Chapter 286 - Crafting (Patreon)

"Ignore everything and just observe my mana. Don't try to understand it fully. Pick one thread and watch it, maybe this one," I point it out to my disciple, and she nods, her light brown hair flailing.

There is an uncommon dagger that I put on top of one of the enchanting tables and work on. My disciple sits on the table too because she is too short to watch it comfortably while standing on the ground.

As for the table, well, it's a table made of stone with iron veins in the shape of circuits going through. Most of those circuits can be fed and activated to cause some effect.

For example, there is a part of the table where circuits can heat up and melt stuff. I can send plenty of mana there and melt the blade of the dagger or just a bit to melt a little bit of metal.

Another inscription allows me to decrease the temperature of the item I put on the table, another one seems to work like a magnet. There is also the one that seems to be used for redirecting mana, probably for people with weaker control.

I mean, it's not terrible, but it's mostly useless to me. I can imagine it being much more useful to someone with a lower level or worse control.

Another problem is that I don't know the theory and mostly don't care about it. It's the same as when we went to the 2nd floor and saw all that mana used in breathtaking ways. The natives there were like people that are sending humans to Mars, while our group was like Neanderthals using stone and sticks. And to be honest, it didn't change that much. Sure, I collected some information, but I mostly avoid properly studying it, and it's on purpose.

I find it more rewarding and interesting learning it through trial and error. Banging stones against each other to cause a spark instead of using a lighter. It feels more pure, more right.

Yes, it makes some things much more difficult, but I improve the most through struggle.

So, I ignore the circuits on the table and instead use a bit of thermal energy to melt a small part of the blade. I move it and concentrate it into a thin thread that extremely accurately melts only the parts I want. Then I take a mana stone and put it there, once again melting the iron around to make it hold better.

Before it cools off, I add a piece of arcanadium, a conductive metal from the 4th floor.

Not knowing what else to use, I just work with my fingers and mold the melted metal, and try to shape it better. It causes me no damage because of a skin-tight barrier made of mana I create over my hand. I could absorb the heat, but that would be counterproductive.

When it seems okayish, I absorb all the heat from the blade and the metal immediately stiffens; only then do I start inscribing.

Vega observes me as I told her, and I could swear she is not even blinking.

"Can you see mana with your eyes?" I ask her.

Interrupted, she blinks and looks at me, "No."

"Then close your eyes and use your senses only."

She opens her mouth to say something but closes it immediately. After nodding once, she closes her eyes, and I continue. The inscriptions I'm doing are extremely simple. A few simpler ones inside the uncommon mana stone to direct mana sent through it. And a few more on the blade itself.

A few more times, I again melt parts of the blade and add tiny bits of arcanadium into them. This time I even create tiny toothpick-like things from [Regalia] and use them to move the melted metal. The twins would be proud; they always had fun when I was doing things in an extremely janky way.

I don't measure the time, but I'm sure at least a few hours have passed like that. But in the end, it's done, and the ugliest dagger ever is in front of me.

As the last step, I permanently etch the inscriptions inside of the stone and the blade with the use of [Resonance] and [Infusion].

Huhu, let's see my masterpiece.

Ember Edge Dagger (uncommon) - This dagger has a mana stone embedded in its blade, which absorbs mana to gently warm the metal. The heat is mild, ideal for causing discomfort rather than serious burns, making it a subtle, yet effective tool.

Fuck. Is the system dissing me? This description sounds weirdly insulting.

"Do you want it?" I ask Vega, and she quickly nods and takes the dagger I offer her.

Little half demon seems weirdly enthusiastic about it, but I let it pass.

Well, I guess that's the difference between working alone and having the help of an entire craft guild with hundreds of years' worth of knowledge. Inscriptions aren't a problem, and I know I can make much stronger ones, and this was just my first attempt. Smelting and this kind of stuff will be annoying.

There is also an option of using mana-conductive metal for the entire dagger and avoiding using mana stones at all. In such a case, I wouldn't have to work on connecting it to the blade. Of course, it would increase the cost of the materials.

I watch as Vega happily holds the dagger and even puts it back into its original sheath and carefully puts it on her belt. The dagger made of my mana that I made for her and keep restoring is still there too and is much better than the one I just gave her. Yet, she is happy.

Silly girl.

"Minion, we will continue." I tell her.

She joins me, this time not even complaining about being called a minion.

I take out another dagger and mana stone and get into the work.

***

Razor's Whisper Dagger (uncommon) - Embedded with a small mana stone near the hilt, this dagger gains a sharp edge when mana is channeled into it. The effect subtly enhances the blade's cutting ability, allowing for cleaner, more precise cuts.

It won't be getting any points for looks, but so far it looks fine. I will sell it later to the system shop. It will be only 20 shards, but it's better than nothing.

"Let's stop here for now," I tell Vega.

"Yes!" She quickly jumps from the table and then, facing me, asks, "Will you eat with me, master?"

"Gladly."

Even after going through it plenty of times already, she is always happy to hear my answer.

I watch as she rushes to get two clean pieces of cloth and some of the food she was rewarded with for leveling her skills.

