Sword Plover and the Combat Artificer

The ground was carpeted in a thick layer of dead leaves. Bright flames licked at them, curling and burning them into scattering sparks. Firelight stretched the shadows of the forest's twisting roots long and thin. Tata forcefully pushed some leaves aside, raised her head, and watched Fang Heng assemble the final component.

Fang Heng let out a long breath, stepped back, held his right hand beneath his chin, and tilted his head as he examined his creation.

Unlike the Clockwork Sprite's miniature delicacy, the walker's style was flexibility and sharpness. It crouched low against the soft earth, reflecting a cold gleam beneath the flickering campfire. Through its domed shell, one could see a precise set of gears, and inside a glass casing were two gleaming Silver Rails and a rapidly spinning gyroscope.

Two metal blade-claws glinted faintly, their tips embedded in the ground. Yet apart from the blade-legs and precise core components, most of this walker construct's structure was wooden.

While ensuring sufficient structural strength, the wooden frame introduced a great deal of unnecessary deadweight. Left with no choice, Fang Heng had chosen the bulkier six-legged system, which offered a higher combat load capacity.

Moreover, because the wooden structure itself was fragile, the six-legged system's better protection and greater durability were not reflected in this walker at all. The increased deadweight merely gave it better stability and balance.

"Mr. Knight."

Fang Heng nodded to Tata and accepted the Alpha Crystal from her arms.

He walked over, carefully opened the walker's shell, and inserted the crystal into the slot on its base. With a soft click, a panel appeared, displaying the remaining mana sufficient to sustain the Flexible Construct's operating time:

Normal state — 7 hours, 44 minutes, 12 seconds; combat state — 30 minutes, 17 seconds

Seeing those figures, Fang Heng could not help but sigh inwardly. This was an Alpha Crystal with only one-third of its mana reserves remaining. The walker consumed more than twice as much energy as a Clockwork Sprite, yet even with an Attribute-less Crystal, the Clockwork Sprite's operating time was shorter than the walker's.

That showed just how weak Attribute-less Crystals were.

And the Alpha Crystal's advantages over ordinary Attribute-less Crystals were not limited to mana reserves. Its instantaneous output was more than three times greater as well.

Fang Heng put on his gloves and tried making it move. The walker construct gave a soft sound as its six legs unfolded and it rose to its feet. Fang Heng raised his middle and index fingers, and with another click, it lifted two pairs of blade-claws high like a praying mantis, their shining tips pointed toward the campfire.

Fang Heng frowned and inwardly cried out, Oh, damn.

"This thing is hard to control. It has more than twice as many flexible components to manage as the Clockwork Sprite," he said to Tata while operating it. "I shouldn't have removed all the Silver Rails. One pair of flexible rails can't fully control it—this is going to be troublesome."

Tata frowned and replied, "Mr. Knight, I'm sorry. I failed to anticipate that beforehand."

"It has nothing to do with you."

Fang Heng looked at the fairy girl, then suddenly smiled. "Actually, there's no need to worry so much. Don't worry, watch this—" As he spoke, he pointed ahead.

The walker construct sprang up. Its blade-claws crossed forward rapidly, then it leaped over several roots, moving as swiftly as an agile wolf spider.

"How about that? Reliable, right?" Fang Heng turned back and bragged, but before he could finish, the walker construct slammed headfirst into a tree and swayed there without moving. From start to finish, it had lasted no more than three seconds.

Tata raised her head and looked at him.

The two stared at each other, and the atmosphere became awkward for a moment.

"Um... m-maybe some component is broken." Fang Heng was covered in embarrassment.

Tata had already flown over.

Fang Heng could only follow dejectedly. He picked up the walker construct beneath the tree and inspected it. The walker was a little larger than a basketball, but far heavier. Ordinary ones weighed fifteen kilograms in total, while this one weighed a full nineteen kilograms.

The wooden construct foot-chassis alone accounted for nearly two-thirds of its deadweight. Most of the remaining weight belonged to the water-cooling system, while the gear assembly made up only a small part. As for variable components such as strength-enhancing parts, the Visual Link Crystal, and vibration sensors for scouting, he had omitted everything he could. Only then had it barely met the standard combat load for a six-legged system.

The six-legged system's maximum combat load was twenty-one kilograms, but some margin had to be left to prevent it from falling apart in battle due to excessive self-weight.

