World Tree Online: The Order of Epic Grinders: 4th Dive
Page 15
Thankfully, the Doghouse Inn was right next to the construction site. It didn’t take her long to return to her room and fall asleep in her bed with her clothes still on.
To Micaela, it felt as though she had barely closed her eyes when the most god-awful sound woke her up. There was a rooster just outside of her window. It crowed loudly then crowed again. “Vision, please kill that bird,” she said, setting the previously sleeping spirit wolf on the unfortunate fowl.
“With pleasure, boss,” Vision replied excitedly, slipping into the spirit realm with ease.
The rooster began to crow one more time before it was suddenly silenced with a crunching sound. Micaela smiled blissfully and closed her eyes again.
“Not another one,” Dogson bellowed from just down the hallway.
Micaela groaned, knowing what was coming next.
Pounding on her door preceded the shouts of, “Mrs. Crushhammer, you killed one of my chickens. What is it with you damned adventurers and killing my chickens?”
“Go away,” Micaela grumbled. “Tired.”
“Too bad, if you are awake enough to order your familiar to murder one of my innocent birds, then you are awake enough to get up and get out,” Dogson said, the sound of a key in the lock signaled he wasn’t kidding.
“Fine,” Micaela shouted back, then reluctantly rolled out of bed. A quick glance at her game clock said it was just past 9:00. Suddenly, Micaela was much more awake. She had overslept. She was supposed to be back at the construction site by 7:00.
A quick search of the room revealed that Micaela didn’t actually need anything. She forgot she had fallen asleep in her clothes. She rushed out of her room and past the unhappy Dogman.
“I’ll pay for the rooster, just put it on my tab!” Micaela shouted back at him as she went down the stairs two at a time.
When she arrived at the construction site, she was pleased to see that the workers weren’t just milling around. It looked like they were hard at work either stacking stone blocks to make the support pillars or stacking stone blocks to make the walls.
“Ah, Mrs. Crushhammer!” Willis shouted upon spotting her. “I was just about to send someone to find you. I hope you do not mind that I got everyone started.”
“I don’t mind at all,” Micaela replied. She was relieved to see the work hadn’t been halted without her. She also felt a little daunted by the task in front of her. The four walls would each use as much stone as the floor and more. Meanwhile, the support pillars needed to be placed at specific intervals to support each level above, which meant that there would be a support pillar every four yards, reaching from floor to ceiling. And each pillar was a yard across. Sixteen pillars in total per floor. It was a lot of stone to fuse.
“I would suggest you start with the support pillars,” Willis said, jumping right into the work. “The walls take quite a bit longer and the support pillars can only be stacked so high before we need to worry about them tipping, and if they tip, someone could be seriously hurt.”
Micaela nodded and quickly clambered down the ladder, eager to get to work. Though unlike the night before, she was able to work three cubic feet at a time thanks to reaching ‘Construction III’.
Skill: Construction
Rank: III
Level: 8
Experience: 51.41%
Description: Construction is the ability to build. You have the ability to build everything from a simple well to an ornate castle.
Fuse Stone:
Subspell Effect (Active): Enables you to fuse stones or bricks together without mortar.
Mana Cost: -100-MP per three cubic feet
“Right, let’s get to it,” Micaela said, moving up to the first pillar. First, she secured the four stones that formed the square shape of the pillar to the foundation floor, then she fused the four stones together. With all the practice she had the night before, the process was fast and efficient. Within a few minutes she had secured the three layers of the first pillar, which was just slightly shorter than she was.
“Okay, go ahead and start on the next pillar, I will call you back when we get the next layer in place,” Willis said, already moving to get workers to help him.
And, so it went, Micaela would complete the first three layers of a pillar and backtrack to add another layer to the previous. Once all sixteen pillars had their initial layers secured, she basically moved from one pillar to the next as another layer was added. When the pillar reached the ten-foot mark, Micaela was directed to the walls. Before they were able to put up the next set of pillars, the walls needed to be finished. Then half-pillars and corner pillars would be secured to the walls. Once all the support pillars were put up, support beams would be added from pillar to pillar.
Putting up the walls was easier than either the floor or the pillars. Basically, she just needed to secure the sides of each stone, first to the floor or the stone below it and then to each stone next to it. From there she just moved around the outer edge, stopping to drink, refilling her MP as needed. Barista got quite the work out as a result.
“Time for a break,” Willis said, halting Micaela’s progress on the wall.
“Huh?” Micaela asked, confused.
“Lunch,” Willis replied with a small chuckle.
“Oh,” Micaela said, glancing at the game clock and seeing that it was already 12:23. “I suppose it is,” she said, stepping back from the now four-foot-tall wall that circled the bottom of the pit. In the real world, it would take weeks . . . maybe even months to make this kind of progress with these materials. And yet, in just over a day, she had dug a massive pit, laid a seamless stone foundation floor, installed support pillars, and constructed almost half of a wall to what would soon become an Order House.
