Glancing at the tank, outfitted with my help, I smiled in satisfaction. I had successfully made a Screamer’s Set, consisting out of a vest, leggings and armguards. The vest was the best part. Made out of several double-layered segments, the shiny metal breastplate completely covered the torso and made the already powerful rogue look even more imposing than before.
Despite telling myself that I wouldn’t do so, I still put all my free skill points into Inventor, raising to rank 3. I didn’t do this for my sake, but for the sake of the common cause. Now I wouldn’t have to rely on locals or outcasts. The things I do to get new clan members...
I also managed to convince Stinger to join my clan and gained +1 charisma; 11,500 XP, and 2,300 clan XP. His deep-seated, inveterate stubbornness didn’t allow him to agree immediately. For too long he lived alone and was accustomed to counting only on himself. In the sandbox, Stinger didn’t join any clans because he preferred freedom of choice and didn’t like being bossed around. So he wanted his own clan, where he would be the one making the calls. But here, no such talk about freedom was ever possible, as everyone was focused on surviving by all means necessary. Ignoring my invitation thus seemed unreasonable, especially since he would get a lot of benefits from joining my clan: XP bonus, new gear and the possibility of resurrection without a Mausoleum in the near future. Since this was all tied to me and my pets, it was safe to assume that I wouldn’t let just anyone into the clan. And then there was the clan chat, which was exactly what we needed to resolve problems on the go. This last drop undermined his dam of stubbornness.
I also tried to activate the Ring of Rank in order to tinker with the Inventor, but it turned out that the Ring’s special ability didn’t work on professions. That was fine; rank 3 was good on its own. In general, after returning to the gatehouse, it took more than four hours to craft the gear, but the result was more than worth the effort and time.
In the lair, when I made the leggings and bracers for myself, I had to make them non-removable because I was in a hurry. But wearing a suit of armor around the clock, was unpleasant. So I took my time, thought things through, and put fasteners onto the leather belts. I used Sniffer skin to craft belts, since the Screamer one wasn’t flexible enough.
I stumbled upon several issues, which had to be solved on the go. The Screamer skin turned out to be an excellent material for armor. But since the Screamer we tore it off from was a high level, it took us a lot of time and sweat before we came up with a functional method of cutting. At the beginning, Stinger was practically rolling on the floor and laughing, watching me struggle with it, but when he realized that he would probably have to kiss his new armor goodbye if we don’t come up with something, the process no longer seemed amusing to him. The damnable rules didn’t allow him to help me at all; he spoiled a bunch of skins before we gave up, unwilling to lose everything. However, we quickly found a loophole. I would control and hold the dagger while cutting the pattern, and Stinger would press my hand with both of his, putting his remarkable strength into the process. Rules and restrictions? Screw that! Sometimes, you needed to use your noggin and be a bit creative. The system even rewarded me for this clever idea.
Cunning: +1 (10)
XP received: +10% of current level XP (9,566)
Intelligence +2 (52)
The next problem had to be solved with fire.
Without access to the Furnace that was still occupied by Tinnie and being turned into a fancy crystalline, waist-high pyramid, our work got seriously complicated. The Altar fed by the escs still gave off warmth and light, but we had to forget about having a source of open fire. Fortunately, Stinger found a magical lighter, so we managed, but worked much slower. He was eager to help, but he couldn’t. In his hands, the patterns warped and burned, he couldn’t “feel” the material. Rank 3 Craftsmanship became much more difficult, as the difficulty of crafting proportionally increased with each rank. The work swallowed you whole, demanding increased concentration. I felt like my life force was being pumped into it. I was completely exhausted. Experimenting with shoulder pads and a helmet had to be left for another day.
“It’s time,” Stinger said, rising from his chair and turning to me. “If you wish to go, go right now, otherwise you won’t have enough time.”
Chapter 44
“Agreed,” I put the cup on the floor and stood up as well. Taking off my old vest, I pulled over my head the new one, made of metalized leather. Stinger didn’t stand idly; four hands coped with side straps quickly.
