I am... astonished. Mewtwo's capacity for replicating what my system can do makes it feel like my entire role has changed. I had though that what I was able to do was unique, that only my crafting system could create such intricate creations, but Mewtwo has proven me wrong.

That he can interact with things I have crafted is not so surprising. Anyone could throw petals and seeds into a petal apothecary, but making a mana pool? Making a wand of the forest? Now those things, I though they were things only I could do. True, he needs to exert his power to large extents, and the quests he completed reflect that, but still... I sigh with a smile and look over the four quests Mewtwo instantly completed.

Refining your Art

A slash, and you cut everything to ribbons, but what if you tried a gentler approach?

Obtain a 'leaf bundle': 1/1

Rewards: 20xp, 1 Exp. Candy S

Precision Mining

Although extracting ore from veins is the most logic option, a far more lucrative option exists

Obtain any 'ore blocks': 1/1

Rewards: 50xp, 3 Exp. Candy S, lessened stamina consumption

Lending a hand

Just because Astra made them, does not mean you are unable to use his tools.

Interact with any of Astra's creations: 1/1

Rewards: 60xp, 1 Exp. Candy M

Crafting the old fashion way

Your results will be rougher, it will be harder, but you too can create anything Astra makes.

Replicate any of Astra's creations: 1/1

Rewards: 500xp, 5 Exp. Candy L, lessened stamina consumption, unlocking chapter 2: Magic shenanigans

I smile at the stamina rewards. Mewtwo's explosive growth has made his stamina almost bottomless in some ways, but now he will consume even less? Eh. I guess I am more of a guide now. Here is what you need to make this thing, here is what it should look like... I shake my head, this is just my ego as a human speaking. And I can feel Aster agreeing somewhat. I sigh, and return my attention to the small smeltery. I have finished turning all the remaining gold into ingots, and now have started the process of melting manasteel. I will make the pickaxe first. Mewtwo's second endoflame has allowed for a faster mana generation, for double the price of coal. Once I have made the manasteel pickaxe head, I will move to melting iron and attempting to make some manasteel armor.

The three ingots slowly melt and soon, I am left with a liquid blue steel within my smeltery. I put the golden pickaxe head mold on the casting table, and let it flow out. The equivalent of three ingots pour themselves into the mold, and then slowly cool down. After about a minute, the result is ready. I pick it up, and inspect it. The crescent shaped pickaxe head shimmers as I turn it around. It is slightly bigger than my forearm. Now I just need to have it replace my current iron pickaxe head, and it should be ready to go. Although... Should I do just that? Or should I replace the handle and make out of livingwood? I look at my current pickaxe through my inventory, and my eyes almost bulge at what I find in its description. Hold on... HOLD ON HERE!

WHAT THE FUCK ARE MODIFIERS??

Where did they even come from? Ecological? Magnetic? What do they mean? Why does my pickaxe have a level? Why is it comfortable? Am I comfortable with my pickaxe? Well... Yeah... But that's not the fucking point here! SINCE WHEN WAS ALL OF THIS HERE???

From the moment I made my pickaxe, uh? I never looked at it in my inventory... Only inspected it physically... TRIO! FUCKING! DAMN IT!

Okay... Where would information on that be? Since when are tools able to level up? Hold up, what about the other pickaxe I made? Clumsy? All-FUCKING-right then! So each new tools are 'unique' in their levels. Good, noted. WHERE IS THE INFO??

I open the tutorial section while letting iron ore melt. No, no. No. Nope... No- Wait... No. AH! The 'Materials and You' section. I did barely skim through it. I just wanted info on how the portable smeltery worked, and barely looked further than, assemble the pieces, put coal, light up coal and put ore, ???, profit.

SO... Gna gna gna... Tinker's Construct... Gna gna gna... Modular tools... Gna gna gna... Ah! Each material brings unique traits to your tools, these may be advantageous or detrimental depending on the material. And then comes a list of all materials, along with their traits and durability and strength modifiers, and how many modifiers can then be applied. The fuck is a modifier?

