Liam read the journal, finding that the earlier entries dealt with the life of a military man from a nation he’d never heard of before. He’d skipped ahead, hoping to find some reference to the Dungeon and perhaps some information on crafting. As he flipped to near the end, he scanned the text closely once more.

14th Huzaryan, 706.

The rebels against our Khan lead by the infidel Narin Taghay still adhere to the shamanistic falsehoods of Iblis. We proved to them both in debate and battle that they are wrong to continue their haram ways, but they are unrepentant.

Bahadur Khan has refused all parlay.

Taghays army has besieged Qom and we now turn to our duty. We shall defend the Mosques and holy places in the name of the Prophet and Allah.

It is unlikely we shall gain victory should his horde attack, but we must try.

We have sent word to Abu-Said Khan, but even if his Tumen’s’ arrive, Taghays horde is over five Tumen strong. One hundred and fifty thousand Kuffar rebels against our Khan, Allah and whatever troops we can muster.

Either way, we shall make the Kuffar pay a heavy price for their evil ways.

The writer was clearly privy to the significant events of his realm, but Liam did not know who these figures were, only that they were of his world. He’d heard of Iblis, another word for Satan used by the Moors. Liam had spent some time in the library, and had read all the Holy books, from the Bible to the Sahih Bukhari, which included the words attributed to the Prophet Muhammed.

This allowed Liam a measure of understanding, although he could only gain some of the deeper meanings behind the words if he deciphered their context.

23rd Huzaryan, 706.

An Imam has raised a Fatwa against the men of the city who refuse to bear arms alongside us, making it Haram to avoid battle. We now have an additional ten thousand men, but their equipment and training is lacking.

This evening, a small raiding party from the Kuffar almost opened the gate because of their ignorance.

We must be on our guard. From the walls, we can see Taghays army preparing to attack.

I fear tomorrow, but if I am to meet Allah, I do so with joy in my heart. For the Kuffar will martyr me, defending the lands of Islam from the infidel. All is the will of God, and I place my fate in His hands.

While this history seemed interesting, it was not what he sought. He skipped ahead for another few pages.

27th Huzaryan, 706.

Allahu Akbar! The angels have blown great horns and we–the faithful, guided by the Prophet–have been granted a magnificent gift. As was foretold, we have taken up arms and begun a Jihad against the infidels. Soon, the only words cried in faith will be to praise Allah and his Prophet.

Soon Islam shall be the only faith, and God shall reward us by sending the Prophet Isa! The red visions with golden words are a sign of God’s will, and we shall obey!

28th Huzaryan, 706

Taghay's men attacked the walls and our arrows beat them down into the ground. As we slew the wicked amongst our Mongol brothers, we glowed with a holy light, displaying to all the power of Allah. Better, our reinforcements arrived, reaping a terrible harvest amongst the lighter rebel troops. Bahadur Khan’s heavy cavalry destroying the enemies of God with sword and spear.

Liam re-read the page. This was not only a man of his world, but a man of his time! He quickly re-read the passages, hoping he’d find news of other lands and how they were adapting to the Tribulation, when he realised something.

This was written recently! Liam observed. I can’t have missed meeting the writer by more than a few days! 27th Huzaryan, must be the Eve of Pentecost!

The man could only have been here days before, but then why had the tower in such a ruined condition? Perhaps the system had something to do with the tower. He’d have to check when he finished the dungeon. It also seemed odd that the book was in such a poor and aged condition, but then Liam considered it had been within the dungeon for years. When he looked at the rags he’d arrived in, Liam wasn’t sure that any books other than those kept in the library would long survive.

Re-reading the passage once more, Liam was certain it could only have been a description of the sounding of the Horns of the Tribulation. As he read, Liam became more and more curious about what was transpiring in other parts of the world. The Muslims were long the enemy of Christianity, but Liam was growing less certain that hostilities would continue during the Tribulation. He needed to take this news to Lord Douglas as soon as he could.

Liam read on.

30 Huzaryan, 706.

An Imam has discovered how to use the system! Celebrations are spreading throughout the streets and men show great gain in their strength and intelligence. Truly, this shall be a golden age for the Ilkhanate! Taghays dogs have left with their tails between their legs, running for their brothers in Isfahan. Abu-Said Bahadur has commanded that we shall leave the city in the hands of its inhabitants to prepare for God’s Tribulation. We are leaving to confront Taghay and send him to Allah for judgement. He only has his heavy cavalry force left, so the battle should be short.

