Next, it was Gideon’s turn. He took the Stalker talons, Harvester blade, raw ingredients and a set of combat gloves which Maddox supplied and got to work. As he’d seen thousands of times before on the feeds, the assembly process was remarkably intuitive. He simply allotted relevant amounts of each material into the virtual hopper located at the center of the screen, and the workstation did the rest.
Trying to game the system a little, he poured more ether into the task than was strictly required, based on an old thread he’d found years earlier which suggested that, at early levels of the Hunt, it was possible to cheese the System and boost luck levels by overwhelming the build with ether. He tried to access some of the Royal Ether he’d acquired and push that into the augment, but he couldn’t use the substance.
He poured three times the ether into the crafting process, knowing that, if he was wrong, the weapon he would end up with would have been three times as costly for no additional benefit. Light shimmered around the gloves as the workstation completed the build and, moments later, the gloves had transformed into two diamond-shaped, onyx-colored gems each about the size of his thumb.
“What the hell are they?” Red asked, leaning over to get a better look.
“Augment sigils,” Mia said. “I’ve seen them a few times before. They’re not common, but wardens and druids sometimes use them. Paladins too, I think.”
Gideon picked up one of the gems and examined it. The flattened diamond glinted with reflected light.
“You put them somewhere on your body and they burn a tattoo into the skin,” Gideon said. “It’s for weapons that bond with your echo so you can summon them as though they’re part of your body rather than something you hold onto.”
He turned to Bullseye who was sitting on a nearby table that Maddox had pulled closer so that the little turtle could get a better look at the action.
“I figured these would just be gloves or something that straps to my wrists.”
Bullseye nodded. “Obviously, the System determined that an augment sigil was the most effective means of providing you with the weapon you are seeking.”
Gideon turned the diamond-shaped disc over in his fingers. “But this is actually gonna change my echo, right? I mean, that’s the point with augment sigils. Instead of changing a weapon, they actually change the echo. That’s how druids can shape shift.”
The turtle nodded. “As I say, obviously the System thought that this was the most effective way to give you what you need.”
“What’s the big deal?” Red asked, leaning in close and squinting at the black diamond. “Just stick it on and let’s see what it does.”
“The big deal,” Mia said, frowning, “is that you’re not supposed to have access to augment sigils until much higher levels. They’re also typically limited to certain classes. I’ve never heard of a rogue or a tank using them. They actually change the way your echo works.”
Maddox grunted. “Like Bullseye said, the System thinks this is best, so this is what you get.”
Gideon took a breath and pressed the diamond disc against the inside of his left wrist. It glowed with soft blue light as he picked up the second disc and placed it on the inside of his right wrist. The moment they were both in place he felt a rush of power followed by a burning sensation in both arms.
He grunted in pain, gritting his teeth as the diamonds burned themselves into his flesh, snaking out and transforming into tattooed sigil marks that looked like a stylized blade with a diamond symbol at the base.
VOIDFANG TALONS (Rare)
These single-bladed weapons are reforged with an infusion of Harrow Wraith essence, amplifying their connection to shadow energy. The talons now hum with an eerie resonance, allowing their wielder to strike from impossible angles and phase between attacks.
Abilities:
Blade Flurry – Attacks leave a lingering wound that deals bleed damage over time.
Echo Strike – Each successful hit has a 30% chance (up from 20%) to trigger a phantom afterstrike for 60% damage (up from 50%).
Veil Piercer – Can bypass 35% of an enemy’s armor (up from 25%) if striking from stealth.
Rift Step – Upon landing a critical hit, the wielder instantly blinks 5 feet in a chosen direction, allowing for repositioning or an immediate follow-up attack.
“What the fuck dude?!” Red barked. “You got a rare?”
“Yeah,” Mia said, frowning as she read the details of the weapons. “How did you manage that?”
He shrugged. “Went with a hunch. I read that if you overdo the ether when you’re crafting at early levels you can sometimes boost your chances of increasing rarity. It’s a risk though. I just spent basically all of my ether on this one weapon. If it came back common, it would have been a waste.”
Mia nodded. “I didn’t have enough ether to begin with to even try that.”
“Okay, whatever,” Red blurted. “Now me!”
“Not yet,” Mia said. “I want to see his weapon first.”
Red sniggered but the others ignored him.
“Here goes,” Gideon said, triggering the blades with a single thought.
