章 10: Chapter 10 - Too much power
The next day dawned bright and full of potential for Lilly. She was eager to start her enchanting projects, and Mia had already come over with the freshly forged hammer and carving tool early in the morning. The tools were expertly crafted from steel, ready to be imbued with magic. Lilly had also made a trip to the Aether's Echo to purchase the necessary materials for the hammer's enchantment.
As they sat together, Lilly shared the news about her new godmother, Eolande, and her plans to move into the neighborhood. Mia listened intently, a smile on her face.
"That's great, Lilly. She sounds like a really good person. And she's moving into the neighborhood soon?" Mia asked, her interest evident.
"I think so, at least that's what she told me," Lilly replied, a hint of excitement in her voice.
"I wish I had a rich immortal godmother…" Mia mused playfully.
"She's not immortal, and I haven't seen any of that supposed fortune," Lilly countered with a laugh.
"She's buying a house for your sake, stop pretending she's not amazing," Mia pointed out, a teasing tone in her voice.
"... Okay, fine. She's amazing," Lilly conceded, smiling. "We should probably take this enchanting business to my room."
"Sure, I haven't been to your room in a while," Mia said, vaguely remembering the last time.
"You girls have fun now," Gramps called out from behind the counter in the bakery, a hint of amusement in his voice.
"We will, Gramps, but it's serious business, not play," Lilly replied, her tone light and playful.
"You're having too much fun to mean that, Lilly," Gramps chuckled.
They went upstairs to Lilly's room, carrying all the tools and materials they would need for the enchanting session.
In Lilly's room, the table and chairs they had brought up from the living room were arranged neatly, creating a makeshift workspace. Both girls took their seats, the air buzzing with excitement and anticipation for the enchanting process to begin.
"We'll start with the carving tool so the rest is easier to do. I told you the rune didn't have to be perfect, but this is great, Mia," Lilly complimented, examining the tool with a critical eye.
"Oh yeah, Dad wanted to help, so he did that part. He's maybe slightly better than me at engraving and stuff, for now," Mia admitted, her voice betraying a touch of pride and a hint of competitive spirit. It was clear she held a deep respect for her father's skills, even though she didn't like to acknowledge it.
"Well, it's a bonus that it looks good, I guess. I was planning on using these direwolf fangs to make it sharper. They have a system that helps them pierce things," Lilly explained, holding up the fangs for Mia to see.
"System?" Mia inquired, her curiosity piqued.
"It's what gives magical materials their abilities. It's very complicated stuff," Lilly said, her tone indicating the complexity of enchanting.
"Oh, too complicated for me, huh?" Mia joked, acting insulted.
"Yep, you're more of a 'muscle over matter' type," Lilly teased.
"The carving tool will cost 200 gold, by the way," Mia said, pretending to actually be insulted.
"… You're very pretty though," Lilly responded.
Mia laughed heartily. "Hahah, I guess I forgive you then. Are you ready to start?"
"Yeah, I'm just considering if I should use the amulet for this. I bought a bit more material than I needed, just to be able to practice, so I guess it's fine to try."
Lilly removed the amulet from around her neck and held it in her hand, feeling its power surge through her, sharpening and expanding her magical capacity.
"It's amazing how powerful that little thing is. I can't wait for you to be able to make something like that, Lilly," Mia said, admiration clear in her voice.
"That's not something most enchanters can make, but maybe one day. Here I go," Lilly responded, focusing on the task at hand.
With the amulet amplifying her abilities, Lilly began the process of enchanting the carving tool. She concentrated, channeling her mana into the tool, attuning herself to its structure, feeling every detail and force within it. Then she picked up the direwolf fang with her other hand and did the same. Although simpler than the flower, the fang still contained complex systems, some of which were beyond her current understanding.
Next, she began the most challenging part – transferring the right amount of mana into the tool. The exact measurement was still a mystery to her, so she used the density similar to what she had employed for the bracelet, hoping it would suffice. The amulet helped immensely, granting her finer control over the flow of mana, but she remained cautious. The power it provided was significantly greater than what she had worked with before, and she needed to be careful not to overdo it.
Lilly carefully observed the threads as they began to converge towards the carving tool, drawn by the combination of the spell and the rune etched into its surface. But just as the first step was nearing completion, the threads halted abruptly, and the spell failed.
"Huh, that's weird," Lilly muttered, puzzled by the unexpectedly early failure.
"What happened?" Mia asked, her interest piqued.
"I failed right away. It seemed like there wasn't enough mana, but I thought it would at least be close. Could the amulet have affected it, or am I misunderstanding something in the process?" Lilly speculated, trying to analyze the problem.
"Maybe it's because the fang is a lot denser than the flower, so it needs more mana to... do your thing right?" Mia suggested, trying to help.
