Now that Zeke was aware of the danger of using his Puppet mode, a few things had to change. He didn't dare use Soul Magic inside his office anymore. Instead, he constructed a private workshop below the mansion.
As always, the efficiency of Earth Mages was astonishing. They managed to excavate a room in the span of a single afternoon. Zeke had plans to reinforce the walls and ceiling with Voidiron at some point. For now, Mana infused stone was all he could afford. This would be a necessary investment in the long term.
Zeke wasn't conceited enough to believe that he was the only one able to spy from a distance. Other Mages were very likely to have similar methods. In fact, Zeke knew of several spells that served a similar purpose.
The difference between those techniques and his own was twofold. One was that his spell was engraved on his core, making it efficient enough to be used as a passive ability. This was the fundamental reason why his spell had remained undetected so far.
The second difference lay in the fact that only in combination with his Mind affinity was he able to interpret the data from his spatial perception. It was very unlikely that anybody else would be able to read documents with their long-distance observation spells. This was simply not an amount of data a normal mind could process.
Another one of his long-term plans was to move away from his Puppet mode altogether. Zeke already had another idea for how he could manage to produce Enchantments of similar quality. However, he simply didn't have the time to dive any deeper into that before the deadline.
For now, Zeke was sitting at his workbench inside his new underground workshop. To make sure that no incident like the one with the spy occurred, nobody beside him was allowed to enter. This also had the pleasant side effect that Zeke was only rarely disturbed in his work. Consequently, he was able to devote almost all of his time to the Enchantments. It only took him a total of three days to manage to get them to an acceptable state.
Zeke double and triple-checked the results. Only after he had made absolutely certain that his latest Enchantment had reached the required precision did a smile slowly spread across his face. He had done it!
Without even taking a break, Zeke retrieved a Voidiron plate. This was one of only around three dozen he had been able to afford. One more reason why he had been so careful to only use them once he was sure that he could actually manage the feat.
After fastening the plate, Zeke began his work. His hundreds of hours practicing had made him so proficient that he managed to reduce the time per plate to only 1.5 hours. With his full focus consumed by his work, that time passed in an instant.
Staring down at his work, Zeke could hardly believe it. He had not been wrong, working with Voidiron was a lot easier. This turned out to be his best work by far.
It was not a Top-Grade Enchantment, not by a long shot, but Zeke was certain that it was at least mid High-Grade. With sparkling eyes, he traced the intricate lines of his finished carving. Now only a single step remained — powdering.
Zeke sprinkled the precious Arcanite dust on the black metal plate. He made doubly sure that the fine powder was distributed equally and reached every part of his carving. It would be a shame to mess up this last step. After everything was done, Zeke gathered a smidgeon of unattuned mana. With delicate movements, he extended a single finger to make contact with the only trail of Arcanite powder that reached the edge of the plate.
This part of the Enchantment was called the connector. Through it, the Rune would later be fed mana. Zeke put his finger on the connector and let the ambient mana flow through him. Just like he had learned in his lesson, Zeke guided the ambient mana through his body and around his core. He used to struggle a lot with this part. It was a peculiar feeling to have mana pass by his core and not attune it.
The Mana passed through him and out his finger, entering the Enchantment. Zeke made sure that it was only the tiniest bit, too much could ruin the process. The moment it contacted the Arcanite powder, the expected reaction took place. The powder inside the carving started to glow. It looked like water entering a barren riverbed. The difference was that it only took a single instance for the entire Rune to be filled with iridescent radiance.
After the glow dimmed, the carved-out section was now filled with solid, white metal. It was miraculous to see the process. Zeke slid his finger over the plate, but he could not feel the slightest ridge or bump. There had to be a reason why the powder only solidified inside the carving, but Zeke didn't know it. For a long moment, he merely stood there and marveled at the finished Levitation enchantment.
Tentatively, he inserted a bit of Mana into the connector. More than he had used to activate the powder, but still only a trickle. After a moment's delay, Zeke could feel the plate in his hand getting lighter. He kept the flow of mana steady and increased the amount little by little. Soon, the plate in his hand was weightless. Upon increasing the flow further, nothing more happened.
For a panicked moment, Zeke thought he had somehow messed up. However, he soon remembered the specifics of the Enchantment and stopped holding back. Compared to the trickle of Mana from before, it was almost like a river was streaming into the Enchantment now. Still, the plate didn't budge.
Zeke sat down on the plate that was suspended in midair. Even when he completely lifted his feet off the ground, the plate remained suspended. With a grin on his face, he lightly pushed against the floor, sending him gliding through the room. He had to be careful to not take his finger off the connector. The Enchantment would fall soon after being deprived of its mana source.
While he was sending himself hurdling back and forth through the room, Zeke thought about the different applications for this Enchantment. Depending on the amount of Mana the enchantment was fed, it could make almost anything weightless…
For a while, Zeke's imagination was captured by the thought of flying cities and islands. It didn't take him long to return to reality though. He would have time to experiment with those fantastical ideas later. Now, he still had seven more Enchantments to carve for the first of the Gondolas.