Special Amateur Vest
Rare item
Durability: 98/100
Defense: 294/300
Material: Screamer Leather
Cold Resistance: +20%
Strength: +15
Endurance: +10
Crafting bonus: + 4,000 XP
Crafted by: [Wisecracker]
The recipe obtained while crafting the breastplate for Stinger was already in my memory and it worked perfectly when it came to crafting a vest for myself. The greaves and the armguards had to be made several times before an acceptable recipe was obtained, so we ended up wasting a lot of material to get items with enhancements. But now, we were both acceptably geared up.
Special Amateur’s Greaves V2
Rare item
Durability: 38/40
Defense: 114/120
Material: Screamer Leather
Cold Resistance: +5%
Strength: +5
Endurance: +3
Crafting bonus: +1,000 XP
Crafted by: [Wisecracker]
Special Amateur’s Armguards V2
Rare item
Durability: 32/35
Defense: 96/105
Material: Screamer Leather
Cold Resistance: +4%
Strength: +4
Endurance: +4
Crafting bonus: +1,000 XP
Crafted by: [Wisecracker]
After all of this tinkering, my prof improved.
Inventor
Rank 3 (3/300)
Understanding the basic form of things allows you to create objects from scrap.
Chance to get an item with enhanced properties: 11%
“You know my opinion,” grumbled Stinger, studying the new item with me with appreciable approval. “If I could, I would go with you.”
Dressed in similar gear, brilliant steel on top of leather vestments, we looked like we belonged to the same clan. It looked pretty good and it could become the official attire of the Hunters clan. At least until we got out of Lunar Rainbow.
By the way, the total cold resistance — Conditioned, plus my clothes and armor — halted at 80%, even though the gear should have, according to my calculations at least, given as much as 86%. Apparently, I had reached the cold resistance cap. As I got repeatedly convinced, gear could be lost at the most unfortunate moment, but personal skills and abilities would never go anywhere, which is why one should always focus on leveling them.
“We’ve discussed this many times. You cannot leave your post for long periods of time. Besides, there’ll be no one to pull the lever if you’re not here. There are no outcasts here, and the Raksh won’t touch us. Also, I don’t need company, Sting.”
I smacked the frowning tank’s mighty shoulder encouragingly. This morning, he didn’t even know about my existence, and now, it seemed that he wasn’t eager to let me go. I assumed that it was probably because of the goodies that I have given him. But he was most likely just fed up with loneliness. Rawrk didn’t count. Stinger, a human, needed some human company.
“Paved with good intentions...” grumbled Stinger.
“…is the road to Creepoars, I know. But as I told you before, I am sick and tired of going with the flow. I won’t let the Raksh die. I’ll try to save him. We’ll get there and back fast since we have Fury.”
The situation with Rawrk took a turn for the worse. Coincidentally, and rather unfortunately, the moment of his resurrection coincided with the beginning of the Flame Phase — 17:36.
Therefore, his relatives wouldn’t risk their lives for the sake of a low-level fighter. If no one rescued him, his next death would coincide with the Night Phase and he would have no chance of getting out alive. His third death and the loss of the last save would align with the Morning Phase, which belonged to the Raksh. I didn’t like this situation, but I felt obliged to Rawrk, which is why I decided to go to his rescue.
“Be ready to not be able to pull this off,” Stinger continued to “encourage” me. “Phases are unstable and it’s impossible to predict exactly when they will begin. The Raksh may not have time to come to his aid. Leave the Cradle asap and retreat to a safe distance. And stay away from the Lowlings. If you see at least one of them, leave immediately. Don’t be a hero.”
“I get it, I get it. Let’s go already. Don’t you worry about the Lowlings, they’re in the Fortress.”
I was the first to walk away from the cornice and into the tunnel. Now I had two clan members, and my leader status obliged me to behave confidently even if I doubted my actions. I had a reputation to uphold. Not that I ever asked for leadership, but somehow it found me on its own. Again. And had Stinger realized that I wasn’t ready for this campaign, he wouldn’t have let me go. He was strong enough to force me to stay.
