[F17 - SP] Athena's Grace <<Challenge Of Olympus: Artisan>>

[Noctua 0]

She was still sitting in her chair looking at this message. She apparently had a rare quest waiting for her on the seventeenth floor. It promised no combat, which she was grateful for, but she was still unsure of it. Well, reading it over once more, it helped make up her mind. She would get to meet Athena and actually do a crafting battle against the Goddess. Now, Noctua knew that this was just a quest in a video game that she was stuck in, but this was also something that she would love to do in real life. Meet Athena, the goddess was wise and wonderful, basically an unspoken idol for Noctua. There was a reason she named her familiar Athena and that her familiar was an owl after all. She got up finally and left a note on Koga's desk stating that she was out to do a solo quest. She figured he would take the orders that came in for her and she could work on them when she came back.

Making her way to the seventeenth floor wasn't that hard, not since the floors before it had been cleared after all. This was probably as close to the frontlines that she was ever going to get though, and with her level, she was making sure to move quickly to not get caught by things. But just the pure beauty and architecture of the floor was mesmerizing to her. It was all Greek themed. The theme that she loved oh so dearly. The buildings had the Greek pillars, the NPCs were wearing the togas. There was nothing else in this game that she was loving more, well, okay that was a slightly lie but she was still unsure on what to think about that as it was. But now, she was looking for a Satyr. This Satyr was supposed to take her to meet with the Goddess Athena. She would just have to remind herself that she couldn't sit there and stare at the Goddess. No, she was supposed to be battling her in the wits of crafting trinkets and jewelry. That shouldn't be too hard, right?

[Noctua 0]

She was still walking around the town on the seventeenth floor when the NPCs started to act startled and moved out of the way of something. That was when she saw the Satyr, and he seemed to be moving quickly. She just marveled though, this was a satyr, something that she could only dream of seeing in real life. Why must all of the cool things only be in video games? "Noctua, you have been invited to the Gates of Olympus. You are to accept a challenge from Athena herself to craft something, if you so choose." Well, that only made things a little worse for the woman who had enough social issues. Let's have a satyr publicly call her out saying that one of the Goddesses on the floor wanted to battle her in the wits of artisan crafting. This being thought of, she started to feel flushed in the cheeks, the embarrassment starting to show up. Slowly, she moved over to the satyr so that she could follow him to the gates.

She wasn't about to get lost on this floor, not today or at this level at least. So she figured that going with the satyr was going to keep her safe. It was a quiet journey, one that someone would think to be too quiet. But Noct didn't think of it like that. She thought of it as a chance to be able to plot and plan. She wanted to see what she could think of before she got there. Have a game plan ready. Of course, she didn't know if Athena wanted to do trinkets or jewelry, so she started to plot an item of each. Thinking of the colors that she wanted to use, the type of enhancements that she would use. She wanted to also ask questions. All of the questions. Who wouldn't want to ask the Goddess of Artisan crafting questions? It would be really dumb of her not to do so.

During her walk, she noticed that the monsters stayed away, almost as if the Gods and Goddesses of Olympus were willing it. Was that part of the programming on this floor or was she just imagining things? Perhaps she should have eaten before setting off onto this quest. Oh well, the damage has been done.

[Noctua 0]

Since she was going up against Athena, the Greek Goddess whose animal symbol was an owl, and Noctua's name meant owl, she knew what her theme was going to be. If it was just a trinket she was going to create a little charm that was going to look like a small owl. There would be a tiny spot for a chain or string to go through, just to turn it into a necklace or something later on. But if the Goddess wanted to show off jewelry skills, well, there was going to be the challenge. She was still quite new at making jewelry, but she knew what she would want to do. That owl charm, well, she would make it more extravagant. Have it's wings open as if it were flying, with little diamonds on the tips of the feathers. Give the owl some ruby eyes while expertly painting it multiple shades of browns.

Now where would the chain go? Well that was the golden question. That was the thing that she was still attempting to figure out when the Satyr stopped moving for a few moments. She nearly ran into the creature, which stopped her thought process on the designs so abruptly. Looking up, she saw the marvel of the golden gates. She hadn't even been paying attention to where they were going or even how long they had been walking. She had been too busy plotting out what it was that she wanted to do. Was this a good or bad thing? That was going to be the golden question now wasn't it. Because if that Satyr had spoken to her at all on the trip, she hadn't heard a single word of it.

