Jack put his new equipment down on his little desk and looked around the room. He still had the device for converting to fire mana on his bed, along with a case of ten more crystals he could charge. His new jacket had slots for four, so it couldn't hurt to top these others up. He couldn't do much more to help than that at the moment.
He wanted to be productive with his time, so while he got the device set up and loaded the gems in, he also got the tablet ready. It had a little stylus he could detach, which he used to make some quick notes. Thalen had been pretty specific on the "keep it to yourself" part, and not knowing what sort of trackers were on his tablet, he made sure not to be too detailed.
His notes were mostly things he wanted to research or questions he had. He wanted to get them on paper before he forgot. Once that was done, he sat down, drew in mana from a Life gem on the desk, circulated it around his vortex, and let it slowly build up the charge in his body.
While that happened, he started his research. The next few hours sped by, and before he knew it, the last gem was charged and his research was mostly finished. He packed away the gem and carefully moved the converter off his bed.
Looking down, he read over his notes on Magitech.
Jack's notes on Magitech!
Magitech comes in two distinct forms: Crafted / Spawned
Crafted magitech begins as either:
- a mundane item that is enhanced with an ability and Origin essence (obtained from rift spawned items).
- Or an existing piece of magitech is used as a base.
There are different levels of crafted magitech, these relate to the skill of the crafter and also have an impact on the level of any improvements or enhancements.
All Magitech contain Origin essence. Not all Magitech contain an Essence Enhancement.
If an item has an Essence enhancement [Capacity Essence] it will be related to one of the primary attributes and it will give between 10-15% boost to the base value.
A maximum of 10 essences can be active for a person at one time, the highest a statistic can be increased by essences is 100%.
A piece of Magitech can have a number of enhancements equal to the number of Essence Enhancements on the item. A skilled craftsman is able to transfer an Essence Enhancement from one item to another, the boost is potentially reduced when this occurs.
The difficulty of adding enhancements goes up exponentially after every successful addition. There is a chance the Item is overloaded or the essence is lost if it fails to apply. Most stop at three.
If it could be achieved with an ability, it can be applied as an enhancement. Difficulty dependent however.
Most enhancements will fit into one of the three following types :
- Tune : This is a modification to an existing attribute or ability - Normally a % increase or modifier
- Enhancement : This is the addition of a new ability or the modification of an existing one.
- Restriction : This provides a limit on the usage of the item in some way shape or form, the benefit is that a larger boost is then applied to the regular use of the item. Or other effects are boosted, compounding percentages.
Note: Seems like crafting Magitech is somehow tied to the Centre again. Some special ability or trait allows the manipulation of Origin essence. Can’t find any more information on that but need to ask Turrel.
It was rough, but it helped him get the info out of his mind and put it in order. It helped to see things sometimes rather than just think them.
The difference in quality between his items and Monty's was clearer now; still, Journeyman and Expert were decent quality. Speaking of his new items, he wanted to try the coat on and see what it was all about. He walked over and picked it up, taking time to inspect it in more detail now that he wasn't rushed.
The lining was immaculate; he honestly couldn't even see a stitch or thread anywhere. It looked like it could have simply come in that exact shape—pockets and pouches included. Thinking of the way he had seen his boots spawn, it very well might have.
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It looked like it might be a little big, but he assumed, like the boots, there would be some sort of resizing if he put it on. He turned the coat inside out and looked at the pockets that contained the fire gems.
He wanted to see if he could make out any patterns or lines—anything that might indicate how it was using a gem to power the item. Chances were it was somehow the item itself that did it, but he knew it must be possible otherwise. That was how the vessel itself was powered.
Each of the inner pockets had a little seal; it reminded him of a zip-lock bag, but leather and built into a coat. Inside were small crystals, much smaller than he thought earlier. He had assumed they were the same as the ones he charged, but these were about a quarter of the size.
He might have just charged enough gems to fit out ten of these coats. That was something, right?
He turned the jacket around and slowly slid his arms into the sleeves. As it settled around his shoulders, it felt heavy and much too big. He shimmied a little and then felt something from the coat, like a polite knock on the door to his mind. He answered.
The coat's weight disappeared; it was as if he was wearing a thin shirt. It suddenly felt snug around his arms and chest, not in a suffocating way, but in a way that accentuated his much-improved physique.
He noticed the warmth immediately. The room wasn't cold, but it was cool. As soon as he felt the coat fit, the temperature felt perfect. All of a sudden, it was that perfect "in-between" feeling where a sheet was all you needed, and you could keep both feet under without getting too hot.
He liked it. It didn't feel constricting, and there was even a loop on the inside that looked like he might be able to fit the focus in. He had to come up with a better name for it at some point—maybe "Caster Gun"—but focus it was for now.
He walked to the small bathroom in his room and looked at himself in the full-length mirror. It was a nice fit. As a Queenslander and a die-hard Broncos supporter, he approved of the maroon colour scheme. Not entirely sure what was going to be happening tomorrow or how long he had, he thought it was probably a good idea to get whatever rest he could now.
Reluctantly, he took off the coat and cleared his bed. He laid down and dozed off, dreaming of magical items and misty boots.
