Apocalypse Knights 2: A LitRPG Fantasy, page 17
To his surprise, the boots didn’t pinch at all. In fact, they were luxuriously comfortable. He took a few tentative steps, finally noticing the added precision of his movements and the sharpness of his reflexes.
Boots of Swiftness +4: Crafted item
On equip:
+4 to dexterity, consumes 10 Mana to increase movement speed by 300% for 30 seconds
The largest piece of equipment upon the table was his new set of full plate armor. Max hadn’t worn full plate very often. During the war, he would only usually don it when riding with the shock cavalry of 118th Combined Arms Division. He lifted the pauldron and grinned. The armor’s plates had been painted the exact same tints of midnight blue and gold as Garlocke’s barding. It was likely more a product of Stephens’s thoughtfulness than mere coincidence.
Max picked up a steel band amidst the armor components and clasped it around his left wrist. A blue rune shone faintly on the band. He pulsed some Mana into it. The armor disappeared into swirls of midnight light, which then spun around Max’s body. A breastplate coalesced into being around his torso. Cuisses appeared across his thighs. Greaves sheathed his legs, while sabatons spun into being over his boots. Vambraces and rerebraces encased his arms, before gauntlets appeared over his fingers. The pauldrons manifested next, and then a gorget, segmented for mobility, crept up to cover his neck.
He tapped a stud on his gorget. A sallet helm swept over his skull. The visor slit was narrow, but the armor’s enchantment allowed him to see through the interior of the helm, granting him an unobstructed field of vision.
Max rolled his shoulders and took a few paces to and fro down the length of the cabin. The armor was light, weighing little more than a padded shirt and a pair of thick trousers. He brought forth a Soul Lens screen.
Full-plate of Excellence +4: Crafted item
Fortification +1, Ease +1, Summoning Equip
Max focused his will on his left vambrace. The armor dissolved once more into streams of blue light, which flowed into the band across his wrist. Grinning in satisfaction, Max turned his attention back to his other purchases.
He picked up a fire-enchanted arrow, twirled it in his fingers, then returned it to its quiver. The magical arrows were fairly straightforward. If he shot a monster with a flame arrow, it would be burned. A frost arrow would freeze the target, while a lightning arrow would shock it. An earth-enchanted arrow would spew magical acid over whatever it struck. Max placed a quiver of each element in the quick-retrieval compartment of his new ring of holding.
The enchanted bow was next. It was a shortbow like his old one, though it wasn’t ostensibly Hunnite in appearance. White and black runes ran down its ochre-hued length. Max tapped one of them. A golden thread extended from the top of the bow all the way to the bottom. The weapon bent into strung readiness. Max picked it up and rested his fingers experimentally on the magical bowstring.
Bow of Swift Barrage +4: Crafted item
Swift, Power, Sturdy, Ease
Its lightness and self-stringing function come from the Ease enchantment, I’m guessing, Max thought. The Swift enchantment would also add to his already prodigious rate of fire. Max could loose three arrows in a single breath. With this bow, he could bring that to five, maybe even six. He placed the bow and a quiver of mundane arrows in the swift retrieval compartment of his ring of holding.
A quick count of his new and remaining potions told him that he had thirty-nine High Mana potions and fifty-two High Health potions. They would stand him in good stead within a Level 4 Dungeon. He organized them into his potion rack, then placed them accordingly in his ring of holding.
That left his soul-bound items. Max picked up his Magus Staff and angled his Soul Lens at it.
Magus Staff +4: Soul-Bound enchanted item
On equip in offhand
Cast 24x Level 1 spells or 12x Level 2 spells or 6x Level 3 spells without Mana costs every 6 hours
+20% effectiveness for all spells cast in this manner
Max grinned and put the staff down. Thanks to the Magus Staff, his items, and Nesura’s Mana reserves, he had become a very potent spell-caster. The versatility of his Flux spell repertoire made that even more so. As he increased in Levels, he suspected he would begin to rely more and more on his spells than his blade.
