The Mechanical Crafter - Book 2 (A LitRPG series) (The Mechanical Crafter series)

by R. A. Mejia

  Please choose a target.

  My vision turned red, and eleven choices were highlighted, each a different rune engraved in the building’s stonework. Some were located around the large display window, others around the front door, and others still inside the shop. I selected one at random, and that rune turned green.

  Spell scan complete. Spell: Alarm. Components: 1 bell. Alarm schema recorded and added to the database.

  I almost jumped for joy. I was so excited at the success. Sure, it meant that the store was warded with magical spells and that it would not be advisable to try to rob it, but it also meant that I had a rare chance to pick up some new magical schema. I used Magical Spell Scanning on all the other runes that I could target, but all the others came back with an error message.

  Failure to scan spell. Current level insufficient.

  It was the first time I’d gotten a failure message, but in a way, it made sense. After all, I was only level 4 and couldn’t expect to gather powerful high-level spells without working for them. I tried to spell scan a few more stores as I walked but got the same results. I guessed that the lowest spell they used was Alarm, which, based on the description, worked as a magical alarm system and placed an invisible barrier around an area that sounded a loud bell whenever someone crossed it.

  I reached the center of town much quicker than I normally would have and noticed that there were a few vendors working despite the lack of crowds and a holiday. Unfortunately, only one I visited had a broken iron weapon, and that was only a dagger. I whispered the command for Inspect and received the information on the item.

  Broken Iron Knife

  Damage 0-0

  Weight 1.2 lbs

  Durability 0/4

  The item had zero durability left, which meant that it could not be repaired by anyone, not even me. Items like that wouldn’t do damage, stop attacks, or work in any way. So, they were sold off to vendors for coppers on the silver and bought by low-level smiths and craftsmen who would melt them down and make low-quality items. Still, even though it was broken, I gladly paid a silver for it because smelted iron costs two silver a pound from the Merchant’s Guild. I found a quiet place to deconstruct the item and repair myself. I was still down a few health points but should be fine for some dungeon diving.

  The thought reminded me that today Greebo and I would enter the fifth level of the dungeon. It was always exciting to face an unknown challenge with new monsters and dangers. The thought also reminded me that I'd wanted to look into adding someone to our group.

  I walked to the Adventurer’s Guild and noted that there were barely any people even here, only a single elven teller behind the back counter, which was more than enough to handle the few adventurers in the building. I unconsciously made two thumbs up as I thought about Sandra Silverclaw, my favorite sexy beastkin teller at the guild. We’d gone on a sort of date and met at a bar in the Northern District to celebrate when I’d gotten my third level and Greebo his fourth. She’d pressed for a more intimate date later, but I’d gotten busy saving my friend’s life and then working in the dungeon.

  I turned my mind away from those pleasant thoughts and searched near the quest board for anything resembling a 'looking for group' system but found nothing. While I was there, I grabbed two repeatable quests for the fifth level of the dungeon, making a mental note that I'd have to be sure to share them with Greebo when we met up later.

  Kill 50 Mudmen

  The population of the Mudmen on the fifth level of the dungeon has increased. Help bring down their numbers by killing 50 of them and returning with their stone cores as proof.

  Reward: 1 Silver

  I continued to look around for something like what I needed then decided to ask the teller on duty about seeking a new group member. I walked up to the counter and was greeted by a thin elf with long green hair. "Good morning. How may I assist you today?"

  "Good morning to you too, miss."

  The brief flash of annoyance on the elf's face told me I’d made a mistake. Elves were a bit androgynous on this world, and while they were all very attractive, I always had a hard time telling the guys from the girls. I tried to salvage things. "Uh, I mean, sir. Obviously sir. Good morning, sir."

  The elf's lips pressed together, and his eyes narrowed, clearly having not bought my correction. In a less cheerful tone, he asked again, "How may I assist you?"

  It took me a second to remember why I'd come to the counter. "Oh, uh, I was looking to recruit a new member to my group and was wondering how I went about that."

  The elf nodded and then reached under the counter and pulled out a book with a thick wooden cover. He opened it and said, "You may either post a request for a particular kind of class or person you are looking for or look through the list of individuals looking to join a group."

  I looked around and thought it would be a waste to wait for someone on a day like this. "I'll look through the one for those looking for a group."

  The elf opened the book and flipped through the pages. "The choices today are rather limited. There is a level 12 minotaur Gladiator, a level 2 pixie Pirate, or a level 6 human Mage."

  I didn't think the Level 12 minotaur would be interested in our level 4 group, so I asked about the pixie Pirate and the human Mage. The elf touched a small gem and said, "Please wait over there." He pointed to a table and chairs. "I've called the pixie and human."

