Fran jumped at the sudden voice, but quickly recovered and realized she had heard it before.
She turned and saw Harbos, the Weapon Forging instructor, standing there.
Only then did she relax. Being discovered by Harbos was no problem; she had intended to seek his protection anyway.
Harbos looked at her through the white mist filling the room. He had never expected that, less than a month after arriving in the City of Apprentices, he would encounter a "genius" capable of solving his problem.
He spoke with a smile.
"The reason you failed just now was that, when you envisioned the tool you were making, you did not imagine how it moved. You only imagined what it looked like."
"Think of how a sword attacks an enemy, or how your staff casts spells. Once you imagine those things clearly, you can make this spell work."
Hearing that, Fran followed Harbos's description and tried again.
This time, she imagined a Steam Engine in motion. In her mind, it spewed thick white vapor, making the connected flywheel spin at an exaggerated speed.
However, Fran got stuck again, because she realized that the spell required her to imagine how she would use it to produce an effect.
For example, if she made an incredibly awesome sword, then when using this spell, she would imagine it constantly held in her hand, attacking along with her movements.
In gaming terms, that effect could be summed up as greatly increasing swordsmanship damage.
But how was the Steam Engine she had made supposed to enhance her own combat ability?
That did not stump someone as imaginative as her. She envisioned herself wearing a compact, high-powered steam device, with pulleys and gears linking it to her limbs, allowing the device to assist her movements.
The idea was extremely