The op lich is a returne.., p.18
The OP Lich is a Returnee, page 18
Eto Shiro, my woodworker, was next. He had taken it upon himself to craft the menpō, the mask typically worn with traditional Japanese armor. He, too, used the black and silver motif that Fani had started, making the mask black, with the lines of a silver skull. When worn, it was imbued to increase the amount of mana the wearer drew in with each breath, replenishing their body and allowing them to fight harder, for longer.
The enchantment on the mask caused the wearer’s eyes to glow with blue flame, like my lich form’s eyes did. While it was worn, the wearer would see in total darkness like it were light, and could even see through smoke or heavy fog as though it weren’t there. More impressively, it allowed the wearer to see the flows of magic, and the relative strength of different concentrations, like on magic items.
Next was Karasu Sawao’s piece, a pair of metal gauntlets. Unlike the normal gauntlet you would see in historical sources, where the handguard was either like a mitten, or fingerless, these gauntlets had fully articulated fingers with taloned nails at the end, something that would have been wholly impractical if not outright foolhardy on a medieval battlefield. But the gauntlets were imbued, allowing them to share the armor’s protective capabilities and making those nails a reasonably effective weapon or tool for climbing, thus negating the design’s weaknesses.
He had enchanted the piece, as well. The wearer of the gloves would be completely comfortable in any temperature, though that would not keep them from taking damage if they decided to stand in a blast furnace, or let a dragon breathe on them overlong. It also increased the wearer’s strength, with a simple doubling of their ability. While the enchantments were simple, they flowed nicely, and worked well with the intended design.
His wife, Kinu, had gone all out for her piece. Her design was a belt of interlocking links, designed to look as though it were made of silver coins and fingerbones. The buckle at the front was the symbol of Risen Athelia, wrought in silver upon a black background.
It was imbued to be as difficult to damage or destroy as she could make it. For enchantments, she used a variation of the strength enchantment on the gloves, increasing the user’s vitality, stamina, and endurance. They would be able to take more damage without suffering a fatal wound, their stamina would be such that they could sprint for a kilometer and not be winded, and they would be able to endure adverse conditions, not needing to eat or sleep but once a week.
The sixth piece was that of Fujii Shihi, the glassblower. He had created a stunning piece of glasswork, a disc only seven centimeters across, with a ring at the top, to attach to a leather thong as an amulet. It bore the image of a Sakura tree in bloom, using many layers of different-colored glass, which he then encased in clear glass, so that it would not get damaged. The imbuement only helped that, making it so that a heavy blow with a sledgehammer would not mar its surface.
There was only a pair of base enchantments on the amulet, but they were enough to impress me. The first would filter the air around the wearer, allowing them to breathe freely, even in the midst of a chemical attack. If there was no air, whether due to being underwater or in vacuum, the amulet would create a small bubble of air around the wearer’s head using their mana, allowing them to survive, so long as they had magic left. The second enchantment tracked the wearer’s condition. If they should receive a mortal wound, or be in some situation that was otherwise fatal, the amulet would put them in temporal stasis, freezing their body’s condition between one moment and the next, giving them a chance to be rescued.
The final piece was a cloak, woven by Watabe Kazuko, my tailor. She was an expert in traditional Japanese styles, but was now learning new styles, like Fani was. The cloak she made, however, was a black field with the symbol of Risen Athelia in silver, surrounded by Eastern dragons in an icy blue along the edges of the cloak. It was imbued with self-mending capability. So long as part of it survived, the cloak would use the ambient mana to repair itself, good as new, even if there were pieces missing, though that would take longer.
But the kicker was the enchantments on the cloak. There was a minor enchantment, protecting the wearer from environmental effects like rain and (nonmagical) lightning. The wearer also gained some powers that a Stormcaller might over the wind, allowing them to clear away smoke, or whip up a small tornado. Most importantly, however, they were able to fly for short distances, depending on their magical ability. The ability to fly, even from a battlement to the monstrous Stormbird pelting your castle with lightning bolts from outside the range of your bow? That was massive.
Except, it wasn’t the most impressive thing about the set, and it was a set, not a group of enchanted items. Every piece had an amplification rune in it, designed to work with the other runes. When someone had all seven on them, they would experience a roughly thirty percent increase in their Martial Way abilities. More importantly, set would also siphon off a portion of magical attacks, whether they were from the Martial or Magician’s Way, and use that energy to heal the wearer.
Looking up at the group, I smiled. “Well done, my apprentices. You have all done far more than I ever expected of you, in so short a time. This work, as individual pieces, would each easily put you as Journeymen enchanters. The set bonus, however, makes it truly shine. I expect it will not take too much longer for you to become Masters. But, for the moment, you may take pride in being the first Journeymen Enchanters on Earth.”
