Blood and Cupcakes
Page 38
Weapon Upgraded
Name: Icepick
Type: Throwing Stiletto
Enchantment #1: Spike (W)
Enchantment #2: Hold (E)
Grade: C (uncommon)
Material: Iron
Weight: 10.5 ounces
Damage: 10 stabbing / 7 ice and freezing damage per second (DPS) over 20 seconds and lowering target's speed by 9% for 40 seconds (stackable)
Durability: 25/25
“Okay, Grax, I think this might work for you. Deals 140 ice damage, 10 stabbing damage and 9% movement reduction. It also stacks. So, hit them more than once and it will double the effect.”
Grax looked shocked. “That little knife does all of that?”
“Yes, it does, and will continue to do so for all eternity, I guess. Check it out.” She placed the blade in his hands with a smile. He turned and threw it at a tree. Frost formed rapidly in a large circle as spikes of ice grew from the back side of the tree. Before the frost could grow over the hilt he grabbed the knife, jumped up and slashed it against the tree. Mayah waited for the new ice growths to bloom. But nothing happened.
Grax had a puzzled look on his face, as did Mayah.
“Hey, go slash that tree over there.” Grax did and nothing happened.
“Now, stab the point in.” The ice bloomed. “Last test, try a slash but make sure you drag the point as well.”
He did and the ice bloomed again.
“So, what’s the deal?” He asked.
“Arrows aren’t edged weapons.”
“Huh?”
“I made the knife like I would an arrow. I put all the energy on the point of the blade. My mistake… but you liked the effects?”
“Oh, yeah!”
“Alright, round two.” She pulled another stiletto out of her bag. Gotta make the whole edge the focus of the runes. She etched a line around the edge of the blade that looked like a thin, upside down V, then connected the tips to an identical V on the other side. That should focus the energy along the edge of the blade. She then drew individual circles around each rune and a line that connected the circles to the Vs around the blades. She enchanted it again and ID’d the blade
Ding!!!
Weapon Upgraded
Name: Frozetto
Type: Throwing Stiletto
Enchantment #1: Spike: ice damage / Movement reduction
Enchantment #2: hold: Movement reduction
Grade: C (unique)
Material: Iron
Weight: 10.5 ounces
Damage: 10 stabbing / 5 ice and freezing damage per second (DPS) over 20 seconds and lowering target's speed by 10% for 40 seconds (stackable)
Durability: 25/25
Hmmmm… It came out more powerful that the last one. I’m gonna have to ask John and Cloutus about that.
“Okay, Grax this one is more powerful.” He turned from the tree he was stabbing and ran over to Mayah.
“Really? It’s more powerful? Oooh…”
“Try the slash attack again?”
“On it.”
He paused in front of the tree and got into a stance, looking a little like a runner in his starting blocks. His left hand pointed directly at the tree. The other was holding frozetto by his shoulder, elbow bent and ready to strike. He took a deep breath and then accelerated as he had in their duel.
He’s gonna have to teach me that Dash ability.
He ran in a spiral circling the tree, leaping from branch to branch, rising up along its length like a stripe on a barber’s pole. He traced the blade against the trunk, white frost following in his path. Tiny spikes of ice grew out of the trunk on the opposite side of his knife strikes. He ran out onto a limb and flipped off the end of a branch, corkscrewing through the air. At first, she thought he was going to miss the clearing and smash into a tree, but then she realized what he was doing. Instead of landing, he leapt across to a low branch of the tree directly above her. The branch absorbed his momentum and he sprung off with a bounce, landing gracefully on the ground.
“This is nice!!!” He admired the frozetto, “You’re gonna give my swords this same enchantment?”
“Don’t you know it. But you need to pay me in cupcakes.” She was actually quite proud of her work. This was the first time she was able to enchant a weapon with runes for an added offensive benefit.
“I think we have enough time to design those Acid (D) daggers as well.”
Grax’s eyes lit up even further, “We’re gonna win the tournament. We’re gonna win the tournament…!!!” he said clapping his paws. He bounced over and began shaking her shoulders, making her head snap back and forth in time to his song.
