Chapter 1013 (2/2)

“...I don’t know of any ready-made solutions to the flaws…” Wendy said slowly. She handed the item back to the woman. “But it’s good you know what the flaws are. If the numbers you provided are accurate… this is an intriguing product. With enough time for experimentation, I believe that both issues can be addressed.”

“Actually, there are already a couple of easy ways to get around the pain…” The woman pipped up. Her voice was high and wavering, but she spoke anyway. “But they all decrease the efficacy so much that the boost wasn’t worth it any longer. And I think… even if it was painful… most people would choose that pain to keep the effect high. If anything… I have been aiming to increase the output at any cost, even if it will result in a more painful usage.”

“Masochist,” Wendy said lightly. But she did offer the woman a soft smile. “If that’s the path you insist on taking… obviously, I won’t try and stop you. Just don’t let this guy’s ideas infect you too much.”

At that time, Wendy kicked Randidly. He endured it stoically, as Wendy’s Strength wasn’t anywhere what was needed in order to actually inflict pain on him. The woman looked between them, seemingly slightly dazed.

“You… you don’t also work for Mr. Ghosthound…?” The woman asked.

“Well…” Wendy’s face crinkled into a deep frown. “I’m… a consultant I guess…? But no, I don’t work for him. It just always feels like I do…”

“Is it really that bad?” Randidly chuckled. Wendy sniffed at him and didn’t bother to answer. Instead, she turned and walked to the next stall and began her inspection of that invention. Above them on the street, a humming drone emitted a soft lavender light that soaked the surrounding area and reminded Randidly of Lucretia.

He turned back to the woman. Even though he kept too much of his focus from gathering and offered her a polite smile, Randidly’s high Perception easily picked up her sharp increase in heart rate.

So when he spoke, he kept his tone even and his voice slow. “I’m not sure how to solve the single-use problem. That would be something that would take me quite a while to work out; I don’t know much about batteries. But if all you are looking for is power…”

An ember of burning blue condensed around Randidly’s right pointer finger. He walked up to the metal stall the woman used to display her device and used his metal left arm to carefully move everything out of the way. Then, as quick as breathing, Randidly traced out a simple, curving rune across the surface of the desk.

His strokes were quick and even. After Engraving Levelable patterns for so long, a single use Engraving was almost a relief. It took six strokes to finish.

The resulting Engraving was a raw and dangerous thing, Randidly knew. So much so that he felt a twinge of regret after he had put it down against the cool metal. It glowed in a shimmering blend of emerald and aquamarine. It would produce power and vast quantities of it, at the cost of destroying the medium soon afterward.

As Randidly pulled his hand away, small bolts of static electricity hopped upward and bridged the gap to his hand. Even with his relatively high Endurance, he felt a few painful twinges from the proximity. Then he turned solemnly to the woman. “A gift. So that you can accomplish what you wish.”

The road will not be any easier. The more impossible mountains you climb, the more you are able to see before you. But if that belief in yourself and in the future you can create never wavers… then there is a one and a million chance you can change the world. And those are the individuals that Erickson Steel needs.

“It’s…” The woman drew closer, her hands reached out toward the Engraving that now covered her stand. When bolts of energy curled upward and jolted the woman’s limbs, she didn’t take a step back. She simply lowered her hands and leaned closer to study it.

She didn’t flinch as the power crackled and hissed.

“...it’s perfect.” The woman mumbled.

“Good luck,” Randidly said. Then he turned away and followed after Wendy. But in the back of his mind, he held a secret, fearful thought.

Will you mutilate yourself, as I have done?

But it wasn’t a question worth vocalizing. Randidly was aware that there were no truly positive and negative images; the world wasn’t such a simple place. Each image, no matter how powerful it was, had its own downsides. For example, the image that Donnyton had been heading toward was one of being undefeatable.

It was certainly a powerful and towering image. But it was rigid to a fault. A single defeat would shatter that image, once it had evolved to its final form. Which was why Randidly had acted to destabilize and alter the image with his Challenge before it had reached that stage. With that proof that undefeatable wasn’t the image for them, some of the lesser virtues in Donnyton could grow to become its dominant ideology.

In terms of Erickson Steel, Randidly was pushing toward an image that had to do with making the impossible possible. It was an image that was based on the premise that if an individual wanted something enough, and dedicated the requisite time to the task, they could accomplish anything. An image of desire and indomitable Willpower.

But there was a long shadow cast by that image.

What if the impossible goal that someone wanted to accomplish was something malicious? Erickson Steel would accept that desire too. Effort and dedication were the two virtues at the core of this image. There was no sense of justice that would steer them from a darker Path.

But Randidly didn’t look backward toward the woman he had given a power that was far beyond her current understanding. And he hadn’t asked why she was willing to endure pain in order to gain Stamina quickly. It was enough that she wanted it, and had the spirit to make her dream concrete. That earned the woman Randidly’s gift, in his mind.

The control comes later. Right now, this place needs power more than anything else. I can’t protect them forever.