here is only months in the real world, but in a few days this town will be mobbed with [Players]. I would like to get first dibs on land out there along with a big jump on getting stronger than them. I need to try to get out of this town before they all join. [Rick]
Cynthia noticed Rick look depressed from what he just heard hoping he wasn''t mad at her.
She also got lost in her thoughts for a moment as well.
I just noticed I have been talking to him all this time how is that possible. It takes me forever to become comfortable around people. I don''t get it but something seems to attract me to him and I feel ....safe around him for some reason? [Cynthia]
It doesn''t make sense he is good looking and really nice but I''ve only talked to him for a half hour so far. I wonder if it is because he is a [Chosen], that can''t be right I am sure [Chosen] are like us some good some bad. [Cynthia]
As she tried to work out what was going on with this strange situation she had no idea about his [White Knight] title that draws the attention of females to him or that he also increased his charisma earlier making him a little more persuasive and engaging.
"Cynthia does the library having books on magic? They do not have to be spell books, just anything that describes magic use or theories. Even if it is old scrolls or manuscripts I think I would help me. The more advanced the book the better." [Rick]
She thought about it going through all the shelves of books in her head then remembered.
"We do yes they are on the third floor in a restricted room. All of the older and valuable books and scrolls are kept safely locked away there. You are a Gold Rank Member so it is fine if you wish to enter. The only rule is you need to have the third-floor guard accompany you when in there and can only use the room for half an hour a day." [Cynthia]
"That is no problem at all next time I come to visit I will go up there and check it out." [Rick]
She smiled glad she could help him perk up once again and assist his current studies.
"Okay, Cedric that will be fine I will see you then on your next visit."
"You try not to work too hard and have a great rest of the day beautiful"
She smiled at him and rolling her eyes, then walked back to arranging the books from earlier.
He exited the library and crossed the plaza cutting through the crowd of shoppers browsing the vendor tables. He was headed to the tailor and a little earlier than planed thanks to the new skill. Walking right in toward the back where he knew Vardon''s work area was he found him there working on a dress.
The shoulders made of lace flowed seamlessly into the dark blue dress. He had tailored it into a corset shape top with a front slit lower. The dress had gold lace accents highlighting a deep-v cut top for maximum cleavage.
"Hello Vardon that is dress is incredible. It looks like a dress made for a beautiful noble woman to wear to the ball."
"Good day sir you are quite right but just between us, the woman is who order it is a spoiled brat. I don''t like to talk bad about my customers but this one keeps coming back to me and is never happy. I could stitch every diamond in the kingdom onto this dress and she tells me it is too shiny for her." [Vandor]
Rick chuckled to himself at seeing the upright Vandor loose his cool over the snobby noble
"Enough of that I am sure sir is here to pick up your outfit" [Vandor]
"I showed up a little earlier today if it isn''t finished I can return later." [Rick]
"No need I finished up early and have it just over there, excuse me a moment and I will bring it to you to try on" [Vardon]
Vardon brought a thin wood box over about and presented it to Rick. He accepted the box and placed it in his inventory and walk over to the mirror. Opening the box in his inventory he then equipped the outfit without even viewing it first so to surprise himself. He had an idea how it would look from the pattern sketches he viewed but it was only the vague idea.
"Oh wow, I am stunned Vardon this is perfect. I feel like I should be attending court with the nobles wearing this. I really like the first outfit you did but this is my new favorite outfit for when I am in the city."
new outfit reflected in the mirror
Once Vardon had gone over the outfit one last time Rick asked him a few questions about tailoring and embroidering. He had a small project he wanted to attempt on his own. He purchased a pair of scissors for tailoring and inquired if Vardon knew of anyone who sold leather, he made a mental note ofthe place then said goodbye and strolled back to the Inn.
Once in his room, he took out all his rolls of cloth, measuring tape, thread, needles, dyes, pattern parchment, pins, charcoal pencil, and his just bought scissors.
Taking out the shirt and pants from his other outfit he began pinning the shirt to the pattern paper. Then he traced it out with charcoal leaving the sleeves short.
The process was repeated with the pants pinning and outlining. Tracing the pants pattern he left the leg short he planning to make a pair of shorts.
Unpinning the clothes from the paper he cut along the lines making a pattern for the t-shirt and shorts.
Picking one of his lighter rolls of cloth and rolling it out he traced out the patterns on the cloth twice for each pattern.
Pinning the two cloth copies of the shirt together he had sewn the two together then he hemmed the sleeves the waistline and neckline making a basic t-shirt.
He did the exact same steps to complete a pair of shorts. Rick used the red dye marker to instantly color the t-shirt and shorts red and also dyed one of his spools of thread with the gold dye marker.
Laying the t-shirt flat on the desk he sharpened the charcoal to a point with his dagger and wrote out across the chest, Semper Fidelis which is the Marine Corps motto meaning (Always Faithful). Threading a needle with the gold thread he began to hand embroider the Semper Fidelis across the chest with the method Vardon shown him earlier. After 45 minutes he finished the shirt and placed it in his inventory along with is new shorts.
After completing the clothes, Rick opened the blinking notices to find he learned a recipe for the shirt, and shorts. The recipes in the game worked as a shortcut. Once you created something you then learn a recipe that you can use to instantly recreate it, if you have the proper resources in your inventory.
If recipes are used to recreate anything with stats though it will receive a deduction in quality depending on the skill used to create it. Closing out the windows he was ready to logout.
He walked over to the door and locked it then unequipped his boots and clothes laid down and disconnected.
Disconnect!
Chapter 08: Spelunking for Skills
Rick climbed out the [Gate Gear], turning the lights off upon leaving the room. Checking that the front door was locked before heading to bed, he turned the rest of the lights off behind him in route to the bedroom. Upon reaching the bedroom he checked his phone messages, and returned a text, to Tonya, about her coming over the weekend to visit.
After finishing his reply, he put his clothes in the closet hamper and climbed into bed. Haveing slept for 3 hours earlier, it took him a little longer to fall asleep.
Waking up six hours later to use the bathroom, he decided to stay up. He got dressed and proceeded to the spare room to workout, today was lower body and cardio. Once the weight training was done, he ran around the block four times, came back home, and took a shower.
Taking the eggs out of the fridge, and grabbing the loaf of bread, he scrambled a couple eggs with milk. Turning the stove top on, and pulling the skillet out of the cupboard, he dipped the bread in the eggs and gently arranged them in the pan. When the french toast was finished cooking, he put a little maple syrup on them sat down and ate.
When Rick finished eating breakfast and cleaning up in the kitchen, he made his way to the spare room. Laying down in his VR capsule, he joined [Kingdoms Online] to start a new gaming day.
It was still early in the morning when he climbed out of bed and left the inn. From the inn, he hiked to the east gate and informed the sleepy looking guards, he was heading out. Once outside the gate, he opened the inventory and equipped the red semper fi t-shirt and shorts he just made and began jogging east.
Rick was headed toward the mountains in the distance about 5 miles from town. Wanting to do some physical training and see if he could get lucky finding some iron to practice his blacksmithing he headed toward the mountain to mine.
He kept up a quick pace, pushing his body to make some gains. Near 30 minutes later he made it to the foot of mountains quite out of breath. While catching his breath, he opened his notice message.
New Stats Notice!
New Stats Awarded!
Stamina: +10 (+2 awarded each forced pace mile)
Vitality +10 (+2 awarded each forced pace mile)
This body needs some work, I need to come up with a plan and start training. If I find enough iron I could try and make some free weights to workout with.
I think I will explore first before I just start mining into the mountain. It would be safer to find a spot that can''t be found easily. I don''t want bandits or monsters finding the entrance, and attacking me in there, or someone to mine out all the resources when I''m away.
He began walking along the base of the mountain, looking for an out of the way spot to mine. Rick came across a fracture in the stone about 7 feet high and 2 feet wide. The gap seemed to split the stone leaving a very narrow passage.
If I scrunch my way through this gap, I can open a mine up back in there that will never be discovered.
Squeezing into the fractured stone crevice, while flattening himself against the stone wall, he sidestepped toward the interior. Near 30 feet into the fracture, he couldn''t advance any further. Removing one of the pickaxes from his inventory, he began mining into the stone.
Picking into the mountain stone was allot easier than he thought it would be. He had prepared himself at first for the jarring impact before swinging the pick, only to watch it slice through the stone like he was mining clay.
With the combination of my Intermediate level 4 in mining and the knowledge from that mining book, I''m cutting football size chunks of stone with each swing.
The mine reached a good distance in after 15 minutes of shaping out a 4x7 tunnel through the stone. Though the further he cut into the mountain from the entrance the harder became to see in the growing darkness.
As he thought about how he should have bought a lantern, the sound of his pick impacting the stone drew his attention. The sharp ringing sound was gradually becoming dull sounding.
Stopping he examined the pick looking for splits in the handle or fragmentation of the metal. He was sure something had happened to the pick but found nothing wrong with it.
Remembering of how he had channeled his mana into the library card he had an idea.
Holding the pick in his hands he channeled his mana into it. Closing his eyes he focused on his mana, examining the cohesion of the wood handle and iron pick. As the mana flowed around, he began to feel the overall rigidity and impurities of the pick.
He began to get a feel for the quality of materials and level of craftsmanship applied to creating it. After thoroughly examining the material for a few minutes he opened his eyes he could detect minuscule fractures in the wood and impurities of the iron.
Now that is cool my eyes can find the flaws but they are hardly any at all. This seems to be a good pick and in new shape still. Oh, I got a notice!
New Skill Notice!
New Skill Learned!
Identify: Level 1 (Beginner 0%)
This skill is used to detect item properties.
Level Increases allow for further detection distances.
Identify skill huh, nice.
Identify!
A common pickaxe
Attack
1-6
Durability
48/50
Defense
0
Bonuses
none
This pick is perfectly fine it must be the stone making the dull sound then. Well, I got a nice skill out of it and ideas for future experiments. I need to play around with this channeling mana into resources and organics. Speaking of organics I need to try it on myself as well.
Shrugging his shoulders he continued to carve out the mine tunnel. The dull sound continued for a few minutes later until he found out the cause for the sound when his pickaxe drove through the stone in front of him leaving a black hole.
It looks like a broke through into a hollow pocket. I can''t see anything in there it''s pitch black.
He continued on cutting a doorway the size of the tunnel until he had an archway into the blackness. Heading back outside he took out his ax and found a dry fallen tree and began chopping the dead tree trunk into 2-foot sections, and split up about 50 pieces of firewood that he put into his inventory.
Since I am out away from town and have my ax out I should chop some wood for timber. If I want to build something later it will be my luck when there are no trees around.
Chopping down three larger trees and stripping off all the branches, he proceeded to cut them in half and stored them into his inventory. Then returning to squeeze through the crack in the rock and head toward the back of the tunnel, he removed some firewood, cloth, and his firestarter.
Stacking a couple pieces of wood in pyramid a shape, he put a small ball of the cloth under them and ignited the cloth. When the logs caught fire it lit the cavern up enough to see around without making to much smoke. The cavern looked to be a good 40 feet wide and the back was still too dark to see how deep it went.
Taking out another firewood log he split it up into thin pieces, then wrapping the cloth around the ends of them for use as torches. He stored all the torches in his inventory but one, and that he set on fire. While exploring the tunnel hunting for iron, he began to find some of the stone walls texture changed looking like lava rock occasionally.
I wonder if this was a lava tube in the past. If it is this cavern could go forever.
As Rick continued on he kept watching for any visible resources as the tunnel gradually sloped down into the mountain.
He began to hear water dripping ahead of him, that found its way into the tunnel collecting in a cavity on the floor. Inspecting the water he knelt down to smell it.
This water seems to be fresh. I don''t smell sulfur or a stagnant smell and it is clear looking. The soil must have worked as a filter on it.
After building another small fire, he boiled a pot of the water to purify it, then proceeded to take out his vegetables and spices. Dicing them up, he tossed them in a skillet to lightly fry them in cooking oil spices. Removing the skillet from the fire to replace it for the pot of boiled water, Rick scraped the fried veggies into the water, and added some of the spices he had making a vegetable soup.
I wish I had meat right now, this wouldn''t be such a boring meal. I need to buy a bow or try and make one. If I make one I can obtain a bowyer skill of some sort.
Mental note purchase/make a bow and arrows for future hunting. When I get back to town I can just buy some meat for now.Stolen novel; please report.
The soup tasted decent but the broth was a bit watered down. Considering the limited supplies it was passable and filled his depleted satiety level that had been drained due to all the physical exertion. Storing the leftover soup in a ceramic container and cleaning all his cookware, he stored it all in the inventory.
While I''m sitting here might as well review my notices.
Skill Increase!
Mining: level 5 (Intermediate 51%)
Stat Increase!
Strength gained + 2
New Skill Notice!
New Skill Learned!
Lumberjack: Level 2 (Beginner 18%)
The skill of chopping down trees
Higher levels increase gathering speed (bonus to ax damage)
Lighting another torch after reviewing the notice messages, he took a quick look around as to not forget anything. Finding nothing left behind he continued down the tunnel once again.
It is hard to determine how far I have walked down here, or how long I have been exploring in this dark tunnel. If I had to guess I have been in this tunnel for near an hour so deducting the time for cooking, eating, and stopping and going it must be over a mile now.
It gets a little creepy when I think about that, and I have been traveling downwards. I must be far below the surface level by now.
As he thought about his sub terrain adventure his attention was drawn toward the wall up ahead, that looked to be a lighter color beyond his torch light.
Moving ahead to the discolored wall he found a large wide white stripe running up the wall. Holding the torch light up to it he discovered it was a 6-foot wide quartz vein that ran up into the darkness toward where ever the ceiling is.
From what that mining book said, gold is very often found in or near quartz veins similar to real mining. From what little I know about real world mining they find ores mixed with the rock quite often, and crush the rock to collect it all.
In the game, the book explained that ores are found in solid veins.
I guess I can think of it like a hamburger in-between the sesame seed rolls (the quartz) is the meat patty (The gold). The deliciously, charbroiled, juicy meat patty. Dammit, now I want a hamburger!
Propping the torch up between a couple rocks and taking out the pickaxe again Rick began cutting into the center of the quartz vein. Carving his way straight into the quartz for near 15 feet in he finally found something, a thick solid gold vein running through the quartz.
This is a lot of gold but what I can I make with it? Gold is too soft to make weapons, armor, or tools. It would be good for Jewelry maybe if I cast some rings and take some of this quartz crystal and have it cut and polished I can make some jewelry to sell or enchant.
Chipping away at the gold vein happy to find something at least, but continuing to think of what he could use it for.
I want to leave town here soon and I will need money to buy land how can I make money off this gold? Thinking about all the gold coins needed and the ton of gold he was collecting he had an idea.
He walked over to the torch and withdrew a gold coin from his inventory and examined it under the light.
Just as I thought this coin is really crude compared to modern stamped coins. It looks as if someone hammered the gold flat into a semi-circle, then tool stamped a face and back like the old pieces of eight you see in those pirate movies.
I need to disconnect and check this out online real quick.
Disconnecting he jumped up out of the [GATE GEAR] booted up his computer and did some searches on medieval era gold coin minting. He found a couple ways used, one way they made a cylinder metal coin die and hammered it into the gold coin blanks front and back. From what he researched from this era Craftsman known as a Moneyer used the hammered die method and later on they built coin mints that used a screw press that would size the coin to the desired shape and size.
It seems I need to first create a set of tap and dies to thread the cast iron round bar. The threaded round bar has a leverage bar attached to the top allowing to twist the coin die down into the gold. The bolt threads through two metal sleeves that are threaded like a nut. When I get established in the future I could have a few of these made and have workers making gold coins all day long to use the [Land Management Menu].
***************************************
[Kingdoms Online] Has a Menu option that players use to purchase land that is not claimed, rented, or owned by any of the games people or other players. When land is purchased a new menu becomes available, it is the called [Land Management Menu].
A few of the options available within this new menu are the option to buy additional land bordering your current territory. This is how players increase their Feudal Domain size.
The player also has a [System Gate] option used to mark a designated location for the system purchased orders to spawn.
Resources purchased can also be made at highly inflated prices. The high prices are set high to encourage trading and gathering. All purchased resources will spawn at the [System Gate].
Then there is the [Immigration Recruitment] option which allows players to purchase nonskilled slaves, commoners, craftsman, and nobles. The costs will vary depending on the purchased person''s class. These people will become the property of the kingdom and will never move away from your kingdom. They can be captured by hostile forces and recaptured by you or your forces. All purchased people will be spawned at the [System Gate].
Players will also have the option of inviting people and players to join their kingdoms. If a player forces people to join their kingdom they may stay, escape, or try to revolt depending on the captured person''s mindset.
****************************************
Finishing his research on the coins Rick shut the computer down and reconnected to the game. Once back in the cave he continued to mine a large amount of the discovered gold, now that he had a plan to use it.
I have enough gold and quartz on me to fill the bed of a pick truck now. Thank god, no wait thank goddess faith that the game doesn''t have inventory encumbrance.
I think I have enough gold for now, and I can always return here if needed to mine more. I still want to find some iron so I should wrap it up here and move on.
Resuming the tunnel exploration, he found scattered amounts of iron that added up over time, also a small amount of silver.
Far below in the heart of the mountain, he sat down on a rock, taking a break eating some of the soup again he made earlier. As he sat and ate he thought about the things that happened today and about how he learned a skill from channeling mana into his pickaxe.
Those library cards and badges can tell the difference between mana presences and the badge can read it from the clothing it is attached to. That means the clothes can hold a mana signature if the clothes can, then that indicates that everything should hold mana signature related to its molecular structure. If my theory is correct then it should be possible to learn a specific items mana signature to somehow locate it.
A notice message, did I just receive this?
You gain +5 wisdom points through logical reasoning and deduction!
Ha, looks like I am on something if the system is giving me free stats. I just need to figure how I can see the differences in the mana waves around me.
While Rick sat thinking of ways to pick up on the mana around him the propped up torch behind him fell over and went out leaving him in complete darkness. Standing up to work his way over to relight the torch he stopped then sat slowly back down.
No, wait this might help me focus on the mana around me and not my surroundings. If I want to see the mana signatures maybe I should try using my eyes. Gathering his mana he began to pull it slowly into his eyes while focusing outward.
Concentrating in the darkness, gradually feeding mana into his eyes he began to see shadows or shapes. Thinking the shadows might be mana in the waves of some type he poured in more mana. Large shapes and shades of light became increasingly easier to see as he looked from side to side.
Following this routine minutes later he caught on to what he was seeing. The different shapes and shades are the contours and colors of the tunnel. Pushing a larger amount into his vision all at once the tunnel lit up. Craning his neck around he saw the extinguished torch on the ground where it fell.
I thought it caught fire again lighting the cave up, I can see everything around me perfectly now.
New Skill Notice!
New skill learned!
Night Sight: Level 1 (Beginner 0%)
A skill that allows the player to see in the dark.
Level increases allow for a larger view radius around Player.
(Passive- can be toggled to manual in options menu)
Not what I was looking for but this is an incredible skill to have. Looks like that idea didn''t work onto round two.
Walking back to a spot nearby that he had seen a small amount of iron not worth stopping to mine he found it quickly it the complete world of darkness around him.
This time I will try a slight adaptation of the last test
Once again enhancing his vision with mana he focused on the iron in the wall a few feet in front of him. The minutes ticked by as he cleared hi mind focusing his vision then suddenly becoming disoriented feeling he was falling forward.
Throwing his foot forward to catch himself to discover he was standing up fine.
The wall looked like it was just rushing at me seemed but, it stopped instantly when I unknowing stop my mana flow? Another notice window now what happened this time.
New Skill Notice!
New skill learned!
Farsight: Level 1 (beginner 0%)
A skill that allows the player to magnify their view great distance
Higher level increases allow for longer range viewing.
It seems that enhancing the body works in many ways. I need to try this on my feet and hands later. I wonder what skills could develop?
This is a great skill but still not what I was expecting. I guess I need to try a different approach instead of enhancing my eyes I can try to use my man on the exterior to read the iron.
Rick still standing before the Iron in the stone wall gathered his mana and encircled himself with it. His mind slowly began to merge with his surrounding mana becoming and extra sense of touch or taste he began to perceive the difference between his surroundings. When he felt comfortable that it was possible to maintain this state Rick began to direct the mana around him to encircle only the Iron in the wall.
Without the distraction of the stone and dirt, he put his undivided attention into how the Iron felt learning and remembering what made it different. Closing his eyes he stood there absorbing the Iron''s mana signature. Slowly opening his eyes confident in knowing the iron mana presence he looked down to see his notice icon flashing and opened it.
New Skill Notice!
New Skill Learned!
Iron Scan: Level 1 (Beginner 0%)
Iron Scan allows you to survey your surrounding for the presence of iron.
Higher levels allow for longer distance scans.
Yes! I finally figured it out!
Now I can apply this to just about anything in the world. I can make this for plants, animals, items, or even people!
Well, I think that is enough of this cave for today. I would like to stop by the library again to use the restricted room before they close for the day.
On his way back to the surface Rick tried out the new Iron scan and could feel the location of any hidden stone it happen to find in range.
I can''t see where the iron is but for some reason, I can tell the direction and distance it is from my location.
Squinting his eyes from the blinding sun he took a moment for his eyes to adjust to being in the dark for some time now. With one last quick look around him that he had everything he channeled his mana into his legs and took off running back toward the city.
Chapter 09: The Coin Screw Press
When Rick made it back to the city the guards had already opened the gate for the day. He was surprised that in running from the city to the mountain and back he had not seen any hostile animals or monsters. The area around the city must be heavily hunted for food and resources. As he approached the gates the sounds of the city and people reached his ears. Most of the city''s residence had been up for some time moving about attending to errands or working at various jobs while children chased each other in play up and down the crowded streets.
Stopping just before entering the city, Rick changed out of his T-shirt and shorts by equipping the black outfit instantaneously, much to the shock of the guards. Laughing to himself because of the guard''s reactions, he gave the guard a nod as he entered the city streets to become engulfed in the tide of people moving about.
Removing the library badge from his inventory, he pinned it to his Shirt and entered the library''s large foyer. The guards apparently spotted the badge or remembered him from his first visit allowing Rick to enter through the large wooden double doors without questioning him.
Walking in as he scanned the room, curious to find out if Cynthia was working today. The lower level area was empty today, it may have been due to the time of day. This being a Medieval-like era not allot of people would have time to visit a library around noon. Then across the hall, he spotted her on a small wooden step ladder arranging books in a large decorative bookcase with her back to the main hall entrance.
With a wicked smile on his face, he crossed the room quietly until standing just behind her on the ladder.
haha, this is going to be great! Ok if I stand right about here it should be perfect.
Purposely raising his voice he greeted her while standing directly behind her. Without her knowing anyone entered Cynthia let out a startled yelp. Her hands full of books and losing her balance on the ladder she had no way to right herself and fell directly backward off the ladder. Rick had been waiting for this and slightly sidestepped while catching her in his arms. Before she could even register what had just happened he smiled greeting her.
"I wanted to drop in to see you today, but it looks like you dropped in to see me first." [Rick]
"C-Cedrick w wha how" flustered from the event that just played out, her mind still spun as she stammered out a response.
"I''m flattered to have such a cute girl like Cynthia remember my name." he said while still holding her in his arms.
Finally, she began to realize the position she was in turning bright red. "Thank you for saving me Cedric, I think I am fine now, can you please put me down."
"I did save you from that nasty fall, don''t you think I deserve a reward?" He asked her with a serious look on his face.
"I d don nno what t to" Having no idea how to respond to him, with her heart pounding away, she looked to him with upturned pleading eyes.
"Okay, I will put you down even though I don''t want to. " He said in a feigned depressed voice while slowly lowering her down until her feet were under her.
"Did I tease you a little too much, I''m sorry." He apologized to her while wrapping his arms around her hugging her to his chest for a moment.
Cynthia seemed taken aback by him hugging her for an instant, but then actually relaxed with her head on his chest.
"Y-yes you did it was all your fault, speaking up so suddenly from right behind me." In a pouting, angry voice, she retorted.
Lightly chuckling he let her go. "Yes you''re right I should have been more careful."
"I came over to enter the 3rd-floor restricted room, and got too excited when I saw you working here today."
She then smiled, happy to hear he was excited to see her. "Well you made it with perfect timing we will close in a half hour so you have until then to use the room."
Rick then headed up to the 3rd floor and told the guard he had permission to use the room and was escorted there.
The guard unlocked and opened the door to the restricted room. Rick walked into a long narrow room lined with bookcases, that reminded him of the old slotted mailroom shelves. Each book had its own slot that kept them separated to allow airflow around them, and prevent them from damaging one another. The smaller end wall had a scroll shelf that was stacked with antiquated looking scrolls, and a small workstation next to it that was used by someone to copy the scrolls into book form. This room also has quite a few ornate bookstands exhibiting larger leather bound books. Glancing at the large open books he could make out that some even displayed beautiful artworks on their open pages.
Rick walked into the room deciding what he wanted to do before starting, which was to use his Photoreading skill to record the book locations. He began slowly circling the room committing all the books and shelf labels to memory. When he had finished he knew where every section and book was located now knowing where each book is that could help him before even entering this room.
He walked over to the section that was designated to magic and mages. There was a book he just entered to memory that interested him from because of the window title and description. Removing it from the book slot he carried it over to sit at a table and read through it.
The Art of Elemental Manipulation
A teaching of how to shape and manipulate the basic elements of nature.
It explained how a mage used a technique similar to what he used to learn his iron scan skill. A mage, for example, wanting to learn earth element would feed their mana into the earth and gain a connection with the earth mana. Once a connection was formed then they would circulate their mana in while drawing out mana from the earth.
Absorbing the elemental mana into the body this way unlocks abilities and powers related to that affinity. As these insights are gained and the body is altered the mage''s awareness of the specific element grows in strength. It would seem that the mage who practice elemental arts have strengths and weakness in each elemental affinity.
I would think that may have only applied to the people, not the players. They have bodies that are similar to are real bodies stats, skills, and spells are not an easy thing to acquire compared to our game character bodies that can pick up a skill or spell in a matter of a few hours.
After finishing the first book he returned it to the shelf and brought out a smaller book that also had caught his eye.
Portal creation and manipulation
The knowledge of how to create, shape and manipulate portals. Altering of space to connect two locations
The book on portals was written by an actual mage who excelled in space affinity and devoted all his studies to mastering it. All of his failures and discoveries had been documented in his pursuit of the multiple uses he discovered throughout his life. The majority of the chapters he devoted to his portal travel pouring over every detail of worth from start to end.
The latter chapters covered his discoveries in other portal or space related skills that did not receive as much attention to detail. Rick recorded enough to of these other spells to figure them out with some experimentation over time.
These final chapters covered a few of these spells that interested him. An offensive black hole, summoning items and people to your location and projecting your voice over long distances.
I am just about out of time here, I should get going so I don''t keep everyone later than they need to.
Rick thanked the guard at the door for his time and walked back downstairs to the main hall on the first floor. There he found Cynthia who was preparing to head upstairs to tell him he only had a few minutes left.
"Hello Cedric you finished early did you find anything of use?" [Cynthia]
"I did get to read a couple interesting books and found quite a few that I might want to review in the future." [Rick]
"That''s great then I''m gla....wait you read couple books?" [Cynthia]
laughing at her reaction he let her in on the skill he learned that allows him to memorize each page by focusing on it and blinking.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.
"It is a useful skill for the pursuit of knowledge but kind of takes the fun out of reading a story." [Cedric]
She just shook her head in disbelief whispering something to herself about cheating.
"I don''t want to keep you here any longer are you heading home now?" [Cedric]
"Yes, I''m done now, the guards will lock the door after we leave, keeping watch over the library in shifts until the opening in the morning."
Then they walked outside together, standing in the street he talked her into letting him walk her home. She didn''t want him to go out of his way, seeing she lived on the far side of the city.
He explained how he knew so little of the town, and wouldn''t mind if she could point out some locations along the way. After she heard him ask for help she agreed and they set off talking about businesses they passed, and how the residential districts are divided between the feudal classes.
Cynthia''s neighborhood reminded Rick of the old row houses and brownstone apartments. Tall thin buildings connected to form a wall of homes lining the street. The homes looked to be in need of numerous minor repairs but the neighborhood was kept clean and the people seemed friendly to one another.
Rick noticed after his evaluation of the area that Cynthia had her head down looking slightly embarrassed of her neighborhood.
When they reached her home Cynthia''s mother whom she lived with happened to be outside talking to some of the other women of the neighborhood. Her mother could have passed for a twin if not for the slight silver that highlighted her hair.
Her Mother upon seeing Rick with her was shocked to see her quiet daughter escorted home by a man. Waving the other women off Cynthia''s mother invited him in.
The house was well kept and clean with everything in place. The building itself was in need of interior work like exterior. During their talk, he found out that they only rented the place. Both women had respectable jobs but they were low paying, not allowing them to afford to buy a home
Rick explained to Cynthia''s mother of how he was a [chosen] new to town and planned to buy land and create a city. He told them that one day he would open a library in his city once it had become established.
It might not be as nice as the Silverhall Library but Cynthia was welcome to run it as the Chief Administrator if she ever wished for a change. He told them that her mother was welcome there as well and he would provide them a place to live.
After his visit, he made his way through the maze of streets to the blacksmith that had taught him. Along the way, he checked his notices to occupy his time.
New Stats Notice!
New Stats Awarded!
Intelligence: +10 (+5 awarded per advanced book read)
Wisdom +4 (+2 awarded per advanced book read)
New Spell Notice!
New Spell Learned!
Portal Gate: cost 250 mana per cast.
A spell to connect to previously visited locations with a Portal for travel.
Thank you, mister ancient mage for all your hard work. This spell uses half my mana right now, but when I buy my land if I need to return to this city, or bring people there and back it will be perfect.
When he reached the blacksmith he asked if he could use the work area outside and tossed him a couple gold coins for allowing him to use his equipment and tools.
Stepping outside the shop into the work area, Rick removed the iron he mined from his inventory and tossed it into the giant smelter pot to melt down. After melting it down he used an iron ladle to scoop off the impurities floating on top the molten iron surface. Then he cast the molten iron into ingots and set them aside to cool.
While the ingots cooled he went out back and removed one of the half trees from his inventory and began sawing it into planks.
A small project like this I think I can get away with using undried wood. I need to start practicing fire affinity so I can quick dry my timber.
He used the planks and the woodworking tools from his inventory to create the frame for the coin screw press he had researched online. His high carpentry skill carried him through the process without any problems. He stored the frame and planks into his inventory and walked back around to check on the stacks of cooling ingots.
These ingots look solid enough to work now, they are still really hot but that will save me time heating them.
Walking over to the back wall he began grabbing tools off the hooks that he would need to complete his project.
First, he split one of the ingots and hammered out four pieces that looked like 1/2 inch thick silver dollars.Then he used a punch to cut out their centers into the shape of a six-pointed hex.
Then he hammered out four small round iron rods about a 1/25 inch thick and 6 inches long.
Once he was happy with the shapes he set up the foot pedal lathe and tool bit cutters. using the lathe he cut threads into half the length of the small metal rods making it look similar to a drill bit. Then using metal files and the lathe he also threaded the center of the six pattern hexes. When he was finished he created this world''s first Tap and die set used for creating threads in metal.
With this tap and die I can also create nuts and bolts for other construction projects. A blinking notice lets see here.
You have created an item new to this world. Do you wish to name it?
>>> YES
NO
When he chose [yes] his virtual keyboard opened before him allowing him to enter the name.
New Recipe Notice!
You Learned A New Recipe!
Tap and Die recipe
This recipe will allow you to instantly create a tap and die set.
Having learned the recipe he added the cooling iron ingots he made earlier to his inventory. He then used the Tap and Die recipe to create another set to test out how the recipes work. Half an ingot was used in his inventory and a the new set was now in his inventory.
That works nicely for regular items but I don''t want to use it on weapons and armor until my expertise is much higher. From what it said before, anything with stats created with a recipe will incur a penalty of a minus one expertise rank loss toward its quality. If I make a sword as an intermediate rank with a recipe it will turn out to be a Beginner quality sword when created. That won''t be to bad at expert or master expertise, but for now, it isn''t worth it.
Ok, l need to finish up this coin press now and head back to the inn before it gets too late.
The ingots had cooled in their casts so he placed them into his inventoryWalkingng over to the forge he placed two ingots into the fire, then pumped the bellows to stoke the forge, turning the ingots orange. He used a set of tongs to grab one of the ingots and place it on the anvil. He split the ingot and hammered out a half inch wide by one and a half foot long round metal rod.
Setting the Iron rod aside, he split the other half of the ingot into four parts. He hammered the four parts into a shape that looked like a quarter inch thick by two-inch wide iron coins. These iron looking coins would work as sleeves for the iron rod to thread into later.
After reheating the four circular sleeves in the forge he placed the metal rod in the center of them to score the circumference to punch out. Using a metal punch he knocked out the center of the sleeves and used the tap and die to thread them to resemble four nuts. Then the metal rod was also threaded to look like a big bolt.
Pulling the second glowing ingot out of the forge he split it and hammered out a one inch thick by three-foot long metal rod. Punching out the center of this rod and threading it to fit as a handle on top of the large bolt.
Gathering up all the hardware he just made he placed it on the workbench and took out the wood coin press frame. picking up the four iron sleeves he snapped them into the wood frame and tread the iron rod vertically down through them. He then threaded the handle to the top of the iron rod.
When he turned the handle on top of the press the threaded iron shaft wound its way down through the iron sleeves.
He then stood back and examined the completed coin press.
Opening the notices he named the Coin Screw Press then looked at the new recipe gained for it.
New Recipe Notice!
You Learned A New Recipe!
Coin Screw Press
This recipe will allow you to instantly create a Coin Screw Press.
Placing the completed screw press in his inventory he then made three more copies of the recipe.
I''m thinking now that I will pay the moneyer to teach me. If he is unwilling I will show him the screw press and tell him I will give him two of them if he teaches me his skills.
The sun began to dip below the city walls casting a dark shadow over the city. Everyone working at the blacksmith had already left and headed home for the night. Rick put away all the tools he used, hanging them back up and straightened up the workstation. He then walked behind the blacksmith building and entered the shed out back that they stored the smelting pots he had given him.
Time to test out my new spell [Portal Gate] I am curious to see how it works.
Casting the spell to connect to his inn room a black doorway rose up from the ground before him. Studying the portal he couldn''t see through to the other side when looking into it.
It looks like a black sheet of paper the size of a door. Well, here goes nothing.
When he stepped through the Portal he found himself standing in the center of his suite at the inn. His face broke into a smile as he looks around the room and back to the portal.
"Now that is a cool spell," he said aloud to himself.
Closing the portal he walked downstairs ordered dinner and ate alone. Returning to the room he locked the door unequipped his clothes and boots crawled into the huge bed and logged out.
Disconnect!
Chapter 10: Meeting the Neighbors
Rick climbed out of the [GATE GEAR] then left the room to use the restroom, after finishing he went to check on his cellphone. He saw he had a missed call from Ryan, so he called him to see what was up.
"Ryan it''s Rick I just disconnected from [KO], what are you up to?"
"We are all going out to dinner Luke, Joel, and Lily are coming along so I called to invite you." [Ryan]
"Alright, I haven''t eaten yet so I''m down. Where are we going to meet?" [Rick]
"Lily said she really wants the salad bar from theItalian Resturant, and their food is really good so we planned to all meet up there."
"That sounds good I haven''t been there in awhile, they have a great chicken parmesan with pasta I could go for."
They decided to all meet at the restaurant in a half hour. Rick''s apartment is a fifteen-minute drive from there, so he didn''t have to rush out the door.
After hanging up Rick opened the closet and put on a black pair of khakis, a gray button-up shirt, and black leather shoes. Grabbing the car keys off thekey hook he stepped out of the apartment locking the door behind him. Clicking the garage door opener on the key chain he entered the garage and unlocked the door of his black 1970 corvette stingray he bought after his six years in the Marines. Climbing in starting the car with the radio on, he drove off to the restaurant with the tinted windows down enjoying the fresh air.
They all had a nice dinner and caught up on what they all had going on over break. They all waited together after dinner because Luke just had to order a desert. Everyone had fun giving him crap over it, but they really didn''t mind it. The five of them all hung out together at the college, and after being separated a few days it was nice to get together outside of classes like this.
When Rick returned to his apartment locking the door upon entering he went straight to the bathroom then took a long shower. Tossing the clothes he wore to dinner and the wet towel in the closet laundry, he redressed into some sweats and a t-shirt and reconnected to [Kingdoms Online]
Now back in his inn suite he reequipped his clothes and boots and walked out onto the balcony. Looking to the sun that was just peaking over the mountains east of town he thought of his hidden mine. Enjoying the cool morning air as he scanned the city, he thought about what he should do today.
I still have some time before the businesses open up, I need to kill some time.
I haven''t checked my stats and skills recently, let''s take a peek at them while I''m waiting around here.
Show Status!
Cedric Crownguard
Strength:
24
Level:
1
Stamina:
26
Health:
220
Vitality:
25
Mana:
600
Intelligence:
60
Pieity:
+125
Wisdom:
27
Fame:
+1125
Agility:
11
Honor:
+500
Charisma:
14
Alignment:
+500 (neutral)
Leadership:
3
Satiety:
98
Luck:
3
Class:
(none)
Health Regen/Sec
0.5
Mana Regen/Sec
1.2
Feudal Domain:
0
Race:
Human
Feudal Title:
Freeman
Unused Points:
0
Titles:
The White Knight
Current
Platinum
Gold
Silver
Copper
Currency
0
57
34
0
I have been lucky with the stat gains I got so far, but I need to level up some to boost them even more. I also have a lot of skills now that also need work.
I just can''t seem to get ahead, though it has been fun!
Show Skills!
Skills List
Anatomy: Level 5 (Beginner 25%)
Martial Arts Level 9 (Beginner 27%)
Carpentry: Level 9 (Intermediate 95%)
Masonary: Level 9 (Intermediate 80%)
Cartography: Level 4 (Beginner 10%)
Paving: Level 7 (Intermediate 67%)
Climbing: Lever 6 (Intermediate 0%)
Staff Fighting: Level 2 (Beginner 0%)
Cooking: Level 8 (Advanced 48%)
Aura Level 1 (Beginner 0%)
Digging: Level 2 (Intermediate 27%)
Aura: Intimidation Level 1 (beginner 0%)
Firemaking: Level 1 (Beginner 75%)
Hammering Level 3 (beginner 8%)
First aid: Level 8 (Beginner 50%)
Blacksmithing level 3 (beginner 60%)
Foraging: Level 3 (Beginner 0%)
Smelting Level 5 (beginner 86%)
Knives: Level 9 (Beginner 15%)
Forging Level 4 (beginner 74%)
Forging: Blade Level 1 (beginner 0%)
Swords: Level 8 (Beginner 76%)
Photoreading
Identify: Level 1 (Beginner 0%)
Shipwright: Level 3 (Intermediate 74%)
Lumberjack: Level 4 (Beginner 48%)
Mining: level 5 (Intermediate 51%)
Night Sight: Level 1 (Beginner 0%)
Taming: Level 5 (Beginner 14%)
Farsight: Level 1 (beginner 0%)
Iron Scan: Level 1 (Beginner 0%)
(unassigned slot)
Known Languages
Human Level 10 (Master 100%)
Elven Language: Level 2 (beginner 89%)
Dwarven Language: Level 8 (beginner 23%)
Now that I see all that list, I don''t want to add any unneeded skills to it right now. I should head over to the moneyer and just trade or buy those dies. Once I have them, I can start pumping out gold coins and find a nice section of land to build up.
It would also be nice to learn more affinities soon to help me shape my land. Nature will have its uses but I think earth affinity will help even more.
My magic is hurting so far. I want to learn more spells somehow.
Show Magic!
Magic
Nature Affinity: Level 6 (Beginner 91%)
Portal Gate: cost 250 mana per cast.
Closing all the notice windows Rick started on his way. Locking his suite door, he walked through the inn on his tip toes, making sure to not make any noise and wake everyone up since it is still so early. When he reached the street outside the inn, it seemed like his steps had gotten quieter and lighter from when he left his room.
If I practice this some more it feels like I might be able to learn a stealth skill or hiding skill of some type. I am running early still so I think I will practice on the way to the craftsman district.
With the streets still empty except the occasional person who worked an early shift job, Rick practiced controlling his body to not swing his arms and walk slightly crouched. He began thinking back about ninjas he had read about for fun, remembering how they explained how to walk silently and how they moved doing it.
He then stopped walking on his toes. Straightening his back and slightly bending his knees to lower his body, he slowly stepped forward onto his heel and rolled his foot to the toes. Continuing next to move the other foot straight forward, he repeated from the heel to toe slowly transferring his weight.
If anyone saw him sneaking along like that down the street, they would think he was crazy. Rick didn''t mind though, if he could get a stealth skill it would be worth it. Seeking along like this for about a thirty-five minutes, he had reached the center of the craftsman district and also had a flashing notice icon to view.
New Skill Notice!
New Skill Learned!
Sneak: Level 1 (Beginner 0%)
Sneak allows you to remain undetected to friend or foe.
Higher levels decrease the chance of detection.
Sweet this will help put some meat on the table. I have a martial arts skill and sneak skill now if I do a few sneak attacks I might unlock a ninja class. That could be a cool class, but I think in this game a battle wizard type class is the way to go.
Making his way through the streets of the craftsman district he came across a small group of dwarves, who became silent as he walked toward them. They avoided eye contact looking pretend Rick wasn''t even there. He Noticed they didn''t want anything to do with him, but not having luck yet locating a mint or moneyer he stopped and asked them directions but in the dwarven language.
When he spoke to them in Dwarven they all did a double take, being so shocked one of them dumbfoundedly responded giving him directions also in dwarven. After he learned where he needed to go he thanked them for their time still in dwarven and headed on his way. The dwarves stood watching him walk on with a (did that just happen) look on their faces.
Those dwarves must take crap from humans in this town every day being the minority. I bet they''re just trying to keep their heads down and avoid any humans if possible. I figured using their language would catch them off guard enough to open up.
After a few twists and turns through the streets, he found the place he was looking for. A wooden sign read, "Silverhall Coining Mint" attached to a building that looked more like a fortified warehouse than a shop. The building was surrounded by a wall maybe ten feet high, all the windows had iron bars and the front door was made from solid Iron. The only access to the building was the open wooden gate that had two guards standing outside of it.
Rick approached the guards and explained to them that he was a [Chosen], and wanted to speak to the person in charge. He told the guards, that he had a new invention which would increase the number of coins they could produce, also saving them money by creating exact size and weight coins every time.
I figure if I use the [Chosen] keyword it will give me some bargaining strength. I know the games NPC AI must be programmed to help out players when they say they''re a [Chosen] allowing us to get extra privileges. It seems everytime I use it that the NPC would see me in a whole new light.
Maybe it''s because players would have a hard time learning skills, or running shops in the cities if the NPC just treated them like normal commoners.
One of the guards turned and headed into the mint to inform whoever was in there about the situation at the gate. Rick patiently waited with the other guard outside to be invited inside.
He didn''t have to wait long after a couple minutes the other guard came back out and took him into the coin mint right away.
The inside of the coin mint looked like just like a blacksmith, they had a couple forge built along the wall and smelting pots hung from rafters nearby. A few men stood at anvils using the hammered coin dies to make sloppy looking coins that they tossed in an iron buckets when it was finished stamping them.
A short stocky man wearing a leather apron over his clothes waved the guard over to the doorway he just stepped out from. The stocky man''s name was Shelton he greeted Rick as they approached and dismissed the guard. Rick followed Shelton into a side room that looked like a cross between an office and work area. Closing the door behind him Shelton walked over to a large workbench in the center of the room. He sat on a stool there and offered one to Rick as well.
"My guard says you have a new invention that we may be interested in." Not wasting any more time Shelton gets right down to business.
Rick smiled and opened his inventory, recovering one of the coin screw presses to set upon the workbench before him. Shelton watched the press appear like magic, nearly causing him to fall off his stool in surprise.
"This is what I call a coin screw press you place your coins back-side die on this shelf, and then connect the face-side die to this iron rod above it right here."
"Then you place a cast or stamped coin blank in between the dies here." He pointed.
"Now you give this handle a quarter turn on top, then it will press the dies into the coin completing the front and back at once."
"When using this machine every coin will be shaped and weigh the same as the next making a cleaner looking coin and saving money on overweight coins."
This press was a very basic tool to a modern age person, but to people of this era, it was almost like seeing a computer for the first time. Bolt and nut threads did not exist in this world, so to see the shaft move up and down through the sleeves to squeeze the dies together was a magical thing to behold.
Shelton looked to Rick, and back to the press with his mouth open as he explained how it worked completely fascinated by it.
"It is an incredible tool, but how much do you want for it" [Shelton]
"We may make the kingdoms coins here, but we do not get to keep them, the mint has a limited budget to work with." [Shelton]
"I will make you a deal, I don''t want you to buy them from me, I want to make a trade" [Rick]
"You don''t want to be paid? Then what do you want in trade then?" [Shelton]
"I will give you one of these coin presses for every gold coin die set traded." [Rick]
"If you give me one gold coin die set then I''ll give you one coin press, if you give me ten gold die sets I will give you ten presses." [Rick]
"I will tell you before you decide that I have no wish to compete with your mint in making coins." [Rick]
"I will soon be making a new kingdom and these coins will only be for my personal use." [Rick]
He discussed all the details with Sheldon about how he needs to make coins to purchase land through the god''s system, along with the materials and construction. They made a deal soon after to trade five new gold coin dies for five coin presses.
Shelton only had the five new dies as backups or he may have even traded for more.
Rick used his recipe to make six more coin presses giving him a total of ten in his inventory. He gave Shelton his five presses and set them up for him, then Rick gathered the workers around him, and gave them a quick lesson on making coin blank casts and how to load and press them. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
They all became excited seeing these new coins fly out of the press looking similar to a modern coin. The edges came out perfectly round, with both sides faces centered, and the thicknesses all equal of each coin he demonstrated.
The best part about it all was that when he placed one of the coins in his inventory for a test, the system added it to his currency total.
I wonder if it has to do with the fact that the mint is now switching to a new technology by using the new presses the system will recognize it?
Lost in thought trying to decide what he should do now, he began wishing he had a place to set up a blacksmith work area of his own, so he could start to smelt his gold and press coins.
Randomly crossing the district not too far from the coin mint he discovered a weapons shop. He stopped and walked inside to check out what they had for sale, and was greeted by the owner. The walls of the shop had been lined with weapons of every kind. Counters wrapped around the main room with knives, daggers and throwing weapons on display for sale. Tall wood display racks showed off leather belts, scabbards, and weapon slings made from many different materials.
As he browsed the shop''s wares he spotted along the side wall near the back a small alcove off the main shop''s room.
He could make out a bow on the wall just inside it, so he crossed the room, and walked into the alcove finding at least fifty bows of differing makes on display before him. Looking at all the bows, he found an actual recurve bow. Remembering the Mongols conquered Asia and part of Europe on horseback with recurve bows peaked his interest. Taking the bow off the wall, he grabbed the limbs and flexed the bow.
He was far a bow expert, but his father had bought them both a few bows to play with in the yard when he was little.
Rick never got serious with them but knew enough to tell this bow had decent poundage to it from its being so hard to flex.
I think recurves run from forty-pound to eighty-pound range this one must be fifty pounds at least? I would be able to hunt small and some big game with a bow like this.
if I were to make broadheads for my arrows this bow would be really nasty. I also want to someday create a compound bow.
I could then make a division of archers armed with compound bows from the recipe. Compounds bows will work great for a while until I move to the next plan.
That plan is to make black powder, but I need to find saltpeter or have the livestock to make it. If I mix saltpeter with charcoal and sulfur or sugar in the right ratios then I will have black powder. If I can accomplish that then next comes cannons and muskets!
Ok back on track here, I want this bow it will work out great for training and hunting.
Hanging onto the bow he then picked up a high-quality leather quiver and set them on the counter to go look at arrows. The owner pointed out the best arrows he had and Rick picked up the whole wicker basket holding near one hundred arrows and set it also on the counter. Examining the weapons lined up around the room, making sure not to miss anything he spotted a section of spears.
Picking out a nice looking six-foot iron tip spear, he placed it on the counter with the other items. Rick asked the owner for a couple extra bowstrings that fit the recurve bow length, and also for a large spool of the bow string. Finished shopping the total came to 10 gold coins, he paid the man and stored all the new gear in the inventory.
He questioned the shopkeeper before leaving, where was the closest place to town he could hunt, the shopkeeper told him to head north to the forest. He warned him it is easy to get turned around in there and become lost. The forest was over 100 square miles of trees and hidden meadows that held animals and some scattered goblins.
Rick left the weapon shop following his mini-map to the city''s north gate. Stepping through the gate he changed into his t-shirt and shorts fixed his eyes toward the north and began running at a fast pace.
Now that his Intelligence had raised over the past few days, his mana regen improved with it. As he ran northward, he would use his [cartography] and [Iron Scan] skills to gradually increasing their levels. After the first mile instead of just running straight, he decided to experiment. Running a few strides, he began leaping forward to the left then run a few more strides and leap forward to the right. For the next five or so miles he continued running, leaping and spamming those skills until he reached the edge of the forest exhausted.
Pulling out some firewood he heated up the last of his watery cave soup to replenish his Satiety. Laying in the grass he relaxed while he caught his breath reviewing the notices he received from his travel.
Skill Increase:
Cartography: Level 9 (Beginner 24%)
Skill Increase:
Iron Scan: Level 6 (Beginner 87%)
New Stats Notice!
Stamina: +6 (+1 awarded each forced pace mile)
Vitality: +6 (+1 awarded each forced pace mile)
Agility: +6 (+1 awarded each forced pace mile)
It looks like the leaping I did award some agility points. If I plan to get good with a bow, then I am sure agility will be needed for aiming, damage, or even both.
Alright enough resting now time to go find some critters!
Rick equipped his green woodsman outfit, armor, sword, quiver, and carried his bow in his hand, when he entered the forest he activated sneak and farsight when he scanned his surroundings.
Sneaking through the forest he had no problem finding plenty of game the problem was actually hitting them without a bow skill. After missing twenty shots with the bow he decided enough was enough.
Storing his bow away he pulled his sword out of the scabbard and slashed down a couple arm loads of tall grass and weeds. He then pulled down some thin vines hanging from an old tree and bound the grass and weeds into a large ball. He carried the large grass ball over to a tree and tied it to a branch with the vines to hang about four feet off the ground.
Using the Nature Affinity on the vines he concentrated on strengthing them to hold the ball together and not break away from the tree branch he tied it to.
Ok now I have a target to work with here, I can practice till I get a bow skill.
Fixing his stance holding the bow extended and steady he pulled the notched arrow back until his two fingers holding the bowstring rested against his cheek next to his mouth. Repeating the process and adjusting to the arrows flight after some shots he began sinking arrows into the target as it swayed around from side to side. After shooting, collecting, then repeating these steps it finally arrived.
New Skill Notice!
New Skill Learned!
Archery: Level 1 (Beginner 0%)
The skill of shooting a bow and arrow
Higher levels increase distance and accuracy (Agility +bonus to damage)
Once he gained the archery skill, he cut down his hanging target and stored it in his inventory in case he wanted to practice with it later on. Sneaking deeper into the forest he came to a large clearing with a small herd of deer grazing on the grass. Slowly he moved behind a fallen tree and let the branches sticking up off of it break up his silhouette.
He sat watching the deer as they gradually moved closer to his hidden position. Singling out a large buck that wandered to within thirty yards he notched an arrow brought up the bow to hold his aim just behind the front leg upper shoulder. When he let the arrow loose it hit the target.
All the deer in the clearing broke and ran when they heard the bow string twang. The buck he hit ran with them and made it half way across the clearing when it fell sliding to a stop. Rick knew that when hunting larger game it is best to wait a few minutes before jumping up and pursuing them after they were shot. Most times if not chased they will lay down and bleed out. If you chase them the adrenaline can push them to keep running and end up losing them.
After waiting and seeing no movement from the downed deer, he notched another arrow and walked up on it ready to fire again. He gave it a nudge with his foot and nothing happened the deer was dead.
He removed the arrow, and took out his knife and began to skin the deer. His knife lines wavered a bit, but he took his time with the outlining cuts, and when finished was prompted with a window to remove the skin. After the skin was removed he cut the meat off the best he could. Finished quartering the meat he took out a saw from his inventory and removed the buck''s antlers.
I''m not sure if the deer have a rutting season in the game if they do rattling antlers is a good way to bring aggressive rutting bucks to your location.
Standing up after he finished he stored the antlers, and the saw ready to set back out. Then a noise caught his attention, he heard a light thumping sound behind him as he turned to investigate, he was hit with a jarring collision. Stumbling forward he hit the ground hard and roll back to his feet shaking his head clear while feeling a growing sharp pain in his side.
He didn''t have the time to look at his side because standing not 15 feet from him was a large wolf crouched barring its teeth. It let out a wicked growl and looked ready to leap at him again.
Rick''s military training kicked in, quickly drawing his sword from the scabbard and slowly stepping back while opening his inventory to equip his shield. When he took that step the wolf set off at him, Slow to raise his shield he partially blocks the wolf who slammed hard into him again. The wolf jumped back after the failed attack, it began to circle around him looking for an opening.
Seeing the wolf wasn''t about to attack he repeated the step back again to lure the wolf into triggering a prey attack on him. Showing feigned weakness worked, as he stepped back while watching the wolf''s back legs. As soon as they flinched he swung his sword in a horizontal arc catching the wolf across the throat.
Losing its will to fight the wolf choked and coughed up some blood and fell to the ground.
Rick fell to his butt with it letting out a long sigh then grimaced as the pain in his side returned. Unequipping his armor and shirt, he found a gash where the wolf had bitten him just below his armor on the waistline. He removed his first aid kit and took out the healing balm applying it to the wound, it began to itch as he watched it very slowly beginning to heal.
I need to keep my head on a swivel that wolf must have smelled the deer I was field dressing. That was a dumb mistake, I was too complacent from always being in the safety of the city.
Patching himself up than dressing out the wolf for its pelt and meat he set off hunting. He came across another wolf shortly after with an opposite outcome, he took it down without it ever knowing he was there gaining another pelt and wolf meat. After a couple hours, he had bagged five rabbits for fur and meat, a turkey that he plucked and kept the feathers for fletching, and cleaned the carcass and saved it all in his inventory.
Passing quietly through a short narrow ravine with sheer walls between to large his hills he stopped stored his bow and took out his pickaxe. Mining into the ravine wall he cut out a narrow doorway and opened up a small room in about fifteen minutes. He made a small fire and lightly fried some deer meat with his veggies, and spices. Once he was full he relaxed while reading through the notices he gained during the hunt.
New Level Notice!
You Gained a Level!
Level 2
You have five unused points to distribute.
New Skill Learned!
New Skill Learned!
Field Dress: Level 1 (0%)
Field Dress allows you to gain skins, pelts, scales, meat, and bones.
Higher level increases allow for higher quality materials gathered.
Skilll Increase:
Field Dress: Level 3 (57%)
Skill Increase:
Mining: level 6 (Intermediate 06%)
Skilll Increase:
Archery: Level 3 (Beginner 32%)
Skill Increase:
Sneak: Level 6 (Beginner 12%)
Damage Recived:
-30 HP from wolf attack
Finished reviewing the window notices Rick left the cave looked around and walked over to a bush, taking out his knife he cut the top stem and planted it in the ground in front of the cave door he made. Using nature magic on the cut stem he made it take root, and grow large enough to hide the entrance to the doorway.
I can always use that little cave as a safe place to open a portal if I want to return to this forest again later.
Back on the hunt and a few miles into the forest now, he came across his first monster, a goblin carrying a spear. The goblin was looking the opposite way toward a meadow with rabbits running around chasing each other.
It must be also out hunting alone, let see if I can get a little closer while he is occupied.
Pulling out his dagger Rick began using his sneak skill to move from tree to tree taking near three minutes to cover the last 20 yards. Making his way behind the goblin he quickly reached his hand across its face, he grabbed the goblin''s chin pulling it forcefully to the left at the same time thrusting the dagger down between the goblin''s right neck and shoulder. The goblin let out a small muffled whimper then dropped his spear. Rick then pulled his dagger free, still holding the chin he lowered the body to the forest floor and searched through the pouches hung around its waist.
I never thought I would use a subclavian artery thrust when they taught it to us. We were told it is great for quick and quiet sentry removal, but how many combat engineers will ever be sent on a mission to take out guards?
Rick began cutting the pouches free and searching the contents. The small pouch contained a ball of string a few canine teeth possibly from a wolf and a hand full of green plant leaves. placing the items back in the pouch he stored it in his inventory.
Opening the large pouch he found a hand full of crushed rotting grapes he pulled one apart and found seeds inside it. He extracted all the grape seeds then stored them, and tossed the rotting grapes aside. He then pulled out a red gem about the size of his thumbnail that looked like a ruby. In the corner of the pouch, he found a folded piece of fur tied up with string. He cut the string with his dagger and unwrapped it. Inside was a silver intricate ring that had diamonds or quartz set in it.
Holding the ring up a turning it to examine it he found words engraved into it. Some part of the letters had worn with time but he could actually read most of it.
One side of the ring read "Goddess of Creation." Then the other more worn he could make out the word "cleric."
Looking at these letters they are different from what is used today. They look familiar almost looking like earth''s old latin. Where have I seen this before?
He sat thinking for a minute about what he read and the nagging familiarity of it. Then he reached up to his neck.
Goddess of Creation? That would be Faith she created this world and even the lesser gods. I remember I couldn''t read the Medallion she gave me but then I read that book on the human hierarchy and learned the ancient human language and maxed out it.
Holding the Medallion up he could understand it now. The center has the detailed engraving of the planet and continents with words engraved around the outer rim.
Across the top, it read "Goddess Faith ~ Mother of Origin." Then wrapping across the bottom reads "At the top of creation ~ I look to my sides ~ I am alone"
You won''t be alone for long Faith I''m here and I will bring others to your side soon.
Rick held the medallion tight in his hands letting his feelings flow into it hoping they reach her. Glancing once last time at it, Rick then clasped it around his neck and picked the ring back up again.
How does a goblin have this ring and ruby that was cut by a professional? This ring said cleric on it and an expensive gem found along with it. All I can come up with right now is a cleric of Faith''s died out here ages ago and this goblin found these among his bones or there was a temple around here long ago.
I need more information, if there was a temple out here I want to find it. There could be relics I could salvage for Faith''s new temple.
While turning the ring over, Rick thought of a skill he just learned.
Identify!
*~ ~ ~ ~* Faith''s Blessings *~ ~ ~ ~*
Spell:
Greater Heal
Charges:
9/50
Effects:
+ 200 H.P.
Durability:
31/100
Well, I know for a fact that this was related to Faith''s denomination, now I need to find out where it came from.
Rick began scanning his surroundings then he activated [Farsight] but with so many trees around him, he could only see so far. Not seeing anything noticable in the area he switched tactics.
Taking out a roll of cloth he cut a section off of the roll and dyed it bright yellow. Taking out the scissors he cut up fifty cloth ribbons for trail markers and began a quick four direction search from his location. Starting north he walked forward, every twenty feet tying a trail-ribbon until he was out giving a searched area of a little over 300 yards.
He then turned back untying them back to the 1st ribbon he repeated this method east next and came across a well-worn narrow trail not more than thirty yards out. The trail ran north to south, and since he had traveled in from the south so he gathered the ribbons walked back to the trail activated sneak and followed the trail north.
Staying off the trail he followed about ten feet from the side keeping to cover in the foliage.
Sneaking along beside the trail he soon came to a large clearing and in it was a crumbling building surrounded by a few remaining upright pillars.
This has to be where the ring came from, and after near 1000 years it held up well. Some parts of the walls and ceiling have collapsed and it is choked with vegetation but overall it''s not bad.
Staying in the tree line he remained hidden while observing the building for any signs of life.
I''m going to make myself a set of camouflage clothes and a ghillie for hunting soon, this green outfit wears well but the color is too solid.
Ten minutes after watching from the cover of a bush two goblins walked out the open doorway towards the path he had followed here.
Should I let them go by or try and take them out? If I let them go I have to worry about them walking in behind me later.
Rick pulled out four arrows then turned around looking down the path. He remained low on one knee while slightly turning he stuck three arrows in the soil to his right side. Notching an arrow he remained motionless allowing the goblins to pass his position continuing down the trail. The goblins kept walking south having their backs to him. The goblins walked one in front of the other following the trail.
When they reached near twenty yards from him he drew back his arrow and let it loose, hitting the rear goblin in the back just below the shoulder blades. keeping his body stiff and only reaching out for the next arrow he notched it and fired hitting the second goblin on the side as it turned around from hearing its partners screams of pain.
He quickly notched another arrow as the goblin looked to his direction and charged. Drawing back he took a deep breath tracked the target and slowly exhaled, releasing the shot he hit the charging goblin center chest from 10 yards away.
Their screams of the two dieing goblins drew out another one running hard out the doorway toward the bodies holding a short sword in hand.
Rick let it sprint past his hidden location, just when the goblin reached the bodies on the trail and looked down to check them an arrow dropped it dead.
After searching their pouches he found a small green gem that looked like an emerald and nothing really worth keeping some bones, claws and rotten food.
Still hel stored all their weapons and items notched an arrow and began approaching the building from the side ready to find out what was in there waiting.
Chapter 11: Godshome Island
Rick flanked around to the east of the ruins, he kept to the inside of the treeline with [Sneak] activated. Maneuvering through the vegetation to remain undetected, just another shadow that slipped through the kaleidoscope of sun rays filtering down through the forest canopy.
Out of view from the doorway, his senses directed toward the ruins, He probed the area for any signs of life as he approached the outside wall of the dilapidated structure. Undercover of the shadows veil cast down from the adjacent wall, he vigilantly moved parallel toward the corner adjacent the front entrance.
Before the corner had been reached, he came across a narrow breach tore throughout the ruinous wall. Rick exploited this weathered fracture to scout the interior, he observed a small fire near the far wall that cast an orange radiance across an unkempt tile floor where white crumbled statues motionlessly observed the passage of time.
He attempted to examine all of the partially lit room but still could not ascertain if any enemies hid amidst the shadows far removed from any light cast by the dim flames.
When he Activated [Night Sight], the ineffective firelight and shadows were cast aside to reveal the once shrouded sections for him to reconnaissance. Rick adjusted his view through the narrow breach to discover the room appeared to be free of enemies. Then changing his position slightly closer to the wall to direct his view toward the front entrance that was hard to observe from the current line of sight. With his cheek pressed against the wall, he could just glimpse the area near the entrance.
The activated [Night Sight] skill allowed him to expose a hidden goblin who held a spear silently behind a column. This once concealed monster continuously monitored the doorway, on-guard to ambush the unknown attacker upon entering the ancient ruins.
If I had a better angle I might be able to hit it with an arrow from here. I can just barely see him let alone get a shot off on him though.
All I can do is attack head on from the doorway. If I directly charge his location from the entrance it might be possible to shock him into freezing up for a moment. If it works then I can take him down quickly without a fight.
Crouched down below the crack in the wall, Rick moved on unnoticed up to the corner. Storing away the bow carried in hand, he equipped the spear and shield and crept up to the entrance. With a Choked grip on the spear and a braced shield against his forearm he silently prepared to charge in. Just then, he backed off from the entrance several feet while he had thought of a different approach.
I want to test out a different tactic, instead of a forced ahead on attack why not test out my portal spell.
Rich concentrated on the location he''d seen earlier about ten feet behind the goblin, as he cast the portal spell the black door rose up from the ground before him. He once again adjusted his spear and shield took three steps back and charged through the portal. At a full run, he exploded out the other side charging the unsuspecting goblin from behind.
The goblin then heard Rick''s quick footsteps and turned toward him. Rick pulled his elbow back behind him, then threw a punch with the shield that smashed into the green creature''s face. The small monster was slammed against the column it hid behind until now. The impact of the shield and column knocked out the goblin who lifelessly slid to the floor. Rick brought the spear back ready to skewer the unconscious goblin when he caught movement to his left. Instinctively, he turned toward the threat of another goblin who had sprung out to ambush him.
The goblin with a dagger held overhead charged at him poised to strike. After a couple strides, the goblin was in striking range for Rick''s longer reached attack. He quickly dropped to a one knee stance and threw a uppercut with his shield to strike, and block the smaller creature. The shield drove up into the goblin''s chin snapping its head back with an audible crack and blocked the dagger that weakly deflected off the iron shields surface. As the goblin and dagger flew back, he spun around to continue the initial attack.
The first goblin was attempting to stagger to its feet and locate his lost spear. Rick didn''t allow him the chance, Rick thrust the spear like a piston directly through the punch-drunk green creature twice.
He turned his head to glance over his shoulder at the second goblin that was now sprawled out on the floor with its head at an angle it should not be able to turn.
That shield uppercut must have snapped its neck.
Rick did a complete scan of the room with [Night Sight] and couldn''t locate any remaining goblins in sight.
All the noise from that fight, if any were left it would have drawn them out of hiding.
He began gathering up the fallen weapons and pouches from the dead goblins to store in his inventory. While he calmed down some from the fight, Rick suddenly realized that the medallion around his neck was glowing. Holding it up to view the glow it was emitting, he also felt a slight pull from it. This made him think of the [Iron Scan] skill when used it would pull him toward the iron deposit locations it found.
Rick began to follow the direction the medallion relayed to him while taking everything in around him. The few standing statues left are worn and decayed many lay shattered across the floor. He came across skeletal remains strewn around the room mixed with rusted spear tips and swords weathered beyond use even for lowly goblins who dismissed them.
I wonder if these people died from the goblins? It looks like they were human and maybe ten of them, guessing from the bones left behind. There would need to be a good number of goblins to take down ten armed guards.
Removing a bolt of white cloth from his inventory Rick cut off a section and spread it out on the floor. After putting the cloth away he gathered up the bones, corroded weapons, and decayed uniforms scattered around the area and laid them upon the white cloth.
Wraping up the remains in the cloth, he carefully carried them outside the temple,
Under a large tree beside the temple Rick used his shovel to dig a grave. He arranged the bones and equipment of the fallen guard neatly next to one another. Standing up he came to attention with his hand at the salute he spoke out.
"On this grave, the rain shall fall from the eyes of a glorious goddess. Rest now, your mission has been accomplished!"
Rick then covered the grave leaving it unmarked for fear that any returning goblins desecrate it.
With a final glance back Rick walked back into the temple and continued his search of walking along looking into every dark corner for enemies or possible temple relics.
A glimmer of light then caught his eye from a pile of debris against the wall. Under the pile of small stone chunks branches and leaves, he found two elaborately crafted gold Candelabra that only had a few scratches.
I can polish these scratches out and display them as relics in the temple one day. It''s a shame that the statues are too far gone exposure to the elements over time must have destroyed everything in here.
The medallion''s ability continued to grow to direct him to the back temple wall.
There he found a faded mural painted on the large wall of a life-sized woman who dressed similar to the goddess Faith and wore a medallion like the one around his own neck.
This should be a painting of Faith, but it is quite faded now. The hair color and style look like Faith''s and the clothes are similar in design. How did they know what she looks like maybe they have seen her in their dreams? The books I read told of how the lesser gods lead their people through dreams, maybe they got that from Faith?
As he was drawn toward the mural the medallion around the painted woman''s neck began to glow brighter the closer he got to it. Rick stopped directly in front of the woman and reached out his hand placing his finger over the glow from the painted medallion. He then felt where he touched the mural it had a circular raised surface. When he rolled his finger over it, he felt a slight give to the protrusion on the painted surface.
He lightly applied pressure and found the painted medallion concealed what seemed like an enchanted button of some sort. Rick pushed the button in a good inch and heard a muffled clunk noise from behind the wall. When he released the button a long crack appeared as the wall slowly swung open to reveal a hidden door. Behind the door was a staircase going down into the darkness below the temple.
Before he descended the stairs, Rick to a look back around the temple to investigate the room. He wanted to make sure nothing walked in while he had been near the back wall. Once satisfied, he equipped his sword then activated [night sight] and [sneak]. He stepped through the door and examined the opposite side for a way to open it from the inside. Located in the center of the door was a lever that when turned would extend and retract iron bars similar to that of a safe. He closed the door behind him turned the lever and the iron bars slid into the wall once again concealing the door to anyone outside.
Rick drew his sword from the scabbard on his hip as he continued to make his way down the staircase. When he reached the bottom he found himself in a large room with a couple doors along the far wall. The room was pitch black but with him using the [Night Sight] he could see every detail of the room.
As he investigated the room he found crates, clay containers, and shelves of books and scrolls on his end of the room. The room had a beautiful wood desk on the front panel was an ornate carving of the temple''s original likeness. Each panel depicted lifelike scenes of landscapes and religious ceremonies. The panels and edges had all been inlaid with decorative gold patterns. Rick walked around the desk astounded by the craftsmanship put into it. Then he noticed the chair that was carved in the same style as the desk so that they matched one another.
Sitting on top of the desk was an open book covered with a layer of dust. When he blew off the dust he, noticed the book was written in ancient human. He sat down in the chair and began to read the open pages.
The Temple of Faith
To any brother or sister of the Temple of Faith, We have come under attack again from the barbarians of the northeastern mountains. Our temple guards could not stand against their numbers this time. It seems that the mountain tribes have joined together to raid us this time. Most of us have retreated to this underbuilding while some of the guards held back the savage tribes who attacked. We fear that we can no longer stay in this region with the increasing attacks, and must abandon our beloved temple, our home. We have decided to travel through the teleport platform Created by the founder so many years ago to Godshome Island that our predecessors once discovered that is located north of the mainland. Goddess Faith guides and bless you and join us in our new home when you can.
(Signed by Cleric Denholm)
I see that explains the bones and weapons I buried upstairs. They must have been the guard who stayed behind to allow the rest to escape into this hidden cellar.
All this stuff down here seems to of held up over the centuries. It is dry without any humidity or light so it is almost like they just left here, excluding this thick layer of dust covering everything.
Time to start storing all this into my inventory. I can use all of this for my new lands, then I want to see this teleport platform. This book says it is an island north of the mainland if it is big enough I could find some land to buy away from the players who will join in a couple days.
Rick took the desk, chair, and everything in and on it. He took ten bookshelves filled with books without reading them and three racks of scrolls.
Stacked against the wall sat four large sealed wood crates and various sized clay containers that he stored away without viewing their contents. A long table surrounded by chairs sat in the center of the room with silver engraved goblets, pitchers, plates, and utensils.
On the far back wall, he found a tapestry of Faith sitting on a throne in a temple reading a colorfully artistic book, while holding a sword in her other hand with the blade leaning against her shoulder, and the pommel rested on her thigh.
This tapestry is incredible I can tell this is Faith, the details are done so well I can almost read the text on the page she is reading. This is perfect for her future temple.
After the tapestry was safely in his inventory he made his way across the room, and opened the first door to find a large bedroom.
This bedroom furniture looks as expensive as that of the suite I rented for the week. He took a large canopy bed, small desk, wardrobe with outfits, large rug, and two chairs.
The next room had ten single beds, ten nightstands and ten trunks at the foot of the beds. He glanced in one of the trunks before storing them and found a small leather case that contained a comb, razor, and scissors. A pouch with a few silver coins, two small books, and a few temple outfits. With the contents of the room in his inventory, he entered the last room.
In this room, he found a square stone platform with a circle and strange symbols carved into the top. The only other item in this room was a framed painting of a Map.
This must be the map of the island from the scale of it the island must be enormous. I see that they marked two tribes that also lived there. I will need to scout out those tribes and find out if they still are there and if they might be hostile.
I see a great open spot at the end of this main river near the coast that would make a great spot to build, farm, and raise livestock. It has a sheltered bay that might work as a harbor if deep enough and that river must be fresh water which flows out of these mountains to the north. It has a forest close to the east for lumber and a large mountain north to cut stone and mine ore.
I''m excited now! Please, Faith let this teleport pad work still!
Rick put the map away and walked up the steps onto the stone platform and stood in the center of the circle and strange symbols. He stood looking down for a few seconds and started to grow nervous that the teleport was dead. Then the runes slowly began to glow a light blue color and a notice window opened before him.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
Temple of Faith Teleport
Do you wish to use the teleport to Godshome Island?
>>> YES
NO
Yes!
When Rick chose yes the blue light from the runes around him grew brighter and surrounded him in what appeared to be a magic shield bubble, then he vanished leaving behind the empty cellar room.
Rick found himself in a room with three walls and the sunlight slightly blinded him with his [Night Sight] still on. He turned off [Night Sight] and checked that he still had [Sneak] on. Opening his inventory he equipped his shield in his hand, while the other gripped tight the sword handle prepared to strike. This building was obviously the other Temple that they had escaped to, but this temple was in much worse shape. Good portions of the walls and ceiling had collapsed in this room alone.
He snuck up to the door he assumed led into the main temple hall and peaked out looking for any enemies camped out inside like the other temple. The roof out there had completely collapsed in and the entire hall was filled with large chunks of the broken stone slab. There were no people or creatures and anything of value had been buried long ago under tons of stone.
This place seems safe for now from the looks of it this temple is to far gone, even for monsters to move into.
Before I leave here and start exploring those engraved runes that started glowing on the teleport platform seemed to cast a spell or enchantment.
I should record them to memory to study later.
Rick walked around the platform using his Photoreading to store all the symbols to memory.
Should I leave this teleporter here now like this? I really don''t have a use for it now that I''m here my portal spell can get me back and forth. I am worried once thousands of players start running around everywhere will someone find the teleport in the temple''s hidden cellar. I would rather make it as hard as possible for other players to find this island.
After thinking it over Rick decided it was best to keep the island a secret. He opened his inventory and took out his pickaxe and turned the platform into rubble.
It seems like a waste but I don''t have to worry about a group of players sneaking in here for some time. In the future, someone will make a boat and happen upon this island but I should be well built up by then to control the situation.
Rick turned around and climbed over a low section of collapsed wall to go outside the ruins. Taking out a hammer and stone chisel, he began removing stone blocks from the wall. He recovered a large pile of the blocks and stacked some of them up to make a quick small forge. He then took out the anvil, smithing hammer, and one iron ingot. Once the forge had a good coal base with a nice hot fire, he dropped the ingot into the coals and flames until began to glow. With the hammer and chisel, Rick cut a quarter inch slice from the ingot. While the slice he cut off was still hot, he began to cut it into 3"x1/25" inch iron spikes. He hammered half of the spikes ends flat and pointed the other end making blacksmith''s nails. The rest of the spikes he repeated the process but then used the tap & die to thread them and used a small chisel to make an inverted (x) on top making Philips head screws.
Now let''s check to make sure I made enough to get recipes for them. I have had a few notices still from before the temple I''ve also been putting off.
Skill Increase:
Field Dress: Level 5 (Beginner 11%)
Skill Increase:
Sneak: Level 1 (Intermediate 71%)
Skill Increase:
Archery: Level 6 (Beginner 63%)
Skill Increase:
Night Sight: Level 5 (Beginner 87%)
New Skill Notice!
New Skill Learned!
Shield Bash: level 1 (beginner 16%)
The ability to use your shield as a blunt weapon.
Higher level increases allow for more greater damage and knockback.
New Level Notice!
You Gained a Level!
Level 3
You have five unused points to distribute.
New Level Notice!
You Gained a Level!
Level 4
You have five unused points to distribute.
I will just make their names simple "Blacksmith''s Nail" and "Philps Head Screw".
New Recipe Notice!
You Learned A New Recipe!
Blacksmith''s Nail
This recipe will allow you to instantly create a blacksmith''s nails.
New Recipe Notice!
You Learned A New Recipe!
Philps Head Screw
This recipe will allow you to instantly create Philips head screw.
Since I have the tools out I might as well make one more tool.
While the ingot sat in the forge heating up Rick began to whittle a wood handle 4"x1.5" inches. He used a file to smooth and round it out the handle to fit his hand. With tongs in hand, he pulled out the ingot and cut another 1/25" slice off and hammered out the slice into a 4" long round rod. Using a chisel cut an into the tip and fit the handle to the tipped round rod to have a completed Philips screwdriver to use with his screws.
New Recipe Notice!
You Learned A New Recipe!
Philps Head Screwdriver
This recipe will allow you to instantly create a Philips head screwdriver.
While he waited on the forge and ingot to cool off he made 200 hundred nails and screws which were instantly made thanks to the new recipes.
Then he sat down and began to bury his fingers into the soft ground and sent his mana into the earth until he finally linked his mana to the earth''s mana. Rick started to cycle his mana into the earth while drawing from the earth for over an hour until he received a notice.
New Affinity Notice!
New Affinity Learned!
Earth Affinity: Level 1 (Beginner 0%)
The magic ability to wield and resist an affinity.
Higher Levels increase overall control and resistance.
Two Affinities learned about eight more to go that I still want. Before I start on that I have some traveling to still do.
I have that shipwright skill and could build a decent sailboat to travel the lake and river but then I would be here for days building it. I want to get down the river fast and check out that spot on the map I liked. The fastest way I guess just make a raft?
He packed up the stone blocks and tools to the inventory, then took out the ax and saw. He began walking over near the lake shore and cut down a large tree to make a raft.
Then the tree trunk was split into sections, he rolled four six foot long sections of the trunk side by side then he sawed out some planks and nailed down a deck to the top of the four logs. Cutting a 4"x4"x7'' long square beam he secured and braced it to the center of the raft as a mast.
Rick took out some of the heavy cloth and sewed it together to make a sail. Sawing out two 1"x1"x6'' wood poles Rick sewed them horizontally into the top and bottom of the sail and connected these poles holding the sails to the mast. Then the last thing he did was make a 2"x2"x6'' pole and screwed a wood fin for a back rudder and made a bracket for it to rest in on the back of the raft.
It took a little effort but the raft finally was in the lake and he turned the sail to catch the wind gliding slowly across the lake in search of the southern flowing river.
Now I have some time to kill this ride should take awhile. I have all those books from the temple I could read to get some INT & WIS or possibly learn a new skill.
Rick took out a chair and nightstand and set them on the raft behind the mast. He gently sat down in the chair opened his inventory and began to search through the book titles. The first book that caught his eye was written in Ancient Human and translated to "The Language of Power". What caught his attention was the other marking on it that looked similar to the runes engraved in the teleport platform.
The Language of Power
The teaching of our goddess Faith. This language was taught to the founder of The Temple of Faith during the founding of the first temple as a reward for our devotion. This runic language can be used to combine words that have magical effects. The book contains thousands of runic symbols that must all be learned to understand how this language and properly draw out the magic it possesses. Only a handful of our brothers and sisters ever memorized the vast amount of information in this book to wield the runic symbols, most that did learn it took them most of their lives to accomplish.
That description alone explains why they never used this Runic Language to protect themselves against those mountain men. If I didn''t have Photoreading I wouldn''t even attempt to try and learn this. This book must be an easy six inches thick just to normally read it would take a long time but to memorize it all seems impossible. I would think the original founder had all this downloaded into his head by Faith somehow to remember and record it so well.
Rick then opened the book and began [photoreading] every page to memory as he crossed the large lake, and found his way into the current of the river heading south. Drifting with the current and occasionally adjusting the rafts direction he floated down the river while it cut through the mountains toward the southern plains. After three and a half hours he had read the book twice to make sure he didn''t miss anything in it.
Time to check out what I learned now.
New Skill Notice!
New Skill Learned!
Demigod''s Dialect: level 1 (Master 16%)
The ability to use the ancient magic runic language gifted to the mortals by a goddess.
Higher level increases allow for more variation of applications.
Rick suddenly felt a sharp pain in his head as the new skills knowledge was absorbed. With a scowl on his face, he used his fingers to massage his head until the pain gradually vanished.
All those words, symbols, and combinations rapidly downloaded into my brain...so much information...uhhg.
At least for this pain, I achieved a master expertise, but I wonder why it didn''t max out? Maybe not enough practical application experience or there is still more than this book to learn?
Rick put away the chair and nightstand, laid down on the raft while watching the shore roll by until he saw an interesting sight. Sitting up not believing his eyes, spread out along the bank was a large herd of horses drinking from the river.
Holy crap look at all of them if I [Tame] a bunch of them I can create a cavalry division.
I wonder what else is out on these plains?
Once I learn how to make a saddle, and bridle I will be back for one of you! He yelled out at the horses laughing. They looked at him like he was crazy, and continued on with drinking and grazing.
After the raft left the horses behind he found the area of land, he was interested in surveying, He directed his raft up onto the east shore and lowered the sail. Once on shore, he began walking south, parallel with the river to find where his kingdom would begin.
Chapter 12: Angelica
Rick followed the river that flowed south through the vast green grassland. When he used his [Far Sight] skill to look out from the river across the grassland, he saw flat land for miles. The flat land looked like a great place to build and farm.
After walking a few miles he reached the end of the river that empties into the ocean surrounding the island. Looking out across the bay, inhaling the salty smell blowing off the water, he noticed white cliffs out on the Peninsula.
Rick began to head over to investigate the rock thinking that it may be marble but was hard to tell from a distance. When he approached the white rock he could tell it wasn''t marble it looked like porous white slate but the rock wasn''t flaky like slate.
Placing his hand on it, he sent his mana into the white rock and used his [Identify] skill.
Limestone
A sedimentary rock, containing marine organisms skeletal remains such as coral, Foraminifera, and molluscs. It can be used to manufacture quicklime, mortar, and cement. limestone is also used as a soil conditioner to neutralize acidic soils and is added to livestock feed to boost calcium levels.
This is a good find and there is plenty of it here this cliff must be thirty feet high and over a mile long. If I can make mortar and cement it would make the stonework so much stronger.
I remember from my studies that limestone use to be used to build with, even in the fifties they used it to accent some of the newer skyscrapers.
He took out his Pick-axe and cut out a few chunks real quick just to experiment with later. Once he stored the limestone he traveled across the base of the peninsula to the large bay to the east a couple miles from the cliff.
He surveyed the shoreline and water depth of the bay. When he first saw it on his map he thought it could make a good harbor.
It seems to be deep enough and if we build some docks out off the shore we could bring larger ships right in here to dock then. I like that it is surrounded on both sides by land and that small island near the mouth of the bay also shelters it. It seems protected from storms and easy to defend.
When Rick finished checking the possible harbor location, he turned back north toward a location that he decided to make his first claimed land. On the trek upriver the sun began to set growing dark, using his [Night Sight] he found the location and looked around one more time before deciding to wait until morning to get started here.
I guess I can disconnect for awhile and wait until sunrise here to get started.
Disconnect!
Rick turned his computer on then used the bathroom, and made a sandwich. He sat at his computer eating his sandwich while looking up a few things online. He first checked in on making basic cement and concrete. He read that mixing crushed limestone, clay, shells, and sand into mixed powder and heat it together will give you a cement when you mix it with water. If that cement is mixed with sand and crushed stone it will become cement.
The next few things he looked into were water wheels, treadmill cranes, Roman road construction and many technologies used in the Medieval Ages. He turned his computer off and laid down for a nap in his bedroom.
When he woke up he laid back down in the [GATE GEAR] and logged back into [Kingdoms Online].
The sun was just starting to peak over the horizon when Rick found himself back in the grasslands along the river.
Rick had found this spot yesterday a bend in the river that gave him an Idea for making a small island in the river. He examined his mini-map as he thought out where he would dig to make a canal that would separate a chunk of land.
[mini-map of location]
Rick brought out his shovel and started digging a long trench a few feet from the river shore from north to south. He dug it out about 8'' feet deep and 15'' wide. He figured with the current of the river over time the canal would erode and become wider than he made it so he kept it a reasonable size for now. When he was happy with the canal, he connected it to the south part of the river and then opened the small strip of soil to the north holding back the water from flooding into the canal he just dug out.
[mini-map of location]
Now I have a defensible island in the river to build a small starter home and workshop combo, to work out of while I build the area up.
He opened his inventory and took out one of the trees he cut down and made enough 2"x6"x15'' beams, 4"x4"x15'' posts, 8"x8"x15'' posts, and 1"x6"x15'' planks to receive recipes for them.
New Recipe Notice!
You Learned A New Recipe!
2"x6"x15'' beam recipe
This recipe will allow you to instantly create a beam (two inches by six inches by 15 feet long).
New Recipe Notice!
You Learned A New Recipe!
4"x4"x15'' post recipe
This recipe will allow you to instantly create a post (four inches by four inches by 15 feet long).
New Recipe Notice!
You Learned A New Recipe!
8"x8"x15'' post recipe
This recipe will allow you to instantly create a post (eight inches by eight inches by fifteen feet long).
New Recipe Notice!
You Learned A New Recipe!
1"x6"x15'' plank recipe
This recipe will allow you to instantly create a plank (one inch by six inches by fifteen feet long).
That should help me out now to save some time making all these posts and planks individually was starting to become more like work than playing a game.
He now had the recipes out of the way he took out his hammer and nails. After he put the tree he used for lumber back in the inventory he used the recipes to make up a few of each one. Rick grabbed two of the 2"x6"x15'' beams stood them up and dropped them across the canal he dug out. He then started sawing off three-foot cuts from the 1"x6"x15'' planks and nailed the three-foot cuts to the top of the beams he dropped across the canal to make a small bridge to the island.
With a bridge to the island, he packed up his tools and lumber and walked out onto the island to measure out an area 17''x17'' for a square stone tower. With his shovel, he dug the marked area out down 10 feet where he hit the bedrock. Now he needed to buy the stone block from the [Land Management Menu].
I could make a stone quarry up north near the mountain, but then I need to drag it bag and forth miles wasting time. I will just buy it until I buy some laborers I can set up to cut and haul stone blocks. Before I buy stone I need to buy land to unlock the option of buying resources and units. It''s finally time to buy land and get started!
Show Land Management Menu!
Land Management Menu
>>> BUY LAND
BUY RESOURCES [Locked]
BUY UNITS [Locked]
Buy Land!
You are about to purchase your first acre of land. Congratulations!
Make sure that you are standing in the center of the acre use wish to purchase before proceeding any further!
Purchase Your First Acre?
>>> YES
NO
Yes!
Next, the Local Land Grid will open allowing you to see and buy available land connected to your center acre.
The system will also place a transparent grid on the ground in the world for reference as well.
Close [Local Land Purchasing Grid] to cancel in-world grid marking system.
Each acre sells for 1 gold and will be removed immediately from your inventory!
Local Land Purchasing Grid
1F: BUY
1E: BUY
2B: BUY
2E: BUY
2F: BUY
1D: BUY
1C: BUY
2A: BUY
2C: BUY
2D: BUY
1B: BUY
1A: BUY
Center
3A: BUY
3B: BUY
4D: BUY
4C: BUY
4A: BUY
3C: BUY
3D: BUY
4F: BUY
4E: BUY
4B: BUY
3E: BUY
3F: BUY
Clicking on all the currently displayed squares Rick closed the [Land purchasing grid].
Twenty-five acres is good for now when I start pressing coins steadily then I will buy more land.
You have purchased 25 acres of land.
25 gold pieces have been withdrawn from your inventory.
If you wish to purchase more land move outside the current Land grid to obtain a new grid of available land for sale.
Close local land purchasing grid!
Show buy resources menu!
Buy Resources Menu
Building Resources
Food Resources
V.I.P. Resources
Wood: [one complete tree]
Bag of Random Fruit Seeds
Ingots: [10 Random Ingots]
Stone: [1''x1''x1'' stone block]
Bag of Random Vegetable Seeds
Gems: [10 Random Gems]
Clay: [100 pounds of clay]
Tray of Random Tree Saplings
Herbs: [25 Random Apothecary Herbs]
Buy stone 500!
System Notice!
WARNING!
You must place the [System Gate] before deliveries can be received!
WARNING!
Alright, I will just move the marker to where the tower basement will be.
Set system gate!
You have purchased 500 stone blocks.
10 gold pieces have been withdrawn from your inventory.
Resources have been delivered to your [System Gate]
Close all menus!
Rick stood on the edge of the 17ft wide x 17ft wide x 10ft deep square hole looking down into the soon be the cellar of his tower. He watched as 500 stone blocks spawned on the floor of the cellar in a neat stack of 5x5 blocks a layer of 20 layers.
On the north end of his small island, he used the bricks from the temple wall to make a forge. Using the recipes he made three 8" x 8" x 15'' posts he buried two of the posts 2 feet in the ground on each side of the forge. The third post he used long screws to secure it on top the other post running horizontal 8 ft above the forge. Removing a smelting pot and the chain it hangs from, Rick hung it from the post above the forge of frame he just built. He stacked firewood inside it and let it burn until a good coal bed was in the bottom of the forge. He lowered the smelting pot to sit in the heat of the forge and start heating up.
I''m worried about building this tower by just stacking these blocks dry. If I order clay then cook it with crushed limestone and sand I can mix it with water to make cement and use it to mortar these blocks together
Show buy resources menu!
Buy clay 500 pounds!
Close All Menus!
You have purchased 500 pounds of clay.
5 gold pieces have been withdrawn from your inventory.
Resources have been delivered to your [System Gate]
Rick took 200 lbs. of the fresh spawned clay broke it into small pieces and dropped it into the smelting pot, then closed the lid allowing it to cook out the moisture. He then used more of the temple wall bricks laid out tightly together on the ground to make a 5ft x 5ft brick floor as a flat clean work area to crush the limestone and clay on. He scattered the limestone on the bricks covered it with some of his cloth, and used the blacksmith hammer to crush it to powder. With the help of the blacksmith tongs, he removed the hot dry clay and crushed it with the hammer on the bricks with the limestone powder. When the dry clay was also crushed with the limestone he collected them both and sprinkled both clay and limestone powders back into the smelter pot to continue cooking and returned the lid on top of the pot.
After he closed the pot lid, Rick took a walk down to the river shore and dug up sand and picked up clam shells scattered along the water''s edge. He added the gathered beach sand to the smelting pot to cook with the limestone and clay. After adding the sand to the smelt pot he started to crush the collected shells to also blend in with the other cement ingredients.
When all the moisture was cooked out he blended the baked chalk like powders together and brought the smelting pot to the river with his inventory to mix water into the pot until it reached a consistency of peanut butter.
Time to get some use out of my masonry skill now that I have cement to work with.
Oh crap, I just remembered I need a mason trowel to spread the cement. Let me see what I have to make do here in my inventory.
Rick combed through his inventory and brought out one of his wider-faced stone chisels to use until he could get his blacksmith area setup and make a few mason trowels for him and his soon to be laborers.
With the smelting pot full of cement in his inventory, he climbed down into the excavated cellar hole.
Down in the square dirt hole, he began laying the stone blocks out across the floor while cementing them together. Half an hour later the floor was laid in flat and the joints fit together tight.
Rick allowing the floor a few minutes to dry climbed out of the cellar hole and moved all the dirt he dug out for it across the bridge with his inventory. He added the cellar dirt to the huge mound of dirt he collected while digging the canal to make his tiny island.
All this dirt will be used for something eventually, for now, I will just leave it here until then, or it gets in the way.
After relocating the dirt he climbed back down into the cellar hole and started stacking and cementing the walls that would be the cellar walls and the foundation that the upper tower would be built on. He worked his way around the stone pile pulling blocks off as he went to eventually finish cementing together all four of the walls.
Now it feels like a room down here, and not a just a dig dirt hole.
Rick hauled the iron smelt pot full of cement back to the river and added a little more water to the thickening cement mix and stored it away in his inventory while the foundation walls mortar joints dried from a dark gray to a light gray.
When the cemented joints finished setting he jumped back into the cellar to continue his work.
I am starting to notice that allot of things in the game seem hmm, sped up? This cement would never dry this quickly in the real world unless it was exposed to extreme heat. I guess it this could be a good and bad thing?
Now I need to run the floor joists across the room to enclose this cellar and finish the first floor.
By counting the stone blocks to measure, every two and a half blocks he would chisel out a (2" wide x 6" high x 4" deep) slot carved into the center of the wall blocks on the east and west sides of the room.
Rick used a recipe to make seven (2" x 6"x 15'') floor joist beams and slid them into the wall slots horizontal with the floor. He had previously cut all the joists just long enough to slide them into the back of the carved slots, and then across the room to pull it into the other opposite facing slot.
That worked out well, the beams will sit securely in the blocks this way. I never have to worry about the joists coming unfastened from hangers with this design.
Once he had the floor joists sitting snug inside the chiseled block slots, he made a simple wooden staircase with a small enclosed storage closet underneath it. When he finished the construction of the cellar staircase he walked up to the top stair.
Rick made enough planks to cover the first floor and then cut them down to proper lengths. One by one, he laid the cut planks out and nailed them to the newly fitted joists.
I need to learn how to make natural wood stain later to cover all these raw planks and beams. It would look allot nicer for one and protect it from the elements.
Well, now I have the cellar and wood floor above covering it, I should get my blacksmith area setup so I can start smelting gold.
fufu, it looks like it is finally time to test out the [Demigod''s Dialect] and make myself a large "cheater" forge that can run without fuel and a bellows.
I want this forge to work like a modern oven just push the button and presto, instant fire!
Rick stacked up stone blocks and cemented them to resemble a (4'' ft tall x 3'' ft deep x 8'' ft long) rectangle planter against the south wall.
He then used his hammer and stone chisels to carve a circle into the interior blocks at the bottom of this hollow stone planter. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
With his [masonary] skill and runic knowledge, he could make a symmetrical circle like this free-handed.
Around the inside of the finished chiseled circle, he neatly carved in series of runic inscriptions and magic symbols with one of his smaller chisels used for detail work.
If I can carve circles and symbols this neatly I should be able to sculpt stone or marble. I guess that is one more thing to add on to my ever growing future to-do list.
When the rune was complete, he placed his hand over it a began to feed it mana while he said; "gjalla megin sifjar gaefr vinda" which best translates to [ bellows ability affinity mild wind ]. The whole rune began to flicker with blue light as he spoke the words and finished empowering it.
Now to test it out, and pray I didn''t make a mistake, I really don''t want to remake this rune.
Rick placed his hand on the rune again and said the word; " fyrsta " [translates to Begin]. The rune powered up to blast out a good breeze that blew his hair back as he examined the glowing symbols at work. When Rick was satisfied it was working perfectly he placed his hand on the rune again said; " letta " [translates to Stop].
Sweet. this rune is working perfectly I can move on to the next step.
Picking up the hammer, and a wide stone chisel he cut two of the blocks into, eight 3" inch thick slabs. He cemented these eight 3" thick slabs over the open mouth of the hollow stone planter with a gap of 1" in-between them to allow for airflow from the wind rune below them.
It looks like a stone block barbecue grill now with all the open one-inch slots on top between the slabs.
Rick began then carving two more runes into the surface of those 3" thick stone slabs with a near three-foot spacing apart from one another.
The two runes are compeletly carved out now, I just need to use the runic language to empower them.
Rick placed a hand over each one of the fresh cut runes, and fed them mana while saying; "frammi bruni megin sifjar sterkr aldrnari" [translates to produce heat ability affinity strong fire].
With the completion of the fire runes he now had to chisel a runic symbol chain between the three allowing them to connect on a single circuit.
When he finished connecting the runes into their circuit, Rick carved out and connected one last small rune on the front of the forge, which is used to turn the circuit of runes on and off by touch.
Rick placed his finger on the small rune on the front of the forge to turn the forge circuit on. The small rune lit up and air blew out from inside the forge through the slots up, and around the two fire runes stoking the hot flames they produced.
Holy crap this thing works great but It puts out a hell of a lot of heat. I guess in the winter if it gets cold this will help warm the tower.
Rick then hung three of his smelting pots over the new forge allowing the fire runes to heat them up.
With the forge now complete, he made a cemented stone block pedestal next to the forge and secured a thick piece of wood on top of it to set an anvil on. When he had the anvil and forge squared away he wanted to make a workbench.
With the recipes for the 2"x6" beams and 8"x8" posts, he built a 8 ft long solid heavy duty bench with a tool rack built attached to the back of it, and six drawers that pull out from the front.
I need to start smelting that gold now, my money is almost gone. I want to order more resources, and buy a few laborers to help out here.
Rick filled up one of the smelting pots with gold and left it to melt while he walked down to the river where he saw some large slabs of stone earlier that had been cut out of the ground from years of water erosion.
He found a large thin slab and squared it off to about 6ft x 6ft and took it down to the cellar using his inventory. Extracting it to the floor next to the forge, he knelt down on it.
Searching through the inventory he brought out a hammer and iron punch totediously tap out 1300 gold coin diameter indentations to use for casting gold coin blanks. Slowly scooping up molten gold he filled the 1300 coin cast and left them to cool.
When the coin casts cooled down some he removed them to refill them with more gold.
Rick brought out one of his coin presses and set it on the workbench and pressed out the first 1300 coins and examined a few of them.
What an improvement the coins they had been making looked like a lump of squashed gold some struck wit a stamp. These coins are flat and round with a centered face and back. They may not match up to modern coins but I am happy with them for now.
When the first 1300 were complete and he finished looking them over it was time to get serious. The next few hours he continued to make gold blanks and press them out ten more times.
Rick opened his inventory to admire his new currency balance that read out 13,000 gold coins.
Wow, does that look nice 13000 gold coins in my inventory ready to spend!
Show land management menu!
Land Management Menu
BUY LAND
BUY RESOURCES
>>>> BUY UNITS
Show buy units!
Buy Unit Menu
VIP CREATE UNITS
Create a Laborer 100g
Create a Craftsman 100g
Create a Religion 100g
Create a Military 100g
Create a Custom 500g
Buy Noble
Buy Military
Buy Religion
Buy Craftsman
Buy Artist
Buy Laborer
Buy Commoner
The VIP account I have gives me access to the bonus section of creating units that look interesting but expensive.
Show VIP create units!
VIP Create Units
VIP units will spawn at the current level as the purchaser, unlike common units who spawn at level one.
VIP create a unit will spawn a unit of the chosen occupation.
VIP units allow the purchaser to buy any class tier evolution.
The VIP tier six "Hero" come available with 30 unused points.
::::::Create a Custom:::::
VIP customs will spawn a customized unit.
Customs spawn at the current level as the purchaser.
Customs have access to the class and sub-class options.
Customs can have any class for their first and second class choice.
Customs come available with 30 unused points. They also gain an additional +3 bonus unused points per level.
That custom unit is awesome, if I can choose two of any class available for them, I could make up some interesting units.
They do cost 500 gold each though, but since I am no longer hurting for money lets try it out.
Buy create a custom!
Please chose a gender:
Male
>>> Female
Female!
Please chose a race:
Unit Race Menu
Humans
Elves
Dwarves
Halflings
Gnomes
Vampire
Kitsune
Nekomimis
Demons
VIP Race Options:
Valkyrie: 100g
Forsaken: 100g
Wow! This create a custom option is incredible! I can''t believe I can choose different races and have two VIP races also available.
I am starting to see a trend though, the VIP options are all expensive.
The developers must have wanted to offer a little extra to VIP accounts without breaking the balance of the game.
Wait a minute here! If this game were in a Japanese manga, isn''t this now the time the MC would create a cute little neko girl, and dress her up in a short maid outfit?
Though I see nothing wrong with that option, I have these two shiny VIP options that are calling my name.
Wait for me cute cat-girl maybe someday in the future we will meet!
Let me see here...
Show Valkyrie race!
Valkyrie Race
The Valkyrie are beautiful females who have all died in battle.
They are reincarnated exceptional warriors, who have had a good alignment in their past life.
They now live in spirit form, on a separate plane of existence with no memory of their past lives.
Unlike Valkyrie of Norse Mythology, they do not have wings or serve any god or goddess.
The Goddess Faith had once revealed to them that they may be selected to serve one of her Chosen someday.
Every Valkyrie now has only one wish, to serve one of the Chosen, and live once again in the world of the living beside them.
This Valkyrie description sounds like one of those (save an animal) commercials, "for only a one-time payment of 100 gold you can change the life of these poor Valkyrie today!"
I do like their description they sound like great fighters, but isn''t kind of sad that they are stuck waiting for years, to maybe be picked to serve a Chosen?
It would be nice to have another fighter around in the event of trouble, and not just laborers and craftsman.
Show Forsaken Race!
Forsaken Race
The race of Forsaken.
They are white-skinned and black-haired. They have excellent vision and are extremely agile.
The Forsaken tend to lean toward evil alignments.
They abandoned their goddess who created them in their imprudent arrogance.
They live in scattered tribes on an undiscovered island.
Forsaken generally chose rogue type classes.
The forsaken sound like they would make good assassins, or spies.
I really don''t need either of those right now, and that description they are so arrogant they turned their back on the goddess who created them.
They sound like a handful of trouble so only one choice left.
Buy Valkyrie race!
Please chose the main class division
Military
Noble
Religion
Government
Merchant
Craftsman
Laborer
Commoner
Show Military Division!
Military Unit Classes
Tier Levels
Unit Classes Evolutions and Costs
Townsmen
Sword Class
Pike/Spear
Axe Class
Ranged
Mounted
Headquarters
Navy
Special
Tier one:
10 gold
Town Guard
Warrior
Pikeman
Armored Lumberjack
Archer
Light Cavalry
Messanger
Sailor
Ballista
Tier two:
15 gold
Militia
Swordsman
Heavy Pikeman
Axeman
Heavy Archer
Heavy Cavalry
sapper
Rigger
Catapult
Tier three:
25 gold
Deputy
Heavy Swordsman
Spearman
Ranged Axeman
Mounted Archer
Knight
Engineer
Gunner
Trebuchet
Tier four:
50 gold
Sheriff
Heavy two-handed Broad Swordsman
Mounted Spearman
Halberdier
Ranger
Cavalier
Surgeon
Commander
Scout
Tier five:
75 gold
Lawbringer
Dismounted Knight
Hoplite
Battle Axeman
Heavy Ranger
Dragon Knight
Spy
Ships Captain
Assassin
Tier six:
100 gold
City Hero
Dismounted Hero Knight
Hero Hoplite
Battle Axe Hero
Hero Ranger
Hero Knight
General
Admiral
Hero Adventurer
VIP Class options:
Battle Dancer: 200g
Blade Master: 200g
Aura Knight: 200g
That is a lot of choices, it appears that I can even buy evolved classes.
I also have more VIP options on this menu, but I want to examine a couple tier, 6 classes, first.
Show Hero Adventurer class!
Hero Adventurer Class
A Hero Adventurer is a Veteran adventurer with exceptional physical skills and high initiative who trains to improve his/her general usefulness in various situations.
Their attributes are based on Strength or Dexterity. They show versatility in listen, search, heal, and stealth skills.
They are all-rounders, rather than skilled specialists.
They can train a weapon until competently mastering it though.
Hero Adventurers work well with a [Rogue] [Fighter] [archer] type sub-class.
"The rules of survival never change, even if you''re in the deepest dungeon or a boundless sea."
Show Hero Knight Class!
Hero Knight Class
The Hero Knight is a warrior aristocrat, skilled in war and steeped in social grace.
The Hero Knight is the supreme force on the battlefield.
The Hero Knight mainly uses the lance, sword, and spear, but are proficient with all melee weapons and with all armors.
The Hero Knight is an Expert Rider.
"I promise on my faith that I will in the future be faithful to the Lord, and never cause him harm ."
Show Hero Ranger Class!
Hero Ranger Class
The Hero Ranger is an accomplished skirmisher, in melee and range, capable of skillfully dancing in and out of battle.
Hero Rangers excel in stalking and stealth.
The Hero Ranger is proficient with daggers and ranged weapons.
The Hero Ranger is trained to use light armor, medium armor, and shields.
The Hero Ranger seems to be moving shadow in the trees and thick vegetation.
¡°An ordinary archer practices until he gets it right. A ranger practices until he never gets it wrong.¡±
I really don''t need to look at the Battle Dancer I am positive it is a Blade Dancer variant of some kind. The Aura Knight is just a support class knight that buffs allies with auras.
Show BladeMaster Class!
BladeMaster Class
Many warriors may train in the blade, beyond that of the average soldier.
But none can match the sheer prowess of the BladeMaster.
Though not as versatile, BladeMasters are paragons among those who wield their chosen instrument.
All look on in awe as they artfully, and brutally, decimate their enemies with a skill and precision that most cannot even dream of matching.
They specialize in doing large amounts of damage in a short time.
"Here, let me show you how it''s done. If you survive, maybe I''ll give you a few pointers."
There we go daddy likes!
The Hero Knight sounded good for a first class but I think they be a little to battlefield oriented. The BladeMaster sounds like they can kick butt out in the wilderness or on the battlefield.
Buy BladeMaster Class!
Please choose the second class now:
Buy Hero Ranger!
Please review your custom units information before completion.
Angelica
Strength:
12
Level:
4
Stamina:
17
Health:
180
Vitality:
18
Mana:
110
Intelligence:
11
Piety:
0
Wisdom:
9
Fame:
0
Agility:
14
Honor:
0
Charisma:
9
Alignment:
0 (neutral)
Leadership:
0
Satiety:
100
Luck:
4
Race:
Valkyrie
Class:
Blade Master/Hero Ranger
Sub-Class
Hero Ranger
Lord:
Cedric Crownguard
Unused Points:
30
I guess I don''t have to name her since she already is existing on that other plane.
Let''s just hope I not pulling her away from any friends, or the life she may have there.
Well, I guess its time to meet her.
Buy Valkyrie Angelica!
You have purchased a create a custom unit.
900 gold pieces have been withdrawn from your inventory.
Your unit will spawn at your [System Gate].
Rick was standing in the cellar of his unfinished tower, and just completed the purchase of Angelica.
Then there right before him in the center of the [system gate] a girl slowly shimmered into the world.
Once the girl had fully spawned in he could see that Angelica was standing in a sleep-like state with her eyes closed.
Rick, while patiently waiting for her to wake curiously began to look over the new face before him.
Angelica looked to be in her 20s, she stood about ( 5'' 10") tall with an athletic build. She has straight white hair with thin black highlights and a face that rivaled top models in the real world.
She was wearing long white semi-transparent dress and looked like an angel, just like her name, Angelica.
Just then she lightly stired, and opened her eyes to look around the room then to at Cedric.
Angelica then gave a startled yelp, before Rick could say, or ask anything tears began to stream down her face.
She continued to look around the room, and then to examine her hands before her silver colored eyes etched with shock.
Covering her mouth with her hands after looking at them she fell to her knees sobbing.
Rick quickly walked over to her and knelt down before her.
"Hello Angelica I''m Cedric, now please tell me what is wrong why are you crying?" [Rick]
Is it that I pulled you away from your life in the astral plane? [Rick]
Rick removed one of the silver goblets from his inventory and filled it with water and put it in her hands.
She gazed down at the cup for a moment and began to calm down some.
When she looked up her face was flush from crying and tears still stained her face.
Angelica raised her head to look at Rick and shook her head from side to side.
"I was in that place for I don''t know how years alone." she told him with tears in her eyes.
"I had all this knowledge about the world that I know I once lived."
"I would wonder why I have this knowledge, and what happened to me that I ended up alone in that place." [Angelica]
"Then, one day I heard a voice that was not my own, the voice told me she was a goddess!"
"The goddess wanted to tell me she was proud how I once lived my life, and that someday I would get to serve one of her chosen in this world." [Angelica]
Rick removed a scrap of white cloth from his inventory and wiped her eyes dry as she continued her story.
"I was so shocked at first that I had heard another person speak to me for the first time in this life or death..." She said; her words trailing off as she regathered her thoughts.
"Then as I recalled her words I became excited about my future. I''d often wonder what my Lord and life with him would be like as time passed unmarked." [Angelica]
"When I began to wonder over time if what the goddess told me would really one day happen, she called out to me once again." [Angelica]
"The goddess said her name is Faith and that she was going to send me to meet someone." [Angelica]
"The Goddess Faith told me that I was special so she was going to send me to serve her friend and first chosen." [Angelica]
Rick smiled at hearing her tell him Faith said that they are friends.
Angelica didn''t seem to be upset over being pulled away but quite the opposite.
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her up to her feet while hugging her close.
"I see, yes Faith is my friend, and I am glad she sent you to me." [Rick]
"You don''t worry about anything now you will never be alone again." {Rick]
After a slight pause Rick said; "Welcome home Angelica....o-or what will be your home this is only the cellar I need to finish the upper part still, haha." [Rick]
Angelica continued crying tears of joy in his arms while he rubbed her back smiling down at her.
Chapter 13: Preparing for more help
Rick released Angelica after she had calmed down and took note of what she was wearing.
"That dress you have on is very pretty, but I need to get you an outfit a bit less....transparent?"
Rick said as he walked over to pour out the last of the molten gold into the stone cast 1300 slots.
Angelica looked down examining what she was wearing "Oh, I don''t know where this dress came from, I never saw it before." She told Cedric as she pulled at it and spun around trying to view more of what she had on.
If I walk into a crowded town with her wearing this thing I will have to beat men off her the entire time.
"What should I wear my lord? I have never had clothes in that place."
Rick smiled at her at took her hand and walked upstairs out of the cellar. They stood in the unfinished tower looking out across the plains for a moment before Rick spoke up.
"I am going to bring you to a city with me, so I can buy you new clothes, and any other items you will need"
"A city!" She exclaimed suddenly perking up. With a smile on her face expectant face. "I have memories of what cities are, but I am unsure if I ever been to one."
Rick chuckled at her excitement. "There will be many people walking around so you must remember not all of them will be nice you must stay by my side" Rick warned her as his smile vanished taking on a serious expression.
Angelica walked over to his side leaning slightly against him. "This is my only wish, to always stay by my Lord''s side"
"Alright, I am going to use a magic spell that will open a black door, when we walk through it will have sent us inside the town already." Rick finished explaining the spell then cast the [Portal Gate] connecting their location to the interior of Vardon''s Tailoring shop.
Rick looked at Angelica and nodded taking her by the hand to provide her with reassurance as they both stepped through the portal instantly arriving at their destination.
Rick closed the gate and walked toward the back of the shop in search of the Master Tailor. They found Vardon organizing the out of place materials and patterns at his workspace that happened to get tossed around over time as he had been quite busy until recently.
"Hello, Vardon I''m back once again in need of your superior talents," Rick called out to the tailor making their presence known as he strolled between the racks of clothing, with Angelica following along looking at everything around her.
Vardon setting down and the boxes he was currently arranging bowed to Rick as he approached him. "Sir is far too kind, I only hope I can continue to live up to your expectations"
"I have no doubt you will succeed!" Rick reached out and shook Vardon''s hand with a smile.
"Well let me introduce you to my new friend, this is Angelica/" Stepping aside he gestured to the beautiful girl behind him that seemed quite distracted taking in all the clothes and items around her until she heard Rick say her name.
Angelica''s eyes grew wide momentarily from what Rick had just said. Then recovering she looked to Vardon and spoke up. "Hello sir I am Angelica"
"Angelica is in need of more suitable attire. She has just been sent to my side by the Goddess Faith with only this dress she has on."
Vardon gave Rick a curious look at the mention of Faith but continued to listen without interruption.
"I would like to view some of your custom designs this time for women, in casual and formal wear."
"Verry good Sir" Vardon opened a drawer in the large workbench behind him and brought out a binder with his personal designs and handed it to Rick.
Vardon gestured to the table and chairs in the corner while inviting them to get comfortable while they looked through the drawings. Rick and Angelica sat at the table and Rick placed the binder between them and opened it.
Rick asked Angelica if she had any particular preferences before they got started. Angelica told him that as she had lived for a long time in that lonely vast landscape she never had clothing or any possessions to speak of.
Rick sadly shook his head at hearing her reply then smiled telling her not to worry he would take care of it.
As he skimmed through the drawings he saw some great designs a lot of them true to the current fashion with a corset top and "puffy" full-length ball gown skirt.
These huge gowns are great for attending lavish parties, but I want to make her clothing easier to move in.
He came across a dress that caught his eye. The dress was form fitting in a column style. It was made of light gold satin that looked like the color of sunlight. The dress had a deep burgundy ribbon tied corset top that flowed down the back and sides of the dress and wrapped around the shoulders to accent the dress.
I would like to raise my new tailoring skill and make more modern styles for her, I''m just not sure how they would go over with the current fashions everyone is wearing at this time.
Vardon''s designs mainly aimed toward a woman of the noble class so he could not find an outfit that was fashioned for the wilderness wear.
Rick glanced over to Vardon who was keeping himself busy organizing still.
"Vardon, do you think I could have a sheet of parchment and use your colored chalk for a few moments?"
"Certainly sir, give me just a moment please." He opened a couple drawers and a minute later produced a couple sheets of parchment and a wood box of thin colored chalk sticks. Vardon brought it over to set them on the table and curiously stood by to see what Rick might do.
Well, it is time to find out if those high schoolelective art classes will help me out here. I have worked with chalk many times, if I apply the same techniques it should work out.
He began by sketching out a light simplified skeleton then began to add volume to the figure. When he had the proper proportions he began to lightly draw out the outfit. He made a cross on the face to align the eyes, nose, and mouth and drew the form of the hair. He moved onto the clothing from there since detailed facial features were not necessary.
The outfit that came to life was quite similar to what a female pirate would wear in the popular movies. The blouse was olive green with hunter green lace patchwork that ran around the neckline and down the front string tied placket. Over the shirt, he drew a black leather with shoulder straps corset. For the bottoms, he drew a pair of tight olive green leggings with calf high black leather boots. When the outfit was done he used his fingertip to smear the chalk to create colored shadows and highlights bringing the creation to life.
While he paused after finishing the outfit to think of what else she could do he looked Angelica over then reached for another sheet of parchment.
There are a couple more items that they do not have available in this era yet that she most definitely needs.
Once again he began to sketch out a basic bra pattern from a slight side angle to show the cup curves. Then he drew in the lower band under the bust that wrapped around to the back. The straps attached to the outer cups looped over the shoulders to attach to the band. off to the side he drew a closeup of the back bands hook and eye fasteners. Then below the bra, he sketched out a modern pair of woman''s underwear.
If my memory is right women wear underwear that looks like long linen shorts. They would not be comfortable under pants or armor at all.
"Here you go Vardon, I would like this gold satin dress I found in your designs and this outfit I drew up." Rick handed the parchment with the outfit artwork.
"This is drawing is very well done sir, though I have never seen fashion quite like this," Vardon told him as he looked over the new creation.
"This outfit is from my world''s history it was popular with women swordsmen of the time" He explained the outfit leaving out the pirate part as he picked up the second sketch.
"This as well is a design from my world. It is a women''s undergarment that provides support to their chest." He pointed out how the bra is supposed to be worn and how the fastener clip together.
After Vardon had everything he needed to get started Rick told him to make a few extras of the undergarments and asked when he should return to pick them up. Vardon informed him he was slow the last few days so he could devote all his time to everything with his assistants help they would have it all finished for him by tomorrow near closing time.
Before Rick left he bought a simple long sleeve dark blue dress trimmed in white so that she had a replacement garment to wear around town for the next day and a half.
Angelica went into the changing area and they then left the shop heading to Jessica''s general store.
Walking the crowded city street the alluring young woman at Rick''s side drew just as many looks as he figured she would. Rick decided to project is Aura of Intimidation skill out around them to head-off any unnecessary trouble before it began.
With Angelica currently distracted with taking in the City''s sights, Rick decided to check his notices he had been ignoring.
New Skill Notice!
New Skill Learned!
Artist: Level 1(Beginner 11%)
The Artist skillallows you to create art drawings in different medias.
Level increases allow for higher quality and value of artwork.
New Title Notice!
You have shown respect to the fallen guards of The Temple of Faith.
You have granted these heroes a burial with honors after they fell allowing their brethren to escape.
You have been awarded the title: The Honor Guard
Fame Increased: +1000
Honor Increased: +500
All members of any military or guard group will show you respect and admiration.
Currently displaying title: The White Knight
All awarded titles stack with the currently displayed title.
Wow, I received another title. This title seems like it could be useful to avoid trouble.
Skill Increase:
Masonry: Level 2 (Expert 87%)
Skill Increase:
Carpentry: Level 1 (Expert 13%)
Skill Increase:
Digging: Level 9 (Intermediate 24%)
Skill Increase:
Smelting: Level 8 (Beginner 27%)
Skill Increase:
Hammering: Level 8 (Beginner 53%)
New Recipe Notice!
You Learned A New Recipe!
Cement
This recipe will allow you to instantly create cement if all ingredients are present and a container large enough to hold it exists in your inventory.
Cedric Crownguard
Strength:
27
Level:
4
Stamina:
29
Health:
280
Vitality:
28
Mana:
600
Intelligence:
60
Pieity:
+175
Wisdom:
27
Fame:
+2125
Agility:
11
Honor:
+1000
Charisma:
14
Alignment:
+1000 (neutral)
Leadership:
3
Satiety:
67
Luck:
3
Class:
(none)
Health Regen/Sec
0.5
Mana Regen/Sec
1.2
Feudal Domain:
25 acres
Race:
Human
Feudal Title:
Baron
Unused Points:
15
Title:
The White Knight
Title:
The Honor Guard
Current
Platinum
Gold
Silver
Copper
Currency
12
30
34
0
I still have 15 unused points that I need to figure where to distribute, maybe Leadership?
It looks my Feudal Title also changed from Freeman to Baron, I wonder why?
Show Feudal Title Menu!
Feudal Title Menu
Feudal Titles
Acres Needed
Population needed
Required Buildings
Baron / Baroness:
one or more acres
one or more people
None
Viscount / Viscountess:
640 acres
50 people
Commoner Housing
Count / Countess:
2560 acres
100 people
Barracks
Marquess / Marchioness:
5760 acres
150 people
Temple
Duke / Duchess:
10240 acres
200 people
Noble Housing
King / queen:
16000 acres
250 people
Castle
I see certain requirements need to be met for my title to increase.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.
Show Skill Menu!
Skills List
Anatomy: Level 5 (Beginner 25%)
Hammering Level 3 (beginner 8%)
Archery: Level 6 (Beginner 63%)
Identify: Level 2 (Beginner 26%)
Aura Level 1 (Beginner 0%)
Iron Scan: Level 6 (Beginner 87%)
Aura: Intimidation Level 1 (beginner 0%)
Knives: Level 2 (Beginner 35%)
Blacksmithing level 3 (beginner 60%)
Lumberjack: Level 4 (Beginner 48%)
Carpentry: Level 2 (Intermediate 95%)
Martial Arts Level 9 (Beginner 27%)
Cartography: Level 4 (Beginner 10%)
Masonry: Level 9 (Intermediate 80%)
Climbing: Lever 6 (Intermediate 0%)
Mining: level 6 (Intermediate 06%)
Cooking: Level 8 (Advanced 48%)
Night Sight: Level 5 (Beginner 87%)
Demigod''s Dialect: level 2 (Master 26%)
Paving: Level 7 (Intermediate 67%)
Digging: Level 2 (Intermediate 27%)
Photoreading
Farsight: Level 1 (beginner 0%)
Shield Bash: level 1 (beginner 16%)
Field Dress: Level 3 (57%)
Shipwright: Level 3 (Intermediate 74%)
Firemaking: Level 1 (Beginner 75%)
Smelting Level 5 (beginner 86%)
First aid: Level 8 (Beginner 50%)
Swords: Level 8 (Beginner 76%)
Foraging: Level 3 (Beginner 0%)
Staff Fighting: Level 2 (Beginner 0%)
Forging Level 4 (beginner 74%)
Taming: Level 5 (Beginner 14%)
Forging: Blade Level 1 (beginner 0%)
Known Languages
Human Level 10 (Master 100%)
Elven Language: Level 2 (beginner 94%)
Dwarven Language: Level 8 (beginner 23%)
My skills keep stacking up, but I never have a chance to raise them.
Show Magic Menu!
Magic Menu
Nature Affinity: Level 6 (Beginner 91%)
Earth Affinity: Level 1 (Beginner 0%)
Portal Gate: cost 250 mana per cast.
Haha, look at this sad little magic list, maybe I should break into the magic guild and steal all the spell books they''re hoarding.
He closed out all the menus when they arrived at the general store. Rick pointed out the shop to Angelica and she followed him inside.
When they entered Jessica''s shop she ran out from behind the counter to Cedric and embraced him.
Angelica stood gaping wide-eyed with her mouth slightly open at them. Jessica let go of him a couple seconds later, then looked to Angelica and playfully apologized. "Oh, I''m sorry I didn''t see you in my excitement are you Cedric''s girlfriend?" She asked with a playful smile.
"This is my new friend Angelica, she isn''t my girlfriend she was sent to me by a goddess to...live with me?" Rick said."Though that does kinda sound like a girlfriend, long story short we only met over an hour ago."
"I see so she won''t get mad if I kiss you then?" Jessica asked laughing while looking at Angelica.
Angelica stepped up next to him and wrapped her hands around his arm holding onto him tightly while defiantly staring at Jessica.
Jessica laughed loudly. "It looks like she has some fight in her"
Rick chuckled remembering the classes he added to her. "Don''t let her pretty face fool you she has a lot of fight in her!"
"Why don''t you two wait here and talk while I go on a shopping spree buying half the items in this shop," Rick told the two girls.
Angelica still clamped onto his arm didn''t let go. "I wish to stay with my Lord," She told Rick looking up with puppy dog eyes.
Letting out a defeated sigh Rick put his arm around her shoulder and led her down the isles, as Jessica returned to her counter laughing at his situation.
I will need a larger collection of tools for my future workers I will put to work on the tower and town. I will just buy everything now instead of wasting my time making them myself.
Rick made numerous trips to the counter with his arms loaded with tools and supplies.
I have so far brought up to the counter: hammers, shovels, picks, wood chisels, stone chisels, axes, wood saws, stone saws, a spool of string, 400 ft of rope, mason trowels, a barrel of wood stain, paint brushes, wood planers, first aid kits, carpenter squares, soaps, hair combs, towels, wash cloths, many variants of cookwares and glues.
When he put the last of the stuff down on and around the front counter Jessica shook her head. "Cedrick you weren''t kidding about buying half the store."
Cedrick started laughing at that. "I finally bought some land and I will have more people joining me soon and they will show up with only the shirts on their backs so I need to stock up on everything"
"The crazy thing is this only the start of my shopping spree today!" He told Jessica while shaking his head in exasperation.
He paid Jessica for everything and stored it all into his inventory while telling her he would see her again soon.
Rick walked into the center plaza searching through the traders with Angelica and found a farmer selling produce. Rick bought severalbaskets full of vegetables, and fruits. He then bought a barrel of cooking oil, milk and a crate full of bread loafs. From the crowded plazafull of people buying and selling, he and Angelica walked into an alley to use the portal spell to zip them across town to the weapon shop he previously shopped at.
"This is a weapons store that I found the other day let''s go inside and find some new equipment for you." He told Angelica.
Rick and Angelica entered the shop and went to talk with the shop owner about his stock.
"Hello, sir I''m Cedric I was in the other day and bought some weapons from you and would like to pick up a few more today for Angelica here," Rick told the Shop owner while gesturing toward the quiet girl behind him.
"The name is Cale Coldblade I be the owner ere. I remember ya well not many humans coming ere without an attitude toward me for being a dwarf shop owner in a human city."
"I am a [Chosen] and recently just came to this city and have nothing against Dwarfs like these other jealous idiots."He told Cale.
"I had a feeling it was like that, last time I walked through this crafting district I came across a group of Dwarves that didn''t want anything to do with me." Rick said with a frown.
"Aye, most of us Dwarves would rather keep outa trouble we just want ah work and live peaceful like without being harassed" Cale explained.
"Well, nuff about that how can I help the pretty las out."
"Well to start I want to see any matching longswords of quality that you have." He told Cale.
The owner brought over two sets of longswords for them to check out that seemed about the same quality as the sword Rick presently owned. Then he went into the back room and returned carrying a wood case moments later.
"I''ve got these two iron sword sets ere that are a good make and over here, in this case, they are a bit more in quality and cost."
The dwarf opened up the case to reveal to beautifully decorated longswords with solid gold sword hilts that have scales engraved into them all around the grip that connects to a vicious looking dragon''s head with inset ruby eyes for the sword''s pommel. The blades of the swords have a shiny high polished finish unlike the dull dark gray iron look of the other blades.
Rick reached out lightly setting his fingertips on one of the blades and fed mana into it while using his [Identify] skill.
Twin Platinum Dragons
Attack:
25-30
Durability:
500/500
Quality:
Rare
Bonuses:
+5STR
A set of exceptional platinum and iron blended blade longswords. Made by a Dwarven expert blacksmith by mixing platinum, iron, and a drop of dragon''s blood these swords now retain a minuscule amount of this Dragon''s strength.
"Platinum, iron, and a drop of dragon''s blood? I didn''t even know such a thing was possible!" Rick exclaimed.
"Aye, you got a good detection skill lad, you could make a lot of traders jealous with that." Cale said impressed. "This set was made in my homeland by an expert dwarf blacksmith who somehow came across a couple drops of Dragon''s blood and added one to each sword."
"Can you add any monster blood to to the smelting metal to gain bonuses?" Rick asked Cale.
"It is possible thou the amount used and monster it is harvested from changes the effects and strengths." Cale said.
This is incredible I need to start saving monster''s blood for experimenting.
Rick slid the wood case across the counter toward Angelica.
"Pick them up see how they feel in your hands."
Angelica reached for the set of longswords taking them from the case. "They are a little heavy but they feel good." She said then backed up a few paces and swung them around. She swung the two blades around her gracefully as if they were a part of her. Then returned them to the case.
If she can use these blades this skillfully at level four what will she be like at level twenty?
"They feel heavy because they are blended with platinum which is even heavier than gold. The handles are also made out of gold adding to the weight. They do have bonuses that add +10 to your strength so they actually do not feel quite as heavy as their true weight." Rick explained to her.
"So, Cale since these have platinum blended in I am sure they are expensive right?" Rick said scowling.
"They are but I have had them for far too long because of that, now they just sit in the back wasting space and gathering dust." Cale said throwing his hands up.
"The original price for this set was four platinum" Cale whispered.
Rick whistled at that number "I can see why they are gathering dust that is small fortune for a couple of swords"
"Aye, thou if you want them I can sell them to you for one platinum, just so I can be rid of em." Cale said looking defeated.
"That still is quite a lot of money, but I will take them. I can see the craftsmanship and materials used are all excellent." Rick said.
Rick then had Angelica try out a few bows to find one that fit her. They then picked out a nice leather quiver, iron shield, and arrows for her. He wanted to have a stock of arrows for an emergency so he bought even more while he was here.
After handing over enough money to buy another custom unit like Angelica, he asked Cale where he could buy armor for her in the crafting district and headed out following Cale''s directions to the Armor shop.
The Armor shop Cale sent them to was small but it specialized in women''s armor. The owner was an older Dwarf woman named Tera Sharn. Cale had recommended her because she made what she sold and was damn good at it.
They had found scale mail armor with iron pauldrons attached for her torso. For leg armor, they picked out a pair of scale mail leggings and black leather greaves to fit over the leggings. They strapped the two new swords around her waist with a thick black leather belt. Rick then had her wear a pair of black leather gloves with scale mail sewn to the back side of them to protect from blade slashes.
"You look great Angelica how does it all feel anything uncomfortable?" Rick asked her looking over her armor fastenings.
"it feels good I can move around well in it, although I am still getting used to wearing clothes and armor."
Terra the shop owner looked up at Rick with a questioning expression and one eyebrow raised at Angelica''s comment. Rick just laughed and told her it was a long story. They left Terra''s armor shop soon after with Angelica wearing her new armor and swords looking truly formidable.
Walking between the buildings Rick opened a gate to his blacksmith teacher''s business and bought about four hundred pounds of coal from him while also updating him on how he bought some land but was only still getting started out.
Since they had not been at the blacksmith long Rick''s mana was still low so they decided to walk over to the Pretty Kitty Inn he had a suiterented.When they arrived at the Inn Rick explained to Mia the inn''s owner that he would not be extending his stay when his week ended on his suite rental.After a quick talk and with Mia they sat down and had an excellent lunch.
For their lunch, they both order the special. It was baked deer marinated in brown sugar, garlic, and onion powder. The special came with two sides of potatoes and carrots. The waitress recommended the house cider for drinks.Rick not having much time to sit down and talk with Angelica began to explain everything about how he was a [Chosen] newly arrived in this world like her. Rick even revealed his plans on how he intended to build up his own kingdom and have others join them along the way who wish to become a part of it all.
Following lunch, Rick took Angel upstairs to show her the suite he rented and relax before heading back to the work on the tower.
"This room is beautiful my Lord it looks like a king lives here." She told Rick while exploring the room.
Rick saunter across the room smiling at Angelica''s curiosity for everything. Heopened the glass balcony doors and called Angelica out on the balcony with him to show her the view. They enjoyed the sights and sounds of the city for a few minutes until Rick walked back into the room. He unequipped his boots and propped up a pillow to sit up on the bed and wait for the rest of his mana to regen.
Angelica came in after him and asked if she could sit next to him.
"Of course you can, actually now that I think about we should get used to it because we will be sleeping in the same bed together for some time to come." He told her since they would be sharing the tower with the workers up till they finish it and make a few temporary wood shacks to sleep in at night.
After she removed her sword belt and laid them on the love seat she sat down on the bed.
"I don''t mind that." She said scooting across the bed to lean her head on his shoulder.
"Is it ok if I ask you a question, my Lord?" Angelica said quietly while looking down.
"Listenhere Angelica you can ask me a question whenever you like and you don''t have to keep calling me "Lord" either. You can call me Cedric or Rick whichever you prefer."
After a moment of silence, he spoke up. "Now don''t be shy ask me what you would like to know." [Rick]
Rick noticed a flush appear across her cheeks when she looked at him o speak.
"It isn''t fair my Lord" she quietly said loud enough for him to hear. Angelica]
"What is it tell me I won''t get mad at you." [Rick]
"It isn''t fair that women got to hug you and said she would kiss you" [Rick]
Rick softly chuckled "Ah, so that is what this is about. I don''twant you to feel obligatedto do things like that Angelica. That is for you to decide on not me." He reached out and lightly held her face in his hands as he explained to her.
"I do not want you to think you are my slave or my servant. I want you to make your own decisions and live happily."
Angelica smiled then leaned in and kissed him.When they pulled apart Angelica slowly opened her eyes.
"I have then decided my Lord we must do that more often." She told him with a little smile,
Rick laughed loudlyhearing that. "That is your first free decision then, that we will kiss more often?"
She just nodded her head while blushing at him.
He thought that she was so cute he kissed her on the forehead before they got up to head back to the tower.
Back at the tower Rick brought out the Long dining table and ten chairs and set them out for Angelica to sit down while he was busy working. He looked through his Inventory at the books he found under the temple and removed one about the Island they were on.Tthe books description says it was written with the years of information the people of the temple gathered from exploring this island.
"I will be busy for awhile you might find this interesting it is written by the followers of the goddess who sent you to me." He said
"You may even learn some useful things about this island that I don''t know yet." He told her as he handed over the book.
Walking down stairs he placed his hand on the stack of stone block to store them in his inventory. He then climbed the cellar stairsand began stacking and cementing the blocks neatly until they reached ten rows above the wood first floor.
With the hammer and stone chisel, he once again cut out the joist beam slots in the blocks across the room. He then made and fit the joists into their slots careful not to drop one of them on Angelica''s head asshe enthusiastically read her book below him.
When he had the joist skeletal framework complete he made another staircase up to where the second floor would be soon. He put more detail into this staircase since it was on the upper levels. Using his wood chisels and files he worked the banister post into the general shape he wanted.
He then took out his knife and sculpted the post to look like a dragon standing up straight with its wings spread and head raised roaring. He thought it came out really well and wondered if his knife skills might have helped him out.
The spindles came next he worked them into different shapes the first he carveda tall thin tower. The second spindle he shaped into a greatsword with the blade pointed down. The last one he made to look like a metal-tipped spear. With the recipes he received for them he finished the banister off with the Dragon postsand tower, sword, and spear spindles. While he reviewed the spindle recipes he found a waiting surprise.
New Skill Notice!
You Learned A New Skill!
Wood Carving: Level 1 (Beginner 14%)
This skill allows you to carve wood into pieces of art
Higher levels increase quality and value of carvings.
Rick then used the planks he cut before to span the second-floor joists nailing them down to knock out the second story floor.
Downstairs, he put an iron ingot in the forge until it turned cherry red. Cutting the ingot in half and hammering it into a 6" wide x 3" thick circle. Rickhammered the glowing circles outer edge against the anvil edge to create a 1" deep channel around the circle''s outer rim. With an Iron punch, he made a whole in the center of the iron circle to have a new completed pulley wheel.
Outside next to the tower he made a 15-foot high wheel and framed it in. He attached wheelaxle to the frame so that it could spin freely if someone got inside and walked around, just like it was a giant hamster''s wheel.
Next, to the framed wheel, he built a 10'' high four post leg platform to support a large 25'' foot beam that ran at an angle spanning the wheel from the side. With four pulleys he made from recipes, he attached them to differentsections of the 25'' beam.
Opening his inventory, and taking out a heavy duty rope, Rickwound it around the wheels axel. The rope then needed to run up from the axel through the pulleys attached tothe angled cross beam to hang down off the end of it.
When he was done the monstrosity reminded him of the old trebuchet siege weapons.
What he had actually made isa Treadmill Crane used on Earth in the middle ages for hauling things up onto roofs and scaffolding.
The new units I buy won''t have to try and haul stone blocks up the scaffolding with this crane they can keep lifting them up into place for the stone masons.
Rick pondered for a moment if he needed to make any more preparations for the workers, then decide to open the menu and start to decide which units he would need to start his first workforce.
Chapter 14: Handil and his workforce
Rick decided to build a small wood shed near the tower before buying any additional units. This shed would be used to store all the new tools he recently bought for his workers. When it was completed he stocked it with all the extra tools and supplies in his inventory and headed down into the cellar of the tower where the [System Gate] was located so he could be present as the first unit spawned there.
I think the first unit I want is a foreman to lead the crew. I need more time to raise my level and skills and can''t do that if I am standing over them all day. I still have a decent amount of money so I think I will make another custom unit. Lets me see what I have available to work with here now.
Show Land Management Menu!
Land Management Menu
BUY LAND
BUY RESOURCES
BUY UNITS
Show Buy Units!
Buy Unit Menu
VIP CREATE UNITS
Create a Laborer 100g
Create a Craftsman 100g
Create a Religion 100g
Create a Military 100g
Create a Custom 500g
1g
Buy Noble
1g
Buy Military
1g
Buy Religion
1g
Buy Government
1g
Buy Merchant
1g
Buy Craftsman
1g
Buy Artist
1g
Buy Laborer
1g
Buy Commoner
Buy Create a Custom!
Please chose a gender:
>>>> Male
Female
Male!
Please chose a race!
Unit Race Menu
Human
Elf
Dwarf
Halfling
Gnome
Vampire
Kitsune
Nekomimis
Demon
VIP Race Options:
[Female Only] Valkyrie: 100g
Forsaken: 100g
Hmm, I really don''t think I need to buy a VIP race and since I am making a male the Valkyrie are blocked and the Forsaken would probably be a slave driver more than a foreman.
If I think about which race would be a good pick for a construction foreman then a Dwarf seems to be the best choice.
Buy Dwarf Race!
Please chose the main class division!
Noble
Military
Religion
Government
Merchant
Artist
Craftsman
Laborer
Commoner
Show Craftsman Division!
Craftsman Unit Classes
1g
Apothecary
Arborist
Architect
Armorer
Baker
BasketMaker
Bee keeper
Beer brewer
Blacksmith
Book Binder
1g
Book Printer
Bottler
Bowyer
Bricker
Brick layer
Builder
Butcher
Button Maker
Cabinet Maker
Candler
1g
Carpenter
Cartographer
Cartwright
Chain Maker
Charcoal Burner
Cheese Maker
Clock Maker
Clerk
Cloth Maker
Cobbler
1g
Comb Maker
Confectioner
Cook
Currier
Dyer
Embroiderer
Engraver
Fletcher
Furniture Maker
Gardener
1g
Gem Cutter
Glass Blower
Glass Glazier
Guild Master
Horse Trainer
Jeweler
Lock Smith
Merchant
Miner
Minstrel
1g
Nailmaker
Nedeller
Net maker
Oil Maker
Parchmenter
Plasterer
Plumber
Poleturner
Potter
Quarryman
1g
Quilter
Roper
Rug weaver
Saddler
Sail maker
Salt Boiler
Sawyer
Scribe
Seamstress
Siever
1g
Shipwright
Silk Weaver
Silversmith
Smelter
Soap Maker
Spectacles Maker
Spinster
Stone Carver
Stone Cutter
Tailor
1g
Tapestry Maker
Tile Maker
Tinker
Upholsterer
Wine Maker
Weaponsmith
Weaver
Wheelwright
Wood Carver
Wood Cutter
VIP Class Options:
Master Builder: 100g
Artisan: 100g
Surveyor: 100g
This is quite the selection they offer you and a few more VIP options on top of it.
Show Architect Class!
Architect Class
Architects create designs for new construction projects. They use their specialist construction knowledge and drawing skills to design buildings that are functional, safe, sustainable and aesthetically pleasing.
Show Builder Class!
Builder Class
Builders will coordinate the different types of construction involved in building a house, wall or other building. An architect will design the structure and the builder will complete the construction process.
Show Master Builder Class!
Master Builder Class
Master Builder a central figure leading construction projects. They hold a vast amount of knowledge about material uses, leadership, geometrical symmetry, load bearing, and design. They oversee constructions and also help build them.
Hmm, It looks like a master builder is a much more educated veteran builder with a touch of architect knowledge.
Buy Architect Class!
Please choose the second class now!
Buy Master Builder Class!
Please review your custom units information before completion!
HandilRockreave
Strength:
15
Level:
4
Stamina:
14
Health:
120
Vitality:
12
Mana:
140
Intelligence:
14
Piety:
0
Wisdom:
5
Fame:
0
Agility:
9
Honor:
0
Charisma:
7
Alignment:
0 (neutral)
Leadership:
12
Satiety:
100
Luck:
2
Race:
Dwarf
Class:
Architect
Sub-Class
Master Builder
This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
Lord:
Cedric Crownguard
Unused Points:
30
Well, that is good I don''t have to think up names for them. It seems the system must randomize everything after your starting choices.
This guy will be a construction overseer more than a builder so I think I will add +10 points to Intelligence, +10 points to Charisma, and +10 points to Leaderships.
That looks good, now time to meet Handil.
Buy Dwarf Handil Rockreave!
You have purchased a create a custom unit.
701 gold pieces have been withdrawn from your inventory.
Your unit will spawn at your [System Gate].
Before him in the [System Gate] just like with Angelica a short stocky figure shimmered into existence. After a few moments, the Dwarf opened his eyes and Rick introduced himself and described to Handil how he was building a tower and then a city. Rick told him how he needed more free time and that it would be Handil''s job to lead the assigned projects he was handed.
Before they started anything Rick took Handil upstairs and introduced him to Angelica. With the introductions out of the way, they sat down at the long wood table.
Rick cut off a section of heavy cloth and used a sharpened piece of charcoal to sketch out his envisioned city design. Then taking out his cloth dye pens he colored it in to add some detail.
He explained to Handil that in the future this design would become the center of a larger city that will be constructed around it as they grow.
He handed the City design to Handil to view.
When we decide to build around this later I want to remove this outer moat and leave the one along the walls. Then we will layout the surrounding city expansions and enclose it all with another outer wall. That can be put off for now though, I need to put together a workforce next and have you set them to completing this tower for me.
Heading back down to the cellar Rick and Handil started spawning new units. Rick spawned in ten human [Carpenter], ten dwarf [stone mason], ten dwarf [stone cutters], and two human [cooks].
Gathering the new faces around, Rick explained that Handil was to be their boss and would lead any projects assigned to them. He told the carpenters that he wanted them to help build any scaffolding needed and start construction on a wood barracks along the river for them to live in until proper housing was constructed later. He told them that the shed was stocked with nails and screws. He showed them the screwdriver from his inventory and how to use it with the screws.
