Chapter 42: Did it work?
Leila took us upstairs to her private lounge so I could work on Leslie’s armor. While I’d been there before, I was still surprised at how luxurious it was. The room itself was more spacious than it had any right to be, with alcoves filled with cushions and charcuterie boards that included delicious-looking fruits and cheeses.
“Why did you guys go to the restaurant?” I asked. “It looks like you have plenty of food here.”
One of the girls laughed. “Why does anyone go to a restaurant?”
“Well, I never do,” I replied. “Miss Aires’s diner was the first and only one I’ve ever been to, and I only ate there because there was no food at home. Now, I work there.”
“Well, normal human beings eat at restaurants all the time,” the girl replied, not bothering to hide the fact that she felt superior to me.
“Florence!” Leila spoke in a stern voice, and everyone grew silent. “We went to the restaurant today specifically because we heard you were cooking. You didn’t disappoint. Now, I know you came to work on Leslie’s armor, but I have a surprise. I’d like you to do your magic on this.”
She produced a short-sleeved tunic with interlinked blue scales. “Try your ability on this.”
“Um,” I hedged, not wanting to be exploited again. “I said I’d infuse Leslie’s armor, not yours.”
Leila smiled. “I’ll tell you what. You do as I ask, and I’ll give this to her as a gift.”
Several of the girls gasped when Leila said gift. I decided to analyze the item properly.
Storm Seraph Scale Tunic
Magic Item
Grade: C
Condition: 99
Defense: 40
Effect: Ranged Accuracy
Owner: Kirk
“Are you sure?” I asked. “That looks awfully expensive, and I did blow up an omelet earlier when I tried to infuse it.”
She laid the tunic out on a round table and pulled a chair out for me. “Yes, I’m sure. I have a few hunches about your skill and want to verify them. If this works, I’d like to pay you to infuse a few more pieces of my personal set.”
“Okay,” I took the offered seat. “If you’re sure.”
Leila nodded and sat across from me. The rest of the girls, including Leslie, crowded around. I took a deep breath and got to work. Almost immediately, something went wrong. The tunic refused to accept my mana, and Analysis gave me a cascade of errors.
Analysis: Unknown creator.
Analysis: Unable to infuse.
Analysis: Mana requirement not met.
Info: Mana requirement is 10,000
Suggestion: Use Mana Link
“Um,” I looked up at Leila, unable to put the suggestion into words. While I wanted to do as Analysis suggested and hopefully get some experience, it was a recipe for disaster. I’d have even less control.
“What’s wrong, child?” Leila asked, looking concerned. “Spit it out.”
“Uh,” I hedged again. “There might be a way to do it, but it’s even riskier than I thought.”
She didn’t hesitate. “Do it!”
“Alright,” I said, taking Leslie’s hand. “Everyone, join hands.”
I was pretty sure Leila had close to enough mana by herself, but figured it would be safer if everyone joined the Mana Link. There was also the risk of failure, but Leila had accepted full responsibility. At least, that’s what I told myself.
Once everyone was ready, I began. Slowly, at first, I cautiously infused mana into my first magical item. I didn’t count the finished egg dish because I was the one who made it magical in the first place. When I realized just how much capacity ten thousand mana was, I sped up, pushing many times my meager mana capacity through my hands and into the tunic. I felt it as the girls collapsed, one by one.
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They were the lower-level lackies, the ones with very little mana. Mana Link was indiscriminate when it came to taking mana for an infusion. I noticed that none of the mana was coming from me or Leslie. Perhaps it worked that way because I was needed to run the skill.
I felt the tunic reach its capacity long before the women ran out of mana. It was done. The tunic glowed for a moment before returning to its normal luster.
You have gained 500 experience points.
Congratulations, you have reached level 6
+100 HP
+100 Mana
+100 Stamina
Skill Unlocked: Repair
Enhanced Storm Seraph Scale Tunic
Magic Item
Grade: B
Condition: 99
Defense: 60
Effect: Ranged Accuracy
Owner: Evans
I grinned. It had been a success. The only thing I didn’t understand was how much it had improved as armor. “How good is twenty defense?”
“That’s less,” Leila frowned. “Are you sure that’s what it says?”
“No, it’s sixty now,” I explained. “It went up by twenty.”
Leila whistled appreciatively, and several of the girls gasped. “That’s not just good. That’s incredible.”
“Leslie gets to have it now, right?” I asked, looking at Leila expectantly.
She nodded. “Of course. Truth be told, it was going to be my gift to her anyway. Leslie has worked very hard and earned this.”
The few girls who were still on their feet patted Leslie’s back and gave their approval. That was when I noticed more than half of them were still passed out on the floor.
Leila wasted no time and took out a shirt that appeared to be made of paper and placed it on the table. “Do you think you can work your magic on this one? I’ll pay for the privilege.”
