ShanDeRad
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Book 2: Chapter 30
🕑 Added 2024-05-15 14:16:53 +0000 UTCWhen Shaun appeared outside of the dungeon he was giddy with joy, he had expected people to crowd around him to see if anything interesting would happen like the last time he left the dungeon but the complete opposite had occurred, there was practically no one in sight. Guess people didn’t want to have another experience like last time. Rather than checking the reward from the dungeon he went straight into his skill selection, something he had been waiting for since getting his new class.
*[Advanced] Mirrored Elemental Blade – Using one of the elements to create a mirror image of a blade you hold, forming a copy of it made completely from one of your bonded elements. The blade will be independent from its physical copy, capable to attacking and defending using your mind as the controlling factor. The number of blades able to be formed is dependent on skill level, for each 10 levels one extra blade can be created.*
The first skill was incredible, being able to literally form extra blades using his elements was a skill that would push his ability to fight even higher than it was now. Creating one extra blade was great, but being able to create even more when the skill levelled was just so overpowered. Regardless of if he was to fight a monster one on one or even a group, the skill would come in handy. His mind was flooded with ideas on how he could use it, and the more he thought about it the more he wanted it.
*[Advanced] Elemental Shift – The skill allows you to fully transform yourself into a bonded element, shifting yourself from your physical state into that of the element of choice. Depending on the element used effects of shifting into the element will change.*
What the fuck! He had seen how great being able to shift yourself into an element was, in fighting it did wonders for getting up close to your enemy without any notice. The fact that he could shift into any of his bonded elements was also a huge advantage. If he wanted to move unseen, turn yourself into air. Move from on place to another in an instant, hello lightning bolt. Need to tank some attacks? Can just turn into earth. Everything about the skill was great.
*[Advanced] Elemental Summons – Through locking off a portion of your mana you can summon a creature to fight by your side, formed completely of one of your bonded elements. The overall strength of the summon creature is dependent on the amount of mana locked down on the initial summons. The amount of creatures able to be summoned is dependent on skill level, for each 10 levels 1 extra creature can be summoned.*
He loved fighting alone, not having to worry about anyone else, but this skill changed that. He could summon a creature, eventually multiple of them, all using his most powerful elements. He could literally create his own team, using nothing but his mana, and tailor them to any situation. The downside of the skill was locking down mana during the summons, but he had so much of it at this point that it was a non-issue.
He now had a choice to make, he had three skills to choose from and he wanted every single one of them. What was worse, he doubted he would get another choice of skills until he reached level 75. Once he hit level 25 he went into an advanced class and got a lot of new skills and upgrades, then at level 50 got the next choice. He knew D grade was level 125, so it made sense that it would be new skills at 50, 75, 100 and then a full upgrade at 125. Whatever skill he chose he needed to be certain of it.
“Earth to Shaun! You look like you are having a conniption there.” Shaun turned to who had spoken, someone he hadn’t seen in a minute, Louisa.
“Oh, yeah. Just have an issue that I’m trying to solve.”
“Anything I can help with? I can be all kinds of helpful you know.” He knew she was trying to be flirty, but to him it was just annoying.
“You know what, sure. I am picking a new skill for my class, kind of stuck on what to choose.”
“Wait, seriously? I haven’t got a new skill since I got to level 25!”
“Yeah level 50 is the number you want.” Her eyes widened and she took a small step back. “So, I can choose from literally creating weapons from nothing, being able to wield them with my mind, being able to completely dematerialise and shift into an element at will or summon powerful creatures tied to different elements who will obey by command and fight by my side. Which would you choose?”
Louisa looked at him, her mouth opening and closing like she was trying, and failing, to get words out. “You know what, fuck you Shaun.” She said and just walked away, stomping like a child.
Rather than follow her, or even respond, he started to try a figure out his choices. The first to go was the summoning skill, he had made it this far alone he could keep going without it. The seconds was the mirror blade skill, he needed a new weapon, but he could craft one and it would suit his needs. What he didn’t have and couldn’t get was a skill that literally let him shift his entire body.
