20 Chapter 20 (1/2)

Cavlil waited by the side of a building while keeping an eye on the shop to his right. His target was still inside, likely buying something. These a.s.signments always felt to him like they were rather useless. Why did they have to follow this kid around all day and night? But he was loyal to the cause and kept his complaints to himself.

Cavlil's eyes caught movement at their extremity and he saw the target go on the move. He followed the protocol and signaled to the other agent across the street. Now that Wilfred was on the move he was no longer his priority and Cavlil started doing his other tasks. Hope this is all worth it one day he told himself.

*Back to Wilfred's Point of View*

Having spent almost all of his money today, Wilfred exited Galerion's shop with mixed feelings. He had found the materials he wanted but even with his discount the price was rather steep. At least he wasn't a cultivator or then he might have cried himself to sleep that night.

From his initial money, there was now only the 2500 copper, 296 silver and 1 gold coin remaining. Back in his former life Wilfred always kept a flush back account just in case there was an emergency. Military pay was decent and he had very few things to spend it on which helped make his emergency fund. He was also planning on buying a house and would have needed a down payment anyways.

Sometimes he thought back about earth and what was going on. It did make him sad that nothing likely came of his death, there would be no sanctions and nothing would change in the region. He did wonder about his family, his niece would likely be rather surprised to be getting everything from his will but he wanted to be a good G.o.dfather. There was no one else really who he could have given it to. He was on good relations with his parents but they were on their pension and doing good. His sister well...there were some tensions there but that's why he gave it to his niece, not his sister.

There was a good possibility that Galerion would be able to sell his battery which bode very well for him. Once he got that money he could really get started on having proper equipment and resources. What he had for now, mostly Red Alkanet Flowers and Dream s.h.i.+so, would do well enough. He had also managed to get some recipes from the old man which would prove useful. When followed properly, the recipe allows the creation of a potion which grants Mana regeneration. The effect is dependent on the quality but from the book recipe and the ingredients quality he bought, on average the effect is an extra 8 Mana per second for up to 4 hours. Having spent 4 gold and 214 silver pieces, Wilfred had enough to make 12 such potions. This was on it's own almost enough to solve his Mana problem for his experiment. If he made sure his Mana was low before going to sleep, Wilfred could prolong the potion's efficiency even more. He might need a few batteries but at least it wasn't 100 of them.

As he walked out of the store and into the street a strange feeling crept up his spine and made him s.h.i.+ver, it was as if someone was watching him. Looking around while trying not to arouse suspicion, he was not able to notice anyone staring at him, most people were busy and simply walking by.

A few of the factions are probably keeping tabs on me at the very least. I didn't hear much from them since last time. There was the meeting with Tybias that still hadn't happened, he would likely contact Wilfred at his house some time. Another one that also worried him was Natanyel. He couldn't say he disagreed with the man and his ideas but he couldn't contact him under these circ.u.mstances. If he was indeed being watched, it wouldn't be a good thing to be seen frequenting the rebels, surely Natanyel understood that.

Wilfred made his way home while avoiding the alleys as much as he could to prevent a repeat of last time. With half the the day gone by already, Wilfred wasted no time and used his [Construct Artifact] to make another battery. There was now a total of three in existence; one with Primus, one at Galerion's shop and one with Wilfred. While waiting for his Mana to recover, he went to eat supper with his family and play with his sister a bit. There were also card games invented in this world and it was refres.h.i.+ng to play something new. After his Mana had sufficiently recovered, Wilfred create another battery once again.

Later in the evening he entertained himself with the alchemy book he bought from Galerion. He had not actually had enough money for it, it was priced at a whopping 25 gold but Galerion had agreed to take his payment from the sale of the artifact item when it would sell. He was a greedy old man, Wilfred reflected, but he also had a nicer side.

The book was an older edition not currently up to date for the last decade and it only contained alchemy recipes that would be helpful to a mage. If the book had been any better or also contained cultivator information the price would surely have risen even more. Reading through it Wilfred familiarized himself with the local fauna with the help of sketches located in the book. In total there were 7 recipes described in the book as well as 15 different plants and their properties.