  It only took a few minutes for the pixie to arrive. The front door swung open and a streak of blue light shot through. It circled the room and landed on the table I sat at with a slight thud. The pixie was only an inch tall and wore a black tricorn hat, a striped shirt, and had a tiny cutlass at his belt. In a high-pitched voice, he said, "Arrgh matey, I’m Pirate Pete. Do yee be the one looking for someone to join your group?”

  I stared for a moment at the sight of such a tiny winged pirate and then started laughing. I couldn’t help it. He was so adorable with his tiny pirate outfit and squeaky voice. I just wanted to hand him some Halloween candy.

  However, Pirate Pete did not appreciate being laughed at. He scowled, drew his sword, and stabbed at my hand, which happened to be on the table near him. The point of the tiny blade skidded off the metal plating of my hand with a spark. The pixie didn’t do a single point of damage, but he kept stabbing and slicing in a fury. So many sparks were flying that I was worried that we might accidentally catch something on fire.

  I suppressed my laughter and apologized. “Woah there . . . uh, matey. I’m sorry for laughing at you. It was entirely inappropriate for a business discussion.”

  The pixie, who was so irascible, shifted emotions again. He stopped ineffectually slashing at my hand and, with a quick turn, faced me and sheathed his cutlass. “Yer apology is accepted. I should not have been so quick to anger. I hope I didn’t hurt yee too much?”

  “No, I’m quite fine. But let's put that incident behind us and talk about what you can do for our group.”

  Pirate Pete bowed with a flourish of his hat and then proceeded to detail his long and illustrious career as a pirate on the lake he was born near. He told of his mighty battles with all manner of sea monsters like minnows, scuds, and crayfish. He also built his own boat out of driftwood and leaves, which is how he got his class in the first place.

  Though I suspect the tales were exaggerated, they were well told, and I clapped after he finished.

  “Those are great accomplishments, but as far as I know, the early levels of the dungeon don’t have any water areas, so there is no need for boats. You also don’t seem to be a big damage dealer. Our group will be heading into the fifth level of the dungeon, do you think you could survive and contribute there?”

  Pete stopped and paced for a few seconds before bowing again. “I be sorry. But though I believe in me battle prowess on the high seas, I don’t think I could honestly aid ye while I was only level 2. Unless ye were willing to return to the lower levels?”

  “Sorry, no. If anything, we’ll be taking higher risks to
get through the fifth level of the dungeon and to the sixth soon. We’re not likely to go back to the lower levels unless it’s to gather specific resources.”

  Pirate Pete the pixie then flew into the air, said his goodbyes, and left. As he flew away, I found myself regretting his absence. He was a likable character, but it would have been too risky for him to join us on the fifth level. One unlucky strike, and he would have died. Perhaps, if he increased his level quickly, he could join us another day.

  I waited at the tables in the adventurer’s guild for another fifteen minutes before the next candidate appeared. He walked through the front doors, and I knew I disliked him immediately. He had an air of arrogance as he sauntered in and talked to the elf at the counter. The elf pointed me out, and I waved, but the human did not wave back. He was of medium build and height and wore only a simple grey robe with a small book attached to the belt at his waist. He approached me, and I could tell by the scowl on his brow that he wasn’t pleased to see me.

  He sat down on the opposite side of the table, and before I could even greet him, he said, “Golem, where is your master? I do not like to speak to underlings and would prefer to negotiate my rates with the one with the coin.”

  The condescending look on his face made me want to ball up my fist and punch him, but I restrained myself. Greebo and I needed another group member, and this guy looked like a mage or priest. Either class would add to our group, and I could copy their spells for my infusion schematic list. I moderated my tone, held out my hand, and said, “I am the one with the coin. My name is Repair. How do you do?”

  He looked at my outstretched hand like it was covered in filth. “I am in no mood for levity, golem. Where is your master?”

  “I am my own master,” I answered. Then I remembered my license with the gnomes. “Though it is technically true that I am owned by the Gnomish Research Institute.”

  He nodded, as if that last statement made everything make sense. “Ah, I see. You’re one of their experiments. No wonder your behavior is so odd. I shall overlook it as a quirk of their experimentation. I am Harrison Freud, level 6 Aeromancer. If you wish for me to help you level, I will require 50% of all the loot we receive while working together and 2 silver as payment upfront for my time.”

  I considered his terms and countered, “I’m afraid that 50% will be too much. My group already has another member, so the highest we can go is 33%. I’ll also only pay 1 silver for your services and half of that upfront.”

