The walk back to Star’s room was far shorter this time as the god turned part of the floor into a mobile walkway that sped them along. Both were silent as Daniel lamented the god’s refusal and dreaded the fact that Torch had just outright called for a vote to kill him off. At least the god next to him didn’t seem angry or upset about who he’d wanted revived.

  It wasn’t until the door was closed that Daniel asked a question. “What just happened?”

  “You, uh, didn’t tell Hammer who you wanted Resurrected, did you?”

  “N-no.” Daniel hung his head, collapsing on the floor. “If Hand won’t do it, no one will. He’s dead. Dead forever.”

  Star didn’t immediately respond, but eventually came to something mildly reassuring. “Other mortals could bring him back. It’s a rare power, but if you find someone that has it, you could do it. Needs to be within a few days though. Sorry Artificer bro, I don’t think you have a good chance.”

  “Hunter.”

  The god sighed, and sat down next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Look, the others don’t get it. They’re… well, Torch is already fired up so I shouldn’t say much on it. Point is, I do. It sucks. I lose good people all the time. There is something I can do. It’s no guarantee, but-“

  “Please?” Daniel reached for his bag of holding but the god held up a hand.

  “Look, it’ll just preserve the body. More than that, I can’t do, but it gives you a shot assuming things go your way. Hammer could find someone in his Realm with the power no problem.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  Star waved his hand and was suddenly holding a pure black marble. “That bag of holding won’t keep the body forever. I’ll change it into something that won’t break down, and when you get a chance you can break it to get the body back.” He crushed the small piece and then opened his hand to reveal a flower.

  Daniel had two immediate questions and couldn’t hold himself back from asking both. “Is there any chance that will make him lose the ability to come back? Also, how can you do that?”

  “Do you know what enchanting is?” The flower in Star’s hand faded to dust. “I mean the deep mechanics. Not just slapping a pattern on some random stuff but True Enchanting, like I mentioned before?” Daniel shook his head, spreading the tears across his face. “How about this? If you feel up to it, we’ll keep going. Show me how you enchant, it’ll get your mind off of it. You want to go through with it later, just tell me.”

  The hand moved from his shoulder to reach out, Star helping him up. “How are you so different from them?” he asked, feeling slightly better for it.

  “I wish I could say Artificer bro, but I think Hammer’s on the money. You’re a good kid, and I don’t want to do or say anything that could hurt your chances of making it through this.” Daniel realized no one had explicitly told Star what was at stake and the god had either intuited it, or one of the others like Torch had reached out. At least he had one more in his corner. “I’ll just make some level 1 material and we can get started. Don’t worry, you won’t have to do anything fancy.”

  …

  Over two hours, Daniel gave an exhibition of how bad he was at enchanting. Star’s surprise at his ineptitude hurt slightly given he’d been confident in his ability to generate new formulae if nothing else. He would admit he still found enchanting items of an equivalent level to their base material hard, but enchanting was supposed to be hard, right?

  The look of dismay was only partially concealed by the god as Daniel failed to make a dagger from a metal the color of seaweed ran counter to that assumption. It was his twelfth attempt, and at Star’s prompting he’d just tried to make the blade instead of the entire thing. That was the only constructive advice the god had given him the entire time and while it was easier, since there was less mass to move, he still failed and the material faded into the same dust Star’s flower had.

  Daniel looked to the other ingot, but Star just shook his head and poked it with a finger. It too dissolved into dust, as did everything that was used in a failed enchantment. “Ok, I think I know what the problem is.”

  “I don’t have any other enchanting powers?” Daniel asked. He wasn’t too down right now since the god had been right. Enchanting had helped take his mind off Hunter, along with the thing hope Star had given him.

  “Nah. You’ve had it too easy.” Star poked his bag of holding which thankfully didn’t evaporate. “Level 4 material for a level 2 bag? I was worried when you trotted out with that.”

  Daniel sighed, knowing that had also been a possibility. On the one hand it meant whatever had happened with his class powers hadn’t screwed up his future, but it also meant there wasn’t a quick fix. “What do I do? Are there exercises or do I just fail until I get it right?”

  Star thought for a moment, asking his old man on the mountain question again. “What is enchanting? Do you have an other ideas?”

