Ryan groaned loudly, stretching his fingers. They were feeling a bit tense after building all of these models all day. Since Maximus had reached level 10, and his growth would slow down considerably with that, and that meant that it was probably a bit harder for Ryan to level up as well. He was going to still keep at it in the dungeon, since collecting points for the gift shop wasn't a bad idea either, but once Ryan got the quest from Gregor, that became a secondary concern.
Not only would it be much faster for Ryan to level up by completing this quest, then build Gregor's body, and then help Gregor level up for a while, but it just felt like the right thing to do in general. Since this quest would help Gregor wake up, completing it as quickly as possible was the obvious choice. Plus, since Gregor was an Artillerist, he would be able to help out in combat and make collecting points much faster.
So, Ryan had built models of cars, tanks, planes, and was currently working on a train engine. Of course, he had gotten a lot more used to these now, and his intuition was doing a pretty good job at guiding him along the way, helping him figure out the parts that he didn't really understand. Even so, these models were a lot more annoying than the plastic models he was used to. His skin got pinched between metal bits, he was covered in grease, and he even cut himself on a sharp edge earlier.
Ryan clicked the last pieces into place, and quickly tried turning the train engine on. It rumbled quietly, and at the same time, some system messages appeared in front of Ryan's eyes.
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[You have completed the Quest -Gregor's Machinations-]
[Gregor has recovered his sense of self and has awoken]
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Without a moment's hesitation, Ryan pulled Gregor's spirit core out of the space between the domains, holding the stone between his fingers. It was giving off a soft glow now, and Ryan could tell that the spirit was actually there.
"Gregor, I don't know if you have a grasp of the situation here, but please. I'm here to help you, so-" Before Ryan was even able to finish his short speech that he had prepared in advance for this moment, some more messages appeared in front of his eyes.
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[You have become the keeper of the Artillerist Spirit Gregor]
[The Temporary Domain has become a true Domain]
[The -Spirit Domain- skill has levelled up]
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At that moment, a new space formed inside of Ryan's mind. It was just as large as Maximus and Gaia's domains. Filled with old tools and gadgets, steel and brass and copper, a small workshop appeared. Dust was floating through the air, and a sense that Ryan already had with the other two domains was just strengthened.
Particularly with Maximus' domain, he felt like there was more to this space than it just being something that fit the knight's personality. Of course, he wasn't particularly indulgent, and was diligent in his training, but that small, bare hut and training area didn't seem to fit him quite perfectly. Rather than that, it seemed to have just been the reality of things.
It seemed like the domains were snapshots of spaces that the spirits were connected to, rather than simply accommodating them. That was extremely obvious with Gregor's domain. It truly felt like a space that had been in use, and just had to be left at a moment's notice.
"Thanks for trusting me, Gregor," Ryan said with a smile, running his fingers over the core for a few moments before putting it down on his desk. He picked up the model train and placed it onto the ground with the others, before holding his hand out toward the empty area on his desk. From his fingertips, metal tubes, or pipes, made of mana flowed out from his skin. They came together, forming a cardboard box. Though, it was a little different to Gaia and Maximus' boxes; it looked more like a mixture of the ones Ryan was used to and the boxes that these mechanical models came in.
As he peaked inside, instead of just the frames that he was expecting, he saw a mixture of both types of models as well. There were frames holding wooden plates that were most likely Gregor's outer shell, or rather, his 'skin'. But there were also tiny screws, cogs, pipes, and any of the other parts that Ryan had gotten somewhat used to now. There were even bottles containing oil.
Gregor was a robot; an automaton. He was made mostly of metal, at least his interior. Somehow, though, he was covered in wood as outer plating. Different to Maximus, who was represented just with his armour, it seemed like Gregor would still need to be built up from the bottom using the same method that the mechanical models needed to be built.
"Well, alright, let's get this started," Ryan said, quickly pulling everything out of the cardboard box. Just as before, the box quickly fell apart into mana again, and Ryan could get started with the process of building Gregor's body.
At this point, he should be able to finish this in just two or three activations of the Spirit Construction skill.
