"Ok. Ok. We are calm. We understand that this is… Someone you know? And everybody's calm. Blue, you don't have to start punching anyone. And we are all sitting down so you can talk. Now, can you please explain what is going on?" Helena asked after finishing drinking her glass of water.
After she and the girls arrived home and saw a bird person fighting Daskka, they entered fight or flight mode. They weren't used to seeing a creature that should only exist in a dungeon out in the world and considering current events, they were worried that this was another attack. Hera was the one who stepped in, taking a moment to calm everyone down and ask them to sit on the couch so she could explain what was actually going on.
"Before we start. Just a moment," Hera waved her hand and created a soundproof spell around the entire living room, "Okay. This is Nimbus. He is my first titled blade," she gestured to the humanoid griffon that was now sitting on the ground, almost prostrating himself to the party.
"Nimbus? Isn't that the name of your mount?" Blue asked.
"Yep. I got an item that could work with a whistle and make, well... Him."
"You made him? You created a living being?" Helena asked, trying to keep her cool.
"Empress, if I may?" Nimbus asked and got a nod in response, "I am not living, not really. Much like the creatures you see inside a dungeon, I am but a construct. I suppose it would be better to say that I am like one of the blades. A member of the Empress court."
Helena rubbed her temple, "Even if you are just a member of her court, you can speak. You have thoughts. You probably need to eat."
"I don't, actually. I am able to eat if needed, but I don't have to. I won't starve or anything as long as the Empress still lives."
"I mean, that's something, I guess," Helena sighed and turned to Hera, " Did you know that you could do something like this?"
" Sort of. Do you remember how I could give a title to one of my blades? Daskka explained that they should be somewhat humanoid. It's more like a golem, from what I understand."
"That is very accurate, Empress," Nimbus nodded with a smile. Seeing a beak curl up was odd, but that was happening in front of everyone, so at least she wouldn't freak out on her own.
"And what can he do?" Blue asked, her eyes shining with the idea of something new.
"I don't actually know. And before we get to that, do you mind if I talk to him and Daskka for a moment?" Hera waited for confirmation which she promptly got. It seemed like her party would need some time to process what was going on, "Okay, you two. What the hell was that? Why did you start fighting as soon as you started talking to each other? If the two of you hate each other or something like that, I need to know right now."
Daskka and Nimbus looked at each other before the snake spoke up, " We can never hate each other. Not really. It's part of the legacy. your court will always be in harmony even if we have blades that we like more."
"That is correct. I do not hate the adviser. In fact, I admire her very much. But we have different opinions about who knows you the longest."
"I mean, I'm not going to say it wasn't fun watching you fight over me like kids fighting for Santa, but this is not something I'm going to have to worry about later, is it?"
"No. It's not. We promise," Daskka nodded.
"Great. Now, Nimbus, can you tell us what you can do? Daskka, if there is anything that I have to know and it's more private, tell me but otherwise, let him talk. I don't want to explain what you tell me to everyone."
Daskka nodded, but she started sulking since she wasn't the one who was going to tell Hera about legacy things. To compensate for that, the Empress called the snake over to her lap and started patting her head while listening to Nimbus.
"Can he tell us what he can do? Do you guys need some more time?" Hera asked the group, but they all agreed to hear what Nimbus had to say, "Ok, whenever you are ready, Nimbus."
"Of course, Empress," Nimbus nodded and stood up, "First. I am still a member of the court of blades. Because of that, my true form is that of a pair of bladed tonfas. I will be summoning them now. Please do not be alarmed," after giving everyone a moment to understand, Nimbus summoned the Flaming Frostguards on his hands. They were still exactly as Hera remembered. If anything, the colors seemed more vibrant, but that was it, "I can fight like one of you, and it is possible for me to learn some skills. However, I require much more time to learn a skill than any of you," he turned back to Hera, "That doesn't change the fact that any skill you learn will also be available to me, Empress. But that doesn't work the other way around. The skills I got on my own are not available to you. A way to circumvent that is to teach you the skills I've learned."
