Chapter 21: Using an Armament

'It's not an overwhelming talent like a System User. But it's still better than most. I can work around with that.' Compass Carburettor thought as he clenched his fist, feeling the faint energy flowing within.

He then looked at the Queen, Ephemella, "How do we harness this energy?"

"We cannot use Darlac naturally." Ephemella said, "The only way we can harness it is through the help of a Darble."

She then began to walk away, beckoning for Compass Carburettor to follow her. They then reached another room, an armoury of sorts where numerous cylindrical instruments were stored on shelves.

Ephemella took a cylindrical object, saying, "We call this an Armament. The lengths of Armaments vary, but that is only to facilitate better grip for people with different sized hands."

She activated it, causing energy to appear from one flat surface of the cylinder, forming a sword in an instant. The sword was around a metre in length and had a breadth of three centimetres. She lightly swung it once, saying, "The primary advantage of this is that there is no weight to these weapons. So, you can wield them without any muscle strain for longer durations than wielding a conventional weapon."

"But, the power behind an attack is also inclusive of the weapon's weight, right?" Compass Carburettor asked in confusion.

"Yes, that is true." Ephemella nodded, "We cannot give any weight to these energy weapons. But, they are sturdy and instantly repairable when damaged. And, you can subsist the force required using your muscular force. As long as the blade is sharp enough, it would cut better than a normal sword."

"That is true," Compass Carburettor nodded, asking, "So, can you alter the shape and size of the weapon as you deem fit?"

"That's unfortunately not possible," Ephemella shook her head, "The Darlac in your body only acts as a source to power the Armament. You aren't controlling it. So, you can't change their shape."

"But," She smiled, making the breadth of the energy sword increase by ten times in an instant, "You can install certain states into an Armament."

She showed the Armament to him, "There are two states in this Armament, a thin sword, and a wide sword. Normally, you can condense anything among the two. But typically, we use the thin sword, and once we plunge it into a foe, we change it into a wide sword. This way, it will cut further through their body, killing them. We also use the wide sword as a shield sometimes. It's the most efficient design."

She took out another Armament, condensing a sword first before condensing a shield. Compass Carburettor noticed that the shape of the sword and the shield was too different. The wielder would have to change stances to use them correctly.

Ephemella spoke, "In this Armament, the two states cannot be used simultaneously for a greater effect. There's a sword and there's a shield. Both have their respective roles. That's it. That's why, when we install different states in an Armament, we ensure that they have a base design and the variations entire shrink or grow from that. This way, you can simply switch states while in battle without having to alter your stances."

"How many states can you install in an Armament?" Compass Carburettor asked.

"In the ones we can produce, you can install three states." Ephemella said, "The Royalty of Heroica Empire has Armaments with four states. Though, you can simply carry a second Armament with you. You have two hands after all."

Hearing her choice of words, Compass Carburettor asked, "Are we only able to power them through our palms?"

"Yes," She nodded, "That's why they are designed in such a manner."

Compass Carburettor grabbed an Armament, concentrating on it as he held it steadily, soon able to sense two clusters of energy within. And, both of them pricked a part of his hand each, forming goosebumps on the respective places.

"That's your cue. Focus on the places that got pricked, and you'll be able to activate and vary the states." Ephemella said.

Nodding, Compass Carburettor focused on the back of his wrist that pricked, immediately feeling as if something belonging to him was sucked out, almost making him lose consciousness in the process.

He opened his eyes, gazing at the energy blade before him. It lacked any weight, but he could see that it was immensely sharp, making him feel like he could cut through anything with it. But, just as he admired it, the energy blade flickered before dissipating.

Immediately, an intense sense of exhaustion seeped through him as Compass Carburettor plopped on the ground, panting as if he had sprinted for a kilometre at his top speed.

"That's normal for your first time," Ephemella said, "Once you eat and supply your body with energy, it would produce some Darlac. Keep training until you are exhausted, eat your fill, and recover your Darlac. Continue in this cycle, and your reserve of Darlac will continue to increase."

She took out a normal looking Armament and gave it to him, "This is the most basic Armament. It condenses a 10-centimetre-long knife. And, we use this to quantise and measure our stamina. Every one minute you can keep it materialised equals to 1 Darlac. The longer you can keep it materialised, the great your power."

She then smiled, "Every soldier has a minimum of 30 Darlac. Below that, and they are simply called trainees. Keep training nonstop to increase your reserves of Darlac. Once you cross 30 Darlac, I'll gift you a custom-made Armament with three states to help in your mission."

Nodding, Compass Carburettor got up, feeling that his legs were a bit wobbly. He used his superior senses to balance his body, ensuring he wouldn't trip as he firmed himself. Seeing his actions, Ephemella was surprised, 'Most wouldn't even be able to stand up for a good one hour. As I thought, his body is exceptionally trained.'

She then beckoned for him to follow her as they left the room, heading towards another. Along the way, Compass Carburettor looked around, noticing that they were far away from any guards that could listen in on their conversation, leaning towards the Queen a little as he whispered, "I'm curious. As the strongest in this Kingdom, how much Darlac do you have?"

Ephemella smiled in response, "That's a national secret."