Cat With a Raygun

Ferric worked out a plan of action for the immediate future: the miners would carve a path from the main tunnel down to the crystal cavern while Joe and Teril researched the new smelting techniques they'd need for steel and magisteel. Thanks to the recent sale of the mana powder they wouldn't need their regular income from plain iron ingots for a while.

Working with Teril, Joe found the gnome to be affable, if rather introverted. As an engineer in his previous life Joe was an introvert himself, so he had no problem getting along with Teril and working out what was needed to switch over to steel production. Joe read through the description in the smithing books left by the dwarf Gargan while Teril wrote it down in his own language, promising to rewrite it in the common tongue, Trade, later.

Before they could start implementing the new technique they needed a larger supplies of charcoal than what the merchants typically brought them. There was another book detailing how to make the charcoal, although the process took weeks. Before that they'd need lumber, so Joe took a couple of ingots of iron, a long straight branch of oak, and went off to the smithy to make a new axe to chop down some trees.

T- Magic item created!

You have received CWEST experience for forging an axe imbued with mana powder.

Joe activated Read Aura then Inspected his new axe.

Iron Axe of Felling (Simple)

Minute traces of mana powder were pounded into the head of this axe when it was forged allowing it to channel energy into its swings. The wielder can spend their own stamina to make the tool more effective when chopping down trees.

This was the first thing Joe had made since he crushed those mana crystals on the same anvil a couple of days prior. He hadn't realized there were still flecks of the powder left. It wasn't much, but apparently not much was needed. He created his first magic item without really trying.

Joe went a ways out into the forest to an oak tree and started climbing it. He had initially been surprised to find oak trees on this alien world, but they have humans, wolves, crabs, and deer. Why not have some of the same plants as well? Rather than cut down the whole tree Joe wanted to practice some sustainability and climbed halfway up the tree. It would also help train his Climbing skill and Land on Your Feet abilities, so it was an ideal choice all around.

Joe dug the claws of his feet into the wood of the branch he was standing on and got in position to swing his axe. He could instinctually feel how to add his stamina into the tool. Between his current strength of 31 and the magic power of the axe, his first swing went halfway through the thick trunk of the tree. He moved around to another branch and swung again, completing the separation from the rest of the trunk.

Logging skill unlocked, +1 to Strength.

Logging (Level 1). This skill allows you to cut down trees, either partially or in full. Higher skill levels improve the cuts you make and grant you more control over where the tree will fall. To improve this skill cut down more trees.

Key Attribute: Strength

Joe pushed against the section he had cut off from the base of the tree, but it didn't move very far. The branches were caught up with branches of other trees, as the forest was pretty dense the higher you got. Joe decided to try something that had been in the back of his mind for more than a month now. He cast Harvest on the cut tree section. The description of the spell had never mentioned the target had to be a monster or animal, just a non-CWEST species. Trees were their own species. Sure enough, the spell worked. He could save weeks of time by making the wood into charcoal right here and now. Between his 57 Intelligence and level 3 of the Harvest spell he was able to get nearly the entire thing converted into charcoal, but he did look at some of the other options, most of which were planks of wood in various shapes and sizes. He could also get some complete pieces of furniture, but there was no need for those at the moment.

When the spell completed a few sacks of charcoal appeared and immediately fell the 15 meters to the ground. Good thing the fall shouldn't hurt them. Joe wanted to get some more charcoal from another couple of trees. While he was close enough he could easily climb over to the branches of a neighboring oak tree, he had skills and an ability to train, so Joe jumped out of the tree from where he was. His Land on Your Feet wasn't able to prevent all the damage after spending a good deal of stamina on using the axe, but that was okay, as that would add to the skills he could train. Joe gathered the sacks of charcoal together next to the tree, ensuring that nothing had spilled out, then moved to the next one and began climbing.

Before evening fell Joe had cut down 4 oak halves and 1 Bopa Nut tree to see if the Harvest spell could provide the same kind of charcoal or if it would be functionally different. He also leveled up several skills and his Land on Your Feet ability finally got to rank 2. Logging, Meditation, Regeneration, Climbing, and Stamina Growth all went up by one level. The Stamina Growth surprised Joe as he had just leveled it up with the mana diamond, but he had such a large pool now which he emptied several times and the meditation really helped refill it quickly.

