LW – Chapter 7

Had recent crash from trying to fix bugs. Please excuse the mess while we clean up.

 

Chapter 7

 

 

 

 

“Javen you need to get up,” my guide said urgently.

“Wh-what?” I sat up.

Its early. Too early.

And its not light outside yet!

“I’m detecting a monster patrol coming this way,” Alice said urgently whispering.

“How close are they?” I asked.

“Half a mile,” she said.

I checked the clock.

~5:41 AM.

So probably another hour or so before sun up?

That means it will be hard to fight whatever it is that’s coming. And I’m also low level and have short sighted human senses.

This sick survival game is so twisted…

Last night before bed I’d been so excited at being able to create out of thin air a magic made axe from an industrial era made me unable to get to sleep until around 11 PM at night.

Alice seems like she doesn’t mind being around me unlike the previous guide.

“I still don’t know why your axe didn’t fade when you went to sleep,” she said.

“Come again?” I asked.

“Well matter is required to convert one type of material into another. Yet you had no ore or other material when you used the create skill on the axe. That’s why it should have faded. That’s also a principal reason why many mage summon items have timers on them,” she said.

“Well we can worry about that now. What’s coming this way?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” she blushed.

“But the hornets aren’t active in the early hours of the night and morning turning,” I scratched my head.

I folded up my blanket. (I’d used item create late last night to create a wool blanket also. This had cost me 50 mana. I’d also created a tent kit, which costed more than the axe, and this is setup now with me in it.)

Still, I wonder if it was a mistake to have the tent up outside the pit that I’d sheltered in…

“Can you tell how many there are?” I asked Alice.

“It looks like maybe two, but the speed of their movement also doesn’t seem as fast as the giant hornets. Since its still dark I can’t give you more information right now,” she said.

It was agonizingly slow and worrisome waiting for whatever it was that was coming at me.

And also it seemed also like using the item create technique took a lot of stamina and magic both. So I couldn’t just summon a gun, or create one. I had to try to take baby steps and go from there, working my way up. It seemed like the more complex an item was, the harder it was to create and more costly. This is what I’d found out when using item create on the tent.

“Enemy closing on our position, at one hundred yards away,” she said looking at her own mini-map radar.

Damn…

What do I do…

I suddenly had an idea.

Its so dark that its likely I can catch whoever it is by surprise. If I use the right tools to do so.

I hurriedly used the item create skill, and then there was the tug of a huge amount of mana being pulled out of me. Plus, there was some stamina taken out also, where I felt light headed momentarily for a few seconds.

“I hope you can hurry,” she said.

The flashlight works! I covered it with my hand and shirt while under the edge of the pit to test it. With this I’ll try to blind them!

But I’m also curious if it will let me give the flashlight to Alice?

I can’t risk testing that now.

I soon heard mild snarling and growling. But then I realized the snarling and growling doesn’t sound animal like. It sounds almost like some kind of violent creature that’s bipedal!

How can that be?!

I hugged under the edge of the lip of the pit.

“They are closing in 50 yards away,” Alice warned.

“I’ll need you to distract them like before,” I said.

“O-OK,” she said nervously.

“Like before they can’t actually grab you, as you aren’t tangible in this world, but a projection,” I said.

She nodded but still seemed a bit fearful.

No sooner did I say that then the tramping of feet through the meadow grass got closer…and closer.

To my surprise two creatures with strange grotesque green skin came forward, holding crude weapons. Short. Runts. Ugly. And mean looking little bastards.

!

What the hell?! There are monsters like this?!

One of them pointed towards the pit, where I’m hiding. I remained low, knowing that Alice would be the best decoy ever.

They crept closer, walking cautiously with their weapons out.

Then they see Alice, unarmed and standing there at the opposite edge of the pit where I am.

“They see me. Hurry Javen,” she said without looking at me.

The two creatures charged forward intending to grab Alice! They reach out, intending to pull her to the ground.

Before they can actually touch her I’d come from behind and swung the woodcutting axe hard into the back of the first ‘goblin’.

Shpluckkkkkk….

