"For starters, the skill weapon break. What would happen if the legacy merged with it? Would it be just an upgrade, or could it affect my blades?" Hera asked.
"I can't say for sure without the legacy doing its thing. And it will be quick. Maybe a couple of weeks. A month tops, by the way. But, the way I see it, it will probably affect the blades. I'm not sure if it will affect the ones who have titles, but even if it does, the power of this skill will be much, much greater. I think it will be something like, letting you split a mountain the way you are now, and that is really cool," Daskka gestured with her tail, pretending it was a sword.
"Yeah, no, if that's the case, take this skill off the list. I'm not gonna risk having this skill merged with the legacy. I don't care how strong it could be."
Daskka nodded, "Yeah. I imagined that. You are too kind to do something like that, mum."
"Mum?" Hera never expected to be called that, especially not by a snake made out of mana.
"Yeah… you are… mum," Daskka nodded, going back to that struggled way of speaking, but Hera couldn't tell if that was just because she couldn't talk properly or because she was feeling embarrassed.
"I think I'm more of an aunt. Your mom should be Chika, the snake that died before I got you."
"You…do…n't…want… be…mum?" Daskka asked with puppy dog eyes.
Hera scratched the back of her head, "It's not that… Look, I had a lot of problems with my mother. Because of that, I never even consider having kids. Hearing you call me mum just brought some bad memories, but it's not your fault. If you want to call me mum that's OK. I will do my best not to be weirded out by it. And I'll explain everything to you later. I promise."
Daskka just nodded. She could feel the internal struggle happening inside Hera and understood that she needed time to process this. After a few moments of silence, the snake spoke up, "Do you have any more questions about the legacy?"
"Yeah, I'll leave the skills for later 'cause I have to check each one of them. I already have a blade in my court… Actually, no, why is it called blades, and why are the titles like that? The consort thing feels weird. Isn't that like a lover?" Hera decided to understand more about the legacy itself before asking how it worked.
"Yep, it's called blades because it's the court of blades, but it's just a way to phrase it. If you want, we can change it. It's the same thing with the titles. Those are the titles used by the last legacy holder, and if you want to change any of them, we can. It can be anything. You can call the number 1, 2, or 3, or pineapple, orange, and grapefruit. Just remember that when you give a title to one of your blades, you have to call them by the title to summon them. That's why one of the titles was changed to mistress of the hunt. It was a way for the previous wielder to remember who he was calling. The same applies to your title. It doesn't have to be empress. Even if I think it fits and it sounds really cool. Empress Hera. Oh, and you have to name every blade even if you don't give them titles. To summon them you call their names," Daskka explained.
"OK, and what's this about giving them a body? It said that I can summon the blades, but I'll be summoning without a body then? How does that work?"
"No, all your blades you summon will be flying weapons that can move on their own. If you have a spear, it will be a flying spear, a sword, a flying sword, and so on. For those who have titles, you can give them humanoid bodies… ish. Depending on the weapon, they might be from a different race. It could be a dwarf, an elf, or even a naga. They will have personalities, memories, and desires. It will be like having your own private adventuring party at all times with you. When you dismiss them, they will just be sleeping, and you can do what you want in private. It's kind of like they are a version of me, just with a different body."
"But are they you, or will each weapon have a personality?"
"They won't be me. One of the conditions for you to be able to give a title to a blade is that you have an ego item with you, and it has to synergize with the weapon. Then in the process, you take that ego item, absorb it, give it to your blade, and that's where the personality will come from."
Hera frowned. Finding an ego item was extremely hard. And buying one would be incredibly expensive. Even with all the money she was making, she still didn't have enough for one. Not to mention that those items were only sold in auctions, "Is there any other way to give a title to one of my blades?"
"For now, I only know of one other option. You can have a spirit become one of your blades, but I'm not sure how. I still can't see all the information about the legacy. Some parts of it are still missing. I think you still need more time with the legacy before I can know that."
Hera nodded. It was the same with Blue. It took time for her to unlock some of the legacy's abilities and even now she didn't know everything.
"OK, why do I already have a blade? And the list says I can only get five blades, but I have more than five titles to give. How does that work?"
