Grind, Quest, and more Grind

John was dreaming. Visions of his future came in and out of focus, some wonderful and some terrifying. He was in the forest, meditating. Ignis frolicked through the trees, setting them all on fire as she playfully chased Omorfia. Calista stood behind him, putting out the fires that Ignis caused. A different scene. He stood at the edge of a pier, waving at a boat as it sailed away. Another scene. He stood in an alley, holding a sobbing girl with lime green hair. Something about how there should have been an arcade there. He couldn’t hear more before the scene changed yet again. He stood on the roof of the tallest building in town, the only one allowed to be taller than eight stories. It towered over the city, at one hundred and seventy stories tall. It was an architectural wonder, its first floor spanning twenty city blocks and consisting of an enormous parking garage. He looked out at the city, the wind racing by. There were fires burning in several neighborhoods, sirens wailing in the distance. Before John could even panic about the state of the city, the scene changed again. He was naked, sitting behind a desk, and someone was giving him a blowjob. He groaned as he came down her throat, and the scene changed again. He was swimming deep in the ocean, Calista at his side. She was naked, showing off her perky breasts and toned stomach as she wove through the water. He reached out to her and caressed her. She smiled coyly and darted out of his grasp. He was swimming after her as the scene changed. He sat on a throne of fire, naked again. He didn’t feel the burn of the flames, only a welcoming warmth. Another welcome warmth was the one surrounding his dick as a flame took care of him. The flame was vaguely female and humanoid, its head bouncing up and down as he came hard into her. He groaned as he came and his jizz evaporated as it came in contact with her mouth, the resulting vapor tickling him as the scene turned to black.

Sleep cycle completed

John groaned as he came into consciousness. Literally. Omorfia was in between his legs, eyes closed, and her head bobbing furiously up and down on his dick, making obscene slurping sounds. He groaned and her eyes fluttered open.

“Oh, master! You’re awake! I was afraid something was wrong when you didn’t wake up. Is everything alright?”

She had a worried expression on her face, her lips pouting. John had to take a few seconds to make sure he wasn’t still dreaming.

“Yes, everything is more than alright.” He said with a reassuring smile.

She smiled back and hugged him.

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP SLAM! Ding!

Their snuggling was interrupted by his alarm clock.

Just how early was she trying to get me to wake up?

He shook his head and read his quest box.

Daily Quest: The Grind

Have five level 5 skills

Have one level 10 skill

Reward:

+100 Exp.

+1 Skill Evolution Point

Accept Decline

John, not being one to decline a challenge, hit accept.

How many quests do I have? I think I’ve only completed one… Pitiful.

He shook his head and was about to leave the room to take a shower when,

“Master, where are you going?”

He stopped in his tracks. He had gotten so used to her being ****, he had forgotten that she could speak.

Holy shit… This is terrible.

He turned to her with what was hopefully a convincing smile as she looked towards him with longing.

“I’m just going to take a shower. Why don’t you go on back to the Temple?”

She smiled. “Yes, master.”

He cast Dismiss Summon and continued to the bathroom.

He was back in his room. Breakfast had been made and eaten, small talk had been made, and craft was still an agonizing level 1 skill.

Now do I craft, or grind? I got the craft quest before the grind quest… But grinding my fighting skills looks like a really good investment… But last time I tried to grind it took hours for one level… And who knows how long it’ll take to craft all those different items… ugh. Decisions, decisions. That’s it. I’m flipping a coin or something. Heads I craft, Tails I grind.

He rummaged through his desk drawers, looking for a coin. He found one and flipped it. The coin spun through the air and he caught it. Heads.

“Crafting it is.”

But what do I craft? Can I craft without knowing what I want to craft? It would be kind of like using parkour without a destination in mind or without attacks to dodge. Would I start breakdancing?

He shook his head and looked at his desk, littered with item drops.

“Only one way to find out.”

He sat in the chair and cast craft. Nothing happened. He drummed his fingers on the table in slight annoyance. He looked at the leaves. There were so many of them. He stared at the pile for a while, still desperately casting craft.

Then, the leaves started glowing orange. Just one at first, then a string of orange aura shot out from it to another leaf, and then another, until several leaves were glowing orange. Then, an aura line shot from a leaf to a tooth, and soon there were several teeth engulfed in a glowing orange. John’s eyes widened as he saw a blueprint start to be etched into his desk in glowing orange ink.

