The power forced into the ingot built up. The Mana powder was glowing and showing signs of movement. Under Rugrat’s continued hammering, the dust started to change, turning into a liquid that fused with the ingot.
Before, they had simply been particles of dust in metal; now they were becoming a single entity.
Rugrat only worked harder. His muscles that hadn’t been used to smith in too long were burning and tight, but he pushed onward.
The Mana had overloaded the Mana powder, filling it to the brim to the point where it exploded inside the metal, the power leaching into the metal.
The Mana in the workshop was pulled inward, circulating the Mana stone before being drawn in, increasing the strength of the iron ingot. It took on a shine similar to silver, but in Rugrat’s eyes, silver couldn’t even compare to the beauty of the ingot.
He tested it. He had never seen an Earth-grade iron ingot before, but it was clearly not a piece of Mortal-grade iron anymore.
Rugrat grinned as he looked at the rough-looking ingot held by his tongs.
To others, it was nothing more than a boxy-looking piece of metal. To Rugrat, it was a masterpiece and proof of his recovery.
“Now just what are you capable of?” Rugrat put down the Earth-grade ingot and pulled out a Mortal-grade ingot as he started to record information into his newly discovered Smithing Book.
***
Erik closed the book in his hands and held onto it. He looked at the other bookcase but instead of seeing it, his mind was working over the thoughts, the ideas he had read about.
“In the end, there are many paths. It’s just finding the best one suited for the person.” Erik tapped his fingers on the book, sinking into thought.
There are a number of different items that one can consume to increase their Body Cultivation, not just concoctions but there are natural resources in the world that one can find and consume to increase their Strength. Finding these things is rare and they are usually found in dangerous places so that they are given time to grow and other animals and people will fight over them to increase their Strength.
Other than concoctions and natural resources, one could step into an area filled with Fire attribute Mana and use the Mana to increase the strength of their body, working to increase their Fire resistance and create changes on the smallest level in their body, breaking it down and rebuilding it with the Fire attribute. One could walk into a volcano, or be placed into a special cauldron; both of these were incredibly painful but they had greater effects than just the concoctions. If the concoction could be taken in conjunction with being in these harsh environments, then the process could be sped up drastically.
“When I was overcoming the poison, I needed to heal my body constantly until it got to the point where it had changed to deal with the poison, changing the entirety of my body. This is the same thing—internally or externally, I need to change my body.” Erik sat there for some time.
“I could look and see if I can find a concoction to increase my Body Cultivation, and see if there are areas where the Fire Affinity is especially high in the surrounding area.”
With this in mind, Erik headed to the Supply Hall.
Erik moved to a counter.
“Hello. How may I help you?” the man asked from behind the desk.
“I was wondering if you had any concoctions that might temper one’s body?” Erik asked.
“Certainly!” The man pulled out a book filled with information.
Erik looked through it. He had thought the man would give him formulas but he truly had a deep collection of concoctions that could temper one’s body, increasing their resistance to different things, increasing the abilities of their Mana Gathering systems. The array of them was mind-boggling.
“How aren’t you sold out of these?” Erik muttered to himself but the man behind the counter must have heard it.
“While we do sell a number of concoctions to temper one’s body, a number of them are held back for the use of the Alchemist Association. If we were to increase everyone else’s Strength and not look after our own, we would fall behind others quickly. Also, the prices here are lower than what people on the outside buy for to help out fellow alchemists.” The man behind the counter smiled.
It makes sense. Increase the strength of your people first, then others. If alchemists weren’t able to get concoctions to assist themselves for cheaper prices than outsiders, it could make things harder on them. Alchemists not only produced the most amount of concoctions, they used the most. With their fighting styles, their craft—they used concoctions all the time. He had created poison to be used on Rugrat and his rounds and arrows. He had also made multiple Defender’s Might so he could use it to boost his offensive power in a fight. Mana, Stamina, and healing concoctions—he used and consumed these on a regular basis. He only drank water more than these three concoctions.
“Eight Mana stones, that is not bad,” Erik remarked.
The man behind the counter coughed slightly. “Those are contribution points. Each contribution point is worth ten Mortal-grade Mana stones.”
Erik’s eyes widened. The pill was still cheaper than what he might find in the outside world, but eighty Mana stones was much higher than what he could handle. “Can I get contribution points to convert Mana stones for them?”
“You can convert Mana stones for them and most people do. You can also take on missions from the Mission Hall to get contribution points. Also, for meritorious services, you can be awarded contribution points as well.” The man smiled weakly. He seemed to have figured out that Erik didn’t have any contribution points even though he was a Journeyman-level alchemist in the association.
“You can also take on jobs in the Alchemist Association to get a number of contribution points, like take on moderation jobs, or run different offices,” the man said.
“Okay. Thank you for your time.” Erik made a note of several of the concoctions that looked useful for him and passed back the book.
The other man nodded apathetically as Erik turned and left.
I need to make some damn Mana stones!
His thoughts turned to Ebeneezer’s proposition and the formula he had nearly completed in his storage ring.
