by S. R. Witt
“Understood,” Osmark replied, burning with excitement to examine his Basic Artificer Class Kit Skill Tree.
“Good enough,” the dwarf grunted, pointing to the leather holster hanging from the end of the workbench. “Now, why don’t you strap that on,” Rozak said, “and then get the hell outta here and go do something useful, like a good and proper apprentice. You’ll find a list of supplies I need you to gather on my desk in the main room. Take the paper.” He paused, eyeing Osmark with a mixture of hope and suspicion. “Don’t touch anything else. Nothing.”
Osmark bobbed his head and hurried out of Rozak’s workroom before the dwarf could change his mind and reclaim the repeater. He shrugged into the shoulder holster and pulled up the weapon in his interface screen, eager to see what it could offer him.
<<<>>>
Shoddy Repeater
Weapon Type: Engineered; Firearm
Class: Rare, One-handed
Base Damage: 20
Capacity: 10 shots (Ammunition can be created using the Blacksmithing skill and any ore; it takes 1 minute to create (10) shells)
Primary Effects:
+10 Dexterity Bonus
+10% Base Ranged Weapon Damage
Intelligence Bonus = .25 x Character Level
<<<>>>
As he scanned the repeater’s stats, a new text window appeared, this one an informational overview regarding his mysterious new weapon:
<<<>>>
Repeater Tutorial:
The repeater is a refined weapon ideally suited for Artificers. Its exceptional accuracy and range allow the wielder to dispatch opponents at a distance to minimize risk to their persons.
The repeater is also highly customizable, allowing Artificers to tailor them to specific needs.
The basic repeater has three firing modes:
Single Shot is the most accurate, allowing one shot per trigger pull, and incurs no penalties while firing.
Burst Fire unleashes three shots in a single action. Burst Fire cannot be aimed and suffers double range penalties. Burst Fire can be used once every fifteen seconds.
Automatic Fire empties all remaining shots from the repeater’s magazine in a single action. Automatic Fire cannot be aimed and suffers triple range penalties. When using Automatic Fire, the damage inflicted by critical hits is reduced by 25%. Automatic Fire can only be used once per minute.
<<<>>>
Excellent. After reading and rereading the information, he closed the screen and secured the repeater in its holster; out of the corner of his eye, Robert caught Horan smirking at him. “What?” he asked the old merc.
“You look like a kid who just got handed the cookie jar,” Horan replied, hooking his thumbs into his leather belt. “It’s that nice of a toy, eh?”
Robert couldn’t help but chuckle. “Let’s go find out just how nice.”
SIXTEEN:
Level Up!
Osmark checked the in-game clock as he walked to the dwarf’s desk near the shop’s entrance. It was just before noon, which meant he only had a few short hours to spare before he needed to head down to the restricted area and claim his Faction Seal. And they would be busy, busy hours: He had to check in with his allies to see how they had progressed on their surveillance of Sizemore and meet with Sandra before heading into the restricted area. That didn’t leave him much time for anything else, but if he hurried, he could complete this quest for Rozak and still meet his other obligations.
“Here we are,” he said as he snatched up the list of supplies the dwarf had mentioned. A popup appeared, revealing a new quest.
<<<>>>
Quest Alert: A Dwarf’s Dogsbody, Part 2
Rozak needs supplies to continue his work. Gather the following and return them to Rozak for your reward:
20 Oletharin Leaves
10 Moridon Fungus
5 Chunks of Starfall Ore
These items can be found in most forests, though Starfall Ore is only found near mountains.
Quest Class: Rare, class-based
Quest Difficulty: Moderate
Success: Return all required supplies before day’s end.
Failure: Fail to return all required supplies before day’s end.
Reward: Class change; faction increase; 2,000 EXP
Accept: Yes/No?
<<<>>>
“Yes,” he confirmed absently, before turning to Horan. “Oletharin leaves, Moridon fungus, and Starfall ore. Where’s the nearest forest?”
