A blue hologram shot out of the Omnitool. It sat flush with the ground, causing Ben to raise an eyebrow. Depending on where he pointed the tool, he could move it around, but the moment he selected the command to place it, nothing happened.
It had completely crossed his mind when Ben noticed a small section below the hologram displaying two squares resembling tokens and an error message.
[Missing: Iron Rod (10), Iron Sheet (10).]
What the heck is this about?
Ben stroked his chin as he reviewed a few scenarios. Ultimately, there was no way to craft the tokens for those components, so he figured it would all have to be done via the Omnitool. Opening the menu, Ben selected the research menu when he noticed a few more options had been added.
***
Research:
Iron Ingot: Allows the user to craft ingots from iron ore. These ingots can be used to create other crafting components. Cost: 100 Iron Ore or 20 Gold Pounds. Research Time: 3 Hours.
***
[Omnitool is now researching Iron Ingot.]
With three hours left until the research was completed, Ben thought his time would be better spent doing something productive. He glanced at the foreman’s office and remembered his promise to Finn.
The moment Ben stepped into the office, Finn looked like he was looking through some ledgers and frustrated to the point that he would pull his hair out.
Finn stood up, “Master Ben, how are things going?”
“Not bad at all.” Ben waved before asking, “How are you?”
Finn glanced at the ledgers and scoffed. “It could be better. I’ve got all the village folk working the veins on the second level. I was sitting here trying to make sense of these ledgers to be more useful, but I can’t make sense of them. I’m thinking of doing down the mines with my pickaxe to help fill the ore store again.”
“It seems you might be in luck. I’ve got some free time. How about we get started with your reading lessons?” Ben asked, motioning the ledger.
The look on Finn’s face shifted from frustration to a hopeful smile. He picked up the ledger and opened it up. “It sounds good to me.”
Ben spent the next three hours teaching Finn the basics of the English language. Although initially he thought it would be much harder, Finn showed great promise in quickly picking things up. When the notification popped up about the research being completed, Ben excused himself for a moment.
Ben opened the craft menu and selected the new option to craft an [Iron Ingot]. Crafting one cost two [Iron Ore] tokens, which took a full minute to complete. A new token had been created and placed in one of the spatial storage blocks.
Before doing anything else, Ben opened the research menu again.
***
Research:
Iron Rod: A common crafting component. Cost: 10 Iron Ingots or 4 Gold Pounds. Research Time: 1 Hour.
Iron Sheet: A common crafting component. Cost: 10 Iron Ingots or 4 Gold Pounds. Research Time: 1 Hour.
***
Ah, there you are.
The combined research cost of both options was twenty iron ingots. Ben got to work crafting those, and after almost twenty minutes, he had what he needed and selected one of the options. He wondered if the Omnitool could be upgraded to improve the crafting time or if there was a specific station he could craft that would make it easier.
[Omnitool is now researching Iron Rod.]
With another two hours of waiting, Ben returned to Finn and continued his lesson.
When both the components had finished researching, Ben had once again excused himself from the lesson. He opened the crafting menu and hovered over the new options. He was once again met with the message about missing components. They both required one iron ingot to craft and thus, Ben worked the rest of his tokens into ingots.
[Iron Ingot: 30.]
Ben crafted ten of each item, which took another twenty minutes. He left the remainder of the ingots for later use.
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[Iron Ingot: 10]
[Iron Rod: 10]
[Iron Sheet: 10]
Ben again opened the crafting menu, orienting the workbench to his desired position near an empty wall, and pressed the command to place it. The tokens whizzed out of the tool before zapping into the hologram, filling it with matter.
Once it had been fully crafted, Ben observed the workbench. Its full metal construction resembled the industrial ones in an old English factory. Although it was simple in design, Ben felt it would use technology similar to Omnitool. His theory proved correct when he walked closer, and an option to craft appeared.
***
Tier 1 Workbench
***
[Iron Rod: 1 Iron Ingot. 30 Seconds Craft Time.]
[Iron Sheet: 1 Iron Ingot. 30 Seconds Craft Time.]
***
Ben noticed that using the workbench to craft items took half as long as the Omnitool. But there were only two options for the items he had researched. He opened the research menu to see what else was available.
***
Research:
Tier 1 Bloomery: The user can craft a simple bloomery to refine ores into ingots. It costs 100 Stones or 1 Gold Pound, and the Research Time is 12 Hours.
***
Oh, great! I need to gather some stones now.
Shaking his head, Ben went outside. As the sun set, the sky was gloomy and dark. He could barely see the builders in the distance, gathering their tools and equipment from around the various areas where they were working. It looked like most of the foundations had been completed.
Shifting his attention to the pile of stones, Ben saw that it had shrunk by more than half. He hoped there would be enough left for what he needed. Pointing with the Omnitool, he collected the stones until he accumulated a hundred tokens and set the bloomery to research.
When Ben turned to return inside the mine, he noticed the orange dancing flames of a few torches coming closer. Looking drained from a full day’s hard graft, the village folk trudged out with smiles and greetings before continuing toward the camp.
