LW – Chapter 12

Chapter 12

 

 

 

 

 

“Hello? Is someone there?” a voice called out to me.

“Hello? Please…” I heard the voice again.

It woke me up right at dawn, the voice had come.

I’m sitting up in my blankets. I was startled and looked around but nothing is there.

“I could have sworn I heard something,…” I mumbled.

I got up and got my boots on.

My pit house is warm.

I’d crafted it well enough to be dry and fully enclosed, so the night mountain cold doesn’t freeze me out.

By now, its hard to tell its a pit house because I have log and wood paneling caging out the inside to make it look just like a real cabin and look stable. I have a have a hard wood floor even. Not to mention, it has a hidden look with a roof over it that’s camouflaged also.

But in theory someone could figure out how to spot it if they knew what to look for. But with a rejuvenate spell its easier to hide the door to it.

It looks also to be quite simple but yet functional and solid.

I got my coat on.

“Hello? Someone…please help,” I heard the feminine voice again.

So it is a woman’s voice.

But there was something strange about the voice. And I couldn’t see anyone near my perimeter.

(I even checked around my traps to see if I’d snagged something I shouldn’t have in them. But there was nothing there either.

Well…

I should say there was nothing that shouldn’t be there that isn’t.

Tonight I’d slept pretty well.

My traps had captured over 19 different types of monsters during the night. All of them held solid and unable to break free. Some of them had tried cutting at the vines with some of them almost getting free.

I just have to finish them off now for free xp!

By 7 AM, I’d harvested quite a bit of XP! My xp bar went up by quite a bit also.

If its like that, every day it might be fun.

But that means that from 7 AM to 7:20 AM I had to go around checking my hedge traps and feeding mana into them to replenish the most damaged, via rejuvenate.

“Interesting…the rejuvenate program is a perfect complimentary duo to go with the improved Root Trap!” I said in awe.

I had to repair 6 improved root traps, but this didn’t take too much mana.

At 7:21 AM, I set down 4 new squares of improved traps also.

‘My current mana bar is now at about 540 mana…’
‘My health bar is good, and topped out…’

I cooked some fish for breakfast and ate at ~approximately 7:24 AM to 7:55 AM, including clean up. I’d also reset the fish in the brook.

Then I began to start hiding more inside my small but expanding maze.

Is it a maze yet?

Actually its premature to say that. Right now its just a set of defensive formations. And thinking about it, I also still have a lot to learn.

Its still time consuming and a lot of work to check the perimeter constantly. But worth it.

The defensive hedge is vulnerable to flying monsters and fire monsters both. I only have an edge on things that walk in here on 2 legs or 4 legs that can’t fly. So even though it feels perfect now, its actually got a lot of vulnerabilities.

And I still can’t find any sign of whatever that voice was that was crying out for help. I find this confusing as hell since I’d really looked all over them. Its not that easy to search a hedge maze full of green bush walls now though. I literally have to go throughout the perimeter looking at each section to check where this person is that I’m trying to find.

(Although I haven’t finished the maze, I have finished the outer hedge maze four walls with the entrance.)

‘?’

The monster encounters started pouring in also.

But I also have new experiments to try out today.

I’d been underestimating how much I can do with my set of skills. Much fo what I can do is item create, but also life wizard skills.

This means I need to be trying to create those things. And also search for that voice that was calling out to me (still a mystery).

I’d had this interesting idea this morning,…

If I can create swords, armor, and equipment, what would happen if I tried to create small animals? And what kind of mana cost would that be like?

Let’s try it…

I clicked on the item create skill. Then instead of picking a weapon, armor, tool, or resource, I said openly, “live rabbit.”

At first, the code garbled up, the way it does when your connection to a TV input device starts to get scrambled. But then suddenly it fixed itself after a few seconds.

As the rabbit isn’t very much mass, it will cost me 60 mana to ‘create’ a live rabbit. However, its not giving me a choice on the color and type of rabbits. The rabbit is alive and worked, but it looks like it gave me a type of rabbit that was already in this area.

I guess that’s fine.

Its making my mind bent, trying to figure out if it actually created new life or just summoned it though? Which is it?

Why can’t I choose its traits?

Or maybe I need to level it up first?

But…its a risk.

What if the mana cost is a lot because its alive?

But there isn’t much simpler than a rabbit. And I wouldn’t want to create mice. Plus, if the rabbits are living in the hedge maze system, its a natural food production system! Nothing like live rabbit cooked in a potatoes and gravy stew! And if I had them reproducing and living in the maze that’s a food system that can work with me long term!

Yeah, let’s try it.

I cringed as I clicked the “OK to confirm,” button.

Whoooshh…

There’s a huge burst of energy.

Ping!

My system is active now with a new pop up notification with exclamation points!

