Ep. 31 Gearing Up (Patreon)

As soon as I sit down to start working I realize that my new steel tools I made are worthless as they can't cut the spider carapace. With a sigh I set them aside and pull Black Razor and get to work.

I work diligently for hours only taking breaks to add more mana veins when my mana is full. I make Ruby a full set of armor, breastplate and skirt, bracers and greaves, I even make her a helmet.

*DING*

Congratulations! Skill Leatherworking has progressed to level 3!

Leatherworking

Level 3

Agi +3

You can craft crude items from leather.

'Okay that should do it for now, once she tries it on I can make final adjustments, hmm I'm almost out of steel, I guess I can use bone for all the fastenings?'

I tap the amulet and say "Ruby, can you come out for a minute? I need you to try this on."

Ruby zips out of the amulet as a puff and circles my head once before moving over to the bench and taking human form."

Ruby says "You want me to try this on?"

"Yes, please."

Ruby reaches down and grabs the bottom of her dress obviously about to pull it off. I quickly spin around so my back is to Ruby.

"No! No, you put it on over the dress!"

Ruby asks "Are you sure? Aren't you curious if my body is fully human?"

"No! No, I just need to see if the armor fits!"

Ruby says "Wow, master, I think there is more heat coming from your face than the forge!"

I cover my face with my hands as I listen to Ruby laughing behind me. Then I hear rustling and clipping noises for a minute.

Ruby says "Okay, you can turn around now, master."

I turn around to see Ruby has the armor on, all but the helmet which is in her hands as she looks at the slot in the back of the helmet.

"That is for your hair, I figured it would be uncomfortable to try and keep all that hair under the helmet."

Ruby puts the helmet on over her hair then as my jaw drops open her hair slithers up under the helmet and out through the slot all on its own.

"No fair!"

Ruby laughs and says "I'm a spirit, my body is made of energy so I can control it how I want."

"Okay, move around to see how it fits, I haven't quite finished it yet I wanted to be able to make adjustments."

Ruby moves her body around and says "It fits surprisingly well, especially since you didn't take any measurements. Just how well do you know my body master?"

I cough and look away and say "I just have a good eye for details."

Ruby smirks at me as she tests her mobility in the armor. I walk out into the larger cave and Ruby follows, I draw my swords and offer them hilt first to Ruby.

Ruby takes the swords and moves away from me so she has room and she goes through a combat routine. I watch her intently, just to see how the armor fits of course.

"Okay, you can stop now, I can see what adjustments I need to make. By the way, do you like two swords or would you like to try other combat forms?"

Ruby says "No, I'm good with the two swords, it feels natural for some reason."

I undo the sheathes from my belt and hand them to her one at a time so she can sheathe the swords.

"Try putting them at your waist, I need to know if you want them there or on your back."

Ruby tries it both ways then says "Definitely on my back would be my choice."

"Okay, any chaffing or pinching anywhere that I need to fix?"

Ruby says "Nope! It works great. I only see one problem."

"What problem?"

Ruby says "This armor is way better than yours. You are the master, you need better armor or it will look weird."

I look down at myself then say "Umm, yeah I guess so, this was my first attempt and I had limited materials at the time. I guess once I finish yours I should remake mine too."

Ruby smiles at her victory and hands back the swords, then she starts taking the armor off piece by piece and handing it to me. As she hands me the last piece she once again acts as if she is going to take off the dress just to watch me spin away and stomp back into the forge room blushing. She follows me laughing and then shifts to her spirit form and zips into the amulet where she can relax while I do my crafting.

I sit down and clear my mind, then I enter the inner world. I quickly burn through my mana expanding the network of mana veins I have built. Then I set about making the needed adjustments to Ruby's armor.

Once that is done I get up and head back to camp to get some food. After I am done eating I gather the scrimshaw tools I made and head to the spider room to gather some bones. Once I have what I need I return to the forge room and start carving the fasteners and clips I need to complete the armor.

*DING*

Congratulations! Skill Scrimshaw has progressed to level 8!

Scrimshaw

Level 8

Agi +8 Int +4

You can carve bone into many items.

Next I make two new sheathes for my swords that will clip into the back of Ruby's armor. Then I attach the sheathes and add all the fasteners and clips to the armor, and a few hours later her armor is complete. I set it all aside neatly and start the long process of making myself a new set of armor.

I stop after a few more hours to burn through my mana and go get myself something to eat. After eating I return to the forge room and try to work on my armor but I just can't keep my eyes open. It is then I realize it has been weeks since I actually slept instead of meditating so I return to camp and climb into my hammock and am almost instantly asleep.

