They had found a home for themselves and had expanded rapidly. Vuzgal was firmly against favoritism: If someone was unable to do the job, they would be dismissed. A few of his family members had tried to skirt these rules and found themselves banned from applying to administration jobs, both the person trying to get a job and the person trying to get past the rules to pull them into a position based on family instead of ability.
Bai Ping devoted himself to the defense force. He had made it through the ranks: from private—learning how to use a rifle and becoming an expert at using mortars—a mage, a medic, and an engineer. Then he was picked for a leadership course. He was already a corporal at that time. He had become a sergeant and started at the bottom all over again. He had just reached the position of mage sergeant when he and his squad was summoned to carry out a series of tests on new equipment.
He had studied in Kanesh and Vuzgal academies. He had opened his mana gates and formed his mana core, tempered his foundation, and reached Body Like Stone. He had served in the clearing of the Water floor.
Another group walked into the area: a sharpshooter squad.
Bai Ping grinned as he saw a familiar face in the lead. “Bolton, good to see you, man.”
“Basic training feels like years ago.” Bolton laughed as he shook Bai Ping’s hand.
“It was just over a year ago,” Bai Ping said.
“Looks like you took all the training you could. Beat me to mage squad sergeant,” Bolton said.
“It’s all a marathon. You know which position you want to settle into yet?”
“Nah, not yet. Still having fun doing different jobs. The time in between turnover is nice;lets me get to know my squad, get integrated, and then switch later on without too many issues,” Bolton said. “You ever think that we would be the ones teaching and training others?”
The two of them laughed and shook their heads. Bai Ping looked over to see the different squads greeting one another and talking amongst themselves.
The door to the secret training area opened again, and six people walked in.
“Atten-chun!” Bai Ping called out. Everyone snapped to attention, and he saluted Domonos and Glosil, who both marched over.
“As you were.” Glosil saluted. Tan Xue, Taran, Julilah, and Qin Silaz were with him. All of them were heavyweights and leaders in their respected fields, but they had all come for this test.
“Gather ’round,” Glosil said.
They created a half-circle, and Domonos cleared his throat.
“You are all here for the testing of the new prototype of Conqueror’s Armor and the testing of the updated support formations. I’ll let the crafters go over it.” He turned to the side, letting Julilah and Qin step forward.
“The new support formations are rather simple. They are separate formation plates that can connect in different ways to the battlefield. Say you need more powerful shields, add in another shield formation. Healing in an area of effect, add in a healing array. Increased Strength or Agility, just a formation away. The formations are about the size of a dinner plate. There are two versions: One can be stacked together, reducing the overall area it covers and making it easier to transport, and the second is placed on the ground. It can create a larger effect and supply more power, but it has limited mobility,” Julilah said.
“The Conqueror’s Armor incorporates formation sockets and a linking ability. The formation plates need to be put together to act upon one another. This makes them easier to operate and means less to worry about on the battlefield. With the Conqueror’s Armor, they focus on individual buffs, increased spell effect, decreased spell cost, and increased Agility or Strength. The buff is overall smaller than the formations Julilah mentioned. Though, with the linking ability, they can ‘stack.’ This means that if your squad is wearing linked armor, your buffs apply to one another. So, say originally you have a buff of increased Strength by one percent. If you have a squad of ten people and are all wearing that one percent Strength buff, then you all get a ten percent increase of Strength,” Qin said.
Bai Ping frowned.
“Some of you might be wondering what will happen if there are a hundred people wearing the same armor in range of one another. Well, in that case, everyone will buff one another,” Glosil said.
Bai Ping sent a look at Bolton. He had the same stunned look on his face.
Just how powerful would we be?
“The armor comes in a set with a chest plate, groin protector, as well as shoulder and upper arm protectors. Each piece will be at the Journeyman level. The breastplate will hold the linking formation socket. The arms and skirt, the little drop flaps that protect your sensitive parts, will each have a formation socket that you can change at will. That means one formation socket on your left arm, one on your right arm, and one on your skirt.”
“The helmets will remain the same. Their formations are integrated to allow them to operate properly,” Taran said.
“Upgrading the formations is just like your weapon formation sockets: Put in the updated formation, and you’re good to go. To upgrade the armor, you just need to get new plates from the assembly line.” Qin waved her hand, and a set of armor appeared on a mannequin.
It wore the same expressionless helmet, tan carrier, groin protector or skirt, and upper arm protectors. She pulled out another display that held the plates without the carriers.
The outside of the plates was plain metal, except for the formation sockets that were embedded into them.
“Please take a look,” Qin said.
The group of VIPs stood back, and the two squads stepped forward.
“Smart. All the formations of the armor are done on the inside, so if it is hit from the front, it won’t necessarily be messed up,” Bai Ping said.
Bolton turned the formation socket and pulled it out. “All of the formation socket is contained in the lower few layers, and high-strength defensive plates are added to the front.”
