Civilization

A couple of days passed in the real world as well as in the game world. I was worried the first day that Rebecca was staying in my house but after waking up from the game and talking to her immediately, we both noticed that nothing much happened. In the game, she still have a tough time but as it happened over and over again she got used to the small acts of malice. Only when there was something extremely disturbing or grotesque would she become affected and sometimes collapse. However, the moment she was in the real world that didn't happen to her again. We even experimented by going on my daily jog around the block, making sure to pass by as many people as possible to activate Rebecca's skill but nothing happened.

Confused at first and somewhat relieved Rebecca decided to stay with me for a while longer, keeping me company through my days. Sabrina discovered more animals that she could tame near her village. Evan was making more progress in his efforts to move towards my elven NPCs as he tells me about the various different monsters he had to face as well as the terrain being denser the deeper he went into the forest. His NPCs have gotten stronger and by defeating new foes he had acquired some impressive armor and weaponry. The only problem was at night when they needed to rest. Some nights were difficult with half of his NPCs having to be awake through the whole night and since he was constantly moving without finding any encampments he was stuck with his small elite team.

Sam was having a hard time as well since he was in the North. Bones have started expanding their operations and while they were incurring a lot of losses against The Horde they were able to plunder a lot of players in their area. Sam happened to be within a day's travel of another player and there have been some small skirmishes but his NPCs, the bison demi-humans, have been steadily growing stronger with each fight allowing him to acquire a lot of loot from the enemy player's NPCs.

Kingston had told me there were times when he went on a rampage almost hurting David in the process. He called the big jackalope the alpha jackalope and apparently after tanking an attack from its antlers, he started to go berserk driving the alpha away and attacking everything around him. After he had calmed down, the both of them went home early to tend to their wounds. The experienced hurt him in a different way from his outburst towards me since David was trying his best to take care of Kingston even though Kingston attacked him. Kingston apologized to David and the both of them became closer than before, allowing for smoother and more coordinated fights.

I spent most of my time practicing with Gobi and the other warriors, gaining more knowledge and experience in my spearmanship. It was hard work, constantly building up my body to be used to the movements as well as becoming more spatially aware of my surroundings and knowing the length and size of my weapon. I even practiced outside of the game using a broom and swinging it around while Rebecca watched me with an uninterested face. 

I could also see the slow collection of more food and water accumulating near our preparation site. I had told Lucina to prepare more resources since I knew we would be proceeding more slowly than planned to avoid as much risk as possible. Lime had produced 300 more arrows during this time with the help of some other workers while Martelo and Rycka refined our armor and weapons. Since there wasn't a lot of time they decided to only customize a few of the armors and weapons, choosing the main damage dealers and tanks to be the ones to receive the upgrade. 

[ Double Layer Golem Stone Chest Plate 

Defense: 25

Agility: - 5

Utilizing knowledge from creating a layered shield, a heavy-duty chest plate is made layering two thick slabs of stone together. In exchange for the high defense, there is a reduction in agility however, it was designed to allow free movement in the arms.

Made by Martelo and Rycka ]

[ Sharpened Golem Stone Ax

Attack: 22

Constantly sharpening the blade of the ax until perfection. The whole body of the ax is sharp enough to cut through a log without any effort.

Made by Martelo and Rycka ]

[ Stone Golem Polearm

Attack: 20

Adopting a different approach to making a spear by creating two more bladed edges at the bottom of the spearhead to create a cross-like spearhead.

Made by Martelo and Rycka ] 

David wore the new chest plate and even though it was heavy and he was slower he was still able to maneuver around and fight. Furthermore, the new stone ax was his as well making him become a tank with extremely high damage. I took a polearm for myself, giving Frank and Yor the other 2 remaining polearms. Martelo told me they had made a second chest plate but I told him since no one else can wear it and to give it to Howard. 

As I was busy sweating under Gobi's direction, Lime came rushing over with a huge smile on her face.

"IAN! IAN! WE DID IT!!!!" - Lime

"What? What did you do?" - Ian

"WE DID IT! COME! COME!" - Lime

"Where am I going Lime?" - Ian

"COMEEEEE!" - Lime

Lime grabs my hand and pulls me away making me drop my wooden spear. Her hurried steps pull me along until we arrive at old man Hus's workshop. Inside amidst the various different designs of weapons, armor, shields, material and tools was old man Hus, Stellar and Solar crowded around a table. On the table are various golem cores but they were smaller than what I remembered. They had also changed from the translucent blue into a yellowish-white color. Looking at the core, it could see small flashes of golden words fading in and out on the surface.