After checking for a long time without finding anything, Fang Heng suddenly slapped his forehead and realized he had been stupid. Perhaps out of habit, he had forgotten he still had the system. He hurriedly opened the artificer's search interface:

'Walker Type 170 [Six-Legged System] — (Equipment Level: F)'

'Basic Attributes: Attack Power — 23–30 (+6), Strength Modifier +34%; Melee Accuracy — 43 (+11), Strength Modifier +37%; Balance — 34 (+7), Agility Modifier +22%; Burst Power — 18, Output Modifier +50%'

'Defense Attributes: Armor Value — 6 (shell section), Durability — 35, Shield Value — 0, Evasion Value — 132, Block Value — 14'

'Core Attributes: Mana Capacity — 130M, Mana Output — 5.5M (construct legs 33%, flexible components 25%, gear assembly 16%, water-cooling system 15%, gyroscope 7%, other 4%); Self-Weight — 19.3 kg, Combat Load — 21 kg; Core Heat Generation — 0.2–2.5/S, Cooling System Load — 14%'

'Additional Attribute: Balance +2'

'Component Skill: Agile Swiftness IV (from flexible components; Agility-related modifiers +50% when activated)'

'Operating Status: Good, Assembly Precision — 97%'

Naturally, the fairy girl could see the panel as well. "There is no issue with the design itself. It is still a problem with maneuverability," she said bluntly, making Fang Heng's face flush. But Tata then raised her head and asked, "Will it be alright?"

Only then did Fang Heng nod.

This thing had been hastily assembled, an expedient born of necessity. Still, as long as he controlled it carefully, the problem could be overcome. Its performance would simply be greatly reduced. In fact, he had already done everything he could to draw out this temporary design's potential.

For example, after removing various components, the Alpha Crystal had a considerable surplus in mana output. Fang Heng had therefore set aside a substantial output margin for combat mode, allowing this walker to reach a burst power of twenty-seven at full load—more than twice his own. Of course, his own attributes were pretty useless to begin with.

He had also installed an additional flexible component to improve the walker's excessive deadweight and clumsiness. However, flexible components required bearings. Wooden bearings were inefficient and extremely unreliable, so he had made several extra sets for replacement.

Thinking of this, Fang Heng looked at the panel again and still could not help shaking his head. "The wooden structure is far too weak. This durability and armor might as well not exist. All I can pray for now is that it doesn't fall apart on its own during battle."

"It is already very good, Mr. Knight," Tata replied calmly. "Adapting to local conditions is also one of an alchemist's abilities. And Mr. Knight's assembly precision is very high. You have brought out nearly all the attributes each component ought to have."

Being praised by the fairy girl in her unhurried tone was truly refreshing.

Fang Heng could not help touching his cheek—

Though in this regard, he had every right to be confident.

Assembly was also a technical skill, and it could even be considered one of the most important parts of an alchemist's crafting process. The key word in assembly was precision—a perfect calibration could allow the final product to truly display the sum of every component's attributes.

The greater the error, the more the attributes supplied by the components would be reduced by percentage.

As for how bad the worst case could be, that was hard to say. Fang Heng knew there was no lower limit. One of his most important experiences as an apprentice in Kapuka had been seeing many people assemble a set of high-quality components into a pile of junk that could fall apart at any moment.

Some parts of that process were reversible, but some were not. If it turned out to be irreversible, all the previous effort and money would be wasted.

For that reason, it was common for senior alchemical craftsmen to grab apprentices and beat them senseless.

There were no human rights in this world—

As for why Fang Heng had been beaten less often, he had also been one of the favorite apprentices of those master craftsmen in Kapuka.

What came with that was a solid foundation.

If there was anything Fang Heng was most confident in now—it was not the so-called talent that Tata and Scarpe had repeatedly mentioned, but these fundamentals.

It was precisely through them that he had entered the Dawnstar Adventurer Group and earned everyone's recognition.

While reminiscing about those days, Fang Heng set the walker construct back on the ground. He had already confirmed the main problem: once it lost balance, it was difficult for it to restore balance on its own due to the lack of control methods—something a walker should normally have been capable of.

Put simply, this walker possessed the legendary "natural trait" of being prone to tripping over flat ground.

Fang Heng began to feel somewhat grateful for its heavy weight.

He raised his hand again and sliced it downward, issuing the command, "Maximum power, attack!"

The walker construct raised its front legs and leaped forward. A flash of cold blade-light cut a deep gash into the trunk of a banyan-like plant nearby, and white sap immediately seeped out.

Fang Heng gestured with his hand. The cut was over twenty centimeters deep.

