“In nearly every crafting trade, secrets are only passed from master to disciple so that the information doesn’t get out. Measurements, as you say—well, each crafter has their own, or they have to attune their senses to what their craft might need and they do it based on what they think.”
It was Rugrat’s turn to be thoughtful. They moved on to the barrel—made from one solid blank of stainless steel—and the processes—one might use tools or they could use spells—to alter the steel.
“Tools are used the most, but there are people who are capable of using magic to form metal to the needed requirements, though they’re not as strong, I’ve found.”
“Which will be able to hold the pressure the best?” Rugrat asked.
“Pressure?” Merrin asked.
Rugrat decided to put the pistol back together. “So, when I pull the trigger, the thing called a hammer moved forward.” Rugrat pulled the trigger. “Now that would hit the primer, and ignite the gunpowder, firing the projectile or bullet.” Rugrat pulled out a magazine and pointed to the parts of the round.
“Ah, it’s like the Sha fighters! I knew it was similar!” Merrin smacked her knee.
“Sha fighters?” Erik asked, perking up from all of the boring smithy talk.
“Sha fighters use smithed weapons, like this, to fire projectiles through a combination of arrays and fire powder that their alchemists make. Their weapons are much cruder than yours, but I would think that they are stronger due to the formations and the fact that they use a stronger material to make their weapons!”
***
Finally they reached a stage where Merrin couldn’t go any more as she didn’t understand pressure, recoil, and how the Alchemy side of things worked.
“All right, you pass this stage. Damn thing’s like a Sha weapon but instead of just firing one shot at a time, it should be able to fire multiple times,” Merrin said, annoyed at being beaten, but excited by the weapon in front of her.
The door’s voice sighed. “You’ve passed the fourth trial. You will now enter the fifth trial.”
A white light enveloped them both.
Chapter: New Quest
Erik fell on his ass hard while Rugrat stumbled around a bit before he got back on his feet.
He looked around. They were outside of a simple-looking village. A one-hundred-meter area around the village had been cleared for farmland. The walls were simple, just two stories tall and made of mud, with nothing much to them.
People moved into the city, talking to one another. They didn’t seem to find Rugrat and Erik’s entrance out of the ordinary.
“For the next trial, you simply need to hold off five waves of beasts. As long as you both don’t die, then you will win.” The door voice disappeared again.
“I don’t know about you but I really want to know who’s actually behind that voice.” Erik wiped off the dirt from his ass as he got up.
Screens appeared in front of them both.
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Beast Mountains Trial
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You have made it past the first four trials of the Beast Mountains. The trial ahead does not get easier. For this Quest, you will be seen as Lords by the people of Alva and gain control over the village building interface.
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Requirements:
Survive the beast horde (5/5 Waves remaining)
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Rewards:
Dependent upon results
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“I feel like there’s a lot not being said here,” Erik said, looking at it all.
“You and me both. I thought that we were supposed to be fighting beasts every level?” Rugrat asked.
“Seems that we found the Easter egg inside the trial?” Erik looked toward the village and then the ground around it. “Well, we’d best go and meet the locals.”
They started down the dirt road toward the village, passing farmers in their fields, working and talking to one another.
They got to the front gate. A guard looked them over and stepped forward. “State your business.”
“Beast horde?” Rugrat asked.
Erik closed his mouth, shooting a look at Rugrat.
The guard’s eyes went wide as he looked around to see that no one had heard what they’d said. “Are you the people sent to assist us in the defense of our village?” he asked in a low whisper.
Erik and Rugrat looked at each other before facing the guard.
“You could say that,” Erik said.
“Please, please come and follow me.” The guard quickly waved them forward and pulled them into the village.
The city seemed quiet and reserved. People greeted one another in the street. It seemed homely and easy as people went about their day.
“I have a feeling they haven’t been told,” Rugrat said.
Erik nodded. Based on how the guard had reacted and their attitudes, it didn’t seem as if they knew of the coming beast horde.
The roads were simple packed dirt. There wasn’t any drainage. Houses were made from a combination of wood and dirt with no stone buildings.
The guard led them to the largest building. It was two stories tall and looked over a square where people were looking to sell their wares.
They passed the guards who stood outside the building, passing people grouped together, bringing up their worries to the lord of the village.
They entered the private area of the residence and reached an office.
“Dani, these are the men sent to assist us against the beast horde,” the guard said as he walked up to a secretary.
Her face was pale with the mention of the beast horde.
“I’ll get Chief Blaze immediately.” She quickly moved to the office door and disappeared inside.
