Runeguard 015

The moment the last breath left the scorpion, I was inundated with System messages.

You have killed a giant scorpion.

You have reached level 10! 

+1 rank in strength, dexterity, constitution, life, channeling, and perception.

+3 Essence Points.

Congratulations, you are the first player in Creche 1050 to reach the level cap! For your achievement, you have earned: 3 Essence Points. 

Congratulations, you have fulfilled secondary objective 1 of the task: exit the Creche. Complete the primary objective to claim your reward. 

Creche Notice 1050-02

Attention all residents of Creche 1050. A player has reached level 10, thereby initiating Creche evolution D: Dungeon Spawning. The Creche’s two dungeons have been unlocked.

Dungeon 1050-B: A Swampy Place

Creature levels: between level 5 and 15.

Recommended party size: 6 level 8+ players.

Location: South of Town 1050-A. Consult your personal administrator for the exact coordinates.

Dungeon 1050-C: The Devil’s Playground

Creature levels: between level 10 and 18.

Recommended party size: 6 level 10 players.

Location: East of Town 1050-A. Consult your personal administrator for the exact coordinates.

I stared in bemusement at the slew of messages, especially the last two. “At least that answers the mystery of where to find a dungeon,” I said, chuckling to myself.

I glanced at the two dead scorpions and my amusement faded. Even though I had triumphed in the end, I realized the battle could have just as easily gone the other way.

I had foolishly left myself vulnerable in my bid to multitask and raise multiple skills at the same time. 

Right, no more training life magic in dangerous places. And no more mining without scouting the area first.

Stepping up to the first scorpion, I looted its corpse.

You have acquired: 1 x scorpion chitin, 1 x venom sac, and the life magic spellbook: lesser blessing.

My lips turned down. The loot was not bad. It was just that I had hoped to find another Essence Gem. With a sigh, I moved onto the second scorpion and looted it too.

You have acquired: 1 x scorpion chitin, 1 x venom sac, and a +1 steel battlehammer.

This time, I couldn’t help frowning. “A hammer?” What use was a hammer to me?

Extracting the battlehammer from my inventory, I examined it carefully. It was a simple weapon formed from a largely rectangular block of steel affixed to a long wooden haft. Two opposite ends of the hammer head had been shaped into blunt spikes that focused the force of the weapon’s blows. 

I winced, imagining their effect. 

Given the mass of the hammer, any blow from it would be devastating. But the same weight also made the battlehammer feel poorly balanced. 

There was no way I could wield it in one hand. It will require two hands to properly control, I thought, hefting the battlehammer in my hands.

Item: +1 Steel Battlehammer

Base attack: 10.

Parent Essence: strength. Parent skill: hammers. Requirements: 10 strength.

Enchantment: +10% attack.

“What am I supposed to do with this weapon, Adi?” I complained.

“I am not sure what you mean, Dace.”

“It’s not at all appropriate for my build. Why’d the System give it to me.”

“Some randomness is built into the System generated loot. There is no guarantee that you will always get items you find desirable. Besides, the battlehammer is not wholly inappropriate.”

I muttered something not very complementary—but under my breath. Adi was right after all. The hammer could be useful… it was just not what I had been hoping to find.

“What time is it?” I asked, setting aside my disappointment.

“It is 13:20 PM, Dace.”

Hmm… too early to return to town. Heading back to the spot where I had been mining, I re-equipped my gambeson and stored my weapons.

I walked over to the tunnel from which the scorpions had appeared and stuck my head cautiously inside. It looked no different from the other passage I had been down.

But the scorpions had come from there. 

So it was worth a further look. If only for the loot, if nothing else. I strode down the tunnel, torch held aloft in one hand and sword in the other.

“Adi, please display my profile.”

“Coming up, Dace.”

Player Profile: Dace Tolman

Level: 10. Health: 270 / 270 HP. 

Stamina: 270 / 270 SP. Mana: 60 / 60 MP. 

Species: Human. Essence Points: 6 EP.

Base attack: 5 (with steel longsword).

Base defense: 13 (with no shield).

Classes

None.

Nodal Capability

Max Nodes: 17. Total Occupied: 7 / 17.

Available Essence Nodes: 6 / 17.

Class Reserved: 4 / 17. 

Occupied Nodes

Strength, tier 1 Essence: 10.

Dexterity, tier 1 Essence: 10.

Constitution, tier 1 Essence: 27.

Life, tier 2 Essence: 13.

Channeling, tier 1 Essence: 6.

Perception, tier 1 Essence: 6.

Skills

Strength: swords: 9, heavy armor: 8, mining: 9.

Dexterity: evasion: 7, sneaking: 8, daggers: 7, herbalism: 6.

Constitution: recovery: 23.

Life: restoration: 9, life magic: 12.

Channeling: regeneration: 6.

Perception: scouting: 1, insight: 5, detection: 4, weapon-throwing: 4.

Active Abilities

Life: lesser heal.

I stared in silence at the System window, impressed by how much I had improved since my first day. All my skills had improved tremendously, even those I had acquired late.

An anomaly caught my eye. “Adi, during that battle with the scorpions, was my life magic skill at twelve?”

