The sound of hissing filled the small forge, the flagstone floor had cracked where Alex had thrown the molten metal.
Alex lay slumped against a wall.
Despite not being on for long, it was still more than enough time to let the furnace turn the small and cramped forge into a sauna.
Why is it so hot? why was there no ventilation? Why did he turn on the forge in the first place?
These questions rushed through Alex's mind as he lay slumped against the wall, with a headache that felt like a thousand nails where ring hammered into his skull, and vision so blurred that he could barely distinguish colour anymore.
With the last bit of strength he had, Alex stumbled his way to the door, throwing himself into the door once he was close enough.
He tumbled onto the wet grass of the small plateau that was there current base of operations.
Alex rolled onto his back and threw his arms up, cheering with happiness that he had finally escaped from that death trap.
Gazing up at the sky, for a moment he was able to enjoy the clear night sky, before being hit by a wave of hot air came from the door and washed over him, placing him back into his previous state of discomfort.
As he was lying on the floor, accepting his fate of becoming a whole roast, Alex heard a door creak, and the blissful night breeze returned.
"Why where you just lying there? You could have just moved" Nicolas stated.
"I am retuning to the earth my friend," Alex spoke in a horse whisper, "come, join me friend, let us return to what we once where together"
Nicholas got down on the ground and lay spread eagle next to Alex.
"We return" Nicholas said in an equally hoarse whisper.
"We return" Alex replied.
"We return" They chanted in unison.
A moments silence passed between the two as Alex remained motionless on the floor.
"So how long does returning to the earth take?" Nicolas inquired.
"Why do people do this?" Alex responded, completely ignoring the question.
"I don't know where you come from, but the act of starving to death in some eldritch ritual is not a common occurrence"
"Stargazing I mean, I've heard that people will spend hours just looking up at the stars, what's so great about them, its just like staring at a black ceiling for hours with a bunch of shitty little light bulbs attached to it, so what's so great about it?"
"Honestly, I do not know, I share your sentiment, but to some, I suppose, they find some sort of beauty in it, and wonder as well, to some, it is a sky full of possibilities"
"Not like we'll ever reach them anyway, we've been at it for over a century yet and we're still not any closer to getting there"
"You can not blame someone for dreaming"
"You get that one of a fortune cookie"
"Oh shut up"
The night was cool, with only the moon and stars to illuminate the dense forest below, giving it an almost serene atmosphere, as if the trees where the only life in the forest.
This irked Alex, to him, it was like watching a shark give him puppy eyes, unsettling to say the least.
"Well" Alex said very mater-of-factly "cant spend too much time looking at a useless sky now can we, I'm gonna go check on my Dagger, hopefully the forge has cooled down by now"
The forge had cooled down significantly, no longer was it like stepping into the Saharan desert, but it was still uncomfortable, to say the least.
Propped up by several chunks of pinkish wood stood a delicately crafted Dagger, its flaws where evident, however it had a rugged charm, as if to say that while it had not been made with skill, it had a lot of heart.
"Is it done?" Nicolas asked with a slightly bored tone.
"Do you have nothing to say after witnessing the masterpiece before you" Alex boldly proclaimed, slightly hurt by Nicolas's indifference.
"Just looks like a normal Dagger to me" Nicolas stated bluntly.
Alex's previous bravado dissipated after that remark.
He dejectedly moved toward the Dagger and picked it up, swung it around a few times, it was a good weight and cut arcs through the air with ease.
While testing it out his Dagger, Alex managed to regain some of the confidence he lost from the Nicolas's remark.
This was something he had made, and it actually worked, in theory at least.
"I guess is done then" Alex stated.
As these words where uttered, the blade began to glow with a brilliant white light.
[Congratulations user 'Jack Aubrey' for crafting the A C-grade item of 'good' quality
You have completed 2 achievements
Achievement 1: Craft an item with a 'good' quality rating on your first attempt
Achievement 2: Craft a C grade weapon on your first attempt
Rewards shall be issued
2 titles have been awarded
Tittle: 1 in 100 crafter (Whisper grade)
Effect: All crafting type skill trees gain +1
A tittle given to those with a 1 in 100 talent in the field of crafting
Tittle: Man of quality (rumor grade)
Effect: Materials dropped will be of better quality on average
A tittle given to those who value quality, whether that be food, wine, work, or entertainment
Please name your weapon to finish the creation process]
Alex thought for a minute, pondering for a minute. He finally decided on the name 'Void Fang' as it was simple and took elements from the main material's name.
