Apocalypse Redux

Chapter 244: Modern Education

“Welcome to Combat [Skills] 101,” Isaac announced, standing in front of a lecture hall’s blackboard for the first time ever.

Behind him, a kabar with a crayon duct-taped to its end drew on the blackboard under his telekinetic control.

In theory, any and all university faculties had to put in a certain number of teaching hours, as had staff of a certain academic rank.

Yet here he was, teaching. And not because someone had had a family emergency, not because there had been any other kind of sudden lack of personnel.

His reason for being here was simple, basic, raw. Spite. Sheer, unadulterated, spite.

Quite a few people had gotten on his case about wanting him to teach them, their subordinates, their children, or in one particularly memorable case, a tinpot dictator had actually thought there’d been a chance he’d be able to convince Isaac to train the man’s private security force. That guy’s dirty laundry would be out on the web in a few months when the data leak would be less likely to be linked to him pissing off Isaac.

But eventually, the sheer number of calls, emails, and other requests had reached a tipping point and Isaac had decided to demonstrate that he could, in fact, teach people quite effectively, but only if he chose to.

Besides, this class was normally taught by a Bundeswehr Drill Sergeant who’d been voluntold for the position by a General looking to curry favor and was therefore quite happy to not be dealing with colleague kids for a little bit.

“So, up until now, this class has been all about gaining knowledge about weaponry throughout history, and how many ancient weapons have become relevant again due to how the [System] has changed things.

“Now, I don’t know what you are planning on doing with your degree, what fields you’re planning on going into, but if it is even remotely related to the [System], such as a company involved in monster material harvesting, you’re going to need that knowledge.

“However, in this lesson, I’m going to focus on something else. How do weapon [Skills] work? How is general combat, without active [Skills], reflected on your character sheet?”

Isaac paused a few seconds, gaze raking across the rows upon rows of students up above. He didn’t have to look at anyone to see them, but that didn’t stop the students from talking with each other as they couldn’t tell he was looking at them.

Wherever he looked, conversation died in an instant. While many of them had doubtlessly seen him about campus, he wasn’t exactly the most approachable of people, especially with how many lobbyists he’d verbally torn to shreds once they got on his nerves. As far as the students were concerned, he was the lecturer they least wanted to mess with.

He then went in-depth on how the “weapons [Skills]” covered more than just weapon usage, also improving general combat when one’s weapon of choice was in play and automatically compensated for all the craziness that came from people with superhuman capabilities fighting.

“Now, for this next part, I won’t be taking questions until the very end.”

A second kabar appeared over his hand, hovering there, tip down.

“This is a kabar, first used by the United States Marine Corps during World War 2. It’s a simple design, useable for a wide variety of fighting styles, and it won’t break when used as a tool, be it woodworking, cutting wire, or opening cans of food. It’s widely acknowledged to be an incredibly useful and versatile piece of gear and continues to be so to this day.”

The knife flew up to hover above his head as his Kriegsmesser manifested in front of him.

“And what we have here is a far older weapon, known as a Kriegsmesser, often used by soldiers of lower station. For them, it was the thing that stood between them and a grisly death, bleeding out on a blood-stained battlefield or dying in agony from an untreatable infection.”

Once again, the weapon began to float above his head, while his Zweihänder appeared in front of him.

“Centuries later, this was the weapon used by knights and other heavily armored fighters who needed to focus less on defense. It has reach, but several creative anti-armor techniques can be performed with it. For example, the Mordhau involves flipping the weapon over, holding it by the blade while using the weapon like a warhammer.

“But these are just the swords that I personally use, there are countless more.”

Dozens of weapons spilled from his spatial storage and floated into the air, slowly orbiting above his head. He’d borrowed most of Stagmer’s stock for this display, but it had been so worth it.

“Each of these blades has a purpose, one which its design follows.

