Hi this is Benji Himura I am starting a new fanfic. I don't own Ragnarok online I also don't own the characters of that story or the plot; taking out the changes that I will make and the characters that I will create. I own Benji Himura and others characters that will show up in the story. It might be violence and sex in the story so if you are underage of seventeen are warned the content might be too improper to your age. Read by your own will and risk. In anyway enjoy the story.
Signed: Benji Himura
"Text" Talked sentences.
'Text' Thoughts.
-Text- Sounds effects.
(Text) Talked sentences in a foreign language
: Text: Messages show in an electronic screen or written.
Text: something being recalled, flashbacks, scenes being replayed.
Text: a detail found in a location, scene, person, recording and images that originally wasn't there.
Chapter sixteen: Long term planning
One day had passed since Benji's improvised speech on the yard, knowing about the approaching day of the next WoE they are all out to train and level. Benji was in his office checking on the guild books and seeing how much was spent or used from the treasury and stock.
Teresa was there since she knew the amount of items that were taken in that day and later returned. "Three millions worth of potions, arrows and other consumable items." Benji sighed after finishing the math thanks to a calculator that Makie had borrowed to him. "I am not really sure if it was a good mark or not."
"Considering the amount that I heard that other guilds expend regularly in the WoE I would say that is a good mark." Teresa commented with a smile while running her fingers on her long purple hair, since she was in Amatsu the Kafra company decided to make a more fitting uniform for her so it was a kimono with an apron but the usual band was there. "You defended the castle expending only three millions in items it is a sizable feat."
Of course they weren't counting the food eaten on that day, the price of the weapons, armors and cards bought solely from that use; if they did the amount would easily pass five hundred millions, the equipment was considered long term items so they wouldn't be added on that total, Benji was trying to calculate the average amount that will be expend in the WoE periods.
"If this is all may I take my leave?" Teresa asked to Benji. "Sure." Benji answered. "Thanks for your help." "You are welcome." She replied bowing before leaving. Benji closes the account books and put them on his lower drawer.
Stretching Benji sighed before opening the upper left drawer of the desk, he pulls a thicker and smaller book placing it over his desk and then pulls another one much thinner. Flipping the pages of the thinner book Benji finds the last written page and opens the thicker book.
Those were his study books, since he started to develop his own variations of attacks he wrote them down and tried to perfect them, one of his frequent self made questions was why there was such a lack of martial arts and other combat techniques like that in Rune, sure there was the jobs and the skills but every where was the very same thing, every swordsman knew Bash, every thief knew Detoxify, and so went on, there wasn't techniques in the very own sense of the term.
Dante said that Benji's sword skill were good and that he used well the sword, Benji saw and learned that there weren't schools that taught how to properly fight, at least they don't exist in Rune-Midgard, Layla told him when asked that every swordsman develops their own fighting style, the skills were innate until gaining the points and experience for them.
It was the same with all the other classes, that lack of organization and fighting knowledge made Benji think that Tristan III was more focused in quantity than quality of the adventurers, the status and skills made up for technique to a certain level. But if a man with certain amount of knowledge in martial arts and military strategies like Benji could so easily become so powerful when pairing his knowledge and abilities to what he gained in Rune-Midgard, Benji was sure that if he expends enough time training and developing techniques he would come with more skills if he thinks outside the box that every one in Rune-Midgard things.
The results were visible; his Sonic Dagger as he came to call his variation of the Sonic Blow gained variations because the versatility of holding daggers, the Venom Punch was developing well too. Haruka practiced karate and she trained the monks of the guild with it making them deadlier than before.
Haruka also developed a couple of new spells, but she kept them mostly secret from everyone Benji only learned about them from Makie. Benji also remember blocking the strikes from his enemies with his weapons, while mostly everyone did that Benji managed to block the entire damage of the strikes when the others still took some.
