Treatise Of A Failed Knight-Chapter 227: Fabricant

"Hello. I am a new member of the Freedom Fighters. I wish to see you, Jeophrey."

"...."

No response.

I should have expected this.

I know he is inside, which means he intentionally chose to ignore my words.

As for why I am being so casual, not even addressing him with an honorific, it is simply due to the culture among the Freedom Fighters.

Everyone is considered equal.

Only in battle or in necessary situations is hierarchy enforced.

Thus, I may call Kalaluta by name.

And he addresses me as his brother, or Knight.

It makes things easier.

"I really need to see you, Jeophrey."

"Go away." He finally speaks, his tone utterly dismissive.

It doesn’t contain an ounce of anger or even emotion. It’s almost like he simply doesn’t care about an existence such as myself.

"I can’t hear you."

"I said go away!"

"I really can’t hear you. I’m coming in..." I laugh to myself as I step into the tent, disregarding his obvious intent.

This is something I learned from Kalakuta before coming.

If you were to leave it up to Jeophrey, he would never interact with anyone. You could stay outside his tent for years and he wouldn’t bother, unlike Garett.

You could appear injured in front of him and he would leave you to bleed out and die, unlike Kamal.

He is simply a man disinterested in others.

How did Kalakuta convince such a man to join the Freedom Fighters?

I have to admit... I am rather curious.

But that is secondary.

I have come here today to forge a relationship with this person and hopefully learn a thing or two that will be valuable to me moving forward.

Since the Freedom Fighters are in the tens of thousands, the Imperial Palace’s buildings cannot contain their numbers.

Thus, many dwell in tents within its extremely vast compound.

Joffrey is one of those people.

As one of the earliest members, and a core component of the Freedom Fighters, he could have gotten a place inside the Main Building.

But due to his eccentric personality and the nature of his work, he had to set up his very large tent in a secluded spot within the palace grounds.

Looking around, there are no other tents nearby. It isn’t even due to the sound made by Fabricants when forging Armaments.

Garett already set up a barrier with his Spells to ensure no one else would be disturbed by Jeophrey’s hammerings. No one also fears Jeophrey or alienates him, since everyone is equal and we are all treated like family.

Rather, Jeophrey himself requested this arrangement.

He simply does not like being around people.

Too bad, though.

For the sake of my ambitions, I have to intrude.

"What do you want?" The moment I enter the tent, a wave of heat swallows me whole and I hear a voice echoing in my ears.

It belongs to none other than Jeophrey.

Much to my surprise, he looks much different from what I was expecting.

He has a very feminine face and hair, though he has bulging muscles. He is also rather short, making him appear odd.

Like a weird amalgamation of unnatural elements.

At this moment, I am reminded of Tyrrion.

Okay... Perhaps that is uncalled for.

Unlike Tyrrion, he does have a few attractive features, although the unpleasant expression on his face is very similar to the dwarf.

"I want a custom-made Armament."

"No time for that." He waves at me dismissively, sorting through the many tools and Special Resources all across the tent.

There are many shelves and tables filled with strange-looking objects—all of which exude Trace Elements or show a somewhat defined existence.

I am not surprised by these things.

This is a Fabricant’s world.

Such is normal.

"What if I have all the materials with me?"

"Are you deaf?" He snorts with dissatisfaction, still refusing to look at me.

"I said I don’t have the time."

"I could help you out with the process. It will make it faster, right?" I fold my arms and raise a brow.

It is only at this point that Jeophrey halts in his steps and looks at me.

He has pale green eyes, reflecting deeply buried emotions that he still refuses to expose to anyone.

"You know Fabrication?"

His tone hints at disbelief, but I sense curiosity from his expression.

I smile and nod.

"Just the basics."

"What do you know?" He asks, unconvinced.

’This man...’

Honestly, nothing he has said and done has shocked me too much.

Even if I do not take his eccentric personality into account, it is normal for Fabricants who are masters of their craft to show some form of disdain towards outsiders.

The reason lies in the nature of the craft itself.

Fabricants forge, create, and repair Armaments. They are incredibly valued everywhere they go. Those who are skilled in their craft, whether in the private or public sphere of society, enjoy riches and honor for their work.

This isn’t only because of how powerful and useful Armaments are, but also due to the immense difficulty of the line of work.

It takes skill, devotion, and deep knowledge.

Fabrication also carried immense risk due to how volatile the ingredients are.

Indeed!

Fabricating Armaments is even more dangerous than brewing Potions due to the processes involved.

Fabricants have a much closer proximity and attachment towards the items that they forge while Alchemists take a more scientific and detached route in brewing Potions.

One has a rawer approach while the other is far more refined.

However, both are necessary.

While Potions are very potent, they only offer temporary solutions. Armaments, unless damaged or overused, last much longer and only require maintenance every once in a while.

Of course, there are also expenditure-type Armaments.

All of this is to emphasize the value of a Fabricant.

Fabricants are several times more skilled and talented than blacksmiths, and a single one is worth a hundred of the former.

They are simply too important.

