Chapter 44: The Riot Shield

The moment Constantine stepped through the door of the Mage Tower, his nose began to itch out of habit.

The once-empty lawn on the first floor of the Mage Tower now had at least half its area taken over. Frames of some kind occupied the space, and robes of every imaginable color—black, yellow, green, red—flitted and floated by. Constantine rubbed his nose. He never knew Nikolai’s Mage Tower had so many people. At a glance, over a hundred were busy on the lawn, not counting the dozen or so figures floating in the air above.

No one paid any attention to this unexpected guest.

That wasn’t a big deal. The young man wasn’t here to admire the scenery of the Mage Tower anyway. But then he realized with some embarrassment that he couldn’t find the way to his destination. The Teleportation Array leading to the upper floors had vanished without a trace. Even the small grove that was once to the side was gone. The originally vast space was now filled with a hazy, thick white mist, apart from what looked like a concert stage being constructed. Even with his keen eyes, the boy couldn’t see through what lay behind it.

“Good day, sir. Could you tell me…” Mature for his age, Constantine wasn’t intimidated by the spectacle for long. His gaze swept around, and he grabbed the sleeve of a person rushing past, one whose robe wasn’t as splendid as the others.

“Are you an idiot? Didn’t they say new apprentices aren’t supposed to wander around… Whoa!” The other person clearly didn’t like being disturbed so suddenly. He impatiently shouted, cutting off the question. But when his eyes met Constantine’s, his voice cut off into a horrified shriek. As his eyes quickly welled up with tears, the terrified fellow violently wrenched himself free from Constantine’s grasp and stumbled away as fast as his legs could carry him!

“Lucky or unlucky?” Constantine touched his nose with a resigned expression. He noticed the person was one of the four he had encountered during his previous visit… though after so long, he couldn’t remember if this was the one he had made vomit by hitting him with a book, or the one he had used as a shield and electrocuted into convulsions.

“Good day, may I help you with something?”

Fortunately, the little commotion drew someone else’s attention to Constantine. Another Mage, not far away, spoke up. This one seemed a more respectable figure. His Mage robe had a faint, glowing sheen, like black wool, with a bit of a luster. From his lowered hood peeked slightly curly, tea-colored hair. His round face, slightly flushed, looked quite cheerful—perhaps due to the self-satisfied air he carried. On a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old boy, this didn’t seem abrupt but rather full of youthful vigor.

“I’m looking for Master Vernal’s laboratory, but as you can see…” Constantine performed a simple Mage’s salute with his hand, then offered a harmless smile as he spoke. He soon noticed the other’s expression turn serious as well.

“Forgive my rudeness… Are you Master Vernal’s student? But you…” His doubtful eyes traveled over Constantine’s elaborate Hunting Attire, finally settling on the dragon-shaped badge on his chest, and he spoke hesitantly. The boy noted his tone had become noticeably more formal.

“No, I’m just his… well, what should I call it? Assistant. I have some matters to discuss with him. But you see… I’m not familiar with this place. So, could you give me some directions?” After a moment’s hesitation, the young man chose a suitable identity.

“Assistant? Strange hobby…” The fellow muttered under his breath. Then, seeming to think of something, he produced an enthusiastic smile. “Oh… I see. We’re preparing for the apprentice selection, so the space here has been altered. How about this? I’ll take you to where you need to go. It will require some walking, though. Is that alright?”

Constantine frowned slightly at the fellow’s odd enthusiasm, but he didn’t refuse. He simply offered a polite thanks and followed behind him, skirting around the side of the stage-like structure being built.

Interestingly, this fellow seemed quite talkative and good-natured. Or perhaps he felt some wariness towards this assistant of the Archmage Vernal? In any case, Constantine only asked a few casual questions, and the other was already explaining a great many things in a torrent of words.

Within Nikolai’s Mage Tower, a strict elite education system was in place, similar to what Constantine remembered of those powerful users called Jedi… A Mage could lead a large number of apprentices—there was no strict limit on the number. There were two main ways of recruitment… Noble students basically paid tuition to enter and had more freedom within the Mage Tower. However, according to certain rules, they couldn’t leave freely during their studies. Commoner students were likely selected by the Mages themselves—children with exceptional Mental Power, intelligence, and resilience. Besides learning spells, they also served as the Mages’ free labor, handling magical items, preparing alchemical ingredients, and such.

But some of these seemingly basic tasks were quite dangerous. So, the sudden death of a Mage Apprentice wasn’t unheard of.

This was also part of why Mages were relatively few… Many commoners knew their children had talent. Becoming a Mage meant escaping low social status, becoming even more esteemed than the Nobles. But not many were willing to send their children into the Mage Tower… Mages were seen by most as the people closest to monsters. Unless absolutely desperate, who would want their child to face such dangers?

