Ashes of the Fallen

The fights didn't automatically get easier with a new level, but with the increase in our proficiencies and new skills, there had been some marked improvement. I was able to find a skill trainer in town and picked up [Shield Bash], and was working my way towards [Call to Challenge] next. I was also able to learn [Heavy Swing] and [Leg Sweep] with my two-handed axe proficiency, which had stagnated slightly since I started using a one-handed axe. All in all, they were nice additions.

Though, the major proficiency I was still working on and was really waiting for, was my fourth tier lightning spell, [Discharge]. It was a one-second cast Area of Effect spell that originated from the body of the caster, sending an explosive wave of discharged electricity out in a small radius. Seeing as it went out in every direction, it was basically a fool-proof way to knockback a melee unit no matter the angle of attack.

That… and there was also my special lightning spell, the unique one that came with my Artifact, [Flash Step]. [Flash Step] was usable once I reached the fourth tier of lightning magic proficiency and it was a somewhat broken ability.

It allowed the user to travel with a bolt of lightning a short distance in any direction, regardless if it was up into the air or from tree to tree, and then rematerializing at the end point. Basically, it was a short-ranged teleport that made me temporarily immune.

In itself, it was a broken ability.

I wouldn't be showing that to the world yet though… that was a secret to be kept closely guarded until I needed to use it. A spell like that would draw unnecessary attention to me, and I didn't really care for that.

Standing outside of the dungeon entrance, half of the crowd that had gathered before the portal were wearing masks of some sort and I quietly grinned under my own with no one the wiser. Over the past few days, my masks had become suddenly popular as more and more people had ventured down to the second floor. Some even made it to the third floor and with their help, money was slowly trickling into my pockets.

When I first arrived to this town, I was basically broke.

After trading the furs I had brought, along with a few dungeon grinds, I was up to a handful of silver. Turning those coins into masks, I was able to turn a near fifty-percent profit that added up to roughly twenty silver one week later.

The swords I invested in turned out to be a waste, as they weren't appraised for much more than I paid, at eighty-two copper for one and sixty-six for the other. But, it didn't matter too much since I was dealing with a neutral party.

Once I returned to Dragon's Breach they would use the raw materials in a way that would benefit me doubly.

Well, after one week since I first set out to make some money with the shop keep, I was now sitting on thirty-three silver coins with another twenty silver coins worth of goods from all of the grinding stashed away in my room. If I wanted to, I could purchase a heck of a lot of NPCs, but there was another goal at the moment.

And that goal was livestock.

The town I was at didn't have anything regarding animal husbandry except for directions to another town, one that was a good twenty miles northeast of my location off into the northern elven territory.

So, that's where I was headed now.

If I could, I would rather have recruited animals from an Animal-Recruiter but such a thing didn't exist, sadly. At least we had access to an NPC-Recruiter.

Oh well, a jog wasn't all that bad.

The small dirt path that I was running on had cut through the forest and wrapped around a small break between the mountain range that separated the elven territory from the true North. It was a fairly scenic route and surprisingly well-traveled as I ran past numerous elves heading towards the dungeon. I imagine most, if not all, of the elves came this way.

Thinking of elves… I had yet to seriously talk with Ellieby since we last traded. Opening my friend's list that was ready to burst at the seams with four whole people on it now, I barely managed my way down the exhaustive list and found Ellieby.

I didn't think I could make it, but I did.

Hooray!

A mental click and the transparent screen that appeared in front of me switched to a different view, a video call of sorts since I was incapable of typing while running.

"Hey Ellieby, how's it going?" I asked as soon as she picked up.

"Hey guy! I'm good, how are you?" she replied courteously with a faint smile. "Uh, wait, why are you bouncing? And breathing so heavily…?"

"Ah, I'm running, sorry I can disable the video function if it bothers you," I said with a laugh, masking my semi-serious proposal. "I figured a video call was better, shall we switch to voice only?"

"Hah you're so weird," she said while giggling. "It's fine, don't worry about it."

"Alrighty then, so yeah, reason I'm calling was to see if you're still in the area."