A Relatively Powerful Mage

Imri decided to spend some of his precious free time with the Chixel, hopefully taking Zathri up on the enchantment lessons. He hoped his general understanding of programming would allow him to quickly pick up some new skills and potentially even a profession.

“What would this one like to know?” Zathri asked. Imri noticed that the mysterious fifth Chixel, Rhesk, was closely watching them.

“Just start with the basics; I don’t want to assume and get something wrong. I’m specifically seeking information on becoming an enchanter,” Imri said.

“This one wants to become an enchanter; that is great,” Zathri said, clearly excited to find someone interested in their field of study. Imri had noticed Zathri staring enviously at Thrisk as they instructed Caroline, so it wasn't surprising they were eager for a student.

“I thought this one was a combat mage?” Srez asked, genuinely confused.

“I am, but I also wanted to pick up a profession,” Imri said.

“So that one wishes to walk two paths. This one is surprised such a thing is known by humans,” Ettes said. In truth, Imri had only suspected that such a thing was possible, likely guided by his intuition skill.

“Such an endeavor should not be taken lightly, Imri. While many may take a second class, one usually supports the other. An explorer cartographer, a ranger herbalist, a soldier medic, and so on. Such things have synergy, but what that is two separate things. One will not be able to gain levels in both classes; one will be working on one or the other,” Rhesk explained, saying more than they ever had to this point.

“I want to be good at both things,” Imri explained. It sounded lame, even to him, but the truth was both the class and profession seemed cool. He couldn't bring himself to have only one or the other. Instead, he hoped enchanting would be easy to pick up, given his past experience.

“Such a thing is uncommon but not unheard of. Those who master both are some of the greatest Chixel. However, many who attempt it become unfocused and not good at either,” Ettes said.

“I want it. I want to be great,” Imri said.

Zathri seemed to hesitate, looking to Rhesk and Ettes, who gave a subtle tail nod that reassured the enchanter. “This one would be honored to teach you enchantment,” Zathri said. Imri took out the light fixture and asked questions about its design.

“The materials used in all enchantments are critical. Pathways on which mana travels are called leylines, and usually metallic materials are the best leyline materials, with gold and platinum being the best due to the low mana loss. The second critical component is the mana storage since feeding mana into a circular leyline would result in mana being lost via traversal. Crystalline materials make the best mana storage, with diamonds being the best.”

“So this copper setting with a quartz crystal is inefficient but likely is far more affordable,” Imri guessed.

“Precisely. For something like a light, the amount of mana flowing through is minimal, so some loss to save on cost is necessary. The quartz in this case is more aesthetic than practical, most light enchantments don’t have a crystal for each light source,” Zathri confirmed.

“So then there is the third component, the mana itself,” Imri guessed.

“Indeed. An entire sector of Chixel society was devoted to mana generation. The simplest and arguably least efficient method is directly powered. One simply infuses mana into the device using one’s mana supply. There was also a practice of infusing one’s mana into crystals in exchange for a good or service. Many religious institutions still have a ritual component of offering one’s mana, though this is symbolic more than practical,” Zathri explained.

“And more industrial methods?”

“There were several, each with benefits and drawbacks. The first is ambient mana absorption, which is simply using runes that absorb mana from whatever medium they are in, usually in the ground or air. The benefit is simple: it is sustainable at scale. It uses only ambient mana, similar to how one’s mana regenerates. The main drawback is the cost, ambient mana runes need to be incredibly efficient, otherwise more mana is consumed than is generated. The ambient mana of the location also greatly affects how viable this option is, the higher the mana density the greater the absorption. The second is similar but is more specific. Certain natural treasures contain vast amounts of mana and mana regeneration. That mana generated can be tapped into much more efficiently; one simply needs such a natural treasure. In theory, less efficient runes could be used, but in practice, they are so valuable that one wouldn’t waste a treasure with suboptimal runes. The final way to generate mana, and the most common, is by using a method called mana burn. Certain materials one can find in the ground can be refined into a liquid called manicite. When manicite is burned, it will produce a large amount of mana. This is the cheapest method, as long as one can acquire manacite,” Zathri explained.

“That sounds familiar to how we produce energy, with the main difference being we can’t tap into living things,” Imri said.

“Yes, that is both a blessing and a curse of mana. That one saw what can be done at the extreme end of the spectrum. Souls have incredible amounts of mana, but destroying souls is abhorrent,” Zathri said, getting not-so-subtle tail nods from all the other Chixel. Imri was glad the knife he had taken from the priest of Ulzo wasn’t on him at the moment, though they had seen him wearing it. He endeavored not to use it again.

“So these runes, I figured out which one is the light itself, but what do the rest do?” Imri said, refocusing the conversation on enchantment, not just mana generation.

Zathri studied the light fixture briefly before nodding and launching into an explanation. “Most of the other runes are used to measure things. This rune here measures the mana present in the crystal. When it reaches a certain amount, it will trigger this rune, stopping the absorption of more mana. This rune does the opposite, when the mana level is low enough it requests mana from the leyline.”

“What happens if there is too much mana in the crystal?” Imri asked.

“Mostly, it's just inefficient. If the flow of mana was strong enough, it could shatter it, or if the mana was truly excessive, it could even explode violently.”

