Chương 43: 42. Mana Armor

Tavian met Calli at the door of the coresmith's workshop. Her face was weary, but her eyes were alive with delight.

"Tavian!" she exclaimed, running out to greet him.

"I found it!"

"Found what?"

"Master Halin's notes, about this mana armor module," she said.

"He actually had it finished. They were going to start making more of them and sell them abroad, but they hadn't figured out the higher Tier versions of the spell yet."

"So…" Tavian prompted his sister. She got to the point.

"So, I found a few discarded prototypes and they were enough that I think I can attach the module to the Core. We'd only be able to use [Mana Armor I], but I think that's worth it!" Tavian folded his arms.

"Come in, I'll show you." In the workshop sat the spell module. Wrought of stone and metal, it sat heavily on the ground in the middle of the room. Calli had demonstrated it to him before, coating her hands in a flexible but hard protective armor.

"Tier I makes a breastplate," Calli said.

"It covers your chest, vital areas. And, according to Halin's notes, it can take a pretty big hit before it shatters. That seems like it would be really valuable! Should we try linking it into the Core?"

"A weightless breastplate is valuable," Tavian said, musing. He thought of the men and women he'd lost to arrows in the torso.

"A good commander is always looking for ways to protect his people."

"Then let's do it," Calli said.

"Come on!"

"Slow down, Calli," Tavian said, grinning at her enthusiasm.

"Last time you linked a spell module to the Core, it drained a lot of Essence."

"But I didn't have this," Calli said, tapping on a notebook.

"This tells you how you're supposed to do it. I won't be working blind."

"Calli, how much Essence will it cost?" Tavian asked.

"Twelve, maybe, " she said.

"I've blocked off the other Tier manifestations of the spell, so it shouldn't overspill this time." They were keeping their influence intentionally low, so that they didn't lose too much whenever miasmic surges flipped one of his tiles. They had a supply of goods to [Extract], so they could afford this cost.

"Shouldn't overspill?" Tavian asked.

"That doesn't sound good. What is the worst case scenario?"

"Same as always, I guess," Calli said.

"We vent the entire supply of Core Essence into the atmosphere."

"Look, Calli," Tavian said.

"I'm not qualified to make these kinds of judgements. It's up to you. If you feel confident you can do it for only fifteen Essence, I think it's worth a try."

"There's always a risk, Tay," Calli protested.

"I can't ever be perfectly confident."

"That's not what I'm asking," he said.

"You understand the risks better than I do. If you think this is worth it, and you believe you can do it, then let's do it." Calli brushed her hair back from her face, pondering. Tavian waited in silence.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"If I overrule you and your experience because I'm feeling scared, then what's the point of having a coresmith?"

"But I'm not a Master Coresmith," Calli protested.

"I'm an apprentice."

"You're still the most experienced coresmith in the kingdom," Tavian said. Calli considered this.

"I think I can do it," she said.

"I want to try." Together they carried the heavy spell module to the kingdom core. As they neared the courtyard, Lea appeared alongside Tavian.

"Excuse me," she said.

"What do you think you are doing with that?" Tavian did not want Calli to overhear his conversation. He used his mind link to speak back to Lea." We're going to try installing this new module,"he said." Calli thinks—""Calli is not a coresmith," Lea protested.

"Last time she tried to install one of these modules, she nearly wrecked the whole thing!" If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation." But you made it work, Lea. Help her again?"

"Tavian. Calli doesn't understand that the Core… It's alive. She's thinking about it too much like a machine. She needs to understand it better… She needs to sympathize with it."" I'll tell her that."

"No, Tavian, do you really need to do this? Please… Can you just wait until we find someone more experienced?"

"Calli," Tavian said, as they set the module down beside the Core.

"Lea has some advice for you. She says that you need to think about the Core less like a machine and more like a living thing. She believes in you."

"That is not what I said," Lea snapped.

"Don't force me to manifest to her and correct you." Calli considered Tavian's words.

"That's interesting," she said.

"I don't know what that changes, but I'll think about it." Calli began her preparations to link the spell module to the Core. Tavian explained what they were going to attempt to Vanal, and he and his assistants began preparing items to sift, in case of an emergency. Lea paced anxiously.

"Shouldn't you be doing something to help?" Tavian asked her.

"I can't do anything yet," Lea snapped.

"I have to wait for her to break something, then I'll try to fix it." Calli flipped through the notebook, reading the linking process.

"Are you sure about this?" she asked Tavian, looking up at him.

"It's your call," he said.

"I trust you." Calli took a deep breath.

"Okay then," she said.

