abcnovels
Chapter 33: The Armory
Chapter 33: The Armory
When we get back to camp, I catch some fish and grill them. While waiting for them to cook, I heat up the poker and start adding them to my map.
??-DING-???
- Congratulations, the Cartography skill has advanced to level 4!
? Cartography
? Level 4
- Intelligence. +4
- You can draw basic maps.
After eating Ruby I return to the amulet to rest, channel all my mana to the bar and then meditate for eight hours. When I wake up from meditation, I channel all my mana back into the bar. Each time I do so, the golden spot grows noticeably.
??-DING-??.
- Congratulations, the Channeling skill has advanced to level 2!
? Channeling
? Level 2
- Intelligence +2 Mana +20
- You have experience in channeling mana.
I rest for a few minutes until the dizziness wears off before grabbing my pickaxe and heading out to mine a few pounds of iron ore. Once that's done, I head to the forge room to smelt it and make some steel lock picks.
Then I go back to the locked door to try again. Steel picks are much harder to break, so after fiddling with the lock for five minutes, I succeed.
"CLICK."
??-DING-???
- Congratulations, the Picking Locks skill has advanced to level 5!
? Lock picking
? Level 5
- Agility +5
- You can attempt to pick a lock without a key.
"Yes!"
Ruby thinks "Huh? What's wrong?"
"Oh, sorry to wake you up, I picked the lock!"
Ruby steps out in spirit form to see what's behind the door. I open the door and my eyes widen as I see rows of weapons and armor on wooden shelves filling the room.
"An armory! Wow, look at all this stuff!"
Ruby says, "Yeah, that's a lot of equipment! What are you going to do with all that?"
"Depends on how good it is, but, except for the upgrades we can make, the rest of it will probably melt away. I can't carry it all and I don't see the point in leaving it like this."
Ruby says "That's right, do you want help moving it all?"
"No, thanks. Go ahead and rest up for the next part of the scan. I can take care of this."
Ruby doesn't argue and goes back into the amulet to go back to sleep. I gather a bunch of weapons and make the first of many trips back to camp. It takes me two hours and about twenty trips to empty the armory of all weapons and armor.
Then I go back three more times to get all the racks and wooden stands, which I disassemble for firewood. I'm really glad that room was locked, if the rat men had all this stuff they would be a serious problem. Then I start sorting everything into piles, once sorted, I start examining them, starting with the swords.
"MAGIC ITEM."
? Imperial knight's sword.
-Strike +3 Damage +5
- Durability: 100/100
"Oh, it's just like the one I gave Ruby, now she can have one to match. Wait, are they all the same, can I even melt magic items?"
I touch the amulet and ask, "Ruby, what will happen if I melt a magic sword?"
Ruby thinks, "It will most likely explode! So don't try it, if the forge were to explode, this whole area would disappear."
"Although I'm attracted to the idea of the look on the king's face as his city and castle collapse, I'm not going to melt them."
Ruby thinks, "Well, I mean I would survive, but I would be sad to lose you."
"Umm, thanks, I think?"
I then grab a spear and stare at it.
"MAGICAL OBJECT."
? Imperial Spear
- Strike +5 Damage +5 Piercing +3
- Durability 75/75
??-DING-???
- Congratulations, the Observe skill has advanced to level 6!
? Observe
? Level 6
- Intelligence +6
- You can identify items by studying.
"Oh, nice spear, I'll take one of these".
I set one aside and checked that the rest were the same before stacking them with the swords. Then I picked up the only war hammer I could find and looked at it.
"MAGIC ITEM."
? Crushing war hammer.
- Hit +2 Damage +10 Damage to undead +20%.
- Durability 150/150
"Well, that'll replace my rusty mace for sure!"
I remove the mace from my belt, toss it aside and place the warhammer in its place. Then I take one of the maces from the armory and stare at it.
"MAGICAL OBJECT."
? Imperial war mace
- Hit +5 Damage +10
- Durability 90/90
"Bah, with all these magic items I really can't do anything!"
I throw the maces into the magic pile and then pick up one of the pikes and stare at it.
"MAGIC ITEM."
? Imperial Pike
- Hit +5 Damage +5 Damage x 3 vs charge.
- Durability 100/100
"Wow, nice, and I have to remember never to attack someone with a pike!"
