As always Giliath demands your power stones!
*
"Really!?", I exclaimed, obviously happy. I didn't think I'd receive sword training this early! Well, he is still looking for a teacher. I couldn't help but grow curious as to who it will be. Isn't being three a little too young to pick up a sword? Running around, I get. But holding a sword outright?
"Of course, as long as you continue to deliver good results to me. It might be a little too early to have you train with a sword though. I might get an earful from Kasia, haha!", Giliath replied with a laugh.
Hearing this, I couldn't help but grow in anticipation. Setting apart the Rapier, I was more interested in seeing Giliath use Arts. Now that's a Trails-exclusive!
I saw Giliath pause, and rummage through his clothes. He brought out a pocket watch-like device, one that was both familiar yet foreign to me. I was completely used to seeing this in the games, but this is my first one seeing it in person.
"Come. I for one am many things. But being a liar is not one of them. Today, I said I will show you a Combat Orbment. And that is what I will do.", Giliath said to me. He now held a Combat Orbment in his hand. We took a moment to approach a couple trees. Enough time had passed to where I now had enough breath. My chest steadily rose outward, and my energy from earlier died down. The tiredness is mostly gone now too.
I very well knew what this device was, but it's not like I could project that out to Giliath, knowing that I'm a reincarnator and all. I acted like a curious child. And in reality, I truly was! Just seeing this device alone brought me great interest. As I thought that, I heard Giliath speak to me, and began to introduce this device. This would just be one of many instances I would get to see, and hopefully not the last. In due time, I'm sure one of these will land in my own possession.
"What you see here son, are what are known as Combat Orbments. The device itself can cast what we call Arts.", Giliath said, beginning his explanation of the Combat Orbment.
"Arts can provide many boons during combat in a variety of ways. Some can cause massive destruction, while some can support you. The use of mana waned since the Middle Ages, causing us humans to adapt through a different method. This is what we were going to cover in the Orbal Revolution, but I'll be explaining some of it to you now. It allows us to cast abilities that are equivalent to Magic like it's nothing. As long as you have the corresponding Quartz installed in this device, we could easily achieve what the Mages of the Middle Ages could.", Giliath explained.
Hmm, I guess knowing about Magic wasn't really a secret then? I'm sure Giliath is much more a history buff compared to other folks, so I wasn't surprised to see him referring to Magic like this. Basically, through science, us humans can now cast magic-like spells without having the need for mana.
How cool is that?
That doesn't mean Magic no longer exists here in Zemuria. It's just kept in really secretive places and mostly restricted by the fleeting Hexen Clan. These guys still have the ability to cast Magic from centuries past. I am not sure if I'll get to meet any of those people anytime soon, but a couple individuals that come from this clan are known as Emma Millstein and Vita Clotilde.
It looks like Father wasn't done explaining about Combat Orbments, though. I kept my ears perked, and my eyes were glued on the device.
"Continuing along, Combat Orbments bring their power through a very special mineral which is scattered throughout Zemuria, and can be mined from what are called Septium Veins. The mineral itself is Septium, and once you put it through our refineries, they become Sepith. Through these Sepith crystals, you can create little gems called Quartz. These Quartz are small enough to install in these Combat Orbments. They require very specialized engineers to install these, you'll find them in Orbal Workshops. And install enough, you get a Combat Orbment like mine..", Giliath said, concluding his explanation.
Now there's the nitty-gritty of the Trailsverse. Raw Septium, refined Sepith, and Quartz. In the games, all monsters would drop various drops of Sepith. The most beginning-level Quartz would only need a couple tens or so to synthesize into a Quartz. More advanced-level Quartz required much, much more. I'm sure in time, my Gamer System will introduce a function to allow me to gather Sepith. This is what separates Trails from your typical magical fantasy story.
The power of science!
This ushered in a new path for mankind. It allowed them to create crazy contraptions, going far, far beyond what was invented in my previous life.
It's the same technology that will eventually develop mechas! Humanoid, gigantic robots that just about anyone could pilot! You heard me right, Trails is a sci-fi AND magical fantasy. If that isn't cool, then I don't know what is.
And at the helm of all this that drove humankind into this direction is a foundation called the Epstein Foundation. It spurred the Orbal Revolution about forty years ago, by a man called Claude Epstein. Hence the name, the Epstein Foundation. It was built in honor of him after he passed away. Father did briefly bring up the Orbal Revolution when I was younger, but we never really had a chance to talk about it until now.
"This is the Combat Orbment, right?", I asked, obviously excited.
"That's correct. This is a Combat Orbment. They have pretty heavy regulations on who and can't use them. While normal citizens can use them, they are mostly used by the army, the Bracers, and private militaries or mercenaries. This one is a standard-issued one. If there was one thing to point out, is that when the engineer assigns you your Combat Orbment, they attune to the elements you might have a strong attachment to. This is a Generation III model. I've heard the Generation IV model is currently in development, but it might be quite some time until we get to see those in action.", Giliath said to me, explaining how the Combat Orbment works.
"And they don't really have an official name, we just call them Combat Orbment."
Most people I've seen playing the games are likely more used to the Arcus, or Enigma Models. They're the ones that show up in Cold Steel and Crossbell respectively. There's over a decade until these versions. What was present before me was the classic pocket-watch version, which appeared to be an earlier generation. In the Sky games, you have the Generation IV models, like Father just said.
Either way, I was amazed to see a real Combat Orbment before me. It was just another reminder I was no longer playing the games. It was my new life to handle how I see fit. I haven't seen Father bring one of these out until now either. He said it was a standard issue of the Imperial Army, but I could see he did a custom job on it. You could easily apply a paint job. His was a fiery red. It mirrored how Heimdallr looked when one travelled into the capital. I could also see Erebonia's insignia on it. Now that made sense. After all, Giliath is part of the Imperial Army.
"This really is a Combat Orbment...", I uttered in amazement.
"Indeed it is my son. I've since done some customizations on it, apart from putting a custom plate on its outside. Come have a look.", Giliath said, urging me to approach him. I had no reason to refuse, so I approached him. I saw him press a button on the Combat Orbment, causing a clicking sound to reach my ears. The locket opened, and I could see its full structure within...