The profession dungeon wasn’t hard to find, not with the entrance being an elaborately carved towering stone gateway. It had also taken him less than a few hours to reach, well under the half a day schedule the garrison leader had given him, though Shin had expected as much with his travel speed.
[Hall of Crafting]
Identify didn’t reveal anything more than that. Even still, Shin walked up to the two stone doors, glanced around, then put his hand on it. Instantly his head filled with information, clearer than his own thoughts, a list of what he deduced to be professions. Blacksmithing, Alchemy, Fletching, Leatherworking, Artificing, Tailoring, Cooking, Building… Dozens of choices but only two caught his interest, Runeforging and Inscription. He inspected both further.
[Runeforging - Wield the written sigils of the words of creation]
‘Bestow effects and enhancements on items. Create golems from lifeless matter. Intrude upon the natural laws of the world.’
[Inscription - Harness the flow of mana through the glyphs of truth]
‘Create talismans of magical effect. Imbue scrolls with the power of skills. Brand substance and falsehoods with symbols of might and mystery.’
Both appealed to him but one more so than the other, all for a single word. Truth. The carvings of the stone doors glowed and opened inwards to a swirling wall of mana, and Shin walked through the newly named Hall of Inscription without hesitation. Passing through felt like falling through water and floating at the same time. Shin let the sensation take hold and before he knew it he found himself in a room. Simple but elegantly decorated, and barren save for a golden spectral man sitting on his knees in front of a short material wooden desk and beside him an identical one, unoccupied.
Even in spiritual sight, the man was unchanged. Shin walked across the wooden floor towards him and in his vision, noticed flows of mana distinct and clear from the chaotic sea. Shin moved close but the spiritual man showed no reaction. He maintained perfectly composed posture, a brush in hand drawing calligraphy on a rectangular slip of yellow paper.
Ending with a smooth delicate stroke of the red ink, he raised his brush and the markings on the paper glowed then settled with a calm eruption of sparkling lights. As soon as the lights faded, the paper disappeared and another blank one took its place. The golden man dipped his brush in the well of dark red ink and painted again, his expression serene and disciplined.
Shin glanced at the unoccupied desk bearing the same brush, inkwell, and paper. He turned back to the man who finished another drawing of lines, in the same design as before and to the same effect. Shin’s eyes once again glowed in iridescent splendor and watched the flow of mana from the brush left on the paper and the connection and transformation of that mana into something greater upon completion.
Shin watched the man work, noting the impressive dexterity and consistency of not only his hand but the flow of mana. Minutes passed in silence before Shin walked over to his desk and sat crossed legged. Identify revealed the paper to be talisman paper and the red ink mana ink, both common tier, but the brush to be uncommon tier with the ingrained effect of being able to flow and emit mana through it.
Shin took up the brush, dabbed it in ink and replicated the symbol the man drew, seemingly perfectly to the naked eye. But the paper burned to ash and disappeared, a new slip taking its place. Shin glanced at the golden man he now referred to as a guide with Eyes of the Spirit King and once more observed the flow of mana with utmost focus.
He attempted to replicate it again to the same effect, but this time retried without pause, again and again, each time sharpening the deftness with which he wielded the flow. An eighth talisman paper burned to ash before he stopped and looked to the guide, noticing his expression had changed to one of mild disapproval. The variance held Shin’s interest for only a moment before focusing on the art once more.
Again he failed but that did nothing to stifle his persistence. With each attempt, Shin felt his control over mana refine and the final symbol emanating a closer feeling to perfection, and with each failure the guide’s expression worsened, first to a frown then outright anger. Shin neither noticed nor cared, locked in unbreaking nonchalance as he wielded his brush.
A nineteenth failure twisted the guide’s face into one of pure rage and still Shin’s brush moved, delicately, decisively. Something found perch inside him, his mind and soul becoming one with the mana as he painted it onto the paper. A final stroke and Shin raised his hand and the paper glowed with it, bursting out glittering lights.
