The weapon stall was three shops down.
Ren almost walked past it.
Almost.
Spears, swords, axes and bows covered two walls behind the counter. None of them looked particularly impressive. They still looked better than using a harvesting knife against everything.
Ren stepped inside.
The merchant looked up.
"Buying?"
"Considering."
"Let me know when considering becomes buying."
"You’ll be the first."
The merchant pointed toward the racks.
Ren started with the spears.
He had used one during the rabbit cull long enough to know the reach helped. The knife was useful when something was already on the ground. Getting close enough to use it against an angry ram had been less appealing.
The cheapest spears were Grey.
Ren skipped them.
That felt strange. A few hours ago, twenty-four copper for a harvesting knife had required serious consideration. Now he could look at Grey equipment and decide he wanted something better.
He inspected the first White spear.
Aldern Militia Spear
White Weapon - Common
Level Requirement: 3
Strength Requirement: 13
Base Damage: 9-14
Price: 9 Silver
Nine silver. At the rate the woman had quoted, that was less than three dollars. Cashing out everything he had now would barely matter against twelve hundred dollars of rent.
A better weapon might help him earn more.
That decision was annoyingly easy. There was only one problem.
Strength thirteen.
Ren opened his status.
Vagrant
Level: 3
Tier: F
Class: Classless
Talent:
Strength: 12
Agility: 12
Vitality: 10
Intellect: 10
Perception: 11
Stat Points Available: 5
One point solved the spear. The other four deserved slightly more thought.
The rams had made Agility useful every time he needed to get out of the way. More Vitality meant more room for mistakes. Perception helped every time he tried to put a blade somewhere specific.
Intellect remained ten. Ren looked at it.
"You’ve contributed very little."
The merchant glanced over.
"What?"
"Not you."
Ren assigned the points.
Strength: 12 -> 13
Agility: 12 -> 14
Vitality: 10 -> 11
Perception: 11 -> 12
Maximum HP: 110 -> 115
Stat Points Available: 0
The change settled through him.
His stance adjusted first. Weight shifted more easily under his feet, and the spear on the wall no longer looked quite as heavy as it had a moment earlier.
Ren picked it up.
The system accepted the weapon immediately.
He tested the balance. Long enough to keep claws and horns away from his ribs. Light enough to change direction without fighting the shaft.
"Nine?"
"Nine."
"Eight."
"No."
"That was quick."
"You can buy the Grey one."
Ren looked toward it.
The merchant smiled.
Ren paid nine silver.
Purchase Complete
Aldern Militia Spear
-9 Silver
For the first time since entering Pantheon, Ren had a proper weapon of his own. That was nice.
He left before the merchant found something else to sell him.
The practice yard was nearby. Players occupied nearly every dummy.
A Mage stood with both hands extended toward one target.
Nothing happened.
His friend watched from beside him.
"Again."
"I’m trying."
"You’ve been trying for five minutes."
"My Firebolt has a cast sequence."
"You have an F-rank talent."
"That’s unrelated."
A small flame finally appeared. It traveled perhaps three feet before vanishing.
The friend nodded solemnly.
"Terrifying."
Ren found an empty dummy farther down. He shifted the spear between his hands, testing the balance.
Much better.
The harvesting knife went back into his Inventory.
He opened his Plunder loadout.
Equipped Plunder Skill: Keen Bite F
Vault
Burrow F
Lunge F
Thick Hide F
Ren selected Lunge.
He waited through the swap channel.
Plunder Skill equipped: Lunge F
Ren faced the dummy. The skill had been useful when he tested it before. Now he had a weapon actually built for stabbing things.
He activated it.
His body drove forward.
The spear crossed the gap with him and struck the center of the dummy hard enough to shake the wooden post. That felt considerably better.
He tried again from a different angle.
The skill carried his first step and the spearhead did the rest.
A normal thrust depended on his movement. Lunge gave the movement to him, and the weapon gave it reach.
Ren smiled.
Stonebird had been right to like this skill. Unfortunately, Ren also liked Keen Bite and he only had one slot.
He looked between Lunge and the Vault. There was no correct answer without knowing what he was fighting.
Good.
That made the choice interesting.
Ren waited for his mana to begin recovering, then swapped Keen Bite back in before leaving the yard.
The commission board had changed since his last visit. There were still too many players standing directly in front of it as though everyone behind them had stopped existing.
Ren worked around the edge.
Several new commissions had gone up.
A missing cart.
Ditch lizards eating irrigation fish.
Someone wanted six sacks of charcoal moved across Aldern and had apparently decided adventurers were cheaper than laborers.
Then Ren noticed the scorched corner of one notice.
Commission: Kiln Trouble - Common
Cinderpods have nested in the old charcoal yard east of Aldern.
Recommended Level: 3
Objective: Slay 3 Cinderpods
Reward: 70 Copper
Reward: 80 XP
Cinderpods.
Ren had no idea what they were, but the scorched paper gave him a clue.
Two players beside him were discussing the same commission.
"Don’t."
The second player looked at the first.
"Why?"
"They breathe fire."
"That’s not a reason."
"I lost thirty-eight HP before I even hit one."
"That sounds like a you problem."
"It was absolutely a me problem. I’m making it yours."
Thirty-eight HP is a lot. But if no one wants the quest, that’s fewer competitors. Maybe a new skill too.
Ren accepted the commission.
Quest Accepted: Kiln Trouble - Common
Objective: Slay 3 Cinderpods
Reward: 70 Copper + 80 XP
The first player noticed.
"You taking it solo?"
Ren looked at him.
"Apparently."
"They’re Level Four."
That was useful information.
"Thank you."
"I wasn’t encouraging you."
"Still useful."
Ren left Aldern through the eastern gate.
The charcoal yard was close enough that the village walls remained visible behind him.
Two rows of squat stone kilns filled the clearing. Black dust covered the ground. Stacked logs leaned beneath canvas roofs along one side.
Something scraped behind the nearest kiln.
Ren stopped.
Six crooked roots reached around the stone. Then the rest followed.
The creature stood about waist-high. Its body was a round black bulb wrapped in overlapping charcoal plates. Thin orange light leaked through the gaps. A hollow stalk rose from the top with smoke drifting from it.
Ren inspected the creature.
Cinderpod
Level 4 - Common
HP: 132/132
The stalk turned toward him.
Ren adjusted his grip on his new spear.
"Let’s see what nine silver bought me."
Orange light flared inside the Cinderpod. Then the yard ignited.