The Grumpy Craftsman

…

"Do take care," Yelena told Henry at the doorway of the medical bay. 

"I will," Henry told her as he walked out the door. His bloody shirt back on. 

"And… Thank you again for the Scroll. I truly appreciate it."

Henry just smiled. He didn't need any more assertion of her gratitude because the system already affirmed it. 

An affirmation in the form of the 50 Exp he received for his increased approval with her. 

With a final nod, Yelena closed the door and Henry let his smile drop with his eyes narrowed. 

With a single thought, the notification he had received minutes earlier appeared again and he watched as it expanded into an extra window with a description;

[You have triggered the Optional Quest: Yelena]

[Optional Quest: Yelena. 

The Witch, Yelena, has a secret. Discover what it is. 

Reward: 500 Exp.

Note: Accepting this Quest grants you an almost certain chance of receiving a Follow-up Quest with an even greater Reward.]

[Will you accept the Optional Quest?

Yes / No]

Henry read through the Quest description quite a few times and he never stopped narrowing his eyes. 

The reward alone made the Quest enticing but Henry knew, just from common sense, that for the System to have included a reward ten times higher than any singular rewards he had received so far, it meant the Quest was either going to be very difficult or the Secret was incredibly massive. It could also very well be both. 

His hand hovered over the [Yes / No] column for a second before he clicked on 'Yes'. 

[You have accepted the Optional Quest. 

Good luck.]

The choice was a no-brainer. 

Why should he pass up the chance to acquire that much Exp when leveling up once had given him increased stats that improved his strength in an instant? 

It had even increased his Mana Point Maximum. 

Speaking of which,

'Status.'

[Name: Henry Morgan]

[Level: 2 (180/200 Exp)]

[Race: Human]

[Class: Gunslinger]

[Title: Gangbanger]

[Hit Points: 20/20]

[Mana Points: 15/30]

[Strength: 11]

[Agility: 7]

[Stamina: 6]

[Perception: 7]

[Skills: 

{Marksmanship Lv. 1} {Taming Lv. 1 <Active Sub Skill: Bonding>}]

"Oh?" Henry said as he eyed his Mana Points, "It's recovering?"

[Mana Points recover naturally. The speed of recovery is based on factors such as body Health and physical stamina. 

You recover Mana Points faster when your body is at rest.]

"Good to know."

Henry left Yelena's wing but as he walked up the stairs toward the meeting hall to meet with Angus and the rest of the Gang, his mind was only on the optional Quest he had just accepted. 

What was Yelena's secret?

Yelena had only been a member of the gang for Four months. Just as long as the Dionisio gang had been in the Hadron Mansion. In fact, when they arrived and decided to make it into a base, they found the Witch there, having already made the place her home. 

Unlike everyone else in the Gang, she wasn't accepted. Rather, she was the one to accept them and she did it gladly. Announcing readily that she had magic and could heal them of any wounds they might have.

[You still have one unanswered Invitation.]

[The Great Craftsman, Elminster Eltugard issues you an Invitation. 

Will you accept?]

"Hmm? Oh yes. There's still this," Henry mumbled as he turned away from the stairs and walked to his room in the mansion. 

'I don't see why I should accept a strange Invitation from someone I don't know in a world I'm only just getting used to. 

I'll decline.' Henry thought while holding his chin between his thumb and index finger. 

[Are you Sure?]

'There's no incentive to accept. Is there?'

[…]

[You have received an Optional Quest.]

'Oh?'

[Optional Quest: Meet Elminster Eltugard. 

Reward: 30 Exp]

[Will you accept the Optional Quest?

Yes / No]

Henry stroked his jaw with his brows raised,

'Pulling out a quest just like that. You really want me to meet this guy, huh. 

Alright, I'll bite.'

Henry clicked 'Yes'. 

[You have accepted the Optional Quest.

Good luck.]

The Invitation appeared again on the interface and with a small smile, Henry said,

"I accept."