"Maybe. I'll try again, with a lot more mana this time," Lilly decided, determined to succeed.
She carefully cleared the broken threads with her mana and then started the enchanting process again, this time harnessing half the mana capacity she could manage with the amulet's aid. The threads began to move again, progressing more smoothly than before. However, even with this increased power, they eventually stopped again, falling short of completing the enchantment.
"I don't get it. That was way more mana than I've ever used before," Lilly said, frustration creeping into her voice.
"Still a failure?" Mia asked, equally perplexed.
"Yeah, still too little mana somehow. I'll just go full power then…" Lilly resolved, her determination unwavering. She readied herself for another attempt, this time intending to use all the mana she could muster with the amulet's assistance.
Once again, she repeated the process, this time channeling her mana into the carving tool with the full force of her enhanced abilities. The threads from the third direwolf fang connected smoothly to the tool, showing no signs of breaking or faltering.
'That's good, I guess, but maybe this isn't enough either,' Lilly thought, unsure of the outcome.
However, as the enchantment progressed, the threads flowed uninterrupted to the end, completing the process flawlessly as Lilly ceased her mana flow.
"That's too perfect to be a coincidence," Lilly murmured, a hint of awe in her voice.
"It worked?" Mia asked, her eyes fixed on the tool.
Before Lilly could respond, the carving tool began to glow with an inner light, and the ambient mana in the room dropped sharply, creating a noticeable change in the atmosphere.
"Seems like it. Do you feel that?" Lilly asked, sensing the shift in the room's mana.
"No? I see it glowing, though," Mia replied, her gaze still on the now luminous tool.
"The mana in the room suddenly dropped. It seems like it's done now, though," Lilly explained, her voice tinged with both excitement and a bit of surprise.
As they watched, the glow from the carving tool faded, and the mana in the room gradually returned to its normal state.
"That's a lot more of a reaction than I expected. I'm kind of scared of touching it," Lilly admitted, eyeing the tool cautiously.
"Want me to try it?" Mia offered, her curiosity evident.
"No, it's fine. I'll check it out with my mana first," Lilly decided, approaching the task with a mix of caution and intrigue.
She gently touched the tool with her finger, feeling nothing unusual at first. But when she introduced a bit of her mana into the tool, she could feel the enchantment pulsating within it. The sensation was intense, almost as if the tool was teetering on the edge of its capacity to handle the power, yet it was perfectly balanced.
"I don't know how, but this enchantment seems to be done perfectly. The power of the enchantment is just below what the tool can handle. Is it all because of the amulet? Or was it luck?" Lilly wondered aloud, impressed with her own work.
"So that's about as sharp as a steel tool can be? Mind if I test it?" Mia asked, her eyes lighting up with excitement.
"Go ahead, but please don't destroy anything," Lilly cautioned, a smile on her face.
"What should I test it on then?" Mia looked around, eager to try out the newly enchanted tool.
Lilly produced a few materials she had prepared earlier—a wooden block, an iron plate, and a steel plate—and placed them on the table. "Have fun," she said, stepping back to give Mia space.
"Ooh, I will!" Mia exclaimed, her enthusiasm palpable. She carefully picked up the carving tool, holding it like a pen, and began carving into the wood. "This feels really easy to cut, quite comfortable I think. A bit disappointing, though."
"It might adjust the force to the material you're carving, otherwise it would be wasting mana just carving air," Lilly suggested, watching Mia's work with interest.
Mia, intrigued by the tool's capabilities, decided to test it further. "Good point, I'll try the iron," she said, picking up the iron plate and starting to carve her name into it. "You're right, it feels just as easy as the wood! That's so nice." Pleased with the results, she moved on to the steel plate. "Even the steel plate has almost no resistance! This tool is insanely sharp."
As Mia carved into the steel, Lilly noticed a slight dip in the mana in the room, indicating that the tool was absorbing mana to compensate for the effort spent on the harder material.
"You don't seem very excited, Lilly," Mia observed, looking up from her work.
"I am, I just need to think about why the enchantment was so weird. If the amulet influenced it, does it automatically adjust some aspect of the enchantment to fit the material perfectly? Is there something else controlling the power of the enchantment that I haven't discovered yet? Or was the fang just perfectly suited for steel tools? It seems too affordable for creating something this effective... I think I need to consult Eldrin about this," Lilly pondered aloud, her mind racing with questions.
"Now? What about my hammer?" Mia asked, her excitement for her new hammer evident.
"... I can do your hammer, but then I need to experiment a bit with the bracelets first," Lilly replied, already planning her next steps.
"Yes!" Mia exclaimed, her enthusiasm undiminished.
