Willpower was a well-known stat from other RPGs that, as I suspected, increased both my health and mana regen out of combat, as well as improving my chances of resisting poisons, illnesses and certain debuffs which would affect my character’s ‘mind’. Given that Crafting and Breakdown used a percentage of my total mana, it would be vital to regenerate it quickly, although certain potions, food and drinks could aid with that.
The stats that intrigued me the most were Reflexes and Might. They weren’t your typical RPG stat, so I checked them out.
Reflexes
Increases the chance to successfully dodge, block or parry an attack, as well as critically hit with your own. Agile-based abilities, such as pickpocket and lockpick, are also improved.
By and large, that description made it sound like agility in most other games. Yet there was a nice VR logic to it, in that a high reflex score allows the game’s AI to accept that an overweight teenager would have the same reactions as an experienced thief or deadly ranger and help them to move accordingly. I’d gained one point naturally through leveling, which made sense in that scavengers ought to be agile, flexible folks; and a bit of critical hit chance never hurt anyone.
I investigated Might next.
Might
Increases your attack power with physical weapons, both in melee and at range.
I considered Might for a while. Once I got rolling with Crafting, I may not have to leave the markets much, considering that I gained experience from making items. Then again, I did have to at least make it to Argatha in one piece. Like the Mayor said, there would be wolves and bandits and their ilk upon the road. It would be a right farce if I died on the way to the capital.
I decided to put 2 more points into Intelligence, 1 into Willpower and 2 into Might.
Hopefully, once I’d set up shop in the city, I wouldn’t need to waste any more points into Might.
With my decision made, I reviewed my profile sheet.
Character
Zoran Human Scavenger Level 3
Attributes
Constitution 12 – Intelligence 16 – Reflexes 11 – Might 12 – Willpower 12
Combat
Health 145 – Mana 185 – Attack Power 24 – Spell Power 30 – Regen 1.5 p/s
I didn’t feel quite so pathetic anymore. That was nice.
Looking at my spell power, I had to hope scavengers got access to the odd offensive spell later in the game; otherwise, we’d have a large mana pool and a respectable amount of spell power for not a lot of reason.
Closing the profile, I brought Crafting back up and lo and behold, the recipe to turn cloth scraps into linen was sitting pretty in green text.
Recipe – Linen Cloth
Intelligence Required: 15
Associated Profession: Tailoring
Cloth scraps x 10
Required Tools: Knitting Needles
I assumed my magical scavenging powers negated the need for any actual thread to work the cloth with my needles. I went ahead and performed my first piece of solo crafting.
Success! Linen Cloth level 2 created
+3 Crafting EXP
+16 Tailoring EXP
I performed this six more times and I received a welcome level up on the last round.
Tailoring Increased!
Rank 2
There didn’t seem to be any tangible benefit to reaching rank 2, at least not from the notification. Maybe I would have to rank up many times in order to see a reduction in materials and the power of the items I made.
With only 8 scraps left, I could make no more linen. I now had 2 full stacks of linen cloth which I could sell, and 1 piece leftover. It was small scale stuff but in volume, this could work. Mana would become my biggest concern while I was bulk crafting, as 70% of my total mana was now drained, regenerating only a little every second. More points into Willpower along with some potions and regeneration buff food would be the way forward.
With a burst of energy, I sprang to my feet. It was almost 10:20pm. I’d been sitting in the inn for nearly fifteen minutes already. Long enough.
Consulting my map, I zoomed out until the starter zone at large could be seen. The city of Argatha lay to the south-west, a fair journey in itself. I’d be able to make it there well before 11pm if I got going now. Once there, I could buy all the other tools I’d need.
First, I went to speak to the bartender so I could sell him the useless daggers. I got just over a silver for each one, so not a terrible price.
“Not thinking of leaving, are you?” he asked.
“I’m heading for the capital. And don’t try to dissuade me. I know it’s dark but I won’t be reckless.”
The bartender cocked his head and placed down the tankard he’d been cleaning with a dish towel. “Meaning no offence to you, I’m sure you’re as bold as any adventurer that’s passed through my bar, but what I was meaning was—”
“Oi, oi, barkeep?” a voice rang out from behind.
I turned to find none other than Xeematron and BoneSplitter, the mage and berserker I’d stolen the boss kill from back at the kobold camp.
“A moment if you will,” the bartender said. “I can only deal with one adventurer at a time.”
Once Xeematron realized it was me hogging the NPC he scowled. “You again?”
“I’m honestly just trying to leave for Argatha,” I said.
“Just hold on for one minute,” the bartender said. He even stepped out from behind his bar. “I’m trying to help, y’know. If you stay but a minute longer, I’m sure you’ll feel rested and be able to tackle the outside world with that much more energy!”
“Erm, okay. I’ll wait.”
“Good lad. Now,” he rounded on Xeematron. “Did you want my time or my beer?”
“Speak to one of my companions first,” Xeematron said with a wave of his hand. “I’ll have a word with the scav.”
Out of instinct, I began backing away. “Dude, it’s not a PVP zone.”