Mayah laughed at his antics. “Let me finish the design first! I don’t want a broken neck debuff. Geez, stupid cat.” As she admonished him, her face was megaton smile. She was happy that Grax really liked the blades.
Bringing them happiness one way or the other. That’s why I’m here... well, that and Malcipher.
A dark spike ran through her happy moment through like a spear in the guts. Ice clenched in the pit of her stomach and trickled into her veins. She grit her teeth, and let out a long solemn sigh as she pulled the polearm out of her anxiety. she responded to her lizard brain instinctively, peering deep into the shadows around the clearing, taking a brief moment in every dark spot. She didn’t expect him to be there, but she wanted to make sure. It was just a slow turn of her head. The smile almost reappeared on her lips when she finished her search. She looked down at her empty hands.
“Well, time to get back to work.”
We’ll just make all six runes Acid (D). This should be nasty.
Instead of making the Deep “V” line, she made a shallow “U” drawing the Acid (D) runes smaller. She drew circles around them all and connected each of the circles to the “U” with a line. She repeated the design on the other side and made sure that the U”s were touching at the edge of the blade.
She began the enchantment. When her mana dropped below half, she poured her stamina into it. The runes glowed and she felt it tick into place.
Ding!!!
Weapon Upgraded
Name: Sizzletto
Type: Throwing Stiletto
Enchantment: Acid (D)
Grade: B (unique)
Material: Iron
Weight: 10.5 ounces
Damage: 10 stabbing / 10 Acid (D) damage per second (DPS) over 20 seconds. (stackable)
Durability: 10/10
DING!!!
Acid (D) Level: 2
DP: 7 damage per second (DPS) over 21 seconds
Mana cost: 100MP
Cooldown 3 minutes
Well okay then… I see why you want to level up your runes and make them more powerful. They make everything more powerful. Each of the runes is a single attack or action that needs to be individually leveled. Gotta get to that ASAP. But right now, back to this knife. Why is the durability so low?
“Hey Grax, come check this out.” Her face had slightly puzzled look.
“What’s the matter?”
“It all looks good, except for the durability.”
“Yeah, I see that.” he said examining the sizzletto. “What’s that all about?”
“Not sure. It’s your turn, though. I need feedback.”
Grax picked a tree and ran around the base, scoring a deep, sizzling gash all around the trunk. He looked at the knife and then at Mayah.
“You are not gonna do this to my daggers. Mm-mm no way. Not ever.”
“What?”
He walked over, blade outstretched. “Take a look.”
The blade’s tip looked as if it had been dipped into a vat of acid and melted.
“I guess we know why the durability is so low.”
The durability had dropped to 2/10. “We’re gonna have to find another rune to enhance your daggers.”
“Why can’t you just make them icy daggers?”
“Then you’re all iced out and easy to pick of with fire magic. A one e
lement trick kitty, as it were.”
“I guess. But I’ve already been waiting so long…” He put on every kitty’s worst imaginable weapon, the beg-eyes.
She quickly turned away from him, clasped her hands and hunched over. He’s so cuuuute!!!! Don’t touch the kitty… She regained a bit of her composure and said over her shoulder, “I want you to have a little bit of patience. We’ll find the right rune for the right job at the right time.”
“Fine, but don’t forget my bowtie either,” he sulked.
“Geez, what are you cat?” She put on the voice her brother called the “Dealmaker.” It was a cross between an old mob boss and a very, very, very good accountant.
“I give you free power-ups and you complain to me? I’ll make you a new bow and it’ll be top grade, modifiers out the wazoo. Tell me what color you DON’T you want again?”
Grax bowed his head. “Sorry, Don Fluff. Please don’t make me a girly bow. If you did, I would wear it because it would be top grade. But don’t do that to a friend?”
“Oh, we’re friends now?” she said, trying to hold in a smile.