"I have also kept most of my skills from my previous forms. However, there are a couple of changes. First, the Ash Barrier and the Snowcloud Aura merged together, creating a skill called 'Frozen Ash.' It still is an aura that can be toggled, but it will have the added effect of creating a layer of protection around me along with the reduction of any incoming attacks. Also, both Cold Burn and Fire and Ice affect all my attacks, not just the ones I made with the tonfas. For what was kept from my griffon origin. I can still return to that form, but I will be less… foggy. I do not have a time limit to stay as a four-legged creature, and I can run at 30 km/h for about four hours without stopping. Or I could go at 60 for about one hour. Currently, I can carry up to 300kg, and that will increase as my attributes grow. I still am able to glide at those same speeds, but if you require me to fly, my speed would be the same as your walking speed."
"And do you have a limit on the carrying weight to be able to fly?" Bonnie already had her tablet out and was making some notes.
Nimbus nodded, "I do. I can only carry around 150 kg. Any more than that, and my wings are not strong enough to take me off the ground. I still am able to glide while carrying more, but I am not sure how much exactly."
"Holy crap. I have a flying mount now. That's awesome," Hera smiled.
"I'm glad to be of service," Nimbus smiled and gave the Empress a small bow, but he also looked at Daskka and snickered.
"I could make mum fly too if she weren't so heavy," Daskka mumbled and got a playful pinch from Hera as a response.
"I remember Daskka telling me that you can also grow with me, right? How does that work?" Hera asked.
"Yes. Unlike your other blades, I will always benefit from your current attributes. Not just the ones that you had the moment you gave me my title. When you level up, I will also receive a number of attribute points relative to the ones that you have received. So I can increase my own attributes."
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
"Wait. You can level up too? Does that mean you can increase the scaling of your weapon?" Alex asked.
"I can, and if the Empress wishes, she can also wield me and receive those benefits. Those benefits also are applied to me, of course," Nimbus explained.
"Wait, so you have your own scaling separated from the tonfas?" Hera asked.
"I think it's better if I chime in here. It's easier for you to understand if you open his status window. You, and only you, can use Inspect or open it through your status screen," Daskka didn't leave Hera's lap while explaining.
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Sentinel Nimbus - Protection
Bladed Tonfa - Griffon
Strength: 102 Endurance: 142
Agility: 102 Charisma: 38
Intelligence: 38 Luck: 38
Mana: 9 000/9 000
Weapon Scaling
Endurance x 14.2[0.3(13) + 3.8] Strength x 10.2[6.4(8) + 3.8] Agility x 10.2 [6.4(8) + 3.8]
Charisma x 3.8 Intelligence 3.8 Luck 3.8
Passive Skill:
Defender
Fire and Ice
Cold Burn
Active Skill:
Griffon's call
Frozen Ash
Griffon Form
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Frozen Ash (Rank 1)
Creates an aura around you made out of frozen ash. This aura will reduce the power of incoming attacks. The reduction increases if the attack is imbued with fire or ice. Additionally, it creates a layer of protective sediment that can absorb some of the damage that would be dealt from the attacks. The more mana is used to maintain the aura, the stronger the protective layer will be.
Base reduction: 20%
Fire or Ice reduction: + 30%
Base mana cost: 750 mana/s
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Griffon form (Rank 1)
You are able to turn into the form of a griffon. While in this form, you can move at high speeds, glide through the air, and fly. You also have increased strength. However, you are unable to use any other skills or weapons, and you are unable to speak when in this form.
After moving for a long time at high speed without stopping, this form is destroyed.
If the form is destroyed, you are unable to return to this form for the next 48 hours.
Griffon form speed: 60 km/h
Griffon form max carry weight: 300 kg.
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"Whoa. What do you mean you have mana? I thought you would share mine, and why do you have attributes? Not scaling, actual attributes?" Hera gasped.