In fact, she barely remembered her designs that she had been working. Great, well, she would just have to worry about getting that done when the time came. She still wished that she would be able to remember it though, and maybe she would be able to once the moment came. Again, jarred from her thoughts, but this time, because the gates in front of her were moving, and opening wide.

[Noctua 0]

Bright golden gold gates, that is what she was watching open. Both had to be about twenty feet tall, they are larger than Noct. But at the same time, Noct is kind of small, so maybe fifteen feet tall? Either way, it didn't really matter, she was short and the gates were tall. She was so mesmerized by the coloring and the way that they moved though. Her eyes seemed to be glued to them, as if memorizing them to try and turn them into a craft one day. It would be possible, her memory seemed to be good at that much at least. Well, most of the time. But right now, she was literally watching how they moved, what they looked like, what shades of gold were where. She wanted to try and replicate this, even if to just sit in her shop and act as a little ornament that she would never sell. That was a possible thing, right? She would make it possible if she ever made that item, that much was for sure.

Once the gates were opened, she looked to what lay inside them. That was when she noticed the stairs and the woman atop the stairs. Now, Noct never thought of another woman ever, but the sight of Athena could possibly change the mind of anyone. But still, there was something that kept her on track with her thoughts. But thinking on that could also ruin her thoughts, so instead she just cleared her mind of anything but what she might possibly craft today. "Noctua, I am glad to see that you chose to accept my invitation." Okay, what was with everyone today being so damned silent with their walking. Hearing Athena's voice made the shy woman nearly jump out of her skin. When did the Goddess even walk down the stairs? When did she stop to stand in front of Noctua.

Wait, how freaking tall was this Goddess?! Noctua was straining her neck to look up at the woman, but she was smiling like a giant dork. Well, great first impressions Noct, can't even summon a word, and you are smiling like creep. Good going.

[Noctua 0]

Okay, what was going on again? Oh right, Noctua was standing in front of the Greek Goddess Athena herself. The Goddess was staring at Noct though, as if awaiting an answer. What exactly just happened? Did Noct black out or something, because she doesn't remember Athena asking her any questions. She would remember if the Goddess did ask her something, right? "Um, I'm sorry, what?" Athena sighed that moment and merely shook her head a little bit. "All of you Artisans, always tuning me out right there." Was that sarcasm? Noct honestly couldn't tell, she just knew that she was going to pay attention this time, she hoped. But what if the Goddess just wanted her to stop being an Artisan? That wouldn't be possible, right? What if- Noct! She is talking to you again you dolt! Right focus back on the tall lady in front of you who makes you feel like a plain Jane in comparison.

"Do you accept my challenge? Do you think that you can beat me in a crafting competition?" Ha. Ha. Ha ha ha ha. Oh wait, that was a serious question wasn't it. Unable to do more than just stare at Athena, literally dumbfounded, she nodded lightly. Okay, she was willing to compete against the Goddess, but Noct doubted that she would be able to beat the Goddess. That was a tall order to ask of this girl. Such a tall order, that Noct nearly jumped once more when she saw a quest appear on her screen, waiting for her to press accept. Athena wanted to be bested in creating three objects, well, that was definitely a tall order now wasn't it. The good news, this wasn't going to use any of Noct's materials, the quest stated that Athena was going to supply all of the necessary materials and items for this quest and challenge.

Then she saw the reward, something that was going to help with her crafting. Of course, that was an item that Noct wanted, but she also was going to take this time to learn from Athena. So, without much reading up on the quest reward, she clicked accept, and that was when the venue changed.

[Noctua 0]

Okay, so the venue didn't actually change, but the gates did start to close and since she had accepted the quest, the only direction for her to move, was toward Athena. She did just take, she took a few steps forward and she looked behind her to see that the gates were actually closing faster than they had opened. Was that for the shock and awe factor? Because if it was, it was working on Noct. Her eyes were once again glued to the gate, until she felt something poke her cheek. Well, not really poke but graze by it. It was a soft feather, and she looked to see that there were owls now everywhere. This was heaven right? Owls, Athena, there was only one person missing to make this perfect. But instead of dwelling, no matter how much she desperately wanted to dwell, she instead focused. It was time to get her head into the game, literally.