Matt and Domonos were off in the markets of the Division Headquarters. Both of them were traders. Matt was relatively new to trading, only doing it for a few years, but he had been trading in the third realm while Domonos had only been in the sect. Domonos had been brought up in a trading household so he had the background but not the practical experience in the Third Realm. With Domonos’ upbringing as a trader and Matt’s knowledge of the local market, the two of them complemented each other. Allowing them to turn some profits as they made a game out of trading their loot.
“Erik!” Rugrat yelled from his smithy.
“How did you know it was me?” Erik asked as he headed toward Rugrat.
“Your Mana signature—it’s really easy to pick you up. I think my control over Mana has increased but it looks like it’s a hidden stat and I can’t find information out about it. It might be because of the pill,” Rugrat said as Erik finally entered the smithy area and saw two ingots in front of him.
Erik’s Mana system might not be as strong as Rugrat’s but he could still feel the density in the two ingots were of vastly different quantities. “What is that?” Erik asked.
“Earth-grade metal ingot, baby,” Rugrat said with a wide smile.
“Unlike the Mortal-grade ingot, this can contain a lot more Mana. It is actually easier for Mana to move through it, increasing the strength of enchantments. So say you enchanted it with a Water attribute to increase cutting force by three percent on the Mortal iron—it could reach five percent easily with the Earth-grade iron. If someone of skill was to write the formations, then the increase would be even greater! I have no idea what kind of effects Sky-grade iron might have but I bet that you could use Sky-grade ingots to make magical weapons—talking about some beefy-ass enchantments that no
t only increase the fighting power of the weapon but the user as well.”
“Wait, wait, back up. Enchantments? Could you make an enchanted flame dagger thing?” Erik asked, as something had just clicked in his mind.
“Well, I don’t have Fire formations but maybe I can buy one in the future. Why?”
“Do they have Fire attribute weapons for sale here?” Erik demanded.
“I would think so.”
“I think I have a bad idea.” Erik’s serious expression turned into a smile.
Rugrat looked at him sideways and unconsciously stepped backward.
Chapter: Putting Down Roots
Erik passed over the gold to the weapon merchant and left the store. He headed back to his residence and then to his room. He pulled out the dagger.
==========
Burning Crescent
==========
Attack: 56
Weight: 3.4 kg
Health: 89/100
Charge: 80/100
Innate Effect: Bleeding Effect 10/s
Enchantment: Ember Edge—inflict burning damage for 3/s on target
Requirements:
Agility 31
Strength 7
==========
It was a plain-looking curved dagger, vicious and effective. It curved under one’s hand, running in line with their knuckles. It had been blackened but one could see faint glowing red-like embers in the enchanting formation carved into the blade.
It was an exceedingly simple assassin’s blade. Erik didn’t care about anything other than the Fire enchantment on the blade.
Erik pulled up his pant leg and used Simple Organic Scan. He put down Wraith’s Touch to numb the area and pulled out the dagger.
“Not the smartest idea I have ever had.” Erik took the blade and cut into his lower leg, making sure to not cut too deep or nick anything that was useful.
Erik felt a burning sensation in his muscles. The blade was pouring out Fire Affinity Mana into his body, in levels that he couldn’t handle, causing his body to start failing from the high Fire Affinity Mana poisoning him.
Erik stopped cutting his leg and waited the three seconds for the burning sensation to die down. Erik used his Focused Heal spell, and the wound disappeared.
Erik then stabbed the blade into his leg and left it there. The burning sensation got worse as it expanded out. It reached nerves that hadn’t been numbed, making Erik scream between his gritted teeth. He pulled out the blade and used healing spells; the healing spells counteracted the Fire Affinity Mana that was attacking him internally.
The only thing that had decreased was the charge by one point.
Erik used his Simple Organic Scan and looked at his leg. With his near picture-perfect memory where it came to medical and Alchemy matters, Erik could tell that his leg had undergone a minor tempering.
“Okay, so this is going to suck a little bit.” Erik sighed. I want to get to a point where I could be stabbed by that blade for an hour and it wouldn’t have an effect.
Erik took the blade and stabbed it back into his leg. This time, instead of waiting on healing, he started healing right away, trying to contain the burning embers that were trying to spread through his body and burn him from the inside.
***
Erik gathered everyone together for a meeting. Domonos, Matt and Rugrat all looked at him as he cleared his throat.
“All right, so we need to talk about the future. What do you guys want to do? Are you interested in staying here in the Third Realm or do you want to come and check out Alva Dungeon and advance through the remaining realms?” Erik said.
“You make it seem almost easy,” Matt said.
“It won’t be easy but I’ve got some confidence. The path ahead will be right through the Fourth Realm and for that, we might need some help,” Erik said.
“I want to see my family back in the First Realm. Then I will decide about going forward,” Domonos said.
“What about Old Hei?” Rugrat asked.