Liam read the page again but didn’t really understand what the Arab was talking about. He had heard of the Mongols, who–led by the Wrath of God–had punished the civilized world for its excess. It sounded like there was some kind of split in their nation. A religious conflict that was making them focus their armies on internal matters.

1 Tammuz, 706.

We have arrived too late to face Taghay. Isfahan is burning, and a new enemy has reared its hellish head against the Ilkhanate.

The legions of Shaitan are slaughtering their way across the land. Taghay has been slain, as was his entire remaining Tumen. A scout found the battleground and saw how the Shayateen had mutilated and violated the corpses of the Rebel force. Thirty thousand corpses of the heaviest cavalry the Khanate ever fielded are now half eaten and impaled corpses.

Bahadur Khan sent out scouts to investigate this unknown force. Only one man of a hundred scouts sent to the North has returned, raving about a gate through which the damned flow into our world. Shaitan has made his soldiers powerful, well-armed and knowledgeable of our ways.

The forces of Iblis have control of Isfahan, and now deface its walls with the corpses of the men and children of the town. No women are present, and those of us who have mothers and sisters in the city pray Allah granted them a merciful death.

The invasion of Shayateen into the territory of Isfahan has me concerned for my mother and father. I confirmed with a servant that they had left Isfahan before the arrival of the rebels, but to where, I do not know. I just hope they are far enough from the horde of damned souls to find a refuge.

This was strange. The writer spoke of this new enemy as though they were some kind of demon army. Liam wondered a moment if this may be the forces of the Arch-Demon Bragi and Merlin had spoken of. Either way, this news would need to be addressed by the King.

Liam only hoped there was some way to save him from his illness.

2 Tammuz, 706.

We engaged one of their armies, fighting them to a stalemate. The battle was joined and then over just as quickly! In four hours, over sixty thousand lay dead on the field.

They forced us to withdraw when another army of the Damned approached, this one with nearly twice the number of Shayateen. Some amongst our ranks argued we should face them in battle and continue to build our levels, even should we lose much of our force, but Abu-Said was against them.

I believe his decision is wise. The enemy seems to understand the tribulation system better than we do, and level as they fight. Even though we outnumbered them, we have lost nearly a quarter of our force, and our strongest warrior only gained seven levels. I saw one of theirs at level twenty-six.

Our greatest is only level Nineteen. We still don’t know how they are growing in power faster than we can, but we have lost some of our greatest warriors fighting these creatures. They screamed hate as they died.

We have retreated, seeking to defend the walls of Qom once more. The inhabitants have been hard at work and have built great ramparts for us to defend. Scouts report that the enemy horde has grown in size to nearly six hundred thousand. Bahadur has sent to his cousins to the other parts of the Mongol Empire with messages pleading for reinforcement. He has even sent to his hated cousin, the Khan of the Golden Horde.

Liam shuddered. From what he was reading, the armies of Hell were on the march. Worse was that an army of tens of thousands could not hope to stop them.

Their numbers were unimaginable to Liam. Three hundred thousand, and it wasn’t even their full force! He thought Scotland may only muster a hundredth of that number, and even then, most would be farmers or apprentices called to serve their lords.

Liam had never felt a panic like this before, and he had to take a moment to breathe. He couldn’t imagine how this man had felt at seeing the legions of Hell in person, although it sounded like the armies in his land were far larger.

Still, if Liam calculated the dates correctly, the enemy had raised itself to level twenty-six within a week of the Tribulation. That far exceeded even the Half-Orc war chief Liam had fought in Ferniegair. That monster had taken three people below level ten to slay, and Liam knew that if he were to face the Half-Orc now, he could slay it without effort.

Even so, it had taken Liam nearly four years to reach level thirty-two, and all of that was within a time-locked dungeon where the most adversity he’d faced beside the Cave-Troll was finding his supper. These prodigies had far surpassed Liam’s own levels in combat classes within a much shorter timeframe.

Worse, it sounded as though the invasion of Earth had begun. The description offered of the Shayateen was not dissimilar to how Bragi or Merlin had described the forces of Hell. Although Liam wasn’t sure how distant the lands of the Ilkhanate were from Scotland, he knew that the lands of the Muslims and Moors lay a long way from any Catholic lands.

He kept reading, hoping to discover more of this mysterious stranger's journey.

