Great Hospitality

After several minutes running around the house gathering materials, and a quick detour to actually move his loot and the trunk into the Barrier, John knelt down to examine his work. A throw pillow fit at the bottom served as a makeshift mattress, a folded sheet atop it. Another pillow leaned against one of the sides to serve its intended function. The final piece, a pair of fleece strips tied somewhat haphazardly together in a rectangular shape, rested atop the pile as a blanket.

“Well, I guess this’ll work,” John said, though his voice carried a fair bit of doubt. Letting out a sigh, John stood up and retreated to his bed, flopping down on it. His race to collect the bedding had only taken around thirty minutes, which left a fair amount of time before Aeolia’s estimated return.

“Okay, bed set up, loot stored, level up sorted,” John ticked off his mental checklist as he stared at the ceiling. “Anything else I need to do before Aeolia gets back?”

Nothing came to mind as an immediate need, so John’s mind drifted to less pressing matters. Sitting up, he summoned Senka to his hand, the knife fitting perfectly as always in his grip. He examined the useful weapon closely, looking for any sign of the seven or so percent wear Observe displayed.

“I guess there are a few scuff marks,” John said with narrowed eyes. “But I don’t see any chips or anything. Wonder if there’s any damage to the core?”

His inspection done, John cast Craftsmanship on Senka, conjuring its menu.

Select a crafting option:

Craft
Improve
Repair
Enchant
Breakdown

John tapped the ‘Repair’ option, bringing up a new display.

Repair: Selected item will require 1 unit of Mana Charged Steel and .3 mana per point of durability. Total repair cost: 2.4 mana and 1 unit of material. Lesser material will require greater amounts and more mana.

John hummed as he reviewed the information.

“Looks like total repair cost won’t exceed the cost to make something, at least in terms of mana,” John sighed. “Materials to repair stuff with looks like it’ll be the limiting factor.”

Since he lacked the repair material, John dismissed the display, leaving open the main menu.

“Might as well check and see what these other options do,” John said in a deflated voice, finger hovering above the ‘Enchant’ option. “And how much they’ll cost me to use.”

Enchant: Add Attributes or Effects to items derived from current Skills or from using another item as a focus.
Applicable Enchantments for selected item:
Channelling
Arms
Dispelling
Bolstered
Nexus
Or use a focus

“So my Skills unlock enchantments,” John commented. “And it looks like I can’t just throw any enchantment onto any item, but that’s pretty common. Kind of stupid and pointless if you can put an armor effect on a weapon. Wonder what determines the enchantment when using an item focus? The Attributes or Evocation probably?”

John’s fingers twitched to click one of the options, innate curiosity pushing him towards further exploration of this feature of his powers, but the second option Craftsmanship offered likewise tantalized his desire to know.

“Best to get all the possibilities laid out before going about upgrading Senka,” he decided, closing the ‘Enchant’ display and bringing his finger up to the last unexplored choice, ‘Improve’.

Improve: Spend Experience Points to modify an item’s Attributes or Evocation, enhance the item’s physical form with new materials or bind the item to your growth, unlocking levels and perks.

Senka’s sheet popped up, giving him access to its current qualities. A minor change to the display showed the materials used to craft it, despite them being listed in the description part and an Lv. icon next to its name.

“Guess that’s so items I find can have what they’re made out off be listed,” John reasoned, finger drifting down to the Attributes. “Let’s see what can be improved with Dark Charged.”

He tapped the Attribute and was greeted by a new display.

Dark Charged: Current effect: This material naturally generates a small amount (15 MP) of Dark Mana at a rate of 1MP/hour. Available Upgrades: Increase total mana saturation by current level(5)(Cost 50 EXP), Increase mana regeneration rate to 2 MP/hour(Cost 50EXP).

John frowned when he saw the cost for the two upgrades. “Fifty experience is just over how much I have currently. Can I fall back a level, and will that screw up my stats?”

Unable to resist giving it a look, John tapped the first option, reasoning that more mana to use was the best option at the moment.

Unable to redeem. Insufficient experience.

“Looks like I can’t go back a level then,” John said, dismissing the Attribute display. He elected to skip the remaining Attributes and the Evocation until he gained more experience and instead tapped the icon next to Senka’s name.

Senka Lv. 1. Binding this item to you will transfer 5% of gained experience to it. Upon leveling, a Resource Point will be awarded which can be spent to unlock perks and new abilities. Additional effects may be unlocked as both item and wielder develop.

Bind Senka. Yes/No

John frowned as he considered the implications. “Losing five percent of experience is a bit of a bummer, especially since I can use them to modify items too, but being able to unlock new effects is too much to ignore.”

He tapped the yes and the display shifted, along with a new screen popping up in front of it.

Achievement Unlocked: Item Bond.
Bound an item to your growth. Who knows how you’ll grow? I might, but I’m not telling.
Reward: 1 Resource Point for Senka.

