The Pinnacle Warrior

With the Craftsman’s warning of an experimental piece of equipment, Astrid wasn’t sure what to expect. Even so, she was still surprised to see the strange leather, chain, and ring combination that Olafson offered to Skandr.

The three rings were golden and attached to silver chains, the chains stretching between each ring and the leather strap which fastened on his wrist. Every ring was solid gold, except for a circle of nearly black metal that went through the center of each, making them appear to be three rings stuck together. The inside of each ring was solid gold, though, and Astrid could see a series of delicate inscriptions going all around the lining of the rings.

“It doesn’t matter which fingers you put the rings on,” Olafson said. “Just make sure you get the leather strap around your wrist with the gold studs where you can feel your pulse. Then, test it out without tangling the chains. This isn’t going to provide you any attributes. At all. Instead, everything is focused on storing a spell, one per ring. I can’t say exactly what the limits are of the spells that will be stored inside of it. I’ve made these before, but they were only barely functional prototypes. I’ve since evolved to Mithril, and I have found what the issues have been, so I have every confidence that each ring will store a different spell, and the cap on what they can store is probably just about any spell that you are able to cast. However, I wouldn’t put too much faith into it just yet.”

“How…” Skandr’s voice trailed off, and he licked his lips before he repeated, “How does it work? Storing a spell in there, I mean.”

“It’s the enchantments,” Olafson said, shrugging. “They store it, and then when you access the mana inside of it, you can make it release the spell. I think it’s pretty straightforward, isn’t it? And you don’t need to understand the ‘how’ anyways.”

“No, I wanted to know how I can store a spell in there,” Skandr corrected. “Since this is experimental, I’d like to be able to give it a try once or twice before I go in and fight a Boss with the anticipation that it’ll be able to do something that it can’t.”

“Ah, yes,” Olafson nodded. “My apologies. You should be able to push your mana into one of the rings. When you do so, it should feel more or less empty, right? Almost as if you’re looking inside of a spatial pouch?”

Skandr went silent for a handful of seconds before he nodded and gestured for Olafson to continue.

“You can do whatever you want out here, but have the target you’re trying to strike be inside the ring. If you’re shooting a bolt of lightning or whatever, do it there. Then, you’ll feel the mana or whatever you used disappear. You can then recover that, and later, when you want to do so, release the spell from inside the ring.”

Skandr looked at Olafson, flicked his fingers through a series of sigils that glimmered in the air, and then, as he finished an incantation, he evidently cast a spell that didn’t do anything. He nodded to himself and then looked at Olafson again, a little smile on his face.

“It’s not a problem if I let out a little bit of wind here, right?”

“I’d assume you’re not talking about passing gas,” the Craftsman smiled. “But yes, this is a workshop that’s been updated to suit me. While my Classes haven’t been quite so outstanding as yours, I have a chance of reaching the Adamantine tier myself. So long as you’re not actively trying to destroy anything, I doubt that you will.”

The Wizard didn’t need any more encouragement than that, and he turned, pushed his hand down toward the ground, and unleashed the spell. Wind roared into existence underneath him, whipping his robes back and forth as Astrid swore she saw him rise a couple centimeters from the ground.

“Maybe a quarter of a second delay?” Skandr immediately muttered to himself. “I’ll have to see if I can improve on that. Even if I can’t decrease that, significantly faster than casting the spell.” Then he stared at Olafson and asked, “And you said I should be able to do this with any spell I can cast?”

“I’d love for you to find the limits to this and tell me how I can improve it,” the Kin shrugged. “But, for now, I’m relatively certain you’ll have nearly unlimited opportunity to put spells into the rings. I’d probably suggest next testing out making sure you’re casting the right spell if you have a different one in each ring. But it’s up to you.”

“I think I’ll have one Warlock’s Constitution-empowered lightning spear, one stormcloud summoning, and one Lightning Reflexes,” he nodded to himself, looking at the party. “If you have any other Skills that you think might be better for me to have ready to release at a moment’s notice, say so, and I will work with you on it.”

“It’s your item and your spells,” Astrid laughed. “You’ll know better than we do. I do know that there’s plenty of customization that needs to go on some of the more unique effects, so those seem to be as good of an option as any.”

“And you can throw as much of your health into the lightning spear as you’d like,” Benedict nodded thoughtfully, “without worrying about weakening yourself in the middle of a fight.”

“Exactly what I was thinking,” Skandr nodded.