"When you gave me the title, the natural mana that was used to fuel the skills of the items came to me. Unfortunately, you are no longer able to give me mana to cast my skills, but if needed, I can give you my mana, as little as it is, to assist with any endeavors. You're also free to cast spells through me. Or even use my own mana to make me cast those spells. But as following the hierarchy, a titled court member may never receive the mana from the Empress. For the attributes, they mean what my strength is in this form, while the scaling is the capabilities of the weapon, since I'm still able to assume that form," Nimbus continued explaining.
"Attributes? Really? How high are they?" Alex asked.
"Pretty damn high, actually. He has three attributes above 100," realizing that Nimbus might not want to share that kind of thing, Hera turned to the Sentinel, "I'm sorry. I should've asked if you were ok with me telling that first."
"Please, my Empress. You are free to share what you see fit about me. I have nothing to hide from those you find dear."
"That's really high. I only have one attribute above 100 for now," Alex slumped back in her seat.
Hera smiled and looked at her friends. They all seemed to be processing what was going on, and Bonnie turned to Nimbus, "Can I ask you a question, Nimbus? I'm Bonnie, by the way."
"Of course. I am well aware of who you all are, although a formal introduction is in order. I am Nimbus, the one who carries the title of Sentinel," Nimbus gave Bonnie a small bow.
"Wow, you are polite. Nice to meet you," Bonnie seemed a bit flustered with his response, "Anyway. You have mana, so can you cast spells on your own? Ones that Hera can't cast?"
Nimbus shook his head, "I am unable to cast spells. Or, at least, what you consider spells. Instead, some of my skills will require mana to be cast. When I learn a new skill, it may come with a mana cost attached to it, and if I were to learn a spell, it would come in the form of a skill instead."
"And then you can teach that skill to me?" Hera asked.
"I can try to teach you, but I'm not sure if you would be able to learn it as a skill."
"At least that's something. This was already getting stupid," Helena had her arms crossed and a worried expression on her face.
"What's the matter?" Blue asked.
"You guys in your legacies. I mean, yours is not that bad, Blue, but Hera literally created a person. And his stats are pretty good, apparently. I only have three attributes above 100 because I spent years doing research instead of leveling up, which gave me ridiculous amounts of bonus points. I know those things are supposed to make you very strong, but this is getting ridiculous," Helena sighed.
"But I can't make people, can I?" Blue looked to the side, talking to her herald, "Avatar? Like a giant mech-suit?... Ok, fine, a storm-suit? Oh, that sounds like fun," Blue opened a large smile, but her face quickly became serious, "So you're telling me to lean more into the storm aspect?… That's what I'm doing? Ok. I'll keep that in mind."
"Anyway, you have another problem," Helena turned back to Hera, " I don't think you paid much attention to what was going on the last few months. I know you've been going through some stuff, and we're here for you, but things are not exactly going well. The guild is cracking down on travel and is looking for other types of people. Like other races, I mean."
"Oh yeah. Shane mentioned something about being questioned about the Naga," Hera remembered a text she received about a month ago, but it didn't seem all that bad.
"Exactly. So if a bird person suddenly appears and starts talking to people, everyone is going to freak out. People might even assume they are with the centaurs, and even if you go to the guild and tell them it's a legacy, everyone else will be wary of them. So, I would advise against letting him walk around like that when it's not just us."
"Will do. How much mana do I spend to summon you?" Hera turned to Nimbus.
"You? None, but I spend all my mana to come out, and if you dismiss me when I'm not full on mana, it takes around one hour for you to be able to summon me again," Nimbus explained before Hera turned back to the group.
"And are things really that bad?" Hera scratched her head, getting a nod as a reply, "Ok, can you tell me what is going on? I realized some stuff during this last dungeon, and I'm going to try to slow down for a bit."
"What happened?" Alex asked.
"Basically, I got the living shit beaten out of me, almost died in an ambush, and realized that I wasn't just trying to be ok with what happened, but to be ok with that happening again," Hera explained.
"Is that why you have two black eyes? You look like a panda," Blue said.
"Blue!" Bonnie poked her with her elbow.
"What? I'm not wrong," Blue scoffed.
"Ok, ok. We should talk. Do you want to order food now or later?" Hera chuckled, realizing that she truly missed her friends.