2 Tammuz, 706

Bahadur Khan sent me to investigate some strange rumblings coming from beneath the city. What I found there was a horror beyond imagining.

A Djinn has made its nest here.

My men are all dead, and I write this hoping that one day my words will be found. I cannot…

The writing stopped here and then continued further down the page.

It is a miracle from Allah! The Djinn ignored me as I had tried to do it no harm, and I could seize its binding. A lantern of intricate make. It begged me to release it, saying it would grant three wishes if I destroyed the artefact.

I forced the Djinn to make a contract with me, and we both glowed as the Tribulation System acknowledged it. Then I broke the lamp upon the ground.

I firstly hoped to see my family safely returned. Yet the Djinn had tricked me.

It opened a vision in the air, and I watched as my family was returned to Isfahan! They stood no chance, and I watched in terror as the waiting Shayateen brutally slaughtered my beloved ones. In a rage, I made my second wish. To see the Shayateen who murdered my family dead.

Four Shayateen dropped to the ground, dead in the vision. Each one who had wielded a blade against my beloved family. The Djinn had granted them a quick and merciful death, and now my vengeance could not be sated.

I could barely control my anger.

I had allowed the Djinn to slaughter my kin and wasted two wishes. I now knew that this Ifrit was playing with my words. Holding my tongue for some time, I began considering my options as the Djinn wheedled, cajoling me to make my choice.

Finally I did, demanding that I be granted the levels to surpass the greatest within the Shayateen horde.

The Ifrit laughed, and a vision appeared before me, telling me of a quest to gain knowledge of craft and magic.

I accepted, not knowing what fate would befall me.

The world span around me, but I dare not close my eyes lest the Djinn betray me once more. Instead of betrayal and death, I found myself transported to a strange land. I stood atop a cliff near a great waterfall. Green grass and hills surrounded me, and a small stone tower lay nearby. The surrounding lands were dark, as it was night, but the sun never rose. Visions appeared informing me of new classes available to me, and of a Time-Locked Dungeon.

Small workshops litter the area around the Tower, and an extensive library full of strange languages is at hand. As I have worked to decipher them, I find my speed of learning has increased, and now I can read the languages of the book and some infidels picture text of Egypt.

I pray each day to Allah to have mercy on the souls of my family and my people. I care not for myself any longer and have embraced the Jihad of the mind and body. Pledged as a Mujihadeen, I shall give my life to the Ummah and the truth of the Prophet and Allah.

Liam felt pity for this man, though he admired his fortitude. He’d had a much harder journey than Liam, having faced monsters far more numerous and deadly. He’d seen all his family die before his eyes and had come to this place because of devilish trickery.

There seemed to be many evils present in this new world, but despite it all, the man sought courage from his Faith. Despite their different faiths and values, Liam found he had a great respect for this man.

Liam’s thoughts turned to his own return. He had less than three months to complete the dungeon now. He realized he must look beyond reunions and awestruck friends to the consequences of what he’d learned.

Truly, this Tribulation would be terrible if Liam could not alert his people of the dire threat of the Legions of Hell. The Church must be quick to decide the System’s status in the Church’s Dogma.

First, he would need to take this journal to Lord Douglas and prove his identity. Then they could take the information to the King and Bishops. He knew the Lord’s men would not recognize him, so he prepared other means of gaining an audience. If he could not gain an audience with his lord through persuasion, he’d need to do so through subterfuge and stealth.

An idea for his Magismithing formed in his mind, and Liam jotted some notes down on a spare scrap of paper. Returning to his contemplation of the political situation, Liam realized that he also did not know how to get to Cardross. He assumed he would return to the same location the system had dragged him from, but if not, then he’d need to find his way home.

But perhaps that was an issue for later.

As he turned the page, he found that the Arabic writer had suffered the same apprehensions.

I have worked alone now for three months, taking on new classes and learning much of the System and myself. I am now an apprentice Runesmith and Alchemist. It seems I gained a second crafting class because of my main class: Sayf Allah.

Liam quickly translated this as “Sword of God”, an impressive sounding class.

All are skills I know will be of great use to my people and work to slay the Shayateen.

Runecrafting will enhance the damage done to foes and can be easily applied through Henna or inking the flesh. Alchemy can heal the most dire wounds, enhance our resistance and poison our foes. Besides whatever class the warriors of the Ummah gain, we shall defeat whatever Shaitan can muster.

I am also sure that these crafts will be much easier to spread to my people than the more difficult crafting of metal, wood or intricacy of design.

