Mage Tank-Chapter 277: Active Forgery

“For you, or someone else?” Baltae asked.

“For myself,” I replied.

“Forgive me if I am mistaken, but is Fortitude not your highest attribute?”

“It is.”

“Healing skills that key off of Intelligence are typically spells. Why spend your mana to heal when you could spend stamina instead?” He gestured at the Elemental Barrier batting more Swifts out of the sky as Varrin rammed into them. “After all, you have need of your mana for other things.”

“Varrin suggested Second Wind to me a while ago, but the rate of exchange isn’t great, and the cooldown is too high.” I glanced at the text of the technique.

Second Wind

Physical

Cost: Variable stamina

Requirements: Physical Magic

Cooldown: 1 hour

You can spend any amount of stamina to heal for an amount of HP equal to five times the stamina spent.

Even with my doubled healing from Body of Asclepius, the one-to-ten exchange of stamina to health still wasn’t attractive enough when limited by such a high cooldown. My cooldown reduction would drop the time between uses to a little under forty minutes, but I hated to slot in another skill that was only useful once per fight. If it didn’t have any cooldown, it might be worth it.

Then again, I could always just reforge the skill so that it didn’t have such a hard-on for making its user wait before slurping down more of that health juice.

I already had experience futzing around with a skill’s cooldown with Explosion!+, so that wasn’t a big hurdle. I might also be able to improve the efficiency of Second Wind by having the skill key off of a determined value, such as my Fortitude, rather than a variable value like the amount of stamina I wanted to feed it.

Further, I’d discovered how to alter the governing attribute of a technique when I changed Charisma to Fortitude in my Shielding aura, significantly increasing the value of the Shielding it provided. The healing spell I’d been considering adding to my repertoire also used a specific attribute to determine its healing value, giving me multiple tools I could use to rework Second Wind. Specifically, Telekinetic Surgery used Intelligence plus Physical Magic skill level. That might let me loop in my magic skill on top of everything else.

Of course, altering the Intelligence designation on Telekinetic Surgery to Fortitude would be tough, since spells preferred mental stats, but I could get around that by converting it to a stamina-consuming technique in line with Baltae’s suggestion. I’d need to amend its targeting so that it could only apply to myself, and then altering Intelligence to Fortitude would keep pushing the skill in that direction.

I could probably bootstrap the stamina resource designation and self-targeting aspects of Second Wind, then slot in the modified portion of Telekinetic Surgery, which would key off of Fortitude and Physical Magic. I could dump the rest of Telekinetic Surgery’s framework, since it wouldn’t really apply anymore. That skill also helped mitigate Bleeding and Toxicity, and I didn’t really need that. I just wanted to heal big and heal often.

I could also force the skill to become an aura, but that would inflate its cost and reduce its efficiency, whereas I was trying to maximize the benefit I got from Body of Asclepius. That meant I wanted the most healing I could get for myself, and that ran counter to the philosophy of an aura. Trying to do that would also make the process of reforging a lot more complicated.

It was tempting to try and tack on Shielding, but since Shielding didn’t stack, having multiple sources was less appealing. I didn’t think it would be worth adding to the cost, especially when I could activate Aura of Persistence to give me 190 Shielding that regenerated over time. Beyond that, I had some upcoming evos in Shields and Heavy Armor that could probably improve my Shielding game. ŖáN𝖔𝔟ËⱾ

Grotto was already modeling the process as I thought through the problem. Together, we visualized how fragments from each skill would imprint onto my mana matrix and the adjustments needed to combine them into a functional whole. I was feeling ambitious, thinking that I could get the skill forging done in record time, despite dealing with two separate skills rather than one. I wanted to plop my ass down on top of this birdless bird plane and start work on it right away.

Instead, the System offered me the skill directly.

Rejuvenation

Physical

Cost: 10 stamina

Requirements: FOR 20, Physical Magic 20

Cooldown: 6 seconds

Instantly heal for an amount equal to your FOR plus your Physical Magic skill level.

“Damn. Why do I feel disappointed that I didn’t have to meditate on this for a few hours?”

[Likely because you realize this means your engineered solution was not as creative as you imagined. I pushed the framework we designed to the System, which accepted the skill into its database. It was similar enough to a branch of existing techniques that it considered our work to be ‘discovering’ one that already existed, although it did make slight alterations based on our work.]

