Forge Mechanics

John picked up the unexpected metal, a frown on his face.

“Well, guess dark mana isn’t going to be all that useful in our current situation,” he said. “Even if this is some super metal, only getting one isn’t helpful.”

Enhanced Conduction: This material is an excellent conductor of heat, electricity and magic, allowing for very efficient energy transfer.

“Sound like any of this might help the array?” John asked Vivian as the redhead looked pensive.

“It could be helpful in preventing someone from trying to block the signal,” Vivian mused. “But that could be better done by plucking the transmission from the air instead of depressing the device. I don’t think it’s worth creating more of this when we are better served getting two or three units of metal.”

“Yeah,” John agreed. “Let’s see the exact wording on what dark mana does to Craftsmanship before we write it off, but I think switching back to default will have to be the way to go.”

“What about trying some of the other mana you’ve got?” Beth asked. “Didn’t that staff make some?”

“Earth and water mana, yeah,” John answered, his face growing thoughtful. “I can see earth maybe having a beneficial effect, but the staff only has ten to work with and I have to draw out both water and earth in the same amount. Not sure how that’s going to affect things.”

“It’s not like we really have anything to lose,” Aeolia said. “If it works, then it works. If it blows up, better now than in a more dangerous situation.”

“I’d prefer if things didn’t blow up in my kitchen,” Vivian remarked in an amused tone.

“It might be messy,” John stated with a shrug. “I will be using earth and water. Could end up with mud caked metal.”

Vivian leveled a flat look at him and John smiled in response before pulling out another gear and the recently created staff. He set both down on the table and conjured Craftsmanship’s info sheet.

“Before we try this, best to check what exactly dark mana did here,” John said. “Might give us some idea what other mana types will give.”

Effect Mods - Unlocked when the correct amount of elemental mana is used with applicable materials.

Dark: Increases the odds of producing rarer materials or alloys during breakdown and more efficiently combines raw materials. Required at least 50% dark mana.

“Well that changes the calculus a bit, doesn’t it?” Vivian remarked as she slid closer to John to read his screens. “Pity it doesn’t outright say what each element needs to work.”

“Isn’t that how most new things are?” John asked in an amused tone. “Someone has to take the first step. I guess we could try to see how ‘normal’ people use mana in forging and the like, but I’m probably just weird enough for that info to be more of a guideline than anything definitive.”

“What makes you say that?” Beth asked as she balanced her empty soda cup on a finger.

“Senka is, as far as Mason and Cammie know, something more advanced than any other spirit,” John answered. “And Mason thinks that I’m able to use the best possible version of whatever branch of magic I get a skill for. Maybe not the best at using it right from the get go, but the potential is there. So just got to muck about and figure things out.”

He picked up the staff and gear and activated Breakdown, tapping the staff for its mana. The sensation of slick mud flowing over his skin was less pleasant than the soothing cool of dark mana and John’s nose was assailed by the scent of grass. The gear vanished and six pieces of metal replaced it, four steel and two zilhavrum, more than John had expected.

“Okay,” he began. “Either this was a really lucky go round or this is what earth or water mana does to Craftsmanship.”

John looked to the still open info screen for his creation skill and found the word ‘Earth’ had joined ‘Dark’ in the Effect Mods portion of the display. He tapped the new addition, curious as to why one of the staff’s elements had worked while the other hadn’t.

Earth: Reduces the cost of working with metals, stone and gems.

“Guess it was a lucky draw,” Beth remarked after John read aloud the addition. “Good for us.”

“Yeah,” John said. “Using the zilhavrum is probably a bit much for the beacons, yeah?”

“I think we can make one using it in part,” Vivian answered, plucking one of the pieces of said metal from John’s hand. “The magic resisting properties would likely make it harder for someone to interfere with the signal. Maybe we can try substituting one of the pieces of iron or steel with zilhavrum? Going all in seems a bit too much but I think making it one-third zilhavrum will be enough to get some benefit.”

“At least we have the base version to compare it to,” John added, before blinking. “Huh, thinking about it, I never Observed the first one.”

“Bit out of the norm for ya,” Aeolia commented. “You usually scan everything you can.”

John shrugged. “I mean, guilty as charged, yeah. Guess I took it on faith that Vivian’s array was perfect. The disk bracelet and veil orbs didn’t have any issue working.”

Vivian flushed from John’s praise and, after taking a moment to find her voice, said, “I think we should check that everything is working. Just to be sure. I’d hate to get all these made and find out something went wrong.”

“Guess making sure is a good idea,” Aeolia remarked. “Where’d we put the thing anyway?”

