As much as Capra admired his robe, he could only stare at it for so long. After his hyperfocus wore off he noticed that the sun had already set and he was all alone in the forest, and found it strange that he hadn’t been attacked. He had been able to enchant and essence siphon without interruption for hours, but he wasn’t going to question it.

All the experimentation he’d done had given Capra a lot of ideas on how he could survive the lowlands and get back to the surface, but first he needed to arm himself and regain his stat points. He was fairly confident about both items on his agenda, he just needed to run some more experiments.

…

As far as Capra could tell, he could use the enchant spell to pour his vital essence back into himself to regain his stat points. It was an easy conclusion to come to after the system description of the stone forged leaves mentioned their capacity for essence. Capra had siphoned his own essence, so in theory his current capacity for essence should be equal to the lost essence, plus whatever room he had for absorbing essences before.

Knowing that, he was tempted to cast enchant on himself but he held back.

Chaos and Fame allowed for body modification through magic or other means, in fact, there were a few commercially available enchantments. These enchantments could be safely applied to a character for permanent stat gains, but they were extraordinarily expensive. Only a select few enchanters who had signed non-disclosure agreements both in-game and in real life were able to perform to do it... but they were difficult to contact.

There were stories of rogue enchanters claiming to be able to perform the same enchantments at a much lower price… but those were horror stories.

If a player willingly subjected himself to an enchantment and it failed, that player would have to deal with the enchantment’s effects permanently. Cheap players who tried to hire a rogue enchanter to save money, for example, were some of the most unique looking people in the game. There were some cases were it worked out for the best, but for the most part players would become monstrosities if an enchantment was botched. Sometimes a limb would triple in size, or they’d gain some feature of an animal, and those were the best-case scenarios.

The system had some failsafes against unwanted body modifications, but because of the game’s nature there was an incredible number of things player could get away with, and sometimes the system itself forced a modification on a player through the consequences of a quest. The game wasn’t called Chaos and Fame for no reason.

Unless he had a guinea pig to test first, Capra would avoid using his own essence on himself— or he’d at least wait until his control over [Enchant] and [Essence Siphon] was more thorough.

Experience told Capra that the state of the material when siphoned would affect the resulting essence— that’s why he had gotten cursed rabbit essence from the cursed rabbit meat and hide. He also knew that different materials or objects had different capacities for absorbing essence, but since the vital essence he absorbed from essence siphon was his own, he considered that it might not be a problem to use; however, he’d much rather be careful now than sorry later.

He worried that all his vital essence might go into his arm, or a foot, maybe a buttcheek. Who knows. He didn't have a way to control it.

Using one of the stone leafs he enchanted as an example: the leaf had absorbed the essence on its own and then distributed it evenly, the leaf didn’t resist. All Capra had to do was regulate the amount of essence going into the leaf, and then nature took its course. In the end he didn’t know if the leaves were just good essence recipients, or if the system had applied some sort of auto-correction, but he wasn’t going to risk it.

He decided the best solution to his immediate stat loss would be to arm himself with more gear. He could run some more tests after he had the strength to secure a guinea pig.

...

The first thing Capra wanted to make was a weapon. Currently he had his staff which was well and good, but it was seriously lacking in the situation he was in. A goblin could kill him in only a few hits if it got close, and his staff just wasn’t a good weapon for close combat, plus it was a two handed weapon which limited his range of motion.

Capra wanted to make a versatile weapon, something he could use at a distance and at close range, but first he needed to run a few tests.

The first test Capra ran was to gather a leaf and enchant it with water essence.

Capra had noticed that making a leaf absorb stone essence labeled the resulting material as being essence forged by the system, but it still counted as towards his enchanting proficiency. He remembered the hammers he had successfully enchanted – including the [Copper Hammer of Futility] – had been particularly bad at absorbing essence, but the enchantment still succeeded. The difference between the two confused him for a moment, but he quickly sorted out his thoughts.

The conclusion Capra came to was that the essence sat on the outside of the copper hammer instead of the inside— and that, that was the basis for classical enchanting as the world knew it; however, what he had done was technically essence forging, a sub branch of enchanting. He wasn’t sure if the two types of enchanting could be combined successfully, but if he could use both that would give him some versatility, so he enchanted the leaf with water essence while attempting to keep the essence on its surface.

...

Like always, the leaf floated above his hand during the enchanting process, and he was prompted to choose an essence to imbue it with. He selected water essence.

…

System Notification: You have successfully enchanted [Common Leaf]. Awarding: +1 proficiency.

System Notification: [Common Leaf] has become [Water Worn Leaf].

[Water Worn Leaf]

This is a common leaf indigenous to the [Sinking Depths] region, due to being enchanted it has gained a natural affinity with the water element. It may collect and store water elemental energy in small amounts.