Astrid grinned and spoke briefly with the rest of her party, but only a few moments before she could finally investigate her shield and see just how many attributes it gave her. Like with the hammer, she was telling the differences between her current Status and her previous one, though this time it was a little more complicated, given that her current shield did give her attributes, different from her old hammer.

Power +25, Alacrity +15, Fortitude +70, Magical Potency +15, Self-Mastery +45, Acumen +15

So a total of 180 attribute points granted by the shield. Not as low as she’d expected, given that her hammer gave 200, but a shield that could extend itself due to enchantments versus a hammer that struck twice due to its material were different enough that Astrid had no way to compare which piece of equipment might have a greater natural demand that would limit her ability to wield a piece of equipment more, so she mentally designated them as similar levels of power. Even so, she felt a fair amount of discomfort as she wielded the shield. It wasn’t anything that would impede her from using it, but it made her wonder if maybe she was drawing closer to her limits on total attribute bonus from equipment.

Glancing at her status, the boost to her attributes was now +134 to Power, +72 to Alacrity, +167 to Fortitude, +54 to Magical Potency, +104 to Self-Mastery, and +44 to Acumen.

As Skandr sat in the corner and cast a few spells into his new rings, Astrid decided to give herself a moment to do some brief calculations on how many attributes she was currently being given, and how close she might be to her potential limit, given that discomfort she was already experiencing. With the bonus 1,000 from her two evolutions, her “total attribute count” was 2,970, which meant that 30% of her total attributes was almost 900 points of bonus attributes that she could sustain for a long-term period. However, the total of the attributes given by her equipment was less than 600. So why was she feeling the strain when she was at about 20%, instead of 30% of her total capacity?

Looking at her attributes, she really couldn’t see what the problem could be, except for maybe that her Self-Mastery was getting a bit over 50% of her total attributes to it. But, looking back on it, that couldn’t be it, because her boost to Self-Mastery from her equipment right when she’d evolved was way higher than that. If she wasn’t mistaken, it was more than her total Self-Mastery when she’d evolved.

With that in mind, she looked at Olafson, who was watching Skandr put his final spell into his ring. She stepped up beside the Craftsman and asked, “I’m feeling a touch of strain from the shield, even though I’m nowhere near my limit for attribute bonuses. What’s the deal on that?”

“I’m guessing that one of your attributes is getting a hefty boost, compared to the rest,” he answered, not taking his eyes away from the equipment that Skandr was working with.

“Yeah, but compared to what it was when I evolved to Iron?” she protested. “Where it is now isn’t even close. That gave me an over one hundred percent boost.”

“Eh,” he waved her off, “it’s different in your case, but that’s because you’re an exception. At least, you especially were one at Iron.”

Astrid snapped for him to continue explaining as he went silent, and he grumbled but continued, “You evolved with an Extraordinary rarity Class. That almost never happens across any tier, but is most unlikely to happen at both Bronze into Iron and Adamantine into Arcanite. Evolving into Arcanite is entirely different, and I know basically nothing about it, so we won’t talk about that right now. Regardless, somebody who reaches level 20 as a Bronze tier, barring any boons that increase the amount of attributes that they gain, will have 320 attribute points. Sixteen per level, twenty levels, easy math. Anyways.

“Your evolution provided an additional 500 points of leeway at that point as well as the forty-six from that first level in Iron, and the immense suffusion of mana into your body at that point allowed you to overlook and overcome certain limitations that people at higher tiers would have. Now, even though you’re an Extraordinary rarity again, your body isn’t growing as comparatively quickly every level as it was at levels 21 through 26, while you were in the Trials and benefiting from bonus experience and so on. It’s kind of like how in puberty you could eat a lot more and not be uncomfortable. You hit super puberty as you evolved, and could take more mana as a result.”

Astrid blinked a couple times, scratched her jaw, and shrugged. “If that’s what you say. So, if that’s the case, I should probably wait a couple levels before I start getting any more equipment that gives me boosts to Self-Mastery, huh?”

“That, or ask that any equipment I provide you be focused on your physical attributes instead,” Olafson shrugged. “It’s up to you. After all, despite being technically capable of wearing high Steel equipment, you’re not, so there’s some flexibility that people at that level would have that you lack.”

Astrid nodded, thinking about it as Skandr finished. This final spell was obviously the Warlock’s Constitution-boosted Lightning Spear, as his face went pale and he slumped to the side with a groan as flickers of lightning appeared on the ring on his pinky. “A bit of help, please?” he asked, looking at Astrid.

