Magic_Smithing
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Ch: 78
🕑 Added 2021-02-01 10:02:13 +0000 UTC?????????? Point of View:
“When will they be here!? We’ve been sitting here for two days!”
“We should’ve moved closer to the village.”
"Quiet, all of you! I paid you, so you do what I say! Now shut up, or I'll cut your tongues out myself!" I snarl at the two filthy bandits, releasing a small part of my killing intent to establish my authority.
The two bandits next to me cringe back in fear.
It's annoying I have to deal with such rabble. Once this job is done, I'll take great pleasure in silencing each of them.
I usually only work with my three men, but this job is different. Mr. Grey hired us to kill someone under the protection of a Number. The average person doesn't know of their existence, but people in our field are painfully aware of the private high-leveled soldiers the Silver Herd company employs to deal with its problems.
Silver Herd might not be considered one of the major trading companies yet, but they’ve adopted the practice of recruiting ‘problem solvers’ since their conception.
The Numbers, as they're called, are sent out to take care of the darker sides of Silver Herds business. We're on the outskirts of Olebert, and there aren't many who do what we do. Killing, kidnapping, extortion, spying, we do all of it; only the Numbers are said to do it better.
I don't know why a Number is escorting a nameless merchant I've never heard of, out here in the middle of nowhere no less, but that doesn't matter. We're not paid to ask questions; we do our job as ordered and nothing more.
And because of the difficulty of this job, I had to bring in some fodder.
The bandits don't know who they'll be charging at, and that's how I'm going to keep it. All of them are meant to die, so long as they buy us enough time to complete our mission.
The Number may be the most challenging aspect of the job, but he's not our target. We were promised a bonus if we could kill the Number; however, our primary goal is to kill the merchant known as Kervin. But unless the Number severely falls under my expectations, we plan to kill the merchant and flee while the Number murders all the idiots we brought along with us. If any of them survive, we'll catch them at the meet-up point and finish off the remainders.
I have no intention of dealing with the Number unless I absolutely have to.
Mr. Grey informed me I should be close to his level, but that means little in our line of business. A young man at level 10 can easily stab and kill someone three times his level if he has the necessary skills. Ours is a job of surprise; whichever side can surprise the other usually wins.
That's why we're three days away from the village instead of waiting for them by the forest's entrance. If, for some reason, Mr. Grey is wrong and the Number knows about the contract on the merchant, switching up our plans will be the best strategy.
I let out a soft sigh so quiet the bandits don’t notice. Facing off against someone who knows your usual plays are the worst.
The bandit closest to me swats the back of his neck. “Damn bugs! Why did we have to set up so far into the woods?!”
Moving forward, my arm stretched out, I resist the urge to strangle the smelly man. Thinking about how easy it would be to kill him, I only pause my advance when I hear something on the wind.
The bandit levels his spear at me to defend himself, but my senses are trained elsewhere. In the distance, I hear the mating cry of a forest finch; only forest finches don’t start mating until mid-summer. That’s the signal the cart was spotted!
I turn my attention back to the bandit cowering in front of me. I make a fist and point two fingers down the road. The bandit and his friend’s eyes widen in understanding and move to take their places.
I'm sure my other associates detected the signal and are moving the other bandits into position as well. We'll attack the cart from each side with a four-prong attack.
After signaling us, Dennis will have his group let the cart pass and ambush them from the rear. Jake will attack their left flank while Oren moves in from the right. I’ll take the front, and they won’t know what hit them.
We’ll let the bandits charge forward and wait for the perfect chance to kill the merchant. Then we’ll make our escape into the woods.
The forest is silent as the sound of a cart jostling down the forest path grows louder. Any moment now, we should be able to see it.
As soon as the cart comes into view, I move to signal the bandit's attack, but freeze upon seeing the cart is empty! The reigns controlling the four silver bivol are loosely tied to the cart, and the pack animals are steadily marching forward on their own. In the bed of the cart, there are three crates next to one another but nothing else.
Damn, did they abandon the cart and cut through the forest!? It would be nearly impossible for us to find their tracks and catch up to them.
First, we need to inspect the cart for any clues.
I signal for the confused bandits to move in. My men and I will hang back, just in case they booby-trapped it.
Seven of the nine bandits move from their hiding spots and slowly approach the cart. Where are the two that were with Dennis?
My instincts tell me something is wrong, but I don't have time to call back the bandits before they reach the cart.
Two of the crates' tops fly off, and two men in hide armor burst out wielding bucklers and swords. With the viciousness of cornered animals, the two bodyguards swing their swords, instantly killing the four closest bandits.
Shit, they had their own ambush planned for us! That means!
The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. I roll to the side, just as a dagger slices the air where my neck was a moment ago.
“Good instincts,” I hear as I roll and spring to my feet, drawing my short sword.
I stare down at the man who materialized next to me without making a sound. What stands out the most to me is how calm and happy he is to see me. He has a sadistic grin plastered across his face, enjoying the fact I survived his first strike.
Damn the gods! With my luck, I got one of the crazier Numbers. He must have circled around us. I can only assume he's already killed Dennis because I don't see the bandits that were supposed to be with him. Did the Number know our signal, or did he wait for Dennis to signal us, kill him, then circle around to the front, all in under three minutes?
I hear the screams of the bandits we hired, but I don't take my eyes off the Number in front of me. The rest of my team will have to take care of the rest while I stall this monster. They know we need to focus on killing the merchant. If the Number is with me and the other two guards were hidden inside the crates, it stands to reason the merchant is hiding inside the third one.
"I'm curious, how much did Grey pay you? Not enough, I suppose, if you only brought this riffraff with you." The Number taunts me.
He might be fishing for information, so I keep my face neutral.
"Silence, huh? You're no fun. I'm sure she would banter in this situation," the Number throws one of his daggers at me. I move my head to the left and hear the thunk of the blade hitting the tree behind me.
The Number rushes me, drawing another dagger to replace the one he just threw. I parry the dagger in his right hand with my short sword and use my free hand to grab his left forearm, stopping him from stabbing me with his blade.
I try to knee him, but he raises his leg to block me. Each of us pushes against the other, testing to see who is stronger. I have more Strength, but he has a better footing.
While we're locked together, I take a split second to glance at the battle around the cart. All the bandits lie dead already, with Jake and Oren squaring off with the two bodyguards. They've ditched their bows for their swords. The remaining crate looks like a pincushion, meaning we only need to confirm the body inside before we can retreat.
