‘Today’s the day.’ Rushing down the stairs, I cast a quick Clean on myself, a spell that basically everyone in Portland knows now, and equip some fresh clothes from Becky, only paying attention enough to make sure I’m not clashing.

Cassandra rushes by me, clipboard in hand as she counts out the inventory we have. She hands me a list of my own to make sure everything I made is accounted for before jogging over to Becky.

The house, or soon-to-be-shop, is just about ready to open, a process that has taken longer than comfortable by about a week with the threat of the Mount Katahdin dungeon looming.

Colt is panicking about his selection of plant seeds and saplings, apparently, he’s missing a few packets.

Adreanell is slowly checking out each of her rings, positioning them nicely in some display boxes she was able to buy from the Construct Shop for fairly cheap.

Running over to the section of the shop near my forge, I begin the process of assuring the checklist is complete. I’ll have to do a rush order if I missed something.

Immediately, my heart sinks as I see a spot missing what should be a fairly large number of basic weapons like swords, spears, axes, and maces with or without aspect or elemental attunements or enchantments.

Argo walks out of the forge with all the weapons in his arms. Literally. They’re stuck through his clay arms.

“Lucas! Good morning! I shined all of the weapons last night while you were sleeping!” He trills happily and begins to set them all in their respective stands.

“Thanks, buddy!”

Checking down the list, I cross off each weapon as I see it. With Argo’s help over the last few weeks, I’ve been able to pass off simpler weapons to him while I work on the more complex requests.

The first rack of weapons seems fine to me, all of Argo’s creations are accounted for. Ticking each item off the list, I complete the “low-tier” section, weapons that are affordable for those who can’t make much money but still fairly solid.

Their workmanship shows as their quality is lower than what I would make, Argo is just beginning as a blacksmith after all and his movements are fairly mechanical, but they’re good weapons regardless.

Lifting a mace made of bulkite, I swing it twice, testing the expansion and weight-increasing magic. It seems fine so I put it back and try a few more weapons at random, simply making sure Argo’s work is up to par for sale.

My own work, however, gets its own rack. We’re borrowing some of my custom orders today just to show what I’m capable of, but most of them immediately went out to the warriors of Portland upon finishing the weapon.

Inspecting some of my favorites, I smile at each one.

Toxitail

Quality: Medium

Traits: Botanical Shapeshifting, Burning Poison

Description: This whip made of metalnettle is capable of shifting between ivy creepers to wrap around the body and lengthened nettles to poison the target.

‘This metal didn’t really like being enchanted… it’s a shame, the poison effect is pretty strong. At least its plant-ness makes it regrow slowly.’

The trueshot suits sit on the table in front of me, so I shuffle through them slightly and pick out a card. ‘10 of Diamonds… I’ll take that as a good sign for money.’

The magician using these cards told me they’ve given him good luck so far, so I hope they’ll bless our shop with the same.

‘Anyway, arrows next I guess. Inspect.’

Medusa Fang Steel Arrows (x25)

Quality: Medium

Traits: Paralytic Touch

Description: These arrows tipped with medusa fang steel are brittle, only capable of being used once before the metal crumbles, but will paralyze the target hit for a variable amount of time based on the victim’s own physiology.

There’s a distinct warning sign in front of these arrows: Do Not Touch

Following the sign, I do the same and look at the next set of arrows I have on display.

Detonite Arrows (x25)

Quality: Medium

Traits: Incendiary, Swiftness

Description: These arrows tipped with detonite are single-use explosive shots. Upon meeting their target, they will explode in a fiery blast.

Only 25 of each arrow is on display, I have more in the back but I want to see how archers respond to new ammo types before I make too many.

Accelerite Arrows (x25)

Quality: Medium

Traits: Strengthening, Swiftness

Description: These arrows are tipped with accelerite, granting them the ability to accelerate as they travel through the air, making them ideal for long-distance shots.

