Author’s corner: HELLO HELLO! THE DREADED STATS TABLE IS BACK!

ANYWAY, after such a long time, here we see how powerful our favorite golem became with the upgrade. Which he will need, since those who follow the FF World Gate online might have noticed that there is a Crossover coming (written by the very own imaginexbreaker), and I don’t want Wargon being much behind the chea*cough*powerful being that Lucas is.

ALSO, for those who liked the Ruby fanfiction, the author contacted me saying that there is more coming, going up to part 4 (you might have noticed that the chapter was divided in 2 parts back there), thanks to the good feedback you guys gave the FF!

ALSO(3), I noticed some confusion, so I thought I would clarify. The runic path SS happens around the time that Wargon was working on his first set, around chapter 18 or so.

ALSO(4), did some slight remodeling on the skill part of the status screen so it won't be as obnoxiously large and messy as before. If you see any mistake/missing skill, please do warn me. You'll get cookies!

Have a good read!

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“So, what does the set skill do?” I asked Yuu who was happily playing around with the ice spear she made.

She blinked surprised before turning to me and nodding. She dismissed her lance and sat in a meditating pose for a while to recover her mana. As soon as she felt she was ready, she summoned a window in front of her, probably the skill’s window, and read it all. For a moment I simply looked at her patiently before remembering that I also got a new skill to test!

I quickly opened my status window to search for the skill.

NAME:

Wargon (Gondorrer Gravelheart)TITLE:

Pioneer of the craftsClass tree:Warrior/rogueClass:SkirmisherRace:GolemGender:Neutral (Male)Level:15Experience:12%

STATUS:

Remaining points (0)Health Points:660/660HP regen (out of combat):2/secEnergy:100/100Energy Regen:11/secSTR:52(13)TGH:27(13)AGI:49(13)VIT:51(27)INT:27MND:46(27)ATTK:26-29Extra:1 Frostfire damageDEF170M. Res.:141Fire resistance:24Satiety:62/100 (Neutral)

SKILLS:

Derivation points (0)Spoiler :

--------Generic skills--------

One-handed Sword Mastery[Intermediate][lvl 1]

-Slash (Active)

-Stab (Active)

-Slice ‘n dice (Active)

-Fencing

Dual-wielding mastery [lvl 2]

-Whirlwind (Active)

Bow Mastery [lvl 8]

-Power shot (Active)

-Quick shots (Active)

-Piercing shot (Active)

-Snipe

Martial Arts [lvl 4]

-Kick

-Pummel

Shield Mastery [lvl 8]

-Bashing - Shield slam*

Scale-mail Mastery [lvl 7]

Chain-mail Mastery [lvl 8]

Leather Mastery [lvl 6]

Taunt (Active) [lvl 5]

-Focused mockery

Nature walking (Active) [lvl 2]

(Original) Roll (Active) [lvl8]

Recklessness [lvl 2]

---------Class skills--------

Consumables mastery [lvl 1]

Tactical Charge (Active) [lvl 1]

Retreat (Active) [lvl 1]

Ready for anything [lvl 1]

UNIQUE Adaptability [lvl 1]

-Cycle weapons(active) -Offensive Cycle(active)*

---------Crafting skills--------

Skinning [lvl 9]

Mining [lvl 9]

Crystal Tinkerer[Intermediate] [lvl 1]

Leatherworking [Intermediate][lvl 1]

Blacksmithing [Intermediate] [lvl 1]

Alchemy [lvl 6]

---------Racials---------

-Nature’s bastion (Active)

-Rock Eater

-Sedimentary skin (Active)

-Nature attuned

---------Equipment skill--------

Ignite Weapon

LOOK AT THAT! LOOK AT DEM NUMBAHS! DEY BE B-E-A-UTIFUL!

Sorry, got over-excited back there.

And, did the skill-tree become a little more organized or is it just me seeing things? Might be just me.

Anyway, it’s the first time since I look at it that there is a class beneath my name. And does it feels good to see that! But it’s not what I came here for today! Let’s go back to what matters! After quickly skimming through the skill list, I found the equipment skill right there at the bottom, and after focusing my mind on it, the window popped up.

