Chapter 26 – Sealed

With just the virtual blueprint as his guide, Sal snapped his mechanical arms into place with the now-instinctive leashing of essence. Upgrade had been right about it needing practice, and how it would become second nature to him. He tethered his essence to a fresh core as he placed the materials he’d need nearby. It was almost a third of the scarlet screen, but that didn’t matter now. Sal just needed to follow the instructions in the blueprint and he’d be fine.

Making an intentionally low-grade tracker with the materials was going to be a challenge, and using just his essence for every part was going to be harder. A small part of him wished that he had Martin and Gosia to help him with the smaller pieces, but he wouldn’t have a team helping him forever. He needed to learn how to do all this himself. He started with the earpiece part. It was going to be constructed with moonsilver and required almost a full stack of the material.

Over a dozen wafers of the material were propped within reach as he started to bend the material between his clawed fingers. He just needed to get the rough shape of it before he added more layers. Two pieces would be secured around the scarlet screen, and he’d fuse them together with essence.

Sal was grateful for the monocle and its Calm effect. None of the uncertainties that usually popped up were present, and he was filled with a wholesome sense of calm. With a smile, he continued to form the moonsilver into the shape he wanted.

Whenever it got too thin, he’d add more of the shimmering metal. It was almost hypnotic to watch as his mechanical hand melted the material down with essence and guided it to fill in the gaps. Mythcraft was acting like an invisible barrier around the proposed shape, allowing the molten moonsilver to fill the essence-like mold completely. His mind told him the ideal temperatures, and his hands adjusted it instinctively. Sal’s left hand repeated the process with the backplate of the tracker, halving the time that it would take if it did them separately.

The essence consumption was much higher than usual, and on par with the amount required to forge the Legendary sniper rifle. Sal could only guess that it was because of the higher-quality materials needing more essence to be broken down and refined. Just to be on the safe side, Sal tethered to an additional core. He didn’t want any volatility to occur that might upset the process. When he was sure that the moonsilver was formed correctly and met all the blueprint requirements, he left them cooling and picked up the scarlet screen.

According to the blueprint, he needed to layer them on top of each other to increase the efficacy. Sal didn’t hesitate as his hands moved almost automatically on the first layer. He pieced together the shards of various sizes until they were in the shape of a large square. Next, he used his essence to fuse the shards together, creating a much larger sheet of scarlet screen that he could work with. It would reduce the overall fragmentation than if he just congealed them all into a ball and tried to smooth it out.

When the sheet was complete, Sal cut out the proposed visor with some room for error around the edges. He then used that as a template and cut four more identical pieces from the sheet. With a steady breath, Sal double-checked the blueprint instructions before changing his mechanical attachment to the engraver. He needed to add runes to each of the five thin sheets of visor, and all of them were going to be different.

The engraver needle glowed with Mythcrafter essence as Sal got to work tracing the necessary runes. It was a delicate task as the sheets were almost as thin as the needle itself; going too hard on the engraving would potentially snap them. It was the most nerve-racking part of the process, but Sal was completely at ease as he seamlessly moved from engraving to engraving. When they were completed, he didn’t hesitate in stacking them together.

Sal compressed the five sheets until they became a singular layer of scarlet screen, using his essence to blend them into one unblemished piece. Next, he curved the piece while it was infused with his essence, achieving the angle he was looking for. It would insert between the earpiece components and wrap around the front of his face to cover his right eye.

Sal carefully shaved away the excess from the visor, using an attachment he didn’t even know the name of. It was on his hand and the Mythcrafter ability knew that it was the best tool for the job, so Sal didn’t question it. He ensured that it would fit his face by holding it up in front of him and made sure it didn’t cut into his nose. It was probably the first moment of personal customization in the whole process, and he smiled when it was shaved down to be a perfect fit. Another reason he was happy was down to the clear runes he could see overlapping throughout the five engraved layers.

Checking back on the moonsilver, Sal could see that they had successfully cooled. There were no imperfections on the surface, but Sal inspected them closely before continuing. The next part of the process involved polishing the moonsilver to ensure that there was no dirt that would interfere with his engravings. It took very little rubbing with his mechanical hand to reveal the lustrous misty glimmer of the moonsilver, and Sal leaned down to get back to work. He placed the virtual blueprint over the cast pieces of moonsilver, and it gave him a bright line to follow with his engraver. Sal followed each of the lines to perfection, going over them twice to ensure they were done properly.

It was his second ever evolutionary rune, but unlike the sniper rifle, this one seemed to take the first time he applied it. That could change when he poured his essence into the finished product, but that was something he’d worry about in a few minutes.

With a glance at the blueprint, Sal smiled again as it became time to put the pieces together. The blood-red visor nestled into the carved groove on the moonsilver. Rather than clunking on the remainder of the earpiece, it was designed to slide into place.

Sal was rewarded with a satisfying click when the pieces combined, securing the visor between them. It still wasn’t done, though, as he’d need to blend the pieces together with his Mythcrafter essence. Right before he was about to put the finishing touches on it and inspect it, Sal became aware of the limited essence in the core he had just tethered to.

With a raised eyebrow, he moved his connection to the next one and was relieved that the reserve was almost completely full. A flash of Appraisal told him that they were Rare-grade cores, which answered a lot of his silent questions. He was used to operating with an Epic-grade core for Crafting, which explained the lower output. Sal placed more moonsilver and scarlet screen beside the tracker, just in case it needed additional materials for the final form.

