Would you like to name this spell?
Yes
Stonehands
Name Accepted
Smirking he touched his thumb to the back of his arm. His fingertip had the feeling of coarse stone but it hadn’t lost any of it’s elasticity. I wonder what applications this could be used for Hand to Hand. Attack modifier for Monks? Interesting.
Pinching thumb and forefinger together he began drawing them down along the length of the blade towards the tip. This was a world of imagination and intent. This wouldn’t work in the real world, honestly it probably wouldn’t work here either, but it was worth a try.
Pulling his fingers across the cold iron repeatedly Runner could only hope. Hope that whatever system decided this stupidity should continue, would grant him one more additional idiotic boon.
After stroking it for a time, and resisting the urge to call it his precious, there was a system chime.
You have developed the ability Weapon Sharpening.
Enchanted Iron dagger is complete.
You have developed the ability to craft Items through Magical means.
Would you like to name this ability?
No
Once again Runner ran analyze on the weapon and read over the status box for it.
“Well shit,” he muttered under his breath.
Every magical addition he’d placed on one of the sub components was now listed as part of the complete weapon. Implications and building possibilities assailed him from every corner. From inscribing work on every single brick in a wall, enchanting every chain ring in chain mail, or even just over engineering a sword to the point that it had a large number of component parts. Testing would need to be done to determine how much would stack up. There should be an upper limit. Though it could also result in a cumulative gain.
The possibilities.
Opening the wiki with his left hand he found his answer immediately. Enchanters couldn’t fashion or create objects. Anyone who took a class could create an item could not become an Enchanter. Sub-components wouldn’t normally be spelled because once they were, they could only be used by the enchanter.
The scope of how badly he could exploit this sent his inner power gamer shrieking with delight into a delirious fit. Of course the best part is there were no GMs to stop him, no patches to correct it, and not a soul to tell him no.
Chortling he amassed a pile of dagger parts to assemble and sharpen. There was nothing wrong with grinding. Grinding was rewarding. It was progress. It was validation in an action. It was gaming.
“I shall name it, Arcane Smithing.”
Tapping the window for the unnamed skill the request popped up again.
Would you like to name this ability?
Arcane Smithing
Name Accepted.
He had more than enough time on his hands to experiment and little else to do. In the end, what else could he be doing right now? Grinning from ear to ear Runner cracked his knuckles and set to work.
8:17pm Sovereign Earth time
10/03/43
Runner spent the remainder of the trip in the wagon. Fashioning daggers, leveling up his new skill, and gleefully chortling with every skill up.
Wagon wheels crunched to a halt and startled Runner into attention. Listening intently he could here Katarina’s low voice, the horses nickering, and the dull thump of boots as the driver dismounted.
“We’re stopped for the night. You should be able to come out Runner, Hannah. Goodness that was a long ride Nadine, why don’t we…-” Thana’s voice became harder to hear and unintelligible as she turned her attention to Nadine.
Glancing over to the other end of the wagon he found Hannah sitting there, watching him. How long she’d been there he couldn’t say but clearly she’d snuck in at some point.
“Not very nice to spy. You could have told me you were watching,” Runner grumped at her.
“Nah. Was fun to watch you work like a damned machine. There was this one time where you glued your hand to a blade. I don’t think you even realized it until you couldn’t get it to fit in the handle. I’m still curious how you managed to get it unstuck, it looked like it just came off.”
With a shake of her head Hannah stood and made to exit. Patting him on the shoulder as she passed, she stepped over him and out the front of the wagon.
Rolling his eyes Runner braced himself against a barrel and then stood up too. Taking a moment to admire the fully assembled and enchanted daggers laying in a box he scratched at his chin. Flexing his fingers Runner ran his thumb over his index finger, finding nothing but smooth skin and no trace of adhesive. He had no memory of the situation she described though he really had lost himself in the work. There was something to be said for the joy of creation.
As he exited the wagon he spared a glance for the surrounding area. Nothing more than a small clearing, it was barely big enough to fit the wagon, horses, and themselves. No sooner than his boots hit the dirt Runner was already pacing a circle around the area and establishing the dimensions for his Campsite ability.
Completing the circuit around the exterior he stood in the middle and designated the clearing. Without a noise or visual queue the area turned into a safe zone, free of random monster encounters, and an area that would prevent PVP for a time.
He’d found a footnote in the wiki about the ability. The ability had gone through a protest and came out the other side unchanged. A vocal minority, of those who wanted to be to kill others in their sleep, was silenced by community managers. The Game engineers had decided that a safe haven would be needed for people to rest and sleep. Original design had been built around the idea of entertainment and healing, griefing would certainly impede on that.
His inventory screen opened and out popped the called upon sleeping bag. Dropping it, Runner prodded at it with the toe of his boot until the bag unrolled completely.
Today had been a very long day and at this point he really just wanted to sleep. There really was no physical fatigue to being immersed this long without a rest, but there was some serious mental burnout. With only a second or two spared to kick off his boots Runner collapsed into his bedroll.