Skill: Ignite Weapon

(level depends on the gear’s quality)Ignites your current weapon using the fury of the blazing tails, making the next attack deal all of its damage as raw fire damage.

Raw fire damage ignores Def and M.Res, but greatly increases the effect of fire resistance on the attack.

(Fire Resistance above 25 ignores this attack)Cost: 0 energy

Cool-down: 60 seconds

I prefer to not comment on this. I fear that anything I say may lead to heavy nerfs.

“Here I go, Shishou.” Yuu called to me when she was done. She had a cheerful smile while she cast the new skill.

This one seemed to be a more powerful skill than the usual, since it seemed that she had to take a long time casting it. Well, long when it came to her, since it was the first time I saw her taking more than two seconds to use a skill in all this time since we met again.

Firstly, a ball of fire appeared in the air above her before quickly shaping itself in a conical shape while still burning. Afterwards, some icy mist left her right hand where Aura’s gem was and started to flow towards the fire, where it started to fuse with it, making the fire earn a clear and transparent coloration, as if it was ice itself and forming a solid red-ice core.

All the process took around three seconds to become complete, and then she launched it towards nowhere in particular, making it shatter on the ground.

And here is where I had a truly mind-breaking experience that made my brain hurt.

The outer fire simply shattered, while the inner ice core started to spread around the grass like it was fire before dying down after a few seconds.

Telling this to you guys is already strange, do you have any idea on how it feels to actually look at it? As I said, my brain was hurting trying to make logic of this.

Luckily, it seems that at the very least I wasn’t the only one who was having a hard time understanding this, as the others looked surprised at the scene too. Even Cygnas and El, who were our professionals in magic.

“So, what else does it do?” I asked Yuu after some time, making her blink surprised for a moment. “As cool and bizarre that was, I don’t think that is all it does.”

“Hmm… The skill said that the buffs I get from the weapons affects it with three times more potency, but I’m unable to earn them again for ten seconds for each buff used.” Hmm, so it is a heavy hitting skill reduces her damage output after using it. The classical double-edged sword. Or double edged spear…

Which probably wouldn’t be much of a problem considering how good she is with martial arts.

Heck, she would probably use the two sides to deal damage at the same time with a double-edged spear.

Oops… I’m deviating from the topic again.

“Okay, now it’s my time to shine!” I said as I pulled out my sword and shield and thought on which skill to test it.

Well, I would have to ignite it before anyway.

I quickly activated the skill and my sword burst into flames. I smiled widely as I watched it, and whenever I moved it, a slight trail of flames would appear behind it, making an amazing scene to anyone watching.

I turned back to the others who were watching in wonder and smiled mischievously.

Okay, now to use this with a flashy skill!

…

..

.

CYGNAS DAMMIT! I DON’T HAVE A FLASHY SWORD SKILL!

NOOO!

I need to find a flashy skill soon!

Shaking my head, I decided to spend it with my flashiest skill that I can use with the sword, since I’m pretty sure that shield-slam wouldn’t work with the ignite weapons since, well, shield isn’t exactly a weapon.

LIES! I KNOW! SWOARD AND BOARD IS THE FIRST DUAL WIELDING!.

But I still can’t go against the system. For now.

So, my flashiest skill right now was, Offensive cycle!

Using the skill in thin air, I made the same combo where I start with a shield-bash followed by a heavy downwards two-handed slash. But this time the blade left a trail of fire behind before exploding into a small pillar of fire at the very end. Afterwards there was the usual triple-shot back-jump and power-shot at the end.

Well, me likey the skill.

I turned back grinning widely and met with El, Arcus, Lila and Whisi looking at me with their jaws dropped

I smiled at mockingly at them, which made Arcus reach-me in a single jump before grabbing me by the shoulders and staring at me with a strange ferocity.

“WHAT. WAS. THAT? TEACH. ME!” He said each word with a scary intensity to them.

“The weapon part is a unique class skill, and the fire part is equipment skill.” I told him as I felt my shoulders start hurting.

-1 (659/660)

Scary!