Micaela sat down and started drinking from Barista once again, replenishing her mana and snacking on a ration from her bag.
“Does that really taste that good?” Willis asked, sitting down near her, and motioning to the ration.
Micaela shrugged. “It’s fine,” she said.
Willis shook his head. “I do not know if I could stand to eat something so bland. Then again, you adventurers are a strange lot.”
Micaela laughed. She agreed completely with the sentiment.
“Still, I must say. You do good work,” Willis said, surveying the work. “Makes me think I should try to save up and get myself some of those subspells.”
“They are worth it. And I do wish at least one more person on the work crew had at least the ‘Fuse Stone’ spell,” Micaela said.
“You could always order someone to go learn it. It would cost you, but you could do it,” Willis said.
Professional Quest: Upgrade Your Workers
As the lead Forman of a Construction work crew, and at your expense, you have the authority to order one or more of your workers to learn subskills and subspells they do not already know.
Reward: Construction Experience, Enhanced Worker
Do you accept this Quest?
Yes
No
“Ooh,” Micaela cooed excitedly. Mentally accepting the quest, she then asked, “Okay, can I order you to go learn ‘Fuse Stone’?”
“You could,” Willis said. “Though, my Mana pool is not the strongest.”
“Then who has the strongest Mana pool?” Micaela asked. She knew it was the right decision to get the best person for the job to learn the spell. That didn’t mean she wouldn’t see about convincing Willis later.
Willis hummed in thought for a moment before answering, “Probably Clive or Dirk. Dirk was studying to be a priest but the God he tried to pledge to refused him. Clive attended the architect’s college in Root City for a year, I think he knows ‘Blueprint’ and already knows a large number of blueprints to go with it. Unfortunately, he has not had much cause to use either since he came back to Hurligville.”
“Then let’s send them both,” Micaela said, eager to get the help.
“I’ll call them over,” Willis said, climbing back
to his feet and walking over to a pair of men sitting and eating. They were laughing and joking with each other and seemed close, like longtime friends. They stopped laughing and quickly stood when Willis approached them. The three exchanged words before the pair looked sharply to Micaela, smiles lighting up both their faces.
“Micaela Crushhammer, please allow me to introduce Dirk Caper and Clive Vortex,” Willis introduced the pair.
“Pleased to meet you,” Micaela said, shaking each man’s hand in turn. “So, I was hoping you two would be willing to learn ‘Fuse Stone’. Help me make this process go a little faster.”
“I’d love to,” Clive answered first.
“As would I,” Dirk added.
“Good,” Micaela said, fishing a couple coins out of her bag and handing them to each. “Straight to Malcolm’s and back.”
“Yes, ma’am,” both men chorused together.
“Good lads, eager to please,” Willis said. “You will need men like those two if you intend to fortify the town against the upcoming invasion.”
“Anyone else that might be of similar help?” Micaela asked.
“Not like those two,” Willis said. “Most of us are little more than musclebound laborers. It was pure luck I learned the ‘Foreman’ Subskill. I do not have the smarts those two do. But I can help give orders to see your vision completed.”
“That’s enough for now,” Micaela said. Glad to have some help. Willis was right about needing it if she wanted to properly fortify the town over the coming month.
Willis quickly moved on, getting everyone back to work, “Alright, lunch break is over. Let us get back to work. We have a long way to go if we want this place ready in time.”
Micaela giggled in amusement. This world never ceased to amaze her. With a small sigh of regret at the end of her break, Micaela got back to work on the wall, fusing the stones. She didn’t get far before Dirk and Clive joined her, both quickly learning from her. With the three of them working together, they made short work of the walls until it stood a solid fifteen feet, plenty high enough for the half-pillars to be added and brought up to match the height of the support pillars.
“Next up, we need to get the wall connected to the half pillars and four corner pillars,” Willis ordered. “Once those are up, we’ll put in the brackets for the cross beams.”
On the top of each pillar, a two-foot-tall by one-foot-wide beam would be extended from the wall to a pillar and from one pillar to the next creating a grid. These beams would rest loosely on the stone, held in place by a stone on either side of the beam. After that, floors could be put in and the next floor of the building could start . . . after they put in stairs that is.
The wall pillars went much faster than the other support pillars, especially with the extra hands able to cast ‘Fuse Stone’. Once again, work that should have taken days was done in a couple hours.
The wood beams went in next, nestled between stone blocks then capped with more stone blocks to hold them in place. Beams were suspended from pillar to pillar until a five by five grid was formed by them, even running along the walls. The point being to have the wood beams to secure the floors to them.
“Not bad work,” Marie praised, startling Micaela as she fused the last stone cap in place, securing the last beam. Luckily, it didn’t cause any damage, or the project could have been in jeopardy.
“Marie, you startled me,” Micaela said, stepping down from the short ladder she had been using while she worked.
“Sorry about that,” Marie quickly apologized. “I was just admiring the work is all.”
