Monsoon117
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86 The Final Piece
🕑 Added 2017-11-26 22:55:14 +0000 UTCTorix pursed his lips, How exactly does the book allow mastery of those runes?
I lowered my hand, the grimoire slapping against my side, Theres a bunch of reasons. For starters, the eldritch runes are smaller and more intricate then the magic runes. Writing them on the page lets me create denser inscriptions.
Torix let out a hand towards me, so I let him inspect the grimoire as he said,
That isnt enough to give you some breakthrough in the subject I fear.
I weighed my hands back and forth, That isnt the only thing this book lets me do. Writing on the book is less awkward than writing on myself. The booklet lets me save certain inscriptions too. If I need to alter the runes for burrowing, then I can make that happen on this booklet. I can specialize my runes.
I raised one hand, continuing, Ill be able to revise models and mass produce them. I can hook up the entire legion with new rifles empowered by enchantments.
Torixs eyes opened wide, You could mass produce other basic enchantments for rings and the like as well. With the extra Eltari, our fighting forces would no longer be struggling with quarantine. Well be able to fight against the infected areas from different fronts.
I nodded, taking the grimoire as he finished inspecting it. I opened a page, carving out a simple rune. On the other page, I carved out another simple rune. I channeled mana into one page, and the rune floated upwards, glowing red. I did the same with the other page, and the runes floated beside each other. They became one incantation.
I clapped the grimoire shut, See that? I can make inscriptions and fuse them. I could make a whole alphabet of different phrases then mix and match them for different effects. No matter what the situation was, Id be able to handle it.
Torix glanced at the ritual room he had created, You could replicate this entire structure within the confines of those few pages. He leaned towards the thick tome in my hands, There are no limits here.
I nodded my head. I turned towards the outside of the room, Im going to go make the runes for the steel legion right now. Getting them a bit more oomph should be our priority. After that, the Eltaris armor will hopefully be finished. Ill make them a few enchantments as well.
Torix walked back and forth, gesturing with his hands, Ill organize the legion for setting up the process. Youll be able to go through the entire upgrade within a few days. Once thats over with, well do the same with the Eltari. With the added firepower, overwhelming the quarantine zone will turn into a reality.
He looked up to me, By the time Yawm awakens, hell have no stronghold and no eldritch to save him. Well crush him with our raw numbers. Hah, hah! As a necromancer, I relish in the idea of it. Well smother him like a bird with broken wings, trapped on an anthill.
I nodded my head, Fuck, why stop there? Ill give enchantments to some of your summons. Ill become an enchantment factory all by myself.
He and I walked out of his lair, discussing the details of our new plans with excitement. The more we discussed it, the better the plan seemed, like a sudden godsend against Yawm. Up till then, we didnt have some concrete plan to take him down. We were running on faith. All of a sudden, we didnt have faith anymore. We had a plan.
With that plan as our guide, we set out on doing it. Over the next week, Kessiah trained the new Eltari by teaching them simple combat skills. Torix organized the legion for my runic additions. Althea scouted the enemy, discovering where each of the four followers were and what they were doing. I carved out a dozen complex runic additions, mimicking the additions I made to Altheas rifle.
After that, the runic enhancement started. A single soldier would walk up, and I would channel mana into my grimoire. Then I set up all twelve of the enhancements, placing them onto the appropriate gear. I made the armor stronger. I made the rifles fire farther and faster. I made the jetpacks on their backs reduce their effect on gravity.
On their dog tags I gave them attribute enhancements in endurance and constitution. Each steel legion trooper carried a steel ring as a sign of their commitment to the legion. On those rings, I gave them enhancements for strength and intelligence. On the Kevlar beneath their armor, I gave healing enhancements and made their armor lighter.
For three days, I worked night and day doing this. I needed no sleep. I needed no rest. I was a machine, creating the enchantments like clockwork. I handled a hundred an hour, pushing through the mental exhaustion with my iron clad will. Once I finished with the legion, the Eltari were next.
They were given steel rings enchanted with speed and silence. They made less noise during flight, enhancing their abilities for guerilla warfare. Upon their newly made dog tags, I reduced their mana costs and gave them access to a few simple spells. It allowed them to learn either a dominion, augmentation, or origin spell, depending on their affinity.
