Legend of the Spellthief

With his elementals grabbing onto his coattails, Logan looked through his monocular to the G-Hall once again and used Dimensional Jaunt to hasten his trips for the day. Leaving and appearing with sound shockwaves, Logan continued to spook the populace at his movement but he was confident it wouldn’t cause an issue. He had an armband allowing him to do so, if a guard would question him all he had to do was turn to the side.

Entering the hall, Logan was approached by several adventurers as he had been for the past few days. The number of active members was lowering as the goblin numbers continued to do the same, but the adventurers were trying to make as much coin as they could.

Talking with a few of the people who came to him, Logan was able to sell off the services of his elementals to two different parties, they would get paid much less than a caster at around a tenth of the other’s pay, but Logan wasn’t too fussed about that. As both his elementals had skills to attack from afar endlessly he was confident they’d be able to aid in any fight and grow whilst away from him.

Removing the elementals from his party, Logan allowed them to team up with their groups. A window popped up to confirm this, explaining that Logan would get his normal experience distribution on his own. Since he wasn’t going to be fighting it didn’t matter, though another window popped up with some further information. It noted that Logan would keep the experience reductions if he had absorbed spells from his elementals, but since he hadn’t he didn’t need to worry.

Learning this ahead of time was crucial for further plans if Logan was going to split up and do missions separately. The Spellthief pondered just how deep the calculations and limitations went, but since it didn’t matter immediately he pushed those matters deep into his mind.

Taking a quick jaunt to the dungeon backrooms, Logan sold off the three pieces of intel he created. Detailing the stalker and lord, alongside a full map of the dungeon, Logan was paid 50 silver for his work and told it would probably take a year for the dungeon to get repopulated in the next mating season.

Moving back through the markets, purchasing supplies for ten gobbo-ear necklaces. Logan made that choice as Strength was one of the more sought after attributes, with martials being more common and the majority being Fighters and Knights. It cost a total of 70 silver, though Logan was sure he’d make that back at the end.

Keeping his money, Logan decided he would update his gear at the end of his crafting spree so he could finance crafting easier. Returning to the inn he began his first day of crafting.

Taking just under nine hours crafting his trinkets, Marcus returned towards the end of the day. Logan crafted nine shoddy necklaces and one common, the worst he had done in a row so far. The crafting wasn’t all bad, however, as he had gained another tier into the skill. Outside of the hidden calculations for the chances of crafting at different tiers, Logan now took 25% less time to craft trinkets which was a huge jump.

Though as if bad came with good, another window appeared to inform Logan that he would no longer gain Trinket Craft mastery for crafting gobbo-ear necklaces and any item of level 10 and below would grant half the normal mastery.

“Well fuck you too”, Logan thought to whatever decided this.

Marcus informed the angered crafter that his investigations into the recent events brought a bit of light to the fog surrounding them. The goblins had invaded via some high-level teleportation magics, far beyond the normal capabilities of goblin shamans. Going hand-in-hand with reports of ritual casting, it is theorized that they had come into the knowledge within their hidden civilization.

The monster hero was being treated as an isolated case, as testing the blood of close to four hundred goblins revealed no further traces of heroic power. With the aid of the MT, Gauntlet has been reassured that no other force of that strength is near to or would be attacking the city any time soon. Sadly they could not trace the origin of the teleportations, but with the massacre after the invasion, it is unlikely they would do so again.

Outside of magical investigations, the churches have their own theory that Madamra, the Lady of Monsters, was behind the attack. As it has been some time since the last invasion, the one previous being a demonic one, they reached the conclusion that another was due to the potential failure of the heroes several months past. It had actually been close to the eve of the fourteenth month since the heroes departed.

With a few days left of the cleanup, the pair concluded that they would continue with their current course. Marcus did spend some time training today and would do so again tomorrow, with Logan moving on to a different set of crafting. Checking his summons before sleeping Logan was glad to see both still active and healthy, though a bit low on MP after a day’s work.

Another day brought another load of shopping. Selling the necklaces from the day before, Logan made 120 silver with his bartering skills. Putting the money right back into crafting he spent a further 320 silver on components to make ten hobgoblin wristbands. Since they were a level 10 trinket he would only gain half mastery from them, but not many other trinket components were on sale for an acceptable price or in a large enough quantity.

