Ascend Online
Page 8
Herbalism - Allows for the identification, and harvesting of plants found in the wild. Harvestable plants will be highlighted with a green outline. Plants can be eaten for minor benefits.
I made a mental note to myself to start paying attention for herbs the next time I went out of the village. I was always on the lookout for things I could use for crafting, or sell to other players.
My hunger getting the better of me, I quickly ate three Fried Snake snacks as I walked towards the forge. It was still early, barely past 6 a.m. by my best guess and the village was still asleep. I could see faint rays on the horizon; the sun would be rising soon. I let myself into the workshop and started to sort out my haul from yesterday. After a quick look through my pack I had:
[Copper Ore] x 147
[Tin Ore] x 45
[Puma Pelt] x 1
[Fox Pelt] x 22
[Snake Skin] x 20
I brought up my crafting menus and began to sort through everything to see what I was capable of making. First I would have to reduce the pelts and skin into [Raw Leather], from there I could use it directly in crafting either a set of leather armor or refine it further into [Leather Straps], which I could see was needed for crafting a few of my Blacksmith recipes. I had enough to smelt 45 [Bronze Ingots] at a rate of 2 [Copper Ore] and 1 [Tin Ore], which would then leave me enough to smelt 28 [Copper Ingots] at a rate of 2 [Copper Ore] with a single piece of ore left over.
Taking a moment to sort out my workspace, I dug right into my work. The learning process was difficult at first, and the first few pelts and ingots I made were misshapen and uneven, but as my Leatherworking and Blacksmithing skills increased, new knowledge slowly trickled into my head, and I quickly got the hang of refining the materials.
Your skill in Leatherworking has increased to Level 2!
Your skill in Blacksmithing has increased to Level 2!
Your skill in Blacksmithing has increased to level 3!
Within an hour I finished refining all of my gathered material and was ready to get started making actual armor and weapons for myself. With a gesture, I opened up my character sheet to see what I could equip.
Main Hand - Rusty Sword
Off Hand - (Empty)
Arm - (Empty)
Back - (Empty)
Chest - Militia Chain Shirt
Ear - (Empty)
Face - (Empty)
Feet - (Empty)
Hands - (Empty)
Head - (Empty)
Legs - (Empty)
Neck - (Empty)
Ring 1 - (Empty)
Ring 2 - (Empty)
Ring 3 - (Empty)
Ring 4 - (Empty)
Ring 5 - (Empty)
Ring 6 - (Empty)
Ring 7 - (Empty)
Ring 8 - (Empty)
Shoulders - (Empty)
Waist - (Empty)
Wrist 1 - (Empty)
Wrist 2 - (Empty)
It was a whole lot of empty at the moment, but I was hoping I would be able to fill out the majority of the body slots by the time I finished this crafting session. Right now, however, I was still a Novice, which meant I could choose between Cloth and Light armor. It was my guess that proficiency in heavier armor types would open up depending on your basic class and advanced classes in the future. Since I wasn't able to do anything about it at the moment, I opened up my recipe book and took a look at what I was able to craft right now.
Bronze Studded Leather Tunic
Slot: Chest
Item Class: Common
Item Quality: Normal
Armor: 30
Armor Type: Light
Durability: 90/90
Weight: 3 kg
Favored Class: Novice
Level: 5
Ingredients Required: 2 Bronze Ingots, 4 Raw Leather
Bronze Studded Bracers
Slot: Arms
Item Class: Common
Item Quality: Normal
Armor: 5
Armor Type: Light
Durability: 60/60
Weight: 1 kg
Favored Class: Novice
Level: 5
Ingredients Required: 1 Bronze Ingots, 2 Raw Leather
Bronze Studded Cap
Slot: Head
Item Class: Common
Item Quality: Normal
Armor: 10
Armor Type: Light
Durability: 60/60
Weight: 1 kg
Favored Class: Novice
Level: 5
Ingredients Required: 1 Bronze Ingots, 1 Raw Leather
Hardened Leather Boots
Slot: Boots
Item Class: Common
Item Quality: Normal
Armor: 7
Armor Type: Light
Durability: 60/60
Weight: 1 kg
Favored Class: Novice
Level: 5
Ingredients Required: 2 Raw Leather
Hardened Leather Gloves
Slot: Hands
Item Class: Common
Item Quality: Normal
Armor: 5
Armor Type: Light
Durability: 60/60
Weight: 0.5 kg
Favored Class: Novice
Level: 5
Ingredients Required: 2 Raw Leather
Bronze Studded Leather Pants
Slot: Legs
Item Class: Common
Item Quality: Normal
Armor: 20
Armor Type: Light
Durability: 80/80
Weight: 2 kg
Favored Class: Novice
Level: 5
Ingredients Required: 2 Bronze Ingots, 4 Raw Leather
Bronze Studded Leather Shoulder Guards
Slot: Shoulders
Item Class: Common
Item Quality: Normal
Armor: 10
Armor Type: Light
Durability: 60/60
Weight: 1 kg
Favored Class: Novice
Level: 5
Ingredients Required: 2 Bronze Ingots, 2 Raw Leather
It took me another hour to finish crafting all the armor and shape it into something useful to wear. I carefully worked each piece of leather as the crafting system slowly walked me through the steps of stitching and assembling the piece. With every armor piece I crafted, I gained experience and with every level I gained I felt more knowledge seep into my head. I was starting to get used to the eerie feeling of remembering something I had never learned before. With a mental rush as I finished my last armor piece and reached level 4 in my Leatherworking, I smiled. I’ll always remember this first armor set!
