I selected yes, and watched as twigs stripped and cut themselves into the pieces of a handle before melding together seamlessly, while cordage intricately wrapped itself around the rapidly forming handle.
(Giant Rat Fang Skinning Knife is finished repairing! The item's max durability has dropped to 20 after repairs!)
Shit. I should have expected it, really. You could only fix something so many times before it was just plain broke. Anyway, I had things to do. I went back to skinning the boar somewhat apprehensively, now knowing that my knife was far from the most solid creation ever.
But that would change, eventually. I wasn't sure just what I could make with the boar's creepy ass tusks, or horns, or whatever the half dozen spikes on its face were supposed to be called, but I was sure it was going to be awesome.
It took me the better part of the night to finish skinning the boar. I was exhausted by the time I finished, and the knife was damn near useless. My clothes were basically ruined from the blood, but that wasn't a big deal. I could make more in the morning, after I deconstructed the Moderately Damaged Tainted Boar Pelt.
Which, now that I had removed it from its owner, was barely in reach of my capacity to do. I started the deconstruction, feeling an uncomfortable emptiness settle over me as my mana drained to nearly 0.
With nothing else to do while the pelt deconstructed, I got rid of as much blood as I could with my dwindling mana supply and settled down to sleep. By the end of tomorrow, I'd be a force to be reckoned with.
Bright sunlight peeking into the clearing woke me up much earlier than I would have liked. I wore myself down to the bone yesterday, and a lack of good sleep wasn't doing anything to help it. I'd need a bed soon, but it fell dismally low on my list of problems.
Before I started thinking too heavily on the fact that I was essentially living on a dying planet, I went to work with my leather. I reassessed my earlier thought about my current clothes, dismissing it as the product of an exhausted brain. I could easily just deconstruct the blood. It would still leave a stain, sure, but it opened other doors for the boar leather other than wasting it on clothes. I could make armor.
The first thing I started was a Tainted Boar Leather Breastplate. After that came cuisses, which were essentially thigh armor, and greaves. They were, in general, tougher than my clothes because of the difference in pelt, but they were also made to be thicker because they were classified as Armor rather than Clothing.
I didn't have enough mana to make anything else for the moment, so I took a look at the boar's horns. They were fused with the skull, so I would either need to make some sort of saw or figure out how to use Force Slash in a way that wouldn't destroy it. While I thought about how best to go about it, my armor finished crafting.
(You have crafted a Tainted Boar Leather Breastplate!)
(You have earned 35 Exp for crafting a Tainted Boar Leather Breastplate!)
(Tainted Boar Leather Breastplate- 25 slashing, 12 piercing, 7 blunt damage resistance. 0 movement restriction. Durability 60/60.)
(You have crafted Tainted Boar Leather Cuisses!)
(You have earned 20 Exp for crafting Tainted Boar Leather Cuisses!)
(Tainted Boar Leather Cuisses- 15 slashing, 9 piercing, 4 blunt damage resistance. 0 movement restriction. Durability 40/40.)
(You have crafted Tainted Boar Leather Greaves!)
(You have earned 20 Exp for crafting Tainted Boar Leather Greaves!)
(Tainted Boar Leather Greaves- 15 slashing, 9 piercing, 4 blunt damage resistance. 0 movement restriction. Durability 40/40.)
Ugh. There were so many notification to scroll through sometimes, but at least I was kept in the loop. As soon as I could, I got into my armor and went back to looking at the boar horns.
I felt much more comfortable using a saw, and I didn't want to risk breaking any of them, so I disregarded even attempting Force Slash. It was just too violent for precision work.
The desecrated, rotting rat carcasses were still here though, and they still had most of their teeth despite missing their large fangs. I sighed, knowing that the idea in my head would be by far the most disgusting thing I'd done in a very long time.
______________________________
(Your Mentally Hardened ability is now Level 3!)
(You have earned 30 Exp for Leveling up an ability!)
I almost tried to wipe sweat out of my eyes, but stopped myself just in time. I had almost forgotten about the filth that they were covered with. Clear, viscous, and foul smelling rat saliva dripped from my hands, and I watched with satisfaction as I deconstructed it.
"That's more like it." I used my arm to wipe my face instead of my hand, some germaphobic part of me still wary of my hand. I had been playing dentist on my deceased rat friends for the better part of an hour, pulling any and all teeth that I could. The literal bone saw I planned on making relied more on quantity than quality.
I plopped backward from my crouched position by a rat's head onto the ground, sighing as the ache that had slowly built in my calves dissipated. Then, I pulled up my crafting menu and quickly flipped over to the GiantRat Tooth Hand Saw.
(Giant Rat Tooth Hand Saw requires 28 Giant Rat Teeth, 6 cordage, 4 wood, and 26 mana. Do you wish to create?)
