86 The Final Piece (1/2)
Torix pursed his lips, “How exactly does the book allow mastery of those runes?”
I lowered my hand, the grimoire slapping against my side, “There’s 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 isn’t enough to give you some breakthrough in the subject I fear.”
I weighed my hands back and forth, “That isn’t the only thing this book lets me do. Writing on the book is less awkward than writing on myself. The booklet let’s 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, “I’ll be able to revise models and mass produce them. I can hook up the entire legion with new rifles empowered by enchantments.”
Torix’s 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. We’ll 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, I’d 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, “I’m 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 Eltari’s armor will hopefully be finished. I’ll make them a few enchantments as well.”
Torix walked back and forth, gesturing with his hands, “I’ll organize the legion for setting up the process. You’ll be able to go through the entire upgrade within a few days. Once that’s over with, we’ll 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, he’ll have no stronghold and no eldritch to save him. We’ll crush him with our raw numbers. Hah, hah! As a necromancer, I relish in the idea of it. We’ll smother him like a bird with broken wings, trapped on an anthill.”
I nodded my head, “Fuck, why stop there? I’ll give enchantments to some of your summons. I’ll 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 didn’t have some concrete plan to take him down. We were running on faith. All of a sudden, we didn’t 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 Althea’s 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 couldn’t match Torix’s 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 didn’t 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 wouldn’t 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 wasn’t for a biting cold and leafless trees, I couldn’t even tell the difference in seasons.