*Skill Gained*: [Advanced] Elemental Shift (Level 1)
With that done he moved onto the next thing he needed to complete while still in the dungeon area, afterwards he would find the others and go shopping.
*Calculating dungeon reward grade*
Wave 40 cleared. Adjusting reward grade.
Dungeon entered alone. Adjusting reward grade.
Dungeon reward grade: A
*Distributing reward at A level*
*10 Silver coin*
*Scarinian Egg*
*[Advanced] Scarinian Egg: An ingredient used in alchemical creations, most commonly used in the production of elixir’s relating to enhancing the concentration of mana.*
This was the first time he had ever heard of mana concentration, and his curiosity was peaked. The egg was no bigger than a chicken egg but it was gold in colour. He now had another stop on his shopping spree, to the alchemist.
When he left the dungeon he set out to find his friends, Eric and Gabe he found recovering in their room and when he told them they were going shopping they jumped at the opportunity. Finding Viv and Li was much harder, but eventually found them both getting a drink in the only bar in the tutorial. Viv looked a little down and Li seemed to be consoling her on something, but he didn’t hesitate to walk up to them.
“Up for a shopping trip?” He interrupted them, although they seemed like they were having a break in their conversation.
“We don’t have enough money to buy anything, we are still all saving for Li’s gem.” Viv said, not really making eye contact.
“That’s fine, today’s trip is on me. I don’t know if you heard, but I am rich now.” Shaun couldn’t stop the chuckle from escaping, he had never been rich, he had always saved every penny he could, but never enough to be considered wealthy in any regard.
“We cant just…”
“Nope, no arguing, we shop!” He interrupted Viv’s protests, knowing where she was going to go with them.
The first stop they went to was the gem store where he had previously made the arrows and gotten the shards and slivers previously.
“Hey Jack! How’s it going?” Shaun greeted the man fondly, he had enjoyed his time with the man the other night so was happy to see him again.
“Shaun! My boy! So good to see you again! Tell me, have you made the final arrow yet?” Jack beamed when he saw Shaun, truly happy for him to have returned.
“Not yet, its on my list of things to do though, I will come back and craft them here with you when I am free next.”
“Wonderful, I look forward to it.” Jack then greeted the others who had followed him in the store. “So I assume your back to buy then? From what I hear you have come into a tidy sum.”
What followed was a rather enjoyable experience, Shaun purchased the gem for Li’s bracelet, but also purchased a few things for himself, including a number of stones and gems that he planned to use in crafting a new weapon as well as into some of his own armour. They then went to the weapons store where he purchased 2 new bows, one for Gabe and one for Viv, they both needed the upgrades and they were relatively cheap when compared with the mountain of gold he had. The next stop on his shopping journey was for leather, when he walked into the store he immediately went up to the person running the shop.
“Hi, I would like to see the best leather you have, specifically materials that can be made into leather armour. Needs to be durable and very flexible, also very resistant to elemental damage.”
“What your budget?” the person who should have been serving him was barely paying any attention, he hadn’t even looked up from whatever book he was reading.
“Depends on what you have.”
The man looked up at him then and the moment he saw who he was speaking to his entire demeanour changed. “Apologies, sir, I will bring you samples of the most suitable leathers we have in stock.” At least fame can be useful for something.
When the man came back he had a dozen samples all on top of a chest. They were all laid out on the counter when Shaun was given the go ahead that he could pick them up and inspect them. Some were more in the traditional looking leather, all from different monsters, but none really sparked his interest, there was a sample of the Wyrm scale leather, but when he identified it he found that is was from a youngling and that reduced the durability and resistance a lot. Curious he asked what was in the chest.
“Well, sir, this is the best material I have, something that I won’t part with easily as it took a lot for me to acquire it.” When the man opened the chest what he saw inside immediately caught his attention, it was Wyrm scale leather, but this stuff was much better than that from the young Wyrm. It was of the deepest black, the scales were easily an inch big each, and the leather radiated a power that spoke of age and experience. Whatever the Wyrm was, it had been powerful, ore powerful than anything Shaun had ever seen.
