My eyebrows rose along with the corners of my lips. There weren’t enough lines to finish it at once, but even if I managed to remove an hour, that was already great progress.
It took me several tries to figure out how to ram the lines in, but once I started, it was as easy as can be. Every time I willed the hammer to strike, a line disappeared. An hour passed, and most of the lines were gone. I looked up at the countdown timer, already slightly annoyed by the slow progress.
7:44:12
7:44:11
7:44:10
“So I have to wait eight more hours?”
“What? You did them all?” Donald asked incredulously. “I haven’t even done half of them yet.”
“He’s a natural talent.” Lana laughed. “No matter what it is, he doesn’t have any problems with it.”
“I can see that.” Donald joined in on the laughter. “You might want to do something else, Lady Lana. We won’t be done for a whole day at least.”
She sat there and pulled a zither from her pouch. The hairs on the top of my neck stood upright as sound enveloped us. My heart struggled to stay in rhythm as I was brought back to the Karmag. A sudden image appeared in front of me, still as death.
It was a stormy and dark night. I stood with my back facing someone. It was him, that cursed brother of mine. Was it the day I died? Shit! I wanted the damn image to move! And it did, ever so slightly. We sparred and sat down with our backs to a tree, laughing and joking. Shit! The asshole! No wonder my soul had been in such a rage that it couldn’t find rest after being betrayed by someone I trusted!
I felt Melina approach and Scar appear despite having my eyes closed and focusing on the process, the music, and the memory. Suddenly more lines appeared, but less this time. Lost in the music and creation process, hours passed, and a chime stirred me awake. Had I fallen asleep? I cursed inwardly and opened my eyes.
Notification:
ITEM RECEIVED:
Tyranitaur Breastplate Rank 1
HEALTH: 100
DEFENSE: 80
REFLECT: 8%
Donald handed me a set of shoulder pauldrons after I equipped the breastplate. I took both of them from him and put them on next.
Notification:
ITEM RECEIVED:
Tyranitaur Pauldrons Rank 1
HEALTH: 50
DEFENSE: 20
REFLECT: 3%
“Are you going to keep on going until all of them are done?” Melina asked.
Lana never stopped playing the zither, and I couldn’t help but enjoy the music. It was again interrupted by a familiar chime, announcing a job-quest completion.
Notification:
QUEST COMPLETED:
Armorer Level 1
REWARDS FOR QUEST COMPLETION:
1. +20 Defense, +50 Health
2. Create Blueprint Skill
Quest Received:: Armorer Level 2
DESCRIPTION: Craft 10 pieces of armor.
NOTE: Create Blueprint skill lets you draw 1 random blueprint of current rank per day.
“Don? Have you used the blueprint skill yet?”
“Yeah, I have. How else would I have made the gauntlets and vambraces with Rita earlier?”
“Oh, right,” I muttered and then used the skill, netting myself a Grazlitaur Breastplate. Great. If they didn’t have it yet, only more power to them. “Here, take mine,” I said, handing him the blueprint.
“Thanks. The good thing about these blueprints is that you can use them ten times.”
“So we can use them to make ten sets?”
He nodded. “First we’ll finish yours, alright? I’ll do the vambraces and gauntlets next since I’m already pretty good at doing them. The rest is on you.”
“Thanks, Don. That’s more than I could ask for.”
He nodded slowly and started with a new blueprint.
I was lost in limbo for most of the day, going back and forth between punching down lines into the grooves and speeding up the process. Now that I was level one, I found the lines appearing at slightly faster intervals than during my first process, and the time went down to two hours on the leg guards.
Notification:
ITEM RECEIVED:
Tyranitaur Leg Guards Rank 1
HEALTH: 20
DEFENSE: 10
REFLECT: 2%
Donald was still busy doing his second piece, so I started next with the boots, or the sabatons as they were also called. Something strange happened when I was busy grinding the lines, and everything went dark for several minutes. I tried to stop the process, but it wasn’t working. For some reason, everything had frozen up, but then the item was suddenly finished with more than an hour left of production time.
I checked the boots for any discrepancies, but everything looked just like with the other parts… everything but for one single line.
Notification:
ITEM RECEIVED:
Tyranitaur Sabatons Rank 1
DEFENSE: 10
SPEED: 0.2
REFLECT: 3%
SPECIAL SKILL: Double Jump
“Double Jump, huh? Allows the wearer to make a second jump while in midair.”
“Hey, what’s with the bright flash?” Melina asked. “You glowed and the boots flashed suddenly.”
I turned to look at her and grinned. “They got a special passive skill called Double Jump. Probably lets me jump twice as far.”
“Does it say twice as far?” Lana asked.
“No, it doesn’t.”
“Then why do you think it’s twice as far?”
“Because it doesn’t mention any kind of distance, only a double-jump option.”
“Then why don’t you try it out? It’s as simple as that, isn’t it?”
I got up and pulled the boots on. I’d become so used to the prickly feeling that I didn’t even bother trying to push the pain back, and just bit through it for a single heartbeat. I ran over to the edge of the stream and jumped, and then pushed off again in midair. A burst of Enma propelled me face-first into the dome wall on the other side of the stream.
