by Phoenix Grey
Azure wasn't sure which he was happier about, having leveled up or the items he'd received. None of them were common. While Azure was pleased to see a geode in the box, he was a bit annoyed that he'd have to waste more time taking it to Garion to have it cracked open. He also wasn't very fond of the geode roulette game.
"How do I use these Skill Tokens?" Azure asked before Mel had a chance to shoo him away.
"Simply think of the skill you would like to spend them on, and the token will evaporate, adding its value to that skill," the clerk replied non-snarkily for once. As odd as it was, Mel didn't seem to be his usual grumpy self this morning. Maybe he got laid last night, Azure thought but didn't care enough to ask why the clerk wasn't in asshole mode.
He collected his goodies and walked away, not stopping until he was standing outside of The Adventurers Guild. One glance in Malina's direction spurred him to keep moving toward the smithy. She smiled at him, but he was in no mood to do business with her or embarrass himself today. Azure was a man on a mission.
He shoved the Small Skill Tokens into his Bag of Holding, deciding to spend them later when he had time to analyze his stats. For now, he just wanted to get to the smithy, crack open the geode, sell his stuff to see how much he'd actually earned from the quest, and head back toward Brittlebreach to return Thavis' armor to her.
When he arrived at the smithy, Garion was busy pounding away at a blade. The blacksmith waited until he was finished before approaching Azure, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the back of his arm. "What do you got for me today?"
"A Large Uncut Topaz and a Lava Geode." Azure pulled the items from his Bag of Holding and handed them over.
"Nice." Garion bobbed his head, looking impressed. He assessed the topaz first, lifting it up to the light. The stone didn't look very expensive to Azure"like someone was pissing bloody and solidified it into a rock. He didn't expect to get much for it. "Eight silver for the Topaz," the blacksmith told him. It wasn't as much as Azure would have liked, but he wasn't going to complain. "Do you want me to break the geode or are you going to sell it whole?"
"You know I like math." Azure gestured for him to run the numbers.
Garion took a deep breath before rambling off what he knew about the large black rock. "Like this, I'd give you one gold, five silver for it. Or you can try to crack it for something better. Best case scenario, there will be Astral Shards inside. Those are worth five gold. Worst case scenario, it's empty. You have a one in three chance of getting something more than the value of the geode as is."
Azure's odds were better than with the Lake Geode, and he'd managed to luck out there and break even. Breaking even wasn't as bad as never knowing what he could have passed up on. With only the slightest hint of hesitation, Azure said, "Break it open."
"You got it, boss." Garion tossed the geode lightly into the air before taking it back to his table.
Azure crossed his fingers as he watched the blacksmith bang on the geode with his hammer until it cracked. "What's the verdict?"
The blacksmith guffawed. "Are you sure your luck isn't maxed out, cause you're one lucky son of a bitch!" He turned with the open geode in his hands. Every color of the rainbow showed off of the shards inside, though there was a dark tint to them. Azure had no idea what he was looking at.
"What is it?" he asked.
Garion didn't respond. He simply handed the cracked geode back over to Azure.
You have received the following item:
Astral Shards
Quantity: 1/1
Item Class: Extremely Rare
Quality: Average
Weight: 0.1 kg
Uses: Jewelry Crafting
Jackpot! The smile that spread Azure's lips was so wide that his face hurt. Taking the miscellaneous quest had paid off.
"Five gold it is." Garion pulled the coin from his bag and made the trade.
Azure was so elated that he practically skipped out of the smithy. Maybe he wouldn't go fishing when he returned from delivering Thavis' armor after all. These miscellaneous quests seemed to pay way better than the gathering and monster quests, though still not as good as a bounty. Even so, his time was probably better spent on them while he waited for Lonnell to return.
After wasting so much time in Squall's End, Azure didn't arrive back in Brittlebreach until the late afternoon. Though extremely exhausted, he still couldn't hide his happiness as he handed Thavis back her armor. She gave him a queer look before inspecting it as if he were trying to trick her.
