Once the Harmony Guardians got the ssage from the Agency, they left the room. It had already been a day since the humans retreated, leaving only a handful of stragglers behind. According to reports, the sa was happening in the two adjacent rooms. Despite the progress, it wasn’t even half of the territory the Alliance had lost to the Guild during this assault. But it was still progress. If things went well with the Agency, they might be able to widen that gap even more.
However, despite all their effort and success in helping the army, the Harmony Guardians wouldn’t make a significant enough difference here to justify staying. On the other hand, the Agency seed to have a plan that could really use their help. They made a point not to share anything about the mission aside from the location they should et, which was back at headquarters. This ant they would have to go through the sa shortcut Hera had taken to get here.
One of those rooms specifically required them to use the Nimbus shuttle again. The Sentinel would take two at a ti to cross the mountains, but even at top speed, it still took about an hour and a half for a round trip, which resulted in most of the day being spent just waiting around.
During that ti, Hera checked the Cyr Wheel that Victoria had used once more.
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Cyclone Edge - Unique - Movent
Bladed Cyr Wheel
Level Required: 50
Scaling:
Agility x 40 Strength x 33.5 Endurance x 30
Passive Skills:
Montum Mastery
Gain increased damage and evasion the longer you remain in motion. For every second the user maintains high speed without stopping, gain a 2% boost to damage and a 1% boost to evasion, stacking up to 10 tis. The effect resets if the user is stationary for more than 2 seconds.
Aerial Acrobatics
Cyclone Edge enhances the user’s airborne mobility, allowing them to perform advanced aerial maneuvers. Jump height is increased by 50%, and attacks made while airborne deal 20% more damage.
Active Skills:
Windstep
Utilize the Cyclone Edge's mobility to dash a short distance in any direction, evading attacks and repositioning instantly. Can be used up to three tis in rapid succession.
Dash Distance: 10 ters
Cooldown: 30 seconds per charge
Vortex Dance
Spin rapidly with the Cyr Wheel, creating a spiraling zone of slashing attacks. Enemies caught within the zone take continuous damage based on the user’s Agility and Strength.
Duration: 10 seconds
Cooldown: 60 seconds
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Hera had to admit, it was a good weapon. Not only was the scaling great for the level, but the skills also made it very powerful—not so much for the damage it could deal, but for the possibilities of movent it could give her. A 10-ter dash on a 30-second cooldown was nothing to scoff at. But those were the benefits of the weapon itself. If it was added to the Court, things would change in a way that the Empress couldn’t even imagine.
Everyone would get the extra damage from [Aerial Acrobatics], since her blades were always in the air, and the stacking bonus of [Montum Mastery]. Thanks to [Army of One], those two skills would give about 20% of their effects to the rest of the Court. Turning this weapon into one of her blades would result in an 8% increase in overall damage. There was also the “allowing them to perform advanced aerial maneuvers” part. If sothing like that was included in the skill description, it ant the effects were considerable. It could enable her entire Court not just to fly better but also to learn how to do so without the skill.
The problem was, if she were to add this weapon to her Court, she would need to let soone go. Daskka had already confird that she couldn’t increase her maximum number of blades right now. Hera couldn’t decide if it was worth changing the Court or not. Part of the Ophidianite wanted to ask the opinion of her own blades, but that felt morbid. She would basically be asking who wanted to die. Even if she could bring them back with the Blade Graveyard, it wasn’t the sa thing.
But she had to be objective about it, especially considering the situation. That’s why she pulled Neria to the side as they waited for Nimbus to return. The entire Court was out, but the Empress created a soundproof bubble around them so she could have a private conversation.
“Okay. I need so help to decide if I’m going to keep this giant bladed hula hoop, or if I’m going to sell it to soone else,” Hera sighed.
“And you’re struggling to decide which of the blades you need to let go of?” Neria asked.
“Exactly.”
“Then, let’s start with the ones that you absolutely can’t be without. If you end up saying that there is none you can part ways with, then you have your answer.”
Hera nodded, “Starting is easy. First, Twiggy—she’s the commander. Then Robin is the only one with a long-range attack. Shadow’s ability to interrupt spells is too powerful to let go. Sa thing with Eira and her defense reduction.”
“Anyone else? And consider only the ones that you absolutely will not change.”
“No. Or at least no one that’s on the sa level of ‘will not change.’” Hera looked back, making sure the Court wasn’t listening in.
“Right. Now let’s go for the ones that you would rather not change. They’re not hard no’s, but if you have the option, you’d keep them,” Neria continued.
“Well, Sun has one of the most powerful skills among all of them, especially if I awaken him. Clay is on a similar level, but he is more of a horde breaker—not as good against a single target. And lastly, there’s Pyro. It’s the first ti I’m using sothing like that. Having a weapon that can be my body without occupying my hands is amazing,” Hera explained.
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“If I’m counting this right, that leaves only two options for you to change, right?”
Hera nodded. “Yeah, it would be either Storm or Glacia.”
“And what do you feel about that?”
“I think the logical option would be Glacia. There’s too much overlap with Eira about what she can do, and since she’s an ice weapon, it’s hard for her to do a proper combo with anyone. Storm, for instance, can just attack after Livy covers soone in water. But… Glacia is Eira’s teacher. I don’t know how she will react to this.”
"Do you think she's going to complain about it?"
"I'm not sure. When we're talking about that kind of thing, the blades are a bit… zealous. Like, they accept anything I say if it’s going to make the entire Court better. Even the one who will be gone seems fine with leaving, as long as it helps the Court. I get that this is how things work, but it does feel a bit weird."
