by Dakota Krout
They burst from the tree line and started running across the sand. The monsters came to a screeching halt at the edge of the forest, roaring in triumph as they successfully defended their territory. Joe wasn’t far enough away to miss the screams of pain and tearing meat that soon followed, and he almost felt bad about knowing that he had gained a few seconds thanks to them.
Only a couple hundred extra feet, sadly. Gameover destroyed the last of the vegetation between them and began lurching across the flat terrain. Joe had really been hoping that sand would be difficult for it but apparently not. Joe pulled his staff in front of him and poured blood on the attached taglock, activating the ritual and then storing his staff in order to run faster.
Heavy breathing and thudding, loping movements told Joe exactly where Gameover was in relation to him. The Scout looked over his shoulder, yelped a loud ‘Nope’, and dropped to all fours. He shot off, which Joe understood… even if it left a sour taste in his mouth.
Then a new sound met his ears. A chiming, ringing sound. The ritual was activating! Joe chanced a glance backward, and really shouldn’t have. Gameover loomed over him, and his harpoon was lined up with Joe. It launched forward as Joe turned to face the creature fully. He jumped back, falling to the ground.
The harpoon hit Exquisite Shell at an angle, and skid along the shaped surface. It glanced upward and started to retract just as the Shell fully shattered, the single glancing blow just barely blocked. Joe hit the ground, rolled a few times… and by the time he looked up, Gameover had vanished, sucked into the shifting ground. Gravedigger’s Requiem had managed to pull Gameover down.
It wasn't over. Joe knew it, and the tremors coming from the ground a few minutes later was all the proof he needed. He staggered to his feet and started back toward the forest. He needed to get back to the Grand Ritual Hall and make enough rituals that Gameover would never see the light of day or even be able to move if it did. He was going to debuff that creature so much that it would glitch out of the world.
Joe had no faith that anything he did could kill that thing. He was sure that the reason it had been trapped and not brutally eviscerated was that no one from the past could manage it. He didn't think that he was ready to try where they had failed, so it was time to set contingencies.
The Scout arrived just as Joe got to the demolished trees. Without a word, especially not an apology, he led Joe to the cathedral. Joe walked into the already-healing building and looked around. The rubble had been absorbed, and even the floor was smooth again. Where the strange altar had stood, a large statue of a man holding a book in one hand was forming. The features were indistinct… hidden, Joe supposed. There was only one concerning factor.
Where he had created the containment ritual, the pit, a plume of energized air was flowing upward. The statue’s other hand formed, creating a palm that sat at the top of the energy and absorbed it. Interesting. Then Joe started getting notifications.
You have created an energy source to empower your deity! The constant infusion of health, mana, and stamina is an exceedingly corruptive influence. This energy could be used in many ways, but be warned! Only deities will be able to safely use this energy source without fear of corruption and exceedingly harsh penalties to karmic luck! This plume of energy adds 2,000 divine energy to Tatum each day that it remains active.
The Juggernauts guarding this temple have been defeated! Time until respawn: 24 hours until the first one returns.
Quest complete: The Cult of the Burning Mind has been defeated in this area. The Hierophant has been permanently defeated, and you shall have your reward. Return to The O’Baba to claim it. Reward: +1,000 reputation with The People. +10,000 experience. Blueprint for ‘Evergrowth Greenhouse’.
Quest alert! The Other Three. You have captured a Place of Power in the Forest of Chlorophyll Chaos. There are three more around the center, and each of them can give interesting benefits. Capture all of them. Reward: Variable. Failure: None. Recommended level: 30.
“Hey.” Joe motioned the Scout over. “I’ll be back in a day or so. Can you have someone meet me here?”
“Sure?” The Scout looked around, not seeing anywhere Joe could go. The Rituarchitect didn’t bother to explain himself and began exploring the cathedral.
At the foot of the statue of Tatum, he found the fast travel point and added it to the others. An option appeared that he had never seen before.
