Chapter 197: Chapter 167: The Artificer-in-Training.

“I see … Sorry for that. I didn’t mean to call you like those damn fire-slinger,” the half-masked man apologized after I explained everything to him—about my nonexistent service to the church of Aurena, my dislike for Shiterno, and also the fact he summoned a giant toad which horrified me. “Talon. Adventurer. Dungeon Guide. Treasure Hunter. If you have the Davi, I can get you through the dungeon safely for the first couple of floors.”

“You’re a treasure hunter?” I tilted my head.

“The dungeon spawns loot boxes and random treasure. I find and then hand them over to clients, for a price. Dark elemental magic is useful for this job, but my empty vessel magic is better suited,” Talon stated, prompting me to remember what he did back in the dungeon.

“Would that be the floating toad and the mirror-like wall you created? The [Illusion Magic]?” Ellaine asked. Our whole party was sitting at the same table with Talon right now, listening to what he had to say.

“Yep. Despite being a compound element of light and dark, you cannot acquire it by increasing both skills to level 10, but are required to learn it from a practitioner or through instructions. As it’s my empty vessel skill, I would prefer it if you didn’t ask for further details,” Talon said in a deadpan voice. “However, sorry for opening an old wound. I didn’t know toads or frogs would cause that reaction from you. Traumas are hard to learn before I use my spells, but I rather not cause others that much fear.”

He sounded rude but he didn’t seem like a bad guy. Well, he did mention that he wanted to swipe the treasure chest away from under our noses so I didn’t know if I could call him selfless or something. It was his job to acquire chests for his clients, but it didn’t mean I should like it as I was a victim of his illusions.

While he was speaking, I began to feel more curious about his half-mask as it was covering the entire right side of his face. The moment he noticed my stare, I apologized to him since staring was kinda rude of me.

He nodded. “And just leave it be. You have your own issues, I do, too. Now, if you four aren’t here to hire me for my spells, then I would suggest you leave. I would like to eat in peace.”

Talon began to eat the moment he said that, ignoring us as if we’ve already left. Rude as it was, he had no reason to stay polite after the misunderstanding was resolved. Still, I had some questions for him.

“Do you know any good blacksmiths in the city?”

“I’m not an information broker.”

He was being stubborn but I kept speaking, “I know, but you should have been in Cedaraille longer than us, right? As an adventurer wouldn’t you know any competent blacksmiths in the area?”

“I’m a mage. For my gear, I visit the alchemy guild, the tailor guild, and the mage’s guild. If you want information on blacksmiths, ask the blacksmith guild,” Talon answered. It honestly didn’t look like he wanted to speak at all, so I had to give up entirely.

Jeez, does he really hate white robes that much, or is it ‘cause he doesn’t trust my word that I’m not a Danterno follower? Shiterno, you inconvenienced us once again!

After asking a bit more inside the hunter’s guild for information on a blacksmith, we returned to our lodging, deciding to postpone our trip until tomorrow. Once we were back at the inn, Ellaine let out a sigh and complained about what had happened today.

“There were quite a lot of rude and insensitive people today, even if you ignored those who boldly showed their lecherous gazes at us. I never expected all these commoners to show their true feelings so publicly.”

Including Talon, there were quite a lot of hunters and mercenaries who didn’t care much about what we wanted to ask, shooing us away if they were preoccupied with something else—either talking with their own party or enjoying their lunch break. Of course, some were helpful and gave us some tips, including the guild staff, but there were also cases of creeps and perverts.

I raised a brow when she said this, remembering the tea party we attended in Firwood. “I presume nobles are less conspicuous about it? Hiding everything behind a mask like when we first met? The Chezaic twin’s tea party demonstrated that there are plenty of rude people even in high society. I should know, I had to experience them on Earth, too, at my school.”

