Apocalypse Redux

Chapter 87: When normal no longer cuts it

“So, what is that thing you wanted me to look at?” Stagmer asked, leading Isaac towards the shop of the tailor he’d recruited. There were now almost a dozen craftsmen who’d moved into the area specifically because Isaac was providing them materials. Stagmer was the one responsible for finding the people and playing middleman to ensure that Isaac wasn’t bothered by constant requests for specific stuff.

“I don’t know, yet. We’re going to be exploring some new summoning categories later and expect to be confronted with a lot of stuff with properties we haven’t even imagined yet. And like it or not, you’re one of the foremost experts in handling [System]-enhanced metals and the expert where shaping them using traditional methods are concerned.” Isaac explained “Oh and by the way, I’ll be flying to Korea on Sunday, so I’ll need the weapons I ordered by then. Also, while I’m over there, I’d like to give my time slots to a Polizeihauptmeister by the name of Franz Habicht.”

“We’ve met. Apparently, you sent one of his former subordinates my way and now they want to outfit an entire special forces unit with my gear.” Stagmer replied “That was … different.”

“Well, better get used to it.” Isaac laughed and slapped Stagmer’s back “You’re famous now, you’re theblacksmith, the modern incarnation of Wayland the smith or the dwarf Alberich. Your peers can now be counted on hand.”

“Welp, that’s a thought.” Stagmer blanched “I hope I’ll prove worthy of that … responsibility?”

“For what it’s worth, there are a lot of people suddenly finding themselves as world level experts without even realizing it.” Isaac replied “We’re in new waters now and even small advances can put you above the rest.”

“Uh-hu. Still weird.” Stagmer shook his head “Anyway, here we are. Fabian is an old friend, and an excellent Tailor, but stubborn as an old mule. It took him a while to come on board, but once he did, he jumped right on making those clothes you wanted. Er, weaving the cloth, he still needs to get your precise measurements. What kind of silk was that, anyway?”

“Spider silk.” Isaac replied “But those things are a million times more dangerous than their Tier would indicate, much like with that Stormheart Gestalt. When you summon a Weaver Queen, you don’t just summon a big spider, you summon a bloody swarm.”

Summoning List (Arachnid)

Name

Material Cost

Mana Cost

Nope Spider

Tier 1 Circle, handful of dead bugs, 2 Thumbtacks

10

Lupine Spider

Tier 2 Circle, Hair, Thumbtacks, Acid

50

Eight-Legged Stalker

Tier 3 Circle, Paint Drops, handful of dead Bugs

120

Eight-Legged Horror

Tier 4 Circle, Cobwebs, Paper Mobius Loop

200

Weaver Queen

Tier 5 Circle, Cobwebs, Silk, handful of dead Bugs

400

…

He flashed open the relevant summoning list.

“Basically, each of the small ones that gets away can grow into a queen in their own right and they will do so if there isn’t another queen around. There’ll always be a queen unless you get them all, and that makes them a huge problem.”

“Yeah, you might want to stress that when you talk to Fabian, he was tickled pink when he got his hands on that silk and I’d really rather he didn’t try to get that silk on his own.” Stagmer warned.

“Oh, I will. But I’ll also do my damndest to make sure he has more of the stuff than he can use.” Isaac reassured him “My [Class] lets me harvest this stuff pretty handily.”

“And here we are.” Stagmer announced, gesturing at a small, unmarked shop. It had the typical display window common for these kinds of shops and the door with a large window, but there were curtains drawn on both, denying them a look inside.

There were also no signs or nameplates on the wall outside or in any of the windows, making it look like it was no longer being used as a shop, but the clatter of a sowing machine coming from inside told a different story.

Rather than knocking, Stagmer walked up to the door and opened it, directly, entering into a room that looked a lot more like a tailor’s than the outside. Rolls of fabric neatly stacked in shelves that covered one wall in its entirety, a series of posters depicting odd designs covered another. In the far corner stood some kind of loom, though that was all Isaac could tell with his limited knowledge.

Next to that loom lay two additional rolls of fabric, off-white and glowing with power when he checked them using his [Aura]. Clearly, this was the product of his work with the spider silk Isaac had gotten.

Obtaining the raw silk had actually been pretty easy, all he’d had to do was set up a series of scaffolds in his summoning area, summon the Weaver Queen, and then wait under [Stealth]. Being an ambush predator, this species of spider began to build a massive web, weaving it throughout the scaffold.

All the while, he’d kept track of each individual spider with his [Aura], using a soft touch to ensure he didn’t tip them off to his spying. As his mana had dipped under 100, he vaporized almost all of the spiders with a [Sweeping Strike], leaving behind only the main Weaver and a handful of little ones.

The rest was easy. Crush all the little ones, skewer the big one, collect the cobwebs. Sure, sweeping a stick through the sticky mass of spider webs created quite the mess, one that people would be hard-pressed to untangle even with modern technology, but not for the [Skills] a [Tailor] could get.

And the rest was history. He’d sent the silk to Stagmer to see if he knew anyone who could use it, who’d then found Fabian Arlt and passed it along. Any [Tailor] worth their salt would have then recognized how useful the silk could be and picked up the necessary [Skills] that would let him utilize it.

“Ah, Helmut, there you are.” Arlt called from a door that led deeper into the shop “And I’m guessing you’re Isaac Thoma, then?”

“Yes, I believe we have an appointment?” Isaac replied.

