by R. A. Mejia
Workroom Items: Any tool or qualifying furniture that is used in the fabrication or crafting process.
I conveyed the OS response.
“Well, that clears things up,” Gnomerad said sarcastically.
I turned around, unsure of what qualified as a workroom item, and the blue light flowed over a long wooden lab table that had stacks of papers and a glass alchemy set sitting upon it. The table and alchemy equipment disappeared, but the papers fell, scattering as they hit the floor.
Items accepted. Would you like to add more workroom items?
I stood stunned. That table had to have weighed over sixty pounds, but I wasn’t suffering from the burdened status effect I usually got when I went over my carrying capacity.
“Oh, that’s fascinating. I wonder why it didn’t take the papers? Do it again.”
“Yes. I’d like to add more items,” I said with glee. If this was a workaround for carrying heavy stuff, I was all for this. I pointed the blue light emanating from my chest at another lab table with chairs and weights and a scale. Everything but the table disappeared this time.
“Curious... This time, the lab table didn’t disappear. Perhaps there’s a duplication limit to the system that’s preventing multiple items of the same kind to be taken?”
“Yes, that would seem to stop cheaters like Repair from having an unlimited storage capacity.”
I brought my Rifle out of my Internal Inventory and tried to add that too, but I got a notification.
Error. Not accepted as a workroom item. Please add tools or furniture that are used in the fabrication or crafting process.
I snapped my fingers. There went my big idea to add everything and anything I could get my hands on. I repeated the process with anything in the lab that qualified as a tool: hammers, saws, and drills all disappeared. Anything that I thought of as a tool could go inside, but nothing that I’d qualify as a weapon or a raw resource could be added. The copper or iron ingots that were stacked in the corner of the lab, for example, or the spell wand that Tognomey left on a table couldn’t be added. When I tried for the chalkboard mounted on the lab wall, I also got a notification.
Error. Item part of building structure. Please add tools or furniture that are used in the fabrication or crafting process.
“No luck with the chalkboard. Based on the notification, it’s considered part of the building.”
“Another limitation,” Gnomerad said with a sniff while making a note in his papers.
Tognomey nodded and mused, “It makes sense, I guess. Otherwise, he’d be able to store whole buildings.”
After a few more minutes adding things to my workroom, I realized that I didn’t have any idea how I’d get them back out of wherever they’d been taken, so I asked the Metalman OS.
“Query: How do I take items out of my workroom?”
To take items out of your workroom, please select them from your workroom inventory list.
“Command: Show me the workroom inventory.”
A massive transparent grid of boxes appeared in my vision. It looked like an expanded version of my internal inventory system with each item that the blue light had grabbed getting its own box. I touched the box with a small image of the lab table in it, and the light from my chest turned red as the long wooden table started to rematerialize right where I’d been pointing my open chest, which was a few inches off the ground. As the table finished materializing, it dropped to the ground with a loud thud.
The whole process took a few minutes, and while images of pulling a Wile E. Coyote and dropping an anvil on some monster flashed through my mind, I realized that it would take a perfect set of circumstances for that to be a viable maneuver in the dungeon. I’d have to have the monster immobilized for several minutes while I projected the anvil just above their heads, and I’d be super vulnerable to attack with my chest open the whole time.
No, while I’d planned to exploit the heck out of this new ability, I’d have to be careful how I did so. It was obviously meant to be used when the Metalman was safe and not in a combat situation.
Having reached the limit of what I could do with the ability, I decided to end the demonstration.
“Well, that was interesting. Thank you for sharing,” Tognomey said, but Gnomerad stood watching silently.
I replaced each of the items I’d taken from the lab back where I found them. I wasn’t going to give Gnomerad any excuse to report me to the council for taking the Institute's aid or resources and failing their challenge.
The look Gnomerad gave me, with pressed lips and a scowl, told me that I was right to worry as he checked off a list of items from his notepad as I emptied the entire workroom inventory. When I was finished, I ended the Mobile Workroom program, and the light from my chest dimmed and my chest closed.
With my latest and arguably most exploitable ability sorted out, I returned my attention to the stat point I’d gained when leveling and my class skill points. I invested the stat point into dexterity since it not only affected my accuracy with my rifle but also made fabrication and crafting faster, which meant that I gained more XP each night. I looked over my character sheet and saw that I had 5 class skill points available and called up the list of available class abilities I could spend them on.
Fabrication IV - Ability to create any small magical item in the schematic database. Requires Fabrication III. Requires 4 class skill points.
Mass production I- Ability to create any mundane small item in large quantities instead of individually. Requires Fabrication I. Requires 3 class skill points.
Improve Armor II - Can increase armor class through the use of fabrication. Requires Fabrication II. Requires 2 class skill points.
Integrated Weapons - Allows for weapons created to be integrated into frame. Requires Fabrication III. Requires 1 class skill point.
