Chapter 36
Helping Out
As the sun crested the horizon, I gently closed Sasha's bedroom door and tiptoed down the hallway. Emily had asked me to stop by to talk to Jeric about moving out. It wasn't that she didn't want to spend time with him. It was just that having him around interfered with her networking. You couldn't exactly be the party house with parental supervision.
Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you looked at it, Jeric ended up working late with Fitz, to catch up on the work I was ignoring, so we hadn't run into each other before Sasha had come back from her study session. She'd made a rather convincing argument why Emily's request shouldn't be at the top of my priority list and how the kingdom could benefit from our research, so I'd gone off to help her with that.
Jeric's bedroom door opened as I approached the staircase, which skyrocketed my heart rate and made my tiptoeing irrelevant. This really wasn't the time or place for us to meet.
Jeric stepped into my path and stifled a yawn, noticing me for the first time as he closed the door. He gave me a surprised, confused look, like he was seeing double, and then shook his head to wake himself up. I remained in the hallway.
"What are you doing here so early?" There was no accusation in his tone, just genuine curiosity.
"Sasha."
It was best to be as clear as possible, given that the only other woman who lived here was his daughter.
Jeric gave an unsurprise nod as he turned and started walking towards the staircase. "You off to Farentine's?"
"Not anymore. She asked me to relocate our work to my building off Banker's Boulevard. My idea boards were cluttering up her place more than she was willing to tolerate."
Ranic had taught me how to make his conspiracy theory boards while I was explaining my Experience Reactor to him. They looked like something someone needed to be sedated for creating, but they were fantastic for visualising what you knew. They also didn't fit in a townhouse that was already packed to the rafters with books.
"You hungry?" I asked.
"Only if you don't plan to add more work to my plate."
"It's too early for wordplay."
Jeric chuckled and began descending the stairs. "Has Farentine figured out what sort of help you will need in Blackwood?"
"She stopped updating me when the list exceeded a thousand names. Apparently, my understanding of the system touches on so many branches of lore that have people stumped, that she needs to invite everyone. Entire departments of the academy are relocating when we're free to go home."
"Will it cause trouble for the academy?"
"Less than you would think. The king is encouraging the arrangement because of Emily's boon. I think he's doing it because the north lacks an academic centre, and Blackwood has the highest chance of filling this role, which will help make higher education more prevalent. Too many bright minds can't afford the cost of travelling to the Capitol, so we lack the foundation of the South. With the king through his second threshold that even more important than it was before he began implementing this."
"Blackwood isn't exactly central."
"It's still easier to reach than the Capitol for those who can't afford to teleport. And we have the only Blueprint and Patent Office."
"Have you figured out anything about that building yet?"
His question surprised me, because it implied he didn't know. "I'm not being updated on anything to do with it."
Jeric looked at me, just as surprised. "You're not? I expected you to jump at the opportunity. There are all sorts of benefits associated with making discoveries about magical buildings and how they function."
"By the time someone got around to asking me if I was interested in helping out, I was already trying to figure out how to make my Experience Reactor work."
"Ah."
"You know anything interesting about it?"
"Not much. Emily told me it requires specialist scholars to function. Blackwood only has those for the farmer and trapsmith classes, but we also have hundreds of new trap blueprints to test what happens when something is patented. The building initially offered the creators of the patent 1% of the monetary value and experience whenever their patent was used, but this increased to 2% after the 10th patent was successfully filed."
"The building levels?"
"No, which was why everyone was surprised by the increase. When they filed the 100th patent, the bonus increased to 3%. It seems to increase by tens."
"How long do the patents last?"
"They think as long as the creator of the patent lives, but no one is certain about that."
"Can you patent someone else's work?"
"No, but also yes. If you try to patent someone else's work, the system assigns the reward to them. They even get the Inventor title."
"What's the Inventor title?"
It was better to know than assume.
"It's the standard version of your Great Inventor title, which increases wisdom by 10 per level. Each additional patent gives you another level, so some of the trapsmiths have already reached max level. Isabelle expects inventors to flock to Blackwood once the king is ready to announce what the building does."
We reached the bottom of the staircases and crossed the carpet to the front door. "We might be waiting a while. Things are a little hectic out there."
Opening the front door emphasised my point.
It was normal for people to be up with the sunrise, but everyone was dashing through the streets like they had somewhere to be, trying to make the most of the Year of Abundance. I could understand why.
