10 Mechanics Hall Branch Manager

「Ah!」

「Heh, so kid, you were the one who made that?」

「Yes, I was just experimenting, after that disaster, it would be good to be able to create defensive arrays.」

「I suppose it would, I assume that you chose to experiment here to catch my attention and sell them, after all, they do boast quite a powerful attacking ability, but an even more powerful defensive ability.」

「That was indeed my goal, I was hoping to be of use in the defence of the city, there is a large beast tide heading here after all.」

「True... well you have achieved your goal, bit, you alone cannot produce nearly enough for them to be of any major use. What is your plan form here?」

「My plan? My plan is to sell you the method of creation for 50 low-grade spirit stones and 25% royalty, in spirit stones of course.」

「You are much too smart for your age. 10% royalty.」

「30% royalty and I will work on improving this and try to find a way to make a large scale version.」

「How confident are you at improving the current item and when will it be completed by? I also assume that you will not be willing to just hand over the creation method of the improved version either, right?」

「You are correct, I will offer the method for the improved version for, 50 spirit stones and 25% royalty dropping the previous version from 30% to 20% and I expect the improved version to be ready for sundown. I do not know when the large scale version would be ready but I believe that there is an 80% chance of having it done in two days. Can you provide a room and supplies?」

「Deal, and yes I will prepare a room in the back for you as well as some people, just call and they will bring you what you need.」

---

Just finishing the improved version there was about 1 hour left until the sunset so he pulled out a paper and began to calligraph out the method of making it. Doing this was not only for practice but testing to see if he could imbue the characters with meaning.

---

Half an hour until sundown he finally managed some success as the text would give the reader a slight feeling of comprehension, kind of like how you would feel when you suddenly remember something after trying to remember for an hour but to no avail, just dampened. soon the manager came knocking on the door looking to test the new array and for the instructions.

「Is it finished yet?」

「Yes here are the instructions and here are the first few slates.」

「You're also a calligrapher? You are so talented at a young age! Although I do have to admit that calligraphy does help quite a bit when it comes to formation plates and when you have to manually draw out connecting threads and lines.」

Testing the slates the attacking function found that they could injure a first stage Spirit realm cultivator and the defensive function could take one attack from a first stage cultivator. The downside to this improved version was that even though it was exponentially more powerful it required ink of the five elements, fire, wood, earth, metal, and water.

「For the large scale version I will need cores or nodes of the five elements.」

「we don't have any wood cores but we have plenty of nodes in-stock.」

---

Finally, he told someone to deliver a message to his father that he would be spending the night at the mechanic's hall. Once that was completed he laid down in the corner and fell asleep. Walking just before dawn he practised Taichi and his calligraphy. buy the time he was done he went over to the washroom and washed he gave them walked out to grab a bite to eat and return to the inn to see his father.

---

「Shaner, you should stop being at the hall so often, I am begging to her worried, you are still too young.」

「Don't worry father, I am getting enough rest. I came across a book on arrays in an old shop, so I have been practising at the hall.」

「Ok, but did you really have to spend the night there?」

「Sorry I was also working on my calligraphy and I had decided that the inn as to far from the hall as it was a bit after sundown.」

「Ok I'm glad that you are worried about your safety. It is not safe for someone your age to be walking about a city alone that late at night.」

「Soon I will be returning to the hall as I had rented a cheap practice room.」

「Ok be safe, get enough rest, and make sure to return before sundown tonight. The beast tide is on its way and will arrive soon.」

Returning to the practice room he begs to layout the nodes into the array and by noon he was done connections and setting them up. All that was left was activating the array and testing it.

The main layout of the array had the 5 elements pentagram as a base with amplification arrays working to amplify the effects of the nodes and a series of basic combination and separation arrays. The combination arrays combine two or more threads of energy into one and the separation arrays do the exact opposite, they split the energy from one thread into multiple threads. Of course, there were elemental stabilizing arrays forcefully stabilizing the threads where two or more different elements were being combined.

Although more Powerful explosions were rarer in array making when one failed they still exist like cauldron explosions in pill concoction. The Elemental stabilizing arrays were one of the most important arrays in this array because If a few were to dale it could lead to a complete collapse and if a few failed in succession (along interfering energy threads) the hen the explosion could grow exponentially worse.

Calling for the manager to come and test the new large scale version of the array he began to check for anything that he could have missed. Suddenly he had an epiphany, what if he added in synchronised breaking arrays connected to a triggering array that can be activated from a formation plate so some the elemental stabilizing arrays would be forcefully broken at the time when the array was about to collapse therefore replacing the collapse with a large explosion. Just as he was contemplating the best way to go about this the manager arrived.

