While he was walking, he began contemplating what’d happened in the dreamscape. It’d been a strange experience from start to finish, with the highlight being the strange lifeform inside. He was unsure of what the function of such a place could be, or why it even existed. He could see it as some kind of “Fortress of Solitude” type of ability, but one had to remember that it was an ability from a weapon. Why it would exist on an implement of war was beyond Arthur’s ken. He knew that the Lifechained Knight was somehow connected to the sword, as he had one that was identical, but the reason for the dreamscapes’ existence still eluded him.
As Arthur looted another abandoned house for its food and supplies, he brought up his first new skill on a screen off to his side.
Miscellaneous Skills:
[Martial: Shield] Level–50
The existence of Miscellaneous Skills was unknown to Arthur, but had been explained to him by Gordeau via SPM, or System Private Message. They were skills anyone could learn, and the only skills that didn’t require mana, barring passives. People without classes could learn Miscellaneous Skills, and could even level them up, which was something normal skills couldn’t do. Miscellaneous Skills usually included cooking, cleaning, cosmetics and so on. It also included brewing of both mundane and arcane, and even things like ambidexterity and charisma. There was also a Miscellaneous Skill called “incantation”. Gordeau had informed him that they were long-term magical formations that ranged from shields for a city to a thousand year-old magic trap buried underground. Despite its sorcerous nature, the rule of Miscellaneous Skills requiring no mana endured.
Brewing of arcane nature was also under this umbrella, as it covered all magical consumables. This Miscellaneous Skill paired well with things like herbology and toxicology, which were both also Miscellaneous Skills. Brewing of the mundane nature, on the other hand, was for consumables of less magical variety. This one only counted for drinks, however, as cooking covered consumables you eat. There has been crossover between cooking and arcane brewing, but what held Arthur’s attention was the next school of Miscellaneous Skills.
The Martial genre of Miscellaneous Skills was both vast and varied. It covered every weapon one could think of, and more. It covered how skilled one was with their chosen implement, and how far they’d come to understand its underlying concepts. Unlike the other schools of Miscellaneous Skills, every single fighter had a finger in the pie of Martial Skills. Some had their fingers deeper than others, however, as there were individuals in the Macrocosm who strove to unlock every Martial Skill in existence. This was an endeavor that often led to power, but it would always be shallow power. An individual who focused on a single weapon was, on average, stronger than one who spread their focus across many different weapons. This would be true in most cases, but there were always stand-outs who would turn the theory on its head. This was also assuming that the person in question was mortal. Immortals worked by a different timetable, and would have the time to turn the jack-of-all strategy into a master-of-all strategy. It was expected of gods and god-adjacent beings to have mastered at least a large amount of different weapons to their near peak.
Level 50 in a Martial Skill was not extremely high, but for a universe still not out of The Quine, it was highly respectable. Having this level at this time would most likely mean that you’d already been practicing the weapon for at least 40-50 years. While Arthur didn’t know it yet, that was why having all of that knowledge forced into him was so painful. Forms, techniques, strategies and routines were shoved into his head all at once. Not only did he have the knowledge, but he also intimately knew how to use it. It was like his muscles suddenly had the muscle memory of an 80-year-old warrior whose main weapons included a shield. It’d escaped Arthur’s notice at first, but he’d soon realized the difference. He moved differently, shifted his shield on his arm differently, and even looked around differently. His eyes felt ready to not only look over an object covering half of his sight, but also to gather as much information as possible in seconds, in case he needed to lift it in front of his eyes. He felt more attentive than before, as though ready to block an attack at any moment. Where the Greatlance Adroit ability from Mercy’s Kiss gave Mira the knowledge of masters to master herself, Arthur was given the both the body and the knowledge of a master in a single moment. He was unsure of whether the new habits felt great or felt unnerving, like he was a stranger in his own skin.
After he finished gathering all the food and supplies in the current house he was in, he moved to the next. He felt bad about taking things that weren’t his, but felt it was necessary on multiple accounts. The people who owned the place previously might be dead already, and even if they weren’t, they were most certainly gone. Each house he entered looked like it hadn’t seen anyone there in a long time, with food gone long bad on tables and tasks left undone. He couldn’t leave perfectly good supplies because of his negative feelings on the matter. His Vault would keep food fresh for a longer time than any refrigerator, and such an advantage was something he simply couldn’t overlook. Looking to distract himself as he raided another freezer, he brought up the next skill he’d gotten.
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[Aegis Arts]: Attack an enemy with your shield using various methodology.
