Spirit's Awakening: The Path of Lightning and Water-Chapter 334: Astrium Veinstone

Rlyis let out a breath as she shook her head, seemingly forcing herself to refocus on the schematic in front of her. "Unbelievable," she muttered with exasperation and sitting back down.

"But fine. You want to be absurdly overpowered while the rest of us mortals crawl our way through cultivation? At least let us make sure this insane device of yours doesn’t turn anyone into spatial confetti."

Eno chuckled dryly, rubbing his temple as he continued to lean against a workbench. "How many more surprises and secrets do you even have? Next you’ll tell us you’re the actual love child of two gods."

Lassim raised both hands in mock surrender. "Okay, okay. I’ll file your complaints with the heavens later. Right now, let’s get back to the device."

Rlyis didn’t bother hiding her eye-roll, but after they got over the shock of Lassim’s cultivation speed, they returned to beginning to improve the device’s design.

"Alright, I’ve reworked the overlapping sections with your [Channel] and [Gather] runes for the storage container into the main gateway modules," Rlyis said, not looking up.

"This configuration will give us better symmetry. But without something to handle excess mana overflow, the whole structure’s going to strain itself to death the moment it’s under prolonged use."

She straightened, brushing her hair back from her face, and jabbed her quill at the parchment. "It seems that you’ll have some additional runes to create. To begin with, we will need a [Redirect] rune as your first priority. It’s not a nice-to-have; it’s essential. Do you see this spot? Place it here in the empty space I’ve written, between [Hold] and [Transfer]. That should give the energy somewhere to go without destabilizing the array in that situation."

Lassim nodded, stepping closer to examine her revised layout. The shifts she had made were precise, elegant, and far beyond his initial designs. It was remarkable that she’d made so many adjustments and revisions after just a few short moments.

He replied, "That makes sense. I see what you mean and I hadn’t considered that the flow would circulate instead of bottlenecking under pressure."

"Thankfully you get it. That’s the exact issue," Rlyis said with a trace of satisfaction in her voice.

She tapped another section of the schematic. "And here? The [Lock] runes near the edges—redundant. They’re too close to the work you’ve done to maintain the structural stabilization. You’re risking an overload if the energy surges once again. Move them closer to the core so they support the array without straining it."

Lassim’s brow furrowed as he studied the lines. It was a glaring flaw. "I guess overloading parts of the arrays are going to be something I should focus on with future designs. I don’t really pay attention to those, but now I’ll know what to look for."

"Good," she said as she added, "Your framework is solid, Lassim. Better than I’d expected, honestly. This is definitely a common mistake that Array Apprentices make, but this isn’t the kind of project where ’good enough’ is going to cut it if you want to have success. You’ll get there eventually."

He met her eyes with a small smile tugging at his lips. "I appreciate the honesty. And the improvements."

"Don’t thank me yet," she said, already reaching for another blank sheet. "There’s more."

"There’s this," Rlyis said, pointing to the control module.

"Your [Open] and [Close] runes do their job, but they lack finesse. Adding a [Horizon] rune to stabilize the initial spatial connection should be considered. If you can create it, it’ll reduce the strain on your [Thread] runes, especially during activation."

"Like a shock absorber?" Lassim mused, nodding.

Rlyis leaned back, her quill momentarily still. "There’s going to be several more changes down the line, but if we make these adjustments now and leave room for the new runes to be added later, your device will be more flexible. It’s better to address these potential issues upfront than to risk overhauling the framework later once we start the engraving stage testing."

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Lassim replied, "Your insights are incredible, Master Rlyis. I’ll get started on these new runes immediately. Their concepts align with ideas I’ve had but hadn’t yet refined and turned into runes, but having you tell me what the concepts should embody really helps. This gives me a clearer path when making them."

"Alright," Rlyis said, turning back to her redesign and then pulling out a brand new sheet to rewrite it all over again with the changes they discussed. "I’ll rework the schematic with placeholders for where I want these new runes to go. Once you’re ready, we’ll integrate them seamlessly."

Eno, still leaning against the workbench, let out a low hum. He glanced at Lassim, his expression contemplative.

"Before you get started and go off creating those new runes," Eno began, "we need to talk about the base alloy for this gateway."

Lassim tilted his head, "Did you have an alternative in mind?"

"Sort of." Eno straightened and began pacing in front of the workbench, his fingers absently tapping against the fractured remains of one of the earlier ingots.

"There’s this material I’ve worked with before, but it’s not something you can just find lying around and would be quite a challenge to obtain initially. It’s called Astrium Veinstone. Sturdy, flexible, and more importantly, it has a special property that it resonates with elemental mana charges. Typically it’s used in creating defensive equipment like bracers and other embellishments to clothing enhancements instead of being used as the main alloy for any particular construct. Its ability to hold and handle massive mana infusions and defusions quickly makes it ideal for the types of life saving treasures that release full martial skills at the wielder’s whim. If anything has a chance of harmonizing with your spatial energy, it’s probably that."

Rlyis glanced up briefly from her schematic, an eyebrow raised. "Astrium Veinstone? That’s going to be a bit annoying to get, no?"

"Yes and No," Eno admitted, a wry grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. "But it’s the best shot we’ve got. It’s mined in the Kingdom of Stellanora, over on the Veridian Continent—I believe that’s where you’re from, right Lassim? They’ve got this pocket dimension they call The Quarry that’s brimming with minerals. What makes it so special is that the minerals inside regenerate at a rate visible to the eye. The kingdom’s built its entire economy around taxing both the access to it and a percentage of the minerals that are mined."

