Chapter 41- Bouncing Idea’s

Abel was making his way through the streets of Velskryn after selling off the rest of his loot.

He had taken the round-about way from outside the city on his way back from the dungeon but this time, he went the opposite way and entered through the western gates.

After selling off the remaining monster parts for 5 silver and 20 copper coins, he purchased the largest spacial bag available for 1 gold coin.

He felt pained spending more than 400 credits on an in-game item but he knew he couldn't afford not to!

The higher his level became, the more he would have to spend on in-game items such as spacial accessories and equipment. If he wanted to earn more then he had to spend more, that was the logic behind spending so much.

Hopefully, when his blacksmithing level reaches high enough, he'd be able to save a ton of coins on equipment as he'd be able to make his own!

Now with a spacial bag of 200 spaces and a stack multiplier of 10, he more than tripled the amount of loot he could carry at once. The bag also had 6 additional "pockets" for consumables such as potions and such that were easier to access and had a stack multiplier of 10 as well.

Unfortunately, he couldn't put a spacial bag in another spacial bag. The enchantment wouldn't allow for such a thing or he would have kept his original smaller spacial bag.

After his savings dwindled back down to slightly more than 38 silver coins, he felt reluctant in purchasing a spacial canteen. There were still other things he needed to buy like iron ingots, weapon handles as well as a low-level blueprint.

'My expenses just keep piling up. No matter how much money I make, my costs are constantly increasing. I have to work hard… It has to be different in the future.'

Although Abel was inwardly grunting at his current savings, he also knew he was much better off than the majority of players around him. Other than those that exchange credits for coins whenever they want, the average player could never afford such a spacial bag before hitting level 20 at least.

He found himself standing before the blacksmith's guild. It wasn't a place a lot of players would go to as there weren't many blacksmith players within Velskryn in the first place.

Abel didn't intend to mingle with the current local blacksmiths anyway, he simply wished to purchase a blueprint he could use to try his hand at forging.

While he could start by crafting iron nails, the system gifted blueprint for all blacksmithing classes, he doubted he'd be able to lift his proficiency past 50% of greenhorn with such a useless thing.

He made his way past the reception counter and went to the side shop that all crafting guilds would have.

"Good morning, how can I be of help?"

One of the attendants came up and asked after spotting Abel browsing through the different goods.

"Do you have low-level weapon blueprints available?"

"Certainly. We have various types of sword, spear, axe and dagger blueprints. Which weapon-type are you looking for?"

"Show me the list for daggers"

Abel was led to a different counter where he saw descriptions of the weapon types for each blueprint

[Iron Dagger]

Material: Iron Ingot

Description: A basic dagger forged from iron. Simple, reliable, and suitable for beginners.

Cost: 10 silver coins

[Bronze Stiletto]

Material: Bronze Ingot

Description: A slender dagger with a pointed blade, crafted from durable bronze. Ideal for quick strikes.

Cost: 12 silver coins

[Steel Tanto]

Material: Steel Ingot

Description: A compact dagger with a sharp, double-edged blade. Well-balanced for precise attacks.

Cost: 15 silver coins

[Steel Stiletto]

Material: Steel Ingot

Description: A slender dagger with a pointed blade, crafted from durable steel. Ideal for quick strikes.

Cost: 18 silver coins

…

He didn't bother seeing the one's that came after as the jump in price was quite frightening. After mulling over his possible options, he decided to go for the easiest and cheapest option.

"I'll take the Iron Dagger blueprint"

"Certainly sir. Would you like to purchase other items? We sell pre-made pommels and iron ingots. We also offer forging rooms at fair hourly and daily rates"

"I don't need a forging room. But show me the pommels… and how much do the iron ingots go for?"

Abel figured the guild would offer a fair price and he didn't want to waste his time walking around the different shops looking for the best deal.

"A stack of iron ingots is 1 silver with 5 pieces in each stack."

The attendant replied as she led the way to a different section with several pommels on display. The low-priced ones were easy to spot as they looked normal and quite cheap. They were either made of Hollow wood or some animal bones wrapped in leather.

Abel looked at his options and decided to purchase the cheapest wooden pommel for 15 copper coins.

"I'll take 10 of these and 10 stacks of iron ingots"

"If that is all, then the final amount will come to 21 silver and 50 copper coins"

Abel paid his bill and put his goods into his brand new high-grade spacial bag.

