Eric repeated how the artifact works to the devil so that she could translate it for the adventurers.

“So … I need to enchant the artifact to increase its output?” The fox mage asked hesitantly once the devil had translated Eric’s words.

“Yes,” the devil confirmed.

“And this little thing that is dangling out of it, that’s where the lightning comes out?” The mage asked.

“Yes. The lightning can go who knows where once it comes out, but that’s where it comes out.”

“I must say I’m incredibly amazed,” Ghilanna said, “I’ve heard about all kinds of artifacts, but I never thought such a small thing could be so powerful.”

“It’s powerful enough to hurt a devil like me,” The devil said, “The snail will have no chance at all.”

“And it’s not magic? It’s just a force of nature?” Ghilanna asked.

“That’s what my servant says. And while he sucks at many things, he is very knowledgeable about the most absurd stuff. So I trust him on this one.”

“It will take a while,” the mage said, “This won’t be a simple enchantment. I will need to take some special precautions to ensure nothing goes wrong.

“Time is the one thing we have, is it not?” The devil asked Ghilanna.

“Sure,” she responded, “We can go back into the corridor and secure the exits. We don’t need a proper camp, we just need to buy us enough time until the enchantment is over.”

“And the chances of monsters going towards the guardian are very slim,” Vulin added.

“Well, it looks like you have your work cut out for you, miss mage,” the devil said, “You better get to it right away.

“Right. Let me just unpack my equipment.”

“And I need that thing to be as powerful as possible.”

“I’ll use my strongest crystal.”

-----

It took most of the day before the fox mage was finally done with enchanting the item.

“It’s done,” she said, approaching the devil while cradling the artifact in both hands as if it were a baby, “The enchantment is not as powerful as it can be, but this is the best I can do under these conditions. I would need a proper enchanting table to make it stronger than this.”

“Good,” the devil took the artifact from her hand, “Let’s see how it works now.”

The devil extended her hand towards Eric, offering him the artifact.

“Here, take it,” she said in the devilish tongue, “Put it to a test. Let’s see how it works now.”

“It should be more powerful now, right?” He asked.

“Yes. It should be strong enough to kill the snail.”

“Then we shouldn’t test it.”

The devil gave him a cold stare, “Why? How will I know it works unless we try it out? How will I know the lightning didn’t change somehow?”

He took the artifact from the devil’s hand, holding it between his thumb and index finger while using his other index finger to point at the thin part that was dangling out of the artifact.

“Do you see this?” He asked.

“Of course! What kind of question is that?”

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“This is made of metal. It’s made of copper, to be more precise.”

“So?”

“So, if the lightning is truly much more powerful than before, it may be strong enough to fry the copper. Maybe even melt it. Which means that we might only get a single use out of it. If I try testing it right now, the copper might melt, making the device useless.”

“Copper might melt?” The devil’s face turned angry before she started yelling at him, “What about my hand, you fuckwit! Why didn’t you tell me about it before? Will it fry my hand?”

“I’m not an elektrishn, so I can’t be one hundred percent sure, but I am absolutely sure the lightning won’t go through you. For the same reasons I’ve mentioned before. But if the lightning becomes much more powerful, it might cause some burns. It all depends on how powerful the lightning will become, and I have no means of knowing that.”

“So you’re telling me that if the mage has done too good of a job, it could kill me?”

“I don’t think it will, although it may burn your hand. As I said, the lightning won’t go through you. It shouldn’t hurt like when you’ve zapped yourself and it tore through your body. It will tear through the snail instead. But if the mage has made it too powerful, it will generate enough heat to burn your hand.”

“So, you’re saying that I don’t have to worry about the lightning but about the heat burn instead?”

“Yes. Lightning generates heat, which is why trees catch fire when struck by it. The stronger the lightning, the greater the heat.”

“Luckily, heat is the one thing I don’t have to worry about. My mother is good with the heat, so I should be perfectly fine.”

“Then you have nothing to worry about. As long as you are on top of the snail and this part of the device is closer to the snail than it is to you,” Eric pointed at the thin, dangling part, “you have nothing to worry about.”

“Tell me, is it the heat that will kill the snail?” Phisola asked.

“No. Heat is just a byproduct of lightning. Lightning will fry its nervous system, but the body will probably stay intact.”

“Are you absolutely sure? I don’t want it to overcook the snail. We need its blood, and we won’t get it if the snail turns into a crisp.”

Eric shrugged, “I can’t be absolutely sure since I have no idea how strong the lightning will be now that the mage has enhanced it. But it would take some incredibly powerful lightning to burn something to a crisp. We are talking thousands of times stronger than what it was before the mage got her hands on it.”

Phisola nodded her head, “That’s good to hear. There is no way a mage can enhance something thousands of times over. You know … if this works … if it kills a snail without frying it … I will have a special reward for you.”

Eric smiled, “That sounds nice.”

“I can’t give it to you here, but you will get it once we go through the portal. If you really are right about all of this, then I will owe you big time. And while I’m not generous by nature, I do pay my debts back with huge interest.”

She smirked when she saw a change on Eric’s face, “What? Did you think it would be something sexual? Is that what you were hoping for? Did I disappoint you?”

“Well … knowing you …”

“Get real!” She punched him playfully in the shoulder, “If you want something of such nature, you’ll have to get it yourself! But still … you may suck at a lot of things, but you really came through this time. Assuming you don’t get me killed, of course.”

“As long as you do as I told you, you have nothing to fear.”

“Right. Get on top of the snail and get the dangling part of the artifact as close to it as possible.”

“Oh, and one more thing. Don’t look at the artifact once you press the button. The lightning might blind you if it got much more powerful.”

“How am I to be sure I’ve placed it close to the snail then?”

“Just close your eyes right before you’re about to press the button. You can open them as soon as you press it. Just don’t look at the lightning.”

“Hmm … alright.”

She inhaled deeply before letting out a loud sigh, “Frankly, I can’t believe I’m doing this. This has to be the most dangerous thing I’ve ever done. I’m not a coward, but there’s a difference between bravery and doing something you’re completely oblivious of.”

“But you chose to trust me.”

“I …” a hint of embarrassment showed on her face, “I’d rather get myself killed than spend another century in this hole. I’m starting to go crazy and, even worse, I’m starting to go weak. I’m starting to become soft.”

“Personally, I like your softness much more.”

That made her snicker, “Well, someone has to be hard around here. And when you fail …”

“Now, that was uncalled for. Even as a joke.”

“No, it was definitely called for. I try opening up to you once for a change, and what do I get? A fucking innuendo.”

“I was just … I was just trying to lighten the mood, that’s all,” he said in a mellow voice, “I was just trying to get your spirits up by making a sexual joke because I know you like those.”

“And I responded with a joke of my own, but you didn’t like that.”

“I wasn’t trying to mock you for being soft, and I mean what I said. You are much more appealing when you aren’t doing your best to look and act tough,” he raised his hands up in defense, “Ok, ok, I know what you’re about to say. One of us has to be tough. One of us has to fight. I acknowledge and respect that. But I’d be lying if I said I don’t prefer a softer version of you when we’re all alone. I’m not with you because you’re a badass, even though it may look like it. You might think I’m with you only because you can keep me alive with your toughness and capability, but that’s not the case. I am with you because … I mean …” he started scratching the back of his head as his cheeks got rosy, “This is kind of embarrassing.”

“It is,” she agreed, looking equally flustered by his reaction, “So you better stop.”