- Location
- United States
I get the feeling that everyone will have a fight or flight moment when they see the Tank coming.
I'm not an Otaku, so why am I reincarnated as a tank in a fantasy world?!
- Thread starter Gideon020
- Start date
- Original
Indeed. In line with many RPG aspects, the primary ammo is probably unlimited, taken care of by his regeneration.
Still, I think good upgrades would be shortening the timer (4 days is a bit much!) and an ammo rack that gives him a limited quantity of the non-primary ammunition.
It's probably for the best that he's on canister at the moment. Once the timer runs out, he can keep using canister against "minor" mobs, basically anything below "Demon General", and be able to more or less instantly switch if such a threat shows up.
Epic level tank - Wolverine levels of regeneration, infinite fuel(IE it regenerates faster than he can use it), the ability to fire selected round types as fast as he can fire, etc...
Heck, upgrades that turn him into what's basically a Bolo - some upgrades allow him to "grow" his chassis, upgrade armor types, etc...
Chapter 4: How A Tank Learned Magic
Gideon020
Really in the mood for ribs.
"There it is!"
I ignored the call from the girl on top of me as a large city, like something out of a roleplaying game mixed with a historical cartoon, loomed in the distance. I was fairly impressed; the city had high walls that had cannons, ballista and other weapons on it while soldiers visibly patrolled the walls from what I could see, there was a river that seemed to have become a natural moat for the city but a glance with my right machinegun pointed out that the river had clearly been artificially split in two, so that meant the real river went through the city and was clearly wide and deep judging from the large boats, perhaps ships even, sailing in and out of the city and further up the river.
"Not a bad-looking place." I spoke out 'loud' to the girl on top of me, "This place have a name?"
"Callas-Abara. It's the major city of this region; from here you could go to the Mercantilist Federation to the East, the Ocean Kingdoms to the West, the Great Desert to the North and of course South where we came from towards the Frontier." Stretching, the 'High Vampire' girl on top of my turret leaned back, staring at the sky, "This will be the first time I've come back here in years."
"You were born here?"
She nodded, "The Barnett family is one of the noble familes in Callas-Abara. I would have never returned here if they didn't keep sending people to kill me, so today, I'm going to put an end to this idiocy."
"And I guess you'll want a ride out of the city? Or a big gun in case things go south?" It's what I would do, but the main problem would be positioning to provide the necessary fire support with my main gun, and with my Standard Ammo set to Canister, I would have to manually load a DU Penetrator or a HEAT round in case of long-range fire support. Hopefully however, the situation would turn into a fighting escape from the city where I could put my canister shot to good effect against any pursuers.
"That would be nice, but I doubt the situation will require your power." The girl replied as I arrived at the rear of a train of wagons and carts, those on them looking behind them and then straight forward again. Usually after some flinches or wide eyes, but I didn't really mind those reactions, I'm a tank after all. In the distance near the entrance to the city I could see guards checking the cargo, probably for contraband, and the wagon or cart drivers handing over money though I couldn't tell what sort of currency was in effect for this world.
Eh, money was unlikely to ever be important for me, but it also wouldn't hurt to at least know about how things were laid out. Was it like Dungeons And Dragons where you had various metals acting as denominations? Or maybe it was a single currency? It wasn't out of the question to assume that the kingdoms had different currency arrangements as well, which meant money-changers and money-lenders, all the usual infrastructure waiting to rip off unwary travellers.
I quietly wondered if Adventurers fell under that category as the line snaking it's way into the city finally allowed me to reach the front of the line and the guard blinked.
"Uhh..."
The girl dropped down from my turret, and started talking to the guard.
[Hesser. Isak nullim hesena Tam Bes, Isak tan Advan.]
Ugh, I need a universal translator or something. Prisoner 849 had one after all! Just my luck I get dumped in a fantasy land that has an incomprehensible language; isn't waking up in another world supposed to have coincidences like the language being the same type as mine? I suppress a sigh and just settle for rumbling after the girl, Barnett she said her family name was? Whatever, so long as this visit was dealt with quickly so I could get back on the road.
Even so, the stares I was getting were starting to mount as I rumbled down the street after the girl, and a glance back showed that yes, I was cracking the road underneath my tracks thanks to my weight, there was even a slightly visible depression. Neat.
"This way." I turned after the girl, wow I really didn't care what her name was did I? Is that apathy or just the disinterest that comes with only being hired help? Eh, whatever.
In any case, I followed the girl to what looked like a large stable facility, and judging from the various animals as well as some wagons held there it was likely for Adventurer usage as I was directed into a stall and disengaged my engine, watching as my fuel indicator ticked up by one and then started counting down to the next hour. Definitely have to upgrade that in the future.
"And with this, your job is done. Thank you." I watched the girl bow before walking away.
>Quest: Escort Selia Barnett - Complete!