She nodded and spent another charge of Physique, grunting as his wounds flowed into her. Without the adrenaline of battle, Astrid truly experienced the way that this Skill worked, that it took her friends’ injuries into her and then healed her. It was almost like something inside of her chest had just taken a knife and sliced along her stomach, lungs, and other organs. It was only for a split second that she felt that pain, but she blinked and grunted in surprise as she and Skandr were healed.

“That sucks,” she said to her friend, who shrugged and smiled.

“Thanks.”

Instead of continuing to talk about anything, Astrid nodded and looked at the rest of her party. “Are we ready to go?”

They all made noises of agreement, and she looked at Olafson. “We are going to go to Vera’s, see what she has to offer, and then we’ll be on our way. Are you going to come with us right now? Or will you catch up to us at her shop?”

“I’ll catch up with you,” he answered.

Astrid didn’t say anything more as she led her party out of the workshop and back to the surface. The excitement from receiving their equipment was palpable as Astrid reported what her own did for her. And then, once she was done, she looked expectantly at the rest. As always, Muti was the first to speak.

“Power +40, Alacrity +70, Fortitude +35, Magical Potency +30, Self-Mastery +20, Acumen +35.”

“That’s the best!” Benedict shouted. “That’s the most that one piece of equipment is giving to the rest of us.”

“And it does a whole lot more than just give attribute points,” Astrid noted, looking at her Barbarian friend. “I guess that each of us will have one piece of equipment that’s our so-called best piece, like my hammer and your boots, then?”

“I do not know,” she said. “However, I will not complain.”

“Makes me feel pretty inadequate,” Felix joked. “Power +10, Alacrity +15, Fortitude +40, Magical Potency +10, Self-Mastery +15, Acumen +10.”

“Don’t think I didn’t see you testing its durability in there though,” Astrid smiled back. “I’m pretty sure I heard the words ‘as good as my armor’ a couple times.”

“Oh yes,” Felix laughed. “I haven’t been able to test all of the other resistances that Olafson promised, but even with Muti punching me at nearly full power, it wouldn’t leave a bruise.”

Astrid whistled low at that, her eyebrows raising appreciatively. “I wouldn’t mind some of that myself.”

Felix laughed and waved her off as everyone’s attention shifted to Benedict and Skandr.

“And you all already know that my rings don’t give any attributes,” Skandr said. “He meant it—I’m not getting a single attribute point from these.”

“Which just leaves the man in the giant hat,” Astrid said, leaning over toward Benedict.

“I mean,” he shrugged, “most of what the hat can do is tied up in the truly ridiculous bonuses to my Skills. Otherwise, I’d say it’s a pretty typical piece of equipment to be given to somebody who has an all-rounder Class: +20 to everything.”

“Nothing to be disappointed in,” Astrid said, though she was a little underwhelmed when looking at everybody else’s attribute bonuses. That said, nobody else had gotten a piece of equipment like Benedict’s hat either, as it would immensely impact his effectiveness on the battlefield.

He waved her off as they arrived at the side of Vera’s house. The entire wall pulled back, folding in on itself multiple times to create an entirely open wall for them to walk through as they got close. Just a few meters past where the wall once was, a countertop that was waist-high on Astrid stretched across, maybe seven or eight meters long. Behind it, the shopkeeper’s hair was pulled back with a flower crown which seemed to grow through the curls of her hair. A green dress hung off her shoulders, the bodice low-cut enough to show cleavage but not enough to be immodest. The Greenthumb smiled broadly as she spread her arms and welcomed them.

“I hear you’re looking for some potions or materials that might be able to help you with a dragon. You’re in just the right place for that!”

“But you’re no Apothecary, Potioneer, Alchemist, or even a Brewmaster,” Benedict replied, stepping forward and immediately taking the lead on all negotiations. “I’ve never heard of a Greenthumb before, and according to Olafson, it only has certain qualities of one of the potion creation Classes.”

“Damned monkey,” Vera’s smile immediately cracked. “Always saying things he doesn’t know about things he doesn’t understand. I don’t go around saying that he’s a Craftsman, not a Blacksmith, Armorer, Leatherworker, or anything else. It’s true, the Class he has only has aspects of those other ones, but he would argue that he can do them better than anybody who’s limited in their discipline. Damn bastard.”

Astrid blinked several times, surprised by the vehemence of Vera’s outburst, but even before anybody could comment on it, Vera’s face fell back into her previous smile, and she said, “It’s true, I’m not an Apothecary. Instead, I can take the materials that an Apothecary can only make potions out of, bring them back to life, cultivate them, and create living materials that can create the same effect as a potion—except instead of ruining things, I create better things. For example, this.”

