Chapter 313

  Bondage, with Friends

  “I’ve got you now!”

  You know you might have a problem with trying to instantly understand magical concepts, when someone is barreling at you with a binding magical shackle. The kind that will instantly bind upon closing.

  That’s when seeing it sparks in your mind a myriad of different combinations of thoughts and other actions.

  The shackle, or maybe modified bracer now that I have a chance to look at it, is quite intricate and delicate.

  From just one glance I can see the painstaking work put into the shackle meant to bind.

  It even has magical resonance to a matching if nearly identical shackle that is currently being worn on the arm of my pursuer.

  This observation is ultimately why what happens next happens at all.

  Normally a crazy person comes at me with a binding and clearly soul bound shackle, and I’d run away, particularly as soon as I recognized the magical flow patterns.

  Breaking a magical soul binding element, for a Spirit Mage is no problem. Especially if said bound magical item was to be applied directly to said Spirit Mage. This is why I relax and spend so much time trying to determine all the bonuses and effects of the shackle.

  There is a Spatial component, a Linked Resonance component, and something else.

  The shackle glitters with magical powers, clearly made from the strongest of Tier III metals and gemstones to prevent corrosion.

  Had one intended to, they could easily turn such a device into a power binding force, a shackle of dominance, or any other perverse device of evil intent.

  Yet, this one exuded no such intentions or latent malicious thoughts. Yes, I feel that I can sense the intent of the person imbuing magic into an item now. Much as I can understand the communication of the Teleiotís, I can also feel the intention of energy as it is being imbued into an item.

  I’d assume this has something to do with Psychometry, basically seeing the past of a device, who touched it, who last used it, and so on. But what I am referring to seems more nuanced, as I can’t do this for objects, just magic.

  Almost like being able to feel Killing Intent, I know what it is, I don’t have it in me to do it, but I do know how to get others to be able to wield Killing Intent as a weapon.

  Along that same vein of discovery, I can feel the intent of others as they are making an item.

  I’d assume this goes into how one can tell a Relic Item versus just an Exceptional Quality item. Both should be extremely powerful and potent, and both could be forged and imbued by the same master creator. Yet, the intent of the creator while they are imbuing the item can push the imbued energy further.

  The resonance of the energy being applied, is but part of the creation of a Relic Tier Item. For the creator has to first imbue their passion into the item itself, then the intended recipient must also have a synergizing resonance to the intent of the creator to truly pull out the efficacy of the item.

  In this case, this is an item just on the cusp of brilliance.

  It glows with a form of magic and resonance that is somewhat mesmerizing for me, a simple pixie being drawn in by the bright light of a soul binding trinket. That’s it, that’s what I’ll go with, a simple innocent pixie who could not control their baser desires.

  And I can’t.

  I can’t look away, and I can’t pull away my arm, even as a crazed Penelope charges forward, on her trusty Kujo stead of speed and precision.

  While I had seen them both from their odd spatial tunnel, a tunnel that Kujo could always create that had seemed to confuse my senses at first, now I could understand it. The magical tunnel being created wasn’t a full Teleportation between space, but rather a side-step of reality. One where Kujo Phased out of existence and then into the surrounding ether.

  So it was a myriad of things, the charging of Kujo and Penelope, the near Relic level item, and oh yes golden threads of karma that flowed from the already partially bound shackle to me that caused me to stand still, and get caught in the trap.

  SNAP!

  The shackle, or what I could tell was made to look like a smooth bracer, clicked into place as Penelope grabbed my wrist and never let go.

  Swoosh, crash.

  Of course, physics was involved in this midair execution.

  I was floating, and while we pixies may not look it, we can channel Qi easily through our hollow bones in seconds and reinforce our bodies. That and our wings can help to easily carry hundreds of pounds of weight during Gravity Resistance training, which we employ as part of our morning workout regimen.

  All of this is to say that, I’m tougher than I look.

  And while I guess Penelope had expected to drag me from my floating position with her. The course of events turned out to be the exact opposite, as Penelope had no harness, no buckling straps, and seemed so focused on clamping the object around my arm, that she failed to properly anchor herself to Kujo.

  This is where the laws of applied physics came into play, as the unmovable object met the unslobberable force met an immovable object. Yes, Kujo despite his tongue out, wagging and waving wildly in the air, never had any of that slobber fall on Penelope, I’m thinking it is a skill.

  For a moment, I wonder if I could get that skill, the one where you could ride on a happy slobber machine and not get slobbered in the splash zone. But then I realized that training such a skill would likely require a lot of impact slobber practice, and I quickly added that skill to the No Category.

  Still, it was funny to see Penelope get yanked off her hound, only during that break of the specialized wind tunnel, where Penelope began to break free from Kujo’s back did, I see slobber fall and land onto Penelope.