They went over the new armor. It wasn’t that much more advanced than their current armor. The carrier, other than the collar, was the same as what they used already. In public, they used simple Apprentice armor to make people think that their gear’s level was lower than it was.
“It might not be stronger than the armor we have right now, maybe even weaker because it doesn’t have the reinforcing formations, but the way it’s used…” Bolton shook his head.
“Smart, just smart, taking what we have already and giving it a much greater capability.” Bai Ping held his chin and looked at the armor as their two squads studied it.
The VIPs walked back over.
“Questions?” Domonos asked.
“What is the range that we can link to other sets of armor?” one of Bai Ping’s men asked.
“About forty to fifty meters, depending on terrain,” Qin said.
“If you’re underground, it will be cut down severely unless you’re all in the same area,” Julilah added.
“Though there are plans to seed Expert-level linking plates among the companies, not just with the leadership. Have a few sergeants, corporals, even privates with them; spread them out to make sure the network of armor is always linked,” Glosil said. “Those command-level plates will link together with all sets of armor within a four-hundred-meter to five-hundred-meter radius. Meaning that all armor within that range will stack their buff on top of one another.”
The men and women started to chat among themselves. Domonos cleared his throat, silencing the room once more.
Bolton raised his hand. “What about the slimmed-down versions of the armor, like what the special teams use? With just the short plates for the front and back as well as side panels? Why are we using this larger, clunkier set of armor?”
“This is a prototype. We are using old armor plates to test it out. It is our plan to use the new slim-design armor plates once we have a finished formation socket and formation design,” Qin said.
Domonos looked around for more questions. Seeing none, h
e stepped forward. “Your squads’ task is to test the hell out of this thing. I want to know its strengths, weaknesses, ways to use it, formation combinations you think are useful. How it operates with the area-of-effect formation systems. Based on the information you give us, it will allow us to develop these systems to be used by all of our forces.”
Bai Ping, Bolton, and their people stood straighter. If the gear passed or failed and how it was utilized would be aided with their efforts. Their brothers and sisters would rely on this equipment; they had to make damn sure it was the best equipment they could use before it ever saw a battlefield.
8
Lord’s Return
“All right, time to head back. It’s been a good vacation,” Erik said.
The rest of the special team grinned as Erik checked the screen in front of him.
==========
Do you wish to travel to Vuzgal City Totem in the Fourth Realm?
YES/NO
==========
Erik hummed along to “Paradise City,” making Rugrat join in.
A flash of light covered them, and they appeared within Vuzgal’s totem defenses.
Erik pulled down the scarf around his face, looking up at the large tower in the distance. The police officers were handling the entrance into the city, and the army stood behind them, ready to support if needed.
Erik paid the entrance fee, and the group relaxed.
They passed through the toll stations and headed into Vuzgal. They changed disguises and walked into a bar. Erik flashed a medallion to the barkeep, and they were sent to one of the reserved rooms.
The door closed behind them before a clicking noise came from the round seats. They opened in the middle, revealing a set of stairs leading downward. Erik led the way, getting rid of his extra clothing and items. Tian Cui removed the disguising formation as they headed into the depths of Vuzgal.
“Nothing like being home and hiding in a basement,” Yao Meng said.
“Good to be back. I wonder how the training went with the new special team members,” Yuli said.
“You wonder what might happen to that Vinters guy?” Tian Cui asked.
“Nothing good, by the teacher’s expression,” Rugrat said.
They walked down through several layers, presenting their medallions to the different skeleton guards who protected Vuzgal’s undercity.
A door opened before them, and they walked out onto an incline. From it, they could see men and women training, fighting one another in large training squares. In other places, there were workshops that never stopped working. Multi-story fields rested upon one another, growing all manner of food. Miners and machines were cutting into the rock.
It was a small underground city. Pillars supported the ceiling and Vuzgal that lay above. Glowing formations gathered and contained mana from across the city, funneling it toward a massive structure that reached from the ceiling to the floor. It was large and squat. Several other structures reached up to the ceiling as well.
“What are those?” Yao Meng asked.
“The large one in the distance is the under-castle. It is built right under the castle and pillar above. The smaller ones that look like fortresses are the underground facilities of the military. We can train down here so others won’t learn our secrets,” Rugrat said.
“Bigger than I thought it would be.” Erik released Gilly and got on her back.
“Good to be back,” Rugrat agreed.
“What do you think about that Lee Perrin?” Erik asked.
“Aussie for sure, though we’re not the home for reclaimed Earthers. He’s got his people. Seems nice enough, but don’t need to recruit everyone.” Rugrat shrugged.
They wandered down the incline and toward the underground section of the main castle, as people stared at them.
“We’ve only been gone a few months, and people have forgotten who we are already,” Rugrat moaned.
“Who could forget you?” Elan said as he rode over on a purple-and-green-scaled beast that looked something like a reptilian ostrich.