>Reward: 100 EXP
Oh, cool! I can get decent experience gains by doing quests huh? Well, unless I find a way to communicate with people, and get inside one of these adventurer guilds to see if they have a job board, and find a way to fool people into thinking whatever illusion is really me. And all that is dependent on finding a way to cast magic, which so far is turning into one large bust for me.
*kchak*
My machineguns swivel as I spot a girl in what looks like the kind of cape and hat a stereotypical magic-user would wear step into the open, a group of children with her as she approaches one of the wagons and says a few words to the children before going inside the wagon and then stepping out with a bunch of strange paraphernalia, maybe magic-casting tool or implements?
I kept an eye on the group. Even with the lack of language, I could hopefully pick up a few hints here and there from watching the teenage girl clearly giving a small class and magic show to the younger children. And so the little show began, first with wands and staves but those were useless, followed by a book and while that might be interesting that was going to have to be shelved.
One by one, the mage entertained the children with various methods for casting magic, and as I watched she showed off various spells using those methods in a rather interesting series of displays, and then one of the children asked a question that caused the teenager to giggle and take out...paints and a brush?
My machineguns focused on the girl so I could get a good panoramic vision of what was going to happen, and as I watched the girl dipped her brush into the paint before drawing a pattern on a sheet of paper. If I had eyes they would be widening when she concentrated and the painted pattern glowed, before suddenly with a burst of colour a swarm of illusory butterflies appeared as the children laughed and clapped.
Paint? I could cast magic by painting patterns on myself? It sounded pretty incredible, if not insane, but it wasn't like I had any other options right now as I accessed my Basic Paints and as the children scattered and the teenage girl left the way she came, I started painting some patterns onto my armour, along with a random flaming skull decal that I gave bright green flames for the hell of it.
Giving the area a quick once-over in case any workers were nearby, and seeing the coast was clear, I decided to test out the Illusion spell I had purchased nearly three weeks before if my internal clock was reading correctly after that bitch of a fall off a cliff. I figured all I had to do was concentrate, focus on an image, and the magic would do the rest, right?
*Paff!*
I suppose creating a sharp bang and a small cloud of smoke was to be expected, huh? Ugh, if I fail at this, then I might as well find a way to collapse to my knees for this! Okay! One more go!
*Paff!*
And try again!
*Paff!*
I think I nearly had it, so let's try it this way!
*Poff!*
Okay, different sound but I think I'm making progress. Oops, looks like some workers are coming to take a little look-see about the place.
[Hasse? Samun ze?]
Just stay quiet, nothing to see, nothing at all.
[Feh.]
Oh thank goodness for lazy people who don't want to work extra hours. Okay, let's keep practicing, hopefully they'll ignore the noises now since none of the other animals have been disturbed. So, if I do it like this?
*Fsssst!*
Ooh! I nearly had it, I nearly had an illusion appear! Okay, if I use more power?
And with a dim flash, it appeared, an illusory skull based on the decal my hull complete with the bright green flames that lit the stable area up with a harsh light as I watched it float there, doing nothing but be a burning skull illusion before I cut the flow of magic power to it and watched as it faded from existence.
"Well, that wasn't so bad." Looking up at the rapidly-approaching twilight and realizing I had spent hours making the spell work, I decided that since nothing else was going to happen I might as well continue practicing.
"Now...let's see what I can do with Telekinesis..."
I ignored the call from the girl on top of me as a large city, like something out of a roleplaying game mixed with a historical cartoon, loomed in the distance. I was fairly impressed; the city had high walls that had cannons, ballista and other weapons on it while soldiers visibly patrolled the walls from what I could see, there was a river that seemed to have become a natural moat for the city but a glance with my right machinegun pointed out that the river had clearly been artificially split in two, so that meant the real river went through the city and was clearly wide and deep judging from the large boats, perhaps ships even, sailing in and out of the city and further up the river.
"Not a bad-looking place." I spoke out 'loud' to the girl on top of me, "This place have a name?"
"Callas-Abara. It's the major city of this region; from here you could go to the Mercantilist Federation to the East, the Ocean Kingdoms to the West, the Great Desert to the North and of course South where we came from towards the Frontier." Stretching, the 'High Vampire' girl on top of my turret leaned back, staring at the sky, "This will be the first time I've come back here in years."
"You were born here?"
She nodded, "The Barnett family is one of the noble familes in Callas-Abara. I would have never returned here if they didn't keep sending people to kill me, so today, I'm going to put an end to this idiocy."
"And I guess you'll want a ride out of the city? Or a big gun in case things go south?" It's what I would do, but the main problem would be positioning to provide the necessary fire support with my main gun, and with my Standard Ammo set to Canister, I would have to manually load a DU Penetrator or a HEAT round in case of long-range fire support. Hopefully however, the situation would turn into a fighting escape from the city where I could put my canister shot to good effect against any pursuers.
