William eventually woke up, his eyes opening to a beautiful pair of gem-like blue eyes and ashen blonde hair flowing gently in the wind as it caressed a heart-shaped face.
He realized his head was lying on her lap, his face turned red, and when he noticed the large and soft globes mere inches away from his face, he nearly shot blood from his nose and mouth.
A smile adorned her lightly tanned face when she saw him wake up, but seeing the anxious expression on his face and where exactly his eyes were looking, her face suddenly began turning red, and her left eye began to twitch somewhat.
William suddenly felt a cold shiver run down his spine, and he looked up.
SLAP
A red handprint appeared on his face, and his ear began to ring before he came to his senses and shot up from his position and bowed, "I'm so sorry. I did not mean to ogle you like that!" he said his head pressed against the makeshift bedding.
She got up without saying a word and walked out the door, if there was a door, she would have slammed it.
William sighed and sat up, "Good first impression, bro, now she thinks you are a perv!"
He let himself sit there for a moment before he stood to his feet and walked out of the makeshift cabin, the soft breeze causing him to suddenly shiver from the temperature drop
He can see the ashen-haired woman on a rock overlooking the nearby valley, clearly still wary of a potential goblin ambush.
Walking up next to her, he asks, "So who are you exactly? and why were you here with such a small force?"
As he asked, William noticed a distinct shimmer in her pale blue eyes.
"Sigh!"
She let out a loud sigh and turned to William, "I am a captain for the nearby Kingdom of Valdoria, sent with a retinue of soldiers to investigate the reason for the goblins being less active outside of the forest!"
She chose to hide the fact that she was a princess, "Even if you saved my life, you are still a stranger, forgive me!" She thought mid-sentence.
Turning towards William, who became bashful for a second when their eyes met, she asked, "I would ask you for your assistance to return to the somewhat nearby capital city of Valmere, I can assure you that you will be greatly awarded not only for the task but for the act of saving my life!"
Suddenly, she raised her hand in greeting, "I nearly forgot to introduce myself, my name is..." She paused for the briefest of moments, "My name is Aria Rivaldo, an adventurer for the kingdom!"
William reciprocated the gesture with his own, and the two shook hands.
"My name is William Conwell, I..." He paused, thinking of what he could tell her exactly, telling her he was from another world would likely throw her off in more ways than one.
"I live here, in the woods!" As he said this, the two finally let go of each other's hands.
William noticed a strange expression begin to appear on her face before she spoke, "Did you say you live here?"
Her eyes shone like blue suns that bore holes into William's soul, and he subconsciously backed up a step.
"What do you mean you live here? this place is filled with all kinds of deadly monsters, normally not even the kingdom's soldiers are willing to go this deep!"
William scratched the back of his head, unsure of how to answer that question, but after a pregnant pause, he said, "Honestly, besides the goblins and the wolves, it has not been too bad!"
Aria Stares at William with a distant look in her eye and a shocked look on her face.
"Not too bad, he says!" She pressed her fingers into the bridge of her nose in exasperation.
She looks up and stares him in his eyes, "So are you coming with me to civilization or not, I would rather not go alone, as I might not make it, but I am duty-bound to try regardless!"
William thinks hard for a moment, but looking at his ramshackle camp and the general lack of amenities nearby, he sighs hard before nodding.
"I'll go with you, not like I have much going on here!"
Hours passed, with the two eating some fruit from the woods and fish from the nearby river, with the lack of spices causing the meat to be rather bland.
After eating their fill, they put what supplies they could manage to scrounge up into a makeshift bag made of wood and ropes.
Doing this leveled up his Handicraft skill to level 4, causing a screen to appear in his peripheral vision
Handicraft Level - 4 Exp - 75/300 (Common -> Upgradeable) skill gained - Effects
(Passive) +16% Improved Item Durability.
+9% Faster Crafting Speed.
+20% Aesthetic Enhancement to crafted items.
(Active) Cost - 10 Mana per Activation.
9% chance for items to create a perfect item. (Zero Defects)
29% Chance to create a superior-grade item
William swept the screen away with a thought and looked at his creation with a stern gaze.
It wasn't exactly his best work, but it would do in a pinch.
Suddenly, a screen appeared in front of the item, causing William's eyes to turn into pinholes for a moment before he read the description.
Plankpack
Type: Makeshift Wooden Backpack
Rarity: Common → Upgradeable
Durability: 120/120
Weight: 4.2 lbs
Slot: Back
Description:
Crafted from scavenged planks and bound with twine, nails, and grit, the Plankpack is a testament to ingenuity under pressure. While crude at first glance, your skillful touch elevates it beyond simple utility. It creaks, it groans, but it holds fast.
The worn wood bears signs of careful craftsmanship, edges sanded, joints reinforced. With a bit of love and mana, it may even become something worthy of pride.
Passive Buff
Effect: Increases your Endurance by +15 while the Plankpack is equipped.
William's eyes went wide; this was the first piece of wearable equipment that he had made using his skill, and the fact that it gave a buff in the first place was shocking.