He walked over on all fours and rubbed himself along her legs, looked up at her with those beg-eyes and said, “We’ve always been friends.”
“Get off’a me cat!” She gave him a playful push with her leg and they both laughed.
“So, we got the enchantment for your swords down. The daggers… not so much. Next we need to work on grenades.”
“Ooooh… we make things go boom?”
“Big bada boom.”
She pulled out a storage runeagram and looked at the three symbols. She let her mind go blank as it wandered over her knowledge on grenades. She was level five, but needed to have a better understanding of how those skills could be used. For instance, how could she combine it with runes? If she could make a grenade that could use the energy of runes, then the possibilities were only limited by her mana and runic vocabulary.
Okay, trial one.
She took a rock from her bag and drew the rune for Acid (D) on it. She began the enchantment and chose to arm the stone. Before completing the enchantment, she used her other hand to open the rift and threw in the rock. A blue token popped into existence, falling to the grass. Then she made a delivery parcel and placed the token inside.
“Okay, Grax, give this a toss for me.” She handed him the parcel.
“Cool beans.” He took a few steps as he eyed the eyed the parcel. Then he suddenly flung it into the clearing. It exploded with a Ka-Whoomph. It was more powerful than normal.
Maybe it’s because I used a rune or the energy being released all at once from the runiverse? but there’s still no Acid (D) which I was hoping to see. I’m level five Grenadier but I can only I make instant use grenades. Can I make a stable grenade? There’s gotta be a way I can make one.
She pulled forth another stone and began the enchantment. Before it finished she thought at the stone, grenade. The enchantment clicked and she ID’d the stone.
Stone Grenade
Name: Stone Grenade
Type: Grenade
Energy: 100
Enchantment: Grenade
Grade: E
Material: stone
Weight: .7 ounces
Damage: 50 blunt trauma / 10 explosion and shrapnel
Range: 5 Foot diameter (The farther from the explosion the target is the lower the damage will be.)
Durability: 4/4
Set fuse length (2-10) seconds. Default is set at 2 seconds Y/N?
Activate Grenade
Y/N?
Was it really that simple? She checked to make sure her shoelaces were tied. I really have to stop overlooking the simple solutions.
Grax was almost dancing with anticipation, looking at the stone in her hand.
“Go ahead, try this one.” She tossed the stone at him.
He caught it, held it in his hand for a second, and tossed it into the clearing. It made a slightly smaller explosion than the delivery parcel.
Getting closer. Just need a few more experiments.
She pulled out a stiletto this time and engraved the six Acid (D) runes on it. The runes began to glow as she armed the enchantment and finished with grenade. It clicked into place and she looked at her handiwork again.
Name: Acid Knife Grenade
Type: Grenade
Energy: 700
Enchantment: Grenade
Enchantment #2: Acid (x6)
Grade: C (Unique)
Material: Iron
Weight: 10.5 ounces
Damage: 50 blunt trauma / 10 stabbing / 12 - 21 Acid damage per second (DPS) over 21 seconds / 10-15 shrapnel
Range: 10 Foot diameter (The farther from the explosion the target is the lower the damage will be.)
Durability: 10/10
Set fuse length (2-10) seconds. Default is set at 2 seconds Y/N?
Activate Acid Knife Grenade
Y/N?
Okay, this is more like it. Effect is stronger at the blast site. Duly noted.
“I think this might be it. Just toss it way over there?” She handed the blade to Grax.
“Whoa…!!! This is serious boom here.”
“Yeah, so be careful. Set the timer to three.”
He tossed the knife grenade a little further than he had the others. It stuck in the ground for the briefest of moments before a giant splash of Acid (D) bloomed in a dome of green mist and blobs. They walked towards it as it bubbled and sizzled.
“These could be useful.” Mayah stroked her chin as she examined her handiwork.
“Ya think?”
“What I really want to know is how it affects party members.”
Grax slanted his eyes with the implications of pain that were sure to follow. “What do you mean?”
