Chapter 109: Crafting for Crafting

“Hm…” I stared at the enchanting recipe, and a question popped into my mind.

“Felicia, what kind of enchanting could I do? I don’t think I could craft those tower collectors.”

“The standard enchanting recipe usually offers Anathema penetration damage. There are ways to change them, of course. If you buy skills related to alchemy, you’ll be able to modify the enchantments. Since you’re now a level 10 Alchemy Enchanter, new skills are available for purchase. I recommend these two.”

Felicia then showed me the list.

[Skill Shop for Alchemy Enchanters:

• Novice Defensive Enchantment (dissipates Anathema attacks, increases vitality or Aura strength) – 500 points

• Novice Utility Enchantment (manipulates laws of the world, useful for making tools) – 500 points]

“Hm… why are they sold separately instead of bundled with the class?” I frowned at Zenith’s obvious money-pinching attitude. But I supposed it made sense. Zenith created this class so we could craft weapons effective against Anathema.

In the end, I bought them, leaving me with 11,045 points.

“Once you gain sufficient proficiency with the class level, new skills will be available for purchase,” Felicia said. “Intermediate enchantments should unlock at levels 40 and 50.”

“Alright.”

I opened the crafting menu with my new skill. I should be able to enchant my brush from my painting set.

[Stored Anathema Essence: 100
Item to be Enchanted: A painting set brush
Enchanting Option: Utility Enchantment – Precision Tool
Recipe: Darkbane Bullet
Do you want to start manual enchanting? Y/N]

I inserted 100 essence because I was afraid of failing. The brush set I bought consisted of one round brush, one flat brush, one filbert, one liner, and one fan — five brushes in total.

I painted both the bristles and the ferrules, the metal bands joining the bristles to the handles, with essence. Felicia said I only needed to paint the bristles, but I decided to paint the ferrules too, hoping it would last longer that way.

In a daze, I ended up painting the whole thing, engulfed by the sensation I felt when Elder July crafted that black spear with his hands. The despair of Anathema essence flowed through me, followed by a light of hope — creating a future out of darkness. Afterwards, a prayer popped up.

“May this brush be the light for me. May it assist me in my pursuit of craftsmanship.” I chanted the prayer; it sprouted from my heart — a wish born from the depths of despair.

[30 mana has been used for the prayer.]

[Congratulations. You have enchanted a brush. Do you want to save the recipe for later use?]

The ping from the system jolted me out of my daze. In my hand, the round black brush floated in the air, hovering beside me. When I opened my palm, it nestled itself snugly there.

“This was not my intention.” I complained. I’d wasted 30 essence when I was supposed to need only ten or fifteen for this brush. i turned to Felicia. “Why didn’t you stop me?”

“I apologize. Do you want me to warn you when you paint outside the agreed area?” Felicia asked.

“No. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. Forget what I said — that was impolite of me.” I sighed. It was my mistake; why was I blaming Felicia? I was so stupid. I need to control my emotions more.

“This brush doesn’t look like the ones in the video tutorial,” I muttered, trying to compare my brush to those in the videos made by my senpai in alchemy.

“You painted the whole thing, so it gained an extra effect. The brush is now connected to you and will answer your will,” Felicia said.

“Answer my will?”

“Yes. You can make it hover in your hand automatically.”

“That sounds useful.”

“Not really. It wasted twenty more essence than normal. You can just pick them up manually — it only looks fancy.” Felicia shrugged. With how scarce Anathema essence was, I guess it was understandable that humanity viewed this kind of function as a waste.

“What would happen if we coated all the bullet parts instead of just the projectile?” I asked, curious. Before, Felicia had instructed me to coat only the projectile, leaving the casing alone. Now I wondered whether I should paint the whole thing.

“It depends on the enchantment. You would need to use two types of enchanting — the offensive ones for the projectile and the utility ones for the casing. If you enchant them this way, the casings can fire the projectiles without gunpowder, albeit at reduced velocity.”

“That sounds super useful!”

“Ah, but bullet casings are often damaged and need to be recast in a foundry after every shot. Once recast, they lose all enchantments. To mitigate this, you’d need a defensive enchantment layered under the utility ones, which raises the essence cost and skill level. The reduced firepower was the deal breaker for UNH and Zenith. That’s why it’s recommended to paint only the projectile.”

“I see. Then what are they doing outside?” I gazed through my mana eyes at the soldiers collecting bullets and casings in the field. I was inside my cabin at headquarters. It was quite late, but I couldn’t sleep, so I decided to practice enchanting.

“Soldiers still collect bullets and casings whenever possible. With all mining outposts destroyed, the UNH wants to conserve their resources.”

