PART II - CLOCKWORK DEFENDER
A few minutes later, Callie, Jesca and Pixyl reconvened in the garden, Jesca now fully clothed and eager to see what Callie’s strange new skill would do. Pixyl, on the other hand, was significantly less eager, and was primarily coming along to keep her friends out of trouble.
“I accidentally woke up Koda,” Jesca said with a bummed tone. “He says he wants to see your new skills, too. Sorry.”
“Of course he does,” Callie said with exasperation, knowing the Bearkin’s keen interest in the anomalies and anything out of the ordinary. “Should we wait for him?”
“He said he’d catch up.”
“Good,” Callie said with a sharp nod. “Let’s go.”
Together, the three started to walk towards the mess tent and the training grounds beyond. Rather than jump immediately into unlocking her new powers, Callie took a moment to query those she already had previously at Iron Tier, to see what had changed. As expected, all of the active skills improved, each adding a second charge as well as improving recharge times and other details. This meant she could now use each skill twice in rapid succession before needing to wait for another charge. As Callie reviewed the new details, she realized she’d need to run some numbers and do some experiments to figure out the next new rotation. Of course, she had three types of new arrow attacks to weave into her rotations, too.
Several of her perks improved as well. Advanced Archery now provided the ability to use mana to reflect an arrow off a solid object without a reduction in force, as well as a general improvement in accuracy and base capabilities. Wilderness Tracking and Stealth both added ‘plains and fields’ to the biomes the mana-powered versions would work in, and Callie knew from the others her new Danger Sense perk synergized with Tracking, only functioning in those same biomes.
Strangely, her Earth perks like Construction seemed completely unchanged, and Callie wondered if that had something to do with them being listed as ‘off-class’ when they were detailed at Iron. She was still quite curious about the promised ability to use mana with them, and would have to dig into what that meant when she had some proper downtime, tools and materials. Maybe Fizzlebek could be of assistance?
“Did you unlock the other ones yet?” Jesca asked, still bouncing along in excitement.
“Not yet, I was looking at changes from Iron,” Callie responded.
“With your bow not needing arrows, your rotation will be different from everybody,” Jesca said. “I suppose in a week or so, when we all get our new bows, we’ll need to adjust, too.”
“I’ll let you all know what I figure out works best.”
Unlocking as they walked, Callie first reviewed Elemental Shot. As Fizzlebek had mentioned what seemed like a lifetime ago, the effect would certainly overlap with some of the enchantments they had discussed. At Bronze Tier, Callie could use both fire and water elements, with the fire effect producing a burst of molotov-like fire at the point of impact that was about three meters in diameter. It would burn for about six to ten seconds before going out, unless whatever it hit caught fire.
For the water element, there were three variations available. One option could be a simple burst of liquid water, which Reynard demonstrated as great for putting out fires from range when Jesca had set one of the straw targets alight. However, one of the combat-oriented alternative effects was to produce a burst of ice that would send pointed icicles in all directions, as if they were shrapnel. It wouldn’t be very effective against armored foes, but anyone without protection could find themselves torn apart. As an alternative, the ice could also produce a small burst effect, and those caught in it would find themselves layered in ice, which would slow or even freeze the target in place for several seconds, unless they were strong enough to break free. The ice was considered summoned material, so it wouldn’t last very long, only perhaps ten seconds or so at Bronze, but it had interesting situational usefulness.
Callie, of course, had seen all of the other Rangers using these skills when they hit Bronze, and she was told the details of the mechanics. Still, finally seeing the infodump for herself was exhilarating.
Her next unlock, Homing Shot, was exactly as one would expect. Once instantly cast, she would be able to ‘lock’ on to a target in a few seconds and the arrow would self-steer to hit it. The tracking wasn’t perfect, operating in only a twenty-degree cone in front of the shooter, but later Tiers promised to increase that. Still, even with that limitation, it would be immensely helpful for fast-moving targets like Imps and Netherbats.
