"Hey Michael, what are you doing?" Lisa was looking at Michael weirdly while the two of them were eating in a nice looking restaurant. Lisa was utterly surprised and happy when Michael said he'll treat her, she was dumbfounded after all, she knew Michael was a very stingy person when it came to his money. Everything was doing well, until Lisa noticed that Michael was literally staring at her, studying her carefully.
Michael was actually letting Demiurge study her while he simply stared at her.
"She's at peak novice and very close to apprentice level. Her mana purity is 85%, which is very good for her young age. You taught her well."
'Well I taught her my own meditation style a year ago after all.' Michael remembers when he perfected his own meditation style and thought it was just a simple formula, then he introduced it to Lisa, she was practically ecstasic.
"You seem to care for her a lot."
'I already told you, I do.'
"MICHAEL!" Michael was jolted by Lisa's strong voice and he saw her slightly irritated.
Michael blushes slightly embarassed. "Sorry, I was studying you."
"Really? I remember I had to meditate first."
"Ummm well, I developed a new technique."
Lisa smiles with a tinge of confidence. "I think you just wanted to stare at me." Michael just laughed, he knew that entertaining her was dangerous.
"Well, if you're done staring, what's your judgement then?" Lisa retained her calmness after realizing that Michael won't entertain her flirting.
"You've been doing very well, your mana impurity is only 15%. That means you have a very healthy foundation."
Lisa was thinking. "Where did you learn this? My teachers haven't even taught me this yet."
"Well... there are some things about me that you still don't know."
Lisa frowns at that remark, slightly annoyed.
"So, what are these things I don't know then?"
Michael chuckles nervously but continues. "Every being in the world have mana in their bodies and if they spend the effort, it will only be a matter of time before it coalesces into a mana pool. This is called the initiate level, you're already quite familiar with this, but I digress. The mana pool is first limited but when we intake more mana, we risk polluting our mana pool endangering us in the long run, but your mana pool is very pure and if you continue your meditation, you will eventually reach 100% purity."
"What does mana purity do?" Lisa asks curiously.
"Having better purity allows usage of spells easier and most of all, it helps with mana efficiency and each percent helps. Someone with a mana purity of 100% is already more efficient compared to someone with 98% mana purity."
Lisa smiles "I'm guessing 85% is not bad." Michael nods towards that as he finally gives the food they ordered, some thought.
Their lunch was pretty simple, after eating and chatting the two eventually went out.
"Michael are you going home now?" Lisa asked interested.
"Well..." Michael remembered the sword blade he found in the dump, it had good quality and he knew how to recreate it, if he had better materials. "I think I'll stop by the general market to look for good parts."
"You're gonna buy new parts?" Lisa was confused, Michael never bought new parts and he usually never had the money for it.
"Yup!"
"That's weird... Why?"
Michael beamed. Finally someone asked him, Michael has been slightly drained from Demiurge's depreciative comments and Lisa was just the perfect person to fuel his item creation craving.
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"I plan on making my personal item!" Lisa was surprised by this. Michael has helped her multiple time to enhance her sound dagger, but until now he never created his own personal weapon. Lisa's sound dagger was an uncommon magical item that allowed her to vibrate at extreme speeds with her own magic without exploding. With the dagger enhanced by her vibrating sound magic, Lisa can cut anyone below intermediate level.
Lisa chuckled and said with a beaming voice "Let's go then!" She immediately grabs Michael's arm and the two of the run towards the general market place.
----------------------------------------
"Umm... sir?" A young man overseeing a shop inside a mall calls out to Michael, who's been studying the displayed parts for over an hour now. This might seem boring to anyone else, but fortunately Lisa's been checking the other dagger displays in the magical weapon shops where Michael enters.
'This rune glyph is worth 3000 credits, but it's efficiency is 5% better than this 1500 rune glyph.' Michael was comparing two rune glyphs. They were of the same brand but of different level and Michael was debating which was better, performance or price. Michael was truly stressing out which to buy, because even if the 3000 credit rune glyph was better, his sword might break so it still made him hesitate.
When creating magic items, one must inscribe magical runes onto an object. This was the way thousands of years ago when technology wasn't advanced yet but eventually when modern technology was available, powerful mage organizations found ways to make rune inscribing easier by making premade runes. This was weaker than an actual rune made by a runemaker but runemakers are rare and it wasn't an easy skill that anyone can learn. Runemakers are always coveted by every person and organization in the whole country. The most powerful runemaking company's, Rupple, head scientists make ways to create easy and accesible runes for the general masses and this is the trend rune companies follows.
'If only I knew how to make runes.' Unfortunately rune making was only offered at the most expensive and extravagant colleges in the whole country.
"I can teach you runemaking." Demiurge nonchalantly put the idea out, as if it's expected from him.
'What?' Michael continued to study the two parts while the clerk was getting slightly impatient.
"I know runemaking, albeit slightly on the evil side."
