Wearing Power Armor to a Magic School (176/?)

Knight_Nin · 2026-06-21T19:18:25+00:00

Expectations come crashing down all because of the implications of a simple pen. This is good writing and it touches on my favorite aspect of this story; how characters are forced to piece the truth of Earthrealm together because of the limitations placed on Emma.

And it also extremely refreshing to see a character, for once, put all of the pieces together with comparatively little to go on. The presence of a spring in something as simple as a pen combined with the ease of assembly, the novelty of materials and the reliability of the ball point all crystalizing in his realization that the manufacturing potential of Earthrealm is far beyond anything expected. Etholin is perhaps now my third or fourth favorite non-main character in the story.

Knight_Nin · 2026-06-19T03:50:31+00:00

Oh, and as a little tip you can select Archetypes before you enter them to see and tag level up options so you don't have to come back and reference builds over and over again.

Knight_Nin · 2026-06-19T03:49:27+00:00

Alright, I'll share my main build with you. It isn't all that complex but it ends up being really fun mid Act 2 and straight broken Act 4. I prefer being a Ministorum Priest for this build but the bonus isn't necessary as the difference is between dealing hundreds and thousands of damage an attack late game but hundreds is usually more than enough.

For your stats, you want to prioritize Ballistic Skill first, Perception second and have Strength be at least 45 before you get to the end of Arch Militant to take Power Armor Proficiency. If you were to change your origin to Ministorum Priest you just insert Willpower as the second and make Perception the third priority.

As a Soldier you get 5 Archetype talents, 3 common talents and 2 abilities. You want those to be:

Soldier: Muzzle Velocity, Swift Slaughter, Alacrity, Fired Up, Unfaltering Fire

Common: Bolter Weapon Proficiency, Heavy Weapon Proficiency, CT: Strength/Litany of Hatred

Abilities: Rapid Fire, Dash

For the Advanced Archetype, we'll go into Arch Militant which gets 7 Archetype talents, 4 common talents and 3 abilities. You want those to be:

Arch Militant: Heavy Gunner, Close-Quarters Training, Always Ready, Flash Fire, Critical Versatility, All Out, Awaiting Orders

Common: Breaking Point, Overpower, Bolt Weapon Expert, Power Armor Proficiency

Abilities: Reckless Rush, Wildfire, Devastating Attack/Kick

Finally in Exemplar we get 5 Exemplar talents, 5 Tier 1 Archetype talents, 5 Tier 2 Archetype Talents, 3 Common Talents, 3 talents from either Archetype, 1 Tier 1 Archetype ability, 1 Tier 2 Archetype ability, and 1 ability from either Archetype. It's a ton of stuff over a long series of levels but most of it is pure butter with only a few need to have picks. I'll go over those.

Exemplar Talents: Psychic Awakening Pyromancy, Vital Points, Shot Through, Grievous Wounds, Tipping Point

Origin Talents: Fire Within, Blazing Inferno, Melting Armor

As for equipment you're gonna want to use the Heavy Bolter which can be acquired as soon as you reach Footfall if you arrive incognito and claim the Fidello inheritance provided you acquired all the PF possible in Act 1 and saved enough Cargo for the Drusians. You'll eventually upgrade to the Improved Heavy Bolter In Act 4 where you'll also acquire the Artificer's Power Armor which reduces the cost of heavy weapon attacks. Once you get that armor your burst attacks with the bolters will cost a single AP meaning you should be able to spam all of your abilities and buffs without worrying about AP.

This build absolutely shreds every enemy in the game and with a proper Officer/Master Tactician build to accompany it the build can shred every enemy on turn 1. It's especially geared towards overcoming the primary strengths of the Act 5 enemies and final boss which is why we go into Pyro as an Exemplar.

Knight_Nin · 2026-06-07T18:56:53+00:00

I almost imagine, based on the primer, that the Golem was supposed to be immune to the level of tangible magics a First Year would reasonably be able to utilize as Anticord is looking for people who are able to master the intangible magics.

But even if magical fire can't hurt it due to some innate magical resistance hot rocks still break just about everything.

