The Two Week Curse

by Michael Chatfield

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  Piercing Arrow

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  Damage: 6 (piercing)

  Weight: 0.2 kg

  Base Value: 9 Coppers

  Attributes: Increases piercing damage.

  Used with: Bow

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  ===========

  Stun Arrow

  ===========

  Damage: 1 (piercing)

  Weight: 0.2 kg

  Base Value: 3 Coppers

  Attributes: Applies shocking attack on target. Chance to stun.

  Used with: Bow

  ===========

  The enchantments sounded very good and the merchant extolled their virtues but with them being of low quality and level they might annoy their targets more than do any true damage. Still, Erik and Rugrat thought that it would be best to test them out.

  Finally, he grabbed some regular arrows as well.

  ===========

  Arrow (Basic)

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  Damage: 2 (piercing)

  Weight: 0.2 kg

  Base Value: 2 Coppers

  Attributes: None.

  Used with: Bow

  ===========

  Erik got ten piercing arrows, ten freezing arrows, thirty arrows (basic), and twenty stun arrows. With his bow, it came to four silver and two coppers with the weapons server bartering with him.

  Rugrat got his recurve bow and a number of regular arrows; the special arrows were too expensive so he’d only have a handful of them.

  Erik and Rugrat could only look at each other with pained smiles. They had been reduced to just thirty coppers remaining.

  “You’re new so you might not know—there’s a request board that you can find near the eastern gate. It’s in the eastern gathering square, which is a bit to the south of the eastern gate. People put up different offers for items that one might find out in the Beast Mountains,” the server said.

  “Thanks,” Erik said.

  “Just remember me when you make it big.” She gave them a wink before getting back to work.

  “Seems that every time we make money, we’ve spent it already,” Rugrat complained as they walked out of the store, their new gear in their storage rings already.

  “Everything has its price here,” Erik said as they entered the eastern gathering square. Beyond it, there was a direct path to the eastern gate that led into the Beast Mountains itself.

  People were all around, groups coming in and groups going out.

  Those going out had a determined expression on their faces, while those coming in might display their biggest kills, earning jealous looks and glares from those who came back bloodied or missing people in their party who they had set out with.

  There were massive signboards at the sides of the large open area. People put up requests or copied them down as they were heading out in the beast mountain range.

  This second group were the veterans of the Beast Mountains, looking to get at least some small rewards on their trip into the wilderness.

  Erik and Rugrat started to look over the different posters that littered the signboard. There were calls for materials, for different animals in various conditions. There were even requests for sightings on different beasts.

  The posters that drew Erik’s attention were those about the different plants and ingredients that one might be able to find in the Beast Mountains.

  There were also the different animals that went for a high cost.

  Rugrat collected information on the different ores and items that could be used for crafting and making of weapons.

  “Looking for three people, need to be above level eight, ranged archer, or mage with at least five different destruction spells!”

  “Looking for a tanker, must be level eight or higher!”

  “Hunting for the black scaled Oek’sh, looking for three more party members. Bring your own poison potions. Level five or higher!”

  People were forming groups or looking for groups here and there. There were a number of groups and guilds that had formed in this Beast Mountain Range to make more money and look out for one another.

  There were even scouts going around, talking to people looking for a party, trying to recruit them.

  Erik and Rugrat looked over it but they didn’t pay any attention. If they were with a group, it was likely that they might reveal a secret when they were fighting.

  Especially with Erik just getting stabbed in the neck by someone he thought was a patient, they were hesitant to be around others.

  “I want to check out one more place before we leave,” Erik said.

  Rugrat followed him as they went back into the city and toward a store tucked away.

  There were a number of high-level adventurers outside. All of them were respectful when they entered the store, looking around at everyone when they left as if looking out for trouble.

  “Tommins Chemical Solutions?” Rugrat said, looking at the front of the building.

  There were different plants and items in the window, but it was hard to see through the dirty glass.

  Erik noticed that at the bottom of many of the ingredient request posters, this name had appeared.

  “Let’s check it out.” Erik opened the door and a wave of heat and the smell of stored plants washed over him.

  Chapter: Alchemist Tommins

  Erik and Rugrat looked around the store. There were different viewing cases that held faintly glowing potions and powders contained in jade boxes. Placards were written out with the effects of each of the things on display.

  Erik looked into one of the boxes, taking in a sharp breath.

  Name: Unbridled Strength

  Concoctions type: Powder

  Effects: Increase your overall strength stat by 3 points for 2 minutes. Go into Stamina fatigue for 10 minutes.

  Cost: 12 silvers, 45 coppers

  That was more money than Erik had seen since coming to the Ten Realms. It was also one of the strongest effects he had ever seen. Increasing someone’s stats by three points was incredible. That kind of power would allow someone to turn the tables on their opponent or win against an enemy at a higher level.

  He looked over the shop. There were tens of different powders and potions in the room.

  A simple-looking man sat at the counter, a bored expression on his face as he tapped the cauldron beside him.

