It was past bedtime for most of The Cradle inhabitants, yet the lights in the Wandering Hearth were very much awake.

“You were there?” Why!?

“Because of you, naturally,” answered the Elf.

“But how? When?” Replied Gabriel.

“Well, the why is simple, looking for a way in which Gaia Waterfront could get to you. The when is exactly a week ago. On the day of the attack. But the how… that is not for me to tell.”

Gabriel turned toward the Dwarf he was cleaning mugs with a smile partially hidden under his mustache.

“The how is the magical hearth,” answered Gabriel.

The Dwarf roared a laugh. Then, since no one was there, he started telling him about what Olivia had done. How she had helped him, but then he quickly got into the specifics, and Varcivald sighed, shaking his heads.

“That’s gonna take a while; nod like you understand,” he whispered in Gabriel’s ear.

But Gabriel was happy enough to listen to whatever the Dwarf had to say, or drunk enough.

Olivia had been given a room, and she would be staying there as a guest, not as a waitress. Pretty much what he intended to do.

“So,” Gabriel said after Commodo had filled his head with elements, numbers, and essences, “what do you say if I got my old room? Or is it booked already?”

“Yer old room? It’s free as a flying lizard!” He answered. “Wanna order for tomorrow’s breakfast?” He added. “Oh, and Gabriel, put that card back; ye have still three free weeks on the house.”

“Oh, come on, Com. Don’t be a dummy! Those have expired already!”

“No, lad. They never did, and Ms. Waterfront did not ask for the credit back. So, ye still have everything on the house! Except for that double drink, ye offered there. For that, ye’ll have to pay in full! Mugahahaha!”

After Gabriel paid… quite a lot of money, actually; since there were more guests than he thought, he climbed the stairs for his old room. Liz was the first to get in, literally barging in and crashing on the bed. She was asleep in seconds.

What a day… Gabriel thought.

He wanted to close his eyes and rest, but couldn’t… so he started making a list of what he had to buy and do for the following day. It was easy, yet long.

Change of clothes, probably armor. I need to look for information about the nearby Dungeons. Might need to find myself a party, and… I might have to look for a job if I don’t want to join the Reevers. Then finally, I need to get out and get myself a couple of levels. Though I feel that it’s gonna be hard out of a Dungeon.

He summoned his Anchor Page.

Gabriel Walker

Race

Human

Level

33 (41.21%)

Class

Dark Arts Jack of all trades.

Class Level

28 (55.38%)

Spirit

Spirit of The Shiny-Lizard

Spirit Level

31 (38.85%)

Pools

Life

Energy

Mana

Spirit

10/10

60/60

75/75

50/50

Attributes

Body

Spirit

Final

Affinity

38 (19)

7

45

Alacrity

21.6 (18)

11

32.6

Power

17

25.5 (17)

42.5

Recovery

51 (17)

8

59

Resilience

40 (20)

55 (22)

95

Stamina

21.6 (12)

10

31.6

2 Class levels away from a Skill evolution… he thought. Then his thoughts started trailing off as he fell into a deep sleep.

Gabriel woke up when the sun was already pretty high, not that he could directly see it from there, but the clock pointed at two in the afternoon.

He washed up in his private room bathroom and was out in a matter of minutes.

“Com! You still up? Do you even sleep?” he asked.

“Lad! Ha! With 100ish Stamina? A couple of days up can’t defeat me! Not even with serving at this level!” he answered, beating on his bicep.

“The usual, laddie?”

“Yes! Make it to go. Oh, I need to go shopping, by the way, can you recommend any-”

“Mr. Gabriel!” He heard someone shout. The voices were squeaky, those of children.

Gabe turned around to find Varcivald followed by a couple of children, entering the inn.

“Veronica, Bart! How are you doing?”

“I knew you’d be waking up by this hour. We’re coming for Dungeon exploration; thought we might meet you before you went out,” said Varcivald, embracing him by the arm.

After commenting on their yet to be visual growth, but that was what adults were expected to say to children, he proposed his plans for the day.

“We can get you there, Mr. Gabriel!” Said Bartholomew as Veronica cuddled the lizard that standing up was almost as tall as her.

“You know of a good clothing store and leatherworker? Then I’m on board. Let’s eat!”

They shared a quick meal. Both Gabriel and Bart practically devoured everything they had in front, at the speed of light, Veronica and Varcivald took it slower, so when the first two were done, the kid started hammering him with questions.