"That would be nice, but I doubt the situation will require your power." The girl replied as I arrived at the rear of a train of wagons and carts, those on them looking behind them and then straight forward again. Usually after some flinches or wide eyes, but I didn't really mind those reactions, I'm a tank after all. In the distance near the entrance to the city I could see guards checking the cargo, probably for contraband, and the wagon or cart drivers handing over money though I couldn't tell what sort of currency was in effect for this world.
Eh, money was unlikely to ever be important for me, but it also wouldn't hurt to at least know about how things were laid out. Was it like Dungeons And Dragons where you had various metals acting as denominations? Or maybe it was a single currency? It wasn't out of the question to assume that the kingdoms had different currency arrangements as well, which meant money-changers and money-lenders, all the usual infrastructure waiting to rip off unwary travellers.
I quietly wondered if Adventurers fell under that category as the line snaking it's way into the city finally allowed me to reach the front of the line and the guard blinked.
"Uhh..."
The girl dropped down from my turret, and started talking to the guard.
[Hesser. Isak nullim hesena Tam Bes, Isak tan Advan.]
Ugh, I need a universal translator or something. Prisoner 849 had one after all! Just my luck I get dumped in a fantasy land that has an incomprehensible language; isn't waking up in another world supposed to have coincidences like the language being the same type as mine? I suppress a sigh and just settle for rumbling after the girl, Barnett she said her family name was? Whatever, so long as this visit was dealt with quickly so I could get back on the road.
Even so, the stares I was getting were starting to mount as I rumbled down the street after the girl, and a glance back showed that yes, I was cracking the road underneath my tracks thanks to my weight, there was even a slightly visible depression. Neat.
"This way." I turned after the girl, wow I really didn't care what her name was did I? Is that apathy or just the disinterest that comes with only being hired help? Eh, whatever.
In any case, I followed the girl to what looked like a large stable facility, and judging from the various animals as well as some wagons held there it was likely for Adventurer usage as I was directed into a stall and disengaged my engine, watching as my fuel indicator ticked up by one and then started counting down to the next hour. Definitely have to upgrade that in the future.
"And with this, your job is done. Thank you." I watched the girl bow before walking away.
>Quest: Escort Selia Barnett - Complete!
>Reward: 100 EXP
Oh, cool! I can get decent experience gains by doing quests huh? Well, unless I find a way to communicate with people, and get inside one of these adventurer guilds to see if they have a job board, and find a way to fool people into thinking whatever illusion is really me. And all that is dependent on finding a way to cast magic, which so far is turning into one large bust for me.
*kchak*
My machineguns swivel as I spot a girl in what looks like the kind of cape and hat a stereotypical magic-user would wear step into the open, a group of children with her as she approaches one of the wagons and says a few words to the children before going inside the wagon and then stepping out with a bunch of strange paraphernalia, maybe magic-casting tool or implements?
I kept an eye on the group. Even with the lack of language, I could hopefully pick up a few hints here and there from watching the teenage girl clearly giving a small class and magic show to the younger children. And so the little show began, first with wands and staves but those were useless, followed by a book and while that might be interesting that was going to have to be shelved.
One by one, the mage entertained the children with various methods for casting magic, and as I watched she showed off various spells using those methods in a rather interesting series of displays, and then one of the children asked a question that caused the teenager to giggle and take out...paints and a brush?
My machineguns focused on the girl so I could get a good panoramic vision of what was going to happen, and as I watched the girl dipped her brush into the paint before drawing a pattern on a sheet of paper. If I had eyes they would be widening when she concentrated and the painted pattern glowed, before suddenly with a burst of colour a swarm of illusory butterflies appeared as the children laughed and clapped.
Paint? I could cast magic by painting patterns on myself? It sounded pretty incredible, if not insane, but it wasn't like I had any other options right now as I accessed my Basic Paints and as the children scattered and the teenage girl left the way she came, I started painting some patterns onto my armour, along with a random flaming skull decal that I gave bright green flames for the hell of it.
Giving the area a quick once-over in case any workers were nearby, and seeing the coast was clear, I decided to test out the Illusion spell I had purchased nearly three weeks before if my internal clock was reading correctly after that bitch of a fall off a cliff. I figured all I had to do was concentrate, focus on an image, and the magic would do the rest, right?
*Paff!*
I suppose creating a sharp bang and a small cloud of smoke was to be expected, huh? Ugh, if I fail at this, then I might as well find a way to collapse to my knees for this! Okay! One more go!
*Paff!*
And try again!
*Paff!*
I think I nearly had it, so let's try it this way!
*Poff!*
Okay, different sound but I think I'm making progress. Oops, looks like some workers are coming to take a little look-see about the place.
[Hasse? Samun ze?]
Just stay quiet, nothing to see, nothing at all.
