Lurona city [southern shores of Fuminao Legacy Kingdom], local time [1793.12.24]
The Gremling resigned himself to his fate. After one last heavy sigh, he started to explain.
“The scabbard is enhanced with the Tier 2 Spatial Beam Spell. It works like a drilling projectile that shoots from the top, and the enchantment works independently of the rest of the weapon, so you can use it even after taking the scabbard off. The effective range is around 15 ells, but it depends on the environment.”
Zeph nodded in satisfaction. 10 meters should be enough for a medium-range attack. Not an alternative to a pistol, but should be quiet.
Thanks to his Space-Mana, the cost of activating the enchantment should decrease just enough to be usable. That’s why they contacted the Timefold Tower – they needed Space-Mana compatible enchantments because Zeph wanted to have Tier 2 offensive Spells in his arsenal. It was in part to compensate for his lacking offensive capabilities, and in part to learn how mundane Tier 2 Spells worked. His only Tier 2 Spells were shamanic in nature or related to Mana-L manipulation. Or rather, the Life Energy manipulation. Both types strayed slightly from typical Mana constructs by having some strange connection to his Soul and body respectively. He suspected they were considered a Tier 2 because of that fact alone, which also suggested a typical Tier 2 Spell should have something more to it than a simple construct’s complexity. Some kind of fundamental difference in how they caused physical phenomena. It was just his hunch, though.
The three Tier 2 Matrix Spells his Class offered were still too costly to even consider using. He would have to level up, first.
“The spear’s blade was already enchanted with Hardening, as you know. I have added a Tier 2 High-frequency Spatial Flux in the middle of it. It works as you predicted,” the Gremling nodded seriously, still a little in awe at the discovery. “The vibrations help tremendously with cutting and piercing. If you keep it active inside a skewered opponent, the build-up of Space-Mana—as you call it—alongside flux reflections and refractions in the enclosed space will cause localized constructive interference explosions and other unpredictable effects. At least you had good intuition,” he reluctantly praised. “You will have to wait for around half a second for the effects to escalate, though. And it works best with hard materials, like bone. Puncturing a layer of fat will, at best, give your opponent a pleasant massage, so it’s quite useless against big animals.”
That’s a relief. I wasn’t sure if they would have an enchantment that works like that, Zeph thought happily. A shame there is no ‘Spatial Explosion’ Spell, or something like that. That would be OP as fuck, exploding enemies from inside…
He started daydreaming a little, but P’pfel quickly caught his attention back.
“The Tier 1 Lesser Discharge is enchanted near the bottom, as you wanted. The effectiveness, though…”
“Yes, I know. Kwan’s people are still testing different materials to make better batteries, so we will have to leave it for later.”
That Spell was as strong, as the ability of a Manacaster to gather charge with Electrify cantrip or its true-Spell equivalent. By itself, it did nothing. Zeph didn’t have Mana generation and capacity to use the Spell combination as intended, though, so he hoped to help himself with a rechargeable battery hidden inside the switchable bottom of the spear. But firstly, they needed something with enough capacity. Because of high electrical potential—that is, high energy—Mana and Magicules were congregating inside a battery, causing all sorts of headaches. They were currently working on a Magicule stabilizer – a material that could be a part of the device and keep high saturation of a harmless Magicule of its type while screening out dangerous Magicules. That should decrease the influence of the environment and increase battery capacity all at the same time.
Also, the discharge would flow through the surface of the weapon, so he would have to use insulating gloves. His armor should help, but the electrical conductivity of the Fullerene complex wasn’t tested yet. The Obsidian material should be perfect in that regard, at least.
This enchantment wasn’t the best solution, but it was the only readily-accessible method of stunning an opponent besides Gru’s Soul Whack. He knew well from experience how lethal a stun ability could be.
“Right. Anyway, Ghrughah already brought the three variants of the spear’s back head that you wanted.” Zeph grimaced internally despite the excitement he felt. That was another 30 000 gold he would have to pay the Blacksmith. “The axe and pike have simple Hardening enchantments, for now. We really need to buy some from the Blackwind Tower… Anyway, the toned-down explosive enchantment on the spherical head is working perfectly.” Straining himself a little, he lifted the weapon and tapped the floor lightly with the spherical bottom to emphasize his words. “If you hit with enough force, the trapped Magicules would be able to escape the loop. It’s not that consistent, though.”
The primitive enchantment—or rather, his first shamanic enchantment—of the explosive beads found a new application. Inside the sphere, three types of Magicules constantly looped around, directed by the enchantment itself. Metal-Magicules from Hardening, Space-Magicules from Space Lens, and Force-Magicules from Scrubbing – all Spells modified drastically to form one superstructure.
In its semi-stable state, the enchantment was just making the spherical head drastically more durable. Which was important, as inside was an empty space intended for the future battery. The first two types of Magicules—Metal and Space—helped with internal integrity, while Force-Magicules were able to transfer force from one point to the rest of the sphere, working almost like a fluid in a hydraulic system under metal plating – one of the simplest methods of making a ‘reactive armor’.
