Amazon Apocalypse 4: Chapter 60

Under Sakura’s skilled leadership, Doomblade’s Armory moved locations and quadrupled the size of its staff. Our new building was about the size of four of my barns, and Sakura brought in a new wave of people who put even more work into this structure than the last one.

“Look, nice and clean and in a good location! This is more where we belong.” Sakura spread her arms wide at the clean eggshell-colored walls and bright lights around us. Already, there was a lot of armor on display on various figures and statues.

One was particularly lifelike, and to my surprise, it was one of Dane Delverson’s Sensual Golems. This was one of his female adventurer lines. I almost didn’t recognize the golem now that she wore real armor.

“Don’t these things cost a fortune?” I asked.

Sakura ruffled my hair. “Hush now, my handsome magic maker man. You build the armor, and I sell it.”

“I can’t deny you’ve had a lot of success. But these things are expensive. And there’s so many empty shelves here Gobgob and I won’t be able to fill them. Not while I’m also competing in the tournament.”

Sakura smiled, patting my head again like she was a teacher answering a question from a favorite student.

“You were marketing your amazing power armor like it was a value brand. It’s not. Comparing your work to the rest of what’s available in this market shows that your stuff is head and shoulders above the competition. People will pay a lot for the best of the best.”

“If you say so. But what’s that got to do with animated golems to do a job mannequins could do just fine?”

Sakura waved at the animated golem. “We’re a luxury brand. People who buy from Doomblade’s Armory know what they’re getting. Your stamp of approval is worth something. And don’t worry about filling the shelves. I ordered a lot of stuff in bulk, though I’ll need you to inspect it. We can’t sell junk here, or we’ll ruin the brand we’re crafting.”

“If you say so. Just make sure the golems are armored up, or you’ll get a bunch of guys standing around them drooling.” I gestured to the gyrating armored golem, which was currently showing off a set of my older-style armor in positions that were about as far as you could get from combat stances. I remembered seeing this exact golem on display in Dane Delverson's workshop, where it had been lightly dressed and surrounded by adoring fans.

A few minutes later, the first set of Sakura’s orders came in, and I was immediately disappointed.

“What is this crap?” I asked the man delivering the goods. He was a wide-bellied man who looked every bit like a merchant.

“Excuse me, sir?” the man huffed.

“The metal is of inferior quality, and the only thing it has is crude defensive enchantments that aren’t even drawn properly. Whoever etched these lines needs to see a healer if their hands are that shaky!”

“All these armor sets meet the minimum requirements, per our contract!” the merchant scowled.

“You’re not foisting your trash off on us. Take these back and send us new stuff.” I crossed my arms, finality in my tone.

Sakura came over to see what the fuss was about. I quickly filled her in, and she turned to the merchant with a frown on her lips.

“Mister Mutton, my husband here is the family expert on magical equipment. If he says they’re not up to his standards, then we can’t sell them. I’m afraid I will have to exercise clause thirteen in our contract...” Sakura gave him a sweet smile.

The man rolled his eyes. “Let me see this thing. I’ve never seen such a long damn contract, where could... ah... oh dear. I see.”

“So, you can see the terrible position I’m in?” Sakura held her hands wide and shrugged helplessly.

“Ah, no... never mind! I just realized this batch of armor was mixed up! This was the scrap-quality lot meant to go to a wholesale shop down the street. The good armor must still be on its way. I’ll get this to where it belongs...”

Just as quickly as he arrived, Mister Mutton the merchant packed up all the armor he’d tried to pawn off on us and left. He returned an hour later with another batch. Truthfully, I was tempted to reject this batch as well, but at least the enchantments here showed some effort in their creation. In the end, I accepted the delivery, but only to the backroom where Gobgob and I could fix the obvious mistakes.

“Hey, Gobgob, can you do some touchup work on this a bit? I’ll show you what I want done,” I explained.

Gobgob nodded in silent reply.

I demonstrated a few modifications that multiplied each armor’s durability and power output by about tenfold. They would also add increased resistance to most mana types and the ability to turn aside projectiles before they struck the armor. Those kinds of enhancements were necessary when working with such poor-quality metal. A single war hammer blow could crack most of the enchanted plates on this thing.

I did the first few in quick succession, then left Gobgob to go through the rest. She took longer than me but seemed to have a lot more patience for doing the same task for hours on end. If I were doing the job, I probably would have put different enchantments on each set about halfway through to stave off boredom.

After the armor was delivered, then came the swords. These, thankfully, were of decent quality right from the start.

Still, I wasn’t all that impressed, and these I could actually rework to have different specialties. While most swords seemed pretty generalist to me, I figured anybody with money would better appreciate swords meant for specific purposes.

A sword meant for slaying ice aspect monsters should look very different from one meant for dueling in an arena. I modified enchantments with that in mind. These hastily fixed things wouldn’t be up to the level of my all-purpose swords I included with the various armor sets, but they were better in their specialization. Hopefully, people would notice and buy a bunch of them so they’d have a complete set. Or Sakura could throw one in free with a purchase of armor if she thought that best. I left that kind of stuff up to her.

“Hey, that’s for customers!” I said, spotting Myrina trying to pocket one of the new swords.

“This one shoots flames, though! I have nothing like that in my collection...” Myrina grumbled.

I leaned close and whispered. “This one barely qualifies as a weapon in my mind. I’ll make sure you get something far superior.”

Myrina smiled widely. “Okay, deal!”

