Mythshaper - Chapter 69

Chapter 69: Levitating

My levitation boots were almost complete. It had taken more than a week, and a great deal of help from Mum—mostly because I had no experience in crafting shoes. Their build wasn’t entirely like alloyed combat boots. I had used high-reinforced leathers, referencing Mum’s old designs.

As it turned out, studying her old designs not only solved most of the problems I was facing, but even eradicated the issues I failed to consider, such as making the rune formation two-layered and separating the output into different sections. The two-layered formation simply made it easier to generate more kinetic force, while the separation was mainly important for making the kinetic force release more impactful.

Other than spending a good amount of silver leafs on the leather, the most costly component was a high-functioning essence cell. I got myself two cells with a capacity of 64 standard essence units for both boots. It cost twenty-five gold leafs—or 500 silver leafs—nearly halving my budget. But of course, if I wanted to fly for a longer period, I would need a lot of essence. The two cells, at full charge, would last a little less than an hour when the rune formation was at full capacity, and a great deal longer for simple flights.

Then again, it was never a waste to buy high-capacity essence cells, because even if these levitation boots didn’t come to fruition the way I wanted, the cells could still be repurposed.

Now that all the preparation was done, all that was left was to put the fabricator together. With Mum supervising me, I began carving the runes directly into the pieces of leather.

The formation itself was the most complex endeavour I had worked on to date, although after a thorough review of Mum’s design, it looked more like a replication. Other than the large number of Intermediate runes that invoked kinetic forces, the levitation formation involved all the four kinds of infallible runes. For the fabricator to be a lasting property—something I could use for a longer period—it needed all four, be it Transformation, Amplification, Acceleration, or Restoration.

Only Restoration didn’t play any role in the flight, but it was most needed to raise the durability of the boots. Considering how high-functioning the formation needed to be, the leather would have withered no matter how highly reinforced it was. Transformation was pretty much a given, since it was required of all fabricators to transform the essence into an effect, while the last two were to boost the speed. 

I could have tried some wind runes, but these five types of runes already achieved so much that there was no need.

Despite putting in a great deal of practice before the actual carving, my dexterous palm still worked at a relatively slow pace. Considering the complexity and high cost at play, it was better to be safe than sorry.

Pieces of leather moved from one part of the table to another. With the carving pen in my palm, my hand worked at mechanical efficiency. Minutes flew by, and unknowingly, I entered a flow state. The speed at which I was carving the runes rose exponentially. Their shapes and formations remained as perfect as before. 

[Congratulations! Rune Engraving VII (1001/1000) is complete.]
[+16 Arcane Acuity]
[Way of Rune Engraving VIII (1001/2500) is available.]

It was only when I was done that I heard the Spell’s soulful voice and learned that at least three hours had passed. My fair tunic was now seething with sweat, but the worst part was the crash. If not for the chair I was sitting in, I wouldn’t even have been able to sit upright.

Wiping my face, I looked at myself to inspect my condition. My essence should have all been depleted long ago, but being in the super concentration state allowed my Will to pull more power through the aether roots to complete the task in one go.

“Through flow state,” Mum’s voice woke me from the self-inspection, “one can achieve many times more than what they can usually do, but it can be very dangerous. Have I told you the time I was in this state for days and nearly shattered my essence foundation?”

I nodded, though she didn’t say anything about the last part. Essence Foundation was how an essence seed, threads, and aether roots were all connected. Even a small problem with it might cause endless trouble in the future. That was why the early Common class was so important.

“You go rest now,” she finally said, releasing the rejuvenation light on me. “I’ll stitch your boots together by the time you wake up.”

***

It was only a couple of hours, but it felt like one of the best sleeps I’d had in a long time. It was mostly to do with how depleted my Will was, but I didn’t dwell on it further and ran back into the workshop to find Mum.

She wasn’t there—nor were my levitation boots. Calling out loudly didn’t solve the issue either, as nobody but me was in the house. Thankfully, I didn’t have to search too much, as my new boots were right on top of the table in the study room.

I looked them over as soon as I got my hands on them, before putting them on. Mum had painted them white, and the elensil materials didn’t hide most of the rune formations either, which gave them a distinct style.

The boots felt good on my feet even without socks—a testament to Mum’s craftsmanship and the quality of the materials. It was a bit on the heavier side, though. 

[Fabricator: Levitation Boots
Grade: Elite | Durability: 50/50
A pair of boots crafted for the sole purpose of flight at high speed.

Enchantments:
Flight: uses kinetic force to utilise flight.
Haste: can amplify speed in short bursts
Restoration: restores any damage to the fabricator at the expense of essence.]

The information the Spell provided didn’t surprise me one bit. After all, I knew more about the fabricator than the Spell did. Now I needed to see how good it was at what it does.