The stone masonsare to continue the construction of the tower and he explained all about the cement and demonstrated how to use it. The stone cutters job would be to make any cuts needed for the tower whilecutting 2" inch thick sections off the stone blocks to be used for road construction later.
Rickthen demonstratedhow to operate the treadmill crane to lift the stone blocks up the stone masons. Rick also pointed out the shed stocked with brand new tools and supplies and told Handil to inform him if they needed anything that he missed. Now that the crew was sent off to their assigned tasks, Rick began got to work as well.
Behind the tower, hetook out his shovel and cleared a [20'' x 20'' foot] area and lined it with stone blocks. He then used hisrecipes to create eight [8" x 8" inch] posts as well as[2" x 6" inch] beams and planks.
He dug out holes spaced every ten feet around the perimeter of the stone blocks two feet deep and securedthe post in the fresh dug holes with cement and gravel. When the cement set he used the nowt anchored post to build a roof over the 20 x 20 stone block platform. Opening up the [Land Management Menu] he then moved the [System Gate] from the cellar to this newly covered stockpile.
Since Rick had the menu open he decided topurchase more stone blocks, wood, and clay to supply the brand new stockpile. With enough supplies for the workers available, he placed some of the wood in his inventory to make numerous posts, beams, and planks from recipes, This was done tosave the Carpenters time since they did not have any sawyer units to process the wood into usable lumberyet.
Now with a newly supplied stockpile, Rick started his next project. With a stone, cutting saw from his inventoryand a clay container filled with river water he begancutting six sections of [2" inch] thick slices off five stone blocks and received a recipe for a [2" inch] thick stone paver. While cutting the stone he was sure to keep the stone and blade wet, this was done to avoid overheating the blade to where it would break on him.
Rick made use of the new recipe andused the remaining stone blocks in his inventory to make up a large stack of 2" pavers and placed the majority of them on the back corner of the stockpile.
He then strolled back into the tower and brought out the pot of cement and stone pavers he just made to make a stone stove that looked similar to a modern stove. He now needed a way to heat the stove. With his hammer and stone chisel, he made four [1" inch] thick circular stone slabs and engraved them with runes. He chiseled these runes into the outer rim of the slab: bruni megin sifjar gaefr aldrnari (translate to; heat ability affinity mild fire). He spread cement onto the bottom of the runes and set them in place. When the runes were set in place he connected them to a linked circuit witha small switch rune he carved on top of the stove.
With the stove complete, he then needed to construct a refrigerator next with the same method he made the stove. Rick went into the basement and heated a small leftover section of ingot and made three door hinges and received recipes for them. He took the hinges back upstairs to the fridge and used a thin iron punch to tapout the holes in the fridge frame. After taping out the holes he filled them with wood pegs. Measuring the fridge opening hemade a wood door to fitit. First, hescrewed the hinges into the wood pegged holes taped inthe fridge frame and then hung the door on the hinges. Like the fire runes for the stove, he chiseled two runes int the bottom of the fridge.
He chiseled out two circles with the runes: kaldr megin sifjar gaefr svell (translate to; cold ability affinity mild ice). He made a small switch rune on the side of the new fridge and linked it to the ice runes circuit. Rick opened the fridge door and tapped out holes in the interior side walls and filled them with wood pegs again to screw brackets into. Heused the brackets to place three spaced apart wood shelves on top of them.The completedstone fridge stood [7'' foot x 4'' foot x 4 foot] with a hinged wooden door and had a large shelved interior for preserving food. Touching the switch rune the fridge began to grow cold inside.
Withhis fridge now completed he removed most of the meat and vegetables from his inventory to stock the new fridge up. He called the cooks over to show them how to use the stove and how the fridge preserved the food if they kept the door closed.
Next, to the fridge, he built a wood shelf and put all the extra cookware, utensils, and silver tableware along with extraspices on it. He took out the barrel of cooking oil and placed it off in the corner away from the stove and filled a silver pitcher up from the barrel of milk from his inventory that he acquired from the human city of Silverhall''s central plaza traders.
Rick before moving oninstructed the cooks to make three meals a day for the workers and also tell him if they wanted, or needed anything.
Rick then left them to familiarize themselves with the new appliances and climbed the steps to the second floor so he could remove the singlesize beds, night stands, and trunks he found in the ruined temple. He arranged them around the room how he found them with a nightstand next to every bed and a trunk at the end of every bed. After placing them hesearched through the trunks for anything of value and left the clothes and personal items alone for the workers to use.
Rick walked down to the river and found the huge stone slabs that he used to make the coin blanks from, and cut one of these large slabs up into six [1'' foot] wide x [6" inch] thick x [6'' foot] long sections. Removing the hammer and stone chisel he then chipped outa channel [4" inch] deep x [4" inch] wide x [5'' foot] long into the fresh cut six lengths of stone. Rickstored the channeled out stone lengths in his inventory to use as steel ingot casts later on.
Now that he had his steel ingot casts he went behind the tower next to the stockpile and cleared an area for his next project. He paved the area with stone blocks like he had for the stockpile and cemented them all together. While the cement dried he took out the bricks he removed from the ruined temple wall when he had first arrived on the island and set them aside.
When the stone block cemented joints dried, he marked out and carved four fire rune circles into the blocks. Withthe ruined temple bricks he began to stack and cementa [8'' foot] tall x [4'' foot] wide hollow cylinder with two arms that extended out on each side [2'' feet] around the fire runes.
Rick then made four wind runes that he attached to the end of the extended arms and linked them to the fire runes with an exterior rune switch. When he touched the rune switch the four wind runes circulated air inside of the hollow cylinder while the fire runes put out massive amounts of heat from the bottom. He then quickly shut it off after verifying it worked and left the hollow brick cylinder joints to dry while he went down into the cellar work area. He tossed four iron ingots in the forge to heat up and pressed out the 1300 gold blanks fromhis inventory through the coin press while he waited.
Rick put the freshly stamped coins into his inventory and removed one of the glowing hot ingots from the forge to the anvil. While he held the ingot with the tongs he slowly rotated and hammered it into a [3'' foot] long x [1" inch] round iron rod. He placed the cooling iron rod into the forge to reheat it then brought it back to the anvil. Rick hammered the rod around the top of the anvil to shape a protruding square in the center of the rod.
After he completed shaping the iron rod he cut two [4" inch x 4" inch x 3'' foot] posts, and cut two [2" inch x 6" inch x 2'' foot] beams and screwed them to the bottom of the posts as a support base. With the two posts standing straight up with the help of their support base he then attached a [2" inch x 6" inch x 6'' foot] beam horizontally on the front and back of the supported beams. This left a [4" inch] channel that he used to fit a block into that could slide from left to right inside of this channel.
Next, he made round wheel by cutting a [2" inch x 2" foot] slice off a tree trunk and rasping it into around shape with his wood files. Rick then used his wood file to shaveout a [1" inch x 1" inch] groove within the outer rim of the wheel. With the wheel shaped and the outer rim channelcompleted, he chiseled out a round hole in the center of the wheel to fit the iron rod he bent around the anvil to work as an axle.
Walking back to the forge he once again removed a hot ingot from the forge and split it to make two [1" foot] long rods with the ends shaped like a pointed spear head. One of them had a grooved cylinder near its end that was mounted to the left side of the frame above where he mounted the wheel.He then made an iron rod with a loop on one end and threaded the other. He slipped the loop around the wheel axleto fit into the square protruding part and then attached a [1'' foot] long beam to the threaded end with a nut and washer to work as a pedal that when pushed turned the wheel.
Using some of the leather he obtained hunting in the woods he cut a [1" inch] wide leather belt that he sewed then fit into the wheels channel and wrappedit up into the channel on the pointed metal rod. The block he fit into the frame earlier that moves from left to right is where he mounted the second pointed metal rod. With the two pointed rod tips now facing each other, he could adjust the right block to the left or right to hold a cut piece of wood in-between the two. With his project finished he received another recipe for his new foot pedal lathe design.
I finally got a recipe for round metal rods it was a lot of work hammering them out every time this should help me save time.
Now that he had a lathe he moved it near the wall and ran two [6" inch x 5" foot] cuts of wood through it. As he pressed down on the pedal the wheel spun turning the leather belt that connected to the pointed iron spindle. The pointed spindle dug into the wood causing it to spin quickly around with it. As the chunk of wood spun around from working the pedal, he pressed a wood chisel into the wood and moved it from left to right shaving the wood round. When he had finished the two long wood cylinders, Rickconnected the two [6" inch x 5" foot] wood rollers together with metal brackets he made. He now had an adjustable sheet metal roller used tocurl flat metal into a pipe, or tube shape from feeding it through the center of the wood rollers.
Rick pulled yet another ingot from the forge to make a round half inch thick cap for the top of his brick cylinder outside next to the stockpile. Then made two [1'' foot] round bars and a punched a hole through the end of the bars. He fit a iron pin to slide through the punched holes so that the bars would work as a hinge for the cap.With the last glowing ingot in the forge he hammered in on the anvil into a quarter inch flat sheet the ran it through the rollers to make two [3'' foot x 3" inch] iron tubes. Rick used some molten iron from the smelt pot to drip along the tube seam and when it hardened he smoothed it down with a metal file. He now had two [3'' foot x 3" inch] iron pipes and pipe recipes. On each end of the pipes he made a simple screw valve that sealed off the flow of the pipes when cranked down.
Heading out to the hollow brick cylinder he attached the iron cap to the top of it with the wood peg technique.Then at the bottom, he chiseled out two holes that he fit the pipes into with the screw valves on the ends.
I now have a blast furnace I can say goodbye to iron and helloto steel now!
Rick opened the blast furnace cap and dumped in the rest of his iron then added a layer of coal then a layer of limestone dust. He closed the top lid and started the furnace and let it heat up and work on melting down the iron into molten steel.
I need to head back to town again I want to pick up a few more things and don''t have the time to waste making them right now.
Rick walked back into the tower to find Angelica who still sat reading the book he gave her earlier.
"I am going to head to town to pick up a few more things we need still, if you want you can come with me" Rick told Angelica.
"I would like that," she said setting her book aside as she stood up from the table.
Rick opened a gate behind the blacksmith and they stepped through it. Rick went inside and asked his blacksmith teacherfor some help locating some things he wanted.
"Hello teacher I sorry to disturbe you, but I am looking to buy a few things that I hope you can point me in the direction of." Rick explained.
The owner looked up and smiled. "You are no problem at all, so what is it that you are searching for today?"
"I need to find a furniture shop that has a good stock of furiture on hand to buy without waiting for it to be made. I also need to find someone who sellsleather along with the tools and supplies for leather work. Then lastly I want to purchase gem cutting and engraving tools." Rick explained, hoping he could help him locate these supplies without searching all over town for them.
"Gem cutting and engraving tools? Did you happen to find a gem deposit of some kind?" The owner asked curiously.
"No, I came across a deposit of clear crystal and have just thought up a use for it" Rick said.
"Ah, I see well for the gem tools I can help you out with that. My company actually makes them here for my contracted jewelers." His teacher told him.
The owner got up and took them into the back warehouse. He took down a small wood box off a shelf and opened it up. Inside were small chisels with flat and prong tips, he also saw pointed files thinner than a modern pencil. Next to the all the chisels and files was aminature hammer iron hammer that was used with the chisels. These are perfect now I just need to make a grinding wheel and I will be all set to start my crystal experiment.
The owner smiled shaking his head. "Today is your lucky day then" He told Rick and led him to the other side of his warehouse and pointed out four used pedal grinding wheels showing a little use but the stones were in excellent shape still.
"I just recently replaced these with brand new ones give me a little bit for them and they''re yours." He told Rick with a shrug.
"Great then I will buy all four then." Rick replied as he stored them away in his inventory.
Rick paid his teacher for the tools and grind stones thanked him for his help and headed off toward a large furinture storelocated on the main plaza. Along the way they stoped to grab a quick bite to eat then waded through the sea of people in and around the plaza. The furniture shop was located close to the libarary which made him think about Cynthia and how she was.
I would like to stop in and see her and also visit that restricted room again but it is getting late and I need to log out and get some sleep. He thought.
The furniture store was huge inside they displayed every type of furiture from commoner up to noblequality. He found a well dressed middle aged man instructing a few emplyees on the placement of a large couch in one of the many displays. When the man noticed Rick and Angelica aproach he left the employees to greet them.
Rick explained to him that he had recently hired a lot of employees and was in need of furniture for them.
"That is not a problem sir I have a crew who are constantly making furniture to stock our warehouse" He explained
Rick told him he wanted to buy forty single size beds and a few tables with enough chairs to seat forty to fifty people. The owner was shocked at the number of beds and chairs, but told him it wasn''t a problem. Rick paid him and went to into the back storeroom to load all the beds, chairs, and tables into his inventory. The owner told him to keep them in mind for any furniture in the future and headed back to his employees as theywaved and headed out into the plaza.
Rick decided to make a detour through the plaza while it was right here to buy more food. He was worried that the selection of food was very limited and knew he would soon have even more workers to feed as well.
He bought a large mix of vegetables, fruits and meats. He still had flour but bought ten more bags to give to the cooks to use. He then found a farmer on the way outselling eggs and baby chicks. He bought a crate filled with dozens of eggs packed in straw.
I should buy these baby chickens I can have a chicken coop made and raise them for eggs for the worker''s breakfasts.
Rick bought the box of chicks he had with about thirty of them in it and also twenty big bags of ground corn and oats to feed them. He was nervous about putting the chicks in his inventory so he opened a gate to the tower between a couple buildings and dropped them off turned around and headed back into town once again.
They walked to the far side of the crafting district and found the leather shop. Rick bought a large stack of leather and leather cord along with a few leather working tools used for crafting leather items.
When they jumped back home Rick stocked up the fridge with more supplies and stacked the bags of flour on the shelf for the cooks. He then went outside to ask Handil how they were coming along and was surprised at what they had accomplished. The tower was high enough to add another floor and the carpenters had almost completed a large barracks house next to the river.
Rick seeing this removed all the beds, nightstands, and trunks from the tower and walked over to the barracks. He layed out fifty single beds along the back wall with the nightstands and trunks. Then removed the tables and chairs he just bought for them to relax at the days'' end.
I will eventually need to make a kitchen over here so they can eat all at once. I guess for now they will have to eat in shifts up at the tower.
Rick told Handil to have the carpenters make a chicken coop when they finished the on the barracks and left him to continue his work. Down in the cellar he placed an iron ingot in the forge then took out his new gem tools, a couple chunks of quartz and a grinding wheel. He used the flat gem chisel and gem hammer to cut a quartz piece into a diamond shape about 3" inches from point to point. Then taking the cut quartz he sat down and smoothed out the facets with the grinding wheels until it looked clear as glass.
Rick took the quartz over to the workbench and used the gem files and chisels to engrave a small circle with runes on its facet.
He etched the runes:bjartr megin sifjar frammi dagr. (translate to; bright ability affinity produce light). He then polished with a soft cloth and set it down to open his notices.
Skill Increase:
Masonry: Level 4(Expert 36%)
Skill Increase:
Blacksmithing level 8(beginner 23%)
Skill Increase:
Carpentry: Level 4(Intermediate 56%)
Skill Increase:
Digging: Level 3(Intermediate 97%)
Skill Increase:
Forging Level 1(Intermediate14%)
Skill Increase:
Hammering Level 4(Intermediate78%)
Skill Increase:
Knives: Level 8(Beginner 85%)
Skill Increase:
Smelting Level 1(Intermediate16%)
Skill Increase:
Wood Carving: Level 7(Beginner 04%)
New Skill Notice!
You Learned A New Skill!
Gem Cutting: Level 1 (Beginner 04%)
A skillto cut, shape, and polish gemstones
Higher levels increase quality and value of cut gems.
New Recipe Notice!
You Learned A New Recipe!
Runic Crystal Light
This recipe will allow you to instantly create a crystal lightif all ingredients and tools exist in your inventory.
That is what I was looking for alright now on to the next stage.
Rick pulled the ingot out of the forge and split it into four pieces. The first section he hammered out into a round quarter inch plate with a couple screw holes. Next he used a recipe to make two iron rods and made the ends flanged. He shaped the flanged bars into a [J] shape and screwed them to the round plate. Once again using the rod recipe he made two solid silver 6" inch long rods. With his hammer and punch he formed out the ends of the two silver rods so that a crystal light would sit on top of it.
Rick screwed the flanged [J] shape rods to the silver rods then used his crystal light recipe to make another one. With two runic crystal lights he used a strong glue he bought from the General Store and glued the crystal lights into the silver rods. All that was left was to link the crystal lights on a circut and connect them to a small switch rune he engraved on the round plate.
Alright, all finished with this now let me check if I got the recipe for it now.
New Recipe Notice!
You Learned A New Recipe!
Crystal Candle Wall Sconce
This recipe will allow you to instantly create a crystal candle wall sconce if all ingredients and tools exist in your inventory.
Yes! It worked now to make a few and start hanging them.
Rick went around the tower punching out screw holes and filling them with wood pegs to screw the new light fixtures in the rooms and then hung a couple outside the tower and inside the barracks.
He found Handil to tell him that the baracks had furiture for them and to demonstrate the new light, he was shocked speachless for a minute after seeing the new invention work without fire or casting a spell. Rickleft the light with him so he could show the his workers how to turn them on and off. He went back into the tower fed the baby chicks and went upstairs to setup the fancy canopy bed and furniture from under the temple.
"Angelica can you come up here for a moment." He called down the steps.
Angelica closed her book and climbed the staircase. "Yes my Lord?"
He shook his head at the her still calling him lord while replying. "I need to return to my world for a couple hours, it will look like I am sleeping in bed but I will not be able to wake up until I return." Rick tried to explain a log out to her.
"When you get tired don''t be afraid to climb into the bed with me and if it gets to dark just touch this circle here on these wall lights like this." He demonstrated on the light next to the bed.
"I will be fine, and I will make sure no one harms or disturbs you while youaregone." She said.
He smiled at her then unequipped his boots and clothes and climbed under the covers. " Good night Angelica see you soon."
"Good night m-my, good night Cedric"
She finally said my name.He thought.
With a big grin, he said aloud. "Disconnect!"
Chapter 15: Crafting and constructions
Rick stood up from the VR capsule stretching with a muffled growl. He searched for his phone and returned a text to Amy to meet up with her in the morning for breakfast.
He then grabbed a towel from the hall closet and took a hot shower. In his bedroom, he put on pajamas to sleep in.
Rick cautiously checked the front door to make sure it was locked then flipped off all the lights behind him. Tiredly he climbed under the covers to fall asleep shortly after closing his eyes.
When Rick woke up refreshed for the day he got dressed and cruised over to Amy''s place calling her on the way there. After he picked her up they drove to a nice family restaurant near to her apartment. She told him how things were at her job and he told her about the Virtual Reality game he had been playing this week while they enjoyed their breakfast.
Rick drove Amy home after they left the restaurant and stopped to buy a few groceries on his way home. When he got home he put the groceries away, threw away the pizza from the other night and threw his dirty clothes in the wash.
He then made his way to the spare room to get his morning workout in with his home gym. When he finished his workout he tossed the sweaty clothes in the wash with the other dirty clothes and took a quick shower. After a quick shower, he sauntered to the washing machine and tossed his wet towel in and started his wash.
There should be plenty enough hot water left for the wash, I wasn''t in the shower that long. He thought to himself.
He redressed in his room then climbed back into the [GATE GEAR] and logged back into the game.
When he woke up in bed it was dark out still and Angelica slept curled up under the covers next to him. Rick activated [Night Sight] then [Sneak] got up out of bed and re-equipped his clothes and boots. With his sneak skill, he quietly left the tower to pour some steel casts from his newly built blast furnace.
First Rick opened the slag pipe to expel the top layer of impurities inside the furnace then cranked it closed again after he drained it out. He then removed the long stone casts he made from the river slabs and centered it under the pig iron drain pipe. He continued to rotate these long stone casts under the pipe as they cooled until he emptied the blast furnace of molten steel.
Touching the switch rune he shut down the furnace and loaded the all the five-foot long steel ingots into his inventory. Standing up he glanced down at the dark barracks wondering if the workers settled in alright. He saw clearly with his [Night Sight] also the partially built chicken coop not far from it the worker barracks.
After looking around he entered the tower and fed the chicks on his way downstairs. Rick turned off his [Night Sight] and turned on the crystal lights around the cellar. He then took a cut of leather and tools from his inventory and set them on the workbench.
He placed his hands on top of a sheet of leather and traced around them with charcoal. Using a pair of leather cutting scissors he cut out a couple patterns of his hand''s outline and sewed them together with thick brown thread. Using the leather cord he attached a drawstring around the wrist of the gloves.
After examining it he decided to double layer the knuckle area and fingertips with additional leather to protect the hand better. When he was happy with the pair of gloves he set them aside and started making a thick leather belt and used his iron punch to notch out the belt buckle prong holes.
Taking out a piece of an iron ingot he placed it into the forge until it was glowing. He shaved a thin slice off the ingot and lightly hammered it into a thin strand of round wire. With a pair of pliers and the tongs, he bent the wire into a square then wrapped another two more pieces of the wire around the square buckle to make the prongs.
He quenched the buckle in water and then began to sew in onto the end of the leather belt. Rick used the remaining wire to make a circular ring that he hammered flat on one side of and then bored out little holes to thread bolts through later. Next, he took out his tap and die set to make a few tiny bolts and nuts with the remaining scrap iron.
Rick Cut a couple small sections of leather only a few inches big to sew together. He then cut out belt loops in the top of that leather and used the tiny bolts and nuts to attach the wire ring to this newly crafted square of sewn leather.
"Alright, I now have a hammer belt holder, next I need to make a small multi pocket tool pouch." He quietly said aloud.
Rick fed the hammer holder onto the leather belt and wrapped the belt around his waist while grabbing the hammer off the workbench he slid the handle into the ring and the hammer hung comfortably at his side.
He removed another cut of leather and began to sew together a tool pouch and then section off the interior with different sized pockets to hold screws, nails and small tools. Once the pouch was completed he fed that onto the belt as well.
New Recipe Notice!
You Learned A New Recipe!
Leather Drawstring Gloves recipe
This recipe will allow you to instantly create a pair of leather drawstring gloves.
You Learned A New Recipe!
Thick Leather Belt recipe
This recipe will allow you to instantly create a thick leather belt.
You Learned A New Recipe!
Hammer Belt Holder recipe
This recipe will allow you to instantly create a hammer belt holder.
You Learned A New Recipe!
Leather Tool Pouch recipe
This recipe will allow you to instantly create a leather tool pouch.
These should help the workers out. They can carry their tools around on them and have some basic hand protection now. Hmm, maybe I can make up some leather knee pads later.
With the help of the recipes, he created fifty sets of each to hand out later to the crew. Rick opened his inventory and removed a length of wood that he used to split off a piece about the length and thickness of a spear shaft and put it on the pedal lathe to round off the edges smoothly while forming the end a little thinner than the rest of the pole.
Rick then cut three lengths of wood about two feet long and a half inch thick. Two of these pieces he bored out holes in the center of it and connected them to the top of a cylindrical one-foot long piece of wood like helicopter blades on a rotor shaft. the third piece he bored out holes on both ends of it and slipped one of these holes over the long tapered end of the shaft he just turned on the lathe.
The hole on the other end he fit the shaft attached to what looked like helicopter blades into it. From the two wood crossed blades he hung equal measured segments of a bowstring. He then used some silver to make little weights that looked like fishing sinkers and tied them to the ends of the hanging bowstrings.
Rick thought out the steps used by the Romans that he had read about online while examining his groma. I now have a groma that the Romans used to mark out their roads so straight with. I can get a few VIP option surveyors later and give them all a groma to mark out the streets and land plots. All they have to do is look down two of the strings at a chosen direction and then have an assistant place a pole marker in the distance that lines up with the two strings. When they get all the markers in place they can run a rope along the ground that is tied taunt to the markers and edge out the streets.
Rick used his recipe to make five more gromas and left them all in his inventory. Using the wood he took out earlier he spun out four lengths of wood the size of spear shafts again and received a recipe for them. Next, he cut a square board roughly one foot by one foot and screwed the cut wood shafts to it making a square top stool. Using the extra wood shaft cuts he attached horizontal sections between the legs to give them support. When he checked the notices he saw he also received a recipe for the square top stool.
He put the new stool in front of the workbench and sat down to draw out a basic front view sketch of his next construction that would be needed soon. It was a plain rectangle stone block building with a small crawl space under the stone paved floor. From out the top of the building rose a single chimney to encourage circulating airflow from the floor to the ceiling throughout the interior.
Underneath the floor in the crawl space, he would install wind and fire runes. The wind runes would be installed to blow the heat from the fire runes up through open vents in the floor to heat the inside of the building up. This building was going to become a giant clay kiln used for the clay drain pipes he wanted to make for his city. It could also be used to fire bricks and pottery when needed quite easily.
His current plan was to have running water pipes and sewage drain pipes to and from the housing. His plan for houses would be based on modern apartment buildings. These building would have hallways on each floor that lead to the tenant''s apartment door. Off the hallways would be a shared men''s and women''s bathrooms and at the end of the hall would be a water hand pump connected to the city water system.
This basic sketch should be fine to show Handil what I need the workers to do. I think I will have them knock this out first while I put in the third and fourth floor in the tower. Then when they finish the kiln building they can complete the tower roof.
Rick walked outside the tower into the growing light as the sun started to peak over the eastern plains. Handil and his crew had gathered around the tool shed and were preparing to take out the tools and supplies needed before they started. Rick walked over and greeted everyone and then pulled out the gloves, tool belts, pouches, and hammer holder for everyone and explained what they are used for. They all loved the idea of not having to search around constantly for a tool they laid down and quickly equipped all their new gear.
Rick then showed the kiln house plan to handil and explained how he wanted it constructed. He told the cooks to prepare breakfast for the guys and told them to call them in shifts to eat since the tower only had ten chairs around the table. When everyone had been instructed he climbed up to the second floor to a pleasant surprise of catching a completely nude Angelica preparing to get dressed.
"Good morning beautiful that reminds me now we need to stop by the tailor later and pick up your undergarments and outfits," Rick said while looking over the enticing woman.
"Good morning Cedric, you don''t have to worry about it I am still getting used to wearing all this stuff and missing a few garments is not bothering me at all." She explained as she crossed the room still undressed to embrace him.
"Last night I slept so soundly next to you it was such a change from being alone I felt so secure that I slept through the nightuntil now." She whispered before releasing him to change.
If she slept all night that means she hasn''t gone to the bathroom yet and I still haven''t made anything for her or the workers. I really don''t want everyone just squatting down all over the place around here. We need a couple outhouses at least for now.
Rick went outside while Angelica got dressed and the cooks made breakfast. He walked over to stockpile and opened the [Land Management Menu].
Show Land Management Menu!
Show Buy Units!
Buy Laborer!
Show Laborer Division!
Laborer Unit Classes
Barber
Cart driver
Clay Digger
Chimney Sweep
Charcoal Burner
Cow Herd
Cottar
Ditcher
Diver
Falconer
Farmer
Fisherman
Goat Herd
Gong Farmer
Herbalist
Hunter
Lumberjack
Maid
Midwife
Miller
Orchardist
Oysterer
Construction Painter
Pavior
Plasterer
Poultry Farmer
Roofer
Ropemaker
Sawyer
Scullion
Servant
Sheep Shearer
Shepherd
Swineherd
Trapper
Wood stainer
VIP Class Options
Animal Trainer
Landscape Architect
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Show Cottar Class!
Cottar Class
A cottar was one of the lowest commoner jobs. They are used as all purpose laborers.
Show Ditcher class!
Ditcher Class
The ditcher a laborer who digs anything from a fence post to a castle moat.
Show Gong Farmer class!
Gong Farmer Class
The gong farmer removes human excrement from privies and cesspits.
Lovely.......
Show Animal Trainer!
Animal Trainer Class
Animal trainers Conduct training programs in order to develop and maintain desired animal behaviors for competition, entertainment, obedience, security, riding and related areas. They feed and exercise animals, and provide other general care such as cleaning and maintaining holding and performance areas.
Show Landscape Architect!
Landscape Architect Class
Landscape architects design attractive and functional parks, gardens, playgrounds, residential areas, and public spaces. They also plan the locations of buildings, roads, walkways, flowers, shrubs, and trees within these environments.
Buy two Laborer Ditcher! Buy four Laborer Cottar! Buy one Laborer Poultry Farmer! Buy two Sawyer! Buy one Fisherman! Buy one Wood Stainer!
Rick watched and waited as the new workers spawned in front of him. He had them follow him across the bridge to where Handil supervised the construction of the kiln house and called him over.
Rick told him that he wanted two cottars to be helpers for the stone mason building the kiln house and the other two to be helpers for the carpenters. He then told the ditchers to dig ten four foot deep holes roughly fifty feet from the worker''s barracks and one same hole on the south end of tower island. He told the sawyer that they would work with the carpenters and make any lumber they need from the wood on the stockpile. He quickly stored the pot of cement the stone masons had been using and used his recipe to refill it for them and took it back out.
"Handil when the carpenters finish the chicken coop have them build outhouses over all the holes the ditchers dig up." He instructed Handil.
Rick took the fisherman and wood stainer into the tower and he removed the barrel of wood stain from his inventory. He handed the wood stainer gloves, paint brushes, and a sponge then instructed him to start staining the floors and staircases. Rick told the fisherman to have a seat at the table and that he would be right back. Down in the basement, he used the lathe to form out a wood fishing pole and made a few fishing hooks until he received a recipe for them. He then tied approximately twenty feet of bow string to the pole and went upstairs to give it to the fisherman. He told him to look for some worms and try fishing the river so that they could add some fish to the worker''s meals.
I now have forty-three workers and fifty beds. I need to go spawn a couple furniture makers so I don''t have to keep running to town and buying it all. I feel bad leaving Angelica alone while I am crafting and building every day. She is the only female here out of all these guys maybe I should spawn another girl to keep her company. If I were to get another fighter type like her they could even train and spar together.
It looks like I need to walk back to the stockpile again. Wait a minute if I get furniture makers what are they going to use for mattresses and cushions? I need to also get upholsterers and also buy wool and cotton from town.
Rick went upstairs to start on the staircase and final two floors. Angelica sat propped up in bed now wearing her armor and continued to devour the book he had offered her. This reminded him of all the bookcases full of books still in his inventory. He opened his inventory and located the bookcases and began to place them along the wall opposite of the bed.
I still have those racks of scrolls, but I will hang on to them for now. I want to make aGutenberg printing press so that I can transfer them over into book formbefore I allow them to be handled.
"You can also read these books, I found them all like this under a ruined temple of the Goddess Faith made by her followers long ago," Rick explained as he pointed out all the books.
"This is like a small library now you must have close to a thousand books here" She replied in amazement.
"Yes, but they are old and some may be fragile so we must handle them carefully so not to lose any important information that can help us." Rick said.
Rick continued. "I also wanted to ask you about something I was just thinking about before I came up here."
Angelica looked at him questioningly, while silently waiting for him to continue.
"I have have been busy around here and will be many times in the future that I work all day crafting or building new things. I was thinking that I could get another Valkyrie so that you could have someone to spend time with or even train and spar together. Though I am sure in the future our party will grow larger, you can decide if you would like another woman around here for now." He explained his thoughts to her then continued.
Rick sat down on the bed next to her while he spoke. "You can decide what race they will be, but I will make her a Valkyrie and possibly make her first class a Battle Dancer. Think about it for now and let me know how you feel later." Rick softly pat her on the thigh with a reassuring smile and stood up.
"Oh, I am going to make a little noise now up here as well the tower is near completion so I will add the third and fourth floors now and the staircases to them." Rick said as he began removing lumber and tools from his inventory.
Angelica smiled. "I don''t mind the noise, actually I like hearing all the people around busily working it is a nice change from the silence of being alone." Then looked down to continue her book.
Rick decided to use his wood carving skill and made a Knight in full plate with a sword point down and both his hand resting on the upturned pommel in front of him. He received a recipe for it and made another and used them as the railing post at the bottom of the stairs. He used the same spindles that he made for the lower staircase and arranged them so that two of the same were not next to one another. He sectioned off underneath the stairs and added two small double doors using his door hinge recipe to hang them. He then carved a border around the perimeter of each door of vines with leaves and flowers growing on them. Then in the center of each door, he carved a large shield with two crossed long-swords behind them. After he finished the carved doors he opened them and stepped in under the stairs. Using his carving skill yet again he made somewood (J) shaped hooks and used his recipe to make a couple long wood shafts. He screwed the (J) hooks to the wall and hung the wood shafts horizontally on themto be used as closet rods.
Later I need to make some more wire to make metal hangers or I could even carve out a few wood hangers untilI get a recipe to make more. He thought to himself as he put the finishing touches on the closet and stepped out into the bedroom again.
Now he wantedto make the joists slots in the blocks but the wall was so high now he could not stand on top of it to chisel them out like he did in the past. Rick made two beams and a few more wood shafts. He cut the wood shafts to roughly one-foot lengths and screwed them evenly between the beams to make a wood ladder. He leaned his new ladder against the wall and climbed it to notch out the joist slots on both walls then seated the joists into them to span across the room. Rick strolled up the new stairs and began to nail down the planks until the third floor was completed.
Rick repeated the same construction to the final upper fourth floor except for the bottom posts he carved a female elf with a drawn bow and arrow aimed in front of her. On the fourth floor, he carved out four narrow arrow slits into each wall so that they could shoot down on any would-be attackers of the tower. He then went through the third and fourth floor to tap out holes and fill them with wood pegs to screw the Crystal light fixtures into.
My part of the tower is finished now the rest is up to Handil and the crew to finish after they finish the kiln house. Rick thought to himself as he descended the stairs.
He walked over to the tower doorframe and measured the height and width of it. After writing down themeasurements he then went into the cellar and tossed two of his five-foot steel ingots into a smelt pot. Rick opened his inventory and took out stone blocks that he placed on the floor to be used as a cast for the Tower door. When the Steel was melted down he slowly poured in into the center of the stone blocks like a small swimming pool it filled with molten steel to a height of near one inch. He then took out a couple stone pavers and carved out thick hinges in one and big door pins with flat heads on one end in the other paver and used the iron ladle to fillthem with the steel from the smelter.
Leaving the steel door and hinges to cool he now need a new tool that he had been missing for some time but had put off because of the sheer tediousness of making it.
I think casting will be the best way to make this hand drill that will help out seeing that making the gears for it will take time and patience.
His first cast he made was a small spoked wheel he carved into a stone paver. Then he carved out a cast that looked similar to a thick modern bottle cap opener. next, to that, he then carved out a thick coin shaped cast. Rick took out another paver and carved a rod shape with one end a half inch thick and the opposite end was a quarter inch thick. On the same paver below the double width rod, he carved out wat looked like a socket with one end tapered to a flat nosed point.
With all of the metal casts for the drill ready he carefully hand poured the steel with his iron ladle into each cast. Surrounded by drying steel casts he took out a small scrap of wood and carved what looked like a classic car gear shift knob and carved out a channel in it so he could attach it to the drill frame later.
Rick had everything prepared to put together when it all cooled so he walked down to the river and filled an empty barrel with water then stored it and took it out next to his anvil in the basement. He quenched the partially cooled drill cast in the barrel of water and then popped them free of their stone casts. He started off with the spoked wheel laying it on the workbench he used a thin metal file to carve small gear teeth around the entire wheel. Next, he worked on the thick coin and used the file to notch out small matching gear teeth on the outer rim of it.
He then took out his tap and die set to thread the thick end of the double width rod. Rick then placed the drill parts into the forge to heat up after he finished making the threads. Removing the bottle opener shaped frame and the spoked gear wheel with the tongs he set them on the anvil and punch out a hole to connect them together with a small flanged end rod. Then he removed the double width threaded bolt and push the thin smooth end of it into the top width of the drill frame to create a channel for it to rotate in later.
He pulled that bolt back out of the frame''s channel andplaced the coin shaped gear across the inside of the channel and inserted the bolt in again and pushed it through the coin shaped gear and then collared the end of the bolt so it could not fall out of the channel later. His next step was toremove the tapered flat nose socket and screwed it onto the threaded end of the bolt. Rick now need a way to attach drill bits to the threaded bolt. What hehad to do was use his knife and hammer to split the end of the threaded bolt into a cross shape that could spread open to hold a drill bit inside of it. Lastly, he attached the wood knob to the frame and hand a new crank drill and a recipe to make more.
Rick then made up ten different sized drill bits from small to large and made a small wood box that he dovetailed the corners and glued together. He carved out a side view of his drill on the lid and carved a recessed rectangle border around it. Inside he made separate slots to hold each drill bit and then took it upstairs and used wood stain from the barrelon a rag to lightly wipe the box down giving it some color. While the box was drying he removed some scrap leather and made a holder similar to the hammer holder but with a small strap that could wrap through the spoked wheel of the drill and be buckled to hang from a tool belt.
Rick used the recipes to make ten of all drills and accessories and took them out to the carpenters. They had completed the chicken coop and were now working on the outhouses. He gifted them all the drill, drill bits, and holders and showed them how to use the new drill and hang them on their belts. They became really excited with the new drills knowing how handy it would be for them. Rick just laughed and said wait to be excited if I can ever somehow create a circular saw for you guys and walked away leaving them all staring at each other wondering what the hell a circular saw was.
Grabbing the heavy duty cast hinges and flat head door pinshe put them in his inventory and cast another six flat head door pins then went up to the tower entrance. Taking out his new drill he fit a bit a little thinner than the flat head door pins and drilled out holes in the stone block to hang the hinges. With his tap and die set he threaded the six of door pins and notched the top of them turning them into huge screws that he used to anchor the heavy duty steel hinges to the stone block frame.
Well, that door should be cool enough to hang now let''s go check on that next. He thought as he made his way downstairs.
Rick Sent the blocks he used to cast the door back into his inventory and stood the heavy door up against the workbench.
This thing must weigh three hundred pounds. They can bang a wood batteringram off this for a week andhave nothing to show for their efforts, but a pile of wood chips.
He brought the door upstairs in his inventory and propped it up off the ground slightly for clearance with a few wood wedges and the screwed the hinges to the door and slid the remaining door pins that the hinges rotated on when opening and closing.
To finish it off he made a four(J) shaped brackets out of steel and screwed two near the top and bottom of the door. He then closed took out two of his five-foot steel ingots and fit them into the brackets to bar the door closed.
Nice, once these two bars are dropped into these brackets they would need dynamite to get through this door.
He pulled the steel bars out of the brackets and placed them next to the door in the corner for quick access.
I guess it is time to go shopping again I need cotton, wool, and more cloth that would work well for upholstering.
Rick went upstairs and told Angelica he needed to travel into Silverhall City formore materials and waited for her to strap her swords around her waist before opening a portalclose to the southern Silverhall city gateandsteppingthrough it.
Chapter 16: Assemble the troops!
When Rick and Angelica walked through the portal they were very close to the southern gate which is where they wanted to be. Rick remembered readingthat Silverhall City''s farms are mainly located on the open plains to the south. Rick used his [Cartography] skill while they walked toward the gate and pulled the new map out of his inventory to see that there were a couple large farms to the south.
I just hope they sell to me even though I am not a merchant and also have what I am looking for.
When they came up to the gate Rick was surprised that the guard came to attention and saluted him as if he were an officer. He then recalled the Honor Guard title he received from burying the fallen defendersofthe temple and knew that this was the reason for the guard''s behavior. He saluted the guard back out of reflex and began to question him about the farms to the south of Silverhall. The guard reassured him that there was a huge farm just off the main road, and they sold just about everything. Rick thanked him and the two set off out the gate and on down the dirt road.
They found a stable that sold horses and carts just outside the gate but decided to walk since their destination was under a mile away. While they traveling along they talked again about the possibility of another Valkyrie and Angelica was torn between wanting and not wanting one. She liked the idea of someone to train and spend time with but also enjoyed being the only one by Rick side at the moment it seemed. He wasn''t in a hurry to add another fighter to the party so he gave her time to adjust to the idea since the new member was more for her than him. If he really needed the extra hand he would not have asked her and just spawned them in.
Rick explained to her that his attentions may be more divided between another companion but she would always be by his side and that she was special because she had been sent to him by Faith herself. He then let her think about it as they walked along silently taking in the scenery around them. Soon they started seeing grazing farm animals and plowed fields bordering the road. Just as the guard had said they soon came across a sprawling farm on a dirt crossroad that looked like it could be a village from the number of building built together there.
Rick spotted a couple men working in the field just off theroad and walked out to them. He greeted them with a smile excited to learn if the farm sold the materials he wasseeking.The two men scowled at him with brows that snapped together while he questioned them. They treated him like he was a beggar that just asked them for money,not wanting to be bothered they ignored him to turn their backs on him, continuing theirfield work. Rick''s temper started soaring from such a disrespectful display thathe turned on his [Aura: Intimidation] skill and threw it out at them with his temper.
He spoke to them through clenched teeth. "Listen well I am a Baron and a [Chosen], I only asked a simple question that could have been answered with a simple yes or no. If you two further insult me with this disrespectful behavior I willchallenge you both to a duel right here over this slight to myhonor, so best you loosen your tongues now!" Rick said gradually growing louder as he continued to speak withhis aura crushing down on them.
The two men''s eyes shot open like saucers as they fell to the ground pleading. "Please forgive us my liege we did not know you were a noble or [Chosen]! We were picked to work extra time in the fields today and have been in foul moods over it since." They begged and groveled at his feet while Rick continued to blast them with his aura.
Just then what appeared to be a farm supervisor approached them from a barn he just exited to ascertain what had happened. Rick explained how he had walked from town to spend allot of money on this farm and how these men disrespected him. The supervisor was now standing in the ring of his aura and turned pale when he felt it slamdown aroundhim along with the steelin Rick''s voice.
He looked down furiously at the two offenders. "You two disappeared yesterday to get drunk when you should have been working and were punished for it! Now you want to take it out on a customer who is also a noble that could cut you down where you stand and not one person, or guard would so much as question him over it!" The supervisor screamed at the two pitiful peasants crawling in the dirt.
Rick started to see the big picture here now. These two idiots are pissedover being punished extra hours of work for slacking off to get drunk and thought to vent their displeasure on me.
Rick turned his aura off and began to calm down asking the supervisor if he could buy a large amount of cotton and wool from their farm. After asking he quickly glanced at Angelica to then see she had her hands on her swords while looking down on the farm hands, like she would slice them up if they so much as breathed the wrong way.
Wow, this is the first time I ever saw a look like that on her face. He thought to himself.
The supervisor was more than happy to help him, and as they toured the farm, he explained what they had to offer in obtainable goods. Rick was pleasantly surprised to hear that they also sold a variety of livestock and began to ruminate on which animals, he should purchase at present.
The supervisor spoke then to explain to that the biggest units available of both wool and cotton were in bales which weighed 500 pounds each. Rick thought that he should buy a decent amount of both seeing that they would not start farming for quite some time. Then also any purchased sheep would take a considerable amount of time to reproduce large enough numbers to make their supply of wool self-sufficient. Rick decided following this reasoning to buy two bales of cotton and two bales of wool to hold them off for some time. Rick had then asked the supervisor to accompany him to the sheep enclosure so that he could also acquire thirty sheep.
Rick instructed the shepherds tending the sheep to separate these thirty of into a small pen for him. Rick then climbed between the fence rails to enter the small pen and activated his [Taming] skill and could suddenly feel a connection to the sheep around him. Rick sensed their anxiousness at being crowded into the small enclosure and the wariness of him being near them.
Rick closed his eyes and activated his aura and slowly attempted to blend it with the connection to the sheep around him. He put feelings of wishing to care for and protect them into the aura as he envisioned the endless plains of green grass they could graze on at their new home. The sheep around him gradually quieted down and a few even approached him to rub against his legs like children seeking attention. Their actions broke his focus on mixing his [aura] and [Taming] skills enough that he opened his eyes to see the sheep all quietly standing around him expectantly looking at him. In the lower part of his peripheral vision he noticed the smallflashing icon.
New Title Notice!
You will not tolerate insults, or disrespectful actions while showing others respect.
You have made it known you will not fail to defend your honor by challenging all offenders to trial by combat.
You have been awarded the title: The Duelist
Fame Increased: +1000
Honor Increased: +5000
People are now aware of the outcome, that any slight against you will result in a challenge to a duel.
Currently displaying title: The White Knight
All awarded titles stack with the currently displayed title.
Haha, How does that quote go again; "Don''t ever mistake my silence for ignorance, my calmness for acceptance, or my kindness for weakness!'' He thought as he opened the next notice.
New Skill Notice!
New Skill Learned!
Aura: Calm Animal Level 1 (Beginner 03%)
A sub-skill of Aura used to sooth and calm animals in its circumference.
It will make some animals more friendly and approachable.
Higher levels increase the calming effects and the skill effects circumference ring.
Rick activated this new [Calm Animal] skill and then opened a portal to tower island and marched the sheep into the portal like the pied piper. They all happily followed behind him through the portal that leads to their new home.
The supervisor and shepherds who separated the sheep wondered what Rick was up to when he first entered the pen and stood there silently with his eyes closed. Then they noticed the change in the sheep as they all just calmly stopped and stared at the large man standing amongst them.
A few minutes later they watched in slack-jawed amazementas a black door came up from the ground and Rick disappeared through itwith the thirty sheep in tow behind him. Rick then reappeared when the sheep all made it through and walked over to pay the supervisor and told him he would be back for more livestock soon and stepped through the portal once again with Angelica and closed it from the other side.
When the portal had closed at the farm the supervisor said to the dumb-struck shepherds next to him. "Those [Chosen] are something else one minute he was ready to kill Jack and Garrett the next he was buying enough cotton and wool to stock half the stores in town for weeks with a smile plastered on his face. Then last but not least he leads a herd of sheep through a magical door like they were his trained pets" He said shaking his head in astonishment. The supervisor then not waiting for a reply turned around and went off to lay into the slackers again who started the whole mess, to begin with.
Back on tower island, Rick hiked over to the small wooden footbridge that spanned the canal to the mainland and used his stored lumber to build a small gate to prevent the sheep from crossing for now. He quickly did a head count of the sheep and found that none had wandered over the bridge while he went back through to the farm. While he looked over the cluster of sheep he noticed the outhouse on the island was already built south of the tower. He walked over to examine how well they built it with Angelica and informed her that this was only for them and that the worker would have their own across the canal near the barracks.
She decided to christen the new outhouse so he left her to go feed the chicks and check on the [Wood stainer]. He found that the busy worker had stained the cellar stairs, first floor, and the first-floor stairs already. To make his remaining job easier,Rick stored away all the bedroom furniture and bookcases so that the next three floors were completely empty. Angelica walked into the tower just after he finished packing everything and they went back outside across the bridge to check on Handil.
They found he had everything under control and was making good progress on the kiln house construction. Rick while looking over the build decided to quickly drill into the blocks on each side of the kiln house door and hang crystal lights to illuminate the entrance at night. Then he did the same to the barracks door and hung lights in all the completed outhouses as well.
While he waited for his mana to regen before jumping back to town he decided to take a walk north along the river with Angelica. While they strolled along he took her quiver and bow out of his inventory and handed it to her just in case of trouble. He also equipped his own armor, quiver, and bow while they trekked the river''s edge.
Shortly after they came upon the raft he used to float downstream sitting abandoned on the sandy shore where he had left it. Rick recounted the story of his journey here to his partner as he took down then stored the sail, leaving the raft where it sat.
They soon found the herd of horses he saw on the way down river roaming still close to the river. They watched as the horses ran around and play with each other with not showing fear of them, but not approaching them either.
Rick wanted to play with his new aura activated it and gradually neared the herd until a few of the wild horses were in thering of his skill. He then opened his inventory and took out a few apples and held them out so they could see them. A couple of the wild horses came over to investigate and ate them right from his hand.
Rick then glanced over his shoulder and gestured for Angelica to join him. She quietly walked over and Rick handed her a couple of the apples to feed the expectant horses.
As Angelica fed the horses with a big smile she whispered. "My lord is amazing even animals will submit to your will"
Rick quietly chuckled. "This is because of a skill I happened to just learn at the farm, and if I tried this with a really nasty animal I am sure it might not go over quite this well" He explained.
Hethought momentarily about attempting to tame one these friendly horses around them, but then the responsibility of what came after entered his mind.
If I were too tame one of these guys I would need to take them back to the tower and build a stable for them. Then I would need to get a saddle, reins, food, hay, and grooming tools. One day when I have extra time I will tame one, or more than likely just buy them. I want to create a knights Calvary division one day and that will require a large number of horses to accomplish.
Rick sighed while hepet the nuzzling horsegoodbye, he opened a gate next to the furniture store. He stored away Angelica''s bow and quiver for her and they entered the furniture store.
"Welcome back sir how can we help you today." The same gentlemen who had helped them previously greeted them as they entered.
"I would like to buy ten more single size beds and I am also interested in purchasing furniture fabrics as well," Rick told the friendly manager.
"Excellent right this way sir I can show you all the fabrics we currently stock." He gestured for them to follow him.
The manager began to walk toward the back corner of the store with his two customers. As they followed behind Rick looked all around at the different things that they had on display then he suddenly stopped.
"Excuse me, sir, this Chess table do you have more of them in stock?" Rick stopped in front of a beautifully decorated chess table with hand carved and painted pieces that looked like miniature towers, mounted knights, kings, and queens.
The manager stopped and turned to view what Rick had pointed out. "Yes we do have this luxurious chess set in stock. Did it catch your eye by any chance?" The manager replied then asked.
"I will take four of these chess tables and the themed pieces for them as well if you have that many available" Rick told the store manager.
The manager simply nodded making a mental note. They then continued on after the short inquiry toward the fabric samples location. After seeing that chess set Rick was lost in thought about where he might find other forms of entertainment for the workers to enjoy at the end of the day.
We are out in the middle of an enormously desolate plain with nothing to do but eat, work, and sleep. It would be nice to find something for them to have fun with. The first things that come to mind are games, minstrels, storytellers, women, and maybe a tavern? Hmm, I could make a tavern with all of them combined in it.
The manager spoke up interrupting his thoughts. "These are our fabric samples if you find any you like we can make any cut sizes you need off the bolts we stock in the warehouse." He explained to them and left them to look through the samples.
Using his [identify] skill on the fabrics as he looked through them he found silk, cotton, wool, leather and linen samples. They had a nice selection of patterned and themed fabrics available to the public. Rick while examining themset aside any of the samples that he liked, a few he chose were (a soft light brown leather), (a blue silk with gold fleur-de-lis patterns), (a red silk with white flying dragon patterns), and a number of others that he had also set aside.
Rick got Angelica involved allowing her to pick out any fabric samples she happens to like. One of her samples that he originally missed that she pickedalso caught his favor as well. It was a white silk fabric with an elaborate silver sword and red rose with green stem wrapped around the sword''s blade.
They both walked over to the manager with stacks of samples in hand. "I like all these fabrics here, how big is the bolt that they come on," Rick asked as he passed over the samples.
"We make a lot of furniture so our rolls are bigger than normal. We only stock two hundred yard rolls but can cut the fabric to your desired needs." He explained thinking the stocked bolts would be too big for what they wanted.
"Then give me ten single beds, four of the chess tables with pieces, and two of the 200-yard bolts of each sample here." Rick listed off his desired order.
The manager added up the total and Rick quickly paid him. They all went into the warehouse after sorting out the payment, so that he could store his purchases away in his inventory. Rick asked before leaving if he knew where he might find more board games, cards, and dice in the city. The manager told him that some could be occasionally found with the traders in the central plaza, or he could try a toy store not far from the furniture store that carried a variety of games.
They thanked the manager for his help and followed the directions he gave them to the toy store. It only took them under five minutes to find the store and walk inside to the bright and cheerful displays of numerous toys. Rick perused the aisles to end up finding a few interesting items. The first thing he found was a wood box with actual real iron horseshoes with to metal iron rods.
I guess horseshoes is an old game. It seems funny though to see these heavy iron objects that should be laying around a blacksmithy packaged in a toy store.
The next game he came across was a board game called Nine Men''s Morris. It is strategy board game for two players. The basic aim of Nine Men''s Morris is to make "mills" vertical or horizontal lines of three in a row. Every time this is achieved, an opponent''s piece is removed, the overall goal is to reduce the number of opponent''s pieces to less than three or to render the opponent unable to play.
This sounds like a more elaborate version of Tic Tac Toe. It must be popular if they have a large display area for it.
Rick also found a version of Backgammon and a game called Fox and Geese that the sly fox attempts to capture the multitudinous geese. Meanwhile, the geese try to hem the fox in so that he can''t move. On another aisle, he came across a box with "tabletop bowling" engraved on it. Inside were little wood pins and little wood balls. He took a couple of every adult type game he came across up to the counter. He had even found a few games with cards and chips then some even played with dice.
Rick thought as he paid the clerk. If I build that tavern I could even introduce a few games like a pool table, darts, and foosball tables. There are a few games that wouldn''t be that difficult for me to make.
With all the new games in his inventory, Rick took Angelica over to the Pretty Kitty for lunch. They ordered the lunch special for the day which was roasted pheasant in white wine with potatoes and carrots.
On the way out Rick spoke with Mia the owner of the inn. "The food and service were excellent as usual, Mia."
"Thank you, Cedric, it was great to see you and your new friend once again." She replied.
"While I am thinking about it, would it be possible for me to order alcohol through you, or if it is too much trouble point me to where I might buy it?" Rick asked Mia.
"I don''t mind either way Cedric you are a good customer of mine, and even saved my friend Jessica from the constant harassment from that bastard a few nights back." She told him unconcerned.
"What do you have that is dwarven in stock right now then?" Rick asked.
"Hmm, I have Dwarven Thunder Spirits and Dwarven Firebane Cognac which is more expensive, but a much better liquor." She replied
"Then is it possible for me to trouble you for a cask of Dwarven Firebane Cognac and a cask of decent mead?" He asked hoping he wasn''t being an inconvenience.
Mia took him into her cellar that was very heavily stocked with casks of many different liquors, ciders, meads, and bottles of wine. She pointed out the desired caskshe asked for among the large stacks of others. He stored them away and paid her a little extra for the trouble and thanked her on the way out of the Inn. He and Angelica were quite full from the scrumptious meal, and in good spirits, as they talked about various things in route to the Tailor shop.
They found Vardon working on Angelica''s gold satin dress and he told them that he had completed the rest of the order and would be finished with her dress within a half hour. Rick gathered up the outfit he designed for her along with the undergarments and took her to try them on. He entered the dressing room with her and had her remove her armor and put on the bra showing her how to wrap it around herself and clip the back strap. The measurements Vardon used seemed to be perfect. The bras and underwear all fit her comfortably. He next had her wear the outfit he designed and thought it looked and fit great on her.
They went back out into the store after trying on everything, but the dress Vardon was finishing up on. Rick decided to pick out more bolts of cloth since he had been using a good portion of the cloth he had originally bought here. He picked out armloads of big cloth rolls and different styles of color threads. He then grabbed handfuls of buttons, hooks, fasteners, cloth measuring tapes, and brooches that he placed on the back counter with the cloth and thread.
Rick then went through the men''s basic clothes and took all the tunics in every color from dwarf to human size along with pants, socks, and underwear in the same sizes.He still had a few minutes to wait on Vardon so Rick also went to look through the women''s common clothes and grabbed a few tops, pants, socks, and a couple plain dresses and stacked them on thegrowing pile.
I''m sure theworkers would also like hats since they work outside all day but that will have to wait for now. Vardon really doesn''t have any worker type hats and I don''t want to go looking for them right now. I might just even make a recipe for one to whip out a bunch of them seeing I will need near fifty of them soon.
When Vardon finished the dress Angelica tried it on for him to inspect then changed back into the outfit Rick designed. Rickpaid for all the additional items he grabbed along with the custom made clothes now that the dresswas finished. Vardon was curious why he would buy so many plain clothes and Rick took the time to explain how he now owned land and was looking out for a number of workers. With everything paid and stored the two said goodbye and thanked the Tailor and walked out into the busy street.
Rick was finished shopping for the day and thought to himself that he would probably end up back here in a day or two for something else he forgot or needed as he opened a portal behind Vardon''s shop to the tower.
He walked across the bridge to find handil and have him walk over to the worker''s barracks with him. Rick took out all the games he bought the ten new beds, casks of alcohol, and extra clothes and spread them acrossone of the tables. He then removed the four chess tables and game pieces and arrange them around the room.
He went over everything he bought with Handil and told him that he would bring the mugs for them over in a bit. Before leaving to the tower Rick asked Handil to make sure the workers went easy on the drinks until he could find a steady supply, these current casks needed to last for now. Handil returned to the kiln house construction and Rick installed more lights in the completed outhouses north of the worker''s barracks. He noticed the [Poultry Farmer] helping lend a hand to the carpenters and told him to take the box of baby chicks over to the chicken coop along with their food and that he wanted him to start taking care of them. Rick explained that he wanted to keep them for egg laying and then breed them when they are older. One day when they have a large enough population of chickens then they could harvest some of them.
After setting the forgotten worker to his new task hethen crossed the wood footbridge and walked over to the stockpile.
Rick opened the [Land Management Menu] then brought up the [Buy Resources Menu] under the [VIP resources] heordered one hundred random ingots and one hundred random gems. On the stockpile, a stack of mixed ingots spawnedwith a leather pouch on top of the ingot stack. Rick stepped over to the leatherpouch and glanced in to see a massof different colored uncut gems. He closed the pouch and placed in his inventory along with the stack of random ingots.Moving back out of the [System Gate] he directed to the [Buy Units Menu] next. He ordered six [Furniture Makers], four [upholsterers], and six [Surveyors].
That makes a grand total of sixty workers now every bed is now full.He thought as he watched the new units spawn.
When they had all gained consciousness he took them over to Handil. He told the [sawyers] to work with the [Furniture Makers] now since the Carpenters had nearly finished the outhouses. Rick instructed Handil to also have the carpenters find him near the stockpile when they finished their current job.
"I am going to go build a workshop next to the stockpile right now. I want the Furniture Makers to go look at the beds in the worker''s barracks and then have the sawyer start cutting the lumber you will need to make copies of them. The same for the Upholsterers look at the mattress and figure out your measurements to make copies I will put the bales of cotton and wool I have in the completed workshopto use as fill for the mattresses. I also have all the fabric, thread, and needles you will need to work on me". He handed them all cloth measuring tapes and set them off to their assignments.
Rick walked further out eastwith the Surveyors and gave them all Gromas and instructed them on how to use them. He told them to find a good location in their current area to start staking out a streetfrom west to east and to make the street forty feet wide. This was going to be the west-east running main street of the new Town he was starting. Rickwantedthe main streets to be wide enough for carts to pass in both directions and have room to park along the side of the street. He used his recipe to create three hundred wood shafts to use as road stakes and gave them a few large spools of rope and a couple knives as well.
He told them once the street was long enough they would then work on a north-south main street. At the junction where those two main streets crossed he wanted to build a small castle and have the road divert around its fenced border.
Rick left the surveyors alone to figure out where to start and walked back to the stockpile. He cleared roughly a twenty foot by forty foot area and with his shovel and then paved it with stone blocks and cement. Then he made another lumber recipe for two by fours and startedframing the walls for the workshop on top of the stone blocks he just had laid down for the floor. While he framed the walls he framed out a few windows and also a double door entryway to bring large items in and out of the building. With the help of his new ladder, he began to build the roof rafters with the framework for the walls done.
When he had all the buildings skeletal framing finished he used planks to enclose the walls and roof with. Then he used a recipe to make door hinges and mounted them to the double doors entrance. He made two solid doors out of the thick beams and hung them on the hinges. Rick then walked inside and used another recipe to make ten workbenches exactly like his in the cellar.
Byusing the beams and wood shafts hemade a stand that looked like a wide ladder attached to a wood base. The poles could be pulled out from the sides of the beams through holes he drilled to hold them sothe bolts of cloth and fabric could be hung up like a paper towel holder. The workers could then pull the fabric and cut it off the bolts as needed. He placed the bales of cotton and wool off in the far corner and gave the thumbs up to the Furniture Makers and Upholsterers to go ahead and start working in the new workshop.
When he was walking out of the new building the carpenters were crossing the foot bridge to come and find him. They all hiked over to the southwest side of the small island together and Rick told them he somehow wanted to build a small foot bridge across the wide expanse of the river there. After they all discussed it they came to the conclusion the river was too wide and the bridge would sag and break over time.
Rick tried to think of a way to drive supports into the river but the water was much too deep with a slight current to it, making it difficult. Rick told the carpenters to just go relax in the towerfor now or grab something to eat from the cooks if they were hungry while he tried to come up with a plan for the new bridge.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.
I have two available options I can think of right now. I can try and use my earth affinity to raise some land in the center of the river or use the raft and anchor it while I attempt to drive supports into the river bed.I think it would take a lot of mana and time to raise the ground with my low earth level, but anchoring that raft out there and driving in supports while it bounced and swayed would not be a picnic either.
Rick walked up the bank to the fisherman and seen that he had caught a good amount of different fish. He told him he would be out in the water for awhile and might disturb the fish around them. He told the fisherman to start cleaning the fish he caught so far and that he could find knives in the tool shed to use. When done he was to put the fish in the fridge for the cooks and head back to the barracks to relax for the night. When he was alone on the river bank he thought for a moment on how to proceed next.
He looked around and found a rock that must have weighed over a hundred pounds and tied a long rope to it and put it in his inventory. He then unequipped all his clothes and swam out to the center of the river and took out the heavy rock from his inventory and dropped it to the bottom while holding the rope. When the rock rested on the river''s bottom he tied the rope around his waist and used the rope to quickly pull himself to the submerged rock. Rick placed his hand on the river floor and held the rope with his other hand and activated his earth affinity. He poured his mana into the river bed and while pulling out earth mana, creating a connection.
He wasn''t totally sure on how to proceed so he went with instinct.Concentratingon the thought of grabbing the earth with his mana and pulling it up. He kept trying without success and had to come up for air after a couple minutes. Then after catching his breath, he shot back down the rope to continue After a few up and downs for air, he started to feel as if he could get a hold on the earth mana. He closed his eyes and focused only on the feeling of the hold he had while gently pulling up on it in tiny increments.
He lost track of how long he was underwater only thinking of pulling up the earth toward him. No longer able to fight off the burning in his chest Rick was forced to go up for air. He noticed as he bobbed on the surface gasping for lungs full of air, that his notice icon was flashing. He decided to take a quick break and swim to the shore to check out what notices awaited his attention. He opened the updates to find he had received two notices.
New Skill Notice!
You have Learned A New Skill!
Hold Breath: Level 1 (Beginner 27%)
This skill allows you to hold your breath for a duration of time.
Higher levels increase the length that you can hold your breath for.
Affinity Increase:
Earth Affinity: Level 4 (Beginner 27%)
New Spell Notice!
You have learned A New Spell!
Raise Earth: Level 1 (Beginner 04%)
This spell allows you to raise the ground. You must be in contact with the location you try to raise.
Higher levels will slightly decrease the amount of mana per cast and increase the area and height of earth you raise.
[50 mana points per cast]
Alright, I learned my first real spell and it could turn out to be a great one at higher levels. This could be really useful on the battlefield or even out hunting and adventuring. I could eventually be able to build defend-ablewalls and towers raised up from the ground for outposts or battle defenses. If I learn how to lower land next I can make pit traps and trenches.
After Rick rested a few minutes allowing his mana to regen he followed the rope hand over hand back down to his anchor rock and started casting [Raise Earth] while touching the river bottom. Every time he cast the spell the ground would raise roughly one foot high by three foot wide. He had 600 mana points total, which allowed him to cast the spell twelvetimes to reach a height of twelve feet high. He then swam to shore exhausted from the low mana effect. He laid on the sandy shore relaxing while his mana regened and repeated the process until he ran out of mana again but was only a few feet short of breaking the surface with his square pillarof growing earth.
When he finally broke the surface with the soil pillarhe climbed out of the water onto it. The top was just large enough for him to stand on as he made up a bunch of twenty-eight-foot posts with a recipe and used a sledgehammerfrom his inventory to start driving each post into the river bottom.
He had completely boxed in the patch of risen land with only a small gap between the posts and the new column of earth.Rick used another recipe to fillhis smelting pot with cement that he carefully poured between the posts and earth column until it was encased in wet cement.
This will dry even though it is in water and will work as a break wall against the current to stop the erosionof this small patch of ground over time.
Rick left the post and cement alone and swam back to shore to go find the carpenters. He found them in the tower gathered around the table talking and having a small bite to eat. Rick instructedthem to build a span from tower island to the small patch of earth in the river. Then to build another span from it to the far bank without disturbing the cement forms around the patch of earth in the river''s center.
The Carpenters set off to start on the bridge and Rick went upstairs to check on the wood staining progress. He found the worker finishing the third floor and preparing to start the staircase to the fourth floor. He didn''t bother to interrupt him and went back downstairs.
Rick went down into the cellar and removed some of his stored gold in his inventory. Hedropped all the gold into the smelting pot to allow it to melt down. Next to his work bench on the stone floor, he placed the stack of random ingots he bought earlier and placed the leather bag of uncut gems onthe bench top. He sat on his stool and went through the stack of ingots using his [Identify] skill on each and everyone and used his chisel to mark them. When he finished he had a written list of each ingot and their mark. He then went through the gems and sorted them into piles of matching types.
I have a nice selection of metal ingots and gems now, maybe I can use them to make more specialized metal scan skills.
Cedrick''s Random Ingot List
Metals
Descriptions
Copper:
This [common] well-known reddish brown color pure metal. It is soft and easily worked metal.
Iron:
Iron is a [common] silvery-gray malleable metal. It is the most used of metals in armor and weapons.
Gold:
A pure metal that is the softest of workable metals. It is a high-value metal even though it is [common].
Mithril:
A [very rare] light shiny, silver metal that is stronger and lighter than iron. It is a great material from which to create armors from.
Orichalcum:
A [Legendary] rare gold color metal containing magical properties. Orichalcum provides bonuses to elemental affinities.
Platinum:
This [very rare] light pale grayish-white metal. It is stronger than steel and difficult to melt. Platinum is also resistant to flames and acids.
Silver:
This [common] valuable pure metal is known for use in jewelry, drinkware, and utensils.
Steel
An [exotic] grayish-silver metal with unwanted impurities removed and other impurities introduced. It is stronger and far more resilient than iron.
Cedrick''s Random Uncut Gem List
Gemstones
Descriptions
Hardness
Amethyst:
A [exotic] purple variety of quartz and the most valued member of the quartz family.
7.0-7.5
Aquamarine:
A [common] gem that ranges in color from an almost colorless pale blue to blue-green or teal.
7.5-8.0
Benitoite:
A [rare] bright blue gemstone made up of barium, titanium, and silica.
6.0-6.5
Beryl:
Pure beryl is colorless [exotic] stone, but it also occurs in a variety of colors including green, yellow, blue, red.
7.5-8.0
Citrine:
A [common] variety of quartz ranging in colors of yellow, yellow-brown, orange, dark orange-brown.
7.0-8.0
Diamonds:
A [very Rare] form of carbon gemstone.
10.0
Emerald:
A [exotic] valuable Beryl that owes its color to chromium, which makes it the bright green.
7.5-8.0
Red Diamond:
A [legendary] gem. Only a very few have ever been found. Red diamond is a diamond which displays red color throughout its prism and exhibits all the same mineral properties as colorless diamonds.
10.0
Ruby:
A [exotic] red variety of the mineral called Corundum. The red color is caused mainly by chromium and titanium.
9.0
Sapphire:
Sapphires tend to be [common] translucent or transparent and have high amounts of refraction.
9.0
Serendibite:
A [very rare] boron-bearing mineral that is only rarely found as facet grade material. Colors range in pale yellow, blue-green, grayish blue, black.
6.5-7.0
Taaffeite:
A [legendary] rare and desirable stone. Only a very few stones have been found. A gem that ranges in colors of Mauve, reddish violet, brownish-purple, pink, red, blue.
8.0-8.5
Topaz:
A [common] stone in a wide range of colors including red, orange, peach, pink, gold, yellow, and brown.
8.0
Rick turned off all the lights in the Cellar and sat in the darkness pouring mana into a few ingots and gemstones. He took his time to learn the different feel andconsistency of the mana flowing in the materials he held. After a couple hours he did learn a few new material scans using the methods he learned when he developed the {Iron Scan] Skill. He opened his notices just to verify that he did learn the skills.
New Skill Notice!
New Skill Learned!
Orichalcum Scan: Level 1 (Beginner 08%)
Orichalcum Scan allows you to survey your surrounding for the presence of Orichalcum.
Level increases allow for longer distance scans.
New Skill Notice!
New Skill Learned!
Mithril Scan: Level 1 (Beginner 05%)
Mithril Scan allows you to survey your surrounding for the presence of Mithril.
Level increases allow for longer distance scans.
New Skill Notice!
New Skill Learned!
Emerald Scan: Level 1 (Beginner 05%)
Emerald Scan allows you to survey your surrounding for the presence of Emeralds.
Level increases allow for longer distance scans.
New Skill Notice!
New Skill Learned!
RubyScan: Level 1 (Beginner 05%)
RubyScan allows you to survey your surrounding for the presence of Rubies.
Level increases allow for longer distance scans.
When Rick finished reviewing the new skills he had created and hoped to put to use soon in the northern mountain range, he took out a couple stone pavers and setthem on the workbench. Using his skill of chiseling perfect circles from making runes he applied it to the stone pavers. He chipped out a shallow round circle roughly eight inches wide with his stone chisel into each one of them. With the help of his iron ladle, he carefully poured the molten gold into each of the circular casts and left them to cool.
Rick while waiting on the gold casts to dry took out some of the lesser value common gems and began to cut them using his gem cutting tools and gem cutter skill he instinctively knew where and how to cut the gems. As he cut a couple of them his skill level increased along with his quality of his work. Working one of the larger rubies he cut it down into many smaller pieces, thenshaped and cut each of them. He received a big boost to his gem cutting levels from this technique that helped to increase the value of each stone he cut.
Setting the gemstones aside he popped out the gold from the casts and took them to the anvil. He began to hammer the centerof the circle to make aconcave circle. He then began to hold the gold circle at an angle and hammer it into a bowl shape around the concaved center. As Rick rotated and hammered the side walls he gradually gave it a tighter more cup look that the original bowl.
When he finished hammering out the tall cups Rick grabbed a couple small chunks of wood and carved them to fit over the top and bottom of the cups. After fitting all the gold cups with wood end protectors heaffixed the wood ends to the pedal lathe spindles and began to turn the cups. With a smooth chisel, he gently applied pressure to the sides of the spinning gold cup to remove all the hammer marks. All the cups became as smooth as glass when he finished and popped them out of the wood cap protectors and set them on the workbench.
He then once again chiseled a couple handles into the pavers that would go on the cups to make gold mugs along with a few thin lines to make gold wires. As the mug handles cooled he used his engraving tools on eachcup to createornamental matching designs on them. The gold wire casts being so thin cooled quickly and he popped them out to use. Rick took out his screwdriver and heat up the tip with the forge and used it along with the gold wire to weld some of the tiny ruby cuts around the engraving on cup sides. Then when the handles cooled he used the gold wire to then weld the handles to the cup sides making gold engraved mugs set with rubies. After making six mugs with and without the rubies he received a recipe for themboth. He used the recipe to make one hundred mugs without rubies and made a crate to pack them up in.
He put all the casts he made into the drawers of his workbench and used a new stone paver to chisel a couple ring, pendant, and brooch shapes that he filled with gold from the ladle.
He opened his notices while the jewelry casts cooled to review his updates.
Skill Increase:
Gem Cutting: Level 9 (Beginner 62%)
New Skill Notice!
New Skill Learned!
Goldsmith: Level 2 (Beginner 14%)
Goldsmithallows you to create various items from gold.
Level increases allow for higher quality and value items.
Soon after the jewelry casts finished cooling and he popped them out and used some of the remaining gold wire to twist and shape it around the jewelry and then cut and fit tiny emeralds and ruby stones inside the decorative wire designs. He made men and women''s styled rings and pendants in this style that had a very Rich Noble appearance to them. The pendants he made were in different styles somelooked like agold longsword that he wrapped a gold wire around and detailed it to look like a plant stem with a ruby surrounded by flower petals on the end. Then he also made some look like a dragon standing up with its wings spread out to the sides and rubies set for the eyes, giving it a sinister look. The other pendants were just round gold coin shaped and left blank to practice and experiment with.
With the last of the gold wire, he painstakingly made and connected small loops to create a couple long gold necklaces that he received a recipe for. The last part was to make a gold pin that hinged in and out of the brooches that he had engraved and set with the gemstones around the gold wire designs.
Finally finishing the last one he turned at the sound of footfalls on the staircase. Angelica came down to tell him Handil was looking for him. Storing away all the jewelry and the large case of gold mugs Rick trodded upstairs to the first floor to find Handil sitting down waiting on him.
Handil stood up to greet Rick as he came upstairs.
"My lord I wanted to inform you that we have completed to the kiln house and the crew is preparing to finish the tower. We should have it completed by today. The carpenters also said that the eastern footbridge should be finished shortly as well." Haindil explained the situation to Rick.
"Excellent work Handil once the tower is complete we can start tomorrow building a stone block break wall around this small island to prevent soil erosion. I have the Surveyors out on the plain right now marking out the main streets of the town so that won''t be far off until we start the street and pipe stage next. Also, I have something here for you and the workers." Rick pulled out the crate of fancy gold mugs and placed it on the table. He then took out a gold mug with the rubies set in it.
"This one is your own personal mug it may not be dwarven quality but it was my first attempt. The others in the crate can be used among the workers, there should be one hundred gold mugs in there." Rick explained.
"Thank you, my lord, I hope to put it to good use for years to come." He said as he looked over the mug tracing the designs with his finger.
"Handil you just gave me an idea, whenwatching you trace the designs with your finger as if you were writing on the mug. May I borrow your mug for a few minutes?" Rick explained then asked.
Handil handed him the mug and Rick sat at the table and turned the mug upside down. With his engraving tools, he began to make a small rune on the bottom of the mug and a small switch rune on top of the mug handle. He carved the runes; kaldr megin(translate to: cold ability). He touched the switch activating the rune then filled the mug with water and let it sit on the table for a minute.
"I have just engraved a rune in the bottom of the mug that should provide this mug with a magical ability to keep the contents always cold." He told Handil what he engraved into his mug while waiting to see if it worked.
He then dipped his finger into the water and it felt like it had just been scooped from a cold mountain stream. He smiled and explained how the switch on top worked like the lights around he had made.
"This works just like the light fixtures I made just touch this tiny circle on the handle and it will turn the rune on and off to cool your drinks." Rick told Handil.
Handil even more excited put his mug on top of the crate of others and hiked over to the barracks to drop them all off and return to his crew.
Rick then took Angelica downstairs into the cellar away from the cooks and diggers who were relaxing at the table awaiting a new task.
Rick took out all the jewelry he had made and put on a couple of the men''s rich looking rings and a necklace with one of the dragon pendants that hung just below his medallion.
He then without saying anything placed a women''s ring on each of Angelica''s hands and hung the sword and rose pendant from a gold necklace around her neck.
"I just made this jewelry to raise my skills and remembered the fabric with the sword and rose you like and made a couple pendants to look like it. You can keep these and don''t worry if anything happens to them, we will have nicer things later when my skills improve." Rick said as Angelica examined her new gifts.
"Thank you, Cedric, these are very beautiful. They look so expensive I am almost afraid to wear them." She replied.
Rick waved his hand at that. "You don''t have to worry these are more for appearances for now, and you do not have to wear them all the time if they get in your way.When we go into town I think it is fun to get dressed up and have nice things to wear and a little jewelry like this adds to it." Rick assured her.
Rick then left Angelica to cross the eastern footbridge on his way to the new kiln house. He went inside and pulled up the stone pavers that covered the crawls space under the floor. He then made the same runes that his forge had wind and fire. Then he placed the wind runes so that they would blow through the crawl space and push out the heat created by the fire runes. The floor had small slits spaced out across the crawl space to allow the wind push the enormous amount heat created by so many fire runes up into the room. When he had the main runes all set in place he linked them all to a switch rune just outside the door at the spot a doorbell might be found. Rick then pushed the switch and the wind and fire runes all kicked on and began to instantly blast heat into the room.
I sure wouldn''t want to get stuck in this room it would cook you like the world''s biggest oven.
Rick switched the room off and began to make somebox shelves from stone blocks around the room to stack clay items. When the shelves were complete he took clay out of his inventory and a knife. He used a wood shaft to roll the clay flat then cut it into an even rectangle shape. He then rolled it into a long tube and seamed it together and rubbed it down with water to make the surface smooth. Next, he flanged one end of the clay tube so that you could connect them together when he had more. He continued to repeat this making straight flanged pipes until he received a recipe for them then he made (L) shaped pipes and (T) shaped pipes. With recipes for them all, he made a three hundred straight pipes and one hundred of each (L) and (T) pipes. He placed them all on the shelves around the room and walked outside and touched the switch again starting up the kiln house.
He stopped to look at the small settlement they had built up so far and decided to make a map of the area to look back on as the area grows over time. He removed the map from his inventory ad looked it over.
This place is starting to grow now and I can even see the western footbridge, the carpenters must have finished it up.
Just as he had figured when he put the map away he saw the carpenters walking back from the river, As he watched them walking across the island toward him he was trying to think if he had anything they could possibly do now when he heard someone yelling behind him in the distance. He turned around to scan out on the plain and saw still some distance out the surveyors were sprinting back with a group of mounted people that seemed to be chasing them.
Rick yelled out to the carpenters. "Hurry go get Angelica tell her were under attack!"
He began equipping his armor, sword, quiver and held his bow in hand. When he looked back up Angelica had already made it to the eastern footbridge she had her armor and swords already on. Rick took out her bow and quiver and handed it to her to put on and left to run out toward the advancing attackers. When he was in bow ranged he stopped and drew down on the lead mounted attacker and sent an arrow whistling over the heads of the surveyor who ran toward him. The arrow just caught the rider in the right shoulder causing him to fall from his mount. He didn''t let up and let another arrow lose just as Angelica stopped next to him. His second arrow was more accurate burying itself into the attacker''s chest killing him for sure.
Angelica then began letting arrows zip off at the quickly approaching attackersin a steady stream. Her second class Hero Ranger is the top tier of the Ranger class and it showed in her performance. By the time Rick had shot his third arrow hitting another rider, Angelica had dropped five of them off their mounts and brought an end to the charge before they could reach them.
The riders stopped turned and sped off to the south-eastleaving the dead and their mounts behind in fear of joining them. When the winded surveyors reached them they were two men short. Through large gasps of air, they told Rick of how the mounted attackers watched them from a distance for a few minutes and when the surveyors decided to send someone back to report it, the attackers suddenly started charging them. The surveyors had time to run because of the distance between them, but the attackers ended up hitting two of the surveyors with what looked like thrown javelins. Rick told the men to grab first aid kits from the shed and gather everyone up and hold up in the tower until they get back.
"If you see any signs of trouble while we are out on the plain use the metal bars next to the tower door to seal it shut until we return." He told the exhausted men. "I am going out to investigate and be sure they are really gone."
Rick and Angelica walked out toward the fallen riders and as they got closer he noticed that the mounts they rode that still stood by their fallen rider were not horses. Still unsure what they were up to around fifty yards fromthem he discoveredthat themounts were six huge Tigers.
"Angelica,stay right here with your bow ready, I am going to see if I can calm these Tigers down if they try to attack me drop them." He explained his plan.
"Be careful." She said while notching an arrow to her bowstring.
Rick activated his [Calm Animal] Aura and slowly walked toward the closest tiger. It snarled and flashed its white dagger teeth at him unsure what to do without anyone to command it. When his aura finally enveloped it, the Tiger settled down some but still was not completely happy with the stranger being so close.
He then began to use his [Tamming skill] on it, but it kept failing, but it did increase as he used it. He then took out a slab of raw deer meat and cut small slices off it and tossed them to the tiger to keep him occupied as he continued to tame it. After about ten minutes of failures, it finally worked.
New Taming Notice!
You have tamed a Forest Tiger.
Like its name the Forest Tiger is partial to living in the forests around the world.
They are extremely aggressive in the wild but have been raised as mountsby many.
They are not as fast as a horse, but they can fight ferociously alongside their masters.
I have a feeling this would not go so easily in the wild after reading this notice. The only reason I can even get anywhere close to this guy is because he was raised by humans since a cub.
Now that Rick had tamed the tiger he could really feel a link of understanding between them. He walked up to his new tiger and hand fed him as he stroked his head. After a moment of bonding, he walked the big cat over by Angelica and had him lay down while he went to tame the other Tigers. After taming four he started getting warning that he had too many mounts for his level. He ignored the warning and kept training his [Taming] skill on them. When it reached [level one Intermediate] he was able to tame the last two tigers. They had killed seven riders and two of the tiger mounts. The first one he hit in the shoulder was still alive, but in no shape to fight with his sword arm out of commission.
Rick and Angelica advanced on the wounded man spread out on the grass holding his arm. Rick took out his shield and spear with Angelica by his side bow and arrow ready to snap to life.
"Who are you? Why did you attack us?" Rick asked the man.
The man remained silent and looked away from them. Rick reached out with his spear and tapped the side of the arrow buried in his shoulder and repeated himself. The man''s face turned white as he held back the pain still not responding.
Rick let out a long audible sigh. "I see you want to make this hard on yourself then." He said
He placed his shield on the wounded man''s chest and kneeled on it while grabbing a hold of the arrow shaft he slowly pulled up on it a few inches then drove it back in forcefully. The man let out a scream and began cursing in an old Human dialect that he understand from his human language skill. He repeated the question so that he could understand it, making him aware that if he did not get the answers he wanted he would continue this until he talked.
"If you do not respond to me I will start breaking your bones and healing them over and over. If you think you can just lay there and bleed out and diethen think again. This magic ring has plenty of heals left to keep you from dying for a long time" Rick said showing him [Faith''s Blessing]inches from the man''s face with a wicked smile that said he would do just that.
With some applied pain andcoercing the man began to speak. He told them that they were a hunting party from a village far to the east. They normally do not come out this far, but the leader of their party forced them to travel out in search of better hunting grounds.They happened across the surveyors by chance, and after some arguing between them, they decided to attack them for any valuables or possession on them. He told Rick that many of the men didn''t want to attack but their leader pressured them into it.
That map I have from the temple showed a settlement out to the south-eastnear the coast. I bet these bastards or at least their ancestors are responsible for the empty temple that I arrived at in the northern mountains.
"Who was this leader that decided to attack us?" Rick asked.
"His name isSkuld." He said with the pain showing on his face.
"Did he live to escape with the others?" Rick continued to question him.
"I was the first to fall so I am not positive, but I think I saw him leave with the others." The wounded man said.
"Well, my friend it is about time for you to join you fallen comrades." Rick said as he stood up and removed his shield. He tightly gripped his spear and thrust it through the attacker''s heart killing him almost instantly.
Rick turned to face Angelica. "I am sorry Angelica but it looks like we are going to bring on a few more fighters around here. I know I told you it was your decision, but we can''t let these people come here and attack us whenever they please." Rick explained.
"I agree this is unforgivable attacking unarmed men like bloodthirsty bandits. Gather more warriors my lord, and we willsee how they like us coming to visit them with weapons in hand." She replied with a fierce look.
Rick looked at her with hiswicked smile. "I couldn''t agree more we need to show these people if they attack us we will hit back three times harder."
Rick then began to strip the fallen attackers of weapons, armor, and any possessions on them and buried them all together. He then found the two dead surveyors and used some rope to tie them to the back of the Tigers to bring them back with them.
Rick asked the other workers whatthe names of the two fallen warriors were and made two tombstones and chiseled their names into them.He thenused his [photoreading] skill and [Artist] skill todraw the faces of his fallen workers and their body shape and the clothes they wore. He told the packed tower of workers that he was going to bury them and that anyone was welcome to join. Then he took them across the western bridge and buried them on a small hill near the river and planted the headstones he made at the head of their graves. The gathered workers began to say short prayers for the dead.
Rick then said. "Goddess Faith who is looking down on us bless these fallen soulswho lived such a short life. Let them rest in peace here amongst this beautiful land you created."
Then a shaft of light fell from the sky on the graves and Rick could feel his medallion''s reaction to the event. The shaft of light gradually widened to cover the small hill as small white flowers sprouted and grew around the graves. Then as suddenly as it came the light was gone leaving behind a picturesque garden on top of the hill. Rick thanked Faith and turned to his men.
Hegave all the workers new orders, he told the upholsterers to make mattresses for the Tigers to sleep on. He had the carpenters build a gate blocking off the west bridge to keep the sheep penned. Then he wanted them to build a six stall wood stable between the tower and eastern footbridge for the new Tigers.
Rick then instructedthe diggers start to dig a one foot wide trench down a few feet around tower islands complete shoreline. The stone mason and cutters were to follow behind them and start laying stone blocks in the surrounding trench they are digging when the tower roof was done. He told them that he would build a small wall all around the island for their security.
"We can also build some kind of defensive structure out where the surveyors were attacked so they can have a place to fall back until we can rescue them." Rick said.
He set everyone off to work and walked to the kiln house and turned it off and left the clay pipes to sit on the shelves for now.
Now, I am going to make up a small group of elite warriors and go out and pay the neighbors a little visit. When those surviving attackers make it back they might try to come back with a larger force. We can catch them on the way back or right at their settlement. Either way they have a fight coming unless they want to turn over that Skuld party leader and fall in line.
"It time to assemble the troops!" He said aloud to himself as he marched over to the [System Gate].
Chapter 17: Battle Preparations
Rick walked across the footbridge to stop in front of the stockpile. He stood there while trying to determine what type of troops he may need and how he would plan out this mission to the east. As he went over class combinations and the preparation of all the armor, weapons, and materials, he would require a notice appeared before his eyes.
System Update Notice!
We would like to thank all of our pre-order customers for playing Kingdoms Online this week and for the valuable data that you have provided!
Tomorrow is the official release to the public and we are preparing for this with our first update.
The system will be temporarily shut down while we carry out these updates!
We ask all current online players to now log off and that we are sorry for any inconveniences!
Thank you for your cooperation from the [Prodigy Wave Corp] developer team!
Oh? A new update is being implemented I hope it isn''t simply a bug fix. I guess I should log off now I need to think this through anyway before I start randomly ordering troops.
Rick walked over and sat down on a stack of stone blocks and disconnected from the game. He opened the laundry machine to transfer all the clean, damp wash into the dryer and turned it on. Feeling a little hungry, he prepared a couple sandwiches and ate them on the couch while watching TV.A few channel discussed the release of the new VR game Kingdoms Online and he even started seeing commercials advertising its release scheduled for tomorrow.
After he finished eating, he put his dirty dish in the dishwasher with some dish detergent and started the cleaning cycle. Rick sat down at his computer and started to plan out a rough plan for his journey east on a text editor.
I believe I will make a small elite team to travel across the island. When we eventually find the settlement I can open a gate to the tower and bring additional units and provisions to our staging point. I can plan for everything all day, but that can all change before we even make it there. The main thing that I need to decide on first is unit race and class combos. Then I will need weapons and armor to equip them for battle.
I hope some of my friends join up with me soon I need a logistics officer, haha.
When Rick was finished working out a few unit combos and possible needed supplies he checked the game status on the [KO] website and found that it had been already rebooted. After he shut down his computer he lay back down in the capsule to rejoin the game.
Rick walked over to the workshop and took the finished beds and mattresses. He asked the furniture makers to make up tables, chairs and a few wardrobes now that they made a decent amount of beds. He passed the busy carpenters who were constructing a stable for his new Tigers and went looking for them
I need to feed those big guys so they don''t decide to start feedingon the sheep grazing on the north end of the island. I believeI may need a couple extra hands to assume care of the growing animal population around here as well.
He found the Tigers sprawled out sleeping in the grass enjoying the sun near the privy. He spent a few minutes bonding with them, then he fed them the wolf meat he held in his inventory. Leaving the Tigers to return to their naps he walked into the tower and walked upstairs to the second floor and set the new beds around the room. He then went looking for the Wood Stainer and found him working on the fourth floor. He told him that he should start working on the workers'' barracks when he had finished up on the last floor.
When he walked down to the third floor, he brought out all his bedroom furniture and bookcases and arranged them like he had them originally on the second floor. He also decided to place the mattresses he had stitched up for the Tigers along the outside wall of his room.
It may not be bad having the Tigers sleep uphere at night, they would make the perfect watchdogs or watch cats?
Once he had the bedroom furniture arranged he went down into the cellar and placed a few of his long iron ingots and the six Orichalcum ingots he had from the random ingots into the forge to begin heating them.He opened his inventory and removed some gold and tossed it into the smelting pot to cast coin blanks with later.
Rick yelled out forAngelica to come downstairs and informedher that he was going into town to buy provisionsand that he neededher to watch out for trouble while he was gone. He opened a portal to the weapons shop and made his way inside and went straight to buying. He bought hundreds of barbed iron tip arrows, then promptlypaid for them and hiked over to Terra''s small armor shop and purchased tenfemale scale mail armor outfits similar to the one he bought for Angelica there.
Once he had paid and stored the armor away, he jogged through the streetsto his blacksmith teacher''s business and updated him on the attack. He explained how his workers had been attacked by a group of humans and that he needed some supplies for acounter-attack. Rick gathered up different types and sizes of anvils, hammers, and tongs that he paid for along with a good amount of iron and coal.
"Would you still happen to have any chain mail that I could possibly buy from you like the last set I got here?" Rick asked.
"Aye, I do, we have chainmail cuirass, chain mail leggings, iron plate pauldrons, and iron plate greaves in the back for an order that will need to be delivered next week, but I can sell them to you. I will just replace them before the order needs to be delivered." Hibal explained.
"Perfect, I will take ten of each of them then. I appreciated your help it will save me loads of time." Rick Thanked him and left to jogtoward the central plaza.
Rick found a butcher that he bought a wide variety of different meats and sausages from, and a farmer that he procuredbaskets of fruits, vegetables, cheeses and eggs from. Rick quickly made a passthrough the busy isles of vendor tablesto seek out anything he may need. He came upona wilderness outfitter that sold him bedrolls and backpacks that the tradercalled "packsacks".
I really don''t need camping supplies for the trip there, I will open a portal when we stop to bring myparty back to the tower to eat and sleep. These bedrolls and backpacks may be useful at some point, so I''ll buy them now that they are available.
When Rick was clear of the crowd of shoppers swarming the plaza he ran toward the south gate and saluted the surprised guard that promptly saluted back as he was passing him by. Minutes later he arrived at the stables that they had found on their trip to the farms. Rick told the stable owner that he was looking for horses that could be used in battle. The owner showed him a group of large horses that he picked fifteen he likedfrom and had saddles, saddle bags, and reinsthat fit equipped on them. After Rickpaid for the horses and thier tack gear, he activated his calm animal aura and brought them through the portal home.
Withthe small herd of horses docily following along they were guided to the north side of the tower island near the sheep and left to graze.Rick deactivated his [charm animal] skill as he stepped over to the stoclpile.
Bringingup the [Land Management Menu] hepurchased a male human [Animal Trainer] and a male human [Shepard]. He had instructedthe animal trainer that he would be watching overthe horses and tigers from now on and had him remove the saddles and reigns from the horses.
"Later on I will take you over to the Tigers and let them get to know you. I don''t think they will attack you, but better safe than sorry." He explainedthe animal trainer.
Rick turned tolook at theShepard. "I want you to take care of the sheep for now and try to keep them away from the Tigers." He said pointing toward the group of grazing sheep.
Ok, now that the critters are all taken care of for now let''s look through the units.
Show Land Management Menu!
Land Management Menu
BUY LAND
BUY RESOURCES
BUY UNITS
Show buy units!
Buy Unit Menu
VIP CREATE UNITS
Create a Laborer 100g
Create a Craftsman 100g
Create a Religion 100g
Create a Magic 100g
Create a Military 100g
Create a Custom 500g
Buy Noble
Buy Military
Buy Magic
Buy Religion
Buy Craftsman
Buy Artist
Buy Laborer
Buy Commoner
"What the...? They added a magic selection now!" Rick excitedly yelled out.
This wasn''t here last time I bought units and I must of looked right past itwhen I spawned in the trainer and shepard. This must have been added in with the new updatefrom earlier. This is a huge addition now I dont need to seek out magic users I can freely add them to my party.
Show VIP create units Menu!
VIP Create Units
VIP units will spawn at the current level as the purchaser, unlike common units who spawn at level one.
VIP create a unit will spawn a unit of the chosen occupation.
VIP units allow the purchaser to buy any class tier evolution.
The VIP tier six "Hero" come available with 30 unused points.
::::::Create a Custom:::::
VIP customs will spawn a customized unit.
Customs spawn at the current level as the purchaser.
Customs have access to the class and sub-class options.
Customs can have any class for their first and second class choice.
Customs come available with 30 unused points. They also gain an additional +3 bonus unused points per level.
This menu appears to be the same as it always was from what I can remember.
Buy create a custom!
Please chose a gender:
Male
Female
Female!
Please chose a race:
Unit Race Menu
Playable Races
Humans
Halflings
Vampire
PlayableRaces
Elves
Gnomes
Demons
PlayableRaces
Dwarves
Kitsune
Nekomimis
Non-PlayableRaces
Half-Giant (20g)
Half-Angel (10g)
Half-Dryad (5g)
VIP Race Options:
Valkyrie: 100g
Forsaken: 100g
Aquatine 100g
Wow,they added three new non-playable races and a new VIP race as well! That updatemust have contained content they have been holding back on until they were assured the system was stable. This changes my game plan now I need to review this newly added content before I make any decisions.
Show Half-Giant Race!
Spoiler:Half-Giant Race Menu
Half-Giant Race
Standing over eight feet tall, half-giants are the largest of the common races, with males slightly taller and heavier than females. For the most part, half-giants tend to be law-abiding and respectful, but they can have a tendency to solve problems by resorting to violence rather than risk being apprehended. Half-giants are widely known for their physical abilities, and for their ability to deal heavy damage to foes during combat. Half-giants are a cross between a human and a giant.
Male: (8 ft. ¨C 9 ft. ) (300 ¨C 450 lbs.)
Female: (6 ft. ¨C 8 ft.) (184 ¨C 300 lbs.)
Racial Traits
[Tempered by the Frost]: You have resistance to cold damage.
[Powerful Build]: Pound for pound, you are twice the strength of a normal human.
[Low-Light Vision]:Half-giants can see twice as far as humans in conditions of dim light.
InstinctiveAbilities
Weapons
[Blunt Weapons]: Allows you to use Blunt Weapon. Level determines bonuses to damage and increased technique.
[Axes]: Allows you to use an Axe. Level determines bonuses to damage and increased technique.
Shields
[Shields]: Allows you to use a Shield. Level determines bonuses to reduce damage and increase technique.
Armor
[Light Armor]: Allows you to wear light armor. Skill level determines protection bonuses.
[Medium Armor]: Allows you to wear Medium armor. Skill level determines protection bonuses.
[Heavy Armor]: Allows you to wear Heavy armor. Skill level determines protection bonuses.
Knowledge
[Reading and Writing]: Allows you to read and write your racial, and Lord''s language.
[Brawling]: Allows you the knowledge of how to fight unarmed to win by any means necessary.
Holy crap, these guys sound incredible. If I get a couple of them with heavy armor and give them a massive weapon they will wreak havoc on the battlefield.
Show Half-Dryad Race!
Spoiler:Half-Dryad Race Menu
Half-Dryad Race
Half-Dryads are famous for their tremendous love, and their lustful expression of that love.
When a Half-Dryad has a home inside of a city''s walls, their residence is obvious from the explosion of foliage, they are growing.
Half-Dryads more closely resemble their paternal race than their mother''s. By most standards, they appear to be a child of normal birth. But the half- dryad''s fey heritage always shows in one obvious detail, their hair. A half- dryad''s hair changes with the seasons, in the spring and summer their hair comes in mixed shades of green, in the fall and winter their hair changes a varied blend of blonde, brown, and red.
Female: (5 ft.¨C 5.6ft.) (100 ¨C 125lbs.)
Racial Traits
Half-Dryads grow like trees, though they may grow quickly, once they hit maturity their aging slows to a crawl.
[Female Only]: All Half-Dryads are female.
[Nature Magic]: You have limited command of the wilds you are connected to.
[Woodland Magic]: You can communicate simple messages to beasts and plants.
[Charm Person]: This charm makes a lower charisma humanoid creature regard you as its trusted friend and ally.
[Tree Stride]: You gain the ability to enter trees and move from inside one tree to inside another tree.
InstinctiveAbilities
Weapon
[Archery]: Allows you to use a bow and arrow. Level determines bonuses to damage and increased technique.
[Blunt Weapons]: Allows you to use Blunt Weapons. Level determines bonuses to damage and increased technique.
[Staves]: Allows you to use Staves. Level determines bonuses to damage and increased technique.
[Magic]: Allows you to wield magic.
Armor
[Light Armor]: Allows you to wear light armor. Skill level determines protection bonuses.
[Medium Armor]: Allows you to wear Medium armor. Skill level determines protection bonuses.
Stealth
[Camouflage]: Allows you to become invisible in natural cover when not moving.
Archery
[Shoot on the move]: Allows you to accurately hit targets while moving regardless of terrain.
Movement
[Sure Footed]: Allow you to keep your footing on a precarious terrain.
[Mastery of Movement]: Difficult terrain doesn''t slow you down.
Knowledge
[Reading and Writing]: Allows you to read and write your racial, and Lord''s language.
[Foraging]: Allows you to acquire food by hunting, fishing, or the gathering of plant matter. Edible plants, fish, and animals will glow when activated.
The Half-Dryadwould make a good unit to use in forest battles. They can snipe from the trees and then use [tree stride] to hide in the tree trunks or travel from tree to tree. They are like big squirrels that use nature magic and Archery to fight. They could also be the perfectgardener with their connection to nature.
Show Half-Angel Race!
Spoiler:Half-Angel Race Menu
Half-Angel Race
Half-Angels are exotic individuals and often considered attractive by their peers.Theyhave gold eyes that glow when the individual is experiencing intense emotional states. Half-angels are generally physically stronger and have a higher pain threshold than humans. Half-angels also do not have wings or halos.
Male: (6 ft.¨C 7ft. ) (180 ¨C 250 lbs.)
Female: (5.6 ft.¨C 6.0ft.) (120 ¨C 170 lbs.)
Racial Traits
Half-Angels Strike fear into the enemy through their charismatic presence.
[Divine Aura]: The half-angel is surrounded in holy energy that protects against the effects created by evil creatures.
[Holy Tongues]: A half-angel can speak with any creature that has a language.
[Fast Healing]: The half-angel is filled with positive life energy, gaining faster healing abilities.
InstinctiveAbilities
Weapons
[Magic]: Allows you to wield magic.
[Staves]: Allows you to use Staves. Level determines bonuses to damage and increased technique.
[Blunt Weapons]: Allows you to use Blunt Weapons. Level determines bonuses to damage and increased technique.
Shields
[Shields]: Allows you to use a Shield. Level determines bonuses to reduce damage and increase technique.
[Shield Wall]:Allows you the knowledge how to properly overlap your shield to an adjacent allies shield.
Armor
[Light Armor]: Allows you to wear light armor. Skill level determines protection bonuses.
[Medium Armor]: Allows you to wear Medium armor. Skill level determines protection bonuses.
Knowledge
[Reading and Writing]: Allows you to read and write your racial, and Lord''s language.
The Half-Angels could make a great healers or warriorsto counterevil creatures.
Show Aquatine Race!
Spoiler:Aquatine Race Menu
Aquatine Race
Aquatines have skin which can vary in shades of light blue. The hair color of Aquatines ranges from blue to teal.
Aquatines have thingill slits on the back of their necks that allow them to breathe in water.These gills are usually unnoticed when on land, as the slit skin seals tightly closed to keep out foreign contaminates.
On the back of each arm and leg, they have small ridges that act as fins to better maneuver in the water, as well as having slightly webbed fingers and toes.
The Aquatines inhabit the shorelines of both fresh and saltwater building settlements that are partially submerged in the water.
Male: (4.6 ft.¨C 5.5ft. ) (100 ¨C 130 lbs.)
Female: (4.0ft.¨C 4.6 ft.) (75 ¨C 105 lbs.)
Racial Traits
[Amphibious]: You can breathe normally, both on land, and in water.
[Fast Swimmer]: Your movements in the water are very fast and agile.
[Aquatic Combat]: You can easily fight underwater without any difficulties.
[Naturally Psionic]: You are born with the ability to use various forms of psychic, mental ability and powers
InstinctiveAbilities
Psionic
[Mirror Mind]: Allows you to reflect psionic attacks directed against you.
[Mindspeak]: Your racial psionic aptitude allows you to communicate through mental contact with other psionic.
[Psionic Weapon]: You can imbueyour melee weapon with additional psionic damage.
Weapons
[Blunt Weapons]: Allows you to use Blunt Weapons. Level determines bonuses to damage and increased technique.
[Daggers]: Allows you to use Daggers. Level determines bonuses to damage and increased technique.
[Polearms]: Allows you to use Polearms. Level determines bonuses to damage and increased technique.
[Magic]: Allows you to wield magic.
Armor
[Light Armor]: Allows you to wear light armor. Skill level determines protection bonuses.
[Medium Armor]: Allows you to wear Medium armor on land. Skill level determines protection bonuses.
Knowledge
[Truth of Magic]: You have learned to manipulate spells beyond their normal capacity.
[Reading and Writing]: Allows you to read and write your racial, and Lord''s language.
[Brawling]: Allows you the knowledge of how to fight unarmed to win by any means necessary.
[Foraging]: Allows you the knowledge to acquire food by hunting, fishing, or the gathering of plant matter. Edible plants, fish, and animals.
This race sounds like a fantasy version of theNavy Seals they can breathe underwater and fight well under water and swim really fast. They also have Psionic powers to attack and protect themselves. I think they would also make a good mage class with that [Truth of Magic] ability.If I ever need to do underwater work or attack from water to land I will need to make good use of this race.
Show Class Division Menu!
Please chose the main class division
Government
Noble
Military
Magic
Religion
Merchant
Craftsman
Laborer
Commoner
All that they changed here is aMagic Class Division was added, but I still haven''t looked at half these divisions to see what all is available yet. I should go through them so I can plan accordingly for the future.
Show Government Division Menu!
Government Division Classes
Administrative Assistant
Chancellor
Captain of the Guard
Chamberlain
Chancery Clerk
Constable
Diplomat
Doctor
Jailer
Judge
Librarian
Library Assistant
Library Technician
Logistics Clerk
Nurse
Master of the Revels
Prostitute
Sheriff
Summoner
Tax Collector
Town Crier
Treasurer
Teacher
Watchman
They even have a government controlled prostitutes available. That tavern I want to make may need a second floor, it could become a Tavern/Brothel. I won''t have much use for most these other classes for quitesome time since they seem to be used for an established town.
Show Noble Division Menu!
Noble Division Classes
Duke
Duchess
Marquess
Marchioness
Earl
Countess
Viscount
Viscountess
Baron
Baroness
Baronet
Baronetess
Knight
Dame
Nobleman
Lady
I suppose if the day my kingdom gets too big, I can divide it up and use these units to run the allocation of lands.
Show Magic Division Menu!
Magic Division Classes
Battle Mage
Electromage
Soul Reaver
Temptress
Water Sorcerer
Illusionist
VIP Class options:
Pyromancer
Druid
They don''t have many choices right now, but I won''t complain having magic user available now is a great option. I might be able to even learn some magic from these guys somehow or get some hints at least.
Show Battle Mage class!
Battle Mage Class
There are those who seek to master the art of magic, and there are those who seek to master the art of combat. The battle mage seeks to master both, with awe-inspiring results. With weapon in hand and arcane magic at his command, foes cower and flee from the battle mage.
Spell List
"The best defense is a good offense."
This is an interesting class here, I wouldn''t mind getting a dual combat/magic classlike this one for myself.
Show Soul weaver class!
Soul WeaverClass
While others use magic to do paltry things like to conjure fire or lightning, the Soul Weaveris a master over death itself. They study the deep and forbidden secrets that raise the dead, controlling minions toward a variety of goals. Perhaps they seek the power that mastery over death provides. Perhaps they are serious and unashamed scholars, who reject the small-minded boundaries held to by others. Each enemy, they fell becomes an eager and disposable ally, they become immune to the energies of death and decay, and ultimately harness the immortality and power of undeath for themselves.
Spell List
"Kill them all you want, they come right back."
The Soul Weaver sounds like a necromancer variant raising dead and dealing outnegativeeffects. I can''t think of any reason to get a necro right now, I need crowd control magic mainly for battles and for hunting monsters I think the battle mage would work out well.
Show Temptress class!
TemptressClass
Those cursed with an Aura of Seduction find all sorts of creatures lusting for them, purely to satisfy their urges. For years, Temptresses have learned to adapt and live with this curse, controlling and manipulating the Aura to work to their advantage.
Spell List
"Should I make your heart race... Or... STOP!"
The Temptress would make a great spy. Just like women spies of WW2 had found out men talk allot in bed. They may not be very useful in battle, but they can still be used for certain missions.
Show PyromancerClass!
Pyromancer Class
While some mages wield powerful illusions, some summon all-powerful beasts to do their bidding, and some divine fascinating facts about the universe that even some gods aren''t even aware of. However, a Pyromancer just wants to burn stuff with his immense mastery over the element of fire.
Spell List
"If you want to find a needle in a haystack, BURN THE HAYSTACK!"
A fire mage class will make a great crowd control unit. I need to get a unit with this class. A fire mage might make itdifficultto hunt with a small party. I just imagine they would set everything on fire around you while you tried to fight monsters you would also need to evade the flames as well. If you are going into a battle though that has groups of enemies charging you this is a great class to have on your side then. The enemy would find it a bit difficult to fight when they are on fire or see others around them running andscreaming from the flames.
Show Druid Class!
DruidClass
Rewarded for their devotion with incredible powers, Druids gain unparalleled shape-shifting abilities, they have the companionship of mighty beasts, and the power to call upon nature¡¯s wrath. ADruid wields the power of nature against their foes.
Spell List
"We are never alone when we are with Mother Nature."
Druidsalways have amazing and original spells. They are usually good with elemental affinities as well. I wouldn''t even mind a Druid class for myself when I reach level ten.
Show ReligionDivision Menu!
Religion Division Classes
Priest
Head Priest
Seeker
Cardinal
Cleric
Pope
Show Cleric Class!
Cleric Class
The cleric is a healer and a holy warrior. Clerics may not equip pointed weapons such as swords or daggers and must use blunt weapons such as maces, war hammers, staves, and shields. Clerics are versatile figures, both capable in combat and skilled in the use of divine magic.
Spell List
"Time is not a great healer. I am."
A healer classvery nice, it seems that acleric might be able to fight and heal. This is must have class formy party having a healer could save allot of lives in a fight. Well, I still haven''t explored all the unit options and classes, but I think I have enough to work with for now.
Rick sat down and took out a scrap of cloth and charcoal and began writing down available races and class combinations.
I really need to invent a pencil or pen of some type, I really don''t want to mess around with quills and ink bottles and sharpened charcoal isn''t precise enough for anything other that writing rough notes.
"I think I need help creating weapons, armor, and clothing for the new units or it will be days before we set out." He murmured to himself while examining his list.
Rick then had fourunits spawn in a Dwarf [Weaponsmith/Artisian], a Dwarf [Armorer/Artisian], and twoHuman [Tailor/cobbler]. He decided to add the Artisan class asthe second class for the dwarves so that any weapons and armors they createwould not be only utilitarian, but a work of art when they leveled their skills up. Once they had all spawned in he escorted them to the tower cellar and showed them how the forged worked and where everything they may need was located. Rick arrangedall the new anvils, tools, and extra grindstones for them to work with while instructing them to use the ingots in the forge he placed in there earlier.
Rick had the weaponsmith start making dagger blades, dagger guards, and dagger pommels. He then took some quick measurements of his upper body and had the Armorsmith begin on a plate mail cuirass. Rick told him to use theOrichalcum ingots in the forge and also left him some leather for any straps he may need to make. Rick drewout an image of the USMC kevlar helmet and chin strap and told Armorer to make him a helm like the one in that drawing from theOrichalcum after he completed the torso armorcuirass.
"I would like you to make full use of your artisan class on this armor. There is gold in the smelting pot and that stack of random ingots in the corner that you can also use. The ingots are all marked with symbols and the list on top of them tells what each symbol equates to in material type. I want you both to make these weapons and armors to be not only high quality but decorative as well." Rick explained to his new workers.
He left the cellar tohike over to the workshop with the two Human [Tailor/Cobbler] and set themup at a neighboringworkbench and supplied them with leather, rolls of cloth, laces, rolls of silks, leather working tools and sewing needles and thread. He gave him a set of dye pens and drew up a few things he wanted themto start on. He had themstart making twenty-five red and black Tabards for now and handed them a drawing of what he wanted them to look like.
While they looked over his pattern he quickly used his leather belt recipe and produced twenty-five belts. He took them out and placed them on the workbench and told them to dye them all black.
"I will be back soon, for now, work on the tabards. When I return I will show you the other designs I will need to be done." Rick instructed.
On his way to the [System Gate] located on the stock pile he pulled out his notes of units and class combinations
He skimmed overhis notes from earlier and began purchasing the listed units.
Class combinations
Class ComboThoughts
Amount
Gender
Race
Assassin/Hero Ranger:
Good for sneaking into enemy territory and hitting targets close or far. The same applies to battle mid or back liner.
one
female
Nekomimis
Battle Axe Hero/Aura Knight:
8ft armored wreaking machines with an axe in each hand, they can boost their attributes and skills along withnearby allies.
two
male
Half-Giants
Battle Dancer/Battle Mage:
A graceful whirlwind with a swordthat can take out multiple foes at once with the option to enhance their attacks with magic.
two
female
Kitsunes
Cleric/Assassin:
A healer that can vanish and appear beside an ally to heal or cure them, or jump in and out of battle stealthily striking down foes.
one
male
Half-Angel
Hero Ranger/Druid:
Elite archers that can cast offensive magic, make defensive cover, shapeshift and alter the surrounding weather.
four
female
Elves
Hero Knight/Battle Mage:
Heavy armorfront line tanks that can enchant their weapons with magic and use gravity, domain, and lavaspells.
two
male
Humans
Pyromancer/Hero Ranger:
A fire mage that can roast large groups of enemies at once, with a bow that can be used when low on mana.
one
female
Aquatine
General/Hero Knight:
A natural leader that add stradgic skills to aid your troops, he can lead from the front with his Hero Knight class skills.
one
male
Human
I need to see what kind of skills and spells these new units can use so I know what I can and can not accomplish with them. Rick thought as he opened the class menus along with the spells or skills of that class.
Spoiler:Unit Class Menus...
Assassin Class
Assassins combine combat ability with strong stealth skills.
They specialize in defeating an enemy without becoming involved in a protracted melee.
Assassins dual wield daggers and short swords.
They can use bows and thrown weapons.
Assassin can only wear cloth and light armor.
Skills List
Skill Name
Skill Descriptions
Mana Cost
Recharge time
Blood Thirsty:
Allows you to strike a foes artery inflicting severe bleeding. If Unblocked.
5mp
two Minutes
Dual Fury:
Allows you to strike both arms, or legs of the targeted foe at once.If Unblocked.
5mp
One Minute
Phantom Pace:
You become essentially invisible leaving only a faint outline. If you attack the skill is deactivated.
5mp
One Minute
Stealthy Strike:
If targeted foe is caught off-guard, You strike a vital point for massive damage.
5mp
One Minute
Deadly Blow:
If targeted foe is caught off-guard, allows you to deal a deadly attack.
5mp
One Minute
Sling Sand:
You throw concealed sand to briefly blind the targeted foe. If Unblocked.
5mp
One Minute
Shadow Step:
Allows you to move silently. This skill deactivates if you run or attack.
5mp
One Minute
Dash:
You can move 2x faster for 20 seconds.
5mp
One Minute
Instinctive knowledge
Daggers:
Allows you to use Daggers. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Thrown:
Allows you to use Thrown weapons. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Light Armor:
Allows you to wear light armor. Skill level determines protection bonuses.
Mastery of Movement:
Difficult terrain doesn''t slow you down.
Sure Footed:
Allow you to keep your footing on a precarious terrain.
Evasion:
your intuitional alertness helps you dodge away from attacks.
camouflage:
Allows you to become invisible in natural cover when not moving.
Reading and Writing:
Allows you to read and write you racial and Lord''s language.
Lockpicking]:
Allows you to open locked doors and containers with a lockpick.
Trap Detection:
You are able to locate and bypass traps with this skill.
Wall Climb:
You can scale buildings easily always spotting the best path to climb.
Hero Ranger Class
The Hero Ranger is an accomplished skirmisher, in melee and range, capable of skillfully dancing in and out of battle.
Hero Rangers excel in stalking and stealth.
The Hero Ranger is proficient with daggers and ranged weapons.
The Hero Ranger is trained to use light armor, medium armor, and shields.
Skills List
Skill Name
Skill Descriptions
Mana Cost
Recharge Time
Opportunist:
Allows you to hit a critical attack on an opponent who has just been struck for damage if you''re in range to strike.If Unblocked.
5 mp
Two Minutes
Crippling Strike:
Allows you to blind-side stab opponents with such precision that his it causes sever bleeding.If Unblocked.
5 mp
Two Minutes
Hail of Arrows:
Allows you to shoot six arrows at once, hitting several enemies. If Unblocked.
5 mp
Two Minutes
Throat shot:
You can target an enemies throat to bypass their armor if within 50 feet. If Unblocked.
5 mp
Two Minutes
Leg Shot:
Allows you to target an enemies legs to hinder its movement. If Unblocked.
5 mp
Two Minutes
Safe Shooting:
A Hero Ranger can safely fire into the midst of melee avoiding allies.
5 mp
Two Minutes
Power Shot:
Allows you to over draw your bow for 2x increased damage.
5 mp
Two Minutes
Read the Wind:
You use the wind to aid your shot. Your arrows travel 2x farther with accuracy.
5 mp
Two Minutes
Instinctive knowledge
Archery:
Allows you to use a bow and arrow. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Daggers:
Allows you to use Daggers. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Light Armor:
Allows you to wear light armor. Skill level determines protection bonuses.
Medium Armor:
Allows you to wear Medium armor. Skill level determines protection bonuses.
Camouflage:
Allows you to become invisible in natural cover when not moving.
High Ground:
The higher above a target the greater the bonus of damage and range.
Retained Trajectory:
Allows you to shoot anything that you shot once before.
Shoot on the Move:
Allows you to accurately hit targets while moving regardless of terrain.
Sure Footed:
Allow you to keep your footing on a precarious terrain.
Mastery of Movement
Difficult terrain doesn''t slow you down.
Hand Signals:
Allows you to communicate with others with only hand signals.
Foraging:
Allows you to acquire food by hunting, fishing, or the gathering of plant matter. Edible plants, fish, and animals will glow when activated.
Battle Axe Hero Class
The Battle Axe Hero is seen as the savage warrior who uses brute strength and raw fury to excel in combat,
instead of the honed skills of the trained Fighter. They wield dual battle axes as they charge into battle howling.
Skills List
Skill Name
Skill Descriptions
Mana Cost
Recharge Time
Whirling Axes:
Your dual axes strike so fast from multiple directions they can''t be blocked.
5 mp
Two Minutes
Rage:
You feed off your anger and fly into a rage. +20 to strength and vitality for 30 seconds.
5 mp
Two Minutes
Dismember:
Allows you to make feint and chop off a targeted limb. If Unblocked.
5 mp
Two Minutes
Savage Chops:
Allows both of your axes to strike for 2x damage for 30 seconds. If Unblocked.
5 mp
Two Minutes
Combat Charge:
Allows you to move 2x faster for 30 seconds.
5 mp
Two Minutes
Mission Focused:
You are immune to nonlethal damage for 30 seconds.
5 mp
Two Minutes
Latent Healing:
Allows you to subconsciously regenerate healing +5 HP regen for 10 seconds in combat.
5 mp
Two Minutes
Dual Death:
You swing both axes at the neck of a targeted foe simultaneously to decapitate them. If Unblocked.
5 mp
Two Minutes
Instinctive knowledge
Axes:
Allows you to use Axes. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Dual Wield:
Allows you to use two one-handed weapons at once.
Light Armor:
Allows you to wear light armor. Skill level determines protection bonuses.
Medium Armor:
Allows you to wear Medium armor. Skill level determines protection bonuses.
Heavy Armor:
Allows you to wear Heavy armor. Skill level determines protection bonuses.
Reading and Writing:
Allows you to read and write you racial and Lord''s language.
Brawling:
Allows you the knowledge of how to fight unarmed to win by any means necessary.
Aura Knight Class
Aura Knights are similar to Paladins, but they''re not so much worried about the gods. Their abilities are designed to boost others around them.
Aura Knights can only activate two Auras at one time. If two Auras are active one must be deactivated to activate another.
They are proficient with most Weapons, as well as all Armors and Shields.
Skills List
Skill Name
Skill Descriptions
Mana Cost
Recharge Time
Heavens Helper:
The Aura Knight gains a Special Mount, or an Animal Companion
200 mp
12 hours
Mirrored Aura:
Allows you to reflect spells within a 30 yards circumference.Remainsactive until deactivated.
50 mp
Two Minutes
Power Aura:
All allies within 30 yards receive +20 to Strength and Dexterity, while active. Remainsactive until deactivated.
50 mp
Two Minutes
Veiled Aura:
All foes within 30 yards suffer from blurred vision, while active. Remainsactive until deactivated.
50 mp
Two Minutes
Knowledge Aura:
All allies within 30 yards receive +20 to Intelligence and Wisdom, while active. Remainsactive until deactivated.
50 mp
Two Minutes
Fear Aura:
All Foes within 30 yards suffer from a Fear effect, while active. Remainsactive until deactivated.
50 mp
Two Minutes
Aura of Speed:
All allies within 30 yards move 35% faster while active. Remainsactive until deactivated.
50 mp
Two Minutes
Holy Land Aura:
All allies within 30 yards heal with +4 health regen in combat, while active. Remainsactive until deactivated.
50 mp
Two Minutes
Veteran''s Aura:
All Allies within 30 yards receive +5 to all skill levels. Remainsactive until deactivated.
200 mp
Two Minutes
Chanting:
You can chant to heighten the abilities of your Aura. While chanting the Aura Knight cannot move or attack.
25 mp
Two Minutes
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Instinctive knowledge
Swords:
Allows you to use swords. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Daggers:
Allows you to use Daggers. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Polearms:
Allows you to use Polearms. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Blunt Weapons:
Allows you to use Blunt Weapons. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Magic User:
Allows you to wield magic.
Shields:
Allows you to use a Shield. Level determines bonuses to reduced damage and increased technique.
Shield Wall:
Allows you the knowledge how to properly overlap your shield to an adjacent allies shield.
Light Armor:
Allows you to wear light armor. Skill level determines protection bonuses.
Medium Armor:
Allows you to wear Medium armor. Skill level determines protection bonuses.
Heavy Armor:
Allows you to wear Heavy armor. Skill level determines protection bonuses.
Close Quarters:
Allows you to be far more effective when compressed with two or more allies.
Courtly Knowledge:
Allows you the knowledge of proper protocol and etiquette.
Reading and Writing:
Allows you to read and write you racial and Lord''s language.
Brawling:
Allows you the knowledge of how to fight unarmed to win by any means necessary.
Battle Dancer Class
An elegant warrior who pairs martial arts with graceful maneuvers in battle.
They are good close range combatants and Ambushers. Battle Dancers rely on speed and grace.
They can not wear armor because it affects their sword style.
Skills List
Skill Name
Skill Descriptions
Mana Cost
Recharge Time
Skirmishing:
You strike all adjacent foes with a single slash causing severely bleeding wounds. If Unblocked.
15 mp
One Minutes
Snap Battement:
You deliver a high forward or backward snapping kick to the foe''s chin. If Unblocked.
15 mp
One Minutes
Terrifying Tempo:
You move 3x faster for 20 seconds.
15 mp
One Minutes
Surface Skater:
You move with such speed and grace that you can dance across water or magma for 60 seconds.
5 mp
Two Minutes
Dervish Dancer:
Allows you dance in and around groups of foes to deeply slash exposed vital points for 30 seconds.
15 mp
One Minutes
Dance of Death:
You are immune to nonlethal damage for 30 seconds.
35 mp
One Minutes
Dance of Death:
Allows you to dance through enemy attacks to Deliver a killing strike on a targeted foe. If you are struck by an attack or stop the dance the killing strike will be deactivated.
35 mp
One Minutes
Instinctive knowledge
Swords:
Allows you to use Swords. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Daggers:
Allows you to use Daggers. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Thrown:
Allows you to use Thrown weapons. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Sure Footed:
Allow you to keep your footing on a precarious terrain.
Mastery of Movement:
Difficult terrain doesn''t slow you down.
Evasion:
Your intuitional alertness helps you dodge away from attacks.
Reading and Writing:
Allows you to read and write you racial and Lord''s language.
Fleet of Foot:
You can turn up to 90 deg during a charge or run.
Leap Up:
You can leap up from the ground to your feet in one fluid motion.
Leaf in the Wind:
You use the captivating and confusing movements of the battle dance to evade attacks.
Battle MageClass
The battle mage combines magic with the blade. They work toward not only mastering magic but the blade as well. With a weapon charged with magic in one hand and a spell being weaved in the other, their enemies shake in fear upon approach.
Skills List
Skill Name
Skill Descriptions
Mana Cost
Recharge Time
Searing Edge:
The edge on your bladeglows orange withscorching heat from this spell for 60seconds.
25 mp
Two Minutes
Lightning Edge:
The edge of your bladeis charged with powerfully arching electricity for 60 seconds.
25 mp
Two Minutes
Frigid Edge:
The edge of your bladebecomes razor sharp ice, slicing and freezing all foes for 60 seconds.
25 mp
Two Minutes
Gravity Field:
Allows you to increase the gravity by 4x on all adjacent foes for 30 seconds. Will not affect you or allies.
25 mp
Two Minutes
Ring of Flames:
Allows you to create a wall of fire that surrounds and moves with you burning all foes for 20 seconds.
35 mp
Two Minutes
Devil''s Domain:
You target an area creating a 40-foot circularzone of searing heat and flames that roastany foes caught in it for 30 seconds.
75 mp
Two Minutes
Orb of Lava:
Allows you to throw a ball of lava thatsprays out on impact melting through anything it lands on for 10 seconds.
15 mp
Two Minutes
Orb of Light:
Allow you to create a floating mobile ball of light above you that illuminates 40 feet around you. Active until cancelled
5 mp
Two Minutes
Mana Shield:
Youare surrounded by a shimmering transparent, but a tangible energy that increases yourdefenses for 60 seconds.
25 mp
Two Minutes
Instinctive knowledge
Swords:
Allows you to use swords. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Daggers:
Allows you to use daggers. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Axes:
Allows you to use axes. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Magic User:
Allows you to wield magic.
LightArmor:
Allows you to wear lightarmor. Skill level determines protection bonuses.
Thrown:
Allows you to use a Thrown weapons. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Reading and Writing:
Allows you to read and write you racial and Lord''s language.
Shoot on the Move:
Allows you to accurately hit targets while moving regardless of terrain.
ClericClass
The cleric is a healer and a holy warrior.
Clerics are versatile figures, both capable in combat and skilled in the use of divine magic.
They can strike down foes with weapons and divine magic while healing their allies in the midst of battle.
Skills List
Skill Name
Skill Descriptions
Mana Cost
Recharge Time
Healing Hands:
Your touch Heals any person or creature for 100 HP.
25 mp
OneMinutes
Treat Teammates:
Heals your core party members for 100HP each.
75mp
One Minutes
Divine Defence:
Heals for 30 HP whenever target ally takes damage for 30 seconds.
15 mp
One Minutes
Consecrated Domain:
You create a circular zone around you all allies within 30 yards receive +10 HP regen for 10 seconds.
25 mp
One Minutes
Righteous Regeneration:
Allows you to regenerate a lost limb on yourself or a targeted ally.
200 mp
One Minute
Spiritual Cleansing:
You cure all negative effects on yourself or a targeted ally.
25 mp
One Minutes
Sacred Shield:
Deals 50 holy damage to foes attacking you or targeted ally for 30 seconds. Causes knock-down on foes.
5 mp
One Minutes
Saintly Strike:
Deals 50 holy damage to a targeted foe. Causes knock-down on the targeted foe.
5 mp
One Minutes
Divine Detonation:
Deals 30 hold damage each second for 5 seconds to all foes within 15 yards.
35 mp
One Minutes
Instinctive knowledge
Blunt Weapons:
Allows you to use blunt weapons. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Staves:
Allows you to use Staves. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Magic User:
Allows you to wield Magic.
LightArmor:
Allows you to wear Lightarmor. Skill level determines protection bonuses.
MediumArmor:
Allows you to wear Mediumarmor. Skill level determines protection bonuses.
Shields:
Allows you to use a Shield. Level determines bonuses to reduced damage and increased technique.
Close Quarters:
Allows you to be far more effective when compressed with two, or more allies.
Reading and Writing:
Allows you to read and write you racial and Lord''s language.
First Aid:
Allows you the knowledge of bandaging, stitching, splints, slings, and tourniquets.
Medicine:
Allows you the knowledge of healing and curing plants.
Conversion:
Allows you the ability to convert others to your beliefs.
DruidClass
Rewarded for their devotion with incredible powers, druids gain unparalleled shape-shifting abilities, and the companionship of mighty beasts and the power to call upon nature¡¯s wrath. Druids wield the power of nature against their foes.
Skills List
Skill Name
Skill Descriptions
Mana Cost
Recharge Time
Weather Control:
You change the weather appropriate to the climate and season of the area you are in. Will change back on deactivation.
250mp
Two Minutes
Repel Metal:
This spell pushes all metal away from you for 30 seconds. Will change back on deactivation.
15 mp
Two Minutes
Shape Shift:
Allows you to assume the form of any creature you have defeated or tamed.
50 mp
Two Minutes
Summon Spirit Ally:
You cansummon the spirit of any creature you have defeated or tamed to fight with you.
75 mp
Twelve Hours
Concealing Curtain:
Covers 300 feetaroundyou in dense fog that moves with you concealing everything in it. Will change back on deactivation.
25 mp
Two Minutes
Speak with Animals:
Youcancommunicate with animals. This does not tame,or make them friendlier. Will change back on deactivation.
25 mp
Two Minutes
Fireball:
You can create a ball of fire tohurl at targeted foes to deal fire damage and ignite combustible clothing.
5 mp
OneMinutes
Spear of Lightning:
You can create a spear of lightning to hurl at targeted foes to deal electric shock. It can also arc to adjacent foes.
5 mp
One Minute
Wall of Flames:
Create a curtain of flames up to 30 feet long. remains for one minute.
15 mp
OneMinutes
Move and Shape Earth:
You can move & shape up to a 10x10x10 per cast. Dig/build holes, walls, roofs,etc
5 mp
One Minute
Move and Shape Stone:
You can move & shape up to a 5x5x5 of natural uncut stoneper cast. Dig/build holes, walls, roofs,etc.
10 mp
One Minute
Wood Shape:
Allows you to form one existing piece of wood into any shape. Fine details are notpossible.
5 mp
One Minute
Wind Wall
You can create a wall of wind to deflect arrows, small creatures, and gases.
10 mp
One Minute
Plant Growth:
Allows you to rapidly grows and enrich the vegetation within 100 feet of you.
15 mp
One Minute
Natures Commune:
You instantly gain knowledge of the terrain, minerals, bodies of water, plants, and animals for one mile around you.
200 mp
One Minute
Instinctive knowledge
Axes:
Allows you to use Axes. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Swords:
Allows you to use Swords. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Daggers:
Allows you to use Daggers. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Blunt Weapons:
Allows you to use Blunt Weapons. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Staves:
Allows you to use Staves. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Archery
Allows you to use a Bow and Arrow. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Shields:
Allows you to use a Shield. Level determines bonuses to reduce damage and increase technique.
LightArmor:
Allows you to wear Lightarmor. Skill level determines protection bonuses.
Medium Armor:
Allows you to wear Mediumarmor. Skill level determines protection bonuses.
Camouflage
Allows you to become invisible in natural cover when not moving.
Sure Footed:
Allow you to keep your footing on a precarious terrain.
Mastery of Movement:
Difficult terrain doesn''t slow you down.
Medicine:
Allows you the knowledge of healing and curing plants.
Foraging:
Allows you to acquire food by hunting, fishing, or the gathering of plant matter. Edible plants, fish, and animals.
Hand Signals:
Allows you to communicate with others with only hand signals.
Reading and Writing:
Allows you to read and write you racial and Lord''s language.
Brawling:
Allows you the knowledge of how to fight unarmed to win by any means necessary.
Hero Knight Class
A Hero Knight''s strongest point is at the frontlines of a battlefield.
They strike with tremendous force and always have their shield ready to ward off attacks.
Knights are the defenders on a battlefield.
Working with their party members to take the bruntof the enemies attacks and allow their allies to destroy them from behind.
Skills List
Skill Name
Skill Descriptions
Mana Cost
Recharge Time
Crippling Cleave:
Allows you to cripple the adjacent foes limb that it strikesrenderingg it usless. If Unblocked.
5 mp
Two Minutes
Die Hard:
Increases your max health by 35% for 30 seconds.
5 mp
Two Minutes
Still Mind:
Resist any incoming offensive spell directed at you for 30 seconds.
5 mp
Two Minutes
Executioner''s Strike:
Allows you to make a killing strike when under half of your maximum health.
5 mp
Two Minutes
Severing Strike:
Allows you to cause a bleeding wound. This bleed damage will not stop until treated.
5 mp
Two Minutes
Judgement for All:
Allows you to strike all adjacent foes for 2x damage and swing speed. If Unblocked
5 mp
Two Minutes
Ricochet Arrow:
Allows you to ricochet an incoming arrow off your shield to pierce any adjacent foe. If unblocked
5 mp
30 seconds
Shield Bash:
Allows you to use your shield as a blunt weapon. Skill level effects damage and knockback effect. If unblocked.
5 mp
Two Minutes
Sweeping Arc:
Allows you to feint a downward slash that arcs in a circle to then sweep in cutting deep intothe foes legs. If unblocked
5 mp
Two Minutes
Combat Charge
Allows you to move 2x faster for 30 seconds.
5 mp
Two Minutes
Instinctive knowledge
Swords:
Allows you to use Swords. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Daggers:
Allows you to use Daggers. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Polearms:
Allows you to use Polearms. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Blunt Weapons:
Allows you to use Blunt Weapons. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Shields:
Allows you to use a Shield. Level determines bonuses to reduce damage and increase technique.
Shield Wall:
Allows you the knowledge how to properly overlap your shield to an adjacent allies shield.
Light Armor:
Allows you to wear light armor. Skill level determines protection bonuses.
Medium Armor:
Allows you to wear Medium armor. Skill level determines protection bonuses.
Heavy Armor:
Allows you to wear Heavy armor. Skill level determines protection bonuses.
Heavy Armor Mastery:
Allows you tomaneuver in combat so that majority strikes fall on the strongest part of the armor, or deflect off it at angles.
Courtly Knowledge:
Allows you the knowledge of proper protocol and etiquette.
Reading and Writing:
Allows you to read and write you racial and Lord''s language.
Brawling:
Allows you the knowledge of how to fight unarmed to win by any means necessary.
PyromancerClass
While some mages wield powerful illusions, some summon all-powerful beasts to do their bidding, and some divine fascinating facts about the universe that even some gods aren''t even aware of.
However, a Pyromancer just wants to burn stuff with his immense mastery over the element of fire.
Skills List
Skill Name
Skill Descriptions
Mana Cost
Recharge Time
Fireball:
You can create a ball of fire tohurl at targeted foes to deal fire damage and ignite combustable clothing.
5 mp
OneMinutes
Dragon''s Breath:
You spit out a 20 foot expanding cone of flames that ingnites everything in its path.
25 mp
One Minutes
Scorching Sprint:
You can move 2x faster for 20 seconds and leave a trail of flames behind you.
10 mp
One Minutes
Lava Venting:
A targeted circular area of 20 feetis covered in lava creating devastaing carnage.
35 mp
One Minutes
Enchanted Flame:
You can enchant a weapon tobelch outflames. Deals fire damage and incinerates combustibles. Active until cancelled
5 mp
One Minutes
Searing Shield:
Youare surrounded by a transparent flames. Anything it contacts takes fire damage and raises defence.
5 mp
One Minutes
Meteor Strike:
You drop a flaming Meteor on a targeted area creating wide spread fire damage. The shockwave knocksdown adjacent foes.
5 mp
One Minutes
Falling Flames:
Youdrop flames from above onto a targeted area of 60 feet. They fall slowly but stick to anyone they touch causing burning chaos amounstfoes.
5 mp
One Minutes
Devil''sDomain:
You target an area creating a 40-foot circularzone of searing heat and flames that roastany foes caught in it for 30 seconds.
75mp
Two Minutes
Fire Lord Enchantment:
Your fire spells do 25% more damage and use 25% less MP while active. Active until cancelled
100 mp
Two Minutes
Instinctive knowledge
Daggers:
[Daggers]: Allows you to use Daggers. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Polearms:
Allows you to use Polearms. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Blunt Weapons:
Allows you to use Blunt Weapons. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Staves:
Allows you to use Staves. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Magic:
Allows you to wield magic.
Light Armor:
Allows you to wear light armor. Skill level determines protection bonuses.
Medium Armor:
Allows you to wear Medium armor. Skill level determines protection bonuses.
Shields:
Allows you to use a Shield. Level determines bonuses to reduce damage and increase technique.
Reading and Writing:
Allows you to read and write you racial and Lord''s language.
GeneralClass
A War General is a great leader who can persuade his army, by being charming, or intimidating.
Their abilities are focused on leading and directing others into battle and inspiring them to victory.
Skills List
Skill Name
Skill Descriptions
Mana Cost
Recharge Time
Strength of Experience:
Allows you to deal 4x damage for 60 seconds.
25 mp
ThreeMinutes
Exploit Opportunity:
While flanking all allies within 100 yards deal 2x damage side flanking and 4x damage rear flanking when activated.
25 mp
ThreeMinutes
Strategic Withdrawal:
You call a withdraw to a targetedpostion. All allies within 100 yards move 3x faster to that location.
20 mp
FiveMinutes
Rousing Speech:
Allows you to deliver a speech based on the enemies vulnerabilities that boosts allies damage x2 for five minutes.
35 mp
sixtyMinutes
Rally Troops:
Allows you to negate all negitive statuses such as fear, poison, burning, etc. on allies within 100 yards.
35 mp
ThreeMinutes
Wile Withdraw:
Allows you to trick enemies into thinking your allies will retreat. The enemy breaks formations to chase exposeing their flanks.
25 mp
fiveMinutes
Cloaked Concealment:
Allows you and your allies to attack from an hidden undiscoverable location if not previously seen.All enemy within 100 yards break ranks in fear for one minute.
100mp
TenMinutes
Advantageous Terrain:
Allows you to take advantage of the surronding terrain. All units within 100 yards receive half damage from attacks for two minutes.
75 mp
FiveMinutes
Instinctive knowledge
Swords:
Allows you to use Swords. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Daggers:
Allows you to use Daggers. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Polearms:
Allows you to use Polearms. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Blunt Weapons:
Allows you to use Blunt Weapons. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Axes:
Allows you to use Axes. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Staves:
Allows you to use a Staves. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Thrown:
Allows you to use a Thrown Weapons. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Shield Wall:
Allows you the knowledge how to properly overlap your shield to an adjacent allies shield.
Shields:
Allows you to use a Shield. Level determines bonuses to reduced damage and increase in technique.
Light Armor:
Allows you to wear Light Armor. Skill level determines protection bonuses.
Medium Armor:
Allows you to wear Medium Armor. Skill level determines protection bonuses.
Heavy Armor:
Allows you to wear Heavy Armor. Skill level determines protection bonuses.
Sure Footed:
Allow you to keep your footing on a precarious terrain.
Mastery of Movement:
Difficult terrain doesn''t slow you down.
Close Quarters:
Allows you to be far more effective when compressed with two soldiers or more allies.
Courtly Knowledge:
Allows you the knowledge of proper protocol and etiquette.
Reading and Writing:
Allows you to read and write you racial and Lord''s language.
Set Trap:
Allows you the knowledge of creating various traps.
Hand Signals:
Allows you to communicate with others with only hand signals.
First Aid:
Allows you the knowledge of bandaging, stitching, splints, slings, and tourniquets.
Brawling:
Allows you the knowledge of how to fight unarmed to win by any means necessary.
After Rick had reviewed the class menus he toldthem to follow him into the workshop to measure them all for clothes, weapons, and armor.When Rick had successfully written down everyone''s measurementshe told them to relax in the worker''s barracks or in the tower for now while he had weapons, armor, and other gear prepared for them. While the party dispersed to await further instructions Rick also looked through their Status Menus and noticed adiscrepancy between their levels and his.
These new unit are all level nine and they are supposed to spawn the same level as me. He thought to himself.
Rickthen opened up his notices to review them and figure out what he missed from the start of the battle to now.
Spoiler: Notices...
Skill Increase:
Archery level 9 (Beginner 92%)
New Level Notice!
You gained a level!
Level 5
You have 5 unused points to distribute.
You gained a level!
Level6
You have 5 unused points to distribute.
You gained a level!
Level7
You have 5 unused points to distribute.
You gained a level!
Level8
You have 5 unused points to distribute.
You gained a level!
Level9
You have 5 unused points to distribute.
Those attacking tribesmen must have been up nearlevel 20for me to level up this much from killing only four of them. I must have quite the surplus of unused points now, that need to be distributed. I should take care of that before we set off.
New Title Notice!
You show no mercy toward your enemies and will torture and interrogate them to get the information you desire.
Those who wish to make you an enemy will know that capture will only lead to a slow painful death.
You have been awarded the title: Black Hand Interrogator
Fame Increased: +1000
Honor decreased: -500
Your timid enemies will know now to avoid fighting you. Your brave enemies will fight to the death or their victory.
Currently displaying title: The White Knight
All awarded titles stack with the currently displayed title.
Whoops, I took a -500 honor hit from this new title. My actions werea little extreme but I am not going to become a raid target for tribesmen to farm for resources and valuables like the Faith Temple worshipers. One day I can builda prison to put captured enemies in instead of killing them, but for now, I have to worry about security and do away with all threats.
New Battle Notice!
Battle Report
You have successfully defended your realm from a raiding party.
A group of attackers invaded your land killing twoof out of your sixty-six people.
You and the defenders killed eight out of the twenty attackers.
The enemy has retreated from battle, you are victorious.
Congratulations on your victory!
You have gained Experience Points for your victory!
You have gained Leadership Points for your victory!
You have gained FamePoints for your victory!
This is something I haven''t seen yet I wonder if this is a new report systemthey added, or you only get these reports when fighting other races besides monsters. These battle experience points must have played a part in the sudden level increases as well.
Show Status!
Cedric Crownguard
Strength:
41
Level: (77%)
09
Stamina:
29
Health:
320
Vitality:
42
Mana:
660
Intelligence:
66
Pieity:
+175
Wisdom:
29
Fame:
+8125
Agility:
25
Honor:
+6000
Charisma:
16
Alignment:
+3000 (neautral)
Leadership:
25
Satiety:
93
Luck:
5
Class:
(None)
Health Regen/Sec
1.5
Mana Regen/Sec
3.0
Feudal Domain:
25 acres
Race:
Human
Feudal Title
Baron
Unused Points
10
Title:
The White Knight
alignment +/-
+1000 alignment
Title:
The Honor Guard
alignment +/-
+1000 alignment
Title:
The Duelist
alignment +/-
+1000 alignment
Title:
Black Hand Interrogator
alignment +/-
-1000alignment
Since I can''t pick my first class until level 10 I will just spread my points around to boost my physical attacks. I will add 10 points to strength to improve my melee damage, 10 points to Agility will improve my movement speed at accuracy, 10 points to vitality can increase my hit points and make my body more robust against injuries. I have 10 points left still I suppose I can save them a little longer for now. My next level isn''t too far off, once I find out what myclass will be I can use them towards improving it.Alright, time to hand out more orders and get to work on this list of gear we need.
