[center]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/C7nwoGY.png[/img]
[b][color=ea590c]wordcount:[/color][/b]  2244 (+3 exp (+1 rapport with Kit))
[b][color=ea590c]Edward Portsmith: Level 6 (16 cells) (1 level up benefit stored) [/color][/b][color=ea590c]////////////////////////[/color]////////////////////////////////////// (24/60)
[b]Location[/b] The Avenger
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Edward didn’t need an alarm clock to wake up at the right time, having lived without such conveniences for most of his life, and managing to operate on a military timeframe regardless.

Still, he was among those who hadn’t gotten a perfect night’s sleep. Not due to wastefulness, like a certain set of children who were next door and failing to get up in response to the alarm, but because he’d worked into the night.

First he’d continued with the arcane item forge by going through the rest of the magical items to see what could be recycled.

For t2 and below, there was the Illumina Baton, Machete and Pistol and Charr Pirate Musket, which technically was enough to make another T2, but, having another look at the batton, he found himself interested in its capabilities. He certainly needed a one handed melee weapon, and this sturdy device seemed like it would fit the bill well enough. It would be something of a waste to dismantle it simply to make his own tier two weapon.

Meanwhile wand Dagon, might not have seen use yet, but, he thought, surely if they were going to a land of ice someone, such as himself, might pick up related magic. Plus he’d only be able to make t2 items out of it, lacking any other t3 or above with which to get the required fragments to make anything better.

Thus, the only things he had were the two gun combos, which were scrapped and turned into, based on the same line of thinking that had resulted in him not scraping the wand, a ring of frost resistance.

[hider=crafting]
[url=https://i.imgur.com/7EGh1cO.png]Frostkin Ring (T1)[/url]: Grants 40% resistance to frost damage.
[/hider]

Simple, but no doubt effective given the environment.

The little inconspicuous ring was hardly the main thing people would notice if they cared to regard Edward while awaiting drop off.

The most obvious difference was that the man was now wearing a full set of armor covered in drillbit-like teeth made out of [url=i.imgur.com/ReULmoY.png]Balahara scales[/url] which he’d purchased from Ace. He’d tried to pay the man the same amount as Sandalphon had paid him for her new gun, more or less to pass on the favor, and then had also had his offer halved down to 8,000 Zenny. 

For the synergy it gave with his powers and skill sets (namely juggling autoloading weapons and his new portal dodge) that price was banditry. 

Speaking of banditry, the already belt strapped armor had multiple new holsters and sheaths attached to it, all of them made from salvaged leather and cloth made from bandit hoods and boots. These held the Illumina Baton, magelock pistol, war scythe (which had been a complicated thing to sheath indeed, but would probably make for a good ice-pick if nothing else) and the Finger of Odin magical machine pistol.

The bandits had additionally contributed the iron and wood of their knives to produce ammunition for said gun (alongside the disenchanted remains of his maglock and the musket), all together producing 200 rounds of [url=https://i.imgur.com/WOipCkA.png]Burning I spell bullets[/url] he’d produced using a blueprint from the Mysticenter, some of which was nicely stashed into his ammo pouches.

He’d ditched the enchanted buckler for weight reasons now that he had enough sidearms to go around, and wanted to have the dexterity to wield them, but he’d made up the weight in other ways. Namly in heavier ordinance. For one he’d converted the hanging quiver from a [url=https://i.imgur.com/q4D1Jaj.jpeg]Feather-bow[/url] into a long gun holster, presently storing his Smiting Bishop rifle, as well as having two more slung over his shoulder via straps that would be incredibly inconvenient to fight with, and who’s ‘thematic resonance’ was rather debatable.

The Plasma Cutter was rather clearly a pure science weapon, as was the Mag launcher, but both seemed, to him, to too suitably fill niches in his weapon set for him to let that get in the way. The man had at least fiddled with the theme of the latter by building a custom magazine (that was less magazine and more a catcher) into which the man could cast his grande spell, converting mana into explosive ordinance. It also meant he could practice with it, without fear of wasting ammunition.

It was a lot of bulk, but he had a solution to that problem, just not one that was going to be deployed till they touched down.

[hider=levelup]
Tome of Pyromancy:
Hellhounds: Edward can now animate facsimile of Pyro Hounds, fiendish beasts with burning manes, to fight for him. These can come in three squad sizes:
[list]
[*][url=https://i.imgur.com/FC2Psr0.png]Inferno Puppies[/url] (Tier 1): a pack of 8 ankle biters that aren't very durable or dangerous, but can be quite the nuisance with their small hitboxes and high numbers.
[*][url=https://i.imgur.com/QBtDnz3.png]Inferno Hounds[/url] (Tier 3): a pack of two matured hounds that have a 60% chance to inflict burning whenever they deal damage. Their bodies are suffused with flame, granting them 2 abilities other than melee attacks. First they can Vent Flames, dealing a melee attack range burst of fire all around them (20 second cooldown). Second, their Vengeful Flames present a hazard to anyone attacking them in melee, causing gouts of flame to burst from their wounds, which inflict light fire damage.
[*][url=https://i.imgur.com/InSeLVy.png]Inferno steed[/url] (Tier 3): A single Inferno hound that comes equipped with a saddle, stirrups and rump mounted set of saddlebags that both are fire resistant themselves, and grant fire resistance to the rider and their equipment. Said resistance fully protects them from the hound itself, and also gives 20% resistance against external sources of fire damage. The hound’s Vengeful Flames and Vent  abilities are however suppressed in the process (as they would overwhelm the fire resistance). Instead it can Breath Fire forwards in a wide but short aoe (hitting foes in and just out of melee range in a 160 cone) every 20 seconds.
[/list]

All hounds are fiend units, which have +15% crit chance, 20% fire resistance, 40% frost weakness and 40% spirit (holy) weakness. They are also pack hunters, dealing 10% extra damage per friendly squad/hero also attacking a foe in melee, are fast movers, are equally resistant to magic and physical damage, and are, unsurprisingly, immune to burning related debuffs.

