Artificial Fantasy

Chapter 66: Singulars

The men turn around to see a man with short brown hair and wear a black suit, white business polo shirt, black slacks, and brown loafers carrying a briefcase.

"M-Mr. Palmer?!" Mr. White shouts in surprise. "I-I didn't expect you to be here, sir."

"Well, it's been a while since I got out of my office. So I figured visiting another department should allow for a break in my daily cycle for a while," the senior colleague says as he sat on the unoccupied office chair near the monitors. "I hope my sons haven't given you two headaches by now."

Mr. Spears sighs as he puts his pen down on the table.

"I can't say they've given us any problems. Though, we have been very surprised at the ingenuity and improvisation they've made so far in [Isekai]. Even our game mechanics department was shellshocked when they learned that an 11-year-old player managed to use [Magecrafting] without a menu to aid him with his crafts."

"Calling it shellshocked is a bit of an understatement there, Miles. Are you sure they are even human?"

Palmer chuckles again and says, "You can doubt all you want, but they are fully human players. While bringing in more test players outside of our usual criteria is one of my motives just to see how the AI in the game develops, my intentions behind their inclusion are nothing more than to fulfill my young son's dreams of living a fantasy world he has adored very much from the novels he reads. If anything, I feel like his imagination might be the cause of many miracles they have made in the game so far."

"Well, I guess I have to take your word for it. Besides, we have to remember they are neither gaming creators, eSports players, or veterans in the MMO genre. If anything, I have to label them as singulars of [Isekai], players who are willing to break the meta even if they have no clue about it and the advanced mechanics of the game itself."

This time, Mr. White sighs as he leans back on his chair and stares at the dimmed ceiling.

"I guess we got a lot of stuff to work out when it comes to your kids, Palmer. But the patch is only a few weeks away. How can we test the limits of their imagination and skills without breaking the game in the process?"

Mr. Palmer hums in thought at the question that Miles threw at him. Then, when he notices the papers containing the reports, his eyes widen.

"Well, for starters, how dependable are the players on the NPC shops so far?"

The two developers stunned at his sudden question as they stare at each other with their eyebrows raised.

"Please don't tell me you're planning something to aid your sons again?" Spears asked in suspicion.

"Not aid them. But I prefer to call it a "challenge" for them and all of the players."

Palmer smirks as he stares at the deactivated monitors.

----

"Aura of arcana, hear my call. Aid me to create a barrier to protect my allies from harm! [Mana Barrier]!"

I smack the end of my staff on the floor after the incantation. Once I do so, I back away as a barrier appears and encases me and Azel inside it. I then sigh in relief as I place my staff on the table. I know this is a bit much. But after that incident with my [Plasma Staff] back in the <Crafting Hall> in <Initio>, it's better safe than sorry.

"Um... Kazu? What's the barrier for?"

"It's just a way to protect the building in case something bad happens during the craft," I calmly explained it as best as I can. "I don't know if you've already heard this, but I mentioned before that I had issues when I made my staff. This way, there is no way that you will be repeating those same problems I had."

Plus, this is another way to avoid Wind's wrath. He did say I'm not supposed to do any [Magecrafting] without him. But he didn't say I couldn't help someone with their own craft. Still, I didn't want to repeat that incident ever again and I certainly didn't want Azel to get involved.

"U-Um... Okay? If you say so..."

I sigh as I turn back to Azel.

"Just cast the spell as I taught you. If something bad happens with it, I'll take full responsibility for it."

He nods as he turns his head back to the station. I then notice the triangular pentagram drawn on the flat wooden board that served as a makeshift magical circle board and the half-built staff placed on the top of it. Not only is this is the same pentagram I had drawn for my [Plasma Staff], but I can see the [Burning Gemstone], [Sparking Gemstone], and the [Mana Stone] were set into the staff again. It's a bit different this time though since they were arranged to be lined up instead in a crooked pattern. I know this is dangerous considering what happened the last time I did it, but at least I made some preparations this time around.

"Embers of the sun, raindrops from the storm, I call upon the mana that descends and ascends from our world. Combine the flames and thunder into one and let their magic flow into mine!" As Azel starts the enchantment, I take a few steps back and brace myself for the worst-case scenario. "As I release my spells through this staff, show the might and speed of these elements as I call on nature's wrath!"

Once he finishes the incantation, I take out my staff and as expected, flames and lightning began to spat out of the circles and flew out of Azel's station. However, I quickly raise my staff and shout, "Spirits of thunder, heed my call. Help me gather your power and mold them into bolts which I can smite my foes! Target the ones who will oppose my path and scatter them all to dust! [Lightning Scatter]!"

I swing my staff down as several lightning bolts appear and flew off towards the scattered bolts to blast them off before any of them can hit the barrier. I am not very fast when it comes to aim and speed, but I manage to destroy most of the bolts that came out of the circles. Once that's done, I let out a sigh as I collapse to the ground.

"Kazu, are you okay?" I see Azel running up to me with a concerned frown. Guess that little stunt made him a bit worried after those unintentional fireworks.

"Yeah, I'm good. I'm just glad that the crafting building is still in one piece."

Just as I say this, I hear popping and crackling sounds back at the station. As I turn to see it, my eyes widen as the circles popped several sparks and embers as the cracklings sounds grew louder.

"K-Kazu..."

Knowing what's going to happen next, I sheepishly turn to Azel as my disbelief turns into horror.

"W-Was that supposed to happen?"

"N-No..."

"T-Then this looks bad, right?"

"Y-Yeah..."

Before I can do anything else, the last thing I hear is a loud boom ringing through my ears.

----

Wind's Masteries

[Archery] Level 18

[Woodcrafting] Level 7

[Swordsmanship] Level 16

[Cooking] Level 6

[Wind] Level 15

[Physical Enhancement] Level 15

[Hunting] Level 14

[Blacksmithing] Level 6

----

Kazu's Masteries

[Arcana] Level 19

[Thunder] Level 16

[Wind] Level 14

[Alchemy] Level 13

[Magecrafting] Level 10

[Magical Affinity] Level 17

[Scribe] Level 4