Still, it never hurt to have the blade forms at his fingertips and a good sword at hand. With that, Max brought forth Stridentsong. To his surprise, the soul-bound sword had changed in appearance. Its hilt had become more ornate, its quillons now composed of complex weaves of golden metal. The blade itself had also grown in length by roughly half an inch and had lost its formerly black hue. It was now gold, with intermittent slashes of dark metal running down its length.
He gave it an experimental swing. The balance was more even, and the hilt fit more comfortably in his grasp.
Stridentsong: Soul-bound weapon
Dueling sword +4
Keen +1, Sure +1, Sundering +1, Projection
My Soul Lens used to classify it as a longsword, but now it’s a dueling sword, Max noticed immediately. The dueling sword was the weapon of choice for students of the Strident blade academy and users of the blade forms. Stridentsong had possessed the general dimensions of a dueling sword since Max’s arrival at Level 2, but at Level 4, its balance and length were now truly fitting of being deemed thus.
He focused on the Projection enchantment.
Projection
Imbue weapon with Mana to project a shockwave of equivalent power to a normal strike; 15 Mana per 5 feet
That gives me more options, Max thought as he dismissed Stridentsong. The last thing he needed to check was the soul-bound item he’d earned from defeating the Warden of Graywind Mage Tower. He withdrew the sphere of white light from his ring of holding.
At Level 4, Max could still possess one more soul-bound item, and none of his other ones could be further enhanced. He shrugged and laid claim to the contents of the white sphere.
A scabbard of burnished steel appeared in his grasp. Max turned the sheath around in his hands, more than a little bemused. Since he’d gotten Stridentsong, he hadn’t worn a sword belt. A quick study of the polished leather straps and adjustable silver buckles showed that the sheath could be attached to a belt along his waist or worn across his back.
Amplification Sheath +3: Soul-Bound enchanted item
Increases potency of sheathed weapon’s elemental imbuement by up to 30% over a period of 10 seconds
Enhanced potency lasts for 2 seconds after weapon is unsheathed
Circumstantial, but still useful. Max put down the scabbard and attuned it to his armor. A tendril of blue light extended from the steel band on his wrist and fell upon the scabbard, causing it to disappear. Grinning, Max donned his armor with a thought. As his helm snapped into place, he reached behind him. Sure enough, the Amplification Sheath was there, strapped securely across his back.
Nodding, Max dismissed his armor and swiftly organized his provisions and waterskins into the general storage compartment of his older ring of holding.
The next thing he needed to tend to were his Flux spells. Fighting awaited on the morrow, and his opponents would likely be Knights-Errant. As an Arcanist, Max had many more tactical options than Warmongers, Infiltrators, Defenders, or Elementalists. He looked at his Soul Lens screen.
Prowess
Persistent spell
Level 4
Increases physical attributes for 30 minutes
Mana Cost: 2 Mana per Level
At Level 4, he now had another four points to allocate to his physical attributes. He placed two points in fortitude, one in dexterity, and the last one in perception. Theoretically, he would be a physical match for any Warmonger at the same Level, with his blade forms possibly giving him the upper hand. He glanced quickly over his Circumvention and Cloak skills, both of which he’d reacquired from Felix at Level 3. With those, he was the equal of any Level 3 Infiltrator. Max hadn’t gotten a chance to copy Triple Shield, Aegis, or High Heal from Flora, which was a shame, but he did have Double Shield, Mid Heal, and Cleanse amongst his Flux spells. Cleanse had been one of the spells he requested Flora to demonstrate for the benefit of his Arcane Flux spell.
Max wasn’t nearly as effective as even a Level 3 Defender, but with Garlocke, his armor, and his other Flux spells, he should be more than capable of protecting himself. On that note, Max looked over his currently readied Flux spells.