All I can do now is complete this tower and return to Qom.

Liam disagreed with the man’s assessment of Magismithing and Archimancy. As Liam had shown through his rapid attribute growth, the armour was far superior to simple concoctions or runes.

He just hoped he could bring what he’d learned back and that the guild masters would accept his journeyman classes.

If he ever attained them.

Liam skipped forward a few pages and discovered that the author had indeed escaped the Dungeon and had gained his journeyman classes.

While he didn’t describe the rewards, he listed some runes he’d discovered. Almost all of which Liam had never seen before.

Below is a list of the runes and their effects. I can see many uses for these, not only limited to inscribing upon flesh but also to improve weapons and armour. Already my strength is such that I have learned smithing in the hope I can craft stronger weapons. I fear that should I pick up my old blade, it would shatter with the first blow. By adding runes, I should be able to further strengthen my weapons and armour.

These runes are what I have discovered so far.

While the principles seem simple, it is not the rune that is difficult, but imbuing the rune with Magic that seems to evade me. It requires a full understanding of the action of each property.

At the very least, this small list here will provide the apprentices I train with a basic knowledge of the runes and an understanding of how to imbue them effectively.

A fact for which Liam was incredibly grateful. He’d so far only discovered a few runes related to his Magic. He found that they usually appeared to him slowly and with only great effort in trying to understand the properties he sought.

Having them so casually put to paper and with each showing a direct understanding of how to imbue it, Liam could rapidly improve his armour. If this alone wouldn’t allow him to attain Journeyman, perhaps it would get him close.

The next section of the text was a familiar issue for Liam.

My escape and the development of Rune-crafting and alchemy has allowed me to flourish, and I now appear as a mighty warrior of Allah, though my skin is marked like that of the Shayateen. While I know through the Hadith, the prophet placed a curse upon he who made and received a tattoo. I hope he may forgive this as Mahrukh rather than Haram as it is to be used against Shaitan and his evil works.

It seemed the man worried about how his reappearance would affect his welcome, and Liam worried the same thing. He’d grown nearly a foot in height, and now likely out-topped Lord Douglas by half a foot of height. More than that, his arms were probably as thick with muscle now as most men’s thighs.

When he returned, he doubted anyone would recognize him as the young page who’d disappeared. The less he did to change his physical appearance, the more likely it would be for his friends to recognize him and accept the changes.

Worse, the Church also had many proscriptions against magic and alterations to the body. But they had many more against magic. If he were to return as the giant he was now and covered in tattoos and glowing magical sigils, he’d likely be thought of as some demonic beast!

Liam had long ago stopped worrying about learning magic, however. He thought that if the Church decided that magic was a forbidden art, he could simply stop using it. If the worst were to happen, he could likely avoid too much trouble by making a public repentance. He knew, though, that depending on the tribunal, penance may be worse.

If he appeared in front of a priest covered with mystical tattoos and runic markings? Repentance would be a much more painful and drawn-out process.

He decided it was best to be careful of his outward appearance. At least until he could discover how the Pope and his Cardinals dealt with these matters. Given the changes he’d been through, perhaps even those he thought of as friends may doubt his return.

The last few pages of the book dealt with the man’s last days. It was clear that he’d achieved something great, for his words now seemed joyous and content, but a clear vein of worry ran through them too.

He had no way back!

I have discovered that the caverns below lead to a waterfall and have explored the lands below the cliffs.

The animals here are nearly at my level, and I have had to flee from combat several times. I found some large human footprints around the caves too, and I hope that whoever they belong to may know how to escape this land.

I wait in the caves below, hoping that they will return. Should they prove enemies, I am now confident in my ability to defend myself. Hopefully, I shall soon return to Qom.

The journal ended there.

Clearly the man had indeed met the owners of those footprints, only to discover they were trolls.

Liam hoped that the man found peace in heaven. He said a quick prayer for him and then collected his thoughts.

***************************

Going back over the loot he had gained from the troll, Liam carefully sorted it. The rings and the arm-band he wore, while the portal sack he placed into the ring of storage.

He looked within and spied the monster core he’d gained from the Cave Troll. He pulled it from the ring and turned it in his hand.

Then he opened his statistics and looked at his crafting level.

Liam then stared back at the monster core, contemplating his choice. It gleamed with a soft blue light in his hands, different from the ones he’d seen before. This seemed unique.

