“Well then, I need you to acquire a lot of carapace for me. Enough that I can experiment and figure out how to turn it into armor and more so that I might make you a piece,” Loral offered.
Quest Alert: Armored Carapace 1 (Recommended Level 2-5)
Loral Wednesday needs Carapace to experiment with in order to learn how to make leather armor using it. Acquire 50 large pieces of Carapace.
Reward: Experience, Random Heavy Leather Armor
Do you accept this quest?
Yes
No
Penelope accepted, more than a little excited when she saw the title say, ‘Armored Carapace 1’. That little ‘1’ suggested it was a chain quest, though she didn’t know what Loral could possibly ask for next. And finally, it occurred to her that she didn’t have a clue what carapace was. So, she asked, “Um, what is carapace?”
Loral laughed. “Carapace is part of the exoskeleton of certain insects and some sea creatures. It is made of chitin and can be quite hard but also lightweight and flexible if treated properly. In this case, I am talking about the chitin from spiders. It is the hard, upper shell of the cephalothorax.”
Penelope understood part of the explanation. “Okay, and what is the cephalothorax?”
“Where the legs attach,” Loral answered, helpfully.
Lora was being very patient with Penelope. The young woman half expected the Dwarf to get annoyed or to shoo her away. And yet, Loral kept answering and explaining. Penelope still had more questions, so she asked, “Great, and they just drop from the spiders when they die?”
“Oh, goodness no,” Loral said. “You need to use ‘Scavenging’ or ‘Skinning’ to remove it from a dead spider.”
“And what is ‘Scavenging’?” Penelope asked, she was starting to feel like she knew nothing about the World Tree, despite her conversations with her mother and father about it.
Loral finally sighed. “I am not as good at it as Sooty so I cannot teach you much more than the basics, but it should be good enough. That is, if you are willing to learn.”
Quest Alert: The Way of the Scavenger
Loral Wednesday has offered to teach you how to scavenge useful parts from defeated beasts and monsters.
Reward: Experience, Skill: Scavenging
Do you accept this quest?
Yes
No
“Finally, a quest that actually helps me,” Bell chimed in, floating down. “Sure, no armor or equipment I can actually use, but I’ll still take it.”
Penelope had long since gotten used to such antics from her friend, it wasn’t really surprising. What was surprising was the offer to teach a skill. Her mother said that there were skill trainers all over the place, but other than Trinico and Sergeant Butters, she hadn’t run across one. She hadn’t really been looking either, so . . . “So, is this normal? I mean, can you just teach us stuff? Like could you teach me ‘Leatherworking’ and ‘Skinning’?”
“I would be happy to teach you my professions,” Loral said, looking excited. “Do you want to learn?”
Quest Alert: Loral’s School – Skinning, Tanning, and Leatherworking
Loral Wednesday has offered to teach you her professions and to train you in their application.
Reward: Experience, Professional Skill: Leatherworking, Professional Skill: Skinning
Do you accept this quest?
Yes
No
“Before I accept, I want to ask, is leather armor the best choice for me? Earlier you mentioned that heavy leather armor would be good for me, but don’t most Paladins wear heavy chainmail and plate-mail?” Penelope asked honestly.
“It all depends on what kind of Paladin you want to be,” Loral said.
Penelope nodded, hoping Loral would tell her more.
Loral didn’t disappoint as she continued, “As a Paladin, Strength will be one of your primary stats. It will allow you to wield heavy weapons like that club of yours, as well as wear metal armor like chainmail and eventually plate-mail. Metal armor like that will usually offer stat increases to Strength and Endurance with minimal increases in Dexterity or Stamina.”
“So, wouldn’t something like ‘Blacksmithing’ be better for me?” Penelope asked.
“Do you plan to become like a Rose? I think Bye-bye and your parents called it a tank,” Loral asked.
Penelope recoiled. “Not at all,” she said. “I like fighting up close and personal, in melee, you know? But I have no interest in tanking. It’s why I chose the giant tree branch for a weapon instead of a sword and shield or something similar.” Penelope still smiled internally when she referred to her club as a giant tree branch, it was what Bell called it the first time she saw it and the name just stuck.
“In that case, heavy chainmail and plate-mail will increase your damage but otherwise not serve you very well. Now, heavy leather, like the carapace I am hoping to experiment with, also gives boosts to strength but instead of Endurance to boost your ability to take a hit, it increases your Dexterity and Stamina. In other words, you hit harder, you hit more accurately, and you have energy to swing more often. Your goal as a Paladin is to use your physical skills to boost your spell damage,” Loral explained.
“So, is heavy leather also good for a warrior who focuses on damage dealing?” Bell asked.
“It is indeed,” Loral said. “Now, I want you to have an understanding of how the other armors work. For a start, light armor in general is considered the armor of the spellcaster. Light leather in particular will add a lot of Dexterity and Intellect as well as some Stamina or Wisdom. Light chainmail armor with add similarly but also add a little Strength. Light plate-mail just increases the values added by light chainmail and maybe a little Endurance. Obviously, the amount of armor provided will increase as you move from leather to chainmail to plate-mail.”
