Wandering around the training grounds, Lucas had immersed himself in the daily life of a soldier. Since he was capable of going without sleep, he did his work as an Advisor during the night and trained with the soldiers during the day.
This boosted his relationship with both soldiers as Thurin and the Scholars. Most of all, everyone who heard about this could only feel admiration for his dedication to his craft. Unbeknown to them, Lucas and every other mage simple lived differently.
It was just unfair to compare, the people in the Underground were known to be defects after all.
During the beginning of his integration into the soldiers groups, he had a big desire to learn all about their spells. One of the things that bugged Lucas for a long time was how the soldiers used their spells.
He had seen soldiers summon basic spears, Carian produced swords while Thurin even created a complete armor. There was even a barbarian that somehow fused magic with normal punches, turning them into canons.
'Without a Mental Sphere and willpower, how do they form their weapons?'
'They're all a bunch of brutes, don't expect a logical reason, or someone to explain it so well like with Elam.'
He had never seen them using runes, magic circles, arrays or anything to conjure up magic. Since he promised Thurin, he had tried to teach him the groundwork of magic.
'While the runes seemed to work, it was the first time he heard about them. So how can he create weapons of pure mana?'
'How should I know? Perhaps a mage taught them and the Scholars keep the knowledge alive or something? So go ask some ancient fuck.'
Stepping into the workshop of the barracks, he thought to find a bunch of bookcases filled with scrolls containing runes or instructions on how to summon weapons. Contrary to his expectations, the room was filled with ovens and hefty smiths, creating a heavy warm air filled with the scent of burnt materials and sweat.
The sound of steel hammering on steel filled the room, the heat would be unbearable for most, but the people who worked here were used to it. Lucas on the other hand had a body with higher resistance than most and could easily heat or cool his body.
"Ah, the Starborn, it's a pleasure to see you. Can we help you with something?", one of the smiths found Lucas standing at the entrance and welcomed him. His status was perhaps the second-highest authority a man could get. As a direct advisor to the Emperor, his opinion could change the lives of many.
Getting on his good side was just his instincts kicking. If the Starborn could become their friend, there were only good things for the smithy in the future. With the light reflecting slightly on his bald head and the very short stubble on his chin, he was fitted with the typical clothing of an experienced smith.
There were stains and black streaks across his clothing, his face was also somewhat dirty. The only thing that was clean were his hands because he always wore gloves.
"The pleasure's all mine, since I was training with the soldiers, I wanted to know where they got their weapons. Have I come to the right place?"
The man scratched the back of his head. "Somewhat. We only create the templates, you should visit the Scholars in the building next to this one if you came looking for the weapons.", the man was a tad disappointed to see the Starborn wasn't here for them, but the Scholars.
"Excuse me, when you say templates, what exactly do you mean?"
"Oh, I guess I should explain. The weapons the soldiers use come from the library that the Scholars maintain. The Scholars teach the soldiers to use certain weapons and try to create better weapons. But since they only think of better weapons, they can't make it.", the man paused for dramatic effect.
"That's where we come in.", pounding his chest proudly "Once we create the weapons according to their...sketches, depending on the performance, it becomes a part of the list of swords. That's when it becomes available for the soldiers to use."
Still not fully sure what the man meant, Lucas thanked him and entered the building next to the workshop. The atmosphere was entirely different. Instead of warm, heavy air with constant noise in the background. This place was cool and quiet.
The building consisted of a few floors, the first floor was made of a bunch of bookshelves and a few tables surrounded by Scholars. They all worked tirelessly to perfect the art of combat, not through practicing combat or learning martial skills, but rather creating the best weapon.
If you had a weapon that could cut through anything, then even a toddler had the capacity to become a danger to society. You wouldn't need training, you wouldn't need years of work to reach the height of the current highly skilled soldiers. You would just need two arms or perhaps even one and some muscle to move it.