Confirming his status screen that all the previous negative effects were gone he smiled to himself. He’d have to make amends with the local pantheon and then start working on his own plans. Getting caught off guard was one of the surest ways to get himself killed. All of the benefits he had were worthless if he couldn’t anticipate a situation. Closing his mind to his thoughts, he studied the void that was left, and forced himself to sleep.
1:59am Sovereign Earth time
10/04/43
Deep in the night an alarm chirped in Runner’s ear. Runner sat straight up in his bedroll as if a particle rifle had gone off rather than a beep. His left hand called up the warning screen even as he scanned the layout of their little shelter to see if he could get a sense for what was wrong.
Katarina slept near him with his old sword clutched in her hand in front of her, Thana resting not far on his other side. Hannah was on the other side of the fire pit as was Nadine.
Looking to the message box he read it’s contents.
Warning, your Campsite has been invaded.
Chewing at his lower lip Runner contemplated this bit of information. An NPC would simply know what it was through their connection to the AI and skirt around it.
Well, excepting an awakened NPC.
All of those were here with him in the campsite. Any hostile or passive creature would avoid the entire situation for many of the same reasons as an NPC. Logical deduction left only a Player as the possible solution.
Rifling through his immediate memories he tried to find any relevance to this. The individual he’d seen just before hopping the wall back in the city burst into his mind. He’d been watching them without knowing they were there. The oddness of it and the ill at ease feeling he felt had shattered on the impact with the ground. Along with his bones. Beyond that he had just simply forgotten about it.
> Crawling free of his bedroll Runner activated his stealth and made his way to the edge of their little shelter. Working in a circle he completed a circuit around the camp and began spiraling out in a search pattern. Moving slowly, carefully, cautiously, he remained vigilant to his surroundings as he skulked deeper and deeper into the woods.
With his body on high alert as he searched the trees he fought against his mind wandering. Focusing his thoughts he tried approaching the problem from a mental standpoint.
Following the logical progression from his earlier disturbing thoughts, this person had been able to spot himself and Hannah on the wall despite their concealment. Which meant they had a way to track them, either with a minimap icon, a quest marker, or an ability of some sort.
Wrangling his thoughts back on track Runner could only conclude they were being tracked. As vague as that may be, it could be listed as the one solid fact about it all. It was either himself or Hannah they were able to track and the reasons were unknown.
Briefly considering the possibility that Mr. Personality could be out here, Runner eased up next to a tree trunk. Peering around he checked his map to confirm the pattern he’d made. Mr. Personality would have attacked or challenged Runner immediately. He was a boastful little toad, not one to hide his intentions.
Fighting back a sigh he found himself more at a loss than ever. This was one of those problems that you couldn’t solve just by putting effort and time against it. A solution would only present itself when the opposing side attacked or made a mistake. Ever since they’d gotten off the boat at the dock their luck had become abysmal in every sense of the word.
Maybe getting my relations with the pantheon up should take a bit more precedence. Some divine assistance would be greatly appreciated right about now.
Shelving those thoughts, along with the entire problem of just who was out here in the woods looking for them, Runner started circling again.
In the end he found nothing in the area and gave up the chase when he found himself more than one hundred paces from the rest of the group.
Upon his return, he found Nadine was up, sitting close to the glowing embers of their campfire. It would seem she was waiting for him to return. With a gloomy turn of his lips Runner canceled his stealth and approached slowly, giving her time to spot him.
“An-n-nd where were you? Sn-n-n-neaking off in the n-night without a word?” complained a dejected Nadine.
Sighing Runner took a seat next to her and flipped the stick of wood that had been there into the coals.
“Yes, sneaking around in the night is accurate. Without a word was not intentional. I didn’t realize you were up, I apologize. I received a warning that a snoop was poking around the campsite. Went to look, didn’t find anything. I’m sure they’ll come back, the question now is, when, and how do I catch them when they do.”
“Oh. Oh, alright then-n. I wanted to t-t-talk to you about that m-man you murdered in the alley.”
Raising his eyebrows at the change in topics Runner glanced to her and then returned his gaze to the fire.
“Murder you say. Alright then. I’m afraid there’s no couch or judge’s bench so we’ll need to skip the counseling and sentencing for another time,” quipped Runner.
“You will t-t-take this seriously or I will leave. Ton-n-night.”
Unable to prevent the frown that appeared he slowly nodded and did his best to keep a calm expression.
“My apologies. To whom do you refer, so we might begin this discussion correctly.”
“The m-man in the alley.”
“The alley, I assume you mean Scruffy then. The wharf rat who tried to kill me when I ran him down.”
Nodding his head Runner took a moment to collect his thoughts and left the conversation open for Nadine.
“Had you had already got-t-ten what you n-needed from him? Did he t-t-tell you what he knew, what he was doing, and killed him an-n-nyway? If so, why did you kill him then?”
“Because he was just a-” Runner froze mid-sentence and shook his head.
“An NPC. Th-that’s it, isn’t it. Just an N-N-NPC?” Nadine hissed at him, her hands balling into fists.
“Yes. Alright? Yes. I viewed him as just an NPC. He was a thug, would have sold our lives for nothing more than a few coins, and I ended him. What would you have me do? Let him go? Have him run off and tell everyone not just about Hanners and myself but possibly discovering you, Kitten, and Lady Death? No. That wasn’t an option. I made a choice for the groups protection. That our protection was best paid for with his life, that he needed to become a casualty. If presented with the same option I’d make the same choice again.”
