“I’ll have to admit that it’s impressive, especially considering the short construction time," I say to Alan Carter, who introduced himself as the leader of the Incandescent Fabricators, which is basically the engineering department of the Order.
The stout man, who’s in his thirties, passes a hand through his short cropped black hair and massages his neatly trimmed short beard. “Thank you, I hope the buildings are to your likings.”
It’s only been a day since the Order barged into my backyard, but they already made themselves at home. They constructed fully furnished buildings with the help of their mages and something they call the Electromagical Printer.
To make it simple, it’s a giant 3d printer, which required multiple trips from two helicopters, with a bunch of tools from the Hidden World grafted to it. The device allows them to make pretty much everything they want as long as they have the materials. Sadly, it can’t handle materials that have any self-repairing properties.
Now let’s go back to the buildings: The first one is a three stories housing complex that looks like it was made in the Victorian era, but looks can be deceiving. I didn’t understand the complete explanation, but Alan said that the building was made with a special Magicite-infused concrete coupled with rebar made of a metal with a very long name. The only thing I memorized is that the building should be somewhat resistant to magical attacks.
The second one is a large and similarly styled warehouse along with a row of hangars for the eight helicopters and ten armored Humvees owned by the Order. From what I’ve heard, there are also plans to build walls around the compound.
An interesting detail, the buildings are completely off the grid. The Fabricators printed artifacts to generate electricity and also made their own custom plumbing system.
“Of course, you did a fantastic job. Now we can easily house all our members and our equipment.” I say.
Saying ‘our members' still feels weird to me; I really didn’t expect to become the leader of a cult overnight. But if pretending to be the reincarnation of some mythical figure is what it takes to get my own army then I’ll gladly pay that price.
The Order is currently composed of one hundred and thirty Legionaries, fifty Fabricators, and the other members make sure that everyone is fed and that the organization runs smoothly.
I have no worries of them betraying me since they each took an Oath of Servitude once they arrived, and I ‘tested’ them individually.
One of the accountants also gave me full control of the Order’s finances; they have accounts both on Earth and in Bazaar-based banks. But no matter where the accounts are, each of them easily dwarfs my own fortune, so much that I doubt I can still call it that.
So far, I made no changes in the Cult's finances. I also let the accountants do their things so we keep making profits since I barely understood what they said to me.
I also used the Rewinder to read a bit of their Codex in a second, that way I could pretend that ‘memories suddenly surged into my head’ to increase my credibility as the reincarnation of Prometheus.
The fools bought it without a second thought, even though I only recited the introductory words.
I cross my arms, “All right, now we have the basics down, we can focus on more important matters. First of all, does the Order have any sort of spell jammer?”
Alan furrows his brows, “Our records say that our ancestors tried, but they didn’t achieve anything and the Enforcers almost wiped the Order out when they found out. And we didn’t look into it any further ever since.”
Damn, I was hoping I could avoid going back to that planet again.
I wave my hand, “don’t worry, I was just asking since I’m looking into it myself.”
“I’m sure you’ll succeed, Prometheus," Alan says with a reverent look.
They all blindly believe everything I say; it’s kind of scary… At least Alan isn’t as fanatical as Terrence.
"By the way, did you guys finish cataloging the treasury in the basement?” I ask the leader of the Fabricators, who nods.
“Yes, I can’t believe some of the materials we found in there. We also scanned the enchanted items. I haven't looked over the files myself but my colleagues who did apparently found interesting stuff in there.” Alan says.
I nod, “I see, that’s good to hear. Now, I want to show you something.” I fire a portal next to me and grab Alan’s hand before jumping into the blue portal.
“Amazing, I don’t feel dizzy at all. It may be presumptuous of me, but could I scan your artifact?” he asks with stars in his eyes.
…This pleading puppy expression doesn’t really work on a man who looks like he wrestles bears for fun.
“It’s called a Portal Gun, and I actually planned to have the Fabricators look into it. From what I gathered, costless teleportation isn’t really common. But this thing can do that across any dimension and distances.”
Potentially giving my army a way to freely move both in space and through dimensions might be an invaluable asset.
The Fabricator stays silent for a few seconds, and he looks at the Portal Gun with a newly found reverence. “I…I can hardly believe it. The reincarnation of Prometheus is truly something else…” he mumbles.
I pretend to not hear him; I think he’s too blinded by his faith to see the Portal Gun for what it truly is. The fact that it works is probably due to the five extremely rare purple Magicite crystals. Without them, it would only be a paperweight with a mess of engravings and crude welds all over its surface.
But who knows, maybe someone who actually understands enchanting will be able to improve the design?