“Why are you so sure that they’re in the Fortress?” Stinger asked, following. “They’re like cats; they walk around like they own the place. They get into every nook and cranny, and ruin everything, too, judging by your story.”
“Lash of Pain, which I used on Arkoosh, put a Mark on him. And this Mark clearly says that he’s in the Fortress, near the hunting camp. They always keep together, and if they part ways, it’s never for long.”
We walked past the elevator, a round, wooden platform about three feet in diameter, which was slightly pressed into the stone base. Having reached a dead end, Stinger opened the secret door and we found ourselves in the warm twilight of the room, in the middle of which was the Altar that radiated a cozy, yellowish light. Fury, who was lying near the trestle-bed on the floor, looked in my direction. She had been guarding the dwelling in our absence. Tinny was sleeping peacefully on her back, wrapped up in her translucent wings. I was waiting her to finish her work before I leave.
“Look, it’s done,” whispered Stinger, looking at the Altar made out of crystalline twigs, leaves, and needles, topped with a wide crystal bowl with slots for consumables. In those slots, six Amplifiers flickered faintly with a bluish light.
I approached it with curiosity. Tinnie had finished it two hours ago, and her efforts weren’t in vain; the XP she gained in the process granted her one and a half level. This XP belonged entirely to her. Along with the XP, she received several recipes for simple consumables: Small Amplifiers of dexterity, strength, intelligence, wisdom, and endurance, which raised equipment stats by +10. These Amplifiers were created in a bundle of six pieces, took two hours to make, and required six escs and six gems depending on the Amplifier type. Tinnie also earned two free skill points, so I immediately looked at what rank 2 Artificer (items) had to offer, but only one recipe stood out.
Lesser Universal Item Modifier
Consumable item
Improves the property of an item in accordance with the owner’s class.
Ingredients: 1 Essence Crystal grade 1-3; 1 Small Emerald; and 1 Small Opal
Crafting time: 3 hours
But the first and second rank of Artificer (souls) looked much more promising.
Vial of Reanimation Essence
Consumable item
Allows you to resurrect a pet within an hour after its death.
Ingredients: 6 Essence Crystals grade 1-3
Crafting time: 6 hours
Vial of Soul Reanimation
Consumable item
Allows you to resurrect an ally within an hour after their death.
Ingredients: 1 Soul Crystal grade 1-3; and 5 Essence Crystals grade 1-3
Crafting time: 12 hours
Vial of Essence Exchange Sacrifice
Consumable item
Allows you to resurrect a pet regardless of their time of death.
Ingredients: 1 Elite Essence Crystal grade 1-3; and 5 Essence Crystals grade 1-3
Crafting time: 12 hours
Vial of Soul Exchange Sacrifice
Consumable item
Allows you to resurrect a player from the Vial’s creator’s List of the Dead.
Ingredients: 1 Soul Crystal grade 1-3; 5 Essence Crystals grade 1-3
Crafting time: 24 hours
It was easy to assume that the grade of the escs and socs when crafting must match each other.
All that remained to be done was to accumulate 5 skill points and see what rank 3 Artificer (souls) would unlock. I was almost bursting from curiosity. But I also wanted to know about Tinnie’s third professional ability, and that also needed 5 points. The decisions were tearing me apart.
As for the Vials, the use of Reanimation ones was more or less clear, but the Vials of Exchange Sacrifice were a bit obscure in their description. I wondered what exactly a List of the Dead was. Alas, Stinger had no socs, and so I had nothing to experiment with.
I didn’t bang my head over it too much. I had only enough time to reap the smaller fruits of my, that is, Tinnie’s, labor, so I had to charge her with making Small Strength Amplifiers. Grudgingly, Stinger had to part ways with his last reserves of escs.
I didn’t forget to distribute the stat points, and I put an emphasis on strength. So long as my weapon was crappy, I had to make up for the damage with points.