Lilly gathered the volcano roses and the bracelets, preparing to attempt the fire-resistance enchantment. She decided to practice a bit with her new carving tool on the iron plate, getting a feel for its capabilities. 'This really is perfect for carving, much better than the one I used with Eldrin,' she thought, impressed with the tool's precision.
She looked up the correct runes for the fire-resistance enchantment, identifying 'fire' and 'safe' as the key elements. Additionally, there was a new aspect she hadn't encountered before – the rune for 'wearer.' This rune would extend the enchantment's protection to the person wearing the enchanted item, ensuring their safety in conjunction with the item's. After all, it would be rather pointless if only the bracelet resisted fire while the wearer was still vulnerable.
With her new carving tool in hand, Lilly set to work on the first bracelet. Despite not being overly careful with her carving, the lines emerged smooth and aesthetically pleasing, a testament to the sharpness and precision of the tool.
Once the runes were in place, it was time for the enchantment. Lilly used her mana to check both the bracelet and the volcano rose, ensuring everything was in order for the enchantment process. Deciding to leverage the full power available through the amulet, she initiated the enchantment, her mana flowing freely and with great force.
To her relief and satisfaction, the threads from the volcano rose connected seamlessly with the bracelet, without any of them ripping apart. This smooth process seemed to counter the idea that the direwolf fang just needed high amounts of mana. The enchantment was completed flawlessly, reinforcing Lilly's suspicion that the amulet was somehow adjusting an unknown aspect of the enchantment to achieve perfect results, thereby enhancing the overall strength of the enchantment.
Like the carving tool, the bracelet began to emit a soft glow, and Lilly noticed a significant drop in the ambient mana in the room, signaling the successful completion of the enchantment.
"I can't believe it's this easy now. I didn't even practice once!" Lilly exclaimed, a mixture of disbelief and excitement in her voice.
"You did it on your first try?" Mia asked, impressed by Lilly's achievement.
"Yeah, the amulet seems to be a cheating tool of so—" Lilly's words were abruptly cut off as the bracelet, unable to contain the energy of the enchantment, shattered violently, releasing the pent-up mana in a burst. A small fragment struck Lilly on the forehead with enough force to knock her off balance, sending her tumbling onto the floor.
Touching her forehead gingerly, Lilly felt a small drop of blood. She looked up, concern etched on her face, to see Mia on her knees, looking stunned.
"Are you okay, Mia!?" Lilly asked, her voice laced with worry.
"Yeah, it just shocked me. Are you okay?" Mia responded, still trying to process what had just happened.
They quickly examined each other for any injuries. Aside from Lilly's minor scrape on the forehead, they seemed unharmed.
After a moment to collect themselves, they turned their attention to the spot where the bracelet had been. It was completely destroyed, leaving no trace behind.
"I guess the power doesn't adjust to the material after all. That was obviously more than the bracelet could handle," Lilly concluded, a hint of disappointment in her voice.
"No kidding. I didn't know enchanting could be this dangerous," Mia remarked, still a bit shaken from the unexpected explosion.
"Well, this isn't normal, I'm pretty sure. But there are larger forces at play here. I don't know how well iron suits enchanting compared to steel, but obviously it's worse. I still want to try the same enchantment without the amulet, though. And I'm curious if it adjusts to my total mana or the material's maximum mana capacity. Only one of those has a limit that I know of, so it might be my mana," Lilly pondered, her mind racing with theories and questions.
"I'm very happy you're figuring stuff out, Lilly, but let's not keep our guest waiting," Mia said, a slight grin on her face.
"Oh, don't worry, my guest is so shameless I don't mind letting her wait a bit. But I understand you're excited," Lilly replied with a playful smirk.
Lilly then focused on the next bracelet. She carved the same runes as before and began the enchanting process, this time without the amulet. She decided to use the same amount of mana as she did on the first bracelet, hoping it would be a good starting point.
The enchantment progressed well but fell just short of completion.
"It failed," Lilly announced, a hint of frustration in her voice.
"Noooo!" Mia exclaimed dramatically.
"Are you more disappointed about the extra few minutes this might take, or the 6 gold I just lost? And answer carefully," Lilly asked, half-joking, half-serious.
"Those flowers are 6 gold each? That's a lot," Mia responded, her eyebrows raising in surprise.
"I'm well aware, and I noticed you didn't answer my question," Lilly pointed out.
"Considering I now know the price, I will be sad about both in the future, I promise," Mia said, managing a sheepish smile.
"Good enough," Lilly said, accepting Mia's response with a smile.
Lilly initiated another attempt at the enchantment, this time increasing the mana slightly. To her satisfaction, the process completed without any issues.
"There we go, this shouldn't break. It doesn't even seem to be draining much mana from the room," Lilly observed, though she still flinched instinctively, wary of another unexpected explosion. However, the bracelet finished its mana absorption without any drama, and she let out a small sigh of relief.
