The Fifth Realm
Page 18
Other carriages had come and students waited to take them around the different crafting workshops.
Nadia looked at Kaeso.
“Oh, sorry, I thought it might be ridiculous. After all, crafters can get rather full of themselves. Though if they’re all trained together in a place like this, working together, then wouldn’t they appreciate one another a bit more? Even the Crafter’s Association has different schools and isolate their people. Though, if they’re learning together from when they start, if they come from humble beginnings and they’re given a chance, what would happen?” Kaeso asked.
She could feel that it was some kind of test. “Wouldn’t they do everything to take advantage of it?”
“Yes, to some degree, but don’t you think that they might also be much more loyal to the people who raised them? Were you born into the Blue Lotus or did you join?”
“I was born in,” she said.
“I joined and I can tell you that I will die as a member of the Blue Lotus. They took a chance with me, and I was able to get to this position. I am an old man, but I hope that my students will be able to help increase the strength of Blue Lotus. Some might call me a fanatic, but, think—if just a minority of those who are taught by Vuzgal support it, and I mean fully?”
“They don’t even have Journeyman crafters, though,” Nadia said.
“With time, given their position, they will be able to invite others to assist in teaching their people, or directly hire them,” Kaeso said as the door to the carriage opened.
They stepped out of the carriage.
“Hello Miss Shriver, Expert Kaeso.” The student bowed to them deeply, his eyes shining as he said Jansen’s name.
Kaeso smiled simply while Nadia stood there as he came up out of his bow.
“Please, if you come this way, we have some of the students and department heads giving a demonstration of their skills,” the student said.
***
Rugrat accessed his interface before accepting the changes he had made.
The mana that was drifting stilled as it was being drawn in. Then, from the main pillar, a faint blue shimmer appeared and Rugrat felt his mind clearing with the heightened mana.
“Feels more like home,” Tan Xue said.
“The mana density down there is much higher. It is a smaller space; there are a lot of powerful people and we have a large core and mana stones. Just by containing the mana in the dungeon and siphoning off a bit into the mana gathering formation and allowing the rest to circulate within, the effects are stronger. It’ll be the same density inside the castle. The conditions in the rest of Vuzgal will have a much higher mana density than the wilds of the Fourth Realm, but lower than back home,” Rugrat said.
“But for fighters in your Battle Arena, they’ll be able to fight longer without the mental drain, crafters will be able to cast spells for less mana and craft for longer and at a higher level.” Tan Xue let out a laugh. “You’re one sneaky smith.”
“In and out, undetected and unsuspected.” Rugrat winked.
Tan Xue grimaced. “Be a lot less creepy if you weren’t pulling your shorts out of your butt crack.”
“It’s really stuck in there. I thought I was hiding it well,” Rugrat said, giving up all pretense of trying to “hide” his activities.
“You ever get sparks in there?”
“A man needs to commit to the look, or else it’s foolish. And yes. And why do you think I always have a ladle of quenching water nearby? Thinking man, I am!”
“Pants! Use PANTS! Ugh, come on, that image isn’t getting out! Is nothing sacred! I thought you just missed last week!”
“Nope, burnt mah nuts.”
Tan Xue looked to the ceiling. Words—sanity—had failed her, while her imagination, the little devil, conjured unwanted images in her mind.
“Aren’t you scared with banning the Experts that less people will come to Vuzgal?”
“Nah. Shows we’re not scared of them, don’t see them as important. They don’t have as much weight to throw around and well, we’ll have more of our own Experts soon! Also, with this kind of mana density, the facilities, you think that many people are going to miss out because we dealt with some assholes trying to move on us? It is the Ten Realms—strength is respected.”
“Yeah, you’re not wrong there. Guess with Alva, people care more about the work you put in and the person you are than just your strength.”
“’Cause we’re not—woo-hoo!” An ember split off from within the forge, which Rugrat’s back was facing. He jumped up in alarm, his eyes going wide. “Grab the ladle!”
“No! You grab the ladle!” she yelled.
Rugrat jumped and ass bombed the quench bucket. A faint hissing came from his attire.
***
“Have they lost their minds?” Nadia looked up at the shimmering blue mana that fell over the city, the mana density increasing once again. “It must cost tens of Earth mana stones per day to increase the mana density like that all over the city.”
“A fee that they can easily pay for with the entrance tolls, or the taxes they can earn on the increased manufacturing of higher quality goods by the crafters,” Kaeso said. “Really, Zhen Fu and the others were too short-sighted. Others might call this wasteful, but how many crafters would want to work in this environment? Or fighters want to train against one another in that new arena and then fight in the dungeons? I bet the Alchemist and the Fighter’s Associations are feeling rather pleased. Look at where the mana goes.”
Nadia looked over to the valley, seeing the mana pass over the wall. The pillars that ringed the valley activated, allowing mana to drift down toward the valley.
“The city lord meant to increase the mana density to help the workers working on the workshops to accelerate their speed and revitalize the people and visitors to Vuzgal after these last few trying days,” the student said in a humble voice with hints of pride.
