Seed Of Speed

When Diego had first checked the map, he noted the location of the Supply Station which was where the various crafters could purchase their ingredients. He made his way over to the shop which was manned by a female adapt.

"Good day, apprentice. How can I help you?" she asked with a polite tone.

"Do you have a catalog with items and prices? This is my first time here," Diego replied.

"Yes, which profession do you need?"

::Golem-crafting… I won't need too much more with the gargoyle statue for materials::

"Golem-crafting, please," Diego answered.

The adapt reached under her desk and pulled out a scroll. Diego took it from her and went through the process of pretending to read through it since the System automatically copied the contents into his "Lore" window, under Konto Sect information.

::Looks like you have enough since that smith doesn't want payment now. You need five of the grade-three gems, one in each element, and the Storm Griffon soul-core::

"Ah! This will work," Diego said, pretending to find beast soul-core. "I'll take the Strom Griffon soul-core and one of each element for the grade-three gems."

"Are you sure? These are advanced materials, and expensive," she said thoughtfully.

Diego sighed and reached into his pocket, pulling out his token.

The moment her eyes locked on the emerald in the center, she immediately apologized, "Forgive me, it was just that you had said this was your first time here. I didn't expect…"

"Senior-disciple sister, it's fine, you were merely looking out for me. How much do I owe you for the materials?"

"Six thousand, two hundred pellets. One moment, I will gather everything you requested," she said as she stood up.

She walked to a large, ornate c.h.e.s.t against the far wall and placed a hand on it. A moment later, a black token appeared on top of the c.h.e.s.t with a flash and she picked it up. Once she returned to her seat, she handed over the token and said, "You can check the items then if you are satisfied, swipe it across your token and exchange will be finalized."

Diego sent a bit of energy into the black token like he would with his own and he could sense the gems and soul-core inside. He waved the token across his own and felt the slight pull of energy from the black token, no doubt to fuel the magic of the enchantment. He confirmed the transfer then handed the black token back to the adapt.

"While I'm here, can I ask about how to rent a crafting room?"

"Since I'm guessing you only need it for the day, just go to the non-commission section and fine an empty room with an open door."

"Thanks," Diego said then walked away.

Diego made his way up to the third floor and found an empty workshop. He waved his token across the mechanism next to the door, as he would for classes or renting a private training room, and the door shut behind him automatically.

The room was about the same size as Silverflame's workshop, but without the blacksmithing tools. Instead, there were a number of small chisels, hammers, and quite a few tools that he could not recognize hanging on the walls.

(So, what do I need to do?) Diego asked silently.

::Just sit and meditate. While I am working on your new golem, you will have to remain within your mental plane or I can't control your body. I'll give you another tip for free with your hard work this morning… You can practice manifesting your armor and weapon much easier in your mental plane since you won't have any of the fatigue from constantly recreating the prana energy. You can only practice your control over the energy, but that is what you are lacking most at this moment::

(Alright, you going to tell me what you are making?)

::No::

(Aw, come on!)

::You will find out in four hours, real-time. I swear, you are as bad as your sister and can't wait for a surprise::

Diego just chuckled as he sat down, cross-legged. He closed his eyes and when he opened them again, he was in his azure world. For the first time that he entered this strange plane, Katalina was nowhere in sight. With a shrug, he sat down again and began the process of combining his mana and chi.

Because he had already practiced it in the real world, he already had the proportions for mixing the two energies which was roughly two units of chi for every three units of mana. Katalina had explained that once he form his Crest and entered into the Demi Body stage, the amounts would even out. The benefit of creating prana inside his mental plane immediately showed itself as he did not have the discomfort from building up the energy.

In a matter of minutes, he had converted his entire reserve of mana and chi into prana which rest calmly within his Solar Plexus Chakra. When he stopped trying to move the two other energies, his reserves filled up instantly as if he had never bothered the two in the first place. He opened his eyes and tested out the prana by forming a gauntlet that looks very similar to Thanos's infinity gauntlet.

Diego laughed as he wiggled his fingers around in the oversized, gold glove then he released the manifestation. To his surprise, just like his chi and mana, the moment he was done messing around with the prana energy, it refilled to the exact point that it had been at before his attempt.

Grinning, Diego stood up as a full-body materialized in front of him just like when he would create a desk for himself when Katalina would give him a magical lecture. Since it was his first time creating a mirror in this plane, he was surprised to find his appearance was identical to what he remembered back in his old world. Naturally tanned skin, black, shaggy hair that threatened to cover his eyes, and a lean body from playing more video games than working out in a gym. He was wearing his tan sect uniform which did not look as good as his darker brown skin as it had against his red skin.

He willed himself to take on Ishu's appearance, overlapping the mental image of his own body, and found himself nearly twenty centimeters taller and more muscular. Only then did he tap into his prana energy and start to form his armor. Without the discomfort from holding the prana, it was much easier to coat his body in a second skin of sorts. Despite the fact that he was covered from head to toe in a jet black, formfitting outfit, he could still see through it as if it was not there.

Just like before, he played with the seemingly infinite energy, creating some of the coolest armors he had seen in his past life. From Ironman to Alphonse Elric, from Fullmetal Alchemist, he cycled through different forms as he tested the limits of what the energy could create. Eventually, he grew tired of creating other armors and started trying to come up with something for himself.

Diego knew that in the future, speed would be his path, so he needed something that would not enc.u.mber him. The manifested armor once again returned to the blank, black, second skin as he emptied his mind of distracting images.

First thing first, he started with his feet which would need to be able to grip any type of surface. His foot began to morph and five, sharp talons form as extensions of his toes. A thick, plate-like cover formed over the top of his foot next and he bent his foot in different ways to ensure nothing would bother its flexibility. More solid pieces began form up his legs, covering his shins and t.h.i.g.hs while leaving his knees free for moblitiy.

For his torso, individual plates covered the muscle groups, giving his body a look to rival the Greek gods. Taking something he loved from Batman's costume, both of his forearms had a row of spikes running down from his wrist to elbow. His hands and fingers were also covered in the same black plate with his fingertips coming to a point. For his head, he just a replica of his own helmet that looked similar to the helmet from Gladiator.

Staring at himself in the mirror, the completely black armor took on a dark red color over anywhere his skin would be showing while leaving the 'armor' the same black. His idea was simple in that he hoped people would make a snap judgement on his affinities and maybe he could get a quick advantage over his opponent. While he was busy admiring his appearance in the mirror, a familiar figure appeared in the azure world and shook her head in amus.e.m.e.nt.

::It's ready, Diego::

"Have I really spent forty hours doing this?" Diego asked in surprise.

::Time flies when you are having fun::

Diego chuckled then held his arms out wide, so she could fully see him then asked, "What do you think?"

::Not bad. Later, I will walk you through the process of adding the runes to your armor, but as long as you can keep this mental image, recreating your armor will be much easier::

"Thanks, Kat," Diego replied.

::Mmm… Now then, go on and leave. Using your body drains a lot out of energy and I'm tired::

A large, plush bed appeared with violet sheets and Katalina sat down on it. Diego chuckled as he willed himself to awaken and opened his eyes back inside the workshop. Standing in front of him, at seven centimeters tall, was a small, stone griffin with its wings tucked close to its body.

"Really?" Diego asked aloud as he picked up the toy-sized griffin.

::Channel your mana into it and it will grow to a proper size for you to ride on it. Do not put energy into now or you will likely damage the room. Just wait for tomorrow, and take your date out in style::

Diego chuckled lightly as he stored away the griffin and replied, "Thanks again, Katalina!"