Determining the exact nature and content of the deal Nate made with Asmuisil had taken far longer than the initial discussion. In the end, Nate got everything he wanted. Promise of payment of enough Stat Orbs to max out both Kiri and himself at level sixty. Of course, he hadn’t told them his levels, but he knew how many both he and Kiri needed. Secondly, he’d secured a site for a branch of the Artist’s Emporium in Vilaythe, the Capital of Asmuisil. He appreciated they weren’t as conceited as Etrua, and hadn’t named their Capital the same as their country. Finally, he had secured an agreement that Asmuisil would at least sit at the table with Princess Morgane, assuming they won, and hash out a deal that didn’t see Etrua annexed.

  Perhaps he shouldn’t have cared if Morgane lost all her power, but she had offered him help. She had done so as both Morgane and as Avery, more than once, with no expectation in return. The upheaval of annexation would also not be good for the common people. A more gradual transition would likely result in less issues overall, so he had included that requirement as part of his deal.

  In return, he would assist Mikael in making the modifications to one of the Empowerment Arrays, funding it with his own mana, and provide two sets of three Epic Stat Affinity gems. Strength, Agility and Constitution were one set, made for a fighter-type, while he also provided a Magic Power, Channelling Speed and Magic Control set for a mage-type. He pretended they were all he had and that they had been provided by Princess Morgane. Mikael had been muttering about sourcing inferior quality gems, by which he meant Rare and below, if the entire thing worked. Those gems were why Nate was confident he could strengthen the forces of Asmuisil without making them so strong that they would be able to overpower Morgane. By making the Epic Stat Affinity gems a requirement, he had effectively limited how many Champions the Asmuisillans could empower with the new methods. That wouldn’t last forever, of course, but it would last long enough for Nate to help Etrua raise some Champions of their own. Because, now he was getting a complete view of how the Empowerment Arrays were designed. It meant he could replicate the work, then improve on it, by raising the tiers of the materials, among other things.

  In the future, who knew what the Artist’s Emporium would grow to be? For now, though, he had work to do. Nate kept up a steady supply of mana to Mikael as the man reworked the Empowerment Array. Nate used his own Multi Conceptual Material Shaping to make shifts in the design to suit Mikael’s needs. The man had, of course, pressed him on the Skill he was using but Nate had declined to answer, just like he was ignoring Theora and a set of five High-Golds hovering nearby to keep an eye on them. Instead, Nate was focused internally.

  While all this was going on Nate continued to work on his own advancement. The Hundred Year Flower of a Faebloom Elm worked best by being distilled into an alchemist's concoction. Nate, however, was not an alchemist and he didn’t have time to find someone who could work with the Legendary material. So, instead, he was doing as Evindal had directed, and was digesting a single petal at a time. Even now he could feel the Life energies of the flower flowing out of his stomach and through his body and, especially, into his Mana Reserve. He was only likely to get about half of the efficacy he would have if the flower had been prepared by an alchemist but an alchemist would take extra time, as well. Even so, Evindal was confident that it would be enough to push him past the thirty percent mark for his Life affinity. Coupled with his Achievements, he should be guaranteed at least one Life-related option for his Tertiary Class. It was just going to take him three weeks to get there. The flower had twenty-one petals and Nate could only digest one per day. Still, that seemed a fairly cheap price to pay.

  If he was lucky, he would be back in the Capital in three days. He just needed to make sure everything worked for Asmuisil first. With that in mind, he focused on the crafting and assisting Mikael.

  *************

  It was the middle of the night. The modifications had taken most of the day and Nate was feeling a little tired, even with his enhanced Stats. However, the tiredness couldn’t diminish his excitement. His hypothesis about the nature of the Class Core and processed mana transference was about to be proven either prophetic or wildly inaccurate. The High-Gold Swordsman was being strapped into the modified-Champions’ Armour. Behind him, rows of men and women knelt, connected by vests to the similarly modified Empowerment Array.

  “Ready?” demanded Kalista.

  The Commander looked worse for wear, her shaved head showing signs of dirt and dried blood from the day’s fighting. Still, she was alive and any wounds she sustained had likely healed.

  “Ready,” replied the Swordsman.

  “Activate it, Mikael,” ordered the Commander.

  Nate sensed Theora tense through his sphere and knew that if things went wildly wrong that the Platinum Wind Mage would try to capture him, assuming he was a saboteur or something.

