Chapter 55: Memory Magic

  Making money was complicated. Most of the people I knew weren’t very good at it. Sure, Miss Aires had her restaurant, and the black-marked crafters had their shops, but they all worked hard for every copper. The fact of the matter was, the guilds outsold them in every way imaginable. For one, they had the magic world on their side. That included unfettered access to the auction house, the ability to levy quests when they needed components, and first pick of the litter when new magic talent arose. I learned that firsthand when Director Chrysler presented me to the guild leaders like a slab of fresh meat.

  It fell to me not only to find a sustainable food source for the kids but also to revolutionize the shopping arcade.

  “If you’re going to sit there lost in thought, you might as well Innovate something,” Mr. Yu’s voice shook me out of my reverie. “You’re not going to solve your conundrum just thinking about it. Decisive action wins the day.”

  I sighed, picking up a cog that caught my eye. “Are you happy, Mr. Yu? Don’t you wish you had one of the big shops and made more money?”

  He gave me a knowing smile and shrugged. “The older you get, the more you’ll realize that money is quite meaningless. This shop allows me to pursue my craft to my heart’s content. I’ll leave the ambition to the younger generation.”

  It wasn’t a generation thing. The magical world acted as if it were clueless about what the rest of the world was going through. He was right, though. It wasn’t my responsibility to solve all the world’s problems, just those around me.

  So I set to work trying to invent something from an old cog while also thinking about ways to make my skills profitable.

  “What do you think of an appraisal service?” I asked as I used my basic multitool to clean some crud off the cog.

  Mr. Yu, busy with his own task, answered in a noncommital voice. “Is that what you want to do for the rest of your life: Identify other people’s work?”

  I realized he was right. I didn’t even enjoy doing that for Madam Hurst. What I really wanted to do was make things.

  “How do you sell your inventions?” I asked.

  Mr. Yu chuckled. “You’re looking at it. People visit me and make requests. It’s that simple.”

  “There has to be a better way,” I sighed, jumping as a spring I was trying to compress went flying.

  “There is,” he replied. “It’s called the auction house.”

  “But what about your black mark?” I asked, ducking under the table to chase the spring.

  Mr. Yu waited for me to come up to answer. “There are ways around that. Don’t worry so much about politics. Enjoy being young.”

  “But what about Leslie?” I barked maybe a little louder than I should have.

  “Ahhh,” Mr. Yu made my hair bristle. “You’re sweet on her.”

  “What?” I gasped. “No! It’s not like that. I just don’t like seeing my friends get treated that way.”

  “And you want to come up with a new system to take care of her?” he continued toying with me.

  I sighed again. Why did adults always have to analyse kids?

  Mr. Yu chuckled at my silence and held up a hand. “Why don’t you focus that energy on your next lesson. I think it’s time you upgrade your multitool. You never know, it might even inspire you.”

  I looked down at the device that Madam Hurst had given me. It was hardly more than a glorified screwdriver, while Mr. Yu’s elaborate tool looked like it could practically make his inventions itself.

  Analysis: Rare components can give a crafter’s multitool unique characteristics.

  That made me pause. I actually had some rare components. I rummaged through my bag and pulled out a couple of items. First was the bottle of Shadowbind I won from the auction. It was a tiny vial with inky black liquid inside that reminded me of the hair my shadow produced.

  Shadowbind

  Synthetic

  Description: Used to trap shadow-based monsters in a fixed location.

  While it didn’t say it was a crafting item, I set it on the table, hoping Analysis would have some suggestions. The next item was actually the gloves I was working on for Leslie. They were almost done. Seeing them reminded me I hadn’t seen her since we left Miss Spencer’s shop when she asked me if I liked her.

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  I shook my head to clear it and placed the gloves gently back in the bag. The only other item was also the most valuable.

  Draconic Effigy

  Magic Relic

  Grade: S

  Condition: 100

  Owner: Evans

  It clacked excitedly as I took it out of the bag.

  Analysis: The Effigy wishes to be utilized.

  “What is that supposed to mean?” I asked, earning a quizzical look from Mr. Yu.

  As if to answer my question, the clacking head wiggled free from my grip and devoured my multitool. No sooner had it swallowed than a tail burst forth, complete with limbs shaped from the prongs of the old tool. When it was done with the transformation, a forked tongue flicked out of its mouth, and the effigy actually spoke. “It took you long enough to remember me. Now your life will be much easier.”

  “Did your tool just talk?” Mr. Yu asked, walking over to investigate.

  “I wasn’t talking to you,” the head snapped.

  Mr. Yu reached for it, and it bit him, leaving several pinpricks of blood on his finger. The old man yelped and sucked on the wounded finger.

  “Don’t worry,” the dragon admonished. “You didn’t taste good, so I shall refrain from eating you…for now.”

  Mr. Yu knelt until he was eye level with my new multitool. “That’s good to know. Do you still function as a tool?”

  “Well, that’s rude,” the dragon hissed. “I am no tool, and I assure you, I function better than you do.”

  I scooped up the dragon and held it at eye level. “Are you alive?”

  It snorted. “Of course, I am! I chose you because of your intelligence. Do not tell me I was mistaken.”

