They walked down the stairs of the academy headquarters, passing other teachers, nodding and greeting them as they talked.
“I don’t see the need to adjust much else on the academic side. How are you going to start having people applying their craft, though?”
“Contracts. The military will pave the way. Every year around the time of the crafting competition held internally by the academies, people can show off their skills in a timed event and show us what they can build. It creates a competitive platform for the greatest technologies. The academy and Alva propose what will be the technology focus in the events, and people build all year to create those things that people require.”
“Okay, but there are some people who are better at creating complex equipment that will take longer and be much better than the items created in a few hours or days.” Jia Feng nodded. “Though that creates one item. People will not do it all the time if they have one opportunity.”
They exited the main teacher’s building and walked across the grounds. Jia Feng’s brisk pace went against her short stature, and people made room for them both.
“Government contracts. We need something in the military. We create contracts for people to build items; they can get low-rate loans to support their efforts. The best item is picked from what is supplied. People looking to create their own items for a perceived need will present a plan to the bank. Based on the perceived viability of it, they can get loans,” Rugrat said.
“How will the bankers assess the plans? Will they have crafters on staff to check the plans and see if they are viable, not only in terms of profit and loss and return on investment but make sense? Will people need to provide a blueprint of their technology? What is this patent you are asking about?”
“Uh, well, the blueprint and the hiring of crafters for the proof of concept, uh, I didn’t think of that,” Rugrat said.
“Bankers deal with money, not crafting. Might need to have people on staff to assess plans—or patents, as you called them”
Rugrat explained patents. She had questions about different kinds of patents, how they would work if a company paid for people to develop an idea, if someone developed it themselves, changing people’s access to the patents, and how payouts would be split to the different crafters on different projects.
“What about the workshops? Will they be working in our workshops or others?” Jia Feng asked, turning around at the entrance to her classroom.
“They would be able to rent them from the school, but I am hoping that we can create more independent crafting workshops. People can work there for a fee. If people want to, they can buy their own land and create an office or a crafting workshop,” Rugrat said.
Jia Feng held her chin and bit her lip, silently collecting her thoughts. “I think it is a great idea and will develop the crafters from Alva even further. I think that you are underestimating the ability of the traders, though. If they sense money can be made, they will be the first people to start employing more crafters to work together. They hire out crafters who are looking for jobs to help them out. There are crafting workshops in Alva already that are owned by the academy. Talk to Elise and the treasury—Matt as well as Taran. Taran set up the factories with Matt for the military. Elise’s Trader’s Guild is hiring out crafters who are done with school. And the treasury will need to put in strategies to encourage more people to work together on projects that will create powerful gear but won’t increase one’s skill level.
“There are some brilliant crafters who aren’t well-suited for academics; they have gone out to learn in the world. There are crafters who dabble in other crafts. Some of them have probably thought about mixing their crafts together, but there are no clear benefits to them. There are people trying to become Experts, and there are those who know they will not be able to get higher than Apprentice or Journeyman unless they have a fortunate circumstance. These are the people who will become the backbone of your plans, become inventors and factory creators. People have families who they need to support; they need money to increase their cultivation and provide for others.”
“Okay.” Rugrat felt as though he had been dunked in cold water. He had rushed ahead, missed key steps, and forgot people to talk to.
“It will be slow to start, but with time, it will increase. It takes one to start everything.” Jia Feng smiled and patted Rugrat’s bicep—she was too short to reach his shoulder.
“Thank you,” Rugrat said, calmed by her words. He grinned.
She nodded and squeezed his arm as she turned to head into the classroom.
“Needs someone to start it all. I don’t know everything. Gonna need some of the heads of departments to help. Then involve the students to help with researching and building the factory. Wouldn’t that be the best example of applied science?”
Jia Feng checked behind to Rugrat. He shivered as sparks and fires burned in his eyes; his mouth turned into a determined grin. His hands moved as if grasping the handle of a hammer.
“Thank you, Miss Jia Feng. I have work to do!” Rugrat turned around. People pushed to either side as each of his strides created waves of mana and air that brushed through people’s hair as if an unstoppable train had passed them.
13
Congregation of Experts
The flash of teleportation faded as Blaze and Jasper led the Adventurer’s Guild’s branch heads out of Alva’s totem.
Their identities were verified by the soldiers before they passed the walls. Blaze led them across the city that had grown once again, leading them to the military district. It was filled with factories that mass-produced the gear for the Alva army. They were checked again and given a group of guards to watch over them and escort them to a private field.
Stephan glanced at the academy tower in the distance, wishing to get some time among the books there and talk to Tanya about what he had learned about pure magic.
He looked over at the squat factory buildings, unimpressed. The guards who were watching his group were wearing Journeyman armor. Not one piece of Expert-level gear among them. They had their rifles, but how could that be compared to the power of magic? They were just inert tools.
He didn’t try to find out their levels or cultivation. It was rude to pry, and he felt it would be worthless. In the fights at the Battle Arena, the soldiers had reacted quickly, but they were buffed by being in the city and able to increase their Strength retroactively. In Stephen’s eyes, they were too reliant on gear that could fail.
