A Relatively Powerful Mage

Imri teleported and appeared on the tarmac of O’Hare International Airport. With his upgrade to Dimensional Waypoint, he created more medallions and gave one to Coleman, who stood several meters away beside a parked car. The balding mechanic stared, dumbfounded at Imri’s sudden appearance, even though this meeting had been coordinated.

“The site's secured?” Imri asked as he surveyed the area.

“More or less. We did a quick sweep and only found a few refugees. The Azala didn’t get this far out,” Coleman said with a shrug.

Imri nodded his approval and got in the car’s passenger seat. They didn’t have far to go, with Coleman driving them to the nearest hangar, where a sleek luxury business jet was parked inside.

“I don’t see why you would need a jet when you can just teleport around,” Coleman said as he parked the car.

“I can’t use all my mana teleporting things around. Besides, that only works when there is a waypoint at the location I’m going to,” Imri explained as he got out of the car.

“I suppose that makes sense, but we still don’t have all the infrastructure we would need. It’s not like we have a pilot or air traffic control on standby,” Coleman said.

“Let me worry about that. How does it work?” Imri asked.

“Same as before, I just tinkered with the engine and adapted it to fit present circumstances better,” the Tinker said with pride.

“Adapted how?”

“It runs on a new type of fuel. One I created with the help of my profession,” he explained.

“How much fuel do you have?” Imri asked.

“A fair amount. It’s similar to what I’ve been using in the cars I modified. I could make more, but I’m limited by the amount of mana I have available,” Coleman admitted.

“I think we can help each other,” Imri said, summoning a fist-sized piece of charged Espeonite into his hand.

“This was one of those crystals you mentioned at the summit?” Coleman asked as he studied it.

“It is. They're capable of storing a considerable amount of mana per unit volume. It’s essentially an extremely mana-dense battery,” Imri explained.

“And you’re just giving me this?” Coleman asked.

“I’ve got plenty; there’s no point in hoarding them. However, nothing in this world is free. I want us to be equal partners in a logistics company. You provide vehicles and fuel, and I provide mana and enchantments. Eventually, we’ll want to re-design vehicles to take advantage of enhanced materials and the capabilities of enchantments. For now, modifying existing inventory makes sense,” Imri said.

“You want to make enchanted planes? Count me in,” Coleman said, rubbing his hands together.

“I can get Russ to draft up an agreement. I’ll need to get back to Celestia soon, but we can review it the next time I’m back,” Imri suggested.

“Honestly, I don’t need all that. It sounds like being a baron all over again, and we don’t want a repeat of that,” Coleman said.

“You didn’t like ruling?” Imri asked with genuine surprise.

“I was content being a mechanic. I loved fixing and tinkering with things. It wasn’t just a job; it was a passion of mine. I would go home and spend time fixing up old cars in the garage. All this other economic and governing crap just got in the way. If you want to turn this into a company, that’s fine by me, but leave me out of all that corporate shit. Pay me a fair wage for my time, and we’re good,” Coleman said, holding out a hand for Imri to shake. Imri took his hand and clasped it, agreeing to Coleman’s terms.

“Let’s take a look at the plane,” Imri said.

The plane was well maintained, with Coleman having recently renovated and polished the exterior. The inside was even more impressive, with plenty of open space, making for a luxurious experience. The accommodations were preferable to being crammed into the back of a commercial flight. However, Imri wasn’t working on this project for his vanity; they would need to make modifications to fit as many passengers and cargo as possible.

“In theory, it is flight-worthy with a bit more fuel. However, that’s just the mechanical parts. All the navigation systems and instruments are still calibrated to pre-integration earth. I don’t think any sane pilot would want to fly this until there has been a massive overhaul of equipment,” Coleman explained.

“Leave that to me,” Imri said.

He was already considering using the Dimensional Waypoints to replace GPS, gyroscopes, and speedometers. He would use micro-portals in conjunction with Sending and Receiving runes as communication, which he had wanted to create to eliminate the usage of old-fashioned radios more broadly. This also would allow him to implement improved security features, with each person having unique mental signatures that would be almost impossible to fabricate.

His ideas didn’t stop with just replacing existing systems. He intended to turn this plane into a mobile facility far more capable than anything before the integration. The obvious additions were various gravity runes. A Low-Gravity rune could reduce fuel usage, but that was only the start. Taken to a greater extreme with Reorient Gravity, the plane could take off or land without much of a runway. In a catastrophic failure, the enchantments could even be used as an alternate form of propulsion.

The plane would have a waypoint tethered to the back portion of the interior. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough space inside to fit the standard portal dimensions, but that could easily be fixed with a Perpetual Dimensional Expansion. This would give them a genuinely mobile portal, which was the primary objective of this endeavor. That he would have a plane that put Air Force One to shame was just a bonus.

Imri was tempted to spend the night implementing his designs. Only the thought of an impending invasion stopped him. He could easily see himself spending days implementing the various enchantments, and that was without feature creep, which he knew he wouldn’t be able to resist entirely. He needed to get back to Celestia as soon as there was enough mana to open the portal for several minutes.