Currently Benji was trying to find a way to use the basic splash damage of the Magnum Break in empty handed strikes and as well changing the element of it, the same went with Bash. "Benji-taisho!" Haruka exclaimed bursting on his office.
While normally entering without knocking Haruka usually had good reasons to enter there without checking it was okay first. "What?" Benji asked resting his pencil on his half filled book. "Recently I have been thinking about how you fight and I recalled few things." Haruka said moving to his desk. "You remember your fight with Dante?"
Benji scratched his hair before answering. "Not really well." Benji answered. "I mean I can't recall the details of it all that well, I mean I was tired and had lost a lot of blood so I wasn't all that attentive to everything."
"You remember the final moments?" Haruka asked seriously, she felt that it was too important for Benji just forget like it wasn't important. "Not really, it is quite blurry." Benji answered after straining his memory. "How you parried his attacks?" Haruka asked.
"Parrying?" Benji replied confused. Haruka let out an exasperate breath. "You remember how you fought when we saved Maria?" Haruka asked pinching the bridge of her nose. "What exactly of that?" Benji asked back, he really couldn't see where the conversation was going to head.
Haruka drags Benji out of his office, she feared that he wouldn't recall so she made Layla wait by the inner yard. Placing Benji in front of Layla Haruka walks away. "Okay Layla as I told you." Haruka said to the silver haired knight, Layla nodded and turned to Benji. "Sorry darling." Layla said in an apologetic tone before bringing down her sword on him.
Benji dodged the strike confused of what is going on, Layla in the other hand was ready for battle equipped with her favorite sword, Two-hand quicken and berserker potion, she was striking hard and fast at Benji. Benji wasn't with his usual equipment so he was really attentive at Layla's movements so he could avoid her strikes.
"What is going on?!" Benji shouted to Haruka and Layla. Layla is focused only on attacking him and doesn't waste a breath answering him. "Since you can't remember what I want you to remember them we have to force your body to remember." Haruka answered from her safe spot in the edges of the room. "I am sure that your body will remember. Quagmire."
Benji feels his feet heavy because the sludge of the spell, Layla strikes and Benji acted before noticing, he couldn't dodge so he lightly slapped the sword off track using the back of his left hand.
Layla let out a surprised yelp as she loses her balance, Benji spins on his heels and hits Layla's chest hard with the heel of his left hand before she could recover from his parry, Layla gasped as the air of her lungs were forcefully expelled from her. She falls two meters back gasping for breath and clutching her hurting chest, the armor took the brunt of the damage yet she felt a lot of pain, Benji knew where and how to hit to inflict pain.
"Layla!" Benji exclaimed when realizing what he had done, he rushes to her side and heals his lover. Layla smiled through the pain. "It is okay…" She said between gasps. "I was waiting…for this…"
"Haruka what in name of hell are you thinking?!" Benji shouted to his other lover. "As I said Benji-taisho." Haruka said moving to him. "Your body remembered and reacted when you were pressed in a situation where you couldn't dodge or move away from the incoming attack, you moved the attack away from you."
Layla nodded agreeing, being in Benji's arms with him holding her tightly made up for the pain on her chest that was already passing. "You used that movement twice with Dante." Haruka said seriously. "You avoided two killing blows with that, and when we rescued Maria you also used it a lot."
Now that he knew what he was looking Benji saw that Haruka was right, he could recall that, he knew what he was doing, if the sword isn't moving fast enough it is only a piece of metal, he recalled reading something like that in the past, the theory was if the slash or stab weren't quick enough it could be easily slapped away from the side.
Benji could almost feel a click as that information falls in place as a piece of a puzzle and he can easily see all the times that he did that, each time being easier than the previous, it started with a blade in his left hand, a mockery of main gauche or whatever the double bladed style of European fencing was named, as his eyes learned to see high speed movements he was able to do it bare handed, slapping away with the back of his left hand so the attack would slide besides his body, simple but painfully effective.
