“What did the poor cart do to you?” She smiled, making Dave feel a little less tired as she gave him a side-hug.
“Got stuck.” Dave shrugged.
The other crafters who had been sent to learn from the impressive Dave snorted and shook their heads, working on the varied maintenance issues that plagued their latest forge facility.
“So you hit it with a wrench?” she asked, exasperated at her fiancé’s antics.
“No, I hit it with a bigger wrench.” Dave smiled, clearly pleased with himself. “First lesson of engineering" Adding quietly to himself, "although that's more mechanical than rocket...”
“So other than beating the forge’s carts into motion with a massive wrench,” Deia gave him a pointed look, the corners of her mouth twitching, “how are we looking on repairs?”
“Well, the main smelting furnaces are back online, thanks to my runers.”
“Runers? Do you mean runners?” Deia said, giving him a confused look.
“No, Runers, I’m still working on the whole naming thing alright!” Dave sighed.
He might have come up with a new way of making Magical Circuits by writing it out like lines of code instead of magical formations—it made the whole process more refined, increasing the effectiveness of the magical coding and also reducing the necessary size that a Magical Circuit took up—but there had been a number of real-life coders who had taken the idea and gone nuts with it. Dave had dangled his book of magical runes and now there were a number of them who tried to follow Dave everywhere to talk magic coding.
“I think I’ll keep to magical coding for now,” Dave said.
“So, progress?” Deia asked.
“Those damn metal munching rodents messed this place up pretty bad. We fixed the metal plating that opens into the magma chamber, regulating the forge’s heat. Fixed and filled the coolant tanks, which were either cold as hell or boiling hot. I actually gained Vitality points just for doing it!” Dave shook his head. Josh now only sent Deia and her party to where the worst damage or creatures were. Mostly, it was damage. With Dave’s abilities, he could quickly diagnose and fix what would take several other people days or even weeks to do.
“The multiple different components on the factory side of the forge is messed up. We’ve put the repair bots on it and we’re shipping most of our materials out to the other forges. I hear that we’re having trouble with raw ore supplies?” Dave looked to Deia.
“Yeah, Shard and Josh have asked us to go and take a look at one of the mines. The crafters are having a rough time of it. There is a large concentration of those ore extracting machines in the mines’ area. They’ve been extruding materials for decades but there hasn’t been anything to cut it back. The mine looks like it’s half caved in,” Deia said.
“Awwweeeesome. I guess this is what I get for not needing that much sleep anymore?”
“Something like that,” Deia said.
Dave snorted and opened up a flashing notification.
You have gained a Class Level: Aleph Engineer
Just making all kinds of things. For fixing Aleph tech—because it’s confusing as hell and complicated (I’m surprised your brain could handle it)—you get a whole ’nother class! Seriously, you think these things are trading cards or something? Damn well racking them up.
Status: Level 2
Effects: +30 to Endurance, Willpower, and Intelligence
“Woo-hoo!” Dave laughed, doing a small jig with a giant smile on his face. Others looked over before they shook their heads and got back to work. They were used to the Dwarven Halfling’s excitable manner.
Dave hummed out an upbeat song as he danced from side to side.
Celebration over, Dave checked his character sheet.
Character Sheet
Name:
David Grahslagg
Gender:
Male
Level:
10
Class:
Dwarven Master Smith, Friend of the Grey God, Bleeder, Librarian, Aleph Engineer
Race:
Human/Dwarf
Alignment:
Chaotic Neutral
Unspent points: 511
Health:
12,100
Regen:
4.82 /s
Mana:
2,910
Regen:
12.95 /s
Stamina:
1,920
Regen:
9.35 /s
Vitality:
121
Endurance:
241
Intelligence:
291
Willpower:
259
Strength:
192
Agility:
187
Dave looked through his character sheet; it had all passed so quickly, going from one fight and fix to the next.
Active Skill: Archery
Level: Master Level 1
Effect: Critical Hit chance increases by 41%. Ranged targets take 22% increased damage.
Cost: 10 Stamina
Passive Skill: Dodge
Level: Master Level 2
Effect: 87% chance to evade objects. 10% faster when fighting more than two opponents.
Passive Skill: Perception
Level: Master Level 3
Effect: 91% chance to find hidden details. 15% chance at better loot.
Active Skill: Two Handed
Level: Expert Level 8
Effect: 38% armor penetration on target. Stamina costs reduced 15% while fighting.
Cost: 35 Stamina
Active Skill: Dual Wield
Level: Master Level 1
Effect: Attacks are 41 % faster. 5% chance of slowing target.
Cost: 15 Stamina
Active Skill: Inference
Level: Expert Level 3
Effect: 69% increased chance of using moves you’ve read in books.
Active Skill: One Handed and Shield
Level: Expert Level 9
Effect: Weapons damage increased by 39%. Defense increases by 15%.