“For example, this is an executioner’s sword, which doesn’t grow slimmer as it gets further from the pommel, making it extremely top-heavy. Counter-productive in a fight, but extremely useful when you’re trying to put as much power as possible into a single, downward-oriented, decapitating strike.

“On the other hand, this is a gladius, the typical weapon of a Roman legionary. A short stabbing weapon, designed to be used alongside the giant shields wielded by the legions, while being fairly easy to produce.”

The next thing to float down to hover in front of his face was a strange, club-like, weapon, that looked like a flattened baseball bat with obsidian shards, running around the circumference.

“And what we have here is called a Macuahuitl, an Aztec war club. Despite the name, however, it is yet another blade. Those black objects around the circumference are shards of obsidian, creating the edge. Incidentally, broken obsidian created some of the sharpest blades in existence, pre-[System], and despite how old this technology is, some surgeons would use obsidian scalpels during surgery.”

Then, the war club flew up to join the orbiting cloud of weapons.

“I could tell you about all of these weapons, explain their function, their history, the idea behind each specific design choice, but fundamentally, they are all the same.

“All throughout human history, countless people have lived and died based on these well-honed pieces of metal, stone, and countless other materials. It doesn’t matter what a blade’s shape is, how big it is, or even what it’s made of.

“If it’s a blade and it’s in the right hands, it can be the difference between victory and defeat, life and death, becoming a legend or fading into obscurity.

“That’s what the blade is to me, what it represents to me, and what it can become for everyone who spends time learning to get the most out of the [Skill] you should have acquired during my little speech.”

It had given Isaac no small amount of amusement to see how hard the students were struggling to keep quiet, to not start cheering as they realized they’d just gotten very useful, very foundational combat [Skill].

“But for each and every one of us, that [Skill] is going to mean something different. The official designation for my fighting style is Speed Demon, in my head, I call it ‘The Way of the Demented Pinball’, but my [Skill] is still called [Blades] because they are the weapons I hold in my hands while fighting. And as long as you don’t start branching out into all sorts of other weapons, yours will too, no matter how you fight.

“This [Skill] I have just taught you teaches you to fight with a blade, regardless of the specifics of your combat style. Now, we still have one hour left in today’s lesson, how about we head outside and see if we can find some of your styles?”

He stored all the weapons, led the group out to the training field, and ran them through some basic drills. Nothing crazy, nothing that would turn these kids into future powerhouses, but enough to make this the most productive single lesson they’d had this year.

In the back of his mind, though, he’d been preparing for something entirely different. And thankfully, he got a chance to pull the trigger on that.

Simply put, the information about how he’d been teaching a lesson had, of course, been put on social media within minutes. So the vultures had started showing up and he’d sent them packing with an expression like the butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth and the line “I’m sorry, dear Sir or Madam, but for insurance purposes, only registered students of this university may take part in lessons with any risk of bodily harm, no matter how minute said risk may be”.

And yes, he did actually say “Sir or Madam”, as though he were a customer service drone who didn’t give a flying fuck about treating the other person like, well, a person.

The lesson itself was plenty of fun to teach, and would hopefully make a difference in the students’ lives.

Simply put, the modern education system was a mess. It hadn’t been particularly well-run pre-[System], but with the addition of [Classes], things had really gone off the rails. Ideally, you’d have curriculums based around evolutionary paths, with teachers that could impart all the right knowledge-based [Skills] at the very minimum to maximize the students’ chance of getting the [Class] and Evolutions they wanted.

[System]-Sciences were better than most as that degree had been built from the ground up after the [System] had appeared, with the [System] in mind, but even that course was far from perfect.

Once the lesson was done, he headed back to his office while examining his gains from the lesson.

They were quite a bit higher than expected, but he could see what had happened here. He’d done a lot of teaching in the past, but it had always been either with his team or very brief instances of him just showing up, tossing a few [Skills] at his “students” and leaving. This was the first proper class he’d taught like this, and it showed how much of an impact he’d made.