I move the pikes to the pile of magic weapons, then change my mind and pick one up and place it near my practice area. Then I pick up the last weapon, a two-handed axe, and stare at it.
"MAGIC ITEM."
? Great Axe of the Empire
- Hit +2 Damage +20
- Durability 200/200
"Ouch, this thing hits hard! Wait, if this was the basic equipment for Imperial soldiers, what was the equipment for their heroes like?"
I pick up the axe and set it down next to my training area. Then I sit back down and pick up one of the kite shields and study it.
"MAGIC ITEM."
? Imperial kite shield.
- Defense +5 Magic resistance +10
- Durability 125/125
"Well, I've found a replacement for my spider shield".
I take one of the comet shields for myself and stack the rest next to the pile of weapons. I then take the single tower shield and study it.
"MAGIC ITEM."
? Wall Shield.
- Defense +9 Fire resistance +25
- Durability 250/250
"Or maybe I want to keep this one?"
Then I stand up, tie it to my arm and move around with it and try to spin it. Then I take it off and put it on the pile of shields.
"No, it's too bulky and complicated. I'll stick with the kite shield."
Next I check the leather armor and the steel armor.
"MAGIC ITEM."
? Empire light armor.
- Defense +5 Speed +5
- Durability 50/50
"MAGIC ITEM"
? Imperial armor
- Defense +7 HP +100
- Durability 110/110
??-DING-???
- Congratulations, the Observe skill has advanced to level 7!
? Observe
? Level 7
- Intelligence. +7
- You can identify items with study.
"While the armor is nice, I think mine is better, and none of them are for women, so that leaves Ruby out."
I stack the armor against the wall and sort through the stacks of weapons and shields. As I stack them, I count them all: nineteen swords, nine spears, nine pikes, nine pikes, ten maces, nine kite shields, one tower shield, ten leather armors, and twenty steel armors.
Why would all this have been in the sewers? Unless it was backup equipment they placed here in case they couldn't get to their quarters? Or maybe it was an emergency point? I guess the dragon took them out so fast they didn't have a chance to run. But how much magic did the empire have if this was all backup equipment?
I get up and walk to my practice area, then grab the pike and try to figure out how to wield it. It's too long and complicated to use while on the move, it's meant to be used while holding a line against cavalry.
I can move it easily with my strength, but it's still not a good weapon for me, I still try to figure out how to use it and, more importantly, how I could counter it if I need to.
??-DING-???
- Congratulations, you've acquired the combat skill Polearm Weapon Fundamentals!
? Polearms basics.
? Level 1
- Strength +1 Endurance +1
- You cause 5% additional damage with polearms.
"Huh, not bad, but I'd never use something like that."
I take the pike and add it to the others in the weapon pile. Then I go back to the practice area and pick up the giant axe, which feels much better in my hands. I swing it a couple of times and it feels powerful, I'm having a lot of fun just swinging the giant axe.
??-DING-??.
- Congratulations, you've acquired the Basic Axe combat skill!
? Axe basics
? Level 1
- Strength +2.
- You deal 5% extra damage with axes.
??-DING-???
- Congratulations, you have acquired the Weapon Master combat skill!
? Weapon Master
? Level 1.
- Speed and damage with all weapons +5%.
- You are capable with all types of weapons.
"Wow, who would have thought there was a bonus like that for learning all different types of weapon skills? I guess it pays to be a skill junkie like me."
I laugh at my own joke as I continue to swing and twirl the big axe like it weighs nothing. Normally, a big axe would be a slow weapon, but thanks to my great strength it dances in my hands like a much smaller weapon.
"I think I'll stick with this axe, I quite like it."
The first thing I need to do is make a sheath for the axe that will hold it on my back. I also want to figure out how to attach the kite shield so I don't have to keep it on my arm. Come to think of it, with two katanas, Black Razor and the war hammer as well, I really should find a war harness to hold everything comfortably without interfering with my mobility.
I take my time and plan it out, figure out how to hold everything and secure it to my armor. Once I have a plan, I set about making it and the attached holsters for all my weapons. It takes me a couple of hours and I pause in the middle to fish and cook some fish to eat, but I can do it and when I try it on I can carry all my weapons with no problem.
"Okay, everything is fixed, but from now on no more weapons unless I replace something I already have."
After that I channel all my mana into the bar and then climb into my hammock for a full night's sleep.