Cost: 20 Stamina
Passive Skill: Night Vision
Level: Master Level 6
Effect: 95% increased night vision. 30% increased vision in magical darkness.
Racial bonus: Dwarves, even Half-Dwarves, are at home in the darkness of mines and their empires dug underneath mountains. +25% increased night vision (+5% in magical darkness).
Active Skill: Sprint
Level: Master Level 5
Effect: 93% increased speed. Sprinting costs 25% less Stamina.
Cost: 5 Stamina/second
Active Skill: Sneak Attack
Level: Master Level 2
Effect: When you are undetected in stealth, attacks will hit with 368% increased damage (Massive increase when hitting Critical area). May your aim be true. Ignores 10% of opponent’s armor.
Cost: Attack 50 Stamina
Active Skill: Stealth
Level: Master Level 4
Effect: 91% chance to remain undetected (reduced in direct light). 20% easier to detect others in stealth (must be below your level in stealth).
Cost: 5 Stamina/second
Active Skill: Spell Formation
Level: Expert Level 7
Effect: You use 20% less Mana and your spells are 77% stronger.
Active Skill: Soul Smith
Level: Expert Level 5
Effect: 73% less soul energy necessary for crafting with soul smith.
Cost: Dependent on creation.
Active Skill: Builder
Level: Master Level 5
Effect: 93% speed and efficiency. Creations material cost is reduced by 25%.
Required: Tools
Active Skill: Smithing
Level: Master Level 4
Effect: 91% improved quality of smithing creation. 20% chance to imbue metal with skill. Able to analyze items made of stone, iron, steel, silver, malachite, gold, ebony, and Mithril, aluminum, titanium.
> Active Skill: Soul Manipulation
Level: Master Level 3
Effect: Tools you make to manipulate souls and their energy are 89% stronger. Able to use soul energy to fuel spells. 15% increase to soul energies reserves (can only be used for spells, does not act as extra Willpower points).
Cost: Dependent on creation.
Active Skill: Magical Circuits
Level: Master Level 9
Effect: 100% chance of creating better Magical Circuits and understanding them. 45% reduction of cost.
Cost: Dependent
Active Skill: Maintainer
Level: Master Level 1
Effect: 85% chance to restore durability; at higher levels, possible to increase durability, quality, and gain 10% Sharpen bonus to items that have been cared for.
Required: Dependent on gear; sharpening stone, hammer, anvil. Better maintainer’s tools lead to higher chance of increasing stats.
Dave had to just look around him and see all the repair bots that swarmed the badly damaged forge to know that these levels had paid off. They had started with just a handful; now they had over a thousand of the creations rushing around, repairing different systems and speeding up their ability to fix areas. There were also guardian automatons that they could call on to fight with them, greatly increasing the effectiveness of a Stone Raiders’ party.
Each and every one of them had gained an aura detection skill—a kind of sixth sense that came from fighting hundreds of opponents.
While the overall level gain might have been been barely thirty or so, the Stone Raiders were nothing like their old selves. Their new or improved skills, instincts, and training for fighting nearly every day for six months had made them a powerful force.
Josh was already joking about trying out Ashal’s dungeons.
“Dave?” Deia asked after a few minutes.
“Sorry, was somewhere else,” he said.
“I noticed. First, you’re getting some food, sleep, and then we can go to the mining facility,” Deia said.
“I like that plan.” Dave smiled.
Deia stood. The two of them held hands as they waved to the other Stone Raiders. Dave had worked as hard as any of them for two days straight. He had been the only crafter capable of braving the heat of the forge while he fixed the coolant systems and the heat regulators.
Malsour and Induca met them on the way, having taken the opportunity to change into their dragon forms.
Dave and Deia talked about different things. Deia sent messages to the rest of their party. They had made it through the honeymoon phase, supporting each other in their pursuits: Dave in his crafting and Deia in her leadership. They’d become so close that they found it difficult to think of living without the other.
“If I never see another metal-eating odo, I’ll be happy!” Induca finished saying as she and Malsour talked.
They fell in behind Dave and Deia, deep in conversation.
“They are interesting beasts, using the planet’s heat and Mana to survive. The metals down here probably tasted better to them than the unrefined ores,” Malsour said.
“Did you really have one carted off so you could open it up?”
“Their ability to manipulate inanimate objects, but only for the elements that they have bands on their bodies, is amazing. Those bands must take decades to build up!”
“They’re also highly refined and imbued with Mana. I can only imagine what the dwarves are going to pay for that kind of material,” Dave interjected.
“What are you going to do with your share of the loot?” Suzy asked as they passed an automaton fighter that was sawing through an odo.
The odo had a massive maw, with eight clawed feet that jutted out like the points on a compass. They were meant to assist it through the ground as it consumed or pushed through anything in its path. It had a rigid body from its massive mouth to its only slightly smaller posterior. Inside, the bands had highly acidic linings that broke down the metals. The bands had different colors depending on which metals they had consumed. Each band was only formed of one singular metal. Some odo might have multiple bands of the same metals, or interspersed bands showing which metals the odo had eaten through over time. The odo could only manipulate the metal that they had bands of. The more bands, the more powerful.
