<h4>Chapter 18: Magitech</h4>


    Ss ckwood approached the Grand Athenaeum, carrying the water damaged books he''d borrowedst night in his arms. He felt apprehensive about informing Balthazar of their condition, but he had to do it eventually so he might as well do it now.


    [New Quest: Return damaged books in shame]


    As Ss entered the library, he found Balthazar hunched over his desk with his nose buried in an ancient manuscript. The librarian''s mismatched eyes, one emerald green and the other ghostly blue, flicked up to meet Ss''s gaze.


    "Ah, young Ss. What brings you to my domain today?" Balthazar asked.


    "I need to return these, sir. They''ve been damaged. I''m sorry," Ss said.


    He ced the books on the desk, internally wincing as the librarian''s brow furrowed. For a moment, Ss thought he might have seen a sh of anger in his eyes.


    "My dear boy. Do you have any idea how valuable these tomes are? The knowledge contained within them? The history they hold?" Balthazar questioned.


    "I''m sorry, sir. It was an ident. I never meant for things to turn out this way," Ss replied.


    Balthazar sighed, picked up one of the damaged books and ran his long, slender fingers over the cover. Then, to Ss''s surprise, he smiled.


    "Fortunately for you, Ss, I am no ordinary librarian," Balthazar said with a wink. "Observe."


    With a flourish of his hand, Balthazar muttered, "restaurare," under his breath. A soft, blue light emanated from his palm, enveloping the damaged books. Ss watched as the water stains faded, the warped pages straightened and smoothed out before his eyes.


    After a few moments, the books were restored to their former condition. They looked like they had never been dunked in water at all. Balthazar smiled and handed the tomes back to Ss, who stood their stunned.


    "Magic, my boy. It has uses beyond the battlefield. Never underestimate the power of a well-executed restoration spell."


    "Thank you sir. I promise to be more careful next time," Ss said.


    [Quest Completed: +5 Exp (55/80)]


    "Might I ask what brought them to be in that condition?" Balthazar asked.


    "It''s a long story. I was ambushed by some second year students who had a grudge against me. They knocked out and threw me into theke, along with the books," Ss exined.


    "My word, that''s quite an ordeal. I trust you''re all right now?" Balthazar asked.


    "Thanks to Professor Ironforge. He fished me out of the water and helped me fight off the tigerfish."


    "Tigerfish, you say? Nasty creatures, those. Their mana cores are quite potent, though. Did you manage to harvest any?" Balthazar said.


    Ss reached into the pouch he had at his side and pulled out a handful of shimmering blue cores. "A few. I haven''t decided what to do with them."


    Balthazar plucked one of the cores from Ss''s palm, holding it up to the light. "Oh, the possibilities are endless, my boy. Tigerfish cores are highly sought after for their revitalizing properties. They can be used in enchantments, weapons, armor, you name it."


    "So can I use them to make better weapons and armor than the stuff they have in Combat and Magic I?" Ss asked.


    "Significantly better, my boy," Balthazar replied. "I suggest you continue to look into those books on enchantment, alchemy, and artifice. Although, you generally won''t be making your own weapons and armor, unless you convince Rathgar to let you use his forge. It is still good to know what goes into the process and what kinds of results you can expect."


    "Thanks, Professor. I''ll make sure to read those books as soon as I can. Right now though, it might be a good idea for me to visit Professor Ironforge," Ss said.


    "Good idea. Next time you are here, let me introduce you to some of the other professors. They know a lot you can learn from that you won''t learn in your regr sses," Balthazar said. "Oh, and call me Balthazar."


    "That sounds great, Balthazar. I look forward to meeting them," Ss hurried on his way to the artifice chamber in the basement of the school.


    As he approached the door, Ss could hear the ng of metal on metal and the hiss of steam. He knocked loudly, hoping to be heard over the cacophony of sounds emanating from within.


    The door swung open, revealing Rathgar''s imposing figure. The professor''s face was smudged with soot, and his bald head gleamed with sweat. Despite his rough appearance, Rathgar''s eyes lit up when he saw Ss.


    "ckwood!" he eximed. "What brings you to my humble abode?"


    Ss smiled, feeling a sense of ease in the professor''s presence. "I wanted to thank you again for saving my life, Professor Ironforge. And I wanted to know if you could make me weapons and armor with these."


    He reached into his pocket and pulled out the tigerfish mana cores, holding them out for Rathgar to see. Rathgar''s eyes sparked with recognition as he took in the sight of the glowing blue cores in Ss''s hand.


    "Well, I''ll be damned. We sure managed to harvest quite a haul from those tigerfish," Rathgar said, picking up one of the cores and examining it closely. "These are some prime specimens, too. High quality, potent. This is a rare find. All of these seem to be of high quality," Rathgar said as he looked at the mana cores one by one. "Usually you get one high quality core in a group, or none at all. You must have some crazy luck,d."


    Ss thought back to his luck stat, which was sitting at a healthy 28. "Yeah, you could say that," Ssughed.


    "We could make some seriously impressive gear with these," Rathgar said, astounded.


    "That sounds incredible. What kind of things could we make?" Ss asked.


    Rathgar rubbed his beard thoughtfully. "Quite a lot,d. With this many cores, we could craft a full set of armor, a couple of weapons, maybe even some magitech essories. Tigerfish cores are particrly useful for enhancing speed and agility.


    "What''s ''magitech''?" Ss asked.


    "Why it''s magical technology. It has onlye out in thest several years. The grand council of mages rxed their policies on the cultivation of technology when new research seemingly came out of nowhere. All we know are their initials. E.W."


    "The council says technology is eptable if it is based in magic and magical people have the ability to use it. Long ago, mages couldn''t use advanced technology, which was the cause of the ban."


    "Now, magitech is booming. It has revolutionized artifice as we know it practically overnight."


    The professor turned and gestured for Ss to follow him into the forge. The room was a marvel of magical engineering, with glowing furnaces, anvils, and racks upon racks of gleaming weapons and armor.


    "Now, crafting gear like this is no simple task," Rathgar exined as he cleared a space on one of the workbenches. "It requires precision, skill, and a deep understanding of the materials you''re working with. But you seem like a sharpd with a strong body and work ethic. You could do well in the field of artifice.


    "I''m eager to learn. Where do we start?" Ss asked.


    "First things first, we need to extract the pure essence from these cores. It''s a delicate process, but I''ll guide you through it. Once we have the essence, we can start infusing it into the materials for your gear."


    The professor handed Ss a pair of protective goggles, gloves, and an apron. "Suit up, ckwood. We''ve got work to do."


    [New Quest: Craft armor and weapons]


    As Ss donned the safety equipment, he remembered something. "Wait, Professor. I can extract essence."


    "What do you mean? It takes equipment and time to extract essence. You can''t just do it by magic," Rathgar said.


    "I can," Ss said.


    "What?" Rathgar said, a look of profound shock and disbelief on his face.