Damn that sounds awful. That sound is so terrible. (-42 damage, 21 bonus damage from sneak attack.)

The goblin fell flat on the ground wounded mortally and unable to even get up. He’d taken some pretty hardcore damage. But I hit him with a second strike to be sure. (-37 damage.)

[Goblin 1 is slain!] shows up on my status screen display.

I charged forward.

The other goblin has noticed his friend is killed and is now shocked. He stabs out with his spear at Alice, but then is confused and shocked why it goes right through her.

“@*@(*! W@*#(@*(!!” he said in a strange language.

Then he snarled and pointed his weapon towards me.

This is where the flashlight strategy comes into play! I hurriedly pushed full power of the on switch into his eyes as the full battery blasts him, blinding him. As an evil monster night creature, the power of extra lumens in the flash light will be extra terrible to him! And even for a human nobody likes having a full power batteried flashlight pushed into your eyes!

The flash light model I’d copied using the item create was a powerful high lumen model. It would even blind a human in such surprise conditions.

He’s snarling and blinded trying to whip his weapon around to keep me at bay. I deflected his shabby spear’s wild swing easily.

Then I chopped hard into his spear arm right into the bicep with terrible force! The goblin takes (-22 damage, plus his weapon arm bones are shattered). The axe’s power has stopped his defense!

But to my horror now he’s trying to run away!

“Javen! Stop him! If he gets away he’ll tell his friends where ‘fresh prey’ is!” Alice cried.

Its shocking how fast a little shabby goblin can run!

I take off pumping my arms.

At thirty feet from the pit, I managed to smash blow his back with the axe. (-39 damage).

Strangely enough he tries to get up still. He even got a few feet but he is going much slower.

I hit him again.

[Goblin 2 has been slain!] registers on my status screen system.

Like before their bodies disappeared. And so did their weapons. Weird energy was dissipating from where they stood.

Weird…

But now I’m worried.

Goblins? Here?!

In most mythology goblins are really evil, and sneaky, and will easily overpopulate and overcome an area fast!

Plus, they are smarter than giant hornets and others.

Like, for example by coming at night before sun up to hunt, they’d bypassed the giant hornets nests when the hornets don’t like flying in the cold weather!

This means I’ll have to get tougher and stronger!

I was a little bit disappointed that I didn’t level up. But I am still happy that things are OK.

I went back to my campsite.

I took another nap until about 7 AM, after which I got up.

I went to the brook first to bathe and get some water to drink. I also combed my hair.

The reflection in the water shows a young man, possibly 18 or 19 years old it seems. But overall I just look like me.

“Alice, I have some questions,” I said.

“Sure. Go ahead,” she said.

“Do you know anything about my skill, the item create skill?” I asked.

She shook her head, “no. I’m sorry.”

“But it must have rules right? How do you think it might work? Can you help me work it out?” I asked.

She seemed reluctant. “I’m afraid I’ll give you the wrong idea. In theory it looks like you can create anything you want. But the higher the complexity, mass, and difficulty, the harder its going to be, I think. And that will cost more mana. If you make something that costs more mana than you have total mana for, you will die. That’s how magitek works.”

“…”

That silenced me. It was good that she told me that.

If not, I’d have been tempted to make that gun I wanted. Or something else.

But there was something else I’d missed also…

[[Axe mastery] skill acquired!] is now showing up in my status screen.

But when I clicked on the description it says that this skill gives me a very slight damage bonus for using axes, but that the bonus is more limited because I’m a mage.

“Don’t be too discouraged. You’ll find a way if you keep trying,” Alice said sweetly nearby. She must have seen my discouraged expression when I saw that the bonus was limited because of being a mage.

I looked at my status screen again.

 

Name; Javen
Race; Administrator class (Censored)
Job class; Life/Creation Wizard
Level; 3
Age; NA

Health; 49/114
Mana; 414/561
Stamina; 110/110
Health regen; 11 per day
Mana regen; 51 (hourly)
Str 30
Agi 30
Con 61
Int 90
Wis 91
App 100

Skills; Survival, Mana Sensing, [Censored], Summoned Danger Sense Turret(human shaped), Smash, Defend, Create Item, First Aid, Meditate, Axe Mastery
Traits; Memories have been censored, Blessing of the Heavens, Mana Genes, censored skills & traits, Life Affinity, Intermediate Life Affinity, Advanced Life Affinity, Creation Affinity, Intermediate Creation Affinity, Intermediate Creation Affinity!