[Feh.]
Oh thank goodness for lazy people who don't want to work extra hours. Okay, let's keep practicing, hopefully they'll ignore the noises now since none of the other animals have been disturbed. So, if I do it like this?
*Fsssst!*
Ooh! I nearly had it, I nearly had an illusion appear! Okay, if I use more power?
And with a dim flash, it appeared, an illusory skull based on the decal my hull complete with the bright green flames that lit the stable area up with a harsh light as I watched it float there, doing nothing but be a burning skull illusion before I cut the flow of magic power to it and watched as it faded from existence.
"Well, that wasn't so bad." Looking up at the rapidly-approaching twilight and realizing I had spent hours making the spell work, I decided that since nothing else was going to happen I might as well continue practicing.
"Now...let's see what I can do with Telekinesis..."
RichardWhereat
Feanor did nothing wrong.
- Location
- Australia
The only original story I bother keeping up with, still amusing.
Kolarthecool
Hiding from the light of day.
- Location
- Calgary, Canada.
Right? It's really well done and interesting. Hopefully it stays this great and doesn't devolve into a dumb Harem Comedy (somehow) like most light novels tend to do.
This actually got me looking up some newer reincarnation LNs in serch of somethinf interesting.
RichardWhereat
Feanor did nothing wrong.
- Location
- Australia
I... I'm interested in seeing how a tank has a harem, but, I really don't want to see it. Not here. This is already too amusing.
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ILurk
Insert Demeaning Remark Here
They would become his crew.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
...and argue over who gets to handle his cannon?
Easter
Laziest lazier
- Location
- Bed
He starts dating other vehicles?
Vindictus
XENO
- Location
- Texas
His brief fling with the village bicycle will go down in infamy, I am sure.
Easter
Laziest lazier
- Location
- Bed
Now i just imagine those motorcycles that the germans used in world war two with the side-cart attached machineguns.
ILurk
Insert Demeaning Remark Here
It's a good thing he always has protection, otherwise there might be a risk of returning one day to find a little Kettenkrad waiting for him.
Easter
Laziest lazier
- Location
- Bed
The one time he presses the restart button.
- Location
- Singlaore
You mean a literal one or...
Morphic Tide
Crazy Brainstormer, Munchkin and Wannabe Min-Maxer
- Location
- MI, USA
Probably a literal village-shared bicycle.
RichardWhereat
Feanor did nothing wrong.
- Location
- Australia
In the next chapter, he has a magical bicycle nudge up against him a few times.
- Pronouns
- she/her
He doesn't need a crew. Then can be his tank riders! Even a light tank can carry half a dozen.
ILurk
Insert Demeaning Remark Here
You know, when I read the Side Arms bit of his character sheet I assumed that meant weapons that would be attached to the sides of his turret or chassis like those grenade launchers you occasionally see. But does Tank-kun literally have metal arms attached to him instead?
Because that would seem pretty pointless unless they were long as fuck.
- Pronouns
- she/her
Vindictus
XENO
- Location
- Texas
Given I was pretty clearly suggesting that these side weapons could possibly get cut off and re-fitted to either man-portable weaponry (IE, handheld grenade launchers, rather than mounted ones) or possibly other stationary emplacements, I don't see why this is in response to my question?
Chapter 5: Is It Still A UAV If It's An Illusion?
Gideon020
Really in the mood for ribs.
I don't want to talk about how long it took to make my spells work. I also don't want to talk about how long it took to figure out Magic Synthesis and Magic Fusion. All I'm going to tell you is that right now I'm sitting on top of the world, looking down at the city, watching the dawn approach as I spread my wings and take flight, soaring majestically over the rooftops that are glittering in the morning sun from the light rain that came in the night.
Yes, I finally figured out how to make not just an illusion, but one I could see through and control by way of some trial and error with Magic Synthesis. You see, it turns out that Magic Synthesis doesn't just need magic or magical items, but if you have magical power you can use mundane objects to create new magic. And as it turns out, having a Wi-Fi connection for battlefield communications was just what the doctor ordered to create a means of 'wirelessly' controlling my illusions, using Telekinesis to provide the propulsive forces necessary.
After that, it was a matter of naming the spell and linking it to a decal, and I now have my very own Scout Crow spell! One fake magical crow for all your reconnaissance needs; it doesn't need food, water, air, it can fly through walls and can't be harmed by attacks, so it's perfect for spying on people. The only real disadvantage is that since I lack any means to translate the local language, I need to basically watch their actions and hope I can figure it out from there, so I won't be listening to conversations through walls any time soon.
Even so, the ability to move independent of my main body? That's valuable; I can scout ahead without alerting people that over 70-tons of armored death is waiting to charge in and run them down or blow them up. If I can upgrade my weapons to more precision munitions, I could also experiment with using my Scout Crow as a spotter for indirect fire as well, so that's something to look forward to further down the road.
