68 – Chapter 68: Standby Power Magic Stone (2)
“Me. This time the magic stone…… I think it has failed……”
Drip.
Tears flowed down my cheeks.
I’ve bungled it.
I’ve completely lost the investor’s trust.
Just the thought of it made it impossible to lift my head.
I wonder what expression the investor is wearing now.
How is he looking down on me?
I was too afraid to find out.
‘I wasn’t supposed to fail…’
Failure was not an option.
At first, that’s what I thought.
As always, once I started working with my hands, they moved as if possessed by a divinity.
It was usual to experience hindrances along the way.
But this time, my hands moved incessantly.
I couldn’t rest for a single moment.
I didn’t know when this productive streak would end.
As long as my hands were moving, I couldn’t stop.
Relentlessly, I picked up tools to scrape, strike, and shatter.
I continued working, looking through goggles with lenses while my eyes stung.
There was no natural light coming into the workshop, so I had no idea how much time had passed.
Of course, that didn’t matter.
I strained myself to the limit working on this piece, and now I was nearing the end.
I just had to finish up.
My eyes were weary and trembling with exhaustion, my arms weak and shaky, but I did not let my guard down until the end.
From Noble mtl dot com
Almost done.
The chisel finally detached the last piece.
The work was finished.
The tension finally left my body, completely drained of strength, and I collapsed to the floor.
Bold as it might be for me to say this, but it was a resounding success.
Of all the pieces I’ve handled, none had a superior standard of finish than this one.
I was sure of it.
I had to be.
But the moment I brought the tester over for the magic stone.
“What?! What’s happening?”
My eyes widened.
Multiple pointers trembled on the tester’s dashboard.
They were all pointing to zero.
Not just a minuscule number.
Zero.
The magical power capacity was zero.
The magical power transmission efficiency was even in the negatives.
Naturally, it was worse than when it was unprocessed.
It was even worse than handling magic with bare hands without a magic stone.
“Why on earth…!”
This couldn’t be happening.
It showed signs of unquestionable success.
I panicked, speechless for quite some time.
I don’t know how many times I repeated the useless task of attaching and removing the unfortunate tester.
Just like that, I stood still for five minutes.
News came that the investor had entered the VIP waiting room.
The stone was already processed, I couldn’t delay any further.
With that, I swallowed my tears, calmed my nerves, and placed the magic stone in a box.
Holding the worthless magic stone, I got on the elevator.
“Sorry… I’m sorry, Investor… I screwed up.”
And right in front of the investor who arrived.
I could no longer hold back my tears.
My humiliation mirrored my failure…
“You trusted me… You entrusted me with such a precious magic stone… It’s my fault…”
Wondering, where did it all go wrong?
I had no idea.
When I make mistakes halfway, I always feel a bit harsh, but this time, there was none.
Perhaps it was because this was just the second time dealing with the black magic stone.
Perhaps I had unknowingly become proud after successfully processing the first one.
All sorts of thoughts crossed my mind.
“Tei.”
“Yes……”
“Look at my face.”
“……”
Swallowing hard, I managed to raise my head.
Holding down fear, I met the investor’s eyes.
But unexpectedly, the investor didn’t look disappointed.
With a faint smile on his face.
He rested his large hand on my head.
At its weighty presence, a small sigh slipped out.
“Ah……”
“Calm down. I’m not angry.”
“Yes……”
“The explanation of the magic stone isn’t over yet, is it? You should finish it.”
“The, the magic capacity is 0. The transmission efficiency is minus 20…. And, and….”
“What about the additional functions?”
“Huh?”
“The additional functions. Weren’t there any this time?”
“……”
Utterly startled, I was frozen on the spot.
Ah. Additional functions.
Come to think of it, when I processed the black magic stone last time, a function emerged that could store a small amount of magical power within.
Then what about this time?
I had forgotten to check that.
Shocked by the staggering performance…..
“Oh, I haven’t checked yet!”
“This, this. You’ve still got a long way to go to become a professional. You brought the finished product even before verifying its quality?”
“I’m sorry……”
“Yeah. It’s not something else, this is what you should be sorry for. Performance? That’s great when it’s well done, of course. But I didn’t entrust you with finding a good magic stone. I wanted the magic stone you processed. The work wasn’t done sloppily or with mistakes, was it?”
“No, no! I thought it was perfect when I was working on it……”
“Then it’s fine. Good job. You worked hard. If it’s the result of your very best, I don’t care at all. How can one make investments without seeing any losses? Investing means taking risks.”
“Inves-Investor!”
Good job. You worked hard.
I couldn’t have imagined hearing those words, and tears uncontrollably spilled.
If I’d heard words of disappointment here, I would have lost the will to rise again.
It was a product of my maximum talent, with not a single mistake.
I wasn’t confident I could do better than this.
The investor knew that, and reassured me.
Because he believed in me.
Because he knew that I never compromise on processing magic stones, always doing my very best.
That belief supported me.
Pushed me forward.
Without falling.
Without stopping.
“Then! Let’s quickly check it out now! What additional functions it has!”
Plus, it hasn’t been confirmed as a failure yet.
The check for additional functions wasn’t done yet.
What if there’s a tremendous additional function at the expense of magical potency and efficiency?
That would make sense.
It would explain why the product I poured my soul into came out such a mess.
As a result of a quick check with the encouragement from the investor,
“Huh? The magic goes in!”
I was able to find a function similar to the last magic stone.
When magic is made to flow into the magic stone, it doesn’t just flow, it is drawn in.
In and in, with no end to it, it keeps going.
Considering the very small storage capacity of my previous work, it’s at an amazing level.
Could this be a repository of an enormous amount of magical power?
