In a hidden room.
"Let go of me!" The little girl Kat fought for her life but she couldn't escape the man's grasp.
The camo cloaked man teleported himself inside an iron cell with no doors or locks. The cell had several more kids inside, all between the ages of 7-10. They all looked scared and horrified.
"Let go you mean, nasty, man."
The man threw her inside the cell like a sack of potatoes, and teleported himself out.
"Well, that's the 12th one this week. I honestly cannot believe how easy the parents make it to kidnap these kids, it's as if they want them to get kidnapped. What a world we live in. Even though I'm wanted, the parents do nothing! Nothing! It's like they don't think it could ever happen to them until it actually happens." The camo cloaked man laughed to himself, and took out a notepad and wrote something in it.
"I need a few more to meet this month's quota." The camo cloaked man changed the appearance of the cloak to a black sweater with a hoodie.
"I still have a few days left."
A white stone that was on his desk glowed brightly. He knew who it was and read the message.
{I've changed my mind. Deliver the full 'merchandise' by tomorrow. And make that they're not 'broken' in any way like last time}
The man took a pencil and wrote in it.
{I still have some time before the month's over}
{Like I said I changed my mind. If you don't deliver it you won't get paid}
The man looked angry. He placed down the stone on his desk.
"So much for taking the rest of today off."
"Hey! My daddy will come to save me! Us! Let us go." The little girl was not scared but tough.
"Yeah, yeah, I've heard that line dozens of times. 'The heroes will protect us. My grandpa will save me. I miss my mommy.' bye."
The man teleported out of the secret room which had no windows, no doors, no exits. It would be impossible to find the place where the kids are in.
Kat used her little arms to break out of the iron bars, but how could a kid possibly bend iron bars?
Kat turned and saw the kids in a corner of the cell, all huddled and scared.
Meanwhile…
Will had finished modelling the cave to his very liking. In the center is the exotic seed. Beside it exotic tree saplings. He figured that since the exotic trees were already emitting light, they didn't need the sun. And also the brown book said that these trees can grow underground, but still needed to be watered.
Adaline used her roots to water the trees and the seed.
"Well that's awesome. Now I need to block the entrance to this cave." Will treated this as his secret man cave. Only he and Adaline would know about this place.
He covered the entire cave in granite so nobody could see it or destroy it.
Adaline was sitting in the middle of the room very satisfied.
"Did you like the food?"
"Hisssss." Adaline nodded, totally satisfied.
"That's good. Help me put the rest inside the chests so they won't spoil."
He and Adaline carried the remaining corpses of the scorpions into the chests. Adaline now had more variety of choices to eat.
"Let's get mining."
Adaline and Will mined straight down. As they got further down they found more ores, more gold, silver, and granite, but less stone.
Finally after a while, they found something new and rare.
{Sapphire}
{A rare mineral but not as rare as diamond. This mineral is beneficial to sorcerers}
Will unlocked more crafting recipes that are sapphire related.
He looked through it and found that this had the same crafting materials as the diamonds.
Meaning that he could build a sentry turret using sapphires instead of using diamonds.
"Strange. Is it basically the same thing? No, I think diamonds are better. I remember Jack told me that sorcerers use minerals to power up their strength, but diamonds are one of the best to use, but it's difficult to make even if a master blacksmith uses it."
Although Will could use other rare materials as a substitute for diamonds, they won't be as good or as powerful as diamonds.
"Still, this is good. It's not diamonds but I'll take it." Will proceeded to keep mining more and more. With Adaline's help it was a breeze.
After a few good hours of mining, they found many rare materials
{Sapphire 5x}
{Gold 129x}
{Granite: A bunch}
{Ruby 8x}
{Emerald 5x}
{Diamonds 2x}
{Iron 403x}
{Copper 664x}
"Thanks for your help." Will patted Adaline's head which she enjoyed. He was indeed very grateful to her. Without her, he wouldn't have accomplished much.
Will and Adaline got out of the cave. The first thing he did was make a sentry turret.
{Sentry turret: Sapphire}
One could see the sapphire on the turret.
"How does this work exactly?"
Will touched the turret, and more boxes appeared in front of him.