He became shocked for a moment before becoming clearly depressed and walking away from us. After taking some distance he crouched on the ground and started drawing circles in the ground.

“And what class exactly are you?” El asked after some time.

“Skirmisher.” I told her. “Specialized in taking out strong foes.”

“I see…” She said with a nod. “I’ve heard of it before, but I never expected see it for myself. What exactly does it have?” I quickly explained her the class’ skills and how it work. Altough she was clearly surprised at the start, she seemed to understand the idea behind it and nodded. “I don’t think I would be able to use that class correctly.” She said after some time.

I nodded a bit awkwardly.

Just as I finished the explaining, my eyes wandered towards the city, where I saw a cat leaving the city and running towards us.

I blinked surprised and recognized him as the big cat I met when Lieutenant made his small troop. He made a hasty salute towards us before turning towards Lieutenant and starting to meow something. Lieutenant nodded and took out a mice from his inventory and tossed it towards the cat, who made a salute once again before turning back and running towards the city once again.

Lieutenant turned to me and said.

“Nyaa-na, nanyaa-nyyna nyyynanyyy, nya-na-na-nya nyyy-aaa.”

“I see...” I said while nodding and turned towards Yuu and Hanbei. “Let’s go, then?”

The two blinked surprised and looked at me like I was some kind of mad man.

“Let’s go… Where?” They asked me confused.

“Didn’t you hear Lieutenant? He just said that his minions found the guys I was looking for.” They blinked surprised once again and looked strangely at me. Geez, weird people, can’t even understand basic speech. I turned towards Arcus and Co. “So, I guess that this is good bye for now.” I said to them.

“I see… Until later... I guess…” Arcus said still depressed in his corner.

The girls bade their farewells for now and we left towards the city, following Lieutenant as he guided us through the streets.

We were taken to the commercial level, where from time to time Lieutenant would meow, making some cats appear, who would point towards a direction before darting off back to their alleys. Geez, how big did his network grow while I wasn’t looking? Actually, don’t answer that, I’m a bit afraid to know. If I hear something of the likes: your pet has the largest information network in the city, I will go crazy.

And I fear that is exactly what was happening.

Still, it’s better if I’m not sure of this. It saves me some sanity.

As we walked through the streets, we eventually found a small group of four people standing near a vendor, browsing the wares. They were a Jöntunn, a Harpy, a tiger beast-man and a Treant.

“So… What’s with all the cats?” I heard the beast-man asking his group after looking around for some time. Well, not that I couldn’t blame him, after all, there were at least five alley cats keeping a look at them.

When we approached them, all the cats turned to us, making a salute before darting away with their mission done.

The group followed the cats’ gaze and turned to us. While three of them were a bit at loss, it seems that the robed treant recognized me, as he said in a mysterious voice.

“Why wonder, my friends? For the guide to the blaze is the one before us.” Geez, he really is into his role-play, huh? Even his words are cryptic.

At least, it seems that it worked to remind them who I was, as Sir Yagver’s eyes widened and he nodded before approaching me.

“Wargon! I didn’t recognize you with your new gear!” he said while extending his hands.

“Sir Yagver, long time no see!”

“So, what does the god of crafting want with us, mere mortals?” He said with a laugh, leaving me confused.

“Crafting god?”

“You don’t spend much time in the forums, do you?” he asked me in a good mood. “You are quite the rage in the forums. Until now, there were only four game wide-announcements, and all four of them were from crafting with your name in it!”

Really? Damn, I’m famous!

“Yeah, I usually spend more time playing than staying in the forums.” I said with an awkward smile, before shaking my head and looking at him seriously. “Fame and glory aside, I have a new offer for the four of you.”

My words earned me a couple of raised eyebrows as they looked at me with interest. Seems like that our previous encounter left them with a good impression of me.

“So, the guide has come to once again take us to new places.” Forgotten, the treant said mysteriously.

“Will there be another condition like last time?” Xredder asked me while crossing his beastly arms.

