“Well, I can’t say I’m not privileged, but I think I’ve earned my arrogance,” he said, drawing a bark of startled laughter from the old man.

  “Good, fake humbleness is even worse than fake confidence,” Vaar grunted before signaling for him to follow.

  Orion was led into a side room, where a couch, several armchairs, and a low table made a cozy setting. Vaar sat down, motioning for him to sit as well.

  “Now, tell me what you’re working on. To have gotten an invitation to my shop, and not go around bragging about your connections or asking me to make you an elixir, you must have something decent on your hands,” the old man said, eyes glinting with interest.

  His grandson appeared surprised by the sudden burst of energy but sat beside him, clearly just as interested.

  Orion hesitated for a moment. His initial plan was just to list a few ingredients he’d identified, like silverite and crystals, but thinking it over, getting a master’s opinion might be worth it, even if he still went through with his original choices.

  “How familiar are you with artifacts made to interact with the System?” he asked, and several surprised sounds echoed all around him.

  The loudest of them all came from Elodie, who had been silent until then but seemed genuinely shocked by his request. Orion turned and gave her a glance, which made the shy girl blush and wave him off, pulling into herself.

  Hm, I guess she has this whole strange thing where she’s holding back on reaching tier four, so it shouldn’t be that surprising she’s sensitive to this topic.

  Seothyn looked at him curiously but didn’t seem as tense, even though he was also hiding his true power, pretending to be a tier three when he had already reached tier four.

  He probably already knows. They did save me when I was overwhelmed by the data from mom’s rank-up, after all.

  “Now that is an interesting project,” Vaar said, drawing his attention back to him. The old man’s eyes were clear and focused, and he hadn’t missed a single reaction. “Not something you usually see teenagers dabble in. Do you have any experience in the field, or is this your first attempt?”

  Orion shrugged. “I’m not exactly the average teenager,” he said, drawing a snort of amusement from Ophelia, whose smile clearly showed how little that label fit him.

  “To answer your question,” he continued, ignoring the looks he was getting, “I have some familiarity with the topic. I built myself a working artifact a while ago, but it was lost in an accident, and I’m trying to produce a better, more resilient version this time.”

  This time, there were no sounds of shock, but that was only because he had already essentially implied that he had been able to extract information from the System. This was just confirmation.

  “Hm, I guess you really aren’t ordinary, then. How far did you manage to get? I would expect that unless you were handed legendary materials, going beyond a basic reading of someone’s class would have been impossible.”

  Orion leaned back, considering the question. He hadn’t used legendary materials since silverite was fairly common, but had still gone a bit further than what Veer was suggesting was possible. It’s probably due to the coding and my extra-rank connection to the Field. Working together, they uncovered details about levels, classes, and ranks that would otherwise have been impossible to see.

  “Something like that, though I think my runic framework was a bit higher quality than what you are thinking about,” he said, and that was an understatement, if there was one. He’d used an otherworldly programming language, adapted to a specific purpose, and carved painstakingly into the silverite frames with one of his mother’s potion knives.

  Before more questions could come, questions he wasn’t quite sure he wanted to answer, he pressed on with his requirements. “I used silverite for the frame, and some neutral glass to give it structure, but I’m looking for better materials now. Light crystals, if you have them, of high enough clarity, and mana-conductive metals. Or wood, I guess, though I haven’t worked with that before.”

  Vaar shook his head before he finished speaking. “No, wood would not be a good idea. You aren’t an elf with their natural affinity, nor do you look like a druid. The Ironwood Sentinels almost never send their young to Valderun, and when they do, they are guarded by their own forest knights, which you don’t have. The best course of action is to take some of the better metals and make a custom composite based around your class.”

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  Orion tilted his head, intrigued. “Is this an elemental thing? Because my class isn't tied to any of them. I’m pretty handy with multiple types.”

  But Vaar clicked his tongue, gesturing to his grandson, who was on his feet and out of the room in an instant. A moment later, he returned with a lacquered wooden box, which he opened to reveal a series of metallic samples.

  “Some magical ingredients have an elemental affinity, but that’s not what I’m talking about. If you were just a Fire Mage, you wouldn’t be here asking about System mechanics, so I already assumed you’d be a research-focused class. It wouldn’t make sense for you to have achieved this much otherwise.”

  Yeah, I guess it wouldn’t. I’m not sure I could have crafted the CC without the extra help my Traits provided, and even though the SDGs came first, I used the energy from the Class Ceremony to finish crafting them.

  “The kind of inclination I’m talking about has very little to do with mana. Some metals are suited for use in weapons, others in jewelry, and still others in artifacts. These latter ones are very finicky about the kind they end up as, and the more closely aligned you get, the better the end result.” Vaar explained, and Orion forcibly shut down his initial response, which was to scoff at what sounded like wishy-washy nonsense.