This is the bind point for 1,498 people with an opposing alignment. Would you like to remove this as a respawn point for them? They will appear in another location upon respawn. Yes / No.
Joe selected ‘yes’, then accessed the fast travel point and vanished from the forest.
Chapter Thirty-five
“Joe… you look rough.” Alexis had respawned eighteen hours after Joe had returned to the guild. He had spent the time forming four Gravedigger’s Requiem’s and five more containment rituals. He had activated all of the first and was holding off on the second. “What happened? I see that we are looking at a quest that’s ready to be completed?”
“It was… horrible, Alexis.” Joe waited until the others were all with him before recounting the entire story. “…and I’ve spent the last few hours dropping that thing into the deepest, darkest hole that I could make. At this point, it should be two and a half miles down and encased in stone. I have no doubt that it’s gonna get out if I just leave it, so I am going to go and spread its health and such around until there is nothing left for it to use.”
“Whoa. It was really that bad?” Poppy, oddly, was the one to offer Joe some comfort. “What can we do?”
Joe gestured at his Coven members, who were all collapsed on the table around him. “Get them fed and rested. Get Jess to pay them. I made an emergency quest, and they did a great job.”
“Hey, at least you were right that this section of the game had plenty to keep us busy for a good long time! No one would have thought that there was a level thirty to fifty zone in the first area.” Poppy grinned and slapped Joe on the face. “Get up! You survived. Now drain that thing.”
“Good. Yes.” Joe stood and walked to the Pathfinder’s Hall and into the temple. He got close to the altar to Tatum and placed the disk he had formed on to the stone. “Tatum, get ready for more.”
Joe dropped some blood on to the disk and activated the containment ritual. It started to glow, and Joe just stood there and watched it. This was made of High Steel and didn't need to move. It should last indefinitely, and the ritual itself was powered by the thing it contained. Soon, the ritual was draining Gameover of so much power that it began to spill over. Tatum’s altar sucked the excess in, but small strands made their way to each of the other active altars.
Divine Energy boosted by +1,500 per day! Your relationship with all members of Tatum’s Pantheon has increased by 500 points!
“C’mon, Tatum…” Joe watched the disk and was only satisfied when the altar sucked it in, and the disk vanished. “Good.”
No one else was around to see where Joe had put the ritual, and he planned for that to be the norm. These suckers were getting as well-hidden and protected as possible. Heh. Suckers. Double meaning. He smirked as he left the temple.
When he rejoined his party, he remembered to Cleanse himself before he settled in for a coffee. He picked up the mug with shaky hands, sipping the hot ambrosia too fast. “Good, yeah. Set for now. Also, remember not to leave your blood anywhere. You can get targeted from a huge distance. Just saying.”
“Gotta tell you, Joe.” Alexis coughed into her hand. “Not liking the forest. Two deaths add up. We got no experience for all that.”
“Right. We do have ten thousand coming in soon. Just need to drop off the quest.” Joe stood, but the others stayed seated. “Did I mention that we have a fast travel point right to the cathedral? Fifteen-minute walk to fix our experience issue.”
That got some smiles, and Joe decided to ponder some of the things that were on his mind. “All the cultists were people, and
we don't get experience for PvP. Yeah, that quest sucked. Sorry guys. Honestly, we should get a lot more out of this than we are, and I feel terrible about it.”
“No worries, Joe. How about we just go finish this and get back for dinner? Hopefully, we can start getting something more than wild game and oatmeal for every meal if you can get this building up and running.” Jaxon was leading the way, and Joe noticed something different about how he was acting.
“Jaxon, did something change with you?” Joe asked him.
“No? Did some training while everyone was hanging out?”
“What… kind of training?”
“Stat training.” Jaxon rolled his eyes. “Got all of my stats up, actually. I respawned way before them, and I was bored.”
“Did you get above a threshold for anything?” Joe had to wait for the answer because at that point, they teleported and arrived at the cathedral. The huge distance took a huge toll on them, and they flopped to the floor gasping.
