Chapter 18: Apprenticeship (Part 6), The craft, Mural
The professor brought me back into the workshop before opening a crate to the side of the work table and selecting some materials stored in containers to the back of the room
"we will start with water shock before moving on to the anticoagulant and wind blessing enchantments"
pulling a pair of many layered spectacles from a drawer beneath the workstation he adjusted it to the third lens on his left eye
he pulled out five tools a hammer, a chisel, a file , a large syringe, and some sort of scraping tool.
"hammer , chisel, file, injector, and powder hook"
he spoke pointing at each tool
"I will be teaching you the inlay method it works for both carving and stamping"
with practiced hands he took out a crystalline blue metal like substance melting it in some sort of cup that was raised up form a hidden compartment inside the table.
"there are some extra steps involved, and some consider it to be more difficult because of the attention to detail it requires, all of your channels need to maintain the exact same depth, you can either use advanced tools or a greater degree of care to achieve this"
The professor took a gyroscope with a mounted spike and a drill out of the crate drilling a small hole in the side if the bullet and mounting it on the protrusion
"this is called a third dimensional vice, its a specialized tool for carving on spherical or very smal round objects, it clamps down from the inside in order to keep as much of the surface area exposed as possible it allows for vertical and horizontal adjustment"
the rings on the were wire thin but incredibly sturdy, a burly man using is full strength would be unable to bend them
taking a needle like chisel the professor began to hammer chisel into the metal with light even taps his wrist only tilting a few degrees each time
soon curved lines and nodes began to appear on the pullet eventually taking the shape of an array that only took up half of the bullets area.
"Ignition type trigger on the back right"
"yes"
all of the bullet based spell formations consisted of two arrays a minor array to contain the spell and a major array to activate the spell one second after it was exposed to flame the major array consisted of five runes: Resonance, Vibration, Water sensing, Water trigger, Inert stage, and destabilization runes
This formation was unable to activate because no power would be supplied to it without the trigger rune directing energy and activating the magic crystal
This is only possible because of gunpowder's identity as a chemical compound because of the system the materials from my world were all perfect insulators for mana but gunpowder created a flame, flame was a massive attractant to the immaterial fire elementium, mana was a strange thing after all while immaterial it could still be repelled by certain substances and forces, but the presence of flame would be enticing enough to cause fire elementium in the area.
this fire elementium would be gathered by the array, which was like a fisherman waiting with a net unfurled
the energy would be a small amount, far from enough to power a spell, so the energy would then be directed to the inert magic crystal, triggering it and supplying the rest of the formation with water elementium
the magic crystal would be impeded inside the crystal and surrounded by mana conductive material
"let me see here"
the professor pulled the bullet off of the vice before drilling a hole through the front. he then scraped away any metal fragments from either side and plugged the back hole with a rubber cork
he then pulled out a radiant blue gem and a strange colored metallic mortar and pestle
I could guess his intentions and my hair stood on end
"Is int that a bit too dangerous"
he snorted
"this is an anti magic alloy mortar and pestle. Anything else would get us both killed, this will prevent the mana gem from erupting while I crush it and make sure that the energy stays inside the crystal"
He spoke while the tool in his hand caused the sound of crunching class fill the room
by the time he had finished the mana gem had turned into mana powder which he poured into the melted ore.
"this is the hardest part of the process while also the easiest, its all about timing/"
"on curved or spherical objects like this the filling needs to be inlaid with careful timing, any material spillage results in a loss of efficiency and an increased chance of failure, you need to make sure that the material doesn't dry too quickly either otherwise you risk the possibility that the array will be broken into several parts and will need to be patched"
after about ten minutes of careful tracing the array on the front side was done ,the professor flipped the bullet over and removed the plug before inserting some wood shavings into the space sealing it with a layer of the leftover aqua ore concoction only a fingernail thick
"done"
"don't you need to draw an array on the back to activate the formation"
"Blood, there is a simple solution to almost any problem, the formation only needs a delayed trigger and that is exactly what I made"
The system has analyzed the material as blazewood a common plant type material that gathers abundant fire energy in its surroundings before unleashing it in a burst of flame and fire elementium. Blaze wood is typically inert unless disturbed by a sudden influx of fire elementium in the surrounding area
"Blaze wood maybe?, is the aqua ore supposed to insulate it from energy below a certain amount "
I spoke using the information from surly to connect the dots
"exactly as an enchanter you need to find clever workarounds to problems plenty of materials, since you have blood as part of your adventurer Identification I assume you have some familiarity with hemomancy"
"Yes, I'm a Blood rouge"
"then you should know how bloodline abilities are an acceptable substitute for spells, yes"
"of course"
"It's the same thing here, in enchanting the most important thing is the materials, and finding new ways to use them, things like spell batteries, arrays, formations, and even spell affect are secondary, the material is what makes the magic Item"
I brought the press out of the spacial ring the professor raised an eyeball
"spatial artifacts are rare, who made it"
"no Idea I found it in a mole rat nest, at first I thought it was just a copper band until I saw the etchings"
the professor held out his hand "let me take a look"
He looked at the ring for several minuets with a furrowed brow while staring at the letters
"it appears to be an ancient language likely from an ancient civilization with a high standard of quality and craftsmanship the etchings are likely some high density enchantment invisible to the naked eye"
The etchings on the ring were in English they read "made in china" as such I was trying very hard to keep a straight face and avoid laughing
"is something wrong blood"
"no, no, it's uh... , it's nothing"
The professor changed the subject
"now I want you to try blood let's start with carving"
at the workbench I started with a hammer a needle like chisel and a stone slate
"right now I just want you to get used to a hammer and chisel and improve your control, your first project is too ambitious for the present you"
I took the chisel in an ice-pick grip and was about to begin before the professor stopped me by placing his hands over mine
he pried my hand away before adjusting the angle of my wrist and placement of my fingers
"this will afford you better control, as an enchanter you must distinguish tools from weapons, are you holding a dagger or a chisel"
his tone was warm and paternal no hostility or frustration was present even if the words themselves could be construed as offensive his tone and manner of speech made that impossible, he had a unique sort of charisma about him
"Hold it with a light touch while maintaining a firm grip, feel the material through the chisel, find out what it wants to be"
setting down the hammer I traced the wood with my fingers getting a feel for the wood before taking up my tools again.
