Oath of the Survivor

Fell’Zorre gestured for Kyle to come look at the assortment of weapons arrayed before him.  Kyle activated Identify, and frowned when he saw that none of the weapons had any mana infusion whatsoever.  They were all mundane, even if they were finely crafted.

“Fell’Zorre, I’m not sure if something was lost in translation, but I’m looking for D Grade equipment.”  Kyle said, trying not to sound accusatory.

“Naturally, Mr. Mayhew.  These are mundane replicas of actual equipment we have in store.  You will find that weight, balance, and shape are identical.  We will, of course, allow you to examine the genuine articles for those weapons with which you’ve demonstrated interest and proficiency.”

Kyle nodded, accepting the goblin’s explanation.  He first grabbed the batons, and entered into the familiar forms he learned from Frank.  The grips felt comfortable under his hands, though the balance was different, slightly more forward.  His Strength more than compensated for the difference, but it stuck out to Kyle. 

After a minute or so of practice, he handed the batons back to Fell’Zorre.  “These are nice, I’m guessing the craftsman put the additional weight toward the tip to increase striking power?”  Kyle asked.

“In a manner of speaking.  Am I correct in assuming that these are the weapons with which you are most comfortable?”

“At this time, yes.”

“Then please try the quarterstaff next. If the batons are fundamental to your one-handed fighting style, I’d be interested to see how you handle a more versatile weapon.”  Fell’Zorre’s voice was infuriatingly neutral, and Kyle couldn’t help but feel the goblin was disappointed with Kyle’s performance.

Nevertheless, he grabbed the quarterstaff, the weapon surprisingly light in his hands.  Unfortunately, Kyle never really learned to fight with one.  He went through some of the motions he practiced with his first piece of rebar, using it more like an oversized bat.  The motions were fluid, the massive increase in his attributes allowing him to move with grace he sorely lacked the first time around.

Fell’Zorre next had him practice with the short swords, which was Kyle’s greatest area of weakness so far. The slashing movements were familiar to Kyle, largely mirroring the movement of the batons.  The stabbing motions felt far less natural.  The combinations he trained with Frank flowed effortlessly one into another, and the sharp stabbing motions didn’t seem to fit the movements nearly as well. 

The goblin watched on, making notes on a tablet as Kyle practiced.  At this point, Kyle resigned himself to simply trust the process.  He had the time, and the Emerald Armory knew what it was doing.  Jarberry’s involvement was suspicious, but that could be said about all of the imp’s actions thus far.  Whatever the other Courier’s angle was, Kyle felt that their interests aligned, at least for now.

Kyle moved from weapon type to weapon type, with more being brought in as Fell’Zore manipulated the tablet.  He practiced with daggers, claws, whips, and gauntlets; then moved on to a variety of ranged weapons.  One thing Kyle realized very early on was that he was not a good shot.  His Perception was more than high enough to help, but the subtle input from Sensory Barbs often led to overcorrection, even in the relatively stable environment of the arena.

“I think I’ve seen enough, Mr. Mayhew.”  Fell’Zorre stepped up beside Kyle just as the Survivalist shot a rifle down range, the weapon using principles of magnetism to shoot its payload.  “I don’t believe you’ll be needing this any further,” the goblin said, taking the rifle from Kyle’s hands and placing it back on the weapon rack. 

“Come on now,” Kyle said, a note of complaint in his voice.  “I’m not that bad of a shot.”

“For an unawkened, perhaps not.  For an upper-mid tier D Grade, you’re abysmal.  In your inquiry, you mentioned looking for ranged combat options, however I don’t believe that there are many that will be of particular use to you.  With your current level of skill, you would simply be wasting credits without being able to bring out the true value of the equipment we’d sell you.

“Fortunately, your martial aptitude is far more impressive.  While polearms and longer blades are quite rudimentary, your foundations in close quarters combat are solid.  I don’t know what sort of hardships you’ve faced, but you’re more capable than many of the casters I’ve encountered in my career.

“I believe that the batons you tested initially would be a good fit, and recommend purchasing them.  Your use with the combat gauntlets was also passable, and I believe I could solve the problem of your missing bracer while offering additional flexibility.”

The moment Fell’Zorre finished his words, another well-dressed goblin came out, holding a tray with 3 familiar items on it.  Kyle didn’t need to activate Identify to tell that each of the weapons were heavily infused with mana.  Fell’Zorre gestured for Kyle to take them, and Kyle affixed the gauntlet to his left arm before grabbing the batons.

The gauntlet was made of thin strips of metal overlayed on one another; light enough that his left hand still had full range of motion, but covering his forearm up to the elbow.  Small spikes jutted out over his knuckles, clearly showing its design as a striking implement.  Kyle noted with some alarm that the gauntlet was drawing some of his mana, but he allowed to do so; the sensation lasting only a moment.

