Login 12: Damask Rose

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Time: 12:28 PM

"Kuya, I'll be working on my project now" Nico said as he sat in front of his laptop, never taking his eyes away from its screen.

"Hey, aren't you going to eat first? It's already lunch time." Joseph told Nico with a worry voice.

But Nico has already put on his earphones and faced his laptop with laser sharp focus.

When Joseph saw that he was already too late, he let out a sigh in defeat. He couldn't do anything about it since Nico has always been like that. Whether if it's from playing the piano or finishing up a self-made item, once Nico started working, absolutely no one will be able to stop him, until he is finished. Joseph was already used to this side of Nico, so he just decided to just let him be.

"C'mon, lunch is almost ready" Joseph casually told Jae, before standing up and headed to the door.

But when he saw Jae still seating down and starring at him with uncertainty, he let out a sigh.

"Don't worry, I promise I won't hurt you. That kid's tenacious, he won't be leaving that place until he's finished" He explained, bobbing his head towards Nico "he doesn't like being distracted"

Jae saw how focused Nico was, so he doesn't want to distract him. Not wanting to be a bigger burden to Nico than he already is, he stood up and decided to trust Joseph, since Nico said that Joseph is a close friend of his. He followed Joseph out of the office and to the stairs heading to the house on the second floor.

<<***>>

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12:30 PM, Philippine time | Asia Server

CherishedSong stood at the teleportation pillar and slowly strips of light surrounded him until he's completely enveloped by it, teleporting him to his destination.

Once CherishedSong arrived to his destination, a sea of bright lights and the sound of the city's soft and hypnotic theme greeted him. It was night time but the city was still very much awake.

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12:30 PM, Philippine time | Asia Server

As soon as CherishedSong arrived, he ran through the bustling streets filled with players. He passed through shops after shops, buildings after buildings before arriving at the center of the city where a gigantic fountain was located. It was called the <> where players can throw a single in game money into the fountain, and they will be granted a random status effect. Most of the time it gives out good status effects, but other times if you aren't lucky enough, you'll receive negative ones. There, many in-game and real life couples usually meet as they hope that the guardian that protects the city, protects their love as well. It might be cheesy but many actually believes it. Also it's a great spot for dates.

The city of Lumia is truly a sight to behold. In Rampage's website, Lumia is considered to be the most popular city in Rampage, and with good reason too. The construction and the air of the city is just what players want, when they want to relax. Lumia is the only city in Rampage that renders any combat abilities of players, null and void. Any other city in Rampage either have paths leading to a field zone full of monsters or at least one dungeon, but Lumia is the only exemption. The city doesn't even allow any players who has recently killed any player, either through PKing or through PvP. When the time limit that was given to them finishes, it is the only time they could enter Lumia. It is the reason why players who wanted to get away from the action and just wanted to relax, all gather in Lumia.

It has also become a haven for players, like Nico, who wanted to do business because of the large amount of players in the city every time.

CherishedSong continued running to the northern path of the fountain, then stopped at a small shop not too far form it. As he entered the shop, a system message appeared.

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Yes, the shop is owned by Nico, and is also the place where his Auctions happens. It might be considerably small compared to the other shops, but who would have thought that a small shop would be the no. 1 shop in the city. In the long run, the size of the shop doesn't really matter because at the end of the day, Nico's self-made items are highly sought after by normal and professional players alike, and that's what really matters.

CherishedSong hurried to the back of the shop, where his workshop is located. Nico then opened the Creation window and scanned through dozens and dozens of drafts. Some of the drafts that he has were already finished, some where halfway through, while some were not even started yet. Scanning through his drafts, he finally found the draft that he was looking for and immediately clicked it.

The draft expanded and showed a weapon that's about 30% finished. The weapon was a rapier, that has a finished handle and a guard that's about 50% done.

Nico then took a deep breath, then let it out slowly before clicking on the process button.

Nico then opened CherishedSong's inventory and transferred the items that he needed to the processing window.

Materials for making the blade:

300 <>, 100 <>, 20 <>, 10 <>, 5 <>, 5 <>, 2 <>, 1 <>.

Just looking at the materials needed for the blade, made Nico's head almost spun out of control. He spent a year collecting all the material just for the blade alone. Only using the rarest Ancient Item(Crafting material) there is, it just goes to show that this project is Nico's most ambitious and daring one up to date. He didn't know how everything would end up, but there was no turning back now; He could only continue and keep hoping for the best.

Once he got a final check on the materials, and saw that everything is set, he didn't waste anymore time and proceeded with the creation.

He first grinded the following material: 300 <>, 10 <>, 5 <>, 5 <>, 2 <>, 1 <>. He carefully grinded all the material, before mixing them all together. he set the mixed materials to the side, then started forming the blade mold out of the 20 <>. He took his time molding the mold, only stopping when he was satisfied with the shape and length of it. Up next, he melted all the grinded materials that he set aside earlier, using azure fire. While melting the materials, Nico had to stir non-stop until all the components are thoroughly combined. Under the intense heat of the in-game fire, Nico's sweat started trickled down his forehead, feeling like he was in the heated workshop as well.

