50 - Chapter 49 - Day 2149

The group made their way back to Rory’s shop. Adya had spent that time planning out how to proceed with Sai. They had a good idea on how to create the artifacts in full themselves. They would still need Rory to be the face of the creation, as Adya did not want to be subject to additional scrutiny right now. It would be years before she could start to reveal her true talents and abilities.

It was not just from the hostile elders that she wanted to keep her abilities hidden, but also from those close to her. A secret only remained so while no one else knew it. Once even one additional person learned the secret, then that secret could be leaked. She had already revealed far more to her mother than she really should have, but it was unavoidable. She would not be giving away more of her secrets to anyone else. She would only reveal what she absolutely had to.

Time passed quickly during her planning and ruminations. They soon arrived back in the city. By now a rotating guard of her cultivators were present in the shop to ensure no problems occurred. The cultivator on watch nodded to her as she entered with her entourage but gave no other sign that they were acquainted. Maya rushed up to meet Adya. By now she was fully aware of the details of the deal that Rory had made with Adya. She was also aware that Adya did not want that fact advertised.

“Welcome Miss Adya,” said Maya. “Are you here to see Rory again, or just browsing?”

“I just need a quick word with Rory,” said Adya. “If he is available.”

“Let me just check for you,” said Maya and rushed off to inform Rory.

She was soon back to lead Adya to the workshop.

“Greetings Rory,” said Adya. “How are things progressing?”

“Miss Adya,” replied Rory. “I am sorry I have not been in touch. The basic device was easy to create, but we have run into a problem with one particular specification.”

“Let me guess,” said Adya. “The shielding is not adequate?” It was the only issue she could think of that would be an issue. It was also not one that could be easily replaced with a formation. If the device ran out of mana her secrets would be easily revealed.

“Exactly so,” said Rory. “I have been trying a selection of different metals and alloys. None of them are creating shielding good enough to meet the specifications in your design.”

“You don’t seem disheartened,” noted Adya. “So I am thinking you have a solution?”

“I do, but it will be very expensive,” replied Rory. “It would also be very hard to work with.”

“What is this solution, and why would it be so hard to work with?” asked Adya.

“The only real solution is void iron or void steel,” replied Rory. “We could look at getting void mithril or void adamantium, but that would bankrupt us. The problem is that void metals are almost impossible to etch formations onto. That’s why they are so good at shielding mana from detection.”

“So that should be straight forward,” said Adya. “Why don’t you layer the void steel with normal steel. We can etch on both sides of the steel, and the void steel can be the core. Or am I missing something? It should also reduce the amount of void steel we would need.”

“No,” said Rory. “That is a solution, the problem is that it takes time to create a properly layered void metal sheet to work from. That is why I have not managed to provide you with an adequate test artifact.”

“How long do you expect it to take?” asked Adya.

“It will take another week to have enough material ready,” replied Rory. “Then it will take another few days to create the artifact and test it. So around ten days or so.”

“As long as I can have something soon,” replied Adya. “We will also need to create a lot more of the material. If my design works, and I have every confidence that it will, then we will need to be able to create a lot more artifacts quickly. What do we need to create the layered void metal in bulk?”

“I am not a smith,” replied Rory. “That is another reason that the process is taking so long. We would need to procure a lot more of the void steel, which will tie up our funds. Then we would need our own smithy to produce the material in quantity. Are you sure we are going to need so much of it?”

“Yes,” replied Adya. “We will need to buy out a smithy. Although I would rather have you and my mother finalise that deal. Even one smithy may not be enough. You will also need to work in a standardised way to make it much easier to create artifacts. Lastly we will need more cores than artifacts so that they can be replaced as needed.”

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“I will start work on that after I have created the first artifact,” said Rory. “I will also make sure to secure a smithy for our work. The longest part will be the void steel. There is not a lot of demand for it in the city, so we will need to order it in bulk and have it transported here.”

“I will mention that to my mother as well,” replied Adya. “We are known for our trade caravans, I am sure we can ensure that we can get a good supply of void steel. Make sure to secure enough steel as well. I do not want there to be an issue with supplies when we ramp up production.”

