Aditya pulled out a medallion and raised his communication device. “Ready Fireball scrolls. Catapults, prepare to fire.”
Getting back readiness from both, Aditya smiled. “On my signal!” He snapped the medallion in two.
Several lightning barrier plates that had been buried underground activated. Circles of lightning appeared in the midst of the attacking army. If one ran into it, they turned into a human lightning rod, wearing all their weapons and armor. The lightning shot out at anyone in the surrounding area, jumping from person to person, having a greater effect.
Hundreds died in the first second they were activated, with more dying by the second as the lightning barriers kept pumping out power, creating a web of lightning that arced through them all.
***
Tabur was just looking at the lightning running through his soldiers when fireballs, nearly twenty meters wide, appeared, being launched through the front ranks of his attacking army. When they hit something solid, they would explode like a shotgun blast and continue onward, leaving burning lines running through the charging nomads.
“General, what do we do?” an aide asked.
“Grenade!” a man yelled out.
Tabur looked to see what was going on with the unfamiliar word.
Explosions went off among his command staff, killing messengers, commanders, and aides, tearing them apart.
Tabur was thrown to the side, His rhino dying from the shrapnel.
Tabur pulled on his crushed leg and tried to free himself from under his massive mount.
Out of the smoke, men appeared, pulling off their nomad style armor to reveal high quality armor he had never seen before, not even on the lords and their strongest knights.
He yelled out in alarm as the hidden forces cut into his command staff.
They were unprepared, focusing on the battle, with his yell they only had time to turn and face their deaths.
The hidden assailant’s strength couldn’t be matched; their movements allowed them to thread through the command staff as if they were water flowing through rocks.
Spies hidden within the camp, placed to strike at the moment of confusion! How are they this strong? Just who did Aditya buy?
Tabur pulled his leg free and pulled out his sword to face the people approaching him.
One rushed past him. He was unable to even hit the hem of their clothing with his sword as they threw something in his face. He sneezed with the powder as he hopped on one leg. His broken leg was useless.
“Who are you? Whatever Aditya paid you, I’ll double it,” Tabur said.
“Get back to the wall. We need to repel the remaining forces,” a man said.
The others nodded and cut their way out of the group before they disappeared into the backs of the army that was in a mass of confusion.
Tabur’s hands shook, making it hard for him to hold the sword. The first group turned and started to run from the battlefield.
“Cowards!” he yelled. His words ended in a wet cough and he could feel sweat all over his body. His vision started to blur as he saw more people retreating. He collapsed to the ground, seeing the man who had stayed behind step up to him. He had killed off the remainder of the command group.
The powder—it must’ve been a poison.
“Don’t worry, your lord has gone on ahead and the Zatan Confederation shouldn’t be too far behind.”
Tabur looked up at the man as he pulled out a crossbow. Tabur didn’t have time to react as the crossbow shot out and hit him in the chest, piercing his armor with ease.
He looked at it before darkness overcame him.
***
Jen looked at the wall. As the mercenaries’ and guards’ morale had skyrocketed, to the nomads they looked like demons in the midst of hell.
The nomads who had been charging forward so eagerly before now turned white and started to run in the other direction.
As people were looking out for orders but got none, they found out their command was gone, killed in the midst of the fighting despite having been to the rear of the formation.
The Zatan Confederation turned and started to run for their lives as the remaining catapults shot out pots filled with flammable liquids, raining down on the nomads and the still burning ground.
It truly did turn into a slaughter. Aditya was only just able to hold back the mercenaries.
Jen clenched her jaws at seeing so much death and destruction. All of them had been taught as if they were to be combat medics but it was one thing training for it and another seeing it. As well prepared as she was, it took her a bit of time to adjust to the sights and smells of it.
“Got another critical,” a medic said as he reached Jen.
She looked away from the battlefield and followed him over to where the critically injured guard was.
“Going to need a Stamina drip. Give me an airbag and be ready on chest compressions!” She was already casting Simple Organic Scan and checking him over to see the mass of internal damage done to him.
Across the battlefield, right behind the ranged fighters, the Alva healers could be seen, healing and working on the Vermire wounded. Some were able to directly get back on their feet and into the fighting again. Others were sent back to the healing house once they were stabilized.
More wounded were being brought back and treated. Very few didn’t survive once they made it into the hands of the healers.
Chapter: Journeyman Emerges
Rugrat wrestled the repaired armor plate into the shoulder pad, moving it around a bit to make sure that it wouldn’t come out. There was a cut in the fabric that he had sown together with a patch.
He put down the torso piece and looked at the armor set out on the table. There was the helmet that came to the base of the skull. He had added in a sort of face mask that could be removed, making it look like the helmets that Air Force pilots might wear.