A single dark talon shot out from each hand, jutting from the top of his wrist and extending approximately two feet ahead. The blades resembled Stalker talons. They were midnight black, glossy, and curved slightly at the ends as they came to a sharp point. Each was an inch thick at the heaviest point and they felt incredibly strong and light. Whisps of shadow snaked up from each blade and Gideon could feel the etheric potential within each weapon.
He grinned as he turned to Mia.
“Pretty cool, huh?”
She nodded. “Does it hurt? When they shoot out like that?”
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Gideon shook his head, withdrawing the talons and then drawing them out again. “Doesn’t hurt a bit.”
“Okay, okay!” Red said excitedly, running to pick up a nearby piece of wood.
He lobbed it gently into the air and Gideon sliced through the wooden plank with both blades, neatly cutting through and leaving scorch marks where the talons had passed through the wood. Red was practically jumping as he picked up a length of steel and repeated the exercise.
Once more Gideon’s blades sliced through the steel like the proverbial hot knife through butter. Red reached for another piece of metal but Maddox intervened, shaking her head.
“That’s enough fun for now kids. We’ve still got two more augments to do, and the clock is ticking.” She motioned to Gideon. “Besides, cutting wood and steel isn’t a fair test. A block of wood can’t fight back, and it doesn’t have any of the natural resistances and abilities that your enemies will have. You need to test those weapons in the field to see what they can really do.”
Gideon withdrew his talons as Maddox turned back to Red.
“Okay, genius, lets get to your club.”
Red moved over to the workstation and got to work. Maddox helped him assemble the relevant components and perform the necessary arguments to transform his club. When it was done, Red hefted something that looked more like a Warhammer than a club. It boasted a thick head of onyx black, with a wicked point at one end and a blunt clubbing surface at the other. The maul also boasted studs running up and down its length.”
“It’s beautiful,” he said, spinning it around. “Feels great in the hands too.”
“It will generate significantly more force,” Maddox explained, “and you can either use the head to pulverize and enemy or cut through armor with the spike. The extra weight at the head will give it more momentum but it will take a little more effort to swing.”
She showed him how to project the weapon’s stats and they all watched as the information showed up on a display screen in the center of the room.
BLOODSPIRE MAUL (Uncommon)
A repurposed Bloodborn Blade, reforged into a brutal, maul that delivers crushing force with one end of the hammer’s head while retaining its bloodletting properties with the spiked section of the head.
Base Damage Type: Blunt + Bleed
Special Effects:
Hemorrhaging Strikes – Critical hits inflict a stacking bleed effect, dealing damage over time for 5 seconds.
Bonecrusher Impact – 25% chance on hit to stagger an enemy, reducing their movement speed for 3 seconds.
Sanguine Shockwave (Ether-Activated) – Slamming the ground releases a blood-tinged shockwave, staggering enemies in a small radius and applying weakened status (-10% defense for 6 seconds).
Maddox grinned. “That’s one hell of an impressive conk you’ve got there, champ.”
“Don’t encourage him,” Mia said. “Otherwise we’ll never hear the end of his impressive conk.”
A round of laughter ensued as Red tried out his augmented weapon. Maddox helped Bullseye up onto the workbench and together they started thinking through potential augments. Gideon joined the pair.
“Melee weapons are no use,” the AI said as he and Maddox ran through options. “Even range weapons are beyond me unless they can be augmented to my body.”
“What about a tattoo?” Gideon asked, showing the newly acquired ink on his right wrist. “You could get something on your shell?”
“Perhaps,” Bullseye agreed.
“How did you get the laser eyes?” Gideon asked. “Without a tattoo I mean? They’re part of you aren’t they?”
Maddox shook her head. “They’re a spell, part of a sorcerer class which was originally what we were going for. Seems the System has other ideas though. It’s recognized Bullseye as an AI tutor and adapted his setup accordingly.”
“I still have the Laser Snap spell,” Bullseye said, “as well as the others I have picked up, but I’m not sure that any more sorcery spells will be coming my way in the future.”
“Wait,” Maddox said, running a hand through her hair, “you’re a tutor, right?”
“Of course.”
“So, you’ll be able to gain spells and abilities that align with that goal. That’s how the System works, it matches new skills and spells to your class.”
The turtle nodded, though clearly had no idea what the Chief Technician was leading to.
“Think about it,” Maddox continued as Mia and Red walked over and joined the group. “Speed, strength, agility, tankiness. All those traits will help you survive and protect Gideon. They’re all beneficial because you can only be a tutor if both you and Gideon are still alive.”
