Elijah looked up from his work at the notification in his field of view. It alerted him that Nicholas had just logged in. He’d spent a bit more time refining his enchantments, making sure that he had the right mix of gear for his party and for himself.
Stumbling out of the now cramped room, he headed down to the common area where Nicholas was logging in.
“Hey Elijah,” the big man said, waving to him. “Hopefully, I didn’t keep you waiting too long.”
“Not at all,” Elijah responded. “In fact, I just finished up a gift for you.”
Elijah reached into his inventory and pulled out a helmet. It looked roughly like a world war one german helmet with the little spike on top, and it glowed with a faint blue energy. He pulled open the debug menu one last time as he handed it to Nicholas.
[Item]
Helm of the Party Tank
Rank: Apprentice
Damage Reduction: 10%
Condition: 50/100
Enchantments:
debug{
Strengthen[Apprentice,STAT_STR_BUFF += 5]
Bolstering[Basic,STAT_CON_BUFF += 2]
}
He had found that while he couldn’t enchant new Apprentice tier effects yet, by finding the resonant enchantment for an item it would not only rank itself up, but rank up the item as well. He’d also tinkered with renaming the items, though he wasn’t very creative.
Nicholas looked over the item, shock on his face, before placing the helmet on his head. The already large man seemed to grow a fraction wider with muscle.
“My dude,” he whispered, his eyes unfocused as he pulled up his menu. “You enchanted this yourself?”
Elijah nodded. “Yeah, well, sort of. I had a bit of help from my familiar." He pulled out the second of the two pieces that he had made specifically for Nicholas and held it out to him.
[Item]
Sword of the Party Tank
Rank: Apprentice
Damage: 11-12
Condition: 50/100
Enchantments:
debug{
Bane[Apprentice,PREFERRED_ENEMY,CLASS_UNDEAD]
Striking[Basic,DMG_RANGE +2]
}
He was particularly proud of this one. After several failed attempts at finding a sword that resonated with the Bane enchantment, he’d finally found one. It had been a Slime Bane one he’d first noticed in the market. It had only been classified as Basic tier, but once he’d changed the preferred enemy type to undead, the resonance had taken hold.
He’d messaged Alastor about the Bane enchantment and found out that each strike did an additional 50% damage, rounded up, to the preferred class of monster. With this combination of enchantments, Nicholas would be able to deal anywhere from 9 to 11 points of damage to any undead, more than twice what he’d been able to do before.
“Dragontooth Fort again?” Nicholas asked him once he saw the enchantments. Elijah nodded in agreement.
“Once the others log in and I give them the gear I made. I think we can do it this time.”
Nicholas grunted his agreement and looked over his new sword again. “Any idea where Sasha is?”
“Yeah, she had to make a phone call in the real world. She said she’d be back in a bit.” He checked his in-game clock. “Actually, she should be logging in any time now.”
The next of the party to log in was indeed Sasha. She beamed when he handed her the new gear he’d made.
[Item]
Staff of the Party Healer
Rank: Apprentice
Damage Reduction: 10%
Condition: 50/100
Enchantments:
debug{
Cure_Wound[Apprentice,CURE_WOUND_LOW]
Bane[Basic,PREFERRED_ENEMY,CLASS_UNDEAD]
}
He’d been surprised when he found out he could enchant the cure wound spell onto a staff, and even more surprised when it had resonated on the first try. It would allow her to cast a stronger version of her spell once every ten minutes without using her mana. The second item was almost as good, and it had been a lot of work to figure out the correct wording for the enchantment.
[Item]
Tunic of the Party Healer
Rank: Apprentice
Damage Reduction: 10%
Condition: 50/100
Enchantments:
debug{
Wisdom[Apprentice,STAT_INT_BUFF += 5]
Bolstering[Basic,STAT_CON_BUFF += 2]
}
Bolstering he’d learned from the run-in with Roderick, and he knew that there had to be an enchantment for all four stats. He hadn’t been able to figure out what the one for Intelligence could be though and had resorted to sending a message to Rose, the high-level cleric he had right after respawning. She made him promise that he’d make her a piece as well, even if it was going to be lower-levelled. She just wanted to have a souvenir of his progress.
Benjamin’s pieces of gear were similar, and he logged in while Elijah was giving the tunic to Sasha.
