Runeguard 035

Day Six

I opened my eyes the next morning to find light streaming in through the room’s single window.

“What time is it, Adi?” I asked.

“8 AM, Dace.”

I had slept longer than I expected. I stared up at the ceiling. The events of last night still played on my mind, but I couldn’t afford to dwell on the matter today. 

I still had lots to do before I set out for the Creche exit, and time, I had learnt since the Lesser Dissolution, was not a luxury I had much of.

I rose from the bed. “Is Night awake, Adi?”

“The black dragon still sleeps.”

Leaving my companion to her rest, I willed my new armor out of my inventory. My first order of business today was getting acquainted with my latest equipment.

The plate armor set materialized on the floor. There were six distinct pieces. Picking up the largest, the cuirass, I inspected it carefully. 

The armor piece was formed from overlapping lengths of rigid steel plates, all of which looked strong enough to stop a bladed weapon. Each metal band had been meticulously polished too, and sparkled in the morning light.

This has been lovingly crafted, I thought, running my hand lightly over the cuirass’ surface. I wonder if Gorman was the one who made it.

Brushing aside my pang of sorrow at the smith’s passing, I picked up each of the other pieces in turn. They were all similarly well-made.

I hefted the steel plated legs in my hands. Yet for all the armor’s craftsmanship, there was no denying it was heavy. And cumbersome. 

It will slow me down. 

But I was hoping the added protection the armor afforded would outweigh some of its drawbacks. Taking my time, I strapped on each piece, intuitively knowing how to do so. 

You have equipped a steel plate armor set made by the Silver Hammers Guild.

Item: Steel Plate Armor Set

Base defense: 40.

Parent Essence: strength. Parent skill: heavy armor. Requirements: 10 heavy armor skill.

Debuff: -50% to all magic skills, -50% to dexterity skills. 

I winced on seeing the debuffs in the System message. They were a bit more than I bargained for. 

I refused to be dejected though. And to be honest, I wasn’t too concerned about the penalty to my life magic. With my armor synergy skill, I had the means of reducing that to zero. Once I raised it sufficiently of course.

As for my dexterity skills… There was no denying it: while in plate armor I was going to have a hard time dodging—or for that matter doing anything that required a measure of agility.

“I’m a proper tank now,” I declared. “And let’s face it, tanks don’t dodge a helluva lot.”

Still, I couldn’t help a groan of self-pity as I imagined all the pain that my future opponents would heap on me. 

Don’t be a baby, Dace, I scolded myself. 

With a sigh, I took a few half-hearted steps around the room while swinging my arms and twisting my body.

I didn’t creak—much. 

Yet despite my fleeting concerns, the armor wasn’t as bad as I feared. The restriction to my movements and the steel plate’s weight would take some getting used to, but with time, I could—no, would—learn how to work within its limitations.

From inside me, I felt Night stir. “Good morning, Dace,” she said sleepily. “Why do you insist on awakening at such ungodly hours? Black dragons are nocturnal, you know. We spend—”

Night broke off. “Something about you feels different today.” A moment later, she streamed out of my body.

“Ah,” my spirit guard said, swooping around me as she inspected my armor.

“Does the armor affect you?” I asked, a touch concerned. “Or your magic?”

“Not at all,” Night assured me. “Yet I can sense the difference in your own spirit. The armor suppresses your magical pathways. You are aware you will struggle with spellcasting while wearing all that?”

“I have a plan for overcoming that,” I told her, relieved to hear she would be unaffected.

Which reminds me. “Adi, display my player profile please. Let’s see what difference all this armor has made.”

“Coming up, Dace.”

Player Profile: Dace Tolman

Level: 10. Health: 270 / 270 HP. 

Stamina: 270 / 270 SP. Mana: 80 / 150 MP. 

Species: Human. Essence Points: 0 EP.

Remaining Lives: 1.

Base attack: 7 (with warhammer).

Base defense: 60 (with large steel shield).

Classes

Guardian, a tier 2 Class.

Nodal Capability

Max Nodes: 17. Total Occupied: 9 / 17.

Available Essence Nodes: 6 / 17.

Class Reserved: 2 / 17. 

Occupied Nodes

Strength, tier 1 Essence: 16.

Dexterity, tier 1 Essence: 10.

Constitution, tier 1 Essence: 27.

Life, tier 2 Essence: 17.

Channeling, tier 1 Essence: 15.

Perception, tier 1 Essence: 6.

Guardian, tier 2 Class: 1.

Skills

Strength: swords: 10, heavy armor: 10, mining: 10, hammers: 10, armor synergy: 5.

Dexterity: evasion: 10, sneaking: 10, daggers: 10, herbalism: 10, light armor: 10.

Constitution: recovery: 27.

Life: restoration: 13, life magic: 16, life resistance: 0, spirit expertise: 6.

Channeling: regeneration: 14, spirit link: 7.

Perception: scouting: 1, insight: 6, detection: 6, weapon-throwing: 6.

Active Abilities

Life: lesser heal, lesser bless.

Guardian: spirit guard.

Current Effects

-55% to life magic skills from 10 items.

-60% to all other magic skills from 10 items.

-50% to dexterity skills from 6 items.

+2 heavy armor from 2 items.

Equipped

leather armor set.

steel armor set.

steel warhammer and large steel shield.

Bank

Available slots: 1 small.

Stored items: 1 x rebirth token.

“Well now, isn’t that nice,” I murmured as I studied my base defense and attack stats. If they were anything to go by, I was an armored behemoth.

Before closing the message, I turned my attention to the rest of my profile. It had been a while since I had last checked it and I was surprised at some of the changes.