They progressed from untrained villagers into a fighting force within a week. Kessiah whipped them into shape, giving them a basic breakdown on fighting and tactics with Schema. She may lack my technical finesse with fist fighting, but she could teach the basics. Within two weeks of the Eltari arriving, we gained nearly two thousand extra troops while upgrading our own.
My unique skill that helped with crafting, Thaumaturge, raised over sixty points during this time. As it raised, the effects of the enchanted gear increased as well. Knowing this would happen, Torix organized the enchantments in order of importance. The Eltari went last, getting my strongest enchantments. Basic foot soldiers guarding the quarantine zone went first. This wasted none of the needed stats.
Over the next week after that, Torix and I organized strike teams for fighting against the infested areas. The Eltari gained levels at a rapid pace, turning from liabilities to assets. The legion gained levels as well, turning them from useless grunts into reasonable fighters.
During this time, I gained the skill Tactics, raising it over forty levels. My skill Strategy raised as well, letting me organize the troops. I couldnt match Torixs prowess in either area, but I acted as an efficient commander who fought with the others on the ground. I helped protect weaker teams and assisted them in leveling faster.
It didnt take long before we began punching holes in the quarantine zone. As the speed of our assaults ramped up, I no longer guarded the weaker squadrons. The average level in the legion raised from 213 up to 334. Combine that with the runic enhancements, and we turned the entire force from zero to hero.
Once their operations fully functioned on their own with few casualties, I was finally free. I was going to clear rifts. It wouldnt be every other week either. With all the information Althea and the Eltari gained, organizing the missions simplified for Torix. He no longer relied only on piecing together patches of information from his minions. He had solid, reliable data from a damn near invisible spy.
Avoiding the followers was an easy affair now. After I helped with all the logistics work, I looked forward to some old-fashioned violence. With a waning patience, time closed in on the date. When the day came, a cloudless, sunny sky showed a broad, blue sky. It was a day more at home during Summer. If it wasnt for a biting cold and leafless trees, I couldnt even tell the difference in seasons.
The cold and the wind brushed against my armor as I walked towards Torix. He was going to debrief me on what was to come for the day. Althea already spied near the rift along with the Eltari, giving us an idea of who was coming. All the followers were far and away from the rift. They only had a few named ones guarding it. This let me act with impunity.
Enjoying the prospect of letting loose, a glowing grin traced my lips as I walked into Torixs lair. From the lair. Torixs beetles built an underground network of tunnels. They had spread them all throughout Springfield. Whenever Yawm finally came out, his minions would be caught in these tunnels. The legion would use them as trenches and cover. The framework for stopping him was coming together.
The source of that framework was this unassuming, suburban building. I stepped inside Torixs lair, papers spread all throughout his room. Numbers, formulas, runes, the papers on the walls carried all that and more.
Red rope connected different papers and images of the followers, detailing their weaknesses. Organized lists of their minions followed near them, along with their alliances. Torix left no stone unturned in his pursuit of killing them. The followers werent quite as thorough.
We were lucky in that regard. From Altheas spying, we discovered that most of Yawms minions underestimated us. Earth being a backwater world was a viewpoint shared by more than just the FearFighters and the Enigmatta. As a result, the followers response was too little and too late. The rapid cycling of our troops meant they couldnt keep up, though they didnt make much of an effort too.
The source of that rapid cycling, Torix, hunched over a holographic desk. A detailed, blue, and three-dimensional map was shifting as it was fueled by information. As Torixs obelisk received data, the positions of the followers updated along with red lines tracking their trajectory. As they changed positions, Torix updated the mission feeds of troops. It meant the followers were running in circles instead of slaughtering them.
Juggling all this, Torix fiddled with his status screen while glancing at the 3-D model. In this environment, his abilities shined. His charisma assisted with keeping morale high and ensuring the soldiers obeyed him. His intelligence and skills let him think up plans and execute them flawlessly. His willpower enabled him to continue this, and him being a lich meant he never needed food or rest.
If anything, he looked even more excited than the first day he started. He glanced up to me with a grin,
Ah, Daniel, right on time. Did you read the debriefing I sent you?
I nodded, Yup. Ive got about two hours to finish this rift up. After that, Ill need to update a few squadrons with some speed enchantments.
Torix glanced back the map, then at his status. He adjusted the message, sending it before turning to me, What is your Thaumaturge skill at now?
