Chương 108: Yes, Hecate, That Includes Bullets

Vasil opened his mouth and held the faintly glowing marble on his tongue. I took it from him and examined it. It looked similar to the consumable skill upgrade point I found before, except that one had some kind of purple fog inside. This "essence" looked more like a slightly yellowish, glowing, milky marble.

"So what does it do? What is 'essence'?"

"What this particular one does, I do not know," he answered.

"You will have to inspect it to find out. But essences are, in essence," he chuckled.

"single use spells. You can throw them at someone, and when the container breaks, the spell will release. Or you can crush it between your fingers to apply it to yourself." I held the essence between my fingers.

"Won't I get glass shards in my hand?" He shook his head.

"No, it will dematerialize." They sure had a lot of fun stuff here that we didn't have back home. I was beginning to think Silesia wasn't all that bad. This opened up a lot of possibilities. I could just collect a bunch of these essences and use that to cast certain spells. I wouldn't even have to invest skill points! I cast [Artifact Index] on the marble. [Essence of Push] Push? That sounded a bit underwhelming.

Here I was hoping for something cool like, I don't know, [Lightning Lance] or [Meteor], instead I got [Push]. Who the hell would carry that around? And why?

"Not happy?" Vasil asked. My face probably gave it away.

"It's, uh… [Essence of Push]."

"[Push] is a very useful spell. It can be used for both utility and offense. Since your Strength is relatively low, it could help you move an object. Unfortunately only one, though, since it is single use." Push one object. Lame. Push one person, still lame, but a little bit less. And what if I threw it and missed? I was not exactly great at throwing things, and with my low Strength I couldn't throw very far either. I was good at shooting. Too bad the essence wasn't shaped like a bullet… But what if it was?

You could imbue bullets with spells, maybe there was a way to imbue a bullet with an essence? It was sort of a spell, after all.

"Vasil?" I asked.

"It wouldn't be possible to somehow imbue objects with an essence, would it?"

"I have not heard of it being done. People generally apply spells to objects directly, and that requires a collaboration with a crafter."

"A crafter, you say. If only I had a class that was made by the god of crafters. Oh wait! I totally do! Maybe it's time I finally said hello to Ambelios." Vasil raised his eyebrows.

"You believe…"

"What the hell is an Ambelios?" Bogumir said. I grabbed his head and made him face me.

"Come on, Bogey, pay attention. I just said he was the god of crafters. He's also the god of some other stuff, but I feel 'crafters' sums it up nicely."

"You guys hearing this? She's gone mad again. Someone talk some sense into her, please. I don't want to be hanging from some lunatic's belt during a mental break." He paused.

"I don't want to be hanging from anyone's belt, actually, but absolutely not from the belt of a maniac. There is only one god, and that's Stvora. Tell her!" I snorted a laugh.

"It's not like you have a choice. And this may come as a huge surprise to you, but there are plenty of other gods. Haven't really seen them around here, but then again I also haven't seen Stvora. What's up with that, anyway? Why is he hiding?" His little face turned red.

"Hiding? Hiding?! Why would he show himself to us? We are not worthy! We would not be able to comprehend him if he did show himself. Your brain would melt!"

"Hah! Not my brain! Please, not my brain!"

"Don't mock Him!"

"I'm not mocking Stvora, I'm mocking you. In Graecia the gods show up all the time. Well, maybe not all the time, but they do show up sometimes, and your brain doesn't melt from looking at them." If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. I pointed up at the sky.

"Mēnē shows herself every day."

"Mēnē?" he asked.

"The moon, obviously."

"The moon… The moon is just the moon. It's not a goddess." I shook my head.

"Then how do you explain my class, Bogumir? She also talked to me once. What about you? What about Stvora?"

"What class? As for Stvora, I wouldn't be able to comprehend him. I'm not worthy."

"Right. Not worthy. Got it," I said, giving Bogumir's head a final, dismissive pat before letting him dangle back against my hip.

"Good excuse for why your god never writes back. Though some people might assume you just have an inferiority complex." I ignored Bogumir's protests and turned my attention back to the task at hand, namely figuring out if I could put this essence into a bullet. Then I noticed Vasil and Kasia were looking at me.

"I can still talk to Bogumir, right?" I asked.

"He talks back. So then it's not crazy." Vasil cocked his head.

"Talking to a severed head that is actively responding is... well, it is a form of communication. Whether it is 'sane' or 'normal' is a matter for philosophers."

"Alright. I'm no philosopher, so I guess we'll just have to leave it at that. Besides, I really want to find out what bullet crafting options I have available."