"Its burst power is very strong, roughly equivalent to a Level Three warrior," Tata assessed.

"From what we saw earlier, its speed in swift mode is also quite commendable... probably around the level of a Level Two rogue," Fang Heng added, joking at his own expense. "At full speed, there's no way I could catch it even on horseback, and its short-range changes of direction are even more out of reach."

He suddenly fell silent.

This walker's combat strength was roughly equivalent to a swordsman Chosen who had invested separately in Agility and Strength. Its combat value was perhaps around forty to fifty thousand experience—close to a standard Level Three character—though its defenses were probably far inferior.

But this was not even a complete version of a walker, was it?

At that moment, he suddenly understood why Combat Artificers were called pseudo-Dragon Knights or Lesser Dragon Knights. There was indeed a reason this profession was so highly regarded in Aethelria.

"What a pity this thing doesn't have a Visual Link Crystal." Fang Heng put the walker into alert mode, then bent down and held out his hand for Tata to sit in his palm. "That means I can only control it within my line of sight."

"That is enough," Tata suddenly said. "This is Mr. Knight's first independently completed design. As the first step you have taken as a Combat Artificer, give it a name."

The two returned to the campfire, and Fang Heng was slightly stunned by her words.

Only then did he realize it. From this moment onward, he had truly become a Combat Artificer.

He involuntarily looked up. Moonlight bathed the forest overhead, and the silver owl in the distance suddenly flapped its wings and silently flew into the darkness. Fang Heng seemed to sense something and replied, "Call it Sword Plover—"

Tata's emerald-green eyes also looked toward the deep woodland in that direction.

She gently nodded.

"Sword Plover?"

The night gradually deepened.

Fang Heng leaned quietly against a huge oak tree, occasionally switching the panel before him—it displayed the complex blueprint for a Type I Crystal. He yawned and turned his head. Tata had fallen asleep at some point. She leaned crookedly against him, her head resting on his thigh as she slept soundly, her thick eyelashes faintly fluttering in the firelight.

Did Dragon Souls dream too?

Curious, Fang Heng saw faint points of light emerging around the fairy girl and knew Tata was replenishing the surrounding ambient mana in her sleep. He gently lowered his left hand and covered her with his sleeve like a warm blanket.

The fairy girl pursed her lips, grasped the edge of the "blanket," and unconsciously pulled it higher before turning over.

She seemed to be having a good dream, for her tightly furrowed brows relaxed.

Fang Heng turned back and watched the flickering firelight in the distance, feeling a trace of warmth in his heart. In the dark forest, thick fog rolled out from the northern mountains. The orange glow drove away the chill and mist, like a solitary lamp in the wilderness.

Flickering unsteadily.

Yet still bright.

Morning in the mountains—

Began amid a burst of chirping birdsong.

Fang Heng opened his bleary eyes. A verdant shadow filled his vision, sunlight filtering through the treetops in mottled patches. As though by coincidence, several Sword Plovers stood on the branches with their heads tilted as they watched him. The birds did not seem afraid of people at all; Fang Heng could even make out every downy feather on their white neck rings and complete black breast bands.

Fang Heng froze for a moment, then could not help laughing.

Yes, he happened to know these wading birds that made their homes in marshes and wetlands.

When he had been very young, the uncle and aunt who raised him had told him a story. Plovers were a kind of bird whose tracks spread across most of the world. Though small, they were migratory birds that crossed thousands of kilometers to begin their journeys through life.

That was also the origin of his name—

The only inheritance his parents had left him.

"To be someone who does not linger in place, brave and resolute..." Fang Heng murmured to himself. "Would Uncle and Aunt understand my choice...?" He saw the birds suddenly take flight and vanish into the canopy.

Then Tata's small face appeared in his view. The fairy girl's eyes seemed to hold a tranquil lake, and she looked at him calmly.

"Someone is coming."

She spoke.

Fang Heng sat up at once. Turning back, he saw the Sword Plovers all fly in the same direction through the forest.

The current cover should be one provided by Qidian. It doesn't feel quite right, so I drew one myself last night. You should probably see it before long. Also, please keep bookmarking and recommending the novel. Bookmarks are growing a bit slowly, so don't be lazy, friends. And please help spread the word too~ Oh, and I forgot to mention that there was a small bug in the previous chapter. It should indeed have been fewer than thirteen times, not fifteen. Thanks for pointing it out. Sigh, mathematics utterly defeated me.