Chapter 181: The Tactical Situation (1/2)

As the morning light streamed in, Mike took a moment to stretch and flex his back. It seemed that his regeneration prevented him from feeling stiff, but he still enjoyed the act of stretching anyway. He rose from the desk and opened the blinds.

[Looks like it's going to be another warm day.]

Brenden hadn't come back yet, but he had Selene keeping tabs on his friend. It seemed like he'd taken up with a homeless drifter for some reason. Anyway, Mike figured that the beastman would return eventually, probably in a suitably dramatic fashion. He just hoped that his time away would provide whatever answers his friend was looking for.

After a round of Lifestyle and Healing Magic, Mike was ready to face the day. He'd spent the majority of last night working on a combination of Alchemy and Artifice, and had made significant progress in both. He was able to stabilize a recipe for an alchemical smoke bomb, which he thought could come in handy, as well as a handful of tonics and potions that provided minor boosts or benefits. None of it had really stood out as being impressive or exceptional, and he hadn't been blessed with any beneficial mutations.

Regardless, his Basic Alchemy skill was now on the verge of breaking through to Tier 2, and he figured that a little more practice would do it. On the other hand, Artifice was proving a slightly more challenging task. It seemed that there wasn't a well-defined method of incorporating mana cores into crafted items, due to the simple fact that the cores themselves were supposed to be refined using a completely separate skill called Transmutation.

This particular skill seemed to be solely the purview of Arcane Mages, and could be used to convert mana cores into an almost ethereal essence which could then be infused into items during their crafting process. Quite frankly, the whole thing confused him, and he resolved to track down the University's Artifice instructor the next chance he got.

Forced to rely on his somewhat crude method of using mana infused ink, he was still able to make a few interesting things. He had resisted the urge to break into any of his high Tier materials until he felt he had the skill level necessary to use them correctly, so the things he had made were still not particularly potent.

For the time being, he practiced primarily by making a few magical gadgets with useful properties. These included a magical lighter, which could create fire without the need for Lifestyle magic, a cup that could fill itself with water once every couple of hours, a wooden spoon that would stir by itself until commanded to stop, and a bracelet that glowed in the presence of substances that were toxic or harmful to the wearer.

He was particularly proud of the last one, even though he couldn't get it to stop activating around alcohol. Something to work on in future versions. However, he'd reached a point where further development would require him to use more valuable base materials, something he didn't quite want to do just yet.

Deciding that he would do a little physical activity prior to the meeting at the Spire, he grabbed a quick breakfast and headed over to the training grounds. It had occurred to him that he'd missed the informal practice routine with Instructor Johnathan this morning, but he had been in the middle of crafting, and didn't feel like stopping. Besides, it's not like the other man was going anywhere. Mike just had to go to the next one.

The training grounds were slightly crowded this morning, with a variety of students engaged in drills and mock combat exercises. Not wanting to interrupt, he occupied a small corner of the yard, surreptitiously summoned an earthen spear, and began going through what forms he could remember from his time at the Order of the Wheel stronghold.

He was surprised to find that most of the motions were still easy for him, and he was able to slide through a number of combat exercises without difficulty. Evidently, the System was providing some assistance in that regard.

[Good, it looks like there shouldn't be any issue in me switching my primary weapon for the time being.]

Satisfied, he stopped, dismissed his spear and headed towards central campus. It was still a little early, but he figured he could use the extra time to peruse the restricted section for any more information on Artifice. Besides, he didn't really know how to get up to the top floor of the Spire, and figured he would need some time to figure it out.

His walk to the restricted section was uneventful, especially since he didn't encounter Rusilka in her usual workplace. He was able to find a rudimentary book on Transmutation, and jotted a few notes down about it. From the sounds of it, the skill wasn't inherently related to Arcane Magic, merely that there hadn't been any other types of mages able to use Transmutation, so it was classified as such.

[With a little experimentation, I should be able to do something about this. It's probably like the Artifice skill itself, which was classified under Arcane Magic simply because they couldn't figure out where it belonged.]

Feeling that he'd killed enough time, Mike moved to the staircase leading up to the highest levels of the Spire. The elevator apparently would have accomplished the same, but he felt like doing a little exercise.

The stairs led to a doorway blocked off by a squad of University Guard. As he approached, they made way for him, creating a silent tunnel of respectfully bowing soldiers. Evidently, they had been told to expect him. He passed through their assembled ranks and the door, which led into something resembling a waiting room.

Here, several people were milling about, obviously waiting for something to happen. As he entered, they quickly appraised him. However, beyond a few speculative glances, he was almost immediately ignored by the assembled military types.

[Looks like word about me hasn't gone farther than the University.]