I put the issue of the discs out of my mind for now and began making another skeleton. I briefly considered magically creating a pizza to give us some energy while I finished resetting the dungeon’s defenses, but one look at how filthy my hands were convinced me it wasn’t a good idea. Sure, I could heal any diseases we might pick up, but imagining what might be transferred onto the food quickly squashed my appetite.

To distract from those disgusting thoughts, I pulled up the notification that had appeared while I was looting. I’d been too excited to pay attention to it before. When I saw what it was, most of my irritation faded away. It was hard to stay upset when presented with yet another improvement in my abilities.

Congratulations!

You have gained a sufficient amount of insight into your [Loot] ability to reach Rank 2.

Apply your insights to evolve your ability in one of the following ways:

i) Items may now be directly looted into your inventory or designated storage device.

ii) You will be able to use this ability on targets within 10 meters of you.

iii) You will be able to loot multiple targets at the same time, provided you have enough mana to connect to them all.

That was an easy choice. It had to be the first one. Being able to loot from a distance or being able to loot multiple targets weren’t that useful if I still had to go and retrieve the items. They would be great quality of life options for future evolutions, though, and hopefully they’d be offered again next time. Also, after our discussions concerning the Awakening discs, being able to send items directly to my inventory seemed incredibly useful. I could keep items secret, so if something valuable like the discs appeared again in the future, I could avoid any potentially dangerous situations if the wrong kind of person was around.

My fourth skeleton finished forming as I made my selection. Sending it to join the others at the pit, I got started on the last one I needed to make. With the original skeleton that was almost done cleaning up the room, that would give me six of the undead defenders. That would be enough for my plan. As I thought over my idea again, my eyes fell on Brad and Steve, and I suddenly realized I was being an idiot. Here I was planning out the defense by myself, while I had two experienced officers right in front of me. They might not have been in a situation quite like this before, but with their training, they were much better suited to this kind of thing than I was.

“Hey guys? Let me run this by you and tell me what you think.” They looked at me attentively as I got my thoughts sorted before beginning. “Ok, so, I think the skeletons guarding the pit did a good job in the attack. They were able to knock a lot of the animals down into the hole. But they couldn’t stand up against the bigger attackers. So, I was thinking about having three at the front like before and a skeleton behind each of them. The back ones can provide support if something heavy tries to get across. Together they should have a better chance at keeping the more serious threats contained. The back line can also take care of anything that does manage to get across while the front three focus on keeping back additional attackers.”

I looked at them a little nervously once I finished explaining my idea. It had sounded good in my head, but putting it out there for feedback reminded me too much of being back in school and getting my work picked apart by my teachers. After thinking it over, Brad asked, “What about other defenders?”

“I was thinking two rockaunchers for some heavy hitting. And for clearing the room,” I added with a grimace, remembering the gruesome scene from earlier. Judging by the looks on their faces, they were reliving the same thing.

“They were disgustingly effective,” Steve agreed.

“Then, I want another lizard to roam around the skeletons’ feet and clean up the smaller targets that get across since the undead aren’t that good at going low. Finally, another snake down in the trap.”

“How effective was the snake during the attack?” Brad asked.

“Actually, I’m not sure,” I told him, feeling a little embarrassed that I couldn’t answer. “I know it did kill some of the first ones to drop down, but I lost track of what my defenders were doing pretty early on. The snake was killed, but I have no idea when.”

“Alright then. I like what I’ve heard. I recommend one change, though. No snake, and instead two lizards. If anything manages to get out of the pit and still gets past the skeletons, the lizards can handle it together. Your snake probably got overwhelmed pretty early on by all the animals that dropped into the trap. It would be more effective to keep all your defenders on the floor.”

Steve nodded his agreement. “Also,” he said, “do you think your skeletons can handle a shield?” He gestured at his lying on the ground nearby. “It would be a great way to block off anything trying to get deeper into the room.”

“Good idea,” Brad said in support. “It will be much easier for them to knock things into the trap using a shield instead of their bony hands, too. And if we get swarmed by birds again, something like that will be essential.”

I looked at them silently for a moment, feeling pleasantly surprised. They hadn’t shot my ideas down and had actually given me some good ones to go along with them. The magical work is all on me. For now, at least, I corrected myself with some excitement, my mind drifting briefly to the Awakening discs in my inventory. But that doesn’t mean I need to plan everything on my own. There were many areas where my knowledge and experience were lacking, and it was clear now that it was better if I remembered to ask for help. “Let me check with Cax.”