“It’s not too bad for a basement,” Micaela agreed.
“Not at all,” Marie said, seemingly nervous about something.
“Is there something I can help you with?” Micaela asked.
“So, I was speaking with Bye-bye about what we could do with the extra grootslang diamond heart we acquired in the Endless Savanna,” Marie started.
“Oh, and did you two come up with anything?” Micaela asked.
Marie looked unsure for a moment before mustering all her gumption and asking, “I want to use it to build a magical forge and workshop in your Order House . . . with your permission of course.”
Professional Quest: Building Addition – Magical Smithy
Marie Tuesday has requested you build a Magical Forge within your Order House. If you accept, you will be expected to build a functioning Magical Forge within your Order House.
Reward: Construction Experience, Magical Forge
Do you accept this Quest?
Yes
No
“Awesome,” Micaela squealed excitedly, accepting the quest. “How do we do that?”
“Now, I know I am asking you for a lot here. But let me tell you, the benefits of owning your own magical forge far outweigh the initial costs,” Marie said, starting to explain her reasoning.
“Marie,” Micaela said, putting a hand on the dwarf’s shoulder, stopping her from speaking. “I said yes.”
“You . . . you mean it?” Marie asked.
“Of course, I mean it,” Micaela said. “What will it take to do it?”
“There are a few things that need to be done,” Marie started. “The forge room will need to have stone walls surrounding the designated area. With that, the ceiling will also need to be lined with stone. It will provide fireproofing, which with a fire this hot is an absolute must. You will need to leave a few ventilation shafts, fresh air in, hot air out. This is in addition to the forge’s vent.”
“Two more things,” Marie continued, fishing through her own bag for a moment before producing two scrolls. “First,” she said, holding up one of the two, “You need to build a magic source.”
Professional Quest: Building Addition – Magic Source
Marie Tuesday has requested you build a Magical Source within your Order House. If you accept, you will be expected to build a functioning Magical Source within your Order House.
Reward: Construction Experience, Magic Source
Do you accept this Quest?
Yes
No
Micaela instantly accepted the quest.
“Second,” she paused to hold up the other scroll, “You need to build a forge capable of operating on magic from the source.” With that, Marie handed the two scrolls to Micaela.
Blueprint: Magic Source – Teaches you the blueprint needed to construct a Magic Source within a building.
Would you like to learn Blueprint: Magic Source?
Yes
No
Of course, Micaela quickly accepted.
Blueprint: Magical Forge – Teaches you the blueprint needed to construct a Magical Forge within a building.
Would you like to learn Blueprint: Magical Forge?
Yes
No
Just like with the first blueprint, she quickly accepted.
“Now, you’re going to want to build both of those before you finish this floor. Especially the forge. You will want to build the vents as you continue upward . . . assuming you want to put the forge down here,” Marie said.
Micaela nodded but was distracted by the blueprints for the ‘Magic Source’ and ‘Magic Forge’.
Skill: Construction
Rank: III
Level: 29
Experience: 68.22%
Description: Construction is the ability to build. You have the ability to build everything from a simple well to an ornate castle.
Subspells:
Blueprint:
Subspell Effect (Active): Enables you to absorb construction blueprints and project them on a construction site for 1-hour.
Magic Source (Building Addition): Create a magical energy source that can be used to power magical building enhancements. Requirements: 1 8x4x4 Man
a Infused Reinforced Stone, Metal, or Wood, 1 Magical Power Source (Quality Varies)
Magic Forge (Building Addition): Create a magical forge that can be used to forge magically enhanced metals. Requirements: 120 2x1x1 Mana Infused Reinforced Stones, 1 2x2x2 Enchanted Air Stone, 4 2x2x2 Enchanted Fire Stones, 1 Enchanted Control Panel, Active Magic Source, 70 2x1x1 Stones,
Mana Cost: -100-MP for Small Structure & Building Additions, -500-MP for Medium Structure, -1,000-MP for Large Structure, -5,000-MP for Massive Structure
The two Building Additions together required a lot of materials. Beyond that, Micaela had more questions that she hoped Marie would be able to answer. “What else can this Magic Source power?”
Marie answered quickly and excitedly, “All kinds of things. You could build magic crafting stations for just about every craft . . . if you have the blueprints. These two pretty much ate up the last of my money. So, if you want any others you will need to purchase them yourself.”
“Do you know if any of them have structural impact like your forge?” Micaela asked.
“Oh, definitely not,” Marie replied. “Forges have requirements that other structures just do not . . . well, except for a lumber mill but I do not believe building a lumber mill in the basement of an Order House is a good use of resources.”
Micaela laughed at the suggestion. “No, I suppose it wouldn’t be. Next question, do you have all the parts for the forge?”
“Ah . . . no, at least not here,” Marie replied. “I just . . . could not afford them after purchasing the blueprints. I was able to order the enchanted material by placing 10% down . . . but I did not have enough to actually buy them before we left Root City.”