Chapter 5. Weapons For Friends

“Now that is a wicked looking weapon!” Kyle exclaimed when he saw the saber.

With a proud grin I replied “Yea and it also steals stamina!”.

“But I also have to check how many levels I got” I said. Time to check my status.

Status: Name: Zen Chardo Race: Human

Class: Mage Lv. 21

Titles: Otherworlder, Unusual Crafter Traits: Zen Mind Atb pts: 21 Skill pts: 21 Health: 140 Mana: 210 Physical() Mental()

Physical()

Str: 13 Dex: 12 Vit: 14

Mental()

Int: 18 Wis: 21 Will: 21

Skills()

Looks like I gained four levels from that battle. Not sure if that can be counted as a battle through…

Anyway I should probably assign my attribute points, I’ll be needing them soon. First I will bump up intelligence to 21.

Ding!

Error: Only One Atb Pt Can Be Used Per Category Per 12 Hour Period.

Dang it! I guess I will bump up each category one point for now. I should have done this earlier.

Woah. I feel lighter and my feet aren't as sore anymore. Not only that but my mind seems calmer and I feel more in control of this crummy situation. My health and mana also went up when I raised my vitality and willpower respectively. I inform Kyle of what I felt and the restriction on attribute gain before continuing work on the other limb of the mantike.

I look up after a few seconds to see Kyle beginning to do some kind of warmup exercise but I stop him halfway through “Hey Kyle help me by cutting off the mandibles, maybe we can turn them into pseudo daggers”.

“Okay” he replies. Kyle takes the saber after I am done cutting and gets to work on the mantikes face.

When I am done I identify my saber.

Mantike Saber (poor quality)

Saber made from part of a Mantike scythe.

Hardness comparable to iron yet much lighter.

Unusual form ill suited for most sword forms.

Minor stamina steal effect.

After creating the other sword I had a better idea of what to do and the system showed that by increasing the quality a little. It was kind of weird though knowing a bit how to wrap the handle. That little bit of extra knowledge just appeared there in my mind.

I put that oddness aside and started working on the other mandible. Kyle had just finished and showed me the dagger he made. I took a cursory identification on it.

Mantike Dagger (very poor quality)

I wasn't surprised by the lack of information because that is all I asked from identify but… “did you get any skills?” I asked Kyle.

“No, should I have?” Kyle asked worriedly.

“I got a crafting skill when I made the saber but the system talked about having the prerequisite knowledge” I said.

I guess I should not be surprised. I want to make prosthetics when I grow up and so I have researched extensively into materials and biology. At one point I obsessed over weapons for a time so I know my stuff.

“How do you have the knowledge?” He asked. “Research” I said mysteriously. I thought Kyle would ask again but he just shrugged and watched me work. I pouted a little, is he just going to let that go. “I trust you” he said.

What does that mean?

I finished and inspected my work.

Mantike Dagger (poor quality)

Dagger made from mandibles of a mantike.

Hardness comparable to bronze yet much lighter.

The hardness is different but at least there is not enough of a problem with the form for the system to take note. The quality when I make weapons is better as well I see. I will probably be the one making weapons in the future.

With the weapons finished I stood up and said “Time to go”.

“What about armor?” Kyle asked. I thought about it a bit but I really had no way of stitching anything together and also...

“No time” I said. “I want to get moving”.

I started heading towards the front tunnel and Kyle followed me but before we were halfway across the cavern we heard rocks clatter behind us. We both turned around and crouched using sight and sound to search behind us.

I heard more footfalls coming from the upper ledge but I could not discern which tunnel above the noise was coming from. I looked at Kyle and waited for him to look at me. When he did I beckoned him to follow me towards the side of the cavern where some stalagmites where.

We had just moved behind them when the source of the noise presented themselves. It turned out to be five people, I did not have to wonder if they were from our world the cloths were obvious.

There were two soccer players and a girl about our age. The last two were adults, an office worker looking guy and a very worried looking grandmotherish woman.

Kyle immediately shouted out a greeting and began running over to the boulders that lead up to the second floor. His team mates shouted back and started climbing down to meet him, the other three started moving as well but were a bit more careful. I was about to reprimand them for shouting and making noise but I figure the only way we will meet up with a large group is if we make ourselves known. Instead I began walking over to meet our fellow survivors.

I joined the group at the base of the boulders just as the last three climbed down. Kyles teammates already knew me but I introduced myself to the others. The mom was named Maggie and the office worker looking guy was actually a sales associate at a hardware store, his name was Chris. Kyles friends were Jeff and Tank, while the girl was Karla. It seems they were so intent upon our existence that they didn't notice the Mantike corpse until introductions were done. In all fairness the thing blends in and was partially under the overhang.

After Kyle explained I killed it they looked at me in awe. I quickly explained it was a fluke but their looks only diminished a little, but their worried looks increased as reality sank in that such a creature does not exist on earth. Kyle and I filled them in on the system before I walked over and making two clubs from the mantike arms.

Kyle questioned them on their journey so far and from what I overheard it seems Karla and Maggie warped in together on a sloped tunnel, the others were alone in the same position. They all walked upwards but the tunnels soon ended at a wide pit that seemed to go down forever. They turned around and headed down where the tunnels connected and they met up. They can into the cavern from the tunnel immediately to our right. It makes sense since the left tunnel leads to the large cavern with the centipedes according to Kyle.

When I finished the spiked club things I identified them.

Mantike Bite (poor quality)

Spiked cudgel made from a mantike arm

Hardness comparable to iron yet much lighter.

Attack loss due to poor center of gravity.

Minor stamina steal

With the new weapons done I walked back over to the group. The cudgels were given to Jeff and Tank while Karla and Chris were given the daggers. Chris looked disappointed but didn’t say anything.

Now armed we headed towards the tunnel in front of us.

Status Update:

Status: Name: Zen Chardo Race: Human

Class: Mage Lv. 21

Titles: Otherworlder, Unusual Crafter Traits: Zen Mind Atb pts: 15 Skill pts: 21 Health: 150 Mana: 220 Physical() Mental()

Physical()

Str: 14 Dex: 13 Vit: 15

Mental()

Int: 19 Wis: 22 Will: 22

Skills()

Magic()

Mana Manipulation Lv 3

Mana Grip Lv. 2

Mind()

Concentration lv. 3

Resistances()

Mental resist lv. 3

System()

Identify Lv. 6

Crafting()

Monster Weapon Crafting Lv. 1