Finally, there was Rain of Arrows, which would pepper an area randomly with replicated projectiles. This was one of Callie’s first Synergized skills, and as she unlocked the power, she saw how it was directly tied into her Multishot.
SKILL: RAIN OF ARROWS (BRONZE TIER)
SYNERGY: MULTISHOT
MANA USAGE: MEDIUM
CASTING TIME: 5 SECONDS
RECHARGE TIME: 60 SECONDS
CHARGES: 1
MULTIPLIERS: 4x / 2x
DESCRIPTION: This ability imbues a prepped arrow to target an area of ground 3-5 meters (variable at time of casting) in diameter. When the arrow is loosed upwards, the arrow will split 4x the multiplier of MULTISHOT, and then split into 2x, hitting the target area randomly. The arrow must be fired within 10 seconds of the spell's completion, or the enchantment will dissipate. Arrows are summoned objects and will disappear approximately ten seconds after striking. As the skill level increases, the recharge time will decrease, the window of opportunity to fire the arrow will expand, and the multipliers, maximum charge count, and variable area of effect will increase.
One of the silly reasons Callie loved this skill was because it had numbers. Lots of numbers, in fact. She quickly ran the math. First she would shoot an arrow in a high arc, which would split into four times her Multishot multiplier, now up to four with Bronze Tier, giving her a total of sixteen. Then each of those would effectively double, so thirty-two arrows struck the area she targeted. That initially felt impressive, but wasn’t nearly as impressive as Reynard’s demonstration at his Platinum Tier. His volley was so dense as to literally black out the sky, peppering an impact area with what had to be over one-hundred arrows. Jesca had been absolutely stunned into an uncharacteristic silence at seeing the swarm, simply having no words that were adequate.
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Unlocking the Summon Component and Replicate Arrow skills showed their synergies with Advanced Archery. The former allowed Callie to summon non-magical components for making new arrows and even parts for simple bows, like new strings. The latter, true to Reynard’s word on Day One, would duplicate up to ten non-magical arrows, or up to three magical ones, with the arrows lasting about two hours before the summoning faded. These were two of the only skills that the Rangers were allowed to use off the training grounds, and Reynard wanted them practicing as often as possible, to the point that everyone was to carry an arrow with them wherever they went to cast on. Their summoned arrows could be tossed aside into the woods or somewhere else nobody would trip over them, to simply fade into nothing when the summoning expired. The same was the case for any archery components.
The other skill they were allowed to practice anywhere was called Eagle Eye. This was a simple channeled skill that would effectively allow Callie’s vision to ‘zoom’ in on a target. At Bronze, this zoom effect was limited to about three times, but it would increase at higher tiers. What made this skill so great was that a Ranger’s various attacks could be performed through it. This was particularly helpful for Sniper Shot, especially for the others, with their greater range from the longbows.
The final perk all the Rangers had received, and now Callie was finally able to unlock, was another for hand-to-hand combat. In this case, it provided the knowledge to use one’s bow as a weapon, or fight with a held or thrown arrow. Thucax was skeptical of the usefulness, until Reynard demonstrated by hooking the Gnoll’s legs with his bow, sending him tumbling to the ground in a crash. Before Thucax could even collect himself, he found the Foxkin holding an arrow to his throat, and any skepticism the students might have had initially died immediately. Reynard fully admitted it wasn’t a particularly elegant way to fight, especially compared to swashbuckling with twin swords, but it could be critical in a situation where your swords weren’t available for some reason. He also pointed out it could be more effective than bladed weapons in some cases, as most people were not trained to defend against such an ‘uncivilized’ style.
Arriving at the training field, they found it, of course, devoid of people this early in the morning. Together, the three wandered over to the target range the Ranger students had been using all week to get situated.
“Did you unlock everything?” Jesca asked.
“Everything but that last melded perk. I’ll wait a bit because I don’t want to get distracted. I really want to try this Turret thing out,” Callie replied with a grin. “Let’s see if we can figure out how this works.” Callie thought back to that first day of training and what Xin had shared about summoning her Totem. Xin’s first casting had been an absolute failure and resulted in mana drain. No matter what, Callie needed to make sure to avoid that.