"So? What are you going to do?" Neria asked.
With a sigh, Hera replied, "I'm going to talk to them and see what they think about this change."
The discussion didn’t take long. Once they saw what the Cyr Wheel could do, they all agreed that adding it to the Court was a good idea. Storm and Glacia offered themselves before Hera even explained her thought process for picking them. Their understanding was much simpler: every mber of the Court had a specific role to play, even the ones that were similar, like Sun and Eira. One was focused on dealing damage, while the other was about stripping defenses. But when it ca to them, the falchion and the longsword had the sa function—dealing damage. Sure, they also had so utility; Glacia could slow people down while Storm could briefly stun them. But when they were fighting, both of them only focused an attacking with those extra effects being mostly afterthoughts.
After a brief conversation, they both agreed that Glacia was the one who should go. Hera had Eira now to trigger anything related to ice. It also didn’t help that the falchion’s personality was the type that liked to take care of others. As had happened every ti she had to let one of the blades go, the Empress cried as she finished triggering [Revocation of Nobility]. The rest of the blades were also sad about the farewell, but they took it much better than the Ophidianite. To them, this was part of life and one of the greatest sacrifices they could make for their Empress.
Not wanting to dwell on the pain, Hera quickly added the new blade to the Court. The Cyr Wheel would be called Hoop, since she couldn’t help but think of a hula hoop every ti she saw it. In addition, with Vulcan’s help, they carved a spell circle on the inside of the wheel, attempting to increase the passive buffs it could provide. Instead, it created a new skill that would add to the buffs when they were maxed.
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Hoop - Bladed Cyr Wheel - Movent
Attribute Scaling:
Empress Attribute: 1080
Agility x 24 Strength x 20.7 Endurance x 19
Intelligence x 4 Charisma x 4 Luck x 4
Passive Skill
Perpetual Motion:
Increases the maximum stacks of [Montum Mastery] by 10.
In addition, every 10 stacks of [Montum Mastery] increase the bonus to speed and damage by another 5%.
This effect doubles when Hoop is airborne.
Familiarity: 20%
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That was the only new skill. Everything else remained the sa, but it was still a wild difference. The bonus would cap at 50% extra damage and 30% extra speed—or 60% extra damage and 40% extra speed when Hoop was flying. Or so they thought. After a few tests with the new blade, they realized the double effect wasn’t just about the increased bonus at every 10 stacks, but also the stacks themselves. This ant that when Hoop was in the air, he would have a maximum of 30 stacks of [Montum Mastery], which could give him up to 60% extra damage and 30% extra speed by itself. In addition to the bonus from the second part of [Perpetual Motion], he could get another 30% extra damage and 30% extra speed.
In total, once the stacks were in place, Hoop would be dealing 90% extra damage and moving 60% faster. The rest of the blades could get 20% of that, which translated to an 18% boost in damage and a 12% boost in speed. That would affect everyone, including Nimbus in his griffon form. Sure, the effect required a small buildup, but 30 seconds of movent wasn’t that much, especially since the stacks would only drop if they were standing still. Hera deiced to place Hoop with Eira on the Fiord County. Mostly due the county skill. It made it so every two attacks reduced a bit of the target defenses. And [Vortex Dance] was a skill that could deliver several blows in quick succession.
“This is kind of amazing,” Crimson gasped as she skidded to a halt, testing the effects of the new speed.
“It really is. But running at high speed is not as easy as I expected. It seems the skill doesn’t take into account the environnt, so it expects you to be near your top speed no matter what,” the Empress looked around. On top of this mountain, there were many trees and jagged rocks, which made it very hard for her to run properly.
“You think you’re having problems? I keep losing my stacks when I jump,” Vulcan grumbled. Being a kangaroo, in order to run he had to use both legs to propel himself forward. To make matters worse, [Army of One] also reduced the ti it took for the stacks to clear to under 0.4 seconds. On uneven terrain like this, he wasn’t able to gather enough montum without spending that ti sitting still.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Vulcan, sir.” Hoop apologized, bowing to Forge. It was very strange to see a floating giant Cyr Wheel lowering its top half in apology.
“Don’t worry about it. It’s good for us to know the restrictions of the skill. You are doing a great job," Forge shrugged.
"T-Thank you!" Hoop's voice was a bit child like, and there was an eagerness behind it. Like that of a teen who wanted to prove themselves.
“Are you happy with the change?” Neria turned to Hera.
“Happy is a strong word. I do like the skills that Hoop has, and I’m glad he’s with us. But I’m still sad I had to let Glacia go. Then again, I don’t think it will take long before I have to change most of the Court. The difference in attributes is too great. I think I’m doing a good job of keeping my emotions in check, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they also got angry if I lost control or sothing,” Hera sighed.
“Are you thinking about getting more weapons from the Agency before this mission?”
“Maybe. If we have ti, and depending on the mission. If we’re just going back to help people in need, I don’t think I’d be upset. But if we’re going after the Soldiers of Strength and the labs—which is very likely—I might need to make that change before we go. Again, if we have ti.”
Neria nodded in response just as Nimbus arrived to pick them up. This ti, Flint and Vash would be the ones going. Even if the Harpy could fly, the winds in this area were too strong for his fra, and the dwarf had his power armor on him, which beca a problem due to the weight. Neria and Hera would be going last, but before Nimbus flew off, the Empress introduced the new blade to the Sentinel and explained the bonus speed he might get.
Thanks to Hoop, this part of the journey ended up being a bit faster than expected. And in one less day than they expected, the group arrived at the Agency headquarters.
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