Darwin Dulcet: Merga, thanks for your help, but you could have avoided the endless teasing; it really rattled Sheeno
It still was kind of strange to see a part of the [System] that hadn’t been colored by my own, but since this was visible also to Sheeno, meaning that probably others could too, I could live with the discrepancy.
Merga: But where else could I get such a high dose of unadulterated fun?
Of course, Sheeno’s baffled face only made the experience more difficult to not cringe at, even with Merga trying to poke fun at me all the while.
Darwin Dulcet: I don’t care, just go bother Eddd, or something, and tell him that I’m still not over his purposeful act
Unfortunately for her, if the old [Witch] was looking forward to the usual awkward me, she had another thing coming: Faceless, and behind a monitor, is where I had already learned how to thrive.
Merga: I guess I could do that… but if you need anything else, know that you can always contact me again!
Darwin Dulcet: Sure, the knowledge of the oldest generation could be always useful
Merga: YOU BRAT!
Darwin Dulcet: Bye!
I shut down the messaging before my [Teacher] could say anything else.
“So, did your fears get to be abated at least a tiny bit?” I asked, turning my attention back to my companion.
“Y-yeah… or at least I think so, but I feel like I lost something else in the process…” a still confused Sheeno replied.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about”, even though I definitely did. She just saw someone akin to an idol without the veil of wonder she had constructed around Merga, and seeing the true face of the ancient [Witch] completely disillusioned her.
“Ok, now what?” She suddenly asked.
“I’m… sorry?” I was perplexed by her chance of tone, to say the least.
“Merga just explained why she was ok with leaving you with the potential for a demonic subordinate. Great, one less worry for me. But what do you want to do now?” She explained.
“Uhm, go back to the [Rainbow Guild], report on our [Quest] completion, maybe relax a bit in the library, train some more afterward, and then depart on some other adventure?” I put it out there.
“Yeah, real simple; that’s all well and good, but how are we supposed to get back? Do you want me to carry you-“
“No, thank you!” I interrupted her.
“Then what’s your plan?” She asked again, putting two of her hands on her hips, and the remaining other two folded under her metal chest piece.
Now that was an actual good question, to which I actually already had a good-enough response.
“I’m going to [Create] us a new means of transportation!” I announced, proudly pointing to the sky.
“Oooooh, are you gonna manifest a new sentient creature for us to ride!?” Sheeno asked, suddenly jubilant at the idea.
“I’m- well… no, I was thinking more in the line of a two-seater hovercraft…” I specified, a bit dejected.
Sheeno regarded me weirdly for a moment, and then asked “what’s up with you and your fascination with flying?”
“What about it? Don’t you think that flying while ignoring things like gravity and air currents sounds cool!?” I asked defensively in return.
“Well… yes, but the way you often find excuses to adopt the concept almost makes it sound like a fixation”, she explained.
I thought about it for a moment, and then delivered my unapologetic explanation: “If the stuff I make floats I don’t need to compromise its movement capabilities, or artistic design, for the benefit of the other. So it’s mostly about me taking a shortcut that saves me time and brain-power while making [Matrixes]… and also yeah, I think that things that fly for no discernable reasons look cool”.
“I… guess I can accept that reasoning. After all, if it floats it would have no problem navigating anywhere, without a care of the state of the terrain”, Sheeno concluded.
“Exactly!” I agreed.
This impromptu questioning developed into a full-blown discussion on what could be useful, or even essential, in a comfortable and efficient means of transportation, like an adjustable number of seats, wide enough to fit even the bigger [Races], a secure space where on could leave valuables, so they didn’t need to always lug them around during a trip, or even something minor like bumpers, headlights, and signals, all ideas from my previous world.
Still, the idea of it flying started looking less and less appealing the more we discussed it.
With the conceptual idea finished we continued on our jogging towards the closest outpost, so that I could start on my [Spell-Weaving], which would allow us to rush it back to the [Guild] in our newly minted vehicle, in relative safety, and the faster I was done, the sooner we could enjoy our time off.
As she often did, as soon as we got there Sheeno commandeered the first [Guard] into arranging a private room for us, where she then set up the magical pyramid that erected privacy screens, and promptly sat down to observe what I would do.