“Maybe we should try this with more skills…”

[Perhaps. Convincing the System to allow me to browse its libraries without any particular goal in mind is costly.]

Moving on from the unexpected skill notification, I carefully looked over our sort-of creation. The base healing would currently be 104, which would double to 208 with Body of Asclepius. This took the efficiency up to nearly twenty-one health per one point of stamina spent, and that would keep going up as my Fortitude and skill level improved. Now we were cooking with dynamite.

The cooldown of six seconds dropped to around four with my reduction, which meant I could spam it pretty reliably, even in shorter engagements. The word “instantly” implied that I could activate the skill with a thought, so it wouldn’t interfere with everything else I was trying to do in combat. At Physical Magic 100, I’d be able to dump as much stamina as I wanted into the skill all at once since the cooldown and activation time would functionally be zero.

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With this skill, an enemy would need to penetrate my block and all my defenses, burn through nearly 200 Shielding, and then do more than 208 damage, or else I’d immediately pop back to full HP after they were done mauling me.

“Any concerns about this?” I thought to Grotto.

[Just take the damned skill. How long will your paranoid mind delay you from getting to a full load-out? You don’t even have all your passive slots filled yet. And when will you choose a twelfth intrinsic? I hope you are not holding out for this Colossal Weapons foolishness.]

I ignored the tirade, selectively accepted the Delve Core’s wisdom, and added the technique to my final active skill slot.

I came back to the world with Xim waving a hand in front of my face.

“Did you break?” she asked.

I blinked and looked around, realizing that while one instance of focus had been maintaining Elemental Barrier, the second had gone on a deep dive into a simulated soul space with Grotto to work on my new skill. That left zero Arlos to monitor my surroundings, and I’d missed the remainder of our avian genocide.

I gave Xim a thumbs-up. “I’m good. Just messing around with my skills. If you guys are done, let’s go back down and check in with Tavio.”

After a quick look to ensure everyone was ready, I went ahead and used Shortcut to take us back into the cabin below. Except for Varrin, who would continue being the only reliable bird in the sky, while also accounting for 50% of the living bird population within a few miles of us. The Littan hammerhead had escaped our wrath for now.

I decided to leave Elemental Barrier running for the moment, since it was a pretty effective deterrent against anything that might want to get close to us. I could always drop it later if I needed my sub-mind for something else.

Once we were back down below, Guar came over to slap me on the shoulder as I peeled off my helm. “My friend,” he said. “Did you really get lost in thought while we were surrounded by hundreds of flying monsters?”

“I simply had faith in the skills of my allies,” I said with a smile.

“Ha!” barked Guar. “Baltae, it’s like I’m meeting your double.”

The mage stroked his chin while peering at my face. “Is my fur really that scruffy along the jawline?”

“Oh no,” said Etja. “Arlo’s beard is like our mascot. You can’t insult it.”

“I thought our mascot was Grotto,” said Xim.

“Nope,” said Etja, shaking her head sadly. “Ever since he lost his fluffy c’thon body, it isn’t the same.”

I ran my fingers through my glorious chin curtain. “It’s okay, Etja,” I said. “Even heroes are vulnerable to helmet hair. No matter how powerful they may be. Also, Grotto’s working on getting a fresh c’thon corpse from Her Silver Majesty’s collection.”

[Negotiations have already been successful in that regard.]

Tavio rapped a knuckle against the hull to get our attention. “Before we start discussing scented grooming oils and corpse-preservation techniques, I have news.”

“All right,” I said. “What’s the news?”

“The news is that we have no news,” Tavio replied. “Despite the efforts of your familiar, the slates in Krimsim cannot be reached. Grotto assures me that there is no problem on his end, which, if true, means that something is interfering with their operation or that they have been destroyed.”

“Slates are temperamental at the best of times,” said Baltae. “High mana concentrations are known to interrupt their function.”

A serious look passed between the Littans at that statement.

“Care to fill us in?” I asked.

Tavio thoughtfully tapped his knuckle against the hull again. “The defenses at Krimsim can elevate ambient mana levels,” he said. “It is carefully managed, but if they are being used aggressively, it may be enough to interfere with the slates.”

“Sounds like we’re going to need to get eyes on the problem to figure things out,” I said.

