Chapter 56 Ripley
In the southern part of Lanthanor's outer city, there was a peculiar street.
This street was one of the most barren in all of Lanthanor. Almost all of the houses were deserted, and even the rocks that made up the buildings were starting to become visible due to the paint being eroded away.
Only one house in the center of the street was painted red, with Ether powered lights adorning the door on which hung a placard that said "DO NOT ENTER!".
It was this house that Master Jonah had instructed Daneel to go to in case he wanted to witness or learn more about the art of enchantment. Although he said that there was no chance at all of becoming accepted as an apprentice, just witnessing enchantments with his letter of recommendation would apparently be fine.
BOOM
A thunderous sound sent nearby birds flying as a ring of smoke flew out from the house's roof.
Knocking on the door worriedly, Daneel wondered if the inhabitant of the house was OK.
A few minutes later, the door was opened by a man with a blackened face.
Although he had tried to wipe away the soot from the explosion, much of it was still apparent on his clothes and face.
He seemed to be middle-aged, with a thin body and a scraggly beard. A shiny patch was on his head, and his clothes looked as if they hadn't been washed in weeks.
"Who are you?! Can't you read the sign!", he said with irritation seeing Daneel staring at him.
Without a word, Daneel handed over a parchment that Master Jonah had given him.
Accepting the parchment, the man read it briefly before turning it into ash. His movements were smooth, and he had cast the spell as easily as if he were breathing. This was definitely a high level mage, thought Daneel.
"So that guy is still alive? Pity what happened to him. You want to watch enchantments? Why?", he asked after sighing.
Daneel simply shrugged. He had been instructed 4 times by Master Jonah to speak as little as possible. Although Daneel did not know why, he decided to follow the instructions.
"Interest? Curiosity? Just get in, and I'll find out for myself."
Entering the house, Daneel noticed that many of the chairs and pictures hanging on the wall were askew, as if an earthquake had shaken the whole house.
Following the man up the stairs, he understood how a ring of smoke had appeared before from the top of the house.
The duplex's top floor was open to the sky. Although the outer walls were still there making someone who was looking from outside think that the house was normal, the interior walls had all been demolished to make a wide open space.
Littered across the floor were various pieces of equipment. Some were familiar, like a forge in the corner of the room. Others, like a flat table with many needles pierced on top, looked very foreign to Daneel.
"Never been to an enchanter's workshop before? I'm Ripley. What's your name?", he asked, turning around to see Daneel looking around the room.
Without speaking, Daneel shook his head and simply waited.
Recalling what he had read in the parchment, Ripley said, "Oh, Daneel. Funny name, never heard it before. Anyway, I'm in the process of enchanting a new kind of defense trinket. You are welcome to watch, but don't make a single sound."
Nodding, Daneel retreated to the corner of the room.
Meanwhile, Ripley walked to the table with the needles. Taking out a round bronze coin from his pocket, he put it on the needles before closing his eyes.
An expression of extreme concentration appeared on his face as the needles suddenly came alive and hovered in the air. Connected to the table by a thin cord, the needles went to work on the coin, engraving something intricate on its surface.
A small, round barrier slightly bigger than the size of a man's head started forming around the coin. The barrier still seemed to be non-corporeal as the needles still traveled in and out of its radius. Both thin and thick needles repeatedly interchanged positions, continuing to carve on the coin.
Around a half hour later, all of the needles went back into the table. The dome became more and more solid and the coin seemed to be heating up, turning red hot in the process.
Suddenly, Ripley ran back from the table as if his life were in danger. The domed barrier that had been forming flickered for a second before retracting back into the coin.
"I did it! HAHA! Take that Sellax! 2nd Grade Enchanter my arse!"
Screaming with joy, Ripley ran towards the coin and took it in his hand.
Suddenly, the barrier came back into existence around his hand.
With a yelp, Ripley threw it in the air before crouching and covering his head with his hands.
"HIDE!", he shouted, making Daneel jump and duck behind the anvil of the forge.
BOOM
Shrapnel flew through the air, shooting into the walls and all of the equipment lying on the floor. Now that Daneel noticed, even the floor was made up of tiny dents.
Meanwhile, a ring of smoke exactly like the one he had seen before was flying in the sky right above the house.
Coming out from his hiding place, Daneel was relieved to see that the man looked fine.
With a clap, he made all of the shrapnel that had embedded itself everywhere to gather back into his hands.
"Why did it explode this time? All of the enchanting formations were correctly engraved.... another trial should give me the answer."
Muttering under his breath, he walked to the forge near Daneel and took out an orange ore. Putting it in the fire, he stared at it as if waiting for something.
Although Daneel was right behind the anvil nearby, Ripley did not seem to have noticed him. Moving back to his original spot, he continued watching.
After some time, Ripley put the ore which had become red hot on the anvil. With a hammer, he started pounding on the ore until it became flat.
Although his body looked thin, his arms swung with the strength of a seasoned metal worker.
Soon, the ore had been hammered into a rough disk. Putting the hammers aside, Ripley gestured at the disc briefly. Black impurities started to appear gradually on the disc, which were wiped away before the disc was hammered again.
After 4 rounds of this process, the palm-sized ore had transformed into a coin exactly like the one that had just exploded.
Ripley had apparently completely forgotten about Daneel's existence. Of course, this was also exactly what Daneel wanted.
He watched as Ripley failed time and again, making the coin explode and prompting Daneel to run for cover.
Finally, the notification he had been waiting for finally came from the system.
[Enchantment Technique ready for development]
[Unenchanted Trinket Forging Technique ready for development]