“Got to… *pant*... ten in charisma,” Jaxon told them, looking around in confusion at their elated faces. “What?”
“He’s normal!” Bard gave Jaxon a hug, getting an awkward squeeze in return.
They started walking, the Scout bringing them to The O’Baba right away. She was very pleased to see them. “I have heard such interesting stories. I am glad I did not know the danger you faced; I would have never sent you there. I would not have had a way to pay for the service.”
Quest complete: The Cult of the Burning Mind. Reward: +1,000 reputation with The People. +10,000 experience. Blueprint for ‘Evergrowth Greenhouse’.
“Nice.” Joe blinked away the notification. “Just over a thousand experience to level sixteen.”
Jaxon leveled up; he glowed golden and started wiggling his fingers cheerfully. “Drat. I lost some charisma. Forgot I do that when I level up now! Ah, well!”
“Such a short amount of time.” A tear threatened to leak from Bard’s eye, but he glared and somehow sucked the moisture back in.
“Here is blueprint for the greenhouse. I am sorry to say that it is not in the best of conditions.” O’Baba looked at the paper wistfully. “It should be serviceable, though. I wish you only the best.”
Joe looked at the tattered roll of paper. “I have another idea. Could I scan the building directly?”
“You have another way to gain a blueprint?” O’Baba’s eyes filled with laughter. “A good thing I ensured you had a chaperone at all times, yes? Let us see what you can do.”
They went to the greenhouse and waited as Joe made his preparations. “Link the blueprint… insert the Core…”
Joe activated the ritual Architect’s Fury, and a holographic ritual circle erupted out and on to the building. It spun in place, slowly traversing the entire structure. Ten minutes passed, fifteen… at thirty, the ring swirled back to the blueprint, and a three-dimensional building plan appeared on the paper. “With this, our deal is complete.”
You have captured a blueprint for a Special Rare building! Class experience +500!
“Ugh. Ten experience to class level three, c’mon.” Joe shook his head in annoyance.
O’Baba looked at what Joe was holding, and her ears perked forward with interest. “We may have to speak again sometime, Joe. For now, let me explain the downfalls of the building you intend to build.”
She stepped into the building, leading the way past the front room they had been allowed to see. Around the corner were several Wolfman Warriors, fully armed and armored. “You see, Joe, in here… at a certain density of mana and vegetation, the food begins to fight back. You want a chop salad? Your lettuce wants chopped human. Your farmers will need to also be adept at fighting, eventually. There is a long time before that begins to happen.”
“Now, the loot is always food, and it is very good food. But if you don’t do enough to hold back the foliage, your greenhouse will evolve into a full-fledged dungeon. More food, yes, but more danger. At that point, it will also always be a dungeon unless you destroy the building.” O’Baba looked at him. “It is made of glass. It breaks easily. That is the other main concern.”
“I see.” Joe was calm. This was even better than he had hoped for. “Thank you for your warning.”
“I look forward to seeing your people become fat and slow.” O’Baba grinned at him. “I look forward to the day you are all prey animals.”
“Don’t we all?” Joe’s team was led out of the area, and soon, they had returned to the guild. Fast travel was amazing.
The next morning, Joe returned to his usual place at the coffee shop and settled in for a long break from fighting. He had earned a major reward, and he needed to figure out how to put it to good use. He started writing out a list of everything he needed, and it just kept growing and growing. Most of the components were pretty standard; they were just in quantities that were going to be difficult to acquire. Glass, metal for the frame, dirt, crushed stone, sand, loam… lots of variations of ground for things to grow in. The last minimum requirement needed was a Flawed Greater Core, which Joe had only ever seen once.
