The level of activity in the Forge was orders of magnitude more than when Duke was first here. He could hear the echoing of hammers striking steel, something that sounded distinctly like an impact wrench. There were flashes coming from various areas that Duke guessed were some sort of welding. But one, by one, the noises and flashed died down and minotaurs started to come streaming out of their work areas.
Sar Forglyn laughed at the look on Duke’s face, “They all want to show you what they have created for you.”
“There’s so many. What could they possibly have created?”
“Well, you did make a few requests…”
A light-colored, female minotaur was the first to arrive in the large entry hall and reach Duke with her completed project. She ran at them full-force with her head down before skidding to a stop, her shod hooves throwing up sparks.
“Emperor! I have created the most wonderous of items for you!” She was out of breath, blowing heavily out of her nostrils so that they flared with each huff.
Duke responded, deeply serious, “What is it that you have brought me?”
She held it out to Duke, cradled in her cupped hands. It was a golden amulet, carved with intricate runes with multiple layers of what looked like branches in a nest made of gold. He took it and before he could examine it with his Ability, she gushed out a description.
“It’s an amulet of Space Magic! That’s the most powerful magic I have ever heard of, and it will allow you to move from one end of a battlefield to the other with but a simple activation! See the intricate weaving of the runic branches? Each branch weaves into the others to contain the Space Magic for you to use. Best of all, you can recharge it with your own Mana. I present you with Aerie’s Leap!”
Duke locked his expression down as she went on about her creation. He finally responded, “Being able to move about the battlefield so quickly is a tremendous advantage. Thank you for this wonderful amulet.”
She beamed as she turned and skipped away. If you’ve never seen a full-sized minotaur skipping, you really should. It was a display of power and whimsey in equal measure and brought a smile back to Duke’s face.
Sar Forglyn escorted Duke past the growing line of crafters towards a more specific room. As they passed looks of hope turned to disappointment. Duke decided to address that before things went further.
“I will meet with each of you in turn so that you may each show me your masterpieces. It seems that Sar Forglyn has decided that I need to see something else first.”
That settled the looks of disappointment and Sar Forglyn added, “Return to your areas. The Emperor will get to each of you in time. There are specifically commissioned pieces that take priority though.”
With that, he led Duke into the Armory where a suit of something was on display upon a mannequin. Duke thought it might be the armor he had asked for, but it was difficult to make out. Every time he looked at it, his eyes were unable to focus on it clearly. It felt like he didn’t want to notice it, like there was something about it that made him want to look away. His Psyche was strong enough to overcome the effect, but it was still uncomfortable to examine.
One of the beefiest minotaurs Duke had ever seen approached him with a wide grin. To say that the grin did not fit the face would be a vast understatement. It was a disturbing image, but the enthusiasm came through their body language as well.
“Greetings, Emperor. Welcome back to the Armory. I see you have noticed the Veil of Oblivion. It is my greatest creation – an alloy that captures the essence of the void and wraps the wearer in its embrace.”
“It is something to see for sure. Or, should I say, to not see from the effect it has. That is quite impressive. How durable is it?”
“I have struck it with my heaviest blows, and it has weathered them without a mark. The voidsteel alloy is nigh immutable once it has been set.”
“Then we had better hope that you have gotten the fit right.”
“Sar Forglyn chuckled momentarily before speaking, “Unless your measurements have changed over the past year, the fit will be precise.”
“Then we should be good.”
The minotaur smith placed a lens over each of his eyes and walked over to the armor, gesturing for Duke to join him as he started to remove it from the mannequin.
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“Please remove your outer garments. They will interfere with the fit.”
Duke shrugged and began to strip down. In moments he was down to his boxers and socks. Realizing that he was wearing the same boxers he had arrived in this world in brought a sly smile to his face. If I didn’t have the CLEANSE and RESTORE Abilities, these would have long since been left in shredded pieces. His clothes went into his INVENTORY, and he stepped over to have the armor fitted onto his frame.
“I am Kragh Forgehorn by the way. It is an honor to create armor for the Emperor.”
“Great to meet you. I’m looking forward to seeing how well this performs in the field.”
“It will exceed your expectations. I guarantee it. I have never created a finer suit. This is the masterwork of my life.”
“Wow, you’re really selling this.”
“It is the pinnacle of my craft, the best armor I have ever constructed!”
Duke was sorely tempted to ask how many suits of armor the smith had made knowing that the smith had been newly created with the dungeon, but he held himself back. Barely. Instead, he contorted himself into the armor with the minotaur’s help. What followed was twenty minutes of strap adjustments and instructions.
