Battlefield Reclaimer, Ch 47: First Amulet (Patreon)

Sam was so focused that he only came back to himself when he felt a surge of power clicking into place as he connected the last rune. He looked down at the amulet in front of him, his gaze doubling as he compared it to the design.

He was worried for a moment that he had made a mistake, but as he checked it over, the design matched up with every line on the amulet. It was perfect. A sense of relief hit him. As he watched, the power of the misty grey aura imbued into the runes began to surge, passing from one line to the next as it activated.

It started at the first focus rune for human, which brightened to a brilliant, misty grey light, and then it began to grow. It quickly flared out toward the first circle as it passed through the main connection, and rune by rune, the circle came to life, igniting with a flare of power as the light from the aura continued to intensify.

After a moment, the entire first circle was glowing with power and the process continued, looping back into the center as the second focus rune for avoid came to life, intensifying until the energy flowed out into the second circle, which swiftly activated part by part until it too was shining.

From there, the light swirled in again, touching the third focus rune at the center before it paused. That was where the aura had run out. The light wavered for a moment and then it began to grow again as the aura started to expand, devouring the mana next to it as the third rune brightened to the same level as the first two. The light jumped from there to the third circle, swirling through it as those runes also came to life.

When everything was lit up, the runic circles seemed to lift out of the amulet slightly as the gem silver beneath began to glow, adding its own stored power to the design. As 500 points of Earth mana poured into the design, it intensified until the runes were shining like silver, and then their color swiftly turned to crystal blue, the same as Sam’s aura.

Once that happened, the amulet lifted into the air and began to float above the work table. The surface blurred as the runes lifted out of it, pushed by the energy stored in the gem silver. The focus runes shone in the center, hovering in the air as they moved outward to take up three equidistant positions around the amulet.

The three concentric circles expanded, becoming three-dimensional rings that stretched out past the sides of the amulet. The three bands rotated until one was vertical, one was horizontal, and the third was at an angle. Each of them was filled with the runes that were part of them, the lines shining brightly. It was a larger version of his design that had come to life with the amulet at the center.

Then the rings began to spin, spiraling around the amulet as they gathered speed. There was a music to it that chimed with each rotation of the rings. At the same time, the base material also gave off a low vibration that felt like flickering flames as it continued to pour its stored energy outward. It rose from the gem silver in streams of crystal flame that fused with the enchantment, pushing the rings to spin faster.

He had never seen anything like it, and he watched with wide eyes as his senses traced the pattern. He’d had the idea that an enchantment could exist in three dimensions, but he hadn’t expected it to happen here. Somehow, the structures he’d borrowed from the original amulet had created something he didn’t quite understand.

He could see that the power from the base amulet was at the heart of it, pushing the rings to spin faster. This had to be some type of combination process, where the base material and the enchantment he’d laid on top were merging together, but he’d never considered what would happen with that until now, or how it would actually occur. This process was following some natural law engraved into the runes.

The rings brightened again, expanding outward as the attuned gem silver poured its energy into them, slowly changing the runes to the same color as his crystal flame. The energy in the amulet had been silver-white originally, but after the attunement, it had changed to be the same as his own. He could feel a connection to the process, a soft pulse of intensifying power, that told him the attunement was growing in strength.

The amulet floated in the center of it all as the runes across its surface burned with power. As he watched the rings spin around it, the runes were using some of the energy to engrave themselves more deeply into the surface, and that wasn’t all they were doing. He could feel that some of the power of the entire formation was embedding itself into each one of them, linking them together in a way that made it clear they could not be broken apart again. Not without destroying the entire thing.

His mind raced as he tried to follow the entire process, and he realized that the linking and this event had to have come from some of the bonds he’d etched between the runes. He hadn’t known what they did, but he had copied them from the original amulet’s design. Now, things were becoming clear.

He’d been right not to try the bigger design. It wasn’t complete and he had the feeling that if it had reached this stage, it would have collapsed with dire results. It wouldn’t have been able to sustain itself without the rest of the enchantment to support it. The reason this was working was because it was a complete enchantment on its own, one that he’d unwittingly enhanced.

As he continued to watch, tracking every movement, he could feel the amulet slowly burning away all 500 points of mana that had been contained in it, pouring them into the process. It looked like it was using that entire initial strength to create the most stable pattern possible, strengthening itself as it followed the runic instructions for durability, stability, and...bonding?

No. A flash of understanding hit him. Those runic braids that connected each rune to the next and formed part of the circles weren’t bonding runes exactly. They were some type of self-enhancing rune pattern that was repeated like a loop throughout the entire formation. He’d borrowed the design from the original, thinking it was just going to add stability, and it had done this instead.

It was clear that the gem silver was going to pour all of its energy into the enhancement pattern and intensify the enchantment as much as possible before it was done. He shook his head slowly as he realized a few very important things about enchanting, especially with higher-level materials.

