As Lassim followed Rlyis and Eno down the narrow staircase into the basent of the workshop, the room at the bottom ca into view. It opened wide, into a dimly lit, and vastly different room from the orderly, by comparison, workspace above.
Piles of parts lay stacked in corners; half-finished constructs stood silent, their tal fras catching and reflecting the dim light from wall-mounted runes.
On a broad platform at the center of the room, a large construct unlike any Lassim had ever seen lood, intricate in both design and aura. It stood taller than any standard model, with plates of shimring tal fitted over a streamlined skeleton, the runes and channels faintly illuminated with enchantnts and radiating a spiritual pressure even though the construct was not yet active.
Rlyis gestured to it with clear pride, though her face held sothing akin to caution. "This is the project we’ve been working on secretly for several years now," she began, her voice softer, but slowly growing with excitent. "It’s our attempt at what we call a ’semi-spirit mystic’ construct. It’s basically the full, theoretical limit of what should be possible for Lightning constructs with our current skill levels. Once completed, it’s designed to stand between the highest standard constructs at the Spirit Transcendence stage and the entry level of a true Spirit Mystic stage warrior. As you know, Spirit Mystics are still quite rare within the Southern Continent and only the Sect Master was at that stage until his recent breakthrough. I can’t imagine how many thousands of years he spent at the peak before that day. I still get shivers thinking about his new lightning… which… Is on your chest."
She paused briefly in shock.
"AH!!! So that’s whose disciple you are! I don’t know why I didn’t realize it sooner. Now I’m REALLY glad we invited you downstairs. It’ll make things easier when we have to explain to the Sect Master why we brought a random disciple down here into the basent. Haha!"
Eno nodded, ignoring her shocked rambling, his gaze fixed on the construct with the look of soone admiring a masterpiece. "It still has a lot of challenges left to overco," he paused and Lassim felt a shift in the sharpness that he exuded to suddenly feel more lethal through the air before he continued, "but once those are settled, this construct won’t just follow basic commands or predefined paths determined by the programing of the arrays. It will be able to respond, adapt, and strategize to so degree—enough to possibly even lead small teams on its own."
He turned his head, eting Lassim’s eyes. "In theory, it could serve as a serious defensive force for the sect that doesn’t have to worry about fatalities. We could always just build more. If we can create multiple, just imagine how they’d protect the borders, reinforce key points during battles, and even engage enemies autonomously without any input from us or the Sect Master."
Lassim felt like he was staring into a bright sharp blade’s point as Eno’s eyes bore into his. It almost made him squint his eyes in reply, but there was no sense of danger with it. It was just an intense passion that was coming through.
Lassim felt like he had to turn his head, so he broke eye contact to take a step closer to the construct, examining the ornate runic channels and almost organic flow of tal and lightning elents woven together across its fra. Unlike the previous thick-body construct, which were functional but basic in design and had thick panels of tal like armor, this construct had a presence—even almost an awareness he could slightly feel, as if it were waiting for sothing…
Rlyis moved to stand beside him, one hand reaching forward to caress and rest on the cool tal surface, "Our current problem," she said, her eyes lingering on the runes her fingers began tracing on the construct, "is power density. It requires energy beyond typical Spirit Transcendence levels even to activate partially. We’ve tried countless configurations, different alloy refinents, and upgraded the control nodes into special types we call ’Overload Nodes’, but everything we’ve tested has fallen short."
She gave Lassim a speculative look. "But your energy, with its… unique quality, might be what we need to bridge that gap. It’s already clear that your energy, despite only being Spirit Ascension stage, level 2, is much higher in quality and strength than both of our Spirit Transcendent cultivations, Eno at level 4 and myself at level 3."
Lassim felt a flicker of excitent. He understood imdiately what she was implying and why they had brought him downstairs.
His energy wasn’t just powerful; it was literally at the divine level, even if Eno and Rlyis weren’t aware of that fact yet. Regardless, their work and efforts to achieve a higher, more energy dense, form of mana to power the construct ant that they could easily recognize the difference in Lassim’s mana. It held a density and responsiveness that seed to align with constructs designed for high-tier work.
"So, you think my mana could actually stabilize it?" he asked, already beginning to circulate the flow of his mana through his pathways.
Eno nodded, arms crossed as he regarded Lassim, "The density of your energy could allow the construct to reach its functional potential, syncing with the special runes and array configurations we’ve laid in here. There will be a lot more issues that pop up once it’s finally fully powered up, but we can only guess at those issues before we manage that."
He stepped forward, adjusting the fra of the construct with care, as if he were handling sothing alive. "If this works, we could revolutionize lightning constructs and truly make a difference with them. Imagine how many lives would’ve been saved during the attack on headquarters by those sun demons if we’d had even one of these ready. I’ve read the reports on the lives lost… I still can’t believe the destruction; that more than 3,000 disciples all perished and countless more shopkeepers and regular folk were also slaughtered in the attack."