"We all saw you change the path of two attacks that would have landed on you when you faced Dante, by doing that you lasted as long as you did even when your HP was very low." Haruka explained. "When facing those samurai mobs when we rescued Maria you did that again preventing serious wounds and unbalancing them. It is a worth skill to develop and for you train consciously."
Benji had to nod agreeing but again Haruka tricked him and made him hurt Layla. "You aren't getting any for…" Benji stopped in mid sentence. "How much damage you took?" He asked to Layla. "Seventeen hundred and sixty four points." Layla answered. "For eighteen days." Benji finished to the stunned Haruka.
"That isn't fair!" Haruka exclaimed angrily. "I was trying to help!" "You made me hit Layla." Benji replied. "It was just training!" Haruka exclaimed. "Not the force that I used." Benji shot back. "You haven't warned me about this and because I acted in reflex I couldn't hold back."
Haruka whined with tears running down her cheeks, of all Benji's lovers Haruka was the one who often gets disciplined because her actions, after all Haruka more than often end doing something not exactly bad but inconvenient, she knew that Benji was strict with her.
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Maria and Raki are having fun in Lutie with Alexis and Iris escorting and tanking for them. The two older girls smiled as the two girls actually play and run around the dungeon, after all it looked like a toy factory. "You two don't get so far from us!" Alexis called the two children.
"Hai!" the two replied as one as they climb on a pile of sturdy gift boxes. Alexis chuckled as the two have fun. "It has been a while since we had fun too." Isis commented also watching on the two girls. "We joined a WoE guild and trained hard to defend our castle." Alexis commented, it was true that they were so serious about leveling that they haven't much time for have fun, but she also knows that she wouldn't have reached level 99 so quickly if she was by herself. "Besides we also have fun in the guild."
"We do." Isis replied blushing as she remembers the parties fueled by Makie's enthusiasm and music. "And if we find our allies things will be easier for everyone and we will be able to get more time for ourselves and have fun."
The two girls run when hearing Maria and Raki crying, it wasn't a wail, but a cry of pain. They find the two girls facing an Angeling, the mob of Santa porings and poporings hitting them a handful of times, yet the two girls aren't running away but hitting the MVP hard with their bunnies/weapons.
Alexis is drawing her sword and about to jump in. "Isis let go of me!" Alexis shouted while Isis is holding on her arm. "They need help!" "Look at them." Isis said in an unusual firm tone. "They haven't called for help or assistance." "They are just children!" Alexis replied scared of the two being hurt.
"I will heal them." Isis said to Alexis. "But let them fight, look at their eyes, they are serious about killing the Angeling, they would be mad if you interrupted them." Alexis bits her lower lip worried about the two girls, as it happened to most of the girls of the girl Maria and Raki became like everybody's little sisters.
Suddenly the Angeling explodes and so does the summoned slaves, Maria cheered and jumped excitedly with Raki hugging her and jumping too, Maria got the MVP of the event. The two girls laugh excitedly, Alexis clears her throat, and the two girls froze and look back at the two older girls.
"What did we said about staying close?" Alexis scolded. "We are sorry." Both girls said as one. "Are you two crazy?" Alexis continued. "Fighting an MVP all alone like that? Sure you two have hissatsu equips but that doesn't mean that you two can just go out and kill Angelings like that."
The two girls listen to the lecture in silence and with their heads low. "But forget about that." Isis said cheerfully. "You two did great together; killing an Angeling all by yourselves being novices is an impressive feat. Congratulations."
"Isis!" Alexis exclaimed as the two little girls cheer up. "Come on Alexis they did really well and you already scolded them." Isis replied with a smile. "Come on let me heal the two of you." Isis said turning to the two girls. Alexis sighed and throws her hands in the air and walks away few steps before sitting down.
