Unranked ascension a lit.., p.37
Unranked Ascension: A LitRPG Adventure, page 37
As Mary opened the case and retrieved the items inside, Lucius realized that he could feel the magical energy radiating from the small tools. He glanced at Patrick, who wore an eager expression as he watched Mary thread the enchanted needle.
“How is it possible to leave inscriptions on something too small to write on? Actually, never mind that for now.” Lucius shook his head before continuing. “Patrick, please help me get these soldiers settled in for the night?”
Chapter 80
Apprentice
Tiber was given a spare room in the farmhouse, but space was limited and the rest of the soldiers had to set up their tents outside. After Patrick marked out an area for them in the yard to build their camp, he walked back over to Lucius.
“Hey, can I speak with you about something?”
After giving him a nod, Lucius followed Patrick back to his office, taking a seat in the spare chair on the opposite side of the desk. Glancing around at the many vials holding liquids that looked like blood, likely from various different creatures, he noticed the strips of leather and the assortment of mundane materials covering the desk, all containing inscriptions. The amount of magical power that emanated from the items on the desk was impressive—Patrick’s ability seemed to be growing at an increasing rate. From having quite modest usefulness, his talents were starting to become a force that might truly make a difference to the community going forward.
Lucius pulled his attention away from the oddities and looked up at Patrick with a curious expression.
“What is it that you needed to speak with me about?”
Patrick remained silent as he picked up a large piece of leather with an intricate inscription on its surface, handing the item over for inspection. Lucius raised an eyebrow as he accepted the leather, running his hand over the perfectly uniform inscription. Of all the things on the messy desk, this felt like it had the greatest amount of magical power.
“I can tell that it’s stronger than the inscriptions I’ve seen you create in the past, but that’s all I can discern. What am I looking at here?”
Patrick wore a small grin as he glanced toward the leather Lucius was holding, waving his hand in the air dismissively.
“It’s just a simple durability inscription, designed to increase the defensive power of the material it’s inscribed on. The important thing about this inscription is not the inscription itself, but that my proficiency with it has passed a threshold. Instead of the modest boost in defense this inscription used to provide, it can now increase the durability of the item it’s inscribed on threefold! Of course... I can only make it work if the item is made of mundane materials. It wouldn’t be able to triple the defense of something as powerful as that armor on your chest, for example.”
Patrick took the leather back from Lucius and handed him a different item to look at. This one was very odd—it was a large round stone strapped to the top of a stick, but in a way that would make it awkward to use as a club. It looked like a failed attempt to create a primitive weapon.
Lucius chuckled as he looked at the oddly crafted item, glancing back toward Patrick with a smirk.
“No offense, but maybe you should leave the weapon crafting to Jack…” he joked.
Patrick’s expression remained unchanged as he reached forward and tapped the stone. Lucius was forced to squint and move the item away from his face as a bright illumination was released from the stone. Suddenly, the odd contraption made much more sense—rather than a weapon, it was actually a torch! Since most items from before the apocalypse had stopped working, including batteries and torches, Patrick’s invention was very timely.
Patrick’s smile widened as he observed the look on Lucius’ face.
“Okay, I’m impressed. This is incredibly useful. Is it necessary to use something heavy like a stone at the top, though? What about using wood as a bulb?”
Patrick shook his head in response to Lucius’ question.
“It’s possible, but the quality of the light differs between materials. Wood only produces a dull glow. Glass works even better than stone, but it’s too fragile. I plan to mount these stones on the new wall and around the perimeter once they’re completed. For that purpose, sturdy, hard stones are much better.”
Lucius rubbed his chin as he held his fingers close to the stone. He could feel a slight heat radiating from the item, but not enough to burn him. When Patrick reached over and tapped the stone twice, the light disappeared.
“I see. You’ve really outdone yourself, Patrick. We’re lucky to have you and Mary with us. Was there anything else you wanted to show me?”
Patrick accepted the torch back from Lucius and replied, “There are a few other things I think you’ll be interested in, but they aren’t quite ready yet. The actual reason I brought you here and showed you these things was so you’d understand how much potential this work has—and how essential it is to the community.”
Lucius’ face took on a quizzical expression as he listened, unsure why Patrick was saying all this.
“Uh... sure? We’re very lucky to have you, Patrick, and I know your work is really important.”
Patrick nodded, casually waving one hand back and forth.
“Of course, of course. The thing is, these inscriptions will be essential to our survival going forward, but they take a lot of time and effort. The more I try to complete everything myself, the further behind I fall.”
“Okay... You’re the only one capable of doing inscriptions, though, so I don’t know how I can help you with that.” Lucius wondered what Patrick wanted—did he want a human apprentice, or a familiar like Jack’s Minotaur?
Patrick smiled again, then went over to the window behind his desk. He motioned down toward the yard to the overweight young man, covered in dirt and sweat who was helping maneuver a large log into a hole. It was Nick.
“I spent some time speaking with one of the new young men you brought with you. When Nikolai learned about my work, he explained that he was taught some Latin as part of his religious education as a child.”
Patrick turned back toward Lucius, looking the young man directly in the eye as he finally spoke his request.