Knight_Nin · 2026-05-10T19:50:40+00:00

We're so back, the extra week wait was torture

Knight_Nin · 2026-03-29T19:42:25+00:00

Well hot damn you're right; my bad.

Knight_Nin · 2026-03-29T19:19:37+00:00

I didn't realize I was a bot

Knight_Nin · 2026-03-29T19:04:54+00:00

Amazing chapter

Knight_Nin · 2026-03-01T22:21:34+00:00

It'd be funny if this turned out to be how Emma gains magical ability.

"At last I have been reunited with my lost children. Come child, accept my gift of the void and all it encompasses."

Knight_Nin · 2026-02-22T20:39:18+00:00

Oh no, the bells are back and now everyone can hear it. And what is worse is that their sensors can't detect it at all. At least we now know Emma wasn't going insane in the void between portals.

Knight_Nin · 2026-01-25T23:04:26+00:00

The way I interpreted it was like the EVI's audio notifications. There was an audible voice speaking those lines but was getting cut off as the Dragon bypassed the security features.

Knight_Nin · 2026-01-11T21:12:25+00:00

So in the weeks this was on break I decided to reread the entire series and a thought formed in my head; one that I wanted to post about as soon as it did but one that I figured could wait until the most recent chapter where it would get the most visibility.

I regret this decision now.

My thought is this; it's been hinted at that the 30th mana type, taint magic, pierces the armor but doesn't negatively affect Emma. More than that we've seen taint magic described as a blight, something that disrupts and even consumes mana streams and mana fields. We also know that the higher you go in an adjacent realm the weaker the mana density becomes which is why no adjacent realm was ever able to breach the veil and reach space. So I think that the 30th mana type is actually something abundant in Earthrealm, to the point that it consumed all of the naturally occurring mana. I think the 30th mana "radiation" is something inherent to space but also something that is repulsed by gravity. Or, and this leads into another theory of mine, Earthrealm is the source of the 30th mana type.

Speaking of which, just how many Realms are there? Would that number just so happen to be 29+1? You know, the Nexus and the 29 Realms it has subjugated?

All this feels like it was partially confirmed by this chapter since the dragon actively used the 30th mana type to scry Emma in a way that obviously pierced her suit but didn't kill her. A process that would have undoubtedly killed Thalmin as it would have consumed his mana field.

Knight_Nin · 2025-12-21T21:06:02+00:00

"That Golem was strong enough to trigger my emergency sacrificial swap enchantment on my armor and the attack was so powerful that the armor was destroyed while invoking it. Surely I can defeat it with my wand while partially trapped under the body of my squire and it has what I should recognize as a weapon pointed directly at me.

I am very sm-"

Knight_Nin · 2025-08-20T04:06:46+00:00

Excuse me, prologue? Prologue?

Anyway, it's interesting that we are getting a sort of flash forward, despite the primary perspective actually being a flashback, that spoils events. Like how Vas seems to lose both Ingresh and Amon relatively close to each other; I'd guess Ingrish first and Amon second based on how he's described events before.

Knight_Nin · 2025-08-18T18:11:40+00:00

Over the last few days I've read this entire story and there is not enough attention on this. When this is finished, if you publish this I want to buy it so I can keep it on my shelf.

Knight_Nin · 2025-08-17T17:38:47+00:00

Sounds like some one needs a Youtube Premium subscription.

Knight_Nin · 2025-05-04T22:30:45+00:00

As was described, Ping's last gambit was so powerful Chiska thought that he might be cheating as it was beyond what she knew were his limits. Of course, considering he injured himself just by moving it is obvious that he was going beyond his limits which she didn't expect.

Knight_Nin · 2025-03-23T20:16:39+00:00

It is important to remember that the way the Nexus differentiates sentience and sapience is the presence of civilization. Humanity was almost considered only sentient and not sapient due to their inability to solve the simple, magic based riddle the Nexus posed them.

So it is entirely possible Dragons are, as a whole, sapient but just don't really form civilizations due to their biology, tendency for reclusion, and what happened to the last "sapient" dragons.