Alexis wasn't really angry about the incident, true she was also very bold when she was a novice and swordswoman, specially after Benji tanked them, but in light of her new experiences and her time as a squad leader in the guild she began to worry more about safety, specially when Tsugumi told her that she was brutally attacked and that Benji arrived in time to prevent her rape.
The weight of that knowledge finally made her understand at least a fraction of what Benji daily deals with, talking with Layla also made Alexis understand more about the value of her friends and companions as well the responsibility of her new position.
Alexis learned what led to the formation of the guild but it was just after Benji departed for his not so successful recruiting letting his subordinated act on their own that she came to truly understand the truth, it was when she was giving a group of girls to level up that she began to realize how serious things was for the twenty five people that originally created the guild, Makie wasn't truly affected by what happened so wasn't really counted on it even thought she was a important person within the guild.
Alexis saw her party mates being killed by MVPs in the past, sure they were all with safety on and the girls just cursed at their luck and laughed later, but Alexis saw them being killed and felt responsible, sure no one was expecting her to kill a Garm by herself, it was hard even to a party of base level 90.
Then there was the whole reputation that her guild gained just because of what Benji did before creating it, she saw him just after that battle, he was dirty, war torn and covered in blood, the perfect image of a demonic assassin that her mother used to terrify her during her not so distant childhood days.
She saw him fighting many times, most of those times he was pressed back by a large number of enemies, yet she never saw fear on his face, he almost looked excited about it, he would hack his way with such an ease that often made Alexis jealous and desiring to be an assassin.
But he wasn't cold and mean as the assassins of the tales of her childhood described them, he was gentle and attentive always helping out other, then there was yesterday's incident in the yard, she couldn't hear well what Atsuko, Layla and Haruka said to him, but he looked different from his usual self.
She couldn't explain her feelings when seeing him like that, the best that she could think is that she as most of the girls of the guild forgot that Benji was just human and that he also felt the same weight if not a much bigger one over his shoulders.
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"Benji!" Maria shouted running to the assassin and she jumping on him, Benji holds the girl as she impacts on his chest. "I seems like you had lots of fun." Benji chuckled lightly; Maria nodded and started to tell him everything that she did.
Raki smiled and walked inside the dinning room, Layla smiles at her sister. "So what you two did today?" Layla asked to her sister. "Played on the Toy Factory." Raki answered. "And killed an Angeling by ourselves!" Maria chimed. "That is amazing." Layla said to them.
She looks at Benji who is holding Maria and lifting her light, he sniffs the little girl's hair. "I am sweaty but I am not stinking!" Maria exclaimed squirming on his grip. "Benji what is wrong?" Layla asked worriedly. "Why you smell like gunpowder?" Benji asked to Maria.
It wasn't an unfamiliar scent for him; he fired a revolver more than few times with his grandfather, so he also made gunpowder for bombs and other traps, so he knew the scent of gunpowder smoke. "Well there were a couple of girls of one of those new jobs there in Lutie." Alexis said recalling the incident. "Maria was very interested on them; I think that they are named gunslingers."
"Why I really don't like that smile?" Isis asked to Layla as Benji smiled still holding Maria as if she was a doll. "That smile usually means that he is up something." Layla commented casually. "So Maria you want to become a gunslinger?" Layla asked to the child. "Hai!" Maria exclaimed with a nod. "You multi-class first then you change to gunslinger." Benji said holding the girl under his left arm as if she was a bag of something. "But I think that I will investigate those guns first."
Layla chuckled at how Benji manhandled Maria with such an ease. "Why that?" Layla asked. "From where I came firearms are the main weaponry used, I by myself have some experience with them." Benji answered. "If I can add them to my usual arsenal I can do some really nasty things."
"You go think on those nasty things." Layla says taking Maria from Benji. "I will take these two to the hot spring." "Okay." Benji replied with a smile. "I think that Makie can help in making the guns better, it is still time to get store open so we will go ask around where we can find some." Layla nodded and sees Benji off.
