Infinitum Crystals - Conquest of Virtue [4]

Chapter 6.1 - Zenith - Real Time

"Gently...very gently..." I said as I tried to carefully place that one particular piece of material that could potentially ruin the whole build if it were to be accidentally dropped.

It has been several hours since I gave the necklace to White. Since then, I immediately headed back to my workshop and continued with my long list of commissions.

"There!" I let out a sigh of relief as I finished one of my projects.

Aside from commissions, I also do personal projects of my own during my free time. This time, I just made an experimental 'grenade'. It's quite different than those hand grenades because this one looks very sci-fi or a way better term would be 'experimental'. You only need to flick this small safety switch and press down an obvious red button. It will then begin ticking alongside with a glowing red light for each tick.

I decided to test out the bomb to my testing range and it looks like it works as intended.

"That's quite a blast, alright." I smiled as I successfully finished another project. "Now, on to mass producing it..."

But before I could continue further, someone came into my workshop as I heard the ringing bell that was placed above my door.

"I knew you would be here, Zenith." It was Lala Magnetite. My cardinal.

I took off my goggles as I headed to a sink to wash my face.

"What brings you here, Lala?" I asked.

Lala browsed through my workshop as she told me, "I've been meaning to ask you about something ever since I heard it from White."

"About what?"

She then said, "It's about the Infinitum crystals that you ate. I heard that White had something to do with how you eventually obtained it."

"Oh yeah..." I tried to remember, "Unfortunately for you, Lala. My memory is kinda hazy on that one considering that time I was under the influence of something else."

"You were under influence of what exactly?" she wondered.

I nervously told her, "The...Snow Phoenix?"

"The Snow Phoenix, huh. Sounds just like a certain book I read before..."

"Oh really? There's a book about Snow Phoenixes?"

Lala then said to me, "It's more like...a storybook actually. It's not a non fiction book."

"Is that so...then-" But before I was able to say anything else,

Lala wondered something, "Now that 'that' was mentioned...I never knew who wrote that book, actually. That's quite a mystery, alright. You'd think the writer would at least put their initials somewhere in the book, right?"

I nodded, "Yeah I think so. Anyway...is that the only thing you came here for?"

"No, not really. It's mostly just one of the many things I'm here for."

"What are the other things, then?" I asked.

"Would you care enough to explain to me how your ability actually works? Because I think White had a hard time trying to explain it to me."

I opened my eyes as I understood, "I see...Well then, why don't we take a seat as I explain it to you."

We took a seat that I had at my workshop. I also made tea just because.

"Let's see...about my ability, Infinite Tune..."

If I had to explain it to her in the simplest form. I would say it is pretty much like a mechanic opening up a machine. A mechanic can fine tune it, destroy it, repair it or even upgrade it if they have the knowledge to do so. That would be the gist of it. What actually happens is that I have this magical touch that allows me to access ones Infinitum energy. Through my eyes, I'll end up seeing these flows of Infinitum energy flowing all over someones body like the nerve system.

"And not just that..." I continued, "I can also use it on anything that has Infinitum Energy flowing."

"Is that so?"

I explained further, "Think of it like...electricity. Yes. Electricity. Any kind of material or device that has Infinitum Energy in it can be manipulated by my hands just as how someone who is prowess in manipulating electricity could hack into electronics."

"That's fascinating...Zenith. And from the looks of it, you've been profiting it off through your commissions, right?"

I proudly nodded, "Yup. People ordered my guns and ammo because I make the best of them. For a nifty price of course."

"Is there a friend discount?" Lala then suddenly asked.

The mood suddenly shifted to a full awkward silence. We both looked at each other waiting for the other to say something...

I ended up breaking the silence with a laugh.

I told her, "Discount, huh...Well, most of the materials I need are quite expensive hence why such valuable price was given. But the price can certainly be discounted if you brought the materials yourself. So how about that?"

"Even if its a request from White?" she suddenly tried to tease me.

I quickly became a bit flustered as I retaliated, "W-White is...um...he is my...Yes! He is my regular customer. He always buys whenever he steps foot into this workshop."

"Is that so?" Lala raised her eyebrows. "Your face tells otherwise, Zenith. I don't think White would be the type to go shopping that much except for the essentials...and you don't need to hide it from me. I was next to you guys when you guys confessed for goodness sake."

I gave up and sighed, "Yeah, you're right. He never bought anything from my workshop. He would occasionally be impressed by my crafts but that's about it. He doesn't seem to appreciate how much hard work I put into it from the looks of it."

"Or maybe he notice that you are quite busy at the moment so he doesn't want to bother you especially when you are in your workstation." She told me that.

I sighed, "If that's whatever he was thinking of. Then perhaps he should just let me know to begin with." I pouted. "The only thing White has that comes from me was an insurance of some kind..."

"Insurance?" Lala asked.

"Oh yeah. I think you should already know about what Sam Maximus has been trying to do, right?"

"Oh that." She nodded. "She told me that she'd like to borrow a couple of our classmates to act as judges for their class's competition. But she said who. Is White one of them?"

I worryingly told her, "...yeah."

"What makes you want to give some insurance for White?" she asked me again.

I slowly said, "I don't know...I think...I have a bad feeling about it, that's why. But it could be just me. And besides, the competition is kinda sketchy with all the secrecy Sam is trying to hide..."

Afterwards Lala stood up and declared, "Then let's go investigate. The sooner our assumptions are gone, the sooner our worries will be gone as well."

"But don't you think I'm just being a worrywart, Lala?"

Lala sighed and consoled me, "Listen, Zenith. Everyone is unique and special in their own way."

She only told me as she leaves my workshop and waited for me to get outside. 'Everyone is unique and special in their own way'. I guess she's right about that and that I might just be worrying for something that I must be worried about. Above all else though, it looks its time for us to take deeper look into this secret competition...

TO BE CONTINUED