It wasn't as bad as I was making it out to be, not that it was a walk in a field of flowers. My dreamscape was the same, empty, black expanse where I could practice my Abilities. I could still summon dummy hostiles and shred them to pieces and they would still regenerate. The Spells I recently learned from the Faerie Dragons were fun. I could spray a glittering mist that inflicts a random Debuff, not that the dummy could show me if the Spell failed or not, and with the low sound of a roar from just below my sternum I could increase my Strength and Dexterity by ten percent. That, in turn, also affected other Stats: HP Max and Regen, SP Max and Regen, and Agility.

And then this feeling of dread would fill me up like I was a bucket. When it reached the point where it would overflow, the scenery around me would flood with blurry images. There's movement in the images, but I couldn't see exactly what they were. They were unbearably slow or rapidly fast, but all the figures were always images too fuzzy to make out properly. Seeing them chilled my core, my extremities shaking. A cold sweat drenched my dream clothes.

And then nothingness. My surroundings returning to an empty, black landscape. But the feelings remained. It only happened a few times that night, but each time I was suprised that I wasn't woken due to the irrepressible fear and anxiety I would feel. It was like a dying dream that got closer and closer to your moment of death with each replay, but your mind refused to wake up.

I let out a long, wide yawn in the crafting area of the vardo, a wave of giggling sweeping my own noise out like an undertow. Only a few of the crafters are laughing, most of the sounds come from the nearby play area. The idea seed was planted by Dawn, cultivated by Elsbeth and a team of crafters, and the fruit enjoyed by the children. It's essentially a wooden jungle gym in the shape of a castle with slides, swings, tunnels, and secret rooms. The whole structure is attached to a wooden floor and the floor is anchored to the ground inside the vardo. Even the older kids enjoy being in it.

A smack to the back of my head knocks me out of my daydream and I whince, "Pay attention! Just cuz ya got yourself a fancy new tool doesn't make you a better Alchemist!" Mika shakes a fist in my face, Serenity giggles behind her, and Kona rolls her eyes and sighs in exasperation. I draw my shoulders up in embarrassment, rubbing the spot where she hit me.

Discovering recipes and blueprints on one's own boosts Artisan levels exponentially. Crafting something higher than one's own level does so as well. So, when someone like, oh let's say, a lucky Ifrixian comes up with a poison that creates a fog of lavender smoke that has similar effects to Glamour Breath, his Artisan level jumping several times over shouldn't be a suprise.

It did take a second Faerie Dragon Poison Sac, since I burned the first one. I was lucky that the smoke from the burning organ was sweet smelling and inert. From the successful attempt, there is enough to divide the batch into twenty, two ounce, round bottles.

[Success! You crafted an Expert Consumable/ Poison]

[This item does not have a pre determined name. Would you like to name it Y/N?]

[Level up! You are now a level 19 Alchemist!]

[Purple Haze. Expert Consumable. Poison

[Throwable. Create a 15foot diameter cloud of smoke that lasts thirty seconds. 90% chance to cause one of several Debuffs: Dazed, Confused, Charmed, Frightened, Indifferent, Sleep]

I guess I'm the only person crazy enough to use the poison sacs in conjunction with some Small Black Rose Alraune Petals along with powdered Faerie Dragon Feather. I let out a heavy sigh of relief only to receive a glare from Mika. Her drawn together, angry eyebrows don't move as her frown slowly transforms into a grin. The grin continues to grow and I wonder if it'll eventually be wide enough to split her head in half.

"Lucky you. You're my second pupil to pass level fifteen, you know?" Her eyes squint, almost predatory, and her knuckles are white on her fists. A flicker of light flashes in her gaze.

I'm stopping a third bottle with a cork when I glance around at Kona and Serenity. They both shrug at me. Serenity holds up a single finger on one hand and five on the other. Kona only holds up a one and a two, an angry pout on her face.

"Yeah," Mika continues, "Technically, I'm teaching you right now, yes? Well, that means… I CAN LEVEL PAST TWENTY FIVE NOW." The entire vardo shuts up. She has all of our attention and she knows it. If pride could be a Stat, she would've increased it a hundred fold.

"That's right mortals!" Her pose is haughty and the smugness in her tone causes a collective eyeroll through out the entire populace of Linqs, but we still listen to her in anticipation. "After Artisan level twenty five, all I need to do is reach fifty and I can evolve it to a higher tier." Only a handful of people applaud her proclamation, Serenity and I among them.

"That's cool. What are you going to be?" I ask as I continue my own work. I try not to think about all the new loot I'll be getting and focus on her answer. But, apparently the short version is she doesn't know yet. She's known a lot of people who've passed twenty five, but none who have gotten close to fifty. Not only that, but she couldn't find much information regarding what happens when she does reach fifty. I casually mention Misters Cogney and Gearos and a shrewd and contemplative looks takes over her face.