I can tell Mewtwo jumps in shock when he hears my head collide with the smeltery. Still no pain, and I simply groan. Somehow, this did not even crack the glass top of the smeltery. That's some resistant glass.

Anyway...

Is everything all right Astra?

"I just realized how much more powerful my tools might and could be, nothing new. Should have read the manual..." I deadpan.

Ah, the usual then.

"Yep!" I confirm, before returning to reading the tutorial section.

So... Not sure why the Trio did not make a quest out of this, but hey, I still found out so nothing lost eh?

Every materials bring traits to a tool I make with the tool station. Or the armor station once I get to it. These traits are for the most part advantageous, like wood restoring itself over time, and as I check my iron pickaxe, it does have slightly more durability than before. Iron brings magnetism, making everything I mine or break with the pickaxe attracted to myself. How does that works for non-magnetic things? NO FUCKING CLUE! But it should work? I already have an inbuilt magnet thingy with the auto-pickup feature, so I barely realized ores, stone and everything else was attracted to me.

Next, each material will change the final durability depending on where they are used. They each add a certain level of durability, and a multiplier. Wood multiplies the final result by one if used as a handle, iron multiplies it by .85. So no iron handles, but I could have used iron for the binding, as it would have brought greater overall durability compared to wood.

And finally, modifiers: I can modify my tools, and now that I am reading it, I realize this might have been how I was intended to discover the modifiers. Why? Because diamonds: diamonds can be used to coat a tool. The coated tool will somehow gain greater durability, along with the ability to mine even harder ores and rocks. Although some materials, that I have yet to even find or discover how to make, already possess a hardness similar to diamond, and thus will not need the coating.

Anyway, each tools have a limited number of modifiers that can be applied. EXCEPT NOT REALLY! Because here comes the tool levels. Whenever I, or anyone for that matter, use a tool, my level of expertise and handling grows. And for each levels, I unlock a new applicable modifier, whatever I may wish them to be. They range from reinforced durability, to mining speed, somehow, with even greater mining and looting yield or simply perfect mining? I have to reread that last one a few time to get it. It's like Mewtwo's ability to pick up whole ore blocks. Less loss of material and greater yield when smelted. Okay, noted. Wait... what if... What if you make a pickaxe with that silky touch, mine a whole bunch of ores, and then, once you return from your trip, you then mine all of those ores with a fortune pickaxe? The fortune modifier is interesting, but it will fill my inventory really fast. With the aforementioned method, I can still carry loads of materials and then obtain even more once I am done and ready to smelt them! THIS IS GENIUS!

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Alright, so, I need a silky jewel, which needs silky cloth, gold and strings I have, and an emerald... Shit... I do not have an emerald. And I somewhat doubt Princess would possess one... I might ask anyway. Maybe they have one stashed somewhere from her travels with Aster... the man is unsure though.

Anyway. Done with the iron, onto the silver. Now how do I want to make that pickaxe? And could I still keep the current tool level? Only one way to find out!

I put both my pickaxe and the manasteel head in my inventory and switch the iron head for the new one. Oh hey, what is that little window hidden here? Oh, but it's just all the informations I HAVE JUST DISCOVERED!!! HIDDEN IN PLAIN FUCKING SIGHT!

Another bonk echoes in the clearing.

Still the same? Mewtwo does not even turns from his attempts at making a mana spreader.

"I am a blind android, Mewtwo. And it is tiring to realize it over and over again." I lament.

At least you are still finding everything bits by bits. You're not that blind.

I simply groan at that.

I return to the tool station screen, and note that the tool level has not dropped with the change of the head... I squint, curious. Could I replace every pieces one by one and still keep the tool level?

Only one way to find out.

"Hey, can you pass me some livingwood?" I call to Mewtwo.

A dozen logs float my way. "Thanks."

I quickly make a livingwood handle, noting the two new modifier that it will bring. Well... one new modifier, I already had Ecological. Botanical, a modifier that grants additional modifiers slots. I nod and replace the wood handle, obtaining a boost in durability as well. Now I only have the binding remaining. What do I make it out of? What could be useful? No, better question, what do I have that I could use?