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Meanwhile Atsuko was back to her still former guild's castle. Since she warned about her visit Helen were waiting with tea ready, as well Aiko and two more female guild members were there too. "Sorry but you know how hard it is too keep things secret here." Helen said with an apologetic smile. "They want to hear what you did in the Silver Moon castle."
Atsuko chuckled, it was home after all, her family and friends, and she knew very well how the girls loved a gossip. "Trust me it is the same there." Atsuko commented cheerfully while sitting in an empty chair. "I am not mad."
"So how that castle looks like from the inside?" Aiko asked curiously. She visited the castle area and the castle was good looking on the outside. "It is beautiful." Atsuko answered as Helen pours the tea for them. "You know Amatsu's dungeon? The one with the tatame mats?"
"Yeah." Aiko replied. "It is similar to that." Atsuko said. "But there aren't many rooms like that, everything is made of polished and lacquered stone, they are painted to look like wood, sliding doors, tatame mats and of course some gorgeous paintings. Don't even get me started on the bath house."
"Bath house?" Laura one of the guild's snipers asked curiously. "It starts with a changing room, in there we undress and leave the clothes, get a towel and there is a refrigerator with cold drinks too." Atsuko explained recalling every detail of the changing room. "And it is huge, I mean eighty one girls bath there daily and there are days that all of them bath together and there is still room for more, I counted one hundred spaces to place the clothes."
"Wow." Aiko gasped sipping the tea. "What else?" "There is the bathing area." Atsuko replied. "And it is at least twice bigger than the changing room, it is divided in two areas, one is the washing area, in there you wash yourself, use shampoo soap, whatever you also use when bathing, then you wash all that away with portable shower heads, pails of water or even one of the many showers there, but they aren't separated in stalls it everything open."
"That sounds really odd." Lynn a lord knight commented eating a cookie from a plateful of them. "I thought the same in the beginning." Atsuko said. "But no one care besides it is just girls there, I think that one of the reasons that they are so tight together is that bath house. Besides the washing area there is the hot spring, it is a huge pool of naturally hot water that surfaces from a underground pocket heated by a volcano or something, at least was that what Haruka explained, anyway after we are clean we soak there for as long as we want, and there is space for all of us and some more to be in comfortably."
"It must be huge." Helen commented impressed. "It is, and above everything it is great." Atsuko said with a smile. "Warms you up to the core and is almost like all your stress, worries, soreness, pain and problems float away from you, and then there is the view."
"View?" The four asked confused. "Yes, the hot spring is located in a higher ground, well the whole castle is, so the hot spring as a view of the valley behind the castle, you can see the pink and white covered mountains and valleys, the pools of darker colors of other flowers and trees, it is breathtaking. And in the night is mystical."
"Now you are making us not only curious but jealous." Aiko commented with a chuckle. "But sounds like a wonderful place to rest." "It is." Atsuko replied. "After a hard day staying there relaxing is the best thing in the world."
"And the people there?" Helen asked; she wanted to know how Atsuko were received by the guild. "They are nice, but I can't say that I befriended everyone, I mean even in here there are people that I know but isn't my friends." Atsuko answered sipping her tea. "Everyone is nice and friendly, but you know how it is in large groups, people tend to drift together because things in common, I ended in the group that is called inner circle."
"What is means?" Aiko asked she also cared a lot about Atsuko; after all she was the one who aided her development with Helen. "The inner circle is more or less like the officials of an army, in Seiryu's legions it means the ones with the responsibility over the other members and the most experienced ones of the bunch, I don't mean solely level but living experiences." Atsuko answered. "For example Benji's second in command Layla, which is also his lover, the second in the line, I am the first there anyway, she is a knight she is a little less than six months younger than me, but she passed through a hell before the guild was formed."
