Chương 27: Crafting a New Staff

[Gale Step (E) 2TP], [Lesser Spirit Anchor (E) 1TP], [Thornshot (F) 2TP], [Feral Roar (F) 2TP], [Lunar Flare (D) 4TP], [Stoneguard (E) 3TP] Note: You can choose to reroll a saved skill from the last selection. That skill won't appear again. [Thornshot (F) 2TP] – Summon thorn bullets and fire at your enemies. Shoot up to 6 projectiles per cast. Damage scales with tier and level. Costs 80 Spirit per cast.

[Feral Roar (F) 2TP] – While in feral form, unleash a roar imbued with spirit energy and your willpower, causing enemies to flee in fear and empowering allies, increasing their overall speed by 10%. [Stoneguard (E) 3TP] – Command the earth beneath you, raising a two -meter-tall and wide wall for protection. Costs 150 Spirit to cast. Hmmm, I'll remove Thornshot. It's not something I'll be needing. Maximus decided, though a part of him also wanted to test this feature and see what would happen.

Rerolling skill [Thornshot (F)] New skill added to the selection. [Spore Cloud (E) 3TP] Well, that was underwhelming. Ah, well, I've got 11 points to spend, I'm taking the Spirit Anchor and Lunar Flare just from looking at their names. Well, let me see the details first. No rush, you old fool. He opened the skill descriptions. [Gale Step (E) 2TP] – By using explosive bursts of wind, move up to 5 meters in any direction regardless of terrain.

Your next melee attack evokes slicing winds and has its damage increased by 10%. Costs 50 Spirit per cast and goes on a 5-minute cooldown after three casts. [Lesser Spirit Anchor (E) 1TP] – Using your being as an anchor, summon a lesser elemental spirit to aid you in battle. The spirits will bless you with a boon related to their elemental attunement while summoned and attack with low-level spells. Spirits summoned 0/1.

[Lunar Flare (D) 4TP] – Commune with the power of the lunar star and conjure a brilliant flare of purifying cold flames that engulf your target, dealing medium instant damage and constant burning cold damage over a 2-minute duration. Costs 240 Spirit to cast. [Spore Cloud (E) 3TP] – Summon a cloud of Mycena spores which, once inhaled or absorbed, cause hallucinations and paralysis in the victim, lasting for 2 minutes, and cannot be cleansed by regular means. Costs 180 Spirit per cast.

By the heavens, they are all amazing. Imagine getting half the points; poor other participants. He chuckled inwardly as he reread the list. At this rate, I'll never get that Earth spell. Sigh, I'll take the newest four. He chose, leaving Feral Roar and Stoneguard behind once more.

"Got anything good?" Oscar asked impatiently.

"Indeed, a few things." Maximus smiled.

"What, you're not gonna clue us in?" Oscar pressed.

"I got a sort of a fire spell and a few others, you'll see." Maximus winked playfully.

"How are you even buying all these skills?" Felix cut in, intrigued.

"It's a secret," Maximus said with a grin.

"Fine then, keep your secrets, Red." Oscar hmphed.

"Well then, I'll need to get a new staff; my old one broke," Maximus muttered as he stood up. He inspected Sprout's cocoon and noticed that a small crystal had crumbled loose from where he had rooted himself.

"That's it! How have I not thought of that?!" He crouched next to the cluster of crystals and took out his sword, prying a few loose.

"What are you doing now?" Felix questioned.

"I'm going to fix my staff myself. These crystals should make a good conduit for spells, and I can find a new handle outside." Maximus said, enthused.

"Ha! Look at him! Now he thinks he's a master blacksmith, he does. Aye, of course you can, mate. I'm one hundred percent behind your crackpot plans, me," Oscar chuckled.

"I really want to see the finished product," Felix said, half-kidding, half-expecting something ridiculous.

"Heal and watch over Sprout. I'll be back soon enough," Maximus said as he walked outside.

As soon as he exited the cavern, Maximus activated his World Sense and, for the first time, saw the world for what it truly was. Spirit energy radiated from trees like a thick green mist, pure mana mixed with elements and laws flowed through everything, and connecting it all was liquid-like numina, with four elements radiating through the realm itself.

As he observed water numina flowing through the trees and air numina drifting above him, the two small, dim lights within his seed ignited, drawing in enough energy until they shone as brightly as the other two. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. After the balance was set, he observed no other changes. This is very odd. If only I could run an experiment to reproduce the same effects. He stood there thinking as the sun warmed his ever-changing body.

Maybe I could make an external seed and force the numina into it, and then see what happens if I activate it. As he was trying to figure out the best way to experiment, Silex walked slowly next to him and whipped him with his tail across the buttocks. Maximus winced and frowned.

"What is it now?" He looked down and gasped. Around Silex, water mana and numina flowed, making him look as if he were submerged beneath a shallow tide.

"Silex, my boy… How are you… How are you just a regular beast?" Maximus couldn't believe that the crocodile carried water numina within him. This would mean that he could become much, much stronger one day. He smiled as he crouched down, petting his large head.