  Whipping around, I grab her with my free right hand, Qi already cycling through my body making the act of grabbing her on her matching shackle easy.

  There is a moment where it looks like she is about to fall, or at least thinks she should fall, but then just hangs there, in mid-air with me.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Meanwhile, slobber that instantly sizzles and burns layers of clothing, can be seen winking into and out of existence. Then I watch in fascination as the soul bound state of Penelope’s clothing kicks in.

  Being this close, a few particles land on my clothing, but nothing happens.

  My mind tries to understand this odd disparity, why her clothes would burn, while mine don’t. Especially as she is the same Tailor for both sets. Yet, before I can truly contemplate what is happening, Penelope uses my grip and pulls her face close to mine.

  “Gotcha,” she states with a giant smile.

  Then with the look of someone who realizes they are up in the air, but not quite how high, she has a look of panic fill her face as she realizes her feet aren’t toughing the ground. Where she does that frantic toe kick that everyone seems to rely on in such situations.

  “I think, I’ve got you,” I respond as I lower us by a few inches so her feet can rest on the ground allowing relief to fill her.

  Phew.

  She visibly and audibly relaxes, causing a smile to form on my lips as I can’t help but respond.

  “Those six-inch drops, they are the worst.”

  For a moment Penelope looks like she wants to respond, but then catches herself.

  “Go on, channel some of your energy into it, and bind it to yourself,” Penelope states, completely avoiding my comment and focusing on her true intention.

  Seeing the device, I realize it is great.

  Quite possibly the best dual binding shackle I’ve ever seen.

  I’m even more proud that it came from one of my students. A student who clearly put in a lot of time and effort into the piece, making it one of the few peak exceptional quality items.

  Being this close, I can’t help but focus on the few design flaws.

  “Okay, but on one condition,” I press.

  Whoosh.

  As I’m talking, Ms. Kujo appears, carrying Gwen on her back.

  For a moment, I pause realizing that if both parents are out here, then who exactly is watching the children. That is my thought, before I do a quick deep scan and realize that RuneUlacrum and the Pomeranians are all watching the litter of overly aggressive Kujos.

  Seeing that the pups are taken care of, I relax slightly and am glad to see that Ms. Kujo is out and about as well.

  “What condition?” Penelope presses, pulling my attention away from potentially unattended murder pups and back to more important things, like tweaking my student’s design just enough so she can reach the next level of mastery in her craft.

  “So, this is good, a great design, but you are missing a piece of passion,” I explain.

  “Passion?” Gwen recites, pulling up next to us and getting off her temporary ride. Mainly because Ms. Kujo while not forcefully throwing Gwen off, did sit straight up, all but forcing Gwen to slide down her back and catch herself in an odd standing-straddling position.

  “Yeah, passion. To push your work to the next step, that next stage you need passion. Or maybe an indomitable intent, but that intent can only be a mimic of an initial passion,” I try to explain.

  As I speak, I feel a deeper connection to my own understanding of great artifacts, that’s when I realize, “the word is right there in the name. To make a great artifact, you must first treat it as art. As a passion piece that is meant to convey one overall intent or directive.”

  Then opening my third eye, I look into the channels of the bracers and see that what is holding this piece back.

  “What keeps this piece from being a relic level artifact is that you didn’t push yourself enough to truly understand the medium you were working with,” I begin.

  “What?” Penelope and Gwen both ask.

  “I’m confused,” even Raygunnr is confused by this statement, which makes sense as I can barely see the minor imperfections in this piece.

  “You used the highest grade of materials,” I begin.

  At that Penelope nods, “yes, I used the remainder of my Tier III mana and Qi erosion proof materials to craft this, even the leather is Tier III in quality and less likely to degrade due to high exposure to your unnaturally high energy usage rates.”

  I nod at that, “yes, but you failed to use the Qi component of this, meaning that both its potential is not being utilized in any designs. While also, making it so that this device will have a clear point of failure and build up in the future. Without something to continually press energy through these Qi flow areas, you are looking at either having to provide constant repairs or hoping that the rest of the design can keep energy flowing smoothly throughout.”

  “So, what should I do? I mean, I don’t even understand what Qi is, to be honest,” Penelope responds almost sheepishly, as if admitting something I already know would be somehow embarrassing.

  “I know you don’t understand Qi,” I reply. Only after I say the words do I realize exactly how harsh those words could appear. Then trying to take away some of the sting, I try to smooth things out.

  “That’s why, I’m going to help you push this item to its limits, you’ve done a great job. These are linking spiral Teleportation and Life Monitoring formulas?” I guess, realizing that while the dark purple Teleportation magic is easy to notice, there is a subtler layer of Life Energy that monitors and shares the state of the one wearer to the other.