Spending 9 hours on crafting six of the wristbands, Logan ended up with three shoddy, two common, and one high-quality. Going from 6% mastery to 15% mastery showed the drop in experience, leading Logan to think about what he would craft after he had spent another day on the hobgoblin wristbands.

Marcus’s information for the day was a lot less, most of it being the same as the day previously. Both spent the night reading their tomes by moonlight as normal. Logan finished the Lexicon of Shrieky before falling asleep, allowing him to fully understand the language of the gashriek. He would have never been able to keep so much information in his head back on Earth, especially a whole language in a matter of days.

The next morning Logan teleported to the markets on the rooftops and sold the trinkets he had crafted for 475 silver in total. It was a lot of money for a safe day’s work but it wasn't going to last long, Logan was practically profiting from war, or at least the aftermath of one. Restocking the shelves with trinkets brought in plenty of coin for the markets but too many more and he would find that selling them would become harder the more they held.

Keeping his money to see how his crafting progressed, Logan returned to the inn via teleportation to craft the final four items. 6 hours passed as the Spellthief finished off three shoddy and one high-quality wristband. As he checked the progress in Trinket Craft he saw yet another window stating he would no longer gain mastery from that particular item.

“I had crafted a few necklaces before my current crafting sessions, how come I stopped gaining mastery with only ten of these wristbands? Is it because I am doing it altogether or in a row?” Logan theorized in his head.

Thinking about it further, the issues weren’t going to be present long. If he were to gain further tiers of mastery in Trinket Craft he was sure that the lower level limit of trinkets was going to give less and less experience regardless. By the time he got through the trinkets that increased attributes, he would have gained tier 4 or close enough to it.

Wanting to get out of the inn, Logan took a walk to the markets instead of his normal teleportation movement. The streets looked so much different than they did after the invasion. Debris had been cleared and the guard presence had lessened though was still over the normal count.

With the aid of magic, the restoration project had been completed in impeccable timing though Logan was sure it’d take a few days more to get back to how it was before. Rumours amongst the populace also let the Spellthief on to plans to make another watchtower to the east to protect against further attacks such as this one.

As Logan reached the markets he sold off the final trinkets for another 275 silver. Selling his old ashin daggers he finally invested in level 12 daggers for his sidearm and throwing armaments. Purchasing eleven daggers, he placed ten into his rib holsters and another onto his back belt sheath. Digging into his funds the total came to 404 silver.

Calculating all of what he had done to this point with his knives and daggers, Logan concluded that this weapon would deal 20 to 23 damage, 28 to 32 with his Backstab skill. The damage eclipsed his Spellthief's Edge, but having played roleplaying games in the past he felt a nagging in his brain to not let it go just yet.

All of his weapons also did far more than Force, which was still capped at 15 and got reduced quite often due to the damage reduction of his enemies.

With his weapons sorted all Logan had left to upgrade was his armour. The Spellthief’s garb was falling apart, the large diagonal slash brought with it a bit of a breeze even after Logan replaced the undershirt. It was only level 6, but was well suited to his class. Browsing both the cloth armours and light armour selections he could only feel guilt at getting rid of it.

Now that his level had risen enough, the Spellthief had a few more options open to him in the way of robes. Casters could buy enchanted armour that aided in several areas, from increasing damage of particular elements, protecting from elements, or aiding in some skills’ performance.

He couldn’t find any pieces of armour that granted MP or slots, though he was not surprised to find zero armours to grant him more Spell Absorption charges. A few staves granted MP, though they seemed too clunky in Logan’s head. He also would not be able to use them too well in a group as he’d have to string them across his back and lower his movement capabilities. They also required attunement and constant contact, making it hard to swap to his daggers if he needed to.

It looked like staves would eventually be a path to take for Logan. Aside from those that granted additional MP or spell slots, many granted the ability to quickcast spells, quickcast without cost, and even silentcast at the highest price points. There were others that allowed the use of meta alterations without increasing the cost of spells too. Marcus would benefit quite a lot from a higher-power staff to aid in his healing spells.