"What is it? You wanted something?" He asked gently. Silex nodded and led him behind the cave. There, at the corner where the cave merged into a larger hill surrounded by thick woodland, stood a tall tree shimmering with faint green veins running across its bark. [Spirit Pine (C)] A pine tree that grew from a crystalline spirit vein, absorbing abundant spirit energy throughout its lifetime. Can be used as a staff shaft or for crafting arrows and bows.

"Silex, my friend… How did you even find this? Actually, better question, why did you wander off without me?" Maximus turned toward the white croc.

"You could've gotten lost, or hurt, or even killed. I beg of you, be careful, alright?" Maximus lectured. Silex yawned, ignoring his words entirely, and went back out into the sun to bask lazily.

"That stubborn lizard…" Maximus muttered, but he was thankful. He had already guessed that there should be good wood in the region due to the abundance of spirit energy in the ground, but this was far beyond his expectations. It would be a shame to kill it. I'll just take a good-looking branch and a piece of the root. Maximus decided; his elven side, combined with his new druidic nature, urged him to preserve nature whenever he could.

He took out his sword and cut a two-meter-long branch cleanly, and as he did, thick, viscous green sap leaked from the wound. Maximus took out one of his bowls and saved as much as he could. [Nurturing Sap] Can be used to increase the potency of potions or to heal and close wounds if applied directly.

"Thank you, friend. I will use your gifts with respect." Maximus bowed slightly to the tree as he stored the bowl of sap.

"Let's try this." He wanted to see if his idea would work.

"Grow!" He whispered into the branch, and the branch erupted with green light, growing thicker and longer, side branches sprouting and expanding until he could no longer hold it.

"Hahaha, amazing!" He stored the massive branch, still laughing happily, as he dug out a small piece of the root.

"I will help you spread your roots into the greater realms as well… If I ever find my way out and a place to call home again." He said, melancholy tightening its grip around his heart as he stored the root. [Spirit Pine's Root (C)]"Here, let me help you heal the wounds I've inflicted upon you, old guardian." Maximus said as he pressed his hand onto its trunk and whispered, "Grow!"

The tree began absorbing even more spirit energy, then surged upward into the sky, its missing branch regrowing, its roots mending, and it continued to grow until it towered above the hill and the cavern, its roots spreading deep into the earth. As its growth finished, a small green pinecone fell from one of the branches, as if given in gratitude. [Spirit Pinecone (C)]"I'll accept it gladly!" Maximus caught the pinecone and stored it.

A few ideas instantly sprang into his mind as he made his way back towards the front, where Silex relaxed.

"Hey, Silex, buddy, I appreciate your help, but how did you know that I needed materials for a new staff?" Maximus asked, not expecting an answer. Silex gave him a knowing stare before closing his eyes again and ignoring him. Can he understand me, read my mind? Was he listening to what I was thinking inside? He really is an amazing beast.

Maximus thought as he nodded thankfully to the croc before sitting a bit further away on the ground, taking out the hand-sized cluster of crystals and what remained of his old staff.

"Silex, my friend, let me show you how old Aurelius used to make staves." He said, but the croc ignored him again. Maximus shook his head, amused at the lazy croc, and started working on the branch with his sword. He cut away the smaller branches and trimmed the main one to around two meters in length, storing the remains and beginning to shave off the bark until the staff was bright yellow in color and perfectly smooth. Using his blade, he then carved a slot on top of the staff where the crystal would sit.

He then used his kitchen knife and carved out the runes from the old staff and etched them into the new staff's shaft before taking out the bowl of sap and using it as a binding agent to set the runes firmly into place.

"This looks horrible, but it should work once I connect the energy source." He muttered, chuckling to himself as he summoned Static Vine. He let the electricity surge outward before using the thick vine to bind the crystal to the staff's head until it was firmly secured in place. Summoning another vine, he wrapped it around the staff's shaft, connecting everything into one cohesive frame.

"Well, let's give it a bit of power, shall we?" He said as he activated Static Strike, sending electricity coursing through the vines and the staff, into the emerald crystal and then back down into the runes, making them sink into the staff's core and bind everything together properly. Congratulations, you have crafted a magical weapon of D rarity.

Item acquired [Emerald Pine Staff (D)] Skill Unlocked [Artificer (D)]"I should've expected that; the runes and bindings are very primitive, but at least I got it for free. It should do for now." Maximus muttered as he held the staff and appraised it. [Emerald Pine Staff (D)] Natural damage increased by 18%. Spirit recovery rate increased by 5% when held. Plant-based spells cost 10% less spirit to cast. It'll do; the runes actually improved thanks to the materials, and it even has an intrinsic boost.

I shouldn't complain about it. He nodded, satisfied, and stored the staff.

"Now then, let us summon an elemental spirit." He clapped enthusiastically and activated Lesser Spirit Anchor. ‎