“I see. That sounds dangerous. We’re still technically on the front line.”

“Indeed. But relax. Several Guardians with stealth and detection abilities are tasked with reconnaissance. You’re on the list, but since you already did recon in the afternoon, you’re exempt from tonight’s role. Do you want me to move your recon schedule to the night?”

“The others won’t be happy with that, will they?” I yawned. I promised to team up with Shining. Facing the enchantment screen, I added more essence and enchanted the flat brush, the liner, the filbert, and the fan. I had time, so I didn’t save the recipe and did all of them by hand.

For the last five essences, I summoned a normal bullet from my storage and tried enchanting it with my new brushes. Like Felicia said, my lines were smooth and precise compared to when I used my finger. The full enchantment also brought benefits beyond Felicia’s expectations. Instead of picking brushes up and putting them down, breaking my focus and rhythm, the one I wanted would float into my hand while the previous brush drifted away. No need to divert attention. With unbreakable focus, the mana expenditure was only five.

[Congratulations. Your Alchemy Enchanter has leveled up to Level 15.]

“Congratulations. You have done well with the brushes. It worked better than I thought. You have matched a high-level enchanter in just one day with these brushes. The highest-level enchanter is still at level 35 though, so it is not far. If you keep this up, you might catch up with them.”

“Since it is for my use, why not splurge? You should not be stingy when it is for your own use,” I declared, feeling proud of myself.

“Will you put your brushes up as a candidate for Gate? You could earn points if it is accepted by Zenith as a standard, and if people like your brushes, they might commission you to make them,” Felicia said.

“No. I want to use this brush for myself. This brush is mine.”
It was barely ten minutes ago, but I had already grown attached to these brushes. It felt as if they were my own hands and feet.

“Of course. That brush is yours; we will not take away Guardian’s tools. We are not asking you to sell those specific brushes, but can we ask you to create more of them?”

“I will not make any more of them. I do not plan to become a full-time enchanter. Zenith may do as they wish with the recipe.”

“Understood.” Felicia nodded.

Feeling drowsy, I drifted off to Dreamland, only to be woken by Felicia in the morning, offering me another commission to watch the Darkland.

“Geez, Anathema could spawn from usurpation. Will these lookout jobs really work?” Red Flame complained.

“We are looking for a high-ranking Anathema—rank A or above. If they creep up on us, the base could be destroyed,” Felicia said.

“That’s the thing. If we meet that kind of Anathema, we’ll be crushed and killed. Wasn’t UNH trying to reduce the Guardians’ casualties?”

“A lot of it is guesswork, but the ideal scenario is that you spot the S-rank Anathema, the base evacuates while you hide for two or three hours, and then Pink Heart comes to save the day. If an S-rank Anathema—like a behemoth—arrives without notice, everyone in the base will die, including the Guardians.”

“I see. So we’re counted among the fewer casualties, huh?”

“You are expected to hide and not engage the Anathema. Guardians’ survival rates were never 100%, but they were never zero either. In fact, your survival rate should be quite high in this stakeout. Most Anathema will be attracted to the base. They have higher-ranked Guardians and a higher body count.”

“Except for a death wish,” Red Flame said.

“Even death-wish missions have survivors,” Phoenix, his familiar, countered. I turned my face away, uncomfortable. Why was the mission named death wish, anyway?

“Got it. Sorry. I am just complaining.”

The jeep screeched to a halt when I slammed on the brakes. It skidded on the mud before coming to a complete stop. It was faint, but I saw a distortion in the space several kilometers in front of us. Everyone except Red Flame, who was distracted, fell silent. Their gazes locked onto a single point on the distant horizon. A sense of dread washed over me.

“What? Why did you stop?”

“There is something there,” Slifer, who had never spoken on the journey before, whispered.

“I am going to warn Guardian Command and the base. You must hide. Try to hide near a rock cliff there or find a nearby village,” Felicia said. Familiars were amazing. While we were stunned like deer caught in headlights, they moved, whispering accurate commands according to plan. I pressed the gas pedal toward a cliff nearby, hoping to hide between the rocks. If worse came to worst, we would have to dive into the ocean.

“That’s not an usurpation rift,” Shining said. Her gaze fixed on the distortion in space. A massive Anathema emerged from the void. Its single eye encompassed half of its body, its size second only to the behemoth. Hundreds of tentacles sprouted from its back as it crept toward the base.

“That’s a teleportation skill often used by high-ranking anathema. Felicia?” Wan-nyan, Shining Arrow’s familiar, turned to Felicia.

“Message sent. Radio silence protocol initiated. Do not engage. Let’s hide and wait. That Anathema is outside our league,” Felicia said.

They really appeared.