Runebound Reverse Tower of The Dead

[You have lost the set effect of Journeyman’s Leather Armor]

"Tsk, that’s unfortunate." Kael said.

"What is it?

"System told me I lost the Set Effect."

"Of course it would, why would ya get it if ya changed gear."

"It just feels a bit sad, the increase in regeneration when I hit low resources was a great boon."

"Ya shouldn’t worry too much bout something like that, once ya complete this coat, that set effect would be trash in comparison."

"Is it that good?"

"Wait till ya see it, lad. For now, Ya gotta think about what to do with this thing".

Kael looked back at the coat, and thought for a second.

"So the first step is making the wire thinner," Kael said. "If I can bring it closer to the original dimensions, the entire coat should become lighter and more flexible."

"Thinner isn’t enough," Andre warned. "Ya need to reduce the wire without losing everything ya already learned: grain direction, heat treatment, uniform tension, conductivity, Living Memory, and energy distribution. If making it thinner ruins any of those, ya have created worse mesh."

Kael sighed. "Your ancestor managed to preserve all of that while drawing Malachor to something close to spider-silk thickness. I’m becoming convinced your family is full of psychopaths."

"Good smiths," Andre corrected.

"I don’t think those descriptions are mutually exclusive."

Kael studied the Runic Socket section next. One Rune could be integrated directly into the armor, which immediately brought several possibilities to mind.

Darkness, Momentum, Second Wind, Presence, Heft, and Stone could all theoretically benefit armor. The warning Andre gave him earlier returned before he became too excited.

The entire coat functioned as one connected circuit. Unlike the gauntlets, which used deliberately separated channels and insulated sockets, the Malachor mesh distributed energy through most of its structure. One incompatible Rune could make different portions of the weave fight each other until several Epic ingots tore themselves apart.

Kael dismissed the possibilities for the moment. "I’m leaving the socket empty. Until I understand how the mesh reacts to every Rune, adding one would be gambling the entire coat for a passive effect."

Andre’s eyebrows rose slightly. "That might be the smartest thing ya’ve said since arriving."

"I’m pretty sure I said smarter things before."

"There it is. For a moment, I thought the forge fumes had repaired something in yer head."

Kael ignored him and activated Frost.

Cold traveled through the coat, making the Malachor weave beneath the leather more receptive. Kael circulated internal energy through his body and allowed a controlled amount to move outward.

The coat caught it.

He went still.

Internal energy normally belonged inside his body, where it moved through channels, muscles, and bones. The Demon Fist used flesh as its vessel. His gauntlets were an exception because Anchor allowed the power to leave his channels and enter an external Runic structure.

The coat accepted it differently.

Kael sent another pulse outward. The energy spread across his shoulders, traveled down his back, and passed along his ribs. It did not move deeply enough to turn the coat into a second body, but it moved with a stability he had not expected from his first functional mesh.

He stared at the armor. "The weave isn’t merely conducting energy across itself. I can guide my internal energy through specific sections."

Andre smiled when he heard the change in Kael’s voice. "That is what properly aligned Malachor should do when chilled."

Kael directed the energy toward his right shoulder. It moved through the mesh, traveled down his arm, and approached the gauntlet.

The two systems were not directly connected, but he could already imagine what they might become. This armor could do more than protect him. With the right design, it could participate in his internal-energy circulation.

Andre recognized the expression forming on his face and immediately shook his head. "Whatever ya’re planning, stop."

Kael looked toward him. "You don’t even know what I was going to suggest."

"I know that look. It is the same one ya had before one ingot became a week of headaches."

"What if I connected the gauntlets to the coat?" Kael asked. "The Malachor already conducts internal energy, the gauntlets use the same material, and Anchor stabilizes their channels. Theoretically, the entire set could become one larger Runic circuit."

Andre closed his eyes for a moment. "No."

"You haven’t heard the full idea."

"I heard enough. Ya don’t know how to build it."

Kael stopped arguing.

Andre pointed toward the word floating in the item window.

[Incomplete]

"That is why the Tower put that there," the dwarf continued. "Yer trying to design the next version before ya’ve finished understanding the first."

Kael stared at the classification and reluctantly allowed the Frost to fade. The coat returned to normal as he examined its construction with a more critical eye.

The mesh was too thick and used more material than necessary. The lower panels pulled slightly more than the original design should have allowed. His shoulders possessed full mobility, but the movement still fell short of perfect freedom.

The Tower had not insulted his craft. It had identified it accurately.

The coat was incomplete, which meant the flaws had not been accepted as permanent.

Kael’s frustration shifted as he looked back at Andre. "The classification also means it can be completed. The Tower recognizes that this is not the final state."

"Aye. Incomplete does not mean failed."

"So if I refine the mesh, reduce the weight, improve the movement, and complete the design, the classification might change."

Andre lifted his wine. "Finish the work and inspect it again. The Tower will answer better than I can."

Kael smiled because he liked that answer. The coat was unfinished, but that gave him somewhere to go.

His helmet still needed replacing, and the trousers required their own inspection. The Demon Fist barely reached the end of its first Chapter, while the Wonderlusting Demons footwork remained at the same stage. Somewhere around Floor Thirty, an ancient dwarven forge waited with the strength required to handle Porphyrite-Gloom Ore.

Kael flexed his new gauntlets. Fire flickered across his right hand and caused the Malachor to harden, while Frost spread over his left and opened the channels to energy.

He looked toward Andre. "The gauntlets are finished, at least for the moment. The coat needs refinement, my helmet is outdated, and neither of us can forge the Gloom Ore until I reach Floor Thirty."

"That is an accurate summary of the problems ya’ve created," Andre said. "I assume yer about to tell me this means ya need to work harder."

Kael nodded as he looked down at the new equipment covering his body. "It means I have a lot left to learn."

"You came back to Floor Two because ya needed a break," Andre reminded him. "Most people rest by leaving their work alone for several days."

Kael glanced toward the ancestral smithing book lying open upon the table. The forge burned nearby, his new armor rested comfortably against his body, and a long list of unfinished ideas already filled his thoughts.

"This is relaxing," he said. "Nobody is trying to kill me, and the only thing threatening my arms is my own craftsmanship."

Andre stared at him for several seconds before emptying his cup. "Yer master has done permanent damage to yer head."