It sorely tempted him to remove the monster core and use it to finish the Dungeon, but he held himself back for two reasons.

If I use this, I’m not even sure if it will level my crafting, but the King will need its level more than I. It would also mean that while I might become a Journeyman, I wouldn’t have learned the skills I truly need for that rank.

Liam considered a moment longer before placing the core back into the Ring of Storage. He would gift it to the King. After all, he had cared for Liam’s family lands. An expensive act of loyalty to a subject, even if he did also manage all the funds from it.

Liam turned back to the Archimancy workshop and thought about the best ways to use the Aesium ore in his designs. Given the properties, it would be best to either minimize impacts on his own body or to allow metals to slide better over his joints.

It took Liam nearly a month to draw up a few designs he wanted to attempt and finally, with his head full of possibilities, he headed to the Smithy.

There he sectioned the recovered Aesium into thin strips, no wider than half his fingernail. He planned to run them through a telekinetic wire-press, hoping to turn them into a durable chainmail.

Progress went well until he wrapped the wire around a spindle.

While normal wire would abut itself as it wound, the Aesium wire resisted the compression, resulting in a long spring of wire being formed.

Liam continued anyway and finally had a large section of wire. It was rigid, showing just how much tensile strength Aesium held. Using his magic, he imbued a knife and cut the wire along one facing, so that even circles of the wire bounced into a waiting basket. They quickly overflowed and began sliding across the floor of the smithy.

Picking up two of the Aesium rings, Liam tried to flatten their ends, link them and rivet the ends closed.

Each time he pressed the ends together, the amount of Magic he expended grew, so much so that he soon had a massive headache from the rapid depletion of his Magic reserves.

Recharging his Magic from his Nexus core, Liam considered the problem.

Sighing, Liam changed tack, and picked up Mythril wire he’d made years before. He cut small strips from it and imbued them with magic, allowing him to heat them and weld them to the ends of each Aesium coil. It took him a week to finish enough for a mail-shirt, but eventually he managed to compress and rivet the Aesium into a connected mail link.

Here he met with another problem, as the rivets of Mythril seemed only to go through one face of the Aesium before being stopped by the other. Imbuing Mythril with magic created a similar repulsive effect when it came in contact with normal Mythril.

Then Liam remembered the binding rune. He grinned, opening the Journal of the Arabic Runesmith. Carefully, Liam inscribed the rune on each end of the ring, pressing them together with telekinesis. They stuck together as though welded.

Writing the bind rune was difficult, however, and soon Liam gave up inscribing each rivet, instead forming the rune upon the striking face of a drift and using that to press the rune into the material. From there it was a simple matter of imbuing the rune with his intent. Soon he’d finished the first two links of his mail.

He then tried to apply the same idea to the Aesium and soon bound the Aesium back together with the rune. He looked at the result.

The Aesium ring held the Mythril within its magical repulsion field, so that it floated in the centre of the Aesium ring. Liam grinned. This wasn’t exactly what he’d wanted, but it would do! Now all he had to work out was how he could interlink the Aesium and Mythril so that the Mythril chain would not rattle too much.

A few hours later, he had worked out a 1-6 ratio of rings, with Mythril and Aesium interchanging throughout the lattice. In this way, there was enough of a separation between the Mythril rings that moving the mail through his hands made only a small amount of noise.

Satisfied, Liam pulled at the links using telekinesis. He suspected that the forces of the Aesium rings would be too great a stress on the Mythril, but they held firm.

Liam grinned in triumph. Aesium would be an amazing material from which to build armour. Its lustrous blue-gold sheen marking it as a unique metal. The only problem would be putting it on!

Liam continued, pondering the problem of how to wear the mail before deciding that it really wasn’t an issue at all. If he created sections of Mythril at the wrists, hem, neckline, and waist, he could grip the mail enough to put the suit on with relative ease.

He worked at a faster pace, but time still dragged on.

Once he finished the hauberk, Liam moved onto the Coif and leggings, continuing his work well into the next fortnight.

The other projects he set aside, focusing all his attention on this suit of mail. Finally, with only a month left in the Dungeon, Liam was done.

He’d had to stop multiple times to ensure the fit of the mail on his limbs and was pleased each time that he heard no sound from the mail. The Aesium preventing the rings from touching each-other unless he folded the mail upon itself.

With the ability of Camwennan to hide in shadows, I’ll be almost undetectable so long as I’m able to walk quietly. He thought. At least now I’ll be able to sneak into the Royal household, even if I am refused an audience.

