by Dakota Krout
Luke drank some ‘water’ and healed up, watching the huge horde that wanted to tear him apart but couldn’t come any closer. He took off his armor and looked it over, grunting at the deep slashes that had torn through the first few inches. “Can’t fix that…”
Although his ‘Fully Geared’ bonus said it could absorb armor, it didn't seem to count the hides that he wrapped around himself as armor. To be fair, it was simply extra inches that kept blades from his actual skin, but wasn’t hide a type of natural armor? Not according to his skill. Too bad. Perhaps if he took the time to create actual, working armor by using his rusty leatherworking skills, the skill would count it? Luke glanced at the guardians again and shrugged.
“Welp. I guess I need something to do while I wait the twelve hours it takes them to go away.” He worked for the next few hours, moving all the gear from the top of Zone One down to his new area. Then he focused his efforts on the small mountain of cured hides, finding the production to be rather calming. He drove a small rock through the hide easily; there was no need for some of the usual proper tools when his strength was enough to shatter six inches of solid stone.
“Gonna need some stretched sinew.” Luke worked single-mindedly deep into the night, only looking up from what he was doing when a strange sound reached his ears. The sound turned out to be gravel falling to the ground as all the Stone Apes - except one - were reduced to rubble. Luke was pleased to see that the metal claws and pearls from the ones he had defeated remained on the ground, shimmering or reflecting light.
He stood and stretched, then went to collect all the drops. A casual swipe sent the only guardian to join all the fallen ones, and Luke had a minute before the others would come after him. He managed to get everything back to camp, and activated his skill to absorb the metal.
Fully Geared activated. Target: Metal Gauntlets of Stone Apes. Absorbing 1/10. 1000 total needed. Time until completion: 37:58.
“A thousand are needed?” Luke snorted as he looked at the ten measly items he had grabbed. There were more a little further into the next Zone, but certainly not a thousand. He ran over to collect the rest of the metal claws, and dragged them back over the cooling remains of the two guardians that had tried to stop him. “Now I have eighty, but… this’ll take a while.”
He got to work on his goat-leather cuirass, finishing a rough version after only another half a day. Now that he had made a test model, Luke knew that he could do it faster. There would be fewer mistakes next time; working off a prototype would help. The metal gauntlets had all vanished into… his skill or something, so now he decided to see if he could start absorbing the chestpiece. “Fully Geared, activate!”
Fully Geared activated. Target: trash-quality mana-dense cuirass. Absorbing… 1/1. 100,000 total needed. Time until completion: 00:59.
“Yeah, no.” Luke cancelled the counter and started over, making a new chestpiece. “I just needed to see if that would work.”
Over the next few weeks, Luke continued to grab gauntlets and improve the quality of items he was making. Every time he made a new design, he would throw it away unless it reduced the number of items required.
Fully Geared activated. Target: flawed-quality mana-dense cuirass. Absorbing… 1/1. 10,000 total needed. Time until completion: 00:59.
Fully Geared activated. Target: common-quality mana-dense cuirass. Absorbing… 1/1. 5,000 total needed. Time until completion: 00:59.
Fully Geared activated. Target: excellent-quality, intricate mana-dense cuirass. Absorbing… 1/1. 500 total needed. Time until completion: 00:59.
“All I needed to do was make it the highest quality I could, make patterns on it, and use the best material I had on hand!” Luke pretended to be cheerful, but the words were bitter. He had spent a week detailing this piece. “It won’t take as long next time, just gotta keep telling myself that…”
A month passed, then two. By that point, he had absorbed enough metal gauntlets to be able to use the claws himself! Luke got ready to start tearing large chunks out of the Stone Apes, but found himself disappointed at the result.
Metal Gauntlet (x1,000) have finished being absorbed by skill ‘Fully Geared’. You are now able to slot the Metal Gauntlet as a gauntlet (Armor) for both right and left hand armor slot.
“Armor? But… they’re claws!” Luke really disliked the seemingly nonsensical nature of this skill. “Ugh… right hand.”
