Master Of None

Chapter 3008. Settling in

The mana resonance was amazing. Walker had felt his mana resonate before, but with specific objects that were not the eternal codex was very odd.

The fact that Fleur was now here and dwelling within the spirit mark to help him attract more mana and absorb it when he needed it also made all his senses much clearer.

He was thankful for that since he knew very well that he had been exhausting his mana reserves.

Something that was amazing to him was that he could even feel the empty side of using too much mana within the world. He had done so much and grown so much that replenishing mana from ambient mana was a natural habit for him. He could easily recover his mana faster than just about everyone else.

Part of it was that he always had a small bit of his attention focused on meditation in a way.

Pulling in mana was always part of his focus. It was easier to say that he converted all manas in to his stored mana because of his race as an origin being. Yet, it also came from his understanding of the core manas making up the world and mixing to become natural mana.

He did notice that as he focused on the resonance between himself and the golems that the more mana gathered in the cores being placed, the more he felt the connection. It felt like he was connected to them through a more stable bond than should be there in such a short time.

Not that they had been working for a short time.

Whatever the word was for it, whenever crafting happened and everyone was entirely focused, time became a forgotten aspect. Weeks could feel like just a couple of hours. All the inspiration and work was focused to the point that nothing else mattered. It was just the life of a crafter in inspiration.

The wandering blacksmith noticed that Walker had still been pushing mana toward the golems, but he had ceased controlling the smaller flame dolls and earth dolls he had made with his skills to test his mind.

This sign was clear to him that Walker was beginning to move toward creating a solid bond with the golems themselves. That he was focusing in on the manas themselves as each golem was filled with enough mana that it could begin activating the rune formations and the cores themselves.

The staggering amount of mana itself should be immense, but also that the added properties from using the unique forge furnaces mattered even more.

As a blacksmith who worked for years and years looking for new methods of crafting, he knew well that those unique forge furnaces focusing on specific manas were special.

They had the ability to meld with flames and utilize manas like space to add to the item being forged.

Yes, that brought about a higher rate of damage for the items being crafted causing a higher risk of failure. However, it also created items that could handle those manas. It also came with the requirement that the elemental spirits living within those forge furnaces allowed the crafting to happen in the first place.

The wandering blacksmith had seen and heard many stories related to such furnaces. Not real but fairytales within the crafting world. But seeing something come to be like that, he wondered if the tales were real or had once been real in a rare and intricate ancient race.

It was also bringing up the theory that living forge furnaces may become commonplace in the future.

Forge furnaces that have a will of their own and that choose the crafter that is allowed to forge within them. Creating a unique class and a unique bond with the crafting happening there.

”What are you doing? Get back to polishing that section of armor. The scales need to rest evenly, or the whole golem will move like damaged puppet!”

The mad golem crafter shouted out as several smaller hands moved around him. His crafted golem gauntlets and arms adjusted small screws, added pins, and adjusted the strength of springs constantly.

It made the wandering blacksmith feel insignificant since he lacked the skill to do all of that at once.

The level of his mastery was in forging techniques and discovering methods and materials that needed to be studied. He found ways to forge with materials no one else had forged with before. His fame was in traveling or discovering materials to forge with that no one else could right now.

The mad golem crafter had given his very body and mind entirely over to just crafting golems. To call them equal masters was an insult.

They were masters of their own specific genre of crafting. The value differentiated by the need in their skills, but also the impacts they made.

The mad golem crafter was a dwarf who had ensured his life went on longer to craft more. He had made golems that were considered beyond the level of other crafters but he had also hidden some from the world because of his partial crafting of them or general obsession in making them a certain way.

But the wandering blacksmith was open and clear. He showed what he did to others then moved on. Leaving his knowledge behind for others to study and try to attempt again.

The feeling that Walker was chasing was the bond he had felt with the elemental dolls.

He could feel them to a certain level that followed his commands. But that was a one way path that took some of his mana and used the materials as fuel.

Now he needed to focus on his mana as the fuel and a shared bond like the one he and Fleur had. He also wanted to add other manas to the cores.

A bit of his own life mana pushed forward resonating well.

A small whisper of time mana that allowed itself to move with his will but not controlled by him.

The shadow of death mana that would reside in all things balancing life and matching a natural flow.

Yet, the space mana resonated even more strongly with one of the three cores in each golem.

The core in the chest that was a larger pool of mana was also naturally attached to more space mana. Not to mention the materials had been forged within space mana flames too.

He’d felt the bonds between himself, Fleur, Midnight, and Onyx for a long time so when he felt that the space mana was better anchored there, he focused on that feeling.

He felt like he was crafting the mana itself in a way.

Not that he was against that, he knew that crafting mana itself was actually possible.

Right now though, he was feeling the ability to use space mana and other manas to create a multi dimensional storage space connection.

It pulled in the knowledge of space mana that he gained from teleportation testing. He also felt like the mana needed was significantly higher.

”The space runes were necessary. Better them than break the cores folding around with mana.” The grumble from the mad golem crafter was just loud enough for the wandering blacksmith to understand that this retired old crafter was still right up front with today’s new knowledge.

He knew to have space mana turns added to golem parts and how to inscribe them to some degree.

Walker felt a deeper pull and realized that the multi dimensional storage in a smaller way attached to the cores.

Five connections that he could reach through with mana and store them. Like an elemental teleportation formation attached to them to bring items right in to storage.

The connection locked in to place some better understandings of how teleportation worked. How space bent and folded naturally to form pathways within and on itself. It was a foundation for all things and in such a way, it could move as it wished.

Regardless of the different connotations of how space moved on its own, Walker realized he could use space runes as anchors for his own manas. For his own control of the golems too.

Even pushing further, Walker could sense that the forming spatial storages were temporary in a way. Depending on his connection to space mana and not on the golems crafted strength and style. As long as he maintained a bond properly and gave it mana, he could hold items in that separate space for the golems to hand out as well.

He could transport items across vast distances if he was willing to dedicate his attention and mana as a whole. Something that could radically change how he helped others or if he could transfer people in to the unique central storage space with plants and a living environment.... Well, that thought rested temporarily as he felt another change.

He felt natural mana focusing in the lower golem core. Being held within more densely than before. In a purer form. Like it wanted to crystallize or become liquid. It almost felt like a potion being condensed.

His mind raced while he realized he was capable of making manas denser like this. Making them stronger and harder for another to influence even if they had stronger manipulation skills than his.

The feeling spoke to him of safer methods of manipulating mana. Of more volatile methods. Of more potential in condensing magic in this way to create grander effects.

.....

....

....

Repent now and go here,

Drop those golden tickets!