Hellishly Sorcerous increases the damage output of these units, which is 60/40 split of physical/fire on melee and pure fire from abilities.
[/hider]

The rideable one was where he intended to store the situational weaponry. It would be just a might easier to grab them from there to respond to the current situation, rather than try and call them in from the armory in the same amount of time, or at least that was his thought on this matter. The straps presently linking the weapons together meanwhile were so that he could easily extract everything if he needed to abandon the steed for whatever reason, or it fell in battle.

Beyond that, though hellhounds would likely fare rather poorly in the cold themselves, they should act as convenient portable campfires for the rest of the seekers. As should his enchanting of their weapons, which the man proceeded to set up in advance.

While testing/examining his war scythe however, he got inadvertently turned into an inkwell, as Pit began conversing with a wolf of all things, though given it seemed to be responsible for the flames benign stolen from his weapon and written in very stylised cursive, it was likely not one of those.

Actually, if the man squinted his (aglow with a mix of demonic and angelic energy) eyes he could almost see there was something more to the wolf, but whatever vail it was disguising its true nature was not something he could quite pierce. 

Regardless, he did not complain about his new temporary position as a fire-ink source, and quietly tested the grip and weight of the unorthodox weapon while the wolf used it to converse. He got a brief glance of acknowledgement by the end of it, but ultimately that was his only direct interaction with the strange wolf as she hurried off to her own mission.

Best time he headed for his.

Thus the man reupholstered his warscythe, tied the focus sash over his new armor, around from his left shoulder to his right hip in reminiance of his regular attire’s sash, and then set off for the Pelican-1.

The man ended up being second to board the flying machine, and thus the first of White Team to meet their latest new member.

He nodded to the knight, and then thought twice about just leaving it there, instead turning and offering a hand to shake and an introduction of [color=ea590c]”Edward Portsmith: Dreadnought of the Commonwealth”[/color]

The knight shook his hand, offering up his name, [color=steelblue][b]”Kit. Good to meet you, sir.”[/b][/color]

[color=ea590c]”So I heard”[/color] he replied, giving a firm shake of the man's hand before stepping back, considering the use of sir for a moment, and then clarifying [color=ea590c]”I’m somewhat new myself. Merely a day into things in fact, though it has been quite the day, that I can certainly say”[/color] just incase it was based on assumed seniority and not a simple respect thing, before continuing on and [color=ea590c]”But if there is anything you need to know, I can do my best to fill you in”[/color] 

[color=steelblue][b]”Good to hear that recruiting has been so active, we need all the people we can get. I shouldn’t need anything just yet but I appreciate the offer.”[/b][/color]

Edward nodded in response to the latter, before commenting on the former [color=ea590c]”This cause attracts all sorts, it seems, from selfless heroes to those who simply see Galeem as a challenge to their own supremacy”[/color] and then describing himself as [color=ea590c]”I myself owe them my life, first and foremost, but also cannot stand by and watch while this self proclaimed god rules over a realm of endless suffering and strife”[/color] 

Kit nodded at Edward’s words before replying, [color=steelblue][b]”I’ve sworn to myself that I’ll purge evil wherever I go. This world is foreign to me, but I must hold true to my principles no matter where I am. Galeem might be the greatest evil I’ve ever faced, but I know that we will succeed in taking him down.”[/b][/color]

[color=ea590c]”That’d put you firmly in the first camp then, I’d wager”[/color] Edward replied with a smile, before guessing [color=ea590c]”I assume you are a knight of some sort then?”[/color] 

[color=steelblue][b]”Something along those lines. I serve no house, but I am skilled in swordsmanship and wear this armor in remembrance of a fallen friend. What sort of fighter are you?”[/b][/color]

[color=ea590c]”A ranger from a purely martial standpoint. Mostly from range with these”[/color] he patted his magical firearms, before gesturing to his unorthodox melee weapons and saying [color=ea590c]”and with these up close if I must”[/color] before getting to the meat of his battlefield presence, the spellcasting

[color=ea590c]”I am also a Dreadnought: a commander of steel and sorcery forged together in fire. One we touch down, I will be conjuring golems to aid us in battle, and enchanting our arms to sunder armor and ignite foes”[/color] 

Then, because it was as opportune moment to do so as any, he also added [color=ea590c]”Oh, and I’ve set up a way to access the ship’s armory remotely, which I can link you into now if you’d like”[/color] 

The knight gave an impressed whistle as Edward described his combat prowess. [color=steelblue][b]”Impressive. I’ve met a few sorcerers in my time but none that could summon creatures to fight with us. And as for the armory, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to have access. Please, link me into it.”[/b][/color]

[color=ea590c]”Of course. Here. Just repeat these gestures”[/color] he said, before demonstrating a few esoteric flicks of the fingers and wrist, before a floating spell circle appeared before his hand, one showing a scrollable menu of items which could be operated like a touch screen (which he also demonstrated) before explaining [color=ea590c]”You can retrieve items instantly, but sending them back takes a small amount of time to charge the teleportation spell on our end, so be mindful of what you bring through. It is a shared stash after all. That said feel free to pursue and see if there is anything you’d find useful”[/color] 

Kit repeated the gestures and began to scroll through the list of items he could use. [color=steelblue][b]”Thank you, I’ll see if I can make use of anything.”[/b][/color] prompting Edward to nod and then leave him to it.