Though, in reality, the current situation was considered quite civilized… Back in the era of the Lich Hartdiel, even knowing the dangers, Mages would push tasks like handling toxic materials onto their apprentices. And when a Mage performed summons of dangerous creatures, they would always bring several apprentices along… not for teaching, but so that if they needed a certain sacrifice upon failure, they could directly turn on their own apprentices!

Even though survival rates had improved, success rates remained low. As we know, the Weave of Magic was a strange system. Hard work and intelligence alone weren’t enough to connect with it. The reason for that innate talent hadn’t been fully unraveled by any Mage to this day. So, Mages still had to cast a wide net.

Generally, the learning process lasted up to five years. If, after five years, these apprentices could only use minor spells around the first level and couldn’t even touch the second layer of the Weave, the Mages would send them all back. Even if these individuals could use a little magic, they’d have to return to being ordinary Noble youths, though the tuition would be considered a donation. In this regard, commoner children were slightly better off; they had a chance to be kept on by their teacher as servants in the Mage Tower, continuing their previous work. There were even rumors of some late bloomers who, from servant duties, once again set foot on the path of a Mage.

And what was being prepared now was the selection of these prospective Mages… For the reasons mentioned above, this had become a ritual the apprentices took very seriously. For whatever reason, the higher-ranking Mages didn’t stop the apprentices from gradually making this ritual more and more elaborate. Some Mages even considered their apprentice winning as a validation of their teaching methods and would offer financial rewards. Thus, the scale of this apprentice selection ritual had been quietly growing year by year.

When Constantine stepped into Vernal’s bizarre, as-ever basement, the Archmage was in the middle of an experiment.

A bottle of murky, light blue potion was carefully poured out of an alchemical vessel by the Black Robe Mage. But he didn’t stop there. He casually picked up something oval-shaped from the side and simply poured the potion onto it. With a faint hissing sound, the metal surface where the potion touched became mirror-smooth, gleaming softly.

Only then did Constantine see it was an exquisite small Shield, made of some unknown silvery metal. Currently, the Black Robe Mage was using extremely fine techniques to trace intricate patterns along the inner surface. This was clearly a Magic Array, extending from the central part of the Shield’s interior, where a nearly perfect Gemstone was set. Its fiery red facets shimmered in the surrounding light.

“That’s Tears of Crimson, also called ‘Tears of the God of War Tempus,’ or the Stone of Battle, Stone of Courage, Stone of Vengeance. It’s usually embedded or fused into weapons and Armor, allowing the wielder to erupt with incredible courage, fervor, and combat prowess.” The Lich’s knowledge was quite extensive. Based on Constantine’s brief description, it gave a definite and accurate answer.

“So, do you think he might have obsidian there?” Constantine was interested in Alchemy but hadn’t studied it systematically and didn’t know its finer points. His immediate concern was the issue at hand: how to extract the Lich from his own body.

Clearly, the Black Robe Mage was quite skilled. In just a few short minutes, he had finished carving a rather complex array. Then, with a faint wave of Magic Power, the object’s surface suddenly flared with a fiery red glow. Evidently, the crafting was complete.

“Steel shields are far too heavy; they require lightweight enchantment… the cost is high, mass production too difficult… reducing the area lowers protective effectiveness… drawing the Magic Array consumes a bottle of smoothing potion, plus the Tears of Crimson… the expenditure is too great… not suitable for military use.” The Black Robe Mage turned the completed small shield over in his hands a few times, shaking his head dejectedly and muttering to himself.

“For military use… what about wood?” In fact, he wasn’t really conversing with Constantine; it was more like thinking aloud. But the young man interjected anyway. He had little interest in waiting for the old man to finish his experiment. He had many things to do and needed to return before evening for a curse-dispelling treatment.

“Such crude material would shatter easily against either a Mage or a Knight, worthless.” The Black Robe Mage, deep in thought, spoke softly, without his usual intimidating air.

“How about using multiple layers of wood pressed crosswise, then covering the outside with a sheet of iron?” The other’s attitude emboldened Constantine, and he began to expound… Most shields in his memory were wooden, but this world seemed to favor pure metal ones… perhaps due to physical strength and magical enhancements. Apart from lowly peasant soldiers, proper Knights seemed accustomed to carrying slabs of iron. But that didn’t mean wooden shields held no value.

“Standard-issue equipment naturally can’t demand high quality. But there are special types of trees. For example, a wood called chestnut. Even under considerable impact, it only cracks rather than shatters. After drying and treatment, it might not be inferior to steel in strength. If further enchanted with spells to increase durability, it could produce a weapon much lighter than a steel shield yet highly practical.”

“But then, it would be easily susceptible to… hmm?”

At this point, the Black Robe Mage seemed to finally realize that the person he was having this smooth conversation with wasn’t a Mage or the like, but merely that little Warlock Apprentice. He stared at Constantine, his crimson eyes showing surprise for the first time. “You thought of this yourself? Go on!”

