Project Seraphina [LitRPG, Magitech, GL]
2.59 Of Gemstones and Elements II

I resume my work in my gemstone laboratory shortly after dinner. Over Chloe’s objections, who has made it clear that she wants to spend this short respite cuddling and otherwise engaging in intimate activities. And she’s made a compelling case, that we might not have any more time together should we fail, should the worst come to pass. But I won’t let that happen. Not now, not ever. We’re going to emerge triumphant, if not unscathed. I will Manifest that outcome into reality with all the will I can muster. But anything that will tip the odds is welcome.

In that regard, it reminds me a bit about something my father once taught me when I was about twelve years old. Right when I started developing. He told me that there might come a time where some man might try to take advantage of me. And if anyone did, I should first try to get away, to find an adult, or otherwise extricate myself from the situation. But if it did come to a physical confrontation, I should fight dirty and unfair. Biting, kicking, scratching, aiming for the eyes and blows below the belt and anything and everything that would be considered ‘uncivil’. Better to use cheap tactics and get away than be disappeared or assaulted or worse.

It’s something that’s stuck with me. And I think it’s even more important now that the System has arrived and literal monsters out of fantasy novels and ancient mythology are trying to kill us every day. There’s no honor in fighting with the metaphorical equivalent of an arm tied around my back. No, that might be a bad metaphor after all, considering I only have one arm.

But the point remains: I must use everything my class offers me to ensure that we win the confrontation the morning after next. That means crafting the best accessories I can, advancing my cybernetics, and otherwise making every preparation possible to maximize our odds of success. Anything less would be to spit upon the promise I made to Chloe the day the System arrived.

Kristil’s accessory is next, and for hers, I grab the largest amethyst in my budding collection. It’s about the size of my thumb, and though it’s not particularly clear at the moment, it should be by the time I’m done cutting it to the proper size. It takes a good while to do so, each cut needing to be precise, minimizing the loss while making sure I’m not introducing any new defects that could come back to bite us when we need it most.

The question is, what sort of accessory should I give her?

A ring is more than a bit unwieldy for a stone of this size. Even the one I’m giving Lindsey is edging up on the larger size of what might be called fashionably acceptable, having a polar circumference about the size of a dime and an equatorial circumference about half that. Would be distracting for any would-be attackers, yes, but if her spells are anything like mine, she’ll need fairly delicate hand motions to channel [Ether] and control the casting of her spells. It also serves as a massive target for anyone who might try to attack her; sunder the accessory, and her fighting prowess is greatly reduced.

All in all, a poor option.

I rule out an armlet for similar reasons. It’s going to be just a bit too conspicuous. And with Kristil’s tight thigh-high boots as part of her armor set, I don’t think an anklet will work well either. That leaves either some sort of necklace, or maybe a tiara or crown? Except she’s using Chloe’s [Spellcaster’s Hat], so necklace it is.

I’m not sure I have enough metal to do so, but I’d rather try and fail than waste my time working on something that isn’t going to work.

I rush outside and grab some famous claylike red dirt that gives the town its new name. Once I have enough of it — a couple hundred pounds worth— I get to work. I form a makeshift kiln in the center of the room, and then within I shape a smaller crucible. This crucible I plan to use as a mold for melting down all these metal scraps. It won’t work super great compared with the type of clay actually used for building a smelting furnace. But it’s the best option I have.

I open the window, letting the breeze of the late afternoon fill the room. It doesn’t help at all. I forgot just how oppressively sticky the weather is without air conditioning blunting the worst of it. Not just the heat of close to ninety degrees, which is bad enough. It’s the stickiness and the sun bearing down together that make it… A hellish nightmare. I know no other words to describe it. Still, I’m going to be working with far hotter temperatures very soon.

In truth, I don’t know if this is going to work or not. My mind races with possibilities, most of them bad. All I can do is take a deep breath to try to calm my nerves before beginning. Chloe taps me with her [Curing Light], filling me with a rush of vitality and cool refreshment.

“I trust you, love,” she says. “I believe in you.”

I nod. I Manifest a [Heat] glyph and an [Intensity] glyph within the center of the kiln to fire the gathered clay. Sweat starts beading on my palms and forehead as I work to maintain the flame. The kiln’s outer wall and my [Vitality] together shield me from the worst of the pain and damage, but I still suffer a minor amount of heat damage.

I add in an [Air] glyph to the mix, causing the reddish flames to explode with white-hot heat. I imagine, thanks to the infusion of fresh oxygen, the flame has got to be close to thirty-five hundred degrees. It doesn’t work all that great; my [Angelic Insight] helps with Ethertech construction and glyph formation. But when it comes to trying to re-create the technology first invented by ancient humans thousands of years ago, I’m mostly just going off vibes and general principles.

My heart starts racing as I set the metal together into my crucible, ready to begin the process of turning all the scraps and shards into a suitable accessory for Kristil. Tonight I’ll test my smelting forge, and tomorrow I’ll build the necklace for her. I yawn and stretch out a moment before jumping back in.

