Benvari Mountains (Emerilia Book 2)
Page 23
Jesal had a serious expression as Bob put his coconut down.
“Now that wasn’t the reason that I’m here and why your guards are going to run in here after sensing me. The real reason is because of this handsome bastard right here.” Bob gestured to Dave.
Jesal’s eyebrow rose. She had picked up the easy way in which Dave and Bob talked to each other.
“Dave, you can tell her about everything if you so desire. I have been watching and I know that you haven’t revealed your gifts to anyone openly but I feel that it might be indeed connected to your smithing art—” Bob turned his head to the side as if hearing something. “Well, I’ve got to go. I’ll see you later. Watch out. The other Affinities are gearing up for a large power grab here.”
Dave nodded and Bob disappeared.
Just moments later, the door opened, showing an armored warband looking around the room.
“Sorry, Master Jesal. The runes picked up an anomaly in this room,” the leader said.
“No worries. It was just a new rune that my student and I were trying out,” Jesal said.
“Ah, sorry, Master.” The warband leader turned, waving at the rest of his warband to exit the room.
“How the hell do you know Lo’kal?” Jesal demanded after the warband leader closed the door.
“It’s a long story.” Dave rubbed his head. Some tension left him as he could now tell Jesal the whole truth about his interest in smithing.
“I’ve got some time.” Jesal moved the steel box away. Even Mithril paled in comparison to learning more about the mysterious creature that was Lo’kal.
“Well, I guess it started when he told me that I was a bleeder between Earth and Emerilia,” Dave started.
***
As Dave’s tale had gone on, he had created a great number of things with his shadow conjuring ability. Calling it a spell at this stage felt as if that somehow cheapened it. Dave altered and change the parameters of what he conjured so completely.
Others might think of just making weapons and armor, but he has gone onto a whole different level. She drank from the glass; both the glass and the beer had been conjured from Mana.
As long as he could get close enough to analyze something, he could create a decent copy, though the power it took to create something was not small. Also, conjured items were unstable. There was a time limit on them, usually because their structure was unstable and as more time went on, their weak formation fell apart.
Dave’s growing knowledge of weapons and items allowed him to take items and copy them up to a certain level. Not just because he had come to see the object. He knew the processes that the items had gone through to reach the final state. Conjuring was not just recreating an object. It was using a different object as a blueprint and imbuing it with Mana to make it reality. Dave had complete control over whatever he conjured. He had control down to what he called the molecular level, building blocks of different elements that made up the materials he was working with.
“So, you started smithing as you were looking to reduce the cost of Mana to conjure. Then, you kind of got swept up in the spirit of creativity and looking to augment your abilities with different items to increase that power’s strength, like your armor. Now, it makes sense why you have so many empty spaces between different layers of your Magical Circuits. With your ability to conjure, you are able to insert the right runes, changing the circuits within to give you a level of control I have never seen before.” Jesal sighed and rubbed her face. They had been in the workshop all day, eating Dave’s rations as they talked.
The other facts, like him being a bleeder and Lo’kal, almost seemed trivial with all of the things that he showed off. There was no denying that his power was a strong one, with time and more understanding of smithing, building, enchanting and soul manipulation. Jesal shook her head at it all.
“So, do you have any idea of what my smithing art might be?” Dave asked.
“Not a damned clue. Like me, you’re going to have to figure that out. Before we do, I’ll teach you the secrets of Mithril, the last metal.” Jesal checked the time on her interface.
“That is a lesson for tomorrow. Right now, I need some damned sleep and a good meal before we get into that.” She rose from her chair, cracking and stretching her joints that had become stiff from sitting for so long. She laughed at the eager look in his eyes, which drifted to the steel box holding the Mithril bracer.
27: Holy Metal
“Okay, Mithril is no ordinary metal.” Jesal pulled out a thin sheet of metal. She’d spent the night thinking about what Dave had told her and relaying what Lo’kal had said to her to the other masters. Still, there was an energy in her as she moved the Mithril sheet around in her hand and passed it to Dave.
“Wow. It’s so light, and strong.” Dave studied the metal, biting it and trying to bend it before flicking it and listening to it.
“Mithril armor is the thinnest and strongest armor in the known world. Two millimeters of this stuff is equivalent to two inches of the finest steel.”
Dave whistled and rubbed his hand over the metal. “There’s a grid form to it.” His eyes unfocused as he used his Touch of the Land.
“Good, and yes, there is. When Mithril is put into its final state, then it creates a grid pattern naturally, aligning itself to its new creation. No matter what form you put it in, the Mithril will settle into a pattern that is the strongest for that shape.”
“That’s incredible,” Dave whispered.
“It is, but it also makes refining and changing Mithril a right stone cold bitch.” Jesal smiled.
Dave’s eye twitched before he let out a laugh. “Well, I didn’t think that it was going to be easy! What do I need to know?”