  A moment later, Nate sensed the Empowerment Array activate. The connection, he had learned, utilised a small aspect of Space to transfer the processed mana directly between the Empowerment Array, which gathered it, and the Champions’ Armour, which directed it. Specifically, it used the same process that Nate had used for the runecrafted, spatial boxes he created, where they were effectively sharing the same space.

  The Swordsman took a few steps then paused, his body freezing. The wind picked up and Nate felt Theora was about to make her move, when the Swordsman started laughing.

  “What is it, Hadrian?” demanded Kalista.

  “It’s more than doubled,” replied Hadrian, laughing.

  “What?” asked Kalista in confusion, her eyes flicking to the Master Enchanter. “Mikael, you said eighty percent improvement.”

  “I..I mean..” Mikael replied, caught off guard.

  “He was only considering the conversion rate on the side of the Armour, assuming that we extracted the processed mana using the Empowerment Array in the normal fashion,” interjected Nate. “But we also modified the Empowerment Array so it would prioritise the Stats we wanted it to enhance. That’s why it’s higher.”

  Mikael went quiet for a moment, his eyes doing that thing that Nate had come to associate with complex, mental calculations. Mikael would know better than Nate, since the actual items were still relying on Enchanting principles rather than Runecrafting.

  “One hundred and twenty three percent,” Mikael stated a few seconds later. “Roughly.”

  Hadrian did some quick basic math and nodded, “I get one hundred and twenty six percent, but it fluctuates. You know that though, Commander. Depending on who is powering the array.”

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Kalista nodded thoughtfully before turning to Nate, “You’ve held up your end of the deal. We will hold up ours. You’ll stay long enough to help Mikael with the second Empowerment Array and Champion Armour?”

  Nate nodded. He didn’t want to. What he wanted was to return to the Capital, but while one Champion might be enough to shift the battle slightly, two were necessary to guarantee victory for Asmuisil.

  “Very well. I will send the details of our agreement to Vilaythe. The Council will ratify it and you can collect your rewards from there on your next delivery for the Artist’s Emporium.”

  “You’re certain they will agree to the terms?” Nate pressed.

  “Nothing is certain, but we entered this war after attacks on our land, on our people, and on our Dungeons. The Council has no desire to waste our resources fighting a protracted war. They may have even considered terms if Bordain had offered them. Working with Princess Morgane will suit them, I am sure. But if not…” Kalista glanced at the sky and Nate was surprised when a sound barrier sprung up around them. “If not…I will give you the information required to collect what is owed. I keep my promises, Nate. You have saved the lives of many of my soldiers with this. You could have asked for more for the information you gave. I think Mikael might have sold himself into slavery to you, which is outlawed in Asmuisil of course, just to learn what you knew. Your requests, while expensive, will have a lasting impact on Asmuisil. So, if the Council refuses to honour our deal, well, you’ve already shown a certain amount of skill for collecting things that don’t belong to you.”

  Kalista looked amused as she spoke and it took the sting and rebuke out of her words. A moment later she dropped the sound barrier.

  “Well, one down. One to go. Back to work, people. We’ve got a war to win!”

  The soldiers nearby cheered. Nate couldn’t muster the same enthusiasm as he left to join Mikael in making the changes to the second Empowerment Array. After this, he really needed to find a bed. Just not in the Asmuisillan camp.

  *************

  Three days later, Nate appeared back in the Smuggler’s Nest. The return trip had been as boring as the trip out there. He’d paused for a four hour sleep in a hollowed out tree, with Frick playing sentry. The wood had not been a comfortable mattress and Nate desperately wanted to have a bath and then collapse into his cloud-enchanted bed. That would need to wait until after he checked in, though. On the other hand, the return trip had given him time to continue working on his gift for Luc. He estimated another four days until it would be ready. The reason it was on his mind was because he could sense his Spatial mentor within the hideout. There were new bodies present as well and Nate grinned, rushing out of the teleportation room.

  Everyone was sitting around the table eating a small feast and the smell brought back memories of Helmfirth, of a beautiful garden outside a cozy house on the edge of the Firth Forest. Jorge noticed him first, the Royal Ranger’s eyes flicking to Nate and the smile on his face evident through his rich black beard. Rania was only a moment behind her husband and she was out of her seat before her husband and rushing across the stone floor to wrap Nate up in a hug. After a moment he even dropped his barrier.

  “Thank you for taking care of her,” whispered Rania.

  “We took care of each other,” answered Nate quietly.

  “Yes, just like family. She told me, of course, as though I couldn’t already see it. So that makes you part of the family, Nathaniel. It’s so good to see you doing so well. Let me get a look at you.”