'And… now I'm back to being dirt poor. At least I still have money coming in tomorrow.'

He checked the time, seeing it was around 5 am back on Luminara. He decided to head to old man Rye's place and log out.

Although he didn't have to go to the woods, he still needed to prepare the pork belly to make bacon. He was too exhausted and sleepy to take care of it after the butchering so he figured he'd do it now before Frankie and Melly got up.

A few minutes later, Abel made his way back into the house without disturbing the old guardian. Once he was back in the study, he pulled up the Panel and chose to log out.

Whooooosh

The virtual world broke up into a cascade of colors after he chose to exit from his user home.

The pod opened up and out came Abel, more refreshed than usual. He made his way out of his room and headed to the fridge to pull out the pork belly.

While he put most of the pieces in the large freezer, he placed this cut along with the ribs in the fridge. He had to make bacon with the former while the latter was in preparation for dinner.

He placed the piece on the counter after preparing the nitrites, sugar, salt and other spices needed. He had to cure it for a few days before he could get to trimming and smoking it.

After rubbing the curing mix, ensuring he covered every part generously, he slipped it into a large zip-line bag and closed it up after getting all the air out. He'd have to leave it to cure for at least a week.

Every day or so, he'd turn the meat over to make sure every part remained covered for the curing to take place.

While he was at it, he took out the ribs in the fridge and seasoned them. Melly had told him she'd make some braised pork ribs since she got off work earlier, so he took them out and did the prep work for her from now.

After he put both pieces back into the fridge, he went to check on the rabbit pelts that were left in the tanning solution. He started stirring the tanning mixture with an old wooden spatula to agitate the liquid. He had learned that it would make the process a little faster without affecting the end result.

It still needed another day or two, but that was fine. He wasn't in a great need for money at the moment. Even if he kept them and decided to craft something instead, it was also fine. Though he doubted he'd have the time for such a thing.

After bringing in the dried boar pelt, he checked it out and was sure it was finally done. The boar pelt had a majestic color that he'd never seen in a wild boar. Most wild pigs were a deep brown or black if they weren't spotted with random dull colors.

This one took on a lighter brownish gold fur which was uniform and made it stand out. He was reluctant to sell it which is why he steeled his heart and went ahead to make it into a rug even when he was low on funds, not that it mattered anymore.

After trimming the sides, he took down its measurements and decided to order a custom rug pad when he went online later. He cleaned up the trimmed pieces on the floor and finally went back to the kitchen.

He pulled out the last bit of bacon they had from the last catch and whipped up some fried bacon and eggs. Frankie and Melly came into the kitchen finding breakfast ready with freshly squeezed juice and a pot of coffee on the side.

"It smells great!"

"Mmm my stomach's already grumbling."

They were both pleasantly surprised at seeing a table of food ready.

"Then what are you waiting for? Dig in."

They sat down to have their meal while talking about their past day. Abel hadn't seen them since breakfast the day before so they talked more than they ate. Abel had told them he started curing the bacon and they should just check on the meat every day in case he hadn't.

"By the way, how's the quest going?"

Melly asked at the mention of his lack of time to check on the meat.

"Well… I found a few clues I think. I'm also not sure about another part…"

He told them about his theory in regards to the anvil and hammers. How it needs a craftsman's feel in the forge of kin within the old shop.

"That's a great guess. Actually, you definitely need to bring up your blacksmithing skills. Remember the last part, Unlock the door, with knowledge profound. I'm guessing you need to have profound knowledge in blacksmithing to get to where ever Branthor went."

Melissa paused for a moment as though thinking of something before she continued,

"I think you might have to actually go there with the old man, remember the ending… To claim the treasure, hear the ancestors sound"

"But he's a descendent, not an ancestor" Abel asked in confusion, not understanding what Melly meant.

"He's your masters brother, which makes him an ancestor to you."

Abel widened his eyes as he never thought of it that way.

"You're right, but it mentioned him in the earlier sentence as guardian, it wouldn't mention him differently in the next. So… he isn't the guardian, I never would've thought of that."

He felt quite annoyed, although it wasn't for certain and these were just idea's bouncing around between them, he felt it was quite likely so. From what Melissa just guessed, this quest would require a Legend's help at the end which meant…

Abel suddenly widened his eyes in realization! He had an idea of where the "bright light" was, where Branthor Stonebinder could have run off to.