Yugioh Card Summoner

CH.355 Side Chapter: Wilma in the Factory

“... another failure…” I looked at the piece of metal we had been working on.

“Don’t blame yourself, miss Wilma. Master understands that this job is quite impossible.” Kotetsu reassured me. He is one of Brian’s summoned ‘monsters’, using something Brian calls an avatar doll. I know they have something to do with Lady Janina and the dragon avatar she uses, but admittedly I don’t fully understand them.

“But you managed to do it.”

“In the Factory.” Kotetsu reminded me. “It is a completely different environment.”

“... Yes.”

“We should take a break now.” Kotetsu then said. “We won’t succeed, if we aren’t at full power.”

“... Yes. Karl, can you clean up?”

“Sure.” He agreed. “Try to relax a bit.”

I exited the workshop, though I had no idea where to go, so I just walked blindly. I didn’t know where to go or what to do. My brain was just filled with making the star titanium.

“... maybe if we tried… no. It won’t work anyway.” I muttered to myself. “... I wish I could see how they did it in that Factory place. Maybe if I could go there.”

I kept speaking to myself as I walked around. I got some looks from Brian’s monsters that were using the avatar dolls, but I just ignored it.

When I eventually realized where I was, I noticed I had walked to Brian’s office. I wonder why I’m here? Did I think he could help me with this? But he already gave the report, so would he know more?

“... I guess I should ask. He always says I can ask anything.” 

With the decision made, I knocked on the door and soon heard an answer to come in. But it wasn’t Brian who answered.

I stepped into the office and there were two people inside, but neither of them was Brian.

One was Endymion, Brian’s assistant who took care of the office when he wasn’t here. The other was one of those ‘Spellcaster monsters’ Brian likes to have around. He was dressed in black like Endymion, but his robes looked a bit more simple than Endymion’s.

“Miss Wilhelmina. Is there something you need? Or do you wish to leave a message to Master?” Endymion asked. Despite how he looks, Endymion is quite gentle, so I wasn’t intimidated by him.

“... no. I was just… wondering about my job.”

“Yes, the star titanium. It is understandable.” Endymion responded.

“... I just wish I knew more about how it happened in the Factory…” I muttered.

“I see. Sadly, I do not have the permission to show you.” Endymion apologized.

Show me? Could he do that if Brian allowed it? But … that Factory place. Isn’t it some sort of place where Brian’s monsters live? Can Brian see what happens there?

“Perhaps I can answer some questions.” The other Spellcaster offered. “After all, I was a part of the crew that made the star titanium in the Factory.”

“... you are? Then Yes! Answer all my questions!” I demanded, until I realized that I should talk like that. “… please.” I meekly added.

“I don’t mind. Endy, do you need me?”

“I can handle things here.” 

“Then shall we head somewhere else, Miss Wilma?”

“... Yes! I want to know everything!”

“That is quite a lot. Perhaps just everything we did while we made the star titanium will suffice.” 

---

“... stardust … dragon fire … and an oxygen barrier.”

“I did say it would be difficult. We haven’t attempted it again, so we don’t know what parts of it don’t have to be done, but if you’d like, we can do some tests.” Sodma offered.

His real name is Sorcerer of Dark Magic, but he asked me to call him Sodma.

“... If I learn to use stardust and maybe one of Brian’s monsters could use special fire magic…” 

“Miss, using stardust is extremely advanced sorcery. It will likely take years to learn how to do so.” Sodma warned me.

“... I see.”

“I think it might be better if you ask Master to summon us at our full power. That way, we could assist you in this endeavor.”

“... Yes. I’ll try to do that.”

---

And eventually, that day came. Brian came to see us and asked us about our progress. Of course he likely knew that we had failed miserably. We had wasted more than two full claws worth of the valuable Ursa Major material and we had nothing to show for it.

I then told Brian about the stardust and he seemed genuinely surprised. Didn’t he know that they used it? Brian even read the report he gave to us, but admittedly that report didn’t include the stardust.

Then there was just one thing to ask.

“Brian. You can summon that monster that can use this ‘stardust’, right? Can’t you do that right now? I know if we have that, we will succeed.” I requested, and after a bit more insisting by us, Brian agreed to summon some monsters.

