Jerik knocked on the door to Nicholas’ quarters sometime after the sun had gone down, after all the inventory from the monster hunt had been sold off and the profits gathered. The young man answered the door at once, his hair tousled as if he’d just woken up.

“What’s up, boss?” He asked, running one hand through his hair to put it back in order. “Late-night training?”

Jerik gave a short laugh. “No. Just giving you your share of the profits from the mission.”

He held out the small transfer chip, and Nicholas took it, looking uncertain. “I didn’t expect to get a share. I thought it was normally only officers that got a share of the loot from missions.”

“That’s what you are,” Jerik told him. He grinned at the shocked look on his face. “Effective immediately. It only makes sense. You’re a natural leader. I saw what you did with Jack. I need that kind of brain in an officer.”

A grin slowly spread across Nicholas’ face as he looked down at the chip. It vanished as he activated it, and his eyes widened slightly. “That can’t be a ten percent share. We didn’t kill that many monsters.”

“Part of it’s your pay,” Jerik explained. “Consider it an advance. But first, come with me. Bring your sword and shield.”

“Alright.” The young man closed his door for a few seconds, then reappeared carrying the items requested. He’d also donned his overcoat. Dark blue and trimmed in silver, the sleeveless garment fits his martial artist aesthetic well when combined with the baggy trousers. They both headed downstairs and through the common room of the dorms they’d rented. Katrina, Benji, and Morgan were waiting for them by the door. Nicholas looked a little uncertain at the presence of the others, but Jerik motioned for him to step outside in a reassuring sort of way.

“I’ll be upfront,” he said, as he and the others stood in a line behind Nicholas. “I’m going to make you the platoon’s engineer. I want to see exactly what you’re capable of. What was the second shield you used during the hunt? I’ve never seen a piece of equipment with more than one mode.”

“You want me to be the engineer?” Nicholas asked, his jaw-dropping. “I mean, I knot that’s what I was hoping for, but why me?”

Jerik waved the question aside. “That can come later. How did you fit more than one kind of shield into the gauntlet?”

Nicholas looked between him and Morgan, who was leaning forward, her professional curiosity piqued. For a moment, he was hesitant to answer, because he knew it was something that very few could do. He’d learned it from his Menoran mentor, who had been very strict in warning him not to share the knowledge with just anyone. It was a method unique to Magik-Menorans, after all, and jealously guarded. But it was also a fact that Kel-Senna trusted Jerik, so perhaps he could tell him.

“It’s not an extra mode,” he said after a minute of silence. “It’s all the same enchantment.”

Their faces showed their surprise and disbelief. Before any of them could voice their obvious skepticism, he slid the gauntlet onto his arm to demonstrate. First, he lifted the arm straight and made a fist, making the tower shield. Then he makes the punch shield by extending his fist outward. “It’s all the same enchantment, it just matches what motion I make.”

“What other forms can it take?” Morgan asked. “Are there more?”

“Just two,” he said. He put his hand perpendicular to his chest and laid his fingers flat. The shield reappeared again, this time as a smaller version of the tower. A kite shield, Jerik recognized. “This is essentially the same as the tower, but I can move while using it. It’s also weaker.”

“That’s useful,” Katrina said, speaking for the first time. She was frowning thoughtfully as her mind ran through the possible applications of that item. “Not much use against artillery or powerful attacks, though.”

Nicholas shrugged his shoulder. “It was the best I could do with the materials I had. I’d already spent most of my points on the sword and modified it to my liking, so the shield’s rather low quality.”

“What’s the fourth form?” Jerik asked, feeling that they were getting a little off track.

“It’s something to help with bombardment,” Nicholas answered, inclining his head in Katrina’s direction. “I’m still working on improving it, but I can show you.”

He closed his hand save for two fingers, which were extended like a small blade, then swiped it in a diagonal line through the air. The shield that appeared was much larger. It formed over his head, and it was the first slanted object. Jerik could tell that it was designed to deflect attacks at an angle. It brought to mind the slanted armor plates of a tank, in the way that they were designed to do the same. It was an unheard-of application of a shield, and it reinforced his instinctive decision to make Nicholas his engineer.

“What’s wrong with it?” He asked. “If it follows the principle of a tank’s armor, that could have been used to deflect Paragon’s shots.”

“It’s too weak,” Nicholas said, the disappointment in his voice all too obvious. “My gauntlet can barely classify as Rare-Class as it is. Sure, it’s strong, but the materials behind it are sub-par. I’d have to remake the entire piece if I wanted to improve it further, and I can’t afford that.”

Jerik took a deep breath and looked sideways at Morgan. “Makes sense. And that fits what we expected.”