"That's the blade that helped you pass the legacy test. It came with you. You don't have to keep it, and you can change it anytime you want. I kinda hope you do because that blade is not very strong, and it doesn't have any special attributes. Also, it doesn't really match your style. The amount of blades you can have at one time also changes as you get used to the legacy. And I have no idea what's the max or what the other holders had as the max."
"I'll keep that in mind, but it feels weird to let go of the blade that helped me get here. To call the blades, I just have to call their names?" Daskka nodded in response to Hera's question.
Without getting up, Hera stretched out her hand and called, "Lurize of poison."
She felt the ten thousand mana leaving her body, and a few meters away from her hands, the same two-handed sword that she used in the legacy tests materialized in the air. However, there was one difference compared to the sword she used in the weapon graveyard. The sword was now orange, signaling the type of mana it was made of. Hera could feel the connection with that sword. It was similar to what she felt with Daskka but much more simple. Unlike with the snake, she felt only words and not feelings. Without saying a word, Hera thought to the weapon, 'move to the entrance,' and the sword did as it was told. Remembering the thing about her not being able to use the same element as her weapons, Hera tried to create a poison needle in her hand. Since this was one of her main spells, she knew exactly how much mana it would cost to create the projectile. But this time, she used more mana than she expected. This probably meant that she was using poison mana before, but now she was using some other kind of mana and then turning it into poison.
While still thinking about the spell, Hera received a message, not from Daskka, but from the sword asking what its next task was. Hera called it over and asked if she could wield it. The sword floated to her hand and rested gently in her fingers. Apparently, the sword was much lighter than the one she used inside the test, or the sword was actively trying to be lighter to help her wield it properly. Hera focused her attention on the sword and activated her [Inspect] skill.
"Inspect won't work. If you wanna see its attributes, you have to look it up in your blades list," Daskka explained.
Hera nodded and opened the list of blades. There was only a single weapon in there, and it was the one that she had in her hands. Tapping in the name of the sword, the window changed.
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Lurize of poison
Zweihander
A two-handed sword that excels in duels thanks to its parrying hooks.
Weapon Scaling:
Strength: 2.06 [0.7(1.4) + 1.36] Endurance 2.01 [0.65(1.3) + 1.36]
Agility: 1.36 [0+1.36] Charisma: 1.36 [0+1.36]
Intelligence: 1.36 [0+1.36] Luck: 1.36 [0+1.36]
Weapon skill
Teacher's spirit:
Your familiarity with this weapon will grow at an accelerated rate.
Familiarity: 1%
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"Where do these numbers come from?" Hera asked, unsure of what all that math meant.
"So, the numbers outside the brackets are the full results of the math inside them. If you look at the strength, you have the previous strength scaling of the weapon, which is 1.4, reduced to half because of the skill. Then we have 20% of your attributes, which would be 13.6, and to translate that to attribute scaling of a weapon, we just move the little dot a number to the side, and it's now 1.36," Daskka explained.
"OK," Hera stared at numbers trying to make sense of them. It took her a few moments, but she more or less understood what the idea was, and it seemed like every weapon she could get would be stupid powerful in her court.
Daskka shook her head, understanding her thoughts through their poison, "Not really. Weak weapons will benefit more from your high attributes than stronger ones. If let's say you find something stupid, like a knife with a 50 plus scaling on an attribute, the penalty it will have by joining your court will be much worse than the buff that you can give with your attributes."
"But that's only if I don't give them a title. If I give it a title, I think my attributes would be able to offset that, right?"
"Yes, but like I said, titles are permanent. You can't change them if you want. I mean, you can change what the titles are, but not who has it."
"Right, and what is this familiarity? What does that mean?" Hera had an idea of the answer, but it was better to make sure.
Daskka stared at her, "It's kind of what you're thinking. It's how used you are with the weapon. I don't mean just how to use it in a fight, but how to take care of it too. I think that if you learn how to make them, it can also help, but I'm not sure. Every weapon you own or use a few times will have some degree of familiarity with them. You just have to use inspect to see it."
Hearing that, Hera pulled up the weapon that Silah gave to her. It was her current oldest weapon, and she's been using it for well over a year.