Once the gates were closed, Athena started to walk away. Noct didn't know if she was supposed to follow or not, at least, not until Athena stopped walking and beckoned Noctua over. Right, follow the Goddess, what could go wrong with that? Shaking those fearful thoughts from her mind, she walked briskly to catch up to Athena. She wasn't about to run in Olympus, that would be a horrible idea. She didn't need for that to make someone around here mad at her. The next thing that she knew, she would be shot with lightning. That sort of stuff happens in the Gates of Olympus right? Noct certainly thought so, and the slight aggravation could be seen in Athena's face.

There you go, you go and make the Goddess mad. Are you trying to lose this competition that you decided to accept? Because if you are, this was defiantly the way to do it Noct. The woman sighed as she followed Athena from the main hall, into a side room that was full of Artisan equipment.

[Noctua 0]

The moment that Noct walked into the room, she stopped walking as if she hit an invisible wall. She even went so far as to hold her hand out in front of her to make sure that there wasn't a wall there. "No there is no wall. You are merely in shock at the sight of the workshop. It is understandable, mine is the best after all." Okay, she knew a lot about Athena, but she didn't think that the Goddess was narcissistic. That is a new one to her, but then, that could just be her programming into this game. If that was the case, Noct was going to have some serious words with whomever designed this NPC. Well, more like she is going to throw something at that designer, but still, the threat stood in Noct's mind. But she crossed the threshold into the workshop and took a good look around.

There were two stations, one that said Athena while the other said Noctua. This might have made Noct a little nervous. Apparently Athena knew that Noct was going to agree to think before Noct even know. That was a scary thought to think of someone who was just AI programming into a video game. That made Noct shudder lightly before she looked around some more. There were a lot of chisels and hammers. All of the tools that an Artisan was going to need to be able to make crafts for this adventure of a quest. But on her station was a large stack of materials, and to Noct, it looked like there was no end to this pile. Was her mouth open, it felt like her mouth was open. Her mouth was dry so yeah it had to be open. Closing her mouth and attempting to erase the look of shock on her face, she looked at Athena.

Walking into the middle of the room finally, she gathered her courage to speak. "What is the challenge?" Okay stupid question, obviously you know that the answer is Noct, you just want to hear it more clearly from your idol isn't that right.

[Noctua 0]

"We are going to both craft three items. Take as many tries as you need, though I would prefer it to be the first try for each item. And don't think about lying, I will know. The first will be a trinket of non-combat enhancements, the second a trinket of combat enhancements, and the final a necklace with whatever enhancements you desire." Okay, miss Athena, that was a lot that she was going to have to remember. Were you going to have this listed somewhere? "Don't worry, there is a checklist on your workstation." Well, that was easier than her having to ask. Wait, did this mean that Athena was reading her mind?! Was that even possible in this game? Just more questions to add onto the fear of joining this game. Just remember Noct, there are good things that came from joining. Just focus on that. Right, good things. Good thoughts. Good thoughts mean good work, right?

That is what she was going to think on it at least. She looked at her workstation then to Athena. The Goddess went to her workstation and seemed to be standing there, waiting for Noct to go to her own station. Was this really just waiting on her now? Could she explore the workshop a little bit? Athena turned around and pointed to Noctua's workstation and that seemed to be an automatic no to the exploring thought. Seriously, was this AI able to read her mind? Because she was starting to get freaky with how she was always able to see what she was thinking. Or was Noctua's face just that easy to read? That could be a major possibility, right? Either way, she walked over to her workstation for the time and looked at all of the tools.

Sure enough, there was the list of the three items that were needed for this challenge. The required enhancements were with it as well. The names and design were up to her though, so that was at least a bonus for her. She could be creative with this at least and it wasn't all 'you must do this to be able to complete this quest'.

