With no time to waste, he stepped into the smithy and barred the back door. Only finding two elementals meant he’d have to ration his infused iron between steel and lightning ink production. He’d yet to find the ideal ratio of blood and iron, so he started by cutting both bodies into inkwell-sized pieces. That way, he’d hopefully have enough lightning resonance to not waste a batch of his blood, and he could turn whatever was left over into more grenades.
Chopping up the bodies was hard work with only an old pig-iron chisel and a pre-System hammer. Even with his blacksmithing gloves, he felt the vibrations rocket up his arm each time his hammer met the rusty iron.
I’ve got some free points. Maybe some extra Strength would do the trick?
He’d yet to spend the 8 from his last profession level or the 6 from leveling his class just minutes ago, leaving him 14 to allocate however he liked. The problem was, there were good reasons to put them all in every single one of his stats. He’d been bouncing between Vitality, Dexterity, and Willpower for the last few levels, but the only guidance he had was what felt right at the time. He had no way of knowing whether his sporadic method was making him well-rounded or a jack-of-all-trades, master of none. Gary had obviously dumped most of his stats into Strength and Vitality. Should he be doing the same with Wisdom and Willpower?
Setting down his tools, he opened up his status screen and was surprised to see his free point allocation appear alongside his totals as soon as he thought about it.
Some quick testing confirmed he could also reveal the flat and percentage bonuses for each stat coming from his Marks, Stains, and Soul Forge. That one skill gave him 2 points in Vitality, 11 in Endurance, and 15 in Wisdom. He whistled in appreciation as he ran his hand over the inscriptions on his chestplate. The sensation of feeling both solid steel and his own body was still hard to wrap his head around. It was like his brain knew the armor was him… even though it wasn’t. In any case, the benefits of the skill were well worth the risk of exposing his weave.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Now what are we gonna do with the 14 of you?
A boost in Vitality would help him survive the countless wounds he was sure to suffer over the coming weeks, but he’d already dumped more free points there than any other stat. Endurance and Wisdom were already getting supercharged by his Class, but he’d already discovered that growth wasn’t linear. Each free point in Endurance might be worth double what another is in Vitality. Should he specialize or diversify? Strength was catching up fast now that his Profession gave him 10 points per level. Most of the free points he’d allocated there were from before he gained the Apprentice Inventor profession. Dexterity was his lowest stat, and he was definitely starting to feel it in fights. What good was a massive hammerswing when a bloodrunn could just dodge out of the way? He’d need to start focusing on the stat at some point, but for now, he could rely on Hannah to handle anything too fast for him.
Which leaves Willpower.
It was his strongest stat, and would stay that way unless free points, an imprint, or Soul Forge tipped the scales in Endurance’s favor. 268 points. He’d come a long way since he first opened his status screen and saw the single point remaining after his Stain robbed him of the rest.
No, it wasn’t the System's fault. I did it to myself.
Putting more points here didn’t make much sense, but something inside begged him to do it anyway. Shove in all 14 and get back to carving up elementals. It wasn’t the most rational choice, but there had been so many moments where the noose on his chest woke up and nearly cost him his life.
Fighting the Moonshade Stalker. Getting beaten by that first F Grade Elemental. Fighting Gary.
Whenever the going really got tough, he’d freeze. The Stain may be quiet now, but he couldn’t afford to lose control again when the Undead showed up.
Harvey hemmed and hawed for a long time, staring at the 14 points waiting to be placed, before a thought sprang into his head. Grabbing the three grenades, he unbarred the front door and walked out to the main road. He set the first in the dirt just outside the door, then walked 10 feet away before placing the second, and another 10 feet before dropping the third. Slowly, he walked away from his Smithy toward the far gate leading toward the Undead side of the trial. When he’d gotten around 80 feet away from the first arc charge, he felt the inscription slip out of his aura’s reach. He carefully shuffled back and forth, feeling the node appear and disappear exactly when expected. A few more steps and the second disappeared, followed by the third.
Harvey walked back and forth, testing his range until he’d come to a few conclusions.
First, the size of the essence crystal and the subsequent strength of the inscription didn’t matter. His range was the same for the racquetball, the baseball, and the softball, meaning the gear didn’t have an aura of its own that he could reach out to. That was good. It simplified things. As long as an inscription was within range, he could flip the switch or overload the circuit.
Second, his exact range with 268 Willpower was 79 feet. Artificer’s Eyes helped him measure between himself and the arc charge, giving him the tools he’d need to measure the effect of each additional point in Willpower. Adding one of his Free Points, the range increased to 79 and a half. Then 80.2, 80.9, and 82. Every point pushed him a little further, helping him cover more ground when he inevitably detonated the traps he’d set around Veils End.
Can’t blow up the Outpost if my aura barely reaches the next building, right?
After putting all 14 points into Willpower and bringing the total to 282 with the 1% bonus he’d gotten after injuring his Weave, his range had increased to just under 100 feet.
“Let’s hear it for exponential growth!” he cheered, picking up his arc charges and walking to the short watchtower someone had built near the gate leading out to the Undead forest. Using his ocular skill, he could see that the treeline was almost within his aura. A few more levels, and he’d be able to cover the entire clearing.
What if I found a way to light the forest on fire, forcing the Undead towards the Outpost? Then I just blow up row after row of arc charges while the three of us escape out the back gate?
There were definitely flaws. The Undead might not even come for Veils End. The System could’ve given them a compass leading to the Hell Hotel just like the one it provided for the Veilstriders. Or, maybe they have a way to sense life somehow, and three people hiding behind log walls won’t matter enough to send more than a small contingent to wipe them out. There were a dozen ways his plan wouldn’t work, but that wasn’t going to stop him from trying.
Prepare for the worst, hope for the best. He thought, climbing down the ladder and running towards the Smithy, his heavy armor rattling with every step.
He had more grenades to make.