‘These arrows seem cool, I should try out a bow sometime… Anyway, on to the next idea I had.’ Checking each arrow type off the list, I go through the rest of the various arrows made of special and non-special metals.

The only other arrow-related creation of significant note is a sendite clip. An invention of my own even Ilmarinen agrees is clever.

Sendite Clip

Quality: Medium

Traits: Guidance, Swiftness

Description: Circular clips made of sendite. Attaching these clips to the shafts of arrows allows for a minor level of guidance to be applied to arrows, increasing the accuracy of a shot with the power of one’s mind.

The benefits of these clips are somewhat negligible due to how little sendite there actually is, but I’m selling them for cheap and they allow some slight adjustments to the trajectory of an arrow.

Moving on, I Inspect a large kite shield made of yellow-ish brown metal.

The Best Offense is a Good Defense

Quality: Medium

Traits: Iron Retaliation, Highly Durable

Description: This shield made of retaliatite will take on hits and redirect part of the force as a sharp physical attack. The material itself is quite sturdy and further enchantments have been applied to increase that durability.

‘Can’t believe a priest became a Fledgling Paladin. He just absolutely needed a kite shield. Good thing for me, I wanted to make something out of retaliatite anyway. The name is kinda funny too, I haven’t checked this since I gave it to him and let him set one.’

Picking up the pure white warhammer that pairs with this shield, I Inspect it as well.

Divine Judgement

Quality: High

Traits: Light, Highly Durable

Description: This warhammer made of luminite contains the power of light within it. This light attunement can be localized to the hammer head to create a light burst attack upon impact. Enchantments have been applied to make this weapon highly durable.

‘Okay, dude. A little dramatic on the name, don’t you think? This is like a tier one weapon, I’m not that great of a blacksmith to make something deserving of a name this extra. Anyway, on to the weapon I made Adreanell. Inspect.’

Palming the smooth white pocket watch, Adreanell’s original pocket watch mechanisms tick inside of it, I simply made a new shell for it.

Tick of the Light

Quality: Medium

Traits: Light, Resonation, Highly Durable

Description: This pocket watch made of resolite can store up light into timed intervals. The longer the wait between an interval, the stronger the light burst that can be emitted. A tempo of up to one hour may be set. Warning: A full charge of light emission may damage the pocket watch.

The qualities of this pocket watch are interesting. The light burst attacks are powerful with Adreanell directing them via Photomancy. Due to the warning, testing the full extents of its power is a no-go, but even a few minutes is fairly powerful.

The only downside is that the weapon has to sit in a lit area for the amount of time it needs to charge and it can’t hold the charge for long.

Setting the watch down, I chuckle at the name I gave it. Adreanell spots me and gives me a teasing look, she enjoyed the name as well when I told her it.

Becky disrupts my train of thought by running by with a pair of pants that are on fire, but apparently that’s a good thing? Laughing once more, I turn back to my own stock.

My sole attempts at armor sit in front of me, a pair of bracers and a pair of greaves. They’re both made of the deep brown metal: counterite.

Counterite Bracers

Quality: Medium

Traits: Counterstrike

Description: Upon successfully diverting an attack with these counterite bracers, your next attack or motion will be empowered with more force.

Counterite Greaves

Quality: Medium

Traits: Counterstrike

Description: Upon successfully diverting an attack with these counterite greaves, your next attack or motion will be empowered with more force.

Counterite is a tricky metal to work with. The description is 100% accurate that even your next motion will be empowered, so they’re tricky to use properly and, in testing, result in a lot of losing one’s balance.

I can sense that when used properly, these armor pieces allow for some complex and powerful movements. An aikido user could probably benefit from them but they currently have no owner.

As far as I know, aikido bases itself in redirecting an opponent’s momentum, which seems perfect for these armor pieces.

Their prices aren’t much higher than the neutrite I spent on them as I’m not hopeful on them selling immediately once I explain the functions. I’m trying to keep people alive not just make some coin off an unassuming buyer.