With that mindset, the Scholars sought to better themselves each time. Since nobody was coming to meet him, Lucas wandered around the room, checking out the bookshelves. The musty smell of old parchments and books mixed with the fresh ink of newly added pieces.
Grabbing the first couple of scrolls he could find, he started to read them. They all contained a basic outline of what the goal was of this paper, how they thought of their weapon and on the final page a sometimes badly drawn sketch of the weapon and a signature of the author.
The sketch was meant to provide a front and side view of the weapon, so the smiths could recreate it. Sadly, while the Scholars were very smart and dedicated, their drawing skills had nothing to do with their intelligence.
Going through all the papers, Lucas stopped reading the first pages at a certain point and simply looked at the final one. All the sketches weren't that great, sometimes unintelligible, enough so that Lucas found it funny.
'I'm starting to feel bad for the smiths who have to make due with this. No wonder we heard complaints from the department.', part of why Lucas was visiting was to have his questions answered, but also to increase the efficacy for the coming war with the barbarians.
'Hahaha, look at that one! Did his daughter draw it or something? Why is it so crooked? The dimensions don't even match!'
While Lucas was starting to enjoy himself, a Scholar approached him.
"I see you also enjoy the beauty of our craftsmanship, but this is the section of our failed swords. I wish to take you to the second floor where you'll find our successful projects.", the man was all smiles.
While the rest of the Scholars were all too busy figuring out the next sword, he had noticed Lucas was unattended. This would be his chance to climb the ladder!
And while the man was somewhat correct, Lucas was already walking around for about an hour. Any good impression he wanted to make was taken down before he even noticed him.
"I see, then please show the way.", being guided up the stairs, there were noticeable fewer bookshelves and more tables available. There were a lot more scholars here than downstairs, making the quiet atmosphere now filled up with voices.
Lucas would've preferred to read the papers here in silence. Especially if he could shake the Scholar who was standing next to him. Lucas thanked him and expected to be left alone, but the man was stuck to him like glue that kept the pages of the books together.
After checking out a few papers the results were about the same as the papers downstairs, the only difference was that the sketch now had a number.
"What does this mean? This wasn't on the papers downstairs."
"Correct, that number is the code you'll need if you want to find it in the warehouse. That's where all our successful swords are being kept."
"The swords the smiths made?"
"Yes, but frankly, they have botched a lot of our designs. A lot of the time they can't produce the swords correctly as to our specifications, which makes it very hard for us to continue our work."
Lucas smartly nodded while laughing at him on the inside. In the end he understood that both sides simply needed better communication and perhaps a talented artist or two. He would look for them in the future and create a few test groups.
Of course, the Scholars's ego would be attacked, and the smiths might fear being controlled more, or the artists could steal valuable information, but Lucas wasn't worried.
"When the swords are made, how do the soldiers conjure it up?", there was still a question unanswered that Lucas was searching for.
"Oh, then you should go to the warehouse, that's where the Scholars specialized in conjuring the weapons are.", he said with a slight hint of arrogance. The Scholars were the biggest group and all their achievements were shared. Being shown the way to the warehouse, Lucas was finally left alone again.
Entering the warehouse, he was confronted with a colossally long room filled with rows and rows of open boxes that carried swords. The room was pretty dark with a few spots open for ventilation, but not much light came through those windows.
"Please close the door behind you, we try to keep this place dry with a consistent temperature. The longer you leave the door open, the warmer and wetter this place gets."
Lucas quickly closed the door before confronting the Scholar. He looked a lot older and down to earth compared to the one from before.
"You're that Starborn? Why come to this dusty place? Interested in a few failed swords?"
"I thought this was the place where the successful projects are kept?", the old man suddenly widened his eyes and laughed his ass off.
"Hahaha! What did those hoity-toity types tell you?", smacking his knee, he stroked his fluffy white beard. "The successful projects are far and few between, my friend. Just because the smiths were capable of understanding their child's drawing doesn't mean that the sword is good. On the contrary."
