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[img]https://i.imgur.com/C7nwoGY.png[/img]
[b][color=ea590c]wordcount:[/color][/b]  1,567 (+3) (+ 4,2,4,3,5 (+18) (+15))
[b][color=ea590c]Edward Portsmith: Level 5 (14 cells) (1 level up benefit stored) [/color][/b][color=ea590c]/////////////////////////////////////////////////////[/color] (50/50)
[b]Location[/b] The Avenger
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After a bunch of increasingly annoying negotiations with Juri over their spoils, Edward came away with 29,000 zenny and the damaged weapon crate for his troubles. He cracked it open, but was, due to his now inc increasing levels of fatigue caused by having to haul his oversized body around with his rapidly deteriorating physique, in little condition to do anything but send the contents to storage.

[hider=items]
[b][url=https://i.imgur.com/bHP2iH8.png]Ice Breaker[/url][/b] (Damaged)
A shotgun with a three-round magazine and low recoil. Its first two shots are icy spread shots that do minor damage but each build up a lot of freeze; landing both shots is practically guaranteed to Freeze the target. The third shot is a piercing shell that explodes if it hits a frozen target, purging the Freeze to deal extra damage. Accepts universal, shotgun, and long gun ammo
[b][url=https://i.imgur.com/BZOTvIe.png]Brick Breaker[/url][/b]
A gun that fires green shells that slide along the ground, damaging enemies they pass through and bouncing repeatedly off walls. Ineffective against flying enemies, but very effective in close quarters. Each one deals solid impact damage. It has low recoil. Accepts universal, secondary, and handgun ammo
[b][url=https://i.imgur.com/JEFlHdB.png]Mag Launcher[/url][/b]
A grenade launcher with a two-shot burst fire mode. Its grenades magnetize to sufficiently large metallic objects before exploding to deal high damage. Accepts universal and power/explosive ammo
[/hider]

By the time the convoy rolled back to the Avenger, Edward had to summon a pair of bronze golems to physically help haul him out of their transports. Fortunately, however, news of his condition had reached the ears of Deadman, who’d prepared a reprieve from his condition. A shaking hand reached forwards, touched salvation and was smothered in a flash of light.

[color=ea590c]”Thank you for relieving me of my self inflicted torment”[/color] Edward, returned to fully human as the spirits cascaded around him, said to Deadman before admitting that [color=ea590c]”Field testing that was not my wisest decision. I was aware there where drawbacks but that… was far more than I had anticipated”[/color] 

Deadman put on a thin smile as he began to push the portable fission device back up the Avenger's ramp. For a portly fellow getting on in years, it wasn't the easiest task. "Yes, well, spirit fusion is quite the fascinating process. Similar spirits seem to enhance one another, while disparate spirits repel one another." He paused in order to push the cart over the upper edge with a grunt. "Oof! So...as tempting as power can be, I recommend prioritizing ones that are more physically compatible."

[color=ea590c]”Here, let these”[/color] Edward said, as he directed the bronze golems that had been helping him walk to go and assist the man with the machine. 

As for his advice, Edward said [color=ea590c]”I shall consider it”[/color], but in his heart he knew he’d have to keep taking risks with this process. Despite the pain, despite the regretted actions, there was no question that Midna’s turn of phrase still held true. Power was power, and he needed it.

He’d just need to be more cautious this time.

Skill was power too after all, and the nature of acquiring it seemed to be less impactful overall.

As such, first thing’s first, the man strode to the Fusion chamber to do it all over again. He did at least take part of the man’s wisdom to heart. While the advanced technology fascinated him, it was not his ballpark, and so despite the physical similarities, it was not the NC troops who remained a part of him, but the forces of the heavens and the hells. Just with an adjustment to the latter

[hider=Edward rebuild and level up]
Removed: Nc Max Suit, Nc infiltrator

Reabsorbed with no modifications: Feather-Shield, Feather-bow

Reabsorbed as a skill: [url=https://i.imgur.com/YHEQScK.png]Malphas[/url] : This spirit confers the skill [b]Hellishly Sorcerous[/b], increasing the damage, duration, and detrimental effects of dark magic arts. Additionally, evasive dashes are automatically replaced by a short-distance teleport, making the host intangible for a brief moment. This spirit confers the weakness [b]Holy Bane[/b], increasing the damage received by miracles/incantations/light elemental attacks

Reworked description due to fusion chamber equipment: 
Edward is a middle aged human with a chiseled complexion that is all angles.