“Kind of.” I said while turning towards the girl behind me. “These here are Yuu and Han-chan, my friends.” I quickly introduced them. Yuu bowed slightly and Han-chan waved excitedly. “And we found a quest that opens a brand new dungeon. But it recommends a group of six to eight players around level 20 and we don’t exactly meet the requirements when it comes to number of players…”

“A new dungeon? As in the first time it’s being opened?” L3nny, the harpy asked. I nodded. “Seems too good to be true… What are your conditions? To keep the loot?” She asked me a bit suspicious.

“Fool it is, to expect the guide to ask such simple conditions like that.”

“He is a lot more talkative than the last time, huh?” I asked the group while looking at the Treant. They laughed a bit and told me that he became a fan of mine and that was his way to show that he was excited. Sorry bud, but I don’t have anything to write an autograph. “Anyway, the conditions are actually lucrative for you too.” I looked around and noticed that a few players were starting to gather around us, wanting to know what we were talking about. “Let’s take a walk while we speak, shall we?”

The groups nodded and we started to walk, leaving the group behind and giving us some more space and privacy. I thought about taking them towards Melinda’s and have our talk there, but taking so many people at once would be a bit troublesome, so I decided to walk towards the edge of the city, where there are usually a lot less people.

“Say… Is that cat with soldier uniform the same one we met on the forest?” The harpy asked while looking at Lieutenant.

“Yup. I named him Lieutenant Colonel Whiskers McBallofur Maximilliamus the third!” As I told them his name, they made some awkward faces, probably in awe at my magnificent naming sense. “And the fox in the samurai clothing is something of a very rare version of the blazing tail!” I told them while pointing to Aura, who briefly looked up and barked a greeting.

“There is a way to transform them into pets?” Sir Yagver asked surprised, and I nodded.

“To tell the truth, I had a lot of luck with her.” I told truthfully. “Anyway, back to the dungeon matters. No, I don’t want all the loot there. Actually, I’m willing to give up my right for the loot completely if you accept my request.” As soon as I said this, the three became clearly shocked as they looked at each other for a brief moment. “Of course, the girls will still be rolling for it, since it’s their loot.”

The group asked for some time so they could discuss it a bit. I gave them some space and waited patiently by petting Aura, who had climbed her way to my arms, and a jealous Yuu who looked angrily at the little fox.

After around three minutes, they came back, raised an eyebrow at the scene and said.

“We are in. We are still at level 21, since we haven’t played for some time, so doing a dungeon right now is the best option.” Sir Yagver said in a nod.

“But we want to know what exactly you want us to do and what is your plan.” Xredder said afterwards.

Fair enough.

“What I want you guys to do, is to run the Dungeon twice.” I told them while lifting two fingers. “You see, the dungeon have at least two bosses. A machine and a beast one. The first run will be a usual dungeon run so I can complete the quest. But the second time, I want that all of you open hand of the beast-boss loot. That includes both you and the girls.”

They looked surprised at me for a moment before turning towards the girls.

“And why is that?” The tiger asked.

“I want to get materials from his body, and if I do that, we won’t get loot.” I told them the short story.

“That material… Are you making new gear for you?” L3nny asked me suspicious, and I nodded.

“Though I only plan on making a weapon, since I just got myself a very good armor.”

“Then, I would like to ask you for a new condition.” The Jöntunn said suddenly, making the group blink surprised and nod afterwards. “I want you to make something for us too.”

“Fair enough. I guess I can manage to make a full set for all of you, if you are fine with it. But I will need a third run for that.”

“Then we have a deal.” Yagver said while extending his hand. I gripped it tightly and shook it. “So, when are we leaving?”

“I Don’t know… Do you have something to do right now?” I asked him after some though.

“We have a quest to finish right now, but we can leave that for later.” The harpy said for them. But I shook my head.

“No need for that. I’ve been playing around for a long time and need to take a break anyway, so we can leave that for later.” I told them. But it’s true, I’ve been playing non-stop for a good time already. I don’t think that this can be very healthy. “So, how about eight hours real time, or one day in-game sounds?”

The group looked at each other and nodded.

“That is perfect for us.”

I nodded happily and added them as friends so I could tell when they are online. Afterwards, we left them on their own and walked away. Yuu approached me and asked worried.