Eno paused, letting his hand fall from the construct, a flicker of contemplation in his gaze. "Lassim," he began, "if you’re willing to help us with this project, you’ll need more than just share your mana with the construct. There’s a basic, minimum amount of fundantal knowledge here that goes beyond the simplicity of turning a Spirit Ascension stage construct on like we just had you do."
Rlyis added, "This project’s not so quick task or the regular mission you took to co help us on. If you only want to be here to help with the standard production orders, that’s one thing and we can kindly ask you to keep the knowledge of our private project a secret. We need all the help we can get on those, and you’ll still be a great asset with the orders that have to go out."
She paused and stared straight into his eyes, "But if you’re willing to try and tackle this," she gestured at the massive construct, "then it’ll an committing yourself and really learning our profession. It’s no small thing and I’ll completely understand if you don’t wish to aid us. However, if we succeed…" She gave him a look both asuring and expectant, as if to convey the seriousness but also how this was an opportunity to do sothing for the first ti in its category.
Lassim returned her steady gaze, taking in her words carefully. "I’ve co to help with this mission, Elder Rlyis, and you’ve even taken the ti to show one of your greatest projects because you think I can help. I’d be committed, whatever it takes, if it ans helping save others in the future." His voice held conviction as he turned to the towering figure of the semi-spirit mystic construct, his eyes tracing the elaborate lines of runes and circuits carved into its fra.
"So," he began slowly, glancing back at both elders, "what exactly will it take for to understand enough to work with it?"
Rlyis’s slight smile returned, but there was a hint of pride in it now. "You’re going to need a crash course in not only the basics, but advanced arrays too. There’s a stack of books and scrolls in the library upstairs that I’ll be expecting you to go through in the coming days or even weeks. Arrays, circuit stabilization thods, programming and so of my own research notes on mana distribution in high-tier constructs that I wrote when designing the Overload Nodes. Then, I’ll be assigning you equations to work through, as well as exercises in array functionality."
Eno nodded. "When you’re ready to start understanding the higher concepts of how those work together with their parts, I’ll show you how we’ve been working with these materials that I personally develop for all of our constructs. The alloys and tals we use have their own limits and qualities, and without knowing those, there’s only so much you can understand about how this construct operates."
He gestured to the broad set of tools arranged on the far workbench and then to a few tal components stacked neatly nearby. "It’s not all theory for my knowledge though. You’ll have to get hands-on experience with the tals themselves, but don’t worry. I know you’re not a tal cultivator, so I’ll cut you a lot of slack and guide you through the first few sessions, but the rest will be on you."
Lassim took a breath, realizing what he’d just agreed to with a bit more severity as he surveyed the basent. Absorbing the wealth of knowledge they were offering was clearly going to be a lot and that what they were asking for was a serious commitnt—not just a few hours here and there, but a substantial dedication of his ti and energy. They were right that it’d be equivalent to actually learning their profession…
Unfettered, he uttered, "When do I start?"
Rlyis exchanged a look with Eno, her eyes gleaming with approval.
"Tomorrow morning," she replied, "I’ll start you on the reading tonight, so be prepared. The assignnts won’t be easy, but if you’re serious, I want to see you going through them one by one."
Lassim felt a faint, slow-building excitent. He’d co here expecting to help with regular constructs, maybe refine his abilities a bit and learn things to help determine his personal fighting style—but this was a lot more than that. His short simple act of exploding a small Spirit Growth stage core to then powering up a Spirit Ascension level construct already gave him a slight theory in why he’d struggled to learn or pick up the techniques of the other Elders. With that in mind, this was an opportunity to delve into possibly other areas that might point out his own problems and help him develop his future attacking technique.
He t their gazes, "I’m ready for the work. Whatever I need to do, I’ll do it."
Rlyis gave him a curt nod, her face softening just slightly. "Then we’ll see you at sunrise. And don’t expect any shortcuts; this is going to be much harder than those simple lectures they offer back at the Headquarters."
Eno added, "If you want to understand this construct’s potential, you’re going to have to understand what it takes to bring it to life," he said. "It’s all in the details—each elent and every line of these arrays, as you’ll soon find out. Do your best, and feel free to ask questions when you don’t understand."
"Go ahead and follow back upstairs," Rlyis stated as she began walking back towards the narrow stairway, "I’ll pass you those books and show you to your room in the house next door. Eno, I’ll get dinner started as well. You can join us in an hour and it’ll be ready."
Eno gave a nod and then began to pick up so of the tal parts and pieces, clearing away space to make room for his future lessons with Lassim.
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