Once he saw no more enemies on the path ahead, he went back to Sedwin and told him.
“Very good. Let’s be on our way then!” The chubby bear’s armor rattled as he moved to his feet. He walked down the path on all fours and Sam followed behind him. Sam kept his sword and shield in hand, should anything attempt to surprise them along the way. The walk down the path was uneventful, until Sedwin veered off and into the forest. They traveled under a small section where about ten large trees with dark purple leaves had fallen into one another. The structure looked almost manmade and dome-like as the trees were leaning against each other almost perfectly. Once they emerged from that wondrous sight, Sam found himself in a part of the forest that looked very much so different from the rest. As they climbed upwards, Sam could see much of the open sky. The trees of this area were sparser than below, though just as tall.
There was another glowing white message on the ground up ahead. Sam hurried to it to read it.
The world is a lie. Death is imminent.
Relevance 0
Now he was on edge wondering what the message even meant but had no time to contemplate it as Sedwin had veered off again, going down the other side of the hill at a gallop. Sam quickly followed suit, only slowing down when Sedwin himself had done so. Sedwin seemed to exercise more caution when they approached some sort of crumpling old structure made of yellow and brown brick. Whatever the place was in the past, someone had knocked it over really well. Not much of it was standing any more. Bricks were scattered everywhere, as far as Sam could see. There were also broken statues with all sorts of stony body parts strewn about. Sedwin seemed to be guiding him through what felt like a labyrinth. They had to take so many twists and turns to get through the place thanks to the bigger debris.
Sedwin halted to a stop once they reached what looked like an exit from the ruined half building.
“Something wrong?” Sam asked.
“No. Sorry, on we go!”
Sedwin marched outside and turned a corner where Sam could see a familiar snake totem in the center of the camp. In the far corner, saddled up near a wall, was a tall, broad, black and silver bearded mountain of a man. His hair fell all around him to his upper back and chest and was the same deep black with silver streaks as his beard. He was working diligently, hammering the hell out of a battle axe. His efforts were strong and focused with each blow from his hammer seeming so precise. The brown smock that covered his chest was so stained with sweat that Sam figured the man had worked for hours. He turned to Sedwin when he remembered what the man’s name was.
“So this Sir Barrington isn’t a bear?” he asked.
Sedwin’s muzzle went skyward and his teeth were bared as he laughed at Sam. His laughter only subsided once he saw that Sam was somewhat serious.
“No, no, no. You don’t get to be one of the world’s foremost craftsmen by having bear paws. What an absurd idea.”
Says the talking bear in silver armor who knows the word absurd, Sam thought to himself.
“But you said you were his apprentice, didn’t you?”
“I did, but I suppose that is overstating what I do now isn’t it. I do various tasks for Sir Barrington and protect him from harm. This armor helps me fight all manner of deadly forest creature for the master. Only, when I’m not in battle, Sir Barrington tries to find a use for me helping with his fine crafts.”
The smith stopped his hammering and finally looked at his two guests. His eyes bore down on them with nothing showing but utter contempt.
“Are you both going to chatter about, or explain to me why you’re loitering in my workshop?”
A workshop this is not, old man. More like an abandoned crack castle that you’re holed up in, Sam thought grimly to himself.
“Sir, apologies! We have come—”
“Silence creature. I don’t want to hear it from you. As a matter of fact, I don’t want to hear anything from you. I shall talk to this man without your presence. Be gone!”
Sedwin sighed and turned around looking very sad. Sam didn’t think his shoulders could slump any more than before.
“Don’t go too far Sedwin! I still need you buddy!” Sam called out to him.
The smith was just being a plain asshole. Sam would have liked to just skip through all this drama to get his weapon upgraded, but now he had a bone to pick with this rude ass man.
“Why did you bring that loathsome creature back here with you? If you needed my services, you should’ve sought me out yourself. Any adventurer worth his ilk would be able to find me on his own.”
“That ‘loathsome creature’ wants nothing more than to be in your service again you asshole! Look at him! He’s not even mad at you, just sad because you can’t even freaking talk to him like a person. Get off your high horse and go apologize to him!”
“Why I—how dare you say such a thing?” Sir Barrington asked.
“Well, it’s true.”
“Bah, you don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Sir Barrington looked over at Sedwin for a long moment.
“Apprentice!”
Sedwin snapped back to face Sir Barrington.
“Yes, master?”
“Come back this way. It can’t be helped. I’ll have to polish your armor.”
“Sorry, master.”
Before Sedwin was in earshot, Barrington shared a surprising admission to Sam.
“I did miss the clink of that armor. It’s one of my best works.”
When Sedwin approached, Barrington pretended that he had not just admitted to Sam that he missed his friend or his friend’s armor or whatever the hell it was that he missed.
“Now, what is it that you both want?” Barrington asked.
“I’d like you to upgrade my weapons and armor,” said Sam.
“So you’d like something reforged and made even stronger. Let me see your weapons.”
Sam showed him his Rapier.