Taking a quick inventory of my crafting so far, I used 6 out of my 45 bronze ingots, and 17 pieces of leather. I’ll need a lot more leather if I’m going to make a set of armor for everyone else.
I sighed, then put the remainder of the bronze ingots and my newly crafted armor into my inventory for the time being. I was about to do the same with my copper ingots before an idea took hold of me. I wonder…
Grabbing the forge hammer, I began to hammer away at my idea. I worked without following any specific recipe, attempting to envision the end result and hoping for the best with the knowledge that the game had given me. I discarded several poor prototypes, smelting them back down to ingots and hammering them back into the shape I desired until I was finally happy with the end result.
You have successfully created a new recipe!
You have created a [Copper Frying Pan]!
You gain Bonus Blacksmithing Experience for creating a unique recipe!
“Ragna is going to love this…” I whispered to myself as I created a pot to match the pan, along with a number of knives. Realizing how useful a pan could be while traveling, I made a second one for myself now that I had the recipe firmly fixed in my mind.
I quickly found that all my experimenting paid off experience wise – for each and every broken prototype I created I gained twice the amount of experience I gained when I
followed the earlier armor recipes, bringing my blacksmithing level up to level 6. Following a set recipe only got you so far. I idly wondered how far my imagination could take me.
It was then that Jenkins walked through the door.
“Ho, and I thought I was an early riser.” He greeted me, seemingly in a much better mood than yesterday though I could see signs of exhaustion in his eyes.
“Ah. Good morning Jenkins,” I replied, slightly startled when he walked in. “Sorry about hopping on the forge without asking…”
“Don’t worry about it.” Jenkins waved a hand dismissively as he stifled a yawn. He looked at me with a grin on his face
“I heard the story yesterday, you slaying goblins without a stitch of clothes on you. I’d be a fool not to let you make some armor to help cover yourself up! Besides, it looks like you had a tumble with a bear.” He indicated my tattered looking armor and clothes.
“Erm.” I shook my head at the memory. “Guess that will take a while to live down. As for the armor… it was a puma, not a bear.”
“Ha! Wait… you’re not lying?” Jenkin barked an even louder laugh. “We don’t have that much entertainment here. Well… at least before the goblins came.”
“They won’t be bothering anyone else anymore now,” I offered before changing the subject. “Say, while I have you here, I was actually hoping for your help in something.”
“Oh?” Jenkins’s eyebrows went up.
“I was hunting yesterday, and I found this.” I gave Jenkins the general outline of my day yesterday and took out the broken sword I had found. “Any idea how I can fix this?”
“Ruins by the lake… goblins at our door…” Jenkins shook his head, but I could see his excitement when he looked at the broken blade in my hand. “That used to be a fair blade in its time…”
“Thankfully the core is still strong, and you should be able to Re-Forge it easily enough. Won’t be as strong as it used to be, though. It’s far too damaged,” Jenkins told me as he joined me at the forge. “First clean and prepare the item, the cleaner you can make it the better. Grab that whetstone, once you’re done that you’ll need to choose a metal to fill the chips…”
Jenkins spoke softly and guided me through the process. It was a long process and expensive process, one that cost me ten bronze ingots, and three pieces of leather to Re-Forge the sword. But when I was finished, the system alert prompted me with a series of messages.
You have gained the Crafting Trait: Re-Forge
Re-Forge – You have learned the basics of how to recreate a broken relic and are able to bring back some of its former glory. This skill will function across any and all Tradeskills you acquire. Beware! Some Relics are better lost to time!
You have successfully Re-Forged the Commander’s Broken Blade into:
Razor
Slot: Main Hand or Off Hand
Item Class: Relic
Item Quality: Fine (+10%)
Damage 15-25 (Slashing)
Durability 120/120
Weight: 1 kg
Favored Class: Novice
Base Metal: Bronze
Minor Enchantment: +2 Strength, +2 Agility
Level 5
I gaped at the long black and bronze blade I had just forged for myself. “Wow.”
“Wow indeed.” Jenkins nodded.
“Thank you!” My luck had certainly paid off! The sword was a fair bit better than what I would normally be able to craft, and it even gave minor boosts to my stats.
“No problem! You did all the work anyway. Are you finished here?” Jenkins asked as he sat down at the forge, and began sorting a few tools after I had moved them, a subtle hint to make myself scarce. “I ought to get to work on materials for the gate.”
“Nope, I’m done! I won’t keep you longer.” I collected the remainder of my things and placed it into my pack. “Going back out hunting, I promised Ragna that I would bring back some more meat for her tonight!”