{Sentry turret: Sapphire}
{Durability 10000/10000}
{Ammo: 0}
{Range: 40m}
{Allies: None}
{Sentry mode: off: Voice activation required}
{Attack mode: off: Voice activation required}
When Will touched the turret, a white line surrounded his base. It was the turret's max range of attack.
"The {Allies} box?"
Will touched the {Allies} button, and the faces of his camels, and Adaline appeared.
"Hm." He touched Adaline's picture, and it appeared on the box.
{Allies: 1}
"So, I can insert the allies' pictures as long as they're in range of the turret. Okay then."
Will took one of his camels from the other side of the wall and placed it near the turret.
"I was gonna kill you anyway and eat you, so no hard feelings. Sentry mode {on} Attack mode {on}"
The turret aimed itself at the camel and began spinning rapidly, but no bullets were coming out.
"Oh wow, so it does work." Will put a few bullets in. Not long after did the turret start shooting at the camel until it's HP reached 0.
"Sweet. With this I can leave my base alone."
Will put in 1000 bullets in the sentry. He also built a few more sentries to cover the area. First he made the camels his allies so the turrets wouldn't kill all his livestock.
Will thought that he would need to do that for every turret, but no. Once he puts the allies on one turret, the rest of the turrets automatically recognized the ally as well.
His minerals were limited, he could only build 2 ruby sentries, 1 emerald, and 1 sapphire sentry. Since he couldn't craft anymore, he left the rest on his base to build the power source generators to make an even more powerful power source generator.
After testing them, he came to learn that emerald is the second strongest, sapphire third, and ruby fourth. The first is obviously diamonds.
"I wonder if I can build golems in the future. But first." Will grabbed a diamond and crafted it into something else.
The item in his had looked like a round, glass badge. It had a diamond shape carved in the middle.
{Energy shield: Diamond}
{Durability: 10000/10000}
{Once it's durability is lowered, it'll recharge itself over time. Even if it reached 0 durability it won't break, but it will take longer to recharge and won't be useful until it has fully recharged itself}
{It's weakness is explosives, super powerful attacks, and large and heavy objects}
Will realized that having this energy shield is the same as having 10000 HP not to mention his armor, his HP.
"I guess I am a walking tank now sorta." This way bullets nor ordinary weapons won't damage him much. But if he comes across more enchanted weapons, his shield won't last long.
Will treated it as a pin and placed it on his chest piece. It was now stuck there for good unless he wanted to remove it.
"Now the exclusive crafts mentioned a super map or something. I could really use that now."
Will collected all the wood at his disposal. It was so much. But he crafted it all to paper. There was only a bit of exotic wood left.
"I hope this is worth it."
{Super map}
The map showed a little black dot, which is him. He could see that the map showed him where he was, and it even showed him his base.
"This is definitely useful. But I still need a lot to craft. Let's make a list… man I have got to stop talking to myself."
Will took out a piece of paper, some ink, and wrote down a list of trades he needed.
A bunch of leather.
Gold, and rare minerals.
Wood.
Etc.
"Let's see, I have 880 silver coins, 20 gold coins that I took from the village. Crap. That's right, that darn village! They probably saw my face and drew my face on wanted posters."
Will thought about it. And sighed. He grabbed some exotic wood and began crafting.
"I'll have no choice but to make an exotic mask. I don't like wearing masks. They hinder my vision and breathing. But I guess I have no choice. Rather this than be captured."
Will crafted an exotic mask, it took awhile since he modified it a little bit. When he crafts armor, it usually also let's him decide the appearance of the design.
{Exotic mask}
{Defense 9+}
The exotic mask only had eye holes in it, the eye holes were glowing brightly. It fit his face perfectly even when wearing a helmet.
Once he put on the mask, he noticed that it didn't hinder his movement. If anything he could see just fine.
"Wait, so this mask doesn't hinder my vision? Damn. And I could've made a mask all this time. Oh well." Will shrugged it off and mounted Adaline.
"Let's go, Adaline! Sentry mode {on} Attack mode {on}"
The turrets were now looking around and scanning the area for intruders.
"I love this system."
Adaline ran with an amazing speed towards the forest. It would take merely an hour to get there.
"Woah, you're faster now. Try running in your exotic form." Will had an idea.
Adaline glowed brightly and her speed got noticeably faster.