It depicted a dart, with leaves for a shaft and teeth for points. It was a fairly simple design, and called for five leaves and three teeth per dart. Technically he only needed to make one of each category item, but making just one dart was a ridiculous idea to him. He made 15 darts, leaving him with no leaves and five teeth. It was slow work, folding the leaves and attaching the teeth, but it paid off in the end. The glow faded away as he finished the last dart. He cast observe on his new darts.

Bush Rat Darts: Uncommon Item

A dart made completely of bush rat body parts.

5 dmg to enemies weaker than you

2 dmg to enemies stronger than you

Double damage to Rotted enemies

John nodded in satisfaction, and the blueprint faded away.

One item level down, three to go. Now that I know that’s a possibility, it should be easier to do.

He looked to his items.

That amber should make a rare item. But what would make a very common item? And why aren’t eggs common? … … … Wait, how do I know if they’re common or not?

John pulled up his stat sheet and tapped the ‘Active Quests’ button. There was a list of his quests. He tapped the ‘Master Crafter’ button.

Well then… I complain too much.

John chuckled and cast craft as he stared intently at the amber claw. A new orange glowing blueprint etched itself into John’s desk, depicting a wicked looking dagger. His hands took over, and he began to make it. He wrapped the claw with the vine to form a grip, and, with a flash of orange brilliance, the crude wrapping became an actual grip. The blade was complete; a curved dagger with a wicked sharp edge, no cross-guard, and an almost evil glint. The blueprint faded as he cast observe.

Red Bane of the Dryad: Rare Item

A dagger made of a Dryad mount Jaguar’s claw and a Rotted Dryad’s vines. Its red amber blade glows with the battle of mana between the Rotted vines and the Pure claw. When used benignly, the Pure gains an advantage. When used maliciously, the Rot gains an advantage. Maximum advantage 5 for either side before corrupting/purifying weapon.

Neutral: 10 damage against enemies weaker than you, 5 damage against enemies stronger than you

+5 hp per hit per pure point

+10 dmg/-2 hp per hit per rot point

John was stunned.

This is amazing. I made this. This is amazing. It was mostly the materials, but this is amazing.

He shook his head in amazement.

I have some great weapons now. All I have to do is learn to use them and I shouldn’t have any problems in dungeons… Now, a common item.

He looked at his desk. All that was left was the jar of sap and the ashes. Keeping in mind that he needed a common item, he cast craft.

Insufficient Mana

John blinked in surprise. 65/170.

How did my mana get so low? And why don’t I have enough? Craft only costs 10 mana for… 1-10… common… items.

He sighed.

Why can’t I think things through as they happen?

He meditated until his mana bar was full again and tried to cast craft again. A new glowing orange blueprint flowed across his desk. It showed a set of test tubes filled with liquid, and called for several chemistry-style instruments. John furrowed his brow as he read the blueprint and his hands went to work.

How am I supposed to do all this? Titration, Dilution, Infusion, Filtration… The steps go on for pages.

His left hand grabbed the jar and his right scooped the ashes to the edge of the table. Then he opened the jar and scooped the ashes into the jar. A flash of mana and the ashes were evenly integrated in the viscous fluid. He placed the jar on the table. Another flash of mana, and the jar was empty. There were ten even piles of ashy sap on the table, and then another flash of mana. The jar was replaced by ten test tubes. Another flash of mana. The test tubes were filled with the liquid. A last flash of mana. The liquid had turned from a murky green to a dark gray. John looked at his mana bar. 20/170.

Damn. The less required equipment I have, the more mana it’ll take looks like.

He cast observe.

Rot: Common Item

Concentrated viral essence of the Dryad malady, Rot. Cannot affect non-vegetative lifeforms.

John shrugged.

I probably won’t need it for my own use, but at least I finished the quest.

Ding!

Quest Completed: Master Crafter

Craft Level 2: can deconstruct items for ingredients

+50 Exp.

John grinned at the info box, then stretched and looked out his window. The sun was setting.

Holy shit, I spent all day crafting? Is mom home? Shitshitshitshit

He sped downstairs to investigate. His mom wasn’t home yet, which was slightly concerning.

She should have been home an hour ago. I hope everything’s okay.

He walked into the kitchen and started making dinner.