“Ahhh! What a dangerous weapon! It has bathed in the blood and souls of many, so its strength is swelling. Yes! I can work with this piece. I can bring out its true potential ... if you allow me. Hehehe.”
A menu opened up in front of Sam with the options for the blacksmith’s shop. Sam quickly scrolled over to the smithing screen to see his options.
Awaken
Soul Drain
Reinforcement
With Awaken, he could use souls contained inside of his weapons to power them up. Soul Drain used his own held souls to do the same thing, while Reinforcement used rare minerals to alter the properties of a weapon and leveled them up as well. With the amount of souls absorbed by his sword, Sam was easily able to level the Rapier up to level ten, and so he did. Each level gained by the weapon had only taken five hundred souls. The base strength of his weapon had increased by a lot.
Rapier +10
Thrusting Sword
ATK 127
Weapon Damage 85
S ATK D = 8
D ATK C+ = 34
M ATK F = 0
B ATK F = 0
F RAT 0
L RAT 0
D RAT 0
P RAT 0
B RAT 4
Weight: 2.2lbs
S. ABS: 18,075
“Now we can reforge the blade. All we need is ore. There’s much of that to be found around these cursed lands.”
“Dammit!” Sam whispered to himself. He knew he hadn’t picked up anything like that yet.
“Ne’er mind. You can go ahead and use the rest of those souls to increase your weapon some more. How about it?”
There was no way Sam could say no to that. This time, each increase to the weapon’s level cost him one thousand souls until the Rapier reached level twenty. But it was worth it to get the twenty extra points of weapon damage. Every level after twenty ended up costing him two thousand souls a level. He leveled the sword four times before running out of absorbed souls.
Rapier +24
Thrusting Sword
ATK 155
Weapon Damage 113
S ATK D = 8
D ATK C+ = 34
M ATK F = 0
B ATK F = 0
F RAT 0
L RAT 0
D RAT 0
P RAT 0
B RAT 4
Weight: 2.2lbs
S. ABS: 75
“For your weapon, I recommend getting some ores for it soon. If you fancy it, that is. I sell generic pieces of ore. It’s mostly good for weaker weapons and basic armor sets.”
“Can I upgrade my armor with it right now?”
“Yes, we can reforge your armor here and now if you want. It’ll be a much sturdier piece.”
Sam checked out the blacksmith’s shop menu and bought all ten of the Mithril Pieces that the blacksmith held. He also had enough to buy a stylish Frayed Cloak, which didn’t have a lot of defensive value, but did look cool as hell. It mainly offered decent protection against ailments. There was also a boatload of new weapons that actually looked useful and an item called a Synthesis Stone that was expensive as hell. Buying it would leave Sam with next to no souls. Sam read its description.
Synthesis Stone
Used for armor synthesis.
An enchanted stone composed of rare exotic materials. No one knows where these unique stones come from, but their benefits are widely known. Most blacksmiths seem to disdain them however. For many adventurers with this stone in their possession frequently make silly requests, like permanently fusing together two sets of armor.
Sam wondered if he read that right. Did the description mean that he could fuse together two sets of armor himself? He backed out of the menu and asked Barrington to upgrade his armor with the Mithril Pieces. Barrington was able to do so, all the way to level ten, but could go no further since Sam lacked the necessary materials. The process had taken no longer than a few seconds thanks to the magic of video games. No wait times required.
“Ahh, now your armor can be properly reforged. You’ll need some bigger pieces of ore to get the job done,” explained Barrington.
“What about that Synthesis Stone?”
The smith looked repulsed by Sam’s question.
“Oh that thing? It’s just a silly trinket.”
“Can I use it to reforge my armor?”
“Yes, but I don’t see why you’d want to. There are much better ores out there, if you can find them. This stone just helps you make piecemeal armor. Nothing but silly trinkets.”
“Ah, I see,” Sam said disappointedly. He thought about all the possibilities of armor fusion as he walked quietly over near Sedwin. He made eye contact and curtly nodded at the bear and Sedwin nodded back. Sam activated the Soul Beacon and rested at it for a brief sojourn, unable to get the idea of armor fusion out of his mind. With his imagination racing, he got up and went back to Barrington. He bought the Synthesis Stone and with it in hand, he presented it to Barrington. The blacksmith looked at him disappointedly.
“So you really want this armor to be synthesized? It can’t be helped then, if you’re willing to pay for it. It’s a waste of souls, but it’s a waste of your souls.”
Sam motioned in the air for the smith to get on with it. Sir Barrington looked offended, which gave Sam some satisfaction.
“What will you combine with this set?” Barrington asked.
He was referring to Sam’s Twilight Armor. Sam only had one thing he could really combine with it and that was the Frayed Cloak he had just bought. He had the smith combine the two. The smith made him decide which part of the thick cloak to apply to his current armor set. Sam, of course, chose the long swooping frayed cape along with some other odds and ends that he thought looked cool. It all resulted in his own Twilight gear getting even more of a badass treatment. His status screen allowed him to glimpse how his character looked and he had to say that now he looked like some crazy badass dark fantasy superhero. His rambling thoughts were interrupted by Sir Barrington.