Seventy-four.
He raised an eyebrow, Did you hit a breakthrough earlier?
I shook my head, Nope. Its just been a busy week.
Torix gripped his hand into a fist in front of him, Its been exciting. Its about to get even more exciting after we clear out the last two high danger rifts remaining. Well be killing one of the followers, Elijah. Oh how I look forward to playing with his corpse.
I clanked my fists together, I look forward to making him into one.
Torix nodded, sending me a message. My interface updated with the route I would follow to reach the rift. Torix raised a finger towards the air, Youve got all that you need now except one thing.
I raised an eyebrow, What else is there?
You need one other person to come with you. This person hasnt been as busy as he should have been either.
I nodded, reaching out with Tactile Cognition. Beneath us, someone hid inside the floorboards. Only one person was dumb enough to do something like that, so I frowned. That frowned devolved into a grimace, Why do I have to take him along?
Torix squinted his eyes, Because I cant handle babysitting him anymore.
Hods head burst out of the floorboards, Hod surprise Harbinger. Hod coming to help clear rift.
Hod raised his arms as I sighed. I dragged my hands across my face, Are you serious?
Torix rubbed his hands together, Oh, Im dead serious. He cackled. Do enjoy the company.
I turned to Hod, grimacing as he pulled himself out of the floor. Once up, Hod struck a pose like a lame, outdated disco dancer,
Hod sorry if Hod steal all lady friends during mission. Hod can't help Hod's self.
It was going to be a long rift.
Comments
Monsoon117
Thank you very, very much. This is an awesome compliment.
Hod is one of my favourite characters. Though he's the comic relief, he's still not a cardboard cutout, and although he talks funny and does stupid things, he's not stupid, and his last line takes the cake. Awesome. I don't know how you do this, but all your characters are as good, if not better, than what you'd see from a pro writer.
Scott Rutherford
Will he max out his crafting / runic abilities before he uses them on the armor? Or will he focus on getting another mythic before upgrading it?
Damika
This is exciting
Monsoon117
Of course. Daniel isn't going to save them before facing someone like Yawm.
Nanooki12
Is he going to use his points for his Paths before the final battle?
Monsoon117
The chapter title is referring to the last piece before they go out and try beating Yawm down, including his followers.
28th00
I thought the last piece was his final Mythical Skill for the Legendary Skill that equals a Class? If anything, I just want that to happen so I understand what the hell it is! Classes, and what a Legendary Skill can do besides being better than the limitless Mythical. Hod is a dork. A super dork. You gave him access to the internet, and he adapted to the Disco Age, this is gonna be a loooooong rift...
Joshua Little
Thanks for the chapter.
Monsoon117
I'm thrilled about that. This is awesome to hear.
Monsoon117
I intend to. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
King Gonflick
Lovelove love it. Keep it coming
Two things. First I want to tell you I originally started reading your story a month or two ago on Royalroad. I found it an interesting concept but at the time I was also reading the Ghosthound. Im not a fan of reading two stories at once, and had a lot of cathing up to do with Puddles' story, so I focused on that. So I set yours aside, and came back to it recently. So glad I did. I really enjoy your story. Second, I wasn't sure how Daniel and Co. were going to bring the fight to Yawm and his followers. This chapter brought it all together, it's really starting to look like they have a chance to make a go at it, and I can't wait for more! Keep up the awesome writing!
Monsoon117
That was what I was going for this chapter. Torix's main motivation is a sort of excitement with living again. After hundreds of years of just sitting in a dusty library by himself, he's actually out in the world doing difficult and challenging things. His knowledge and skills are being used for something. He's doing things he never thought he would do. It's kind of like he's going through being young again.
Dialogues between Torix and Daniel give me a feeling that Torix is a child as every word is new to him and he is excited about every word and open eyes wide. I don't have a feeling that he is a thousand years lich who likes to read and experiment.
MAJmuffin
hod is amazing
Monsoon117
This is awesome to hear too.
Monsoon117
Excellent!
Ausie Brooks
Hod is the GOAT. I don't know whether I like your characters or your system more, but I like both a lot.
Pixelblade
I can just see torix and Daniel both laughing maniacally while discussing their plans (This chapter flowed really well btw. Good work)
Monsoon117
Pushing hard for another chapter before the end of the day. Thanksgiving took up more time then I thought it would.