Penelope was paying rapt attention. She didn’t know any of this. Having heard about light and heavy armor, she wanted to know about medium grade armors as well, so she asked, “What about medium armor?”
Loral smiled, seemingly happy to explain to an attentive audience. “Medium leather balances between Strength and Dexterity with a little Stamina and Endurance. Same for medium chainmail and plate-mail.”
“Then wouldn’t medium or light be best for me?” Penelope asked. “I mean, I do have spells to cast so Intellect from light armor sounds like it would be valuable, no?”
Loral shrugged. “If that is how you want to develop, then certainly. However, I would point out again, Strength is going to be one, if not the most important stat for you. For example, Penelope, you should have at least two Paladin combat abilities, would you mind telling me about them?” Loral asked.
“Oh, sure,” Penelope said, accessing her list of abilities.
Skill: Strength of Will
Rank: I
Level: 1
Experience: 97.44%
Description: A spell to increase your force of will through causing damage to an enemy.
Spell Cast Speed: Instant
Range: Self Only
Spell Effect (Active): Increase the damage of your next spell cast within 5-seconds by the amount of damage you deal with your next melee strike.
Mana Cost: -25-MP
“I have a spell called ‘Strength of Will’ which increases the damage of my next spell by however much damage I cause,” Penelope said, reading the spell description again for herself. It just didn’t sound that impressive.
Skill: Will of Force
Rank: I
Level: 6
Experience: 1.25%
Description: A spell to unleash your will upon an enemy.
Spell Cast Speed: Instant
Range: Self Only
Spell Effect (Active): Unleash your will inflicting 10-15 Holy damage to a single target.
Mana Cost: -20-MP
“And a spell ‘Will of Force’, it’s pretty weak though. It only does 10-15 spell damage,” Penelope said. “Actually, they are both pretty weak.”
>
“Ah, but you are missing the most important part,” Loral said. “If you can strike an enemy first with your club for -50-HP damage with your ‘Strength of Will’ active, then cast your ‘Will of Force’, you will cause -60-65-HP damage. Understand now?”
Penelope blinked as she tried to understand what Loral was telling her. It was so simple and right in front of her. She thought her ‘Strength of Will’ spell was a throw away because it didn’t increase her damage at all. She didn’t realize she was supposed to be using it in tandem with ‘Will of Force’.
“I get it now,” Penelope said, mentally berating herself for the oversight. “I should have paid more attention. I’m such an idiot.”
“Not at all,” Loral said. “You are just new to this world. Now, back to my explanation about your armor choices. Medium leather armor will give you equal amounts of Dexterity and Strength where heavy leather armor will give you more Strength than Dexterity. Now, based on that information and your two skills, which armor do you think is best for you?”
“Heavy leather,” Penelope answered. “If I am able to hit harder then my spells will do more damage.”
Bell interjected, “But doesn’t she need Dexterity to make sure she hits the target?”
“Indeed, she does, it is a balancing act between the two stats. Too much Dexterity and not enough Strength means she will always hit what she swings at but if she does not do a lot of damage then what was the point?” Loral asked.
Penelope nodded in agreement.
“Okay, then what about Intellect and Wisdom?” Bell asked. “Aren’t those important for a Paladin?”
“If she were a healer, then sure. But she plans to be a damage dealer, which means Intellect and Wisdom are not nearly as important as Strength. Her abilities are granted by the divine. She is assisted by the divine to cast her spells making them much less costly. A little time studying, and she can earn plenty of Intellect and Wisdom to fuel her spell costs,” Loral explained.
Bell didn’t seem happy with the response. “But I’ve heard of armor with all kinds of stats, why is your explanation so different?”
“There are ways to add any stats during the creation of the armor with the right materials or if you’re an Enhancer. Though I will tell you up front, Enhancers are quite rare,” Loral explained. “Of course, there are oddities. Bye-bye, have you met Bye-bye yet?” Then quickly continuing before either Penelope or Bell could answer, she said, “Anyway, Bye-bye’s armor was forged by a God and God forged armor can be whatever the God wants it to be. Us lowly mortals can only ever hope to make something so grand.”
“What’s an Enhancer?” Bell asked, changing the subject rather abruptly.
“It’s a class. They have the ability to bring out the best in materials. They can make any material highly valuable. They are also quite adept when it comes to enhancing a party’s strength. Even a weak Enhancer is able to double the effect of any spell that would increase your stats,” Loral answered the question.
“Wow, where can we find one of those?” Bell asked.
Loral smiled and held back a chuckle, “I only know one and I only met him briefly in Hammerton before I left the city to join Olaf and the others on their adventures.”
“So, are they like Mages?” Bell asked.
“Yes, though they are not a Mage,” Loral answered. “And someone who has accepted the class Mage cannot become an Enhancer.”
Bell deflated. “Aw, no fair,” she pouted.
Loral chuckled. “Such is life, my young friend.”