After the timer went off, Nico took out the now combined melted materials, then poured it over to the mold that he created earlier. Letting it set to the side, he then moved to the creating the pommel of the sword. Creating the pommel of the sword is relatively much easier and simpler that creating any other part of the sword, so Nico could get a breather when creating it.

Materials for making the Pommel:

1<>, 5<>

This process was so easy that Nico could do it in his sleep, but of course he didn't. It took him almost seven months in obtaining one <>. It was truly a harrowing experience for him, so he had to be careful in order to exterminate any chances of mistake that could possibly turn all his hard work into nothingness.

Slowly he carved the blood red stone, forming it into a rose. It was easy but he took his time in making sure that the shape and form was perfect. Satisfied with what he made, he then started polishing it using the <>. Carefully he rubbed the rose water to the carved stone, until it shined perfectly to the point of being able to see one's reflection on it like a mirror. Finishing the Pommel, he then moved on to finishing the Guard of the sword.

Materials for finishing the Guard:

7 <>, 1<>

Nico molded the <> to the rest of the Guard, before carving out some much needed detail work. It took Nico some time before getting his desired shape of the guard, but in the end he got what he wanted. Finishing up the guard, Nico slowly crystallized the 7 <>, before carefully and artistically attaching them onto the guard.

Everything was going smooth so far, but it was only gonna get harder from that point on. He then slowly and carefully remove the blade out of the mold, as it was more fragile that the usual metal. This blade was not an ordinary blade, as it was not created from any metal but from precious gems.

Before continuing, Nico took some time to stretch his sore muscles and calmed himself a little more. After letting out a deep breath, thankfully since the blade has already taken shape through the mold, he can already move on to the next step; heat treating. Nico heated the blade in ghost fire, following a strict time limit, before quenching it in <>. The heat treating changed the properties of the otherwise fragile blade into a much firmer, harder, tougher and stronger one. Plus the mystical/magical properties of the blade was enhanced even further because of the ghost fire. Then being quenched in <>, just took the blade to another level of sophistication by giving it a permanent sweet smelling fragrance of roses.

Nico couldn't contain his excitement anymore as he moves closer and closer to his end product. Nico didn't waste anymore time and moved on to grinding the edges of the blade to sharpen them. He slowly grinded them, making sure that both sides are equally sharp and the tip, deadly. Once he achieved his desired sharpness, he then moved on to polishing it until it shined perfectly. Once everything was done, he then assembled all the pieces together, until finally after a year of hard work and enduring; he finally had the privilege of having the first look on his newly finished self-made weapon. In the center of the bouquet like guard, filled with crimson roses, a soft pink beautiful blade stood sparkling, rivaling even the most beautiful and high class accessory in all of Rampage. And beneath the sword was a blood rose that glowed eerily, making one hypnotized by its beauty. It could be said that Nico didn't even make a weapon but instead a piece of art.

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Physical Attack : 825 | Magic Attack : 800 | Base Attack Speed : 10

Strength: +54 | Agility: +72 | Vitality: +26 | Intelligence: +37 | Critical chance : +50%

Special Weapon Effect 1: Intoxicating Fragrance (Passive) - Reduces enemy Physical and Magical defense by 25%; Reduces enemy Endurance by 20%; and Reduces Enemy movement speed by 15%.

All Enemies within the 10 meter radius will be affected.

Special Weapon Effect 2: Rosa × damascena (Passive) - 12% chance of applying barrier to self (Barrier Life: 30% of current maximum HP | Time limit: 5 Seconds); Once barrier has been shattered it will inflict a 500 initial real damage to surrounding enemies within a 4 meter radius and heals self by 200 (+10% of current maximum HP) for 5 Seconds; Enemies that has taken initial damage will then be infected by poison that deals 800 (+100% Strength) damage for 10 seconds (150 (+20% Strength) damage for 5 Seconds in official PvP battles).

Special Weapon Effect 3: Rose's Thorn (Passive) - Every successful critical hit will grant a 175% bonus movement speed which decays over 6 seconds. (Cooldown: 3 Seconds)

Nico's eyes shined so bright, as he sat in front of his laptop, admiring the work of art that he has created. He was really happy at the point but at the same time he felt really at peace. He just smiled looking like a fool, and actually shed a few tears. No words could describe the sense of accomplishment that he just attained at that time. People might say that it was just a game and he shouldn't act like he has done such a great thing, but Nico doesn't care one bit because everything that he creates whether if it's a composition or a self-made item, every last one of them has a special place in his heart. He worked hard for it and he has every right to feel what he is feeling at that moment.

Note:

Lumia -*Is the famous floating city in Rampage. It is the city of permanent night, which is very fitting considering that it is heavily inspired by Las Vegas and its night life. The settings of the city is much more modern with a slight touch of futurism, than most of the cities in Rampage.

Lumia's Wishing Fountain Legend -* Many version of the tale was passed down through generations of families in Lumia, but this is the most famous one:

It is said that Lumia was once a small flourishing kingdom that was brought to ruin by envy and jealousy. It is told in stories that much larger and more powerful kingdoms surrounding Lumia, saw the small kingdom as a threat and wanted to eliminate it immediately. Theory states that Lumia's superior advancement in technology was the reason why the kingdoms saw them as a threat. At first they tried intimidating the king with their power and resources, but the Lumia's king just brushed them all off as if they were annoying dirt in his shoe. When they saw that intimidation doesn't work, the kingdoms gathered together to annihilate a singe and common enemy. War raged as the kingdoms attacked the small kingdom. Lumia held its own in the face of multiple oppressors. The kingdom fought back, but ended up almost being destroyed. The enemy forces were far too many, that it overwhelmed Lumia, which crumble under the lack of preparation from being ambushed.

Alas, Lumia got invaded and the castle walls crumbled down. The kings dragged the king of Lumia and his family, on the streets of the kingdom that they once ruled. They were stripped off of their titles and was humiliated under the mocking gazes of the soldiers of the opposing kingdoms. Bloodied and beaten, one by one the royal family of Lumia was executed at the very center of the city, as the people that they once ruled over, wept for their king and his family's lives. One by one they were beheaded until the only one left was the youngest princesses. As she faced her murders, she held her head up high and starred at them without a single hint of fear in her eyes. The kings were taken a back by the young princesses attitude, but then it infuriated them. The young princesses looked at them like they were nothing but mere insects in her presence, how could they not be angered? Their prides were being trampled over by a mere child and they could not accept it. Instead of beheading the young princesses, they dragged her over to the fountain that was located at the center of the kingdom and slowly drown her to death.

Once the young princesses last breath was taken away from her, her body was left in the fountain. Her lifeless body floated on the crimson dyed waters of the fountain as the allied enemy kings celebrated their triumph. As they celebrate, dawn broke and suddenly a earth shattering earthquake happened, literally. The earth broke as it swallowed the enemy kings and their battalions of soldiers, burying them all alive. As the earth quake continued, the kingdom of Lumia suddenly detached itself from the earth and began floating into the sky. The residents that survived believed that the young princesses courage saved them and that she was the one who lifted the kingdom form the ground. From time to time villagers claimed of getting a glimpse of the young princesses, standing over the fountain, looking over the kingdom. And as time went by, more and more people claimed to have seen the young princesses, dubbing her "Guardian of Lumia".

Creation -*Is a feature in Rampage that enables players to created their own equipment, accessories, weapons, avatars and whatnot. This feature requires skill, determination, creativity and a lot of patience. The process of creation can vary depending on what kind or how complex the desired item will be. Pre-made drafts or blueprints are available for any player who are still figuring their way and are still beginners, but for those with enough experience, they can then create their own drafts or blueprints. One will just have to follow the instructions given, then when the draft is set, it can be sent to Rampage for evaluation. All drafts must go through a series of inspections, judged under the scrutinizing eyes of multiple experts. Only the ones that they deemed acceptable would then pass. Getting a draft accepted is no easy feat. It involves a lot of hard work and research when it comes down to every detail of the item. The types of materials needed, the amount of materials needed, or is the item not too OP (Overpower/ed) or is it balanced well enough, considering the overall materials and composition used in the process. These are just some of the factors that are all put into consideration before a draft can be accepted. If the draft has been accepted, a direct mail from Rampage will be sent, stating that the creation of the self-made item can proceed. Usually the average time for a draft to be approved is about a month, but if the draft is just straight up "wrong" or as one may call it "Trolling", then you won't even have to wait for days, you'll just have to wait for some minutes before the draft will be flat out rejected. Once a draft has been approved and ready to go, now comes the most challenging step of all, the actual making of the item. Also once a draft has been approved, it will be permanently stored in the creation library for future use.*

-*Ever since Nico's success in creating The Auction, many players attempted to replicate it but swiftly failed, mainly because, they could never replicate the extremely high quality of Nico's self-made items.

Item Grades -*Are determined by how rare an Item is. Item Grades are as follows: Emerald - Common, Sapphire - Uncommon, Ruby - Rare, Amethyst - S Rare (Highest grade dropped by monsters), Pearl - SS Rare (Essence items and high quality crafting materials only, (E.g. <> and <>), Diamond - SSS Rare (Self-made Weapons, Equipments, Accessories, and Avatars only).

Essence items -*Are items used by Arcane Poets in exchange for quests to acquire new spirits.*

-*Certain buildings can be bought by players in Rampage. This buildings can be transformed by whatever the player wants. It could be a house, a workshop, a store, a restaurant, or just flat out storage.*

2 Types of Grinding mentioned -*1-reduce (something) to small particles or powder by crushing it (synonyms: crush, pound, pulverize, mill, powder, granulate, grate, mince, shred, crumble, pestle, mash, smash, press, fragment, kibble). 2 - sharpen, smooth, or produce (something) by crushing or by friction (synonyms: sharpen, whet, make sharp/sharper, hone, file, strop).