63 Makings of a Class (2/2)

The scaling had improved some as well, making the ability better overall. After molding my armor for a few more minutes, I opened up my current skillset. One of my newer skills was called Gorger of Mana, a skill used to drain enemies of their energy and essence. I used the skill with my telekinetic enhancements, allowing me to shoot needles inside someone’s body.

The telekinises let me pierce someone’s skin or armor. The Gorger of Mana skill allowed me to spread the needles. Pulling out my fist once the needles were in ripped the opponent’s insides out. Ever since Boundless Storm, this had been the most development my style has gained. I didn’t have to change how I fought. It simply made my fighting better.

What made Gorger of Mana such an interesting skill, however, wasn’t how it interacted with my telekinesis. It was how it was a unique skill already. Way back in Baldag-Ruhl’s cave, I’d gained a skill called Dreadnought Brute. It allowed me to fight one on one with one of the red bears. The skill was made by combining five other simple skills into a single kind of combat.

Gorger of Mana was made without combining any skills. I learned it all at once. Any mythical skill required three unique skills to make. If I could get several other unique skills, I could make another mythical skill on par with Boundless Storm. From what I could gather from the level 1000 perks for endurance, I may be able to combine three, maybe five mythical skills into a legendary skill. Even though I researched on my obelisk a bit about them, there was nothing on them, so I couldn't tell much about them.

In other words, I would have to figure out all that shit on my own about legendary skills and classes. Even Kessiah and Torix didn’t have one of those, so I set that as my goal. Hopefully, having a class or legendary skill in conjuction with a level higher than 2000 would be enough to kill a follower or two of Yawm. Either of those goals would take months, maybe years. Figuring out would be tough to tell.

Considering Boundless Storm was more of an innate fighting style of my own, developing other mythical skills would be tough. I had to find some sort of direction for them, otherwise I’d never be able to get them.

With that in mind, I planned out a few mythical skills that likely existed. The first was a runic warrior kind of one. Carving runes, using the language, channeling mana through them, and even crafting gear for other people could make a mythical skill. It would be something like a blacksmith and runic mage kind of thing.

Another likely mythical skill would be a gravitational mage. My ascendant mana gave me a powerful difference from most mages. It was already a unique skill all on its own. If I could combine that with gravity magic and my telekinesis magic, I could make a mythical skill out of that too. Up till now, these two other mythical skills would give me a total of three mythical skills.

Why would I care for so many mythical skills? Well, so far the hierarchy of skills worked like a pyramid with five normal skills for a unique skill then three unique skills for a mythical one. It only made sense that a class would be made of several mythical skills, hopefully only three. It might require a legendary skill as well. Hard to say. What I did know was that these new abilities with controlling my armor and oppression opened up the gateway for finding one of those new mythical skills.

If I could gain a few more mythical skills after that, then maybe I could gain a class. Fighting off Yawm may not be so impossible after that. Getting Althea at least a mythical skill would be huge for us as well. In fact, making her a rifle from my armor would be a boost to her power. Bolts from my armor would be massive gain as well.

The metal of my armor was much harder than bone after all. Combine that with a few runic carvings, and I could give Althea a massive boost in power. That tied perfectly into developing the runic warrior skills I needed as well.

I didn’t want her leaning on me like a crutch though, so I’d show her how to make them on her own. It ensured I wouldn’t have to get into the habit of making her equipment over and over. She didn’t take as much damage as I did during fights though, so she wouldn’t need replacements as often. Getting Kessiah to tear strips out of my armor would help as well.

With that in mind, I headed out towards the encampment, leaving a patch of dead trees and wildlife behind in my wake. Once I neared the encampment, the sun already set a while back. I reached the central crafting area and began my work.

Configuring a rifle would be difficult without a reference, but the steel legion had a few in stock. They call harpoon cannons by the name equalizers. After researching them in Schema’s logs, I figured out why. Versus armored targets and vehicles, the piercing rounds were hyper effective. They operated much like rpg’s did before schema came in.

The inner barrel was set with a set of spiraled grooves. When the bolt passed through the barrel, this made the bullet spin. Behind the rifle, a giant block of iron was placed. Whenever the cannon was fired, the block of iron would absorb most of the force generated by firing the weapon. In other words, it acted as a momentum sink.

This stopped the rifle from dislocating the shoulders of soldiers. Althea didn’t need one anymore since she’d become so strong. That made the assembly much easier. Outside of that, the ammo compartment was oversized to handle harpoons instead of bullets. Every part of the weapon was made thicker as well, allowing it to handle the extreme forces generated.

All in all, it would be a serious pain in the ass to build. With that in mind, I got to work. The moving parts were the most important aspect, since they handled most of the shock of firing. Althea could grow her arm into the weapon with her abilities, letting her compensate some of the structure of the weapon. It would feel more natural that way as well

Adjusting the way the gun was built would be the starting point for that. I began a blueprint in my head, conceptualizing the key differences needed. First, I decided on removing he trigger. There wasn’t a need for it since Althea would grow into the rifle. Second, I added a bayonet on the barrel. Adding a grip on the side of the barrel would help with hip fire as well instead of putting the grip below the rifle.

These differences would make the rifle lighter, easier to handle, and give Althea a few options for close combat. With that handled, I began production. Of course I could tear out a piece of armor and blacksmith it into shape. I could work the metal and make it into an excellent piece of gear with hours and hours of effort.

Fuck that. I had better things to do. Instead, I expanded my armor into the shape I needed. I began with the barrel, being the easiest piece to conceptualize. I stretched the barrel from my palm, growing it over the course of fifteen minutes. It took time to keep the barrel straight and smooth. I ended up having to try several times.

