Lassim’s fingers brushed over the symbols on the page after stopping the mana flow, his focus deepening as he began to try and understand how layered the language of arrays could be.
As he resumed directing a thread of mana along a new, complex formation of symbols, a memory surfaced, one he hadn’t expected to be relevant here. "You know," he said, glancing at Rlyis, "this reminds me a bit of the Spider Queen’s language. I learned it almost 2 years ago now during my travels before joining the Lightning Sect and the combination of complex clicks and ’s’ or ’t’ sounds with arm gestures are kind of similar to how this works. The runes are like the arm gestures which give additional context and direction to the conversation that the mana flow itself doesn’t provide—just like the sounds alone are."
Rlyis’s expression shifted to one of interest. "The Spider Queen’s language," she repeated thoughtfully, crossing her arms. "Well, I don’t think many would make that comparison, but it’s fitting now that you mention it."
A spark of understanding lit up within him as he continued, his mana flowing more intuitively through the complex structure. With this approach, the array no longer felt like a rigid, mechanical sequence to follow. Instead, it was an expression, something that conveyed direction to his energy as though urging it forward with purpose.
Seeing his focus, Rlyis nodded approvingly. "Good," she said, her tone softer, more thoughtful now. "If you can understand the structure behind each rune, then it will feel less like instruction and more like guidance. But," she added, her voice sharpening, "Once you get to the advanced creation of arrays, you’ll learn that the meaning within an array can vary depending on the intent of the one who created it like Eno mentioned. Every master has their own method and style too, just like their own natural accent of speaking—learning to read intent and will is a skill you’ll need if you ever want to design your own arrays one day. Alas, those are for another day. We need you to focus on learning the basic language and memorizing the words and phrases we use before we get to those concepts."
Lassim listened closely and agreed. He could recognize each of the runes and understand them a bit better, just enough to commit to memory, as he continued directing his mana through the array on the parchment.
He allowed the energy to shape itself according to the meanings he began to perceive within the symbols and his enhanced mind saved that feeling and shape combination once he felt he understood it enough. The process was far from simple, but he could feel himself adjusting, sensing how each rune interacted with the others to build a coherent set of meanings.
For the next few hours, Rlyis guided him through progressively intricate patterns, one sheet to the next, pushing him to explore the layered connections within each structure. Her instructions were precise, but never rigid; she encouraged him to approach each symbol as he would a new word and add his own comparable meaning to words in the common tongue; an idea conveyed rather than an instruction followed. Under her steady guidance, Lassim’s understanding continued to expand, each successful pattern understood filling him with a sense of purpose and direction he hadn’t felt before.
Nothing was inspiring him for a fighting style, which made him a bit antsy, but ideas wouldn’t come on the first day so it was best to keep continuing regardless. Perhaps he was too anxious to find ideas for it, but the thought never wandered too far from his mind at any moment.
Finally, she leaned back, watching him carefully. "Now that you’re starting to understand the language, let’s see how well you can work with something a bit more substantial."
She gestured toward one of the thick-body constructs nearby, its metal framework gleaming under the workshop’s lamps. "We had you do it yesterday, but now with more knowledge of the basics, I want you to power it on and gauge the language in the energy flow. We also still need to get it ready for mass production, so we’re going to keep swapping back and forth between lessons and actual work. Hopefully this will speed things up, but we’ll see. Anyways, this particular construct’s circuits tend to overheat and we need to figure out why. Pay close attention to where you feel the resistance in the array and point it out to me so I can focus on those areas."
Lassim nodded, stepping up to the construct.
Carefully, he placed his hand on the metal frame and directed a steady current of timid lightning mana through it, allowing his senses to tune into the pathways hidden within the dense circuitry.
The mana flowed smoothly at first, following familiar channels he could almost begin to predict—until it reached a particular intersection. There, the flow slowed, as though it were pushing against a barrier..
"There’s something here," he murmured, frowning as he focused on the point of resistance and gestured to the approximate point with his free hand not powering on the device. "It’s like the energy’s getting bottlenecked. I can feel it building up heat…"
Rlyis nodded, her expression focused. "Exactly. That should be the bottleneck that we’ve been working to eliminate. We need to understand why the energy gathers there in the first place. With what you know now, keep the flow steady and see if you can trace the cause while I look at it from the outside."
He adjusted his mana flow, easing the current to a softer, more measured pace. The resistance lessened slightly, but the buildup was still there, the energy accumulating in a way that seemed almost inherent to the circuit’s design. As he probed deeper, he felt an instinctive understanding begin to take shape.
"It feels… almost as if the resistance building up feels uncomfortable? Like, the wrong words were being said," he observed aloud. "Like the grammar is off somehow?"
Rlyis’s gaze sharpened, her approval evident. "You’re exactly right. Let’s see if I can adjust that. I see the problem now. I’ve got an additional line here that must’ve been my hand slipping when I engraved it. Stop feeding it mana for a second while I fix this."
As Lassim took back him mana, she reached down to her belt and pulled out a tool that looked like a small metal pole with a burning torch at the end that she quickly lit up and patched the engraving before pulling out an engraving knife-like tool to rewrite the rune symbol.
"Alright, give it another go and see if that’s fixed it." She commanded.
Lassim powered it on again but still felt something was off, "Hmm… There’s still something else causing the build-up. I think that fixed the flow, but it’s almost as if the channel is a bit too narrow?"
"Ah, that’s a problem we’ve been dealing with on the more advanced models. Certain metals restrict mana flow if the channels are too narrow, especially with constructs that require high-density energy like this Spirit Ascension model."
A voice came from behind them, breaking the intensity of their work.