If he hadn’t used that pattern, the enchantment would not have stuck well to the gem silver. There would have been two opposing energy sources, one from the enchantment and one from the base material. The result would have been unpredictable. At best, the enchantment would have burned out more quickly. At worst, it could have warped into something else or exploded. Given that he was using blessed Earth mana for it..., it probably wouldn’t have been too severe. Maybe it would have just melted into slag.

There was more to enchanting than he knew, and this pattern had just helped to open the doors to one path. Materials and their properties needed to be matched to the enchantment, and the pattern that bonded them together was also critically important.

At least it seemed to be working out. The runes he’d engraved were careful and precise, and now the energies were following that path as they merged together.

Everyone in the room turned to look at it with wide eyes as the amulet continued to float there, held aloft by the intensity of the mana radiating from it. The crystal blue rings continued to rotate, spiraling around the amulet like flaming bands that were circling the heart of a star. Then, suddenly, they began to shrink, pulling inwards as the intensity brightened.

The surface of the amulet flared as the rings were pulled back into it. They spun for a moment across the mirror-bright surface before settling into place, glowing with crystal light. And then they dimmed, fading away as the last point of mana was expended and the runes carved themselves just a little more deeply.

A brilliant notification chimed in his mind, as well as a surge of experience that was far more than he’d gotten from making the base. There was a qualitative difference between his first simple enchantments and what he had just done here. The amount of experience reflected that.

Congratulations, Enchanter. You have successfully Enchanted a fully attuned personal item using an Expert-level Binding Pattern.

Earth Blessed Amulet of Avoidance.

To create this item, you only used items that came from the Earth, including attuned silver, sapphire, blessed Earth mana, and an Earth-aligned aura. This has resulted in a synergistic effect with added stability.

Primary Effect: This amulet persuades those around you to look away. It also suggests to them that you are a strange Human and that it would be uncomfortable to approach you.

Earth Blessed Synergy: The blessing of the Earth mana used in the creation of this item stabilizes the enchantment and adds a reassuring feeling to the effect. Those who are affected by it will be more comfortable and less likely to believe anything negative about the wearer. Those with strong wills or who are antagonistic to the Earth will be affected less than others.

Mana Charge: 0 / 500

Duration: Permanent (Attuned)

That notification faded away, only to be replaced by another.

Congratulations, Enchanter. You have shown great dedication to your craft by successfully fashioning an attuned item well beyond your current level of skill. As a result, you gain bonus experience in your profession.

You gain 15,000 Class Experience.

You are now a Level 16 Enchanter.

Additionally, your efforts in fashioning this item caused you to lose track of time.

You have gained the Trait Craftsman.

[+2 Wisdom, +2 Constitution. You will find it easier in the future to fall into a working trance and to endure long hours of labor. You will also find it easier to relate to other Craftsmen, gaining a natural Charisma bonus when speaking with them.]

You demonstrated Expert-level skills in a magical profession while still two Tiers below that level.

You have gained the Trait Mystical.

[+2 Intelligence, +2 Aura, +2 Wisdom. You will find that it is easier to understand natural forces in the future.]

The amulet was still floating in the air, but the aura around it was subsiding as the last bit of mana radiated away. It hovered there with a soft blue flame curling all around it.

He could feel the new statistics from the traits he’d just gained enhancing him, and he looked up toward the heavens, searching for the presence of the World Law. Its voice had been almost kind again, as if it were happy with him, as much as the unemotional presence was ever happy.

The traits were a pleasant surprise as he looked at them on his status sheet. He hadn’t known you could gain traits from crafting or demonstrating higher skills. They were a recognition of what he’d experienced while creating the amulet.

As for the Expert-level runes, that could only be referring to the pattern he had borrowed from the original amulet. He’d thought it was a support pattern of some type, but apparently it was a Binding Pattern. It was very welcome knowledge.

It didn’t mean that he was an Expert Enchanter, but it was a nice bonus. It hadn’t been too hard to use it, which meant that the difficulty level of tiers was not always clear cut.

It was also a look into what enchanting might be like in the future. There was a long road to understanding how all of the runes and materials operated together.

He didn’t feel anything different now that the traits were added, but it was hard to tell. The bonuses from them sounded like they would be very helpful, both for crafting and for his enchantment efforts.

He had to wonder if the effect from Mystical would help him discover natural runes more easily. That was the first thing that came to mind when he thought about it. It would take some experimentation to see if it were true.

At that moment, the amulet finished radiating off the last of its mana and landed in his hand, its surface glowing. Despite the intense energy that had just surrounded it, it was only warm to the touch. As he looked down at it, the runes on the surface gleamed with crystal flame, burning softly against the sapphire-tinted gem silver like tiny stars that would never quite fade out.

Through his attunement to it, he could also feel that the rune pattern had sunk through the entire amulet, becoming one with the material. Gem steel was already durable, but minor damage wouldn’t bother the enchantment now. It would still function as long as enough of it was there to maintain the flow of mana.

It was a beautiful piece of art.

He looked up to see everyone staring at him, their expressions shocked.

“Son.... What in the world was that?” his father asked, breaking the silence as he looked towards him. He was halfway between sitting and standing, as if he had been caught in the act of moving towards him. It looked like he was worried about the amulet and had started to come over.