There were no manuals or information on the forums about how he could change and form Mithril. No Player had been able to smith Mithril before. This was one of the greatest kept secrets of the Dwarves. One that gained them fame and the world’s interest.
I wonder just how many secrets these Dwarves have? If Bob knows them enough to give their Master Smiths advice, I think that there is a lot more than meets the eyes with this bunch!
Dave smiled. No matter their secrets, he felt at home with the Dwarves. They showed respect to one another for their different skills and the Master Smiths were idolized.
Yet, people didn’t avoid them and the Dwarves were as happy to teach anyone anything. All were valued equally and people were allowed to do as they desire. Other races and groups might make it mandatory for people to be in the military. For the Dwarves, it was completely free. Their mindset was much that of the Stone Raiders: they could do whatever they desired; no matter what, the Dwarves would treat one another as if long-lost family.
I’m not entering into a trade—I’m entering into a family. That thought struck him more than the Mithril. He felt a smile spread across his face in joy.
“Well, first of all, the way that you get Mithril to move is you need to imbue part of your soul into it. Mana doesn’t work, but your soul—well, it has much more raw energy and a higher degree of control.”
“How the hell do I use my soul?” Dave frowned at Jesal.
“Well, that is where things get fun.” Jesal’s grin was hungry, making Dave quiver.
She pulled out what looked like a piece of shaped malachite. Taking it, she placed it on the Mithril and closed her eyes. Her face turned into one of concentration as a thin sheen of sweat was visible on her face. Dave saw and felt the bonds that had been made slowly changing, allowing the metal to be moved easier. It would still need someone to pound on it with some damned strong tools but it was now possible to forge the metal into something else.
Jesal wiped her brow, grinning, and handed Dave the rounded glass.
“That is a gem that allows someone to use their soul energy on another object. Your soul’s energy is much more refined than your Mana. As you expend your soul energy, then your Mana will fill the void and become refined by your soul.”
“Think of soul energy as your hand and Mana energy as a river. With the Mana, you need to make contraptions in order to change the direction of the river, using its power for different things. Those contraptions are Magical Circuits. Soul energy moves with the user’s mind. It exercises power over the natural order, but it doesn’t need runes, formations, or circuits to control it. It has been imprinted with your very consciousness. You think of something and it will react exactly the way you’re thinking.
“Mana is easy to think of as infinite as with enough time it will always come back; so will soul energy. The difference is the toll on the body and the mind. Using soul energy is a hard task. The more you use, the closer you become to a vegetative state, with your mind incapable of making connections or even talking in proper sentences. With Mana overuse, you get headaches and pain, but you don’t lose your mental faculties.”
“So, why do I need to use soul manipulation tools?” Dave asked.
“They direct your power and amplify it. Your soul energy is more refined and powerful compared to Mana energy. Using tools instead of just our minds allows us to leave less of an imprint on the energy and thus retain more of our mental faculties for longer.”
“So, I don’t have to concentrate as long, which will keep me from going wide-eyed and stupid?”
“Well, pretty sure you got that part down easy enough.” The corner of Jesal’s mouth turned up into a smile. “What you’ve got to look out for is draining yourself. With time, one can grow their Willpower; becoming more sure in their person, facing more fears, using their focused soul energy and so on. Though it is not an easy task, as it grows, you will have more energy to use on this kind of finer magical alterations.”
“So, the soul contains an imprint of our consciousness and is formed from energy. We’re using this refined energy that the soul produces on the Mithril to break down the complicated bonds that hold it in place.”
“Correct. As one’s Willpower stat increases, the power that you can draw from your soul and the rate at which it can be refined increases. With your friend, the summoner, she is able to call more creatures as she is able to make an imprint of her soul’s energy onto different creatures with a higher Willpower. That said, she is storing it in another creation and while her soul’s total energy will refill with time, it is only until she destroys the creation that she can use the Willpower controlling the creature. With too many copies floating around, it weakens the imprint on the creation.”
“Okay.” Dave nodded. “Then, when we are using these tools, how is that energy being used?”
“When using this and other soul extending tools on Mithril, you are not passing on a part of your consciousness onto anything. Think of your own conjured blades. The reason you can’t make so many is because your Willpower is low. Now, you’re not putting your consciousness into them as much as your summoner friend does with her different creations. Yet, the plans—the thoughts and the ideas of what you want your conjured blades to be—are used as a template, waiting to be imbued with Mana to turn it into reality. Your Willpower creates a blueprint and your Mana empowers it. At least that is my running theory.” Jesal shrugged.
“Interesting. So, how much power does it take to shift Mithril?” Dave asked.
“Quite a bit, especially if it is refined. It is not abnormal to find people who store up their soul’s energy in soul gems for weeks before starting a Mithril project. Heat, special forges—all of it is needed to not only purify Mithril but to turn it into a piece of armor.