I peruse my current collection of ore and materials. Stone and wood are out. Stone because it brings little to the tool, and wood because I might as well use livingwood. But I hesitate, as I already have livingwood for the handle, and after wasting a bit of livingwood to make a binding, I discovered that the effects do not stack if more parts are added. Which is a bit disappointing, but might be to force me to use other materials. So, what to use? Iron? It would bring a bit of durability, and the magnetism trait back, but could I not do better? Gold is not an option, which makes sense. Gold is far too soft a metal to make good tools. Silver? A huge boost in durability and the holy trait... which is not that useful on a pickaxe... Tin is not an option, copper... Copper? More experience? Wait but I do not gain experience from mining... Hum... what about materials I do not have? Maybe I can find some next time?

I start looking through the expansive list of both strange, common and exotic materials.

That's a lot of materials finishing in ium... inferium, prudentium, tertium, superium and supremium... I have some inferium essence from the monsters I have slain... Oh... I did not gather any of the prosperity essence... So maybe later? The stats are pretty insane even for the most basic one. And the prosperous trait could be useful in the long run...

Uranium? Ah! Hilarious, especially with both poisonous and withering together. Double poison on strike, but it is still not what I need.

Bronze? Uh. The more damaged the tool is, the more it lasts? That's an interesting trait... I'll keep it in mind.

Electrum. Oh... Oh! Oh I this one is good. Shocking: The tool builds a charge the more it is used, and then releases it as a mining boost or damage boost. Okay, yeah, that one might be the one. Too bad I have none. Where do you find electrum? Wait! You don't find electrum, you make it! It's an alloy! Same with the bronze.

Could I do it? Yep! I have the materials, I just need the infrastructure. An alloy tank, some tanks and a new seared heater. I just need more seared bricks to make it all.

Now do I have enough seared bricks? No. Can I make enough? Yeah... Mostly? I am missing a bit of clay, but now that we have a place we are going to stay and some time, there might be a recipe that should allow us to obtain large quantities of clay. And I will need Mewtwo's help for it.

I approach my psychic friend, finding him looking at multiple hollowed livingwood logs.

Ah, Astra! I appear to find myself stuck. Try as I might, I have not managed to reproduce the mana spreader.

"Did you check the recipe?" I asks as innocently as I can but also expecting the answer.

Silence follows my question. And I see him quickly open the mana spreader recipe. Could you spare a copper ingot...

I smirk and hand him the ingot. Groaning, he goes to attempt assembling the cuboid device. "Wait, could you help me with something first?" I ask him as I take out a stone barrel. "I need you to fill this with water."

Mewtwo quirks an eyebrow, but complies. Ice cold water soon fills the barrel to the brim, and I add the final component. Dust. If you hammer stone, you get gravel. Hammer gravel, and you get sand. But what if you hammer sand? You get dust, and somehow, adding dust to water... turns it into a clay equivalent.

The mixture almost instantly hardens. Although harden is quite a strong word. That clay is pretty soft. Still, I am left with a barrel full of clay. I take it up, store it and then separate it in the crafting table. I just got clay.

"All right, help me with four more barrels. I am going to try making alloys." I tell him.

Oh? Another contraption? Do you want me to try and make it?

"Maybe not right now, but you could try to make grout. You might be able to make more than me."

I quickly make the four subsequent blocks of clay, and then leave the barrel along with dust for Mewtwo to do as he pleases. I also leave him some stone, just to see if he can somehow get greater yields for sand and gravel. I then return to the smeltery, and load the smeltery with copper ore. While the copper melt, I craft grout and cook it with my furnace chip. Can the furnace chip be upgraded like the inventory one? Yep, sure can. Interesting, but I will look into it later.

The grout cooks rather quickly, and I start crafting what I will need. The alloy tank comes first, followed by the two seared tanks. Then the seared heater. I place alloy tank and heater and then empty my smeltery. I put back one gold ingot, melt it and let the result flow into one of the seared tanks. I repeat the same operation with a silver ingot, and then put tin to continue on with the ore processing. While the tin slowly melt, I finish the alloy smeltery.