Saori concurred, “Wealth and influence alone do not make a better man or woman in any society, it is the values they learn from birth into adulthood that comprise their personality and conduct. Despite the advantages of being born into wealthy families, some students at the school I worked at would behave less than acceptable. On the other hand, those with fewer opportunities can turn out good through their humble beginnings. People can end up rough around the edges either way, although the latter group probably knows how to hide it better.”

Ellaine nodded in interest. “I see … you two experienced your aristocrat-like society on Earth in different ways, yes? As you would expect, learning how to hide your true feelings and motives is something I learned very early on from my mother. Saori would be a perfect fit with her stoic exterior, but Hestia would be too emotional to handle putting on a mask.”

She wasn’t wrong. Manuela’s lesson on being a lady helped, but I was still a fire-spitting dragon with somewhat of a temper.

She continued, “I know that not all commoners are as rude as those adventurers we met. Josine is the perfect example for this, and the other servants also were very kind. Still, seeing them all act like that was not pleasant for me.”

“That is why you should start learning how to chill out more, Ellaine. This is the life we have to handle regardless of whether we like some of the people or not,” I shrugged, displaying some indifference. Defending yourself when somebody wronged you was fine, but acting on every single provocation or mistake would just tire you out.

“Chill out?” Ellaine gave me a look of confusion.

“Yeah. Try not to let everything trigger you since the world won’t change to fit your ideal in this case.” With that discussion down, I took out some of Ellaine’s belongings and a small orb from my storage. “Here you go, your artificer equipment and also the [Season Regulator]. We’ll probably make the innkeeper angry if we make too much of a mess so please be careful while you handle them.”

“Naturally.”

Sitting at a table in one of our rooms, Ellaine first put on a thin glove with sharp metal claws and a rune on the palm side. As she was checking if it was properly on her left hand, I asked her what the glove was.

“This is a ‘mana breaker glove.’ They allow artificers to grab manatech safely by protecting their hands from arcane corruption. As you should know, Hestia, arcane corruption is caused by mana which attacks our bodies like a toxin if the concentration is too high.”

In simple terms, arcane corruption was like CO2, a leftover after your body used oxygen. CO2 was toxic to the body but it would be expelled from the body through the respiratory system when we breathed out.

Arcane corruption was similar, where our body would remove mana from our body through mana paths before it started to affect our body, however, since magicians used magic like crazy, building that stuff up inside our body was quite easy. Other than medicinal herbs like fulinoe leaves or spells like [Sacred Veil], which reduced the creation of arcane corruption outright, only the skill [Arcane Corruption Resistance] could increase our tolerance for it, delaying any harmful side effects and the status ailment [Arcane Fever].

Ellaine continued, “This same principle happens with manatech. The glove is for my protection as I hold onto the item, as a manatech’s mana battery can radiate arcane corruption and accumulate it into our bodies through touch. I am not sure why it only happens with manatech and not other magic tools, but mother mentioned it is due to the materials used to make a battery.”

“Marianne doesn’t know?” I repeated.

“My mother is at best a journeyman-level artificer, capable enough to save our house money by repairing our manatech but not proficient enough to create new inventions out of thin air. She is not the most knowledgeable in this field,” Ellaine explained. “Regardless, the most important fact is that I can protect myself while adjusting this [Season Regulator].”

The glove had eoriant claws designed like sharp spikes to hold onto the manetech as comfortably as possible, which caused the mana to collect in the claws and pass back into the item in a perpetual circle. This prevented the eoriant claws from overloading with mana and the manatech from releasing any arcane corruption from inside it.

The rune on the palm side was a defensive rune of magic protection, meant to be used as a circuit breaker. If a mana related issue were to happen, the rune would protect the artificer’s hand. As it was commissioned by a dwarven runesmith from the north, it was quite expensive, so we better not lose it.

Ellaine’s second artificer tool was a wand she called “tinkerer’s wand.” It was essentially a mage’s staff with an alchemical stone at the tip. Unlike a normal catalyst, this one was specifically made for artificer work. It was entirely useless for helping a mage cast spells and was barely a self-defense tool.