Gear
Head: None.
Shoulders: None.
Gauntlet: Metal Gauntlet (Stone Ape). Effect: +10% overall health. Hands are considered armored when attacked. Strength: slashing/piercing attack reduction (80%). Weakness: Blunt force, magical, elemental damage reduction (2%).
Torso: None.
Legs: None.
Feet: None.
Right Hand: Battering Ram Knuckles. Effect: +5% physical damage (Blunt). Right hand treated as a weapon when attacking.
Left Hand: Battering Ram Knuckles. Effect: +5% physical damage (Blunt). Left hand treated as a weapon when attacking.
“Oh! It goes over both hands? I am confused by the strange, and at times, nonsensical, way things work. Okay, ten percent health? Not bad; I can see how that’s helpful. I like life.” Luke stepped toward the edge of the Zone, steeled himself, and blocked a metal claw with his left hand.
*Clang*. The attack stopped just above Luke’s skin, and a translucent three-fingered gauntlet appeared over his hand and halfway down to his elbow. Luke gripped the monkey, then punched with his other hand to demolish it. “Interesting. That still hurt a little… it reduced eighty percent of the damage, but the force of the strike still hurt. Just like wearing armor naturally. Now I’m not bleeding, though, so that’s extra-handy.”
Health: 162/165.
The real danger from the Stone Apes was the damage over time that he took. Bleeding, infection if the wound would ever be left unattended, and so forth. His layers of hide were usually enough to stop his guts from getting exposed to the open air, but it was still concerning when he was surrounded. Luke had come close to death far too often to take these creatures lightly, no matter how easy it was to kill them.
“Let’s see… the skill says I can devote more mana to it for increased power, right? Let’s add all of my mana, except what I need for my Leap… that’s… twenty percent to my weapons, and seventy-four percent to my gauntlets, leaving eleven mana. Perfect.” He accepted the changes, and his hands lit up. The armor that had only appeared during a block was now clearly visible as a shifting layer of blue energy over his hands.
Health: 259/261
Mana: 11/190 (179 reserved)
“Enough of this; there’s work to do.” Luke ran out and began testing the capabilities of his weapon and armor, trying to see how far he could get through the area. He even considered trying to get through and clear the Zone, but as soon as he passed what he estimated to be the one-third mark, all the creatures sank into the earth behind him and an equal number of a new type appeared in front of him. These were Stone Leopards, and they were fast. Beyond that, they had the same metal claws as the apes, but on all four paws.
*Slash*.
Health: 220/261
“Hold on a min-”
*Slash*.
Health: 172/261
“What in the actual abyss!”
Unless he caught the attacks with his hands or forearm, the attacks seemed to take huge chunks out of his health; way more than those of the apes. No… it appeared that only his armor had the health boost? Luke had no choice but to retreat, and as soon as he passed the previous one-third mark, the leopards vanished and the apes appeared again. He needed to test the capabilities of this armor, and see what it was doing to him.
Chapter Twenty-Four
On the eighth month after he’d started working on his cuirass project, Luke finished the final chest piece he needed. He absorbed it right away, and thought over what had happened in the last six months.
Luke recognized that his carelessness in charging
through guardian territory had nearly cost him his life, and he had done extensive testing with his armor since then to see what exactly it did. As it turned out, the ‘extra health’ was another way to say ‘armor durability’, but his Sigil hadn't known how else to quantify the skill. As soon as he had made that realization, the skill had shifted to showing health and armor. Luke scoffed when he thought about that mistake, which had nearly killed him.
The armor effect only came into play when an armored area was hit, which was why it seemed like he was losing such massive chunks against the leopards. Now - today - he would finally gain proper chest armor.
Excellent-quality, intricate mana-dense cuirass (x500) have finished being absorbed by skill ‘Fully Geared’. You are now able to slot Goat-hide Cuirass for the torso armor slot.
Gear
Head: None.
Shoulders: None.