If he didn’t want to focus on magic, he could focus on physical defence with light armour. Leather and hides provided him with a better defence rating and at his current level he could even get some damage reduction and resistance, albeit much lower than heavy armour. A lot of monsters had skills or spells, though plenty also liked to attack with weapons and claws.

The idea of completely nullifying damage with a high defence rating was dashed when he remembered he’d be facing stronger opponents, whose attack rating would more than likely tower over the pitiful rating of light armour.

While he was browsing a larger armour shop the proprietor perked up a conversation, “Having difficulties choosing your garb?” they asked with a direct tone.

“Yep. I want to upgrade but without knowing who I will fight ahead of time, it makes it hard to decide what to focus on”, Logan said as he turned his head to the older gentleman.

The man who was just a bit shorter than Logan rustled his blonde beard. “Your weapons say Rogue, but your stance and aura remind me of a mage. Grasp or Infuse expert?”

“Grasp expert, with some summons.”

“Do you often find your spells halted by blows from your foes?”

Logan turned his body to face the gentlemen, showing further interest in the conversation. “It has happened a few times. Chatter also ruined a duel for me.”

“Well, I do not think you prepared for the Chatter-resistant hides. But I do have a suggestion for some light armour you may find useful, if you’re fine to incur a chance of failed casting that is”, he asked as he looked Logan up and down, “though it seems you already do.”

“That would certainly make a great everyday set of armour, could you show me, please?” Logan asked as he smiled at the merchant.

Waving his hand to motion the Spellthief to follow, the shop owner moved to a rack of clothing. Shuffling through the selection he handled a hangar out and placed it onto a nearby table.

The outfit consisted of a similar coat with coattails but was a mix of red and black with yellow trims. The arms of the coat had segmented bands of a scaled hide to offer better protection. The shirt itself had a fur collar and bottom part where it met the belt, the middle looking to be a harder material than Logan’s previous clothing. Surprisingly the boots were almost identical to his last, though the laces were red.

“This is a set of Nullafo, it is common amongst Helm natives but I had some ordered in when there was a rush of casters a year back. Not all of them sold so it is luck that brought you here”, the man explained.

Logan’s response was the usual mental command of, “Identify.”

“It has 4 more defence rating and the same DR, but no elemental reduction. That is quite a good chance of not losing my spells”, Logan calculated in his head.

“What you thinking? Good enough?”

“It will work as an everyday set. I’ll take it”, Logan accepted. “I’ll have to hope my next System quest grants me some more fitting armour again”, his thoughts trailed.

Paying the merchant 96 silver, Logan was dipping into his reserves fast but was pretty much up to speed at this point. When asked about repairing armour, the shopkeeper said you’d normally have to get the original creator or someone versed in the particular set to repair it, as each set of armour used different spellforce techniques and materials to craft. Simply stitching up a hole wouldn’t restore its original strength and only delayed the inevitable for a strike or three.

Logan did ask about his current armour for repairs, but unsurprisingly the merchant had no idea what it took to make it, so he couldn’t offer any assistance more than what Logan could do in his spare time.

Leaving the markets Logan returned to the inn to rest for the last portion of the day, placing his new armour within his inventory. He would use his current garb until it broke as the extra spells really came in handy, and hopefully by the time he could no longer use them he had access to more ways to hold spells.

Spending some time browsing his status windows the Spellthief checked the bookmarks he had made alongside new skills he could be interested in. It seemed like there would come a time when Logan would need to specialise in a particular field to really play to his class’s advantages. There were plenty of Spellthief-only skills, but also so many Wizard skills that improved casting.

With the invitation to the MT he also had the opportunity to meet more magi who would welcome an oracle amongst them. A full team would help him speed through quests, or even complete the system quests given to him. Past oracles seemed to gather large parties when they stayed as adventurers, up to counts of ten. Though plenty stayed solo or duo with their partnered NPCs.

Was he being too cautious with hiding his identity? Was Darius just an outlier that he shouldn’t take as a warning of things to come? Questions spun around in Logan’s head as the wisdom of his parents didn’t extend fully to this new land. His sense of morality had also shifted since coming here, so perhaps his way of thinking should too.