[Light Talisman - Common]
The red door ahead opened as the talisman disappeared. She glanced at the guide sitting motionless with a serene smile, his brush placed down on the table, and moved on ahead without ceremony. The second room was larger and higher than the first, lined with shelves filled to the brim with books, while paper and tomes scattered about the floor.
A golden projection of a wise looking old man with a long beard appeared before him and three completed talismans came into existence. Shin employed his spirit eyes and paid close attention. They held the symbol of the light talisman but all three held small differences, only the middle being the exact same as the one he had just made.
The two other talismans at the side burst into flames and the guide reached out, taking hold of the one that remained. The bearded guide formed a hand seal, first two fingers pointed upwards, the other two down and his thumb bent horizontal. Mana flowed from the other hand into the talisman, the symbol activating, cast a moderate light to fill the dim library.
The guide and the talisman vanished as the library filled with numerous talismans, floating aimlessly. Shin glanced around at a dozen talismans before walking straight to one and plucking it out of the air between two fingers. He imitated the gesture of the guide and calmly filled the talisman with mana exactly as he had seen. The talisman shone with light then rose up out of his grasp and burst, filling every corner of the library with light. The other talismans disappeared and another door opened. Shin walked through this one too without delay.
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The third room was a stark difference from its predecessors, made completely of stone, grim and dark, and completely barren apart from the inscription desk in the center and gargoyle statues lining a ridge around room up high. Shin waited for a guide to appear but none did.
Walking up to the desk, carvings started to appear on a stone wall in front. First of a man creating talismans, then wielding a glowing talisman to fend off demon like creatures. Shin glanced at the gargoyles then took a seat. The moment his brush hit the talisman paper he heard the sound of cracking stone and falling gravel behind him, but his focus was unaffected.
Stone continued to chip off the gargoyle, revealing pulsing dark purple flesh underneath until it flexed and burst off the rest with a roar. The creature flew at his gazing target, sharp claws reaching for blood. Shin raised the finished talisman and activated it. The fearsome gargoyle keeled back in fright, its body rapidly turned to stone and fell out of the air, shattering into pieces on contact.
Thirty seconds, Shin counted, the time it had taken for the gargoyle to fully emerge, and barely a moment to reach him. He had completed the talisman in half the time and simply waited to see what he was dealing with. The sound of gravel to his other side took his attention which he then place back on the desk. A new paper appeared as soon as he completed a light talisman, whether he used it or not.
Shin triggered the talisman before the gargoyle had emerged, and it turned to stone where it sat, crumbling away. Another gargoyle in a new direction started to break out immediately after the latest fell, just as before. Almost bored, Shin drew talisman after talisman and sent each emerging gargoyle to its doom before they had a chance to attack. After the tenth one fell, the room shook and the carving ahead morphed into a victorious man holding up a talisman.
[Achievement: Crafter I. 25 Attribute Points rewarded.]
'Become a Novice tier Crafter.'
Along with the notification a satchel appeared in front on him, similar to the spatial bags he had, aside from the red color. A profession bag, Identify let him know. Grabbing it he found it could be equipped even with the two spatial bag limit. Within it were materials needed for inscription; talisman paper, ink, a brush, and a desk.
Stone blocks to his right receded into the ground creating a doorway with a swirling mana surface just as the one he passed through to enter the dungeon, but at the same time, stones in front of the desk rose into stairs leading to the carving which morphed into a closed black door. Shin rose to his feet and was immediately bombarded with prompts, dozens into hundreds, unlike any he had received before.
[The Starry Eyed Fox invites you.]
Shin scrolled through the prompts. There were all like the first, some sort of title or descriptor inviting him. The Sage of A Thousand Eyes. The Drowned Hermit. An invitation to what exactly or who these beings were was information nowhere to be found. Shin paused his nonchalant wandering on one of them. The Mistress of the House of Books. This one he knew. Seshat, wife of Thoth and record keeper to Ancient Egyptian pantheon.
“These are gods…” Shin’s eyes deepened. He already knew gods existed in this tower as there was nothing else to call the woman who spoke to them in the dark space, but he didn’t expect he could come into contact with them so soon. Shin stopped under another which came with a message.
‘I can make you a sage of inscription.’