With the first activation of the skill, Ryan started quickly taking the metal parts from the frames, already pressing some together that seemed rather obvious. Rather, he was able to get all the outer parts completely ready, as far as they could be put together. There would probably be some larger gaps between each of the wooden plates, showing the mechanical interior beyond them, so those plates would be attached to things that Ryan had yet to build.
When it came to those internal pieces, though, Ryan had a bit of a tougher time. For the other model kits, he at least had some instructional manuals to work with, or he could cross-reference actual cars or planes. But he couldn't do that with Gregor.
"Or... can I?" Ryan muttered, quickly pulling out his phone and dialling Modak's number. The call connected quickly.
"'Sup?" the orc said, trying to suppress a groan. Ryan didn't know what he was dealing with, but he did know that Modak was spending a lot of time at the magic tower. He was getting paid for this work, after all, and on top of this being a passion project for him, it made sense.
"I don't want to drag you away from your work or anything, but I told you about Gregor, right?"
"Uh, yeah, you did. Is something up with him?" Modak asked, a bit confused, but Ryan quickly explained.
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"Okay, so, I finished the quest he gave me and became his proper keeper, and now I'm building his model. But instead of being like Maximus or Gaia, he's like those mechanical models I was putting together for his quest," he pointed out, "But since the spirits' kits don't come with instructions, I'm kind of having a tough time. Do you think you can come over and help out?"
The other side of the phone call was quiet for a little while, but soon, Modak responded, "I'm not sure if today is going to work out, man, I'm sorry. I've got a ton of tests scheduled here, and I'm getting help from a researcher that doesn't really have a ton of time, so..."
"Oh, no, that's fine! I can probably figure it out somehow alone, I just figured it'd be faster if I got your help."
"Yeah... I'm sorry about that. If it can't wait until tomorrow, try calling someone from the robotics club. One of them might be able to help out," Modak suggested, and Ryan thought about it for a while.
"Hm... I guess so. I guess I'll give Richie a call or something."
"Ah, sure, but he's apparently started working at his job already, so I don't know if he'll have time. It's still worth a try, though."
Ryan thought about it for a moment and then inwardly sighed, "Yeah, we'll see. Otherwise I just gotta figure something else out."
"There's also Vanda. I know you're probably feeling a bit iffy about her still, but she does know her stuff."
"... I'll call Richie and then we'll see."
"Right, good idea," the orc was clearly distracted as he responded, "Sorry, I've got to go. I'll drop by tomorrow if things go well on my end today. Good luck!"
"Thanks, you too! Tell me about how-"
Before Ryan could finish his sentence, Modak had already hung up. It stung a little, though it was obvious that Modak was really just busy, so Ryan tried not to take it to heart. Instead, he just scrolled through his contact list and decided to call Richie right away.
The phone rang a few times, and then, the gnome answered, "Richard Snappertie. Yes?"
"Yo, Richie, it's Ryan. I just-"
"Please call me Richard. What can I do for you, Ryan?" the gnome on the other side of the phone pointed out. Taken a bit aback by his tone, Ryan hesitated for a few moments. But he also knew how stressful a fulltime job could be, so he tried not to think about it too much, even if he had a weird feeling about this.
"Right, sorry. Richard. Anyway, I've contracted another spirit, and I told you about how I built Maximus, right? So, this one is basically a robot, and I don't really get how to put all the parts together, so I was wondering if you'd want to come over and help me out a bit," Ryan quickly explained, hoping that Richard wasn't all too stressed. Though, he wasn't particularly hopeful.
Richard let out a long, deep sigh, "I'm sorry, but I don't have time to play around with you right now. Would that be all?"
"Huh?"
Confused, Ryan stared at his phone. What was Richard's deal all of a sudden? Ryan sat up straight, and quickly responded, "I'm not playing around here, but you know your stuff so I figured-"
Once again, Ryan was cut off by the sound of a call disconnecting.
