A Relatively Powerful Mage

Imri shifted uncomfortably on the makeshift wooden bench. Almost the entire population of the settlement was present, excluding the refugees and soldiers who were still behind enemy lines.

“Our first order of business is reviewing recent casualties and discussing if new procedures need to be put in place,” Steve said, having been designated meeting facilitator for his ability to keep everyone on task.

“There were 17 casualties during the war. Most were soldiers who valiantly gave their lives to keep us safe. I’ve reviewed the circumstances that led to each of their deaths, and while better equipment and more training might have saved them, I don’t think anything could have been done differently,” Laura explained. No one argued her point, everyone had known how difficult the battle had been, it was miraculous only 17 people died.

“The next item on the agenda is the population influx we will be receiving, though I think it would be good to have general immigration policies in place,” Steve said.

“What is there to discuss? We need more people,” Emery pointed out.

“No one is arguing that point. The question is, how much help do we provide? Our economy is just starting to get on its feet. If we give too many handouts to the refugees the system will collapse,” Laura argued.

“We were in their position just a few weeks ago. It would be callous of us to expect them to pay for food and shelter when they have nothing,” Steve countered.

“For now let's take things on a case-by-case basis. The settlement has enough money saved that we can foot the bill for essentials so the entire system doesn’t revert. However, after a few weeks, they’ll be expected to contribute, there’s too much work to be done to have idle hands,” Emry suggested. They all agreed, they would have an open immigration policy, though no specific aid was guaranteed.

“Next, we have the issue of the soul-stealing weapons, a pair of which are in Zhaire’s possession,” Steve read. No one immediately jumped in on this issue. They were only alive because those weapons had been used, but no one was comfortable with them.

“We use them for self-defense only, and only in dire circumstances,” Laura said. This time there was no argument as no one could come up with another proposal.

“Last, we need to come up with an official stance for the Chixel Azala conflict,” Steve read. This had been Imri’s contribution to the agenda.

“I propose we formally declare war against the Chixel,” Imri spoke up, though his confidence wavered as the entire packed room looked at him.

"What would be the point of that? We're obviously not on friendly terms with them, and I don't think they will care that a couple hundred humans have publicly declared war," Laura pointed out.

"It's not about what they think, it's about our mindset; We're not just trying to survive and hope they leave us alone, we're working to free our people and make them regret having ever thought we were an easy target," Imri declared.

“While I’m in favor of condemning the Chixel for their actions, I don’t believe we have the resources to launch an offensive campaign. We only survived this conflict because of the terrain advantage limiting the effectiveness of their superior numbers,” Steve said.

“Celestia’s official stance should be neutrality. Let the Chixel and Azala kill each other, then deal with whatever force is still left,” Emery said. The other two councilors bobbed their heads in agreement, none even remotely interested in Imri’s stance.

“Every day we sit back here, those monsters sacrifice another person. What if someone in your family died because we didn’t act?” Russ asked.

“What should we do, go charging back through the stone forest. Then what? We don’t know exact numbers, but there are way more than a few hundred of them,” Laura pointed out.

“We need intel,” Sylvi pointed out. “I purpose a recon mission. Gather information about enemy numbers, disposition, and any other pertinent information to the war.”

“Who would undertake such a mission? You?” Laura asked.

“Yeah, unless you know someone better for the job,” Sylvi said.

“You know you’re the only one remotely qualified for such a mission. My concern is with your extended absence. Who would be in charge of the soldiers if another attack came before you return?” Emry asked.

“One of the former prisoners was a high-ranking officer before the integration. I suggest they take over the role, they’re more qualified than I am anyway. I’m just a soldier.”

“I suppose reconnaissance isn’t a bad idea,” Laura admitted, settling the issue.

With the major issues out of the way, the meeting devolved into a status report with mostly good news. Almost across the board, their resources were exceeding expectations. There was no shortage of food, with a fair amount of Drake meat still frozen or salted, and some of the faster-growing crops would be ready for harvest long before they ran out. The building effort was also going well, with several buildings having been completed, mostly workshops for the various crafters with a couple of exceptions. A warehouse had been completed, mostly storing the extra stone and lumber they had extracted. The other was the building they were currently in. With the arrival of the refugees, they would satisfy the first objective for the settlement rank-up quest, so there was talk about making smaller buildings to complete the quest. However, they quickly decided against it, with the incredible speed at which their builders were working it wouldn’t be too long either way, so there was no point in building a shanty town that would need to be rebuilt.