Nadia smiled at the student, understanding where that pride came from.
“The crafting demonstrations should be well underway now, though Expert Tan Xue has probably just started,” the student said.
“Expert Tan Xue?” Nadia’s eyebrow rose.
“She is an Expert-level smith. She is twenty-seven this year.” The student tried to be nonchalant, but their excitement showed through.
Nadia shared a look with Kaeso.
I thought that they didn’t even have any Journeyman-level crafters, much less Experts. Just what the hell is going on in this city? As soon as I think that I know something, it gets turned on its head!
“Let’s head over, shall we?” Kaeso proposed.
“This way,” the student said.
“Could we go past the workshops that the woodworkers are in?” Kaeso asked.
“Certainly,” the student said. “The healing workshop is actually a hospital. All issues from those who are employed by Vuzgal as well as the students and the military can be treated here. Also, people who are looking to have a private appointment can come and pay two coppers for healing. Attached to them are the alchemists who help out the healers, or medics if they come from the military.”
“Who is the leader of the healing house?”
“That would be Department Head Kyle. He has extensive knowledge in dealing with different health issues and injuries.
“Then there is the Alchemy workshop. Ingredients are purchased from the Alchemist Association or grown in our very own growing areas. All of the plants within the castle will be changed over to ingredients that are meant to calm one’s mind and relieve their fatigue. So a number of the Novices and Apprentices are out doing that while the Journeyman-level teachers are conducting lectures.”
“Do they sell any of their products, like the healers?” Nadia asked.
“All products made within the academy can be sold to those in the academy, or will be sold by affiliated stores within the city. The higher level ones, I believe, will be auctioned off. I heard we can only make mid Journe
yman-level concoctions repeatedly but not every time,” the student said.
Nadia coughed, shooting a look at Kaeso.
It seemed as if the student didn’t understand just how unique their situation was. Most sects of the Fourth Realm desired mid Journeyman pills and would use them as rewards for their mid to high-level fighters. This student made them seem as if they were just candies.
They slowed down as they got to the woodworking shop.
A woman was working with a formation powered lathe. With easy movements, she cut down the wood, rounding it out.
She took it and added it to a carriage wheel she was making. She attached the spokes all together and then the outer wheel, adding it to a carriage frame that was outside the workshop. It rested on stone as weights were piled up in the cart until the stone underneath broke, but the wheels and carriage were fine.
“Each of those spokes is practically identical, allowing them to be switched out as long as one has another one of them. Their strength is all balanced. One could lose three spokes probably before the wheel failed. Though the interesting thing was how they left space for enchantments. When they were working with the wood, they unconsciously injected mana into it, strengthening it and refining the impurities that were inside the wood, increasing its tensile strength. They only cut away the excess wood, as if revealing the spoke and wheel underneath. If you look, there aren’t even any blemishes on the wood. Without these imperfections, the wood will be much stronger as there are no weak points. They also didn’t leave any markings on the wood. Some people using a chisel will leave behind notches. Although not a big thing when starting, over time these notches might create a weakness and allow the spoke to fall apart.
“The inner wood was dark ocher wood, which has a high strength and is hard to work with, but then it doesn’t rot over time. The wheel wood is green oak. It has a high strength, but it is also flexible, so when it hits stuff on the road, it will deform slightly instead of being purely brittle,” Kaeso said, reviewing what he had seen to Nadia.
“It looks simple on the outside but it takes a lot of work to complete and understanding of techniques and materials. To the outside observer, the artist’s painting looks like it was easy to complete, but to other artists they see the brushstrokes and the craft contained within,” Kaeso said as Nadia’s eyebrows pinched together in intrigue.
They went to the smithy, where the largest group of people were checking out the Journeyman smiths.
There must be about ten Journeyman smiths. It is one of the harder crafts to pick up in the lower realms. But to raise so many, and they look so young too...
They followed the student, who led them back toward a larger and more refined forge.
Inside was a woman working on a piece of metal. Her entire body thrummed with energy as the mana shifted around her and struck with her hammer as she worked at her anvil.
She had enhanced the metal already and was shaping it. Her mana flowed into the item as she first stretched out the metal and then brought it into rough shape. The blade vibrated but her tongs held it still.
She then placed the blade into the furnace, taking a breath before pulling out the blade and placing it on the anvil. Mana formed on the head of her hammer and she slammed it down onto the blade. The blade went from rough to polished finished, with traces of mana lingering in new lines and runes that had formed.
She struck down again; another section completed and runes and lines appeared perfectly.
“Is this imprinting formations through smithing?” Nadia said.
“I believe it is. One must have a good understanding of formations, but more than that, they need to have a greater control over their mana and their body and their knowledge of what they’re smithing. If they make one mistake, then the item would come out as a failure. At best, it would drop a grade; at worst, one would need to melt down the metal and reforge it,” Kaeso said.