“I think if you allow me to tutor him, there’s a very good chance he’ll unlock an inscription ability similar to mine.”
Lucius’ eyes widened slightly at the revelation. He stepped beside Patrick at the window, staring down at Nicolai and rubbing his chin as he considered what Patrick was getting at.
“So... you want me to commute his sentence? Give him back his freedom early—is that it?”
Patrick moved back to his desk, gently shaking his head.
“Not necessarily. I understand why you did what you did, and I agree that Nikolai’s group needs to face punishment for their gross indifference. Just change the terms of his sentence. Instead of serving his time doing hard labor that anyone could do, allow him to be of much greater service to the community by learning inscription under my tutelage.”
Patrick steepled his hands as he laid all his cards on the table, glancing up at Lucius hopefully while he waited for the young man’s verdict.
Lucius placed his hands behind his back, pacing back and forth across the office floor while he considered the proposition. After a few moments, he came to a stop and glanced back at Patrick.
“You really think you can teach Nikolai to inscribe items like you?”
Patrick stood up at his desk, nodding firmly.
“I can do it, Lucius. I know how I unlocked the talent. I don’t think it’s a skill that relies on someone’s innate qualities, like so many others. I believe it’s uniquely teachable and can be learned through dedication and hard work.”
“How exactly do you know that?”
“It’s... hard to explain. It’s more of an instinct than anything else, but you won’t be disappointed if you give me a chance to prove it with Nikolai!”
A wide smile spread across Lucius’ face. Patrick’s declaration was just too convincing to resist.
“It would be valuable to discover if talents can be taught. That information alone might make the entire thing worth trying.”
Walking back to the desk, Lucius picked up the torch and casually turned it on and off as he smiled.
“Fine. Take Nick—work him to the bone day and night if you have to. Just make sure he learns the skill.”
Patrick grinned broadly in celebration of his minor victory as he received permission to move forward with his plans. “He will learn the skill, even if I have to inscribe it into his bones myself,” he proclaimed.
Chapter 81
All’s Well on the Farm
The sun was setting over the camp as Lucius watched Patrick walk over to the line of men working on the defensive wall, interrupting their work in order to pull Nikolai aside. The rotund young man immediately assumed he had done something wrong and thus began apologizing profusely, the look on his face turning from fear to dread when he noticed Lucius watching from a distance.
Lucius chuckled quietly to himself as he watched Patrick waving his arms back and forth rapidly as he attempted to convince Nikolai that he had not come to punish him further. Leaving Nicolai in Patrick’s capable hands, Lucius headed back toward the farmhouse. The sun had almost set by now, signaling that the world would soon be embraced by darkness. Ever since electricity had stopped working, people had steadily reverted to the natural habit of sleeping and waking with the rise and fall of the sun. Until Patrick made more torches for everyone, they would most likely continue living this way.
Stepping inside the dim farmhouse, Lucius made his way to the room allocated to Nana and Maryanne, which now also housed Sarah and David. The supply of housing within the small community was growing increasingly strained, and the first priority after the defenses were completed would be building additional shelter. Lucius wasn’t sure what they would be capable of constructing without power tools and modern equipment, but he had a feeling that whoever took charge of the construction would eventually unlock some talents related to building structures. That would allow them to create much more impressive infrastructure in the future.
As Lucius approached the room, he heard Sarah speaking. It was clear she wasn’t having a conversation—it sounded more like she was narrating. Peeking around the doorway, Lucius saw Maryanne tucked snugly into the bed while Sarah sat beside her, holding open the storybook that the child treasured so dearly.
He couldn’t help but smile as he noticed the expression on Maryanne’s face. Snuggled into her thick blankets, she gazed up raptly at her mother, eagerly listening to every word of the tale. Feeling satisfied that Maryanne was back with her family where she belonged. Lucius slipped away silently to avoid disturbing the child’s first story time after reuniting with her parents.
As Lucius walked down the hallway away from Maryanne’s room, Tiber stepped out from one of the bedrooms to speak with him.
“Lucius! Are you willing to do me a favor? I’d ask someone else, but you’re the only one with a storage ring around here. If you are willing, I’ve got supplies to give Jack but I just can’t fathom going across the estate right now. I’m shattered.” After listening to Tiber’s request, Lucius held out his hand without saying a word. Tiber furrowed his brows in brief confusion before shaking his head with a quiet sigh.
“Right, the rings. Sorry, I wasn’t kidding about being exhausted.”
Tiber pulled three storage rings off his left hand and handed them to Lucius.
“I had to use three Magical grade rings to hold all the items, but I’m sure that impressive-looking thing on your hand has more than enough space to store everything. Am I correct?”
Lucius wore a slight smirk as he slid the rings onto his hand without responding. He briefly glanced through their contents before attempting something he had never tried before. He imagined pulling the contents of Tiber’s rings directly into his own ring without first moving them into the real world.
Through effort, you have raised Dimensional Manipulation to level 3.