  The mage turned red in the face, and I thought he would refuse my offer, but I was surprised when he said, “It’s much less than I normally take, but I’m in need of funds for my research, and there are not many other groups available today.” He stood up and held out his hand for his coin, so I handed him 50 copper. “I’ll wait for you at the entrance to the dungeons. Please collect the rest of your party, and don’t doddle. If you take more than half an hour, I will consider our agreement canceled and keep the deposit for my services.” Then, without another word, he walked out of the guild office.

  I wasn’t sure how to feel about Harrison. He was arrogant and brash, but he was a mage, which meant that he might be pretty useful--especially if I could scan any of his spells for my own uses. I tried to maintain a positive outlook and hoped that he’d be a good addition to the group.

  Chapter 6 - New Acquaintances

  Only having half an hour before I lost my deposit with Harrison Freud, I could not afford to wait for Greebo to appear. I quickly checked our normal meetup location at the fountain, but not finding him there, I ran to his home in the Monster District. My metal-plated feet clanged on the stone streets as I ran, even though I was wearing shoes. I made it to Greebo’s housing in record time and burst into his shared room, waking up several sleeping goblins. It took a minute to find Greebo among the goblins, but I eventually found him curled up in a ball, sucking his green thumb and mumbling something about Gnarry and some delicious green melons. I recognized the name of the waitress from the Tipsy Minotaur bar that Greebo frequented. Instead of shaking him awake and helping him up, I tossed the sheathed short sword and the leather armor by his bed on top of him, grabbed the blanket underneath him, wrapped the goblin up like a little knapsack, and then ran out of the building and back to the dungeon. If not for the fact that I didn't tire and that the streets were practically empty, I would not have made it back in time.

  Still, it was a close thing, as the clock above the Adventurer’s Guild in the courtyard told me. I found the Aeromancer impatiently tapping his foot watching the clock.

  “You made it with two minutes to spare, golem. Where is your other group member? If he’s not here, I insist we start anyway and split the loot 50/50.”

  I dropped the bundle of goblin on the ground and untied the sheets wrapped around my struggling friend. Greebo stared up at me, his sheathed short sword clutched in his hands, until recognition hit him.

  “Repair?!? What in the blazes do you think you’re doing? I thought I was being kidnapped again and nearly soiled myself.” He looked around and then said, “Are we at the dungeon on a holiday? I thought for sure you’d let me sleep in today. If I’d known you were going to be this persistent, I would have drunk less last night. I still feel sick.”

  “Is this the other member of the group? A drunk goblin?” asked Harrison Freud with a disgusted look on his face.

  “And who is this uppity human?” Asked Greebo.

  “Uh, Harrison, meet Greebo. Greebo, meet Harrison. Harrison is the new member of our group today. I had to rush to grab you, or I would have lost the coin I’d paid him as a deposit for the day. Now, please get dressed so that we can get down to the fifth level of the dungeon.”

  Greebo scowled, shook his head, and said, “You decided to hire a merc without even talking to me about it first?” The goblin glanced at the mage then continued, “Don’t expect me to pay for this guy. His fee and the loot split is coming out of your funds, not mine.”

  I knew that he was right and that I should have talked to him first, but I had already paid the mage out of my own money and didn’t want to argue with Greebo in front of the new guy, so I just said, “Fine.”

  Greebo got to his feet and quickly donned his armor and belted on his short sword, getting ready to go in just a few minutes. He gave me an annoyed look but spoke to the air mage. “Nice to meet you. If we’re going to be in the same group, I guess we should be on friendly terms at least.” He held out his hand for Harrison to shake.

  Harrison just sniffed disdainfully and said, “Let's just get this over with.” Then he turned and walked towards the dungeon.

  Greebo stared after the rude mage then he turned towards me. “Great new group member you chose.”

  I shrugged my shoulders and twiddled my thumbs, my adapted sign for a sigh. Part of me knew that I should have just waited another day to hire a new group member. The holiday had really limited my choices. But I just felt this frantic sense of urgency. I’d spent the night crafting for a small amount of XP and dwelling on just how unprepared I felt for the competition. The idea of wasting another day made me feel anxious. But I didn’t want to explain that much in front of the new guy, so I simply said, “There weren’t a lot of choices. It was this guy or a level 2 Pirate pixie. I figured the level 6 Aeromancer would be more useful.”

  I saw that Harrison hadn’t stopped to wait for us and jogged after him. A moment later, Greebo caught up to me and muttered. “I’d rather have had someone that I didn’t want to kill. But what’s done is done. We’ll just have to make the best of this.”

  We caught up to Harrison while he was still halfway down the stairs to the fifth floor of the dungeon and slowed to a walk. We each silently showed our badges to the guard at the entrance to the level then entered the tunnel that would lead us to the monsters.