  Nate stepped back, released from the woman’s arms, as everyone else watched on from the table with their own smiles.

  “So?” asked Nate, waiting for Rania’s verdict.

  “You look good, Nate. But you smell like dust and the road, and maybe a little blood? I think you need to wash up before dinner. Don’t worry. I won’t let these voracious beasts eat everything before you’re done.”

  Rania shot a mock-glare at the apprentices who just grinned back at her. Except for the youngest. He quickly shoved a heap of food into his mouth, as though worried it would be taken away. While Rania moved to comfort the child, Nate waved to everyone before heading towards the room that led through the cave out into the ocean.

  The water was cold and it helped wake him up slightly as he scrubbed at the dirt and sweat. As his robe had told him so long ago, its self-cleaning function was no excuse not to bathe. Rejoining everyone at the table, Rania had kept her promise and made sure that there was plenty of her cooking left for him. Jorge slapped him on the back, or the barrier covering him anyway, saying his thanks in his own way when he poured Nate a drink and passed it to him. The gruff, ex-Royal Ranger had Kiri on his other side, sandwiched between her parents. He hadn’t seen his best friend smile so much since Coralie’s betrayal and he enjoyed the atmosphere. It was a reminder of what he was fighting for and what he hoped to achieve: a secure place for his friends and family.

  Britt joined him, sitting on his other side, but even being so close, he could feel the distance between them. It was obvious in the way she smiled at him, trying to hide the sadness, a sadness mirrored in his own heart. They would need to talk about it soon. Soon, but not yet. He wanted to sleep first so that when they talked he was in better control of his emotions and thoughts. Aisling, Evindal, Luc and Deverell had begged off quickly and were clearly in planning mode. Nate guessed he would find out what that was about tomorrow.

  The final oddness was Null. Nate caught intense looks from the man more than once. Null had managed to suppress his aura enough that Nate could actually sense the man in his sphere of awareness. That was something he would have to deal with soon. He had no idea what Null wanted, but his guess was that the man was interested in what lay beyond Mythic, or potentially advice on high-end Achievements to fuel the man’s own growth. After all, it was Britt who had told Nate that Null had been training like a madman ever since finding out about Nate and Kiri’s true tier.

  Dinner finished and the efforts Nate made to assist in cleaning up were politely rebuffed by Rania, who told him to go get some rest. Britt had already left for their room, though he was curious how that would go. Would she push to talk tonight, or would she accept his desire to wait until the morning. Unfortunately, sleep was forced to wait. First it was Deverell, who peppered him with questions until the man had a full report ready to go for Aisling. The second was Evindal, who pulled him aside to inform Nate that he had checked over the impact of the Physical Augmentation that he had done on Kiri and Britt. Evindal assured him that everything seemed fine and that he was free to continue to improve the girls and himself.

  Nate thought that was the end of it, but the final person to waylay him on the way to his room was Null. The swordsman's tanned face was serious as he stared at Nate.

  “I know I am asking a lot…but can you do to me what you’re doing to Britt and Kiri? The skeleton thing?” asked Null, though Nate could hear the begging in his voice.

  “Can you turn off your aura?” Nate asked curiously.

  Null nodded, “I can. Finally. It evolved at level sixty. I can completely shut it off. I chose the evolution because of what Britt told me. It lets me control where it gets released from, too. I can do it from my skin now instead of targeting all of my body. So, can you?”

  “I’ll try,” Nate agreed.

  Null smiled slightly, “Guess that’s all I can ask for. Thanks, Nate, and…good luck with…you know.”

  The swordsman glanced at the door to Nate’s room before turning on his heel and quickly walking away.

  Nate sighed, more unsure now than he had been facing down Commander Kalista. Carefully, he opened the door to his room to find the light emitting gems turned off. Britt was sitting on the edge of his bed wearing only a shirt. Nate made to open his mouth, but Britt reacted before he could, moving to stand before him. He tried to figure out what to say but Britt pressed a finger gently against his lips. With his barrier turned off, the pressure against his skin was enough to make him pause.

  “Tomorrow. We can talk tomorrow. But, can I have tonight? One more night? Before everything changes?”

  Nate saw the sadness and perhaps a hint of desperation in her eyes and leaned down to kiss her as she pulled him towards the bed. He had misgivings, but as she pulled at his robe more forcefully, he caved, letting her have what she wanted. What he wanted too, even if what they shared was only fleeting. Maybe that made him weak, but he couldn’t bring himself to say no to her, even if it was only delaying the inevitable. Sinking into the cloud-enchanted mattress, he let himself forget everything else except for her.

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