Unlike the conventional “artificer pick” the dwarves used, this one could be created through alchemy, reducing the overall cost her family had to pay for it. Both types of artificer wands worked similarly, so the difference was if you wanted a blacksmith or an alchemist to make them.

The tool’s use was to concentrate the user’s mana into the tip of the wand, creating a solid-liquid mixture of concentrated mana. This was to produce “mana wiring.” It essentially was like copper wires, only it transferred mana around instead of electricity, and connected the mana battery with the rest of the contraption. In addition, experienced artificers were able to connect everything together to the point complicated mechanical items could be created, like manatech weapons similar to the one Farron used.

Essentially, the difference between an apprentice and a master artificer could be seen in how they did the mana wiring. The more efficient, the less mana a manatech would use, which was important when the manatech started to be larger than a lamp. In a fight, that inefficiency would drain the battery or the user’s mana like crazy.

“Mechanical weapons allow some weapons to transform into different shapes or even have additional functions. The dwarven crossbow is a good example of this, as it makes it easier to reload than a normal bow. It’s just really expensive, so losing it would cost people a year’s worth of earnings,” she explained. “This is why blacksmiths, runesmiths, and artificers form the core of the Ankor-Nazta’s production of weapons and armor. People commission from the dwarven kingdom a lot. Even the Empire, I heard.”

“So having you become a master would save us money!” Saori’s eyes sparkled, only for them to dull a moment later.

“If I become good enough, and if we can hire a reliable smith.” Ellaine frowned. “As I said, my mother wasn’t the best teacher for this. You can’t find many good artificers here in Greenveil. Our duchy is mostly focused on farming and mercantilism. I do want to get better, I really do for all of you! But … even with my books, I don’t think I can get that far. I’m just not talented like my brother …”

“Which is why putting the effort into it will help you reach that goal!” I encouraged her, not wanting her to fall back into her self-deprecation phase. “If you need a teacher, then I will get you one! Dwarves, right? If Griffonpeak doesn’t have one then we’ll travel towards the Ankor-Nazta and find you an apprenticeship!”

“N-no, that would take too long. I’m not even a journeyman, yet! I’m at the beginning of being an apprentice.”

“Nonsense, then we’ll stay in the dwarven kingdom for a bit and make a base there. We can work as adventurers and train. It’s not an issue, right, everybody?” I turned to Saori and Tasianna.

The latter gave us a thumbs up. “If it saves us from commissioning things, then I have no complaints. Building up life skills is important, in general, and I would recommend you focus on something you like. Combat is not everything, Aurora must be self-sufficient since a majority of our budget goes to Hestia and my food expenses.”

Why did you have to remind me about how much I eat …

Not noticing my frown, Tasianna replied, “This is why I am making sure to become a good alchemist. If we need a catalyst, I will make them one day. Both of us are still on our journey to learn our crafts, Lady Ellaine!”

“Miss Tasianna … Y-you’re right!” She slapped her cheeks lightly. “This is how I will become useful aside from my swordsmanship! Please! If we can, I would love to gain a master!”

That’s the spirit! Woo!

With renewed energy, Ellaine turned around with a wide smile as she put on a set of goggles. When I asked her what they were, she just told me they obviously protected her eyes.

I raised an eyebrow. “That’s it? Nothing fancy like being able to look at mana paths or so?”

Ellaine’s mouth opened up. “That would be a ‘monocle of mana sight.’ Too expensive. Mother has one, but it was a gift from her late grandmother. Those objects are usually reserved for mana surgeons, since making them is complicated and requires specific monster materials.”

And I can see the flow of mana through a skill I randomly got … Talk about unfair, huh?

In any case, Ellaine began. As she mentioned, she was only a beginner with [Artificer Lv. 1]. While I accepted Ellaine simply ‘cause she was a friend and wanted to join us—the more the merrier for me—she was also an able financial and fief manager trained by her noble parents with some ability in enchanting and magic tinkering.

