After a full circuit of the stone outcropping, James confirmed there were no trickles of Pure Water like he was used to. He also tried digging a well, and although the soil beneath the grass and trees was moist, he hit bedrock four feet down and couldn't get through.

The Smith was now faced with a choice. The problem was that his armor was damaged and not well-suited to this floor, and he needed a safe place to forge and enchant. But he also needed a fair bit of materials. The last really good place to work had been his alcove on the second floor, beyond the hot springs area and the snowy passage.

He had already gone back and collected the clay and sand he would need, but water was different. He was going to need a lot, both for forging and for his own personal use.

And although so far the boss monsters hadn't respawned… James knew that normally, they did. And while he might be able to take the pangolin again, things hadn't gone well with the crab boss. In fact, if the crab had thrown him the other way, out into the ocean… who knows what would have happened.

Probably drowning.

James was faced with unknown risks and known problems regardless of what he did.

In the end, the Smith had faith in his armor and his hammers.

He packed up his essence-saturated Green Iron Ore and his gear, and he once again set out, heading for the next large stone outcropping in the direction of what looked like a rainstorm.

At the very least, there should be water there.

The next stone outcropping contained more Green Iron Ore, and veins of other ores, along with another couple dozen trees growing in the lee out of the wind. But no water.

James continued on.

Hundreds of yards of rolling shallow hills and valleys, battered by wind, James pressed on.

He was growing tired. Both physically, and from the mental strain of not having a safe place to retreat to. Perhaps going back to the second floor would have been the right move? After all, he had retreated to the first floor and prepared before going on to the second…

Another hour later, the rainstorm loomed closer than ever. There were no more stone outcroppings between this one and the darkness that indicated the pouring rain.

But here was water.

A stream of water wended its way through the shallow valleys, with one part curving to within twenty yards of the copse of trees.

Good enough.

James quickly set down his warding stakes, using a fair number of them to extend a large single ward encompassing part of the stream. He'd have to walk back and forth to bring water out of the wind, but he could put up with that.

[Water Identification]: Fresh Water

Good enough. The Smith recognized that he would need a better way to store and carry water going forward, but for now, he could make camp. This stone outcropping, like all the others, was rich with Green Iron Ore, and the area surrounding his camp had more of the bush monsters. Their density had been increasing the closer he got to the rain storm.

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Once the warding stakes were placed, James' first order of business was digging out a short tunnel into the stone, a place to sleep well out of the wind and away from view of monsters.

As soon as this was done, he ate and lay down, still in his armor, and slept.

The howling wind wasn't enough to overcome his fatigue and keep him awake.

When next he woke nothing had changed. He topped off the ward with magical energy and set himself to constructing a smelter and forge. With the stone at hand, and the clay and sand he had gathered before, he had everything he needed and this took him a single day. The feeling of heat radiating from his forge brightened his mood considerably. He had been appreciating that this floor wasn't abominably cold nor sweltering hot, but there was something about the heat of his forge that put him at ease.

Now, finally, he could forge himself a new set of Green Iron Armor.

He was actually fairly satisfied with the design of his Water Armor, so he prepared molds of his armor pieces, as best he could, to save himself some effort.

Smelting the green iron ore was as easy as ever, and because it was already saturated with sylph essence, it was simple to ensure an even spread of essence throughout the iron itself once molded and cooled. From there, each piece only needed some finishing touches, and it was ready for etching.

At this point it had been several days in this camp. The rainstorm some couple hundred yards away continued relentlessly. None of the bush monsters had moved, as far as James could tell. Nor had he seen any sign of other monsters.

Even so, the Enchanter decided to push himself with the [Wind Resistance] enchantments. Sure, he could probably do alright with a weaker, less dense pattern of the enchantment on each piece of armor, but the water spear from the lake on the second floor gave him pause. Who knew what else he would find on this floor? And at least now, he had plenty of materials.

In the worst case, it would be wasted effort.

In the other kind of worst case, it could save his life, like his [Reflect] enchanted shield had.

The Smith was learning caution.

So he spent a week enchanting his newly forged armor. He found himself able to enchant each pair of boots, greaves, and bracers in a single day, while the larger pieces of armor all took a full day.

At least he didn't pass out on the cuirass this time.

Eventually, it was done.

[Appraisal]: Wind Visored Helmet, Quality: Very Low, Durability: 19/19, Enchantment: Wind Resistance (30)

[Appraisal]: Wind Cuirass, Quality: Very Low, Durability: 20/20, Enchantment: Wind Resistance (30)

[Appraisal]: Wind Armored Skirt, Quality: Very Low, Durability: 12/12, Enchantment: Wind Resistance (35)

[Appraisal]: Wind Codpiece, Quality: Very Low, Durability: 10/10, Enchantment: Wind Resistance (28)

[Appraisal]: Wind Greaves, Quality: Very Low, Durability: 14/14, Enchantment: Wind Resistance (30)

[Appraisal]: Wind Cuisses, Quality: Very Low, Durability: 15/15, Enchantment: Wind Resistance (35)

[Appraisal]: Wind Left Pauldron, Quality: Very Low, Durability: 16/16, Enchantment: Wind Resistance (32)

[Appraisal]: Wind Right Pauldron, Quality: Very Low, Durability: 14/14, Enchantment: Wind Resistance (32)

[Appraisal]: Wind Bracers, Quality: Very Low, Durability: 13/13, Enchantment: Wind Resistance (36)

[Appraisal]: Wind Cleat Boots, Quality: Very Low, Durability: 16/16, Enchantment: Wind Resistance (28)

There were some differences in how the enchantments came out, mainly due to the square shape of the pattern and how curved the armor piece was, but overall James was proud of what he had produced. And it felt great to be wearing lighter armor again. Trudging around in heavy armor had been physically draining, even with the boost to Strength from his Smith class.

He stepped out of the lee, still in his ward, to fetch some water wearing his new armor and the wind that before had threatened to knock him off his feet now felt like like a gentle breeze. He marveled, standing there in the wind, and pulled out his shield and nearly had it ripped out of his hand as the wind caught it like a kite. He quickly put it back in the magic bag and considered making a shield of wind resistance, but ultimately decided against it.

No, he had just one more chore to take care of and then he was ready to resume exploring the floor.

After refilling his quenching buckets, James set himself to making full sized barrels in which to store water. He even managed to make lids for them, with latches. And best of all, they fit in his magic bag.

It wasn't Pure Water, but it was good enough.

James rested, ate, slept, and then turned to the rainstorm. It stretched from one end of the floor to the other, with no visible way around it.

Time to continue exploring.

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