He shook his head as he started to walk between the rows of baskets. He walked with a summoned walking cane, which surprised Lucas a bit. Taking out a random one he looked at it for a moment before putting it back. Stretching out his hand he summoned the sword perfectly.
"Number 31.678, a so called succesful sword.", taking it with both hands he presented it to Lucas. "Put some pressure on the middle of the sword."
Following his instructions, he placed a finger or two on the swords before applying a bit of pressure, not to say he used a lot of strenght, but enough to make his fingers bend a tiny bit before
CRACK
A large crack appeared before turning into a fissure, making the sword fall into pieces, dissolving it.
"I see, succesful in the designer's mind doesn't actually mean a practical sword."
"Exactly, but they're too stubborn to admit they're wrong. They always put the blame on the smiths since I'm also a Scholar. But I'm a smith before a Scholar, so their insults are directed towards me."
It was clear to Lucas that this man was most likely the smartest of all the people he saw in the last couple hours. He was informed about both how to create actual swords and point out the flaws in the designs of the newly drawn ones. The only issue might be his age, he didn't look the most mobile and energetic to still perform a lot of work.
"Then, of all the swords that are here, how many would you consider an actual succes?"
The old man summoned his cane again and slowly walked through the row they were standing in. Making his way with a snail's pace through the entire warehouse, Lucas was silent as he followed him while observing all the weapons in the baskets.
After the man walked through the entire warehouse did he suddenly stop. Stroking his beard for a moment he took some time before concluding his findings.
"Of all the weapons here, I would say around 85% are unusable for war, around 14% is though. Less than a single percent is simply strange, I can't make out if they are worthy."
Lucas didn't doubt the man's judgement, he seemed very confident. "Is 85% truly unusable? That seems like a lot, no?"
The old man tried to straighten his back before showing his cane. Looking at it closely, it was quite detailed.
"Every single detail must be incorporated into your mind before you can create your weapon. The easiest cane is this.", grasping the cane with his hands, it changed shape into a small beam. Placing it on the ground, he could support himself, even if the handle was uncomfortable.
"The clearer the image in your head, the more details you can add to your creation.", the cane slowly got thinner while the handle grew round and easy to the touch.
"The issue is, the more details, the more fragile. You need to keep the image in your mind to sustain it. Lose focus, and you might lose it all.", as the cane got more and more details it reached a point where Lucas found it to be made as if it was wooden.
The color was off, but the lines and circles all seemed so realistic that this was incredible to look at the morphin cane. As more and more details landed on the cane, it suddenly broke and evaporated.
"Most of the swords here have a ton of decoration, and while nice to look at, they're hard to maintain. A soldier's job is to fight, not to memorize a bunch of useless lines."
Lucas understood the issue now, if soldiers had to remember how their handle looked or the intricate signs on the blade during a bloody battle, it was doomed to fail.
'For an old fart, he would be a perfect judge.'
'Indeed, the war will start again and the weapons department needs big sweeping changes.'
'I guess you have something in mind like always?'
'Hmm? Of course, I just need approval from Thurin.'
'Pff, he never said a word against us, he probably doesn't even dare.'
As he envisioned a way for the department to grow in efficiency, there were still two question boggling his mind.
"I see, I'll have a talk with the Emperor to see what we can do to improve this way of working. In my eyes this is a massive waste of human resources, I'll draft up a plan that will satisfy your needs and wants."
The old man looked at Lucas with bewildered eyes. He was used to complaining, but he never expected the Royal Advisor and a Starborn one at that to listen to his grumblings and take it seriously.
In his eyes all Scholars were stubborn, including himself. The Emperor and his advisors weren't going to be any better, but the look in Lucas's eyes showed that he wasn't kidding. His heart slowly beat a bit faster, he had gained some hope.