Gauntlet: Metal Gauntlet (Stone Ape). Effect: +10% of overall health is added as armor. Hands are considered armored when attacked. Strength: slashing/piercing attack reduction (80%). Weakness: Blunt force, magical, elemental damage reduction (2%).
Torso: Goathide Cuirass (Crafted). Effect: +4% of overall health is added as armor. Torso is considered armored when attacked. Strength: slashing/blunt attack reduction (60%). Weakness: piercing, magical damage reduction (1%).
Legs: None.
Feet: None.
Right Hand: Battering Ram Knuckles. Effect: +5% physical damage (Blunt). Right hand treated as a weapon when attacking.
Left Hand: Battering Ram Knuckles. Effect: +5% physical damage (Blunt). Left hand treated as a weapon when attacking.
Luke grunted in dissatisfaction at how much less protection the leather offered compared to the metal gauntlets. Still, the ‘torso’ was where so many of his important bits were located. He reallocated his mana, sending fully half to his torso, twenty-four percent to his gauntlets, and leaving his weapons alone. He still did enough damage to kill the creatures with a single hit, so long as the horns appeared, and he didn’t end up punching stone with his bare knuckles.
Total Armor: 109
Torso: 71
Gauntlets: 38
A glance at his status showed new information, and Luke was pleased. Having his torso protected with about a third of the total damage he could otherwise take was great. It was time to challenge the third Zone and finally clear it. Standing up, he prepared himself. Today was the day. He had a plan. He had a goal. “Go!”
Holding Cookie in his left hand, Luke started sprinting toward the Zone boundary. The guardian was ready, and it reared back to strike at him. “Bum Rush!”
Luke zipped past the glistening claws, almost too close, only slowing eighty feet behind the ape. He didn’t look back to confirm, he just ran. His goatskin-wrapped feet were pounding against the rocky ground, and he laughed at the fact that the ape was far too slow to catch up.
CAL Scan
Level: 7
Current Etheric Xenograft Potentia: 7,304/3,400 to level 8!
Body: 21.65
Fitness: 32.2
Resistance: 11.1
Mind: 13.35
Talent: 13.7
Capacity: 13
Presence: 11.1
Willpower: 12.2
Charisma: 10
Senses: 14.75
Physical reaction: 19.5
Mental energy: 10
Health: 161
Mana: 235
Mana regen: 3.33 100 per second (Overridden by local ambient levels.)
Over the last year or so, only his Mental Energy and Charisma had failed to increase. The Mental Energy made sense; how would he train it? The other, Charisma, only made sense after he realized that he had already maximized his relationship with Cookie. There was no more ‘up’ to go, they were the best of best friends!
Luke crossed the boundary, and a single cat appeared in the distance. Success! The number of creatures here was determined by the number of apes! “Here, kitty, kitty…!”
The leopard came after him, and as it jumped, Luke rushed. They passed each other, and this time Luke took a slash in passing that would have opened up his stomach even an hour previously. The reaction times on these things were way too high! Something in this world had to be broken; there was no way an actual novice was ever intended to come through here. “Tutorial, my tush. Without armor, that would have taken at least forty of my health, and more over time from bleeding.”
Health: 153/161
Torso Armor: 47/71
Ghostly cracks spread all over his cuirass, and Luke landed and started sprinting in a panic. He had a head start, but the cat would be faster; it had proven that already. Putting everything he had into it, Luke dashed forward, leaning over so far that he needed to use Cookie as a counterweight to keep him off the ground. Just before he passed the next third of the Zone, a slash opened up the muscle on his right leg, and he tumbled into the open space.
Health: 138/161. Caution: leg crippled. Move speed -30%! Seek medical attention to regain full use of leg!
“Now I need leg armor? Filthy mongrel!” The cat had vanished by the time Luke looked around - since he had reached the third section - so he hurriedly opened his canteen and sucked down some water, then poured the remainder over the grievous wound. It started to close, and after a minute he was able to put weight on it. Soon after that, his health and armor had recovered, and the debuff blinked before vanishing. Now mobile again, Luke began cautiously treading through the remainder of the area. It took a short stretch of cautious movement, but he finally found the next guardian… as well as why it hadn’t appeared earlier.