“Are you leaving, Shishou?”

“Yeah, I need to take a break some times…” I said as I looked at them before it suddenly dawned on me. “Wait, is that time fine with the two of you? I mean, you have class and all that! I completely forgot!”

As I became worried, Han-chan, who had been quiet up to now started laughing loudly.

“No need to worry. We have enough attendance to afford a few days without going to class.” And as she said that, she passed her arm around Yuu’s waist and pulled her forward. “And Yuu-chan here can pass on Tokyo U’s exam with a perfect score already, so missing a few days isn’t any problem for her!”

So, not only is she probably very rich, good looking, a sheltered princess, master in martial arts, knows how to cook sushi, she is also a freaking Genius? If my anime-gathered knowledge is correct, Tokyo U is one of the best university in the whole japan! Shouldn’t the test be something around the lines of nearly impossible to ace?

I’m not sure, but this is what I would think of it.

Anyway, it seems that Yuu really is one heck of a perfect girl! Is there anything she can’t do?

“I am sorry for having treated you so badly, Yuuki-san. I will try to be more respectful towards you from now on.” I said half-jokingly while bowing to her, leaving her flustered.

“Wh-wha? Shishou! Why are you so formal so suddenly?” She became worried and tried to lift me. Han-chan was almost bursting into laughter.

“So, Yuu, what exactly do you do before getting to Insania?” I asked her normally after some time.

“Huh? Well… Studied and did martial arts, why?” She asked me while cutely tilting her head. I sighed and turned to Hanbei who nodded with a wry smile.

“It’s true. She did nothing more besides that.” Hanbei said wearily. “She didn’t even know how to use a computer to play when we first met! She was always studying one thing or another! It was to the point that even her family was worried!”

“Wait. Her family was worried that she studied too much?” I asked confused while starting to walk towards the main elevator.

“Father and mother? I worried them?” Yuu asked shocked, and Hanbei simply nodded.

“It was to the point that they wanted to throw a party when Yuu-chan asked for a D-lute!” She said making an exaggerated pose. “Heck! If Yuu asks her father to let her skip a day of school he will probably shed tears of joy!”

Wow. Now THAT is something amazing. I unconsciously petted a confused kitsune, feeling a bit of pity towards her. Although she didn’t understand why at first, she didn’t bother with removing her head from my hand and started to enjoy herself.

“Shishou… Where are we going? Were you not going to leave?” She asked after some time before adding worried. “Not that I want you to leave! It is not like that!

After laughing a bit I said.

“I’m going to the cathedral to change my title before I forget. Now that I’m done with my crafting, I can finally put on the title I have been holding on for.”

“Ooh… And what is that title?” Hanbei asked excited.

“You will see!” I said mysteriously, making her pout annoyed.

We reached the main elevator after some time in silence, and took it towards the Cathedral’s level. The girls became surprised when seeing the cathedral for the first time, as they stared wide eyed at it for some time before finally following me. I approached a nearby priest and asked what do I need to do to change titles. He said he would call a bishop to see me, and that I had to wait for a few minutes.

I nodded and sat in one of the benches near the front. The girls sat to my right while Aura and Lieutenant sat to my left.

For a moment, we sat there in silence and I took the time to write something. After some moments, I noticed Hanbei perking up, as she just remembered something, before looking at Yuu then at me.

“Hey, Gon. Where do you live?” She asked me.

“Brazil… Didn’t I tell you already?” I asked confused.

“No, no, no. I mean, where in Brazil do you live?” She asked.

Usually, it’s considered bad manners to ask about real life in online games, but when I think about it, I would say that me and the girls already know a good amount about each other, so it shouldn’t hurt to tell a bit more.

And although Yuu kept herself calm and seemingly distracted, I did notice that both her ears turned towards me.

“Rio.” I said simply, making both of them widen their eyes.

“You mean that you live in Rio de Janeiro? The one with Christ the redeemer? Garota de Ipanema, beaches, beautiful girls and so on?” Hanbei asked surprised, and for some reason Yuu became slightly sad at the last words.

But I shook my head, leaving her confused.