"What you mean?" Helen asked worried. "Originally twenty three of the original guild members were prisoners of the Wasted Years. A twenty fourth were kidnapped in front of Benji which led him to rescue her and destroy the Wasted Years, those women were raped for a very long period of time, bound and chained in beds to be used as sets of holes for the guild members and others that the guild allowed to use for pleasure." Atsuko answered seriously. "The Seiryu's legions original purpose was to give to those women a place to be together and help the other to heal of the mental wounds gained in that time."
"And how it changed from that to a powerful WoE guild?" Lynn asked. "Benji's fame caused that." Atsuko answered. "Because his fame Tomotaka Amatsu's emperor gave him the Silver Moon castle and a six months period to get ready to the WoE, because of that the guild recruited friends of the girls that were members, people who they trust which would not only help them on the WoE but help to heal the wounds of those women. The inner circle was originally composed of girls of the twenty nine members of the original guild not counting Benji."
"So they are the ones who know that won't be expelled or leave the guild." Aiko commented with a nod. "They are also serious about Benji." Atsuko added. "They are fiercely loyal to him."
"And how that Layla who were raped became Benji's lover?" Laura asked. "Time passed, they lived together, she started to see him more than just a leader and idol, one thing led to the other and when she felt that she could accept his touch she gave herself to him." Atsuko answered. "Benji's acceptance of her was everything that she needed to fully recover from her wounds."
"Knowing that a man, one that knows what she have been through, accepted, respected and loved her made her regain her faith in men." Helen said in a level tone. Atsuko nodded agreeing. "Everyone in the guild knows that Benji won't force or order them to anything like that, sure he gives them commands but they are the normal commands of a leader to his subordinates." Atsuko added. "Benji hates and despise rape and kills with a vicious fury a rapist. We all know what happened with the Wasted Years and the Golden Years when they attacked his pet."
"So what happened to that Sohee anyway?" Aiko asked, she wondered about that sometimes. "Tsugumi was beaten up pretty badly." Atsuko answered. "But we arrived just in time to avoid her rape; they tore her clothes just before we entered the room, after that is know history."
The girls nod at the monk's words. "And about him?" Helen asked. "He works hard." Atsuko answered lazily stirring her tea. "He is always working on something on his office, either taking care of the guild's finances or organizing the inventory, he gives items to the members I mean the items that the castle gives, but he only does that based in how hard they work and if the item will be well used."
"We don't want to know about that." Aiko commented flatly. Atsuko chuckled lightly taking great pleasure in stalling that. "Let's just say that more things happen in his office than just guild related work."
Now that made the four adventurers blush madly, sure they are considerably old, still beautiful and young looking thanks to the transcendence, so they are experienced and have knowledge about that area of life, yet as mostly everyone they are bound to a more old fashioned and common way of thinking and acting, the idea of using the office for those acts was shocking.
"If those walls could talk, even better if his desk could tell the tales of all that happened above and under it." Atsuko purred in a low, sultry and smoky voice. "And don't even mention the Emperium… it also saw things in the very same day of the WoE… who would know that while we fought the priestess assigned to guard that room with him kept him 'distracted'…"
Helen choked on her tea, Aiko crushed her fork sending a piece of her vanilla cake to land on her ample bosom, Lynn fell over her back when leaning back too much on the chair, Laura covers her nose trying to stop the flow of blood from her nose. Atsuko laughed at them, true she lied about Benji and Jannine having sex in the Emperium room, but why waste such a good chance to tease them.
Helen dabs her lips with a napkin. "It is clear that you are enjoying you time there." She said with a smile. "So when you will be moving?" "Moving?" Aiko asked confused while wiping the mess from her breasts and cleavage, did she missed something in the conversation?
"I was planning on today." Atsuko answered honestly. "You already know my condition, there are things that I want to do, and places that I want to see before it finally happens, I love every one of you and treasured all my time here." "But is time for you to leave home." Helen said with an understanding nod. "It is kind of sad, but that time arrives to everyone, at least you found the person that you want to expend your live with."
