Emerilia Series Box Set 3 Read online

  “Uh, I think I might do that.” The gorilla rose from its squat.

  “I never caught your name,” Dave asked.

  “George.” The gorilla smiled.

  “Well, hope to see you around the smithy more, George.” Dave smiled and held out a hand. George took it, shaking before leaving to find his lieutenant, his new armor slung over his shoulder.

  A whistle blew in the distance, the afternoon shift being replaced by the early night crew. The Cliff-Hill smithies never slept. The DCA platoon marched off, a new one arriving and moving to the smiths, ready to start fitting their armor.

  Dave cooled off the pieces he’d been working on and put them back on the various piles around the smithy. He sat down at a workbench and took out a carver and a soul gem covered in a thick ebony band.

  Kol found him not too much later, sitting down at his own workbench, drinking from his canteen and wiping the day’s sweat from his brow.

  Dave cracked his back and smiled, remembering his class the other day. He opened his skill menu finding his Teacher skill.

  Active Skill: Teacher

  Level: Journeyman Level 9

  Effect: You can teach people skills that you have prior knowledge of, up to your level of ability. Your students are 10% more likely to understand what you’re teaching them. Teaching on subjects you have a higher knowledge on will yield higher results. Teaching skills you have mastered or created give higher chance for students understanding your lessons.

  “So, seems that the effectiveness of the skill only increases when it goes up by entire grades. So, I will probably see it only increase when I make it to Expert level,” Dave said.

  If the level was to increase every time, then he could essentially speak in a different language and people might be able to understand him. With teaching, it was not only about the information but the way it was presented, putting a lot of pressure directly on the teacher. No stat or boost could completely solve this.

  Dave stepped into a part of the smithy he had made his own. He dismissed the skill screen and pulled out a soul gem wrapped in ebony metal.

  “What you working on there?” Kol asked Dave.

  “Little side project. Right now, our most powerful smithy is in Cliff-Hill. I don’t want us to have to go back there every time to do our best weapons so I’m hoping to upgrade or make another smithy with its abilities.”

  “It’s a soul gem though,” Kol said, intrigued.

  “Yes, but soul gems are made from crystals. I’m hoping that I will be able to make this grow or form according to what I’m coding. I’ve also enchanted it so that if it does work, people will feel less tired, more focused, as well as have increased Strength, Intelligence, and Endurance. Tinkered with the magic of the thing to provide a boost to all Affinities. Took a lot of studying the portable smithy, but just like it, this smithy should grow in power the more items that are made on it,” Dave said.

  “So, is it going to be one of those soul gem-powered items like your factories in Terra?” Kol said.

  “Yeah. And how do you like the new name of the guild hall?” Dave asked.

  “It works. ’Bout time the damned hole in the ground got a name.” Kol huffed.

  Dave grinned, looking to Kol and back to his work, carefully forming new runes in the ebony band. “So, by my estimate, I think we’re ahead of schedule with the DCA’s armor.”

  “For now, we are, but there’s always the possibility of something messing up along the way and we fall well behind. Yes, we’re getting four companies done in a day instead of two and a half, but it will still take three and a half months to get them all properly fitted.” Kol pulled two wrapped objects out from his bag of holding.

  “Still plenty of time,” Dave said. “What are those?”

  “These are yours.” Kol put them on his workbench. Dave moved closer as the cloth was pulled away to show two familiar-looking rods.

  “I didn’t code them because I know that you’d want to do that, but there is a core of soul gem, then an ebony sleeve, silver layer for the coding, and an outside layer of Mithril. Each layer has soul gem shards embedded in them.” Kol smiled.

  Dave looked at the rods. They looked like Roman pillars. Three-quarters up their length, they looked as though they had been twisted apart, showing the white of the Mithril, the silver and ebony layers, and the soul gem core that shifted with contained power.

  The lights played off the different layers. It was only when looking close, someone could see the beauty of the piece, formed into a complex tool and piece of art.

  Beating Rods

  Formed by Dwarven Master Smith Kol for his unofficial second grandson, Dave Grahslagg, to magically code into tools to defend himself with.

  Quality: SSS

  Abilities:

  (???)

  Soul Bound (not currently bound)

  Charge: 750,000/750,000

  Durability: 10,500/10,500

  Dave read the description. A small smile came to his face. He started to blink faster as his eyes became itchy and hot.

  Kol cleared his throat and looked away.

  “You ornery old bastard.” Dave wrapped his arms around Kol.

  Kol hesitated for a minute and then hugged Dave back. There was no need for them to say anything.

  After a moment, Dave let go.

  “So, you made the damn thing and left all of the hard part about magical coding to me?” Dave sighed as he studied one of the rods.

  “Ha! It was a pain in the ass to make those with the different layer—had to do each on top of one another and then run the crystals in a certain matrix. Compared to those two conjured batons on your hip, you’d be surprised with the amount of power you can get from them. Also, you might find that you can actually hit someone who’s suppressing magic without your weapons half dissolving,” Kol said.

  Dave scratched his head awkwardly, remembering his fight in Selhi Capital.

  “Lad, you make some of the most impressive items I’ve seen, but other than the runes on your body and your armor, you haven’t augmented yourself all that much.”