“Let’s stop talking about the Portal Gun for now; this isn’t why I brought you here.” I point at the Infusion Altar just behind me.
Twenty minutes later and I explained the situation with Krognar, where the Altar came from and what it could do. I also showed him the pictures I stole from that blacksmith and the photos of the now destroyed Spirit plate.
The middle-aged Fabricator’s mouth was so open that I was almost expecting his jaw to fall off.
“Let me get this straight…” he massages his temples and takes another look at the sword I stole from Hisako that I took out to show him what it could do.
“This Distillery can melt down items into ‘essence’ that somehow represent various concepts and elements. And this Infusion Altar can infuse those essences into items to give them improbable properties?” Alan says.
“Yeah, pretty much.” I declare.
“This is incredible!” Alan shouts. “This is an entirely new field of magic, I can’t even begin to imagine the possibilities! I’ll get a Fabricator on this as soon as possible, I bet we can crack its secrets and make it better!”
“You’re welcome to inspect it as much as you can. Just try to not break it since it might be difficult to replace. I also sent you the pictures, so take a look if you have the time." I inform the Fabricator, who nods. “Now, onto the next point. I’m sure the Legionaries are all equipped with personal shields, right?”
“Of course, we only give what’s best to our soldiers. Being human puts us at a severe disadvantage in the mana department, so we compensate with good artifacts.” The Fabricator looks to be very proud of their shields, so I feel a bit bad about I’m about to do.
“All right, then can we grab one and test it in the backyard?” Alan nods and we meet up a few minutes later at a part of my property arranged into a makeshift shooting range. Our target is a set of relatively thin under armor covering a ballistic gel torso.
“So, is everything ready?” I ask Alan, who nods. “The gel also has been imbued with mana, that way we can simulate an aggressor as accurately as possible.”
Well, let’s see how it reacts…
I point my gun at the gel torso and fire. The bullet goes straight through the barrier and explodes the gel from the inside.
“That’s what I was afraid of… To put it bluntly, your shields aren’t up to standard. Look at me for a second.” I pull back the robe and the armor to expose my stomach and fire a bullet, much to the dismay of the Fabricator.
As usual, the bullet is stopped by the shield and a casing is ejected from the device.
“See?” I point at my Shield Glove, and Alan just wordlessly nods. "I know what you're already thinking, this is a one-off carefully made with exotic materials and that it took weeks to complete, but actually it was relatively easy to make. I’m basically just-“
Ten minutes later and Alan was almost going to take a second Oath of Servitude, but he was stopped by a nearby cultist that pointed out that his soul might explode because of making two Oaths.
Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!
“I’m only thirty-four, but I think my heart might not be able to take any more surprises like that. An artifact with ammunition and disposable parts that can easily be mass-produced is already unheard of. And it can also compete with what the master enchanters can do. If the secrets of this got out, it would radically change the Hidden World as a whole.” The leader of the Incandescent Fabricators says.
I’m sure he’s exaggerating. The Shield Glove is all right, but it isn’t that great in the grand scheme of things. Like Alan said, it can compete with what the masters can do, but only the low tiers one. The real expensive stuff that the Family leaders wear is magnitudes better compared to the device strapped to my arm.
And that’s not even counting heavy shields, which are in a category of their own.
When I think about it, the Shield Glove is actually quite shit, isn't it?
I keep my thoughts for myself since I might cause the poor Alan to have an aneurysm, especially with what I’m about to drop on him.
“By the way, I noticed the bullets you used in your machine guns had some enchantments on them," I say, thus taking the Fabricator out of his trance-like state.
“Yes, otherwise regular bullets might not pack enough of a punch to stop tough foes. They actually trigger a small explosion on impact, it’s quite a complicated set of runes. And it doesn't add that much power, but it still helps… I'm going to get my mind blown again, aren't I? Please wait a second.” he beckons a passing cultist to bring him a chair and he sits down. “I’m sorry to interrupt you, Great Prometheus, but please be understanding of this lowly Fabricator.”
I almost want to chuckle, but I keep calm and pull an EGB out of a magazine. “You see, this thing was pretty effective against the gel, wasn’t it?” Alan nods, so I continue, “To put it simply, this is what I call an Exploding Growth Bullet, or EGB for short. It's quite simple but deadly. The contact rune feeds off the mana naturally present in a person's body and uses it to power the growth rune. This, as you may imagine, causes a lot of internal damage on its own. But the pieces of metal are also made to fragment and explode after they reach a certain size, thus propagating the metal even further into the body, and-”
Shit, I think Alan fainted.
I snap my fingers a few times but he doesn’t react, so I grab a bullet from the Shield Glove and press it against the robe, thus making me look like a one-man rave festival.
