Crude Clay Bowl (Final Grade: 63)

  "About time," I said, pleased as I took in the finally finished earthenware. Finally, with the addition of charcoal, I had done it.

  And the charcoal's infused quality had actually bumped the bowl up by quite a bit. I was very sure that it could probably handle being flung out a window even, so dropping or rough handling it a bit would be fine. That sufficed for my current practical needs and uses.

  Already Kuch was moving to start gathering more water. I could hold a greater volume now than just a single barrel, so it would be handy. I also could now transfer my mana drinks to this instead of the filthy glasses. With any luck, that'd at least improve the texture. Huzzah for quality of life improvements!

  I glanced back at my forge, wondering if I should perhaps try making something more with the clay now. Perhaps clay bodies, to give some more volume to my constructs? But the quality was a bit low. I thought on it for a moment before shaking my head. I'd rather make bricks with these ones to maybe start trying to patch up the manor, maybe put up an outer wall to try and keep out whatever monsters would wander close by.

  Kuch was fine as they were right now, so no point in fretting and trying to keep up with best in class. Time to start moving onto what I could do with my new bowls instead.

  The bounty brought back from the swamp was quite the haul. As expected, there was a variety of flora, enough that I actually could make some essential and handy things from these. Among them, a critical harvest that had me giddy and instantly using [Infuse] on.

  Hemp Stalks (Item Quality: 53) (Infuse Level: 133)

  I'd found one of the most useful plants in FLOW! This thing was especially cultivated and farmed in a lot of player farms due to being always in demand. It was quite multi-purpose and Lighthouse always joked it was the closest thing the developers added to say "we give up, just use this plant for everything."

  Well, almost everything. They made it so that great versatility came at a general lower quality value, with slightly below sub-hundred being considered good quality before [Infuse]. Compared to fine cotton or silk that could easily break twice that if done right, it wasn't the best ingredient. But it definitely was the most cost-efficient and thus, something I absolutely wanted right now.

  I would have loved to harvest and start growing some at my manor, but I don't think the middle of the forest would make for good cropland. Flowers didn't require so much nutrients in comparison. Hm, maybe the space to the east where the forest did thin a bit before turning into plains?

  It did make me pause and wonder why civilization apparently haven't expanded and claim that clearly free real estate. There was no reason not to do so, unless it actually turned out to be a monster-infested wasteland. Which...right.

  I probably needed to account for that possibility and hurry up with my work instead of wondering of others.

  Thankfully, the other stuff brought back could help me with that. In FLOW, there existed the [Ward] skill which allowed for players to set up sanctuary spaces that helped repel wandering mobs lower than its set value. Its potency would scale with the caster, so our priestess, Joan, could set up a barrier that would defend against anything the regular game offered. If a monster higher than what it could keep out approached, then it would function as a weaker barrier that could give alert a camping party of an incoming fight.

  Noel did not have that skill. That would be defensive magic that took points away from their crafting.

  But they could make something that copied the purpose. [Ward] ordinarily had a time limit so players couldn't just spam it everywhere and bring about server peace to piss off the developers. But they also were aware that there was a need for permanent barriers for player homes. So a compromise was struck in the form of construable ward walls that would function as the middle ground between 'useful' and 'game-breaking.' What did it need?

  Clay bricks and alchemy runes.

  I could make them both now.

  First, making the bricks. Mold the clay to the appropriate shape, then put in the forge to bake. Be sure to add plenty of charcoal to make sure I hit the necessary temperatures, so ordained by the great developer gods. While that was firing, time to make the mixture used for the runes.

  With the cauldron full of water, I tossed in the mix of swamp plants and mushrooms. Then I cast [Brew] to instantly dissolve the mix into. Unlike with potions, I boiled it down to the very bottom until something resembling a thick poultice remained. Then I removed it and, with my new clay bowls, used it to mash it even more before it cooled.

  That was an important detail, to not let the mix cool and set until you were satisfied. Ordinarily, a tricky step for many crafters to overcome without having a set of heat-resistant gloves, but guess what? As a puppet, I had resistance and cared little for the risk. If anything, I would be happily scooping the steaming mix into a distiller to further refine it. But I unfortunately didn't have glass-

  Hold on, I could use my new clay containers instead! It wasn't going to be as ideal as glass and the quality would be tainted, but that should still be an upgrade I wanted.

  Excitedly, I hastily moved to finally use that dusty distiller in the workshop. Everything seemed to thankfully still be sealed and working, so soon it was merrily bubbling away. I watched with a wide grin when proof of its success was made evidence, small drops dripping down from the output faucet into the bowl to catch it all up.

  When it finished, so too were the bricks. I checked both, hoping I scored well for either.

  Clay Bricks (Final Grade: 73)

  Potent Rune Solution (Final Grade: 156)

  I chuckled, slightly amused by the apparent brick sturdiness. "I could probably stone an easy wandering world boss with these," I mused. It definitely would be quite resilient and should be enough to keep out a lot of lesser monsters. But the alchemical mix was definitely going to carry the day.