I still have a lot of mana. And with +51 mana per hour that means I really should be trying to create something about every 1 to 2 hours, depending on the mana cost.

!

I had an idea.

“Whatever it is you are thinking of please be careful,” Alice said nearby.

I glanced at her suspiciously.

“What? Your face says it all,” she said.

I turned back to my work, shrugging.

In theory, whatever I’ve seen before could be created! And I’d seen some small health and mana potions!

“Use item create,” I said.

The skill activates by voice. (That was also an experiment, which I was trying; it worked.)

The skill box opens and then gives me choices of item type classifications. And the category of ‘furniture’ has appeared as a category, probably because of having created the blanket or the tent last night!

But I’m interested in something else instead!

“‘Create potion'” I said.

“The system shouldn’t let you do that. You aren’t an alchemist. You would have to have knowledge of the items internal workings if it involves chemical or magical reactions,” Alice frowned while doing her nails, and looking up.

But the small acceptance sound has told me that it is letting me create a small health potion! And the window went into a potion type archetype box of choices also!

“No way!” Alice said in awe.

“It worked,” I said surprised.

“Strange that it did actually,” she said. But she’s not glaring at me but just surprised.

“…” after that she wouldn’t talk but is just watching.

“Health potion,” I said.

But then I got a negative beep that it won’t let me do that. But it does show me the ‘small health potion’ is doable!

I also see that there are other choices in the window but they are grayed out, as if they aren’t unlocked yet. (I”ll have to figure out why they are grayed out, I thought. But possibly those are the higher grade versions.)

I clicked the ‘small health potion’ option.

Then a warning window pops up. [Due to inefficient stats and skill mixes, the potion will be lower quality than usual. Click yes if OK, no if you wish to cancel out.]

I clicked OK, despite the system not responding to verbal inquiries of how much lower than normal when I asked.

Ping!

[Success!] shows up in a popup followed by [Item has been created]!

But then I see and also feel that my mana bar has plunged by quite a bit already also.

“Wow,” Alice said. “It worked!”

In my hand is a small health potion, of a type and size that almost looks like some kind of small pudding packet you’d see in… (ugh, headache interrupted my thought). It also has a red cap on the top of the tiny container that looks like red plas…. (headache).

I then read the description of the item in the system interface.

I lost -100 mana, but this small health potion will restore +13 health.

So does that mean +10 health +1 per level?

“I’m really amazed. This is working pretty well,” she said.

I did a few other experiments.

Creating a few tiny blocks of firewood costs me -40 mana the first time. And it did let me. But then I thought that this was a waste. I can gather firewood on my own. And it wouldn’t make sense to use all that for something that I can get with elbow grease.

What I really need is more defensive equipment!

A ton of thoughts are going through my head.

I need some armor maybe!

But then i got worried.

Will the system even let me use armor, because I’m a mage? After all it did tell me I’d get a penalty for making the small health potion with insufficient skills.

But actually it gets kind of cold up here at night. The wind is there and somewhat fierce. Plus, there’s the fact that I’m up on a mountain cliff face.

I could make a coat! And the coat should have some defensive ability, though it won’t be perfect.

And I’ll need a bag also, maybe a pack frame to hold my gear in.

I began to work quick.

By 9 AM, I now have a rather nice mountain climbing back pack. (But the odd thing is I’m sure I’ve seen this same model before. I wonder if its from a previous… (headache).

~9:03 AM

The mountain climbing backpack is nice. I can fill it with wood to make making a fire easier at night to both stay warm, but also to cook during the day. But that means I’ll have to somehow hide the fact that I have a fire from any view of the area.

But gathering wood won’t be easy either.

I need gloves for that. And to protect my hands.