As he used telekinesis to help him bind the last Aesium link, he tried the mail on. Gripping the mail by the Mythril strips, Liam slid the armour on, finding it both comfortable to wear. He pushed the thin strands of cord he’d attached to his padded coat through the Mythril sections of the mail and tied the armour securely to his body.

The small rings of Aesium kept the mail from touching his clothing, and caused an odd sensation when he moved, but overall, he found the armour to be comfortable and light. Unlike normal mail, the Aesium and corded ties distributed the weight across his entire body, rather than being held by his shoulders and belt.

More Mythril links were tied at his throat and shoulders, so the armour sat well. It was not enough metal to make undue noise, but just enough that Liam could secure the garments he wore beneath the mail without too much fussing.

Once he’d finished, Liam sighed in relief as a vision appeared.

Runic Mail suit of the Ascendent (Epic)

You have created: Runic Mail of the Ascendent

Rename?

[YES] [NO]

You may now assign attributes and functions.

Attribute Cost: 50 magic per physical attribute. 75 magic per mental attribute. 100 magic per system attribute.

Unique Functions:

The system has determined that based on level, class and design, this Mail suit has the following

Abilities:

Deflection: Slashing and Cutting blows will slide off the armour, causing no damage.

Sound dampening: This armour absorbs sound, allowing the user to move silently at will.

Binding touch: Any opponent who strikes this armour has a 5% chance of paralysis for three seconds.

Magical Link: The Aesium upon this armour provides a bank of Magic that can be used or refilled through pressure from the user's Spirit Nexii.

You may choose three passive abilities.

OR:

The below Active Ability and ONE Passive Ability.

Active Ability: Phasestep

Phasestep: This armour will allow you to move to any point within twenty yards instantly.

Warning: Moving into a location occupied by another object or being will cause the random destruction of the user or the conflicting object or being (affected by Luck statistic).

Cost: 200 Magic

Note: Magical barriers can block Phasestep.

First, Liam selected the abilities he knew he needed.

Right now, he was lacking in health. The battle with the Troll had shown his weakness to attacks, and he was adamant that he became resilient enough to survive at least two blows from a Cave Troll.

He added thirty-one vitality to his armour, boosting his health to 750. Now, with his health ring active, he was sure he could survive multiple blows from even the level 48 troll. 1500 health was about that of the Half-Orc war chief. A creature he’d watched as - even with a sword through the heart - it shrugged off damage and fought three enemies at the same time.

Not that he would foolishly risk a confrontation with that monster after the thrashing he’d received from the Cave troll.

At least not yet.

Liam only sought the added health to ensure that if the worst came to pass, he had a hope of escape. Better, it would allow him to disappear if he was spotted.

Returning to look at his armour, Liam immediately selected the Active ability. Being able to move twenty yards in an instant would allow him to escape every single situation he’d faced, thus completing his need for this armour-set. It would also allow him to more rapidly intervene if any of his friends came to harm.

While to Liam the choice of the Active skill was clearly the correct one, the choice of passive ability was a different matter.

Deflection and Sound Dampening would be useful skills, but because of the Aesium in his armour it was unlikely to make much noise and would definitely resist all but magically imbued cuts and slashes.

Binding Touch would also be useful, but first meant he would need to take a hit. An idea that didn’t appeal to him. Further, the chance of paralysis was far less useful than a permanent improvement to his ability.

Liam selected the Magical Link ability and changed the name of the armour.

Selecting [YES], Liam renamed the suit and inspected it.

Silent Steps (Epic)

Weight: Light

The Silent Steps Suit of mail is a collection of three items crafted by the Earth Realm’s first Harbinger, Liam Lamberton. A Mythril and Aesium mail, it provides comprehensive protection against attacks by mortals and most beings of Tier 1 races.

Each piece of armour grants:

+10 Vitality (Torso Armour gains +11).

Set Bonus: Ability 1

Phasestep: This armour will allow you to move to any point within twenty yards instantly.

Warning: Moving into a location occupied by another object or being will result in a random destruction of the user or the conflicting object or being (affected by Luck statistic).

Cost: 200 Magic

Set Bonus: Ability 2

Magical Link: The Aesium upon this armour provides a bank of Magic that can be used or refilled through pressure from the user's Spirit Nexii.

