In-Name Student

At the Golden Ferry I was well received thanks to my livery from the Delai Family and the presence of Lana, allowing us to just go behind the counter with general directions for how to find my old friends.

As it turned out, both Ferithar and Lucinda were in the process of organizing a large local auction sponsored by the Guild. In time of trouble, the Guild was bringing together the community with money by hosting a near-charity event in which many of the city's outlets were presenting their over stock of magic and better grade materials or equipment.

Hoping to maximize their profits, most branches of the Golden Ferry were hustling and bustling while organizing, distributing, and further processing a wide variety of goods. There was even an equally diverse number of familiars out and about handling a great deal of physical labor.

By the time we reached Ferithar's location, it was to find him surrounded by more than two dozen young adults- mostly women- who were merely sitting around and watching the short old man. The man himself stood in the middle of a large geometric rune array in a small auditorium.

Surrounding him was a temporary workplace of raw crystal that had been transmuted into a platform supporting the diagram, work tables, and equipment while constantly moving materials and products by magic. After stretching out my awareness, I found that these people seemed to be the grand alchemist's assistant because they were all connected to the old man by mana and feeding him as he fed the workplace.

This was oddly similar to the gourmet cultivating process but the entire operation depended on external factors from mana supply to materials. Everything placed on the cooking table just needed control while the settings handled the mana and outside forces complicated the process.

If I were to adapt the process with proper telekinesis, I could maintain more than one work station with my own mana supply from just normal materials. However, with my perception and the open flow of their own mana I could roughly feel how much mana these NPC had.

I could easily reveal their levels as well, showing that everybody in the room was only in the forties besides Ferithar whose level was high enough above mine that I could not see it even with my high leveled skill. Unlike players who would be lucky to half around a thousand mana art those levels without being dedicated mage classes, these NPC all had upwards of two thousand MP.

As well, I could not detect any accessories on these people. This was all their 'true' mana value feeding a 'machine' that seemed to consume a few hundred mana per minute. Between the lot of them there was about a hundred and a half thousand MP available, with little less than a hundred thousand coming from Ferithar himself.

Trying to avoid disturbing their work while making my presence known, I simply target the old man with my perception and guide my own mana to flow around him. In his current state, it was impossible for me to tap his mana pool without permission and probably at any normal time as well.

However, the old man could feel the abundance of mana in the simple output that matched the consumption of the machine and began taking it in. once her started using my MP I could solidify a proper tap and directly fuel my mana into the machine. This would help to alleviate some of the pressure on the other people.

By the time my own mana pool had been consumed after little less than ten minutes, all the current processes in the workspace were completed and came to a sudden halt with all of the tools and materials simply lying in place. Everything except for a small alchemy table with some cooking equipment and transmutation circles simply stopped in place.

That alchemy station was probably supplying half of the other functions on the large clear crystalline platform. While the others and I were all released from our fuel taps, Ferithar remained standing in the center of the platform and turns to look at me with a not unhappy appraising look.

I could even feel his mana perception spreading around me and I hide nothing, not even my near ten-percent per second regeneration rate for mana. Nodding his head with a slight grin, he reaches a hand and his own mana toward a table of crates of materials and products and a large piece of what was unmistakably Hardened Hickory flew to this hand.

Simply tossing this large three-foot length wood that turned out to be the very heart of an adult tree to where I stood, Ferithar says, "Craft this into one of your swords with every compatible material enchantment you know, one elemental enchantment, and two skill enchantments. However, only one skill can be offensive and the second must be defensive or healing."

As he spoke, two pristine natural mana crystals followed to hickory heart before I started working, manipulating the grain pattern of the wood in different ways for different areas after simply transmuting it into a Hardened Bokuto. The handle of the wood bore a density enchantment, increasing the weight of the weapon in its hilt and handle for power control while the spine was made supple yet hard at the same time and the 'cutting edge' faces were made for both density and hardness.

After these four different material enchantments I began imbuing raw mana into the sword itself and performing the strongest Conduction enchantment I can before switching the property of the mana to the wind element halfway through. After converting the high level mana conduction charm into a mid-level wind conduction charm for the elemental enchantment, I simply single out the blade and the outer edges of the spine portions for applying a basic Slash skill.

Once these sections of the Bokuto were enchanted with my own mid-leveled skill for one-thirty-five percent PATK while setting one of the pristine mana crystals into base of the spine. In the bottom of the naked hilt was set the other crystal with a conduction of light mana, generating a literal flash skill that triggered based on contact with the blade.

The purpose was so that no matter if the blade was blocked or struck successfully, there would always be a change to create a small-scale caster-safe flash of light to disorient an enemy. Despite the fact that I had taken the easy way out by using a basic Slash skill, when the magic actually took effect with my intentions it became conducive with the wind conduction of the sword.

Swinging the sword alone had a ten-percent chance to cast a Wind Cutter, casting Slash itself which refreshed every five seconds would trigger a Wind Cutter automatically. The literal flash effect, though, did not have any connection with the wind element.

However, I was still not satisfied with the work. Knowing that Ferithar was probably able to know all the information about the weapon even as I crafted it, I opened my menus to take out two pounds of ancient electrum from my Player Inventory. Transmuting this electrum alloy around the sword, I galvanize the blade, spine, and mold a small guard around the top of the hilt before layering several more material and conduction enchantments.

Finishing the weapon by imbuing fire element into the electrum, I appraise the weapon's plain purple name that awarded me with four thousand experience with a satisfied smile.

