I shook hands with Pyne Gluaze, a courtesy given at all competitions.
'I can't believe I forgot about the bombs. They were supposed to help, but I just forgot them! Ugh! I wanna facepalm so bad!'
Instead, I bowed to my competition, who returned the gesture, and walked the Knights back to the workshop.
"I would repair you guys now, but I have a... a... social event." I spat out those words like poison.
I took off and flew to the assembly hall while transforming my Changeling Armor into formal wear. My landing was subtle, and for once, I wasn't the only one arriving by glider.
"Hmm, what do I do with this thing?" I took off my glider and thought out loud.
"I can take that for you." A man in a nice red suit said.
I raised an eyebrow inquisitively "Hello? Who are you?"
"I'm Henry, I'll hang your glider with the rest of them."
All the other gliders were the same because I was the only one making them, so no one would steal another's, but my personal one stuck out like a sore thumb. It had a tracking spell on it, but that kind of thing would only last so long.
"I think I'll send for a golem to take it back to my workshop."
'I'll bring it back instead, dumbass.'
Orin popped out of my shadow and took my glider in his mouth, confusing Henry to no end.
"Don't worry about it Henry, Orin has got it." I walked past the doorman and was immediately assaulted by the smell of celebration.
The sweat of dancing mixed with perfumes typical of formal events pervaded my senses. A little bit of intuitive manipulation brought a bit of fresh air from behind me to my nose.
'I guess graduation is quite the important event in this world.'
'Well, of course, it's not only literally graduation, but also a transition to adulthood. You're 12, but no less an adult than the 15 or 16-year-olds.' Spirit stated that as if it were common knowledge, which it was, I just never bothered to look for it.
At the revelation of very obvious, common-sense information, I couldn't help but blush a bit. I brushed it off and begrudgingly joined the festivities.
I was presented as a guest of honor, but I didn't really notice a difference in how people treated me. I was still the random hermit no one talked to, but that was my doing and I intended to keep it that way.
"I PROMISED YOU ALL A DEMONSTRATION!" Larry shouted over the crowd, silencing the whole party.
With the crowd quiet he returned to a normal tone. "Ingen Meiung! Please step forward!"
'There is no escape route Ingen, just go up.' Spirit interrupted my flight reflex.
I steeled my face and moved to the front.
"Hey Larry, I have to inform you and all the crowd that my specs have recently gotten an update, so Assess now only shows up on the interface, not out in the open for everyone to see."
"Perfect! That works fine!" Larry pulled a Recorder and Display out of his pockets. "We can use these."
"Ok, what golem am I scanning?" My sweat started to smell, so I isolated it with intuitive manipulation.
A new golem with few visible flaws came walking through the door.
I sighed and spoke. "Assess."
I got my overlay of the golem's weak points and structural deficiencies.
"Here." I set down my glasses and cast a vision spell on myself. "Set the display on the left eye, that's where the overlay goes."
Larry followed my direction and the display lit up with the same information that was on the glasses.
"See, any competent golemancer can see the mistakes once they are lit up." I looked around and was satisfied with the crowd. "Well, if that's enough, I will be taking these back."
I used intuitive manipulation to make my glasses float to my face.
"And you! Stop taking notes!" I walked over to the man who had been recording the flaws on a slate board and slapped it down. "If you want an assessment, then you pay like everyone else!"
Larry said something and two guards walked over to the man and escorted him out.
"If that is all, I must be going, my golems are damaged from the recent battle."
I spun up Rift Garden and stepped through to my workshop. I waved through the portal as I left and as soon as it closed, I dashed inside and slumped against my door.
"People are hard!"
My laments reached nobody but the gods.
'Wasn't there an array protecting my door?'
Several alarms went off in my head.
"ORIN! WHERE ARE YOU!?"
A small presence pulled at my consciousness, not unlike how Orin's mother called for help.
Black lightning arced between my short horns.
'I have to find him.'
I sprinted around the workshop for a moment, searching. Then I remembered a feature I had discovered with my tree. I put my hands on the floor and spread my Eneru around, probing for Orin.
'I've got a bead on him.' Spirit had been looking with me.
He sent Orin's location to me through our mind link and I made a mad dash to him.
I arrived and there was a spear embedded in Orin's chest.
I put my real hand on his chest and gripped the spear with my artificial arm.
A disgusting sound followed as the spear was removed, thrown, and forgotten.
"Let's get on with the healing. I have no time to get a dedicated healer, so this will hurt."
The mark on the back of my hand started to fade as Orin's breathing got shallower. I induced the natural healing process with Eneru and started to reorder organs, bones, and skin to heal more efficiently.
'It's not enough.'
"Fuck it! Ignus! Lex! Moten! Rapse!" A flare came out of my hand and flew into the sky, if help would come, then this would bring them. Within moments I saw Ben carrying Devin.
"FASTER! HE'S DYING!" A portal opened in front of Devin and Ben and they arrived instantly.
The black lightning intensified.
"Hurry! Start casting! NOW!"
Healing with the sub-affinity was much faster than healing with my method, so Orin was stabilized in moments. With nothing left to do, I searched frantically for a clue.
'My glider isn't here.'
I picked up the spear, hoping to recognize it. Instead, I was greeted by a note.
"Nothing personal, just business."