Cat With a Raygun

When Ferric originally handed the magisteel ingots to Joe he had said that the first two were for the town, and the third was for him. Ferric said it would be his payment for this trip. What Ferric and Joe both assumed back then was that Joe would sell the third ingot and keep the money for himself. Now, however, Joe had no need for the funds, but did have use for the magisteel itself. Joe rented a workspace similar to the one Eleanor had been renting for her alchemy and started practicing his glassblowing according to the techniques he had read from the book he bought in Mankerin.

Glassblowing skill unlocked! +1 to Agility

Glassblowing (Level 1). This skill is for the creation of glass and objects made from glass. Higher skill levels let you create glass with stronger properties than its materials would normally result with. To train this skill make more glass and objects from glass.

Key Attribute: Agility.

Joe made some flasks, bottles, and vials. He also practiced with the shape he needed for his schematic design. After two more days and another Glassblowing level, he felt he was ready. He rented a larger workshop, this one with multiple workstations of the different types he'd need for the various parts in his design. He got the handle from Malcolm and got to work.

Even though the first thing Joe was creating was the glass tube, he still cast Imbue Metallic Object first thing. Not only was this tube part of a mostly metallic object, but the glass itself included some copper, as well as some mana powder he had stored in a sack under the magisteel ingots in his backpack all these months. The glass would be vaguely translucent, because if it was too clear it might blind him when he uses the device. He formed the tube to the right dimensions, closed on one end, with a smaller opening on the other, then carefully cut it in half with a front half and back half of the tube. Next he took some bronze ingots he had bought and started shaping them into the framework for the device. They would fit around the glass tube and even help it seal back together after he put the insides in it.

All of that took up the first day. The next day he pulled half of the magisteel ingot into wires with some different thicknesses. He recreated the insulating compound Eleanor had helped him discover, and added some mana powder to that, as well, to hopefully improve it's insulating effectiveness. He coated the inside of the glass tube, made some overlapping insulation where the two tube halves would fit back together, and used more insulation to create capacitors using some of the magisteel wires.

The third day he was ready to finish his creation. A small magisteel plate went on the wooden handle Malcolm had made, and a magisteel wire led from the plate up into a small hole he made in the end of the tube. The rest of the magisteel ingot was reshaped into a design that matched the way Joe sensed manachlorians move during the thunderstorms he witnessed on his journey. He made three copies of the design and connected them with wire and capacitors in between. Between his knowledge of circuits and manachlorian flow, this design should push the enchantment towards lightning enhancement. He won't know for sure until he completes it.

Joe connected the wire from the handle to the back of the triplicate lightning flow design, stuffed it into the glass tube, heated up the cut parts of the tube and pressed them back together, supported by the bronze frame which also held the wooden handle in place. Finally the small opening at the front of the tube had a magisteel collar affixed to it, using the last of his magisteel.

The Imbue Metallic Object spell completed and Joe watched the magical matrix connect to his new creation and it settled in place successfully.

T- Magic Item crafted!

You have received CWEST experience for creating a magic item of Rare quality.

Joe activated his Read Aura since he could finally regain mana again and Inspected his new creation.

Bronze Raygun of Lightning Enhancement (Rare). When fueled by manachlorian energy the internal workings of this raygun will transform that energy into a beam of lightning that travels up to 100 meters. If lightning magic is used to activate this raygun the effectiveness of the original spell will triple. 30 seconds of downtime is required between shots. Trying to use it again before that time risks melting the inner circuitry.

This was exactly what Joe wanted. He would have been more than happy with just channeling his Lightning Jolt at its current strength out for that range, but tripling the strength is even better. Joe also found a few improvements in his notifications. His Smithing went up to level 6, his Glassblowing up to level 3, his Alchemy to level 3, and even his Sense Manachlorians ability ranked up to Rank 4, probably from incorporating designs he learned from the ability into his creation.

Lastly Joe checked his Profession choices again. He hadn't gained any new skills in a couple of days, but Ferric had told him that it's not just skills, accomplishments can affect it as well, which is why he could choose Bounty Hunter after receiving the reward for the bandits. Now he saw a Profession that by the name alone Joe knew it was exactly what he'd been searching for all this time. Joe picked his Profession as Arcane Gadgeteer.

Each level of Arcane Gadgeteer grants you +1 to all of your attributes, as well as the +1 Agility and 2 unassigned points for being a felinoid.

