Magic forging turned out to be a lot easier than Dallion expected. He himself had considered the possibility on a few occasions, though ultimately chose not to pursue it due to the impossibility of executing it. That was the real trick. The first part involved stretching his magic threads through the hamr while shaping the tal. Following the dozens of silver and purple markers took a bit of getting used to. Dallion had to make sure that the correct thickness and intensity of the threads was t before he could even start. Then ca the complicated bit. Each ti the hamr made contact, Dallion had to twist the ends of the magic thread to form a spell. That had to be done by threads alone since the hamr had also to follow the standing forging instructions. And, of course, if one strike failed, it ruined the entire process.
I need a break, Dallion said after purple sparks burned through the chunk of tal he was hamring.
It had been three days since he had started learning, and while his progress was deed extraordinary, there was still a bit to be desired. At least now he was close to reaching the desired shape.
The first one is the most difficult, Harp said. After that, its all a matter of practice.
And thats just one part of magic forging?
Yes. It all depends on what you want to achieve.
Can I use this thod to create shapeshifting buildings? he asked.
Yes, but I dont know how. Im not an architect.
It wasnt a stretch to assu that the whole concept of magically expanding and transforming space might have been based on this thod. At Dallions current magic level, he was able to see so of the threads that went into the spell, though definitely not enough to provide clues regarding the process.
Is there anyone who could make such weapons today?
Yes, Harp replied, to his great surprise. But not at the Academy.
Not at the Academy? What do you an?
Youve rested enough. try to complete it this ti.
Taking the hint, Dallion summoned another ingot. Fifty instances sent magic threads through the hamr, striking the piece of tal at just the right angle. As it did, a spell was imprinted on the tal surface. It wasnt a complicated spell, it didnt have any protection whatsoever. At the sa ti, it was a partial spell. As Harp had explained, this was different from the standard illusion spells that were commonly used to change appearances in the real world. Rather, it was an iterative spell containing thousands of instructions that reacted to the owners instructions. In many ways, it was the sa as computer coding. Back on Earth, Dallion had given it a go, back when he fancied himself the next indie ga prodigy. Like most of his attempts at fa, that had ended up in failure. Coding was hard and required a lot of thoughtthings that required a high mind trait.
Magic patterns flashed on the red-hot tal before they were covered by the next. Out of Dallions fifty instances between ten and thirty would ss up, forcing a new split. As ti passed, the number gradually increased. The ten beca twenty, then thirty. Dallion doubled the amount, but even so after an hour, out of a hundred, only about five would get things right; it wasnt just a matter of the thread patterns being executed well; they had to connect with the previous ones, forming a magical circuit chain of sorts.
Id forgotten how much effort this took, Dallion muttered. He had gotten the shape more or less right. It was crude beyond ntion. Harp had told him multiple tis that the initial form wasnt of importance when it ca to shapeshifting weapons, but all his forging experience told him otherwise, forcing him to craft sothing remotely usable.
Magic erases effort, the nymph said. And through it the desire for progress.
You could have fooled . Dallion smirked.
Just a few dozen more, he told himself. It was at this point that he usually ssed up. Concentrating, he stretched the limit of his instances to a hundred and fifty. The number of successful cases remained at five.
Keeping track of the patterns strained his eyes. The entire body of the knife was covered with them, and still each next spell had to be applied in exactly the right place.
Five strikes remained. Dallions temples were pulsing. Each of his instances was using magic layer vision, increasing the pain.
Four. Three. Two.
Dont ss up now, Dallion thought.
A hundred and forty-eight instances missed the final hamring, causing the magic threads in the tal to spark out. In the remaining two, though, the hamr hit its target.
FORGOTTEN ART RESTORED
( 2 Mind, 2 Perception, 2 Reaction, 2 Body, 2 Magic)
You have rediscovered one of the forgotten arts. Dont abuse it too much or youll be the one forgotten.
A blue rectangle erged. A rush of euphoria went through Dallions bodysothing he had been missing lately. Ever since the magic trait had effectively blocked his leveling up, he had felt sothing lacking. Initial magic successes and the achievents that ca with them had acted as a replacent of sorts, but even that had been months ago. Now, bursts of joy were few and far between. Maybe that was why mages were constantly annoyed, resorting to other ans of finding thrills in life.
I thought you couldnt increase magic through achievents, Dallion said, noticing the final part of the reward.
Ive taught you the first step, the harpsisword said, ignoring his question. Ill teach you the rest later.
Im ready now, Dallion insisted.
A smile appeared on the nymphs face.
You sound so much like what you used to be, she said, a note of regret echoing in her words. But youre unable to continue. When youre able to create a shapeshifting item without combat splitting, then
Boss! The aetherfish popped into existence inches from Dallions face. Youre in danger! Theyre attacking!
What? Who? Dallion instinctively summoned his harpsisword. The human form of Harp vanished, as the weapon appeared in his free hand.
I dont know! Theyre moving through ti!
Dallion had no idea what that ant, but he didnt intend to find out. Leaving his realm, he quickly returned to the real world. Everything had been just as he rembered it with one major exception. Three figures were running towards him with weapons drawn.
