[h1]The day after the fight in the graveyard[/h1] [hr] Makoto walked towards the nearest populated area in the Overcity from where she entered, carrying a large metal container behind her. She was dressed in her black coat and hat, a small metal cube in a sealed pocket. She was looking for an artificer who could finish Ezekial's work. To that end, Makoto needed to enter the Overcity. The [i]real[/i] overcity that this entire parallel world was named after. Most of the overcity was void of any life, and was a great place to drag monsters for a beat down without causing any damage to the normal world. But that changed when you got to the actual overcity. There were enormous building that towered into the sky, and the streets were bathed in a golden light. Even during the day, the sky was always in a state of perceptual twilight. Nothing in the city was brand new, and nothing made sense. You had brick buildings from the medieval ages standing next to buildings that belonged in art deco America. The effects of magic on this place were not hidden. Street lamps were replaced by floating lights, and the signage for some businesses were magical constructs, interacting with all who passed by. On her way through the city, Makoto passed by a stone sculpture. It depicted a landscape featuring a collapsing castle and a large tank. Standing atop the crumbling castle was a vampire, who was clearly not pleased to be losing altitude. Standing on top of the tank were several smaller girls, boldly holding their weapons up to the vampire. There was a plaque at the foot that read. “Justine falls: A tribute to those who illuminate the darkness.” Makoto was reminded that there was a Beacon HQ here and swiftly changed directions. Makoto’s surroundings got distinctly older as she wandered down the mages district. This was where a lot of shop owners sold their services and magical trinkets to those who came by. It had been this way for centuries, with the older owners passing down their crafts to the next one. Magic was largely steeped in tradition, and it only made sense that the oldest district would contain the largest concentration of mages. Makoto walked by many stores, looking for that one that mentioned “artificer.” While there were many general enchanters, the specific art of artificing seemed to be in short supply. But Makoto’s search wouldn’t go unrewarded. She eventually came across a sign that read “Winged Monarch Artificing,” which seemed to be exactly what Makoto was looking for. But before she could reach for the door, it burst open. A [url=https://i.imgur.com/CIhUutX.jpg]girl in a kimono[/url] was charging after a glowing butterfly. It flew in front of Makoto’s face, and the girl didn’t cease her chase. She tripped on the doormat and flew through the air towards the squirrel girl. [b]”Gaaaaaaaah!”[/b] [color=f26522]”Whoa!”[/color] Makoto quickly ducked to the side and caught the girl with her free arm, her head turning to watch the butterfly as it passed by innocently. [color=f26522]”You okay there, Miss…?”[/color] The woman continued to flail in Makoto’s arms until the butterfly vanished in the golden haze of the city. With an exhausted sigh, she lowered her arms. [b]”Aria.”[/b] she said with a whine. [b]”Thank you for catching me, but I wish you had captured that butterfly instead.”[/b] She ran a hand over her face. [color=f26522]”Oh! Was it important to you? I’m so sorry!”[/color] She tensed for a moment in preparation to chase after the butterfly, but waited for a response. After all, a hero(ine) always had to help those in need. [b]”Just a project of mine. No need to apologize.”[/b] Aria stood up. [b]”I was getting irritated with it. Otherwise it wouldn’t have had a chance to escape. It’s probably best if it flew off.”[/b] She brushed some hair out of her face. [b]”I’m sorry, I haven’t seen you around here before. Let’s do a proper introduction.”[/b] She grabbed a corner of her dress and bowed. [b]”I’m Aria Rizzo, but most know me as the butterfly princess or the only artificer in the magic district.”[/b] Makoto sighed in relief. [color=f26522]”Name’s Makoto. I don’t suppose you’re open for business right now, are you?”[/color] She attempted to curtsey with her oversized black trenchcoat. [b]”Oh yes, I’m open.”[/b] She folded her hands together. [b]”What would you like me to do?”[/b] [color=f26522]”Well…”[/color] Makoto scratched the back of her head. [color=f26522]”I’m kinda hoping that you can mass produce the magnum opus of a friend of mine.”[/color] She pulled out a small object, a violet jewel with a silver snake wrapped around it like a spiral, roughly four inches from top to bottom and two and a half inches at its widest. [color=f26522]”It’s a mana collector that’s capable of some amazing things. I’ve got the mundane materials, but I don’t know anyone other than the original creator who could make more, and they’re… indisposed at the moment.”[/color] Aria approached the device and put her hands over it. [b]”Hmmm, interesting.”[/b] She looked at it from another angle. [b]”It’s pretty complex, not something you’d typically ‘mass produce.’ I can’t understand it at a glance, which is unusual. But the question isn’t if I can duplicate it or not, it’s how much you want to spend, how many you want to make, and how close to the original you want to be.”[/b] She looked under the artifact. [b]”And what do you mean by ‘capable of some amazing things?’ It does things aside from draw in Mana?”[/b] [color=f26522]"I’m willing to spend quite a lot, depending on how many you can make. I’m hoping for about fifty, as close to this as you can get, assuming it’s not too expensive for me to handle.”