I need to gain some distance from the Number.
I stop pushing back, letting the Number push me over. As we fall, locked together, I bring my foot up to his armored chest and push with all my might as soon as I hit the ground. The Number is launched over my head, through the air, backflipping before landing on his feet.
I also scramble to my feet before he can catch me with my guard down.
"You're decent, but not very original," the Number sheathes the dagger in his right hand and pulls out a new one. The new dagger has a sheen on the blade's edge, poisoned. "You haven't fought that many assassins close to your level, have you? It shows in how you approached your ambush. If I weren't with them, 99 out of 100 times, you would've easily killed everyone, but I know all your plays. When you're facing someone you can't beat in a fair fight; you need to be extra creative. I once watched a girl blow herself up to kill all her attackers. That's creativity!"
This man is pissing me off! And who is he comparing me to?
This time I take the initiative to attack the Number. I slice at his right side, and as expected, he blocks with his poisoned dagger, but he isn't the only one with a knife. In one fluid motion, I draw my own knife and slice at his face.
The Number takes a step back, narrowly avoiding me nicking his eye. His cheek starts to bleed, but he ignores the wound. Instead, the Number tries to stab me with his non poisoned dagger after I missed my mark.
I step back with my left foot and bring my dagger in close for defense. Our blades meet again, and I can feel his superior weapon digging into mine. Unlike him, I don't have a wealthy backer throwing money into my equipment. My short sword is my best weapon, but I can't risk getting cut by his poisoned dagger.
We momentarily break off from one another to catch our breaths. I'm breathing more heavily than the Number, and that isn't a good sign.
Come on, Jake, Oren, I need the two of you to hurry up!
The Number recovers faster than me, and I'm forced to retreat as he advances on me. The longer we exchange attacks, the more the Number seems to be enjoying himself. His strikes are sloppier, but they're coming at me faster and are much more difficult to predict.
He dances around a tree and rushes at me with both of his daggers raised like a snarling farkas. Because I was moving backwards, my stance has crumbled. I can't block both of his strikes, so I use my short sword and prioritize the dagger in his right hand.
When our blades meet, the Number steps forward and slices at the elbow joint, where there is a gap in my armor. He doesn't hit anywhere near anything vital, but I can feel the blood start to leak in between my skin and armor.
The Number backs off after his successful strike and gives me a predatory grin. "And it's my win."
“This isn’t over yet!” I break my silence, getting back into my stance.
"Oh, but it is," the Number holds up the dagger in his left hand. The sheen on the dagger is unmistakable.
“But when?”
His smile says it all. He must have switched his daggers when he moved around the tree.
I don't know what kind of poison he's using, but it doesn't matter at this point. Looking at Jake and Oren, I see they're still being held back by the guards. Damn, Grey told us the other two wouldn't be a problem. I guess he was wrong about everything.
"Jake, Oren, retreat!" I shout. Both of them don't even spare me a glance as they follow my orders and dash into the forest in opposite directions.
I grimace as my arm starts to feel like it's freezing over. Gritting my teeth, I turn back to the Number who's still smiling at me. I need to hold him off until the two of them can get far enough away.
I ready myself, but the freezing sensation is steadily spreading throughout my body.
"Painful, isn't it?" The Number taunts me again. "I was worried defeating you was going to be more difficult, so I used one of my best poisons. I call it Winter's Bite, and It's a rare type of ice poison. It mixes in with your bloodstream and freezes everything it comes in contact with. Your very blood turns into ice crystals, which shred your body from the inside out. Your organs will slowly fail as your body experiences freezing pain.”
“Sick, bastard,” I mutter through chattering teeth.
"I wonder if your comrades will have the same resolution as you?" The Number turns away from me, intending to hunt down Jake and Oren.
Despite the overwhelming pain and cold I'm feeling, I force myself forward. One strike is all I need to take this bastard with me!
Sadly, as soon as I move to stab the Number, he dodges me. He was planning on my suicide charge.
I can't react with my dulled senses as he stabs one of his daggers into my side and the other into my shoulder. Dropping to the ground, my body feels too cold to move.
The Number ignores me again and shouts to his companions. "This one is finished. Be on the alert as I hunt down the other two. Oh yeah, you can come out now, Kervin."
It's hard to move my head as everything goes cold, but I manage to see our target crawl out from underneath the cart. So, he was hiding near the cart's axels. The third crate was another decoy. Everything was a total loss on our part.
After the Number sees that his client is ok, he takes off into the woods, hunting down my friends.
I pray that I don't see them on the other side. The last thing I think about is, who was the Number comparing me to, another foe? Or was it someone strong who earned his respect?
**********
Aaliyah’s Point of View:
“What do you think, master?” I show off my quenched sword and set it down next to my knife.
“You changed the design of your sword,” master quickly spots the differences in my work.
“I liked my old design, but it didn't have the power I needed. I thought about making another katana, only this time making it three times as thick, but that seemed counter intuitive. So, this time I decided to make a scimitar. It will be bigger, heavier, and just as deadly as my katana," I explain to master.
“Is that wise? You’ll have to get used to a new type of sword.”
“I’ll just treat it as a new challenge,” I reassure him. “Besides, it won’t be my main weapon anyways. I’m sure the axe and hammer I make will be a much better fit for me.”
Master hums in agreement.
As fun as it is talking to master, I'm burning precious daylight. I spent the first half of the day working on the metal; now, I need to make the handles for my weapons and sharpen them.
The grips don’t matter that much right now because I plan to change them in the future anyways. Unlike my katana, channeling magic into my new weapons won't do anything. I'll need suitable materials for channeling magic when I finally enchant my gear, but I'll stick with good old farkas bones until then.
The bones make exceptional grips after you carve a texture onto them. It also helps that master still has quite a few bones leftover from before the chameleon spiders took over the woods.
That's another thing I'll need to keep an eye out for. Now that everything is returning to the forest, the farkas should start showing up again, along with small bands of goblins. And unlike chameleon spiders, goblins and farkas aren't scared of rushing into the village to grab their prey. Though I doubt either of those beasts could do much to me anymore. I wouldn't even need any weapons to kill a lesser goblin; my bare hands would be more than enough.