With the council meeting done, he moved to leave, but Christoph, who had been lingering nearby stopped him. “Imri, my friend, it’s good to see you,” Christoph said with a broad grin.

“Hello, Christoph. Have something for me?” Imri asked.

“Always straight to business. Maybe I just wanted to buy you a drink,” The portly merchant said. Imri just glared at the man. “Alright, fine. I was wondering if I could buy up the rights to the loans you made." The loans in question were for two of the workshops, Avery's and Caroline's. He also owned the loan that the city would be paying to him for the investment in cores that he had given to everyone for the war effort. The terms were very generous for the borrowers, with the average interest rate being below 3% and the amortization over 15 or 20 years.

“Why would you want to buy those?” Imri said.

“I figured you would be too busy to service their loans. I was hoping to buy them up at 95% of the principal cost to offset the generous terms for the borrowers. In exchange for this favor I would have one small request for you,” Christoph said brazenly.

“A favor huh?”

“Just a small one. You see I recently got a new skill when I evolved my profession to tier 2. I’m now a financier instead of a simple merchant, and I can now open a system-run bank,” Christoph beamed.

“You want to be Celestia’s bank?”

“Precisely,” Christoph said. It did make a lot of sense, if Christoph could loan out their excess credits to those looking to have a house built they would finally have a full-fledged economy.

“Does anyone need to bank their credits though? It seems unnecessary when credits aren’t a physical object, they are essentially a perfect digital currency.”

“Maybe, but who wouldn’t want more credits? It also gives a way for people to transact without being physically proximate. I also gain a small amount of interest on any money banked with me, courtesy of my new deity. A portion of which will obviously be given back to my customers. It's a win-win,” He said with a sly grin.

“So basically, you're going to give me money and then want me to give it right back to you. Then you’ll lend it back out again. All while I lose 5% on loans that haven’t even had a single payment?”

“It’s not my fault you’ve been practically giving money away. Honestly, 95% is generous given what a fair market deal should be. I also wouldn’t lend out all the money banked with me, I’ll keep 20% in reserves,” Christoph explained.

Imri had to admit that the concept of banking would be a good addition to the stability of Celestia. He also agreed that his terms had been generous, more of a stimulus package than an investment. Even with him making those loans he still had almost a million credits from slaughtering Drakes nonstop for over a week. Christoph was also right that he didn’t have time to keep track of various debts, that was something he was far more suited for.

“If I agree to this, you’ll need to abide by any financial regulations the settlement might impose,” Imri said hesitantly.

“Of course, I’m not some back alley loan shark. I’m running a legitimate enterprise,” Christoph said with mock indignation, though the wide grin made the affectation especially obvious.

They eventually settled on terms. Imri would deposit the majority of his credits, with a large portion locked away in the equivalent of a six-month certificate of deposit. Even that only yielded him a 2.0% interest rate, though that was mostly fair given his mandate to keep interest rates on loans as low as possible.

Imri spent the next couple of days focused on his enchanting. The moment the conflict had ended, Imri requested a second mana absorption panel frame be built by Avery. Unfortunately, It wasn’t quite ready, so Imri worked on a separate project.

His second project was something he had come up with on a whim. He wasn’t entirely certain the idea was practical, but it would be really cool, at least in his opinion. This project also required Avery’s help, but it was far simpler for him to build. When Imri explained his idea Avery was immediately on board, insisting that Imri build him one.

The base material was a small canister of sturdy metal, about the size and shape of a flashlight, 30 centimeters long with grooves making it easier to grip. A panel could be removed, allowing Irmi access to the inner portion of the canister, where a piece of Espeonite crystal would be affixed after the runes were inscribed.

The actual enchantment wasn’t that difficult either, making the entire item surprisingly easy to craft. The most difficult part was integrating the buttons into the enchantment and getting the leylines from the outside portion of the canister connected.

Knowing that the enormous amounts of mana consumed would be the main limitation, Imri poured a considerable amount of his mana reserves into the crystal. He raised the canister over his head, gripping it with both hands. He swung it down towards a board that was protruding from a workbench. At the last second Imri activated the item, and a 90-centimeter blade made from the Dimensional Tear spell appeared, extending from the end of the hilt. It sheared through the enchanted wood, meeting no resistance as it separated matter.

Imri smiled and tapped the button a second time, the blade disappearing moments after it had appeared. He finished his enchantment with one of the higher-level cores and used Identify on the finished project.

Item

Dimensional Saber (2F): A hollow cylindrical hilt with an affixed Espeonite crystal inside. Enchanted to produce a Dimensional Tear with the end of the hilt as the frame of reference. The size and shape of the Dimensional tear can be adjusted. Mana Efficiency 299.

