World Seed: Game Start (35 page)

When
I came in, he was rather happy to see me. “Ah, there you are…
well, I never really got your name. But names aren’t important
anyways, so what does it matter? Did you bring the remaining seeds?”
When I nodded, and placed the six pellets on the counter, his smile
widened beneath his beard. “Excellent, excellent. As promised,
I’ll teach you how to enchant. As for the extra bonus..”

He
pulled out a Soft Stick and showed it to me. “This contains the
Identify software, allowing your companion to scan the aura of
creatures or objects to roughly determine their ability. If you have
encountered something before and know its name, the name will be
provided as well, naturally. You simply have to use Aura Sight when
you wish to Identify something. I’ll assume you know how to do
that.”

Thanks
to the system treating me like an idiot… I nodded my head to
him, indicating that I knew. This software would have a variety of
possible uses for me, as it could even help me analyze auras. Holding
out my left wrist, he placed the Soft Stick against it, and there was
a slight beep of acknowledgement before he pulled it back.

“
Alright
then, let’s get started! Enchanting really isn’t that
hard of a job, it simply requires more control over your magic than a
normal starting mage would have, and a more abundant mana reserve
than a starting druid. But, naturally, with every obstacle comes a
solution.” He lead me to a very familiar looking staff with a
black gemstone atop it, much like the one Jacobs had used when
enchanting my armor. “This staff contains a low quality mana
gem, able to supply an additional thousand mana to its user. However,
like all mana gems, it requires nearly a full day to fully recharge.”

I
saw where he was going with this, and couldn’t help but sigh.
“How much is it…?”

Hearing
me, the man’s smile grew a bit more. “It can be yours for
just two silver, since it is after all low quality. Also, before we
begin, you should go to the terminal in the back of the store and
look up the rune language. I assume that your eye has some sort of
recording feature, so you should be able to memorize the entire
language pretty quick.”

I
nodded my head. Since he had mentioned something about my eye the day
before, I had looked into a mirror back at the hotel. My previously
dark green eye now had lines of red streaking through the iris, with
a tiny red dot at the center of my eye. Likely, that was a physical
manifestation of my Cybernetic Adaptation spell. I was left wondering
if integrating the other senses would give similar features.

Moving
back to the room behind the counter, I saw a simple desk with a
silver orb sitting at the back of it. Figuring that was his
‘terminal’ I sat down at the desk. Immediately, a
holographic keyboard appeared on the desktop, and a blank blue screen
of light flashed up above the orb. “Greetings, unregistered
user. Please type or state the object of your search.”

I
looked curiously at the device, and couldn’t help but extend my
Mana Sense towards it. Although I had considered Celeste to be
advanced, this device had an aura dozens of times more complicated
than hers. It was like the universe was playing connect the dots with
every star in the sky at once. “Uhm… rune language,
please.”

“
One
moment.” Soon, a series of strange symbols flashed out on the
screen, scrolling almost faster than I could keep track. “Would
you like a second language to compare with?”

“
Uh…
yes. The local elf language, please.” I did not think for a
moment that what I was speaking would be English. Likely, I had an
instinctive knowledge about both the human and elf languages due to
my character’s heritage.

After
speaking, the jumbled mass of characters became a neat list, with a
single rune labeled next to a word or description. I calculated my
mana usage, and sighed slightly. “Scroll down for ten seconds
on my mark. Show each page for half a second before moving on.”
I then focused mana into my eye to begin the Record process. “Mark.”

The
instant I said the word and saw the red glow in front of me, the
screen began rapidly scrolling. As I requested, the screen flipped
forward every half second, showing me a total of twenty pages before
my mana ran out. Since there were roughly twenty words per column,
and two columns per page, that meant I had learned eight hundred
runes.

I
felt my mouth gaping at the absurd number of runes there must be in
this language, and then shook my head. I had accurately learned eight
hundred runes, and even now could understand the meaning of each of
them. However, those were only so few. I decided to do another method
after my mana recharged. “Okay, on my mark, continue for
another ten seconds. This time, increase the speed to fifty pages per
second.” This was only half of the speed that my computer was
able to record images, so I hoped that my Cybernetic Adaptation spell
was good enough to give me some measure of clarity in this.

Again,
I focused the mana into my eye and began to Record again. “Mark.”
Again, pages flashed in front of me, though this time dozens of times
faster than before. I felt my head starting to hurt from the rapid
rush of information, but forced myself to endure it for ten seconds.
After it was done, I was left holding my head in a bit of pain as my
mana began recovering slowly. This time, I had learned a whopping
twenty thousand runes, but my completion of the language had only
increased by another 0.025%.

I
started to truly believe that there was a rune for every single word,
and maybe a few words that didn’t exist normally. About twenty
minutes later, I was ready for the next round. “Computer…
this time, eliminate all words not necessary for enchanting up to the
intermediate level. How many words does that leave?”

“
That
leaves roughly 15,300 runes, not counting the ones you have already
learned. Do you wish to continue at the same speed as before?”

I
sighed, knowing I’d regret this. However, it was either get it
all over with at once, and deal with a headache while my brain rushed
to process the information, or be here all night. “Yes. On my
mark…” I began to Record again. “Mark.” The
images came just as fast as before, but this time at least it didn’t
last as long. By the time I was done, there was a new window waiting
for me, this one presented by the game itself.