I think over how much everything has changed as I pick out the bones I need and cut them into shape. I'm not the only one who's stronger. The whole village has grown over the last year. If we had to redo the year again as we are now, the goblin horde would barely be considered a threat.
Thanks to all our struggles, I truly believe next year will be the best year in Spotted Creek's history.
Hell, having Sandra back basically guarantees the village’s success.
Last night dad told us how Sandra used earth magic to turn the soil of the new fields. Apparently, Markus and Ezekiel were so surprised by her magic they nearly fainted. Thanks to Sandra, the prep time to get the fields ready for sowing has been cut down substantially. Once the wortel is harvested, Sandra just needs to cast her spell, and the next day the next crops can be planted.
With magic, skills, and larger fields, the village is about to have more food than we know what to do with.
Everyone deserves it, I think to myself, as I secure the bone handles to my knife and scimitar. I gather up all the tools I need and move over to a bench to sharpen and polish the blades.
Falling into a light bout of Meditation, I don't notice the sun passing overhead as I complete my detailing work.
"I think it's about time you head home," master reminds me, bringing me back to my senses.
I look up at the sky and see the vivid reds of the sunset. Standing up and stretching out my limbs, I laugh. “Nothing like sharpening a sword to pass the time.”
Master smiles in agreement. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then?”
“Of course, I still have a lot more to do.”
“I thought so,” master yawns.
“Don’t worry,” I tell him. “After I finish my axe and war hammer, I think I’ll take a few days off before I start on my armor.”
"That's good; I thought you weren't going to stop until you burnt through your whole supply of kaglese," master jokes.
“Now there’s an idea,” I playfully grin at master.
“Goodnight, Aaliyah.”
“Night, master,” I wave goodbye to master while grabbing my stuff and head home for the night.
I look like I'm heading off to war, not home. I have dad's axe in my left hand, my new scimitar in my right, and my new dagger wrapped in a piece of leather sticking out of one of my pockets.
The rest of the night flies by just like the last few days have been. Richard joins us for dinner, we laugh and talk about our days. I tell dad I don't need to borrow his extra axe anymore. Mom agreed to help me make sheaths for everything on my next day off, so long as I help her with Richard's wedding tassel.
Same old, same old.
**********
The next day, I shoot out of my bed as soon as the sun’s first light shines through my window.
Today is the day I make something new!
While I change my clothes and tie up my hair, I contemplate the type of axe I'll try to make today. I've made axes before, but most of them have been woodsman axes for felling trees. This time I want to make a double-sided battle-axe for myself, a monstrosity of a weapon that could chop a man in half even if he's wearing armor.
I thought about making a hammer ax hybrid but eventually discarded the idea. Sure, a hybrid weapon would serve more of a function, but changing battle tactics halfway through a fight is more challenging than you would think. It would be terrible if you swung the axe part of the weapon in the heat of the moment when you intended to use the hammer side.
No, it's best to double down on your weapon of choice. A double-headed axe is perfect because you can switch sides if the blade gets dull or damaged in a fight.
I might try making a hybrid version later at some point, but for now, I'm keeping my weapons separated.
Kissing mother and father goodbye, I head off to Del’s clearing with my new scimitar in hand for defense. Is it wrong that I want a band of goblins to attack me so I can try it out?
I also have my new knife strapped to my side like I used to keep my old one. Mom was able to help me adjust my old knife sheath last night with relative ease.
“Morning, master!” I call out my usual greeting to Master Del as I enter his clearing.
Master greets with a wave and a yawn. He must have known I would be here early because this time, master already has the forge going, fuel set aside, and all the materials I need set up on my workbench. Master has to have been up for at least two hours if he got all this ready for me.
I want to thank him, but master cuts me off before I can try. "If you need me, I'll be on my bench sleeping."
Knowing he doesn't want my thanks, I utter a 'thank you' in my heart and get to work.
I have a lot to do before I can have my axe ready by the end of the day. First, I get the forge to the temperature I need it. Then I repeat the first few steps from yesterday, only with more metal. I used one kaglese ingot yesterday to make both my scimitar and dagger. Today, I'm using one and a half ingots of kaglese, along with the steel and mithril I'll be mixing in, to craft my battle-axe.
Like the spears I made for the army, the entire battle-axe will be made of metal, handle and all. I could save some kaglese if I only forged the axe heads from metal, but I don't have access to the proper materials to make a sturdy handle that would hold up under my Strength stat.
The axe I'm making would be physically impossible back on Earth. I'm no historian, but I know I'm making an axe you would be more likely to find in a video game rather than in a museum. Real battle-axes only weighed around seven pounds; the behemoth I'm making will probably be over forty pounds and more suited to someone with my stats.
Once have the first ingot properly heated, I move it over to the anvil and chop it in half. Then, I put all the steel and kaglese I'll be using into the crucible. There is so much in the crucible; I almost can't seal it.
I place the heavy crucible into the forge and move over to my workbench to sketch out my design really quickly.
I plan to make the finished product a lot nicer, but with this, I know which direction I'm going in. It's a good thing I have plenty of time to think over my design.
Getting the metals to bond properly takes longer because of how much metal I'm working with this time. It takes a whole two hours before I'm able to remove the crucible from the forge. Usually, I would have to wait a lot longer for the liquid metal to cool, but thanks to mana quenching, I can speed up the process.
I get the metal to cool down to a point where it's solid but still hot enough I can immediately start working it.
Studying the lump of metal, I take note of its internal mana structure and plan which parts I'll use for the blades and which will be drawn out for the handle. There are a few micro fractures in the metal I'll need to take care of first, but I can see where everything will go.
I start by taking care of the issues I spotted first before adding the mithril to finish off the alloy. Then, I start the long process of moving everything into its proper shape.
What proceeds is a constant shifting of my metal from the forge to the anvil and back again. Kaglese is strong, light, and flexible in its pure state, but when you add steel and a touch of mithril into the equation, you get a strong earth attuned alloy. I can work the metal without my skills as long as I put most of my Strength into my plows; however, finishing the axe that way would take me much longer than just today.
I'm thankful my skills and magic allow me to do in a day what blacksmiths back on Earth would take days to complete.
Six hours, eight hours, at the ten-hour mark, I'm still working on a rough version of my axe. My arms feel like wet noodles, and I decide to take a quick break. Master taught me to respect my limits and to realize that you'll produce nothing but shoddy work if you push yourself too hard.