The unexpected rush made him walk back to the entrance, but Lucas stopped him.
"Before we leave, I still have two questions, if you're willing to entertain me of course.", Lucas said with a slight smile. He would never overstay his welcome and could easily come at a later time.
The nod from the old man said enough. "Great, my first question is how you conjure up your weapons or canes. The other question is about those strange swords you mentioned."
"I'm glad they aren't difficult questions, my throat is starting to go dry.", the man said as he lifted his cane. Pointing it towards Lucas, he pressed in on his stomach.
"Close your eyes, visiualize the weapon you want to create, think of every single detail. Not only the form, but the size, the weight, the density, the sharpness, the length, the sound it makes when you move it, the engravings on the hilt or blade, hell, even the feeling of the grip."
Lucas imagioned a weapon in his mind similar to his Blue Flame Sword, but the details were a bit too much. So he dumbed it down to a standard sword without any decoration to keep it simple. With two minds and willpower at his hands, it was a lot easier for him.
"When you have the image in your head, keep it steady as you tense all your muscles together, especially here.", poking his stomach again, Lucas found his instruction quite strange.
'Tensing the muscles? How does that have anything to do with magic? I mean, when magic is floating through the body, you could in theory push it towards a place if you could really tighten them.'
'Just do it already, here, let me do it.'
Lucas contracted all his muscles, making him look a bit strange from the outside. As Lucas was keeping a close eye on his core, the image in his head stayed clear.
As his muscles tightened around his core, it was put under so much pressured that it released some mana without any element since it wasn't given a direct command. With the mana outside the core, the image in his head was a sword attached to his hand, making the mana instinctively go towards his arms.
Through tensing his muscles, the mana was pushed forward before reaching his hand.
A basic and simple looking sword appeared in his hand much to his disbelief. The old man nodded as he was glad to see the Starborn perform so well on the first try.
'What the hell is this?'
'Hahaha, I knew it, these freaks are all just muscle heads!'
'So even without a dome they managed to force the core into following the commands of the mind???'
'Purely by flexing their muscles, hahaha, they're fucking genius!'
What Lucas didn't understand right away was that this was different from the way Asta conjured his weapons. He payed a big cost and the weapons stayed in their form until he dispelled it. Here, the mana drawn from the core isn't enough to completely form it, so it needed a constant source of mana.
By flexing their muscles, they provided a lot of mana to form the weapon, then mantaining it took less mana, making it easier to use at the cost of it being more fragile. After looking at the sword with his eyes, he could tell that the mana density was going to decline after time, meaning that it was in theory possible for the sword to be recharged by providing more mana.
'Humans adapt, no matter the circumstances, huh?'
'Well isn't this a great example? Wait, no normal human would be able to do this, they're too weak.'
Taking control real quick, Lucas confronted the man.
"Hey old man, you can't do this shi-", Lucas coughed for a moment, "I don't believe this would work on people who aren't trained, right?"
The old man was a bit confused about the way Lucas acted, but he had seen much stranger sights. "Yes, most Tier 1's can do it with ease, but those in Tier 0 have a very hard time doing so. Perhaps only the strongest can, I don't fully know."
It would explain why the people in the world above couldn't use this technique since they required the strenght provided by the trials to perform it.
Suddenly, Lucas felt a bit of admiration towards Thurin like he had for Asta. Asta was an absolute genius, but didn't use elements out of arrogance, or that was Lucas's interpretation. Thurin didn't have the talent that Asta had, but he did have quite the determination.
'He created an armor and figured out which muscles to contract to force it in a certain direction. He might be more special than we first thought.'
'Hmm, I guess, still, without a Mental Sphere, his attack power is horrifically capped.'
"When it comes to those weapons, I can't say much, they feel like experiments done by the Scholars when they were taking something strange. They even thought of making an invisble blade, the absolute morons, how could you think of details of something invisible, the absolute fools."
"Hmm, could you show me that one?"