Come night, I retreated to my room and took a seat at a desk.

No electricity meant I had to light an oil lamp, which illuminated a blank stack of parchment and a quill pen.

I didn’t need the quill pen though. After activating my Tool, I could feel my left hand change.

The burns, blisters, and raw skin had healed over by now, meaning I no longer had to cover my arm in bandages. Still, from my hand to shoulder, and across my left chest and back shoulder blade, everything was covered in scars. It was rather nasty.

And my Tool really did seem to have integrated with my body in a special way. Perhaps the forces of this universe didn’t permit it to operate in a conventional way, so it adapted and took on this new form.

I could see the Antimatter Core show itself upon my palm, and from it extended black scars that ran up my fingers. Then, the metal pads that replaced my fingerprints appeared before growing into oddly shaped claws.

The claws weren’t actual claws though. They were the guidance prongs that the power of the Tool was supposed to be projected from.

But they were still incredibly sharp. They could absolutely be used as a weapon.

Though thankfully, they weren’t always visible, only appearing when I called upon the Tool. Otherwise I really would get caught for having special powers.

Anyway, I queried the Tool.

“What are the limitations imposed upon construction?”

[Due to insufficient power, a majority of high level technology has been locked. Chemical Synthesis is unable to be carried out, so only blueprints utilizing low level principles and basic or raw materials can be used. This means only basic material reformation can be used in cosntruction. Research must also be conducted, so not all tech will match documented efficiencies.]

The words of the Tool were written into my mind, giving me an idea of what it could still do.

I slowly nodded.

“Well, I at least know what I want. And not everything needs to be built using my tool. I need to be able to produce things using general labor. I’ll have to revamp material processing and introduce the concept of assembly line factories. Chemistry needs to be verified as well, since nothing gets produced unless I know how things react with each other. But there are no proper facilities and I doubt there are any pure chemicals available even in labs…”

Too many thoughts crossed through my head as I questioned everything from what the general populace was capable of to if chemistry was even what I knew it to be.

A slight deviation in the laws of physics would mean all chemical formulas were useless. I would have to start from scratch, finding bare materials and processing them using brutish methods and hopefully stumbling upon what I wanted.

Even that would be difficult though. I wouldn’t be able to shut myself into a lab and experiment all day, and I didn’t have any tools that could help me in any significant capacity.

Without my Tool’s full capacity, things became far more difficult.

But not impossible. For now, I simply needed to work with what I had, which was a new city.

The key to gaining power, even without developing advanced technology, was making my people prosper. With prosperity, anything could be realized. I could crush opponents with money alone.

So setting my city on the right economic track was important, and in order to do that, I would no doubt need to rewrite a great many policies.

Grabbing a piece of paper, I began making a list of things to do.

Check financial partners, count funds within the treasury, get a census on the cities population and workforce, check on the local militia, construct myself a manor…

All kinds of things were written down onto the list. And getting to the end of it, I wrote down one last thing.

Assess the power and potential of sorcerers.

This was my most curious point, something I decided I would do in the near future. I knew that the Baron had already moved Tiya into the manor, so I could easily check on her. I could also ask Grace about it.

Of course, we would need a safe place to allow the release of their powers.

I pondered my questions for a little while longer before settling down for the night.

……

…

The Baron was quiet the next morning. Even his wife was worried that something had happened.

He didn’t so much as raise his head, and I could practically see the aura of gloom around his body.

I guess I hit him pretty hard with my words in the dungeon.

Unfortunately for him, this was a necessary step. If I was going to save sorcerers, then I needed an assistant who aligned with my ideals.

Thankfully, he seemed to be waking up. That slap in the face got him thinking long and hard, another ability my subordinates needed to have. It was also a good thing that he had never been faced with the dilemma of a sorcerer in his midst. Being at a crossroads, I was easily able to convince him down another path

During breakfast though, I didn’t see Grace. But I could guess where she was, so after eating, I took my leave and went through the house.

I stopped at a room and knocked.

“Come in.”

I twisted the knob, revealing Grace and the new sorcerer.

A small girl despite her age, she had deep black hair and a petite figure, along with a face of adorable beauty. It was said that all sorcerers were beautiful in some way, and the Order said that such beauty was nothing but a trap to lure in unsuspecting souls with lust and temptation.

When she looked at me with her bright eyes, I could sense both gratitude yet conflict. Perhaps she wasn’t sure what to think of me after everything I said.

Grace seemed to have been feeding her, as if she were a malnourished child. But they both stopped in my presence.

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“How is Tiya settling in?”

“She needs time, but she will have that here. This is a safe place for her now.”

“Mm. And what about her power?”

I asked curiously. I didn’t even know that much about Grace’s power since she never used it. So there was much to learn.

Grace faced Tiya, who nodded before slowly lifting her hand.

She grabbed one of the fruits on the platter beside her. And then, I watched as the skin of the fruit shriveled and withered, corroding before turning brown and releasing a deathly smoke.

My eyes widened.

“Amazing. Truly a unique power. Corrosion, or entropy? I wonder…”

“Entropy?”

Grace tilted her head at the foreign concept.

“It’s a term that I only came to understand recently. Anyway, Tiya, I can’t say that I’m surprised you got caught. The phenomena your power induces cannot be matched by any ordinary substance or machine. I’m sure that you caused quite the ruckus and left a great mark on your surroundings during your awakening.”

“...”

Tiya was silent, but she couldn’t help but nod.

The power of corrosion could only be recreated by powerful acids, something this world was unable to create. So even by my standards, it was an extraordinary ability.

It would surely have its applications should I put Tiya to work with her ability. But for now, I couldn’t do that. That would make her feel like a mere tool, and Grace surely wouldn’t approve. Plus, I didn’t yet have any of the infrastructure I wanted in order to begin advancing the science of this world.

