We dine on some freshly made steak and rice, courtesy of my creation skill.

Not gonna lie, I think this might actually be good. Apart from the absolutely delectable meals Gran cooks every now and then, I really have only gotten to taste this one or two times in my whole life, so getting to eat this again, Just the best feeling ever.

Lyanna already deep into the dish stares at me for a second like she's trying to decide if that's a real answer. Then she goes back to eating. I'll take that as approval.

We eat in quiet for a bit. Not uncomfortable quiet, just the kind that happens when two people don't have anything to say and are fine with that. She eats with the focused attention of someone who hasn't had a proper meal in a while, which I suppose she hasn't. I watch her from the corner of my eye and don't say anything about it.

"Like it?"

She nods, I almost instinctively do the same, and my earlier assumption is solidified.

Well that's reassuring.

I find my attention drifting to the other view I have on my left eye; Still searching for a sign of anyone, or anything. But still nothing. I can very clearly see the pathways going on, but they're just... empty. If that's the case, then where the hell do those creatures keep coming from from? It can't be that they just appear randomly right? Right?

Every corner of every turn, I zoom in trying my best to find something out of the ordinary, and only end up with a slight headache. Again. EVERY TIM—

Since we need to get a move on, I'll need to figure out a way to carry this entire carriage without me having to pull the damn thing; My back and legs would waste around 8-10 minutes dragging it manually. Sure it might be good exercise since I have no spells or skills here, but I also just really want to have fun with this 'new' skill. I have an idea but I'm not too sure about it.

I finish eating early and wash my hands as Lyanna continues. She glances at me from the side,

“I’m going outside for a bit. You can keep the plate in the sink. I’ll put it away”

She nods in agreement and I get out.

Since I don't know how to make petrol, water was the first alternative that came to mind; But there's a better way now that I have creation. I can replicate how a piston engine works; a piston array connected to a shaft, same as any standard combustion layout. Instead of fuel, I'll place Electro circles on the piston face and Inferno circles on the cavity wall. When the two collide, the interaction produces a blast that drives the piston. Mechanically it's the same as combustion, just the source is different.

For the sake of concentrating, I close my eyes and visualize an individual piston and its housing.

I clear my cluttered mind, and create a dot. Just a plain dot to help concentrate my focus, get a clear picture, and drown the noise out.

Not the most effective when it comes to detail...

I clear the slate, and add the circles and adjust the timing across each piston. Three more after that, all with the circles implemented. Then the shaft—

I just lost it.

After focusing into the circles, I've completely lost track of the piston design... FUCK.

Even though the circles are a part of the very pistons I have imagined, I somehow still managed to lose detail.

Can I use AutoCAD for this.

I try again.

Reimagine the pistons, now armed with the fact I have a base design, zoom in this time, and add the circle layer. Slowly focus my field out, a—

Aaaand I lost it again...

Ok, change of plans. I open my eyes.

What other ways do I have to this. I can draw I guess, but that's just too much work and I'll most definitely forget again. It's much easier when you can just quickly imagine it.

I think for a bit.

I got nothing. Maybe I'll try a different approach this time.

I stop momentarily walking in a circle, close my eyes, and get to imagining.

This time I picture the pistons, and materialize it first before anything.

Blocks materialize in front of me, whirling in from the sides, and form the pistons I envisioned.

And now, having a sensory anchor of the pistons floating in front of me, I add the circles.

Same process, they materialize, and add onto the piston face, and cavity wall.

The shaft with a gear ratio in a container. An exhaust channel for the excess steam. A cover for the piston housing that protects the shaft. The gearbox connected down to an axle, into tires. The process is the same. Add each detail a layer at a time.

Control panel las— Oh shit I didn't think of a way to adjust the speed.

I almost lose my concentration with the thought, but luckily I recover.

Imagining in the control panel, I don't materialize it yet. Then, I adjust the circles in the slightest, to add a control variable it will depend on; A factor in the circle that will change the intensity and it's global properties.

I link the control variable of the circle with another circle within the control panel itself. Create a clear ignition module. And finally let the both materialize.

Outside, the circles morph, and the control panel comes in.

I open my eyes, praying it worked, and after seeing the fully constructed engine in front of me, I finally breath a sign of relief.

“Done”

That wasn't too difficul—

A minute or so passes and I throw up everything I just ate. The migraine arrives like it's been waiting to ambush me. My stomach turns on itself and I can't even draw breath, and thankfully, eventually, it stops.

Not…Fucking…Doing…That…

I regain the ability to breathe and gasp as my body feels like it's on fire. I create an Aquant circle, wash my mouth, and flood my face to cool my head.

