The next morning, when I opened my eyes, Mnex had already prepared the full list of materials, formulas, and detailed drawings, including designs for new farming tools and illustrations showing how to perform shou sugi ban. All I had to do was hand them over to Raymond and wait for everything to fall into place.
Right then, my door opened.
I was sitting on my bed, staring at the papers spread out across my desk. My uncle Philip walked in. He looked at me, smiled, then turned his gaze to the diagrams. Then back to me.
"Oh! Don't you dare."
He just smiled and nodded. We both lunged at the same time, but he was a step ahead.
Unfortunately for him, I wasn't born yesterday.
The moment his fingers touched the paper, I landed a solid punch straight to the family jewels.
Crack!
Gareth and Isolde had to carry him out of my room. He didn't leave his bed for the rest of the day.
The next morning, at my mother's insistence, I paid him a visit. Of course, I didn't feel even the slightest bit of remorse. If I had to do it again, I would. But with my mother glaring daggers at the back of my head, saying so wasn't really an option.
"I'm sorry, Uncle Philip," I mumbled, eyes to the floor.
He just laughed.
"I'll forgive you on one condition…"
"Over my dead body…"
Slap.
My mother's hand hit the back of my neck, sharp and accurate. She never missed.
"I'll show you just one thing. But you have to promise me, no stealing my ideas," I muttered, rubbing my neck.
Of course he agreed.
I had never seen anyone so hungry for knowledge. I was sure he had stayed in bed for this long just to get my mother to pressure me into talking. The moment I agreed, he tossed off his blanket and leapt from bed like a kung fu master.
We spent the whole day talking about the sewer system. He made sure to learn every detail down to the tiniest pipe. Over the following days, he kept bringing it up every chance he got. Luckily, I didn't have much to do while we waited for Master Rastlin to finish our orders, so my uncle randomly barging in and ranting about sewage didn't cause too much trouble.
The real problem began the next day.
Uncle Philip barged into my room, dragging Charles along with him. To this day, I still have no idea where he found the guy.
"Tell me the truth, did you really come up with these soap formulas yourself?"
He had two bars of soap in his hand, shoved so close to my face I could practically taste lavender.
I didn't even get to say, "Weren't you working with soil? Where do you find the time?" he had already bombarded me with six more questions.
Then he silently pulled more soaps from his pocket and sniffed each one.
He said nothing.
Then handed them to Charles, who also sniffed them.
Then… they both looked at me.
"ENOUGH!"
They took my soap, rifled through my papers, examined my formulas, and nearly shoved a bar into my mouth.
It was time to shut up.
Otherwise, Philip might have become the first official case of soap induced homicide.
I found Raymond and told him that all the orders I'd given to Tilda and Master Rastlin had to remain strictly confidential until Uncle Philip left the kingdom. I also reminded him to keep the entire topic buried until Philip was out of Godfrey's Cross.
In the days that followed, I spent my time building and shaping spells in my mind world… whenever Uncle Philip wasn't bursting in like a madman, asking a thousand more questions about my sewer plans.
I started by trying to replicate the cloud spell I'd seen him use. A bit of water, a bit of fire, a bit of air… Visualization was key, but combining elements and shaping them was a whole other beast.
Still, it was fun.
It took me two full days.
But what I really wanted… was fog.
So I spent three more days working on a fog spell. I used the same elements, but reduced the water content, otherwise, it turned into rain clouds again. Getting the balance right was trickier than I thought. But I did it.
Since shaping spells in the real world takes time, I pre-shaped a few others I thought might be useful later, fireballs, water balls, ice balls… and then spear versions of each. Shaping without combining elements was much easier. I finished the balls in one day and the spears the next.
I also made tiny chunks of earth and called them "stone bullets." Basic, but effective.
Mnex wasn't impressed.
"What are you, huh? Some kind of anime god?"
I couldn't get one image out of my head,
Purple flames raining from the sky.
Just the idea of it gave me chills.
And honestly? Just picturing it was badass.
Naturally, it didn't work...
Some days, I played with Roderic. He was growing fast. Would probably be walking soon.
In the background, Mnex kept mumbling,
"Better looking than you."
"Smarter than you."
"More popular than you."
Every time I returned to Mnexland, I made sure to throw a few punches right off the bat. Still, he grabbed me by the ankle and slammed me into the ground.
Over and over again.
Right…
Left…
Wall…
Floor…
"Stop trying to beat up the system, Henry."
"I am the system."
he shouted.
While I shouted back, spitting everywhere,
"Your system doesn't allow any cool spells!"
"Remember, Henry. What doesn't kill you, makes you easier to debug."