“A shield’s biggest role on the battlefield is to block a few rounds of arrows and swings from standard weapons. Unlike the durability demand for Mercenaries, this type of equipment doesn’t actually require the shield to be indestructible. Wood covered with iron sheet is sufficient. While spells could easily breach its defense, you should also note, sir, that on the battlefield, a Mage is hardly someone ordinary soldiers can casually face. Their biggest opponents are still those cannon fodder sharing their fate.”

Constantine didn’t hold back, launching into a torrent of theory. As a shut-in, his grasp of such odd theories was beyond compare for most people. “Therefore, practicality is what the military needs… The processing steps for a wooden shield are several times simpler than for a steel one. Workers who dry planks are far more numerous and cheaper than specialized blacksmiths… Carving a Magic Array on wood is undoubtedly much simpler than on metal too…”

“What about Knights…”

“Knights? A formation of extended spears and crossbows hidden behind shields are enough to deal with them… If individual infantry need to face them directly, that likely means the battle has already reached a point of defeat. Whether the shield is sturdy or not probably can’t change the outcome anymore. Besides, in chaotic melee, a Knight without their horse’s power isn’t necessarily much more fearsome than a swordsman.”

“Then, describe your idea in detail.” The Black Robe Mage’s voice held a note of excitement. Clearly, his interest was fully piqued.

Constantine didn’t stand on ceremony. He casually grabbed a quill and a straight wooden strip from the experiment table and began sketching briskly on a piece of Parchment. In moments, a simple exploded-view diagram was finished—this was his expertise. Though he hadn’t used it much since graduation, in this world where art wasn’t fully systematized and separated, such skill was enough to rival some masters. And this visual effect was undoubtedly more effective than any verbal explanation.

“An odd idea…” The large, curved shield in the drawing made the Black Robe Mage ponder slightly. Then he waved his hand, and a piece of wood flew out from a materials cabinet.

The dark wood was clearly not what the young man had suggested, but it seemed to be a fine hardwood nonetheless. One had to admit, the realm of the Arcane Arts was truly beyond ordinary imagination—the Black Robe Mage simply recited a short incantation, and the fine-grained hardwood became as pliable as dough, molded into the desired shapes. Afterward, the iron sheets and leather binding combined themselves with clinking sounds, needing no further work.

Actually, regarding shield materials, what Constantine considered most ideal was fiberglass. It had high tensile strength, low elongation, excellent elastic modulus, rigidity, chemical resistance, heat resistance, absorbed a lot of impact energy, had low water absorption, good dimensional stability, was non-flammable, and transparent to light… The only drawback was… this Plane didn’t even have glass, let alone fiberglass cloth.

Thus, the choices were limited to composite structures of wood, leather, and metal. For the form, it naturally had to be the king of shields, the impeccable Roman scutum—truth be told, Constantine didn’t know much about shields. But in a big film about ancient warfare he’d seen, the Roman scutum was the most iconic piece of armor. With it, infantry formations could even hold their own against chariots. Excited, he had researched it online: a semi-cylindrical, rectangular shield, wooden inside, covered externally with a layer of bronze or leather, fastened with metal rivets.

And modern riot shields were a continuation of this design.

This type of shield wasn’t just for battlefields; it was also excellent armor for some Nobles’ private forces. For example, during the trouble Constantine experienced a few days ago, if the Household Knights around that little girl had used such gear, the assassins’ daggers and crossbow bolts would have been useless against a wall formed by several shields… However, its drawback was its sheer size. If Constantine had to use one himself, he’d probably be unable to move just from carrying it.

“A narrow viewing slit could be opened on top… If possible, best to solidify a Grease Spell effect on the shield surface…” Constantine added as the Black Robe Mage examined the shield in detail.

“Take it.”

The shield was quickly formed. Constantine obeyed and reached out to lift it. The huge wooden shield almost completely concealed his small frame behind it, but at least half of his frontal area was safe from any threat.

The Black Robe Mage gave a noncommittal hum. A longsword on the table then flew into the air, tracing an arc as it slashed towards the shield. But upon striking the curved surface, it merely let out a slithering sound, and the blade glanced off to another direction—the Grease Spell, though a low-level spell, had considerable utility. It could trip opponents, increase movement speed with some skill, or disarm foes… A good Mage could develop many uses for it. Here, Constantine was thinking about the shield’s usage environment and its relationship with resistance.

“Not bad, huh… Wha— Battering Ram?”

Swaggering, Constantine shook the shield in his hands, ready to boast. But his words were cut short as a low hum filled the air. A faintly visible, transparent ram-shaped force field slammed into the shield with a BANG!

A tremendous CRASH mixed with cracking and splintering sounds erupted! The young man’s voice amidst it all instantly turned into a shriek…