A couple of days later, Ash finally gave us his gift. And he did not disappoint. None of us were entirely sure what the Chieftain had in store. There were some theories, of course, but the man was surprisingly quiet when talking to us about that subject. In the end, everybody received their own items, even if there was some overlap between a few.
First, everybody got some shoes that were enchanted to have skills related to increased endurance. They were a way to walk for long periods of time without getting tired. While it was a passive effect, it also required one Energy per day for it to be active.
All in all, it was a good piece of gear, even if the looks could be improved. The shoes themselves were hardly something anyone could call pretty. They were brown pieces of leather with a thicker piece underneath. However, inside was some monster fur to help make the entire team more comfortable and warm our feet a bit more. Apparently, the fur also had been enchanted to have a nice smell. It didn't result in a skill, even if we all could smell the fragrance if we put our noses inside the shoes.
It seemed the fur came from a creature that was used to cold weather. Much like the Frosted Pel that Astrid and I had. This fur had an ability which allowed anyone wearing those shoes to be less affected by the heat or the cold. Most of us also got a weapon, with Astrid being the only one left out since the Frosted Axe was still required for some of her skills.
I got a staff made from the leg of an Eater that was tempered following Michael's explanations. Since it had metal-like properties, they continuously heated it up and folded it in itself. This considerably reduced the size of the leg until it became something that was maybe 20 centimeters taller than me. Despite its origins, the staff itself was extremely beautiful.
It had an almost obsidian look with white metal studs on the tips, which apparently came from a few different scorpions that existed in the area. Those protrusions could help me pierce through the leather of monsters. That way, I wasn't relegated to go for blunt damage all the time.
Jy going by its looks, it was already an extremely sturdy weapon, but what really sold me was the name.
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Eater Slayer.
A staff made with a piece of an Eater that somehow survived the decomposing. After tempering and bending the material to the will of the crafter, this weapon became more potent against the very creature that allowed it to exist.
Power from Energy - Active
Current costs 0 Energy
Coming from a creature so intrinsically connected to Energy, this weapon can grow in power the more Energy is given to it. However, if the amount of Energy given to maintain this skill activated is smaller than the amount of Energy it received in the last 24 hours, this skill will be temporarily unavailable for 48 hours and its effects will be reset.
Eater Bane - Active
By imbuing this weapon with a specific type of Energy, attacks against a creature known as an Eater will have increased effects.
Energy Cost: 1 Energy
Duration: 30 minutes.
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Despite the heavy weight, the staff felt comfortable in my hands. My high level of body likely lessened problems that could be caused by the mass of the weapon. It had only those two skills, but those two were already much more than what anyone else could expect.
One of them seemed to be able to grow with me as long as I was able to keep feeding it more and more Energy. And the other something made to kill Eaters. This weapon was incredible, to say the least. It was something that not even in my wildest dreams I could imagine one day having.
By the look on Michael's face as Ash presented the weapon to me, the Silkbound Marksman agreed with my assessment. Even if he was a weapon maker, his abilities were still far from being able to recreate something like this. Moving along the line, Ash placed Michael's gift in front of him.
It was a large bow also created with a piece of an Eater, although it was a piece of a shell instead of an entire leg like my weapon. This black, gnarled stick almost looked like a charred branch. Connecting the two edges of it was a long strand of white string that looked much thicker than a piece of silk. It was also much bouncier.
Ash quickly explained that it was a tendon from a very large beast that a Rodenti had killed a while back but had yet to make anything of use with it. Apparently, they were saving it for a large hunt festival that they have in the near future.
However, with the Nest and everything else, the festival was indefinitely delayed. Even if they wanted to do it now, it would take some time to set everything up. People needed time to rest and recover after the fight. The elders of the village all agreed that this should be part of the reward given to the humans who came to the aid of the Rodenti.
In a way, that was a nice feeling. We were not only helping friends but also making sure that the future relationship between our two species would start off on the right foot. Even if the list of humans who were willing to betray or hunt down the Rodenti was somewhat large. As long as the giant rat beings would know for sure that there were some good humans around, we would have a chance at making it all work out.
Aside from the symbolism of the gift, Michael's bow also had a few unique skills, although it did not do much to target a specific creature.
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Bows of Monkey's Draw.
Utilizing the tendons of a powerful monkey, the string of this bow can be pulled to increase the power of projectiles fired with it.
Power shot - Active.
A powerful attack that takes advantage of the maximum draw power of the monkey's tendons.
The more Energy is placed in the draw, the more powerful the attack will become.
0/5 Energy stored
Steady Draw - Passive.
In the hands of an archer, a bow is able to fire in any merit of circumstance. It allows for the wielder of this weapon to fire an arrow and steady their mind and body when preparing to fire and when aiming.