I looked them each in the eye, and said, “You each stand as masters in your specialties, and, together, you are advancing in enchanting. But the road before you is a long one. There is much yet you have to learn. You have learned to walk, but now, you must learn to run.”
I paused for a breath. “It is customary, when a student becomes a journeyman enchanter, for their master to give them a gift.” I reached into my dimensional pocket, and pulled out a stack of seven leatherbound tomes. One by one, I handed them to my students. They each looked inquisitively at them.
“These tomes are Rune Dictionaries. You know, by now, a few runes, that I have shared with you, when you asked. These dictionaries contain all the runes that I know. The trial for becoming a Master is to not only learn the runes in this tome, but to expand upon it. Only when you have successfully developed a new rune, not yet in the book, and are victorious in tying it into an enchantment, can you call yourself a Master Enchanter.
“But making new runes is not so easy as writing lines on a page, and seeing if something happens. You must learn the reasoning and methodology of the runes, just like you would learning a foreign language. And you must accept that the experiments may claim your life, if you are reckless. Worse, they may claim the lives of those around you.
“However, once you prove yourselves to be masters, then you will have my leave to go, and start up your own workshops. I will even help you with the financing. And, when you take on students, and they become journeymen, then you will have to give them a copy of this tome. But to copy it, you must master the enchantments upon it, that link these books to their brothers, and to mine, and my master’s and so on.
“The tome will bind itself to you, and can be read only by you, and when you die, it will vanish forever. But through the tomes of your fellows, and your students, your contributions will live on, so long as there are enchanters left in this world. Which means that a piece of you will live on. So, study well, my students, and congratulations once again.”
Chapter 64 – Consultation
“Sir! You wished to speak with me, Brigadier?”
Brigadier Stanley Brown looked up from his notes at the Sergeant Major who had just been let into his office. “At ease, Sergeant Major Aesys.” He watched the vampire move from a formal ‘attention’ stance to his army’s version of ‘at ease’. Having members of a foreign army on his base was still something he was getting used to, but he wasn’t going to let that stop him from doing his job.
“I wanted to check in on you, since it has been a few days. Any problems with your ‘new recruit’?”
“No, sir. She is still a newborn, in terms of being a vampire, so I am keeping a firm leash on her, and not allowing her out of barracks without my direct supervision. Young vampires tend to let their newfound power go to their heads, and let their thirst and desire think for them. Not unlike young soldiers, sir.”
“Very good. You and your troops have been exemplary in your behavior so far, and the medics have all praised you for keeping things firmly in line, with suitable safety measures always in place. That reflects well on your discipline and training, and I intend to make sure the King hears of it. I know that it can’t be easy for you, or yours, dealing with mortals, and our comparative lack of stamina.”
“With respect, sir, teaching humans is not all that different from teaching newly-risen undead. While the undead may have more stamina, they all have to relearn how to use their bodies, and deal with the new instincts that they’re presented with. And while the base state of the body before it was animated can change things, the key part is an undead’s mind. Some come through the change with more of their intelligence intact, and some even have their minds enhanced by the change. However, the most common types lose much of their intellect, and must be taught the basics from the beginning. And there are those who are completely mindless, useful only as cannon fodder or laborers.”
“Well, that is something, at least,” the Brigadier nodded. “Well, then, Sergeant Major, take a seat. I wish to discuss the report you sent in, now that I’ve had a chance to thoroughly read it.” When the vampire had taken a seat, he continued, “I’ve read your report, as I said, and the data backs up your conclusions. I’ve already endorsed it on my end, and will be sending it to the planners to start figuring out what the next steps will be. Before I do that, though, I want to hear your thoughts on the exact nature of improvements we should be making.”
Aesys nodded. “I understand, sir. Which area would you like to start with?”
“Start with the sniper rifles, since they are currently the ones that are most effective, and should need the least amount of work.”
“Very good, sir.” The Sergeant Major paused to gather his thoughts, and said, “When looking at the standard L115A4 used by your snipers, the basic design is sound. Teaching snipers about imbuement would allow their shots to have greater effect, but there is an upper limit to that. Imbuing the rounds, while also enchanting the weapon itself with enchantments to increase penetration, range, and accuracy, you would be able to take down an officer in the Queen’s army with a well-placed shot. But there is a drawback to using so much magic for a stealth attack.”
“The glowing that we saw during your demonstration with the sword and the tank armor?”
“Exactly, sir. To get a weapon to fire a round powerful enough to take out powerful foes, you would basically have a coherent trail of light, leading from the target all the way back to the barrel of the gun, which would make backtracking the shot far too simple, meaning a sniper who wished to remain concealed would need to move after every shot. This is balanced, however, by the fact that, with those enchantments, you could theoretically have an effective range reaching to the horizon.”
“Bloody hell.”
Aesys nodded. “Yes, sir. Obviously, accuracy at those ranges comes down to the skill of the user.”