A loud buzzing sound tore him from his peaceful sleep. These mattresses were way too comfortable. Sitting up, he shook off the remnants of his dreams, slid off the bed, and approached the door. As it slid open, he was greeted with Turrel's blue-bearded face. The man motioned for him to come in and sat on the corner couch while Jack sat on the bed, rubbing his eyes.
“Sup,” Jack mumbled.
“Good morning, Jack. It’s going to be a busy morning; thought I would try to have a quick chat before we get surrounded by people,” Turrel replied, getting comfortable on the couch.
“I will be coming on the expedition with you, but my role is to keep your training going and to keep you safe. I know it might not feel like it, but this is a very dangerous situation we are going into. Sorry, I won’t parent you with that warning again; I am partly responsible for your safety, so I feel the need to mention it.”
Jack nodded. He appreciated the concern, but it was a little late now to be changing his mind.
“We will be on the support team and should mostly be travelling in the Turtle. It's a large modular vehicle with all of the supplies and facilities we may need during the expedition.” Turrel pulled out a pouch; it looked very similar to the one he had seen in Monty's armoury.
“To keep up your training and help with the expedition, you will be using these to help keep our food supplies stocked up. Along with a few other simple tasks that can utilise your skills.”
Jack felt the familiar tingle and inspected the item.
[ Kalo Seed Pouch]
[Journeyman Craft] - [No Essences]
This item has been crafted by a Journeyman Craftsman.
This pouch may only contain seeds, once a type of seed has been merged with the pouch it cannot be changed. (This pouch has been merged with the ‘Kalo Seed’)
- Kalo seed - This seed grows a vinelike plant that produces the Kalo vegetable. The Kalo is a highly nutritious tuber that is a staple ingredient found in many cuisines across the universe.
This pouch is able to store one hundred of the merged seed. By channeling mana into the pouch the seeds will be replenished.
It sounded like a potato. He liked potatoes. He was starting to realise that this life of adventure he had been picturing might have been viewed through rose-tinted glasses. His role was looking more and more like a day job every time he was given something new to do.
“Otherwise, everyone will likely know you have an amplification trait; the level of it, however, is up to us to manage. I will be there to make sure that you don’t accidentally go overboard. We just need to make sure that it looks like it takes a lot out of you,” Turrel continued.
“Got it. Can’t have people realise it takes literally no effort at all on my part now. So no generic purging, right? Just occasional charging of gems and growing of food and other things?” Jack asked.
“That is about it for now. We will have some small level of privacy, but people will be curious about you, so watch what you say about yourself. After your conversation with Brandt, I believe you should be okay navigating the social side, but just be careful” Turrel smiled as he stood.
“Now, get your equipment together and get cleaned up. Dress for the expedition and we will be heading out in fifteen minutes. It’s a whole thing, so let's not dawdle,” Turrel said as he walked to the door.
Jack sighed as he got up and started to gather his very small pile of belongings.
Thirty minutes later, Jack stood with Turrel at the rear of a group that composed most of the staff on board the vessel. There had been a quick briefing, and everyone had been given their tasks and roles. Jack, as part of the support crew, was to help prepare the supplies and assist with hauling crates.
It seemed most vehicles were not able to pass through the Rift fully assembled; the ‘Turtle’, as everyone was referring to it, needed to be constructed on the inside as it was too large to otherwise fit. There were stacks and stacks of metal crates and mixed parts all lined up in a neat pile to one side of the portal room. Opposite that pile were a number of trolleys filled with boxes that Jack could feel were full of mana gems.
Food and many other items were being stacked alongside these materials while people rushed around the area. The vessel itself had been moving through space since they had arrived back on board, and through the large window to their right, Jack could see their destination.
In the middle of the deep, dark expanse of nothingness outside the window, a swirling mass of blue and white energy pulsed. Surrounding the portal was a massive circular disc; this one was not from their vessel and looked like a much more permanent structure.
It had a number of large rectangular rooms attached to it, and as Jack recalled, this had been used as some sort of mana farm for years by the Zerraians. It was probably some sort of loading bay or outpost for access to the main portal.
Jack saw Monty standing in the middle of the room and only barely heard the man clap his hands over the buzz of people working and talking as they prepared. Monty had a very different presence about him today than Jack had experienced before; only part of that was due to his new attire.
He was wearing a thick but form-fitting black bodysuit that flashed emerald when the light hit its polished surface; it reminded Jack of a superhero costume. His boots were obviously coloured to attempt to match, but their design and shape were completely different. Big, solid, and heavily reinforced, it looked like he was wearing the boots of a Fallout Power Armour suit.
Jack caught sight of a very similar coat to what he was currently wearing. Monty's simply looked a little… nicer. More comfortable. Not that Jack was complaining; he very much enjoyed his own comfortable coat. Monty had some strange white band that was attached to his temple and seemed to curve around his head, like he was wearing a decorative headband made out of white gold.
Jack took in the outfit and Monty's stance while the noise died down. The chatter ceased slowly, and all eyes turned to Monty as he began to speak.
Let me know your thoughts on if this is something that fits here or if I should try to work it in earlier or put it in an author note instead.