  “Well, if I augmented myself, then sure I could be really damned powerful, but the thing I’m doing is to empower the largest group possible. I am but one person. However, if I can give an item to two or three people instead of myself and allow them to do great things, then it could cause ripples, changes further out there that I can’t even imagine but can only hope for.” Dave looked out to Unity, over the smiths who were carving magical coding into their breastplates for the bomb drop ability, hammering and forming armor for the DCA.

  “What is your end goal for all of this?” Kol asked.

  Dave pursed his lips in thought. “To let people decide what they want to do with their lives.” Dave looked around and sighed.

  “You miss Deia?” Kol smiled, sitting back.

  “Yeah. She’s been training her brains out and I understand that, but I do like seeing her.” Dave smiled.

  “Well, go and surprise the girl. You two need some time off anyway. You’ve been making things and fighting creatures since Boran-al’s Citadel. I think having a few days off is warranted,” Kol said.

  “But there’s so much to do!” Dave complained.

  “There is a lot to do, but there are a number of things that are more important than work. Having a personal life and being with the woman you love are a few of those things.” Kol’s voice was firm.

  “Bu—”

  Kol cut him off with a wave of his hand. “But nothing. Everyone else is back and working their brains out. I can talk to Suzy for you. You go and take Deia out on the town. All work and no play makes life pretty boring.” Kol gave Dave a smile.

  Dave took a deep breath and let it out. Kol had a point. Just working all the time—it was a habit he’d fallen into with the Rock Breakers and Deia had the same with training. Both of them were always striving forward for more. That motivation and drive was one thing that attracted them to each other, but withou
t the other there, they were liable to grind themselves into the ground.

  “And when you get back, leave the fitting to us lot. I know you’re working on several different projects. We can fit armor just fine and we’ll get the smiths we need for it. Your research is of more help than all of this, and while you’re working on that, maybe just go do some things for fun?”

  “I think you might have a point. I’ll finish up this first, though, and then set off for Per’ush.” Dave smiled.

  “Fine. Don’t leave it too long.” Kol stood. “I’m going to get some darned sleep!”

  Dave waved good-bye to Kol. He finished carving out the runes on the ebony band before he headed out for a space that had been left for expansion of the smithy.

  “Going to have to alter that thing’s makeup; could boost the power a bunch,” Dave muttered to himself, putting his creation down.

  Portable Smithy

  The portable smithy shakes with power. Do you want to use it?

  Cost: 3,500 Mana

  Y/N

  “Seems the Mana cost has increased, compared to the portable smithy in Cliff-Hill. Probably because it’s more powerful,” Dave thought out loud before he hit the Yes button.

  The soul gem seemed to unfurl. Its glowing light released calming light as it unfurled outward, creating a floor of smooth crystal and rising up into workbenches. A forge flared to life with blue flames; glowing soul gem crystals made up the anvils, racks, basins, and other items that were part of a smithy.

  Black supports with silver runes grew upward and above. A roof grew together from the supports, attaching to the adjoining smithy. Its progress slowed considerably, but the items in the adjoining smithy had been turned into soul gem crystal.

  “Wow.” Dave looked at it all.

  The glow faded. Inside, it was easy to see swirling patterns moving over the different surfaces. The floor felt more like wood instead of crystal, with no chance of slipping.

  It was warm, but not the burning heat of a normal smithy. Dave moved about, feeling inspired by the beauty and workmanship of the building.

  You Have Created a Soul Gem Construct

  A soul gem construct is a building that has been formed from a soul gem. They constantly gather ambient Mana and channel it inside, to keep the interior at optimum conditions. According to the orders given to it, it can supply this power to the users of the area, or use it for other things like expansion.

  The original creator of the construct may choose what is done with the construct.

  You have gained [Soul Gem Smithy] in your buildings tab.

  Dave changed tabs, looking to his buildings. He minimized the ones under [Terra], opening the tab [Cliff-Hill Smithies] and finding [Soul Gem Smithy].

  Dave made excited noises as he looked over the information there.

  “Going to need to change the programming some, but this is awesome! Imagine what I could do with the greenhouses! Do that later, once the farmers come back to me with their recommendations. Now, hmm, what should I tell it to do? Keep the base stat increase and bonuses—that’s a given. Any extra energy this puppy stores up to its full charge goes into covering the other smithies. Damn, okay, that’s useful.” Dave read over a part where the smithies could be altered at any time. Moving items would be as easy as doing drag and drop on his interface. Growing things cost Mana but the smithy could store up to 10,000,000 Mana. It was a small four-person smithy right now, but with time and power, it could expand over the other smithies. It would be less of a power draw with other facilities already there.

  “Well, what’s the use of having toys if you don’t use them? First, I should get that power situation sorted.”

  Dave looked around the smithy, studying it. He pulled out pieces of steel, whistling to himself and carving out some simple runes. He heated up silver over a blowtorch, using it to fill the runes.

  It didn’t take him long to make a few dozen of the items. He conjured metal over them. They spread outside the smithy, burrowing into the ground. They spread out in a net around the smithy, covering a massive area.