Lassim said. "A pocket dimension dedicated to mining? I believe I’ve heard the name of the kingdom during my lessons from the family tutor when they made me memorize the surrounding kingdoms and noble families, but I don’t remember anything about any nearby kingdoms having a dimensional space. It must be a bit far from the Aurora Kingdom that I’m from."

"Well," Eno clarified, " They’ve got and have monopolized one. I’m not too familiar with the kingdom names, but I’ve been to Stellanora twice in the past. They control the gateway to the Quarry, and they’ve turned it into a massive business. Miners, companies, even sects pay hefty fees to extract resources there. Astrium Veinstone’s one of the rarer finds inside, and mining it isn’t exactly easy thanks to the Quarry’s fluctuating mana fields that cause the regenerative properties. But if we can get even a small batch to begin with, it’ll give us a solid starting point. We can eventually work with a company to mine more in the meantime if we use the Sect’s contacts to make this happen."

Lassim frowned slightly, considering the logistics. "It sounds a bit expensive. Do you think the sect will cover the cost then if we use them?"

"They might," Eno said with a shrug. "Astrium Veinstone isn’t just valuable for your project—it’s useful for a ton of applications. If I frame the request right, they’ll see it as an investment. But getting the materials here quickly is going to be the challenge."

"Why?" Lassim asked. "The Veridian Continent, while quite a distance away… I could probably cover that in a few days with my new movement technique—yeah?"

"It’s not just the distance," Eno replied. "Stellanora’s bureaucratic nightmare doesn’t make it easy to negotiate mining rights, even for a small batch for us to start with, and before you even suggest that we just buy excess of the companies outside the dimensional space… Most of the minerals that are taken out are already spoken for long in advance of their actual mining. It’s common practice to hire the crews for the specific minerals and amounts you need due to the heavy and very meticulous taxation that takes place. We’ll have to grease a few palms, and the paperwork alone could take days."

Rlyis snorted softly from her bench. "And by ’grease a few palms,’ he means bribe the right Nobles."

Eno didn’t bother denying it. "Exactly. It’s how things work there. And even once we’ve secured the rights, there’s the actual mining to deal with. The Quarry’s mana fluctuations make extracting Astrium Veinstone tricky. Specialized tools, careful timing—The companies that do work there make a lot of money off how specialized the process is."

Lassim crossed his arms too, mimicking Eno’s posture. "So you’re saying this could take weeks?"

"Could?" Eno echoed, raising an eyebrow. "More like will. Unless we find a way to expedite things."

Lassim’s gaze turned inward for a moment, his mind racing. He’d been planning to dedicate his afternoons to cultivation, but the problem of securing these materials couldn’t be ignored.

Eno tapped his chin thoughtfully as Lassim remained quiet, clearly lost in his own thoughts. The silence hung between them for a moment before the older man spoke again.

"Listen, kid," Eno began, "as much as I’d love to watch you zip across continents using that fancy [Storm’s Dance] of yours, I don’t think you should be the one to handle this."

Lassim raised an eyebrow. "Why not? If it’s a matter of speed—"

"It’s not just about speed," Eno interrupted. "It’s about how we handle this whole operation. Look, the Lightning Sect’s got some old contacts in Stellanora, companies and merchants we’ve worked with before for other alloy supplies. I can leverage those to bypass some of the bureaucracy and set up a deal for the Astrium Veinstone. But if we need someone to physically transport it, then you can step in. That’ll save you from wasting time trying to handle the logistics yourself."

"That’s true," Rlyis chimed in, still bent over her redesign. "No offense, Lassim, but you’re still wet behind the ears and probably not exactly the most subtle negotiator. And Stellanora’s nobles? They eat people like you alive. I’m sure you come from a well regarded noble house, but how long has it been since you’ve interacted with greedy Nobles like that? Eno’s gruff charm is actually probably more useful for dealing with them." She glanced up with a smirk. "Surprising, I know."

"Charming, aren’t you?" Eno shot back dryly before returning his focus to Lassim.

"Look, this’ll be faster if I handle the setup. I’ll make the arrangements, place an order for a batch of Astrium Veinstone, and make sure it’s prioritized for extraction. Once it’s ready for transport, then you can use that ridiculous speed of yours to go pick it up—or we can pay for delivery if time isn’t as critical by then."

Lassim mulled it over, nodding slowly. "That… actually makes sense. Plus this will let me keep my schedule of teleportation device in the mornings and afternoons dedicated to cultivation. How soon do you plan to leave?"

"Leave?" Eno shook his head. "No need for that. I can start working on this tonight through the Lightning Sect’s Administration Hall Manager that’s in the village. They’ve got a communication system that’s a bit more advanced than our text based communication discs. If the initial talks go well, you and I only need to head over once everything is finalized; no wasting time traveling for no reason."

Rlyis straightened in her chair, "Make sure you get that funding request squared away before you start promising anyone money."

Eno waved a hand dismissively. "Yeah, yeah. I know the drill. Lassim, you can just focus on getting those new runes ready. By the time you’re done, we should have the materials lined up and ready to go."

Lassim exhaled, his shoulders relaxing slightly. "Alright. Thanks for the help, Master Eno!"