There was also the option of joining a guild for safety in numbers. It would help him get groups for quests just like the MT, though at a worse split of payment. There wasn’t a huge downside to being a loner, but the pros of joining a faction such as that did tip the scale in their favour.

Regardless, it seemed like Logan would have time yet to decide. With his system quests coming in after one to two weeks after completing the last, he still had a handful of days before he would get hassled to do the work of the above once again.

A cold chill broke Logan’s train of thought as it blew open the slightly ajar glass window. Jumping out of bed to close the window Logan also drew closed the thick black curtains. “Is it heading into this world’s winter season?” he thought to himself.

Continuing the break in his concentration the door opened wide as Marcus returned, exhausted as normal after a day’s training.

“Hail, Logan. How’d your day go?” the Devout asked as he placed his bag on his bed.

“Slow as normal, finished up my crafting and upgrading my gear. Yours?” Logan asked as he sat back on his bed.

Stretching wide Marcus replied, “Tiring. As soon as I feel I am getting better they change the routines or my sparring partners.”

“Hey, are we close to the chill?” Logan asked, referring to Avanar’s term for winter.

“The chill? No? We’re just exiting the heat, so going into the falling.”

Looking to the window as if he could see through the curtains Logan replied, “Just seems like we’ve had a few cold snaps recently.”

“It is possible for strong spells to have such an effect, though with the goblin menace I am surprised the fire-based spells haven’t made it hotter.”

“Let’s hope it isn’t leading to something”, Logan spoke under his breath.

“I am sure it isn’t anything to worry about. Cold snaps are more common than heatwaves in the Gauntlet kingdom. You’d hardly find heatwaves in Helm, and Sabaton has the most heatwaves out of us all”, Marcus explained as he got his towel ready for a soak in the bath.

“I’m probably just being too wary then.”

After finishing their discussion, the pair rested for the end portion of the day. Both sat quietly as they read their books, Logan finding it a calming experience that helped to take his mind off of recent events. With so much time spent on paper, Logan wondered why he hadn’t done more reading back on Earth.

The night came with Marcus finishing his reading of Magi's Magick Vol 2, gaining the first-level spells Growth and Rain, the third-level spells Aqua 2 and Gaia 2, and the Alterations Skystrike and Wall. Marcus was still unable to cast higher than first-level spells but it prepared him for later, the alterations making it easier to heal and even create his own barriers.

The Growth spell hastened a plant’s growing cycle whereas Rain caused the clouds above to rain onto a small area. Not immediately useful, but if the pair decided to aid in farming or grow their own herbs it would come in handy. With learning the Wall Alteration, Marcus would also be able to demonstrate it if ever asked about the pair’s activities in the forest.

Resting to a new day, Logan heard the rolling flames and electrical sparks of his summons outside his door. Marcus had already gotten up to an apparent knocking that Logan only heard the end of as he woke up. Opening the door revealed the 4’10” elementals whose smiley attitudes pointed to their success on the missions they were assigned.

Checking their status it seemed that Celsius had gained just over 900 XP with Spark gaining just over 1,000. Getting informed about the completion of the quests, Logan used Dimensional Jaunt to bring the trio to the G-Hall while Marcus went about his normal day.

Logan was paid 4 silver for the use of his elementals and got two more quests tallied onto his signet. Comparing the pay to what he had been getting recently it was quite low, but for the quests and ease for the elementals, he was actually surprised at how much it brought in.

As he was updating Logan noticed more adventurers without quests at the hall, sitting at tables and discussing rather than being in the rush they had been for the past few days. The goblin threat had pretty much been dealt with thanks to the rush of the adventurers and the increase in payment for the lower-rank quests. It wouldn’t be long till the influx of even more adventurers hit Gauntlet either, with the main force in the south returning.

This would also spell the beginning of the decline in the need for trinkets from Logan, meaning his selling efforts would shoot down rapidly. Sadly he hadn’t made any pristine or legendary tier items in his time but he had increased his skills, funds, and gear quickly in such a short period of time.

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