  “Recovery powders are on the right wall. The healing powders and potions are on the left wall,” he said in a bored tone.

  Although there were many people outside, there wasn’t anyone inside. Erik understood why, the goods were too expensive for many to buy.

  “Those formations, I don’t know what they are, but they’re damn powerful.” Rugrat had learned a bit of formations and smithing, so his eyes picked up on the engraved runes and forms on the viewing cases.

  “Sir, I saw your requests on the poster board. I was wondering if I might be able to get more information on these ingredients so that I won’t bring you the wrong thing or damage them,” Erik said in a respectful voice.

  The man showed a note of surprise as he stopped tapping on the cauldron and looked up at Erik.

  “A level eight fighter, but seems that you’ve got some brains as well.” The man shrugged. “Well, if you can get me the ingredients, it doesn’t matter much to me. Which items are you looking for?” There was a glint in the ordinary-looking man’s eyes.

  Erik and Rugrat could tell that he was anything but ordinary as he tried to mask his strength. His question was casual, but the man’s eyes were locked onto Erik.

  Erik knew that this was a test. “Wilderness Bane, Drakar Root, Holispun Feather, Moon Water, and Three-Colored Spirit Rose were the ones that I saw,” Erik said.

  “Seems that you’re not just one of those people looking for a handout.” The man smiled. “My name is Tommins. I hope you don’t disappoint me.” He pulled out a piece of paper and wrote down a list of
different items before he pulled out an old book and put the list inside and threw it to Erik.

  “If you learn this book and find at least five ingredients, then you might have some future as an alchemist.” Tommins yawned.

  =========

  Quest: Gathering Ingredients

  =========

  Alchemist Tommins is looking for a number of ingredients for his various concoctions. The more you bring back, the greater the reward. Possible locations for the ingredients have been added to your map.

  =========

  Requirements:

  Find five ingredients Alchemist Tommins is looking for and deliver them to him.

  Pass his test on the Basic Alchemical Ingredients book he has given you.

  Rewards:

  Based on your results

  4,500 EXP

  =========

  “Thanks you, Alchemist Tommins.” Erik cupped his hands to the man.

  Tommins nodded and went back to tapping on his cauldron.

  Erik and Rugrat left the store. Erik looked at his map. There were a total of twenty-three locations marked on his map. They varied from large to small areas, some being just a few square meters and the largest being an area five hundred meters in diameter.

  Still, it gave them places to go and look without wandering around the Beast Mountains for days, lost.

  They quickly headed out of the city. They didn’t want anyone to learn too much about them. They’d killed at least one person in Chonglu City. The city lord and his people might be after them, and they didn’t know who was behind the poisoner.

  Erik and Rugrat wanted to look at armor, but there simply wasn’t any way for them to purchase it. Now they just had to try to make as much money as possible to upgrade their gear.

  Exiting Wild Reaches Trading Outpost was as if they had entered another world.

  The forests that they had walked through before had been large and seemed to stretch forever. Here there was a wildness to the forest. People seemed to hunch their shoulders as they moved forward. Powerful roars and animal calls could be heard in the distance; the sound of fighting could be faintly heard.

  This wasn’t a forest: it was a war zone, with the inhabitants clashing with one another to survive.

  Erik and Rugrat looked at each other. It was similar to the pressure one would find themselves under when they entered a hostile country.

  Everything was out to kill them and take their shit. Here there were no allies, only prey and predator. There was no knowing what powerful beasts and entities were to be found in the Beast Mountains.

  They pulled out their bows and their quivers, moving into the forest toward one of the closest regions that Tommins’s quest had marked.

  Erik wanted to read the book but they didn’t have time as they moved through the undergrowth.

  People who were leaving the Wild Reaches Trading Outpost shot off in different directions, some having hunting grounds that they had scouted before, or looking for new ones.

  Everyone here was looking to get that one score that they could make it big on and never have to enter the Beast Mountains ever again.

  Erik and Rugrat looked out for them as they went off the path, making sure that no one followed them as people raced through the forest.

  People showed off their agility, no longer needing to use the ground to move as they ran through the treetops with ease, or passed over the ground as if there weren’t any obstacles in their path.

  Erik and Rugrat continued on for an hour, their bows ready with an arrow notched, before they came across their first problem.

  A shadow dropped from above as a burly creature dropped out of the tree, aiming to hit Rugrat.

  “Rugrat!” Erik yelled out.

  Rugrat threw himself to the side. He had the presence of mind to draw back his arrow and fire as he moved. The arrow slammed into the bear, throwing off its landing, letting out a pained howl.

  Erik held his shot, moving to clear his line of sight. The creature let out a roar as it started to get up. Erik released his arrow. The stun effect cut off its howl abruptly as it twitched and missed its footing.

  Rugrat’s arrow had unerring accuracy as it pierced the creature’s neck, sinking in halfway down the shaft.