"Duh." I selected yes, and felt the weight on my Inventory lessen, only to have it re added once the saw was done. I loved it when crafting mechanics worked like that. Even if you were over encumbered, you could start crafting something and have a little bit of free time while that bit of weight was suspended in the void.
I dismissed the notifications letting me know that I had made the saw without reading them. I already knew what they had to say, and at this point it was just a waste of my time because I had work to do. Those boar horns were about to be mine.
I made my way over to the massive dead animal, no longer quite as perturbed by the smell of decay thanks to my now Level 3 Mentally Hardened ability. When I got to it, I pulled my newly crafted saw from my Inventory and activated Smith's Sight, fairly confident that it would work with this too.
It did, thankfully, bright green and yellow lines shooting across each of the horns with one line near each one's base. I was initially surprised at how light they were, until I remembered that you weren't supposed to use much pressure with a saw. You basically just pushed back and forth and let it do its work.
I placed the blade of the saw at the base of one of the smaller horns, lining it up with the green line as well as I could, and began to saw. I was nervous about how effective the saw would be, but my tension started to trickle away as a divot began to carve its way into the horn. Yes!
My saw wasn't the best piece of work ever created though, and by extension it wasn't very durable either. As I carved my way through the horn, some of the teeth started to loosen and I knew that they were going to fall out soon. I just hoped the thing held up for a while longer. I probably wasn't going to though, exhausted as I was.
(You are critically low on Stamina!)
"Yep. Time to take a break." The saw was a little more than halfway through the horn, with only a few of its sharpened teeth missing from the blade. "Shit but I'm thirsty. I know you're a whiny bitch Shard, but maybe a little help?"
A marker appeared on my mini map, only a mile or two away. My mouth was dry enough to make swallowing uncomfortable, but I had to make a water skin and new weapon before I left. I resolved to suffer through my thirst for long enough to finish up with the boar horn.
When my stamina had recovered enough, I went back to work with the saw. Bone dust piled up around the ground and took to the air in the form of dust particles as I worked, only serving to further irritate my throat. I stopped every few minutes to have a coughing fit, occasionally bringing up wads of off-colored phlegm.
(New condition- Dehydration! While Dehydrated, Stamina and Health regeneration are halved.)
(Condition Dehydration will last for 6 hours or until hydration is found! If hydration is not found in 6 hours, Dehydration will progress into
Severe Dehydration.)
I ignored the notification. I was almost through the horn, it would only take a few minutes to finish up. I took a break to let my stamina slowly regenerate and started crafting a water skin. With that project underway, I sat down with my back against the boar and caught my breath for a few minutes. When I was recovered enough to finish the job, I went back at it.
(You have collected a Tainted Boar Horn (small)!)
"Finally!" I croaked, pumping my hand in the air until I almost stumbled over from the horn's weight. The thing must have weighed twenty pounds! I instantly pulled up my crafting menu and flipped over to the Weapons section.
(Single Handed Tainted Boar Horn Spear- 15 slashing, 35 piercing, 4 blunt damage. Single Handed Tainted Boar Horn Short Spear requires 1 Small Tainted Boar Horn, 6 wood, 4 cordage, 2 leather, and 40 mana. Do you wish to create?)
(Single Handed Tainted Boar Horn Sword- 35 slashing, 15 piercing, 4 blunt damage. Single Handed Tainted Boar Horn Sword requires 1 Small Tainted Boar Horn, 5 wood, 4 cordage, 2 leather, and 40 mana. Do you wish to create?)
(Single Handed Tainted Boar Horn Battle Axe- 35 slashing, 2 piercing, 18 blunt damage. Single Handed Tainted Boar Horn Battle Axe requires 1 Small Tainted Boar Horn, 5 wood, 4 cordage, 2 leather, and 40 mana. Do you wish to create?)
(Single Handed Tainted Boar Horn Wand- 0 slashing, 4 piercing, 4 blunt, 40 magic damage. Single Handed Tainted Boar Horn Wand requires 1 Small Tainted Boar Horn, 3 wood, 4 cordage, 2 leather, and 45 mana. Do you wish to create?)
The spear was definitely useful for long range, but in a forest it might not do the best and I had absolutely no experience with a spear. I was most familiar with a sword, so that seemed like an appealing option, but the axe did the most overall damage.
The choice I made here would also provide me with a direction that I wanted to go with my fighting style. The sword and spear would require a decent amount of both Strength and Dexterity to wield, whereas the Axe would only really take brute strength. The wand would obviously need Wisdom and Intelligence.
I opted for the sword as the most versatile and currently the most useful of my options for now. With a thought, I began crafting the sword. It was going to take eight minutes for it to finish, so I had plenty of time to let my slowly regenerating stamina fill up before leaving.
Once it was refilled and my sword was finished, I set off toward the marker on my mini map. I sighed in contentment as I left the harsh sunlight of the clearing and entered the darker, cooler shade of the forest.