“I will make sure that we will not have any issues,” said Rory. “Do you have any idea on the numbers of orders that we are expecting, or the time frames for fulfillment?”

“Not yet,” replied Adya. “Once you see the device then you will realise why all the preparations will still not be enough. Now apart from that, I also have a present for you.” Adya handed over the new codex to Rory.

“Oh, you didn’t have to do that,” said Rory, taking the massive book. As he opened the book and saw the designs inside, he was left speechless.

“Where did you get this?” he asked in awe. “I have never seen such a codex.”

“It is a little thank you for letting me look at your codex,” said Adya. “It is also a way to save you time, and therefore increase our profit margins. Every formation that you have in your codex is also in the new codex. The new designs have been optimised specifically for you. You should be able to create them in a fraction of the time it took with your original designs.”

“How, how did you do this?” asked Rory. He opened up both books and started to compare the formations realising that Adya was not boasting. The new codex really contained the optimised versions of all his designs. Normally no one would share their formation designs with another. It was their hard work, their intellectual property. Only masters would share the basics with their disciples and then expect them to create their own codex as they learned. Rory had done the same thing, creating his codex over years. He knew his limits very well, and looking at the designs that Adya’s version contained, he knew it was well beyond his ability to create.

“Does it really matter?” asked Adya. “Why don’t you try out one of your standard formations and see how it feels.”

Rory picked up a blank plate for a standard mana lamp and started to draw the new formation. It was one of the most popular items, and something he spent a lot of time on. Normally it would take him a good hour to create a perfect formation. The new design, even on his first attempt, only took him around fifteen minutes. He also realised that the formation was not only optimised, but it had been optimised for this engraving style. This was something only true masters could achieve, and that after a lot of trial and error. Once he memorised the design, he would be able to create the formation even faster. Adya had not been joking about the improvements in speed.

“This…this will increase my work output massively,” said Rory. “I have no idea what it cost you to have this created, or how you managed it, but I will cherish it.”

“I am glad you like it,” said Adya. “Do remember to provide feedback on how much improvement those designs provide you. Also if you notice any issues with any of them. The idea is to free up time for my projects without impacting the profitability from other customers or reducing the number of items created for sale.”

“If all the designs show the same level of improvement,” said Rory, “then that will not be an issue.”

“Good, if there is nothing else,” said Adya. “Then the last item on my list is some materials. I need some to experiment with. Do you have spares? I know that the void lined metal will not be available to me yet, but the rest?”

“I will have some packed up for you,” said Rory. “I have enough blanks in stock to be able to give you sufficient stock to play with.”

Rory made arrangements with Maya to provide what Adya needed. He also promised to send Gauri the details of the smithy or smithies once he had agreed a deal with them for purchase. He would finalise the raw material requirement at the same time. With that Adya was done with her tasks. Once Phillipa had taken the package from Maya, they started the return journey back to the estate.

Sai: It is a pity that we have to wait for a sample of the void steel. If it really is a material that can effectively block all energies, we need to experiment with it to see what we can do with it.

Adya: That can wait, it’s not like we want to delay our primary goal at this point. I had an idea while we were in the shop. Could we create a formation that, using raw materials, could create a set artifact by itself?

Sai: You mean convert the raw material to a liquid or powder format, then use it to effectively print the artifact?

Adya: I think that view is limited. That is how the old fashioned matter printers worked. I am more thinking along the lines of having a nanotech factory equivalent. I am not sure if it would work, but even at a macro level, if we could do something like that it would revolutionise the creation of everything.

Mai: It would also give us a massive advantage tactically. If we were to have designs of everything that we use, then just carrying raw materials would allow us to create anything wherever we need it. Even if organics would be too complicated, that would still leave us able to monopolise the creation of many standard items. It does not even need to be at the artifact level. If we scale up for mundane materials, then we could even print a military base.

Adya: Something like that would give us a massive advantage.

Sai: It is great in theory, but the physics is very different here. We would need to practically create the processes from scratch. There would need to be a lot of trial and error. It would take a lot of my time. Where do we want to prioritise this?

Adya: Yes that is the issue. Let us start the process to upgrade to tier 3 first. We also need to see if we can create and disseminate passive skills to our retainers. We can come back to this idea once we have more time and have secured our family.