Liam took some time to assess his experience. The three weeks of work had gained him a significant amount of experience, but it was still not enough to break into the Journeyman rank.

Liam sighed. Archimancy was now only 200 exp away, while Magismithing was 250. Liam began two more projects.

One would be to design a weapon and shield of Aesium and Mythril, the other was to re-work his current Armour of the Harbinger.

Having seen the effects of Aesium on his mail, he was certain that by applying that knowledge to his coat-of-plates, greaves, bracers and helm, he could create significant improvements to them, even if they were not recognized by the system.

He set to work designing a sword and shield.

While Liam liked the Volcanic Hammer as a tool, it was just that. Something designed for a purpose, yet one which no longer served his.

Now he could run his forge in all ways using Telekinesis, and only kept the hammer due to it being one of his first and most challenging creations. He had considered shifting its design to an axe or sword, but had decided simply to keep the hammer as a backup weapon within his Storage Ring.

Instead, he wanted something that would act as he designed. A weapon quick enough to shear through Adamanthil with ease, but also sharp enough to cleave through multiple opponents with his enhanced strength.

He already knew what he wanted, but wasn’t sure how he could achieve the desired result.

He began by heating a long ingot of Mythril, drawing out the metal with his telekinetic field, and began creating a deep fuller down the centre of the blade. Rather than stopping to create a thinner section of metal, Liam forged ahead so that the bar of Mythril ran on either side of a space along the length of the blade. The gap starting just below the point ending at the tang.

The space widened considerably as it reached the base, and Liam was careful to ensure enough Mythril remained to form a thin edge.

After tempering the blade, Liam withdrew a section of Aesium and folded it upon itself, using Bind until it was thick enough to fill the hollowed-out section of Mythril. Carefully, Liam infused the Mythril blade with Magic, allowing the Aesium to come into contact with the metal, then using bind he welded them together.

Taking Camwennan, Liam then infused its blade once more and trimmed away the excess Aesium.

Looking at the result, Liam was far from satisfied. While the Aesium now filled the inner rigid core of the Mythril seemed to struggle to contain the Aesium’s repulsing energies.

Liam once more trimmed away at the Aesium and soon had it down to a more manageable size.

The work continued for a few days, Liam carefully ensuring not to cut too deep and ruing the finish of the weapon.

Taking the weapon by the tang once it cooled, Liam swung the blade through several cuts and thrusts, amazed at how light the weapon was. It felt no heavier than the steel sword he’d arrived with.

He quickly assessed his own strength and reconsidered. This sword likely weighed close to two stone, and with a handle, guard and pommel fitted would be closer to three.

Liam admired the work. The design was such that if he cut or thrust, nothing would stick to the sides of the blade. Instead, the Aesium core would repulse any material which the sword cut into, allowing it to cut deeper, and for far greater damage.

Marvelling at the ease with which he wielded the blade, Liam returned to work, excited by the prospect of testing such a mighty weapon.

After finishing the blade and ensuring it was polished, Liam began work on the handle. He’d found several high-quality pieces of timber within the forest and had been storing them for an occasion like this, but now Liam decided on a different plan. He returned to the tower after completing the blade to rest and plan his next step.

That night Liam built the handle from Troll-bone. Heading back into the caverns beneath the dungeon as soon as he woke, Liam nearly gagged as he approached the rotting corpse of the Cave-Troll. The beast had reeked terribly before, but now its stench was truly overwhelming.

Steeling himself, he used the Volcanic Hammer. Changing its shape to a wide-bladed axe, he cleaved off the Troll’s lower leg, ensuring it was the same side he’d lost in the battle.

Carrying the limb was not a pleasant task. Doing his best to avoid breathing the putrid stench he navigated tunnel after tunnel. Eventually he gave up carrying the limb and simply tied it to a rope which he used to drag it along behind him. Finally, Liam reached the surface sucking in deep breaths. Having no desire to pollute the waters of the river, he took the bone into the forest.

Liam spent a few hours cleaning the bones, stripping the tendons and cartilage from the knee and ankle joints

Soon he was left with two long bones. The Tibia and Fibula.

Liam discarded the Tibia immediately. His efforts had uncovered a section of rotting marrow that had seeped through a fracture in the bone. Liam threw it away in disgust.

The Fibula, however, was in fine condition. Taking it up, he returned to the Smithy and thoroughly washed the bone before carefully cutting it to remove the marrow.

Once it was clean, Liam measured the bone against the tang and then moved the sands of the smithy using telekinetic field.