“Correct,” Bullseye said. “But by that logic, any spell or ability could potentially be useful as they can all serve to preserve my life or Gideons.”
“Yeah, but if you take that logic a little further it leads to pet mechanics. Pets are always close to their masters, their skills complement the hunter, help them survive either through crowd control or tanking or damage.”
“I still don’t follow,” Bullseye said.
“Pokemon!” Gideon blurted, drawing all eyes in his direction.
“Exactly!” Maddox said, clapping her hands together.
Gideon turned to Bullseye. “Spells that enlarge the size of a pet for a temporary timeframe, increasing their physical properties, speed, strength, all that stuff. Hunters with smaller pets can use them to temporarily buff different pets for different fights. That’s where you get hunters that have like a dozen different pets at all times. They keep them in little cages around their belts or carry them in a backpack. Because they’re so small they don’t weigh that much and they can max them out with the Pokemon spell when they need them to fight.”
Bullseye rolled his eyes. “You’re referring to the Colossus spell class, not this Pokemon business. I am familiar with these kinds of spells, of course, but what makes you think that they would be suitable for a tutor?”
Maddox shrugged. “Basic protection of your hunter. Surely the System would interpret a spell like that to be necessary?”
“Again though, the same argument could be made for almost any spell or ability. I fail to see why the System would allow such a thing given my new class restrictions.”
“Well,” Maddox said with a broad grin, “it just did.”
She pointed to the workstation where a holographic display over the top of the bench was showing an augment sigil with the required ingredients to forge the item. Bullseye squinted as he looked up at the display.
“Curious,” he said, blinking. “I sense another four or five options that are now available to me, but you’re right. This is by far the most beneficial augment.”
“So, you’re gonna do it then?” Gideon asked.
“Yes. Yes, I think I shall.”
“Wait, wait, wait,” Red cautioned, holding up a hand. “This new spell or whatever is gonna make Butt Plug Bill here bigger?”
He couldn’t be sure, but Gideon thought he spied a grin on the turtle’s face as he turned to Red.
“Much bigger,” Bullseye hissed. “Stronger too, and faster.”
Red nodded, backing away a little as he considered the implications of that fact. Bullseye turned back to Maddox.
“Okay then, you may proceed.”
It took a few minutes for Maddox to assemble the required items, after which a single diamond augment sigil disc was produced which she placed on the top of Bullseye’s shell, close to his head. As with Gideon, the augment changed into a tattooed sigil showing the symbol of a turtle in profile growing larger.
“Here it is,” Maddox said, bringing up the spell specs.
JUGGERNAUT
Effect: The turtle expands to the size of a large attack dog for up to 2 minutes, reinforcing its shell and limbs with dense ether-forged plating. It becomes an unstoppable force, shrugging off damage and dealing powerful counterattacks.
Size Increase: Grows 3 to 6x larger for 120 seconds
Speed Increase: 300 to 500% increase in speed
Buffs:
Hardened Shell: Reduces incoming damage by 40%
Tectonic Bite: Bites apply Armor Shred, reducing enemy defense by 15% per hit (stacks up to 3 times)
Shell Shockwave: Every 20 seconds, the turtle slams the ground, sending out a shockwave that staggers enemies in a small radius
Cooldown: 180 seconds
“Try it out,” Mia said.
With Gideon’s help, Bullseye made it to the center of the room and triggered the ability. The air pressure in the room shifted momentarily as the turtle quadrupled in size. Not only was Bullseye bigger, but his shell glistened with a black armor coating that reminded Gideon of the Strider’s head.
There were also arrow shaped barbs at the front of Bullseye’s shell and a horn had grown from the top of his head. The turtle’s jaw was bigger, and the tip of his nose was a sharp beak that looked like it could carve through solid concrete.
“Stupendous!” Bullseye said, his voice a loud, growling baritone.
A knock at the door drew their attention and they turned to see Book standing in the doorway, eyes wide as he stared in at the shoulder-high turtle in the middle of the room.
“Ah, there has been a development. Commander Moynahan has asked to meet with you immediately.”
Bullseye shrunk back to his usual size, trotting over to Gideon and holding up one claw.
“If you’d be so kind, Gideon,” he said, waiting to be picked up.
Gideon held him in the palm of one hand as they prepared to leave. He turned back to Maddox as he reached the door.
“Thanks for all your help, Chief.”
She nodded, grinning. “My pleasure. Give ‘em hell.”