Charger Cube

"How?" she asked in defeat. "How did you do it?"

"So, do you admit your defeat?" asked Nie Li.

"Yes, yes, I lost. Now tell me how you did it. Was it that black box? And where did you learn to create Inscription scrolls?" she bombarded him with questions.

"Hey, hey. Take it easy. I'm not going anywhere. I'll answer all your questions. I am your employer after all," he said smugly.

"Hmph," she pouted remembering that part of their bet.

"Don't worry, you'll love your job" he decided to sweeten the pill, "You'll get resources to create Inscription scrolls and for cultivation. With my help, you'll become the best Inscription pattern master in the entire Glory City in the future."

"Hmm. We will see," she answered, but he could see that her mood got better.

"Should we return to your inscription room? We have a great many things to talk about," Nie Li asked.

"Yes. Let's go," she said and lead the way. All the way back to the room Nie Li could see that she was barely holding her curiosity in check. After entering the room that was still empty, they sat down in their places.

"Ask away. I will answer as much as I can," Nie Li.

"Okay, so, what's this cube? Is it really not an artifact?"

"Yes, it's not an artifact. You could say it's an enchanted item with an inscription array. Even then, it barely fits the title. It converts the onto soul force and through this wire directs it to this pen. When you write inscriptions with its help you will spend twenty times less energy so you for example with your 2 star Bronze rank can create scrolls that will require the power of 4 star Silver rank demon spiritualists."

"Amazing," she said with stars in her eyes, "And yet you say that it's not an artifact!"

"Yes, as I said it can barely be called an enchanted item. Because it requires outside power to operate and also has very low efficiency. Basically, it dissolves the demon spirits into soul force and uses that energy. And every time when demon spirit wastes away I have to manually replace it with a new one and reconfigure the array. It's annoying."

"Wait, do you mean you created yourself? You can also create arrays?"

"Yes I did and yes I can" answered Nie Li unperturbed. He wasn't planning to hide this from her. She would work with him and would have noticed it anyway.

"Okay, where did you learn all that? It can't be in our clan because if our clan had a hidden Inscription expert I would have known." She said hotly.

"That's confidential information right now. Maybe in the future, I will tell you. But if you wanted to know where I have learned the inscription patterns like the one I showed you, then my answer is library books," replied Nie Li.

"What that's impossible. I have been scouring the library for books on Inscription patterns since I began studying here and I'm not the only one. If there was something like this, I would have known," argued Nie Zexi.

"What about books in Ancient languages?" He asked innocently.

"What, you can read ancient languages too?" she was astonished. Most of the books in the school library, and in other libraries as well, for that matter, were in ancient languages. And after the Age of Darkness ancient languages were forgotten. So most of the books holding priceless knowledge have become obsolete. Any attempts to translate them have met with limited success. That's why the ability to read and understand books in ancient languages was a shocking matter.

She looked at him thoughtfully, as if contemplating something, and asked, "Have you become an apprentice if some old expert?"

"Maybe," This version was not bad actually. If he considers his old self as an old expert, that makes his current self an apprentice.

"Ah, confidential stuff," she smiled knowingly at him.

"I can neither confirm, nor deny" he decided to adopt her idea for the near future.

"He must be from outside Glory City," she continued fishing for more information, "I always thought that there were other cities in the world."

"Of course, there are other cities in the world. But let's talk about the terms of your new job," he reminded her.

"Okay. You said that I would be making Inscription scrolls. I suppose you want me to make high-ranked scrolls because your own cultivation is too low?"

"Only partially true," he said a bit annoyed at her jab about his cultivation level "My cultivation will overtake yours in a couple of months maximum. Why do you think I hired you for two years?" after a pause he continued, "There are several reasons for that. The first one, you voiced it yourself. I need someone to create me Silver rank Inscription scrolls in the immediate future, both for sale and personal use. The second reason is even after reaching higher ranks, I will need an inscriptions master to create scrolls for me because I will be too busy with other matters. The third and last reason is to help our clan. Your ability to create high-level inscription scrolls would be a great boon for our clan."

"What if I marry into another clan?" she asked.

"You really think that old fossils from our clan would let a highly valued inscriptions master marry into another clan?" he asked incredulously. He knew it mattered to her. In his previous life, her parents wanted to marry her off to another clan. But she refused, and her status of only inscriptions master of the Heavenly Marks clan allowed her to do so. This time her status would be so high that her parents won't be able to mutter about it.

"Okay, now the terms of our cooperation. I will voice them. If you don't like something, tell me. We will discuss it. Do you understand?" after she nodded her head, he continues, "Firstly I will provide the necessary equipment," he pointed towards the box and pen, "all the necessary resources, like blank scrolls, demon blood and etc., and Inscription patterns. Additionally, I will provide lessons on Inscription Patterns and Ancient languages." At this, her eyes brightened and she leaned forward.

It looks like she didn't expect him to teach her ancient languages. But he was already planning to teach his friends so it won't be a problem for him.

"In exchange," Nie Li continued, "You will make at least four Inscription scrolls for every workday. Of course, if the resources allow it. Because the current box's design, let's call it a Charger cube, won't be able to power more than two Silver rank scrolls in one charge. And 20 percent of the market price of the Silver rank scrolls is yours. When you reach the ability to create Gold rank scrolls your share will be 50 percent of the profit. And when you reach Black Gold rank or higher," at this, she looked at Nie Li strangely. Because to create Black gold rank Inscription scrolls she must reach at least 5 star Silver rank or Gold rank herself. She couldn't imagine anyone reaching that level in two years.

Nie Li continued, "You will buy your resources yourself and I will teach you how to charge the Charger cube or I will improve it by then. You will make your own decisions about what to make, but my orders will have a priority. And if I order some scrolls I will pay for them fully. You'll only pay me 25 percent of your profits. And of course, details of our cooperation and production process must be kept confidential"

"And after two years?" she asked

"After two years you will be free to do as you please. And Charger Cube will be yours too. You'll only have to pay 25 percent of the profits from the scrolls created with Inscription Patterns provided by me" He said seeing she wanted to ask about it.

"Okay. Let me get this straight. I will be making scrolls with the resources you provide and get part of the profits. Only one question. Can I use this Charger cube for my own experiments with scrolls?" asked Nie Zexi.

"Yes, but not right now. Because it's charged with a Bronze rank demon spirit. That's enough to power 25-30 Bronze rank scrolls or two Silver rank scrolls. After I exchange it with a Silver rank demon spirit it will be enough to create 25-30 Silver rank scrolls. Let's say a quarter of that energy will be yours to do as you please. So what do you say?"

"Yes, I agree. When can I start working?" Nie Zexi said enthusiastically. She wanted to test out this Charger Cube as soon as possible.

"Today, I want you to practice these Silver rank Inscription patterns." Nie Li gave her a few parchments, "Tomorrow, you'll start making Silver rank scrolls with them."

"And the cube?" she asked.

"I will bring it to you tomorrow fully recharged," answered Nie Li, "Let's meet at the library tomorrow at four o'clock. I have a meeting before that. It will be our first Inscriptions Patterns lesson."

"Okay then. Until tomorrow. Don't forget about the Cube."

"I won't. Until tomorrow." Nie Li said his farewells and left.

Nie Zexi watched him leave in deep thought. This clansman of hers was full of surprises. And his mysterious teacher from outside the City. She had so many questions, but Nie Li was very cryptic about the matter. She should inquire about this cousin of hers from other clansmen. Discreetly, of course, because her new boss wanted to keep it under wraps. And right now, she has a task to attend to. She began looking through the patterns left by Nie Li.

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