A short while later, I decide to reward my hard work with a little unboxing. I find a private spot in the garage. Now that the vardo is done being upgraded, no one is milling about. First, I have my Pawn Chest that I won in the fight. Dawn and Rachel had both pulled a Journeyman Belt and Apprentice Gloves respectively.

[Shock Absorber. Advanced Journeyman Accessory. Belt

[Every 4hours, this belt absorbs a maximum of 150HP worth of electric damage. Once the maximum is reached, damage is taken as usual. The timer begins after a single point is taken and resets to 150 after exactly 4hours.]

[Battle Ready Gloves. Advanced Apprentice. Hands

[Durability: 170/170

[Armor: 2

[Bonus: Skill: Quickdraw]

I gingerly slide my Pawn Chest open and find my prize in the form of a loot card.

[Nice! You received 100*Units of Fine Sand!]

I'm disappointed to say the least, but still intrigued by the crafting material. Apparently, one unit is a highly dense, one foot all around cube of sand. Right away I think of possibilities: added weight, sandbags for flooding or defense, and with the right amount of heat we can have glass. If only I had the rucksack when I was hauling ass in the desert.

"Well," I scold myself, "It's not like I don't have enough crap already." And just like that, I move on to the piece de la resistance. The Jester's Box sits in my hands in its familiar red, white, and black cubic form. The possibilites are endless. It could either contain something I desperately want or will ominously need, both depending on what it is. I wish someone else was here to join me in this, but everyone's got errands to run. On that note, I have one more day of grinding to look forward to before we get all of our affairs in order and head north to our final destination.

Gaveston did ask us why we're heading to the spot on the map with a note of uneasiness in his voice. When we asked what his concern was, he merely mentioned the likelihood of high level monster settlements. Also, that it was the site of ancient battles and ruined cities. Why no one tried to clear them is anyone's guess, but nobody ever goes that far west from Coronus anyway.

I open the box and a light envelopes it and my hands. When the light dissipates and my prize is revealed, I'm stunned. Half relieved and half annoyed by the item in my hands I don't bother reading the description until I strip off my custom pants and put on my prize. I also check on the other items in the set to see what they unlocked.

[Eldritch Soldier's Pants. Advanced Expert. LegUnder. 3/3

[Durability: 120/120

[Armor: 2

[+40MP Max, -1sec MP Regen wait

[Set Bonus: +1Armor and Willpower per 12Arcane Total of wearer to party members in 10foot radius. Does not affect wearer.]

[Eldrith Soldier's Tunic. Advanced Expert. ChestUnder. 3/3

[Durability: 120/120

[Armor: 2

[+2Arcane, +3Willpower

[Set Bonus: Reaction: If HP falls below 20%, autocast Spell: White Flame I on self for 0MP. Cooldown is 1hour.]

[Eldritch Soldier's Bracers. Advanced Expert. Forearm. 3/3

[Durability: 150/150

[Armor: 1

[Bonus: Spell: Minor Arcane Shield II

[Set Bonus: Feat: Boltsmith

My excitement is replaced by fear as whispers and a sickly green fog fill the garage. The voices speak in a strange language that tugs at the corners of my brain. It's as if I am aware that I know the words, but not the translation. The tone is pleading, almost frantic, until the whispers end and trail off in an echo. The fog clears. A single word is all that's left. The echoes in the garage and in my mind are a single word and the last vestiges of the voice vanish.

"…Kilmosoth…"

[Minor Quest Received: Bury me with my name

[There is an ancient soldier who's armor you are wearing somewhere in Regalus that has been denied its burial rites. You will know when you have found it. You will know what to do you when you find it. You will be rewarded by the soldier's god. No one else may be added to this Quest.]

[Reward: ???]

Hm. It's not the first set of stuff rewarded to me from a dead NPC. For a moment I wonder if it's a way of recycling these items back into the world. It's weird, though, because I didn't receive a Quest for the Grey Wanderer set. Actually, it's weird that I was given the items as rewards and ended up exactly where I needed to be with them. I may not have needed to give up the whole set, since she only seemed interested in the mask, but how could I deny her the sash and mantle after seeing how much it meant to her? If I were a conspiracy theorist, I might assume the game set me up originally to see how I would handle the situation and then offer me a real Quest with a real reward. Well, I assume it's going to be a real reward, not that I ever expected anything more than the loot itself.

Oh, and the description is so vague. How will I ever know if I'm in the right place or if I've found the right corpse? I ponder this as I bring up the Spell and Feat added by the equipment.