“Are crystals ever weaponized like that?” Imri asked. Zathri shook his tail.

“Such things are wasteful; a rune of explosion would be more efficient, and even that is considered crude,” Zathri explained.

“Are there any special skills needed to inscribe runes, or can I just etch them onto a piece of metal?” Imri asked as he rotated the fixture in his hand.

“As with most things, it can be done without a skill, though skills certainly make it easier. As to how one cannot simply etch runes with a crude tool. Runes are inscribed directly with mana; it is like a spell, though technically it is not.”

“So, inscribing runes takes mana, too,” Imri said, somewhat disappointed. Zathri nodded.

“One sees now why these ones cautioned against such a path, though this combination is not unheard of. Both classes will synergize in giving relevant stats and mana, and your understanding of spells will help with runes,” Zathri explained.

“Let’s proceed. I want this to be my path,” Imri confirmed. All the Chixel nodded their tails, convinced by his enthusiasm. As soon as Imri made up his mind, a mental prompt appeared.

Imri Padar has gained the profession Runic Enchanter (1F)

Primary Stats / Level Secondary Stats / Level

Intelligence .2% MP .2%

Willpower .2% Crafting Efficiency .3%

Charisma .1%

Traits Gained Description

Runic Crafting (1F) Gives an understanding of how runes work and how to create them. Improves the rate at which new runes are learned by 5%. Crafting Efficiency of runic enchantments increased by 1.5%

Runic Infusion (1F) Decreases mana inefficiency from directly infusing mana into runes by 5%.

Synergy Trait Gained

Relativity Runic Enchantment (1F) Understand how to create runes of all known relativity spells. Crafting Efficiency of runic enchantments based on relativity increased by 2.5%.

Imri Padar has reached Level 1 in Runic Enchanter (1F)

Imri smiled as the knowledge entered his mind. Many of his assumptions had been correct, and he now instinctively knew a greater variety of runes, especially everything related to his Relativity Mage class. He also noticed a new line item on his character sheet for his crafting efficiency. It was currently a few points higher than his mana efficiency. He realized it was derived from that stat, so his crafting efficiency would always be greater than his mana efficiency.

“Well, that was easier than expected,” Imri said triumphantly. The Chixel stared at him, and Imri quickly added, “I got the Runic Enchanter profession.”

“How is that possible? That one only began learning about enchantments. Gaining a class or profession is normally an endeavor that takes years,” Zathri exclaimed. All the Chixel tails nodded in agreement. Imri just shrugged.

“Like I said, it had a lot of synergies with my previous profession before the integration,” Imri explained.

“Even still, that is not normal,” Rhesk said. Imri felt uncomfortable as the mysterious Chixel stared intently at him. Imri began questioning whether he should have told them about gaining the profession immediately.

“Would that one like instructions on how to begin the process of enchanting?” Zathri asked. Imri debated internally. He felt he knew enough to get started on his own, but he decided it wouldn’t hurt to get practical instruction from someone who had made several enchantments.

“Yes, I’d like that,” Imri confirmed.

“Very well, simply pick a material one wishes to inscribe runes onto. Technically, any surface will work, especially when testing or experimenting with new enchantments. It is possible to remove runes, but it is more difficult than inscribing,” Zathri said, demonstrating by creating a rune on the ground. “The more efficient the material, the harder it is to inscribe or remove a rune. Any rune placed on a piece of platinum is near impossible to remove, or so this one has heard.”

Something about practicing on the ground felt wrong to Imri. Instead, he went through his belongings until he found what he was looking for. It was a mostly empty notebook that he had looted during his initial foray into the city. He had intended to keep a journal but was too preoccupied to get into the habit.

Imri turned to a blank page and began to create runes on the page. As Zathri had said, creating runes on a practice surface was mana-efficient, and his runes easily stuck to the page with only a small amount of mana. He copied the design of the light array, drawing in small leylines and runes into the paper. With multiple skills aiding him, he could perfectly recreate the system. The final result looked like a strange conceptual drawing with the runes appearing on the page like arcane glyphs. He infused some mana into the page, watching as the mana caused a portion of the paper to light up. It stayed lit for a few moments before blinking out.

“Was one an enchanter in a previous life?” Zathri asked in disbelief.

“I just copied something. It’s not that impressive,” Imri said with a shrug, feeling uncomfortable with the compliment.

“Zathri is right. One does not simply learn enchantment in a day; it's one of the more difficult professions to master,” Ettes said. Rhesk’s tail nodded in agreement.

“I guess I just got lucky,” Imri said, though he truly felt it hadn’t been anything impressive.

“There is one final step, sealing the enchantment in place. For this, one needs a core, ideally of a sufficient level. The energy of the core needs to be directed over the rune. This seals the runes, preventing them from eroding with use or with time. The higher the core level, the less efficiency is lost when sealing.”

“So, when I create the runes, they will be based on my crafting efficiency, which is based on my mana efficiency, with some being lost, depending on the materials' quality. Then, a core is used to finish the enchantment, locking the quality in place,” Imri reiterated. Zathri nodded, and all the Chixel stared at him, clearly having not expected him to understand this much. He bid the Chixel farewell, feigning exhaustion. In truth, he was exhilarated; he couldn't wait to create all kinds of enchantments.