“And this is the quick release. If you pull it down and then to the left forcefully, all the straps will be released, and the armor should fall off. I can’t foresee a situation where you would need to use it but I make my suits to a higher standard.”
Duke bent his knees and elbows testing the range of motion of the armor. He flexed each finger and even his toes. The armor moved with him without resistance or obstruction. Next, Duke moved through a mock fight using his tonfa and then his sword before finishing up with simulated aerial combat. The armor’s articulated joints moved with him flawlessly. The inner coating of the armor moved against his skin without a hint of binding or rubbing. He was impressed.
“Yep, I definitely need to field test this armor. If it’s as durable as it is comfortable, you have a winner on your hands.”
“Thank you, Emperor.”
“No, thank you. This is great!”
Sar Forglyn interrupted, “Kragh, the Emperor has many other areas to visit. We need to move along.” He reached for Duke’s arm, thought better of it, and asked, “Please come with me, Emperor.”
Duke gave a departing smile to Kragh and followed Sar Forglyn out of the area. They passed by a dozen different crafting areas before they came to the area that Duke was anticipating. As they got closer, he felt a giddy excitement well up within him.
Stepping into the area brought the feeling bubbling to the surface and Duke couldn’t help but smile. The smile grew wider when he saw what was waiting for him. He scanned it up and down with his eyes while a trio of minotaurs in white jumpsuits came forward with white-gloved hands extended in greeting.
Duke absently shook their hands, never taking his eyes from the mech that stood before him. It was just as he had asked. It stood between five and six meters tall and presented a foreboding image. The mech’s silhouette was sharp and angular, designed to evoke fear and awe on the battlefield. Its primary coloring was as requested: a deep, matte obsidian black, absorbing light and giving it a shadow-like presence. Additionally, Crimson accents traced along its edges in jagged, almost vein-like patterns, glowing faintly as though pulsing with an internal power.
Duke’s smile spread as he examined the mech further. The head was a streamlined, wedge-shape with a single, horizontal crimson visor that glowed menacingly, resembling a predator’s unblinking gaze. Small, backward-sweeping horns protruded slightly from either side of the head, giving it a demonic, otherworldly visage.
The torso was broad and thickly armored, the chest featured a coat of arms consisting of a glowing red gem in a white background surrounded by a sky-blue border which Duke recognized as his own Stormstride heraldry. The coat of arms subtly pulsated, as if alive. There was reinforced plating tapering toward the waist, with segmented armor providing both protection and mobility.
The arms and legs both fit the motif and sported curved crimson blades extending from the knees and elbows. Duke immediately thought about how he could use those in close combat and his cheeks began to ache from the strain of his smile.
Throughout the mech, the traces of crimson veins pulsated with light and power. Duke wanted nothing more than to pilot the thing on the battlefield. Finally, he noticed the three minotaurs waiting for him. Reluctantly, he pulled looked away from the mech and back to them.
“I take it you like our design choices?”
“Oh God, yes. That is fucking outstanding! Out-fucking-standing! Is it ready to pilot?”
“It is. What is your Mechpilot Skill up to?”
Duke glanced at his sheet and saw where it was sitting. He answered, all excitement drained from his voice, “Untrained 1.”
All three minotaurs shouted at the same time, “Do not get in that mech!”
“That bad?”
“You wouldn’t be able to do more than open and close the hatch on Bloodstorm. You are going to have to train up your Skill to at least Practiced before you can effectively use her.”
“You don’t happen to have a mech I could practice with?”
“Oh, sure. We can fire up one for you. Come this way.”
The lead mechbuilder, who had introduced herself as Zarna Anvilborn, took Duke to the back of their area and through an iron-shod heavy wooden door. Beyond the door there was a vast open cavern that had to be several square kilometers in size. The cavern had some sort of ambient light that was weaker than the rest of The Forge but was enough to easily see by. Arranged along the cavern wall were a dozen alcoves. Each alcove held a different style mech.
Zarna led Duke to the end of the alcoves to the most basic-looking mech he had ever seen. It was made from basic cylinders. One for the head, one for the torso, two for each arm and two for each leg. The feet were basic ovular constructs and even the hands and fingers were very crude. The mech stood about four meters tall and had the name “Betty” stenciled across its torso.
"Welcome to mech training, Emperor. You'll start with Betty. Hopefully, you will be able to progress quickly and make it up to Barney.”
Duke groaned but resigned himself to the training.