"Ya sure are in a good mood," she mentioned.
"The day turned out better than expected," he confessed, trying not to give too much away.
A smirk crept across her lips. "The reward was better than expected, ey?"
His expression hardened slightly, anticipating that she'd now want more. "Our deal is done. Thank you for your cooperation." He tipped his helmet to her and prepared to leave.
"Sometimes I think about taking back up the hammer." Thavis sighed. "There's not much ta do here these days besides catch and skin hares."
"If you're bored, then you should."
Bitterly, she laughed. "I worked so hard ta be able ta afford ta buy this place. A home fer ma husband and I. Mind ya, he worked at it, too. Looks like we both might just throw it away. There's no life fer tha lonely. Being out here..." She shook her head, her voice trailing off. "Ah, well. I'm sure ya have better things ta do than listen ta ma belly-aching. Safe travels back ta tha town a shit and piss." Thavis waved him away and went back inside.
Again, Azure found himself wondering if there were better opportunities elsewhere. Maybe Noseon would be more profitable. It was a kingdom, after all. More people meant more quests"more opportunities to line his bag with coin.
He sighed as he walked away from the small house, thinking about his current worries. First and foremost, he needed to find somewhere to camp for the night. There wasn't even an hour of daylight left. Azure found himself wishing that Brittlebreach had an inn, not that he'd be able to force himself to part with the money for a night's stay. No. For him, it was being stuck camping in some field with little rest in fear of being taken unaware in the middle of the night. In truth, he hated making these overnight travels alone. That was another reason why doing bounty quests was better. In a party, he had others to watch his back when nighttime came around.
Azure was barely outside of Brittlebreach when he found somewhere to settle for the night. After setting up camp, he ate one of his last two remaining sardines and contemplated how he wanted to spend his Small Skill Tokens. First, he needed to assign his characteristic points though.
Name: Azure
Race: Human
Level: 10, 4% of the way to next level
Health: 270 / 270
Mana: 230 / 230 (250)
Stamina: 270 / 270 (290)
Vitality: 17
Intelligence: 13 (2)
Strength: 17 (2)
Agility: 13
Dexterity: 12
Charisma: 10
Luck: 12
Skills: Archery Lvl 4; 43% of the way to next level
Stealth Lvl 3; 60% of the way to next level
Analyze Lvl 9; 64% of the way to next level
Cooking Lvl 5; 52% of the way to next level
Alchemy Lvl 4; 38% of the way to next level
Foraging Lvl 9; 26% of the way to next level
One-Handed Weapons Lvl 9; 8% of the way to next level
Tracking Lvl 1; 80% of the way to next level
Two-Handed Weapons Lvl 5; 10% of the way to next level
Fishing Lvl 2; 50% of the way to next level
Drinking Lvl 2; 0% of the way to next level
Land Magic Lvl 2; 30% of the way to next level
Languages: Common Tongue, Sprite, Goblin-Tongue, Elvish
Adventurer Rank: E
Azure felt pretty solid about his Health and Stamina. If he was going to be learning more spells though, which he definitely planned on doing, he woul
d need more Mana. With that thought, he placed one point into Intelligence. After his quest with Thavis had brought Charisma into focus, Azure figured it was probably a good idea to assign a point there as well. The last point was harder to place. Considering how slow he currently felt with the Bergen's Glaive, it might be a good idea to throw it into Agility. Dexterity would help him land more hits, though. Azure pondered for a moment over which would be more beneficial. In the end, assigning a point to Agility seemed better because it would also help him to dodge incoming attacks.
With that out of the way, he turned his attention to his skills. There was no question that Azure was going to immediately level his Two-Handed Weapons Skill. The real quandary was how he should spend his Small Skill Tokens. Part of him was tempted to throw them all into his Two-Handed Weapons skill, but he also realized that he could level a few of his other skills if he divided them up.