“What about ‘archaic’ options? We’ll get to your suggestions for melee weaponry later, but what about the bow, or crossbow? Would those be a more effective solution?”
“Putting aside the need for a completely different training regimen to allow marksmen to train to proficiency in the bow, compared to the rifle, there are advantages and disadvantages, sir. Because of the design, a bow or crossbow is naturally stealthier, without the need for magic to dampen the sound, or worries about kicking up clouds of dust in the desert. Additionally, it requires less setup and weight than a sniper rifle, allowing quicker times to move and set up a new firing position. Damage output of an imbued and enchanted arrow is less than that of an imbued and enchanted round from the sniper rifle, but only by about twenty percent.
“Primary drawbacks would be the lack of comparative range. Instead of the horizon, you are looking at distances in the 1,500-meter range for indirect fire, comparable to current sniper rifles, and 750 meters for direct fire. Crossbows would be effective to the 500-meter mark. This is a dramatic reduction from the current sniper rifles, even unaugmented.
“Secondary drawbacks include the fact that using bows and crossbows presents a greater profile to the enemy, allowing them an improved chance to spot shooters, even without magic. This is unavoidable, due to the physical constraints of drawing and firing the bows. While camouflage and invisibility spells can counter this, it is something to keep in mind.
“Because of this, I recommend augmented rifles for extreme range shots or targets with significant defensive capabilities, while bows and crossbows be adopted for shorter range stealth kills. Also, by sacrificing some of the power and range from the attack itself, you can conceal the ‘glow’, as you put it, of the shot, allowing for greater stealth. While not useful against larger, or tougher foes, unless you target a weak spot, this is something that could be used on lower-ranking targets, like sentries and lookouts.”
“I see. And, if you were planning a mission to take out a high-value target, like an enemy general, what method would you use?”
“That depends on whether the target is a warrior or a mage, sir. For a mage, I would use the rifle, and stealth be damned. Mages are potent threats, but their passive defenses are lower than warriors. However, the more time you give them to react, the more likely they will be to bring active defenses into play. A powerful mage with enough warning would be able to bring up a shield that would blunt, if not block, enemy attacks, or activate a spell that teleported them a few meters away, safely dodging the attack altogether. The slower speed of the arrow or bolt makes it risky for attacking a powerful mage.”
“And if you used the ‘stealth’ option you mentioned earlier?”
“Without knowing the strength of the mage’s passive defenses, I could not guarantee a kill while preserving stealth, with either the rifle or bow. However, the closer you are, the more you risk being caught out by detection spells, especially with a mage as the target. Targeting magic can be detected by powerful mages, and traced back to the source, given enough time.”
“I see. Then, for a warrior?”
“I would use the bow, sir, with multiple strikes, either from the same bow, or multiple sides. Possibly with arrows enchanted with some curse, or coated in poison, with heads designed to do more damage as they’re drawn out, just in case the initial attack doesn’t slay him. That way, the target is at least taken out of the fight temporarily as healers work to save him.
“However, for instances where the target is a reasonably powerful warrior or mage, to say nothing of a more high-powered one, I would recommend against sniping as means of elimination. Instead, I would have a team of stealth specialists, like your SAS teams, infiltrate the target’s location, with a sniper on overwatch, taking out sentries, vehicles, and equipment as needed to support the team. The team would then use melee or short-range weapons to complete the kill, and then retreat, either conventionally, or with teleportation magic.”
“Any recommendations for team composition, Sergeant Major?”
“The current skillset of your SAS teams is sufficient, from what I’ve seen, once they’ve mastered the Warrior’s Way, and learned to channel their mana appropriately. The additional speed, strength, and agility the Warrior’s Way will give them will only improve their efficacy. Add in additional training with melee weaponry, and they would be the most suitable humans for the role.”
“And if we wanted to expand beyond just humans?”
“That depends on the type, sir. Werewolves are quick, strong, and vicious hunters, and, when trained in the Warrior’s Way, can decimate enemies as shock assault troops, but they lack ranged options in their transformed states, and their nature makes them quick to go feral, which can lead to collateral damage. Vampires and other corporeal undead are stronger and faster than humans, but most of the intelligent types are weak in the sun, if not harmed outright by it. Incorporeal undead can literally hide under the earth, or move through walls, but most mages and warriors have defenses ready for them, even if there aren’t wards to keep them out altogether. Ideally, you have multiple teams, or a team with multiple types, including humans, to balance the weaknesses of one type with the strengths of another.”
“I see. Then, moving on to modern assault rifles and machine guns. Other than using them to take down lines of raw recruits, do you have any suggestions for their use, or how they could be better improved?”
Aesys nodded firmly. “The Queen asked me to assess this before we arrived, so I have already given this some thought. It would take more time and testing than I have been able to do whilst training the troops, but I believe that utilizing select fire modes and enhanced ammunition could be used to mitigate some of the drawbacks that modern guns are facing.”