Plopping down on the bench closest to master, I drain my waterskin.
"I was wondering when you would take a break," master remarks, eyes closed, lying down.
“I didn’t want to,” I grunt. “I only have a few more hours until the sun starts to go down.”
"And is there some reason you can't finish your axe tomorrow?"
"I thought you wanted me to finish so that you can have your days off?"
"Don't try and use me as an excuse," master opens his eyes and looks at me. "You're the one rushing yourself. You won't gain extra experience if your work suffers from your impatience."
Sage Del comes out now that master has gotten a bit of rest. I can joke, but I know he's right.
“You plan on using these weapons in the deeper parts of the forest, yes? You should be treating each one like the arrow you made for the general.”
I take a deep breath and let out a long sigh. “You’re right,” I admit.
“I usually am.”
I snort at master's remark, and we both laugh. "Don't complain when I come early tomorrow," I tell him.
“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Master closes his eyes again.
I rest until my arms feel better and get back to work, slowing my pace, making sure everything is perfect as I progress through the rest of the day.
**********
“What day is it now?” Master asks as I walk up to him.
“Six,” I inform him with a smile.
“Gods,” master exclaims.
Though I find master's antics funny, I have to agree with him. I’m quite tired myself.
Yesterday, I managed to finish up my axe and got the metal ready for the war hammer today. I was hoping the easier day would prepare me for today, but I think my fatigue is compounding on itself. I slept like the dead last night to the point mom had to wake me up this morning.
“You think you’ll finish today? Master questions me.
“Honestly,” I let out a yawn. “Probably not.”
"I expected as much. You want my help?"
I'm tempted to take master's offer, but I need to be the one to make my weapons. Only I can see the metal's mana structure, and after spending so much time on this project already, I’ll be damned if I don’t finish it properly.
“That’s ok,” I reluctantly shake my head. “I got this.”
"Alright, let me know if you need anything."
“Will do,” I promise.
Master moves off to the side, giving me room to work. I already have a large ingot prepared from yesterday, so I just have to heat it back up. Placing the metal in the forge, I mentally prepare myself for what comes next.
Crafting a war hammer is quite similar to making a battle-axe, with only a few differences, like the handle for the war hammer will be shorter. The handle I made for my axe measured three and a half feet, while the hammer I'm making will only be two and a half. The axe heads had to be drawn out for the blades, while the war hammer will be large chunks of metal on each end.
My war hammer design also actually came from Earth, but not from video games or movies like my axe. No, I decided to shape my war hammer like a ball-peen hammer, much like the hammers we use in the forge.
Image from: https://i2.wp.com/boingboing.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/ball_peen_hammer.jpg
My reasoning is, though I'll mostly be using the flat side, I'm sure the rounded side will prove helpful in many situations. Also, I think my skills will transfer over easier if I'm using a hammer I'm more familiar with. Only this hammer will be much larger and heavier than the ones I'm used to.
Both of the hammer's heads will be much larger, but I think it'll prove a good weapon. I considered a hammer with a spike on one end but figured if I'm using my hammer, then that means I'm using it for blunt force trauma. If I need to stick or cut something, my sword or axe would be a better choice.
I see the metal ingot is almost at the temperature I need it, so I prepare the tongs. When I’m done with this fiery ingot, I’ll have myself a war hammer.
Time to finish strong.
**********
Author’s Notes:
5,000 words.
I didn't post an update on Patron because I knew I would have this chapter out tonight, even if it were after midnight.
I want to thank everyone for their great comments on the last chapter. The discussion everyone had on polearms was fun to read and gave me a lot to think about.
As Aaliyah said in this chapter, I am definitely not a historian. I enjoy reading about blacksmithing and ancient weaponry, but I am by far no expert on the subjects. Please keep discussing things like that and message me if you find any blatant inaccuracies in my work.
I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and as always, stay safe.
Comments
Ember
Wow. Use constructive criticism or your just being and ass.
Bettina
I enjoyed the chapter. For The editing collection: "as I put most of my Strength into my plows" - blows?
lenkite
Wow. this chapter was terrible. I am pretending that i didn't read it. That Axe is useless. That so-called Warhammer is a bad joke. Axe shafts are wooden because they withstand shock. A Waraxe fully made out of metal will crack and split on the shaft any serious blow. Wood shafts especially hickory absorb shock better. Also the warhead will most likely split at where it connects to the shaft before any other failure. A warhammer that cannot be used to pierce heavy armor is a joke. That is what the spike is for. In any case, 40 pound weapons are trash in a fight at her level of strength. She should have restricted herself to 15-20 pounds max. She is just under 3 times stronger than an olympic athlete by her own estimation. She would need to be 8-10 times as strong with Strength at ~500 to wield that effectively. Also, she would need to put on a LOT of weight or she would tip over. Unless she is going to use mana ALL the time to wield her weapons, but her [Magic] stat is not that high. Maybe this is a [Joke] chapter ? Or she is looking to fight 1min fights and then run away ?
Isnt she making her weapons to fight monsters? Historical weapons are good and all but this is a fantasy world yes? Why swing a 1m sword when you can swing a 2m sword? And inercia and momentum is only a problem if you forget that this *is* a fantasy novel. If every law of physic was taken into account everyone would fly when they swing their weapons simply because they swing thay much faster, bows would blow the shooter into the stars pokemon style...
Svish
... forget everything else... the hammer alone makes no sense whatsoever... the hammers we use in our everyday life has a rounded side only for safety... any hammer used for action would have a spike on the other side.
Jason Watson
I almost quit the story with this chapter. There are so many things wrong with every single detail of each weapon that it makes me ill to think about it. Seriously need to scrap this chapter and redo it. A scimitar is not an axe like sword. 2-3 pounds. Similar in weight to a katana, which is also not a heavy sword. No such thing as a two headed battle axe, except for ceremonial weapons, and even 7 pounds would make it more of a pole weapon, like a polaxe. The war hammer... I give up. Just no. Making her weapons 50 pounds would make them impossible to use. Not because she could not lift them easily, but because she would tip over once she extended or swung them. Because, physics.
Morog T Tiny
A sabre is good.. line the cup of the basket with leather and make the basket thick enough to deflect with. There are many types of smithing hammers and while a ball peen would work. replacing the ball side with a spike and making the flat side square with raised points on the corners is going to work better at cutting metal making it better at armor piercing vs crushing. like your story... keep it up.