Senka Lv. 1
Exp: 0/10
Resource Points:1
Available Perks: Martial Focus, Arcane Focus

“Thank you, Gaia,” John intoned, as he eyed the perks. “Let’s see what I can buy.”

Martial Focus: This weapon is a tool for battle. Selecting this focus improves combat effectiveness by (Item Lv. %), and unlocks further combat-oriented perks.

“Makes sense,” John commented. “Kinda sucks that with Senka at level one I only get a tiny bonus, but it’s not bad. Got a feeling that the other one will be the same but let’s see.”

Arcane Focus: This weapon is a conduit for magical power. Selecting this focus improves magical effectiveness by (Item Lv. %), and unlocks further magic oriented perks.

“Yeah,” John said with a bit of a frown, “like I thought. But what exactly does ‘magical effectiveness’ mean? Cost, range, duration? Come to think about it, ‘combat effectiveness’ is a bit vague. Does that mean increased damage, or increased resistance to durability loss?”
Testing a theory, John tapped the words ‘magical effectiveness’, and sure enough, another popup fazed into existence.

Magical Effectiveness: Governs the reduction of cost and increase of range and duration of Evocations and activated effects.
“Okay, that makes sense,” John stated as he closed the additional display. “Wonder if going down this route will unlock something for passive effects? And is every item tree going to be the same, or do they change based on what the item is and what it does?”

A tap of ‘martial effectiveness’ displayed similar info to its mystical counterpart, confirming his suspicions that it improved damage and reduced durability loss for use. John cleared the displays until he was left only the Craftsmanship menu.

“Alright,” John said to the empty room, rubber ducking off the walls. “Looks like the best choice would be to select one of the upgrade perks then see what ‘Enchant’ can give me, and how much one would cost.”

With his choice boiled down to a binary one, John thought back to his use of Senka. Back at school he’d focused using Shadow Snare to tie up the Alpha, only going for direct attack when it had pinned Aeolia. Against the Scout, he had only used it to finish it off, and the other Woads weren’t greatly damaged by it when he had to use it.

“A small boost to damage isn’t that great of a bonus,” John muttered, running a hand through his hair as he thought through the ramifications of his choice. “I already have Small Blade Proficiency making Senka hit harder, and being able to snag enemies further away and cheaper is definitely the better choice. If I want to go for damage, I can switch to the sword. Yeah, going for ‘Arcane Focus’.”

Decision made, John brought up the ‘Improve’ display and chose the ‘Arcane Focus’ perk. The display faded away, leaving only the main Craftsmanship page open. Selecting ‘Enchant’, John took a closer look at the options.

Channeling: .5% casting cost reduction
Arms: +.25% Critical Hit Chance
Dispelling: Drain 1 Mana on hit
Bolstered: +.5% Effect Range
Nexus: +1% Innate Mana Regeneration

“Well,” John said with a sigh, “looks like Craftsmanship’s level is going to limit what I can do here. Probably should enchant some random item and see if I can remove it or make it better over time.”

The only item John could think of to use was the spare Greatwood Sword, which he had just stowed up in the attic Barrier. John glanced out the window then to the clock in the corner of his desktop.

“I’ve got a little while before Aeolia gets back,” he said, willing Senka back into his Inventory. “I can jump up there, get the spare and give enchanting a trial run.”

John shifted around and stood on his bed, hand extended to the ceiling.

“What are you doing?” Aeolia questioned as she landed on the windowsill, head cocked to the side as she took in John’s unusual position.

John flushed at getting caught in such an awkward position and hastily jumped down.

“Well, um, turns out the edge of the Barrier in the attic kinda clips through the floor,” John answered, rubbing his arm to distract from the embarrassment, “and you can get in from down here if you touch the ceiling.”

“Ah,” Aeolia intoned as she flew over to the bed and placed her pack laden glaive down. “Then we might want to head up there and install this.”

She untied her makeshift bag and hauled out what John presumed was a Barrier Anchor, a cube roughly a third of Aeolia’s height. John quickly cast Observe on it, curious as to how it worked.

Of the two unknown bits of information, John tapped the Attribute as it was the more pressing and relevant to the current issue.

Focal Point: This object binds to an appropriate effect, increasing its occuplantless duration by 336 hours.

“So this will last for two weeks,” he announced, after a few seconds to convert the hours to days. “Does it reset back to full time once someone gets in?”

Aeolia shrugged, “Don’t know. Your powers probably would be better at figuring that out. Let’s get up there and set it up. Just go up, right?”

John nodded and Aeolia flew up, hand lifted. She seemed to float the last few centimeters, like she was buoyed by unfelt currents, until she entered the Barrier, vanishing from sight. John followed after her, the shift from his room to the attic far smoother than his first trip.

Barrier Anchor detected. Synchronize to Barrier for 50 mana?