[White Flame I(25MP) 10feet/ Heal target +Arcane Total. This Spell is fire based.]

Short, sweet, and to the point. It's a strange distinction at its end, but it makes sense since it is an Arcane based Spell and not Faith based. I'm guessing if someone had the appropriate elemental resistance or weakness then the Spell would be affected appropriately.

[Boltsmith:

[Prerequisite: 50Base Arcane, Arcane Bolt Spell

[Prerequisite: For each Weapon/Kill 10 hostiles.

[When casting Arcane Bolt, the caster may keep a single bolt in their hand and mold it into a melee weapon. Duration of the weapon will be 1hour/dismissed/destroyed/leaves caster's grasp. The weapon's stats will be as follows:

[Durability: 90/90

[Strength,Dexterity/Melee/0

[Base Damage: 10%Arcane Base, rounded down

[Weapon is considered weightless. Damage dealt will be considered arcane damage. This is considered a magic weapon. The weapon is still considered a bolt Spell.]

Let's consider this new Feat. For now, I would only be able to create a dagger or a shortsword, since those were the only two weapons I used since the beginning before I acquired Alpha Wolf's Pride. The base damage is only ten percent of my Arcane Base. Minus all the bonuses, that puts the weapon's base at around seven. My claws have a base of eighteen. On paper, it should be obvious that the Feat is quite useless to me. But…

I summon a single bolt in my right hand and watch the purple ball squash itself and come to a point. I can feel a static connection tingling in my hand as I grip the handle of the less than two foot blade of my arcane shortsword. I wave the weapon through the air and if I didn't get the feedback from the handle I would think I wasn't wielding anything at all. Its like I'm holding an air guitar while my hand is starting to fall asleep. I cast Minor Arcane Shield with my left hand and move the purple lens to my flank with my will, my forearm acting like a conduit to the Spell.

"Now the set name makes sense." I say in awe of the glowing, magical weapon.

I thrust a lunging stab at the air as I've seen Victoria do, the shield moving along appropriately with me. Slash, slash, step, turn, back slash. This is so very co--

A throat clearing noise startles me and I release the shortsword. It fizzles into the air and I dismiss the shield. I reluctantly turn to see Dawn and Victoria, both trying to stifle their laughter. "How much of that did you see?" I croak, rubbing the back of my neck.

"Enough to know you need practice," Vic answers with an understanding smile, Dawn cackling behind her. She withdraws a Stalker Saber and her own shield and Dawn does the same with her Thunderstruck, her armlet flowing like mercury into the shape of a kite shield. "We've got some time before you have your priority training to fulfill. Tell us about this new Ability of yours…"

Two hours. It took me two hours to get my body and mind in synch with just the basics that they were showing me. Proper posture, proper striking, proper defending. Nothing more advanced than that. Vic gave me a few weapons to practice with, explaining how to use them efficiently.

Dawn got a bit of a shock during one of her turns when an unexpected activation of my new mask's set bonus causes a second energy blade to double strike her parry. It threw off her timing and I used the distraction to sneak a slash to her chest. Vic admonished both of us. She scolded Dawn for being caught off guard and me for not attempting a more critical attack since she was practically wide open.

It was then that I shared all of my other new updates; Spells, Feats, and Equipment. The pants would work best if I were a member of the vanguard, but that would mean I would have to get better in my training.

They were just as confused about the Quest, but there is nothing else we can do about it. Vic listed off some names of historic battles throughout Arc's timeline that she could remember from school. All of which pepper Regalas and all of which could have left thousands of dead soldiers littering the battlefields.

An old gag appears from nowhere and two swift slaps to my rear happened before I get sent off to complete my chores. So, with no one else available to accompany me, I'm left with no other option. I actually go off on a solo adventure of my own accord.

Aaaaand Goblins. Yep. Goblins.

The southern river, called the Cambrea, flows through the Solomas Forest to the east and veers south just before colliding with it's northern cousin river, the Dambrean, which flows west and north. The southern farm fields, which are closest to the Cambrea are also very close to the split forest. Normally, some form of defense is put up at the border where civilization and nature are in contest, but there hadn't been any significant threats in the Solomas Forest for generations. I mean, until now of course. And, of course, it wouldn't be Wolves or Stalkers or more Faerie Dragons pestering these farmers. It had to be Goblins.

It's actually good news and not so bad news for me. The good news is I get to practice and increase my kill counts with the weapons Vic loaned me; Elsbeth's old improvised rapier, one of Ren's iron sabers, her personal Thunderstuck, and a leftover Dual Needle. All of them use Dexterity as the modifier, except for Needles, and Dexterity is my main Stat aside from Arcane. It only matters for the physical weapon, so once I get ten kills I can use whatever I want with Dexterity as the mod. There are several dozens of Goblins so I know I'll get at least a couple new weapons in my repertoire.