Atsuko nodded confirming. "I know that he is the right one to grant me my immortality." Atsuko said holding her tea cup with both hands. "Never before in my life had I felt that to someone." "Hey what are you two talking about?" Lynn asked confused.
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Einbroch, Benji felt that the air of that city reeked with the scent of smoke and toxins, yet was lightly familiar. "Kind of smells like home." Makie commented recalling the scent of the exhaustions of cars and other type pollution of the air in a large city back on Earth. "But is much worse."
Benji nodded agreeing, he got a large amount of weapons from a store and some merchants, he also bough as many rounds he could carry which isn't little, it was enough for their research, while not fully familiar with the insides of a gun Benji knows enough to replicate the mechanisms of the front of the slide, hammer and firing pin, Makie would be using her own engineering knowledge plus the weapons to create few newer models, adding their knowledge they would have enough to build something after some trials.
Benji liked the feel of the double barreled side by side shotgun that he is so carelessly holding resting the barrel on his right shoulder; it recalled his long destroyed air rifle. "So can you make me anything bolt action?" Benji asked to the dancer.
"Well making a bolt action rifle shouldn't be so hard." Makie commented; the mechanics were pretty simple to replicate. "But the whole issue is ammo, this generic crap that they sell here as cartridges are too faulty, so are the guns."
"They don't have iron sights or any kind of aiming aid." Benji commented more familiar with the external appearance of a pistol. "So aiming is hard, no wonder the guns here lessen your accuracy. We should work on iron sights and barrels, making properly aligned barrels increase the accuracy, and about ammo we can work on something, depending of the powder we can make our own loads."
"We deal with that later." Makie replied. "But you are right, first we deal with aim and the barrel, I think that I can wipe something like a Beretta style, but it might take time to make everything, once I make the prototype I should be able to make molds and we can produce it easier."
Benji nodded. "See with Aline and Melissa, Melissa can forge what you need and Aline can aid since she is an alchemist I am sure that she would like to learn how to make bullets." He said with a smile. "I really don't like this Mauser style. But the revolver isn't all that bad; I think that if we manage to make speed loaders I can use it regularly." "We will work on that too." Makie replied, the idea of dismantling and building something made her content after all she was in the engineering college before she ended in Rune-Midgard.
End of the chapter sixteen:
Author explanation corner:
Unique skills: Training, combat, practice, theoretical development, trial and error, imaging training, I could list everything that could lead to the development of a new technique but would take too long. Based on Rune-Midgard of the game there isn't people who create new skills, everyone thinks inside the box, use the same skill, only having variation on how they level it and the equipment and cards use.
There isn't much of technique involved on it, at least that we can see and since just after you get promoted you get a handful of skills of the chosen class and you level them not even close of the guild, leads to the assumption that there isn't a formal school for the skills.
Sure someone have to have developed the original class skills, but since then the skill have just being passed down, there isn't much of technique to any of the classes especially swordsman and mage classes who by common sense would require lifetimes of training. Anyway anyone with creativity can create new techniques, effectiveness varies because several factors, so does SP cost and casting time.
What I use as way of creating is theory, prior knowledge of similar skill or strike, plain stress and need in heat of the moment, practice and refining. Certain skills can be taught to other, others can't be taught outside a certain class, more details on them later on the story.
Blade deflect AKA Benji slapping a blade away: If the blade isn't moving fast enough it is only a blunt piece of metal from the sides, I don't recall where I red that but the theory is good. The theory is; if the slash or stab weren't quick enough it could be easily slapped away from the side using anything that the person that is using the slap has in hand.
In a world where a person can hit over two hundred if not more times at second with the right build and equip sounds plausible that certain people can do it with the right mindset (read despair).
It is a really, really cheap skill, actually a passive skill if you consider everything, it costs nothing to be activated, the forced deviation of the slash or stab can throw the opponent/target off balance since the momentum is directed to a new direction that the target wasn't with the footing or stance to support, also adding the lack of hit on the target of the slash causes the momentum to continue forward until hitting the ground or limit of the range of the target.