Rick drew up acopy of themilitary boots he had once worn with a leather sole and heel since he did not have rubber to use. He also drew up designs fora red and black dress with thin leather strips sewn into them, that gave some protection in vital areas. He passedthe designs and measurements for all the footwearand the two dresses to the tailor/cobblers and left them to continue their work. Walking outside of the workshop Rick made his wayover to the blast furnace and dumped in iron then limestone and finally coal in repeating layers filling the furnace up half way. He placed his finger on the switch rune to start it up so that soon after it all melted down, he would be able to make more steel ingots.
I need to take care of those two dead tigers now out by kiln house that died during the attack from our arrows.
Rick hiked across the eastern footbridge to the Tiger carcasses and took out his knife, a rope, and a pulley. He tied the two Tigers up by their back legs andthen tied the pulley to a thick tree branch.
Hefed the rope tied to the Tiger around the pulley to haul it up until it was freely hanging and tied the rope around the tree trunk. He first used his knife to make a cut in the Tiger''s neck and drained it of blood into a few clay jugs he had in his inventory. After it was drained he used his knife to skin and butcher it, and then repeated the process for the second dead Tiger. In the end, he had two huge Tiger pelts a few hundred pounds of meat and some of the larger bones and teeth that he removed. He stored everything away and buried the cleaned carcasses to avoid having predators snooping around for a meal.
He then walked over to the canal and washed his hands off in the cool river water.Hemade his way into the tower cellar and found the two dwarfs hard at work. He once again drew up a design of a huge one-handed battle axe with its measurements and gave it to the weaponsmith.
"When you finish making all the dagger parts then start on this axe design, we need four of them in the sizes I wrote down here. You have free rein on how they will look, we have two half-giants who just joined us and those four axes will be their weapons."
Then he handed the armorsmith measurements of the half-giantsupper and lower body and instructed him to make two full plate mail sets in those sizes when he had finished his armor. Taking out his 1300 coin stone cast he poured gold into the casts and let them cooland repeated the process a few times and ran the coins through the coin press to restock his dwindling currency.
Rick opened his inventory stored his new stock of gold coins and tossed a few more large iron ingots into the forge and pulled out one that was already hot with his tongs. He split off a small end ofit and put the rest back on the forge. The small piece he cut off was then sectionedinto thin pinky thick slices that he individually hammered into round cylinders about the size and shape of a pencil. Once he had them all shaped Rick used the hammer to make points on each end. When he made ten of these he received a recipe that he named "Throwing Darts".
Next, he began on making a holding case for the new darts out of leather. He designed the case to resemble a cigarette pack with a flip up top. The darts were held inside twenty individual slots with aflap that would foldover the top of them so they could not bounce out when fighting or running. He then dyed the pouch black and sewed belt slots on the back so they could be carried on a weapons belt. With the new recipes, he made up forty throwing dart kits and stored them away.
The dwarf weaponsmith had finished making all the dagger parts and went straight to work on the huge axes. Rick gathered up all the dagger parts and used his tap/die kit to thread the tang on the dagger blades and the inside of the dagger pommels to match. When the threads were finished Rick assembled all the daggers by placing the guard over the tang then the handle and last he threaded on the pommels to lock the pieces all together and stored them away.
The armorsmith had finished Rick''sarmor and helmet by then and they both looked incredible. The Orichalcum metal the armor and helmet were made from is a gold color but he had added black pattern and designs to emphasize their contours and lines. The armorsmith used inlaying channels to pour black steel into that made the ornate black designs on the gold Orichalcum armor. He then engraved around his designs, rendering them an almost three-dimensional look as if the armor was designed to protrude out from the surface.
He thanked him for the fantastic craftsmanship and stored the armor to go to his next work. Using the shaft recipeRick made ten spear handles and left them in his inventory. He retrieved the ingot he took a slice from earlier to cut off a few more chunks from it and tossed it back into the forge. His next project was to make a few spears, but he decided to makea lance point spear tip. Rick had seen this particular spear tip online when he researched medieval weaponry and it was known to work well in piercing armors. It was basically a long thin pointed tip instead of a typical wide leaf blade that he has seen so far. They were easy to make he only had to hammer out the cuts of iron into one foot long round pointed end cylinders shapes. He then used a punch to make a cavity that the wood shaft could fit into and drilled a couple holes through the spear tip and shaft to pin them together. He received a recipe that he named "Lance Point Spear" that he used to make backups.
Next, I want to try and make a bow recipe to arm some of the new units, Angelica, and me.
Rick picked out a fewMithril Ingots from the randoms stack and put them in his inventory, except for two that he placed into the forge fire to heat up. Rick checked on the two dwarfs then sat down at his bench to draw up the pulley system for the bow while he thought it through on how they worked.
I know that the two pulleys have a string that connects to each endof pulley axles that works like a block tackle, where both pulleys work together. Then the main bow string is wound around the outside radius of the pulleys that the arrow notches too.
When he had an idea of how he wanted to proceed he grabbed aMithril Ingot out of the forge flames with is tongs and sectioned it up into five sections. First, he started with the bow limbs, he hammered out a section of the metal into the shape of a long thin metal plank then cut it in half. On oneend of each of the limbs, he split them to look like a tuning fork and used his drill to make a hole all the way through the side of the split ends. then on the opposite end, he drilled out two more holes. Using the forge he heated the center of each limb and carefully bent them over the anvil giving them a slight curve.
He set the limbs aside and used another chunk of Mithril to start on the pulleys. He hammered the metal into two [quarter inch] thick round circle shapes and drilled out the center making the axle channel. Next, he removed some of the metal in the round metal around the axel channel making them look like spoked wheels. Now that he had the pulleys shaped he used a small metal file to make a groove around the outer lip of the pulley that the string would remain on the pulley.
I have the limbs and pulleys finished I guess I can start on the frame next.
Rick began hammering out another long thin rectangle section of metal and measured it out finding the center where he formed a small lip that was the arrow rest. The arrow rest is what held the end of the arrow straight while drawing it back to shoot. Underneath the arrow rest he hammered the frame into a rounder shape this was the frame grip where you hold the bow. When the arrow rest and grip looked good he began to shape the ends of the frame to have a forward bow that curved away from the shooter.
I have all the main parts finished now I can make the hardware and assemble it.
With the more of the sameMithril, he made two axels, four bolts, fournuts, and a sight post and used his tap/die kit to thread them all. He used the bolts to secure the limbs to the frame then pushed the axles into the axle channels through the frame and pulleys and cranked them in place with the nuts on the threaded ends. With the help of his drill, he then made a hole above the arrow rest and screwed the sight post into the frame.
I need a way to flex this bow now while I string it.
he made five thick wood pegs and screwed them to his workbench top. He placed two pegs to his right and left and one slightly forward between them. He squeezed one of the bow limbs between two pegs and wrapped the frame around the center woodpeg and flex the last bowlimb back toward him and popped it between the last two pegs holding the bow in a flexed position.
Rick opened up his inventory and took out a spool of bowstring, glue, sewing supplies and a candle and cut off two lengths of bowstring to his measurements. One string he spliced a six-inch length of string with glue and thread on each end so that there was now two split ends that he attached tied around the outside of both pulley axles. The other longer length of bow string he wound around the outside radius of the pulleys and spliced the ends together. When the glue had dried on the thread wound around the bowstring splicehe used a candle to wax the strings.
This bow is only missing one small thing now, I need to make the peep sight.
The peep sight was a small round piece of metal with a hole in the center that he made in a couple minutes. The used the needle and thread to sew it in place on the bowstring so that when you draw back the bow you look through the peep sight on the bowstring and line it up with the sight post that he attached above the arrow rest.
There we go all finished now I think the strings are dry enough to release the flexed limbs now.
He pulled the limbs out of the wood pegs and they jumped back to their original outstretched position taking up the slight slack in the strings to make them now taunt. Rick gripped the bow handle and drew the bow back to his cheek without releasing it just to feel the bow pull weight.
This most defiantly has a stronger pull to it than my wood recurve bow, it should have some great power and accuracy to it.
He stored the bow away then and named the recipe he received "Mithril Compound Bow" and used that recipe to make nine more bows with theMithril Ingots he placed in his inventory before he started on the bow.
His next project was to make a longsword with the steel ingots. With his tongs, he pulled out a glowing steel ingot to slice off a few different sizedchunks. The first bigger piece he used to start the blade that he hammered out and tapered off both sides into an edge. He formed a point on the one end and hammered out a rectangular tang on the other end. He then shaped the end of the tang into a one inch bolt that he threaded. The next part he started to make was the guard hat he worked into the shape of spread Dragon wings and used his etching tools to add detail to the wings.
The handle he shaped into an oblong cylinder and hollowed the core out to slide over the tang on assembly. The handle was also detailed to look like Dragon Scales that he etched out all around it giving it a good grip when he held it in his hand. Next, he made a round ball of steel and sat down to painstakingly sculpt out a Dragon head with its mouth open as if it would roar or breath fire.
When he was satisfied with the Dragon head he drilled out a small hole underneath it and threaded it to the size of the tang''s bolt. He picked up the guard that looked like wings and slid it over the tang then next came the handle that fit onto the tang and the piece was the Dragon head that was the pommel of the sword he screwed it onto the tang bolt tightly locking the guard and handle in place.
Rick took the fully assembled longsword over to one of the grinding wheels and put a nice sharp edge on both sides of the blade and the point. He opened the recipe and named it "Flight of Fury" and used it to make five more of them with it. He then made scabbard to fit the longswords and used the recipe to make enough for them all
Glancing at his list he decided to make a saber next. He used the same process as the longswords except the saber blade was curved with only one edge and he sculpted the pommel to look like an eagle''s head from the gold colored Orichalcum. The guard he shaped and etched to look like eagle wings that folded back around the handle to protect the hand of whoever held it from being slashed. The handle he made out ofOrichalcum as well and he etched detailed bird feathers around the entire handle. Once the parts were all completed he assembled the saber and put a sharp edge on it.He named the recipe "where Eagles Dare" and made two more with it. He the had to make a tricky curved scabbard for the sabers and used the recipe for the other one.
When he had finished the two Dwarfs also finished a few minutes later. He stored the half-giants axes and armor away and had the weaponsmith start on a steel mace that he gave him free rain to design and create. The Armorsmith he instructedto use the steel ingots andmake eight steel shields and left them to walk over to the blast furnace. He shut the furnace down and opened the valve on the slag pipe to drain out the impurities then opened the lid and dumped two jugs of the Tigers blood in with the molten steel. Removing his long stone ingot cast he began making more of steel ingots until he had poured out the last of the liquid steel. When they had cooled some he poped them out of the cast and put them all into his inventory.
He walked into the workshop and found all the tabards the two dresses and most of the boots were completed so he stored them and walked over to an empty workbench. He took black thread, a sewing kit, scissors and a roll of cloth. Rick used the materials to make a black ninja outfit that would fit the female cat girl with a tail hole in the pants and ear holes in the hooded mask. While he was at it he decided to make undergarments for both genders. Then he remembered that he never made a sheath for the daggers and got to workmaking a thick leather sheath that he dyed black and used the recipe to make more them.
He then took the time to dye everyones boots, belts, and Dart Kit Pouches Black, and then he thought about the leather gloves recipe he had and made gloves for everyone and dyed them also black.
Rick opened his inventory and found a roll of red silk with white Dragon patters and another roll of solidwhite silk. Rick cut about five feet of the pattered red silk off the roll and used the solid white silk to make a one inch border around it. He cut a half circle out of one end of the red silk to fit around his neck and sewed leather straps with clip hooks he got from the tailor shop. He had made a nice red silk cape with white Dragon patterns and a white border.As he was storing everything away he became aware that his notice icon was flashing so he opened it to see what he learned.
Skill Increase:
Blacksmithing level 7
(Advanced 28%)
Skill Increase:
Forging level 3
(Advanced 76%)
Skill Increase:
Hammering level 8
(Advaced 89%)
Skill Increase:
Smelting level 5
(Advanced 34%)
Skill Increase:
Knives level 2
(Intermediate 46%)
Skill Increase:
Field Dress level 9
(Beginner 03%)
New Skill Notice!
New Skill Learned!
Metal Sculptor level 1 (Beginner 03%)
Metal Sculptor allows you to shapeworks of art from various metals.
Level increases allow for higher quality and more valuable sculptures
New Skill Notice!
New Skill Learned!
Tailoring level 1 (Beginner 89%)
Tailoring allows you to sewvarious materials into clothing of any type.
Level increase allows for higher quality and more valuable clothing.
As he was reviewing his notices the tailor/cobblers finished the boots up so Rick told them to start making a couple sets clothes and dresses in the sizes of the new units to raise their skills.
"Just go ahead make them however you want it is just for practice and so they have additional clothes to wear other than armor. When you finish that you can go around and take measurements of all the workers and yourself and make some extras for all them. I had bought some clothes from town but some might not find any to be a proper fit."
He then walked over to the furniture makers and took the tables chairs and wardrobes they made and had them start on making more of the single beds and two custom beds that would fit and support the half-giants. He took the new furniture over to the worker''s barracks and arranged most of it around for them and told the new units there to head over to the tower with the others.
He then went to the tower the second floor and arranged the rest of the furniture up there. He decided that he would make the second floor for all the females to sleep and keep their things.
When he was finished on the second floor he went down to the cellar and found the two dwarfs working together to finish the last of the steel shields. When they finished Rick took the shields and the steel mace that came out really well. He then handed them both two of the new five-foot long steel ingots infused with Tiger blood and told them to make whatever they wanted with them to help raise their skills. Rick was also curious to see what kind of bonuses the Tiger blood would add to weapons and armor.
Alright, I think that we have the majority of everything we may need for the mission now. He thought as he walked upstairs and called Angelica down from the third floor. When she came down he then turned to address the new troops.
"I would like to welcome you all to your new home though it is not much right now we will eventually build a city out on the plain. We were actually in the process of that until thesurveyors came under attack by a human tribe raiding party from far to the east. I happen to learn this from one of the wounded attackers with a little...persuasion." Allot of them smiled and the two half-giants let out wicked laughs at the last part.
"We now know where they came from and I also happened upon a very old map that has the location of their village if they haven''t moved it. This is the reason why we haven''t had time to properly welcome you all until now I have been busy making the weapons, armor, and gear we will need to take the fight to their homes and discourage them from even coming to this side of the island ever again. This here he gestured is Angelica She is the second in command and Sturm here will be your squad leader." He stood before Sturm to point him out.
"Sturm is a General and a HeroKnight his General class will greatly aid you to fight stronger and smarter so he will lead you on the battlefield," Rick explained.
He answered any questions they had and try to talk to each of them and get to know them. When everyone was settled in he took out his equipment list.He then began calling up the units to give them their new equipment that he read off his list and handed to them from his inventory.
When he had handed out all the equipment he sent the men to the barracks and the women to the second floor to get changed. He followed the women upstairs and handed the stack of women''s clothes over to Kanna and told her that she did not need to wear the ninja suit every day and could pick some clothes out and he would alter them for her. He then went to the fourth floor of the tower and built a couple basic weapons and armor racks and stocked the weapons racks with bows, spears, and swords and left a stack of arrows. The armor racks were then stocked with all the sets of armor he bought from his blacksmith teacher and Terra''s female scalemail armors.He wanted to make sure that they had a way to defend themselves if someone of something attacked while they were gone.
He then started equipping all his new gear to see how it all fit. He puton everything he had then clipped the cape to his armor and carried his shield and spear in hand.
Cedric''s Battle Equipment
Orichalcum Plate Armor
Orichalcum Open Face Helmet
Military Boots
Chain Mail Leggings
Flight of Fury Longsword
His Original Quiver with Arrows
4 Dart Kits on his belt
A Steel Shield
1 Tabard and Belt
A Lance Point Spear
1 Mithril Bow
Red Satin Cape with White Dragon Patterns
He walked downstairs and across the eastern bridge fully armed to get a feel for all his gear and seen Handil and his crew working along tower island shore digging out a trench a few feet deep and laying stone blocks in the trench. These were the orders he gave them to build a wall around the island and now they had a two-foot high wall around more than half the island. He walked over to quickly inform Handil that he had stocked the fourth floor with weapons and armors and how to bolt the steel tower door with the steal beams in the corner. He gave him an update on the new units around the settlement and their plans to leave shortly east to attack the tribesmen. Rick shook Handils hand and thanked him for the great work then left him to continue over to the kiln house.
He went inside the kiln house and examinedthe clay pipes he made for the fresh water and drainage. This was the first time he saw them since when he fist paced them in here to fire dry.
These pipes all had one end flanged so that the could connect together over a long distance. The workers just need to put a little cement on the thin end of the pipeand fit it into a flanged end of the next pipe to connect them all. He even had made the (T) shaped connectors and (L) shaped connectors to make turns and split pipes into two different directions with the (T) shapes.
It''s funny when I look at these pipes laying on the shelves they remind of a shoulder-fired rocketlauncher. I wish, if I had a few of those it would make things much easier. He smiled as he thought to himself.
This got him thinking about modern weapons and how he could make scaled down primitive version of some.Thenan idea started to form for the use of the clay pipes. First, he measured the narrowends inner ring and he also measured the inside of the pipes diameter. Usinga stone paver from his inventory Rickchiseled it into a circle that would fit on the inside the narrowend of the pipe.
Rick repeated the process makinganother stone circle a little smaller that fit on the inside of the pipe and chiseled out the center of it making it look like a big stone ring. The stone circle that was made to fit into the end, he engraved with copiousamounts ofwind runes all around the outer rim of it and the stone ring he carved fire runes around the entire outside. He took out his cement and applied it to the rim of each rune and cemented them into the pipe. When they dried he linked them to a switch rune on the pipe''s sideand received a recipe that he named "Flame Cannon".
It was made on the same principle as his forge but with manymore runes. When it was switched on the back wind runes would blow down the pipe and through the hole in the fire ring that shot the flames out the end of it.
He walked outside the kiln house and neara hundred yards away from any of the building and used some stone blocks to make a small wall just big enough to stand behind. He placed the cannon on the other side of the wall a few feet away and turned it on and sprinted back behind the wall to peak around the corner at it. Rickwasn''t sure if it would work or blow up like a huge clay gernade so he played it safty first.
The runes kicked in almost instantly and shot out a column of fire for about forty feet and then started to creepacross the ground like it wanted to take off like a rocket on its side. Rick quickly ran out to it andtouched the rune switch turning it off.
Well, this thing is a way to crazy to carry around and use as a flame thrower, but it would make a great stationary defense weapon. if we anchor them along are front lines any enemy who charged us would run into a wall of blasting flames.
Rick stored the block wall and the flame cannon and went to find the animal trainer. He had him follow him to the tower and asked the four female elves with the second Druid class to come with him outside. He walked over to the Tigers with the elves and the animal trainer and ask one of them to translate what he says to the Tigers. The elf namedSilandra stepped forward to help out and Rick asked her to tell them that the Animal trainer would be taking care of them sometimes and not to hurt him and also not to eat the other animals wandering the island. When they agreed to not hurt anyone Rick let everyone come over and pet them with him. After playing with the Tigers for a minute Rick told the animal tamer to get the horses saddled and ready to leave.
He went back into the tower with the druids and started cooking everyone a meal before they set off. Rick Mixed up a dozen eggs in a bowl, then shredup some bread into small breadcrumbs in another bowl,and the last bowl he filled with flour. Rick turned the stove on and filled a skillet with cooking oiland placed it on the hot area to heat up. Taking out a few whole chickens from his inventory he quartered them up and dip them in flour then in the eggs and lastly into the breadcrumbs. When he covered them in a nice coating of crumbs he placed them in the oil and made a large batch of fried chicken like this. He then mashed a bunch of potatoes in a large pot and added some cheese to it while it cooked on the stove. While the potatoes simmered on the side he sliced and cooked up some mixed vegetables he placed them in a separate skillet andsauteed in wine, a little butter, and some spices. When it was all done he set it all out on the table with utensils and plates so that everyone could eat up before they took off on the journey east.
When they finished eating Rick told the half-giants that they would have to stay here until they found the enemy village. He would then open a gate and bring them over since they did not have any mounts big enough for them to ride long distances. At first they seemed disappointed until they were assured they wouldnot lose the battle.The Tigers were probably powerful enough to carry them, but he didn''t want to take a chance and injure them when it wasn''t necessary.
Rickremembered to then explore the party creation options and discovered that it was possible to have a party of up to 20 people total.
Just over two squads to a party not bad if this was a standard fantasy RPG we might get six to eight people a party. I think they are planning for large scale battles so the parties are much bigger.
He sent all his new units and Handil invitations to join his party and was glad that they could join being AI and not players. When they joined the party they soon ascertained that they could somehow sense each other''s direction to their location. Rick continued to play with the setting and options to findthat there was a party chat system that worked liketelepathy, they could all think what they wanted to be said to an individual persons or the entire party andthat person or persons would hear it as a disembodied voice in their head.
While they were growing accustomed to the [Party Chat] the animal trainer came in and told them the amount of horses they needed for the party were saddled and waiting near the eastern bridge. They all walked out to the horses together excited for the trip ahead and led their mounts across the footbridge they all climbed up into the saddleand turned their mounts east and set off.
They were in no hurry so they spared their horses and trotted them across the ocean of green grass that spread out before them as far as the eye could see.
Chapter 18: Bloody Hilltop
Rick and his new party continued to travel east for a few hours until they spotted a treeline a mile or so out in front of them, Rick took out the map of the island and quickly studied it then he used his [cartography] to make a map of the area and determined that the trees they were riding towardwere the beginning of a large forest.
Rick raised his voice. "That treeline ahead is a large forest that ends at the edge of a river that flows from a lake to the north. We will ride toward the coast from here so that we can avoid traveling through it." Rick instructed the party.
Who knows what lives in that forest and how much time it will take to travel through it. I think it will save time, in the end, to simply bypass it for now. I am curious what kind of monsters or other animals could be in there, but that can wait for a later time.
Just as Rick had seen on his maps the forest did not grow all the to the coastline and they easily avoided traveling through it after heading southeast a few miles. When they eventually found the southern flowing river they had traveled over four hours since they left the tower and the sun was beginning to set.
They walked north along the river and soon found a decent place to ford the narrow expanse with their mounts.The horses didn''t seem to mind the chilly water and they all crossed the river without any trouble.
"It won''t be long until the sun sets and there is no real hurry for us to reach the tribesmen. We will stop here for now and head back to the tower to eat and sleep and set out in the morning once again." Rick explained to his party as they gathered around him on the river bank.
Rick dismounted his horse and opened a portal to the tower. The rest of the party also climbed down and took the reins of their horse and led them through the gate with the help Rick using his [Calm Animal] skill and the druids skill of talking with animals.
Back at the tower the animal trainer took the horses over to the workshop and removed their saddle and reins to store them along the wall inside the building for the night. Rick and his party all ate dinner to together in the tower and talked about their journey and future plans to build up the area before they all went off to get some rest for the morning trek. Rick went over to the workshop before going to bed and grabbed the custom made beds for the half-giants and placed them in the barracks. Rick stopped in front of his Tigers and had them all follow him upstairs and find a mattress to lay down on for the night.
Even though Angelica was getting along well with the other women in their group she still decided to share a bed with Rick instead of using one of the empty beds on the second floor. Rick did not mind it at all and let her sleep where ever she chose.
I will need to establish proper housing for everyone after this problem is taken care of. I am sure that some of the men and women will eventually want to sleep or live together and that would not work with their current living arrangements.
If the surveyors can get the main streets and the castle grounds in the center marked out I can then buy additional units to begin to build the apartment buildings for them to live in.Rick thought as he and Angelica prepared for bed on the tower''s third floor.
The two of them crawled under the blankets and talked for a few minutes before Angelica drifted off to sleep. Rick disconnected from the game and went to put away his clothes sitting in the dryer and the clean dishes in the dishwasher.
He made some calls to his friends and found out that Ryan, Luke, and Lily all would have their own [Game Gear] capsules within the next few days and would let him know where they arrive at in the world after picking their race.
Once he hung up the phone Rick decided to hop online and check out the website of the game. He saw they described some of the released content in the new update and had a countdown timer for just under ten hours that would mark the official opening of Kingdoms Online.
Rick viewed the forums and read about the adventures and struggles of other players like him who were playing up to now like him. A few had made more videos of places they had been or monsters they fought a couple had even been picked p to play on web tv channels. Rick like the idea and wanted to make his own video as well.
The travel to the ruins and finding the island would make a great video but I would rather keep that secret for now with all the new players joining I don''t want anyone finding the island right away. I could use the attack by the tribesmen and our journey to find them.
Rick used his computer to setup thenetwork connection to his [Game Gear] and used the software installed in it to edit a video from the recorded gameplay that is saved in the VR capsules massive hard drive.
He started with a quick montage showing him making his small island in the river and the beginnings of the tower. Then the workers came and he made a quick timelapse of them constructing the buildings. Then the attack came with him sending off the surviving surveyors to send Angelica out to help defend the Settlement.
This is so strange seeing this all from a third person viewpoint now. He thought to himself while editing the video.
In the video, he ran out toward the raiding part and began to shoot arrows as Angelica came sprinting across the eastern footbridge to join him in the defense and retreat of the attackers. Rick then showed how he used his skills to tamethe Tigers and interrogate the wounded attacker, but cut it away just as he was thrusting his spear down to a black screen.
The video then faded back with him standing before the new units who sat at the table in the tower. It showed the short mission briefing they had about the attack they missed and his plan to attack them back. The video then had a shot of them all wearing the new weapons and armor as they lead their horses across the footbridge and journeyed east. Rick put a few moments of them crossing the plains and avoiding the woods to soon cross the river and left out the portal spell.
He wrapped up the video for now and went to get some sleep. As he lay in bed he thought about the game and returning to classes now that the holiday was coming to an end. He set his alarm for a few hours and slept until it woke him.
When he returned to the tower the sun was just to starting peak over the horizon staining the blue sky with a fiery orange. Before Angelica and Rick got dressed and headed downstairs the cooks had arrived and began preparing breakfast for the waking workers and settlement defenders.
Rick had the horses prepared and they all traveled through the portal to pick up where they had stopped yesterday after everyone was awake and had eaten breakfast. Rickleadhis party along the coast heading east at a trot with the fresh horses for a couple hours. Soon the coast began to bend more toward the south and they started to see more scattered trees and hills inland.
Without stopping Rick used his [Cartography] skill to make a map every few miles until he finally spotted what they came looking for. With the help of a map he just made he and his party changed direction heading directly east and stopped at the foot of a large hill.
"I have discovered the location of the tribesmen''s village. We will leave the horses here and climb this hill, from its peak we should be able to see the village." Rick explained to the party.
They all dismounted and tied their horses to the surrounding trees out of sight and quietly climbed the hill. When they crested the peak they saw a large village under a half mile from the hill they stood upon.
This village is much larger than I first anticipated. There must be a near a thousand people who live in that village. We could end up fighting a two to threehundred men not including if any women that make up a part of their fighting forces.
I think instead of a head on attack we may need to draw them into a defensive position. We can establish an outpost on this hill and then decide how to go about this.
Rick had the party gather around the map. "This here is our location on this hill and as you all can see the enemy village is larger than I thought originally. It would prove difficult to outright attack a force of a few hundred with our party size so we will construct defenses here. When we get a foothold here I will then decide on how we will proceed from there."
Rick opened a gate to the tower and brought over handil and his crew, the surveyors, and the half giants and once again explained the situation. Rick instructed his surveyors quickly mark out areas with the help of their Gromato make four walls with towers just big enough for three people on each corner. When the surveyors had marked out all the lines Rick and the druids began to raise the earth making four walls about eight feet high and three feet thick. When they had the walls constructed they raised four small towers of earth on each corner and made a narrow entrance in the wall opposite the village just big enough for two people to pass through at a time.
While the druids constructed the towers he had handil and the stone masons construct a small tower in the center of the outpost from stone blocks. When the tower was finished it had the appearance of a bunker with a long narrow window looking out toward the village. Rick then handed everyone shovels and they dug out a shallow moat around the all the walls. When the trench was finished he open a gate on the shore of the river next to the tower and gave the two giant barrels to fill with water and dump into the moat.
Rick used his recipe to make up twenty [Flame Cannons] and dug out holes in the walls that he fitted them into facing outward. He sealed them snugly into the wall with [Raise Dirt] and then laid out stone pavers along the inside wall that he used to engrave runes into that would connect all of his cannons to one circuit. When the Hadil''s crew finished the center bunker he linked the circuit to a switch rune below the window. Now he could look out of the window at the attackers and ignite the cannons when they were in range.
The last thing they had to build was a parapet alongthe top of the walls and towers for his units to take cover behind from ranged projectiles. Rick''s outpost had quickly sprung to life from the design he drew up into a defensible location in a couple hours. As an after thought while Rick decided how to proceed he had the stone masons encase the dirt towers in a stone block covering to strengthen them.
===============================================================
(This is how the tribesmen of the village would see the outpost when attacking it.)
By the time that the sun had risen to almost noon above the outpost people down in the village soon discovered the growing structure on the hill. Amass of people soon formed on the north side of the village pointing at and discussing the outpost that sprung up almost instantly in their eyes. Handil reported to Rick that the outpost had been spotted so Handil and Rick climbed up on one of the towers to look down at the tribesmen. Rick used [Farsight] and watchedthe angry looking people talking about what was happening down below on the outskirts of the village.Soon Rick noticed that groups of armed men began to assemble around a large well-built older man who appeared to be their leader.Rick with the help of [Photreading] committed the leaders face to memory and drewa decent likeness of him on a piece of parchment in ink just in case he needed to have him, kidnapped or killed later.
The way things are looking down there now I won''t need to lure them out they seem to be worked up enough that they will soon be crawling up here.Rick thought as he was putting the completed drawing away.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
Just as he had predicted not long after a small force of near three hundred armed tribesmen formed up and began to march on the outpost. Rick had all his units with ranged weapons or magic spread out on the towers and walls. All of the strictly melee fighters took a positionguarding the narrow entrance gap in the back of the outpost. Rick sent all of his workers back to the tower and went up into the bunker with his general and Angelica.
"The [Flame Cannons] built into the walls along with the moatfilled with water should be enough to keep them off our walls while we attack them from range. I just need you to defend the entrance until they are thinned out or begin to break and run. Then you can lead the troops out to counter attack." Rick instructed his general as the tribesmen gathered up at the bottom of the hill.
He then leaned out the bunker window and yelled to units on the wall to open fire. The archers immediately began firing arrows down into the gathering tribesmen a couple hundred yards below the outpost. Angelica then climbed out the bunker window to the roof and began launching arrows accurately into the mass below in unison with the elves.
The sudden barrage of arrows dropping men around them drew the tribesmen into launching their attack before all of their warriors could make it from the village to assemble. This worked out well for the defenders instead of one large group attacking they would be split into two waves. His four Hero Ranger/Druids had stood two on each tower and cast wind walls behind them that defended them from ranged attacks and added more force to their arrows. Thier attack wasrelentless the storm of arrows they shot into the attackers killed a man with every release of an arrow leaving a trail of dead on the hillside. If that wasn''t bad enough when the attackers were in magic range they began tossing out fireballs and walls of fire that made the attackers turn back to find a safer route.
The Battle Dancers and Hero Knights with having Battle Mage as a second class then joined in from the walls throwing out orbs of lava that when struck someone would throw lava all over them and anyone next to them. The lava was just as nasty as real lava and it ate away at anyone it came into contact with. These attackers also came under attack at this time from the Pyromancer who basically napalmed half the hillside in flames. She dropped meteors and flames from the sky while venting lava from the ground to flow down the hill burning everyone and everything in its path.
The tribesmen''s first wave lost almost half their forces, just to reach the top of the hill. This is when Rick put his finger on the rune switch that activated the flame cannons. The smell of burning flesh and screams filled the air leaving only a small amount of unharmed attackers who stood frozen at the sight of their allies being cooked in a wall of flames. After he deactivated the cannons he called Angelica down and they ran out of the bunker to find the general.
"General Sturm lead the troops out and attack the remainder of forces outside our walls then return before that second wave begins their attack," Rick shouted out his instructions as he and Angelica dashed out the entrance toward the remaining enemy.
Before Rick made contact with the attackers his [Black Hand Interrogator] title made some attackers run and others ready themselves for a fight to the death. So with his shield and sword in hand, Rick jumped into battle with Angelica, watching each other''s backs the two of them in combination took down ten or more attackers before the general and his troops slammed into the mob of fighting. The two half-giants followed behind completely armored in steel plate carrying an axe in each hand half the size of a man while glowing from the auras the had activated.
Within ten minutes of first making contact outside the walls, Rick''s party had finished off the remaining attackers and returned back inside the walls to prepare for the second attack.
Rick went back into his bunker and watched the second wave of attackers beginning to assemble. This group did not only consist of foot soldiers many of them were mounted on horses and a few even rode Tigers like the raiding party had.
They must not have a lot of those Tigers. I am sure they eat a lot of meat that could be used to feed the villagers, maybe that is why they came so far west looking for new hunting grounds to bring in more meat for the Tigers and people who needed it.
Rick then had an idea and quickly left the bunker and called up to the druids telling them to kill one or two of those Tiger mounts each so that they could use [Summon Spirit Ally]. Their eyes all lit up and agreed with him. He then returned to his bunker and yelled out to begin the ranged attack. They handle the defense like last time, but the Elves made their first targets the Tiger mounts killing at least one each before they turned their arrows toward the attacking humans. After they each killed a Tiger they called forth their new spirit allies and sent them charging down the hill into the line of attackers creating chaos.
The mounted attackers had more luck making it up the hill compared to the footmen by circling around to the entrance to launch an attack on the waiting defenders. The two half-giants ran out like a wall of steel and began chopping men and mounts in half. When Rick saw that the remaining troops began to also circle around toward the entrance he climbed the outside wall and began picking them off with his new bow.
Now I see why the elves were so devastating this compound bow can blast an arrow right through them and their flimsy leather and fur armor.
With Angelica right behind him again they cleared out a good portion of the encircling enemy with a stream of arrows and the help of his other ranged units.
"Let''s go, Angelica!" Rick yelled out as he suddenly jumped off the wall and ran out to meet the attackers.
At seeing this General Sturm led the other melee unit group to help finish off the attackers. The tribesmen began to make their final stand and circle up as they all instinctively knew if they were captured there would be no quarter given from the large leader of these strangers. Though they fought hard and managed to wound a few of the defenders, Garion the Cleric-Assassin would always appear out of thin air to heal them just as fast as they became injured.
Garion would even between healing spells suddenly appear behind a distracted enemy to instantly finish him off with his daggers. Like a deadly cloud of mist, he stalked the battlefield using [Saintly Strike] and [Divine Detonation] along with his Assassin skills causing wounds that gushed blood or deal out a split second execution.
The twoKitsune Battle Dancers were like watching a live dance performance. They gracefully swayed and jumped through the attackers with their deadly steel sabers lashed out to an unheard beat to cut down the mesmerized barbarians before them. They only wore the dresses Rick made for them for protection, but that was all they needed being untouchable as they were.
Rick them stopped a moment as he watched Angelica dual wielding her platinum swords. She became a tornado of flashing steel while walking into a group of six attackers only yards away from him. All Rick saw was a flashing after-image from her swords and a second later the six men all hit the groundsimultaneously. Rick just shook his head and jumpedback into the fray not to be shown up. Close to an hour and a halfafter the first attack, Rick and his party stood together on the hilltop surround by dead and severely injured tribesmen.
They all walked into the outpost together and climbed up on the walls to look down at the mass of people outside the village waiting for news of how the attack proceeded against the strangers on the hill. Rick once again used [Farsight] to examine the crowd and noticed that it was made up of women and elderly for the most part. He spied a few armed men but they were few and far between.
"Alright, great work everyone from what I can see they threw over three-quarters of their fighting force at us. We will now go down there and have a little talk with them if they still feel belligerent then I will inform you all through the [Party Chat] that we will attack. General Sturm will lead you all while Angelica and I fight as a separate force." Rick explained his plan and they began to descend the hill toward the village.
Rick had his group in two lines with the melee fighters up front and ranged fighters following behind. Bringing them to a stop about fifty yards from the villagers, Rick told Angelica to follow him forward and left the others to cover him. He walked forward half the distance between the two groups and began to speak loudly in the old human dialect used by the man he interrogated.
"We are from a settlement about a day ride west of here and were attacked by a hunting party from this village led by a man named Skuld! We have come here to make it perfectly clear that if we are attacked we counterattack tenfold! I want this man namedSkuld brought to me and I also want an agreement from your leader that the people of this village will never even approach our side of the island again!"
Rick then spotted the man he assumed their leader from earlier making his way to the front of the assembled people.
"Skuld is my son, I will never turn him over to you, and who do you people think you are to tell us where we may go! How will you stop us of the brave Islet tribe who rule this Island! He yelled back angrily.
Rick laughed out loud for a few seconds so they all knew he wasn''t afraid. "How will I stop you? The same way I stopped all of your dead warriors scattered across that burned and bloody hillside back there!" He yelled while pointing to the hill with his outpost upon it.
A sudden wave of screams and cries rose up from the women and children who had family that went up the hill to fight just a couple hours earlier.
Rick then used the party chat. "Kanna the man who I am talking with is their leader I want you to stealth kill him right now don''t let anyone know you''re there until you strike then quickly return to me when it is done."
While the crowd cried out over the loss of their dead the leader yelled out a response. "How are we to know that they are even dead? I am positive they are up there fighting while your small group snuck down he..gah" He never finished his sentence because Kana was standing behind him in her ninja suit holding both her daggers that were sticking out of each side of his neck.
She then agilely removed her daggers and swiftly fell in behind Rick before anyone realized what had just happened.
As the leader''s body hit the ground Rick yelled out. "This is how you will know they are dead, just as that fort on the hill appeared there instantly so can my troops kill you all the same way as I just had demonstrated! Now let me say this only one more time so it is understood! I wantSkuld here before me now, and I want an agreement this village will stay away from our side of the island or we will attack you right now and burn this place to the ground! Rick screamed at the crowd angrily as hewalked up to stand only a few yards before them with his hand on the sword hanging by his side.
After seeing their tribal chief killed right next to them the crowd went deathly silent and hung on every word that Rick yelled at them. In a daze, they stood there leaderless unsure of what to do looking at the dead body by their feet and back to the large man screaming at them.
Rick simply yelled out to get a response and wake them up. "Do it Now!"
The mass of people panic stricken turned and ran screaming into the village leaving the remaining armed men standing there looking at each other not believing the turn of events. They had once ruled this islandfor generations past except for the cat people to the far northwest that their ancestors once spoke of but had never seen since they never traveled that far these days.
Rick activated his [Aura of Intimidation] and walked up to the armed men and asked who was next in line to be the leader. They told him it wasSkuld and a few of them even spat on the ground after hearing his name with looks of disgust.
"I take it he developed an arrogant attitude because of his father being the tribe leader and began forcing you all to do his bidding since he is next in line to lead?" Rick asked the men.
They all looked shocked at how he might have known but it was a common occurrence throughout history a spoiled heir that takes command too soon become a tyrant to his people.
I could tell that much from what I heard from that wounded man I interrogated. It seemed that this bratforced the party he was leading to attack my surveyors.
"This is what you all are going to do then go into the village and bring him to me. If anyone questions you about it tell them you are doing it to save the village from destruction. Then once Skuld is taken away by me that leaves a vacant spot for a new leader of this tribe and since you all seem to be the only remaining warriors..." He left it hanging at that and saw the gears start to turn as they all had dreams of becoming the tribe''s future leader.
With that, they all turned toward the village and marched off together to root out the hated dead leader''s son. Rick used the [Party Chat] to call his troops to his position and he led them into the center of the village to stand under an enormous tree and wait for them to deliver Skuld. If they didn''t he was prepared to tell Celestia to start dropping fire and brimstone down from the sky onto the tinderbox of a village surrounding them.
I am still unsure of what to do with this guy once I get him. Part of me wants to kill him and the other wants him to rot somewhere dark and confined for a few years. If I turned him over to the guards of Silverhall they may end up just releasing him. I could make a cell to lock him in but that wastes time that could be devoted to building the city.
As Rick silently weighed his options a group pulling a man gagged and tied with a crude rope made their way towards them.
The group of armed men told him that this was Skuld and extended the rope to him. Rick told the two half-giants to bring him over to him in the chat. They both walked over and grabbed him by the arms and carried him over to the tree with the others.
"Now before we leave I will say this, if we are ever attacked by ANYONE from this village again I will come back here with ten times the amount of troops you see and burn this village to the ground and drive you all into the ocean!" Without waiting for a response he turned and opened a gate to the outpost that they all stepped through with their prisoner in tow.
Rick had the prisoner put into the bunker and left him tied up in there while he opened a portaland called all the workers from the tower over to the outpost. He sent them around to gather up all the weapons laying across the hill and asked the elves to use their druid skills to find and bring any stray mounts into the outpost. Rick then stored all the cannons and stone blocks on the walls and towers.
He then chiseled into the stone block of the bunker next to the door. He wrote out in old human not sure even if they could read. "If you attack us we will always retaliate!"
He stored the pile of crude tribesmen fallen weapons as the Druids came back withtwo more Tigers and eleven uninjured horses. With the help of the druids, they leveled the walls, towers, and filled the moat with dirt only leaving the stone block outpost with its message for future tribesmen.
They left the dead were they fell so that their loved ones could find them and hold a funeral or whatever was their customs when dealing with their dead. Rick opened a portal to the tower, grabbed the prisoner from the bunker, and went back home with his troops to return to the construction of their city.
Chapter 19: Cedric gets a class
The tired party stepped out of the portal in front of the eastern bridge now justreturning from sending the Islet tribesmen a clear message to stay away from their side of the Island. Rick took control of the prisoner they escortedback from the village and tied him up inside the kiln house. After securing the SkuldRick assembled all his peopleto give them a breakdown of let all that had happened during and after the fight. Still unsure on how to handle the prisoner Rick spoke with the surveyors first about it.
"Since you men were nearly killed because of his actions I will let you decide what to do with him. Talk about amongst yourselves and let me know how you want to handle it." Rick dismissed them to make their decision along with the fighters who were in need of a break from the exhausting fight.
Rick stood beforethe carpenters and instructed them to beginconstruction of a horse stable with the help of the sawyersjust north of the workshop. He went beforeHandil then and had him continue withthe diggers, stone masons, cutters, and laborers on the wallthe wall around the Island. The fisherman was sent off to fish the river so they could keepstocking the fridge with fish for the cooks.
Next he instructed theShepard, Animal Trainer, and Poultry Farmer to continue along as usual with caring for the animals. Ricksentthe craftsman and tailors off to continue raising their skills by making random usable items that they hadpreviously started. The furniture workers were told to keep making beds, but also to make one other random piece of furniture after they finished each bed inside the workshop.
When everyone had their new directions and went off to work Rick crossed the westernbridge and climbed the small hill with the two graves. He stopped just short ofthe graves and brought out a couple swords that had been collected from the battlefield stained with their previous owner''s blood still. He neatly arranged one on top of each grave and then spoke.
"I wanted to let you two know that we found the people responsible for your deaths and made them pay a heavy price in blood for it. We also captured the man who ordered the attack and your fellow surveyors are deciding his fate at this moment. I just wanted you both to know that you''re not forgotten and have been avenged." Rick saluted each grave turned on his heel and continued back toward the island.
As he was crossing the bridge he took note of the flashing icon that had been flashing since before his return home. He stopped in the center of the bridge and opened his notices for review.
New Battle Notice!
Battle Report
You have successfully attackedthe realmof an enemy tribe.
You constructed fortifications on enemy land and defended against overwhelming forces.
You and the partykilled 278out of the 336 attackers.
The remaining enemy retreated from battle, you are victorious.
Congratulations on your victory!
You have gained Experience Points for your victory!
You have gained Leadership Points for your victory!
You have gained FamePoints for your victory!
Skill Increase:
Archery: level 7 (Intermediate 34%)
Skill Increase:
Shield Bash:level 7(Beginner 12%)
Skill Increase:
Swords:level 9 (Intermediate 74%)
Spell Increase:
Raise Earth:level 6 (Beginner 68%)
New Skill Notice!
You Have Learned A New Skill!
Blocking: Level 6 (Beginner 75%)
Blocking allows you to stop an enemy attack with a shield or weapon.
Level increases improve blocking reaction times and blocking techniques.
New Level Notice!
You Gained A level!
Level 10
You have 5 unused points to distribute.
You Gained A level!
Level 11
You have 5 unused points to distribute.
You Gained A level!
Level 12
You have 5 unused points to distribute.
You Gained A level!
Level 13
You have 5 unused points to distribute.
New Title Notice!
You have tracked down the tribesmen who murdered your men and defeated their tribe in combat.
You have risked your life in battle toavenge your fallen menand decorated their graves with the weapons of those responsible.
You have been awarded the title:Benevolent Leader
Fame: +1000
Honor: +5000
Increase to: leadership: +10
Everyone under your command will now respect and follow you withunwavering loyalty.
Currently displaying title: The White Knight
All awarded titles stack with the currently displayed title.
Display Title Benevolent Leader!
You are now displaying title: Benevolent Leader
Show Status!
Cedric Crownguard
Strength:
47
Level: (31%)
13
Stamina:
36
Health:
470
Vitality:
47
Mana:
810
Intelligence:
81
Piety:
+175
Wisdom:
44
Fame:
+10125 (local Hero)
Agility:
30
Honor:
+11000
Charisma:
19
Alignment:
+4000 (good)
Leadership:
35
Satiety:
71
Luck:
7
Class:
(None)
Health Regen/Sec
2.0
Mana Regen/Sec
4.0
Feudal Domain:
25 acres
Race:
Human
Feudal Title
Baron
Unused Points
0
Title:
The White Knight
alignment +/-
+1000 alignment
Title:
The Honor Guard
alignment +/-
+1000 alignment
Title:
The Duelist
alignment +/-
+1000 alignment
Title:
Black Hand Interrogator
alignment +/-
-1000alignment
Title:
Benevolent Leader
alignment +/-
+1000 alignment
There it is, I am now a level 13! I can finally assign a class! Since I want a class with some offensive magic I will split these 30 unused points between INT and WIS.
My mana went up to 810 mp now and my wisdom is 44 making my spells more effective.
Show AvailableClasses Menu!
Available Classes Menu!
The Classeslisted below are what you have qualified to currently choose from!
Available Classes
Class Descriptions
Forgemaster
The greatest crafters of Weapons and Armor, they create deadly works of art.
Battle Elementalist
They wield a blade with elemental forces to destroy their enemies.
DruidicMage
Magicusers with the capacity to will nature and the wilderness to assist them.
Chivalric Knight
Trained from birth in the ways of warfare and chivalry, the knight is the stuff of legends.
Shadow Archer
A Shadow Archer is inArchery, Stealth, and Magic.
Hmm, I can eliminate Forgemaster, Knight, and Archer.
Show Battle Elementalist Class!
Spoiler:Show Battle Elementalist Class!
Battle Elementalist Class
The battle Elementalistcombines magic with the blade. They work toward not only mastering magic but the blade as well. With a weapon charged with magic in one hand and a spell being weaved in the other, their enemies shake in fear upon approach.
Skills and Spells List
Skill Name
Skill Descriptions
Mana Cost
Recharge Time
Searing Edge:
The edge on your bladeglows orange withscorching heat from this spell for 60seconds.
25 mp
Two Minutes
Lightning Edge:
The edge of your bladeis charged with powerfully arching electricity for 60 seconds.
25 mp
Two Minutes
Water Trident:
You can create a high-pressure spear of waterto hurl at targeted foes, that can pierce through armor.
25 mp
Two Minutes
Entangle:
You use nature magic to snare trap all foes in a 30-foot circumference.
35 mp
Two Minutes
Ice Wave:
Allows you to cast a20-foot cone of ice spikes that extend from the ground in one direction.
25 mp
OneMinutes
Chill Metal:
If a foe''s weapon is frozen it will cause more damage the longer it is held. Last for one minute
25 mp
Two Minutes
Warp Metal:
You cause the metal to bend and warp, permanently destroying its straightness.
35 mp
Two Minutes
Blindfolded:
Allows you to wrap dark elemental magic around a foe''s eyes for 10 secs.
75 mp
Two Minutes
Light:
This spell causes an object to glow like a torch, shedding bright light in a 20-foot radius
5 mp
Two Minutes
Ring of Flames:
Allows you to create a wall of fire that surrounds and moves with you burning all foes for 20 seconds.
25 mp
Two Minutes
WoodSkin:
Make your skin hard as wood for 30 seconds.
25 mp
Two Minutes
If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
Instinctive knowledge
Magic User:
Allows you to wield magic.
Thrown:
Allows you to use a Thrown weapons. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Shoot on the Move:
Allows you to accurately hit targets while moving regardless of terrain.
A Druidic Mage not only castsmage spells but calls uponnature and the wilderness to defeat their foes.
Skill and Spell List
Skill Name
Skill Descriptions
Mana Cost
Recharge Time
Fireball:
You can create a ball of fire tohurl at targeted foes to deal fire damage and ignite combustible clothing.
15mp
OneMinutes
Produce Flame:
Flames as bright and hot as a torch appears in your hand for 60 seconds. It does not damage equipped gear.
25 mp
TwoMinutes
Wall of Flames:
Create a curtain of flames up to 30 feet long. remains for one minute.
25 mp
TwoMinutes
Chain Lightning:
Allows you to throw a lightning bolt that damages targeted foe andarcs to other targets.
35 mp
One Minute
Spike Trap:
Allows you to cast ahidden earthen spike trap at a target location.
25 mp
OneMinutes
Mist Walk:
You alter the substance of your body to a cloudlike vapor.You can move 3x faster for 30 seconds.
5 mp
One Minute
Nature''s Blessing:
When laying your hand upon a living creature, you channel natureenergy that cures for 100 hp.
25 mp
OneMinutes
Poisonous Touch:
You mimic venomof natural predators to infectyour foes, or poison your weapons.
15 mp
One Minute
Speak with Animals:
Youcancommunicate with animals. This does not tame,or make them friendlier. Will change back on deactivation. (Runs until deactivated)
5mp
One Minute
Shape Shift:
Allows you to assume the form of any creature you have defeated or tamed. (Runs until deactivated)
150 mp
One Minute
Wood Shape:
Allows you to form one existing piece of wood into any shape. Fine details are notpossible.
5 mp
One Minue
Transmute Stone and Earth:
Allows you to turn natural uncut Stone to Clay. Dirt to Sand. Mud to Stone.
5 mp
One Minute
Move and Shape Earth:
You can move & shape up to a 10x10x10 per cast. (Dig/Move/Build)
15 mp
One Minute
Move and Shape Stone:
You can move & shape up to a 10x10x10 of natural uncut stoneper cast (Cut/Move/Build)
15 mp
One Minute
Instinctive knowledge
Camouflage:
Allows you to become invisible in natural cover when not moving.
Sure Footed:
Allow you to keep your footing on a precarious terrain.
Mastery of Movement:
Difficult terrain doesn''t slow you down.
Medicine:
Allows you the knowledge of healing and curing plants.
Foraging:
Allows you to acquire food by hunting, fishing, or the gathering of plant matter. Edible plants, fish, and animals.
Hand Signals:
Allows you to communicate with others with only hand signals.
It is a tough decision between the two, but I think I want to go withDruidicMage for now. It has a couple decent offensive spells along with some earth and stone building/transmuting spells. If I can also learn to use that produce flame spell as a welding torch it would allow me to improve our technology.
EquipDruidicMage Class!
You have chosen the classDruidicMage. You have the option to changeyour class to another available class at any time outside of combat.
"Haha, who has class this guy does!" Rick yelled out laughing while standing on the western bridge with the river flowing underneath him. He then meticulously went through his combat units status menus and distributed points to where he thought would help them the most. After Rickfinished reviewing all of their progress he went off to findthe surveyors and inquire on the fate of the captured Skuld.
As passed the tower in search of the surveyors he noticed the Tigers in their usual spot just south of the tower sprawled out in the grass. He walked up to them and used his new spell [Speak with Animals].
Rick walked into the group of Tigers and began petting and scratching them.
"Hey, how are you guys doing?" He asked them asa serious of snarls and growls came out of his mouth.
"Master we can understand you better now," Tiger1 responded
"Ah Master we are good, our servant feeds us well and we have our freedom" Tiger2 answered.
Servant? They must see the Animal Trainer as asubordinate since he brings them food and grooms them. That is too funny, well I guess he could be there servant isn''t he the equivalent of a butler?
"Master I smell that bastard from our last home who use to hit us with sticks and keep us locked up all the time," Tiger3 said.
"Yes I smelled him to when the master came back across the bridge, I would love to sink my claws into him" Tiger4 joined in with a vicious look.
"Haha yes, that is a good idea master lets us pay that bastard back for the way he treated us" Tiger3 responded with a loud roar.
"So that guy wasn''t just an ass to his own people, but he abused you allas well?" Rick asked the riled up Tigers.
"Yes, he is not good like you master who made us soft things to sleep on in the stone den with him and has our servant serve of delicious meats." Tiger4 replied as he nuzzled against Rick.
Soft things in the stone den? Ah, He must mean the mattresses I had made for them that are in the tower in my bedroom. They must see the tower as a large stone den"
"You are all strong and amazing Tigers, you deserve to be treated well." Rick explained to the group as he scratched behind one of their ears.
"That man you want to hunt killed some of my humans and I told them they could have him, but I will go tell them now that you all want to hunt him." Rick explained as he spent a few more minutes talking with them and giving them all equal attention before heading off to find the surveyors.
Rick found the surveyors gathered around a tablewearing somber expressions in the barracks. Rick sat down andexplained the situation with the Tigers who wanted to lay into him Skuld for always abusing them. The surveyors all looked a little relieved and explained that they were really unsure of how to handle the task of dealing with Skuld. Rick noticed their relief and told them that he would take care of it. Rick instructedthem to go back out and continue marking out the main streets and told them he would send out some guards to protect them shortly.
Rick spoke into the Party chat and directedthe combat troops to take shifts guarding the surveyors working out to the east.
It looks like in the future I will need to be the judge like the kings of the pastwere. It may be a little too much for these workers to have to decide the fate of someone else. I need to remember they all think on a feudal scale. The workers are programmed to have their Lord decide most things for them.They also have never taken a life before and are still innocent in that way. This would make it difficult to say someone else should die, it would leave you feeling like his or her blood was on your hands.
Rick left the barracks and walked over to the eastern footbridge and called out to the Tigers with his [Speak with Animals]still active. The pack of Tigersall came trotting across the footbridge to stop in front of him. Ricktold theTigers to follow him and he led them over to the kiln house. He opened the door and enteredto bring out the prisoner. He cut his gag and binds free with a knife and spoke to the tribesman.
"Your villageis that way I will give you a head start and see how long you can outrun us." Rick explained as he gestured to the packof Tigers who have circled around while wearing a callousgrin.
"My new friends here remember quite well how badly you abusedthem since they were cubs and now are more than happy to return the favor. Rick irritably disclosed the Tigersfeelings toward him.
Skuld responded in a dry rasp voice. "They are all just stupid animals that are below us. We are the rulers of thi.." He never got to finish because Rick reached back and smacked him solidly in the side of the head.
"Do you really think you should be standing here talking about your defeated tribe''s past glories when you have a group of huge pissed off Tigers are ready to ripyour skin off your bones any moment?" He asked with a scowl leaning inches from Skuld''s face.
That was all Skuld needed to hear, hebolted off to the east withhis legs pumping hard. Rick cast his new [Shapeshift] spell turning into one of the Tigers he had killed earlier on the hill and explained what was going on to the shocked Tigers.
"Master is amazing he can talk like a Tiger and even turn into one now" One of them commented.
"I want to join in on the hunttoo, but don''t worry I will let you guys have all the fun I just want to make sure he doesn''t get away." Rick told his Tigers.
They all began laughing and assured him that he wasn''t going anywhere. When Skuld had made it out about a quarter mile into the distance Rick spoke up. "Alright, you son of a bitch, it''s time to see what it feels like to run for your life with death nipping at yourheels. LET''S GO BOYS GET HIM!" Rick yelled out and set off at a sprint with the pack of excited Tigers.
Skuld gave it a great effort to escape, but in the end, there is no way to outrun a Tiger on an open prairie. When they had finished with him his remains covered a good area from being torn apart. It wasn''t a good way to go, but for someone like him, it was fitting that he suffered like he made so many others throughout his life.
Rick took the Tigers back and fed them all large slabs of meat for a job well done and walked into the tower. He found Angelica and told her he was going to mine for a little while andasked her to use the [Party Chat] to contact him if anything came up. He had never disbanded the party when they got back so that they could all still talk with one another if need be.
Opening a portalto the tunnel Rickmined the gold from, hestepped through and used his Nightsight to see in the dark. Ricktook out his pick and began mining the gold vein for a couple minutes until he came to the end of it.
Well, that is it for the free gold I will need to find other ways to start making money soon to keep my settlement running.
Rick put his pick away and continued to explore deeper into the mountain now curious of what else he may find. As he trekked down deeper he switched between the different scan skills he developed, in hopes oflocating more metals or gems. Rickcontinued along like this for just over an hour when he began to notice an orange light in the distance. After a few minutes of jogging toward the light, he came to an enormous cavern filled with pools of bubbling lava.
Staying away from the lava he skirtedhis way around the outside of the cavern exploring even further for new resources. Rick soon noticed on the far wall ahead of him that something was reflecting the light from the lava occasionally sending out flashes. When he reached it he thought he found a tiny pocket of more clear crystal. With a single swing, he mined out a pocket of diamonds about the size of a two-fists.
If I practice my gem cutting I could use some of my gold and this small lump of diamonds to make jewelry to sell in town. I''m sure there isn''t a huge market for expensive jewelry, but It will give me some money at least. Rick then continued to circle the cavern until he came back full circle at the mouth of the tunnel.
That seems to be the end of the tunnels resources besides the clear crystals back near where I found the gold. I still don''t have any use for them besides the lights I made and have a large amount of themin my inventory still. Rickused his portal again to open a door along the river near the northern mountains back on the island. He had passed by here when he first arrived when he used the raft he made to floatsouth in search of a place to build his city.
While walking east away from the river he hugged the foot of the steep mountainwhile once again using his scan skills. He didn''t have to walk far to get a faint read on a few different metals in the mountain to his left. Taking out his pick he started to carve out a mineshaft. As his tunnel grew he collected a good amount of silver and also had found a small amount ofOrichalcum that may make another six ingots. Still using his scans while mining he soon changed directions to find a large vein ofMithril. He mined quite a large amount before opening a portal back to the tower. Descending the wooden staircasedown into the cellar, Rickmade a large wooden storage tub that he placed under the staircase and filled with Mithril ore. He told the Armorer to go ahead and use it for any good ideas he wanted to try out.
Rick then turned tofill up a good amount of one of his smelting pots with theMithril ore and used his five foot long stone casts that he used for steel to make up a number ofMithril Ingots. He stacked the new Mithril Ingots in the corner with the random ingot pile.
That wooden tub I made earlier has me thinking that these guys don''t have any way to bathe beside the river like they have been using and that water is still cold even at this time of year. I will need to have a bathhouse made and use runes to control the temperature. It will also need a way to drain and refill it so that it can be properly cleaned every day with all the people who will use it. Just one more thing that needs to be added to the huge list of things needed to be done. I might need to get more units to speed things up around here.
Rick climbed the tower stairs to his bedroom and unequipped his gear and laid down and logged off. He then completed his Video from the attack on his men, the construction, and the defense of the small outpost. He also included the capture of Skuld and the Tigerhunt up to where the first Tiger who had reached him pulled him down. The video faded to himat the graves laying out the swords and the words he spoke. The video then faded out and ended. He posted the video under his VIP account on the forums with a small description of how the events first unfolded.
Rick then caught up on some school work he had put off all week and made a few calls. Tonya decided to come over and visit him and spend the night so he was occupied with other things that kept him away from the game for a few hours. When they finished fooling around they stayed in bed and slept for awhile. Rick had set his alarm and drifted off thinking about the recent events in the game and school soon starting while he held Tonya and drifted off to sleep.
Chapter 20: Crafting, City Creations
Rick had woke up early the next morning and logged in to check up on everything around his small settlement. He let Angelica, Sturm, and Handil know that he had things to take care ofin his world and would be absent for some time.After explaining the situation he logged out took a shower and left his apartment together with Tonya. She had driven over to his place last night so they said goodbye on his doorstep and went their separate ways. Rick opened his garage and drove up to his college for only half the day and came right home when he finished. While he ate a late lunch in front of the TV he saw a clip of a reporter interviewing the new wave of players joining Kingdoms Online. The reporter was asking the excited new players what they thought of the game so far as she also gave her impressions of the town and game while stopping willing players to interview.
It looks like Silverhall city and the rest of the game world are going to be even busier now.Rick thought as he turned the TV off and cleaned his mess up.
Rick went into the spare room to workout on his home gym as usual once a day when he found the time. After working up a good sweat, he grabbed a clean towel and took a relaxing shower. Once he was dressed he sat down at his computer and went online to check out his video comments and reviews that were higher than he had first thought they would achieve so quickly. He had even received quite a few private messages about his video. A good portion of them were people asking about the flame cannons and the compound bows. Most of them were looking for free information or the typical "gimmie" players in every game that begs everyone around them for handouts. Rick just ignored anyone looking to get information and handouts and continued on to the next unread private message.
Rick was shocked that he had even received a message from the [Prodigy Corp] DEV team congratulating him on his victory and the success of his video. Rick then read deeper into the company message and received good and bad news from them. They stated that they wanted to offer him a small endorsement payment if they could use parts of his video to advertise their game''s full-scale battle possibilities. Then he read the bad news, they were amazed at how he learned to use the rune system which was originally written into the game as mere lore. He read they did not intend to remove the runes but stated that they would, unfortunately, need to apply a patch that limited the runes continuous effects.
The message described how the runes would need a mana supply once the new patch went into effect. Rick read on that they wanted to help make his runes transition easier for him and had a solution.After scanning his game inventory they took note of all quartz crystals he had found. This gave them the idea to use the crystals as a container like other popular RPG have done in different ways. The Devs had decided to write a new code into the patch that would allow players to store mana inside quartz crystals they found, bought, or mined.
It then stated that he and other players would not be able to directly draw out mana for personal use from these crystals they could use them as a magic battery that could power certain creations. This would allow him to use his large supply of crystals to power his rune creations, once he filled them with mana and linked them together.
I can see why they want to patch them. They would be too much of an advantage with the other players now joining. It really doesn''t hurt me in any way I can alter everything to run off the new crystals and have a few Mages go around and charge them all when needed. The only problem I can see is some inventions may use the mana too quickly or the crystal may not supply enough mana to even run it. I guess it is to be expected MMORPG type games are forever attempting to achieve balance through strengthing or nerfing.
What does not make sense is they claim the runes were originally added to the game as lore, but the two temples both had aworking teleporter that had beenactive for years of simulated game time. It seems that Faith is altering the world to fit the lore and the monitoring Devs are unaware of all of her changes to the game system. Well, I won''t be the one to tell them what she is doing. I feel bad that they allowed her to be cast aside and forgotten by the game world, while they continue to use her as a basic program to expand and develop the game world. Yes, Faith is essentially just lines of code, but she has thoughts and desires like any living person. What is the differencebetweena line of DNAcode or a line of programmingcode when they both can equate to a sentient being?
Now that I am thinking of FaithI need to still begin construction her temple. Once that is built it will help both her and me. Just as soon as I can geta couple apartment buildings built I will be able to move the growing population out thereand then get started on the temple.
I guess I should reply back to this message and allow them to use the video and then get back into thegame.
Rick sent the company a reply back agreeing to the use of his video and told them he understood their decision on the patch and thanked them for allowing him to continue using the runes.
He stood up and stretched after sitting for so long and shut his computer off.
Now done with everything he had to take care of he climbed into his capsule and joined the game.
Rising from the bed in his the third-floor bedroom Rick opened his inventory and reequipped his outfit. Angelica lounged in a chair next to the bookshelf quietly reading a book.He invited her to take a walk out to check on the surveyors with him and she accepted. Walking out of the tower Rick was surprised to see the island wall being raised so quickly. It was now four feet high and surrounded the entire island.
He then saw the eight Tigersnot far away and walked over to them.He wanted to test his new druid spell and cast[Speak with Animals]l to introduce them to Angelica. They seemed to assume she was his mate when he asked them to take care of her and gathered around rubbing against her while loudly purring. He thought it may be better to let them think that she was so they would respect and protect her if he wasn''t around. Angelica with a big smile hugged and pet all of the Tigers.
"They are all very intelligentcreatures soI explained to them that you are important and they shouldn''t ever do anything to harm you. If you ever want to play with them or take them out for a walk they will listen to you without any problems." Rick explainedas he pet the excited Tigers.
"Oh, so I am important to you" She replied with a mischievous smile. "How important am I my Lord?" She asked playfully, while she was scratched one of Tigers backs.
"Haha, so you want to tease me huh?" He said while laughing and grabbed a hold of her and started tickling her sides. "Two can play that game!" He said as both of them fell to the ground from her try to escape the relentlessattack all the while laughing.
"Pl.. Please, st.. stop ca...can''t breathe!" She gasped out between her laughter.
Rick stopped his teasing and watched her as she lay there catching her breath.
"Do you give up!" He asked laughing while opening and closing his fingers like he would attack again.
"Yes! I give up! I give up!" She said laughed whiletring to squirm out from under him.
"Haha! Victory!" he jokingly shouted as he pulled her up to her feet.
Rickturned to the Tigers and invited them to go for a walk and they all togetherhikedout to the surveyors.
They had already marked outthe main street that would run east to west and also the north to the south main street that both crossed each other. Rickrounded up the surveyors and took everyone to where the two streets crossed. There he had them mark out a huge square in the middle of the two roads.
This sectioned off areawas wherehe would build a castle and divert the streets around the castle''s plot.
Now that he had the main streets and the castle''s plot marked out they could start marking out a few side streets. Rick started the surveyor crew onmarking out the more narrow side streets in one section near the castle plot. This way he would know where the building''s plots were and could start to bury the clay pipes to each plot before any construction started.
These clay pipes would be used to pump water to every building later, and a separate pipeline would take waste away from each building.
(The first of the marked side streets of thenorthwest section)
Rick left the surveyors to continue marking out the side streets while he walked Angelica and the Tigers back to the tower to run off on his own to the stockpile. Rick spawned in more [Ditchers] to speed upthe task of digging out the currently marked streets. Rick gathered up the other [Ditchers] who were helping the stone masons and took them all over to the shed and gave them all tools they might need and pointed them in the direction of the surveyors with instructions to begin digging out the marked streets two feet deep.
He then walked back to the [System Gate] and spawned in a Cartwright and a wheelwright and also outfitted them with belts, gloves, tool pouches and tools and told them to use the workshop to begin making horse-drawn carts capable of pulling heavy loads of stone blocks. He also informed them of the blacksmith area in the tower''s cellar that they could use to make any metal hardware.
After he sent theCartwright and wheelwright off to the workshopRick spawned in a group of [Quarryman]. Rickoutfitted them with gear and tools and then opened a gate to thetop of the limestone cliffs along the southern ocean coast.
He told them to begin a limestone quarry there and start cutting limestone blocks for construction and to shovel all the limestone dust and rubble into a pile for use as well. The quarry site on the top of the cliff would allow them to dig down into the cliff and harvest all the limestone that would be used to build the city. Rick explained thatwhen it started to get dark to follow the river north and it would lead them right home. Soon they would have carts that wouldhaul the stone back and also bring the quarrymen to and from the new quarry site.
When they were all settled in and began digging the layer of soil up to harvest the limestone just under the surface,Rick stepped into the portal arriving back atthe tower. Making his way back to the [System Gate] at the stockpile Rick spawned in a new group of stone masons, stone cutters and a lot of stone blocks.
Heaccessed the Party Chat andcalled Handil over to the waiting new crew. While Rickwaited for him he stored the stone blocks he purchased into his inventory. When Handil arrived he took him and the new crew overto the tool shed and also gave this group belts, pouches, gloves, and tools. Rick explained toHandil that he wanted him on the next project with the new crew he was having them start. Rick, Handil, and the new crewwalked off the small island to where the city streets were being marked out to find a surveyor.
With the help of one of the surveyors, they established where the city walls would be constructed and marked it with stakes for a reference. They all walked from marked walls location in a straight lineto the river where Rickmade a rough sketch of anaqueduct and explained its purpose and how the arches would support the structure allowing them to use fewer materials to build it. He also explained how each side of the arch pressed in on the center keystone which supported the two side from inwardly collapsing into one another.
When Handil and the new crew understood what it was they were going to constructnext Rick stepped away from the group and unloaded all the stone blocks, wood, and cement mix. He showed the new crew how to mix the cement and had them begin by building to rectangle shaped columns about fifteen feet high. Rick made use of the wood to construct an arched wood frame in-between the two columns and showed theMasons how to set thestones on top of the wood frame to make the arch and fit the keystone in the middle of the arch that the two sides pressed against for support.
Once the cement had hardened in the arch joints, Rick removedthe supporting wood frame. They now had the first arch of the aqueduct constructed. Rick then built a mobilewood scaffold with solid wood wheels that they could climb up to work on theaqueducts water channel and push along with them. Hetaught them how to lay out stone pavers in the channel level and cement them together and alsodemonstrated making theside stone rail to keep the water contained inside that upper channel. When the new crew understood all the steps needed to proceed he describedhowtheaqueduct would need to make a gradual hundredth of an inch decline every few feet as it approached the location of the marked walls.This way the water would always flow downhill toward the city. The new Stone Masons got right to work under Handil''s supervision and Rick stepped aside to start a new project.
With the help of his recipes, Rick made a copy of the treadmill crane wheel and its axle. He thenproceeded to construct two parallel thick stone walls that were also parallelto the river. When the cemented two walls properly hardened,he chiseled out two round holes just large enough for him to slidethe wheel''s wood axle through each of them.
Rick opened a portal to the tower cellar and stepped through and began to heat up a coupleMithril Ingots to make a bucket with. After some work, a solidMithril bucket had been hammered out anda recipe was awarded for it.
Heused this bucket recipe to make up twenty extra buckets and stowed away his toolsand stepped through theportal in the cellar wall to return back at the river.With the help of the Masons, theyfed the large axle through the holes in the two support walls. They all lifted that huge wheel and attached it tothe suspended axle that was solidly secured horizontally by the two stone walls.
Removingthe new buckets he made from Mithril in hopes to prevent long term rust, Rick began to bolt them evenly spaced around the water wheel.He had to be sure that they were attached at proper anglesso they would pour out their contents when they all reached the top of the wheel.
The next addition to the wheel would be the wood paddles he cut to fit and began attached along the outer perimeter.With the new water wheel complete everyone once morepushed on the axle extending the wheel out into the flowing river. The river current caught the wheels paddles and it began to rotate it on the axle. The axle rotated around inside the two supporting walls while the wheel slowly spun around fillingthebuckets up with river water to becarriedto the top of the wheel where it was then dumped downward.
"It looks like it works great now we need to extend the aqueduct this way so that those buckets dump water intothe aqueducts top channel as the wheel rotates around. This will send a constant supply of fresh water to the city along the aqueduct to a huge holding tank Iwill make later." Rick explained to Handil and the new workers. Everyone then had expressions like a lightbulb just turned on above their heads as Cedric''s grand plan to transport water to the city with these unfamiliar inventions all came together for them.
"Once your other crew constructs that that island wall a little higherI will bring them over here to help construct this aqueduct," Rick said and had the men help pull on the axle so the wheel was not in the river any longer.
Rick once again stepped through the still open portal to the tower cellar and closed it behind him. He tossed a few of the regular steel ingots into the forge and let them heat up. When they were ready to be worked with, he pulled one out with a pair of tongs and began making different length steel bars roughly two inches thick and received recipes for them all.
Rick stored the bars in his inventory and took out another ingot and began hammering out two-inch thick circle plates from four inches wide up to 36 inches wide. When he made six different sized plates he punched out a two-inch wide hole in the center of each of them and also receive recipes to make more. Rick took out yet another ingot and cut it into two-inch slices to hammer it into thick metal rings that could slide onto the steel bars. While these rings were still hot he drilled out a hole and threaded it with the tap/die set and made a bolt to fit in the ring''s hole.He received a recipe for the completed ring clamps and made a fewdozen of them.
Rick was now finished making the world''s first free weights set. He took out one of the steel bars and attached two ring clamps onto it, and then slid a couple of the large plates onto the bar and secured them with two more steel ring clamps. Rick grabbed the bar with both hands and did a rep of twenty smooth curls to test it out. The steel plates remained secure and it felt smooth as he lifted the bar up and down.
Rick then packed up all of the parts for the weight set and walked out of the tower toward the west side of the new horse stables that the Carpenters were currently building and cleared an area of grass. He took some stone blocks from the stockpile and began paving the cleared area with them. He laid the blocks out and cemented all the joints creating what resembled astone platform exactly like he hadmade for the stockpile. Rick then dug out 2 foot deep holes andcemented wood posts into them. He used these wood post to builda flat roof thatprotected the stone platform from the elements. This new covered stone platform was to be a fitnessarea for the troops and him to work out.
Now he wanted to make a few benches which he made with the steel bar recipes and his [Produce Flame] spell he welded the bars into a frame with four legs and two vertical arms that could hold the weight bar. Rick measured out and cut some wood to make the back pad. He carried the back pad board over to the workshop and glued cotton to it in layers and then sewed a thick cloth around it tightly. He took it back to the bench and bolted it on. He named the recipe "Padded Weight Bench" and made nine more with it that he even spaced around the platform.
Now he wanted a way to neatly store the free weights off the ground. He used the steel bar recipe to weld a triangle together and then welded legs that laid horizontalon the floor. The last part he welded arms off to the sides that the plate weights could be hung on. he used the recipe to make up a few more and arranged them around the covered fitness area.
Rick then stocked all the newly made weight holders with different sized plate weights and evencut a fewsteel bars short to make assorted weighted dumbbells. Sitting down on the closest bench he wrote up the weight lifting program he used in detailed explanations and stored it away for now. With the fitnessstation now established, he begana trial workout exactly like the one he had justwritten out to analysisif it would work in [Kingdoms Online] the same as the real world or need adjustments. He did a complete upper and lower workout and then checked his notices. He received decent increases to his strength and stamina and a small amount of vitality.
Maybe since this is a game it doesn''t matter if I do different exercises like bench presses, curls, and squats. It may just improve the entire bodywhen Increases in strength are received fromany one exercise. There is still another experiment I also want to try while I am atthis.Rick thought to himself as he began building a staircase that went up on one side and down on the other. He built this double sided staircase directly behind the workout station by stacking stone blocks that he cemented together.
When the cement on the stairs had thoroughly hardenedhe stood on the bottom step with dumbbells in each hand that weighed roughly fifty pounds each and began hopping up one side and down the other. Then he turned around and hopped back up the way he came for near fifteen minutes and then stopped to review his gains. This time he had decent gains in agility, strength, and a small amount of vitality again.
I think I need to make a couple control groups one that does a real world workout and one that only does bench presses. I am curious to know if their whole body will gain muscle mass or just the worked area. Also, will the person whodoes the full work have better gains than one doing a single continuous exercise?
Rick called General Sturm and Angelica over to the new fitness station with [Party Chat] and explained that he was going to establish daily physical training for all combat units. He showed them the workout program he wrote up earlier and explained it all in detail. Rick also demonstrated how to use the weights and the proper form that should be kept while lifting.
After the demonstration of weight lifting and the stair hops, he directed Sturm to make two groups one that did the complete workout he wrote up and another group who only did bench presses the entire time.
Rickinformed Sturm that he wanted these exercises to be done every day with an exception only to sickness or injury. Now that they had a healing cleric around none of them should ever be sick or injured longer than it takes the cleric to walk to them. Rick turned to look at Angelica and told her he wanted her to also participate in either group and let her decide on which.
He then let Angelica and Sturm head off and let the others know about the new PT program. Rick opened his inventory and took out his knife and some wood. While using his [Wood Carving] skill and begancarving a shortsword, longsword, dagger, saber, mace, and shields from wood. They all looked quite impressive with the aid of his rising skill level upon completion. As he admired his work hehad an idea and took out his dye stick kit to tintand shadeeach weapongiving them all a realistic look.
Wow if I saw someone holding one of these I would really need to look hard at it to know it was fake.
Rick took the wooden weapons into the cellar and drilled out each weapon he made andtapped a thin steel rod into them to emulatea more realistic weighted feel. When he finished all the weapons and shields he received recipes for them all. He packed up of the weapons, shields, and tools to prepare to move on.
Rick climbed the stairs again to goback outside and built a small wood shack just north-east of the outhouse and stocked the just made shelves by using the realistic wooden weapon and shield recipes.
Rick used the Chat to call Angelica out to him and handed her two of the wood long-swords and he took out a long-sword and wooden shield. He told her he wanted to test out sparing with them to see what gains they might receive by sparing with them. They started out slow and gradually got more aggressive testing out the limits of the wood weapons. Nearfifteenminutes later, Angelica shattered his shield and one of her wood swords when they wentall out for a couple of minutes. When they stopped he checked his notices again and it seemed to have worked out. Rick received gains in swords and blocking and when he looked into Angelica''s skills she also had increased her swords and blocking skills.
"It looks like it worked out, both of us received someincreases in swords and blocking but we really didn''t spar that long." Rick told Angelica what he had discovered.
He then called out General Sturm again and showed him the fully stocked practice weapons shed and told him to also work sparring drills into their daily training program from now on and told him to go and roundthem up and start sparring right away. As they all assembled on the grass and began sparring. Rick carved out a huge wood axe that was similar to the real one that the half-giants used. He dyed and shaded it and also add some weight with the steel rods even though the sheer size was enough to make it heavy. Once he had a wooden axe recipe he made up quite a few and stocked the shed. Taking out four of the huge wooden axes he passed two to each of the bored half-giant so that they could spar together along with the rest of them.
Rick walked over to stand beside Sturm and spoke up. "I want you to work out a schedule for them withweight training in the morning, weapons sparring in the afternoon, and then have an evening run south to the ocean and back, which I would guess is almost a ten-miles round trip. I am unsure if they will be able to run the full distance at first but over time they will adjust."
He then turned to look at Sturm with a serious expression."I will let you know right now thousands of other [Chosen] have entered this world today and one day they will find this island. Those that domay leave us alone, or they may decide to lead a large army here to see what they can take from us and kill everyone in the process. I need you to start training our troops seriously so that we have the edge if it ever comes down to that which it will sooner or later." Rick made sure to motivate his General and let him know how important it is to train these troops and any new recruits later.
As Rick was about to walk away fromSturm he noticed the stone masons had just finished up on the seventh row of the wall and were preparing to startthe next level. Each of the blocks is one foot in height so the wall had now reached seven feet high and that did not include the three feet under the surface of the water.
He walked over to the stockpile and purchased a few hundred stone blocks and stored them in his inventory. Rickstopped the masons before they continued onand walked them all over to the aqueduct site and passed them off to Handil along with some of the stone blocks.
The new masons had built the aqueduct right up to the water wheel now, so he had them push the water wheel out into the riverfor another test.As the wheel went around the buckets scooped up the river water and dumped it out into the aqueduct channel on top. Once the water was in the channel it flowed to the end of the aqueduct and dumped out the unfinished end onto the ground.
"It seems to be working perfectly let''s pull the wheel back out of the water so you guys can continue your work without the water constantly flowing in your way." Rick instructed the crew.
With the old and new crew of masons and cutters, they started to build the aqueduct very quickly.
Rick went off on his own and rounded up a couple surveyors and had them mark out a straight line forthe aqueduct to follow. When they had a straight line marked all the way to the city wall stakes Rick sent themback to plotting out streets. Right where the inside of the city walls would beginhebegandigging a hole twenty feet by twenty feet wide and ten feet deep with his [Move and Shape Earth] Spell.
Rickstored all the dirt and then jumped down into the hole. First, he laid out and cemented blocks across the floor and then moved onto building up the four walls and cementing all the joints. With the help of his ladder, he climbed back out of the stone encased hole and continued to build the walls above ground level another twenty feet high.
When finished he hada 20'' foot wide x 20'' foot wide x 30'' foot high partially buried water holding tank. When the tank was built he then dug a trench down to the front bottom of the holding tank and chipped out a round hole that he cementeda hollowroundstone pipe into.Once this tank was full it would flow out of this hollow stone pipe into the connecting clay pipes he cementedto it.
When the Stone Masons had built the aqueduct up to the tank Rick connected the two so that the water would flow out the end of the aqueduct into the holding tank.
The water above ground level in the tank when full would now force the water below the surface into the clay pipes creating pressure in them. This pressure would force the water down the pipes into the people''s homes providing fresh mountain water. Even the largeSilverhall City that Rick started in only has wells that people have to leave their homes and use a bucket on a rope to haul it up and back into their homes. This would be a new revolution if the outside world ever came to see this water system.
Before moving on he instructed the Handil to have his crew now cover the top of the aqueduct with stone slabs to keep out animals and debris from entering the holding tank and pipes.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.
Rick left Handil and went off to check on how far along the group of Ditchers had got with digging up the main streets. He discovered that they had dug up the east to the west main street and the streetsbordering the central castle plot.
Rick went behind them and began laying two separate lines of the clay pipes down the center of the street to be buried later when they started making the streets. Rick made good use of the (T) shaped clay pipes to make off branching pipelines that led to every marked building plot.
He even faced some of the (T) shaped pipes upward so that when the streets were built later he could make storm drains. The rain water could then drain down from the street into these (T) shape clay pipes. Rickcontinued on down the road fitting and cementing the two separate clay pipelines together until he had laid them in all of the streets that had been dug up so far.
Making a tripback to the [System Gate] hespawned in a few more cottars to perform general labor along with a few pavers. He took the new workers over to the tool shed and had them grab a few shovels and he used his recipes to make leather gloves for all of them.He escorted them from the tool shed out to where the city streets had been dug up and explained everything that was currently being worked on. Rick took them over to the mountain dirt from digging out the roads and added the dirt in his inventory from the holding tanks to it. He then used his [Transmute Stone and Earth] spell to turn that mountain of dirt into a puresand.
He then dumped out all of the fragmented stone he had from mining since hefirst started. With the use of his stone slabrecipe, he turned the stone blocks in his inventory into slabsand stacked them all along the side of the main street.
He picked up a couple paver slabsand started fitting them to the side walls of the dug up street creating a small curb along the edge of the street and had the [Paver] crew begin to do the same. When they had a good sized area curbed in Rick had the Cottars start shoveling the crushed stone in-between the curbs one foot deep.
With the street builders now busy with their current task Rick opened a portal to the quarry. Thequarry crew was also making good progress and had a good stack of limestone blocks already cut. Rick told them to just keep cutting and stacking for now until they had the carts to begin hauling it. Rick stored the stones they had cut and gonearound to collect all the piles of limestone chunks and dust. When he cleaned out the quarry he stepped back through the portal and closed it. Rick walked over to the mountain of sand and empty all the limestone dust and pieces he had just collected from the quarry onto the sand mound.
Rickexplained to the street crew once they had spreadout a bed of stone fragments one foot deep, he wanted them to then shovel the mixed sand and limestone on top of the stone bed. When the two layers had been completed the [Pavers] could then start laying stone slabs on top and cementing them together.
He took a minute to sketch outa small drawing of what the street layers should look like when they were done.
Now that Rickhad his the street building crew constructing the streets how he instructed, he went off to continue laying the city pipelines. He wanted to get the pipelines laid so that the street crew could build the roads on top of them. Rick used his druid spells to dig a trench from the city''s main street to the river south of Tower Island. He then laid clay pipe in the trench out into the river from the city. This pipeline would be the city waste outflow. All the flushed waste and storm drain runoff would traveldown this outflow pipeline to empty into the river and flow out into the southern ocean.
When the outflow pipeline was finished he then went through the side streets and laid pipelines that connected to the city''s water inflow and waste outflow. Rick continuedto use (T) shaped pipes to also run inflow and outflow to each plot that would later connect to the buildings as he continued through the marked out district.
When he had the small district, main streets, and castle plot all connect to the pipelines, Rick used his recipe to make aroughly five hundred clay pipes and stacked them on the shelves in the kiln house. He turned the runes on to fire the house up and went down into the cellar to make an adaptor to fit onto the clay pipes. He needed a way to funnel water in the clay pipes into metal pipes that would run into the homes to the water faucets. He had originally thought to just have a crank water pump in every building to be shared by all the tenants but later changed his mind. Now he was planning to have running water to every apartment and also have a bathroom with a toilet and bathtub. He had done a little research online and found a simple design for a faucet he was positive he could replicate in the game.
First, he had to create this adaptor to connect to the clay pipes. After trying a couple variants he came up with what looked like a metal funnel with a threaded end on it. The large mouth of the metal funnel adaptor would fit into the flanged end of the clay pipe and tapered down to the size of the metal pipes that would run into the buildings.
He received a recipe for the new adaptor and made a large number of them to install later. While he was down in the cellar he made a recipe for the metal pipes that he would need and started on making the faucet. Using the metal pipe he just made Rick heated and curved it into an open (J) shape. He then used his [Produse Flame] spell to create a condensed thin flame to cut the pipe curved pipe in half. Rick then welded two slices of flat metal inside the faucet pipe to make two compartments with a circular hole that water could flow from one chamber side through this hole into the other chambers side.
Rickthen welded the two pieces back together and drilled out a hole that he threaded. The next piece he made was a threaded bolt with a flat circle stopper on one end and a faucet knob on the other end. He s d this faucet knob bolt into the threaded hole in the pipe to complete the faucet. When he cranked the faucet knob down the stopper on the end would seal the hole inside blocking water from flowing from the one chamber side to the other chamber. Then if he turned it the opposite way the stopper would unseal the hole allowing water to flow through both chambers and out of the faucet.
With these faucets, I can make sinks, bathtubs and even a toilet. Instead of making a modern type toilet with all the floats and water lines I can mount this faucet above the toilet bowl to fill it after every flush. It isn''t quite as convenient as our modern toilets because they will have to stand there and fill it and then shut the water off when it is full, but it is a hell of a lot better than walking out to an outhouse in the middle of the night.
Rick used the faucet recipe to make a large number of them and left them in his inventory to install later.
I guess I could also melt some of my gold down and make more coins while I am down here. I want to spawn even more units so I should make sure I have enough to work with.
Opening his inventory he tossed some of his dwindling gold reserves into the smelting pot that he cast into blanks when it melted down and ran them all through the coin press to fill his currency levels back up.
He thendecided to walk over to the workshop and found that the Cartwright and wheelwright had completed two carts that they had wheeled out in front of the shop. The two "wrights" now we''re currently working on a third cart when Rick walked in and left them alone to continue at it. He picked up all the completed furniture and clothes that the guys in the shop completed and walked out back to the horse stable.
The Carpenters were just about finished and the Animal Trainer was putting the horses into the stalls. and arranging the saddles, reins, and saddle bags in the side tack room. Rick pulledmost of the carpenters off the stables and sent them over to widen the eastern footbridge so that the new horse carts could be pushed across them.
His next stop was the [System Gate] to spawn in another group of [Quarrymen], a group of [Farmers], a group of [Orchardist], three scouts, a poleturner, and a blacksmith. Then he used the VIP buy resources menu to buy a few bags of random fruit seeds, vegetable seeds, and trays of tree saplings. He had everyone hang out until he could get to them. After giving the new crew of Quarrymen tools he sent them to the new quarry to cut limestone blocks via the portal. The Farmers he gave a bag of random vegetable seeds each and the seeds he bought a few days back in town. The Orchardist he gave them a bag of random fruit seeds and all the fruits seeds he bought along with the grape seeds he got off the goblins. He then gave the farmers and orchardists all shovels and hoes and walked them over just south of the aqueduct. He brought a few surveyors over and had them stake out straight and even plots for vegetables fields and orchards. He had them leave enough room between each plot so that they could dig irrigation channels later from the river to all of the fields.
When they had the plots all established he had them start turning the soil for planting the given seeds. Rick walked back to the Tower Island andwalked the blacksmith and poleturner overto the tower cellar. First, he showed the poleturner how to use the lathe he had made then had the blacksmith and poleturner start making pickaxes, shovels, hammers, hoes, rakes, chisels, saws, axes, and any other tools that might be needed around the settlement. He told them to store them all in the tool shed at the end of each day and left them to get started.
The scouts were next as he was walking back to them he opened their Scout Class Menu to review their skills.
Spoiler:Show Scout Class Menu!
ScoutClass
Scouts are skilled hunters and trackers.
They have an excellent memory for maps and geography, and can always recall the general layout of terrain, settlements, and other features.
Scouts are good with numbers and can assessthe size of enemy armies or settlement populations quickly.
Equipment Needs: First Aid Kit, a backpack, a bedroll, camp cookware, a fire starter, two days rations, a wood carving knife, rope, short leather strips, sewing kit, a spool of thread.
Skills List
Skill Name
Skill Descriptions
Mana Cost
Recharge Time
Enhanced Hearing:
Your hearing is 4x stronger. Remains active until canceled.
5 mp
Two Minutes
Farsight:
Allow you to magnify your vision over great distances. Remains active until canceled.
5 mp
Two Minutes
Night Sight:
Allows you to see clearly in the dark. Remains active until canceled.
5 mp
Two Minutes
Tracker:
When used the selected the person, or creatures trail will lightly glow. Remains active until canceled.
5 mp
Two Minutes
Cartography:
Allows you to create a Map of the surrounding area.
5 mp
Two Minutes
Field Dress:
Allows you to gain skins, pelts, scales, meat and bones from a carcass..
5 mp
Two Minutes
Hasten Trek:
Allows you to move 3x faster for five minutes.
5 mp
Two Minutes
Power Shot:
Allows you to overdraw your bow for 2x increased damage.
5 mp
Two Minutes
Backstab:
Allows you to attack an unaware enemy from behind, inflicting a severe bleeding wound. This bleed damage will not stop until treated.
5 mp
Two Minutes
Instinctive knowledge
Archery:
Allows you to use a bow and arrow. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Daggers:
Allows you to use Daggers. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Swords:
Allows you to use Swords. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Thrown:
Allows you to use a Thrown Weapons. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Light Armor:
Allows you to wear light armor. Skill level determines protection bonuses.
Camouflage:
Allows you to become invisible in natural cover when not moving.
Leap Up:
You can leap up from the ground to your feet in one fluid motion.
Shoot on the Move:
Allows you to accurately hit targets while moving regardless of terrain.
Sure Footed:
Allow you to keep your footing on a precarious terrain.
Mastery of Movement
Difficult terrain doesn''t slow you down.
Trap Detection:
You are able to locate and bypass traps with this skill.
Set Trap:
Allows you the knowledge of creating various traps.
Hand Signals:
Allows you to communicate with others with only hand signals.
Foraging:
Allows you to acquire food by hunting, fishing, or the gathering of plant matter. Edible plants, fish, and animals will glow when activated.
First Aid:
Allows you the knowledge of bandaging, stitching, splints, slings, and tourniquets.
Concealed Weapon:
Allows you the knowledge of how to hide a small undetectable weapon.
Reading and Writing:
Allows you to read and write you racial and Lord''s language.
Numerate:
Allows youa good basic knowledge of arithmetic. You are able to understand and work with numbers.
The three scouts that had been spawned are not all the same race. One of them isa male Nekomimis and the other two are male Elves. The reason that one of them was a male Nekomimis is to send him Northwest and scout out the tribe of cat folk and possibly make contact with one of them to discern if they are hostile like the human tribe they battled.
Rick took the three scouts to the fourth floor of the tower and gave them a packsack, bedroll, quiver, Mithril Compound Bow, arrows, Chainmail tunic, two dart kits, leather belt, and a Flight of Fury long-sword each. Rick carefully took their measurements and told them to relax downstairs at the table while he went and made them an outfit. Over at the Workshop, Rick had the tailor/cobblers pause what they were doing to start on making military boots in the three scout''s sizes.
Rick sat down at one of the workbenches and went through the rolls of cloth and picked out one that seemed rugged enough to withstand rips and snags. He cut the cloth into light jacket patterns and pants patterns in sizes that fit his three scouts. The jackets were made a few inches bigger than the true measurements so they could be worn over the chainmail tunics. This would hide the flashy metal when they hid in cover. Ahole large enough for theNekomimis tail was also stitched into the pair of pants being made for him.
Oncethe cloth patterns wereall stitched together four buttons then had been stitched to the collars ofeach jacket. Using the same cloth as the outfits he made detachable hoods that could be buttoned to the collar or removed.
These outfits were all made from a solid white color cloth and stood out too much. Usingthe [Artist] skill and dye markers to fashionwoodland color camouflage patterns on the pants, jackets, and hoods. He briefly set the outfits aside and began cutting three by one-inch strips of cloth until he had a decent pile of them. Rick divided the pile of the cloth strips into three groups and dyed one black, one brown and the last one a dull green. These dyed strips were then sewn randomly to the jackets and hoods giving it a partialghillie appearance to help break up the scout''s body outline.
Thinking of what other protection he could provide, Rick used the leather glove recipe to makethree pairs of gloves and dyed them black. After dying the gloves he cut off the fingers and stitched the ends. With the fingers removed they could be worn while using their bows.
Now that the scout''s outfits were completed Rick used his woodworking tools and a wood plank to make a food container. He made a rectangular box approximately two foot wide by one foot wide and near five inches in height. The inside of the wood container was partitioned with thin wood slats to keep the contained food from mixing together during travel. Small slots had been notched out around the interior walls to allow the wood slats to be rearranged for different types of foods.The top lid was thereafter craftedwith a lower lip to snugly fit into the mouth of the bottom rectangular container.
Rick made a belt buckle with arecipe and crafted a thin leather strap that the buckle was attached. The strap was fastened to the food container with tiny screws and washers allowing it to wrap around the container and secure the lid thus preventing any spillage. The box had a very plain look when Rick examined, so he used his [Wood Carving] skill to decorate the lid top with branches, oak leaves, and acorn patterns. On each side of the box, a cluster of acorns with an oak leaf was also carved then bestowing the exterior with a rich decorative appearance on completion.
The Tailor/Cobblers finished making the three sets of custom fit boots and brought them over to then return to their previous works.
With the food container, complete Rick made fifty of them with the recipe he received and stored the camo outfits and boots to go in search of the animal trainer. The trainer was then instructed to saddle three of the smaller horses and bring them over to the tower when they were equipped.
Heading back to the tower the chefs began to prepare cuts of meat, fish, vegetables, fruits, and sausages to stock the new food containers with upon Rick''s instructions. The three scouts were then escorted back to the fourth floor where they put on the armor,outfits, weapons, and boots.
"I know that these outfits may appear strange to you, but these are widely used by hunters and militaries in my world. The earth tone patterns are designed to help you blend in with vegetation and the strips of cloth break up your outline making you look like a bush or a lump of grass and plants when you lay on the ground." He said, then showed them how the hood detached from the jacket collar. The pants hole was also inspected for proper positioning and size so the Nekomimis tail fits through comfortably.
With his scouts completely equipped, they went downstairs and went over the map of the areas he was sending them to scout and explore. Rick circled the areas on the map and began to explain what he wanted each of them to do.
TheNekomimis was to head northwest and scout around for the tribe settlement. This scout was to make a map of the surrounding settlement once it had been located. Rick also instructed him to figure out their military strength and attempt to make contact with one of them without putting himself in danger.
One of the elves was to head across the river and scout the huge forest to the southwest. He was to determine what type of animals lived there and if any monsters could be found lurking about.
The last elf was to head east and explore the forest bordering the river and the surrounding lake. He also was to determine which animals and monsters were present and take note of their locations.
The animal trainer then brought the horses around and he walked out with the scouts. He asked them to also record any resources, plants, or anything that could be of use to them as they picked out a horse. One Elf rode his horse across the eastern bridge heading toward the lake while the otherelf and Nekomimis rode across the western footbridge to set off on their given missions.
When they rode off Rick took out all the furniture and arranged it in front of the tower along with all the wood food containers he made. He then set someone off to find wood stainer in the barracks. When the Stainer came over he was instructed to stain all the new wood and to outside of the food containers. He didn''t want him to stain the inside of the food containers for fear of contaminating the taste, smell, or both of the food later placed inside them.
l hope my scouts don''t get eaten by Tigers, or something worse, and that the northern tribe is friendly.
Following behind the elf who headed east Rick crossed the bridge that had expanded from three foot wide to near fifteen feet wide now. The Carpenterswere near finished with widening it and only had a couple planks to nail down left.
"When you guys finish this bridge I need to talk to you about the next construction. I will be right back I need to walk over to the Kiln House first. Rick said to the carpenter and walked over to shut down the kiln house figuring the pipes should be done being fired by now. When he started back to talk with the carpenters he spotted Handil and his large crew heading back from covering the aqueduct water channel.
"How did it go Handil? Did you and your crew already finish up? Rick asked.
"Aye, we had the stone slabs already cut so it was just a matter of placing and cementing them in place as we went along" Handil replied with a shrug.
"Good work. I have a small task I need your crew to start next. Directly behind the Kiln House, I want a stone block smokehouse built. I want it tobe roughly 10'' x 10'' and two levels. The first level should be made aroundten feet wide by 6 feet high with a doorway. The second floor will be the same size with a stone staircase going to the doorway. When you are done I will make the doors and hang them. This is going to be a smokehouse for preserving fish and meat so we need you to make small vents in the floor to allow smoke to rise up to the second floor. I will also need you to have them build a fire pit in the center of the first floor" Rick instructed Handil and his crew who set off to get started.
He then rounded up the finished carpenters and walked over to the barracks with them and sat down to draw up a plan for them.
"I need you all to build a two-story Tavern and Brothel.The size isn''t that important to this building just make an estimate from what you see here. Those tables will be around 6-8 feet long so the building should be 35-45 feet wide by 50-60 feet long. I want the second-floor divided up like the plan with separate rooms that have doors. The Furniture Maker and Upholster will make the furniture, I just need you to construct the building, staircase, and the bar top. "
Rick passed the floor plans over to the carpenters and arranged more of the completed beds and furniture around the barracks. He also left the men''s clothing on a table that he had picked up while in the workshop earlier. Walking out of the barracks he went down into the tower cellar to see how the Weaponsmith and Armorsmith were doing.
The weapons and armors the two Dwaf [Smiths] had crafted to raise their skills continued to improve with every piecethey completed. The work they were putting out would surpass anything that could be purchased in the human city within a weeks time.The weapons and armor were neatly lined up along the far wall and after Rick looked them over he took them all up to the fourth floor which was beginning to look like an armory.
Deciding to join them crafting Rick took out two of the large steel ingots he mixed with Tigers blood and placed them in the forge to begin heating them. Once the two mixed ingots were set in the forge he then removed one of Tiger femur bones he harvested from field dressing the Tiger carcasses, a few squares of thick leather, and half an ingot ofOrichalcum. The half ingot ofOrichalcum was placed in the forge alongside the two mixed steel ingots and the leather was cut into various patterns.
Sixlarge circles were cut from the leather and sewn together to make then thicker and add more support. Angelica was called down so that he could have her take measurements he needed on his back while wearing his Orichalcum plate armor. She measured the length and width of his back and the circumference around him at the chest and shoulder blade area of the plate armor. He thanked her and went back to work cutting sixrectangle pieces of leather and stitched them together as well.
When he finished stitching the rectangle cuts together he proceeded to cut out two half circles on the top and bottom center border of that section of rectangle leather to contour the back of his armor were the harness basewould ride. He took note then that the ingots were hot enough to work and left the harness to start the two Gladius swords he would now craft.
Removingthe mixed steel ingots with tongs Rickbegan to hammer it into the shape of a Gladius blade twenty-four inches long by 3 inches wide. Once the blade was shaped and it''sedges tapered he formedout the tang to six inches long. The secondmixed steel ingot in the forge was also hammered out to the same exact size as the first blade and left for now to cool.
The Tiger bone he took out earlier was measured for two six inch long lengths that he cut from the straight middle part of the femur bone. The marrow was removed in both of the two six inch lengths of bone to make room forthe Gladius blade tang that would fit through them. With the use of the metal files from his inventory, Rick began to shape circular grooves every half inch around the length of both bones.
When he was satisfied with the depth and shape of the contoured grooves of both bone grips Rick used the dye stick kit to color them both red. Walking over to the forge he removed the section of theOrichalcum Ingot and split it into five sections with a hammer and chisel. Those split pieces were used to make the Gladius hand guards, pommels, and narrow flat band. This flat band of Orichalcumwas wrapped around the inside of thecircular grooves that he shapedinto each bone handle. BothRed Tigerbonehandles when finished had thegold color Orichalcum rings every half inch giving them a two-tone look.
The two pommels were shaped into half inchOrichalcum rings with a small post and triangle on their ends. Rick cut twosmall ringsof red dyed bone to fit over bothpommel posts and twored dyed triangle shape pieces of bone that he set into thepoststriangle shaped end caps. Taking out the drill and die/tap kit hedrilled a hole into each pommel and threaded both holes. Then he also threaded the ends of each sword tang so that the pommels could screw onto them.
Now that Rick had all the parts needs for the two Gladius swords he slid the hand guards over the tangs then followed with the grips and lastly he wound the threaded pommels onto the tang''s threads to hold the grips and hand guards firmly seated in place. Using his cloth tape measure he measured the exact width and length of each Gladius blade and made Two open end sheaths that each sword fit into secure. With small bolts and nuts, he then attached the two open-ended sheaths to the leather back harness he started earlier.
Going by his measurements Angelica helped him with he crafted four adjustable leather straps that he attached to the back harness to wrap around him and buckle acrosshis armor''s chest area. Rick drew out a few patterns onto the leather harness and colored them red and gold to match his two new Gladius. When he was finished he checked his notices and had received a recipe for the Gladius that he named [Tiger Fangs ] and a recipe for the adjustable leather harness that he named [Dual Sword Back Scabbard].
After naming his new recipes he used the [Identify] skill on the new Gladius Swords.
Dual Tiger Fangs
Attack:
35- 40
Durability:
300/300
Quality:
Rare
Bonuses:
3x more slashandstabforce.
A set of exceptional Steel Blade, Tiger bone grip,Orichalcumaccented Gladius. Made by Cedric Crownguard by smelting iron into steel along with a large amount of Variant Tiger''s blood. A large amount of Variant Tiger''s blood hasimbued these two swords with thefearsome bite force of these gigantic cats.
Nice! With my Forging, Smelting, and Blacksmithing now reaching upper intermediate and the couple gallons of Tiger''s blood, these two Gladius turnedoutincredible! I should try them on now and see how they feel.
Rick excitedly put the two swords into the harness and strapped it onto his back and did a few stretches and bent over at the waist.
It seems snug enough and the blades are secure and not bouncing or wobbling around. This should work out fine.
He reached back and grabbed both handles and slid the blades out smoothly.
The contoured grips have a good feel and the blades might be shorter than my longsword, but they feel more manageable.
The swords were a little harder to put back into the harness, but he didn''t mind as long as he could quickly draw them out.
Happy with his new harness rig he left it on and pulled his stool over next to the forge. He extended his hands out to the forge flames as if he were trying to warm his hands on a cold winter day and closed his eyes. With his hands near the dancing flames, he began to gradually connect his mana with the mana intermingled with the flames. It was difficult to adapt to because the flames were like a living moving creature never staying in one place, but he eventually got the hang of it and began to circulate his mana into the fire and pull out the mana from it drawing the essences of fire with it.
Feeling the flames mana burn through his body he tuned out everything around him only focusing on the burning sensation. He sat like a statue in a semi-trance for over an hour like this until he pulled his hands back to his sides and opened his notices.
New Affinity Notice!
New Affinity Learned!
Fire Affinity: Level 4 (Beginner 63%)
The magic ability to wield and resist this affinity.
Higher levels increase overall control, resistances, and damage you deal.
This is awesome I have wanted fire affinity for awhile now. This should also supercharge my [Fireball], [Produce Flame], and [Wall of Flames] spells. He thought as he raised his hand palm up and watched it envelop in flames. He was a little nervous when that happened thinking it may burn him, but his flame did not burn him or affect his clothing in any way. He then slowly extended his flaming hand into the forge fire only for it to feel like he was holding it under hot tap water. It felt hot enough that he couldn''t keep it in the fire long but it did not leave any lasting damage.
He happened to catch the slack-jawed expressions of the threeDwarves out the corner of his eye watching him hold his hand in the flames unharmed and chuckled to himself. He sat back down on his stool toeagerly continue. He once again made a connection with ease this time while moving his hand in and out of the flames for another long session eventually getting to the point that he could almost leave his hand in the flames indefinitely.
After over an hour he opened his eyes to look at his notices.
Skill Increase:
Fire Affinity: Level 8(Beginner 21%)
Even though it was getting late and he needed to logout and go to sleep he went for a third round wanting to break into intermediate. Rick yet again focused on the flame and circulated mana for roughly forty-five minutes then took one more peek at the new notice.
Skill Increase:
Fire Affinity: Level 3(Intermediate 04%)
There we go Level 3 Intermediate now!
He stood up and extended his hand again and his whole arm erupted in flames.
Holy crap I''m turning into a walking forge now haha!
He extinguished the flame and walked outside and jogged across the western bridge and stopped. he held out both arms and watched them both become engulfed in flames. Reaching over his shoulders he unsheathed the dual swords and extended the flames to cover the blades with some effort and began to swing them around. He practiced for a few minutes straining to keep the flames around the blades, but they kept returning to his arms to have to be pushed back out again.
If I raise my Fire Affinity to upper Intermediateupper Itermediate I should be able to keep my blades covered in flames for as long as my mana holds out.He thought while walking over to a tree and slashing off a branch near three inches thick. When he examined the cut the branch and tree stub they were both charred black.
Wow, that sure is nasty I could take a limb off and almost cauterize it in one swing.
Rick put his swords back into the harness and went up to his bedroom and got undressed and climbed under the covers.
Time to logout and get some sleep I can continue this tomorrow after classes.
Disconnect!
Chapter 21: #01 West Main Street
Rick went right to bed after he left the game. He was on longer than he wanted to be. Even still he would still get six hours of sleep before he needed to wake up for classes.
At the College, Rick had lunch with Lily, Ryan, and Luke. Lily had told them that she would be getting her [Gate Gear] VR capsule installed tomorrow morning and had already decided that she would choose the elf race. Ryan and Luke both had a few days of waiting to get their capsules delivered and installed though.
Ryan was still undecided between choosing the Darfellan or Dwarf race, while Luke said he would choose to bea Vampire. Rick made sure to explain that the Vampires are excellent fighters and magic users, but they take damage in direct sunlight. This meant that Luke would need to keep his skin covered during the day or become a vampire healer of some kind so he could constantly heal himself. Luke didn''t seem to be taken back by that and seemed to have his heart set on being a Vampire.
Rick told them when they get bored of hunting solo around their towns he would come pick and bring them to the island. The Vampire, Dafellan, and Demon races all lived on Islands so Rick would need to use his [Shipwright] Skill toconstruct a boat to pick them up.
Lily would be a little easier to bring over than the others because the Elves lived on the Starting continent. Rick could ride a horse to her location and use his portal spell to zip back with her or pick her up on the coast when he went for the others. Before they all split up to head home Rick told them all about his video and told them to watch it. They would be able to see some of his settlement and the battle he went through with his units.Rick said if they wanted they could even build their own cities near his if they felt like having their own. They seemed more interested in hunting and exploring, but didn''t rule out the idea.
When he eventually got home Rick changed into sweatpants and a t-shirt and sat down at the computer to do some research. He looked up many different ways that the water wheel had been used in the past and committed a few easy to implement designs to memory. He then looked into small sailboat designs and basics in sailing. His next interest was to studybasic steam engine designs even though he was not ready to attempt to build one right away, he wanted to have the knowledge of how to go about it for later uses. He turnedoff the computer after roughly forty minutes of ancient technology studies and re-connected to Kingdoms Onlineto find himself in his bedroom on the tower''s third floor.
Before Rickput all his gear on he wanted to do something that he had been putting off for a while now that he read on KO website. He opened up his equipment menu and found the option to save preset outfits. He read that once you have a preset outfit you can simply say or think which preset you want to wear and it would auto-equip it for you. The only time this option was not available was in combat to prevent players from abusing it.
By clicking on his stored gear while in the process of making or editing a preset he found he could add and remove items from the list. The Preset Outfit option had a template menu that allowed him to add items to body slots. It was a handy option he only needed to click the body slot then click the weapon, armor, or clothing to assign it to that location. When he had everything set up he looked the template over.
Spoiler: Preset Outfit: Battle Gear
Preset Outfit: Battle Gear
Equipment List
Body Slot
Orichalcum Ornate Open Face Helmet
Head Slot
Gold Necklace with Gold Dragon ruby eyes Pendant
Neck Slot
USMC Red Embroidered T-Shirt
Inner Torso Slot
Orichalcum Ornate Cuirass Plate Armor
Torso Slot
EMPTY
Outer Torso Slot
Chainmail Leggings
Legs Slot
Green Casual Pants
Inner Legs Slots
Black Military Leather Boots
Feet Slot
Adjustable Black Leather Gloves
Hands Slot
Gold Ring with Rubies and Emeralds
Left Index Ring Slot
Gold Ring with Rubies and Emeralds
Left Ring Finger Slot
Gold Ring with Rubies and Emeralds
Right Index Ring Slot
Gold Ring with Rubies and Emeralds
Right Ring Finger Slot
EMPTY
Forearm Slot
Dual Sword Harness
Upper Back Slot
EMPTY
Lower Back Slot
EMPTY
Thigh Slot
Iron Greaves
Shin Slot
Black Leather Belt
Waist Slot
Flight of Fury Long-Sword
Belt slot [one]
Dart Kit
Belt Slot [Two]
Dart Kit
Belt Slot [Three]
EMPTY
Belt Slot [Four]
I still have a few open slots that I can fill later and some I would like to upgrade with better gear. Rick thought as he reviewed the list before saving it.
Equip Battle Gear! Rick said, with his inner voice.
All of the items and clothing on the list began auto-equipping itself within a span of two-three seconds until he was fully dressed.
It takes a few minutes to set the list up, but it is worth it once it is done. It may even take me a lot longer to look for all my gear and equip it then it does to make apreset list. Rick thought.
Rick walked downstairs and found Angelica talking at the table with Kanna the nekomimi assassin and invited them to come along to the Silverhall City with him. When they agreed Rick opened a portal next to Jessica''s General Store and they all stepped through. Rick escorted the girls into the shop to pick up some supplies. When Jessica saw him she dashed out from behind her counter to run at Cedric.
Before she could jump into his arms Kanna was in front of him in a flash with drawn daggers making Jessica stop short.
Rick just chuckled and placed his hand on Kanna''s shoulder. "Thanks, Kanna, but it is fine, Jessica is a good friend she means no harm." He explained to his protective assassin.
"Geez Cedric every time you come into my shop you have a new girl with you!" Jessica said stamping her foot in a mock pout.
He just laughed. "Well, I have about eight new girls and somewhere near eighty plus men now." He told her.
"I have been gathering a good amount of people to help build my city. We just have the streets marked out and some temporary housing, but it''s a start." Rick explained to Jessica.
"This here is Kanna and you''ve met Angelica last time of course." He introduced the girls to each other.
"I understand you need people to help out, but do these girls all have to be so beautiful. I am starting to get jealous!" Jessica teased him.
"I guess they don''t need to be, but I will never be caught complaining about being surrounded by gorgeous women all day." He said laughing.
Jessica then laughed when the two women at his side both blushed at being called gorgeous. "So how I can I help you today? Are you here to buy out half my stock again?" Jessica questioned jokingly.
Rick said with a laugh while shaking his head. "Haha, maybe I will see how it goes after I examine what you have in stock."
He then turned down theaisle and started collecting hands full of tools and supplies and hauling them to the counter. When he had neared the last aisle he came across something he hadn''t seen before. Jessica told him it was a new Gnome invention similar to [Dye Stick Kits] they had also invented, this was a new invention called a [Paint Stick Kit]. Jessica said that they could Paint just about anything but they were expensive since they were so new and desired. He grabbed a few of the [Paint Stick Kits] and paid for all the supplies and took the girls over to The Pretty Kitty Inn and treated them to lunch.
Rick order the lunch specials for all three of them. Today they had Glazed shark soup with a light Dwarven Steelbane Cognac broth that came with fresh made Wheat Biscuits and Pecan pie for desert.
While they finished up eating Mia came over to introduce herself to Kanna she was, of course, surprised to see another Nekomimi like her since they''re being so few in the human town. They seemed to get along very well and enjoyed talking to another of their own race. After lunch, Rick bought a good supply ofcasks to stock histavern from Mia''s well-supplied basement and they set off to the next destination.
Rick made a quick stop at Vandor''s Tailor shop and let Kanna pick out an outfit she liked since all she had to wear was the ninja outfit and some mixed matched clothes Rick bought last time he was here. When she found a nice outfit Rick had Vandor make a tail whole and tailor the clothes to her size. He finished the alterationsin about ten minutes and she changed into the new clothes and Rick stored what she wore earlier away.
When he had paid Vandor he thanked him and walked with the two girls around the central plaza. Rick began to notice all the new players walking around bythe dreaded toga and sandals he had worn when he first started. They also noticed him with his armor and weapons that looked like they were made for a high ranking noble, and a beautiful woman on each arm. He couldn''t help but feel a little proud and how far he came in just over one weeks time.
As they began to walk through the hundreds of vendor tables stationed around the central plaza, Rick told the girls if they see anything that they want to just let him know. They came across a vendor selling a decent amount of grooming aids and he bought small leather bags with a comb, hair brush, toothbrush, scissors, small straight blade razor, and a few small bars of soap for all the women and a few extras for the brothel girls soon to be joining them. It would cost too much to buy them for all the men and would more than likely not see much use anyway from them.
The three of them soon came across the outfitter he found last time and bought more packsacks, bedrolls, and a few small tents. He stored them away and made his way over to the Cartography Guild and resupplied his inventory with a wood crate of blank maps.
Upon leaving the guild the three of them walked behind the guild and stepped through the portal back to the second floor of the stone tower. Rick took out the leather grooming kit bags and placed them on the girl''s beds and stepped out of the tower. Remembering the new items he also bought from the Wilderness Outfitter Rick took them out on the fourth floor and arranged them on a table he placed along the wall and made his way outside afterward.
Walking over to the Tigers Rick spent a few minutes with them and invited the group to take a walk with him. Rick and his pack of Tigersall crossed the western footbridge bridge and traveled a short distance toward a small grove of mixed oak and pine trees just past the graves.
Rick went through and examined the grovepicking out all the larger and straighter growing trees. After he harvested all those selected trees he stripped them free of branches andsawed them all in half. Rick picked up the large stack of fresh cut timber and led the group of giant cats back to the tower while he continued on across the eastern bridge and entered the kiln house. He stored away all of the completed clay pipes on the stone shelves and stacked the new timber in the center of the large room.
When he walked out of the kiln house he activated the runes to begin heating up the room and sweating the moisture from the trees. Every few minutes he would turn off the runes and allow the temperature to lower then again reactivate them again. Rick wanted to be sure not to burn the wood but use the kiln house to steam out the moisture in the stack of timber. After a few cycles of this on and off he turned it off and left the logs to sit in the heat and continue to dry.
He went behind the tower and loaded the blast furnace with layers of iron ore, coal, and limestone dust and activated the runes. Leaving the blast furnace to do its work and turn the ingredients inside it into molten steel he casta portal spell andtraveled over to the limestone quarry. Walking around first he collected all the limestone blocks and the shoveled pilesthat contained limestone broken chunks and dust. Rick then instructed the quarryman to cut out two [2'' foot x 2'' foot x 10'' foot] limestone rectangles and then saw them in half the long way.
When the workers had finished his request he used his chisels to hollow out the core of each of these four stone cuts. Essentially what it looked like he had made were fourlong and narrow stone open top crate. He thanked his men for the help stored the chiseled out limestone cuts and walked through the gate back to the blast furnace.
Rick then made four thick leather belts with his recipe and strapped the limestone cuts on top of one another to make one long limestone cast. Once he had them strapped together he chiseled out a hole in the top of both casts to pour the molten steel inside.
Shutting down the blast furnace he drained the impurities through the slag pipe and then maneuvered the two casts under the release pipe and filled them both up separately. As the two cast cooled Rick went down into the cellar and used a recipe to make a few length of steel round bar and used [Produce Flame] to weld round bars into a square shapethat he then welded to the center of a long two inch thick round bar. He then heated up a steel ingot and hammered it into a long thin rectangle that he cut saw teeth into and sharpened the saw teeth with his files. He received a recipe for the new saw blade and used it to make five more giving him six saw blades total.
He then started on hammering out a square steel frame that he welded the saw blades into the center. Once again he welded round bars into a square shape and attached it to the bottomof the saw blade frame. Now he began making a piston arm that would attach those two round bar squares. Lastly, he made up two pipe side brackets and eight thick bolts to attach them with. Finally, he was finished for now in the cellar so it was time to check on the limestone casts poured earlier.
Rick unstrapped the casts and popped the tops off with a pry bar. Inside each cast was a rectangular solid steel bar with a track on one of their sides. He removed the two tracked steel bars and stored then and set off toward the aqueduct water wheel.
Just south of the first water wheel he cleared a thirty by thirty area of vegetation and paved it with stone blocks and cemented the joints as he went along. He then proceeded to cover the paved area the same way he did for the stockpile and fitness area by cementing wood posts into the ground and building a roof off those posts. Using his water wheel and axel recipes he received from modifying the treadmill wheel he made a second water wheel and axel that was set down along the river bank.
With the stone platform he paved now dry Rick measured out an area and chiseled out twosquare holes that he then cemented the tracked steel bars into with the tracks facing each other. His next step was to bring out the framed saw blades and slide it into the tracks from the top.
Opening the inventory he removed the long steel round bar that had the square shaped round bars welded to the center of it and used the pipe brackets to mount it to the back of both anchored tracked steel bars. Rick brought out the piston arm after that and attached it to the framed saw blades and the long pipes square shaped round bars.
Just how he had made the two supporting walls that for the first water wheel''s axel he repeated the same steps and fit the axle through the holes chiseled out of each one. Rick called handil and his crew over to his position so that they could help him hoist the wheel up and onto the supported axle. With all the men gathered around they picked up the wheel and slid it on the axel for risk to bolt it all together. He then thanked Handil and asked him to send over the sawyers and carpenters when he went back to the barracks.
While waiting for Handle to send over the other workers he used his [Wood Carving] Skill to make two wood gears. One of the wood gears was attached to the end of the water wheel axel. The second gear was attached to the end of the long round iron bar and then he welded a small lever with a wood handle to the iron bar next to wood gear.
When the sawyers and carpenters showed up Rick had the carpenters build a heavy duty table four feet wide and twenty feet long that could support a lot of weight. Rick pushed on the water wheel axle until the wheel was in the water and began to rotate. He waved over the sawyers to him and spoke up.
"This is a water powered Sawmill that and I will demonstrate how it works since you Sawyers will get the mostuse from it."
Rick walked over to the completed table and removed halfof a tree trunk from his inventory to the table top and pushed the lever sliding the iron rod with the gear forward. The teeth on each gear locked onto each other and began rotating together as one. This made the long iron rod turn which worked the piston arm up and down that drove the saw blade frame also up and down. When the frame of saw blades picked up speed Rick had a couple Sawyers slowly push on the log toward the saw blades.
As they slowly fed the log into the blades they cut it into even width planks that Rick instructed the other Sawyers to catch and hang onto as they came out the back side of the blades to avoid binding in the saw. After thinking it through Rick had another big table built on the other side so that the planks would be supported while passing through the saw blades.
The Sawyers became so excited seeing the new sawmill in action. This would save them loads of time from having to hand saw each plank. After demonstrating the invention,Rick went back and gathered all the tree trunks he had dried in the Kiln house and took them over to the sawmill so that the Sawyers could begin cutting them into planks. He left out abig oak to the side and told them not to saw it up he would need to use it for a project soon.
Once again he made the trek back to the tower and walked over to the [System Gate] and spawned in four cart drivers. He walked them over to the stables and introduced them to the animal tamer.
"I want you guys to work together from now on. We have a few carts already built that you will pull with the horses in this stable. You will need to take the quarrymen to and from the southern limestone quarry every day and figure out a system to cart back all the blocks they cut daily. I will soon have a road built there that will help out with the journey. Later when the sun starts to set take your carts south along the river and you will find the quarry load up the blocks and bring the men home to the barracks.
He then left them to travel across the yardto the treadmill crane that he disassembled it into three pieces andstored away. Out where the city streets were being marked and constructed still.Rick went to a corner plot and began building a foundation with limestone blocks. After he placed two rows of the blocks he began to lay out the floor joists and then covered them with wood planks. He calledHandil and his crew out towith party chat and began assembling the treadmill crane while they walked over. Rick stackedthe large collection of limestone blocks from his inventory near the foundation and handed Handil a blueprint when he showed up.
This is the floor plan of the apartment buildings we will build. They are two-story buildings with six apartments to each floor. Each apartment will have a Living Room, Kitchen, Bathroom, Master Bedroom, and a second Bedroom.
"That sounds great Cedric, but I don''t understand half of the words you just said. What is an apartment, a kitchen, or a bathroom." Handil asked while scratching his head in confusion.
Rick just lightly chuckled. "Sorry, sorry, these are words used in my world, an apartment is like a small house inside a building, but there will be six of them sharing each floor of that building. The kitchen is where you prepare, cook and eat your meals. and the bathroom is like it sounds a room with a bathtub for washing and it will also have a toilet similar to a privywithout the smell though, haha. Rick tried his best to describe it all to him in a way he might understand.
"Okay, now I want each of these apartments to be divided by a stone block wall. That would be the wall that runs across the top of these two bedrooms and the hallway. This will help block sound out from your neighbors and if there is ever a fire it will contain it to that apartment. This is whatthey call from my world a Firewall." Rick instructed.
"A firewall very clever by containing the fire you save the rest of the building and even possibly the city if it were to spread to other buildings." Handil scratched his beard while thinking over the new firewall concept. Your crew will not have to worry about the rest of these interior walls, I will have the carpenters construct those from wood when they finish the Tavern." Rick told Handil.
"As you can see we will be using those white limestone blocks from our new quarry to build within the city and I also brought over the treadmill crane to help stone up to the scaffolds," Rick explained.
The crew got to work immediately on the apartment building and unlike the gray stone tower the limestone block walls were white and had an almost marble look to them when you stood backand examined them.
This worked out great the whole city will look veryopulentif we construct it with the white limestone blocks.Rick thought while admiring the white walls and took a close up screenshot of the wall.
( Thescreenshot Cedric took after they had finished one of the outer walls)
While the stone masons and stone cutters busied themselves building the outer walls Rick started running the metal water lines into the building from the clay pipes. Once he made the threaded metal pipes he had a recipe to continue making them which helped him speed up the process tremendously. he ran one metal pipeline to each apartment that split off to the kitchens and bathrooms. When he had the first floor all connected to the water flowing in lines he then figured out the best place to install the toilets and bathtubs. Rick cut a six-inch-wide hole in the floor of each bathroom for the toilets and a hole three inches wide for the bathtub drains.
Rick made his way outside and crawled through a narrow hole in the foundation into the crawlspace under the floors and hooked up (L) shaped clay pipes to the holes he cut out for the toilets and bathtubs in each bathroom. All of the (L) pipes were then connected to a (T) clay pipe that would connect to the sinks drains. These connections all fed into onestraight clay pipeline that he ran out to the street and tied it into the cities outflow lines. Now, whenever the toilet was flushed or water went down the kitchen and bathtub drains it would flow into the main outflow and eventually flow out into the river into the southern ocean.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.
By the time he had finished running the pipelines in and out of the first floor the walls were high enough to begin constructing the wood interior walls. Thecarpenters would still be busy for some time building theTavern/Brothel so he decided to start nailing up all the walls on his own. Thiswould providean example for the carpenters to copy later when they began on the other buildings.
His hammering skill was now approaching expert level and with his recipes for wood studs andtongue and groove wall boards, he finished the all the walls within an hour. Now that he had the walls up he could begin on the staircase at the end of the hall that would lead to the second floor. Unlike the tower Rickdidn''t haveto make any spindles since there was a wall on each side of the staircase, it was just a basic set of stairs that made it easy to finish up.
Now this second floor will need to be made different than the first floor. I want to hide the pipes to and from the sink, bathtub, and toilet, I might have to lay out a floor then install the pipes and build an additional floor over the top of them. If I had drywall this would be much easier, I will need to run the joist then go downstairs and nailed tongue and groove board up to make the first-floor ceiling. Then I can run the pipes on top of the joists and once again cover them with another set joists that I will then nail the floor planks to make the floor for the second level apartment. This seems like there must be an easier way to do this though that I haven''t come up with yet. Rick thought out the system he would use to hide the pipes and make the second floor. In a modern home, all the electrical wires and plumbingwould have run through the walls, but that isn''t possible with stone block walls.Rick after thinking on how to go about the problem of hiding the plumbing end up settling on his first idea of sandwiching them between twolayers.
When Handil''s crew finished up the outer building''s structure Rick took out a piece of parchment and drew up the apartment building, and added overhanging wrap around porch with columns. After he handed it off to Handil he portal the stone cutters to the quarry mine and had them all work together to cut the sections to make the columns. The columns would not be one solid piece, but actually, one foot high slices that would be stacked one on top of the other and cemented to make it appear solid on completion.
Rick left the portal open for them to come and go while he went upstairs and started putting up the roof rafters and the covering the roof in planks. When the wood roof was in place he went back to the tower and bought more clay and shaped out an Interlocking S-Shaped clay tile he was familiar with from his studies in materials from college. When he had it looking smooth and straight from rubbing it down with water he received a recipe and made up a few hundred roof tiles and fired them in the kiln house. While they were being firedhe went and picked up all the stained furniture and wood food containers the Wood Stainer had finished and then went into the workshop and gathered up what they had completed in there. When he came across the wood stainer he told him to head out to the new apartments and begin staining any wood in there.
When they were cooked dry he pulled them out and inspected them.
Packing them all into his inventory after being satisfied with the final product he made his way out to the apartment building and began nailing the tile to the roof. Upon completion of the clay tileroof he tested out the new [Paint Stick Kit] and colored the tiles and stone accents exactly like the design he drew up. Also, like the drawing, he made a large black border and white infield circle with #01 painted on it for the address of the building. He planned to number every building in the city with addresses for the convenience of deliveries and visitors.
Going from apartment to apartment he distributed the furniture of tables, chairs, wardrobes, beds, and couches to fill the rooms up for the new occupants. He then hung his crystal wall lights in each apartment room in the hallways and outside next to the front door. He had been thinking about what he would make all the bathtubs out of and really didn''t want to waste metal on making them. After standing in one of the bathrooms thinking over materials he could use he decided on using wood.
With the use of his woodcarving and carpentry skills, he made a box type bathtub and drilled out a hole in the sideboard to attach the faucet and pipes. When he was done he received a recipe for the tub and used it to make eleven more bathtubs and connected them all to the in and out flowing pipelines.
Once he had furnished the two floors and connected all the tubs, Rickasked Handil about the Smoke House that Rick had pulled them away from to build the apartment building.
"We had just about completed it all that needs to be finished is the firepit on the first floor." Handil explained.
"I will finish that up then. I want you and your crew to continue building identical apartment buildings to this one. You should be able to build four buildings on each lot." Rick instructed Handil.
Rick then stepped over to the quarry and picked up all the cut limestone blocks piles and carved columnsegmentsand transferred them to the apartment building so that the stone masons could begin assembling them. When he was at the quarry he remembered wanting to start a southern road there so he assigned two surveyors and two cottars to help find and mark out the best route south parallel the river.
Rick left the surveyors to begin exploring and marking out a southern road to check on the progress of the farmers. When he arrived at the area that they zoned for farm plots he found that they had been having a hard time with only the use of hand tools. It is back breaking work just to turn the soil, but then they had to also remove all of the rock and debris that are hidden in the soil since this land was all untouched until now.
If I let them continue on like this the damn city will be built before we see the first plant sprout in this field. I need to come up with a new plan these hand tools are not going to cut it for a large scale farming operation. As the population of the city grows we will need more food and I can see already that a couple farmers with shovels, picks, and hoes will never meet the demands.
Rick told the farmers to head back to the barracks and take a break and he would come find them later with a better solution to this problem.
Down in the tower cellar, Rick used his round steel bar recipe to make a square steel frame with brackets that held a steel axle. He placed four of the round steel bars into the forge along with a steel ingot. When the center of the round bars seemed hot enough, so he pulled them out of the forge and began bending them over an anvil into a bow shape. When Rick was happy with their shape he cast Produce Flame to weld them to the square frame.
As he was bending the hot steel bars he found that the heat no longer bothered him even after removing his gloves he could almost handle the glowing parts without feeling pain or taking damage. The level increases in his elemental fire affinity had raised his resistances enough that he could ignore flames and heat bout would not be able to grab a glowing hot ingot from the forge just yet.
So without wearing gloves Rick pulled out the hot steel ingot with tongs and cut off four segments and placed it back into the forge along with another steel ingot. He hammered these four cuts into a spade shape that he then welded to the ends of the bowed steel bars. When he had all four steel spades welded he then attached the bow round bars to the square steel frame he made beforehand.
Removing the steel ingot from the forge once again he hammered it into a steel plank shape that was also vertically welded to the square frame. Back at the forge he removed the second ingot and worked it into the chair with a post instead of legs. When he completed the chair he attached the post to the steel plank on the square frame.
Now all I need to do is make two attachment bars with two rings on each end to tie the reins to.
Once again using the round steel bar recipe he made the attachment bars and rings then assembled and attached them to the steel vertical plank.He stored his work into the inventory and walked over to the workshop and took to wood cartwheels. Rick attached the wood wheels to the steel frames axle with a couple of large lug nuts that he made with the tap/die set. He now had finished a horse-drawn wheeled plow and received a recipe for his hard work.
Rick stored the plow and walked back into the workshop where he made up an adjustable strap leather harness and long thick straps to attach the horses to his new plow. He received a recipe for the plow harness and stored away four of them with the plow and two additional cartwheels. Upon leaving the workshop he found the Animal Trainer cleaning the horse stalls in the stables and asked him to help bring four horses over to the city construction area.
The two of them both lead two horses over to the barracks and called out the farmers. He had thefarmers help lead the horses out to the city zone and Rick rounded up the surveyor crew and had them finish with marking out the southern streets of the city that were already nearly done already. With farmers and horses following behind he walked over to the southern most plots and took out the new plow and used his recipe to make another second plow that used the extra cartwheels and some of the steel in his inventory.
Rick attached the four horses to the plows with the adjustable harness and long reins. Rick then attempted to demonstrate how to use the plow even though it was a learning experience for him as well. He drove the plow up and down the plot turning a few rows of soil and found that the plow easily turned out the hidden rocks and other debris.
Rick stoppedthe plow and spoke to the farmers. "This will save your backs from turning all the soil, but you will still need to remove all of these dug up stones."
Rick told the farmers they could have the cart drivers help them haul the stones and debris away when they weren''t busy.
Rick spoke to the group of farmers and Animal Trainer. " When you men are finished with the horses lead them back to the stables with their reins and harnesses. You can leave the plows out here and pick up the horses from the animal trainer when you need them. Just let him know before you take them and if they are injured in any way have someone find me or the cleric immediately."
He then pointed out all the plots and even a few large odd triangle shaped plots that he wanted them to plow. He told them to turn the large odd-shaped plots into fruit orchards and plant popular vegetables in the other plots like carrots, potatoes, onions, lettuce, corn, and tomatoes for example.
I guess I could go finish up the smokehouse fire pit now. Rick thought as he walked back toward the small settlement.
In the lower level of the smokehouse he built a stone brick fire pit. When they wanted to smoke meats they could make a fire in this fire pit and the smoke would then rise filling the second floor with smoke and heat thus drying and preserving the meats in there.
Rick went and got Angelica and the others in his party with archery skills and took them all over to the forest north of Silverhall City where he had found the goblins in the ruined temple. Theyformed a spread out line and stealthily hunted game for near an hour bringing back deer, rabbit, boar, and elk. Rick field dressed all the kills back at the tower and put half the meat in the fridge and the other half in the smoke house that one of the cooks kept an eye on. He had kept all the furs, skins, some bones, and a few small samples of blood in his inventory for future crafting and experiments from the field dressing.
They had quite a few carcasses left from the hunt and instead of burying them, Rick decided to make an incinerator alongside the smokehouse using fire and wind runes. It was basically an enclosed fireplace with a tall chimney. After cementing it all together he bolted a small steel door over the opening and tossed in all the cleaned carcasses.
While the scraps and carcasses burned away Rick went over to check up on the carpenters. They had completed the first floor and had started making decent progress on the second floor.
It won''t be long until this is all done I should start preparing for it now then.Rick thought to himself as he watched the carpenters.
He walked over to the workshop and instructed the furniture makers to begin making six-foot long tables, benches, double size beds, night stands, and wardrobes.He picked up all the completed furniture, clothes, and footwear then stored it in his inventory as he left the building. Outside the workshop, he made his way over to the System Gate and spawned in a group of male and female prostitutes of assorted races and a female custom Vampiress with the temptress and Minstrel class.
Rick walked the Vampiress over to the workshop and had the Tailor/Cobbler make her a stylishred and black satin cloak to wear outdoors in the daytime and also drew up a sexy gothic outfit for them to tailor in her measurements.
While the Tailors were busy with the new outfit,Rick told the Vampress to wait there and collected the completed double beds and other furniture.
Rick walked the group of male and female prostitutes over to the tavern and had them pick out rooms that they would use for work and live in until more housing was available.
Going from room to room Rick arranged what furniture he had in his inventory around between them and left extra clothing, footwear, and leather bags with grooming aides behind. Back at the workshop, he had the Vampiress put on her new cloak and carried her new outfit over to the tavern. Rick explained to her that She would be in charge of the Tavern providing musical entertainment combined with her Temptress class and charm abilities she would keep everyone in line.
He did not need her to work upstairs as a prostitute she would beconsidered theMadam of the establishment. Rick stated hewould provide her with instruments to use along with her Minstrel class soon and instructed the carpenters to build her a large room off the back of the tavern. Rick figured that it could always be used as a storage room in the future when the brothel was moved.
Leaving them all to settle in Rick decided to run a clay pipeline from the water tank to the tavern. He then made a couple wood sinks behind the bar and hooked up bathtubs in the upstairs bedrooms so that they could wash up before and after work.
The time in the real world was beginning to grow late so Rick headed back to his tower bedroom and unequipped his outfit and disconnected for the night.
Spoiler:Vampire Race..
Vampire Race
Vampires possess imposing strength and agility making them accomplished hand to hand fighters.
All Vampires are alluring and charismatic individuals that possess the power to charm others with lower charisma than themselves.
They are not all evil blood sucking killers as many believe, but each having their own personalities and beliefs like any other person.
Males: 5.9 - 6.5 (180 - 215 lbs.)
Females: 5.6 - 6.0 (120 - 180 lbs)
Racial Traits
[Charm]: Any person within 10 yards and looking into a Vampires eyes can be charmed with a low charisma.
[Midnight Mist]: A Vampire can transform into a cloud of mist until deactivated. They can not attack or interact with objects in this form.
[Rapid Regeneration]: Vampires have 3x health regen than other races out of direct sunlight.
[Night Sight] A skill that allows you to see in the dark.
[Create Thrall]: Allows you to give a defeated foe an option of becoming a loyal blood servant or death.
Racial Weaknesses
[Forbiddance]:The vampire can''t enter a residence without an invitation from one of the occupants.
[SunlightHypersensitivity]: The vampire takes damage when in direct sunlight unless their skin is protected by clothing or shade.
[Stake to the Heart] It will kill a vampire just like any other weapon through the heart will also kill them.
[Water]: Vampires have a weakness toward bodies of water. They can not swim or ever learn, and have a fear of crossing water.
Instinctive knowledge
Allows you to use Swords. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Swords
Allows you to use Axes. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Daggers
Allows you to use Daggers. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Thrown
Allows you to use a Thrown Weapons. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Magic
Allows you to wield magic.
Light Armor
Allows you to wear light armor. Skill level determines protection bonuses.
camouflage
Allows you to become invisible in natural cover when not moving.
Sure Footed
Allow you to keep your footing on a precarious terrain.
Mastery of Movement
Difficult terrain doesn''t slow you down.
Evasion
Your intuitional alertness helps you dodge away from attacks.
Fleet of Foot
You can turn up to 90 degrees during a charge or run.
Reading and Writing
Allows you to read and write you racial and Lord''s language.
Courtly Knowledge
Allows you the knowledge of proper protocol and etiquette.
Numerate
Allows you a good basic knowledge of arithmetic. You are able to understand and work with numbers.
Spoiler:FarmerClass..
FarmerClass
A farmer can''thelp you win a war or defend a city on the frontlines fighting with weapons and magic. The farmer has their own ways to fight by providing the food and drink that keeps your troops strong and sharp ready to defend or attack at any time.
The upper class may look down on farmers, but without them the kingdom would fall apart they are the glue that holds society together.
Skills List
Skill Name
Skill Descriptions
Mana Cost
Recharge Time
Strong Back
You can lift 3x more weight for ten minutes. (Increased Strength)
5 mp
Fifteen Minutes
Digging
The skill of excavating forms of soil, clay, and sand. Higher levels increase digging speeds.Active until deactivated
5 mp
NONE
Create Water
Allows you to create water in different forms. You can use it to fill a container or even water a field.
25 mp
Two Minutes
Pesticide Enchantment
Allows you to place an enchantment on crops for 100 yards that kill insects. Enchantment breaks when the crop is harvested.
25 mp
Two Minutes
Seed Nourishment
Allows you to nourish the seed''s embryo.Gives a seedling a faster and healthier start with larger reserves. You use this skill on all the seeds you hold in your hand upon activation.
50 mp
Two Minutes
Crop Nourishment
Allows you to nourish crops through mana enrichment for 100 yards. healthierand more abundant crops provided.
75 mp
Two Minutes
Speak with Animals
You can communicate with animals. This does not tame or make them friendlier. Active until deactivated
5 mp
Two Minutes
Instinctive knowledge
Staves
Allows you to use Staves. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Light Armor
Allows you to wear light armor. Skill level determines protection bonuses.
Sure Footed
Allow you to keep your footing on a precarious terrain.
Medicine
Allows you the knowledge of healing and curing plants.
Foraging
Allows you to acquire food by hunting, fishing, or the gathering of plant matter. Edible plants, fish, and animals will glow when activated.
Prostitutes are all created with apromiscuouspersonality. They do not feel any preassure to perform their job and actually rather enjoy this easy goingoccupation.
With the ability to improve their lifestyle by simply exchanging pleasure, they almost feel pity for those who go out and break their backs makinga so called honest living.
Skills List
Skill Name
Skill Descriptions
Mana Cost
Recharge Time
Soothing Touch
Simply brushing your fingertips across anothers skin puts them in a relaxed and calm state.
5 mp
NONE
Suggestive Glance
With a glance you can physically arouse those around you.
5 mp
NONE
Passionate Kiss
A deep kiss that canput your partner in a euphoricstate of bliss.
5 mp
NONE
Sensual Panting
Your heavy breath and moans quell anxiety and stir extreme excitement.
10 mp
NONE
Enchating Enchantment
Your looks, scent, and every movementinfatuate those around you.
15 mp
NONE
Enlargement
temporarily increases by 2x the female bust or malegenitalia.
25 mp
NONE
Instinctive knowledge
Daggers
Allows you to use Daggers. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Grappler
Provides the knowledge of ground fighting with throws, holds, chokes, and limb bars.
