The Strongest Spellblade

”Primary engine stable.” At least the voice had quieted down. Several of the observing dwarves began clapping. I noticed a faint trail of yellow smoke coming out the back.

”Mana flow stable. Efficiency holds at 99.93%. Activating war mech core. Opening primary and secondary Mana channels.”

I did not know what the specifics meant, but it was interesting. I had some guesses, but I could ask later if they were important.

There was a large burst of Mana that came from the war mech. ”Efficiency has dropped to 72.22%. War mech core holding steady. Increasing Mana flow from 1.2 to 1.7.”

April continued to narrate the start of the war mech. After a couple of minutes, everything had been turned on and activated.

”Slow,” Harren said.

”It’s the first time, so they are probably being cautious,” I replied.

”The Mana loss is concerning,” Stormy said.

”Soul Link complete. War mech has a status. Repeat war mech has a status,” April said twice to the cheers of the dwarves and the nods of several professors watching from another location.

After that, the machine moved around, going off the platform onto the ground. Despite the lift engine, it was slow. The ground shook slightly with each step. Targets had been set up at varying distances.

”Test one. Rapid Lightning Cannon. RLC first round testing,” April said through speakers as the war mech took a weapon from its right hip. It was cylindrical-shaped and fit in its massive hand.

There were several flashes and cracks as the weapon was fired.

”What do you think, Stormy?” I asked our team caster specialized in offensive magic.

”Comparable to a Tier 3 Lightning Beam at almost a maximized level,” she replied.

”That strong?”

”Yes. That strong.”

The second weapon came from the other hip. The High Impact Cannon, or HIC as they called it, was used for the test. It fired a solid projectile using some sort of application of force and spatial bending. The impact was massive and sent a huge plume of dirt and debris into the air.

”Loud, no stealth at all,” Harren said.

”With that size, yeah, it will not be stealthy. But its weapons aren’t friendly in a team.”

”Just being near that blast would be terrifying. Like an archer who suddenly became a legend with a powerful skill but none of the aiming experience,” Harren said.

The last weapon was a massive metal mace. The war mech began moving about and swinging it.

”What do you think?” Harren asked me.

”It isn’t completely amateurish. A high tier 1 skill from April at best. It is over-swinging and the feet are out of position after some swings.”

”The ground could just be shifting,” Stormy suggested.

”Even if it is, a high enough weapon skill would allow you to compensate for such things. Harren has probably done some axe training on moving platforms for a breakthrough.”

The next test was the Aura Shock System, or ASS. I thought it was a crude acronym, but that was what had been chosen. Lightning ran along the outside of the war mech and its weapon. A useful way to attack anything that had gotten in close.

”Yes, I have, and Justin is correct. Now that he pointed it out, it is obvious,” he replied.

April finished the last of the movement tests and the war mech turned it off.

”That was half an hour. Short. Hopefully she doesn’t need to refuel in that time,” I said as April exited the cockpit to clapping dwarves and Professors. We approached as well.

”There is still Mana moving through it,” Stormy said in surprise.

”Yep, it is a living war machine,” a nearby dwarf said with pride. ”The future of dwarven technology. Battle carriages can only go so far, but a living machine will fuel itself and gain skills.”

” April, how much fuel was left?” Harren asked.

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”Only around 9% of the total Mana fuel was used up,” she replied.

”So, five hours. Possibly three in heavy combat,” Harren said as April approached us. The professors and dwarves were looking closely at the war mech.

”We ran a lot of tests today, and the startup used more fuel. In time, that number will go down as the war mech levels up and produces its own Mana from its core,” April explained.

”It can gain skills?” I asked just to be sure.

”Yes. I have a Soul Bound skill with it right now. While it isn’t as strong as the one you have with Ozy, it will grow in time,” she said.

”And it can’t move or act on its own?” I asked.

”There are key Mana channels that link the core of the war mech to the frame. They must be manually opened and shut. Right now, only a single secondary channel is open to help the core fill up the war mech with its soul, but it is in hibernation without all the channels open.”

”Not subtle at all. The risk of hitting a teammate is not low,” Harren said.

”My aim was perfect,” April replied, and he shook his head. She didn’t get it.

”The dungeon is messy. Fights are messy. It is easy to make a mistake in your aiming. You need something less powerful,” he said.

”I agree. The RLC is a good mid-tier weapon, and the HIC is a good high-tier weapon. But you need something a step down. It is good against Champions, but against hordes of smaller enemies, you are wasting Mana with the RLC, and the HIC would be a joke,” I explained.

