Aethelgard: The Survival Game (Chloe) novel Chapter 12

Chapter 12 Talent Activated

Rare–quality blueprints really were on another level. The effects on this one stood out.

Chloe hadn’t gotten her hands on many rare items. Most of her gear was common, but the few rare pieces she owned, like the arcane dew collector, all packed serious effects.

She really did need to track down more high–quality blueprints.

Then again, the plush bed wasn’t built with any slime materials. ‘How on earth did it end up with the slime’s blessing?’ Chloe wondered.

She glanced over at her little wooden cabin.

A pane of clear glass framed one wall, giving her a view of the parched land outside. Sunlight was pouring down in thick waves of heat, but inside the cabin, the air stayed cool and easy.

She pulled up the description of her custom cabin.

[Custom Slime Cabin: A blueprint touched by slime essence, said to take on a will of its own.

[Quality: Premium (Upgradable)

[Effect 1: Items crafted inside the cabin have a small chance of receiving the slime’s blessing. Grants a Coolness buff during high heat.

[Effect 2: Any facility, magical item, or food created inside the cabin has an extremely low chance of gaining Water Elemental Affinity, with a small chance of an additional effect boost.

[Effect 3: This is a basic cabin blueprint and can be further refined.]

Premium blueprints really were something else.

The sun outside kept climbing, but the cabin held onto its cool air. The results spoke for themselves.

The only real downside was that she still couldn’t bathe, and the grime was starting to get to her. The bed looked so crisp and soft she almost felt bad about climbing into it at night.

At least she could put her nightstalker tent up on the trading post today.

Just then, a system notification popped up.

[Congratulations! You are the first player to reach a Comfort Level of 100. The Lifestyle Leaderboard is now unlocked!

[Tip: The Lifestyle Leaderboard ranks players by Comfort Score, Environment Score, and Resource Score. Standings lock in on the 28th of every month. The higher the rank, the better the rewards!

[Current Lifestyle Rank: 791

[Current Combat Rank: 5,571]

Out of a hundred thousand players, Chloe was more than happy with where she stood.

She stepped outside, and the temperature change hit her like a wall, a good 14 degrees warmer the second she crossed the threshold. A wave of heat rolled over her. When she checked her energy bar, it showed a full

200. 200.

Once she was outside, she burned 80 energy right away to build her second basic arcane dew collector.

She had hauled the crafting panel into the cabin too, hoping to piggyback off the slime cabin’s special effect. Turned out “extremely low” really did mean extremely low. Nothing happened.

Still, being able to produce 17 fl oz of energy–restoring dew every day made the 80–point cost more than worth

1. it.

After that, Chloe turned her attention to her talent.

[Sorceress’s Boon: Spend attribute points to alter an item, granting it a unique trait based on the number of points invested. (No cooldown)

Successfully unlocked!

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Chapter 12 Talent Activated

[Note: A minimum of five attribute points must be spent to imbue an item with magical properties.

[Current Talent Points: 5]

Talents were obviously the backbone of this game. Chloe had seen enough trades on the Trading Post to know that all the high–end gear out there came from someone’s talent.

No wonder she was already sitting at rank 791. She hadn’t even used her talent yet.

The real question was where to spend it.

She tested it out and found that the dew collector, the slime cabin, the bed, and the grill could all be enchanted. Each eligible item triggered the same prompt. [Bestow your blessing upon “BBQ Grill“?]

Chloe glanced around the room, and her eyes landed on the fishing rod.

The rod had been her most reliable source of supplies by a long shot.

‘Should I upgrade it?‘ Chloe pondered.

While she was still mulling it over, her gaze drifted past the dark, corruption–soaked soil at her feet.

On a whim, she gave it a try.

[Bestow your blessing upon “Corrupted Soil“?

[Note: Each unit of soil is calculated independently!]

‘Wait, can I use my talent on soil too?‘ she wondered.

The thought stirred something in Chloe. In fact, the love of farming and tilling the earth ran deep in her blood. Stockpiling started with growing your own food.

The catch was that her talent could only upgrade a single plot at a time, which made the cost–to–benefit ratio downright miserable.

She’d have to wait until she had more attribute points, special seeds, or some kind of farming–related tool before giving it a real shot.

Chloe pushed the idea aside for now. Tomorrow, when she earned a attribute point, she could test it on the

soil then.

Her gaze drifted to the fishing rod beside her. ‘You’re up now,‘ she decided.

[Spend five attribute points to bless your Starter Fishing Rod?]

[Yes!]

A flash of purple light swept through the air, shimmering with an otherworldly glow.

The plain wooden rod in her hand had transformed completely. A faint shimmer wrapped around it, etched

with simple patterns, and the fishing line itself now flowed with iridescent light.

Set into the purple rod was a single gemstone that pulsed with magic, throwing off rainbow light. Something about it tugged at her memory.

[Unstable Arcane Wish Rod: A blessed and slightly mutant rod, capable of granting the angler’s wishes. Just don’t expect it to deliver every time.

[Quality: Epic

[Magic Threat Level: Mid–High Risk

[Effect: On the first cast of each day, the user may anchor a target item they wish to catch. Odds of catching that item skyrocket. After each granted wish, the rod will randomly and unpredictably hook a monster. [Magical Properties: Unstable Wish / Bio–Active

[The blessing has given the rod a greedy trait. It hungers for bigger, rarer, more valuable catches, even if they bring danger and disaster. At the same time, it sulks and convinces itself it deserves nothing but garbage, that its wishes will never come true.

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Chapter 12 Talent Activated

[Starter Rod Trait (will be destroyed after Novice Protection ends): Can only catch items from the Novice Zone.

The moment Chloe saw the rod’s stats, her eyes widened a fraction. An epic–tier item. The thing had jumped from common all the way to epic in a single shot.

This was the first epic–tier tool Chloe had ever owned. Well, not exactly the first. She’d picked up an epic–tier gemstone before, an Aqua Essence Crystal, and barely made it out alive in the fight against the slime that dropped it.

Thinking about that crystal made the gem glittering on her rod look more and more familiar.

‘Wait a second, Chloe thought. She pulled up her inventory.

She had organized it just yesterday. The purple, epic–tier gemstone had still been sitting there last night. As her most valuable and highest–tier material, it wasn’t something she’d ever overlook.

Now it was gone.

Chloe stared at the fishing rod in silence. ‘Oh, you have got to be kidding,‘ she thought. ‘Tell me that’s not the same one!

She ran her thumb over the crystal embedded in the rod and let out a quiet sigh. The Aqua Essence Crystal’s stats were still fresh in her mind.

[Aqua Essence Crystal, Quality: Epic, Properties: High–Mana Energy Medium / Pure Element / Rare Conductor] The epic–tier crystal had carried three traits: high–magic medium, pure element, and rare conductor. The unique nature of the crystal probably explained why the rod had transformed so dramatically.

Next time she used her talent to imbue an item, she’d need to try it with rarer, higher–quality materials. That was the only way to push her ability to its full potential.

Losing one Aqua Essence Crystal stung a little, but Chloe figured she’d come out way ahead.

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