He looked down on them and their abilities. Fighting together as a party made sense, but their squads—how did they get anything done? And they lost all the benefits, dividing loot up so much.
They were led to a private testing area.
There were nine people talking to one another, six men and three women crafters by their clothes. They all seemed to know one another well. Eight hardened-looking men and women who wore Alva Army uniforms—their shoulder patches denoting them as officers—created their own group, glancing at the group of nine. Behind them, two army squads milled around, wearing their complete body armor, minus their helmets.
Stephan surveyed it all, his face expressionless. He rubbed his storage ring, eager to pull out a book and read instead of dealing with this waste of time.
The Alvans stopped their talking and looked over to the approaching Adventurer Guild party.
“Lords!” Blaze and Jasper called out, snapping their feet together. Their arms went to their sides, and they bent to a full ninety degrees, bowing to two rough-looking men who sported beards and worn clothes with the group of military leaders.
The two men seemed simple, but Stephan’s pupils constricted; a coldness in his stomach raced up his spine. It was as if he were facing two wolves with nothing but his fists. Before them, he felt powerless. The other branch heads also seemed struck by the force around the two men.
Blaze cleared his throat, the noise like a bolt of thunder next to their ears. They all bowed deeply. Even Derrick was pale
-faced and showed signs of a cold sweat.
“Blaze, Jasper, seems that you’ve raised some good fighters,” one of the men said.
“Their performances at the Battle Arena were impressive, I heard,” said the other.
Blaze and Jasper rose, and the rest of the branch heads did the same.
The four men hugged one another while those in the nine-person group greeted Blaze and Jasper easily. It was clear they were all good friends.
Stephan felt that he was on unsteady ground. He used his sensing spells, and light sparked deep in his eyes as he looked around. His body shuddered.
This mana density. He knew Blaze and Jasper were powerful, but He couldn’t see through their levels or skin. Just how advanced is their Body Cultivation?
Stephan quietly moved beside Kim Cheol. He had undergone the greatest Body Cultivation, reaching the impossible height of Body Like Iron. None of them had believed they would get so strong without a sect’s support.
“Cheol, how powerful are they?” Stephan asked quietly.
“Their Body Cultivation is higher than mine,” Cheol said.
“They have bodies at the peak of Body Like Iron?”
“Close. I can barely sense Rugrat’s mana. Erik’s is on the same level as yours. I can’t—” Cheol stuttered as Erik looked over and then went back to his conversation. Cheol’s voice was hoarse and strained. “His Body Cultivation is at least a stage higher than mine, maybe two. He’s like a beast in human skin.”
Stephan shuddered.
“What did you find?” Emilia asked. The branch heads grouped together, staring at Stephan, whose eyes were shaking.
“Dual cultivators, of body and mana. Past core formation, and both have above Body Like Iron. I can’t tell their levels,” Stephan said.
“Seems that you haven’t spent much time with the soldiers,” Derrick said in a low voice. “We are relatively powerful. The best in our respective cities, and we ranked highly in the Battle Arenas. I was here a month back for training. I sparred with the soldiers every time. When I had started, I was stronger than them, then we were on the same level, then I was suppressed, and then I couldn’t even stand up to ten moves. That was in the last six months.”
“You have been one of the fastest among us to increase your fighting ability,” Joan rebutted.
“When we started training, I could compete against their lieutenants in power. Guess what rank my power is equal to now?” Derrick asked with a wry smile. “I can barely hold my own against their youngest sergeants. Some corporals can even defeat me.”
“Corporals are one step up from the most basic privates,” Lin Lei said in a low voice.
“You all know my combat strength. I’ll tell you this. It is not that I am too weak; it is that the soldiers are training demons in human skin. They are treated to special meals, powerful training, unlimited access to the academy, and anything else they want to learn. Their equipment is basic, but there are thousands of them, not just six, like us.”
“Don’t they rely on their weapons too much?” Stephan asked.
“Don’t I?” Derrick patted his blade.
“But theirs are complicated. We have all seen how complicated equipment is prone to failure and can break if not in the best conditions,” Stephan pressed.
“Well, looks like we’ll see how tough their gear is,” Emilia said grimly as the three groups were pulled together, and the two squads in the middle of the training area stopped talking and pulled on helmets that hid their faces.
Qin stepped out in front of everyone.
“Today, we will be demonstrating the power of the Conqueror’s Armor. It is a new version of armor that is based off the plate armor from before but has a greater integration of linked formations.”
Qin pulled out a front/back armor plate from her storage ring. She turned it over and showed them the formation lines. “This is a linking formation that connects the wearer’s armor to other linking formations. It is based off the stacking formations that Formation Master Julilah worked on and the socket technology currently employed on weapon systems.
“Now you might be wondering how this is useful. These linking formations also connect to the other formation sockets of the armor plates, such as your backplate and both side plates.