“What? I’m not going to kill you. Look, it seems we’ll be cursed to be just one step behind you while we’re all in the starter zone. You said you were heading to the capital? We are too. Join us.”
I frowned at that. “Why?”
“Because it turns out materials are a damn sight harder to loot in this game than I thought. I hear scavs like you can drum them up out of thin air from corpses. We need some linen and some tough leather. Give us half of what you scavenge from the road to the city and we’ll part ways amicably?”
He extended his hand.
I hesitated in taking it. An escort to the city would be welcome, given the high likelihood of death should I come upon more than one mob at a time. I supposed this was how the scavenger was supposed to be played, running behind a party or raid and hoovering up the materials.
“I accept,” I said. An invite to join the party followed shortly after.
“Welcome to the team dickwad,” BoneSplitter said. It seemed he was finished speaking with the bartender and had decided I was more interesting. Indoors it was easier to make out the berserker’s features. The character model was a giant of a man, with a gruesome smile, a great dirty nose and a barrel chest. Iron ringlets bound his hair in thick strands while his meaty neck was partially obscured by a wild black beard.
“Where’s your other friend?” I asked. “The paladin.”
Xeematron snorted. “Idiot got himself killed by a pack of wolves then rage quit for the night. Might not have been so stupid if he hadn’t been trying to get extra kills for her to skin.”
“Her?” I said. There wasn’t anyone else here.
“Over here, Zoran,” BoneSplitter said. He, that is to say, she, raised her huge barbaric eyebrows. “What? Never heard of a girl playing a male avatar before?”
I shrugged. “For your sake, I hope that voice isn’t your own though.”
“Very funny,” she said. “Yeh, I have speech modifiers running.” She paused, her avatar freezing in a way which indicated she was fiddling with
the settings. When she spoke next it was unmistakably the voice of a teenage girl. “Would be really weird if I was this big brute and sounded like myself, huh?”
“Yikes, yeh, I think it was less weird before. So, your friend got himself killed just trying to get you more leather?”
“Asshat was trying to show off,” Xeematron said.
“And I fancied making some better bracers,” BoneSplitter said, angling her arms to inspect them in a very teenage girl sort of way. She coughed and her voice returned to its modified, grizzly state. “And it’s not my fault he has a crush on me in real life, Xee.”
“Still an asshat, though,” Xeematron said. It was especially odd to hear such language emanating from the mouth of a regally robed wizard. “You got that rested buff yet, Zoran?”
Right on cue, a notification flashed for my attention.
Well Rested
Time spent relaxing and easing those aching muscles has done you a world of good. All experience gained from non-quest rewards is increased by 100%.
Duration: 20 mins
“Just got it,” I said happily. This must have been what the bartender had been delaying me for. “This is a nice boost. Can we get going before it wears off?”
“No need,” BoneSplitter said. “The timer won’t start until you start gaining exp again.”
I wondered if that included scavenging and Crafting. I’d guess I’d find out later.
“I’ll hand in this quest and then we can be on our way,” Xeematron said. He exchanged words with the bartender and then shone in the radiant light of a level up.
BoneSplitter clapped her hairy hands excitably. “Congrats, bro.”
I noticed that she was also at level 4.
“Right,” Xeematron said, clunking his staff against the tavern floor. “We’re off to Argatha!”
9
I was glad for the company on the road. I got way more exp than I ever would have on my own, even if it was lessened by the assisted mechanic. I lost track of the number of kills, and with my bonus exp gain from the ‘well rested’ buff, I quickly hit level 4 and zoomed about halfway to level 5. My skinning rank had even increased to rank 2 and was close to reaching rank 3 from all the wolves that I’d skinned along the way. More than that, my bags were full to bursting by the time we reached the gates of Argatha.
The feeling of approaching the capital was – well, to say I was breathless doesn’t cover it. There’s this old set of movies called The Lord of the Rings, and in the first one, the fellowship sail down a river in canoes and come upon two enormous statues with their hands thrust forward to bar entry into an ancient kingdom. The awe felt by the fellowship at that moment was palpable. And now I was actually living it.
Argatha’s oversized fantasy gates were set between two rocky mounds. Beyond that, across a walkway and above a shimmering lake, was the inner city wall, its white stones also gleaming under the starlight. And rising from the very lake itself were towering statues of the emperors of old, each one striking a different pose, but all looking down upon those who would enter their beloved city.
I walked behind Xeematron and BoneSplitter under the shadow of these colossi. The narrow road we walked on was directly between them. It was built of marble and crystal, with enchanted streams of water rising in a rhythmic dance that followed us towards the city.
It was one hell of a driveway.
As I was wearing my tabard of Rusking, the city guards didn’t stop me and, so far, I’d received no spit in my direction. I took that as a positive. The entrance of the city was as opulent as you might expect, conveniently funneling players towards the market district where the auction house and main vendor shops were located. There appeared to be no dark alleys in this part of town, although no self-respecting fantasy game city would go without a seedy underbelly somewhere. There were rumors on the forums of a mysterious black market in the game but it was hard to uncover. Perhaps a scavenger would fit in better in the shadowy corners of the imperial capital and unearth those secrets?