’But it’s so hard to be a Fabricant...’ I tightly shut my eyes and remember the past.

I tried to get into it at some point.

But it’s difficult.

Unlike Alchemy, which can still be explored on the surface level with some knowledge and accurate recipes, Fabrication requires many intricacies that are hard to come by.

It is a special occupation that requires deep specialization before one can have any valuable result in it.

Thus, even though I know a lot of theories involving the craft, I have no practical experience. The gap between the former and the latter is too vast.

I simply had to give up.

"Well..." I explain what I learned from Rupert, hoping to at least curry some favor from him and show my sincerity.

However, the more I speak, the deeper he frowns at me.

It seems I am only putting him in a bad mood.

"Stop. Enough."

He raises his hand, pinching the bridge of his nose and shaking his head.

’Is he disappointed in my limited knowledge?’

I can’t help but wonder.

Much to my surprise, it is actually the opposite.

"I don’t know any of that complicated stuff. I know Armaments are shiny and powerful. They make everything go boom boom or stop things that go boom boom. I want to make things go boom boom more than the other things that go boom boom. So I make Armaments better than others!"

’E-eh...?’

What is this crude way of talking about Armaments and their properties?

Is this even allowed?

Armaments are special objects of power, usually in the form of a weapon or armor, made from Special Materials/Resources. They usually possess Ores, Gems, or other significant parts of their constitution, which are derived from Special Resources.

’This is how to address them. What is this man talking about?’ I raise my brows slowly.

"Don’t give me that look. You’ve spouted a lot of big words just now, but can you actually Fabricate an Armament? Why don’t you give it a try?"

"T-that..."

I am at a loss for words.

I clearly cannot do what this man does.

"Simplicity is king. You don’t need to overcomplicate matters when it comes to something like Armaments."

’Really?’ I can’t help but to disagree with this man.

Maybe it’s due to my identity as a Scholar.

Armaments are complex by nature.

After all, the higher the concentration of Special Resources in an Armament, the more powerful it is, and the higher the Rank of the Special Resources used, the higher the Grade of the Armament.

Essentially, an A Grade Armament is made from Rank 5 materials. However, if there are two A Grade Armaments, the one with the higher concentration of Special Resources is deemed to be on a superior level.

To explain briefly, Armaments are normally divided into 7 Grades (S, A, B, C, D, E, F), and 3 Levels (High, Medium, and Low).

Now, many people understand the 7 Grades.

But the 3 Levels are not fully known to a lot of people. Many Knights aren’t even aware of the distinction.

Rupert had to explain it to me so I could grasp the meaning properly.

A High Level Armament simply means the item is made up of at least 75 Percent Special Resources with 30 Percent of that being of the same Rank as the Armament’s Grade.

A Medium Level Armament is made up of at least 50 Percent Special Resources, with 10 Percent of that being of the same Rank as the Armament’s Grade.

A Low Level Armament is made up of at least 10 Percent Special Resources, with at least 1 Percent of that being made of the same Rank as the Armament’s Grade.

Anything below this isn’t qualified to be placed in the ’Level’ category and will be considered a ’Defective’ Armament, no matter how high the Grade is.

This is because certain percentages have to be met for the Armament to properly function.

In essence...

If someone has an Armament with at least one Rank 2 Special Resource which makes up 10 percent of its component and has other Rank 1 Special Resources that make up 40 percent of the Armament’s Component, making a total of 50 Percent Special Resource Component, and 5p Percent normal materials, then such a person has a Medium Level D-Grade Armament.

For F-Grade Armaments, it is widely accepted that as long as the single Rank 1 Special Resource makes up 10 Percent, it is Low Level. If it makes up 50 Percent, it is Medium Level, and if it makes up 75 Percent, it is High Level.

As for S-Grade Armaments, the only High Level S Grade Armaments require one Rank 6 Special Resource.

If such a requirement is not met, the maximum Level that can be attained is Medium.

See?

It’s quite complex, isn’t it?

To reduce all of these things to ’boom boom’ and other simple vocabulary to push an easily digestible rhetoric is strange to me.

But as dissatisfied as I am, I cannot find it unacceptable either.

I can’t complain.

After all, Jeophrey is the expert.

He can’t be wrong.

’I suppose geniuses simply think differently when compared to normal people...’ I sigh to myself and force myself to accept this new definition of Armaments.

In a way, this man is truly like Tyrrion.

Both of them have very unconventional ways of operating. Even Craig, my younger brother, had a very different view of the world, and it was largely due to his genius.

But I can’t accept that all geniuses are strange.

After all, people like Enrydral exist.

He is a genius who revolutionized the world with the completion of The Great Bridgeworks, and he isn’t eccentric at all.

He is graceful and understanding.

A ’normal’ person.

"I heard you made Kalakuta’s Armament for him. Can you create something like that for me as well?" After sucking up to him and accepting all the corrections he had regarding my way of thinking, I finally approach him with my request.

And can you guess what this guy tells me?

Just guess.

That’s right! His answer is:

"No. Get lost."