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She gave up on enchanting due to her lack of interest, but it was all channeled into her love for artificerwork. She needed a teacher, but she could still repair some manatechs, which included the [Season Regulator] she brought with her, our IDs, and our party bracelets.

The season regulator was a device that created a bubble in which it controlled and regulated the temperature to match its settings. Since our party managed a garden to grow products like fragassa and fulinoe leaves, being able to manage the temperature for them was essential for them to grow, as the humidity could be controlled with Tasianna’s water magic. This was the same manatech the nobles used to control the environment in and around their homes, preventing rain and snow from ruining their perfect gardens.

This season regulator wasn’t broken but its mana battery was almost drained. Additionally, Ellaine wanted to tweak a few functions to better fit our usage of it as a temperature regulator for our garden, since the bubble created by it could overflow into a room next to ours. We didn’t want to inconvenience others.

Sadly, this was only a temporary solution to our garden, as we were borrowing it from her parents. She didn’t buy it and it was too expensive for her to accept it as a gift. Her pride as a noble wouldn’t allow her to mooch that much from her parents now that she decided to better herself as a person.

“According to mother’s instructions, this wire here and here are responsible for mana conduction. I can adjust these wires here to shrink the temperature bubble, and I believe the mana battery is hidden over here.”

After opening a hatch under the ball, the inside of the manatech was revealed, showing blue wires and components I couldn’t name at all. Before Ellaine began working, she read through the instructions her mother wrote on parchment, identifying the intricacies and inscribing these details into her memory.

She grabbed the ball with her glove’s claws and held it up to look into the inside. I cast [Shine] to create a lamplight for Ellaine to better see by, while Tasianna readied an [Air Shield] in case she messed something up and the manatech exploded. She did warn the battery could explode.

Anxious she would make a mistake, Ellaine worked slowly, unlike her mother when she repaired Tasianna’s catalyst. It was as if time slowed down for her as even managing the wires was done at a snail’s pace. Saori, Tasianna, and I weren’t bored by it though, since we could feel the tension. This was far different from when I saw her repair some manatech lambs at her mansion.

She was our party’s artificer now, responsible for repairing our manatech and maybe creating some of her own creations in the future. As friends, the very least we could do was to watch and support her as much as possible.

I’m not part of the “PC Master Race” team but I heard those who built their own PC for the first time would be extremely nervous, since the parts are expensive and hard to get by. The good stuff, I heard. Maybe this is what Ellaine is feeling?

After what felt like an hour, Ellaine finished rearranging the wires and refilling the battery with her mana. She closed the hatch and handed it over to Tasianna, asking her to test it out. We took our garden out and placed it next to the window, prompting Tasianna to fiddle with the regulator as she always did at Ellaine’s home in Firwood.

Pressing a button, a translucent field was emitted by the ball before turning transparent at the edge of the room. Since the bubble could only form as an oval or ball, the field seemed to overlap into the walls and floor of the room but not enough to enter our neighbors’. It was a success!

Ellaine let out a sigh in relief, happy that she didn’t ruin anything, while the rest of us patted her on the back for a job well done. After setting up our garden and harvesting any ready product, we had lunch and decided to rest for the rest of the day. Saori and Tasianna left our rented room to sightsee the city a bit, to find where the local guilds were, leaving Ellaine and me behind.

I look out of the window, noticing a couple of signals on my [Detection Sensor] which have been stationary since we arrived in the inn. You know, since people walk around all the time and wouldn’t stay in one spot for an extended period outside of sleeping, it made me quite suspicious. Whether I was right or not really didn’t matter, honestly, since nobody would care if I was wrong.

I opened up the window, looked in the direction of the signals and waved at them. I even stuck my tongue out as if I was mocking them. After smiling smugly for a couple of seconds, all these stagnant signals began to move for the first time ever. How funny.

“Hestia?” Ellaine questioned me with a worried face, looking at me as if I’ve gone crazy.