Landing the Scout Crow on a nearby rooftop, I watched as the gates were opened for the morning traffic to arrive. Seems that the usual practice to is to seal the gates at night or at least heavily restrict night traffic so that no smugglers, criminals or perhaps spies and assassins infiltrated the city. Those travelling apparently either made camp, or perhaps stayed at waystations along the route, which made sense.
My crow watched as one group approaching the city on foot seemed to generate a great deal of interest; they all appeared to be teenagers though the presence of what looked like a Japanese Oni made that difficult to verify, but I saw traces of school uniforms underneath armour or strange clothing that I suppose might be some kind of religious garb. Still, those were clearly school uniforms from Earth under that armour, right?
Taking flight, the crow headed towards the docks, so I could see what was being unloaded off the ships, actual ships, that were coming in to dock. A river deep and wide enough for ships, that kind of sight reminded me of the River Thames and the Rhein but those weren't as large as the river before me, so maybe the Amazon would be more appropriate? Landing the crow, I watched as another pair of kids disembarked from a boat, the school uniforms identical to the others.
But it was strange; the ones heading into the city from overland were garnering a lot of attention, like they were rockstars since people were crowding around them and the guards let them pass without any incident, but these two were clearly trying to avoid attention, especially the girl.
I felt a little intrigued so I decided to follow the pair since the other five or so were surrounded by people and it would be too much of a risk of my crow being found out as an illusion. Going from rooftop to rooftop, I watched as the girl and the boy clearly escorting her approached the building in front of where I was parked. Landing on a gutter, I carefully began considering the risks and rewards of contacting these kids. If they were from Earth, maybe they could understand me?
My Scout Crow could be used as a relay for casting magic, but if the spell was too powerful the illusion would be consumed as well, but a Telekinesis shot would work, hopefully. Choosing a small piece of roofing tile that had broken free, I lifted and flung it at the guy to see if he would speak when struck.
*pap!*
[Nani?!]
...what.
Japanese? Goddamnit, won't someone throw me a bone here?! Japanese highschool students? Really?!
I immediately order the crow to take off and head towards one of the fancier houses in the city, maybe spying on the rich and powerful would calm me down from further confirmation at being stuck inside a fucking anime. Landing at a windowsill, I took a peek inside to find what looked like a stereotypical anime catgirl busy cracking a safe while what looked like an Orc guarded the door, one hand glowing with magic.
"Looks like there's going to be some sparks flying soon." I muttered before flying off; doing an early-morning heist was daring all right, hopefully they were good enough to pull it off. I turned back to the Adventurer's Guild building, since that girl and boy were heading there maybe I could pick up their trail again and follow them.
The crow landed on a nearby bench, allowing me to look inside the reception area where a lot of people dressed in what a person could consider 'Adventurer' clothing were either drinking, eating, chatting or grabbing sheets of paper off an absolutely massive bulletin board, big enough that some were using ladders provided to reach some of the higher ones. But as far as I could tell they weren't in the reception area, prompting me to guide the Scout Crow to some of the higher windows to see if I could spot them.
*Fwish*
Hmm...Nope
*Fwish*
Not here either...
*Fwish*
Aha, there you are! Looks like this place is also something of a hotel for those of an adventuring persuasion from the looks of things. Hmm, they're talking about something, but even if I could understand them I'm right in the open behind a closed window so just walking in would be a very bad idea.
Hmm, looks like this is a bust then.
*fwish*
The only thing left to do is find out what the hell is going on with that girl, Selia Barnett was it? Somehow I have a bad feeling about how long she's taking in 'sorting out' her family situation. With the Scout Crow in the air, I can at least search for her in the high-class housing around the place, since it makes sense that nobility would live in the mansions while the royal family would live in the castle.
Unless Barnett was lying to me and she actually came from the royalty here? Hmm...
Okay! Let's check out that castle!
*Fwish!*
With any luck, I'm wrong. If I'm not? Then things will likely get messy someway, somehow. Call it a hunch.
As a black crow with strange green feathers flapped towards the castle in the heart of Callas-Abara, far from that border nexus an important meeting was taking place in another city, the capital of an alliance of smaller kingdoms known as the Frontier Unified Kingdoms, and due to the importance of the meeting to take place, a grim mood had settled down over the various people assembled.
"So it is confirmed? That fat fool from across the ocean is really trying to usurp our lands?" Seated on the left side of the great meeting table, a portly man with a large moustache neatly obscuring his mouth leaned forward with narrow eyes, "We cannot allow the Gyransus Empire to do as they please, your Majesty, they have been a thorn in our side for far too long!"