But that wasn’t all. The Mana flow inside was kept by the enchantment itself – the Mana-guiding part of the Space Lens construct, to be exact. When the head decelerated quickly enough, the flow would escape enchantment pathways, freeing itself from the directing forces. Normally, that would result in a chaotic Mana dispersion and explosion, like in his explosive beads, but P’pfel prepared escaping paths for that occasion. The sped-up, dislocated Mana would follow the path of least resistance, erupting in the direction of deceleration. Firstly, the Metal-Mana, then Space-Mana, and finally the Force-Mana. The last one worked omnidirectionally when dissipating into pure Mana, so a ‘balloon’ full of force would form, pushing Zeph’s weapon and the object it hit away from each other. That reaction added a nice area of effect to the hit, which was exactly what he needed for blunt-type damage. It wasn’t weak, either, as the chaotic wave of Metal-Magicules, buffed by space-distorting and force-driven explosive fluctuation of Mana, tended to fracture solid materials that didn’t have necessary safety paths enchanted near the surface.
“A lot depends on the elasticity of the object you hit, so be careful with that,” he finished, tilting the spear for him to take.
Zeph received it with a big, stupid grin on his face. The red veins on its almost-black surface seemed to glow with their own light, the miniature dark-blue hexagons barely visible in comparison as they weakly reflected the lamp light.
He didn’t see this beauty for a while now. It felt good to have it back.
“Now, time to gear you up with explosives…” the Gremling said with a dangerous glint in his eyes.
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Zeph spent the rest of the previous day learning from P’pfel about the explosives. His notes were quite messy, so Zeph decided to use the opportunity and learn directly from him.
The notes contained a full report from every experiment, including the failed ones, so it would take some time to read everything in detail. He wanted to unlock as many entries at the Exchange as possible, so general knowledge wouldn’t be enough. At least he didn’t have to make a prototype himself, as he was the inventor of the method in the first place.
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
His Skill gained a ridiculous number of levels from the discussion alone. It was to the point that right after waking up, he had to check if it wasn’t just a dream.
[General Skill] [Explosives] is now [T1] [L51]! (+24)
…How far behind is their knowledge of explosives for the Skill to level up this much? And from just one discussion, at that, he wondered, staring at the notification. And I have all those reports to read yet…
Not wasting any more time, he got up from his bed, greeting his internal partner.
This time, he wasn’t going to siphon his bloated Veil through the amulet. He had to bring back the alloy and the container with Phleya yesterday. For the duration of the Fullerene test, he had to keep them saturated. Leaving his Mana in the room should give him almost a day before he would have to check on them.
Today, he would visit the orphanage and stay there for the night. But he had a few important things to do before that.
First in order was a shower.
========Theron Nalani PoV=========
He was bored. Again.
And yesterday was such an interesting day… he sighed internally, using his spying glass to scan the vicinity of the ‘Old Nagger Inn’ for the hundredth time today. It was an odd name for a facility this big and lavish, but he wasn’t here to criticize the owner’s naming sense.
He already checked the newly equipped laboratory building. Directly. As expected, nothing exceptionally significant was happening there. The lower laboratory was working tirelessly on enchanting the equipment of Sepia Familia’s combatants and doing some basic Alchemy production. The upper one wasn’t even fully furnished yet, but the Biological research that was happening there was of no consequence for them. Their documentation was just an unfinished gibberish, either way.
It still bothered him how unassuming it all was. Worse yet, it was well within his expectations for the two newcomers that settled down in the city. Inventors, of any kind, weren’t known for their quick work. However, it all fitted a little too well. Kwan Gewong’s confidence during the founding ceremony indicated more trouble for the upcoming Dueling tournament. His experience and instincts were telling him something was amiss. Their work was way behind the latest technological advancements; absolutely mundane in the grand scheme of things. A compelling excuse for a technical team, but not so much for a rising power of their magnitude.
The problem was, even after he visited the building personally, nothing seemed out of place. It annoyed him, this uncertainty. It was like a recurring itch. Also, he had hoped his work would be worth some additional penny.
He found the underground tunnels, of course, but they were just that – connection tunnels. Unfinished and poorly hidden. He suspected the Blacksmith planned to keep all crucial information in his own vault, using the underground infrastructure for reporting and logistics.
Assuming they invent anything worthwhile… Is Ghrughah-jiji the only competent person here? he wondered for the umpteenth time. The Daityas’s workshop had security so strict, that he never managed to infiltrate past the useless apprentices’ quarters. And the place was still under construction.
He wasn’t even going to attempt to do the same in Jiji’s old building in the Production District, knowing full well how many spies were lost there. It would be a suicide mission.
And nobody paid him for a suicide mission. Even if he was eager to test himself, no money meant no work.
He was getting close. Closer than anyone before to infiltrating the old fart’s new base. But the sad fact was, the development of the workshop was out-speeding his progress. He knew that soon it would become impossible to even enter the hotel unnoticed. Their operation center was becoming a full-fledged fortress, growing in strength with every passing day.