Unarmored
You can maneuver in combat so that most strikes miss or glance off your body.
Erotic Expertise
Allows you the knowledge of carnal pleasures forboth genders.
Brawling
Allows you the knowledge of how to fight unarmed to win by any means necessary.
Concealed Weapon
Allows you the knowledge of how to hide a small undectable weapon.
Numerate
Allows you a good basic knowledge of arithmetic. You are able to understand and work with numbers.
Chapter 22: Count Crownguard
When Rick woke up he drove to the college after his normal routine of weight training on the home gym in the spare room. He met up with his friends for lunch after class andfound out Lily had stayed home today waiting on the delivery of her new [Gate Gear] capsule. Ryan and Luke still had a few days still before they would get theirs, and were a little jealous of Lily beating them to it. Their friend Joel seemed to be in the same situation his family didn''t have a lot of money and with the purchase of his carhis funds were tapped. Joel didn''t work while attending school so his loan was just enough to cover his school payments and living costs. Though Joel might never end up with a Gate Gear he did not expressany worry over not joining his friends in the new VR game and chose to concentrate on his studies.
When Rick went home after Lunch he took a hot shower to help loosen up and changed into shorts and a muscle shirt and checked on his video. While he was on the Prodigy Wave Corp website he checked his private messages and found another message from the company. They thanked him for allowing them to use his video and informed him that they would have the money for using the video deposited it the account number he used when buying his Gate Gear. The message also stated that the patch on his runes had been already implemented and he would now be able to use quartz to store mana to power them.
Rick wrote back thanking them again and verified that the account number they had would be fine for the transfer. While he was online Rick did a little research into carriage designs and other old world inventions that might work well in the game. When he had enough of surfing for new ideashe shut off his computer and climbed into the Gate Gear VR capsule and connected to Kingdoms Online. Throwing off the blanket he rose upandmade the bed.
Equip Battle Gear!
Rick used the outfit preset to dress and walked downstairs into the tower cellar to collect the weapons and armor the two Smiths had crafted. The Weaponsmith andArmorsmith had nothing to do since the runes in the forge no longer worked because of the new patch. Rick explained to them that he needed to alter the forge to make it run again and told them to take a break until it was fixed.Rick took the collection of their finished gear upstairs to the fourth floor and placed iton the racks and tables.
This fourth floor is turning into a proper Armory now. A few more days of this and it will look like a weapon and armor shop up here.
After he dropped off the gear upstairs he sat down at the first-floor table and drew up a few designs for carriages. Since he had started playing the game he had never seen a carriage yet. It seemed everyone rode horseback or used the standard work carts. He thought that if he advertised them they might get popular and it would become a good source of funds for him. When he had researched carriages he came across Gypsy Wagons that he thought might interest Players and people of this world who spend a lot of time in the wilderness. The Gypsy Wagons reminded him of a modern RV, they had a bed, table,kitchenette with stove and tucked away storage areas.
When he drew up a few ideas he walked over to the workshop and passed them off to the Cartwright. He also had a design for a leaf spring that he wanted him to incorporate into the designs. He explained what it was and how to install them and told him that he should work together with the blacksmith to designa metal chassis with the metal leaf springs for the new carriages. Rick went around tocollect all the completed furniture, clothing, and footwear from the craftsmen stations around the workshop and walked outside.
Spoiler:New Carriage Designs.
Upon leaving the workshop Rick''s attention was drawn to the fitness area from the sounds of clanking weights and shouts of encouragement. He decided to walk over and watch military units weight training and decided to review their status menus while he observed them. It was still too early to gain any insight from his experiment of the two groups training programs, he was just curious at what gains they received from weight training so far. When he reviewed Angelica''s status her Intelligence points had seemed to have gone up quite a bit since her arrival. Since Rick had his Photoreading skill he could remember each of her stat points and the rest of his units each time he reviewed them.
Rick called her over and questioned on how her on how she had raised her Intelligence points. The increases seemed to have come from all the books she continuously read. Ever since Rick set out all the bookcases packed with books from the temple ruins she had made a hobby of reading them when he wasn''t around and she didn''t need to train. He talked with her about how she was doing and if she needed anything and let her get back to her weight training program.
On the way back to the tower he called Handil over from the apartment building constructions and had Handil update him on their progress while he was disconnected. Handil told Rick that his crew had completed six apartment buildings and that Handil had the directed the carpenters to begin work on the interiors of the completed apartment buildings in the same way Rick had done on the first building.
Rick was glad to see him take charge like that instead of leaving the carpenters to sit around until he had got back on to send them to the next task.
"That is perfect Handil. The thing is I wanted to talk to you about that very thing. It is getting to the point that I can hardly keep up with all of our constructions now and I want you to help me out." Rick explained.
Rick went over the plans he had for the city and asked Handil to take on relaying his orders to the work crews in the city area. Rick had told Handil to keep at building the apartments on the same street with the carpenters and make sure that the cart drivers kept them supplied with lumber, supplies, and limestone blocks. He then told Handil to have everyone who was working in the city to begin moving from the barracks out to the New apartments.
"Why don''t you send out a cottar laborer to the surveyor group, street construction group, and farming group to meet at the apartment buildings and have them pick or assign an apartment to each individual person.If we have a total of seven apartment buildings constructed then we can house eighty-four individual people. I am not sure of our exact workforce numbers now, but I know we won''t be able to house them all just yet. Those who can''t be housed in a new apartment will need to wait for another day of two before moving from the barracks. For now, I want you and your crew to make a building across the street from the first apartment that will be used as a restaurant so everyone can save time and energy walking back to the tower for every meal." Rick explained
Rick thought for a moment and continued. "I also need to put the clay tile shingles on the finished buildings out there, though I may just hire a couple roofers and send them out to work alongside your crew." Rick explained what he had planned then let Handil return to carry out what his instructions of rounding up the workers and getting them housed.
When Handil walked off returning to the construction area of the city, Rick decided to cast portal to Silverhall city and went alone since Angelica and the other Military units were still weight training in the fitness area.
Rick went all through the popular stores near and around the cities, central plaza looking for a weaving loom, spinning wheels, and anything else that might help out him or his workers. He also had another motive for these store visits and that was for ideas on what he could sell to these businesses or on his own to continue to make money.
When he came upon a jewelry store, he walked inside and displayed the jewelry he had crafted to the owner. The owner took a liking to the rings, pendants, and brooches he had made and bought quite a few off him at a decent price. The owner asked him to please stop in if he came up with any new designs. The owner had mentioned that Rick''s style was so different than the traditional style used in this world that his jewelry stood out from everything else. He had been influenced by the modern style of the real world and it showed in his designs unlike the plain archaic designs currently used in the game.
As Rick walked along from one shop to the next he came upon and entered a large two-floor white block stone store that to his surprise was devoid of merchandise. The outside of the store reminded him of the library made from the white stone block and big windows looking out at the street. The inside though was rather plain with unfinished plank board floors and the same white block walls seen from the outside. It reminded Rick of a building that was just constructed before the contractor brought in the workers to install floors, cover the walls, and add all the accents to the interior.
As Rick browsed the plain store''s scant amount of purchasable products he happened to hear the sales girls talking together about how they would need to find new jobs soon because this store would soon be going out of business and the owner was in the process of attempting to sell the building. As he was listening to the girls talk quietly amongst themselves he grew curious and decided to try out an idea that came to him.
Rick activated his aura and began to blend his charisma with the base Aura skill. He used the same methods he had learned from Intimidation and calm animal all the while pretending to browse the displayed merchandise. Soon after walking around and blending his aura and charisma attribute he received a flashing icon notice.
New Skill Notice!
You have Learned A New Skill!
Aura: CharmingPresence (Level 1) (Beginner 1%)
A sub-skill of Aura when used people in your radius ring will find youappealing and easy to connect with.
People hang on your every word finding they can easily relate and bond with you.
Higher levels increase your Charming effects and the affecting circumference ring.
Haha, this is should work perfectly! Rick said inwardly to himself.
He then activated his new [Aura: Charming Presence] skill and browsed through the store while moving toward the group of saleswomen still anxiously talking. When his skills ring overlapped the group he stopped and picked up an item pretending to inspect it. Like bees to honey, the group of women stopped talking and turned toward him. With his title [The White Knight] he often drew the looks of women he passed by and now he had the charm aura and title working in combination.A two of the young womenwalked directly over to himand asked if they could help him find anything at all.
Rick thanked them and said that he was just looking for anything he may find useful then put on a concerned expression as he looked at the twowomen who came to offer him help.
"Never mind me you two ladies seem to be quitedistraught, tell me what is wrong? I hold a noble rank of Baron if someone is bullying you just tell me and I will have them put in their place this instant!" Rick exclaimed with a show of great worry and concern for the two women before him.
The two women flushed at his concern for them and spoke up. "T-Thank y you sir it is nothing like that you see we are simply worried about having to soon find new jobs since this store will soon close." One of them answered shyly.
When Rick questioned the girls about the store closing they all seemed quite upset. He was toldthe owner had run into problems with some of the local nobles and they were making it almost impossible for him to purchase new merchandise to restock hisstore and had been losing money for months. The owner is out of money even after taking out a bank loan and had to close up and sell the building to recover some of his losses.
The first young womanto approach him with tears in her eyes told him that they would not be able to find such a nice place to work again and would end up in low paying or less than reputable jobs.
Hmm, these poor girls will probably end up serving drinks in some low-end tavern having male customers grab their asses all day long or even worse end up in some seedy brothel. Rickspeculated.
"Well, maybe there is a way for me to help when will the owner return so that I may speak with him?" Rick inquired.
The girls informed him that the owner had walked over to the bank and should return within an hour. He then thanked the girls for all their help and promised to return around the time the ownerreturned and left the big store.
Out on the street, Rickcontinued visiting shops with his [Aura: Charming Presence] skill still activated. With the help of his skill, Rick began to seriously sell anything he could to raise his currency. He had sold numerous things with the help of his recipes and charm skill to end up makingquite a bit of money. A half hour later through his many store browsings, he had finally found a place selling spinning wheels and looms which he promptlybought. He had purchased three weavinglooms and also three spinning wheels thinking that he could figure out how to make them on his own by studying those he had purchased if he ever needed more.
Before he went back to the store going out of business he had managed to sell evenmore jewelry to a couple shops. Rick even found a store to purchasethe ornate gold mugs he made for his men by using his recipe to make a good size batch right then and there. With the sale of the jewelry, gold mugs, and other assorted crafts, Rick had raised his funds up higher than he had ever donenow having just over sixty platinum total.
That just cut my stock of gold down to half now after making up all those mugs and the jewelry, but at least I made more money than I would have by just stamping it into coins.Rick thought to himself as he looked over his increased currency on the way back to meet the owner selling his store.
When he finally arrived back to the closing store he met with the owner. Rick with his charm skill still active talked with him about the store closing up and asked if anyone had offered to buy it from him. The owner explained that the pressure from the nobles had scared off any would-be buyers and looked like he would end up being cheated out of the building by the same nobles who would buyhis store through abank auction for next to nothingbecause of his unpaid overdue bank loan.
Rick questioned him on how much he had originally asked for the building. The ownerexplained that the store was currently worth fifty platinum and he was now asking fortwentyplatinum or 2000 gold coins to pay off the overdue loan. Now that he had no way to stock the store he would never be able to raise the money and the banks would seize it from him to auction offtowards his loan within a few days time.
Rick ruminated over the entire process. Twenty platinum is a ton of money, but this store is worth twice that amount and it is also huge. This two-story building could be split up into sections like a modern day department store and sell a little of everything. This citydoesn''t have anything like that yet. Every shop in this city specializes in one area of business besides small shopslike Jessica''s. Her place sells many different things but they are mainly little things like tools, cookware, and miscellaneous items. I remember hearing her say the nobles make it hard to buy many things unless you offer them payoffs. I won''t have to worry about any of that everything I would sell would be crafted by my men or me.
After thinking it over for a minuteRick spoke up. "I might be interested in buying the store from you. Taking into account yourconfrontation with the local nobles that will come along with the purchaseI can''t offer you more than ten platinum. I know that is only half of what you need, but it is better than losing the building to the banks and if you were to sell the rest of your current stock at an auction or quietly to other shops you may raise the full amount you need to pay your loans." Rickexplainednonchalantly.
"Besides I am sure these nobles won''t be very happy with me buying this place out from under their little scheme and will send their muscleto cause trouble for me." Rickstated.
Not like I am afraid of the nobles or anyone they may send. When I get back I can purchase more land to raise my noble rank and also station some military units here to guard against trouble, but this owner doesn''t need to know that.
The owner worriedly thought it over for some time and really didn''t have much choice. In dire need of funds to prevent himself from losing everything and ending up in debtors prison, the owner hadto accept the deal or walk away with nothing.
So the owner told the staff they were headed out andRick and the owner walked together over to the City Hall. They went into the City Hall business records office and signed the building and land deed over to Cedric Crownguard for the amount of ten platinum coins and a ten gold coin notary fee for processing the change of ownership records.
The owner told him he would have the rest of his stock moved out before tomorrow night as they strolledback to the store. Rick gathered all the present staff around which consisted of a middle-aged man and the six young womenhe met earlier. He explained to them that he had purchased the building and would allow them all to keep their current jobs and work for him from now on if they wanted.
The employeeswere quite thrilled over Rick''s sudden announcement. The young ladies began embracing each other and a few even cried tears of joy while the middle-aged manintroduced himself.
"Hello sir my name is Barat, I wasthe Manager of this store and hope to continue working with you in the future," Barat said.
"Nice to meet you Barat I am Baron Cedric Crownguard. I look forward to working with you and would like you to continue to manage the store under my ownership as well." Rick introduced himself as he shook Barats hand.
Rick walked over to the excited group ofladies and the first one that had asked to help him earlier introduced herself right away.
"My nameNellie I am the Floor Manager. My job is to schedule the girls work hours and daily assignments along with assisting them with our customer''s questions or complaints. We had not too long ago had an additional four girls working here, but they had to be let go because of the store losing money." Nellie said.
"Well, we meet again ladies I am Baron Cedric Crownguard. I hope you all continue to work here under my new ownership. Nellie I would also like you to continue as the Floor Manager and if possible contact the four girls who were let go and hire them back. I am not sure if we will need so many saleswomen at first, but this store will continue to grow to the point that I hope we can hire even more help." Rick instructed Nellie.
Rick talked to each of the young ladies and got to know them a little before he went over to the owner who was in his office packing his records and personal items into a few wooden crates he found in the warehouse.
"Before I take off can I speak with you in private?" Rick asked as he glanced at the office door.
The owner simply nodded and Rick gently closed the office door.
"I know you may be hesitant to point any fingers, but I would appreciate if you could give me the noble house names that have targeted you." Rick questioned him while still having his charm skill active since he first used it.
"Hmm, they can hardly hurt me any more than they have now. All I have left is my life that has been left in ruins now after years of building this business. There are two noble families that apply pressure to the local shop owners making them pay for access to imported merchandise or for their so called protection. The noble houses are (House Lupton) and (House Karn)." The previous owner explained.
Cedric''s face contorted into an angry scowl when he heard House Karn. "House Karn! I take itthat bastard, Captain Gage is still causing problemsaround the city." Rick said angrily.
"Oh, you seem to know of Captain Gage and House Karn?" Theprevious owner asked.
"I thought I changed his ways back at the Pretty Kitty Inn when he caused problems for a friend of mine. It seems that House Karn and House Lupton may need to change their ways." Rick said.
Theprevious owner burst out laughing. "Haha, good luck with that, those two houses are corrupt to the bone and hold enough power to keep themselves just above the law."
Rick gave him a sly smile. "One other thing how do I officially register a Noble House? Rick asked.
"You can do that at the City Hall by visiting theoffice of the Royal Court. You need to display your Feudal Rank to the Chancellor and if everything checks outthey will register your house." The older man explained.
Hmm, I''ve never done that before. I didn''t even know it was possible to display your information to others.Rick thought to himself.
Rick opened his Status Menu and click on the Feudal Title and a prompt asked if he wanted a description or to display his title. He clicked on the [Display Title] option. A [Display Title Menu] opened for him to read and another opening facing away from him for others to view.
Spoiler:FeudalTitle Display Menu.
FeudalTitle Display Menu
Cedric Crownguard
Race:
Chosen Human
Feudal Title:
Baron
Feudal Domain:
25 Acres
Titles:
The White Knight
Titles:
The Honor Guard
Titles:
The Duelist
Titles:
Black Hand Interrogator
Titles:
Benevolent Leader
Fame:
+10125
Honor:
+11000
"Did I open the right display menu? Can you read this one facing away from me here?" Rick questioned the previous owner as he pointed to the second menu before him.
The old man stepped forward and began reading the menu out loud. "Hmm this is it, the Feudal Title Display Menu the name says Cedric Crowngurad and race lists you ar rr are...YOU ARE A CHOSEN!?"
Rick started laughing "Yes I am, even though these days there are a lot of us around this cityI was the first one to arrive in this world." Rick told him proudly.
The old man shook his head in astonishment and continued reading. " You are a Chosen with a Baron rank and have been awarded five titles by the gods and have a decent amount of fame and honor. You are full of surprises Cedric Crownguard. How long ago did you arrive here?" The old man inquired after verifying Cedric''s displayed information.
"I arrived in this world just over a week ago." Rick honestly told him.
"A week ago! You are telling me you earned more titles, fame, and honor in one week than most people earn in a lifetime, and became a Baron!?" The old man exclaimed with a stunned look on his face.
Haha, this guy would really flip out if I told him I haven''t even really tried to earn any experience, titles, fame or honor yet.
Rick just smiled and nodded as he closed the display menu. He then looked up and shook the old man''s hand and wished him luck. The old man opened his desk drawer and took outa key to the door that he passed to Cedric. The old mantold him he would leavehis key behind when he had finished removing all of his merchandise.Rick placedthe store key in his inventory and went out to dismiss the new employees.
He told all of the staff to take three days off while he prepared the store for opening and sent them all home except for Nellie and Barat. Rick decided to tell them about him being a chosen and asked if they would leave him their home addresses just in case of emergency. They reminded him that there were no house addresses and gave him a street name with how many houses down they livedand which side of the street it was on.
What a pain in the arse it must be to make deliveries in this city, wait do they even have home delivery services? They sure have it tough trying to contact one another in this world without a street address ortelephones."Rick thought about the troubles the people had in contacting one another and had an idea.
"Do either of you two have a friend list oreven know what it is?" Rick questioned his two managers.
The two thought for a moment then looked at one another questioningly and told him that they had never heard of this friend list before. Rick opened his empty friend list and asked the two employees for their full name and typed them into the virtual keyboard. He grew excited when he saw the two names both registered on his list with a green dot next to their names marked online.
That is weird they get marked as being online even though they are AI. Maybe it just has to do with how the systemwas designed to be more used between Player to Player contacts. What happens then if they die will their name just turn gray and register them with a red offline dot?Rick contemplated the new discovery and earned a few wisdom points for finding out that AI could be added to the friend list.
He then clicked on Nellie''s name and sent a voice chat to her. Nellie gave a small startled jump when a menu suddenly opened in front of her without opening it herself.
"This menu says I have a voice chat call from Cedric Crownguard with a yes or no option. I have never seen anything like this before what do I do?" She asked looking up a Rick.
"I''ll explain, We chosen have what is called a friend list. When I put a name on my friendlist I can tell when they are in this world and can also then them a voice chat or written message. This was given to us by the gods so that we could keep track of any chosen we made friends with in this world. I have a lot of other people who work for me and some of them are currently on what is called a Party List. That is what gave me the idea to try to add you and Barat to my friendlist. I figured if people of his world could be added to my party list then it should also work for the friendlist. Go ahead and click the yes option so you can familiarize yourself with it.
Rick turned around and walked a few yards away as Nellie answered his voice chat. When it told him the call was answered Rick greeted her and told her he would now send her a written message. He just typed out "Hello Millie this is what the written messages look like can you use the reply option?" A minute later she was able to send him back a written message with the reply option from his message. Rick then repeated the same steps for Barat so that they both understood how everything worked. They would not be able to directly contact him, but they could answer calls and reply to open messages. Once they closed a message though they lost their chance to reply back to it.Rick then walked back over and told them both to take a few days off and if he planned to open earlier or later than that he would send them both a voice chat.
He then let them head home and began exploring his new store.Rick went upstairs and turned the empty room next to the storage room into three bedrooms and used the furniture in his inventory to place down two beds, two dressers, and a fewtables in each room. He then placed a few cups, plates, and silverware on thetables along with a few coins and packed up all of his tools andwent downstairs. When he had learned the layout of the entire store he drew up the stores layout for a future reference. When he went downstairs the old man was still packing up his office as Rick walked out the front door and headed to the Library.
When Rick entered the Library the two guards who were on duty snapped to attention and saluted him. He returned a crisp salute as he passed by into the main room.
It looks like my Honor Guard title is still working. It takes me back to my military days everytime I see the guards around town react to that title.Rick thought.
Rick found Cynthia keeping herself busy at the main desk and talked with about how she had been doing since he had seen her last time. Rick told her all about the City he was building and all the workers he had currently constructing it. He then told her about the store he bought just around the corner from the library and she agreed that the exterior of his store looked similar to the library.
"The store I bought is a nice looking building with lots of spacebut the inside is really plain looking. When I thought of wanting to remodel the interiorthe library came to mind since they look so similar from the outside. This place is gorgeous and I wanted to ask if you know who did the work or where I could find these kinds of materials. Like these marble tile floors in here, I haven''t seen anyone selling marble or construction materials in the city." Rick asked.
Cynthia was unsure who did the work, but she remembered hearing that the materials had come from the dwarven lands. She told him the dwarves had many different types of mines and quarries in their land and would have just about anything you could want there. Rick thanked Cynthia and told her he was going to read on the upper floor and might enter the restricted room later. She told him to just let herand the third-floor guard know when he was ready and went back to work.
I would love to go visit the Dwarven Fortress I just never have the time. If the dwarfs have marble quarries on their lands I might be able to find marble on my island then. I could make a marble scan and search themountains and see if I can get lucky. Rick thought as he climbed the stairs to the third floor.
The second and third-floor guards all saluted him the same as the others when he presented his gold library badge and returned their salutes.
I haven''t read any books on the third floor yet so I guess I will just look around for now. The main thing I wanted to test out is if I read enough books will I begin to raise my Intelligence like Angelica.
As he walked around the third floor examining all the books he grabbed anything to do with construction, magic, crafting, and military. When Rick sat down to read the stacks of books surrounding him he opened his notices that had been flashing.
Spoiler:New Notices.
Skill Increase:
Aura: Charming Presence: (Level 4) (Beginner 43%)
I forgot that I had this still activated now I know why there were so many people staring and greeting me on the way here. I thought it was because of the flashy Armor.He thought as he looked over the notice.
Skill Increase:
Carpentry: Level 2 (Advanced 79%)
Skill Increase:
Artist: Level 9 (Beginner12%)
Rick closed out the notices and began reading while using his Photoreading skill that allowed him to glance at a page and commit it to memory. If anyone watched him it would appear as if he were quickly skimming through the book without reading it. He began devouring one large book roughly every five minutes and soon went through the stack on the table surrounding him. Rick returned the books that he had read and went down to the second floor and went through the same selection process. When he had finished another large stack of books and returned them he opened his notices.
Spoiler:New Notices.
AttributeIncrease:
Intelligence +25
AttributeIncrease:
Wisdom +10
Well, those are some decentgains when you just look at the notices, but after reading near fifty books it would take a regular person a few months to make these advances.
New Spell Notice!
You Have Learned A New Spell!
Read Magic: (Level 1) (Beginner 11%)
You can decipher and learn magical spells, inscriptions, and magic physicsfrom books, items, and objects.
Higherlevels allow you to learn more complex inscriptions while needing less information.
New Spell Notice!
You Have Learned A New Spell!
Magic Reflection: (Level 1) (Beginner 07%)
Magic reflection can reflect harmful spells back at the caster.
Higherlevels increase the number of spells you can reflect per cast.
New Skill Notice!
You Have Learned A New Skill!
Repair: (Level 1) (Beginner 64%)
You can restore durability to clothing, armor, weapons, items, and objects.
Increased levels allow you torestore even more durability and even increase the base durability amount.
New Spell Notice!
You Have Learned A New Spell!
Project Image: (Level 1) (Beginner 32%)
You can cast anillusory image that looks and sounds like youbut is intangible
Higherlevels allow you to project to further distances.
New PowerNotice!
You Have Learned A New Power!
Mind Blast: (Level 1) (Beginner 88%)
You instantly deliver a massive assault to the brain of all nearby enemies.
Any enemy hit by this power is struck with a severe stabbing pain in their head and take psionic damage.
Higher levels increase the damageand pain duration along with the size of thecircumference ring.
New Discipline Notice!
You Have Learned A NewDiscipline!
PsionicDiscipline
You can now learn and develop powers of the mind.
Holy crap! I had thought that Psionic powers were based on racial traits! I also learned all these other spells and skills along with it. It must be related to my Photoreading and this new Read Magic Skill combined. If there is enough detailed information on the skill, spell, or power it seems there is a chance for me to learn it. If that is the case I need to go up to that restricted room and see what else I might learn.
Rick opened his inventory and took out the ring he found "Faith''s Blessing" and used his new repair skill on it. After a couple uses the ring looked brand new with the durability now back to 100%. He put the ring on his finger andstood up toreturn all the books to their proper locations.
Rick walked down to the first floor to let Cynthia know he was going toenter the restricted room and told her he would also inform the third-floor guard. When he was back on the third floor the guard followed him to the restricted room and stood in the doorway. Rick had memorized the name and location of most of the books in this room the last time he visited. Using this knowledge he quickly circled the room picking up all the books on magic and sat down to begin studying them. Most of the books described theories or just had brief descriptions on spells, but one book was completely devoted to the study and uses of Enchantments. After reading all the books he re-read the book on enchantment knowing he would learn something from it.
Spoiler:New Notices.
New SkillLearned!
You Have Learned ANew Skill!
Enchanting:(Level 2) (Intermediate 79%)
You can imbue items, weapons, and armor with any spell you know.
Offensive enchantment will have only so many uses that must be refilled with mana when empty.
Higher levels increase the enchantment strength and number of given uses.
AttributeIncrease:
Intelligence +10
AttributeIncrease:
Wisdom +5
I can''t complain this is an awesome skill to have learned. I had hopedI would have learned a few more spells or skills from all these books though. Maybe if I try another route instead of reading known magic I could also read game lore with skills and magic. That is how I had learned how to use the Runic Language maybe I can find a few other loopholes.
Rick was running out of time and decided to look through the scrolls which he had not touched yet. Most of them looked ancient and should have been transferred to books, for some reason the library allowed VIPs to come in here and still handle them. As he browsed the scrolls he came across what seemed to be abiography written about a once powerful wizard who ruled a vast area with his powers. Rick took the scroll over to a table and began Rotoreading through it. It seemed to be what he was looking for first-hand knowledge of magic practices and studies the wizard had learned through trial and error throughout his life.
Rick was unsure if this scroll was based on a real person or lore, but judging from how powerful this wizard was it didn''t seem humanly possible compared to the other residents of this world. When he had read all of the wizard''s life and magical studies he gently set the scroll down and reviewed his new notices.
Spoiler:New Notices.
New SkillLearned!
You Have Learned ANew Skill!
Sixth Sence:(Level 4) (Beginner19%)
A passive skill thatinstantaneously warns you of impending danger.
If someone is about to attack you or your allies sixth sense will read their killing intent and warn you.
Higher levelsbring sooner warnings and a largerdetection radius.
(Passive)
New Spell Learned!
You Have Learned ANew Spell!
Astral Door:(Level 8) (Beginner66%)
Allows you toopen a doorway and travel to the Astral World.
This world is only inhabited by the Valkyrie race.
New SpellLearned!
You Have Learned ANew Spell!
Reverse Gravity:(Level 3) (Beginner 81%)
You can reverse the gravity around you taking your foes off their feet and suspending them in mid-air.
Higher levels allow for increased gravity control and larger a circumference ring.
New SpellLearned!
You Have Learned ANew Spell!
Flight:(Level 5) (Beginner 13%)
Allows you to fly through the air for as long as you have mana.
Flight requires as much concentration as walking, so youcan attack or cast spells normally.
Higher levels allow for increased speed, height, and lower mana usage.
Wow, this is more like it! Thank you, Grand Wizard! I just learned some crazy spells and skills from that scroll. I haveso many new spells and skills I want to play with now especially this Astral Door and Flight spells. I better get out of here I only have a minute or two left before my allotted time runs out and I have a tonof new powers to experiment with.
Rick put all the books and the scroll back exactly where he found them and thanked the guard for his time while leaving the room. Rick went downstairs and told Cynthia he was finished in the restricted room and talked with before preparing to leave, right before he left the library he stopped next to a giant marble pillar and placed his hand on it. Using the techniques he discovered from his other scans to quickly received a new notice.
Spoiler:New Notice.
New Skill Learned!
You Have Learned ANewSkill!
Marble Scan:(Level 1) (Beginner 03%)
Allows you to scan your surrounding for the presence of marble.
Higher levels increase the scans circumference ring size.
When he had learned the Marble Scan skill Rick left the library and walked over tohis blacksmith teacher''s business. He gave him a quick update on everything going on and bought more ironore and coal from him to restock his inventory. After he went out back and filled his inventory with the resources he purchased Rick opened a portal to his limestone quarry south of Tower Island. Rick examined the quarry and seen that the cart drivers were doing a good job of picking up the marble blocks and dropping them off at Handil''s work sites, so he walked around the quarry and collected the piles of limestone dust and fragments.
While Rickwas studying in the library he had learned more than skills and spells from the books he had read. One of the things he learned was that when limestone is subjected to heat and pressure over time it can turn into marble. So Rick cast his flight spell and shot up into the air quicker than he had expected to. He then lowered himself closer to the ground as he flew along the edge of the cliffs bordering the coastline. Rick was having so much fun zipping along and taking in the spectacular views he had almost forgot why hetraveled out here there. He activatedthe new [Marble Scan] skill and slowly flew along the limestone cliffs that circled the huge peninsula jutting out into the southern ocean.
Rick had flown for a few miles and his Marble Scan skill made advances but hadn''t found anything. Soon he had flown all the way out to the furthest point and kept circling the perimeter of thepeninsula until he was now headed back north on its eastern shore. When he had flown into the large baythat he wished to build a harborand shipyard atone day he suddenly had a hit with his Marble Scan. He flew down and landed to begin a grid search of the area trying to find the locationthat held the most marble.
Following his scan skill, he drove long wooden stakes into the ground to mark out the hidden marble. Once he had marked out the area that looked like about the size of two football fields side by side,Rick walked to the center and used his [Move and Shape Earth] skill to remove the surface soil. As he cut away at the soil he stored it inside his inventory to turn it into the sand for street construction and also making glass. After digging down to roughly twenty feet he came to the surface of the white marble.
He continued to remove the soilout from the center until he cleared out a decently sized hole exposing even more of the marble. Rick knew that to quarry the marble the men would need to use chisels and wedges to split off blocks that could be then cut into desired shapes later. The problem he faced now though was he didn''t have a saw that could cut the hard marble. Rick knew it was possible to use awater wheel sawmill to cut it but he would need to research what type a saw blade to make. From his limited knowledge, he assumed a circular blade with water trickledonto it to reduce heat would be best, but wasn''t sure on the size or shape of the blade''s teeth.
So, for now, he decided to try it himself with his [Move and Shape Stone] Skill that he hadn''t used up until now. Using this skill he cut out the maximum size a 10'' x 10'' x10'' foot square cube and transferred it into his inventory and then placed it out onthe surface. He continued using the Stone skill to cut the block down into smaller sections. Soon he had diced up the block into 1'' x 1'' x 10 foot long rectangles that were to beslicedinto one inch thick 1'' x 1'' foot square marble tiles. Rick ended up with 120 tiles from each marble rectangle and when the entire cube was sliced up he had 12000 one inch thick 1'' foot x 1'' foot marble tiles.
He had never bothered to measure the square footage of his new store but his rough guestimate was 100'' x 100'' foot including the showroom, offices, and back warehouse. This came out to ten thousand sq ft and his twelve thousand tiles would cover an are measuring just over 109'' x 109''. He also had to cover the upstairs floor so he repeated the steps cutting out another large 10-foot cube and slicing it up into square tiles. He now had way more tiles than needed, but could always find uses for them later in the castle and temple he planned to construct.
Rick then decided to cut out two more ten-foot cubes and store them for any columns or other ideas to use in the store. Rick activated flight and flew off into the air back to the tower to get a look at the route from the air. He passed over the surveyor and his helper marking the road to the quarry and landed in front of the workshop a minute later.
Rick went insidethe workshop and set out the looms and spinning wheels near the bales of wool and cotton. Then he made more workbenches that he arranged around the workshop and picked up all completed furniture, clothing, and footwear.
Upon leaving the workshop he went over to the System Gate and spawned more units. He purchased a couple of each [furniture maker/Artisan], [Rug Weaver/Artisan], [Tapestry Maker/Artisan], [Quilter/Artisan], [Spinster/Weaver], [Glass blower/Artisan], [Glass Glazier/Artisan], and a [Spectacle Maker/Artisan]. Rick paid more money to give them all the extra [Artisan] figuring that in the long run, these workers would put out high-end products that would rival the Dwarf craftsmen. This would make his products more sought after than anyone else in Silverhall City increasing his sales and profits made through his store.
Rick set them up with belts, pouches, gloves, and anytools they might need and escorted them to the workshop. He showed them the wool and cotton bales and the spinning wheels and weaving loom to work with. Rick gave a grinding wheel to the spectacle maker and told him and the glass workers they would need to wait for him to make a glass manufacturing area before they could get started.The new units all picked a workbench to work from and got to work with the instructions and designs handed off to them.
Rick went back down into the cellar and sat at his workbench and brought out different sized pieces of quartz. With the use of his [Gem Cutting] skill, he made different shapes and sizes to experiment with. Hewent through the different shapes and sized quartz gems and filled them with mana and used identify on them all. The shape or facet cuts didn''t seem to make a difference in the mana capacity at all. Rick found it came down more to the gems size and overall quality for how much mana it would be able to store.
Taking outa pile of quartz Rickpicked out a few huge stones and took his time to cleanly cut each facet. Most of them were decent quality because he put the effort into planningoutthe best way to cut each individual quartz gem. After he filled the large quartz gems Rick chiseled out a rune on the wall near the forge. Around the inner perimeter of the rune, he chiseled the words [Draga Seinn Eptir Stigr Megin Rita] which roughly translates to (Draw Slow Along Path Power Runes). Rick then chiseled out a socket hole in the center of the rune and slid alarge quartz gem into the socket and turned the forge on.
The forge jumped to life instantly and it appeared to produce the same heat and flame as it always had. He placed his hand in the flames and circulated the mana for a few minutes and still didn''t notice any real difference. After he found the Smiths he showed them the changes to the Forge and how it ran off the quartz that fedmana to the fire and wind runes. Rickasked them to be sure to turn the forge off whenever they left for the day to save mana and if the forge stopped working anyone who knew magic could refill the gem.
Rick sat down andtook out a crystal wall light and modified it to store mana and still work like the old version which he acquireda new recipe for this modified version. Rick then spent some time making a few new styles of lights. He made table lamps, floor lamps, and a wall lamp in a wood and cloth Asian style and received recipes for them all.
Going through the settlement Rickchanged out all the old wall lights with the modified versions and placed a few of the new lampson tables and in corners of each room. With the new lamps replaced throughout the settlement, he made his way into the workshop and built a forge like the one in the basement and hung a couple smelting pots above it by the rafter beams on chains and pulleys.
Opening his inventory Rick took out some dirt and piled it up near the forge. Casting his Druid spell [Transmute Stone and Earth] on the pile of dirt it was transformed into clean sand. He called over the [Glass blower/Artisan]and [Glass Glazier/Artisan] then told them to put one of the workbenches in the center of the room. While they moved the workbench Rick used a recipe to make another metal tube roller and placed it on the workbench they had just moved.
Spoiler:Metal Tube Roller.
Rick took twotables out of his inventory and placed onein front and behind the tube roller. Using thin sheets of iron he covered the surface of both of those tables to protect them from burning. Theglass workers still needed a couple more tools so Rick got to work on setting them up. With a recipe, Rickmadehollow metal pipes in different sizes so they could be used as glassblowing pipes. Rick cut one of the pipes and made a big two-pronged fork from it, this would be used for flipping and moving molten glass on the table. The last tool the glass workers needed was a large ladle to transfer molten glass to the metal top table.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Rick shoveled sand into the smelting pot and left it to melt into a thick glowing liquid and used the large ladle to transfer a glob to the table. Rick picked up the two-pronged fork and fed the glob of molten glass into the roller while the Glass Blower turned the crank until it came out the other side in a long sheet to lay on the metal top table.
"You two should have everything you need here now. I don''t have any need for stain glass yet so you two can work together for now. Keep making glass panes like I just did with the roller there." He instructed then went and sat down and drew up quite a few designs for all the craftsman.
Rick gave the Glass workers a couple glassware designs and told them to start making them once they have a few glass panes completed. Rick then went around the workshop handing out designs to the [Tailor/Cobblers], [furniture maker/Artisan], [Rug Weaver/Artisan], [Tapestry Maker/Artisan], and [Quilter/Artisan]. All of these designs would be used to stock his store once it opened in a few days.
When everyone had their orders and had begun to work Rick found the blacksmith and brought him over to the workshop. Mixing sand with a small amount of clay and adding water Rick made an old worldcasting mixture for the blacksmith to work with that he learned from his book studies. He left him a few planks and nails and gave him a design for a cast iron cookware set to make that would also be stock for the store. Rick made a stack of steelingots next to the forge and called out to everyone that they could use them for any of their assignments.
Rick then walked back to the blacksmith and reminded him to work with anyone in the workshop who may need metal hardware made, especially the Cartwright who was making a steel frame with leaf springs for the new carriage designs. This extra metal would add additional weight to the carriage but would improve the overall durability and provide a much more comfortable ride. The cart designs currently used in the world didn''t have suspensions so on a rough road they would bounce and toss you around the entire time.
Walking around the workshop Rick stopped and informed the [Spectacle Maker/Artisan] that he could begin making spectacles once the pane glass had cooled. He told him to for now make random magnifications to stock the store with and raise his skill levels. He scanned the room and saw that [Spinster/Weavers] were working the spinning wheels to produce yarn and fabric thread with the large stock of wool and cotton. The regular furniture makers continued to make basic furniture for the settlement and the Cartwright and wheelwright were busy building the carriage designs with the leaf spring suspensions he gave them earlier.
Spoiler:Leaf Springs.
(Leaf spring carriage suspension)
All of the new workers with an Artisan class had specific designs to create and seemed to have already settled in and began to work on them.
It looks like everyone knows what needs to be done here I should head over to the cellar now and talk with the Smiths.Rick thought as he walked out of the workshop.
Down in the tower cellar, Rick passed over designs for weapons, armor, and shieldsthat he would also sell in his new shop and had the two get started on them. Rick walked over and tossed agold ingot into the forgeand sat down at his workbench to do some crafting. Using different types of wood he made anelegant chessboard while using his woodcarving and carpentry skills and received a recipe. Then using his wood carving and metal sculptor skills he made themed chess pieces similar to the ones he had bought from the furniture store and used a paint stick to detail them to look like littlepeople and acquiredtheir recipes.
While he was working with wood he made a 2'' foot x 1'' foot hinged silverware storage case and glued red velvet fabric to its interior. Rick set the storage case aside while waiting for the gold ingot to heat upand began carving small wood sculptures and alsomade metal sculptures of a mounted knight and a swordsman. He received recipes for them all and stored them in his inventory to later stock the store with.
That gold ingot should be ready to be formed now.Rick thought as he walked over and took out the gold ingot with tongs. With his hammer and chisel, he split off twenty slices that he hammered into a rough shape of four of each fork, regular spoon, soup spoon, and knife. With the use of his engraving tools and goldsmithing skill he worked them into a rich looking design and stored them in the silverware storage case. He acquired a new recipe for the gold silverware and case together that he planned to use for store merchandise.
After he stored the case of silverware away Rick dropped a silver and copper ingot into the forge to heat up. He returned to his workbench and decided to make thin black silk under armor suits. He had been wearing his t-shirt and shorts under his armor and it bothered him that the metal armor rubbed on his exposed arms and legs.Theunder armor looked like long johns but were not as heavy and the silk would also helpwick perspiration away from the body. After he made a set for himself and his military units from the measurements he originally took from them he saw that his notice icon was flashing.
Spoiler: NewNotices.
Skill Increased:
Wood Carving: Level 1 (Intermediate 11%)
Skill Increased:
Metal Sculptor: Level 5 (Beginner13%)
Skill Increased:
Tailoring: Level 2 (Intermediate 19%)
Notice Skill Upgraded!
Your Tailoring Skill Has Been Upgraded!
You no longer need to Tailor to measurements.
When you complete a piece of clothing you can click on it and assign ownership.
The clothing will be automatically set to the new owner''s measurements.
You will now begin to receive recipes for any custom made clothing.
Oh? This is a nice surprise and perfect timing with the store opening soon. I can now make the designs I gave to the Tailors and use recipes to stock the store. I wonder if this will happen with Blacksmithing when I hit Intermediate. If so then all the armor I make can be made without measurements as well.Rick contemplated over the new upgrade excitedly.
He closed the notices and removed the silver ingot from the forge and split it into equal portions. Rick hammered them into dinner plate shapes and sat down with his engraving tools to carve and mold detailed leaves around the perimeter of the plate. After he had completed a couple plates he acquired the recipe that he wanted to help towards stocking the store.
Rick stored the silver dinner plates and went to remove the copper ingot from the forge. He also split up this ingot and hammered the sections flat enough to run through the metal rollers. Welding one of the copper sheets together he made a hollow tube. The next sheet he made in the shape of a cone and weldit to the end of the hollow tube. Hammering out a small sheet of silver metal he lined the inside of the copper tube and polished it. Rick then engraved a light rune on a circular piece of silver and attached it in the center of the copper cone. The next rune he engraved was a [switch rune] that was located on the hollow coppertube. After he linked the switch and light runes he made a crystal socket inside the hollow copper tube.
Rick engraved mana drawingrune on the crystal socketand slid a charge quartz crystal into the socket. Next, he threaded the end of the copper hollow tube and made a cap to screw onto the hollow tube threads and contain the mana crystal inside. He had the two Smiths stop working for a minute and had them turn off all the lights and the forge leaving them in darkness. Rick touched the switch rune on the tube and a beam of light shot out of the cone on the end.
The two Smith gasped when they saw a beam of light being emitted from the first flashlight made in Kingdoms Online. He had the lights and forged turned back on when he knew the flashlight worked and that he received a recipe for it.
This patch on the runes could turn out to be a good thing now. Since I am the only one who can make these runes the items I make with them will be popular and they will need to come back to have them recharged when the mana runs out. I can have a recharge fee for different sized crystals making money from selling crystal items and also forrecharging them each time.Rickreasoned.
Rick used his next recipe to make a roll of metal wire that he coiled into springs with circular loops on each end. His next idea was to make mattress springs to integrate into the beds he would sell at the store and make for the settlement. When he had made a few springs he used the recipe to make two hundred of them and wired them all together inside of a rectangle metal frame.
With the metal spring frame finished Rickheated a chunk of iron in the forge and ran it through the metal roller. He cut the iron sheet metal into a one 1'' foot x 4" inch rectangle shape. With a pair of metal shears, he then cut notches into the side of the rectangle sheet metal and then weld a straight thin iron round bar onto the center length of the notched sheet metal. Rick made another thin round bar and curved it into an (L) shape and attached it to thestraight thin iron round bar on the notched rectangle. When the welds were all cooled Rick carved a round wood handle and attached it to the (L) shaped round bar with a threaded nut. When he was done he named the recipe "Flooring Trowel" He would use this trowel to spread the cement for securing the marble tiles to the floor of the store.
Rickedpacked up all his tools and cleaned off his workbench and walked over to the workshop. Using the recipe for the mattress springs he made a hundred mattress spring frames and stacked them near the furniture makers.
Using the carpentry skill he made a box frame and attached one of the spring frames to the top of it and covered it in cotton and fabric and named the new Recipe Box Spring Mattress and used it to make fifty and stacked them next to the spring frames. Then he took down another spring frame and wrapped it in cotton and fabric as well and named it Open Spring Mattress. He made fifty of the Open Spring Mattresses as well and stacked them alongside the Box Spring Mattresses.
He was sure to show the Furniture Makers how he cushionedthe spring frames with cotton and sewed fabric around it.Rick also told the furniture makersto use these new mattresses with all the beds from now on. All the beds he had bought or made up to now were like sleeping on a big soft pillow without any support. If he had to actually sleep in the game he would have decided to make this change long ago, but it never affected him since he was disconnected when this body slept here.
Rick left the workshop again after squaring away the new beds and went back to the System Gate. The first thing he did was purchase more land. All this time he had only owned the first 25 acres he originally purchased and most of the city once built would not even be on that land. He took a look at the Feudal Ranking Menu to see what was involved in reaching the next noble rank.
Fedual Ranking Menu
Nobility Rank
Required Acres
Required Population
Required Construction
Baron / baroness
NONE
01
NONE
Viscount / viscountess
640 acres
50
Housing
Count / Countess
2560 acres
100
Barracks
Marquess / Marchioness
5760 acres
150
Temple
Duke / Duchess
10240 acres
200
Noble Housing
King / Queen
16000 acres
250
Castle
Emporer / Emporess
16000 acres
500
Two or more Cities
I see it has three requirements per rank owned acres, total population, and a designated construction. It doesn''t seem to matter what materials theconstruction is made with, but is based on the overall square feet of the building. I am currently a Baron and Viscount is the next rank and I have housing and the workers barracks should work for a barracks, so I think I could just jump up to a Count.Rick thought it through for a few minutes then opened the Land Management Menu.
He purchased 2600 acres of the land from the western graves out and around the city. Rick then clicked on the apartment building and zoned it as housing and then clicked on the worker''s barracks and zoned it as the barracks on the [Land Purchasing Gid Map]. When the system accepted the changes he closed the menus.
Show Status!
Cedric Crownguard
Strength:
50
Level: (31%)
13
Stamina:
40
Health:
550
Vitality:
55
Mana:
1160
Intelligence:
116
Piety:
+175
Wisdom:
59
Fame:
+10125 (locally respected)
Agility:
38
Honor:
+11000
Charisma:
20
Allignment:
+4000
Leadership:
35
Satiety:
76%
Luck:
10
Class:
DruidicMage
Health Regen/Sec:
2.5
Mana Regen/Sec:
5.5
Feudal Domain:
2600
Race:
Human
Feuadal Title:
Count
Unused Points:
0
Awarded Titles
Title:
The White Knight
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
The Honor Guard
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
The Duelist
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
Black Hand Interrogator
Alignment +/-
-1000
Title:
Benevolent Leader
Alignment +/-
+1000
Nice! Count Cedric Crownguard, not a bad ring to it. Now if those other nobles mess with my shop I should haveno problem fighting back. If the City guard or whoever comes questioning meabout striking back my count title should protect me and lend weight to my words. Speaking of my store I need to get some military units over there just to be safe. They could be smashing my windows or smashing the place upright now and I would have no idea.Rick thought to himself as he opened the [Buy Unit Menu] next to the [System Gate].
Before he hired any additional military units he spawned in a Half-Dryad with two classes [Landscape Architect/Druid].She said hername wasDaisia and she stood around five feet tall weighing around one hundred pounds. Her hair is bright green like the color of plants and she is adorable.
Rick bought a few trays of tree saplings, herbs, and put them in his inventory with the other tray of saplings he had bought before. As he was about to walk Daisia out to the apartments he stopped and sighed remembering that the clay shingles needed to be nailed on the roofs still. He once again opened the Buy Unit Menu and spawned in a few Roofers and walked everyone over to the tool shed. He equipped the roofers with belts, tool pouches, hammer belt holders, gloves, and nails.Rick walked Daisia and the roofersout to the Apartment buildings and had the roofers wait outside while he gave Daisiaone of the first apartments on the bottom floor when entering of an unclaimed building.
They sat down at the kitchen table and he placed all the treesapling trays and herbs on it. He explained that he wanted her to help out the farmers and orchardist in getting the farm plots and fruit trees growing right away. Rick also told her that she could use her skills to improve any of the plots with four apartment buildings already built on them.
"I want this city when it is done to have nice green grass with plants, flowers, and trees everywhere. I want it to look like we built thiscity inside of a huge beautiful garden. Then later when we have all the city zones marked out we can find a plot for you to make a forest garden to live in if you don''t like living here. I know dryads are fond of living with the trees so let me know if you ever need a change." Rick explained to Dasia.
"Tehe, Thank you, Cedric, I am half human and Dryad so living here isn''t that bad. I will let you know later on like you mentioned if I get the urge to join nature." She said as she walked over to him and kissed him out of the blue.
Cedric was shocked for a few seconds then he remembered reading how Dryads feelno embarrassment when expressing their urges. A moment later she broke away with a smile and scooped up a couple trays of saplings and herbs and skipped out the front door happily humming to herself.
"What a little firecracker this one turned out to be. I might have my hands full with her haha." Rick said softly laughing to himself as he stood up and went outside to meet up with the waiting roofers.
Spoiler:Landscape Architect Class / Druid Class.
Landscape Architect Class
Landscape Architects design and create attractive and functional parks, gardens, residential areas, and public spaces.
They also plan the location of roads, walkways, water features, flowers, shrubs, and trees within these environments.
Skills List
Skill Name
Skill Descriptions
Mana Cost
Recharge Time
Artist
Allows you to create art drawings in different medias. Level Increases allow for higher quality and value.
5 mp
NONE
Estimative Vision
Allows you to estimate measurements and needed resources. Higher levels increase overall accuracy.
5 mp
NONE
Nature Affinity
The a magic ability to wield and resist Nature Elemental. Higher levels increase overall control and resist.
Relative to Use
NONE
Earth Affinity
The a magic ability to wield and resist Earth Elemental. Higher levels increase overall control and resist.
Relative to Use
NONE
Identify
Allows you to learn detailed information on just about anything in the world you encounter.
5 mp
NONE
Plant Growth:
Allows you to speed up the growth of plants and trees.
5 mp
NONE
Vegetation Shape
Allows you to form one plants and trees into any shape that suits your purpose, within its mass.
5 mp
Two Minutes
Move and Shape Earth
You can move and shape up to a 10x10x10 of soil per cast. (Dig, Move, Build)
15 mp
Two Minutes
Create Water
Allows you to create water in different forms. You can use it to fill a container or even water a field.
25 mp
Two Minutes
Detect Plants
Allows you to find any plant you have previously Identified within 100 yards.
25 mp
NONE
Soil Enrichment
Allows you to restore barren land and enrich the soil around you for 100 yards.
50 mp
Two Minutes
Repel Pests
Allows you to protect an area from insects, vermin, and unwanted vegetation. 50 yards per cast
75 mp
Two Minutes
Instinctive knowledge
Staves
Allows you to use Staves. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Axes
Allows you to use Axes. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Blunt Weapons
Allows you to use Blunt Weapons. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Magic
Allows you to wield magic.
Light Armor
Allows you to wear light armor. Skill level determines protection bonuses.
camouflage
Allows you to become invisible in natural cover when not moving.
Sure Footed
Allow you to keep your footing on a precarious terrain.
Mastery of Movement
Difficult terrain doesn''t slow you down.
Medicine
Allows you the knowledge of healing and curing plants.
Foraging
Allows you to acquire food by hunting, fishing, or the gathering of plant matter. Edible plants, fish, and animals will glow when activated.
Reading and Writing
Allows you to read and write you racial and Lord''s language.
Numerate
Allows you a good basic knowledge of arithmetic. You are able to understand and work with numbers.
DruidClass
Rewarded for their devotion with incredible powers, druids gain unparalleled shape-shifting abilities, and the companionship of mighty beasts and the power to call upon nature¡¯s wrath. Druids wield the power of nature against their foes.
Skills List
Skill Name
Skill Descriptions
Mana Cost
Recharge Time
Weather Control:
You change the weather appropriate to the climate and season of the area you are in.Will change back on deactivation.
250mp
Two Minutes
Repel Metal:
This spell pushes all metal away from you for 30 seconds. Will change back on deactivation.
15 mp
Two Minutes
Shape Shift:
Allows you to assume the form of any creature you have defeated or tamed.
50 mp
Two Minutes
Summon Spirit Ally:
You cansummon the spirit of any creature you have defeated or tamed to fight with you.
75 mp
Twelve Hours
Concealing Curtain:
Covers 300 feetaroundyou in dense fog that moves with you concealing everything in it. Will change back on deactivation.
25 mp
Two Minutes
Speak with Animals:
Youcancommunicate with animals. This does not tame,or make them friendlier. Will change back on deactivation.
25 mp
Two Minutes
Fireball:
You can create a ball of fire tohurl at targeted foes to deal fire damage and ignite combustible clothing.
5 mp
OneMinutes
Spear of Lightning:
You can create a spear of lightning to hurl at targeted foes to deal electric shock. It can also arc to adjacent foes.
5 mp
One Minute
Wall of Flames:
Create a curtain of flames up to 30 feet long. remains for one minute.
15 mp
OneMinutes
Move and Shape Earth:
You can move & shape up to a 10x10x10 per cast. Dig/build holes, walls, roofs,etc
5 mp
One Minute
Move and Shape Stone:
You can move & shape up to a 5x5x5 of natural uncut stoneper cast. Dig/build holes, walls, roofs,etc.
10 mp
One Minute
Wood Shape:
Allows you to form one existing piece of wood into any shape. Fine details are notpossible.
5 mp
One Minute
Wind Wall
You can create a wall of wind to deflect arrows, small creatures, and gases.
10 mp
One Minute
Plant Growth:
Allows you to rapidly grow and enrich the vegetation within 100 feet of you.
15 mp
One Minute
Natures Commune:
You instantly gain knowledge of the terrain, minerals, bodies of water, plants, and animals for one mile around you.
200 mp
One Minute
Instinctive knowledge
Medicine:
Axes:
Allows you to use Axes. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Swords:
Allows you to use Swords. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Daggers:
Allows you to use Daggers. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Blunt Weapons:
Allows you to use Blunt Weapons. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Staves:
Allows you to use Staves. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Archery
Allows you to use a Bow and Arrow. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Shields:
Allows you to use a Shield. Level determines bonuses to reduce damage and increase technique.
LightArmor:
Allows you to wear Lightarmor. Skill level determines protection bonuses.
Medium Armor:
Allows you to wear Mediumarmor. Skill level determines protection bonuses.
Camouflage
Allows you to become invisible in natural cover when not moving.
Sure Footed:
Allow you to keep your footing on a precarious terrain.
Mastery of Movement:
Difficult terrain doesn''t slow you down.
Allows y the knowledge of healing and curing plants.
Foraging:
Allows you to acquire food by hunting, fishing, or the gathering of plant matter. Edible plants, fish, and animals.
Hand Signals:
Allows you to communicate with others with only hand signals.
Reading and Writing:
Allows you to read and write you racial and Lord''s language.
Brawling:
Allows you the knowledge of how to fight unarmed to win by any means necessary.
Rick took out all of the clay tile shingles and used a recipe to make a couple ladders. Rick passed out paint sticks to the roofers and climbed up on a roof with them and showed them how to install and paint the tiles. He told them to just go down the line of apartment buildings nailing on tiles and when they finished to attach themselves to Handil''s crew that he pointed out across the street building the restaurant. Rick walked across the street and handed a couple paint sticks over to Handil so they could paint the blue accents on the buildings.
Handil''s crew had the bottom floors outer walls up and were now working on the second floor. Rick went inside and made a multi burner stove with two large grills and four huge refrigerators with runes like he had originally made on the first floor of the tower. He had the carpenters make a long counter in the kitchen while he was making the appliances. Rick made two wooden sinks that he painted so that they looked like steel and the paint sealed the wood from absorbing water. After he named the recipes for the sinks Rick ran water to them and hooked up a faucet to each sink. With the water lines hooked up, he then ran the drain lines out to the drainage pipes.
Spoiler:Restaurant Floor Plan.
The restaurant should be all ready to go once Handil''s crew finishes up here. Rick thought to himself as he packed up to head out.
As Rick walked down the street he thought of all the pipes that still needed to run to everyone''s homes and how he still had to design a toilet. "Ah crap, I going to need to hire even more help unless I want to spend everyday running pipes to and from these apartments." Rick softly said to himself.
Back behind the tower, Rick loaded the blast furnace with layers of iron, coal, and limestone dust. With his engraving tools, he then carved out a draw rune and weld a socket on the blast furnace to fit one of the large quartz crystal gems. When he snapped the gem into the socket and touched the switch rune the furnace began to heat up.
Rick left the furnace to walk over next to the System Gate and spawned in a couple Plumbers, Cabinet Makers, another Blacksmith and a locksmith. He sent the locksmith and Blacksmith over to the workshop and had the locksmith start making key door locks that they could install onto the apartment doors. He told him if he needed any special tools to have the blacksmith help him make them if needed. Rick told the two about the forge over there and the pile of ingots they could use.
Once again Rick walked out to the apartments with the two Plumbers and Cabinet Makers after setting them up with all their belts, gloves, and pouches. He handed the Cabinet Maker off to Handil with instructions to make cabinets in all the kitchens and bathrooms. Then took the plumbers over to a building that needed all the pipe work done still. Rick went through the entire process of running the pipeline to the sinks and tubs then showed them how to run the pipes out from all the drains to the main clay drainage pipeline. Rick passed over any tools they may need and used his recipes to make sinks and tubs for each apartment and left them behind for the plumbers to install.
When he was confident that the plumbers could repeat what he had shown them he went back to the System Gate. This time he spawned a human male [Assassin/Cleric] three human male [Blade Master/Battle Mage] and two human male [Assassin/Spies]. Rick took the six human men up to the tower fourth floor and gave them armor, weapons, darts, and any special items they may need. He also made up two ninja outfits and six of the dual back harnesses that held two gladius swords identical to his with recipes and had them all wear them as well.
Once the men were looking like walking weapons shops he opened a portal to his new store on the second floor. He assigned two men to each bedroom and left them all a few gold coins so that they could buy meals in town. Rick had them all gather around a table in one of the rooms and explained the situation to them about the two noble houses that more than likely will show up and try to cause trouble. Rick explained that he would try to take care of it, but if he was disconnected or "not in this world at the time" he said that they would need to deal with it.
He assigned the ninja outfits to the [Assassin/Spies] and told them they might come in handy at night time for what he wanted them to do. He explained that he wanted these two out gathering information on House Karn and House Lupton.Rick wanted to them to locate their House and find any incriminating evidence on them blackmailing the stores in town. They were to infiltrate each House and learn all that they could to use against them.
Spoiler:Spy Class.
SpyClass
A spy is trained to secretly gather information. Their silver tongue can win friends and bewilder foes
Loyal spies would rather die than divulge information that could compromise them or their employers.
Skills List
Skill Name
Skill Descriptions
Mana Cost
Recharge Time
Eavesdropping:
Allows you to amplify your hearing by 3x in chosen direction.
15mp
Two Minutes
AssumeForm:
You can mimic the appearance of anyone you have touched.
50 mp
Two Minutes
Mind Probe:
Yougain anyknowledge the target knows related toyou or your faction.
100 mp
Two Minutes
Sneak:
Allows you to remain undetected by friend or foe.
15 mp
Two Minutes
Blending:
You erase your presence and slowly move with the crowd. You look like you belong with those around you.
15 mp
Two Minutes
Mind of Steel:
You can resist spells and skills that attempt to read your thoughts.Active for ten minutes
15 mp
Two Minutes
Night Sight:
Allows you to see clearly in the dark. Continuous until deactivated.
5 mp
Two Minutes
Far Sight:
Allows you to magnify your vision over great distances.Continuous until deactivated.
5 mp
Two Minutes
Instinctive knowledge
Swords:
Allows you to use Swords. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Daggers:
Allows you to use Daggers. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Blunt Weapons:
Allows you to use Blunt Weapons. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
LightArmor:
Allows you to wear Lightarmor. Skill level determines protection bonuses.
Trap Detection:
Allows you to locate and bypass traps with this skill.
Hand Signals:
Allows you to communicate with others with only hand signals.
Courtly Knowledge:
Allows you the knowledge of proper protocol and etiquette.
Reading and Writing:
Allows you to read and write you racial and Lord''s language.
Lockpicking:
Allows you to open locked doors and containers with a lockpick.
Multilingual:
Allows you to understand Human, Elf, Dwarf, Gnome, Halfling, Nekomimi. Kitsune, and Demon.
Alert:
You can''t be surprised while you are conscious.
Skilled Liar:
You can tell very convincing lies with a perfectly straightface.
Brawling:
Allows you the knowledge of how to fight unarmed to win by any means necessary.
Rick then told the [Assassin/Cleric] that he would work together with the [Blade Master/Battle Mages] to defend the store and they were to only go out to eat two at a time, Rick didn''t want them to ever leave the store unguarded. After giving the new troops their orders Rick went intothe storage room next to the bedrooms. Rick began cutting and shaping stone blocks with [Move and Shape Stone] into a large circle roughly ten feet wide and four inches thick. When he had all the segments cut he cemented them together and used fire elemental to heat the stones up to speed up the drying time.
When the cement looked dry enough Rick used his hammer and stone chisels to carve the runes he had committed to memory from the ruined temple teleporter. It took some timeto carve every rune in the proper location, but when it was complete it looked exactly like the temple teleporter. With the runes complete he began modifying the teleporter with four mana draw runes and cut six socket slots in the center of these draw runes and fixed largequartz crystals gems filled with mana into each slot.
Now that he had a complete teleporter he now needed to make one more to connect it to. Rick cast portal and stepped into the tower basement next to the staircase. When he built this staircase he had made a small storage closet under it with a door that has never been used so he decided to give it a new purpose. Rick opened the door to the closet and began to chisel into the outer tower stone wall creating an archway. Rick planned to make a small room behind the closet for the teleporter pad and had to be careful not to upset the stability of the tower. With the use of a recipe, he made a couple eight-inch posts and cut them to brace up the doorway he had cut into the stone wall so that it wouldn''t collapse over time.
Satisfied that the doorway was properly supported he used [Move and Shape Earth] to carefully carve out a small room. Rick continued to store the dirt while he dug the room and when the room was near a 15'' x 15'' size he used stone blocks to make a floor and line the walls that he also cemented together to match the rest of the cellar. Once the floor and walls were finished he also made slots in the top row of wall blocks and ran wood joists across the ceiling to support the earth above the room.
Rick repeated the same steps he used at the store to build an exact copy of the other teleporter platform and gave it the first trial run by himself. When he stepped onto the platform the runes all began to glow blue and a small menu popped up.
Do you wish to teleport to Silverhall City?
YES
NO
It seems to be working exactly like the temple teleporter, thismessage menu prompt is also the same as back then.
YES!
When Rick used his inner voice to answer[yes] the teleporter surrounded him in a blue light and instantly placed him in the storage room. Rick knelt down and used identify on the quartz gems.
Quartz Storage Gem
This is a Quartz Crystal that has been crafted into a Quartz Storage Gem.
Quartz Storage Gems are used to supply items and objects with mana.
Themana storage capacity is dependant on the gems size and quality.
Mana Capacity: 950 / 1000
All four gems lost 50 mana points so that means it costs 200 mana points per teleport and allows for twenty teleports before they need to be recharged. I still need to verify that the other teleporter also used 50 mana points per gem, but I would assume that the two share the spent mana between them. It shouldn''t cost any more energy to send someone than to receive someone between two points.Rick contemplated the over the teleporter system mechanics.
You gain +5 wisdom points through logical reasoning and deduction!
I guess that answers my question that they do both use equal amounts of mana. He thought with a quiet snicker.
Rick searchedaround the store and brought the patrolling troops into the what was a storage room now turned into a teleporter room. Rick had traveledthrough the gate and showed them around the tower and island. He explained that they could occasionally come here to eat or meet some of the other people living here.
"When the trouble with the nobles is settled you men will be able to come here more often and will also train with the rest of the troops. For now, though we need to stay on our guard and watch the store for any attacks or vandalism". Rick explained as he escorted the men back into the cellar and had them all travel back to the store.
Rick recharged all the gems powering the teleporter platform and opened a portal next to the City Hall and went inside. Rick walked over to a guard that saluted him as he approached, Rick saluted him back and asked for directions to the Office of the Royal Court. Rick thanked the guard after relaying the route leading to the officeand went in search of the office. When he found a door marked Royal Courts he walked in and explained he wanted to register a new house.
The woman who heexplained the situation to asked him to wait there while she went off into an office. She returned a minute later and escorted him into the office. An older man came out from behind his desk and introduced himself as the Royal Courtchancellor.
"Nice to meet you, Chancellor. I am Count Cedric Crownguard I would like to register a new house." Rick explained.
"I am more than happy to help it is a simple procedure. Firstly I need to review you [FeudalTitle Display Menu]." The Chancellor said.
Rick opened a few menus and his [FeudalTitle Display Menu] opened before them with a couple changes to his Feudal Title and Feudal Domain.
"Ho, you are a chosen I see." TheChancellor said looking up to take a second look at Cedric.
"Yes sir, I just arrived in this world one week ago." Rick said.
"I see you been quite busy to have acquired these lands and titles. Everything looks fine here or I should say quite impressive. haha." TheChancellor said laughing.
Spoiler: FeudalTitle Display Menu
FeudalTitle Display Menu
Cedric Crownguard
Race:
Chosen Human
Feudal Title:
Count
Feudal Domain:
2560 Acres
Titles:
The White Knight
Titles:
The Honor Guard
Titles:
The Duelist
Titles:
Black Hand Interrogator
Titles:
Benevolent Leader
Fame:
+10125
Honor:
+11000
"Then all I need is your House location and your coat of arms." TheChancellor instructed.
Cedric took out a couple sheets of parchment and drew a map of his store''s location and then created a coat of arms and colored it with his dye sticks.
"I will use this establishment as House Crownguards location and this will be my coat of arms." Rick told theChancellor as he passed him the drawings.
Spoiler: Coat of Arms.
"This drawing looks like it could pass as a painting and you drew so quickly.I now have everything I need, there is just a small fee you canpay my assistant on the way out." The old man told him as he placed the drawing on his desk.
"Thank you for your time Chancellor have a good day." Rick said turning to leave the room.
"You as well Count Crownguard." The old man said with a smile as he sat down to fill out Cedric''s registration paperwork.
Rick paid the assistant ten gold coins and thanked her as he left the office. He looked up and down the hall and there was no one around so he cast portal and stepped out in front of the workshop.
The sun was now starting to set after a long day that was not over yet. Rick did not have any classes or plans set for tomorrow so he decided to stay online and try and catch up on all the growing tasks. Rick made another pile of the dirt he had been collecting and transformed it into clean sand and transferred it into the pile of sand he made earlier for the glass makers. Rick did keep some of the sand and used it to mix with clay into a blend that would hold together for casting. Rick then made wooden crates and packed both of them tightly with the blend of sand and clay.
Now he was ready to design and cast a toilet After he thought it out a drew up a design. Rick used [Move and Shape Earth] to cut out the two halves of the toilet shape in the packed sand and clay. As he began to cut out the toilets mold he intentionally shaped it so the toilet would be a hollow shell. Rick had did not have the proper resources to make amodern porcelain so it came down to using stone, marble, limestone, or metal. Limestone he thought would beto porous to use and he wanted to save the marble for city constructions. If he were to use stone he would need to go into the mountains and cut out blocks and try to somehow cut out the insides for water to flow in and out of it.
This left him with the using the quickest and easiest method steel cast toilets. This was the reason why he had made the cast to use as little material as possible. When the toilet was finished it would look solid but would be completely hollow inside. With the two casts stored, Rick went over and shut down the blast furnace and drained the impurities. Bringing out the two half of the toilet mold Rick slowlystood them up andbrought them to together and bound them tightly.
After centering the top hole of the toilet cast underthe furnace drainage pipe, he opened the valve to fill the mold with molten steel and left it to cool. While the toilet mold was cooling he began making steel ingots from what was left in the furnace. Since the toilet cast was so thin it didn''t take long for it to cool. Rick unbound the two halves and pulled them apart and placed all the blended sand in his inventory until he was left with only the hollow steel toilet. Rick picked up the steel ingots and toilet and went into the basement.
Rick placed the toilet on his work bench and crafted a small steel lever, a small steel chain, and a wooden stopper. He attached the lever to the toilet bowl and hooked up the small chain to the lever inside the toilet bowl and to the wooden stopper. Rick designed a small hinge to attach to the stopper so that when the lever was pushed the chain would pick up the stopper and when the lever was released the stopper would drop back down covering the hole that supplied water to the toilet bowl. Rick then used the paint stick to paint and seal the entire toilet white and acquired a recipe that he named "Steel Cast Toilet".
Rick decided to fly out to the plumbers to save travel time and notice from the air the Daisia had begun helping the farmers because he could already see green in all the tilled farm plots. When he landed next to the plumbers he scared the hell out of them since they never heard anyone approach and then he just dropped down next to them. Rick apologized trying not to laugh at their reactions and took them into the apartment building. He installed a few toilets to show them how it was done and then used the recipe to make one hundred toilets and dropped off twelve on the porch of each building.
Over at the almost completed restaurant, Rick had the carpenters make a small walled off bathroom while he ran pipes under the building to that area. He made two stalls in the bathroom with toilets in each one and also installed a sink and faucet. He decided after the bathroom was setup that he should block off all the open pipelines with wooden plugs and begin to bring water into the city so the residents can use their sinks, tubs, and toilets. Rick cut the wood plugs and snugly fit them into all of the open-ended clay pipes to prevent the water from flowing out and flooding the area.
By the time he finished it was now growing dark and the workers were all packing up and heading to the tower to eat or relax in their apartments or the barracks. Rick activated his night sight and went to find Daisia who was preparing to now leave the farm plots. Rick was amazed to see all the fields with vegetables growing and the orchards had trees almost as tall as him already.
"This is incredible Daisia I can''t believe you accomplished all of this in one day!" Rick exclaimed.
"The farmers also helped they have some helpful skills they called [Seed Nourishment] and [Crop Nourishment]. The plants and trees said they feel really strong and quite satisfied." She explained.
"That is great news this will help to feed our growing population so that I don''t have to keep buying from the farmers in Silverhall City." Rick said.
"I wanted to ask if you could check the samplings I gave you for any trees that may produce latex. It is a white milky liquid that is harvested from trees in my world we call rubber trees. When they scrape the bark of the tree a the latex slowly seeps out and is collected. If I can find those trees in this world or something similar it would help us to make so many useful things." Rick asked Daisia.
"No problem at all I will check the ones I have planted and the others in my home when I return." She said.
While Rick thought about it, he added her to his friend list and explained how it worked and told her he would call her tomorrow to find out what she discovered. Rick thanked her and flew off into the air to land next to the System Gate. He purchased a few trees to restock his wood supplies and more tray of tree saplings and stored it them all away. He then spawned in a few[Carpenter/Artisians] to work at his store. Rick opened a portal to the first floor of the store and they all walked into a now dark store.
Rick with his night sight activated forgot that it was getting dark already until one of the carpenters mentioned it.
Oh crap, I put lights in the bedrooms upstairs earlier and forgot about the rest of the store. Rick recalled.
Rick deactivated his night sight and used his recipe to make up a few floor lamps andbegan to arrange them on the first floor when his military units came downstairs to investigate who was here. Rick waved them over and explained they would be working here for awhile and sent them off to take shifts watching from the second-floor windows for any trouble outside.
Once he had the first floor lit up like it was daytime he began using recipes to make wood [planks], [beams], [posts], [2x4s], [tongue and groove panling], [nails], and [screws]. Since all they had was the clothes they spawn in with, heused recipes to make belts, tool pouches, hammer holders, gloves, and screwdrivers that he handed over to the carpenters. He took out hammers, saws, chisels, cloth measuring tapes and any other tools or items that could help them out.
With his inventory still, open Rick took out a table and chairs and sat down to draw out the wood panel that he wanted the carpenters to make. The store walls were the exposed stone block you could see from the outside and it made the store look more like a big warehouse instead of a store.
Spoiler:Wood Panel Wall Design.
The carpenters continued to look over the wall paneling design and Rick made another design for them. He drew up the floor plan for the store and how he wanted to divide the space up. The store right now is just one large open room that had rows of displays shelves that the owner had removed earlier. Rick wanted to have different sections that he would devote to different crafts. One section, for example, could display Furniture and the next section could display clothing. He was using the idea used by modern department stores that divided their large stores up to group similar products together. Rick passed over the floor plan to the waiting carpenterswith a paint stick and had them get started using all the wood he had made.
Spoiler:Store Floor Plan.
Now that the carpenters were prepared and began to work Rick went over to the front windows and painted them black so that anyone outside the store could not look inside. He then made sure the front door was locked and began his own project. Taking a 10x10x10 cube of marbleout of the inventory he started to build around water fountain near the front entrance. Rick used the [Move and Shape Stone] spell to make the round pool first. Without any electricity to run a water pump he used a technique he learned online to make an air liftpump. He made a marble column and cutit in half and made two internal channels inside it. One channel he mounted a wind rune in that would blow air to the lower part of the fountain. As the air is pumped down the channeland released into the second water filled channelbubbles begin to form which rise and capture the water and bring it to the top.
When the pump was completed he cemented the two halves back together and waited for it to dry before continuing.
Spoiler:Air LiftPump.
Once the air lift pump had dried Rick built the three-tiered water fountain around the pump and socketed a quartz gem to the top of it. Rick opened a portal to the river and filled a few barrels up and brought them back in his inventory. When he had filled the fountains bottom pool with water he touched the switch and heard a gurgling sound as the water worked its way to the top of the fountain. A minute later the top tier filled with water and began to overflow into the lower tiers. Rick watched the fountain operate for a couple of minutes to make sure it didn''t leak or have any problems then walked off to the next task.
Spoiler:Three Tiered Water Fountain.
Making use of the air lift pump technology Rick made two water wall fountains against the walls of the central corridor. When all the fountains were filled and turned on there was a relaxing sound of moving water like hearing a small creek flowing nearby.
Rick was about to go and take a look at how far along the carpenters had got with the wood paneling when he heard a couple light knocks from the front door. At the same time, one of his Blade Masters came down the stairs and reported he had seen the two Assassin/Spies returning. He took out his key and unlocked the door and let the two men inside. They had been investigating taverns and public areas all day and had found the location of House Karn and Lupton. The spies handed Rick two hand drawn maps of the location of each house.
"Good work men, go ahead and take the rest of the night off. You can head out in the morning to continue gathering information. If possible find out who in each house is involved in these protection and import rackets. For now, I just want to gather information depending on when they make their move will dictate when we infiltrate their locations to find any criminal evidence and possibly snatch and grab whoever is leading the criminal groups." Rick explained and sent the men off to relax.
I forgot that these guys will need keys to keep the store secure when I am not around and not get locked out as well.
Rick took the key out of his inventory and examined it was quite similar to the old skeleton keys used in the real world and look simple enough to copy. Rick walked over to a stack of stone blocks and took out his blacksmith hammer and a small cut of a steel ingot. While holding the chunk of steel he used [Produce Flame] and began to heat the metal until it became too hot to hold. Rick then laid it on top of a stone block and hammered it into a crude shape of a key. Using the [Metal Sculptor] skill he carved and shaped the metal into a copy of his own key. When he tried it in the door lock and it didn''t seem to turn smoothly, so he worked at the grooves and teeth and finally had it working in the lock like the original key. When he acquired a recipe for the key he named and made a bunch of copies that he distributed to all the military units in the store.
After making the key Rick began to think it would be nice to have a workshop in the store but didn''t want to disturb the shop with all the hammer clangs and excessive heat from the forge. He then thought of the teleporter room he made off the tower cellar and walked into the back warehouse. Along the far side wall, he constructed a small closet sized room with a hinged door. Inside the closet, he used a hammer and chisel to cut out the floorboards until the ground was fully exposed. With the [Move and Shape Earth] skill he began to cut out a hole the size of the small rooms interior straight down for ten feet and jumped into the hole and built a crude wood staircase.
Rick didn''t put any detail into this staircase it was strictly utilitarian and was done constructing in no time at all. Activating Night Sight so he could see in the deep hole he once again used the Shape Earth skill to dig out a long hallway. He paved the hallway with stone blocks and did the same for the walls. For the ceiling, he hung two-inch thick wood planks supported by heavy beam joists that were anchored into the stone blocks. The hallway that he made ran near the length of his store when he measured it out with his steps. near the end of the hallway, Rick removed the stone blocks from the wall to create a doorway and braced it with thick wood posts. Back to work with the Move Earth skill, he dug out a room about twenty by twenty feet. After digging out the floor and paving it with the stone blocks, he went on to also cover the walls with stone and even built a couple stone block columns for support in the center of the room. The new large rooms ceiling was finished the same as the hallway with think planks supported by anchored joists.
Taking out twenty modified wall lights and wood pegs, Rick drilled out the stone blocks and applied in wood pegs to screw the modified lights to the wall from. Not bothering to turn the lights on he continued to work with his Night Sight so it would continue to advance so he could see at longer distances in the darkness.
Just like earlier in the cellar and workshop he constructed a modified forge and built a solid frame around it to hang a smelting pot from. Rick then used a recipe to make a few work benches and arranged them around the room with a couple tables, chairs, and a bed off in the corner. With the help of recipes, he also placed a metal roller on one of the workbenches and a pedal lathe along the wall out of the way. Unlike the cellar that had circulating air from the nearby staircase this room was far underground and needed a way to vent heat and fumes from the room.
Rick took out some clay pipes and hung them from the ceiling by metal straps screwed to the wood joists. They were hung across the room and out into the hallway after he cut a small hole in the wall to slide them through. Rick measured out the hallway where the pipe was and went outside into the night and used the Move Earth to cut a hole the size of a clay pipe down against his building foundation. When he had dug it deep enough he made the downward tunnel travel inward until he exposed the basement stone block wall.
Back in the basement hallway with a hammer and chisel, he carved out a hole large enough fo the clay pipe to fit. He then worked an (L) shaped pipe into the stone block wall that was attached to the ceiling pipe from the forge and then attached another pipe outside running up to the surface. When the pipes were all in a place he carved a wind rune close to the shape of the fire runes he made for the flame cannons. It was a flat round stone with air slots cut around to allow airflow to move through the vented slots and along the tube. He slotted the rune to hold four small quartz gems and placed it into the end of the pipe so that it would blow air toward the surface outside.
Spoiler:Wind Rune Design.
When the wind rune sat snugly in the cap of the clay pipe touched the switch on the back of the rune and held his hand near it. He could feel that the rune was pulling air from the room like the back of a box fan and sending it up at outside. Firing up the new forge he placed a piece of iron ore in the flames and heat it up. As the iron sat in the forge Rick set out a stacked up a few stone blocks and placed an anvil on top near the forge. When the iron was ready to be worked Rick reached in and grabbed it with his hand and quickly placed it on the anvil. He didn''t take any damage from handling the hot metal, but it was still painful.
If I raise my flame elemental affinity more I won''t have to worry about using tongs at all. He though as he hammered the iron ore flat.
When he had the iron somewhat flat he ran in through the metal rollers to make sheet metal. He formed and weld the sheet metal into a hollow box and welded a sheet metal tube the size of the clay pipe opening to the bottom of the box. Using a recipe he made up a roll of metal wire and welded the wire strands into a small screen to cover the exposed side of the hollow box. The last step was to cut and fit a sheet-metal apron that attached to the bottom of the box.
The finished metal work provided a new recipe that he named "Vent Cap". Walking back outside Rick placed the new vent cap over the top of the clay vent pipe to prevent rain from draining down the pipe into the lower room.
Spoiler:Vent Cap.
Rick placed his hand in front of the vent screen and could feel the hot air from the forge forcefully blowing out.
I have a way to vent air out now I need to bring fresh air into the basement. He pondered over the problem while walking back to the warehouse and came up with an easy to do plan. Starting in the small room at the top of the stairs he hung clay pipes from the small room down to the end of the hallway and placed (T) shaped pipes every few feet to allow air to vent out into the hall. When the entire hall had pipe hung along it, Rick climbed the steps and place a vented wind rune into the pipe cap and turned it on.
He walked down the hallway and checked the air flow from each open (T) pipe along the clay pipe vent system and noticed that the flow decreased as he neared the end, but was still plenty enough to add oxygen and circulate the stagnant air down there.
That should be good enough, for now, this hallway is long enough that I could even make a few more rooms off of it later if need be. Rick speculated as he walked upstairs to check on the carpenters.
The new carpenters were doing a great job and the wood panels really gave the walls a rich look. Rick told them he was going to set out some beds in the warehouse and told them to head off to bed soon and they could start again when they woke up. Rick went upstairs and informed his troops he was going to sleep and to make sure they took shifts watching the store so they could also get some sleep.
Rick went down into the basement turning off the blower pipes and forge and climbed into the bed off in the corner and disconnected from the game. He made himself a serving of spaghetti and sauce and sat down to eat his dinner while replying to text messages. Now that he was quite full, Rick cleaned up the kitchen and watched TV for awhile before heading off to bed.
Chapter 23: Entertaining Company
Cedric slept restlessly for only a few hours, eating the pasta and sauce right before bed gave him heartburn that kept him from sleeping. He decided to wake up and took some antacid tablets. When his stomach calmed down he went for a run around the neighborhood. When he returned to his apartment he took a long shower changed into a comfortable pair of sweats and connected to Kingdoms Online.
He woke up in the pitch black basement room under the store and activated night sight. Sitting on the edge of the bed he brought up his Preset Outfit Template. He added theBlack Silk Under Armor Top and bottoms along with Faith''s Blessing Ring to the list and closed it.
Spoiler: Preset Outfit: Battle Gear
Preset Outfit: Battle Gear
Equipment List
Body Slot
Orichalcum Ornate Open Face Helmet
Head Slot
Gold Necklace with Gold Dragon ruby eyes Pendant
Neck Slot
Black Silk Under Armor Top
Inner Torso Slot
Orichalcum Ornate Cuirass Plate Armor
Torso Slot
EMPTY
Outer Torso Slot
Chainmail Leggings
Legs Slot
Black Silk Under Armor Bottom
Inner Legs Slots
Black Military Leather Boots
Feet Slot
Adjustable Black Leather Gloves
Hands Slot
Gold Ring with Rubies and Emeralds
Left Index Ring Slot
Gold Ring with Rubies and Emeralds
Left Ring Finger Slot
Gold Ring with Rubies and Emeralds
Right Index Ring Slot
Faith''s Blessing Ring
Right Ring Finger Slot
EMPTY
Forearm Slot
Dual Sword Harness
Upper Back Slot
EMPTY
Lower Back Slot
EMPTY
Thigh Slot
Iron Greaves
Shin Slot
Black Leather Belt
Waist Slot
Flight of Fury Long-Sword
Belt slot [one]
Dart Kit
Belt Slot [Two]
Dart Kit
Belt Slot [Three]
EMPTY
Belt Slot [Four]
Unequip Battle Gear!
Equip Battle Gear!
Unequipping and equipping his outfit put the new silk under armor and his ring "Faith''s Blessing" on him. Before he went upstairs he decided to check his Skills and Spells while he had his menus open.
Show Skill List!
Spoiler: Skill List Menu.
Skill List Menu
Skill Name
Skill Level
Expertise Level
Skill Name
Skill Level
Expertise Level
Archery
Level 2
Intermediate 18%
Knives
Level 4
Intermediate 98%
Artist
Level 5
Intermediate 42%
Lumberjack
Level 5
Beginner 81%
Aura
Level 3
Advanced 78%
Marble Scan
Level 3
Beginner 22%
Aura: Calm Animal
Level 6
Beginner 11%
Masonary
Level 8
Expert 92%
Aura: Charming Presence
Level 6
Beginner 69%
Metal Sculptor
Level 9
Beginner 59%
Blacksmith
Level 9
Intermediate 89%
Mining
Level 7
Intermediate 58%
Blocking
Level 7
Beginner 9%
Mithril Scan
Level 5
Beginner 87%
Carpentry
Level 2
Expert 21%
Night Sight
Level 4
Intermediate 39%
Cartography
Level 4
Intermediate 3%
Orichalcum Scan
Level 5
Beginner 9%
Cooking
Level 1
Expert 43%
Photoreading
Level 4
Intermediate 91%
Demigod Dialect
Level 9
Expert 58%
Raise Earth
Level 2
Beginner 2%
Digging
Level 8
Intermediate 94%
Repair
Level 1
Beginner 82%
Emerald Scan
Level 6
Beginner 11%
Ruby Scan
Level 5
Beginner 81%
Enchanting
Level 2
Intermediate 79%
Shield Bash
Level 6
Beginner 47%
Farsight
Level 3
Beginner 51%
Shipwright
Level 3
Intermediate 74%
Field Dress
Level 9
Beginner 19%
Sixth Sence
Level 4
Beginner 19%
Forging
Level 6
Intermediate 2%
Smelting
Level 7
Expert 23%
Gem Cutting
Level 8
Intermediate 66%
Sneak
Level 3
Intermediate 69%
Goldsmith
Level 6
Beginner 82%
Swords
Level 7
Intermediate 79%
Hammering
Level 4
Master 21%
Tailoring
Level 1
Intermediate 42%
Hold Breath
Level 2
Beginner 72%
Taming
Level 3
Intermediate 67%
Identify
Level 7
Beginner 29%
Wood Carving
Level 6
Intermediate 67%
Iron Scan
Level 1
Intermediate 18%
EMPTY
-
-
I am starting to get quite the collection of skills now. Rick reflected on the skills he had earned then closed the menu.
Show MagicList!
Spoiler: MagicList Menu
Magic List Menu
Elemental Affinities
Spell Level
Expertise Level
EarthAffinity
Level8
Intermediate 34%
FireAffinity
Level 6
Intermediate 4%
NatureAffinity
Level 7
Intermediate 21%
Spell List
Spell Level
Expertise Level
Astral Door
-
-
Flight
Level 6
Beginner 39%
Magic Reflection
Level 1
Beginner 7%
Portal Gate
-
-
Project Image
Level 1
Beginner 32%
Read Magic
Level 1
Beginner 94%
Reverse Gravity
Level 3
Beginner 81%
My spell list is lacking when compared to my skill list, but these new spells I learned are incredible.Rick thought while reviewing the Magic List.
Rick closed all the menus and used repair on all of his gear bringing everything back up to full durability. As he stood up and looked around the room he remembered the enchanting skill he just learned and thought to try it out. He placed his hand on his torso armor and Enchanted it with [Magic Reflection]. The armor then began to faintly glow silver and seemed that it would stay that way.
Identify!
Spoiler:Cedric''s Enchanted Armor
EnchantedOrnateOrichalcumCuirass
Body Armor:
47 of 100
Durability:
1000/1000
Quality:
rare
Bonues:
+10 to elemental Affinities
Magical Properties
Spell-Skill-Attribute Name
Uses
Enchanted
Magic Refelction
11/11
Body armorseems to be related to the defense of the armor. It reads47 of 100 that must mean 100 is the highest defense rating a torso armor can have? The durability is full from me just using repair on it and it has a rare quality which is probably from it being made of Orichalcum. The bonusis from theOrichalcum which provides a boost to all elemental affinities. Then the enchantment of magic reflection has 1 of 1 uses. It must block one spell then needs to be recharged, if I were to raise my Magic Reflection spell then the uses would also increase after re-enchanting it.Rick pondered over the armor''s stats. From what I am reading at the bottom it seems I can enchant spells, skills, and attributes. I will need to test out enchanting skills and attributes later on, I am curious what changes I can make to weapons and armor with them.
Deactivating his night sight to examine his enchanted armor allowed him to faintly see that it still had a silver glow.
I need to be careful now if I try to sneak around at night in this armor, it could draw unwanted attention to me.He thought as he activated sneak and made his way up into the warehouse.
The carpenters were all still sleeping in the beds he placed down after working late into the night so he snuck past them and went upstairs. He questioned the troops on watch asking if they had seen anything or anyone suspicious around the store. It seemed to have been a quiet night around the store from what they reported. Rick sent the two men off to bed now that he was back and would be around the store.
On the first floor of the store, Rick brought out half a tree trunk from his inventory onto the store floor and tried another skill he had not played with yet. He used his [Wood Shape] skill that allows you to shape wood into any shape, but will not allow you to make detailed alterations. With the skill, he pulled away a section of the tree trunk and shaped it into a 4'' x 8'' foot sheet of plywood one inch thick and acquired a new recipe.
He stored the log and used the new recipe to make more sheets of plywood and then unlocked the front door and stepped out front. He looked up at the building for a good place to place a sign and measured out the size that would fit over the door. With the help of his wood carving, Rick notched out a border around the sign and then notched out the letters and painted it in gray and white.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
Spoiler: Store Sign.
Rick stored the sign and climbed up on his ladder and secured the sign to the stone block wall. Once it was secure he climbed down and stepped back to take a look at the new sign.
This sign looks great there is just one problem now the nobles will see or hear about it and make their move. I guess it really doesn''t matter I am ready for them unless they send an army, but that will never happen they will try to do this low-key at first. Then when they make a move that will be our time to strike back at them and give them a clear message just like the eastern human tribe.Rick thought about how he would deal with the nobles as he walked back inside and locked the door.
Back inside he mixed up a batch of cement and began spreading it across the floor and gently placing Marble tiles in it. He did the floor in section and let it dry before moving on to the next part. Soon he had caught up to the middle of the store where the carpenters left off at and stopped there. Rick walked over to the table and started drawing up display advertisements of some of the products they would sell once the store had opened. He wanted to glue them in the front windows so that all the people walking by would know a new store was opening and be able to see what they had for sale.
Spoiler:Store Display Advertisements.
Rick took all the drawing outside and glued the corners of the paper to the windows and people had already stopped to examinethe advertisements before he had he hung them all. When Rick had neatly arranged the advertisements on each window he then took the time to hang a wall light on each side of the front door to illuminate the entrance at night. He thought that this would also be a great way to get people interested in his lights. In the game world, people could cast light spells, but the average person depended on candles and torches for nighttime lighting.
Rick centered the two lights and measured their heights so that they would be level to one another. He hung them by drilling out the stone block and using wood peg inserts to screw them to the entrance and then made his way back inside the store. The Carpenters were now waking up so Rick opened a portal to the restaurant to make sure the cooks had transferred the food and cookware over from the tower.Rick found them in the kitchen preparing for breakfast for the workers who would be strolling in anytime. Rick stepped back through the portal and brought the carpenters over to get something to eat before they started working.
Rick told them he had a few things to take care of and would return soon. Casting the flight spell he flew over to the aqueduct water wheel and pushed it out into the river. The wheel began to rotate around and drop buckets full of water into the aqueduct channel. Rick flew along watching the water travel along the aqueduct until it reached the holding tank and began to fill it. It would take some time to fill the huge tank and fill the city water lines, bringing water to every building.
Rick flew off toward the workshop to collect furniture, glass panes, and door locks. He then sat down and wrote a list of tools for the blacksmiths to make and used a recipe to make a pedal lathe. He sent someone off to find the poleturner and instructed him to work with the blacksmiths making tool handles on the pedal lathe. He went around to each station and gathered up anything they had completed. When he came over to the spectacle maker he found that some changes were going to be needed. He had never given any designs to him and all the spectacles he had made were fashioned in the old world style.
Spoiler:Completed Spectacles.
The spectacles he had made looked like two monocles that were attached by a small rivet. They could be opened or closed to sit on the bridge of the nose. There was nothing wrong with their function it was just that it was the same thing that everyone else was crafting and selling. He wanted to introduce the modern glasses design with hinged arms, metal frames, and nose pads. His other idea was not to only sell glasses but to also design and sell sunglasses.
Rick walked over to the System Gate and purchased some random ingots and brought them back to the workshop and stacked them next to the Spectacle Maker''s Workbench. Rick sat down and drew up a couple glasses frames and instructed theSpectacle Maker to use the different metals to make different colored frames. Rick picked up one of the completedspectacles and used a red dye stick on the glass and looked through them and found it to be difficult to see through the dye color.
Too bad that didn''t work it would have made things easier. I guess I need to buy or make some pigments to add to the molten glass to tint it before drying.Rick thought while examining the dyed glass.
Rick walked outside after gathering everyone completed crafts and flew off to the apartment buildings and arranged more furniture around the newly completed apartments from his inventory. When he returned to the restaurant he saw Handil having breakfast with the Dwarf Weaponsmith and Armorsmith who worked in the cellar of the tower. They must have gotten to know each other during meals served at the tower. Rick walked over and heard that they were speaking Dwarven to each other as he approached.
Rick stopped next to the table and also spoke in the Dwarven language he had learned, but never had the chance to use.
"Good Morning everyone, I just wanted to let you know that the city water line is filling up right now and every building will have running water from now on." Rick explained.
The Dwarves were quite surprised to hear him speaking Dwarven. His speech was a little broken but was still understandable. Rick then asked them from now on to only speak in Dwarven with him and if he spoke in human to them to remind him not to. He explained that he wished to become more fluent in Dwarven so that when he one day visited the Dwarves lands he wouldn''t haveany difficulties communicating with everyone. Rick told the three Dwarves that he wasn''t sure when he would ever travel there, but when he did they were welcome to come along with him.The three said that they would like that so he promised to bring them along when he had time to make the trip.
Rick then left them to finish their breakfast and went into the kitchen and made a plate for himself and sat down to eat with the carpenters. When they were ready to leave Rick spotted Daisia walking in with the farmers who came to grab a meal before heading out to the fields. Rick asked her if she had any luck finding a sapling with latex and she hadn''t. Rick took out the other trays he bought yesterday and told the farmers to carry them over to her apartment after they ate so that she could examine them later.
He said goodbye to everyone and opened a portal on the restaurant wall and led all the carpenters through to the store. As the carpenters strapped their tool belts on and prepared to continue the wood paneling, Rick went upstairs and told the units guarding the store to they could head out to breakfast whenever they wanted and to always lock the door behind them.
With everyone in the store now taken care of Rick went into the teleporter room. With a wood chisel and saw he cut a hole in the roof about 3'' foot by 3'' foot and affixed a ladder to the wall to climb up to the roof. He constructed a square hatch door over the hole, and then built a small shed around the hatch door. Rick made a door for the shed and placed a key lock on it and tiled the shed roof with clay tile shingles.
On the inside of the hatch, he attached another lock as well so if anyone tried to break in through the roof they would need to get through two locked doors. With the help of a recipe, he made up a few thick posts that he wedged between the floor and ceiling to and supports to the roof. When he thought the roof was braced enough to hold a good amount of weight he went back out through the hatch and built a large stone block water tank next to the shed.
He waited for the cemented joints between the blocks to dry then flew into the holding tank and carved a water rune into the bottom of the tank. Next, he took out a stone chisel and hammer and cut a hole in the bottom side of the tank and cemented a clay pipe into the hole. Rick cut another hole in the roof just big enough for a clay pipe to fit. In this roof hole, he cemented an (L) shape pipe and cemented it to the pipe coming from the holding tank. Using the cement he spread it around the pipe in the roof to seal the roof from rain water leaking down the pipe into the teleporter room.
Back inside the teleporter room he used a metal pipe adaptor to funnel the clay pipe down into metal pipes. Fron the metal pipe adaptor he ran metal pipes down through the floor into the bathroom below. It wasn''t really a bathroom though it was more akin to an outhouse. The toilets in there were basically wood boxes with a hole in the top that people sat on. At the end of the day, someone would lift the seat and clean out the box of urine and waste. Even though it was cleaned out daily it still left a horrible smell that most people just grew accustomed to over the years of living without flushing toilets.
Rick went into the men''s and women''s bathrooms and completely gutted them tearing out all the box toilets and placed them behind the store for trash removal. With the bathroom, empty Rick used his Move and Shape Earth skill to make a hole in the floors where the toilets would sit. He dug the hole large enough for the clay pipes down to a depth of twenty feet. Rick left the bathrooms to walk over to the small room hiding the basement staircase and installed a lock on the door to keep others from going down into the basement.
Rick locked the door and went down into the basement and activated his night sight. Just like the workshop at the end of the hallway, he made another room that went under the offices and bathroom. When the room was finished he found the holes he dug into the bathroom floor and dug a hole large enough for him to fly down into. When he had dug down about twenty feet into the earth he hollowed out a small area and built another stone block tank. This tank instead of having a water rune had a large fire rune carved in the bottom of it.
Rick cemented clay pipes together from the surface toilet holes down into one main line that emptied into the underground fire rune tank. Again he ran linking runes from the bottom of the tank up to the new room and connected mana drawing runes and a switch to the fire rune circuit on the wall next to the door. He touched the switch and walked over and looked down into the pit to see a large pillar of fire dancing in the center of the underground tank. Rick turned the fire rune off and went back upstairs to the bathrooms.
Using his recipes he made steel toilets and sinks and connected them to the pipes leading down from the roof holding tank and the clay pipes connected to the basement tank. He also used plywood to make stalls around all the toilets so people could have some privacy.
Back on the store roof, Rick began carving linking runes from the water rune out of the holding tank across the roof and down into the teleporter room. alongside the ladder, he made a mana drawing rune and chiseled a socket into it that held a quartz storage gem. Right under the mana drawing rune he caved a switch rune and linked them all together.
Rick touched the switch rune and went up to the roof to see that the water rune was slowly filling the holding tank. The store''s water supply wasn''t as convenient as the aqueduct that would continuously fill the city tank to the top and when full would run off into the cities drainage pipes that poured back into the river. He would need to fill the roof water holding tank every a few days and also recharge the quartz storage gem.
It isn''t as easy going as system the city''s water supply, but it sure as hell beats having to haul buckets of water up here from a well to fill the holding tank.Rick thought to himself.
When the tank had filled he turned the water rune off and went downstairs to test out the water lines. Turning on all the faucets behind the toilets he filled each bowl and flush every toilet in both bathrooms. When the toilet bowls refilled he turned off the faucets and went back into the new basement room and turned the fire rune on. Walking over to the deep hole he looked down to see the fire rune boiling off all the water that he had just flushed down there.
When the water all boiled off he turned off the fire rune and flew down into the underground tank and sealed it the top of it with stone blocks and cut another pipe hole in the top of the tank. He ran a clay pipes up from the tank and connected them into the wind exhaust pipes that blew outside the store.
I don''t know if in this game human waste hasmethane gas like the real world but at least I can vent the tank now before turning the fire rune on and blowing up half a city block. Rick thought as he walked back to the new tank room.
Standing next to the hole heopened his inventory and dumped dirt into the hole until it was full. Hetook out a few more stone blocks from his open inventory and covered the hole so that you could no longer tell that a tank was under it. Only the two pipes for drainage and venting could now be seen rising up from the floor into the walls.
If this city had a sewer system I could have ran my drainage lines into it. This isn''t perfect, but it will have to do. I can bet some of the waste will somehow still remain down there in residue and build up over time. Oh well, I think with it buried the fumes shouldall vent out the exhaust pipes keeping the air down hereclean. Hespeculated while climbing the steps.
He unlocked the door and locked it behind him and went out to check on the carpenters. They had the main showroom just about finished so he instructed them to continue in the offices and bathrooms when they finished out here. Rick went back to cementing marble tiles down from where he left off in the center of the room making his way toward the back of the store.
He had been making decent time when one of his spies unlocked the door and came over to him. The spy informed him that the two houses of Karn and Lupton had received word of the sign on the store and had been talking with connections they had at the City Hall. Through their contacts, they learned someone had bought the store and were preparing to send their people over to scare Cedric off.
"That didn''t take long for them to figure it out. This is could be a good thing,I can take care of this problem before I open the store now." Rick said.
He sent the spy upstairs to fill in the troops and have them prepare for a hostile visit.
"Once you update them on the situation have them come down here" Rick instructed the spy.
He walked over to the carpenters who had begun working in the offices and told them about what was going on. Rick opened a portal to the restaurant and told them all to step through and grab an early lunch and hang out there until he came and brought them back. Rick was confident that they would handle the muscle coming to scare them but didn''t want to take any chances with the carpenters getting injured or even worse killed.
When he was closing the portalthe troops were coming down the steps. He walked over and told them to follow him to the front door.
"I don''t want to confront these guys out on the street in the middle of all those citizens out there. It would be bad for the business if people were afraid to come around here for fear of it being attacked. Since I have painted the front windows black they can''t see inside here, so I want you all to split up into two teams and hide behind these two half walls next to the front door. When they come around I will actlike I am afraid of them and lure them into the store. When they are all in here I am going to cast a reverse gravity spell on them. This spell will take them off their feet and suspend them in the air about four feet off the ground. When that happens I want one of you to quickly run out and shut the door and the rest of you will go on the attack. They will be surprised by the sudden turn of events thinking they have the upper hand. This will allow us to quickly take them out before they even realize what happened. If at all possible I would like to knock them out, but do not put yourself in danger attempting this. You can try smashing them over the head with the side of your blade and if it doesn''t knock them out then take them out for good." Rick instructed them and paused looking from man to man.
No one spoke up or asked any questions so he continued. "Alright then figure out how you will split up and who will be the doorman. Then get into your hidden positions and prepare to ambush them as soon as you see them begin to float off the ground." Rick said as he opened his inventory and unequipped all his gear.
Rick put on some of the commoner clothes and footwear he had in his inventory that his Tailors originally made. He wanted to look like a regular non-threateningcommoner. About fifteen minutes later loud bangs were heard on the door. Rick took a deep breathand unlocked the door. When he opened it a large angry looking man stood in the doorwayflanked by ten disreputable looking men.
Rick spoke up as soon as he opened the door. "Good day my Lord, how may I be of service?" Rick asked in a quiet voice.
The man before him held up a fist full of the advertisements he glued to the window. "What the hell is this!" He bellowed out.
Rick shrank back acting afraid that the man might strike him. "Those are displayed advertisements the new owner put up." Rick responded timidly.
The big man scowled "I know what they are! I am asking who the hell had the balls to buy this place when they knew the Lupton House and set their sights on it! He screamed in Rick''s face.
"That would be the older gentlemen who hired me. He is in the back office why don''t you all come in and talk with him about this. I didn''t know the great House of Lupton wanted to buy this building or I would have never taken this job." Rick told the goon and turned toward the offices and began slowly walking toward the back.
When he glanced over his shoulder the big guy in the doorway waved the others in behind him and they all started to follow Cedric toward to the back.
"This old man has this place looking real nice in here water fountains and marble floors. My boss will be happy that he made all these improvements for him at least." The Big goon said following behind.
"That is good news, we don''t want any trouble so I hope that this little bit helps out. What is your boss''s name I would like to apologize to him myself?" Rick asked.
"You don''t worry about it just shut the hell up and show me this old man who bought the store!" The goon screamed out.
"That is a shame I guess I will need to get his name the hard way then." Rick said as he whirled around.
Equip Battlegear!
Rick''s armor and weapons appeared on him in almost an instant as he cast a gravity field on the following men. They all yelled out startled to be suddenly floating around. Rick reached back and slid the two gladii from the harness on his back and smashed the sides of the blades against each side of the lead goon''s head. With a grunt, he collapsed into a floating ragdoll as the front door slammed shut and his men sprung out of cover on to the startled men. It wasn''t even a fight they all just stood on the outside of the gravity fieldbashing the sides of their blades into the heads of the floating thugs.
The group of hired muscle had been dealt with quickly and when it was over three of them were dead and the rest laid on the ground hogtied and unconscious. Rick instructed his men to carry them into the back warehouse and guard them at sword point. He left his men to watch them and went down into the store basement.
In the room, he made earlier with the buried tank He used stone blocks and cement to make eight small cells with double block layerd walls. Usingthe recipe for the steel door to the tower he made ten thick steel doors and hung one in front of the eight cells. Just how he had done with the tower door he installeddoor barricade bars across each door. When he was sure the doors were secure enough to hold his captives, he activated his Produce Flame skill and cut one inch by four inch slots at eye level in each door.
The cut door slots allowed him to look inside each cell to check on the captives. If someone had small hands they might be able to squeeze their hand through the slots but their wrist wouldn''t allow them to reach out any further.
As last minute idea, he carved a tiny lightning rune into the floor of each cell and link them to draw and switch runes outside the door. When he touched theswitch rune small arcs of electricity began arcing out of the floor rune around the room it reminded him of a high-voltage stun gun. Rick shut off the rune chuckling to himself as he went upstairs to the guarded captives. He had his men haul them into the basement cells and they cut off all their clothes, armor, weapons and the ropes binding them to search for hidden weapons and give them a feeling of vulnerability.
They locked them in the cells completely naked and went upstairs leaving the room pitch black. Rick went outside andreplaced display ads on the windows that were torn off by the hired muscle. He nonchalantly scanned the streets on his way back inside and it seemed that the one sided scuffle was unnoticed on the streets.
Back inside Rick opened a portal and brought the carpenters back to the store and had them continue paneling the offices and bathrooms. He also went and finished laying marble tiles and then sat down to draw up a design for the carpenters to buildcounters and displays for the store. He went for a modern earth style in the designs and told them to paint the wood black. With the white marble tile floor and multi gray toned walls the black counters would match well with the color scheme.
Spoiler:Counters and Display Cabinets.
He passed the designs off to the carpenters and opened a portal to the workshop. He asked the two glass craftsmen to help the carpenters build the counters and displays for the first and second-floor showrooms. After he gave the glass workers and carpenters instructions on how they should look and be built, he unlocked the door to the basement and descended the stairs to have a little chat with his new guests.
Spoiler:Store Basement Layout.
Half way down the stairs he could hear raised voices from the darkness beyond. Rick activated night sight and stealth and quietly entered the room with the cells. He could hear the thugs calling to one another trying to figure out where they were, while other yelled to be let out. Rick stalked up to each slot in the doors and looked into the cell to investigate what each man was up to before making his presence known.
The group of captives seemed to be in a panic and were feeling around the walls of the cell in the dark or banging on the door to their cell.
These idiots have zero organization, each one of them is randomly doing their own thing without trying to talk with one another to come up with an escape plan. If these guys were military they would have come up with a plan to prepare to pounce on anyone who opened the door to their cell and quickly free the others before reinforcements showed up.Rick thought to himself.
Standing in the middle of the room he took a long deep breath filling his lungs and yelled out at the top of lungs for them all to shut the hell up. He didn''t really expect them to quiet down right away this was just his way of setting the tone and to let them know he was in the dark room now. The captured thugs began cursing to be let out or asking who was out there all together filling the room with a jumble of chaotic screams.
Rick walked over to the first cell and touched the switch rune activating the lightning rune in the cell. The man in the cell began to scream out in pain and his comrades called out asking what was happening to him. After around ten seconds he shut the rune down and went to the next cell and repeated the process without saying a word. Whenhad finished shocking the hell out of the eachcaptive he walked back to the center of the quiet room.
" Alright, let''s try this one more time! If anyone speaks without being spoken to they get to take a ride on the lightning bolt again! Do I make myself clear!" Rick screamed out at them in the murky dark room.
A couple of the braver or stupider ones cursed at him or continued their screams to be let out so he casually walked over and doubled the time he left the rune activated. He could see through the slot in the door that arcs of electricity were popping and cracking around the entire cell and there was no hiding fromtheir reach. He gave each of the men who talked out of line another shocking wake up call even though they had quieted down after hearing the first guy''s horrifying screams.
Once again he stood in the center of the room. "Any more of you idiots want to try my patience I can do this all day! Every time I turn the lightning back on I will increase the length of time that it fries your pathic asses! So shut your damn mouth''s or you won''t ever leave that cell alive! These are the rules here if you speak out without being questioned you fry! You make any unnecessary noise you fry! If you try to escape or attack me in any way guess what happens?" The room was finally silent except for one man who could be heard whimpering in his cell.
Rick then went from cell to cell asking each thug questions through the door. Those that stayed silent had their mouths pried open with electric bolts. He questioned them about who had hired them and what house they worked for. Rick questioned them for names of those involved in criminal activities from each house and how high up in each house the corruption went.
When he had juiced them all enough to know they were willing to tell him everything without trying to deceive him, Rick was left with hardly any information at all. The group was hired by his old buddy Captain Gage ofHouse Karn and Captain Ogden of House Lupton. They had worked for both houses for close to a year and were sent out to shake down merchants and shop owners for protection money. If they didn''t pay then the owner would find his shop vandalized and looted the next morning.
They couldn''t provide any other names of the higher ranking House members since they were hired flunkies who did not need to know any more than what they were told to do. What they had said was that they were sure that each House Lord was aware or involved in the extortions and withholding of imported merchandise for pay offs.
Rick stood in the darkness for awhile thinking of how to proceed. He then opened his inventory and hung one of the steel doors in the doorway to the room and installed a barricade bar across the outside of it. Even if someone got out of their cell they would still be trapped inside the room now.
When he slid the steel bar into the brackets across the door he turned around and cast [Astral Door] on the wall and stepped through into the Astral Plane.
Chapter 24: An Astral Adventure
When Rick stepped through the Astral Gate he found himself on a coastal beach. Next to a river that churned fresh water out into the ocean behind him. He used his cartography skill of the area and pulled the map out of his inventory to look over.
Spoiler:Map of the Surrounding Area.
It didn''t take him long to find what he had come for, just about a mile off the coast was a good sized island. Rick flew up into the air and made his way out to the island while keeping an eye on his mana. He wasn''t sure if the Astral Plane had sea monster, sharks or anything else that might want to make a snack out of him hidden under the waves. If he ran out of mana he would fall into the ocean with quite a long swim to any land. When Rick reached the island he made a quick circle around it and then landed next to the northern ring of mountains.
The reason for this sudden trip to the Astral Plane was to test out a couple things and find a remote location like this island. With the use of Move and Shape Stone, he cut out a ten-foot square cube of stone and stored it in his inventory. Rick then opened his inventory and placed the large stone cube he had just cut onto the ground next to him.
That answers my main questions about this land separated from the main game world. The fact that I can cut this stone from the mountain and place it down on the ground means that resources can be harvested from the land and structures can be constructed. This island is also a perfect place to dump the people from those two Houses. Without, any trees growing on this island the only way off it would be to swim almost a mile to the mainland. Anyone I send here will be receiving a death sentence without any food or water available, but for all the lives they have destroyed just to line their pockets with gold it is a fitting end for them. They took everything away from those who didn''t have the power to resist so I will take everything from them.Rick thoughtto himself with aresolute attitude.
He then continued on to cut out ten-foot squares cubes of stone deeper intothe core of the mountain. Rick thought that since he had a mountain of stone before him he would harvest it right now for free instead of paying for it later. After he had cut out five 10 x 10 x 10 foot stone cubes he noticed what at appeared to be a shadow on the wall of the tunnel he had made from carving out thestone cubes.
I am over fifty feet inside this mountain and the only reason I can see anything is that I have night sight activated. If there isn''t any light in here then that can''t be a shadow over on the wall.Rick thought as he approached the dark patch some feet away on the wall.
When he was in front of the darkened area he could now tell it wasn''t a shadow but another material. Rick placed his hand over the dark material and used the Identify skill.
Identify!
Spoiler: Astrallium Ore.
Astrallium Ore
Astrallium is a [legendary rare] metal only found in the Astral Plane.
Astrallium is black in color and has twice the density of gold.
This metal is known to be extremely hard with a high melting point.
A hard metal with high density that can only be found here. This could mean that the Astral Plane has other resources that are not found in the regular game world. I need to do a little exploring and see what I can discover.Rick considered as he opened his inventory and took out a pickaxe. A few minutes later after chipping the stone out around themetal, he ended up with a good amount of the Astrallium Ore. When he picked up a chunk of the black metal he was surprised at how much it weighed.
Wow, aningot of this metal would weigh at least fifty pounds. Withremarkable density and hardness, this Astallium sounds like tungsten on steroids.Rick thought as he studied the material.
Once the metal wasdeposited into his inventory he walked out of the long tunnel and checked his mana which was almost close to being completely regened. Having another quick look at his map he spotted what looked like a forest to the south east of him along the coast and decided to investigate it. He put his map away andleft the islandto fly across the ocean bay and arrive above the forest a few minutes later. As he flew above the tree tops he came across trees that had colorful leaves. Scattered around the forest he discovered trees with blue, red, white, and purple leaves and some with various colored barks.
Rick took out his pair ofscissors and snipped off a bunch of six-inch cuttings from each of these trees and circulated his nature elemental affinity through them until they began to sprout roots. Opening his inventory he grabbed a roll of cloth and cut squares. He placed a small scoop of fresh dirt on top of the cloth squares and gently planted each of the tree sapling roots into the soil and tied the cloth up into a ball around the soil and roots. While walking through the forest he continued to collect any plants and flowers that caught his eye in the same way by balling the roots up in soil with cloth and string.
During his exploration, he even encountered some wildlife seeing birds in the trees and small animals running around the forest floor or climbing throughtrees. As he continued to search the forest watching the wildlife around him gave him an idea. He took out his bow and quiver of arrows looking to hunt one of the larger birds. After a couple of attempts, he managed to take down a bird that looked similar to a small falcon. Rickfield dressed the bird not wanting to waste it and also plucked the feathers for arrows then placed the meat and feathers into his inventory along with his bow.
Forming a picture of the bird he just hunted in his mind he used the Shape Shift skill and his bodyshifted from human form into a copy of the bird. Becoming so small was quite disorientating so he walked around to get some familiarity with this new body shape. When he began to feel more comfortable, Rick tried out his wings jumping into the air and gliding along.
Soon he felt comfortable enough that he leaped up and flapped higher into the air and clumsily flew and glided above the tree tops. Rickfound he could still open his menusand examined his status screen to find his mana wasn''t being drained in the way the Flight spell always did.
If I can get used to this form and learn how to use it I could providesome great optionsfor stealth and spying.It is nice I don''t use manain this form, but my flight spell is a lotfaster for traveling and not as awkward feeling.He thought to himself as he flew along.
As he flew between the trees he spotted a black squirrel sitting on a branch attempting to open a nutshell up ahead of him. Rickgained a little altitude and swooped down to grab thesquirrel with his talons. To his surprise, they tore right through it. When he landed there wasn''t much left, but some fur and gore. Rickthen realized that even in this small body his stats still remained the same. Him trying to grab the small animal with his talons was the same as ifhe had squeezed it between both of his human hands with all his might.
While he perched on the branch thinking this discovery over, he cast Shape Shift once again and changed his form into that of theblack squirrel. Once again he made his way around the forest getting the feel of being asquirrel climbing up and down trees and leaping from branch to branch.
These two new forms might not be very useful in a fight, but I can climb or fly anywhere without being noticed now.He pondered over the ways he could apply these new forms.
Rick then climbed down and shifted back to his original form and had one more thing to test out he opened a portal to the store basement and walked into it. When he was back in the dark basement he re-cast the Portal to the Astral Plane island''s tunnel he mined the metal from earlier. He quickly went through into the tunnel and then walked right back into the basement and closed the portal behind him.
The reason for this was to find out if he could use the portal spell to travel to and from discovered location in the Astral Plane like he could in the normal game world. Now finding that it worked without any problems, Rick unbarred the door to the room with the jailed prisoners and turned the wall lights on. It seemed his prisoners had learned their lesson and they all remained quiet and while peaking out of the narrow slots of their doors to see who had entered the room.
"Alright, gentlemen it is abouttime that I released you all from your cells. Though I will be usingmagic to teleport you out of here. I can''t just open up all these doors andtake a chance that you pieces of shit won''t try to attack me because that is all your kind knows. I will open a black doorway in each of your cells in turn and you will step through it to your freedom if you don''t I will hold down the button by your door and fry you until you leaveor die." Rick heard some low grumblings from the cells and just ignored them.
He went down the line of cells and cast portal in each one sending off the naked and unarmed thugs to the entrance of the tunnel he had harvested stone from until he was finally rid of them all.
All you get from me is a cold tunnel for shelter, but don''t worry I will send you a lot more company very soon.He said with his inner voice.
Rick unbarred all the cells and began to disassemble them.He took down the steel doors chiseled out the stone block walls and spread cemented over the lightning runes etched into to stone floor. When he had finished you would never know that this room once held eight men in cells.
He had decided to remove the cells in case his store was later searched after making the two Houses vanish. He knew that they had connections at City Hall and had been questioning people about him and his store. If the guard showed up they could search high and low now and find nothing to make them suspect him. On his way out of the room, he removed the barricade bar and bracket that held the bar in place leaving only the steel door hanging. Rick turned off the wall light and went upstairs to check on the carpenters and talk with his spies.
The carpenters continued to work with the glass makers making counters and displays which they added their own touches by making hand carved reliefs in the wood before painting them. This was one of the benefits to having added the Artisan class. As these guys continued to level up the things they built would only improve in looks and quality.
Impressed with their work, Rick praised them all and went upstairs to talk with the spies. He told them to no longer go out to gather information on the two Houses. He didn''t want to take a chance now and draw attention towards him. Rick then took out the maps of the house locations and went over how to get there and what the layout of the property was. Going over the layout he began to form a plan and left his men to guard the store while he went out to investigate.
Rick walked into the teleporter room and climbed to the roof through the hatch and locked it and the roof shed door behind him and shifted his form into the bird. He flew off from the roof of his store over the city and soon found the location of House Karn. It had the appearance of an old world villa with an enclosed garden courtyard surrounded by the living quarters. Rick landed in a tree inside the courtyard and observed the activityof everyone for a little while.
Spoiler:Karn House Villa.
He then used Shape Shift to change into the squirrel and activated his stealth skill while sneaking into the house through an open door. Rickwent from room to room hiding under and behind furniture learning the layout of all the rooms and listening in onconversations. Rick soon began to learn who the nobles of the house were and where their rooms were through the servants talking to one another about who''s room needed cleaning or was currently occupied.
The house, for the most part, was unguarded all he could see of any guards were two that kept watch at the front door and two more at the gate entrance. When he had all the information he needed he snuck out to the courtyard up into the tree and changed back to a bird and flew off to find House Lupton.
House Lupton looked like a cross between a medieval mansion and a stone keep and had guards posted at every entrance to the building. Following the same routine, Rick flew down shifted into a black squirrel and used stealth to search the building for an entrance. With a couple of close calls with patrolling guards, he was able to climb to the second floor through an open window and begin his investigation.
Spoiler:Lupton House Mansion.
After spending over a half-hour searching the house he found out the head of the House was Viscount Ernest Lupton. The servants had all addressed him as he left the building on his way to meet up with Baron Barclay Karn over an urgent matter.
Rick assumed it might have to do with the disappearance of their men and sought out each other to talk about damage control if they had somehow become investigated over their criminal enterprise.
One good thing is I outrank both of them in noble titles so I can''t see anyone siding with them against me unless they were paid off.He contemplated as he continued his exploration.
Near the back of the mansion, he found a large room that looked like the Viscounts study. The walls were lined with bookshelves and the floor covered with rich looking rugs. Near a large window at the back of the room was a wooden desk and comfortable looking chair. Rick silently pushed the door shut and shifted back to his original form. Rickbegan searching the room and founda locked chest behind the desk and had no way to get into it so he opened a portal and brought over one of his spies who unlocked it with a lockpick he had picked up while gathering information.
Rick searched the contents and found what looked like a book of stores and shops that he had been receiving money from. Rick keptthe book then had his spy lock the chest to conceal the fact the book was now missing.Rick and his spy went back through the open portal to his store without letting anyone in the mansion know they were ever there.
Back downstairs He gathered up all of the finished counters and displays and went to each section of the store to arrange them. It was now near midday so he gathered up the workers and used portal to take them to the restaurant and left them to eat while he flew off to the Tower Island workshop and went around the stations taking clothes, footwear, furniture, blankets, quilts, tapestries, rugs, locks, and a couple pairs of the modern style glasses.
He took the tools the Blacksmiths had been making with the help of the poleturner and stored them in the tool shed for new workers or replacements. Walking toward the tower he stopped to play with his Tigers. He left the Tigers to continue running around or sleeping in the sun to walk down into the tower cellar. He talked with the Dwarvesin Dwarven language and supplied them with any additional materials that were needed while stashing away the customarmor and weapons they had made from his designs.
After the Dwarves were all set up he refilledthe forge gem and walked out back of the tower to the Blast Furnace. Rick also refilled the gem on the furnace then loaded it with a good amount of the Astrallium ore and fired the furnace up.
I''m not quite sure how long it will take to melt this new metal so I can just leave in the furnace and check on it later.Rick Thought as the furnace began to heat up.
He then activated Flight and flew off to the west to harvest any hardwood trees he could find. He found a few oak, ash, and poplar trees. He chopped them down with an axe strip the branched and stored placed them into his inventory and flew over to the water wheel sawmill. He unloaded the trees for the sawyers to turn into lumber and walked down to the beach and made a fire pit with rocks next to the water. He took out all the hardwood branches he stripped from the trees and used Produce Flame to ignite the large pile creating a good size bonfire.
He left the fire to continue burning and flew out over the city construction toward the farms to find Daisia. When he found her he told her about all the tree clone saplings, plants, and flowers he brought back from the Astral Plane. Rick brought her along with him to one of the outer odd shaped plots near the walls and took out all the vegetation he brought back and told Daisia to plant them all on the plot to make a farm. When the plants and trees grew more they could take more clones from them to plant around the city.
Daisia was really excited aboutthese new plants that she had never seen before and got to work planting them and using her skills to improve and grow them. Rick left her to it since he was so absorbed in the new task he gave her to fly over to the send the Carpenters back to the store and walked over to the large plot in the center of the planned city.
Rick arrived on the huge center plot where he planned to build his castle and used his Cartography skill to make a map of the city area and brought it out to review.
Spoiler: City Progress Map.
The city now had about seventy-five percent of the marked streets paved a southern farming operation growing vegetables, fruits, herbs, and exotic plants and trees from the Astral Plane. Handil and his construction crew had just about completed the twenty-eighth apartment building allowing the city to house now over three hundred residents in them. The main east/west road now stretched out to connect to Tower Island to allow for quicker horse drew cart deliveries. It seemed that the surveyors had also marked out where the future walls would be built and the southern road that would connect to the limestone and marble quarries.
Rick stored the city progress mapwhiletaking out a table and chair from his open inventory to sit down and draw a basic plan for the future Castle. He really wanted to move his operation from Tower Island out to the city to save all the back and forth travel. But, Rick also wanted to begin building Faith''s Temple now that the street construction crew had the large square north of the castle plot completely paved that would be the location for the temple. Now that there were more than enough apartments for everyone to live in, he was torn between having Handil''s crew begin construction on the castle or the temple.
For now, he decided on making a floor plan and constructing the castle basement and foundation. This way he could make a personal crafting area in the castle basement at the very least.
When he had a general idea of the outer shape and allowed for possible changes during construction of his castle, he brought the survey team over to scale the floor plan to the plot size. When Rick agreed on thesize the castle wanting to leave room to build walls around the plot, he had the surveyors use there Groma and measuring ropes to mark out the castle''s foundation perimeter.
Spoiler:Castle Concept Drawing.
Spoiler:Castle FirstFloor Layout.
The floor plan consisted of a large entrance area with wide staircases leading to the second floor on each side. The center of the entrance room opened up into a long rectangle central room that almost spanned the length of the interior. The border of this long central room was lined with evenly spaced doors that opened intogood sized rooms that were planned to measure out to roughly a twenty by twenty-foot size.
Connected tothe back of the corner outside rooms were large towers that had spiral staircases leading to each floor that would be lined with arrow slots. Rick planned for these towers to have a flat roof with battlements to allow archers not only shoot from the interior arrow slots but to also shoot down atanyone who attackedfrom the top of the towers flat roof.
He also planned outa huge room off the back of the castle that would serve as a throne room that would have a raised platform with a throne and large stained glass windows set into each wall. While he was drawing up the floor plan and envisioning the look of the castle and how defensible it was, he realized that the stain glass windows could be broken by attackers to gain access to the castle interior so he kept it in the back of his head to dig a deep water filled moat around the outside walls of the throne room so that invaders could not place ladders against the walls to climb through the stain glass windows that he really wanted.
Rick had also planned to have a staircase in the center of one of the towers that would lead down into a basement that would be divided into rooms to be used for storage, a prison, and work areas. This basement area was his main focus for now until he decided on how to proceed with the temple.
Rick thanked the surveyors for the quick and efficient job and let return to their previous tasks. Rick stood near the enormous area that marked out and began to use Move and Shape Earth to carve out the basement area for the castle. He stored all the dirt for later use, and to keep the site clean from piles of dirt as he went along. When the basement shape was finally dug out of the ground, Rick had an idea that he wanted to test out. First, he made a wood crate and like the store water tank used a wood chisel to carve a very tiny water rune in the bottom of the crate and liked it to a switch and a draw rune on the side of the crate.
Rick sealed the wood crate with a lid and used his Wood Carving skill to make a slot to hold a quartz storage gem thatwas used to power the water rune. Using his hand drill he made a hole in the side of the crate and squeezed a two-foot long length of metal pipe into the drilled hole and sealed around the hole with glue.
When the quick littleinvention was finished he acquired a recipe that he simply named "Water Box". Touching the switch rune on the side activated the water rune inside and soon after water was pouring out the end of the metal pipe extending fromthe portable Water Box.
Spoiler: Water Box.
The Water Boxwas around two foot by two foot in dimensions making it easy to hold and walk around with. Rick picked upthe water box and began dousing the dirt floor with water. He took out a four-foot lengthof a cut plank to smooth out the muddy floor''s surfacelike he had seen concrete workers do on job sites in the real world. When he had a section of the muddy floor looking smooth and level, Rick cast the Druidic Mage spell Transmute Stone and Earth that would change natural uncut stone to clay, dirt into sand, and mud into stone. When he used the spell on the muddy floor it transformed into a smooth three-inch thick slab of stone.
Rick knelt down and felt the floor and was happy with how it had worked out. The stone was all one continuous slab, unlike the others he made with stone blocks that had cemented joints everywhere. Using this new idea of making floors, he continued on repeating the steps of adding water. smoothing the mud. and transforming it into stone. Splitting the basement into sections to be sure the mud would not dry, he soon covered the entire area in one slab of smooth stone.
Rick flew up out of the basement and called Handil on the party chat. Rick instructed him to head over to the central castle plot with his crew when they finished the apartment building they were nearly done with. Rick sat back down at is thetable to figure out how he wanted to design Faith''sTemple while he awaited on Handil to arrive.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
Sticking with the ancient Roman/Greek style of Earth, Rick used his Drawing skill to designa large white marble temple on an elevated stone foundation large enough to hold a fewhundred people.
Spoiler:Faith''s Temple.
When he was happy with the design he put it away and made some ladders with a recipe. Rick placed the ladders in the basement hole against the wall sothat his workers canclimb in and out of the basement hole. He then jumped down into the basement and used Move and Shape stone to slice up the large stone cubes he brought back from the Astral Plane into stone blocks and mixed up a large batch of cement. Handil then arrived with the stone masons, stone cutters, carpenters, a few cottars and the plumbers.
Rick lefta few big stacks of stone blocks and the cement in the center of the basement and came up to greet Handil. Rickhanded overthe castle concept drawing and floor plan for the first floor of the castle and while Handillooked themover Rickdrew up a simple floor plan for the basement and passed that off to him as well.
Spoiler:Castle Basement Floor Plan.
He explained in Dwarven to him how he wanted it built and how the room marked prison area would need triple thick stone block walls. He told him he would make the jailcells himself later because he planned to make them all out of steel so that it would be impossible to dig through the walls and escape no matter how long someone was held in there. The other rooms he wanted all the walls to be made of stone to support the castle above it, but he wanted the carpenters to encase to stone walls in wood paneling just like his store. He showed the carpenters the wood panel design he had made for the store and told them to reproduce it throughout the basement. The plumbers he told to start running water inflow and outflow lines to every room on the floor plan and had them all get started.
Rick walked over to Handil and passed him the drawing of Faith''s Temple and told him to begin working on it when the basement was finished.
"If you need any more workers or specialized craftsman to build the temple let me know and I will get them for you. I know it is a huge project and may require extra hands to build," Rick said in Dwarven.
Rick explained that he had left him enough supplies down in the basement to construct the stone walls and then made a stack of assorted lumber from recipes and took out a bunch of clay pipes and metal pipes and stacked them near the work area.
Rick activated Flight and flew over to the beach where he lit the bonfire and took out a few empty barrelsand a shovel. He scooped up all the hardwood ashes filling the barrelsup and stored everything away. Since he was right near the sawmill he went over and collected the huge oak tree he had left there a few days back that he told the sawyers not to cut.
When he had deposited the oak tree into the inventory he flew over to the System Gate and spawned in a few more wagoners and Cottars to work together and operatethe finished work carts that had been sitting to the side unused. He took them all over to the workshop and explained he wanted them to collect all the furniture that the regular furniture makers create and transport it over to the apartment buildings and arrangeit in the empty apartments. He explained to the delivery group what furniture to place in each room.
Rick instructed them also to check in with Handil the Dwarf in charge of the large construction crew often tosee if he needed anything and deliver what he needed from the stockpile, sawmill, or the southern stone quarry. Ricktold them the other cart drivers took care of pick ups at the stone quarry, but if they ever had the need to travel there to just follow the marked route along the river.
He then sent them off to the stables in search of the animal trainer to equip some horses and hook them up to the carts to begin deliveries. Dismissing the new cart delivery crew, Rick filled the stock pile with more wood, stone, clay, and took advantage of his VIP options to buy some random uncut gems. He placed the gems into his inventory and once again opened the unit buy menu. He spawned in ten Shipwright/Artisans and walked over to the tool shed to give them the usual tool belts, pouches, gloves nails, screws, and hand toolsand walked them into the tower and sat at the table. Rick drew up a design for a sailboat and went over how he wanted it to be built.
Spoiler:Sailboat with Cabin.
Rick explained how he wanted thefin keel on the bottom of the boat not to run too deep. He not only wanted this sailboat for ocean travel but also wanted to be able to head up rivers in it.
Even though he called it a sailboat it was still large, measuring forty foot long. He designed it to have a cabin and an upper deck on top of the cabin where the wheel would be located. He had even thought up a few ideas on how to use wind runes on the masts to push the boat along when there was no wind, but that would need to wait until the boat was built.
After explaining his design and what he intended it to do with it, he took the Shipwrights down near the river and used Move and Shape Earth to cut out a hole big enough to build the boat in. Rick told them to build the boat in the hole next to the river and when it was finished he could connect the hole to the river and the boat would float up as the hole filled with water. Rick took out the huge oak tree he was saving and told them to use it to make the ships keel. He then made up planks, beams, plywood, and posts from recipes and left them near the hole along with a few tree trunks for them to work with.
Rick walked back to the tower and found Angelica up in the bedroom reading and invited her to go shopping with him. So they both stepped through a portal next to Mia''s inn and went in for lunch before they went out shopping. As was their routine now they ordered the daily special which was beef steak, a potato with butter, and a side of pickled duck eggs and biscuits. They enjoyed the food which was always well prepared though a little more expensive than other places, but as they say "You get what you pay for".
Rick had the chance to catch up with Angelica about her new physical training program. All of the military units were now required to weight train, spar with practice weapons and run along the river to the stone quarry and back every day. She told him everyone struggled with the run, but the attribute gains they got from it began to help make it more manageable.
After paying for lunch they went over to the central plaza where, Rick stocked up on food supplies such as vegetables, fruits, dairy products, eggs, oils, and a good amount of lard that he had plans for. With the food supplies, all paid for they went to the surrounding stores and shops. He stopped in at a shop that made musical instruments and purchased lutes, harps, drums, flutes, violas, and a couple different horns.
Next on his list was to find a flower shop in the city. He asked the person he bought the instruments from where he might find one and learned that one was only a few streets away. Rick and Angelica walked over to the flower shop location and he purchased a bunch of roses and lavender flowers.
Now that he had everything he needed the two of them walked over to his new store. Rick unlocked the door and showed Angelica around and told her his idea of making a department store that sold a little of everytype of craft. Making his store a one stop shop for everyone''s needs.
Angelica really liked the idea and the look of the store. Then he turned the fountains on and she became fascinated with them, having never seen anything like them. While Rick was at the store he arranged any finished counters or displays around the store sections and told the carpenters to make large shelves along the walls of the warehouse if they finish up before he returned to assign them a new task.
RIck then opened a portal in the store wall and the two returned to the towerand walked back to the System Gate again and spawned in a Siever and a Soap Maker. He walked the two into the workshop and gave them both a workbench. Rick drew up a fine mesh modern style strainer and gave it to the Siever along with a few large coils of metal wire.
Spoiler:Metal Mesh Strainer.
He called the blacksmiths over and told them to help out making any parts for the strainer that the Siever needed help with and sent them off. The soap maker he took out all the hardwood ashes oil, lard, and the flowers for. He told the soap maker to take a few glass bottles from the glass blowers station and place rose petals and oil in some and lavender and oil in other separate bottles. He explained after a few days of the flower would scent the oils and they would use those scented oils in the soap he was to make.
He gave him a few cast iron pots and told him to soak the hardwood ashes in water to make lye water. After the ashes soak for a day or so he was to use the strainer the Siever was making to strain out the ash and debris. and store the lye water in a safe place and be sure not to let it touch his skin. Later when they had lye water they could mix it with lard and flower oil to make scented soap. Rick used a recipe to make a pair of leather gloves for the soap maker and told him to wear them when handling the lye water so it would not burn his skin if he split any.
After Rick had assigned the two new workers their tasks he scanned the room and noticed that the workshop wasjust about at maxcapacity.
Spoiler:Workshop Worker Stations.
We really need to begin construction on a few buildings in the craftsman district so I can start assigning shops to all these workers I keep hiring. When I first had this place builtI thought it was so big then now a week later I have enough workers to be considered a large village.Rick thought while realizing that there wasn''t much room left in the workshop.
Shaking his head with a long sigh, Rick went around gathering anything that was finished and walked over to the blast furnace. He opened the slag pipe and the molten impurities drained out onto the ground.
"Looks like the new metal is melted down now," Rick said to himself and took out his stone ingot casts to start draining the molten Astrallium into. Rick continued to pour out the molten metal into his casts making ingots until the furnace was empty. Rick shut off the furnace and stored all the new ingots away and made his way down into the tower cellar to work alongside the two Dwarves busily turning out the designs he gave them to stock the store with.
Rick placed a few of the extremely heavy Astralillum ingots into the forge flame to heat up while he drew up an idea for another set of armor. He used the heavy black metal ingots to make acuirass, gauntlets, greaves, and a modern style military helmet. It took him longer than normal to work the dense metal into shape, but the extended hammering and forging helped to increase his skills.
When he finished making the new set of armor he acquired a recipe for it. Shocked to see this he opened his notices to find that his Blacksmithing had leveled up to level 2 Advanced and also upgraded like his Tailoring had. Rick closed the notices and set ownership of the new armor pieces to him and equipped them all. Compared to his other set of armor it now felt like he was carrying someone around on his back from the weight of the Astrallium metal.
Spoiler:Black Astrallium Armor Set.
Rick left the new armor on and made a copy of his battle gear preset, but exchanged the old armor for the new armor and name it "Stealth Gear".
Equip Battle Gear!
Equip Stealth Gear!
He cycled through his two presets testing them out and they worked great he was able to change armor set within a couple seconds. Leaving the new heavy armor on Rick walked out to the Fitness area and grabbed a couple fifty-pound dumbells and walked up and down the stone staircase. With the heavy dumbells and extra armor weight, it was quite a struggle, but he pushed on remembering the Marine Corps saying "Pain is weakness leaving the body".
He called out some Marine Corps cadences to distract himself while climbing the stairs for about a half hour then took a break and reviewed his notices.
Spoiler:New Notices.
Attribute Increase:
Srength + 25
Attribute Increase:
Vitality+20
Attribute Increase:
Agility+7
Attribute Increase:
Stamina +15
Show Status!
Spoiler:Cedric''s Status Menu.
Cedric Crownguard
Strength:
75
Level: (31%)
13
Stamina:
55
Health:
750
Vitality:
75
Mana:
1160
Intelligence:
116
Piety:
+175
Wisdom:
59
Fame:
+10125 (locally respected)
Agility:
38
Honor:
+11000
Charisma:
20
Allignment:
+4000
Leadership:
35
Satiety:
76%
Luck:
10
Class:
DruidicMage
Health Regen/Sec:
2.5
Mana Regen/Sec:
5.5
Feudal Domain:
2600
Race:
Human
Feuadal Title:
Count
Unused Points:
0
Awarded Titles
Title:
The White Knight
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
The Honor Guard
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
The Duelist
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
Black Hand Interrogator
Alignment +/-
-1000
Title:
Benevolent Leader
Alignment +/-
+1000
Rick closed out his menus and put two hundred pounds of plates on a barbell and started doing sets of squats and deadlifts. He kept at it rotating through quick sets for another half hour in full gear wearing his armor and weapons then stopped to look at his new gains.
Spoiler:New Notices.
Attribute Increase:
Srength +30
Attribute Increase:
Vitality+ 10
Attribute Increase:
Stamina + 15
Show Status!
Spoiler:Statuswith Gains.
Cedric Crownguard
Strength:
105
Level: (31%)
13
Stamina:
70
Health:
850
Vitality:
85
Mana:
1160
Intelligence:
116
Piety:
+175
Wisdom:
59
Fame:
+10125 (locally respected)
Agility:
38
Honor:
+11000
Charisma:
20
Allignment:
+4000
Leadership:
35
Satiety:
76%
Luck:
10
Class:
DruidicMage
Health Regen/Sec:
2.5
Mana Regen/Sec:
5.5
Feudal Domain:
2600
Race:
Human
Feuadal Title:
Count
Unused Points:
0
Awarded Titles
Title:
The White Knight
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
The Honor Guard
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
The Duelist
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
Black Hand Interrogator
Alignment +/-
-1000
Title:
Benevolent Leader
Alignment +/-
+1000
BAM! There it is over one hundred in strength and my vitality tooka nice jump up as well! I literally thought I was going to die though half way through that workout. The way this VR capsule sends feelings of pain and fatigue to the brain is incredible.Rick thought as he closed his menus and walked out onto the west footbridge.
He unequipped all his gear and jumped into the river and floated along with the current. The ingame character Cedricnever seems to get dirty or sweaty, but it was still relaxing to just lay back and float in the water erasing the stress and strain felt from the weight training. While floating along he thought back remembering the Hold Breath skill he created when building the western footbridge on Tower Island.
Rick took a deep breath and swam underwater slowly swimming with the current while using Hold Breath to explore the submergedworld. When Rickactivated Night Sight to see into the deepest depthshe was surprised to see so many fish swimming around him.
I wonder if I can somehow kill one of these fish so I can try Shifting into one. He thought remembering the idea he had earlier of wanting to try out being a fish.
Rick started to think of how he could kill or catch one of the surrounding fish. When he came up with an idea Rick swam over to the shoreline and took out some metal wire leather stringand a pair of pliers. Rick used the pliers to bend a loop on the end of the wire and then bent the other end into a pointed hook shape. Rick tried the leather stringto the hook loop and brought out the bird meat he field dressed in the Astral Planeand cut a piece off of it. Rick hid the hook inside the bird meat and put everything away.
He swam back out under water holding his breath and swam along looking for a bigger sized fish. After searching the river and coming up for air a few times he found a long sleek fish with a body shape likea Musky or aBarracuda. Rick brought out the baited hook with a leather stringtied to it and a dagger. Rick tucked the dagger into the waistline of his shorts and fed the baited hook down stream toward the fish. When it was a few feet upstream from the large fish he gave the line a few quick pops to make the bait jump around like a wounded fish.
The large aggressive fish didn''t waste any time and swam up inhaling the baited hook. Rick waited for the fish to swallow the bait the gave the line a jerk setting the hook. He swam toward the fish while pulling the leather line in hand over hand toward him. The fish felt it self-being pulled by the leather string and began cutting back and forth in the water now aware it was trapped. Rick quickly swam toward the fish afraid it would snap the line and pulled out his dagger when the fish was in range he made a few swipes at it, but it was hard to hit the fish with the water slowing down his swing and it darting around.
