A dirty man who looked like he could’ve won a Strongman competition stood near the central anvil as he swung a hammer with incredible force. The glowing red metal seemed to mold like butter as strike after strike landed with pounding force.
The sight fascinated him, and he stood there and watched the man ply his craft. Sooner than he expected, the smith laid the piece near one forge and looked up at Atlas.
“Something I can do for you?”
“Actually, I was hoping you could help me repair the metal pieces on this staff,” Atlas said as he fished the piece out again.
The smith grabbed the damage weapon and winced as he examined the pieces.
“This metal isn’t easy to work with. The binding agent on it is difficult to come by. I can fix it, but I need you to bring me two things.”
Quest - Repair the Staff (Blacksmithing)
Requirements
• Level 15
Quest Rarity: Unique
Quest Reward: 800 experience, Metal pieces of Staff repaired.
Description: The Master Blacksmith has informed you he can repair the metal sections of the staff, but he needs the following two items:
Elemental Core
Ironwood Root x 3
“Any idea where I can find them?” Atlas asked with a sigh.
“Elementals commonly roam the land to the east of here. They don’t appear very often though, so it may take some searching. You can find the Ironwood to the west. They used to be a common drop from Ents.”
Atlas perked up at that. He worried the quest would send him all over the place for each of these items, but it looked like some would share a central location.
“Thanks for the help. I’ll come back when I find them,” Atlas said as he collected the staff and left.
His last stop was at the Jewelcrafter. He repeated the same process and got another quest to find two more items.
Quest - Repair the Staff (Jewelcrafting)
Requirements
• Level 15
Quest Rarity: Unique
Quest Reward: 800 experience, Jeweled socket of Staff repaired.
Description: The Master Jewelcrafter has informed you he can repair the socket of the staff but he needs the following two items:
Elemental Flame
Measure of Silver Shavings x 5
“Where are these located?”
“The Elemental Flame should be on random elementals to the east of here. Silver Shavings are byproducts of Jewelcrafting at the appropriate level.”
“That reminds me, I need to train my Jewelcrafting,” Atlas said, and the Master Jewelcrafter obliged with a wave.
Most of the skills mirrored what he’d seen in Woodworking. He got the ability to enchant the new Mahogany pieces he could make. He also received an ability called Shave Silver. Spells like Create Smooth Mahogany Ring of Strength now required a Measure of Silver Shavings to complete. So far, rings were all he could do. He needed to level higher to get the necklace enchantments.
A trip out of town was in order to get this staff repaired. Before he did that, he made a pit stop at the local bank. Even with the money he’d spent on learning new skills, he currently held slightly over 13 gold. Playing it safe, he dumped 10 of it in the bank, giving him a stockpile of 34 gold securely stored.
On the way out the gate, he spotted an interesting sign. Ability Trainer marked a building on the main street. Unable to fight his curiosity, he ducked inside.
“Can I help you?” A woman at the desk asked.
“What is this place?” Atlas asked.
“I offer training in basic magical skills.”
“Oh, the ones that don’t require specific classes?”
“Yep. Need anything?”
“Let me see what you have.” Atlas told her.
She waved a hand and a menu appeared. Almost every option was grayed out. There was only one skill he was offered, Basic Firestarter. The price was 1 gold but being able to light a fire anywhere he was could literally save his life. He spent the gold and thanked the woman as he left.
Feeling better about his day, he trudged out the gate and headed west. It was time to hunt some elementals.
Chapter 22
Rebirth
His trip east gave him time to practice more combat. The fight with the dwarves had shown him the importance of working on his spells. Instead of trying to overpower the normal mobs in the area using his large counter combo, Atlas focusing on snaring them and dealing magic damage.
Mana was the limiting factor. Since his mana pool wasn’t as high as many others, he resorted to physical combat often, but that didn’t stop him from employing spells.
Most of his targets were standard creatures. The terrain to the east was mainly flat grasslands. Flowing green stalks brushed against his knees as he traveled.
The animals he encountered were ones that commonly held to grasslands. The herd animals were the most interesting. More than once Atlas ended up in a fight with multiple creatures because he attacked one on the edge of a herd and others came to help it.
The most common animal he fought was a zheevra. It looked like a cross between a bulky cow in the front with long horns and the backside of a striped zebra. If you just walked around near them, they were relatively docile and would usually ignore you. Attacking one of them would draw the attention of at least two others to the scene.
Occasionally he had to deal with a predator. When he squared off with a cheetah, he was able to counter its attacks and almost kill it, only to have it try to race away. He wasn’t nearly fast enough to catch it in his human form, so he ended up having to catch it in his cat form. On the plus side, he’d gained a new ability in his cat form from the chase.
You learned Sprint. (Nightstalker Form)
Without a solid path or destination to go by, he gradually worked toward the extensive area on his map highlighted by the quest. It took him a couple of