The guard’s shifts were becoming randomized, and their numbers increased as the Sepia Familia took control of the territory. All of them geared better and better—which included detection devices—as the internal system designed by the genius Blacksmith took form. The help from Leilucia Temple only sped up the process.
He had a good observing spot inside the area, but soon it would become obsolete as well. He could hide, but he couldn’t allow himself to be exposed in any way, and the growing traffic and patrols’ activity weren’t helping. Unlike the weaklings trying to infiltrate the place by working inside, he was hired directly. Not even one slip-up was allowed.
I may have to abandon infiltration attempts. It’s getting too risky too quickly, he mused, trying to balance his payment against the challenge the establishment standing before him posed.
Learning peoples’ habits was not fast work. Moving unnoticed through security gates required either a good disguise or a perfect understanding of guards’ routines, reactions, and customs. He was one of the best in the city, yet his Skills’ effects were much more dependent on his own ability than he imagined as a kid. Without applying common sense, it was impossible to be a good spy.
Maybe in the future… He allowed himself to daydream for a moment. His Light contamination was almost at the pinnacle of the second stage, so he had high hopes for his future Class. He was almost ready to take an appropriate implant, just a few thousand UP and he would be there.
A movement near the hotel’s back entrance brought him back to his senses. The Blacksmith’s carriage was being prepared, and he knew what that meant.
The guys planted inside are useless, I don’t even know what are the clearance methods for the higher echelon anymore… Should I follow them, instead?
It was a tempting option, even if his employer didn’t pay for it. He lacked critical information to report, and any additional tidbits he learned could be sold. Just like the new flying technology they presented to the Tellervo twins. A shame he never managed to copy their documents – that would set him up for a few years, he was sure. At least according to what they said. He couldn’t be sure they weren’t using some sort of code while speaking in the hangar. Such information wasn’t important to his employer, but they weren’t the only ones interested in the newcomers’ dealings. Not to mention, the other two groups taking part in the Duels were paying quite well for any clue he could give them.
If I can see those explosives in action, maybe I can finally crack who is making them…
That was another problem. From overhearing the workers, he knew they had developed some kind of explosives – as rare as that was. It was a pain to plant and constantly manage the listening devices in the neutral areas—the meeting rooms were already geared against Mana transfer going outside—but it was slowly paying off. He even heard when Ghrughah-jiji almost called Zeph Einar’s laboratory a distraction.
That one detail was actually the main reason he considered trailing whoever was preparing to move right now. If that laboratory was useless and meant to be a distraction, there was no sense in observing the building anymore. He wouldn’t believe a word coming out of the old fox’s mouth if he didn’t inspect the place profoundly himself, though, so the dilemma didn’t change.
Are they baiting? Trying once again the Ghrughah’s may be a trap… he contemplated.
There were three possibilities he could think of. First, Zeph Einar was in possession of unfinished schematics for a few inventions and Ghrughah-jiji was trying to cover that fact and move the research into his own workshop. That would explain what he heard, their new products, and the fact the Fullangrarian was getting some freebies from the Guild. He didn’t know much about Kwan Gewong’s history, but she certainly wasn’t the one responsible for this change. Second, the interdisciplinary inventions they have made together convinced the Jiji to work with them, making him move here to work as a true team leader for all the projects, leaving nothing in the laboratories that only produced groundwork and were a distraction. Those two possibilities meant that their true research and production were happening in Jiji’s hidden facilities – the worst outcome. Third, they somehow managed to spread false rumors to distract potential spies, meaning he was missing the bigger picture.
He shook his head slowly. A fourth possibility, all of it at once, or a combination of two. He sighed. The worst part was, he had never found their information branch. The people involved either disappeared altogether or were a part of the Leilucia Temple.
And he knew better than getting close to one of the Leilucia’s Warriors. That faction proved, again and again, that they treated any spying attempts as mere training. Netherlings were never an easy target, after all. His kind was a perfect medium-difficulty ‘sparring partner’ and an entertainment.
A familiar silhouette exited the hotel at that moment. The innovation Head, huh? Should I even bother? The guy was weak. So weak, in fact, that his first guess about the internal dynamics of the Guild had become the leading one. The man had to buy his way into his new position or be a scapegoat. The two possibilities didn’t exclude each other, too. Makani Borre is still outside of the city… Eh, even if he doesn’t show me anything interesting, it’s better than just sitting here, he decided finally, slowly standing up from the rooftop while making sure his camouflage didn’t shimmer as the snow fell off from his small frame.
Hunting is kind of fun, anyway, he thought with a relaxed smile.
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Zeph’s chest rumbled slightly, like an empty stomach would – which was also true, but beside the point. He rolled his eyes at the comment Gru have sent him vocally. It was getting old, quickly.
Didn’t you have a bad premonition for like three days straight now? he thought, trying hard to send the meaning through their bond without speaking. And it’s it obvious that we are under observation? Look at all the people around, we are in a public place, for Gods’ sake!