Chapter 2. Bad day
"Reconstruction?"
The three of them looked at each other, seemingly not knowing what this meant.
Reconstruction? What means?
When the thought crossed my mind a transparent, blue square appeared over me, with white words written on it.
[Skill: Reconstruction
Rank: A
Description: The user is able to disassemble, reassemble, and reform anything that the magic touches. Being versatile it those have its limits. It only activates by touch and it is only able to alter already existing physical states and the user's own mana.]
Mana?
The letters on the tablet became jumbled together and rearranged into new words.
[Mana: a naturally existing energy, found in every mater but a few can use it properly. When used correctly mana can be used to cast magic, bending the fabric of reality. But be aware of Balance.]
Balance?
[Balance: the only rule of this world that not even the gods can break. To get something another of equal value must be sacrificed.]
Scary. What gods?
[…No information found. Please rephrase the question.]
Ehhhh, Gods what?
[…No information found. Please rephrase the question.]
…Gods?
[…Gods: Beings existing at the highest plane of reality, controlling the very fabric of reality. When reaching a certain stage of evolution or elevation direct communication is possible. Objects may become God-ranked if they have regularly undergone amelioration.]
Elevation or Evolution? Amelioration?
[ Elevation: A process during all humanoid being goes under when enough SE has been collected. During the process, the individual's states will be upgraded. Also, the most used skills may be changed to a higher one.
Evolution: a process during a non-humanoid being goes under when enough SE has been collected. During the process, the individual's states will be upgraded. Also, when the evolution is complete may provide additional skills or enhance the already existing ones.
Amelioration: a process exclusive to objects. By absorbing mana from the user and taking SE from victims their quality will undergo a process that enchants all their states. This process can be done manually by blacksmiths, but the requirements for the next amelioration will rise.]
SE?
[ SE= Soul Echo: when a living organism dies and its soul is leaving its body, it leaves an imprint that fuses with the one that killed it. When enough echo is collected, the slayer will undergo an elevation or an evolution depending on its race. Also, if a skill or ability is used multiple times during echo collecting then it will undergo a fortification.]
What are skills?
[Skills: Inborn tale-]
Before I could read the tablet entirely, I was picked up by the yellow handed one.
"In any case, we need you to turn this thing into a weapon!"
"How many times do I need to tell ya!" The small furball shouted." If I don't know who will use it and what it can do, I cannot turn it into an efficient weapon! What if I make it into a war ax and the one who uses it is incredibly thin?! No, you find a partner for it, you figure out what it those AND then you bring it to me! Now get the hell out I still have a sandwich to finish!"
The white-bearded one pushed us out and slammed the door with a loud bang.
Rude.
"…Sir, I think he is right."
"I know, I know. We were too excited about this. Go put that thing in storage and continue your work. I will do the paperwork for the tests and the suitable candidate for it."
"…Do you want a cup of coffee, sir?"
"Oh God, yes. This whole ordeal exhausted me."
*****
Dark. Very scared.
They brought me into another room that was filled with stone pedestals that had different objects on them. The candles on the floor provided almost no light source, only adding to the creepy atmosphere.
"This will do it nicely."
The with clothed one put me down on an empty pedestal and left me there.
No. Don't leave! Dark!
To ease my mind, I started to think, repeating, and remembering everything that I felt important.
Reconstruction.
When this word came into my mind something happened.
My core started to shine in a green light then from it, wine-like lines started to spread, covering a big part of the room.
If this wasn't enough a three-dimensional model of my surroundings appeared vividly in my head.
What's this?
As to answer my question a familiar tablet appeared in my mind.
[By using skill Reconstruction, the user is able to access [Drawing Board] as a sub-skill. This skill allows the user to design and save drafts in the mind.]
Draft?
I remembered one of the objects that I once saw. As it said the image of it appeared in my head and a tablet next to it with a lot of words on it.
[0/35l of water
0/4l of ammonia
234/25kg of carbon
0/100g of salt pepper
…]
It went on and on listing on things that I had not even the faintest idea of what it meant.
No person. Mug?
I imagined the mug and surprise the list there was much shorter and I had all the materials for it.
[Do you wish to construct the item?]
Yes.
A wave of brighter green light rushed through the vines that started to move fanatically.
They touched various things that suddenly started to decompose into little particles, that traveled through the vines like veins.
Where all these materials met, they slowly started to mix together, and then a perfectly identical mug was on the floor right before me.