"HOLY! THIS IS AMAZIN- AW DAMN BUGS! Great. Now my mask will get splattered with bugs. Ugh."
At the speed they were going, they didn't even need to wait 30 minutes until they arrived.
They hope that this time this village won't try to kill them. Even if they did, they were confident in escaping and robbing them before anybody could stop them.
But Will really did need a place to trade and have people work for him. He didn't want to collect all the materials himself.
Meanwhile…
Jasmine was with Jack, chatting with each other. They were both in Jack's room. Jasmine was on a chair and Jack was on his bed.
"And then I met this giant snake, and I burned it to cinders." Jasmine finished telling her adventure to Jack. She also told Jack about what she found in the village. But Jack's mood worsened. To cheer him up she told him of his adventures and he seemed ecstatic, like a kid watching a cartoon of his favorite hero.
"Man, I feel envious of you. I wish I could become a sorcerer."
"You can. In 9 months the Great Sage will hold more auditions for sorcerers. If you have the aptitude you can become one."
The Great Sage is the only way to become a sorcerer. It was a test, and everyone wanted to become a sorcerer. But only 10 get elected every year. It was a long and painful process.
"We both know I can't become a sorcerer. If I become a sorcerer I won't be able to make weapons and armor for the heroes." Jack said.
"But if you become a sorcerer you can fight alongside them."
"I could, but I am afraid of monsters. I'd rather work and help heroes in the comfort of my home where it's safe."
"True."
Jasmine got up and sat beside Jack.
"Jack, in the future, if I don't become a kingsguard, will you still help me?"
"Of course I will. But I know that you'll become the best kingsguard ever."
"If I did it'll be quite a leap. The first female kingsguard ever." Jasmine could imagine it. She would be an inspiration to all women, and show to all the men that women can be just as good as them as long as they work for it.
"Jasmine, I never asked, but why do you want to become a kingsguard?" Asked Jack.
"Remember when we were kids, in the old village where you used to live?"
"Yeah?"
"That day when we were playing tag in the forest, we traveled further than we were supposed to, and we saw the king, with sorcerers, and the king's guards around him fighting an apex dragon?"
"I can never forget that day. The king wanted to kill an apex dragon himself that day, and many sorcerers and all his kingsguard protected him. It's what made me admire heroes since that day, because if those guys are awesome, imagine the heroes."
"Yeah, right after you wet yourself at the sight of the dragon, and I had to carry you back home on my back." Jasmine smiled and laughed.
"Shut up. You cried too when we arrived home." Jack blushed a bit.
"I did. But it was the day I decided I wanted to be a kingsguard. But everyone made fun of me because no one believes that there can ever be a female kingsguard. The only ones who believed in me are my family, you, and your family as well."
"What about Kyle?"
"What about him?"
"Never mind. Then you can certainly prove those who don't believe in you that they're wrong." Jack said with shining eyes.
"Thanks for believing in me." Jasmine laid her head on his shoulder.
"Of course, what are friends for?"
"..." Jasmine.
"Anyways I've gotta go now." Jasmine grabbed her stuff.
"So soon?" Jack felt bad to see Jasmine leave.
"I can't afford to waste too much time. I need to practice, work harder, and get stronger so I can get 5 stripes before I turn 21. And it looks like those other creeps won't cause trouble anymore. And I want to leave before Kyle realizes I'm here."
"You work too hard. Can you please take small breaks like this one? Your health is important as well."
"I know and I will."
"And also, it's almost your birthday."
"Almost. See ya, Jack. Say 'goodbye' to your family for me. And if I find your friend… never mind." Jasmine flew out the window..
When Jasmine flew out, she saw a man adding another poster to the board.
She saw that it was the poster of a missing child named 'Kat' with a perfect detailed drawing of her face.
"This monster." Jasmine clenched her hands. "He's been kidnapping children for years and no one has captured him."
Many sorcerers, including her, have tried to capture the kidnapper. But he can teleport using a magical item that he possesses. It made him near impossible to detect or track down.
"Last seen… okay. That's my next clue." Jasmine knew where she would be going next.
Meanwhile…
"Okay, slow down Adaline. We're already here."
Adaline stopped and accidentally flung Will off her back.