[Weapon name set as 'Void Fang'
Congratulations you have created a weapon of 'good quality'
100 experience point will be awarded
As it is your first weapon, experience will be doubled
Weapon name: Void fang
Grade: C
Quality: Good
Classification: Weapon
Attack power: 30
Effects: Str and Dex increased by +5, Int +2
Materials used: Venomous void snake fang, Venomous void snake flesh, Venomous void snake blood, Venomous void snake bone
A weapon forged from good materials by a rookie black Smith as his first creation, the quality of the materials is not quite reflected in the final product but the weapon is still serviceable
Congratulations to player 'Jack Aubrey' for reaching level 2
Soul bound item: The crafter's dimensional key chain has reached level 2
You have made an achievement
Achievement: reaching level 2 while having job with the 'combat' classification without engaging in combat
Rewards shall be issued
You have earned 1 title
Title: not just one way (story grade)
Title effect: There will always be another option
A title given to those that chose another way from the others
The weapon 'Void Fang' can be ego enhanced
Materials required: Venomous void snake soul core
Note: The materials listed will not be consumed upon ego enhancement
Requirements met: Do you wish to ego enhance?]
The overall stats where decent, for a regular player, it was like levelling up twice just holding the blade. But what caught Alex's eye was the notification about 'ego enhancement'.
"Hey Nicolas" Alex asked while wheeling around on the balls of his feet, "you ever heard of something called 'ego enhancement?"
"No" he said, a hint of interest in his voice, "but if it's to do with that weapon it may turn it into an ego weapon"
"I have a sort of idea what one of those is, but for clarity sake, how do they work in this game"
"Well to put it bluntly, they are a weapon with a soul, they usually bind to the owner so unless you kill the owner, you can't use the weapon, and even then, the weapon usually has quite high intelligence so they may hold a grudge"
"Ok, Ok" Alex interrupted "that's all very interesting, however I just want to know how they work"
"Fine" Nicolas retorted sharply, a bit put off "They are equipment that can level up and think for themselves, there are you happy"
"Good enough"
"Though" Nicolas said softly, a glint of greed in his eye, "They are extremely rare and can be sold for a high price, if you can truly create ego weapons, we'll be rolling in cash"
"We?" Alex asked sarcastically.
"Of course" Nicolas retorted, "if you do it on your own you'll just get scammed, I have experience in the business sector of this game, I'll make sure profits are high, as long as I get a cut"
"How high?"
"Nothing much, just 50%"
"Fuck off"
"Heh, but seriously, I think it would be best if we did become partners, after all, who said our party had to end once we exited the forest?"
"Well it would be nice, but I usually go solo"
"Do you have fun with that?"
"I guess, does get a little boring when I'm grinding"
"Well, why don't you try it, maybe you'll enjoy it, if you always play solo, you may be missing out on something"
"Eh, may as well try it, haven't been in a party for at least 5 years"
"That's the spirit, mind if I watch, I may be watching the creation of the first ego weapon by player hands"
"Do what you want, I won't stop you"
Alex took a deep breath and began to start the process, instinctually, he brought the soul core, a perfectly spherical purple and pink gem stone, out of his inventory and held it over the Dagger.
"Ego enhance" Alex said in a clear voice, without a single waver or change.
The core in his hand lit up with a brilliant purple and pink light, Alex closed his eyes and raised his hand to his face sharply to block out the blinding light, from the corner of the room he could hear Nicolas cursing and swearing about his eyes, evidently he was not quick enough.
When the light receded, a screen hovered above both the Dagger and the soul core.
