The morning came with a dull gray sky and a sharp wind that cut through the village like a blade. Snow coated the rooftops, and smoke trailed lazily from stone chimneys. Kai stood just beyond the village border, his burlap sack over one shoulder and a crude walking stick in hand.
He had one goal: build his first personal tool—the Firestarter Wand.
The wand didn't sound like much. But in a world where everyone else flung fireballs from bloodlines and incantations, even a single repeatable spark could mean the difference between survival and death.
[Objective: Craft [Firestarter Wand v0.1]
Material Requirements:
Ash Wood (x2)Wire (x1)Emberstone (x1) – or substitute with Mana Spark (Rare)Catalyst Slot: Empty
Rune Required: [Sigil of Ignition]
Rune Precision Required: 90% or higher
Tool Type: Single-use ignition spark, range 5 meters, cooldown 5 sec.]
Kai reviewed the blueprint floating before him.
"Wait…single-use? What the hell is that about Blueprint?"
[Better than no use…]
"Fair enough."
As he stepped into the tree line beyond East Hollow. The wind moaned through the pines, and frost coated every branch. Somewhere deep within, a bird cried out—a low, hollow sound, unfamiliar.
He crouched near a cluster of trees, knife in hand that Madra had given him.
Ash wood was easy.
The trick would be Emberstone.
---
[Material Collected: Ash Wood – Quality: Standard – +2 Units]
He tucked the sticks into his sack and turned toward a rocky ledge he'd noticed the day before. Emberstone was a kind of heat-retaining mineral, often used in basic enchantments. According to the system, it grew in shallow veins near mana-leaking rock shelves.
Which meant climbing.
He cursed under his breath as he scaled the frozen ridge. His fingers ached, and his borrowed boots had little grip, but he made it.
At the top, a dusting of stone revealed glowing orange flecks beneath the surface.
He drew the system open.
[Material Detected: Partial Emberstone Node – Quality: Low]
Extraction Method: Chisel/Break Required. Warning: May attract ambient mana creatures.
Kai knelt and started prying the crystal out with a flat-edged rock. It was slow going, and the cold made his muscles clumsy.
Thirty minutes passed before the Emberstone came loose—pale orange, flickering faintly like coals.
Then the system pinged.
[Material Acquired: Emberstone – Quality: Cracked – +1 Unit]
Catalyst Slot: Filled. You may now initiate construction.
Caution: Unstable environments increase construct volatility.
Environmental Threat Level: Moderate.
He narrowed his eyes.
"Define 'moderate.'"
[Moderate = You probably won't die. Probably.]
"Reassuring."
He turned—and froze.
A low growl echoed through the ridge.
From the far side of the rocks, something slithered. A shape emerged, dragging itself forward on stubby legs—a Frostscale Monitor, the name came to him as if he knew what it was all his life. The Frostscale was Lizard-like, the size of a large dog, its pale blue eyes locked onto him with predatory intent.
"System," Kai muttered, "how fast can I build this thing?"
[Firestarter Wand Construction: 5–8 minutes manual time, assuming no rune failure.
Option: Engage Rapid Assembly Mode – Risk: Increased chance of error.
Current Inventory: Ash Wood x2, Wire x1, Emberstone x1, Stone Fragments x3
Rune Tool: None. Use charcoal or mana-infused rod.]
The creature hissed, steam curling from its nose.
"Rapid mode it is."
Kai bolted behind a boulder and spilled his items out onto a flat surface. He snatched a charcoal stub from his pocket and pulled up the schematic.
Wood frame. Wire conduit. Emberstone core.
"Come on, come on…"
He carved a channel into the wood with a shard of stone and bent the wire around the Emberstone, anchoring it with twine. Crude, but it would do.
Now the rune.
[Initiate Manual Rune Engraving: [Sigil of Ignition]
Draw onto flat wood surface. Accuracy must exceed 90%.
Warning: Incomplete runes may backfire.]
He took a deep breath and began.
The sigil resembled a jagged arrowhead wrapped in a spiral. The lines pulsed in his vision, guiding his strokes. His fingers trembled—whether from cold or adrenaline, he couldn't tell.
The Frostscale crept closer. Its claws scraped stone. Kai heard it breathing.
One last line.
He pressed the charcoal into the groove.
[Rune Accuracy: 91%
Construct Stability: Fair
Wand Status: Primed. One charge available.]
"Yes!"
Kai rose, aimed the wand, and mentally activated it.
The tip flared with orange light. A bead of fire coalesced, then launched in a short arc.
It struck the creature square in the face.
The Frostscale screamed and recoiled, smoke rising from its snout.
It turned and fled, disappearing into the forest.
Kai slumped to his knees, heart pounding.
[CONSTRUCT COMPLETE: Firestarter Wand v0.1]
Use: 1/1 (Depleted)
Crafting XP: +5
System Level: 2 (5/5) → 3
> Well done. You built your first ranged ignition tool. And didn't die. Bonus points.
> Next Upgrade Path Unlocked: Basic Combat Tools I and Tier I Utility Device
>> Suggestion: [Spark Dagger] or [Pulse Mine]
He chuckled, breath visible in the frigid air.
"Combat blueprints already, huh?"
[This world is hostile. You should be, too.]
---
That evening, back at the village, Kai returned to Madra's hut with soot on his gloves and a satisfied smirk. She gave him a suspicious glance.
"You look like you wrestled a forge."
"In a manner of speaking."
He placed the spent wand on the table.
"I'll need space tomorrow. Somewhere private."
"For what?" She looked at him suspiciously.
"To start building real things."
She studied the wand. Her fingers hovered over the scorched runes.
"This isn't common magic."
"No," Kai agreed. "It's engineering. With fire."
"Engineering? What's that?"
"…Yea, I'm honestly not sure how to explain it to you, I can say— I saw it all in my head and comes to me in the form of a sometimes-sassy blue screen."
"…."
[….]
Later that night, while others slept, Kai sat beside his heat coil and opened his system again.
[New Blueprint Options Available]
1. Spark Dagger – Tier I Close Combat
2. Pulse Mine – Tier I Trap Construct
3. Mana Scanner v0.1 – Tier I Utility Device
[Note: Constructing tools from multiple categories will unlock Talent Tracks. Specialization trees incoming.]
He tapped the Mana Scanner icon.
He needed data.
A world like this—with magic fields, monsters, and ancient ruins—would be wasted without knowing how to analyze it.
And an engineer always starts with measurements.
[Mana Scanner v0.1 –
Category: Utility Construct
Tier: I
Function: Detects ambient mana concentrations, ley line flows, and latent magical signatures within a 30-meter radius.
Interface: Visor-based or handheld display
Readout: Visual pulse overlays + sound ping feedback
Output Types:
Ley Line Directional FlowResidual Spell SignaturesCatalyst Traces
Material Requirements:
Refined Crystal Lens (x1) – Unavailable in East HollowTin Casing (x2)Copper Wire (x2)Animal Hide or Fabric Wrap (x1)Mana Residue (x1)
Rune Required: [Sigil of Detection] – Complex tier requires 95%+ accuracy
Power Draw: Moderate, single-use charge or external mana battery
System Note: This construct requires advanced focus materials not available locally.]
"Well damn.."