The sword returned to the rack, along with three others she’d swiped before I caught her. Apparently, I’d been right to think people would want a full set of what I was thinking of as elemental swords if Myrina was an example of our potential customers.

From there, things got boring. Everything else Sakura ordered was leather gear and armor padding, which Sakura knew more about than I did. I helped a bit more with enchantments, but it seemed like she had things well in hand.

Seeing as how my expertise wasn’t needed any longer, I went back to work on my Doomblade armor to prepare for the first battle of the tournament. When the fighting started, I planned to make a much bigger splash than I had in the arena.

And for that, I’d need to look a bit more impressive. Something shinier ought to do the trick…

***

By the time I was finished, Doomblade was outfitted with a full set of shiny new plates. I also had time to work on Myrina’s armor a bit more too. I added a few more final touches to it and some embellishments I’d given myself to ensure we still matched. I wasn’t trying to hide the fact that we were a duo, after all.

When she wasn’t looking, I also took apart the vibrating crotch of the armor and made some adjustments. The enchanter who’d added that modification had welded the vibrating piece of plastic and metal into the suit, and it was being powered by the extra mana flowing through the defensive plates. It wasn’t the most elegant solution for power armor, so I made some adjustments so the vibrations would start when and where I told them to. That would help me keep a leash on Myrina.

The day wore on, and Sakura knocked on my door to fetch me far fewer times than before. She only stopped me once to crack the door open a little.

“Need something?” I asked.

“No, no, Gobgob can handle it. You just keep doing your thing! The mad cackling helps sell the fact that a reclusive eccentric genius makes our flagship products!” Sakura flashed me a big thumbs-up.

“I’m not reclusive!” I protested.

“But it helps our branding if we say you are. Whatever you’re doing, keep it up!”

With Sakura’s permission, I didn’t bother hiding the flashes of magic power. Nor did I hide the shadows of ancient symbols being cast along the floor. The fact that they lent the area an air of confusion and mystery wasn’t lost on me, since most of the symbols I’d chosen were related to those ideas based on the translations that Reluna and I had created. They were also completely necessary to the project at hand, but they provided great ambiance.

Several days passed like this. Myrina left to make a few more appearances in the arena, but I stayed behind, working and quietly improving my design. I planned to win my battles through superior craftsmanship, after all. I wasn’t a warrior, and few of my abilities would work in conjunction with my armor. Which meant I needed armor good enough to win me a fight anyway. And I couldn’t just win a fight against the average C-Grade. I needed armor that could win a fight against Cyra Samhain.

***

The first day of the tournament came a few days later. The open brackets would start first in team fights, just as Ivanar promised. And true to his word, he dropped everything to join Myrina and me when I said we needed a third.

So, the three of us found ourselves inside the arena. Myrina and I were in our armored disguises, and Ivanar held his big axe over his shoulder.

“They said teams of five. We need two more.” I scanned the surrounding area for a third.

“I know a few guys. Let me ask around.” Ivanar departed and soon returned with two additional competitors.

Agatha Argestine, Sunlight Mage (Level 153)

“Hello...” a shy woman with a broad-brimmed hat, tan skin, and slightly pointed ears said as she clutched a wand. She might have been some sort of elf, though a different kind than Reluna. Despite clearly being a magic specialist, she didn’t have the robes or embellishments I usually associated with the Dragon Lodge. She was probably from a much smaller wizard’s lodge and had come to Mucaria to further her studies beyond what her old school could teach.

Dannar Sharpclaw, Archer Assassin (Level 162)

“I saw you in the arena. You’re an impressive fighter. And that armor of yours is a lot shinier than I remember,” the archer said. This one was a brown-haired male. He would have looked human, but he had two orange streaks of fur under each of his eyes, and his fingernails were a bit sharper than they would have been on any human.

I nodded in thanks. “I’ve polished it up a bit.”

“The name Doomblade rings a bell. And seeing how both of you wear armor, I couldn’t help but suspect you’re somewhat related to Doomblade’s Armory,” the Archer Assasin asked

“You suspect rightly,” I replied, intentionally keeping my relationship with our storefront cryptic.

With our team formed, we went to the nearest referee to announce we were ready for the next fight.

“I’m going to need names and your respective team rolls. I see we have Support Mage Agatha Argestine, Assassin Dannar Sharpclaw, Fighter Ivanar Bonespur, Bulwark Doomblade, and...”

We all glanced at Myrina. So far, Myrina had kept herself nameless. But I could tell this was something she’d been considering. No doubt she was jealous I’d already claimed the name Doomblade.

Though I couldn’t see past her helmet, I could tell Myrina had a big smile on her face. She puffed up her chest, ready to declare the name she would be stuck with for the entire tournament.

“I am... The Supreme Warrior Goddess of Overwhelming Destruction! No... wait! I’m the Herald of Irresistible Annihilation! Or how about the Unstoppable Reaper of Stylish Doom!”

One name after another came out of Myrina’s mouth. I nodded along, thinking they weren’t half bad choices. Everyone else seemed to wince at the names.

“I will not be on a team with any of those names,” Dannar, the archer, crossed his arms.

“I agree,” Agatha nodded.

“How about... Feisty Redhead?” Ivanar suggested.

“Woah, hold up.” I held up a hand.

“I protest!” Myrina said at the same time.

“Feisty Redhead it is.” the referee jotted down the name. “Wait in the stands. Your match will begin in a few minutes.”