[...] And thus, we should not gaze upon the stars too long, less we forget ourselves
~ extract from the Old Emporer on the meaning of life.
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Arthur approached the bustling carpenter's area, where a hive of activity surrounded him. Some craftsmen were peeling the bark off hefty logs, others were slicing the timber into planks, and a few were painstakingly refurbishing used shields. Despite the barack of squad one and the lumberyard being quite close to each other, Arthur had never spared a moment to observe their operations or their organization.
This could be more efficient, Arthur mused to himself, his critical eye falling on the manual sawing process, which lagged behind the capabilities of a simple sawmill. Understandable, given their lack of access to electricity or power tools, but surely someone possessed a skill capable of mimicking such technology.
As he traversed the lumberyard, Arthur noticed a carpenter taking a break on a bench near the water barrels. Curiosity piqued, he approached the man and inquired, "Why aren't you utilizing your attunement to expedite your work?"
The carpenter, somewhat taken aback by a runner addressing him, especially regarding the use of skills, gazed at Arthur before responding, "What do you mean, not using our attunement?"
"Don't any of you possess skills to enhance the timber processing?"
"Hah! You think any of us would be stuck here if we had achieved our second star? Most of us are still laboring to unlock the abilities within our first star,"
"And your first star is?"
"Seriously, have you been hit by a cosmic anomaly? The first star for labor classes is Endurance," the carpenter replied, his face displaying a hint of amusement at Arthur's unusual questions.
Although I lack any Endurance stars, my mana star seems to be filling that role
"May I borrow a damaged plank?" Arthur requested, changing the subject.
The carpenter raised a sawdust-covered hand to scratch his head, puzzled by the request. "Borrow it?"
"I'll remain here in the lumberyard and use it for experimentation," Arthur clarified, hefting the board onto his shoulders. It proved to be heavier than anticipated, but he was grateful for the protection of his padded leather vest.
"Sure, why not? I doubt we can salvage it anymore," the carpenter responded, though Arthur was already walking towards a shaded spot.
Seated on the ground, Arthur rested the plank on his legs, closed his eyes, and began the process of attuning to the Schematics solar system.
Arthur inspected the worn wooden plank and saw his options.
Input: worn wooden plank
Output:
1. Wooden dowel pin (max output:12)
2. Split wooden plank (max output: 3)
3. Wooden needle (max output: 24)
* 6 other locked schematics
The Schematic interface displayed several potential crafting choices, but for now, he decided to start with just one of each to observe their effects. He began with the choice to split the wooden plank, selecting a maximum output of two out of the three splits.
With a mental command, he initiated the crafting process, and he could feel a drain on his mana reserves as the Schematic took effect. Immediately, he noticed a significant change in his physical sensations. The weight of the two resulting wooden planks pressed noticeably harder against his legs, causing discomfort he hadn't felt before. The pain in his back became more intense, and the chafing from his leather vest felt more annoying than before.
Apparently, I was relying more on my mana than I thought
Nevertheless, the pain was temporarily set aside as he observed the results of his first crafting attempt. The worn wooden plank had transformed into two cleanly split and symmetric wooden planks.
Curious about the limitations and potential variations in his crafting abilities, Arthur decided to experiment further. He initiated another Schematic request, feeling a growing headache as he did so. The interface displayed the following:
Input: 2 worn split-wooden planks Output:
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4. Wooden dowel pin (max output: 2)
5. Split wooden plank (max output: 0)
6. Wooden needle (max output: 5)
* 6 other locked schematics
Comparing this with his previous overview, Arthur noticed that the maximum output seemed to have diminished from what he had initially seen.
Maybe I'm limited by my mana reservoir if such a thing exists in this world. It couldn't hurt to wait a few minutes and see if that changes anything.
Arthur decided to give it some time to understand better how his abilities and limitations might evolve
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the carpenter he had previously spoken to decided to bring a supervisor over to witness the unusual display of power. The supervisor scratched his head beneath his cap, closely observing Arthur's actions. After some contemplation, the supervisor shrugged and withdrew, leaving the carpenter puzzled.
While Arthur had his eyes closed and was concentrating on the changes in his maximum output, a small crowd had gathered around him. Over the course of an hour, Arthur pulsed with alternating patterns of blue and gray. Workers from the lumberyard, a few soldiers, and a significant number of runners discussed in hushed tones the significance of these hues.
Most had heard that blue pulses indicated a mana-attuned star as they were highly sought after by the nobles. However, it wasn't the blue pulses that drew the most attention; it was the appearance of gray in the pattern. Having a mana star was indeed a boon, but the idea of someone having two stars, one of them mana-attuned, was almost unbelievable to the gathered crowd.