“Nope. While I do live in Rio de Janeiro, it’s not the one you are thinking of.” Okay! Time for a bit of geography class about Brazil! The two looked at me even more confused, making me chuckle before going on. “You see, there is both the state of Rio de Janeiro. State is kind of like your provinces, if I’m not wrong.” The two blinked surprised and nodded. “And there is the capital of the state, which is the city of Rio de Janeiro.”

The two of them opened their mouths in surprise before nodding while muttering ‘I see’. After some time, I went on.

“I live on another city within the state of Rio. More to the northeast. It is called Campos. It’s big enough to be called a large city, but it doesn’t get nowhere near the capital.” I told them in a good mood, before turning to them. “Why do you ask?”

Hanbei blinked surprised and shook her head while saying it was only curiosity, but for some reason Yuu took some more time to answer as she seemed to be focused on something. When she did notice me looking questioningly at her, she flinched in surprise while shaking her head.

I wanted to know a bit more about the reason behind the question, but before I could go in inquisition mode, the priest came followed by an important looking man in a white robe. Probably the bishop.

Actually, the important looking MAN might be a bit wrong, since he was a large two meters high minotaur wearing a white robe. With a strong looking body and the head of a bull covered in a thick black fur and two large shining white horns.

The bishop looked at me and widened his eyes in surprise for a good three seconds before finally shaking his head and recovering himself.

“Good afternoon, brothers… Or is it good night?” He peeked at the window for a moment. “No matter. So, which one of you want to change his title?”

I raised myself from the bench and approached him.

“Good evenoon, sir.” When in doubt, mix the two! The bishop held back a small smile. “I am Gondorrer, and I am the one who want the change of title.”

“I see. Please, follow-me towards the altar and kneel before it.” He pointed towards the main altar in front of us. I followed him and kneeled in front of it, while looking towards the huge statue of Cygnas. “I must remind you, but you can only change your title once every two days. Is that okay with you?”

“Not a problem.”

“Good. Then let us begin.”

Here, I kind of expect him to go to the other side of the altar, where he would do some kind of ritual and then a window would pop in front of me and I would choose my other titles. But I was genuinely shocked by what happened.

The bishop kneeled besides me while resting his hand on my shoulders, and said in a voice of prayer.

“Oh, great goddess. Me, Preet White-horn, hereby asks you to bless this golem who here wishes to change the road and the name through which he is known. May you hear my pleas and grant him his wish of changing his destiny.”

A pillar of light shone upon me when his prayers finished, and a list appeared in front of me.

Please, choose the title you wish to equip.->Pioneer of the Crafts (current)Matchmaker

The Mad

XD Owner of the cutest pet ever ;P

(none)

…

I really wanted to face-palm at that moment, but managed to hold myself back because it would be disrespectful towards Preet.

I quickly chose The Mad because why not, and the pillar disappeared.

“Did everything work out alright?” Preet asked me, and I nodded. He smiled gently and said. “Then I am glad. If you ever need some more help, please, feel free to come to one of the churches of Cygnas.” He said in a gentle tone before turning back and leaving.

I turned to the girls and nodded to them. I noticed that Han-chan was holding herself back with the laughter while Yuu looked a bit worried at me.

“So… That’s your new title?” Han-chan asked while laughing.

“Oh, it shows?” I asked surprised, and they nodded.

“It appear in small letters below your name, but you need to be even closer than you need to see the name.” She said while laughing. I nodded. No wonder I didn’t see anyone else with a title.

As Yuu tried to convince me to change my title to something less depreciative, and Hanbei was making fun of me and how the title fit me perfectly, another voice came from the silver furred fox between us.

“Hey, guys. Aura just got a new title too…” Cygnas said with a slightly awkward smile.

“Really? Which one?” I asked curious.

Cyg looked at me with a pitying smile and said.

“The Sane one.”

…

Really?

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(dead) Author's corner: STATUS TABLE! I SHALL HAVE MY REVENGE!

Well, table jokes aside, i need an idea for a joke poll. I feel like doing one but have no idea on what to do... If any one have an idea, do post it up, but let's try to keep it somewhat fair like Aura x Yuu.