Aethelgard: The Survival Game (Chloe) novel Chapter 6

Chapter 6 The Aqua Sphere Tome

Chapter 6 The Aqua Sphere Tome

This was Chloe’s first real look at what it took to level up a territory. The upgrade path had probably been hidden behind some trigger condition, only revealing itself once she crossed the right threshold.

One glance at her inventory brought her crashing back to earth. She wasn’t even close. Her entire stockpile was a joke.

She scanned her little patch of land. The dew collector and the grill counted as expansion facilities, putting her at two out of three. The crafting table and the nightstalker tent didn’t qualify for that category.

Building Facilities sat at a flat zero.

Chloe pulled open the Trading Post and settled in, letting the fishing rod do its thing while she browsed. The midday sun had climbed straight overhead, and the heat was brutal enough to make her vision swim. NightShadow: [Anyone got stuff that boosts spirit stats? Buying bandages, antibiotics, hemostatic meds, literally any personal healing supplies.]

CloudZephyr: [Looking for building blueprints, any kind. Paying in flint.]

LuckyKitty: [Got a spear, trading it for half a gallon of water. PM me, highest offer wins.]

MintyGrass: [This game is actually insane. I had a torch last night and used it to fend off the monsters, but I pulled an all–nighter doing it.

[Now I’ve got debuffs piling up, “low energy” this, “unable to fish” that. How am I supposed to get any supplies? Can someone please tell me what to do.

[Aren’t we supposed to be in novice protection?]

Rich DragonWolf: [Monsters showing up was the best thing that happened to me lol. Got to hunt them down and scored a ton of good loot. Only downside is they stop spawning after the first hour. After that you’re safe even without a torch.

[Alright, not tryna brag or anything, but y’all gotta see my talent.]

[RichDragonWolf’s Personal Talent: The Predator (A–Rank)]

[The Predator: All physical stats enhanced. Comes equipped with a knife that inflicts bleed. Bonus critical hit chance when hunting monsters, plus extra loot drops.]

MintyGrass: [Are you KIDDING me? An A–rank talent? That is busted.

[Anyone sitting on herbs they don’t need? My talent’s Herb Gatherer. I can turn ‘em into healing salves. Happy to trade bandages for water if anyone’s interested.]

A few seconds later, she posted again. Someone had clearly already messaged her in private.

MintyGrass: [My endurance is shot and there’s a daily cap on how many bandages I can craft. Sorry, all full up. Taking preorders for energy recovery items only.]

MintyGrass had found herself a hustle.

Chloe scrolled through the trading post and noticed that no one had brought up territory upgrades yet. The listings were all over the place, though a filter tucked in the top–right corner helped narrow things down. She pulled up slime ooze. Plenty of sellers. Beyond the usual staples like logs, pebbles, and plant fibers, the board was packed with oddball materials, including leather hides, snake scales, and citrine. It really had a little bit of everything.

Her grill blueprint still had two uses left, but building a second one on her own territory would be a waste. The thing doubled as a light source and a cooking station. It would sell well on the trading post.

Chloe wanted to stock up on basic materials, and fast. She searched the listings again, but not a single skill

tome came up.

1/3

Chapter 6 The Aqua Sphere Tome

No surprise there. Players kept the good stuff to themselves. Finding an aqua sphere tome through trading was a pipe dream.

Her attribute points sat at two. Five more days, and she’d unlock the ability to imbue items with magical properties. Novice protection still had two weeks left on the clock. She could afford to wait.

She took a few sips of water and picked up her rod again. It bent almost right away, and she hauled in another slime. ‘Lucky me,‘ she thought.

The trading post chatter had made one thing obvious. Slimes were rare catches.

Most players reeled in fish–wolves or oversized rabbits. The lucky few who hooked a slime called it beginner’s luck, since the things died on contact with sunlight and dropped clean water.

Chloe was just a few tome fragments short of completing her aqua sphere.

The second the slime broke the surface, she fell back on the same trick as before. Torch in hand, she squared

off for another round.

Chloe lost track of time. Maybe she’d poked a slime nest. Maybe the universe had decided to throw her a bone. By the time the sun dipped toward the horizon, she had reeled in three more slimes back to back. Every single catch.

The fights had left their mark. Bruises blanketed her arms and legs, some so thick and swollen they looked painted on. The lightest touch sent pain shooting through her skin.

She was still trading blows with yet another slime.

The afternoon sun had lost its bite, which made this juvenile slime harder to put down than the rest.

Chloe lit a log and held the flame against the creature until it finally dissolved into nothing.

[Adult Slime killed!

[Achievement Unlocked “Hey, a Kill’s a Kill.” Silver Chest x1 awarded!

[“Hey, a Kill’s a Kill“: Defeat 5 or more of the same creature consecutively while dealing less than 10% of total damage yourself.

[Creature kills x5. Combat Leaderboard now active. Rankings reset every fifteen days. Higher placement yields greater rewards.]

The slime’s loot chest drifted down toward her. Chloe ignored the silver chest entirely and zeroed in on the monster drop.

The last three slimes had come up empty on aqua sphere fragments. ‘Just one. That’s all I need,‘ she thought, rubbing her palms together.

She cracked the chest open, and light poured out.

[Aqua Sphere Tome Fragment x2 obtained!

[Slime Ooze x5 obtained!

[Aqua Essence Crystal x1 obtained!

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