Just looking at the design, Sal was skeptical. It looked incredibly premium and he couldn’t believe that it would come out at the Uncommon grade. He had no choice but to put those thoughts aside as he threw his essence into it. His mechanical fingers massaged the essence into the various cracks that had separated the components. The shaved edges of the visor became polished as Sal’s essence glided over it. It was an agonizingly slow process, but Sal didn’t feel any urgency as he continued carefully.

From his infusion of essence, he could tell that the evolutionary rune was working perfectly. The potentially problematic runes in the visor were also operational and working smoothly. If they had been flawed, it would have required him to start the whole thing again.

Eventually, Sal had to admit that there were no more improvements that he could make. With a relieved smile, he stepped back and let go of his essence. His mechanical suit reverted to his Epic-grade uniform with fingerless gloves, and he finally noticed that Upgrade was in the room.

“Ah, you’ve arrived for the best part!” Sal announced with a grin, but Upgrade just looked at him quizzically. Sal wasn’t sure what he missed, but Chatfield came to the rescue with a chuckle.

“She’s been here for the last two hours, Sal.”

Sal blinked as he looked back at the still glowing and very much vibrating tracker on the table. “Sorry, I was just kinda lost in the process. Did I miss anything?”

Chatfield shrugged as he leaned back on his stool and gestured over at Upgrade. “Nothing really. We were having a chat about the proposed changes to production for the first-years. Then a back-and-forth about how…what was the word you used? Unhinged? Yeah, that was it. How unhinged my proposal is for the first-year curriculum.” Chatfield looked at Upgrade as though asking if she’d like to refute his comment.

She rolled her eyes and moved closer to the table, staring at the glowing tracker. When she glanced over at Sal, she had a tight smile on her face. “What happened to us using proper procedures for Crafting? No blueprints or any sign of the printers being used.”

Sal gestured at his right hand with his left. “Did you see how great my control was of the mechanical arms, though? I think that’s great progress!”

Before Upgrade could utter a response, the tracker stopped glowing and revealed its result. It took everyone by surprise, and Sal had to do a double take to verify that it was the same thing that he had created. What had previously been an impressive-looking tracker with a shimmering earpiece and blood-red visor was now just…a dull gray device with a smokey-red lens curled around the front. Sal didn’t hesitate as he looked at it with his Appraisal ability.

Name	[Sealed] Visor [Unsynced]
Origin	Crafted
Age	New
Grade	Uncommon (Low)
Dimensions	Visor 2.5”, 4” | Earpiece 4”, 3.5”
Materials	Infused Moonsilver | Scarlet Screen | Refined Mythcraft Essence
Attributes	[Sealed] [2/16 Unlocked] Analysis: Ability to interpret visual data and information. Synergy: Abilities are shared among set items.
Abilities	Analysis | Synergy | [Sealed] | [Sealed] | [Sealed] | [Sealed]…
Power Source	[Unsynced]
Evolution	Yes - 0%
Quality	Perfect
Condition	100%
Value	Est. $32,000.00 – $48,000.00

He had somehow managed to get it to the Uncommon grade, but there was so much information that his Appraisal wasn’t able to pick up. The fact that it had an evolutionary trait was the biggest relief. Sal stared at the design and was underwhelmed with how it looked.

A small part of him regretted the decision to have it synchronized with a weapon. If he had ignored all that, and the fact that it was a test from someone he had never met, he’d have at least a Rare-grade or Unique-grade tracker with an internal core. Sal couldn’t help but wince at the estimated value of the piece, as it took nearly ten times the amount of materials as the monocle, and came in at an estimated third of the price. Sure, it might be worth more if it evolved, but as it was right now…it felt like a waste of resources.

When Sal turned to look at Upgrade and Chatfield, they were staring at the tracker in awe. Chatfield was holding a Concept version of it, that he created with his own power. He turned it over in his hands, his eyes wide.

Sal guessed that he was just as shocked at how it had come out, but the monocle told Sal a different story. Judging from Chatfield’s expression and body language, he was delighted. That came as a surprise to Sal, who had this one chalked down as something of a failure.

“Sixteen!” Upgrade repeated, and Chatfield nodded with a laugh as he continued to turn it over in his hands.

Sal wondered whether he had an innate ability to understand the concepts he replicated.

Upgrade whirled around to Sal, smiling widely. “Sixteen! Sal, this is insane.”

Sal looked between the tracker and Upgrade, not sure he was following. The abilities were sealed, though, so it would take an age to unlock them, and he didn’t even know what order they would come through in. Additionally, without the power source to synchronize with it, Sal had no idea how long it would take to gain the required essence.

Upgrade just stared at him before reaching out and plucking the monocle from his face. “Hope you don’t mind, but I don’t think we need you under the Calm influence for this. Do you understand what sixteen ability slots mean?”

Sal blinked a few times and shook his head, both to signal that he didn’t know, and to get his senses back.

Upgrade grinned as she shared a knowing look with Chatfield. “If you count each level within the grades as an ability unlock…your sixteenth ability will be when the tracker evolves to the Mythic grade. We’ve never seen a Legendary grade with more than ten abilities! This is incredible, Sal.”

Sal looked at the tracker in a whole new light as his senses finally returned. A wide smile crossed his face as Chatfield’s voice pierced through the room.

“Should we order food, or are you going to make that gun on an empty stomach?”