I was currently reading one of Crow’s M&M books while we waited for everyone. I started the day early and summoned Wispy and my Ice Elemental so by the time we left, my mana would be fully regenerated.

Why haven't I gotten the reading skill yet? I have spent over an hour reading this thick manual. Not that I didn’t learn any useful information. I figured out all the different types of damage, how resistances work, and several other ‘matchup’ scenarios as Crow calls them. I closed the book in frustration and put it to the side.

“No luck?” Leo asked.

I shook my head. “No, and I have no clue if I am close or not. Part of me thinks I reached my maximum skills, which sucks because I have this useless Knives skill.”

“Huh, well I am sure you will get it eventually. Is there no skill known section on your menu like the Spell List?”

“No, I already tried that as well, either I haven't hit my maximum, or there isn’t one. Which sucks because I feel like the reading skill will be amazing with my Writing skill and profession”

“That’s weird.” Leo said.

I nodded, opening my menu to check again to ensure nothing was there about knowing a maximum number of skills.

“Still nothing. I tried even to find a new Submenu. Crow’s book has nothing to help as well.”

“Maybe you need to read different books?” Leo suggested.

“Maybe, but I already see everyone walking toward us, so that is for another day.” I stood up and looked at everyone.

Crow, Level 7, Bulwark

Madison, Level 7, Monk

Leo, Level 7, Unclaimed Diviner

Hennessy, Level 2, Unclassed

Marcus, Level 3, Unclassed

Becca, Level 2, Unclassed

I was disappointed Brown didn’t show up. However seeing the three new members makes me smile a bit. A real team was forming and it was all mine. I waved at them looking over the little gear they have.

Hennessy was better equipped. He was wearing similar gear to Crow. Combat gear with pads and a bullet proof vest. He sported a shield and hammer, both made by his own hands most likely.

Marus was wearing normal clothing, and as a suggestion he found a long wooden stick to act as an improvised staff. He nodded at me as a sign of greeting.

Becca I haven't seen since she took my wolf pelts. She was wearing leather armor and sported a real bow and arrows. Over her shoulder she was carrying a backpack.

“Mathew, I believe I have a gift for you. I hit Beginner 1 last night. Those Infernal Wolf pelts you gave me were amazing! I never went up so high in a skill that quickly.”

She handed me a large knapsack, it was made to be worn to the side, like a purse almost. I examined it and I couldn’t believe it.

Infernal Knapsack of Storage [Uncommon]

Crafted by Becca Alamonoi

This Knapsack is designed to withstand the highest of temperatures and can keep even ice from melting within. This bag has the added benefit of being recognized by the system and is integrated with your Inventory Submenu.

10% Fire Resistance while equipped

Weight reduced by: 23%

“Infernal Knapsack of Storage? Is this like the ones in Crow’s books?” I asked curiously.

“Somewhat. It’s not like the classic ones from M&M that Crow here fangirls over. It works more like video games. Items have slot sizes, and bags can hold up to a certain number of slots. I used the Pack Leader pelt for that bag specifically. It helps that my leatherworking upgrade was focused on non-combat items. That there is my first official magical item. A Becca original.”

I equipped the knapsack and put everything from my original bag into this one. Including the three healing potions we got from the Gobling Dungeon. I know what spell I am getting next!

“Well if you are done admiring your new toy Mathew, why exactly are we all here?” Hennessy asked.

I pointed at Crow, “Ask the big man there. He is the man with the plan today.”

“Right! So I had an amazing idea. What is a classic pass time every online video gamer does in games other than quests and combat?”

“Role Play?” Madison said.

“Craft?” Leo said.

“Crafting!” Hennessy said

“Complain about game mechanics?” Becca said.

Crow shook his head, “All wrong. Mathew, want to take a guess? Marcus?”

I thought about it while Marcus went ahead and answered. “Strategize and communicate with fellow guild or party members?”

I thought back to the few and rare times I played video games. I always hated that I had to make my own items in some of them. The players who charged for the gear they made were always overpriced. Anytime someone complained they would say “Go make it yourself then.”

My eyes widened at the realization. “Resource gathering.” Thank you high intelligence!

“Bingo, Mat wins a prize. We are going back to the Gobling Dungeon to harvest the ore there. I already loaded our vehicle up. Captain Franks was very lenient on helping us out especially when I promised him a cut of what we gathered.” Crow said.

“I can then make everyone here proper gear! I can’t wait to have the feeling of hot iron under my hammer again. Hopefully I can hit Level 7 quick enough while crafting.” Hennessy proclaimed loudly.

We all loaded up with Leo driving the first vehicle, and Crow driving the second. Crow’s truck had a trailer pulled behind it in case we brought extra. The ride there was quiet and uneventful. I spend the time working on a new project. I wanted to work on my contracts and how the laws of The System exactly worked.