[Item]
Chaps of the Party Mage
Rank: Apprentice
Damage Reduction: 10%
Condition: 50/100
Enchantments:
debug{
Wisdom[Apprentice,STAT_INT_BUFF += 5]
Bolstering[Basic,STAT_CON_BUFF += 2]
}
~~~
[Item]
Tunic of the Party Mage
Rank: Apprentice
Damage Reduction: 10%
Condition: 50/100
Enchantments:
debug{
Wisdom[Apprentice,STAT_INT_BUFF += 5]
Agile[Basic,STAT_DEX_BUFF += 2]
}
The dexterity buff had been Rose’s idea as well. Elijah had just been planning on making it the same enchantment as his chaps, but Rose let him know that would be a mistake. Mages often neglected their other stats in favor of their Intelligence, which was fine unless they got hit.
Or until they got to higher levels. A level ten mage who had focused solely on his intelligence stat was often weaker than a mage who balanced his stats better. Dexterity allowed a magic user to cast faster. So while an Intelligence focused caster had a larger pool to pull from, they suffered in DPS against a caster who raised his dexterity as well. The tunic would help to ease those problems until Benjamin could level up some. They were discussing this when Bo finally logged in.
The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
“Hey guys, why is everyone standing around?” Bo asked, looking around at the group.
“Elijah enchanted a bunch of gear and is giving out gifts,” Sasha replied.
A greedy look crossed Bo’s face. “Gifts? Ooooh! What’d you make me?”
Elijah shrugged his shoulders. “Sorry Bo, I didn’t get a chance to make you anything. I figured you wouldn’t mind though since you got some good loot from the mini-boss.”
Bo’s face fell, but he covered it up quickly with a look of calm and collected. “Ah yeah, that’s fine. I mean, I don’t really need anything, anyway. I’m already really good at my job.”
The other four players looked at him and then at each other before bursting out into laughter.
“Oh really, Bo,” Elijah said through laughter, “then I guess you don’t want this?”
He pulled out the set of pieces that he’d made for the rogue.
[Item]
Tunic of the Party Rogue
Rank: Apprentice
Damage Reduction: 10%
Condition: 50/100
Enchantments:
debug{
Bolstering[Apprentice,STAT_CON_BUFF += 5]
Agile[Basic,STAT_DEX_BUFF += 2]
}
~~~
[Item]
Cowl of the Party Rogue
Rank: Apprentice
Damage Reduction: 10%
Condition: 50/100
Enchantments:
debug{
Agile[Apprentice,STAT_DEX_BUFF += 5]
Bolstering[Basic,STAT_CON_BUFF += 2]
}
This was on top of the miracle he’d performed on the dagger that Bo had received as his loot from the Acolyte.
[Item]
Dagger
Rank: Journeyman
Damage: 9-10
Condition: 100/100
Enchantments:
debug{
Bane[Apprentice,PREFERRED_ENEMY,CLASS_UNDEAD]
Stagger[Apprentice,STUN_CHANCE_PERC += 5]
Striking[Basic,DMG_RANGE+2]
}
The weapon’s basic striking enchantment slot had resonated with the Undead Bane enchantment. It had not only raised itself up to Apprentice tier but also increased the dagger’s ranks and unlocked a third slot. To Elijah, only one option seemed a good choice for the third enchantment. Now, this dagger hit as hard as Nicholas’ sword did, with a chance to stun.
Bo nearly dropped the knife in surprise. “Where did you get this?”
“It’s the knife that you got from the mini-boss. I just enhanced it.”
“Dude… I think I love you.”
The group laughed again as Bo caressed his new weapon.
“Alright guys, let's get geared up in our new equipment and meet back here in a few moments.”
As the group departed to their separate rooms, Elijah looked over his own gear.
[Item]
Cowl of the Party Warper
Rank: Apprentice
Damage Reduction: 10%
Condition: 50/100
Enchantments:
debug{
Agile[Apprentice,STAT_DEX_BUFF += 5]
Strengthen[Basic,STAT_STR_BUFF += 2]
}
~~~
[Item]
Tunic of the Party Warper
Rank: Apprentice
Damage Reduction: 10%
Condition: 50/100
Enchantments:
debug{
Bolstering[Apprentice,STAT_CON_BUFF += 5]
Strengthen[Basic,STAT_STR_BUFF += 2]
}
~~~
[Item]
Chaps of the Party Warper
Rank: Apprentice
Damage Reduction: 10%
Condition: 50/100
Enchantments:
debug{
Bolstering[Apprentice,STAT_CON_BUFF += 5]
Stoic[Basic,DR_PERC += 10]
}
He felt incredibly strong and was happy with the amount of Health he now had. He had struggled with the choice for his chaps, finally settling on Stoic in case he needed to double as a tank. Especially considering he was now the highest level of the five of them.
