Magical Engineering [Progression Fantasy, LitRPG] (Book 3 Complete)

Mel had spent the last several months searching out some of the few contacts he had left with the scattered Cloudform populations. Originally, he hadn't intended to send any of them to the Empire of Dave right away, but Greelk's kid had worried him too much to delay on that one. So he gave them instructions and a message to pass on. He hoped they had made it in time.

"Look, Tim, we've been friends fer a long time, right?" Mel asked the man, a bleetlorian he had spent the last couple of weeks searching for. The man had apparently gone to ground some years ago.

The beetle-like humanoid made a strange sound from the long, horned appendage on its face before speaking. "Yeah, we have, and it's exactly why I know this isn't going to be a pleasant conversation. I already heard you and Timon hooked back up. So excuse my bluntness, but I thought you had given up on your kid. What's going on exactly?"

"Hooked up with some new people, and well, lotta shit changed pretty fast. I ain't willing ta just accept he's dead anymore. I want proof, and that means I need the best people I know working on it again," Mel replied, keeping his voice steady. He had put off this conversation until last for a reason.

"Oh yeah, I looked into that new squad you were managing. Then I heard you even joined up. I'm not so far out of the loop as to miss Melhelm back in the game to that level. But the first big question is how you're back at it. Last I checked, your tricks to stave off the lack of the cloud forests' regeneration had gone about as far as they could. So explain to me how you're here looking younger than I've ever seen you." Tim narrowed his eyes as he spoke, looking Mel up and down in his curiosity.

"Yeah, that I can't fully explain. I don't know how, hell don't even really know why, but somehow a judge got a holda cloud tree and made it an Arena prize," Mel explained, his colors shifting shade just slightly.

"That explains you being back in fighting form. Alright, I probably wasn't ever gonna say no anyway. But what's the long game? Cuz if your kid is alive, and we get him out, it ain't gonna be pretty what happens after." Tim raised two of his arms and gave a big shrug, along with a cocking of his head.

"Don't know. Ain't a thing I'm willing ta worry about just yet. Right now I made a promise ta myself. I'm done being afraid. I should'a been done a long time ago, but hopefully it's never ta late. I got friends who can figure that shit out, right now I'm putting back together the team," he replied, giving his old friend a smile that would unnerve anyone who knew him.

That wasn't entirely true, but Mel wasn't sure the man needed to know how grand his plans had rapidly become. Hell, Dave didn't need to know where his mind had started going. He was sure Pryte had a general idea, though, and the fact that the Gnome hadn't tried to put a stop to it so far was one of the things he found most interesting about him. It was certainly several points in his favor.

"So who's next after me? Don't tell me you already found us all?" Tim asked as he walked over to a wall in the small room, adjusting a few pictures once he reached it.

"Yer the last, well fer now at least. There are some others I could prolly find if I tried hard enough. But they ain't needed yet. I need ya to hook up with Hal and Walt, find out what ya can about the prison, and then get the info to Timon in the Empire of Dave. I'd say me, but can't promise I'll be there when ya try to get it sent," Mel replied.

"Am I the last because you thought I'd be the hardest, or am I the last because you knew I'd have my underground gate network set up?" Tim asked, as he slid one more picture on the wall, causing it to suddenly fold in on itself, and an odd sensation to wash over Mel.

"Little of both. I'm willing ta take the regular gate system back if I have ta, but I'm trying to keep my movements a little off grid if I can. At least as long as I can," Mel answered.

Someone had been tracking him from the moment he broke with Dave. He suspected the Triox, as they were the current problem idiots, but he wasn't willing to bait a trap with himself to find out for sure. He had far too much shit to get done to let their stupidity get in his way. Plus, there was always the chance he had the wrong idea of who was chasing him, and could bite off a bigger fight than he wanted.

"I suppose I can help you there. Gotta think about the other thing for a bit." Tim tapped away at a console that had appeared near what used to be a wall. "Empire of Dave? The main gate is locked down on their side, it looks like."