There was a massive stone walkway ahead, a flat bridge that connected this guardian Zone and the next. Not for the first time, Luke wondered what the abyss was going on with this world; the land ahead seemingly floated on nothing. On the bridge itself stood a single stone creature, which appeared to be a cross between a snake and a human.
“Lamia…?” Luke remembered reading about these so long ago in his storybooks, where monsters were supposed to stay! He felt a deep pain in his heart as he looked at the most human thing he had seen in almost a decade. More than a decade? In… Luke had lost count. He… what was he doing? He had been abandoned here-
*Chime*.
Luke blinked and cocked his head to the side as he tried to think of the best way to destroy the monster that was waiting for him. Even if it were larger and stronger than the others, faster, whatever, Luke was sure he could still kill it if he got close enough. “No time like the present!”
He activated Bum Rush and appeared right in front of the creature, killing it easily and walking proudly forward to claim his reward-
“What?” Luke had certainly gotten closer to the beast, but he hadn't attacked it yet… what was happening? “Are you magical, you sneaky snake? Are you a sorcerous slitherer? Can you make unicorns with your hallucinations? Can you give me hallucinations?”
“Wait… it was…” he had a dark thought, and the small grin on his face twisted into dark rage. “You… it was you who took away my hallucinations, wasn't it! Wasn’t it? Give them back!”
Now he really was running at the guardian. He felt something brush his thoughts, but he shoved aside the attempt to control him and lashed out with a fist. The snake dodged, using its impressive mobility to sway under his attack. Humanoid hands tipped in metal claws created sparks as they skittered over his torso, opening up the goat-hide wrapping but failing to penetrate the magical armor that his skill generated for him.
Health: 160/161
Torso: 62/71
The distraction apparently opened his mind to an attack, and for another moment, he was triumphantly stepping over a pile of rubble on the long bridge… then he snapped out of it and landed a swift strike on the lamia’s left arm, reducing the stone limb to dust. “Nice one! That’s the way Cookie crumbles! Haha!”
Another hit, and the lamia was a full snake, no extra limbs. “That’s better! Now we… a unicorn!”
/> A pink fluffy unicorn had captured Luke’s attention and held it only until he glared. He was in the middle of a battle; he didn’t have time for-
The slight whistling that had captured his attention turned into a stone tail that struck him on the side; not damaging him, but sending Luke sprawling far too close to the edge. He rolled himself closer to the center, managing to miss the swipe that was going to send him over and to his death. But… but! Cookie took the hit that was meant for him, and flew into the air. For one long, chaotic second, Luke thought he could catch her. Then… then she went over the edge.
“No! No!” Luke was on his feet in an instant. Without a conscious choice, his armor fizzled out and one hundred percent of his mana was diverted to his right fist weapon. His punch hit the lamia so hard that only an outline of dust remained, the rest having turned into shrapnel that spun out into the void. A pearl dropped to the ground, rolling to the edge and pausing as if waiting to be picked up.
Luke didn’t notice. He was half-hanging over the edge of the bridge, screaming after Cookie. He could see her twirling, and knew that she must be terrified right now. Cookie was afraid of heights, and he had actually made fun of her in the past for that by showing off how great his balance was on the edge of the world, time and again!
The blue air only allowed for a certain distance to be visible, acting like a light fog that increased in density the further away you looked, but today, just for an instant, Luke was able to see Cookie stop on something. She had passed a bridge, two… then she had stopped, and was swallowed by the fog once more. “You made it to a lower Zone! You’re safe, Cookie!”
Luke stood and bellowed over the edge, “I’ll come for you! No matter how long it takes, I’ll find you! Don't be too scared… I know being alone is terrifying, Cookie. I’ll come for you. If something gets in my way… I’ll kill that something.”