“You said that she was only twenty-seven?” Nadia asked the student.
“Yes, Head Shriver.” The student cupped his hands to her and bowed quickly, trying to peek over at Tan Xue.
“The Fighter’s Association will send more people to fight in the arena. Others will come to see it—crafters will come for the atmosphere and for the resources and aid that they can find here,” Kaeso said.
“What about the Experts who were banished?”
“If their leaders are smart, they’ll make sure to keep them far from Vuzgal and try to mend their relationship. Although the associations’ headquarters wield more power and have greater populations, the exclusivity of Vuzgal, with its cheap inns that allow everyone from independents to sect leaders the ability to lodge in the city, means Vuzgal is on the rise.” Kaeso looked around the city, a smile on his face. “It wouldn’t be a bad place to retire to.”
“Well, you’d be welcome to stay,” a man said from behind them.
They turned to see Rugrat standing there, covered in dust and muck, looking nothing like a city lord.
“City—”
“No need for that. Here I’m just a smith.” Rugrat grinned.
Nadia smiled.
“We’re always looking for guest lecturers and we have plenty of outer students—people who want to learn, but not sign anything permanent. We’re more than happy if they go on to other associations or sects as long as they pay their fees. With our inner members, they will always be a crafter from Vuzgal, but that doesn’t mean we can’t partner with the other associations.” Rugrat shrugged.
“Your outer students—is there specific requirements from them?” Kaeso asked.
“Outer have a contract that others can buy out, but they don’t get as much resources and they aren’t able to know many secrets. The inner students have access to more resources but they sign a contract binding them to us and to keep any secrets they might learn. Someone can come here, learn a craft and then prove themselves in Vuzgal. They might be recruited into our ranks, becoming an inner or core member, or they can join others—it is up to them. They can be independent, as long as they pay off their contract, which also acts as a student loan.”
“Akin to sects, but you’re freely accepting putting time into people and losing them to others?” Kaeso asked. Sects, didn’t want to lose a single person, the more people they had the more power they had as they could get the sect or group more resources. They too had outer inner and core members, spending more time and effort on those that were inner and core members.
“Well, the loans won’t be cheap, but yeah, if we increase the strength of the population, then Vuzgal will only have a higher number of crafters in it. With more people, we generate more ideas and sifting through thousands of people, we can find a few with true ability. Again, only the inner members are those we trust like family and we will raise with all of our strength.”
“Bringing in independents—no, you would be creating them—as long as they were willing to sign the contract?” Kaeso said.
“Right.” Rugrat smiled.
“In the healing house and in the tailor workshop, I saw a number of people from the army there. Are you allowing your military members to become crafters?” Nadia asked.
“Allow them to become? Although they do train in fighting, most of them are at least Apprentice crafters. Many of the older ones are Journeymen. The healers use the healing house as a place to prepare for what they might deal with on the battlefield,” Rugrat said.
“I didn’t realize,” Nadia said. If they’re crafters as well, no wonder they’re looking for people who are driven over those with a high rank. All of these people are young, incredibly young, but their crafting is on par with those in the Sixth Realm. Only there are Journeymen common, and Experts can be seen in every city. For the Fourth Realm, it will be a big deal.
Nadia was impressed as she saw that they were making the most that they could from their position.
***
Elder Lu looked up from the report, looking at Zhen Fu sitting in front of him.
“If we can get them to agree to create the council, then we can start to increase the Blue Lotus’s power over the city.” She looked up, offering him this platitude.
“Oh,” Elder Lu said.
“Vuzgal will become a powerhouse in the future. If we don’t stake our claim, then we will lose our footing there,” she said, confused by his words.
He put down the report and rested his finger on it. “This is a report from Nadia Shriver, the new head of the Blue Lotus location. After you left, the people of Vuzgal were a bit shocked, others relieved. Some even started talking up about how if they were banishing Experts, then they would ban others they didn’t agree with, calling it a tyranny. They were banished as well. Though, the day afterward, City Lord Rugrat opened up the crafting sector that has been under construction since Vuzgal was properly established.
“They are offering to take in students, teach them. And the associations, the sects—all of them are free to poach them, and even send their students there. Even with our academies, we only allow people in from the outside if their position is extremely high and then we place a number of restrictions on them. They would take in anyone as long as they prove that they really desire to be a crafter through a series of tests. Now, we both know it takes time to raise someone’s craft to a higher level. Though they somehow have a low Expert-level smith who looks to be close to making it to the mid-Expert-level, who is twenty-seven years old. From her file, she was in the Second Realm just a few years ago and she was at the high Journeyman level.
“So, in a few years, they could churn out Novices turned into Apprentices or Journeymen. Rugrat apparently hinted at leaving it open for people to freely recruit them. A sort of open scouting to take them into other associations. That’s not all, though. They’ve got the full backing of the Fighter’s Association and the Alchemy Association and all of the people in Vuzgal right now. They increased the mana density of the entire city and the valley, and are actively working with the Fighter’s Association to build an arena.