"Yeah, prolly a security measure, not a bad one either. Can ya send me somewhere nearby? Oh, and quit pretending yer not already signed on. Ain't no way in hell ya aren't interested, Tim. I know ya, possibly better than I know myself," Mel replied, shaking his head at the man.

He had known that none of his old friends would flatly refuse. His biggest worry had actually been that they were still capable. It had been a long time since they had worked together on anything like this, so it was possible everyone had grown rusty. He sure as hell had.

A chittering sound emitted from Tim's horn. "Yeah, guess you're right. I'll find Hal and Walt. You'd better keep your ass alive until we see you again."

"Intending on it. Now turn yer damn gate on, I wanna see my tree!" Mel said with an angry smile as the gate shimmered to life. He winked at his old friend and started humming lightly to himself as he stepped through. He was excited for the future to come, more than he had been in so long.

"What the hell?" Mel asked, shocked at the sight in front of him. He had no clue why the damn moose was guarding Glorp's sister like that. Then he spotted the form of Glorp, half dead on the ground, and realized something terrible had happened.

"Mel!" the little girl cried as she ran to hug him.

"It'll be alright. What happened?" He asked as he fished around in his System storage for a bottle.

"Jesters attacked. Glorp saved me, but he was hurt real bad. We need to find out how to get to the Antarctic base so they can contact Dave!" Her words came between sobs and left Mel with more questions than answers. But one thing she had said was enough to hammer home the danger they were in. Jesters were loose on Earth.

"Fuck. Okay, get this down yer brother's throat, it should heal him right up, prolly not fast enough ta help us, but enough ta keep him alive. Are the jesters the real reason the gate was down?" Mel was worried. How many jesters were on Earth? How many could he even fight alone?

"Yes! They attacked as soon as Dave and Pryte, and Timon left!" Orglina poured the liquid carefully into Glorp's mouth as she answered. She wiped more tears from her eyes after the bottle was empty, having let them stain her cheeks while she worked.

"We have not met. But I have heard stories of Mel. I am called Red," the polar bear said, greeting the Cloudform.

"Another primal mana beast, I assume? Good, gonna need both of ya. Damn, this is a mess." Mel looked at the only three people in any sort of fighting shape and wondered how the hell you retook a city with a coreless kid and two animals.

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

He took a deep breath, not happy with the only plan he could come up with, but it had to be done. The jesters had to be stopped before they had a chance to get soul knots in everyone, assuming that was even their only goal. They had to be here for something else, and he had no idea what.

"Alright, we ain't much choice here. There's no way we're making it ta the dungeon in time without using the gate in the city. The only way we're doing that is if we get it back online. I don't know if that'll be easier than getting Dave back or not, we'll leave that decision up to Quarilyn. So here's the play. I'm gonna cause the biggest damn diversion I can while the three of ya find her and bring her up ta speed." He forced his best confident smile as he spoke. He needed them to believe this was possible, because he sure as hell wasn't sure of it, but they had to try it anyway.

"Okay, Mr. Mel!" Orglina's face was finally free of tears. Mel doubted she was ready for this, but sometimes you had to play the hand you were dealt. Her family was in the city. Glorp was nearly dead. She at least understood what was at stake.

"Good. I'll go in first, and then the three of ya come in following after the carnage I make. I promise I'll get the nest of 'em all hunting me." He was sure of this much. He just wasn't sure he'd live through it.

"Where would they have her?" The bear asked. Mel was going to have to ask how they managed to talk a bear mana beast into joining the city when this was over. Assuming he lived through it, of course.

"Yeah, I've been away too long ta answer that question, looks ta me the city has shifted a lot since I left, so y'all are more likely ta know than I am. I'm just gonna be the big old screaming, smashing, and killing distraction. I won't be able ta help ya find her. Now come on, we ain't got time ta debate this. This is war, and they're already winning!" Mel snapped his words back to his drill sergeant tone as he finished the sentence. They could deal with processing the trauma later. Right now, people had to die.