"I agree." Droned a tall, thin man dressed in fine robes, a man thin enough that a person's first impression would be of a walking stick or pole, neatly folded his hands while a servant poured a glass of wine in front of him, "My spies tell me that their agents have already arrived at Callas-Abara, a party led by their so-called 'Chosen Hero' summoned with the aid of the gods. Children, your Majesty, Emperor Melthildis has brought children across the void of Creation and likely ensorcelled them with tales of how his Empire is beset by enemies, and likely with the revelation that the Demon King is rising, plans on conquering his rivals and those territories rebelling against him."
"Bah." Next to the portly man, a woman hid her contemptuously curling lips behind a fan, "As Lord Calkin says, the Gyransus have truly stooped to a new, verminous low to have children, even ones blessed as these, be their dupes and pawns. I doubt any of them truly realize that they are playing pieces on Melthildis' game board."
Seated next to the thin man, a pig-like beast man snorted as he adjusted his armour, "What need have we to be considered with by children-hyeerk? They are weak and weak things die-hyeerk!" Everyone at the table ignored the squealing breaths the pig-man took as he pounded a meaty fist on the table, "We should be more concerned with the violence that the Gyransus incite against those that aren't human-hyeerk! Even if some of us don't like the poor and dirty, we have an image to maintain-hyeerk!"
"Yes, but our image unfortunately does not extend to our military." Near the end of the table, all eyes turned at the velvet sound of a finely-dressed man who was daintily sipping a tall glass of dark liquor, but where the others sat in high-back chairs of exceptionally fine and expensive wood and upholstered cushioning, the man reclined on an orb of pure darkness, two mist-like wings lazily stretched out behind him.
He took another sip, "Although we have each taken advantage of the non-human citizens of our great kingdoms in various industries, our joint military forces remain strictly human-composed, which I believe is a weakness that the Gyransus could take advantage of."
The pig-man nodded furiously in agreement, "I agree-hyeerk! We need to open recruitment to Beast People, Elves, Orcs, Dwarves, even the Demon-kin if they can be bothered to stop glutting in decadence-hyeerk!"
The other men and women at the table, human and otherwise started to murmur and mutter amongst themselves while the one seated at the head of the table remained silent before raising a hand, stilling the conversation as they spoke in a quiet, calm voice.
"Mercenaries?"
Everyone glanced at each other, before the thin man rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "It might be possible, your Majesty. More than a few Adventurers are motivated both by profit and patriotism and they could be a way to create training methods that would allow for non-humans to become part of our joint armed forces. With your permission, I will investigate this avenue of inquiry."
The hand waved once, "Go."
The Thin Man nodded and smiled, "By your will."
As he stood up and walked out of the room, the one seated at the head of the table spoke again.
"Other options?"
Landing on a castle that apparently has active magic-detection defences is apparently trickier than I was led to believe as my Scout Crow came in to land on a balcony, but my luck was holding out as I managed to catch a glimpse of that ridiculous hair that was my erstwhile client and former traveling companion as she was engaged in a rather heated discussion with several people while dressed in a rather...overdone dress.
Seriously, it looked like something out of Cinderella and then worked over by a tailor who was told to use all the ribbons. Nearly every part of it was ribbons and bows, enough that I momentarily had to wonder if there was an actual dress underneath that mess. Still I kept where I was, occasionally cocking the Scout Crow's head so I played the part of a curious crow, the fantasy setting hopefully enough of an excuse for the green feathers it had.
[VASAKA! TURA NAL HAR!]
Huh, I have no idea what little miss 'High Vampire' said, but it was clearly on the 'I am pissed off and laying down the law' scale of angry emotional reactions right now. What's even more impressive? I heard that through glass doors since getting close would just put my Scout Crow at risk of being dispelled.
Nice set of lungs on that girl, I have admit.
But that outburst seemed to have annoyed someone because now guards are escorting her away and the some of the others are starting to head towards the balcony. Just play it cool, wait until they open the door, just peck at a nearby bug.
*Tchak!*
As the doors open my Scout Crow immediately takes off as if startled, which gives me a chance to try and follow the girl as she's being escorted somewhere else in the castle.
*Fwish*
*Fwish*
Huh, looks like she's being taken to a dungeon since I can't follow her anymore. Hmm...what to do, what to do...
I suppose I better help her out, right?
Yes, I finally figured out how to make not just an illusion, but one I could see through and control by way of some trial and error with Magic Synthesis. You see, it turns out that Magic Synthesis doesn't just need magic or magical items, but if you have magical power you can use mundane objects to create new magic. And as it turns out, having a Wi-Fi connection for battlefield communications was just what the doctor ordered to create a means of 'wirelessly' controlling my illusions, using Telekinesis to provide the propulsive forces necessary.
After that, it was a matter of naming the spell and linking it to a decal, and I now have my very own Scout Crow spell! One fake magical crow for all your reconnaissance needs; it doesn't need food, water, air, it can fly through walls and can't be harmed by attacks, so it's perfect for spying on people. The only real disadvantage is that since I lack any means to translate the local language, I need to basically watch their actions and hope I can figure it out from there, so I won't be listening to conversations through walls any time soon.