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That last passive did not require any Energy so Michael tested it right away. He aimed at a small stone on the corner of the room and asked us to start messing with him.
We did our best by moving around and even activating some skills directly in front of the archer. He did not lose focus even for a second. Michael was already a good shot, so he was not surprised when the arrow he fired hit the stone in the center. Still, he smiled and explained the effect was much better than he was expectation. Not to mention, it was quite interesting that a weapon was able to do something like that.
If that wasn't enough, he could share the weapon with any of us. The aiming aspect of it would function even if we were not actively aiming with the bow and arrow. As long as we were holding it and fired a long range attack, it would function. Riley was the one who discovered that as they were the only ones who had that kind of capability in this group, aside from Michael himself.
Next came Riley's gift. They received something that did not come from an Eater. Instead, it was part of the Nest. More specifically, it was a piece that had been salvaged from the Hatchery that we had killed. It was a strange looking walking stick. On the very top of it was a crystallized piece of the red glowing vein that we kept seeing coming from the Hatchery. Apparently, that was a piece that many of the mages in the village wanted. When properly crafted, it increased the power of spells and served as an Energy battery of sorts.
While Ash made it clear Riley was not getting the only piece they managed to salvage, the Chieftain also added that he felt it was right that our group received at least one of them. He wanted to give more, but there was not enough to go around. Even if it was something that could only help mages. To properly use that kind of battery, you were required to cast spells. If you tried to use the Energy inside the crystal to cast a skill, it would not work.
The System quickly confirmed the information and added an explanation.
[Unlike skills, spells are abilities created by the user. Even the System is said to create those magical effects. Because it is something outside of System control, the user is able to fine tune the amount of Energy and the origin of that Energy being used to cast spells. Skills are part of the System's nature. For that reason, the System is unable to allow any external Energy that the System has no control over to interfere with the activation of a skill.]
'But could you?' I asked, 'Would it be possible to create a skill that lets me use that Energy battery to cast different skills?'
There was a very long pause before the System replied.
[While that seems to be theoretically possible, the System advises against searching for such a skill. External Energy can be very dangerous if mishandled. If you make a mistake when creating a magic spell, it is possible not to get too injured. If you are activating a skill with an unconfirmed source of Energy, it is possible for the System and the wielder to suffer results that potentially harm the user.]
'Did you say all that just to say you don't want us to use Energy that is not from us when using skills?'
There was another very long pause before it continued.
[The System is simply stating the reason using Energy that comes from a different source from the user is a bad idea.]
'Fine, fine,' I waved the System off before taking a look at Riley's weapon.
The walking stick didn't have an impressive appearance. It was just a large stick made out of rocks. And at the very top, the red glowing veins. However, the power was in the skills.
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Mage's Walking Stick
Energy Battery. Passive.
Allows whoever is wielding the staff to store some of their Energy into the weapon. The weapon can only take so much before it is required to be spent. The Energy inside the weapon can be used when casting spells or fueling other pieces of equipment.
Current Energy stored 0/20
Magic Empowerment.
When the user casts spells, the ability power of said spells will be increased in accordance with the amount of Energy being spent from the staff.
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Instead of those pieces of equipment, Astrid gained a pair of gauntlets. The Rodenti crafters had seen Astrid using ice and decided to take some materials from a monster they found in the winter. They were saving the materials since it had one specific property that no one could make use of. It would strengthen the ice. It was a simple pair of black gauntlets with a lot of leather on the upper area and a thinner piece on the white palms.
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Gloves of the Everfrost
Gloves made from the leather of a Lost Penguin. Being unable to return to its home, the monster attempted to recreate what was lost.
Force of the Artic- Passive
Increase the strength of ice created by the user
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The skill was very simple. However, the effects were incredible. Astrid tested it out using {Emerging Glacier} in the backyard. The wave of ice wasn't just bigger, but the ice itself was much sturdier. Before, it felt like actual ice. It was hard, yes, but breakable and would melt with time. This however, was denser. It seemed to refuse to melt even when I used {Firestarter}. The shards were also sharper. And if that wasn't enough, when Astrid activated {Crawling Frost}, the spiders became bigger and more alive. They even jumped while trying to attack her target. Which in this case, it was just a very large rock that was on the ground.
Lastly, there was also a set of three cloaks for Rex, Riley, and Michael. All of them were a shade of tan, as the leather had been taken from mountain lions. And had an enchantment to lessen the issues we would have while dealing with different climates. The Pelt of Frost Astrid made for us was still much better than what the Rodenti here could do. Even so, they did some repairs and cleaned them for us. They were looking just as good as when Astrid first made them.
The last piece of the gift was the one thing I wanted the most. The token of the Lumerin Queen. It was a piece of hardened sap with a dragonfly's wing inside. With that, we could finally go try to find another Nest again.