How did they get here? Dallion burst into a hundred instances. There was no ti to equip the armadil shield. Instead, he grabbed the harpsisword while casting a flight spell with his left hand.
Ruby, cut them! he shouted.
Before the wind slashes could start, two dozen black chains shot out from the frontmost attacker, flying in the direction of Dallion.
Chainlings! Dallion thought, the fingers of his left hand moving to cast multiple aether shields one after the other.
The barriers proved incapable of blocking the attack, shattering one after the other. Thankfully, then managed to slow it down just enough for Dallion to escape using his flight spell.
It was never a pleasant experience being on the defensive, especially against such opponents. Despite their form, these werent the common variety of cultist creations Dallion had dealt with back in Nerosal. These were fully ford chainlings. No wonder they had been able to approach while Dallion had been in his awakened realm.
Infusing his weapon with spark, Dallion quickly cast a new set of spells. His left hand moved so fast that it created afterimages of twenty fingers in the process. Spheres of magic appeared around all of his itemsboth those on him and on the groundshooting up high in the sky.
Stay put, Dallion said. He didnt want to risk the chainlings consuming them.
More chains shot towards him, like clusters of tendrils.
Spinning in the air, Dallion twisted to evade them, slashing several as they darted past. Thrusting up, he then did a line attack aid at the creatures.
The ground trembled beneath the force of the blow. Unfortunately, all of the attackers reactions proved just as fast, avoiding the line of destruction.
It was only then that the shardflys wind attacks erged, pouring down on the furthest of the three figures.
Dont! Dallion cast a protective orb around Ruby, then darted him away from the battlefield. Despite its will, the small creature wasnt a match for them. This was between him and the changelings.
Didnt think thered be monsters in the empire, Dallion said to himself.
With armies on all sides filling the general area, it was insanity for a creature to think it could survive. Suddenly, a thought hit him stronger than a wall of bricks. What if this wasnt accidental? From what he remberd from the forr chief of his village, his grandfather had created chainlings to be used in the War of Inheritance. Would there be a reason for the Azure Federation not to do the sa?
Concentrating, Dallion tried to see the skills and traits of the trio. His aether vision allowed him to see their rectangles, but they werent what he expected.
Species: WOULDNT YOU LIKE TO KNOW?
Class: WOULDNT YOU LIKE TO KNOW?
Health: WOULDNT YOU LIKE TO KNOW?
Traits: WOULDNT YOU LIKE TO KNOW?
Skills: WOULDNT YOU LIKE TO KNOW?
Weakness: WOULDNT YOU LIKE TO KNOW?
White letters glowed on a pitch back rectangle.
They arent anything much, a voice said in Dallions mindone he hadnt heard in a long ti. You just need to concentrate and take them on one at a ti.
Voice? Dallion asked.
I didnt think youd ever need again, but it seems youve beco confused.
In what way? Twenty of Dallions instances darted down at the chainlings, engaging in lee combat. From this distance, his attacks were impossible to evade, but the sa could be said for theirs.
Just because they look like humans doesnt an they are, the voice continued. Or ever were.
Voice, what do you an? Dallion asked, splitting in fifty new instances.
This ti, there was no reply. Dallions till had no idea what the voice was or where it ca from. At one point, he believed it to belong to the Moons, but after having enough interactions with them, he was starting to have his doubts. The Moons always made a point to be noticed. Even when they were inclined to provide advice, it was unlikely theyd do so from the shadows. Although there was one possibility.
Astreza, Dallion thought.
The Blue Moon was unlike all the rest. Considered the most powerful Moon, and the one that had gifted awakening itself, it didnt ddle as openly as all the rest. The only ti Dallion had even seen it was within the mory fragnts of a fury mage. Could it be that the Moon was secretly helping him despite everything?
Launching a series of line attacks, Dallion released magic threads from every pore of his body, covering himself in a protective layer of magic. No sooner had he done so than black blades shot out from one of the chainlings. At this distance they were easy to evade, but they also proved that the creatures were adapting to Dallions way of fighting. Rather, it was more appropriate to say that they were scouring his skills. Initially, they had taken the simplest approach: tendrils and simple lee attacks. Seeing that those were inefficient, they were resorting to ranged attacks. It was only a matter of ti before they started using their actual unique skills.
Always hide your skills, Dallion thought. The sa advice had been given to him by everyone from Nil to March herself. Even awakened children knew that. Despite his recklessness, Dallion had tried to abide by that principle, getting better at it with ti. However, after all that ti, he could see a fatal flaw. Hiding ones skills shifted the focus of developnt, making people content with what they had learned, even complacent. Maybe it worked for the beings of this world, but for Dallion, it was a burden. After years in this world, and millennia in the realms, he had acquired all but one set of skills, but was afraid of using them, keeping them hidden as if they were valuable treasures.
You were wrong. He cast a spell to summon his aura sword. Magic threads extended from his hand through the fine blade till they reached its tip.
From now on, he intended to use all his skills all at once. Then, when the world learned of his new abilities, he was going to invent new ones.
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