While my excitement knew no bounds, I still calmed myself. Standing firmly, I slowly triggered the boots, infusing two threads of essence into them.

The rune lines lit up on the surface of the boots, and manipulating the threads, I only let the kinetic force release from the bottom.

The flight had three gears, aside from the Haste enchantment. The first gear used about a fourth of its potential, and it already got me floating several metres into the air—something I still couldn’t manage with just my essence threads.

Now to fly through the air…

In Mum’s designs for high-speed flight, there were more components than just a pair of boots. There were similar formations engraved on armour; however, the most important were the armguards, which were crucial for maintaining balance mid-flight and for changing direction.

I hadn’t made myself a pair of them, only because I could shape kinetic force to replicate that. It took me a minute or two to figure it all out, but soon my figure glided around the house, an unbridled joy lighting up my face.

But soon enough, the slow pace became a bit dull. The speed I was moving was only a little higher than walking—too safe to truly feel the thrill of flight, to be honest.

So, without further ado, I activated a couple more thrusters on the boots. I didn’t aim for higher ground, because these thrusters released force at an obtuse angle, not to mention the ones at the back of the heels only propelled me forward. In the end, although the second gear only doubled the released force, most of it was used to propel me forward, to glide through the wind, so the acceleration didn’t simply rise in parallel.

No, I was hurtled forward at several times the acceleration of gear gone, as wild wind slapped against my face. In the blink of an eye, I was tens of metres beyond the bounds of our home, flying over the Stonecutter’s fields.

The sudden thrust sent me into a panic, causing me to use my weaves to apply an opposite thrust to slow down a bit. Unknowingly, I also let go of the gear two trigger, as the thrust force dropped back to the first gear. Thankfully, there were no trees around here, or I would have earned more than a few bruises in a crash.

Inhaling deeply, I straightened my balance and tried again. This time, I didn’t panic and controlled my balance nearly perfectly—but that was, of course, because I was gliding in one direction.

“WOOHOOO!”

With a sharp release of kinetic force through my palms, I twirled in the air and changed direction. Gear two was already fulfilling the joy of flight. I couldn’t imagine what the next level could do.

With that thought, I prepared myself and slowly triggered the final release that opened all the thrusters.

A wall of gale struck me. My body was hurled like an arrow. My sight blurred, and perspiration grew heavy. Only through sheer concentration did I steer myself correctly in the flight.

“THIS,” I shouted, “IS AWESOME!”

Yet half of the loudness was lost in the gust of wind. I flew over Eran’s house, towards the foothills. A few sentries nearby shouted something at me, but I was already out of range to hear them.

Soon, the familiar institution building came into view, and I slowed down a bit. Despite being an off day, there were still a bunch of kids training and playing around the field. Some practised archery in the eastern corner, while most were gathered around the duelling circle. I noticed a few familiar faces among them, such as Priam, Markus, and their friend group. Eran stood on one side with his sword and shield, Diana next to him, carrying his sister in her arms.

The little girl was the first to notice me. “Bwadder, look!” she cried, as I twirled to circle in the air, still not trusting myself to safely perform a heroic landing without reverting to first gear.

“Arilyn?” Diana rubbed her eyes.

“You finished making your boots?” Eran’s eyes shone.

I laughed boisterously and decided that a demonstration would speak louder than words. Maybe I wanted to show off a bit, or just that I love it just so much. 

With a bit of manipulation on the thrusters, I flew higher into the sky and launched myself at top speed, circling around the large field. The kids, who had been watching the duel with full attention, broke off and soon began dashing after me on foot.

I hovered down after a good demonstration, my lips still curved upwards.

“Ari! Ari!” Lilia cried, reaching her arms towards me. “Take me! I wanna fly…”

The girl had plenty of experience with flying, with Mum often letting her float in the air whenever she cried, but I could only shake my head. My arms aren’t as safe as Mum’s to take her into the sky.

“Show off,” snorted Priam.

I grinned at him. “Want to give it a try?”

The look in his eyes changed. He was about to open his mouth and accept the offer, but I quickly accelerated to third gear and flew off in the other direction. Some still chased after me, but they weren't fast enough to catch up.

“Maybe some other day!” Leaving the words behind, I slung through the air, my clothes billowing flippantly, barely shielding me from the rush of wind. Maybe I should make some clothes just for flying.

I didn’t return home immediately. After circling the town—only the Oracle knew how many times—and with the essence cells almost depleted, I turned in the direction of home. The sky was already dark by then, the flickering waning light barely holding on.

Even after using my essence to charge the boots, I still had to make half the journey on foot to return.

Looks like I should’ve used more powerful essence cells, after all.

_____________

A/N: The next chapter is halfway done, but I would need to calculate Arilyn's Profile, and that was a hassle I have been tackling for a few chapters only...