[RotD] 33 — A New Spear

Noah waited as Josiah and Aurelia’s talks concluded, before his turn came up to select a weapon.

“So, what specifically are you looking for?” Josiah asked.

“A spear, but I’m not really familiar with the weapon so I can’t say much more,” Noah replied.

“A spear huh?,” Josiah said, rubbing his chin. “I’ve got some to show you. Follow me.”

Noah followed the shopkeeper into the back entrance of the shop, finding himself standing in a large storage space with many items lying around on shelves and boxes. There was a kiln and anvil on the right, with the walls having rows of weapons lined up on them.

“I’ve got this beauty right here. A spear engraved with triple-thrust. So if you hit once and use the skill, it’ll strike three times near simultaneously,” Josiah said, putting the weapon in Noah’s hands.

Noah used identify on the weapon.

[Enchanted Spear (Uncommon)]

A spear enchanted with the triple-thrust spell. Consumes mana upon activation.

The spear had a stone engraved upon it within its wooden shaft, with runes etched that ran all the way up to the top. Noah spun the weapon around, trying to get a feel for it.

“Or if you’re more interested in range, then there’s this one,” Josiah said, handing a different spear to Noah. This one was longer, and a lot heavier, the entire body made of some kind of metal with intricate runes all over it.

“When you use your mana, the wind spell on it activates and sends slashes of nearly invisible wind blades that cut rapidly,” Josiah said.

Noah used identify.

[Windslasher (Rare)]

A weapon made of wind attuned steel and wind mana stones, embodying the Howling Fury spell within it. Consumes mana upon activation.

There’s also this entire rack full of spears if you want to pick one yourself.

Noah nodded, handing both the spears back to Josiah as he began to go through the options one by one, using identify on them on.

[Sharpened Spear (Uncommon)]

A spear with the sharpening enchantment on it.

Noah picked up the weapon, stabbing the air around him once or twice to get a feel for it. From what he could see, the spear itself was mostly normal, but with an exceptionally sharp edge due to its enchantment. Putting the weapon down, he moved to the next one that caught his eye.

[Switch-blade Spearsword (Rare)]

Infused with the blood of a lycan, this blade of silver can transform into a sword.

“Whoa, what’s this one?” Noah asked.

“Ah… that… is a childhood project. I’m a bit ashamed of it, but the only reason I kept it around was it’s rarity. It’s not a very practical weapon, but the crafting and strength are up to the mark,” Josiah said, scratching his cheek.

Noah looked around the shaft before finding a little trigger. The spear shifting, twisting, as the weapon transformed into a blade with a humming edge glimmering a blood red. “Holy shit, that’s sick,” Noah said, swinging the blade around before pressing the trigger again as it transformed back into a spear.

“Just a toy. But I did enjoy making it,” Josiah replied.

Noah put the spear back, moving on to the next one.

[Dual Spear (Rare)]

A specially crafted spear with blades on both ends that can cut through rock with ease.

Noah spun the weapon around, feeling a little silly. “I am the dark lord,” he said, spinning his spear like a staff. The spear smacked one of the shelves, almost dropping one of the spears right on top of him and Noah stopped.

“Yeah, I doubt I can use this,” he said, putting the Dual Spear back.

Moving through the row, one spear in particular caught Noah’s eyes. It was on the bottom shelf, set at a corner with a thick rug covering it, and locks placed on top. Noah bent down to grab it, when Josiah grabbed his hand.

“That one’s cursed,” he said.

“Cursed?” Noah asked.

“Yes. Cursed. It’s a weapon with Blood rot infused in it. It’s powerful, but it’ll kill you.”

Noah hummed in thought. “Can I just take a look?”

Josiah looked hesitant, but nodded a moment later. Pulling out a key, he opened the locks from the spear, carefully removing the covers to reveal a bright red spear that shone with a crimson glimmer within.

Noah used identify.

[Spear of Crimson End (Common/Growth)]

A spear infused with the Crimson Rot, and the remnant spirit of a dying warrior of the Scarlet Valkyries. The spear bonds with its owner, and grows along with it.

“A growth item?” Noah asked, looking at the spear in surprise.

