Bab 201: 199: A Company of Fools: Anniversary Preparations II
We followed the Pharaoh deeper into the vault. After walking for what felt like half an hour, we came to a large ziggurat structure. Turak'Kahn led us up the steps of the ziggurat, which was no small climb. By the time we reached the top, I was already winded and gasping for breath.
"Here we are! The star of Ammuhnset!" Turak'Kahn proclaimed proudly.
I took a couple of deep breaths before I looked up. The top of the ziggurat was flat about five hundred feet long and wide. In the center of it stood a lone pedestal that had a slab of crystal floating several inches above it. Inside the crystal was the necklace.
To say that the diamond in the center was a big diamond was doing the thing an injustice. I had never seen one so big. It looked to be half the size of my head. The jewel was set inside a solver and Jade pendant that had its own intrinsic design that was on par with the diamonds overpowering elegance.
"How the hell does anyone wear something like that? The strain on their neck alone…" I exclaimed.
"Viola does exercises for her neck and back to strengthen them to support the Star of Ammuhnset on a daily basis. It's one of the duties of the queen." Turak'Kahn said.
'It's ridiculous that neck exercises are considered duties of a queen…that rock is way too damn big!' I thought.
Turak'Kahn walked over to the pedestal and reached into the crystal slab. His hand moved through it as if reaching into water and pulled out the star of Ammuhnset. The moment the star touched the air, Turak'Kahn had to use both hands to support the Star as he carried it over to me to examine.
"The slab is enchanted to that only a member of the royal family can take the star." Turak'Kahn explained.
I nodded and channeled crystallize attribute mana into my foot. A column of crystal shoot up from the ground in front of me and stopped at waist height. Controlling the flow of my mana I managed to create a flat surface on the column and turn it onto a nice sized table. I motioned for Turak'Kahn to set the star down on the crystal table. Turak'Kahn quickly and happily set the star down and I quickly went to work identifying the the best way to start the enchanting process.
As intricate as the design of the star was it was I could work around the design and make it so that I etch runes into it without ruining the overall flow of the design. It was almost as if the star was made to be enchanted at a later date. The gem itself was almost mesmerizing, not a flaw to be found in the cut of the jewel. Not that I was an expert and knew what to look for but it was nonetheless flawless.
"I can enchant it…however it's going to take a while…" I told Turak'Kahn without looking up from the star. "Crystal Genesis is a very intricate axiom spell. It has more than five hundred runes inside the spell sigil and two spell sigils at that."
"I figured as much. Will Viola be able to cast the spell from the star once you finish?" Turak'Kahn asked. I shrugged.
"That'll depend on her Mana capacity. Casting the spell the traditional way costs seventy-five percent of all my mana. That's more than double Jane's total capacity. While casting spells from enchanted items decreases the cost by at least half that is still a lot of mana. I'm not even sure if Bo will be able to cast the spell from an enchanted item and his capacity is half mine." I explained.
"I understand. My wife has considerable mana. Her capacity is more than mine. Enchant it. I'm sure my wife can cast it." Turak'Kahn said.
I nodded then channeled mana into my void pocket enchanted ring and pulled out my enchanting tools. Setting my tools beside the star I opened the small bundle and picked up a pencil. I started drawing the runes onto the star first as once I started etching there would be no room for a mistake. There were over five hundred runes too so I needed to be precise and decisive with my etching.
"By the way Chase, we never talked about your compensation…" Turak'Kahn said suddenly. I arched a brow without looking up from my work.
"I know…" I replied then took a step back from the star to get a broader look at my work. "…I was thinking I could make this a freebie since you're Jane's dad and all."
Turak'Kahn and Jurirai both looked at each other in astonishment before turning their attention back to me.
"You were seriously thinking of enchanting a priceless piece of jewelry with a spell that's been forgotten since the ancient times for free?!" Jurirai exclaimed. I froze and looked up at Jurirai and Turak'Kahn.
'Crap….did I offend the Pharaoh somehow?' I asked myself.
"Yes…..?" I replied assuredly. Turak'Kahn threw his head back and laughed so loudly it echoed through the cavernous expanse of the vault.
"By the gods you're hilarious Chase Kingston!" He proclaimed. "I know many a splicer in my court that would charge an ungodly sum for such or service or demand Jane's hand in marriage, assuring themselves as the next Pharaoh."
I curled my lip up at that comment and shook my head.
"Overpricing my goods like that is a good way to end up out of business or worse. As long as they stay affordable enough that nobles and competent splicers are able to afford them then I will always have a constant stream of customers and revenue. Once I start raising prices so that I can make more money, I'm doomed. A wide variety of clients means a large number of splicers from multiple countries that have a avid interest in keeping me safe. That means no one country can think about kidnapping me to force me to make enchanted items for them without the other countries getting pissed. So by keeping my prices on the cheaper side I'm protecting myself." I explained.
"Rather roundabout way of getting protection. Pledging yourself to a country would be an easier route." Jurirai said. I nodded and went back to work on the star.