Every class was receiving twice the experience they usual did. Production classes and craftsmen classes were producing twice as many goods and at 10% higher quality. Merchants were also receiving twice as much money whenever they sold anything, so goods were sold at rock-bottom prices to drive up demand and their profits. The system was temporarily ignoring balance to fuel growth as the kingdom entered a new era and new classes became available.
Jeric chuckled as he closed the door behind us and made sure it locked. "The king isn't holding off on the announcement because he's busy. He's holding off because we don't understand what we're working with. The Blueprint and Patent Office might just be the most useful magical building the system has ever given us."
I held open the gate for Jeric and followed him out into the productive chaos. "What do you mean?"
"One of the hardest parts of growing a village is convincing those with the necessary skills to move there. A Blueprint and Patent Office allows you to ignore this, because it can replicate blueprints at a fraction of the cost and time it would usually take."
Blueprints weren't a guarantee that a craftsman would succeed in creating something, but they did drastically improve their chances. The reason everyone didn't use them was the time it took to make them and the fact that only one person could use them at a time. The system had been trying to show everyone what it wanted them to do by allowing skilled craftsmen to make blueprints, but it had also added unnecessary difficulties to encourage everyone to look for another way to implement them.
The problem was that no one had figured that out. I hadn't realised either because I had no idea that the king could introduce new magical buildings into the system just by learning new concepts.
I made sure our path was clear of pedestrians and turned to Jeric. "How does it replicate blueprints?"
"You tell the specialist scholar what blueprint you want, they place blank paper and ink on a device in the building, tell the system what you want through their interface, and then a moment later, you have a blueprint."
"Sounds like a magical printer."
"What's a printer?"
"It's a more complicated version of a printing press."
Jeric frowned. "Was that something you intended on making with your research and development teams?"
"No. The technology was too complicated. The system never would have allowed it. I might have to revisit it now, though."
Something monumentally important suddenly occurred to me.
"Can you prevent people from using your patents?" I asked.
"No, but you can attach an additional price to using them. Why?"
"With this new building, there's no point in building things in Blackwood unless we have to. Most of the businesses I've created there are redundant."
"Most of Radian doesn't have a free building slot for a Blueprint and Patent Office, and they won't be willing to destroy one of their existing magical buildings until they understand how valuable the building is."
"Can't you just take the blueprint to a nearby town or city?"
"No. It was one of the first things they tried. Blueprints fall apart if you try to take them out of Blackwood."
That was intriguing. "Can you raise or lower the prices people have to pay for your patent depending on the location?"
Jeric smiled. "Yes, and you can do it based on their affiliation with other businesses or villages, too. Isabelle is rather excited about this feature, because she believes it's a new way for our class to generate experience."
"It's an exploit?"
"She believes so. We'll know the moment a second Blueprint and Patent Office is built."
Jeric and I stopped and turned along with everyone else in the street as a beacon of light appeared in the distance. It was coming from the palace.
Jeric smiled. "I wonder what they discovered this time."
The king hadn't leveled his class yet, but the royal scholars had been making discoveries day and night since the king had passed through his second threshold. They had only 30 days to study the new features before the king had to disclose what they knew to the other kings, so they were taking advantage of every second.
I studied the beacon.
I'd created so many of them I could tell what I was dealing with just by looking. "It's a secondary branch initiate discovery. Likely something to do with his abilities."
"How can you tell that?"
"Gut feeling."
Jeric snorted. "So, you're guessing."
I wasn't.
"The beacons aren't just light. They have a secondary energy attached to them. This energy leaves a lasting mental impression on those who witness it, making it easier to understand the lore related to the beacon. The closer you are, the stronger the impression is. The number of discoveries you make at once also increases the effects. Creating one of those beacons actually fills in the pieces of information you're missing, even more than the system does when you advance your understanding of lore. It literally gives you information you didn't have before."
I lit up like a Christmas tree as a string of notifications appeared. They weren't new discoveries, so I thankfully got the short versions of the notifications because of my interface settings.
Your Beacon Theory lore has increased to Apprentice.
Your Beacon Theory lore has increased to Journeyman.
Your Beacon Theory lore has increased to Adept.
Your Beacon Theory lore has increased to Expert.
Congratulations, you have rediscovered lost Beacon Theory lore.
Jeric continued walking like nothing had happened. "I take it your gut feeling was right?"
"You could say that. I rediscovered lost lore."
Jeric just nodded like it was the most normal thing.
"How do you even lose lore?"