“Moved it over here,” John answered, reaching back to pick up the iron disk from where he had placed it on the counter.

“I think the next order of business will be to invest in a proper place for this sort of thing,” Vivian announced. “It’s rather unprofessional for us to keep working out of my kitchen when we can set up a better workspace.”

“As long as it has a mini-fridge, I’m good with anything,” Beth chimed in.

“We’ll need to take turns keeping it charged if we do,” Vivian remarked, gesturing towards the fridge in the corner.

“Got no problem with that,” Beth said.

“Getting back on track,” John cut in, placing the disk on the table. “Let’s make sure this is working and get back to making the rest.”

Paired: This item is connected to another, even over great distances.

Battery Sequence: This item is powered by an infusion of mana. Charges at a rate of 2 mana per minute for ten minutes for a full charge lasting approximately 10 hours. Current Charge: 0/20.

Local Transmission: This item sends a signal back to its paired item, relaying its approximate location.

Evocation: Message Protocol. Cost: 200 MP, 50 Durability. Allows sounds to be transmitted to the paired item, as well as any item also paired to that item. Duration: 30 seconds.

“Minus the Evocation, which is both absurdly useful and expensive as hell, does everything match what you wrote, Vi?” John asked the redhead.

“Yeah, everything sounds about right,” Vivian said. “And the Evocation actually isn’t far off from what I wanted to include in future versions. Though if that’s just the cost for thirty seconds of communion, I’ll have to work on a better way to power it.”

“Yeah, but what you made here is a pretty good system,” John assured her. “A ten hour charge for only twenty mana seems like a steal to me.”

“It’s not all that impressive.” Vivian blushed as she downplayed her accomplishment.

Aeolia, having none of the redhead’s dismissal of her work, got up and embraced Vivian from the side.

“Ya did good work,” the winged woman assured Vivian. “It’s better than anything the rest of us could have come up with. If it was up to me, I would have gone with just buying walkie talkies for quick communication, so no more downplaying your work.”

Vivian’s face grew redder but after a moment she relaxed into her first girlfriend’s arms.

“Alright,” she said softly. “Sorry, still not used to people thinking my work is worth anything.”

“Well, those past people are assholes,” Beth announced.

‘Aren’t those ‘past people’ her family?’ Senka asked John, her tone harsh.

‘Yeah, but I don’t think Beth knows Vi’s backstory,’ John answered. ‘But it doesn’t look like she cares about the badmouthing. Think she cares more about the show of support.’

‘True,’ the spirit said, seeing Vivian’s bashful smile through John’s eyes. ‘I suppose that means I’ll have to temper my reaction should we ever encounter them.’

‘What do you mean by that?’ John asked.

‘I do not take kindly to those who hurt the ones I care about,’ Senka stated in a cold voice. ‘I hold Vivian’s family only second in terms of outrage behind the people that killed Aeolia’s brother and friends. But I will hold any action regarding them back until I figure out how Vivian will react to certain actions.’

‘You’re not planning on anything regarding people like Frank, are you?’ John asked, slightly worried Senka would act against them and invoke Gaia’s wrath.

‘If they were part of the Abyss, yes,’ the spirit answered in a grumbled voice. ‘But as they seem to be mundane, I can’t.’

Before John could answer, Aeolia snapped her fingers, getting his attention.

“Talking with Senka?” she asked.

“Yeah,” John replied. “She’s not all that happy about the people that hurt us and the like.”

An echo of pain crossed Aeolia’s face and she growled out, “Plotting some pain, is she?”

John scratched the back of his neck as Senka told him what she wanted to say.

“She says she doesn’t want to give any of our enemies quarter,” he relayed. “That they have caused us pain and she wishes to pay them back in full. And, this is from me, not her, she said all of that calmly.”

The table was silent for a moment before Beth remarked, “Glad I got on her good side.”

The petite woman's joke lightened the mood somewhat and Vivian pointedly looked at John and said, “I think I speak for everyone when I say we appreciate the intent, but maybe we should be all on the same page regarding things like this. I don’t want anyone running off on some foolish crusade.”

“You know, it’s kind of awkward to be on the receiving end of a critique when I’m not the target,” John muttered, as Senka began to respond to Vivian’s words. “Senka says she has no intention of going about a **** mission, just that when we encounter people like those blood stealers, she’s not going to hold back.”

Aeolia let out an amused snort and said, “Think I just fell a bit more for her. Think she’ll mind getting a secondhand kiss?”

John blinked slightly then said, “She’s open to trying but reserves the option to take a raincheck.”

“Good enough for me,” Aeolia remarked, saunting over to him. “Think this counts as a two-for-one then.”