Weight: 0.01kg

Unlike before, the enchanting process was relatively smooth. The leaf had tried to absorb the water essence far more desperately than it had the earth essence, but Capra had been able to maintain the essence circling above the leaf’s surface, forming a coat around it.

The finished product glowed a faint blue, but other than that it seemed to be a normal leaf. Capra observed it for a while, and then ran a few tests. First he tried to pierce it with a needle.

The needle stopped slightly at the blue light screen formed by the leaf’s glow, but the resistance was negligible and Capra was able to pierce through it. He tested its resistance to water by tossing some at it, and the leaf seemed to absorb it, further powering the water glow on it, so Capra tried the needle again. The strengthened water glow was more resistant to piercing, so Capra attempted to strengthen it further.

In the end Capra was able to toss about 20 handfuls of water at the leaf before it stopped absorbing. That amount of water seemed to generate a substantial shield capable of blocking at least one dagger blow on the leaf. The water glow seemed to neutralize burst damage better than constant damage.

Capra did the same test on a stone, but first he enchanted it.

During the enchanting process the stone made no effort to absorb the water essence, if anything it seemed to reject it, so Capra’s main concern was making sure the the stone’s surface was completely coated with water essence. He failed twice, but he succeeded on his third try.

[Water Worn Stone]

A stone indigenous to the [Sinking Depths] region. A successful enchantment has made it more resistant to the water element.

Weight: 0.01kg

Capra was starting to see a trend. Organic materials were good at absorbing, he’d already verified that; however, the properties of the materials affected the way it would use essence once absorbed or coated with it. Coating an object with essence seemed to bestow a function, but letting an object absorb essence seemed to bestow a property.

Inorganic objects increased resistances when coated with an element, but Capra hadn’t attempted to forcefully essence forge an inorganic material like a rock quite yet, so he grabbed another one and attempted it.

…

Boom!

A loud explosion shook the clearing.

Capra flew through the air like a wet rag, and then crashed into a tree. He slowly slid down the tree trunk.

System Notification: You have taken 128 critical damage of the water type. 32/160 Hp remaining.

The first thing to touch the ground was his head, and then the rest of his body followed. The clearing was quiet, with the exception of the slight rustling noises Capra’s body made as it twitched against the ground.

…

It took Capra some time to regain his composure. He still had the game’s pain settings on max, and the blow from the botched enchantment had left him catatonic.

“Uuugh..”

It was apparent to him now that inorganic materials had a much lower capacity for essence absorption than organic materials. The stone had been obliterated by the over infusing of water essence, and was unuseable now— but because a common stone finding a replacement wouldn't be an issue.

As painful as that attempt had been, Capra decided to give it one more try after he recovered his health.

…

The second time around Capra successfully essence forged the stone.

[Essence Forged Stone]:

A common stone indigenous to the [Sinking Depths] region. It has been enchanted with water essence. It’s a unique material, the first of its kind.

After testing the stone, Capra found that it was fluid to some degree, similar to a very tough gel. The gel was weak to piercing attacks, but exceptional at neutralizing blunt damage, or damage from slicing attacks. With a generous amount of effort it could be molded into a desired form, although it had the tendency to revert back to its original shape after some time.

Capra continued to test essence combinations using leaves, stones, and other junk materials he could find like branches. He also experimented with removing specific essences, with some success. He had been able to easily remove the water essence from the leaf he had enchanted, reverting it back to a normal leaf, but removing the essence from an essence forged material proved to be nearly impossible.

However, he did discover that it was possible to enchant an essence forged material the traditional way. Using a stone leaf as a basic model Capra was able to enchant it’s surface with water essence.

[Essence Forged and Water Worn Leaf]

A common leaf indigenous to the [Sinking Depths] region. It has been saturated with stone essence, and enchanted with water essence. It is the first of its kind. Due to being enchanted it has gained a natural affinity with the water element. It may collect and store water elemental energy in small amounts.

Weight: 0.01kg

…

The tests continued late into the next morning, and Capra only stopped when the sun came up.

As much as he wanted to continue testing things he knew that he could be testing for days if given the opportunity, but now he needed to forge his equipment and go level up.

...

The branches that fell from the trees in the Sinking Depths were exceptionally long.

Capra chose the longest and thickest branch he could find and then used his skinning knife to whittle at, turning it into a crude wooden blade. He gained [Beginner Woodworking Mastery] for his efforts, then he enchanted the blade with stone essence.

[Stone Forged Wooden Blade (Uncommon)]

Durability: 25/25

Damage: 10-15

Item Effects:

Splinter: This blade has a 5% chance of causing 20 additional damage over 20 seconds. The effect may stack infinitely. Permanence: This blade does not rust. Friend of the Elements: Spells struck by this blade have a 15% chance of being reflected. A Complicated Construct: This item was made with uncommon materials which cannot be repaired traditionally. Only its maker can repair it.

User Requirements: None.

Item Description: A uncommon stone blade, made through unknown methods...

