CH169

“So what now?” Thera asked. “Going to rush to the guild and place your patent? I think the guild master will be there for another hour or two.”

While he could have any of the staff deal with his patents as long as they weren’t so potentially world-changing like the braces were, Falk had advised him to deal directly with Ceselee for anything he made from his homeworld when he went to get one for the projector he’d made. While he wasn’t trying to keep his race a secret, it was undoubtable that word might go around if he explained the type he needed to file to one of the regular counter staff, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to deal with the potential consequences of the entire town knowing. As the guild leader, as well as an acquaintance of both Falk and Sonya, he could trust her to keep everything confidential.

“Nah, I have an idea I need to work on in the shop so I’ll probably be home a bit late. The leftovers from yesterday should be plenty tasty cold if Sonya isn’t back to heat them up.”

“Sounds good, but try not to be too late, you promised to teach me a new card game, and I don’t want you sneaking in while I’m asleep to work on my brace.”

“What do you take me for? I’ll be back before you’re in bed, don’t worry.”

With that, they parted ways for the time being as he went back into the shop.

“Thera’s not joining you boy?” His teacher asked as he came back in alone. “I figured she’d be interested, given what you’re making and all.”

“I didn’t mention it, figured it might be a bit of a surprise for when I got home seeing as how I don’t know if it will work anyway.”

“Don’t be so negative, the idea has some merit. Having said that, it would probably go better if she was here to actually measure everything.”

“Hey, with how much I work on her enchantment I can easily make something that will fit her arm perfectly, no need to worry about that.”

“Mmh, I guess you do have a decent eye. Let me know if you need a hand,” The yeti told him before returning to his own work.

Now alone, Ben spread the materials he’d be using across the table as he looked at some designs he’d sketched and ideas he’d jotted down. He had one goal he was going to dedicate the next few hours to, making Thera a new brace.

The idea had come to him out of nowhere, but when it did he couldn’t deny the logic to it. A tool with an enchantment on it needed to be appropriate for the enchantment, or else it would be meaningless. While partial enchantments could let the enchanter skirt this basic rule by taking the attributes of a skill instead of trying to work with it in its totality, an enchanter couldn’t just slap a sword wielder skill on a shield and expect any real benefit. In much the same way, the question had occurred to Ben, was the brace he’d first made her truly appropriate for the enchantment?

He’d first made her brace when he was only level three, and now at level six he could see all sorts of ways he could improve on it. He now had access to significantly better materials, and as much as he hated to admit it, it probably wasn’t even as good as he could have made it at the third level either. Not to say he’d neglected his work or hadn’t done the best he could, but he’d rushed. He had wanted to see if his enchantment would work so badly that he was sure the tool he’d made hadn’t reached its full potential, a mistake he fully intended to rectify.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.