The batons felt comfortable in his hands, even with the gauntlet over his left.  They were made of a dark grey metal with a nearly blue tint, the tips sloped ever so slightly, reminding Kyle of the distinct tanto shape from Earth.  Unlike the gauntlet that drained a little of his mana, the batons seemed to have a well of their own that was buried deep within the metal.

“I hope the items are to your satisfaction, Mr. Mayhew.  From observing you these past hours, I believe these to be your best fit.  Before we finalize price, I’d like you to try using the genuine articles.”

“I’d like to try them too,” Kyle said, trying to push down the desire to simply purchase them right there and then.

Fell’Zorre clicked on his tablet a few times, and a heavily armored practice dummy rumbled out from the edge of the arena.  “If you’d please start with the batons, Mr. Mayhew.  I believe their function will become clear as you strike the dummy.”

Kyle nodded, twirling the batons in his hand as he stepped up to the heavily armored dummy.  The moment his first strike landed, he felt the baton surge with mana.  3 more blows followed in quick succession, and Kyle could feel the surging energy inside the weapons.  He activated Identify and lashed out again, understanding the mechanics behind the weapons far better.

Each blow seemed to charge the weapon, the kinetic force from the strikes reverberating through the core and being magnified through what Kyle suspected were a series of inlaid runes.  That power was stored in the metallic casing surrounding the core, and Kyle could feel a connection to the weapon through a simple activation sigil inscribed in the handle.

With a minor infusion of mana, Kyle activated the weapon as he landed his next strike.  The moment he did, force like a speeding truck exploded out from the baton.  The heavy dummy hadn’t budged before, but this strike left a large dent in the metal and knocked it back several meters.  Kyle followed up, releasing the stored energy from the second baton.  This time the thick metal cracked as the dummy was once again blown away.

Kyle felt the grin spreading across his face as he looked down at the batons.  The charges inside the weapons had been drained, though the results were incredible.  While he would still prefer not to be in a lot of close-quarters combat, these would provide a significant boost to his combat power.  What’s more, Kyle felt that he could learn a lot from the structure of the shockwaves themselves.  There was a mana framework that sprang into existence when he activated the batons, and that was something Kyle was eager to study.

“I assume your smile to mean that you’d like to move forward with the forcehammer batons, Mr. Mayhew?”

Kyle looked at Fell’Zorre.  “Yes, definitely.  How do you want me to test the gauntlet?  I still have a special order I’d like to put in, and I want to make sure we have time to review specifics.”

“Of course, sir.  For the gauntlet, I doubt you’ll need to punch things to understand that application, however I would like you to try and push some mana through the metal.  For somebody of your skill, that shouldn’t be a problem.”

Kyle didn’t respond, simply pushing energy into the metal.  It drank in a surprising amount, and with Identify active Kyle could see two separate activation runes.  With a minor effort, he triggered the first.  Light blue energy shimmered from the thin strips of metal, and a moment later a buckler made of mana sprang out from the gauntlet. 

Kyle instantly knew that it was inferior to Storm Shelter, however it appeared robust enough to take a couple of ordinary hits.  What’s more, it didn’t appear to be restricted with a long cooldown, nor a stationary requirement.

Allowing the buckler to dissipate, Kyle pushed mana into the gauntlet once again to recharge it, this time activating the second rune.  The gauntlet shimmered for a moment, then a thin blade of mana erupted out from the edge of his forearm.  It went from his elbow and extended up slightly past his pinky finger, and from what Identify showed him, the blade was sharp. 

While Kyle didn’t expect to use it often in combat, slashing and cutting options were things he sorely lacked right now.  While this was a far cry from the Multitool skill he’d been offered when he crossed into D Grade, the gauntlet was able to fill a couple of the niches well.  When thinking about the broader context of the jobs he’d be doing, increasing his flexibility was never a bad decision.

“I’ll take this one, too.”  Kyle’s voice was firm, and the goblin smiled in return.

“Excellent.  2 forcehammer batons and the survivor’s gauntlet.  Before we discuss your custom order, I want to discuss prices here.  For all 3 pieces, we will need 285,000 credits.  110,000 each for the batons, and 65,000 for the gauntlet.”

Kyle groaned internally, though he expected something similar.  The prices here were expensive, though quality usually was.  He feared that he’d end up spending most of what he earned from the Ma Family, and with the custom order he suspected he’d be pretty close.

“That’s alright.”  Kyle finally said.

“Then, shall we discuss your custom order?” Fell’Zorre replied, a glint of greed in his eyes.