I used -50 mana and created [leather gloves]. They look machine sewn and sturdy. I swear there’s a spot that should have a commercial manufacting label from some other world on them, but its missing. But everything else on it suggests coming from that one place that my memory block has …

When I inspect them, I don’t get much armor bonus for the gloves. But its still better than nothing (+4 armor). And it does let me use them! For chores you have to have gloves. You just do.

So I can use leather armor?

Or wait…it doesn’t let me use item create yet while wearing the gloves. But they are still necessary for working.

At 9:30 AM, I risked another item create to create a shield!

Nice!

The shield isn’t too big. And somehow it looks familiar, like the design is something I’d seen on some other world also is my gut feeling. I don’t try to think about that too much besides surface thoughts as I know that will cause another censorship headache.

“The design of that shield is strange. Where did you get the idea for that?” Alice asked me.

“I…don’t know. I can’t remember,” I said.

“It looks like its from an advanced civilization. I find that quite odd. Most advanced civilizations that also have magitek are quite limited. And this isn’t one of them. And that material isn’t steel its something lighter, yet still hard and durable,” she said about this square-ish black shield.

I shrugged.

It should do its job against the wasps, err hornets, I hope.

I began to rest and work up my mana while exploring.

I’ve been getting a bit better at fishing. I don’t like to risk having a cooking fire very much however.

And I also worry that the sounds of my axe chopping could lure in nearby monsters, because it could.

So my life hasn’t changed much yet.

Back and forth, back and forth from the safest possible woods near the meadow. But most of the woods probably aren’t safe yet.

I began to wonder why I’m here also and not in a town again, like I’ve wondered before.

But then I realized I’d overlooked something! I opened up my status screen again!

How did I miss this?!

 

Name; Javen
Race; Administrator class (Censored)
Job class; Life/Creation Wizard
Level; 3
Age; NA

Health; 49/114
Mana; 414/561
Stamina; 110/110
Health regen; 11 per day
Mana regen; 51 (hourly)
Str 30
Agi 30
Con 61
Int 90
Wis 91
App 100

Skills; Survival, Mana Sensing, [Censored], Summoned Danger Sense Turret(human shaped), Smash, Defend, Create Item, First Aid, Meditate, Axe Mastery
Traits; Memories have been censored, Blessing of the Heavens, Mana Genes, censored skills & traits, Life Affinity, Intermediate Life Affinity, Advanced Life Affinity, Creation Affinity, Intermediate Creation Affinity, Intermediate Creation Affinity!

Unused stat points; 21

 

Eh?

21 free stat points to use?

Oh, those must come from this… ‘leveling up’ thing that I’m trying to figure out.

“What do you know about stat points and using them?” I asked Alice.

“You haven’t used your stat points yet? Wow,” she said.

“Well the other girl didn’t tell me abot that. Why didn’t she? So I wasn’t looking for it on the screen to even know about it,” I said.

“Oh jeez. That’s awful. She didn’t tell you anything about leveling up?” she asked.

“No. I had to figure it out on my own.”

“That’s against the rules. As a guide for someone in an a land with no town access she HAS to tell you,” Alice fumed. “Just a minute. I’m going to have to inform my boss about this before she kills someone else. I’ll be right back as soon as I can,” she said.

Then she’s gone.

Hm…

It seems like on the other side of the veil or whever the business location is where Alice’s real spirit and body are there’s got to be some kind of administration building there, maybe like an office building of some kind? At the very least there’s an organization in place there for sure.

But I feel sort of naked with her gone. I’d been using her for help to know when monsters were coming. So the few minutes while she’s gone sort of freaked me out.

‘I should be more careful with her gone,’ I thought.

But I couldn’t wait for her to come back to apply my stat points.

I knew that as a wizard…correction, ‘life wizard’ I’m supposed to put most of my points into INT and WIS.

This makes sense.

‘But why do I know that?’ Something is telling me that, and I know its safe to follow that. But I don’t know why that I know that. ‘Could it be a memory from before I came here that’s mostly censored?’ I thought.

I’m also curious how many stat points per level is normal to receive also. But I can’t know that know.

Still this is amazingly fun!

I can create anything that I want!