Eno had been observing from a distance, his expression unreadable as he approached, arms crossed. "If you want to understand this problem," he said, his voice low but steady, "you’re going to need to know the metals we work with too."
Rlyis nodded, gesturing for Lassim to follow. "He’s right. Let’s take a break from arrays and move on to materials since this problem is going to need his help to solve anyways. You can’t read or create an array without knowing what you’re working with, just like the parchment sheets. The wrong alloy, and even the most carefully designed array can have issues."
They led him to a section of the workshop lined with shelves stacked with metal ingots, each one meticulously labeled.
Eno selected a dark, heavy ingot, placing it on the counter in front of Lassim. "This is thundersteel," he explained. "We use it in most of the basic constructs because of its durability and its ability to conduct lightning mana efficiently. But there’s a drawback: in higher tier models that require a lot of additional pathways, we have the possibility to end up with tight circuits occurring when we cram too many lines too close to each other. I suspect that is what is causing the build up of heat."
Lassim studied the metal, running his fingers over its rough surface. "So it can handle high energy but tends to overheat in confined spaces," he murmured, beginning to understand the challenge. He looked up at Eno. "Is there an alternative that might work better?"
Eno nodded, a glint of approval in his eyes. "Yes, but every option has its trade-offs. Now that we know that’s an issue, we can adjust the lines within the thick-body model’s design or we can adjust the alloy composition of the thundersteel. This here"—he held up a pale, silvery metal that shimmered under the workshop lights—"is arc-silver. It’s much lighter and can channel mana quickly without building up as much heat, but it’s also brittle. Under high-intensity pressure, it can fracture. That makes it unreliable for combat models."
They continued through the various metals and alloys that Eno kept producing over and over for Lassim to review, each one with distinct properties that offered both advantages and limitations.
Lassim listened closely, his understanding of construct design deepening with each explanation. It was becoming clear that mastering constructs required an intuitive grasp of materials just as much as it did the language of arrays.
Each metal had its own "personality," a unique way of interacting with energy that affected the flow and structure of mana in subtle, often unpredictable ways.
Eno selected another ingot from a nearby shelf, holding it up for Lassim to observe closely. "This is a specific alloy blend of thundersteel and shadow iron," Eno began, "The shadow iron helps absorb some of the heat in high-energy circuits, but if too much is used, it’ll interfere with the mana’s flow and create resistance instead." He ran a finger over the alloy’s surface. "It’s all about finding the right balance—one that won’t collapse under the construct’s intense energy output."
Rlyis nodded, adding, "So, for our current problem, altering the design of the array lines themselves might be possible, but it would disrupt the construct’s intended functions too much," she explained to Lassim. "Some designs require a precise configuration that can’t be changed without losing efficiency or stability. So, instead of us altering the array, we have to alter the foundation—the metals."
Eno continued, "I’ll demonstrate how we’re going to fix the circuit area in this model. We’ll replace the entire segment where the resistance is highest and reinforce it with an alloy blend of thundersteel and a bit of shadow iron for enhanced conductivity." He gave Lassim a measuring look. "This way, we keep the flow smooth without allowing it to overheat in the restricted channels."
With a concentrated look, Eno’s hands began to glow with a soft, metallic light—a reflection of his elemental affinity for metal. He closed his eyes briefly, and Lassim felt a faint pulse in the air, a distinct sensation of mana shifting to follow Eno’s intent.
Eno raised his hands, calling forth the metals from the ingots, their shimmering surfaces bending to his command in front of Lassim’s eyes.
Under his careful control, the ingots floated up, liquefying under a controlled heat that didn’t require any tools but his own cultivation power.
"This process," Eno said to Lassim, "is something you’ll have to learn theoretically, unless you magically develop or get bestowed a THIRD elemental affinity in the future," he said giving him a look acknowledging the fact that he’d learned a bit more about Lassim being a Water and Lightning elemental Spirit Warrior overnight. Lassim was slightly amused that he didn’t know he had the space element too, but continued listening after Eno’s glare, "you won’t be able to replicate it yourself. But, at least that’s why I’m here and we’re a team. We make it work."
Lassim nodded, his eyes following every movement of the metals converging and merging. Despite knowing he couldn’t replicate the exact process, he was determined to understand the underlying principles, taking note of exactly how much of each portion of the ingots he combined that he used.
This content is taken from fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm.
Once the alloy blend was ready, Eno directed it with a focused gesture into the segment of the construct that needed replacement. The molten alloy filled the circuits with precision, each channel where the engravings would go once more being replaced with the new metal alloy under Eno’s guidance.
He manipulated the blend with subtle gestures, creating tiny adjustments that refined the channels for optimal conductivity based on his own knowledge to make Rlyis’ job easier.
After only a few moments, he let the construct cool, his eyes keen as he observed the metal taking its final shape.
"Now," Eno said, wiping a faint sheen of sweat from his brow as he finished. "That should take care of the overheating problem in that section. We’ll let it settle and cool, then Rlyis can rewrite the runes before you two test it again. If this works, we can adjust our standard alloy blend for the mass production models."
Rlyis turned to Lassim, her gaze holding a hint of expectation. "Tomorrow, once it cools and I finish my work, I’ll want you to power up the construct again. But this time, pay attention to how the mana flows through the new alloy. It’ll be your job to feel for any remaining issues. This wasn’t a complete overhaul, but if our theory’s correct, this alteration should fix the main problem. There’s still a few other issues this thick-body model has, but those should be simpler fixes. Once we finish this, we can move it on to the mass production stage before working on the other construct models."
"Sounds good!" Lassim replied. Observing Eno’s ability to meld alloys and Rlyis’s keen understanding of arrays, he was enjoying this hands-on knowledge more than filling the parchments and memorizing the runes.