With the rescue mission being limited to several adventurers thanks to one of the wagons destroyed, some of them backed out including himself. But it was not because of space, Jace knew someone would try to attack Astoria while they are busy with the rescue. And with his current level right now, he felt that he wasn't ready to take on a big task. For now, he had to wait in Astoria in order to prepare for the worst. Until then, he needed to try something to help him out. He already trained his Arcanamancy with enough MP, so he might try the other mastery he didn't try yet, which was his Magecrafting. From what he knew about it, Magecrafters can not only make magical tools such as his grimoire and staves, but he was able to learn sewing for the light armor. To help him achieve this, he decided to farm some materials. Some magical wood that will help him make a new grimoire and staff and special fabric that can let him weave new clothes. In order to let him find those materials, he walked through the forest near one of Astoria's city as he searched around for monsters. He already killed 5 monsters along the way to his current location, but so far, he only got some materials that he won't need for his Magecrafting. But so far, he has less luck on gathering materials. If there was someone that could help him on his gathering, it may be less painful than just walking around.
Harveste hadn't gone on the trip to rescue those imprisoned because she was certain she'd be no help... But from the moment they departed, the small girl had a sickening feeling of dread and regret, having watched her most special person leave with the convoy. Alone and befuddled, she'd struggled a bit trying to find a way to be helpful near the capital while waiting for word of their return- but, with the burden of grief and anxiety weighing on her heart, she hadn't manage to think of much she could manage to do for her own part. Training felt like the only solution, at least at that time. She'd found a bit of loot from some of the woodland monsters and was practicing her ability to possess and manipulate animals, which had at least kept her from being notably harmed. Humming during one of the quieter parts of her hike, she noticed a familiar face in the background, only covered slightly by the foliage she'd been using as cover. His name... What was it again? She'd met him once before, she was sure. It just took some time to gather the memories of that time. A lot had happened since then, it felt like, after all. She called out his name, running towards him. She had just put her loot away, not sure yet what she'd do with it. Some of it was things that seemed edible, so she thought she'd keep it to give to her lover when she returned- but the rest? It was all fabric and softwood she couldn't likely use. At best, she could try to grow some moss or mushrooms on the hollow logs- but really, that wouldn't help much, in her mind. "What're you doing all the way out here, Jace? Are you getting some training in too? Last time I saw you was at the training hall in Stokbon, I think... You were working really hard then, too! How about now? Are you feeling a bit more confident? in your magecrafting, too."
The more he focused on his objective, the less he was aware of his surroundings. So when @Harveste spoke up behind him, he screamed before he turned around to see a familiar face. "H-Harveste! You almost gave me a heart attack." The last time he saw her was his Arcanamancy training, so he was happy that he met her after so long. Since the rescue attempt, he was alone trying to prepare the city for the incoming war. "Just farming some materials. Though it's not only for training my Magecrafting." He then jumped from the rock he was standing, which he landed near the young Naturemancer. "You heard of the incoming war against the Falderen king, correct? I'm trying to make some magical tools so that the mages from the princess's army are well equipped. I managed to level it up to Trained, but I'm still a little confident about my skills." Despite his words, he was a little worried that it might not be enough to help the allied army to stop the mad king from attacking Astorea. "I was about to head back to the city to try Magecrafting, but if you like, you can help me gather some more for a few monsters. I might even try making a tool just for you."
A timid laugh left her lips, arms left behind her, hands folded together at the small of her back. "Sorry 'bout that! I didn't realize just how distracted you were. I'll be more careful next time. I guess my practice on rogue has been working though, if you didn't notice me? I wasn't even trying to use it, after all." Sure, her joke was bad- but, humor helped heal when things were a bit off, even if it was just to try to smooth over causing any form of harm. A heart attack, after all, was serious business she could understand to a degree. In fact, anything involving heart or chest pain? She didn't want to think about it, basically. "I figured I'd work on my magic a bit in my natural environment. Naturamancy and woods go hand in hand, you know? You don't have to stay just because I am. Though... I might be interested to watch you at work, too. I won't ask for anything made for me, I'm just curious. I've never actually seen a magecrafter in the midst of, well, crafting. Think I can sneak a peek? If you need any plants for it, I can help with that, too!"
"No, it's my fault. I should have been aware everywhere around me. Still, I never knew you have Rogue before." Well, it's because she hasn't mention about it. Regardless, he felt he might try to put his guard up in case this happens again. Though, just mentioning about @Harveste's curiosity did give him some second thoughts about his plans. "If you like, I might try to craft some tools right here. I do need some plants and vines for some experimental tools." By opening his inventory, he pulled out some several writing materials as well a special wand from it. With the herbs he gathered, he crushed them in a mortar and pestle before he put some of them into his ink as he mixed them all. Next, he took a few pages he made beforehand and gathered them up into a stack as he pulled his half-finished cover near him. As Harveste can see, she may noticed a half-finished staff without a gem, some jewelry, and some grimoires that was also half-finished.
Happily singing some plants into growing nearby upon his request, she was more than glad to get some training in on making the vines grow tall and thick. Vines happened to be one of her fortes, after all- vines to grapple and grab, and occasionally stinging nettles to poison and sting. The vines were, of course, her first 'friend' when it came to plants- so, to her, they were the easiest to sing alive. With a smile, she thanked them for listening to her song, and handed over the plants he'd requested to watch him work on the tools that would help them, as a whole, fight the good fight against the enemy that had caused such harm and disarray. "I guess I should've mentioned my other skills. I have four- rogue, nature magic, music and the ability to use magical tools like the ones you make. Though, so far, I still only have my grimoire from last time. I really should think of upgrading, since my naturamancy is strong enough to use other tools now, I think... Though I'm not sure my magical tools skill is. How has your training fared since we met last, in general?"
