Jack examined the modified artificial arm. Its length was shortened at Bastian’s suggestion. He also found it quite impressive that the grumpy smith had been able to memorize and recreate the measurement of his amputated limb so accurately with just a few estimations.
“Now,” Bastian tiredly said, “let’s try it on to see if it turns out alright or not.”
Jack kept his mouth shut to wait for the next instruction.
“Go on, hurry,” the smith frowned as if he wasn’t seeing this coming. “Oh, don’t tell me ya dumbass don’t know how to put it on!”
“Must you say it out loud?” Jack pleasantly said.
“Shut your smiling! Just cut yourself at the amputated spot and put the arm on it.”
Jack took out a surgical knife from his inventory bracelet, then followed Bastian's instructions. Blood leaked out but was quickly stopped by mana. He picked up the arm, moving the connect point toward the fresh wound. As he astonishedly watched, green threads grew from the tip of the wooden arm, lurking through the gap between his skin, seeking out the mana flow in his body like that of plants to sunlight. Jack could feel they were trying to track the energy signal of his arm’s nervous system. To maximize the possibility of successful synchronization, Jack reckoned he should allow the wound to bleed naturally and stop the passive skill. As soon as he did, the connection was established, and the artificial part pulled itself to his upper arm, covering the deformed amputated spot, and making Jack whole again.
A flash of pain surged up to Jack’s brain, stunning him for a moment. As it faded, the information on how to use the arm was installed into his mind. Without hesitation, he raised his arm up, spun it around, and moved his finger. His face was written all over with satisfaction. A bit clunky it still was, but that could be tempered in time.
“So,” Bastian said pridefully, his arms akimbo, “a fine job I did?”
“Can’t get much better than this,” Jack raised his wooden thumbs.
“Now, this was supposed to be an Archon Artificer’s job. Modification like this is extremely mana-consuming. Too bad I can’t get my rank-up recognition with this.”
Jack squinted as Bastian. He wondered how close this had been to a disaster, and he would end up in debt of five hundred mana crystals.
“Can it still be further modified?” Jack asked.
“On what?”
“Like, giving it some more weapon or firepower?”
“That,” Bastian put a hand on his cheek, contemplating, “that would be easier to the material-fusing process I just did. Just some minor structural change would do.”
“So, is that a yes?”
The two stared at each other, entertaining themself with a very fascinating notion into which they couldn’t wait to dive deeper.
Artificer’s Basic Knowledge (Herald, Passive)
Level: 5 (Requirements for next level: Spirit >= 46)
Effects
Provide the necessary knowledge for the subject to easily examine items and materials. The amount of knowledge increases with level.
Your remaining skill points: 9.
Your remaining stat points: 9.
Jack put some more points in the skill to catch up with Bastian’s conversation. The smith was baffled seeing the boy could dig so deep into the discussion about upgrading the arm. Still, the conclusion was nothing out of expectation: Jack would have to figure it out himself, for Bastian was more of a metal, particularly sword, worker; his specialty was not of add-ons. Dan Herring would be great for this, but Jack had zero connection with him for the time being. The disruption device in the Hensley’s hand at Lavia Garden and its relation with the teacher was also concerning.
Jack spent the rest of the day wondering about what he should do next. In the end, money would still be his first priority, and he would exploit his Maester’s skill to its full potential to achieve this goal.
Jack continued his work at the Sword in The Forge for the next couple of days to ease the financial burden of his family, trying to make, ask, and figure out as many questions as possible. Realizing the boy had quite an extensive knowledge about Artificer, Bastian actually gave him some minor responsibility. The smith was also pushing the pace of the forge’s production to be able to afford the resources for the upcoming Black Lightning Blade. Jack tried to get his hand on as many tasks as possible to earn some of them precious Artificer experience points. It was a grindy process, but the progression bar would eventually be filled up, he reckoned.
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“How’s your arm?” Sophie asked as the family was having their dinner.
Jack used his left arm to pick up some vegetables, then put half of it on his mother’s plate, the other half on his own.
“As if I’ve never lost one,” Jack smilingly said.
Sophie grabbed her son’s arm. The cold feeling of the artificial materials crept through her skin to her heart. Still, she didn’t show that on her face.
“Where can I find some herbal ingredients, father?” Jack changed the subject
“At the Medical Center, or ask for them at the Adventure Society,” Abraham answered. “But, what for?”
“I intend to make a few potions, Lesser Mana Potion, perhaps?”
Abraham gasped, dropping the roast pork on his plate.
“Dear,” Sophie frowned, ‘eat your meal properly. You too, Jack. You can have your conversation outside once you’ve finished your meal.”
The father and son quietly nodded, quickly finishing their dinner.