Lite Fractal
...If you want a truly explosive "boom" weapon, as this is a key point of your narrative, a two-handed axe could work; however, you might want to tool into pole arms such as a halberd, and see if they don't work better. I cant remember which chapter in "Martial world", but there is an epic scene where the MC hammers their opponent into the ground with a two-handed heavy weapon. I think it was a halberd.
Lite Fractal
Hey Kosnik. I have to put my 2 cents here. I had the first break with your story reading this chapter (by this I mean, something that resulted in a strong negative reaction from me and completely broke immersion). I don't mean to offend but I think you need to research more into historical weapons; I am a big enthusiast for medieval weapons and armor - mind you, real historic pieces you can find in museums (and many manors across Europe). Your axe design was painful... :O) Here are a couple of double-headed axes that are a lot more effective and realistic: https://www.by-the-sword.com/p-2480-double-head-medieval-axe.aspx https://www.by-the-sword.com/p-2468-viking-double-head-axe.aspx I also had a painful reaction (not as painful as the axe, mind you) regarding your hammer, specifically: "Both of the hammer's heads will be much larger, but I think it'll prove a good weapon. I considered a hammer with a spike on one end but figured if I'm using my hammer, then that means I'm using it for blunt force trauma." ... In a battle situation, there is practically no difference in blunt-force trauma from both sides of the ball-peen hammer shown. I am sure that in a workshop, or for building purposes, there is a difference; much less so in battle, hitting a living being. While a spike is TOTALLY different form of impact when compared to a hammer-head: both spikes and hammers interact very differently with armors. If you look up medieval war hammers you will see that they nearly universally design, with very little variation (compared to axes or swords, for example); there is a reason for that. Nearly at random, you can see here: https://www.buyingasword.com/war-hammers-2?pagenumber=2 I can understand that, in your novel's world, these people are stronger, and therefore need to use heavier weapons. that is correct. Don't forget about mass and inertia, though - people don't get heavier as they get stronger (they could, in your world - you just need to write that in; you haven't yet), so AnonyGuy is making a valid point. Fiction and games often have smiths using their tools as war hammers - the truth is that a smith's hammer is a poor weapon when compared to a war hammer. A fictional dwarf has different body proportions and mechanics that would make their war hammers be more similar to their forging hammers, but for humans, war hammers are lighter and longer. Medieval war hammers weight only a few pounds (I had to look that up multiple times, I thought they weighed more). Say 7 pounds as an upper limit, half that being more common. If your MC is 4x human strength, then upper limit would be 28 lbs, and 15-20 would be more realistic. I imagine that Del might be able to wield a 50-lb hammer in a fight (due to his higher strength & mass). I am thinking that anything above 1/4 mass will be totally unwieldy, regardless of strength (the point AnonyGuy was making). The stronger you are, the higher the % of your mass that you can effectively wield as a weapon, but only up to a point. Remember that "for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction". So if you take a weapon that is half your weight and swing it forward very fast, your own body will want to move backwards at 1/2 of that speed, and this works against you, making you a less effective fighter. Your strength will help to dig into the ground and push off a foot to keep from moving backwards, but - again - that is only up to a point, as your feet will slide backwards unless they are anchored against something. Once you fix the anchor issue (lets say you fix the feet in place with the air step), you still have the exact same problem with angular momentum since, if I understand my body correctly, it is much less efficient at generating angular momentum than linear (straight ahead) acceleration. Therefore, even if you came up with a way to anchor the feet, all you would do is blow up your knees if you used tried to use your muscles to explosively swing a hammer (with 1/2 your body weight) from left to right (or vice-versa). Being stronger really wouldn't help much with that: your knees would be stronger, but your swing would be equally stronger: the problem persists. You would be limited to diagonal slashes, with the vertical component comprising the majority of the swing, to avoid blowing up your knees. [Lastly, the "equal and opposite reaction" is also true for the angular velocity. Baseball players can only swing bats like they do because they are only a fraction of the body mass of the player. If the bat weighed 1/4 of their weight, and they tried that, I am pretty sure they would blow their knees].
AnonyGuy
This is the worst weapons she could think of, more mass means more inertia, miss once and you're dead, weapons are meant to be quick and manueverable, unless she can get a skill that makes her more massive to counter the weapons' mass, she's gonna die quick, fast and in a hurry when she misses. Having more strength will be more detrimental as she will probably fly off swinging a heavy weapon.
Cyryl Chołodowski
From extensive research consisting of watching videos made by sword enthusiasts, I can say that katanas are the easy-mode swords. Curved weapons cut better, because it's more easy to properly align the edge of the blade for cuts (they kind of auto-correct thanks to their shape)... like, basically... someone who doesn't know how to hold and swing a sword, will be more likely to actually cut with a curved weapon, while a straight sword would skid off the armour. Furthermore, katanas are heavy and somewhat wide, so there is more force behind the strike when using them. They're like if someone took a sword, then an axe and decided to have both. And most of what katanas are, comes from the limitations of ores that were available to the Japanese. They had to make them the way they did, to compensate for shit ores on their island. Anyway... I will take my smartass out and keep reading.
Chris Mantakounis
Yeah, like what? A Warhammer is meant for breaking heavy armor. The hammer side to bash shit and tenderise the fleshy human inside and the spike is punch through and Stab the squishy human. She lost both with her design. That thing has no range. Literally the worst hammer she could make.
Cobbly
All I know about weapons is that Katanas are the joke of the sword world.
Geminus
Like people said, those designs make little to no sense. One is too fantastical and the other is awful for warfare (a warhammer without a spike is no warhammer). Plus her teacher not teaching her this stuff is a huge lost oportunity.
Like the others have said, I'm really disappointed in her choice of weapons. First of all she has to many. Like others have said, where is she going to keep them? Is she going to walk around with all those weapons all the time, and try and switch out mid-fight? Secondly, double headed axes are weapons only in Hollywood and video games. There have been double headed axes made in antiquity, but those were for ceremony. The issue is you have this blade facing you that you need to constantly be worried about every time you draw your arm back to swing, or from your enemy trying to push it into you. There are other issues, but the others have already covered them. I can understand her making these mistakes having never used these types of weapons with an intent to kill before, but her Master should have immediately questioned the validity and value in her choices.