After fusing with both a [url=https://i.imgur.com/QRhdbKH.png]Feathershield[/url] and a [url=https://i.imgur.com/Y8SGtEH.png]Featherbow[/url] he is a little bit shorter than average and sports a somewhat slender, if still athletic, build. His hair is straight, neck length, and is a sandy blonde with Lustreous Obsidian streaks. He's received a silver mask to be worn over the eyes, embellished with wing decorations who's feathers curve and sharpen to seem almost claw-like at their tips. Fusing [url=https://i.imgur.com/YHEQScK.png]Malphas[/url] into his head has left him with glowing light purple eyes shining behind that mask, and ethereally pale skin.

His armored plate mail is smoky silver, and sports epaulet adored shoulder pads and a royal blue sash. A Fauld of red cloth sits below his cuirass, beneath that a pair of dark red pantaloons, while his feet are protected by the feather bow's knee high brown leather boots. Angelic wings sprout from his back, though the feathers are a sooty, black-speckled gray rather than the traditional white.
[/hider]

Edward stretched his wings once again, feathers restored, and then gave them a flap, only for the armor he had started wearing to keep him firmly affixed to the floor.

[color=ea590c]”I suppose this will have to go as well”[/color] he said to himself, before adding in his thoughts that that was probably for the best. It was hardly diplomatic attire.

Still, stripping away the armor showed that he’d not quite been spared physical changes from the refusion with the demon, his eyes glowing with an inner power. His angelic physique somewhat reduced the evilness of the resulting aesthetic, but an urge to tell others to ‘be not afraid’ wasn’t exactly the greatest improvement.

Still, it meant he was back to his older more mobile setup. Or even more mobile, as the man’s second test flap gave him a teasing sense of resonant magic, that he then discovered by flapping his wings to perform a backwards leap, which caused him to briefly vanish from reality, go straight through the wall behind him, and end up in the corridor outside.

A marked downgrade from the absurd portal power, and yet also incredibly useful nonetheless. And that was without him tapping into its other aspect yet.

After that, the things that were left were the two nc troopers, and one idea he’d had for one of the spirits they’d acquired.

[hider=striker gained]
[b]Reaver[/b]:A large flying creature that can either hover or crawl. It has a three-minute cooldown, and can be summoned either to perform a series of independent attacks by ramming (airborne) or using its tentacles (on the ground), or to be ridden on for up to 30 seconds
[/hider]

Flying mounts were incredibly useful, and always having one at hand even more so, especially one that simply floated steadily rather than flapping any wings (like, for example, himself). It would make for an excellent aerial firing platform.

[hider=items gained]
[b][url=https://i.imgur.com/lVPXucC.png]NCMI Scattercannon[/url][/b] A large, heavy semi-automatic shotgun of futuristic make that cannot be wielded by hand. It must be integrated with another electronic system and triggered that way. Once successfully mounted, however, it puts out withering damage at short to mid range with a high rate of fire

[b][url=https://i.imgur.com/YwIqRmU.png]MGR-M1 Bishop[/url][/b] A semi-auto marksman rifle of futuristic make. It uses signature ammunition coupled with advanced charge coils to pierce through multiple targets in a single shot. In addition, its heavy damage and controllability make it ideal for long-range engagements. Lacks the pure power of a traditional sniper rifle, but has a similarly long reload
[/hider]

Ironically, or perhaps entirely expectedly, the striker gave him a weapon which it had been giving him natural talent with, and which he now had little idea of how to use. One look at its bizarre ammunition and he knew it was entirely beyond his repertoire. Same went for the oversized cannon that would likely best be attached to one of the armory’s vehicles (that he also did not know how to use).

Still, someone might find value in them, and so into storage they went. 

The mag launcher meanwhile had far more intuitive operation, to the extent that its grenade based ammo was sitting right there in the open on the side of the weapon. He could probably feed grenades straight into it himself even with just a little modification, which he just so happened to have a spell to produce.

Speaking of spells, that simply had to be the way the gun made of bricks of some sort operated, and he was certainly interested in test firing that when the time came around. There’d be no such experimentation with the Ice Breaker however, as it was too damaged to be fired safely in his assessment. A shame.

Now needing to be armed again, the man had several ideas for different setups based on all the equipment they’d acquired, as well as a notion to use them for parts to make his own more specialised gear. For now however, he summoned and slid his magelock pistol into its holster, and strapped the munitions pouch to his waist for later use.

His sidearm, and a surplus of grenades, would have to do if anything disastrous happened before he got round to fully kitting up. An unlikely prospect, but it always did to be prepared, even if it was just a meeting he was going to.