It was clear that the topic of Herald had to not be touched. Varcivald must have made a clear point about it.

As they all finished, Varcivald remained behind and made Gabriel promise to look after the children, or there would be… consequences; they mostly involved his ballsack and the fact that he may find himself without one if anything had to happen to them.

“So, what have you reached, Mr. Gabe?” Veronica asked him.

They had left the Hearth and were now passing through a really crowded portion of the map.

“Is one supposed to say?” Gabriel asked back.

The girl vamped up, “Oh! You’re right. I’m sorry, Mr. Gabe.”

“I was kidding Nikki. I’m 33 and 28.”

“WHAT!?” Of course, that was Bart’s reaction. “How? Tell me, Mr. Gabriel, please! I want to know how!”

Gabriel laughed. “Oh, it involves a lot of luck, then some more, and finally, getting oneself caught in adventures too dangerous to go in purposefully.”

“But… you were level 1, no, 2! It’s incredible!”

“Have you been facing higher ranked monsters? E-elite monsters?” He asked with trepidation. Veronica had her eyes wide.

“Mmmh, no. But… a did end up beating a Boss-” at the mention of the word, Veronica shrieked, bringing her hands on her mouth, and Bartholomew gaped, then he started jumping up and down, shouting, “I knew it! I knew it!”

“Shh! Don’t shout! You’ll spread it unnecessarily.”

But Bartholomew didn’t listen, and as Liz joined him in jumping up and down, Gabriel knew that it was a lost cause.

“Alright, let’s just get me some clothes,” Gabriel sighed. I should have asked for Olivia to accompany me…

They took him to a place equipped with lots of clothes, from fancy to practical. Of course, he went for practical things, mostly in linen, elastic material for movements, shirts, and t-shirt.

He ended up spending more than three thousand Mana units on them. However, he bought a useful bag in which he could apply a seal to make the units as a whole, to preserve space in his storage.

Then it was time for armor.

“We’ll point you to the store, Mr. G. But then we need to go, it’s almost four, and Master said we had to come back at four. Will you be there again tomorrow? At the inn, I mean.” Asked Bart.

“Of course, I lodge there. Although I’m planning to look for a job so, I don’t know if you’ll find me at the same time, but we’ll definitely see each other again, kids. No sweat!”

“Yes!” Said Bart.

“Alright, Mr. G. But, you’ve reached level thirty already; you could apply for Essence hunting. There are three Dungeons around Yggdrasil’s roots and one on the middle-tree,” suggested Veronica.

“What, really? Like the one we were in when I met you?”

“But that was not a Dungeon, Mr. G, that was just one of the relief valves; Ant Dungeon is level 10,” she clarified.

“Well, now I’m lost. What do you mean by a ‘relief valve’?”

“Oh, it’s just a place where monsters come out of when the Dungeon starts getting overcrowded. Every Dungeon by Yggdrasils has them; it’s because of the Rapids; Mana feeds them continually. People say it might even trigger a Dungeon shift one of these days,” added Bart.

“That makes sense, but a Dungeon shift, what’s that?”

“It’s when a Dungeon Core rises in level, it’s rare, but happens when the Mana inside is not quelled by killing monsters, it keeps storing, until suddenly, the Dungeon Core rises many levels at once. Which makes the monsters higher levels too.”

“Woah… and has that already happened, I mean, around here?”

“Yup. Take Ant Dungeon, for example. It spawns so many monsters that it’s difficult to kill all of them. So the Mana keeps accumulating during the years. It is now a level 10, a lot of time ago, was a level 1.”

“Alright, but that was… how long ago did that happen?” Gabriel asked.

“Oh, it was during the start of the hundred years war. The books say that the Dungeon was not manned at the time. So in less than a year, the Mana inside built up so much that it shifted its level,” clarified Nikki.

“Well, nice to know. Have fun with your training kids, and as always, you are helping me so much that one day I’ll have to repay you, one way or the other.”

“No sweat, Mr. G. For the…” Bart lowered his voice, “the Herald,” then he raised it up again, “this is the least we can do!”

Gabriel shook his head but with a smile as he waved at them.

Alright, Liz. It’s time we went and took our chance at buying decent armor. I wonder how much Olivia paid for that one. Mmh… should I reimburse her? Not that this money is actually mine… but, damn. I need to pay these ones back sooner or later, don’t I? Gabriel sighed. He hadn’t even found a job and was already in debt of 100k units.

“Let’s focus on the bright side first. Survivability armor!”

