System Change

Marrick didn’t have all that much going on for him while he was in Savannah waiting for his chairs, so Derek decided to show him around. One introduction that Derek made sure to make for Marrick was to Roman—if for no other reason than to see if there really was something like a potion for restoring hair. Seeing the small elf and the halfling negotiating with one another was also something that Derek didn’t know he would enjoy.

Marrick’s bluntness and Roman’s eagerness for both money and materials—plus his hardheadedness—made for an interesting scene. A scene which was made all the more entertaining because of the size of the two of them. If Derek didn’t know any better, or if he was watching from a distance, he would say that it looked like two children fighting over some candy… or a soda, in this case.

It turned out that Roman did, unfortunately, have some potions of hair restoration in stock. When Marrick drank said potions, his hair did come back—fully colored and everything. Now, why was that unfortunate? Because the hair didn’t seem natural at all. It was way too black and looked almost like a bad dye job. He could have just looked weird because Derek was used to seeing the old elven elder with almost no hair other than a few white and gray strands.

It was just that very odd look that an older person, who everyone knew should have white or gray hair, had when they dyed it. It wouldn’t have been so bad if it wasn’t black, either. But apparently, the old man’s hair color in his youth had been just as coal black as Derek’s own before his void affinity gave it a purple tint.

Marrick also felt the same way when he saw himself in a mirror, so he was quick to chop off his newly flowing locks. A few bottles of hair growth potions and multiple haircuts later, and the effects of the hair restoration potion left, and all that remained were the few white and gray strands of hair that he’d had before. Apparently, the hair restoration potions only lasted for a couple years’ worth of hair before running out and reverting the hair back to its normal form—which was great for the demand of the potions. Also, this could be hastened by the hair growth potions speeding the reversion up.

After they left the happy Roman—who was so happy because he had sold an expensive hair restoration potion and multiple hair growth potions—Derek decided to take Marrick to lunch at the Crown Restaurant. He needed to do something to see if he could help the old man’s mood change back to how it was before the hair incident—cranky Marrick was still fun, but not as fun as normal Marrick.

Luckily, a pleasant lunch was all it took to have Marrick back to his normal self—which, albeit, was still a bit cranky. For the rest of the day, Derek took the old man sightseeing around the city. Finally, he ended the day by taking him to the dragon kennels and letting him see the different dragonkin. He wasn’t very impressed. The old man had lived a very long time and had seen many different kinds of monsters. And, since he’d already seen Blitz and Lyra, the other dragonkin just weren’t as interesting. Still, they had a fun day hanging out together.

The next two days passed by in a flash. Derek refused to let Marrick stay at one of the hotels in the city and had him stay at the Void Emporium instead—which the old man was happy to do because of the bunny prepared meals that came with the invitation. Out of everything—Derek’s mythical class included—Marrick was more interested in the fact that a horned bunny had become a proper chef. The fact that she, too, was technically sporting a mythical class only added to his interest.

Another thing—or person—that Marrick found particularly interesting was Brandi and her smithing. Their bond had grown as the old man treated her more like one of his grandchildren than a stranger, and the young smith even found herself spending more and more time with everyone else instead of alone in her basement forge.

“See, so you just channel a little of you mana—any mana really—into these runes here, and the next thing you know… bang!” Brandi said, imitating an explosion with her hands. “You’ll be in the air.” She was currently sitting at the dining table next to Marrick, explaining and showing the old elf how her rocket boots worked. The young smith had taken to the old man, as he asked questions about her crafts as if he was truly interested—which he actually did seem to be. He also had many years of insight and experience that had helped spark new ideas and answer questions she didn’t even know she had when he spoke of them.“They really are quite amazing, aren’t they?” Marrick said as he examined the boots.

“They are!” Brandi agreed. “And I can’t believe I was so dumb about the gauntlets. Of course, they didn’t need as much power as the boots do. They are mostly for stabilization. I’ll have the new version of them finished in no time.” In the last two days, Brandi had made great strides in creating her new gloves—he had also adjusted their working name from ‘rocket gloves’ to ‘stabilizing gloves.’

And, since the same force wasn’t needed for the gloves, she even changed the cores and runes she was using for them. Now, she was using wind runes for them with the plan that they would coordinate well with the boots. The boots would blast off and thrust, while the gloves would make any minor adjustments—they would also allow the use of the wind to glide after initial propulsions provided by the boots.

“All great smiths make mistakes or don’t see the obvious sometime,” Marrick said. “You just need to keep at it, and eventually you will overcome whatever it is that you’re struggling with. And let me tell you a little secret.” The old man leaned in toward Brandi conspiratorially, and Brandi leaned in as well.

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“What is it?” the young smith whispered.

“When you’re stuck on one thing, all you have to do is work on something else and ignore the thing you’re having trouble with, and the solution will usually appear out of nowhere,” he explained. “So, there’s no sense hindering your growth as a crafter by being stuck on one thing—just switch to another craft that interests you are enlightened. As a fighter, it may be different and those limitations may exist, but as a crafter, you will most probably not have them.”

“Really?” Brandi asked.

“Yes,” Marrick nodded seriously, then his eyes glanced over to see Malorie at the end of the table, smiling at their interaction. “And—and this is something that most of the great crafters I’ve met in my life have in common—you have to take breaks. Meditation is great, but nothing helps solve problems like having a truly fresh mind focusing on them, and you can’t have that fresh mind through just Meditation alone.