  Stolen story; please report.

  I grabbed a stone chisel I'd made for this and focused. With tongue peaking out between my lips, I gingerly began to paint onto the brick with the mixture. There were specific runes I need to carve into the surface but they would do nothing by themselves even once finished. To complete the process, I had to pour in a final burst of mana with an alchemy skill yet unused. "[Engrave]."

  There was a flash and the ward brick in my hands pulsed to life.

  Ward Brick (Final Grade: 143)

  I set it down and exhaled, pleased. It was done, and decently well enough for immediate peace of mind.

  While [Ward] had its potency based on their caster's relevant stats, ward bricks based their potency off the final grade. So a higher quality brick meant an even better repellent.

  This thing should be enough to drive off the vast majority of wandering monsters that had been in FLOW on launch day, and then some. Maybe even to the first expansion. It wasn't going to do anything in the more populated mid to endgame areas, but that wolf Kuch encountered at the river? Yeah, it was going to turn and run away with its tail tucked between it legs. Or, if it had rapidly became insane, smash its head into the barrier that it likely could never overcome.

  But that assumed if it approached maybe within a couplet feet of it. Another trade-off for being a permanent version of the [Ward] skill- the range entirely depended on how many were stacked together for construction. So for best effect, it definitely should be like a literal wall, which my goal. An outer wall around my manor, hopefully giving me enough room to react should I realize a breach was underway.

  It also meant I needed to make enough bricks for that building.

  I glanced at my current counts of both bricks and rune solution. I think I was going to need to make a lot of both. Sighing, I mentally tasked Kuch to collect more ingredients for them.

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  "Ah, finally all done." I let out a moan that probably would've made many players both uncomfortable and confused and stretched in my seat. There wasn't like stiff joints or cramped muscles to work out as a puppet, but the mental strain was real. So too was chugging mana potions, to the point where sometimes taking a break to just [Brew] more was a welcomed relief from the tedium.

  I wasn't sure how long that'd taken me, but I know the sun came up and down once. Maybe a few times. Yeah, that was a weird thing for me to realize that I didn't need to sleep anymore. I could lay down and briefly just shut down I guess if I wanted to mimic the habit. But if I felt immersed and focused on something, 'resting' was something I'd sacrifice in a heartbeat to maintain my pace. I'd done it multiple times even in my old body.

  Just that now, I could do it without consequence!

  I beheld the results of my maniac session, a large stack of bricks with a minimum grade of about 120. Then next to it, a smaller stack that unfortunately didn't make the cut. I'm willing to bet that if I were anything other than a puppet, the stack sizes would've been flipped. That would've been very frustrating.

  But now, I could actually build that outer wall I wanted and finally have protection! Kuch helped carry bricks for me outside and I studied the perimeter. I'd given my doll a stone axe to help clear a bit more of a clearing and they'd done well. It also helped give me more and better timber on the regular. It was still a little cramped but at this point, the space was now considerably larger than what my old plot of land had been back then.

  Cordelia would've approved, and insisted I give her more flowerbeds to tend to. I think some of my other retainers would also for their own tools. Maybe Noel would've even requested his own workshop hut than just a room in the manor.

  Well, the entire manor was a workshop now because I decided it, so there.

  I shook off the thoughts and took a few bricks from my waiting golem. I strode over and laid them neatly there, stepping back to check. Pleased, I held up a hand and activated the necessary skill to solidly glue them in place. "[Foundation]."

  Thank goodness building homes fell under crafting too in FLOW. The bricks glowed as more of my magic flowed into it, then dimmed back to normal. But the effect should have kicked in now and true to expectations, when I tried to remove a brick I just placed down, a simple tug wouldn't suffice. I'd probably have to give a lot more force.

  I had Kuch give it their best and the barrier function activated. It wasn't as good as a real defensive spell, but my magical senses flared with every strike. Thanks to [Foundation] having tagged this building as something of my own creation, it would now alert me to whenever it was being broken. When the test wall finally broke under repeated punches from my doll, the sensation vanished with a final quiet alarm. Seems that like in FLOW, once it was broken, it was gone for good.

  An important to note should I ever come against another crafter or somebody with the [Foundation] skill, like an dwarven engineer.

  I checked over and indeed, the ward bricks used were just trash now, their potency completely spent. They'd be only good for the bin now. Good thing I only used a few to test it out, I still had more than enough to complete making the outer wall. And if I ran out, I had some of substandard to use as well, but I'd really like not to use them for my own residence.

  I still wondered how I was going to use them while I directed Kuch to start building the wall by themselves. I could hear Ironfist, Lighthouse's Dwarf Engineer, yelling about using them in specific parts of the wall, then plan accordingly now that I knew where breakthroughs would surely funnel invaders. 'Defense in depth' he'd call it with a frothing and slightly drooling mouth.

  Sorry old friend, I'm not turning my own home into an exercise in siege warfare. Maybe if I got to making a town though, it'd be an interesting project. On that note, I should probably check to see if my reconnaissance bird is now close enough to make out that settlement to the east.

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