Matthew Walker
I was wondering something similar. A kukri is a kind of machete that's often used like an axe. Would it be a better knife than a dagger? Also it looks cool while being real.
Matthew Walker
I realize I didn't explain what I don't like about those designs. As others have stated Warhammers almost always have an uneven surface of some kind. No real combat axe I've seen has those symmetrical double heads. Considering she's going to fight unknown monsters and taking her skills into account I would recommend a poleaxe like the one in the first video. She still has her sword for shorter range and unarmored targets and then she doesn't have to carry around as many weapons.
Docnox
Right how could our resident dwarf NOT have any design input. Massive opportunity lost. Furthermore its strange to rush the TITLE subject of your story!
Matthew Walker
Those design's don't make sense. I can see how she wouldn't know that but Del would. I think this is a great opportunity for Del to help his apprentice with design before she uses valuable materials. Here's some links to youtube channels I watch witch could help you now and with further crafting research. Shadiversity in particular has videos dealing with fantasy strength and weapons. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZUgxWLfCwY&ab_channel=ModernHistoryTV https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyLpRLgD77A&ab_channel=ModernHistoryTV https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ph-yGlNwkw&ab_channel=Shadiversity https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGy5fUZoNlI&ab_channel=Skallagrim
Nobody
Glad to see she didn't make a dead-blow hammer like some comments were suggesting. While they might have an odd feel to their strikes dead-blow hammers are meant to let you hit something without damaging it by spreading the impact force over time. Great for getting out dents in your armor, terrible for putting dents in someone else's.
Timo Immig
No size changing magic (making steel denser than molecularly possible) would fundamentaly impact everything and make the world less real (being bound by it’s normal rules) Second in order to seriously compress the steel the gravity would be extremly high (Core of earth high) Gravity is a very long range force. Aka if she tries to use gravity to compress steel she will die from all the things flying at her. She can mess with a lot but gravity is not one that should be played with.
Obsidianking
I think the author is trying to make all the weapons fall in line with the combat skills she's develope, or hopes to develope her into. The scimitar sword is more like a axe, so maybe when she uses the sword she can trigger her axe abilities. I think the war hammer design might be limited the in the same way, if she has a spike on one side would the hammer skills not activate because, a spike might be considered a spear. I see Aaliyah using maybe a two weapon fighting style, sword in one hand war hammer in the other, the swords for faster attacks and slashing things, war hammer for the skills and just blunt force Trauma. And the two handed axe for big game hunting, and stuff that needs that hard af hit. I would prefer maybe she make a medieval/wowish sledgehammer or great war hammer for that two handed let's go smash mountain kinda weapon. Ultimately she's probably going to be making thors stormbreaker eventually.
Serran
Nice update. I kind of like the reminder that she is still learning in all respects. Even these not optimized craftings will increase her knowledge.
Derze
yeah, I honestly hope she does a couple tests and realizes she lost a lot of time cuz those weapon choices are shitty as they go. I'm honestly surprised of the fact Del didnt comment on it. I would argue he would know better. She should add hooks on the end of the axe to help grapple armor, plus you can always add spikes to the other end. Dont even get me started on the round hammer, thats just idiotic. Flat and spikes please. She has zero options for ranged, unless you somehow count magic. please reconsider. could be easily justified as a learning experience.
Comiak
Normally I'd agree that she'd want a polearm. But she plans to go into a forest which is one of the places that you wouldn't really want a long-bladed stick in, it getting caught on by branches and trees would mean injury or even death.
John Koor
I really don't understand why she's making so many weapons for herself. This is being treated like an rpg where she has a magic bag she can dump all of her big weapons into and pull them out whenever she needs them, and that point was stressed when the hammer design stated she didn't need a spike because the hammer was for blunt damage only. Ok.. but if she doesn't have a hotbar and a bag of holding, where is she going to pull a massive sword/axe/hammer from?! This is feeling a bit like Terraria where you end up having a quickbar completely filled with specific use tools/weapons. Next chapter will she magically enchant them all together so that they shift between weapon types but only take one space? Will she swiss army knife the weapons into one ridiculous thing? Honestly, I agree that she should have some sort of polearm as her main weapon. Some massive naginata or something.
ZaA
Gotta say, the reasoning for not adding a spike to the war hammer is.. terrible. The whole point of the spike to to pierce through armor/hard materials using the weight and leverage of the shaft and hammer head. Swords cannot replicate that, at all. Cutting with a scimitar, a heavy swinging weapon, is almost exactly like cutting with a battle-axe, while the axe relies more on weight (and the haft helps to keep the axe-head from getting stuck, in comparison to a scimitar), but neither weapon is great for armored opponents. The hammer head is meant for blunt force trauma, which is especially good against armor, along with the spike, which was even better against armor. The spike could easily swing down to piece through a helmet, or other vulnerable parts of the body, while it could also be used to pierce a shield and hook it away due to the curve that the spike usually held. I'm all down for some magical blacksmithing and fantasy, but let's please not make shit up or take away from thousands of years of humans learning to kill humans better. There's a reason spears and war-hammers were some of the best weapons in militaristic history. They're easy at a base level, can be even better with skill, and are insanely strong--using a pole to get increased leverage which translated to more damage. That being said, she was a what.. 20 year old dude who.. didn't know anything about weapons in her previous life, and hasn't had anyone say anything, so I can see her making mistakes, but her mentor seems to be sitting right next to her and likely saw her axe, and didn't point out any design flaws at all, even though there were many (just by the drawing). I assume that means he won't say anything about the war-ball-peen-hammer either.. which is weird, seeing as he's made shit for how many years? You've written the character as super smart but come on.. a ball-peen.. really? She'd have used punches, ball-peens, and sharp tools in her smithing.. she'd surely have realized in her MANY hours of forging that pointy metal hurt metal more than round metal?.. Or something about surface areas relation to weight and how it impacts the force to an area? Or how her battle-axe has.. 0 features. Theres no edges to hook a shield or ankle. There's no spike or blade on the end (which is beneficial for multiple reasons that I both know and can make up off the top of my head). Please. If your character had hundreds of gold in materials.. at least make her treat the material like she shouldn't be wasting it... "sketched out my design really quickly"... No planning AT ALL lol.