Moving on to a favorite of mine, I pick up a large bow made from the fiddler crab claw.

Mollustacatto

Quality: Medium

Traits: Sonomancy, Highly Durable

Description: A bow made of the claw of a fiddler crab. The hairs of the hermit crab this claw came from make up the bowstring of this bow and can convert mana into high-power soundwaves. While this bow can fire normal arrows it does not require them and can fire piercing sound blasts instead.

Running my hand over the smooth carapace, I decide against testing this bow indoors again, Colt was upset when he had to fix the shattered windows last time. They have doubled up durability enchantments on them now, but still.

The construction of this bow shows that it’s my first time working with monster parts instead of metal. Each claw half full extends with the hairs strung into a bowstring between the tips. A locking mechanism in the middle allows for the bow to extend and collapse at will for easier storage.

The mechanism works off an enchantment and uses mana to open up. A locking rune lets the bow be designated to a specific user’s mana signature, but this bow is a gift for the archer who will accompany us to the dungeon.

His name is Pierce, oddly enough, and he ran archery classes before The Construct, so his archery skills are second to none among everyone in Portland.

The next weapon is a shiny silver-red longsword with a dark steel hilt. It’s floating on two small pieces of teletite due to the aspects it’s made from. ‘Inspect.’

Relentless Cut

Quality: High

Traits: Strengthening, Sharpness, High Sharpness Resistance

Description: This longsword made of severite can cut through most low tier materials with ease. The wickedly sharp blade of this sword creates clean, precise cuts. The dark iron hilt of this blade has been highly enchanted to resist the innate sharpness of this metal.

Several warning signs adorn this blade. Normally, aspects can be “turned off” in a neutrite metal, but this one made the metal itself incredibly sharp, so turning it off is not a possibility.

‘I went through too many grindstones on this damn metal grinding it. At least the hammer Ilmarinen made me could handle it.’

Several deep gouges in the wood below the sword indicate the few times it’s simply fallen off its floating holds and cut through the material with the force of gravity alone propelling it. Only its hilt stops it from sinking into the floor in that scenario.

Giving the weapon a warning stare, I make sure the teletite holds are steady. It cuts through every sheathe I try, so I can’t do much more than display it safely.

The sharpness trait for this sword comes from the rending mantis scythe shard, loot from the battle so many nights ago. The spare sharpness aspect crystals are safely in my Personal Hold, they hurt to even touch. I plan to give a slime the aspect at some point, but I want to give it its own personal, highly enchanted pen before I do so.

The next weapon I check off the list is a quarterstaff made of another new metal: scintillite. An orange metal of the aspects fire and lightning.

Firecracker

Quality: Medium

Traits: Spark, Highly Durable

Description: This quarterstaff made of scintillite produces sparks which arc to and burn targets on contact. Spinning this staff will create shields of these sparks that last for a variable amount of time up to five seconds depending on mana input. Enchantments on this quarterstaff make it highly durable.

‘Aaaand check. Speaking of staves… Time to look at some of my wooden creations. Mages need gear too.’

It turns out, aspect crystals socket into wood just fine to make staves for mages. Metal works too so I have a few of those as well.

The first few iterations of staves have simple aspects in them like fire, ice, lightning, and light as those are the true “elements” I have. The rest simply augment how magic works when used through the staff rather than empowering a specific element.

Checking an evergleam fir staff with two types of aspect crystals embedded in it, I go to check it off the list once I read the description again to refresh myself on its functions.

Evergleam fir staff

Quality: Medium

Traits: Tethering, Recovery, Highly Durable

Description: This staff augments magics used through it into tethers, specializing into recovery-type magics making it ideal for healing, mana restoration, or stamina restoration spells. Enchantments on the wood of this staff make it highly durable.

A few more staves have gems cut by Adreanell in them with aspects like grasping and strengthening to improve snare-type spells or as weaker but general empowerment buffs.

