Paragon of Destruction

Arran spent a quarter-hour considering the type of weapon that might be most useful against enemies like dragons and the giant diggers, but the more he pondered the matter, the more options he saw.

A spear would greatly increase his reach, which would help not just against monstrous opponents but also against dense ranks of human enemies. Yet while it would increase his reach, it would also do less damage, especially against armored opponents.

Something like a glaive or halberd would address that problem, but it would sacrifice some reach and speed in favor of damage. And against groups of opponents, weapons like those would leave him exposed with each attack.

Each option he saw would solve some of his problems, but at the price of introducing entirely new ones.

But then, a thought came to him — there was no need to settle on any single choice.

The Living Shadow weapon could take any shape. And if he selected a handful of weapon types and taught it their shapes, it should be able to assume those familiar forms far in a matter of moments.

With that, he would have a small armory at his disposal. He would have the weapon to suit any type of enemy — whether it be a single monster or an entire army.

Because as he'd discovered in the battle against the Darians, a normal sword wasn't ideal against dense ranks of enemies, either. Each attack he'd made had brought him within reach of his enemies' weapons, and he'd suffered several wounds just trying to force his way through their line.

Of course, he could have easily relied on his strength to break their ranks. But that would require him to reveal his full power. And worse, it would only work against enemies as weak as these soldiers had been.

Intent on addressing these problems, he spent a half-hour making a list of weapons that might help him. But the two dozen weapons he came up with were far too many, and he spent another half-hour whittling down the number.

Finally, he cast a satisfied look at the short list before him. Just four weapons remained, and learning to use each of them should benefit him no small amount.

After giving it some thought, he put the list aside. While he could try to have his sword take the shapes he had in mind, it would be far easier to have proper versions crafted, then copy their designs after he'd studied them.

That would take time, but for once, time was something he did not lack. With the mercenaries in the mines for at least several more months, there was little he could do but wait and train.

Fortunately, the quarters Captain Kaleesh had arranged for him included a spacious training room, and it was there that Arran headed after finishing the list of weapons.

There had been little opportunity for him to study the Forms after he arrived in the Imperium. Even if others would not have been able to detect his Shadow Essence, spending several hours standing around making obscure gestures would certainly have drawn attention.

But in his new quarters, he had enough privacy to train properly. And that was an opportunity he would not soon pass up.

He practiced for several hours, finding the Forms every bit as difficult as before as he used Shadow Essence to execute them to the best of his ability.

But although he had memorized them painstakingly, the true challenge wasn't merely to use them. Rather, it was to unearth the insights they contained.

And that would require countless hours of practice.

As expected, a single night's practice yielded little progress. Arran did not let this discourage him. The Forms were a path he'd only barely begun to explore, and he could not expect immediate results.

He studied intently until midnight, continuing until his focus began to waver. Finally, when his mind had grown too weary to continue, he headed to bed.

The day of study had left him exhausted, and his thoughts slipped away as soon as his blankets touched his skin.

When morning came, he ate a quick meal of digger meat, then set to work once more, studying Captain Kaleesh's manuscripts.

Here, at least, he knew he was making progress. While he was still far from fully understanding the details and nuances of the manuscripts, with each hour he spent studying his comprehension grew.

The more he learned, the more impressed he found himself with the documents. The captain's own writings, in particular, contained a wealth of knowledge, more than a person could gather in a lifetime.

And the diagrams, too, slowly began to make sense to Arran. While he'd previously wondered what the abstract schematics could teach about the fury of battle, he now saw that there was something to them — something that could almost be called beautiful.

The diagrams distilled battle lines into abstract forms, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, and the battles they described were like duels between master swordsmen — only wielding armies rather than swords as their weapons.

Still, when midday came, Arran found himself predictably weary.

For all their beauty, the diagrams and their explanations were fiendishly complex, and a morning of study left Arran every bit as exhausted as he would've been after an entire day of hard training.

But another meal did much to replenish his energy, and as he ate, he felt the Natural Essence in the digger meat fill his body, the Blood Ruin greedily devouring it and adding it to his strength.

He could not help but be relieved that he'd found the digger meat. While most of his strength had already recovered from his time in the Shadow Realm, the gap that still remained would have been hard to close without the meat he'd won in the mines.

Now, however, it should only be a matter of weeks before he'd recovered the last of his strength. And after that, he would soon surpass his previous peak.

When he finished the meal, he left his quarters and headed into the camp, intending to spend an hour or two training with his group of mercenaries. This was another task he could not neglect — not if he was to lead the mercenaries into battle.

But he was surprised to find that none of them were present in the camp. Nor, for that matter, were most of the other mercenaries.

Yet he did find Captain Kaleesh, who was sat at a table in front of his quarters, a ponderous frown on his face as he wrote in a small notebook.

The captain did not see Arran approach until he was within half a dozen paces of the man. When he finally heard his commander approach, he looked up with puzzled eyes.

"Finished your studies already?" the captain asked. "Morning has barely begun — you should spend at least a few more hours studying."

"It's past midday," Arran replied. "Where are the troops?"

"Past midday?" The captain glanced at the sky, making an ugly face when he saw that Arran had not lied. "Time passes too quickly. As for the troops, they're in the mines. Gar and Sassun cleared out the last of the diggers last night, and I want to get as much work as possible done before Kadun's men arrive."

"Kadun's men?" Arran raised an eyebrow. "Isn't the overseer one of Kadun's men?"

The captain shook his head. "The overseer has no power. But when Kadun — or rather, his stewards — find out that the lower levels are clear, it won't be long before they send people to get in our way. We have a week or two, at most."

Arran looked at the captain in confusion. "Why would they get in our way? Don't they benefit from our work?"

Captain Kaleesh let out a sharp laugh. "They sent us here to fail, so they could break the deal I made with them. Once they discover that we — or you, rather — have put a stop to their plans, I imagine they won't waste any time in finding new ways to get in our way."

At this, Arran could only sigh. "Will there be trouble?"

The captain frowned, then shook his head. "Not trouble, exactly. Or least, nothing we can't handle. But the more we get done before they arrive, the better."

"I suppose we'll find out soon enough," Arran said. Whatever happened, he had little choice but to trust in the captain's plans. And after studying the manuscripts, he was confident that Captain Kaleesh had already prepared for whatever difficulties they would face. "But I had a question to ask of you. There are some supplies I need."

"Supplies?" The captain gave Arran a puzzled look. "What kind of supplies?"

"I need some weapons," Arran said, then handed over the list of weapons he'd made the previous night.

The captain studied the list for some moments, and when he looked up again, there was some confusion in his eyes. "Some of these, I understand," he said. "A good spear could certainly be useful, and poleaxes have their uses. Even the staff makes sense." A frown crossed his face, and he continued, "But this last one… it sounds impractical, to say the least."

Arran shrugged. "It's just something I want to try. If it doesn't work out, I'll still have my sword to use. Can you arrange it?"

"I can," the captain replied. "I'll try to have it made in a week — if only to see what you'll do with that thing."

"Thanks," Arran said. Then, with a glance at the mines' entrance, he asked, "Should I join my men in the mines? I should be of some help."

Captain Kaleesh shook his head. "Focus on your training and studies. Right now, that's more important than another miner."

Arran nodded thoughtfully, a small smile appearing on his face. A few weeks to focus on his training would certainly be useful.