The two of us alone in the facility slowly and wordlessly eat the food she puts in front of us and drink some water from the bottles. While doing so, I observe this silly disciple of mine.

After a few days with regular food, she is not as thin as before. She is also wearing new clothes I bought for her and has a few bags I gave her, where she stores her things. She is extremely protective of them to the point where I find it cute.

As before, there are some bruises or not fully healed wounds, but they are mostly from our sparring or from her practice. The biggest wound seems to be a massive black-and-blue bruise that covers most of her chest and back. Vega got it while we were practicing with her Kinetic Demon Heart.

I could have stopped it and made it so she wouldn't get hurt, yet I didn't. I have noticed that she tends to become careless when things go well. It's something I also do. Both of us become comfortable and fascinated by something, and then because of a good mood thanks to progress, we become careless. I wonder if it's also caused by our skills. Both of us rely on concentration type of skills that help us focus. So, my theory is that we may become less focused than usual when the skills aren't activated fully.

Something akin to not being used to it. And that seeds our weakness to getting distracted or careless at times. It's fascinating to think of.

"Minion, I wanted to ask for a while, but what happened to you before you got summoned here to be my disciple?" I ask her after she is done packing her things.

As a few times before, she doesn't complain about being called a minion and hesitates.

She can refuse to answer as always, so I just give her time.

"I was hungry, very hungry," in the end, she decides to tell me. "In my village, there wasn't anyone willing to share some food with me, and a few humans even kicked me when I asked. So, I went to the forest. I heard from other kids from the streets that you can find mushrooms there that are safe to eat."

She pauses again, but then shakes her head, "There were monsters in the forest, and I started running away. Then I appeared near the lake, and the voice told me about the master."

It seems like it's as others theorize. The disciples are beings that were about to die and were saved to be sent to us. The question is if they are from the real world or from the tutorial, the same as natives. Fated to disappear when the quest is done.

Yes, the system said they are from some sort of database, but why would it summon the disciples that are about to die only? There is a method I thought of that could get me the answer, but I still hesitate to use it.

"Do you know what your world is called?" I ask instead.

"No. Even the village we just call 'the village.'"

"Country or kingdom where you are?"

"Breck kingdom, after the ancient human hero who created it."

"Pairing?"

"I don't know what it is."

Well, it looks like information collecting would be quite useless. I can't expect much knowledge from someone who spends most of the time keeping herself alive.

"Well, it doesn't matter anyway," I gesture for her to turn around, and she does it quickly, as multiple times before.

She doesn't even shudder when I put my palm on her back, a place near where her heart is.

"This time, concentrate more on feeling the rhythm your heart beats with. Do not think of it as a source. The heart is something used to transform your mana into kinetic energy. It's not creating it; it's just a tool, think of it as such."

"Yes, master."

***

After delivering me a few ingots of metal they found in the bunker as they moved there, Nina leaves. These ingots are probably made a few hundred years ago and left here forgotten. Of course, their quality isn't anything great, and their conductivity is terrible, but they will be good enough to practice some smelting.

I already went through some information stored on one of the mana stones I got from the craft guild for some basic information. We will see how helpful they are.

"Master?"

"Yes, disciple?" for the first time, I avoid using 'minion'. Lately, she has stopped reacting to it, so it's not such… wait, what's that?

Did a smug, winning smile flash across her face? Why would she have such an expression? The only thing that changed is that I didn't call her 'minion'.

As if to mask something, she starts rapidly blabbering about her practice, but I'm staring at her, and the gears in my head are spinning. She always complained about being called 'minion', but then one day she stopped. Instead, her red eyes kept observing me, like a cat toying with a mouse.

Oh, I get it. I understand it now.

This cheeky little thing.

"Good job, minion, you can continue to practice that way," I say, and I pay her my full attention. Once again, she doesn't complain, but for a moment, her brow furrows, confirming what I thought.

This little cheeky thing read me. She acted as if she wasn't bothered by being called that. She expected me to get bored at the lack of her reactions and drop that and maybe try to find something else. Even now, she is sticking to the plan.

"Minion, and don't forget to train with the mana dagger I made for you, minion."

"Yes, master."

"Oh, and minion, I saw you talking with Nina a bit. It's okay, but don't get too attached."

Every time I call her 'minion', there is just a tiny hint of a reaction, and that makes me happy, but I do not let it show.

"Master, you don't trust these people?"

"Not that much. I will ask you something. How many people do you think they have here?"

"I do not know."

"You do not, but I do. They have over 3,140 people. It's hard to say accurately because people come and go, but that is the lowest estimate."

Vega's expression becomes even more confused, so I continue, "Try to guess how many people go in and out with food?"

"A lot? There are a lot of people to feed."

"You would think so, right? Well, my dear minion. They have only a few tens of people going out and bringing back food. There are more of them that pretend they are bringing some, and they are not only pretending for me. Most of the people here believe they are bringing food."

"I don't understand, master."

"It's simple. Most of the food they eat comes from a hidden tunnel inside one of the houses that Darren, Nina, and a few others use."

Confused Vega also looks cute, so I grab her horn, shake her head, and let her think for herself.

For now, let's not eat the food they offer us, and when I'm done with practicing, I will check the tunnels Darren is hiding.

***

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