  An alchemist like Vaar probably knew what he was doing, even if he didn’t fully understand the underlying principles. Experience taught a great deal, and even primitive societies sometimes discovered successful methods through trial and error.

  The Vikings had superior weapons because they incorporated bone ash into the forging process as a religious rite, ultimately creating a form of carbon steel. This might not be that different.

  “Could you explain it further? I’m not necessarily opposed to special materials working better for a project like this, but what is it that would make them qualify as such?” he asked instead, and received a smirk in response.

  “Good, I see that you don’t understand, but at least you know better than to talk over me,” Vaar said. “The thing with interacting with the System is that at your level, or any level below tier five, really, it can’t be done externally. No matter what you do, you won’t be able to summon its attention unless you follow the predetermined path it laid out for you. That means the only worthwhile method is the internal one, and the less contrast there is between you and the elements that make up the artifact, the better the result.”

  Orion hummed, tapping a finger against his thigh as he thought about it. “Would silverite be a good or bad choice, then? It is what I used for the first version.”

  Vaar reached out and took one of the metallic samples, which glinted with a familiar shine in the sunlight. “This is silverite. Among Alluria’s expert blacksmiths, it’s called the chicken of the metals because it’s versatile enough for almost anything, even in the hands of apprentices. When worked skillfully, it can produce extraordinary results."

  Ophelia giggled, and even Orion smiled at the analogy. I understand what he’s talking about. It might not be perfect in every situation, but its baseline is high enough to adapt to any kind of project.

  Putting the piece down, Vaar picked up another one that Orion recognized from his lessons with Elder Candra, who taught Basic Jewelcraft.

  “Hematite is an iron ore, and it’s often considered good only for earth magic by many, but any skilled alchemist will tell you that it has excellent grounding properties for more volatile ingredients, and it can serve as a counterbalance in many situations. However, if you tried to craft your artifact with it, you might end up with a worse result than your original, despite your increased understanding and power.”

  Orion nodded in agreement. He recalled that Elder Candra had described it as a marvelous enchantment anchor, though very challenging to use.

  Vaar picked up another sample, this one a soft, lustrous, and highly crystalline silver. It sparked a memory, and Orion recognized it as the Yttrium of Earth, an extremely useful element for electroceramics, solid fuel cells, and nearly every other electrical application.

  “This, on the other hand, is known as Thunderbite, a type of metal highly useful for forging lightning-attuned foci, and it is favored by many mages of the collegium because it provides extra speed and reliability to their spells.”

  “Would that work for my purposes, then?” Orion asked, and Vaar shook his head.

  “It wouldn’t be as bad as Hematite, but it’s still not good enough. You’re not a pure mage, are you?” he asked, and Orion didn’t need to deny it for him to take it as confirmation and keep talking. “I thought so. Any artifact crafted from Thunderbite is a reliable tool, but it’s best used for direct mana use. I’ve known a few mages to use it for permanent enchantments, but they were masters of lightning magic. It wouldn’t work for you.”

  Orion was starting to fear he would go through the entire box, explaining what each element did. While that would undoubtedly be fascinating, he really didn’t have much time, and he wanted to finish his V2 before he had to leave Valderun.

  But Vaar’s hand stopped over the next element, and his eyes narrowed. “Yes, this might be it,” he muttered.

  “Grandpa, isn’t Cielinite far too complicated to work with for someone so young?” his grandson asked, directing a worried look his way. “It could work, but only if he had incredible control. Some people even report serious injuries if the energies get out of control, and that’s very likely without a B-rank Mana Manipulation.”

  The metal, this time, wasn't just silvery but had a pink sheen that made Orion sit up and take notice. He was sure he knew that color.

  Promethium? Not pure, of course, but it’s often found alongside uranium, which could explain the injuries. The radiation from a failed magical experiment using uranium, especially if it’s not a stable kind, would definitely be enough to kill a person.

  “Bah, the kid comes from the Lunar Sanctum, doesn’t he? I’m sure he will have access to all the healers he’ll need if he blows himself up.” Vaar grumbled, and Orion glossed over his knowledge of his origin and instead focused on the matter at hand.

  “Why do you think it would work?” he asked, even as he was already starting to come up with an answer of his own.

  “Cielinite is a heavenly metal,” Vaar explained. It comes from the stars and is considered one of the closest to the System itself. Some sages even suggested it was a great machine made of it, though no one was able to confirm such a thing, of course. But beyond that, it is very good at bonding with someone’s natural frequencies. It will work best for your project.”

  “I’ll take it,” Orion decided. “At least an ingot.”

  Vaar grinned, looking close to rubbing his hands. “You were saying something about needing a crystal, too?”

  Orion nearly sighed, but decided that spending his money here was much less wasteful than on clothes.

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