Even so, the ability to move independent of my main body? That's valuable; I can scout ahead without alerting people that over 70-tons of armored death is waiting to charge in and run them down or blow them up. If I can upgrade my weapons to more precision munitions, I could also experiment with using my Scout Crow as a spotter for indirect fire as well, so that's something to look forward to further down the road.
Landing the Scout Crow on a nearby rooftop, I watched as the gates were opened for the morning traffic to arrive. Seems that the usual practice to is to seal the gates at night or at least heavily restrict night traffic so that no smugglers, criminals or perhaps spies and assassins infiltrated the city. Those travelling apparently either made camp, or perhaps stayed at waystations along the route, which made sense.
My crow watched as one group approaching the city on foot seemed to generate a great deal of interest; they all appeared to be teenagers though the presence of what looked like a Japanese Oni made that difficult to verify, but I saw traces of school uniforms underneath armour or strange clothing that I suppose might be some kind of religious garb. Still, those were clearly school uniforms from Earth under that armour, right?
Taking flight, the crow headed towards the docks, so I could see what was being unloaded off the ships, actual ships, that were coming in to dock. A river deep and wide enough for ships, that kind of sight reminded me of the River Thames and the Rhein but those weren't as large as the river before me, so maybe the Amazon would be more appropriate? Landing the crow, I watched as another pair of kids disembarked from a boat, the school uniforms identical to the others.
But it was strange; the ones heading into the city from overland were garnering a lot of attention, like they were rockstars since people were crowding around them and the guards let them pass without any incident, but these two were clearly trying to avoid attention, especially the girl.
I felt a little intrigued so I decided to follow the pair since the other five or so were surrounded by people and it would be too much of a risk of my crow being found out as an illusion. Going from rooftop to rooftop, I watched as the girl and the boy clearly escorting her approached the building in front of where I was parked. Landing on a gutter, I carefully began considering the risks and rewards of contacting these kids. If they were from Earth, maybe they could understand me?
My Scout Crow could be used as a relay for casting magic, but if the spell was too powerful the illusion would be consumed as well, but a Telekinesis shot would work, hopefully. Choosing a small piece of roofing tile that had broken free, I lifted and flung it at the guy to see if he would speak when struck.
*pap!*
[Nani?!]
...what.
Japanese? Goddamnit, won't someone throw me a bone here?! Japanese highschool students? Really?!
I immediately order the crow to take off and head towards one of the fancier houses in the city, maybe spying on the rich and powerful would calm me down from further confirmation at being stuck inside a fucking anime. Landing at a windowsill, I took a peek inside to find what looked like a stereotypical anime catgirl busy cracking a safe while what looked like an Orc guarded the door, one hand glowing with magic.
"Looks like there's going to be some sparks flying soon." I muttered before flying off; doing an early-morning heist was daring all right, hopefully they were good enough to pull it off. I turned back to the Adventurer's Guild building, since that girl and boy were heading there maybe I could pick up their trail again and follow them.
The crow landed on a nearby bench, allowing me to look inside the reception area where a lot of people dressed in what a person could consider 'Adventurer' clothing were either drinking, eating, chatting or grabbing sheets of paper off an absolutely massive bulletin board, big enough that some were using ladders provided to reach some of the higher ones. But as far as I could tell they weren't in the reception area, prompting me to guide the Scout Crow to some of the higher windows to see if I could spot them.
*Fwish*
Hmm...Nope
*Fwish*
Not here either...
*Fwish*
Aha, there you are! Looks like this place is also something of a hotel for those of an adventuring persuasion from the looks of things. Hmm, they're talking about something, but even if I could understand them I'm right in the open behind a closed window so just walking in would be a very bad idea.
Hmm, looks like this is a bust then.
*fwish*
The only thing left to do is find out what the hell is going on with that girl, Selia Barnett was it? Somehow I have a bad feeling about how long she's taking in 'sorting out' her family situation. With the Scout Crow in the air, I can at least search for her in the high-class housing around the place, since it makes sense that nobility would live in the mansions while the royal family would live in the castle.
Unless Barnett was lying to me and she actually came from the royalty here? Hmm...
Okay! Let's check out that castle!
*Fwish!*
With any luck, I'm wrong. If I'm not? Then things will likely get messy someway, somehow. Call it a hunch.
******
As a black crow with strange green feathers flapped towards the castle in the heart of Callas-Abara, far from that border nexus an important meeting was taking place in another city, the capital of an alliance of smaller kingdoms known as the Frontier Unified Kingdoms, and due to the importance of the meeting to take place, a grim mood had settled down over the various people assembled.