Level 1 Arcane Gadgeteer grants the following ability: Advanced Imbuing

Level 1 Arcane Gadgeteer grants the following spell: Illusory Rendering

Advanced Imbuing (Rank 1), Passive. This ability modifies the way any Imbue spell you cast works. Instead of funneling all of your mana into your creation you can choose to retain any amount which will be maintained as the spell persists. If you use that retained mana for another spell or ability it will refill as normal.

Key Attribute: Intelligence

Illusory Rendering (Level 1). This spell allows the caster to recreate any schematic they have designed as an illusion in front of them. The caster can manipulate the illusion to overlay any part they are working on to ensure it matches the schematic. Overlaying parts while crafting improves their quality and the speed with which the caster makes them and the overall compatibility of the design as a whole.

Mana cost: 5 mana per minute.

Joe cleaned up his mess and hid the remaining mana powder and his new gun in his pack and returned to the rental house. It was getting harder to move around inside as many crates had been moved in, the supplies to take back to Rust's Edge. Tess reported that they now had everything except for the livestock and the livestock's feed.

Joe went to the kitchen and started preparing some bread dough for later. He used Stoke Fire to make the perfect temperature for the dough to rise before actually cooking it. It gave Joe the idea to find a travel oven to make bread on their trip. After dinner Melanie asked Joe if he could go with her to pick up her armor the next morning, as it was too heavy for her to lift currently. Joe also took some time to sketch out something he wanted crafted by a leatherworker.

After running the already planned errands the next morning, Joe stopped by a bookstore and bought a cookbook. He looked up the ingredients he needed and made sure they had everything needed to make a cake for Melanie's birthday. She had the Intelligence and Toughness elixirs so as soon as she got her Guidebook she would drink them and hopefully be able to pick the Arcane Knight class she wanted.

The next morning they heard a shout of excitement coming from Melanie's room. She ran out excitedly holding onto her new Guidebook and went around showing everyone the blank page before Tess explained to her about allowing others to view content. Sure enough, she got the Arcane Knight class. Joe brought out the cake, explaining that it was a custom from his original homeland and they celebrated before Joe took her to a rented forge space to unlock her Smithing skill.

Since she wasn't very strong yet it took two days of banging on the metal to get it into enough of a shape for the CGS to recognize. That also unlocked her Endurance skill since it took a lot of swings of the hammer to get there, and of course she got Heat Tolerance as well.

That night they made the final arrangements in Trenos. They had three wagons, each had an attachment on the back to tow a wheeled livestock pen. One wagon was supplies for Rust's Edge. Another was feed for the animals. The last one was water barrels. They'd have to make extra stops throughout the day to take care of the horses and make sure all of the livestock were doing well, but the slight speed increase from the horses should get them back to Rust's Edge in about the same time it took Joe to get to Trenos in the first place.

It was two to a wagon, with Joe back on his original handcart. He could easily keep up with the horses. When they were getting close to taking a break Joe would swap with Melanie so she would have to drag the cart the last stretch. For the first week she wouldn't catch up to the rest of the caravan until they were ready to move out again, but she unlocked Portering rather quickly and her Strength slowly increased.

Joe didn't want her to deal with combat situations until she was comfortable in her armor and with her sword, but she could barely wear the armor at this point. Since they were taking a road that Joe had walked the entire length of he was able to get a lot of practice in with his Backtrack spell. He'd pop ahead, scout around for a bit, then pop back to the caravan, always gauging where they'd be based on how long he was gone. After the first few times he accurately predicted where they'd be he unlocked a new skill.

Mathematics (Level 1). This skill is for complex calculations involving trigonometry or calculus. Higher levels of this skill allow you to calculate more difficult equations faster in your head. To train this skill keep doing math in your head.

Key Attribute: Intelligence

Joe did a lot more cooking on the trip back from Trenos. It helped him level up his Stoke Fire spell as well as his Cooking skill, of course. Joe also made refilling the water barrels really easy as their filled weight was within the limit for his Minor Levitation spell. He could refill 5 barrels simultaneously, until it leveled up, then he could 6. His Stoke Fire spell got up to level 2 and his Backtrack spell got to level 3 by the end of the first week out. His Mathematics went up another level, as did his Cooking and Portering skills.

Melanie's training was going well. She was nearly ready for the next step, weapons training.