B01DCAV4W2 (S) (37 page)

Richter ran through the forest and enjoyed the warmth of the rising sun.  As he ran though, he reflected on the realities of his situation.  The Land was a dangerous place.  Each challenge he had come across seemed more deadly than the last.  As much growth as his skills had undergone over the last few days, he knew in his heart that it wasn’t enough.  It was time to do some skill grinding.

First though, he had to allocate his Characteristic points.   He cursed himself when he saw that he had points that he could have invested into Endurance or Agility during his long flight through the night.  He had seen the flashing notification icon, but was so busy just staying alive that he hadn’t taken the time to check it.   His frustration didn’t last long though because now he had eighteen points to distribute! 

Even though it wasn’t sexy, he decided to put four points into Endurance.  During short fights he was okay, but again and again, he seemed to need large amounts of stamina.  He also put four points into Intelligence and two into Wisdom.  Away from the Mist Village and its mana pool, his mana had dropped at a frightening rate during his fight with the guardian.  Four points went into Constitution. The health and increased stamina regeneration should help in almost any situation.  The last four points he thought about for a bit. 

Now that Fumiko had restored his boyish good looks, he didn’t think he needed to invest in Charisma at the moment.  If Krom and the other village dwarves were any indication, his upcoming negotiations with the dwarves of the Serrated Mountains would be based more on actions than a winning smile.  He decided to invest in Agility.  He didn’t want to sound like a punk, but he definitely would have liked to have been able to run away from the rock giant a bit faster.  He also doubted that the giant was the last big baddie he’d have to run from.  Three points went into Agility.  With his last point, Richter kept to what was now becoming a tradition.  It went into Luck.  His skill percentage points he held back on. 

As soon as he confirmed his choices, his body flooded with power.  His steps became slightly lighter and he moved faster and further with each stride.  His health, mana and stamina bars grew a bit longer as well.  Richter gave out a loud whoop and kept running through the morning. 

Before he knew it, he was in front of the enchanted veil that hid his glade from view.  Pushing through, he felt the same tingle that he always experienced when he crossed the magical barrier.  The sun had risen fully and was shining down on the small meadow.  When he had first come to The Land, the entire place was festooned with colorful herbs and flowers, despite the fact that winter had not fully moved on yet.  His last visit, Sion had harvested most of them to plant in the same meadow as the Quickening, leaving the glen green and bare.  Richter was happy to see that some of the herbs were already growing again.  He exhaled a long and satisfied breath.  It was good to be back. 

Richter walked over to the Pool of Clarity.  He closed his eyes for a moment in reverence to honor the spirit of Karim the Knowledgeable.  The Pool had really been his ace in the hole since coming to The Land.  Richter almost felt like Karim was his brother.   He thanked him quietly and then got to work.

Richter quickly filled all of his empty potion vials from the Pool.  He filled several hundred before he ran out.   Then he withdrew the items he had gotten from the sprite alchemist.  When he had found Sonirae’s vials that held several doses of a potion each, he had asked himself why he couldn’t do the same thing.  The alchemist had told him that potions would lose their potency if kept in an average container, but as long as a vessel was properly prepared, it could hold any number of doses.  Each of the light wooden containers the sprite had given him was a cube with rounded edges.  A capped bottle neck protruded from the tops.

Richter placed the bottle under the surface and watched as bubbles quickly flowed up from the neck.  Soon it was full and Richter picked it up and examined it. 

You have found: Potion of Clarity.  Potion Level: Essence.  Strength: Pure.  Weight 8.2 kg.  Experience increased by 25% for the next twenty-four hours.  Doses 256 of 256.

Cha-CHING!  He would have more than enough to sell and provide for his personal use.  If Basil’s trade mission was a success, Richter planned on sending him right back out.  Learning epic spells and sword fighting skills was great and all, but money seemed just as important in The Land as it had been on Earth.  While the glade wasn’t too far from the Mist Village, it was still almost a three-day hike that he couldn’t be sure he would have the time to make any time soon.  