[Construct made. Do you wish to save construct [Mug]? ]
Yes.
[…Construct saved.]
Feal smarter. Stronger. Need more! Need- Need-ZZZZZzzzzz.
This was the first time I experienced the feeling of sleep. It was…horrible.
I couldn't see, I could hear, I couldn't even think. I gazed into total darkness, without even the power to look away. My only source of light was a screen that floated before my eye.
[MP capacity depleted.]
[Entering recharge Mode.]
[Time till exiting recharge mode: 10h 30m 56 s]
Help!
*****
??? POV, unknown tavern:
The tavern was noisy with people speaking and gambling. The waitresses were carrying trays filled with beer mugs and food.
At the farthest end of the tavern, in a shadowy corner, a few people were whispering between each other.
"Are you sure?"
"Certain. Just today, 2 FBM agents disappeared at the castle ruins. There has to be something there."
"Still, we need to be careful. One wrong move and those dogs from the church will be all over us."
"Don't worry. I called some contacts to make a scene at the capital. Those idiots will be too busy with that."
"Man, you really need to warm me when you do something like this."
*****
[Time till exiting recharge mode: 6 s]
[Time till exiting recharge mode: 5 s]
[Time till exiting recharge mode: 4 s]
[Time till exiting recharge mode: 3 s]
[Time till exiting recharge mode: 2 s]
[Time till exiting recharge mode: 1 s]
[Time till exiting recharge mode: 0 s]
[Recharge mode exited.]
Finally. Need to be careful.
When my vision came back, the first thing my eyes laid upon was a big hand tossing me down on a table.
"This shit doesn't even work!"
Then the one who held me stored out, slamming the door behind him.
What did I miss?
It seemed like I was in a wide, white room, with a table and mirror.
"Volunteer 23 failed. Send in the next one!"
Where is voice comes from? Is it invisible?
The white door slammed open and someone stormed in.
It was a girl with brown hair and eyes.
"Let get this over with!" she grabbed me and looked at me with a smirk in her eyes.
"Volunteer 24, please channel your energy in it."
The girl made a disgusted face for a second then she did it as she was told.
I could feel the energy cursing through me, making my core shine in green light.
My vines started to spread all over her body, soon covering her in what seemed like green tattoos.
"Who, this feels gross."
"…Volunteer 24, please demonstrate the power of the object.
"Eeeeeh sure, but how do I use it?"
"…Guessing from the name of its power, Reconstruction, we believe that it is connected to reshaping. Try using it as a conduit for an earth-related prayer."
"Eeeehhh, fine." She closed her eyes, pressed her empty hand on the ground and she started to murmur something.
[User wishes to build an earth wall.]
[Do you approve?]
Yes?
While she was praying my appendages started to spread on the ground, destroying it and reassembling it, building it into a huge wall that separated the room into two.
"…This…Thank you 24. You may put down the object on… on the ground."
Yep, I accidentally used some parts of the table too, making it almost unusable.
The girl, saying nothing, let me drop unto the floor, making the green tattoos on her completely disappear.
She shakingly stood up and left, leaving the door completely open, that soon let in the man in the white rob, that left me in that gloomy place.
Hate. I hate him.
"Incredible. A power that can shape stone as easily as clay. With this girl's natural talent, we will have a great bust of power!"
Scared.
*****
"Are you sure about that? Once it's made, I am unable to change it back to a weapon."
"Yes, I am certain."
The brown-haired girl gave the piece of paper to Ludvik, the best Engineer in the FBMS.
"Alright then. Come back tomorrow, I will be done with it then." The small man shut the door tight and a lock could be heard turning.
"What an ass."
The girl, Joey, flicked her hair.
Being the first daughter of a powerful noble, she always had her way in everything. And today wasn't an exception either.
She has the perfect grades, the best mana conduit, and now the perfect weapon. She was the most compatible with earth-related prayers, but she could feel her power enhanced by that ting.
With that, I can beat those stupid commoners!
How FBM worked was simple. The organization could be broken down into three levels, not counting the research department and the Pope, the leader of the whole thing. At the very top where the elites, the best of the best, powerful enough to level an entire city with only their mana capacity and we are not mentioning the three weapons they can carry with themselves.
In the middle were the veterans. They handle most of the dangerous tasks that the higher ones don't want to deal with. They have some authority and can carry two weapons.