”It is clearly based on a tier 3 spell skill which is effective on yellow tier monsters, level 150 to level 200. You are only going to be seeing Champions at those levels. You need something weaker to handle lots of weaker enemies without going overboard,” Stormy added on.

Sam pointed out an enormous gap in the testing process. ”There should also be stealth tests done. I noticed you don’t have a stealth expert present. How good are the war mech’s sensory skills?”

”I will arrange for a weaker weapon and tests with a stealth specialist,” April said. She hesitated before continuing. ”So, I can come along?”

”I have no issues as long as you work on your aim and get a weaker weapon, but I am still concerned about the fuel,” Harren said.

”The same for me about the fuel and how long it can go for,” I said.

”It needs to be tested against elemental attacks and other damage. How much does it hold up against a spell barrage? While its armor looks tough, it is alive, so it should be able to get resistance skills,” Stormy said.

”As long as it is decent against a stealth specialist, I have no objections,” Sam said. He was the other questionable member of the team.

”Thank you; we are going to do great things,” April said with happiness. I nodded and looked back at the war mech.

”April, you need to name it,” one dwarf called out.

”The Indomitable. The war mech that will pioneer a new future with boldness and overwhelming firepower!” she declared. It had firepower, but one thing I didn’t mention was that even its strongest weapon, which was a threat to us, would only slow down a legend and do nothing against a supreme legend.

It was a marvel of engineering and a host of other skills, but ultimately it seemed like a waste of money in my mind. It would operate best between the 16th and 20th layer. Most likely being stationed in the Last Bastion for a long time since it would be too big of a hassle to bring it out of the dungeon.

Its lift engine was weak, far too weak for its weight. While I could see it getting down some passages with careful movement, getting back up would be much more difficult.

I said nothing about this.

While it might be rude to think that April could get stuck down in the dungeon, forced to choose between leaving it behind or staying with it by herself, I wasn’t about to drag it about. It was also obvious from a long distance.

The Indomitable would destroy any chance of stealth or of observing a chamber before entering combat. This would greatly increase the risk that Harren and I would have to endure as front-liners on this team. I didn’t like the warmech.

There were too many minor issues, which made it like an oversized sword. Sure, you could deliver more powerful blows, but you would struggle to control it, and it would be a pain in the ass to carry around. That was the issue with the warmech. Powerful, but the associated problems it came with made it unwieldy and ill-suited for the task it was meant to complete.

Perhaps I could say something, but it wouldn’t change much. The issues with it were obvious, and April would say things that were nice to hear. The proof would come down in the dungeon, and I would protect myself from any dangerous situations.

It was impressive, but the question was one of practicality, like with the flying College. It was nice and saved it from destruction, but now it was of questionable use.

Deviating from the core purpose would cause issues. The war mech acted as a powerful growth weapon for an adventurer. But all I saw were things that would be mocked in any regular adventurer.

Armor too thick. Too much weight. Hard to move. Massively oversized. Inappropriate weapons. Lack of useful support skills.

I almost thought the project failed if they hadn’t invested so much in the materials to build the thing. Well, today’s test was over, and I began walking back towards the College.

Harren joined me. ”Your actual thoughts?”

For a brawler, he was quite astute. ”If you saw an adventurer like that, what would you think?”

”They were nobles with some outlandish ideas,” he replied.

”Exactly. It doesn’t fulfill the crucial role of being good at dungeon combat. They made something amazing, but they overlooked its key purpose. I am guessing they can’t make it smaller or lighter, but there are other issues that just add up. The armor, weapons, sensory skills are just the start.”

”You could have rejected April,” he replied.

”Stormy is invested in the project. Her family likely contributed knowledge to the core of the war mech.” It likely wasn’t the Dark Cabal. While they were a threat, they weren’t hiding under every bush. ”That kind of magic isn’t simple and requires a legacy, a legacy the elves would have.”

”A true partnership between elf and dwarf?” Harren asked.

”An initial test. The elves would control the war mech core production while the dwarves control the production of the actual warmechs themselves. There were two Elven Professors observing who are in completely different fields, but are related to Stormy,” I explained.

”I missed that,” Harren said with a frown.

”My knowledge of Elven culture is paying off, but it isn’t a huge deal. Also, Sam has feelings for Stormy.”

”I got that, with how he looks at her. Looks like we are the only sane ones on this descent.”

”Stormy is capable as well, but her two minions are much more questionable.”

Harren nodded. If there was an issue with the team, I wanted to be on the side with the other frontliner.