After we returned from the city, Ennolf used some of his starter funds to get a simple inn room that had a basic kitchen built in. He only had the room for a single night, but that was still somewhere to prepare a meal and rest.
Before the meal, the three of us sat down, and they began asking me questions about the basic functions of this world. For instance, the relationship between Chosen and Players, the Fallen, as well as how different traits work.
When they learned about the concept of the chosen, Nuoda logged out, allowing Ennolf to meet the chosen that she had been playing as. Then, Ennolf logged out to let Nuoda meet his chosen. At that point, I was prepared to leave, since they should have realized that they didn’t need me to explain anything to them anymore, and could just consult each other while one was logged out.
However, they still asked me to stay to be the one to explain, that way they didn’t have to go through the whole process twice. With a shrug, I nodded my head. There was no harm in me explaining some more to them, and Ennolf’s interference earlier had indeed stopped me from dying once, so I felt like I owed them.
As the conversation turned to skills, Nuoda pursed her lips. “Can you explain a bit more about that whole incantation thing?” She asked, to which I nodded once again.
“Sure.” I said, before explaining as simply as I could. “Skills can be used in two forms. The first is ‘Instant Cast’, which is the default form for any skill. When you focus on quickly using a skill, you are Instant Casting it.”
“The second method of using a skill is known as ‘Channeling’. Channeling is when you focus on a skill for a prolonged period of time. This allows you to use ritualistic actions such as incantations to empower the spell, or enchant the skill on a piece of equipment. When using rituals, the skill isn’t considered ‘cast’ until the completion of the ritual.”
There were, of course, exceptions to the ‘Instant Cast’ rule, but those were toggle skills, such as my Sneak. These skills had their own channeling method that was harder to explain, so I left them out for the moment.
“Enchanting?” Ennolf suddenly asked, eyes widening. “Can you explain some more about that? One of my traits involves enchanting, but I don’t know how to apply it.”
I blinked, nodding my head. “Sure. Like I said, Enchanting is another form of ritual that you can do while channeling a skill. If you channel the crafting skill itself, you can apply basic enchantments like increased damage or defense.”
“However, if you channel a different skill, you can attach that skill to the equipment. For instance, Nuoda. If you maintained channeling of your Light Heal during the enchantment process, you could create a piece of equipment that would let someone else activate Light Heal at your proficiency level.”
“Wouldn’t that make healers obsolete, if everyone just had one or two items that contained healing spells?” Nuoda asked in concern, to which I shook my head.
“There are three reasons why that won’t happen. First, there is a limit to the amount of enchantments that a piece of equipment can have, based on the type of materials. Putting a Light Heal on a chest piece would mean that you lose the chance to enhance your defense. Additionally, although they are casting at your proficiency, they still have to pay their own burden, and can’t further use channeling to increase its effects. Most importantly, even if you have mastered the Light Heal, the burden required to cast it at that level through an item won’t go away.”
“Because of all of this, there’s no danger in healers becoming useless. The same can be said for other casters as well.” I explained patiently, though Ennolf still looked confused.
“So, you can enchant while channeling… but what do you actually have to do to do it?” He asked.
“It’s… not really set in stone, I believe?” I grunted, not knowing how else to explain it. “Like with incantations, it is more freeform. From what I know, the most common method of enchanting equipment is by inscribing patterns on them or embedding them with gems that match the enchantment you want to apply. Of course, it’s not a guaranteed success. Depending on the method you use, there is a chance that the enchantment could fail, though doing so will still use up the ‘enchantment slot’ of the item.”
Ennolf nodded his head in understanding, eyes wide as he smiled. “Okay! What about crafting? Is this something where you have to craft everything out by hand, or is there an option to instantly craft?”
I thought it over for a moment, recalling the lessons I had learned. “Both, actually. When you are using a crafting skill, you first craft something manually, allowing you to register it as a recipe. Once you have that recipe, you can either use Instant Cast or Channeling when reproducing it. Using Instant Cast will allow you to recreate that item as many times as you have the materials to do so, though will cost a mana burden depending on its complexity and materials.”
“Channeling, meanwhile, will let you make the item from scratch, which can potentially produce a higher quality item and improve your recipe. After the item is made, you can continue to channel the crafting skill while adding finishing touches to apply the enchantments you want.”
For some reason, Ennolf seemed fired up when he heard that. “Alright!” He said, before standing up and rushing to the kitchen. I blinked in confusion, Nuoda putting on a helpless smile.
