Chapter 37: Grindstone

The next two and a half weeks flew by in a flash, from the constant work in and out of game, Alex was feeling a little burnt out.

The thought of fighting that bear kept him motivated though, maybe three weeks was too long, but at least he had ample time to prepare, though it was tough to make any real counters to the bear.

He guessed it had a water attribute, but none of his ego weapons had any direct counters to water, and there was no way Alex was beating a bear in a standard one vs one, he'd be mauled to death in the blink of an eye.

He decided to take a page out of the worlds greatest boxer book, Muhamad Ali.

Out boxing, as it was called, was a boxing style which involved staying just out of your opponents range, and striking when openings where shown.

Alex decided to make a set of spear-man armour and equipment, using Sarah's materials, this would be his bread and butter for most of the fight.

But as he worked away, putting his heart and soul into the project, he began to wonder, why should he constrain himself to one set.

The more he thought about it, the more it made sense, after all, he could switch sets instantly, so why not utilise that fact.

With a almost insane level of obsession, Alex began to rethink his plans for the remaining times.

...

Nicholas wondered through the dingy streets with a pep in his step.

After a long wait, the day was finally here.

With the constant nagging from CIV, and his own personal projects, he had been quite busy.

And with Alex holed up in his forge, or at the training ground coal had introduced him to, he hadn't seen much of the English git.

Blanc skipped along next to him, mirroring the joy of her creator.

She had once been so small and cute, but how she had grown, a few weeks ago, she had been no bigger than knee height, but now, she was reaching his waist.

While walking along, Nicholas felt a tug on his shirt to find Blanc tugging on his shirt desperately, pointing at a small, roadside snack stand.

They continued their journey shortly after, taking a shortcut through a back alley, Blanc holding a steaming skewer of cheap meat and veg joyfully in between her wings.

It was an odd thing he had noticed, but Blanc flat out refused to eat meat or veg on their own, only when they where on the same plate would she wolf them down. Maybe it was because she was a mash of a carnivore and a herbivore.

As Blanc came to the end of her skewer, she found that she had a singular piece of meat left.

She puzzled over the piece for a minute, as if pondering whether it was morally right to eat the last piece.

However, her pondering was quickly interrupted, as Nicholas swooped down and snatched the meat right off the skewer.

"You snooze, you lose" He said in a joking tone, before looking down to see Blanc was on the verge of tears.

"Hey, I did not mean... I can get you a new one... come on, do not cry" Nicholas tried his best to comfort Blanc, but to no avail, as she burst into a flood of tears.

As Nicholas was trying his best to stop the flood of tears, two men began to approach the duo, keeping close to the shadows.

"What in the fuck is that?" One asked.

"Don't know, don't care" the other replied, "it's weird, and some the ring leader will pay through the nose for it, let's snag it quick"

"Kay bro, lets do it quuuuiiiiiccccckkk""

With a thump, one of the men slumped to the the floor, unconscious.

His friend turned to see his friend drop, with what looked like a dog, standing over the body, though he hesitated to call it a dog.

It had no fur to speak of, only fish like scales, it's tail was tipped by a singular, shark like fin, and its head was pointed, almost like that of a shark.

A rib cage like bone clung over its chest, like some skeletal claw, a skull like pattern adorning its head, and a purplish miasma flowing like a cloud all around it.

The man tried to back off, but found that a number of tomb stone like protrusions had sprouted from the ground, trapping his leg.

From the ground beneath his feet, another small pup burst from the ground, this one made of craggy and coarse stone, its eyes and mouth filled with an ethereal purple glow, and a small little tombstone, poking out of the pup's back.

The man fainted on the spot, frothing from the mouth.

"Gevaudan, Baskerville" Nicholas called, causing the two pups to become alert, "Get over here and help me cheer up your sister"

Gevaudan, the stone puppy, bounded over with boundless excitement and energy, ignoring the would be kidnappers entirely.

Baskerville, on the other hand, gave the men the side eye while slinking off to join his creator.

After much effort, the trio managed to calm down the wailing Blanc, and finally managed to continue their journey.

"What a odd place to sleep" Nicholas commented in an innocent tone while brushing past the unconscious men, though his eyes betrayed him.

Ah what lovely test subjects he had found.

...

After a short and uneventful walk, Nicholas and the gang arrived at a shoddy little training hall, its walls cracked and weathered, the building was truly on its last leg.

When Nicholas entered, he found the owner, a half man, half snake called Jim, shouting at his employees.

"This is the fifth time this week, I know time magic is useful, but it can't fix everything"

"But sir" the employee replied nervously, "he is our highest paying customer, we can't just kick him out"

Jim let out a sigh, falling into his chair, before he spotted Nicholas.

With a gleam in his eye, Jim rushed over to Nicholas and grabbed his hand with a pleading look in his eyes.

"Please, for the love of the gods, take your crazy friend out of her, he has already caused more damages than we can stop and he doesn't show any signs of slowing down"

"I will see what I can do" Nicholas said quickly, before heading to the training grounds.

When Nicholas entered the grounds, it was like he had stepped onto some ancient battle field.

The walls and floor where covered from top to bottom in all kinds of terrible scars.