Several of his skills seemed to be lagging behind. He hadn't had to use Stealth in a long time. Unless he was in a situation with multiple foes or he was hunting, it wasn't an often used skill. That could always change in the future though.
Alchemy was something he hadn't delved too deeply into yet, and to be honest, he was hoping that learning magic would mean he wouldn't have to.
Tracking seemed to mostly be useful during hunting, though Azure was certain an odd quest here or there would require it.
Fishing was taking forever to level for some reason. He'd spent so much time doing it and was still only at level 2. That didn't make much sense to Azure. While it was boring, it could also be incredibly profitable, and he couldn't help but wonder what benefits leveling the skill might bring.
Drinking was definitely a skill he didn't care to spend his tokens on leveling. It would gradually increase on its own with no real benefit besides hopefully less of a chance of giving him a hangover.
The last skill that was lagging behind was Land Magic, but that was only because he had newly acquired it. More than likely, it would be leveling quickly once he got more of an opportunity to use it, especially considering that it was the only kind of magic he knew and would be able to learn for a while.
Saying what the hell, Azure decided to spend one token on his Fishing skill. Since it was already at 50%, one-hundred points should level it, if his math was correct.
Remembering what Mel had told him about how to spend the tokens, Azure placed one in the palm of his hand. He stared at the shiny golden surface and thought about increasing his Fishing skill. Flecks of gold began rising from the token, pulling off of it and evaporating into nothing. Azure felt no different when the token was completely gone. The only way he knew it had worked was because of the notification that popped up.
Congratulations! The skill: Fishing has reached Level 3. Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. As long as he has enough bait, that is. Casting distance increased by 1.
Oh sweet! Another perk! Azure hadn't expected that, but it was certainly a nice bonus.
Now to see if he could level anything else up.
Though he wasn't sure how much it would help him in the future, Azure decided to spend a token on Stealth next.
Damn, not quite enough to tip it over. A quick check showed that the skill was now at 93%. It wouldn't take many more uses to reach the next level.
While he was tempted to spend his last Small Skill Token on Stealth as well, Azure kept to his original plan and used it on Tracking, which admittedly felt like a bit of a waste.
Congratulations! The skill: Tracking has reached Level 2. Through fields and forests, sand and snow, with this skill, nothing will be able to hide from you.
No bonus. Oh well. It was still a relatively new skill, after all.
For a few moments, Azure second-guessed his decision to spend his Small Skill Tokens so frivolously, but then he put it out of his mind. What was done was done, and there was no going back.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
THE REALM – Day 71
Azure ate the last of his sardines for breakfast. By the time lunch came around, his belly was gurgling. He had half a mind to break off from the main road to hunt but then decided against it. It wasn't like he was going to starve to death if he missed one meal. If anything, wanting to get back to the tavern for a nice hot bowl of stew should spur him to walk faster.
He wouldn't make it back in time to pick up another quest from The Adventurers Guild, so he decided that he'd take the afternoon off. Azure leisurely foraged for alchemy components as he came across them, but not surprisingly, the sides of the main road had mostly been picked clean. By the time he returned to Squall's End in the afternoon, he was only able to gather one Fireweed, four Wild Onions, and ten Blue Mushrooms.
Azure went directly to the nearest merchant and traded his alchemy supplies for a silver and five copper, then he headed to the tavern for a much-needed meal. While he waited for his food to arrive, he Analyzed people as they came and went. The tavern was particularly busy with new faces tonight. Usually, he'd be happy to add the experience to his Analyze skill, but today they were just delaying the service, and that made him grumpy.
When his stew finally did arrive, Azure dug in, eating like a man starved. He had gotten used to the bland taste a while ago. The hunk of bread he was given helped to make up for it.
Azure was halfway through devouring his meal when he heard an eerily familiar voice behind him. "Wow. You've really filled out since I last saw you."