He thought for a moment before wishing away all invitations that did not come with a message. Half a dozen remained but Shin only took interest in one.
[The Chief of Stars invites you.]
‘Few can teach you more than me.’
Shin accepted it in his mind and the world imploded around him, regaining his senses in a pitch black void empty of anything but himself and the elderly man in front. Hunchbacked with a long white beard, he wore robes of indescribable quality and an ancient eastern style scholar’s hat, but must striking among the visage was his eyes, bearing a weight and sharpness Shin had not encountered before.
“You did well to choose me. Those others would have wasted your talent.” The old god said, stroking his beard. “This humble one is Kui Xing.”
“Shin.”
“Well then, young Shin, there is much to talk of but we are short of time. Firstly, one advances to Greater Peasant at 500 points. The next rank at 1,000. You will need to free up space amongst your skills. Upgrading your class will give you more options but it won’t change that. You must fuse two sets of skills together.”
“Skills can be fused?”
“Yes. Master four skills uncommon tier or higher to upgrade your class.” Kui Xing continued through the interruption without delay.
“Secondly, do not exit the Hall of Crafting, but instead take the door atop the stairs. It will aid your progress well. And lastly…” Kui Xing’s presence grew grander. “I offer you a Greater Blessing.”
“What are blessings?”
“They grant you bonuses to your stats, unaffecting your rank, and later presents a far grander opportunity. Greater Blessing bestows a bonus of 30%.”
“Is that the highest?”
“...in terms of bonus, yes.”
“Is that the best?” Shin changed his question.
“True Blessings stand above greater, but these can only be granted once and I have given mine already.”
Shin’s eyes grew deeper still. “Who controls the system?”
Kui Xing fell silent, his face expressionless and unreadable. Shin thought for a moment.
“Who is the one at the end?”
Whether Kui Xing had any reaction to the sudden and intensely consuming aura emanating from Shin, it could not be seen on his face. The intensity faded away quickly as Shin fell back into thought.
“What is the red lightning?”
Even the question Shin settled for went unanswered. It didn’t feel as though the god was unwilling to answer him, so much as unable. With that in mind, Shin suppressed his main priority for the moment.
“Where do the dead go?”
Life returned to the elderly god’s face. “All intact souls of the deceased within the tower find rest in the rivers of the Underworld.”
“If they die outside the tower?”
“Some rare few reincarnate within. Most remain in the outer sea. To what fate I know not.” It wasn’t the answer Shin had hoped for but he did not seem disheartened.
Kui Xing took control of the conversation with some hurry. “There are not five gods throughout the realms superior to myself in the art of inscription. Now, accept my offer and I will guide you to the pinnacle of-”
“Thanks.”
“Wai-!” Kui Xing’s panicked yell was cut short as Shin found himself in the stone room again.
He had learned some valuable information but the god wasn’t able to answer the questions he really wanted to know, so there was little point in continuing. And the offer and god were not what he sought, knowing what he did now. There must be someone able to grant him what he needs. Shin hopped up the stone stairs and placed his hand on the black door.
[Hall of Inscription - Workshop]
Shin willed it and the door opened to room smaller than the library of the second challenge but one packed with books and paper in every corner. At the end was a desk surrounded with material and above it, a sculpture of a lion’s head. Shin walked over to a shelf and pulled out a book. Unlike the second room, these ones had writing in them, even better, they gave information and lessons on inscription. Shin closed the book and looked around at the room he planned to live in for the foreseeable future.
---
Shin painted his brush along the paper with unsettling focus. Not a single glyph but a series of three flowing into one another. He drew his brush away and the talisman spit out a burst of embers that quickly faded away. He relaxed a bit and put the newly made common tier talisman in the open mouth of the lion statue. The mouth slowly closed and remained shut.
Shin had bought himself more time but he needed to work faster to take advantage of the abundance of resources that couldn’t be placed within his own bags. He had not time for much rest either, only managing a few short naps to stave away the fatigue as he pushed himself to remain within the workshop. The moment he did not ‘feed’ the lion sufficiently, he would be expelled. Shin put another slip of paper on the table and dabbed his brush. There was no time to waste.