"It's usually something obscure and complex, which doesn't matter in day-to-day life. We probably still have the knowledge in a library somewhere, but no one alive is interested in studying it, which means you're the only one who knows this fact, but not the only one who could."
"Makes sense."
"It does."
"Yeah, what I know tells me every royal scholar should be running towards the palace as fast as they can. They're already doing that, so we've likely received the benefits of this branch of lore already, and further study is either too expensive or beyond our ability to research."
Jeric nodded. "There's a lot of lore like that. Complex to understand, but easy to implement for the benefits they can offer."
It was like knowing that indoor fires were a bad idea without great ventilation. You didn't have to understand the chemistry that was going on to save your life. You just had to know it was a really bad idea.
I changed the subject as the light began to fade. "How much longer are you going to stay with Emily?"
He'd been there for over a week.
"A few more days. Why?"
"I need to get somewhere to stay now that Farentine is worried about clutter and all the better places I've found have multiple bedrooms, so I figured we could share the cost."
Farentine didn't actually mind me sleeping on her couch, but I minded having to walk all the way to where we worked each morning and back in the evening. It took up far too much of my day.
Jeric scoffed, but there was a smile on his lips. "As I'm working away from home, I do believe that, as my employer, it would be more appropriate for you to continue to pay for my lodging."
He had a point, but I wasn't going to tell him that. "You earn more than Fitz."
"That's because of my class."
"You know I can put you in the cheapest place I can find. Two days with cockroach-infested blankets and you'll be begging me to share the cost."
Jeric laughed at the threat. "How about I buy you breakfast, and we call it even?"
"Do I get to pick the place?"
"Anywhere except Orlana's?"
"What do you have against Orlana's?"
"The price of VIP treatment. Emily told me how much you spent when you took her."
"Most of that was because I ordered wine without looking at the price, and you now have a rich daughter to mooch off if you need to splurge on breakfast."
Jeric chuckled. "I will not be doing that."
"But what if you're mooching because of me? She'd be willing to fund your lifestyle if Blackwood's greatest asset was involved."
Jeric chuckled again but shook his head.
"Fine, I know a good noodle place, but it's a bit out of our way."
***
Finding a decent place to stay was incredibly difficult for someone with my dietary needs. There were only a handful of places in the Capitol that offered perfect food, and all of them were expensive, so Jeric suggested we extend the invitation to my retainers who had stayed behind when the others returned to Blackwood. Ranic, Quilly, and Mara were more than willing to upgrade their accommodation, but Mara was struggling with living under the same roof as me.
I heard footsteps, then nothing, as they entered the sitting room. I lowered the book I was reading and glanced over from the couch I was lying on. Mara was staring at me like a deer caught in the headlights.
"You'll have to get used to my appearance eventually," I said.
Mara pressed her lips together and dropped her gaze, staring at the polished oak floor. She'd spent years being a mother to her younger siblings, making sure they ate well, studied hard, and didn't get themselves into trouble, so summoning her to the Capitol was her first taste of freedom since she was a kid.
She'd been visiting theatres, restaurants, and every other form of entertainment the Capitol offered, living a carefree life without responsibility or worry. Mara's life had changed so much over the past few years, but she was far more grounded than most people her age. She wasn't running away, just taking a vacation. After the other kings arrived, she planned to return to Blackwood and get back to work.
Ranic looked over from his couch, resting his book on his stomach. "Have you told her about the scholar party mishap? Maybe that will help make her feel more comfortable around you. Embarrassing yourself worked last time."
Mara blushed but didn't lift her gaze. "I'm not that sort of woman."
Ranic snickered. "Neither is Arnold apparently."
I sighed and put my book on the table. He had a point. "I guess we'll try another round of Storytime."
Thirty minutes later, Mara was sitting in the armchair beside me and laughing so hard that tears were running down her cheeks. She hadn't had any problem looking at me for the past five minutes, but she couldn't look my way without laughing.
Mara grinned at Ranic as she wiped away tears. "I heard those rumours from everyone, and you're telling me they're not true."
"Oh, they're completely true," Ranic replied far too enthusiastically. "Arnold was willing to tell anyone who would listen how much he loved a good scholar's party, but he wasn't actually saying what we thought he was saying."
Mara laughed, kicking her feet with amusement.
"In my defence, your threshold party was the first one I ever went to," I said. "And you only invited scholars. How was I supposed to know there was another meaning for the term? You're supposed to be my advisor."