While I did feel some gratitude seeing Leslie’s excitement at getting her new tunic, I still didn’t want to get into the habit of using my skill for free. Madam Hurst valued my talents at a gold, so I decided to start with that. “I’ll do it for one gold.”
Leila had to silence the girls who, once again, howled in outrage at my blunt request. She fished a gold coin out of her satchel and placed it on the table next to the shirt. “It’s okay, ladies. The boy deserves to be paid for his services. It’s a small price to pay for a unique upgrade like this.”
Papier Mache Blouse
Magic Item
Grade: S
Condition: 52
Defense: 499
Effect: +50 Strength, +50 Dexterity, +50 Agility, +50 Stamina
Owner: Kirk
Analysis: Unknown creator.
Analysis: Unable to infuse.
Analysis: Mana requirement not met.
Info: Mana requirement is 1,000,000
Suggestion: Use Mana Link
Warning: Failure is likely to result in chaotic feedback.
I looked longingly at the gold coin before shaking my head. “I don’t think I can do it. That shirt requires one million mana, and even if we get enough people, something bad might happen.”
Leila rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “Well, I really don’t mind if the item gets destroyed. I’m willing to take the risk. As for the mana cost, I may be able to make the arrangements. What exactly do you mean by something bad happening?”
I stared hard at the words. “Chaotic Feedback.”
Info: Chaotic feedback occurs when mana recoils from a failed spell into the caster’s body. Depending on the volume of mana, severe injury can occur.
“My skill is warning me about severe injury from something called Chaotic Feedback,” I explained. “It also takes a lot of mana, and I’m not sure I can control it.”
She sighed, taking the shirt and putting it back in her bag, leaving the coin sitting in front of me. “Go ahead and keep that for your troubles.”
“Wait!” I yelped perhaps a little too loudly. “Let me see the shirt again.”
“Why?” Leila asked, but she took the shirt out anyway.
My mouth was suddenly dry. “I want to at least do something to earn this money. You have no idea how much it means.”
She smiled softly. “I have an idea. Life has never been easy for orphaned children, especially non-magic ones. I’d tell you about programs in our world that would take you out of the orphanage, but I doubt you’d accept any of them.”
“You’re right,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest. “I’d never abandon my brothers and sisters.”
It was true, too. I’d do anything for them, even Miss Havasu. For the time being, I had a gold to earn so I focused on the Papier Mache Blouse
Analysis: Made entirely of enchanted paper that can only be worn by its creator. While it cannot be upgraded by normal means, runes and sigils can be drawn to add various enhancements.
It went on to show several options of what to draw and where to put them, each adding substantial stat boosts to the armor.
“Um, do you mind if I draw on your armor?” I asked.
Leila raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think that’s possible. The paper in this armor is special, and only I can do that.”
“Ah, so you did make this,” I said, impressed that Leila was both a fighter and a crafter.
She chuckled. “It’s nothing fancy like that. You see, I have the ability to control paper. It’s only natural that I’d make my armor out of it. I have yet to find anything at the auction house that even comes close.”
“Well, my ability suggested a rune you can draw on the inside of the sleeves that will give twenty strength each. Add that to the fifty you already got from this tunic and the twenty you got from my steak, and you’ll have a bonus of one hundred ten.”
Leila raised an eyebrow. “That steak gave me twenty strength? Wow, I did feel something, but I had no clue. Amazing. Now, show me this rune and I’ll draw it.”
“Give me something to write with, and I’ll show you,” I replied.
With just a nod from Leila, one of the girls scampered off and returned with a bucket of writing utensils and a stack of paper. Included in the bucket were several fountain pens. I hesitated before selecting a pencil. It would be easier to correct mistakes that way.
The next step was to get the rune just right. I had no clue how to use them other than the fact that Analyze told me it would work. Hopefully, I’d remember them to try on one of my shirts later. Twenty strength was nothing to sneeze at. At least, I didn’t think it was.
Once I was sure I got it right, I slid the paper across to Leila.
She studied it and looked up at me. “Are you sure you got this right? Even a minor error can ruin the item the rune is printed on. Even though I made this, it’s not something I can duplicate easily. It took me years to get it to this state.”
I triple-checked the rune, carefully comparing it to the Analysis that was still floating in the air. “It’s right, but don’t do it if you think it will ruin your armor. I’ve never tried runes before.”
Leila stared at me while several of the girls told her not to do it. Leslie stood stock still behind me, not having moved or said anything since being handed the blue scale tunic.
Finally, Leila made her decision and got to work. Rather than using any of the writing instruments from the bucket, she took out a special quill from her pocket. It was a magnificent peacock feather with a fine tip that dripped with ink even though she hadn’t taken any out.
She sucked in a deep breath and began, carefully folding one of the sleeves so she could inscribe the rune on the inside. When she was copying my design, she looked up at me. “This is the do-or-die moment. I’m going to activate the rune.”
A moment later, the rune glowed and bled into the sleeve, turning it black.
Leila looked up at me. “Did it work?”
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