She held an unnaturally bright red berry up, pulling it out from under the counter. It was about the size of a cherry, the skin having no blemishes and almost no variation. It almost looked as if it had been painted instead of grown. After making sure that everybody was looking at her, Vera popped it in her mouth, chewed twice, and swallowed. Not half a second passed before suddenly she was covered by violet flames, Astrid feeling the heat explode into existence where she stood, maybe four meters away.

“You have a dragon who’s trying to freeze you?” Vera asked. “This’ll certainly help you stay safe from ice breath.”

“It’s pretty hot,” Benedict agreed. “However, the breath basically broke a shield made of Dungeon silver and reinforced with plenty of mana. I don’t think that a little bit of fire will do what you seem to be advertising it to do.”

She laughed, nodded, and pointed at Skandr. “You’re a Wizard, right? I’ll give you a complimentary manaberry to recover with. So go ahead and hit me with a strong attacking spell. Make sure it’s something that isn’t going to spray out and hit the rest of my shop, if you will. Otherwise, let loose.”

Skandr’s face dropped, and he, after biting his lip for a second, said, “I’m not very comfortable—”

“I’m much stronger than you,” she said, her jovial demeanor dropping. “Do it.”

Again, Skandr took a deep breath, but then his fingers started flicking through what Astrid was pretty sure were the sigils to use a lightning spear. About one second passed until the pillar of lightning appeared in his hand. He looked at her for verification, and she nodded.

With a twist of his body, Skandr threw the lightning bolt at the Greenthumb, and the fire that had surrounded her, previously looking pretty harmless, shifted. The violet flames flared brighter, nearly white, as they flowed from around her to create a shield in front of her body that somehow devoured the lightning. Small tendrils of the spell shot off the shield, but didn’t get far. By the time the last dregs of lightning had disappeared, the flames that surrounded Vera had been reduced by about half but remained burning.

“I’m sure that a dragon’s breath is stronger than a spell put together by you in one second,” Vera said with a painfully self-satisfied smile, “but this should be enough to confirm that this will give you some good defenses, right? Especially since the flames will be more effective at dispelling ice than at consuming lightning.”

Any of Benedict’s attempts at dismissing the effectiveness of the berry were immediately washed away with that. Even though none of the lightning had carried any tinge of red, Astrid knew how powerful a spell like that was. And to not have the berry completely used up by that spell? It was an impressive item, to say the least.

“Well,” Benedict said after a few seconds of silence, the faint crackle of the flames the only sound beyond that of the wind through the trees outside, “I’d say those are probably about what we’re looking for. What’s your price for ten of them—two for each of us?”

“I want some of the materials from the dragon,” she didn’t hesitate to answer as she pulled a berry that looked just like a blackberry from below her counter and flicked it to Skandr. He threw it in his mouth and began chewing as she continued, “The blood, liver, a heartstring or two, and some of the compressed mana in its throat are what I want.”

“I didn’t realize that behind that façade of friendliness was somebody who wanted to fleece us,” Benedict scoffed. “That’s worth way more than ten of those berries.”

“You don’t know how hard it is for me to grow them,” Vera shrugged. “You don’t know what it costs, and I’m giving you a tool to counteract the greatest weapon of the Boss you’re facing.”

“And you want most of what it gives back,” Benedict shook his head. “The venom from two wyvern irregulars and the liver of the Boss for fifteen berries, so long as they last for at least a week after being plucked.”

“Done,” Vera replied, the smile on her face showing just how valuable what he’d conceded was and how little she actually treasured the berries. Even so, there wasn’t anything they could do but to accept the offer that Benedict’d made and then, once she passed them over, pocket three berries each.

“Be safe!” the Greenthumb laughed as the Wanderers stepped away. “I’m looking forward to actually getting those materials!”

“I’ll get you the venom,” Olafson said from around a corner, a full set of thick leather armor covering his whole body except for his head, which sported a dark metal helmet. “Once we get back.”

“So that’s how they’re getting the body back,” Vera nodded approvingly as the Simian Kin showed himself. “Anyways. Enjoy!”

With that, the wooden doors accordioned shut and the Wanderers were left on the street, with nothing to do but to go back to the tenth floor of the nearby Dungeon branch and confront the Boss once again.

Astrid grinned widely looking at her allies, and they all looked just as excited as she did, so they turned as one and rushed off towards their destination.