Oops, she doesn’t have [Detection Sensor] yet. Oopsie.

“Spies,” was all I needed to say. “If they were the same spies Uno found, meaning they belonged to Duke Greenveil, then they should be aware of Saori’s tracking abilities, right?”

Ellaine nodded but continued to explain the situation from a noble’s perspective, “While being detected is a failure on the spies’ side which could hurt Lord Duke Greenveil’s reputation if it were to be found out—a powerful noble must have competent retainers. I would say not keeping reconnaissance on you would be more detrimental.”

“How so? He should know from reports that I’m rather peaceful. Spying on where we go is something I can understand but sitting around, looking at us eat or sleep is a bit annoying, in my opinion,” I replied.

Ellaine nodded once again, understanding what I meant but her own view on the situation gave me more insight into how Duke Greenveil thought. “While in Firwood, House Helvas and I kept watch over your actions. We were essentially House Sirius’s ‘spies’ in this case. You are influential, you must understand. I mean, what would happen to my home if your mother found out we treated you poorly? Ehehe … right?”

That nervous laughter made me aware how she and every other noble in the know must be feeling about me. Even if I was a good person, I had a helicopter dragon mother who wanted to see me urgently. If Farron’s message to Kargryx arrived, then I would have to face her eventually … Since I revealed everything to Ellaine, she had to look out for me for the sake of her home.

As I was thinking of that, an annoying feeling suddenly appeared. I didn’t want to consider it but being around nobles had made me a bit too wary of their kind. “Ellaine, can I ask you a serious question?”

“Of course.”

I then created an [Air Shield] around us to stop eavesdropping, “Then, it is time for me to be more truthful. Ellaine, this happened before you officially joined and it concerns the grimgarian army. Saori, Tasianna, and I have unanimously decided to not interfere with the impending war.”

“W-what?” she stumbled in surprise.

“We three aren’t strong enough yet and we don’t know if we can become strong enough whenever the army attacks. After fighting against that lone rank B High Ogre, I do not think Aurora should participate in a war we aren’t affiliated with … until you actually joined. I wanted to inform you this when we meet again in Griffonpeak but you suddenly joined,” I forced myself to say all of that, waiting for Ellaine to speak up. “Well … I’m telling you this since I trust you. I trust you as a friend. Not as your liege or something else. Saori and the garms have been guarding us against spies and you kept your promise of not leaking the information on my dragon mother.”

Nobles were crafty and with the resources they had, they could do whatever they wanted. Theodore was able to craft a whole string of rumors to help Ellaine and me during the Chezaic tea party while also getting the evidence to incarcerate House Chezaic. They proved themselves competent, so it wouldn’t surprise me if they somehow talked Ellaine or House Helvas into informing them about everything, even the stuff Ellaine learned after she joined us.

However, she didn’t. No external contact during our travels nor when we reached Cedaraille. Sure, there was the chance that she could do this later on but that would be paranoid at that point.

I scratched my neck, feeling uneasy. “Uhm, well, what I want to say is what would you like to do, Ellaine? You are a member now so we have to take your opinion seriously. If the grimgarians were to attack the Kingdom of Artorias, what would you do?”

However, unexpectedly, Ellaine’s firmed up and she kneeled down, speaking clearly, “Princess Hestia, I have sworn my fealty to you and only you. While it would pain me to see my kingdom attacked while I stay out of it, it isn’t as if my participation will help anybody. I know my limits, I know I am too weak to be even a fraction of a factor in any war. However, I cannot force you, Miss Saori, or Miss Tasianna to risk your lives for my kingdom. As a friend, I couldn’t do that. In the first place, I don’t think of myself as somebody special enough to decide on such an important decision.”

I didn’t expect to hear her downplay herself this much before me. What was I doing?

“Until the day I met you, I had only lived by the rules and decisions of my parents and brother. I was a failure of a noble, I didn’t deserve to decide what I wanted to do … and even after all that I have learned from you, I don’t think I could do it now.”