Or at least at the time, I thought that that was what she was doing, but I only later realized that she just felt like she needed to keep an eye on me, or I would be in danger of doing something stupid.
Which wasn’t too far off from what I intended to do: After all, did I even have enough [Mana] to conjure something as big as what I wanted, or would I run my reserves dry in the process, ultimately hurting myself?
“I guess I’ll know soon enough!”
Please, do not exaggerate.
Now that I was sure that both spectators were paying attention I began [Spell-Weaving] in the usual matter that seemed to work for me.
First, is a list of concepts that I wanted to mirror with my creation:
* Vehicle
* Locomotion
* Movement
* Speed
* Spacious
* Comfortable
* Sturdy
* Safe
* Reliable
I think I lost the point towards the end, but it still rang true, so I didn’t bother with changing it.
While I started to will it into existence, the first two rings appeared simultaneously. That was weird though, since I was sure that the initial result should have been only one ring.
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I observed the transparent rings with the purple engravings closer, and besides the usual headache, something else happened.
I somehow understood what some of those squiggles meant: I had somehow skipped a step.
I don’t know how, or why, but part of the engravings had a clear meaning, while others were still blurry and everchanging to my eyes. The difference between the two rings became soon clear, one was connected to ‘velocity’, while the other to ‘protection’, meanwhile both had signs of ‘construct’ within them, but with small discrepancies between what they meant by it.
As per my usual, I thew the idea of ‘flight’ and ‘hover’ at it, and a third ring appeared, but this time I also noticed that more squiggles on all three rings becoming readable: and what changed had clear signs of what I had recently introduced.
“Oh shit, am I finally getting a grip on understanding [Aether]!?”
I knew that this day would come.
Never speak of this to any mortal; you wouldn’t like the consequences.
Please trust me on the fact that it’s for your good.
Besides that, congratulation on stepping further into the path of Divinity!
Next time we meet I’ll give a big ol’ smooch as a reward!
[Luck]’s appearance was practically a given, so I wasn’t surprised in the slightest, but her words did give me pause, since, by how she put it, I was maybe becoming a [Demi-God], or even a [True God], all on my own, which shouldn’t be how the process worked.
Putting the ridiculous notion aside, I completed my [Matrix] by inserting the reliable, yet mysterious, [Adaptability] into it.
It all easily snapped into place and the expected message soon came forward.
You have successfully created a new [Spell]:
All-purpose Vehicle:
(Spell; construct; Mount; Adaptability)
Creates a vehicle capable of navigating any kind of terrain, or flying in case of the lack of one.
Shape is determined by the user upon materialization.
The degree of size, sturdiness, and speed are proportional to the initial Mana used during casting, any successive supplement of energy would only result in a qualitative change.
“Uh”, I wondered aloud.
“What is it?” Suddenly asked Sheeno.
Before I could respond I fell to one knee, stopping my fall with one hand, while the other gripped tightly my throbbing head.
[MP] critical!
MP:
2%
In an effort to clear my foggy, and hurting head to somehow get worse, I tried casting [Repair] to ‘fix’ the situation, but all I accomplished was making me black out.
Before the darkness could rob me of all perceptions, I could distinctly hear a feminine voice call someone a constant cause of concern… and an idiot.
“That couldn’t possibly be me now, could it?” Was my last thought.
* * *
Through your actions you have earned +2 [Will], +3 [Insight], and +4 [Energy]
When I came to I was laying on a thin mattress, and wasn’t feeling any pain.
Even the throbbing of my head had been reduced to little more than a nuisance.
“Ugh”, that still didn’t stop me from grunting in displeasure.
“Well, look who’s up?” An amused voice said from next to me.
“Yeah, yeah. I took on more than I could chew, I know…” I immediately defended myself.
“Well, next time don’t. We really could do with fewer scares, given what has happened lately”, she further reprimanded me.
“Sorry” was all I could say.
Let this be further proof for you that you are indeed an idiot.
“Shush it!”
I finally looked Sheeno in the face, and I could see both traces of worry and amusement in her expression.