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Dwarven Hope
Rarity: Rare
A handaxe created by Silah, a genius blacksmith from the city of Boothudurn. The weapon was tailormade for a human who arrived in the city. The materials used in the creation were imbued with the crafter's feelings, increasing its strength and effects.
Attribute scaling:
Strength x 1.8 Agility x 1.8
Endurance x 1.8 Charisma x 1.8
Weapon Skill:
I will protect you
An intense desire to protect the user was present during the crafting process. When the user takes damage, there is a 10% chance that this skill will activate, increasing the user's endurance by 20% for 5 seconds. During that effect, any healing the user receives is increased by 10%
Familiarity: 63%
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"I'm not gonna do this now, but how much would this change my court? The familiarity, I mean."
"Just to make it clear, the familiarity is individual. Each weapon will have a different bonus. In this case, it would have 26.3% of your attributes applied to this weapon."
"That's it?" Hera gasped.
"Yeah. You can get up to 30 for your court or 60 for the one with titles. The legacy is already strong. You can't expect it to be just stupidly strong," Daskka scoffed, "Also, you usually need at least 20% familiarity with a weapon to add it to your court. Lurize was a special case."
"Lame," Hera rolled her eyes and pulled her other axe.
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Executioner's Blade
Rarity: Uncommon
Level restriction: level 20
Attribute scaling:
Intelligence x 2.9 Charisma x 2.6
Dexterity x 2.2
Weapon Skill:
Executioner's strike.
Attacks that hit a vital spot in the target will deal 100% more damage.
Familiarity: 43%
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"Would this work?" Hera showed the weapon to the herald.
"Yeah. All you have to do is invite the weapon to your court," Daskka nodded.
"How?"
Daskka rolled her eyes, "Did you ever invite someone to the movies? It's the same thing. But it's a court, so be respectful."
"Oh, great axe that has been with me through so many battles. I... Hereby… Cordially invite you to be part of my court. The…. incredible court of blades," Hera even gave a slight bow to the weapon and waited for a moment. She saw some smoke coming out of the axe and covering it completely. The weapon's weight vanished from her lap, and then the handaxe fell back on her legs. Hera looked at Daskka, confused but saw a small trail of mist coming out of her tail while the snake laughed so much that she was crying.
Hera crossed her arms, "That was just mean," she pouted.
"Sorry. I wanted to see if … I … could…." Daskka returned to the growl and gave up midway through the sentence. Using the poison, she communicated to Hera that she wanted to know how much she could stretch the legacy to allow her to speak. And then just told her to call the skill name while thinking about wanting the weapon in her court."
Hera nodded and did just as she was told. The Executioner's Blade seemed to slowly turn into small specks of mana and head towards Hera. This took a while, and the explorer regretted not having a timer set up so she would know how long it would usually take. That would have to wait until the next time then. When it was finally over, she saw a notification.
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Speak the name of your new court member
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Hera opened her mouth to ask something, but Daskka stopped her with her tail, "The next words that come out of your mouth will be the name. Even if it's what."
Hera nodded and took a moment to think. In the end, it didn't matter all that much, and since it was a way to remember the weapon, it was better to make it simple, "Executioner."
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Your court has a new member.
Executioner - Strength
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Without a second thought, Hera summoned the axe, and it was there, floating in the air but now had a red blade instead of the usual silver metal. To double-check, she opened the status of her new blade.
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Executioner - Strength
Hand axe
Attribute scaling:
Intelligence: 3.1 [1.45(2.9) + 1.65] Charisma: 2.95 [1.3(2.6) + 1.65]
Dexterity: 2.75 [1.1(2.2) + 1.65] Agility: 1.65
Strength: 1.65 Luck: 1.65
Weapon Skill:
Executioner's strike.
Attacks that hit a vital spot in the target will deal 100% more damage.
Familiarity: 43%
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Hera got up and started testing what she could do with the blades and how hard it was to control her court. Some time passed while she and Daskka were talking until Kirouhebi appeared in the doorway with Alex.
"We came to see if you had any success. And by the looks of it, you did. I'm glad my old friend's legacy has finally found a new owner."
"Holy shit. Hera. Are you controlling those?" Alex gasped.
Hera opened a big smile, "Yep, I'm itching to try this out in a real fight."