I couldn’t explain it, but any idea or premise I wanted within a contract I was able to form a coherent section in any document I wrote up. I couldn’t figure out if it was Intelligence, my profession, my title, or a mix of all three for this reason, but I was very thankful for it. If everything worked how I wanted, I could sleep a bit easier at night.

Writing in a truck is difficult, but luckily a beginner ranked skill was able to mostly counter that. By the time we arrived I finished only half of my first draft. I put away my supplies in my new bag, and climbed out of the truck. The portal looked exactly the same as when we last left it.

Gobling King’s Cave - Dungeon [Completed]

Time Left till reset: 55:17:29:04

“That’s either a really good sign, or a really bad one.” I said.

Crow looked perplexed. “I say more bad than good. Remember that the version we fought was a weaker one. I imagine when reset it is MUCH more difficult to fight.”

I went cold with sweat with that thought. A hundred of them? “We have plenty of time till then right? It’s 55 days. What level do you think we need to be Crow?”

Crow scratched his head in thought. “I say a party of seven, all higher than level 10. Unless it’s a party of pure Area of Effect casters, which in that case probably level seven with around four or 5 of them.”

I only have one AOE ability, and even then it has a long cooldown, I can’t kill them all that quickly. “Good news is we have plenty of time right? Nothing should be in there, Crow?”

He nodded, “Right, let’s go in everyone. Grab some supplies and let’s get to work!”

The inside of the Dungeon was exactly how we left it, except all the bodies were gone. We came to the conclusion it worked like the creatures we fought outside the dungeons, after a few moments or if they get looted, the bodies disappear.

We worked our way to the back area where we found the iron ore and got to work. Everyone with a high Strength and did not mind a possible mining skill got to work. That left Madison, Marcus, Becca, and myself to work on other tasks. I had all of us walk around outside to work on fighting and to train. Before I left I had a great idea and went back into the Dungeon.

“Forget something Mathew?” Leo asked

“Actually I have something that can help you three.” I went over near where the ore was and started the long cast of a ritual. “Ritual of Learning!”

The affected area glowed for a moment before everything went back to normal. I gave a sly grin. “That should help you three out tremendously.” While also helping me level up the Ritual.

“Thanks Mat, I didn’t even think to stack that Ritual with our work.” Crow said.

I headed back out to meet with the others. It was time to get to work.

We walked for about ten minutes till we found a good spot to set up. Madison ran off to scout while I explained the plan to Marcus and Becca. “Our goal right now is two things: The first is typical grinding for experience gain. The Second is a bit more complicated. Marcus can you cast your rock spell please?”

He nodded and started to cast his Create Rock spell.

“Becca, with your arrows how many can you carry at a time?” I asked.

“I carry between twenty and thirty at a time. Any more and I would need a second quiver. Why? What’s this about?” She asked curiously.

A baseball sized stone floated around Marcus. “There we go Mat, and I agree with Becca, what is this about?”

“I have a spell called Summon Object. I haven’t had a really smart way to use it till you two came into the party. I use it lazily all the time to reach things just out of reach, but have yet to properly use it in combat.” I pointed at two trees a few meters away

“Each of you pick a tree and attack it.” I commanded.

They shrugged and both attacked a tree. Becca’s arrow sunk deep into the bark, while Marcus’s rock left a small dent and then fell to the ground.

“Marcus, can you manipulate the rock after it is used still?” I asked

“Yes, but normally once I throw it, it either is out of reach or breaks.” He said, starting to create another one.

“Hold on, don’t make one yet watch this. Summon Object!” The Rock instantly appeared in my hand and I held it up for Marcus.

“Wait, how long have you had this spell Mathew?” Becca asked.

“I’ve had it for a while actually. I just completely forgot about it since it offers nothing in direct combat.” I sheepishly said. “However I figured out the best way to use it. I can retrieve things that are supposedly limited use. Such as rocks or arrows.”

“I must say, I am impressed, Mathew.” Marus said, picking up the rock with his magic.

“How much mana does it cost you to create a rock Marus? Also what is the casting time?” I asked.

Marcus opened his menu to check the numbers. “Mana cost is 50. Casting time currently is two seconds.”

“My spell is 20 Mana and instantaneous.”

Becca let out a whistle and Marcus looked impressed.

“So now what?” Becca asked.

“Now we wait for Madi to bring back a target for us to practice on. I want to get a feel for it in combat. I will focus on summoning the objects back for you two to use. The idea is we won’t be able to make more arrows or rocks in the heat of battle reliably. So I can bring back ammunition back reliably so long as nothing is broken.”

“The person who made my arrows back at base is only Novice 4 in his fletching skill. I was tempted to make my own, but I didn’t see the point. You should put that Ritual of Learning spell in the crafting area for us to all use.” Becca said.

“That is a fantastic idea, remind me to do that when we get back to base. I am sure everyone will enjoy that.” Why didn’t I think of that? I wonder if I can get free services in exchange?