“Ah! You’re the one that I have to thank for the beetle stew then!” Jenkins smiled. “We were worried that we wouldn’t have enough for everyone, but everyone managed to get fed without a problem! You have my thanks!”
“Happy to help!” I said as a waved goodbye to Jenkins. “I’ll be back!”
I walked out of the building and off to the side as I organized my newly crafted gear. With a grunt, I pulled off my tattered [Militia Chain Shirt] and clothes before putting on the armor that I had crafted. Two minutes later I felt like a half decent adventurer properly clothed in armor. I eagerly brought up my character sheet to look over my new level and stats.
Lyrian Rastler – Level 6 Novice
Human Male (Eberian)
Statistics:
HP: 429
Stamina: 390
Mana: 484
Armor: 87 (91)
Critical Hit Chance: 11.5%
Attributes:
Strength: 30 (32)
Agility: 20 (22)
Constitution: 27
Intelligence: 32
Willpower: 10
Abilities:
Stealth – Sneak Attack I (Passive) – Attacks made before the target is aware of you automatically deal weapon damage+13.
Swords - Power Attack I (Active: 50 Stamina) - You slash viciously at the target putting extra strength behind the blow. Deal weapon damage+7.
Skills:
Evocation – Level 4 – 8% (Increases knowledge of Evocation Magic and improves related Abilities.)
Unarmed Combat – Level 3 – 14% (Increases knowledge of hand-to-hand fighting and improves related Abilities.)
Stealth – Level 2 – 14% (Decreases chance of being detected while attempting to stay hidden. Improves related Abilities.)
Swords – Level 5 – 43% (Increases knowledge of sword fighting and improves related Abilities.)
Wordplay – Level 1 – 15% (Increases chance to persuade others, resolve differences and/or get information.)
Tradeskills:
Blacksmithing – Level 7 – 1%
Herbalism – Level 1 – 0%
Leatherworking – Level 4 – 8%
Mining – Level 4 – 11%
Cooking – Level 5 – 4%
Traits:
Open Minded
Re-Forge
Improvision
Equipped Items:
Main Hand - Razor
Off Hand - (Empty)
Arm - Bronze Studded Bracers
Back - (Empty)
Chest - Bronze Studded Leather Tunic
Ear - (Empty)
Face - (Empty)
Feet - Hardened Leather Boots
Hands - Hardened Leather Gloves
Head - Bronze Studded Cap
Legs - Bronze Studded Leather Pants
Neck - (Empty)
Ring 1 - (Empty)
Ring 2 - (Empty)
Ring 3 - (Empty)
Ring 4 - (Empty)
Ring 5 - (Empty)
Ring 6 - (Empty)
Ring 7 - (Empty)
Ring 8 - (Empty)
Shoulders - Bronze Studded Leather Shoulder Guards
Waist - (Empty)
Wrist 1 - (Empty)
Wrist 2 - (Empty)
Armored up, and a new weapon in hand I took a moment to admire my accomplishments since being dropped completely naked in the middle of a goblin infested Aldford. With a quick smile to myself, I set off towards the gate. “Back out into the wild we go.”
Chapter 9
Unfortunately, before I could make my way out of the village, Ritt crossed my path. "Ho, Lyrian! Nice armor! Where'd you manage to find that?"
"Hey, Ritt. Didn't find it anywhere! Made it myself!” I was more than happy to boast at my accomplishments right now.
"You found that much ore out there in one day?" Ritt stopped and asked me intently. "Where did you find it? Do you still have more ore left?"
"Hm?" I was confused at what the big deal was. "Yeah, I dug it up yesterday, I lucked out on a large vein.
There is plenty of ore around in the hills here if you can survive the creatures."
“Can you find more?” Ritt asked looking over my armor, envy clear in his appraisal. “The village needs it badly. I’ve heard more than a few villagers talking about getting weapons and armor of their own. The militia armor we came here with was barely better than cloth against the goblins. Plus we need more for repairs, are you taking commissions?”
“Commissions? For armor?” I asked eyebrows raised.
“Yeah. Armor, weapons, ore, everything.” Ritt nodded. “The Bann has opened the village coffers to me. Whatever you can find or make, the village will buy it. If not, I might personally.”
“Why me and not Jenkins? Isn’t he the smith?” I asked, hoping I hadn’t just shot myself in the foot.
“He is. But he’s also our Carpenter, Leatherworker, and now Militia Captain, now that Stevens is… well, he has plenty enough to do already. Plus we can’t be risking him to go out and prospecting for metals either.” Ritt explained.
"Ah… well that makes sense then," I replied to him with a nod.
"If you’re buying now, I was actually hoping to repay that debt for the spell yesterday,” I said changing the subject. "I have ten Copper Ingots, which should be enough to settle our debt. I also want some parchment and ink to start making a map of the area.”
“Eh… normally ten wouldn’t be enough… but we need the metal badly enough.” Ritt hedged as he looked over the ingots that I had handed to him. “Alright this is pretty good quality metal, consider our debt even. I have a few sheaves of parchment stored in a crate…"