“Fuck!” I cursed as I slammed right into the shield and dropped on the ground, hitting my shoulder against a jagged piece of rock. To my surprise, I barely felt the pain at all.
“You alright?” Lana laughed as she stood across from me on the other bank.
“Yeah, sorry. It pushed me further than I thought it would,” I replied as I got up and then jumped to where she stood.
I walked back and picked up the finished vambraces from Donald.
Notification:
ITEM RECEIVED:
Tyranitaur Vambraces Rank 1
DEFENSE: 10
PHYSICAL ATTACK: 20
ENMA ATTACK: 20
ABSORB: 5%
My eyebrows shot up as I saw the bonus from the latest piece. My attack was going up at an insane rate along with a decent rise in defense. The thing that bothered me was what the Absorption stat was. Some of the other items had Reflect, but not this. I’d have to try it out on the grazlitaurs just to make sure.
I grinned as I looked over at Donald, who had already started making his last piece. All I had left to do was the helmet and the greaves, so I busied myself doing that next.
The same process lasted for a good while, four hours this time. I was steadily starting to lose it, and all I had to use as a focal point was the zither and Lana’s music. It was an anchor, grounding me so I didn’t lose myself in the power.
The now overly familiar message popped up again, showing me the helmet, and several hours later the greaves.
Notification:
ITEM RECEIVED:
Tyranitaur Helmet Rank 1
ENMA ATTACK: 20
REFLECT: 6%
ITEM RECEIVED:
Tyranitaur Greaves Rank 1
ENMA SHIELD: 50
REFLECT: 4%
Donald’s eyes opened as the gloves appeared in his hands. He looked even more tired than I felt, which was really something. I spe
nt most of the day doing this, and I could say without a doubt, this wasn’t something we should take lightly. It would take us a week to get gear for everyone, or even longer. We definitely needed more people to work on this part.
“Please, give me a few days to rest before you bury me with your next order.”
I snorted and shook my head slightly. “Don’t worry. You won’t even see me for a few days, much less have work to do.”
“Oh? Why?” he asked curiously.
“I’m going out with Lana to check on the tower. The others are staying here.”
“Oh, I see. Good, I guess. So did you guys manage to get Melina to rank four?”
“Thanks. I’ll make sure to bring you something back if you have a wish, and not yet, but we’re nearly there.”
“Oh? I’ll take you up on the offer, then. Soda. As much as you can. Rita loves that trash,” he whispered and looked around, not wanting her to overhear him.
“And for you?”
“Cognac? A bottle is fine, I guess.”
“Deal.”
He stretched and got up, muttering something about not being so young anymore.
“Getting old was never easier,” Melina snorted. “What if he hadn’t opened his first meridian? He wouldn’t have been able to hold out for a single item.”
I sighed and put the new gloves on and cursed as an indescribable pain rushed up my arms and down my body, into my feet. Two new messages popped up.
Notification:
ITEM RECEIVED:
Tyranitaur Gauntlets Rank 1
PHYSICAL ATTACK: 30
ENMA ATTACK: 20
ABSORB: 10%
NOTE: You can activate and deactivate the outer appearance of the armor with a simple command: Activate or Deactivate Armor.
Notification:
HIDDEN QUEST COMPLETED:
Equip a full rank 5+ set of Armor
ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED:
Equip a full rank 5+ set of Armor
REWARD FOR COMPLETION:
Weapon & Armor Upgrade System Unlocked
NOTE: Upgrading Weapons and Armor can be done from the anvil using Red, Blue, and Green gems dropped from the tower.
I was both excited about the new messages, but also annoyed. They kept popping up over and over again, but I guessed worse things could happen. I stashed the systems away for later as I growled inwardly over the note I just read. Upgraders were dropped inside the tower, which meant that someone would probably try to privatize the floors or drops. More things to worry about.
I let out a sigh and stretched my body. Tomorrow would be the seventh day since we’d come here, and the portal would open. I needed to get a damn bath and a good night’s sleep, but even more than that, I needed to finish burning Melina’s next rank.
As if reading my mind, she knelt next to me and forced my head around. “Do you want me to prepare a bath? We can all take one together if you guys want.”
“Yeah, I want one too,” Lana said before I could reply. “We’re setting out tomorrow, so I’ll get to sleep early.”
“Setting? We first need to do Melina’s next meridian.”
“We already did that while you were busy. Lana hunted some grazlitaurs and did it with me, but she was far worse than you are. She wasn’t as adept at controlling the burning.”
“Oh? You really did?”
Lana nodded and beamed with pride. “So much easier to do it for someone than have it done to you.”
I snorted. “Yeah. How about we get that bath? I’m about to drop.”
Chapter Twelve
Lana was the first to fall asleep. I was sure she did as much to give the two of us some time alone before we would leave. It was one of those things I wouldn’t have expected from her after getting to know her a bit, but she might have changed enough for this situation to work. Damn Krajolik, I was sure he’d planned on this after sending me to Melina. He was a schemer through and through.
