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Chapter 31 - Body of a Barbarian
🕑 Added 2024-05-28 20:01:28 +0000 UTCMy head was still going over everything that we had learned yesterday, while my body went through the daily motions. My forging suffered from my distracted thoughts, but I couldn't help it. It was just so much to take in.
The only time where I could force myself to focus was during my hunting trips. Being distracted there wouldn't spell a good ending. I had made tremendous progress since I upgraded my class and it was a stark contrast from having regular human strength. The difference was apparent in battle.
I had gained two levels in my new class and four in my profession since I got them. In 5 days and 2 waves, I had leveled 6 times. My status sheet was a lot better now.
Name: Christopher Zalenski
Race: Human(G)
Class: (G) Arctic Barbarian(Uncommon) – Level 12
Profession: Novice Blacksmith(Common) – Level 5
Faction: Zalenski Family (Temporary)
Strength- 53
Agility- 26
Perception- 13
Fortitude- 34
Endurance- 40
Vitality - 27
Intelligence- 11
Wisdom- 16
Acumen- 12
Free Points: 0
Laws: None
Class Skills: Heavy Blow(Uncommon), Fortified Body(Common), Throwing Weapon Proficiency(Beginner), Identify(Common), Penetrating Strike(Common), Sweeping Slash(Common), Ice Wall(Common), Heavy Armor Proficiency(Beginner), Heavy Weapon Proficiency(Beginner)
Profession Skills: Sense Metal(Common), Create Weapon(Crude)
Coins: 0
Points: 2,976
My stats were coming along nicely. The four free points I got for levels 11 and 12 I split between agility and fortitude. I thought about using them on my suboptimal magic skills but figured it would be a waste. Best to focus on one thing rather than split them.
When my profession hit level 5 I got a new skill and it was what you would expect. I had been focusing on making weapons since I got the profession so it wasn't a surprise to see a skill related to it. There were other ones to choose from but none that were as readily helpful. I would probably get the armor version next.
Create Weapon(Crude) – Forging weapons is the primary job of most blacksmiths. Weapons, in their many forms, are the most commonly used tool in existence. Adds a minor increase to the effectiveness and grade for weapons forged at Crude tier and below.
I didn't know how much of a boost it gave to my weapons but it couldn't hurt. I was still restricted to forging crude tier currently which was annoying. There was no one to teach me and I was guessing at what would make a better weapon.
I was hoping that making good-quality steel would be my path to Common-tier weapons.
I was one level away from a new class skill and I was eager to get it. I wanted to see what this new class offered and what skills there would be to choose from. I didn't get to pick the first one which was a bummer, but I would be able to choose this one.
G rank went up to level 25. Class skills were offered when you got the class at 10 and then every 3 levels after, getting the last skill at 25. Professions were different. Since they didn't start at the H tier like my class did it split the skills over a wider range of levels resulting in a bigger gap between skills. I got a skill at level 1 and a second at level 5. Simple math showed it was every 5 levels.
It was annoying that they were different but they should sync up when I evolve to F rank.
The tenth wave was coming in two days and I needed to be ready for it. After fixing everyone's weapons I focused on making myself some armor. I got Heavy Armor Proficiency and I intended to use it.
I had made some pieces here and there when I had time but they were... clunky to say the least. Getting the size right was the hardest part, but with enough adjustments, it worked out fine.
Making armor was different than making weapons and it took a while to get used to the difference. I had a set ready, but I was making a better one before the wave. It reminded me of the first Iron Man suit in a way, it truly embodied the crude title.
I had to buy under-armor from the store since we didn't have anyone who could make it. Sam and Ashley were focused on making other people's armor and didn't have the time. The armor they made for me was resized to fit my Dad since we were so close in build.
It was nice to know he would be protected in better armor. I would have to make him some when I got some time.
The reason that I was more focused on this wave compared to the last two was the levels involved. If the pattern held, every monster would be over level 10 this time. All of them would be evolved.
Only one other person had evolved in our camp so far and we would be out-leveled... badly. It was fine to be a level or two behind normally but there was a big jump in power from a level 9 monster to a level 10.
The boss of the last wave even damaged the wall a decent amount before it died. I didn't know how well the wall would hold up to a wave of entirely evolved beasts and if the last wave was anything to compare it to... not well. Only half of the monsters had evolved last wave and the damage to the wall wasn't small. The number of monsters in the waves just kept increasing as well and that was another thing that the wall had to hold up against.
Abigail was the only other person at G rank besides Austin and me and she didn't have a combat class. She was still primarily a healer but now she had skills that could buff others.