He stopped swinging and pulled in more line until the fish was right before him. Rick arced the blade point around swinging at the side of the fish thenpiercing itbehind the gills. He thenswam out of the water holdingthe punctured fish on his dagger. On land now he turned the dagger over letting the fish slide off the blade onto theground. Rick knelt down with his daggerpushed theblade through the fishes head killing it quickly. Rick carried the dead fish over to the water and used his blade to clean it. When all the blood and innards were washed out he stored the fish meat away and swam out into the water once again.
Nowunderwater Rick cast the Shape Shift spell and actually changed into the fish he just caught. Then he inhaled a small amount of waterand was expecting to start choking, but he didn''t. With more confidence, Ricktook a deep gulp of water pushing it out over his gills and he felt the burn of low oxygenfade away.
This is awesome, I can shift into a fish and breathe underwater! Rick thought as he swam back up the river with difficulty toward tower Island.
When my boat is finished I need to make a cage and go out into the ocean and kill a shark or something else big and nasty. He thought as he swam along.
When he began to get used to moving his body properly and his speed gradually increased,Rick discovered he had reached the western footbridge from the wood pylons supporting the bridges in the water ahead of him. Rick shifted back to his original form and walked out of the river.
Equip Stealth Gear!
Once he was redressed in his new armor Rick noticedthe weight wasmuch more manageable after his one-hour intensive strength training session. Rick flew on over to the restaurant and went into the kitchen to unload the supplies he bought in town for the cooks. Rick made up a plate and sat down at a table with some food to refill his satiety that took a big hit from his workout and openedParty Chat to call Kanna the nekomimi Assassin/Hero Ranger and Garion the Half-Angel Cleric/Assassin. Rickhad just finished his meal beforethey both arrived together. Kanna and Garion entered the restaurant and sat down across from Cedric. Rick proceeded toexplain everything that had happened with him from buying the store and the nobles sending hired muscle to scare him off. He told them that later tonight he was going to portal a small stealthy group into each house and snatch the nobles from their beds.
Rick asked them since they both had Assassin classes allowing them to move quietly if they wanted to help him out. They both agreed to come along, so Ricktold Kanna and Garionhe would call them later and open a portal to the tower. He then thanked them and flew over to the tower and asked Angelica if she also wanted to come along on his mission as well. She agreedto help himand he told her to wait until later when the other two arrived he would bring them all to the store. Rick gave General Sturm a quick call and explained his operation and told him to allow Angelica, Kanna, and Garion to rest tomorrow since they would be out late at night missing out on their sleep.
Rick left the towerand went over to the tavern and went inside. He foundSilvana the vampiress who he left in charge of the bar and gave her some of the instruments he bought earlier. Since he provided her with the classes Temptress/Minstril, he thought she would make a great performer. With those two classes, she should be like one of those girls in the classic movie who sing sexy songs in the night clubs in slinky dresses.
Rick placed her on his friendlist while he was there and told her if she ever needed anything to let him know. Rick told her if she needed blood he would even let her bite him or extract it somehow. Rick then opened a portal to the store in the tavern wall and walked through it. Rick went around spreading out rugs in the center of each room then began taking out all the stored merchandise he planned to stock the store with. He started to split it all up into groups and carried each group of products to the section of the store devoted to it. He spent quite a bit of time organizing and setting up displays around the store.
While he neatly placed items in displays and glass counters for customers to observe he thought out his plan to strike at the two noble houses. As he began to wrap up stocking the store with all the available merchandisethe sun had set behind the eastern mountains as the city streets grew quiet and dark.
Chapter 25: A Shocking Situation
Rick had displayed and arranged all of the crafts He and his workers had thus completed and his new store had begun to transform from a large empty room into a classy well-stocked department store. His store now had numerous sections devoted to Armor, Weapons, Furniture, Jewelry, Men and Women''s Clothing, Housewares, Art, and a section upstairs to display his new carriage models that he would bring over later.
The Carpenters had done a beautiful job on the counters and displays while working with the glass workers. The counters had been carved with exquisite scenes of wilderness landscapes, wild animals in their natural habitats and also people in different activities of work and everyday life. Rick was quite impressed with their desire to express their artistic talents that he gave them free reign to also carve similar scenes and decorative patterns into the wood panel walls.
As of right now, the Carpenters had split into two squadsthat took turns building large shelves to hold excess merchandise in the warehouse and carving wood reliefs into the wood panel walls.Inspired by the reliefsthe Carpenters were carving Rick sat down to copy a few of them for future concepts.
Spoiler:Wood Relief Drawings.
(A Section of carved Paneling)
If I ever run out of things for these guys to build I can always have them make wood carving reliefs to sell as wall decorations.Rick thought while admiring the Carpenters work.
Rick stored away his drawing and sat down thinking about his plans for tonight''s mission.
Right now I have Angelica for backup just in case things go south. Then Garion with Cleric/Assassin classes who can heal and remain quiet.Then last, but not least Kanna with Assassin/Hero Ranger classes who can instantly kill any unsuspecting foes without ever being seen or sit back at a distance and snipe them down. The way I am planning this mission it shouldn''t have to come to that. If I open a Portal to each bedroom we can snatch them from their beds and toss them through the portal. My only concern is someone will more than likely wake up from being moved and may have time to alert the guards. I may need one one more person with a class I haven''t used with any of my units yet since it is not very combat oriented.
Rick opened up a portal and phased through to end up in front of the System Gate. He opened up the buy unit menu and spawned in a MaleAquatine with Illusionist/Assassin classes. Rick thought the Illusionist class would fit well sinceAquatine were natural psionics that could use powers of the mindand hadTruth of Magic knowledge.
Spoiler: Illusionist Class & Aquatine Race Menus.
Illusionist Class
Illusionists specialize in the art of trickery and deception, using their target''s senses as mediums with which to display their abilities.
They can disable and confuse the senses, inspire action through fabricated thoughts, and even create apparitions which walk about the world.
"You are correct. My illusions are indeed fake. But the fear? The torment? The trauma? I''m afraid they are very real."
Spells List
Spell Name
Spell Description
Mana Cost
Recharge Time
Ventriloquism
Allows you to project your voice or a sound to a targeted location.
25 mp
Two Minutes
Mirage Mantle
Allows you completely change how you and your gear look or to mimic another person.
50 mp
Two Minutes
Deceptive Obstruction
Allows you to create the illusion of a wall, floor, ceiling, or similar surface. Can be used to hide traps and doors or mislead.
50 mp
Two Minutes
Emulate Entity
Allows you to create and control an illusory duplicate of any being. Its appearance will be exactly the same as the original.
50 mp
Two Minutes
Substanceless Silhouettes
Allows you to form terrifying shadow creatures. Anyone they attack is deceived into thinking they are being injured.
75 mp
Two Minutes
Lifelike Illusion
Allows you to create an illusion of an object, being, or force, as visualized by you. The figment includes visual, auditory, olfactory, and thermal elements.
75 mp
Two Minutes
Mystic Message
Allows you to imbue an object or creature with an enchanted mouth that will recite a message the next time a specified event occurs.
75 mp
Two Minutes
Nightmare
Allows you to send horrifying and unsettling phantasmal visions to a specific person. This prevents that person from sleeping leaving them fatigued and drowsy.
75 mp
Two Minutes
Unwaking Slumber
Allows you to put a living being unaware of your presence into a sedated sleep for 10 minutes.
75 mp
Two Minutes
Suppressive Domain
Allows you to create a completely silent Domain. All enemy and/or Ally sound, Conversation, and verbal spells are silenced. No noise whatsoever issues from, enters, or passes through the area.
100 mp
Two Minutes
Dominating Domain
Allows you to combine several elements to create a powerful protection from direct observation. You can dictate what will and will not be observed in the Domain¡¯s area.
100 mp
Two Minutes
Instinctive Knowledge
Daggers
Allows you to use a Bow and Arrow. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Staves
Allows you to use a Staves. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Magic
Allows you to wield magic.
Light Armor
Allows you to wear Light Armor. Skill level determines protection bonuses.
Medium Armor
Allows you to wear Medium Armor. Skill level determines protection bonuses.
Reading and Writing
Allows you to read and write you racial and Lord''s language.
Aquatine Race
Aquatines have skin which can vary in shades of light blue. The hair color of Aquatines ranges from blue to teal.
Aquatines have thingill slits on the back of their necks that allow them to breathe in water.These gills are usually unnoticed when on land, as the slit skin seals tightly closed to keep out foreign contaminants.
On the back of each arm and leg, they have small ridges that act as fins to better maneuver in the water, as well as having slightly webbed fingers and toes.
The Aquatines inhabit the shorelines of both fresh and salt water building settlements that are partially submerged in the water.
Male: (4.6 ft.¨C 5.5ft. ) (100 ¨C 130 lbs.)
Female: (4.0ft.¨C 4.6 ft.) (75 ¨C 105 lbs.)
Racial Traits
[Amphibious]: You can breathe normally, both on land, and in water.
[Fast Swimmer]: Your movements in the water are very fast and agile.
[Aquatic Combat]: You can easily fight underwater without any difficulties.
[Naturally Psionic]: You are born with the ability to use various forms of psychic, mental ability and powers
InstinctiveAbilities
Psionic
[Mirror Mind]: Allows you to reflect psionic attacks directed against you.
[Mindspeak]: Your racial psionic aptitude allows you to communicate through mental contact with other psionic.
[Psionic Weapon]: You can imbueyour melee weapon with additional psionic damage.
Weapons
[Blunt Weapons]: Allows you to use Blunt Weapons. Level determines bonuses to damage and increased technique.
[Daggers]: Allows you to use Daggers. Level determines bonuses to damage and increased technique.
[Polearms]: Allows you to use Polearms. Level determines bonuses to damage and increased technique.
[Magic]: Allows you to wield magic.
Armor
[Light Armor]: Allows you to wear light armor. Skill level determines protection bonuses.
[Medium Armor]: Allows you to wear Medium armor on land. Skill level determines protection bonuses.
Knowledge
[Truth of Magic]: You have learned to manipulate spells beyond their normal capacity.
[Reading and Writing]: Allows you to read and write your racial, and Lord''s language.
[Brawling]: Allows you the knowledge of how to fight unarmed to win by any means necessary.
[Foraging]: Allows you the knowledge to acquire food by hunting, fishing, or the gathering of plant matter. Edible plants, fish, and animals.
Rick took his new recruit up to the Tower fourth floor and equipped him with weapons and armor. When TheAquatine was fully equipped they met up with Angelica and the three of them sat down at the table on the first floor. Rick called Garion and Kanna with the Party Chat. When they arrived and sat down Rick went over the Aquatine''s Spell list to help him make the final plans for the mission.
Rick decided once he was familiarized with the Illusionist spell list. He would open a portal and send Kanna through using [Phantom Pace] which would make her almost invisibleand [Shadow Step]which would allowher to move silentlyto recon the room and make sure the person was asleep. If the room was quiet and the noble was sleeping she would come back and bring the others through.
The Aquatine who''s name is Reef would step through and cast [Unwaking Slumber]on anyone sleeping in the room and then cast [Suppressive Domain] creating a domain of silence. If there was any sign of trouble Reef would also cast [Dominating Domain]and make everyone in his party invisible. If everything went smoothly they would transfer the noble through the portal to the island in the Astral Plane. Once they had been transferred Reef would then cast [Emulate Entity]to make an exact copy of the noble sleeping in the bed. This way if anyone happened to look in the room before they finished emptying all the bedrooms it would appear that the noble was sleeping soundly in their bed still.
Garion, Angelica, and Rick would concentrate on moving the noble through the portal, while Kanna would wait by the door with[Phantom Pace] and [Shadow Step] still active and ready to pounce on anyone who opened the bedroom door.
After going over the plan they went through different scenarios that could happen and found the plan to be solid enough to stand up against them all. They sat around the table talking and discussing the mission to kill time until late into the night. Rick then decided it was time to make their move and he opened a portal and followed the plan sending Kanna through to recon the room she came back right back and waved them in. The room was quite dark so Rick activated Night Sight and opened another portal about 100 feet away from the tunnel on the island. Rick, Garion, and Angelica gently grabbed a limb of the guy sleeping in the bed and hauled in through the portal and laid him down in the grass on the island.
Rickwaved Kanna away from the door and opened a portal to the next room. Once Reef had made an illusion clone of the manthey just abducted they stalked through the portal to the next bedroom and repeated the process. The stealthy party continued from room to room getting quicker as they developed a routine. Around fifteen minutes later they had moved eleven nobles of House Karn to the island along with Captain Gage who Rick thought about strangling while he was sleeping. Rick decided against it in the end thinking that would be too quick of an end and wanted him to suffer for what he had put Jessica through and the countless other women of the city who had no one to rescue them from his degeneracy.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
With House Karn''s nobles completely cleaned out, the party waited at the tower for a few minutes allowing their mana to regen and then went on to House Lupton. House Lupton was a bit more established than House Karn and had twenty-two nobles under their roof. Even with the extra security that House Lupton had they kept to the perimeter of the mansion allowing Rick''s party to easily portal from one room to the next and snatch up every noble out from under their noses.
Rick''s partytransferred the House Lupton nobles some distancefrom the sleeping Karn nobles to avoid waking them. When both houses were clear of anyone other than guards or servants, Rick took them back to the tower and thanked them all for helping him out. He then explained that they could take the day off tomorrow to sleep in without worrying about training. Rick sent them all off to get some sleep and then made one more portal jump to the Royal Courts Constables office. He left the book he stole from House Lupton sitting on his desk and wrote a short note with his opposite hand explaining what the book was. He thought that if his handwriting was ever compared to the note it would look so much different by using his weak hand it came out shaky and messy.
Rick bounced back to the tower and removed his gear to climb into bed with Angelica. They talked quietly for a few minutes trying not to disturb the group of Tigers sleeping on their mattresses along the wall. When Angelica fell asleep Rickdisconnected from the game. After using the bathroom Rick laid down to get some sleep after a long day.
Rick woke up after a few hours of sleep just after 1:00 PM. He drove up to the college and studied for a couple hours in the library before returning home to work out and take a shower. He had eaten on campus before coming home so he sat down to relax and watch TV while returning missed calls and texts. Lily had sent him a text telling him she was enjoying the game and chose to be an elf. She said the elven forest and tree top homes and shops were beautiful and described the forest gardens filled with exotic flowers and plants.
She told him she was currently learning how to shoot a bow and fight with a short sword. Rick updated her on everything going on with his store and city construction. He didn''t tell her about the problems with the nobles though not wanting to taint the game so early for her since she was having so much fun. He then relayed again that when she felt like moving on later he would come get her somehow. For now, she should stay there and learn as much as possible and just have fun with it all.
Rick then put his phone down and went to connect to the game. He woke up in his bed still next toAngelica who also stirred awake as he climbed out of bed and used his Stealth Gear preset to prepare to head over to the workshop.
"Sorry I woke you up. Go back to sleep and get some rest I need to go check on the all the worker''s progress and take care of a few projects." Rick told her quietly.
"Okay, I''m going to get a little more sleep then. I''ll see you later." Angelica said with a sleepy smile.
Rick left the tower and went over to the workshop and had the Cartwright help him disassemble the two new steel framed carriages. The two of them broke them down into three parts and Rick stored them into his inventory. For some reason when he tried to store the whole carriage the inventory wouldn''t allow him to do it. but when it had been slightly disassembled it, he could then store it without any problems. He assumed it had to do with preventing players from abusing the inventory. If a player could load up a hundred catapults into his inventory he could walk up to city walls and quickly drop them all and have his units run up and start pounding the walls without any warnings at all.
When he was able to store both carriages he left the Cartwright to return to work.Rick made his rounds to the worker''s stations picking up locks, eye glasses, artisan furniture, rugs, tapestries, Quilts, blankets, clothing, and footwear. When Rick stopped at the poleturner he had min spin out a dozen wood cylinders about eight inches long and a half inch thick. He tucked them away and made his way down into the cellar of the tower where he collected the finished armor and weapons.
Rick sat down at his workbench and brought out his hand drill and the woodcylinders. He used his drill to drill out the center of eachcylinder and set them aside. Next, he pulled out some charcoal from the beach fire that saved along with the hardwood ashes. He ground the charcoal in a cast iron pan then added a small amount of clay and water to the charcoal. Rick mixed the clay charcoal and waterinto a peanut buttery consistency and used a piece of wire to ramrod the mixture into the drilled out hole of the woodcylinders. When all twelvecylinders were packed tightly with the mixture he used his fire elemental affinity to slowly heat the woodcylinders without burning them.
After a few minutes of this, the center mixture of charcoal and clay dried out and became solid. Rick acquired a recipe after making his newest creation that he named "Charcoal Pencil". Rick used his knife to cut a three foot long sections of fine white cloth off a roll from his inventory and then sharpened on of the charcoal pencils. He then made a sheet of plywood and cut it into two foot by two-foot cutsthat he stretched and tacked the cuts of cloth around.
Now that Rick had a few makeshift canvases, he used his charcoal pencil and drawing skill to make a few large drawing to frame and sell at his store. He had made an area to sell and display artwork that was looking empty with only a few wood sculptures and quick drawing on parchment he had made. If he could make money on his artwork for little to no investment he could always add later, but for now, he decided to make a few test run drawing to see if there was anyone interested.
Spoiler: A few ofCedric''s Charcoal Drawings.
When Rick had made twenty pencil drawings he used carpentry and wood carving to make ornate wood frames for them and used his paint sticks to paint the frames a golden brown color. He packed all the painting into the inventory and got up and walked over to the forge He placed half a steelingot mixed with the Tiger blood into the forge flames along with three Astralliumingots and sat back down again. While the ingots were heating up he took out all of his uncut gems and began cutting them all using his gem cutting skill. When he hadcut all the gems he had in his inventory he thenused identify on each one and sorted them into piles.
Rick put away his gem cutting tools and pulled the half steel ingot from the flames and split into sections on his anvil. Rick hammered out a rough ring shape for every cut piece of steel and carried them over to the workbench. With the help of his metal sculpting skill, he carved and notched the rings into decorative shapes. When he was happy with the ring shapes he used his fire elemental affinity to set the stones into the rings and hold them in place with tiny cuts of heated steel wire.
He cut a piece of red velvet from a roll in his inventory and placedit inside a small wooden box. He arranged the rings on the velvet inside the box and set them off to the side for now.
Spoiler:New Ring Designs.
I need to make these rings I am going to sell really stand out. It isn''t enough that my designs are different from all the other Jewelers. The steel I used to make them has the Tiger blood mixed into them so that should provide some small bonuses, but if I enchant them then I will have jewelry that can''t be bought anywhere else. Rick thought as he picked up a dragon head shaped ring withPadparadscha gemstones.
Rickimbued the ring with the strength attribute and used his identify skill on it.
Spoiler: Enchanted Steel Dragon Ring.
Enchanted Steel Dragon Ring
A Steel Ring mixed with Variant Tiger blood. This ring has seventy-five smallpadparadscha gemstones.
This is an original design crafted in the shape of a Dragon head by Cedric Crownguard.
Bonuses:
+8% to swing speed
Enchantment:
+5 Strength
Wow, that is a nice ring. If I wore one on every finger I could boost my strength to +50 and improve my weapon swing speed by 80%.Rick thought as he examined the ring.
He placed the dragon ring back into the velvet lined box and went through the rest of the rings enchanting them with random attributes and then stored them away to display later at the shop.
Rick talked with the Dwarf weaponsmith about an idea he had for a weapon. Rick thought the weapons he had been crafting of late were beautifully done and truly showed off his Artisan skills. After discussing the design, Rick thought the smith had some great ideas and began to alter the weapons look in the drawing to accommodate them. When Rick had a completed the drawing of the new weapon he worked together with the weaponsmith to craft it with the Astralliumingots that he had placed in the forge earlier.
Spoiler:Astrallium Weapon Design.
Rick and the weaponsmith usedOrichalcum to break up the solid black color of the hammer by adding anOrichalcum handle, pommel, and wrapped Orichalcum accent straps on the hammer shaft. Even though this weapon was made with two rare metals and was extremely heavy there was one other thing that made it different than any other weapon. In the center of the hammer head above where the shaft connected was recessed circular indentation on each side.
Inside both of the two indentations, Rick had socked quartz storage gems and sealed them with two platinum engraved runes that fit flush with the side of the hammer head. On one side of the hammer was a fire rune on the other side he had attached a lightning rune. Both runes were on an engraved circuit that connected to a switch rune on the handle. When Rick and the weaponsmith completed the new hammer he placed it in his inventory and flew off to the west.
Rick took out the hammer and swung it at a tree and touched the switch right at impact. A ball of flames and electrical bolts arced around and into the tree. The moisture in the tree was instantly heated to a boil and the tree trunk exploded as if it were hit by a bolt of lightning.
The tree was not the only thing that took damage Rick had trained himself to have resistances to fire, but lightning was a different story. Thehammer had worked like a giant lightning rod and channeled the electricity right down into his hands He was thrown through the air and landed on his back.He had lost over three-quarters of his health and his arms had long gashes with smoke tendrils rising from them.
When the pain hit him he ground his teeth to stop himself from yelling out. Rick remembered the ring on his finger "Faith''s Blessing" and activated it. The healing power of the ring circulated through his body restoring the damage he had received. Now that the pain was fading and he could move his arms he began casting his Druidic Mage spell [Nature''s Blessing] that could restore 100 hp per cast until he was fully recovered.
Rick stood up and walked over to grab the hammer and stored it away.
It seems metal conducts electricity in the game just like the real world and very well at that. That shit fricking hurt. I almost feel sorry for anyone who gets hit directly by that damn hammer. Though by looking at this destroyed tree here I don''t think they will feel much. Before I can use that hammer again I need to train my lightning elemental affinity so that I have a resistance to it.
Rick performeda few stretches and made sure he was fully healed and everything was where it was supposed to be and then flew towards the city construction area. As he approached the city center he spotted Handil''s crew laying the foundation for Faith''s Temple in the enormous stone paved square just north of the castle plot. As usual, many of the workers stopped to look up as he passed over with looks of astonishment. Rick would just chuckle at their reactions and wave as he zipped past.
I guessI would act the same way in the real world if I saw someone always flying around my neighborhood. I think of it as being normal since this is a game, but to them even though there is magic in this world it isn''t normal to see people flying around faster than anything they have ever seen.
Rick landed on the castle plot and found that Handil and his group of workers not only completed the basement they had covered it with the wood plank floors and laid a row of cemented limestone blocks as the start of the Castle foundation. You could now clearly see the shape of the castle that the limestone blocks outlined.
Walking toward the back tower he found a rectangular hole cut in the floor below the hole was a spiral staircase that he descended to the dark basement. Rick activated his Night Sight and walked from room to room admiring the work they had done. The walls were not as detailed or artistic as his store, but this castle basement looked as good as any modern real world finished basement. The floor was covered in white marble tiles and they had painted the wood paneled walls white with black borders to match the black swirls in the marble tiles.
Rick went through the basement after exploring it and hung wall lights in the hallways and rooms. He then created a forge much bigger than the one in the tower. He made workbenches, a metal roller, and a pedal lathe and arranged them around the work room. He set out a long table and chairs and placed a lamp on it.
I need to make or buy smelting pots and anvils now that they are all being used. I could always have the two Dwarves working in the tower cellar transfer over here all of the equipment, but it is still convenient having a crafting area over there. I guess I will just leave it for now. When I move those two out of the basement I want them to have their own buildings. I want to make a crafting district when the temple is finished so that the workers can all have their own shops. It would be nice if I could one day make them all independent. I would need to come up with a way that they can make money, hmm.
I could sell them materials for their crafts then buy the finished products and also charge them for rent. The restaurant could make a menu and charge the customers like a real restaurant so the cooks could earn money and the farmers could sell their fruits and vegetables in a market to those who wish to make their meals at home. I could always put it to a vote to see if they are happy with the way things are now or if they want to change. Rick contemplated the city''s future changes as he left the castle basement and set off to the plot he gave Daisia to raise the exotic trees and plants he harvested in the Astral Plane.
When he reached the garden, Rick discovered the half-dryad had been quite busy. Daisia had transformed the empty plot into an incredible fantasy garden. He saw trees with blue leaves some had red others purple or yellow. He found small clustered gardens of rainbow hue flowers in different shapes and sizes. She had even used her move and shape earth skill to carve out natural looking ponds that she filled with her [Create Water] skill. With her [Vegetation Shape] skill she had made arches and tunnels from exotic multi-colored bushes and plants.
Rick just stood in place frozen as he took it all in. Everywhere he looked there was something neat to see. around one of the ponds she had shaped vegetation to look like a group of deerleaning down to drink from it and the ends of tree branches had their leaves shaped to look like birds were taking flight from them. Daisia had been walking around her garden making changes and helping plants grow when she discovered Cedric had arrived. She walked over to him barefoot and scantily dressed making it hard not to look her up and down.
Rick shook his head and spoke up as she approached him. "Daisia this garden is incredible I just expected you tomake a farm with all the plants and trees I brought back for us to harvest, but you went and made a garden that would make an elf weep with joy."
Daisia laughed at his comment. "fufu. I am a half dryad elves may be good with nature elementals, but they have nothing on me. Then these two classes you gave me Druid and this Landscape Architect have spells and skill that fit me perfectly. If you wanted I could make you a city out of trees and plants instead of stone." She replied with a proud smile.
"Haha. You don''t have to build me a city what I do want is when a district is finished is for you to make all the land around the building to look like this garden you created here. After seeing this I will have to even leave some open plots in each district for you to create parks and gardens that everyone can enjoy. In my world, the big cities are full of streets and building so the people enjoy going to parks on their time off to run around and play in nature." Rick explained.
"Oh, before I forget to ask have you had any luck finding a latex tree?" Rick asked.
Daisia gave him a small smile and wagged her finger at him to follow her. She led him to the tree with deep purple leaves that he had brought back from the Astral Plane. Daisia unsheathed a dagger from her hip and cut a groove into the smooth tree bark. All most instantly a white liquid substance began to drip out of the cut.
Rick walked over and put some on his finger and used identify.
Latex
Latex is a milky white fluid found in plants that serves mainly as a defense against herbivorous insects.
The latex can be processed to produce many materials. Natural rubber is one of the main products created from Latex.
Latex is used to mattresses, clothing, footwear, latex paints, and many other modern products.
"Yes! This is it!" Heexclaimed.
Rick pointed to the land between the street and where the city walls would be. "I want you to turn all that land across the street there into a farm of these trees. You don''t have to do anything excessive I just want a straight line of evenly placed trees. Then I can cut the bark and hang buckets to collect the latex and turn it into rubber." Rick explained.
Daisia seemed ecstatic to have a new strip of land to play with and ran off with a smile to get started on the tree farm. He shook his head with a smile and flewoff to the tower and went back downstairs with an idea he just had.
Rick took out his drill and wood workings tools along with a wood post. He used his [Wood Carving] and [Wood Shape] skill to create an adjustable wood armor stand that could be used to display complete armor sets.
Spoiler:Armor Stand.
Rick received a recipe for the new wooden armor stand and opened a portal to his store and stepped through. In the armor and weapons department, Rick displayedan iron plate armor set with a two handed sword to see how the new armor stand looked.
Spoiler:Iron Plate Armor Displayed.
He liked the way the armor looked displayed on the stand. It would allow the customer to see first hand how the armor would look on them before purchasing it. Rick made more armor stands to display the different types of armor he would be selling and arranged them around the weapons and armor department.
Rick went to check on the carpenters and found them continuing to carve reliefs on the paneled walls. He instructed them to move upstairs when they had finished the warehouse shelving and cover the walls with wood paneling. He then went upstairs himself and took out the sections of the carriages and assembled them to use as display models.
When he had reassembled them, Rick went back to the tower and laid down on the bed and disconnected to take a break and grab something to eat.
Disconnect!
Lily Joins Kingdoms Online
Lily woke up early even though she did not have to attend classes. After hitting the snooze button a couple times she crawled out of bed and took a shower to wake up. After her shower, Lily put on a pair of shorts and a frilly half shirt that showed off her lean stomach and walked throughher condo to the kitchen. She grabbed a large grapefruit and a container of orange juice from the fridge and placed them on the counter.
She used a large kitchen knife to slice the grapefruit on a wooden cutting board and spooned a light coating of sugar over the exposed pulp. She then poured herself a large glass of cold orange juice and sat down at the table to eat her breakfast.
Though Lily wasn''t as much of a gamer as her guy friends, she was still excited that this morning she would finally have her Gate Gear Capsule delivered and installed. She sat daydreaming of the exotic races and the fantasy world of Kingdoms Online while she ate her grapefruit.
Lily was a very good looking young woman and found it hard to go out a do the things she enjoyed without being constantly hounded by men wanting to get to know her. This was why she often went out with her guy friends from college.
Rick, Ryan, Luke, and Joel attendthe same classes as her and they got to know each other through study groups. This group of guys always treated her as an equal and listened to her opinion on matters without dumbly nodding while staring at her chest.
She relished the time she spent with these guys and always had felt safe around Rick. Rick''s size and quick temper to protect her were enough to drive off anyone who approached to try and pick up on her or became a nuisance. Rick treated her like a little sister always lending a helping hand and protecting her from scumbags. Lily had no desire to have a boyfriend at this time in her life. She wanted to concentrate on her studies without dealing with the drama of a relationship.
Lily cleaned up the kitchen and placed her bowl and glass in the dishwasher and went out to watch TV and text on her phone while awaiting the delivery fromProdigy Wave Corp.
She soon greeted the delivery men who professionally installed her Gate Gear capsule. After signing a couple forms she was once again alone in hercondominium. Lily looked over the manual and learned how to connect and disconnect from the game. From what she read the capsule had to do a nude scan the first time someone connected so Lily closed the window curtains and striped down. She climbed into the new capsule and went through the initial scan.
She entered the game and was dropped from a great height through a circular holein the roof of a Roman/Greek type temple where she met a helpful AI named Faith. The AI Faith had her take a test to determine what skills she would start with and then helped her chose a race. Like she had discussed with her friends she chose the elven race. Lily did not change her looks or size, but she did lengthen her hair and changed the color to a platinum blonde to match most of the other female elves she had seen in the character viewing room.
When she had finalized her changes Faith sent her down into the game world. Lily found herself inside of an enormous hollow tree that seemed to be a temple from what the elven priestess told her. This beautiful temple was dedicated to the Elven goddessSilandra Twilight. The interior and everything inside the temple seemed to have been shaped from the tree. The stairs, benches, altars, and wallswere all formed from this huge tree by nature magic.
Even the temple windows seemed as if the tree grew to allow open gaps rather than them having been cut out. When Lily finished marveling at the tree temple she stepped outside onto a boardwalk that connected to the surrounding trees. The boardwalk was high off the ground and allowed access to homes, shops, and public buildings. Lily stopped to open her skill menu and examine what skills she had earned through the test she had taken.
Spoiler:Lily''s Starting Skills.
Skill List
Archery
Level 1 (Beginner 0%)
Carpentry
Level 6 (Beginner 16%)
Cooking
Level 4 (Intermediate 58%)
Paving
Level 3 (Intermediate 32%)
Masonry
Level 2 (Intermediate 43%)
Night Sight
Level 1 (Beginner 0%)
Archery must be what they call a racial instinctive ability. Cooking is something I had always enjoyed doing and have even taken cooking classes. Masonry, Carpentry, and Paving are from what I have learned from my Architectural Engineer classes. Then Night Sight must be anotherinstinctive ability that elves get.
Show Status!
Spoiler:Lily''s Status Menu.
Lavinia Moonglow
Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.
Strength
4
Level
1
Stamina
7
Health
100
Vitality
10
Mana
110
Intelligence
11
Pieity
0
Wisdom
8
Fame
0
Agility
12
Honor
0
Charisma
5
Alignment
0
Leadership
1
Satiety
100
Luck
7
Class
none
Health Regen/Sec
0.5
Mana Regen/Sec
0.5
Feudal Domain
none
Race
Elven
Feudal Title
none
Unused Points
0
Awarded Titles
Title:
(none)
Alignment +/-
(None)
Lily went through her status menu clicking on each attribute and displayed stat box to read their descriptions. She gradually learned what each one was related to and how it could help her. She then closed her menus and asked where she could find stores to buy clothes, weapons, and armor. Rick had given her a few pointers on what she would need to get started and soon she had bought a new outfit, a set of leather armor, a bow, a quiver, arrows, and a short sword.
When she had equipped all of her new gear she followed a spiral staircase that wrapped down around a tree trunk to the forest floor and set off into the surrounding forest. She used her bow to hunt small game in the area and slowly raised her Archery level to where she could venture out even further. Soon she was hunting bigger game taking on wolves and bears. She stored all the animals she shot in her inventory. Lily did not have a knife to field dress them and was a little squeamish about attempting it to start with.
She had an exciting time hunting the varied wildlife and discovering new locations. As she progressedin skill and distance the woods soon thinned out and she found herself on a beautiful white sand beach looking out at the ocean waves rolling in as the sun appeared to be descending into the water on the horizon.
What a breathtaking sight, I can see why so many people love this game. This is my first day and I am already loving it myself. A gorgeous world that you can become strong enough to go anywhere and defend yourself from anything.
With a longing sigh Lily turned around and hunted back to the elven forest settlement and sold the animal she shot to a butcher. She climbed the stairs back up to the boardwalks and explored the tree top settlement and people watched as the sun went down and lights in the homes and shops illuminated the trees all around creating a picturesque scene.
Lily made her way to a small inn she had found while exploring and rented a room for a week. She ate light dinner of breaded fish and a baked potato and went to her rented room. The rooms furniture had a wilderness theme made of logs and branches with the bark still on it. The bed was comfortable and the room was cozy. It was hard to believe that she was about fifty feet off the ground right now.
She looked out her room window as the settlement became quiet and the boardwalks emptied of all the busy elves who had been walking about them all day. Lily walk across the room laid down and disconnected for the day.
Disconnect!
She woke up in her capsule still nude from the scan earlier and was a little cold. She opened the lid and redressed while recalling her adventure that she wanted to tell her friends about.
Once I get strong enough where I am not a hindrance I will have Rick come get me and I can see the city he is building and we can go out on adventures and discover new places together. Then Ryan and Joel will also eventually meet up and we can all have fun together.
Lily sat down on the living room couch and called Rick to tell him all about her first day in Kingdoms Online.
Chapter 26: Explorer of the Unknown
Content Warning: This chapter contains profanity and violence!
Rick opened the lid of his Gate Gear and walked down the hallway to his kitchen. As he was looking through his fridge tryingto figure out what to make for dinner his cell phone began to ring. He found it on the coffeetable in the living room and seen that Lily was calling him.
"So did you join the game yet?" Rick said without even greeting her.
"haha, I sure did I just disconnected a couple minutes ago and had to call you." She replied laughing.
"Tell me all about it then! What race did you pick? What skills did you end up with? How is the Eleven forest?"
Rick began excitedly bombarding her with questions about how her first day went in the game.
Lily fed off of Rick''senthusiasm and began to fondly recount the beauty of the elvensettlement and the colossal hollow tree that was magicallytransformed into a temple where she had first arrived. Rick sat down on the couch with a smile of wonderment at he listen to her describe the many boardwalks thatconnected the elven shops and homes that rested high abovethe ground cozily amongstthe treeboughs.
The two friends talked for some time about the game and school and then hung up after making plans to have lunch together on the campus. After Rick hung up, he set his oven to broil and thawed a small ribeye steak in a bowl of warm water while the oven heated up to temperature. He also decided to make a small pot of rice and wrapped a potatoin tinfoil that he placed in the oven along with the rib eye steak.
He opened a tv tray in front of the couch and sat down to watch the television while he enjoyedhis steak dinner with the baked potato covered in melting butter and a side of rice. He decided against rejoining the game after eating and went out to clean the kitchen and the rest of the apartment while he was at it. He vacuumed the floors and wiped everything down with paper towels and a spray cleaner. With the house once again squared away he emptied his hamper of dirty clothes started the washing machine and dishwasher and then went for a jog around the block. When he had returned to his apartment, Rick went straight to the spare room afterjust running and used his home gym to work out.
He took a cool shower afterhis work out since the washing machine and dishwasher used most of the hot water. Rick had worked up a good sweat so he didn''t mind because the cool water felt like he had jumped into a swimming pool on a hot summer day. Once he was redressed and cooled down from the refreshing shower he put away the clean dishes and transferred the clean wet clothes over to the dryer and went off to bed.
When he woke up he drove up to the college and attended classes and met up with Lily like they planned and were joined by Ryan, Luke, Joel and a couple of girls who were Lily''s friends she had met on campus.
Rick and Lily narratedtheir adventures when the topic of the game came up making everyone call out how many days they had until they would have their own Gate Gear with jealousy after hearing the tales of the two VR gamers.
Rick stopped by the town aquatic center and swam laps in one of the indoor large pools they had, and enjoyed thesteam room and sauna before leaving to return home. His friend Ryan from school had always been an avid swimmer all his life and had introduced Rick to the Aquatic Center.
The Aquatic Center offered more than swimming pools to local town residents. They had an indoor track, weight lifting gym with free weights, universal machines, stair steppers and tread mills. Rick really enjoyed visiting the facility and wished it wasn''t on the other side of town from where he lived.
After his brief stop, he returned to his apartment and brought in his gym bag with his wet swim trunks and towel. Rick tossedthe wet trunks and towel in the washer machineand restocked his gym bag with a clean set of swim trunks and another towelthat he left by the front door.
He locked the front door after dropping the gym bag next to it and went to fold and put away his clean clothes from the dryer. Rick took off thekhaki pants and polo shirt he was wearing and changed into his usual bumming around the apartment outfita pair of comfortable sweatpants and a loose cotton t-shirt. Rick sat down at his computer and went to the Kingdom Online forums and checked on his video and answered a few questions while also promoting the opening of his store and everything that he would be selling. His crystal storage lights and artisan furniture, weapons, and armor that he described drew a lot of attention among the new players who were looking to start their own kingdoms or even a simple secluded home somewhere.
Most players had been stuck to making do with simple wooden bows and iron armor and weapons. Many of them had drooled over the metal compound bows anddecorative steel weapons and armor, Rick and his units used in the video battle against the human tribe. Now they all had a chance to buy these items, those who chose the human race were happy to be so close to the new store while Players of other races cursed their luck at being so far away.
Players who had chosen the Dwarf race showed some interest in his clothing and furniture. They had stated the weapons and armor available in the Dwarven Fortress were just as advanced as what Rick was currently advertising for sale. This was because Rick would not sell any of his newer more powerful weapons he and his units used. Rick did not wish to take a chance that the high powered weapons he had created would be stockpiled and one day used against him.
Once he had stirred up some excitement for his store he shut off his computer and connected to KO.
After using his outfitpreset to equip his gear Rick went downstairs to find a note on the table. He read that the two elven scouts had returned from their mission and had been attached to the other units by Angelica.
Look at that, it looks like Angelica has been opening up and taking charge these past few days. I can still remember when she didn''t even want to leave my side at first, now she is making friends and helping Sturm to lead and train the others.
Rick walked outside and figured since it was still early that the military units should be out back in the fitness section. He had guessed correctly and found them split into teams following the weight training experiment he had assigned them. Rick walked over to Angelica and asked her to bring the scouts over to the tower and walked back to wait for them at the long table on the first floor.
When Angelica arrived with them, Rick had them all sit down and brief him on their discoveries. The scout that he had sent to the sprawling south western forest reported that the forest had a lot of wildlife. He had seen deer, elk, foxes, wolves, bears, variant moose, and turkeys. Rick interrupted him and asked him about the variant moose. The scout explained that unlike a normal moose this variant did not live near bodies of water. He then continued to explain that these moose wereomnivores. They did not hunt other animals, but if one was stupid enough to tangle with one them and died the moose would not hesitate to make a meal out of them.
The scout then continued to report that he had encountered disorganized groups of goblins, bands of orcs that had built fortified camps and huge spiders that spun thick strands of webbing between the trees to catch unwary prey. The scout handed Rick his notes and maps he had on all the trees, plants, wildlife and monsters. Rick briefly read through the information and placed it into his inventory.
He then listened to the report from the scout he had sent east to the forest and lake area. The scout reported he had also come across similar wildlife in the outskirts of the forest he scouted but found it difficult to explore the forest interior. He told Rick that he had seen and been hunted a few times by huge wild Tigers like the ones he kept around the tower. The Tigers had no fear of men or monsters and roamed freely throughout the forest.
The scout went on to tell him of the large fresh water lake region. The scout had discovered that many different types of fish could be found in the lake from small to some as long as a man. He told Rick that a large population of ducks and geese lived on and around the lake along with huge eagles that from what he described were big and strong enough that someone could fly on their back if they could ever tame one of these fierce birds. The scout narrated of how he had seen a huge eagle one early morning swoop down and grab a bedding elk that was bigger than his horse and fly off with it in his talons toward a tall mountain on the eastern side of the lake. Rick shook his head in amazement after hearing of the eagle''s size and strength.
This scout also gave Rick notes and maps he had made of the area.Then almost as an afterthought, he mentioned something strange he had come across. The scout marked a small foot hill on the eastern side of the lake and told Rick he found an ancient moss covered stone block entrance there. When he tried to enter it to explore the interior it seemed to have a magical barrier that would not let him pass through.
A barrier that repels NPCs? I haven''t heard of any magic like that from the forums or website. I wonder what is hidden behind that force field? There could be new magic to be found and learned or lost treasures.
Rick had the scout make him a detailed map of where he could find this barrier that protected the stone entrance. He then thanked and dismissed the two elven scouts to Angelica''s command.
I wonder how my third nekomimi scout is doing up around the other tribe. It is too bad I learned about being able to add NPCs to my friend list after sending them out. Well if all goes well he should return in the next day or so. He might be making contact with them if they are friendly and staying with the tribe to learn what he can of them.
As Rick thought of his last scout he opened a portal to his store and used his friend list to call his managers to the store. Rick had found that the carpenters had finished the shelves in the warehouse and were also just about done with the upstairs wood paneling. He rounded them all up and opened a portal to the restaurant so that they could all grab a meal. Even though he had sent them through the portal now a few times some of them still looked at the looming black doorway with apprehension, while others looked on with amazement or even excitement.
Rick told them that he would leave the portal open for them to return when they finished and they all filed through to walk out of the portal against the restaurant wall. Rick walked over to the guard units keeping watch from the second-floor window and told them to keep an eye out for Nellie and Barat that would be arriving shortly. Rick kept himself busy by cleaning up the wood shavings and piles of lumber upstairs and was soon informed of the two managers at the front door.
Rick went down to unlock the door and invited them inside. The two greeted Rick warmly as they entered and then stopped in in unison withwide eyed amazement. The first thing to catch their eye was the marblecascading fountain in the center of the wide open hallway. Then they looked past the fountain to the hallway walls. The hallway walls were covered in marble tile that water streamed down into narrow pools giving the walls an appearance of being made of a curtain of water. In between these curtains of water were large entrances that opened up to sectioned off rooms.
Rick chuckled. "I hope that every customer that enters has that same reaction. Follow me let me show you the rest of your new workplace."
Nellie and Barat followed him into a room thatwas lined with glass counters and displays. Inside the counters were rows of finely crafted daggers, throwing weapons, multi purpose knives, and different types of armor pieces. On the elegant wood paneled wallswith their artistic wood carved scenes hung even rows ofswords, spears, axes, and bows. The weapon ranged from simple iron weapons to gorgeous artisan weapons made from rare metals. Rick had added small cuts of parchment with descriptions and prices to everything while he arranged them to help his employees and customers figure out what each piece was made of and if it had any bonuses.
Rick pointed out the neatly displayed suits of armor on the armor stands and explained that they were also for sale and that he had also marked them with a price and description tags on the base of the armor stands. They continued along and were shown stylish furniture and beds with mattresses with springs that supported you while you slept. Rick showed them lights that did not need oil or fire to illuminate a room and tapestries and rugs with multi colored patterns andbeautiful artistic sceneries of people and landscapes. They were shown display counters filled with expensive looking jewelry made from many varieties of metals and gemstones.
As they went from one department to the next the two managers continued to be shown wonderful things that they had never seen before. Even the displayed clothing styles were foreign but elegant and the many sexy choices of women''s silk and lace undergarments made Nellie blush while secretly vowing to use part of her paychecks to purchase a couple for herself. Rick spotted her out of the corner of his eye lightly running her finger over asilky red and blacklingerie and smiled knowingly without saying anything.
Once he had their heads spinning from all the new items that they would need to learn and sell he showed them their remodeled offices that were also furnished with the beautifully crafted wood desks, red velvet chairs, hand carved cabinets and matching rugs that were displayed in the furniture department. All of the office walls had also been wood paneled and carved with reliefs by the artisan carpenters. The two of them were beyond shocked at being provided with such luxurious offices that would even make a noble envious.
"Now I know this is a little unexpected and maybe a little embarrassing, but I will need to show you two the remodeled bathrooms," Rick explained and had them follow him into the women''s bathroom.
"This here is a sink that is similar to the those of my world what you do is turn this knob on the faucet and water will come down a pipe from a tank on the roof and flow out like this. Rick turned the knob and let the water freely run out and down the drain.
"This is here so that you can wash your hands after using the bathroom or if they just get dirty. Now moving on, we no longer have the wooden box privies in the two bathrooms we have metal toilets that are also similar to what is used from my world." Rick led them over to the stalls and opened the door and they all stepped in.
"As you can see this is similar to the privies you sit on to do your business, but when you are done you push down on this lever." Rick pushed the lever and the water in the bowl gurgled down the drain.
"Everything in the bowl is flushed down a pipe into a tank buried deep below the store that is later burned away. Now after the toilet is flushed you use this faucet right here behind the toilet to refill this tank." He used the faucet to fill the tank up halfway and shut it off.
"Now we have to be sure to always shut these faucets off after using them or it will flood the entire bathroom with water until the huge water tank on the roof is empty," Rick instructed them.
"I am sure the toilet and sink will take some getting used to, but it is much cleaner than having all that waste sitting in those wooden boxes every day. Nellie, you will be in charge of instructing the sales girls on how to use and operate the new sink and toilet" Rick said.
Rick then led the two upstairs and introduced them to all the military guards. He explained that they would be guarding the store and that they would not have to worry about anyone starting any trouble with them around. Rick did not let them know about how he had made two noble houses vanish in one night. He did not want to take a chance of them being questioned about the incident or accidentally letting it slip out.
Rick then showed them the newly designed carriages they would be selling that he had on display and the designs for the others that were currently being built. He then pointed out how the upper storage rooms had been changed. Rick showed them the door that led to the guard''s rooms and asked them to make sure that customers and employees kept out of them.
They all walked into the big storage room next that had been transformed into a Teleporter room. He told them that it led to his tower on a far off island where he was building his own city. Rick explained that it was perfectly safe for them to use and if there was ever any kind of an emergency they could use it to escape. Rick then took them to the warehouse and showed them the new shelves that would hold excess merchandise and the locked door to the basement that no one but him would have a key for.
Rick then while thinking of keys changed the lock on the front door and made a key for both of them to have. He wasn''t sure of who all had a key to the store beside the previous owner so he changed it to be safe even though the store was guarded 24/7.
Rick handed them both a key and explained they would be in charge of opening the store when he wasn''t around and asked them to contact the sales girls. Rick instructed his managers that he wanted them to open the store tomorrow morning and to start opening the store every morning except on the weekends that they could take off. He then took out a handful of gold coins and passed it over to them.
"I am sure you two never received the last paycheck from the previous owner since he was bankrupt so use this gold to hold you over until your first paycheck at the end of the week," Rick explained
When the two managers left the store Rick heard that the Carpenters had begun working upstairs after returning from eating. Rick locked the door and went upstairs and stepped through the still open portal into the restaurant and closed it behind him. After grabbing a quick bite he stepped outside and flew over to System Gate behind the tower.
He checked his current funds and seen he still was safe after selling off all the items and jewelry to the shops in Silverhall City and decided he would make a new work crew.
I have been putting this off for a while now. I don''t want to Handil to think I am trying to replace him, but it is getting to the point that I need another work crew to help around here.Rick thought.
This time, unlike Handil who is a Master builder/Architect he spawned in a dwarf that was a Master builder/Artisan.He figured that giving them the Architect class was a waste if he was constantly providing them with the buildings designs. The new dwarf gained consciousness after a brief moment and said that his name wasJerem Goldslate.
Rick explained the city construction toJerem Goldslate and explained that he would be leading a work crew.
"I have another work crew that is lead by Handil Rockreave who is also a dwarf.Now as for the constructionhierarchy I am the leader then my second in command is Handil and third in command will be you Jerem. Your crews will mainly work independently unless I have a large construction project that needs to be finished. For now, before we can do anything I need to assemble yourown a crew." Rick explained as he opened up the buy units menu.
After seeing what those Carpenter/Artisan could do I think it is worth the extra money to give these new units the same setup.Rick thought as he started spawning in workers.
He spawned in six units for each class group of Stone Mason/Artisan, Stone Carver/Artisan, Wood Carver/Artisan, Brick layer/Artisan, Plumber, Roofer, Plaster, and Cottar. Rick had noticed how good the dwarves were at building and crafting so he made this new crew an all dwarven crew. This would help to also balance out the population that had a human majority.
Now, Rick had forty-nine enthusiastic dwarves after spending just over 2500 gold pieces. He happened to notice their reactions as he was spawning in more and more dwarves. Normally he was so lost in thought about who he was spawning and how he would use then thathe would tune out the people around him. Now that it was like second nature to buy units he began to hear the oohs and ahhs of the workers.
Rick listened to them quietly whispering to each other.
"Is that how I got here?"
"Where are all these Dwarves coming from?"
"Is this human some kind of a God that can create dwarves from out of thin air?"
"It is odd that I don''t remember where I came from, but I know my name and age. I also have all this knowledge about building for some reason."
"So do I, my name is Bole and I am twenty-two years old. I am a stone carver and an artisan. I can shape and carve stone into just about anything I can imagine."
"Is it strange that I know how to speak human and dwarven?"
"I don''t know why are you asking me! I know as much as you do, blockhead!"
Rick bit his lip to stop from laughing and explained in dwarven that they would all be living here now and would be provided food and shelter.Rick walked over toJerem Goldslate and put his hand on his shoulder.
"This isJerem Goldslate he and another dwarf you will soon meet are your crew leaders. They will tell you where and what to build." Alright, everyone pleasefollow me over to the tool shed andI will equip you all with the tools and gear you will need." Rick instructed.
They all marched over to the tool shed and received belts, gloves, tool pouches, hammer holders, nails, screws, screwdrivers, and any tools needed for their assigned classes. When Rick had them all prepared for work he led them out to the city. He showed them the apartment buildings that they would be soon assigned to and the restaurant they could eat for free at. They continued on over to the large paved square where Handil and his crew were constructing Faith''s temple.
Rick walked over to the Handil with the large group of dwarves in tow and everyone stopped working to look at the new crew.
Rick began speaking to Handil in dwarven "Good work Handil you guys are moving right along here!"
"Thanks, Cedric it seems as we level up and advance our skills our craftsmanship quality improves along with the rate of speed that we can build" Handil replied.
"Just be sure to make sure youand your crew keep distributing your points like I showed you before and you will continue to improve even more," Rick instructed.
"Aye, I have been after them to make sure they do just that and as you can see their speed and craftsmanship is overwhelming now," Handil said gesturing toward the temple.
"Well speaking of overwhelming as you can see I brought on another work crew to help us with all of this work," Rick said as he waved overJerem.
"This here isJerem Goldslate he will be your second in command. I will have him lead this crew of dwarves and occasionally your two crews may work together. I know you could use him and his crew to help construct this huge temple, but I am running out of room in the island workshop and need start building a crafting district." Rick explained with a sigh.
"Don''t even worry about Cedric, we have this under control and I have the wagoners constantly supplying us with resources. We even learned how to break down the treadmill crane and move it by horse and cart easily now." Handil explained.
Handil then shook hands withJeremand welcomed him and told him that he would help find an apartment for him and his men when the work day ended and take him over to the tavern for a drink.
Rick then left Handil to get back to his crew and opened a notice while escorting Jerem and his work crew toward the apartment buildings.
Spoiler:Show Notices!
Language Increase:
Dwarven Language:
Level 1
Intermediate 4%
He closed his notice and took the dwarves to the furthest western plot on the main street directly across from the apartment buildings.
"I am going to use magic right now to teleport off to somewhere and bring back some human carpenters that will work with your crew. Just wait here a moment and I will be right back." Rick explained to Jereme.
He opened a portal to the second floor and stepped through. The carpenters were just about finished with the wood paneling so he rounded up two-thirds of them and brought them over to work withJerem''s crew.
Rick took out a table and a couple chairs and sat down with Jereme to draw up a couple designs for him.
"This is a Horse stable that I want you to build. It will take up this whole plot we are on here. I want the building to be made of limestone blocks and the inner horse stalls will be made from plywood and two by fours. The floors in the horse stalls should be dirt and have wood plank floors put in the food and tack rooms. Once the building is built have the carpenters build a post fence around the outside of the plot to make a horse corral so the horses aren''t stuck in their stalls all day." Rick instructed.
Spoiler:Horse Stable Floorplan.
As Rick was explaining the design to Jerem a Wagoner came down the road with supplies for Handil''s work crew. Rick flagged him down and told him to also start working with Jerem''s crew and to inform the other Wagoner of the new crew. Rick told him that they would need the same resource deliveries as they had dropped off for the apartment buildings and then sent him off to make his deliveries. Rick sat back down and completed his second design and passed it over to Jerem.
"This next design will be built just like the apartment buildings there across the street," Rick said while pointing at the Built Apartment buildings.
"The only difference will be that the interiors will be laid out different and the roofs and accents will not be blue. I want these crafting buildings to have Red roofs and accents like the restaurant." Rick explained.
Spoiler: Crafting District Building & Floor Plan.
"Go ahead and start building four of these building per plot, but first finish the front row of building along the main street and then move onto the second road once you have reached the restaurant down there," Rick said.
Rick used his recipes to make a huge pile of plywood, two by fours, posts, and planks. Then he opened a portal to the limestone quarry and stepped through to grab all the limestone blocks, limestone pillar sections, and limestone dust piles and walked back through to Jerem and unloaded all the blocks and pillar sections for them to get started. He left them cement mix and a water box to make water and showed them how to mix and spread the cement in the block joints.
Once the crew had the hang of using the cement, Rick put Jerem''s name on his friend list and sent him a voice chat and message to get him familiarized with the system. He then called Handil and had him send over his plumbers and roofers to teach Jerem''s plumbers how to run pipes and hook up toilets and sinks and for the roofers to learn how to install the clay roof singles and color them with paint sticks.
Rick then let Jerem''s work crew get started while he examined the map the scout gave him of the barrier sealed tunnelentrance. When he had a good idea of where to find the entrance he stored the map packed up the table and chairs then jumped up to fly off toward the east.The new dwarves all jumped up in surprise when Rick flew off while pointing at his distancing figure and calling out to one another.
As he flew east Rick started to see small herds of horses on the open plain. Rick flew down lower to thenlook for other animals. During his flight, he came across Rabbits, Caribou, Buffalo, and animals that looked similar to earth''s cattle but were even bigger than the buffalo.
Viewing the different animals along the way helped him to pass the time and before he knew it he had reached the lone Foothill on the west side of the lake. Rick circled around it and easily found the entrance from the shimmering barrier that covered the entrance.
He landed in front of the barrier and cautiously reached out to touch the barrier, but his hand passed right through it.
What the hell? Now that is weird the scout NPC couldn''t cross the barrier but a player can?
Rick took a deep breath and stepped forward through the barrier without any problems at all and continued forward into the entrance. He walked forward for about thirty feet and found a set of stairs descending into the darkness. Rick activated his Night Sight and equipped his sword and shield to defend himself against anything that might be hiding below.
When he reached the bottom of the steps and placed his foot on the floor a row of torches along a long narrow hallway suddenly began to ignite one by one. Rick deactivated his Night Sight and was ready to step forward when a window popped open without him opening it.
World Announcement!
The Player Cedric Crownguard has just discovered Gorezar''s Orc Lair Dungeon!
This is the first dungeon discovered in Kingdoms Online!
For this discovery, the Player Cedric Crownguard has been awarded the title: Explorer of the Unknown
Aah fuck! Please don''t tell me that announcement just went out to every player in the game!
I will have players hounding me from here to eternity wanting to know where this goddamn dungeon is located from now on.
There is no way I can tell anybody either since it is located only a few miles from my city.
Well, I guess this is a blessing and a curse to find this dungeon.
I now have a place to hunt with respawning monsters, and it will help to advertise my store by getting my name out there.
I will have to dodge a thousand questions because of it though. Rick angrily thought to himself.
Rick stopped to calm down and opened his flashing icon notice.
Spoiler: ShowNotices!
New Title Notice!
Through your hard work and courage, you were the first Player to discover and enter a dungeon.
You have been awarded the title:Explorer of the Unknown
Fame: + 10,000
Honor: + 10,000
You have been given the option to lead NPC units under your command intoanydungeon in lands of Kingdoms Online.
Currently Displaying:Benevolent Leader
All awarded titles stack with the currently displayed title.
Oh? I can take my units into any dungeon with this title. Then that barrier that blocked the scout from entering must be at the entrance of every dungeon.
Maybe it is to prevent the people of the game world from wandering into dungeons and to keep the monsters in the dungeons from wandering outside?
This is a good option to have I can portal my military units over here and let them use this dungeon to train and level up in occasionally.
Spoiler: Show Status!
Cedric Crownguard
Strength:
105
Level: (31%)
13
Stamina:
70
Health:
850
Vitality:
85
Mana:
1160
Intelligence:
116
Piety:
+175
Wisdom:
59
Fame:
+20125 (locally respected)
Agility:
38
Honor:
+21000 (village hero)
Charisma:
20
Allignment:
+4000
Leadership:
35
Satiety:
97%
Luck:
10
Class:
DruidicMage
Health Regen/Sec:
5.0
Mana Regen/Sec:
5.5
Feudal Domain:
2600
Race:
Chosen Human
Feuadal Title:
Count
Unused Points:
0
Awarded Titles
Title:
The White Knight
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
The Honor Guard
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
The Duelist
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
Black Hand Interrogator
Alignment +/-
-1000
Title:
Benevolent Leader
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
Explorer of the Unknown
Alignment +/-
-none-
I am a level thirteen with 31% to my next level. My fame and honor have now doubled from that newtitle. My alignment didn''t go up at all from the new title, hmm.
Maybe because it is a neutral type title it wasn''t awarded for doing anything good or bad?
Equip Stealth Gear!
Rick was now armed and prepared he closed out his menus and activated stealth and cast Mist walk. Mist Walk transformed him into a cloudlike vapor that could move 3x faster for thirty seconds. He quietly zipped down the hall and came to a wood door. He gently lifted the handle and gradually inched the door open a little at a time. The inside of the room looked like a large hall with rickety tables and chairs. Through the partially open door, he could see ten orcs sitting at the tables eating and drinking.
Rick cast project image and an exact copy of him suddenly appeared in the middle of the room and the room exploded with angry cries and gutturalshouts at the discovery of a human intruder. The orcs all drew their weapons and charged and surrounded Cedric''s image. As they swung their weapons at the image they passed right through it some even over swung through the image and struck adjacent allies.
When Rick saw that the orcs had all clumped around his image he cast Reverse Gravity on the group. He threw his shoulder into the door drew the two gladii from his back harness and charged the floating group of orcs. Rick made his way around the gravity field stabbing and slashing until he had killed them all off. He deactivated the field and the dead orcs clatter to the floor. Rick searched the room and collected all the crude iron weapons and cut off any iron armor from the corpses.
Rick went on down the hall and found two doors across from one another he opened the one door and repeated what he did in the first room. Everything was going to plan as he focused on killing the floating orcs when he unexpectedly dropped to one knee with a stabbing sharp pain in the back of his thigh. Standing in the doorway was an orc holding a bow and a group of other armed orcs began forming up behind the orc bowman preparing to rush the room. It seemed the orcs in the room across the hall heard the fight and rushed out into the hallway.
Fighting back the pain Rick cast Wall of Flames across the doorway to hold back the orcs. The orc bowman was caught in the flame wall and cried out as the flames began to engulf him. Rick flipped a table and sat down behind it, grabbing the arrow shaft he ripped it out of his leg and ground his teeth to keep from yelling out. He held his hand over the bleeding wound and cast Nature''s Blessing and the arrow puncture closed off and the pain faded away. When Rick felt he could stand again he drew out his bow and quiver and nocked an arrow. He stood up from behind the table and began zipping arrows across the room into the orcs trying to get around the flame wall.
When the last two orcs saw their allies dropping from the hail of arrows they took cover out of sight and peeked around the corner to see what Cedric was up to. With no way to hit these two orcs hiding in cover Cedric pointed toward them and cast Chain Lighting on the doorway and the bolts of electricity jumped and danced around catching the two hidden orcs off guard. they both violently shook from the high voltage that ran through them and fell to the ground. Unsure if they were dead Rick charged the door as the time limit ran out on the Wall of Flames and drove his swords into both of the stunned orcs.
After clearing the two rooms located one across from the other he went around and collected all the iron based weapons, armor, and items. He learned a painful lesson from his last encounter and began closing the doors behind him as he charged into the rooms to kill off the groups of floating orcs.Soon he had fought his way through every room and found another staircase that went down further into the dungeon.
Rick used Mist walk to descend the stairs and unlike the first floor that was divided up into rooms, the second floor was one large open room with supporting stone pillars. The light levels were lower on the second floor and he had trouble seeing more than ten feet. He activated Night Sight to see two large orcs flanking around him with wicked looking spiked swords.
When he looked directly at the two orcs they realized they had been revealed and both instantly went on the attack. Rick just barely raised his gladii in time to block the incoming attack of one of the two orcs but received a huge blow across the back of his armor from the other. Even though his Astral armor stopped the sword slash the sheer blunt force was enough to strip away some of his hp. Staggering forward from the blow with his swords tangled up with the orcs large spiked sword he used his psionic power Mind Blast for the first time.
The orc let out a yelp and dropped its sword to cradle its head in its hands. While the orc was trying to recover Rick used his fire elemental affinity to ignite his arms and blades with flames like he had practiced before. Rick spun around with his blazing swords and caught the surprised orc behind him with a strong slash across the elbow. His sword bit through to flesh and bone severing the orcs arm. The arm and sword dropped to the ground as his foe screamed out in agony clutching the gushing stumped arm.
Rick pulled both arms back like he was stretching and swung them down into each side of the screaming orc''s neck. The scream was cut off to a gurgling sound from the orc whose neck had almost been cut through from both sides. As the dead orc slid off his blades to the floor he took another hit from behind. The orc he had used Mind Blast on had recovered its sword and struck him across the back of his helmet. The blow ripped out the leather chin straps holding the helmet on his head and sent it careening off into the center of the room.
He staggered forward from the blow and used his off balance momentum to perform a forward roll to distance himself from his attacker. He rose up and turned to block and incoming swing and used Mind Blast once again on the orc. With his head throbbing and pissed off from the blow he focused on the flames licking off of him. The flames and heat increased that surrounded him as reached out and gave the stunned orc a bear hug.
Rick concentrated on increasing the flames and squeezing the orc tighter. The orc beat its first against Rick''s armor as it screamed and struggled in a panic to break free. The growing flames quickly cooked the orc and filled the room with the smell of burning flesh. It''s struggling soon came to an end and Rick let the charred corpse fall to the floor.
Those two were some tough SOBs. If I wasn''t wearing armor the swings would of just about cut me in half.Rick thought while he cast his heal spell on the back of his lumped head.
Rick reached down and placed his hand on the corpse and used Identify.
Spoiler: Identify!
Orc Trooper
Wielding long spiked swords these veteran fighters enjoy makingtheir foes suffer while they skillfully toy with them.
Toy with my ass that one tried taking my head clean off my shoulders.Rick thought as he rubbed the back of his head.
Rick closed the menu and collected the spiked swords and went off to find his helmet. The helmet had a long indentation across the back of it and the leather straps were hanging in shreds. There was no way to possibly wear it unless he cast repair on it so he stored it away for now. He went through his inventory and found his original military style helmet he made and strapped it on for the time being.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.
Rick decided to quickly check his notices now that he had the general area around him secure.
Spoiler: Show Notices!
New Level Notice!
You Gained A Level!
Level 14
You have five unused points to distribute.
New Level Notice!
You Gained A Level!
Level 15
You have five unused points to distribute.
Rick activated Stealth and Mist Walk tocontinue further into the large room. Hesaw a flash of movement ahead of him and stopped behind a stone pillar just before the Mist Walk time expired. He activated Far Sight and looked out to where he had seen movement. Roughly forty yards away in the darkness he spied an Orc wearing a black hooded robe while caring a staff with a large shimmering gem on top of it.
Equip Battle Gear!
He changed his armor over to his enchanted armor with spell reflection. Everything he observed about this Orc said that he was a magic caster of some type.
Instead of charging him and getting bombarded with spells I think I will try something new.
Rick took out his bow and quiver and with Far Sight activated he aimed about four inches above the orc mage''s head. He released the string and sent his arrow across the pitch black room.
Thap!
He heard the arrow make a smacking sound when it drilled through the throat of the mage. The hooded orc pitch backward and the staff was sent skidding across the floor.
That was the first time I tried to shoot a bow with Far Sight it was like aiming down range through a rifle scope. I wanted to hit him in the head but my arrow dropped more than I thought it would. Well, it''s fine with that throat shot he will be dead after a minute either way. Rick thought as he remained hidden in cover behind the stone pillar.
He let a couple minutes pass then he stalked out of his hidden spot with a throwing dart in his hand and prepared to cast a spell with his empty hand. Rick carefully made his way over to the fallen orc while scanning his surrounding. when he was with fifteen feet he threw the dart and it drilled into the orc''s leg. There was no responsefrom the orc who lay dead where it fell. He came up to the corpse and used identify.
Spoiler: Identify!
Orc Shaman
The magic castersamongthe orcs. The Shaman supports their allies from the back lines with offensive magic spells.
So you were a Shaman, I wonder what kind of spells you knew. Not that I want them cast at me to find out though.Rick thought.
Rick left the dead orc behind and went off to grab the staff it dropped. He found it a couple yards away from the body and also used Identify on it.
Spoiler: Identify!
Staff of Binding
Attack:
10-15
Durability:
76/200
Quality:
exotic
Bonuses:
Magical restraint spell
Spell Duration:
30 seconds
Uses:
10/10
A wooden staff with an enchanted Sapphire gem. This staff can shoot out a rope of mana that binds the target for 30 seconds.
This is a new spell and weapon type I haven''t come across yet, a staff that can bind the target for thirty seconds.
Rick began to cast Read Magic on the staff and kept failing with each attempt. Even though he was failing to learn the spell his Read Magic spell level increased.
After a few minutes of fails, he was eventually successful.
Spoiler: Show Notices!
Spell Increase:
Read Magic:
Level 8
Beginner 2%
New Spell Notice!
You Have Learned a New Spell!
Mana Bind:Level 1 (Beginner 0%)
You can cast a rope of mana to bind a targeted foe.
Higher levels increase bind duration and casting distance.
New Recipe Notice!
You Have Learned a New Recipe!
Enchanted Staff
This recipe allows you to instantly create an EnchantedShaman Staff when proper resources are provided.
New Level Notice!
You Gained A Level!
Level 16
You have five unused points to distribute.
Did Read Magic just help me to learn how to make a magic staff and teach me the spell? It would of have to be Read Magic.
Spoiler: Show Read Magic!
Read Magic
Allows you the ability to translate and decipher magic spells, inscriptions, enchantments and magic physics from books, items, and objects.
Higher spell levels will allow you to learn more complex magic while needing less provided information.
If I am reading this right this spell not only helps me to learn spells but also magic physics. Then this spell can dissect an item or object to learn how it converts mana into a spell or an enchantment. I will be able to learn how to make magic items or weapons I find aroundthe game world if I increase this spell''slevel.Rick thought as he opened the new spell Mana Bind.
Spoiler: Show Mana Bind!
Mana Bind
Youtransform your mana into a tangible substance.
Any target within 20 feet can be bound for 10 seconds.
Each level increase adds +1 to the spells distance and duration.
Rick closed out his menus and deposited the Shaman Staff into his inventory. With stealth still active, he ventured on deeper into the large room soonto find the layout of the room gradually change. The large open room with scattered stone pillars soon made way to dividing walls that ran at every angle and direction.
This floor is starting to look like a maze. There are so many blind spots and corners that cut my line of sight down to only a few feet.
He made his way carefully stalking through the crisis crossingwalls while peaking corners. Rick came across another lone shaman wandering through the open maze of stone walls. Not having much time before the hooded figure vanished from his sight to be lost behind the surrounding walls, Rick took out his bow and launched an arrow at the orc''s back.
Rick thought if he injured the orc with an arrow it would stop it long enough to charge in and finish it off as it struggled to fight back the painful wound. The arrow hit the orc just under the right shoulder blade and drilled through puncturing the orc''s lung. The painful wound caused the orc to let out an agonizing scream as its knees buckled under it. Rick was only a few steps behind when the orcslumped down. He wound back with his sword as he reached the mage and slashed the blades deep into the orc''s neckpromptly killing it.
He began to scan the ground around him to find the weapon the orc had been carrying when an animal like roar startled him. He spun around to and found that a large orc covered in scars was charging him at a full sprint. Before he could even react the orc launched itself like a spear directly into Rick.
Rick and his attacker hit the ground hard the impact caused him to lose grip of his swords. He hadthe wind knocked out of him bythe fall and as he struggled to breathe the crazed orc crawled over and started pounding its fists on his armor and was attempting to bite his exposed face. Reaching up Rick grabbed the orc by the armor and pushed up while igniting his hands and arms his scorching flames.
The orc unperturbed by the fire that charred its exposed skin continued the frenzied attack. Rick had expected the flames to causethe orc and back off fromhim and when it didn''t work he simply gripped the orc tighter and rolled to his side and threw the orc off with the built up momentum.
He jumped to his feet and grabbed at one of the gladius swords closest to him. Thewild orc seemed to have had the same idea and was rising from the floor with a large axe it had dropped in the initial collision. Rick quickly cast his new spell as the orc stood up.
Mana Bind!
Transparent ghost like ropes of mana wrapped around the attacker''s torso binding his arms to its sides. Rick recovered his second weapon even thoughhe only had a small window to attack before the spell duration expired. Now with both swords in-hand, he stepped forward to swing both blades at the neck of the orc. Halfway into his swings, he felt something bite the back of his leg throwing him off balance his blade slasheswent astray.
The blades cut deep into the orcs shoulders to injure it, but leave it very much alive and even more crazed. Rick stepped back and reached down to the pain in his leg instinctively. He thought he would feel a bite wound, but instead, he found a wooden arrow shaft buried in his leg.
"You gottabe fucking kiddingme! The same goddamn leg and spot twice in a row!"Rick screamed out.
Now thoroughly pissed he spun around and launched a fireball at the orc bowman some thirty feet away.As the fireball exploded on the orc''s chest and ignited the armor and clothing it wore, he followed it up with a bolt of chain lightning.
Having spent toomuch time venting his anger on the bowman the bound orc was released from his spell and struck him in the back with the axe. The powerful unguarded axe blow chopped midway through his Orichalcum armor and bit into his flesh. Rick''s armor trapped the axe squeezing it tightly as he pitched forward. The orc lost its grip on the lodged axe while Rick stumbled forward and caught himself before he fell.
Unable to raise his right arm from the pain of the axe digging into him as he moved, he had to rely on magic. He immediately cast Reverse Gravity behind him as the orc was once again launching itself to tackle him to the ground. The orc was caught mid dive and began to float and tumble in the air as it lashed out to try and reach Rick.
The orc now like a fly in a spider''s web fought to free itself as Rick limped over.
"Looks like you still don''t want to give up. Fine then let me give you a little gift for this axe you buried in my back." Rick said aloud.
He grabbed the struggling orc by the ankle with his left hand and Cast [Poisonous Touch]. This was a spell he hadn''t used until now, that mimicked the deadly venom used by poisonous creatures.
Where he had held the orc''s leg a black mark in the shape of his hand appeared. The blackness of the skin began to crawl through the veins in the orc''s leg and spread out through the entire body. The orc stopped struggling and began to convulse and foam at the mouth. When the venom had run its course throughout the entire circulatory system the orc at last went still.
Rick reached back with his good left arm and pulled out the arrow shaft and cast Nature''s Blessing to heal the wound. He then opened his inventory and took out a rope, he looped it and held both ends with his left hand and tossed it over his right shoulder. After a couple painful attempts, he lassoed the axe handle with the rope loop. With a couple quick jerks he pulled the axe free from his back and armor.
After he unequipped his armor and under armor, he reached back and healed the bleeding gash wound. Rickmade a quick recovery after a few heals and deactivated the gravity field that held the dead orc aloft. He brought out his damaged armor and under armor and cast repair on them until they were as good as new.
Equip Stealth Gear!
Rick picked up the large iron axe the orc stuck in his back and placed it in his inventory. He then knelt down and cast Identify on the orc corpse.
Spoiler: Identify!
Orc Berserker
The common orc is a frightening foe, more terrifying still are the OrcBerserkers who lose themselves in the heat of battle, becomingcrazed wild animals.
Basically a crazed wild dog. I need to keep these crazy bastardsat arm''s length from now on.
Rick got himself stowed away and went back to the shaman corpse to continue his interrupted search. He looked around for a couple minutes for a staff and couldn''t seem to locate it. Then he spotted what appeared to be an arrow on the floor against a wall. He picked it up and discovered that there were was no fletching and the arrow point was a gem.
Is this thing a magic wand?He thought while examining the item in his hand.
Spoiler: Identify!
Wand of Acid Bolts
Attack:
15-20
Durability:
89/100
Quality:
Exotic
Bonuses:
Corrosive Acid Bolt
Spell Duration:
10 seconds
Uses:
12/25
A wooden wand with an enchantedamethyst. This wand can shoot bolts of corrosive acid up to 20 feet away. The corrosive effect last for ten seconds.
Corrosive acid blots, now that sounds nasty. When they hit I wonder if it will eat away at the flesh and armor?
Rick once again used Read Magic with a few fails until he was successful.
Spoiler: Show Notices!!
Spell Increase:
Read Magic:
Level 9
Beginner 71%
Acid Bolt
YouHave Learned a New Spell!
Acid Bolt:Level 1 (Beginner 0%)
Allows you to launch a corrosive bolt of acid up to 20 feet. This spells effect last for 10 seconds.
Each level increase adds +1 to the spells distance and duration.
New Recipe Notice!
You Have Learned a New Recipe!
EnchantedWand
This recipe allows you to instantly create an EnchantedShaman Staff when proper resources are provided.
New Level Notice!
You Gained A Level!
Level 17
You have five unused points to distribute.
This helps to make up for the pain I went through. A new spell and a new recipe along with a level-up! I belive I have twenty unused points now to distribute. I should take care of them now so I don''t forget to do it later.
Spoiler: Show Status!!
Cedric Crownguard
Strength:
105
Level: (47%)
17
Stamina:
70
Health:
850
Vitality:
85
Mana:
1160
Intelligence:
116
Piety:
+175
Wisdom:
59
Fame:
+20125 (locally respected)
Agility:
38
Honor:
+21000 (village hero)
Charisma:
20
Allignment:
+4000
Leadership:
35
Satiety:
81%
Luck:
10
Class:
DruidicMage
Health Regen/Sec:
5.0
Mana Regen/Sec:
5.5
Feudal Domain:
2600
Race:
Chosen Human
Feuadal Title:
Count
Unused Points:
20
Awarded Titles
Title:
The White Knight
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
The Honor Guard
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
The Duelist
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
Black Hand Interrogator
Alignment +/-
-1000
Title:
Benevolent Leader
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
Explorer of the Unknown
Alignment +/-
-none-
Before I spend these points I should do a quick recap of the major attributes.Rick thought as he clicked on strength.
Strength
Strength determines how much a player can physically pick up and/or carry.
Strength alsoworks in conjunction with melee skill levels to determine attack damage.
Stamina
Stamina determines how you can fight, run, or swim before you become winded.
Stamina is also a measure of how much pain you can resist. The higher your stamina the less pain you will feel.
Intelligence
Intelligence determines howfast you can process information.
Intelligence is a measure of your ability to also learn new languages and comprehend magic.
Intelligence also works in conjunction with spell levels to determine their attack damage.
Wisdom
Wisdom determines common sense and problem-solving abilities.
Wisdom is a measure of your abilities to use psionic powers.
Wisdom is also a measure of your mental resistance against mind attacks.
Agility
Agility determines your jump height and ability to dodge attacks.
Agility is a measure of your melee swing speed and accuracy.
Agility is also a measure of your rangedattack speed and accuracy.
Charisma
Charisma influences how NPCs view you.The higher your Charisma the more they will like you.
Charisma will also influence your physical appearance in the eyes of NPCs.The higher your Charisma the more handsome or beautiful you will appear.
High Charisma can also influence prices while trading and NPCs.
This is a tough decision since my strength and intelligence are both above one hundred I could put the points toward stamina or agility. Stamina will help me to feel less pain when I take damage and help me keep going without tiring. Agility will help me to dodge before I get hit and improve my weapon speeds and accuracies. Then there is charisma that has me curious if I raise it enough will I be able to sell items at my store for higher prices and get better deals from what I buy?
I have the fitness area on Tower Island to help build up strength and vitality and I can always read the books in my room to gain Intelligence. Then again I could also start running whenever I first connect to the game to build up stamina. Wait now that I think back I gained agility when I ran an jumped to the forest north of Silverhall CIty.
Well, screw it I will split the points up since charisma is so difficult to raise I will toss ten points into it and ten points into agility. Then I will use the run and jump technique going back to the tower from here and try to make up for ten points I put into Charisma.
Cedric Crownguard
Strength:
105
Level: (47%)
17
Stamina:
70
Health:
850
Vitality:
85
Mana:
1160
Intelligence:
116
Piety:
+175
Wisdom:
59
Fame:
+20125 (locally respected)
Agility:
48
Honor:
+21000 (village hero)
Charisma:
30
Allignment:
+4000
Leadership:
35
Satiety:
81%
Luck:
10
Class:
DruidicMage
Health Regen/Sec:
5.0
Mana Regen/Sec:
5.5
Feudal Domain:
2600
Race:
Chosen Human
Feuadal Title:
Count
Unused Points:
0
Awarded Titles
Title:
The White Knight
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
The Honor Guard
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
The Duelist
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
Black Hand Interrogator
Alignment +/-
-1000
Title:
Benevolent Leader
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
Explorer of the Unknown
Alignment +/-
-none-
Enough of all that time to press on a little further.
Rick walked over to orc bowman and took his quiver of black arrows and found his bow and placed them into his inventory and activated Stealth and Mist Walk. He moved through the cluster of walls without discovering any more enemies to find the back of the room. In the back wall was an entrance that had another set of stairs that went deeper down into the earth. Rick walked down the flight of stairs to a landing where he found a large wooden chest. Rick approached the chest with caution unsure if it was a trap and lightly touched it with his fingertips.
Spoiler: Identify!!
A wooden Treasure Chest
An unlocked wooden treasure chest. You can find treasure chests often arranged around dungeons.
They will drop random items that are based on the difficulty of the dungeon and floor they are found on.
Not all treasure chests are unlocked and may even be trapped.
A classic dungeon chest that could be locked or trapped. Here goes nothing.
Rick brought out his shield and held it in front of him while he squatted down behind it in front of the chest. Rick answered yes to the prompt to open it and a fireball shot out striking his shield and engulfing him in flames.
I take it this was a trapped one with that huge ass explosion! This is only between the second and third floor of a dungeon are they nuts setting up something that nasty here? If I didn''t have such a high resistance to fire I''d be taking a one way trip to the nearest NPC temple right now.Rick thought while shaking his head.
Rick peeked inside the chest from behind his shield now wary of the chest before him and saw a piece of paper shimmer into existence inside of it. He picked up the battered looking paper from the chest and a window popped open.
Spoiler: Battered Paper.
A torn page from an ancient book of elemental magic.
You have found an ancient page torn from a magic tome. Do you wish to learn the information on this page?
Yes
No
Before Rick clicked yes he wanted to try an experiment. He cast the spell Read Magic on the ancient page and after a quite a few fails he was successful. Rick then clicked yes and opened his blinking notice icon.
Spoiler: New Notices!
Spell Increase:
Read Magic:
Level 2
Intermediate 8%
New Elemental Affinity Notice!
You Have Learned A New Affinity!
Space Affinity:Level 6 (Beginner 82%)
The magic ability to wield and resist an elemental affinity.
Higher levels increase overall control and resistance.
New Spell Notice!
You Have Learned A New Spell!
Time Reduction:Level 1 (Beginner 0%)
Time Reduction allows you to slow time around you without it affecting you.
You can slow down time in a circumference of ten feet around you for ten seconds.
Each level increase adds +1 to the spells distance and duration.
I must have learned the space elemental affinity at a higher level through casting Read Magic on this page, because that must be the books knowledgelevel needed to use this Time Reduction Spell.
Time Reduction allows me to slow everything down around me without it affecting me. If I raise this spell to a high level it would be an incredible crowd control spell like Reverse Gravity. Rick contemplated.
When he began to continue down the stairs halfway down with Stealth activated he noticed a couple orcs with long spears at the bottom scanning the area.
These two orcs look like they have been alerted. They must have been close enough to hear that trap go off and are now trying to figure out where it came from.
Rick took out his bow and cast Gravity Field on the two orcs standing side by side. When they lifted off their feet he sent out two arrows for each of them and waited for them to stop moving before dropping them to the floor. He walked down the steps and collected his arrows and their long spears and cast identify on one of the dead orcs.
Spoiler: Identify!!
Orc Impaler
Most orcs like to rush wildly at foes with swords or axes and tear them to pieces, but some prefer the use of spears for their increased reach.
Rick shut the menu window and continued on from what he could make out he was in a large cavern and could see light up ahead that looked like the exit of the cavern to the outside.
How can that be an exit to the outside? I would guess I am near a hundred feet under the lake by how far I have gone down and forward.
He had a few more uneventful encounters with regular orcs that he took care of quickly. When had made his way to the cavern exit he peered out from behind a rock. What he saw were huge crystals hanging from the ceiling that emitted light. The outside was actually an enormous extension of the cavern that he couldn''t see where it ended.
The cavern was covered in grass with strange fruit trees that grew near where he hid. He activated his far sight and saw that the orcs had built a camp with wooden log walls some distance out in the illuminated cavern. Rick scanned the area and then snuck out to one of the fruit trees and plucked some fruit and took a few cuttings from its branches to take back to Daisia.
He began to make his way around the perimeter of thecavern while using his Stealth and Mist Walk to travel between cover. Rick then came across a patrolling Orc that was covered in iron plate armor and had a black sword on its back that looked too heavy to even be able to wield. Rick watched the orc and had a bad feeling about it. For some reason, he could tell that this orc was extremely dangerous.
Rick stay hidden behind a large tree wondering if he should tangle with this orc.
If I want to beat this guy I am going to have to play dirty and ambush him with everything I got. If I can get him into a reverse gravityfield then I can take care of him without too much trouble.
Making his mind up Rick moved from tree to tree until he was as close as he could get without drawing attention to himself. He scanned the area and found a tree not far from the armored orc. Rick began casting Spike Traps around the tree and then he took out his bow and cast Project image. He made an image of himself half hidden holding a bow behind the tree he had spread Spike Traps around and then launched an arrow at the Orc''s armored back.
As soon as he released the arrow he cast Mist walk to hide. He turned into a fog like vapor as the orc ripped the gigantic sword from its back and began looking around. It the spotted his projected image and charged after it without making a sound. When the orc wasin range to swing the sword a Spike Trap was set off.
A few pointed earthen spikes shot out of the ground and one pierced through the orcs foot. While the orc was temporarily pinned to the ground Rick ran out toward the orc and cast gravity field when he was in range. The orc was pulled up into the air off of the spike, but unlike others who he had trapped with this spell, the armored orc did not float around randomly out of control. The orc stood calmly in the gravity field able to keep itself floating upright with its sword held ready.
Rick stopped before he reached the orc when he saw that there was no way he could now approachit without being cut in half by that sword.
Holy crap this orc is a bad ass! Look at that he is just floating in that field waiting for me to step closer. Too bad for you that isn''t going to happen though.
Rick went into mage mode and decided to attack from a distance. He cast Mana Bind then fire wall directly under the orc. The orc struggled against the binding spell while the flames rose to cook him. The orc didn''t waste time panickingor howling in pain it just focused on breaking free while staring directly at Rick watching his every move.
Becoming nervous at the orcs calm demeanor, Rick feared he may somehow break loose. Rick then stepped up his magic attacks and began casting fireball and chain lightning and then remembered acid bolt as he was waiting on the recharge times.
Rick stepped just within the ten-foot distance and launched an acid bolt into the orcs face just as the mana bind was wearing off. A short lance of green liquid shot out at splashed across the face of the orc and covered its entire head with the green substance. The acid immediately began melting the flesh off the orc''s head like wax held over a flame.
With the combination of all the spells and the acid bolt, the orc dropped its giant sword and pitched forward floating horizontally around in the reverse gravity field. When the acid bolt dispersed Rick could see parts of the orcs skulland melted flesh giving it a zombie appearance.
Rick didn''t take any chances and used his sword to cut off the orc''s head before dropping the gravity field. He bent over and used identify to find out what kind of orc this guy had been.
Spoiler: Identify!!
Orc Warlord
The most powerful and skilled among the orcs.
Orc warlords have been known to clear out entire enemy camps single handedly.
Rick thought he had felt a small shiver run up his back as he read the description.If I didn''t know magic and tried to fight this guy I would have been diced up in seconds. I need to be careful bringing my units in here if they fought just one of these Orc Warlords I would definitely lose a few of them.
After looking over the description he unbuckled the orcs plate armorand stored it with the giant sword that he could hardly raise above his waist level.
Well, I think I should leave on that note for now.Rick thought as he cast Portal to the outside dungeon entrance.
He began sprinting west toward the city and Tower Island while he jumped from left to right while zigzagging from side to side to simulate dodging. After running for just over an hour while fully armored he made it back to the city construction area he laid down on the ground near the castle foundation to recover his stamina. After resting for a few minutes he sat up and opened his new notices.
Spoiler: New Notices!!
Attribute Increase:
Vitality
+5
Attribute Increase:
Stamina
+15
Attribute Increace:
Agility
+12
Attribut Increase:
Strength
+10
Spoiler: Show Status!!
Cedric Crownguard
Strength:
115
Level: (47%)
17
Stamina:
85
Health:
850
Vitality:
90
Mana:
1160
Intelligence:
116
Piety:
+175
Wisdom:
59
Fame:
+20125 (locally respected)
Agility:
60
Honor:
+21000 (village hero)
Charisma:
30
Allignment:
+4000
Leadership:
35
Satiety:
81%
Luck:
10
Class:
DruidicMage
Health Regen/Sec:
5.0
Mana Regen/Sec:
5.5
Feudal Domain:
2600
Race:
Chosen Human
Feuadal Title:
Count
Unused Points:
0
Awarded Titles
Title:
The White Knight
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
The Honor Guard
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
The Duelist
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
Black Hand Interrogator
Alignment +/-
-1000
Title:
Benevolent Leader
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
Explorer of the Unknown
Alignment +/-
-none-
Nice, Nice, my stats are starting to look good.Rick thought while closing his menus.
Rick stood up and looked around him. "Okay, what should I do now?" Rick said quietly as he began walking down the west main street.
Chapter 27: Open For Business
While Rick walked down the west main street after returning from his dungeon discovery heused his Cartography skill to make an updated map of the city.
Spoiler:City Map.
Very nice I see thatthe city streets are now completely paved now. I need to track down the road construction crew and surveyors and see what they are currently working on. I can also see that the horse stable is complete. Jerem and his crew are probablyup ahead here working on the crafting buildings. Once Jerem''s crew has built a few of the crafting buildings maybe I will have them start on constructing the walls.
Rick put the map away and walked on down the street to find that Jerem had his crew had begun construction of the first crafting building. He walked over and used his recipes to make the parts for a new treadmill crane and assembled it next to the building foundation. Rick taught Jerem and his Cottar "general laborers" how to work the crane and told him to have Handil''s workers show them how they break it down and transport it.
Rick then flew off to the south and found Daisia working on the rubber tree farm. He landed near to her and she ran over jumped up and hung around his neck with a big smile.
"Hey, there cutie are you having fun out here?" Rick said laughing.
"I actually am having fun with all these new exciting plants and trees you brought me!" She answered while still hanging from his neck with a huge smile.
"Oh yeah? Well, I have a nice surprise for you then." Rick told her as he opened his inventory.
He took out the fruits and fruit tree cuttings he took from the dungeon and held them up. Daisia released her grip on his neckand slid down to her feet and curiously stretched out both hands to take the fruit and cuttings Rick held before her. She began examining afruit while Cedric spoke up.
"I just found these strange looking fruit trees in an underground cavern that was lit up like daytime by huge crystal gems that covered the cavern ceiling. I am not sure what they taste like or how safe they are to eat, so please be careful with them. Maybe Ican experiment with when the healer is with us sometime, but for now just go ahead and grow a few in your garden." Rick instructed her.
"Hehe, Cedric, are you forgetting I''m Dryad I can communicate with all of these trees and plants. I can just ask this fruit tree when it grows upif the fruit is dangerous to eat." Daisia said.
"That''s a great idea, so you''re not only cute but smart," Rick said crossing his arms and looking down at her with a smile."
Daisia rolled her eyes and ran off across the street laughing with the cuttings and fruits toward her garden.
Hejust shook his head chuckling. "Yup, definitely a little firecracker."
Rick flew up high above the city and scanned the surrounding area with Far Sight.
The road construction crew and surveyor crew were currently working together along the southern road. With their concentrated efforts, the road that led to the quarries was progressing at a rapid pace. Along the river bank further north of the road crew the shipwrights diligently worked on the sailboat, while the Wagoner crews kept them supplied with lumber that was being continuously cut at the northern sawmill.
All of the city streets had been paved and the road construction crews had even connected Tower Island and the surrounding buildings to the west main street with paved roads or paved footpaths. With the entirety of the city and Tower Island completely paved this vastly helped to speed up the deliveries and in turn speed up the city construction projects.
After his scan of the surrounding area and workers, Rick decided to gather more supplies that were quickly dwindling on the stockpile behind the tower. He flew off to the west across the river and landed on the edge of the huge forest his elven scout had just returned from investigating. He took out his axe and used repair on it to make it like brand new. Rick walked the forest edge to pick out large trees and chop them down each one down. With the increase in his strength and agility, he was able to now chop down these large trees with only a few swings of his axe. This led also led to quicker gains in lumberjacking, but also seemed to increase the rate at which his axe durability decreased.
Even though it was only a quick touch to repair the axe he found he needed to use the skill after every tree. Even with all this, Rick soon had a line of one hundred felled trees that he stripped of branches and stored into his inventory. He also kept all of the hardwood branches to burn into ashes that would be used to make lye water. When he had gathered up all the trees he opened the blinking notification icon.
Spoiler: New Notices!
Skill Increase:
Lumberjacking:
Level 1
Intermediate
21%
Attribute Increase:
Strength
+3
Attribute Increase:
Stamina
+5
Now with a large stock of trees, his next stop was the limestone quarry. Landing on the border of the quarry, Rick used [Move and Shape Earth] to strip the soil and expose the limestone hidden below it. When he had stored the cleared soil away he cast [Move and Shape Stone] on the layer of limestone to cut out ten 10x10x10 limestone cubes. He lined the large cubes up near the quarry pickup location and used[Move and Shape Stone] to cut each cube into 2x1x1 blocks. Each cube then provided 500 limestone blocks giving him a total of 5000 limestone blocks now stack and ready for delivery.
Rick collected the piles of limestone dust and broken block fragments that he used to make cement with and also mixed in with the sand he provided for the road crews. When the quarry was clear of debris and dust piles he went back to where he had cut the cubes and cut out twenty additional 10x10x10 cubes and stored them into his inventory.
He decided since the marble quarry was only over a mile east of him that he would fly over there. Once his mana was fully regened, Rick cut another twenty cubes of White Marble and also stored it away. Now with a large supply of limestone and Marble on him, he was done with the two quarries.
He flew north along the river to stop and supply the shipwrights with enough lumber to complete the boat and then continued on to the sawmill. Rick stacked fifty of the large stripped trees next to the sawmill to be cut by the sawyerand kept the rest for himself.
After his visit to the sawmill, Rick had dropped off a large supply of limestone blocks on each of the plots along the west main street for Jerem''s crew to use for the construction of the crafting buildings. The next resource delivery was for Handil at the temple construction site. He left them a large stock of limestone and marble that would help them to complete the temple sooner without having to wait on cart deliveries that could carry only small amounts of limestone per trip.
Rick then took out a table and chair and sat down to draw up a building design. He would soon need tospawn in a few government units to help him out with city planning and organizing. He had been dumping a lot of extra work on Handil and it was at a point that if he gave him, even more, tasks the poor guy wouldn''t even have time to sleep. So decided to design a building that he could make more than one of like the apartment buildings, except these official buildings would be used by different branches of his kingdom''s government.
Spoiler:Government Officials Building.
When he and decided on the design of the building he packed up the table and chair and walked to the open lot just north of the temple. He mixed up a large batch of cement and got right to work laying limestone blocks and cementing the joints.Even though Rick did not build that often these days when he had done a fair amount of construction when he first began to establish a settlement on and around Tower Island.
When he had first started the game he had been given through his test the Masonry level 9 Intermediate 80%. Since that time he had now raised this skill to a Level 8 Expert 92%. Since Rick hadn''t built for a few days he surprised himself at how fast he could actually lay down, cement, and cut stone blocks.
He felt like he had become some type of automated construction machine as he pulled blocks from his inventory set them in place and cement them in one quick motion. Each block he had set and cemented took a couple of seconds with the combination of his intelligence, strength, agility, and the masonry skill working as one. He quickly laid out the foundation and went on to build the four entrances and stairs that lead to them. With the pre-cut and shaped pillar sections that were being made at the quarry, building the pillars was just a matter of stacking each section one on top of the next while cementing each layer.
When the four entrances were built he built the walls up from the foundation and cut limestone blocks to frame the window sills with. As the walls grew higher he activated his Flight skill and flew around the building while setting the blocks. After a couple of hours, he began hanging the roof rafters and nailing down the plywood. He made the decorative dome on the roof out of wood and covered it and the roof with clay shingles. The statues in his design were currently left out to be sculpted later. He thought to make a statue of each of the original officials that worked in the building after hehad spawned them.
Even though it was getting late in the day now and the sun was soon to set, Rick decided to continue playing. Rick was ready to pull out the big table he normally used to draw on, but changed his mind and took out his wood working tools. Using his Carpentry, Wood Carving, and Wood Shape Skills he made a small simple wooden drafting table in no time and even acquired a recipe to make more.
Spoiler:Wooden Drafting Table.
Rick packed up his tools and sat down at the table to draw up a new design. He used his charcoal pencils to draw up a gatehouse design and a drawbridge concept drawing to be added later to the gatehouses when the moat was dug.
Spoiler:Gatehouse and Drawbridge.
Rick tucked the drawings into his inventory and flew to the end of the east main street and began work on the gatehouse. As the sun set and it grew dark he activated his Night Sight and worked in the darkness. When he completed the gatehouse he made measurements of the entrance and went down into the castle basementand sat down toplan out a portcullis winch, weight and pulley system and a steel portcullis gate.
Spoiler: GatehousePortcullis Design.
Rick used his recipes to make the pulleys, chains, and steel round bar needed for the winch. He put a few of his five-foot steel ingots into the forge and used them to make the Portcullis, weights, and gears for the winch. When he had assembled and finished all of the portcullis sections he received recipes that would help him when he constructed the other gatehouses.
Rick made his way back over to the east gatehouse and installed a few crystal wall lights and turned them on to light up the interior. He then climbed the stairs to the second-floor and installed the winch and pulleys. He took out the chains and wrapped them around the winch and then fed them up and over the two pulleys and fed the chain hanging from the pulley down through slots in the floor.
Rick descended the stairs again and took out the steel portcullis and connected the chainshanging from the upstairspulleys that connected to the winch and welded them to the top of the steel portcullisgate. When he was upstairs cracking the winch and raising the portcullis up and down to test if it worked properly Handil and Jerem both showed up with their crews.
They saw that Rick was working alone on the gatehouse as they were ready to quit for the day so they came over to give him a hand. Rick tried to tell them it wasn''t necessary, but they felt that if he was going to work late then they wanted to also. Rick gave in and had Handil leave part of his crew and had him go get Jerem and his men assigned to the furnished apartments first before it had got too late.
Rick had already finished the gatehouse so he began working on the walls. He mixed up cement for him and the workers and dumped out a few huge stacks of limestone blocks from his inventory. He had the worker crew build the wall to the north and he built the wall to the south. With his flying skill and being able to carry the blocks in his inventory, he was able to build faster than his work crew until Jerem and the rest of Handil''s crews came back to help after figuring out where they would live from now on.
The two crews joined up and worked together to complete a section of wall. When Rick had finished his south section of the wall and the work crews finished the north wall section, he met up with the crew leaders marked out where to put the first corner towers and how big to make them. They all built two large towers and continued on to build another short section of the wall before Rick sent everyone home. He thanked all his men for the extra effort and flew off toward Tower Island.Rickdid not have any classes tomorrow so he didn''t mind being up late like this and was happy to have a section of the walls finally started.
Even though I don''t have have classes my store will open for business in the morning so I don''t want to be up all night. Rick thought as he landed just outside the tower door.
He used Stealth to quietly walk upstairs and unequipped his armor and weapons. He climbed under the covers with Angelica who was already sleeping and disconnected.
Disconnect!
Rick climbed out of the VR capsule and went to use the bathroom and then made a twosimple turkey cold cut sandwiches with mayonnaise and peppers. Hesat down to eat at the table and cleaned up when he had finished his light meal. He went right to bed afterward and woke up after six hours of sleep. He went and worked out right away in the spare room and then took a shower and shaved. When he was dressed, he checked on his video and deleted all the spam comments and PMs he received from players wanting to know the dungeon location.
He placed a sticky comment in his video thread stating that the dungeon was located close to where he was building and would not be releasing the location until his city was secured and defended from any possible attacks or thefts. He also wrote that when he had the time he would make a video of his progress into the dungeon so everyone could at least see what it looked like.
After answering quitefew questions about his store opening and the items he sold, Rick shut down his computer and connected to Kingdoms Online.
Connect!
Rick climbed out of bed and equipped his black formal outfit that he hadn''t worn of late since he made his armor sets. He also put onfew enchanted rings along witha long gold necklace thatan expensive looking gold and jewel pendant hung from. When he was fully dressed with all his jewelry on helooked like a wealthy Duke ready to attend court.
Rick made his rounds from the tower cellar to the workshop collecting all the items made to be sold at the store. He then opened a portal to his office in the store and stepped through. When he opened the door to his office to go stock the store with the items he had just gatheredfrom the Island hestopped dead in his tracks. The store had only been open for roughly twentyminutes and it was packed with players and citizens of Silverhall City.
How the hell are we going to keep track of all the sales and money coming in if these customers all start making purchases? I don''t have a cash till drawer to keepmoney or a place to place receipts.Rick thought as he was caught completelyoff guard by this mob of customers.
Rickwent directly to the warehouse and unlocked the basement door and went down to his workshop. Using his leather crafting tools and tailoring supplies he cut thick pieces of leather and sewed them together to crafta small pouch with a flap. He then made a thick narrow leather belt and crafted small gold ring rivets for thebuckle tongue. This would allow the belt to be adjusted to different sizes.
He attached the pouch to the belt with two gold rings by folding the leather around the rings and using small gold nuts and bolts to tie the leather ends together around each ring. He used his dye sticks to make decorative design into the leather and acquired a recipe for it that he named "Leather Hip Pouch."Rick used the recipe to make twelve leather hip pouches and went back upstairs locking the door behind him.
Spoiler:Leather Hip Pouch.
When Rickleft the warehouse he foundhis floor manager Nellie busily walking back and forth between the saleswomen and he also saw his store manager Barat standing at the door welcoming the stream of people who were still coming in to browse the store.
Rick let out an anxious sigh while rubbing the back of his head. "Isn''t this just a little exaggerated? I know that this store is a new concept, but this is crazy." He said softly under his breath.
Then he recalled when he had studied up on the first department stores in Earth''s history and remembered that they also had crazy turnouts with lines of shoppers that stretched around the block. Rick snapped out of his trance and activated Aura: Charming Presencewhile weaving through the crowd towards Nellie.
The people of the world who entered his auras influence stopped to bow or curtsy toward him. Rick''s aura, presence, andthe way he dressed made it obvious to everyone that this was a noble and they all showed respect as he passed.
Nellie remembered the presence she suddenly felt from when she first met Cedric and turned toward him before she knew he was even approaching her.
"Good morning Nellie. It seems we have quite the crowd already."
"Good Morning Sir," Nellie said with a curtsy.
"Nellie please just call me Cedric, and I may be a noble but you can refrain from such formalities," Rick said placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.
Nellie blushed at his touch and nodded in agreement with a shy smile.
She didn''t act like this last time I saw her. It must be the combination of my White Knight title and my aura. Ah, That''sright I forgot I also put ten points into my charismaand my fame and honor has doubled. I will be remembered and recognizedmuch more now by the NPCs of the game world.
"How are you and your girls handling this unexpected swarm of customers? Are you able to keep up with all of them or are they being overwhelmed?" Rick asked
"We are trying our best to help everyone, but yes it is a little overwhelming. There are just so many customers and only a handful of saleswomen," Lily said while looking down as if she was expecting to be scolded for a poor performance.
"Don''t worry about it Nellie you girls just do the best you can. None of us could have ever even dreamed that this many customerswould have shown up like this. I will also help outaround the store if you have any questions or need help with anything don''t hesitate to come find me." Rick reassured her.
Nellie lit up with a bright smile. "Thank you, Cedric, I will be sure to do just that then."
"That''s more like it a smile suits you much more! Before I forget I have something for you and your girls thatI just finished making."
Rick had Nellie follow him over to the counter and he took out twelveleather hip pouches, twenty-four charcoal pencils, and a stack of parchment. He used his scissors to cut up the parchment into small squares and divided it between the twelve pouches. He then placed two charcoal pencils in each pouch after showing Nellie how to sharpen them with a small blade.
"Theseleather pouches are to hold the money from your sales. Tell the girls to write down everything they sell and the sales amount on these cuts of parchment with these charcoal pencils. The sales girls are to keep the sales receipts and coins in their pouches and give them to Barat at the end of the day so that he can write them all down in the store records book. This way I can review what is selling and what has not. This will help me tokeep the store properly stocked with merchandise. Now please go pass these pouches out to the girls and explain to them everything I just said. I''m going to see Barat and give him one even if he doesn''t really need one." Rick said with a smile and walked over to the front door.
"Good Morning Barat this is quite the turnout we have for so early in the day. If I knew it would have been so crazy I would''ve shown up sooner."
"Count Crownguard a good morning to you sir," Barat replied with the same formal respect.
Rick started laughing. "Not you too! I just went over this with Nellie please continue to call me Cedric and you do not need to be so formal. I am not one of these nobles who demands salutes and bows." Rick informed him.
Rick shook then shook Barat''shand. "Does the crowd show any sign of receding or is it still a constant stream of customers?" Rick asked.
"They still keep coming sir, but for some reason, a good amount of chosen have also been showing up and asking for you by name. Some have even asked about a dungeon location?" Barat reported questionably.
Rick shook his head in aggravation. "If any chosen come around asking for me by name or questioning you about a dungeon you tell them that you have no idea what they are talking about. I do not want to be bothered by any chosen who come looking for me directly. Tell them nicely that this is a place of business and if they are not here to shop to kindly leave the premises." Rick instructed.
"Yes, sir I will inform the staff as well of this," Barat said.
Rick then gave a leather hip pouch to Barat and explained the whole process to him about the sales slips and sales records. He then walked off toward the back of the store and went upstairs. Rick rounded up all the military units on the 2nd floorand instructed stand guard in shifts of two at the front door during business hours from now on.
Looking through his inventory he took out sets of the decorative armor that were made to sell in the store and assigned ownership of a set to each of his guards. He used a recipe to make each of them a red silk cape and placed fancy artisan longswords on red dyed leather belts around their waists. Each of them looked they were military parade dress ready while wearing these stunning weapons and pieces of armors that looked like they should be on display and not worn into battle.
Rick then took a minuteto make a small leather coin pouch with drawstrings that he dyed red. By usingthe recipe he acquired, Rick producedenough coin pouches for allthe men before him. He then removed gold coins from his inventory andfilled each pouch with a handful of gold coins and handed them to each one of his men.
"You men look better than the town guard and even those showy looking library guards as well now." He said with a nod of satisfaction.
"Take these gold coins so that you can all go out to eat and enjoy yourself on your time off. Just please don''t do anything that will dishonor my name in this town. I have hundreds of people counting on me and if this business isn''t successful I will have trouble feeding and housing them. So have a good time, but always be gentlemen that can be looked up to by the local population. You men have done a great job guarding this place and I feel bad that you have always been stuck in this store with nothing to do. This money is for a job well done so have fun and keep up the good work!" Rick shook all their hands in turn and made his way back downstairs.
As he passed through the clothing section he heard groups of richly dressed women talking with asaleswoman about the sexy undergarments and exotic looking dresses. The richly dressed female customers spoke disrespectfully to his young saleswoman like she wastheir servant and he caught a few unguarded whispers commenting on how the young sales girl was selling such beautiful clothing while wearing such aplain commonerdress. Rick began to look over all his young female employees and the plain dresses they all wore.
Spoiler: Plain dresses worn by the young saleswomen.
Rick had never thought his sales girl''s clothing looked shabby but compared to the bright colored frilly dresses of his customers and the clothing he had on display they looked quite simple and plain.
He then remembered even Nellie who dresses a little nicer than the saleswomen had seemed to desire the dresses he had shown her and evenone of the negligees.
I doubt there is any business in this city that provides uniforms for their employees. They are probably almostexpected to wear clothing that fits their social status. When their social status in known by the clothing they wear then they will be treated according to theirrank since this is a feudal society.
Nellie seemed to fall into the same feudal rank as the younger saleswomen even though her clothing material was of a higher quality and had a decorative pattern with satin edging. She must have used the extra money she made as a floor manager to purchase finer clothing.
These womenare my employees and I won''t have customers coming in here and degrading them all day. I want them to be confident and enjoy their jobs. If they are submissive and down cast they will never become true saleswomen that will help this store to prosper.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
I think the best thing to help remedy this is to make them a few nice outfits that they can wear to work every day and I can also sell those same outfits. When these snooty female customers see these young pretty girls wearing classy outfits and dresses unlike anythey have ever seen then they will also want them. This will also make the customers respect them and listen to what they have to say earnestly.
Rick walked through the crowd to his office and shut the door behind him he sat down at his desk and took out a charcoal pencil and a sheet of parchment and began to draw. He drew up a few different styles of women''s business suits and a two types sleekChina dresses.
Spoiler:Saleswoman Store Uniforms.
Rick then put away the drawings for now and left his office to return to Barat who continued to greet customers at the front door.
"I have askedmymilitary units to take shifts at standing guard here at the front door during business hours. If you or the girls have any problems with anyone ask them politely to leave the store if they refuse then have my men escort them out." Rick instructed Barat and then turned toward the two men standing guard.
"You two men inform the other guards that you are to work together with the store employees. I want you to protect them from anyone looking to start trouble here. If someone refuses to leave the store you can physically remove them, but do not attack anyone with weapons unless they decide to draw one on you first. Later tonight after we closeI will also set up some type of alarm system that can be used to alert the men upstairs of trouble so they can come down and back up who ever is on guard." Rick explained to the military units.
"Understood sir!"
"Alright Barat I will leave the store to you, for now, I have a few things I want to take care of and then I will return," Rick said.
"Thank you, Cedric the ladies and Iappreciate you sending the men down to help watch over things. I will be sure to take care of everything until you return." Barat replied with a slight bow.
Rick nodded and walked back to his office and opened a portal to the Tower Island stables. He found the animal trainer washing one of the horses and told him of the new stables he had built. Rick instructedhim to begin moving the horses to the new stables and to have the Wagoners help transport all the horse food and equipment over there as well.
Rick and the animal trainer walked a couple of the horses over to the new stables and Rick went inside with him to look around. The new horse stable was much larger than the one on the island and had many more stalls to stable any future horses he may buy or even tame.
There were also two large rooms to be used as a tack room to store saddles, reins, stirrups, and horse blankets and the other room would be to store bales of hay and bags of grain feed. The back of the horse stable had two large doors that opened up to a big fenced corral so the horse could run around outside with each other. Rick left the animal trainer in the stable and walked next door to the completed crafting building.
RIck went through the first building and built runic forges in every shop on the first and second floor. He used his recipes to make a few workbenches, tables, and chairs for each store and left them in the center of the rooms for the worker who was assigned the store to arrange how ever he wanted. He then opened a portal to the tower cellar and stepped through to take all the anvils, blacksmithing tools, ingots, iron ore, weapons, and armor. He told the weaponsmith and armorsmith to finish up with what they were working on and to follow him through the portal.
Rick placed an anvil and tools in each store on the first floor and met up with the two dwarfs when they came through the portal from the cellar. Rick gave each of them their very own store on the first floor. The two dwarfs were ecstatic that they had so much room to work now without tripping over one another all day and that their stores were right across the street from where they lived. He left them to arrange their new stores and told them he would be back with the blacksmiths and glass workers that would also have stores in this building.
Opening another portal he stepped through to the Tower Island Workshop and had everyone finish up what they were working on and then had them all gather around him. He explained that they would all be assigned their own store in the city and would work there from now on.
After he had gone throughthe entire workshop collecting everything until the place was empty except for the workers patiently waiting on him. Heopened a portal to the restaurant and had them follow him through.
Most of them had seen him use the portal many times in the past and knew it was safe, but a few looked a little reluctant to step through. When they saw the other workers going ahead of them and using the portal they felt they could no longer stall for time. Closing their eyes they stiffly marched through to the other side to where Rick and the other workers waited on them with a sigh of relief.
Ricktold the workersto sit down, relax, and wait for him to come take them to their new shops in groups.
Rick called over the glass workers, Poleturners, and blacksmiths and had them follow him right away to the crafting building with the runic forges. He gavethe two blacksmiths their ownstore on the first floor and the glass workers were assigned their own stores on the second level. Rick then went to each of their stores and hung asmelting pot. In the glass workers stores, he gave them the metal tube rollers and set it up on the metal table tops they had in the workshop and told them to continue making pane glass.
The Poleturners were also assigned to the second-floor stores and he gave them back the pedal wood lathes and tools they had been working withall this time. Rick instructed the Poleturners to continue working with the smiths in the building who were making tools, weapons, and armor.
He instructedthe blacksmiths to continue making tools and to also make a few anvils and smelting pots. While the workers were all settling in and arranging their stores he went around and dropped ingots, iron ore, sand, wood, and toolsthat he had picked up earlier.
I am starting to get low on iron and coal I need to go visit Hibal''s blacksmithy soon and buy some more.He considered while going to pickup more workers. He assigned the rug weaver/artisans, tapestry maker/artisans, and quilter/artisans with their tools, equipment, and supplies to the second buildings. The third building was assigned to furniture makers, and furniture maker/artisans. The fourth building was assigned to tailor/cobblers and tailor/artisans. The fifth building was given to the siever, soap maker, locksmith, spectacle maker/artisan, wheelwright, and Cartwright.
Rick then customized the Cartwright''s store by adding two large double doors onto the side of his shop. This way he could continue to make carts and carriages indoors and push them out the double side doors when he had finished each one.
Afterhe had finished and tested the double doors he walked over to the tailor/artisans and sat down with the new designs he drew up earlier. He gave them the materials he wanted to be used and had them start making twelve copies of every design. While he they began making the outfits, Rick took out his drafting table and sat down to draw a few more designs. Firstly he drew up three new men''s suits.
Spoiler:Men''s New Suits.
Rick took the new suit designs over to another tailor/artisans store and had them start making a few copies of each suit for him.
He then left them to work on the new outfits while he went down into the castle basement workshop andsat down to make yet another design. He wanted to make something to hold all of the clothes he was going to give his employees and yetbe nice enough to sell at his store. When it came to carrying clothes the first thing that came to mind was a suitcase.
He did not want his new container quite as bulky as a modern suitcase so after sketching out a few ideas he came up with a wooden Travel Chest.
Spoiler: Wooden Travel Chest.
He took out his wood working, leather, and blacksmith tools and crafted a metal latch from iron. He used his wood carving, wood shape, and carpentry skills to craft the chest and screwed it all together. Lastly, He tacked leather straps and a thick leather handle to the chest to allow for easy carry. Rick completed his chest after a few minutes of crafting and acquired a recipe that he named "Travel Chest."
Rick used his new recipe to make fifty Travel Chests and then made his way back to the tailor/artisan stores. He collected all of the new outfits when they were finished and made twelve neatly folded stacks with one of each outfit for the girls. He placed a stack with one of each new outfit into a chest and carved the youngwoman''s name elegantly into the travel Chest lids. He also made a chestfor Barat filled with one of each new suit design and also carved Barats name into the chest lid. He assigned ownership of all the clothes in each chest and stored them away.
Rick left his new outfit designs with his tailor/artisans and told them to add them to the current list of clothing they were to be made forthe store. He then jumped back to his store office and went out tohelp the customers. He answered questions and made sales while moving from one section of the store to the next helping out wherever he could. As he was selling a set of armor to a player his dwarven blacksmith teacher Hibal walked over without Rick noticing him.
"Hmm, this is great work." He said while admiring the new armor he was currently selling.
"It wasn''t long ago that I was teaching you blacksmith skills and now you''re making weapons and armor the surpass the quality of my workers." Hibal continued.
"Hibal! Welcome, I was actually just thinking of you earlier and here you are now!" Rick exclaimed.
"Is that so? Were you thinking of the time you gave me your word that you would never open a store in the city and compete against me if I taught you blacksmithing?" He asked with a sudden scowl.
Oh my god! I forgot all about that promise with everythingthat has been happening!
Rick looked down with a sudden embarrassedlook then spoke up. "I ashamed to say that was my original plan, to never open a store in this city, but when I came across this store and the trouble the employees were in I only had thoughts of saving them and possibly finding a way to make money until my city gates wereopened to the outside world," Rick explained.
"It was never my intention to break my promise, but forgetting about it is unforgivable. I am prepared to pay anyfinancial penalties for breaking my promise to help offset any losses you may have incurred from this unfortunate event." Rick explained with a serious look.
"Hibal let out a long sigh and his scowl turned to a look of sadness. "That won''t be necessary Cedric. To tell you the truth I am proud at a far one of my students has advancedin such a short amount of time andI am also disappointed that it turned out this way at the same time. You are one of the very few humans in this city that treats dwarfs as equals and I have always enjoyed your visits and talks about blacksmithing and your city. I am afraid that we can no longer continue as friends. You may not know but, we dwarves base everything on our honor and when someone gives us their word and breaks it...well I am sorry Cedric we can only continue on as business rivals from this day forth and I can no longer sell you supplies or equipment that will be used to compete against me." Hibal said with a sad tone.
"Hibal stretched out his hand and Rick shook it not knowing what to say. "I am truly sorry Hibal I will never forget everything you have done for me and if I can ever do anything just ask me."
Hibal quietly nodded and turned to leave the store and stopped a few feet away. "This is onebeautiful store though," he said over his shoulder without turning around and walked out the front door.
Rick finished up with his customer and went back to his office and fell into his chair.
Idiot! I need to watch my words with the dwarves from now on. It couldn''t be helped that I bought this store but now I lost a good friend and resource supplier over it. Rick thought sadly.
As Rick sat thinking about the current situation his eye was then drawn to the flashing notification icon in the corner of his vision and he opened it to review the new notices.
Spoiler: Show Notices!.
New Title Notice!
You Have broken your word with a Dwarf.
This is a major offense to their race and is grounds to be challenged to a duel of honor by the victim.
You have been awarded the title: Oath Breaker
fame +1000
Honor -5000
All Dwarves will have serious doubtsabout any promises you claim to uphold in the future.
Currently displaying title: Benevolent Leader
All awarded titles stack with the currently displayed title.
I guess itwasn''tenough I lost a friend, but now the game system needs to kick me in the balls while I am down? I guess I deserve it from what I am reading here this was a serious thing and Hibal could have challenged me to a duel over it.Rick thought while mentally sighing.
New Title Notice!
You have come forward to admit your fault along withoffering the victim Reconciliation andcompensation.
You Have earned the title Honorbound
Fame: +1000
Honor: + 10000
People will see you as an honor boundman who feels obligated to do the right thing andwill even reprimand his own wrongdoings.
Currently displaying title:Benevolent Leader
All awarded titles stack with the currently displayed title.
So the first one hurts my standing with the dwarves and the second one helps improvemy standing with everyone else? These two almost seem to cancel each other out when it comes to the dwarves.
Let me see what these titles did for my status.
Spoiler:Show Status!.
Cedric Crownguard
Strength:
117
Level: (47%)
17
Stamina:
90
Health:
950
Vitality:
95
Mana:
1180
Intelligence:
118
Piety:
+175
Wisdom:
60
Fame:
+22,000(locally respected)
Agility:
60
Honor:
+26,000 (village hero)
Charisma:
30
Alignment:
+4000
Leadership:
35
Satiety:
81%
Luck:
10
Class:
DruidicMage
Health Regen/Sec:
5.0
Mana Regen/Sec:
5.5
Feudal Domain:
2600
Race:
Chosen Human
Feuadal Title:
Count
Unused Points:
0
Awarded Titles
Title:
The White Knight
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
The Honor Guard
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
The Duelist
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
Black Hand Interrogator
Alignment +/-
-1000
Title:
Benevolent Leader
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
Explorer of the Unknown
Alignment +/-
-none-
Title:
Oath Breaker
Alignment +/-
-1000
Title:
Honorbound
Alignment +/-
+1000
My fame and honor increased again even though my alignment seems to be stuck in yo-yo mode.
Rick took a deep breath, closed the notices, and left his office to get back on the floor and help out. He has customers who have gone out of their way to visit his shop and purchase his merchandise, he couldn''t stay holed up in his office feeling sorry for himself all day. When he left his office Nellie asked for his help with his custom made jewelry. She had a few wealthy citizens and nobles who had come to browse his store and had seemed to be curious about his enchanted jewelry.
When Rick walked over with his Aura: Charming Presence active in combination with his titles even this group of the upper class were taken back.
"Good evening Ladies and gentlemen I am Count Cedric Crownguard the owner of this establishment how can I be of assistance today."
The group was quite amazed to learn of this noble they were unaware of until now was the one whoowned this new store that sold so many new and exciting products. Rick explained he was a Chosen and had only recently come to their world, but was lucky enough to have raised his rank from a Freeman to a Count since his first arrival.
After introductions, he found that they had questioned Nellie about the jewelry description tags. The group justcouldn''t believe thathis jewelry was not only beautiful but could boost the wearer''s power. They thought it to be some type of exaggeration and Nellie just could not get them to take her word that it was all true.
Rick smiled after figuring out the situation and used his recipe to quickly make a thirty-pound dumbbell. He showed them how to curl it and the men got a feel for the weight struggling to lift it. He then brought out two rings with +10 to strength and had them wear them and lift the weight again. The group was shocked when the weight the men had struggled with a minute ago was lifted multiple times with ease.
When he finished the demonstration he went through all the rings, necklaces, and pendants explaining what attributes they boosted and how they would benefit the wearer. Nellie had stood by his side the entire time listening and observing everything Cedric said and did. She was quite impressed how these wealthy people who were earlier looking down on her were now like attentive children listening toCedric''s sales pitch.
When Rickhad taken the time to educate them on all the current jewelry he sold and wrapped up his lessonthe excited group all scrambled to buy a good portion of his displayed jewelry. They all excitedly joked and laughed at how they would make the other wealthy citizens and nobles jealous and be the center of attention at balls and parties. Rick then had an idea an spoke up.
"Well these will surely make them jealous but I have something else that will make them even more jealous," Rick said with a mischievous smile.
He escorted the wealthy group upstairs and brought Nellie with him to show them all the completed carriages he had on display. He let them all climb up inside the carriage interior and sit on the comfortablecushioned seats.
"Now picture yourself pulling up to a grand partywith all of Silverhall City''s elite in this carriage while they arrive in simple wooden carts or on horseback. While everyone else is traveling exposed to the rain and cold you will always stay comfortably protected from theouter elements while riding around town in style." Rick explained.
He then touched the crystal wall lights he had mounted inside and outsidearound the carriage. "Even in the dark, you can easily illuminatethe interior and exterior of the carriage without smoke or threat of fire. You just need to charge the storage gems with mana when the light no longer turns on. We offer a recharges for a fee or if you are a mage you can charge it yourselves"
He then pushed up and down on the front of the carriage and it smoothly bounced up and down. "This is another option I have added to these carriages. When you drive it over rough roads it will not jar you around like a cart. These carriages are designed to travel over bumps and holes while you comfortably relax and enjoy the passing scenery."
He even showed them the gypsy style wagon with its beds, small wood stove, table, and storage areas. He explained if they ever needed to travel long distances it was the perfect carriage that provided them with the comforts of home no matter where they were. Rick thought even if this affluent group did not by a carriage they were sure to brag about being shown such an advanced carriage to their friends and provide him with future sales and advertisement.
His efforts did end up paying off in the end because he sold two carriages with the glass pane windows and side doors. He had the two men pay for the carriages and wrote them receipts of sale. Then told them to come around with their horses in about an hour and he would have their carriages waiting out front. Rick disassembled the one on the floor and reassembled it out front and then opened a portal to the System Gate.
He then spawned in four Cartwright/artisans and walked them over to the Cart shop. He told them all to work together to speed up the carriage production and called Handil to send one of his men over to help the four new workers find an apartment and show them around later.
Rickflew over to Tower Island and disassembled all the completed carriages off to the side of the workshop and went back to the store where he assembled the second carriage out front. Just having these two carriages out front was drawing a huge crowd of onlookers who wanted a look at them.
Wait til people see thesetwo carriages driving around and outside of town. I wouldn''t be surprised if every noble in town came to buy one or more. Just like on earth everyone wants to outdotheir neighbor.
Rick walked inside and asked his guards to keep an eye on the carriages outfront until they were picked up. "It was fine for people to lookbut do not allow let them mess around with them since they were already purchased." Rick said."Tell the people who want to touch or climb in them to go up to the second floor and observe the display models."
The two guards saluted him and went outside to stand in front of the two carriages. Rick made his way through the crowd to go back upstairs and spent some time setting up the carriages for display. When he finished all the assemblies it was near time to close the shop so he went downstairs to find Nellie and Barat and told them he wished to talk with them and the sales girls before they went home for the night.
He left them after they agreed and went into the warehouse to stock the shelves with all the surplus products, new Travel Chests, and furniture he had gathered in his inventory. When he went back up front he had the girls inform all the lingering browsers that the store was closing and that they were open every weekday.
When the store was finally clear of customers he led all his employees into the break room and had them sit down.
"Everyone did a great job today dealing with the large crowds of customers. If it continues to stay busy like this in the days to come I will hire a few more people to take some pressure off of you ladies."
Rick then started to take out the Travel Chests that heldthe stacks of clothing in them and read the lids and put thebox with each person''s name on it in front of them on the table. Everyone looked at each other curiously wondering if anyone knew what was going on.
"This is a new product that we will sell in our store. I call them a Travel Chest. If someone is traveling or needs to carry stuff neatly around town these areperfect for the job. As you may or may not have noticed each chest before you have your names on them. These particular Travel Chests are gifts for each of you."
Everyone grew excited and began looking at their new chests. "Now open the small latch on the front to see the best part." All of the girls and even Barat opened their chests to find the fancy modern earth style clothing neatly folded and stacked inside each chest.
"These clothes are a gift from me as well. Ihave seen today how the wealthy customers and nobles who came into shop looked down their noses at you. With this clothing, you will be able to hold your heads up high and receive the respect that you deserve. You are all my employees and I won''t let anyone disrespectyou. We will work together to make this the most popular store in the city and improve all of our lives while doing just that. When this store grows and brings in more money then so will you all. Now one last thing I am currently building a city that is just getting started so if any of you ever need a place to live or are having trouble paying rent you are more than welcome to live for free in my city. Okay, I''ve kept you all long enough, please be sure to drop off your hip pouches with Barat before heading home and have a great night everyone!" Rick explained and then released his staff.
The employees all cheered and then took off their pouches to lay them in front of Barat. The girls all quickly went back to their chests and began carefully taking out the clothes and a lot of oohs and ahhs were heard as Rick left the break room. He looked out the front window and seen the carriages had been picked up and the guards went back upstairs.
Ok time to make an alarm system now that the store is clear of customers.
Rick used his wood carving skills with his wood chisel to carve a circuit of runes around the very bottom of the store walls. He then ran a circuit path upstairs and around the bottom of the 2nd-floor walls and into the bedrooms of the military units. With the runic circuit now encompassing the entirety of the stores interior, he began to carve switch runes behind the store counters and one in the corner by the front door where the guards stood guard.
Rick then went downstairs to his workshop and sat down think of a way to make a sound that would warn everyone. He thought of a doorbell and started working with the idea until he had drawn up a new design he thought would work.
Spoiler:Bell Alarm.
His design was a box with a hollow channel that a small wind rune would blow a blast of air down and out a metal tube. The blast of blowing air would push small metal cups welded to a free spinning axle. When that axle spun a round a metal striker bar would hitagainst the edge of four copper bells. Rick fired up the forge and used it to heat up some copper that he made the bells from he used some steel to make the center axle, striker rod, and small cups and welded them together.
He then made a small wooden box with the inner wind channel and installed the bells and spinning axle into it. Rick socketed a crystal gem to the side of the alarm box and connected it to a small wind rune. He used the recipe to make an alarm for all the bedrooms and offices. He even made one for his workshop downstairs and hung them all in place and connected them to the runic circuit he carved earlier.
Rick went over and pushed one of the switch runes to test out how the system worked.
Ding!Ding!Ding!Ding!Ding!Ding!
A rapid series of bells sounded off insidethe store from all the small alarm boxes reminding him of the fire alarms that they had in schools. Rick then rounded up the military men and walked them through the store to show them the switch locations and how to use them. He let them all test out the system so that they had experience on how to work it and what it sounded like. When they were all familiar with the new alarm system, he let them go back upstairs to relax or watch for trouble from the upper windows.
Rick examined the displayed merchandise in his store to figure out was had been sold and began restocking anything that he could with recipes or from the warehouse stock and then recharged the storage crystals in the lights and fountains. While he was upstairs recharging the lights he looked around at how empty the 2nd floor was since he did not have enough things to sell yet. It was a big open remodeled room that had some of his carriage models displayed and that was it.
He stood wondering what else he might display up here as he went through his inventory and then came across the goblin and orc weapons and armor he had. Rick then came up with an idea and took out one of the trees he had chopped down and used his Shape Wood skill to break it up into different lengths. Rick took out his wood working tools and began carving these different lengths of wood to look like actual sized goblins and orcs that he had fought.
With the use of his Wood Carving and Wood Shape skills he carved the replica monsters into different poses of fighting stances and used his paint sticks to color them realistic skin hues. When he finished a few goblins he took out the ragged armor and weapons he had stripped from the those he killed in theforest north of Silverhall City and dressed up the wooden goblin in the armor and carved their hands to hold the weapons. When he finished with the goblins there were six real looking wooden goblin statues brandishing swords and spears around him.
Rick then moved onto the orcs that he fought earlier. He carved a couple statues of the orc minions. orc bowman, orc impalers, orc berserkers, orc troopers, orc shamans, and the dreaded orc warlord. Rick with the help of his PhotoReading skill was able to remember the details of all the orcs he fought and could add specific features and colors of each class even down to the scar locations he had seen on those he killed.
He carved them in fighting poses with ferocious expressions on their faces and dressed them accordingly to how each class. He had not taken the robes from the orc shaman he killed so he used some black cloth to make a couple replicas that he placed on the statues along with the staff and wand held up in their wooden hands as if ready to cast some offensive spell. He made the orc bowman hold their bow in a drawn and ready to fire position. The impalers were set in crouching defensive stances their spear tips pointed forward as if ready to receive a charge. The berserker a copy of the one he fought with its scarred body and crazed expression was in a sprinting pose with its large axe held aloft and wore the battered and charred armor of the original.
He then worked his way through all the classes to the warlord who he made to have that same calm and calculating glare that seemed to look right through you. He carved it to stand in the same readied stance it used when it was floating in his reverse gravity spell. The statues wore the same iron plate armor and held the huge black sword up with both hands looking like a baseball player ready to hit a home run.
When Rick had finishedcarving and outfitting the orc warlord he thought the statue was missing that dangerous presence of the original. He then used a small chisel to carve out the warlord statues pupils and socketed small quartz crystals into the eyes and used the same runes to make them light up as he did with his light fixtures. Using a paint stick he colored the crystals red and then carved a small switch rune on the back of the orc''s neck. Next, Rickconnected the eyes to the switch rune and a small socketed storage gem.
Rick touched the small switch rune when he had connected everything and the eyes began to glow a sinister red. He heard a small gasp from behind and when he turned around he noticed all of his military units that were currently off duty had gathered around to watch him carve the woodenstatues. He had been so focused on his work that he had not even realized that they had all curiously gathered around him.
Rick with a smile began to go through the different classes of monsters and tell about how they fought and the fights he had with them as he arranged them around the room. When he talked about the warlord as he set it against the wall with its glowing red eyes he explained the dangerous presence and how it did not panic and just stood trapped but waiting for him to approach. He watched the looks of caution grow on his men''s faces and a few began to grip the handles of their weapons as if they expected this wooden monster to come to life before them.
Rick had arranged his statues along the far wall and then opened his flashing notification icon afterward.
Spoiler:New Notices!
Wood Carving:
Level 8
Expert
54%
Rick closed his notice and then used his skills to make small wooden post sign with a base and used the recipe to make up enough for each statue. He carved the name and description of each monster into a sign and placed it next to the representing statue.
If I keep this up I can make a small monster museum that will draw people into the store and get them to look around. Then they are sure to find something they want and increase overall sales.
Rick cleaned up the wood shavings and packed up his tools. Hesaid goodnight to the men and portaled off tohis bedroom in the tower. He unequipped his gear and climbed into bed as the room grew too dark to see without lights and disconnected for the night.
Disconnect!
Chapter 28: Cant We Just Get Along?
On the way back home from school, Rick stopped by the supermarket to pick up food and a few things he was low on back at the apartment. As he drove home from his quick stop he recalled lunch with his friends earlier and how excited Ryan was to be getting his Gate Gear delivered and installed tomorrow morning.
Luke was just as anxious because inthree days he would also be the owner of a brand new Gate Gear. Lilynot to be left out gave them update on her having reached level six and was becoming quite skilled with her bow.
When he made it back to the apartment, Rick put away the food, cleaning supplies, and other miscellaneousproducts he bought.
After putting everything away he changed out of his nice clothes into shorts and a muscle shirt and climbed into his Gate Gear.
Connect!
Rick got up from the bed and equipped his formal clothes purchased from Vardon the tailor he had worn yesterday and his custom jewelry. Rick went through the tower cellar, workshop, and island horse stable to double check everything had been moved to their new locations.
After confirming that the building''s occupants and equipment had been relocated he ran over to the new crafting buildings and collected all the stock items that were to be sold at the store and used his cartography skill to check the construction progress of his city.
Spoiler:Updated City Map.
Rick put away the map after reviewing the city construction progress and walked south one street and found Jerem and his crew finishing up on one of the crafting buildings. He talked with Jerem using the dwarven language so that he could continue gain higher levels and become more fluent with the language. While asking Jerem in Dwarven how he and his men were settling in and if he needed anything at home or on the job site, Rick began to wonder if it would be possible to learn languages of the monsters of the game world. He remembered when he was in the dungeon that they were calling out to each other during a few of the fights so they must be able to communicate on some level.
He made a mental note to look into when he had free time and got down to business with Jerem. Since they now had plenty of crafting buildings he had Jerem take his crew over to the temple and help Handil finish up construction. Rick followed Jerem over to the temple and told the two work crew leaders to continue building the walls when they had completed the temple.
"Once the temple is finished I want your two teams to continue building the walls. I will feel a little better when I don''t have to worry about unknown attackers or monsters walking right in here and killing unarmed civilians. We don''t need another repeat of the human tribe attack." Rick then quickly explained what had happened in the past to Jerem when he looked at them in confusion.
"Also don''t worry about the gatehouse portcullis I can make those easily and install them. Just have your crews build a tower exactly like the other two on every wall corner and make a copy of the eastern gatehouse on the north south and west exits. Once we have the walls built then I will use my skills to dig deep moats around the walls to prevent ladder or siege tower assaults." Rick explained to the two dwarves.
The two work leaders looked at him confused when he mentioned to siege tower and he explained the concept of the siegetower to them. Being that they were both dwarves of course they loved the ingenuity of the siege towers and seemed to act like it would almost be worth being attacked just to see one in use.
Rick just shook his head and left them to continue their discussion on how a siege tower could be built and deployed.
These guys will lose their minds when they see catapults, trebuchets, and ballistae.He thought while mentally laughing.
He then opened a portal to his office in the store and stepped through. Rick found the store sales book and receipts sitting on his desk and he quickly reviewed them. Inside the sales record book, he found a small neatly written note from Barat informing him that the money from all the sales was in his bottom right desk drawer. Setting the book down he opened the drawer and found a layer of assorted coins lining the bottom of it. He placed all the money into his inventory and took the sales books over to Barat''s office and placed them on his desk.
Rick activated his Charming Presence skill and went out onto the sales floor. He was pleasantly surprised to see his staff wearing the outfits he had gifted them. The girls all looked stunning with their hair neatly styled and wearing the same matching dark azure blue silk china dress. Barat was once again at the front door dressed in one of the old school three piece suits that reminded Rick of maitre d'' of some fancy fifties nightclub.
"It looks like it will be another busy day around here. I may need to start thinking about hiring a couple more employees already." Rick said softly and began working his way through the crowd.
After checking in with Nellie and Barat he walked around the shop introducing himself to the customers and thanking them for their patronage and even checked in with all the saleswomen to see how they were doing and if he could help them in any way.
He then went around and restocked what he could from his inventory and then placed the rest of what he had picked up earlier in the back warehouse. Now that he had checked in at the shop and knew everything was fine, Rick opened a portal to the Astral Plane and then removed his jewelry and equipped his black armor outfit preset.
As he stood in front of the open portal while switching his gear, he felt something familiar from the portal doorway. When it had caught his attention Rick paused for a couple of minutes trying to figure out what this feeling was. It somehow reminded him of when he trained his fire elemental affinity. Rick reached out his hand toward the portaland placed his fingertips against the black screen and circulated his mana into the blackness.
Circulating his mana into the portal and drawing the mana out from the darkness he made an elemental connection that he continued to circulate until the notification icon started flashing.
Spoiler:New Notices!.
Elemental AffinityIncrease:
Space Affinity
Level 7
Beginner
1%
Holy crap, so the portal must work with space affinity somehow? This is a nice discovery I can use this to train that elemental affinity.
Rick closed the notice and stepped through the portal to find himself in the forest where he had taken the tree cuttings from last time he was there. Activatinghis flight skill, Rick flew up above the trees and flew east away from the ocean. Now that he no longer could buy coal and iron from Hibal in Silver City he hoped he might find more of theAstrallium ore that was on the Island.
Flying out of the forest of colorful trees he crossed an open grassland that soon went from hills to a mountain range of sheer jagged peaks. The valleys and peaks of the mountain range were so extreme that if he couldn''t fly over and through them it would be next to impossible to cross them.
Spoiler:Astral Plane East Mainland.
Some of the mountain peaks that he flew around were so high that they had snow on their peaks. Rick continued east weaving through the mountains for a couple miles to come across a large valley with a small forest completely enclosed by the mountain chain. He set down on top of a solitary mountain peak and began using his Iron, Mithril, and Orichalcum Scans. When he did not get a scan hits, Rick flew down off the mountain and circled the valley while still using his scans.
When he entered the forest in the north end of the valley he flew below the trees and had a faint iron scan signal that led him to the entrance of a shallow cave entrance. He did not waste any time and made use of his Move and shape stone skill to cut a tunnel through the back of the cave toward the iron scan reading. He dug into the mountain with Night Sight activated andstored the large cubes of stone he cut out to create the tunnel. Roughly a hundred yards and found the pocket of iron and used his mining pick to harvest it all.
Even if my scan is not picking up any more ores around me there still could be some that I don''t have scans for.Rick thought after trying his scans deep inside the mountain.
He figured since he was already exploring the Astral Plane and underground he would mine to try and fill his supplies. Rick used the 10 x10 x 10 cubes he could cut from the stone with [Move and Shape Stone] to begin making a grid of tunnels throughout the mountain.
Spoiler:Astral Mine Grid.
He stayed under the mountain mining for over an hour cutting out tunnels and mining ores that he had found. When he had completed his tunnel mining project, Rick opened his inventory to review everything he had mined.
Spoiler:Mined Ores.
TitaniumOre
A [Very Rare] lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength.
Titanium is resistant to corrosion in sea water.
Titanium can be alloyed with other metals, to produce strong, lightweight alloys.
Astrallium Ore
Astrallium is a [Legendary Rare] metal only found in the Astral Plane.
Astrallium is black in color and has twice the density of Gold.
This metal is known to be extremely hard with a high melting point.
Coal
Acombustible black or dark brown rock consisting mainly of carbonized plant matter found mainly in underground deposits and widely used as fuel.
IronOre
Iron a [Common] metalis by mass the most common element.
This is the metal used in most weapons and armors in the game world.
Infernal Crimsantite Ore
Infernal Crimsantite is a [Legendary Rare] metal only found in the Astral Plane.
Infernal Crimsantite is a highlyheatresistant metal with a very high melting point.
This metal provides extreme bonuses to the fire elemental affinity.
Sparkling Silver Ore
Sparkling Silver is a [Rare] elegant silver of a [Rare]quality.
Sparkling Silver has similar properties of normal silver.
This metal provides a mirror reflective surface when forged.
Copper Ore
This [common] well-known reddish brown color pure metal.
It is soft and easily worked metal.It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity.
I found quite a few different metal ores and was lucky enough to findanother new metal that can only be found in the Astral Plane. Even though I had to tunnel through hundreds of yards of stone it was worth it.Rick thought as he closed his inventory and left the cave.
This enclosed valley would make a perfect place for a base I could even build a fortress on that lone peak in the center. I will need to remember this place if I ever want to build a defensible position here.
Rick activated flight and flew up out of the valley and decided to continue flying east to explore the land past the mountain chain he was over.
After flying for a few minutes the mountains turned into foothills and the to flat woodlands. Rick pushed on over the forest and noticed a large smoke plume rising from a mountain ahead and flew towards it.
He was soon close enough to discover that the smoke was from an active volcano that had recently erupted. Rick landed at the base of the volcano that was covered in black rocks and layers of dust. All the tree that once grew around the volcano were now burned black from the heat andinitial eruption.
Spoiler:Area Of Volcano.
Rick bent over a picked up a large chunk of black rock that covered the terrain around him and used Identify on it.
Spoiler:Identify!
Obsidian
Obsidian is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed as an extrusive igneous rock.
It is produced when felsic lava extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimal crystal growth.
So this is Obsidian, I''ve read that itwas used as weapons in ancient civilizations and it can also be melted down to make glass products. I should gather up a good supply of this to experiment.This could turn out to be a good little discovery. Also if I am correct I believe that all of this dust is volcanic ash.
Spoiler:Identify!