We sat behind the fountain on a blanket, huddled against each other. She had been silent for most of the last hour. I could feel worry seeping from her very being, but she tried to hide it. I didn’t know if it was worry over Lana, or over us returning safely. Or returning at all.
I pulled her in closer and kissed her cheek. Her shoulders stiffened and she looked away.
“Why are you so quiet?”
She remained silent but dropped her gaze.
“What are you thinking about? If you’re worried about our trip there, you shouldn’t be. We’ll be out for a day or two at the most, and then we’ll continue as we’ve been doing this week.”
“It’s not about you leaving, it’s about you returning. What if I have to live the rest of my shitty life out alone? What if something was to happen and I had to live wondering if that asshole Sandro would come and slit my throat while I was asleep?”
I pushed her away gently and forced her head around to look me in the eyes. She seemed on the verge of tears but was somehow still managing to keep them in.
“I promised you something, didn’t I? I’ll never leave you. Only dead, and even then I’d come back for you.”
“Shit! Don’t say such things!” she hissed. “Don’t talk crap as if it can’t happen!”
“We never know what tomorrow will bring, Mel.”
I leaned in, kissing her full on the lips. She stopped struggling and melted in my arms, her tongue moving around mine and her hands pulling at my back.
I could feel Lana’s gaze on me from the balcony, but she was trying to hide her presence. Too bad for her there was no way to hide it from me. I could feel her a mile out if I had something to go on. I never stopped kissing Melina until she pushed me away and smirked.
“I want you to check my meridians and see if everything is ready for tomorrow; then we can do… something else.”
I grinned and pulled several rank two crystals from my pouch. I placed two next to her, two behind her, and two in front of her. Then I handed her two more, one for each hand, and pulled four for myself, two for each hand. I closed my eyes and felt her do the same. Our breathing steadied, and the Enma around us became more erratic, flowing and then forming into tiny needles. It pricked our bodies and nibbled at the meridians.
I reached out to Melina’s fourth meridian and decided to go for her heart. It would be of the biggest benefit if I managed to reinforce it even a little bit, so I concentrated on burning two thin lines from her hands to her heart.
A rush of power darted from the outside into me and then flowed into her body and back again, circling whatever impurities remained inside her, and over to me. I gasped as something unexpected happened, and my own heart meridian started grasping for power. Shit, this wasn’t planned! I didn’t want it to open, not yet!
Melina’s tugging at my Enma output sent an excruciating blast through my body. I struck the fountain with my back, and my head snapped against the stone. She hissed as a link established between our meridians, and I could feel her pain just as well. Melina screamed and bit down on it, not wanting to be heard by anyone. Bright light flooded up to my closed eyelids and assaulted my brain. I let go of it all and gasped as the pain dissipated, leaving me breathing heavily, almost as if I’d been running all day long.
Melina dropped into my arms and let out a string of curses as she glared at me. “That fucking hurt! I felt all your pain!”
I smiled apologetically through the anguish. “Sorry, it just happened. It’s not like I wanted to go that far.”
She looked up at me, and then a weak grin made its way up her face. “Want to do to it in the tub?”
I grinned and nodded as she offered me her hand, but instead I pulled her into my arms, scooped her up, and held her face close to mine. My eyes met Lana’s for a brief instant as I glanced toward the balcony. She hid inside the drapes, and I wouldn’t have known she was there if I hadn’t felt her. She disappeared, and several seconds later her presence became even stronger. Her heartbeat must have become erratic after getting caugh
t peeping.
I put Melina down inside the bathhouse and slid the door closed, then ran down into the boiler room and lit the fire. Using a crystal, I lit the fire and held the temperature level for a long minute. The boiler was already starting to groan by the time I was done, but we needed hot water.
I found Melina already soaking her body inside the tub when I went up several minutes later after making sure the boiler wasn’t going to explode. She enticed me with her index finger to join her. I did so without hesitation and almost ripped my kimono off, then threw it at the chair.
Two fresh tubs of water later, she lay there in my arms, snoring softly. Without anything else to do, I scanned over the tyranitaur set and grinned like mad. My stats had skyrocketed, and I felt so much better, especially after opening my sixth meridian.
All of the armor pieces gave either Reflect or Absorb, and I could see myself using the stats to their full potential. I had no idea if that was a normal thing or not, but I didn’t care. Around 31% of my sustained damage should theoretically be sent back to the enemy, and 15% of inflicted damage should be absorbed. If I was correct, then my shield could theoretically be kept up indefinitely.
I roamed over my stats screen next. The stats had changed insanely after all the leveling up, ranking up, and the new gear. Even without any of the weapons equipped, all of this looked so surreal when I remembered where we started during the beginner quest.
I let out a whistle and shook my head slightly as my eyes stayed glued on the screen. Somehow I had a feeling it was Veles who set this up again. Sure, she wanted to win and not lose her power, so there was enough incentive in doing so, but she didn’t strike me as the scheming type. She seemed more straightforward than Krajolik. At least as much as a God could be.
Crafting Death: A LitRPG Cultivation Series (Towers & Rifts Book 2) Page 13