Without wasting any more time, Zeke started on the next plate, and then the next. Only after finishing his fourth, did he stop for the day. Even though his Puppet Mode kept him from noticing any of his body's wants, his precision would still suffer when he got too tired. No matter how much he treated his body as a tool, it was not an actual machine.
He could barely keep his eyes open as he made his way over to the bed. 'Bed' was a generous term for the mattress he had tossed into a corner for the occasional nap. However, right now he didn't care much for comfort.
Zeke slumped onto his makeshift resting place. He was out the moment he hit the floor. As soon as he woke up the next morning, he immediately started on the next plate. The only breaks he took were to eat. He kept dried monster meat in the workshop, as he often was too focused on his work to stop for meals.
It took him until noon to finish the remaining plates. With a weary but satisfied smile, Zeke looked down on his eight finished Levitation Enchantments. All of them were mid High-Grade and looked identical. The sight of his finished work washed away most of his exhaustion. Zeke stacked the plates on top of each other, covering the tower with a coarse piece of fabric. He wanted to show them to Jettero as soon as possible.
A grunt escaped his lips the moment he lifted them. The combined weight of all that Voidiron was more than he had expected. They weighed at least twice his body weight. It was not that he couldn't manage it, but the trip would be far more cumbersome than he had expected. After taking a few steps, Zeke stopped abruptly. If his hands weren't occupied, he would have slapped himself.
He adjusted his grip and then channeled Mana into the bottommost plate he was holding. Immediately, the burden lessened until he could barely feel it anymore. With his now weightless cargo, Zeke sped down the corridor and toward the guards stationed in front of his workshop. Zeke merely smiled at them as he ran past.
It didn't take him long at all to make his way to the workshop above ground. He knew that Jettero spent most of his time here, overseeing the production. He had not joined the old man on his morning inspections for a while, as he was wholly focused on his own task. The moment he entered the room, he was awed by what he found.
Three finished-looking ships, crafted from the finest Irrochean teak, stood before him, emanating an aura of pristine elegance. The ship's slender profile and graceful lines were a testament to its streamlined design. The warm hues of the teak wood exuded a sense of timeless beauty, while the polished metal parts reflected the sunlight, creating a mesmerizing play of light and shadow.
Zeke had wanted them to be as lightweight as possible, but the frame and the parts of the underbelly still needed to be made from metal. Unlike regular ships, an Airship needed to be able to land on the ground without being damaged.
Staring at the majestic sight in front of him, Zeke forgot all else. The three identical Airships looked more like pieces of art than vehicles. It was almost a shame to use them for their intended purpose! Zeke was only snapped out of his contemplations when he heard somebody clear his throat behind him. "Not bad, eh?
"They are far more beautiful than I had imagined," Zeke admitted without averting his gaze.
"You should see the inside, boy. All you fancy Mages don't hold a candle to Geralt. Your dad is the true miracle worker here."
This statement baffled Zeke enough to get him to face the old man. "Dad? What did he do?"
Jettero had a proud smile on his face as he explained, "You remember how we planned to order the furniture for the cabin? Your dad had a better idea. He and one of the wood mages created custom-made frames. We only needed to have them stuffed and upholstered. Thanks to the custom design we didn't have to modify them at all and managed to save a lot of time. We are already working on the interior of the second one."
Zeke could barely hold back his excitement. "I want to see it!"
"Sure, but maybe you want to put down what you're carrying first?" Jett reminded with a smirk. The reminder snapped Zeke out of his daze.
"I did it, Jett," Zeke proclaimed proudly as he presented the weightless bundle to the old man. "I finished the Levitation Enchantments."
The once noisy surroundings had become quiet all of a sudden. Many heads had turned toward them from the moment Zeke had entered, but his yelling attracted the attention of the rest of them. As most of the workers here were sailors, they all knew that the Levitation Enchantments were the heart of an Airship. With expectant gazes, they all looked at the bundle Zeke was carrying.
"What are you waiting for, boy? Show us!" Jett urged.
Zeke didn't need to be told twice. He carefully placed the plates on a sturdy-looking surface and unwrapped the piece of fabric covering them. The old man quickly snatched the topmost plate to inspect it. Zeke noticed that despite his age and declining health, Jett was still strong enough to hold the plate with one hand.
The rest of the Enchantments were quickly occupied by the most senior of the ship engineers. They would occasionally swap their plates with each other and Jett before inspecting the next plate and murmuring something incomprehensible. Despite everything, Zeke was a bit nervous to hear their verdict. He might have read a lot, but this was still the first time he would actually show his work off to the professionals. He just hoped that they would approve.
Jett was the first to lay down his Enchantment and give Zeke a look. "Mid High-Grade?"
Zeke nodded.
"How did you manage to make them like that?" Jett asked. "The plates are nearly identical. This is impressive!"
A relieved smile bloomed on Zeke's face. It quickly transformed into a smug grin when he heard the old man's question. "I have a very steady hand, Jett. Not something you can relate to, I'd imagine."
"Pah! You'd be lucky if your hand was half as steady as mine by the time you are my age," the old man replied with an equally smug grin.
Before Zeke could respond, he saw that the other engineers had also finished inspecting the plates. He decided to let the old man off for now and turned toward the men. "So?"
Instead of giving him an appraisal, the lead engineer merely grinned. "When do we install them?"