[Noctua 0]

Right this was it. It was time to start working on her first craft. Her mind was starting to race with what she wanted to do. Believe it or not, she had forgotten that original design that she came up with while on the walk here. So now, she was trying to sort through the various designs in her mind that she might possibly use. But there was no sorting her mind and she could her Athena already tinkering away. This made Noctua very nervous and that wasn't going to help her out much at all. So, what was Noct's default, singing. It was an automatic thing that helped her keep her mind and hands on the same track and on a single track. "I started a joke, which started the whole world crying," soft and quiet words started to come from her as her hands calmed and her mind focused. Ah ha! That was the design that she was going to use for this simple craft.

It really shouldn't be too hard to do right? "But I didn't see, that the joke was on me. Oh no." If she was starting to sing louder, she never realized it, for she just heard her song and her own tinkering that she was doing. This was starting to take shape. The shape of a wolf, it wasn't simple though. She was putting more design and details into it than she did any of the crafts in her shop. She had a single thing on her mind beside's her song. Koga. That simple thought could make things go good or bad, it all depended on her luck really, and her focus. But even as she thought on him and sang her song, she worked and made more and more details. "I started to cry, which started the whole world laughing."

Why was her song so sad? Because it fit her. But as she looked at the form that her trinket was going, she smiled lightly. So far, she only had the head of the wolf done, but she was going to start on the body next.

[Noctua 0]

"Oh, If I'd only seen that the joke was on me." Yep, she was still singing as she chipped away at this little wolf trinket. But something seemed to be going wrong as she worked on it, and soon enough, the body detached itself from the head of the wolf. She managed to make sure that the wolf's head didn't break, but alas, the rest of the body had. She looked at the wolf's head though and still smiled. This would surely do right? No, no it wouldn't. She wasn't just going to hand over just a wolf's head. No, she was better than this and she knew that. Instead of discarding the wolf's head though, she placed it right in front of the back wall of her workstation. There, she would be able to see it and it might help her relax. "I looked at the skies, running my hands over my eyes." Calm and serene, that was where her mind was once again.

Getting the wolf's head redone seemed to be easy for her. Since she mastered it so perfectly before, it became like muscle memory to her. But now, now it was time to try again on the body. She worked on it slowly, feeling each movement happen. Making sure that she didn't misplace a finger or chisel the wrong spot. This trinket was going to be perfect, she was certain of it. "And I fell out of bed, hurting my head from things that I said." Progress was being made the body now had a shape and there was even four legs and a tail. Now, now she wanted to put on those expert details like she had done before.

She wants to show Athena that she was worthy to be a Artisan like the Goddess. She did take a peak over to see what Athena was doing, but couldn't see anything. The Goddess was literally blocking her eyesight, making it so that this was going to be a mystery to see what she was actually up against. That wasn't frightening at all. "'Till I finally died, which started the whole world living."

[Noctua 0]

"Oh, if I'd only seen that the joke was on me." She smiled as she looked at the now finished wolf. This was the first trinket down, now she just needed to put the actual enhancements into it. She took a long hard look at the list of enhancements that she was able to put onto things. She was stumped though, she knew that there were stipulations to this, and she for the life of her couldn't remember them at the moment. She sighed as she looked at the little wolf head that failed to become the trinket that she was currently using. Oh wait, that's right! Athena had told her the enhancement parameters! Looking at the list, the first trinket was to be all non-combative related enhancements. Well, that didn't leave Noct very many to work with, which actually worked out in her favor.

There were a few imperfections in the tail of the wolf, but it still barely passed for being a perfect trinket. So that meant that she could put on three different enhancements. "I looked at the skies running my hands over my eyes." One enhancement is in, Loot Die. She always thought that that enhancement was a wonderful thing. Up the chances of finding loot, who wouldn't want that luck against the gods of RNG? But next came the enhancement that she always had with her. Ambition. "And I fell out of bed hurting my head from things that I said." Ambition was the one thing that helped crafters like herself gain extra experience with each craft. In fact, it was how she shot up in the ranks of Artisan so fast after becoming one not so long ago. She loved this enhancement, it was the best.

"'Till I finally died which started the whole world living." One more enhancement. There were two that she could use, it was the fact that she had to figure out which of the two she wanted to use though. That was the problem that now laid before her.