[Lessons of History] had gone up by a single Level, as had [Absolute Blade Mastery], [Armory of Ancient Times] and [The Chosen Weapon]. Moreover, that Level in [The Chosen Weapon] had been enough to max out the [Skill].

The Chosen Weapon (epic, Level max)

There are many things that determine the power of a warrior. Training. Physical Prowess. Skill. Raw Talent.

But there is one more thing. A weapon. Having the right one to carry into battle can be the difference between life and death.

And that is what this Skill is all about. The user may choose a single weapon and make it soulbound. This weapon then becomes a part of them, inextricably and eternally bound together, able to be summoned at will, and will never harm its user.

As this Skill’s Level grows, new forms and abilities will be gained.

In addition, consecrating this weapon in the blood of legendary foes will grant it new strength and powers.

The chosen Weapon has its own mana pool to use its own Skills, separate from the user’s, drawing power from the environment. However, the user may also choose to divert their mana regeneration to refill this pool once their own is full. It starts out with a pool of 100, then increases by 10 with every Level the user has.

Based on the user’s Level in the Blade Skill, The Chosen Weapon (Old Reliable), gains a new ability for every Aspect the user holds.

This weapon may now absorb nine (four remaining) additional weapons to be used as an alternate form for The Chosen Weapon. Weapons may also be removed at a cost of 1,000 mana, once per year.

The Chosen Weapon will never cease being useful to its wielder, never stop growing despite the Skill being maxed out, sharpness and durability endlessly increasing as the user levels.

This was perhaps the single most boringly phrased reward for maxing out a [Skill] he’d ever gotten. But damn, was it significant. The total number of weapons he could slot into Old Reliable had grown to a total of nine, and if he found a better fit.

In addition, he could now not only summon each of Old Reliable’s composite weapons separately but also every single other version it had gained due to Aspects. The blade-type line of Aspects had already let him call upon duplicates of each weapon, but even that number had been highly limited.

Now though, he could summon fifty copies of every weapon. The original version of the blade plus nine versions created by Aspects made for a grand total of ten blades, a number that was then multiplied by 5 by his blade Aspect. More than he knew what to do with, really. In fact, those were enough weapons that the real limitations were how many blades he could keep track of at once, as well as how much mana levitating so many blades would cost.

And then, of course, there was the fact that he could now remove a weapon from Old Reliable, freeing up new slots as needed.

Isaac removed the Kriegsmesser from Old Reliable, causing the sword to manifest, permanently. It had started out as a well-made, pre-[System] weapon, and grown to surpass anything short of a blade of legend during the time that he’d wielded it, but its role had been filled by Balmung ever since he’d gotten the legendary weapon.

Eventually, he’d find someone to wield this weapon, though. It had served him well, and just because he’d found something better didn’t mean he’d toss his old sword out like a piece of trash. Maybe one of his sisters would pick up the sword. Hopefully, it would only be one, because if both of them became swordswomen and wanted the sword, then things would become … awkward. And, of course, he’d have to prepare something to give to the twin who didn’t get the sword, for the sake of making things even.

In fact, his sword had gained a [System]-screen of its own, something reserved for only objects of high significance.

Legacy (soul-bindable Kriegsmesser)

A weapon baptized in the crucible of combat over months and years, wielded against Wraiths and Hydras, monsters in human skin, and it has even brought low a Demon Lord, the first of its kind to walk the Earth in countless millennia.

Despite being separated from the soulbound weapon that grew alongside its wielder, Isaac Thoma, it has retained the enhanced properties it had during its time as a soulbound blade, and may even create a new soul bond with the next person to use it. It is one of the strongest weapons in the world, inferior only to the weapons originating in ancient myths and legends.

And now, it is awaiting its next wielder, someone to carry on the proud tradition established by the first person to bear this blade into battle.

As such, where its name once might have been a simple descriptor of its design, this sword has claimed the name “Legacy”.

