Professor Shaw’s eyes lit up. He immediately pulled open a drawer and started rummaging for a form. “Of course! Anytime! You keep working on
your component, I’ll fill out the transfer application for you!”
Watching him scribble away eagerly, I couldn’t help but smile.
Whatever the feed said, I had no intention of being a supporting character in someone else’s story. I didn’t care how their plot developed. My goal was, and always had been, singular: to become a Grandmaster Artificer.
I didn’t sleep that night. I assembled and disassembled the two parts over and over, until my hands were raw and blistered. But finally, I discovered
a new method.
As dawn broke, I headed to the academy with dark circles under my eyes, carrying my finished components to find Professor Shaw for data testi-
- ng.
When he saw the pile of leftover materials I hadn’t used, his jaw nearly hit the floor. He rushed me to the testing lab and placed my component in the diagnostic machine.
Three seconds later, a set of numbers lit up the display.
