For the next several days, I dedicate myself entirely to refining my enchantment skills, perfecting each inscription, from the simplest fundamentals to the most intricate and complex. As expected, the advanced enchantments prove to be significantly more challenging, demanding extreme precision and deeper understanding. However, with time and relentless effort, mastery is inevitable.
Enchantments fall into five distinct categories, each with its own unique characteristics and applications:
Type One: Basic Enchantments
These foundational enchantments modify an item's inherent physical properties, such as Sharpness, Weight Reduction, and Durability. They function without requiring any interaction with mana, operating passively at all times. While some enchantments in this category exhibit a greater level of complexity, they rarely reach the same intricacy as higher-tier enchantments. Their simplicity and reliability make them the most commonly used.
Type Two: Mana-Interactive, Spell-Casting Enchantments
The name is self-explanatory. These enchantments, instead of altering the item's physical properties, work by interacting with mana, either within the item or in the surrounding environment. For example, a Fireball enchantment gathers magical energy surrounding the user or a power source within the item to fund the spell. There is no need for chanting or user mana input, and the only intention that matters is when performing the enchantment itself. These enchantments are more advanced and require much more complex codes.
Type Three: Conditional Enchantments
These enchantments activate only when a specific condition is met. They are among the most versatile, encompassing action-based, phrase-based, and time-based activations.
Action-Based Activation is the most common subtype, often overlapping with spell-casting enchantments. A sword that releases flames upon being swung, a shield that deploys a barrier when struck, or a staff that amplifies spells based on movement patterns all fall into this category.
Phrase-Based Activation requires a spoken command—such as a secret phrase—to trigger an effect. The entrance to the black market, which only opens when given the correct password, is an example of this.
Time-Based Activation allows enchantments to function on a set schedule. For instance, enchanted clothing might clean itself automatically once per day, or street lamps might illuminate precisely at sunset without manual intervention.
Conditional enchantments can range from straightforward to exceedingly complex, making them highly adaptable to a variety of uses.
Type four: Supporting enchantments
These enchantments support another enchantment. It is common to see a weapon with a very advanced central enchantment and up to a dozen supporting enchantments. In most cases, they increase the effect of the main enchantment by a certain percentage. However, they can also be used to suppress an enchantment, reducing its side effects or, in rare cases, sealing away the power of an item.
And lastly, Type Five: Reality-Altering Enchantments
The rarest and most advanced form of enchantment, these inscriptions have the ability to bend the very fabric of reality. Unlike other enchantments, which work within the established laws of physics and magic, reality-altering enchantments rewrite those laws entirely.
Some can manipulate the passage of time, creating areas where time flows differently—either accelerating or decelerating within a localized space. Others can generate pocket dimensions, forming independent spaces that exist outside conventional reality. Some go so far as to override gravity, change elemental properties, or nullify the effects of natural law.
Due to their immense complexity, these enchantments require an exceptional understanding of Arcanum and are notoriously difficult to execute. Even the most powerful enchanters struggle with them, as a single miscalculation can result in catastrophic failures—or worse, irreversible consequences.
Among the most coveted forms of magic in existence, reality-altering enchantments remain the pinnacle of the enchanter's craft, pushing the very boundaries of what is possible.
However, I propose adding a sixth category—Information Enchantments.
Though not widely used in practical applications, they can serve a unique and invaluable purpose. Unlike other enchantments, Information Enchantments do not produce any direct effects. Instead, Arcanum itself can function as a covert communication tool among enchanters.
One key reason for this is that ordinary individuals cannot perceive Arcanum. Furthermore, lower-ranked enchanters are incapable of reading enchantments beyond their skill level. By embedding hidden messages within high-tier enchantments, I can effectively control who has access to specific information, ensuring that only those with sufficient mastery can decipher its contents. This makes Information Enchantments a powerful tool for secrecy, encoded messages, and restricted knowledge.
The perfect example for it right now is already inside my pocket.
The Serpent's invitation.
Enchanted using Serpent's Tongue.
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After finishing our enchantments, we sell all the items back to the Guild. Needless to say, it has been causing quite a ruckus.
"A Grandmaster Enchanter from overseas is unleashing their stash! Only limited stock! We need to buy quickly!" the customers say.
But on the other hand…
"Fuck! This is so stupid! The market is crashing! I can't sell my items!" all the other merchants panic as hell.
No one has ever performed perfect enchantments before, but now, hundreds of items with perfect enchantments are flooding the market! Even if we price them ten times higher than items with the same but imperfect enchantments, they sell out within minutes. No wonder the merchants are fearing for their lives.
Fortunately, we've conducted all our transactions anonymously. Our names remain unknown, shielding us from potential backlash. I have no desire to shatter the confidence of local enchanters or disrupt the existing economy any further. So, after raking in a fortune—a casual couple million crowns—we decide to call it quits.
Easy money.
Now, instead of cheap blanks, it is time to up the play. We go around the city to find the best blanks possible so that I can gear myself up. In the end, both Sophia and I are armed to the teeth.