"Ow. At least my armor broke my fall."
Adaline helped Will stand up.
"Now, where is the nearest village? Do you know?"
Adaline looked around a bit, communicated with the trees. She used her roots to point at a location.
"Lead the way. But don't go too fast." Will got on top of her once more.
It didn't take long for them to arrive in the village. It was a different village this time.
"Okay, now stay here and don't let anyone see you. If you find yourself in trouble, run. I'll be fine if I die. Okay?"
Adaline nodded. She camouflaged herself to the trees blending in perfectly with the surroundings.
"I sometimes forget you can camouflage."
Will entered the village this time with his guard up. There was no way he's gonna take his armor off for any reason. This armor and energy shield is what will protect him from a sneak attack, and cover his face from being recognized in the wanted poster boards.
Will first entered a new store he hadn't seen, the sign read 'rocks' so he entered the store.
Inside were various ores, rocks, fancy rocks but useless overall. Behind the counter was an old, plump man examining the rocks using a microscope. Once he saw Will enter he dropped what he was doing.
"Welcome, I am a collector of-"
"Yeah, yeah, how much for gold, diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and emerald?"
"You sure like to get to the point. I'm afraid I don't have those gems, but I do have gold."
"Why don't you have those gems?" Asked Will.
"I sell them to the blacksmiths, they have better uses for it."
"Makes sense. I'll need to pay them a visit. How much gold do you have?"
"Let me see."
While he looked around, Will touched the microscope and the fancy rock to add it to his crafting recipes. The fancy rock was just basically a normal rock, but just carved like a sculpture of a flower.
The microscope required glass to craft it which is something he lacked.
"I have some gold with me. Just a chestful."
"Can I see it?"
"Uh, sure." The man signaled Will to follow him to the next room. Will saw the room filled with ores and rocks.
"How do you have so many ores?"
"I'm in the mining business. I dig up the ore, my friends give it to me, I sell it, and we split the profits evenly between us."
"How do you mine?"
"Pickaxes. Explosives are also used, but they damage the ores and we lose a ton of money and it's dangerous. So we don't use them as much anymore."
"I see. How much is all this gold worth?" Will didn't need the other ores, gold was just fine.
"Well… gold is hard to smelt, and it only used to make gold coins. I guess 200 gold seems reasonable."
"200…" Will didn't have enough, even with all the coins he had on him. He needed the rest to make more trades, especially leather and wood.
"I don't have enough on me. Sorry for wasting your time."
"It happens, kid. Come back soon." The old man shrugged it off as Will left the store.
After exploring the other stores, and getting a better understanding of the worth of the materials he needed, Will placed a paper on the board.
{Materials}
{I am willing to buy the following materials}
{100x leather piece 20 silver coins}
{100x wood/logs 10 silver coins}
{Meet at sunrise at this spot}
The average price for this much wood is 2-3 silver coins but leather was worth 5-6 silver coins. Will was selling it at a higher price so that people would flock to him. If he sold it at the same price, then what would be the point of selling to him?
"Hopefully people will see this. Hm?"
Will noticed a poster of Grace, and himself but his dragon helmet had his face covered on the poster. Also Clement's. And many missing kids as well.
"I don't remember seeing these many missing children… an unknown man who calls himself 'Taker' has been kidnapping children for years now. No one knows who he is, or what he looks like. Some say he wears a cloak, a sweater, shirt, but no other descriptions have been discovered. None of the kids have ever been rescued."
Will was fazed a little, but got over it. This world is dark and the sooner he accepts it, the better he'll be.
He left the spot and kept looking around the area. Will visited the potion shop to see what else they had.
On the back of a building, was a small, skinny, young kid making a mud castle. His mother was there folding the laundry while keeping an eye on her son.
As the mom was folding the blankets, she saw a man wearing a dark hoodie appearing before her son in a blink of an eye, and disappearing along with her son.
"MICHEAL!!! HELP! THE TAKER HAS TAKEN MY SON!" The woman screamed at the top of her lungs. Even while she was keeping an eye on him, he was still kidnapped, and there wasn't anything she could do.
Adaline was lying on the ground enjoying the scenery of the forest.
She noticed that a man holding a child was teleporting a short distance and going further and further away. Adaline stood there not knowing what to do.