Scrapyard Angels Act 1 Chapter 10
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The dump was the best place to find broken hextech and chemtech in Zaun. There were various dumps all around Zaun thanks to non-existent health and environmental law. It's toxic, it's dangerous, and very deadly if you don't know what you're doing but you can find a lot of the things there. I'm not looking for something to sell however but looking for any pieces of tech to work on be they Hectech or Chemtech
The Northside Heap was the best place to find stuff due to its close proximity to the University of Piltover. It's where students' failed inventions come to die. Gears and scraps of all manners are dumped regularly on the massive pile of metal.
The sound of metal crunching under the boots of stilt walkers as they wade through the toxic pools where few dare to go could be heard even from above the heap. Above the toxic pools and on top of the giant heaps of scrap was where I scavenged with Jinx beside me.
Vi's new job had an erratic schedule but the pay was just too good to stop now so here I was helping Jinx learn more about sump scrapping.
The heavy boots and thick gloves helped guard our hands from the sharp edges of the sometimes twisted metals of the dump. So far it was just all scrap metal and that meant I had to deal with a bored Jinx
"Have you found anything yet?" Jinx asked as she dug in deeper into her spot.
"No" It was the 42nd time and it was just as frustrating as the last time.
"But it's been hours and we haven't found anything!"
"We found a lot of copper coils?"
"But that's so boring! Where is the cool stuff?"
"We just have to be a bit patient Jinx"
"Have you found anything yet?"
"Yeeaahhhh… no"
"Awwww"
I was sorely tempted to just call it a day when he heard the klaxons of the steam Golems that haul a new set of garbage into the pile.
Jinx got up quick and made a mad dash for the fresh pile.
"Dang it Jinx! Don't run!"
"But the other kids will get the better stuff!" Shouted my little sister as I tried my best to run after her. Out of the corner of my eyes, I could see the other kids making a mad dash for it as well
The girl had the nimbleness of a cat as she jumped and skipped along the various jutting trash along her path. She was determined to get there first. It was like watching a rabbit sprinting across a field filled with sharp knives.
"You'll get yourself hurt!"
"I'm invincible!"
By the time I caught up to her, she was already elbow deep in the pile. I had to push and elbow the other kids that got aggressive when scrapping
The fresh pile of junk was dirty and the owners of the trash sure as hell don't know how to segregate trash with the broken shards of glass and rusted bird cages mixed in but digging through the pile was well worth it.
"Got one!" There in Jinx's hand was a half broken clockwork toy owl with its chest ripped out. All trash was harvested before they even got down below but they often leave stuff they deem to be no longer salvageable. Their lost however as there was plenty of stuff for us to to harvest
I reached in deep and found a handle to grab on to. It was a smooth ring that didn't feel like normal scrap which were often twisted and distorted from the great heat that often accompanies their failure. Gripping it tightly, I pulled back my hand and out came an open hextech lamp. Its gilded cage and the empty socket inside was unmistakable
"It's intact!" It lacked the core but it didn't matter as we finally had something intact.
We found more parts after that, various spares parts and gears that could help us. We even found half a wing of something. It was quite a haul and both of us had to get it back to our home.
We had to hurry up as I felt eyes upon us. It wasn't just my imagination however as there had been more gangs present. "Security" had been ramped up recently and people had been rather jumpy after the death and disgrace of one of the chembarons.
I looked away as one shop owner got accosted by these thugs for "rent". I looked ahead ignoring the commotion before guiding our loot into one of the many entrances to the service tunnel
Our little hole in the wall was thankfully undisturbed by the time we got back. The new furniture we bought really brightened the place up. The boxes I used back as furniture ended up being storage boxes for our scraps.
"Jinx, its best you bath first"
"But I don't want to take a bath! Why don't you go first!"
"I still have to sort our stuff"
"I can do it!"
"Nope! You'll just mix it up like last time"
"It was one time and my system was obviously better!"
"I had my system and you messed it up!"