“Do attacks from within a party affect those within the party? Some games differentiate parties from everyone else with any and all attacks. Some don’t. Some only exclude friendly fire but Area of Effect (AOE) attacks damage everyone in range. Acid should be considered friendly fire because it’s my rune inscribed on the grenade. But it’s become an AOE, so which will we be dealing with? For example, we know that during our duel my Acid (D) could burn you. It’s part of the player vs player mechanics. But we still haven't figured out, if we’re in a party together, would my attacks affect you?”
“Hmmmm…. I know I’m going to regret asking this, but what do you have in mind?” He looked at her out of the corner of his eye.
She didn't need to send him a party invite because that had remained in a party ever since Malcipher attacked. She just cast Acid (D) and said, “Ready?”
“Whoa… hold on a minute Fluff….” Grax was hastily moving backwards with his hands held up in front of him.
“Calm down, I’m not gonna throw it at you. I’m just gonna drop it on the ground and you just stick the tip of your finger into it and see if it burns.”
“That’s a little better, but this still sounds like a bad idea. You got any better ways to test it out?”
“You’ll regen in a few seconds. Don’t be such a pussycat.”
“You didn’t feel the burn on that stuff! The smell when it burns is even worse.” Grax wrinkled his nose in disgust.
Mayah just glared at him until his will folded.
“Fine, but I get to see if my blades can cut you afterwards.”
“Ouch, okay snippy.”
She dropped the blob of Acid (D) and Grax gingerly touched it with his claw. There was no sizzle, so he pushed further and held his finger in the Acid (D).
“Looks like fun,” he said, flinging a small bit of the Acid (D) at Mayah, where it stuck like a piece of melting bubblegum.
“Great.” She flicked the Acid (D) off of her dress and it splattered onto the scabbards of Grax’s katanas, sizzling for a few seconds before evaporating.
She looked up at a very, very angry kitty.
She began to slowly back away, “Grax… I didn’t mean to….” He picked up hi
s blades and examined the damage. He drew one of his swords and pointed it at her.
“...My turn…”
“Aww shaz...”
…..
“So, we have determined that the offending hardware is a level 3 militarily designed infiltration probe,” said a man standing at end of the board room table. “Significant upgrades have been made to the communications package that allowed for transfer of data to an outside source. It was designed to flood the Torlock with small packets of random commands and send and receive via any CrysWeb wireless router.” He pushed up the bridge of his glasses then said, “Ingenious actually. They wouldn’t have triggered any alarms at all if they hadn’t overridden the logout and gotten Mayah stuck.
“The real problem here is that the drone is now overriding the controls to the eject sequence, the emergency shutdown cycle and the neural linkage system. Every time we try to remove Mayah, the signal from the game overlays her actual nervous system and causes all involuntary bodily systems to try and behave at the speed of the game dilation. If we could separate her from Majesta, we could dial back the time dilation for her individually, and pull her out. But without control over any one of those three systems, we can’t pull that off. We could pull her out and risk at the very least cardiac arrest. But that’s just what the docs have told us.
“...And right now, that’s all we’ve got.” He sat and looked down the table at Josh Bannon.
“Thank you, Hartford.” Josh used a meeting style that most businesses eschewed. All departments reported in and then they would round table ideas to figure out where their efforts were best placed. It was a bit anarchistic sometimes, but with Mayah’s life on the line, they were at least all focused on solutions instead of their project budgets.
“Doctor Grant, would you like to fill us in on the rest?” Bannon asked.
Doctor Grant stood and waited until all eyes were on him. “As Hartford said, if we remove Mayah from the pod, we would see at least cardiac arrest. At the most,” his head tilted to the side in thought, “we could see high level grand mal seizures with untold damage factors. Her blood pressure would skyrocket in the 15 seconds it would take to remove her from the pod. Her heart rate would jump from 60 up to 300 beats per minute. With the muscles of the heart pumping like that against each other, we run the risk of myocardial rupture, valve prolapse and an extreme arrhythmia resulting in myocardial infarction. The results could be devastating and honestly, we’re not sure how any of this will play out.