“Would you like to name this thing you’ve had me create? I offer that option to everything that I reforge, even ... this.”
“Wow! I get to name it too?”
Sam opened his menu and was stumped by what he should name his new armor. He didn’t want it to be named the Twilight Armor since it reminded him of these old lame 3D movies from the past that his sister liked to watch. He went with “Bloody Sunday’s Best” and grinned at his supposed cleverness. He looked at his new armor’s stats as well and saw that they had improved, though only marginally.
“I look freakin’ good! Now excuse me gentleman and gentlebear, I have a bastard in black to kill.”
18 Stumpy and Grumpy
“By the way, have you two seen any Cutthroats in this area? Besides myself, I mean?”
The bear and the smith both shook their heads.
“No, not at all. Cutthroats wouldn’t be interested in this part of the forest anyway. Most folks stay away for fear of running into that gigantic forest beast.” The bulky blacksmith rubbed his beard.
“Gigantic forest beast?” asked Sam.
“Aye, the one that flies. Like most beasts of its ilk, it feeds on men and their souls. What they don’t know is that the beast only attacks when you get near its lair. The parts of the forest close to here are a safe haven. The cliffs however are not, that’s where it roosts. I pray you don’t find yourself near one of those, lest you end your life as a morsel. Hahahaha.”
Sam was unsettled by the smith’s revelations, but he wasn’t completely put off by them. The northern part of the forest sounded like a suitable place to find some useful items, maybe something to help with his inevitable fight against Rondo and his Cutthroats. Before Sam left the duo of Sedwin and his master, Barrington, he bought an item called Phoenix Floo.
Phoenix Floo
Teleport to last Soul Beacon rested at.
A potent mixture of ashen remains and soul power creates the floo. The ashen remains are typically collected from the fiery beacons that dot the land of the undead. Phoenix Floo was so named because of the resonant feeling it brings to the undead who use it. They feel reborn from the fiery ash of the Soul Beacons every time they travel through the cinders.
Sam was glad to finally be able to have the option to teleport back to base. He knew that would come in handy. Before he exited, he eyed an expensive tool called Soul Bound Refinement Kit.
Soul Bound Refinement Kit
Upgrade weapons at a Soul Beacon.
Talented blacksmiths have become a rarity in the world, even moreso in the land of the undead. Because of this, warriors have desperately tried their hand at the art with mixed results. This smithing kit comprises their best efforts at invention. The tools within the kit are capable of manipulating the souls within a weapon and nothing more.
Barrington explained to Sam that the kit allowed him to upgrade his weapons whenever he rested at a Soul Beacon and that the upgrading was limited to soul drain and awakening. Sam could only upgrade with any ore he’d collected with a real blacksmith. The kit was too expensive to purchase now, but Sam made a mental note to buy it later.
He left Sedwin’s camp and headed further north, into the forest. As he traveled along the path, he rigorously hunted for treasure chests. He didn’t find much along the way. He did get something called a Warrior’s Soul from a corpse he’d come across lying under a tree and three Decoy Souls from a corpse near that. He didn’t want to stop to read the descriptions now because he knew he’d read them later anyway. He continued to walk under the tall trees, carefully looking around for any threats and treasure. He jumped backwards when some kind of giant coconut fell in front of him.
“What the hell?” he wondered out loud.
He looked up at the tall tree and didn’t see any other hazards, unless the massive branches decided to fall off. As he was looking up something ran right into his legs and knocked him over.
“Ow! What the—”
His health drained by a tenth and whatever had attacked was quickly approaching again. He rolled out of the
way and looked for the thing that was attacking. He turned around and saw that the thing had bumped into a tree and knocked down another identical looking creature. They were strange looking creatures, both covered in some sort of giant brown shell with stumpy arms and legs and a tiny head. They both stood and wobbled around like they were dizzy. Neither was tall enough to reach above Sam’s knee. He quickly ran up and attacked, while they were dizzy, with quick thrusts to their fleshy heads with his Rapier. Luckily the two didn’t have much HP, so he dispatched them quite easily and got two hundred souls from each.
“Oh yeah, I upgraded my sword! Damn, it’s strong!”
The coconut looking enemies were both covered in a faint white glow that signified that they were lootable (items can be taken from their corpses). Sam looted both and gained a Stim Plant from each.
“Thank you Stumpy and Dumpy! Your sacrifices will not go in vain.”
He bowed his head in a mock prayer to the slain creatures and moved forward without reading the description of his new item. Once again some enemies dropped down from above his head. This time two of the “Stumpies,” as Sam had taken to calling them, had dropped down at once. Each of them briefly poked their tiny blue heads out of their shells and began to roll towards Sam in tandem. Sam dodged to the side to avoid them. Another Stumpy fell from the tree behind him.
“Listen fellas, time out please! I’m just looking for some cool items, then I want to kill a scumbag named Rondo. None of that has anything to do with any of you coconut-bros, right?”
Hell's Glitch (LitRPG): Into a Dark Adventure Page 16