“The skill is a great boon to both fighters and crafters alike—especially the upgraded version of it—but it does not help with your mental fatigue. Spend time with friends and family, eat some good food, get a good night’s rest… you’ll be amazed at what you’ll come up with after a refreshing break.”

Derek saw Malorie smile even brighter, then he saw all traces of it disappear as Brandi turned her head to look at her mother.

“I tried to tell you,” Malorie said. “But you can’t listen to your dear mother… I apparently don’t know what I’m talking about.”

Brandi pondered on Malorie’s words, then turned her head back to the old elf. “You’re not just saying that, are you? You’re not just going along with mom?”

“I would never!” Marrick quickly leaned back in his chair and looked appalled. “It’s true that it is something that your mother would enjoy, but who wouldn’t enjoy spending more time with their precious child? But the reality is that when it comes to creative endeavors, such as crafting never before seen equipment, your mind truly needs to rest and relax—and often.”

Brandi looked at Marrick deeply, then turned and looked at Derek. If anyone would tell her the truth, it would be him.

“Can’t really help you there,” Derek said with a shrug—and he wasn’t lying. “I’m not the creative type. I get punched for a living—literally—along with clawed and bitten and… all sorts of other things. But what Marrick is saying does make a lot of sense to me. I’ve definitely heard the same before… back where I come from. They called it burnout there. I imagine it is the same here with all sorts of crafts.”

“That’s correct,” Marrick said. “The Great System gives you plenty of skills and experience, and there is always a way forward even with this ‘burnout,’ but just because you can brute force it, doesn’t mean you should. Sure, you will become a high level and very sought after blacksmith with great standard equipment, but the truly great crafters create original piece after original piece, and don’t level with just the standard blueprints and recipes. The greatest smiths are innovators, and to become one of the greatest, you have to quite literally forge your own path, and creativity is a major part of that journey.”

Derek could see that Malorie was loving every word that was coming out of Marrick’s mouth. He was definitely saying what he was saying for both Malorie and Brandi—so they could spend more time together before Brandi was officially an adult. However, Derek also knew that what the old man was saying wasn’t wrong at all. He wasn’t leading her astray, but more so giving her advice that just happened to benefit everyone. And it was true. The advice was definitely easier for the young smith to hear when it was coming from someone other than her mother.

“It’s… something I’ll have to think about,” Brandi said after a long pause. “It’s almost the complete opposite of how I currently do things, and I haven’t hit this so-called burnout yet. I do hit small walls occasionally, but I’ve been able to overcome those walls within a day or two—there hasn’t been anything that has actually hindered me.”

“Children…” Marrick clicked his tongue and smiled at the girl. “You have not experienced it yet. As a child, your creativity is at its peak. Many people lose some of that creativity as they grow older. It is those that can keep that spark of creativity alight that truly shine. But you will experience these problems. And when you do, I hope my lesson echoes in your head, and you remember. I hope you are one of the few who doesn’t lose that spark and conform to the normal smithing standard.”

“I won’t!” Brandi said seriously. “Just crafting the same sword over and over because of how well they sell is mind-numbingly boring. Especially when Derek brought back sooo many awesome materials for me to work with. I understand the need to create what sells when you need the income, but…” Brandi looked at both Derek and Malorie. “I don’t need it. It seems that my failures sell well enough. Besides… I would rather craft weapons and armor for those close to me—to help them live long and happy lives. That is why I wanted to be a leatherworker, after all.”

“Well said,” Derek replied.

“You spoil her,” Malorie said to Derek.

“Maybe,” Derek said. “But until she loses that work ethic, is it really spoiling her? If she was lazy, that would be one thing. But she hasn’t let anything go to waste.”

“Derek does have a point. As a grandpa, great grandpa, great great grandpa, great gre…”

“We get it.” Derek cut Marrick off and spoke.

“Uhem…” Marrick cleared his throat. “It is only natural for one to want to give their loved ones—especially the children—what they didn’t have growing up. But it is also your responsibility to keep an eye out and watch to make sure they are making proper use of what they have been given.

“You can take my family, for example,” Marrick continued. “I don’t think I did a poor job of raising my children and spoiling the next couple of generations. Unfortunately, in the later generations—the ones which I did not oversee during my self-isolation—it seems that things got out of hand. Luckily, I believe I was able to step in before things got too out of hand.”

“Ah, yes…” Derek said. “The children you hadn’t met yet.”

“Yes,” Marrick said. “But that is neither here nor there. My point is that I don’t believe you will have any problems spoiling this young lass.” He pointed at Brandi. “At such a young age, she is already so strong. I can feel it. And it’s not that fake strength like some nobility has. It is a strength that she worked hard for. It may not be fighting strength, but it is there. Though… I do not doubt that, if paired against any other child of similar age, she would win physically, too.”

“I agree,” Derek said. He believed she could at least give most of Thomas’s classmates a run for their money in an actual fight—especially with her new skills. “She…” Derek was about to continue praising the girl—who was loving it—but a knock sounded on the door.

“Come in,” Malorie said.

Behind the door, Bones, who had been downstairs watching over the shop all this time, stood. “Please excuse me, but a guest has arrived,” he said with a bow.

“Who is it?” Derek asked.

“It is Mr. Geoffrey Tate of Alabaster Homes,” Bones answered. “Would you like me to bring him up?”

“Sure!” Derek said, excitedly. I wonder what the prototypes are going to look like.