“Yes, Dace.”

I frowned. I had figured out the lesser heal spell restored the same percentage of health as my life magic skill. Yet during the last encounter, it hadn’t…

“Why did the lesser heal spell only restore ten percent and not twelve percent of my health when I had cast it earlier?”

“In that instance, it was not your skill, but the spell itself that was the limiting factor. All lesser spells are capped at 10% in their effect.”

I didn’t like the sound of that. “So, my life magic is effectively maxed out until I find better spells?”

“Correct.”

Hmm… Advancing my life Essence further at this stage would do me little good, and if I couldn’t cast better spells… then I needed to cast more of them.

I eyed my mana pool. So far, it was my biggest limitation. “Adi, place all six Essence Points in channeling please.”

“Done, Dace. Your mana pool has increased to 120 MP.”

Better, I thought, refocusing my attention back on my surroundings. The tunnel, like the central cavern, was riddled with veins of ore. Gorman and the smiths will be pleased, I thought.

There was enough ore in the tunnels that it would take days to unearth. Not pausing to mine further—there would be time enough for that later—I kept walking, determined to complete my exploration of the underground tunnel network.

It did not take me long to run into more scorpions.

You have detected 3 giant scorpions!

Your detection skill has increased to rank 5.

The System message dropped into my vision just as I spied a hint of motion up ahead, and for a moment, I stilled in concern. Three scorpions could be beyond my ability to tackle at once. 

But as the scorpions rushed into view, I realized there was something different about the trio. 

They were smaller. 

Concentrating my attention on the one in the fore, I examined it in more detail.

Your target is a level 3 young giant scorpion.

Your insight skill has increased to rank 6.

Only level three. 

I planted my torch in the ground and backed away. The scorpions’ ground to a halt four yards from the fire, more afraid of it than the previous pair. At the edge of the firelight, they paced up and down.

After a moment’s thought, I sheathed my sword and recalled my battlehammer from my inventory. 

Might as well make use of my new weapon and train up my hammer skill. 

The three scorpions should be easy enough to deal with, and my swords skill was nearly maxed anyway.

Holding the hammer before me in a two-handed grip, I strode forward to meet the scorpions.

Embarrassingly, I missed my first and second strikes, hitting nothing but fresh air and dirt. The scorpions fared much better. Attacking from all sides, they struck at me while I recovered from my flailing.

You have gained the dexterity skill: light armor!

But while the three creatures attacked as ferociously as the first pair, their venom was not as lethal, nor were their shells as hard—which I found out when my third strike slammed squarely into one of the scorpions.

You have killed a level 3 young giant scorpion.

You have gained the strength skill: hammers!

Well, isn’t that impressive? I thought, looking at the battlehammer with new respect. 

From there, the battle quickly resolved itself. While I still missed more often than not, the young scorpions’ stings were not enough to trouble me, especially since I was armored this time around.

Sadly, the loot was not anything to write home about.

You have acquired: 3 x scorpion chitins, and 3 x venom sacs.

Still the encounter had been beneficial, and if Gorman and his fellow smiths were going to mine here, I had to clear the tunnels of all known threats.

Picking up the torch, I resumed my advance down the tunnel.

✵ ✵ ✵

In the next hour, I fought four more waves of the young scorpions, each containing between three to six of the beasts.

It made for good practice. 

Grown more confident after the first encounter, I took to opening each skirmish with my daggers, throwing all six before taking up my battlehammer and laying into the young scorpions while healing myself with lesser heal.

By the end of the hour, the hammer’s strange weight felt familiar, and I was wielding it with nearly the same skill as my sword. 

I became proficient at casting lesser heal in the midst of the battle too. It was tricky to manage, but I figured out how to split my focus and vocalize the spell’s words while maintaining my physical attacks. 

All through the hour’s long battles, one thought loomed large at the back of my mind: I would have to enter one of the dungeons soon, and before I did so, I had to be well-versed in the use of all my weapons—both magical and non-magical.

After I put down the last of the scorpions, the tunnel came to an abrupt end. The surrounding rocks were pockmarked and blackened. I realized that this was the result of the scorpions’ acidic venom.

 I had reached the creatures’ lair. 

But there were no more scorpions to slay. It seemed I had killed them all already. I was certain now that the first two I had killed had to have been a mated pair, and the sires of the younger scorpions.

Even though the lair was empty, I took the time to search the area. My efforts were soon rewarded. In one corner, I found a dull glowing growth. Inspecting the luminous green patch closely revealed them to be mushrooms.

You have spotted a hidden cluster of glowing mushrooms!

Your detection skill has increased to rank 6.

I harvested all the mushrooms I could find and returned to the central cavern.

✵ ✵ ✵

After I reached the cavern, I explored the other two tunnels leading away from it, but no more than a hundred yards down each. The two passages spiraled much deeper into the earth, and I was not sure if they would ever come to an end.

A hundred yards, I thought was sufficient to be relatively certain that I would be undisturbed while in the central cavern.

With my scouting completed, I spent the rest of the afternoon mining and soon accumulated a sizable haul. 

Pleased with the day’s efforts, I headed back into town.