“Will it work?” I asked him, turning my attention inwards.

“The skeletons will be able to hold a shield, but they won’t be able to use it,” he informed me. “If you had the ability to design your defenders like I had, you would be able to give them a skill for using shields which would allow them to make use of it. Without that, I’m not sure it’s a good idea to give them one. It might make them more vulnerable as they struggle to hold it and do other things.”

Disappointed, I was just about to let Brad and Steve know it was a no-go when Cax spoke up again. “Unless…” He sounded contemplative. “Your defenders do have an advantage that mine never did, thanks to the sapience your profession granted them. There is a chance they might be able to learn some rudimentary shield skills if given some training.”

I passed on what Cax had told me, stressing that it was just a possibility and not guaranteed. The two officers looked at each other. “Worth a shot?” Brad asked.

“Why not?” Steve replied with a shrug. “It’s not like using a shield is complicated. Just hold it and push it into something. Once we show these bony bastards enough times, it should sink into their empty heads.”

Excited, I told them to hang on while the magic of Create finished putting together the fifth and final skeleton. As soon as it was done and the undead was on its way to join the others, I eagerly jogged over to Steve’s shield. “Can I have this?” I asked him, picking it up.

“Yeah, you can use it,” he replied casually, glancing over briefly before looking back at the group of skeletons near the pit. He had a thoughtful look on his face.

“No, can I have it?”

“You want a shield?” he turned fully around, focusing on me. “We can get you one later.”

“I want this one! Just give it to me!” I said, a little irritated. The magic of Absorb wouldn’t work on anything I didn’t own, so I needed him to say the words.

“Maybe you should have explained that to him?” Cax pointed out. I ignored his rational comment as Steve finally gave in.

“Alright, alright,” he said defensively, patting the air with one hand. “Settle down, princess. You can have it.”

The magic words! I imagined the riot shield in pristine condition, free of the signs of wear and tear it possessed, then activated Absorb.

“Hey!” Steve called out, storming over as the shield faded away. “What are you playing at?!”

I held my left arm out to keep him back as I found the newly added pattern in my interface and began to create a new shield. The shimmer in front of my right hand clued him in to what I was doing, and he settled down, but kept muttering under his breath unhappily. Thanks to the improved speed Create now had, the mundane item was completed in just 30 seconds, falling to the floor with a loud clatter. I really need to work on my placement when I make things, I thought with a wince, waiting for Steve to make a smart-ass comment. “I got you a new one,” I told him quickly, hoping to distract him.

It seemed to work. He was focused completely on the shield I’d just created. He picked it up, giving it a thorough look over before settling it on his left arm and moving it around, pushing back an imaginary attacker. “Very nice,” he finally said in approval. Looking over at Brad, he added, “Feels exactly the same and looks good as new.” I thought I was in the clear until he added, “No thanks to butter-fingers Dean over here.”

Damn it! Brushing past the remark, I quickly said, “I’ll make enough for the skeletons, and one for you too, Brad. Yours is no good now, and the scientists will probably want it to run tests on.”

Before I could start creating another riot shield, Steve said, “As good as it is to have my shield back in good nick, I have to say I’m a little disappointed. With all your talk before about magical gear, I was hoping for a little bit of an upgrade.”

That made me stop still. “You’re right,” I said simply. “What am I doing? I keep putting things off till later in order to save time, but later never seems to come.” It would be faster just to make copies of the riot shields, but since I was planning on learning Armorsmithing anyway, why not do it now and make a more effective shield? It might even save me time in the long run, since I wouldn’t need to replace them later on.

Echoing my thoughts, Brad added his opinion. “If having better gear means we need to stay down here a little longer, that’s an acceptable trade. Go ahead and do what you’ve got to do.” Nodding in agreement, my eyes unfocused as I went into my interface. As I was moving through the screens, I heard Brad tell Steve, “We should let everyone know that we’ll still be a while. They’re probably getting restless up there. Can you head back up and let them know that everything is ok, and that we’ll be up when we’re done to report in? Also, get the relief squad to stand down and rest, and have the other two squads start rotating members for guard duty. It’s unlikely we’ll face another large attack anytime soon, so make sure they know to take the opportunity to rest up.”