Chapter 32: To
Enchant or Not to Enchant?

I
sat there for a little while longer to recover from the sudden rush
of information. If possible, I’d need to look into increasing
my processing abilities in the future. Maybe with that I could even
write a program that increases my perception to a degree where time
seems to slow down. Leaning back in the chair, I thought about the
various symbols I had instantly learned thanks to Technomancy.

With
this, not just enchanting, I should be able to make some Runic spells
as well, right? The only prerequisite to use that is memorizing the
runes and creating the scripts. I smiled slightly as I considered the
bounty from this session. Likely, anyone who delves heavily into
Runic spells will use a method similar to what I just did in order to
memorize the language.

Though,
I imagine that it’s not that simple. Cybernetic implants should
be considered mid-level gear, going by common standards. The fact
that I was able to copy it with Technomancy was likely only because I
was basing it on a far more primitive tech than what is used in the
game. If I tried to copy this computer currently in front of me, I
might have truly fried my brain at my current skill level.

Once
I was done recovering from the headache, I got to my feet and made my
way out to the main room of the store. The old man was waiting for
me, the ‘basic’ staff leaning against the counter. Part
of me was glad that I hadn’t considered using it to help with
learning the runic language, since I could barely put up with ten
seconds of the constant image streaming.

Seeing
me exit the room, the old man looked back at me. “Oh? You
finally came back out. I take it you learned enough runs to satisfy
yourself?”

I
nodded my head slightly. “Everything relevant up to
Intermediate enchanting. I’ll have to learn the rest later,
maybe through a direct download once I figure that out.” I
wanted to simply have Celeste download them all, but thought I
remembered Harlan saying that doing so was a special software that
cost money.

The
old man nodded his head, satisfied with my answer. After I paid the
two silver for the staff, he handed it over and began the lesson.
“Okay, there are two methods of enchanting, but one basic trick
needed for both. That is the ability to probe an item’s aura
and discover what type of enchantments would fit it best. Since
you’re a druid, you’re likely familiar with how intricate
auras can get, which makes this easier.

“
It’s
hard to properly explain, so I will do my best, and then give you
some examples to test on. Most of it is trial and error until you
figure out the pattern. For the very basic levels of enchanting, you
will learn how to enchant based on major properties such as
durability, strength, and defense. The next level involves enchanting
special effects, which is where your elemental seeds will be useful.
That part will also be easier for you as a druid, since it requires
measuring an item’s innate affinity with the elements.”

I
nodded my head, indicating that I understood. After I practice a bit
with this, then wouldn’t the Identify software Celeste received
earlier automatically show what an item would be best equipped for?
Maybe she’d have to write another program for that, but I think
she could do it.

After
that, the old man pulled out a large, heavy chest from behind the
counter. “Now, I’m going to show you an example of each
of the beginner enchantments. An item is typically most attuned to
enchantments that match its strength. As such, you are building on
what’s already there, rather than shoring up a weakness. You
can do that instead, but it will not have as strong of an effect.
Altering an item’s aura more than it can withstand will cause
it to shatter, so you must be careful.”

He
pulled out ten pieces of identical wood and placed them side by side.
“Go ahead and study the aura of this piece of wood to form the
template. After I enchant them, you’ll study each one, and I’ll
explain which enchantments they have. Then, I will enchant another
set, and have you identify it yourself. Finally, I’ll show you
ten different materials, and ask you to determine the best
enchantments for each.”

I
nodded again, and he got to work. Though, rather than the process of
drawing runes like I had seen Jacobs do, he simply placed his hand on
each of the pieces of wood for a few seconds before moving on to the
next one. Once he was done, he placed the first piece in front of me.
“This has a strength enchantment. Study it and find the
difference.”

I
picked up the log, and examined it with my mana. Indeed, there was a
difference. Certain patterns within the log had extended and
thickened. Though, I could not see any of the runes I had noticed in
other enchanted items like Celeste, my dagger, or the Seed. He was
likely doing that on purpose so I wouldn’t cheat. Instead, I
memorized the new appearance of the log, and how it had changed.

We
continued this process for the other nine enchantments, which were
durability, dexterity, agility, charisma, intelligence, wisdom,
vitality, attack, and defense. I had expected there to be a luck
enchantment too, but he did not show it. Next, he pulled out ten logs
of a different type from within the chest, and repeated the process.
When I examined them after he was done, I got almost all of them
correct, only confusing durability and defense.

Finally,
he pulled out ten different items. These were all spheres of the same
size, but their materials were vastly different. One was a ball of
glass, another wood, one metal, yet another was stone. This was the
final test he had mentioned, and I took my time going through it.
Since I had analyzed the enchantments before, I knew what to look
for. Out of the ten different aspects of the item’s auras,
which were the most prominent? Although their arrangements were
different, each item had those aspects hidden somewhere inside of it.

I
spent roughly five minutes with each item, so the entire test took
nearly an hour before I was done. But, to my surprise I had gotten
each of the items correct in my assessments. This made the old man
smile and nod again. “Good, very good. Now, there are only two
steps left. Enchanting, and disenchanting. The latter is a more
advanced step, but easy enough to do if you have the right
equipment.” He smirked as he looked at me. Most likely, he was
referring to my eye.