My Servant System



Anput was grinning hard as she scurried through the Training Grounds, the Jackalkin ignoring everyone else and beelining straight towards me with a few cloth covered bundles in her arms; she was so focused on reaching me that she somehow missed the two giant Demoness' fighting one another, only recognizing that they were there when the Marquess stopped the spar and clapped Jahi's shoulder, grinning at her daughter with narrowed ruby eyes.

Jahi rubbed at her bruised jaw before her golden mana coiled around her again, removing the various bruises and scrapes from her blue skin and healing her back to her normal state so that she could focus on whatever it was that the olive skinned Jackalkin was bringing forwards.

There were three bundles in her arms, and she excitedly moved over to Leone and whispered something to her, having the Vampire lift the bundles out of her arms and allowing Anput to show them off one by one.

Lifting the first one, Anput's grin widened as she turned towards me, beginning what felt very much like a sales pitch or some type of presentation as she began to speak.

"So I noticed that you weren't the most...pleased with the rapier when fighting against things that bleed... which while that is an odd thing, knowing you it was a rather large reason I decided to make this for you instead, since it's something that you find enjoyable during fights..."

I raised a brow in the midst of her speaking, making the Jackalkin smile wryly before she flipped the cloth open to reveal a new blade for me, one that made me pause as I studied it.

"This doesn't exactly have much of a... categorical name, but the closest thing that I could think of is a crescent blade or a Khopesh. It's a dual edged blade with a hooked tip, giving it the ability to chop, slice, and even stab - though stabbing with a blade like this is going to be a little awkward. As you can see, the inside of the crescent is serrated, so if you chop or slash someone with this side, it'll inflict insane damage, while the outside of the crescent is just pure edge. It's far heavier than your rapier, but still really light, and it has a longer than normal hilt to allow for you to two hand it, but still short enough to comfortably one hand it."

I nodded at her words, studying the blade closely and working over how I would wield such a weapon.

Like she said, the blade was similar in nature to a Khopesh, which was a blade that was sort of like the omega (Ω) symbol of the Greek Alphabet that I was accustomed to, but more drawn out and flattened.

The blade started on one of the little prongs, connected it to the hilt via a straight piece of metal, before billowing down and arcing back up, like a crescent moon - hence Anput not exactly knowing how to categorize this blade.

The other prong was far more exaggerated than the connector one, with it being hooked back like a gut knife to allow for drastic damage should I stab with the tip of chop with the inside of the crescent.

Serrated teeth lined the entire 'inside' of the blade, while the outside was smooth and gently curved, providing the perfect edge to cut with if I wanted clean kills.

It was a deep red, made from the various materials that we had managed to get from Zhu'Rong - one of the Guards had returned to the Cabin to fetch them for us - and looked absolutely wicked, but at the same time incredibly plain and elegant as well.

No prominent cross guard, just a small disc to prevent my hands from slipping onto the bade, and no other fancy engravings or ornamentation, just a beautifully forged blade.

Taking it from Anput, I nodded to myself as I felt the difference in weight instantly, the longer, heavier blade requiring a bit more strength to wield, but providing a unique balance between just light enough to one hand and heavy enough to withstand being two handed.

"This is beautiful, Anput... and rather unique."

I smiled at my mate, who grinned back at me as she nodded, saying "It was fun to make, and honestly rather simple; the hardest part was filing out those teeth and not damaging the structure of the blade! Which means I can make it again when I get materials suitable for you specifically, but for now this is another 'trial weapon' to figure out what would suit you best. Now..!"

Clapping her hands excitedly, Anput turned and lifted another bundle from Leone, who was observing the blade in my hands curiously before focusing on the Jackalkin again.

"Jahi! This is something that I will need a LOT of feedback on, and might not be the... greatest right off the bat. So... don't be nice, be honest with it, alright? Ahem... So, I made two things for you. The first is a heavier close quarters blade for when we are in any confined spaces again, like those tunnels? Or in a hallway... you get the point. It's simple, but I think it's a rather good blade!"

Pulling the blade from the cloth, Anput handed Jahi a longer, wider Gladius, its flat double edged blade wider than my forearm and longer than it too, making it a large blade for me, but for Jahi?

It was a smaller sword, and she grasped the hilt and nodded, inspecting the blade and moving it around fluidly, making what would be a longsword of some kind for me look like a dagger in her hands...

Really, she was just that much larger than the rest of us, and it was moments like this that made that even more apparent.

Like my own, it was a simple, dark red blade that was smooth and sharp, no ornamentation on it at all and almost textbook for what a Gladius looked like.

"That's the first thing, but the second are these..."

Flipping the cloth away, Anput revealed two large gauntlets of normal steel, meant for someone as large as Jahi.

Handing her new Gladius to her Mom, the Demoness approached Anput and reached down, grabbing one of the gauntlets and slipping it on, enshrouding her giant blue fist in metal and covering her forearms in steel.

The fingers were made from interlocked pieces of metal, while the knuckles were studded with flat bolts of steel, adding some protection or offense to the armor depending on how they were used.

It was connected to a vambrace of simple flared metal, three long ridges adorning the sides of her forearms as well as the top of her forearm, meant to catch any blade sent towards her arm and lessen the damage done, while still remaining light enough to not hinder the Demoness' movements.

From what I could see, the inside of the gauntlets were lined with leather, softening the armor and providing another layer of protection for the wearer.

All in all, they looked well made and decent enough, but I could tell that they weren't the most masterfully crafted pieces of armor; but that was alright, since even as a non blacksmith I could see just how difficult forging armor was compared to blades.

There were more complexities and intricacies inside the armor than the blades, and that meant more parts that could be messed up or entirely detrimental to the armor, whereas a blade was far simpler to make - but still complex.

Clenching her fist, Jahi nodded before slipping on the other, frowning briefly as she adjusted to utilizing her new metal 'fingers' as she strapped the second gauntlet on, before nodding again as she moved her arms and hands about randomly.

"Feels pretty good; could be smoother, and less clunky, but all in all not that bad for some simpler armor. The leather lining could be a bit thicker, and the fingers occasionally snag on one another, but..."

She grinned at Anput, saying "They're great, Anput. Really, they are."

Anput's own grin widened, her tail wagging excitedly behind her as she was complimented by the Demoness, before she coughed and tried to regain her seriousness, turning towards Leone and saying "That last one is for you. It's a dagger, perfect for self defense but primarily for harvesting ingredients or harvesting monsters."

Leone opened her own bundle, revealing a small red dagger that was almost a foot long, its blade thick and single edged, meant to slice through things and reveal the goodies that the Vampire needed.

"I know that it's not the greatest thing compared to the others, but it should make harvesting easier by a mile, so..."

Anput shrugged, before she closed her eyes and leaned into the bare hand of Jahi as the Demoness began to stroke her ears, causing her tail to wag even faster as she was praised for her work.

Praise that she deserved, and praise that I gave her as well after admiring my new blade for a few moments more, already itching to test it out.