Horan scratched the salt-and-pepper stubble on the right side of his chin. “Across the river to the east, in the foothills, before you reach the Kelos Peaks. It’s not far, but do you have time to waste on a fetch and carry mission for that grumpy old dwarf? Seems to me, a man like you might have more important business to be about.”
Robert frowned and motioned for Horan to follow him over to the bulky forge nestled in the front of the shop. He needed bullets, but he also needed to make some noise so he could talk to Horan without the crotchety dwarf overhearing.
He gathered some ore, rattling the nuggets in their rack to drown out his conversation. “Yes, I have the time. Even if I didn’t, I need to make the time. I need that dwarf to like me if I’m going to succeed here in Tomestide. And I need him to like you, too, so easy on the insults within earshot of him.”
A few minutes later, Robert had filled the ammunition straps on his holster with twenty shells and dropped another thirty into his inventory. He spent another minute creating ten more shells to load the repeater, then showed his handiwork to Horan. “This’ll make a nice hole in anything that gets in our way, I bet.”
Horan grunted noncommittally at that and followed Robert out of the shop and down the eastern road out of Tomestide. They waved at the bored guards at the gate, who nodded at them as they departed.
“Safe travels,” the taller of the two guards called as they passed.
Robert turned on one heel. “Thank you for the well wishes. And what’s your name, good man?”
The taller guard doffed his leather skullcap. “Tarlson, sir. And this here’s Gurt.”
“Well, Tarlson, you and Gurt enjoy a drink on me after your shift.” He fished a silver coin out of his belt pouch and flicked it to the guard.
Horan waited until they were out of earshot of the guards before grumbling, “They don’t even work for you, and they’re getting paid better than me.”
Osmark rolled his eyes. “You’re getting paid. And you get a bonus, remember?”
Horan grunted but didn’t challenge Robert.
He knew which side of the bread his butter was on.
A few minutes after leaving town, the duo reached the river, which rushed beneath a stone bridge. The swiftly moving waters crashed over hidden boulders, kicking up whitecaps with a rumbling roar that made it impossible to carry on a conversation. Robert admired the turbulent water as they crossed over, his boots click-clacking on the cobblestones. Its determined flow had changed the face of the earth over the centuries. No matter what obstacles rose in its path, the water found a way around them.
And if it couldn’t go around a barrier?
It would simply wear the obstruction away with its tireless, incessant efforts.
Not long after they left the bridge behind, Robert and Horan reached the forest’s edge. The wood was not as dense as the Blackwillow nor as intimidating—just a loose gathering of towering elm trees covering the gently rolling hills. The trees were widely spaced, and the forest floor was free from the tangled undergrowth that had clogged the Blackwillow Forest, though occasional berry bushes dotted the ground. The shadows looked cool and inviting below those trees, and Osmark couldn’t hide his smile as they entered the forest.
This was certainly a marked improvement over his last foray into the woods.
“We need twenty of the Oletharin leaves, ten of the fungus, and five pieces of ore. You know what any of that looks like?” Robert asked Horan.
“Aye,” Horan replied, coming to a halt a
s he pulled a waterskin free from his belt, fingers working at the cap. He took a long pull, stifled a soft burp with one hand, then stashed the water. “Oletharin leaves have seven points and a red stem, and Moridon fungus grows on the south side of elm trees. Has these bright blue edges. Damn hard to miss, that stuff. As to Starfall ore”—he seesawed his head, left, right, left, right—“well, it looks a bit like copper nuggets, I suppose. But it has green veins running through it.” Horan clasped his hands behind his back and kicked a rock from the path. “I guess I’m a foraging mercenary now.”
Osmark cocked a finger at the NPC. “Don’t let anybody tell you you’re not quick on the uptake.”
Horan grumbled and tilted his head to the north. “I’ll head over this way and start poking around. Just holler if you need me, sir.”
Before Horan could take a step, Osmark lunged at him and hooked an arm around his throat. “Don’t move.”
The NPC gasped for air and choked out, “Ease up on the neck, I’m not moving.”