Richter quickly filled up the other containers he had received from the sprite alchemist.  Once again, he was supremely thankful for the weight reducing properties of his Bag of Holding.  Time and again, it proved itself as the most valuable item he had found since coming to The Land.  Alma flew in a loop above his head, drawing his gaze.  A fond smile formed on his face.  Well, maybe not the
most
valuable item, he corrected. 

Once he was done filling up, he left the glade and started running again.  The sprites heavily patrolled the lands near their home, so he felt relatively safe, but Richter was still eager to get back to the safety of the Hearth Tree.   Alma scouted from above.  He was happy and relieved when he saw the massive tree nestled in the glade of tall gold grass.

A sprite patrol met him before he made it to the Hearth Tree.  One sprite broke off and ran ahead while the patrol escorted him in.  Fumiko found him when he finished walking through the golden grass and gave him an earful about stupid bravado and unnecessary risks.  He took the scolding in stride.  Seeing that he didn’t seem in the least bit contrite, she just shook her head and was about to stalk off, when Richter stopped her. 

“I’m sorry Fumiko!  Really I am.  I didn’t mean to make you worry.  I just wanted to get you a thank you gift.”  He took her hand and placed three Potions of Clarity in it.

She glared at him a second longer, then her face softened into a smile.  Richter smiled back relieved that once again something sparkly got him out of trouble with a woman.  The small woman reached up and lightly patted his cheek, “You may be a gyoti, but you’re a cute gyoti.  I accept your generous gift.  Take one more parting gift from me.”

She kept her hand on his cheek and laid the other on his heart.  Magic coursed through him and suddenly he
knew.

Congratulations!  You have learned the spell: Summon Weak Life Wisp!  Summons an entity comprised of Life magic.  Will float in the area and restore a total of 100 mana to you or one of your allies.  This is a spell of Life Magic.  Cost 60 mana.  Duration: 5 minutes.  Range: Self.  Cast Time: 3 second.  Cooldown: 20 minutes.

Richter hadn’t been expecting such a reward, but he was glad to have it!  He thanked Fumiko profusely.  She just laughed again and then walked off.  Richter stared after her and realized that he definitely could be into an older women.  Then he realized, he was staring at the sprite’s ass and that other people were definitely watching him do it.  “Okay then,” he said clapping his hands together.  Then he went to find his escort. 

Soon he was standing on the edge of the golden glade at the head of a troupe of ten sprites.  Some of the elders saw him off.  They pressed several restore health, mana and stamina potions into his hands.  He tried to pay the sprites for the gift, but they begged off, so he simply bowed and thanked them.  Then he turned and started heading home. 

The first two days were uneventful.  He spoke to the sprites in their own tongue, enjoying the chance to use his Gift of Tongues ability so liberally.  The sprite language was musical to the ears and was a true joy to speak.  Richter felt that immersing himself in the language in a way served to wash the harsh barking words of the kobold tongue out of his mouth.  Richter spoke to each sprite as they walked and learned a bit about each individually as well as more about the idiosyncrasies of Wood Sprite culture as a whole.

He also took the time to allocate Alma’s new ability points.   He had planned to place some points into her
Psi Blast
ability, but when he saw that he had five points to play with and
Brain Drain
needed exactly five points to level, he just couldn’t resist.  He leveled it up and smiled when he saw that she could now take down level 26 opponents.  The dragonling just trilled happily and flew through the trees, hunting small game. 

Richter was eager to get back to his village, but there were too many sprites to cast
Haste
on all of them.  The sprites were also not enthusiastic about his suggestion that they run the whole way, so he just walked at their pace, neither fast nor slow.  Drinking a Potion of Clarity each morning, he decided to put his trip time to good use.   The first thing he did was to address something that he had put off for way too long.  He examined his city interface in depth.

When he opened it, Richter was again greeted with a sprawling host of menus.  The amount of information was massive, but he was able to catch many salient points.  He studied it off and on throughout the day and compiled the relevant information on a spare sheaf of parchment.