The next potion he wanted to try was called a [Draught of the Oracle]. He was missing two ingredients in order to brew it though. According to the book, this potion would enhance one's Int and Wis stat by 6 permanently. But when he had asked Galerion about it he mentioned that one of the ingredients was very expensive and much sought after as it was also used in pill creation to increase physical strength. Golden Galangal was the name of the rare herb. A s.h.i.+ny mushroom, it only grows in dark and damp locations like caves. When Wilfred inquired about the price his eyes bulged out at the mention of it. A single mushroom would fetch up to 40 gold and they would be sold at auction with cultivators furiously bidding for it.

Thankfully only a single mushroom would be needed for the draught but the challenge lay in finding it. Wilfred would have to find a way to go out of the city and doing so alone might be very dangerous especially since he'd be going in the wilds.

After his reading was done and having woken up from his daydreams of finding a cave full of Golden Galangal, Wilfred saw his Mana had replenished and created one last battery before going to bed. With a total of 3 and his potions he was close to having enough for his experiment.

Fatigue caught up with him and he overslept that next morning. When he woke up his head was feeling quite heavy and in general he felt very groggy. While his Mana would always regenerate no matter how much and how frequent he used it, there seemed to be some side effects similar to a hangover when he used too much.

”Ugh, I wish they had coffee over here. I think I'll invent that next.”

Enduring the pain and knowing that he must continue for the sake of hs project, Wilfred created yet another Mana battery that morning. As he made his way downstairs to the kitchen he heard his mother call out to him.

”Wilfred! Some n.o.bles came by this morning looking for you. I was going to wake you but they said to let you rest. They left you a letter.”

”Thanks mom.”

After a few years it no longer felt odd to call the woman who was this boy's mother 'mom'. She cared greatly for him and would always do things to help him out like prepare lunch to go if he was leaving or bandage up his wounds.

Wilfred got downstairs and opened up the letter. It was convenient that when he reincarnated into this body that everything language and written wise was known to him like he was simply reading English.

Dear Mr.Lamarche, Baron Lanart would like to extend to you an invitation to dinner tonight at his estate.He insists that you dress casually and would like to discuss some private matters with you. If you should accept, we will be expecting you when the sun has set.

~Graciously, Jonen Bertrand, Majordomo of the Lanart family.

'Ah, I was wondering when this would happen. Tonight huh? I'll put my experiment on hold for tomorrow. What do I do with the rest of the day then? Hmmm.”

Wilfred went downstairs again to practice a bit more with his unique skill. He sat down and focused a bit more on the details of it. He could create guns but not swords or spears. He can create magical Mana batteries but not ingredients or raw materials. So what do these have in common...metal? No, the battery is made with plastic and they're all fairly advanced things. Wait. Maybe that's it! What if it's technology.

How could I test it out hmmmm...Oh, here's an idea. Wilfred closed his eyes and focused, imagining the item he was wanting to create. Small and powered by electricity, little propeller and a camera. The motor makes the propeller turn, pus.h.i.+ng the air downwards and creating down force so that the drone can lift. Trying to remember everything about the object he then used his skill.

”[Construct Artifact]!”

A small s.h.i.+mmering blue light formed where his hand was extended and took the form and shape of a small civilian drone.

”Ah ha! So that's it. Everything I make using this skill must be technologically advanced it seems. Wow, that's a lot of possibilities.”

Looking at the drone Wilfred sighed. I swear to G.o.d, not having that [Inspect] skill argh! Lucky Lucius. How do I make it work...It probably needs Mana, I'll try focusing some in like the battery chargers. Wilfred put his hand on the drone and felt an empty void beckoning to him much like the pedestal when he was first admitted to the academy and it was testing his magic. He let his Mana flow freely into the drone until he couldn't anymore. The void wasn't fully filled but Wilfred's Mana was depleted. Taking one of his Mana batteries, Wilfred drained part of it to replenish himself. Much like how one feels with an empty stomach, the sensation of absorbing Mana was akin to eating a delicious fulfilling meal.

There was a strange feeling with the drone however, it felt like it was part of his body, like an arms or a leg that he could control. And indeed when he attempted to move it, it proceeded to activate the small propellers and lift off the ground slightly. Still clumsy with how it moved, it went sideways and crashed into a box.

”Oops. It's harder to control than it looks.There's no remote or anything and I only have a rough feeling of how it moves.”