Comiak
There's a reason why people put spikes on one end of the war hammer and that's for piercing tough armor. the MC literally just rounded that end which does nothing, in fact, it makes it worse, and if she wants to enter an area with powerful monsters that will undoubtedly have tough chitin and hide that point that she rounded down would come in real handy. The less area the force is spread out the more likely it will pierce armor. The mc should also really consider that since she didn't make the axe have a pointed end she should really have the hammer have one instead to round out the bludgeoning, slashing and piercing type of attacks. all of which have their uses. slashing for vulnerable soft-skinned monsters. bludgeoning for tough hide, and piercing to crack open chitin like those spiders. In short by making the MC make a rounded end, which serve no added function, you make her incredibly dumb considering the pointed end would have helped against monsters she's already fought!!!
Ungrave
Cool war axe, and then a fat peen hammer. Hehe. Thanks for the chapter!
Steven Palmer
Do you think there's a chance you might get some gravity magic ability? always just thought it was extremely interesting on how if they were able to use gravity magic to compress the steel.
Enough Efficiency
I agree. Seems like her choices are; Axe because she used her Dad’s spare and chopped some trees. Hammer because she uses one in a forge. (Seems like it’d be a negative overlap to have forging skills and hammer combat skills..) Sword because they’re the romanticised melee weapon. I would think something like a full metal spear with detachable (replaceable) head would have been a better choice. Especially when dealing with unknown monsters
Kapelteta
I like that she is showing her inexperience at weapon design here (I would probably have made very similar choices with no reference material), and hope that she reevaluates her designs after a few fights. A large part of this story is slice of life and part of that is showing the mc making mistakes and learning from them. I would find it funny for one of the refugee soldiers from Drey to end up in the village and sees her running around with these weapons and go wtf?! Hopefully leading to a consultation on the practical applications of weapon design. After all the village is full of hunters, beaurocrats, crafters, and just general townsfolk who have no such knowledge. Not that Aliyah would probably think to consult them anyway. A realistic but frustrating character flaw in our mc.
Bobs
The ball-peen hammer is pretty meh as a weapon since both ends are essentially blunt. Most war hammers have a hammer for one side and a spike on the reverse. The latter is best for piercing heavier armor (whether metal or biological). A number of war axes (especially long-handled ones, rather than smaller hand axes) are the same. Most of the time the added functionality of armor piercing overcomes any advantage of having a second blade on the reverse, which is mostly a video-game/film thing (though possibly popularized into the author/designer conciousness by the book Druss the Legend)
CyclopsSlayer
"cut your tongs out myself!" - tongues "usual plays are the worst." - is the worst (the subject is singular)
Sondadir
I don't think she'll take all her weapons at once when she goes into the forest. But she must have a copy of each kind if she is to advance her skills.
Blackmoon11
I am curious about her choice in weapons. A knife is a good weapon of last resort , scimitar ? curved yes, but I don't think you swing it like a katana. The fact that her dexterity and strength are at similar levels should help her balance while swinging a heavy 2 handed weapon. I don't think she needed both a battle axe and a Warhammer as they have overlapping roles, I would have gone with a great sword or even a bow instead (no ranged options).
Erriballon
Thanks so much for the chapter. I wish I had useful info to help.
tibbish
Yeah poleaxe would be badass!
Zarik0
Well i disagree on her design and choice, getting multiple weapon like this is zzz (some of her design have problem and she cant really move with 3 weapon in her back, better have one who do all, a pollaxe and dagger and shord sword as backup) Get her The Pollaxe (AKA Poleaxe), best weapon she can have for all situation and its fucking op (with her strengh stats she just need to beef more this type of design and its become monstruous) (full the void of the original design for more weight and etc) (you get the idea, original design and she modifie it for work for this world) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5mqf-GNIXI Check this vid author its a real good vid with explanation (advantage/desadvantage and why its a fucking badass weapons and how they were used)
Brad Johnston
yep though i would wonder if the inside bevel is wide and deep enough on the ball-peen if it could be used to catch blades maybe?
Adevna
Hmm, the war hammer, with the design you're going with, was usually used to crack armor. The "flat" side wouldn't be flat, but have some triangular angled surfaces to direct the force of the blow. Blunt trauma is great, but it's even better when paired with pinpoint pressure areas. The back wouldn't be rounded either. It would be a spike or hook. Such a feature can be used to snag other weapons and pull them out of the way so that you can get your strike in. Helps heaps against shields and polearms/spears. Overall, I really like the weapon choices you're going with though. :)
Chris
That's the thing with fantasy, physics always goes out the window. In comparison, swing around a normal household hammer and then swing around a sledgehammer. weight inertia affects you no matter how strong you are. Carry over to her, a regular ax and her battle ax, would be our hammer and sledgehammer
Black Unicorn
That is true but she could use that rounded head for her blacksmithing. back in the old days blacksmiths and loggers would use there work tools to fight instead of bringing a sword with them. No need to train to use another weapon and you just clean it then get back to work. I'm sure a wood axe to the chest hurt's A LOT, even if it won't kill an armored opponent.
Black Unicorn
This was a Vary nice chapter to read and I love the thought you put in all this. all you need to do is find a believable reason why her axe can be used in a high level fight as it is now it seems to heavy to use verses anything even remotely smart.
Black Unicorn
If my history teacher was right more knights died to a dagger to the face then any other melee weapon. And just think even if you don't die you still just lost an eye most likely and that will and your job as a knight real quick.
Black Unicorn
I have taken classes on proper weapon use and you are right to a large degree, but she can over come some of it with proper form. Though she would still need about 90 lbs. more weight to be able to use that axe in anyway with out it swinging her around instead. And that only with the right forms, thou that would make it USELESS in a fight with a human or any smart humanoid.
