After a dinner with Senator Alexandre, one in which he left with his lips twitching, Gaius brought the incredibly satisfied Nakama back to their tent. On the way, the two could hear squeaks as some traumatised Harvesters rolled out of the way upon spotting them.

I think I should have kicked them harder, eh? Gaius glared at these Harvesters, who had all promptly vanished from sight. This was the first time he’d seen students not greet a teacher. Admittedly, it was an eleven-year boy, but manners were manners.

At least the snowmen and snow sculptures that flanked the path to his tent was no longer disturbed. In the past, some of them had been destroyed or mutilated, which Gaius played off as ‘physics of transience’ to Nakama, using two words she didn’t understand all that well to fob her off. Today, apparently, even those helpless snowmen were spared by the other Harvester brats.

Fear was truly a good weapon.

“Nakama,” said Gaius, “what time’s the next unsealing treatment?”

“8pm!”

“Mm. You’ll probably get hungry again by then, so make sure to eat up during the unsealing process, okay? Maybe bring some back for me too.” Gaius smiled and took out a book. “Now, could you explain this aspect of Artificing to me? I still don’t understand how it all works…”

An hour or so passed, in which Gaius, for all his ability at killing and intimidating other people, realised that he still couldn’t wrap his head around why artefacts worked the way they did. Nakama, on the other hand, was already able to explain how and why channelling qi in a particular fashion created certain effects, the explanation of which made Gaius wonder if the words she used had another meaning.

In short, it was frustrating, and Gaius suddenly didn’t want to go for the Artificing lecture tomorrow. He didn’t want to feel like an idiot that only knew how to follow instructions for making items all over again. He’d managed to assemble another five sets of the Breaker artefact in that one hour of confusion, so why couldn’t he grasp the mechanics behind Artificing? Did he really have to seek out Lecturer Shirou for a one-on-one consultation?

Gaius shuddered at that prospect. The young boy himself didn’t really notice it, but there was an odd obstinacy that had appeared in his heart. It had supplemented his drive for strength, empowering him to continue on where others would stop and give up.

In the end, the young boy compromised. He would just try to pay more attention in class, and if need be, ask some questions to clarify his doubt after class was over. Just that…he wouldn’t ask for a consultation.

If he was offered such an opportunity, however, it would be a different question altogether.

Even a boy has his pride! Gaius finished examining the last Breaker, and then weaved the five together with metal and thread to form a glove for his left hand. He slipped it on, and after adjusting to its weight with a few practice swings and test-fires, he took it off.

His heart hurt somewhat when he fired all five Breakers in a row, but it couldn’t be helped. If one of them were to malfunction because he didn’t test it…well, it might result in an end that could have been easily avoided.

An embarrassing way to die, in other words.

“You done?” Someone spoke from the tent. It was Nalus, his clearly gleeful face somewhat scary under the weak lighting of the tent. “Not bad, your Breakers. You might have some talent in Artificing.”

Talent? Sure, in following instructions on a book, I guess. Gaius retorted inwardly. He looked at Nalus and said, “Judging from that expression of yours, I assume that your father was, erm, persuaded.”

“Indeed! After I told him that it was a way for people to get things they want, yet aren’t sold on the Exchange, he went ‘hmm’ and ‘ahh’ for a few seconds, before nodding,” replied Nalus. “After all, things with qi inside them can’t be traded on the Exchange, so stuff like preloaded artefacts are in hot demand, since most Harvesters can’t supply qi directly through artefacts. Formations too, since there aren’t any lectures on creating formations.”

“Formations?”

Nalus tilted his head. “Large-scale artefacts, simply put. It involves carving out pathways on the ground to create incredibly powerful effects. There’s a way to shrink them to make ‘em portable.”

“Like the wooden pavilion that leads to Heritage?”

“Give the boy a cookie, he got the right answer.” Nalus shrugged off a murderous stare from Gaius, and then said, “To my knowledge, there are three people with portable formations in Heritage Basestation, and one of these formations actually allows one to leave Heritage and return here.”

Gaius licked his lips. “That’s…”

“Something people might even kill for, to say the least. It’s literally priceless, but it’s possible people might actually sell it.” Nalus rubbed his noise. “Did you know what an Engine is? Last Harvest, someone brought the most expensive Engine on the Exchange, the Stellar Core.”

“I do, but what does that have to do with people selling life-saving trinklets?”

“Hold your horse, lecturer,” replied Nalus. “Well, it sparked off a bout of Engine-buying by the other Harvesters, especially since the Congress decided that their Artificing industry would stop producing Engines in favour of a new innovation called the Dynamo.”

“Who came up with that name?” Gaius asked. “Also, what does a Dynamo do?”

“Someone from the Northern Continent, it seemed. There were some politics behind all these, but basically the North sent information on how to build a Dynamo to the East-West Alliance and any entities that opposed the Southern Continent or Central Circle in general.” Nalus shrugged. “That naturally includes so-called rebels like us.”

“Nice to know,” said Gaius, “but what’s a Dynamo?”

“Basically, it’s a super-cheap Engine, but with only the Flight ability and a weak defense. No amplification, nothing else.” replied the Campmaster’s son. “Despite these drawbacks, the Dynamos are so cheap in production cost that the higher-ups are stoked about that, since it means they can have more flying squads on the battlefield, other than the Harpies.”

“Looks like war’s about to change, eh?”

“Yeah, the North doesn’t seem to be holding back this time.” Nalus broke into a grin. “Maybe the South shouldn’t have summoned the Constellations after all, eh?”

“But either way,” Nalus continued, “these developments have made whatever Engines that remain on the Exchange a hot commodity. The cheapest Engines have already been brought up. The Engines that remain cost around eighty to ninety thousand points now.”

“And that’s where the auctions come in.”

“Indeed. So…” Nalus lowered his voice, and started planning with Gaius for the rest of the night. It was only when Nakama came back, with some food in hand, did the Campmaster’s son leave the tent. Gaius had only one thing to say, though.

Nalus’ talents were wasted in administration.