“Yes, it seems so,” said Tavio. “I suggest we remain battle-ready.” He turned to look at one of the markers displayed on the windshields. “We are about one hundred and eighty miles out from Krimsim. How fast can Lord Ravvenblaq take us there?”

I gave Varrin a second to consider and send me a psychic response. “He says it depends on whether this thing falls apart from wind resistance.”

“Closet-harness method,” Xim stage-whispered to me.

“I can use Consecration on the cabin,” said Captain Pio. “It will greatly increase its durability.”

“My Shield Wall can serve as a windbreak,” said Guar. “I can put two down in front to make a wedge.”

“I can also reinforce the structure with Telekinesis,” said Baltae. He glanced at Guar. “Have you practiced your mana-shaping? A wedge may not be the most ideal configuration. You can summon up to three walls, yes?”

“Right,” said Guar. “I can make them taller and I can make them longer.”

“That is not quite what I am thinking,” said Baltae. He took the beefy Littan by the shoulder and guided him away for a quick brush-up on some shaping methods.

“See?” I said to Xim. “They have their own solutions.” I ran the numbers and turned back to Tavio. “If we aren’t worried about this thing coming apart, we can be there in under ten minutes.”

“That sounds quite fast,” said Captain Pio.

“Madel’s faster!” came a voice from the rear of the plane. We all turned to see Cezil accepting a drink from one of the golems through my Closet portal. Madel was sitting in a flight seat just in front of the portal. I had no idea when the twins had returned.

“Sure, but she can’t carry this whole thing,” said Guar, gesturing around the cabin with his hammer. Baltae gently guided the man back to their mana-shaping task.

“She might be able to,” Cezil mumbled through a pastry she was shoving into her mouth. “Tactile Telekinesis makes her really strong.”

“Madel will support our approach,” said Tavio. “Fly ahead and scout.” The martial twin nodded and stood, then disappeared with a teleport. Cezil kept snacking. “Captain Pio, have your people buff the hells out of our vessel. Arlo, please have Lord Ravvenblaq take us up to speed. Any questions?”

Nuralie stepped forward. “What is the plan if the city is under attack?” she asked. “And will the response change based on the type of enemy attacking?”

“That is simple enough,” said Tavio as he began pulling his own equipment from inventory. “We kill whatever is attacking. Monsters, Delvers, demi-gods, it does not make much difference to me.” He turned to the pilot. “Lieutenant Augustin, see if you can contact the capital to give them a report.”

“Using our, uh, ally’s ‘assistance’, Major?” the pilot asked, sounding ill at the prospect.

“Consider it psychic resistance training, Lieutenant.”

“By your will, Major,” Augustin replied. He barely flinched when Grotto reconnected with him.

“That seems like it is too simple,” said Nuralie.

“We will evaluate the foe and select an appropriate strategy,” Tavio replied. “But I suspect that any strategy we come up with will revolve around killing whatever that foe may be.”

Captain Pio stepped in to assuage Nuralie’s concerns. “Major Tavio is an accomplished tactician, even if his demeanor implies otherwise. We will respond appropriately to whatever we discover.”

Tavio tightened a strap on his breastplate. “We will,” he said. “By slaying it.”

Nuralie looked to me for support, but I shrugged. “I mean, when you boil it down to basics, that’s our own strategy most of the time.”

“And it fucking works,” said Xim. “Usually.”

The cabin around us began to glow with radiant golden light as Pio laid down her Consecrate spell, then a chain of notifications hit me.

You are on Consecrated ground. You gain +40 DR All and deal an additional +40 Righteous damage with all attacks against hostile or profane entities!

Spirit Guide: Captain Pio has used an active skill to bestow a beneficial effect upon you. You gain 1 stack of Blessed!

Yara’s Reciprocity: Captain Pio has granted you a stack of Blessed. You both heal for 34 HP! Healing is doubled from Body of Asclepius. You heal for 68 HP!

Healer: Captain Pio has granted you healing. You gain 3 additional stacks of Blessed!

All of the effects triggered from one use of Consecrate, which was a skill that neither healed nor granted stacks of Blessed on its own. It took me up to a total of ten stacks of Blessed out of my maximum of twenty-six. Then all of our Divine wielders got on the Blessed train, and the stacks came rolling in.