I changed the subject.

“For now, I recommend that Tiya remain within her room. The most she can safely do is wander the house, at least for the next few days. After that she can go outside, but only with clothing that conceals her appearance. I don’t want anybody recognizing her. Be wary of even the maids.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll be taking care of her.”

Grace gave me her guarantee, which was all I needed.

That’s when I turned my gaze, setting it on a table on the opposite side of the room.

I walked over, picking up the collar atop it.

It was a pitch black metal that was cold to the touch, designed specifically to be a restraint. But from my knowledge I knew it wasn’t any simple restraint.

A Sorcerer’s Thorn. It was a special object forged of a special metal that could render any Sorcerer’s powers mute. It reduced them to the level of an ordinary person, sometimes even lower.

It was always used on sorcerers and was an extremely effective method of keeping them harmless and defenseless.

How it was forged and the material it was composed of was a mystery to most, even the people who created it. Needless to say, it was something I needed to study when my Tool was more functional.

There was also something I wanted to test with it.

I grabbed the collar and the keys used to toggle the lock. Then, I snapped the collar on my neck.

“Audius?!”

Grace jumped, shocked that I would do such a thing. Even Tiya flinched, her eyes widening in disbelief.

I put up my hand though.

In my mind, I called upon the Tool.

And I smiled before casually unlocking the collar and tossing it back onto the table.

“I was just curious. Grace, keep the collar in a hidden place. As for today, I plan to speak to the Baron about the details of this city’s governance. You can join me in his study if you wish, or tend to Tiya. And Tiya, please do take care of yourself. I also apologize for my harsh words in the dungeon.”

With those words, I left the room, leaving the two girls to themselves.

Then, I went to go find the Baron.

We had many things to discuss.

………

……

The small city of Northtown was south of a great mountain range.

The snowfall atop this mountain range generated large sources of water, primarily a great lake as the base of the mountain. And this lake is what created the Ridge River that passed by Northtown’s eastern side, providing it with a bountiful canal and making its land fertile.

But this mountain range that was thought to be merely barren, unusable land was actually home to a small and hidden group of people.

A militia of Sorcerers that traveled in the harsh environment of the mountains to escape the genocide of the Order of Terra.

Composed of only 23 females, their leader’s name was Helva. Together, this group constantly traveled the mountains like nomads to sustain their small population.

But they also worked to gather other persecuted sorcerers, gathering intelligence from nearby towns and cities, and raiding them when there was a sorcerer to save, taking both the girl and supplies.

And what should have been yet another standard raid was shockingly called off.

“Gentle Snow, is what you say true?”

Helva asked with both surprise and suspicion in her voice, her scarred face and ruthless voice filling others of the militia with slight fear.

Gentle Snow, the young woman before her, nodded plainly. Around them was the eerie silence of the cave that served as one of their hideouts.

“My words are correct. Not only did a Duke’s child take residence within the town, but the sorcerer’s execution was also called off. I was unable to investigate further, but I suspect something deeper has occured with the situation. I was also unable to find the sorcerer within the dungeon of the city.”

“...”

Helva’s face tightened, as if angry with Gentle Snow. Gentle Snow merely stood there, a soft expression on her face.

Gentle Snow, as her name implied, had a very gentle complexion, one filled with beauty. With short hair and a lithe figure, she was armed with a skirt, tight clothing, and several knives, giving away her identity as an assassin.

“...We cannot save that sorcerer. Cancel the raid.”

“Matriarch?”

Some of the other sorcerers were confused.

Helva huffed before explaining.

“Under ordinary circumstances, we could continue with the raid. But those are a Duke’s children, and since they have moved the sorcerer to another place, we can’t risk getting into a direct conflict with them. It seems we were too late this time.”

“...”

All the women looked down in sorrow, except for Gentle Snow and Helva, who had their own complex thoughts on the matter.

“Matriarch!”

Suddenly, everyone heard a shout. Their heads turned to the entrance of the cave, seeing a small figure flying through the air.

“Matriarch!”

“Raven?”

Helva urgently approached, the little girl coming to a rough stop. Her black hair was disheveled and her large eyes were wide with fear and excitement.

“Matriarch, I found something!”

“What is it?”

“I saw a Corrupt Rift! It was coming from between the mountains!”

“A what?!”

Everyone jumped in shock.

A Corrupt Rift.

Some like the Order called them the gates of hell. It was supposedly a massive fissure in the ground, one that released clouds of black fog that tainted the surrounding land.

These abyssal fissures often became active during the summer time, and with the black fog came hordes of corrupted monsters that sought the flesh of all living beings.

There were several Corrupt Rifts that regularly attacked cities around the world, and they could appear anywhere. But this mountain range wasn’t supposed to have any, which was why this band of sorcerers had established themselves here in the first place.

It was catastrophic news, and not just for them.

Northtown, which was near the base of the mountain, would be the first place those corrupted monsters would attack. And for the small city that had no defenses or military of its own, it would undoubtedly be utterly massacred.

But nobody was thinking about that city. Instead, they were all terrified of standing in the way of the hordes of monsters that would come in the future.

“What do we do?”

“We have to leave!”

“But where do we go?!”

“Quiet!”

Helva shouted, causing the cave to go silent.

“We will discuss this, but for now, we’re safe. In the coming days we need to prepare to move all our supplies. Our destination shall be decided later. In the meantime, everyone needs to go and rest. Night is already upon us.”

With that command, everyone had no choice but to bury their worries and prepare for bed.

Except for Gentle Snow.

When night graced the world in darkness, her body transformed by her command, turning into a flurry of white snow that drifted in the wind.

And she disappeared from the cave, not so much as making a sound.