  “It’s adding mana to material, right? Adding magic.” Star shook his head and Daniel sighed. He’d been able to intuit the Crest problem with some difficulty, but now it was like he was missing important variables in an equation. He knew it required mana and time, more for more mass and complexity of the final project. Higher level material cut down on that and made it easier, which he’d used as a crutch. He’d assumed that because the higher level material was more magical, he just had to make it slightly more magical. In the end, it did seem like too simple an explanation, but this was like throwing Thomas onto Earth and asking him to calculate orbital dynamics by hand after a few tries with a simulator.

  “We’ve got some work to do, Artificer bro.” Star tapped a finger and brought a plank of wood, deep purple with streaks of silver along the rings, into existence. It was the first example of magical wood Daniel had seen, but he wasn’t surprised it existed. “Put your hand on it and try and feel what I’m doing.” Daniel complied, closing his eyes to better use his seventh sense.

  The force of the god’s influence on the wood wasn’t overwhelming as he’d expected, but gentle. Star must have been doing something extra to allow him to feel this since if he could feel the mana flow of others by touch, he would have noticed this with Claire if no one else. He had improved since then, but not to that degree. He could sense how much Star was putting into the wood, but after that, it was like trying to find a pulse by listening to the floor next to a person.

  Part of the wood formed into a cutout of a thumbs up, the universal sign of approval that crossed between worlds, and Star grinned at him. “Well, that change your answer?”

  “I should, uh, mention my seventh sense is pretty weak. I am working on it.”

  Star stared at Daniel like he had just asked what addition was. The enthusiastic god finally mimicked one of his earlier teachers as he sighed, realizing what he’d gotten himself into.

  …

  Three days later, Daniel was no closer to the sage wisdom Star was trying to impart. Also, no other gods had shown up, and he did everything he could to avoid contact with most of them. Hammer showed up every morning to say hi, but had grown reserved after learning who Hunter was. It was like Daniel had disappointed him thoroughly, though Hammer was fair enough to realize it hadn’t been intentional. At least that’s what Daniel hoped, and that it wasn’t the god distancing himself because he thought Daniel was done for.

  On a more important note, Daniel had yet to decide on Hunter’s body. Marbelling his friend seemed disrespectful, even if it would give him a better chance should he survive the whims of the gods. He was also afraid making it something so small would make it something easy to lose, though it was hard to think of what exactly he would want to turn Hunter into since he could lose anything.

  At bare minimum, he was making progress on enchanting and had started working on a special project. Star could only create level 1 material due to his Proxy being that weak, and while Hammer had shown he could make ludicrously powerful material, Star cautioned against asking for more without really explaining why. The only sense he got was a brief moment of surprise and what was almost pity when he’d first heard the level of the material.

  Bottom line, if Daniel wanted to be able to use true enchanting, something most other Artificers never figured out without divine help, he’d have to start from the beginning.

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  Daniel held one of the pea sized marbles he’d made from lusterime, a fairly mundane level 1 metal with no special properties. He’d been able to create this and a handful of others over a grueling few hours that saw far more go up in smoke. Still, this was the first successful use of level 1 material he’d ever made. Daniel looked up to where Star was messing with one of the other hologram tables and asked a question. “Could you make something like this without these formulae?”

  “Dude,” Star chuckled. “I can make anything. That’s True Enchanting. Formulae is enchanting on easy mode. It skips a lot of what you need to do it right, but most mortals can’t pull it off so we had to add a shortcut to the domain with time as the cost. Only the best Artificers have a shot at pulling it off, classes like Arcanist or Craftsman can only make what we give them.”

  “What hope do I have then?”

  “Well, you are immortal,” Star said, reminding him of that terrifying fact. Daniel had known leveling could prolong someone’s lifespan, but people could still die of old age. Not him, ever. “You’ll get there eventually man, I just got to show you the way.”

  “Alright.” Daniel rolled the small metallic ball across the table. “You good if I throw this?”

  “Go for it. This is all Hammer’s stuff when you get down to it.”

  Daniel threw the bead to one of the walls, causing a small explosion reminiscent of his lightning bolts. This wasn’t the same enchantment, however, but a combination of spineshard ammunition with the lightning affix. This was the idea he’d had during the Spiritualist’s assault on Aughal and it had solved one of the primary problems with lightning bolt ammunition: its range. Instead of being based on the antigravity aspect of the spines, this combination triggered the explosion by overloading the lightning link effect on the ammunition with the lightning damage released on impact.