But I stop. My vision is growing blurry and the heat is getting to me. I need to keep going, I know I do, but my mind isn’t focusing and my Skills are starting to fail me. The glyphs lose focus and definition. The fanning flame dies down, returning to deep red embers before being snuffed out completely.

Chloe places her hand on my back, just below the shoulder. She rubs it, slowly and gently. And with her help and a touch more I’m able to take a deep breath and try to focus.

“Anything I can help with, Sera? I know I don’t have your crafting insights, but seeing you work so hard makes me want to do what I can.”

I pause for a minute, mostly to stop my head from spinning from the heat and pressure. I glance out the window. I hadn’t even realized that the sun had already set.

“I just want to finish this before I head to sleep,” I say. “Need to–”

She looks into my eyes. “Rest, Seraphina. You need to rest, Sera. You’ve been at this for ten hours now. You barely ate dinner, other than that, you took one five minute break to use the restroom all day. I was going to let you keep going, because I know this is who you are and this is somehow relaxing for you, but you are in no condition to be working that forge any longer tonight.”

“I gotta get this finished as soon as possible so I have more time to work on my modifications for tomorrow. I don’t–”

“Be honest with me. You might not be fighting, but when you’re crafting, you’re pretty much constantly using your crafting-related Skills?”

I nod.

“And you’ve been keeping this fire going purely through your glyphcasting? For the last three hours?”

“But–”

“But if you don’t get enough rest and food and water, you’re not going to be at a hundred percent when we go into battle.”

“And if I don’t finish this–”

“Then you don’t finish it. You’ve already finished two accessories in one day. I don’t think all the rest of us could have done that if we’d worked together. Now, you need to rest. Healer’s orders! Now to the bath with you, you’re sweating bullets and you smell like hell!”

I try to protest, but I surrender in short order. I can’t argue with Chloe when she gets resolute like this. Doesn’t help that in this case, she’s right. She’s right that I need some rest. Correct that my body and mind are both at their limit. I sniff the air around me. Sure enough, she’s speaking the truth in that I don’t smell like sunshine and roses.

I’ve heard somewhere that an artist pours a bit of himself— or herself— into every piece that they make. I think it’s the same with my crafting. It’s not just burning through my [Ether] in the most literal sense, or the drenching I’ve gotten from working in the fires of the kiln for the past three hours. It’s the mental fatigue that comes with working so hard for so long and not even realizing until you’re well past the point where you need a recharge or three.

But pushing myself to this extent is not unrewarded by the System. And these little rewards are why it’s so hard to stop pressing forward.

[Your [Basic Glyph Manifestation (Rank VII)] has upgraded to [Basic Glyph Manifestation (Rank VIII).]

I Manifest a cup or so of water and splash it in my glass. I start to drink it, before I think better of it. I can’t be certain that conjured water is actually safe to drink. Instead, I pour it out outside, though I leave the windows cracked afterward to allow all the raging heat in here to vent.

Once I’m sufficiently hydrated, I head to the bath, electing for a lukewarm bath instead of the scalding ones I’ve come to enjoy in recent days. As soon as I slip in and close my eyes, the full weight of my fatigue hits me like a sack of lead bricks. I can hardly find the mental energy to move. My [Ether] is down to just over a hundred points.

Though I don’t feel the pain or lightheadedness of the deficiency thanks to my [Ether Strain Immunity], I understand now exactly and intimately what Madison meant when she explained that [Ether] represented the will of sentient beings made manifest. It’s the mental fatigue of a day at school, followed by hours of homework, then college entrance examination prep, filling out applications and trying to scrounge up the money somehow to pay for the privilege of being denied.

It’s the pain and stress of knowing that your body could go on if you needed to, but your mind has said ‘screw that, I’m out’. It’s burnout, plain and simple, and an accurate description after literally fanning and conjuring the flames of my makeshift forge for several hours. My body can keep going— the surge of strength that came with hitting Level 32 sees damn well to that. My heart is telling me that I need to push forward, that any time spent resting is time I could be working. And that my work could save lives. Not just mine or Chloe’s, but any number of bystanders who might be caught in the battle.

But my mind has fully noped out. I can’t even be arsed to move right now. If not for the fact that I can’t breathe underwater, I think I’d just go to sleep right here, decorum and propriety be damned. My eyes remain closed and I lie motionless.

Time passes— I don’t know how much— before a knock breaks me from my stupor. It’s Chloe. Of course it is. I’ve been worrying her so much. Shitty girlfriend I am, unable to properly treat her with the respect and care she deserves. It’s what I was worried about when I agreed to start dating her.

I slip out of the tub, my body feeling much, much better than before. I then put on some clothing and head into the back room. Chloe and I don’t say a word. There’s no need. Her quiet smile, her warm embrace, her gentle, loving acceptance of me at the end of a long yet productive day says everything. I lie down, still wrapped within her arms, and sleep takes me within the minute.