“That’s correct. I’ve managed to turn that silk into proper fabric, which, I might add, required specific [Skills], now I just need your measurements.” Arlt said.

“Good to know. How many [Skills] did you have to get?” Isaac asked.

“Two, why do you ask?”

“[Skill] and [Class] choices stick with you and can have long-lasting consequences.” Isaac explained “Generally, if someone has to make those choices to fulfil an order, they’re paid for that.”

“Generally? I’ve never heard of it.”

“It’s pretty new, just like everything else about the [System].” Isaac said.

“I suppose so. But this was already expensive enough, is all of this worth it for a couple of shirts and pants?” Arlt wondered.

Isaac just laughed “Oh, it absolutely is. With how fast I’m getting, air resistance is becoming quite a problem. Pretty soon, I’ll have to make the choice between fighting in my birthday suit or breaking out the spandex. Or I’d have to, if Mr. Stagmer hadn’t pointed me your way.”

Arlt joined him in his laughter “You know, if you’re interested in a superhero costume, I do make those as well.”

“Hm, maybe later. A Halloween costume, perhaps, but not something I’d ever wear in my ordinary life.” Isaac said.

Arlt shrugged “Sure, if that’s what you want.”

With that, he broke out the measuring tape and began to take Isaac’s measurements.

“What kind of clothing are you looking for? Helmut told me about basic shirts and pants, but nothing more specific.”

“Clothing you wear while doing strenuous physical activity, something that wouldn’t look out of place on a university campus, at least initially. After that, I’d also like something akin to regular workout clothes. They should be tighter than normal to reduce drag, but still something I can freely move in.” Isaac said “Muted colors, something that doesn’t show stains well, especially blood.”

The only response he got was a single raised eyebrow.

“I suppose I should explain that I’m a [System] researcher and spend most of my time summoning, shouldn’t I?” he added.

“Ah, that makes more sense.” Arlt said “Now, this is going to be made out of the silk, correct? It might be tough, but it stains very easily when it comes into contact with liquids. Also, silk is usually limited to dress outfits, running around in pure silk outfits is definitely going to look out of place. Maybe I could mix in some other fibers to create something that looks more like ordinary, every-day wear, if that is something you’re interested in.”

“Not looking like a peacock would certainly be nice, yeah. I usually wear pants with plenty of pockets that can be securely closed, that kind of look would be great, but I also need some place to attach the sheath of my combat knife. You’re the expert here, you know better than me what that would require.” Isaac said while Arlt rolled up his measuring tape and stepped away.

“So, you need tight clothing with minimal drag, plenty of pockets that won’t spill even if you’re doing crazy acrobatics and a place to attach your knife? Would you prefer some belt loops so you can wear a belt, or a specialized attachment point so you don’t need to be wearing a belt to properly carry your weapon?”

“Hm, can you me two pairs of pants, one with a belt and one with a specialized attachment?”

“Yeah, I can do that. Anything else?” Arlt asked, already writing down some ideas on a piece of paper.

“I’d also like a set of semi-formal wear, polo shirts and pants in brighter colors. Azure, Navy-blue, burgundy and dark green, but that can wait.” Isaac said “in addition, if you have [Skills] that would reduce the wind resistance of the clothing you produce, I’d be willing to pay you for taking it.”

“Sure. For future reference, is there a list somewhere as to how much people get paid to adjust their build for their clients?” Arlt asked.

“No, but there probably will be, eventually. I’ve been tangentially involved in situations like this before, and we created a rough calculation for the price. Depending on how useful the [Skill] or [Skills] chosen would be outside of the project you’re getting them for, the [Skill’s] rarity and your Level, something like that can theoretically cost over a hundred thousand euros, but that would be for someone at their first Evolution getting something that they can’t get much use out of otherwise.

“Getting a few [Skills] to help your customers ignore wind resistance is something I’d offer you five thousand euros for. And once you do have it, you’ve got a guaranteed customer in me at the very minimum, but once other people start running into the wind resistance issue, they’ll flock to someone who can help alleviate that issue.” Isaac said, and then gave Arlt the same spiel he’d given Stagmer so long ago, about how he could provide Aspects in exchange for some a monopoly on a certain amount of the other man’s time and so on and so forth.

Arlt declined the offer but said he’d think about it, but Isaac knew he’d take the offer, just like Stagmer had, and several of the blacksmith’s colleague’s, none of which Isaac had met, but he’d seen some of their products, they were excellent.

The point was, this was an excellent deal, but Arlt hadn’t wanted to seem too eager.

Now Isaac had an entire weekend to prepare for the coming few days, because they were going to be busy as hell, as the Sunday after the next one, they were going to be flying to Korea and he wanted to have broken ground on a few new areas of research by then.

Because if they didn’t, it’d have to wait until Professor Bailey returned, weeks later. It wouldn’t be the end of the world, but it would be rather suboptimal.

So they needed to break into the sixth summoning Tier, figure out how the monsters there worked, realize they also wielded [Auras], even if they were rather simplistic compared to what humans did. That way, whoever stayed behind could explore the wonders of Tier 6 monsters while those who went were deciphering the secrets of the dungeons.

And then there was the titanic mess that were the less than friendly extradimensional spaces. They contained monsters but also fancy treasures, and there were wonderful things you could turn the cores of those temporary realities into.

But before then, he needed to level up a little, so that was what he’d be spending the weekend doing.