19 The First Mission (1/2)
The damp and old cathedral room stretched into infinite darkness around the lonely Garett, but his eyes focused only on the objects littering the table, not caring for the eerie atmosphere surrounding him.
As I thought, if I understand well enough what I'm trying to materialize, the object is made with enhanced quality… Garett was occupying one of the deposit rooms at the furthermost corner of the cathedral building, the place was barely ever cleaned, and he could find many things to experience with his powers.
An assortment of old blueprints and schematics once used by the church's artisans occupied the table in front of him, most of them illustrated the creation process of obsolete or faulty firearms.
”Yes, I don't need to copy and imagine the blueprint in order to materialize it; I just need to understand how a firearm works, and then I'll be able to instinctively make it work.” Garett thought to himself with satisfaction after his latest attempt to materialize a handgun. ”Maybe if I create a blueprint of my own the effect would be better, but I have no knowledge on how to create schematics on the subject.”
Yes, the old Keeper said the God of Artisans is neutral, so maybe I can acquire the knowledge on forging and schematics rather easily. After studying it I'll be able to materialize some insane weapons… Garett's eyes twinkled as the fantasies about him materializing a mystic hand cannon from thin air swarmed his mind.
DONG
”It's already time?” He mumbled after listening to the loud bell toll, his excitement dimming considerably. ”Alice will get pissed if I miss training… She's a beast when the subject is training…”
As far as he was concerned, Alice's methods could be categorized as torture! It was true that he wanted to strengthen his body to utilize his powers better, but being asked to use heavy weights while running was the same as simply tormenting him!
”Aah…” He sighed helplessly, the last time he arrived late to the training was quite a miserable one, he felt so pained that after the training that he gave up on returning home and decided to sleep on the hunters' common quarters instead!
”I should get going.” He carefully kept the blueprints for later use and left for his session of torture.
Just as he was about to close the door behind him and follow the path towards the training grounds, an old and deep voice came from behind.
”What were you doing in there, kid?” The Keeper's unforgettable voice echoed throughout the corridors, his eyes brimming with suspicion.
Shit! What are you doing here? Wait, I don't need to be nervous, right? I can just tell him cleanly about me studying the schematics, he doesn't need to know about the powers… Garett's mind worked quickly, looking for the best course of action.
”Oh! Forgive me, sir Keeper. I know that I should've asked for your approval first before looking at the old schematics.” He hastily apologized while already answering the elderly man's question.
”Looking through the old schematics? What are you doing that for?”
”This young hunter is studying them to understand better the inner workings of firearms as I felt inspired to create my own weapon.” Gareth was always very polite when talking to the Keeper, he didn't know why, but something in the elder elicited this kind of treatment.
”Hoh. A young hunter who also wants to be an artisan? That's interesting…” The elder Keeper's eyes thinned into slits as he descended in deep thought. ” Come to my study later, those old schematics are mostly faulty goods. No good will come from studying it.”
Jackpot! If I knew it would be this easy, I would have talked to him earlier… Garett felt elated at the sudden turn of events!
”Yes, I'm very grateful to you, sir. I should keep going now, sir Keeper. Alice is still waiting for me in the training fields.” Gareth slightly bowed to his teacher and waited for the elder to nod in response, a common ritual when leaving one's teacher presence.
Jackpot!...
…
”Captain? What are you doing here?” Garett even forgot about the basic etiquette when meeting a superior, such was the surprise in seeing Dante at the old training yard.
”Hmmm, hello, Garett. You are late.” Dante nodded in greeting.
”Haha~ I was talking to the old keeper about artisan schematics, I'm sorry, captain.” He replied with a dry laugh while cursing inwardly.
F**k if it was just Alice it would be okay, but the captain is famed for being even stricter… Garett felt that the captain would make his training at least ten times harsher!
”Oh, I bet the old man was very happy, he has nobody to talk about craftsmanship since I became occupied with leading a team.” Dante smiled slightly in understanding, his expression softening considerably.
Did I just dodge a bullet? I feel like the captain suddenly became more comprehensive… Garett let out a sigh of relief, his tense nerves relaxing as the captain started to approach.
”I came here today to give you your first assignment. Usually, I would let Alice inform you, but I wanted to see how's your training going.” He stopped to check the time on his old pocket watch, nodding slightly before looking at back at Garett.