The door opened a few moments later, with a large rough-looking man getting up from behind his desk. “Please come in,” he said.
The guard moved aside as Erik and Rugrat moved into the room.
“Thank you for coming so quickly. My name is Blaze.” The man came around the desk, quickly shaking both of their hands. He didn’t look as though he had been able to get much sleep recently, based on his tired and broken appearance.
“It is no problem,” Erik said.
“To defend the village, all of Alva’s resources are at your disposal,” he said without fanfare.
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Title: Acting Lord of Alva
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You’ve been given temporary command of Alva
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You have gained control of the village building interface.
Grade: Petty Mortal (Can be upgraded)
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==========
Resources
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Food: 500 Units
Stone: 50 Units
Wood: 80 Units
Gold: 3
==========
==========
Upkeep costs:
173 Units of Food per week
2 Silver per week
==========
==========
You have gained control of:
Store
Village Hall
Walls
Barracks
Granary
Smithy
Citizens: 181
Guards: 20
==========
“All right, we need to know what the hell we’re facing first.” Erik looked to Rugrat.
“I can scout the area. Are there any hunters or people who know the surrounding forest?” Rugrat looked to Blaze.
“I can get a few of the people who are hunters in their free time organized.” Blaze nodded.
“See if you can’t get us some more food while you’re out. The first wave is coming in two weeks. We’ve got enough food for three if we contribute some of our food. Blaze, can we harvest soon?” Erik asked.
“Unfortunately not. It’ll be a week before we can start,” Blaze said.
“All right, I need to have a closer look at the village, try to get an idea of what is going on,” Erik said.
“Got it. Blaze, those hunters?” Rugrat asked.
“Come with me.” Blaze led him out of the room.
Erik accessed his Land Holder interface to check the map. At the center of the village was the village square. The city was broken up into four areas. To the northeast was the storage area; this was filled with the granary and sheds to hold the different materials that they had harvested. To the southeast was a store and workshop area. This area melded into the residential area to the southwest. These were simple homes for the people of the village, from the farmers to those who worked inside the walls.
To the northeast was the barracks and smithy. Residential buildings also sprawled over this area as well.
Rough dirt roads went from the rough village square to the north, east, south, and west gates.
He walked out of the office, finding the guard who had led him there waiting for him.
“Mister Blaze told me to wait for you,” the guard said.
“Good. We can walk and talk on our way to the store. What’s your name?” Erik asked as he walked toward the exit.
“I’m Niemm,” the guard said, happy to be of assistance.
“Good to meet you, Niemm. I’m Erik. Now, about your little village—I have some questions.”
As Erik talked to Niemm, he got a rough idea of how strong the guards were in the little village. They were little more than hunters who had put on an emblem. They had some organization but it was more of a thrown-together militia than a true policing or military force. Their smith was of the Novice grade, spending most of his time repairing different tools and weapons for the guards.
Their water came from rain barrels and a large well off to the side of the village hall. A stream running nearby had been diverted to water the crops. The nearest village was a week away and most people wouldn’t want to leave.
Erik reached the store finally. He moved the flap away and saw a woman putting away different goods.
The woman looked over at Erik, a look of interest appearing in her eyes. “Seems that something is wrong for someone so powerful to have entered our city,” the woman said.
“Hello. I was wondering what things you have for sale?” Erik asked.
“I have a number of goods for sale personally, from grain to tools. You can use the sales interface to purchase auctioned items by other controlled villages and dungeons. However, you will need to pay a charge of five percent for each transaction.” She pointed to the side.
Erik’s eyes followed her hand, finding a glowing formation at the side of the counter. He moved over to it and a screen appeared before him, broken up into different categories.
He moved through weapons and armor. There wasn’t just Novice armor—he could buy Expert armor if he wanted to! Though Erik didn’t even know what a Sky grade Mana stone was.
He lowered his sights and moved through the different tabs. There were Alchemy ingredients but few recipes. The same went for smithing. The finished products were also much higher and although there was a buyout price, most things had a timer telling when the item would come to an end and the last bids would be placed. The numbers were changing as people bid on different things.
There was a section of the store labelled as Blueprint. People could buy blueprints for different buildings that they could create in their territories. It was like the fine arrow blueprint: someone could make it themselves if they had the know-how, or they could use the aid of the blueprint if they didn’t know how to make the item.
Erik moved into the training manuals and technique books area, breaking it down into just technique books and then hand-to-hand combat.
The high-level books were rare. Each one of them was a treasure and few were willing to let them go. Normal manuals and simple training technique books were easily available and cheaper. Still, Erik didn’t buy them. He needed to concentrate on saving the village first.