"What the fuck?" he let out, his finger hovering over the 'redial' button. But really, his instincts were telling him not to anymore. Something was off about Richard just now, he just felt... so different. Of course, Ryan didn't know him super well, and it had been a while since they spoke, but he still figured they were on better terms. Then again, it wasn't as though Ryan was never rude to people just because he was in a bad mood... so he excused it for now.
"I guess I'll have to just rely on my intuition..." Ryan sighed, as he was just about to put his phone away. He hesitated for a little bit, staring at the pile of parts in front of him. And then, he just let out a loud groan, deciding to follow Modak's advice.
It took a few moments to connect, but soon, the voice of a young woman sounded out on the other side, "Uh, hey? Ryan, everything okay?" Vanda asked hesitantly.
Similarly, Ryan wasn't sure what to say, but it was too late now, "Vanda, uh, sorry for calling out of nowhere. And feel totally free to turn me down, but I was wondering if you could do me a favour."
"... Depends on the favour, I guess?" the hobgoblin replied, clearly confused.
"So... I explained how my class and skills work, right? Like, how I build the spirits' bodies and stuff. I just contracted with one whose body is basically like a robot, and I'm struggling a little. Would you have time to come over today and help me out a bit?"
Vanda was silent for a while, and Ryan honestly expected he was about to hear the sound of another call disconnecting, but then he instead heard some rather surprising words.
"... Sure, I guess? I don't have anything to do right now. Uh, should I come to your place, then?"
A bit taken aback, Ryan scrambled to gather the words and reply, "Yeah, that would be great! Just text me your address, I'll send a car for you."
"You'll send a car for me? What are you, rich?" Vanda scoffed, and Ryan stayed silent for a few moments, before the stunned hobgoblin continued, "Wait, are you rich?"
"Well... I'm not... not rich? It's complicated, but I'll just send someone to pick you up. Oh, but don't be surprised, the driver is deaf and mute, so don't be concerned when she doesn't respond to you."
"... Okay? I'll send you my address in a bit. So... see you later?"
"Sure, great! See you later!" Ryan responded, hanging up. He already let out a loud groan, burying his face in his hands because of how awkward that conversation was. But still, he quickly texted Yamada, asking her if she could pick someone up, and then forwarded the address that Vanda just texted her, and Yamada quickly replied that she would head out immediately.
Taking a deep breath, Ryan got up from his chair. He pulled Gregor's core into his domain for now, so that he wouldn't just be laying on the desk all alone, and then walked out of his room to get himself something to eat.
Though, as he was eating some leftovers, Runar came in through the door leading down to the café, quickly looking for Ryan, "So, why did you just send out Yamada to pick up a friend of yours?"
"I mean... I wouldn't call Vanda a friend, necessarily..."
"Vanda? The girl that was tricked to use Gaia's core fragment for her robot thingy?"
"Yup."
"So why are you trying to hang out with her? Are you two a thing or something?" Runar asked, and Ryan raised his brows and immediately shook his head.
"What? No, I don't really care about dating or whatever, like, in general," with a long sigh, Ryan rubbed the bridge of his nose. He didn't particularly feel like having that conversation right now, "I completed Gregor's quest earlier and became his keeper, but his model is more like the mechanical ones that I bought. So super detailed and pretty 'realistic', all things considered. But since I don't really understand how a robot's body works, and because Modak is busy at the tower, I called Vanda for help."
Runar looked at Ryan for a few moments, and then shrugged, "Okay, well... just say that next time."
"Yeah, sorry about that."
"So you've already got another spirit with you, huh? I thought you'd become Jester's keeper first," Runar pointed out.
"Tell me about it... I feel like he just wants me to get beaten up or something," running his hand through his hair annoyed, Ryan simply groaned.
"Hm, maybe. Some spirits have pretty unique tastes."
"... Runar, I would prefer not to get beaten up."
"We'll figure something out," Runar replied, turning around to get back to the café. Though, he stopped before he left the kitchen, "Oh, and by the way, I'd wash my hands before touching my hair and face after working on those models."
Ryan narrowed his eyes and picked up his phone. He pulled up his camera, and immediately saw his face covered in some oil that was still stuck to his hands.
"... Fuck."