[Noctua 0]

Expertise or Prosperity. Both are useful for outside of combat. Well, actually, prosperity only happens right after you kill something. So that wouldn't work now would it. "Oh if I'd only seen that the joke was on me." So that meant that she was about to put Expertise into the trinket. She was able to work with this. It took her a little time to be able to put that final enhancement on. She took her time, to which she hadn't even realized that Athena had finished her first trinket and was walking over. Nope, she didn't notice that at all, not between her concentration and her singing. "Oh no that the joke was on me." There, that was the final thing that she needed to do to make sure that the trinket didn't break and that the enhancement stayed. "That is truly stunning. With the sing that you were singing, I figured it was going to break your concentration, not help it."

There was the jump that she was known for. There was the signal that she had been so wrapped up in her craft that she didn't notice Athena moving or right next to her. "Th-thank you." Noct smiled at the compliment from the Goddess. She didn't know if that meant that she won the fist round though. Why couldn't she just say that? Was it impossible to just get that result? But the Goddess went back to her workstation, seeming to be thinking. This made Noct think of a new song to be able to sing to help herself concentrate. But with the song that she thought of, she noticed that there was a trend to her song picking today. Of course, she would wait to see if someone else would be able to decipher that.

"You don't own me." She started to think about the trinket that she wanted to make next. This one was to have battle enhancements right? Well, why not make something battle like? "You don't own me."

[Noctua 0]

"Woah, let's go. But I'm Gerald and I can always have just what I want." Just from the start, one could tell that this song was more upbeat and fast paced. It was something that seemed to help her focus just a little better than the last song. She set to work, looking at the material, trying to figure out what she wanted to do. It wasn't easy, coming up with designs on the fly like this. At least back at her shop, she had the time to sit down and plot. Not here, not right now. Nope, she was stuck trying to figure something out. "Take her shopping, you know Yves Saint Laurent. But nope, she ain't with it though." She chipped away at the beginning of this, only to watch the material burst into fragments with three wrong hits. "Oh right, now that we are working on part two of the challenge, three wrong movements will break the material. There is no salvaging it either."

Well, that would have been wonderful to know earlier. Really, she would have loved to have known that moments ago. Before she put the first two mistakes into the material. Oh well, lessons learned and new parameters memorized. At least this was a never ending pile of materials that she was able to to work with. "All because she got her own dough. Boss bossed if you don't know." So far so good. No new mistakes, nothing to worr- well crap. There was a mistake in the most crucial part of the trinket. Damn, damn, damn. She was going to have to either leave that there, or try to fix it without breaking the trinket. This new challenge was going to show the true work that an Artisan can do, or was that going to be the final challenge? Oh boy, if she thought that this one was hard she didn't want to imagine. "She could never ever be a broke -" Damn it!

She watched as the material she was working on burst into fragments once more and she sighed. Time to just purely focus, this was going to be a challenge, literally. 

[Noctua 0]

"You don't own me. I'm not just one of your many toys." Right back to work, on a new material. She might have to go with some kind of simple design just to be able to pass this challenge. At this point, it just looked like she had to be able to craft something within the parameters of the challenge. This could be easily done. Grabbing another material, she started to chip away at it. There was one thing that she was an expert at crafting, owls. It came from real life too. She had always drawn them, and her very first thing that she crafted as an Artisan were her Owl's Wings. The trinket that has been with her always at this point. It was actually with her at this moment. "You don't own me. Don't say I can't go with other boys." Taking the trinket from her pocket, she placed them on the empty chain that she had been wearing. It didn't morph it into a necklace, because you know, things don't work that way here.

But it did put the trinket within easy reach for her to be able to fumble with it and be able to think. That was how she did it at the shop, it was why she wore the empty chain. Just for moments like this. Moments when just a song wasn't helping. Moments when she needed that extra relaxant. "Don't tell me what to do. And don't tell me what to say." With her thumb and index finger holding the trinket between them, she thought and thought, and that was when it came to her. Why not just create her owl Athena as a trinket? Yes, she idolizes the Goddess so much that she named her snowy white owl familiar Athena. If that doesn't show her fan girl side, nothing will probably. So, grabbing the material, she finally got to work on it.