Joe looked at all the sacks of charcoal he had and knew it would take several trips. That's okay, he had wanted an excuse to try to get the Running skill in a way that wouldn't be too obvious. Nine trips later Teril had a good supply of charcoal long before he thought he would, and Joe had his Running skill.

Running (Level 1). This skill allows you to run further and faster. Higher skill levels improve your stamina efficiency when running and your speed. To train this skill run long distances.

Key Attribute: Agility

The next day Joe spent the morning going through Gargan's books to find the information on magisteel. It took him a few hours, but skimming through all of the books again looking for a piece of specific information did level up his Reading skill. After finding out what was needed Joe had to go talk to Ferric.

Ferric wasn't in The Rusty Cup when Joe arrived, so he busied himself making some lunch behind the counter. By the time he sat down at the bar with his crab steak sandwich Ferric returned. Joe passed Ferric the other sandwich he had made and broke the bad news to him.

“So, I was able to research the process for making magisteel. We have the iron, we have the mana powder, but it says we also need something called caustic lime, which it says alchemists make. Do we have anything like that here in town?”

Ferric swallowed his bite of sandwich before answering, “I don't recall any such label in the contents of old Elric's hut.”

“Elric?”

“He was Rust's Edge's alchemist before the war. He died pretty early in the conflict, having gone to the front to produce healing potions for the soldiers. A catapult hit his tent one day, causing a massive reaction and exploding a large portion of the camp. Just like with Gargan's place we have a lot of books and scrolls about alchemy, but Elric was an elf and his things were in Elven.” Ferric paused and gave a curious look to Joe. “Just how many languages do you know?”

“Oh, just one, really. But I have a translation ability.”

“Well, I'm sure you're going to want to add alchemy to your ever growing list of skills,” Ferric said as he smiled.

Joe returned the smile, “You know me so well.”

After they finished their lunch Ferric found the key and they went to Elric's hut. It was called a hut, but rather than what the word evoked in Joe's mind, it was like a one story wizard's tower. A bench with a bunch of chemical devices stood on one side, a large bookshelf on the opposite side, and a slender bed on the side opposite the door.

“Well, here it is. Don't worry about rushing through the process. Teril is having a blast getting ready to make his first steel, so you don't need to be ready for the magisteel just yet. Lester says the three of them should have a stable path down to the cavern in another 2 days, then they'll go back to iron ore for a bit. We brought up enough packs of crystals from that first trip to last us a while.”

Ferric left and Joe got to work. The next week flew by as Joe read through all kinds of documents learning about natural alchemy, which was just chemistry, as well as magical alchemy. Natural alchemy was akin to normal chemistry back home while magical alchemy was creating things like potions, salves, and elixirs. By the end of the week Joe's Reading went up another two points while he unlocked both Chemistry as well as Alchemy level 1 via experimentation with some of the simpler products explained in the books.

Chemistry (Level 1). This skill allows for the creation of natural compounds such as caustics, powders, solutions, and oils from different things of the natural world. Different materials react in unusual ways when mixed together and a catalyst applied. Higher skill levels allows you to work with more materials and stabilizes the process. Train this skill by making natural products via chemistry.

Key Attribute: Intelligence

Alchemy (Level 1). This skill allows for the creation of magical compounds such as potions, salves, and elixirs that are imbued with manachlorian power, both in their ingredients as well as during their creation. Higher skill levels allows you to channel more mana into your creations allowing stronger variations and more potent products. Train this skill by making magical products via alchemy.

Key Attribute: Intelligence

When that week's merchant stopped by she was surprised that Ferric wasn't selling any ingots nor buying any charcoal. Her disappointment was quickly diminished when they asked to buy most of the glass storage vessels she carried with her. Glass didn't travel well, so she charged a premium. They could still easily afford it, though. Plus, the investment would be worth it once they started selling magisteel.

It turned out the local crabs were the perfect source for caustic lime. Without the use of his Harvest spell, Joe would have to collect their shells and burn them at really high temperatures. Instead of the ash a combustible material would leave behind, it would leave behind a powder known as quicklime. Combine it with water and you get caustic lime. Joe harvested both from several crabs as the quicklime would make steel production easier for Teril.

They were ready to create their first magisteel.