[Advanced Life Wizard skill created! Congratulations on advanced wizardry’s first attempt to create life!]

[The system has granted you +3 bonus stat points, and +10 max health!]

Wow…

So I guess this means that the Life realm attribute is pretty powerful, despite it not having destruction?

But that means also that it may be harder for me to acquire destruction skills I realized. And its possible that it let me have the minor fire wave skill only because stuff like volcanoes and other events often have strong regeneration afterwards because of the fertility brought in by said destructive events bringing new nutrients into the soil?

At any rate, I think it will possibly limit how many destructive skills I have possibly.

But it is possible attributes attributed to granting life and life support may inadvertently give me a few skills to access?

This is quite interesting.

Oops!

The gray rabbit I just created is trying to get away!

I chased after it, but then lost it.

I actually hadn’t been prepared for this to be successful. If I’d planned it better I might have had a cage or two ready.

I can see my current mana bar is down by -60. I also see that there was a 20% mana cost penalty that showed up in the window, also because I’d never used the ‘Create Life’ skill before.

!

“Awesome!” I cried out in joy.

When I had used the create item skill, the system registered it as different enough of a process from the original skill and altered the create item skill to create a new skill entirely! The [Create Life] skill has been granted!

Still…I should be careful now.

If I’d tried to create something big I would have died. I mean a rabbit is about 6 to 10 pounds of weight. And it costed me about 60 mana points to create this? Imagine if I’d tried to create something of several hundred pounds…that means I would have died.

I frowned.

So I need to level up some more don’t I?

I guess I should expect that. Creating life is special and unique.

So it shouldn’t give that to me so easily for nothing.

And that means creating more skills. And items. All while building up my power.

I’ve also decided that I could easily work this out to my advantage in other ways.

What if I created motion detectors to set up in the maze also?

These types of creatures wouldn’t have any idea what such devices are. But I’d also have to try to conceal them also, so that they aren’t attacked to be overcome.

And another issue is also creating a battery system that such devices would plug into. But this would also let me sleep more safely also at night, without having to worry.

I also intend to create more houses and pit houses to alternate hiding into, and for some of them to be used as bait.

I feel more devious now.

The maze is growing.

I wonder…could I use the create life skill to create followers?

!

Wow…

That would also curb my loneliness also!

But while I’m strategizing how to do this, isn’t it also true that using a skill like ‘create life’ could be very similar to summoning other people from another world?!

And what if they are really the same thing!

My overly excited heart, received even more stress when I see a whole troop of goblins coming up the hill.

This time…its at least twenty, no wait thirty!

Shit!

This is awful. I’ve never fought such a big group of them before! This has me extremely worried!

Luckily I’ve got a lot of mana currently.

 

…

 

The giant hornet nest somehow decided universally to not attack the goblins and withdraw. With that many goblins, they’d decided it wasn’t worth the risk. And that increased my risk!

I somehow got lucky and a rabid bear took out four of the goblins while they are beating on it. But then it ran off with chewed up goblin legs in its mouth.

I wonder…what’s the best way to survive now?

As I watched I was surprised when the goblins killed the rabid bear after stopping its retreat. That surprised me!

A few minutes passed while the remaining goblins began combing the rabid bear’s bones and ripping off the meat. They openly snacked on it, and ate it down to the bones. That took only about a half hour. And during that half hour I had to fight off a giant bee also (-14 damage to me).

When I had the bear slain, I looked over to see what’s going on…

The troop of 25.5 goblins is now headed towards me! They had decided to rush me when seeing the bear gone, thinking I’d be tired and weak afterwards!

Shit, shit, shit, shit…

My heart is pounding in my chest. I’m running back to the safety of my thorn trap walls. My hands are sweaty also as I huffed.

I wish I had more range skills.

But then one of the goblins who was wounded had a morale problem and the boss goblin slit his throat. 25.5 goblins –> 25 goblins.

I already know I’ll have to be careful about mana also, which means using the previous version trap instead of the major version that costs more mana.

!

I had to dodge and duck as the goblins are firing off arrows towards me! I ran and pulled back to avoid the shots. I also popped my shield up.

Whew! Thankfully I was quick. They are better shots than you’d think, with such small ugly twisted bodies.

The maze wall hedges are thick and not that easy to see through, so I have an advantage to hide in the maze as I thin their numbers.

As they are approaching I counted out at least 10 of them have some kind of bows of varying sizes.

Crap.

That makes it harder. And of course they’d have those, because they are a warrior society that only prizes war skills, such as with a bow and arrow type of skills. And it will be hard to pick them off with the archer goblins around. I need to get rid of those first to be effective at killing the others.