"Here goes." She placed a hand on the spell module and one on the Core, then closed her eyes. Lea winced. The Core glowed. The spell module glowed. Lea cursed and vanished. Tavian bit his tongue. Calli wouldn't try this if she wasn't confident she could do it. Light flared along the channels of the spell module. Calli opened her eyes, looking down at the notebook, then closed them again. Tavian held his breath. Vanal stood nearby, watching anxiously for a signal from Tavian that something had gone wrong.

Tavian watched his system interface, checking the Core Essence level. It ticked down, slowly, only a few Essence draining from the core. Then Calli opened her eyes. She wiped her brow, pushing her hair from her face, and examined her handiwork.

"Yes!" she declared.

"That's so much easier when people aren't shooting at you. And when you have the instructions!"" Lea?

"Tavian sent." How does it look?" Lea appeared beside the core, looking miffed.

"It's reasonable," she said.

"I've seen worse." ⬣ New Spell Available: [Mana Armor I] ⬣ ⬣ Spells can be added to classes. [Mana Armor I] requires 1 assigned magic point. ⬣ Tavian grinned. He and Calli embraced.

"You did it!" he declared.

"Just call me Master Coresmith," Calli beamed.

"Anyways, are you going to try it out?"

"I've already got all my magic assigned to spells," Tavian said.

"If you're at the core, you can change out your spells," Lea said. She seemed relieved, and slightly put out that she'd worried so much. Tavian pulled up his system interface and found his spell assignments. He currently had two magic points, and one was assigned to [Projectile I], the other to [Extract]. He decided that he didn't really need to be doing the extracting these days, since Vanal and his assistants were more than capable. He disabled that spell and reassigned the magic points to [Mana Armor I].

Then he activated it. A pale light shone, as overlapping plates of crystalline armor flowed over his chest and back, protecting his stomach and ribcage. The breastplate formed quickly, then solidified. It thrummed softly as it moved, before falling silent. It was weightless on Tavian's shoulders. He moved, flexing and twisting, but the breastplate didn't restrict his movements at all. Calli was still examining her handiwork.

"This is clean," she said.

"Each of the runes are in sync, and the whole thing is running smoothly. I never should have doubted myself." She puffed out her chest and threw a cocky look at Tavian.

"I never doubted you," he said.

"Good job." Calli smiled.

"It feels… good. But how strong is it?" Tavian asked. Calli shrugged.

"Should absorb a few hits," she said.

"Want to test it?" She stooped and picked up a rock.

"Calli, wait—" The rock flew through the air. Tavian could have jumped out of the way, but he stepped into it, so it hit him square in the chest. The breastplate took the impact; bits of stone and dust sprayed into the air and the rock bounced to the ground. A thin fracture appeared where the rock had been. Calli walked over and inspected the spot.

"The notebook says it'll heal over time," she said.

"Should we see what it takes to break it? Give me your sword."

"Calli, no." Tavian put his foot down.

"I'm not going to let you hit me with a sword. Get a stick, or a club or something." They found a broken chair leg, and Calli swung it as hard as she could at Tavian's side. He braced himself, and took the impact. More cracks appeared in the breastplate, spidering their way across the iridescent material and linking with the crack from the stone. Calli swung again, landing another blow on his back. The cracks spread, encompassing the whole piece of armor.

She struck a third time, and this time the blow shattered the armor. The whole thing splintered into fragments, which evaporated away into the air. A faint glowing afterimage faded way. Calli wound up for another strike. Tavian jumped out of the way.

"You broke it!" he declared.

"There's nothing left protecting me."

"Do the spell again," Calli said.

"What happens when it's broken?" Tavian summoned the armor again. The faintest, most diaphanous haze surrounded Tavian. A breeze whispered through his hair, and the armor shattered to nothing again.

"I guess it needs more time to recharge," Tavian said.

"Any idea how long that'll take?"

"At Tier I, I think it's around a day," Calli said.

"Then it's better as a last resort protection," Tavian mused.

"Thank you, Calli. This is going to save lives." Calli practically floated.

"There's a lot more I could do, I think, if only I had the right equipment. I want to fix the [Projectile] module to get higher Tiers, and I know I stripped some of the other modules for parts, but if I can find the materials I could replace those and get them working too."

"Keep up the good work, Calli," Tavian said.

"And make sure that you get some rest too." Calli was already hurrying off to see what else she could cook up in her workshop. Tavian made his way toward the wall, thinking about the best way to implement this new spell. Once they had a bit more Essence, he'd roll it out as a part of a Class he was going to give to every soldier in his kingdom. He reached the wall, and looked out over the city, wondering when his messengers were going to be coming back.

He wished he'd been able to give them [Mana Armor] before they'd ridden off. As he stood on the wall, watching the quiet city, a cart rattled down the road toward the Fortress.