Creating these staves out of wood improves my Craftsman levels, bringing it up to just barely Adept as of yesterday.

Staves seem better than wands to me, but I have a few wands as well, they just can’t fit as many crystals on them. They seem to be faster than a staff in terms of casting speed, however.

With wind and water slimes at my disposal now, it turns out I can convert wind or water slime into aspect crystals, it’s just a pretty low conversion rate. Even with Gift of Prosperity, I can only make a single aspect crystal from a whole bottle-worth of slime.

Regardless, having steady access to wind and water slime means wind and water aspect crystals for neutrite metals. The next creation, a set of metal fans made of vaporite, is a special request from a girl who uses fans in her country’s traditional dances.

I run my fingers over the teal-blue fans, enjoying the cool, refreshing sensation. Feathers from the Wing of the Northern Peak adorn the ends of this fan.

Northern Front’s Mist

Quality: High

Traits: Mist, Refreshing Chill, Highly Durable

Description: These fans made of vaporite can produce mist with a simple swing. When used in dances, the mist produced can be used as a medium to apply buffs to larger groups. Due to synergy with the metal used, the feathers of a powerful ice hawk grant these mists an innate cooling invigoration. Enchantments have been applied to make this metal highly durable.

Fans turn out to be pretty easy to make as they’re just a bunch of slats of metal attached to a pivot point. Cassandra’s list only has the one request on it though, so I only have this set.

Checking the fans off my list, I wrap up my weapon inspections and move on to potions as I worry I won’t finish in time otherwise. Many other weapons remain, so I just quickly check the names and jot down that I have them.

None are missing, so I move over to my side of the potion racks to check out some of my new additions.

The first is a set of three highly interesting poisons. They’re a somewhat mucky red, blue, and green respectively. Their effects combine healing, mana restoration, or stamina restoration with paralysis and recovery to create a poison that inhibits those respective regens.

The healing one inhibits limb regrowth as an additional effect and the mana restoration one prevents recovery from mana burnt status. The healing poison is quite brutal but definitely useful for a monster that regrows its body parts.

During the last few weeks of shop prep, Colt finally cultivated enough of the pranaleaf to allow me to make some aspect crystals out of it. The regeneration aspect crystals are quite potent magically-speaking.

Taking a red and green potion off the shelf, it’s a powerful one that I have a spare of in my hold. It combines the aspects of healing, regeneration, recovery, and wind.

Second Wind Potion

Quality: High

Traits: Second Wind

Description: This potion can bring someone back from the brink. If fatal damage is taken within the duration of this potion’s effect, 3456 HP will be recovered and all body parts will regenerate to a functional state. Duration: 16 minutes. Doses: 2

To a certain extent with Extended Longevity, I can cheese the effect to make high dosage potions with ample amounts of neutral slime, but the effects of the potion weaken considerably if I do it too much.

A flight potion with 32 doses all two minutes each makes me smile, but the flight speed takes a hit too, unfortunately. The potion is also disgustingly viscous. It turns out slime can’t be used as a direct potion medium either, it can only act as an addition to potions to increase dosage.

Water seems to be the easiest potion starter, but oils and alcohols work too. Oils and alcohols have a failure chance but I assume it’s simply because I’m less familiar with these two bases currently. In the interest of getting plenty of potions done for the shop opening, I stuck to mostly water the past few weeks.

Without enough experiments to test the variations, I don’t have much of an idea yet what oils or alcohols do to augment how a potion operates.

Picking up a light teal potion, I swirl around the contents. Somewhat of a failure, I still figure I can sell it cheaply and see what happens.

Light-Waterbreathing Potion

Quality: Medium

Traits: Light, Waterbreathing

Description: This potion enables the drinker to breathe underwater only in the presence of direct light. The less light present, the more the imbiber will struggle to take a breath. Duration: 12 minutes. Doses: 5

‘Not really sure what I was thinking when I made this one. Not all potions can be winners though I guess.’