Ranic snickered. "Call it an oversight on my part."
Mara's laughter trailed off, and she gave an amused smile. "It worked. All I want to do is giggle when I look at you now."
Ranic smiled at me. "Told you."
"Thanks," I said with as much sarcasm as I could muster.
Mara leaned back in her chair before lifting her legs and tucking them under her. "I've been meaning to ask you how much experience you think the exploit you gave me could earn me?"
"That depends on how the king wants to operate it, but once the reactor is at optimal efficiency, you should receive somewhere between a few dozen and a few hundred experience crystals a year."
Mara frowned. "You made the Experience Reactor sound like something that would change the world."
Ranic snorted. "Arnold's talking about complete experience crystals."
"Oh…what!"
Ranic chuckled. "Becoming his retainer is the smartest decision you've ever made. I've earned more scholar experience from working with Arnold than everything else I've done in my life combined."
I raised an eyebrow because this was news to me. "You have?"
Ranic nodded.
"How?"
"You want a simple answer?"
"You don't need to dumb it down for me anymore."
"You're not the only one in the room."
I glanced at Mara.
"It's called tact, Arnold. You would think someone with your charisma would have developed it."
Mara giggled. "Thank you for offering a simplified version, Master Scholar Ranic."
Ranic smiled back. "See tact."
I rolled my eyes. "So how does it work?"
"The part that matters here is tied to how effective we are at teaching. If a farmer is earning two points of experience for each turnip crop they grow, and then, after working with me, is earning three points of experience, I earn experience based on the difference."
Farentine's books didn't cover how classes gained experience, because that knowledge was only available to scholars, so I had no idea this was how it worked for them. "How much experience have you earned from me?"
Ranic gave a satisfied smile. "Like I said, I have earned more from working with you than the rest of my life combined."
"How much more exactly? Double?"
"Significantly higher."
"Ten times?"
"Significantly higher."
"One hundred times?"
"Significantly higher?"
I stared at him. "Are you messing with me?"
"No."
Then it hit me. "Did you get credited for the king toad and giant?"
Ranic cackled like a madman. "I advised you on which promotions to take, and the system credited me for that advice since you had no other teachers."
"You get credit for everything?"
"No full credit, but a significant enough portion that I have more experience than any scholar has ever had."
"Where are you keeping it all? We were storing farming my farmer experience in barns by the time I killed the giant."
"In my class."
"What?"
"Scholars can store the experience generated this way and withdraw it as we wish. If we couldn't, we'd have to spend our days summoning crystals as every farmer we ever taught earned us another point."
"Can I have one?"
I meant it as a joke, but Ranic held out his hand, and a large blue crystal appeared. "You can have as many as you want?"
He tossed it to me.
I caught the crystal with no small amount of surprise. "Really?"
Ranic nodded. "Most of my family have been waiting for me to die for decades, hoping to inherit my fortune, so I don't feel particularly enthusiastic about helping them more than I already have. And the only one of great-great-great-grandchildren who actually didn't want me dead has already moved to Blackwood and received her inheritance. If you don't need it, I'm eventually going to try to pass through my fifth threshold."
Mara looked at the experience crystal with open surprise before turning to me and frowning. "Why do you need a scholar experience crystal?"
I couldn't say it was for a comical booty call, because that would make Ranic question giving me another, so I said the other reason I wanted it. "Emily's noble scholar, Sasha, purchased an ability which lets her use Emily's thresholds to pass through her own. The boons it provides are supposed to make her aware of anything that Emily is doing, which is suboptimal for her class growth. However, Sasha's family could only provide her with enough experience to reach level 25 and specialise, so she can't help Emily as much as she could if she were level 99."
Ranic chuckled. "You're messing with her, aren't you?"
"What? No. Why would you say that?"
"That young woman already thinks that if you disappear for a few days, you'll come back having done something crazy. If you show up at her door in the middle of the night with enough experience for her to gain a second class, you're going to leave her with the impression that this is a normal occurrence around you."
That actually sounded like a lot of fun and was much more amusing than what I planned to do. "I wasn't planning to mess with her, but now…"
Ranic gave me a bug-eye grin. "Hand it over to her like it's not the real reason you're there and doesn't really matter, and then either leave or speak with Emily. She'll be left too shocked to process what just happened, and she'll come up with even more outlandish theories about you."
I chuckled because I was definitely going to do that.
Mara shook her head. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I feel like the only normal person in this conversation?"
Ranic and I laughed because she was probably right.