I had a lot of help summoned. One was a female magician dressed in white and blue. She was going to be heating our ingot with magic.

Next was Sodma, or Sorcerer of Dark Magic. He was going to be producing the stardust along with another Spellcaster, Quintet Magician.

Then there was Cosmo Queen. I was somewhat acquainted with her, as Brian often practices magic with her. I think she can use Space Magic, and she was going to do her best to keep any oxygen from our ingot. I’m not exactly sure what oxygen is, but I do know it causes scale to form on the surfaces of the ingot, and that scale must be cleaned away as soon as it forms, so that it cannot ruin the ingot.

We also had Kotetsu helping us hammer.

I was a bit taken back when everyone decided that I would be the one leading the forging. This made me the one in charge. I would set the rhythm, I would show where to hit and how hard, I would decide when the ingot will need more heat and so on. In short, it was the most difficult job, but everyone agreed that I should do it. I felt a ton of pressure on my shoulders, especially since Brian was going to be watching over us, but I had no choice but to do my best.

And that is most certainly what I did.

---

“DONE!” I called out, when I finally was happy with the ingot. Quintet Magician was doing the final cooling, but it was done. We had an ingot of star titanium. 

Brian then did something with it and confirmed that it was indeed an ingot of high quality star titanium. I was so happy when I heard that we succeeded that I called out with all my might and began jumping around like a little kid.

I was so excited that it took me a while to realize that a System screen had appeared before me.

… The System Support? The thing Brian has? And now I have it too? What is this?

---

Brian decided to throw us a party for our successful forging of the star titanium. I think it might have been because Karl was asking for drinks and I feel like Brian will throw a small garden party for any reason, including no reason.

During the party, I spoke with Brian and asked him what I should do about my new System Support, but he just reassured me that nothing bad would happen to me. 

It … it made me glad. I know Brian is strong, I really do, but the way he speaks, it makes me think he really can take on anyone, even the Goddess herself.

---

The next day, I was asked to come to Brian’s office because he wanted to speak to me about something. I suppose ‘something’ is a lie, as I know what he wants to talk about. 

But what I didn’t expect was both Miss Alice and Miss Lucia being in the room with Brian. 

Did… Did he tell them? 

My heart must have skipped a beat when Brian told me that he told Alice and Lucia about my situation. I told him that I understood why he did it, but I still wish he hadn’t done it.

Brian then asked me about something called a System Link, and while I hadn’t known what it was, my System Support, who sounded exactly like my teacher back at home, quickly explained to me what it was. It was something two System Supports could do, and with the link, they could quickly trade information back and forth, and it would even allow the two holders to speak with each other in their minds.

“... I think I understand. You wish for our System Supports to make this link, right?” I confirmed with Brian.

“Yeah. It will come with some useful tools, but the best one is that with the System Link, you will be able to access my Different Dimension Factory.” Brian confirmed.

What? I can access the Factory if I do this? Then yes. Let’s … 

(Miss. Please calm down first.) My master's voice echoed in my mind.

After calming down a bit, I agreed to the link and let my System Support make it.

After the link was done, my System Support introduced himself to Brian. And then, Brian had three other System Supports introduce themselves to me. Laura, Maria and Kekri. I knew Brian had it, but the other two as well.

---

After a small shock, Brian shocked me again when he said he’d take me to the Factory and show me around. Getting there was no problem, but it did feel a bit funny.

When I was able to see my surroundings again, I was in a huge white hall. It felt like something not of this world. … I suppose Brian did call this the ‘Different Dimension Factory’, so it isn’t of this world.

I had appeared next to a large round table. It looked sizable enough that 10 or more people could easily sit around it. There was also some sort of a raised platform right next to the table.

“Wilma? Are you feeling fine?” Someone spoke to me and when I turned to see who it was, I saw Miss Lucia. But she was dressed differently than she was just beforehand. She often wore either a black or a red dress, but now she was wearing a shirt similar to the shirts Brian always wears, as well as a pair of those ‘jeans’ that Brian always wears. And her shirt has a painting of a cat on it. I wonder how such a detailed painting could have been made on a shirt?

“I’m fine, thank you.” I responded.

“Is your body moving fine? And can you see clearly?” She asked.

I looked around, and moved my body a bit, but everything felt just fine.