The moon hung itself high tonight; its elegant light shone upon the fruity garden, taking care of which was one of Stefan’s joys these days. The wind weaved its way through the rays of silvery light and greeny leaf layers, delighting the eyes and ears of anyone lucky enough to be at present of it.
Jack sat opposite his father on the grassy ground, explaining his intention.
“That being said,” Abraham said after a moment of contemplation, “are you sure you can actually craft a Lesser Mana Potion?”
“Eighty percent certain,” Jack dubiously said, even though the system had told him it’s impossible to mess up making the item.
It was common knowledge that both Artificer and Maester always had a failing chance during the crafting process since there were just too many variables to control. The more sophisticated the result was, the more randomness it usually involved. Jack was the exception, for he had the System as well as the mind of a five-hundred-year-old. The bare minimum was enough for him to almost guarantee success.
“Eighty percent is a decent number,” Abraham praised.
“So, what do you say?”
“I can help you with the first batch. Can you finish it in a week?”
Jack thought about it, then nodded.
“Alright, I’ll get you the ingredients you need first thing in the morning. Those are quite common, so they should be available at the Medical Center. Eventually, you can get them yourself too.”
“That won’t do it, father,” Jack said. “If possible, I need you to get all the herbs I need. I will only focus on the production part. How’s that?”
If he wanted to hide his Maester identity here at Oxdale, Jack couldn’t afford to leave behind such an obvious trace. The tallest of trees caught the most of the wind, and the last thing he needed now was getting caught in another storm.
Abraham answered as if he had seen through Jack’s reasoning.
“No problem. It will have to do. I’m going to do what it takes to get us out of this debt.”
Hearings and deliberations had been occurring between the two Merchant Guild of Oxdale and Mocester. In a typical case, the Harper usually had ample backing and support to gain themself a favorable judgment. But these were, by no means, normal circumstances. As expected, only a one-fifth reduction was granted. Since Abraham also had his hand tied behind his back when it came to who was pulling the string, the parties couldn’t give him anything better.
Seeing his father’s dismayed eyes, Jack stood up and decided it was enough for a day.
“Let’s rest early today, father.”
The next morning, the bandit leader inventory ring was on the kitchen table. Inside was all the ingredients Jack had required, as well as the Legacy Orb.
Jack entered his room and transferred all items inside Felice’s bracelet into the ring. Jack reckoned the empty storage could be sold for a hefty price. He then proceeded to set up the equipment: vials, jars, and a small heat stove.
Afterward, the Lesser Mana Potion section of the crafting interface was selected. Just like with Poison Bomb, he was granted the knowledge and experience of exactly what to do.
The mana crystals were placed evenly around the stove as Jack put the jar on top of it. He then added purified water and herbal ingredients, most of which were plants grown in mana-infused soil, turned on the burner, and started heating the medium up. Much like the forging process, the temperature was closely monitored with mana. Too hot, and the mixture would be corrupted; not hot enough, and the extraction would not be optimized.
Overall, the initial phase wasn’t that complicated but rather time-consuming. Additives to enhance the absorption rate also required a lot of delicate touches.
Last but not least was to condense the mana flow from the crystal. According to the instruction, the safest option to do so was to break the crystal one at a time. However, this would come with a higher loss rate since the increasingly concentrated mixture would be left exposed with each trip.
Luckily for Jack, the System’s crafting skill also came with a lot of tips and tricks. This one required Maester’s Basic Knowledge at level five and a corresponding Spirit stat. Jack didn’t give it a second thought.
The mana smoke would usually be conducted into the medium by the Maester’s own mana. The conductor’s Spirit stats would determine the strength of this mana channel, fortifying it and cutting down losses. The System, though, suggested a mana barrier instead, a dome that could shrink at the user's willer so that the smoke may be pushed inward.
Jack did just that. As the ten pieces of mana crystals started cracking, the barrier was formed. Blue smoke burst out in every direction, catching Jack off guard for a bit as he let some of them slip out. He focused, trying to apply the skills and techniques he had learned, and was finally able to retract the barrier, pushing the smoke into the concoction jar, and finishing the extraction and condensation process.
Staring at the jar of glittering blue while closing the lid, Jack couldn’t help but give out a sigh of relief. Although his head was aching from all of that concentration and information processing of advanced techniques, a smile was still on his face the whole time, especially when the System had just informed him of the experience gained, a noticeable improvement from working at Bastian’s shop. Still, it was not significant enough on the progression bar.
Self-examining his own product, the Lesser Mana Potion before him would enhance the mana absorption rate by five times, proof of a decent result. Still, the process had been too demanding and time-consuming for his liking, considering the initial cost and effort. Putting time into this would not be effective in Jack’s mind. For the sake of efficiency, as he always had, Jack reckoned he needed to build a machine to produce Lesser Mana Potion and test this one theory of his.