  This in itself was a combination that Daniel was kicking himself for not seeing, but he wasn’t going to leave it at that. He had another idea that would use this principle in a dramatically different way, but he’d need to get better at enchanting to pull it off. Star wasn’t too much help as what he wanted to do hadn’t been thought off before on this world.

  “Hey, good job! An enchantment and an affix, that’s harder than it looks all things considered.”

  “Thanks.” Daniel rolled another across the table, confident it wouldn’t explode unless it was used in an intentional attack. As he passed it between his hands, he asked something that had occurred to him over making the marbles. “Why can I transmute when I enchant? I know I’ve asked about you doing it, but it didn’t hit me until today that I’m not just putting magic into things but changing their shape as well.”

  Star fully turned around and clapped his hands a few times. “You’re getting it. There is a link, and only Artificers can make use of it. Other classes that can enchant, even my Clerics, can’t do what you can. Well, except for Flash Craft, but that’s neither here nor there. Got a better idea of true enchanting now?”

  Daniel considered making a guess but shook his head. “Not a good one. I feel like you’re right, I should figure this out myself.”

  “Props bro. If you’re given everything when it comes to magic, you can’t do anything alone.”

  “Yeah.” Daniel waited a few seconds longer before following up with, “So, could I get more lusterime?”

  “Heh, guess I’ll help you out this time.” He tossed a fresh ingot over and Daniel caught it, grunting a little despite his strength. Metal was heavy. He put it on the table and was about to get started when he noticed the god was still looking at him.

  “Everything alright?”

  “Just thinking. Had you show me what you’ve already made, but could I take a closer look at those wings?”

  “Sure.”

  Daniel shrugged and pulled them out of his bag, only for Star to add, “I won’t exactly be giving them back.” The god held up his hands helplessly at Daniel’s blank look. “Could say it’s payment for all that free metal I’ve been sending your way.”

  He’d spent enough time with Star to recognize this wasn’t an offer he had to accept. “Like that took you any effort to make.”

  “True,” Star laughed. “But I do want to understand what you did. Some of those formulae aren’t standard. I mean, I can make anything, but packing it all in a form you charming scamps can work with isn’t the same.”

  “So I am creating completely new formulae?” Daniel asked, and Star winked.

  “That’s what I’m trying to figure out, Artificer bro. Your Spoke would have to be doing something strange if that’s the case.” He scratched the back of his head, suddenly self-conscious for some reason.

  “What?”

  “Uh, nothing. Look, I know what you’re worried about.”

  Daniel glanced through the opening in his bag of holding and tried not to look at Hunter’s body nearby. “Yeah, they’re the only thing I have one of, and I’m not going to be able to make something that large with level 1 metal.”

  “Then I’ll just bug Hammer to make you a replacement when there’s time, any color you like,” Star offered in what was a generous display of another’s wealth. “Won’t be exactly the same since he’s using True Transmutation, but eh.”

  Pondering on how wise it would be to give up the only thing that could guarantee a safe landing if he chose to run, Daniel capitulated and handed them over. Hammer was a god, thinking he could outfly him was stupid. Plus, he liked Star.

  “Thanks, man,” Star replied upon receiving the golden wings, saying it as if Daniel had just paid for his lunch. “Now I’ve got my work, and you’ve got yours. Let’s see if you can set a new record.”

  Daniel focused on the metal he’d been given, the process far more taxing than making the bone daggers. He had to fully stare at it, fixing nothing else in his mind but the shape of a sphere. It was getting easier with repetition, to the point that Daniel could begin to slack off. He was done with that and tried pushing more mana into the metal. It hasn’t worked so far, but he wanted to see if he could improve the rate at which he made things. One good thing about having your agency completely crushed by gods is that if your will survived, you gained the drive to do anything while striving for independence.

  Hammer had treated him like a child. Torch, like an annoyance to be eradicated. Hand was a mixed bag and he hadn’t interacted with her too much, but only Star had shown him basic human decency. Making exploding pebbles wouldn’t free him from the gods, but as Star had reminded him, he had a lot of time to work with. If all he had was the long game, then he’d play it, and one day make himself so strong he could disabuse Hammer of his assumptions without getting smited in return.

  Yeah, it’s that easy, Daniel thought sarcastically. And all I have to do is survive the meeting. It’s a good thing the god of destruction is getting here soon, they’ll definitely let me live.