Some people started moving around, putting the pieces together.
“If you can link the effects of formations to one another, then you can effectively stack their effects. Say you have two sets of armor linked together, and each formation gives you a one percent increase to your agility. Backplate, side plates, that is a three percent difference for one person, but linked, that is a six percent increase to agility.”
She saw it sinking in.
“Now, how many are there in a squad, in a platoon, in a company, in a regiment?”
She had them now.
“Sergeant Bai, would you be able to take off your armor and hit the target with a bow?” Qin asked.
“Yes, ma’am.” Sergeant Bai pulled off his armor and his helmet, setting them to the side. He pulled out a simple bow and arrow, and he fired at the target. It was a special target that recorded damage.
1293
“Could you put on a linking medallion?” Qin asked.
The man pulled out a necklace and put it on. It lit up, and power covered his body. The buffing light disappeared, and he fired another arrow.
1706
Yui arched his eyebrow. It was a thirty percent increase of power. “With your armor, please?”
Bai Ping got into his armor and then fired his arrow.
2172
The target rang out again.
“Sergeant Bolton, would you and your squad activate your linking formations and go for a run, please?” Qin asked.
Sergeant Bolton and his people ran away from the target, reaching the other side of the training area five hundred meters away.
“Sergeant Bai?”
He fired another arrow.
3051
People talked to those beside them in low voices.
“Each of these sets of armor have been enhanced with Strength sockets at one percent. One squad of seventeen will give an overall boost of sixty-eight percent to one another. Two squads will have a boost of one hundred and thirty-six percent of one’s original output.” Qin’s word’s left silence in her wake.
“Okay, so how do you see this operating?” Rugrat asked.
“It uses small formations to create a network of buffs. The more people wearing this armor, the more buffs applied. The buffing formations are in your socket design, so they can be upgraded and changed according to the battle. This is just the first type, the Journeyman level one formation type. We are crafting it out now, but it is designed to be created by the mass-production factories.”
“A Journeyman-level set of gear—are you using it as a testbed to reach Expert?” Rugrat asked.
“Journeyman level is the best suited for this, as we can produce it faster and it is more stable. We know more about gear in that range. With the way the buffs stack, we don’t need to have Expert armor for all the different parts. Say you have a squad of sixteen, including the sergeant. If they all have a buff of just one percent Agility increase, then they would enjoy an overall buff of sixty-eight percent to each person. That is a way larger buff than you would get for a piece of Expert-level armor.
“If a whole company were linked together, three hundred and sixty-eight people, that means your Strength and Agility would be nearly fifteen times what it was originally. Expert armor would only help one person, but this, working together, the effect is much greater.”
“There is a limit though—range.” Taran stepped forward.
“The Journeyman-level armor has a range of about one hundred square meters, but if you make an Expert-level armor plate, it can reach one thousand meters. Instead of making all the plates Expert level, you create one backplate and give it to the leadership,” Taran said.
“It might be more effective
to seed them randomly. That way, if the leadership is taken out, they won’t lose the distance,” Glosil said. “How is the production time?”
“With the right factory refit, we can make three sets of regular armor for how long it would take to make this set of armor,” Taran said.
“How long to refit a squad?”
“We could refit them in two days once the new lines are operating,” Taran fired back.
“Can the formation sockets be changed?” Rugrat asked.
“Sergeant?” Taran waved Bai Ping forward. With a rip of Alvan rip-tape, a section opened, showing a formation socket in the shoulder; another ripping noise and a second socket formation on Bai Ping’s hips was revealed.
“We have worked with the tailors to alter the carriers, to increase the ease of access to the formation sockets. The sockets can be altered in seconds,” Qin said.
“What was the necklace?” Erik asked.
“The necklace is a backup. If the linking formation in the armor is broken, the necklace will still function. It can be worn around the neck or in another piece of clothing, even added to boots. It reduces the power to fifty percent. But even if you are without your armor or your armor is broken, it will function,” Qin said. “Also, Julilah has something else to add.”
Julilah stepped up. “The interlinking formation works not only on the armor but for the stacking formations.” Julilah pulled out a table and put down a large cylinder that had a series of shelves, a handle on one end, and runes that glowed with power.
She turned a handle at one end, and the cylinder clicked, unlocking the shelves. She pulled out small formations from within the shelves.
Pulling the handle, she drew out the mana stone power core at the center of the U-shaped formations.
“This is the stacking formation?” Yui asked.
“Yes. Combining separate formation plates, a formation that would be fifty meters long is transformed into ten formation plates.”
She pulled out a small pillar of larger formation plates and put down formations around the large pillar. “In these mana-gathering formations, you can dump mana stones to power a barrier as powerful as one of the secondary mana barrier towers in Vuzgal. The formation plates can be switched out, changing their function and ability.” Qin pulled out four plates and put in three new ones. “Now, it will buff anyone in range with the right medallion with increased spell effect of fifty percent.”
Sixth Realm Part 2: A litRPG Fantasy series (The Ten Realms Book 7) Page 14