Inside the city proper, our small band parted ways. They were going to carry on towards the Imperial Spire to hand in the mysterious note to Marshal Highcross. I was sorely tempted to join them. This world Frostbyte had built felt rich and deep, the classes interesting and each of them had their own unique flair. I wanted to continue the adventure now, but I still had a lot of setting up to do.
I politely declined their offer, but I upheld my end of our deal respectfully. First, I crafted the material scraps into full-blown linen or tough leather and then handed half over to Xeematron. Sadly, my well-rested buff had faded by that point, so I got the normal amount of experience from the crafting. I kept the rest of the materials, adding another 10 linen to my stockpile, along with 5 tough leather.
By the time I’d left the party, my experience bar stood at 1387/2100 towards level 5. My tailoring had also increased to rank 3. Perhaps looking for parties to go on scavenging runs with would become a staple of my character’s development.
First things first, I needed to grab all the tools for my many professions. I entered the nearest general goods shop in order to vendor all the useless junk that I’d picked up from the mobs, wolf teeth being a major drain on my bag space. I noticed that the shop had one of the tools on my list, pliers, so I bought those.
I then visited the jewel makers for a magnifying lens. From the carpenter’s shop, I got a carving knife, a handsaw and chisel, and I grabbed a pickaxe at the prospectors’ guild. The most expensive item was a blowtorch from the gnomish quarter, for it was powered by fire runes which would have to be periodically recharged or replaced. Yet, with all my extra tools to hand, I had everything I’d need to scavenge, breakdown and craft items from every profession I had access to. At the lower levels, at least. I apparently couldn’t pick up alchemy or rune-smithing on the side, which seemed fair enough due to the number of professions I did have, but it was a shame.
Alchemists could make various buffing, mana or health-restoring potions which they could sell on the auction house for a bit of profit. I didn’t have access to herbalism to gather the ingredients for potions anyway, so it wasn’t such a loss. Runesmiths were the enchanters of Hundred Kingdoms, binding magic into special runes which could be placed onto gear as magical enhancements. Certain runes were also needed for recipes in other professions, granting another money-making avenue for runesmiths. However, the profession was arduous to level because you had to disenchant other powerful items to gain the reagents to make the runes in the first place. As I needed fire runes to power my blowtorch for engineering, it might be worthwhile trying to befriend a runesmith sooner rather than later and see if I couldn’t get myself an ongoing discount.
I swung by the auction house to investigate if the mushrooms I had were worth anything. An auctioneer NPC with a monocle and top hat laughed at me when I presented them, so I took that as a bad sign. It turned out that low-level herbs weren’t selling for much, go figure, so I doubled back into the market district and found a herbalist NPC to vendor the items to.
Now the only things left to do this evening before the forced logout would be to breakdown what was left in my inventory, craft what I could from that, post my auctions, sit back and let the silver roll in. That was the plan anyway, though it was becoming abundantly clear this class required more than a single session to get rolling. Not to worry, that was why I’d locked myself in a rundown SRO hotel in a dodgy area of town, after all.
Running around so much of Argatha had eaten up a lot of time. It was now almost one in the morning. I’d been online for almost five hours already and I considered whether I should log off for a break to eat some food, visit the bathroom and whatnot. I’d get my Crafting done first, but not until I’d regained the ‘well-rested’ buff from visiting another inn. Would be stupid not to take advantage of that.
Thinking back to the different faction choices, I figured it would be interesting to play as a member of the Great Tribe and gain the exp bonus from anyw
here they logged out from. It would make getting stuck into a play session quick even if the buff didn’t last as long.
The most ideally placed tavern in the city for me was called the Orb & Scepter, conveniently located close to the auction house at the western end of the market district, close to the heart of the city. So central, in fact, that one of the gatehouses to the drawbridge that led over to the Imperial Spire itself was close by.
Stepping inside, I was immediately struck by the white marble bar top. Tables appeared to be pillars that had been inspired by ancient Rome or Greece, sliced at the appropriate height for patrons to sit at. There were as many loungers as chairs, cushioned by red and purple velvet pillows. NPC waitresses artfully clothed in silk togas wafted around the tavern, taking orders in husky voices and coyly twirling their hair. Also, I spotted at least two fauns among the service staff, complete with goat legs and small horns. A few centaurs as well, and possibly a wood nymph, so there was something to suit every taste. Lavender and cinnamon filled the air, cutting through even the hearty smell of pork coming from the kitchens.
I headed for one of the elevated areas in the hope that the stairs would hamper the amount of hoof action coming my way. I found a corner table by the railing so I could overlook the proceedings but remain nicely tucked out of the way. I opened my inventory again to quickly scan through my items and decide the best approach for attacking this. Aside from my tools kobolds, I currently had:
Roughspun tunic x 2
Plain brown belt x 3
Tough leather x 5
Linen x 31
Rusty sword x 2
Steel dagger x 5
Blue bandana x 5
Grimy lantern
Silver coins x 51
Copper coins x 26
Mysterious Note
Battle Spire Page 9