It wasn’t practical to use the blade at sword length like he had, the brief moment it had been on consumed almost 100 mana. However, at a much more modest length, it could be used for utility purposes, like cutting through materials that couldn’t be damaged by their more conventional tools. He knew the utility knife he had enchanted was used extensively, passed among various crafters when working on almost any part of the Drake. The utility knife was half as efficient as the new item he had created and far less flexible. It would take a bit more efficiency before they were practical as a weapon, even at a more modest blade length.

Imri decided to sell the dimensional saber to Avery for far less than he was willing to pay when he picked up the panel. The man reverently held the saber, and Imri knew he wanted to go test it out. He warned him about the immense mana the item would go through if he treated it like a toy. The meager mana that the one active panel provided was far from enough to supply the settlement as it was. Adding more of these mana-hungry devices was going to exacerbate the existing problem. Avery understood this and vowed to scrounge up enough materials for a third panel, even though they both knew precious metals were in short supply.

The runes for the panels were tedious but easy. It took him almost half a day to complete the enchantment. The result turned out slightly better than he had hoped, the panel had reached 301 efficiency, just over 53% higher than the first one he had enchanted. When it was up and running he was pleasantly surprised at how much mana it produced, almost 3 times the original at just under 15 mana an hour. This was because the 53% improvement was to the total mana production, not the net mana production. While the total mana produced increased by roughly 53% the mana cost of running the panel remained had decreased by a minuscule amount with the improvement to all of the runes. This resulted in a net mana output of 14.94 mana per hour, almost 3 times the original 5.05 output of the first panel. This made the panels a far more effective enchantment, and the system rewarded him for his accomplishment.

Achievement Upgraded

Master Crafter 3 (+1): .3% Primary Stats (+.1%)

New Achievement

Mass Production 1: Produced a considerable number of items. When an item is crafted, the amount of progress towards the next rank varies by item type, the quality of the item doesn't matter. The amount of contribution needed to rank is slightly exponential. .05% increase to all primary stats/rank.

Imri Padar has reached Level 16 (+2) in Runic Engineer (2F)

Primary Stats

Strength 129 (+1)

Agility 101 (+1)

Intelligence 198 (+2)

Willpower 164 (+1)

Charisma 106 (+1)

Secondary Stats

HP 166 (+1)

FP 126 (+1)

MP 456 (+11)

Mana Efficiency 441 (+9)

Crafting Efficiency 482 (+14)

The Master Crafter achievement increase was a surprise, but he had been expecting the Mass Production achievement. This was a common achievement that every crafter eventually gained. Zathri had mentioned that it was usually the first crafting-related achievement most individuals got. The fact that Imri had Master Crafter 2 before he got Mass Production 1 was an anomaly. Caroline, being Celestia’s highest-level crafter had already got the Mass Production 1 achievement during the war effort, though she too had the Master Crafter 3 achievement.

Emboldened by his success, Imri decided to press on. He used a skill he hadn’t had an opportunity to use yet. He used his Rune Removal skill, removing all the runes from the first panel. Unfortunately, due to the large number of runes, most of his remaining mana was depleted. He was forced to wait until tomorrow to reapply the runes. While it somewhat irked him to have the panel not running for a night, it was far from disastrous.

Imri managed to complete the second panel the next morning. Despite having more crafting efficiency, the re-enchanted first panel actually turned out to have slightly less mana efficiency than the second panel. While this could have been due to variations in how well he applied the runes, Imri was certain that wasn’t the root cause. Avery had improved by several levels between his first and second attempts, making the base material's quality higher for the second panel. Imri's improvements in crafting efficiency had diminishing returns when using low-quality base material. Likewise, for a lower-level crafter, using increasingly higher-quality materials would also start to have diminishing gains. At no point was it ever worse to have more crafting efficiency or higher quality material, but the larger gains to final output occurred when the lower was pushed up towards the higher. This is why any gain in quality from Avery would have a large effect on Imri’s final enchantment.

It wasn’t just Imri who had this dilemma. Virtually every part of the supply chain had a similar function. It started with the base quality of the item in the world, and then that quality would be potentially diminished if it wasn’t extracted properly. Then many materials needed to be refined, which could also diminish quality. By the time it got to the crafter, it could already be low quality, making the final crafted item subpar. This is why it was important to have a group of people dedicated to extracting or refining particular resources. Every part of a supply chain was important, and no matter how strong Imri became he would always need others to specialize in other areas. He needed Celestia as much as it needed him.