Ok, that was … something. The blade’s name had changed in accordance with the intention he’d had when removing it from Old Reliable, which was surprising, but what really threw him for a loop was that this blade could even be bound to a new person.

Would all the weapons he removed be this powerful? Them retaining this kind of strength might even make it worth it to remove all his weapons and hand them out, though he didn’t want to give up the swords that had been by his side for so long.

But why had the Kriegsmesser, no, Legacy retained this much power, including the soul-binding ability? There hadn’t been anything about that in the [Skill] descrip- …

Isaac facepalmed, carefully moderating his strength to avoid blasting the papers on his desk all over the office. His maxed-out [Blades] [Skill] allowed all his bladed weapons to grow as he used them, an effect which stacked with how Old Reliable increased in strength, proportional to Isaac’s leveling. In all likelihood, empowering a given weapon across over a hundred Levels’ worth of combat would, in time, have given it the soul binding power.

Either way, he’d keep all of his other weapons where they were, as a part of Old Reliable, and find a good home for Legacy.

Now, he summoned another ancient weapon and merged it with Old Reliable. Mimung, the thrice-forged blade, finest work of Wayland the Smith. It looked more like a rapier than a sword, slender and deadly sharp. Sharper than Balmung even, but light enough that Isaac generally preferred the other blade.

But now that he could use both and replace either if something better came along … why not do it?

Overall Old Reliable had grown quite a bit.

Weapon: Old Reliable

Once merely an ordinary Ka-Bar, this weapon has been refined and strengthened by the Skills of a Rogue, bathed in the blood of countless powerful monsters, and finally claimed as The Chosen Weapon of an Undying Wraith, transcending its old purpose and limitations.

Ever-growing with its wielder, the Old Reliable will not only gain strength but entirely new powers as it is used in legendary battles and bathed in the blood of the enemies that fall in them.

Mana Pool: 1,176/1,480

Forms: Ka-Bar, Zweihänder, Balmung, Mimung, Giant Sword

Skills:

To Me: Calls Old Reliable back into the wielder’s hand in a straight line, costs 10 mana, at a range of a maximum of 10 meters.

Always Armed: Teleports Old Reliable into the wielder’s hand from anywhere in the universe. The minimum cost is 50 and scales with distance and interfering effects.

Eternity: Old Reliable is as eternal as its wielder. So long as he is alive, this weapon has the opportunity to be reborn. Doing so will require all of the materials used to build it in the first place, as well as 500 mana. This cost will have to be paid by an external source.

Shapeshift: Old Reliable can now shift between Forms at will, every shift costing 1 mana.

Duplicate: This Skill calls out as many of Old Reliable’s forms, Aspect-Infused versions, or otherwise different types, as the user wants, having them exist simultaneously until it ends. This costs 10 mana to activate and 1 mana per minute for every manifested weapon.

Aspect Infusion: This gives Old Reliable a variation on each form based on the user’s Aspects (Greater Hydra: Venomsteel, Megalodon: Boneblade, Poltergeist: Astral Dagger, Fata Morgana: Invisible Blade, Blade Tempest: Quintuple Threat, Lindwyrm: Corrosive Saber, Least Demon Lord: Hellblade, Space Elemental: Space Cutter, Lich: Cursed Blade, Death Knight: Giant Cleaver). This costs 15 mana each time a new Aspect is infused, and 10 mana per minute of keeping it active. Only one Aspect can be active at a time.

Lindwyrm’s Bite: The blade begins to drip vile liquid, melting anything and everything it touches, save the user and the user’s equipment. This costs 100 points of mana to activate, cost 1 point of mana per second to sustain, and will continue until deactivated.

Water Cutter: This blade is no longer slowed by liquids, nor is its wielder’s sword arm slowed by being underwater.

Blade of Crimson Calamity: This blade will fully regenerate damage (including restoring broken blades) whenever bathed in the blood of a suitably powerful enemy (Current requirement: min. Level: 135, min. Power: Rare Class Human or Field Boss).

