Avyck3721
patreon
Ch 63
🕑 Added 2025-03-13 00:34:03 +0000 UTCAfter a week of grinding levels, faction LM’s village had transformed again. Even from a distance, the changes were impossible to ignore. More houses stretched toward the mountain slopes, their log-and-stone structures blending into the terrain. The dirt roads were vanishing beneath carefully laid cobblestone, giving the place an actual sense of permanence.
It felt like a real settlement.
But I didn’t have time to admire it for long. We only had six hours until the first raid challenge, and I needed a status report. That meant tracking down Jared.
I found him easily—arguing with a group of men, his hands moving in quick, sharp gestures. When he saw me, he waved me over, his expression a mix of relief and irritation.
“We need a way to communicate when you and every single fighter in the village disappear for a week!” Jared said, voice tight. “I had no idea if you were coming back, or if we were suddenly on our own.”
I rubbed the back of my neck, feeling a little guilty.
“Yeah… I guess we got kind of caught up in the grind.”
Jared’s glare deepened. “No kidding.”
I grinned, trying to defuse the tension. “Hey, at least we all made insane progress, if I do say so myself.”
His scowl softened—just a bit. “Good. But next time, would it be so much to ask to just send someone back with occasional updates?”
Yeah that really wasn’t asking much. I’m not sure why no one thought of it. I mean I know why I hadn’t thought of it. I was making money and gaining levels. It was freaking fun and I lost track of time.
“Next time we should rotate a garrison. If something had attacked while you were gone, we wouldn’t have had anyone to defend the village.”
I blinked. Right. That’s... an obvious oversight.
“…Yeah, that’s on me. I’ll make sure we rotate guards moving forward.”
Jared nodded, accepting my answer, before shifting gears. “Come on. There’s a lot to show you before the next raid arrives.”
He grabs my arm and begins half draggin half leading me through the village, and I quickly realize the buildings weren’t the only thing that had changed. The place was busier, the tension of our first days here gone. People walked with purpose. Damon hammers away at new weapons, merchants barter over supplies, and new structures are going up everywhere.
Eventually, Jared releases my arm in front of a brand-new building. A wide storefront with a large, hand-carved sign that read:
“Shards & Enchantments”
I raise a brow. “This is new.”
Jared smirks fondly at the new building. “Your ability to state the obvious is truly unmatched.”
I’m happy his earlier sour mood is shifting. I shoot him a look. “Someone’s feeling a bit bipolar today aren’t they?”
He chuckles wryly. “Come inside.”
I follow him in, and my eyes widen like a kid in a candy shop.
The room is literally filled with crystal shards—shelves lined with gleaming stones in every color, each labeled with a brief description.
I stop in front of one:
Crude Shard of Water Spout
Creates a small spout of water from an associated object that can be activated with a touch.
Cost: 100 UBC
I turn to Jared. “Are you kidding me? How do these work?”
A familiar voice calls from the next room. “Why don’t you ask the expert?”
Jessica.
She strides into the shop, her usual confident grin plastered to her face. It suits her well with her blonde hair just passing her ears. She reminds me of a fit soccer mom, even though I am pretty sure she doesn’t have any kids.
“Alright, expert. What’s the deal with these shards? And where did they all come from?”
Jessica folds her arms. “Since you asked so nicely, I suppose I shall bequeath upon you my knowledge.”
I narrowemy eyes. “Bequeath?”
“Yes. Bequeath.”
I sigh and then proffer a rolling wave with a slight bow. “Bequeath away.”
Instant regret.
Jessica rolls her eyes. “Okay, listen up. Have you used a shard before?”
I hit her with the customary shrug. “Yeah once or twice. The second time didn’t go so great. I ended up basically making a self inflicting taser knife.” I reflect on my second attempt at using a chaos shard fondly.
“I wonder what happened to my shocky pointy friend?” I stare off into the distance.
Jessica cocks her head confused.
“Uhhh..OK?” She opens her mouth ready to ask more, then shuts it again and shakes her head. Wisely she chooses to ignore the tangent.
“Just yes, I have used shards before.” I glance at Jared and he mouths–shocky pointy friend?
I ignore him and Jessica ignores us both. Getting back to her explanation.
“Then you already know the basics. You channel mana into the shard, and boom—the effect happens.”
That was pretty much my experience in the wave trial. It left me wondering though. Was mana the charge? Did they have to keep stuffing mana into the enchantment?
“Yeah, but do they need constant recharging or something?”
Jessica’s grin widens. “That’s the best part—they’re self-sustaining.”
That stops me. “…Wait. What?”
“Yup. Once activated, they pull from ambient mana.”
That is huge. But it leaves a lot more questions that I don’t know if I want to get into right now. Like, what happens when the ambient mana in an area isn’t enough to power the enchantments?
My mind immediately moves to potential uses—water purification, heating, defensive enchantments.
“And this is just the basic stuff?” I ask.
Jessica's head bounces and down. “Yep. Basic up enchantments for utilities. But weapons and armor? That’s where I come in.”
I raise a brow. “Meaning?”
“My enchantments scale with my level. The stronger I get, the more powerful the enhancements become.”
I whistle. “That’s ridiculously good.”
We talk for a while longer, but after a few minutes, my brain is fired from all the new information. Finally, I decided to cut to the chase.
“How’s the chaos infusion project going?”
“Finished. About a 50/50 success rate. Nothing too fancy, but it’s a start.” She turns, picks up a chest of holding, and hands it over.
“Here. It’s all yours.”
I pull out 500 UBCs and offer it to her.
Jessica snorts. “Not a chance. They’re free.”
I drop the coins on the counter and walk out before she can argue.