But what I did shouldn’t have worried her, I just ran out of [MP], a thing that we both knew was a possibility before I had started; yet, I succeeded in my endeavor, so everything should be good, right?
“I understand that you like what you see, but is it normal for [Humans] to stare so shamelessly?” She asked with a teasing smirk and a raised eyebrow.
I immediately reddened, realizing that I never moved my gaze from her visage, even when lost in thought, but that didn’t stop me from looking her in the eyes.
“I wasn’t staring, I was just thinking without paying attention to where I was looking!”
“Of course, of course,” she said in a tone that made it mockingly obvious that she didn't believe me, ”but why don’t we start getting a move on, instead of making up excuses for the remainder of the day? Your sudden nap made us lose a couple of hours already”.
I swung my legs off the cot, checked that I still had everything on my person, and levitated both my staff and bag into my hands while moving towards the door.
“What are you waiting for then?” I asked Sheeno, who only shook her head but still held on to her smile.
We exchanged the local goodbye with the [Guards] at the outpost, and then we were quickly out.
Once in the outside clearing, I made my way to its edges, to have more space to work with, with Sheeno in tow.
When I was sure that we had enough space, and that we were alone, I tried activating my new [Spell].
But all I got was a mental fart, telling me that I was missing something.
“That has never happened before.”
Because this [Spell] needs you to imagine the shape and purpose of the construct before activating it.
“Oh, right. Thanks!”
“What’s the hold-up?” Whispered Sheeno from next to me.
“I didn’t understand how to use the [Spell] properly, let me try again. Also, why are we whispering?” I indeed whispered all of that back to her.
“Well, I know how ‘performance issues’ can be embarrassing for you guys, so I thought-“ she started explaining, but I didn’t give her the time to finish before I delivered my response in the form of a kick to her shin “Ow!”
I went back to try and summon a vehicle, ignoring the pout that Sheeno was sending me.
First of all, I wanted a car, more precisely a Dodge Challenger, because nothing beats muscle cars in aesthetics; second of all, instead of wheels it would have hinged legs, like those of a crab; and lastly, but not least important, the interior will resemble a plush, velvet, sofa, for maximum comfort.
Oh, and yeah, with plated exterior with s self-sustaining [Barrier] for defense, and [Bolt]-launchers in the front for eventual attacks.
The [Spell] this time worked, and I was soon looking at a dark purple Dodge Challenger with pneumatic legs jutting out from where the wheels would normally be, and what looked like rocket launchers where a tricked engine would end up poking out of.
Exactly what I wanted, alas Sheeno wasn’t as enthusiastic.
“And that would be…?” She asked, confused.
“Consider it a ‘tow-less carriage’ that will have an easy time traversing the different terrains of the [Wilds], while giving us the closest approximation to comfort we could ask for in the situation!” I proudly declared.
“If you say so…” yet, she still wasn’t convinced.
“Look, just go to the other side and mirror what I do, ok?” I asked, and I got an affirmative shrug in return.
We opened the side doors and got in, and I was pleased to see the inner black sofa was taller on my side than hers, so we could both easily see through the front windshield; what I did find weird was that it had a yoke instead of a normal steering wheel, but after thinking about it for a second it did make sense, after all, it should be capable of flight, so tri-dimensional controls would be a necessity.
“Ok, I’ll give you that it’s comfy, but the real question is how fast can it go?” Sheeno asked me after finding a comfortable position to lounge in.
“Better buckle up!” I said, putting on the expected seat belt.
While Sheeno fumbled with trying to put on her own, I pressed the button where the key fob would normally be, and the car roared to life.
Which spooked Sheeno, who yelped at the sudden noise.
I was ready to apologize, but she instead surprised me by saying “ooooh, I like how it purrs!”
Amused by her reaction I pushed the vehicle forward, and I found that it was absurdly fast, evident by how we got squished against the backrest by the Gs.
“WOOOOOHOOOOOooo!!!” Shouted Sheeno, while I was focusing like a madman in trying to avoid a collision with anything on our path.
“Merglobth, here we come!” I also shouted once I got more confident in my driving skills.