SSS-Rank Engineer: Only I Can Create Legendary Weapons

The carriage rattled on the concrete road. Percy reclined into the velvet cushions of the carriage, exhaling a heavy breath.

"The air out here is so… light? Warm? Refreshing? I can't put my finger on it."

Thalos nodded, his black hair was tied into a simple ponytail. He held his katana in his lap, gray eyes listlessly studying the green prairies.

"In the city, the eyes of people grow heavy on your shoulders. It can sometimes even weaken your spirit, which is why some fighters never perform well in front of crowds. But I didn't think you really felt the weight of anyone's gaze."

Percy shrugged.

"I don't care much what people think, I guess. But being alone does make it easier to feel like yourself sometimes."

"Oh, I hope I'm not restricting your true self then?"

"I'll be alright," Percy said. "It's just you and me, and Bart, the grumpy old man."

The carriage driver turned back. His face was stern and wrinkled, his graying hair fell limply over his head.

"Are you trying to make me regret asking for this duty?"

"Well, I did tell you to stay in the city," Percy muttered, eyes closed. "But then you just went and asked for a job that'll keep you on the road for months. You're too old for this kind of journey."

"Shut it, you brat. I—" Bart turned to give Thalos an unsure gaze, but the father seemed to understand his son's relationship with everyone. "I do what I want, I don't take advice from kids."

Percy let out a huff of annoyance and then turned on his side a little.

"Whatever, Barty. Don't come crying to me when your knees start aching."

"I'll be fine, Percy. I brought the pain relievers you made me. Hahah, sucker." He briefly turned to Thalos once again. "I apologize if the disrespect is too much, Lord Thalos. He doesn't answer me if I don't call him Percy."

Thalos waved his hand, smiling brightly.

"I don't mind. And just call me Thalos; I married into the nobility, I'm not very used to their customs."

"Alright then, Thalos. It's an honor to meet you."

"Likewise. I'm glad to see my son get along with people. He was very antisocial as a child. What I don't understand is why he wants everyone to call him Percy."

Percy sighed; his parents had been very worried about his insistence on using a nickname, as it wasn't very common in the Crona Kingdom.

"Percy takes less effort to say, and I like the sound of it. It also makes it easier to trick old people into trusting you when you have nicknames."

Bart snorted.

"What are you going to do with my trust?"

"Steal your daughter."

"Good luck, shortie. She's not into kids, thankfully. I raised her right."

"I'm like white chocolate," Percy mused with a grin. "No one is into chocolate until their first bite of white chocolate, and then they exclusively eat me. Are you writing this down, Barty?"

Barty just laughed and turned to the left. They were passing long fields of wheat and oats. The farmers on the side of the road rose once they saw Percy and Thalos in the carriage.

"Thalos, it's nice to see you out here again. Lord Perseus, it's a great honor to witness you on your journey to becoming a Spiritmancer. I will make sure to tell my kids about this!"

This form of greeting continued as they went along the long fields. They were irrigated by ceramic pipes that Percy laid here almost three years ago.

He remembered trying for days to reverse-engineer the Archimedean screw to make sure he could supply the water this far out with enough pressure. Good times. Trying to recreate something with a vague sense of how it works is always fun. But something else was nagging him.

"Why is everyone calling me Lord Perseus and you Thalos? What is this weird switch up? Did they forget that you're my father and also a noble?"

Thalos chuckled.

"Well if the way nobles talk about me is to be believed, I'm just a polished commoner, a humble man of the land."

"When you're done praising yourself, you can answer my question."

"I don't really know," Thalos said plainly. "I spend a lot of time out here, but I wouldn't say I'm particularly close to anyone. Most people out here only know you for your brilliance; they don't know the person."

Percy thought about that for a moment. Humans tended to deal with the abstract the less they knew about you. They'd tacked on concepts of valor and divinity to try and understand why you did the things you did.

"Maybe they don't really know you either. They know Thalos the warrior that works hard day and night to keep their fields safe, but they don't know Thalos the father or the husband. So they make up a story of using your common lineage."

Barty hummed in agreement.

"You don't often see the Spiritmancers come down here to help us normal folk. I heard a lot of people were afraid of you at first, but the way you keep your distance makes people more interested. They wanna know why you do the things you do."

Thalos tapped the polished wood of the carriage, the golden fields and his deep thoughts reflected in his gray eyes.

"That's nice."

There was a somewhat awkward moment of silence that none of them rushed to fill. The three of them were very used to being alone with their thoughts so they just let time pass by. Percy had a question though.

"We didn't bring many bags. So is the plan to rough it out in the wilderness? Old Barty's back can't take any more torture."

Barty simply ignored his jab, smiling a little. Thalos nodded, turning to Percy with an excited grin.

"You need to learn more about how to survive away from civilization. Of course, we will stop at some inns; I don't want to inconvenience Bart."

"Forget what the brat was saying. I can handle sleeping in the dirt! I was in the third Yarm-Crona war."

Thalos smiled politely, but he was still planning to try and take some breaks for the old man's health.

"Tonight, we'll set up camp in one of my favorite spots. Then we'll hunt a some monster. It's also about time you start learning how to use your Fighting spirit."

Percy raised an eyebrow.

"I thought you said I wouldn't start learning until I was fifteen. That I needed some years to foster my Fighting spirit, and get used to igniting it."

Thalos nodded; that had been his original plan. Percy was a genius in everything, but Arete wasn't something you were born talented in. It had to be painstakingly trained and fostered for years. There was a reason why the oldest warriors had the strongest Fighting Spirits.

Thalos truly believed no one was born talented in Arete… until he met his own son at least.

"Your fighting spirit already burns with a constant flame. What you need now is the instinct needed to ignite the spirit at will. I have a method to teach you that… just forgive me for how intense it'll get."