PftA Book 2 - Chapter 31

Chapter 31 - Augmentations

The outing to celebrate Bell’s ‘promotion’ was fun, though the break felt far too short. Aside from Deni, Ger, and Mesmer, Justin and our parents also joined us to celebrate Bell’s good fortune. As the person of honor, Bell got to choose what we did. I was completely unsurprised when she announced we were going to the massive virtual theme park that had been added to the mega-city several months prior.

Her decision had likely influenced my parents’ decision to join us since they both claimed to have loved theme parks when they were younger, though neither could tolerate riding roller coasters in the physical world anymore. Though the activity gave them migraines in real life, they could enjoy the experience pain-free within the simulation, making it one of their new favorite places to spend time.

It probably helped that there were very few kids below the age of thirteen with access to DIVE gear, so it felt a lot different than parks like Disney or Paramount. It was a good thing, in my mind. More often than not, the parents following their hyper children around the parks often seemed miserable.

Like many of the more popular amusement parks in real life, the one in the Junction boasted several massive roller coasters, specialty rides, shows, attractions, and even a separate water park. There was a little bit of something for everyone.

It helped that the park was semi-instanced, allowing those who visited to enjoy more rides and attractions without spending most of their time waiting in line. Lines were the worst part of visiting amusement parks, I thought.

Regardless, we all had fun during our excursion.

When I showed up for my lesson with Mage Stella the following morning, she immediately took me to the local Contribution Point Hall. It was a simple room that reminded me of an Adventurers’ Guild, except there was only a single counter and a kiosk instead of a long counter with several clerks and a large display of available quests.

Even without small groups of adventurers, the feel of the place was remarkably similar.

“She needs Interface Augmentation Port-Epsilon-Seventeen,” Stella told the clerk quietly.

The man behind the sole counter nodded and replied, “That’ll be five thousand contribution points,” I gasped lightly, but before I could say anything, Stella placed a hand on my arm and shook her head with a smile.

“No, there should be a discount since the augment is needed for her assignment,” Stella said calmly. “I’m the project lead, and I authorized the discount since the augment is necessary for her to fulfill the role. Administrator Rhona also approved…”

It took a bit of back and forth, but after several exchanges and a mana signature to verify my identity, the price was dropped to five hundred points. I hadn’t realized just how much of a discount I was being given, but I was grateful, especially if the item was as valuable as Stella and Rhona made it out to be. I knew it would be a worthwhile investment if it was anything like the interface upgrade.

After agreeing to the transfer, the man handed me a small, oval crystal with a smile. Knowing the item was extremely valuable, I immediately placed it in my ring before perusing the additional augments available using a nearby kiosk.

“Are there any others you’d recommend?” I asked Stella. “You know my affinities and profession.”

I informed her of my new CP balance, and she scanned the list of available augments. I wasn’t interested in items since I could already make most of what I needed. I noted some of the more interesting items, though, just in case.

“Given how notoriously stingy Enchanters are with their knowledge, it might be worth investing in one of the other Enchanting-based augments. You should have preferred pricing for that as well, given your current assignments,” Stella advised.

She wasn’t wrong. I’d had a horrible time learning about Enchanting once I left Earth during the previous timeline. I was able to read some basic books that were provided as part of my membership with the Enchanters’ Guild, but most of the information provided was extremely basic. The few advanced topics I was able to research were only covered in generalities. I’d had to use trial and error to figure out several aspects of Enchanting, which had been difficult, time-consuming, and expensive.

I narrowed the search parameters to focus on Enchanting augments and was surprised at the number of options available. It was clear that many could be used by those without an upgraded interface since Lisa could easily handle most of the functions described with little guidance.

The rune-tracing overlay, for example. I’d figured out how to do the same thing shortly after obtaining the upgrade in the first timeline and had already used the ability since upgrading my interface after my return.

What I needed were guides that taught Expert, Master, and potentially Grand Master level techniques and runic lexicons. There might even be some Advanced techniques I’d missed since I hadn’t had a formal education on the topic outside of the Junction. It was also entirely possible some techniques had been held back from my virtual education.

I certainly wasn’t learning any special techniques from Vasilla. Once I’d surpassed Intermediate Enchanting, she basically declared I was sufficiently trained and refused to teach me anything else. She’d claimed it was a restriction from the Enchanters’ Guild – which I believed, given my previous experience with the organization.

I’d always found it strange that a Guild dedicated to a professional field restricted their members’ access to knowledge. It seemed counterintuitive. Whenever I’d brought it up, I was told to go to the Enchanters’ Academy to learn new techniques.

It had been infuriating.