Robert released his grip slowly, ensuring his friend wasn’t going to take a step in the wrong direction before he understood the danger. Osmark pointed at the ground ahead of Horan, where a slender strand of twine was drawn tight through the sparse undergrowth. “You just about strolled into a trap.”
The duo traced the trip line over to a nearby elm, where a carved wooden trigger held it taut. From the trigger, a coarse rope ran straight up the side of the elm, looped once around a sturdy branch, and ended at a suspended bundle of jagged rocks.
Horan let out a long, slow whistle. “That might have cracked even my thick skull.”
“Doesn’t look like whoever set this trap was worried about camouflaging it. Probably a fur trapper or hunter trying to bag some game without sitting in the woods all day,” Robert said. “Still, if there’s one, there are likely more. Just keep an eye out, and you’ll be fine.”
“Aye, I’ll do that. The last thing I need is to get laid out by a hunter’s trick.” Horan eyed the rocks again. “If I see anything that looks dangerous, I’ll give you a shout.”
Robert nodded and turned his attention back to the trap, squatting down and scrutinizing it thoroughly. The trip line ran across an almost-invisible rutted game trail, and the crude trigger resembled a simple fallen branch if you didn’t know what to look for. “A rockfall trap,” he read from the system message as he added the trap’s plan to his repertoire.
“I wonder just how many more of these things are scattered through this forest,” he mused, vowing to keep a close eye on his surroundings. If he focused too much on finding the supplies Rozak needed, there was a good chance he’d blunder into one of the hunter’s other surprises. He considered disarming the rockfall, then shook his head. It was inconvenient to have to keep an eye out for someone else’s traps, but better that than destroying someone else’s livelihood.
He needed to get searching, but Rozak’s words of warning rang in his head like a gong—he wouldn’t be able to use his repeater without first acquiring the skill from his class tree. And honestly, he was excited to see what other options would now be available to him. His skill tree would morph and expand once he acquired his final, specialized Artificer class kit, but now that he was officially in the fold, he felt safe to divvy up his Stat Points and start unlocking a few of his new abilities. He spotted a large flat-topped rock butting up against a stout elm and took a seat as he pulled up his interface.
He toggled over to the character screen; he’d only managed to hit level seven so far—though he was only a handful of experience points away from eight—but that was okay. Once he got to his restricted zone, chock-full of high EXP mobs loaded down with loot, he’d power level in no time.
Currently, he had 18 Stat Points to invest, and he knew just what to do with them. He immediately dumped 13 points into Intelligence, then dropped the last 5 into Dexterity. A small part of him was sorely tempted to invest a few into Constitution and Vitality, but he knew min-maxing his most important stats would pay big dividends in the long term.
With that done, he pulled up his character sheet and examined his work:
Satisfied, he closed out from the character sheet and pulled up the Basic Artificer Skill Tree screen. The kit seemed rather basic at this point—though Osmark knew he’d gain more options once he earned his specialization—and appeared to be broken down into three primary groups: Offensive Firearm Skills, Traps, and Passive Abilities. Most of the awe-inspiring skills and abilities were blocked at the moment, due to level restrictions, but there were still a few options available. Osmark slumped back against the tree trunk, crossed his ankles, and carefully reviewed the different choices.
After several minutes of careful examination, Osmark knew what he wanted to invest his meager stock of points into. Since Clockwork was his first prerequisite skill, he dropped a single point there, then selected two active skills—Firearms and Focus Fire—as well as the Caltrop defensive ability, which seemed to function as a powerful crowd control technique.
<<<>>>
Skill: Clockwork
With a fundamental mastery of science and physics, engineers can transform raw materials and resources into deadly ranged weapons, uniquely modified armor, terrifying mechanical minions, and deadly traps built with the use of reason, steam, and gears instead of magic. The Clockwork skill increases the mechanical efficiency of all crafted items.
Skill Type/Level: Passive/Initiate
Cost: None
Range: N/A
Cast Time: N/A
Cooldown: N/A
Effect 1: Engineered Weapons Base Damage increased by 5%.
Effect 2: Trap and Turret durability increased by 5%.