This takes him back to reality and also causes some nearby cultists to prostrate on the spot.
I dismiss the cultists who hurry back to whatever they were doing before and focus on the Fabricator whose eyes look like they are ready to pop out of their sockets.
“Pardon my language, but holy fuck. You aren't Prometheus for nothing," he says after wiping his forehead. "I don't think I can take this anymore. Do you mind if I scan your artifacts before I pass out? This will make us a force to not be trifled with, and we’ll easily tear through anyone who dares to oppose your Crusade."
I would like it if it didn’t sound so fanatical, but he’s a literal cultist so I guess I can’t really complain. The Fabricator pulls out what looks like a-
No, it’s totally a barcode scanner. Granted, it has runes and circuit boards grafted onto its plastic shell, but it’s fundamentally a barcode scanner.
“You might also want to scan my Field Pistol, it can greatly increase the velocity of the bullets it fires, I don’t have exact numbers but it’s enough to leave a trail of fire behind the bullet," I say to the Fabricator, who wordlessly nods and quickly go over my artifacts with his scanner.
For crying out loud, it even beeps when it’s done!
“By the way, I almost forgot with all of this, do I have the permission to scan the devices made by that greedy Goblin? I can’t make any promise, but we might be able to reverse-engineer it.” Alan asks after going over the last of my items.
“Of course, but that makes me think about something… If your scanner can make digital copies of whatever you scan, why didn’t you replicate Promet- my robes.”
“Our scanner isn’t omnipotent; it can’t read anything that’s smaller than a certain size. We tried to scan the Robes each time we improved it, but they appear like regular cloth in the files. Not to mention we’ll also need the materials, and I doubt we would be able to acquire them easily. In fact, we still haven't been able to identify what they are made of.” Alan answers before getting up. “May I bid you farewell, Great Prometheus? Or do you need anything else from this Fabricator?”
I shake my head, “No, it’ll be fine for now. I expect great things from the Incandescent Fabricators so go and amaze me!”
“I don’t know if it’s possible, but we’ll try our best!” Alan waves at me before rushing towards the massive warehouse that also houses his workshop.
I didn’t show him the MH Shells since I ran out, but I think it’s for the best. I might’ve killed him with that one.
The Fabricators will be very busy in the upcoming days, so now I need to decide what I need to do next. On one hand, I could resume my exploration of that planet. But on the other hand, I could get more information on the shards. I should also think about making something that would allow me to easily trigger the light show that my robes can provide.
That last doesn’t sound too hard, I could probably make something in an hour or two.
I head towards the giant warehouse where the Electromagical Printer is housed. I then ask the Fabricator operating it to print me an electric motor, and an AR15 receiver with certain parts cut off. The cultist obeys and whips up the parts I need in an instant, so I thank him and teleport into my own workshop.
This shouldn’t be too hard…
One hour later and I glance at the finished product: A gutted and modified AR15 receiver hooked to an electric motor, which is itself wired to a small switch hidden near my Glove. The whole apparatus is pretty simple: It presses a Magicite bullet onto the robe, then cycles it once the crystal fizzles out. I’ve done some tests, and the Magicite I’m currently using last about fifteen seconds, so the switch act as a sort of a toggle that continues to feed ammo into the robes until it’s pressed again.
And, as usual, the artifact adheres to my strict standard of quality… It’s tied to my Glove with zip ties.
Of course, this is a massive bluff since I don't actually have any mana. But I bet people who are faced with someone who exudes so much power will think twice before attacking. It’s also necessary to maintain the whole Prometheus masquerade, and I can just hope that they never ask to see one of my ‘fearsome spells’.
I also have my doubts about the strength of these robes. They are indeed strong since they stopped my bullets, but my recent encounters proved that it isn't hard to achieve. If they were as strong as Terrence described, then the Enforcers would have already stolen them.
But let’s stop thinking about the potential future, if it comes to it then I should be able to Rewind my way out of this.
Now let’s focus on the immediate future, and that means either going back to Krognar or back to Hisako’s planet. I’m certain that the Goblin has some information about the Shards and the Underworld, but I just hope he doesn’t ask for a favor again.
I wonder if I could force his hand with a show of force.
I shrug; it won’t hurt to try it. And if it doesn’t work then I’ll just Rewind.
That’s it, I’ve decided. I’ll go to Krognar first then I'll inform Terrence of my plans and give him the information I collected. That way he’ll be able to make a strategy for invading a Shard while I’m exploring that backward planet.