"So it is confirmed? That fat fool from across the ocean is really trying to usurp our lands?" Seated on the left side of the great meeting table, a portly man with a large moustache neatly obscuring his mouth leaned forward with narrow eyes, "We cannot allow the Gyransus Empire to do as they please, your Majesty, they have been a thorn in our side for far too long!"
"I agree." Droned a tall, thin man dressed in fine robes, a man thin enough that a person's first impression would be of a walking stick or pole, neatly folded his hands while a servant poured a glass of wine in front of him, "My spies tell me that their agents have already arrived at Callas-Abara, a party led by their so-called 'Chosen Hero' summoned with the aid of the gods. Children, your Majesty, Emperor Melthildis has brought children across the void of Creation and likely ensorcelled them with tales of how his Empire is beset by enemies, and likely with the revelation that the Demon King is rising, plans on conquering his rivals and those territories rebelling against him."
"Bah." Next to the portly man, a woman hid her contemptuously curling lips behind a fan, "As Lord Calkin says, the Gyransus have truly stooped to a new, verminous low to have children, even ones blessed as these, be their dupes and pawns. I doubt any of them truly realize that they are playing pieces on Melthildis' game board."
Seated next to the thin man, a pig-like beast man snorted as he adjusted his armour, "What need have we to be considered with by children-hyeerk? They are weak and weak things die-hyeerk!" Everyone at the table ignored the squealing breaths the pig-man took as he pounded a meaty fist on the table, "We should be more concerned with the violence that the Gyransus incite against those that aren't human-hyeerk! Even if some of us don't like the poor and dirty, we have an image to maintain-hyeerk!"
"Yes, but our image unfortunately does not extend to our military." Near the end of the table, all eyes turned at the velvet sound of a finely-dressed man who was daintily sipping a tall glass of dark liquor, but where the others sat in high-back chairs of exceptionally fine and expensive wood and upholstered cushioning, the man reclined on an orb of pure darkness, two mist-like wings lazily stretched out behind him.
He took another sip, "Although we have each taken advantage of the non-human citizens of our great kingdoms in various industries, our joint military forces remain strictly human-composed, which I believe is a weakness that the Gyransus could take advantage of."
The pig-man nodded furiously in agreement, "I agree-hyeerk! We need to open recruitment to Beast People, Elves, Orcs, Dwarves, even the Demon-kin if they can be bothered to stop glutting in decadence-hyeerk!"
The other men and women at the table, human and otherwise started to murmur and mutter amongst themselves while the one seated at the head of the table remained silent before raising a hand, stilling the conversation as they spoke in a quiet, calm voice.
"Mercenaries?"
Everyone glanced at each other, before the thin man rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "It might be possible, your Majesty. More than a few Adventurers are motivated both by profit and patriotism and they could be a way to create training methods that would allow for non-humans to become part of our joint armed forces. With your permission, I will investigate this avenue of inquiry."
The hand waved once, "Go."
The Thin Man nodded and smiled, "By your will."
As he stood up and walked out of the room, the one seated at the head of the table spoke again.
"Other options?"
******
Landing on a castle that apparently has active magic-detection defences is apparently trickier than I was led to believe as my Scout Crow came in to land on a balcony, but my luck was holding out as I managed to catch a glimpse of that ridiculous hair that was my erstwhile client and former traveling companion as she was engaged in a rather heated discussion with several people while dressed in a rather...overdone dress.
Seriously, it looked like something out of Cinderella and then worked over by a tailor who was told to use all the ribbons. Nearly every part of it was ribbons and bows, enough that I momentarily had to wonder if there was an actual dress underneath that mess. Still I kept where I was, occasionally cocking the Scout Crow's head so I played the part of a curious crow, the fantasy setting hopefully enough of an excuse for the green feathers it had.
[VASAKA! TURA NAL HAR!]
Huh, I have no idea what little miss 'High Vampire' said, but it was clearly on the 'I am pissed off and laying down the law' scale of angry emotional reactions right now. What's even more impressive? I heard that through glass doors since getting close would just put my Scout Crow at risk of being dispelled.
Nice set of lungs on that girl, I have admit.
But that outburst seemed to have annoyed someone because now guards are escorting her away and the some of the others are starting to head towards the balcony. Just play it cool, wait until they open the door, just peck at a nearby bug.
*Tchak!*
As the doors open my Scout Crow immediately takes off as if startled, which gives me a chance to try and follow the girl as she's being escorted somewhere else in the castle.
*Fwish*
*Fwish*
Huh, looks like she's being taken to a dungeon since I can't follow her anymore. Hmm...what to do, what to do...
I suppose I better help her out, right?
GiovanniBlasini
Transhumanist Nutcase from Niops IX
- Location
- San Diego, CA, USA, Sol III
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Why am I picturing an Abrams firing shells at their gate, yelling "Little pig, little pig, let me in?"