"What is going on?" - Ian

"Lad, this is my secret project." - Hus

"You modified the golem core? What does it do?" - Ian

"A small explosive." - Stellar

"What? WHAT? A BOMB?" - Ian

"Technically a mana device which has Ball of Light inscribed in it." - Solar

"Can someone explain to me what it is and what it does and how you did it? I'm slightly confused" - Ian

"Lad, do you remember when I asked for more time. I was making something to help you with your travels." - Hus

"Yes, I remember." - Ian

"Lad, you brought to me many golem cores, however, I didn't know what to do with them. I asked the elves already if they were able to create golems using the core however, they could not. Apparently, one needs to know the correct verses and runes to engrave into the core in order to create a golem, but lad, that's when I thought of something. Instead of engraving golem runes, why not engrave runes that they already know? Both of them are magic users so I asked for their advice. It could be done. There were some failures that young Stellar had to use far away in order to not disturb anyone but now, we have done it. We only have 3 useable bombs but now that we know we can do it we will be making more. However, should I be using up all our golem cores in making bombs?" - Hus

"Wow, I didn't even think of something like that. Good job old man Hus and good job to the two of you too, Stellar and Solar. How many golem cores do we even have?" - Ian

"We have about 50 more cores that are useable for the bombs and an additional 20 that are cracked or damaged. I don't suggest using them to make the bombs." - Solar

"However, they can be repaired with a magic blacksmith or a core engraver. They should know the method to restore a core of any type." - Stellar

"A magic blacksmith? A core engraver? What are they?" - Ian

"Well, for the elves we have a core engraver but I have heard of dwarves being magic blacksmiths. Core engravers are magic users who specialize in engraving cores, objects and even buildings with runes which would either have a positive effect or a negative effect. Usually, elves would bring a ring or a necklace or a bracelet to be engraved with protections spells or teleport spells. Magic blacksmiths are similar except they deal more with weaponry and armor, engraving a sword or a piece of armor with spells to either enhance protection or destruction." - Stellar

"We had a core engraver in our villages which helped engrave objects with spells to help daily life. Our engraver wasn't the best and was still learning so the best we ever saw was a Ball of Light spell engraved on a ring." - Solar

"However, Solar's engraver created the spell using the ring as a medium to cast Ball of Light. We don't know how to do that so instead, we made the golem core into an object which holds the spell instead. Once you inject mana into the ball, it will start to glow and within the next 5 seconds it will break, casting Ball of Light." - Stellar

"That's why it is a bomb." - Ian

"Yes. However, lad, this is dangerous." - Hus

"Very dangerous. One misstep and you could blow your hand or wherever you are holding the core." - Stellar

"We suggest that only a few are made. We have 3 at the moment so maybe a maximum of 5. We thought maybe 10 but even then it is a lot. There are not enough proficient users of magic to ensure the safety of everyone." - Solar

"Make 6. 3 for Stellar and 3 for you Solar. No one else will handle the core unless in a dangerous situation where they have no choice but to. The 2 of you are definitely more capable of using the core. I trust that you will use it wisely." - Ian

"Are you sure lad?" - Hus

"Yes. I would like if you made a couple for emergencies however I want them stored safely. These weapons are dangerous and could cause a lot of damage if accidentally used. I want to avoid any accidents as much as possible." - Ian

"Understood lad. I'll make the rest and then make a pouch for the girls to wear." - Hus

"Thank you old man Hus." - Ian

I walk over to the core to pick it up since I wanted to know the stats and the description making sure to be as careful as I can be.

[ Golem Core ( Ball of Light Engraving )

Cost: 5MP

A golem core engraved with the runes for Ball of Light. It has shrunk in size to contain the mana and requires more mana than a normal Ball of Light. 

Made by Solar and Hus ]

"How did you make the engravings anyway? From what I heard from Luke, you cast Ball of Light instantaneously." - Ian

"All spells have a verse. However, you can skip using the verse once you are proficient enough in the spell or when you want to cast it fast. Using the verse will allow beginners time to visualize the attack or to enhance the damage or protection of the skill. Engraving is placing the verse into the object using mana however, a small error can result in a failed product." - Solar

"I see and since Stellar doesn't know the verse she can't do the engraving on this core?" - Ian

"Yes, however, I still know the procedure and I was here to help move the two away as soon as possible if anything was to go wrong." - Stellar

"Good and I'm glad there were no problems. Once you finish with the core, tell me. I believe we are ready to depart soon." - Ian

"Of course, lad." - Hus

I walk out of old man Hus's workshop more determined and excited about the journey. However, in the back of my mind, I know that I need to be careful. I am responsible for a lot of lives and I do not want any of them to die. Preparation is key and it takes time to be prepared. At least we have a lot of time but everyone seems ready.. Maybe we will be departing tomorrow morning.