Training dummies laid on the ground, some sliced in two, others where shattered against the walls and floors, one even managed to get stuck to the roof, and others befell the terrible fate of being subject to one of Alex's more magical methods of attack.

In the centre of the room, Alex sat on a make shift bench, made of the fallen training dummies, clad in stone plate armour covered in Celtic style runes, a stone spear adorned in similar runes clutched firmly in his hand.

"Are you done making Jim go bankrupt?" Nicholas asked sarcastically.

Alex looked around guiltily at the destruction he had caused.

"It's not that bad, is it?" He replied sheepishly.

"From the way Jim was talking, I don't think they will financially recover"

Alex got up from the pile of training dummies, and made his way over to Nicholas with a slight hobble.

"You alright?"

"They added realistic muscle pain in this game" Alex complained, "turns out, doing training while wearing a mountain really takes it out of you"

As Alex hobbled over, Gevaudan excitedly bounded into Alex's chest, knocking him to the floor, winding him.

"Okay okay" Alex said, "Happy to see you too"

"Need some help?" Nicholas asked, picking Alex up and leading him to the exit.

As if on queue, as soon as Alex began to leave, all of the training grounds staff rushed past the duo, one with a rather large ladder, and began hastily cleaning as much as they could.

Nicholas watched with bemusement as an employee balanced precariously on a rather tall ladder, trying his best to dislodge the training dummy in the ceiling with a broom.

"Well, you ready?" Nicholas asked after a short pause.

"Ready as I'll ever be"

"So, how many did you manage to make in the end" Nicholas asked with curiosity.

"About seventeen, though I did sell three"

"Yeah, I remember seeing those in the shop, one of those curved Egyptian blades"

"A kopesh" Alex corrected.

"Yeah, one of those, There was also a bow and a spear if I remember correctly"

"Yep, some level eighty dude picked up the kopesh, a level sixty for the bow, and we got lucky as a level one hundred got the spear"

"I trust the weapons where up to par"

"Good, Good and Great, respectively, some of my finest work"

"Well, we better head over to the battle grounds, can't keep your opponent waiting"

"You just don't like talking about my business" Alex grumbled.

"I do not like hearing you boast" Nicholas retorted, "Hearing about the poor suckers who bought your shoddy wears makes my heart break"

"Your profiting off of those 'suckers' too you know"

"I suppose"

The two made their way towards the forest, Baskerville and Gevaudan running between their legs excitedly the entire time.

Alex quickly checked his status, making sure he was ready for the fight.

[Player ID: Jack Aubrey

Player level 12 (214338/307200)

Player class: Beast Forger

Str: 35

Dex: 35

Con: 35

Wis: 35

Int: 35

Cha: 35

Hp: 620

Mp: 620

Free stat points: 0

Skill paths: Basic beast forging (Novice) 40/100, Wendigo's skull 5/100, Wendigo's tribal tattoos 3/100

Free skill points: 0

Basic beast forging (Novice):

35: Slightly More materials harvested per summon

36: Skill with hands becomes slightly better

37: Slightly More materials harvested per summon

38: Skill with hands becomes slightly better

39: Slightly More materials harvested per summon

40: Skill unlocked 'One size fits all'

Wendigo's skull:

3: Your skull copies a miniscule amount of your self

4: Your skull hardens

5: Skill unlocked 'Forged in battle'

Wendigo's tribal tattoos:

2: Your tattoos strengthen you by a miniscule amount

3: Your tattoos copy a miniscule amount of your self]

[Skill name: One size fits all

Cost:-

Effect: Any weapon the user creates can have its size and proportions changed within a certain degree, however, concentration must be maintained throughout the entire process, or there will be consequences

Due to each of his works being unique, and without knowledge on whether his wares would suit the buyer, the first beast forger decided to create a technique for his apprentices, a way to alter the shape of their creations, while keeping the properties of the weapon the same, a tricky procedure that requires the manipulation of the weapons soul, while not affecting the ego of the weapon]

[Skill name: Forged in battle

Cost:-

Effect: every time the linked item is damaged in any way, it will begin a repairing process, making the item a little bit stronger with every single time it completes a full repair cycle, cycle length differs depending on damage taken and the amount the item is used

Through hardship and combat, many will find tools they grow an attachment to, so to keep it alive, they impart a small part of them selves into the item, allowing this skill to be formed, through this small amount of self, the soul of the item is strengthened, allowing this skill to heal the weapon]

[The skill 'Forged in battle' has automatically linked to the item 'Wendigo's skull']

He was as ready as he could be for now, and even if he wasn't, not like he could do anything about it now.

Him and Nicholas had already made it to the match site.

Wolves and bears stood in a circle, growling and howling at each other, neither side making a move.

As Alex approached, the wolves parted, like a great red sea, splitting down the middle, letting Alex pass through easily.

The bears followed suit, allowing their leader to do the same.

Standing face to face, the great bear looked inquisitively at Alex, as if unsure at how he managed to change his armour.

"You ready" Nicholas called from the pack of wolves.

"Don't worry" Alex called back, "I'll make sure to put Paddington's rabid cousin down quick"

In unison, the bears let out a deafening roar, while the wolves let out a powerful howl, and the battle began.