[CHARACTER STATS]
Name: Elijah
Class: Reality Warper
Level: 6 (388 / 512 XP)
Health: 100 / 100
Mana: 20 / 20
Strength: 9 (Beginner)
Intelligence: 4 (Beginner)
Dexterity: 13 (Beginner)
Constitution: 20 (Apprentice)
Skills:
- Reality Warp - 6
- Summon Familiar - 3
“Alright, guys,” Nicholas said as they looked over the Party’s map. “Looks like the Dragontooth Fort has reset from our last try and no one has called dibs on it yet.
“That’s good, as Elijah’s enchantments make us more than capable of handling the undead enemies in there now.” He looked over and nodded to Elijah. “I know I normally go in sword swinging as soon as we teleport, but this time we should move as a team.”
Nicholas laid out his plan, and the team agreed to it. It was a good plan, and Benjamin cast his teleport spell. “It feels so nice being able to cast that spell without the sickness,” he said. “I’ve got sixty-five mana left, Nicholas. Ready when you are.”
Nicholas and Elijah were through the portal first, followed by Sasha and Bo, then Benjamin.
The colors blurred again, followed by the nausea and disorientation.
The sound of steel meeting steel rang in his ears as Nicholas’ strong arm pulled him to his feet. He shook the disorientation off and went to work.
He grabbed the first skeleton he saw, his higher dexterity allowing him to avoid a slash from its sword. The menu popped up, but he mentally pushed it to the side and reached for the next one.
A few skeletons nearly hit Elijah as he shifted in and out of the pack, but Nicholas' shield and Bo’s quick parries kept him from taking too much damage. He was glad for his increased health pool when one skeleton’s attack landed a critical. His health bar dipped below 75%. He was about to call out to Sasha for a heal when he felt the warm glow of magic around him. His health bar rocketed back up to 90%.
He turned slightly to thank her, but she was already casting several more spells at the rest of their companions. Her ability to multitask was both incredible and slightly terrifying.
A ‘Thunderclap’ made his ears ring, and he turned to look. A few skeletons had been working on flanking Sasha, but Benjamin had seen them and clapped them back into the slowly shrinking circle of mobs.
Soon the circle got too dense for Elijah, and he called out, “Count?”
“Sixty-two.” Bo called as he pushed another into the pile.
“Confirmed, sixty-two,” Nicholas responded. “What's your total at Elijah?”
Elijah looked at the number of minimized debug menus on his screen. Thankfully there was a total displayed on a little tab.
“Fifty three total,” he called back. He’d grabbed significantly more than that, but the chaos of the melee meant he’d grabbed some skeletons more than once.
“Good enough. Phase two.”
Phase two consisted of the group continuing to push the circle inward on itself, making it as small ?a target as possible while Elijah stepped behind Sasha and worked through each menu.
The first six or seven skeletons were a slog to get through. He had to re-open each debug menu, make his change, confirm those changes, and then close the box. All the while, the skeleton horde was attempting to kill his friends.
On the seventh, he got a notification that would make this so much easier.
[NEW SKILL ACQUIRED]
Mass Warp
Description:
Allows groups of debug menus of the same type to all be modified at the same time.
Elijah grinned, he reached into the unseen part of himself and grabbed the skill. The remaining forty-six debug menus slid smoothly into a single box. He made his change once more and confirmed his selection.
[DEBUG VIEW: SKELTONS (x53)]
Skeleton{
Class: MONSTER_MOB, MONSTER_UNDEAD
Respawn_Timer: NULL
Collision_State: TRUE
Loot_Table: NULL
Despawn_Trigger: PLAYER_EXIST
Faction_Tag: NPC_FOE_UNDEAD
XP_Multiplier: (HIGH_10.0)
Stats[
Level: 1 (NULL/NULL XP)
Health: 10/10
Strength: 2 (Beginner)
Intelligence: 1 (Beginner)
Dexterity: 1 (Beginner)
Constitution: 2 (Beginner)
]
}
Elijah had felt like an idiot when the party was discussing the way he could help. The second he’s listed off the XP multiplier option, Nicholas looked as if he might smack him. A normal level 1 mob was worth a single XP point, level 2 was worth two, and so on except for mini-bosses and bosses. If Elijah could ratchet up the XP gain from enemies before they died, then everyone could level up much faster.
He placed his hand on Sasha’s shoulder blade, letting her know he was ready. She cast her Elijah-empowered ‘Turn Undead’ and the experience rolled in.
[Level Up]
Class: Reality Warper has reached level 7!
~~~
[Level Up]
Class: Reality Warper has reached level 8!
~~~
[Level Up]
Class: Reality Warper has reached level 9!
~~~
[NOTICE]
You have 9 unallocated stat points. Find a safe zone to allocate stat points.
~~~
[Level Up]
Skill: Reality Warp has reached level 7!
~~~
[Level Up]
Skill: Mass Warp has reached level 2!