“Looks like a rigid toilet roll that’s been pinched at one end and has feet sticking out of it,” Dave said.
“So kind of like a toilet roll, but not at all?” Suzy quipped.
“I think the question is what to do with the loot,” Deia said.
“Well, I’m going to keep it. I know that Suzy had been looking for a staff of some sort and I think that with the Mana attunement—if you two want it—I think I can make you magical weapons, as well as Induca.”
They would also be getting a large portion of Mana-imbued Mithril, ebony, and other rare metals from the odos. No other party would be able to do anything but sell these expensive resources. With them, they looked first to improving themselves; anything else, they threw out. It was the Stone Raiders’ way.
Dave already had requests from other Stone Raiders for custom work. Anna’s sword had made them all eager to get a Dave-crafted weapon.
“I would be interested in rings primarily. A wand capable of holding a higher level Dark spell would also be nice,” Malsour said.
“I have been holding off on new blades, though these ones’ durability has been dropping quickly due to the higher level buffs I am using with them,” Deia said.
“I know I said a staff would be cool, but I’m more interested in heavy Mana-imbued cores, especially for steel, which takes so long to get it to retain any kind of Mana. It’s the best metal to use for my creations,” Suzy said.
“Heigh-ho party!” Steve said, waiting in the teleport room.
“Hey, Steve.” Dave waved and yawned.
“We off to the mining facility?”
“Nope, food and rest. Some of us need sleep,” Deia said.
“Okay. Mind if I go off to do some hunting with Dwayne, then?” Steve asked as the teleport activated.
They stepped through without a second thought. The teleport pads had become familiar long ago.
“Sure, just don’t get too banged up,” Suzy warned as they walked out into an identical room. They waved to the Stone Raiders waiting in the different control rooms on the second floor. Trap runes lined the room. If someone needed to fall back and brought something with them, either the traps or the different Players would kill it before it could do much damage.
“Ah, I’ll be fine.” Steve waved, as if it would be an impossibility.
“You said that before I had to replace your leg. Three days ago,” Dave said.
“How was I supposed to know that the damn log with legs would try to eat my foot?”
“When we said, ‘get out of the way, you idiot—it eats metal’? I think it would be around that point.” Suzy nodded to herself.
“Sorry, can’t hear you. Automatons don’t have ears, you know? Hey, Dwayne!” Steve said, looking at the party that was organizing. By their members and numbers, it looked as if it would be quite the battle.
“Hey, Steve.” Dwayne looked to the rest of Party Zero. “Everyone else.”
They greeted him as they headed out of the teleport room and into the central tower that had become their home. They headed into the mess, greeting different people before grabbing food and sitting down.
A large open window showed the rest of the city that had become their home base after they’d liberated it from an army of the undead, a few moles, and a Lich Lord. It was shaped like a hollow cylinder to increase the available living space, which was only possible by the centrifugal force created by a gentle spin and gravitational runes along the floor. When they had arrived, the city had been in darkness; only the tower that they had arrived in had any sort of power to it. Now, entire regions of the city were lit up as power stations, workshops, mining facilities, forges, and every major system had c
ome online. Even with the lights coming online with different systems, the sheer scale of the city was still hard to understand. The lights barely illuminated the massive contained city.
They talked about this and that, their plans for the materials, and then what they thought could be their next mission after the mining facility.
“I think that it’s going to be a combat mission,” Malsour said.
“What makes you think that?” Suzy asked between bites of her burger.
“We’re finishing off all the maintenance issues and only going into the areas where there is little resistance. I think that there is a large concentration in one or more of these last few facilities we need to clear,” Malsour said.
“I’m nearly at Master with one handed and two handed. I hope we can get in enough trouble for me to level those up,” Dave said.
“Have you put thought into advancing to level 50 so that you can get another class?” Deia asked.
“Not just yet. I really want to try to go for the classes I know I can get on my own merits, though being level 50 does have its benefits. It’d take a lot more deaths before I lost my classes and the longer I stay at level 50, the more my body will get used to it. I think it’s about time I started using those points. It takes me days of fighting just to get a few levels. How long is it taking you to get skills, Suz?”
“It’s slowing down by a lot, but if I was to try out fighting, I think that my stats would still increase for a bit. I think you’re reaching the realm of diminishing returns. It’s hard for you to gain any kind of stat points by just training so you’ll have to resort to using the stat points that comes with gaining a level to increase. What level are you, anyway?”
“Technically I’m level 10 still, but I’ve unlocked level 113,” Dave said.
“How many stat points have you spent of your unlocked levels?” Deia asked.
“Fifty-four.”
Malsour whistled. “That is a hell of a lot of stat points.”
Emerilia Series Box Set 2 Page 2