This was all part of Mnex's physical training program. Or maybe his way of blowing off steam. Ever since we'd cracked the rune system, he'd gotten increasingly impatient and wrestling had become his new favorite hobby.
Then, at last, the day came.
Uncle Philip had to return to Stonehalls.
"I've overstayed as it is. I was only supposed to stay a week but…" He glanced at my mother. "I guess I really missed you."
They hugged. My mother's eyes were misty.
"Philipitis" an incurable desire to learn random stuff and ruin your plans.
If Philip hadn't been such an incurable knowledge addict, which, let's be honest, was probably how he ended up a professor. I really would've liked having him stay longer. He brought this infectious energy that made everything more fun.
"Henry. Don't forget, you need to register at Stonehalls before your fourteenth birthday. There's still so much to learn. Plus… you know, prestige among young heirs."
He placed a hand on my head, ruffling my hair, then bent down to meet my eyes.
I didn't tell him I'd cracked the rune system.
It could mess up my plans or worse, make me look suspicious.
"Nope. You're just a greedy little creature obsessed with maximum profit. You've out monstrous'd Frankenstein's monster. You're Mnexenstein's monster."
"I'll miss you, Uncle."
I ignored Mnex and hugged Uncle Philip.
It must've been a pretty emotional scene, because my mother burst into tears and hugged Roderic like he was heading off to war.
Would I miss him?
Maybe… but no. I wanted him gone.
Because we could finally begin the MIO project.
A short farewell for him, a long awaited goodbye for me.
Don't worry, Uncle.
We'll see each other again at Stonehalls.
Right before he left, I slipped a few solmars into his bag without anyone noticing.
Hope it makes him smile when he finds them.
I waited about two hours.
Just to be sure he was outside the borders of Godfrey's Cross.
First stop, Master Rastlin's workshop.
When Raymond, Doyle, and I arrived, Rastlin was nowhere to be seen.
But his workers…
It was chaos.
People were darting left and right so quickly that for a second, I thought Mnex had set my vision speed to x15.
To even reach the inside, I had to stand still and study their movement patterns. Otherwise, weaving through them would've been physically impossible.
Before I could take a single step forward, someone shouted,
"Young Lord! Oh young lord!"
Master Rastlin was charging at me like a hunting hound.
Reflexively, I grabbed Doyle's arm and pulled him in front of me like a human shield.
"Master Rastlin, please... calm down first."
"Incredible! In-cre-di-ble!"
"Where did you get this idea?! Fantastic! No, fantastic doesn't even cover it… brilliant!"
The compliments kept coming. He was like a zombie with no brain, only praise leaking out of his mouth.
All I had done was suggest a method to char wood using smoke and fire without fully burning it.
"A state of pure bliss… He loves his work so much he wouldn't even notice if you chopped his arm off."
Mnex echoed in my head.
Eww, Mnex. What am I, a monster?
"Look who's talking. Like I was the one who tried to rob Remy's vault, hid information from my own uncle, and helped people just to feel smug."
Remy betrayed me first! But fine… maybe you've got a point about the rest.
"See? You're just a simple creature who thrives on praise. Meanwhile, I am perfection itself."
Yes, yes… so perfect that you short-circuit if you go more than three seconds without complimenting yourself.
I ignored Mnex's tantrum and examined the orders.
Everything looked great.
The wooden rods I requested were ready and each one had the appropriate runes carved into it.
All that remained was to check the primary power source runes.
Since I had to carve those myself, we picked a more durable material than wood.
That way, they'd last longer and wouldn't need constant replacements.
Next stop, Tilda.
When we reached Blacksmith Alley, Tilda's Temper was busier than ever.
Looked like she had finally found a few people willing to work.
"You damn fool! Stop hammering like you're hosting a tea party! Hold that thing like a man! What are you, a princess?!"
Tilda's voice echoed all the way from outside the shop.
Honestly, the name of the forge suited her personality perfectly.
Still, seeing her was always fun.
We picked up the iron cubes I had ordered and headed back home.
Between my uncle's farewell, the wood inspection, and the trip to Tilda, the sun was already starting to set.
And the day wasn't over yet.
I had to carve runes into those iron cubes before dawn.
Luckily, the guards carried them up to my room.
There were a lot of runes to carve. Even after working through the entire night, I only managed to finish three.
I spent the whole next day finishing the rest.
Now, only one thing remained,
Show the final invention to my grandfather and father, and then take the cubes out to the fields.
But that would have to wait until tomorrow.
I collapsed face first into bed.
The pillow had barely touched my cheek before I was already fast asleep.