"Please, when I go out with you. Don't put me on display." Slow and steady, that was the pace that she was going to take this. She heard something from Athena's workstation and even saw fragments. So the great Goddess herself just messed up a craft. Well, that was a good thing to know.

[Noctua 0]

"You don't own me. Don't try to change me in any way." There was the start of a head. She was starting just the outline right now. She was going to do the fine details last. She wanted to make sure that she could get the outline right. Then, if she messes up on the finer details, she will be able to quickly get the outline back into place. There was a part of her that wondered if she should work on multiple materials at once, but then, that might be too much work on herself. So, she focused on this outline. Put a wing here, put a wing there. There goes a leg, and there goes the other leg. "You don't own me. Don't tie me down 'cause I'd never stay." Alright, the basic outline was finally finished. She didn't know if she was timed, god she hoped not. That would be bad.

Now, it was time to just focus on the face of the owl. There were finer details that she wanted in there. She wanted to have blue gems for the eyes, she wanted the beak to be perfect. Every little feather to be perfection. This was going to take her a little bit of time, this she knew. She wasn't going to back down though. She wanted to be able to show Athena that she had skills to. She wasn't about to quit in front of the Goddess that she has idolized for years. "Don't tell me what to do. And don't tell me what to say." The head was starting to look like a actual owl's head. There was a slot open for both of the eyes, that was probably going to be the last thing that she put in. Infusing the enchantments into the gems that would be the eyes would be really cool in her mind. 

"Please, when I go out with you. Don't put me on display." A feather here and a feather there. This was starting to take shape. So far so good, no mistakes so far. Oh wait, she should knock on wood now that she might have jinxed herself huh.

[Noctua 0]

Soft knocking could be heard as she knocked on the wood of her desk. She wasn't about to actually jinx herself, nope, she wanted to win. But she was now tired of singing and instead just hummed the song. She was going to get this done whether Athena wanted her to or not. There was the beak. This was turning out to be great. She didn't think too far ahead though. There were still minor details that she wanted to get right on the beak. The lines, the creases, everything that belongs, she was going to have put on the trinket. After a few more minutes, the head was completed and she moved to the body and the wings. She traced the feathers before she started to make their permanent indents. She made sure that things were in the right spot.

Stopping for a moment, she looked at the owl trinket from afar and she nodded lightly. Yes, this was turning out to be amazing. In fact, it was turning out to be better than the trinket that she had around her neck at the moment. That was saying something since the trinket around her neck was the very first thing that she made and it was a perfect trinket. She wanted to be able to make this better than that and then some. She wanted to be able to say that she has gotten better. Of course, she just wanted to be able to go back home to, but she was still enjoying this too much. She smiled lightly as she noticed that the progress on the owl's body was nearly done.

That meant that she was almost done with challenge two right? Doubtful, something was bound to go wrong, and go wrong it did...

[Noctua 0]

Shatter. Damn it! She was nearly done with the darned trinket too. She watched as the owl disappeared. She hadn't even realized that she had done any mistakes. She sighed and grumbled something under her breath before she started quick work on the next one. She was going to get this right. Thankfully, it didn't seem to take her very long. She wanted to get this done and get it done perfectly. Within an hour, she had the progress back that she had done before. Only now, she was trying to make sure that she made no mistakes on getting the rest of the owl completed. Feathers, so many darned feathers. Why did she want to put so many feathers and details into this trinket?

Right, she wanted to win this challenge. She wanted to best Athena. She was going to do so. She was working on putting the enchantments into the gems now. One was bright blue and was being used to hold the taunt enchantment. Noctua finished getting the taunt enhancement made before she gingerly put the gem holding it into the trinket. The second gem was going to hold an evasion enhancement. She was basically building a tank trinket, it was something that would be able to help anyone make hate and dodge attacks. The perfect kind of trinket for a tank to take with them into any battle. Sadly, no one was going to see these trinket's but at least she was able to make them.

Things seemed to be going perfectly for her, and there was a Goddess on her way over to check on Noctua's performance, her own trinket barely being finished as well.

