Chapter 603: The Runic Dreadnoughtus Armor. |
“The design of the helmet lowers my voice, makes it even deeper. Not intentionally. It’s thick. Even thicker than the helmets Earthshakers wear, since I could afford to make the armor damn near impossible to wear with the help of the mana engine.” Grimnir tapped his chest. “The idea came from Maagneil’s usage of our primarch as the mana core. The ‘Dragon Core,’ I call it, because the catalyst used for this uses dragon blood. Your share of the invention. Found a way to stabilize the mana cost, and that is to use two ‘hearts,’ just like your situation.”
The dwarven elite warrior order of the Earthshakers gained their name because their armor was unbearably heavy even by dwarven standards. Every step they took would shake the earth, while their thick plates would ward off any physical threats. Their runic pieces would conjure mana barriers and fill their bodies with power, allowing them to go against even the most talented mages.
According to my dwarven allies, the Earthshakers could be compared to human knights in terms of the prestige of the role. Sure, you had dwarven samurai, but that order was relatively new since it only came into being due to the Revolution Queen. The Earthshakers stood steadfast since the beginning of the first dwarven High King of the united dwarven holds of Ankor-Nazta.
And due to this prestigious nature, the equipment given to these warriors required capable bodies. Their runic armor did have runes to reduce the weight of the armor and increase the wearer’s stats, but you still had to have the stats and skills of a rank C adventurer to even fight in it. It was, in a way, a giant, metal sarcophagus that reduced breathing, vision, and maneuverability. The armor was made with specific skills in mind.
That general theme had always been how Grimnir designed his armor, since he had the SP shop to buy and upgrade his skills to become an Earthshaker, all but in name. That was the idea behind the “power armor” and “steam armor” he had been striving for all this time. To him, his equipment was his power spikes, in other words.
He didn’t have the special elemental circumstances like Tasianna or Vifi, nor a demonic being willing to help him like Ellaine. If Saori’s and my power came from our unique bloodline and mutation evolutions, then Grimnir’s strength wasn’t his stats or skills, but his crafting. His unique skills, granted to him as a Saint of Chihiro, only emphasized that even further.
“My blasthammer is responsible for most of my damage, but I figured, with how dragonkin have a barrier-type skill, I have to find a way to disable them like how Fargryneill can break through it with her dragon veins. You gained a blessing through me to usurp runic mana. I figured I could try something like that.” Grimnir then pulled up the cannon barrel strapped to his body, holding it with his left arm by the handle. “Bows and crossbows both gain power through the [Archery] skill, but guns and cannons do not. The reason why warhammer cannons can deal significant damage is through condensing mana and letting it explode. Your sister knows the principle behind it best, as she similarly uses neutral mana like the explosion of a mana bomb. No runes for this. Enchantments. Ones made to disable mana connection.”
Standing taller than me, Grimnir’s new suit of armor towered over me despite his being shorter. Although I had expected it to look pretty modern or sleek, the lack of ceramic armor and other types of metal in sci-fi settings made it so that the armor still looked pretty rough and tough. Instead of a heroic-looking knight, or the robotic, pristine armor of futuristic soldiers, Grimnir’s “power armor” made him look like a menacing steam golem.
The runic glyphs and glowing mana seams kept the armor from looking too steampunk, bringing it back to the manatech theme the dwarves had. With his blasthammer, that handcannon, and also a giant tower shield even larger than himself, Grimnir became a massive knight guardian to me. A warden of protection with a rhytilic “beard” that could chase people away through appearances alone.
“As I said, the Rule of Blood is non-negotiable. There is a limit to how many runes can be placed on an item. Technically, the different pieces of a full set of armor count as separate pieces, but once you put things together, the mana in those runes will start conflicting with each other. So, no, there aren’t a ton of runes on me. There is only a single one.” Grimnir pointed to his chest, making me look at the runic words smashed into the metal plate. “A Dhuinn rune. Because I’m planning on adding the rest once you get that leviathan blood you mother has been holding onto for a while.”
“Ah… my reward for beating Mom’s trial. Still waiting for it, I see?”
“Of course! How often do you get rank S monster blood? This is my chance, lass, so I will wait until I can turn this into my magnum opus. Besides, the main way this armor works isn’t through runes, but through two draconic catalysts I had Tasianna make with the leftover blood you gave me for my rune projects. Used some for the Dhuinn rune, but most of it went into the catalyst fueling this thing,” he said. “One heart dedicated to helping me move in this armor, and another for the fire and ice catalyst that creates the ‘steampunk’ design I used for my previous blasthammer version. Two ‘hearts’ and two catalysts for movement.”
“… That sounds incredibly expensive.”
“But it’s necessary, since my blessing forces me to use smithing, runesmithing, enchanting, and alchemy together to create my ‘best’ works.”
Core of the Mechanoid: A unique skill allowing the owner to imitate the absorption and expulsion of mana of a mana battery. Nullifies arcane corruption accumulation within the body of the user, and turns 50% of all magical damage into Mana. When mana is expended through the use of runes or manatech, increase their mana efficiency, stats, and skill effectiveness while close to the owner by 15%. Allows the owner to crystallize their mana into a temporary mana battery that applies this skill’s effect that lasts a Peolyncian day upon creation, but temporarily decreases the owner’s maximum Mana by 25% for a Peolyncian week. Upon re-usage, resets the timer for full recovery. Skill included: [Body of Earth] [Dwarven Magic Resistance] [Arcane Corruption Immunity] [Mana Control Lv. 10] [Mana Efficiency Lv. 10] [Mana Conduit Lv. 10] [Sage’s Wisdom Lv. 10]