A makeshift village reminiscent of the one I had found near the start of the game had been made in a clearing by a large rock formation and they must have been trying to bolster their numbers before making an attempt on the farms. Unfortunately for them, some of the greedy little buggers couldn't wait for that day and were caught stealing livestock and crops. Instead of confronting them directly, the farmers turned to the adventurer's guild. And since the quest paid so little, it was the only one left on the board when I got there.

The not so bad news is the XP and rewards are negligible to say the least. All of the loot is trash and everything about them is rather unpleasant on at least two of my senses. None of those points are the main purpose of me being in a forest stalking Goblins, but in fact, the best ways for me to focus on my homework.

They're curious to me, since they seem intelligent enough to create a level of society but, just like Gnolls, they don't appear to be civilized enough for polite society. Their concept of ownership, for example, can be boiled down to "Take if it is takeable and hide it if you don't want it taken," or so it seems. Their primitive structures seem to simply be places for them to hide stolen goods and not for privacy or even as proper shelters. These Goblins didn't appear to have any "enlightened" captives for breeding purposes as some forms of media have started to portray. There are females goblins and, much to my disgust, they have no compunction toward mating in public.

Fun fact, the females are much more aggressive. No bigger than the males, their preferred weapons are their claws and teeth. They also prefer to attack me from behind, targeting my legs or my back. If I didn't have my hearing based radar, they could easily swarm me. Although, the salty, rotten meat smell they all emit would probably give them away even if my nose didn't have a special Ability.

Several goblins later, I can change my magic weapon into three more weapons. They don't keep any bonuses the original weapons have, but I don't really need them. Out of sheer curiosity, and a little boredom from the tedious, wholesale slaughter, I tried to activate the Bolt Master's Ring after I ran a goblin through the chest with the arcane spear. My weapon took off like a rocket into the goblin, dealing the seventy five percent damage of the Rifle mode. I'm guessing it's because the bolt is technically still in my hand. Right away, a wicked idea is born and, let's just say the goblins behind an unlucky test subject didn't appreciate the party popper that erupted from their friend's back. In Shotgun mode, the bolt becomes a cone of energy and it works as efficiently as I had hoped. The ring also let me change the colors of the weapons, but not the shape, since it would go against the weapon ruling. Also, unlike a regular bolt, I could only change the weapons to a single color, probably so I can't make them look like real weapons. Poop.

I stand in the center of the camp, looking around and waiting for more attackers. When none come, I notice that my regens are already in motion and filling up my rainbow bar. I start investigating the tents, a nagging feeling in my head tells me something is wrong, but I can't put my finger on it. What can it be? What's… missing?

A boss? Can a Quest, even one as simple as this, be so easy?

[You received 690XP!

[You have declined the item drops. Confirm Y/N?]

I mentally click yes.

[Level up! You have reached Level 21!]

[You have 7 Stat points, 1 level to allocate!]

Interesting. It looks like I can still multiclass if I really want to. I put all seven points into Dexterity, since I won't see another VigeStat Point until ninety and both Dex and Arcane are at seventy. I figure the boost in Agility and weapon damage now will still be worth it later. My claws now have a total damage of 101 and my Agility is a solid 105. I'm pretty sure I can ride those number for a while and bump up Arcane so I can get another Spell. I remember the list and it still gets my giddy. I could go for a new Skill, but since I have way more MP than SP, I'm going to stick with the magic.

I glance at the rock formation nearby. I understand the usage of the clearing as a location for their encampment, but wonder why they didn't use the rocks. They probably could have used stones to make a more defensable area. With nothing else to do, I walk over to the formation.

It's a little over twice my height and made from a type of granite, several patches of moss littered all over it. Layers of the rock lounge in a stack. I furrow my brow when a concept pops into my mind. If the encampment is where the common mobs live, then…

I switch over to Thermal Vision. The rock is only slightly warmer than the air around it, but there is an odd area venting much warmer air from small cracks. I switch back to normal sight and all I can see is a large shadow in between rocks. But, as I get closer, I cover my nose and mouth. It's like the rocks are constantly farting in my face. I move in closer and switch to Darkvision.

A wooden door! It's painted to blend in with the shadows.

The door is locked, but the air escaping it smells like a Goblin toilet sauna. I don't want to bust it open and ruin any chance of suprise I might still have since nothing came out during all of the fighting. I sigh to myself, knowing exactly what I'm going to have to do next. I shake my head and prepare to delve into the darkness.