This one was long, so he broke it up into parts. At its core, it was a skill that gave form to the various methods one could use to attack with a shield. These were abilities not born of the System, but it added magic and mana to the mundanity. The first method was a normal shield bash.
Method 1: A wide swing of the shield to slam the enemy. Deals moderate to high blunt damage but results in a moderate cooldown.
It was as simple as it comes. Simple didn’t mean ineffective, however, as such an attack could open up an enemy to further assault. The second method seemed to not only be better for that, however, but was also more practical.
Method 2: A quick and short jab of the shield while keeping your guard up. Stuns the enemy for half a second. Short cooldown, but only usable when an enemy strikes your shield.
This one would allow Arthur to even stun his enemies, which would be a boon for his companions… if he ever got any. By himself, it wouldn’t do much but stall for time. By the sound of the description, it didn’t do any damage, so it would only work as an opening for allies, or a tool for stalling. He figured he could use it in case he was waiting for a skill to come off of cooldown or something, but couldn’t otherwise think of a use for it. The next method, however, would be useful when he was alone or otherwise.
Method 3: Shield tackle an enemy as an initiation. High chance to stagger the enemy. Deals moderate to high blunt damage but requires a running start.
This one just meant he would run into someone with his shield first. He did something like this against the sharktopus, but it wasn’t enhanced by a skill or mana, making it a mundane action. With this skill backing it, it would become much more formidable. Exiting the house he just looted, he moved on to the next method.
Method 4: Charge with your shield out front. High chance to stagger any enemy struck. You are much harder to stop during this attack. Deals high blunt damage but requires a running start.
This one sounded similar to the previous for sure, but there were several key differences. Firstly, the previous method assumed there was only one target, while this one was usable against a group of enemies. It implied it was usable on multiple enemies, making it a kind of “AOE” skill. He could run over multiple enemies like a runaway train, while the last method was about a heavy strike on a single one. Nothing said he couldn’t chain these methods either, and he planned to test just that when he had a chance. If he could, that would give the second method even more utility, especially if he could chain it with the final one.
Method 5: Swing at an enemy with the edge of your shield. Does greater or lesser bludgeoning damage depending on the spot struck.
This one was more nuanced than the previous. It was about striking specific areas with the edge of his shield, which he already had several ideas about. The muscle memory that wasn’t his told him he should aim for necks, joints in the knees, and shoulders or wrists to disarm or disable. This was, of course, assuming a humanoid opponent, but he bet that using this method on anything that could be considered a joint would be effective. It had an interesting range of usefulness, and if he could chain methodologies like he assumed, he could combo this with the second method to potentially battle-ending effect. If he ended up having to fight a human, he might have a way to force them into submission. If he blocked an attack, used method two to stun them, then used method five to disarm them, he might stop any bloodshed before it began. That alone gained Arthur’s appreciation as he stole a frozen spaetzle from the next house he raided.
As Arthur got closer to his old campus, he noticed that a huge fissure had opened up right next to it. These fissures were a common sight ever since the conquer, but seeing one barely miss his campus was disheartening. Gordeau had told him that monsters would come out of these fissures, and he wasn’t looking forward to meeting one. He consoled himself with the fact that it couldn’t be any worse than the abominations, but such comforts were hollow.
Monsters born of the System were a strange subject. It used them as generic mobs for the denizens to face as opponents, but how they were made was a grim prospect. Monsters were completely System made and were essentially dead flesh animated by System Dust. An abomination was, technically, a living creature, while monsters were not. They had no soul, and no conciousness beyond what was given by the System itself, although that was argued to be conciousness enough. It wasn’t unheard of for monsters to have egos and personalities, despite their faux nature. The System would twist the tissue of deceased beings into whatever shape it desired, creating the monstrosities that were only slightly better than their abominable kin. Said monsters were most often the enemy of the Systems users, but during The Quine, were offered as small armies to assist in Raids.
As Arthur looked over the scenery, he suddenly heard screeching cries behind him. Turning to look, he saw a pack of honest to goodness goblins, of all things. While he was surprised to see them, he wasted no time in preparing himself. He drew his new blade, and his shield slid down his arm into place. Something else Arthur had gotten from the influx of knowledge was a better way to hold his shield when idle. Assuming the straps on said article were accommodating enough, he could strap it tightly to his upper arm. This would free up his arm while providing protection for his shoulder and part of his neck, while allowing him to move his elbow. Unsurprisingly, a System enhanced shield was more than accommodating enough for this, and even made it easier by courtesy of automatically adjusting straps. As said straps slid down his plate armor and tightened accordingly, the three goblins erupted towards Arthur with reckless courage.