「Is this the array? Judging by the number of elemental stabilizing arrays if any were to fail there would be a large explosion.」

「I know, that is why I am planning to improve this and add in a self-destructing function breaking a few of the elemental stabilizing arrays from a formation plate giving someone the ability to explode it just before it collapses. If we add in a directing array and directed the explosion outwards as well as somehow amplifying the explosive power we could injure and kill lots of the beasts in front of the shield.」

「Good idea, but you are the only one who can do that and I don't want you taking down the hall if you fail, so don't try to add that I here. Now, let's get on to the fun part, testing this array. I assume that you have already had the construction method right?」

「Yep, they are right here.」

「Good, activate this and let's see the stability and strength of this thing.」

Activating the array they stood back and watched as the different threads of energy intertwined and wove themselves together. Several seconds later there was a loud buzzing sound as the array produced a translucent barrier tinted in five colours. Over the next few the seconds the buzzing does down as the shield stabilized.

Stepping forwards Chen Hua took a small formation plate and adjusted some things causing the shield to grow in thickness.

「Although this expends more energy, it is far stronger like this. I made the amplification arrays on the elemental nodes adjustable and connected to this plate so the overall strength of the array could be adjusted in order to save energy when needed. Currently, this is at maximum strength. If we were to add on the distribution it would distribute all impacts across the entire surface strengthening it even further though it would work even better if it were to be spherical.」

Striking at the shield with gradual blows, hit finally began to crack a the full strength of a fourth stage origin realm cultivator and was brought to near collapse at the strength of a fifth sage origin realm cultivator.

「Verry good, the shield can withstand the full strength of a fifth stage origin realm cultivator. Sell the construction method to me for 50 spiritual stones and 15% royalty」

「50 spiritual stones and 30% royalty. this is larger and stronger than the previous arrays and the explosion can act as an attack if we implement it.」

「Fine but calligraph a signboard for the hall, put your seal on the front corner as well.」

「Deal where is the stuff for the plaque, I will start now. You might as well stay as well because it will not take a lot of time. I also want to make sure that it is up to par as this is a large city after all.」

A few minutes an attendant walked into the room with a large brush and ink along with a stack of wooden boards.

Picking up the brush Chen Hua wrote out Mechanics Hall on the board imbuing the characters with the intent of crafting an ultimate contraption, he visualised all of the different professions of the Mechanics Hall setting to work crafting a gigantic island, one that could take flight and act as its own battleship.

Finishing with the last character when one looked at the plaque the could feel a sensation of grandness and strength as well as a hint of the different professions of the mechanic's hall.

「Very good, from now on this will be the plaque for the hall. We will store the previous one on display I. the main lobby.」

By this time it was already mid-afternoon so Chen Hua went around and explored the city a bit. He quickly stopped in at a street stall selling steam buns and bought a couple to snack on as he wandered around the shopping district.

The more miscellaneous shops were less busy while the different private blacksmithing shops and the like were overloaded with work as the beast tide was drawing near. Times like this was when Apothecary association flourishes because many needed their recovery pills. As Chen Hua was watching various people enter and exit the association there was a loud bang and a plume of smoke. There were a few shouts before there was loud laughter coming from the hall. A few moments later there was a youth that appeared to be about the age of 12 slowly walking out of the hall with a depressed look upon his face. He was covered in soot from the explosion.

This kid had been pestering the association to let him take the test for months to become an apprentice but he had overestimated himself and underestimated the difficulty of concocting pills. The laughter was naturally from the other apothecaries nearby as he had somehow had the cauldron explode when making the simplest pill. This pill was called the Tier 0 recovery pill. It just requires taking and refining 3 strands of heart grass, a herb found along most riversides. It is nearly impossible to cause a cauldron to explode when refining this pill because there would be no conflicting energies.

What caused the explosion was the fact that the kid had the furnace too hot and added in too much heart grass thinking it would be easier and more efficient to refine multiple batches at once. This lead to the unnecessary build-up of energies. With the furnace being too hot and sealed the energies were being produced too fast and when he tried to form the pills the kid had forgotten to open the cauldron. when forming pills with a closed cauldron, one's spiritual energy would become mixed into the different energies unless special techniques were used.

As the youth walked out of the building he became spirited once more and started running off towards Mechanics Hall.