But I’ll need a really big mana pool to access a lot of advanced creations it seems. And that means I can’t mess around with putting my points wherever I want to.

‘OK, so…’

I put +8 into INT.

Then I put +8 into WIS.

I’m not going to be a martial artist or fighter, I know already. So I can’t risk putting too many points there.

But a few as a small amount shouldn’t hurt me too much.

I put +3 into CON. And then the last 2 points into INT to bring it up to 100.

Then I clicked on confirm.

I’m surprised that already there’s tons of changes in my body. My head feels clearer and lighter. My body feels, more light and durable.

I looked back at the status screen.

 

Name; Javen
Race; Administrator class (Censored)
Job class; Life/Creation Wizard
Level; 3
Age; NA

Health; 52/123
Mana; 334/600
Stamina; 82/113
Health regen; 11 per day
Mana regen; 59 (hourly)
Str 30
Agi 30
Con 64
Int 100
Wis 99
App 100

Skills; Survival, Mana Sensing, [Censored], Summoned Danger Sense Turret(human shaped), Smash, Defend, Create Item, First Aid, Meditate, Axe Mastery
Traits; Memories have been censored, Blessing of the Heavens, Mana Genes, censored skills & traits, Life Affinity, Intermediate Life Affinity, Advanced Life Affinity, Creation Affinity, Intermediate Creation Affinity, Intermediate Creation Affinity!

Unused stat points; 0

Equipment; Leather Gloves, Wizard Robes, (Unknown type?) Shield, Splitting Maul 34″ Axe, Backpack, Coat

 

Wow. Amazing how much change there is here!

This is no doubt to my being more aware of myself and how the system works.

But I’ve also realized there may be an issue with the axe and shield working together. The axe type I’m using is a long handled maul type that uses both hands…at least it needs both hands with my particular strength and body size. (If I were bigger and much much stronger then it might be a different story.)

I’ve noticed that I don’t like being cold much. So it’d cost me -80 mana to create the winter coat. One of those really awesome bad ass coats with the fur lined hoods, for places that give new meaning to the word, ‘winter’ and ‘hell freezing over’.

Speaking of which this winter coat, is an unusual material. I’m not sure what it is but its not just just wool and cotton, and seems to be a blend fiber type. The coat is well made and with a very advanced appearance and design that looks good.

I’d put it on only a minute ago.

Whew, that feels a lot better!

Hm…

I didn’t realize it also until inspecting the status screen again to try to find secrets, that its giving me XP for creating items using my magic!

I’d gained quite a bit also just from what I have accrued. Plus, if I’m reading this right, I’m pretty close to another level up.

Dang it…that’s a good thing, but if only there was a way to get that level up before the next giant hornet patrol, that would boost my survival probability a lot!

Not to mention, I wish I knew where the goblins came from. I still don’t know where their nest is. Nor what their patrol frequency will be.

I only have about 2 to 4 more hours until the next giant hornet patrol!

I began to work fast.

I created a hunting knife. This used about -60 mana. My XP bar shot up also.

The hunting knife design looks factory made also. This idea of being factory made, I’m not entirely sure what it means as the censorship is still in place. But it does mean that everything ‘factory made’ seems to have a lot of style and elegance to the design, looking very advanced and ‘sci-fi like’ instead of medieval.

I tucked the knife through my belt, on the side as I don’t have a holster for it yet. Even though I have an axe I need the knife for processing meat and game birds, and to try to make leather, and craft or carve wood. Pretty darn sharp blade, for sure.

I’m bit by bit getting a bit more organized as I try to get used to this world.

A half hour passes…

Its almost 10:41 AM.

I began to worry.

So far the hornets haven’t come this way before 12 PM, because of the cold mostly.

I worked at digging out the pit a bit more and enlargening the ramp. Already I’ve figured out that I need to create a shovel. But to do so means wasting power that I need to use for other things for when the hornets come.

And two foot long hornets would scare the pants of anyone!

I rested up a bit while keeping my eye out.

!

But I’d noticed that Alice didn’t come back also. She’s been gone too long. And now the detection pulse skill is GONE from my status screen! Somehow it had been stripped away!