“But you don-n-n-n’t know that. You don’t know that he really t-t-t-truly saw or even-n knew. What if someone had seen you do it? What then? Kill them-m-m t-too? Someone like me m-m-maybe?”
“If that happened I’d have to evaluate the situation and make a choice then and there, but it wasn’t you. It wasn’t anything like you.”
“I’m an N-NPC, just like him-m!” Nadine whispered energetically, gesturing at Runner angrily.
“No, no you’re not! You’re Awakened. You don’t adhere to the normal rules anymore. You’re closer to, well me really, than an NPC now.”
“Oh? And who’s t-t-to say he wasn’t a Awakened t-too? Did you consider his ru-n-n in with you changed him? Even for a m-m-moment?”
Runner looked away, staring a hole into the ground, and said nothing in return. It was too hard to admit it aloud but he hadn’t. Not even for a millisecond. He’d only seen a threat to his group and removed it.
“Would you do the sam-m-me thing if it had bee-n-n a man-puppet? So quick to kill? As easily?”
Unable to respond he instead considered her words.
What if it had been a player. Someone from my ship. Could I have killed them as easily as I had the NPC? Could I kill someone to protect what essentially was an Artificial Intelligence?
He couldn’t answer that. It’d be his execution. Perhaps it’d be couched in a formal trial but the lethal punishment would be waiting regardless if he took another’s life. There’d be no way to hide it, it’d list it very cleanly and succinctly in the other players combat log.
“If it was to prot-t-tect me? Or Han-n-nnah? Or anyone from our group? A slightly differen-n-nt NPC but just an NPC? Would you let them do as they would with me or would you kill them-m-m t-too? Answer me Run-n-ner,” Nadine demanded of him
Pressing his palm to his forehead Runner took a shallow breath and exhaled it roughly.
“I don’t know Nadine. If I was to kill someone from the ship I’d be tried and executed. It’s that straight forward. It’d be very methodical and efficient, then everyone would be bogged down with paperwork, but I’d then be found guilty and executed. Very Sovereign, very military, very clean.”
“Th-th-that’s another thing. What happens t-to us when you free yourself? Do I just disappear? Does this whole world van-n-nish? Do you leave us here?”
Squeezing his eyes tightly together Runner’s grimace took over his entire face, twisting it into a mask.
“I don’t know that either. I can promise you if we’re freed I’ll make sure the server, err, the world remains open and alive. That it doesn’t just close down or vanish,” Runner swore.
“And th-that’s it, hm? You just, go. Go back t-to whatever it is. Your ship in the sky,” Nadine said angrily, her fingers digging into the cloth of her pants now.
“I guess. I mean, that’s the goal. What would have me do Nadine? I could come back and visit. Frequently. I have a life out there though. I can’t just abandon it. It’d be no different than me asking you to leave this world and stay in mine.”
“I’d do it. Your world sounds far m-m-more fair than this one.”
“Hah. In some ways yes, in others no. So many people would desire this world. To be here in this way, permanently. There’s even fiction written about it.”
“Then-n-n why not you? Why would you leave?
Leave m-us? You’ve chan-n-nged us drastically, you said. Where’s your respon-n—n-nsibility?”
Falling into silence Runner didn’t answer. Fire had engulfed the piece of wood he’d tossed in. It popped as the water vapor escaped rapidly.
“A fair point Nadine. A fair point. Let me-let me think on it. All of it. Who knows, maybe you’re right. Maybe whatever damaged the ship has doomed us and this place, this life, is all there is left. I’m tired, I’m sorry. We can take this up another time, but I’ll consider all that you’ve said. I still feel I was right in killing the thug, but I’ll think on it. I’ll reflect on your words should the situation come up again and consider them honestly and earnestly.”
“Promise? You’re n-n-not saying it for m-my sake?”
“Never Nadine. I respect your tenacity and would never insult you like that. Promise.”
“Sleep well, Run-n-ner. Know that even though you killed him, I know you did it to protect us, and so I forgive you.”
Nodding with a small sense of gratitude to her final words, Runner crawled over to his bed and tried to go back to sleep. Unfortunately, sleep eluded him until the early hours, and then it was fitful. Nadine’s words haunted him. In the cold light of dawn Runner woke, feeling as if he’d slept not at all.
Chapter 13 - Soup Sandwich -
4:02pm Sovereign Earth time
10/04/43
Early in the day Runner had managed to use up the entire store of parts. He’d been forced to cease in his skill grinding. It’d proved a suitable way to get his mind off his late night conversation with Nadine. In the end he’d managed to get Arcane Smithing up to fourteen. Only sixteen points shy of a forced roadblock by class promotion. Spellbinding ended up at eighteen from all the various parts that went into each item. Item Assembly had only risen to thirteen. With each iteration he’d been able to shave off the time required, boost the actual improvement for each Spellbinding, and lower the mana cost.
Otherlife Dreams: The Selfless Hero Trilogy Page 19