Under Stinger’s thoughtful gaze, I hooked two leather pouches made of Sniffer Leather to the back of my belt, thus solving my constant problem with not having a backpack. Both were crappily made and modest, and I hadn’t gotten a recipe for them yet, but they were roomy. There would be more time for gathering material and experimenting later. In the left pouch there were already five escs for Soulcatcher, three pieces of dried meat and two pairs of spare insoles. Following Stinger’s example, I put a rolled-up empty bag intended for bulky loot in the right pouch, as well as the Amplifiers that I still didn’t know how to use. Pulling the belts through the flaps on the pouches and tying them firmly, I grabbed another dagger, the twin of the first one, from the stand and hung it on the belt. Stinger didn’t say a word. In battle, anything could happen, as I had already been convinced several times. And Rawrk might need a new weapon. Unfortunately, Stinger didn’t know whether or not Rawrk had his weapons soulbound or not. He wouldn’t be much of a fighter unarmed.
“Here,” Stinger handed me his flask with the Potion. “I won’t be going anywhere, and the Kobi will be coming tomorrow morning. I’ll order a new batch.”
Nodding gratefully, I noticed that Tinnie had woken up and was looking at me very sleepily. I had to thank her for everything she had done.
“Thank you, you little thing. Listen to Stinger while I’m gone, okay? No, you can’t come with me, stay there. If I drag you along, you won’t get enough XP, and you won’t level your prof. Make something once you’re done resting.”
She tried to rebel, but her anger subsided almost immediately. She was exhausted.
“Fury, come with me.”
Tinnie had to get off and move to the bed when the rested and well-fed Direcat, who had devoured almost an entire Sniffer, rose to her feet in one swift move. She stretched, arching her back and outstretching her paws, and jumped out into the tunnel. For me, the last hour of idleness was not enough for a complete rest, but at least I wasn’t hungry and my stamina seemed fine.
We went to the elevator platform and Stinger gave me his last farewell.
“You see a fire, you drop everything and run back. Understand?”
“Yes,” I grinned wryly and stepped onto the platform, where Fury, agitated by the confined space, was already shifting from paw to paw. All these conversations about the upcoming voyage made both of us anxious, but Fury had no reason to keep a “poker-muzzle.” I, on the other hand, did. Al
an knows that I’ve tried to look calm.
“Well, break a leg...”
“Pull the damn thing already!”
Stinger pulled the three feet long iron lever that was protruding from the wall, and the squeaking platform descended into darkness.
Chapter 45
New location discovered: Shriek Plateau
Reward: +7,000 XP
Fury ran through the plain without an issue. Her broad-browed head and mighty neck purposefully stretched forward; steam was coming out of her nostrils, and her paws were tirelessly crushing the creaky, frost covered snow. The map, still 90% occupied by the “fog of war,” showed a wide road leading through the newly explored area and to our goal.
As soon as we got out of the lift, part of the XP received for the discovered location helped Fury reach level 14, which definitely benefited both of us.
I pulled the hood over my face in an attempt to hide it from the icy wind. I almost didn’t feel any discomfort. With 80% cold resistance, I felt like there was a heater under my clothes. A lifeless, snowy wasteland stretched as far as the eye could see. But the terrain wasn’t as flat as it had seemed from the cornice. Our path was often crossed by ravines of various sizes, and blocked by rocks sticking from the ground that were scattered across the plain, like debris left after a giant explosion.
My Riding improved greatly. I was very stable on Fury’s back, and could hold on just by squeezing her sides with my knees. A couple of strong jerks made me grip the hard strands of fur on her back. Her fur had noticeably regrown in the last few hours and was almost as good as new.
We soon approached the defense zone of the Citadel. Maintaining a safe distance from the invisible dome, we ran along the border separating the green zone and the snowy tundra. Up close, the line was more defined; a strip of melted snow, half a foot wide, encircled the entire Citadel. Staring at the thick grass and the trees on the other side with eager curiosity, I couldn’t help but smile. It looked like an aquarium. There wasn’t the slightest whiff of a warm breeze, or any floral scents. Stinger was right, not a trace remained of the Dions. This was an insanely hard dungeon. It seemed to me that a full frontal assault wasn’t going to solve this problem. There had to be some other way, and I had to find it as I had no intention of losing a save here.
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