The signboard where the kids had taken him was somehow familiar.

There was a pouch, with Mana fuming out of it, and the post read, ‘Long-dozen’s’.

Is this for real?

Entering, he asked right away. “Mr. Dozen? Is that you?”

A Wood Elf was fixing his merchandise from behind the counter.

“I’m at your service. What can I do for you?”

Gabriel slightly bent his neck to the side. I don’t think that’s Kanceldom’s Elf? He looks different.

“Excuse me, Sir. Do you have a shop in Kanceldom by any chance?”

“In Kanceldom? Oh! You must have met my little brother then,” he opened into a smile. “No, you see. I’m Long-Dozen; I’m the better looking one. And better with my hands too. So, what can I offer you? Are you interested in Griffin leather, Dragon skin? Troll’s hide? You tell me!”

“Well, you definitely speak like him. It’s a pleasure meeting you; I’m Gabriel, by the way.”

“The pleasure is mine, Mr. Gabriel. Did my brother’s armor serve you so well that you came back, hoping to find him?”

“It did serve me well, but I need something better; a self-repair option was available if memory serves me right. But tell me, how’s your brother? Did he escape from Kanceldom during the attack?”

“Oh, indeed he did, and with his whole stash, I believe he rejoined the effort in rebuilding Kanceldom now,” he continued, “Please come over here. I’ll show you the samples. You can Analyze them as you see fit.”

Long Dozen opened a black bolt of leather on the desk; it was filled with samples of every color and texture. Gabriel commenced eagerly scanning them.

Behemoth Hide

Status

None

Type

Leather

Grade

Very Rare (Upgradable)

Main Category

Leather Sample

Materials

Behemoth

Enchantments

Ice Resistance 2

Earth Resistance 2

Durability

12.499/12.499

Fire Dragon Skin Sample

Status

None

Type

Leather

Grade

Epic (Upgradable)

Main Category

Leather Sample

Materials

Fire Dragon Skin

Enchantments

Fire Resistance 2

Wind Resistance 2

Durability

12.499/12.499

Earth Dragon Skin

Status

None

Type

Leather

Grade

Epic (Upgradable)

Main Category

Leather Sample

Materials

Dragon Skin

Enchantments

Earth Resistance 2

Fire Resistance 2

Durability

12.499/12.499

“This one is a direct upgrade of the Sea Serpent skin, which you’ll find right…”

Hydra Skin

Status

None

Type

Leather

Grade

Epic

Main Category

Leather Sample

Materials

Sea Serpent Skin

Enchantments

Dark Resistance 2

Life -

Water Resistance 2

Durability

12.499/12.499

Griffin Leather Sample

Status

None

Type

Leather

Grade

Very Rare (Upgradable)

Main Category

Leather Sample

Materials

Griffin Leather

Enchantments

Stamina +

Durability

6.249/6.249

Kelpie Hide

Status

None

Type

Leather

Grade

Very Rare (Upgradable)

Main Category

Leather Sample

Materials

Sea Serpent Skin

Enchantments

Dark Resistance 2

Life Resistance 2

Durability

6.249/6.249

“...here. Of course, we can upgrade them all. But first, tell me…”

See Serpent Skin

Status

None

Type

Leather

Grade

Very Rare (Upgradable)

Main Category

Leather Sample

Materials

Sea Serpent Skin

Enchantments

Life -

Water Resistance 2

Durability

6.249/.249

Troll’s Hide Sample

Status

None

Type

Leather

Grade

Very Rare (Upgradable)

Main Category

Leather Sample

Materials

Troll’s hide

Enchantments

Recovery +

Light -

Durability

6.249/6.249

“... what are your needs? What are you looking for in your armor?”

“There are a lot of choices there. I didn’t even manage to Analyze them all…” Gabriel shook his head. He continued, “What I’m looking for is something which works well with my poor Stamina, enhances my Power, if there even is something of the like, and gives me protection from slashes and punctures.” Pretty much like my old armor; however, these are… much, much better.”

Long-Dozen took note, “Would you prefer it with Dark Resistance, Light?”

“Dark Resistance? No, I don’t need that; light is covered from my Spirit, I think. So no, resistances are not that important.”

“That means you have Dark Element Skills, but… your Spirit has light ones? That’s unusual, to say the least. I’d say unfeasible in my experience. I know it’s a rather weird request, but may I ask if you to double?” Long-Dozen seemed rather surprised by it.

“Sure,” Gabriel shrugged.