'Then that's pointless then. I have no intention of using souls or other damning stuff.'
"What a prude, but if you use my method you'd immediately gain a powerful magical item."
'No need.' Michael sighed inwardly, his hoping that Demiurge wouldn't push this.
Michael decided to buy two 3000 credit rune glyphs.
"I thought you didn't want to be expensive?" Michael happily took the rune glyphs and stored it in his bag.
'Well I wanted to give Lisa a gift.'
"Why?"
'In a few days, it'll be her birthday and she's usually depressed during those times, so I want to cheer her up.'
"Are you sure you don't want to accept her love?" Demiurge was extremely sarcastic when he was saying this.
'I just want to cheer her up, don't be an ass about it.'
After Michael bought the rune glyphs, he and Lisa decided to go out and start exploring the large mall.
"Michael that looks nice!"
"Hey look at that!"
"That guy is wearing four jackets"
Michael and Lisa kept exploring the mall while eating and buying cheap souvenirs, enjoying each other's company. Eventually after a few hours, the two had their fill of food, drinks and good company and decided to go home. Lisa was happy skipping back home holding a book Michael bought for her.
Michael was happily whistling while walking home. 'We're going to immediately start when we get home.'
"Michael, something feels wrong."
Michael tenses up but he continues to walk as if nothing is is wrong.
'What's the problem?'
"Someone is following you."
'Who is it?'
"I don't know, this person is unfamiliar and unexceptional."
'Then why did you tell it to me then?'
"This person is an intermediate level mage."
'Oh... that isn't unexecptional at all!'
"It is for me."
Michael continued to travel home, sneakily taking glances to check if the person following him would reveal themselves.
Eventually Michael reached his district.
"The person is gone."
Michael heaves a sigh of relief and he enters his house. Usually the best thing to do is to hide in a new house, to throw off the pursuers but if his enemies chose to find him, he would not be able to do anything, so he would just accept what happens next. It's not to say Michael will accept death peacefully, if the situation calls for it he intends to die teeth gnashing, bones cracking and body bleeding.
Once inside Michael immediately set his new runes in his workshop and started to study it.
"Marvelous craftmanship" Michael was revering the beautiful design of the chip.
"Shoddy if you ask me" Demiurge commented, uninterested.
Michael ignored him and started fiddling with the rune.
"What are you doing?"
Michael slowly and carefully opened the rune.
"When rune manufacturers create runes, they always hold back the rune's best outcome or limit the materials they use. This is because there is competition and so that the customers buy more better runes."
Demiurge listened to Michael's explanation and found it to be very reasonable.
"Done!" Michael finished dismantling the rune and after adjusting the technological parts, the ones he were mostly familiar with, he turned it on.
The rune whirrs into power and Michael notices the sizeable increase. It's power increased by 10%.
"Admirable work."
"I thought you'd say something mean again." Michael chuckled as he started to work on the other rune glyph.
"I don't believe your a soft person, you can handle it."
Once Michael was done he smiled, the runes are of great quality.
"I'm gonna start now." Michael went to his stash of collected and dismantled magical item parts. He retrieved a sword handle, he found a few months ago.
"Not the best but it'lll do." Michael took the handle and started to remodel it into a form capable of using the rune glyph.
Michael heated up the workshop mini forge and started to make the weapon circuits. He immediately set the blade inside the forge melting its broken magical runes. Once the old runes were removed, Michael pulled out the heated blade with safety equipment.
*Shhhhhh*
The sound of a hot object entering water fills the room as Michael submerges the heated blade in a metal barrel filled with water. Steam fills the room but Michael continues on.
Although the process is taking long, Michael is training as well. While cooling the sword, he uses his ice magic to lower the room temperature and his fire magic to meld the new rune glyph inside the blade handle.
After a few hours the blade is cooled and the handle is finished. Michael starts to do the process of connecting them permanently.
*Cling*
*Clang*
*Cling*
The sound of metal hitting metal reverabrates throughout the room as Michael fits the blade in the handle. He also infuses it with his heated fire to meld it, while using his ice to reduce the heat he's taking.
Eventually Michael finishes and he's gasping for air as he studies his work.
"Beautiful" Michael studies the sword he made.
"It is passable." Michael ignores Demiurge and continues to study his new sword.
He infuses it with his mana and it hums quietly. The sword seems sharper and harder to break. Michael changes it to fire and the sword appears to heat up, then he changes it to ice and the sword looks frosty.
He swings it around his room with amateurish movements.
"Horrible stance"
"Cut me some slack, I can't practice artificing and swordsmanship at the same time."
"Well, you need some lessons. Be grateful, I will teach you"
Michael sarcastically prostates for Demiurge.
"It is good you know who is higher in our relationship." Michael rolls his eyes.
*KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!*
Michael suddenly hears powerful knocks on the door outside his home.
"Michael!! I've come to collect my item!" Michael chuckles, it seems someone is here to volunteer to be his new training dummy.