Stopping what I was doing, I called to Steve before he left to carry out Brad’s orders. “Can you also tell Ms. Anders about the woman that was with Tim?” I gave him the name I’d gotten from analyzing her so Anita could look into it. Apart from letting the family know, it was important to find out where she had entered the forest and what paths she had taken so we could make sure they were properly blocked off. He nodded sadly and went up the stairs.

Navigating to the correct screen, I confirmed the use of 75xp to unlock and learn my new profession. After the knowledge settled in my mind and my head cleared, I went through the list of protective gear I could now make until I found the option for Shields. Just like with my Weaponsmithing profession, I discovered I was able to adjust the shape and size of the design, along with choosing the material to make it out of.

Looking at Brad, I asked him, “Wood or metal shields?” I didn’t bother asking about bone. I could guess most people wouldn’t be comfortable using them.

“How heavy will the metal ones be?”

I looked, but my interface didn’t provide that information. “I’m not sure.”

“Ok. Make one and we’ll try it out. If it’s too heavy to use, you can change over to wood for the rest of them.”

“Got it.” Focusing back on my interface, I selected metal for the material and then played around with the design. I tweaked it until it resembled the rectangular riot shields the officers were already familiar with. I hoped that it would feel almost identical to Brad and Steve. That would speed up the training since they wouldn’t need time to get used to it and could go straight into the instruction. To keep the weight down, I made it just half a centimeter thick. At one-meter tall and wide enough to cover the body, it should provide enough protection without being too heavy and unwieldy.

I then had two metal handles form on the inside of the shield so someone could put their arm through one and grip the other to hold it steady. I wasn’t able to extend them too far out from the body of the shield, but I thought it would be enough of a gap for most people to get their arms through.

Looking the 3D outline over one more time, I was happy with what I saw. Confirming the design and saving it as a template for quick use later, I sat down and kept my hand close to the ground before beginning to create one. It wouldn’t crash down this way. As soon as it finished forming, Brad stepped in and picked it up. As he hefted the shield and got it settled on his left arm, I admired the dark gray metallic sheen it had. It was completely smooth without any embellishments, but I thought the simplicity lent a certain elegance to it.

Brad moved it around and practiced thrusting it forward at an imaginary target a few times before frowning thoughtfully. “The weight isn’t as bad as I was expecting. Not sure what kind of metal this is, but it’s much lighter than it looks. Still, I don’t think I’d be able to use this for long. How strong are your skeletons exactly?”

I thought about it for a second. At their current level, with magic enhancing them, they were definitely stronger than Brad. “Strong enough to use the shield if it’s only a little difficult for you,” I assured him.

“Alright then. Make some more of these. You can come up with a different design for us mortals later on,” he said with a half smile. “So anyway, how exactly is this better than the shields we already have?” He knocked on the new shield with his knuckles.

Cax knew I didn’t know much about it, so he helpfully began explaining it to me and I repeated what he said out loud. “Well, for one thing, its base material is magically enhanced. That should give it some innate protection against the Void energy and hopefully limit the corrosive effect you saw on your shield. It is also capable of blocking up to 15 points of damage, which is about triple what your original shield is capable of. Anything over that will be taken out of its durability, which is a key point. Your mundane shield might immediately break and crack after one hit, but this magical shield will hold up in perfect condition until it runs out of durability, at which point it will break. And finally, of course, it can be enchanted.”

‘Innate protection’? ‘Mundane’? Didn’t realize you were so fancy,” Steve called out, walking over. He’d come back down just in time to hear my explanation.

I chuckled. “Nice catch. I was actually just repeating what Cax was telling me.”

“Good to hear,” he said, stopping next to Brad. “Can’t have you being better looking and smarter than me.” He looked at Brad. “All taken care of. Ms. Anders is impatient to hear about everything that happened, but she understood the need to get things in order first.” He turned to me, face softening. “And she said to thank you for the information on the elderly lady. She’s going to look into it immediately, and make sure any family she has is looked after.”

I nodded gratefully, then Brad saved me from having to respond. “Good to hear. Now, have a go at this.” Brad handed the metal shield over for Steve to try out and then asked me a question. “So, what’s this about enchantments?”

