Chapter 889 (2/2)

But it was best to look at it methodically, Sam thought to himself. To start, go to the beginning. Then confirm every step toward the goal.

Common doctrine in Donnyton said that the extra options that could be added to pieces of equipment came from three things: Materials, Process, and Unity between purpose and construction. With Randidly's help, Sam was beginning to understand that the Unity they talked about really referred to the image a maker had. So Materials, Process, and Image.

Even with those as a guide, there were many times that a weapon would have a strange option, one that seemed to somehow combine one or two of those categories. Or an obvious preparation process would yield no changes in options. Some of that could be blamed on failures by the smith, but it also seemed likely that they were missing something.

Which was why the details of that rapier continued to tantalize Sam.

Elemental Kaleidoscope III. Not of This World I. Spirit of the People I.

Spirit of the People could be set aside; that was the overarching image that every sword and shield and glove and condom that came out of Zone Seven possessed. They were certainly consistent, in that respect.

The other two were Elemental Kaleidoscope and Not of This World. The problem with these was that both seemed to be attributable to the materials, and neither to the process. It is theoretically possible that elements could be imbued into a material, but that wasn't the case here. The elements came from the monster itself.

It was even less likely that Not of this World was created with a process. How could humans process something to be not of this world? That too was directly because of the monster’s magical nature.

Perhaps Sam was simply shortsighted; he could be fixated on nothing. But that didn't seem to be the case. It seemed far more likely to him, as someone who had forged hundred of items in the System, that he was missing something important. His categories regarding the options in weapons were incorrect.

”Humm....” Sam rumbled, closing his eyes and allowing the sun to just soak into his skin.

”What are you grumbling about?” Regina said. Sam started; she had moved so quietly out onto the porch he hadn’t noticed her. When Sam opened his eyes, he noticed that she was offering him a cup of coffee. He took it and savored the rich flavor.

Grinning in spite of himself, Sam sniffed and said, ”Damnit, how do you do it? I haven't had beans like this in years.”

”Rarely do people need surgeons with the advent of the System,” Regina said wryly. ”I've had some time to work at it. And I'm not the type of woman to stop before I've made a quality product. So, you think it's good enough to sell? I harvested about a ton.”

”Do you have packaging?” Sam asked skeptically.

Regina punched his arm softly. ”Shush. I don't need you to hold my hand through this, I've got it handled. You are just an old tongue whose been around the block so much that I trust you. So, how is it?”

Sam wrinkled his nose, but dutifully took another sip. Rich and oaky, the flavor lingered on his tongue for several seconds after tasting. ”Tastes good.”

Holding the cup up, he considered the dark liquid in the sun's warm rays. The amber color was inviting and the familiar smell of coffee drifted upward to his nose. ”Looks good.”

Seeing Regina rolling her eyes, Sam finished with, ”And it was made by the woman I love. What more do I need?”

”Uh huh, thank you very much.” Regina leaned over and kissed his cheek. Then, as she straightened, she released a helpless laugh. ”Really? Looks good smells good? We aren't buying a table, this is just coffee.”

Sam rolled his shoulders. ”Well design is important in everything. Just because it's a coffee doesn't mean-”

Then Sam paused. He tapped his fingers very quickly against the wicker chair. Was it... really that simple?

”Sorry, I've got to go,” Sam said as he lurched to his feet. ”I'll uh, take a look later at your packaging. Or maybe tomorrow. I might be in the forge for a few days.”

Regina just laughed and waved her hand and Sam was off, furiously comparing his theory to the pieces of equipment and their options that he remembered. Based upon Randidly's insistence, there probably was no way to get away from image as a defining factor for the creation of an item. Plus, there was no evidence to the contrary.

On the other hand... What if, instead of Materials and Process... You thought about the item in terms of design principles.

Which would make the options created by Function and Form.

With a furious scowl, Sam hurried toward his workshop. He would need to perform some experiments to see the limits of this.