"Don't forget you also need some type of disguise skill for your face, and for your class."

"Oh, man," I groaned.

"I only have three skill points. If I have to spend two on disguising myself I only have one left for some fun stuff!"

"You won't have any to spend on fun stuff if you're dead," Kasia said.

"Good point. Safety first, fun second. But also fun first. I'll hold on to two points for later. Now, I'll check the bullet crafting." I gleefully rubbed my hands. This was going to be so good. I only had to craft one bullet and [Reload] would basically let me keep it forever. I could craft bullets for every occasion! I could already imagine myself shooting [Push] infused bullets at unsuspecting inquisitors, every bullet sending them flying into space.

The image of an Inquisitor tumbling through the stratosphere brought a genuine smile to my face. [Push] actually wasn't lame at all. The possibilities were endless and amazing. I'd be seriously disappointed if I wouldn't be able to imbue my bullets with essences. I opened the System and was greeted by a fiercely glowing skill. Huh? Normally I had to go into the skill selection menu first, but now I was instantly taken to a skill. Had the System been listening? Had Ambelios?

Why was the text glowing brighter than usual? Very peculiar. Maybe it was glowing because it was an extra cool skill. [Ballistics Expert] Type: Crafting A true crafter understands that the tool and the user are one. Your understanding of projectiles, their flight, and their impact is no longer limited by mortal physics. You are now able to magically craft projectiles. Yes, Hecate, that includes bullets. Hey! What?! Since when did skills address me directly by name? Now I really felt like Ambelios did this.

Come to think of it, I had mostly been ignoring his side of the class they made me. And by mostly, I mean completely. I guess he got tired of that and shoved a skill in my face when he finally saw an opportunity. I wasn't really sure what he meant by "no longer limited by mortal physics," but that was fine. It was the skill I needed.

"Thanks, Ambelios," I said.

"I appreciate it." I heard Bogumir scoff, but I ignored him. I accepted the skill, and the familiar confirmation message appeared. [Ballistics Expert acquired.]"So, did you take a skill already?" Kasia asked.

"Oh yeah," I said.

"It was kind of crazy. When I opened the System it opened right on this skill called [Ballistics Expert]. It glowed brighter than they usually do. The text is always kind of glowy, you know, but this one was super glowy, if you know what I mean."

"Ehh."

"You'll get it once you have access to the System." Kasia shrugged.

"Alright."

"Hold on," Vasil said, raising a hand.

"Did you say the System opened on a skill?"

"Yeah," I said.

"Weird, huh?"

"That is quite unusual."

"Sure is. You know what's even crazier? Besides the glowiness, of course. In the description it said 'You are now able to magically craft projectiles. Yes, Hecate, that includes bullets.' It said my name!" Vasil glanced at Kasia, then turned his attention back to me.

"You're joking?"

"I'm not, I swear to Mēnē… and uh, Ambelios, I guess." Vasil squinted at me.

"And you mentioned that it glowed brighter?"

"Yeah!"

"Could you open up the System again and search for 'Ballistics' under the crafting skills?" I did as he asked and was greeted with [Reverse Engineer: Ballistics], [Ballistics Crafting: Metallurgy], [Ballistics Crafting: Chemistry], [Ballistics Assembly]. I read them aloud. Vasil's eyebrows shot up.

"Am I right in assuming they all have the standard glow?" I was starting to get the feeling the System—or in this case, Ambelios—had done something unfair in my favor again.

"Is [Ballistics Expert] basically these four skills in one?" I asked the System. [Yes.]"Did Ambelios push that skill onto me because he felt ignored?" No answer. I scratched the back of my head, suddenly feeling a bit guilty.

"Sorry, Ambelios, obviously I would have loved to take more skills in your domain, but I've kind of been forced to take skills to survive, you know. Even the two skill points I have left I have to spend on disguise-type skills… which is more Mēnē's domain. It's not like I'm doing it on purpose, I just… don't want to die. Dying would be counter productive. But thanks again. For the skill. When I have the opportunity I will look more into your side of the class, I promise." Still no answer. Oh well.

I'm sure he understood.

"So," I said to Vasil.

"I think Ambelios felt a little ignored and gave me this four-in-one skill, hoping it would steer me more into his direction."

"It is one hell of an encouragement. You realize that this is… well, extremely rare and significant."

"Yeah, I get that. I'm not stupid. I said thank you!" I held the [Essence of Push] up.

"And now I will thank him again by crafting a cool-ass bullet."