taking the hammer and striking the wood I unconsciously activated my mystic eyes in the midst of concentration
Ding system would like to propose an experiment
I felt a bit spontaneous and asked the system with my thoughts
'what experiment'
Ding the system believes this is an opportunity to enhance the mystic eyes
Hours passed and a plaque began to take shape half carving and half mural the wood told a story about a sailor lost at sea
He first encountered a fierce storm and was thrown into a whirlpool that took him to the sea bottom
the bottom of the sea was fraught with horrors, he was haunted by the souls of dead deckhands and captains from different ships, until one dragged him from the ocean, a young first mate.
Like the sailor the first mate was struck with tragedy and forced to the oceans bottom unable to escape on his own.
Unsure of whether or not it was a dream or a hallucination the sailor joined the deckhand and swam to the surface
They both found refuge on a broken plank so that they might rest the sailor woke up clinging to the piece of shipwreck and came to his senses soon after and the ghost was still there still offering guidance
the two of them went on a journey, encountering sharks and other fierce creatures in the ocean but arm in arm they continued until reaching the shore of a nearby island
on the island was an old hermit, he showed due hospitality and offered them shelter from the ocean, not showing any fear nor curiosity toward the ghost.
The Sailor and the ghost with him stayed only an night before continuing off into the ocean, the waves hiding them as the swam onward in search of something.
My trance was broken by the professor, my eyes returned to their normal color from the deep vibrant shade of red and purple that had once occupied them
"Those, Mystic eyes of death perception, and this carving not only have you communed with the dead, you've managed to peer beyond the veil as well"
"I don't know what you're talking about"
I replied
"you're like me, you've been involved in things you shouldn't have, I recommend you find glasses with tinted lenses, no shortage of people would kill for those eyes"
he turned to the plaque while pointing
"you connected with the wood, don't do this in the future, if anyone finds this it can be used against you"
He quickly took the plaque and threw it into the fireplace to the back of the room burning it to ash
" I don't know your history, but anyone who has had contact with the barrier of death and isn't a healer is sure to have secrets, but that's you're business so I will let the matter rest"
"if you ever experience another trance like this destroy the item immediately, these items often contain a sliver of your true consciousness. With the right spell someone can expose your secrets or even control you using the object as a medium"
Try carving on this
the man took out another wood plaque of with the array stained onto it
When I started carving I the tools felt natural, like an extension of my hand and senses my eyes began to activate and I felt like I was able to actually bend the lines to impose over the array as if by some instinct I traced the lines and dragged them over the array with the edge of my chisel before sealing them in with melted conductive material
the professors eyes were practically bulging out of their sockets
he started muttering to himself at a rapid pace only a few of the words could be caught
"Theycanactuallybeuesd,,,perfection....death...sealed....enchantment...mana....noleakage"
The professor grabbed me by the shoulders with an almost feverish look in his eyes, it scared the crap out of me
"inlay next, then mana batteries"
The professor took a moment before collecting himself, he cleared his throat
"those eyes can see the imperfection present in all things and can even imprison it, but they are sure to have limits"
it sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than he was attempting to lecture me
"you have a talent that would go to waste if you didn't continue down this path, from now on you will be living here, this is not up for discussion"
"while the objects created in a trance are a potential vulnerability, the trance itself provides a huge benefit in the early stages of your career, it enhances your connection with and understanding of the craft, tolls are easier to use and your movements become more precise"
"but most importantly this proves that you have talent, for now get some rest, the faster you get to sleep the grater effect that the enlightenment gained from the trance will have on you"
the professor guided me to the kitchen, then making me some herb tea and forcing me to drink it, afterwards he guided me to a bed where I fell into a deep slumber.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone