Lanek found himself seriously considering a wand or staff, but ultimately decided that neither really fit his current build. While he would love to cut his mana consumption down, his only offensive spell wouldn’t actually be usable with a staff. Sure, he was considering a range of other attack spells, but that didn’t change the fact that it wasn’t particularly useful for him right now. Also, it seemed like he could get a mana cost reduction through the use of accessories as well, such as rings, bracers, necklaces, and the like.
While Lanek was considering what route to take, his curiosity got the better of him and he decided to check out what level firearms had reached in this world. From what he could tell based on the weapons and armor he had seen thus far, the equipment within the Mark were taken from this world’s history. He had come to this conclusion after spotting a few weapons that were completely unlike anything that he had seen back home in museums, books, or even games.
Upon reaching the firearms section, Lanek nodded at the selection. There were a range of weapons from the early days of firearms back home. He spotted an arquebus, blunderbus, and a range of pistols and muskets that would not have been out of place during the Napoleonic Wars. However, he wasn’t planning on taking any of the weapons as they would not be of much use to him in this world.
One of the biggest issues he would have with one of these weapons is using it while mounted. Sure, he might be able to shoot while mounted, but trying to reload while Maximilian galloped all over the battlefield was not something he would be able to do. Hell, he doubted that someone well-versed in these weapons would be able to do it either.
He could also see that it wouldn’t be all that effective against the threats he and his companions faced. For one, muskets were typically only really useful if they were fired en masse, but there was no way he could purchase a musket for everyone back in Caelis and he certainly didn’t have the knowledge to make the weapons, powder, and shot. Additionally, muskets were known for having a pretty nasty psychological effect, with soldiers breaking and fleeing as large swathes of their comrades were wiped out by a firing line. The problem with this is that the gaunts, Void creatures, and undead that Lanek had fought so far weren’t really the type to flee even when losing a fight.
Finally, the muskets just wouldn’t do enough damage. A normal gaunt could likely be killed by a musket ball, but the bulwarks would probably laugh it off just before tearing a firing line to pieces. Also, gaunts were fast, so a firing line likely wouldn’t get many shots off before getting slaughtered. No, as much as he liked the thought of soldiers with muskets manning the walls of Caelis, it wouldn’t work against their current foes and with this world’s level of firearm technology.
Cannons, on the other hand… Lanek thought hopefully, then laughed as the Mark failed to produce anything. It was worth a shot. He wasn’t surprised at the lack of cannons, it was pretty clear to him that the Mark only offered personal equipment.
After shopping around for a bit, Lanek had a bit of an idea as to what he wanted to do, but it would depend on the skills available to him. He had already experimented and found that the Mark would not allow multiple gear sets. While he could have multiple weapons, he was limited to a single piece of armor or accessory per body part. So, if he wanted to use bracers that cut down on his mana consumption, he would have to part ways with his gauntlets. The same thing applied to his body armor, which really hurt as he was quite fond of his han kote.
Lanek started to sift through his available skills before finding the one he was looking for, a crafting skill. This will do nicely.
Lesser Shaping [Uncommon]
Lesser shaping will guide your hands to more easily alter a material’s shape. Note: This skill cannot be used in combat and it requires the appropriate tool for the material being altered.
He purchased the skill before immediately looking at the upgraded form that became available. Lanek grinned widely as he confirmed the upgrade and felt the System take a large portion of his reward stones.
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Greater Shaping [Rare]
By feeding mana into your fingers, you are able to easily mold materials into different shapes. Note: This skill cannot be used in combat nor can it be used to mold living material.
With the skill upgraded, Lanek left the shop behind picked up a stone, willing the skill to take effect. Almost immediately, Lanek could feel his hands grow warm, although not to the point of feeling uncomfortable. He moved his fingers around the stone, feeling it give and shift like clay beneath his touch. It only took him a few seconds to shape the stone into a long sliver, much like the stone projectiles he had been firing, but much less crude. A few seconds more and he had reshaped the sliver into a small ball. Lanek went to reshape the stone once more when he abruptly felt dizzy and his vision went blurry.
What the hell? Oh, shit… That took so much mana. Doing some quick math in his head, Lanek realized his new skill would completely drain him of mana in around five minutes of constant use. Fucking hell, it’s a good thing my mana regenerates faster since my evolution.
Lanek lifted the stone and turned it back into a sliver and wondered what he could do with this skill when he decided to activate his dart skill. Surprised, he noticed that the new sliver had a much longer range than the previous ones he had used, including those that had been crafted by Ivan and the artificers in Caelis.
Is it because it is better made? Or is it because I made it myself? I feel like it may be a bit of both. Doesn’t matter, I’m not going to complain about more than doubling my attack range and being able to make my own ammo. I just need to do something about that mana cost.
A new idea started to take root in Lanek’s mind as he toyed with his new skill, so much so that he returned to the shop. He wasn’t sure if it would be possible to pull off what he had in mind, but he was damn sure going to try. However, he needed to find the right skills first.
He searched for over an hour before he found the first skill he had been looking for, an enchanting skill. The hunt had taken so long because he had no use for a normal enchanting skill as he could just spend reward points to add enchantments to his gear anyway. No, he needed something along the lines of what Ivan could do with his runes.
Inscription [Rare]
By focusing your will upon a medium, you are able to imbue the effects of a spell that you know upon it with the appropriate runic inscription. Inscribing a spell upon an item will immediately cost you the amount of mana it would take to cast the spell normally, but no mana will be required to use the item. Note: Items will be a one-time use and only you will be able to use the items you create.
That’ll work. Granted, it’s not as good as Ivan’s since other people can’t use what I make, but he does have a whole class revolving around this, so it makes sense that his is better. It sucks about the one-time use, but it’s not that bad. This has insane potential because I have a pretty unfair advantage. It seems like new skills and spells aren’t easy to come by here, but I can just buy them with the right amount of stones and then turn them into scrolls and stuff. Good lord, prep time is going to be paramount if I keep going down this route.
Back into the store he went, this time finding what he was looking for very quickly. What he needed now was a delivery system of sorts. The sight of the muskets and his ability to craft spheres with his bare hands had sparked his imagination and he was going to see his plan through. This next skill would make or break his plans.
Telekinesis [Uncommon]
You are able to move small items at the cost of mana. The further you move an item and the faster you move it, the more mana it will cost.
Not quite, but the upgrade sure as hell sounds like what I want. Lanek smiled wickedly as he saw the name of the upgrade to telekinesis, only slightly faltering at the fact that it would leave him bereft of reward stones.
Mana Acceleration [Rare]
By utilizing your mana in a more focused manner, you are able to launch projectiles at your foes at incredibly high speeds. The speed, range, and accuracy of your projectiles will depend on their shape and quality.