Twigs and underbrush crunched under my feet as I walked, making me flinch. I tried to put a conscious effort into not disrupting local wildlife.
(You have learned the Stealth ability!)
(You have earned 15 Exp for learning a new ability!)
Neato. I thought as I approached my marker. There was a description to go along with the ability, but the name was fairly self explanatory so I dismissed it. "Oh, sweet water!" I exclaimed as I pushed past the last of the undergrowth and trees to see a small but fresh looking pond that lead into an even smaller creek.
Thankfully, I wasn't as close to dying of dehydration as I was the last time I was near a body of water, so I kneeled down to take a few sips instead of diving in head first.
When I had had my fill, I put my sword into my Inventory in exchange for the water skin. It wasn't very big, at least not enough to keep my thirst at bay for more than maybe half a day, so I started making another one. I still had plenty of hide left from the rat horde, so I could save my boar hide for more important things, like finishing my armor when I had the chance.
I was about to start filling the water skin when a boom, followed by a brilliant flash of light knocked me backward off my feet. I hopped to my feet, blinking away the afterimages of the blast and swaying slightly.
(Unknown Entity attacks you for 5 magic damage!)
I activated Warrior's Sight and Hunter's Sight, gaping at the score of creatures rushing toward me from both sides. They set an ambush?! Thankfully it was still just goblins, but they were definitely higher Level than the last ones I faced. And bigger too, most of them being at least four feet tall.
There were at least three different types from what I could tell. Using Hunter's Sight, classifications of them appeared.
(Level 5 Goblin Brute- 50 Health, 10 slashing, 10 piercing, 5 crushing damage resistance. 10-15 slashing, 5 piercing, 5 blunt damage)
(Level 5 Goblin Striker- 35 Health, 7 slashing, 7 piercing, 3 crushing damage resistance. 20-25 slashing, 15 piercing, 5 blunt damage)
(Level 5 Goblin Bowman- 20 Health, 5 slashing, 5 piercing, 0 crushing damage resistance. 5 slashing, 35-40 piercing, 8 blunt damage)
In the few seconds I had before they crashed into me, I noticed that the bowmen, obviously, stayed back while the other two charged. The Brutes led as a spearpoint, with a Striker, lightly armored warriors with wickedly sharp weapons, assigned to each of them.
A hail of arrows shot toward me, easily sailing over the shorter goblins' heads without risking friendly fire. "Holy shit!" I dropped to the ground, feeling the arrows whiz by much too closely for comfort. One of them skimmed my side, etching a long but thin line of pain across my body.
(A Level 5 Goblin Bowman grazes you for 7 damage!)
I rolled to the side as the first goblins made it to me, narrowly missing half a dozen swords that aimed to skewer me. Moving as quickly as I could, I rolled to my feet and pulled the sword out of my Inventory, assuming a ready stance.
"Come and get me you stunted bastards!" I growled before charging, leading with a powerful Force Slash that disoriented and injured their front line, giving me the perfect opportunity to do some damage.
As I closed into melee range, I lashed out a Brute that had managed to stay on his feet despite the wounds Force Slash had given him. My sword pierced his patchwork hide armor with ease, going on to bite deeply into his shoulder before grinding against bone.
Using its pain as a distraction, I caved its knee in, and used the weight of its fall to rip my sword free. I cracked the hilt of my weapon into the back of its head, and a notification let me know that it was dead.
I quickly dispatched a few more that were knocked off of their feet or already too wounded to fight properly before they managed to rally their forces. I was surprised at how organized the band of goblins were, with a line of shield and axe wielding Brutes up front and Strikers right behind them ready to lash out at anything dumb enough to try and break the wall.
Unfortunately for me, I was about to be that dumb thing. "Human kill Goblin young! Goblin kill human back!" A barely comprehensible voice screeched from somewhere in the ranks. What the hell? Goblins can speak English?
A searing ball of light flew toward me, and I was instantly reminded of the flashbang like attack that had led their charge. A fucking spellcaster! I thought as I covered my eyes, preparing for the inevitable explosion of light.
(A Level 7 Goblin Shaman's Disorienting Blast hits you for 5 damage!)
The effects weren't nearly as bad this time now that I was prepared for it, but the force still almost knocked me over. It actually worked in my favor considering I definitely didn't get the worst of it, and many goblins were sprawled out on the ground clutching at their eyes. They may be coordinated, but apparently aren't smart enough to totally get the idea of friendly fire.
I charged through the flailing line of defense, hacking and slashing my way through the dazed goblins in an effort to find the shaman. There! He was dressed almost identically to the Strikers, but ornate jewelry gave him away. Well, ornate for their kind anyway.
As soon as it saw my quickly approaching form, the Shaman started forming another spell. "Not this time." I growled, quickly dispatching the Brute-Striker duo blocking my path with a moderately charged Force Slash.
Lord of Creation Page 10