Once he had the plants that @Harveste grew, he then started using them by making paper for the grimoire for the leaves and using the vines as a rope to bind the staff together. It took him two hours to work on most of the tools he may donate to the army, but at least this gave him some time to have a little chat with the Faerin. "Well, my Arcanamancy has gone up to Trained while my Magical Tools gone up to Novice. Though, I might try working on the latter. I try to postponed it because of my Magecrafting and my budget, but I feel I need to grind some experience for it just in case of emergencies." He said as he was busy binding the pages together in a grimoire. "Though, with my current level so far, I feel all I can do for the war is to try supporting most of the NPCs so we have less casualties." Eventually, another hour has passed and Jace already finished the last Focus needed for the army. So far, he made five staves, two rods, four grimoires, and a necklace and anklet that served as trinkets. "So, what do you think?"
It was rather interesting watching him work on his craft, as she was learning a fair bit that she could write about later. The way he wound the vines for the staves, and the way he turned leaves into pages- it was rather amusing, if not down-right helpful in the later case. "So...Think this is stuff we can do in the real world, too? It'd be neat if I could use leaves to make my own notebooks." Not long after asking her question, however, she returned to focusing on her friend's words. His deep thought process in how he set up his skills was rather notable to her, since she was still figuring out how to play around with her statistics. In fact, she normally didn't try as hard as she was with things like skills and how she laid them out. Something about trying to keep to a specific theme made it easier to focus on certain things, she'd come to realize. "I usually try to keep all my skills balanced in games, but lately my goal is to focus more on my naturamancy. I'm at adept in it and rogue, and proficient in pretty much all the others I have, I think, or close to it. But... I made this build thinking of a nature sprite, so it seems logical to focus on nature magic in that essence. I wonder if I shouldn't focus so hard on it though? If I get my magical tools up enough, I can use more powerful tools... But I can sing to use my spells now, too, so the tools just give me a boost more than anything..." She shook her head a bit rapidly, getting rid of the thought process because it was giving her a bit of a headache. "They look pretty good to me! It's amazing how much you were able to make with that amount of supplies, though. It felt like there was a lot less material than there really was, to me."
"Well, they have video tutorials on them. Though I read about how books and journals are made through some books at the library beforehand. Sure, they have an auto-craft function, but its better than making them with your own hands." As he continued to work on the tools, he listened to @Harveste regarding her build for her character. "Makes sense. I go for an old-fashioned sorcerer's apprentice build without losing the balanced skills needed for my future Masteries. At any case, I have to make sure to check its weaknesses. I am using non-elemental spells after all. You could it's a jack-of-all-trade magic of all in this game." After he was finished, he put the finished products into his inventory as well with his crafting tools before turning to his friend. "Well, all that's left is how useful these tools will be in the army's hands. Besides, my skills are not on par with the veterans in here. But thanks for the plants. They might increase some magic stats as well with some elemental spells. Speaking of which, I should probably go back to deliver this to the castle. What will you do until then?"
"I'm not very good with video tutorials... Unless they're captioned, that is. I tend to keep my sound off when I'm on the net because I have sensitive ears... Like a real-life felis, though I look human and have no sense of smell to speak of." Her words left her with a small laugh as she watched him, studying each step with care. In her head, she was writing down what he did on an imaginary typewriter- but in reality, she could only pray her memory would keep it when she left the game for the day. This led her smile to saddening, though only a small bit. "Do you have any favorites you'd recommend? Books would be better to me though... I have a great book on plants and medicinal uses for them. Bought some gardening books too, recently, to grow some easier-to-handle plants at home. I'm actually really bad with them... They all die quick on my watch. But I think I'm getting at least a bit better. Trying, at any rate. I figured similarly, if I learned to deal with plants offline more... I'd be better with them in the game. I chose music because I liked singing anyway, and figured it'd be a handy side-method for spell casting, you know? A singing fairy seemed fitting..." Leaning back against a tree, she groaned to herself. "Sorry, I can't shut up when I start sometimes." Covering her eyes for a moment, she watched the sun through her fingers as it filtered through the foliage above. "What to do now is a good question... I think I'll try to get to know some of the animals here in the forest. Naturamancy has a side skill of being able to look into their minds and sometimes possess them if you're good. Saved my life once, I gotta say. I figure if I practice that, too, it'd come in handy if I can learn to possess the enemy's pets. Think it'd work?"
Guess that means that even she has an unnatural condition even in real life. Still, everyone has their preferences regarding video tutorials. Besides, he has a little trust regarding those life hack videos he kept seeing in social media. So he was a little cautious regarding DIY tutorials and other stuff. "If you like, I can recommend 'Dawson's Flora Encyclopedia 2025' and 'Winry's Gardening Journals' if you're looking for some plants. Not only they list different kids of plants you know offline, but the latter should give you some gardening tips and tricks for your houseplants back home." Once she mentioned her next plans, Jace gave a small nod with a smile and said, "According to its description at the character creation, it did say you can able to possess one. So I feel you may have a chance to do so. At any case, I wish you luck in your Naturamancy training. See you soon." With that, he waved goodbye to the Faerin as he headed back to the city to deliver the tools. It was only the matter of time until the war begins. He only prayed that his tools he made will helped him in the long run. -EXIT THREAD-