“I feel normal.” I answered.

“That’s good. You know, it wasn’t always like that. When I first came here, there was this strange feeling when I moved and my vision was all messed up. You are lucky that the skill has leveled up since then.”

“... That sounds … bad.”

“It was, but luckily it is better now.” Lucia said.

“I wonder how it felt?” I pondered.

“Brian can show you, if you really want.” Alice cut into the conversation. Where was she? I didn’t notice her earlier. And like Lucia, Alice was wearing some unusual clothes.

I then heard some footsteps from the raised platform next to us, and then Brian walked down the steps leading to it.

“Good. You are all here.” Brian said. “Let’s get on with the tour. I know the time is dilated here, but we still don’t have all day, so let’s get this done by lunch.”

… Time is dilated? What does that mean? The time is… larger? Can time be larger? Is it something related to magic? Can magic influence time? 

I was thinking of asking about it, but since Brian said he wanted to get this done, I held the question in. I’ll ask later if I get the chance.

Brian began to explain things about the Factory. Mainly how each of the doors on either side of this big hall would lead to rooms that had different habitats. It sounded a bit strange, but Brian said I’d understand when I saw it.

But before he began showing me places that would be useful for me, he first said: “I think Laura, Mia and Kekri should show themselves to Wilma.” And after he did, three more people just … appeared out of nowhere.

The first one, Brian’s System Support named Laura, was a young woman similar in age to Brian. She had long brown hair and she was dressed in clothes that looked both casual and high class at the same time.

Next next woman seemed just a bit older than Laura. She was Miss Lucia’s System Support, Maria. She had crimson hair and turquoise eyes, just like Lucia, but her hair was quite short and tied into a bun, and she wore a purple and black dress.

The last one was the only male. He was somewhere around 18 or so in age. His hair was spiky black with blond highlights. He was wearing clothes similar to Brian, except that his outfit was mostly black and purple. I wonder if Alice chose those clothes for him so that he would look similar to Brian?

Because these three were Brian, Alice and Lucia’s System Support, I naturally asked if mine could appear like that, only to learn it is only possible if I’m not here. I could get him to appear at the same time as me, but I would have to get him to go from ‘Basic’ to ‘Standard’ first. I didn’t at first realize what it meant, but my System Support explained that it refers to their power. Basic is the lowest, then Standard, then Advanced, and lastly Perfect.

I wonder what power System Support Brian has? It has to be at least Standard, but maybe he has Advanced or even Perfect?

---

As Brian showed me around, my mind was blown time and time again. Just what is this place? How can there be entrances to all these massive rooms so close together? It should be impossible, but that is how this place was.

I was also shown just how many monsters Brian can summon. He said that almost all of them live here when he doesn’t need them and it showed. There must have been over a thousand different monsters here. When I asked Brian about it, he said that a total of 1334 unique monsters live here. And that wasn’t counting something he called ‘tokens’, as well as multiples of the same monsters. I didn’t really understand what those are, but maybe eventually.

As we kept touring the place, we were also joined by two more people. One was a girl, around 15 in age with blue hair. The other girl was about 10, with light brown hair. Brian introduced them as Tahlia and Fantasia. They were apparently avatars made by his skills. 

… I just… don’t know. Skills are alive? And can have some sort of avatars? The System Supports are one thing, but skills? That just … I’ll just let it be. Nothing I can do about that.

---

“And this will be your room. We’ll make a workshop here that you can use however you like.” Brian said, as he brought me to an empty white space. It was a similar room to all of the ‘habitat’ rooms Brian showed me, but this one was still empty, and he was planning on giving it to me.

“... So I can do whatever I want with it?” I asked.

“Yes, you can.” Brian confirmed. “You’ll have to ask for Laura or Fantasia’s help, because you can’t just mentally control the Factory thought.” 

“... Mentally control?”

“This space is in Brian’s mind.” Alice told me. “Here, he can do whatever he can think. Show her.”

“Sure.” Brian agreed with Alice’s demand.

Then, in the blink of an eye, a building appeared before us. It looked way too familiar to me.

“... my old workshop.” I said, as I looked at it. It felt both nostalgic and terrifying at the same time. The last time I saw it, it was fully engulfed in flames, and I honestly wasn’t sure if I wanted to see it ever again.