“But you rebelled against your mother to join us earlier. If you ask me, that was a significant decision to change your life around,” I argued.

“Well, I guess allowing myself to be selfish for a moment was nice … but if I hadn’t experienced your stubbornness nor your will to be free, I wouldn’t have dared to do so. But, enough of that, Lady Hestia, my decision to your question is that I will follow yours. However, I do so hope that you could change your mind one day. As you said, I love my kingdom.”

Why are serious talks always this serious? So annoying …

After calming down, I changed the subject to Ellaine’s magical training. It was something to help both of us get our minds away from the heavy topic.

Fortunately, it actually worked as Ellaine finally mastered the last of the four advanced casting methods—[Delayed Cast]. We cheered together as the talk we had just disappeared into the evening. Once Saori and Tasianna came back, we had dinner and then went to sleep on a very large bed suited for five people to sleep on. Our inn was decent, but it wasn’t the most expensive one in town.

Once morning came, we visited the blacksmith guild, asking them for any competent blacksmiths who could fulfill our orders. Similar to the other guilds, well-groomed men and women manned the reception despite the number of sweaty, muscled men in their late thirties who were waiting in a line.

Once our chance came, Saori asked the beastman receptionist.

“A blacksmith who can work with dragonewt scales? Yours, I presume, Lady Shrine Maiden?” they wondered

I nodded. “That would be correct, Sir. My scales are quite thick and resistant to fire so it should be somebody who is used to high temperatures. Maybe a dwarf?”

However, instead of the receptionist, a man from the line suddenly started laughing boisterously, “Hahaha! The only dwarf in the city is somebody who is abandoned by Bleidla! Imagine that, a dwarven blacksmith abandoned by his racial god! What a jest! Lady Shrine Maiden, if you need armor or weapons, come over to the ‘Tunging Hammer!’ My master will serve you well!”

“Ahh, shut it, Marcel! Trying to hype everything up when you’re only an apprentice handling errands. My Lady Shrine Maiden, come over to the ‘Iron Crevasse’ for all your equipment needs! We’ve worked with rank C monster materials before, and I can bet you we will turn your scales into the prettiest thing ever!”

My scales are B ranked … and are from a fire dragon. You need some hardcore fire to melt that.

As the guildhall became so loud it was hard to hear anybody, the receptionist quickly gave us a list of the most renowned blacksmiths in the city including the one dwarf they had mentioned before. Since I still had a good experience with Kraftja and Ogni, including their token of respect they gave me, I decided to visit the dwarf blacksmith first before scouring the others.

Saori handed me some of our party’s funds, mentioning that she wanted to visit this merchant corporation Zeather mentioned. As Ellaine would be responsible for our future dealings, she accompanied her while Tasianna would come with me in case I needed to know about some dwarven custom.

Strangely, the address wasn’t in the middle district, it actually was in the slums! Tasianna and I stared at each other for a moment as we couldn’t imagine a respectable dwarven blacksmith would be relegated to the backdrop of the city. Merchants and adventurers rarely visited the slums if it wasn’t their home already, so how could the dwarf pay for anything if the clientele was so meager?

But then I realized how shallow my thinking was. It didn’t matter if you only received a few customers when all of them were high-paying ones! Similar to how Kraftja and Ogni handled their store. Highest prices among the blacksmiths and also the least popular location in the middle district, but regulars came regardless.

That has to be it!

However, what we saw wasn’t a cool-looking shop but some weird caravan that looked like some recreational vehicle—an RV. There wasn’t even a sign to tell people this was a shop and even Tasianna and I would have been confused by it were it not for the receptionist’s instructions.

We knocked on the door, waited for the moment until somebody’s quaking footsteps approached us. The wide door opened up and a very familiar face appeared before us again.

“What in Crustacia’s name are you waking me up in the fucking morning? Bladdarg! Who the hell are you?”

It’s the taz dwarf we met at the guild.