For a moment, his heart stopped. He knew that smooth baritone. The only thing missing was the snark.
Azure spun in his seat and was on his feet in less than the beat of a butterfly's wings. It was strange to be so happy to see someone who had once purposely tried to kill him. A range of emotions flooded through Azure, and the moment suddenly became awkward as he debated whether he should hug Uden or punch him. But then something even better happened. He remembered why he had chosen to learn Dirty Move first.
Bringing his closed fist up to his face, Azure summoned the Mana within him. Nothing felt more satisfying than blasting the half-imp in the face with the spell, even if it made several of the tavern patrons rise and take up their swords in confusion.
"That's for almost getting me killed, you asshat!" he told Uden as he stumbled away, cursing and rubbing his eyes. Then Azure rushed forward and embraced him.
All the while, Lonnell stood back with a smirk on his face. A quick glance at the startled bar patrons told them this was personal and that they had no reason to fear an all-out brawl.
"No magic in the tavern!" the barmaid yelled as a warning.
Azure gave her an apologetic look while he helped Uden take a seat next to him. It was totally worth getting in trouble for.
"I probably deserved that," Uden coughed as he waited for his blindness to subside.
"You definitely deserved it, but I'm glad you're back." Now getting a good look at the half-imp, Azure noticed that he was even paler. Frailer. If he was passing as human at all, it was as a sickly one. Several of the bar patrons were still staring and muttering under their breath, probably beginning to notice that there was an unusual non-human among them. Casting Analyze on Uden revealed that he was now an easy kill. Of course, he hadn't been able to level up while he was dead.
"You look like shit," Azure mentioned, ordering the half-imp a celebratory beer when the barmaid came back around.
"I'm not at my best, but at least I'm alive, I suppose." Uden sounded depressed for someone who had cheated death.
He looked across the table to where Lonnell had taken a seat. "I'm glad it worked."
"I was worried it wouldn't," Lonnell confessed. "I mean, you saw how he disintegrated after he died." He gestured to his brother. "The reanimation process was rather—"
"Painful," the half-imp cut him off. "It was rather unpleasant, for both of us." His eyes bore into Lonnell as if to say not to divulge more details than necessary.
Always secretive, Azur
e thought, then immediately worried that there might be something more sinister behind it. After all this time, he still didn't entirely trust Uden. And why should he? The half-imp was cunning and perfectly capable of manipulation and lying.
"Your parents are okay?" Azure asked, wondering if even more lives had to be sacrificed to get Uden back, not that he believed Lonnell was capable of that. Gaia had sort of tricked Sir Thornton. Maybe there had been an extra step to reviving the half-imp that neither of them was aware of.
"Our parents are fine." A soft smile took over Lonnell's face that made Azure relax a bit. "As you can imagine, they were more than a little elated to have their son back. Though, this naturally must be kept a secret."
"For that reason, they didn't argue when Lonnell told them he was taking me to the mainland," Uden added, the first hint of happiness reaching his face. Coming to the mainland had always been a dream of his.
"Did anyone else see him when you guys left?" Concern was in Azure's voice. Surely, there would be questions asked if anyone who knew that Uden had died saw him again.
"No." Lonnell shook his head. "But I would have been prepared to buy their silence if they had."
Azure had forgotten that Lonnell still had enough money to do that. He was considerably wealthy thanks to the last bounty quest they'd been on.
"Good," Azure said before turning his attention back to the half-imp with a smirk. "So did you get to see the sirens?"
A soft laugh passed through Uden's thin lips. "He wouldn't let me."
"I've already lost you once. There's no point in taking chances," Lonnell's tone was firm.
The half-imp sighed. "In all honesty, I wasn't much interested in risking it either. I've lost much, which has admittedly shaken my confidence a bit. Everything I had disappeared when I died. Even the contents of my bag. I awoke as naked as a newborn calf, a few levels shaved off, and the progress of my skills reset to zero."