Effect 3: Sigil efficacy increased by 5%.
<<<>>>
Skill: Firearms
Eldgard is a world of lethal weapons and deadly magic, ruled by sword, bow, and spell. Yet a new item is slowly invading the realm: firearms, a powerful type of ranged weapon. Since they are fueled by gunpowder and steam, however, only a select few have the inclination and know-how to build, maintain, and wield such weapons.
Skill Type/Level: Passive/Initiate
Cost: None
Range: N/A
Cast Time: N/A
Cooldown: N/A
Effect 1: Wield firearms, a class of restricted weapon.
Effect 2: Increases firearm damage by 3%.
Effect 3: Increases weapon reload speed by 3%.
<<<>>>
Skill: Focus Fire
Focus Fire gives the Artificer accuracy and damage bonuses to successive attacks against the same target. This ability, when activated, can stack with repeater fire modes and Burst Fire.
Skill Type/Level: Active/Initiate
Cost: 50 Stamina/Sec
Range: 40 Meters (Line of Sight)
Cast Time: N/A
Cooldown: N/A
Effect: +60% Accuracy against same target.
Effect 2: + Physical Damage (100% x Spell Strength); + 5 pts Burn Damage/sec; duration, 15 secs.
<<<>>>
Skill: Caltrop
Deploy a Caltrop bomb, which explodes when enemies approach, causing minor damage and temporarily slowing all hostiles in range and badly hindering movement. Up to (4) Caltrop bombs may be placed at one time; set bombs remain active for (1) hour.
Skill Type/Level: Trap/Initiate
Cost: 50 Stamina per Bomb
Range: 35 Meters
Cast Time: 1.0 seconds
Cooldown: N/A
Effect 1: Physical Damage (50% x Attack Strength).
Effect 2: Hindering enemy movement by 55%; duration, 45 seconds.
<<<>>>
He wouldn’t be a powerhouse in the melee department anytime soon, but with Clockwork, Firearms, Focused Fire, and Caltrops at his disposal, he would stand a chance, so long as he played things smart and didn’t take too many uncalculated risks. He still had two points left, so he decided to pick up Custom Built and Perfectionist—both passive abi
lities:
<<<>>>
Ability: Custom Built
The Custom Built ability allows Artificers to destroy found or crafted items, salvaging them for usable parts, while additionally granting them the chance to discover blueprints for how those items are made. Additionally, this ability allows Artificers to use blueprints to modify existing weapons, armor, and mechanical items.
Skill Type/Level: Passive/Initiate
Cost: None
Range: N/A
Cast Time: N/A
Cooldown: N/A
Effect 1: Destroy any player-controlled item and receive 50% of the original building material.
Effect 2: Destroying a complex crafted item gives the player a 40% chance of discovering a “blueprint” for the item.
Effect 3: The Mechanical Artificer can add one “blueprint” modification to a compatible item.
Restriction: Can only destroy found or crafted items—potions, scrolls, and books do not count.
<<<>>>
Ability: Perfectionist
The Artificer’s meticulous eye for detail saves them time and money when slaving away in their laboratories, crafting innovative and often dangerous machines. With the Perfectionist ability, both the cost and time requirements of crafting or modifying items are drastically reduced, increasing overall productivity.
Skill Type/Level: Passive/Initiate
Cost: None
Range: N/A
Cast Time: N/A
Cooldown: N/A
Effect 1: Production costs (coin, ore, lumber, oil, gears, and all other gathered ingredients) are reduced by 12%.
Effect 2: Production time for crafting or modifying items is reduced by 12%.
<<<>>>
He closed out of the skill tree, but immediately noticed a new tab in his interface: “Artificer Build Mode.” Curious, he scrolled over and opened the new screen. Inside was a “Salvage” section with a list of gear he currently possessed that could be broken down and reclaimed for items or blueprints. Below that was a “Modify” section, followed by a “Manufacture” option with a scant list of items he could build, including ingots, bullets for his pistol, and something new, which flashed in hazy yellow in his vision. Caltrops.