I still won't use a healing circle for something like this. It's almost like always taking medicine for the smallest injury. Your body adapts to letting the drug do the work instead of handling it. That's a dependency I don't need, and am not gonna be exposing myself to.

I create a wet towel for my head and sit down against the wall for a second.

Funny how men can get the worst injury of their lifetime, and the pain is only a small part. Meanwhile a migraine or the simple flu is almost life threateningly awful.

The girl peeks out of the door to the pitiful sight of me half-dead on the floor. Wanting to hold back her thoughts, she finally after a long, says something.

"...Are you ok?"

"Yep.", a sudden cough comes out, clearing my throat. "Totally fine"

She looks at the engine, then back at me, then again back at the engine.

"An engine—"

Her face snaps to mine. Still not directly in the eye, but I can tell she's interested and confused at the same time.

"—It'll pull the carriage."

"You built it?" Her voice barely above a whisper, but I can somewhat make out.

"Tried to." I gesture at the ground I'm sitting on. "If this is what trying looks like."

She consider this, then nods like it's a reasonable answer, and disappears back inside.

I manage to pull myself up, and hobble over to the engine after a while. Then try turning it on.

I turn the key, the circles activate without needing mana to trigger them, and I can hear the shaft begin to turn.

The engine rumbles to a start, pistons popping in sequence, and the tires slowly starting to turn.

IT FUCKING WORKS PEOPLE!!

It's shaking more than I'd prefer, so I add a counter vertical force using Gravity magic to try and negate it. A Gravity circle underneath and the shaking subsides a bit. I open the outer casing to check the internals—

My hands jerk back letting the cover fall.

Jesus. It's burning.

I didn't add cooling did I.

I immediately shut off the engine and bring the speed lever down the whole way.

Even with the cold in this place, it's nowhere near enough. I turn the engine off before anything warps.

The main heat source is the pistons; Makes sense given the Inferno circles.

I script Glacial circles onto each piston with activation conditions tied to temperature thresholds, so they trigger when the piston gets too hot and cut off when it cools back down. Closed loop cooling. That should hold.

"Hey"

What's her name again?

"Lyanna, could you come outside for a second"

I'm not eating again after this.

The girl comes out, and with some weight off the cart I make the final adjustments.

I connect the poles of the carriage to the slot I made after taking measurements. It should slide right in. I lift the slot on the engine side and the pole on the carriage and press them together.

My stomach churns again making my throat gag. I push it back and breathe through it.

I lock the poles into the holder and then just... lie on the ground for a bit. Ceiling. Stone. Quiet.

This sucks.

I'm going to have to get used to this or creation becomes useless to me in any practical sense. The body's limits are the real ceiling here. And that is a problem I'm not sure how to get around yet.

I stare up.

How did I even end up here...

Everything was going fine. But something just has to happen huh; And now I'm in a sealed maze with a random fucking child I found alone and creatures that disappear when they die and no mana in the air and—

There's something I keep on seeing here. A pattern that I keep on noticing but can't quite put my finger on. It just keeps on fluctuating with—

Never mind. I'm not even sure with myself on that.

I bring myself upright, and open the door.

Lyanna is inside, bread in her mouth, water spilled onto the floor, looking at me with calm expectation.

I stare back.

What.

"Weren't you just... Did I tell you to wait outside?"

She shakes her head, "No"

...

"Right."

She just blinks. I open the door wider.

"Can you come out for a second? I want to test something."

"Ok." She gets out, still holding the bread.

I... don't even know what happened there. I just saw her come— I'm going fucking insane.

I get to the front of the carriage where the control panel is, and open the small window I built into the front panel.

Lyanna notices immediately and walks around to look at it, which I didn't really expect. She's been staying close to the door up until now.

I turn the key. The engine starts, pistons running quieter this time, and the Glacial circles kick in within the first few seconds.

Temperature's stable. That did the trick.

I turn to the girl.

"Get back in and tell me if it's shaking."

She jumps in. A few seconds pass.

"A little."

"Hm—" "Not too bad."

Good enough.

I pull the lever slowly, and the carriage rolls forward.

I let it run on for a few seconds; Nothing explodes. No structural failures. The speed is low for now, but the movement is smooth.

"God I'm so happy this worked"

I push it a bit more and we find a reasonable pace. Through the front window the next corridor of the maze stretches ahead of us, stone walls identical to every other one, and for the first time since I got here I'm not walking it.

Lyanna leans forward to the window, bread still in hand, watching the walls pass.

"How long until we get out?" she asks.

"Month and a half. Minimum."

She processes this.

"Ok."

That's all she says. Ok. Like it's just information and not a sentence that would break most people.

I glance at her sideways and don't say anything.

The engine hums and the carriage rolls on.