Integrated Items - Allows for created items to be integrated into frame. Requires Fabrication III. Requires 1 class skill point.
Internal Storage Weight Reduction - Reduce weight of items in internal storage by 10% per total class skill points spent. Requires at least 1 class skill point. Repeatable.
Internal Storage Increased Slots - Increase the number of internal storage slots by the total of class skill points spent. Requires at least 1 class skill point. Repeatable.
Improve Efficiency When Deconstructing - Increase efficiency when using Deconstructing tool by 10% per total class skill points spent. Requires at least 1 class skill point. Repeatable. Current points: 2
Improve Efficiency when Repairing - Increase efficiency when Repairing by 10% per total class points spent. Requires at least 1 class skill point. Repeatable.
Improve Efficiency When Crafting - Increase efficiency when using Crafting by 10% per total class skill points spent. Requires at least 1 class skill point. Repeatable. Current points: 2
The entire list looked tempting and I knew that I would benefit from any of the abilities. I could make small magical items, get an increase in my armor, add built in weapons to my frame, or increase the efficiency of repairing, deconstructing, or fabricating. What really decided it for me were the abilities I couldn’t afford yet. The ones that had Fabrication IV as a prerequisite.
Schematic Modification I - Ability to modify one parameter of an existing schematic, creating a new one. Requires Fabrication IV. Requires 2 class skill points.
Improve Stats - Can increase physical stats by use of fabrication. Requires Fabrication IV. Requires 3 class skill points.
I didn’t quite know exactly what modifying a schematic entailed, but I knew that I was tired of not being able to improve my stats. I spent four of the class skill points on Fabrication IV and the last on Improve Efficiency When Crafting, bringing the total bonus up to 30%. It would help me finish the level III class quests that much faster and increase the amount of XP I gained each night.
Eager to see what effect my applied stat point and increased class skills had on my nightly XP gains. I bid the two gnomes a good nigh
t after reminding them to deduct the time we’d spent from my debt to them, and went to my room.
Steel Ingot. Components: 1.1 lbs of Iron, 0.02 lbs of Carbon
Bronze Ingot. Components: 0.8 lbs of Copper, 0.21 lbs of Tin
I’d scanned the steel and bronze ingots I’d helped make at Master Deanly’s blacksmith shop and only had to purchase the base materials to fabricate the higher quality metal ingots. I had saved some of the iron from the day’s mining and purchased the carbon that I needed in the form of a specially processed coal called coke. I’d saved some of the tin from our mining, so I only had to purchase copper. Because of the metal’s density, it took a good twenty minutes to make each ingot. I only made a few pounds each, but that was all that I’d need for the night's work.
I fabricated large, thin, copper sheet metal that just barely qualified as a ‘large’ object for the Practice Makes Perfect III quest. I also fabricated Good Steel Nails, then bent them, repaired them, and deconstructed them. I repeated the cycle and got through about 198 nails and repaired 210 durability points before the steel I made ran out. The whole night earned me 652 XP, which was a solid 30% gain over the previous night's work.
Chapter 32 - Training Grounds
The next morning, I left the Institute to meet with Greebo and our goblin fighters Manny, Frik, and Frak at the center of town. When I arrived at the fountain outside the dungeon, Greebo was already there in his mismatched leather armor and his expanding backpack, and he was wearing the short sword I’d made him.
We’d told the Divas and our goblin miners that we were going to take the day off to do some training, so it was a bit of a surprise to see Devena Diva arrive with Manny and the twins. Like the goblins, she was wearing her armor and weapons.
After greeting Manny and the twins, I turned to the dwarf woman and asked, “Good morning. What brings you here today, Devena? I thought we’d told you that we weren’t going into the dungeon today?”
She smiled and tossed the braid of her blonde hair behind her, “I’m here cause Manny invited me to come and join you for some training. Was I wrong to come?”
I turned to look at a reddening Manny who gave me a pleading look. I shook my head and said to her, “No, the more the merrier. We were just going to work on some class quest stuff and train to raise some of our skills.”
She nodded vigorously at my description of our plans. “Good. Good. I don’t get much chance to practice with the Divas when we’re working. It's all mining and digging with those girls.” She nudged Manny with her elbow and continued, “So, when this fine goblin said you boys were gonna ‘play with your swords,’ I couldn’t help but want to watch and participate.”
The phrasing made me think of a different kind of session than what we’d intended, and a moment later, the goblins’ and Devena’s laughter made me realize that she’d intentionally did it. I gave her two thumbs up and a chuckle to let her know I got the joke.
She noticed that while Manny was laughing he was also blushing, and her laughter transitioned into a chuckle. After she gave Manny a wink, she asked, “So, where are we going to practice?”
“I thought we’d go into the dungeon’s first level and practice there since it was such a rarely visited location.”