  Their attacks weren’t strong to just kill the creature outright so they had to rack up continual wounds to bleed it out and wear it down.

  Erik used a regular arrow, sticking it in the creature’s back.

  The creature howled. It was bleeding out of multiple spots, but nothing had been deep enough to kill it.

  Erik used a piercing arrow; it went in through the creature’s stomach and up into its chest.

  The creature stiffened before it dropped. A tombstone appeared above its head.

  “Sneaky fucker,” Rugrat said.

  Erik let out a sigh as Rugrat looted the creature. A white light appeared over his ring, showing that it had all gone into his storage ring automatically.

  “Called a drop bear. Apparently, doesn’t have a Mana core, but the meat and fur should be worth something. I got your regular arrow back.” Rugrat waved his hand and passed it back to Erik. As long as they weren’t broken, then it was possible to get one’s arrows back.

  Most of the enchanted arrows would be destroyed once they had been used up.

  “Well, looks like things aren’t going to be easy,” Erik said, checking on his gains.

  ==========

  Skill: Marksman

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  Level: 19 (Novice)

  ==========

  No bonuses at this time. You must prove your skills first.

  ==========

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  8,240/48,000 EXP till you reach Level 9

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  “You are fucking kidding me,” Erik complained.

  “What’s up?” Rugrat asked.

  “The amount of Experience I just got from that—it was less than five hundred,” Erik complained.

  “Well, it was a level six drop bear, dude. It was weaker than us, so the Experience just starts dropping,” Rugrat reminded him.

  “Oh, the sweet days of gloriously ascending levels,” Erik lamented.

  “Fuck, next thing you know, you’ll be one of them weird poet types,” Rugrat muttered.

  They quickly set off again. They came across three more drop bears; one of them gave them a lower Mortal grade monster core. The others had only yielded meat and fur.

  They checked their Experience and skill gains.

  Rugrat, with his prior Experience, allowed him to increase his Marksman steadily. He had actually advanced into the Apprentice level and was headed toward Journeyman.

  “So, what bonus and item did you get?” Erik asked.

  “When I aim with my weapon, my eyes zoom, I guess?” Rugrat shrugged as he checked his storage ring. “I got a spell scroll. It allows me to buff the arrows I’m firing with an electric effect.”

  “Nice!” Erik said. Neither of these gains were small. With Rugrat’s abilities, it would only increase his combat power. Erik was interested to see whether he could use the same spell on the rifles and firearms they had.

  ==========

  Skill: Marksman

  ==========

  Level: 20 (Novice)

  ==========

  No bonuses at this time. You must prove your skills first.

  ==========

  Erik’s progress with the Marksman skill was much slower. He had messed around with bows but hadn’t taken it on something serious. He was better than average but if he wanted to increase his power, he would need to spend a lot more time with it.

  It was a little better than his Experience increase, which had slowed to a crawl because most of the things that they came across were a lower level than them.

  ==========

  9,650/48,000 EXP till you reach Level 9

  ==========

  Erik lo
oked at the distance to the first location. They would reach it by the time night came around. There wasn’t much room in their storage rings and they were realizing how weak their weapons were now.

  If they used their rifles, they would be able to easily deal with everything that they had come across so far.

  “Let’s find somewhere we can sleep and then go to the location that Timmons gave us tomorrow,” Rugrat said.

  They headed off and found a cliff. Rugrat noticed something odd about it and they climbed up it a bit.

  “Well, that’s pretty grim,” Rugrat said.

  Erik was just going to ask what he meant as he made it into the cave. A skeleton faced the entrance to the cave.

  They checked the cave. Everything was either useless or had been destroyed over time.

  The only thing remaining was a gold broach around the skeleton’s neck and a storage ring on their finger.

  Rugrat checked the broach, turning it over in his hand. He took the ring off as well and cut his finger, dripping some blood on the ring.

  With the two items removed, the boy was now looted and it started to slowly dissipate.

  He smiled and then passed the ring to Erik, allowing him to see what was inside.

  There were rations of water and food inside. Inside a storage ring, everything was placed in a kind of stasis, so food would never go bad. There was also a random assortment of meats, furs, and three different monster cores: two low grade Mortal cores and one mid-grade Mortal core.

  There was also a casting staff and a selection of scrolls that had magical information. These books contained theory as well as a few spells. None of them were healing or did anything to help Erik. He tossed back the ring.

  “What’s with the broach?” Erik asked.

  “I don’t know, just a simple broach.” Rugrat tossed it over.

  “Well, anything can be a storage item.” Erik dropped some blood onto the broach and looked inside. The area was over three meters square, putting it in as a Mortal Grade Major storage ring. It was worth three gold all by itself.

  Erik was greeted by a body wearing armor still and all of their gear. There were also potions of Mana recovery, healing—ones that could also boost one’s strength as well. All of the items were incredibly valuable, but that was the problem: they were worth too much. If he tried to take these anywhere to sell them, it was more likely people would to try to kill them for information or to try to get their riches.