YES/NO

“Well, your powers sure make things convenient,” Aeolia commented. She had returned to her full size and stood to the right of the trunk, opposite where the spare sword leaned against the aged wood.

“Guess they do,” John admitted with a smirk, slightly happy he hadn’t wasted mana beforehand, finger moving to click yes.

“Hold on a sec,” Aeolia interrupted him. “Probably should return it to full size before you go and link it up. Just in case my magic screws with it. Just put it down wherever.”

“How big is this thing going to get?” John asked, eyeing the cube.

“Only about three times what it is now,” Aeolia answered. “I can only make things bigger or smaller by three times. Can’t go more either way and in between sizes are kind of a pain to maintain. And before you ask, no, I can’t make anyone grow, just shrink.”

“I’m going to guess there’s some complicated magic theory behind that,” John commented as he walked over to the center of the space, placing the cube on the floor.

“Yeah,” Aeolia said, melancholy seeping into her voice slightly.

John grit his teeth as he retreated from the cube, a knot of guilt settling in his gut. He had a good hunch that someone in Aeolia’s life, her brother given her prior comments about him, had spoken at length in theory-crafting about her powers and his glib remark had poked her wounded heart.

Aeolia didn’t say anything as she stepped up to the cube, crouched down and lightly placed her palm on it. A second later, she withdrew as the cube began to expand, quickly growing to the size Aeolia had indicated.

“All set,” she reported, a lingering hint of sadness in her voice.

John tapped the affirmative on his display which closed it. He felt his mana surge out of him, his hud bar dropping more than fifty percent before a new popup manifested before him.

Barrier Anchor synchronized. Unoccupied Barrier Stability: 342 hours before collapse.

“And that’s that,” John said, closing the display. “Just got to remember to pop back in here before every two weeks to make sure it doesn’t collapse.”

“Given how much stuff you’ve already collected,” Aeolia piped in, the depression no longer evident in her tone. “I don’t think it’ll take you two weeks before you have to throw things up here.”

John let out a nervous chuckle, “Yeah. Seems to be a recurring problem for me. Always too much stuff.”

“Better than no stuff,” Aeolia said with a grin.

“True,” John agreed. “Anyway, just gotta grab the extra sword then we can head out. I want to try some enchanting and best to test it out on a spare.”

John grabbed the sword and willed it into his Inventory, then stood on the spot of his entrance.

“You might want to do this small,” John cautioned Aeolia. “It’s kind of a drop.”

His warning given, John exited the Barrier. Unlike his entry, he focused the skill at his feet, reappearing in his room upright a few centimeters above his bed. A short drop later and John landed on the mattress and scrambled off in time for Aeolia to pop back in.

She had followed his advice and compressed herself, easily gliding down to the bed. She touched down upon the bed and flopped down, an action that reminded John of his attempt at homemaking.

He cleared his suddenly dry throat. “So, um, Aeolia.”

“Yeah?” she responded, forcing herself into a seated position.

“Well, er, I figure,” John fumbled out his words, trying to avoid causing her more pain. “Since it’s getting late and I’d be a pretty shitty host after all the help you’ve been, I thought I should offer you a place to stay.”

He lamely walked over to his desk and drew Aeolia’s attention to his cobbled together bed. Her eyes widened when she saw it.

“I know it sucks,” John said, bashfully avoiding looking at Aeolia, a touch fearful that she’d react badly to his shoddy work. “It was a dumb idea anyway. I can sleep in my chair, you can have the bed.”

“No,” Aeolia forcefully reproached as she launched herself off the bed and landed on the desk. “You didn’t have to go to the effort, but you did. That's really thoughtful.”

She paused for a breath; like John, she found it difficult to articulate her thoughts, though her stumbling was due more to pride and a **** to speak about the loss of everyone she had known than nerves.

“I appreciate this, really,” she said warmly, a small smile gracing her face. “I was going to ask if I could rest here, so I guess we had the same idea. Small world, right?”

She jumped off the desk and floated down to the bed, landing on the arranged pile of fabrics and pillows.

“Feels comfy,” she announced, testing the support. “This should be fine.”

“You sure?” John asked a tad timidly. “I’ve got no problem with you taking the actual bed. I’ve spent a few nights in my chair and it isn’t that bad of a night’s sleep.”

“I said,” Aeolia stated, her voice unyielding and the touch of warmth fading slightly, “that this is fine. I was all ready to just ask for a pillow and open up a small Barrier. Not a lot of people are that hospitable, not without wanting something. You’re a good person, John, and the Abyss doesn’t have a lot of those.”

John felt his face flush, and he swallowed a lump Aeolia’s praise had conjured.

“Thanks,” he managed to say. “Um, you’re probably a bit hungry, after that flight. I’m sure there are some snacks in the cabinet. And I’ll bring up something to drink.”