Penelope finally got to speak as Bell went silent. “Alright, teach me what you know. I want to become a leatherworker,” she said, finally accepting the quest to learn to become a leatherworker and skinner.
Loral smiled brightly and nodded.
It came as a surprise when Rick, one of the two lumberjacks, suddenly spoke up, “This should be good.”
Penelope saw they had moved a reasonable distance north and east from the village. The smoke from the town could still be seen as could the top of the town hall, though just barely with the dense forest surrounding them.
“These trees should be perfect,” Adrianna said, putting a hand on the bark of the nearest tree.
Rick nodded his agreement and produced a long saw with handles at both ends. He set the blade to the tree and Adrianna took the other end. Together they sawed back and forth, quickly cutting through the base of the tree.
What Penelope didn’t know when they began sawing was that a
Penelope rushed toward the pinned lumberjack and swung her large club in an underhanded golf swing to catch the bottom of the giant spider. Her hit lifted the spider off Adrianna and dealt -18-HP damage. Then she mentally cursed, she forgot to use ‘Strength of Will’. Going in for a second attack, she cast her spell then swung . . . and missed as the spider was blasted backward by a lightning bolt from her Fairy friend.
“Sorry,” Bell said.
Penelope wasn’t worried though, her spell was still active, and the spider was stunned by the shock. She approached and swung. Her club slammed down, dealing -28-HP damage, a critical hit at that. And wouldn’t you know it, the rotten, twice cursed spider just up and died. All that work and she couldn’t even test out her boosted spell. Naturally, she cursed. And worse, there wasn’t another target for her to vent her frustration on.
“Nicely done,” Loral said, hopping down from the wagon. “Time for your first lesson, ‘Skinning’ for Penelope and ‘Scavenging’ for both of you. Gather around, you two.”
Penelope followed Loral, trying to let go of her frustration and focus on what the Dwarven woman was about to teach.
“First,” Loral began, “Spiders have a lot of material to work with. The carapace can be used to craft armor. The fangs can be used for weapon making, as can the venom sac, which can also be used by an alchemist to make an antidote to the poison or to make a stronger poison. Alchemists will also take the eyes as they can be used for a potion that allows the imbiber to see heat. The legs can be boiled and then eaten, much like some kinds of seafood, or so I have heard. And if you are really good and careful, you might get really lucky and be able to collect the silk from the spinnerets in the abdomen.”
“Abdomen?” Bell asked, looking low at the underbelly of the dead spider.
“The back end,” Loral answered quickly as she kneeled down on one side of the spider. “Now, we start by removing the carapace. Unfortunately, this carapace was damaged by that last hit,” she said, pointing to the spiderweb of cracks in the center of it. “We will not be able to use it for crafting, but it still needs to be removed.” Loral produced a curved knife. Its blade wasn’t much longer than her thumb. With a sudden move, she jabbed the blade into the spider, just above the leg where there was a small seam. She then started cutting and prying at the damaged carapace, working toward the abdomen. Then she cut up and over where the carapace met the abdomen, then along the other side of the carapace. “Now, the head is the tricky part. We want to preserve the eyes and the mouth, so we need to carefully cut through the carapace,” she explained as she began to slowly saw through the hard chitin just above the eyes. When she got to the other side and cut to where she had started, she pried one more time, giving her the space she needed to get her fingers under the edge. With a wet sucking sound, the carapace popped free.
“I think I’m going to be sick,” Bell said, turning away.
“Oh, it is not that bad,” Loral said, setting the damaged carapace aside.
While Bell looked to be sick, Penelope was intrigued. She had always liked biology classes. She couldn’t say she’d ever studied insects much. If there had been more of a need for it, she probably would have studied biology at the university. As it was, this would suffice.
Loral continued to process the different parts. Showing them how to remove the legs to maintain the most
meat, how to remove the eyes from inside the carapace and the risk of damage if you tried to pull them out the other way, and then how to remove the fangs and venom sac without poisoning themselves. Finally, she turned the body over and cut into the underside of the abdomen, removing the thinner outer shell first. Then, with as much care as she could, she started cutting through the various layers until she got to the spinnerets. Unfortunately, she cut a hair too deep and the ichor seeped into the spinnerets, ruining the silk.
“And there you have it,” Loral said, wiping her hands off on a rag she pulled from her bag. “The legs can be sold at one of the inns, the fangs to a blacksmith, and the venom sac and eyes to the alchemy shop. And if the carapace had been undamaged, you would have had your first piece for my quest to you.”
Penelope was then rewarded with a system message, one she assumed Bell also received.
You’ve learned the skill ‘Scavenging’
Skill: Scavenging
Rank: I
Level: 1
Experience: 0.00%
Description: Parts have value to crafters of nearly all profession. Being able to scavenge those parts can be messy but very lucrative. Scavenging gives you the ability to retrieve useful materials from dead beasts and broken machines.
Skill Effect (Active): You have a 10.00% chance to scavenge something useful from a beast or machine and a 0.10% chance to scavenge something more useful.
World Tree Online: The Order of Epic Grinders: 4th Dive Page 24