Weight: 1.5 kg

Capra didn’t know a lot about crafting, he was very knowledgeable about tailoring and art thanks to his parents, but he wouldn’t know what to do in a forge; however, he wasn’t stupid. He knew he needed tools to get anything done, so he used the enchanted stone blade blade to cut down trees. Given his low strength and level, the task was arduous, but after a few hours he had cut down a substantial amount of wooden logs.

[Wooden Log] x 4:

A wooden log. What did you expect?

Weight: 50 kg

Due to their weight he couldn’t carry them, but that was fine, what he needed was to be able to shape them, and he could do that without placing them in his inventory.

…

The first item Capra wanted to create was an axe/scythe hybrid. He didn’t have any tools that would allow him to make the axe in separate pieces, so he worked it all together as one piece. First he carved out the axe handle. Then he essence forged some stone with with water and used it as sandpaper to smooth out the rough edges and splinters the handle had. The final result was a smooth wooden handle roughly three feet long.

Then he carved out an axe head that was about one foot tall, and a few inches long, the back of the axe head featured the curved blade of a scythe half the size of the axe head.

Lastly, Capra used stone thread to attach a stone leaf onto the axe to form a grip. He decorated the head of the axe with stone leaves enchanted with water essence and bound to the axe using stone thread tightly wound through hidden openings on the axe’s head.

By this point the system was requesting that he name the item, but Capra wasn’t done. He essence forged the main body of the axe with stone essence, and then carefully enchanted the surface with water essence.

System Notification: Congratulations, you have made an original item. Would you like to name the piece?

Capra didn’t have to think long for the name.

“Stone Axe.”

System Notification: The name, “Stone Axe.” Is shared with multiple other items, would you still like to use the name?

“Yes.”

As boring as his name choice was, Capra wasn’t concerned about giving his axe a fancy name. After all, who else would be using it?

System Notification: Acknowledged. Displaying item stats.

[Stone Axe (Rare)]

Durability: 25/25

Damage: 15-20 cutting or piercing damage.

Item Effects:

Splinter: This Axe has a 10% chance of causing 30 additional damage over 20 seconds. The effect may stack infinitely. Permanence: This Axe does not rust. Friend of the Elements: Spells struck by this axe have a 25% chance of being reflected. Bearing Water: This axe passively stores energy of the water element. Every 5-20 seconds (depending on environment), your next spell or basic attack will be empowered and deal an additional 25% water damage, additionally, basic attacks will have their range extended by three meters. A Complicated Construct: This item was made with uncommon materials which cannot be repaired traditionally. Only its maker can repair it.

User Requirements: None.

Item Description: A stone axe forged with unknown methods. It bears a lot of power.

Weight: 1.5 kg

System Notification: Enchant Proficiency: +2.

System Notification: Exceptional use of your skills has increased your magic control. [Enchant] becomes rank 2. You are awarded +2 Intelligence.

Generally, a level zero item was nothing to boast about because its stats were subpar and anyone could use it, but Capra felt proud of his axe, although he quickly foresaw that repairing the axe would be an issue; however, if push came to shove he could always make and carry a few spares.

...

Capra equipped the axe and tested it out. First he gather magic at his finger tips, “Chaos Bolt!” And the bolt of energy slammed into a nearby tree trunk.

System Notification: [You have dealt 30 earth damage.]

[Bearing water has procc’d, dealing an additional 7.5 water damage.]

Capra waited a few seconds for [Bearing Water] to refresh, and when the leaves on the axe head glowed a bright blue he cast another chaos bolt.

System Notification: [You have dealt 33.5 electric damage.]

[Bearing water has procc’d, dealing an additional 8.5 water damage.]

A few more chaos bolt casts showed Capra that bearing water was a fairly powerful damage modifier. At his level it was like a free mini-crit, and in the Sinking Depths the cooldown on [Bearing Water] was lowered to roughly 7.5 seconds.

Next Capra tested his basic attack. After waiting a few seconds for his axe to recharge Capra swung.

An arc of water shot forward three meters following the path of his swing. The next time Capra swung his axe he tried to swing at a wider arc— which in turn caused the water arc to widen as well.

"Interesting."

Seeing as the motion range of his axe affected the range of [Bearing Water] Capra attempted a spinning strike. The strike resulted in a circle of water bursting out from his location, cutting down vegetation in a three meter radius.

By this point Capra was starting to feel a little OP, and he wasn’t ready to stop yet... but all of a sudden Capra heard the roaring of a beast in the distance.

It started out with only one roar, then several more beasts joined in. The ground began to tremble, but Capra couldn’t see any creatures, yet over time the trembling grew worse.

WAaaaaaOOooooooo!

Off in the distance, an alarm sounded off from the direction of the goblin village. It sounded like a whale cry, and within minutes smoke signals could be seen rising up into the sky.

It seemed whatever was coming was headed on a collision course with Capra’s little clearing and the goblin village.

...