Rugrat wanted to increase the strength of the armor, or make a new set, but with his inability to wield Mana, repairing was the limit of his abilities and it had taken him weeks to just repair Erik’s gear.
Rugrat checked the stats of the repaired equipment.
==========
Ass-shining Leather Boots
==========
Defense: 143 (-21)
Weight: 3.5 kg
Durability: 89/100
Slot: Takes up foot slot
Innate Effect: Increase physical attack damage by 4%
Enchantment: Light Steps—running costs 5% less Stamina
This is a set item. When two or more set items are combined, the abilities of the set items will increase.
Requirements:
Agility 27
Strength 18
==========
==========
Chaps, But With the Ass Greaves
==========
Defense: 157 (-27)
Weight: 9.7 kg
Durability: 83/100
Slot: Takes up leg slot
Innate Effect: Increase physical attack damage by 4%
Enchantment: Light Steps—running costs 5% less Stamina
This is a set item. When two or more set items are combined, the abilities of the set items will increase.
Requirements:
Agility 30
Strength 27
==========
==========
Big-assed Chafer!
==========
Defense: 164 (-29)
Weight: 32.6 kg
Durability: 85/100
Slot: Takes up chest slot
Innate Effect: Increase physical attack damage by 4%
Enchantment: Stone Wall—Defense increases by 7%
This is a set item. When two or more set items are combined, the abilities of the set items will increase.
Requirements:
Agility 23
Strength 35
==========
==========
Ass Slappers!
==========
Defense: 112 (-17)
Weight: 2.3 kg
Durability: 91/100
Slot: Takes up glove slot
Innate Effect: Increase physical attack damage by 4%
Enchantment: Mana Amplification—Mana-based spells power increases by 3%
This is a set item. When two or more set items are combined, the abilities of the set items will increase.
Requirements:
Agility 28
Strength 29
==========
==========
Asshat
==========
Defense: 147 (-3)
Weight: 3.7 kg
Durability: 99/100
Slot: Takes up helmet slot
Innate Effect: Increase defense by 5%
Enchantment: Mana Amplification—Mana-based spells power increases by 3%
This is a set item. When two or more set items are combined, the abilities of the set items will increase.
Requirements:
Agility 13
Strength 10
==========
==========
You have equipped the Ass Kicker set.
For having five pieces:
Your defense increases by 2%
Physical attacks damage increases by 14%
Stamina consumption reduces by 3%
==========
Rugrat sat back and looked at it all. He took a swig of beer from a ceramic jar and then pulled out his rifle, looking at it.
He sighed and ran his hand across its upper receiver. His vision was blurry from drinking.
Is this the last thing that I’ll ever be able to make? Will I only be able to pound on iron, never able to create Mortal iron again, or to create Journeyman equipment because I can’t use the right materials? Never anything more than a Mortal smith?
Rugrat felt lost, confused. He had devoted his time to increasing his Mana Gathering system, to smithing, but now, because of his idiotic actions, he had destroyed that future. How far had they come in the Third Realm and they hadn’t been able to even hear of anything that might be able to repair the damage that he had caused.
There was no one else to blame, no way to shift the blame. It was a dagger in his gut and he had put it there.
He had tried to shift it, but then when they were in a fight or when he wanted to craft something, that pain only returned, stronger.
Rugrat let out a laugh without any humor in it as he sat there with his rifle on his legs and drank from the jar, drinking to forget, to push it all away.
***
Khasar and the guards had been watching over Old Hei, who was working on some kind of concoctions in the booth, while watching the Path of Alchemy trial for two weeks now. The second-to-last person had come out two days ago.
“Looks like the head of this place is anxious to get back to work. Tell him it’s fine if he goes,” Old Hei said absently.
“Yes, sir,” Khasar said.
There was now only one name that was lit up, still competing in the trial: Erik West on the third board.
Khasar didn’t know what to think. Seeing Old Hei’s pleased expression, his derisive thoughts were pushed to the back of his mind. He was but a guard and Old Hei was one of the three pill heads. If he was still praising this boy, then how was it his place to say anything bad?
It was not as if he and the others in the guard unit had not gained anything. Old Hei freely talked on Alchemy and fielded questions from them. He was not arrogant and as long as someone had questions and would honestly take his information and test it out on their own, he was only pleased with their success instead of jealous.
He had also concocted a few pills in front of them and even passed them pills that might help them. People who had hidden injuries, those who had reached a bottleneck in their Mana system or Body Cultivation—he passed them all information.
This was the hidden benefit that came with guarding an alchemist. If one was able to attach themselves to one who was a good master, they might be able to increase their strengths much faster than if they were to do it themselves.