Now, where is it…
I grab the ancient looking phone hanging on my belt; it looks just like a Nokia 3310. Terrence gave it to me after the Fabricators arrived. Apparently, it's their own version of an Interdimensional Phone. It can only act as a basic phone, but what makes it special is that it uses its own encryption protocol so nobody can intercept our communications.
“Yes Prometheus, what can this one for you?” Terrence immediately answers. I still have trouble with these people calling me Prometheus, but I don’t think I have a choice other than getting used to it.
“I’m going to the Underworld to collect some information, but don't hesitate to call me if something happens," I say.
“The Underworld is full of scum. I have no doubt that you'll be able to handle anything you might encounter there, but would you mind taking a few Legionaries with you?” the Commander asks.
Bringing soldiers with me might be helpful since it will make it easier to strong-arm the Goblin, or at least make the information cheaper.
“All right, then I think two should be sufficient," I answer the Commander. Someone knocks on my door barely a minute later. I open the door, revealing two cultists who look to be about my age. They wear a thin black cuirass over their robes and the same style of armor over their shins and forearms.
“Prometheus, it’s an honor to accompany you.” They say while lowering their head. I’ll admit that having people bow their head to me still feels weird.
“All right, let’s get on with it. Both of you grab my hand.” I activate my armor and extend my hand before sinking into the portal at my feet.
“Incredible… we entered another dimension just like that.” one of the Legionaries mutters. I’m glad that my helmet hides my smirk.
Yeah, bask upon the glory of the Portal Gun!
I refrain from chuckling and enter the run-down shop.
“Greetings! How may I- Boy, it’s you! I honestly thought you were dead, so-”
“How dare you! To disrespect the Great Prometheus like that is-” one of the enraged cultist shouts but I raise my hand to interrupt him. The whole cult idea is nice since they don’t disobey my orders, but the religious fanaticism may be a source of problems in the future. Especially since I might be forced to play along if I don't want them to doubt my leadership. I know they made an Oath of Servitude but these guys are insane enough that they might kill themselves out of spite.
“Its fine, its fine…” I glance towards the Goblin, and he looks at me with narrowed eyes. “Don’t worry about our current business, I’m handling it personally and I'm holding my end of the bargain."
Now it’s time to go full rave mode.
I activate the device strapped to my Glove and illuminate the shop. “So I trust you will keep your word. The information you owe me should be worth all this trouble, right?”
Krognar, who almost fell off his chair when I activated my robes, looks at me with fear. He glances at the Legionaries, who are glaring at him with narrowed eyes, before focusing back on me and furiously nodding.
YeS, sHoW thAt sCaMmeR hoW thiNgs aRe DoNe!
Long time no see, murderous voice. At least it’s reassuring that it also cares about my financial stability.
“You see, I have a need for information. It's unrelated to our previous business but it's still quite important to me. I trust that you can give it to me without requiring any favors or too much money, yes?” I say while trying to sound as imposing as I can.
As it turns out, being covered in golden flames is a pretty good negotiation tactic since the Goblin agrees without even hearing my request. “All right, so tell me everything you know about Shards, how to locate them and how to get to them. I also need information about the major players in the area and the Shards they have.”
Almost two hours pass before I leave the Goblin’s shop. My head is still swirling with the massive amount of information he told me, but I can remember it more or less perfectly.
I grab my phone and Rewind to before I decided to go to the Underworld, that way I’m certain that threatening the Goblin isn’t going to bite me in the ass later. It’ll also allow me to threaten him again in the future if I need information.
Maybe I could've forced the information about spell jammers out of him, but I think he'd rather die than give it to me. Furthermore, the materials he asked for must be needed in some way. Otherwise, he would have just asked for a ton of Credits.
I sit down and start my laptop before opening an empty text file. The information I got from the Goblin is still fresh in my mind, so I need to put it into writing as soon as possible.
“And I’m finally done!” I shout as I save the massive text file that almost took me three hours to write. “Now I just need to give this to Terrence and wait for -”
The phone on my belt rings, and a familiar tune echoes.
Is the ringtone seriously the Ride of the Valkyries?
I look at the displayed name before answering the blocky phone. "Yes, Terrence, what is it?"
“I’m sorry to bother you, Great Prometheus, but we ran into a problem. We captured three people, a man, and two women, who were driving towards your property. Our Legionaries were about to shoot them down, but then letters of fire appeared in the sky. Apparently, those people are running away from the Enforcers, and they seek your protection. What should we do with them?” the Commander asks.
I think they aren’t mercenaries since Terrence would have probably taken care of them by now. So I’ll check them out. I voice my choice to the Commander, who says that the fugitives will be transferred to a specially constructed building.
And who knows, maybe I’ll be able to add them to my army?