Titan: A LitRPG Adventure (UnderVerse Book 4) Jez Cajiao (top ten books of all time TXT) đ
- Author: Jez Cajiao
Book online «Titan: A LitRPG Adventure (UnderVerse Book 4) Jez Cajiao (top ten books of all time TXT) đ». Author Jez Cajiao
She smiled sadly with the admission, nodding to Lydia. âAs youâre a member of Lord Jaxâs personal retinue and, as you call it, the âtankâ, my recommendation would be for you to work towards either Speculatores Praetoriae or full âstandardâ armor, but Iâll warn you, youâll need to increase your stats before you can wear either. Youâre a bit⊠scrawnyâŠâ
I couldnât help but burst out laughing at Lydiaâs mortified expression, and the careful way that Thornapple had said it.
âItâs okay, Thornapple. Honestly, we all know we need to seriously improve ourselves to be able to wear full Legion armor properly,â I said, still chuckling.
âIâm glad youâre not offended, Lord Jax. Okay, Iâll need to examine you all and make some notes, get some measurements, and then late tonight, we can have a fitting? With a final fitting in the morning? What time are you planning on leaving?â she asked, and I shrugged.
âWeâve got a meeting with the researchers first thing tomorrow, so following that, Iâd say; why?â
âBecauseâand I need to say thisâwe donât have enough time. Any extra time you can give me tomorrow will be appreciated. To make this happen, we will work through the night, but still, if you could hold off an extra few hours?â she asked hopefully.
I paused and considered her request. The timetable was arbitrary, as Iâd just made it up, that was true, but I needed to get back to the Great Tower as soon as possible. Even an hour lost here could mean defeat when Barabarattas and his forces came for the Tower, but⊠we also needed to level as much as we could, and I couldnât afford to walk away from any chance to do that. Plus, the engineers needed time to work on the Battleship. Besides, if we died because our armor was shit, then it was all over anyway.
âNoon,â I said eventually. âI can give you until noon; that way you have a bit longer to finish up, and we have a bit longer to train and prepare, but then we need to move on.â
âThank you!â Thornapple said, sagging in relief. âI warn you, itâll not be my best work, but it will be the best I can do in the time I have.â
âThen I canât ask for more,â I said graciously. âOnce weâre back to the Tower, Iâll ask that you work on getting a proper forge set up, and then start to build us some more specialized pieces, so spend the next few days thinking about that, and what resources youâll need, okay?â
âAh⊠to set up a forge, or to make custom armor?â she asked cautiously.
âBoth, either⊠why?â I replied distractedly as she stepped in close and lifted my right arm, holding a knotted piece of string to my armpit and grunting as she felt my current armor shift.
âThis really wasnât even fitted to you, was it?â She clicked her tongue disapprovingly. âIâm going to need you to take it all offâŠâ she started to say, stepping back as I started to strip the battered pieces off. I saw the look on her face as I did so, even though she hid it quickly.
âYeah, and Iâll need new clothes as well,â I said to her. âClean ones⊠preferably without bloodstainsâŠand that fit.â
âYes, you definitely need thoseâŠâ She wrinkled her nose involuntarily at the acrid smell. Beyond a quick wash down when Iâd first awakened and Oracle had been feeling friskyâwith an icy cold fountain of water, Iâll addâIâd not had a proper bath or a shower since the fights in the arena. The Skyking raid had followed immediately after, so now, after several days of sweat, blood, and more soaking into my armor, I had to admit to myself that I was a little... ripe⊠âIâll send for the clothiers as well, and share your measurements with them, if thatâs acceptable?â she offered, and I nodded thankfully.
âIâll go find a river or something to dunk in as wellâŠâ I muttered, having caught a whiff of myself.
âLet me get your measurements first, pleaseâŠâ she asked with a smile, going back to work, and making notes in a small journal as she went. âAs I was saying, though, I can set up a field forge easily enough, and we brought all the complicated and expensive sections of our full forge, leaving only the heaviest and largest parts. The new forge will be achievable fairly soon, although itâll be a few months to get it fully built and as good as we can make it. The custom armor, thoughâŠâ She paused hesitantly.
âYes?â I asked, waiting.
âWell, you know the Legion doesnât do more than four armor designs, right? Scout, Standard Legion, Speculatores Praetoriae, and Praetorian Guard. Thatâs it,â she said slowly. âItâs lawâŠâ
âIs it?â I asked, raising one eyebrow. âLaw, I mean? Or is it tradition?â
âWell⊠in the Legion, tradition⊠kinda is lawâŠâ Thornapple said slowly, sneaking peeks at me from under her eyebrows as she worked.
âAnd would learning new armor designs really be a bad thing?â I asked. âWould you hate it that much?â
âNo!â she said quickly. âNo, we wouldnât hate it at all! Well, most of us wouldnâtâŠâ
âLet me guess. Itâs tradition, so you canât change it, right? And thereâs someone within the leadership structure thatâs making sure of that?â I asked, already having a certain Tribune in mind.
âI⊠uh⊠weâd not be opposed, my lord!â she repeated, bowing her head quickly.
âGood,â I said, straightening up and watching the huge woman that was trying to both remain unnoticed, and drop hints as subtly as she could.
âThornapple, I need to make some changes to the way the Legion does things. Amongst them is the belief that change is bad. Because Iâve got a goddamn robotâhorseâthing down in storage thatâs an amazing feat of engineering, and I canât believe that things like that exist, yet our armor is as basic as it gets. Weâre making new weapons and armor. Yes, there will be a
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