With Stella’s help, I narrowed my choices to augments that covered Enchanting in 3D, micro-Enchanting, various runic lexicons, and an augment focused on formations and arrays. Others were interesting, but I didn’t think I’d be able to use any of them effectively at my current Tier. Additionally, Stella had specifically identified these three, which made me suspect there might be some overlap between them and the massively expensive augment I was required to purchase for my new assignment.

The first, Enchanting in 3D, was something I’d heard was a core aspect of higher-level techniques, so I was very tempted to obtain the augment to make learning the process easier. However, I was almost certain I could train Lisa to do something similar. As long as I could obtain some basic information about three-dimensional runes, I was certain she’d be able to guide me through the process, much like the general runic overlay worked.

I’d heard of micro-Enchanting, but details on the technique were sparse. From what I’d gathered, the technique was usually used for internal workings – enchantments that directly impacted the body – though I was sure there were several other uses for tiny enchantments. I was pretty sure I could do something similar by changing the size of my base, but I didn’t think that was how most people did it. The technique had a lot of promise, but I wasn’t sure it was worth spending my limited points on…

…Unless I paired it with the augment on formations and arrays.

I likely knew the most about formations and arrays, given the research I’d had to do to create the formation that sent a copy of my memories – along with a chunk of my soul – back in time. But almost all of that research had focused on time travel, with a little bit of Mind and Soul mixed in. Even with that remarkable success, I didn’t feel like any kind of authority.

For that reason, I chose the last option, even over the possibility of expanding my collection of runes. I’d get the others when I earned more points. But for now, I wanted to shore up some of the holes in my self-taught education. I knew how strong formations and arrays could be. With a better foundation and a bit of creativity, I hoped to grow my arsenal significantly.

Besides, I could always create my own runes if necessary.

= = =

“How do I use the crystals?” I asked when we arrived in the office that Stella often used for our discussions. It had likely started off as something the size of a closet, but for a trained Space Mage, expanding the room was child’s play.

Like all the interior rooms of the building, there were no windows. Near the entrance was a square table with four chairs, while two plush lounging chairs sat on the opposite side of the room, separated by a small wooden coffee table.

Taking my customary seat at the table, I looked at the two identical crystals in my hands, only able to tell the difference between the two by the light engraving on the exterior surfaces. Aside from the tiny markings, the small crystals were perfectly smooth, almost like a gel-coated pill.

It was markedly different from the blank spell crystal Robert and I had obtained from the rift months earlier. Though both types of crystals were colorless, clear, and around the same size, the spell crystal had looked more like a cut crystal, with several flat surfaces and hard edges. The augment, in contrast, was smooth with rounded edges.

I wondered if it was a difference in how they were created or indicative of how the items should be used. I really hoped I didn’t have to choke down a couple of hard crystals. That didn’t sound appealing in the slightest.

“You absorb them the same way you would a spell crystal… Except, you wouldn’t know how to do that,” the Space Mage sighed, realizing my lack of experience. “Start with the specialty augment since you’ll need more time to process all the data. Just hold it in your hand and instruct your IA to assimilate the item. You can do the other one once the first one finishes.”

“What about people who don’t have an updated interface?” I asked. “How do they use augments?”

Stella made a ‘tsk’ sound. “It’s doubtful anyone without an upgraded interface would gain access to advanced knowledge like this. They should know about the upgrade if they can gain an augment like this. But if they didn’t… They’d have to spend days, or maybe even weeks, meditating to absorb the knowledge contained within. They’d probably lose a lot in the process, too.”

“Is it like that with spell crystals?” I asked, wondering if there was some inherent difference between the two types of crystals.

“The process is the same, but spell crystals are much easier to absorb. They are wholly magical instead of being manatech constructs like augments.” Stella tapped the table, redirecting my attention to my task. “Go ahead and start. We can discuss things while your IA is assimilating the information.”

Following my mentor’s instructions, I started with the first crystal, placing the other back in my ring since I wasn’t sure how long it would take to fully process the expensive augmentation.

After only a few seconds, the crystal began to dissolve into thick mana. The energy immediately began coating my skin, seeping into my pores like water soaking into a desert. I could feel the mana moving through my body, but I was soon distracted from the sensations by a series of epiphanies.

It was like everything she’d taught me about Space and all my knowledge on Enchanting suddenly clicked together. Many of the gaps in my education were unexpectedly filled by the insights from connecting everything.

I suddenly understood howmodification runes influenced an enchantment instead of simply accepting it as something that happened. I could see how certain runes could be used to specify locations in Space-related enchantments. I even grasped the process of stabilizing a rift with Space mana and how that function related to creating inter-planetary portals.

My synapses lit up with understanding, and I found myself eager to start working on the new project with Stella in a few short days.