“I can add a magical effect to it,” I told him. “Cax is recommending a utility enchantment called Self Repair. It will automatically use energy in the atmosphere to restore the shield’s durability after it takes damage. It’s not fast, but so long as the shield doesn’t get completely destroyed in a fight, it will automatically repair itself given enough time. He’s saying that will me free me up from having to go around repairing or replacing gear all the time.”

“I agree with his choice,” Brad said. “Not that I know what other things are available,” he admitted, grinning slightly. “But I do know you won’t have time to be worrying about small things like that, so if there’s a way to get around it, take it.”

I was all for anything that gave me more time to get to the endless number of things I wanted to do, so it looked like we were all on the same page. “Can I get that back?” I asked Steve. He was in the middle of blocking imaginary high and low targets, alternating between the two as quickly as he could. Breathing heavily, he passed it over to me and complained. “That’s a bit heavy, isn’t it? Too bad it’s not see-through like our old shields, too.”

“Yeah, sorry. I’m going to make something different for weaklings like you later on.” I smiled at him to let him know I was just joking. “Just do your best with these ones for the training. Also, no matter how useful plastic is, it isn’t a magical material. And since I’m just a beginner, I don’t have access to any fancy magical equivalent.”

With the shield on the ground in front of me, I put my hands on it and found the enchantment Cax recommended in my interface. “I’m going to enchant it now,” I mentioned absently, not taking my eyes off the piece of metal.

This shield has one available enchantment slot.

Do you wish to apply [Self Repair]?

Confirming it, my mana began flowing into the shield and soon several runes formed in the center of the sheet of metal. Since it was a basic Tier-I enchantment that I was applying myself, I was able to understand their purpose. The large one in the center would draw in energy from the environment around the shield, the symbols brushing up against the big one on the left would then identify the damaged sections and direct the energy towards them, and the final runes on the right side of the center symbol would convert the energy into metal and apply it to the damaged area. As my mana finished drawing the runes on the shield and activating them, they disappeared within it, becoming one with the large piece of metal.

I looked up at Brad and Steve. They had been watching me intently the whole time. “It’s done. Were you able to see anything?” I asked curiously.

They both just shook their heads. “Ok.” I would have been surprised if they had. “Give me one minute.” I turned my attention inwards. “Should I absorb this one and just make copies?” I asked Cax.

“You could, but it won’t help increase your Enchanting profession. It would be better to create blank shields and enchant each one.”

It would take more time to do it that way, but I’d promised myself I would focus on improving my abilities and spells once my mana wasn’t tied up in creating the dungeon room that we were now in. This was a perfect opportunity to do just that. “I’ll create seven more shields and then enchant each of them,” I told the waiting officers. Doing some quick math in my head, I added, “It should take about 20 minutes.”

“Alright,” Brad said. Turning to Steve, he told him, “You stay here and keep an eye on things. I’ll go up and make sure they’ve worked out a shift rotation and give Ms. Anders a brief update since we’ve got a bit of time.”

I got settled more comfortably on the floor as he left and began the simple but time-consuming task of creating shields and enchanting them with the same Self Repair enchantment. I ignored Cax as he complained softly, “Simple?! Time consuming?! A single shield would take a craftsman hours to complete, not to mention all the metal they would need to use. And then even more time and materials to enchant it. You are completely spoiled by this ability.”

Steve helped out by moving each shield off to the side after I declared them done. I took a short break after making several shields as Create reached Rank 4. The most attractive option to evolve the ability was one that had been on the list since the beginning. It would let me form the item anywhere within 10 meters of where I was standing. Since I kept dropping so many of my creations on the ground, I happily chose that evolution this time round. With that done, I got back to work and shortly after, we had a pile of eight shields.

I stood up and stretched, working out the kinks that had settled in from sitting down for so long. I’ve got to be more careful how I sit, I thought, doing a back bend. My body might be magically enhanced, but it didn’t make me immune to the effects of poor posture. Brad returned not long after, and I straightened up from touching my toes. As he walked over to join us, I noticed he seemed pre-occupied. His gaze was fixed on the floor and he was wearing a small frown.

I was about to ask him what was wrong, but before I could, he surveyed the pile of shields and his expression brightened. “Very nice.” Picking one up, he continued. “Now, let’s see if we can train up a defensive force for your dungeon.” A little shiver ran through me. That sounded so cool!