"…" A few days have passed since that utterly humiliating incident in the bathroom. I still don't remember exactly what happened, so I've put it aside while focusing on creating relics with Kjori.

I've learned quite a few interesting things from him. Even though he's a serious guy with a really stern tone and stubborn in his opinions, I still managed to learn new things.

I learned most of it by reading the book, and when I had questions, he would answer them without taking his eyes off his work. Watching him forge Eve's sword was pretty interesting too.

While he forged weapons for Eve and Syl'Vyr, I would read one or two books and ask questions. I discovered that creating relics isn't all that complex; it all depends on the material used, the magic used, and the effect you want to apply, aside from natural talent, of course.

Relic creation can be summarized in three parts, similar to how I create my puppets.

The first part is material selection. To create a relic, I must first think about what the relic does, and with that in mind, I must choose materials that are useful for that purpose. For example, to make a ring that shoots fire magic, I would have to use materials that conduct fire magic well and can withstand heat, etc.

The second part is refining the chosen item. Suppose I chose a gemstone, for example. I would first have to refine its shape, then refine its utility and ability to conduct magic using tools and my own magic.

This part is probably the most complex because I have to take the material and make it capable of conducting magic without breaking. And since I have to do this process with my magic, I need high concentration and magical control.

The slightest mistake would completely ruin the relic, rendering the material useless and forcing me to find a new one.

And then we come to the third part. After the material is molded into the shape I want the relic to have, I just need to apply the relic's "effect" through my magic.

I don't necessarily need to know how to use that magic myself; I just need to know what the magic is, how it behaves, and its general cost. So, even if I can't use a spell like, say, casting lightning, I can still make a relic that shoots lightning.

The upside of relics is that you don't need to have an affinity for what the relic does; you just need to feed the relic with your magic. However, the downside is that most relics aren't instantaneous.

Channeling magic to recharge the relic takes time, plus, depending on what the relic does, it might only be usable once. And the relic's power depends on the material used. Which is limiting for me, since I don't have the money for good materials, so I'll only be able to make very weak relics for now.

Now, I'm trying to make my first relic for Kjori. If I succeed, my contract with him will be over. I'll try to make a ring that generates water suitable for consumption. It will have 10 uses and will produce 5 buckets of water with each use—perfect for adventures in dry places.

"You may begin, Evelyn," Kjori says, placing a few things on the table in front of me. There are some jewels, metals, and tools for shaping the item.

Kjori even said he'd give me a Basic Tool Kit if I manage to make something interesting. Although he's stingy even about that, since I found out the Basic Tool Kit he's going to give me costs 100 gold coins, while his tools easily cost over 50 to 100 thousand gold coins each.

But only those who are well-off turn down free stuff! So, as someone completely broke, I'll accept these items with a smile on my face.

"Okay!" I say as he picks up an hourglass and turns it over, starting the countdown for me to make the relic.

"You have two hours. If you fail, you'll only get another chance a week from now," he says sternly as I start by picking up the gold bar on the table. I'm going to use it to create the base of a ring.

Since I'm using magic, shaping the gold with the tools is absurdly easy. I don't even need to exert force to scrape the gold and start molding it, even though I'm physically weak.

Using my puppeteer skills, I also use threads to mark where I should score and where I should remove parts of the gold, making noticeable changes to it.

After 30 minutes, the gold has taken the shape of a beautiful gold ring with four mounting points for a jewel. Now that I have a base ready, I decide to choose a good jewel for water magic.

'I don't know what has an affinity with what... but... I guess sapphire?' I guess that sapphire might have a good affinity with water just because of its color. There's no logical basis beyond the stone's color.

Unfortunately, I've only been studying this for a few days and focused entirely on how to create instead of which materials are good, so I don't have a clear idea of what to choose.

In the game, Grace never tried to create relics herself, so this wasn't knowledge available in the game.

I polish the sapphire into a slightly flat, diamond shape and carefully set it into the gold ring, doing my absolute best with magical threads not to ruin anything.

'Whew... looks good.' I wipe the sweat from my brow as I examine my work. It's well-made, but now comes the most important part: turning the sapphire into a relic.

The ring is just a base I created to hold the true relic; meaning, the gold ring is just a piece of gold meant to make the relic look pretty. That's why I could leave the second step for now.

I pick up some tools and begin making fine adjustments while doing my best to imbue the jewel with magic, creating pathways for it to receive the user's magic, while leaving "instructions" for the magic to create a specific effect.

The effect is simply to generate water when it receives magic. It's a very weak ability, so it's not too difficult. I feel sweat trickling down due to nerves, and every touch I make on the jewel with the tools feels like it's going to ruin everything.

"…" And when I finally finish, I collapse into the chair with a smile, grabbing a cloth to wipe my face as I place the ring on a stand so it isn't left lying on the table.

"I-I'm done! Behold this masterpiece!" I show the ring to Kjori. It's quite beautiful and seems to be working perfectly well, since I can feel magic in it.

"…" He takes the ring and carefully analyzes it, picking up some kind of magnifying glass, but it's strange and has three lenses: one large lens, a medium-sized lens floating in front of the large one, and a small lens floating in front of the medium one.

"…Hmmm…" He pauses for a moment, then goes back to analyzing the jewel, letting out a few murmurs and sighs. I clasp my hands together so tightly they turn white as I pray that everything is okay.

"The ring's finish is absurdly professional. The details are fine and sophisticated, showing that you learned how to detail the jewel perfectly just from reading. Your magical control during the relic creation was also impressive," he praises, and a smile slowly spreads across my face.

"But you took six hours to do it. You failed," he coldly cuts my happiness down instantly.

"W-What? S-Six hours? But!..." I look at the hourglass, completely full on one side, and see two more identical hourglasses also completely full on one side. Each one measures two hours, showing that I didn't meet the time goal.

"…" I was so absurdly focused on making the relic that I didn't notice the time passing.

"D-Dammit... am I going to have to do it all over again?" I say, disappointed. I studied so hard; it wasn't fun at all going through all that repetitive content, but I pushed through because I want to be useful to my team.

"…Normally, based on time, this would be a failure. But your perfectionism in every detail impresses me. You have the passion of a true artisan, one who loses themselves in their masterpiece without noticing the passage of time…" he says with a smile, making me stare at him.

"There are few artisans who create their works with love and passion for what they believe in. I myself sometimes get lost in the details of my weapons and relics and take up to four times longer than necessary."

"Taking a long time, for people like us, isn't a lack of talent. It's the opposite. We have so much talent that we see what others ignore and we always try to fix it, striving for perfection…"

"I'll consider you passed. I'll keep this ring and sell it. Anyway, the weapons for your partners are almost finished." When he says this, I let out a sigh of relief.

"Aren't you going to test the relic's magic?" I ask, placing the book on the table.

"No. I've already ascertained its quality, and I don't want my work area getting water splashed everywhere. You learn very quickly indeed... although this relic is low-level, so you'll need to study a lot on your own." He places my relic into a small box.

"How much do you think it's worth?" I ask, wanting to know the value of what I built.

"…Considering its function, about 30 thousand gold coins. But at auction, it could go for up to 120 thousand gold coins." He states a price higher than I expected.

"Now I'm busy. Return to your training. When I finish the weapons I'm making, we'll talk more."

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