But looking at it now, it looked different from how I remember it. It was… it was brand new. Like the day I had finished building it. And that felt … I felt reinvigorated by seeing it. Like I was ready to work my hardest to accomplish my dreams again.

“Do you like it?” Brian asked. “I can make something else if you’d prefer?”

“No. No.” I quickly said. “... I love it. Thank you.”

“Then let’s head inside. There are a few things there I want to show you.” Brian said, as he opened the door.

---

The inside was largely how I remember it. It felt so familiar that I almost couldn’t keep the tears out of my eyes. I felt like I had returned to where I belong again.

“Here it is.” Brian said, as something appeared in his hand.

It looked like … a metal plate? But it doesn’t seem to be made of metal?

“What is that?” I asked, as a part of the plate lit up. “Wh-What?”

“This is your new design tablet.” Brian answered. “With it, you can make designs for weapons.” As he explained that, he drew something on the tablet with his finger. It was just simple lines.

He then showed me how I could use some other features of this ‘tablet’ and I got to try it out.

I began drawing a simple sword blueprint, and when I was finished, Brian showed me that I could then make that blueprint into a real weapon right on the spot. To do that, I only had to pick the materials it would be made of. 

That is when the next shock came. The list of metals included things like that aluminium that Brian showed me previously, but also the legendary metals. I could just … make a sword of orichalcum? I quickly tested it, and an orichalcum sword just like my drawing most certainly appeared. I quickly took a hold of it and looked at it. 

My first legendary sword. And it was so easy to make. This place is wonderful.

“Don’t think that it is real.” Brian told me. “Nothing in the Factory is really real. It is just all in my mind. Sure it feels real, and you think it is real, but it really isn’t. But it is fun to play with stuff that is difficult to get in the real world, isn’t it?”

“... I see. Yes, I understand.” I responded, a bit taken down. Of course it can’t be that easy.

“It is great for testing things out though.” Brian said. “So you can make a prototype sword here, then remake it in the real world. And since you experimented here first, you probably won’t make a mistake in the real world.”

“... but I don’t have this ‘tablet’ in the real world, so can I get these designs out of here?” I asked.

“I’ll make a printer, so yes. Actually, I think I’ll eventually make you and Karl a 3D holo table for the workshop and you’ll be able to use that, but that will take me a few days to do. But look forward to it.”

“Yes. I will.” 

I then took an even closer look at the sword I just made, and used Appraisal on it. As its information popped up, I was taken back again.

This is … Is this really what I made? It is not much better than what I could make with steel. How is this something made of orichalcum? Shouldn’t it be so much better?

“... Is something wrong?” Brian asked.

“Yes! This sword. It is … It’s awful! How can an orichalcum sword be this bad?” I asked.

“... Show it to be.” Brian requested and I handed the sword over to him.

He seemingly took a look at it, maybe he appraised it? 

“That’s just how it is.” He then said. “The description is accurate. This is just something quick you made. Of course it isn’t actually legendary. Even in the Factory, you won’t make a legendary blade just because you want to. You have to put in the work to perfect the sword. Then it might come out legendary.” Brian said.

… Of course. I should have known that. Just because I have legendary materials, I won’t have a legendary sword. Why did I think like that? I really should have known better.

Then… the star titanium. Brian wants me to turn it into a sword. And I will make it into a legendary sword. … but now I know. Just because the material is legendary won’t mean that the sword will be. I’ll … I’ll spend a lot of time here. I’ll design a star titanium sword that really will be legendary. 

And then I’ll remake it with the ingot we forged and I really will be a legendary smith!

---

(Miss. You need to stop for today.)

“Don’t interrupt me.” I snapped at my System Support. “Just a bit more and this will be finished.”

(Do I need to call Lady Laura again?) Claus asked.

“No! She will … Just give me a bit more time and this will be finished. I know this one will finally give the wielder strength.” I begged. 

(I’m sorry Miss, but I know it won’t be ‘just a bit’. Last time you said that, you took over two more hours.) Claus said. (And you also have that job Master Brian gave you. You should do it.)

“...”

(The design will wait for tomorrow.)

“... alright.” I gave in, and pressed the ‘Save’ icon on the holotable.