My strength Essence rank especially had increased hugely, courtesy of my recently completed task. If I keep acquiring such tasks, soon I will be undefeatable—regardless of my level.

“Adi, how do I go about getting more tasks that’ll reward me with Essence ranks?”

“There is no established method to do so. The System alone determines when an Essence reward is appropriate. But outside the Creche, it is a moot point anyway. Once you enter the wider sector, the only way to gain Essence ranks is through leveling.” 

I blinked. “Wait, what?”

“It is only through Creche tasks and achievements that the System allows players to gain Essence through means other than leveling,” Adi explained.

I scowled. “Why?”

“The Creche’s primary goal is to prepare players for entrance into the wider Proving Grounds. To that end, the System provides Creche players with the means necessary to set their own path and ready themselves for the challenge ahead. This includes making it easier for players to acquire Gems, Stones, spells, bonus Essence Points, accelerating their skill gains, providing protected zones, and limiting the level of the foes encountered. But once in the sector proper, players should not expect any ‘free’ gifts from the System.”

I bit my lip, chewing over that. The implications were unsettling. “Just how dangerous is Sector 52?” I asked quietly.

But it was Night, not Adi, who answered. “Very, Dace,” she whispered. “Life in the Proving Grounds in general is not easy, and this holds especially true for a new sector where all the players are low levelled.” She hovered to a stop in front of me and held my gaze. “I’m sorry to tell you this, Dace, but over half your people will die in their first few days outside the Creche. In particular those that go at it alone, and choose not to band together with others will have little chance of surviving.”

I swallowed. “So my best course then,” I said aloud, “would be to delay my departure from the Creche and advance my Essences and skills as far as I can?”

“I believe so,” agreed Night.

“Adi, what do you think?” I asked.

“I can’t advise on gameplay, Dace,” Adi said, reminding me once again of the constraints placed on her.

“Sorry,” I muttered. “Forgot about that.”

I bowed my head while I thought matters through. If the Creche was the only place I could gain extra Essences, it made sense for me to stay as long as possible and search out whatever tasks were available for completion. 

But on the other hand, there were the Creche evolutions. They would make staying in the Creche increasingly more dangerous.

Something else occurred to me. “Adi, what else can I expect after leaving the Creche?”

“You will not find any equipment vendors or workshops in Sector 52. They are only available within a Creche,” she answered promptly, almost as if she had been waiting—or hoping—for the question. “Players leaving the Creche also lose access to their inventory. Though, in the sector, you can acquire items that will grant you inventory slots.”

My eyes widened. “What about money? And all my equipped gear?” I asked.

“Anything you wear or carry on your person will survive the transition through the exit portal,” Adi assured me. “As will all your money.”

That was a relief at least. Now I knew the real reason Marcos had converted all his stolen goods into gold: he wouldn’t have been able to take them out of the Creche with him.

“What else?” I asked.

“Some System facilities such as the townhall and bank are still accessible in the sector. However, you will find making use of their services more expensive outside of the Creche.”

“More expensive?” I asked aghast. Creche prices for System goods were already inflated enough to my mind.

“Correct, Dace.”

“What about items stored in a bank?” I asked.

“Those items will be unaffected by your transition,” Adi said.

I sighed. I had a lot more to consider than I had originally anticipated. Before, it had seemed all I had to think of was what additional Essences to buy.

Now, though, it seemed I also had to consider how much to spend on buying bank storage space, what items to take with me, did I join a guild, and most importantly: how long did I stay in the Creche?

I sat down heavily on the bed again, ignoring its creaking as I did so. 

I had some thinking to do.

✵ ✵ ✵

Ten minutes later, I was still no closer to reshaping my plans. Yet I was determined to do so before I left my room. 

A knock on the door changed all that.

“Dace? You in there?” a voice called.

I lifted my head. It couldn’t be, could it? What is she doing here?

“Dace, answer the bloody door, will you?” Beth growled, pounding on it more violently this time. “I know you’re in there. Hell, after your stunt last night, the entire town knows your whereabouts. If you—”

I wrenched the door open. “What do you want?” I asked brusquely.

Beth’s eyes widened as she caught sight of me. Her mouth gaped open. “Where the hell did you get that?”

I followed the red-haired woman’s gaze downwards. She was staring at my chest. My metal-clad chest. “The smiths made it for me,” I said curtly. “Now what are you doing here?”

The Paragon threw up her hands. “We’ve been waiting for you in the dining hall for hours,” she said. “Bayan has had just about enough and is all set to leave.”

So, the rest of them are here too, I thought. When I had heard her voice at the door, I had half-hoped… but that was foolish. Beth would never abandon her guild.

“What’ve you been doing cooped up in your room anyhow?” Beth asked. She frowned, looking up and down my armored figure. “You clearly haven’t been sleeping, so what are you up to?” Stepping forward, the smaller woman tried to peek behind me and into the room beyond.

I moved to block her. Night was still flying about, and I was not about to let even Beth see her. “You still haven’t answered my question,” I said. “Why is your guild still here? I thought you would all be long gone by now?”

Beth’s gaze darted to my own before she looked away—in embarrassment, it seemed.

When she still didn’t answer, I continued on, “The Paragons must need something pretty badly for you to be here. So what is it?”

Beth scowled at me. “It’s not like that.”

I raised one eyebrow in polite disbelief. “Really? Then why are you here?”

“I deserve that,” the fire mage said, her lips thinning. “But you don’t have to be such a bastard about it. Come with me.” She spun on her heels. “Or don’t. See if I care.”

And with that, the red-haired woman hurried away.