Lucius watched as row after row of steel ingots appeared in his storage ring, along with an entire pallet of lumber and several stacks of leather pelts. The leather pelts were the only items that had clearly been made recently. Everything else had been manufactured before the apocalypse. When all the materials had been transferred, the pile of goods in Lucius’ ring massively dwarfed his own small collection of items. Whisper looked on with interest, taking flight and circling the large pile of supplies to inspect it.
Tiber accepted the rings back from Lucius, raising an eyebrow as he realized they had already been emptied.
“Interesting. I didn’t know it was possible to move items between storage rings like that.”
Tiber attempted to do the same with some of his own personal supplies after returning the rings to his hand. While he eventually succeeded, he could only move one item at a time—and very slowly at that. He was left puzzled as to how Lucius had managed to transfer such a massive stack of materials so quickly. He would have asked, but he could barely keep his eyes open, and Lucius was already making his way down the hallway. Tiber shook the thoughts from his head and returned to his bedroom, shutting the door to finally get some sleep.
Lucius stepped back into the sweltering workshop for the second time that day. This time, Jack was back at the workbench with Mina standing close beside him, her big doe eyes observing his every move. Jack appeared to be crafting a second blacksmith’s hammer—this one slightly smaller than the version he had made for himself.
Lucius waited patiently until Jack reached a point in the creation process where taking a break wouldn’t be detrimental. Setting down the item he was working on, Jack looked up at Lucius.
“Couldn’t stay away, huh?” Jack wiped his dirty hands off on the front of his leather apron as he spoke. “I heard Tiber and his boys arrived. It’s too bad about Roland—I really liked that guy.”
Lucius nodded and gestured toward his storage ring.
“I’ve got the supplies Tiber promised you. Where should I put them?”
A wide smile spread across Jack’s face at the news, quickly turning into a wry grin as he narrowed his eyes at Lucius.
“You mean you’re bringing me a gift again? Didn’t I just tell you earlier that I’m not into you like that?”
Lucius rolled his eyes as Jack repeated the same joke for the second time in one day.
“You’re a little boring, don’t you think? Don’t make me dump all these fancy materials into the pond. You can spend the next day fishing them out while you think up more original jokes.”
Jack chuckled and raised his hands in mock surrender.
“Okay, you win. Put them over there—separate them into piles if you can, please.” Jack gestured toward the storage section as he spoke.
Lucius followed the instructions, watching Jack’s expression shift into one of pure ecstasy as the neat stacks of materials filled his storage room. Jack couldn’t help himself—he rushed over to the items and picked up a steel ingot, running his fingers across the smooth reflective surface of the metal, the carbon and grease from his hands rubbing off on the previously clean metal.
“Steel? I was expecting iron…”
Lucius shot Jack a questioning glance as he heard the murmured comment.
“Is that a problem?”
Jack looked over with an offended glare, as if Lucius had just made an off-color remark.
“A problem? This is the best problem I’ve had in a long time! I’m going to be able to make weapons of far higher quality than before.”
Lucius nodded, relieved to know there wouldn’t be any issue with the weapons.
“Get Mina equipped with her own tools as fast as you can so you two can get started. The sooner we can supply Tiber’s battalion with quality weapons, the better off we’ll be.”
Jack gave Lucius a thumbs-up, the shiny steel ingot in his hand making a pleasant clank as he placed it back onto the stack before returning to the workbench.
When Lucius stepped out of the workshop, the sun had already set. The chirping of insects had become much louder as darkness blanketed the community. The only light he could see came from the fire burning at the center of the circle of tents Tiber’s men had set up. Lucius rubbed his chin as he gazed up at the night sky, speaking softly to himself and Whisper.
“Well, I just woke up a few hours ago and I’m not the least bit tired. What do you say we take a trip to Magar’s cave and thank him for defending us from Baba Yaga’s sneak attack?”
Lucius glanced into his storage space as he was speaking, he watched Whisper shake his head, his miniature brows very firmly meeting in the center of his forehead. It was quite endearing, if not for the fact that the bat was annoyed.
“I don’t care about that. I want you to practice using my powers. You can’t keep putting it off. You’re much weaker than you should be because you’ve neglected training. Why bother binding yourself to me if you’re not going to take advantage of my powers?”
Lucius waved his hand dismissively.
“Fine, fine. We can do that too. Magar first, then training. Deal?”
A puff of purple smoke appeared on Lucius’ shoulder as Whisper emerged from the dimensional space of the ring to enjoy the cool night air beside Lucius. He did his best to mimic Jack by forming an awkward thumbs-up with the tiny fingers at the ends of his wings, smiling proudly as he did so.
Chapter 82
The Salt Must Flow
Lucius walked past James on his way toward the forest. The boy was ushering his pets into their pen for the night. Lucius watched as James gave the strange spike-covered pigs an extra serving of food in recognition of their mother’s hard work on the construction of the new wall. The tiny creatures swarmed around the food trough, squealing in delight as the headbutted and shoved each other out of the way. Luckily, the piglets had spikes that weren’t very sharp spikes yet, so none of them were injured. The largest of the group, the mother pig, walked calmly over toward the food, gently pushing her children aside as she stuck her snout into the trough and claimed her share.