Flux Spells: 8/10 readiness
Counter Spell: Level 3; Instant; 24 Mana READY
Earthen Wrath (optimized x2): Level 3; Enchantment, 4 Mana per 30 minutes READY
Firebolt (optimized x2): Level 3; Instant, 0 seconds; 4 Mana READY
Flame Strike (optimized x2): Level 3; Enchantment, 4 Mana per 30 minutes READY
Frost Blade (optimized x2): Level 3; Enchantment, 4 Mana per 30 minutes READY
Jolting Arc (optimized x2): Level 3; Instant, 0 seconds; 3 Mana initial cast, 4 Mana per second READY
Lightning Edge (optimized x2): Level 3; Enchantment, 4 Mana per 30 minutes READY
Stone Spear (optimized x2): Level 3; Instant, 0 seconds; 6 Mana READY
His arsenal of elemental spells was wider than that of any single Elementalist’s, but as Marina had demonstrated, the finer touches of elemental manipulation were beyond him. His Icelance was just that: a beam or spike of frost that cut into his enemies and froze their flesh. Marina could turn an Icelance into a platform of ice or a squall of razor-sharp splinters, depending on what the circumstances called for. She could manipulate ice as if it were an extension of her own will. Max couldn’t do that.
I’ll have to fight up close against Elementalists, where they have the fewest options, Max mused, before sitting down on a chair and shaking his head. And the same goes for the rest, I suppose. I’ll take on Warmongers with spells or arrows from afar, Defenders through stealth via the Cloak spell, and use my defensive spells to blunt the first strikes of Infiltrators and open them up to my retaliation.
Max swapped out Counter Spell for Double Shield and Earthen Wrath for Cloak, then took Frost Blade off readiness. He then readied Hasten and Momentum as Flux spells. When the fighting began, he wanted to move as quickly and strike as brutally as possible. The effects of Hasten, when added to those of his Prowess spell and his new boots, would make him lethally quick, and adding Momentum to the arrows fired from his new bow would make his shots devastating, even against enchanted plate armor or shields. Max reckoned that he could break through a Double Shield spell with a single Momentum-enhanced volley of arrows.
Momentum
Flux Skill: Ready
Instantaneous skill
Level 2
Adds 10% damage to projectile attacks
Hopefully I come across something that will allow me to optimize this spell later and increase its Level, Max thought, getting up and walking over to a small side room near the exit. It turned out to contain a wash basin filled with water and what appeared to be a latrine. A screen flashed into view as he approached.
Infuse 30 Mana to replenish water supplies and conduct sanitization procedures
Max whistled in awe. The sanctuary item was proving to be much more valuable than he’d expected it to be. Several minutes later, he was walking away, feeling much more refreshed, with his travel-soiled clothes strewn on the floor. His older ring of holding held spare garments somewhere within its depths.
Max stretched out on a cot, and before long, he dozed off, his last waking thoughts revolving over how to fight and kill other Knights-Errant.
Chapter 19
Despite Jonn’s reassurances, there had been visitors to his tent during the night, and judging by the number of boot prints before the tent flap, there had been many of them. Fortunately for Max, not a single visitor had thought to rummage through the tent or look through the bedroll. Then again, they wouldn’t have any reason to push their search further beyond pulling the flap back and seeing that there was nothing save a bedroll within.
Rendered invisible by his Cloak spell, Max stood outside Jonn’s tent. He’d stowed away the sanctuary item in his belt pouch a few moments ago, after emerging from the magical cabin. He was fully armed and armored, with Stridentsong carrying a fully amplified lightning enchantment within the sheath across his back.
Max took a moment to survey the base camp at the Hisktown clock tower. The tent area was utterly deserted. Angry voices rose in clamor a short distance away from the clock tower. Max spotted Stephens herding the other Truesteel clerks toward the Warp Dais that would bring them back to the temporal portal and then beyond the Apocalypse Horizon.
Smart fellow, Max thought as he began making his way toward the commotion. Nearly two hundred Knights-Errant had gathered there, all of them clad in a motley array of esoteric armor, robes, and leathers.
“If they’re all dressed in a strange outlandish fashion, would it be fair to say they’re all wearing the same thing?” Nesura mused. “In a philosophical sense, I mean.”