[/color] She paused. [color=f26522]”This thing doesn’t just draw in the underlying mana like a normal absorber, but it’s not as complex as a magical coin that can do, well, I’m sure you know what they can do already. It draws in semi-completed magical residue, specifically. Which means that with enough of it, you can replicate small feats of the residue’s specialization. Get enough fire magic absorbed and you can light a small fire, for example. That’s why I’ve had trouble getting it reproduced, because it really [i]was[/i] a ‘magnum opus’ creation.”[/color] [b]”So it’s like a power artifact, only it draws in mana from the surrounding area rather than taking it from the user and converting it. The result is that it can then duplicate the effects of other specializations provided enough is collected.”[/b] She gently took the artifact from Makoto’s hand. [b]”Let me make a prototype of the mass production version and see how you like it. Then I’ll have an idea of what the cost will be.”[/b] [color=f26522]”Deal.”[/color] Makoto grinned. Aria bowed before heading back into her shop. [b]”If you don’t have anywhere to go, it shouldn’t take long to make the prototype.”[/b] The winged monarch looked like a giant old tree on the outside, and the interior kept up with the aesthetic. Rather than being built, the interior had been carved out of the tree. One could only guess if it was done by a giant wood eating insect or if mages had taken to carving away the wood themselves. There was a bit of ambient light in the shop supplied by luminescent plants, but the brightest thing there were the butterflies that flew overhead. They were perfectly white, but glowed hues of red and blue. The rest of the shop had your standard array of bookshelves, and there was a magic circle traced out on the floor. [b]”I’ve pretty much perfected rapid prototyping. Let’s see what we’ve got.”[/b] With a wave of her hand, a transparent barrier appeared in front of her. Part of the barrier darkened up as swarms of butterflies converged in front of her. Individually they weren’t too bright, but when they were all bunched together like that it was hard to look at. Aria’s arms were always moving, but there was grace and purpose behind her actions. Even if Makoto knew nothing about making artifacts, it was evident that she had put in a lot of time doing this. More butterflies joined in, sometimes carrying odd items into the glow with them. A few nails, a piece of copper wire, gemstones, several carried in a breadboard. Then all at once, the butterflies scattered to the ceiling. Where they had been was now a bread board with a few nails driven into it. The copper wire had been wrapped around the nails, and held the gemstones over every post. When Aria snapped her fingers, the device produced a small barrier around itself. [b]The prototype appears to be a success.”[/b] She banished the barrier around herself. [b]”The good news is that I can mass produce these for you. The bad news is that the final version will be a lot more labor intensive to make. That means that supplying your own parts won’t offset the cost very much. I normally like to use my own materials, but if you believe that your parts are of equal or superior quality, I can work with them.”[/b] She stroked her chin before looking up to Makoto. [b]”I could make you fifty artifacts for say, eighteen gold coins, rounding in your favor. Or two artifacts for three silver.”[/b] [color=f26522]”Hmm… Let’s go with four for now, and I’ll come back when I can afford more? I could also just sell you the materials if you don’t think they’d be useful, plus I’ve got more than enough random gemstones and good quality metal in this thing, compared to how much would be needed.”[/color] Makoto pointed with her thumb towards the large container outside. Aria folded her arms.. [b]”As an artificer, I can enchant my own gemstones. I’m not interested in whatever you’re peddling.”[/b] She eyed Makoto up and down. [b]”But if you’re looking for a slightly better deal, we might be able to arrange something.”[/b] [color=f26522]”Right, but getting the high quality gems themselves might… I’ll shut up now. What do you have in mind?”[/color] Aria continued to stare at Makoto, almost in a trance. [b]”Your tail.”[/b] She lifted her hands and twiddled her fingers in the air. [b]”Five minutes with your tail, six silver, and I’ll make it five artifacts.”[/b] Makoto held back a laugh. [color=f26522]”Absolutely. Take as long as you want~”[/color] Aria was not capable of teleportation, but that is the only word that could be used to describe how she approached Makoto’s tail. She was leaning her head into it [b]”MMmmmmm.”[/b] Aria gently stroked it with her hand. [b]”It’s so warm, I could almost fall asleep.”[/b] [hr] After the “tail” session and collecting all other forms of payment, Aria got to work on making the artifacts. It took considerably more time to make the real artifacts compared to the prototypes. Two hours yielded the five that Makoto asked for. But they all worked and looked just like the one Makoto brought in. [b]”Well, it’s not quite fifty, but there’s five artifacts for you.”[/b] With them all placed on a table together, Makoto almost couldn’t tell which one was the original. [b]”If you have any future projects, don’t hesitate to stop by again.”[/b] Aria’s eyes wandered over Makoto again before she blinked herself out of her trance. [b]”With Beacon HQ so close to here, I wasn’t sure I’d ever see a monster girl walk into my store. Be safe out there, Makoto.”[/b] [color=f26522]"Will do, and thank you so much!”[/color] With the artifacts in hand, she left and wandered to the nearest exit of the Overcity.