“With your work nearly completed, do you mind if I borrow it? I’ll return it the next time I’m back,” Imri said.

“Borrow it?” Coleman asked in confusion.

Instead of explaining, Imri put a hand on the plane. In an instant, the entire vehicle disappeared from view, now safely inside his Inner Domain. While transporting that much mass had taken some mana, it was only a fraction of what Imri was capable of and an order of magnitude less than the world core. He also had more than enough room in his domain for the plane, even with the world core dominating the center of the space.

Coleman blinked in confusion as if his eyes weren’t working correctly. Imri smiled mischievously, causing the mechanic to shake his head and mutter under his breath.

“On to our second location?” Imri asked, getting a nod in response from the still-annoyed Coleman.

Imri considered Teleporting back to work on some of his other responsibilities but quickly dismissed the idea. While his time was precious, so was his mana. Fortunately, their second stop wasn’t too far, and Coleman didn’t share Leslie’s discomfort with silence, allowing Imri to regain some mana with Meditation while they traveled. Less than an hour later, Coleman parked the car. They were at a train depot, the location having been completely abandoned.

“This makes even less sense than the jet. The tracks only go a few miles before ending abruptly in the middle of nowhere. I can’t possibly see what you would want with this unless you're planning on building tracks all the way to Celestia,” Coleman pointed out.

“I am planning on building tracks all the way to Celestia. However, that’s already been done,” Imri said.

“I don’t get it; are there invisible tracks or something?” Coleman asked.

“Not at all; they just need to go far enough to allow the train to get up to speed and allow for a few switches so multiple trains can eventually be used. The rest of the distance will be covered with a portal, a dimensional tunnel if you will,” Imri explained.

“How? Why?” Coleman asked in confusion after a long pause.

“The how is easy: I can create a portal of any size, assuming sufficient mana exists. The why is the more interesting question. The portals I’ve already built were designed to accommodate small groups of people. However, if we need to move lots of people or material, that small portal would need to be open for hours. While keeping it open isn’t as mana-intensive, it’s still a significant cost over that timeframe. At some point, it's just more efficient to have separate portals for industrial and mass transit purposes,” Imri explained.

“I see,” Coleman said, shaking his head in disbelief. “Well, I haven’t renovated any trains yet. I assume you’re going to make modifications to those as well?”

“There isn't any need to. I could expand the space inside any of the cars to reduce the length of the train, but that seems unnecessary. All I need to work on is increasing the efficiency of the portal network to support the increased mana demands. That, or simply increasing mana production,” Imri said.

Imri dreaded the monotony of being relegated to being a glorified mana panel factory. He hoped that between the increased effect of Dimensional Waypoint and a future upgrade to the portal spell, he could substantially improve the network's efficiency—that plus his improving crafting efficiency and Runic Refresh skill to enhance the existing panels should reduce his need to craft more panels. However, he doubted he would ever be content not increasing mana production. There would always be greater projects to implement with a corresponding increase in mana demand.

“Then I guess I’ll get working on a train,” Coleman said.

“It will still be a bit before we can implement it successfully. I’m hoping to have the alternate portals up and running shortly after the auction,” Imri said.

“That shouldn’t be an issue,” Coleman confirmed.

They spent an hour touring the depot. Just like the airport, they had their pick of the inventory. While there were some variations, they all seemed functionally identical to Imri. In the end, he left the decision up to Coleman.

“Are you going to create a designated portal for automobiles?” Coleman asked as they finished inspecting the infrastructure. Imri shuddered at the thought, imagining the traffic congestion such a thing would cause.

“Maybe one day, when we can keep massive portals open indefinitely. However, that is a long way off,” Imri said.

“I’ve known you for less than a week, and you’ve already changed everything. I wouldn’t be surprised if you managed it within the next month,” Coleman challenged.

“I’ll be a bit busy dealing with the Azala. Maybe after they’re dealt with, nothing will bother us for a while,” Imri mused.

“I doubt that,” Coleman said.

“Before I go, can I have a sample of your fuel? I have a friend who is a talented alchemist, and I’m sure she would be interested in looking at it,” Imri asked.

“Sure, it’s basically just mana-infused gasoline, so I’m sure an alchemist could do much better. I want to ensure I have time to test any changes to the formulation. You can siphon some from the car; just leave me a gallon to get back,” Coleman agreed.

“Just a gallon, isn’t that cutting it kind of close?” Imri asked.

“Nope. That one gallon would be closer to three before the system,” Coleman explained with a grin, obviously taking great satisfaction from being the one doing the surprising this time.

After Imri had secured the sample, he teleported back downtown. A large crowd had gathered, most of them toting a bag or two of luggage, like travelers waiting to board a plane.

“Cutting it kind of close, aren’t you?” Laura asked.

“I was always just a second away,” Imri said with a shrug. “Should I open the portal?”

“I don’t think so; you can’t get out of speeches that easily,” the councilor said.

Imri sighed and turned to address the gathered crowd. “Unfortunately, this isn’t a vacation, and we will need all of you in the coming days. However, together, we can push back the invaders and create a magical city worthy of being the bastion of humanity. Welcome to Celestia, the city among the heavens."