A moment of anticipation began to creep in.
“Hmm. It only goes in but does not come out.”
“Pardon…?”
The news came as a bolt from the blue.
I can’t recover the magical power I’ve invested?
Then what’s the point?
“It’s a failure…”
“Hey, hey! Pull yourself together! Focus!”
A wave of dizziness swept over me.
.
.
.
‘What the hell is this?’
Tei has really made a mess this time.
This is quite a big incident.
More than that…
[Accumulation: 80/62,500]
The moment I put magical power into the magic stone,
This window pops up.
Looking at Tei, who seems completely clueless, it doesn’t seem to be a feature of the magic stone itself.
And Mijung, who is lying on the sofa with a grim expression, doesn’t react either.
Which means, this system window is only visible to me…
‘Accumulation? What happens if it’s filled to the max?’
There are too many things I don’t know.
First, when I analyze the characteristics of the magic stone, this window comes up.
[Soul of Kali]
[Status: Good]
[A magical tool created by manipulating the soul of the great druid Kali. It will blossom when the time comes.]
Isn’t the explanation too lacking?
It’s absurd.
There’s no information on why we should recharge magic, what ‘maximum charge’ means, or what happens when it reaches maximum charge.
One thing’s for sure, the ‘maximum charge’ isn’t an ordinary thing.
It’s an additional feature so crucial that it even interferes with the system window.
In my experience, this kind of thing only happens when you find an enormously powerful hidden item.
“What should I do?! Magic power only goes in and never comes out… Oh no! This is a total waste!”
“Stop crying already.”
So does it mean this guy, Tei, has now reached the level of producing hidden items?
I can’t even muster a hollow laugh since it’s so ridiculous.
During the work phase, my hands moved as if possessed.
Indeed, it seems as if the spirit of an artisan has entered and exited Tei’s body.
‘So, what should I do with this?’
The remaining magic power until maximum charge is 62,500.
Even if I pour in the magic power that I inflated as a guardian knight every day, it will take at least 250 days.
What about entrusting this to Mia?
Elvenguard is a place where the magic power automatically increases even when you’re just standing still.
If I ask Mia to continuously pour magic power inside, I thought we could aim for ‘maximum charge’ within three months,
‘No. That’s too dangerous.’
I can’t leave it to a third party while I don’t even know what this ‘maximum charge’ thing is.
Who knows what could happen?
Though the chances are extremely low, it’s possible that Elvenguard could be hit with a disaster it can’t handle.
Perhaps there might be a good reward and Elvenguard could just gulp it all up without informing me.
Indeed, it seemed like the right thing for me to carry around this magic stone and pour in a little magic power gradually.
Considering that I can’t put in all the magic power since I need to have a surplus, it will take at least over a year.
Of course, this is the case when I fill it all by myself.
I can also receive help from others.
Perhaps there could be an opportunity to receive a large donation of magic power.
Surprisingly, I could see the ‘maximum charge’ pretty soon.
‘It’s a good thing. The chances of reaching a high point are greater.’
It’s unlikely that a magic stone, refined by a skilled artisan, could transform into a dangerous bomb out of the blue.
‘The item named ‘Full Bloom’ is likely to be of use to me.
Does it require accumulating as much as 62,000 units of magical power?
Maybe it could be an item that boosts my maximum points significantly.
In any case, the magic stone I mostly use was not the one I was urgently looking for, as it had good performance.
I’ve long surpassed the high-end range so even if my abilities rise slightly from here, it won’t make much difference.
This random box aiming for a higher score would be much better for me, instead.
“Investor, you shouldn’t have to pay for this item. No, in fact, I should be the one to compensate you… because I ruined the perfect raw stone…”
“That’s fine. Take the money. I wanted this magic stone anyway.”
“But, really, anyone can see that this is an evident failure, right?”
Tay raising his voice at me in protest.
His disappointment with himself was so great that he even shouted at me.
I feel like I need to be a little stern with him.
“Who said that, that it’s a failure?”
“It’s utterly useless…”
“Like I said, who said it? You never know. If we put in enough magical power, it might activate a special effect.”
“But…”
“I promise you. Something tremendous will happen. If nothing happens by then, I’ll take it and get a refund. Is that okay?”
“Okay?”
“And you ruined the raw stone? Don’t say something silly. It would have been useless if it remained as raw stone. There’s nothing better than the magic stone I’m currently using. It even developed an interesting function with your touch. Why not anticipate together about what will happen when we fill it with magic power?”
Tay is about to cry again.
Isn’t he tired?
Cry again. Be the first to hug Tay by his head.
Then, Tay tightly hugged my waist, desperately holding back his tears.
“Thank you…always, thank you…If it weren’t for you, I would have…”
Tay couldn’t finish his last sentence and eventually bursts into tears.
If it weren’t for me?
He worries about everything.
Even without me, you would have made a name for yourself as the best jeweler.
Though that time may be a little late.
From Noble mtl dot com
Tay slowly separates from me, perhaps feeling a bit consoled.
Tei’s hands are dirty, so I wipe his eyes for him.
Then I remember I had another favor to ask.
“Ah, right. Would you be able to receive any letters for me in this building? So they don’t leak outside. I have no one to trust other than you.”
“Huh. Yes. Of course. If I can help you. But who are these letters from that you’re so cautious?”
“The High Priestess of Elbengard, the first daughter of Yevgeinya, and the Countess of Brium.”
“You plan to use my workshop as a contact point for your illicit lovers?! No way!”
“Hey. Illicit lovers…”
Tei shakes his head in shock.
That’s a bit extreme.
I quit having affairs long ago.
they’re all main wives
lmao illicit lovers