I take an already lit coal from the smeltery and put it into the heater under the alloy tank. I put a couple more coals and watch as the gold and silver slowly flow into one another. The process takes a couple minutes, but soon, I have move the casting table over, along with a drain. I put the binding cast and let the electrum flow. Just like with the portable smeltery, it stops itself automatically, and I once it has cooled, I pick up my new binding. I install it on my pickaxe, and smile as the tool level remains unchanged, even though all its part have been replaced.

But here it is. My new pickaxe, strong enough to mine... obsidian? Hold on, I had not realized it, but manasteel can mine up to obsidian level? Isn't that on the same level as diamond coating? Well I'm not complaining. That will be two diamonds saved for other purposes. Anyway, I have a new pickaxe. Now for the armor.

Armor is made out of three parts: the core, the plates, and the trims. I already know I will make the core out of manasteel, both for the mana reparation trait and because it is, right now, my strongest material. For the rest, I believe the best would be a mix of copper and bronze. For the plates, I am leaning on bronze, simply because of the toughness bonus that no other materials grants me without downsides, and also the dense trait might be useful. For the trims, copper is the one of the materials that gives me the most extra durability right now, and the extra experience from monsters might be useful. I could have used silver and electrum, which would have given me greater durability, but I want to see if the Ambitious trait gives me that much more experience first.

With my choice made, I get to work. I gather the necessary tin, which is already melted, cast the rest into ingots for later use, and then once more melt copper. Yes, I am wasting coal, but we found so much we are barely making a dent in our current reserves.

The ratio I need for bronze is three copper ingots for one tin ingots. It will yield men four bronze ingots.

While this is happening, I convert some iron ingots into manasteel. I then cast the copper into the trim casts, take the rest into a seared tank and install it next to the alloy tank. while the bronze is alloying, I melt the manasteel and make the different core armor parts. Helmet, chestplate, leggings and boots.

I then look myself over. I am made of metal, and I am about to add another layer on top. It seems almost idiotic, but it will have its use. Any hits deflected or softened by the armor is a hit I will spend less to no energy regenerating from.

The core and trims are done, and so are the plates. The remaining bronze is turned into ingot, and then I realize... I need an armor station. Which means another chip. Trio damn it!

Grumbling, I quickly look up how to make an armor station, and assemble it. It is just a crafting table surrounded by four blank patterns. I then turn it into a chip, and install it.

A new window appears next to my inventory, this one with far less options than the tool station. Each four pieces of armor are present, along with a repair option. I quickly assemble each pieces of armor and then take them out. The full set is impressive, it would cover me almost completely, at the exception of my forearms. Which seems like a deliberate design choice.

The helmet will encompass my entire head, with a wide T shaped opening at the front allowing me to still see and eat without removing it. The blue of the manasteel is visible from back to top, with the brass plates covering most of the front and the copper trimming drawing the demarcations between the bronze and the manasteel.

the chestplate comes with fingerless armor gloves. The chestplate covers me from stomach to neck, along with my shoulders and upper arms. The manasteel is barely visible, only poking along my ribs. Everything else is covered by the bronze plates, once more bordered with the light orange of the copper trim.

the leggings come with an armored skirt made of bronze plates lined with copper. It has separations along the legs at the front and back to allow for wide movements. Here, the manasteel is far more visible, being what makes most of the armor beneath the skirt.

Finally, the boots are open ended. Copper lined bronze plates cover the manasteel on top of my feet. I still look at the open-ended finish and then back at my feet. And it makes sense. I have talons for toes, the choice was another deliberate one by the system.

I equip it all and try moving around in it.

Mewtwo notices and looks up from his completed mana spreader with curiosity and glee.

The armor does not hinder me in any ways. It moves with me whatever I do. Even when I decide to do a big jump and twist a bit in the air, it follows, never blocking me. I land back down and look at Mewtwo.

"Well, I have armor now, what do you think?"

It looks... dashing. He smirks

What sort of accoutrement is this? Echoes the voice of Princess, as she emerges in person from the forest, along with her aide.