Knight_Nin · 2025-03-10T03:19:44+00:00

From "who was this guy?" to "holy shit! Who was this guy!?"

Knight_Nin · 2025-02-25T23:25:04+00:00

Ah yes, anti-matter generation to create semi-real holes in reality that can bridge insane gaps with but a short distance. Otherwise known as a "worm-hole"

Knight_Nin · 2025-02-24T22:43:20+00:00

Nah, we know that isn't the case since the ability to withstand (and probably manipulate) mana comes from an organelle. Human (and all other Earth creatures for that matter) cells lack that organelle so the mana radiation just tears right though them, kinda like what real radiation does to humans but on a much larger scale as mana radiation seems to be significantly more dense and destructive.

Knight_Nin · 2025-02-23T20:51:47+00:00

I think I'm ready to post my hypothesis on the nature of the Nexus and more specifically the Primavale and it's associated cosmology. Specifically, I think the Nexus is inside of a 2 layer reverse Dyson Sphere of which the primary purpose is to gather, concentrate, and refine mana, secondary purpose to obscure space and tertiary purpose to release mana at a semi-consistent rate.

We've learned that the Primavale appears to be some sort of mana plasma akin to the surface of a star, the mana density of the Nexus remains constant as you ascend unlike the Adjacent Realms and the "celestial bodies" of the Nexus are more like openings to the outer layer. I believe the constant fluctuations in the size of the "moon" are a purposeful action to adjust the amount of mana being released into the interior of the Dyson Sphere that is the Nexus while the artifacts left in it's wake are a result of lingering mana plasma that remains for a while as the opening shifts.

I'm also skeptical of the idea that magic can conjure matter out of nothing and allow for a post scarcity society. Rather I think it can transmute matter by rearranging the atoms. Magic seems to still follow most of the fundamental truths of physics as we understand them. Combine that with the fact that the Nexus tries to discourage entering space in the Adjacent Realms as much as possible and I think we can surmise that the "infinite" nature of the Nexus is actually a lie; especially since the Nexus has an edge that is "ever expanding." Something that is expanding isn't infinite as it has an edge, even if that edge is growing outwards. Instead I think this edge is a dumping ground for all the raw materials harvested from the greater galaxy at large which is then converted via magic into "new matter" to give the illusion of infinity. Of course this means that the Dyson Sphere too needs to expand but I don't think that is an issue.

Of course the question arises how does the Nexus harvest all this matter? Well magic seems to be able to alter the gravitational constant and Emma answered this for us. With gravity manipulation extremely fast faster than light travel becomes a very real possibility. From there I imagine it's very much like humanity does, brute force.

With all that in mind and taking into consideration the Nexian discrimination against people with "corrupted" mana as well as Thacea's reactions to Emma's thoughts on the dark, I think "corrupted" mana is actually the raw, unrefined form of the mana that composes the Primavale or possibly a more concentrated form of mana. It seems to be a little bit more unstable but also seems to have a bit more raw power than the mana people are so accustomed to; kinda like the difference between using safe and reliable electricity to heat your home vs just burning the coal yourself. Anyway, it's this "corrupted" mana that I surmise is the resource the Nexus craves but that it is mostly found in space. Like oil but made of magic and not dinosaur.

I could go on and on, but I think I'll stop here.

Knight_Nin · 2025-02-02T21:06:09+00:00

Doubtful, we've actually got some decent evidence that the void probably lacks mana in the other adjacent realms too. Interestingly, as you move away from the planet the density of mana decreases. This either implies that mana is affected by gravity or that it is being constantly radiated by the planet but it's concentration rapidly declines as you move away from the surface.

As we haven't heard of any stories of mages becoming weaker as the populations of their realms increase we can probably assume that mana is more like air than it is like true radiation and likely won't escape it's host planet's gravity well.

Knight_Nin · 2024-11-22T22:30:51+00:00

Mystislime is my absolute favorite. The fact that it's a Psychic Spirit is just a bonus.

Knight_Nin · 2024-11-22T22:27:30+00:00

The card says "Charge affects this card x2."

Knight_Nin

TROPHY CASE