That was when he got it as a gift from the Royal Family as recompense for the Prince killing him. Every other Core he had used or seen was a ‘lesser’ Core, to the point that was what he thought of when he said ‘Core’. Joe wasn't even sure where he could go to get a Greater Core. Maybe he could get the Prince to attack him again? Joe shook his head; that wasn't even funny, and he knew it. There were only so many things he could do without angering the kingdom, and he knew that getting close to—and antagonizing—the Crown Prince was not likely one of them.
Still, that begged the question… where to get one of these? Could he buy one? Find monsters that produced them? Couldn't hurt to ask around. Still, while he was searching, he could start getting the rest of the material. Maybe he could even figure out a way to upgrade this blueprint somewhat?
There were things that he couldn't go without, of course, but he could finally figure out if he had been imbuing glass for no good reason. Joe simply changed the list of materials by adding ‘imbued’ before glass. He hissed as the list turned black. “Son of a…”
“You know what you’re doing wrong there, don't you?” The valley-girl voice almost caused Joe to start throwing acid around, but luckily, there were hand motions needed when he wasn't holding his staff.
Joe turned and looked at the now-purple haired Enchanter. “Hi there, Terra. What brings you to my neck of the woods?”
“Oh, you know. Day off.” Terra sighed dramatically, throwing her hand over her face. “I get one at least once a month. Almost have my first enchantment learned, too. Gonna be able to make armor that doubles health when it is a full set.”
“Nice.” Joe pointed at his paper. “Since you were snooping, what did you mean?”
“Hmm?” Terra pointed at the blueprint. “You’re trying to substitute imbued material for the regular version, right? Looks like you know it wouldn't work, but maybe you just had gas?”
Joe glared, so she just shrugged and continued, “Look here. Your glass is connected to the frame, which means that the frame will play a role in controlling and channeling whatever mana is running through the place. It looks like you have High Steel as the frame—for one, ouch, your wallet—but that also can't handle constant and consistent channeling without heating up. Since this is a… greenhouse, right? Yeah, that would make the interior too hot. All your plants would die.”
He looked at the blueprint and realized that she was right. “How did you see that at a glance? I’ve been at this since breakfast.”
“What, do you think enchanters can just enchant? We need to know where to put the enchantment, every bit of what the material it is made of, and even what time of the year is best for each individual enchantment.” Terra smirked at him. “I already have Magical Material Lore in the Apprentice ranks. That’s almost all I’ve been doing. Memorizing.”
“Would you mind telling me what I should be using for a subst
itute for these materials, then?” Joe chuckled as she pulled a face. “Alright, I get it. I think you’re wrong about all those variables with enchanting, but otherwise, good information to have. I’ll figure it out somehow.”
“Sure, you’ll just pull it out of your butt somehow, huh?” Terra eyed him critically. “What do you mean about the variables? I’m training directly with a Master Enchanter.”
“Oh, you know.” Joe pulled out a Mana Battery and tossed it to her. “I have my ways, like making open-ended enchantment patterns that don't seem to have any requirements like what you’re talking about.”
Terra stared at the Battery with wide eyes. “Joe. You… how? Only Masters have something like this. Apparently, the enchantment for these is so dangerous that you need to be a Master before the College even considers making one for you!”
“Really? Odd, I can make one like that in about eight minutes.” Joe pulled out the larger one with a capacity of three thousand mana storage. “This one takes almost half an hour, though.”
Chapter Thirty-six
“Well, that wasn't what I was expecting.” Joe looked at the list of material that they had come up with. “I would have never guessed that a lower quality metal would work perfectly. Heck, even a blacksmith told me it wouldn't work.”
“Typically, it wouldn't have, but this is why you go to an enchanter when making magic, not a smith.” Terra pointed at the frame of the building. “Usually, the frame would be more important in making sure that the glass stayed together. It’s fragile and all that, but since the glass wraps around the frame, the imbued glass will be able to remain unbreakable to most standard attacks. Then the frame’s ability to ground excess mana without heating becomes more important than supporting it. Too heavy for armor and weapons, but common usage in stationary enchantments. Hence, don’t ask a smith.”