“Ennolf is more into crafting and other lifestyle activities than actual combat. When he made this character, both of his traits were related to cooking, so he declared that he would become the world’s greatest chef.”
My eyes widened slightly, but I nodded my head. “I see… what about you?”
Nuoda gestured to herself with a smile. “Me? I prefer researching the lore of a game. I’m more than happy spending my time in libraries. By the way, I wanted to ask you. Is there a way to learn magic, aside from buying the skills off of the trainers?”
I hesitated for a moment, thinking. When I realized that I wasn’t able to use magic, I had basically stopped thinking about it. “Like magic, any skill can be learned in a number of ways. The easiest is by receiving training. However, if you defeat a monster that has a skill or trait, it has a chance to drop it in the form of an item. Aside from that, you can learn skills by repeating related activities… is everything alright?”
Nuoda’s face had suddenly become solemn halfway through my explanation, her eyes focused on me. “Traits… can be dropped?” She asked, my eyes going wide. At that moment, I realized that I had probably said something that I shouldn’t have… but there was no going back now.
“T-That’s right.” I nodded, taking a deep breath. “Not for players, though, don’t worry. Only fallen and monsters have the chance to drop their traits. Most monsters don’t have traits, and those that do are usually referred to as bosses.”
Nuoda nodded her head, and the sound of sizzling meat soon filled the room, causing her ears to twitch. “How far is it to the next town?” She asked curiously. “Ennolf said that the easy monsters had been cleared out, so I was thinking that we might need to move to the next city.”
I hesitated when I heard that, thinking back. “I came from the south, and walked the road for about three days after leaving the last village. If you take the road to the east, it should take about two days to reach the next village… It would be faster to cut straight to the northeast if I remember the maps, but I wouldn’t suggest it.”
“Why not?” She asked in confusion.
“The army only patrols the roads, so monsters generally avoid them, and only the lowest level monsters will be forced closer when they are pushed out of their territory. If you go too far from the road, you start to encounter powerful monsters, the weakest being similar to the wolf that Ennolf and I fought.”
Nuoda’s eyes widened slightly, but she seemed to agree that sticking to the road was the safest bet. “At least that means that we can get more experience leveling up if we follow the roads… but is there not a type of fast travel or teleportation system we can use?”
My eyes twitched, but I nodded. “There is… In the temples of every major city, there are crystal gates. However… these gates are managed by the church, and you have to pay to use them. At your level, you won’t be able to afford it.”
After I said that, the door to the kitchen opened, and Ennolf emerged with three plates in his arms. “The food’s done!” He declared happily. “I added in some herbs that I found while wandering around earlier, and I think it turned out okay. I got a five star appraisal.”
That surprised me, causing me to look at the plates. I knew that the meat was only low quality, and a crafting appraisal was relevant to the materials. So, it wouldn’t be as good as a four star dish with high quality materials, but five stars meant he had performed above average.
When he set the plates down, I could see that each had a garnished steak and a side of simple, wild fruits that had been picked earlier in the day. Still… I had no intention to complain, especially since I was being given a free meal.
I thanked the two, eating happily while listening to the two of them talking with one another. Ennolf spoke about how it felt to fight here, while Nuoda commented on her training in healing magic. Just from watching them, I could tell that they were close.
After I finished the meal, my eyes went wide in surprise, staring down at a window that appeared in front of me.
|
Consumed Wolf Steak! +3% Exp for 4 Hours! +6% Agility for 4 Hours! |
The experience buff was common when consuming food prepared by a player. However, the bonus to agility… “You enchanted the food?” I asked, looking over at Ennolf, who patted his chest proudly.
“That’s right. I made three different sauces out of materials that I found earlier. The one that I gave you increases agility. Mine increases stamina, and Nuoda’s increases her magic. If you find any more meat or other ingredients, be sure to stop by and let me know. If I can afford it, I’ll buy them off of you for a good price.”
I hesitated, before nodding my head in agreement. “In that case, I think I’ll be going. I need to take advantage of the buffs while I can. Thank you for the meal.”
Ennolf looked up in surprise. “What’s the rush?” He asked, but Nuoda reached over to put her hand on his, shaking her head.
“It’s fine. He still has a lot of work to do. Let’s not bother him anymore.” She smiled, and I gave her a nod of thanks as I left the inn room.
After my earlier experience, I was reluctant to return to the western forest. However, talking with these two had given me another idea for how I could get stronger.