  “You weren’t,” I replied in a defiant tone. “I’ve just never seen a talking wooden head before.”

  “You are in the presence of the immortal soul of the dragon king,” the head clacked back.

  “The dragon king?” I asked.

  It clacked a few times for good measure. “Have you not heard of me? Perhaps your skill can enlighten you. I am the fabled Draig Bren.”

  Analysis. Draig Bren translates as Wooden Dragon.

  “I asked if you had a name, not what are you,” I groaned.

  The dragon snorted, which sounded like more clacking. “It was the mortals who gave me this foolish name. What would you have me called?”

  I thought about it, looking around for inspiration. It wasn’t every day I got to name a dragon. “How about Puff?”

  “Puff, the Magic Dragon?” Mr. Yu asked, chuckling. “Can that thing puff?”

  In answer, the tail swished, and the head clacked, but it didn’t quite puff. It shook its head. “That name doesn’t fit. Choose something else?”

  “How about Brixaby?” I asked, thinking of something I read in a book.

  “Brick…Baby,” the dragon clacked, trying and failing to say the name. “I don’t like it.”

  I rubbed my chin, frustrated at the picky dragon. “How about I call you Princess Do…”

  “I am male!” the dragon roared, using many more clicks than were necessary.

  I sighed. “Fine. I’ll just call you Woodie. If you don’t like it, you can name yourself.

  Update: The Beginner’s Multitool is now called Woodie.

  Woodie cleared his throat, jettisoning a puff of smoke I wasn’t aware he could make. “Now, with that out of the way, let’s take another look at that bag of yours.”

  It wriggled out of my hands and slithered over to The Bag of Mimicry. After disappearing inside for a moment, it reemerged and wound its way back up my arm, coiling around my wrist like a decorative bracelet. “This item requires memory magic. Let us return to the library for a book of instruction.”

  Analysis: Memory Magic allows the user to store an item or spell with the intention of recreating it later.

  “What will you do?” Mr. Yu asked. “Are you taking directions from your tool now?”

  So, I took the advice of my talking dragon, Woodie, who also happened to be my newly improved multitool. A book was waiting on the shelf when I got there. The orangutan read my mind, once again.

  Memory Magic - The Art of the Double Cast

  While that didn’t sound like what I needed, I held out hope that the spell could be modified to somehow allow me to duplicate an item multiple times, even if the second time was days, or even years, later.

  Double Casting a spell or technique is made possible by creating a mana ripple, or echo, of a spell or technique. This can be accomplished in a variety of ways.

  Double Speak: Infusing the tongue with mana allows the caster to amplify spoken spells and cause a ripple effect, which causes the spell to grow more powerful and appear to cast multiple times in succession.

  Double Ritual: Effectively a ritual within a ritual. Effects amplify exponentially with each internal iteration.

  Succession: Utilizing the same skill, spell, or technique in rapid succession can also have unique additional effects.

  Your Research skill has increased: +1 (25)

  I flipped through the pages but ultimately settled on rituals, which was something I was familiar with. As usual, I used Mimic to duplicate the chained book and headed to the orphanage to test my theory. I arrived to find Leslie waiting out front talking to Beth.

  “There he is,” Beth said, pointing at me.

  Leslie spun and closed the distance between us. “Oliver. Uh, you haven’t been to the guild today. Not even to collect packages.”

  I had to think about that. “Oh, right. I forgot to get packages.”

  Beth pointed out something else I forgot. “Did you bring dinner?”

  I groaned, wondering if I had any food left in my bag.

  Beth comforted me with one of her patented smiles. “Don’t worry about it. With the bag you gave me, I can copy some of the food from the dining hall.”

  “Okay,” I replied, relieved that I didn’t have to go back to the guild for food. “There’s something I need to do. I’ll eat later.”

  “I’ll save you some,” Beth chirped, turning to leave. “Do you want to come with me, Leslie?”

  “No,” Leslie fidgeted. “I came here to talk to Oliver.”

  “Okay,” Beth replied. “Have fun, you two.”

  Under normal circumstances, I would have climbed the fire escape to get to the roof, since I didn’t want to be noticed by the other kids. However, Leslie was with me, so we took the stairs. I didn’t need to hide, as it turned out, because the kids were far more interested in the food Beth was getting to pay us any mind.

  We slipped up the stairs and out to the roof, and I took the book out.

  “What is that?” Leslie asked, reading the title over my shoulder. “Memory Magic?”

  I grinned. “I think I can get my bag to remember food I put in it for later.”

  “What do you mean?” she asked, as I turned to the page describing the ritual.

  “Do you see this?” I asked, pointing at a diagram of the ritual. “Here, it says I can make a skill execute multiple times, depending on how I craft the ritual. I want to design it so when I put food into the bag, I can make as many copies as I want.”

  “Can you do that?” she asked.

  I shrugged, but, as usual, Analyze knew just what to do.

  Analysis: A ritual within a ritual will produce 2 items. Additional rituals increase the number of copies exponentially. For the desired effect, you will need 5 layers. R(5) = ((2^2)^2)^2

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