Fragmentation (solo crafting)

[Endrin]

It was weird! People were actually starting to commission him for work now. He wasn't even sure how word was getting out. He had mentioned it to a few people sure, but he didn't think anyone had thought much on it. Granted he didn't have a lot of commissions yet, but some were indeed better than none.  

What was interesting, if not at all unexpected was that mana fragments were the items that were in demand. Basic materials that could be used by more than one job. It also gave him a chance to practice his method of making said fragments. It would slow down production time sure, but his order wasn't that large. And the chance to possibly improve the item he felt was worth it. So he was setting up shop in his in room, sitting at the small desk that was provided for him. Fortunately to make mana fragments he didn't need that much room to work so it was more than sufficient for his needs today.

He closed his right hand and his eyes and began the practice that he had become quite accustomed to over the few weeks he had been stuck in this world. feeling the mana flow through his body to his palm and solidifying there. He would however cut the process short and drop the mana fragment before more than one could form. This task was going to be one of repetition which in turn would make him better at creating these fragments in the long run. 

(255 words)

[Endrin]

Well that was one down, and easy as always. The mana fragment that lay on the table looked just like the countless others that were crafted by this cities alchemists. Small and weak, so fragile that a touch would cause it to melt. He just couldn't get himself past that. There had to be a better way to make these. Not just a matter of quantity, but quality. A single fragment could power a light for a minute or so. To do an hour of reading you would need to constantly be feeding it fragments. It was wonderful that making working lamps was possible. But the improvements that could be made to the process would do wonders for the quality of life here. Not just for his fellow adventurers but also for the People of the Land.

And that was the point of Alchemy he thought. The point of magitek or any technology really. It was about making people's lives a bit better. Sure weapons could be made, and they should be made. The world was a dangerous one filled with monsters and undead. The people needed to be able to protect themselves from those threats. But war and weapons should not be the main focus, however cool it may be. Rather tools to help everyone live their lives easier, to allow them to enjoy their free time in more ways. Faster and safer ways to travel.

But all of it was useless without a stable and reliable power source. And if mana fragments were a dead end then something else would need to be found. However he was not ready to give up on this line of research yet. And so he repeated his process to make a single mana fragment, setting it down carefully next to the first one he had made. Both identical in appearance and function. Both lacking, yet vital ingredients with so much potential.

(319 words)

[Endrin]

The trick was to somehow tap into the potential of the mana fragment that he knew was there. It was concentrated magical energy. And magic seemed to be a big part of this world. One could just look at the slimes, an artificial life form. He didn't know how it was made or stayed alive, but there it was. Moving and multiplying. Somehow when it was made it's creator figured out a way to keep it going. The same could be said for the golems out in the world. He bet they were not powered by crappy mana fragments. Perhaps they had some kind of energy source inside? Like a condensed core that was self sustaining. Or maybe the creators of such beings found a way for them to take energy from the outside world. Could they be solar powered or something like that?

If they were not powered by mana fragments though that left a huge question in his mind. How did one convert one type of energy into another. Could one turn the energy you got from eating food into magical energy? Or solar energy? Or did creatures like slimes just steal energy like a vampire? He wondered if energy conversion was possible in this world. Or if it was beyond the scope of Alchemy. His level in it certainly. He just needed to find another alchemist to team up with and exchange notes he thought. Two heads were better than one after all.

With a sigh he closed his hand and focused once more on the energy flowing through his body. Allowing a single fragment to form in his hand. It was a lot easier now, that was for sure. And his timing on making it was getting better. It seemed to follow a very set pattern when it formed. Perhaps later he should tweak with that pattern to experiment? He toyed with that thought as he set the mana fragment down on table next to the others.

(331 words)

[Endrin]

Another way to look at the problem was the actual energy efficiency of the items that used mana fragments. He felt that by making them more efficient the problem would obviously be lessened. But with how weak the shards were in the first place he wasn't sure how much of a difference it would make. But it was something that would still need to be done. Because burning a shard a minute for lamps was not acceptable in his mind. Oh sure he could put his finger inside of it to power it, but what if he needed both hands? It was just better to use candles really. Much less hassle.

He hadn't even made a lamp or anything that drew on the mana fragments other than the one pin that he had made. But that worked on a closed contained circuit. However the magical energy was weak which ls why the buffs that it gave out were minimal at best. But it did work. It could work as a model for future inventions and creating some kind of self contained power source. Maybe it was worth his time to try and make some more magical accessories to perfect that part of his alchemical art.

Once more closing his hand like it was a rote action he focused the energy through his body, paying special attention to the order in which the mana fragment seemed to build in his hand. How the power worked as it condensed. It was not enough to know that it did work, but he needed to really understand why it worked. And the only way he had to do that right now was observation.

(279 words)

[Endrin]

"Oh! What if I was to make a contained power source outside of the item!?"

Though he would want a blacksmith for that he imagined. Someone that could make a casing to help keep it contained. Diode's were all well and good, but they were not terribly stable if he was really going to try and make a power core. One that preferably was able to be handled and moved around without the fragments inside shattering or melting. He might be able to whip up a Magitek containment unity, but he would still probably need to get the casing made from a Blacksmith though, because he still needed the basic materials. The crafting system did let him customize how it looked sure, but he couldn't make things from nothing. Well, except for mana fragments that was.

The problem was he wasn't really close to any blacksmiths. Which was why his armor was still so ratty. Another reason that he needed to talk to a Blacksmith. But if he could make a self contained core using the accessories as a base then maybe he could make a weak power core. It probably couldn't power anything big, but that was a future step. This would just be to see if he could make something run off of it without having to constantly feed it fragments like one fed a wood stove with logs. It was worth a shot he decided as he closed his hand and made yet another fragment to set next to the others.

(254 words)

[Endrin]

"Almost done!"

He said to himself cheerfully as he looked at the small pile of shards already made. He was on the last leg of this order and he had a few ideas on where he could go from here to further his research. He was going to need to find both a blacksmith and another alchemist to talk too. Especially another alchemist. He would just need to hope that they were willing to share what information they had acquired since the apocalypse. If he really lucked out he would find one that was trying to work on the same thing as him, he was sure that he wasn't the only one who had this idea. But if he couldn't find anyone else pursuing this same path in Alchemy they they could share what paths there were on. Perhaps find a way to find synergy with them. Again, two minds were better than one and it was possible for fresh eyes to see something that you overlooked.

He was actually surprised that he hadn't found another alchemist yet though. Or if he had no one had brought it up. He thought it would have been a popular craft because it just sounded so cool! But he had found a few people that could cook. Which was nice considering the state of this new world. Pretty lucky for them really. Maybe he would take a stroll through the markets and see if he could poke around some alchemist's shops. He was pretty sure he had seen one or two erected, he just hadn't bothered to go into them. But since he had seen lamps about, even if they were crappy in his opinion, it would prove that there were other alchemists out there beside him.

And without much trouble or fanfare the last mana fragmentation was completed. The pattern identical to all of his previous attempts. He was really thinking that messing with that pattern may lead him somewhere. But he didn't know if it would make the shards more volatile or not. Perhaps it was just another dead end on his research though. The only way to really know was to just take the plunge and try it sometime.

(369 words)