She grabbed his collar and their lips met in a heated kiss. John felt an odd sensation pass over him and Aeolia’s touch became somewhat muted, almost like he was slightly numb. Senka let out a pleased hum in his head as she assessed the liplock.

‘It would seem I can co-opt your sense of touch,’ Senka informed John as Aeolia pulled back from him. ‘Not a perfect transfer, and that left a bit to be desired, but I can think of a few ways it could come in handy.’

“What’s the verdict?” Aeolia asked, her lips curled into a satisfied grin.

“So so,” John reported. “Senka can tap into my sense of touch, but our bond splits it so I feel some and she feels the rest. So it wasn’t bad, but muted for both of us.”

“Guess I’ll just have to kiss you two later when Sen’s not cooped up in your head,” Aeolia said with an exaggerated sigh. “Oh woe is me.”

“Sen?” John asked at the same time Senka remarked on the nickname herself.

“What? She doesn’t like it?” Aeolia asked, her face falling.

‘No,’ Senka quickly responded, which John relayed. ‘Just taken a bit aback by getting a nickname. It’s nice.’

Aeolia let out a breath of relief and leaned against the back of John’s chair. “Thought I crossed some line there for a second. Kind of hard to judge reactions when you’ve got to use John to speak for you.”

“She says she doesn’t want our work flow to suffer if my mana is tied up keeping her manifested,” John spoke for Senka.

“I’d say we kind of blew work efficiency out the window for the last couple of minutes,” Beth amusedly said.

“Beth’s right,” Vivian added. Ignoring the dark haired woman's small victorious fist pump, she continued, “If we get this task done, then there won’t be a reason for Senka to remain unmanifested.”

“Well, we should get back to it then,” John said, summoning another gear. Before he went to activate Craftsmanship, he looked at the staff. “One minor detour first. Since earth mana cut the cost, that means the last one used less than the fourteen I intended it to. Which means there might be enough juice left in here to do another.”

“Plus, we can see how much the cost reduction was,” Vivian added. Not wasting any more time, John called up the staff’s information. He blinked when he saw that breaking down the gear had only used five of each of the elements.

“So it used ten mana instead of fifteen,” John muttered. “That’s about a thirty percent reduction. Which means we get another ‘free’ breakdown. Lucky us.”

Once more John used Breakdown and the gear vanished, replaced with three pieces of steel.

“Well, not as lucky as the first round, but that’s another beacon ready to get made,” he said. “I think we’ve got enough materials to make the beacons for everyone. Might need to take a break or switch to slow mode after three. My mana will be near zero at that point.”

“Let’s not count our chickens before they hatch,” Vivian cautioned, handing John a copy of the array. “We don’t know if using steel or zilhavrum will affect the cost.”

“Good point,” John said. “Let’s see if two steel and one zilhavrum changes the cost by any major amount.”

Select the item you wish to create:
Beacon Disk (Two Units of Steel, One Unit of Zilhavrum, Beacon Array)

Select Crafting Method:
Instant Craft: Create selected item instantly for 34 mana.

Slow Craft: Create selected item over time. Spend 1 mana every 1.5 minutes for 51 minutes. Total Cost 34 mana.

“Well, it’s not more expensive,” John remarked. “I’m guessing that level up made things slightly cheaper and the better metal doesn’t add to it or at least not enough to make it cost more than before. I’m going to back out and try with just iron again.”

He did so, finding the cost remained the same.

“Huh, so the metal doesn’t affect the cost,” John said. “Don’t have enough data points to say for certain if that’s normal or just because what we have to work with is common enough to not warrant a cost increase.”

Shaking his head, he continued, “Whatever the case, we can ponder it later. I can whip up three right away and set the last one with ‘Slow Craft’ for an hour. That’ll leave me too drained to summon Senka though. Need over seventeen for that.”

“You can cut back one of the beacons,” Aeolia suggested. “At least for now. Don’t really need one for both me and Vi if we’re under the same roof. Craft two normally and make the last one slow so you can let Sen out.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Vivian agreed, turning to face Aeolia. “You’ll have to not go off on your own until we make your beacon.”

“Oh, what horrors,” Aeolia dramatically declared, draping herself over Vivian. “Having to stay at one of my girlfriends’ side for an undisclosed period of time. How will I survive?”

“Right, so make two right now and set the third to cook for an hour,” John said, placing the needed metals atop the array sheet as Vivian handed him two more. “Anyone have any suggestions for how we’re going to kill an hour?”

Beth raised her hand. “If you guys don’t mind subtitles and pirates, I’ve got a suggestion.”

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