Mel helped the girl get onto the back of the moose. Even with her face steeled against what was coming, the shaking in the rest of her body gave her real fears away to Mel. She was just a kid, and she shouldn't have to deal with this. That thought was all it took to push the spark of his rage to an inferno. He started forward, moving through the air as fast as he could, the animals loudly behind him. He had jesters to kill.

The changes to the city loomed in front of him, much less important than the group of jesters that looked about to head into the woods. Likely in search of the people behind him. They had no idea the hell he was about to unleash on them. It wasn't their fodder he was worried about. He was confidence incarnate in his ability to handle them. Had Dave and Timon been here, they wouldn't have stood a chance against them either. No, it was whoever their 'great' was. 'Great' jesters were the real dangers.

"Hello," was the only word one of the group was able to say as Mel felt a slimy tendril touch his mana channels.

It seemed the jesters hadn't fought Cloudforms much before if they thought that was going to work. A dozen arms sprouted from Mel, each holding a different colored halberd. Mel spun rapidly in a circle as all the weapons found homes. His first attack had been flawless. Though he had forgotten to leave one alive to sound the alarm.

He would just have to make his own alert. "Hey, jesters. Mel is home!" he screamed, his voice amplified as loudly as he could make it. "Who wants to die next?"

Behind him, he watched the others disappear behind the nearest buildings. With them safely out of the way, he flared his senses, covering a wide area with his magical detection. There were at least two hundred of the jesters in the city, possibly three 'great' and something he had hoped wouldn't be here.

It seemed a 'best' had been placed in charge of this invasion. That was something he didn't stand a chance against alone. It was possible if they got Dave and Timon here to back him up, the three of them might be able to fight it to a standstill, but he doubted they could actually win.

None of that mattered yet, though. There were plenty of jesters to kill before that wall had to be crashed into. "I am Melhelm of the Halberd. This city is under my protection. Every jester I find will be another jester I kill!" Mel's message again carried far across the city.

He felt his core surge, another change he had undertaken during his time away. His first transcendence had placed his halberd weapon orb directly into his core. The core pearl made him feel more in harmony with the polearm than he ever had before. Every time he manifested one of its shadows, it was like he could feel it as part of himself. Everything flowed so easily now. Was this how Dave felt with his mana channels linked to his tools?

Mel danced across the sky, releasing a hundred drones as he did. He felt the pressure in his head build, but they didn't need to stay functional for long. There was no extended journey ahead for them. They were targeted missiles, and every cluster of jesters he had earlier found were their targets. Death rained from above as he spotted the 'great' jesters coming to meet him. The real fight was upon him. Mel Smiled.

"Melhelm, there is still a chance for us to talk, perhaps? We come bringing messages of unity, surely a Cloudform such as yourself could understand our point of view," one of the 'great' jesters, three times the size of the regular ones, said, in that same voice that equally made his teeth hurt and his rage redouble.

"I'd rather not!" Mel yelled back, triggering the Harder They Fall as he did.

What makes a System favored class different than a standard class? That's a question that many people have asked year after year when they first learn of their existence. Well, the primary difference is that it is not something that can be given to someone else. Any attempt by someone else to host the class orb will cause it to shatter, generally with catastrophic effects to the core of the person who attempted it.

It's very important to note how I said generally there. There are at least two cases where the explosion of the class orb led to the creation of a new and unique class orb, with the downside of it permanently fusing to the host. It is believed this is how some of the species-based paragon classes first came to be, but no proof has yet to have been found, despite many experiments.

Going back to the first topic though, within System, favored classes you tend to see a lot of synergistic effects. It often seems as though the System knows how best to build on its own parameters and lines up new abilities with those existing ones in ways that even natural evolution of class orbs wouldn't normally do. Why does the System give out these special gifts? Now that is a topic we have no concrete answers for at all. While the people who usually get them are underdogs facing overwhelming odds, it isn't only those people, and it is rare enough that trying to replicate it has failed, despite that being the primary goal of the first floor of the Arena.

Hans Mouselan's speech to his first batch of interns at the Class Orb Research Facility on New Trellious