He went into the spell section of technique books. With the gold and silver he had gained from the dead people he had found, Erik only slightly winced as he paid the fifteen silver buyout price for the spell Plant Cultivation. With the 5%, Erik spent another seventy-five copper on the transfer fee.
The rune lit up and a flash of light appeared in front of Erik as a scroll appeared.
Erik grabbed it and rolled it open.
==========
Technique Book: Plant Cultivation
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Do you wish to activate this Technique book? Doing so will destroy this Technique book.
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YES/NO
==========
Yes. Runes appeared on the scroll as power was gathered together and focused. A ray of light shot out from the scroll and between Erik’s brows. He closed his eyes. The scroll disappeared, as if caught alight by an invisible flame.
Information appeared in his mind as he understood how to cast Plant Cultivation.
Erik’s head throbbed and he took his time opening his eyes.
==========
Plant Cultivation
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Novice
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Speed up the growth of plants by aiding them with Mana.
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Consumption of Mana based on plant type and growth.
==========
Erik let out a breath. It had been incredibly hard for him to gain technique or information books in Chonglu. With the store here, it was as if he were staring at a gold mine.
Erik opened the store up once again and started to put different things he didn’t need onto the store. Having cleared out his storage rings of everything he felt wasn’t important, Erik dismissed the screen.
“I’ve received a notification of your items in the auction place. They’ll be sold within two weeks or returned to you,” the saleswoman said.
“Thank you. What’s your name?” Erik asked.
“I’m Elise,” she said with a small smile.
“Good to meet you, Elise. I’ll probably be by sooner rather than later.”
Chapter: Prepare for War
The next stop was the smithy.
Erik saw the smith sitting outside, puffing on his pipe as he watched the guards training in the yard and the people moving around the village. He seemed to have a simple and carefree life.
Erik knew that was about to change.
“Smith Taran!” Niemm called out.
“Hey-o.” Taran waved at them as he got up. He frowned slightly as he looked at Erik. “You are the one in charge of the village now?”
“That’s correct. I would like to ask you if you can make crossbows,” Erik asked.
“Crossbows? I can, but I can only make one of them a day,” Taran said, feeling the serious atmosphere that had descended.
“What are the components to the crossbow?” Erik asked.
“There are three components: the mechanism, the body, and the string,” Taran said.
“How long would it take for you to make just the mechanism?”
“Just the mechanism? Well, I could make ten of them in a day.”
“Good. Niemm, I want you to find people who would be able to carve the bodies for the crossbows, no less than ten per day. Get multiple people if need be, as well as people to do the same for the bow string and another group that will be in charge of putting all of the parts together,” Erik said.
“Yes, sir,” Niemm said.
“None of them have the expertise though!” Taran said, in a state of shock.
“Well, they will have to learn, won’t they? We don’t have much time and I want to get as many people with a crossbow as possible in the time that we do have,” Erik said.
“So, there really is a threat to the city?” Taran tapped his pipe out on his
leg.
“Yes,” Erik said, not hiding anything.
“Then I will do my best to make as many mechanisms as possible,” Taran promised.
“Good man. I’ll make sure that you have all of the materials that you need.”
Taran grunted and headed back into his smithy as he started to stoke the flames once again.
Erik moved to the barracks and looked over the guards there. They were level eight, with their commander being a level nine. If this was before Erik had left Chonglu City, he might think that meant something. Now, it wasn’t much compared to the people and beasts he had gone up against.
Even if they were level twelves, up against a horde, they would need to fight against tens or hundreds each. It was hard to fight a few opponents, but fighting an army of them, they’d get overrun.
Still, they were much stronger than the level fours and fives that made up most of the village’s population.
“Captain Glosil at your command.” A thin man smacked his foot into the ground as he did his best to come to attention.
They might be lacking in skills, but they didn’t seem useless. Erik looked over them all, analyzing them with the eyes of a man who had trained hundreds of soldiers throughout his life.
“Well, it looks like you’re all that I have, so we’d damn well best make use of you!” Erik sank back into his role as instructor as he moved across the front of the ranks.
He pulled out a man’s sword and examined it closely, seeing spots of rust. “Have you never heard of maintaining your weapon?” Erik’s voice rose until it was a yell.
The guard nearly took a step backward. The man’s mouth opened and tried to form words but he didn’t know what to do.
“Do you see this!” Erik held up the blade and pointed to the faint rust on the blade.
“Yes, sir!”
Erik’s eyes thinned but he didn’t say anything. These guards didn’t know any better.
The Two Week Curse Page 25