Age of Gods - A VRMMO Story

Finally, it had taken Thomas nearly four whole weeks to get to this point. He'd spent the most important time of a new games life doing nothing but working towards a single goal. Now it was time to see if all of his hard work had been worth it. Thomas hadn't exactly suffered, in fact, he'd made a fair share of money and nothing he had learned was a waste of his time. He just hoped none of that time should have been spent on something more productive.

Thomas followed Hekrin into the back room of his store and froze. His eyes widened as he took in the sight before him. The room was at least five times the size of the storefront and packed to the brim with all kinds of items. The most easily recognizable items were the tools. Inside of the room, there were tools for every single profession Thomas had learned, along with even more he didn't instantly recognize. To go along with the tools were various stations and facilities, such as a furnace for blacksmithing, all along the walls. Everything that Thomas could want to work with, for any of his professions, was easily available.

Hekrin turned to look at Thomas before letting out a deep sigh, "Alright kid. I'm a man of my word, as much as I hate that sometimes, so I will keep my word and teach you Magitech Engineering. Whether you succeed or fail at it will be up to you. Before I teach you though, there is a rule you must follow. Until the day you surpass me you will refer to me as 'Master'. If you dare to refer to me as anything else then our relationship is through."

Thomas was rather shocked, not at the content of what Hekrin said but at the way he said it! He spoke with only the slightest hint of an accent, and in far more words than Thomas had ever heard him speak. Seeing the look on Thomas's face, Hekrin sighed once more before saying, "Don't worry about how I speak, I've got my reasons. Now pay attention to what I have to say."

Thomas nodded, and to get on Hekrin's good side said, "Yes, Master."

Hekrin smirked, "Cheeky kid. Anyway. Magitech Engineering is one of the most recently founded professions in the world. Despite that, it still has a history spanning centuries. Magitech evolved from regular Engineering and became something different than what it started as. If an Engineer can make a siege ballista, a Magitechnician can make an automatic siege ballista. If an engineer can make a grenade, a Magitechnician can make an elemental grenade."

Thomas gave a start, "Wait, Master, you can make grenades?"

Hekrin gave Thomas the stink eye for interrupting him, but answered anyway, "Yes, I can make grenades."

Hekrin walked over to a large set of shelves covered in a myriad of materials from plants to minerals to various pieces of animals. He selected a small hunk of a red mineral, "This is Firestone. When ground into a fine powder it can be ignited by fire and will violently burst into flames. If stored inside of a metal container before ignition it causes a massive amount of pressure that ends in an explosion." Hekrin set the mineral back down, "Now don't interrupt me again."

Hekrin placed his hands behind his back and assumed a lecturing posture. Which honestly looked kind of funny given that Hekrin only came up to Thomas's waist, "Magitech Engineers don't just pursue making weapons. We also look for ways to improve the daily lives of people through our work. For example, in the past, a Magitechnician invented an automatic mortar and pestle that became all the rage with professionals who could afford one. Another Magitechnician invented a system that allowed for a house to have running water without needing any source. Though the system is flawed in that it needs large quantities of rather pure magic crystals to function, meaning it only works for the rich."

Thomas nodded as he listened to Hekrin as he continued, "The purest pursuit of Magitech is to make new things that help the world in one way or another. I can't teach you how to make the world better, but I can teach you the principles behind Magitech."

Hekrin walked over to a table that had a large pile of blueprints on it. After shuffling through them for a while he pulled one out, "Since you seemed so interested in the grenades, I want you to make one for me. I will provide all the materials and keep the final product, but it will be up to you to create the item entirely on your own." Hekrin walked over to Thomas and held out the blueprint, "You can consider this a final test. Given everything you've learned, making this item should pose no problems for you. Once you successfully finish making it you will be an official Magitech Engineer, or as we call each other, a Magitechnician."