I became a legion lich

186 Shared curse

“That just makes it all the more awesome. Enchantments like Impact Dispersion are vulnerable to slashing or piercing attacks, but this shield will parry any physical attack equally and even partially reduce some elements. I couldn’t ask for more.” Athos spoke with a greedy smile, inwardly wishing for such a shield.

He made a mental note to request that armor with these enchantments be custom-made for him before leaving camp.

“The power of this equipment is even greater than you might think. Each shield can absorb a limited amount of kinetic energy before being forced to release and temporarily go into cooldown, but that changes when used together.”

“If we unite thousands of shields and connect them as the master intends, I am confident that it will be possible to withstand the attacks of a dragon like Simogo.” Athos’ jaw nearly dropped to the ground at Dwarvin’s words.

In his mind, the power of dragons was something impossible to match, like a force of nature. Knowing that they could stop at least a dragon’s physical blows made Athos’ respect for the dwarven race reach new heights.

“If we produce these shields in large numbers, we can surround the entire army and block enemy attacks. If the skeletons use a formation like a phalanx, it should be possible to defend attacks from giant monsters as well.” Athos was already thinking of a suitable strategy for when they resumed their march.

“Master, the kinetic energy absorption effect extends to the barrier, so the formation of the skeletons doesn’t matter as long as they surround the entire army.” Dwarvin explained and took the shields, activating the Corrupted Barrier and Kinetic Energy Absorption enchantment.

A 4 meter barrier of dark mana rose from both shields and overlapped each other, before merging together. A single barrier appeared and grew to 5 meters before Dwarvin quickly deactivated it.

They were in an underground forge with a 5 meter ceiling, so the growing barrier pressed down on the ceiling as it formed, almost causing the whole thing to collapse under their heads. The actual barrier size would be nearly 10 meters, larger than both previous barriers combined.

.....

“Phew. Sorry about that, master. As you can see, the dwarven bonding technique allows items to interact with each other, sharing the effects of enchantments and achieving effects greater than their individual parts.” Dwarvin explained as he scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment.

“Good. I didn’t see any problems with your work, so you’re allowed to start mass production. We’ll leave as soon as you finish your work, so keep me updated. Have you thought of a suitable name for your creation?” Athos asked.

“I called them a shared curse. A fitting name, I’d say.” Dwarvin spoke proudly.

“It really is an apt name. Keep me updated on the creation.” Athos spoke and was about to take leave of them, when Dwarvin interrupted him.

“Master, don’t you want to upgrade your equipment? Your armor is in tatters and your shield is only made of death iron. Your sword is your only decent equipment, but it’s made of magic wood and doesn’t even compare to real magic metals.” Dwarvin spoke irritated.

Dwarves had a strong affinity for metals and hated working with wood. Dwarves only used wood to create wands and staves, it was almost taboo to use wood to create weapons or armor.

“My personal gear can wait. I’m sending my armor in for repairs, but creating those shields is the priority. We need them to resume the march and even if I had full gear, it wouldn’t make much difference to the rest of the army.” Athos was wise and prioritized the creation of tower shields.

“Then allow me to make your equipment personally. I’ve already finished creating the blueprints and you’ve already approved them, so I can pass it on to the other runesmith dwarves who can create the shared curse without my help.” Dwarvin reassured him and this time Athos had no reason to refuse.

“In that case, I’ll leave it in your capable hands. But I have a question. Mithril seems too light to be used as a shield or armor and doesn’t seem to be very reliable. Are you sure you have enough material?” Athos asked as he lifted the tower shield easily.

“Mithril is excellent at conducting mana and has a strong resistance to magic, but you are right when you say that he is physically weak. The enemies we will face in the near future will all be powerful physical fighters, so physical resistance is a priority. That’s why I’m going to use something else to make your armor.” Dwarvin spoke and left the room.

He came back in a few seconds carrying a golden ingot with both hands. It was an ingot of uncorrupted adamant.

“Adamant?” Athos asked, recognizing the metal in one look. Emília had shown him the metal when she searched the wreckage and Athos remembered it easily due to its resemblance to gold.

“Exactly. Adamant has characteristics opposite to mithril, having incredible physical resistance, but being fragile to magic. The amount of enchantments it holds is less than other magical metals, but it makes up for it with its durability. It’s perfect for armor.” Dwarvin began to explain the properties of adamant.

“You’re the pro here, so I’ll trust your decision. But if I’m not mistaken, all we managed to regain was a few pounds, so I don’t think I have enough for a full suit of armor.” Athos spoke worriedly, but Dwarvin knew about this problem and already had a solution.

“I’ll use Simogo’s scales to make up for the lost metal and fangs to make a new sword for you. Dragon scales are an invaluable crafting material and can make up for the adamant’s poor mana conduction.” Dwarvin looked excited to get to work.

“Do you need any more materials or are the dragon parts enough?” Athos asked, starting to get excited. Dwarvin seemed to be planning a masterpiece for him, so Athos wanted to make sure it was the best it could be.

“The master’s affinities are fire, air, and darkness, but even after corrupting the metal and adding the scales, the only affinity adamant will have is darkness. I would need materials or reagents with the right affinities to create suitable enchantments for you. , but it seems difficult to find materials with an affinity for air in savannas and deserts.” Dwarvin spoke with regret.

Athos had collected several unknown plants with an affinity for earth and a few of the element of fire, but they found nothing with an affinity for water and air. Adding earth-element enchantments wouldn’t be helpful either.

Athos could activate enchantments of different elements without problem, but he himself preferred to avoid enchantments with different elements.

“I see. It’s a shame there aren’t any ingredients with an affinity for air or fire. We found some monsters with affinities other than earth and fire so I was hopeful about plants, but it was in vain.” Athos said in disappointment, but his words made Dwarvin realize his mistake.

“That’s it! Master, you are a genius! How did I not realize this before?” The dwarf started talking to himself, ignoring the confused Athos. “Even without magic ingredients, I can still use monster parts for elemental enchantments!”

“Really? Is that really possible? I thought monster parts would only be useful as a base material, like leather for armor or bones and fangs for making weapons.” Athos asked in surprise. He knew that monster parts would be used in alchemy as ingredients in the same way as plants, but he didn’t know that the same applied to the runesmith.

‘Looks like runesmith and alchemy have more in common than I thought. I must find a permanent base soon and begin my studies. I got an even better teacher to teach me, so it would be a waste not to learn.’ Athos thought.

“Master, I need a list of all the monster skeletons that exist in the fortress. I’m definitely going to create a masterpiece!” Dwarvin spoke with the same excitement as a child at an amusement park, and Athos ordered one of the high-ranking skeletons out to fulfill his request.

“I’ll let you work now. Just don’t forget to start production on the shared curses.” Athos emerged from the forge after Dwarvin turned and set to work, beginning to design his armor.

‘Um...what should I do now?’ Athos thought, realizing there wasn’t much he could do at the moment. Most of the skeletons had left to hunt and the few that remained were busy defending the base.

Athos had ignored the voices through the general link they all share, but it seems that a second group of monsters was approaching from the north, their power far greater than the last. It was a herd of rhinos with crystal horns and there were almost 300 of them.

‘Looks like Treevor is handling it well.’ Athos thought not too worried, looking through the eyes of a nearby hive hawk that Treevor was already fighting. He didn’t seem to be having any difficulties, so Athos didn’t interfere.

“I think I’ll make alchemical items and potions. Let’s see how much my skill has deteriorated after all this time without practicing.” Athos spoke while walking towards the warehouses.

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