“Don’t know, don’t care.” Max walked closer and swiftly spotted an obvious divide between the gathered Knights-Errant. A third of them rallied around Jonn, who stood at least a full head taller than nearly everyone else.
The rest were obviously aligned with a Knight-Errant wearing an intricate, form-fitting harness that was equal parts chainmail and scales of dark, riveted leather. The man’s face was hidden beneath a steel mask shaped into the visage of a grinning skull. A pair of curved swords hung from his waist.
“This is unconscionable!” Jonn said, his voice raised and his features drawn into a stern glower. “No one will stand for something like this!”
“No one?” the Knight-Errant in mail and leather asked. He glanced over his shoulder and spread his hands, the gesture encompassing his supporters, who obviously outnumbered Jonn’s. “Does this look like no one to you? And besides, where is he? Did he set off to another Level 99 Dungeon already? You were told to detain him when he got back, Jonn. The Guild doesn’t look kindly on those that disobey orders.”
“There haven’t been any orders from anyone in years,” Jonn retorted. “And now you see fit to give them?”
“There’s a crisis at hand, Jonn.” The Knight-Errant chuckled softly, his obviously enchanted mask somehow giving his voice a sonorous, echoing quality. “We all agree on that. And in times of crisis, why, there needs to be leadership. Of the decisive kind, coming from up top, not from someone who has repeatedly declined all rank and their corresponding responsibilities like you, Jonn.”
“What responsibilities does the Guild’s council actually have?” a woman with long white hair and violet eyes demanded. She wore dark robes and held a short staff in her right hand. A familiar ring glinted amidst the fingers of her left.
That can only be Trisha Weis, Velia Weis’s sister, Max thought as he continued approaching the Knights-Errant beneath the veil of his Cloak spell. Looks like she got her sister’s ring back. Good.
“The council gives neither word nor direction for months, if not years, content to collect the Guild’s fees and pursue their own devices,” Trisha continued. “What has the council ever done? What has the Guild ever done?”
“Why, for one, the council, through the Guild, has managed to gather us all here to address the pending apocalypse,” the masked Knight-Errant replied. “And as for responsibilities, well, we make the hard decisions, providing the resolve and courage to do what must be done.”
“There’s not a lot of courage in enslaving an innocent person,” Trisha said. “That geas item is a foul, foul thing. I can’t believe you actually kept it around instead of destroying it! You—“
“Would you make such a decision, hmm?” the masked Knight-Errant cut her off. “Would you, in the face of overarching disaster, dare to employ such a fell device on an, as you say, innocent person?”
“Of course not!” Trisha spat. “I would never do such a horrible thing to—”
“Ah, so you don’t dare. You wouldn’t do something like that.” The Knight-Errant turned to Jonn. “And neither would Jonn. Both of you lack the courage and the conviction to take such a moral burden upon yourselves. But the council does not lack courage nor conviction. That is why we are leaders, and you are not.”
Scattered cheers arose among those on the masked man’s side. Doubt began to creep into the expressions of those standing with Jonn. Murmurs and angry mutters began to rise anew from the crowd.
“Why can’t we just help Max?” Jonn asked, silence descending upon the scene at the rising of his voice. “He’s made his way through two regions infested with Level 99 monsters and brought down two Dungeons already. He got his Soul Lens roughly a fortnight ago, and he’s already Level 4! Can you think of anyone else capable of such feats? Hasn’t he more than proven his prowess and competence by now?”
“He has, if he is in fact trustworthy,” the masked Knight-Errant said. “Like you pointed out, Jonn, this Maximo Strident, this stranger, comes out of nowhere, having received his Soul Lens from someone else, which, if I might remind everybody, is impossible. Then he rises to Level 4 in a matter of weeks? That is another impossibility! Meanwhile, this Apocalypse Horizon situation is unfolding all around us, and our brothers and sisters die. That Level 2 incursion claimed dozens of lives, and then the first foray here took two of our finest, while this Maximo Strident somehow survives hordes of Level 99 monsters and vanquishes two Dungeons? And on top of all of that, only he can resolve this crisis, as long as we all serve as his lackeys?”