“Master Ben,” Finn exclaimed the moment he stepped out before lighting the two torches near the entrance. He turned to face Ben, adding, “I spent more time practicing, but my head started hurting, so I’m taking a short break. I’ll get some more done before I sleep tonight.” He motioned towards the ledger resting in his other arm.
Ben nodded. “You’re doing great, kid. Just take it easy. You don't want to bombard your head with too much information.”
“I’ll try. Oh, I almost forgot to ask. What’s that table thing near the wall to the ore store? A few village folks were asking about it. It came out of nowhere.” Finn asked, scrunching his forehead in confusion.
“Ah, that table thing? It’s a workbench for crafting things. It’s just system stuff I’ll have to explain to you one day. We’ve both worked hard and should get food in our bellies.” Ben motioned towards the camp where a fire had been lit.
Finn patted his stomach before it audibly grumbled, and he chuckled. “I won't say no to some food.”
Ben awoke early the next morning and completed his usual cleaning ritual before going to the camp. As he neared, the builder in charge approached him with a puzzled expression filling his face.
“Is everything alright?” Ben asked.
The builder shook his head. “The hell it is. I could’ve sworn we had a decent pile of stones last night. And now most of them have vanished with a trace. Tell me, who goes around stealing stones in the night?”
Ben was about to burst into a fit of hysteria but used all his strength to stay composed. “Ah, the stones. I used them for something.”
The builder raised his hands and frowned with an expression of utter disbelief. “How?”
Ben scratched his head and replied, “It’s a long story.”
The builder huffed, “We’re already behind schedule. We’ll need more to complete the remainder of the foundations. Then, larger ones must be dressed for the walls.”
Ben turned towards Finn, who was drinking tea and watching the interaction with a smirk. He waved the teen to come closer.
“Master Ben?” Finn asked with a wide smile planted on his face.
“Finn, the builders will need more stone for the foundations and walls. I’m not saying to cease all iron ore production; just take a few people off that and get them on mining the stone. I’m not sure what kind of stone you’ll need, so I think it’s a good idea if you both should chat and figure things out.” Ben explained. Once he received a nod from the builder, he left for the campfire, where some breakfast was cooking.
After that, Ben returned to the van and decided some meditation was in store. As Hauxwell had always told him, he needed to keep practicing to become more proficient with the techniques he was taught. Another positive note was that he could use the time dilation of deep concentration to his advantage till the bloomery finished researching.
Ben stood by the mine entrance where the bloomery hologram appeared before him.
[Missing: 50 Stone.]
Oh great, more stone. The builders will pissed off about this.
Looking around, Ben waited until he was certain no one was watching and pointed the Omnitool down. He collected fifty stone tokens from the back of the pile before crafting the bloomery beside the mine entrance in an area that wasn't reserved for anything.
The bloomery was about three meters high, with most of the top half being a chimney. At the base, its circumference was around a meter and a half. Similar to the workbench, when Ben approached, a menu appeared.
***
Bloomery: [Coal: 0/50]
***
[Iron Ingot: 1 Iron Ore. 15 Seconds craft time.]
***
The bloomery cut the craft time by three-quarters at the expense of using one coal. With all the extra coal lying around, it seemed like a win-win to Ben.
“What the hell is this?” The builder's voice asked, interrupting Ben’s thoughts.
Ben twisted his neck to see the builder standing there, hands resting on his hips, shaking his head. He had no idea how long he had been looking at him as he was certain no one was around when he took the stone. After an awkward nod, Ben replied, “It’s a bloomery.”
“So, this is where all my stone went.” The builder muttered before his expression shifted to a wide smile. “The craftsmanship of this bloomery is commendable. It’s much better than what my builders and I could have created with what we have.” He went closer and inspected the stonework. “Perfect in every way. Not even one measurement out.” Glancing at Ben, he asked, “Why would you ask us to repair the old ones when you can craft such perfect ones?”
Ben shrugged. “Thanks for the kind words, but it wasn't me. The system did everything for me. To answer your question, I only just got the ability to craft it.” Pointing at the missing stones, “I needed the stones to do it.”
The builder nodded. “At least they were put to good use.” He glanced towards the building side before starting to walk there. “Anyway, I should be getting back.”
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Name: Benjamin Bailey
Titles: Owner of the Bailey Mine
Level: 7 (245/800XP)
Skill points: 2
HP: 50/50
SP: 50/50
MP: 150/150
Currency:
Copper Penny: 10/12
Silver Shilling: 15/20
Gold Pound: 56
The Bailey Mine: 160 GP
Active Vehicle: Valkyrie, Level 1
Bull Bar Mk.1, Armor Plating Mk.1, Off-Road Tires, Fuel Efficiency Mk.1, Off-Road Drivetrain
Class: Mechanical Mage, Level 2
Class Skills: Repair Mk.1, Refuel Mk.1
Profession: None
Profession Skills: None
Faction: Order of the Hollow Moon
Faction Rank: Sergeant
Faction Skills: Basic Training
Vehicle: Valkyrie, Level 2
Type: Camper
Condition: 100%
Fuel: 85%
Power: 140HP (Mechanical)
Mass: 1983KG
Armor Rating: 49