Erik looked around his room, the sun coming in through windows that reached up to the ceiling. His bedroom was the size of most apartments back on Earth. Thankfully, the bed was normal-sized. He had pulled out gear, putting it to the side as he cleaned and worked on it. He had reloaded his magazines and organized his gear in his storage rings to be ready to fight at any time.
He studied his clothes. His brown shirt and gray pants showed a lot of wear and tear. They were Apprentice level, and with his movements in a fight—although his skin could take the rubbing and falling—his clothes were much weaker and fell apart faster.
He looked over to the academy housed in a portion of the Castle District. The district was truly massive. It fit the academy, the administration offices of Vuzgal, and two combat companies with plenty of room to spare.
His eyes moved to Vuzgal. It had grown again, rapidly increasing.
“Things keep changing around here. Looks like the retirement fund is doing good.” Erik stretched and turned from his window, walking across his massive bedroom, and left his apartment to head for the heart of Vuzgal—the administration offices.
Erik scratched his beard as he walked, staring at all the people moving from one place to the next. The frantic and panicked movements he had seen among the staff when Vuzgal had started to build out their administration were toned down. People knew what they were doing now; they had direction.
People glanced at him but kept on going, frowning at his unkempt hair and beard.
Erik grinned as he kept walking.
“Sir, do you have an appointment with someone?” a receptionist asked as Erik walked past her desk.
“Nope, just here to bug Hiao Xen.” Erik smiled.
“Acting City Lord Hiao Xen is a busy man.” The woman raised her voice. People looked over, and she looked down on Erik.
“Yeah, don’t want him getting into trouble now.”
The woman seemed confused as Erik continued walking and waved to her.
“S-stop! You can’t go on!” the woman said.
Erik turned and glanced over to her, then at his storage rings. I look like some pawnshop owner from New York Erik searched through the storage rings as the woman marched around the desk and stood in front of him.
“If you want to make an appointment with Hiao Xen, you need to talk to one of us and we can talk to his assistant to book you in. He is a busy man, and his schedule is filled most days.”
Erik kept rummaging. “One second.” Erik kept looking.
“You—” The woman coughed but Erik didn’t pay attention.
“If you continue to make a scene, I will have no choice but to ask you to leave.”
“There it is.” Erik held out a medallion.
The woman seemed to shake in anger as she glanced at the medallion and then stared at it. Her face changed to pure white. “T-this—”
“Don’t worry, I know the layout,” Erik said. “Good work. But sometimes you just need to give people some time to sort themselves out.” He turned and walked past her.
The woman numbly walked back to her counter, and Erik heard her colleagues talking to her in hushed tones.
“What was that medallion? Why do you look so pale?”
“I-it was the city lord’s medallion.”
“He’s a city lord? How can that be?”
Come on, the beard’s a bit rough and the hair is long, but they’re not that bad, right?
Erik pushed his hair into a better form as he walked through the halls. People continued to stare at him, their expressions turning into panic.
He reached Hiao Xen’s reception.
“Hey, Dougie, how are things?” Erik walked up to the desk.
The young man looked more refined, his hands expertly moving over papers, highlighting things, and continuing on. His hands faltered as he looked up. His frown turned into confusion. “Erik?”
“Come on, the beard isn’t that bad. Is he bus
y?” Erik asked, gesturing toward the door.
“Uh…” Dougie tilted his head to the side and shrugged.
“All right, I’ll get a damn haircut.” Erik rolled his eyes.
“He doesn’t have any meetings for another two hours. He’s all yours.” Dougie tapped a button under his desk.
The door unlocked.
“Thanks, man.” Erik pushed the door open and closed it behind him.
Hiao Xen looked up from his papers. “Erik?”
“It’s just a beard. Is it so hard to figure out who I am?” Erik muttered and walked over to the desk that had expanded and was covered in all means of information books. Several enchanted pens wrote words on different pages as Hiao studied Erik and Erik studied him.
“How have you been?” Erik opened his arms.
Hiao Xen, smiling, stood and hugged him. “Busy, very busy, though your people are very good at their jobs.” Hiao Xen released Erik and guided him to a set of couches.
“Which people?” Erik asked.
“Oh, the people from the Adventurer’s Guild, Trader’s Guild, military, police, academy, bank,” Hiao Xen said.
Erik shrugged and sat down. Already some people saw the connection between the different guilds and departments of Vuzgal. It wasn’t unusual for traders to work together and varied groups to form a deal. Everyone and every group had their secrets; it would be uncommon if they didn’t.
The truth of Alva would come to the surface at some point. By then, hopefully, they would have enough strength to take charge of their own destiny instead of having someone lording over them and telling them what to do.
“Don’t worry. Not many people have picked up on the different groups. They operate independently, after all, but they interact with one another as if they are united or connected by something. I can only see it from where I sit. I’m sure that the associations are starting to put things together, if they haven’t already.” Hiao Xen pulled out tea and two cups, serving Erik.
Sixth Realm Part 2: A litRPG Fantasy series (The Ten Realms Book 7) Page 9