Sacrificial Crystal: Choose any form of this blade, manifest it, transform it into crystal, and detonate it in a burst of force and infinitely sharp shrapnel (cost: 100 mana, 1 Old Reliable form). This renders you unable to summon the sacrificed weapon until it is restored using Eternity or Blade of Crimson Calamity, but inflicts devastating damage upon the wielder’s enemies, especially if the blade is piercing their bodies at the time of detonation.

…

Every new [Raid Boss] he’d taken down had added a new ability to the sword, either active or passive, but most of them weren’t all that useful in the overall scheme of things. Small damage boosts, elemental damage that could be added, several different flames that were utterly superfluous now that Isaac had [Divine Fire], and the like.

The only things he continued to display were the functions he was planning on using. The ability to use the sword underwater, completely freely, gained from the Salmon of Wisdom, a powerful self-repair function, compliments of the Sanguine Monarch, Lindwyrm’s Bite from the monster of the same name.

And, of course, the power to detonate any given weapon into a burst of razor-sharp crystal, gained from the Crystalline Sage. The magic-wielding [Raid Boss] had been destroyed during the [Raid Boss] slaughter month on Etzel, but it had been shockingly easy thanks to an exploit discovered by the Bundeswehr’s [Combat Engineers]. They’d modified the ground in a way that let it be moved and shifted at the drop of a hat, shattering any runes the monster tried to draw within moments.

They’d gained access to another runic language, and Isaac’s sword had grown a little bit more useful, but all in all, that had been one hell of a boring day.

And, of course, the weapon’s mana pool had grown to ridiculous heights.

Compared to Old Reliable, the soulbound weapon he’d had in his other lifetime had been a piece of junk, even though it had been scaled to someone one Evolution and sixty Levels above where he currently was.

It had been another Kriegsmesser, one granted not by a [Skill] but simply a supremely well-made weapon that could be soulbound. Soulbound items had been rarer then, without the Events monsters to drop them and fewer master craftsmen, most of whom had largely lived in hiding.

The weapon hadn’t even had a name, merely being a soulbound Kriegsmesser that couldn’t be permanently destroyed, would always be sharp and durable enough to be of use to its wielder, and could be summoned back into its wielder’s hand in a process that took 3 seconds to complete.

Perfectly serviceable, all in all, but it was only a fraction as useful as Old Reliable.

The final upgrade was just decent.

Armory of Ancient Times (legendary, Level XX)

They had some good stuff back in the time of legends, didn’t they? Legendary swords, cloaks of invisibility, rings, and belts that granted the strength of ten men … all that good stuff. But we don’t have that stuff anymore, they were either lost to history or they never existed in the first place. But with this Skill, it doesn’t really matter which of those is true, because Hildebrand’s Heir is able to summon anything he wants, so long as Hildebrand once held it, such as his sword Balmung, once wielded by Siegfried.

You may summon multiple weapons (or objects) at a time, and doing so will reserve 100 points of your mana to maintain it unless you can find alternative ways of sustaining it for the first, with the cost doubling with every additional summon.

As you learn more about Hildebrand’s legend, you’ll learn more about what you can summon.

After having one of this Skill’s ancient weapons summoned nigh-permanently, it has evolved so that the user may also permanently summon a single object by paying 2,000 mana upfront. This object will remain without requiring upkeep until it is either broken or dismissed.

Currently available gear: Balmung, Nagelring, Eckesachs, Mimung, assorted mundane gear, Laurin’s Ring, Hildegrim …

Permanently summoning one weapon or object was decidedly average, as Isaac had any weapons he needed already added to Old Reliable. But it would make dropping over a weapon at Stagmer’s shop for the man to copy a hell of a lot easier.

Isaac put Legacy into his personal storage, checked the clock on the wall, and realized that he had enough time to pick up some food before the imminent meeting.