  “Yes,” Penelope explains, excitement in her eyes as she looks at me critiquing her work. The way she stares at me with complete adoration, it takes me a moment, as I turn my third eye to her and see that she is excited to have me critique her work. It almost reminds me of when my favorite professor took time to read my Master’s Thesis and provided much needed feedback. “I wanted there to be a Life Monitoring component to it, so we could both see how the other was doing. Then if one was needed, we could force ourselves to go where the synchronized partner was.”

  Hearing her words and taking a moment to both see her emotional state, and then look back at the energy used to create these magically linked bracers, I can see that intent. That raw need to remain connected.

  Seeing her mana so raw and exposed like this, I could almost feel the sorrow she had for not being able to rescue me. Not that I would have wanted her to come to me, as the void realm is no place for anyone who is not ready for hardships. Had she come, then I don’t think I would have been able to escape, as it would have required me to take all three of us back, and I barely managed Zero and myself.

  Just thinking about it, I realized that there was almost no way I could have been able to generate enough continual energy to get all three of us through the void realm.

  Still, I do see some value in these types of devices.

  First, had I had a residual anchor point here all along, then trying to get back would have been easier. I could have just focused on the residual anchor point and effectively pulled my way back.

  That said, this anchor point as it is now, is not enough. Well, it is bright enough to easily see and spot within my exceptionally large viewing range for my Angel’s Sight. But it isn’t enough to see from the deep recesses of space.

  Meaning if I ever needed to go back to the void realm, or make my way here with items I might have left behind up there, I could use this as a very important anchor.

  Yes, the more I think about it, the more I realize that Penelope’s gag gift, or what I assume to be a gag gift of applying a near cold iron like shackle to me, that is linked to a complete copy of one she wears is perfect.

  All it’s missing is a way to track in and through space, which I allow by imbuing Cosmic Energy first into Penelope’s bracer and then into my own. Then realizing that they need to be synergistically linked, I spin mine clockwise and hers counterclockwise allowing a slight pulling relationship to the two bracers.

  From there, I am able to amplify my Teleportation Range, which uses part of my new understanding of Cosmic Energy to stabilize. While amplifying effects of Teleportation Beaconing within the bracer that Penelope is now wearing, so that should emergencies arise, I could use mine to more easily Teleport to wherever Penelope is. Of course, the Life Monitoring aspect is still intact for both, along with the ability for both to conduct at least Short Range Teleportations, which seems to be anywhere on BiPrism, so long as they are going to where the other bracer is located.

  I even made a few last-minute calculations. Even going so far as to limit my own Range from my bracer at one point, to allow my bracer to receive Penelope’s beacon from further distances. Then once everything is finally stable, I focus and complete the binding process and soul bind the second bracer to my own wrist.

  Seeing the message, I instantly flinch, “no wait, no…” I try to argue with the system, but it is already too late.

  “Dang it,” I hiss, not wanting to get yelled at for having my name linked to yet another World First Announcement.

  “WOOHOOO! MONEEEYYYY!” Penelope shouts out and does a slight dance.

  We both pause as we look at each other for a moment, “wait, why are you excited?” I ask.

  “Why are you mad, that is like a million coins right to our guild accounts,” Penelope exclaimed.

  “Wait, we have guild accounts?” I ask wondering what this concept is.

  “Yeah, how else do you think you get paid for all your work and contributions?” Penelope shot back.

  I paused then thought, “wasn’t it all a quid pro quo for raw metals and resources?”

  Penelope just pauses and stares at me, I guess to see if I am joking.

  “Wait, you are serious, you don’t know about the million-credit reward to anyone generating a world first announcement? Also, know this has been brought up before and if there are co-creators or people mentioned in announcements then both people, so long as they are guild members will get the bonuses,” Penelope speaks, but I feel suddenly dizzy.

  “Hold on, you’re saying that I might be a millionaire?” I question.

  “You are probably one of the richest people in the guild,” Gwen cuts in.

  I shake my head, turning to her and realizing that she and Raygunnr are both still here. Well them and the Kujos.

  “So, we both get it? The million coin shout out?” Penelope presses.

  “Yes, though know there are talks of likely cutting back the reward limits, thanks to someone,” Gwen responds, speaking of a higher level of Guild politics than I am aware of.

  “Wait, I have money?” I ask, though I don’t know why this is such a shock as it has been a while since my Broke Flaw applied to me, but it is still hard to believe that I have money. Though I still assumed most went into funding my various projects.

  “Yes, what I can’t believe is that your first Relic level creation was on improving a tethering shackle meant to be able to track your whereabouts, regardless of wherever you go?” Gwen quipped.

  I was about to reply that I modified it to only be able to track me here on BiPrism, and that if I should happen to go into space then it would be a good thing that I could track Penelope back here. Then I get completely sidetracked by two thoughts that keep coming to my mind.

  “Just how much money are we talking about being in my account? And did I accrue interest while I was away for a month?”