Poking at a maroon colored potion, I Inspect it to remind myself which one this is. ‘I should really make some different bottle shapes to differentiate potions with something other than color…’

Focused Strength Potion

Quality: High

Traits: Strengthening, Guidance

Description: This potion allows the user to focus their strength, be it physical or magical, into specific areas of their body for enhanced power. Duration: 15 minutes. Doses: 6

‘Ah, right. Neat potion.’ Checking my own hold, I make sure I have the bottle of it I kept for myself.

Holding the next “potion” up to the light, I enjoy the pleasant light orange color.

Ration Potion

Quality: High

Traits: Nutrition

Description: This potion will fill the stomach of the imbiber, giving them the nutrition of a full meal in a single swig. Doses: 34

This one is disgustingly viscous due to all the neutral slime in it, but having a stockpile of meals at the ready is quite useful for travel. If one gets over the texture, it actually tastes quite nice. An entire shelf serves as storage for these potions as we all agree it will be a big seller.

Besides, sheathestalks grow quite quickly and I haven’t had as much use for nutrition crystals over internal sheathe crystals. ‘Which reminds me…’

The next potion is a silvery pink color and has a pleasing swirl to it when I spin the liquid around in the bottle.

Iron Body Potion

Quality: High

Traits: Ironskin, Internal Sheathe

Description: This potion sheathes all internal components of the body, making them as durable as metal and just as hard. Duration: 17 minutes. Doses: 6

‘A nice defensive potion. Quite good for tanks, I’m sure it’ll sell well.’

The next potion is my second successful Skill potion. It combines healing, tethering, and recovery to make a potion of both dark and light green swirls with red flecks running through it.

Recovery Line Potion

Quality: Medium

Traits: Recovery Line

Description: This potion grants the Skill: Recovery Line for the duration of its effect. Recovery Line allows the user to establish a tether of mana to another lifeform to donate and convert MP to HP, restoring both HP and lost limbs with time. Duration: 18 minutes. Doses: 5

‘Surely a useful potion for any adventuring party. If they’re not able to drink a potion themselves, someone can bring them back to a state that they can.’

Looking next at my assortment of elemental “potions”, I have small rounded pills that just contain elements such as fire, water, wind, lightning, ice, and light.

Each is a Breath Pill of that kind, similar to how the different bell peppers grant that same ability, granting the ability to “breathe” that element like a dragon would.

It’s a consumable type instead of having a dosage count. The amount one consumes converts directly into the amount of that element they can breathe. Each batch makes about ten pills from a single aspect crystal, however. Quite the nice conversion, they don’t taste like much though.

In general, I have most potion types I’ve made at some point in time on display and I check those all off.

As more of a gag gift, I also have several botanical shapeshifting potions set out on a shelf. They might make for a decent way to hide from monsters, but otherwise, they’re just silly.

The grasping aspects that come from the same plant, however, are quite useful for some potions. Selecting a pale yellow one that uses grasping in the recipe, I Inspect my creation.

Speedsteal Potion

Quality: High

Traits: Swiftness, Grasping

Description: This potion allows the user to steal a portion of the speed from any object in motion they come into contact with, adding it to their own personal speed for attacks or movement. Duration: 17 minutes. Doses: 7

‘A good potion for escaping for sure. Or just overcoming a really fast enemy I guess. Would probably have been useful against the rending mantis, actually. Anyway, getting distracted. Back to the checklist.’

Notating each thorns-variant potion I have now, I made one of each element I have at my disposal. They all give somewhere between 14-17 minutes of duration with 4-7 doses and cause elemental retaliation attacks when struck.

The light one is my favorite, it causes lasers to shoot out from the point of contact. Making sure the rest of the list is complete, I speed up my inspection because I’m frankly becoming bored with it.

‘Well, my job is done. Everyone else is still busy, I haven’t had time to pay attention to my progress in a while, I guess it’s time for a check-in.’