Chapter 3
Albert leads me out of the room, and through the rest of the house. It is a stone house with wooden flooring, and a lack of any sort of decorations. Aside from the room I woke up in, I haven’t seen anything hanging on the walls, and there are no paintings, rugs, or “that unique pot that I got from that place at that time on that trip.” It is a little weird, but to each his own. My room is on the second floor, which is just one big hallway with a few rooms on it. As we walk through the downstairs, Albert points out where the kitchen, dining room, and bathroom are. We pass by what looks like it should be a lounge area but is currently empty.
Albert: Here is the kitchen. Go ahead and wash your hands first.
The kitchen looks surprisingly modern. It’s made with stone and wood, and a bit of metal. The really weird thing is that I can recognize the appliances, like the fridge, stove, oven and sink.
Me: Hey Albert, is that a refrigerator?
Albert: I’m not familiar with that word, but we call it a cold box. It has magic inscriptions on it that keep the inside cold to preserve food for longer and keep it fresher.
Me: So it is enchanted? That’s neat.
Albert: Well, sort of. Let’s get started with the cooking, and I’ll explain as we work.
As I go wash my hands he pulls out some meat that looks like chicken out of the cold box, along with some vegetables. He tells me to start chopping vegetables as he washes his hands and then gets started on prepping the chicken as he talks.
Albert: In regards to making magic items there are two main methods of going about it, with a few more esoteric and specialized methods for certain items. The first method is inscriptions. This method involves writing formulas and runes into the item to cause a specific effect, then powering those inscriptions with a mana crystal of the necessary element. For example, the back of the cold box has an inscription that the mana it gets from the crystal embedded in it will chilled, then be equally applied in a specific amount within the confines of the exact dimensions of the cold box. Since the mana crystal is a water mana crystal, the inscription uses some of the water mana to chill another portion, and then injects the chilled portion into the cold box. The stove works in a similar manner but uses fire mana and is adjustable. This method is preferred for common and mass produced items because it doesn’t require the creator to be a magic user. You just need to have the knowledge of the formulas and runes to produce the effect you want, carve them into an item, then provide the necessary mana crystal or crystals to power it.
As he explains all this we finish the cooking and set the table to start eating. As we eat he continues to explain.
Albert: The second method is enchanting, which involves imbuing mana directly into an object to cause a specific effect. This method requires that the enchanter be a magic user capable of using whatever magic he wants to imbue into the item. On the other hand, this method produces stronger effects and is more based on the intent of the caster, requiring significantly fewer years of study in order to learn how to enchant. Both of these methods have their pros and cons. Inscription is more widespread, but the mana crystals are expensive. So the base cost of the items is higher than enchanted items, but enchanted items are rarer, which drives up the total price making enchanted items much more expensive overall. In addition, inscriptions are fragile. If I were to go and scratch out a portion of the inscription on the cold box, it could stop working, do something it wasn’t intended to do, or overload and cause damage depending on what I scratched out. Enchanting is imbued in the item itself, so as long as the item isn’t destroyed, the enchantment will still work. Enchanting also creates significantly stronger effect, because it isn’t dependent on other sources of mana, and is capable of generating its own mana to power its own effect. Magic items are classified from lowest to highest as common, uncommon, rare, artifact, legendary artifact, divine artifact, and primordial artifact. Inscriptions can hit a max rank of rare, but those are few and far between. Most inscriptions are common and uncommon. Enchantments on the other hand spread across all the ranks. Common, uncommon and rare enchantments are what most enchanters make. When you get to artifact enchantments, they start requiring additional components or rituals to create, and may start having unusual quirks. For example, I have an artifact here that in order to make it a soul had to be bound to it, and that soul turned the artifact into a sentient item. If you were to go out adventuring, most enchanted items you find will be rare or less, with a few artifacts mixed in. There are only a handful of legendary artifacts I know about, and only one divine artifact. The only mention of primordial artifacts comes from legends, and no one has ever found one.
The meal has been done for a while now, and I think it is time to ask a question that I have been running around in my head since I met Albert.
Me: So Albert, I don’t mean to be rude but-
Albert: You want to know why I made you.
Stolen story; please report.
Me: Yeah.
Ever since I met him, Albert has yet to show anything but a calm demeanor. But now he lets out a long deep sigh.
Albert: I suppose that’s to be expected. Well, please don’t take this the wrong way, but I made you because I was forced to. About a decade ago I developed a method to create homunculus, and in my fervor, I went to a noble by the name of Lord Maximillian Endos for funding to continue my research. I continued my research for 7 years, creating dozens of homunculus, of every time imaginable. Animals, humans, elves, dwarves, if I had a template available I made one, and I was always being gifted more templates by Lord Endos. After 7 years of research, I had almost perfected my method when Lord Endos revealed his true purpose. He was a 2nd cousin of the king, and felt that he would not only be able to rule this country better, but deserved to rule. He was using my research to create an army of homunculus assassins, and enslaving them using binding magic. When I found out, I immediately took my family and ran, destroying my research as I left. After I left, I suppose that Lord Endos felt what he had was good enough and attempted his coup. He failed miserably, was discovered, and had to flee the country to avoid being captured. I thought we were safe, so I used what funds I had left to get a home in one of the minor cities in the country and lived there with my wife and daughter, using my knowledge to create inscriptions and enchantments as a profession. We were doing well, earning more than enough money and had the respect of the community when Lord Endos showed up again a year after his attempted coup. He kidnapped my family, and put me in this house he made. He told me to create a perfect homunculus, with a special ability from a legendary artifact he had somehow acquired. In exchange he would let me and my family go free, and leave us alone. For 2 years I have been working towards this end, and finally have made you. We have a little while before Lord Endos comes by to check up on me, and I will use that time to teach you about the world and train you in your ability.
Wow, what a backstory. This unique beginning is turning to be really deep. But…
Me: Albert, do you really think he will keep his word to you?
He makes a pained look but it quickly passes, leaving a melancholy look in its wake.
Albert: No, I don’t. I don’t even know that they are still alive. I haven’t seen them in 2 years. I want to hope, I so desperately hope that everything will be fine, and I can rejoin my family. But the part of me that reasons tells me that even if they are alive, when I turn you over, Lord Endos will just kill us.
Me: Then why did you make me? Knowing against hope that it would fail.
He snorts and chuckles for a bit.
Albert: For revenge of course. If he had wanted an ordinary homunculus, then revenge would have been impossible, but the legendary artifact made everything different. You see, the ability given to you allows you to absorb enchantments to empower yourself, and even assimilate into your very being. This makes it so that Lord Endos’ normal method of slave collars won’t work on you, you could just absorb the enchantment and be fine. Instead he wanted me to incorporate binding magic into your very being, which I conveniently forgot about when I made you. Terrible accident.
He says that last part with a smirk.
Me: So you want me to kill Lord Endos for you? What about your family?
Albert: Well, my family is my priority. I personally will try and do anything I can to save them. But for you, I don’t want to make you promise to do the impossible. If you can promise me that you will try your best to save my family, and promise to kill Lord Endos, I would be grateful.
Me: Of course. You have my word.
He gives me a grateful smile, and seems to relax a bit.
Albert: It is late, so how about we both go to bed, and start training tomorrow morning?
Me: Sounds like a plan.
He leads me back up to one of the rooms on the second floor, and inside is a bed and a desk and chair along the opposite wall.
Albert: Get some rest. I’ll see you in the morning.