Jack Trowell
deigned => design
Jack Trowell
Poised => poisoned
Jack Trowell
Your right => you're
Jack Trowell
tongs => tongues
1536539
Thanks for the chapter, one thing I want to add is the reason hammers and axes have wooden handles is not just for the weigh, as a matter of fact the weight is not even the most important aspect of a handle, in present times it is possible to make plastic or metal/plastic handles that are much stronger and lighter than wood yet wooden handles still reign supreme, and that is because wood works great with the human body, it absorbs the rebound force from the metal heads( the most important property), it offers the right amount of flexibility, the surface friction is much superior to metal even if the metal had engraved patterns to improve the grip and lastly the ratio of the weight of the handle to the weight of the head is much better, you see the weight distribution and center of gravity of a weapon are arguably more important than how heavy the weapon is. Lastly I want to go back to the first point, the absorption of rebounding force, the reason axes and hammers have a relatively small head compared to the handle is to focus the force into a small point which gives it great force, the downside is the backlash that is sent back through the weapon from the hit object is also great, wood is amazing at absorbing that backlash as opposed to metal which caries that force back to the body(this is bad), even a flexible metal will do that, it will vibrate and the vibrations it sends down will be an absolute nightmare in any prolonged fight. The reason this isn’t a big problem with spears is the direction of the force, a spear is used primarily for thrusting and in a thrust the force applied is parallel to the shaft, the feedback is also parallel to the shaft which on one hand means there isn’t much room for negating it but on the other hand it puts little strain on the arms and shoulders. I hope you find this helpful and I’m sorry if i came across as too harsh, I think it’s great what you are doing here, integrating real physics into a fantasy novel is much harder than chugging everything to magic but it makes it much more beautiful, I believe this work has the potential to be a masterpiece and you are doing a good job.
Andrew
Thank you!
Tetsuki
Yeah but the real world never had stats... So the weight is not a problem.
Todd Kloos
The kind of huge, double-bladed battle axe that Aaliyah is making only existed in fantasies. Real axes made for combat were lighter and thinner than axes made for cutting wood, with a blade on one side only (sometimes there would be a spike on the other side). You want a battle axe to be as light as possible so you can swing it faster, a super heavy axe would never hit the opponent and would quickly exhaust its wielder.
Dax
Thanks for the chapter! I just want to mention that the reverse spike on a warhammer is one of it's most useful aspects. The ball end of a ball-peen hammer is mostly used for rivetting, but I don't expect she's going to be hammering any arm-sized rivets any time soon. The spike on a warhammer is for focusing all the force behind the swing into as small an area as possible for the most damage to a heavily armoured target. The flat side is more useful for causing a great deal of crushing force over a large area on unarmoured or lightly-armoured opponents.
tibbish
The rounded side of the hammer is no use for attacking or defense. The utility of the rounded portion on a ball peen hammer is to peen over the heads of metal rod to make rivets or other metal rounding work. For attacking it'll just skip off someone else's shield or armor. For the war hammer either make the other side a spike and for the flat side give it a rough or spiked surface so it can bite into what she hits and transfer energy better for more effectiveness.
Giperman
I think you could say that Weapon skills helps you swing super hevy objects without stumbling under their weight. System-fuckery in action so to say.
Talespinner Lore
"I'll cut your tongs out myself!" That's some strange-ass biology right there. I think he means 'tongues'.
Ikawaii
What colour is the alloy?
Tera
Hmm nearly everything I wanted to mention is already here ( suprise chapter/nice fight with the details/weapon mass momentum) So it left the axe form. With a blade this curved it would be hard to penetrate, because the form offers no real focus point. Sure no precise hitting is needed. On the off side the probability of sliding off is much higher than with conventional blade-forms. Well in the end there is magic and stuff. Thank you for the chapter!¡! The critic here is on a really high Niveau 😅🤣 (and I think I talk for all, that it's really nice that you're including pictures about the forms you're writing about)
Alteron
Thanks for the chapter, loved the fight
Sekander
Firstly I really liked the fight in the beginning. Especially the little details, like the two guys who dropped their bows and moved to their backup weapon, their swords. Just like any reasonable archer would do: carry a f**** backup weapon. But most people tend to overlook that stuff so very nicely done! I also very much like your approach to the war axe and hammer, especially that you make this subtle hint that video game axes are not how real war axes have looked like. I haven’t read the comments of the last chapter so I don’t know what has been said already. The only real point I have to say is that the main use case for war hammers is against armor and to focus as much force into a small point as possible. Additionally if you want to penetrate armor a „sharp“ object isnt going to achieve anything. The more material you have to move the more force is wasted in moving said material so very thin spikes are best for that kind of penetration and a small flat part (the hammer) when you have no hope of penetrating and just want to introduce blunt trauma. Pole arms as was probably already said are just (more or less) the two handed version of normal war hammers which you would have wielded with one hand. Another point I want to add to the war axe (this one is just me rambling). War axes are very different from wood cutting axes. They are much thinner, so you do not loose too much force moving material (flesh bones etc) apart but instead do more meaningful damage and penetrate deeper. But you already hinted that you have considered that so no complaints from me. Now we come to the part about one handed vs two handed. The reason because one uses a one handed weapon is so you can use the other hand for something else. In history terms that would have been a shield at least until armor was so good that you didn’t need a shield. That is incidentally also the time one handed weapons fazed out of use as the primary weapon. Lastly another little point (probably also already said) swords were mainly used as a backup, because they are not very specialized. So a normal warrior would probably carry a specialized weapon which is in its main use case superior to the sword (bow for range, spear for penetration against single targets on medium range, axes for cutting soft targets on short range, hammers for blunt force or penetrating against single armored targets on short range) and the sword as main backup for when the enemy has crossed the optimal distance or you have to defend and are outnumbered (in that cases historically you do not want a spear or pole arm for example) where swords and unhistorical war axes do have great advantage because you can threaten a bigger area than with other weapon types. But in case of an adventurer having multiple specialized weapons for different scenarios and a general purpose weapon like a sword is a good choice so good job! (PS. The weapon of choice to kill an armored opponent is a knife, if you are one on one and you just have to kill someone. You need to get as close to your opponent as possible grabble him to the ground and get the knife into the slits of the armor. Maybe useful for a future fight scene)
Sondadir
Her weapons are not over-size, just over-weight. As long as her weapons are no more than half of her own weight,she can use them without worry with her strenght stat.
Sebastian Lachs
Now, physics does not care, if you have a superhuman who weighs less than 150lbs throwing a 40lbs axe around. That girl will fall flat on her face, because Newton's laws don't care about stats. Momentum is king. She'd need to weigh several times more. I don't want to do the math, but she'd probably need to be like 4 times denser.
Nikita Becker
The Biggesee problem with oversized weapons is not weicht but inertia. Even with unlimited strength, the Momentum of the weapon will Thron the User arround and mess up stance and technique
Timo Immig
Thanks
Vegetables
Tongs out > tongues out The other the most usually > the other usually Non-poised > non poisoned
Vegetables
Surprise chapter? Thanks!
Kosnik4
Corrections