What's more, the buff to his endurance would only ever be extremely helpful in their journey.
With that in mind, he looked over to the many pieces of goblin weapons and equipment he had in a pile near his makeshift cabin and wondered internally, "Should I make a weapon?"
His hands traced the edges of the blades and shook his head, he neither had a hammer nor an anvil to work metal, but perhaps...
Using a goblin blade, he took a straight piece of wood and began to whittle the bark off he was unaware that he was subconsciously using the Handicrafts skill and went into a sort of trance as the branch slowly but surely became a wooden polearm.
William walked with sure steps, a strange, somewhat glazed look in his eyes as he searched around.
A few moments pass, and he returns with a stone which he proceeds to grind using a larger stone sticking out of the ground.
KTCHHHH
KTCHHHH
KTCHHHH
Stone shavings fell like snow as the item took shape.
The noise had long gained the attention of Aria, who watched in wonder, his movements being somewhat hypnotic as he worked.
She found herself leering at his strong arms and shook her head to snap out of it.
KTCHHHH
KTCHHHH
KTCHHHH
It soon became clear what he was doing when he raised a rough stone spearhead, which he proceeded to place at the tip of the polearm, effectively turning it into a spear after wrapping it with strips of leather like a string, fixing it in place.
He stood there and observed his work for a moment before a strange occurrence happened: the rough wooden spear began to shimmer with a strange inner light, the leather strips disappeared, and William and Aria's eyes went wide when this occurred, and they watched with wonder as the spearhead and the shaft of wood seemingly fused into a single item.
A flash of light emanated out forcing the two to cover their eyes, and when they opened their eyes, a whole new weapon was lying before them.
The once pale white stone spear was now clearly metal, the spear head was warm, metallic brown with hints of gold and orange interlaced within that made it glimmer in the sun, while the shaft was once mostly dead wood, was now darker and full of vitality.
William felt the smooth surface of his new weapon, "Ash wood?" he muttered before picking up the spear, the moment he did so.
DING
Bronze Ashspear
Type: Spear (Polearm)
Rarity: Uncommon (Superior-grade)
Durability: 180 / 180 (includes +14% from Handicraft skill)
Weight: 5.6 lbs
Slot: Two-handed / One-handed (with Strength ≥ 14)
"What should have been a crude hunting tool now gleams with unexpected elegance. The grain of the ashwood flows like smoke beneath your grip, and the bronze tip gleams with promise. Perhaps some part of the world responded to your hands, or perhaps you simply made it better than you knew."
Not only did he increase the rarity of the weapon, but the grade also increased; it was likely that that was the reason the stone transmuted to bronze.
He slammed the butt of the spear into the ground and the spear begins to wobble lightly.
"Wow, are you a craftsman? I have only heard of craftsmen capable of feats like that!" Aria's voice brought him out of his reverie, and he turned to her and smirked before saying, "I dabble, but it was mostly ever for survival!"
She did not overthink it and continued packing her gear that she had managed to recover.
Thirty more minutes passed as the two took the time to dismantle the camp before leaving.
He followed her as she moved towards the river, which was flowing eastward.
He elected to let her lead as he had no real knowledge of the area besides the small area he had traveled for food and water, not to mention the goblins.
However, it was not called the Forest of Death because it was easy to take a stroll through, and it was not long before they came across an enemy staring straight at them with its orange predatory eyes.
A lean but still massive mountain lion stepped forward from the shadows, revealing its silver fur and its sharp, glinting claws.
SHNG
Aria unsheathed her thin sword and pointed it at the creature before opening her mouth to inform William of the enemy before them, "It is a Galeclaw, they are a predator that uses wind element to defeat and eventually devour its enemies, we are lucky it appears to be alone but be extremely careful, it is quick!"
William pulled the spear from his back, and the bronze tip glinted in the thin sunlight that shone through the canopy as he pointed it at the Galeclaw and mentally prepared himself for the coming conflict.
Almost as if waiting for both of them to ready themselves, the Galeclaw suddenly howled, and a wind began to swell in the surrounding area around them all.
The Galeclaw dashed towards Aria, seeing her as an easy target, but Aria, being trained in the sword, managed to sidestep the creature, spinning in place and swiping at its tail just as it passed.
SHNK
A thin droplet of blood fell from the tip of Aria's blade as the tip of the Galeclaws' tail fell to the ground, still wriggling as it sprayed what blood remained within it.
"YOWL"
The Galeclaw crashed on the ground and rolled in place, only coming to its senses when it sensed an imminent threat and leaping out of the way with the distinct sound of rushing wind as a spear slammed into the creature's previous position.
CRACK
William struggled to remove the spear from the ground for a moment, but when he did pull it free, the Galeclaw was already moving toward Aria.
A hungry look appeared in the Galeclaw's eyes as it neared Aria, and when it reached the proper distance, it leapt in the air with its claws raised and fangs bared.
William's eyes shone yellow as he activated Focus!