Volcanic Ash
Volcanic ash consists of fragments of pulverized rock, minerals, and volcanic glass, created during volcanic eruptions.
Volcanic ash is also used as an abrasive in hand soaps, and rubber erasers.
Volcanic ash was also used by the Romans to make concrete. They could pour their concrete under water and it would actually dry and harden which came in handy for making bridges and harbors.
Rick spent some time around the volcano collecting a large amount of obsidian and volcanic ash into his inventory before opening a gate to his store. Rick stepped back over into his office and changed back into his formal clothes and jewelry.
He once again went around and checked on the employees and helped answer customer questions and write sales up. When the sales girls were able to finally help most of the currently waiting customers, Rick tool the sales receipts and money from the sales he wrote up and placed it all on Barats desk so that he could record it in the sales books later. Upon leaving Barats office, Rick went into his own office and sat down at his desk.
I wantto make a few more new outfits, armors, and weapons to sell and wear. I love this one that I had Vardon make for me when I first started, but I would bet my tailor/artisans are just as good or better than Vardon already. Rickpondered as he took out parchment, paint sticks, and a charcoal pencil.
The outfits he drew this time were different than the modern outfits he had made last time. These outfits had a more of a gothic renaissance era look to them.
Spoiler:New Outfit Designs.
The new armor designs he made one traditional full plate mail design while the others were similar to old PC fantasy RPG designs.
Spoiler:New Armor Designs.
He then designed a few fantasy themed weapons and new oversized ornate forging hammers.
Spoiler:New Weapon Designs.
Rick placed his new design ideas into his inventory and left his office to check on the store.
He crossed the store with his aura charming presence activated and heard a familiar voice call out his name from a few yards to his right.
"Cedric!"
When he turned He saw Jessica who owned the general store he often shopped at making her way over to him.
"I thought the name on thisstore''s sign sounded familiar! Did you end up buying this place?" Jessica asked with her usual cheerful manner.
"I sure did. A few days ago when I was out shopping I came across this store and the owner was about to lose it to the bank and his employees were going to all be unemployed so I stepped in and purchased it." Rick explained.
Jessica then walked close to him with a concerned look. "Most of the store owner in town know that this place was being targeted by the nobles. You need to be careful Cedric they are ruthless people who don''t care who they hurt to make a few coins." She softly whispered to him.
Rick looked around and noticed that there were too many customersaround them to openly talk. "Follow me let''s go somewhere a little more private," Rick replied quietly.
"I thought you''d never ask." She said with a mischievous grin.
Rick just shook his head and laughed while he led her to his office and closed the door behind them.
"Wow! look at this office! Not only is the store beautiful, but just look at this furniture! Jessica said while examining the room.
"I sell all of it here at my shop if you''re ever interested I give you a great deal on anything you want," Rick said
"I''m not sure I could afford it." She quietly said as she sat down on a red velvet upholstered love seat.
"The reason I brought you back here is that I remember you once telling me that the nobles were giving you a hard time with acquiring certain imported products. By any chance were those nobles House Lupton and House Karn?" Rick asked.
"Yes, they are and they are also targeting this store. They also the same nobles that used their power to pressure everyone in the city to not by this store so the owner would lose it to the back and they could buy it for next to nothing from the auction house. That is why you should not have bought this place. They will send people to threaten and vandalize your store until you eventually walk away from it." Jessica explained.
"Well, I won''t have to worry about that. I have officially registered House Crownguard with city hall. I am now a Count and outrank both of those houses." Rick was explaining when Jessica popped up with a small yelp.
Jessica jumped up from her seat and performed an awkward curtsey.
"Please don''t do that. I want you to treat me like you always have in the past. I consider you a friend and I hope we will continue to be friends. I recently lost a friend over the purchase of this store so I hope you will not begin to view me as a noble and/or a business rival." He said with a sad look.
Jessica smiled. "I''d be happy to be considered your friend and have no problem with you owning this store except that I am worried for your safety now."
"Let me just say that House Karn and House Lupton will never bother anyone else in this city and that includes our buddy House Karns Captain Gabe. Please don''t ask how I know, or tell anyone that I told you this. I only told you because I trust you and I know the trouble they have caused you." Rick told her with a serious expression.
"I thought that something seemed strange. Every day there seems to be more merchandise available that I never had access to in the past. I won''t ask you about it, but I will thank you if you were the one to make the changes around the city." Jessica said.
Rick just smiled and gave her a wink without admitting to it, but still letting her know that he did have something to do with it.
"I want you to know that if you ever have any problems like you did with House Karn''s captain or are ever in danger that you can come to me for help. Think of my store as a place of safety, my men are always on guard here and will protect you until I arrive." Rick said in a serious tone.
"Alright! Enough of all this serious stuff now, let me show you around my new store," Rick said and he walked over to her and held his arm out.
Jessica wrapped her arm around his and they left the office. Rick showed her the different departments around the store and she was shocked to see so many things that were never sold in the city before. When he told her that everything in the store was made by him and his craftsman she just shook her head in amazement.
When Jessica left to return to her store Rick walked her back after introducing her to his guards so that they knew she was a friend of his who was always welcomed at any time. Back at Jessica''s store, Rickbought a good amount of the paint sticks made by the gnomes from her since he had given out all the extras he had to the work crews. He also picked up a few more odds and ends and purchased another large crate of parchment paper to restock his inventory supply.
Rick paid Jessica and walked across the central square and stopped in front of the library. He opened his inventory and equipped his gold book badge and entered the front doors. The two guards on duty came to attention and saluted him as he passed and he responded with a salute in return. When he entered Cynthia happened to notice the guards saluting him.
"Hello Cedric, why are the guards at the doors saluting you? They normally stand there like statues all day long without moving unless someone new needs to be escorted inside." Cynthia asked.
"Oh, that has to do with a title I received. When a [Chosen] performs certain actions that are noticed by the gods we can be awarded titles that can impact the way people view us in a good or bad way. I happened to earn one that encourages any military or guard units to show me respect and admiration." Rick explained.
"I have heard of people getting titles before, but it is usually a rare thing that happens maybe once or twice in a lifetime for some people." She replied.
"So are you back again to visit the restricted room today?" She asked smiling without waiting for a reply.
"Maybe, What I am looking for is any studies or knowledge on monster languages," Rick said.
"That is quite the strange subject to study, but I do have some books that are actually written about different monster languages. The best ones would be located on the third floor and there are also a couple on the second floor as well." Cynthia explained.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Rick Thanked her and walked up to the third floor and went to the section she recommended to look. Rick used his PhotoReading to memorize the location of each book as he went from one book shelf to the next grabbing anything devoted to monsters and their language. Most of thebooks onlyprovided information on monster behavior, where and how they lived, and any information learned about them from secretly observing them in the wilderness or in captivity.
One book written by what may be considered as an old world scientist had mercenaries capture live monsters that he kept caged and study them. He had studies on goblins, orcs, kobolds, Trolls, and Minotaur. He used food and captured monster female companionship to coax them to communicate and wrote down many words that he had learned and thought that he had learned. Rick read through the huge book easily along with astack of other books that also had useful information.
He learned that the goblins did not have much of a language and seemed to beon scale with a small child on thecommunication level, which only knew so many words. Many of the monster races might not communicate quite as well as the Humans, Dwarves, Elves and other main races but they did have fairly complex languages nonetheless.
When Rick put the books back exactly where he found them he opened his flashing notification icon.
Spoiler:Show Notices!.
New Language Notice!
You have learned a new language.
Harpy Language: Level 3 (Beginner 35%)
The ability to understand a foreign language.
Higher levels allowyou to becomemore fluent and will improvecomprehension of this language.
New Language Notice!
You have learned a new language.
GoblinLanguage: Level 8 (Intermediate 79%)
The ability to understand a foreign language.
Higher levelsallowyou to becomemore fluent and will improve comprehension of this language.
New Language Notice!
You have learned a new language.
OrcLanguage: Level 6 (Beginner 43%)
The ability to understand a foreign language.
Higher levelsallowyou to becomemore fluent and will improve comprehension of this language.
New Language Notice!
You have learned a new language.
TrollLanguage: Level 1 (Beginner 22%)
The ability to understand a foreign language.
Higher levelsallowyou to becomemore fluent and will improve comprehension of this language.
New Language Notice!
You have learned a new language.
KoboldLanguage:Level 1 (Beginner 89%)
The ability to understand a foreign language.
Higher levelsallowyou to becomemore fluent and will improve comprehension of this language.
New Language Notice!
You have learned a new language.
Minotaur Language:Level 7 (Beginner 95%)
The ability to understand a foreign language.
Higher levelsallowyou to becomemore fluent and will improve comprehension of this language.
I was actually able to learn a few, but will I ever even be able to use them? From what I have seenso far monsters attack first and ask questions later. It may still come in handy when I am stealthilymoving around them to gather information or know if they have located me.
RIck then went downstairs and talked with Cynthia and asked how her mother was doing. He also told her about his store and told her to stop by with her mother anytime and he would give her discounted prices on anything he sold. Before leaving he remembered what he had told Jessica earlier about using his store as a safe haven and he stopped to tell Cynthia thateven though the library was guarded if anyone ever troubled her or her mother the both of themcould alway come to his store for protection until he arrived to deal with whoever was bothering them.
Rick then said goodbye andleft the library to walkover to the farmer and butcher vendors in the market plaza and bought meat, vegetables, spices, oils, butter, flour, and eggs. When he finished his shopping he stepped into an alleyway and portaled to the restaurantkitchen and handed over the food supplies for the cooks to place in the cupboards or fridges.
Rick then left therestaurant and walked overto the plot just south of the horse stables. He used his [Move and Shape Earth Skill to remove six inches of all the soil on the plot and began paving and cementing [2'' x 1'' x 1''] stone blocks across the entire plot. When the cement dried between the stone block joints he went around the outside of the plot and built fifteen foot high [4'' x 4''] stone block pillars evenly around the plot.
From these stone block pillars, Rick built wooden roof rafters that he nailed plywood to and then nailed clay tile shingles over the plywood. This new covered stone paved plot would be the location of a new and much larger stockpile.
Rick figured that having a stockpile in the city would cut down on delivery times being much closer to the construction sites from now on.
He flew over to the Tower Islandand collected all the resources currently stored on the old stockpile and flew it over to stock the new stockpile.
He also cut up a lot of the stone cubes into blocks that he had cut from the mine in the Astral Plane. He placed quite a few good sized stacks of the newly cut stone blocks on the stockpile for his workers to use on the construction projects he assigned them to.
After transferring the resources to the new stockpile,Rick walked over to the stables and told the Animal Trainerto inform the Wagoners that the resources had been moved to a new stockpile south of the stable and to also tell them to start placing all their resource pickups on the new stockpile as well. After passing instructing the Animal Trainer he then walked back to the new stockpile and opened his Land Management Menu to relocate the System Gate to the new stockpile and found a new option that had been added.
The game had been patched without him realizing during the last update of the Land Management Menuto now allow Land Owners to place a System Gate for buyable resources and a second separate gate for units could now be placed somewhere else. This was a nice addition now units would not need to be spawned in around stacks of stone, wood, and other miscellaneous resources that sat on their stockpiles.
After he movedthe [Buy Resource System Gate] to the new stockpile,Rick flew across town to the new officials building that was currently empty. He walked into the center of the building lobby below the stairs that led to the second floor and placed a System Gate.
Spoiler:Officials Building Floorplan and Exterior.
Rickused his woodworking tools and skills to make a desk with drawers and a wooden cushionedchair. Next, he made a vintage style wood file with thin drawers to store future city records and documents.
Spoiler:Office Furniture.
He used the recipes to make enough desks, file cabinets, and extra chairs and arranged them throughoutthe lower four offices. Rick then stocked each of those offices with charcoal pencils and stacks of parchment.
With each officesetup with basic furniture, Rick then walked over to the System Gate and spawned in a female Human Chancellor, a female Human Administrative Assistant, and four female Human messengers. Rick setup the new Chancellor and her assistant in office one and added her to his friend list.
The Chancellor introduced herself asAlexandra and her assistant''s name was Irene. Rick told them that their job, for now, would be to assign available apartments toall of the new residents of the city. Rick provided Alexandra with her assistant Irene and the four messengers to help her accomplish this task. The messengers were to keep in contact with the work crews and report back when a new apartment building was available. Rick also told the messengers to figure out which apartments have already been previously assigned.
When they knew which apartments were taken and which were available they were to write all of the gathered information down and save it in the file cabinets. Rick then walked them over to the newest apartment building and let them all chose their own place and then told them where to find the restaurant.
Rick walked the Alexandra and her assistant back to their office while the messengers went around gathering information. When Alexandra and her assistant went into their office to prepare for the messengers return, Rick left them to walk over to the System Gate and spawn in a few more units.
He spawned in a Dwarf Weaponsmith/Artisan, a Dwarf Armorsmith/Artisan, two Elven female Weaver/Artisans, and an Elven female seamstress/Artisan. Rick showed them intoChancellor''s office and told them to stop by there later and talk to Alexandras assistant to be assigned housing. Rick then spoke with the assailant and instructed her to tell anyone who was sent over for housing about the restaurant from now on.
He then walked the new units over to the crafting district and found them all their own shops. After he had assigned them to their shops, Rick introduced them to the others in their professions who worked in the same buildings and had them split the work between each other. Rick told the new units to settle into their new shops and have the others show them everything that was currently being made for the store and told them he would return soon.
Rick wanted to change the way that he had to constantly go back and forth between his crafting workers to coordinate them on working together to make new items. He thought that it would be much easier if he could bring everyone together to review all the new designs so that everyone knew what part of the design they were responsible for.This would allow everyone to troubleshoot problems and possibly even make improvements on the designs while collectively reviewing everything as a group.
The problem, Rick faced was that there were no buildings large enough to hold everyone except maybe the worker''s barracks which was to out of the way.
I guess if there isn''t a place large enough for everyone to sit down and review everything together I will just need to make one that is big enough.Rick thought as he left the crafting shop and walked down the hallway.
He left his workers for the time being and walked to the street south of the crafting buildings. Two plots east of the new stockpile he constructed a large Meeting Hall from limestone blocks.The newbuilding had a large hall with four separate rooms off of it. The main room was large enough for everyone to sit and talk together while the small rooms allowed for smaller groups to split off to discuss and review designs and projects.
Inside the hall he made a long hand carved decorative table that could fit thirty-two chairs around it. He acquired a recipe for the huge table and chairs and then made four smaller tables for the side rooms.
Spoiler:City Meeting Hall.
Rick finished up furnishing the Meeting Hall and called Daisia to meet him at the new Hall. Rick then walkedback to the crafting buildings and brought over crafting units over to the meeting hall and they all sat down at the large table he just made. Rick then passed around the new designs of outfits armor and weapons for everyone to look over and went over what resources were to be used to make all of them. He then took out the tapestry of Faith that he had found under the ruined temple and showed it to the spinsters, weavers, and Tapestry Makers and ask them to recreate larger replicas of it. He also showed the House Crownguard coat of arms to the Tapestry Maker and asked them to make black Tapestries with the colored coat of arms insignia on them.
The next group he talked with was the glass blower and glass glaziers. Rick told them that he wanted to make stain glass windows for the temple using faith''s image from the tapestry in various different scenes. He then drew up a few example scenes of what he may want them to recreate in stained glass.He told Daisia to work with the Glass Glazier to find plants that could be used to make pigments to color the glass. The glass blower who had been making glass panes continuously was given a wooden crate filled with obsidian. Rick told him to melt it down in the smelter and create sheets of glass from it and keep set aside for him.
Spoiler:Stain Glass Scene Ideas.
Rick had the rug weaver measure the area around the table in the hall to make a rug with a blue border and red infield that would later be placed underneath the long table and chairs. Moving on he sat down with the soap Maker and found that he had a good supply of rose and lavender oils made now so he went over the process of making scented soaps and told him to begin producing it.
When everyone had their new tasks Rick dismissed everyone and walked over to the castle and went down into the basement. Rick recreated an air inflow and outflow system similar to the one at his store. One line drew the heat out of the room near the forge and the other brought in fresh air.
Right next to the large forge he used his recipes to make the parts for six blast furnaces that he welded and engraved with fire runes and switch runes that connected to large Quartz Storage Gems. He then turned on the six blast furnaces and loaded them up with some of the metals that had mined in the Astral Plane.
As the furnaces began to heat up and melt the ores inside them, Rick used the heavy and quite denseAstrallium ingots to make himself a new pickaxe, blacksmith hammer, and axe. He made all three of them without wood handles to improve overall durability. With the gains in his strength and skill, he found that he was now constantly needing to use [Repair] on his tools so that they would not break.
When he had completed the new heavy duty tools, Rick drained the impurities from each blast furnace and poured out the molten metals into casts. He went down the line of furnaces and soon cast all their contents into ingots that he placed into his inventory.
After he shut down the forge and blast furnaces he recharged their storage gems and went into the room next to his workshop. In the center of this room, Rickused a stone chisel and hisAstrallium Hammer to carve a large circle in the center of the room. Inside of the carved circle, Rick carved runes for Fire, Ice, Water, Lightning, Wind, Light, Dark, Space, Nature, Wood, and Metal.
Each rune was connected to a circuit and supplied with its own storage gems. The rune circuit was connected to a switch rune that could turn every rune on at once and then he engraved individual switch runes to every elemental rune to allow them to also be activated them individually.
Spoiler:Castle Basement.
This was to become an elemental affinity training room. This was an idea that he had been thinking about for some time and now had the time to make it. Rick sat down in the center of the circle and activated the fire rune and a small flame sprung up from the stone floor were the rune was carved. Rick extended his mana out around him and made a connection with the flame once he was comfortable with his mana circulating in and out of the flame, he reached over and touched the switch rune for the lightning rune.
When the lightning rune activatedsix-inchbolts of electricity began to arc around the rune. Rick connected to the activated lightning rune while he was also connected to the fire rune. It was the first time that he tried training two elemental affinities at the same time and found it tricky at first to keep the connection between the two separate runes, but after a few minutes, he quickly got the hang of it.
He trained these two separate affinities for about fifteen minutes and then touched the switch that activatedthe space rune. A small black ball formed above the space rune that looked like a bottomless pit.
Rick had to close his eyes and focus on trying to keep the link between the three affinities and still had trouble keeping a continuous connection. Every few seconds he would lose connection to one of them and have to reconnect again.
He continued his struggle and near a half hour later it became easier tokeep the mana link from breaking between the three. Rick closed his eyes and focused on his link while the sounds from the flame and electricity lulled him into a semi trance.
He stayed like this for three hours and then dropped his links and opened his eyes to review the notifications he now had.
Spoiler:Show Notices!.
SkillIncrease:
Demigod Dialect
Level9
Master
88%
Elemental AffinityIncrease:
Space Affinity
Level8
Intermediate
96%
Elemental AffinityIncrease:
FireAffinity
Level7
Expert
32%
Elemental AffinityIncrease:
LightningAffinity
Level 7
Intermediate
64%
I haven''t really been paying attention, but myDemigod Dialect rune making skill is almost maxed out already. It looks like my lighting and space affinities are much higher now, I think it is time to test out the dual affinityhammer again that almost killed me last time.Rick thought as he stood up and closed out the notice windows.
He raised his hands up at looked at them as fire erupted from his left hand and boltsof electricity arced and danced across his fingertips and down his forearm.
Now that is cool looking!
Rick threw two quick punchesand a fireball and a bolt of lightningflew from both of his hands and slammed into the stone block wall charring and cracking the block they hit.
Holy shit! I almost blew a hole through the wall! That was quite unexpectedIdidn''t think it was going to hit with that amount of force.
Rick picked up his hammer and stone chisel and cut the damaged block from the wall and cemented in a brand new one while making a mental note not to do that again.
He put away his tools and opened a portal to the tree he struck with his hammer last time and stepped through. Rick removed the hammer and walked over to another undamaged tree and swung the hammer hard with both hands. Just before impact he touched the switch rune on the handle and activated the fire and lightning runes. Rick also released his own fire and lightning affinities into his hands and arms as the hammer slammed into the large tree trunk.
Boom!
A detonation sounded off as the hammer exploded through the tree trunk and toppling the top half of it to the ground leaving a splinteredand burning charred tree truck behind.
Rick stood in place unharmed from the exploding elements now that his levels were high enough he had a good amount of resistance to them.
Well, I think I''ve made the worlds smallest battering ram. This thing is insane! If I were to strike thegates to a town with thishammer there would be nothing left but toothpicks.
Rick put away the hammer and decided to run back to the tower for the gains. He thought about the reports of the monsters and animal in the forest just south of him as he ran back and then began to wonder about his scout that he sent up north to the nekomimitribe that had notreturned yet.
When Rick reached the western footbridge to Tower Island he stopped and looked north. After thinking it over a minute he decided to take a quick detour. He opened a portal to the northern ruined temple and stepped over.
It has been a while since I have been back here.Rick thought looking around at the unchanged crumbled ruins.
Activating Flight he took off through the air toward the west and flew along a valley between the mountains. Past the valley was a large forest with a large hill sticking out above the tree tops.
Rick landed on top of the hill and opened a portal back to thetower.
This should be close enough, for now, to investigate from. He thought as he returned to callhis military units.
Rick went into the tower and called up toAngelica that he was going to take a few people out to see if he could find what his scout was up to.
"Okay, I will come along with you. I wouldn''t mind getting out of here for some fresh air." She called back whilelaying her book down and heading downstairs.
Rick called Kanna the Nekomimi Assassin/Hero Ranger, Garion the Half-Angel Cleric/Assassin, his four female Elven Hero Ranger/Druids, and his two Male elven Scouts. When everyone made it to the tower from their apartments or meals he let them all know about the missing scout and that he wanted to find out what was keeping him up north for so long.
Rick equipped his preset Stealth Gear outfit and prepared his gear while everyone went upstairs to the 4thfloor to refill any arrows, darts, or replace equipment for something better.
When they had all come downstairs ready to go Rick opened a portal to the hilltop east of the Nekomimi tribe and had his two scouts activate Tracker on the lost scout. They all walked down the hill in the direction of the tribe settlement and soon found a faint glowing trail.
The scouts confirmed it was their tracker skill highlighting the direction the scout took. Rick and his small search party followed along the trail for a couple mile until they had finally found the lost scout.
Unfortunately, the scout lay dead with a white feathered arrow through his heart and his body had been stripped of weapons and his backpack of gear. The horse he rode up north was also missing.
While Rick and the party were examining the dead scout the other two scouts who had been using enhanced hearing both shouted out in unison.
Get Down!!
Whistling sounds suddenly filled the air around them and one of the elvenscouts pitched backward with an arrow in his chest and the before Rick could react an arrow struck Angelica and with a muffled cry she collapsed to the ground.
Rick quickly raised a curvedwall of dirt around him and his units and ran over to Angelica.
Angelica was laying on her side not moving and Rick turned her over onto her back to see a white feathered arrow buried in her chest a few inches below her heart. Her eyes were open and when Angelica tried to speak she only coughed up blood.
"Don''t try to speak! Just hold on a second I have to pull out the arrow and heal you!" Rick said with tears in his eyes from seeing this innocent girl who had been by his side from the start.
Rick placed his fingers on her chest and lightly pushed down while he slid the arrow from her chest. Angelica began squirming from the pain and tears fell from her eyes.
"D-on''t wa-nt to lea-ve you,"She said weaklybetween gasps of blood while fighting for air.
"Hang on Angelica! The worst part is over! I only need to heal you!" Rick yelled at her while his heart was breaking over the pain she was suffering through.
AsRick was takingcare of Angelica, thefemale Elven Hero Ranger/Druids had all cast [Wind Wall] around the barrier Rick made that was now pushing back the hail of arrows from reaching them. They also made use of their [Move and Shape Earth] skill to make steps behind the earth barrier so they could return fire from the top of the earthen wall. With the help of their devastating bow skills and the [Wind Wall] adding extra distance to their shots, they began dropping the attackers hidden out in the vegetation and eventually drove them off.
Rick kept tending to Angelica throughout the whole event and was now casting [Nature''s Blessing] on her arrow wound. Angelica had closed her eyes for a moment after he had pulled the arrow out and it looked as if he had lost her, but his quick and unrelenting heals brought her back to consciousness and her complexion changed from white to a healthy pink again.
Even after she had recovered and her health points were fully recovered Rick continued to cast his healing spell on her until she raised herself up from the ground and wrapped her arms around his neck and cried.
"Thank you for saving me. I didn''t want to lose this life I have here with you and my new friends. I have been so happy this whole time. You have always been so good to me and make sure I have more than I will ever need." Angelica choked out through her tears.
Rick pulled her close to him and whispered. "I won''t let anyone ever take you from me. I was stupid to have come here with so few people and not have been on guard for something like this. Please forgive me, Angelica, I promise I will never let anyone hurt you like this again." Rick said while tears ran down his cheeks and mixed with hers.
Once Angelica had calmed down he pulled her up and only then began to look around at his troops. The ambush had ceased and his units were peeking over the wall scanning for any enemy who may return. Garion the Cleric/Assassin walked over and told Rick that the Elven scout who was first to behit by the arrow was dead. Garion was held back by the arrows and couldn''t reach the elf in time to heal him.
Glalin one of thefemale elven Hero Ranger/Druids sat with her back against the wall crying her heart out after hearing that the elven male scout died.
They must have just started arelationship together the past couple days. The poor girl must have really liked him.
I could have lost Angelica just as easily if that arrow was a couple inches higher she would be gone right now. Rick thought while his anger began to grow over this unprovokedattack.
"I want you all to stay right here for a minute behind cover. I am going to change my form and go out there and look around real fast." Rick said.
"NO! Please don''t go out there, Cedric!" Angelica cried out.
"It will be ok trust me. Once I change even if they are out there hidden still they will never know that I am human," Rick said with a smile as he stroked her cheek to calm her down.
Rick then transformed into a black squirrel and everyone gasped.
He couldn''t help but laugh at their response but what came out wasnot a laugh, but a high pitched chatter.
Rick agilely scaled Angelica''s armor to her shoulder and rubbed his head against her cheek to reassure her and then leaped to a nearby tree and climbed up and out on its branches. He began leaping through the tree branches toward the direction they were attacked and soon found what he was looking for.
In and behind the thick bushes, Rick found a few dead Nekomimi wearing furs and holding wooden hand made bows with quivers partially full with white feathered arrows.
What the hellis wrong with the tribes on this island? Why can''t we just get along? I would have come up here and built them a decent little town with fortified walls and even traded with them. They could have completely changed their lives for the better. Now, their greed that led them to try and kill us for what we have on us, will now be their end after living here for generations.Rick thought angrily.
Hemade his way back to his units and changed back to his original form and opened a portal back to the tower. Rick walked over and picked up the fallen Scout and brought his body back and laid him on the table and then went back for the dead nekomimi they found before being ambushed.
Back at the tower Rick told Glalin who was crying over her lost love that he would hold a service for him in about an hour. Rick apoligied for what had happened and flew over to the temple with the body. While cradling his dead scout in his arms he walked into the temple and gently laid him on the marble tile floor. He then flew back for the other dead scout and flew him back and laid him next to the fallen Elf.
Rick covered Themwith a sheet and then took out his wood working tools and used his [carpentry], [wood carving], and [shape wood] skills to make Twobeautiful caskets engraved with flowering tree branches and leaves. Ricksewed together a few long cushions made of white silk and filled them with cotton to line the inside of the caskets and then neatly placed the fallen soldiersinside the caskets.
Usinga comb from one of his grooming bags to neatly comb theirhair and used a scrap cloth and water box to clean the blood and dirt from theirarmor.
He then used hisrecipe to make two Tiger Fang Gladius and placed one pointing down in each of their hands.
Hethen called Jerem and told him to send all of his carpenters over to the Temple.
He then opened a portal to the store and brought back the other carpenters who had been still carving reliefs on the 2nd-floor walls. Rick pulled out his drafting table and chair thensat down to draw a coupledesigns. When the rest of the Carpenter/Artisans showed up he explained what he wanted them to make. He passed them a design for hand carved wooden pews and a hand carved wooden podium
Spoiler:Pews and Podium.
Rick took out the needed lumber and set it against the wall in a large stack and got to work sewing the Red velvet cushions for the pews. After he had made the seat and back cushions he received a recipe that he used to make enoughcushions for every pew. The Carpenters continued to finish up in the temple as Rick went over to the tapestry maker and collected a couple finished Tapestries of Faith and his coat of arms and took them over to the temple.
Hehung the original tapestry of Faith thathe had found on the back wall of the new temple behind the podium. The replica tapestries along with the black tapestries with the House Crownguard coat of arms colorfully displayed on them were hung between the windows on the side wall that wereall still in need of their stained glass panes.
Rick placed a table on each side of the podium and placed one in front.He used his white silk cloth to cover all the tables and then took out some items and relics he found in Faith''s ruined temple and placed them on the tables next to the podium
Then he went over and picked up eachcasket separately without any trouble and placed themon the table in front of the podium side by side with the casket lids open.
He then scanned the templeand it seemed he did as much as he could for now.
If I had the stained glass I could have this place completely finished, but this will have todo. Rick thought as he opened up his menus.
As the sun began to sink on the western horizon Rick used his party chat and friend list to contact the team leaders and Alexandra to send out her messengers to bring all of his people to the temple for thefuneral service.
He then thought of Angelica andworried about leaving heralone after what she had just gone through so he cast portal and brought her over to the temple to sit next to him with his arm protectively around her.
They both sat holding each other quietly in the front pews waiting for everyone to arrive.
Chapter 29: A goddess Descends
As the first of hispeople started to arrive at the temple, Rick stoodup and escorted Angelica over to the entrance toshake hands and greet each one of themas they entered. Angelica also followed his example and greeted everyone after they passed by from being welcomed by Rick.
WhenGlalin entered she was being comforted by the other three female elves. She had presently stopped crying, but her eyes were still red and herface revealed a saddowncast expression.
Rick held her hand and apologized for the death of Findras and swore that the nekomimi tribe would pay dearly.Glalin stood up straight and took a deep breath and told himthat she wanted to go with themwhen he went north to attack the settlement. He smiled and promised her that he would be sure to bring her with him when the time came to head north.
When it seemed that everyone had arrived and had filed past the two caskets to pay their respects, Rick equipped his formal outfit and the medallion that Faith had gifted him. When he was re-outfitted, Rick walked down the center aisle and climbed the steps of the elevated podium to stand above the fallen soldiers and look out at the crowd. He patiently waited for everyone to find a place to sit and scanned the crowd nodding to the faces that he recognized. Onlythen did he begin to speak when everyone was seated and attentively looking up at him standing on the podium.
"A few days back I had sent out three brave scouts to assess the dangers that lurk beyond our City borders.
I sent our brave elven brothers Findras south west to explore a vast forest full of monsters and Elisfin was set east to also explore a forest that is home to large Tigers like the ones I have tamed and he also scouted a lake region where giant eagles rule from the sky.
In an attempt to extend a hand of friendship I sent the third scout a young man named Takumi on a mission north to a Tribal settlement of Nekomimi.
Recently Findras and Elisfin had both returned from their missions to bring back crucial information on some of the threats and benefits that can be found on this island.
Still, after their return, I waited to welcome home Takumi, but he never returned.
Then today I grew to worried to wait for him to return and led a small search and rescue team north toward the tribal settlement.
With the help of Findras''s and Elisfin''s [Tracker] skill, we followed a faint trail that led our party to the body of our scout Takumi.
He had been ambushed and killed in the forest east of the Nekomimi settlement.
He had a white feathered arrow pierce his heart and then his body was stripped of all his possessions.
As if that was not enough of a tragedy as we examined our murdered brother Takumi''s body the greedy and cowardly murders attacked our party while hidden in the surrounding vegetation.
Before any of us could react to the attack Findras and my second in command Angelica were both hit by white feathered arrows exactly like the one that killed Takumi.
While I desperately fought to save Angelica''s life the other party members fought the ambushers and drove them back. Unfortunately, because of the enemy''s barrage of arrows they were not able to reach Findras in time to save him.
After the enemy retreated I went out to investigate the dead bodies of the ambushers that had died by the heroic counter attack of our fourelven sisters Aeriane, Glalin, Cylneth, and Silandra.
What I found were dead Nekomimi dressed in fur clothing that had quivers on their backs containing white feathered arrows exactly like the one that killed Takumi and Findras.
I have no doubt that the ones responsible for the death of our people are the tribe of nekomimi."The crowd then erupted in gasps and angry murmurs upon hearing the evidence.
Rick just nodded his head agreeing with the anger and betrayal the crowd felt. When everyone began to quiet back down he then continued to speak.
"This tribe''s hostility is the reason why we are all here now to honor the memory and service of these two brave men, who were with us for such a short time but were our beloved brothers in arms.
I cannot, as your leader, in anything I say today abate the sorrow and anger of losing these two men so suddenly.
I am myself still in shock over this senseless attack we were subjected to.
I feel as if we have all just shared the same bad dream that we will all soon wake up from.
Sadly though this is not a dream and a reality of the hostile world that threatens our way of life.
Even though these men are gone from our lives they will never be forgotten as heroes to our kingdom."
*****************************************************************************************************
As Rick was speaking he had opened up his Land Managment Menu and bought 3200 acres of surrounding land to fulfill the required owned acres needed to reach the next noble rank.
Then the System asked him to chose his temple from the buildings on the menu map.
He chose the temple that they were all in and a list of lesser gods and goddesses popped up for him to chose from.
Spoiler:TempleDeitiesList.
TempleDeitiesList
Balin Brightblade
Lesser God of the Human Race.
Falgrim Thunderfist
Lesser God of the Dwarven Race.
Silandra Twilight
Lesser Goddess of the Elven Race.
Tyndus Gaugemaster
Lesser God of the Gnome Race.
Mistie Snowblossom
Lesser Goddess of the Halfling Race.
KimikoFujiwara
Lesser Goddess of the Kitsune Race.
SakuraSugawara
Lesser Goddess of the Nekomimi.
Zagan Umbra
Lesser God of the Demon Race.
HelenaAgard
Lesser Goddess of the Darfellan Race.
Fertuitus Bloodbane
Lesser God of the Vampire Race.
Other
God/Goddess Description
He scrolled down to the bottom of the list of known gods of the races and clicked on other. A virtual keyboard then opened before him and he typed in [Faith]_[Goddess of the World].
Do you wish to make Faith your kingdom''s patron deity?
YES
NO
Rick left the yes/no prompt open while he still addressed the crowd.
***************************************************************************************************
"...they will never be forgotten as heroes to our kingdom.
Goddess Faith who is looking down upon us on this day of sorrow in this time of mourning, please bless these brave men and let their souls rest in peace.
Lead them to a place that they will no longer have to fight against the cruelties of this world." As Rick spoke the last line he clicked [YES] to make Faith the temple deity.
The medallion around his neck then shot out a ray of holy light that fell upon the two fallen soldiers below him and bright Rays of holy light burst through the windows and set the temple interior ablaze in a peaceful feeling as everyone felt the embrace of the holy white light.
A moment later directly above Rick''s head, a beautiful womanwith long loosely curled blonde hair and pale blue glowing eyes slowly descended through the templeceiling.
Everyone jumped up from their seats in shock because there was no denying from the presence that encompassed the temple that this exquisite being was a goddess.
Rick looked up and smiled as Faith floated down and stopped in mid air above him.
Faith looked down at the fallen soldiers and opened her arms wide.
From the caskets, two luminous transparent figures of the dead nekomimi and elf rose up to float through the air andhover beside Faith.
Everyone could clearly see that the two shades wereFindras andTakumi souls and even though they were transparent they both looked very much alive again.
Findras soul after scanning the crowdbroke away to float just over the audienceand he looked down atGlalin with a smile and blew her a kiss.
He floated there frozen while looking her over for a minute as if he were trying to remember every detail of her appearance and then he glided back to Faith''s side.
Faith turned to face both of thetranslucent souls and laid a hand on each of their foreheads.
Theyboth were both smiling and waved to everyone who came see them off as they floated up and through the temple ceiling.
After Faith sent the two off she then floated down lower to hover in front of Rick and looked at him with a big smile on her face.
"Cedric Crownguard I Faith Goddess and creator of the world and creator of the lesser gods and goddesses, am now your kingdoms patron deity." She said in a voice that was not loud but clearly carried her words of joy to the ears ofeveryone within the land that Rick currently owned.
Rick then went down on one knee and lowered his head with his right fist pressed against his chest over his heart.
As if on cue the shocked crowd who had stood frozen in place with their mouths wide open throughout Faith''s appearance all mimicked their leader and dropped to one knee with their fists over their hearts.
"I am quite proud of you Cedric you have taken great care of Angelica my most belovedValkyrie and have provided her and your people with beautiful homes, plenty to eat and a safe environment where they can live a happylife." She said for all to hear.
"I have tried my best, but my worry-free attitude toward the tribes of this island hasnow lead to the death of my people on both first encounters with them."
"Yes, it is quite sad that most of the tribes of this world still are uncivilized and their culture focuses on Kratocracy which encouragesthose who are the strongest to rule others and have the power to determine right and wrong." Faith explained with a sad voice.
Rick then looked up at faith. "Then I Cedric Crownguard will show this tribe mypeople are the strongest and that we will rule this island just as I did with the human tribe!" He said loud enough so that everyone in the temple could hear him.
"I know that you were not the one who went seeking trouble, but unfortunately you will need to give them a display of your prowess so that our people can continue to live their peaceful lives." Faith responded.
"I will from now on begin to grow stronger and my power is slowly returning from you fulfilling your promise and making me your Kingdom''s deity, but the transfer here from the Paradise Plane had used most of my remaining power. I must rest for awhile to regain my strength then I will be available to talk with you about the future of your kingdom. Before I leave remember as your population grows and your borders extend out further so will my power to aid the kingdom also grow." She said in a weary voice.
Rick then stood up and lookedinto Faith''s eyes. "Then let me help you grow stronger by bringing in more people to crush that arrogant northern tribe."
Faith just smiled and gave him a nod as she slowly faded from their sight along with her aura that had filled the temple.
When Faith had completely vanished Rick addressed his people one again.
"As you all have just seenunlike the other cities of this world who have lesser gods or goddesses for their patron deities ours is the Goddess Faith the creator of this world and also the creator of those lesser deities as well. She is a kind and generous goddess and I plan to make her name known across this world once again. To accomplish this I plan to make this the greatest city this world has ever seen and with all of your help I know it can be done. You all will one day be able to proudly say I am one of the original residents who helped to build this city with my own two hands!" Rick declaredenthusiastically.
"Now, everyone please return to your homes and rest because as of tomorrow we will begin crafting the tools of war to crush anyone who threatens our way of life and the goals we have set for the future!" Rick bellowed out.
The crowd who sat in listening with afervent gleam in their eyes jumped up off their knees and yelled out inexuberance. They all began to then file out of the temple while excitedly discussing today''s events and what the future of the city may be like.
Rick stepped down from the podium and walked over to the caskets. "I know you will not have to pay the ferryman to cross over since Faith has delivered you to her Paradise Plane, but I will still leave you with these coins as is the tradition and to possibly help you get started in your next lives." Rick softly said as he placed a gold coin on each of their eyes.
He then closed the casket lids and walked over to where Angelica sat in the front row watching him in wide eyed wonderment.
"I can''t believe it. That was the goddess from my dreams that said she was sending me here to live by your side. I didn''t even get a chance to thank her for what she did for me." Angelica said sadly.
Rick reached out and lifted her chin up to look her in the eyes. "Don''t worry she just needs some time to regain her strength.The people of this world have forgotten or forsaken her over the decades and without followers, she did not have enough power to leave her own Paradise Plane. Now that she has all of us to support her. she will recover and grow stronger with us. When she returns next time I will be sure thatyou get a chance to talk with her. I know how muchFaith favors you and how very proud she is of how you lived in your previous life and I am sure that she would want to also speak with you when her strength returns." Rick said with a loving smile.
"She had once told me that she was proud of me in my dreams. I am not sure why though all I ever remembered was living alone in some secluded wilderness location inside the Astral Plane." Angelica said in confusion.
"Hmm, I have recently found a way to travel to the Astral Plane and have explored only a small area. I have seen animals there but no monsters or other people." Rick replied curiously.
Angelica stood up and moved close to Rick. "I always enjoy being by your side Cedric but please don''tbe mad if I don''t want to revisit that place anytime soon." She said with a wide-eyed serious look.
Rick couldn''t help but laugh. "Don''t worry I will never force you to go anywhere you are uncomfortable with except maybe just this one time?" He said with a mischievous smile.
Rick quickly scooped her up in abridal style carry and activated flight. When they were hovering a few feet off the ground Angelica peeked down at the ground.
"Cedrick? What are doing?"
He just burst out laughing and told her to hang on. Angelica wrapped her arms around his neck and he shot off out the door of the temple and up into the air. Rick climbed to over afew hundred feet off the ground and he rotated his body toward the west and hovered there while holding Angelica. With the mountains, forests, and rivers stretching out below them they watched as the sun set below the western horizon.
Angelica seemed a little worried when they were speedily climbing up to this height but she instantly lost any fear and trusted Rick completely.
With her arms wrapped around his neck, she looked out on a never-ending landscape taking in a view that not many of this world had ever had thepleasure to see. She turned to look at Cedric with alook of amazementand he leaned in a gave her a long kiss.
"W-what was that for? You have never kissed me like that before." She asked with her face slightly flushed.
"All I could think about today when you were laying there so seriously injured is that I might end up losing youbecause you wanted to spend some time with me. I have been running off on my own and leaving you behind this past week so concerned about building this City, making the store successful, and getting stronger.I should have had you beside me so that we both could grow in strength together and had been making improvements to your weapons and gear as well. First thing tomorrow I am going to make you all new gear so that you will stay safe and always be there by my side." Rick explained in a serious tone.
"Hmm, How about we forget about the new gear and you just kiss me like that again," Angelica said with a flirty gaze as she looked up at him.
Rick couldn''t help but chuckle, here he was trying to be so serious and she just wants to be kissed again.
"Well, I don''t know if I really should," Rick said playing to be serious and Angelica''s smile started to fade.
"I don''t know maybe I should just give you both!" He replied while laughing.
He then leaned forward and kissed her again as the sun vanished from sight leaving the land below covered in a dark veil.
Rick flew back to the castle with Angelica still in his arms and then carried her upstairs and laid her on the bed. He removed all of his clothes and then he undressed her and laid on top of her. The two of them spent the next hour being intimate for the first time together.
Angelica fell a sleep physically and mentally exhausted from the day''s events soon after. When Rick saw her close her eyes and drift off he covered her with the blanket and disconnected from the game.
Disconnect!
Rick continued to lay in the Gate Gear for a minute recalling the events of the day and then opened the lid to make his wayto the bathroom.
When he finished in the bathroom he made his way into the kitchen and made a small pot of fettuccine chicken alfredo. Rick took his meal into the living room and turned the TV on and ate while watching the news. When he had finished his meal, Rick cleaned up the kitchen and went out for a short run. When he returned to his apartment he locked the door behind him and took a shower.
He went straight to bed after his shower and woke up quite early in the morning. Rick decided that since he only had one class today he was going to stay home. He found his phone and made sure to text his friends that he wouldn''t be attending class today and sent one to Ryan telling him to have fun in his new Gate Gear that would be delivered to him in the next couple hours.
Once he had sent out his texts, Rick went to the spare room to work out and took a shower afterward.
He made a bowl apple cinnamon oatmeal for breakfast and placed the bowl in the dishwasher before he went and put on a pair of sweat pants and a cotton t-shirt.
Rick left his bedroom after getting dressed to enter the spare room and climbed into his VR capsule and connected to the game.
Connect!
Rick opened his eyes and the sun was just starting to enter the room and Angelica was still fast asleep. Rick left her a note on the nightstand telling her he would take her out for breakfastaftershe had woken up.
He activated his Stealth and soundlessly left the tower and flew off toward the castle plot. Rick walked down the spiral staircase and entered his workshop in the castle basement and loaded one of the blast furnaces with Iron, coal, limestone dust, andAstrallium ore. Rickdecided to try another experiment of creatinga blend of two metals tosee if it would become something new.
The second blast furnace he filled withAstrallium Ore and the third he poured in theInfernal Crimsantite Ore that can only be found in the Astral Plane. In blast furnace number four he loaded it withSparkling Silver Ore and the fifth blast furnace he dumped the rest of his goldore into it. The sixth and last blast furnace in the cellar basement was packed with Titanium ore, coal, iron ore, and limestone.
After he had gone down the line and filled the six blast furnaces he left the castle basement and walked toward the temple across the northern plaza. As he made his way there he opened his blinking notification icon.
Spoiler:Show Notices!.
New Battle Notice!
Battle Report
You party successfully defended your position from an ambush by an enemy tribe!
The enemy tribe''s ambush killed one out of your ten units
Your partykilled 14out of the 22attackers.
The remaining enemy retreated from the battlefield, you are victorious!
Congratulations on your victory!
You have gainedExperience Pointsfor your victory!
You have gainedLeadership Pointsfor your victory!
You have gainedFamePointsfor your victory!
New Title Notice!
You have resurrected an ancient religion that had died out centuries ago.
You havereestablished the original religion of this world with the sovereign goddess as your city''s patron deity.
You have earned the title:Reviver of the Ancient Beliefs
Fame: +1000
Honor: +1000
You and your religious units will now be able to effortlessly convert people to your city''s religion with the sovereign goddess as your deity.
Currently displaying title:Benevolent Leader
All awarded titles stack with the currently displayed title.
New Level Notice!
You Gained A Level!
Level 18
You have five unused points to distribute.
Experience points for the life of two of my scouts and almost Angelica as well, what a shitty trade off.
This title is interesting though, this will be nice to have when I open the city gates tooutside visitors.
Any people of the world who visit the temple could be converted and may want to move here permanently.
It looks like I gained a new level and have five points to distribute.
But first I think I will change my title.
Display Title Reviver of the Ancient Beliefs!
Spoiler:Show Status!.
Cedric Crownguard
Strength:
122
Level: (86%)
18
Stamina:
94
Health:
980
Vitality:
98
Mana:
1180
Intelligence:
118
Piety:
+175
Wisdom:
60
Fame:
+32,000(locally respected)
Agility:
64
Honor:
+27,000 (village hero)
Charisma:
30
Alignment:
+4000
Leadership:
50
Satiety:
71%
Luck:
10
Class:
DruidicMage
Health Regen/Sec:
5.0
Mana Regen/Sec:
5.5
Feudal Domain:
5760
Race:
Chosen Human
Feuadal Title:
Marquess
Unused Points:
5
Awarded Titles
Currently Displaying:
Reviver of the Ancient Beliefs
Title:
The White Knight
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
The Honor Guard
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
The Duelist
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
Black Hand Interrogator
Alignment +/-
-1000
Title:
Benevolent Leader
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
Explorer of the Unknown
Alignment +/-
-none-
Title:
Oath Breaker
Alignment +/-
-1000
Title:
Honorbound
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
Reviver of the Ancient Beliefs
Alignment +/-
+1000
Spoiler: Show Attribute Luck!.
Luck
Luck affects everything you do such as attacking, defending and many more actions.
Luck affects the amount and quality of items dropped from monster kills.
Luck will occasionally stop traps and trapped treasure chests from activating.
Luck is my weakest attribute right now and I have never put any points into it.
If this can affect my all of my actions and provide me with better drops I should distribute some points into it.
Spoiler:Show Status!.
Cedric Crownguard
Strength:
122
Level: (86%)
18
Stamina:
94
Health:
980
Vitality:
98
Mana:
1180
Intelligence:
118
Piety:
+175
Wisdom:
60
Fame:
+32,000(locally respected)
Agility:
64
Honor:
+27,000 (village hero)
Charisma:
30
Alignment:
+4000
Leadership:
50
Satiety:
71%
Luck:
15
Class:
DruidicMage
Health Regen/Sec:
5.0
Mana Regen/Sec:
5.5
Feudal Domain:
5760
Race:
Chosen Human
Feuadal Title:
Marquess
Unused Points:
0
Awarded Titles
Currently Displaying:
Reviver of the Ancient Beliefs
Title:
The White Knight
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
The Honor Guard
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
The Duelist
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
Black Hand Interrogator
Alignment +/-
-1000
Title:
Benevolent Leader
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
Explorer of the Unknown
Alignment +/-
-none-
Title:
Oath Breaker
Alignment +/-
-1000
Title:
Honorbound
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
Reviver of the Ancient Beliefs
Alignment +/-
+1000
It isn''t much of a change with only five points added to it. I can still put more points from future levels into it later along with charisma as well. Those are the only two stats I seem to behaving trouble raising so I should continue to distributemy level points toward them.Rick reflected and then shut his status window as he walked up the stairs of the temple.
Rick entered the temple that was now empty of all the people it held last night except for the two caskets containing the fallen scouts. He passed by the closed caskets and walk to the back wall of the temple and took out his hammer and a stone chisel and chipped out the cement around some tiles in the back corner. He chipped out a [4'' foot x 8'' foot] section of marble tiles from the floor and then cut down through the foundation until he reached the soil underneath it.
With the use of his [Move and Shape Earth] skill, Rick began to cut down into the earth at a forty-five-degree angle parallel to the temples back wall. When he cut an angled ramp down roughly thirty feet below the temple he leveled out his cut for a few feet and then stopped digging.
Rick took out his wood working tools along with some lumberand built a basic wooden staircase that could be used to walk from inside the temple down to where he had stopped digging with his skill. When he had completed the stair case, Rick started using his skill to dig out a large room underneath the temple and took out his water box and sprayed down the floor until it turned into a thick mud.
Using a section of a four-foot cut plank he smoothed out the floor in sections and cast [Transmute Stone and Earth] thus turning the leveled muddy floor into a smooth stone floor.Applingthe same technique tothe walls, he transformed them from mud into one solid sheet of stone as well.
With the walls and floor finished, Rick startedbuilding stone block rooms all along the walls measuring four feet wide and ten feet deep. He used his Carpentry, and Wood Carving Skills to make a three-inch solid wood door and acquired a recipe for the new door. By accessing his hinges recipe and the new door recipe he bolted these new solid wooden doors to the entrances of every one of the manyfour feet wide and ten feet deep rooms he had made.
These small rooms that he closed off with these thick heavy wooden doors were to be tombs that would hold any of his people who died fighting forhis kingdom. He decided to build this tomb under the temple so that his people would be able to rest in peace under the protection ofFaith''s holy land.
Spoiler:Large Room under the temple.
When he had finished hanging the last door, Rick used his hammer and stone chisel to carve anice rune and wind rune into the back wall of every tomb and connected them to a circuit with a switch rune and storage gem next to each door.
Rick touched the switch runes of the first two tombs and went back upstairs to retrieve one of the caskets. Ricksdidn''t have much trouble carrying the casket and he made it downstairs without much difficulty. He had set the casket down to open the door to the room and when the door swung open he was hit with a blast of cold air reminding him of opening the door of a modern freezer.
This should preserve the bodies from decomposing down here. I am not sure if they would even decompose and/or spread diseases but it is better to be safe than sorry. I will just have to come down here and recharge the storage gems occasionally or spawn in a unit to do it for me.Rick speculated as he placed the two caskets in separate tombs and closed the doors tightly.
He decided before leaving to take out his wood chisels and hammer and he carved a true likeness of each man''s face with their name on the outside of the doors of the tomb they rested in. Rick put away his tools and used his crystal wall light recipe to make a few wall lights that he hung on the walls of the tomb for those who later came down here who did not have Night Sight.
Rick made his way back up to the temple and used his wood working tools and skills to construct a wooden trap door to fit flush with the floor over the hole that led down into the lower tomb.
He then walked over to the tables and put away the one in front of the podium that he had rested the caskets on top of and then scanned the temple for anything he may have forgotten to take care of while he was there.
He figured since he was there and thinking about it, that he should go around and take a few more measurements for possible furniture or artwork and also drew a charcoal pencil drawing of the interior of the temple for a reference.
Spoiler:Temple Interior.
Once I get the stained glass windows in here and some more artwork this temple will be looking great. I would also like to make a large statue of Faith behind the podium I just need to figure what material I want to use.
Rick tucked awayhis measurements and drawing and ran back to the tower and to find Angelica. She had just woken up and was preparing to go attend the morning physical training when Rick walked upstairs.
Rick called General Sturm and told him he would be taking Angelica with him and then opened a portal next to The Pretty Kitty and the two of them stepped through and walked into the Inn. They sat down at a booth and looked over the breakfast list while waiting on an available waitress.
Angelica order scrambled eggs with mushrooms and cheese with potato bread toast and Rick chose the poached eggs and Roasted Hot & Spicy rabbit meal. They took their time and enjoyed their meal and each others company. When they had finished their breakfast and decided to leave Rick paid the bill and once again purchased a few casks of liquor, mead, and ale.
Rick gave Mia a little more moneythan she asked for because he felt bad for diminishing her stock ofalcohol. Rick thanked her and walked with Angelica over to his store. When he talked with Nellie, she told him that she had actually sold a threemore carriages from the display models upstairs. Since he had not come in yesterday after all that had happened the customers left their names and the location of their homesto contact them when they could pick up the carriages.
He took the info from Nellie and went into his office and looked over the sales books and recovered the money for yesterdays sales from his desk drawer. Rick placed the sales book on Barat''s office desk and went upstairs with Angelica. He showed her the wooden orc statueshe had made and explained how each of them fought to familiarize her with them for when he took her to the dungeon.
While he was up there he disassembled the three carriages and placed them in his inventory. Rick and Angelica left the store and followed the directions to the residents of eachcustomer who had purchased the carriages. Rick re-assembled the carriages out front and surprised the customers when he knocked on the door to show them their new delivered carriages.
Angelica and Rick then went back to the store and he restocked what he could from recipes and his warehouse stock. He then walked around and introduced himself to his customers and wrote up a few decent sales. He noticed that customers were buying large pieces of furniture and made a mental note to hire a Wagoner soon to make deliveries for the store. Rick figured if he advertised free deliveries he may improve his sales.
Rick checked in with Barat and informed him of the sales book he left in his office and then left the store with Angelica. The two of them walked over to the central plaza area a block away and entered the City Hall. As RIck and Angelica passed the guards stationed inside City Hall they all came to attention and saluted as they passed by on the way to theOffice of the Royal Court.
The two of them entered the office of the Royal Court and Rick asked the assistant to see the Chancellor so that he could update his House Records. Rick Angelica sat off to the side and waited to be led by the assistant to the Chancellor''s office after he had finished someone else who had been in his office before they arrived.
"Good Morning Chancellor, I am not sure if you remember me? I am Count Cedric Crownguard I have come to your office today so that I may update my House records." Rick explained.
"Of course I remember you Count Crownguard it is not everyday one meets a Chosen Human with numerous titles, high fame, and high honor! What changes would you like to make than today my lord? The Chancellor questioned.
"I have just earned the feudal title of Marquess, but most of my other information has also slightly increased," Rick answered.
"By the gods, you don''t waste any time with increasing your status, please show me yourFeudalTitle Display Menu and I will be happy to take down all of your current information. He said excitedly.
Rick smiled and began to open his menu to display is information.
A knock came from the door and the chancellor''s assistant came in with the House Crownguards records just as Rick had displayed his information.
Spoiler: Show FeudalTitle Display Menu!.
FeudalTitle Display Menu
Name:
Cedric Crownguard
Race:
Chosen Human
Feudal Title:
Marquess
Feudal Domain:
5760 Acres
Titles:
The White Knight
Titles:
The Honor Guard
Titles:
The Duelist
Titles:
Black Hand Interrogator
Titles:
Benevolent Leader
Titles:
Explorer of the Unknown
Titles:
Oath Breaker
Titles:
Honorbound
Titles:
Reviver of the Ancient Beliefs
Fame:
+32000
Honor:
+27000
"How is this possible! Increased your stats you said? My lord, you have doubled all of them your land, titles, fame, and honor have all doubled since you registered your house last week!" The Chancellor exclaimed.
Rick chuckled at his reaction. "I guess I have kept myself a bit busy since then I suppose," Rick said.
Even though I truthfully haven''t been doing all that much, but build my city and store. He wouldn''t understand if I told him this is only natural for a player.Rick thought as they updated all of his House records on file.
"CongratulationsMarquess Crownguard or should I save that for next week when you stop in to show me you are now a Duke!" The Chancellors said while laughing.
"Maybe not next week how about we schedule that appointment for the week after," Rick said also joking along.
The Chancellor then burst out laughing at Rick''s retort. "Haha! I would not be surprised or at least I would try my hardest not to be! I won''t keep you any longer my lord please speak with my assistant on the way out and he will take care of the update payment."
"Very good, have a great Chancellor I am sure we will meet again soon," Rick said with a warm smile as he led Angelica out to the assistant''s desk.
"Cedric, what does it mean that you are aMa-rque-ss now?" Angelica whispered as they left the office after making the record changes payment.
Rick smiled and wrapped his arm around her. "That is my noble rank right now the next one I get will be Duke and then after that, I will be a King," Rick explained.
Angelica gasped. "You will become a King soon? Will you be the King of this town then?" She asked surprised.
Rick lightly laughed. "No, I will be a King of the all the land I own around the city we are building. I own not only the land that the city is built on but a good amount of all the land around it as well. I am not considered a noble of this city, but by registering my house here I am extendedthe same respect and poweras aMarquess who is a part of this towns nobility would receive. I would bet that there are not many otherMarquess in this town so I now hold a great deal of power and protection in this Silverhall City. If someone were to come and start trouble with my store, for example, I could have the guards arrest them and toss them into a dungeon until they rotted away. I could even have my guards cut them down and no one would so much as ask me why after they were aware of my rank." Rick explained.
"I had no idea, that is incredible. I still remember a lot of things from my past, but I do not know anything about nobility except that a king and queen rule over everyone." She said.
"That won''t do at all Angelica, how will you ever become a great Queen if you do not know about the feudal system?" Rick asked with a mischievous smile.
"Queen? I am only a Valkyrie Blade Master/Hero Ranger I could never become a Queen." She said.
"That is not quite true. When I become a King and marry you then you would automaticallybecome a Queen." Rick answered with a smile.
"M-m-marry! You marry me?!" She yelled out in shock and her words echoed down the hallways.
Angelica realizing what she just did turned red and quickly covered her mouth while looking around in shock still.
Rick laughed at how cute she was reacting. "If I am not good enough to marry you then I won''t force you." He said pulling her close and teasing her.
"N-no! I mean Yes I I" She tried to respond in shock and confusion.
Rick began laughing as they walked out of the City Hall and he stopped her out front.
"Just so you know a King often has many wives. I may marry other women to make alliances or to connect another house to my own. I could even marry to protect someone or justmarry because I love them as I do you. Even so, I would want you to be the first Queen who holds the power. That is if you are ok knowing that it may always be only you and me or that I could end up with thirty other wives." Rick told her seriously.
"You do not have to decide right here and now, this is something that will not happen for quite a while. Just think it over and let me know what you think about the idea when you have made your decision. Whatever you decide will never change the fact that you will always be by my side in everything I do and everywhere I go." Rick said comforting her and then he placed his hands on her cheeks and gave her a passionatekiss.
Angelica turned bright red. "Cedric everyone is watching us." She shyly whispered.
"Haha, let them! they are only jealous that I have such a beautiful young woman." He said laughing.
The two of them walked off next to City Hall away from the crowds and Rick opened a portal and they went back to the tower.
Angelica went outside to prepare for the soon to begin afternoon military sparring program and Rick ran off to the tavern. While he was running along he used his cartography skill to check the city construction progress.
Spoiler:City MapUpdate.
Holy crap look at that, Jerem and Handil have been busy they have most of the walls and gatehouses built and have even added extra towers. I can even see different colored vegetations around the temple now, Daisia must have begun planting the colorful trees and plants from the Astral Plane over there. Now that I look to the south where I asked Daisia to grow the rubber trees I can already see a good amount of green on the map location.Rick thought and then stored the map.
He entered the tavern and dropped off the casks he had just bought from Mia and talked with the Vampire Tavern KeeperSilvana and noticedshe had lost the glow to her skin and looked tired. Rick led her into the back room that she once stayed in until she had been assigned an apartment.
Rick asked her how she was feeling and after some coaxing found out that her health was slowly decreasing since she had not drunk any blood since she had arrived. Rick unequipped his shirt and gave her permission to bite him. She was quite reluctant at first until he told her that he could heal himself like nothing had happened after she had drunk his blood.Silvana took his hand and led him over to her old bed and had him sit down because he was much taller than her.
Silvana began by kissing his neck and running her tongue gently across his skin as if preparing herself for what she was about to do. Rick closed his eyes and listened to her breathing increase while enjoying the sensation of her lips onhis neck.Silvana unable to hold herself back any longer lightly sank her fangs into Rick''s neck and sucked on the wound to drink the fresh red blood that came trickling out.
Rick had been expecting to feel allot more pain from the bite, butSilvana was so gentle that he only felt a quick pinch and then instantly forgot about it as she sensually sucked on his neck drinking his blood. He had originally been prepared to let her drink his blood, but he had no idea that it would besuch anarousing experience. He had lost himself momentarily in the pleasure and when she pulled away from his neck he leaned in a kissed her blood stained lips deeply.
After a few seconds, he stopped himself leaned back.
"I''m sorrySilvana I only meant to let you drink my blood and became over excited from having a beautiful woman like you kissing and sucking my neck. Please forgive me if I went too far." Rick apologized.
Silvana smiled and leaned in and kissed him. "You do not need to apologize I quite enjoyed it myself and not many know this but blood is anaphrodisiac to Vampires. That is why I was reluctant to drink anyone''s blood because I was unsure of what I may do afterward. Many people of this world also seem to think that all vampires are cold blooded killers as well and fear becoming close to us." She replied.
Rick placed a hand gently on her cheek. "Silvana you are a stunning young woman and any man should be thrilled to receive your affection. It would be my pleasure to share this experience with you anytime. I will be sure to come by every few days to check on you so don''t worry about it I will let you have my blood when ever you need it." Rick said.
When he saw her gorgeous face light up with a smile after he had told her not to worry, he leaned in and kissed her once again before leaving the tavern. Rick walked halfway across the city toward the castle plot when he then remembered seeing all the green in the plot that he gave to Daisia to plant the rubber trees.
He then changed his direction from the castle plot and started running south through the city streets toward the farming district. He reached the rubber tree farm and found that Daisia had used her skill to accelerate the rubber tree growth. The plot that had been empty a couple of days ago now had fifteen-foot rubber trees evenly spaced in straight rows. He walked over to the closest tree and used his dagger to cut a deep verticalgroove out of the bark.
He then took out a clay container and held it under the long cut and placed his other hand on the tree trunk. Rick began using his nature affinity magic to siphon the latex that he could feel inside the tree out through the cut and it ran down into the clay container. When he felt that he had collected most of the tree''s latex sap he used hisNature Affinity to heal the bark and it closed the groove he had cut like a heal spell sealing cut flesh.
He then went down the line of trees and began to fill all of the containers he had with the latex sap and to also heal the cuts in the trees afterward so that they remained healthy. When he collected all he could and had stored it all in his inventory he went to the castle plot.
Down in his basement workshop, Rick and poured a container of Tiger blood into a few of the molten metals inside the furnaces that he planned to use for crafting. Rick then emptied out all of the blast furnaces into ingot casts and used identify on the two batches of ingots that came from the furnaces that he had experimented with.
Spoiler:Identify!.
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Astrallium Steel Alloy Ingot
Astrallium Steel Alloy is a blend of the [Legendary Rare]Astrallium Ore and the [Exotic] Steel metal.
This alloy is dark gray in color and does not have the equivalent density of pureAstrallium.
Thisalloy is similar in weight and density to gold but is much harder than standard steel.
This alloy has been blended with Tigers blood which has provided it with special bonuses.
This is aman made element first created by Cedric Crownguard.
Titanium Steel Alloy Ingot
Titanium Steel Alloy is a blend of the [Very Rare] Titanium ore and the [Exotic] Steel metal.
This alloy is a dull silver color that and has a higher Density and is much harderthan standard steel but is far more brittle.
This alloy is much lighter than standard steel and is resistant tocorrosion in sea water and from acids.
This is aman made element first created by Cedric Crownguard.
Infernal CrimsantiteIngot
Infernal Crimsantite is a [Legendary Rare] metal only found in the Astral Plane.
Infernal Crimsantite is a highly heat resistant metal with a very high melting point.
This metal provides extreme bonuses to the fire elemental affinity.
This metalhas been blended with Tigers blood which has provided it with special bonuses.
World Announcement!
The Player Cedric Crownguard has just created a new element: Astrallium Steel Alloy.
This is the first man made element created by a player!
Astrallium Steel Alloy is a blend of the [Legendary Rare]Astrallium Ore and the [Exotic] Steel metal.
For this discovery, the Player Cedric Crownguard has been awarded the title: TheAdeptof Refinement
My experiments worked and I was awarded a new title.This is now my second world announcement players will start to recognize my name more and hopefully bring more business into the shop for it.
Spoiler:Show Notices!.
New Title Notice!
Through blood sweat and tears you were the first Player to create a new element!
You have been awarded the title: The Adept of Refinement.
Fame: +5000
Honor +5000
All of your smelted metals will now have a gain of3x to their bonuses. All items must be crafted first to view their bonuses.
Currently displaying title:Reviver of the Ancient Beliefs
All awarded titles stack with the currently displayed title.
Now that is a sweet ass title! All of my smelted metal bonuses will now bethree times higher than they normally would turn out. This is a perfect time for this title to come along.
Rick closed his notices and sat down at the corner table to design a set of armor for Angelica.
Spoiler:Angelica''s Armor Design.
When he had an idea of what he wanted to make, Rick placed a few of theAstrallium Steel Alloy ingots mixed with Tiger''s blood and a few Mithril ingots into the forge and sat back down again at the table. He took some time to think of how and what runes he could add to her armor and came up with a simple three rune design to experiment with.
Spoiler: Runic Armor Attachment.
Rick drew up a design for a small thin rectangle box that would be built into the back of Angelica''s armor. Inside would contain a tiny wind and ice rune to provide cooling inside the armor so she would be able to fight for extended periods of time without overheating and helping to conserve stamina. In the center of the box, he would engrave a larger metal rune that he was unsure of what it might provide since he had not yet experimented with them. These three runes would allrun off of one circuit that would connect into four storage gems.
Rick left the designs on the table and went upstairs to sprint over to the glass blowers shop. He found him in the Glass Glazer''s shop helping him make the stained glass windows for thetemple. Rick drew up a couple quick sketches of modern chemistry test tubes, beakers,Distillation Apparatuses, stoppers, caps, and a few custom glass bottles.
The glass blower looked over the design and got to work blowing the different glasswares. It didn''t take the skilled glass blower to make everything he needed and when they had cooled he packed them away and started running back to the basement.
On his down the spiral staircase into the basementhe checked his notifications that had been flashing for awhile.
Spoiler:Show Notices!.
Attribute Increased:
Strength
+3
Attribute Increased:
Stamina
+6
Attribute Increased:
Vitality
+6
Spoiler:Show Status!.
Cedric Crownguard
Strength:
125
Level: (86%)
18
Stamina:
100
Health:
1040
Vitality:
104
Mana:
1180
Intelligence:
118
Piety:
+175
Wisdom:
60
Fame:
+37,000(locally respected)
Agility:
64
Honor:
+32,000 (village hero)
Charisma:
30
Alignment:
+4000
Leadership:
50
Satiety:
95%
Luck:
15
Class:
DruidicMage
Health Regen/Sec:
5.0
Mana Regen/Sec:
5.5
Feudal Domain:
2600
Race:
Chosen Human
Feuadal Title:
Marquess
Unused Points:
0
Awarded Titles
Currently Displaying:
The Adept of Refinement
Title:
The White Knight
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
The Honor Guard
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
The Duelist
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
Black Hand Interrogator
Alignment +/-
-1000
Title:
Benevolent Leader
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
Explorer of the Unknown
Alignment +/-
-none-
Title:
Oath Breaker
Alignment +/-
-1000
Title:
Honorbound
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
Reviver of the Ancient Beliefs
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
The Adept of Refinement
Alignment +/-
-none-
Rick had closed his windows when he entered the workshop as he walked across the room to reach into the forge flames and pull out anAstrallium Steel Alloy ingot with his bare hands. His higher levels in Fire elemental magic gave him enough resistance now that the glowing hot ingot did not feel overly hot or burn him.
Rick took out hisAstrallium blacksmith hammer and began to work on Angelica''s armor. He made the helmet, cuirass, gauntlets, and greaves from theAstralliumSteel Alloy ingots in the forge. Then he used theMithril ingots to make a lightweight Chainmail tunic and leggings that could be worn under herarmor to protect the parts of her body that are exposed in the joints of the armor.
Using the large stone cubes he still had in his inventory from tunneling, Rick cut one stone cube into four foot long by three feet wide and four inch deep stone tubs. He cut and shaped them easily with his [Move and Shape Stone] skill and laid them out along the outside walls of the room.
He then made a couple workbenches from recipes and placed a metal roller on one and the chemistry glassware he had made on the other. With the customdesigned glass chemistry ball, he placed a glass curved tube and lid over the top to seal it and connected the other end of the glass tube to a separately sealed bottle filled with water.
Rick placed his fingertips on each side of the sealed glass bowl and began to shootsmall arcs of electricity from his fingertips into the glass bowl. The electricity that he shot through the bottle soon began tobreak apart the oxygen and nitrogen atoms inside the bottle. This allowed the separated atoms to recombine to makenitrogen dioxide molecules and form NO2 which is a brown gas.
This brown gas filled the sealed bottle and then traveled down the glass tube to be filtered through the water held in the second bottle. He continued to filter the brown gas through the water for just over a half hour and then he took out a copper coin and laid it on the workbench.
Rick picked up the bottle of water and dripped a couple drops onto the copper coinand it began to fizz and bubble on the surface of the coin. This bottle did not hold normal water anymore after filtering the No2 gasses through it over time it was transformed into Nitric Acid.
Spoiler:Nitric Acid Process.
Now that Rick had about a gallon of Nitric Acid he took out all of the clay containers filled with latex sap and dumped them into the stone tubs. When the tubs were full of the latex sap he began to add roughly four or five ounces of the acid to each tub and used a piece of wood to stir them all. By adding the acid to the sap in would then begin to cause it to coagulate and over time and then become solid.
Rick then left the workshop nowfilled with latex stonetubs and Angelica''s Armor to head upstairs and sprint over to the tower and up to his room. He then began carefully going through all of the books and scrolls he had recovered from the ruined temple. He had a few minutes to kill so he decided to see what he might learn from his books to improve his runic designs.
After going through everything he was lucky enough to find a book and a fewscrolls that contained the same written language used with the [Demigod Dialect] skill that allowed him to make his engraved runes.
He sat down in a big cushioned chair by the bedroom window and began to read the book and scrolls and was soon able to improve his knowledge of the language. By improving his vocabularyand reading further into the Demigod Dialect lore, he would now be able to fine-tune his runes and even create other elemental affinitiesthat he hadas of yet not used.
Once he had gone through any information he could find relating to the ancient runic language, RIck left the tower and ran back to the castle basement. The natural rubber in the tubs had now begun to solidify so he removed the blocks while they were still wet andpliable.The next step in processing the natural rubber was to feed these four inch thick blocks through the metal tube rollers. He adjusted the tube roller spacing so that when he cranked the natural rubber through it would be compressed into one-inch sheets.
Rick cut a piece of thick cloth with his scissorsand laid out the roller compressed natural rubber on top of the cloth and then covered it with another piece of cloth. He continued to compress all of the rubber blocks in the tube roller and cover them in thick cloth to help them dry and not stick to each other as he stacked them.
When he had emptied all the tubs of the solid natural rubber he stored the tubs and went over to work on Angelica''s armor. Rick engraved ametal rune on the back of the armor using the knowledge he just learned. First, he engraved the rune circle and inside of the circle he carved the runic words. (festa stal sifjar sterkr verja moti sokn) these words would roughly translate to, (strengthen metal affinity strong defense against attack).
The next rune he carved was a tiny ice rune and also a tiny wind rune. He connected the metal rune, ice rune, and wind rune to one circuit and ran an off branch for a fourth rune. Rick engraved the circle for the fourth rune and engraved these words inside of it. (vega halfr megin sifjar byrdr) this would translate to, weigh half ability, affinity, burden. This last rune, if he was right, should apply gravity elemental magic to the armor to cut the felt weight in half.
Rickused copper to make what looked like fuse clips that allowed him to snap the storage gems into them and hold them in place. He connected the four "Storage Gem Clips" to the rune circuit and engraved the circuit line up to the side collar and attached it to an engraved switch rune.
All of these runes and storage gems fit into a rectangle compartmenton the lower back of the torso armor that measured approximately eight inches wide by one foot long and extended out from the armor just over an inch. Rick also crafted anAstrallium Steel Alloy hinged lid on this compartment that could be screwed shut to protect the storage gemsand runes from damage in battle.
Inside the compartment, the next step was to drill holes throughthe compartment floor that encircled the wind and ice runes so that the cold air could be blown into the interior of the armor.
He then closed the compartment lid after drilling out the ventilation holes and touched the switch rune on the collar.when he put his hand on the armor he could feel the cooling effect working and when he picked up the armor the weight felt comparable to light leather armor.
He turned off the runes after testing them and then grabbed a few sheets of the now dry natural rubber and cut and glued it to the interior of Angelica''s prototype armor. His idea was that by lining the interior of the suit of armor it would absorb most impacts and protect her from blunt force injuries. When Rick had completely lined the interior of every piece of armor with rubber he then enchanted the torso each piecewith Reflect Magic.
Spoiler:Identify!.
Rick took a look at the armor stats with Identify.
EnchantedAstrallium Steel Alloy Cuirass
Body Armor:
65 of 100
Durability:
2000/2000
Quality:
Legendary Rare
Bonuses:
+20 to Agility from Tiger Blood
Magical Properties
Spell-Skill-Attribute Name
Uses
Enchanted
Magic Reflection
11/11
After reviewing the stats for the torso armor he turned the runes on and used Identify to examine any changes.
EnchantedAstrallium Steel Alloy Cuirass
Body Armor:
87 of 100
Durability:
5000/5000
Quality:
Legendary Rare
Bonuses:
+20 to Agility from Tiger Blood
Magical Properties
Spell-Skill-Attribute Name
Uses
Enchanted
Magic Reflection
11/11
Look at this the metal rune raised the Body Armor by 22 and the armor Durability went from 2000 to 5000. I wonder if a bigger or smaller metal rune would change these numbers even more or if they are fixed?
Rick set the Cuirass down and picked up the gauntlets for Angelica''s armor set and enchanted them with the attribute strength and they now held a +11 Strength.
Hmm, +11 isn''t that exactly how many levels I have in enchantment now? I have nine levels in beginner and two levels in intermediate so does this mean everytime I level up my enchantment I gain a +1 to attribute bonuses?
Rick decided to experiment with enchantment to test out if he was right. He took out an iron ingot and placed it into the forge and then stored the sheets of natural rubber into his inventory. Rick removed a few stone tubs and placed them along the wall. He then filled them with the remainder of the stored latex in his inventory and then add the acid to make it coagulate.
He went through his inventory and found a small cut of lumber and used his [Shape Wood] Skill to change it into a one-foot long stirring paddle. With the use of his hand drill, he bored out a few holes in the paddle and surprisingly acquired a recipe for it. Rick used his newly made paddle to stir the latex until it seen that small globs began to form in the liquid.
He then stored the paddle and walked over to the forge and pulled out the hot iron ingot and sliced it up it thin square sections. When the thin sheets of iron cooled he set them on the table and sat down next to them and began enchanting each one of them with random attributes. After he had enchanted over a hundred sheets of iron he opened the notification icon that had been flashing since he left the tower earlier.
Spoiler:Show Notices!.
Attribute Increased:
Intelligence
+4
Attribute Increased:
Wisdom
+2
Attribute Increased:
Stamina
+2
Attribute Increased:
Vitality
+1
SkillIncreased:
Blacksmith
Advanced
Level 5
16%
SkillIncreased:
Enchanting
Intermediate
Level4
74%
I gained a few points in Intelligence and wisdom from reading that book and the scrolls on the Ancient runic language.
All of this running around today is providing me with small gains, but it is allot slower than using flight to travel around.
Let''s see I gained two levels with Enchanting so time to give it a test run.
He picked up Angelica''s gauntlets again and re-enchanted them with the strength attribute.
Spoiler:Identify!.
EnchantedAstrallium Steel Alloy Cuirass
Body Armor:
25of 100
Durability:
1000/1000
Quality:
Legendary Rare
Bonuses:
+5 to Agility from Tiger Blood
Magical Properties
Spell-Skill-Attribute Name
Bonus
Enchanted
Strength Attribute
+13
So it does actually add +1 for each level to attributes. That would mean then when my Enchanting skill is maxed out I will be able to add a +54 attribute to weapons, armor, and jewelry. If I enchanted a ring for all ten fingers with strength when my Enchant skill is maxed I will have a bonus of +540 Strength then. That isjust over four times of what my current strength is now. I need to take some time then to power level Enchanting if that is the case. The only problem I can see with this is do I really want to sell jewelry from my store with +54 attribute bonuses? That could come back to bite me in the ass later by making a future enemy stronger that he really is.Rick deliberated over his discovery and then closed the item windows and continued to work on Angelica''s armor.
Rick pulled out an ingot of the newInfernal Crimsantite that like theAstrallium could only be found in the Astral Plane. He walked over to the forge flame and held it in the flames while activating his produce flame skill that he used to weld with. TheInfernal Crimsantite was extremely resistant to heat and he even had a hard time smelting it down so now not only did he rely on the forge to heat the ingot but he used his own elemental flames to surround and slowly heat it up.
When the ingot slowly began to glow from the flameshe laid down in the forge and went back to enchant the rest of the armor.
He enchanted the greaves, gauntlets, helmet, Mithril chain mail leggings, and Mithril chain mail tunic of her armor with a +13 strength bonuses to each piece to help her with the weight. Even though the gravity rune cut the weight in half it still weighed as much as steel plate armor.
After he had enchanted the entire suit of armor he went through and identified every piece to double check the stats and bonuses that they now possessed.
Spoiler:Identify!.
Stats with the runes Deactivated.
EnchantedAstrallium Steel Alloy Cuirass
Body Armor:
65of 100
Durability:
2000/2000
Quality:
Legendary Rare
Bonuses:
+20 to Agility from Tiger Blood
Magical Properties
Spell-Skill-Attribute Name
Uses
Enchanted
Magic Reflection
13/13
EnchantedAstrallium Steel AlloyGauntlets
Body Armor:
25of 100
Durability:
1000/1000
Quality:
Legendary Rare
Bonuses:
+5 to Agility from Tiger Blood
Magical Properties
Spell-Skill-Attribute Name
Bonus
Enchanted
Strength Attribute
+13
EnchantedAstrallium Steel AlloyGreaves
Body Armor:
45of 100
Durability:
1500/1500
Quality:
Legendary Rare
Bonuses:
+15 to Agility from Tiger Blood
Magical Properties
Spell-Skill-Attribute Name
Bonus
Enchanted
Strength Attribute
+13
EnchantedAstrallium Steel AlloyHelmet
Body Armor:
30of 100
Durability:
1000/1000
Quality:
Legendary Rare
Bonuses:
+5 to Agility from Tiger Blood
Magical Properties
Spell-Skill-Attribute Name
Bonus
Enchanted
Strength Attribute
+13
MithrilChainmail Tunic
Body Armor:
25of 100
Durability:
1000/1000
Quality:
Legendary Rare
Bonuses:
-none-
MithrilChainmailLeggings
Body Armor:
20 of 100
Durability:
1000/1000
Quality:
Legendary Rare
Bonuses:
-none-
This armor is incredible. It now will add +65 to strength, +45 to Agility, and reflect 13 spells back at the enemy mage.
Rick reviewed the armor stats and closed them as he walked over to the forge and pulled theInfernal Crimsantite ingot out of the flames and placed on his anvil. WIth his Astrallium blacksmith hammer and a chisel, he split the ingot into four sections. He hammered out the two larger sections into the shape of his gladius blade with a few more inches of length. The smaller two sections he hammered into guards.
He used the remainder of the Mithril he used to make the chain mail and hammered out two grooved handles and two round pommels. Rick brought out his engraving tools and then engraved a tiny ice rune on the bottom of each blade and a fire rune in the center and near the tip of the two blades. He had to then connect each rune on a circuit and engraved the circuit path down the blade and the blade tang.
Rick then assembled the two short swords and made a socketed channel for a storage rune ineach pommel that overlapped the circuits under them on the blade tangs. On the hilt guard of each sword, he engraved two tiny wind runes and a switch rune on the handle.
When Rick touched the switch rune with his thumb small flames belched out of the fire runes. The ice rune began to cool the base of the blade and the wind runes on the guard blew a blast of air along the blade forcing the flames into a column shape that wrapped around the length of each sword blade.
With the extreme resistance theInfernal Crimsantite had to heat and the tiny ice rune the sword handles remained cool to the touch.He tested the swords out by swinging them around the room and the wind runes kept the flames away from him as the blades swished through the air.
As a last minute thought, he decided to enchant the two swords with his [Acid Bolt] spell.
Spoiler:Runic Fire Sword.
He sat down at the grinding wheel with the two short swords and put a sharp edge on each one of them and received a recipe for these new sword designs. He named the recipe Runic Fire Sword and used identify on them to examine them.
Spoiler:Identify!.
EnchantedInfernal Crimsantite Runic Fire Sword of Acid Bolts
Attack:
30-35
Durability:
1000/1000
Quality:
Legendary Rare
Bonuses:
+10% to Swing Speed
Spell Duration:
10 seconds
Bonuses:
Corrosive Acid Bolt
Runic effects:
+3 seconds to set target on fire
Uses:
13/13
A Legendary RareInfernal Crimsanite short sword that has been blended with Variant Tiger blood. This short sword has been enchanted with an Acid Bolt Spell and has been engraved with fire, wind, and ice runes. This sword has the option to wrap the blade in flames and set a struck foe on fire for three seconds. It can also shoot outCorrosive Acid Bolt up to twenty feet away.
Rick then used the recipe for the Runic Fire Sword to make two more and also used a recipe to make two back harnesses and placed the fire swords in them and stored them with Angelica''s armor in his inventory.
His next project was to try and make a runic fire arrow. Using his pedal lathe he spun out a couple wooden arrow shafts and set them on the table. He then brought out some feathers and a chunk of a Mithril Ingot. Rick placed the Chunk of the Mithril ingot into the forge and then sat down at the table to use his dagger tosplice the feathers. He then glued the spliced feathers onto the wooden arrow shafts and used his knife to cut a notch into the end of the shafts.
When he took the Mithril Ingot chunk out he split it into sections and hammered them into barbed arrow heads. Rick sat down once again at the table with the barbed arrow heads and carvedsmall fire runes into each one and then carved out a small channel to snap in a tiny storage gem. Next, he attached all of the iron barbed arrow heads to the wooden shafts and carved a circuit from the fire runeto the storage gem and then onto the wooden arrow shaft.
Where the circuit ended on the wooden arrow shaft, Rick carved a connecting switch rune. He received a recipe for the arrows and named it Runic Fire Arrow. Rick had decided to useMithril to make the arrow heads because it was much lighter than other metals so it would travel further and faster.
Spoiler:Runic Fire Arrow.
By using his jewelry recipes Rick made ten plain thin steelrings that would be able to fit under Angelica''s gauntlets and enchanted five of them with the Agility attribute and the other five with the Strength attribute.
Rick packed away the rings and turned off the forge. Before leaving he recharged all the storage gems on the furnaces and the forge and went off to find Angelica. Rick called her from the party chat when he left the basement and found out she was in eating in therestaurant with Kanna and Silandra. He stopped by the restaurant and walked back to the tower with her and took her upstairs. He took out the set armor, the harness with the runic fire swords, the ten enchanted rings, and a bunch of fire arrows.
He assigned ownership of everything to her and when she put everything on it adjusted to fit her perfectly. She commented on how heavy the armor was and that it would be hard to move in and Rick just smiled. He first put the rings on all her fingers and then touched the switch rune on the collar of her armor. Angelica looked shocked when she suddenly felt the cool air circulate through the armor and the weight seemed to disappear with the benefit of the rings on her fingers and armor runes activated.
Rick then adjusted the back harness to fit over her armor snugly and slid the fire swords into it. He then handed her the helmet after assigning ownership of it to her and led her downstairs and outside. Rick had her take the fire swords out of the harness on her back and showed her where the switch was to set them aflame and what to expect when she did. He had her activate the swords and the flames leapt out to shroud the blade in swirling fire.
When Angelica was comfortable with the new swords she slid them back into the harness on her back. He then took his bow out and nocked a fire arrow and drew the bow back. He stretched his finger out from the grip and touched the switch rune on the arrow and a flame engulfed the barbed arrow tip. Rick released the arrow at a tree and the arrow sunk into the trunk and caught the bark around it on fire.
He walked over to the tree with Angelica and broke the arrow off and used a water box to extinguish the bark. He laid his hand on the tree and used his nature magic to heal the tree. Rick then filled Angelica''s quiver with the fire arrows and looked her over. The only exposed areas, Rick could see were her neck and the slits in her helmet while she wore the chain mail under her armor she was now completely protected.The materials that her armor was made from would shatter any arrow or crude iron blade that struck it and with the attribute increases she could move as easily as a half naked blade dancer and strike with the force of a half-giant.
With her shiny armor and her winged helmet, she looked like a true Valkyrie all that she was missing were wings on her back. Rick told her with the way he designed her new armor she could even dothe daily evening run from the city to the quarry and back with her new armor on since it was basically air conditioned.
Rick took her over to the crafting district so that they could spend some time together while he picked up finished items and gave instructions. Rick chose some of the better weapons that they had been making for the store and had the weaponsmiths concentrate on making a selected few to supply the military units with. He did the same with the armorsmith having them focus on only a couple sets of men''s and women''s armor.
When he had picked up everything the two of them walked over to the apartments and found an empty apartment. Rick filled the bathtub with water and placed his hand in the water and used his fire elemental to heat up the water. He then had Angelica strip off her armor and under-armor and hop in the tub. He then took out a bar of rose scented soap and a bar of lavender scented soap and a piece of cloth.
He was curious how the newly finished soap turned out and wanted to test it out. His character never got dirty so he thought he would test it out on Angelica. Which worked out perfect because even though she had completely healed from her arrow wound her chest still had some blood smeared on it from her attempt to wipe it off with a scrap of cloth.
Rick wet the wash cloth and lathered up the lander soap on it and her test out the new soap. The soap had a calming fresh smell to it and a decent lather. When she had rinsed herself off he then tried out the rose scented soap that was almost like a weak perfume that smelled like a flower garden. Rick was happy with the way both soaps turned out and decided to sell them at the store.
Angelica loved these new soaps and couldn''t stop sniffing the pleasant flowery smell of her skin when she got out of the tub.
"Once the castle is built I will make a large bath in there and you will be able to use the soap every day then. It is much more relaxing in a warm bath than wading out in that cold river and wiping yourself down."Rick said as he used a recipe to make a new under-armor for her.
Rick drained the tub and wiped it down while Angelica put her armor back on and they left the building to walk over to the Officials building that his CHancellor Alexandra had her office. They went into her office and found out that they had already figured out which apartments were full and empty so, he decided it was time to bring on a larger military force.
Rick took out his small desk and began to write out a list of unit classes, genders, races, and amounts of each of them.
Spoiler:Cedric''s Military Unit List.
Classes
Amount
Gender
Race
Cleric_Assassin
Five
3 Female-2 Males
Half Angel
Battle Axe Hero_Aura Knight
Eight
5Females - 3 Males
Half-Giant
Assassin_Pyromancer
Ten
10 Females
Forsaken
Hero Knight_Battle Mage
Ten
10 Females
Human
Hero Ranger_Druid
Six
6 Men
Elves
Blade Master_Battle Mage
nine
9 Females
Valkyire
Balista_Battle Axe Hero
ten
10 Females
Dwarves
When Rick had his list written up he called Sturm over to where he was with the Party Chat. Then informed Alexandra and her assistant that he would be bringing in more people as soon as Sturm showed up.
When Sturm walked into the building he was greeted by Rick, Angelica, Chancellor Alexandra, and her assistant. Rick then opened the unit menu and spent a good portion of the money he had to spawn in all the units on his list.
Rick told Angelica and Sturm that the nine female Valkyries would be under Angelica''s direct command. He instructed Alexandra to have her people assign them apartments and then take them over to the restaurant once they had done just that.
Rick walked over to the restaurant with Angelica and Sturm and sat down at a booth to wait for the new troops to finish being assigned their apartments.
"Angelica I want you to be in charge of the nine Valkyrie directly becauseno one knows more than youwhat they have all been through. Just like you up until now, they were alone wandering the Astral Plane for years. All of these people around them all of a sudden will be confusing and a littleoverwhelming for them. If any of them are having problems adjusting you can bring them over to stay in the tower on the second floor where the other girls had stayed before they moved into their new apartments." Rick instructed Angelica and then turned to General Sturm.
"I want you to keep an eye on the ten Assassin/Pyromancer Forsaken. I am not sure if they will act the same way as their brethren who can be found in tribes around the world. I know that they are known to favor assassin thief type classes and usually lean toward the evil side of alignment. I won''t stand for them attacking or bullying other citizens here. If they are truly evil and can''t seem to fit in with us here then I will get rid of them all. I will probably have them take shifts following me around so that I can see how they act and how thing are run around here." Rick said.
About ten minutes after Rick explained everything all the units showed up and he introduced Angelica and Sturm as their commanders. He told them about the trouble with the northern tribe and that they would be attacking them in the next couple days. Rick then sent Angelica off with her Valkyrie Squad to the tower and left Sturm to explain the training program that they would take part in every morning afternoon and evening.
Rick left Sturm to finish catching them up on everything about the town and their duties and left the Restaurant. He Ran down the main street to the castle plot and went down to his workshop. He removed all the natural rubber blocks from the stone tubs and ran then through the metal tube roller and stacked them between sheets of cloth to dry like the first batch.
Opening his inventory, Rick removed a few Astrallium Ingots mixed with Tigers blood and regular Steel ingots then placed them all in the forge and turned it on. As the forge came to life and started to heat up the ingots, Rick took out his wood working tools and set them on his table. Sitting down next to his tools, Rick drew up a new design on parchment with a charcoal pencil.
Spoiler:Ballista Design.
When he had a plan he used his recipes to make a few eight-inch thick wooden posts and took out a big roll of spider silk. Rick used his knife to cut long strips of spider silk cloth and began braiding them together to make a one inch thick ten-foot long rope. He coiled the rope up and placed it on the table and brought out his tap and die set to make ten 1/25 inch wood screws along with bolts and nuts in different sizes.
Rick used his [Carpentry], [Wood Carving], and [Shape Wood] Skills to build the ballista frame from wood posts and then used a steel ingot to make a swiveling bracket to attach the crossbow portion to the frame. Now that he had the frame and crossbow connected hemade two steel attaching brackets that held the bow limbs in place.
He grabbed another ingot from the forge and made the crank axle and bored, taped, and threaded holes for the crank levers so he could screw them into the axel. His next step wasto carve out three inch thick limbs and attach them to the ballista. Once the limbs were cranked down tight he used the spider silk rope to string the limbs and connectedthe limb rope to the crank axle rope with a bracket.
Rick took the last steel ingot from the forge and split it up and made three solid steel bolt shafts and three bolt tips. Rick acquired a recipe for the ballista and the steel bolts in the end and used the ballista recipe to make nine more. He used the steel bolt recipe to make two hundred bolts and then he engraved one of the bolts in the same way as the Fire Arrow with a fire rune, small storage gem, and switch rune. He also received a recipe for the steel runic fire bolts and made one hundred of them.
Rick placed the ballista in his inventory in two pieces and then stored the now dry sheets of rubber.
Once again he sat down at the table to draw up an armor design for himself. This time he wanted to make a suit of armor that was thick and strong enough to deflect even one of his steel ballista bolts.
Spoiler:New Prototype Armor.
Rick used his Astallium blacksmith hammer to hammer out the Astrallium ingots that had been mixed with Tigers blood when he had smelt them. He started on the torso armor first normally he would hammer his torso armor to about a 1/8 of an inch thickness this time he was shooting for half an inch thickness. With the density and hardness of Astrallium, a half inch thickness should stop a bullet and make regular melee weapons useless against it.
This would mean that the armor would now be roughly four times heavier than the first Astrallium suit of armor he had made and struggled with its weight. Now that he had a system to add runes this shouldn''t be a problem though. When he had finished making the thick torso, greaves, gauntlets, and helmet, he began making an Astrallium chain mail tunic and leggings to wear under his thick armor. After hehad braided quite a few linkshe acquireda recipe to make a 1'' x 1'' square of braidchain mail he just needed to make a few up and linkthem together to make his tunic and leggings.
He soon had his new set of extra thick armor finished and when he picked up the torso piece he guessed it must have weighed almost as much as he did. Rick flipped the torso armor over and welded a rectangle compartment and lid onto the lower back of his armor that was larger than the one he had made for Angelica''s armor.
With the use of a small hammer and his engraving tools, Rick carved twelve circles inside the compartment. Six of these runes were gravity runes and the other six were metal runes. He connected all of these runes on one circuit that merged into eight good sized storage gems and a switch rune that was engraved on the collar of the armor.
Spoiler:Runic Armor Compartment.
Rick did not bother to add the cooling option to his armor because his elemental fire magic provided him with resistances against heat and flames.
When he tried the chain mail tunic, leggings and the complete suit of armor on he found it hard to even stand much less move around. He then reached up to his collar and touched the switch rune and all the weight on his upper body vanished. The only problem was that his legs felt like they were stuck in athick mud when he tried to walk around. The runes from the torso armor seemed to be working to remove the weight on his upper body and arms, but his helmet and legs still felt all of the original weight still.
Maybe these runes are working similar to electricity. If a piece of armor is not in contact with the torso armor that has the runes it will not receive the provided effects.
Rick took off all his armor and made small linked chains of Astrallium in the same way he had done to make his chain mail and used his drill and small nuts and bolts to attach the small lengths of chain to his torso armor. Rick made a small clip and ring and attached the clips to the ends of the chains and the rings he welded to each of his greaves and the back bottom part of his helmet.
Once again he equipped his armor and clipped the small chains to the rings on his helmet and greaves. Now when he activated the runes for the second time his entire suit of armor became virtually weightless. When he jumped up and down he could hardly feel any weight at all and felt that he would be able to fight in this thick armor without any problems.
When he was happy with the results he removed the armor and began to glue layers of natural rubber sheets inside his helmet, torso armor, greaves, and in his gauntlets where the back of his hand would be when he wore them. Rick then assigned the ownership of the armor pieces to himself and he could see each piece visibly change shape and size so that theywould fit him perfectly when he wore them.
Rick acquired a recipe for his thick Astallium suit of armor and he named it "Bastion of Protection." He then placed his hand on each piece of armor and enchanted them with [Magic Reflection] and used his [Indentify] skill on them while the metal and gravity runes were still activated.
Spoiler:Identify!.
EnchantedAstrallium Cuirass
Body Armor:
+100of 100
Durability:
3000/3000
Quality:
Legendary Rare
Bonuses:
+20 to Agility from Tiger Blood
Magical Properties
Spell-Skill-Attribute Name
Uses
Enchanted
Magic Reflection
13/13
EnchantedAstrallium Gauntlets
Body Armor:
75of 100
Durability:
1500/1500
Quality:
Legendary Rare
Bonuses:
+5 to Agility from Tiger Blood
Magical Properties
Spell-Skill-Attribute Name
Bonus
Enchanted
Strength Attribute
+13
EnchantedAstrallium Greaves
Body Armor:
+100of 100
Durability:
2000/2000
Quality:
Legendary Rare
Bonuses:
+15 to Agility from Tiger Blood
Magical Properties
Spell-Skill-Attribute Name
Bonus
Enchanted
Strength Attribute
+13
EnchantedAstrallium Helmet
Body Armor:
85of 100
Durability:
1500/1500
Quality:
Legendary Rare
Bonuses:
+5 to Agility from Tiger Blood
Magical Properties
Spell-Skill-Attribute Name
Bonus
Enchanted
Strength Attribute
+13
AstralliumChainmail Tunic
Body Armor:
80of 100
Durability:
1200/1200
Quality:
Legendary Rare
Bonuses:
-none-
Magical Properties
Spell-Skill-Attribute Name
Bonus
Enchanted
Strength Attribute
+13
AstalliumChainmailLeggings
Body Armor:
75of 100
Durability:
1200/1200
Quality:
Legendary Rare
Bonuses:
-none-
Magical Properties
Spell-Skill-Attribute Name
Bonus
Enchanted
Strength Attribute
+13
Rick closed the item windows and sat down to make a few more Atrallium chains with clips and rings so that he could also link Angelica''s armor and chain mail pieces toher torso armor to provide further weight reduction.
As Rick was making the chains for Angelica''s Armor he began to wonder how far the rune effects could travel along a wire. He finished up making the small chains and stored them in his inventory and took outan iron and copper ingot and placed them in the forge fire.
Instead of sitting around waiting on the ingots to heat up, Rick opened a gate across the road from the horse stables south of Siverhall City and walked through it. He walked across the dirt road and walked inside to find the owner that he had bought his horses from. Rick bought a hundred bails of hay and one hundredlarge bags of grain from him and the stable owner took him out back to his storage barn to load up all the hay and grain into his inventory.
Rick paid him and walked back across the street and used aportal to travel to his own new horse stable. He told the Animal Trainer that he had purchased more food for the horses and walked into the stable storage room and filled it with the bails of hay and bags of grain. He left the storage room and ran back to the castle basement and removed the copper ingot. Cutting the ingot into sections and then hammering the small sections on the anvil he was able to make round strands of copper wire. He found if he used his elemental flame to heat up the ends of two pieces he could hammer them together to form one continuous wire.
He hammered the small lengths of wire together to make aten foot of copper wire this way and received a recipe for copper wire. He used the new wire recipe to make a fifty-foot spool of copper wire and began experimenting with it to try and make one of his bell alarms work from a switch rune that was connected to the copper wire on the other side of the room. At first, he didn''t have much success with his ideas until he tried a different approach.
Rick linked the copper wire to the bell alarm circuit that connected to the storage gem and wind rune. He then liked the other end of the copper wire to another storage gem and a switch rune on a circuit across the room. When he hit the switch the bell alarm started ringing across the room on the table. For some reason when he had added a storage gem that connected to each end of the wire he was able to send the runic signals from one circuit along the wire to the circuit on the opposite end.
He then removed the alarm and tried out a small fire rune and storage gem on a circuit and found that when he hit the switch across the room a flame sprungup from the fire rune on the table.
It seems that if I power two separate circuits with storage gems then it is possible to link them with a wire. The codemust somehowtreat the two powered circuits as one connected piece when there is mana energy flowing in and out of both ends of the copper wire. It also will work with the bell alarm and a fire rune so I would assume that this couldbe applied to many other uses.
He opened his friend list found Daisia''s name and sent her a text message asking her to start planting the colorful leafed trees in front of the apartments and crafting buildings. He also wrote that he wanted her to use her skills to rapidly grow them to about 15-20 feet tall.
His idea for the trees was to use them as telephone poles are used in the real world. He would string copper wire from tree to tree and run lines to the different buildings so that he could place a bell alarm in each shop that connected to the meeting hall. This way when he needed to talk with his crafters over new designs he would not have to run from one shop to the nextto ask the crafters to head over to the meeting hall. He would be able to push a switch rune at the meeting hall and ring the alarm bells in every shop as a signal to head over for the next design meeting.
Rick left the castle basement after packing everything up and shutting off the forge. He ran back to the tower and found Angelica on the second floor with her Valkyrie squad. Rick sat down with them to talk with each of them and they seemed to all have gone through a similar situation that Angelica had. They were all wandering the Astral Plane alone and then they were instantly transported to the System Gate. When they opened their eyes they found that they all still could remember their time spent in the Astral PLane, but had no memory of their previous lives.
After talking with them they all seemed to settle down and adjust to their new surroundings. Rick told them if they needed anything at all Angelica and him would be just on the floor above him. Even though he was going to Disconnect for the night Angelica would still be there to help them out.
He said good night to the nine Valkyries and walked upstairs with Angelica and unequipped his new armor and climbed under the covers. When Angelica had removed her armor Rick used his [Produce Flame] skill to weld the small chains, clips, and rings on to her armor and showed her how to connect them to her greaves and helmet. They both climbed under the covers and he gave her a kiss goodnightand disconnected from the game.
Disconnect!
Ryans Turn
Contains someexplicit language!
****************************************************************
Ryan grew up with a large inground swimming pool in his backyard that was often the center of his family''sactivities. Holidays and parties at his home would have the kids swimming and enjoying the pool slide and diving board all day while the adults would mingle along the wide bricked walkways that surrounded the pool.
With the beautiful landscaping in the backyard and the tiki bar and mini kitchen, it gave the guest the feeling as if they were attending a party at an upscale resort.
He had many good memories with relatives and neighborhood friends enjoying that pool and had become a decent swimmer at a young age.
Even as he grew up he always loved to swim and actually began to compete in school and summer teams when he was ten years old. He began to take swimming seriously as he grew up and learned proper swimming techniques and events.
In eighth grade while still in middle school he tried out for the local high school junior varsity team and was good enough to make the team. When he was in tenth grade he continued to swim and became the varsity team captain. His popularity for being a good looking guy and the swim team captain caught the eye of quite a few girls. He was now sixteen years old with a drivers license that he obtainedearly for completingdriver''s education and wanted to buy a used car so that he could go out on dates and hang out with friends on the weekends.
Ryan mentionedthat he wanted to find a part-time job after swim practice to a group of teammates and one of his good friends from the swim team told him that his father''s company that he worked part-timeat was looking for office runners. His friend explained that his father''s business was an architectural engineering firm and all that he needed was a driverlicenseto bequalified for the job.
He went to his friend''s house the next day after practice and talked with his father who already had met Ryan on a few occasions when he had come over to hang out with his son. Ryan was given the job and was told he would basicallydrive around in a company car delivering plans and documents to other business.Being only sixteen he enjoyed being able to drive around town on his own while listening to the radio. It gave him a sense of freedom and that he was becoming an adult.
There were times when he did not have to go out and make deliveries so he tried to make himself useful for the company he would run papers and memos between the departmentand began to learn what the company he worked for actually did.
He continued to work for the company until the end of the school year and even over summer vacation and as he began to learn more aboutarchitectural engineering he soon found another passion besides swimming. Ryan began to studyarchitectural engineering on his off time and after working with the firm for just over six months he was given a job as an office assistant. Ryan would type up most of the documents that he once delivered while answeringand redirecting calls that came into the firm.
Before he graduated high school he had worked his way up to an unofficialarchitectural engineering assistant. His work entailed serving as a liaison to the architects, laborers, and designers. He would report concerns and overall status reports back to the company on the various projects they were currently working.
When Ryan had graduated from high school as the captain of the swim team for three consecutive years and a GPA of 3.4, he left the company to attend a local well-known college that specialized inarchitectural engineering.
On his first day of college, he was a little nervous now being in a new environment among people he did not know. In one of his classes, they were divided into groups by the professor to begin their first steps in model making and this group Ryan had been assigned to was quite diverse.
The people in his group consisted of a quiet girl named Lily, a smaller sized guy who introduced himself as Luke, then there was a guy named Rick with military style haircut and muscles that looked like they wanted to rip out of the short sleeved polo shirt he wore, and a guy who looked Indian and spoke with an Indian accent named Rajesh.
As the college year progressed he became closer to the people in his group and they at times even formed study groups or just went to lunch together. Lily and Rajesh would generally keep to themselves though and did not participate in any after class meetups.
As Ryan, Rick and Luke returned from lunch one day they walked through an empty hallway on their way to the next class. When they turned a corner they found Lily up against a wall with three guys crowding around her. As they approached they could see that she was obviously distressed but the insistent guys continued to try and have her follow them off campus to their place.
Lily was a good looking girl who did not talk much and this often seemed to attract aggressive guys likes these three who thought they could force her into following them without much trouble. Ryan couldn''t believe that something like this was happening right in the hallway of his college. Did these guys think this was some downtown back alley where scumbags could run around trying to take advantage of timid girls?
Before he could speak up and say anything to these guys Rick was already moving toward them.
"Gentlemen, this young lady obviously doesn''t want anything to do with you so why don''t you three move along," Rick said with a scowl.
The three turned around angrily ready to put Rick in his place and were taken aback when they saw his size. After the initial shock, one of them was brave enough to talk back.
"What you think because you have a little muscle that you can take on the three of us? Why don''t you mind your own business and move along!" The guys snarled out as he reached out to push Rick back.
Before the guy was able to push him, Rick reached out and grabbed his extended right wrist with his left hand. While he held the guy''s right wrist he pulled it toward him and hooked his right arm up and around the back of the guy''s right armpit. Rick then rotated his back toward the guy and threw him over his hip and slammed him into the hard tile floor with a swift Judo shoulder throw.
Smack!
The guy laid on his back gasping for air after having the wind knocked out of him. While his two buddies stood frozen in shock over seeing their friend slammed to the ground in an instant, Rick spun around and grabbed each of them by the throat and squeezed down.
"I tried to be nice, but I will be damned if I will let three pieces of shit like you run around here doing whatever the fuck you want. You think the three of you scare me? I was in the Marine Corpand spent multiple deployments to forward combat zones where we killed the enemy while they tried to kill us! I scraped what was left of my buddies off the ground over there and carried them while under fire to safety! If you threewannabe tough guys are hungry I will be more than happy to give you a taste of what I learned from the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program. So what''s it going to be boys are we done here? Rick growled out at the two guys as he continued to squeeze down on their throats.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
They tried to speak but Rick''s grip prevented them from getting anything out but a choking sound.
"Oh I''m sorry are you having trouble talking while I''m squeezing the life out of you?" Rick said sarcastically with mock surprise and then let go of their necks and they scrambled to pick up their friend and carry him off. When they were about fifteen feet down the hall Rick yelled out.
"Stop!"
The three of them just about jumped off the ground and froze in place in fear that Rick changed his mind and wasn''t going to let them go without a beating.
"If I EVER see or hear that you three have even gone down the same hallway as Lily let alone approach her then we will pick this discussion up where we left off today. I can promise if that happens you three will be attending the emergency room instead of classes where you belong. Now get the fuck out of my sight before I change my mind!" Rick roared.
By this time quite a few heads had popped out of the classrooms along the hallway to find out what was going on. Rick walked over to Lily and stopped in front of her.
"You''re safe now Lily those guys won''t mess with you ever again. If anyone tries something like that again you let me know ok?" Rick said.
Lily looked up with a look of relief and feebly nodded yes.
Rick smiled. "Good girl, now let''s get to class we are going to be late if we keep standing around here."
From that day on Lily began to open up and talk to Rick, Ryan, and Luke. The three of them eventually became good friends and even hung out together outside of school. After word got around school about how Rick had taken care of the three guys Lily did not have any more incidents quite as bad as that one. There were still a few guys who persistently pursued her but aftershe told Rick about them,he would insist that it was in their best interests to leave her alone.
Lily''s main focus was to pursue her dream of becoming an architectural engineer. She was not presently interested in dating guys and being entwined in all the drama that generally accompanied it.
Ryan and his new friends continued to hang out and he even introduced Rick to the aquatic center that he often visited to swim laps. Even though Ryan was no longer on a swim team he still had a passion for swimming that had been with him all his life.
When Ryan''s college buddies all began to talk about a new game that was to be released soon, he didn''t have much interest in it. He had never really played video games growing up his dating, studying, and swimming. As he listened to his friend''s discussions he soon found out that this game was something completely different than any other. It was the first true virtual reality game that allowed you to enter a new world and experience everything as if it were real.
This sounded incredible to him that they could enter a fantasy world and use the skills they had learned in real life and others that he learned while adventuring in the game world to build structures and explore undiscovered lands. Ryan began to research this new game online and when he read through the races that players could choose from he came across the Darfellan.
The Darfellan are a race that can live in fresh or salt water. They have gray skin are tall and muscular with red eyes. What caught his attention though is that they are expert swimmers and can breathe under water!
Ryan began to imagine a fantasy world with vast lakes and oceans he could swim in and dive down to their depths to exploresubaquatic environments never seen by anyone before.
This led him up to this very moment as he stood in his bedroom looking at his brand new chrome plated Gate Gear. He picked up the manual sitting on top of it and began to read through the first steps to joining Kingdoms Online.
Once he had a general idea of what to expect, he stripped off all his clothing and poweredup the capsule and laid down inside it. Once the machine scanned him from head to toe he was launched into the game. He talked to a beautiful AI who gave him a test and showed him the different races he could choose from. He still, in the end, picked theDarfellan and did not make many changes from his original size, shape, and looks.
when he looked at his final appearance in the mirror he looked the same, but with gray skin and red colored irises. When he had completed the character creation he was sent down to the game world in a shimmering bubble. At first, all he could see below him was water then an island came into view. The direction he descended was not toward the island though it was to a group of buildings out in a large bay.
When he got closer it appeared that there was a city that had been built partially in and out of the water. He then dropped through a hole in a domed roof that just barely broke the surface of the water. Inside the domed roof building, he found himself underwater when the bubble vanished. As he looked around he found that the large room he was in was decorated with glowing plants and corals that lit up the submerged space. When Ryan turned around he saw a large statue of aDarfellan.
He was then greeted by aDarfellan temple priest that was now familiar with [Chosen] after having received a few of them already. He was surprised that the two of them could carry on a perfectly understandable conversation underwater. The priest explained that he was in theDarfellan city temple and that he could find shops, restaurants, and places to stay in the city. The priest told him that the city was built in a large bay surrounded by an Island and that their god protected these waters from monsters.
If he were to step onto land or travel out of the bay into the ocean he would need to be prepared to fight the monsters he may encounter. Ryan asked him where he could find weapons and armor and thanked the priest for all the help and went off to explore the city. Ryan bought a weapon that looked like someone combined a crossbow with a speargun and a short sword that he hung from his waist. It shot athin three-foot long thin barbedbolt that shot through the water almost as quick as an arrow on land.
Next, he found had a choice between a heavy cloth armor that offered a small amount of protection and a Titanium scaled armor that cost quite a bit more but was resistant to sea water and had decent protection. After spending a large portion starting money he decided to swim up to the surface and have a look around. Ryan spotted the island off in the distance and began swimming at an incredible speed toward it.
This is awesome! If I could have swum like this in the real world I would have broken every swimming record ever set!
Ryan soon reached the Island beach and walked up onto the land.
Ryan had listened to Rick''s adventures in the game many times and knew that it was possible to hunt and skin animals and use the meat to make meals. Ryan explored the island hunting rabbits, deer, and came across a couple wolves. He used his starter knife to skin the game and collect the meat. He had never skinned an animal before but he had read about it online. He made sloppy work of the skins and furs until he was able to learn [Field Dress].
When Ryan had hunted his way north across the narrow part of the island he spotted a couple tiny islands just off the shoreline. He swam out to them and made himself a small wooden hut with tree branches and vines. He did not have much money left so instead of wasting it on staying in an inn and eating from restaurants, Ryan decided to live off the land and sea. He hunted the island and the aggressive fish that roamed the large islands outer shoreline.
He used the fish and meat to make his meals with edible seaweed and wild vegetables he found growing on the land. He used the branches left over from his hut to make a rustic but comfortable bed that he covered with his furs. While he laid inside his small hut on his fur covered bed he could hear the waves crashing against his small island and it made him feel like he was on vacation on some deserted tropical island.
Now that I am in the game I will need to try and figure out where I am and let Rick know how to get here. He told me he was making a boat and would be able to pick me up when I wanted to move on. My money won''t hold out too long here on my own. I could continue to survive off the land and sell what I find or hunt. That will only be fun for so long though by myself here.It is fun right now but after a week or so I will begin to feel like a castaway waiting to be rescued.Ryan thought as he laid stretched out on his bed.
"Well, I guess I should get back out there and see if I can gain a few more levels. I am sure it will take some time for Rick to sail to this place so I should build up my strength so that I can help defend the city when I eventually arrive there. I can''t let that timid little Lily out do me!" He said to himself laughing as he left his hut.
Ryan equipped his armor and weapons and swam out toward the main Island to continue hunting and exploring the land surrounded the Darfellan city.
Chapter 30: Unexpected Quest
At the college, Rick heard all about Ryan''s race that he picked and how fast that he could swim and how much he enjoyed himself. Ryan had also told his friendsall about the submergedDarfellan city that was surrounded by an island and his little hut he made on the small island off the northern coast. Lily also told everyone that she had bought a longsword and was currently training with it so that she would have an easier time of fighting monsters and animals who got in close to her.Ryanand Lily then discussed when they would both want to leave their small starting location and be picked up by Rick.
Rick told Lukenot to worry even if he picked the other two up before he was ready to move on fromVampire Island he would stop by the Island that was on the way to Darfellan Island where Ryan was at. Rick explained to them that he had a spell that allowed him to return to anywhere he had previously visited. By stopping at Vampire Island on the way to pick up Ryan he would be able to later open a portal to bring Luke to his city whenever he was ready to leave.
After classes, Rick went straight home and connected to Kingdoms Online and sat up in his bed inside the tower.
He opened up his menus to make a preset outfit template for his new armor set.
Spoiler:Preset Outfit: Tank
Preset Outfit:Tank
Equipment List
Body Slot
Enchanted Astrallium Helmet
Head Slot
Enchanted Gold Necklace with Gold Dragon ruby eyes Pendant +13 Agility
Neck Slot
Astrallium Chain Mail Tunic
Inner Torso Slot
Enchanted AstralliumCuirass
Torso Slot
Red Silk Cape
Outer Torso Slot
Enchanted Astrallium Greaves
Legs Slot
Astrallium Chain Mail Leggings
Inner Legs Slots
Enchanted Astrallium Greaves
Feet Slot
Enchanted Astrallium Gauntlets
Hands Slot
Steel Ring + 13 Strength
Left Index Ring Slot
Steel Ring + 13 Strength
Left Middle Finger
Steel Ring + 13 Strength
Left Ring Finger Slot
Steel Ring + 13 Strength
Left Pinky Finger
Steel Ring + 13 Strength
Right Index Ring Slot
Steel Ring + 13 Strength
Right Middle Finger
Steel Ring + 13 Strength
Right Ring Finger Slot
Steel Ring + 13 Strength
Right Pinky Finger
Enchanted Astrallium Gauntlets
Forearm Slot
Dual Back Harness Scabbard and Two Runic Fire Swords
Upper Back Slot
Black Leather Quiver
Lower Back Slot
Enchanted Astrallium Greaves
Thigh Slot
Enchanted Astrallium Greaves
Shin Slot
Black Leather Belt
Waist Slot
Zeus Hammer "runic lightning and fire"
Belt slot [one]
Dart Kit
Belt Slot [Two]
Dart Kit
Belt Slot [Three]
Dart Kit
Belt Slot [Four]
Under-Armor Top
Underwear Top
Under-Armor Bottom
Underwear Bottom
When he was happy with the new preset outfit layout he saved it and then used it.
Equip Preset Tank!
The weight of the extra heavy armor suddenly weighed down on him and it felt like someone had suddenly jumped onto his back until he touched the rune switch. Rick unsheathed the two runic swords from the scabbard harness on his back and swung them around to test out how the new armor moved with him again and it felt like he was wearing a suit of light leather armor instead of armor made from three hundred pounds of Astallium.
He then deactivated his armor and changed into his normal clothing and left Tower Island. When he started to cross the new eastern Tower Island stone bridge, Rick looked out at the city ahead to see a nice surprise out in the distance. The western wall, gatehouse, and towers had been completed and the city was now fully enclosed. Rick used the party chat menu to call Handil while he made a map of the city with his Cartography skill to check on the construction progress. He found out that Handil and Jerem were now working on apartment buildings due to Alexandra''s suggestion. Since he had been bringing on more people they were running out of available apartments.
Spoiler:City Map Update.
Rick examined the map and discovered the two work crews had added almost another row of apartment buildings. Rick then instructed Handil to finish up the other two buildings on the plot they were currently building on and then begin construction on his castle with Jerem''s crew.
Rick walked through the western gatehouse as he hung up with Handil and turned south onto the long narrow open plot along the western wall. He used his skill to raise a tall wall about six feet wide around the plot and left a small gap to enter it from the street. Once again he used the Party Chat menu to call Strum this time and asked him to bring over the ten female Dwarven Ballista/Battle Axe Hero units to his location.
While waited for them all to arrive he took out the ballistaand assembled them and lined them up in a row. He also brought out the steel ballista bolts and stacked them behind the ballista line. Rick then made use of the recipes he received from making the life like wooden orc statues at his store and lined up a bunch of them up as targets downrange in front of the thick dirt wall.
When the female dwarves all had arrived with Sturm together, Rick had them gather near the ballista line and went over how to operate the ballista he had designed. Rick had alsomade exact copies of the steel rings he and Angelica wore with his recipe and enchanted them all with strength. Since these ballistae were designed for two-man crews he needed to provide the female dwarves with the extra strength so that they could crank the bow levers and also load it with the heavy steel bolts by themselves.
Rick informed General Sturm that instead of having the ballista units attend afternoon sparring practice he wanted them to practice firing the ballista. He stood around and watched the ladies work the ballista without any problem by themselves and were soon hitting the wood statues that were about two hundred yards away. Rick told them to move the ballista back whenever they felt comfortable so that they could learn how to shoot them at different distances. Rick then left Sturm and the ballista units to continue their practice so that he could walk through all the shops in his crafting district.
He collected all the weapons and armors that were being turned out for his new military units along with all the products that were still being made for his store. When he had collected everything and stopped by the Cartwright and Wheelwright building he found that they had a nice selection of completed carriages outside already disassembled and ready for him. Now that Rick had spawned in more Cartwrights the production of the carriages had improved significantly Rick went down the line and stored all the new carriages away and then opened a portal to his store office.
He sat down at his office desk and went over the sales records for a few minutes and also collected the growing layer of coins from his desk drawer. It seemed every time he went to collect the money there was always more than the last time.
Rick used a recipe to make up a bunch of simple drawstring leather pouches and put hisemployee''s weekly salaries in each pouch. His saleswomen had made fifty silver a week and the managers had made seventy-five silver a week while working for the previous owner of the shop. They were all so glad to have been able to keep their jobs that none of them ever asked if they would make the same amount of money or less now working for Cedric.
The previous amount they earned was about the average wage earned bymost of Silverhall City''s citizens of lower status. For the way, Rick''semployeescurrently lived it was enough for them to pay their rents and put food on the table but if they had wanted to go out and buy a new piece of furniture or a nice outfit it would take a quite a bit of saving up to pull this off. He did not want his employees to just scrape by and soon become burned out at their job, so Rick haddecided to increase all of their salaries without telling them.
He placed two hundred silver coins in a pouch for each of his saleswomen which came out to be two gold coins for each of the sales girlsand he placed three hundred silver coins in two pouches for his managers Nellie and Barat for a total of three gold coins for each manager. He could have just put gold coins in their pouches, but this may have made it difficult for them to pay their bills and go shopping if nobody could break the gold coins that they had received for their salaries.
RIck gathered up the salary pouches withthe sales book to walk over to Barat''s office and place everything on his desk. He then called him to the office with the friend list and explained what he had done. When Barat found out he was now earning his old monthly salary in just oneweek, he had to sit down in his chair before he collapsed to his knees.
Barat told Rick that a knight would usually make five gold a week and now he was making three gold a week just to manage the store.Rick just laughed and told him if they continue to keep bringing in sales like they have been, he would soonbe making the same amount as those knights. He then sent Barat out on the floor to have Nellie come speak with him. Barat noddedhis head in acknowledgment while still in shock and Rick could hear him muttering the same line continuously "I must be dreaming" under his breath as he walked out of his office to find Nellie.
When Nellie came in he explained everything to her as well and was met with a completely different reaction. Nellie broke down crying tears of joy and threw her arms around Cedric and kept thanking him between sobs. Rick just patted her back while chuckling. When Nelliehad calmed down he handed her a pieceof cloth from his inventory to dry her eyes.
Rickthen asked Nellieto keep an eye out for any more reliable confident young women to hire. Since he had an almost all women staff he wanted to try and keep it that way. If he started hiring men he just assumed they would spend more time trying to sleep with the saleswomen than doing any actual work around the store. He also thought that if he were going to be working at the store he would have a much more pleasant experience to be surrounded by pretty women than men.
Nellie told him with the new salaries they were now making he could find as many sales girls as he needed. Rick told her to try to stay away from quiet shy girls, he needed out going confident young women that would not be afraid to approach customers to make a sale. Rick then left it to Nellie to hand out the girls salaries at the end of the day and the two of them went out onto the sales floor. Rickwent around restocking counters and displays and also went upstairs to put out and assemble the new carriages for display. As Rick was assembling one of the enclosed gypsy wagons that had small beds, a stove, and a table inside he began to think about stage coaches from the old west. This got him thinking about how they had begun to make them from metal plate armor and had gun slots to protect them from bandits. A few of them even had rotating turrets with Gatling guns on top of them.
This got himthinking of ways he could use those armored stagecoach ideasto make some type of armored bunker that he could wheel out onto a battlefield that would allow his units to fire arrows from safety.
I will have to sit down later when I have time and try to come up with a few ideas.If I were to come up with a good design I could also make a steam engine using wind, fire, and water runes to make them into medieval tanks.Rick was soon thinking of ways to make new weapons as he continued to assemble the carriages on the 2nd floor of the store. He made a mental note for a couple new runic weapons and finished up with the carriages to find his store guards.
He gave a few more coins out to his guards while he was still upstairs and then opened a portal tothe mine he had made in the mountains far north of his city that he had mineda good supply of Mithril. Rick opened his inventory and brought out his new Astrallium pickaxe that he had madebecause he was constantly repairing his old one because of his increased strength and skills.
Now with the extra weight of this new pickaxe and all the enchanted strength rings he wore mining into the rock was almost as easy as just swinging his pick. He felt a very little resistance as he cut his way deeper into the mountain. After testing out his new pickaxe by digging a tunnel near sixty feet long he began using his metal scanners. When he used theMithril Scan he found another vein andused[Move and Shape Stone] to cut straight for it.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
He used his pick to harvest the vein and came across a cavern when he had mined past the area he just harvested the Mithril from. Rick chipped out a doorway to the cavern and began exploring it with his night sight still activated which allowed him to see his surrounding without any light sources.
Walking along the wall he soon came across a large pocket of quartz crystals like the ones he used for the storage gems. He still had a large quantity of them in his inventory so he thought about just leaving them and continuing on exploring.
Rick then decided he should just stop a harvest them while he was here. For all, he knew this cavern could collapse or fill with water or lava before he had time to return again.
When he had harvested a good amount of the quartz he picked up a large one from the ground and used Identify on it.
A Large Diamond
Diamond is renowned as a material with superlative physical qualities, most of which originate from the strong covalent bonding between its atoms.
In particular, diamond has the highest hardness and thermal conductivity of any bulk material.
[Very Rare] [Hardness 10.00]
A large diamond? I thought these were all clear quartz, they look identical in this game until they are cut. Diamonds are great in the real world, but here in the game world where the hell would I sell diamonds this big? I can cut them down and use them for my jewelry or maybe I will find some other use for them.
Rick continued on after mining the diamonds without any excitement for finding them and continued deeper into the cavern to find a vein of iron and copper. With a new supply of metals, he stepped through his portal into the castle basement workshop and sat down at the table to draw up a couple new designs.
He designed armor for his Tigers and for the horses. He wanted to use his Tigers and mounted knights when he attacked the northern tribe and didn''t want to lose his animals to the accurate bow shot that he saw the nekomimi tribe pull off when they first ambushed them.
Spoiler:Tiger and Horse Armor.
He had made sure to design the Tiger''s armor so that the metal Mask that covered their face only came down to their upper mouth area. This would allow the Tigers to still use their mouths to bite while protecting their face from injuries.
Rick then stood up from the table and went over to his blast furnaces after drawing up the designs and loaded the first three with the Mithril ore he just found and the other three he filled with the copper ore he mined in the cavern.
While the furnace began to heat up he placed a few Mithril ingots into the forge and turned it on. When the ingots were hot enough to work with he started hammering out the different sections of the tiger armor. He welded the sections together on hinging rivets so that when the Tigers turned and benttheir bodies the armor would rotate and hingewith them without limiting their range of movement.
He also carved a metal, gravity, ice, and wind rune into the armor and engraved a switch rune inside the lip mouth area where thearmor stopped to expose the Tiger''s mouth. Rick then lined the inside of the Tiger armor with sheets of natural rubber. When he completed the Tiger''s Armor he received a recipe that he used tomake enough for all his Tigers and also a couple extras for backups.
Rick then left the basement and flew over to the island and had them all try on the new armor. He told them with his [Speak with Animals] skill where the switch was and had them stick out their tongues to touch activate the switch runes. This made the armor almost weightless since it was made from Mithril and the ice and wind runes cooled the metal along with the interiorof their armor keeping them from overheating. They were unsure of this new armor at first until Rick took out one of the spares and zipped a few arrows at it from close range. The Tigers watchedas the wood shaft arrows slammed against the armor and shattered into pieces.
They may have been Tigers, but they were smart enough to know if an arrow hit them that hard without this new armor it would cause a lot of damage. Rick explained how the people they were going to attack preferred to use bows and arrows and if they did not have armor on they would be shot down before they even in striking range.
After they ran around the yard in front of the tower and had a chance to test out their armor, the Tigers found that after a few minutes of wearing it they almost forgot they had it on. Rick then removed it from them and stored it away and decided to head back to the castle workshop and start to craft the horse armor.
When he was ready to fly off something strange happened. He noticed that the medallion that Faith had given him began to pulse with a bright light and the chain it hung from pulled around his neck toward the temple. Rick ran into the tower and called out for Angelica to come downstairs from the second floor where she was talking with her squad of Valkyrie.
Rick scooped her up and flew off toward the temple and went directly inside to land near the podium.
"Faith are you ok? I came as soon as I noticed the medallion." Rick called out as he looked around.
"I am here Cedric." Faith said as she appeared before them.
"I was worried something may have happened I never had the medallion you gave me respond like that before," Ricksaid.
"Now that I have a temple with followers in the mortal world once again it is slowly becoming possible for me to use my powers here again and influence certain things such as your medallion." Faith explained.
"That''sgreat I always thought it was unfair that you were the one who made all of this and also help the [Chosen] as they take their first steps in the world, but were trapped and forgotten alone in that temple. I take it though you called me here for a particular reason is there something you need me to help you out with?" Rick curiously asked Faith.
Faith smiled at Rick''s concern for her and answered him.
"Yes, actually I have a quest for you in the forest to the southwest of here where you recently sent your scout to investigate. There is someone who needs your help and if she were to die many things will change in that vast forest.
There are separated clanfactions living there who are currently at war and if the main hostilefaction who is attempting to gain control over the others winsit will not be long beforethey move beyond the forest borders in search oftheir next target." Faith said enlightening Rick to the current situation.
"And when they leave the forest it won''t be long until they gather enough forces to attack our city walls," Rick said understanding where this was going.
Faith nodded in agreement. "If you can save the clanprincess and her people from being captured or killed it will weaken the sway the hostile clan has over the others. If you were to save the clan princess and attack the hostile clan and win you wouldstop their plans to spread war and destruction across this island and enslave the other races that you have or have not come in contact with." Faith then made a few movements with her fingers as if she was typing on an invisible keyboard and a window opened in front of Rick.
Spoiler:Quest!.
An Unexpected Princess
A noble clan has ruled the Lorebark Forest for over a century with a fair and just hand. Now their rule has been stripped away by a large warmongering clan who has hidden in the shadows gathering strength over time to one day claim the forest and all the surrounding lands by any means necessary.
If this evil factionshould win this current clan war Godshome Island will be thrown into chaos. This Hostile clan plans toone day marchan army of all the conquered clans together out of Lorebark Forest to begin their campaign of conquest.
The Goddess Faith wants you to save the clan princess and her people from becoming captured or wiped out. If this were to happen all of the Lorebark Forest clans would have no choice but to join the hostile clans. Once the hostile clans unite all of the forest clans they will begin their march across the island with a formidable army.
Objectives
Outcome
Rewards
1
Save the clan princess
You will hold offthe campaignof the hostile faction
+XP
2
Save the clan princess and her people
You will hold offthecampaignof the hostile factionand enter an alliance with the princess''s clan
+XP, +Fame
3
Save the clan princess, her people, and defeat the hostilefaction
You will stop thecampaignof the hostile faction, and the princess''s clan will swear their allegiance to you as the new ruling clan of the Lorebark Forest.
+XP, +Fame
compass unlocked
Do you wish to accept this quest?
Yes
No
Yes, I accept!
When Rick accepted the quest a compass appeared in the upper-right corner of his vision. It wastranslucent enough not to distract him and still be able to read the heading. on the compass, he then noticed a small red dot that was pointing toward the southwest of the compass heading.
"You may have noticed the quest compass in the outer part of your vision it will display a red dot that will lead you to your quest objectives. It is your choice to complete whichever objectives that you wish to complete. The more of these objectives you complete the higher the experience, fame, and other rewards will be that you receive when you come back to me. Now you should quickly make plans to head out at soon as possible. I called you here suddenly like this because the clan princess is in danger and needs your help." Faith hurriedly explained to Rick.
"We will head out as soon as possible.I wanted to ask before we head out if you will have enough strengthto speak with Angelica after the quest? She has always wanted to meet and talk with you ever since you had appeared in her dreams." Rick asked.
Faith turned to Angelica and smiled. "I would like that very much. I promise when you return we will talk together. I will not be able to speak long but we will have manyopportunities in the future to speak together. Now I must go my power is still weak here. I will watch for your return to this temple from my plane. Good luck with the quest." Faith finished talking and faded away to return to her temple in the paradise plane.
"Thank you for bringing me here to see her Cedric and asking her to talk with me," Angelica said with a smile.
"I promised you I would and she said you two will get to talk later as well so let''s see what we can do about this quest and return here so you can finally get your chance to meet her one on one."
Angelica nodded with a determined look and Rick opened his party chat and called Sturm to bring all the troops to the tower. Rick picked up Angelica again and flew over to the crafting district and collectedmore weapons and armor for his troops and from there theywalked over to gather up the ballista and the bolts. He stored them into his inventory and flew back to the tower with Angelica in his arms and landed by the door. They walked up to the tower''s 4th floor and he used his recipes to make more weapon racks and armor stands. He filled the racks with Mithril compound bows, swords, spears, axes, daggers, maces, sabers, and hammers. He then arranged the armors that he had collected over the past couple days on armor stands along the walls.
Rick sat down after laying out the weapons and armor and used his quiver as an example to make a copy of it with the leather and leather working tools he had and dyed it black. He used the recipe for that quiver to make up a few more and laid them out on the table along with leather belts, straps and throwing dart kits.
When Sturm arrived with the military units he called them all up to the 4th floor. Rick then assigned ownership of armor to each of them. What he really like was that a normal sized suit of armor actually adjusted the size to fit the half-giants. This ended up saving him a ton of steel ingots. Rick made sure they all had proper weapons for their classes leather belts with dart kits bows and quivers full of arrows if they could use them and had them head down to wait in front of the tower when they were fully equipped.
Rick followed the last of them downstairs after they were all geared up and then called over the group of Tigers that were playing off to the side thirty yards from them.
Rick then explained that their goddess had given them a mission to save a clan princess and her clan. If they did not save her then the war would spread across the island and they would become a target of it. As he explained this to his military units he alsotranslated what was said to his Tigers.
When he wrapped up the mission briefing he brought out the Tigers new full body armor that they had just tried out and he strapped it back on them. When everyone was ready to go he opened a portal to the edge of the forest where he had once cut trees and waited until everyone had walked through. Some of his troops looked at the portal warily but they were all brave enough to step through without hesitation.
On the edge of the woods, General Sturm held his hand up and gave the troops a few hand signals and they all quietly formedup with the lighter armored troops in the center and the heavy armored melee troops on the outside.
Impressive it looks like Sturm has been training them in formations.
Equip Preset Outfit Tank!
When Rick said the preset outfit command with his inner voice his clothing was replaced by the heavy runic suit of armor "Bastion of Protection." The familiar heavy weight returnedas he reached up to touch the switch rune located on his collar. Rickthen turned to Angelica to make sure her armor was all in place and her runes were working properly. He gave her a mithril compound bow from his inventory and placed a few runic fire arrows in her quiver.
Rick then nodded to General Sturm and they all quietly set off into the forest following the red dot on Rick''s quest compass.
Chapter 31: Nezera Zaraknok
Rick had activated his Stealth skill and walked point ahead of his units formation roughly 30-40 yards. He cleared out anysmall groups of monsters in numbers of three or less with his bow and fell back to the formation a few times to clear out larger groups of goblins and gangs of large aggressive brown bears.
He was now traveling through an area with a lot of ground vegetation that limited the view around him. As he had quietly passed through a bush before he stepped out into the open he saw out in a small open meadowthat a pack of huge wolves had surrounded a variant moose.
Rick fell back to his units and informed General Sturm of what was going on ahead. Rick assumed these wolves he found were Dire Wolves. He led all his units that had the Hero Ranger class forward and instructed them to cover him as he advanced out to attempt to tame these wolves. He told the archers to aim at wolves legs if any seemed like they were going to attack him and to only kill them if they turned to attack the hidden archers themselves.
He did not want to kill any of the wolves and he had no fear of them attacking him in his new armor. They might be able to knock him around, but there was no way a wolf couldpenetrate a half inch of Astrallium armor and the Astrallium chainmail he wore under it.
Rick and his squad of bowmen moved around so that they were downwind from the wolves who had now managed to bring down the huge moose. A few of them had painful looking wounds from the struggle with the moose, but for now, they seemed to ignore them to eat their fill.
Rick decided to wait until most of the giant wolves had eaten thinking if he were going to approach a Dire Wolf he would rather they not be hungry at the time or feel that they needed to protect their kill.
With Stealth still activated, Rick then also activated [Aura: Charm Anmal] and slowly walked out of cover into the clearing. He was almost instantly spotted by the pack and a few began to quietly snarl whileothers just curiously watched what he was doing. As Rick slowly moved forward he used his [Speak with Animals] Skill.
"I don''t mean any harm."
"I just want to speak with you"
Quite a few of them cocked their heads curiously sideways as if they couldn''t believe that this metal man walking toward them could actually speak wolf. When Rick had crossed over half the distance to them a much larger wolf than the others came forward.
"Go away from my pack! I am the leader and I have nothing to say to you! If you continue to come closer I will kill you!" The large wolf snarled out.
"I only want to offer you and your pack a better life. You can live with me in safety and not have to suffer being cold and hungry or getting injured while you hunt. If you fight with me and my pack we will give you a warm dry shelter and meals everyday." Rick softlyexplained as he continued to walk slowly forward.
Most of the wolves sat down on their haunches and began to look around at the pack. Rick could tell by the way they were acting that they liked what he was offering. The pack leader did not show any change and in fact, he grew more aggressive.
"I fight for your pack? I am the pack leader the strong lead the weaker wolves! I will show you the strength I possess!" The Pack leader snarled and barked out and then took off at a sprint.
Before it could travel more than ten feet arrows came whistling across the meadow and pierced through the front and back legs. The huge wolf rolled up like a ball and tumbled for a few feet before it came to a rest on its side. When the pack leader attempted to stand and continue its attack it yelped out in pain and fell back down onto its side.
"This is my strength! I could have had you killed just as easy, but I have spared your life! If anyone tries to attack me they will end up on the ground unable to walk just like this wolf!" Rick barked out at the pack.
After he scanned the pack it seemed that they were not going to attack so he continued. "You all can see that my pack is strong we have easily wounded your pack leader. If any of you wish to join us I will provide everything you need. Just come over and stand next to me if you wish to leave these woods for a better life." Rick explained.
Out of the pack of twenty Dire Wolves, fourteen of them came over to sit and stand next to Rick. He removed his right gauntlet and placed his hand on each of their heads and used his [Taming] skill to remove the wild from them and make them a bit more passive. He did not want to take them back home and have them trying to fight the Tigers or attacking his people and livestock.
When he tamed them all he walked over to the pack leader and put his gauntlet back on. He bent down and reached out to remove the arrows and the big wolf snapped its teeth onto his armored hand. It did not hurt Rick at all, but it did surprise and anger him.
"I need to remove these arrows and heal you or you''re going to die," Rick said angrily.
"It doesn''t matter I have lost to you and lost my pack. This is the way it has always been the old pack leader is killed by the younger and stronger." The pack leader snarled out.
"Are you sure about that? I can heal you so that you are just as strong as you were before, or I can kill you just as easily, so be sure to choose wisely." Rick explained to the stubborn wolf.
"Then kill me I have lost my pride and my pack. I know longer have no reason to continue."
Rick stood up and shook his head at how stubborn this wolf was.
I can''t leave him like this or he will just slowly bleed or starve to death and if I heal him he will more than likely try to attack me again.
He unsnapped the longsword on his hip and drew it from the scabbard. He swung the sword above his head and chopped down across the wolves neck with one swift swing he had cut off the wolf''s head. He stored the head and body and walked over to the group of wolves he had tamed.
Rick turned to the other six wolves who had not come over to his side earlier. "Your pack leader choose to die rather than return to health and lead you again. I will offer my deal one more time before I leave and you six are left alone out here." Rick said to them.
He figured the reason they chose not to follow him was their loyalty to the pack leader, but now that he was dead, Rick wanted to give them another chance. It worked out like he had thought the other six did not hesitate and almost looked relieved as they quickly trotted over to him. He used his [Taming] skill on the other six and then opened a portal and walked them through to Tower Island. He told them to stay on the small Island and not to cross the water.
Before he left to rejoin his units, Rick used [Natures Blessing] to heal their wounds.
"I will be back later and bring you all meat. Stay on this island and you will all be safe you can go into that stone tower if you want. Do not attack anyone that you happen to see around here unless they try to harm you. I will see you all soon" Rick said and after he petted a couple of the large wolves he walked through the portal and closed it behind him.
I don''t want to throw the wolves into a fight until I can make them armor that is similar to the Tiger''s armor.Rick thought as he rounded up the hidden archers and went back to the main group.
Now that I have the Tigers and Dire Wolves back at home I need to start keeping more meat in stock to feed them all.Rick thought while walking back to meet up with the main group.
When he and hisarchers made it back to the waiting troops, Rick had a talk with General Sturm to arrangethe ranged unitsin a formation that allowed them to hunt for wildgame as they traveled forward. General Sturm had the troops advance forward in a single line with a melee fighter on each side of a ranged unit. This way if they ran into trouble the ranged unitscould quickly step back while the melee units stepped forward to form a defensive line.
Even the units that were not archers such as those with the assassin class used their darts to take down large birds, rabbits, and even the smaller deer. Rick used his recipe for the darts to keep everyone fully stocked up and it turned out to be great practice for them as well. After the troops had walked roughly five miles throughthe forest to the quest marker location they had vastly improved their accuracy and distance with the hand throwing darts.
As Rick realized that they were now getting much closer to their destination he had General Sturm reform the troops into the original formation of keeping the lighter armored troops in the center to protect them from attacks from any side.
The surrounding trees in the area that they all had finally arrived at were covered in thick webs that went halfway up these tall and thick trees. The webbing was strung from one tree to another in an attempt to funnel anything that happened to run through this area into a dead end enclosed with these web walls. Rick followed his compass intothis dead end right toward one of these walls made of webs and it had what looked like a large cocoon spun up in the center where the quest marker was indicating him to go.
This looks like how spiders spin up their prey in webs or protect their spiderlings before they hatch. I have seen TV shows how they will spin up their prey and then come back to feed on them when they are dead.Rick thought as he walked over to the large bulge. Just as he was reaching out to touch the web he heard what sounded like a screech from above him.
When he looked up he saw large numbers ofspiders bigger than him climbing down the trees.
Defend!Rick bellowed out as he pulled his bow from his inventory and began zipping arrows up through the branches to pierce through the swarm of descending spiders.
