carving the first artifact (chapter 3)

Chapter 3

"you want to work here?" the old man inquired, his voice grizzled from years of experience, as Ted reached for a tarnished ring on display. "Yes," Ted replied succinctly, his gaze unwavering as it met the old man's.

The old man closed the weathered book in his hand, carefully preserving his place with a bookmark as he said, "what makes you think i am hiring?". Ted didn't immediately answer. Instead, he delicately blew on the ring, causing a cloud of dust to scatter into the air. The old man sighed softly, and Ted didn't hesitate to place twelve dollars, the ring's value, on the counter as the old man requested.

"Why do you want to work here, of all places?" Ted sighed before responding, "Well, I'm an orphan, so I don't really fit anywhere. I recently fled a foster care, which left me homeless. I'm 17, turning 18 in a couple of months, and I thought I'd give independence a shot – earn some cash, find a place to sleep, and finally start living rather than bouncing from one foster home to another." He slipped the ring onto his finger while explaining his situation, hoping to guilt trip the old man into giving him a job.

The old man seemed deep in thought as he slowly rose from his seat. "Fine. I assume you want to start right away, correct?" he inquired. Ted nodded in affirmation. "Good. There's a small room behind that door, typically used for storage. You can sleep there, and then you can start working tomorrow," the old man Mark said, taking a step closer. "I'm Mark, but you can call me Old Man Mark. Your salary will be minimum wage, and you'll be here for 10 hours a day. Don't even think about stealing from me; it won't end well for you." He pointed to a wooden door at the back of the shop.

Brushing aside the man's warnings as well as the fact that the old could be a serial killer, Ted ventured into the room behind the door, which, as expected, was exceedingly dusty. Boxes and dusty white cloths cluttered the room, nearly obscuring the contents. Peering out of the door, Ted asked, "Sir, where's the cleaning equipment?" Mark gestured to a corner of the shop. "It's over there," the old man said before returning to his duties.

Ted retrieved the cleaning supplies and returned to his newly assigned room, where he uncovered a small blade tucked away in a box. "Alright, let's give this a shot," he muttered, settling into a chair while his eyes remained fixed on his floating screen.

[Name: Ted]

[Spiritual-Force: 1.01/1.01 (1 spiritual force equates to 1 minute of control; meditation facilitates its recovery)]

[Current-Runes:

Invisibility (Lowest): Allows the user to phase through solid objects and remain invisible to all forms of detection for 1 minute and 50 seconds. [Comprehension Rate: 11.9%, Chance of Success: 11%, Chance of Failure: 89%]

"Oh, nice, my comprehension rate has increased," Ted smiled with a sense of satisfaction, taking a deep breath. "To carve a single rune, I'll need a single spiritual force. Let's hope that Lady Luck is on my side," he muttered, crossing his fingers as he silently sent up a hopeful prayer. The tip of the blade he clutched began to radiate a brilliant silver light as he steadied himself, positioning the ring adjacent to his free hand.

Ted gingerly touched the blade's tip to the ring's surface, initiating the careful process of carving. As he made the first incision from the bottom, the silver coating began to yield beneath the blade's touch, leaving a silvery line in its wake. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead, and he continued carving the letter 'i' on the ring.

After a full minute of unceasing carving, the blade's silver luster dimmed as he finally ceased his efforts. He panted heavily, gasping for breath. "Oh my god, I felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest," he exclaimed between breaths as he gazed at the ring in his hand. The effort was taxing, but the result was exhilarating. The silver ring now bore a glowing letter 'i,' but what truly thrilled him was the floating screen that now displayed in front of him.

[ Name: ring-of-the-void (lowest) ]

[ Type: Enchantment ]

[ Rune-Slots: 1/2 ]

[ Description: a regular but old silver ring that was made extraordinary by a rune carver; etched into it is a rune that Allows the user to phase through solid objects and remain invisible to all forms of detection for 1 minute and 50 seconds ]

[ Durability: 87/100 ]

"Hmm, items have rune slots?" he murmured in wonderment, pondering the implications. Then, with a nonchalant shrug, he slipped the ring onto his finger. A realization struck him, and he mused, "Despite my focus on the cost and negative aspects of rune carving, I can create powerful artifacts." He chuckled to himself in disbelief. "I turned an ordinary, old, and worn-out ring into a magical artifact. Just imagine what I could do with other items." It was a moment of profound realization. "It looks like I'm going to be quite well-equipped," he admitted with a contented smile.

[ 4 hours later ]

Ted stood before the shop, several trash bags piled in front of it. "If you're done admiring your work, toss those trash bags and grab something to eat. I'm off to sleep," the old man, Mike, said with a smile. "Alright," Ted replied, throwing the trash bags away before glancing at the small key in his hand. "I've secured a place to sleep and a source of income. Looks like I can put my basic necessities aside." He made his way down a quiet side street as the city settled into silence.

As he passed an alleyway, his shoes were unexpectedly splattered with green goo as Batgirl confronted a man covered in the same substance, promptly knocking him out. Even she wasn't spared, finding herself smeared in the green goo. Annoyance radiated from Ted as he stared at the Batgirl.

"This is our second encounter, Batgirl, and it's not off to a great start," Ted grumbled, clearly perturbed. Batgirl gazed at him, her expression momentarily frozen. "Wow, you are..." She trailed off, locking eyes with him before sighing and continuing her patrol. Ted continued to walk away, pondering, "That goo could have been corrosive, and I would have bid farewell to my foot."

He nearly groaned at his newfound vulnerability. "My next rune should definitely be a force field type rune, especially one that activates automatically." But as he considered his limited spiritual force and the unpredictability of a non-specific rune, Ted sighed and muttered, while on Batgirl's side, she wiped the goo from her face.

"Well done, Barbra, freezing at the sight of a good-looking guy," she mumbled, nearly face-palming herself. She aimed her grapple gun at the edge of a nearby rooftop. "Let's get back to the Alejo campaign and sort out those election papers," she mumbled as she swung away into the city's shadows.