"Why hasn't he sold the location of one of his stars?" a runner from another squad wondered aloud.
"What fool possesses two stars, one of them mana-attuned, and ends up as a runner?" a soldier chimed in with a teasing emphasis on the word "runner," eliciting chuckles from his fellow soldiers.
Members of Squad One were more reserved in their reactions. Some ignored the comments entirely, while others stood silently, staring at Arthur in disbelief and, in some cases, hostility.
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Arthur remained aware of his surroundings, the continuous jibes mixed with hints of jealousy. He felt an inspect at times, but it was primarily the stunned and sometimes hostile stares that kept him focused. He held back his anger and frustration, directing it inward, harboring anger at himself for failing to save the young boy and anger at this world, where some luxuriated while others toiled and died carrying shields.
After a good hour, Arthur's mana reserve appeared to be full again, as his maximum output returned to its previous level. He opened his eyes and stared back at those still gathered around him. A moment later, he closed his eyes again, harnessed his mana, and transformed the worn wooden planks into 12 identical, sturdy wooden dowel pins. These were nothing like the small, soft pins he was accustomed to on Earth; they were big and hard.
The response from the crowd was mixed. A few carpenters gasped in awe, while others simply stood in silence, unable to comprehend what had just happened. Arthur didn't offer any explanations and instead jogged over to the carpenters' station, dripping with sweat from the effort. He approached a water barrel - contrary to the usual practice of carpenter chasing away runners, the carpenters stood by silently – and he drank deeply from it, consuming two full ladles of rainwater.
He shook the ladle free and nodded to a pair of apprentices, then jogged back to where he had left the wooden dowel pins. The carpenter he had initially spoken to was inspecting the pins with a furrowed brow.
Salex, one of the runners, noticed Arthur and nodded toward the carpenter. "He bet a few of us a copper that you faked your magical display."
If the crowd had been able to sense Arthur's exhaustion, they might have been less skeptical. He forced himself to gather the pins from the carpenter, who released them with a bewildered look. Arthur then ran the pins back to the lumberyard, where the other pins were stored. He waved his thanks to the carpenter and trotted back to the small cluster of runners. Meanwhile, the carpenter was paying out coppers on the bet he had lost.
"You're dismissed for lunch," Arthur told the runners. "We have an afternoon run, so be back here in an hour. Assemble at the mess hall at the last bell before sundown. Our camp chore today is cleaning up after supper. The last one to arrive has to do the pots."
The runners gave him bemused expressions as he trotted away from the lumberyard. A couple of streets away, he ducked into an alleyway and leaned against the wall. Then, wheezing and fatigued, he sank to the ground and stretched out.
Every muscle in his body felt as if it had been strained to its limit. His legs burned with exhaustion, and when he attempted to make a fist, his fingers proved too weak to comply. Meanwhile, his head throbbed with a heavy headache. He struggled to breathe, gasping deeply and occasionally coughing. A passing soldier briefly glanced at him but left without a word upon seeing Arthur's runner attire.
Eventually, Arthur began to hear a humming noise that trembled on his eardrums. He opened his eyes and saw Phae orbiting around him. Phae transformed back into his robotic form and landed on the ground in front of Arthur.
"Well, what a change," Phae remarked.
Arthur closed his eyes again.
"I've decided that you are indeed worthy of being attuned to me."
It took Arthur a moment to realize what Phae was referring to. "I'm glad I can bask in your greatness, Phae."
Phae adopted a smug expression, a feat Arthur found intriguing given his robotic form. "As you should be, considering you are the first to ever attune to me... at least, as far as I can remember."
"Phae," Arthur spoke softly, "aren't the stars that make up your constellation billions of years old? Thus, making you ancient. How can I ever be the first to attune to you? How much do you even remember from the past?"
Phae looked up and said, "You're right! I'm so old and wise, I even remember when you got your first smartphone. Remember that?"
Arthur chuckled. "Phae, that was like 16 years ago. That's nothing compared to millions, let alone billions of years."
"Well, I still think it was a great moment," Phae insisted.
"That, I can agree upon, Phae, that I can," Arthur conceded.
Phae looked down: "But, Arthur, the more I observe you, the more I feel. The more I can reason. The more I can think. The more I can remember. So the thought of regressing back to the old Phae, like before, scares me."
"I know how you feel…," Arthur trailed off. "Come on, I need to eat, and there are some things I want to pick up after lunch."