Morgan agreed, but no sign of it showed on her face, which was now calm and blank. “But is this the best you can do? Or can you grow with proper funding and supplies?”

Nicholas knew what she meant at once. “You want to make sure I won’t be a waste of resources.”

Jerik looked a little uncomfortable at the statement, but Morgan replied at once. “Of course. We’re on an important mission, after all. This campaign will require the best effort from all involved.”

Nicholas bit his lip, looking hesitant. “I… have some ideas. I only have these two that I’ve made or modded myself, but I have schematics and projects that I’ve completed in the past.”

“Could we see some of these schematics?” Jerik asked, pulling the conversation back to a ground he felt more comfortable on. “Do you have them nearby?”

“I have them here.”

Nicholas retrieved his mobile device and pressed one of the buttons on the side. It expanded at once, to their surprise. He flashed a grin, a little more confident. “Custom mobile. My mentor and I designed it. Yes, I can modify yours to do this as well.”

Now holding what was essentially a clipboard-sized holographic screen, Nicholas set it on the ground. It immediately started projecting a set of cubes in mid-air, cubes that moved around with the slightest gesture from his hand. Jerik and Morgan watched on with fascination as he picked one of the boxes, opened it, and a row of figures appeared on the screen. He selected one, and the others vanished, leaving what looked like a rifle design spinning slowly in mid-air.

“This,” he said, making a pinching motion, which made the rifle break into its parts, “Is my concept for a Magik mortar rifle. There will be runes inscribed inside the barrel to accelerate and strengthen any spell, which is formed as input here on the stock.”

He pointed out a series of buttons on the stock of the rifle, easily accessible with the left hand while holding the rifle. There had to be nearly fifty buttons, indicating that a wide variety of options was available. Katrina and Benji both gasped, then exchanged quiet words in a rush. They were speaking some language Jerik didn’t know, that sounded like Russian. Jerik wondered what they were discussing, but another question had occurred to him.

“This is Magitek, right?” He asked. Nicholas nodded slowly. “Do you make anything that’s strictly Tek?”

“I have a few designs for that…” Nicholas replied, sounding uncertain. “But each branch has its limitations. I try to play to the strengths of either.”

Jerik waved a hand dismissively. “I know the popular opinions. But what do you have that’s Tek-specific?”

Nicholas made a downward swiping motion, hiding the mortar rifle from view. He went back to the boxes, picked one, and brought up another line of figures. Jerik pointed at one that caught his attention at once. It was a suit of armor. “What’s that?”

“That’s my concept for Tek armor.”

“You can make custom Tek armor?” Morgan asked quickly, her indifferent mask fading in an instant. Her information broker tendencies were showing now, wondering just how much unknown information this kid had at his disposal.

“Sure you can,” Nicholas spoke as if it were common knowledge, but the idea was so foreign to all of them. “Magik armor too. I mean, the smiths who make theirs build them from scratch. The ones you get from Raid-class monsters are just basic variants.”

“But can you make them?” Morgan asked, more insistently. “Have you produced anything like this before?”

By way of answering, he switched to a different schematic, one of a set of robes with piecemeal armor. He selected one of the bracers shown and held up his own for them to see. The real thing was a spitting image of the schematic. “I already have.”

“Show me the Tek armor again, please,” Morgan said. Again, she and Jerik shared a quick look. They knew they were both thinking the same thing.

Nicholas switched back to it at once and gestured to spin it in place slowly. Jerik stared intently, memorizing the details. A lightweight suit, with chip input for different modes. The model showed separate goggles and a cloak, with the note [Extra Additions]. That seemed to imply that the armor could b worn in combination with other things. He pointed to the series of chips indicated beside the model. “What are those for?”

“Oh,” Nicholas looked surprised that he’d noticed. “Those are stat chips.”

“Stat chips?”

“Kind of like removable modifications,” He explained. “You can put item effects on one of those, and slide them into a slot on the arm here. The idea is that the AI in the suit can load whatever effects you want on it. The idea is hot-swappable loadouts, like with my gauntlet.”

Jerik leaned back, impressed. “What would you need to build that?”

“A lot. Definitely a few different legendary materials.”

“But if we got the materials, you could build this?”

“Definitely.” Nicholas’ face showed nothing but confidence in his plans. “If you supply me with enough materials, I can outfit us with a lot. But if I do this, I want something too. I want to create a better version of my armor.”

“Done,” Jerik said at once. Morgan didn’t even look surprised. “We’re up against Kel-Menora at the end, so we need the best gear we can get.”

He held out a hand, and Nicholas gripped it firmly, sealing the deal. A grin spread across both faces, and Jerik laughed. “I knew you’d be good for it, I just didn’t know you had so many ideas. You’re hired.”