  …

  Star had been the most atypical of the gods, but Scythe’s Proxy had broken the mold among the mortals with that class. She appeared in the center of the Pavilion standing, not in a bow. The Proxy wore a darker black jacket than Star’s and with a higher collar, while the bottom dress was a somewhat revealing assemblage of fabrics that let the legs be fully revealed up to mid thigh while she walked.

  This was the only Proxy who had shown any inclination of showing off something that resonated with mortals rather than gods, and it gave Daniel very conflicting emotions. Hammer was about as receptive as he had been for Star’s Proxy. “Level 5. Respectable, but why-“

  “You Hammer?” The Proxy eyed him, not seeming to care about the height difference, before nodding. “Yep. Greetings and fucking whatever.”

  My god, uh gods, she’s like a super-Tlara, Daniel thought, half in awe.

  Hammer’s face became stony, literally in a spot around one cheek before that faded, and he closed his eyes. “Scythe. I thought we all discussed proper decorum with you during our last meeting.”

  “You know I’m not her, right? Name’s Nightshade.”

  “Of course it is,” Hammer sighed. “You can-“

  “Got anything to kill here? Boss is itching for some fun.”

  “You can let Scythe ask herself,” Hammer told the Proxy, danger evident in the small sparks of electricity that started coming off the sides of his eyes.

  Two elemental manifestations at once. She’s getting to him, Daniel thought. It was good to see Hammer could be pushed this far by a mortal and not turn them into a puddle of slime or something, though that could be due to the god’s insistence on formality. Bringing the hammer down on another god’s Proxy was probably not kosher.

  The Proxy stopped pushing her luck as she finally showed the barest hint of fear, and then manifested her god. Scythe was about as tall as Hand, ironic given their domains were in opposition, though her clothes didn’t change like the Hand’s Proxy’s had. Rather they grew with her, black markings on the face and skin extending both the motif of the clothes and the general goth vibe.

  “Hey, Hammer. Guys. Hand. Sorry I’m late, level 9 spawned in my Realm and you know I hate to miss those. I knew this would all be boring anyway.” Scythe spoke in the kind of voice some used to make it seem like they were being nice while at the same time driving verbal daggers into you repeatedly.

  “Scythe. There is something we must discuss before we-“

  “Yeah, yeah, I know. Torch got to me first. Sorry, but danger to the Octyrrum and all of that.” She winked at Daniel. “Nothing personal.”

  Whatever Hammer did next to the space, Daniel couldn’t fully grasp. His earlier influence on gravity with Star showed that transmutation extended to more than just the strictly physical dimension, but this went more metaphysical. It was like someone had removed a good portion of his blood, making him woozy and disoriented. The effect was greater on Scythe until every other god in the huge space stood from their thrones and held their hands out, even Star.

  The effect ended as Scythe looked somewhat shaken, her borrowed vessel unable to stand up against Hammer’s true form and power. “I respect the different opinions of this pantheon,” Hammer said slowly. “If the majority will his destruction I will abide by it. Until then, I will not have anyone mock me or my child.”

  Scythe was catching her breath as it seemed her hold on the vessel had suffered slightly, the black body paint recovering from where it had partially receded. Torch spoke in her stead. “Hammer. You are too invested in them. I know your pains, but surely you see the folly in this.”

  Hammer turned to face the distant decrepit figure like she was holding a gun on him. “Torch, he is unique. They have not lived for one year. Do not take them from me.“

  “We are not doing this to take them from you,” Torch said, her voice carrying clearly over the distance. “We are doing this because of the threat he poses. I will save my arguments for the full meeting, but know that all you have done is further convince those here your judgment is compromised.”

  One of Hammer’s hands shook, but he suppressed any magical manifestations that might have occurred. Instead of responding to Torch or acknowledging the recovered Scythe, he just turned to Daniel. “Go. You don’t need to hear this.” Like that he was teleported away and appeared back in Star’s workshop, doubling over with the vertigo.

  A minute later, the owner walked through the door. “Hey. How you doing, man?”

  “Can you get me out of here?” Daniel asked, fully serious. After seeing that display he was done with this god stuff and fully leaned on the only sympathetic person here for aid.

  Star only paused for a moment to think before he nodded. “Yeah. Let’s take a trip.”