When I wake up twelve hours later I feel amazing, I quickly catch and eat breakfast and head back to the forge room. I sit down and once again start working on my armor, now with much greater focus. Rather than using solid pieces like I did the first time I am carving bands and scales and attaching them to make armor that is much more flexible.

*DING*

Congratulations! Skill Leatherworking has progressed to level 4!

Leatherworking

Level 4

Agi +4

You can craft items from leather.

I am having to make a lot more precise cuts because of the smaller pieces so it takes me a lot longer than it did to make Ruby's armor. It is time consuming and the only reason I am willing to do it is because of the forge room.

*ITEM CREATED*

Spider Carapace Banded Armor

Defense +9 Resist Poison +10 Webwalk

Durability 150/150

*DING*

Congratulations! Skill Leatherworking has progressed to level 5!

Leatherworking

Level 5

Agi +5

You can craft items from leather.

'Wow that turned out really well! Now all that's left is new swords.'

I check and find I should have just enough steel left for two katanas, that is as long as I don't mess up and have to start over. I am about to start on the first one when I have an idea.

"Summon Elemental, Fire!"

MP: 265/365

Light swirls and gathers and a fire bursts into life, it is about the size of a chair and has two arms and eyes that stare at me.

*DING*

Congratulations! Skill Summon Elemental has progressed to level 2!

Summon Elemental

Level 2

MP Cost 75 +5/Hour

You can summon a lesser elemental of the desired element.

"Okay, your job is when I pull the metal out of the forge and start hammering it you are to hold the metal on the same end as the tongs and do your best to keep it at its current temperature."

The blob of fire seems to nod so I decide to give it a try and get to work. Where I kept failing before was the metal would cool before I was done folding it and it would break, now with the fire elemental keeping the metal hot I am actually able to fold the steel successfully. It takes me a little over two hours to fold the steel ten times but to me it is more than worth it when I finish.

*ITEM CREATED*

Folded Steel Katana

Hit +5 Damage +10

Durability 125/125

*DING*

Congratulations! Skill Blacksmithing has progressed to level 8!

Blacksmithing

Level 8

Str +8 Fire Resist +8

You can turn metal ore into useful items.

I look at the elemental and say "Good work, thank you, you may go now."

The fire elemental seems happy as it fades away. I am also happy as I look at my new katana blade, the only downside is it took more material than I expected so I don't have enough to make another. I quickly take the blade and insert it into the mushroom wood hilt so I can take a few swings with it.

The balance of the blade is almost perfect, my only issue is that the hilt is too light and doesn't feel right in my hand. So I sit down and sort through to find the heaviest bone I have and start carving a new hilt. Once it is done I attach the blade and try again, this time it is much better.

I take my time and go through every type of swing I can remember from various anime and manga. The sword is exactly what I have been hoping to make and I am extremely happy with myself.

I however am not satisfied, I want two, so I return to my camp, grab my new mining pickaxe and a torch, and start to check the walls of the cavern foot by foot. I check high and low, I have no intention of missing it if there is iron anywhere in here. I check the walls of my camp first but find nothing, then I jump the river, move to the west wall and start searching.

After about an hour I have searched fifty feet of the west wall when I spot something shiny. I quickly move to it and sure enough it is iron reflecting the light of the torch. I stick the torch into a crevice in the wall and start hammering away at the rock around it with the pickaxe. It takes me forty-five minutes to mine fifty pounds of iron ore.

*DING*

Congratulations! Skill Mining has progressed to level 8!

Mining

Level 8

Str +8 End +4

You are adept at mining ore.

Fifty pounds of iron ore will smelt down to four ingots of steel, which is how much I need to make another katana. Once I have that I rush back to the forge room with it and as soon as the forge heats up I start smelting it. Once I have the four ingots I summon a fire elemental again and start forging a second katana. It takes me a little less than two hours this time but I succeed.

*ITEM CREATED*

Folded Steel Katana

Hit +5 Damage +10

Durability 125/125

*DING*

Congratulations! Skill Blacksmithing has progressed to level 9!

Blacksmithing

Level 9

Str +9 Fire Resist +9

You can turn metal ore into useful items.

*DING* *DING* *DING*

Congratulations! You have evolved an ability!

Superior Strength has evolved into Supreme Strength due to Strength reaching one hundred!

Supreme Strength

One-handed add Str Stat to damage.

Two-handed add Str Stat x 2.5 to damage.

Wait so for a one-handed weapon I add one hundred to the damage? But with a two-handed weapon I would be adding two hundred and fifty to the damage?!? But I don't have a two-handed weapon! I look at my two brand new katanas, if I had known about this I would have made a nodachi!

Even though I am upset by the new ability I still craft a bone hilt for the second katana. Once it is complete I sit down to carve two sheathes for my katanas.