“We are now both people of the Alchemist Association. While people can choose to stay in one location, we also have the freedom to move around. I have not made any oaths to anyone. Only if I want to be taught in one of their schools or if I want to work in their headquarters would I need to. Old Hei has made those oaths, so he will have to go where they say. Though it is not like we would be cutting off all contact with them. If we are able to get a residence here, then we will have a base for people to come to to buy and sell our goods as well as have an opportunity to join the Alchemist Association if they desire. The people of Alva are looking to go into the higher realms. This puts them into a city we know is largely safe, with a place that they can go to if they need help. Also, we can open it up to the dungeon below so if someone wants to make trouble then they’ll be in a world of hurt. Gives us a fallback and an outpost to work from.” Erik looked at Rugrat.
The other two looked at each other in question, not making any sense of what Erik had said.
Matt let out a cough. “A small place here would be worth around four hundred Mana stones,” he said apologetically.
Erik closed his mouth and made a pained noise. He winced and turned his head to the side. “Fuck, that’s steep,” he said in a breathless voice before recovering.
“Well, I have a way that we can get that kind of money easily. I just need to do a deal with the Blue Lotus. It will also afford us some more protection in the future.”
“So head back to the First Realm. But you talked about going to the Fourth Realm with more people?” Rugrat asked.
“Yeah, it’s time that we trained up the people of Alva, turned them into a true military. We’ve given them quick training courses and they have been in a number of fights and work in parties. Though we need to take it a stage further: break them down completely, rebuild them up with standardized gear and weapons. With just us in the Fourth Realm, if I’ve learned anything from the Third Realm, it’s that having allies is your best bet to make it out of a shitty situation. It is an opportunity to train and a way for us all to gain strength. I also don’t think that if we were to go in parties and smaller groups that the outcome would be good. They’ve fought against beasts but it’s time that they got true training, and then, only when we’re satisfied, we take them up against other people.”
Erik’s words were harsh, but if they had a military that was only used to killing beasts weaker than them, they would be hardly useful if an enemy rushed Alva Dungeon.
“Okay, but when you go to see Old Hei, I want to come with, to express my thanks,” Rugrat said.
“Okay. Then I need you two to look for a residence in this area.” Erik pulled out his map and marked an area that was close to the expanded hidden area of the dungeon.
Domonos and Matt copied it.
“Then take this to go and buy as many items that you think would benefit crafters with this.” Erik pulled out his remaining thirty or so Mana stones.
“Don’t worry, we’ll look after it,” Matt said. Domonos nodded.
“Umm, so what kind of figure are we working with here?” Matt asked, wincing already.
“I guess I’ll find that out tomorrow. I need to go and write down some formulas.” Erik sighed, sounding drained.
Chapter: Rise and Fall of Money
The next day, Erik sent a message to Old Hei asking whether they could meet. He agreed, so Erik and Rugrat headed into the depths of Division Headquarters.
They passed the posted guards, meeting Old Hei for breakfast.
“Morning.” Old Hei waved to them in greeting, doing away with the bowing and the rest of it.
Erik bowed his head slightly and moved to the table as Rugrat walked up to Old Hei. The guards in the room moved and adjusted to intercept.
“Thank you for the pill.” Rugrat was uncommonly solemn as he cupped his hands and bowed deeply to Old Hei.
Old Hei laughed, dismissing everything.
Rugrat only tightened his fist, unable to fully conve
y his gratitude.
Old Hei patted him on the shoulder. I once had a friend as close as you, you don’t need to have the same blood in your veins to be brothers.
Erik stepped forward and cupped his fist as well. It might look ridiculous and feel ridiculous but Erik respected Old Hei in his bones.
“Old Hei, I need to compensate you for those ingredients,” Erik said. He felt as though he were taking advantage of Old Hei.
“Don’t worry about it, Erik. If it was not for you being there, I would have not been able to complete the pill, never mind challenge my limits and achieve an enlightenment about my skills and abilities. Resources are just resources—we can grow and find more—but improving one’s skills and ability is something that can only be done through hard work and spurts of rapid growth through enlightenment,” Old Hei said.
Erik could only sigh and drop the topic, truth, after all is truth.
“Come, eat with me and let me know what this other matter is!” Old Hei said.
Erik and Rugrat moved to the table and sat down.
“You know what I was working on when we were in the Second Realm?” Erik asked.
“The potion you were selling off to the Blue Lotus, yes.” Old Hei nodded.
Erik pulled out the two formulas he had made and passed them to Old Hei.
Old Hei looked them over.
“These potions—there is no wonder that they have never been made before. The preparation process is one of the hardest just because of the main ingredient. An Apprentice could make the potion, but a Journeyman would be needed to refine the materials. Then this new stronger version—it might take an Expert to refine the ingredients, but then a Journeyman could make the potion once they have the prepared ingredients,” Old Hei said. “I should start to buy stocks of the leaves. Thousands would be consumed to refine just a few tens.”
“It is indeed the hardest part of the process, though my problem is not with the formulas or making these concoctions—it is what I should do with them. The Blue Lotus has voiced an interest in the formulas. They consume and use the potions at a rapid rate and I am not able to meet their demands,” Erik said.
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