Once I got the hang of it, I made the barrel about two meters long. By then, I strained to keep the armor in form. I reached up with my other hand and pulsed my ascendant mana through it. Strength surged into the limb, enhancing my slicing strike. My armor cut through the barrel, a clean-cut forming. From there, I needed a few tools.

First was sandpaper made with bits of diamond instead of sand. Sand wasn’t hard enough. The steel legion had the daimond paper on hand though. It turns out that tiny pieces of diamond are a lot easier to get than big ones. Especially when they’re artificial.

Then the grind started. I ground out the imperfections, smoothing the inner lining of the barrel. It was hard, requiring some serious finesse. I needed to grow my finger and hand to comical proportions to reach deeper into the barrel. It was perfect for learning precision control with the armor.

What followed made that look like child’s play. I carved out the inner spirals of the barrel. That itself wasn’t the hard part. I brainstormed for a bit, and I found out a phrase or two that would help the bullets drill more. It would reduce friction and contact with the barrel as well.

With ascendant mana pouring into my arm, I cut into the barrel’s inside. The simple inscription changed from a simple process into an undertaking. Hours passed, and sweat beaded off my forehead as I etched the patterns into the spiral barrel.

The passage was a combination of two runes. One represented ease, flow, and taking the path of least resistance. The other rune symbolized motion, change, and movement. They melded into the incarnation of fluidity, like a river turning a jagged stone smooth. It was the perfect combination of runes for enchanting the bolts.

As I finished the inside of the barrel, the sun rose. Althea and I wouldn’t have lunch until midday, so I ate a ration from Torix before continuing my carving. On the outer portion of the barrel, I carved another combination of runes.

The first rune represented stability. It was like the surface of the moon, always facing earth with an unchanging surface. The next rune was far more intricate, representing the power of finality. Locked within the symbol was the enormity of a supernova and the glory of a good death. These runes came into a message like the reaper whispering in your ear.

It chilled my spine a bit staring at the barrel. It looked more like an artifact of great power, like the flute of a god with all its intricate detail. Glancing at it, I couldn’t help but smile with satisfaction. There really wasn’t another word to describe it. It was exquisite, like glancing at a painting infused with history.

The power of the runic language pulsed through the barrel as I charged it. By the time I finished charging it, the might of the runes glowed. After slicing into one of my fingers, I sealed the power into the barrel. With the sun hovering midway over my head, it was time for the lunch with Althea.

I headed back towards my tent, setting the barrel inside it. After that, I ran back towards the forest and got the deer. No bear crawled off with it, so I counted my blessings before flaying it. Once the skin was ripped off, I sliced meat from the deer in long chunks. The muscle cooled and relaxed a few hours ago, letting it fall off the bone.

Either that, or the density that constitution gave made the meat seem soft. It was good enough for me. I packed the meat into the skin before slinging it over my back. I left the rest of the deer for scavenging animals.

With the meat in hand, I headed back to camp. After picking up my grocery cart full of packing supplies, I walked on over towards Althea’s tent. As I walked, something fell over my eyes. It was my hair. It had grown in length, reaching well below my ears and down to my neck. By the time I reached Althea’s tent, the sensation of my hair surrounding my head infuriated me.

I didn’t have time for it though. Once I reached Althea’s tent, I knocked on the side of it. No noise came out. I frowned, knocking once more. A quick groan ebbed from the tent before Althea snapped,

“Who is it?”

“Daniel.”

“Oh shit.”

The sound of fumbling feet and clothes being put on rumbled from within the tent. A minute later, her voice muffled through the tent,

“Uh, can you come back in like, ten minutes?”

I sighed before setting the shopping cart onto the ground along with the deer skin and meat. It was a weird sensation, waiting on someone. I could be doing something productive instead. That’s when I remembered my hair.

I figured I could cut it while I waited. I walked a few blocks away, finding a house with a mirror in it. Almost any house has one, so it wasn’t hard to find. After peeling my helmet back and inspecting myself, I noticed a few changes.

First off, I was way taller. I had to lean over to get a good view of the mirror. Even when I walked through the house, I had to duck beneath doorways. Otherwise, I’d bump into them. Well, probably crush through them, but you get the point.

Besides for that, a bit of stubble had formed on my cheeks. Hell, I always wanted a bit of beard. This wasn’t the kind of stubble a forty-year-old man had though. This was assuredly the kind of stubble you get at the cusp of manhood. It didn’t look good, so I made a razor with my armor and cut it off.

Besides for the beard, my hair covered most of my face. My skin was straight up gray. A vibrant and alive sort of gray, but still gray. There was a scar running vertical down a lip I don’t remember having last time I looked. A couple other scars traced down my neck and face, most of them just small Knicks. Nothing to eye catching.

My hair turned black too. It matched the gray skin at least. Grabbing a chunk of my hair, I cut it with a razor formed from my armor. After about ten minutes later, and I’d done a damn good job. It was close undercut, though not too edgy or anything. I just didn’t want to look like shit and have my hair out of my face and eyes. So far, mission accomplished.

Glancing closer at the mirror, I didn’t look too shabby. Who knows. On a good day, with the right lighting, and with a sharp suit, I might even be handsome. Hard to do with the armor though. In the end, I still looked like an ashen warrior. Not the most welcoming sight.

It would do though. I walked out of the house and went back towards Althea’s tent. I knocked on the entrance, and she made me wait another minute or two. I spent the time flipping stones with telekinesis. Interrupting my trance, Althea finally unzipped the tent, letting me in. Glancing inside, I could see what took Althea so long.

She was…well…beautiful.