He opened his Anchor Page, and indeed Liz had Light Resistance, given to her by her Skills, and it was signed with a Light + under the tag Element.

“Yup, I was right. It says Light + too.”

L-Dozen was taken aback. “One never stops learning…” he said to himself.

“What is wrong, Mr. Dozen?”

“Nothing, Sir. It’s just that I thought it impossible, having a Spirit which is the opposite of one’s own tendencies. I guess you just rebuked what was established as the standard,” he stated.

“Oh. Well, I guess the world is good because it’s vast. Anyway. Did you think about something? For me, I mean.”

“Yes, Sir. I’ve got just the thing for you, it’ll be very comfortable, in line with your needs, upgradable but Very Expensive. Given your peculiarities, it will be a first for me. But I love a challenge!”

Long-Dozen proceeded by placing on the counter a set of two samples.

“We’ll save for the skin facing side a comfortable and Stamina absorbing remnant Griffin hide. Since it will be bound, it shall absorb a respectful amount of Energy that will be consequently reabsorbed back into your Meridians, which is a Perk I’m guessing you have chosen, right Sir?”

“Yups.”

“Perfect,” the Elf continued, “most of the outer side will be a mixture of Dragon Skin to cover all Elemental Resistances,” Gabriel was about to interrupt him, but the Elf continued, “because, as much as you don’t require it; this,” he said, raising up what was a piece of Fire Dragon Skin,” is the most resistant material for leather armor, and really hard to come by.”

Gabriel nodded an ‘okay’.

“And finally, this one is… No, you know what. Wait right here” Long-Dozen turned on his back and headed behind the curtains of his shop.

He came back after two minutes. Gabriel kept analyzing the scraps of leather as he waited.

“This,” Long said, “is something I should not even show you, not here, in the day at least. But it’s something I’m really fortunate to have. One of a kind piece, it’s extremely rare and, of course, costly. However, for the design I have in mind… it’ll fit perfectly and make me economize on the whole process.”

The Wood Elf placed a whole hide of leather on the counter. It was black as the night itself, not the Midnight blue peculiar of the Reevers entourage. It was wholly black; it didn’t even reflect a little light, slick and thick. And it was big enough that Gabriel understood it was the whole piece; the Elf hadn’t even cut a sample to show.

Demon Hide

Status

None

Type

Leather

Grade

Epic

Main Category

Leather Hide

Materials

Demon Leather

Enchantments

Affinity +

Power +

Durability

12.499/12.499

"What effects does it have?" Gabriel asked after a while.

"Affinity + works like Stamina +, it retains some amount of both Mana and Spirit lost in the Ambient after you activate Skills, it is most efficient retaining Mana lost while you do idea-tainting Mana. While Power + acts directly on your Power output, it doesn't make your attacks directly stronger, but it helps in not dispersing the Power you are trying to generate with every single movement. You'll feel it yourself once you'll wear it," stated the Elf.

"This is rather incredible… but, will there be enchantments on them?"

"Of course, I'll have them enchanted. It's useless to tell you that since there are a lot of different leathers to work with, a costly Uniformity Enchantment is necessary. After that, the Self-repair Enchantment is the one that will cost you the most. Since we're working with high-class leather, while Slash and Pierce Resistance 2 will be relatively cheap in comparison."

"What about Higher Element Resistances? I remember Dozen, the other Dozen, talking about them," Gabriel asked.

"We don't deal with that here; Class 0 Higher Element Resistance is just a scam, it lessens damage by less than 1%, it is only offered to… inexperienced parties. I apologize for my brother's behavior," Long-Dozen explained with a sigh.

Son of a- I knew he was a scammer!

"Alright… don't worry, we didn't end up buying it, after all. There's just one more question I had other than the price."

"Please, I'm listening."

"Is there any way I could add pieces of actual heavy armor, I'm talking about…" Gabriel coughed, hoping he would get the reference, "Mandalorian style."

The Elf chuckled, "Yes, Mr. Gabriel. That was exactly what I had in mind for you. However, I suggest you take somebody else for your services. Somebody offering himself to an important cause, I'll give you his contact information, but the Dwarf in question lives in The Core." The last words, he let them fall solemnly.

"Alright, how much is it, and when will it be ready?"

"In a week's time, then I'll need to have it Enhanced. In a couple of weeks, your orders shall be complete. The payment shall be half at the commission and the rest when I'll hand the finished product over to you. The grand total is… 117 thousand units."

Fuck.