"Now I'm excited! Let's test it, I have this candle here," Mia said, her enthusiasm evident.
"Finally! I mean, thank the gods you didn't lose any more gold!" Mia quickly corrected herself after noticing Lilly's expression in response to her initial exclamation.
Lilly lit the candle and hesitated for a moment, contemplating whether Mia should be the test subject. However, she decided it was her responsibility to test her own work. She slipped the bracelet onto her left hand and cautiously held her other hand over the candle. To her amazement, she felt no heat, even as she moved her hand closer until it was directly in the flame. However, she could sense the bracelet actively draining mana to maintain the protection, indicating its limitations.
"That's so cool! Enchanting is so cool, Lilly!" Mia exclaimed, genuinely impressed.
"Supercool…" Lilly couldn't resist joining in on the pun, unsure if Mia noticed it or not.
"Now hammer, right?" Mia asked eagerly.
"Yes, Mia, now hammer. Do you want me to use the amulet for that?" Lilly inquired, considering the potential risks and benefits.
Mia pondered for a moment before deciding that a very strong hammer was indeed 'cooler' than just a strong one. "Yes please, I can make a new one if it bursts. The difference between your normal enchanting and with the amulet is pretty big, right?"
"Yes, it's probably a few times stronger while using it at least. I don't know exactly how that power translates to enchanting, so I can only guess the difference," Lilly explained, her mind already working on how to approach the hammer's enchantment.
Lilly took out a bag of troll teeth, which she planned to use for the hammer's enchantment. She spread them out on the table, selecting one for the task at hand.
"I'll pay you for those, Lilly," Mia offered.
"No, no, I got the carving tool for free, so you get your enchanted hammer for free," Lilly insisted.
"That's not equal value, Lilly, especially with all that material," Mia argued, her sense of fairness kicking in.
"Well, since I'm only using one of these teeth, it's cheap. Stop complaining," Lilly replied, dismissing Mia's concern.
"Fine… What kind of teeth are those, anyway?" Mia asked, looking at the troll teeth curiously.
"Troll teeth. They eat rocks, so I'm pretty sure they should have some juicy systems for durability," Lilly explained.
"Systems can be juicy?" Mia asked, a hint of amusement in her voice.
"Of course, metaphorically speaking," Lilly chuckled.
She found the durability enchantment in the book and began to prepare for carving it into the hammer.
"Would a 'wearer' rune make me durable as well while using the hammer?" Mia asked, intrigued by the idea.
"In theory, yes, but the effect would be split across your entire body and the hammer, so it would be weaker than just on the hammer. I think. It might adjust to the requirement, like the carving tool, and in that case, you would be very sturdy. Though, walking might drain a bit of mana constantly. I don't know, it might be awesome. Want to try?" Lilly speculated.
"No, just curious. It's probably great for warriors, though, if it works," Mia mused.
"Probably, although enchanting armor would likely be more effective," Lilly agreed.
Lilly finished carving the rune for 'durable' into the hammer and prepared for the enchantment process. With each new project, she was becoming more adept, and the routine was settling in comfortably. She initiated the enchantment, channeling her mana into the hammer. As the threads from the troll tooth connected with the hammer, Lilly felt a surge of confidence, certain of another successful enchantment.
True to her expectations, the enchantment went smoothly. The threads disengaged from the tooth and integrated into the hammer, weaving an intricate and highly complex pattern within it. The hammer began to glow and drain mana from the room, but this time, Lilly and Mia were prepared for any unexpected outcome. They both ducked under the table, just in case the hammer decided to burst apart like the bracelet had.
"It's done, the mana has stopped draining," Lilly announced after a moment, sensing the completion of the process.
"Oooh, I'm so excited!" Mia exclaimed, popping up from under the table to examine the hammer. "It's perfect!"
"Wow, you can tell?" Lilly asked, intrigued by Mia's reaction.
"I can feel it, I'm sure of it," Mia said confidently, her eyes shining.
Lilly decided to double-check the enchantment. She placed her hand on the hammer, feeling the mana inside it, ready to respond and reinforce the hammer against any external forces. The threads within were buzzing slightly, indicating a dynamic balance, well-adjusted to the hammer's material capabilities.
"Congratulations, Mia, this hammer won't break unless you become a whole lot stronger," Lilly said, smiling at her friend.
"Aaah, I'd make a joke, but I'm too happy! Thank you, Lilly!" Mia wrapped Lilly in a tight hug, her gratitude and happiness radiating from her.
Lilly returned the hug, feeling a warm sense of fulfillment. 'This is why I like making things,' she thought, 'Making people happy.' The joy of creating something that brought such delight to her friend was incomparable. It was moments like these that made all the challenges and learning curves of enchanting worth it.
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