Devena laughed again and then said, “No, really. Where are we going?”
“What’s wrong with practicing in the dungeon?”
Her expression became more serious. “Nothing wrong with the dungeon. I just thought we’d use one of the training yards from the Fighter’s Guild. They give a boost to weapon skill training.”
I thought about the last time I’d visited the Fighter’s Guild, when we’d gotten the twins their classes. There were lots of people there, and I only vaguely recalled a space in the back where people were training. I turned to Manny, and he shrugged and said, “I didn’t know about it either. I’ve only been fighting with you and the boys in the dungeon. I haven’t done much training in the guild. Only been going in to get class quests and look at what I could buy with some of my class points.” He paused and looked down before he continued, “Speaking of which, Greebo mentioned that you been helping him decide on what to buy with his class points, and me and the twins was wondering if you could do the same with us.”
I scratched the back of my head and then said, “Ok. We’ll head over to the Fighter’s Guild to use one of their training yards, and I’ll help you with your class skill points if you want.”
The twins and Manny smiled and nodded happily. Greebo didn’t seem to care either way, and Devena chuckled, happy that we’d taken her suggestion. Before we left the center of town, I made sure to purchase raw iron ore, wood, and some stone from the Merchant’s Guild. Greebo bought food to help with HP regeneration and stamina. When we’d finished getting our supplies, we went to the Fighter’s Guild, a tall stone building opposite the Adventurer’s Guild. It was two stories tall, made of cut stone blocks, and unlike many of the other buildings, it was unadorned and plain looking. We entered the building, and unlike our first visit, there wasn’t much traffic or noise. There were still a few early risers like us talking to the attendants behind the counter, but otherwise, it was empty this early in the day.
I’d only been here once and asked Devena, “How do we use the training yard? Do we just walk back there?”
“We have to pay for their use. Here I’ll take you to the attendants so we can sign up to use one.” Devena led us to the counter where a young man in dark leather armor greeted us. “Good morning, warriors. How may I help you today?”
“We want to use one of the training yards, please,” she said.
The young man nodded and asked, “Is everyone here a guild member?”
Devena looked back at me for an answer, and I said, “Everyone except one of the goblins and myself.”
The attendant nodded and rattled off, “Then it will be one silver for the non-guild members to access the basic training area. Fighter Guild members will be able to access the basic area for free. For the advanced training area, Guild members must have a guild rank of journeyman or higher to enter for free. Otherwise, they can pay the reduced rate of five silver while non-guild members must pay fifteen silver.”
“What’s the difference between the training areas?” I asked.
“In the basic area, combat skills grow at an increased rate of 10%. In the advanced area, this increased rate jumps to 25%. In the Master area, it’s 50%. But non-guild members can’t access that area unless they are paying gold.”
I considered the different boosts, and while I’m honestly tempted to pay the fee to access the advanced area, it will cut into my savings a bit too much. I need to save my money for crafting resources, not just to finish my class quests but also to get materials to rebuild my second Flintlock Rifle and my Mechanical Companion.
Besides, I knew that I was never going to be a combat specialist like a fighter class. Fighters were able to learn combat skills faster while their crafting and magic capabilities lessened, but other classes, including my own, gave different advantages. As an Artificer, I took a forty percent learning deficit for combat skills while gaining a twenty-five percent increase to crafting skills. It’s why even though I’d been fighting for so many levels my combat skills were subpar at: Bludgeoning Weapons level 9, Unarmed Fighting Level 7, Firearms level 5. And, even though I’d not spent nearly as much time on my crafting skills, Metalworking was already at level 20, and Woodworking was at level 10.
I pushed the thoughts about my own skills to the side and addressed the attendant, “We’ll take the basic training area, please.” Then I handed over the two-silver fee.
“I’ll need to see the others’ guild cards, please.” The others showed their cards, and the attendant checked them before handing them back. He stepped back and looked under the counter for something before sliding a long metal rod to me. “Here is the magical key to training area fifteen. Please be aware that any permanent damage to the area will be charged to you and you
r group. Have a good day.”
I took the key, and Devena guided us through the main hall past the double doors at the back to find a large courtyard with practice dummies lined up against the walls and other training equipment spread throughout. The dwarf took a left down a pathway that led around the courtyard and past a set of stairs that led downward to a series of rooms with numbers on them. She walked past the lower numbered doors until we reached door number fifteen.
There was no keyhole, only a metal plate in the center of the door. I approached with the key in hand, and I heard a click along with the turning of gears, and then the door opened. As we walked through the doorway, the lights went on inside and revealed a room that was thirty feet long and fifteen feet wide. The floor was made of fitted paving stones and the walls were brick. Along the wall to my left, there was a rack of wooden or dulled training weapons, and there were straw-filled training dummies propped up on poles at the far side of the room.