"Yes, it would, but at the same time, I would be giving up a lot of my freedom. Since pledging to one singular country would mean that I am now obligated to make enchanted items solely for that country. I lose revenue and make enemies out of every other country because now they all want me dead to keep the country I pledged to from getting too strong." I said.
"I see you've given this a lot of thought." Turak'Kahn said. I nodded and sighed.
"That befriend everyone tactic is the same one the United States uses to keep a bunch of countries off from attacking it. It's why they sell evos to so many countries. While each techno-splicing company is independent, they are heavily regulated by the government. All for the protection of the country." I said. I sighed and stopped working, looking up from the star to look Turak'Kahn in the eyes. "As strong as everyone says, I and my evos are I'm not delusional enough to think that I can go head to head against entire countries and win. All that thinking will do is get myself and everyone around me killed. No, I can't afford to be greedy and think about the money, I have the lives of too many people riding on me now…I have to be diplomatic in my own way."
I looked back to the star and continued working, letting the silence hang in the air for a few moments. Turak'Kahn shared a few glances at Jurirai, but no words were said between them.
"You truly are an extraordinary young man…Chase Kingston." Turak'Kahn said finally. I shook my head.
"Not really….just a little weird in all the right ways." I replied.
***
"…Annnnnnnnnnd DONE!" I proclaimed proudly as I hoisted the newly enchanted Star of Ammuhnset into the air. Turak'Kahn and Jurirai jolted awake from their spots on the floor of ziggurat. Turak'Kahn was drooling slightly and still half asleep while Jurirai looked alert and battle ready.
"You finished it?" Jurirai asked as he stood and smoothed his hair in place.
"Yep! Took forever, but it's complete!" I replied. Turak'Kahn stood up and walked over to me, looking more awake now. He wiped his eyes, yawned, and then looked at the star.
"Amazing…does it work?" Turak'Kahn asked.
"I copied the spells perfectly onto the star. It should work, provided the splicer has enough mana to cast it." I said carefully. Turak'Kahn nodded, then took the Star from me and put on the necklace.
"Who better to see if an item is worthy of my queen than me." Turak'Kahn said with a giddy smile that reminded me of a child in a candy store. "Now, how do I activate the spell?"
"First, you need to have an evo of yours out. One that you have a strong connection to. Then you cast the spell, a crystal the same shape as your farm crystal will form in your hands, and all you have to do is shatter it while yelling 'Crystal Genesis activate!' and the spell will fuse you." I explained. Jurirai looked at me suspiciously.
"Does his majesty really need to shout that?" Jurirai asked. I nodded and then sighed.
"Yeah…the spell has somatic components to it, so you need to go through the whole song and dance." I replied.
"Delphinium!" Turak'Kahn exclaimed as he flung a crystalline structure into the air. It shattered several feet above us, and an evo I had never expected to see in Egypt emerged and landed beside Turak'Kahn.
His evo was a kitsune, the combination of a fox and rabbit. A evo commonly found in Japan and sought after for their various abilities. They were modeled after the nine-tailed fox of Japanese folklore and, like the fox, it has multiple tails. The more tails a kitsune had the rarer and more powerful they were.
Turak'Kahn's kitsune had a bright red coat and stood at waist height. It watched me with soft violet, yet piercings eyes that felt a little unnerving as its tails flicked gracefully back and forth behind it. Because of the movement, it took me a minute to count all of them, but Turak'Kahn's kitsune had all nine tails.
"Holy shit! A nine-tailed kitsune!" I exclaimed. Turak'Kahn smirked and petted Delphinium's head.
"A ascended nine-tailed kitsune." He said proudly. My eyes widened as his words sunk in.
"How the hell did you get one of those!" I exclaimed and pointed at the evo.
[My master spliced me.] An oddly feminine voice said. I froze and cocked my head to the side when I heard it. It took a moment to realize the voice came from the kitsune. Another thing they were known for was their ability to communicate telepathically with any splicer. Turak'Kahn smirked even broader at seeing my brief confusion.
"I spliced Delphinium here when I was thirteen. She was my first creation and arguably my strongest. Her ascended status makes her well sought after by collectors, but I'd never get rid of her. She's part of my family at this point." Turak'Kahn said as he lightly petted Delphinium on the head.
"Well, that will fulfill the strong connection part…" I said.
"Ready girl?" Turak'Kahn asked.
[Always.] Delphinium replied, broadcasting her answer to everyone around.
Jurirai and I took a few steps back as Turak'Kahn turned to Delphinium and started casting an axiom spell sigil. Once the first sigil was finished, a second sigil formed in front of the first and started casting. A green sphere shaped crystal formed in front of the Pharaoh, and he reached out and grabbed it, crushing it in his hands.
"CRYSTAL GENESIS ACTIVATE!"
PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA 
Hutexa_The_Djinn
Hutexa_The_Djinn Author Fact: Hutex_the_djinn suffers from a genetic disposition to migraines and headaches due to his family having weak hearts and hard heads. This combined with high blood pressure and a stressful day job means that the author is going to suffer from migraines on a regular basis until his medication gets sorted out...yay...The author refuses to let this affect chapter releases, as mentioned before: hard headed.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone