The Amber Sword

TL: So I spent a lot of time looking at PC stuff this week due to some mistakes I made in buying things back then…

Long winded stuff about PC things. Skip to read the Amber Sword.

I have a skylake CPU i5 6600k, which I got during February, coupled with a DDR3 board because I want to save some cash since I still have 12 GB DDR3 ram left from my old pc. I’m getting a rig that I want to OC so that I can use it for multimedia purposes that include video editing.

Now here’s the interesting thing. Skylake recommended voltage for the ram is 1.2v-1.35v (ddr4 runs at 1.2v~), while DDR3 ram typically runs from 1.5-1.65v, and the official word is that intel doesn’t support that much voltage and heck, it might even hurt the CPU health.

After reading a lot on it, some overclocker users are saying that all is not lost, because VCCIO and VCCSA (no, I don’t know what these terms mean.) are the main things to look at when it comes to an intel CPU memory controller. In any case, I’m below the recommended voltage for these two sections (= 2800 mhz, then you can reconsider again).

I also plan to wait out for the GTX 1070. Right now the so called nvidia’s “Founders’s edition = reference card actually” is sold at a higher premium. It’s really annoying to see nvidia coming up with ridiculous rehashes and ‘cool terms’ like they mean something. This Founder’s edition practice right now is not a new thing, however. I.E, EVGA’s SC 980 ti card is the nvidia’s reference card slapped with their EVGA cooler, while their own designed card is cheaper with better performance and has lower temp.

That is why nvidia said they are selling their 1070 gtx FE cards at $449, while the MSRP for their partners is at $379 (once they get their own designs done, supposedly). Right now, the partners are slapping a cooler on these reference cards and selling them. I’m using a 1080p 27 inch VA monitor, somewhat okay for drawing images as colors are a little brighter and desaturated, but I’m going to look at dell’s 27 inch monitors at 1440p if they release 1070 GTX at $379.

Some notes about VR gaming. VR demands 7 times more drawing power compared to 1080p gaming, and even a GTX 1080 will have problems running that. I’m going to be patient and wait 2 more generation cycles before getting a VR rig =X.

At 1440p gaming for a 144hz monitor, you are probably going to just hit 100 fps at ultra settings even if you have 1080 GTX. Things like G-Sync and Freesync comes at a premium that’s too expensive for me, and I would rather get a work-based system rather than a gaming system.

Chapter 45 – The Boulder Mercenary’s pendant

The name of the parchment was called Lancel’s scroll. The crowd of people in the room started to show their surprise with low murmurs, and it spread out like a ripple. Brendel realized that many of them were interested in the scroll as well.

However, even though they whispered amongst themselves, they did not attempt to bid for it. The ones who were willing to vie for it were nobles with considerable background, sitting in the special box, and all of them waited for someone to make the first move.

“Such scrolls are made from the fairies in the Crystal Tundra. There is only a limited amount made every year to allow noble families to create more lower ranked Elementalists. Despite that, these underground auctions allowed a considerable amount of such scrolls to be sold to others.” Roen explained

“Why don’t the fairies create more of them?” Romaine asked.

“Creating such scrolls requires a lot of Elemental mana from their Elemental Pool, and it is a burden even for these fairies who are on par with a high ranking Elementalist. Ciel said

“Furthermore, forcibly opening one’s own Elemental Pool might work for ordinary people, their success as an Elementalist is limited and would not be stronger than the average Elementalist. Such scrolls does not mean it will be good even there is a lot of it.”  He continued to explain.

Batum, Amandina and Romaine were engrossed in the explanation.

“I didn’t expect to see this in Bruglas.” Brendel said.

Roen’s nose was as potent as a dog’s, and he sniffed out interest from Brendel’s words, as well as the implication that Brendel had been to bigger underground auctions and not limited to just Bruglas.

“My lord, are you interested in that?”

“A little.”

“Should I get my man to bid for it?”

Brendel thought for a while and nodded. The scroll was at five thousand Tor coins, and each incremental bidding had to be at least five percent. The cripple signaled to his man, and a board was quickly raised into the air.

Five thousand.

But with the initial bidder’s attempt, the price quickly increased and from the boards going up. In the blink of an eye, it went up to eight thousand Tor coins. The announcer saw one round of bidding before he looked at Roen’s man again. The cripple looked at Brendel with questioning eyes, and the latter nodded, followed by a hand gesture..

Roen’s man raised his board again—

Eight thousand and five hundred.

Amandina’s expression changed slightly.

Romaine did not say anything while Batum’s expression was one of amusement.

The nobles in the boxed area quickly responded, and the increment was five hundred as well.

The impatience amongst them showed, as each announcement sharply rose by a thousand, steadily rising upwards……

[Ten thousand.]

[Eleven thousand.]

[Twelve thousand.]

[Fifteen thousand—]

It was like the final thunder booming in a lightning storm. Everyone in the crowd felt the air tightening, and they thought this bid was the final one.

Roen clicked his tongue and looked back again.

Brendel frowned.

[Sixteen thousand coins for two thousand TP. It’s starting to be a question whether the price is worth it.]

But he only hesitated for a while and quickly tapped his own hand, and the board was raised once again.

[Sixteen thousand.]

The crowd’s murmurs started again as they understood that it was going to be the final bidding war.

The assistant to the announcer whispered in surprise.

[Is the cripple mad? We didn’t tell him to do this, if this continues the nobles will be unhappy—]

The announcer turned to his young assistant slightly and then pucked his lips to show a direction: “He’s bidding for someone else.”

At this point, Amandina and Batum were looking at Brendel with a curious look. They did not understand why a knight needed the scroll, and wondered if he wanted to become an elementalist.

But what was missing from Ciel’s explanation, was how talented people could save time by using this scroll. Brendel did not explain this fact to them.

Ciel was silent because he understood what the scroll meant to Brendel.

The nobles’ voices in the box were momentarily silenced. They wondered who the mysterious bidder was, but the opposing bidder once again raised the bid—

[Eighteen thousand.]

The number came from the fourth boxed area from the left once again, and Roen whispered to Brendel.

[Lord Donnall. His family has several mansions near Bruglas, and he has a few of his own properties here as well. He’s a parliament member in Bruglas, and his father and grandfather also took on this position too.]

Brendel nodded.

[There are many nobles here, but someone of his rank vying for this scroll… He’s more likely to be a mouthpiece for someone bigger—]

Just when he thought that they were the only ones fighting for the scroll, new bidders who did not bid from the start suddenly came up from their new numbers, surprising Brendel as the final bidding point was at forty two thousand Tor coins.

[Even thirty thousand Tor coins would have been barely within my reach, but a number past forty thousand will definitely hurt my plan ahead. I can ultimately get the TP needed later on—]

Brendel stealthily gritted his teeth and gave up on this bid.

Amandina and Roen did not think it was strange that he stopped, and mistook it for a whim to bid for this item.

After this initial war, the auction progressed smoothly with Brendel successfully bidding for several merchandise, ranging from several thousand to ten thousand Tor coins.

Since nothing happened out of the ordinary, the crowd in the auction started to feel a little bored. Roen was able to find things to do as he explained to everyone the history of the presented items, even detailing where it came from, giving them the region as well as which noble family sold this.

Batum, Amandina and Romaine were intrigued by the description, while Brendel and Ciel discussed about the origins of each items.

They mentioned Tamar once, and felt it was a pity that he did not come due to his work, otherwise he would have most likely liked several of the items available in the auction.

The second highlight in the auction finally happened. It was a pendant, but to describe it accurately, it was a thick string that held several small rocks together. Any ordinary person might have missed it, but Brendel nearly jumped up when he saw the pendant.

[The Boulder Mercenary’s pendant. If this is combined with ‘The Rock Nest’ made from a Rank 17 alchemist, it can reduce the materials required for making gargoyles which was created from ‘The rock Nest’ at least fifteen percent, meaning productivity is raised.]

He explained the usage to the others, and Amandina and Batum were especially interested in it, as they recognized the pendant’s use for a region.

In the continent Vaunte, wars typically required three types of resources.

The first were humans, the second was raw Amberite, the third was typical resources like food and water. The fourth resource was ‘Nest’.

Amberite was a composite rock that was mined from Somir’s mine. This crystal-like quality with the color of amber possessed mana in it, and Amandina’s Magicite was designed to draw the energy out, and the basis for all magic intelligent machinery; the blood of ‘production’.

Other materials like food, metal, wood, and rocks are commonly found materials even in Earth.

‘Nest’ was the origin where monsters come from and was utilized by humans.

[To speak of ‘Nest’, it’s necessary to speak of Vaunte’s origin to explain it. How does ‘Chaos’ exist, and how does ‘Laws’ work?] Brendel began to explain.