“Okay. Apparently I am able to summon the turret within three meters of me,” Callie called out as she reviewed the information once again, sharing the details with Jesca and Pixyl. “Then, it will start shooting every three seconds at whatever I mentally tell it to.” Looking down the range, Callie fixated on the fifty-meter target as a good option.
“Be careful,” Pixyl warned. “D-D-Don’t push if you can’t get it the first time.”
Callie took her place on the shooting line, Jesca and Pixyl a step behind her to either side. Shaking out her arms, she took a couple centering breaths, finally extending her hand.
SUMMON TURRET
First as a trickle, and then as a torrent, the mana began to flow from Callie’s hand. Ahead of her, tiny pinpricks of light began to appear, coalescing together into the form of support legs. More lights appeared, twisting and merging as the Turret built itself, forming the shapes of structural frames and clockwork mechanisms. Higher and higher it built, parts coming together in chaotic swirls before slipping into their required location. But the mana usage was intense, and Callie was quickly feeling her reserves leaking away.
She pushed on, though, continuing to will the construct into shape. It rose to the level of Callie’s chest, now no longer forming a supporting structure, but melding into the vague shape of a crossbow head. The little Ranger continued, sweat growing in beads on her face as she pushed through.
“You can do it,” Jesca coached, encouraging her friend.
“Callie …” Pixyl said quietly, a worried warning tone in her voice. “Don’t hurt yourself!”
Lights continued to swirl into place. Now the entire shooting mechanism had completed, just a little farther to go. Callie pushed through, all the clockwork mechanics finally locking together. Gears and weights and magical springs, all working in a perfect Tinker harmony. Lastly, a source of power to run the construct began to form. It was essentially a tiny mana battery buried inside the fragile frame of the Turret, infused with Callie’s mana to drive the Turret into action.
The casting ended and Callie dropped her arm to her side in a noodle-like flop. “Did I do it?”
“I think so?” Jesca said with a questioning inflection. “It’s not falling apart at least. Tell it to shoot something.”
“Right.” Remembering the command needed to be mental, Callie concentrated again on the fifty-meter target. “Shoot that!” she thought towards the Turret.
Kathunk!
The Turret’s crossbow head snapped, a magic bolt having formed as the projectile, just as an arrow did with Callie’s bow. The far off target was struck, high and to the left, but within two rings of the center. There was a clicking sound as the gears and mechanisms spun, automatically pulling the crossbow’s string back into position.
Kathunk!
“Whoa!” Callie exclaimed as the second bolt launched forward, striking the target a second time with reasonable accuracy, below where the first had hit. All three inched forward to watch the sequence play out again, Pixyl launching into the air and expertly hovering to get a better look. Again, the Turret reset itself.
“That’s really … cool,” Jesca said in wonder, remembering to use Callie’s favorite word. It was really the exact right word for this moment.
The Turret kept shooting, launching a new bolt every three seconds in a predictable rhythm. Accuracy didn’t improve, but it didn’t decrease either, and was well within reasonable limits at this distance for a body shot. The three watched the Turret run its repeated sequence, mesmerized by the clickity machinations.
Kathunk!
Kathunk!
Kathunk!
“This is amaz…” Callie finally started to say, her voice low and awestruck.
“Ladies! Good morn…” a deep voice began to say.
Callie whirled on the sound, so lost in the Turret’s workings that she didn’t even notice someone approaching. The Turret sensed her sudden shock and swung its aim towards the source.
Kathunk!
“What the..” was all Koda could manage to say before the Turret launched a magic bolt at him. With uncanny speed, he tried to dodge, but at this close range he still took the magic bolt to his shoulder. He staggered with a grunt, his brain still racing to figure out what had just happened.
Callie screamed, spinning to the now-reloading construct. “Stop!”
It didn’t stop!