So maybe her boss took it away? Or possibly sent her to another assignment?

Dang it…

That means tonight is going to be a lot harder.

Another half hour passed.

I risked creating another minor health potion. My mana bar dropped by -94 this time, and not -100; maybe that’s from some kind of bonus affected from skills? The description of the item also says it will also heal +10 health +1 health per level. So its a +13 health potion. And if I level up it won’t be a +14 health potion.

Should I take it now or when I’m closer to danger?

Yeah my health bar is kind of low. At 52 health even with more gear that’s only about 2 hits, maybe 2 and a half?

I took the potion now.

My health bar shot up by +13. Now its at 65/110.

I took the other one in my inventory also, to bring it up to 78/110.

Now I have a chance to live!

My mana bar is now at 54/600. I don’t have enough mana to make more of those. That made me nervous.

I have to wait it out. This is tough. Anything could come by right now. I can’t do anything else yet. And I still don’t have any spells. The guide says that I’m supposed to get spells, but I don’t see anything new yet. (Although I can’t complain with that cheat skill to create ‘anything’, as long as the mana load can handle it.)

By 11:30 AM, I can see that the hornets will come up this way again soon.

My mana bar is now at 113/600.

“Do I risk it?” I asked myself while hunkered down in the pit.

At 12 PM comes…

Mana is now at 142/600.

My XP bar is sooo close to the next level.

Come on, just a bit more.

12:17 PM, I can see there’s hornet activity. They will come up here soon. They had almost come up here a few times already, but something had pulled them back; possibly other prey or predators.

I somehow got lucky and there’s nothing here yet at 12:35 PM. And still no Alice or Lucy coming back to guide me.

I risked making another health potion. This brought mana down to 77/600. My health bar goes up to 91/110.

Yes!

But I’m stuck at like 99% to the next level. And the giant hornets are coming towards me!

Shit!

I’ll have to work fast!

I hurriedly hit the item create button in my skill tab while thinking in my mind, ‘I really wish I could just make anything, anything that’s less than 91 mana.

A spear?

No that’s too much risk.

A canteen?

That’s a good idea but I should do that after the hornet skirmish for the day.

I began to worry and half panic as I can see there’s already a hornet group coming up towards this way, about three hundred yards out!

Ah, a throwing knife!

Sure enough the throwing knife only costs me 55 mana. And it pushed me over to the next level!

I opened up the status screen as fast as I could! And I hurriedly put in the stat points where I thought they’d do me some good, but not compromise my magic job.

 

 

Name; Javen
Race; Administrator class (Censored)
Job class; Life/Creation Wizard
Level; 3 –> 4
Age; NA

Health; 91/123 –> 94/131
Mana; 36/600 –> 38/611
Stamina; 82/113 –> 86/121
Health regen; 11 per day
Mana regen; 59 –> 62 (hourly)
Str 30
Agi 30 –> 32
Con 64 –> 65
Int 100 –> 101
Wis 99 –> 102
App 100

Skills; Survival, Mana Sensing, [Censored], Summoned Danger Sense Turret(human shaped), Smash, Defend, Create Item, First Aid, Meditate, Axe Mastery
Traits; Memories have been censored, Blessing of the Heavens, Mana Genes, censored skills & traits, Life Affinity, Intermediate Life Affinity, Advanced Life Affinity, Creation Affinity, Intermediate Creation Affinity, Intermediate Creation Affinity!

Unused stat points; 7 –> 0

Equipment; Leather Gloves, Wizard Robes, (Unknown type?) Shield, Splitting Maul 34″ Axe, Backpack, Coat, Throwing Dagger (1), Hunting Knife, Flashlight

 

Ping!

[Mana efficiency skill acquired; requirements met (Int at 100 or above, Wis at 100 or above)!]

I clicked on the description…

The system is giving me +30 max bonus mana, and +10 mana regeneration free!

This brings my max mana pool up by +30. And my mana regeneration up by +10 also.

Fuck yeah!

 

But I don’t have time to think about that since the giant hornets are here! And there’s five of them today!

Shit…