Old Hei’s actions and his care not only toward the guards but also interest and care for their families made him a person the guards held in their hearts. It was no longer a job for them to protect Old Hei, but they viewed it an honor being able to stand guard and did everything possible to make sure that he was safe, much to his chiding.
It was also why, against his better judgement, Khasar placed his trust in Old Hei instead of the people he had heard muttering in the stands and talking to one another about the final failure.
“I will pass the message.” Khasar moved to the rear of the booth to send the message.
***
Others were not as forgiving as Khasar and Old Hei.
“He has already been in there for two weeks now and still he is unable to create a concoction? What kind of mess is this? Shouldn’t he give up by this point?” one of the moderators asked their fellows as they looked at the only active testing area in the entire Path of Alchemy trial.
They were stuck watching the trial to make sure that there was no cheating and report anything strange or noteworthy to the higher echelons of the Alchemist Association, keeping them from working on their own projects.
“At least we’re getting paid for it,” another replied. She was reading a book while she was on watch.
“Great, to watch a failure!” the man complained, pulling out a chair and sitting down as he looked at the man asleep in the middle of the illusion formation.
***
Erik had gone through hundreds of ingredients and he had altered the formulas of the healing, Stamina, and Mana concoctions. Through two weeks of trial and error, he had finally found a new combination of ingredients for all of them that would allow them to be used at the same time without the ever-present effectiveness decrease that one might experience when consuming multiple potions. The first would have 100% effectiveness, but if it didn’t clear the person’s system and they took another concoction, then it would be reduced in effectiveness. Now there was no helping this if someone used the same concoction, but mixing the three different concoctions, they would be 100% effective.
It might seem like a small thing but with it, someone who had been taking Mana pills could now get a healing potion and get healed at a 20% increase from before. Same if a melee fighter using Stamina potions used a healing potion. Or if someone was gravely injured, they could be placed on a Stamina and healing drip to keep them stable, instead of the medic having to worry about prioritizing healing or Stamina Regeneration to keep their patient alive. Now there was no wrong answer. A small change but one with massive implications.
Erik had never finished the concoctions so that he wouldn’t pass through the last stage.
“Now time to increase my ability with the other concoctions and pills. Defender’s Might is the kind of pill I’ve been looking for for a long time to increase my fighting ability rapidly in the middle of a fight, though I haven’t been able to make a version that is strong enough to make me happy. I want to at least get to the Inscribed pill level and be able to replicate it time and time again. If I could give this to the people of Alva, then it would be like giving them a berserker skill. And if they take a healing potion afterward, then they would be able to recover from the effects completely. One way to create super soldiers—drug them to the tits!”
Erik laughed to himself, ignorant to everything that was happening outside of the illusion formation.
“I wonder if we could be able to make something like this in Alva Dungeon. The ability to practice without wasting resources—just the money we would save is astronomical, especially when someone reaches the Journeyman stage and has to build up knowledge and ability in so many things. I can see why the Journeyman stage is the first true stage of any craft. I was really a man in a cave before. I thought I actually knew a few things about Alchemy!”
He laughed at himself, but instead of being frustrated, he was ex
cited. There was so much to learn, to build, to grow! It was as if he had seen the end of the book he was reading, only to find out that it was the first book in a series!
Erik had been debating whether he should create more of the Age Rejuvenation potions. He hadn’t made any in the previous trials because people had been observing him the entire time. If he revealed that he knew how to make such a concoction, he might be accepted into the Alchemist Association right away, or he might have people after him, trying to get the information from him.
So he had kept it hidden. It was as he learned more through the Alchemy Book that he figured out something.
The Age Rejuvenation potion was a Journeyman-level concoction, but it was a concoction that relied fully on technique, on one’s technique with flames to refine the ingredients, to pull out the hidden depths of power.
Now that he had more knowledge through the Alchemy Book, he knew that there were better supporting ingredients that he could use to increase the power of the Lidel leaves.
The effect of the potion turned it from an Apprentice-level potion into a Journeyman one. The Alchemist Association didn’t care about the effects of a potion that one made when they were being admitted; they cared only about the ability of the alchemist.
Not just their technique in creating a potion, but their knowledge. Creating a concoction that was harder to complete and one that required knowledge and technique—that could get one a higher position when they entered the Alchemist Association.
To get in contact with Old Hei and become an Expert alchemist to create the Mana Channel Revitalization pill, he needed to take every advantage possible.
The Age Rejuvenation potion was a simple concoction. It was hard to complete but it was possible to create a large amount of wealth with selling it to the Blue Lotus.
It didn’t mean that Erik couldn’t study ingredients that might increase its strength. But now he wanted to increase his overall ability, not just his technique, to see what his limits were and to push past them. It was a lot easier when he didn’t have to care about resources!
The Third Realm Page 42