“May I” Shauna sked, indicating if he could pick up the leather. The man gave him a hesitant nod before Shaun picked it up. In his hands he felt an intense feeling of foreboding, of fear, something he hadn’t felt in a while. It was hard to move past but when he did he really took in how exquisite the material was. If he had to guess, he would say that even his most powerful attacks would have a hard time cracking through these scales, but the scales remained flexible, soft even. “How much?”
“It would depend on how much of the material you wanted, sir.”
“All of it.” There was no way he would be leaving here without it if he could afford it.
“All of it! Sir, I understand you are the most powerful person in this tutorial, but the cost of this leather is counted in gold, hundreds of it.”
“Okay, how many hundred?” This is getting tedious.
“I….for all of the leather in this chest, I would part ways with it for 300, no, 350 gold coin.”
“Deal!” Shaun practically shouted at the man. “350 for all of it. And we will need some other leather for the three of them.” Referring to Gabe, Viv and Li.
“No. You have bought us enough. We need to work for the rest. We cant have you do everything for us, we need something to work towards Shaun.” Gabe responded, looking very adamant about it too. He had spent a decent amount of coin on them today but it wasn’t like he couldn’t afford more. Although Gabe had a point, they needed to also do something for themselves, if only to make sure they weren’t feeling like they only got to where they were because of him.
He didn’t bother arguing, he instead just bought his new leather and they left the store, the man left in stunned silence behind the counter. They quickly went to buy some different types of metal, enough for him to craft a new sword and some other bits and pieces. And lastly, they made a stop at the alchemist. When they entered Alxeria cackled at him.
“So the all powerful human has returned, and what does he want from dear old Alxeria today?” The woman seemed to find his presence there entertaining, he had no idea why though.
“I recently acquired this.” He took out the egg and placed it in front of her on the counter. “Something to do with mana concentration. Got any thoughts?”
Alxeria reached down and picked up the egg, inspecting every inch of it. “It is a good reward, incredibly so. Mana concentration doesn’t effect how much mana you have, but how powerful it is. Think of it as quality vs quantity. Yes, I can make a fine elixir with the egg, it won’t be cheap though, not that you cant afford it.” She cackled at her own comment. “But the elixir would be wasted, you want to take it when you are in the end of E grade at the earliest, later for most. You would want 10,000 mana to take full benefits from it.”
“Perfect, how much to make it?”
“Do you need to have your ears cleaned human? I said 10,000 mana.” The elf eyed him, she wasn’t angry but focused on his reaction.
“It wont be a problem. So how much?” He was starting to hate the back and forward he was having to deal with when going into some of these stores. Thankfully this would be the last for a while.
“My, the secrets you must have. If others knew what you had, I think they would do anything to tear it from you and take it as their own.” The elf took the egg in her hands again. “50 gold, and I will even make you that body elixir with the root for no cost.”
He quickly handed over the root and paid, making for the exit immediately. “Come back in 3 days, it will be ready by then. And be careful what you tell others human. People kill for the strength of others.”
When everything was done he made his way back to his room, he had hours before the feast and he knew exactly what he was going to craft first. The moment he was alone he inspected the material again.
**[Epic] Adult Death Wyrm Scale Leather: The leather from a fully grown Wyrm that focused on bringing fear and death to all of its foe. The leather holds the remnant power of the living Wyrm, inducing fear into those who look upon it and heralding their death.**
Th leather was already epic and the more he looked upon it the more he fell in love. He imagined himself wearing it, armour that clung to his skin, and all that looked upon him would know only death. The idea was captivating an allure he didn’t even know existed within him, but the scales bought out that primal urge to conquer, to show everyone that he was at the top of the food chain, or would be at least. The only thing left was to create the masterpiece that he would wear proudly, and he had nothing to do but make sure he gave everything he had to making perfection.
Comments
Dylan Suomela
Thanks for the chapter! This is one of the best new stories I’ve seen in quite a while!
Felix Richards
I truly hope in the upcoming chapters you show some growth in his decision making progress instead of so much emphasis on everything else. He's not taking the warnings from the people who are experienced.