“Sorry,” Sam replied helplessly as a grin peaked out at the corner of his mouth. “It was a bit more dramatic than I thought it would be. It’s fine now.”

“Enchanters rarely share their methods,” Krana added, shaking her head as she added her own opinion. She was standing about halfway across the room now, where she must have dodged when the amulet started glowing. Her eyes were shaded silver as she studied it in his hand. “I’ve never seen anything quite like that before. It looks like it worked though? Or, at least, it didn’t blow up on you.”

“I believe so,” Sam agreed, nodding as he looked back down to the amulet in his hand. “I’ll need to charge it up again before I can be sure. It used up all of the stored mana just now when it bonded the enchantment to the material. It also strengthened itself more than I thought it would.”

Based on what he could feel from it, the amulet was now the most durable item he was carrying on him. His father could probably hit it with his hammers for an hour and not even cause a dent, at least as long as it had a trace of mana left inside.

“I still need about a day to finish healing the guards,” Ayala said, as she looked over too. Of them all, she was the most calm. Perhaps she’d seen bigger events before, or perhaps she was just sticking to her new role. “Will that be enough to charge it?”

“If I meditate for almost the entire time, it should be just enough,” Sam agreed, nodding back at her. “Then we can finally get out of these tunnels.”

Everyone returned to their own training after a few more long looks. Most of them were still wondering what happened with the amulet. It was dramatic.

Sam started to study the amulet in his hands, analyzing everything that had happened. He wanted to know exactly how all of the runes worked, so that he could do better the next time. A current of crystal flame formed in his hand, slowly pouring into the amulet as he began the process of recharging it.

He didn’t even notice as both of the new traits activated from somewhere near his heart and silently began to send threads of energy through his body, helping him drop into a meditative trance. There were only the runes floating through his mind.

---

It took him most of a day to finish charging the amulet, and Sam didn’t look up once during the entire process. The two traits he’d gained made the entire experience seem like one fluid moment, with barely any sense of passing time. For seventeen hours, he barely moved except to turn the amulet around in his hands.

The entire time, he was relaxed and filled with energy as he studied the pattern, working to understand exactly why it had worked and how to do it again, as well as how to use the support runes in better ways. Before long, he was already starting to think of how to make the next generation of amulet and what he could improve.

In many ways, this amulet was a symbol of his journey as an Enchanter. It was currently the best item he could make, and he had the feeling that it might always be that way as he continued to improve it. He didn’t have enough information yet, or enough runes, but one day he would reforge this one into something even better. There was a long road to walk before it was as good as it could be.

Even if he reached the Second Evolution and crafted the real amulet that Krana remembered, who was to say that was the end? What if he could go further and create another amulet past that, which had illusions as just one part of what it could do? Who was to say that was even the limit for a Second Evolution Enchanter? Maybe one day that version would look as simple to him as the acid worm amulets did now.

Ideas of eternal craftsmanship spun through his mind, filling his thoughts with possibilities, until eventually the amulet was fully charged. It glowed in his hand with a soft aura of flames, notifying him with a pulse of heat that he couldn’t add any more mana.

He blinked as he was pulled from his thoughts and looked down at it, seeing the flames shining all around. The excess essence was looping around the amulet like crystal blue dragons, flaring away in arcs. He pulled the energy back into himself, and the flames around the amulet died down, leaving it with just the same tint to the silver and the sparkle of hidden light in the curl of the runes.

Unless he willed it, the amulet wouldn’t flare to light on its own, which was a good thing. He took a chain that Krana had given him, which was made from another type of gem silver, and threaded it through the ring at the top. Then, he hung the amulet around his neck.

He’d have to enchant his own chain soon, but making chains was a time-intensive bit of smithing. Perhaps he could do some on the way home and then enchant it with another effect.

When that was complete, he looked around the room, taking in the preparations. The guards had been fully healed now and were back to their quiet, obedient selves as they stayed near Ayala and well away from him, which was just the way he wanted it.

His father and Krana were working together on a piece of stone, discussing mining and smithing. Ayala was meditating, recovering her mana from the final batch of healing she had just done. All around the cavern, everything useful had been removed and placed into dimensional bags.

He looked around with a nod, his gaze stopping on the Earth mana pool and then on Krana and Ayala. He was tempted to make more crystal spheres of mana, but a look at his father and then back to the pool stopped him.

For the first time, it was starting to look like the level of the pool was a hair lower than when they’d first arrived. The sight hit him with a sense of something precious having left the world, followed by his own sense of thanks for all the things it had helped him make.

He’d taken enough. The twenty-five spheres of mana that he already had, if he used them carefully, were enough to reforge his amulet many times over, and maybe also to help him make a few weapons or other artifacts. He would save them for that, along with a special item or two for his family.

Auras would work fine for his regular enchantments. He would just have to collect a few more of them on the way home. His gaze turned toward the exit as he wondered what they would find on the way and how strong the opposition would be. He had a feeling that it wouldn’t be so simple.

Either way, it was time to see if this amulet worked.