The core of a person — the place that holds their foundation — is located on the right side of their chest. If your heart is on the left, your core is on the right. If your heart is on the right side… well, go see a doctor and make sure your core is on the opposite side.
Once an artificer's core is damaged, their life as a Artificers is effectively over. You'd either have to rebuild it from scratch — an impossible task for most — or give up your path entirely.
That's why Artificers must protect their cores at all costs.
Another day at class again. Today, the professor was going to teach everyone how to make a basic shield component. It could solidify energy into a protective shield to block incoming damage.
"To build a component," the professor began, his voice sharp and commanding, "you must focus your essence and carve it into the platform, forming an energy circuit."
He walked to the central demonstration platform and waved his hand. A small glowing platform rose up.
"When carving energy circuits onto a foundation, multiple circuits connect together in a specific sequence. That programmed sequence forms a component. When energy flows through it, the effect activates. Like this."
He extended one hand forward, and a dim blue light shimmered into existence. It floated just above his palm, solid and faintly glowing. With his other hand, he knocked on it — a dull clunk rang out, proving its hardness.
"Next component I'll teach you is the Energy Release Component. This is the most important component in the world. Every single component, no matter how complex, contains some form of this — either directly or as an advanced variant."
He held up two fingers for emphasis.
"For example, you can use it to create an explosion. That's the most basic use."
He paused, then added, "Another important component is the Basic Router. With it, you can connect to the Spellnet. It's essentially the internet — but only for artificers. Through the Spellnet, you can access a virtual world, communicate across long distances, gather information, and run useful applications that help you monitor your status and components."
The students nodded and murmured among themselves, their attention mostly on the glowing circuit models floating around the professor.
Everyone except Dante.
His mind was elsewhere — on the letter he had received yesterday.
So. You found me. Or maybe I found you.
Hello there. I don't know who you are, but I know what you can do.
Either way, we share something no one else here does. I felt it the moment you thought about unweaving a lie.
If you're reading these lines, I am probably already dead. That's the truth. But truth is just one thread in a mind. And I left many.
You have the chance to finish my project. To complete the design.
But beware — the project does not only change the world. It changes the weaver.
In fact, if you're reading this at all, it's because your talent is probably Akashic Architect. Not something else. This letter is a design only someone with that rare talent could perceive.
Akashic Architect is an S-tier Talent — the highest rank a talent can attain.
You are the true inheritor of the Mental Weaver.
I will provide you with the knowledge and resources to perfect your framework. But in return, you must complete a mission.
In the Sea of Threads, there is an item I need you to retrieve. Everything you'll need for this mission is in the vault, which you can access using the enclosed keycard.
Good luck on your journey.
The letter had come with a keycard. It bore the emblem of Mytherion Vaultworks, a prestigious arcane-tech company specializing in secure vault services for high-level artificers and noble families.
"Hey, Dante!"
Dante jolted. His eyes snapped back to focus, and he turned to the front of the room.
There stood the professor, staring at him with narrowed eyes.
"You there. Can you repeat what I just said?"
Dante's brain stumbled. "Uhh… I'm sorry, Professor. I was just... thinking about something else. I'm really sorry."
From somewhere to his left, a teasing voice chimed in.
"Ohhh Dante, you didn't catch anything the professor just said? Don't worry. All I heard was, 'blah blah memory resonance, blah blah circuit carving.'"
It was Solène. She smirked, arms crossed, clearly trying to break the tension.
The professor turned to her with a deadpan glare, which wiped the smirk right off her face.
'Nice job, Solène. Thanks for drawing fire. I'll reward you later,' Dante thought silently, giving her a quick double thumbs-up under the desk.
The professor exhaled slowly. "Anyway… if you're not clear, I'll repeat it. It's my job, after all."
He returned to the lesson.
"Energy Release Component is the most vital one. It allows you to release Essence from your core and shape it into magic. How you use it depends on your creativity. But for now, your job is simple: just learn how to make it."
After class ended, Dante approached the professor.
"Professor," he said, "someone strange sent me a letter... and a vault key. They said it's a gift, but if I accept it, I need to retrieve something from somewhere far away. What should I do?"
The professor raised an eyebrow, then folded his arms, thinking.
"That could be a scam," he said bluntly. "Who knows? You can ignore it, or if it looks dangerous, go talk to the authorities."
He scratched his chin before adding, "As for the vault... if it's from a reputable company like Mytherion Vaultworks, then it's likely safe. No one dares to stash anything truly malicious in one of their vaults."
Dante nodded. 'If the professor says it's safe, then I should at least take a look.'
Later that week, most students had entered the Foundation stage — their energy stabilized, their core awakened. Only two others remained outside of it, and Dante hadn't really interacted with them. So be it.
Dante followed the directions given by his Citizen Band — a wearable communication device — until he reached the Mytherion Vaultworks facility.
Inside, soft white lights illuminated a sleek interior as a synthetic voice guided him down a long hallway.
"Welcome, registered user. Proceed to Vault Room 17."
When he reached the door, he slid in the keycard and typed in the access code. The vault opened with a hiss and a flicker of arcane symbols.
Inside were several items.
A memory drive.
A sleek artificer laptop.
A thick journal titled Codex: Intermediate Principles.
And several aluminum chests.
Dante step to these chest and opened the first one — and his jaw dropped.
Inside were tens of stunning, deep-blue crystals.
'What...? Are these... Essentium Crystals? All of them?'
He lifted one out, the crystal glowing softly in his palm.
'This is... absurd. This much money? From a stranger? This has to be a trap, right?'
In the second chest, he found strange materials — metals, gems, rocks, even a small statue of an unknown figure. Another chest held Gear Bars — dense, Essentium-forged constructs. When consumed, they integrated gears into the core structure, improving component capacity and functionality.
The journal said everything he needed to know was in the laptop. It wasn't just any device — it was designed specifically for Roomborns like him.
Normally, a Roomborn could only use the Spellnet's basic functions: information searches, communication, and some virtual environments.
But this laptop? It could do more — edit complex circuits, design advanced components, run deep-code applications… and most importantly, access the Sea of Threads.
A subspace connected to the Spellnet.
And the place where his mission awaited.