It didn’t take long before Madison came running over with two bears following after her. “Alrighty this is going to be mostly you two with Madison keeping them away, be quick since she isn’t a tank at all. Marcus, wait for me to summon your rock back and if you run out of arrows Becca I will summon them back for you.”

Becca was a clean shot, her skill with archery clearly existed before The System took over our world. Marcus on the other hand took several moments to swing his rock around before launching it.

“Marcus what are you doing? Just lob it at them!” I said.

“This is better. I build up momentum from centrifugal force, then launch the rocks at my target.” As he finished his sentence the rock left his influence and it rocketed toward the bear.

Marcus dealt 180 Bludgeoning Damage to Bear.

The bear was dead after that hit. I was severely impressed. At his level and a Novice ranked spell did that much damage? How!

The second bear was quickly dispatched as well and I just batted away the small combat summary. Nothing new but some experience.

“Marcus, how did you just deal 180 bludgeoning damage?” I asked

He looked at me very confused. “How do you know how much damage I dealt?”

“How do you not? The numbers fly in your face every time anyone in combat does an action that deals damage.” I said.

Marcus looked at Becca who also looked confused. “Mathew, have you never turned them off?”

“You can do that? How!” Please let the numbers go away. For research it’s great, but in combat it can get distracting.

“It’s a submenu...called Options. How have you not heard of that?” Marcus said.

Madison looked at Marcus confused as well, “How did you hear of it? We never had that option show up in our Menu before.”

I ignored the rest of the conversation. “Menu, Options!” I swiftly stated and there it was. Options to adjust everything to do with these blue boxes. I can adjust combat damage, the summary, and even modify my own menus and how they look. It looked like Christmas came early for me this year. Tonight I would mess around with everything right now we have more experimentation to work on.

“Okay that out of the way, back to your high damage Marcus. Explain please?” I asked.

“Right, remember my skill Physics? It allows me to use real world physics to apply more force thus more damage to my attacks. Since magic is a frictionless tether, I can build up a serious amount of momentum, thus increasing the end force, THUS increasing the damage. It’s simple physics.” Marus said matter of factly.

I was impressed. “That’s great, you are our glass cannon.”

“Glass Cannon? I use rocks Mathew.”

I shook my head, “No it’s a term Crow uses. It’s for the people that deal massive amounts of damage in a single attack, but normally are weak defensively”

“Oh, that makes much more sense. I like the idea.” Marcus said.

“Right, if class is over can we do some more fighting? I want to get my class sooner than later.” Becca said.

We spent the next few hours fighting creatures in the forest while I trained my Summon Object spell. At the end, I got it up to Novice 6 and both Marcus and Becca leveled up. We headed back to the Dungeon to check in on the mining operation. Inside the damp cave the temperature difference was a welcomed one. We got a bit sweaty from all the fighting.

Once we arrived at the back section where the ore was at, I saw a large pile of the metal ore stacked up. All three were shirtless and covered in sweat. “I see you three have been hard at work, how has it been going?”

Leo climbed out of the hole and took a sip of water. “It’s been great, your ritual probably is the reason we all mined out as much as we did. The mining skill increases our speed. Hennessy here is two ranks higher than Crow and I, we think it is because of his profession.”

Well that is interesting. “What ranks are you guys actually at?”

“Crow and I are both Novice 4, Hennessy is at Novice 6.” Leo said.

Madison handed Leo a towel. “You guys did good work. Is it enough?”

From the hole Hennessy’s voice was heard. “More than enough! I expected only half of what we were able to dig up. This will be perfect!”

He and Crow climbed out of the hole and each grabbed a towel to wipe off any sweat or dirt. “With this, I can make weapons, armor, and anything else we all need for the big attack on our new enemy.”

“That’s great to hear Hennessy. How long will it take you?” I asked

“Ehhhh A full set of armor for Crow, plus his fancy shield. An axe for Leo. Madison had an order, a few others, plus anything General Dritzka asks for…..about three weeks? Assuming I don’t mess anything up.”

My mouth fell open. Three weeks!! We have less than two! “Hennessy you have a week, if General Dritzka gives you any problems send him my way.”

He stroked his chin thinking, “Aye, just maybe. You plan to get me a second set of hands?”

“I can try, no promises” Surely one of the random Airmen would love to help the greater good right?

He nodded, “Get me an aid and I can get it done in a week easily.”

“Deal”

Negotiation -> Novice 7

I waved the box away annoyed. “Alrighty anything else we need to take care of or can we head back to the base? I want to get you all to Level 5 soon as possible.”

“Level up? Mathew, smithing can’t be done overnight. I won’t have time to fight.” Hennessy said.

I facepalmed. Of course, fucking why didn’t you say so before! “Really Hennessy? You wait to tell me now?”

He shrugged, “I thought you knew!”

Before I could say anything else Crow spoke up. “Let’s load up and head back to the base. I am sure we can figure out something along the way.”

We soon were back on our way, I was too deep in thought to work on my contracts. Who can I use as a replacement now?