Arin cleared his throat.
'Got it, thanks. Anyway, what were we talking about?'
'Your bracelet...'
'Right, and you quizzed me on the specifics of your talent. So, what about the illusion tool?'
The white-haired man moistened his throat with a small sip from... the cup that had once been an apple, before saying, 'All tools, enchanted weaponry, and automata, are created by the different kinds of magic wielded by those with smithing talents.'
'Some such individuals can draw, store, and imbue magic into the artefacts of their choice. And while there are other things they make, such imbued instruments are the most common, and most widely sought-after, of their work. A skilled craftsman is highly prized, and their trade is held in high esteem.'
'Now, in most cases, unless the magic has been otherwise adjusted or enriched to serve a specific purpose, it can only exist in its rawest form within the tool.'
'But Arin, magic is influenced by the soul. The extent of its power, its endurance, its quality, and what one can and cannot achieve, relies upon the individual.'
'As with the cloaked healer you met, who possessed the same healing magic as his contemporaries, but far surpassed what they as a collective could achieve. Say, for instance, that his magic was stored in a similar bracelet. A non-healer might still draw upon it to heal someone. However...'
'However, they probably still wouldn't come even close to achieving the precision and range that the cloaked healer has,' Arin finished.
'Hm, yes. Now, imagine an already skilled healer using it; one who only lacks in endurance, but is equal in all other ways. Such a person might still achieve wonders with the tool, even if they only use the magic stored within to supplement and replenish their own lacking supply.'
'Like a football player with terrible stamina...' Arin muttered to himself. '...downing a Gator*de.'
The white-haired man blinked. '... Perhaps. I do not know.'
'In any case, much like two people with the same talent may achieve vastly different things, using the same tool might yield different results in different hands. And, of course, the magic within an imbued instrument is limited. It will run out eventually.'
Arin stared at the man for a few seconds. 'Based on what you just said, it sounds like you just tossed me out there with a tool that I most likely wouldn't have even been able to use?'
The man before him shrugged lightly. 'But you did, didn't you? You believed you could while within the dream, because it was your dream too. And once outside of it, you'd already done it once; there was nothing stopping you from repeating your feat.'
...
Yeah, he wasn't even going to argue with that.
'Right, then. To summarize, the illusion tool is an imbued instrument with limited magic, which works based on how skilled I am at using it.'
'Exceptionally skilled, from the sound of it,' the tower master praised. 'Not only did you create recognizable creatures - based only on depictions, descriptions, and a brief look at Tarra in one of those forms - but also succeeded at making them functional and tangible. A worthy illusionist.'
Leaning forward in a show of interest, he continued, 'That eye for form, proportion, and measure comes from your trade in your world, I suppose?'
Arin pursed his lips, thinking back to all those years spent at his desk, at his job as a designer; all he remembered gaining were dry eyes, an aching neck, and a regretful heart for having chosen to slog away in that stupid field.
Looks like he finally had a reason to justify that.
...Not that such justification would help him move out of that rundown apartment, and into a newer one, where the ceilings were less likely to collapse on top of him.
He better negotiate that raise when he got back...
...
He was getting ahead of himself.
'Kind of, yeah,' he said, shaking himself out of his thoughts. 'So, I guess I just have to be careful of how much magic I use. I'm guessing making larger, more detailed, and tangible illusions, would exhaust the supply quicker?'
The tower master nodded.
'Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. And again, thanks for letting me use your illusion bracelets in the first place, of course.'
'There's just one last thing...'