“Once it is made pliable, one has to be careful about how they work the metal. One must be aware that once the Mithril bonds are broken and it is being changed into a new form, it sucks up Mana like a damned sponge. Weapons of Power were usually created when a great number of powerful individuals gave their power to the Mithril, increasing its initial growth potential. Some even say that strong enough blades gain sentience due to the magical imbuement.”
Dave’s eyes widened, looking at the metal on the desk and the crystal lump in his hand. “It’s that strong?”
“With great work comes a few rewards,” Jesal said.
“Damn.” Dave knew it would not be easy to work with the Mithril but its potential was great enough to make ideas begin sprouting up, hinting at new ideas, methods, and possible ways to enhance the armor’s effectiveness even more.
“At more advanced stages, you can imbue a piece of armor with not only Mana, but Affinities. These do not count as enchantments but base attributes. Passive abilities that the metal will bestow onto those using it without runes or enchantments.” Jesal shifted, her face thoughtful. “With you, I don’t honestly know what will happen with any Mithril you craft. It might have a number of the Affinities within it. Or it might have all of them. Or it might have none.”
Dave sighed and rubbed his face. The path ahead of him would not be easy but it would be well worth the effort.
“Before we go through all of that, time to check up on those stats!”
Dave checked his interface. If he didn’t think about it, it kind of faded into the background. As he looked around, he found his notification bar blinking.
Active Skill: Maintainer
Level: Expert Level 5
Effect: 73% chance to restore durability, at higher levels possible to increase durability, quality and gain 4% Sharpen bonus to items that have been cared for.
Required: Dependent on gear; sharpening stone, hammer, anvil. Better maintainers tool leads to higher chance of increasing stats.
Active Skill: Builder
Level: Expert Level 9
Effect: 69% speed and efficiency.
Required: Tools
Active Skill: Smithing
Level: Master Level 3
Effect: 89% improved quality of smithing creation. 15% Chance to imbue metal with skill. Able to analyze items made of Stone, Iron, Steel, Malachite, Gold and Silver.
He’d finished off two new materials and done a number of different techniques that had changed his abilities as a smith.
Getting his Master levels was like getting twenty or thirty Beginner levels.
Still feels good to just get up a single level.
Active Skill: Magical Circuits
Level: Master Level 6
Effect: 95% chance of creating better Magical Circuits and understanding them. 25% Reduction of cost.
Cost: Dependent
It does seem that my Magical Circuits are racing ahead. Must be due to the large amount of information I have and the different things that I’ve tried out. It is a lot easier to make a number of runes in the right format than beat the hell out of Mithril with my soul powering my tools. Well, I would guess, at least.
Stat Increase
+2 Strength
+4 Intelligence
New Active Skill: Glassblower
Look at you go, just putting that pole right to your lips and givin’ it your all. Damn, you could probably blow a golf ball through a garden hose with them lungs! Ah, sometimes I crack myself up. Get it? Glass, cracking? Ah, go touch yourself! I didn’t put my lips to a big tube and start blowing!
Level: Journeyman Level 4
Effect: 51% chance of creating better glass-blown products
Cost: Dependent
The fuck is with these damned skill descriptions? Dave shook his head, continuing through the remaining prompts.
Level 61
You have reached Level 61; you have 290 stat points to use.
He skipped over to the character sheet.
Character Sheet
Name:
David Grahslagg
Gender:
Male
Level:
3
Class:
-
Race:
Human/Dwarf
Alignment:
Chaotic Neutral
Unspent points-290
Health:
&nb
sp; 2,600
Regen:
2.12/s
Mana:
1,430
Regen:
5.70/s
Stamina:
710
Regen:
3.25/s
Vitality:
26
Endurance:
106
Intelligence:
143
Willpower:
114
Strength:
71
Agility:
65
With a flick of his hand, he sent it to Jesal. No one except him could see that he had nearly three hundred experience points stored away.
“I still don’t get why your rank is so low. Your other stats are all quite impressive,” Jesal said.
“Ahh, a man has to have his secrets—maybe later. It really is a pain in the ass to try to explain it.”
“How do I think it’s more of the latter than the former?” Jesal drawled.
“Because then you would be right; takes like days for people to get it.” Dave shuddered as Jesal rolled her eyes.
“Fine, keep your secrets. In the meantime, let’s get working on that Willpower of yours. Use that disrupting stone in your hand and break this Mithril’s bonds apart. Do it three times and we’ll be done for the day.” She stood and wandered away.
“Why do I feel like it’s going to be hard as hell to do it even once?” Dave said to her as she got to the door.
“Ahh, I wondered when you were going to learn.” She smiled and walked out of the workshop.
“Fuck.” Dave looked at the stone in his hand and then back at the Mithril in front of him. “First, let’s see if anyone else uses tools like this—might be able to help me out a bit. Just forcing my soul through it sounds like a bad idea, however you want to phrase it.”