The Guild examiners returned at dawn, punctual and grim.Two wagons rolled up to Wired Wonders, filled with crystal instruments, scrolls, and something that looked disturbingly like a magical lie detector.
Falden dismounted first, his grey robes pristine despite the mud."Per the Guild's decree," he intoned, "we will observe your methods and test your so-called 'grounding' principle under supervision."
Eddie forced a smile. "Sounds like a field trip. Welcome back to class."
Lyra whispered, "You're really calm, Mister Eddie."
He winked. "They're just inspectors, kid. Back home, we dealt with supervisors who threw clipboards."
The Challenge
They set up outside the village well—the same one Eddie had repaired earlier.A group of townsfolk gathered at a distance, watching anxiously.
Falden pointed to the regulator core, which now sputtered erratically. "It destabilized overnight. Perfect test case. If your improvised system works, prove it."
Eddie rolled up his sleeves. "Gladly."
He examined the setup: copper runes, cracked insulators, water dripping into exposed circuits. "Yup. Standard issue 'why is this wet' problem," he muttered.
Renn leaned close. "You have a plan?"
"Always," Eddie said, rummaging in his bag. "We go local."
Improvised Engineering
First, he stripped a few bamboo poles from a nearby fence, split them into hollow tubes, and packed them with dry clay.Falden frowned. "What are you doing?"
"Insulation," Eddie replied. "Bamboo's a natural dielectric. Clay adds resistance. Keeps the mana from leaking."
Next, he wrapped copper wire around the tubes, carving tiny runes into each coil.Then he bound the setup with twine, inserted it into the regulator housing, and tapped the ground with his boot.
"Renn, hand me the obsidian plate. Lyra—hold the light crystal steady."
They worked like a well-trained crew. The villagers whispered among themselves, impressed by the rhythm of it.
When the final connection clicked into place, Eddie stepped back.
"Alright, folks. Time to flip the switch."
He touched the main rune. Blue-white light surged through the bamboo tubes, spiraling down into the well like veins of lightning. The tremors stopped.The water shimmered, clear and calm.
Falden blinked. "Impossible. Bamboo cannot conduct mana."
Eddie grinned. "Exactly—it redirects it. Acts like insulation, not a channel."
Nira, the scribe, tested the output with her crystal gauge. "Mana flow stable. Efficiency… seventy-eight percent?"
Eddie tilted his head. "Check again."
She recalibrated. "Ninety-four percent."
The crowd gasped. Even Falden's jaw slackened.
"By the Prime Arcana," the examiner murmured. "That's higher than Guild-certified conduits…"
A Little Pride
Eddie shrugged, wiping his hands. "Sometimes the answer isn't gold or silver—it's what grows in your backyard."
Lyra puffed up proudly. "Filipino ingenuity!"
Falden shot her a confused look. "Filipino?"
"His homeland," Renn said quietly. "A place where people make miracles out of scraps."
The examiner cleared his throat. "This… method defies conventional runic theory. Yet the results speak for themselves."
Nira, still writing furiously, whispered, "The Guild will want the schematics."
Eddie smiled politely. "They can have them—for public use. No patents, no secrets."
Falden stared. "You'd give it away?"
"Knowledge isn't worth much if it just sits in a vault," Eddie said simply. "Besides, I'm just an electrician, not a magician."
The Verdict
By sunset, the Guild seal on Wired Wonders was lifted.Falden signed a new parchment and handed it to Eddie.
"Certified Artisan: Mana Systems Technician."
"You may resume operations," Falden said. "Under supervision, of course."
"Understood," Eddie replied. "Just don't touch anything that hums."
Even the examiner cracked a reluctant smile.
As the Guild wagons rolled away, the villagers broke into cheers.Marna lifted Eddie clean off the ground in a bear hug. "You showed them, spark boy!"
Lyra twirled around, chanting, "Bamboo power! Bamboo power!"
Eddie just laughed. "Told you—never underestimate duct tape's older cousin."
Evening Reflections
Later, when the celebration died down, he sat outside the shop with Renn and Lyra.The repaired well glowed in the distance, powered by humble bamboo and copper.
Lyra leaned against his arm. "You really think the Guild will change their rules?"
"Maybe," Eddie said, gazing at the stars. "Change starts small. A wire, a spark… a light in the dark."
Renn nodded slowly. "You're strange, Eddie Ramos. But I think the world needs a bit of strange."
"Good," Eddie said. "Because I'm just getting started."
The workshop lights flickered behind them, steady and warm—a beacon of human creativity in a world ruled by magic.