“Yes. They’re rare, but not unheard of. Items that grow in power over time. Bonded weapons, all of them. If this wasn’t a cursed spear, it would sell for no less than 10 B grade mana stones.”

“How much would it cost if I wanted to buy this anyway?” Noah asked, looking at the spear.

“My friend, since you’re Aurelia’s acquaintance and I know you’re not from here, I’ll say this as politely as I can. Don’t buy this. I’m not selling it. The only reason I’ve not thrown it away is because I’m holding out hope that maybe one day I can remove the rot from the spear. But as this stands, this spear will kill you. Crimson rot cannot be cured. If you get it, the only option to save yourself is to cut the infected limb off. Poison resistance doesn’t even work on the rot, you need Rot resistance instead, like an intermediate level and very few people have that.”

Noah thought over it for a moment, before he rolled his sleeve up to show his hand. “I think with this I can use it.”

“Ah… a prosthetic. But even so, the rot will eventually destroy that too, and if you mistakenly cut yourself with it— I can’t in good conscience sell this to you,” Josiah said.

Noah frowned, thinking over it. He was fairly confident that lifeblood could handle the crimson rot. If he let Tony handle the rot with his arm, and poured lifeblood and drank potions after potions he could likely level up lifeblood, gain rot resistance, and also be able to use the spear over time. Though all of this would depend on when Tony woke up.

“I know how this is going to sound, but I have certain advantages that I think may let me use this weapon. But I don’t plan to use it right away,” Noah said.

Josiah looked conflicted.

“I think you should let him have it,” Aurelia said, leaning against the door. “You guys were taking a while so I decided to come see what was up.”

“Why would you say that Aurelia. You know how terrible the rot is,” Josiah said.

“I know. But I’ve seen Noah come back after being pumped full of Necro-toxins. He’s immune to the poison type now, and given his type, if you refuse, he’ll teleport in here at night and steal it from you.”

Josiah turned to face Noah. “A teleportation ability?”

Noah shrugged.

“Fine, very well. But don’t tell me I did not warn you,” Josiah said, taking the spear and wrapping it up carefully before he put the magical seal back on it.

“I’ll sell it to you for eight D grade mana stones. Seems about fair given how no one else will likely be insane enough to take this off my hands.”

“How about five D grade mana stones?” Noah tried.

“Eight. Take it before I change my mind,” Josiah said.

“Fair enough,” Noah replied, handing over his C grade mana stone, as the shopkeeper handed him two D grade mana stones in return.

“Actually, can I get a skill tome for spear ability?” Noah asked.

“There’s an intermediate one I have for Spear proficiency which I can get you for these two D grade stone.”

“Yup, that’s perfectly fine,” Noah replied.

Josiah walked back, before bringing out the skill tome and Noah identified it.

[Skill Tome of Intermediate Spear Proficiency (Uncommon)]

A skill tome with the Spear Proficiency skill marked upon it.

Noah picked up the tome, nodding in thanks to the man.

“I’ll be willing to take the spear back if you don’t manage to use it. Though of course, not at the same price,” Josiah replied.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Noah replied. Aurelia gave her parting greetings as well, before the two left the shop.

Deciding to not waste any time, Noah used his spear proficiency skill tome while he was ahead.

You’ve absorbed [Skill Tome of Intermediate Spear Proficiency]

Skill [Spear Proficiency] obtained!

[Spear Proficiency] will start at level 10 and rank intermediate due to item usage.

A flood of information filled Noah’s mind, about how he was supposed to grab a spear, what his grip should be, how to attack with it, and how to stand and plant his feet properly.

It was like he’d developed a new set of skills, and Noah moved his covered up cursed spear, moving through the motions as they came to him naturally.

“You should put that spear away until you’ve figured out if you can actually use it or not.”

“Come on, let me have some fun!” Noah said, though he put the spear in his inventory regardless.

“Fun huh? Actually, if you want to explore windrest, how about going to see the Astral Rift in the castle?”

“The what in the where?” Noah asked.

“The Astral rift. It’s a cut in reality leading to an Astral plane. The palace was created above one, and they let people look into them. This one leads to the Wind Astral plane.”

“Huh,” Noah muttered. “Why not? It sounds fun.”

Aurelia smiled at his words. “Alright then, off to the castle we go.”