I ended up sprinting back and forth while avoiding another volley and keeping my shield out and up towards the enemy. One of the major disadvantages of my vine and root traps is that they are see through! So the goblin archers are really able to do whatever they want from range!

Shit…

My pit house is safe from arrows, but if I go inside it they can literally burn me out and sneak up on me. So I want to avoid that. I also can’t leave my defensive cluster formation of vine walls and traps or I’m dead also; that would let them put all 20 warriors on me!

They continued to advance slowly.

‘I haven’t tested the maximum range of my root trap skill’ I thought.

Dang it.

Now I can see why I need to know such things.

I had several minutes of going back and forth to dodge arrow volleys. Several hit my shield. But I managed to block most of them, but only due to being lucky.

The goblin group splits into two. One group is the archers and their half circle formation. The other group is moving up with spears, and swords, with a few holding maces. The one thing in my favor is that neither group has shields, which would make my life living hell.

I casted my first root trap when the first group had closed to within 20 feet of my vine wall enclosures…but instead of casting it on the warriors, I used it on the goblin archer group to buy time to fight off the front line warriors! (-20 mana). Then I casted another one on the other surprised goblin archers that are panicking as they try to move away from the now trapped (4) archers, in the trap!

Success! (-20 mana). And I’ve trapped 5 more archers into the other trap!

Yes!

I then had to avoid the others as they are charging at me.

Right away the vine walls rip 3 warriors into the vines as they were about to strike me. I jumped back 10 feet.

I’m surprised when 3 of the goblin warriors evaded the trap and closed to melee distance!

Ping! There’s a harsh echo on my shield as I blocked the blow of the first one’s mace. Then I blocked a spear thrust. But the third strike of a spear hits me for (-27 damage).

ACHHHHHHH!!! OUCH!!!!! That hurts! I think I screamed.

I pulled back and ran round the corner, pulling deeper in the maze. Then I used another root trap skill. One of them is trapped, but I think the other two are veterans! That’s why they didn’t get pulled into the trap!

Now I’m worried. Plus, 2 of the goblin archers are almost free of the trap, as the one guy is cutting them out with a knife!

I ran while executing a root trap skill on the 3 goblin archers! Yes! Success! They are held into place! (-20 mana).

Then I had to juggle the other two goblins.

[Minor Flame Wave!] I hit my only offensive skill with fury. (-10 mana). Then I repeated it as I retreated again (-10 mana).

The two veterans rolled out of the way and to the back, showing they are powerful warriors. (-10 damage to one, -20 damage to the other.)

I ran past them just trying to lure them through vine trap gauntlets. Unfortunately they are good at dodging. They are also fast! They escaped by rolling again a second time.

I had to hustle to avoid their pincer stab trap!

I then hit the minor flame wave skill again going around the corner, blasting them again. I wish this thing hit wider and spread farther. Its area effect is basically as small as you can get and still be have an area effect. I’d be lucky to get 2 or 3 goblins caught in it.

Each time I ran by I’m hitting them with everything I can. But then I had to use my improved vine trap on some of the goblin archers to keep them from escaping. (4 of them caught in this). That will hold them tight. They are also taking a bit of damage.

The two veterans are following me around as I’m struggling to not get tired. Its the two veteran goblin leaders that most worry me now. I’d normally have to worry about them sprinting and catching me, but dodging and hacking at vine ropes trying to grab them lets me squeeze passed them.

AH!

I dodged too early! Shit! (The veteran’s spear thrust catches me for -27 damage)!

I blocked the other one, but then kicked one of them into my improved vine trap! Yes! He takes a bunch of thorn spike damage, but then tore himself free. I used my axe to chop at him again for harsh damage, and incurring a bonus when the force of my blow threw him into another spike thorn wall for more damage! (-39 damage + -16 damage).

I managed to roll out of the way of the other’s spear thrust. Then block his second blow with my shield.

Then I hit my minor heal on myself. (-30 mana, +20 health).

I continued to use my axe to power strike the veteran goblins into my traps. Finally I killed one of them.

But the other is running away, abandoning his teammates. I feel pissed off that this one escaped, but his friends won’t at least.

I had to go from trap to trap to execute each goblin trapped in the vines. I’m only alive because of my advanced cheat magic skills, which made the traps hold longer than they should. It wasn’t easy to execute the goblins either as they had a LOT of health… often they had over 400 health each which made me think this was a higher level group of goblins than I’d thought they were.

But now I’m tired and bloody. Too worn out and bloody to care about that I’d heard a level up ping just now.

My joy at getting another level is gone, as this is the only time I’d had a prey get away from me. And I’m worried that he might bring back reinforcements…

In fact, I’m sure that he will.

Its going to be a long night.

I’ll have to watch out all night for fear of their probing my ‘hopefully soon to be’ fortress in progress.