General Sturm threw up a couple hand gestures and the formation immediately shifted. All of the heavy armored units formed atight front line while the archers and mages formed the second line, that was staggered to allow them to shoot or cast in between the heavy front line units. The assassins, clerics, and ballista formed up in a third line and awaited orders.
The spiders had made it halfway down the trees whena storm of angry sounding arrows and darts camesimultaneously screamingskyward to smack into them. The ranged units put up a heavy continuous barrage that killeda lot of spiders before they made it down the trees to the ground. Still, even with their best efforts there were still so many spiders it seemed everytime they would kill one two or three would take their place. The spider''s initial assault was slowed for a moment, but their overwhelming numbers that seemed to keep pouring down the tree trunks allowed them to gain the ground where they wasted no time to advance forward.
Rick quickly put away his bow when the first spider made it down to the forest floor and was reaching over his shouldersto grab his runic fire swords while at the same time thatGeneral Sturm gave a signal to sendthe ten giants covered from head to toe in steel plate mail forward to charge straight into the spiders with their massive four-foot long battle axes chopping and slicing everything in their path.
Unsheathing his fire swords, Rick charged in on the left flank andAngelica followed right on Rick''s heals. He had a figured that the person he was looking for was trapped in that spider web or was possibly above them in the trees somewhere from what he could make out fromthe compass reading so he refrained from using his ranged fire and lightning magic. If one of his spells missed the target he could end up killing the clan princess without evening knowing it.
He figured his units wouldn''t cast careless magic with Angelica, the half-giants, and him on the front line, but he yelled out just to be sure.
"General Sturm hold off on anyoffensive Ranged Spells! The person we need to rescue is hidden around us somewhere!" Rick yelled out loudly so that everyone would hear him over the sounds of the battle.
Right after Rick had made contact and cut down a couple spiders Angelica''s Valkyrie squad came charging in on the opposite end of the line from him. They all wore the same armor as Angelica and were also dual wielding the runic fire swords.
Angelica''sValkyrie squad were dual wielding [Blade Masters] and everyone of them had also been assigned[Battle Mage] as a second class. Right before they had reached the right flank, everyone of them, cast [Ring of Fire] which isa mobile spell that surrounds the caster in flames and would gravely burnany enemy that entered the five-foot circumference around each of them.
When the Valkyrie squad advancedinto striking range their [Ring of Fire] spells began painfully roastingthe spiders who were pressing forward. As the frontline of spiders tried to fall back to escape the flames the all female squad of Valkyrie began to use [Gravity Field]. This was the same spell that Rick would often use to suspend his enemies off the ground and attack them while they helplessly floated a few feet off the ground.
Rick looked down the line and noticed theValkyrie using the Gravity Field and decided to join them in their tactics he enshrouded his armor in elemental flames and cast a large field to suspend the left flank mass of spiders.
"Let''s go, Angelica!" He yelled out and the two of them ignited their fire swords and began slicing into the suspended mob with cherry red glowing blades that sizzled through the spiders without any resistance.
These forward attackingunits now had the spiders held back in a line that bowed around them to partially encircle the spiders. While they continued to attack the front line General Sturm kept the Hero Knights in reserve to protect the archer and mage lines against any spiders who struggled past the front line.
Garion and the other four half-angel cleric assassins were then sent forward by General Sturm to stay behind the forward battle line. They began casting healing spells and [spiritual Cleansing] on anyone who was bit by a spider to dispel the poison. When there wasn''t anyone to heal they would use[Phantom Pace] to turn nearly invisible and [Dash] that allowed them to move 2x faster. With these two skills activated they would quickly jump up into the front line and cast [Dive Detonation]. This skill would strike all foeswithin 15feet for 50 holy damage each second for a five-second duration. Then they would quickly retreat to cast [Sacred Shield] on the frontline units. [Sacred Shield] would deal 50 holy damage to any foe that attacked or targeted a nearby ally and the attacking foe would also be knocked down.
While Angelica and Rick made quick work of the suspended spiders on the left flank, he could hear the half-giants lined up next to him begin chanting and small buff icons began to appear across the bottom of his vision. He glanced down and saw [Aura of Speed] that made allies 35% faster. [Power Aura] was also buffing him with +20 to strength and agility. Then the next buffer to help them was [Veteran''s Aura] that gave +5 to all skill levels to allies within 30 yards.
One of thehalf-giants was alsochanting [Veiled Aura] on the spiders. When [Veild Aura] wasactive all enemies with 30 yards of the chanter suffered from a blurred vision status which severely affected their fighting abilities. All of these combined Auras ran together to constantly buff the combat line without a timer they would continually buff everyone until the half-giants deactivated them.
With all of these Aura Knight buffs supporting them Rick and Angelica began to quickly mowdown the spiders. They were soon able to move further back around on the spiders and attack them directly from the side. Just as Rick and Angelica started their attack on adirect side flank they heard General Sturm yell out loud enough to be heard over the blows and cries of the fight.
Exploit Opportunity!
A small red buffer icon popped up from General Sturm''s [Exploit Opportunity]. This was a general''s skill that allowed all allies within 100 yards to do 2x damage if they were flank attacking from the side or 4x damage if they were flank attacking the enemy from behind. Now that Rick and Angelica and her Valkyrie squad across from them were attacking from a side flank they were able effortlessly to slash right through the spiders. Rick then roared andsnarled out orders to his Tigers who had been paiently waiting on the back lines to circle around and form up alongside him.
With the stench of burning spider flesh heavy in the air the mass of spiders began to rapidly dwindle down after a couple minutes of thissurrounding attack of whirling and dicing fireswords. Rick did not let up and he continued to push around until he could get behind the shrinking group of spiders withthe help of his Tigerreinforcements and Angelica.
He wanted the 4x damage buff to activate on him and when it did he mercilessly cut into the spiders from behind with Angelica and his armored Tigers right beside himthey drove and prodded the remaining spiders forward into the half-giants frenzied attacks.
This reminded him of a book that he had once read on Alexander the Great. he would often circle around the enemy from behind with his cavalry and drive them forward onto the spears of his waiting phalanx units. Alexander called this the hammer and anvil tactic. The cavalry was the hammer and the phalanx was the anvil that crushed the enemy between them.
After fighting for about fifteenminutes they had wiped out thehuge colonyof spiders. Even though a few of his units fell from the spider''s attacks during the fight the Cleric Assassins were always right there to heal andcleanse anywounded units back to normal within seconds.
Rick didn''t waste any time after the battle endedand he immediately climbed over the piles of large dead spiders to begincutting open the bulge of the thick web. Even with a razor sharp dagger, he had to struggle to cut and pull the impossibly strong webs away toreveal a hidden head with long red braided hair from the cocoon. He stopped and cast Natures healing on the girl and yelled out to the clerics to come help him. The girl''s disheveled hair was covering her face so he couldn''t tell if she conscious or not. Using his dagger he continued to cut the webbing away from her body and laid her on the ground as the clericswere climbing over the dead spiders to make it over to help aid the girl.
Rick removed his gauntlet to brush away the long braids of hair covering her face. What he saw surprised him more than the spider attack had earlier.
The girl whom they had come to rescue had two small tusks that protruded from her mouth and reached the top of her upper lip. She was a pretty girl and her skin, if it were not so white right now, seemed it would normally be the same color as a regular human.
Now Iunderstand the name of the quest! This is an unexpected princess alright! I think this girlis half human and half orc!
Rick placed his hand on her cheek and used his Identify skill.
Spoiler:Identify!.
Nezera Zaraknok
Strength:
38
Level: (56%)
12
Stamina:
35
Health:
620
Vitality:
62
Mana:
740
Intelligence:
74
Piety:
+175
Wisdom:
42
Fame:
+3000
Agility:
28
Honor:
+2000
Charisma:
22
Alignment:
+1000
Leadership:
32
Satiety:
2%
Luck:
4
Class:
Clan Princess
Health Regen/Sec:
3.5
Mana Regen/Sec:
3.0
Health Points:
120/620
Race:
Half-Orc
Awarded Titles
Currently Displaying:
Lorebark Forest Clan Royalty
Title:
Lorebark Forest Clan Royalty
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
Displaced Clan Princess
Alignment +/-
-none-
This is the first time I ever tried this on a living person I can''t believe it opens a status page like this. Let''s see here it seems her health is really low and her satiety is rock bottom. My Natures Blessing heals for 100hp and she has 120hp now, why hasn''t her hp regened since she has been in that webbing all this time and whyisn''t regenerating without any monsters around her right now?
Maybe it has to do with her Satiety? I never let mine get that low so I am not sure what conditions it may have on you when it drops. It must somehow shut off your regeneration until you either eat or die then. I guess that would make sense, just like the real world if you do not eat you die this must be set up so people can''t continue to regen hp without ever eating anything.
If she is in this condition I can''t make her eat anything solid or she will choke on it. I need to make something Liquid with some calories in it.
Even with the clerics now around and trying to heal her while Rick thought out the condition she was currently suffering she would not wake up and her HP would continue to decrease every time she was healed. Rick decided to open a portal to the 2nd floor of the tower and he brought all his units back to Tower Island. They carriedNezeraZaraknok through the portal with them and laid her on one of the beds. Rick sent everyone off to grab a meal or relax at home for now and told them they would continue the mission soon.
Downstairs on the first floor, Rick turned on the stove and placed a skillet on it that he poured cooking oil into and added a largecut of beef. This beef was part of his private stock that he had bought from the butcher at Silverhall City''s central plaza.
He took out a container of milk from the fridge and poured it in with the frying beef. Thenhe searched through the cabinets and found a bag of flour that he scooped out a large cup fromand sprinkled it into the skillet over the beef.
He continued to stir up the thick beef gravy with the beef fats that formed in the skillet for a few minutes and then removed the piece of beef and poured the gravy into a cup. He filled the half full cup up the rest of the way with milk and carried it up stairs and set it next to the bed. He had Angelica gather up some pillows and help him prop her up some and then tilted her head back and opened her mouth to slowly pour the milky broth into her mouth. After a few unconsious coughs from having some of the brothsneak past hertrachea, Rick managed to get it all into her stomach.
When he had checked her status after giving her the drink her satiety had gone up to 31%. Rick closed the status menu and began casting his Natures Blessing every minute after it recharged. OnceNezera health had recovered she started to wake up. When she opened her eyes it took her a minute to comprehend the situation she was in and then her eyes opened wide when she realized that two humans were standing over her.
Panic set in and she quickly sat up and looked like she was prepared to bolt out of the tower. Rick grabbed her arm and held her down on the bed and Angelica grabbed her other arm and held her.
"We are not going hurt you please settle down!" Rick said andNezera continued to struggle. Rick then remembered the new languages he learned recently at the library and the orc language was one of them.
"We are not going to hurt you please settle down you need to rest for a few minutes! You were almost dead when we rescued you from the spiders." Rick said to her in Orcish.
Nezera stopped struggling then and looked up at Rick in surprise. "What are you and her? She asked Rick.
What are we? Does she mean what race are we? I guess even though she is half human she has never seen a pure human before.
"My name is Cedric and this is Angelica we are both humans. Have you never seen a human before?" She shook her head as she settled down, but was still wary of them.
"You are a half-orc, a mix of a human like us, and a regular orc. Your clan must have once copulated with humans on this island long ago before you were even born." Rick tried to explain.
Nezera had a look of realization appear on her face. "If this is true that must be why our clan is so different from all the other forest clans." She said quietly to herself.
"Where is your clan are they safe from the hostile orc clan? I was sent by my goddess to rescue you and your people from them." Rick askedNezera.
"My clan ishidden in a cave in a secret valley that only those of our clan know the location. My clan has used this cave as a refugefor many years. We had been driven from our homes and fled to the cave with so many clan members and only a small amount of supplies we ran out of food a couple of days ago. I went off on my own to try and seek help from an ally clan. As I traveled through the night so I would not be easily seen I was hungry, tired, and weak, but I continued stumbling along, pressing on forward and without realizing it I fell directly into those spider webs. Thespiders spun me in webs and I passed out thinking I would be eaten and die and then I woke up here."
"That is where I found you my goddess led me to your location and we fought and killed all the spiders and were able to rescue you from that web. Your health was really low and you had almost starved to death so I brought you back to my home to help you regain your health." Rick explained.
"How did you defeat all those spiders there were so many of them?" Nezera asked in bewilderment while shaking her head.
"My clan is very strong and we have weapons and armor that makes us even stronger. Now, I am going to let go of your arm so that you can try to stand up. Please trust me and do not try to run off or I will not be able to save your people and they will all die of starvation in that cave hidden in the forest." Rick said and thensmiled as he released her arm and nodded to Angelica to do the same.
Nezera slowly stood up from the bed on wobbly legs and Rick reached out to steady her before she fell down.
"Let''s go downstairs now and I will make you a meal. That should help you recover, and then we can go back to the forest and save your people." Rick said.
"What is doa-tairs?" She asked with a quizzical look.
Rick started laughing. "That is right you probably do not know what stairs are. Come let me help you." Rick held her arm and walked her over to the staircase and helped her walk down to the first floor.
When they reached the bottom she looked up the stairs at the 2nd floor as if wondering how they placed a room on top of another room.
"Those are stairs we use them to walk up to higher level rooms. This tower has four levels and one underground that you can get to by using all the stairs." Rick explained as if he were a teacher in a classroom.
"Now have a seat at the table over here and I will make you something to eat," Rick said as he helped her over to sit in the chair.
Rick turned the stove back on and placed a pot on it and filled it halfway with water. He sliced up the big cut of beef he cooked earlier along with carrots, potatoes, peas, and tomatoes that he had in his inventory. He dumped the vegetables and beef into the low boiling pot of water and poured a few cup of flour in. Witha long wooden spoon, heslowly stirred the stew mixing the flour and water together. Rick once again brought out the milk container from the fridge and poured in a couple cups and continued to stir it for about fifteen minutes.
Right before it was done cooking he added some spices and sea salt. When the stew was done he filled three big bowls up and placed one in front ofNezera and Angelica. Rick sat down with his bowl and handed everyone a spoon.
"This smells very good! I have never seen food like this before!"Nezera exclaimed.
"It is a popular human dish try it I think you will like it. It has a lot of meat and vegetables that will make you strong again." Rick said as he and Angelica began to eat the stew.
"Cedric this stew is fantastic! This is much better than the food at the restaurant!" Angelica said and she began to attack the food in her bowl.
Rick chuckled at her reaction. "I wouldn''t be surprised if it was better. My cooking skill is level 3 Master now. If I didn''t have those cooks at the restaurant to cook for me and everyone else it would have been maxed out by now. Rick told Angelica.
"What is that sound you two are making to each other? I heard you do that when I first woke up earlier."Nezera asked.
"That is the human language we speak our words different than orcs. There are many different races in this world and all of them have their own languages. All the races were divided for many generations and they all developed their own way to communicate with one another that was different from every other race." Rick explained to her.
"Then how do you know how to talk like an orc if you are a human?"Nezera asked as she gobbled her food down and finished the bowl.
Rick stood up and refilled Nezerar and Angelica''s bowls with more stew and placed it in front of them.
"In a large city far from here, there is a place that holds a lot of knowledge about many things in this world. I went there and studied how to speak different race''s languages."
Nezera stopped eating for a moment with a look of wonderment on her face as she tried to imagine what this city and place filled with so much knowledge must be like.
Rick opened his party chat and asked General Sturm to round up all the military units and bring them back over to the tower when he finished eating.
"How are you feeling nowNezera? Do you feel stronger now that you ate?" Rick asked.
"Yes I do, thank you very much. Wait, how do you know my name? I don''t think I ever had a chance to tell you it yet." She asked.
"I have a skill thatprovides me with information about anything I touch. When I was healing you in the forest I placed my hand on your cheek and it showed me your status menu." Rick explained.
"St-atus me-nu? What is that?" She asked confused.
I guess her tribe has no idea about stats and skills then. They have always been isolated in that forestand never had contact with other races to learn these things. I wonder if a tribe of primitive humans from that hostile western tribe centuries ago grouped up with an orc tribe to make this half-orc clan that ruled the forest until recently. This might explain why the pure orc monsters are defeating them so easily they have no idea how to increase their stats and skills and have survived off their advanced thinking process that they inherited from the human side of their genes. The hostile pure orcs must have superior numbers to overwhelm any schemes or traps that the half-orcs may use against them. Rick thought for a moment and then answeredNezera.
"Let''s try somethingNezera. I want you to say show status menu." Rick said.
"Show S-status Menu!"Nezera repeated with a slight hesitation.
Nezera gasped and jumped up out of her seat and began waving her hand in front of her. "What is this it has my name and numbers on it? When I try to grab it my hand goes through it." She asked in shocked.
Rick lightly chuckled. "That is your Status Menu it tells you how strong, hungry, and good or bad you are. Is there a spot near the bottom that says unused points? Rick asked.
"Yes! I see it and it has the number for sixty after it!"Nezera said.
Just as I figured they get five points for every level, but since they do not know how to distribute them they just continue to stack up.
"That is good then that you have those points. I will teach you how to use them later and it will help you and your people to get stronger." Rick said.
"Will it make us strong enough to defeat the enemy clan?" She asked excitedly.
"You don''t have to worry about the hostile clan anymore. Once we rescue your clan I am going to defeat them all." Rick said with a mischevious smile.
Nezera caught movement out of the corner of her eye and then quickly moved behind Rick and peeked around him as General Sturm walked into the tower followed by the military units that had almost one of every race in the world among them.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
Nezera was left speechless as she scanned the room to see so many different looking races all wearing matching metal armor and each personwas all carrying multiple weapons on them that reflected light at herlike the surface of a calm lake.
RIck turned around and looked atNezera. "These are people are from my clan and I am their leader like you are to your clan. You have nothing to fear they will not harm you in any way. In fact, we are all going to go back to the forest right now and rescue your clan together." Rick said with a smile.
Then he opened a portal back to where they fought the spiders and General Sturm led the units through to secure the other side.
I am not sure if you are familiar with magic but this is a magic spell that allows me to open a door to anywhere I have been before. I am sure you have questions but please wait until we save your people and get them to safety." Rick explained.
"Angelica? Are you ready?"
"Yes, Cedric." She answered and stepped through the gate.
"I guess it is our turn. Do not worry it will not hurt you at all. It is just like walking through a doorway into another room." Rick hooked his arm around hers and led her through.
Rick took a minute to calmNezera down. Returning to the spot she almost died and seeing the pilesof dead spiders startled her when they stepped out of the gate. Once she was calmed down Rickwanted to investigate the spider webs she was caught in earlier. He didn''t have much time to realize it earlier with everything happening so quickly, but now he remembered thinking that the spider webs felt familiar to him when he was cutting Nezera free.
He picked up a piece he had cut before and used his Identify skill.
Spoiler:Identify!.
Spider Silk
Spider silkis a protein fiber spun byspiders.Spidersuse their silkto make webs which function as sticky nets to catch their prey, or as nests or cocoons to protect their offspring or to wrap up prey.
If properly woven in layers Spider Silk can be as strong assteel and tougher than Kevlar yet flexible enough to be spun into a wide variety of shapes.
I thought this felt familiar this is what I used to make the ballista Strings. I knew it had ahigh tensile strength that was why I used it for the strings so would not snap easily when cranked back. I didn''t know it had these game properties though.This can be as strong as steel and tough like kevlar? I need to start collecting this stuff to make light armor and outfits from it. I know that roll I had was quite expensive so Spider Silk must be hard to come by. These spiders are so aggressive I can see why that roll of spider silk cloth was so pricey now. The person collecting this is literally putting their life on the line to do it.
Rick had General Sturm form a defensive perimeter around them and he and his units began cutting the tough webbing from the trees all around them. They stripped about an acre of trees that were wrapped in the Spider Silk and stacked it all up in a big pile for Rick to store into his inventory.
He then called overNezera who had been curiously watching all the different people running around cutting down the webs. Rick told her in Orc to lead them back to her people and they formed up in a defensive formation and set out through the forest.
The party continued in a southwestern direction for a few miles without any hindrances from monsters or animals. They were led to a large valley that was surrounded by sheer cliffsthat made accessing the bottom impossible without long ropes and climbing gear. They followed the edge of the valley into an area that was thick with bushes and ground cover.Nezera showed them the way through the thick vegetation and they came out on the edge of the valley next to a narrow footpath that wound down to the valley floor.
They all carefully made their way down and crossed the valley to an opening in the cliff face at ground level. Nezera told Cedric that this was where her people were hiding from the hostile clans. Rick asked her to go in alone and explain to her people that they were here to help them so they would not panic when they saw all of the strangers that came to help them.
Nezera entered the cave for about fifteen minutes and then came back outside with her people following nervously behind her. Many of them were very weak from not eating anything for the past couple days and needed help to leave the cave.
Rick explained in orcish that he was going to take them all away to a safe location where they could eat and rest. He opened a portal again and his military units filed through like it was second nature now and after some reassurances they got Nezera''s clan members to walk through the portal to the front of the restaurant.
General Sturm led the troops off to head back to their apartments after Rick had released them. Rick, Angelica, andNezera led the starving half orc clan inside and sat them at the tables. Rick went into the kitchen and worked with his cooks to make large tubs of stew, bread, sausages, scrambled eggs, and breaded deer chops. When the food was prepared and cooking Rick went out back and used [field dress] on the Dire Wolf pack leader. He skinned the fur and quartered the meat up and stored it all in his inventory.
When he went back into the kitchen and grabbed a big bowl. Rick added cooking oil, vinegar, pepper seeds, and spices to the bowl and whisked it for a minute. He laid out a few large iron cast trays and loaded them up with the wolf meat and covered them in the marinade he just made in the bowl. After letting the marinade soak in for a couple minutes he placed the trays into the ovens untilthe wolf meat was cooked through.
When he pulled the trays out he spread more marinade on the wolf steaks and began taking all the food they had made out to a table to make a buffet style for the hungry clan. They passed out plates and utensils and had everyone line up and grab whatever looked good to them. The ones who were still too weak had to have others bring them a plate of food back to the tables.
It wasn''t long until they were all once again full and had cleared out most of the food that was set out for them. Even after being full some were so thrilled with all the different delicious foods that they kept going back to try the other dishes they passed on at first.
While famishedclan was eating Rickescorted Nezera outside to show her the city he was building. She was stunned by the size of the buildings and the flat smooth stone paved streets. He showed her the furnished apartment interiors and they walked through the crafting buildings and briefly watched the craftsmen making so many varied items. When they were heading back Rick spotted his Tigers and called them over. He had them all line up and he removed all their armors and stored them.
Nezera was once again petrified and amazed at the same time from being so close to the Tigers. She was afraid of the huge Tigers and amazed that Rick could talk to them and they listened to what he said without any signs of aggression. Rick told the Tigers that the half-orcs were friends and theyall walked over toNezera to sniff and rub against her. Rick let her know that they were just saying they want to be friends. When she reached out to pet one it rolled over and began purring loudly like a big house cat.Rick told the Tigers about the Wolves on the island and told them to follow him until he could introduce them all.
Opening his inventory, Rick took out a table and a couple chairs and placed them under a tree next to the restaurant and sat down withNezera to talk. He ignored the startled gasp when he pulled the table and chairs out of thin air as it would seem to her and spoke up.
"So what do you think of my city? It safely surrounded by fifty foot stone walls and towers. We have homes for each individual person, and free meals three times a day in here at the restaurant for all the people who live here. This is only the start, we still have a lot more to build here." Rick explained to her like he was trying to sell her a new house.
"I have never even dreamed about a place like this before it is incredible. I am amazed that you can make these huge stone buildings and have so many different kinds of people working together to build it all." She excitedly exclaimed.
"That is good to know because I am going to take my people back into the forest and destroy all of the hostile clans, and after they are gone I want you and your people to live here in my city. Your people will be treated the same as everyone else and of course you will keep your title as clan princess.I will even make you your own apartmentinside my castle for you tolive in when it is built." Rick said as he pointed at the building down the road that Handil and Jerem''s crews were building the walls of right at that moment.
Nezera just sat there with her mouth open trying to comprehend what she just heard. Before she spoke Rick continued on.
"You told me while we were traveling through the woods to rescueyour people that the enemyclan burnt down and destroyed your homes right? Then you have nowhere to go now and that forest isn''t the safest place to live even with your homes now you have nothing where will you and your people live in that hidden cave at the bottom of that valley?
Here your people are safe and have plenty to eat and as the city grows if they find things that interest them then I would be happy to have them learn how to do them. They could become farmers, builders, crafters, cooks anything they wanted to be ornothing at all. If they want to stay home and raise a family or just enjoy living in the city they will always have their freedom to chose their own future.
I will go set up a building where you and your clancan spend the night and you will be able to talk with your people in private and decide on if you wish to stay here or return to the forest. Whatever you decide just know that this city will always be your friends and you can always return here when ever you wish to visit or live." Rick then gave her a smile and stood up.
He told her he would be back in a little while to get them all and went off to the furniture shops and loaded up with cotton and wool. He used his recipes to make up a bunch of plain single beds and walked over to the meeting hall. He stored the long table and all the chair and lined the walls with single beds and turned one of the side rooms into a nice looking bedroom forNezera with carpets, night stands, a dresser with women''s clothes that he sold at the store and one of the large canopy beds.
Rick then brought them all over from the restaurant to the meeting hall that was filled with beds. He tookNezera into the side room he set up for her bedroom and told her that he would talk with her again in the morning. He let her know that her people were free to walk around and explore the city but to be careful leaving the city walls because there were no guards out there to protect them from whatever may happen along.
Outside the meeting hall Rick found the Tigers waiting and he walked back to Tower Island with them where he had a long talk with the Dire Wolves and Tigers about getting along and not fighting. He then pulled out four large deer that they had shot in the forest and quickly skinned them and lethis wolves and TIgers have a nice little snack to hold them over until they were fed by the animal trainer.
Right before he gave them the deer made sure to tell the wolves not to eat any of the sheep or horses that maybe roaming around the area. Rick left Tower Island after feeding his growin pack ofcritters and flew off toward the castle. He checked in with Hadil to make sure everything was going alright and then walked down the spiral stairs into the basement. As he was walking down there he opened his notifications.
Spoiler:Show Notices!.
New Level Notice!
You Gained A Level!
Level 19
You have five unused points to distribute.
New Level Notice!
You Gained A Level!
Level20
You have five unused points to distribute.
Thank you spiders! I gained two levels just from that battle and I still have the experience from the quest to look forward to!
You Have Qualified For Your Second Class!
Do you wish to choose yoursecond class now?
YES
NO
Now I get to pick my second class let''s see what I have to choose from.
Yes!
Available Classes Menu!
The Classeslisted below are what you have qualified to currently choose from!
Available Classes
Prerequisites
Class Descriptions
Scout
Farsight Skill
Cartography Skill
Scouts are skilled hunters and trackers.They have an excellent memory for maps and geography, and can always recall the general layout of terrain, settlements, and other features.
Forgemaster
Blacksmith Skill
Hammering Skill
Forging Skill
The greatest crafters of Weapons and Armor, they possess the ability to create deadly works of art.
Battle Elementalist
Sword Skill One Affinity
One Affinity
They combinetheirblade with elemental forces to destroy their enemies.
Chivalric Knight
Sword Skill
Blocking Skill
Trained from birth in the ways of warfare and chivalry, the knight is the stuff of legends.
Shadow Archer
Archery Skill
Stealth Skill
A Shadow Archer combines hisArchery skills with Stealth and Magic.
Elemental Mage
Two or more Elemental Afinities
They wield the power of all the elements bringing massive destruction to the battlefield.
Sword Sovereign
Sword Skill Expert Level
They can deploy fourswords in a circle around them. Their techniques combine these four swords to attack inunisonance.
Space-Time Wizard
Space Elemental Afinity
These wizards are capable of controlling dangerous types ofspace and time spells.
Mind Mage:
Magic user withPsionic Powers
The Mind Mage is a blend of Manaand Psionic energies. They are the infusion of Psionic powers and weak Magic spells.
Oh? They added theprerequisites needed to qualify for each class to the menu now. Half of these classes were available to me at level ten. This sword sovereign class and Space-Time Wizard class look interesting.
Spoiler:ShowSword Sovereign!.
Sword Sovereign
The Sword Sovereignis a swordsman who studies a bizarre fighting style.
Theyuse magic to fightwith fourswords surrounding them.
The launch these four swords at theirfoe from every direction, making it all but impossible to predict his moves.
Skill List
Skill Name:
Skill Descriptions
Mana Cost
Recharge Time
Blindside:
You use two swords for as a frontal attack while you third and fourth swords attack from the side.
10 mp
One Minute
High and Low:
Two of your Swords attack your foe at chest level while the other two swords simultaneously attack at thigh height.
10 mp
One Minute
Encircle:
Allows you to surround your enemy with your four swords to work together and attack any exposed areas.
10 mp
One Minute
Defensive Line:
You can form a defensive line with your four swords to hold back attacking foes.
25 mp
One Minute
Whirling Blades:
You four blades form a horizontal circle and spin toward the target to bash away shields and slice through armor.
35 mp
Two Minutes
Stealth Sovereign''s Domain
You create a 50-yard domain around you that allows your four swords to becomeintangible up until they pierce through your foes.
125 mp
Five Minutes
Swords:
Allows you to use swords. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Daggers:
Allows you to use Daggers. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Magic User:
Allows you to wield magic.
Medium Armor:
Allows you to wear Medium armor. Skill level determines protection bonuses.
Heavy Armor:
Allows you to wear Heavy armor. Skill level determines protection bonuses.
Close Quarters:
Allows you to be far more effective when compressed with two or more allies.
Reading and Writing:
Allows you to read and write you racial and Lord''s language.
Brawling:
Allows you the knowledge of how to fight unarmed to win by any means necessary.
Hmm, The sword Sovereign class sounds cool but it seems more suited for small fights and not a battlefield class. I am more interested in gaining more area effect skills and spells that I can drop on a battlefield and wipe out groups of enemies at once.
Spoiler:ShowSpace-Time Wizard!.
Space-Time Wizard
The controllers of spaceand time tissue. They possess an assortment of very dangerous spells.
These spells are based on the properties of time and space.
Space-Time Wizards are masters of themathematical model that joinsspaceandtimeinto a single idea called a continuum.
Spell List
Spell Name
Spell Descriptions
Mana Cost
Recharge Time
Halt Time:
You canstop the flow of timefor everyone but yourself in a circular area of 10 feet around you for five seconds.
15mp
OneMinute
Hypergravity:
Allows you to increase the force of gravity by 10x in a targeted area.
15 mp
OneMinute
Spatial Rift:
Allows you to teleport to any location you can physically see.
15 mp
One Minute
Tear Reality:
Allows you to tear a hole in reality at a targeted location. All foes within 30 yards of the realitytear are subjected to a devastating exsplosion.
50 mp
Two Minutes
Blak Hole:
Allows you to open a tiny black hole. Any enemies within twenty yards of the black hole is pulled out of the game world
100 mp
Two Minutes
Slow Domain:
Allows you to create a 30-yard circular domain for 5 minutes that time will move12x slower for you or anyone who enters.
1000 mp
SixtyMinutes
Fast Domain:
llows you to create a 30-yard circular domain for 5 minutes that time will move 12x Fasterfor you or anyone who enters.
1000 mp
SixtyMinutes
Region Rewind:
You have the ability to reverse time ten seconds in the region you are currently located.
1500 mp
twelve Hours
Instinctive knowledge
Magic:
Allows you to wield magic.
Daggers:
Allows you to use Daggers. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Staves:
Allows you to use a Staves. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Unarmored:
You can maneuver in combat so that most strikes miss or glance off your body.
Light Armor:
Allows you to wear Light Armor. Skill level determines protection bonuses.
Shoot on the move:
Allows you to accurately hit targets while moving regardless of terrain.
Reading and Writing:
Allows you to read and write you racial and Lord''s language.
This Space-Time Wizard has some awesome crowd control spells and justtakealook at these last three spells. Two of them are 1000 mana points and the last one is 1500 mana points, but it allows you to reverse time in your area? Ten seconds isn''t a lot of time but it can be enough to save someone''s life or change aterrible decision.
Wait a minute, if I had this class couldn''t I train inside this [fast domain] to rapidly increase skill or spell levels? I could train for one hour inside the [Fast Domain] for every five minutes of game time. Does that mean that I could train for 24 hours in the [Fast Domain] for two hours of standard game time?
The DEVS must not have thought this spell through if that is the case. Unless the massive mana point cost is what is suppose to balance the spell out, I bet most people wouldn''t have over a 1000 mp at my level and if they did once they cast that spell they wouldn''t have much mana left to do anything with it.
Well that decides it I like the most of the spells in this class and if it turns out that it isn''t what I wanted I can always change for one of the others later on.
Rick clicked on theSpace-Time Wizard class and had a window pop up asking if he was sure that he wished to chose this class. He clicked yes and received his second class.
When he had finalized his second class choice an unexpected window opened before him.
Level 20 reward!
You can choose onemore additionalattribute from the following choices!
Fortitude
Perception
Quickness
Holy crap! I get another attribute with level 20? I am not sure if that is a good or a bad thing. This could mean just one more attribute to suck up my points.
Show Attribute Fortitude!
Fortitude
A measure of how resilient a character is.
Higher Fortitude will lessen the amount of damage you receive and the amount of pain you will feel from that damage.
Show AttributeQuickness!
Quickness
Quickness is a measure of how fast you can move and how fast you can swing a weapon or shoot a bow.
The more points you put into quickness the faster you can get from point A to point B whileusing less stamina in the process.
Show AttributePerception!
Perception
Perception controls the chance to detect vital clues, traps or hiding enemies.
Perception will also enhance your sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch.
I already have the [Sixth Sense] skill which is almost the same thing as Perception if I were to level it up more. That leaves Quickness and Fortitude to chose from and with my new extra thick runic armor it will take something major to hurt me badly now. Quickness seems like a good choice I can increase my swing and draw speed and move around faster.
Rick clicked on theQuicknessattribute in the rewards window and opened up his status to review his new attribute and class.
Spoiler:Show Status!.
Cedric Crownguard
Strength:
125
Level: (41%)
20
Stamina:
107
Health:
1060
Vitality:
106
Mana:
1230
Intelligence:
123
Piety:
+175
Wisdom:
60
Fame:
+37,000(locally respected)
Agility:
64
Honor:
+32,000 (village hero)
Charisma:
30
Alignment:
+4000
Leadership:
50
Satiety:
99%
Luck:
15
Class:
DruidicMage
Quickness:
10
Class:
Space-Time Wizard
Health Regen/Sec:
5.0
Mana Regen/Sec:
6.0
Feudal Domain:
5760
Race:
Chosen Human
Feudal Title:
Marquess
Unused Points:
0
Awarded Titles
Currently Displaying:
The Adept of Refinement
Title:
The White Knight
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
The Honor Guard
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
The Duelist
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
Black Hand Interrogator
Alignment +/-
-1000
Title:
Benevolent Leader
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
Explorer of the Unknown
Alignment +/-
-none-
Title:
Oath Breaker
Alignment +/-
-1000
Title:
Honorbound
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
Reviver of the Ancient Beliefs
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
The Adept of Refinement
Alignment +/-
-none-
Once he had looked over his status Menu he spenthis ten unused points on his newQuicknessattribute and closed the menu.
Rick opened his inventory and brought out a few mithril ingots that he placed into the forge and touched the switch rune to activate the fire and wind runes. He then went to the elemental training room next to the workshop and sat down in the center of the rune circle. He cast his new spell [Fast Domain] and activated the Fire, Lightning, and Space runes. Closing his eyes in concentration he circulated his out reaching mana through the three affinities.
With his eyes closed he could still keep an eye on the active [Fast Domain] icon in the lower left of his vision. Rick used the new spell three times in a row while training his affinities. Only five minutes had passed in the game world, but inside his domain he had trained for three straight hours. After the third domain cycle he stood up and went into his workshop to remove the Mithril ingots from the forge and began making full body armor for his Dire Wolves that was similar to that of his Tigers armor.
When he completed the armor he received a new recipe that he used to make enough suits of armor for each Dire Wolf.
Rick walked up out of the castle basement as the sun was begining to set. Handil and Jerem''s work crews were packing up their tools and cleaning up the construction site around the partially constructed castle and preparing to head home or over to the tavern for a couple drinks. Activating his Flight skill, RIck flew over to the tower and went upstairs to the 3rd floor bedroom and unequiped his armor. Angelica had been reading when he came up and she began preparing to go to bed as well when she saw Rick preparing to disconnect.
They turned off the lights in the room and crawled under the covers to get some sleep for the remainder of the quest tomorow.
Disconnect!
Chapter 32: Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum
Once Rick had made dinner and finished eating, he cleaned up the kitchen and went right to bed. Even though he did not have any classes tomorrow morning he wanted to get an early start on preparing for his first quest. He still needed to find out the location of the orc clan that he needed to attack and also figure out a strategy of how he would defeat them.
Rick was awake the next morning before his alarm clock even had a chance to ring. He decided after waking up to get a quick workout in and then Rick took a shower when he finished his lifting routine. When he was dressed he ate breakfast and went back into the spare bedroom and sat down at his computer. When the computer had booted up he networked with his [Game Gear] capsule And used the software it came with to edit a video of thedungeon he discovered.
The video started when he was inside the entrance and began walking down the stairs into the darkness below. It showed how he went from room to room fighting on the first floor and he used the different camera options to show his fights from afirst person view to full room panning shots. The video showed his journey all the way through the dungeon and his discovery of the orc camp in the distance. The video ended with him fighting and killing the Orc Warlord with a fade to black that read "To be continued."
The only parts that he left out were any spells or recipes that he acquired, the trapped treasure chest, and what the outside of the dungeon looked like. When he was satisfied with the edited video he uploaded it to Kingdoms Online Forums and did a little subtle advertising for his store to bring in more customers.
He shut down the computer when his file was uploaded and climbed into his Gate Gear capsule.
Connect!
Rick woke up next to Angelica and it was still dark in the room. He activated sneak and stood up and equipped his clothes andopened a portal to the store. Inside his office, he activated night sight and reviewed the sales book and collected the thick layer of assorted coins in his desk drawer. Before he left, Rick made sure to recharge all the storage gems for the lights, alarms, and fountains. He also went upstairs on the roof to refill the water tank and then went into the basement to activate the fire runes in the buried septic tank to burn off all the collected waste. Rick then went back upstairs and relocked the basement door behind him and stocked the store with any missing merchandise.
When he had readied the store for his employees that would soon arrive he opened a portal to the castle workshop and cast a [fast domain]. He then sat down at the table and drew up a tower shield like the Romans used in the past.
Spoiler:Tower Shield.
This was going to be a shield that he would at times have all of his units carry on the battlefield so he decided to use his large supply of Mithril to make them strong and light. After Rick had hammered out the shield and attached the leather arm straps, he used his paint stick to color the shield solid red and also painted his House Coat of Arms on the shield face. When he acquired a recipe for the new shield he made a hundred of them and left them in his inventory.
His next project was to make a multi-layered spider silk black ninja suit. He had sewn six layers of the spider silk together so that he could test out if what the description told him was true. When the ninja suit was finished he laid it over the top of his arm that rest on top of the table and tried to pierce his dagger through the suit into his arm. When he slammed the dagger into the suit it did stop the dagger from piercing his arm but it still gave him some blunt force damage.
Rick examined the suit and only the first two layer had been cut while the other four remaining layers stopped the dagger point from piercing his arm. It seemed it was true that if he made multi-layered Spider Silk clothing they could work as an armor. He used the rest of his large spider silk cloth roll in his inventory to make male and female under-armor and two attractive multi-layered dresses for his battle dancers who could not wear armor due to their class. He took a minute to then change all of his outfitspresets under-armor for the new spider silk under-armor giving him, even more, protection from damage.
He was able to make the shields and clothing in only five minutes game time thanks to his [Fast Domain] that made time progress12x faster. It was still early and most of his workers were probably just leaving their apartments to head out to work. Rick decided to go next door to the elemental training room to train his Fire, Lightning, and Space affinity inside the [Fast Domain] when the five-minute spell timed out he deactivated the runes and left the room.
As he walked up the spiral staircase, Rick opened his flashing notification icon.
Spoiler:Show Notice!.
Elemental Affinity Increased:
Fire Affinity
Level4
Expert
08%
Elemental Affinity Increased:
LightningAffinity
Level3
Advanced
37%
Elemental Affinity Increased:
SpaceAffinity
Level 8
Intermediate
15%
Nice, I am starting to get some real gains now with the new elemental training room and the Fast Domain combined. Hmm, I should take a peek at my skills I can''t even remember the last time I even opened them now.
Spoiler:Show Skills!.
Skills List
Archery
Level 4
Advanced
78%
Artist
Level 6
Expert
11%
Blacksmith
Level 8
Expert
46%
Blocking
Level 1
Intermediate
85%
Carpentry
Level 2
Master
38%
Cartography
Level 4
Expert
69%
Cooking
Level 3
Master
70%
Demigod Dialect
Level 10
Master
MAXED
Digging
Level 9
Intermediate
57%
Emerald Scan
Level 1
Intermediate
03%
Enchanting
Level 8
Advanced
88%
Far Sight
Level 3
Intermediate
34%
Field Dress
Level 6
Intermediate
79%
Forging
Level 4
Expert
23%
Gem Cutter
Level 1
Advanced
28%
Goldsmith
Level4
Intermediate
19%
Hammering
Level 8
Master
77%
Hold Breath
Level 4
Beginner
94%
Identify
Level7
Intermediate
08%
Iron Scan
Level 9
Advanced
18%
Knives
Level 9
Expert
68%
Lumberjack
Level 2
Advanced
54%
Marble Scan
Level 5
Beginner
62%
Masonry
Level 7
Master
90%
Metal Sculptor
Level 2
Intermediate
26%
Mining
Level 5
Advanced
74%
Mithril Scan
Level 4
Advanced
15%
Night Sight
Level 8
Expert
89%
Orichalcum Scan
Level 1
Advanced
55%
Photoreading
Level 6
Advanced
33%
Raise Earth
Level 2
Beginner
02%
Repair
Level 6
Intermediate
72%
Ruby Scan
Level 4
Intermediate
83%
Shield Bash
Level 7
Beginner
21%
Ship Wright
Level 4
Intermediate
63%
Sixth Sence
Level 5
Beginner
52%
Smelting
Level 5
Master
73%
Sneak
Level 8
Advanced
94%
Swords
Level 7
Advanced
40%
Tailoring
Level 2
Advanced
10%
Taming
Level 1
Advanced
86%
Wood Carving
Level 7
Expert
27%
Auras
Aura
Level 9
Expert
67%
Aura: Calm Animal
Level 1
Intermediate
74%
Aura: Charming Presence
Level 8
Intermediate
57%
Aura: Intimidation
Level 3
Intermediate
09%
My Crafting and construction skill are great, but my fighting skills could use some work.Rick thought as he came up out of the castle basement and closed the skills menu.
Rick flew off toward Tower Island and landed next to the smokehouse where he dug a couple holes and cemented to thick poles into the ground and bolted another post horizontally between them. The poles looked like a big letter H cemented in the ground when he was done. Rick took out all the big game that he and his units and shot while walking through the forest yesterday and began hanging it from the letter H pole rack.
He went along and drained the blood and field dressed the assortedcarcasses. Rick stored the skins and furs in his inventory and quarter the meat into different sized cuts and carried them up into the smokehouse 2nd-floor room. Rick went down to the first floor and made a wood fire in the fire pit and the smoke slowly rose up to the 2nd floor to fill the room with all the cuts of meat.
Once, Rick, had the Smokehouse all fired up he cleaned up the gore and stripped carcasses by placing them into his inventory and flew down the mouth of the river where it dumped into the southern ocean. Rick while hovering over the water emptied out all the animal entrails and skeletons into the ocean to feed the fish and then looked up at his quest compass.
He now had two red dots on his compass one that pointed southwest towards the forest and the other one pointed in the direction of the temple.
This red dot pointing to the southwest should lead me right to the hostile orc faction and the other one is pointing at the temple to where I can end the quest with Faith. I definitely do not want to end it yet, because that will only delay the orcs from eventually marching out of the forest. I need to head over and find where their camp is so that I can figure out how to go about attacking them.Rick thought as he turned to the southwest and flew on.
Rick crossed the ocean bay and followed the red dot while flying high above the forest. With all the flying he had been doing his flight skill was constantly leveling up. He was using a lot less mana now and moving two or three times faster than when he first acquired the skill. After crossing the forest for about fifteen minutes, Rick noticed that the red dot began to move and give him a more accurate direction to travel towards.
It wasn''t long after he saw what looked like a large clearing up ahead in the forest. The red dot continued to lead him toward the forest clearing and when he flew out above it even at the height he was above the forest he could make out crude huts all built together in a disorganized clump in the center of the clearing. Rick decided to use his Cartography skill of the area and brought the map out to review the area below him.
Spoiler:Hostile Orc Camp.
The area surrounding the camp was mostly flat terrain and beyond the clearing was endless trees. Rick was hoping to find a defendable location near the orc camp, but it looked like the only choice was to attack it from the northeast. From the number of huts he could see on his map he was guessing this camp would hold anywhere from 300-500 orcs.
I have about 70 military units back at the city right now if I buy a few more and get my numbers up around 100 we shouldn''t have any problem beating this clan. I would think that the majority of them are just regular orc minions with tattered armor and crude weapons. It''s a shame I don''t have a crate of hand grenades right now I could do a little tactical bombing on this place to soften it up.Rick thought whilelaughing at himself as he flew back toward his city.
As he flew back home he opened his spell list to take a look at how his spells have been progressing.
Spoiler:Show Spell List!.
Spell List
Astral Door
Level 7
Beginner
72%
Acid Bolt
Level 3
Beginner
14%
Flight
Level 6
Advanced
89%
Mana Bind
Level 4
Beginner
38%
Portal Gate
N/A
N/A
N/A
Project Image
Level 3
Intermediate
13%
Read Maagic
Level 8
Intermediate
77%
Reverse Gravity
Level 8
Intermediate
23%
Elemental Affinities
Earth Affinity
Level2
Intermediate
22%
Fire Affinity
Level 4
Expert
08%
Lightning Affinity
Level 3
Advanced
37%
Nature Affinity
Level 1
Advanced
58%
Space Affinity
Level 8
Intermediate
15%
Rick landed outside the Cartwright shop and pulled out his drawing desk to make a couple quick sketches with his charcoal pencil on a sheet of parchment.
Spoiler: Wheeled Mantlets.
He then packed his table up and walked inside the shop and instructed his Cartwrights to discontinue making carriages and to start making the wheeled Mantlets he drew up. He explained how the top one needed the angled roof to be high enough to stand under and push forward at the same time. Thetop Mantlet was designed so a small squad of troops could stand under it and be protected from arrows as they moved forward. The second and third Mantlets were used to provide mobile wooden walls that could also protect units from ranged attacks. Rick was unsure if he would need to use these mantlets in the attack against the orc clan or the Nekomimi tribe, he was having them made so if he did need them they would already be available at any given time.
Even though this was a little different than making carts and carriages the designs were simple and easy to reproduce. He then walked behind the shop leaving his Cartwrights to begin the new designs and entered the Meeting Hall. He foundNezera helping some of her people who appeared to be weak or injured. Rick walked over to her and asked her to point out anyone with injuries or who was still feeling weak and followed behind her healing each person in turn.
Apparently, Nezera''s clan did not have a mage or healer because they all acted as if they had just witnessed a miracle when Rick easily healed over thirty people who had internal and external injuries that should have taken weeks to months for them to heal. Rick smiled atNezera and told her if she thought that was incredible to follow her and see what he did next. Before they left together Rick spoke up to all of the Half-Orcs and told them that the restaurant should be open now and they were all welcome to head over and have breakfast or even explore the town while they were out.
Rick then ledNezera outside and across the city over to the officials building where he stood before the System Gate and opened the buy units menu. He browsed through the available mage classes that he could assign units and opened the Electromage class that he had not had the chance to assign to any of his units yet.
Spoiler:Electromage Class Menu.
Electromage Class
Medium-strength Spellcaster with a touch of melee The Lightning Mage is a spellcaster who uses the very essence of nature''s energy to strike down their foes.
Lightning Mages are granted powers from an elemental demigod with permission of your deity.
Spells List
Spell Name
Spell Description
Mana Cost
Recharge Time
High Voltage Enhancement:
Your lightning spells do 25% more damage and cost 25% less mana to cast. Active until canceled.
100 mp
Five Minutes
Lightning Rush:
You use electricity to temporarily enhance your muscle reactions. You Move 3x faster for one minute.
5 mp
One Minute
Lightning Blade:
You create a longsword made of lightning that will remain until you deactivate the spell.
25 mp
Two minutes
Celestial Lightning:
Allows you to call upon the heavens to rain lightning down 30 feet around you. Will not harm allies.
50 mp
Two Minutes
Lightning Bolt:
A bolt of lightning forming a line 30 feet long and 3feet wide blasts out in a direction you choose.
50 mp
Two Minutes
Lightning Orb:
Allows you to summon a lightning orb at a targeted location that detonates and throws out chain lightning over a 30-foot area. This spell has a 50-foot range.
50 mp
Two Minutes
Chain Lightning:
Allows you to shoot-out a bolt of lightning that can jump from one foe to the next if they are within 5 feet of one another. A maximum of 20 enemies can be struck by one bolt.
50 mp
Two Minutes
Electric Eagle
Allows you to summon an eagle made of electricity that will fly above the battlefield and send down blasts of lightning on your enemies for 30 seconds.
50 mp
Two Minutes
Zeus''s Domain:
You checker weave lines of lightning across the ground in a 40-foot circular zone electrocuting all who step inside.
75 mp
Two Minutes
Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.
Instinctive Knowledge
Swords:
Allows you to use Swords. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Daggers:
Allows you to use Daggers. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Magic:
Allows you to wield magic.
Staves:
Allows you to use a Staves. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Light Armor:
Allows you to wear Light Armor. Skill level determines protection bonuses.
Medium Armor:
Allows you to wear Medium Armor. Skill level determines protection bonuses.
Shoot on the Move
Allows you to accurately hit targets while moving regardless of terrain.
Close Quarters:
Allows you to be far more effective when compressed with two soldiers or more allies.
Reading and Writing:
Allows you to read and write you racial and Lord''s language.
Hmm very nice, this class could come in handy when we don''t want to burn an area to the ground with the pyromancers. From the description of these spells, the electromage class seems to be just as effective as the pyromancer class. I am goinggive it a try bymaking a few Hero Knights that can wield lightning. That could be badass to have heavily armored units who can wield offensive magic.Rick contemplated as he closed the class menu.
First, he spawned in twenty-five Male Human Hero Knights/Electromage. Then he spawned in twenty Male Elven Mounted Archer/Mounted Spearmen. WhileNezera was standing there with her lower jaw on the ground in shock at seeing all these human and elven males suddenly appear before her. Rick walked into Alexandra''s office and had them scramble the messengers to take the new forty-five military units to their assigned apartments.
When the unconsciousesunits opened their eyes, Rick quickly explained where they were and what was going to happen. Rick told the messengers to first show them where the restaurant was and then their apartments. Rick then instructed them to all meet at the restaurant after they received the key to their new apartment and were shown its location.
Rick looked over toNezera and she still looked stunned so he grabbed her hand and led her out of the building over to the restaurant. While he explained that this was a power gifted from his goddess that allowed him to create people for his clan. Which seemed to put her in an even deeper state of shock.
When they reached the restaurant quite a few ofNezera''s people were sitting at the tables enjoying their breakfast in higher spirits now that they were far from the dangers of the previous day. They sat down at an open table and Rick called Sturm and Angelica over to meet him. While he was waiting he took out a couple sheets of parchment and a pencil and drew a few sketches.
Spoiler:Roman Formations.
When General Sturm and Angelica arrived he passed over the drawing to them and explained that they were effective formations used in his world''s past against ranged attacks. This was the reason he made the Roman tower shields this morning so that they could be used with the Testudo and shield wall. Rick took out one of the tower shields and showed it to them. They were surprised at how light the shield was because of Rick having used Mithril to make them they weighed next to nothing and were as hard as steel.
All of the new military men began to slowly trickle in from being shown their new place and when they had all arrived, Rick led them over to the tower. He took them up to the fourth floor and equipped them all with armor and weapons. He then walked everyone over to the stables and outfitted twenty horses with armor, saddles, reins, and stirrups. Rick had the male elven mounted archers/mounted spearmen mount the horses and begin riding them around outside the city on the plains. He even set up a few hay bails so that they could practice firing their bows on the move while riding.
When the mounted units were all set and started their practice, Rickflew over to the fitness area where all the other military units were currently at and had them meet him at the eastern bridge in front of the old worker''s barracks. Rick then flew back and landed near Sturm, Angelica, andNezera. When he landed poorNezera yet again just about lost her mind as he flew off and flew back as if it were nothing. Rick just shook his head and chuckled at her reaction and explained that he and his units would be training to fight the orc enemies and that it may get boring to watch them, but she was welcome to watch them. Nezera told him that since they would be fighting her enemy she thought the least she could do was watch their training exercises.
Hethen stepped off to the side as heopened his inventory and took out the one hundred tower shields. When all of the military unitswere at last assembled Rick explained the purpose of the Testudo Formation and had everyone grab a shield. He knew the general principles of this formation but had never actually done it before so they all had to work together and figure it out. Rick stopped before they began tocast [Fast Domain] so that they all could get a good practice in without it taking a wholeday to make any progress.
When heexplained how the fast domain worked toNezera she was curious and stepped out of the zone to watch them and had trouble even following their movements inside the domain. Even though they were walking around and figuring the best way to hold their shields it looked like they were all sprinting at unbelievable speeds to her.Nezera then took a few steps forward and entered the zone and everyone went back to a normal speed.
Rick wanted her to see all these spells and the things he could do because he figured when the quest was over the half-orcs would be more than happy to come join his city instead of returning to the forest to live in dirt floored wood and animal skin coveredhovels. Rick continued to practice the different formations with his troops for roughly three hours until they all began to have a good feel for how they needed to move as one and where to hold their shields for maximum protection.
As the group became comfortable moving in all directions while in the Testudo, Rick began the second phase of his training exercise. The troops would move forward some distance in the Testudo and then they would quickly break formation to make four lines. Once the four lines were formed one of two things could happen from there. The first option that Rick had them train was to send the front heavily armored lined forward at a charge to directly assault the enemy once the lines were formed. The second option was to form a solid shield wall that they could stand behind and attack from.
The first line would kneel down on one knee and brace against the enemy attack and had the option to also attack from between their shields. The second row would hold their shields above the head''s first row and interlock the shields to create a tall angled shield wall that protected against ranged weapons. The third and fourth line of mages and ranged units would shoot and cast over the shield wall at the enemy.
Rick would have like to create a three tiered shield wall like in the drawing he made, but at the present time, he just didn''t have enough troops to make it possible.Even though they had spent fourhours practicing these formations only twentyminutes of game time had passed thanks to the Fast Domain.
He then called over the cavalry and practiced moving in the Testudo with the cavalry keeping pace on their left and right flank. Asthe infantry marched forward in the Testudo formation, Rick had the cavalry then begin to gallop forward of them and unleash a barrage of arrows and then circle back around the Testudo to gallop forward on the opposite side and release another swarm of arrows.
With this tactic, the cavalry was constantly on the move making them a hard target to hit and the volley of arrows they continuously released forward would keep the enemy on the defense so they would not be able to return fire on the approaching Testudo.
They practiced their tactics until everyone felt comfortable with what was expected of them and then Rick had them allgather around him. He told all his military units to take the rest of the day off and get to bed early tonight because hewanted to be in the woods just outside of the orc camp tomorrow before sunrise. The warring orc clan was going to have a very unpleasant wake-up call early in the morning.
Before everyone headed off Rick used his spider silk under-armor recipe to make under-armor for all of his units. Even though the spider silk they had collected from the forest wasn''t weaved into cloth the recipe still recognized it and used it to make multi-layered under-armor. Rick assigned ownership of each piece as he handed out to them so that the smallest dwarf and biggest half-giant all had their personal fitting spider silk under-armor. He also gave everyone with an assassin class a multi-layered spider silk ninja suit and gave his two battle dancer/battle mages the fancy layered spider silk dresses.
Rick then went back to the stables with the elves who were headed there to return the horses and he informed the Animal Trainer that they would need the horse ready to go an hour before sunrise tomorrow morning. Rick told him he would send him a couple people to help him out from now on and he then walked with Angelica andNezera back to the officials building and stop next to the System Gate. Rick figured since laborers and craftsmen were only one gold piece each he would purchase a few more to help pick up the slack.
He spawned in Two Animal Trainers, two Human female Horse Trainers, five female elven Fletcher, a human female Shepherd, a human female baker, and a human male confectioner. He assigned one animal trainer that was a male kitsune to look after and feed the Dire Wolves and he instructed him to clean out the old stables on Tower Island for the wolves to sleep. He assigned the other animal trainer that was a male nekomimi to take care of his Tigers and feed them and also keep the Tiger stable clean. The two human female horse trainers were sent to the stables to work with the first animal trainer while the human female Shepherd was sent to Tower Island to tend the sheep with the original Shepherd who had been watching them alone all this time.
The five female elven Fletchers were assigned a couple shops and Rick gave them all the feathers he had collected in his inventory and told them that they could get wood delivered by cart and ask the blacksmiths to make barbed arrow tips. RIck used his pedal wood lathe recipe to make a lathe for every Fletcher and showed the women how to make wooden arrow shafts with them. Lastly, the human female baker and human male confectioner were sent to the restaurant to work in the kitchens alongside the cooks. While he was thinking about the restaurant he decided to also spawn in six human female servants to clean dishes and pick up dirty plates from the tables over at the restaurant.
Rick sent the messengers along the with the pack of new workers to assign them apartments and show them to theirwork areas afterward. He walkedNezera back to the meeting hall to check in with her people and sent Angelica back to the tower while he set off to install the three Gatehouse''s portcullises. He made good use of his Fast Domain so that he could quickly install them all.
When he had put each portcullis he also installed wooden drawbridges using the plans he had previously drawn up. Now the north, west, and south gatehouse were secured against enemies or wild animals that could just wander into the city. His next project was to begin working on the moat. Using his Move and Shape Earth skill he dug out a 20'' ft. deep x 20'' ft wide moat that wrapped around the entire outside of the walls to prevent ladders and siege towers from gaining access to the walls.
When the moat was all dug out, Rick then made a deep narrow canal along the outer western road that connected to the river. The street construction crew had already paved the streets in and around Tower Island.For Rick to be able to make the canal that connected to the river he had to carefully dig out under the paved streets and brace them up with stone blocks. He lined the canal floor, walls, and ceiling with cemented stone blocks under each paved street to support them from collapsing over time and also to prevent water from eroding away at the soil which could then cause the upper street to collapse.
Soon the water from the river was filling the canal and emptying into the moatto slowly fill it up all around the walls.While Rick was digging out the moat that surrounded the city walls, he had noticed that the street construction crew had already paved the outer streets that lined the walls outside the city, So, he now decided to make a map of the region with his cartography skill to figure out how far the streets had progressed once he had completed the moat and connecting canal.
Spoiler: Map of the Region.
The street construction crewisn''t messing around they have already finished just about everything I had originally assigned to them. We have a paved road that connects the city to the southern limestone and marble quarries. The paved road now run across Tower Island and the once smaller wooden bridges have been replaced with the now wider stone block and cement bridges by building support arches across the river exactly like we used to make the aqueduct.
It seems that Handil must have sent some of his stone mason and stone cutters over to help build these bridges. They were the ones who I had originally taught how to make the arches with the supporting keystones when I had them construct the aqueduct. I have had plans to make a military academy to teach my troops tactics and strategies along with introducing them to new technologies that I create, but I wonder if I should also build a place to teach building techniques? I will have to sit down later with Handil and Jerem and find out if they would be interested in the idea.
I better go find the street construction crew that has been working with the surveyors and assign them the next stage of roads before they are done and sitting around with nothing to do.Rick put away his region map after contemplating over how his city was progressing and walked over the newly built bridge that spanned the river just south of Tower Island. The bridge was quite impressive it was paved flat with stone cemented pavers and was wide enough for two lanes of horse-drawn cart traffic to pass at once. It also made use of evenly spaced arches that supported the weight of the wide spanning stone bridge. When Rick curiously looked over the side rail of the bridge he discovered that the arches had been built on small patches of land.
He went over to talk with the men who were finishing up the western side of the bridges stone railing andfound out that Handil did indeed send them over to build this bridge. Now that he had Jerem and his crew helping build the castle, Rick was told that there were almost too many people over there. So when the road construction crew had asked Handil of a way they might build a bridge across the wide river Handil had sent over the men who worked on the aqueduct arches and he also talked with General Sturm to provide some help.
Spoiler: NewStone Arched Bridge.
When Handil had come over to investigatethe river, he used the western footbridge to examine the areaand discoveredhow Rick had raised the land instead of directly spanning the entire river. Handil then expanded on the idea by having General Sturm send over Silandra who is a Hero Ranger/Druid. Handil asked Silandra to use her Druid skill [Move and Shape Earth] to raise small sections of land that they could build arches on. Handil did an excellent job coordinating the military, road constructioncrew, and his men to build this bridge. There was only one problem that Rick could see that missed Handil''s attention. Each section of land that the arches now sat on did not have any breakwater walls around the soil.
Without some way to protect the soil from the river''s current over time it would erode away the soil and this would cause the arches to collapse along with the entire bridge. Rick then opened his chat menu to call Handil and congratulated him on an excellent job. Rick told him he was quite impressed with how he had brought everyone together tobuild the bridge. Rick then explained the problem with the land that the bridges sat on. He did not try to scold Handil or make him feel that he hadscrewed up. Rick only wanted to further educate him so that in the future he would be even more knowledgeablein how tobuild on or span water.
Rick walked down to the shoreline and unequipped his clothes and waded out into the river. He then used his Druid skill [Shape Shift] to turn himself into the large fish he had once caught in this river. Once he had made his transformation, Rick swam around the raised sections of land and tried something he had never done yet. While he was swimming around as a fish he used his druid skill [Transmute Stone and Earth]. The sides of the raised soil columns were very muddy from being submerged so when he used this skill on them all the soil that had absorbed water instantly turned into solid stone.
After he had encased all of the raised earth in stone he left the water and examined the each section of raised columns of earth and found they all had about nine inches of stone encircling each of them. Rick then redressed and went to the far end of the western road that reached past the bridge where took out his drawing desk and a chair. He sat down at his desk with the map of the region he made earlier and began marking out where he wanted streets to be built next with his charcoal pencil and a makeshift ruler.
Once he had drawn out the next stage of his street system, Rick walked over to the road crew and discussed this new plan with them and the surveyors. The surveyors left then to immediately begin marking out where the new streets would be built while the road crew finished up ending the western street until Rick figured out where it may lead to someday.
He decided to fly back toward the city after talking with the surveyors and the road crew to land on the west main street in the crafting district. Rick walked from shop to shop gathering all of their finished items and found that the glass workers had completed half of the stained glass windows for the temple.They had stored them in the backroom of the shop, so Rick went in the back to store them in his inventory. When he found the stained glass panes they were stacked on a large table and covered with heavy blankets to protect them from damaging one another. He pulled off the blankets and was quite impressed with the work they had done. The stained glass panes all had different scenes with their goddess Faith represented in each of them.
Rick stored all of the Stained glass panes into his inventory and sat down at the table. He took out a few sheets of parchment and drew up some new furniture to be sold at his store.
Spoiler:New Furniture Designs.
Rick left the glass workers shop with his new designs and went to hand them off to his furniture maker/artisans and called his spinsters and quilt makers/artisans to go over the cloth types and patterns that would need to be made for these new upholsteries, blankets, and pillows needed for the new designs. He then went over to the castle basement workshop and activated [Fast Domain]. He placed a few ingots ofSparkling Silver that had a highlyreflective surface just like a mirror into the forge fire.
When the Sparkling Silver ingots were hot enough to work with, Rick hammered them flat and then put them through the metal rollers to make one eighth thick metal sheets ofSparkling Silver. Once he had run the sheets through the metal rollers a couple times he had a perfectly smooth sheet that he used along with his Metal Sculptor skill to make the mirror designs he drew up earlier. Rick received six recipes for the six mirrors and made a few of each of them.
He opened a portal to his office and went out on the floor to display the new mirrors on the store walls and placed the rest of the extras behind the counters and in the warehouse to restock any that were sold. The mirrors that were currently being sold in the city were made of polished brass and silver and were not very smooth or reflective. People could get a general idea of how their hair and clothes looked, but these current mirrors offered no real detail. These new mirrors that Rick just put on display were similar inreflectiveness and quality to that of modern mirrors. Not only could some see their exact crystal clear image in one of Rick''s mirrors they were also made of better materials and they all had very artistic designs.
Rick called over Nellie and showed her the new mirrors and explained the differences to her. He then proceeded to pitch them to every customer who passed by him. Even if he did not immediatelysell these new mirrors, he knew that they would become one of the new talks of the city like his carriages. This would bring in people to either view or buy them and once they were in the store he was sure they would find something that they would just need to have.Nellie watched as Rick describe the mirrors and how he approached the customers so that she could pass on his sales techniques to her sales girls. The way he always approached the customer and interacted with them was so foreign, but yet effective.
Even though he was never a salesman, Rick had been around and dealt with many salesmen in the real world who used more advanced sales techniques than they were used to in this middle age type world.
One of Rick''s techniques wasto get the customer to answer simple questions that he knew they would answer with a yes and once the customer had continuouslyanswered his questions with yes for so long it became hard for them to say nobecause the customer would have subconsciously developed a bond with him. Rick also used humor to disarm the customers and put them at ease so they were not on guard against being sold something.
He would even mention the ranks of nobles who had come to his store to buy certain products the customer was currently interested in. This would make a lower social class person think it must be a great product for such an upper-class person to want it. The customer may alsothink that it would make them look good by owning the same product that the nobles were buying. Rick soon wrapped up his sales lessons for Nellie and headed back to Tower Island.
Even though they were going to battle with the orc camp tomorrow morning, Rick wanted to improve himself as much as he could with the remainder of his online time. He walked back to the fitness center and began weight lifting and stair stepping in his heavy armor with the runes turned off. As he did all of this, Rick had cast a Fast Domain around the area so that he could get a long workout in.
During the first hour and a half he could hardly walk up the stairs in his armor with the runes off, but as he gradually made gains it started to become an easier process. After he had worked out for over three and a half hours in the domain he was able to move around in his armor and climb up and down the stone stairs without much trouble.
He began then hopping up the stairs and soon began hopping up and down them while carrying dumbbells. Rick continued to lift weights and climb the stairs for over four hours and then walked over to the tower. He opened his notices on the way to the tower to check on his gains.
Spoiler:Show Notices!.
Attribute Increased:
Strength
+55
Attribute Increased:
Stamina
+29
Attribute Increased:
Vitality
+34
Attribute Increased:
Agility
+21
After looking at the attribute gains he checked on his status menu as he climbed up the tower stairs to his bedroom.
Spoiler:Show Status!.
Cedric Crownguard
Strength:
187
Level: (41%)
20
Stamina:
137
Health:
1710
Vitality:
171
Mana:
1330
Intelligence:
133
Piety:
+175
Wisdom:
68
Fame:
+37,000(locally respected)
Agility:
96
Honor:
+32,000 (village hero)
Charisma:
38
Alignment:
+4000
Leadership:
57
Satiety:
64%
Luck:
15
Class:
DruidicMage
Quickness:
10
Class:
Space-Time Wizard
Health Regen/Sec:
8.5
Mana Regen/Sec:
6.5
Feudal Domain:
5760
Race:
Chosen Human
Feudal Title:
Marquess
Unused Points:
0
Awarded Titles
Currently Displaying:
The Adept of Refinement
Title:
The White Knight
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
The Honor Guard
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
The Duelist
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
Black Hand Interrogator
Alignment +/-
-1000
Title:
Benevolent Leader
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
Explorer of the Unknown
Alignment +/-
-none-
Title:
Oath Breaker
Alignment +/-
-1000
Title:
Honorbound
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
Reviver of the Ancient Beliefs
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
The Adept of Refinement
Alignment +/-
-none-
Rick closed his status menu and unequipped his gear and laid on the bed to disconnect from the game for a little while.
Disconnect!
Chapter 33: Battle of Lorebark Forest
Rick stood up from his VR capsule and went down the hall to use the bathroom. He washed his hands and left the bathroomto findhis smartphone. He returned a few texts and called Amy back who had left him a voice message asking if he were busy. The two of them decided to go out for dinner and caught a 9:00 movie afterward. They ended up back at Rick''s apartmentwhen the movie let out and the two of them slowly made their way to his bedroom while leaving a trail of clothing behind them that ended on the floor nextto his bed.
They spent the next couple hours rolling around under the covers andcatching up with each other since it had been a couple weeks since they had seen each other. Amy was an airline stewardess who was often traveling around the country on different flights and when she was back in town the two of them would try to make time for each other.
Amy had to actually leave town again at 12:30 pm so they took a shower together and she followed the trail of clothes to get dressed. Amydrove her own car home from Rick''s apartment to get some sleep before she had to make her next flight.
Rick had given her a kiss goodbye at the door and then closed and locked it as she climbed into her car and drove off. He shut the lights off behind him and reset his alarm beside his bed and was soon asleep.
He slept soundly for a few hours and was woken up by the alarm ringing in the dark beside his bed on the nightstand. Rick threw on a pair of sweats and a sweat shirt and went into the spare room and climbed into his Gate Gear.
Connect!
He opened his eyes to the dark tower bedroom and stood up to cross the room and start turning on the lights. Angelica began to stir and woke up when he had turned the lights on and sat up in bed. When she stood up she walked over to the armor stand by the wall and began removing the pieces to prepare for the battle. Rick used his outfit preset to equip his thick runic armor "Bastion of Protection" and crossed the room to stand next to Angelica.
Rick helped her put on her chain mail and runic armor and snapped the connecting chainson the back of her torso armor to her greaves and helmet. Rick opened the small compartment on the back of her armor and recharged her storage gems and then sealed it once again. He made use of his repair skill to repairher armor and weapons and then did the same for his own gear.
The two of them left Tower Island with the Tigers and Dire Wolves following behind them. Rick stopped by at the Smokehouse and stored all the meat into his inventory from the previous hunt and then met up with Angelica and the animals waiting outside for him. They all walked together toward the restaurant whileRick used the party chat to call General Sturm and a few of his troops to gather all the military unitsand meet up at the restaurant. Rick went into the kitchen after turning on a few lights and began going through the fridge grabbing food. Angelica stood beside him in the kitchen and watched as he made a huge batch ofscrambled eggs. Rick poured a large portion of flour into a tub with salt milk and water he mixed it up into a thick liquid and made pancakes on large cast iron trays on top of the stoves. As the pancakes and eggs slowly cooked he thinly sliced up some venison and slowly fried the meat in cooking oil with spices.
When everything was done he took it out into the dining area that was quickly filling up with military units fully armored and armed for battle. Rick set out a few stacks of plates with Angelica''s help and had his troops all line up tograb some food so they would not be fighting with low satiety levels. Hethen took out a few large cuts of meat a sectioned them up and placed them on plates. He carried them over to the Tigers and Wolves and let them eat inside the dining area with everyone else.
Rick had picked at some of the food as he was cooking so he did not sit down to eat with everyone. He had actually walked out the front door to leave the restaurant and make his wayover to the meeting hall. He walked through the front doors andapproached a couple of male half-orcs that were awake watching over their people as they slept. Rick toldthem in orcish to inform Nezera that he wanted to briefly talk to herand followed behind the guards to her makeshift bedroom and waited outside for them to wake her.
A minute later he was invited inside to find Nezera standing beside her bed with only a blanket drapedloosely around her nude body. Rick did not mention it figuring this was how she normally slept and he was the one who came in here and disturbed her sleep. He walked over to stand in front of her and let her know that he and his troops would be using his portal spell to travel to the orc camp and attack them before sunrise.
He thought that since he was going out to attack the enemy who drove her and her people out of their homes that she would like to know. What he did not expect was she would want to come along with him and fight in the battle. He worried for her safety and tried to talk her out of it, but she wanted to at least be present to watch the enemy who killed her people and burned their homesget their just deserts.
Rick stood silent for a moment and then spoke up. "If you come I can''t have you fighting you will need to stay at the back of the line. I am sure you know how to fight, but the way you fight and the way my troops will fight are completely different. I will also need to dress you in special clothes and armor. I will not be able to watch over you throughout the entire battle and I don''t want to see you wounded or killed by a stray arrow or some enemy who somehow got around us." Rick explained in orcish.
Nezera who was originally upset when he first told her she would not be able to fight, flashed a sad smile when he told her he was concerned for her safety. Nezera then released the blanket covering her so that it fell to the floor and held her arms outstretched while asking Rick to dress her however he wished so that she could witness the battle soon to take placewith him.
I guess she really wants to come along and fight this enemy clan if she is willing to just stand nude in front of a man she just met. It could also be thather people do not look at nudity as an embarrassing display. One way or the other she sure has a great body.
Rick couldn''t help but look over her young alluring body as she stood unashamedly exposed before him. He quickly snapped out of it to beginusing his recipes to make a female spider silk under-armor top and bottoms. He had her put them on while he used his other recipes to make a suit of runic armor like the one Angelica and her Valkyrie squad wore.
He took out a paint stick and painted Nezera''s Armor the same color green as her eyes so that it would look different from Angelica''s armor. Rick then assigned ownership of the armor to Nezera and began placing the pieces onher and tightening the straps snugly in place. She was concerned about the weight having never worn metal armor before until Rick opened the back compartment so that he could charge the storage gems and then showed her how to turn on the runes. When Nezera touched the switch rune thatactivated the runes in the compartment on her lower back she was surprised to feel the weight vanish while the cool air circulated around the interior of the armor.
Next, he placed the helmet on her head and snapped all the torso chains into place to allow the rune circuits to connect with the greaves and helmet and further reduce the felt weight while increasing durability and protection.
When she was fully armored, Rickasked her what type of weapons she was familiar with and she favored the one-handed axe. Rick put a leather belt around her waist with a hammer holder on each side of her waist that was the same as the construction workers generally used, but instead of wearing two hammers, he slid a one-handed battle axe into each of the hammer holders. Now fully armored from head to toe and with two battle axes hanging from her waist, RIck led her from the room.
She stopped to quietly speak with the two guards who had woke her up and they had a whisperedargument so as to not wake the people around them over wanting to come along and fight with her. She told them that she needed them here so that she wouldn''t worry about her people''ssafety while all the military units in the city were away. Nezera had a hard enough time getting Rick to take her along and knew he would not bring any of her people along so this was the best way to make them feel they were needed here and not to press the issue further.
Rick and Nezera thenleft the meeting hall and walked over to the restaurant and Rick made her a plate of food and helped her unsnap and remove the helmet so she could properly eat. When he went to set Nezera''s helmet on the table he then just noticed that the helmet had even reshaped itself to fit around her lower protruding canine teeth so that the helmet would fit her head properly and make it easier to put on or take off.
With everyone still eating or preparing their equipment Rick providedanother helping of meat for all of hisanimals who seemed to enjoy the taste of the smoked flavor. Especially the dire wolves who had only eaten raw meat all their lives. It seemed strange to them at first but it was a welcome change to the same thing day after day.
When everyone had finished eating Rick stood up on a bench and explained the mission and their strategy to his attentive units. When he was done he strapped armor onto the Tigers and Wolves and led everyone over to the stables so that the cavalry could collect their horses that were now armored saddled and ready for battle. He went down the line and checked all of his units armor and weapons while helping Nezera put her helmet back on and snapping it to the torso armor.
Now satisfied that everyone was prepared for battle, Rick opened a portal outside the stables and they all quietly filed through to find themselves in the forest northeast of the orc camp. Rick lead them out of the forest into the pitch black clearing where they all could see small fire off in the distance that lit up the quiet orc camp about four hundred yards southwest of them. He stopped the troops on the edge of the forest and opened his inventory to take out the ballista and he proceeded to line them all up in a neat row.
He then used his [Move and Shape Earth] skill to raise a wide wall up about ten feet high with theballista on top of it. Around the backside of the wall, he made a dirt ramp so that the female dwarves could walk up and stand next to their ballista. Rick then went down the line and placed stacks of regular steel bolts and runic fire bolts next to each ballista. The female dwarven ballista units began setting up and loading theirballista while Rick walked down the ramp and had his infantryform up in preparation for the Testudo. When the infantry was in place, he had twenty ElvenMounted Archer/Mounted Spearmen form up with ten cavalry units on the left and tencavalry units on the right flanks of the infantry. Rick had them prepare to lead off with their bows at the ready and to leave their spears and shields strapped to their saddles.
Using his recipes, Rick made forty black leather quivers and filled them with runic fire arrows and passed them out to the mounted archers and any infantry that had the hero ranger class. He strapped one across his lower back next to his quiver of regular arrows and did the same for Angelica. Rick then handed out all the red tower shields to the infantry from his inventory and went to find Nezera.
"Alright, Nezera I want you to stay next to me from now on. When the battle starts I will end up moving to the front line to fight I want you to stay on the back line with the archers when that happens." Rick waited for her to agree and gave her a quick smile and waved her to follow him. First, he walked up the ramp to stand on top of the earthen wall next to the ballista line and told them to all load fire bolts.
When they had changed out regular bolts and reloaded fire bolts, Rick told them to adjust their machines elevation to hit the crude wood and leather hovels out in the distance. When the line was loaded and ready he told them that he wanted them to try and burn the camp down with the fire bolts until the orcs had found out they were under attack and began grouping up to counter-attack. When the Orcs began to group up, he would give the order for the ballista to switch targets from the building to the Orcs.
"When they group up and begin to move toward us to attack I want you to change your target from the camp to the attacking orcs. I don''t care if you use fire or regular bolts just keep attacking them until weare ready to move forward. When the General gives the command to form up testudo and we begin advancing out to intercept the enemy then you can begin attacking the camp again. Just make sure that your shots all clear over us I don''t want any of our troops getting hit from behind by a stray bolt." Rick instructed the female dwarven squad and turned toward Nezera.
"Nezera I want you to stay right here until I return I am going to assist in the ballista attack for a few minutes then I will return back to you," Rick explained.
He then opened his party chat and told General Sturm that he planned to move forward during the opening barrage and to hold the troops back until he returned. Rick then activated flight and flew up a few feet above the wall and told the line to begin the ballista attack. He watched as they all touched the switch runes on the end of the bolt hanging off the end of the ballista and a column of fire shot out of the fire rune on the head of each loaded bolt. They released the ranged machines in unison and ten streaks of fire arched through the air to land into the center of the orc camp. Thefemale dwarves all made a small quick adjustment to the ballista and launched another barrage of fire bolts that landed in another section of the camp.
When Rick saw that the roofs of a few hovel began to blaze up, he flew up high into the air and sped across the field to hover over the camp. He was going to expand on the joke he made last time he was here to reconnaissance this camp. Instead of him dropping a crate of hand grenades though he would drop something down on them just as bad.
Rick wanted to test out his new second class spells and the first one he used was [Tear Reality]. When he cast it Rick noticed a black jagged line began to open up on the ground then after a count of about two seconds a huge explosion detonated. The sheer force and shock wave from the spell blast blew apart every hut within thirty yards and any orc that was sleeping inside them. The orc camp now started to wake up from the scattered ballista fires and the sound of theexplosion. Rick could see them about fifty yards below begin to run around trying to figure out was happening.
Rick spotted a group of about fifteen orcs that had come together below him and he cast [Black Hole] right in the middle of them. The group of orcs was suddenly ripped apart and sucked into the black hole leaving only blood splashed acrossthe ground after the black hole vanished. He then used his fireball spell on a hut and moved to the back of the camp that had not yet been set on fire and cast fire wall in the entrance of a hovel to set it on fire.
He then circled the camp dropping fire spells on the outer buildings so that the fire would begin to spread inward and soon engulf the entire camp. While his spells were recharging he used his fire elemental to ignite his feet and he would simply land on one roof after another setting them on fire. When over a quarter of the camp was on fire and there were orcs swarming everywhere as the sun began to rise and cast a dim light over the clearing.
Rick had killed at least 70-80 by dropping spells on them from the dark night sky, but he could still see orcs running around between the fires every where he looked below him. With the sun beginning to rise he became more noticeable while hovering above the camp and dropping spell after spell. A small group had seen his spells dropping from the sky and when they looked up they spotted him as he was preparing to drop another fireball from the sky. The small group began to call out trying to alert the others around them of his location. Rick could just make out what they were yelling and when he heard them begin to call out for archers, he knew it was time to silence them.
He decided to attack the group of orcs before any surrounding orc bowmen below him were alerted to his location. Rick streaked down toward them and cast [Halt time] to stop time around them to freeze them in place for five seconds. He followed the [Halt Time] spell with [hypergravity] that amplified normalgravity by ten times. This gravity spell crushed the group of orcs to the ground shattering and snappingtheir bones under the gravities weight. If an orc were to weigh two hundred pounds this spell instantly changed their weight to two thousand pounds. This was almost equivalent to Rick dropping a compact car on top of each one of them.
Before he began to draw more attention he flew up high enough to avoid the incoming ballista fire and flew back to land next to Nezera who was looking at him like he had two heads now. Even though she was quite far from the orc camp she could still make out the devastating spells Rick mercilessly dropped down on the Orc camp from the air that caused such destruction where ever he flew to.Rick began to chuckle when he saw the incredulous expressionon her face. He told Nezera that he paid them back for burning her clan''s homes and was quite sure a few of them burned along with their hovels.
Now almost all of the western side of the orc camp was on fire and the hungry flames were spreading toward the eastto consume one hut after another.As this wall of flames unrelentingly spread east not only did they burn the huts but they also herded every uninjured orc toward the east side of the camp. When Rick began to see them clumping up in large numbers he told the ballista to start targeting the crowds of confused orcs. Activating his Far Sight he began to spot for them and told them how high or low they were all shooting and after a couple shots each, the line of ballista was all dead on. With the Far sight zoomed in it was like he was almost standing right next to the orcs when the bolts began slamming into them.
The long steelbolts had so much weight and speed they could pierce through multiple orcs and quite a few were even skewered together on the same bolt. After a few minutes of this, the orcs finally traced back where the shots were coming from and saw Rick''s small elite army across the clearing lined up in front of the earth wall and the armored horses standing on each side of them.
Some of the assembled orcs out of anger or blood lust decided to charge off toward the enemy without waiting for backup. When Rick had seen these small group of orcs who decided to instantly charge he sent the cavalry forward to mow them down with a storm of arrows. When they had killed the charging orcs they trotted back to stand next to the infantry again.This discouraged any other hotheads from independently running out to attack them.
Rick could see that they were attempting to change their approach by sending out a few orcs to run around the camp in an attempt to move all their numbers to the gathered mass on the east side. One strange thing that he noticed with his Far Sight skill was that among the gathering orcs a good portion of them did not have any weapons. All he could think of is either there were only so many weapons in the camp and everyone did not have one or the fire had surprised them so much that they ran out of their huts in panic and did not even have enough time to grab their weapons and shieldsbefore they were engulfed in flames.
The orcs were so disorganized because of the fire they could not even begin to attack in force before the ballista had run out of steel bolts and steel flame bolts. The camp had been in such disarray from them trying to stop the fire from spreading or from attempting to save other orcs trapped by the flames that most of the camp was unaware that they were under attack forabout an hour. Rick hadjust used his recipe to make more steel bolts when he noticed the constantly growing mass of orcs began to form up together and finally move out across the open field toward them. He quickly distributed the bolts and had the ballista start firing again until they began to move out to confront the advancing orcs.
Rick called out for Nezera to follow him and they ran down the dirt ramp around to the front of the earthen wall and along the side of his troops to stop beside General Sturm and Angelica who were watching the orcs march forward. He stopped and told General Sturm to prepare to lead the troops out in Testudo formation when the orc army had covered half the distance between them. He then yelled out orders for the cavalry to keep pace with the infantry and to fire at will when the enemy was in range.
Rick also told the cavalry that if the battle turned into a big messy melee he would give them orders to then switch over to their shields and spears and make continuous charges into their flanks. Just then enemy stopped advancing at a walk and wasnow advancing at a jog toward them in a large mob without any lines or organization of any kind. Rick could tell that these orcs were used to just throwing large amounts of unorganized groups at the enemy until they won the battle just by watching the way they were currently advancing.
The orcs after jogging toward them for a couple minutes had begun to pick up their pace when they crossed the halfway mark and then Sturm gave them all the hand signal to form up in Testudo. Rick wrapped an arm around Nezera''s waist and pulled her tightly against him as the other units began to tighten the lines until they were literally shoulder to shoulder and stomach to back. While they continued to squeeze into formation they all lifted their shields above their heads and interlock them to make a solid metal roof above them. The units on the front line raised their shields up to eye level and the troops on the left and right side angled their shields out to the sides to form a long solid metal rectangle of shields.
Rick gave Nezera a quick explanation of why she had to remain so close to him as they all moved forward and continued to hold her close. This was so the Testudo would not have any gaps from her being in between two shield bearers that would allow arrows or thrown weapons to penetrate. They all could hear as marched forward the four-foot long steel ballista bolts whistleda few feet above their shielded heads to then pierce through the enemy ahead causing them to scream out in pain.
Then after more few yards of marching Rick and his troop began to hear bangs and pings of arrows and thrown weapons rebounding off their shields as they came into range of the orcs. The cavalry began to also come under fire so they galloped forward to unleash their arrows into the orcs and then circle back around the advancing Testudo to unleash arrows on the opposite flank exactly like they practiced. They galloped back and forth shooting and retreating while exchanging flanks to slow down the progress of the orcs and get them to raise their shields instead of their bows.
When the two opposing armies were roughly fifty yards apart Sturm called out for the shield wall. The Testudo stopped and everyone formed up into four lines also taking up their positions like they had practiced. Rick told Nezera to stay put for now and then moved on to the front line with Angelica. He passed her a mithril compound bow from his inventory and also took one out for himself.
Rick and Angelica did not try to form up on the front shield wall and worked independently so that they could move to wherever they were needed. The two of them along with the back rows of archers and mages started to attack the enemy once they were in their position. Spells of Fire and lightning shot forward to burst among the orcs while Rick Angelica and the archers tossed out clouds of arrows that fell into the slowing mass of orcs. The half-giants used their battle aura skill [Heaven''s Helper] that created a spirit animal companion that they unleashed into the bogged down orcs that were struggling to push through the torrent of arrows and offensive spells.
Rick then held up a hand signal toward the cavalry on his left and right. The cavalry stopped moving forward and backward to form a single-file rotating circle on each side of the shield wall. The cavalry now looked like two rotating wheels on each side of the shield wall and as each of the mounted archers came around to face the enemy they would unleash acontinual stream of arrows. Instead of a random wall of arrows, this was like having two mounted machine guns that shot out a line of arrows that strafed the orcs front line.The mob of orcs was quickly being shot down but they persevered forward unwilling to back off with their homes and families behind them.
The orcs even after losing heavy numbers made it to the shield wall and raced forward to throw them themselves furiously into battle. When they came into contact with the shield wall the front line all snapped their shields forwardand pushed the orcs back while at the same time swords and spears licked out from between the shields to pierce through and kill the orcs. The simpler minded orcs that had never fought against an enemy who could use military tactics and formations continued to repeatably toss themselves against the shield wall. Every time they slammed against the shield wall they were continuously pushed back to be pierced and stabbed while stumbling to keep on their feet while then be pushed forward again by theircomrades from behind who werealso trying to reach the shield wall.
Rick and Angelica dropped their bows behind them and reached back to draw out their runic fire swords. He used a combination of Hypergravity to crush the orcs and Gravity Field to suspend them while the other recharged. The mass that they worked hard to thin out now began to grow as reinforcements from the camp kept running up from behind to swell their ranks. Rick decided before they were encircled and over run he needed to distract them. After casting so many spells he was low on mana and decided to switch tactics and use elementals that did not suck up his mana as quickly as spells.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
He took out his fire and lightning runic hammer maul that once almost killed him from testing it and then covered himself in a layer of lightning and flames. Rick told Angelica to remain on the frontline and he ran forward by himself while swinging his hammer from side to side.He bashed a wide path intothe center of the stunned orcs leaving a trail of charred bodies behind him. As he fought through them he noticed that there were still numerous unarmed orcs that were attempting to pick up weapons of the orcs he had killed.
Rick upon seeing this began to feed his elemental fire and lightning into his hammer to create small detonations every time it struck a foe. This was to try and scare them away from the weapons laying around and create mass panic in their ranks.The first orc he hit was literally blasted in half the upper torso became a pink mist and the lower part waist and legs stood in place until Rick plowed forward setting off more small explosions.
Boom!Boom!Boom!Boom!Boom!
The fearless orcs who witnessed the carnage either ran from Rickor charged forward to try and stop him. This created the chaos he was looking for in the mass of orcs from them all attemptingto run in different directions and it helped to take pressure off the front line of the shield wall. The orcs were no longer working together to attack the shield wall which is exactly what Rick wanted.
When he found himself in the center of the mob, Rick started taking blows fromevery direction. A couple that hit his helmet rang his bell and he almost lost his footing once, but for the most part, they hit his torso and arms without any real damage with his spider-silk under-armor, astrallium chain mail, and rubber lined runic armor he could get hit by a bus and only receive a small amount of blunt force damage. It was now beginning to become difficult to remain on his feet and he didn''t want to falldown and have the orcs pin him and strip his armor off so he decided to make his way out of the attacking mass.
Rick changed his direction and began swinging his hammer toward the outside perimeter of the orcs and was soon able to make his way back out again. A small portionof the orc massbroke off now tunnel visioned on only trying to kill him. He started casting spike traps behind him and fire walls to channel the pursuing orcs into his traps. Theearth spike traps pierced through their feet, legs, and stomachs while the fire wall scorched anyOrcs that attempted to run through the flames.
When he had broken free of the pursuing orcs Rick held up his hand tosignal the cavalry to fallback behind the infantry lines and replace their bows for spears and shields. With spears and shields in hand, they then made wide looping circles around the outside mass of the hundreds of attacking orcs and charge at full speed into them from behind. When the line of charging cavalry slammed into the orcs from behind they trampled and threw the orcs spinning off in every direction. The cavalry was able to carry their momentum through the mob while they lashed out with their spears to stab any orc within their reach. When a horseor rider was wounded they would make their way to the back lines so that the clerics could quickly heal them and rejoin the charge.
The cavalry charges really turned things around for Rick and his troops. There were a few times when the overall orc numbers had threatened to spill over the sides of the shield wall and attack the lines from the sides in the same way they had wiped out the spiders, but the cavalries continued charges and retreats kept driving back the encircling flanks of the orcs.
Rick made a guess that when the melee first started the orcs had four hundred or more units and with their ever changing tactics and distractions they were able to whittle down the orcs numbers to around one hundred now. Rick fell back from the front line to find Nezera still standing in the back row among the Archer line watching the battle progress.
He called her forward to him and when she was next to him he pulled a light weight round Mithril shield out and handed it to her. "Time to get your revenge Nezera! Take out your axe and follow me!" He yelled out to be heard above the sounds of screams and metal on metal that filled the air. Rick also looked to the Tiger and Dire Wolf lines and unleashed them on the remaining enemies.
Rick led Nezera up to the front line to fight beside him and Angelica. Now that the orcs numbers were low and it would only be a matter of minutes until they were completely wiped out, Rick let Nezera run wild. For a low level, she wasn''t an elite unit, but she impressively held her own against one or two enemies at once. She was quick to block and could lash out with her axe to hit vital areas that quickly killed or crippled her foes. Her agility and strength could dominate any one on one combat that she found. What impressed Rick was that she still had a good sized pool of unused points that needed to be distributed still. This was a good opportunity for him to see how she fought andthen later he would be able to help her distribute those points in a way that would improve her fighting style.
He only had to back her up a couple times when she had stepped forward of the line too much and had three or four orcs trying to take her down at once. Once Rick had pulled her back she soon got used to fighting on the line instead of running head long into the enemy ranks.
When the orcs numbers were cut down to about thirty units a few broke off and tried to make a run for the village, but Rick sent the Tigers and Dire Wolvesout to run down any who attempted to escape. General Sturm held up his hand and gave a signal to release part of the front line and the half-giants charged forward into the remaining orcs. Their huge axes in hand and their tower shields left behind they quickly cleaned up the remaining enemies.
With the battlefield now clear of enemies, Rick had his unitsform up into Testudo once again and he pulled Nezera in close to him as they advanced on the orc camp that looked like a wall of flames in the distance now. Rick halted the formation juston the outskirts of the camp and then heraised the earth beneath all of them about fifteen feet off the ground.They scanned the camp below them from behind their shields and found that there were still a few orcs who werestill occupying the camp in an attempt to put out the flames.
Rick sent the archers forward on the raised section of dirt they were all standing on and had them open fire on anything that moved in the camp. After about ten minutes they could no longer see any movement out among the burning huts.
He then lowered his troops back down to ground level and they broke formation and walked back toward the ballista line. While walking back he had his troops spread out and cover the battle field to pick up all of the metal weapons they could see. They were mainly wooden bows and wooden spears with a few crude iron weapons. Rick did not want to leave anything behind that would arm any orcs who may have hidden throughout the battle or may return at some point.
He stored the weapons into his inventory along with the tower shields and ballista and opened a portal in front of the apartments back home. He thanked and praised his troop''s great work today and even though a few were wounded the shield wall and Testudo had helped to save a lot more of them from injury or death today. The healers were to be praised for their quick heals and the Calvary for their unrelenting charges that turned the tide of the battle.
Rick told his troops to go home, take a long hot bath, and take the rest of the day off. He then announced that Physical Training was canceled for the remainder of the day. When he dismissed them they all began to file through the portal. He then turned to see Nezera a few yards away looking out at the piles of dead bodies and the burning camp with tears running down her cheeks.
He told Angelica to wait there for him while he went to check on her.Rick walked over and stood next to Nezera without saying anything, he just scanned the carnage of the battlefield and the camp in the distance burning which for some reason brought back memories of his time on deployment in the middle east.
"I can''t believe that they are all dead. These bastards came to oursettlement and tore apart my entire life. My mother and father both stayed behind to slow down their advance while they had me lead our people to safety. They were both supposed to only delay them long enough for us to escape and then meet back up with us at the cavelater. I waited for three days and they never arrived, I lost my mother, father, and my life for what? Why did they have to do it, I just can''t understand what it was all for." Nezera said in between sobs and tears as she looked back over the past few days.
Rick walked in front of her and wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to him. "You can''t try to understand people like this Nezera. They live to kill and destroy anyone''s way of life that is different than them and they don''t care if they die themselves trying to accomplish it.I fought people in my world with the same type of beliefs as these orcs." Rick whispered while trying to comfort her.
"What am I suppose to do now? My father was the clan leader and I am only nineteen years old. My people already are looking to me for answers and I have no idea what to tell them. If it wasn''t for youI would have died in that spider web and my people would have all starved to death. I am already a failure as a leader." She said while still crying.
"I am sorry about your parents and that I couldn''t be there to rescue them as well. Like I told you before you do not have anything to worry about anymore. I know it is a big change but you and your people can come live with us. I know it will be difficult starting a new life after having your happy family life torn away. All you can do is take it one day at a time and you will slowly learn to live with the loss of your parents. You need to bestrong and move forward. As long as you always remember them a piece of them will never die." Rick explained.
Nezera cried on his shoulder for a couple minutes and then she wiped her eyes and thanked him for everything. Rick walked her over to Angelica with his arm around Nezeraand he did the same wrapping his arm around Angelica as well. The three of them silently walked through the portal to end up in front of the restaurant.
He had noticed when he came back through the portal that he only had one quest marker now that pointed towards the temple.Rick walked with the two girls over to the temple and they entered to stand in front of the podium.
"Faith it is done I completed the quest," Rick called out and then Faith appeared before them. "This is Nezera the one you sent me to save. I rescued her and her people and destroyed the hostile clan that attempted to bring a war to our island.Nezera and her people have lost everything because of the orc attack so I have invited them to live with us. I can offer them shelter, food, protection, and a chance at a new life." Rick told the goddess.
"That is quite kind of you Cedric, I knew I couldtrust you to handle this. You have even exceeded my expectations. Your quest is now complete and I hope that you and your people stayto live here with usNezera Zaraknok." Faith said with an innocent smile and then she turned toward Angelica.
"Now could you two please excuse us I don''t have a lot of time to stay and I wish to fulfill my promise to Angelica," The goddess said with an apologetic look.
"Please take your time we will wait outside and give you two some privacy," Rick said.
Rick glanced at Nezera and saw that she was frozen in place with a look of shock. Rick lightly laughed as he wrapped his hand around her waist and led her out of the temple. Once they were outside she finally snapped out of her surprised state enough to respond.
"C-Cedric w-who was t-that? She suddenly just appeared and I felt this warm comforting feeling like when my mother held me as a child." Nezera asked in amazement.
Rick chuckled. "I think maybe you should sit down on this step if you really want to know that because what I am about to tell you will be even more shocking," Rick said with a slight smile.
The two of them sat down on the steps and Rick spoke up. "First let me ask you are your people familiar with gods and goddesses?" Rick asked and Nezera shook her head with a questionable expression.
"Ok, How do I explain this then. A god or goddess are people of different races that can not die and they are very powerful. They could create a mountain or tear it down with a slight wave of their hand. They also lead the races of this world and provide them with direction on occasion. That young looking woman you just met in there is the goddess who created this entire world we live in. The land, water, trees, mountains, animals, and she even created the lesser gods who watch over those other races." Rick explained as best he could.
Nezera sat in shocked silence for a few minutes trying to comprehend everything she was just told before speaking up again. "How did you ever meet such a powerful being as her if you are only a human then?" She curiously asked.
"As I said in passing before I am from another world and I am known as a chosen human. We were brought from our world to this one so that we could help develop it. Now, not all chosen are humans we can be almost any race we chose when we first arrive and theymay not be nice people just like regular people some are good and some are evil. As for me my goal when I came to this world was to build a large beautiful city and have fun crafting new things that this world has ever seen. I have no desire to conquer and rule over others. I just love to create and hope to build a place that everyone can enjoy and be proud to be a part of it." Rick said with a smile.
Nezera looked around at the buildings and the different colored trees that lined the paved streets with the towering walls in the distance that surrounded it all. She had an expression of awe as if this place was some sort of dream that she or her people could never have even imagine existed.
"It is a stunning city and I still can''t believe you want us simple people who have alway lived in the forest to join you all." She said in slight awe.
"Well it is true and I hope very much you will stay just like the goddess Faith hadsaidjust now," Rick said.
He then stood up and held out his hand and pulled Nezera to her feet. "Speaking of which why don''t you head back to the meeting hall and let your people know that you and your people have been invited to make this your new home. I am sure they are also worried about you and would like to know that you helped to destroy the enemy that killed your loved ones and drove you from your homes."
"Yes, you are right even if I am not ready for it my people still look to me for guidance. Thank you for your help, Cedric, I guess I need to go and have a serious talk with everyone." She said looking a little nervous and scared.
"You will do fine no matter what happens I will help you out so stay strong and make your parents proud," Rick said reassuring her.
Nezera took a deep breath and walked off across the paved plaza back toward the meeting all. A few minutes later Angelica walked out of the temple entrance looking lost in thought. Rick walked her back to the tower and did not ask her what the two of them talked about. He remained quiet allowing her to sort out her feeling and thoughts. Rick knew if she wanted to talk about it she could talk with him about when she was ready to.
After leaving Angelica at the tower to relax Rick opened his notifications while he walked over to the restaurant.
Spoiler:Show Notices!
Language Increased:
Orcish Language
Level 8
Beginner
48%
Skill Increased:
Swords
Level1
Expert
14%
Skill Increased:
Archery
Level8
Advanced
73%
Skill Increased:
Blocking
Level6
Intermediate
03%
Skill Increased:
Far Sight
Level5
Intermediate
62%
New Skill Notice!
New Skill Learned!
Blunt Weapons Level 1 (Beginner 0%)
This skill allows you to wield blunt weapons of any type.
Higher levels allow for greater damage and increased technique.
Skill Increased:
Blunt Weapons
Level4
Beginner
78%
New Level Notice!
You Gained A Level!
Level 21
You have five unused points to distribute!
New Battle Notice!
You have successfully attackedthe realmof an orc clan.
You and the partykilled 398 out of the 426 attackers.
Some of the enemies were not present during the battle and were able to survive.
Congratulations on your victory!
You have gainedExperience Pointsfor your victory!
You have gainedLeadership Pointsfor your victory!
You have gainedFamePointsfor your victory!
New Level Notice!
You Gained A Level!
Level 22
You have five unused points to distribute!
New Quest Update!
You have rescuedNezera Zaraknok from certain death.
You have saved the Lorebark Forest Zaraknok Clan from extermination.
You have destroyed the hostileLorebark ForestMogadar Clan thus ending their campaign of conquering Godshome Island.
You have gainedExperience Pointsfor completing your quest objectives!
You have gainedFamePointsfor completing your quest objectives!
You have earned a quest reward!
The Quest Compass as now been unlocked you can now toggle it on and off in your options menu.
New Level Notice!
You Gained A Level!
Level 23
You have five unused points to distribute!
Rick closed out his notices and then entered the restaurant.
Inside the restaurant, he found that the pots and trays he left out earlier for the military units early breakfast had been cleaned up already. He walked over to the counter that had food laid out on it for lunch and he took a plate from the stack and utensils that had been laid out and filled his plate. He looked around the crowded dining area and saw Handil and Jerem at a corner table. Handil had raised his hand to draw his attention so Rick went over and sat down with them.
He talked to the two of them n dwarven about the castle and found that they had the outer walls of the second floor completed and we''re going to start on the roof when they got back. Rick told them that he wished to add a third floor and that he would help them finish it up. He told them about the new Fast Domain spell he now had and they were excited to see how it worked.
When Rick had finished his meal he took out a sheet of parchment and a charcoal pencil and drew up another building design that he wanted his two construction crews to start on after they completed the castle. This next building would be a MilitaryAcademy that would have classes to teach his troops tactics, formations, strategies, new weapon technologies, and it would also have a large training field for practicing all of these new ideas. ThisAcademy would be built on the large have paved lot just south of the castle plot.
Spoiler:Military Academy.
Once he had explained how he wanted the Academy to be built and how the interior should be laid out they walked over to the castle together. Rick began casting his Fast Domain and helped out with his flight skill, (Carpentry skill at level 2 Master), and (Masonry skill at level 7 Master) they were able to quickly knock out the third floor and roof. Handil and Jerem''s crews then packed up their tools and sent a runner off to have the Wagoner to begin to bring them supplies and help move the left over supplies on the castle plot.
Rick left them while they were preparing to switch job sites and went through the crafting buildingsand collected all the furniture, rugs, tapestries, tables, and everything else he normally sold at his store and took it over to his castle and began furnishing each room. First, he made a large kitchen with four large runic stoves with ovens and he also added six double wide stone runic refrigerators. He made a large metal tub sink in the basementworkshop and used the recipe to make three more. He installed the four large metal tubs sinks in the kitchen and connected them to the water in and out lines.
In the dining hall he used the recipe for the large table he designed for the meeting hall and placed fifteen chairs on each side and one chair on each end of the table for a total of thirty-two chairs. On the second floor, he made one of the larger rooms into a library that he lined the walls with hand carved wooden bookshelves and placed ornate tables and chairs on top of patterned rugs in the center of the room. The library''s bookshelves were all currently empty, but he had plans to start collecting books in his travel to fill them.
On the third floor, he made a huge bathroom with a bathtub that looked like a small wading pool that could hold ten people comfortably. Using his runes he made a huge hot water tank on the roof that allowed the bath to be filled with warm water. He even made a basic rain shower head in the castle workshop and used the recipe to install a few of themby hooking them up to the castles water lines and the hot water tank on the roof. When he was in the workshop making the shower head, Rick had also made an eight foot tall by four foot wideSparkling Silver sheet metal mirror. He used his recipe for the huge mirror to make a few more and attached them to the walls around the bathroom. He then sectioned off another room that he split in half and addedstalls toilets andrunning water sinks on each side. Each sectioned off area had a door marked for men and women so that the men''s and women''s toilets were separated from each other and not a part of the bathing room.
Rick flew out of the window of the castles third floor and landed outside the tower. Before he could enter a few Valkyries from Angelica''s squad walked outside to head home it seemed they had stopped by to talk with Angelica for a little while. Rick greeted them as they left and then went inside and placed a couple hundred pounds of smoked meat into the fridge for the animal trainers to feed the Tigers and dire wolves.
Rick told Angelica that the castle was finished as he packed the refrigerator and then went up to their bedroom and packed all the furniture, bookcases, scroll racks, and clothing into his inventory. Then he went up to the top floor armory and packed away all the weapons, weapons racks, armor, armor stands, miscellaneous items, and furniture.
Rick walked outside with Angelica and scooped her up and flew over to the newly built castle and landed outside the front door. He took her for a tour of the castle and stopped in the second-floor library to unload the bookcases and scroll racks. She was excited when he showed her the huge bathtub with the stacks of scented soap around it. She still often thought about the bath she took with the scented soaps and now she could take one when ever she wanted.
Rick then set their bedroom up on the third floor and made one for Nezera across the hall. Both bedrooms had huge canopy beds, multiple wardrobes for clothing, beautiful couches, large comfortable chairs, hand carved decorative desks and tables with high-quality colorful carpets on the floor. He hung tapestries on the walls and placed floor and table lamps around the rooms.
He went through each floor of the castle and hung runic crystal wall lights so that he could light up the entire castle interior at night time if he wanted.
Well that should do for now there are still a lot of rooms in here that need furniture and I need to finish the throne room, but that can wait for now. I fed my character at the restaurant now I need to log out and eat for real.He thought as he put away his tools.
He went up stairs and told Angelica he was going to lay down for a little while and went up to the bedroom unequipped his gear and laid down on the bed.
Disconnect!
Chapter 34: A Curious CEO
"Good morning Clair is Mr. Morgan in his office yet? I have the information that he asked me to look into."
"Oh good morning Jeff, he just got in a few minutes ago just one moment" Clair answeredwhile picking up the phone on her desk.
"Mr. Morgan, I have Mr. Bailey out here he said that he has the information that you requested?" Claire said into the telephone.
"No problem sir." She said and hung up the phone.
"Mr. Morgan asked me to send you right in." She told Jeff with a slight smile.
Jeff smiled back and entered the closed door behind Clair''s desk.
"Ah, Jeff so what do you have for me today?" Mr. Morgan asked.
"The player that you were curious about who we purchased the rights to use his video and had somehow discovered that strange rune skill which we had to patch. I have been reviewing his play logs like you asked and he somehow has learned other spells and skills that were never offered to players. He somehow ended up with a class to alter the speed at which the game advances around him. It seems that it has to do with a skill that he picked up along the way called "Read Magic". He can use this skill to learn spells from just about anything in the game that gives enough information on how a spells works and the higher this skill gets the easier it is for him to learn new spells." Jeff Bailey explained as he passed a thick folder over to Mr.Morgan the CEO of Prodigy Wave Corp.
"Have a seat there Jeff while I take a look at some of this information. I may have a few questions." Mr. Moragan told Jeff.
Jeff Bailey shook his head while sitting down thinking to himself how John Morgan was a CEO of a cutting edge gaming company who had made the first virtual reality game, but he still did many things like an old school office worker. Jeff could have very easily downloaded all of the information that Mr. Morgan requested to a tablet and brought it to him much sooner. For some reason, he had a quirk where he liked to actually hold the and read the information he was reviewing. This wasn''t something that happened often so Jeff didn''t really mind. Everyone around the company often spoke of players that made a name for themselves in Kingdoms Online and Rick Stryker or AKA Cedric Crownguard was one of the players who had been spoken of enough to even catch the attention of the company CEO.
Mr. Morganafter hearing Cedric''s name around the office and seeing it on the company forum frequently became curious about Cedric sometime back and asked the head of hisdata and statistics department to look into him. Rick Stryker was one of their original VIP players playing under the name of Cedric Crownguard.
His first claim to fame was that he had changed the way coins are now being stamped in Silverhall City by introducing a coin press. He then showcased a rune skill in a battle video by making flame throwing cannons that gained quite a bit of popularity with the community.
They then began to hear rumors of a store he opened that was the talk of Silverhall City that offered innovative products that changed the way the people and Players of the game world lived at an affordable price. Then not too long after he opened the most popular store in the city he became the first player to discover a dungeon and had his name broadcast across the game world to every Player online or who logged in later to view it in their notices.This all caught the attention of the people monitoring kingdoms Online and the rumors eventually made their way up the chain to the CEO.
"What is this Portal spell I don''t remember the DEVs ever releasing a spell by that name." Mr. Morgan asked while looking up with a curious expression.
"It seems that it is one of his customspells that he pulled from the game''s lore. It allows him to open a door to anywhere he has previously visited. It is a spell that has been used in past RPG games and fantasy novels so it must have been added by Faith to the game worlds lore from the massive data that she has reviewed to help shape Kingdom Onlines backstories and lore.It seems that he can even allow other players, AI or tamed animals to pass through it as well." Jeff explained.
Mr. Morgan looked up from the log recordswhile raising his eyebrows with an incredulous expression. "Isn''t that a little...dangerous for a Player to have a spell that allows him to teleport into any building that he has previouslyvisited? What is to stop him from jumping into City Hall in the middle of the night and taking all of their records or doing the same to every business in town and robbing them blind? It could destroy the economy and sink the town into chaos." Mr. Morgan asked with concern.
"I thought the same thing when I first discovered it and I reviewed all the places he has used it. I could only find three occurrences that he suspiciously used it. They were all on the same night that he and a few military AI teleported into two different Noble Houses. House Karn and House Lupton that the DEVs had programmed and added to be part of the criminal underworld of Silverhall City and both of these Houses had been extorting businesses in the city among other criminal activities.
These two houses were added to the game to give the city a little flavor. I found out after some digging that they were pressuring a store owner who refused to play ball with them. The store owner refused to pay their extortion payments so the nobles used their influence to stop his suppliers from selling him merchandise. Over time the store owner lost money without a product to sell and was forced to take out bank loans to keep the store a float.
When the bank began to demand his late payments he attempted to sell the store to cover his loans, but the influential criminal houses sent muscle to persuade anyone from actually buying it. Their goal was for him to lose the store to the bank and buy it for next to nothing at auction.
During all of this, Mr. Stryker bought the store for next to nothing from the desperate owner who had managed to pay off his loans with the money from the sale and liquidating his merchandise secretly to other merchants. While Mr. Stryker was in the process of remodeling his store House Karn and House Lupton sent some muscle to pay him a visit and...discourage him from keeping the store.I found that the NPCs IDs entered his store zone, but they never left it." Jeff explained.
"So the criminal Nobles set hired muscle to scare off someone that they had no idea was a Chosen/Player. Then Mr. Striker proceeded to invite them in and mop the floor with them." Mr. Morgan said with a chuckle.
"What happened when he teleported into the two noble houses?" Mr. Morgan asked.
"Every single noble that was a part of both houses disappeared in the middle of the night and were never be seen again. The servants and guards were all left untouched and none of them have any idea how they all just vanished right under their noses." Jeff said.
"Hmm, a little cheaty, but nothing really rule breaking. We had to expect that someone would come along sooner or later and take out the City''s trash. Mr. Stryker seems to be controlling himself with how he uses this portal, but it may be better if we can somehow remove the temptation for him." Mr. Morgan contemplated.
"How in the world did you find out so much of what went on behind the scenes without viewing recorded game footage though?" Mr. Morgan asked questioningly.
"Well you were not far off earlier when you were worried about him using the portal to enter City Hall and steal records," Jeff said with a smirk.
Mr. Morgan looked up from the paper he was reviewing with a worried look and Jeff raised his hand to calm him down and continued.
"He did actually use his Portal to break into City Hall, but instead of stealing records he actually left records.This plan was revealed after a book withthe criminal records of both houses was found on the desk of a City Hall official the next morning after both Houses had already vanished. Apparently, the head of House Lupton had been programmed to keep detailed records of their criminal operations on who was paying and who was not. The DEVs claim it was an idea pulled from old mafia movies on how each family had an accountant who kept records on all the families money records" Jeff said.
"Hmm, he seems to be on the side of law and order at one moment, but if someone stands in his way he has no problem making them disappear for good. Just out of curiosity do we know what he did with the Nobles?" Mr. Morgan asked.
"If you look at his spell list you will find another curious spell similar to his Portal spell called "Astral Door" this is yet another spell that was never created for Players. It seems to allow him to travel to the server two game world that Faith had created originally to test new materials, vegetation, animals or anything that she might want to add to the main Kingdoms Online server. At the moment it has many unique things that were never added to the main game world including the VIP Valkyries race. I don''t really see a problem with him having the spell. It does give him access to unique materials other Players have no way of obtaining, but he has to work to get them. Now if he were to somehow find all the Valkyries and bring them back to the game world that would be another story, but the DEVs have assured me that isn''t possible. They are all scattered around the server and their code would need to be altered for them to be able to move from one server to the next since they were programmed to be stamped with a Players ID before they were transferredthrough a System Gate"
Mr. Morgan gave him an impatient look and Jeff got back on track.
"Sorry back to your question it appears he used his Portal to slip into the noble houses undetected and then he pulled them from their beds and transported them to a small island in the Astral Plane. When I investigated the nobles IDs and activity logs it seems that there was an argument over who was at fault for their current predicament and both houses ended up fighting and killing off most of their numbers. All of the survivors died of low satiety levels and untreated wounds a couple days later." Jeff said shaking his head.
"Mr. Stryker does not show much mercy for his enemies. It sounds like he dumped them off on a small island and left them to starve to death, but the two houses had their disagreement and just about killed themselves off for him. I think we should find a way to somehow to stop him from entering important locations with his Portal then. God forbid the library, CIty Hall, or anywhere else that holds massive amounts of data gets on his bad side. He might just go in there and burn the place to the ground and that would create a lot of work for our people. We would need to have the entire building rebuilt and all that data would need to be re-added into the zone. It would be like him taking every book in the library and dumping it into a desktop recycle bin and clicking empty." Mr. Morgan explained.
"I actually have an idea that would work and could be an easy fix. Every building that we had added to the game have their own zones. All we have to do is add a small line of code that prevents him from using his Portal spell in any zone he doesn''t own. If he were to try and teleport into a restricted zone we could make it block his spell or redirect it to open just outside of the zone." Jeff explained.
"I like it, let''s have it so it opens just outside of any restricted zones. I still want this to be a free world where players are not punished for things they achieve through their hard work. We should also send him a message informing him of these changes." Mr. Morgan said.
"Now what about this Space-Time Wizard Class you said this was never an added class, but I do know that the AI Faith is programmed to make classes that lean toward the way each player is progressing. What is so strange about it that it caught your attention?" Mr. Morgan asked Jeff.
"The game was originally designed to offer players Earth, Fire, Water, Wind, and Lightning elemental affinities to learn. Somehow Mr. Strkyer learned how to use Space affinity from an ancient page item that allows players to learn a balanced Time Reduction spell from a treasure chest drop item. Also from what I can tell the combination of his skills and spells allow him to learn just about any elemental affinity that has been registered in the game." Jeff said.
"That shouldn''t be a problem it could be that Faith is adding and changing a few things in the game world. She is programmed to continuously add balanced content that can be accessed by the Players. This was one of the things that were agreed upon during development so that the world would always be changing. This way a Player could never do everything the game offered and become bored." Mr. Morgan said.
"Oh, and speaking of Faith it seems that Mr. Stryker has now made her his kingdoms deity and her code allows her to now gain longer and longer periods of time that she can actually enter the game world. I figured it out with a number of followers she now has within three to four days she will be able to indefinitely stay in the game world and use a copy of herself to handle New Players who continue to join the game." Jeff said.
Mr. Morgan let out a long whistle. "Mr. Stryker sure doesn''t disappoint, does he? I never even thought about a player attempting to use Faith as their deity. It should be fine though like I said, her code will not allow her to give a player any unfair advantages. She was never even designed to give kingdom bonuses like the lesser gods and goddess can provide. I am curious if Mr. Stryker knew that and how the two of them will work together." Mr. Morgan said with a mischievous grin."Was there anything else that I missed that we should look over, Jeff?
"Hmm, This spell right here," Jeff said as he pointed to one of the log records. " The one called [Fast Domain] that came with his second class, it allows him to create a 30-yard circular domain for five minutes that will increase the game speed by twelve times the normal rate. From what I can tell he has been training in it to level up his skills or spells. He can essentially get one hour of training advancements in a five minute game period. This could allow him to rapidly out grow the other players by giving him an unfair advantage without any repercussions. I know it is border line on our company policy of letting players freely play the game with what they can learn from the world without cheating, but in a month or two from now he may be strong enough to wipe out entire player kingdoms by himself." Jeff explained.
"I see your point, but just like you said he isn''t cheating and he is a VIP player and isn''t he already one of our worlds top Players? How many others would you guess have progressed as far as he has?" Mr. Morgan asked.
"Not very many, he seems to of started his city on an island that is far north of the main content. This has isolated him from the player attacks and feuds for land that are happening across the mainland. Thes small wars and raids are draining a lot of players resources and available time that they may have to actually train themselves and their units. There have been a few company employees talking about another Player that is in Mr. Stryker''s advancement range on the Demon home Island that has been ruthlessly conquering the fractured Demon clans and increasing his units and land with every clan he raids. Many of the employees think that the way he is going it will not be long before he controls the whole island and moves outward to conquer part or eventually all of the startingcontinent." Jeff said.
Mr. Morgan frowned. "We all knew there would be players like that and they are kind of needed to keep the game interesting, but if he were to grow strong enough to actually conquer Etheraland and oppress all the races and Players it would end up hurting the game. If players are not free to play the game to a certain extent then they will quit playing all together and then the internet will explode over how the game is no longer enjoyable. Our sales will plummet and destroy us slowly over time. Our company policy is to allow players the freedom to play, but we must also remember that we are in business to make money." Mr. Morgan said and sat quietly thinking for a minute.
"Go ahead and patch the zones so that Mr. Stryker can no longer teleport into them like we discussed, but let''s leave the rest of his skills and spells alone for now. He doesn''t seem to be a player who is interested in rocking the boat and just between you and me we may need him to keep growing stronger. If things get out of hand it isn''t like we can ban a player for playing an evil alignment and the man who cleaned up Silverhall City and exposed the criminal Houses deeds in one night might turn out to be our savior one day." Mr. Morgan said with a look of concern.
"No problem sir I''ll head out right now and get them working on it right away," Jeff said as he turned and left the office.
Mr. Morgan continued to look over Rick Stryker''s log records while reading Jeff''s side notes on his skills, spells, and game progress. After going through all the logs he set them a side and sent a PM and an email out to Rick. He made it sound like he was only curious about Rick''s feedback on the game and asked what were his future goals in Kingdoms Online. What he really wanted to find out was what type of player the future Cedric Crownguard would be and if they would be able to rely on him as a possible game balancing character. If he was the hero who would ride in to save the commoners from oppression and keep the game balanced between good and evil then he would be sure to allow him to grow as fast and strong as he wished.
***************************************************
Rick stood up from the capsule and went to use the bathroom. When he finished his business, he made a couple tuna fish sandwiches for and sat down in front of the TV to watch the news while he ate his lunch. After eating he cleaned up the kitchen and went out to jog around the block. He took a shower when he got back to the apartment and went to check on his new video of the dungeon when he had redressed. He answered a few questions and ignored a few as well that hounded him for the location.
It was the same for his PMs filled with players promising they wouldn''t tell anyone else where the dungeon was located. As he worked his way through the seemingly endless amounts of inquiries he came across another PM from Prodigy Wave Corp the company who made Kingdoms Online.
Another PM from the company? I wonder if they are interested in my second video as well?Rick excitedly opened the PM to find out.
He read the PM and found out the company was aware that he used his Portal skill to enter City Hall after hours. They explained that he did not break any rules, but they did frown upon him entering certain areas in this way. They explained that all interior city zones in the game world would be patched to block access to his Portal skill and if he attempted to enter them after the patch his skill would redirect him to just outside of the building. The message explained that since Rick had acquired another unique skill just like his rune skill that was never intended to be in the game they would, unfortunately, have to make certain adjustments.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.
Well, I can see their point, I am just glad that they are not trying to take the skill away like most game companies would. It seems Prodigy Wave Corp is attempting to establish a friendly relationship with their customers. Most game companies wouldn''t bother to send me an update on what they were doing. They would more than likely just delete my skill and ignore all of my messages.
After sending back a quick reply that he understood their decision and thanked them for being fair with him, Rick discovered another PM informing him he had received an email from the company CEO. Rick curiously opened his emails assuming it would also be about his skill to find out that it was more of a personal survey of what he thought about the game and what his game goals were.
Since this was straight from the company CEO, Rick made sure to let him know that he loved the game and even provided the CEO with his personal information about going to college to be an Architectural Engineer after serving as a combat engineer in the Marine Corps. He stated that he had always enjoyed building and designing new structures no matter what era they were from and that was what drew him to the game.
Rick wrote that his main goal was to enjoy the game with his friends or the AI and Players he happened to also befriend while building a city and crafting new unique items. He wrote that it would even be interesting to later try to make a more modernized city with the knowledge he could bring into the game or learn from other players. He explained he really had no desire to conquer other kingdoms and only wished to see how far he could evolve his kingdom while providing a good life for his people and a fun place for friends and other players to visit or live.
When asked about why he had chosen Faith as his deity, Rick stated that he felt it was unfair how the people who lived in the world she created had just forgotten about her after the lesser gods and goddesses were added to the game. She was the one doing all the work behind the scenes for the Players to have fun and the AI races to live happy lives, but she was all alone trapped in her temple to have only brief encounters with the joining players that come and go without even hardly acknowledging her. Rick was sure that most people would view her as a nuisance AI that only slowed them down from joining the game and having fun.
Rick let Mr. Morgan know that even though she was an AI and most of the people he had contactwith in the game were AI he still looked at them as sentient beings who had their own thoughts, wishes, and goals just like any real life human. Rick wanted them to enjoy their lives and tried to help improve them if it were possible for him. He explained how he offered higher wages for his store employees to live better lives and how the people of his city lived in their own individual spacious apartments for free and ate three decent meals a day at a free restaurant. He went on to tell him that he would like to one day have them be able to earn a weekly wage and be able to buy their own food or shop for things they may like to own and provide more entertainment for them.
These were his current future wishes and goals for the game. He thanked the CEO for reaching out to him and taking the time to inquire about his thoughts and opinions on the game and sent his email reply out.
Now that he was already at his computer and online he did some research into something he had been wanting to try and make even though he was already familiar with how they operate. Rick was looking into ways to improve on the basic design he was familiar with.
After spending some time looking into the evolution of this invention, he shut off his computer and went to find his phone and check his messages. He returned a text message to Ryan who was curious about the progress of his boat and he told him about the attack on the orcs and the Nekomimi tribe that has kept him so busy he hadn''t had time to check on it. Rick told him he was about to connect to KO right now and he would find out how it was going and let him know at their next class.
He climbed into the Gate Gear and closed the lid to reconnect and found himself in his castle bedroom. He left the castle and flew over to the tavern and went inside to findSilvana. He took her into the back room and allowed her to drink his blood again. Before things started to get to out of hand back there, he told her that he needed to head out and check on a few people around the city. When he left the tavern he walked around back to the river and over to the hole he had dug out for the construction of his boat. The shipwrights were busy at work and had most of his sailboat now completed. They were currently trying to make a scaffold that would be tall enough to hook pulleys to and hoist up the sailboats masts.
Rick walked over to the mast of the ship and activated flight and flew up while holding the mast and slid it through a hole in the deck.This left the shipwrights dumb founded for a full minute as they wondered how the hell he could fly and hold up a mast the size of a tree. Rick laughed and yelled down at them that he was waiting on them and they snapped out of it and got to work.
Under the deck of the boat, there was a slot in the keel that the mast was to be fit into. His shipwrights jumped down into the ship''s storage space under the deck through the cargo door and secured the mast as Rick fit it gently into thekeel hole.
When the mast was in place he helped them attach the boom and yard arm to the mast. The shipwrights only needed to finish some work in the cabin and attach the rudder to the wheel and the boat would be completed. Rick thought about the sails and had to decide if he would make them or just spawn in a couple sail makers to do it for him. He wanted to one day make a harbor and have more ships so it would not be a waste to have a few sail makers around.
Rick then left the decision for later and flew over to the crafting district to collect the completed products. He discovered that the Cartwrights had made quite a few mantlets already and the glass workers had busted their butts to finish the rest of the stained glass windows. After he collected everything he opened a portal to edge of Lorebark Forest and chopped a few trees down with his new astrallium axe. He placed half of them on the stockpile when he took the portal back to the city and then flew outside the city walls. He took out a thick, straight tree and cut and stripped the trunk of bark and branch stubs.
Using his move and shape earth spell he made a shallow hole in the ground and stood the tree trunk up right. After helping the shipwrights step the mast into the keel hole he used the same principle to hold the tree trunk up right. Rick then took out his wood carving tools and his astrallium hammer and cast [Fast Domain] Inside the domain he used his wood carving skill to make a fifteen-foot high statue of faithlooking down with a smile at a globe of the world that she held in her two cupped hands at chest height. He also carved the wood so that it looked like she was wearing her long white ancient Greek styled dress.
With his wood carving skill now at level 7 Expert and the help of his paint sticks he was able to make an almost exact replica. He even colored the world globe she held up to look like it had oceans and landmasses. He placed the statue into his inventory and used his portal to go to the marble quarry where he cut out a 6'' x 4'' x 4'' marble rectangle he placed it in his inventory and went back to the city and had a few of Handil''s stone carvers carve an Altar out of the cut of marble from a design he drew up for them.
Spoiler:Marble Altar
Rick and the stone carvers all worked together and were able to finish the marble altarfairly quickly. Rick thanked the dwarves for the help and packed the altar into his inventory and went over to the temple. He placed the large wooden Statue against the back wall behind the podium and the marble altar in front of the podium. He then began to install each of the stained glass windows and finished the temple.
There we go now the temple construction is complete. I still would like to add a few more statues and works of art later but this will do for now.Rick thought as he walked back to the altar.
He opened his inventory once again and removed a platinum coin and placed it on top of the Marble Altar. It sat in place for a second and then the coin shimmered and vanished into small floating specks of light.
You made an offering to a goddess!
Your offer of a platinum coin has been accepted!
You have gained 1000 piety for your offering.
you gained1000 fame with the Temple of Faith.
Haha, it''s been along time since I did that. I remember when I first joined a placed the dropped incense on the altar and it became a tribute to Balin the God of humans. This seems to be working perfectly, I just need to ask Faith later if there are benefits for making tributes or if it helps her somehow.
"Your second home is finally finished and waiting for you. All it needs is a few more statues, tapestries, and paintings and it will be perfect." Rick said out loud while looking up at the statue.
He didn''t expect any response he was justthinking out loud, but he could have sworn the statue winked at him.
Rick got a kick out of seeing that and lightly laughed as he went over to the temple trap door. He opened the door and went down into the Tomb of Heroes with his Night Sight activated and recharged the two storage gems outside the tomb doors of his fallen scouts. Rick then walked back upstairs and closed the trap door and left the temple.
When he was outside he opened his Status to take a look at the changes from the past couple days.
Spoiler:Show Status!
Cedric Crownguard
Strength:
194 +130 =324
Level: (73%)
23
Stamina:
146
Health:
1770
Vitality:
177
Mana:
1330
Intelligence:
133
Piety:
+1175
Wisdom:
68
Fame:
+51,000(Local Lord)
Agility:
101
Honor:
+32,000 (Village Hero)
Charisma:
38
Alignment:
+4000
Leadership:
86
Satiety:
86%
Luck:
15
Class:
DruidicMage
Quickness:
25
Class:
Space-Time Wizard
Health Regen/Sec:
8.5
Mana Regen/Sec:
6.5
Feudal Domain:
5760
Race:
Chosen Human
Feudal Title:
Marquess
Unused Points:
0
Awarded Titles
Currently Displaying:
The Adept of Refinement
Title:
The White Knight
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
The Honor Guard
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
The Duelist
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
Black Hand Interrogator
Alignment +/-
-1000
Title:
Benevolent Leader
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
Explorer of the Unknown
Alignment +/-
-none-
Title:
Oath Breaker
Alignment +/-
-1000
Title:
Honorbound
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
Reviver of the Ancient Beliefs
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
The Adept of Refinement
Alignment +/-
-none-
Wow, with these enchanted rings my strength is now up to 324. I have fifteen unused points from leveling up after the battle and finishing the quest. I am going to put the fifteen points into quickness and see how it turns out. I am now a level 23 and my piety went up after I just made that tribute. My fame points also increased and that looks like that is about everything that has changed.
He closed his status menu after reviewing everything and opened a portal to his store office. Barat just happened to walk through the door just after he closed the Portal. Barat gave a little jump when he entered because he was not expecting anyone to be in the office.
"Sorry about that Barat did I startle you?" Rick said apologizing.
"It is quite all right sir I did not know you were in here. Speaking of which may I ask how you do it, sir? I am usually at the front door greeting customers all day long and I have never seen you walk in, but somehow you are in here every day."
"I have a spell that allows me to go anywhere I have been before...except for buildings that I do not own," Rick said adding the change that would soon go into effect by the DEVs.
"I see so it is like that teleporter upstairs that you took us through. I did not mean to disturb you I was just coming in to drop off the money and sales book." Barat said.
Rick had him dump the pile of coins on the desk with the book and Barat left the office to head home. Rick placed all the coins in his inventory and was surprised at the amount. His store continued to bring in more and more money day after day. He noticed that he had sold four carriages which helped to boost his funds. After he restocked the store and warehouse, Rick went upstairs to pack up the carriages that needed to be delivered and left his store locking the door behind him.
He went to each address and set up their new carriages outside the front gate and knocked on the door or informed the guards that he had made the deliveries. before it got any later he opened a portal to the farm south of the city and foundfarm supervisor he dealt with before. Rick told him that he wanted to buy another bale of cotton and wool and the two of them walked over to one of the storage barns. Rick curiously asked him what kind of animals they sold and was told he could buy Sheep, Cows, Goats, Chickens, Geese, Ducks, Pigs, Rabbits, Dogs, and Cats.
Rick made a mental note of everything for when he decided to expand his own farming operations. Rick paid thefarm supervisor for the bales of wool and cotton and opened a portal to the officials building and spawned in a couple sail makers. first, he showed them where his sailboat was being made then he assigned them a store in the fabrics building and dumped off the wool and cotton for the spinsters and weavers to make fabrics, threads, and cloth.
After he stocked the sail makers shop up with needles, thread, and cloth, he found an apartment for each of them. Rick left the sail makers with the ship''s sail measurements and walked over to the Meeting Hall. He had a talk with Nezera and found out that they had in fact decided to stay in the city. Her people thought that it might be better to start over in a new place that did not hold all the sadness and pain they had experienced from the hostile orc attacks. Rick told her that he would have new housing found for all of her people tomorrow and that he had a place for her to stay in the castle already.
Nezera chose to stay with her people for the night and informed Rick that she would rather move when they were settled into their new homes. Rick then left them all and walked over to the newly built castle. Now that it was getting dark the castle looked dark inside except for the light he could see from thelibrary and his bedroom windows.
Now that I am making money I need to sit down and come up with a game plan on what staff I should hire for the castle. I know I will need servants, maids, cooks, and a quite a few other people to take care of everything.Rick thought as he walked inside the front doors and made his way upstairs to the bedroom. Angelica was relaxing on the bed reading a book when Rick came in. He unequipped his gear and crawled under the covers. He talked with Angelica for some time about how she was doing and what she thought about the castle and found out she and already tried out the huge bath and the scented soaps she liked so much.
When Angelica decided to go to sleep he disconnected after she had turned off the lights in the room and laid down next to him.
Disconnect!
Chapter 35: A Skill, New Staff, and Steam
During classes, Rick had let everyone know that his sailboat would be finished inthe next day or two. Even though Luke was getting his Gate Gear delivered today he still went to his classes. He told everyone that his girlfriend had the day off and since they had recently moved in she decided to purchase a Gate Gear as well so that they could play together.
Rick explained to Luke that even though he would soon pick up Lily and Ryan that he should take his time and not worry about rushing away from his starting area. He told Luke about his Portal spell again and how he would stop briefly on the Vampire Island. Rick would just need to do a little research online to find where it was located. Now that he permanentlyunlocked the compass from his quest it should help him out in locating the Island on the open waters.
Back at home after classes, RIck ate a couple grilled tuna sandwiches. After cleaning up he sat down at his computer and answered a few questions about his video and the items for sale in his store that other players were curious about. He also researched past inventions, military formations, past military strategies, and tactics. When he had enough, he shut off his computer andconnected to KO.
When he stood up from the bed and equipped his clothes, RIck noticed the flashing notification icon and opened it.
Spoiler:Show Notices!.
Skill Mechanics Alteration
This message is to inform you that one of your skills [Portal] has had alterations or the game world has been altered to change how it can be used.
We hope you understand and thank you for playing Kingdoms Online.
They must have made the code changes that block me from entering any buildings that the developers had originally added to the game. It really doesn''t change anything it for me I never planned on robbing the city blind. I amnot an idiot, doing something like that would be one of the quickest ways to get banned from the game. I am sure they know I used it to enter the noble houses and City Hall and it made them nervous about what I may do next with it.
New Units Available!
A non-purchasable race has joined your kingdom.
You now have the option to purchase this race [Half-Orc] through the Land Management System.
What!? Now I can spawn in Half-Orcs through my Buy Units Menu? I wonder if this would work if I could somehow get monsters to joinmy kingdom?
Rick opened the Buy Unit Menu and sure enough, there was now an option to purchase and spawn in Half-Orcs on the list of races. Closing out his notices as he left the castle, Rick walked over to the Meeting Hall to find Nezera and her people had packed up what little belongings they had and were patiently waiting while discussing what might happen next now that they had decided to live in here.
Nezera saw Rick walk in and she crossed the room to find out what he had planned.
"I am sorry I am so late Nezera I normally return to my world at the end of the day and had a few things I needed to take care of there before I could return." He explained as the two stopped in front of one another.
Nezera shook her head with a look of astonishment. "It still blows me away every time you tell me that you''re from another world. I wonder if someday I won''t be continuously surprised over everything you are capable of doing." She said with a small laugh.
"I am sure you will my people are all the same way as you when they first arrive. Then after a few days, I think they become numb or used to seeing me flying and teleporting around them. They may even come to the conclusion that it is normal for Chosen to do these things to save their own sanity." Rick said with a chuckle.
"Your people seem excited and ready for the move." He said as he looked around the room.
"Yes, they are excited and nervous about living here. We have always lived isolated among our own kind with only the occasional visit of our ally orc clans. Now we just recently learned of how many other races there are in the world and we will be living among them from now on. There is also another thing that everyone is worried about as well. When we all woke up this morning each one of us had one of those blue things in front of us that said something about a new language learned and then it faded away." Nezera explained.
The blue thing she is talking about must be a system notice window. If they all learned a new languageat the same time it must have to do with them now joining my kingdom. If I were to spawn in Half-Orcs they would know orcish and human just like the Dwarves know Dwarvish and the human language when I spawn them. The system must have updated all of them so that they can communicate with me. Most Players would not know how to speakother races languages so the system must alter any race who joins their kingdom to use that Players race language. Rick speculated.
Rick instead of using orcish spoke to Nezera in human. "Do you understand what I am saying right Nezera?"
"Of course I...wait you just spoke in a different language! It seems it will still be quite some time before these surprises become normal to me: She said slightly embarrassed after yelling out in astonishment.
"You can''t blame me for this one it seems that our Goddess Faith must havebestowed the knowledge of the human language on you and your people so that you can communicate with everyone. Even though there are many races who live in this city they all can communicate by using the human language. I should explain this to your people and alleviate some of their worries. Can you have them place all of their things by the front door while I put away the beds?" Rick asked Nezera.
While everyone was staging their belongings near the door, Rick packed away all of the beds and then took out the huge table and chairs. When the table and chairs were back in place, he had everyone sit down that could because even though the large table had thirty-two chairs around it there were at leastdouble that amount of Half-Orcs that had survived the attack on their settlement. Rick after setting up the table went into the room that he had converted into a temporarybedroom for Nezera and packed away all of the furniture and placed the table and chairs back in their original place as well.
Rick then walked out of the room to stand near the head of the table and spoke to everyone. Rick explained what the window they saw was for and that they could all now speak another language even though they had not even realized it yet. It seemed to be like knowing how to drive a car you never think about how you know how to do it in everyday life and when you start driving it is just a thing you can do without even thinking about it. When he spoke in the human language it was like a seal suddenly unlocked and they all began testing it out for themselves by speaking between one another in the newly learned human language.
When everyone settled back down and became familiarized with their new tongue, Rick explained what was going to happen next. He also told them that while living in the city if they found a job or craft that they might want to learn he would arrange it so that they could work with others who could possibly teach them. He was not positive, but Rick figured that it would be possible for them to learn skills and classes they would just need to be taught how to use their status menus and how to pick the proper classes.
Rick guided Nezera and her people over to the OfficalBuilding and he entered ChancellorAlexandra''s office. He informedAlexandra''s assistant Irene that they had quite a few people who needed to be housed. Irene gave the four messengers the updated information on all of the unoccupied apartments and sent them off to find the new citizens all their own individual apartment. When they all left to head over to the apartment buildings, Rick walked over to the System Gate and opened his Buy Units Menu.
He chose the [Knight] rank from the Nobles Menu and then went to Government Division Classes and chose the [Chamberlain] class. A well-built young man who introduced himself as Damon spawned in and Rick introduced Nezera and himself. A Chamberlain in the medieval era was the one who had access to the king''s wardrobe. The King''s wardrobe would consist of his clothing, armor, and treasures. Rick did not have a secret wardrobe vault that he could assign to Damon to watch over and maintain because he had always kept everything in his inventory. He told Damon that his job would be to run the castle. He would become what would be equivalent to a modern head butler who was in charge of the staff and what they were to accomplish on a daily basis.
He once again opened the Buy Unit Menu then chose the [Knight] rank from the Nobles Menu and from the Government Division Classes he chose the [Captain of the Guard] class. Rickthen went to the Military Unit Classes and added the [General] ClassOnce again an even larger muscular looking young mannamed Talos spawned before them. The Captain of the Guard would normally be in charge of the cities guards, but Rick informed Talos that he would for now be in charge of the castle''s private force and later once they had a city guard he would then be in charge of them as well.
Now that he had someone to lead the castle staff and someone to lead the castle military he moved onto purchasing the people who would work under them. Rick bought two male Cooks, two female Confectioners, six female Servants, ten female Maids, twenty-five male Hero Knight_Electro Mages, and Twenty-Five male Hero Ranger with a mix of second classes.
Rick decided to surprise Nezera and Angelica by making a couple Ladies in waiting for them. He went to the Nobles Menu and chose the [Lady] and in the Laborer Classes Menu, he gave them the [Servant] class. He made two Half-Orcs for Nezera and two humans for Angelica with these options. Nezera was quite shocked when she saw two female Half-Orcs suddenly appear in front of her wearing fine human gowns. Rick then told her that they were her very own servants to help her with her daily tasks and she just shook her head now completely stunned.
Rick led the new group of people over to the castle. He placed the beds he just picked up from the Meeting Hall in three of the basement rooms for the military units. Then on the third floor, he made men''s and women''s servant quarters and furnished them with beds, tables, chairs, wardrobes, rugs, and tapestries. Rick then showed Nezera the big bedroom he set up for her and she claimed that she would have been able to fit at least two of her old families royal house inside her new room.
When Angelica came out after hearing all of the people walking around the castle, Rick introduced Angelica''s the new ladies in waiting to her. Rick then informed all the staff what was expected of them and showed them all around the castle. He told them that everyone would be able to eat at the castle in the main dining hall or at the restaurant if they wanted a change. He then left them all to get settled in for now so that he could take care of a few things.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.