And there is the bottom where all the rookies are gathered. They get the worst jobs and can only use one weapon. And that's not all. Even at the bottom, there was a non-spoken hierarchy. Nobles get the best jobs, like subjugation as the law of nature dictates it. The rest like clean up jobs and gathering will be tossed to the commoners.
Yet there was a group that started to defy this rule. A bunch of scums, taking subjugation quests and daring to spit into their face.
Their leader even had the guts to hospitalize a son of a baron, only because he wanted to take one of those whores with himself.
They should have felt honored, yet that barbarian broke 13 of his bones with a single punch.
It was unacceptable.
Nobles are better than commoners in every aspect. It was in their blood. To have a commoner do this is-
"Joey! You need to hear this!"
She turned around, facing one of her followers.
To be informed of everything that's happening, she formed a little group of elites who were under her thumb. To her, she was nothing but a useful tool that was easily replicable.
"What is it?"
"That scum, Froid, just beaten up two barons just now at the canteen!"
"What? Who?"
"Those brothers from that Stelish family."
Stelish? If I remember correctly, they became nobles a few decades ago. Fortunately, they are not from the old families. Those guys would go out for blood, for something like this.
Even though she hated them; Joey wasn't stupid. She knew that that Froid was dangerously strong and an out war between him and the families wouldn't end well for anyone.
I need to take care of him before he those something stupid. Lucky for me I will have my weapon by tomorrow. Should I...
"Hey, you have that coin that tells people the future, right?"
"Well, it those do not tell the-"
"I don't care. I need you to flip it."
She looked at me with a weird eye then she nodded and started to look into her pocket.
The uniform that we were wearing was super ugly. White with black stripes on the side as if we were prisoners. For us nobles, we could at least cover it up with coats, like the dark purple one she had on, but for the rest, well it was quite fitting.
She finally found it.
It was a normal-looking golden coin, with the words yes and no carved at each face.
"Think about the question you want to ask. Ready?"
Joey nodded repeating her question over and over in her head.
The coin flew into the air, covered with a gentle golden light. It stayed stuck in the air for a while then it fell right back into her follower's palm.
"…It says yes."
Perfect.
Joey walked past her follower without a word heading directly to the canteen.
She only stepped in there once in her entire life, since she always ate the food that her servant cooked her, yet she knew perfectly where it was.
When she arrived, there was the crowd that she expected.
Shit, I hope it didn't get worse.
It did get worse.
After I fought through the crowd, to see what happened I almost shouted in frustration.
There were five guys on the floor coughing out blood, while some had fume coming out from their mouths. Between those idiots stood the worst person ever.
Froid.
That bastard was cracking his knuckles while he was grimacing like an idiot. Seriously with his black hair hiding his eyes, he looked like a retard.
What does that mob think?
Before I could even say anything from the crowd behind him some idiot attacked him with a chair.
That retard was immediately shot down with a right hook directly in the face. The force was so great that his legs were off the ground from a second before he fell unconscious.
"If you are a man, then attack at the front!"
That's it.
I stepped forward while channeling some energy into my hands.
"You commoner stop this immediately! Do you realize what you are doing?!"
That bastard, he acted like he didn't hear me and continued talking to one of the whores he had.
"That son of a- God, creator of all, giver of light-"
While praying I infused my energy into the ground under his foot.
"-Earth Bind."
The ground under his feet became mud-like and before he could even react, he was swallowed, leaving only his head out.
"W-What just happened?"
"Who used that prayer just now?!"
"Just when it was getting good!"
Good, now I only need to wait for the higher-ups to get here and-
"Froid!"
One of the girls that were always with that retard ran to him and started to channel her magic into the ground around him.
"Joey, why did you do that?!"
Now it was another one from this guy's group that came at me.
Eclair van Hens.
Not only she is the daughter of a noble family that is super close to the king, but she is the most beautiful person in the entire lower level. Even she needed to admit it and that was a huge blow to her pride.
"Are you blind Éclair? I put an enraged dog out. He was causing an unneeded ruckus, so I calmed him down."
"But you could have hurt him!"
"That was my intention."
Before she could have said anything, a red glove was thrown at joey's leg.
"I-I challenge you!"
It was the one who ran to help that peasant.
T-This bitch!"
*****
In the meantime, at the forge:
"Well, let's do this."
No! Stop! What Is That?! Put that down! Don't come closer to me! I am warning you! Nonononononoooooo!