Jinx screamed out and stomped her feet but I would not budge. We stared at each other but she was the one that gave in first
I dragged our loot to the boxes and started sorting them while Jinx went to get herself clean. Having a regular source of soap helped a lot in keeping ourselves clean especially when we had lubricants and oils leaked from every which part we found. Sure it was more of sponge bath and a rinse but it was a bath
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It wasn't even five minutes before Jinx came back. "Done~!"
I gave her a flat look and found her wanting as she didn't wash her hair. "Oh no we're not. We need to get your hair washed"
"But it's so hard to wash!"
"There's a reason why Vi and Cindy have short hair!"
I sat up and set aside my work for now as I dragged Jinx back to the faucet to get her properly cleaned up. I just had to wash her hair. Getting her to wash seriously without getting wet myself was next to impossible when she tries to take shortcuts in everything
Thankfully Vi came back soon enough. She was dead on her feet but even then she helped me out with our sister. She was far better in getting Jinx to do stuff than I was.
"Works tough?"
"Yeah, I had to run more than I planned today." Vi plopped down on one of our chairs after we got Jinx properly cleaned up
"No trouble at work?"
"You worry too much Ark. Yeah sure there's some fighting in the streets but I just carry letters and stuff."
"If you say so. Say… where do you usually deliver your message?"
"Well I get the message usually from this place which I think is their hideout in our area…"
Our conversation lasted a bit longer until it was time to sleep. I tucked both of them in before heading outside with a box of choice scraps. Working with the crystal inside our little home would make it hard for them to sleep so I opted to just do it outside
I burnt through the midnight oil working with the machines. Fitting the crystal in the tiny undersized sockets to see how some of the scrap works.
For some reason, the crystal's light dimmed when I didn't touch them. I could feel a slight draw from the crystal as I kept working but nothing too draining.
For a fuel source they sure don't feel like the best way to fuel devices. Needing contact for the best result is something you can work around with but why do some of these devices feel like they had their crystal inside them rather than outside?
No matter. I only need to learn the basics. How can I run if I don't know how to walk after all?
There was also the fact that it only happened to one of the crystals. The other one remained sort of normal? It didnt glow and it doesnt seem to respond to any of us. I prefered the one that sort of responds to me. I dont know, it just felt more powerful.
For now, I leave it for future me to figure out. I soon joined my sisters in bed. My eyes felt heavy and my body felt like lead and only the comforting pulse of magic from our crystal made the weariness lighter on my body. All I could think of now was to sleep. Slowly my eyes closed and that night I dreamt of crystals.
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I slept peacefully that night despite the dream I had. It was a weird dream but I didn't dwell on it too much as I concentrated on the new task ahead.
"Today we'll move on from simple circles to far more complex shapes" Miss Irine slowly coaxed the circle in her hands to change shape. The circle of mana bulged from the center, becoming rounded as if filled with mana from within.
"Many practitioners would often skip this stage and go straight to slinging spells citing it's simply the same thing but they're the same as the fools who skipped channeling mana all together and just cast with intent" She went on tangent abit but thankfully we went back to teaching
"This is a bit more complicated so I need to have you do it with two hands. Now, simply channel like before but imagine pulling at it with the connection you have and filling the space within."
Holding my hands together I weave my spell, pulling the disc while letting more mana in the shape. The center of the disc as the disc spun parallel against my palm. It felt like holding a balloon that was being deformed from within. The roiling mana from within spun in unison with the shell
It warbled and bubbled yet it stayed in its shape for now as it steadily became brighter but not overwhelmingly so. Miss Irine nodded as she inspected the little ball of light I made
"You could work a bit better… but you did well Mister Ark" For he had praised me. It felt… good.
"We're fast approaching your last lesson Mr Ark. After a few more lessons, I will have nothing to teach you"
This was just a temporary job after all and all we agreed upon was the absolute basics. More complex spells were a thing that either masters worked on and passed on to their apprentice or their personal work. There were books of spells but they were expensive. On the day our lesson ended, I will be on my own.
The glowing sphere between my hands all but answered any doubt that our lessons were about to end. I would no longer have someone to guide me yet I feel I've learned enough. I now have the foundations to experiment on my own and from there maybe I'll do something great