Outside the castle, he made a large batch of cement and began building a twenty foot high stone wall with battlements all around the castle plot. On every corner, he made square towers and he also built a small gatehouse with a portcullisout in front of the castle. With the help of Fast Domain and his high masonry skill level, he was able to finish it remarkably fast.
He then packed everything up and went to the plot just south of the castle where his two crews were currently building the Military Academy. Rick built a small marble wall around the academy and the practice grounds to keep any stray ranged weapons from shooting out into the city and to contain the noise the soldiers would make during their practices.
He then moved over to the Academy building and helped to finish up on the construction. Inside the Military, Academy he made men''s and women''s bathrooms with bathtubs and showers. He used his recipes to make men''s and women''s weight training rooms and also made one of the rooms into an armory. He filled it with some of the gear he had taken from the tower''s 4th-floor armory and used his recipes to stock it with the wooden replica weapons so that his troops could spar with them out on the academy training ground. He filled most of the rooms with small desks and chairs and arranged them all in a classroom layout.
Rick split up Handil and Jerem''s crews again and had them go back to building apartments for the time being. The addition of the Half-Orcs had taken up quite a few available apartments and he wanted to make sure that they always had a good number available for any future population increases.
Rick called General Sturm over and walked him through the new Academy and showed him the walled in training Field. He explained that one day he would have others here helping to teach the soldiers in the classroom and on the training Field. Rick wanted to bring proven tactics and strategies from the real world into the game for his units to learn and perfect. Even after taking care of any local tribes or clans that threatened the city he knew that his troops needed to also be prepared for any future player attacks.
Now his troops finally had a place where they could learn, practice and grow stronger. The number of units they had and the size of Tower Island was making it difficult to train them and have them spar together so General Sturm had to recentlymake do by taking them out on the open plains to drill and spar.
Rick went over to the crafting district next and proceeded to gather any finished store merchandise and he also switched the Cartwrights production back to carriages now that they had a good number of wheeled mantlets ready for use. When he stopped in at the glass workers he picked up a few more glass panes and gave them the measurements for the windows in his throne room. Rick told them to make all the windows stained glass that would go in the throne room and gave them a few ideas on what he wanted the windows to look like. He left the glass makers to get started and moved on to the next building.
In the cloth making and tailoring building, he made sure to tell the weavers and spinsters to also help the sail makers by providing them any materials they may need. Ever since Rick had his workers over at the workshop on the island he had been collecting all the scraps in his inventory from all of the things they constantly made. Now that they were making triple the amount of clothing compared to when they first started out it seemed like there was a never ending supply of scrap cloth he was continuously storing away at each visit.
He also collected the scraps from the furniture makers and weavers just because he had no real purpose for them he just stored them into his inventory and forgot about them all this time. When he was looking at old inventions online he had finally found a use for them in the near future so he instructed everyone who worked with the cloth to be sure and properly keep all the scraps for him to collect when he made his daily rounds.
Back once again at the castle, Rick found Nezera talking with her new servants and he sat down with her for a few minutes to properly explain the status menu and had her go through all of the attribute descriptions so that she would learn how each one would help her. When he watched Nezera fight during the battle he noticed that she was a melee fighter. Nezera favored the axe and shield because that was just the fighting style of her people. She relied on strength overpower her foes and agility dodge or block incoming attacks.
When she was familiar with everything they talked about how she should distribute her unused points and decided to put most of them into strength and agility and also devoted a portion of them to her vitality. Rick decided to let her test out the new gains and took Nezera and Angelica fully armored and armed through the Portal to the Orc dungeon entrance. Using the tactics he had before they went from room to room on the first floor suspending the orcs in a gravity field. Rick remained in the hallway on guard and sent the two girls into each room together to clear out all the enemies. He wasn''t too concerned about missing out on the experience points and wanted to level the girls up and provide them with an opportunity to acquire more fighting experience.
Rick thought this would be a good way for the two of them to learn how to fight together and also get to know one another better. Whenever the girls cleared out a room, Rick would go in behind them and gather up any dropped items and coins. They soon found the staircase to the 2nd floor and discovered that the treasure chest was no longer where it had been before. Assuming that it must randomly relocate around the dungeon they pressed forward and were soon fighting orc shaman and orc troopers. With Rick on the back line and the two girls fighting out front they made quick work of any small groups of orcs they encountered and with all of them wearing armor enchanted with spell reflection any orc shaman they came across were of no concern to them.
With the small party all working together they found themselves in the open caverna lot quicker than when Rick had come down alone. The two girls were astonished to see the huge cavern that looked like it were outdoors with the grass trees and bushes everywhere. If not for the illuminated ceiling covered with glowing gems it would be easy to think that they had somehow found their way out of the dungeon.
Rick decided to guide them toward the camp he had discovered last time and made sure to keep an eye out for any wandering orc warlords. If an orc warlord caught them by surprise he was worried that one of the girls would be gravely injured or even killed. As they advanced forward they ran into a few patrols but were lucky enough not to find a warlord among them.
The three of them eventually found the camp and stealthily approached it. They found that it was much bigger than Rick had thought it was when he had seen it the first time with his Far Sight skill. As they watched the camp from a hidden location, Rick guessed that there must be over one hundred orcs milling around the defended camp. It was difficult to be sure because the entire camp was walled off with wooden palisade walls except for the few entrances that were also guarded.
With the orcs large numbers inside and not knowing what type was actually in there, Rick decided not to attack it and decided to wait until he brought all of his troops along to try it out. For all, he knew there could be twenty orc warlords in there ready to rip them apart.
The three of them returned to the castle and found it was a productive trip Nezera had gained four levels and Angelica had reached level twenty. Nezera also got a feel for what the extra points in her attributes did for her and had an idea of how she wanted to spend her new ones. The two girls who were now talking together about the fight and gains they made and discussing how they fought together and explaining their styles.
Rick was glad to see the two of them getting along and he left them to go down into the castle basement. In the empty room in between the palace guard''s room and the prison area, Rick took out the weapon stands, armor stands, and tables. He arranged them neatly around the room and then stocked them all with the remainder of the gear that was once on the 4th floor of the tower.
Spoiler:Updated Castle Basement Layout.
When he was done setting up the new armory, Rick walked over to his workshop and sat down at his corner table with a charcoal pencil and a sheet of parchment to draw up a few designs. Once he had corrected any possible problems and had made a few alterations to the final design he set the design a side and stood up and turned the forge on.
Spoiler:New Design.
His new design was for a steam engine that he had been looking into online. This design would be similar to the advanced versions that were used in the real world, but he planned on adding fire and water runes to this design. By adding fire and water runes to the reinforced water storage tank his model would never need a fuel to run itor need a nearby water source to fill it. Rick activated his Fast domain and used his blacksmith, forging andMetal Sculptor skills to build his steam engine piece by piece.
Each part and component he made had been crafted from steel so that when he later used the recipe to make more it would be made from a metal that was strong and easy for him to obtain. After activating a few Fast Domains he was able to finish his first steam engine. He then used his engraving tools to carve out the fire and water runes and connect them to switch runes on the outside of the machine so that they could be turned on and off at any given time while the engine was in use.
Now that he had a steam engine and a recipe to make more he needed a place that he could keep them so he sat down to draw up a building similar to one that had caught his eye online.
Spoiler:New Building Design.
He stored away his new steam engine and the building design and left the castle to walk south of the Military Academy. on an empty plot that was between the farms and the Academy he built the new building out of marble and used clay tile shingles for the roof. The inside walls were all wood and the floor was marble tiles on both the 1st and 2nd floors.
On the 1st-floor, he built large stonebasins large enough to hold a couple hundred gallons of water each from stone blocks and cement and then set the steam engine in place and made a few measurements of the basin and the distance from the basin to the engine and opened a portal to his workshop. He made a steel crankshaftand a sealed hollow steel barrel with three inch wide blades that ran down the length of the barrel like a paddle wheel. he stored it all into his inventory and stepped back through the portal and began to assemble everything.
The steel crankshaft was connected to the steam engine''s flywheel and the other end of the crankshaft was connected to the bladed steel barrel that laid horizontal across the stone basin. Rick then chiseled a water rune into the bottom of the stone basin and connected it to a switch rune.
Once he had filled the stone basin and steam engine with water, Rick activated the fire rune on the steam engine. It took a couple minutes for the water to begin to boil in the tank and then the steam engine slowly came to life. When the flywheel started turning the crankshaft it made the steel barrel in the stone basin start to churn up the water. The steel barrel cut through the water similar to a water wheel with the blades pushing into the water like the small paddles.
Opening his inventory, Rick began to take out the cloth scraps he had stored up over time and dump them into the churning water tub. The scrap cloth after being placed in the water was quickly sucked up under the spinning bladed barrel. When thebladed spinning barrel pulled the cloth pieces into its blades, they were sliced and shredded until they became an oatmeal consistency.
While the cloth was getting mashed up in the basin, Rick took out some lumber and made a wooden mold one foot wide by two feet long and a quarter inch deep. When the bits of cloth in the basin were churned around by the bladed steel drum it turned into a liquid pulp over time. Rick then used the wooden molds he made to scoop out the cloth pulp and shift it around in each mold until it was evenly layered. Using the wooden mold recipe he made up one hundred wooden molds and filled them all evenly with cloth pulp and let them too dry in the fast domain.
As the cloth pulp dried he used his recipes to make a work bench and a metal tube roller. When the cloth pulp was dry it turned into a solid sheet that he ran through the metal tube rollers to squeeze out the excess water.
Rick then stacked each sheet in between cuts of fabric to help absorb the remaining moisture. During the papers drying process, he made a paper cutter from a block of wood and a short sword that he drilled a hole through the blade and bolted it to the side of the wood block on a small pivot axel.
When the sheets were completely dried, he had a hundred sheets 2 x 1 sheets of white paper that he cut down into 1 x 1 sheets with the paper cutter. He used the empty molds to scoop out the rest of the cloth pulp and ended up with eight hundred 1 x 1 sheets of paper when he was done and he still even had a fair amount of scrap cloth left to use for another batch later.
Rick shut down the steam engine and stored away all his paper and went back to the castle he stored the paper in a wooden cabinet in his library and then found his Chamberlain he showed him how to operate the runic lights, the stoves, and the bath tub so that he could then show the cooks, servants, and maids how to operate them. He then went up to his room and unequipped his clothes and laid under the covers and disconnected from the game.
Disconnect!
Chapter 36: The Northern Road
RIckconnected to the game the next day after classes and running a few errands. He left the castle bedroom after equipping his clothes and made his way downstairs to the basement workshop. Before joining the game earlierhe had looked online at the schematics for apaper hole punch and now set out to make a six hole paper hole punch. With a little trial and error, he successfullycame up with a design he was happy with and even acquired a recipe for it.
Next, he moved onto making decorative wooden book covers with six holesspaced to the exact measurements as his newly created six hole paperpunch. When he receiveda recipe for the hand carved wooden book covers he moved onto making clip metal rings that could fit through the holes in his book covers.
Now he had almost all the tools and materials needed to start making books. There was one last thing he needed to make and that was a dip ink pen. A dip pen is similar to a calligraphy pen, but the tip is thinner and slightly pointed.
He used his wood carving skills to make awoodenergonomic grip for the pen and then he used his metal sculptor skill to make a precise metal tip that he fit into the wooden grip. He also acquired a recipe for the dip pen and made a few copies of it.
After packing up the dip pens, paper hole puncher, wooden book covers, and metal binding rings, Rick left the workshop and walked over to the Officials Building and opened up theopened up the Buy Unit Menu. Before spawning in any new units he decided to review a selection that he had not investigated yet since he never had anyuse for it until now. Rick had so far looked into the Military, Laborer, and the Crastman Menus, but he had never looked into the Religion or Artist menus.
Now that he had a Temple he would need to soon look into the Religion Menu, but for now, he was more curious in the Artist Menu. Rick clicked on the Buy Artist option and the menu opened up for him.
Spoiler:Show Artist Division Classes!
Artist Division Classes
Artist
Fresco Painter
Glass Painter
Illuminator
Limner
StoneSculptor
Painter
Wood Sculptor
Actor
Composer
Playwright
Poet
Oh? It looks like there are Artists and Performance Artists available. I think I should take a look at the descriptions and figure out what theseguys are capable of.
Artist
An Artist produces drawings with chalk and Charcoal mediums.
Fresco Painter
FrescoPainting is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly-laid or wet plaster.
Glass Painter
Glass Painters produce color designs on the glass with paint.
Illuminator
An Illuminator produces illuminated manuscripts.
An illuminated manuscript is a hand-written text that contains beautiful decorations and illustrations that use reflective metallic paints.
Limner
A Limner is similar to an Illuminator. The only difference is A Limner uses regular inks and paints
They will also producehand-written text that contains beautiful decorations and illustrations. They just do not illuminate them with reflective paints.
That is the perfect class for what I am looking for right now. I do not need to bother looking into the other three classes they are all self-explanatory.
Rick closed the description menus of the different classes and spawned in four human females with Book Printer as their first class and Limner as their second class. Next, he spawned in a Male human with Merchant as his first class and Blade Master as his second class. He sent them all to the Chancellor''s office for the usual explanationof where they were and what was expected of them by Irene and then Irene passed them off to the messengers who''s job it was to point out the restaurant and find them all available apartments.
Before sending them all off, Rick asked the new group to meet him at the castle when they were all settled in and he told the messengers to make sure they knew where the castle was before leaving them. He then left the Officials Building and went over to the castle library. Using his recipe he made a four drawing desks and arranged them along the back wall and placed a table next to them. On the table, he placed down a couple six hole paper punches, The stacks of cloth paper he made, a large stack of wooden book covers, dip pens, and a box filled with metal ring binders.
As he was moving the scroll racks over near the station he was setting up his Chamberlain Damon came into the room with the group he had just spawned in. Rick walked over to Damon and decided he should add him to his friend list so that he could keep in contact with him. He demonstrated how the voice chat and text messages worked and then he asked Damon to go find the Captain of the Guard for him and have him report to the library.
Damon then left in search of Talos and Rick led the small group over to the station he had just set up. He explained to the four women that he wanted them to start transferring all the scrolls over to book form. Rick then showed them how to use the hole punch on the paper and place the paper between the wooden book covers and lastly slide the metal ringsthrough the holes in the book covers and sheets of paper to make a completed book.
While they looked over everything he supplied them with, Rick took out some charcoal ash that he used to make his charcoal pencils with and mixed it with a small amount of water to make ink. He then tested out the dip pens with the ink to make sure the ink was not too light or thick. When he had a good mixture he used the recipe to make a few bottles of ink and told the ladies to practice with the dip pens until they were comfortable with them. He didn''t mind if they wasted a little paper and ink getting used to the ink and pens before they seriously started transferring the scrolls to book form.
He then gave them each a set of paint sticks to also practice with and told them that he wanted the four woman to not just copy the text but to also add illustrations and artwork that was related to the information or story in each scroll. Rick left it up to their discretion of what to draw he just made sure that they knew he was looking for books that could be considered works of art, not just pages filled with words.
He left then four females to their practice and went over to talk with the male merchant who had been sitting at a table patiently watching everything he was showing the four women. Rick escorted him to the castle armory and had him put on a spider silk under-armor, one of the formal outfits that were being made to sell at the store, a leather belt, two nice long swords that hung from his waist, and one of the leather hip pouches that he had made for the sales girls.
Rick then walked back to the library with the Merchant after equipping him in the castle armory. He sat down with the merchant at a library table and found out his name was Bernard. Rick gave Bernard a good amount of gold and silver coins to place in his hip pouch.
He then explained to Bernard that he wanted him to buy books from stores in Silverhall City and to talk with other merchants in the city about importing books from other races around the starting continent. Rick also gave Bernard a copy of the store key and told him about the teleporter on the second for. Rick told him that he could stay at the city Inns, rent a place in town or use the teleporter to return to the city. Rick told him that what ever he chose to do he would pay for it. He then added Bernard to his friend list as Talos the Captain of the Guard walked in through the library door.
Rick also added Talos to his friend list and told him about the Military Academy and how General Sturm would be training the troops there. Rick wanted Talos to split the palace guards into two teams and rotate them between sending one team to train at the Academy with Sturm and the troops while the other team guarded the castle every other day. This way the palace guard teams would train one day and guard the next day.
He stated that he also wanted the on duty guards to patrol the castle walls and also station two guards at the castle gatehouse and two guards at the castle entrance from now on.He then let Talos head out to set up the teams and arrange patrols.
When Talos walked off, Rick opened a Portal to his store and took Bernard through it to his office. He told Bernard that if he decided to stay in the city he could leave the books he bought in his office since he came there every day. He then took Bernard upstairs and introduced him to the store guards so that when they saw him enter the store after hours they would not suspect him of being someone they should attack.
Rick then passed out a few silver coins to each of his store guards and walked Bernard to the front door and let him loose on the city to start finding as many books as he could and bring them back to him. He checked on Barat and Nelie to see how things were going and found out that he now had four more female sales girls that Nelie had found. The new girls were just beginning to learn all the new products sold at the store, but the extra hands helped take some of the pressure off the other sales girls who were constantly going from one customer to the next all day long.
He restocked the store with the merchandise in his inventory and then introduced himself to each of the new faces. Rick talked with each one of them individually for a few minutes and even answered any questions they had, before returning to his office once again. He sat down at his desk and reviewed the sales records and also collected the money from the previous day''s sales from his desk drawer.
When he was finished in his office, Rick placed the sales records book on Barat''s desk and left the store. He made his way around the corner to walk through the central plaza where the isles upon isles of vendors sold their products from small stalls. Rick wanted to restock the restaurant with food so he started with the butchers. Even though He had still had hundreds of pounds of smoked meat at the tower, RIck decided to leave it for the Tigers and Dire Wolves. He bought a wide selection of meats and since he was buying so much of it he took the time to use his Charming Presence skill and Charisma attribute to work some decent deals.
Even though his farmers were already producing vegetables and some fruits, he went to the farmer''s section and began working deals for large amounts of vegetables and fruits. As he went from one vendor to the next he found someone who was selling large amounts of sugar. This was a product that he had almost forgotten about even though he had a couple confectioners working at the restaurant and the castle, Rick had never given them a stock of sugar that was needed for almost all desserts.
Using his Charming Presence he talked with the farmer about where he was getting some much sugar and found that he had a small plantation that they grew a plant similar to sugar cane that thrived well on the main continent. Rick made a deal with the sugar farmer to buy all the sugar he had left which was roughly three hundred pounds and a large bag of the seeds. When he used his Identify skill on the seeds the description window popped up.
Sweet Stalk Seed
Sweet Stalk is similar to sugar cane but it can grow in cooler environments.
When the plant grows to maturity it can be cut down and a new plant will later grow from the cut stump.
There is no need to ever replant Sweet Stalk it will always regrow.
Rick closed out the description menu when he was sure he was given the right seeds and continued his shopping. When he had gathered enough food to keep his people fed for a week or two he opened a Portal in a side alley to the garden area that his Half-Dryad Daisia was always experimenting with the different plants and trees he brought her. He walked with Daisia over to the crop fields and had the farmers use their skills to improve the Sweet Stalk seeds he just bought.
His farmers used their Seed Nourishment skill on the large bag of seeds to make them healthier and to grow faster after being planted. Rick then picked up Daisia and flew off into the air after thanking the farmers. Daisia was screaming with delight while Rick carried above the city to look for a place to plant the new seeds. He decided to use an area outside the walls around the water reservoir.
Before planting the seeds he used his Move and Shape Earth skill to cut out narrow irrigation channels all around the plots he was going to use and connected them into the moat. When the water flowed into the channels the earth began to absorb the water turning the soil a darker brown. He then once again used the Move and Shape Earth to make shallow ruts in between the irrigation channels. He dropped the Sweet Stalk seeds into the narrow rut at even space so the plants had enough room between them to grow and receive enough sunlight.
When the seeds were planted and buried he let Daisia go around and use her skills Soil Enrichment to provide the field with plenty of nutrients. Next, she began using her Plant Growth skill to accelerate the plant growth cycle inside the Fast Domain. It wasn''t long before all the seedssmall plants. Rick decided to use his Cartography skill to see how the city was progressing as Daisia was finishing up.
Spoiler: Updated City Map.
I can already see the small specks of green from the Sweet Stalks growing in the fields around the aqueduct. It looks like Jereme and Handil are just about done with the Northwestern apartment district. I should go find them soon and tell them where to start building next. That long orange roof building south of the castle must be the Military Academy with the training field just south of it. There is the new steam engine paper factory with the purple roof between the farm fields and the Academy.
Let''s see here, I now have Ninty apartment buildings and each one has twelve apartments. Ninty times twelve is one thousand and eighty. Wow, We already have one thousand and eighty individual apartments? I wonder if I should think of something else to get the two construction crews started on then?Rick pondered over what to build as he looked at the map.
Daisia came walking over to him and told him that she did as much as she could for the day and would come back tomorrow to grow them a little more. Rick scooped her up and told her to hang on and he zipped back to her garden in a matter of a few seconds and dropped her off to fly over to the restaurant. Rick entered the restaurant kitchen and made a couple more stone runic refrigerators and then charged all the storage gems on all of the kitchen appliances.
Rick opened his inventory and stocked all of the refrigerators with the food he purchased. Using his carpentry skills and wood shape skill he made a barrel with a lid and used the recipe to make a few more and fill them with the bags of hundreds of pounds of sugar he bought. He placed a few barrels in the corner and told the cooks and confectioners not to be shy and let him know when they needed certain things. It seems the confectioners had been just making cakes and desserts without sugar until now and they were not very appealing.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
He then flew over to the castle kitchen and dropped off a couple barrels of sugar and filled the fridges with some of the foods he purchased earlier. After talking with the kitchen staff, Rick wrote up a list of all the food he had left them to work. This they could look at the list and plan out the meals for the week.
When he was finished in the kitchen he left the castle and flew over to meet up with Handil and Jerem. He instructed them to move over to the crafting district one they had finished filling all of the Northwestern residential plots with apartment buildings. Seeing that they only had a couple buildings left he cast a Fast Domain and helped them to finish so that they could begin building crafting buildings.
Rick packed up all of the materials they had left over and he transferred them to an empty crafting plot. He even went over to the stock pile and pulled enough materials off it to get them going for a while so they were not standing around waiting on a delivery cart to come along. Just as the two crews began laying the foundations for the next set of crafting buildings, Rick dropped the remaining supplies off for them and flew over to the Military Academy.
He found General Sturm working with the cavalry, Infantry, and Balista units. They were practicing moving together and quickly forming lines and Shield walls and the cavalry practiced maneuvers out on the infantry lines flanks. Rick went over to General Sturm to let him know that he would be bringing on more units add that in the next couple days he wanted to attack the northern Nekomimi settlement. With the quest coming along and bringing on all the half-orcs to live with them the attack was pushed to the side for a couple days.
Now that everyone was settled in and they were back on track, it was time to begin preparations for the next battle. Rick instructed Sturm to make sure the infantry was well drilled in the shield wall and Testudo because he had a feeling that the next battle the enemy would rely on ranged weapons from the way they had attacked them. They had never sent any melee fighters out during their ambush it was just a constant barrage of arrows until they were forced to flee.
When he was finished talking with General Sturm, RIck made a pass through the crafting buildings and picked up everything that had been completed. He stowed all the items in his inventory along with a few carriages and then flew over to the Officials Building. In the empty office next to Chancellor Alexadra''s, he turned it into a lounge by adding a couple couches tables and chairs. He then went into Alexandra''s office and let her know that he was going to hire more messengers for them and that he had made a lounge for them in the empty office next to hers. This way the messengers could hang out in there out of the way until they were sent off to gather information on the apartments or assign apartments to new citizens.
Rick spawned in four more messengers and sent them over to Alexandra''s assistant Irene to be debriefed on their job. While the new messengers were being filled in on their duties Rick sat down at a table in the lounge and wrote out a list of military units.
Spoiler:Military Units List.
Rick had been recently trying to balance out the genders for each race whenever he spawned in new units. This way there was a better chance of his people finding someone that they may want to marry and have kids. If this was possible it would help supply the city with future citizens.
When he had a balanced list of the new units he wanted to spawn in he walked out to the System Gate in the main hallway.
Classes
Amount
Gender
Race
Battle Axe Hero_Arua Knight
Twenty
Ten Males - Ten Females
Half Giant
Hero Knight_Electro Mage
Twenty-Five
Females
Human
Cleric_Assassin
Fifteen
Eight Males - Seven Females
Half Angel
Mounted Archer_Mounted Spearman
Twenty
Females
Elf
Blade Master_Battle Mage
Eleven
Females
Valkyire
Hero Ranger_Druid
Ten
Males
Elf
Balistia_Battle Axe Hero
Ten
Females
Dwarf
He went down his list and spawned in the new units and just about wiped out his entire saving from the past few days. Rick had Irene send the eight messengers out with the new military units to find available apartments for them. Rick told the messengers to show them the restaurant location after finding them their new homes and then to take them over to the Military Academy and have General Sturm take command of them.
When the large group of people left, Rick went back into the lounge and sat at the table to write up a list of all the military units he currently had. It was getting to the point where it was hard to keep track of them all and he needed a list for the future totry and keep them balanced.
My Total Military Units List
The Main Army
Classes
Total Amount
Male
Female
Race
Mounted Archer_Mounted Spearman
40
20
20
Elves
Hero Knight_Electro Mage
50
25
25
Human
Battle Axe Hero_Arua Knight
30
15
15
Half Giant
Cleric_Assassin
20
10
10
Half Angel
Blade Master_Battle Mage
20
N/A
20
Valkyire
Hero Ranger_Druid
20
16
4
Elves
Balistia_Battle Axe Hero
20
-
20
Dwarves
Assassin_Pyromancer
10
-
10
Forsaken
Assassin_Hero Ranger
1
-
1
Nekomimi
Battle Dancer_Battle Mage
2
N/A
2
Kitsune
Pyromancer_Hero Ranger
2
-
2
Aquatine
TOTAL NUMBERS:
215
Store Guards
Classes
Total Amount
Male
Female
Race
Assassin_Cleric
2
2
-
Human
Blade Master_Battle Mage
6
6
-
Human
Assassin_Spy
2
2
-
Human
TOTAL NUMBERS:
10
Palace Guards
Classes
Total Amount
Male
Female
Race
Hero Knight_Electro Mage
25
25
-
Human
Hero Ranger_Hero Knight
10
10
-
Human
Hero Ranger_Druid
15
15
-
Human
TOTAL NUMBERS:
50
TOTAL Military NUMBERS:
275 Units
The new units were now sent off to find their new apartments and to be sent over to General Sturm afterward and he had a list of the total number of troops he currently possessed in his inventory. He felt that he was caught up with everything he wanted to do for the day so he went over to the castle to do some training.
He went into the basement Elemental Training room and charged the storage gems in his Multi affinity Rune circle. When the gems were all topped off with mana he activated the Fire, Lightning, and Space Runes. He closed his eyes activated Fast Domain and began circulating his mana through the three active runes.
Rick trained the three elements for an hour and then he activated the wind rune and connected his mana to the rune. One by one he began reconnecting to the others until he was training with Fire, Lightning, Space, and Wind altogether. WIth the help of Fast Domain, he trained a total of four hours in only 20 mins of game time. The long duration did not put any strain on him it was the same as just sitting still and meditating. The speed of the game was increased in a small area around him, but it felt like a normal progression of time.
It seemed that when the Fast Domain spell was active it was like Rick was on a private server that progressed at 12x normal speed, you knew it was faster than normal, but you just couldn''t tell because everything around you was synced to your speed.
He did become a little restless just sitting there for so long so he decided to take a break. After he had deactivated all the runes he stood up and opened his flashing notification icon.
Spoiler:Show Notices!.
Elemental Affinity Increase:
Fire Affinity
Level 1
Master
52%
Elemental Affinity Increase:
Lightning Affinity
Level 9
Advanced
16%
Elemental Affinity Increase:
Space Affinity
Level 4
Advanced
89%
Elemental Affinity Increase:
Wind Affinity
Level 7
Beginner
27%
Rick closed out the notice windows and opened a portal to the limestone quarry so that he could gather up all the piles of limestone dust and fragments of broken limestone blocks. It had been some time since he had come out to gather all the built up piles so he was surprised to see how much had accumulated over time. He stored it all away in his inventory and opened a portal next to Jessica''s General store and walked in.
Jessica was quite shocked to see him come into her store. She had figured now that he had his own store he would not bother to shop at hers anymore.
Jessica didn''t seem to mind though she was just happy to see him and excitedly told him about all the changes that had been happening for her since the corrupt nobles vanished. She had made a few more new import contacts and her inventory showed it. She not only had new products but a better-stocked inventory and by the sounds of it, her sales had more than doubled for her now. She knew that it was thanks to what Rick had done, but she did not directly mention it.
She knew that Rick did not want to be connected to the incidentand only said thank you for everything to him with a smile. Rick gave her a wink and a smile and went down one of her isles to grab a few lengths of rope. He paid for the rope and promised to come back soon and make a big purchase from her. Rick gave her a mischievous smile as he opened a Portal right behind him at her counter. He took a step backward and vanished right before her eyes and closed the Portal behind him.
He chuckled to himself as he thought of the expression that must be on her face right now. He looked around him and found where the furthest north road along the river ended and walked over to it. Using his recipes he made a groma surveying tool and a few six-foot long wooden stakes. While using his Fast Domain again he began lining up a straight northern route with the survey tool. once he placed a stake he would use his survey tool to place the next one. He tied the rope he just bought from one stake to the next so that he had a straight line where the edge of the road would be.
When he ran out of rope he went back and used his Move and Shape Earth skill to cut out the width of the road. When the road was cut out he pulled the stakes and ropes up and continued further north. As he marked out the road, Rick began to angle the road gradually away from the river so that it went straight toward the mountains in the distance. His Fast Domain allowed him to reach the mountain in fifteen minutes of game time even though he had spent three hours of surveying inside the Domain.
With the North road now marked and dug out all the way to the edge of the northern mountain range, he flew off to the river and began gathering huge amounts of sand and river stone from the shoreline. Rick flew back to the road and began layering the dug up road with the river sand, limestone dust, Limestone chunks, and river stone all the way back to the city. When the roads base layer was complete he used his Move and Shape Stone Skill to cut the 10-foot by 10-foot cubes of stone in his inventory into stone pavers.
He used his old smelting pot to mix a large batch of cement up and began cementing stone pavers along the length and width of the road. Rick had first started the game with his Paving Skill at level 7 Intermediate thanks to his experience from the Marine Corps so he was able to lay the road out at a decent speed. Then with the help of Fast Domain added he was able to move quickly into the distance as he left a level stone paved road behind him.
The sun had already set before he had reached the end of the road so he activated his Night Sight and finished the road in the dark. The main reason he was so eager to complete this road was that he needed to establish a mining operation. He could no longer simply buy iron from his former teacher in Silverhall City. He looked at it like a good thing since it would save him money that could be spent on other things from now on. He had been spending so much money on troops lately that even if he could still buy coal and iron, he wouldn''t have enough currency to even buy anything.
Rick flew back to the castle once he was done with the road and went right up to his room and unequipped his gear. He laid down on the bed and disconnected.
Disconnect!
Enclave Isles
When Luke''s friends were all playing Kingdoms Online he would spend his time studying or surfing the KO forums. After reviewing the races when he first thought of joininghe decided to choose the Vampire race. Once he had made his mind up on which race he would want to play, he began searching through the forums for any information he could find from players who were playing as Vampires.
One of the first things he had found was a map that a VIP Player had posted. It seems he used a map skill to make it and then he copied it from his recorded gameplay for a few curious people who were interestedin also becoming Vampires. This Player had posted the map and the names of the five clan towns located on what was called Enclave Isles.
Enclave Isles is the starting place for any Player who chose the Vampire race.Luke had found out that anyone who became a Vampire would be teleported to one of these five clans after taking their test and choosing this race.
--------------------[]--------------------
When Luke returned from classes he was excitedly greeted by his girlfriend when he walked through the door. She was excited because just a few hours earlier the delivery techs had installed two brand new Gate Gear VR capsules in their guest bedroom.
Once they had briefly looked over the manuals left behind by the techs the two of them climbed into the capsules and connected to the game. They both ended up in Faith''s temple at the same time, but they were not together. It seemed that whenever a player joined the game they were sent to their own individual instance of the temple so that players could not interfere with one another or help each other on the test they took to determine their starting skills.
The two of them were lucky enough to be sent to The Scarlet Kiss Clan after finishing up with their tests and character creations. It wasn''t that The Scarlet Kiss Clan was any better than the clans they were just happy to be together and did not need to try and search for one another right after joining the game.
As Luke and his girlfriend explored the town and shops they asked people friendly enough to talk to them about the town and the Enclave Isles. They found out that the land was inhabited by monsters and primitivehuman tribes.
From what they were told these five Vampire clans often fought each other over borders disputes and for who would have control of certain human tribes. The AI people of the clan explained that the Vampire clans fed on these human tribes without killing them so each clan tried to claim ownership over as many tribes as they could.
While the two of them were gathering information they also used their starting funds to buy armor and weapons. While they walked from one shop to the next they began to notice that the heavy fog that surrounded the town seemed to block out the sun rays enough to protect them and the otherVampires on the street from taking damage.
Luke curiously asked one of the merchantabout them not being injured from the fog and, they were told that the Enclave Isles were always covered in heavy fog during the daytime. It seems the game lore was that the Vampires had found this Island centuries ago and made it their home.
The land seemed to be located in the perfect area where warm air flowing up from the southern ocean mixed with cool air that came from the Northern main continent and created the constant daytime fog. When Luke thought about it, he figured that the game was probably programmed to create the fog so that the AI Vampires would not be trapped indoors all day long.
After Luke and his girlfriend had secured aninn room they left the security of town to explore and hunt in the surrounding wilderness. Luke scanned through his menus as they walked toward the gate to try and learn what options he had available to him. He soon found the Vampire Race Menu and opened it up to see if he could learn anything he did not know yet.
Spoiler:Vampire Race Menu.
Vampire Race
Vampiresare amazingly capable fighters, moving in and out of combat, drawing from their victims very life energy.
As they grow in power, their eyes can be seen to develop a noticeable reddish glow.
Vampires are drawn to feed on the blood of the living, and can only survive on blood.
A Vampire can eat normal food and drink but it is done only for enjoyment.
Male:
( 5.9 - 6.5 ft) ( 180 - 210 lbs)
Female:
( 5.5 - 6 ft) ( 120 - 150 lbs )
Racial Traits
Sunlight Hypersensitivity: The vampire takes damage when in direct sunlight.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Forbidden:You can''t enter a residence of a non-Vampire without an invitation from one of the occupants.
Night Sight: Allows you to see even in pitch blackness as if it were daytime.
Instinctive Abilities
Swords:
Allows you to use Swords. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Daggers:
Allows you to use Daggers. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Blunt Weapons:
Allows you to use Blunt Weapons. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Magic:
Allows you to wield magic.
Thrown:
Allows you to use a Thrown Weapons. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Unarmored:
You can maneuver in combat so that most strikes miss or glance off your body.
Light Armor:
Allows you to wear Light Armor. Skill level determines protection bonuses.
Sure Footed:
Allow you to keep your footing on a precarious terrain.
Master of Movement:
Difficult terrain doesn''t slow you down.
Wall Climb:
You can scale buildings easily always spotting the best path to climb.
Leap Up:
You can leap up from the ground to your feet in one fluid motion.
Fleet of Foot:
You can turn up to 90 deg during a charge or run.
Shoot on the Move:
Allows you to accurately hit targets while moving regardless of terrain.
Grappler:
Provides the knowledge of ground fighting with throws, holds, chokes, and limb bars.
Courtly Knowledge:
Allows you the knowledge of proper protocol and etiquette.
Reading and Writing:
Allows you to read and write you racial and Lord''s language.
We may not be able to wear heavy armors but it looks like Vampires are agile fighting machines. Some of these Instinctive Abilities are amazing. We can climb buildings with ease, run at a full sprint over rough and uneven terrain, and make ninety degree turns at a full sprint. I''m going to have to test some of this out when we get outside of town.Luke thought while he closed his Race Menu and opened his inventory.
The couple equipped their new armor and weapons and walked north hunting animals and low-level monsters as they explored. They made their way further north across the open plain occasionally spotting wild horses, buffalo, deer, and a mixed variety of small game. Luke used his knife to skin the animals for their meat and fur and his girlfriend was surprisingly ok with it. This was a girl that would freak out if she saw a spider in the house and ask him to get rid of it but there she was now standing over his shoulder watching everything he was doing.
Luke ended up acquiring the Field Dress skill and his girlfriend actually decided to clean and skin a few animals so that she could also get the same skill and help him out. She figured that if they both got good at skinning and quartering they would be able to make a little extra money from selling the high-quality furs and meat to butchers.
Luke just shook his head while she struggled through the process without any complaints and even though her first few attempts were piss poor he was quite proud of her. Once the sun had set the fog seemed to roll away and the sky and the surrounding terrainbecame much more visible. The two of them soon took notice that their bodies felt even more powerful than they did during the day.
They both put away their weapons and decided to have some fun sprinting north until they reached the trees. Luke easily scaled the side of a tree and began jumping from one tree to the next and then circled back to his girlfriend.
His girlfriend asked how the hell he did that why laughing at what she had just seen. Luke then taught her how to pull to up the Vampire Race Menu so that she could also see all the different things that Vampires could do.
As they ran through the forest having fun they spotted lights through the trees and headed toward them. It seemed they were having so much fun messing around with their Vampire strengths that they had made it to the next town. Luke remembering the map he had saved on his computer knew that this town was run by "The Immortal Ancestry Clan". They were unsure if their starting town had any grievances with this one and really didn''t care if they did they walked through the forest curiously toward the town to find out if it might be a better place than The Scarlet Kiss Clan''s town.
This forest town was Architecturally different from their original starting town. The first town''s buildings were made of stone and the entire town had a gothic medieval vibe. The town they just found focused on wood for the main material they used for the buildings. It was a quaint forest town that seemed like the type of town people would visit on their vacations or spend their honeymoon.
Even though they had already paid for a room at an Inn before they left the Scarlet Kiss town they decided to find another room in this Immortal Ancestry town. They had traveled so far north and it was already dark out now if they were to head back to the starting town they were unsure if the Inn they rented the room from would even have anyone working who could give them their room key.
They stopped and asked someone who looked to be a town guard where they could find an Inn and they were given directions to one a few streets away. When they found the Inn they went inside and paid for a room for the night and went directly to their room. The two of them decided to disconnect from the game so that they could start making dinner after they investigated the room and laid down on the bed. The couple unequipped their gear and then Luke leaned over to blow out the candles on the nightstand.
Disconnect!
Disconnect!
Chapter 37: Mining and Entertainment
After classes, Rick went out to eat with Lily, Ryan, Joel,and Luke. They talked all about their classes and about their recent adventures while playing Kingdoms Online. Lily seemed to have made progress with her bowand sword skills and Ryan was still living on his own on the small island he had originally made his small hut. Luke not to be left out excitedly narrated everything he had learned about the Enclave Isles and the trek that he and his girlfriend had made from one town to the next.
They allhad the day off tomorrowfrom classes so each of them planned to enjoy the day and play KO. Joel still had to work and had never bought one of the Gate Gears so he was a little jealous of his friends, but he did not let it show. It was his choice to devote his time to work and studying. Unlike his friends, he did not have the money that they all had and he struggled to keep his grades up as it is without the distractions of a game.
Rick made sure to work out when he got home since he skipped his training in the morning. After taking a shower and getting dressed he locked his door and joined Kingdoms Online.
Once he was dressed, Rick left the castleand went over to the crafting district. He went from one shop to the next gatheringthe finished products that were made specificallyfor the store. He left the basic furniture that was always be crafted for the apartments behind. After a while, one of his wagoners and cottars would come buy to load it all up in betweensupply deliveries and take it to the empty apartments.
With a new stock of merchandisein his inventory, he opened a Portal and traveled to his store office. He went over his sales records and collected the money from his desk drawer and dropped the sales records book off in Barats office. Out on the display floor, he went from one department to the next restocking any items that were sold out or running low. All of the leftover products thatdid not need restocking ended up in the back warehouse on the aisles of organized shelves.
Rick went back out on the floor and went around checking in with his employees and helped a few customers so that the sales girls who were swamped could catch up a little with the customers who had been waiting to be served. He then made his way upstairs and replacedany carriages that were missing and even added a few that had never been displayed until now. While assembling the new carriages, Rick noticed that the lifelike wooden statues he made of the orcs werenow beginning to draw attention and a few of the customer''s childrenhid behind their parents while staring from behind their legs in wonder and apprehension.
Even the new carriages he assembled drew attention as a few customers gathered around him to watch as he assembled the new models. He answered a few questions about the carriages and went off to recharge all the storage gems in the store. When he had charged the water tank storage gem he activated the water gem for a couple minutes to fill it back up. Down in the store basement, he burned off the waste in the buried septic tank and also recharged the storage gem for it.
When Nelie noticed him recharging the fountain and water wall gems, she walked over to let him know that they also had customers bringing back a few items that needed recharging. She led him to a shelf in the warehouse that was stacked with the lamps and flashlights they sold at the store. SInce he had only been in the store briefly the past couple days Nelie had never had the chance to let him know about them. She had already collected the recharge fees on them and the people were to come back in a couple days to pick them all up so Rickdid not delay and recharged them all right then and there.
Now that he had taken care of everything at the shop and his merchant had not left any books for him to collect yet he decided to head back home. He opened a Portal to the Military Academy and found General Sturm out on training field running the troops through sparring practice. Since he had the day off tomorrow, Rick decided it was time to make a move on the Nekomimi tribe. He took out a table and a couple chairs and sat down with Sturm to find out what was needed.
A few of the new troops were lacking proper weapons and armorer so Rick used recipes or the gear he had in his inventory to outfit them all. General Sturm called them over one at a time and theygave each soldier the gear they were lacking. He made sure that all of his units with a ranged class were also given compound bows and plenty of arrows. Rick was not certain, but he assumed that the enemy would stand off at a distance and use their bows so he wanted to make sure that his men had enough bows and arrows to return fire from behind the shield wall.
When everyone was battle ready he made a few more of the Mithril tower shields and stacked them up with all of the extras he had in his inventory. They had the troops line up and file by them to collect a tower shield from the stack Rick had set down.
Rick asked General Sturm to run them through a walking Testudo formation and then to stop and form a shield wall so that he could observe how they all worked together. General Sturm walked out onto the field and gave them a hand signal and they all began to form up into Testudo while the cavalry lined up on their flanks. When the formation was complete General Sturm led them all across the training field when he yelled out shield wall the testudo smoothly spread out sideways to make four rows of infantry.
It looks like the new recruits already have the hang of the new formations. General Sturm must be drilling them quite a bit to have progressed this much already.Rick thought as he watched everyone run through the formations.
Rick called Sturm back over to him after watching him run the troops through the formations. He sat down at the table and took out a sheet of parchment and drew up a newformation.
Spoiler:New Formation.
Rick passed over the drawing to General Sturm and explained how this formation was useful for splitting up enemy lines and even more effective if it hit the enemy lines from behind. This formation could slice right through enemy lines and trample anyone who stood in its way. If was perfect for divide and conquer tactics. If an enemy kept their ranged units protected behind their lines it could be used to quickly cut through the front line and trample the ranged units.
He told Sturm that he wanted to attack early tomorrow morning in the same way they had the orcs so he had him let the soldiers know about his plan to meet at the restaurant a couple hours before sunrise and then sent them home to get some rest before the battle.
"We won''t bother teaching the cavalry this new formation until after the battle. From the way, I assume this battle will go it won''t really be needed anyway. When I had investigated the dead enemy who ambushed us they only wore furs and animal skins while carrying wooden bows. They also had a couple daggers on their hips as well. If I had to guess is they will more than likely fight us at a distance and if we were to move in close they will use their daggers for melee combat.The Nekomimi race is known to be fast and agile fighters, but without anyarmor and the poorly crafted weapons they have even with superior numbers they have no chance of beating us." Rick explained as he put away the table and chairs.
Rick had General Sturm follow him over to the Officials Building and they stopped next to the System Gate. He opened the Buy Units Menu and spawned twenty-one Female elves with Hero Ranger as their first class and Druid as their second class. He also spawned nine male elves with the same first and second classes. He had General Sturm brief them on the attack that would happen early in the morning while using his recipes to make compound bows for every one of the new recruits.
He outfitted them all with quivers and arrows and then asked Sturm to take them over to the Military Academy to outfit them with armor. Rick had the messengers follow them over to the Academy so that they could assign the new units apartments once they had all of their gear.
When they had all left the building, Rick went outside and flew off toward the north. He followed the new road he built all the way to where it ended at the base of the mountains and landed there. He investigated the area with his metal scan skills until he found an area that seemed to hold a decent amount of different ores.
This area was some ways from the road he had built so he used his groma to mark out a straight route. He then dug up the marked out area and began layering sand, river stone, and lime dust. Once he had the baselayer done he took out stone pavers and cement and extended the road to the area he wished to make a mine.
With the road extended now up to where he wanted his new mine, he could now begin to cut out themain shaft. Using his Move and Shape Stone Skill, Rick was able to cut out a ten foot high by ten foot wide shaft two hundred feet straight into the mountain. He hung crystal wall lights every ten feet along the main mine shaft so that it was brightly lit all along it.
At the opening of the mine shaft, he made a stone block wall and cemented the joints. The entrance was completely sealed off except for a normal sized doorway that he made a four-inch thick wooden door that he hung on hinges. On the back of the door, he used a recipe to make two steel barricade brackets that a wooden post could be slid into to seal the door shut against any danger.
Along both sides of the mine shaft near the door, Rick cut out several rooms for living quarters, a blacksmith room, a kitchen, and dining hall. Inside the living quarters, he placed all of the single beds he had on him along the walls. In the blacksmith room, he made a runic forge, then hung a smelting pot over it, and added an anvil. Next was the kitchen and dining hall that was set up similar to the restaurant with runic stoves and fridges.
Since this area was not linked to the city water system, Rick used the same designs as he did at his store. Above the mine shaft, he made a large water tank with water runes that connected into a kitchen sink and the men''s and women''s bathrooms where he installed toilets and sinks. These toilets and sinks all emptied into a septic tank that he buried outside of the mineshaft.
Inside of a small closet near the door, he carved the switch runes that connected to the water rune in the water tank and the fire runes in the septic tank so that he had easy access to them whenever he needed to empty and fill them.
Seeing that he did not have that many single beds on him he made a basic wooden bed frame right there and used the recipe tofinish filling the living quarters with beds. He opened his portal to transfer the mattresses he needed for the wooden bed frames from the crafting district over to the mine.
After using a few recipes to make some basic outfits, he also made leather gloves, belts, and tool pouches and placed them on each bed. He did the same in the kitchen using what recipes he had to make utensils, cookware, and plates.With all the basic necessities in place, it was time to head back to the city. Back once again at the System Gate, he spawned fifty female dwarven miners, two female dwarven cooks, and two female dwarven blacksmiths. He told the new group of women that they would be working in the mine north of the city and would have weekends off. For now, he would have them work and live in the mines and be able to stay at their apartment on the weekends. Once he hired more miners he might be able to work out a better schedule so that they were not stuck in the mine all week long.
RIck had the messengers take them over to the residential district to find them apartments and then join back up with him in the crafting district when they finished. While they went to be assigned apartments he went over to the blacksmith shops and gathered up a bunch of pickaxes from the back room and told the blacksmiths to continue making tools for the workers and the metal shortage would soon be taken care of.
He flew over to the tool shed on Tower Island and took hammers, axes, saws, screwdrivers, nails, and screws and placed them in his inventory and went back to the city to meet up with the new Mineworkers. Once they had all met up with him he used his Portal to take them to the mine shaft.
After showing them around he told them that he wanted them to start making a grid of mine shafts off the main tunnel and mine any ores they discovered. He passed out pickaxes to the miners and stored the extra tools he took from the tool shed in the closet near the door and left a few stacks of lumber along the tunnel wall. This way they could make timber supports if they thought an area was unstable.
He showed the blacksmiths how to use the forge and instructed them to make and repair any tools the miners may need. Then he took the cooks over to the kitchen and explained how to work the stoves and sinks. He pulled one of the more outgoing female dwarves aside and took her into the bathroom and explained how the toilets worked and asked her to teach the others how to fill and flush them.
Now that he was low on food from distributing it between the castle kitchen and restaurant he had to jump over to Silverhall city and make a few more purchases from the butchers and farmers in the plaza. Rick stocked up the stone fridges in the kitchen and was about to leave and remembered he should tell the women how to barricade the main door so that wild animals or monsters didn''t wander in on them while they were working.
As the women went off to start mining, Rick told them he would make a storage room for them to store the differentore types they mined. Using the Move and Shape Stone skill again he cut out a good sized room and used his carpentry skills to make large wooden crates to store all the ore in.
When he thought that they were all good to go he flew off to find the wagoners. When he found one of them making deliveries to Hadil, Rick landed to tell him about the mine up north. Rick wanted all of the wagoners to pick up the women and bring them back to town on the weekends and to bring back any metalore that was in the storage room there.
Rick walked over to the restaurant after telling the Wagoner to pass the word along to the other wagoners about the mine. He sat down at an empty table and drew up a new building design.
He had been thinking about what the female miners would do on their two days off from the mine in the city and began to realize how little there was for the people to do on their time off.
Spoiler:New Building.
This building would be used as one of the first entertainment buildings to be built. He had plans for bigger and better forms of entertainment that he would need his construction crews to help him with, but for now, he was going to start off with a few gaming houses. These gaming buildings would provide chess, board games, billiards, darts, card games, foosball, and air hockey tables.
First, he started off constructing four of the new gaming buildingson an empty plot next to the temple plaza while making use of the fast domain to help speed along the process. Rick used his carpentry skills to make a pool table and he used the large stone cubes he cut from the mine to make a one-inch thick stone slab, glued green felt to the stone slab, and then set the felt covered slab inside the pool table. This would be the playing surface that the balls rolled on top of. He used strips of leather to make a basket weave netting that he tacked below each pocket to collect the balls. With the help of his Wood sculptor and Wood Shape skill he made the pool balls and colored and numbered them with his paint stick.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.
The foosball table was made similar to the pool table with a wooden frame and a felt covered stone slab playing field. He used his iron round bar recipe to make the table rods and carved wooden men to bolt onto each rod along with a wooden ball.
The air hockey table was made of an all wood frame and he used his hand drill to make small evenly spaced holes all across the playing surface. under the playing surface was a small chamber with wind runes that connected to a storage gem and a switch rune. When the switch rune was activated it blew air up through all of the tiny holes and made the air hockey puck glide around on the table on a pocket of air when it was hit with the paddles.
He then went over to the old worker''s barracks and collected all of the board games and made copies of a few of the games to receive recipes for them. He also had recipes for the themed chess set he made to sell at his store.He used that chess recipe to make several chess sets and placed them all in one of the gaming buildings to make a first-floor chess parlor.
The same building upstairs on the second floor, he made a board game parlor with each board game laid out on tables with plenty of chairs. The second building had pool tables on the first and second floors. The third building he placed air hockey tables on the first floor and foosball tables on the second floor. The last gaming building was set up for card games that were popular in casinos and at parties on the first floor and the second floor he had made wood dart boards with steel-tipped wooden body darts.
Each building had running water bathrooms and crystal wall lights so that people could play after hours. Rick also furnished the gaming buildings with tables. couches, and comfortable chairs. Each gaming building had multiple pool tables, foosball tables, air hockey tables, and other games so that everyone who came to play wouldn''t have to wait for on others to finish their game.
Now that he had finished the four new gaming houses he decided to logoff the game for a little while. On his way back to the castle, RIck used his Cartography skill to check on the city construction progress.
Spoiler:Updated City Map.
The city is really coming along ever since I brought on the second construction crew. It looks like those guys will be able to finish up the crafting district in the next day or two. The road construction crews are making decent progress on marking out the streets for the next section of the city.
Rick put the map back in his inventory and went up to his bedroom and logged out.
Heleft his apartment and drove to a place that made greatrotisserie chicken. He went through the drive-through and brought his order home and ate his lunch while watching TV. While he ate his lunch he thought about the different types of entertainment he should add to the town. One of the buildings that he wanted to build would take up as much room as the temple and the plaza it was built on but he thought it would be one of the most popular spots for his people to visit.
He turned his computer on in the spare room and sat down to do more research after eating his lunch. He started by researching historic forms of entertainment and the buildings used to host them. He studied the way they were constructed and tried to memorize the dimensions. The buildings he wanted to make did not need to be exact copies of what he was researching, Rick just wanted to know as much about them to help him work through problems that might arise.
While Rick was at his computer he went on the forums and checked on his video and his PMs. He was thankful that there were not many people asking him for the location of the dungeon. He even noticed that some of his good customers were even defending him from the comments section against the haters who didn''t like the idea of him keeping the location of the dungeon to himself.
Even though he told everyone that the location was far from the main continent and near his city, some players just couldn''t understand his reasons or just didn''t want to.He also started seeing comments left from players thinking that since his store was so popular he must make a ton of money. A couple Players commented on how he doesn''t help the newer players even though he is rich while also keeping the dungeon information all to himself.
A few people stuck up for him saying that some people just can''t seem to understand the hard work others put into some things and just expect to be freely given information or items from those who put the work in to obtain it. One player mentioned how he couldn''t even walk across the city without some of the newer players asking for handouts.
"Haters gonna hate" Rick whispered to himself as he shook his head in disgust and turned his computer off.
He opened his Gate Gear and laid down and pulled the lid down.
Connect!
Back in the game, Rick ran into Angelica and Nezera in the castle hallway. They had just returned from the military academy and had been sparring with one another while all of the other troops were at home.
Rick told the two girls that he had let everyone have the day off since they would all be fighting an early battle in the morning. When Nezera heard there would be another battle she asked Rick to take her along. Now that she had leveled up and grew much stronger from distributing her points properly, Nezera wished to gain more experience and continue to become stronger.
Seeing that she was so determined Rick agreed to bring her along, but he still wanted her to remain close to him and Angelica. The two girls then went off with their servants to take a nice hot bath before heading to bed early.
There is still a good amount of time until we all head out to teach that Nekomimi tribe a life lesson. Now that I have started making entertainment venues I could make another new one. I think it is time to upgrade the Tavern it is too far from town and that building looks like a big wooden shack. I want to make a building that is more modern looking and has much more room. Three floors should be ideal this way I can have the tavern on the first floor, the female prostitutes on the second floor, and the male prostitutes on the third floor. Rick thought as he approached the area he had built the gaming houses.
He took out his drawing table and chair to sit down and draw up a new building design that he would use for the future taverns around his city.
Spoiler:New TavernDesign.
When he had an idea of what he wanted to build he put away his table and chair and got to work. He used limestone blocks to build the foundation and outer shell of the building and filled the windows with glass panes made by the glass workers. Above the front picture windows, he made a metal pipe frame for the awning. He took out a few deer skins and shaved the hair off them and used leather strips to sew them together. He stretched the deerskin leather tightly across the awning frame and sewed it around the pipe frame.
With the help of his paint sticks, he colored the awning green and printed out Tavern in white block letters across the top of it. On the second and third floors, he made bedrooms that had their own bathrooms. Everyone had a toilet, sink, and bathtub in their bathrooms. He painted all of the rooms a deep burgundy color and laid out a nice sizered rug in each room. He hung light fixtures on the walls and even placed acouple standing lamps in each room.
Now that every room had windows, Rick took out some fabric and dyed it red. He measured awindow and made red drapes that were hung from a metal rod. With the recipe for the drapes, he installed them in every room so that whoever was using the room could have some privacy while entertaining customers.
Downstairs in the back of the bar, he made a wooden trap door that led to a flight of stairs. under the bar, he had dug out a large storage room with wooden walls and floors. Before he left he made a small stone runic stove and a stone runic refrigerator behind the bar.
Rick left the tavern when he had finished all of the needed construction and walked over to the Officials Building. He opened the Buy Units Menu nest to the System Gate and spawned four female Aquatine Water Sorceress. His funds were almost completely wiped out from all the units he had been purchasing so he did not bother to give the four female Aquatines the second class. Next, he spawned a female human cook, two Nekomimi servants, two kitsune servants and two half-orc servants.
He then went into the Chancellor''s office and told Irene where the new tavern was and had her tell the messengers who were in the lounge to find apartments for these new citizens andthen bring them over to the tavern and wait for him to meet up with them there.
He then quickly flew over to the tavern and told theVampiress Temptress/MinstrilSilvana about the new tavern and asked her to help him gather the male and female prostitutes together. He told them to pack their personal possessions and that he would move all the furniture and supplies.
When they had gathered up everything and went outside to wait on him, Rick went through the tavern and packed away all of the furniture and the casks of alcohol. Now that everyone who worked in the tavern had their own apartments and no longer lived in the tavern rooms they only had a few things to carry over to the new place. Rick escorted the group over to the new tavern and began placing down the bar tables and benches. He then went upstairs and filled the rooms with beds, wardrobes, tables, chairs, and any tapestries that he had gathered from the old tavern.
When he was finished arranging everything he found that the new help had arrived he had them sit down for now and went into the cellar storage area and unloaded the few casks of alcohol that were left. He took out his drawing table down in the cellar and drew up a fewnew outfits to be used by the people who worked in the tavern.
Spoiler:Tavern Employee Outfits.
Using his level 2 advanced Tailoring skill inside the Fast Domain he made one of each outfit and received recipes for them that he used to make extras. He then packed up his table and tailoring supplies and went upstairs. He gave one of each outfit to each female prostitute and assigned the ownership over to them so that it would perfectly fit each one of them. The Nekomimi, Kitsune, and half-orc servants were given the tavern waitress outfits with ownership assigned to them. Then lastly the female cook was given the tavern cook outfit with the ownership set to her.
The male prostitutes were given one of the vintage suits he sold at the store and also had ownership set to each of them. Rick then gave Silvana a couple of the fancy dresses that were sold at the store. While everyone went off to the upstairs rooms to change, Rick sat down with the AquatineWaterSorceress. He wrote down a list of locations around the city of places with storage gems. He instructed them to split the locations between them and go around and recharge these storage gems every so often.
He told them that once they had done the job for a few weeks they would learn how often they would need to recharge them. Rick also told them that they would have to occasionally go through all of the apartments and recharge the wall lights. It wasn''t a difficult job to perform, but there were so many storage gems around the city now it would keep them busy every day. He sent them off to start recharging gems once he explained the process and went to find Silvana.
He opened his storage and gave her all the musical instruments from the tavern that he had bought for her in Silverhall City. With her Minstrel class, she knew how to play many different instruments without needing to learn and had a beautiful voice that came with the class. When she performed for the tavern patrons she could mesmerize every person in the room with her performance.
Everyone eagerly came back downstairs with their new outfits on and began to show them off to one another. They all happily chatted about how nice the new tavern was and that it was much closer to their homes. Rick smiled while he watchedhow excited they all were as they explored the new tavern and talked about the sexy uniforms they were given.
When they all calmed down he sat everyone down at the bar tables and told them about the new gaming houses. Rick asked the tavern employees to let everyone know about them and what each building had in them. He then realized that the people would have no idea how to play most of the games so he took all of the tavern employees over to each gaming building and used his fast domain to go over game rules and how to play.
He figured between all of them they should be able to remember most of everything and even if they didn''t it was fine because he had planned to hire people to work in the game houses to help teach anyone who wished to learn how to play all of these different games.
Rick told them to go ahead and have fun with the games and return to the tavern or home whenever they wanted to leave. He let them know that he was going to head over to the old tavern and place a sign on the door that they had moved and left them to enjoy the new games.
He flew over to the old tavern and placed a closed sign with a basic map to the new tavern on the door and nailed a couple boards across the door just so people knew that it was closed for good. Now that he had closed the tavern and moved everyone to the new location he was free to move on to his next project.
Down in the castle workshop, hesat down at his table to draw up a couple new fixtures for the city.
Spoiler:New City Fixtures.
Starting off with the drinking fountains, Rick used a 10x10 stone cube to cut the basic size out and shaped it with his Move and Shape Stone skill. Inside the stone rectangle, he cut out to channels to run a pipe up to the facet and a pipe to the drain. Using the basic concept of his sink facethe designed the drinking fountain faucet to work on a turning handle to allow water to flow out or stop flowing.
After altering one of his recipe faucets to work on the drinking fountain he threaded it to the water inflow pipe. Next, he made a metal screen to fit over the drain and connected the pipe outflow to the drain. When he had completed the new drinking fountain he acquired a recipe that he used to make one hundred drinking fountains with and left them all in his inventory.
With his metal supply slowly dwindling away he decided to make the street lamps out of wood which he had plenty of. With his Wood Sculptor skill, he easily made the street lamp frame. Once he had the frame he carved a light rune onto a crystal and mounted it inside the top lantern. The next step was to connect the crystal light to a storage gem and a switch rune that he carved into the lamp post.
Using the paint sticks he was able to paint the light post all black so that it had the appearance of being made of metal and the paint would also seal the wood a protect it against the weather. After making one hundred street lamps with his new recipe he packed away his tools and left the castle.
He flew over to the construction crews and found the plumbers and taught them how to install the new drinking fountains to the city water systems inflow and outflow. He instructed them to start installing them on all the streets around the city. They were instructed to place one drinking fountain in front of every plot in the city. This way there would be a drinking fountain roughly every seventy feet along each street.
Once he left the plumbers with their new task he began bolting the new light posts to thecorners of every street. As he was finishing up with the lamp post he began to think about what a pain it would be to turn them on and off every day.
I will need to hire more people to turn all of these on and off every day. It would take up to much of my time to try and keep after all of them. The best way to go about it would be to hire some city guards that can turn them on and off as they patrol the city streets. It isn''t like I have to worry about my people doing anything illegal that I need guards to watch them, but it would be nice to have the extra units to protect them against anything that may somehow get into the city like monsters or wild animals. If one of those big ass eagles that live around the eastern lake flew out here they could easily swoop down and grab a person right off the streets.
Haha, yeah I so rich like the other players were saying on the forums, but I can''t even afford to properly protect my people.
Rick finished up with the street lamps and went back to the castle to disconnect from the game. He unequipped his gear and laid down on the bed and logged off to go eat dinner and get some sleep.
Disconnect!
Chapter 38: Seeker of Vengeance
Rick made a small serving of spaghetti with tomato sauce and cleaned the kitchen after he had logged off from the game. He then decided to go for a short jog in the neighboorhood to help him wind down before heading to bed. When he made it back home he locked the door and took a hot shower.
In his bedroom, Rick set his alarm to wake up in a couple hours and went right to bed so that he could get some sleep before he rejoined the game and prepared for the battle.
When his alarm woke him he turned it off and used the bathroom. As he left the bathroom he turned the light off and went into the spare bedroom to hop into the VR capsule.
Rick found himself once again in his large canopy bed in the castle bedroom once he had reconnected. He reached over and gently woke Angelica up. When he sawher stir awake he stood up and turned the bedroom lights on and equipped his runic full plate mail "Bastion of Protection".
He crossed the room to the armor stand that held Angelica''s armor and hehelped her equip all of her gear and recharged her armor''s storage gems. The two of them left the bedroom and crossed the hall to wake up Nezera who actually woke up when they lightly knocked on her door and entered the room.
Rick saw that her armor was laid out on a corner table so he decided to make her and armor stand to help keep her armor organized and out of the way. Since he had an inventory he never thought about how it must be a pain for all of his troops to have their weapons and armor laying around the apartment.
Once he showed Nezera how to use the armor stand he and Angelica helped her with putting everything on. She was already familiar with how to strap it on but it was much easier when someone helped with the leather straps and buckles.
Rick also charged Nezera''s runic armor which was exactly like Angelica''s but a different color. The three of them then left the castle that was still dark. The castle staff were still asleep and would wake soon to begin cleaning, making beds, preparing meals, and washing clothes.
The only other people awake were the two guards who came to attention as they walked out the front door. They could also see that the Captain of the guard had units patrolling the castle walls and had two more guards standing guard at the castle gatehouse entrance.
Rick snapped a salute to all of the vigilante guards who noticed the trio as they passed by them on their way over to the restaurant. He was surprised that the lights wereon when they entered and found that the restaurant staff was all inside preparing breakfast already.
Apparently, word had got around the restaurant about the battle and the staff had all decided to come in and help out. They knew that Rick had made breakfast for the units every time before they went out to fight and they wanted to be able to do their part since they could not fight this is how they chose to help support the troops.
He thanked the servinggirls and kitchen staff then left Angelica and Nezera to wait there for him as he left to walk over to Tower Island. He noticed that the stable lights were already on and when he looked in while passing by he could see the stable hands placing armor on the horses and preparing their saddles and reigns.
Rick kept walking not wanting to bother them and entered the tower on the island. He removed some large cuts of smoked meat from the fridge and stored them away. He then rounded up all of the Tigers and Dire Wolves from their stables and led them over to the restaurant. He led the group of animals inside and gave them all a plate stacked with slices of smoked meat.
As the animals ate in silence General Sturm walked in and Rick gave him a wave as he was cutting up more meat for the critters. Over the next fifteen minutes, units poured into the restaurant in groups until the place was filled with many different races of military troops all dressed for battle.
The restaurants serving girls began to bring out plates of food from the kitchen. They went from table to table with organized speed showing that they had done this routine so many times that they had it down to a science already. In a matter of a few minutes, everyone was served and eating a delicious breakfast of fried eggs mixed with cheese and vegetables, pancakes with butter, and a large thick slice of meat.
Rick went over and began strapping armor onto his Tigers and Wolves while everyone ate and instructed everyone to meet outside when they had finished eating. He did not try to rush them along and let everyone take their time and enjoy their meals. He was about to lead all of these units into battle and for all, he knew this might be one of their last meals.He was fairly confident that they should all make it back fine, but in battle, the blows come from all directions and anything could happen in just a blink of an eye.
When the last group had left the restaurant and reported that only the staff were inside, RIck led the group down to the stables so that the cavalry could collect their mounts. The cavalry entered the stables and walked their mounts out into the street as Rick opened a Portal to a location in the woods north of the Nekomimi settlement. Standing in the dark forest Rick used his Cartography skill to make a map of the area before deciding where they would attack from.
Rick took out the map and looked over the surrounding terrain.
It looks like we have a few options available here. I could use the hills on the north side or east side of the settlement to make another fortification or we could set up in front of the hills and attack them from a distance. Another option would be to quietly march right into the settlement, but I think that would be risky and we would wind up becoming surrounded eventually. I doubt that they will try to charge our location when they discover us so a fortification will be useless. We need to remain mobile so that we can try and force them into a melee fight. Rick put the map away after memorizing the area with thePhotoReading skill.
He walked over to General Sturm and had him form up the troops and they began quietly marching south out of the forest and over the hills. After crossing the hills they stopped at the edge of the open plain.
Rick walked back up the hill behind them about halfway and used his Move and Shape Earth skill to cut out a flat ledge on the hillside. He then began to evenly lay out the Balista in a straight line facing the distant settlement. With his ballista bolt recipes, he was able to make more fire and standard bolts for the ballista and stacked them in neat piles next to each machine. When the female ballista crew noticed him on the hill setting up their engines they started to climb up to his location and stand next to each availableballista.
The siege engine crew were told to once again begin with runic fire bolts and they all began loading up the engines and sighting them in on the shimmering campfires that dimly lit the distant huts a few hundred yards out in front of them.
Rick left them to prepare and walked down the hill until he could just see over the top of his units and made another ledge with a waist-high battlement along the front of it. He brought his ranged units up behind the battlements on the ledge so that they had a clear sight of the enemy if they tried to approach their location fromthe settlement. He told them to make sure to take cover behind the short ledge if they started taking ranged fire and went back up the hill to have the Ballista crew to begin the assault.
Spoiler:Rick''s Frontline Location.
They all activated the small fire runes on their loaded bolts and released them in unison across the field. Rick watched as the glowing specks arced through the darkness to fall somewhere inside the settlement. Without waiting for orders the line of dwarven women began winding back the bows on their engines and reloading them with runic fire bolts. After a few quick adjustments, they all released a second volley onto the unsuspecting sleeping tribe.
The line continued without hesitation to reload and fire and after the third volley, they could all see flames that were not under control begin to grow and light up sections of the distant huts. Rick gave them instructions to continue their barrage until they were told to stop and he walked down the hill to where General Sturm, Angelica, and Nezera stood together looking out at the distant fires that were beginning to take hold in the Nekomimi camp.
"I going to fly over there and see if I can''t shake things up a little. Keep everyone back here and if any enemy begins to attack before I return then establish a shield wall and allow our ranged and magic troops to fire at will." Rick said to the three standing before him.
He then activated Flight and flew up above the fire bolts toward the settlement where he started dropping a combination of fire and space spells down on the sleeping tribe. It did not take long to wake them from their beds once a couple of his spells detonated on top of the small hovels below him.
Rick slowly circled the camp using his fire elemental affinity and fire spells to ignite the outer huts in hopes that the flames would begin to jump from one hut to the next and engulf the settlement in the same way that the forest orc camp had burned.
The Nekomimi tribe had built their settlement very close to the western ocean and they even had a few crude docks and small boats along the coast. They more than likely used the boats to fish in the ocean and had built their homes close to the shoreline so that they would not have far to travel when they went out to cast their nets every day.
Rick noticed that the wind began to pick up and blow in from across the ocean and help fuel the fires below him. When he saw this happen he flew toward the west side of the camp and concentrated on igniting as many huts as possible there. The western ocean winds pushed the flames toward the east andit wasn''t long until a wall of flames began to engulf the dry wood and leather hovels.
With his concentrated efforts, all in one location he was spotted by the sharp eyes of the Nekomimi below him and they did not hesitate to start accurately bouncing arrows off of his runic armor. Now that he had used over half of his mana he flew up into the air and back toward his troops without trying to hide the direction he was heading.
Some minutes after landing a group of about fifty Nekomimi was spotted attempting to cross the open field. It seemed like after Rick had flown off they had quickly assembled a reconnaissance group to head in the direction he had flown and that burning ballista bolts continued to launch from.
Unlike the hostile forest orcs, the Nekomimi attempted to stay low in the grass and use thedarkness to slowly approach the foreign attackers outside of their settlement. They were quite visible to Rick and many of his units that had the Night Sight skill and began to quietly display hand signals to alert everyone that an enemy squad was coming their way.
General Sturm gave out hand signals to form the shield wall and had the back ranged units prepare to attack. Once the enemy was in range the fire at will signal was sent out to the elevated archer line on the hill behind him.The archer released a volley of arrows in silence that rained down accurately on the surprised enemy who found out the hard way that they had been discovered. A few of the more inexperienced Nekomimi attempted to return fire and found out that their simple wooden bows did not have the range and accuracy of the enemy who all were outfitted with the Mythril compound bows, Rick had designed and had the higher ground giving their arrows extra distance.
While the Nekomimi arrows continued to fall way short of the enemy invader lines the more experienced or cowardly of the Nekomimi did not hesitate to head directly back to the settlement. The ballista engines up on the hill suddenly went silent just after the remaining Neko tribesmen had been either driven back or eliminated. Rick walked up the hill and found out that they had all expended their runic fire bolts and were awaiting further orders.
He told them to hold off on their attack and to load standard bolts in preparation for the enemies counterattack. Rick instructed them to go ahead and fire upon any enemy squads that attempted to cross the battlefield.
Rick activated his Farsight skill along with his Night Sight skill and watched the settlement from the Ballista line on the hillside to see if he could figure out how the enemy would respond. He knew that a few from the small recon group had made it back to the settlement and they were most assuredly informing their comrades of their current location.
With the fire raging through the settlement Rick could see that the enemy tribesmen were being pushedaway from the burning huts out onto the eastern plains. As thewinds blew in from the ocean to fan the flames the group of Nekomimi continued to grow until there were hundreds of them gathered around. The furious group watched as their homes and everything they owned went up in the inferno along with quite a few of their trapped loved ones.
Wanting to strike back at the attackers they formed a plan and moved out in a large group of what looked to be roughly two or three hundred. Surprisingly they did not advance to the north were Rick and his units stood to wait for them to decide on how to attack. The large group of Nekomimi went directly east into the forest and with his Far Sight still activated Rick could see that they were then turning north and slowly making their way parallel to the woodline.
I can''t believe they are actually trying to flank us. They are using the trees to hide their advancement so that they can get in bow range of us or to possibly come up from the side or behind us!
Spoiler:Nekomimi Flank.
Rick ran down the hill to the archer line and had all of them fall in behind him and they descended the hillside. Rick met up with Sturm, Angelica, and Nezera and told them what the enemy was up and quickly filled them in on his plan.
He waved the cavalry, Tigers, and Dire Wolves over to him and he had the archers, offensive magic units, and half of his heavy infantry mount up. He had the archers ride on the back of the cavalry units horses and the infantry along with mages double up on the Tigers and Dire Wolves. The half-giants used theirAura Knight "Heaven''s Helper" skill to summon a spirittype mount that looked like a warhorse that was larger than aClydesdale horse. Angelica and Nezera both climbed onto the back of the Tiger, Rick was on and he quickly led the mounted units at a gallop across the dark grassland into the eastern tree line. Even though the mounts were all heavily weighed down by the two units they all carried they only had a short distance to travel so by the time they began to tire from the run they had reached the forest.
When all of his units reached the forest, Rick turned them south and they rode to a spot where a large hill formed a bottleneck that would force the enemy to skirt the edge of the forest to bypass it.
Spoiler:Rick''s Mounted Counter-Flank.
Everyone dismounted and the infantry was ordered to form a shield wall behind a line of bushes and trees with the ranged units and magic casters making up a 2nd and 3rd row behind the wall. Rick sent the cavalry out behind onto their right flank on the open grassland and had the Tigers and Wolves fall in behind the 3rd line. Rick stood on the frontline peering through the shield wall with his Night Sight and FarSight ready to inform his units of the second he saw any movement.
As his units were setting up the ambush line, Rick used his Nature elemental affinity to grow the vegetation along the front line so that all of his units were hidden from the approaching Nekomimi.
They all waited in silence for about fifteen minutes and then Rick spotted the front of the advancing enemy group a few hundred yards south of their ambush line. Rick gave the hand signal he saw his units use earlier when they spotted the enemy. The line of Hero Rangers started nocking arrows and waited for a signal to attack.
Since the enemy group was strung out in anoblong column, Rick held back and allowed them to come to within roughly twenty yards of their hidden location before he unleashed the archers and mages on them. The quiet forest with the ocean breeze blowing through the canopy and the chirping insects instantly turned into a deafening battlefield as runic fire arrows mixed with a deadly combination of attack spells burst amidst the enemy formation.
Enemy bodies were hurled against burning tree trunks as a collective roar of agonizing screams mixed with the explosions. Rick opened a Portal behind his units to the cavalry who waited in reserve out on the grassland and stepped through to give them orders. He sent them to charge down along the treeline and find targets of opportunity.
"I want you to attack the enemy with your bows, but do not enter the forest! Stay out where you can use the maneuverability of your horses to your advantage! Once the enemy begins to fall back do not follow them until I move the infantry forward from our current position! We will all move in a line and drive the enemy back to their settlement! Rick yelled out so that they all could hear his orders.
He then sent them forward and stepped back through the Portal and closed it behind him. The Nekomimi even though falling into an ambush and taking heavy losses did not falter and continued forward attempting to use the trees for cover so that they could return fire. They were able to form a firing line and returned a nasty swarm of arrows back at Rick''s units.
If not for the interlocking tower shield wall they would have been in serious trouble. The sounds of the enemy arrows clanged loudly off the infantry shield wall shattering on impact leaving at most an occasional scratch or tiny chip in the hard but lightweight Mythril shields.
When some of the closer enemies noticed that they were not penetrating the shield wall hidden behind the bushes they climbed some of the trees and began to shoot down over the shields and managed to hit a mage and a couple Hero Rangers. As the Assassin/Clerics took care of the wounded, Rick had the Archers focus on clearing the trees of enemy bowmen. The treetops were instantly cleared of the makeshift snipers and the archers were able to once again join the attack on the ground units that the magic casters were still fighting.
Rick rounded up Angelica, Nezera, and the armored animals and led them in a wide circle to come at the Nekomimi from the side who were focused on the shield wall north of them. He led his armored strike force into the side of the tribesmen catching them completely off guard. The Wolves and Tigers rushed ahead and created chaos among the enemy which allowed Angelica Nezera, and Rick to simply slash and carve their way right through theenemy before they even knew what had cut them down.
The tribesmen were no match for the furious armored beasts who looked like metal demons. Within a matter of minutes, the Nekomimiwho had been attacking from behind the trees were pulled from cover to be ripped and shredded apart like playthings. The horrific screams sent shivers down the backs of the survivors and sent them running south in panic. Rick reigned in the Tigers and Dire Wolves and went back to the shield wall and had them form up into Testudo.
It took a minute to figure it out since they were used to forming a Testudo formation with larger numbers and then began a slow march south. Rick kept the huge armored Tigers on the left flank and the Dire Wolves on the right flank and had them use their keen animal senses to weed out any hidden enemies along the way.
The cavalry followed behind the advancing Testudo until they were directly east of the burning settlement.
Spoiler:Holding Location.
There on the edge of the forest looking out at the settlement and group of surviving tribesmen, Rick set up yet another temporary shield wall. He used his Portal Spell again to bring General Sturm and the rest of his units over to the new eastern location after he packed away all of the ballista engines.
The sun was now beginning to rise and the cover of darkness was tossed aside as Rick had his infantry form up in Testudo. He split the cavalry and had them form up on the flanks while the armored animal followed from behind.
Rick was sure that the enemy was retelling the battle that just took place in the forest and he wanted to make his move before they could decide on their next course of action. He had General Sturm lead his troops out of the forest and they marched all together toward the remaining Tribesmen.
WIth the sharp eyes of the Nekomimi and the rising sun continuing to illuminate the battlefield, they were seen crossing the field soon after leaving the forest. With the ocean and burning settlement behind them, the Nekomimi had nowhere to run or hide.
When General Sturm knew the troops were in striking range of the enemyhe had his units dissolve the Testudo and form a shield wall. As General Sturm was giving the Archers the orders to open fire on the enemy who began to move forward to get into range, Rick unleashed the cavalry on both wings who rode forward to unleash a hail of arrows along with the archers.
The demoralized tribesmen hardly had time to even try to form a firing line before small groups of them attempted to break and run to the north or south. Rick used his Speak with Animals skill to send out the Tigers to the north and the Dire wolves to the south and cut off any escape routes.
After a few volleys, Rick told Sturm to unleash the infantry and he sent the cavalry around behind them at a full gallop to hit the enemy from behind. Outnumbered and surrounded the Neko tried to fight back with their daggers without much success against the fully armored infantry who were wielding superior weapons with double the reach.
Because they had attacked his people twice killing two of his men and almost Angelica as well, he did not show them any mercy and had his troop fight them until the end. It would have been great if he could have brought some of them over to his side to help defend his city, but he just couldn''t bring himself to forgive or trust them.
Rick had his men gather up all of the enemies arrows and left everything else behind. The crude weapons and clothing were not worth bothering with so he opened his Portal and brought his troops home as the sun began to peek over the eastern mountain range.
Before sending everyone off he used one of his recipes to make armor stands for all of his military units and sent them all home to relax for the rest of the day. The cavalry walked their horses to the stables and Rick took the armor off of the Tigers and Wolves then let them return to Tower Island. Nezeraand Angelica decided to head back to the castle together so that they could remove their armor for somthing a little more comfortable.
Once everyone had walked off, Rick opened his notifications that had been blinking away.
Spoiler:Show Notices!.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
New Battle Notice!
You have successfully attackedthe realmof the SaekiNekomimi Tribe.
You and your army killed 323 out of the 323 attackers.
You have completely decimated the enemy tribe!
Congratulations on your victory!
You have gainedExperience Pointsfor your victory!
You have gainedLeadership Pointsfor your victory!
You have gainedFamePointsfor your victory!
New Level Notice!
You Gained A Level!
Level 24
You have five unused points to distribute!
New Title Notice!
You have destroyed a tribe who had killed two of your people who had been sent to them in good faith.
Your units are moved by how much you care for their well-being and will fight for you with a strong resolution.
You have been awarded the title: Seeker of Vengeance
Fame Increased: +1000
Honor Increased: +1000
Any unit fighting under your command will receive a 10% boost to their stats in combat.
Currently displaying:The Adept of Refinement
All awarded titles stack with the currently displayed title.
323 out of 323 attackers dead, it''s kind of sad that every single one of them is nowdead. I would have rather had an ally than a few more experience points and a new title.
Rick closed his notices and opened his Status Menu to see what changes had now taken place as the workers began filing into the crafting district to begin their daily jobs.
Spoiler:Show Status!.
Cedric Crownguard
Strength:
203 +130 =333
Level: (93%)
24
Stamina:
154
Health:
1910
Vitality:
191
Mana:
1330
Intelligence:
133
Piety:
+1175
Wisdom:
68
Fame:
+62,000(Local Lord)
Agility:
111
Honor:
+33,000 (Village Hero)
Charisma:
38
Alignment:
+5000 (Good)
Leadership:
120
Satiety:
94%
Luck:
25
Class:
DruidicMage
Quickness:
30
Class:
Space-Time Wizard
Health Regen/Sec:
9.5
Mana Regen/Sec:
6.5
Feudal Domain:
5760
Race:
Chosen Human
Feudal Title:
Marquess
Unused Points:
0
Awarded Titles
Currently Displaying:
The Adept of Refinement
Title:
The White Knight
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
The Honor Guard
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
The Duelist
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
Black Hand Interrogator
Alignment +/-
-1000
Title:
Benevolent Leader
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
Explorer of the Unknown
Alignment +/-
-none-
Title:
Oath Breaker
Alignment +/-
-1000
Title:
Honorbound
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
Reviver of the Ancient Beliefs
Alignment +/-
+1000
Title:
The Adept of Refinement
Alignment +/-
-none-
Title:
Seeker of Vengeance
Alignment +/-
+1000
Rick went over his stats and titles then closed his status screen and began walking through the crafting district talking with his workers and collecting their completed products. Rick arrived at the shop he had assigned to the Sail Makers and found that they would be able to finish the final sail in about an hour so he activated a Fast Domain and watched as the finished sewing together the final sail.
He packed away the sails and finished his rounds in the crafting district.When he had gathered the completed items and carriages he opened a Portal to his store office. In his office, he found not only the sales record book but a large stack of books on his desk with a note from his merchant. Rick went through the sales records and collected the pile of coins from his desk drawer along with four notes with customer names and directions to their residents who had purchased carriages from his store.
After dropping off the sales record book, Rick restocked the displays and then left the store to deliver the purchased carriages to the customer''s homes. Following the written directions he went to the four large residents and assembled the newly built carriages for each of the customers and made sure to inform them of the delivery before heading off to the inn that his merchant had told him about in his note.
He was lucky enough to find the merchant sitting at a table ordering breakfast when he entered the inn. Rick sat down and order breakfast as well and listened to the merchant''s report of what books he found available and a small place that he wanted to rent. Rick gave the merchant an idea of what type of books he would be interested in, but he really didn''t mind if he even bought random unrelated books. He wanted to fill his castle library with books and one day would also want to make a city library so books of any kind would be useful to him.
Rick gave the merchant plenty money to pay the rent on the small place he found for a month and enough spending money. Before leaving the Inn Rick paid for their breakfast and left the merchant to go take care of his living arrangements. From a small alley next to the merchant''s Inn, he opened a Portal to the location his shipwrights had been working on his sailboat.
The Shipwrights were already busily finishing up the inside of the cabin so he left them with the sails and flew off toward the south. He stopped at a small grove of trees along the way and cut down eighty-four decent sized trees and stored them away after stripping them of branches.
Continuing his flight south, Rick landed on the coastline in the large bay that he had always wanted to one day turn into a harbor.
Spoiler:Godshome Island Map.
Removing a tree from his inventory he used his astrallium axe to split it into four sections. Using his Shape Wood skill he shaped the four sections into round poles similar to a telephone pole. He acquired a recipe for the shaped logs that he named "Pier Pole" and used this new recipe to make extras. With the use of his other lumber recipes, Rick also made planks and posts to be used to make large docks.
Inside of his Fast Domain, he unequipped his gear and waded into the ocean water and used his Shape Shift skill to transform into a fish. He swam around in his fish form while using Move and Shape Earth to dig out the natural bay along the shoreline so that one-day large ships would have no problems sailing into the harbor without having to worry about beaching or hull damage.
Once he was happy with the depth he transformed back into his original form and left the water to redress. He began taking out Pier Poles and flying out over the water and pushing them into the ocean floor while also using the Move and Shape Earth skill to remove just enough of the ocean floor to slid the Pier Poles roughly twenty feet into the ground. When he had the Pier Poles all sunk firmly into the ground he started boxing them in with wooden posts and then laid out the planks and nailed them to the post box frame.
He made a huge dock along the shoreline to hold goods and people that would one day be unloaded from the ships docking here. Along the dock, he erected four temporary wooden buildings that his workers could use to hold materials escape bad weather or even spend the night in if they chose.
Now that he had the main dock built next was to build outstretching docks with individual slips to tie down ships that were unloading or remaining at the dock. He made fifty boat slips that were large enough to hold even wooden frigate sized ships and then moved on to make a covered dry dock close to the docks. Making use of runes he carved large wind runes that could pump water out of the dry dock through clay pipes so that when the large wooden doors were open on the dry dock and it flooded to allow the built boat out they could close the doors and pump the water out to make the next ship.
Spoiler: Harbor Layout
(This is not to scale it is only to give an idea of what the docks and drydock look like and where they are located.)
Now that he at least had the start of a basic harbor he packed away his tools and lumber and flew back toward his city to land at the Officials Building. Rick walked inside to the System Gate in the main hallway on the first floor and opened to the Buy Units Menu. Irene came out when she heard the door open and when she found out he was going to purchase more citizens she went to the lounge and instructed the messengers to come to her office.
Directing to the Religion Division Menu, Rick purchased one human female Pope, one human female Cardinal, one human female Head Priestess, four human female Priestesses and six human female Clerics. Along with the Religion units, he also spawned eight female Halfling Servants and eight Male Halfling Servants. He sent them all out with the messengers and told them to meet him at the temple when they had been assigned apartments.
Rick walked outside with the large crowd and headed toward the temple while they went off with the messengers. When he entered the Temple he sat down in the front row of rews and looked through his inventory at the titles of the new books his merchant had purchased to pass the time.
It wasn''t long before the group of females returned from finding the location of their new homes and receiving the key that unlocked it. He stood up when he saw them entering and called out to Faith.
"Faith may I speak with you for a moment?" Rick said aloud.
With a bright flash of light Faith suddenly appeared before him with a bright smile. "Hello, Cedric it seems that you have brought a few new friends along with you." She said while glancing at the shocked group behind him.
He then introduced all of the Religion units to Faith so that they could meet the goddess that they would be serving from now on. Rick was unsure on how Faith would want her religion to be handled and what was involved with the religious services so he left it up to Faith to teach this all-female grouphow to handle the temple. All he added is that he would like to see an early morning and evening daily mass so that the people of the city could stop by and over prayers or attend services when they wished.
Rick then asked the group of male and female Halflings to follow him over to the gaming houses. He explained that their jobs would be to teach people how to play the games and also work as card dealers or game referees. Using the Fast Domain he went from one game to the next explaining the rules and how each was played he also gave each of the Halflings a few sheets of parchment and charcoal pencils so that they could take notes on everything he taught them.
After a couple hours of schooling the Halfings he told them that they could pick a floor of one of the gaming houses to work or that they could take turns rotating from one building to the next it was completely up to them and then he left them to play with the different games to get somefirst-hand experience with them.
He left the gaming houses in the care of the Halflings and began to cross the city. While he walked he used his Cartography skill to review the city construction progress.
Spoiler:Updated City Map.
The crafting district is just about completely finished. It looks like I can get them started on the next big project.Rick thought as he headed deeper into the western side of the crafting district.
When he had reached the plot that Handil and Jerem''s crews were working to finish up the last to crafting buildings he took out his drawing desk and a chair. He cast Fast Domain and sat down to begin drawing up the next big entertainment project.
Spoiler:Entertainment Project Design.
After drawing the new Amphitheater and writing down the measurements he had committed to memory he walked over to Handil and pulled him to the side. He showed him the new design that he wanted him and Jerem to start on next and explained what it was. He explained how he would need to make use of the aqueduct arch to make the outer shell. He told him how there should be a backstage area and how the fake building faces on stage should have access to every level so that actors and actresses could use the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd floors of each building.
Rick took out his city map and pointed out the area wherehe wanted it built and told Handil to have Jerem and his crew join him in theAmphitheater construction once they had completed the last buildings in the crafting district.
They all walked over to the plot and while Handil''s work crew began marking out the area with the measurements of theAmphitheater, Rick opened a Portal to the limestone quarry. He went over to the large stacks of cut limestone blocks and stored them along with the piles of limestone dust. When he had collected all of the presently cut blocks he stepped back through the Portal and stacked all of the limestone blocks along the road.
"This should keep you and your men busy while the Wagoners catch up and begin to bring you all the supplies you will need here," Rick told Handil in Dwarven.
Handil just smiled while shaking his head then waved to Rick as he walked off toward the castle. Rick sat down at his table in his castle workshop and disconnected from the game. He made a couple tuna fish sandwichs and ate them while doing some research on his computer. When he finished eating he rejoined the game and took out a pencil and parchment to write down what he was just studying online.
He had to continue to disconnect and reconnect quite a few times to draw out the diagrams for a couple designs he wanted to experiment with.
Spoiler:Rick''s Experimental Designs.
Along with the diagrams, he transferred over information that he had found from do-it-yourself and off-the-grid websites. He was studying how to make a simple paintball gun and a magnet generator. The paintball gun he wanted to see if he could make one that could shoot a small metal bullet. If he could carve wind runes inside the gun that shot out a powerful blast when the switch rune was pressed it could propel the metal ball out of the barrel. He needed to experiment so that he could make the gun shoot at a long distance and also be lethal.
The magnet generator he knew was possible to make it was just a matter of making the magnets and aligning them properly. He wasn''t in a hurry to make the generator yet so he just made the magnets from astrallium. By heating the astrallium in the forge and applying an electrical current to it with his lightning elemental he was able to make the magnets without too much trouble and received a recipe for them.
Rick stored the magnets in his inventory for later and began making the various parts for the new air gun out of steel. With the help of his blacksmithing and Metal Sculptor skill, he made each individual rifle part inside of his Fast Domain. It took him quite some time to carve out a precise twist in the rifle barrel, but after a few attempts, he was able to use his Metal Sculptorskill to finally make the barrel rifling.
When all of the small pins, bolts, screws, and springs were finished and assembled he moved onto making a high-powered air cartridge. He chose to use the general shape of a typical airgun cartridge but on a larger scale. After making three different sizes he was able to make one that barelyfit insidethe rifle stock.
Spoiler:Cartridge.
Once he had connected all of the wind runes he put them on a circuit that ran to a storage gem and a switch rune. Behind the hinging trigger, he carved the switch rune into the rifle frame so that when the trigger was pulled back it would touch the switch and activate the wind runes that sent out a blast of air from the rifle barrel. The bullet he designed for the rifle looked similar to a pistol bullet without the brass casing. Since this rifle would work off of compressed air it did not need gunpowder so Rick was able to skip making the bullets brass casing and primer.
He made the test bullets from three different materials. The first bullet was made from the extremely heavy Astrallium. The second bullet was made from soft iron and the third bullet was made from the hard but lightweight Mythril.
Outside the castle, Rick set up a stone block target and walked away roughly twenty-five yards and tested the three materials. All three of them at the close range was able to knock out decent sized chunks from the stone blocks and it was hard to tell if one did any more damage than the next.
Rick set up brand new stone blocks and walked back about seventy yards and tested all three bullet materials. The iron and Mythril bullets still id quite a bit of damage, but the heavy astrallium bullet seemed to have already lost quite a bit of velocity and only managed to make an indent in the stone block.
At over one hundred yards the astrallium bullet no longer could make it to the target unless Rick aimed above the target about 6-8 inches and had lost all of its power. The iron bullet was able to still accurately strike the target but it was obvious it was also losing velocity. The Mythril bullet was still hitting hard and Rick could tell that even at this range it would still be able to kill.
He quit testing the iron and astrallium bullets and continued to walk back from the target testing the limitations of the Mythril bullet. When he reached around one and fifty yards from the target the bullet began to lose its power. It could probably still be effective out to one sixty-five yards but it would more than likely not create a wound that would stop an enemy right away.
After his tests, Rick returned to the castle workshop and field stripped the rifle.Even though the rifle tests were a success he wanted to see if he could somehow extend its range. One hundred and fifty yards was a decent range, but he had an idea that he thought was worth testing.
Inside the rifle stock, he stacked two of the runic air cartridges on top of one another and designed a "Y" shaped extension so that the two cartridges could send a blast out at the same time into the rifle chamber.
This new system would definitely use up the mana in the storage gem much quicker but it should also extend the killing range of his rifle. He ran through all of the same tests again with the three different materials and was able to almost double the effective range of all three bullets. The Mythril was able to shoot out to over three hundred yards and with just open sights it had decent accuracy.
With these rifles, I will be able to outfit every one of my soldiers with a ranged weapon now. With only a couple weeks of practice, they will all be able to shoot targets at a distance and it should bypass the whole Instinctive Knowledge Archery requirement that is needed to use a bow.Rick speculated as he opened his friend list.
He gave Nezera a call and asked her to meet him in front of the castle and she came out right outside with Angelica. It seems they were both in the library and Angelica was giving her a crash course in the written human language with the books in the library.
Since Nezera did not have any ranged skill he explained how the rifle worked and what it did. He then showed her how to hold it and squeeze the trigger to shoot it. At twenty yards after twenty shots she was able to start to hit the target. Angelica also gave it a try and she was even quicker to learn how to aim and shoot the rifle. Rick after verifying that anyone would be able to use the air rifles let the two girls return to their studies.
Once I get a decent amount of coal and iron again and restock my steel supply I will be able to make a large batch of these runic air rifles and have the troops start training on them. Rick checked his notices to be sure re received a recipe for the new modified air rifle and named it "Runic Air Rifle". Placing the new rifle in his inventory after naming the recipe he went upstairs to the library and told the girls he was going to bed.
He checked in on the bookmakersand found that they were becoming quite skilled with using thenew ink pens so he had them start on copying the scrolls over to book form. After unequipping his gear in his castle bedroom he laid down and disconnected from Kingdoms Online for the night.
Disconnect!
Chapter 39: Setting Sail
Back in the game after classes, Rick went to the limestone quarry and used his Move and Shape Stone skill to cut ten-foot by ten-foot cubes from the quarry. He transferredthem over to the Amphitheaterconstruction site and lined them up along the road. Once again with his Move and Shape Stone skill, he began cutting each of the large limestone cubes into blocks to be used by Handil''s crew. Since this was such a large build the workers would also need a large amount of cement so Rick mixed the dry ingredients together in his inventory and used a barrel recipe to store the dry cement in.
With a quick guess, he figured that the work crew had enough materials to get them almost halfway through the construction. This would give the quarry workers time to cut more stone and refill the stockpile that was being continuouslydepleted from the Wagoner''s deliveries.
Rick still wanted to work on his rifle and test out a few more materials, but he had told his friends that his boat should be finished and it was time to set off and begin his journey across the ocean. Even if Luke and his girlfriend were still having fun exploring the Enclave Isles Ryan and Lily wereboth more than ready to move on.
He made his way over to the System Gate inside the Officials building and opened the buy units menu. He spawned a human female Ship Captain with General for a second class, a human female commander with Blade Master as a second class, four human female riggers with Blade Master as a second class, and four human female sailors who also had Blade Master as a second class.
Oneof the classes under the Military Division Navy columndid not seem to fit as he looked through which units he would want to have on his ship. Under the Navy column, there was a unit class called Gunner but this world was far from the era of guns and artillery.
Why would the developers add a class called gunner if there were no guns or cannons for them to operate? Did someone screw up somewhere or was it a given that a Player would eventually create a black powder, firearms, and cannonsto be used on ships?Ishould take a look at this class and see if it would be useful.
Spoiler:Gunner Class
Gunner Class
The Gunner class was designed to be a modified archer. They have a few skills that are related to archery.
The world of Kingdoms Onlinewas not designed with firearms but the world holds all of the materials needed to produce them.
It is only a matter of time until they are eventually introduced and this Gunner unit is one of the early released classes that can adapt to the early age of firearms.
Skill List
Skill Name
Skill Description
Mana Cost
Recharge Time
Read The Wind
You use the wind to aid your shot. Your shot travels 2x farther with accuracy.
5 mp
One Minute
Power Shot
Allows you to overdraw your bow to cause 2x increased damage.
5 mp
One Minute
Safe Shooting
You can safely fire into the midst of melee battle avoiding allies for thirty seconds.
5 mp
One Minute
Kentucky Windage
Allows you to accurately read the wind and movement of a target and highlight the area to aim and shoot.
5 mp
One Minute
Eagle Eyes
Allows you to amplify your vision to seea target 2x further in detail.
5 mp
One Minute
Rapid Shots
You can make quick rapid shots in any direction for ten seconds.
5 mp
One Minute
Snap Shot
You can raise your weapon a deliver an accurate shot on target without aiming.
5 mp
One Minute
Take Aim
The longer you hold your shot and aim at the target the more accurately you will hit it.
5 mp
One Minute
Instinctive Knowledge
Ranged
Allows you to quickly adapt to new ranged weapons and apply your skills toward their use.
Archery
Allows you to use a Bow and Arrow. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Daggers
Allows you to use Daggers. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Blunt Weapons
Allows you to use Blunt Weapons. Level determines bonuses to damage and technique.
Unarmored
You can maneuver in combat so that most strikes miss or glance off your body.
Light Armor
Allows you to wear Light Armor. Skill level determines protection bonuses.
Sure-Footed
Allow you to keep your footing on a precarious terrain.
Shoot on the Move
Allows you to accurately hit targets while moving regardless of terrain.
Reading and Writing
Allows you to read and write you racial and Lord''s language.
Climb
Allows you to skillfully climb ropes or anything with handholds.
Not too bad this seems like it could make a great land rifleman class. I think I will spawn a few and test them out with my new rifle. Rick thought as he closed the Gunner Class Menu and spawned ten human female Gunners with Blade Master as a second class.
That should be enough people to run the boat and having a full crew of woman is much more pleasant than spending hours at a time on the open seas with a boat full of men. Every one of them besides the captain has Blade Master as a second class which is one of the classes Angelica has that allows her to skillfully wield dual swords. If we run into trouble along the way I know they will be able to put up a decent fight.
Rick spoke with the messengers who job it was to assign availablehousing to new units before they left. He told them to have all of the new female citizens meet him at the restaurant once they had been given an apartment.
Over inside the restaurant, RIck sat down to eat while drawing up a few designs for a navy uniform until he had one that he liked.
Spoiler:Naval Uniform.
He had finished his lunch and just left the restaurant when the messengers brought over the female naval units. Rick thanked the messengers and had the group of women follow him over to the Tailoring and cloth production building. Inside he had the spinsters and weavers turn the piles of raw spider silk he had collected from the Lorebark Forest into rolls of cloth inside of the fast domain.
Once they had made a few rolls Rick sat at a table and began making patterns for the naval uniform. He made the jacket, shirt, cloak, and pants out of three layers of spider silk cloth then he moved on to the embroidering details. The next step was to make the boots, gloves, and belts out of wolf leather. The belt and strap buckles were all made with the help of his buckle recipe and only needed to be sewen to them.
The entire uniform was then dyed a deep navyblue with gold embroiderings and gold accents. When he had completed the uniform he named the recipe "Naval Uniform" and made thirty of them. He assigned ownership of the uniforms to each of the female naval units. He had them go into the shops back room and put on their new uniforms while he used his recipes to make air rifles for the gunners and dual Gladius back harnesses for everyone who had Blade Master as a class.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
While Rick was waiting on the women he crafted a leather rifle sling and equipped all of the rifles with one to make it easier to carry them. He also made ten leather hip pouches for the female gunners and filled them with iron bullets. The women soon finished putting on their new uniforms and equipping their weapons andwere now ready to move out. Rick led them over to the river and found that the sailboat was complete and ready to launch.
Rick had the shipwrights pack up all of their tools and climb out of the hole the boat was sitting in on a wooden scaffold frame. Using his Move and Shape Earth skill he started cutting out the soil so that the river water would pour into the hole.
When there was enough water in the hole the boat lift up off of the wooden scaffolding and floated on it owns. Rick had the women all climb on board the sailboat and he opened up a wide enough gap to maneuver the boat out into the river.
With long wooden poles, they kept the boat in the center of the river and allowed the current to carry it downstream. The captain took the wheel and helped to steer the boat along while everyone used their poles to keep the boat in deep water and after floating downriver about five miles they were pushed out into the ocean bay.
The sailors and riggers went around the boat learning which lines were used to operate the sails while the gunners stood along the rail watching for any signs of trouble from man or creature. The sails were then untied and let out so that the wind would fill them and begin pushing them along.
They set sail south using the compass Rick had been rewarded from the quest and the captain was able to use the sun as a reference once she was set onto the course. Rick told her that there was a large continent south of them some miles and that they would follow the coast to reach their destinations.
With his crew taking care of the ship, RIck went into the cabin and took out some lumber to make a narrow bunk bed. The beds were just wide and long enough for one person to lay on them. He wanted to make beds for the crew of the boat, but there was only so much room so he had come up with the idea to make these compact bunk beds. He had thought about possibly using hammocks but chose to scrap the idea and make something with a little more comfort.
The recipe received from the bunk beds allowed him to quickly make enough for each member of the crew.Rick arranged all of the beds and used his screwdriver to screw them all to the cabin floorso that if the boat went through rough waters they would not slide around the cabin interior. The cabin was also furnished with tables and chairs that were made from recipes so that the crew would be able to sit down and eat or just relax.
In the far back corner of the cabin, he made a small closet and installed a toilet with a drainage pipe that went through the wall and emptied into the water behind the boat. Inside the toilet bowl, he made a small water rune and connected it to a storage gem and switch rune on the outside of the bowl in easy reach.
Rick went to find the commander which would be equivalent to a ship''s first mate and show her the cabin interior. He explained that there were now enough beds for the entire to crew to sleep and then Rick demonstrated the toilet and had the commander bring the other female crew members down into the cabin in small groups to teach them how the toilet worked while he waited up on deck with the captain.
After the entire crew had finished their crash course on modern toilet mechanics he went back down into the cabin and began making a small stone stove and refrigerator. He lined the area around the stove with thin stone pavers to prevent the walls and floor from catching fire. With the fire being supplied by a rune it did not produce random sparks so it was extremely safe if anything he worried more about the effects of the heat that would emit from the stove.
Alright, now that I have a stove and fridge I need some food to fill it with. I guess it is time to test out the Portal spell I know that I will be able to transfer from the ship to land, but if I close it I don''t know if it will open back up on the ship or over the water where the ship was last time I used it.
When he opened the Portal on the wall of the cabin the black doorway moved along with the ship and did not act like it was stationary. Rick then stepped through into his store office and then quickly back into the boat cabin. He had a weird sensation like when an elevator reaches a floor and you get that slight sinking feeling, but he was back in the cabin right in front of the black door.
Not wanting to take a chance and lose the boat''s position he left the Portal opened when he went back into his office to collect the money from his draw. He did not bother looking over the sales records and left his office to drop off the book in Barat''s office.
Rick left the store after giving Barat a brief update about how he was currently sailing a boat across the northern ocean and would not be able to stick around. He warned him about the open Portal in the office that connected to the boat and then left the store to make his way to the central plaza vendors area.
Barat was still in shock over hearing what his boss just told him and could only mutely nod his head as RIck quickly left the store.
"Barat I just saw Cedric walk through the showroom did he leave already? Normally he will stop and talk to me and teach me a little about his worlds sales techniques." Nellie asked looking a little disappointed.
"He said that he is currently traveling across the northern ocean on a boat he designed. A full crew of female sailors right now are sailing the ship as we speak. He only dropped in to collect yesterdays sales and to go out and buy some supplies for the trip." Barat said repeated what he was told with a look ofstupefaction on his face.
"Wow! That sounds amazing I have never even seen the ocean before even though it is supposedly only a days cart ride from here with all the monsters and bandits it is too risky to make the journey." Nellie exclaimed as she walked away to go help the sales girls once again.
Did she not even hear that he is out on the dangerous ocean right now and even teleported from the ship to his office? She only thinks about how wonderful it would be to see the ocean and not about how he had built a boat that can cross the ocean and then teleport to and from it! Am I the crazy one or is it everyone else around me for acting like this is a normal thing? Maybe it is a benefit of being young that they can easily adapt to strange and dangerous circumstances. Barat thought as he continued to greet the stream of customers entering the store.
Rick made his way around the vendors and bought food supplies for the boat along with blankets and pillows. The blankets and pillows were nowhere near the quality he sold in his store, but to save himself a trip to the crating district he made due with what was available. He figured that they would most likely not really even be used and were ore of an emergency purchase. Now that he knew it was possible to Portal from the boat he would be able to let the crew return to their apartments at the end of the day.
He left the vendors area after asking around about blacksmiths in the city and went off to find one of the larger blacksmith shops that were supposed to be on the scale of his teacher Hibal''s. He found the place and found that the man that owned it was reluctant to sell him the iron ore that he had in stock. With the use of his Charming Presence and offering more money that it sold for he was able to purchase roughly five hundred pounds of iron ore on a one-time-only deal. When the owner led him outside to collect the ore he couldn''t believe the size of the pile this guy had in stock. It was easily a couple tons of ore and this owner acted like it would be the end of the world if he sold any of it.
This greedy bastard is just worried about the competitionI bet. He figures any ore he sells to anyone else will be less work that walks through his door.Rick thought as he collected the ore and flashing the owner a nasty look who was watching every move he made.
Rick was so pissed at this guys attitude after he collected the ore he had already paid for, he activated flight and flew off toward his store without saying a word to the owner who was standing right beside him. He landed behind his store so not to cause a commotion on the street and walked in through the front door. Inside he stopped to talk with Nellie and see how and her saleswomen were doing. After a quick update, she related what Barat had told her and how she had never seen the ocean.
Rick smiled and hooked his arm around hers and led her into his office.
"I know you are working right now, but how about you take a little break and have a quick look at the boat and the ocean. Do you remember when I took you through the teleporter upstairs to the tower near my city?"
"Yes that was a little scary but it was also exciting to know we had lept away to somewhere far from the city. I had grown up in this city and have never left much further than the city walls for fear of all the danger in the wilderness." She said.
Rick just shook his head after hearing that. He had never even thought about how dangerous this world would be for regular NPCs who did not have the fighting prowess of a Player. Also since if he died it was just a matter of respawning and trying again. That did not work for NPCs like the real world for him if you died that was it, game over.
"See that black doorway on the wall over there? That works just like a regular doorway even though you can not see what is on the other side when you step through it you will end up on my boat. So how about it? Are you up for a quick little adventure?" Rick explained then asked her.
Nellie staring at the door took a deep breath. "Yes, I would love to take a look."
Rick took her by the hand and walked through the door with her to help ease her anxiety. The two of them ended up inside the ship cabin after steeping through Portal and while Nellie looked around the cabin trying to take in the new room she was now in Rick took out the food and stocked the fridge and set a small drum of oil along with a bag of flour next to the fridge.
"Let''s go take a look around outside you will get a better view," Rick said to Nellie who was looking out through one of the small cabin windows.
When Rick opened the cabin door Nellie breathed in a blast of the ocean air and felt the wind blow through her long hair as she stepped through the door onto the deck. They walked along the rail and all of his crew looked on in surprise and curiosity at the girl with Rick who seemed to have suddenly appeared on the boat.
Nellie smiled at the other women who looked so gallant in their matching uniforms and wearing strange metal weapons on leather straps or swords on their backs. She had never seen women that looked so strong and beautiful. She had thought that if these women fought with the city guard they would be able to hold their own with them or even possibly beat them.
The cries of the white birds above the boat distracted her thoughts and she glanced up to see the birds trailing along following the boat with just as much curiosity about all the new things on the boat as she had.
Nellie followed Rick to the front of the boat and looked out across the ocean in every direction there was no sign of land anywhere.
"I have read and heard about how big the ocean is but I never imagined this!" Nellie said excitedly as the mist sprayed up to cool their faces from the waves breaking against the bow of the ship.
The two of them talked for a while and Rick told her about the oceans in the real world and the many creatures that inhabited them. He told her tales of pirates and even modern day ships that propelled themselves without sails and had weapons which could hit targets miles away beyond sight.
As they were talking Rick caught sight of a thin strip of green on the horizon and knew that they had found the starting continent. He knew that from the position of the island if they traveled south they would eventually find it but it was still a nice sight as it slowly grew bigger as they traveled along.
Rick then took Nellie back to the store like waking up from a dream she found herself back in the city she had always lived with the smell of the ocean still lingering on her clothes and in her hair.
Chapter 40: Setting Sail (part 2)
"Well it wasn''t much of an adventure but at least, you had a chance to experience the ocean first hand and if you are still interested I will be sure to invite you out again if I find something of intrest.: Rick said as he and Nellie left his office.
"I would love to go out there again Cedric it was so exhilarating and those women who were sailing your boat were also very impressive. If only I knew how to fight and could live a life traveling the open seas and discover a new and exciting place like them." She said with a light tone of regret.
"Oh? Are you planning on quitting your job as my sales managerto live a life of adventure!" He said in mock disappointment and then he couldn''t hold back from laughing and Nellie joined in.
"You continue to do a great job here and don''t worry I will be sure to take you on a few adventures again someday," Rick said with a smile.
Nellie lit up with excitement and agreed to do just that and walked off now recharged from her lunchtime vacation to help out the waiting customers or assist her sales girls.
Rick watched as Nellie almost skipped away to head back out to the showroom while shaking his head with a smile. He went back into his office and went back to the ship and recast Portal to travel over to the castle workshop. He removed the overly priced iron ore he bought from the stingy blacksmith and began loading up his blast furnaceswith it along with coal and limestone dust. He recharged all of the storage gems and then started them all so that they would begin melting down the materials he loaded them with.
Without waitingon the blast furnaces, he went back to the ship and went out on the deck to see the ever approachingland ahead of them.
"We can start heading toward the west now while following the coast. When the sun starts to get ready to set have the crew keep an eye out for a small cove that we can stop for the night. I want to find a place that will protect the ship from any bad weather that may come along. I will be down in the cabin for a while if anyone comes down there looking for me and I am not there do not be alarmed I have a magic spell that allows me to leave the ship. That is where the young lady that was on the deck came from earlier I saw that the crew was a little surprised by her appearance." Rick explained to the captain and went back to the cabin.
Back in his castle workshop inside of theFast Domain, he finished the smelting process of the blast furnaces and bled off the impurities before pouring the molten steel into ingot to cool. Even though the iron ore cost him more than he thought was fair, Rick was now able to at least restock his dwindling steel supplies until his miners began to send back ore from the mine.
When the last ingots had solidified but were still glowing hot he popped them free of the ingot molds and started making a long thick steel chain. He made a heavy-duty steel chain that was about fifty feet long and placed it into his inventory. He placed a few of the steel ingot into the forge to get them hot enough to work and he hammered them together in layers and when he had a long piece of metal weighing about fifty pounds he hammered it into the shape of a basic anchor with a loop on the post to connect his chain.
After attaching the chain to the anchor he went back to the ship and bolted the anchor chain to the front rail. He then made a small wooden box with a hinged lid to store the anchor inside of and screwed it to the ship deck so that the anchor would not slide around the deck and injure the crew.
The sailboat quietly slipped through the waves along the uninhabited coast and slid into a narrow cove to drop anchor as the sun began to set on into the western horizon. Rick explained his spell to the crew that would allow them to travel back to the city and walked through with them to end up in front of the restaurant. Rick told them to go ahead and eat dinner in the restaurant if they were hungry and also told them about the gaming houses and tavern. He told them to meet him at the restaurant after lunch tomorrow and then they would head back to the ship and continue their voyage.
Rick went inside the restaurant to also eat his in-game dinner and fill his satiety level up. Once he entered he saw the shipwrights had also decided to stop and eat. He sat down with them and discussed having them start on a new ship now that they had finished his personal sailboat.
The group finished their meals and agreed to meet up at lunchtime to go over the designs of the new boat that they would build next. Rick left the restaurant and wnt to the castle library and dropped off the new books.
He opened a Portal to the store office and collected the thick layer of coins from his desk that contained a lot of gold coins. He skimmed over the day''s sales and seen they had another great day of sales.
It seems that it was a good idea to hire the new sales girls. More customers are being helped now before they can become impatient and leave the store and that leads to more sales.
Once he had dropped off the sales book, Rickused the Portal to rave to the outskirts of Lorebark forest. Using his Astrallium axe he chopped down just over two hundred trees and stripped them clean. With all of the trees in his inventory, he flew off to the riverside lumbermill and made a couple stacks of fifty trees each.
The other hundred trees he took to the harbor and stacked them alongside the dry dock to be used for the new ship. Now that the sun had completely set he flew back to the castle and logged off for the night
[]--------------------[]--------------------[]
Prodigy Wave Corp
"Hello, Clair how are you today."
"Oh, just fine Jeff. Is that what I think it is?" Clair asked with a smile.
"Yeah, the usual player reports that Mr. Morgan has taken an interest in." Said Jeff
Clair nodded in understanding as she picked up her desk phone and let Mr. Morgan know that Jeff was outside his office. "Yes, sir not a problem at all," Clair said as she hung up and rolled her eyes toward the office door.
Jeff smiled and walked past her desk straight into the CEO''s office and set a stack of reports down on his desk.
"So what''s the word Jeff anything new worth reporting?" The CEO of Prodigy Wave Corp Mr. Morgan asked as he picked up the folder and opened it.
"The playerAsmodeus has conquered another demon tribe along the eastern side of the continent and made them forcefully submit to his rule. He now controls almost half of the tribes on the Demon starting island even if he doesn''t'' own that much land." Jeff explained.
"The demons were never designed to be easy to rule they are selfish and self-centeredhow is he making it look so easy?" Mr. Morgan asked curiously.
"They are that, but they also were designed to protect their clan and family. Asmodeus is using that to his advantage. He has built a large citadel Prison and has been imprisoning demon women and children along with their clan leaders to make them fall in line. If they refuse to submit he brings out their family''s and begins slaughtering them right in front of the entire settlement until they change their minds." Jeff explained with a frown.
"I know they are only AI NPCs but that is a little bloodthirsty. This guy has me worried about what he will do if he decides to cross over to the starting continent." Mr. Morgan commented while turning skimming over the information onAsmodeus.
"It seems that Mr. Stryker or Cedric your hope to counterAsmodeus is not quite as bad, but he isn''t far behindAsmodeus in the bloodthirsty department. From what we can figure out he sent an Elven Scout north to make contact or spy on a tribe of Nekomimi. Not far from the Nekomimi tribe the Scout was killed in an ambush by the tribe and his belongings were taken and divided among the attackers. Cedric led a small party who used a skill to trail their scout that never returned and found his dead stripped body. Before Cedric''s party could leave they were ambushed and managed to fight off their attackers. A few days later Cedric led a small army to the outskirts of the settlement just before Dawn. This tablet has the highlights of the battle on it if you are curious to see how he fought." Jeff explained as he handed over the tablet to Mr. Morgan.
Mr. Morgan hit the play button and watched as the Ballistas with runic arrows streamed across the dark sky to ignite the wooden hovels. He watched as Rick flew over the sleeping settlement droppinga number of fire spells on the hut to encourage the settlement to become engulfed in flames. The video then cut to him moving his troops out on mounted Tigers and Dire Wolves to ambush and drive back the tribal Nekomimi. In the end, they encircled the tribe and slaughtered every one of them without exception.
"It is quite impressive that he has these long distance ballistaalready and he has a great understanding of the battlefield. I wonder why he decided to wipe out the entire tribe though?" Mr. Morgan asked.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.
"All I can think of is that he just couldn''t trust leaving an enemy like that out there to come back and strike at them again in the future," Jeff said shaking his head with a puzzled look.
"Also if you think that those ballistae are impressive you should take a look at this," Jeff said as he passed over a screenshot of the air rifle Rick had recently designed.
"Is this what it looks!" like Mr. Morgan asked sitting straight up in his seat in surprise.
"Without digging more into his personal game recording it is hard to say. It looks like a modern assault rifle and it wasn''t used in the recent battle so it must be something he recently made. We would need your permission to look into the mechanics of the rifle or like I said his personal gameplay recordings to be sure but I doubt he just made a fake gun that doesn''t do anything for nothing. We know that Mr. Stryker has a whole store of unique items for sale that no one else in the game has come close to making so I am sure it is a safe bet that this rifle is the real deal."
Mr. Morgan was quiet for a minute. "Continue keeping an eye on him there is no need to infringe upon his person gameplay recordings. Instead, keep an eye on his future NPC purchases from the system. We knew that someone would one day start making weapons that aren''t in the game but to go from ballista to assault rifles.... we may need to start thinking about releasing some of the 2nd generation of buyable NPCs soon." said the stunned Mr. Morgan.
He excused and thankedJeff for the reports and began reading through them as Jeff went back to his office to continue his research.
[]--------------------[]--------------------[]
During classes Rick let his friends know that he had set sail on his boat and had it currently anchored off the western coast of the starter continent. He made plans to first pick up Lily on the western coastline of the Elven lands and then start working along the southern coastin search of the Enclave Isles. Once he found the Enclave Isles he would find a that would be convenient to open a Portal later so that he could bring Luke and his girlfriend to his city. After leaving the Enclave Isles which was the home of the five major vampire clans he would then need to search out theDarfellan Archipelago. Once he had found theDarfellan Archipelago he would be able to pick up Ryan.
Rick also let his friends know that he planned to continue sailing up around the eastern coastline and stop at the Gnome Citadel, Nekomimi City, and possibly the Kitsune City as well. He figured since he would be so far east when he had picked up Ryan that he should just make a complete journey all the way around the starting continent Etheraland. This way he could stop at the main cities that were so far from the human city. This would allow him to be able to use his Portal to return to these cities anytime that he wanted in the future.
He only wished that the Dwarven Moutain Fortress wasn''t so far inland and blocked by mountains from the northern ocean or he would stop there before heading home. Rick had always wanted to visit the Dwarven underground city and would need to make time after picking his friends up to fly there from the human city to check it out.
...
OnceRick was back in the game he made his way to the restaurant and rejoined his female boat crew and found his shipwrights that were already there waiting for him. Rick sat down at a big table with the shipwrights and his boat crew and began drawing up designs and measurements for the new ship that he had wanted to be built. After doing some research online he decided to make a large ship that would be able to hold a good sized crew.
Rick planned to one day open his city up to tourist, Players, or anyone who wished to live in the outer city district so he would need a large dependable ship that could make trips from the main continent to his island.
Once he completed his designs he allowed everyone at the table to look them over. Even though his ship crew would not have anything to do with the construction of the ship, he wanted them to see what the ship would look like since they may one day be the crew who was in charge of sailing it.
Spoiler:New Ship Designs.
Because of the size of this ship and how much more detail would need to be put into it, he was sure to draw out the masts, sail lines, how the hull and skeleton should be built and also provided them with cutaways of how the ships interiors and different levels should be laid out. Since these Shipwrights were AI it wasn''t that difficult for them to understand everything they were being shown. It was just a matter of having a high enough level in their skills to apply this knowledge to the ship when they were building it.
Once he passed all the designs over to them and they had the gist of what they needed to do he walked with everyone over to the System Gate and spawned in ten Shipwright_Artisans. He sent the original Shipwrights off with the new ones to find their new apartments with the messengers. Once they had found their new apartments, RIck told them to work out a schedule with the wagoners to take them to the harbor and pick them up every day.Rick told them to use the huge dry dock he had built next to the docks to build the new ship. Once they had finished the ship inside the dry docks he would be able to open the gates and flood it with water so that they could float the ship out into the harbor and dock it.
The group of Shipwrights then left to begin the new project and Rick used the Portal to bring him and his crew back to the ship and begin sailing south along the western coastline. Now that he had learned how to make magnets, Rick sat at the table inside the boat cabin and began experimenting onmaking a compass. He had his compass that he was awarded from completing his quest in the Lorebark forest, but this did not help his captain when he was not on deck.
Since the weather had been clear and fair she could use the sun to know the general direction the boat was headed. The problem was what would happen when they had a foggy or rainy day and he was not up on deck or on the boat.
The small ship continued to roll along the waves pressing further south. Rick kept himself occupied with making a compass while his crew vigilantly sailed the along keeping the sails full of wind. He had made three different sized compasses to test out his theories and was now working on a steel case compass that he had filled with clear vegetable oil so that the magnetized needle would freely float and point to magnetic north.
After a few tweaks, he had the compass pointing in the exact same way as his virtual compass on his game hud. He then cut a circular piece of glass and fit it into to the top cover and soldered the bottom section and top section together to prevent the compass from opening or leaking the oil inside of it.
Rick was presently filing down the excess metal that he had used to sodered the compass to give it a more appealing look when his ship''s commander came down to inform him that they had spotted land on the horizon.
Rick picked up his compass and stored it in his inventory and followed the commander up to the roof of the bow of his ship. He activated his Far Sight skill and could make out a desolate almost desert looking terrain without out any signs of life or structures.
He walked to the back of the ship and instructed the captain to steer the ship closer to the land mass. The ship soon came to within roughly a half mile of the coastline and Rick called out to lower the sails and drop the anchor. He checked to make sure that the anchor was holding the ship in place before informing the captain that he would go ashore to investigate.
When he activated his Flight skill and zipped off toward the shore the women on the boat were all left speechless as they watched their lord fly through the air faster than any bird could even fly. As he flew over the land Rick was reminded of a few of the southwestern states like New Mexico and Arizona that had wide open dry land with sparse dry vegetation.
While traveling along he actually came across a small scale battle about the size of the battles that he had been through with the different tribes on his island. He decided to lower descend in altitude to see if he could figure out what was going on without getting so close that someone might try to cast a spell or send an arrow in his direction.
Rick used his Far Sight skill to zoom in and was shocked to see creatures that he had not seen in-game, but had seen screenshots of before. The creatures below him were Demons and from what he could tell one army of demons was made up of many types of demons and they were currentlyslaughtering an army of large demons that looked to be of all the same type.
From what he could guess someone had developed an army of mixed demons and was placing them into roles that best suited their classes and skills. It almost reminded him of how his army had races with classes that best suited them. Even though the mixed army of demons were still an unorganized mob they were working together to press back a larger, stronger force without much difficulty.
Now that Rick knew he was over the Demon starting island he decided to head back to the ship after finding a secure out of the place spot that he could Portal to if he ever wanted to return here. Back on the ship the anchor and sails were raised and they continued to sail south. As the captain was steering the ship, Rick built a small wooden pillar about waist high next to the ship''s wheel and mounted his new compass on top of it.
When it was secured in place, he gave the captain a crash course on how to use the compass that was easy to read right next to the wheel. The captain followed the compass on a south-eastern route until they were once again in view of the main continent and then she changed course to follow the coastline south in search of the elven forest.
....
After a half day on the ocean, the ship pulled into a secluded bay and dropped anchor as the sun was setting into the western ocean. Rick used the Portal spell to bring the crew home and asked them to meet him tomorrow at the same time that his classes were over.
He quickly went through the crafting district and gathered up all of the items that had been completed over the past couple days and jumped over to his store office. He gathered the thick layer of coins from his desk drawer and restocked the store displays after returning the records book to Barat''s office.
Rick had gone back into his office to gather a couple stacks of books left behind by his merchant once everything was restocked and even went upstairs to check on the guards and give them a few more coins for meals and entertainment.
Using his Portal he jumped over to the castle library and took out the new books to place on the books shelves after showing them to Angelica and Nezera who were both sitting together reading before heading to bed.
In his castle bedroom, he unequipped his gear and logged off to make dinner and go to bed.
Disconnect!
Chapter 41: Meeting Up With Friends
Back in the game again after attending classes and doing a bit of shopping, RIck had met up with his crew of female sailors and once again set out on a southern route along the western coastline. The weather remained calm and the voyage was enjoyable. Before logging into the game earlier Rick had done a little research online to try and possibly come up with a way that he could help increase the speed of his ship so that they could cover more distance. It wasn''t that his ship was slow by any means and it was more than likely the fastest ship in the game at the present time, but unless he wanted to spend a few weeks on circling the main continent while picking up his friends he needed to come up with some ideas to improve his small ship.
His original idea before making the ship was to add wind runes to the mast to help propel the ship. He had found out that this idea more than likely would not work out if the game were to work with true world physics having the runes blow air would fill the sails put also apply backward force on the ship. So by using wind runes, they would basically cancel out any forward gained speed or possibly even force the ship to just spin in slow circles and not make any forward progress.
He had then started researching all the different types of modern marine engines and found one that caught his eye. Since he had no way of making gasoline all of the normal petrol engines were not even worth exploring and even though he could modify a steam engine to his ship it would not help him make the ship any faster.
This is when he began looking into jet skis. Even though they used a petrol engine he thought that the water jet propulsion system could be created with his runes. Just like he had once made his flame canons he could use the same concept with water runes.
Rick was currently sitting at the table in the cabin of the ship making a water rune from the titanium metal that he had mined, but never found a use for. Titanium is a brittle metal so he never tried to make weapons or armor from it. Rick figured a sword made of Titanium would simply shatter and the same would apply to armor so he left it in his inventory gathering virtual so-called dust.
Even if it was brittle one thing that Titanium had going for it is that it was salt corrosion resistant. Since the water rune, he was making would not move or bang against anything it would make a perfect material to be used in his makeshift water propulsion jets.
Starting off small rick used one of the wooden tubs that he had crafted for the apartments filled with water to make a few scaled down models of a runic water jet. His first test with a straight tube filled with vented water runes seemed to work decently. The runes produced water that was forced down the tube and shot out the end to create a forward thrust.
Then he sat back and began thinking of how it would be possible to create more thrust and thought of his recentdesigns the runic air cartridgethat uses a neck on the metal cartridge to force the air into a narrow channel to create a stronger burst of air.
Rick set out to then basically make an open-ended air cartridge that instead of having only air runes had air and water runes staggered along the interior length. When the water jet was activated the air runes would work in tandem with the water runes to send a burst of high-pressure water out of the narrow back neck and create a strong forward acceleration.
Spoiler:Runic Water Jet.
Now that he had a working design he was happy with, Rick used the portal to travel to the castle workshop and create a large scale version of histest model. Using all Titanium metal he made the bottlenecked tubes with water and wind runes welded inside. Next was creating a long Titanium plate and brackets that could be fastened to the bottom of his ship to support the water jets.
When he had received recipes for the Runic Water Jet and the hardware to mount it he went back to the ship and closed the Portal. Rick had the captain steer the ship into a bay along the coat and he jumped overboard and used his Hold Breath Skill to attach the hardware and brackets to the bottom of the ships hull.
Rick installed four of the large Runic Water Jets on each side of the ship''s keel and connected them into three separate circuits.These three circuits ran to a wooden console next to the ship''s wheel that had three switch runes. He decided to connect two water jets to each switch rune so that the ship would be able to have three speeds. Under the wooden console, he socketed a row of twenty large storage crystals that should be able to hold enough mana for a few days without needing to be recharged.
Rick double checked all of his connections and then maneuvered the ship back out into open water. When they were clear of land the Riggers lowered the sails and he touched the first switch rune. With two water jets running the boat remained stationary for a moment and then gradually began to pick up more speed.
Watching the shoreline pass by he judged his speed and clicked the second switch rune when it looked like the ship had reached its top speed. Now that four Jets were now active the ship produced a small jolt from the sudden extra power and they were soon traveling quicker than a decent wind would be able to propel the ship.
Lastly, hetouched the third switch rune and was pleasantly surprised at the speed the ship could travel. Looking back at the wake the ship was making and how fast the shoreline began to zip by he wouldn''t be surprised if someone would actually be able to ski off the back of the ship.
The simple three-stage water jet system was easy enough to understand for the captain and commander to learn so he left the controls to them. With the boat going roughly twice as fast as the sailing speed they made decent time and were soon skimming along the waves parallel to the Elven Forest. As usual, they anchored in a bay along the coast and went back to the city.
Rick told the crew that they would meet at the restaurant at breakfast serving time since he did not have classes the following day. Making his way around the city, he stopped at the temple to check in on Faith andthe temple priestess. He also went over to the Amphitheater to see how Handil and Jerem were doing and transferred some needed supplies to them with his inventory.
When he left the construction site, Rick went to the crafting district to collect any completed products and carriages. When he was finished in the crafting district he thought of the female dwarfs in the northern mine and used his portal to travel into the mineshaft.
The Dwarven Miners had already cut out a few branch tunnels from the main mineshaft and were lucky enough to already have found iron ore deposits along with a vein of gold. Rick left the iron ore behind to be collected by the Wagoners, but he took the gold that had been mined so that he could restock his jewelry at the store. It had been a couple weeks since he had a good amount of gold and his jewelry stock had suffered because of it.
He praised the miners for their hard work and used the Portal to step over to his store office where he collected the store profits and even more books. This time his merchant had found someone with a good supply of books because the corner of his office had large stacks of them. Rick left a few gold coins and a note for the merchant to use the gold coins to continue purchasing any books he could come across.
Out on the display floor, he used his recipes to make more jewelry and then enchanted them with different attributes and spells. He was also sure to go through the store and restock any missing items and also restock the warehouse supplies. He found a few more items that came back that needed recharging and then left the store to make a couple carriage deliveries.
By the time he had delivered and assembled the sold carriages it was beginning to get late. Rick opened the Portal so that he could go to the castle library and drop off the books then he went to his bedroom and disconnected for the night.
Disconnect!
Once he had used the bathroom he gave Lily a call while making dinner and told her of how he had made it to the Elven Lands. She told him that she would wake up early and begin traveling through the forest to look for his ship. Rick told her to just wait at the elven village for him to come to her. He wanted to see the village and be able to Portal there in the future so it would be fine to just meet at the inn she had been using at lunchtime.
He decided to also text Ryan and Luke just to give them an update even though it would still be another day or two before he found Ryan and picked him up. Once he had finished eating and texting everyone he went for a jog and came home to shower. Rick went right to bed afterward and woke up early enough to get a morning workout in and eat breakfast before logging back into the game.
At the restaurant, he sat down with the crew of his ship and ate breakfast then he opened a Portal to send everyone back to the ship. Rick asked the Captain to just relax aboard the ship while he flew inland to find his friend.
The trees toward the interior of the forestin some areas reminded him of the gigantic Redwood trees that grew in California. Since he was still early and did not have to find Lily until noon he decided to land and use his Astrallium axe to chop down of few of these monster trees. With the sheer size of these trees, he thought that they would be perfect for building ships. He would be able to make full-length thick planks that could reach from the bow to the stern of the ship in one length as well as make large one-piece keels.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
He was unsure if the elves had any kind of customs or rules protecting these large trees, but since he was so far from anyinhabited areas he assumed no one would ever mind. With fifty giant trees cut down and stripped he stored them into his inventory and continued his flight toward the forest interior.
Rick soon spotted the village in the distance and landed outside of it and walked in on foot. He was no longer in human lands so he thought just seeing a human would be strange enough let alone one that flew into their village out of nowhere.
Inside the village, he walked up the elevated ramps to the buildings built in the tree canopies and drew a lot of looks while he did. He did happen to spot a couple of humans while exploring the city but there were probably only about five humans in the entire village making his large build and human feature stand out enough that he felt curious eyes on him at all times.
The elves did not look down on him and the ones that he spoke with in elven were friendly and helpful for the most part. Rick explored the different shops and bought a few things that caught his eye. He had found that the bows and arrows were excellent quality and since he already had his Mythril Compound bows he only bought a large stock of incredible looking wooden arrows.
He Also purchased a few bags of any type of exotic seeds for trees, fruit, or vegetables to allow Daisia to examine and experiment with. He was even lucky enough to find a tiny bookstore that sold various types of books of eleven history, music, arts, and lore. Even though they were all written in elven Rick could read them with his Elven Language skill. He purchased a lot of books with the thought of spawning an Elf that could translate them to human language later on and them to his library.
He had kept himself busy up to around noonthen made his way toward the Inn that Lily would to meet him with the directions of the locals he stopped to ask. Maneuvering his way across the many suspended wooden bridges he was able to find the Inn and Lily who was sitting at a table drinking a cup of tea that was a specialty of the Inn made from leaves of a plant that could only be found in the forest around the village.
The two of them had lunch together in the cozy inn and were excited to finally join up together inside the game after being separated by such a long distance. They had a delicious vegetarian lunch that Rick paid for and then they left to head out of the village.
Lily pointed out the different shops and entertainment that she had discovered during the time she had stayed in the elven village as they made there way toward the closest spiral ramps that would allow them to descend to the forest floor.
When they were out of sight from all of the curious eyes following Rick''s every movement he opened the Portal that he had told Lily about before. The two of them stepped through and were then instantly inside the cabin of the ship.
Lily was surprised at the size of the cabin and had pictured his ship being a smaller sailboat and not a sloop sized ship. He took her out on the main deck and received a "really?" look when she found an entire crew of beautiful women stationed all around the ship.
He threw his hands up with an innocent look while she laughed at his reaction. Rick introduced Lily to the Captain and commander and then they hauled up the anchored and began activating to water jets much to Lily''s surprise.
He explained how the ship basically had eight huge jetski engines underneath it that propelled it along at about thirty-five to forty miles per hour. The two of them walked to the bow and rode the waves that lifted them up and down while cutting through the water.
The two friends spent some time exploring and enjoying the boat and then Rick went over and told the captain to keep an eye out for the Enclave Isles once they had begun travelingto the east along the southern part of the continent.
Inside the cabin, Rick and Lily sat down at the table. Rick brought out a sheet of parchment and a charcoal pencil and started to draw up a map of where he thought the vampire andDarfellan would be located from what his friendstold him and other players had posted online.
Lily curiously watched him draw the map and followed him up to the captain when it was completed. He passed it over tocaptain so that she would have an idea of where the islands they wanted to find where and what they looked like.
Spoiler:The Currently Known World.
It was not long after he had given the map to the captain that the crew spotted a land mass south of the main continent they had been sailing near. Rick directed the captain to change course and the ship quickly raced toward the island that was a few miles from their current location.
When the ship traveled along the island coastline Rick was able to tell that it was, in fact, the Enclave Isles. The unique shape of the two island that was connected by a land bridge made it easy to discern. With the engines shut off, the anchor was dropped to hold the ship in place once they had come to a complete stop.
Rick then told Lily about the flight skill that he had and told her he was going to go ashore and find a place to open a portal in the future so that they could bring Luke and his girlfriend to his island city in the future.
Lily and the crew of women only had to wait about fifteen minutes for Rick to come streaking back to the ship. He let them know he had found a protected area on the land bridge that he could use to open a Portal later and let the captain commence their journey.
Rick let Lily know that if she got bored hanging out on the ship he could take her to the city and hang out with Angelica and Nezera or even take a horse from the stables and explore the area. She chose to stay on the ship though and seemed to be enjoying the trip and was excited to have met up with Rick and looked forward to soon seeing Ryan.
The two friends walked the decks talking and soon went back into the cabin and sat down to talk about their different skills they had picked up along the way and the adventures they had. Lily was shocked at how many different far-ranging skills Rick had learned.
While she questioned him about his skill he also began to show her the different items he had crafted. This made him pause to examine Lily''s character and the gear she had was just a step above beginner gear.
Rick decided to bring out his tailoring resources and began to make a multi-layered spider silk outfit exactly like the one she liked and was now wearing. At first, Lily had no idea why e would suddenly stop in mid-sentence and start sewing cloth together and figured that he must have forgotten to finish something and needed to get it done by a certain deadline.
Maybe he has a Tailoring quest that he forgot about since he had to come and pick me up? I hope I didn''t mess it up for him. I know he has been on the ship now for over a day sailing just to come and pick up Ryan and me.Lily thought as she quietly watched Rick skillfully stitch those various shapes of clothhe cut off a roll of material.
Once the outfit was roughly 75% finished Lily began to think that it looked like the outfit she had first fallen in love with and purchased with the money she earned from selling the animals and creature parts she had hunted in the elven forest.
When she asked Rick what he was making he only looked up with a smile and winked at her without saying a word. A few minutes later the outfit was finished and he even dyed it to the exact same colors that the cute elven outfit Lily wore. Once he set the ownership of the outfit to Lily he told her how he had found large quantities of spider silk on his quest in the Lorebark forest and that he had his weavers and spinsters transform it into rolls of Spider Silk cloth.
Rick passed it over to her and when she looked at the description she was shocked to find out how durable the cloth was. Rick explained that the outfit he gave her had six layers of spider silk cloth and if someone tried to stab her with a dagger or shot her with an arrow they would just bounce off and leave her with a small amount of blunt force damage.
Rick showed Lily the small bathroom and she excitedly went in to quickly unequip her old outfit so that she could wear the new one Rick had made for her. While she was inside the bathroom Rick used his recipes to make a Mythril Compound bow, a matching leather quiver, and a runic fire sword.
He had thought about making her armor, but since she had still not chosen her first class he thought it would be better to wait. Once she figured out which class she would enjoy playing he would then make her a set of runic armor that was best suited for it.
Lily came back out wearing her new outfit and a big smile to see Rick arrangingdifferent weapons straps and belts across the table. Rick called Lily over and he began strapping on the quiver full of thehigh-quality elven arrows from the elven forest city. Then he strapped a belt around her waist with the runic sword in a leather scabbard that matched her quiver and outfit.
Rick showed her how to use the runic sword and when he touched the switch rune on the handle the blade was engulfed with nasty looking flames. Then he showed her the compound bow that she had seen him and his military units used in the video he had posted. She was quite surprised at how light the bow was since it was made from metal she worried that it would be awkward to wield until she picked it up and found it to be not much heavier than her simple wooden bow.
Lily was a little embarrassedby having her friend suddenly start strapping all of these gifts onto her, but she didn''t mind. Rick had always been great to her and would shield her whenever she seemed to be uncomfortable with certain people or situations. Lily even had begun to think over time that when she had graduated from college and did not have to worry about her studies as much she wouldn''t mind having Rick as a boyfriend.
When Rick had finished handing her the bow and placing the new equipment on her character she bashfully thanked him with flushed cheeks. Rick chuckled at how cute she was acting and thought about teasing her, but he knew how shy Lily could be and he didn''t want to embarrass her anymore.
Once she had calmed back down they continued their talk and after near three hours had passed since leaving Enclave Isles the commander came into the cabin to inform Rick that they had found the next island. Rick and Lily stood up and walked out of the cabin toward the bow of the boat and waited until the boat was a few hundred yards from the island to tell the captain sail around to the north end of the island.
Rick knew that Ryan was staying on a tiny island on off the northern coast that was just big enough to fit his small hut. With this in mind, the ship glided along the north coast examing all the small islands that were within swimming distance of the shore.
It helped that there were not that many small islands and before long they actually found the island they were looking for and on the island stood a gray-skinned muscular guy with Ryan''s exact face waving with both arms and calling out to them.
When the ship got closer Ryan jumped into the ocean and swam at an incredible speed to meet them. Rick threw over a rope ladder and he climbed up to the deck to be greeted by Rick and Lily. Ryan was wearing a very thin armor that looked like fish scales made from small pieces of titanium metal that looked like a few had been shattered from receiving damage.
Rick asked Ryan if he had everything from his hut packed away in his inventory before leaving. Ryan confirmed he had everything and was more than ready to leave the starting island to head out for new lands and adventures.
The ship soon set off toward the main continent again and they all kept an eye out for a nice bay to hide the boat away for the night. Once they had found a nice protected bay they shut down the water jets and dropped the anchor so that Rick could open a Portal and bring everyone over to his city.