  He destroyed the conjured metal. The runes on the metal activated, turning heat into Mana or capturing free Mana and routing it all toward the smithy.

  “Okay, so next.” Dave put the twin rods in the furnace. Just a few feet away, it was still warm, but once you got within a foot, then it felt as though you had stepped into Hades.

  He grabbed another scrap piece of metal from his bag of holding.

  Having something for him to make magical code on honed his skill and could be used in all kinds of situations.

  He put it in a pocket in front of his belt. It made the heat manageable as his arms were covered in Mithril. He reached into the furnace; each of his hands curled around a rod.

  Runes flared across Dave’s body, his eyes silver as he focused completely on the metal in front of him. The Mana flow amplified the waves of heat that the furnace gave off.

  Ten minutes later, Dave pulled his hands from the furnace. Hitting a button with his elbow turned its flames off, and the runes in the smithy converted the heat back into Mana.

  Dave dismissed the conjured Mithril and looked down at the twin rods. Runes could be seen within the opened sections, running along the different layers, the soul gem’s light playing over them.

  If one was to look really close, they would see bands at the bottom of the rods.

  “Damn, these are beautiful.” Dave looked at them both.

  A prompt appeared in his vision.

  Quest Completed: Dwarven Master Smith Level 4

  You must craft 2 weapon of SS quality (2/2), or 100 of S Quality with your Smithing Art (0/100).

  Rewards: Unlock Level 5 quest

  +10 to all stats (stacks with previous class levels)

  Quest: Dwarven Master Smith Level 5

  You must craft 3 weapon of SS quality (0/3), or 150 of S Quality with your Smithing Art (0/150)

  Rewards: Unlock Level 6 quest

  Increase to stat gain

  Class: Dwarven Master Smith

  Status:

  Level 4

  Effects:

  Allowed access to all Dwarven Mountains and smithies.

  Allowed to take on smithing apprentices.

  +40 to all stats

  Access to special quests.

  Using a hotkey, he changed into his fighting gear. Dave slid the rods into the loops in his belt. He looked at them proudly.

  “Okay, let’s go and see if I can’t wrestle Deia away from some of that training.”

  ***

  “Okay, so you know about my family, but what about yours?” Alkao asked Anna as they sat at a table in an up-and-coming restaurant.

  “Oh, I’m pretty similar. I was created by my father; he’s using the name Bob right now. Uh, I guess, I kind of technically have a kid. I helped Shard and the Aleph make Steve.” Anna tapped her chin in thought and sat back in her chair, shrugging. “Yeah, think that’s about it.”

  “So, Steve is your kid?” Alkao asked, a confused look on his face.

  “In a way. To Shard and me, it was more of an experiment to see if we could actually make another separate and intelligent creature.” Anna shrugged.

  “What’s he think?” Alkao asked.

  “We’re pretty good friends, though he bugs me at times, calling me Mom.” Anna shook her head.

  Alkao chuckled and his hand covered hers.

  She entwined her fingers in his, looking up at him with a smile that seemed to make her eyes sparkle.

  “You are beautiful,” Alkao said.

  “Thanks,” Anna said, shyly.

  “Haven’t been on many dates?”

  “Have you?” she shot back.

  “Not really. Being a Demon Lord was more fighting than anything like this.” Alkao waved at Unity and Devil’s Crater.

  “Same with me. At first, I went around trying to solve everyone’s issues. I saw the futility of it and just started to look after my Beast Kin. We
were hunted down like yours. Thankfully, Dad saved us and then gave us a second chance, a chance to change this system.” Anna’s eyes fell to the table before moving back to Alkao’s, and she gave him a small smile.

  “Well, you’ve already changed it quite a lot with your actions,” Alkao assured her, squeezing her hand.

  “Oh, the things you will learn,” Anna said, sounding sad.

  “They are my things and burdens to learn, but hopefully I have a sexy little wolf next to me.” Alkao leaned forward.

  “Oh, so I’m a sexy little wolf now?” she asked playfully, also moving closer.

  “Personal opinion.” Alkao’s eyes traced Anna’s body. “Definitely.” His serious tone was broken by the grin that spread across his face.

  “You know I could kick your ass?” Anna asked.

  “Hmm, kinky.” Alkao laughed, raising his free left hand to place his forefinger under her chin.

  “I am much older than you,” she warned, not fighting as he drew his forefinger back, half beckoning, half pulling her forward with an invisible and immaterial force.

  “I’m a big boy. I can deal with it,” Alkao said. Their eyes closed as Alkao kissed her gently. After a moment, he dropped his finger, their lips parting as they opened their eyes.

  “I heard that the Grove is great this time of night. Come on.” Alkao stood. Anna rose with him, a complicated expression on her face. Alkao led her out, grabbing their coats, and headed for the Grove, where the oldest, rarest, and most beautiful trees had been gathered by Fornau. There were many parks across Unity, but the Grove was the largest. It seemed to have been perfectly sculpted by Fornau. The collection of trees was more beautiful than most ruling castles’ flower gardens. Glowing vines ran between the trees, giving off light, while certain bushes and other plants gave off heat to fight against the fall weather.