Causes a delay in the target before it can reposition for a new strike giving plenty of time for a well placed counter. The success rate is the attack speed of the user plus dexterity, agility, luck and half of the strength rounded up, equips and other stats bonuses are added to the final result, higher the difference between the sum of the hit of the target and half of the target's attack speed with the difference between the user's final result higher and the target's final result being the chance of success.
Well at least that is what I think that the formula would be in the game if was a usable skill.
Gun customizing: Being called of sociopath by a flamer in the past, not denying my liking for guns as any one of my generation that grew watching action movies with Stallone, Seagal, Van Damme, and many others that I won't name, also being a RPG and video game player, I have certain selection and taste for guns, as well interest as anyone else has.
Anyone who fired a gun or played games like Hitman, Counter strike, Half-life and others, can tell how bad the guns and ammo of RO are, giving the fact that they are starting to develop there it is natural that they suck in both stopping power and accuracy.
Anyway I like my guns accurate and deadly, it makes cheaper that way since you don't waste 700 rounds to kill a guy when a good and old head shot can do it. Bullets cost money that can be used in better stuff. Since I wanted to Makie being something other than just a skimpy dressed party girl/dancer I threw at her a engineering major (not ended yet), but she with help of others with knowledge (being me, I once used the internal works of a semi auto pistol to humiliate my physics teacher when lecturing the third law of Newton, I won't ever forget that face –add maniacal laughter here-).
While the whole thing is damn too complex to anyone other than a person who trained how to build, rebuild and dismantle a pistol can understand everything, not forgetting the designers and everyone else as gunsmiths, the basic mechanics of the slide is simple, guiding rod, return coil, barrel, some sort of force to pull back the slide and the coil return it to the original position, doing so it loads a new round.
The mechanisms on the grip, not only the ones related to the magazine but the coils and other important parts in there are beyond my understanding, but they are already there so Makie can learn how it works, the same goes with the chamber, firing pin, hammer and the whole set of springs, coils and whatever mechanic parts are used there.
Adding everything we can have a reasonably better pistol in terms of looks (read, not Mauser styled), mechanics and accuracy. For the ammo there is why I threw alchemists, I know the recipe of gunpowder by heart, in my boarding school days I made extensive use of it in not so honorable ways (blasting the locker to a fucker that threw chili sauce inside my locker, blowing the mattress of a guy who tried to steal me, and my personal favorite dog crap bomb inside the room of a bunch of guys who tried to steal my personal manga collection, it is all in how tight the bundle is and the quality of the fuse, a cigarette can give two minutes for you to run away and let the shit hit everywhere).
Back to the alchemists, since I don't know if the Rune they use black power (the one that I know how to make) or smokeless power (no idea of how to make) depending of which as well to improve the rounds the alchemists can develop a better powder, the quality of it is in how it burns.
With enough time and trials new guns and ammo can be developed (I am not going to give up until I get a sniper rifle!), and with new guns and ammo that means lusty gunslingers wanting them and that means more income to the guild (and we all know that money is good).
Einbroch's air: City of steel, labs, mines and other things polluting the air so it should have the 'scent' of home for people of a world like ours with an uncountable amount of cars on the streets, factories, and all other kind of things in the air.
WoE expenses: I don't know how much a guild normally expends in a WoE day so I am throwing up a high number to be expended only with consumables.
Tea on Atsuko's old guild: Felt fitting to show Atsuko deciding to stay in Seiryu's legions (make easier to sneak on Benji's room and also 'fall on the rotation' of lovers), the tea and gossip was something that I felt that would happen, no offence intended but girls love a gossip it is a universal truth.
Atsuko's immortality: It is a spoiler so I won't be telling anything now, but I am sure that it will raise questions.