The grip prepared, Liam moved onto the guard, and tried something different.

The conventional flat guard of blades allowed them to catch an incoming blade and drive it away. Liam recalled how he had used it once to slay a hobgoblin. Unfortunately, the impacts of a being as powerful as Liam was now might break the guard off entirely. His answer was to use Aesium to line the top edge of the guard from about two inches from the blade.

In this way, any impact that struck the guard would first be repulsed by the Aesium before either being deflected away or caught in a bind. The benefit to Liam was that any opponent he faced would not expect for their blade to shift unexpectedly with a parry, possibly granting him an opening.

After a full day of work on the guard, Liam returned to fit the guard. He quickly glued and pinned the grip in place. Next, he worked on the Pommel.

This time, he was determined to create something decorative and meaningful to his experience. He looked around and spied the river, the location he’d spent so much time meditating and…

Fishing.

It was perfect. The symbol of God was a fish, symbolizing Ichthys–a Greek Acronym–which stood for Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour.

It had been his faith that had led him to victory over the bandit in Douglas, God who answered his prayers in Ferniegair and the fish that had sustained him through nearly four years in the dungeon.

As Liam carved the image of the salmon into the pommel, he pondered his time in the Dungeon. He’d missed his friends greatly, but the burden of loneliness had soon passed as he discovered far more about himself and craftwork than he’d ever thought he could.

Within days, he was close to his goal.

Putting the pommel to the side, Liam began work on the Aesium Shield. This item would be far easier to make.

He’d designed an ovoid shield that extended from his knee to shoulder. The ovoid was preferable to the round shield in several ways, primarily because it could be used from horseback and foot. The round shield was an excellent companion for an arming sword, but Liam’s longer blade design and greater height now meant that his reach was also longer. As a result, he could use the ovoid shield just as effectively when applying the techniques he’d learned listening to Bragi’s tale of Sigurd.

Liam created a thin sheet of Mythril, adding a boss at its centre. He then infused the outer face with magic, layering Aesium upon the metal and binding it in place. The benefit of a shield was that it could not only deflect and parry a blade, but could also catch it within the rim as the blade cut. Because of this, Liam had left a section of three inches around the rim clear of Aesium. This he raised at the edge of the Aesium so that it stood proud of the shields face and would catch any sliding blade. Although the material was Mythril, Liam knew it would stand against all but the strongest foes. And if they could cut Mythril, perhaps their blade may still catch in the metal long enough for Liam to strike.

Liam finally added two handles. He bound both with runes, ensuring that the metal was comfortable to grip.

Returning to the outer face of the shield, Liam carved the design of a Cross onto the surface of the shield. He activated his Magic sense and was stunned by the result.

The surface of the shield shone with a holy white light. Burning within that field shone a dazzling cross of purest gold. Liam immediately felt encouraged by the sight of the symbol of Christendom and returned to work.

He had considered a wooden handle but decided instead to add leather straps at a later time. For now, he would use a simple metal handle.

He lifted the shield and swung it. Having little experience with the shield, he couldn’t tell if it was heavy or not, but it moved easily in his hand. He smiled, satisfied, and tried to place the item into his Storage Ring.

A vision appeared.

The system does not recognize items that are incomplete. You may not store this item at this time.

I suppose at least I know what I can’t place within the Ring. Liam thought wryly.

Liam leant the incomplete shield against a pillar of the workshop and returned to work.

As the second week passed into a third, Liam spent his time polishing both items to a bright reflective sheen before he capped the sword with the fish pommel. Finally, he engraved upon them all the runes he’d learned. The ice rune he placed on the face of the shield, to chill any enemies who struck it.

The flame rune he placed upon the Aesium in his sword, causing it to flare into light as he wished.

Speed he placed on the handle of sword and shield, and sharpness and blood, Liam inscribed along each edge of the sword blade.

Finally, he inscribed Endure upon the shield and sword, granting it a great deal more durability.

Done, he stepped back to admire the items. By his reckoning, he had only a few days until the Dungeon would end.

Before him, two weapons gleamed in the reflected light of the sun. They were the greatest things Liam had ever seen. Truly the weapons of a champion of God–or a Harbinger.

A vision appeared before him, then another and another, before he glowed with a golden light.

Liam grinned with enough force that it felt like it alone split the dome which had time-locked this dungeon for so long.

He had finished.

He was done.

He was free.