It was a battlefield healer/support mix that was extremely useful. She could now heal from range which was a nice advancement. It apparently cost more mana and was less effective, but it kept her protected and that's what mattered. She could only buff a small number of people and it was used on people who needed it. I was not among the few.
I wanted her to get a profession so she would get stronger but she kept saying she didn't have the time. She hadn't even thought of which one she wanted. I thought it was an obvious choice but she didn't agree. She wanted to know all her options before she made a decision.
Austin and I tried to explain the difficulties in fighting evolved beasts and it worked to dampen the camp's mood... somewhat. The last few waves had been a breeze and people were starting to forget the dangers. They trusted so much in the wall that they blinded themselves to what happened to Derek.
The waves created a large influx of points that we used to greatly improve our camp but we couldn't forget the dangers involved. I could only hope that they were right and everything would be fine, but something told me that wouldn't be the case.
It was just a feeling I had deep down but I couldn't shake it. It was an increasing sense of dread whenever I thought of the upcoming wave.
I tried to tell myself we were making preparations and everything would be fine but it didn't work to shake the feeling. The trench was finished some time ago and it encircled the entire camp. It was filled to the brim with all kinds of nasty things and Hal even made some poison.
Kyle's skill Forager's Sense had found some poisonous plants out in the forest and Hal had ground them into a primitive poison to add to the spikes. We added some traps even further out and did as much as we could to cause as many casualties as we could.
I even managed to convince Abigail and Granddad to buy some of the system traps from the store. If we ended up needing them, then we would have them. If we didn't then oh well, we could use them for later waves.
We figured out that we couldn't use the store while a wave was underway and we had to adjust our plans accordingly. We would have to make sure that we had purchased everything that we needed before a wave started. It wouldn't be good to be unable to buy anything that we needed and being unable to.
In the two days until the wave, I worked more frantically than I had before. The feeling I had was starting to feel like paranoia and that I wasn't doing enough. I had already made everyone's weapons and had even made better javelins for everyone to throw. Now instead of a sharpened stick, they were true javelins with a metal spearhead and everything.
I made some metal breastplates that people could use but I didn't have the time to make that many. I only managed to equip half of the warriors with them. It wasn't the full plate protection that I had with my armor but it covered their essentials.
I managed to get to the next level in my class and finally got to look at the skill selection.
Ice Manipulation(Common)
Body of a Barbarian(Uncommon)
Piercing Cold(Uncommon)
Shatter(Uncommon)
Hail(Common)
Barbarian's Rage(Common)
Frostbite(Uncommon)
Ice Bolt(Common)
Wind Chill(Common)
The list went on but these were the ones I picked out as most essential, the extra ones were left over from my last class and were the basic skills that most people had available. If I needed them I could purchase them from the store without wasting a class skill on them.
There were more melee skills but I ignored those for now, Heavy Blow, Penetrating Strike, and Sweeping Slash were enough for now. I could buy more from the store if I needed them.
There were nine to choose from and I would only be able to get six. Three of them would have to be left behind.
Ice Manipulation would pair well with my affinity and give me an offensive magic skill. I would have to pair it with one of the skills that created ice but that wasn't too hard to do. I would save that one for later when it was more applicable.
Hail and Ice Bolt both created ice. Ice Wall did it as well but I didn't know how helpful that it would be, it was a sturdy wall of ice that I didn't know if I would be able to change.
Shatter was a great skill to add after I had a couple of ice skills to use it on. It would cause ice to explode out in sharp spikes that would injure anything in range.
Wind Chill was an area of effect skill that de-buffed any enemy that entered its range. It would slow and weaken enemies with a piercingly cold wind as the name implied.
Frostbite was actually an upgrade to a skill I already had. It upgraded Penetrating Strike. It added the feature that injected ice mana into anything I hit that would leave lasting damage over time effect and weaken whatever I hit with ice mana.
Body of a Barbarian was an interesting skill that did something that I hadn't seen before. It didn't have any active effects and was entirely a passive skill, but its boost was huge.
I didn't know which three would be left behind but I knew the one I would be getting now.
Body of a Barbarian – Utilize the strength of your body to empower yourself further. Every second point into endurance results in a point in strength.
My endurance was at 40 right now and if I got that skill it would add 20 points to my strength increasing it to 73. That was a huge increase and something that would go a long way in getting rid of my feeling of dread.
After I got the skill I felt the euphoric feeling of my strength increasing and it was amazing. It would take some time to get used to but I would be ready for the next wave and I would be stronger than ever.
Comments
Alexander C Hyde
The stat sheet didn’t say his affinity.