[Venomous void snake soul core
Poison attribute energy: 200
Space attribute energy: 150
Soul energy: 250
Residual stats:
Str: 15
Dex: 25
Con: 10
Wis: 15
Int: 20
Cha: 5]
[Void Fang
Attack power: 30
Effect: Str and Dex +5, Int +2
Materials:
Venomous void snake fang (metal), dormant material attributes:
Spatial laceration (5 Space attribute energy)
Venomous enhancement (5 poison attribute energy)
(no more skills are available due to a lack of skill level, Int and Wis)
Venomous void snake bone (metal), dormant material attributes:
Durability enhancement (5 soul energy)
(no more skills are available due to a lack of material use, skill level, Int and Wis)
Venomous void snake muscle (wood), dormant material attributes:
Natural regeneration (5 soul energy)
(no more skills are available due to a lack of material use, skill level, Int and Wis)
Venomous void snake blood (gem), dormant material attributes:
Venomous doping (10 poison attribute energy)
(no more skills are available due to a lack of material use, skill level, Int and Wis)
Note: All materials can only activate one of their dormant attributes, extra attributes can be purchased using left over energy, however these skills will be priced at double what they would be if dormant.]
Alex attached his skull while looking at the screens, he got the basic idea, spend energy to give the weapon attributes, but he didn't know much else besides that.
Should he conserve as many resources as possible, or should he conserve as many resources as possible and be as frugal as possible?
Would the energy in the soul core replenish after each creation, or would it be shared between each creation?
Could he use other soul cores, or was he confined to using the one soul core he got from the resource collection?
Would he always get a soul core with each summon or was he just lucky this time?
All these questions and more plagued Alex, it was though his brain was being fried, there where too many unknowns, what if he made a mistake now and completely stunt his or his weapons growth.
Nicolas had been quietly observing, but when Alex began to stress over his choices, he got up and patted Alex on the shoulder.
"Don't stress over the little things" he said in a comforting tone "Just make a choice now and see if it pans out, if it goes wrong, ah well, there will always be chances to improve, so just do what feels right now"
While these words did little to comfort Alex's fears, they at least gave him a moment to collect his thoughts and clear his head.
Stressing out would get him nowhere, sure, but if he completely ignored his fears of failure, he would just brazenly rush into a bad decision.
With that, he decided to get a better understanding of the attributes offered to him.
[spatial lacerations:
Cost: 10MP
Coold-down: 10 seconds
Effect: Enhances the potency of slashing attacks by consuming weapon MP and unlocks the 'spatial rending' attribute path.
The first steps into the field of spatial rending, this is a novice attribute the allows the user to tear the fabric of space to cut through almost any material, however as a mere introduction, this attribute can only enhance the slashing effects of the weapon to a minor degree.
"do not force your blade to do the impossible and act surprised when you fail"-Jeralt the world rending school sword saint]
[Venomous enhancement:
Cost: 10MP
Cool-down: 10 seconds
Effect: Any entity hit when this attribute is active will gain the status 'lightly poisoned' and unlocks the 'toxic imbuement' attribute path.
A simple form of imbuement of the poison attribute, the poison produced is weak, slow acting, and easily cured, however this is merely an entry to this type of skill, at higher levels the effect can be amplified greatly and become an actual boon in combat.
"Disappointing at best"-Kral the poison lord.]
[Durability enhancement (passive):
Effect: Enhances the durability of the weapon and unlocks the 'unbreakable' attribute path.
One of the most basic attributes an ego weapon can obtain, it increases the durability of the weapon by a minimal amount, however the effect is still noticeable when compared to similar items without the attribute.
"A wall of flesh, bodies of steel, our devotion for the empire holds us fast, stand and face your foes, come bloodshed, foul play or gates of hell, we shall stand fast with our loyalty strong, FOR WE ARE THE ORCHALIUM LEIGON"-war cry of the orchalium legion]
[Natural regeneration (passive):
Effect: Enhances the natural regeneration of the ego weapon and unlocks the 'immortal weapon' attribute path.
One of the most basic attributes an ego weapon can posses, this attribute gives a boost to an ego weapon's regenerative capabilities and allows it to return to peak condition fast than others.
"our pride matter not, eternally we march, our lives matter not, eternally we march, NEVER FALLTER AND NEVER FALL, ETERNALLY WE MARCH"-battle cry of immortals of heavens gate]
[Poison doping:
Cost:-
Effect: Take poison damage equal to 5% of your vitality per second, in return, all physical stats are doubled, the 'toxic addict' attribute path is unlocked
A double edged sword, while this attribute will deactivate just before it takes your life, it will not stop until that point is reached and the pain till then is unimaginable, however the power it grants can not be understated.
"A thrill like no other"-Lazerus the junkie]