[Noctua 0]

She had managed to find a orange gem that she was going to use for the beak. This gem was going to hold her final enchantment, Accuracy. Everyone could use accuracy, she knows this for certain. She knew this from first hand experience. There was a time when she missed every attack that she wanted to send out. But then, that weapon was also cursed, and no, not just because of the enhancement, but because of the curse itself. Gingerly placing the final gem into place, she was happy to have put the trinket down before she heard something. "Well done! I must say, I do love the details. No wonder you were so upset when that last one was destroyed." How in the heck had she- right, this was Athena. She more than likely knew everything that happened in this workshop.

"So that is two of my challenges that you have passed. Well done indeed. Now it is time for the final challenge. But first, perhaps a break to stretch your legs?" She never thought walking was going to be sure a great thing until that offer was given. She nodded lightly, unable to really think of the words to be able to say yes. She got up from her chair and looked around the workshop once more. She never got to take a good look at it before now, so perhaps she would be able to take that chance now? Walking around the shop, she took notice of the sculptures and the trinkets that were hanging around. She did see a jewelry case with some bracelets and rings, but there didn't seem to be a single necklace.

That was what she was going to do. She was going to make a necklace, just for Athena. Even if it didn't win her this final challenge, she was going to do it anyways.

[Noctua 0]

"Alright, it is time to talk the final challenge." Noctua turned and looked at the Goddess who was standing in the middle of the room. Walking over, she listened intently to what Athena had to say. "This final challenge is going to be the toughest yet. One mistake and your craft will break. It must be a type of jewelry, and it can have any enhancements on it that you like. I must warn you, not many people have passed this challenge, for not many can create such perfection without using the last of the materials that that are given." Wait, what did that mean? Noct looked to the pile of materials that she had and saw that it shrank, a lot. Instead of infinite amounts to make the necklace, she only had five. No wonder many people didn't pass this final challenge. It was going to be the hardest. It was going to take all of her concentration, and that was going to be the problem. But there was something that she thought of that might make it easier on herself.

So she thought on that, only to be interrupted, "When you are ready, go to your station. There is no time limit, but do be warned, it is growing dark outside. I would hate for you to be stuck here all night." Ah, so Athena did know of Noct's level. Well, at least she was going to be kind enough to keep her here until it was safe to go back to the first floor. Of course, that meant that she was probably going to worry the crap out of Koga. That would be a bridge to cross for later. Right now, with her hidden design in her mind, she walked over to her workstation. She looked at the small pile of materials and she sighed lightly. She was going to be able to do this, she had to. She just needed the right motivation. What that was going to be, well, she would just have to try and figure that out as she worked. "Begin."

[Noctua 0]

Right, it was time to work on this final challenge. Time to make sure that she was able to blow the socks off of this Goddess. Okay, maybe sandals would be more accurate since Athena wasn't wearing socks. She grabbed the first material and set to work. She was going to make the ornament that went on the chain first. The chain would be done last. There was less of a chance of that breaking on her than this ornament and well, she didn't want to take too many chances. She only had five attempts at this after all. So, here she set off, there was a golden idea in her mind, fresh and going to work. Of course, it might also be getting modeled off of an imprint in Faithful Night's hilt, but that wasn't going to be said. She wasn't taking all of it either, just the wolf and the owl. She was going to make the charm connect the two, but how was still the golden question. The first thing that she was going to do was make the wolf. That was going to be easier to get done.

Of course, there was a secret thing that she had been working on lately, and this newfound necklace might be practice to help her create the necklace, well, necklaces. But enough on that thought, she was going to focus more on making this one right now and getting it done. Chipping away, she worked on this wolf part of the charm. She was slowly working, she didn't care if she was going to be stuck here all night, she wanted to get this done right. She wanted all of the details to be put into it. She wanted it to be just right, even if it wasn't going to be going home with her today. But practice was practice and work was work. It didn't take her long into the work on the wolf for the material to disappear under her fingers. She sighed lightly and grabbed the next one. Perhaps she should just make the outline of the wolf and the owl together? That might make things easier than trying to do it one piece at a time and then trying to get them to be connected.