[Gilded Elemental Elder Bokuto- B+

LVL RQRD: 45

PATK: 63

MATK: 150

Fire PATK: 30

Wind Cutter- 10% chance to cast Wind Cutter when swinging in combat or training

Wind Slash- Casting Slash with the Gilded Elemental Elder Bokuto has a 50% chance to cast Wind Slash worth 120% user's PATK. Sword carried 3 charges for Wind Slash and each use takes 1min to recharge. Charges 3/3

Combustion Slash- Casting Slash has a 10% chance to cast Combustion Slash worth 150% user PATK. Casting Wind Slash has a 30% chance to trigger Combustion Slash

Shining Sword- Each conflict of the sword has a 50% chance to trigger Shining Sword, illuminating a 5ft area around the weapon to blind enemies for 2sec

Crafted by the 1st Imperial Divine Designer player, Life Hack, this sword employs two sets of advanced mana and material manipulation techniques to create an Epic B grade alchemy weapon. Due to the commission of an NPC, this weapon has a lessened level restriction. When used to cast other magic and skills, abilities are boosted with +10% speed from the wind element and +10% DPH from fire. Channeling the light element into this sword will give all attacks a blinding effect to hostile parties]

Tossing the weapon to Ferithar, I ask, "What do you think of your in-name student? He's come pretty far from that kid who paid to get punched in the mana pool."

The epic grade alchemy sword in the old man's hand was soon sent to his closest assistant who then began examining it and then passing it around to the others gathered around. Watching the various expressions of his assistants who began softly debating and explaining the production processes, Ferithar nods his head approvingly before looking back toward me.

"It's a good sword, it could auction later for around fifty gold and under more normal circumstances could go closer to one hundred," he says, using the monetary value to assess the weapon I had made. "Yes, Hack, you've indeed grown a lot. Much like the beautiful young Ms. Lana. Her magic signature is actually eerily similar to your own."

"It's due to some special abilities of mine that allow me to share some of my power," I reply with a shrug. "For everything she had done for me, it is the least I could do. If you were ever interested, I might be able to do the same for you, but it would probably weaken you more than strengthen you."

Nodding his head with a slight frown, Ferithar says, "No, I am quite content with the way things are at the moment. However, I could definitely use your help around here if you could spare a few hours. Then again, you're probably here for something already?"

Smiling a little guiltily, I rub the side of my nose and say, "Yeah, I was hoping to empty out my storage and sell a bunch of junk materials and items to the Golden Ferry in the process. If you need me here, I could spend an hour or two here afterward."

"That would be wonderful," he says distractedly before turning to his assistants. "Ms. Neil, Mr. Cars, would you two be so kind and to help Hack organize and appraise his belongings?"

After two of the man's previously resting assistants came forward, I spent the next half-hour skimming back and forth through my Player and Character inventories rearranging this that and the other while taking out everything I did not need. One third of my personal plants collects was even taking out, including whole young trees and large clods of earth and roots.

By the end of it, my couple hundred occupied squares dropped down to around fifty and the small auditorium was carpeted in odds and ends from different monsters and neighboring regions. Everybody who had previously been resting was now hard at work. There were even a variety of summons and familiars who were handling the few dozens of different captured mobs my team and I had been collecting.

By the end of it I received a new account with the Golden Ferry which came with credit for over a hundred thousand gold and a bag from Ferithar himself containing ten thousand gold. While the ten thousand gold equated to about ten thousand dollars, the money on the account functioned like a bank and could not be exchanged outside of the game. I could cash it out, but the Golden Ferry itself would only be able to pay me a few tens of thousands.

Having such a credit through and auction house was valuable in its own way, I would have special privileges through them such as their information and product acquisition networks that stretched around the continent. During this process, though, I did not simply give everything to the Golden Ferry.

A great deal of whole plants and trees were set aside for the clan to farm with in the near future.

Go also took part in this spring cleaning, making me wonder if I should not have all of my party members visit the Golden Ferry. I had originally intended to do this as a group to begin with, but the old lady kinda screwed my plans up. As it was, I was currently one of the most VIP independent clients of the ferry.

Twenty minutes after everything was cataloged and taken away, work started back up in the auditorium. Now, though, the work was noticeably faster paced as Ferithar overdrew from his assistants to compensate. In this fashion, they were only able to function for about half an hour before Ferithar would tap my mana pool and drain me out at a more measured pace for exactly ten minutes.

During the time it took to run me dry, the rest of his assistants would have replenished their mana supply with the aid of some potions or snacks on a nearby table. During this time as well, Go spent his time working on processing materials into sales goods from his own stock while using Lana for an assistant.

His goal was simply to teach her how to stat train all over again now that her levels had reset. Since her stats were so high, we did not think she could receive any stats at all but it was something he was curious to find out. At the very least, the materials alone would make crafts worth around a thousand experience apiece.

With reset levels, it would not be long before she was power-leveled above the region's mob levels. With a full day of just crafting armor, even if she did not gain any stats she would be around level fifty if every suit was a different style or set of materials. As an Acolyte, though, her crafts were not that strong to begin with.

The first jerkin she made using B quality materials and guided magic use from Go was a C quality item with a level thirty restriction and was only Uncommon despite both material and elemental enchantments. The effects were simply fire reaction reflecting a portion of damage received, but the portion was merely five percent. When Go made one testing his theoretical enchantment, the base product has a ten-percent fire-reaction.

The method of intent behind the elemental enchantment, though, was oddly similar to my own light flash enchantment. Both suits made were simply spider silk canvas but the suit Lana spent more than two hours putting together only had half of the effect of Go's and less than half of the actual physical and magical parameters. If she were to wear it, though, it would be enough addition to her passive parameters that few people in the new region could threaten her.

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