He wasn't sure what he was expecting but Henry was certainly amazed when a line sizzling with magical energy appeared in front of him and stretched into a wider circular shape that wrapped around his body and swallowed him whole. 

First, there was darkness. Henry felt like he was being pulled, but through what and to where, he had no idea. 

Then the pull stopped and the darkness was chased away by light coming from multiple lamps fused into the wall of what looked like a workshop. Unfinished works littered multiple desks and even the walls. There were documents of strange but wonderful designs all over. 

Henry started turning around on the spot to take in every corner of the room. He had just realized there was no door or obvious exit at all when he heard a voice. 

"You actually came."

Henry turned around and saw an aged man with a leather apron standing behind a counter. The aged man's hair was stark white and reached past his shoulder. He also had a full and frankly magnificent beard that was as white as his hair and stretched down his chest. 

[Quest: Meet Elminster Eltugard]

[Quest Completed.]

[You have received 30 Exp]

[Level Up!]

[You are now Level 3]

[Hit Points Maximum increased to 30]

[Mana Points Maximum increased to 40]

[You have 6 unallocated Stat points.]

The notifications were delivered one after the other but Henry didn't pay them too much heed. His eyes remained on Elminster as an uncomfortable feeling started to set in. 

"You invited me."

"I did," Elminster said and the corner of his lips began to twitch before he eventually burst into a cackling laughter deep with malice. 

"HAHAHAHAHA!!! Every few centuries, one of you falls for the 'graceful' invitation and it is never not satisfying.

Alright boy, hand it over."

"Hand what over?" Henry asked, confused. 

Elminster rolled his blue eyes,

"Oh, don't play coy with me. Give it to me… Hold on, which one DO you have with you?"

"I really don't know what you're talking about," Henry said. 

"You have an original Elminster with you. If you didn't, you wouldn't have received my Invitation and you would not be here," Elminster said in exasperation before snapping his fingers. 

A circle appeared around Henry's feet and scanned upward and downward his body. As the scanning ended, Elminster stroked his beard with his eyes closed and a musing sound coming from his lips, and then his eyes opened with understanding,

"'The Hydra's Sting'. Oh, it's that weak thing? Well, an Elminster is an Elminster so I still want it back. 

Oh, but what is this… A subspace storage. I'll assume it's only accessible to you and I won't be able to seize the gun by force. Well, not while you're still alive at least but we can quickly fix that. 

Behold, my Automaton!"

A second snapping of Elminster's fingers and a new circle appeared on the ground in front of Henry. It rose off the ground and as it did, a figure materialized. 

It was tall and definitely not human. Not even living. It was made of metal and pieced together elegantly with Runic symbols all over its form while its eyes glinted a red that was clearly meant to emphasize how dangerous it was. 

"Wait wait," Henry hurried to say as the Automaton slammed a metal fist into a metal palm in intimidation, "You've been talking about 'The Hydra's Sting'? You made it?"

Elminster sighed,

"Not my finest work I admit. Hand it over."

Henry smiled uncertainly,

"But I like 'The Hydra's Sting' and I want to keep it."

"Well, you can't. You have ten seconds to hand it over before my Automaton crushes you to paste. I know quite a bit about Sub-space Storages and I know, in death, your body will be mine to loot. 

Don't test me."

Elminster snapped his fingers a second time and the number '10' appeared on his Automaton's chest. It started to count down. 

9… 8…

"Elminster…?" Henry started to say when an alert sounded in his head. 

[Grand Quest Updated!

Main Quest: The Grumpy Craftsman. 

Elminster is determined to crush you but his malice is not totally without reason. 

Find out what the reason is and use it to negotiate a deal with him. 

Reward: 50 Exp

*You will not be allowed to retrieve the magical weapon 'The Hydra's Sting' from your Inventory until you have completed this Quest.

Good luck!]

'You fucker!' Henry thought. 

He was sure of it; The System had known this would happen and it had enticed him deliberately just so he would accept the Invitation and meet this lunatic of a Craftsman. 

…3

…2

…1

"Time's up!"

The Automaton swung…

*Bam!*

… And Henry went flying.