Berserker: A LitRPG Urban Fantasy Adventure (Apocosmos Book 1) by Dimitrios Gkirgkiris (phonics readers .txt) 📕

Physical Defense : 46

MP Increment : 196

Durability : 1597/1770

Weight : 960st.

Description : A pair of stockings made of mana-infused silk. The superior quality of these stockings render them a great option for all spellcasters but their great boost in MP and mana regeneration makes them a crafter’s favorite sleeping and crafting attire. Additionally, they are incredibly comfortable.

“Is it because they’re good for your face?” I asked, trying my best to stop myself from making fun of him. “It’s too late for you to get married, old man.”

This time, it was his face that darkened, and even though this had somewhat been my intention, I found that I took no pleasure in it.

“I am married and I’m sleeping in these robes to take advantage of the Mana Regeneration Rate and the extra MP when I wake up and start crafting,” he said. He took a deep puff of his pipe, momentarily hiding himself from view after he exhaled a thick cloud of smoke. “I wanted to talk to ye about our capacity.”

“What about it?” I asked, slightly confused by the sudden change of subject, but eager to get on with it nonetheless. “Didn’t you say you’ve hit your limit?”

“I did. I’m crafting as soon as me mana replenishes and I’m taking a lot of rests so me mana regeneration is faster. I haven’t slept for more than four hours straight since we ramped up production so that I wouldn’t have to leave me MP pool full and unused.”

“And we haven’t sold out on any of the busy days in the past two weeks.”

“We haven’t sold out and we should keep it that way. We need to stay on top of the rising demand, but every week more people buy our arrows, Alex. Tomorrow is Monday and even if we still have arrows left by the end of the day, I don’t think we’ll have enough to cover Tuesday.”

“We’re not hiring another crafter,” I said. “This is to stay between us two.”

“I’m not saying we should,” he agreed and took another deep sip from his magical pipe. “But I do think we should invest some money in mana rechargers.”

“Mana rechargers? You mean like mana potions? I thought they didn’t exist.”

“Of course they don’t. However, some classes can channel their mana into other people. Of course, there are losses in the transfer but the higher the level of the person channeling, the closer they can get to perfect mana conversion.”

“What kind of classes can do it?” Louie asked from behind me.

“There are certain classes that specialize in enhancing the abilities of other spellcasters,” Rory replied, by now completely used to Louie suddenly jumping into the conversation whenever he had questions. “Some summoners also have servitors that can recharge mana, but those classes are pretty rare in these parts.”

“Summoner classes?” Louie exclaimed, apparently much more interested in the diversity of the Apocosmos than I’d ever let myself be. “Can they summon the dead?”

I was caught completely off-guard. I knew the reason he’d asked. There was only one dead person Louie might want to talk to and I dreaded the answer Rory would give. The dwarf was equally taken aback by the question and his face hardened yet again.

“The dead are beyond reach for us mortals,” he replied somberly, “and for good reason. The realms of the dead and the realms of the living are separated by powers far greater than ye and I.”

“I see,” Louie replied, disappointed.

“It doesn’t really matter what summoners can bring forth, as long as they can recharge me mana,” Rory continued.

“You know I don’t want anyone else involved in this,” I said, still thinking about Louie’s question. I was skeptical about bringing in another person.

“We don’t need to involve them. Ye think ye’re the only one wanting to keep yer business to yerself? We’ll find one that we can trust and agree on how to make it happen so that they never connect me to yer listings.”

What he was saying made perfect sense business-wise. I had always been a numbers person and I had come to the same conclusions about our ability to keep churning out orders. There was little to no chance we’d be able to keep with demand this week. We wouldn’t be losing any money, but we’d be letting money fly away instead of catching it in our greedy little retirement cage. The difference is that I hadn’t known there was a solution.

I could feel the Apocosmos, or rather the sweet taste of fast money, pulling me in more and more and I was no fool. Just because I was investing more in this business, I hadn’t forgotten that I initially didn’t want to have anything to do with it and pulling someone else in felt very much like having more to do with it. But then, my goal had not changed. Once I reached my target, I’d retire. And this looked like a faster way to get there.

“Okay,” I said finally. “But we need to find either someone who we can trust or someone who’d never be able to make the connection. Do you have anyone in mind?”

“There are a few people I’ve worked with before but lemme get me ass there first, half-Celt. We’ll go through them together and come up with a plan on how to do it securely. Ye still got that nice cold coffee of yours?”

“I do,” I said and couldn’t help but let a smile escape my cold demeanor. “I’ll also ask a friend of mine in case he knows someone in their clan.”

“Can ye trust him? What clan are ye talking about?”

“I do trust him. He gave me my DEM tablet,” I said casually. “I doubt you’d know him though. His name is Leonardo DiFiore.”

“The Romans?”

“They’re Italians, yes. Do you know them?”

“Of course I know them, lad,” the dwarf replied. “Strong clan and ancient bloodline. Different gods them and me cla… them and me. But fierce warriors all of them.”

“So you’re okay with them, I guess?” I asked, more out