Devil Spawn

"So that's how it is!"

I shakily put down the Lantern and brought my hand to my face before letting out a loud laugh.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

"Am a genius!"

Bro, anyone could have figured that out, really.

Yeah, right.

You know the more you waste time, the closer you get to death.

My inner voice signaled to the waning flame.

Besides why haven't you put out that fire? It's a waste of precious oxygen!

I glanced over to the fire and back to the monster hide.

"Nah am not putting it out."

Why?

My inner voice asked in a bewildered tone.

I grinned and said, "Am burning my bridges. That fire is proof that I have only two options..."

My gaze hardened and the light in my eyes flashed.

"Do or Die."

At my response, my inner voice went silent, prompting me to return back to the hide.

"So, now's time for step two...", I muttered as I wiped a trickle of sweat on my nape.

That sweat was proof of the rising heat and thinning oxygen – the time I had in this cave was truly lessening.

"Ok...so now I understand how the World Energy is transferred into the magic circles but this discovery begs the question?"

I raised the Lantern and gazed at the runic text inscribed on the circular handle. I brought a hand to my chin and thought.

The World Energy resides in the air as well... so why does it only absorb the World Energy from a body?

I pondered for a while and said, "Maybe...this runic text doesn't just mean 'passage'...this text could also have other meanings as well..."

My conclusion sounded plausible; key word 'plausible'.

"Hmm...", I raised the Lantern and looked at the crystal beneath it, "This thing is also another hurdle...surely this is a rather crucial element to powering the teleportation circle..."

Earlier I had discovered that all of Droet's magical items possessed three key elements: a crystal that acted as the conduit for the World Energy, a 'passage' that acted as absorption point of the World Energy and the magic circle that served as the source of the item's Effect.

Together, they form the barebones of the item's magical property.

So, if I insert those variables in the context of the teleportation circle then I can say that the teleportation circle is the source of the Effect 'Teleportation' but the variables 'passage' text and energy conduit are missing...

"Wait...when you look at it from that perspective it sounds as if...Galter wanted to make a teleportation device!"

I gasped, seemingly bewildered before growling, "Fucking bastard! Why didn't he toss that one into his wastebin as well?! It'd do me a huge favor."

I shook my head in resignation before turning back to the teleportation circle.

"I guess my goal now is to create a teleportation device.", I spoke calmly, as if what I was about to create wasn't a machine that broke the laws of physics.

What made my statement even more amusing was the fact that I was a student of the science department.

Pfft! I have a sword that literally has the will of a dying prince, what's to say about a teleportation device?

I let out an amused chuckle and then began to survey the teleportation circle.

"Hmm...it wouldn't be wrong to call this a blueprint for the magic circle of a teleportation item...did Galter draw this as a test run?", I asked myself inquisitively.

Aren't you forgetting one important thing?

The crystals?

No. The text.

That? I'll just copy it and paste it where I need it. I don't need to understand what it means.

You sure?

Oh, I would have loved to spend hours pondering its meaning but sadly, I lack that time.

Uhh...right but there's one other hurdle.

The item, right?

Yes. How you gonna make that one?

I chuckled slightly and turned over to a pile next to the chest.

I'll just use one of Galter's tools.

Ah...I see.

After surveying the teleportation circle and storing a copy of it in my Memory Palace, I approached the pile of the various tools Galter trashed.

"Hmm...so which one will I use?", I muttered while sitting in a lotus position and inspecting the tools.

Of course I had inspected the tools before, a couple of days...before...I think.

They were old, rusty, chipped and some even outright broken, yet despite their sorry states, their bizarre and outlandish designs could barely be overlooked.

SHIFF...

I pulled out a certain tool from the pile and looked at it; it was a strange hammer, half cubic mallet and half pincer edge.

"I guess this might work?", I muttered in a slightly skeptical tone.

How tf does this hammer even work?

Dude, look at that one.

My inner voice pointed me to a truly bizarre instrument.

"On God how is that even mathematical?!"

The instrument I was referring to seemed to be a protractor...or at least something like that.

The damn thing had a semicircle on it's left and another semicircle placed upside down on the right.

Frankly, it looked more like a Beyblade than a protractor.

Bro, the math ain't mathing.

I massaged my temple and put the instrument aside.

My eyes swept across the rest before coming to a halt; I frowned.

"I think I have a problem."

My face turned slightly pale.

"There's no tool that is big enough to be used."

Ah...shit.

My gaze swept around before stopping at the flame.

It was now lower than half its original size.

Shit! Am running out of time.

I panicked and turned to the teleportation circle.

Isn't there a way to use it without an item?

I racked my brain but came out with nothing.

What do I do?

I once again looked around but found nothing, except...

That's it!

I immediately bolted towards the wooden chest.

Am sorry to have to use you this way.

Without wasting another moment, I raised my fist and slammed the chest.

BANG!

A slight tremor rolled through it as well as a loud shockwave but as for the chest...

"Wha?!"

Nothing happened.

It tanked my strike without so much as a crack.

DUNDUN!

I took a step back and muttered in a bewildered tone,

"Ha...am fucked."