“Ah, hello.” Elena bowed her head.
“Why are you guys here…” Elena hesitantly let out her words; she thought they must have come to complain about the item she sold. However, the words that came back to her were completely different from what she expected.
Zich said, “It’s because I was curious about your products.”
Elena blinked. With all her heart, she really thought she would never be able to hear those words. For that reason, she was unable to say anything properly and kept mumbling. Zich took out something from his pocket; it was Elena’s incomplete artifact.
“Why do you…!” Elena’s eyes became wide. She got up and quickly grabbed the artifact in Zich’s hand. It was rude and Zich could have easily stopped her, but he let Elena take it. Elena swiped the surface of her incomplete artifact; it was different from before. However, she could no longer feel the cold iron aura, which indicated her lack of mana, from the artifact. Instead, she felt a subtle warmth coming from it.
“…There’s mana in this.”
‘Her senses are normal,’ Zich thought as he coldly assessed Elena’s condition. Elena was able to notice the change in the artifact right away, and she could feel the mana flow in the artifact.
‘No, her senses are actually very good.’
Since it was very difficult for iron to hold magic, the amount of mana it could hold was very limited. However, Elena noticed that the iron had mana even from a distance. Since Zich knew about her talent, it was not strange for Elena to have a keen sense for mana. However, this was not good news.
‘If her mana sensing abilities are normal, it might be harder to figure out what’s sealing her magic.’
It meant that the seal was so well-hidden and secretive that even Elena, who had a keen ability to sense mana, couldn’t sense any mana inside her body.
‘There’s a possibility that a seal was inside the body but they were unable to get rid of it, but…’
The master of the magical tower would not tell his granddaughter to give up on magic.
‘Instead, he will use all his means to open the seal.’
Elena closed her eyes and lifted the artifact. The artifact trembled slightly, and subtle heat flowed out as the mana moved inside.
Boom!
Flames soared up from the top. It looked as if an enchanting flower of flames bloomed in the air and let out its last breath before it finally melted into the empty space. Everyone’s gazes were focused on the flames.
‘Amazing.’
This was Zich’s second time seeing Elena’s artifact work, but Zich let out his admiration. The artifact that Elena made was nothing special. It was an artifact that shot out flames from a short distance. However, considering that this artifact was made out of iron, its effects were amazing. Only mages like Lyla were able to make useful artifacts from iron.
Without considering this, Elena’s artifact was impressive. The magic circles on the iron plate worked together to efficiently let out flames. Zich was definitely worse at assessing magic compared to a mage, but he understood that the flames shooting out of the iron plate could efficiently target nearby enemies.
‘There are hardly any flames that scatter out, and to make up for its low power, most of the flames are concentrated in the middle. What was more impressive was that Elena was never able to test her magic circles even once; she brought out a conjecture like this just by calculating theories.
‘In regards to magic circles and artifacts, none of her peers can beat her.’
No, she might actually be one of the best in the magical tower. Elena’s body trembled at seeing her artifact work for the first time; she finally had proof that her magic circles were not wrong. However, this feeling did not last long.
“…Ah!”
Elena realized that Zich and his companions were still standing in front of her. As expected of artifacts made out of crap ingredients, the number of times someone could use this artifact was very limited. And Elena had just used up one of those chances.
“I-I’m sorry!” Elena immediately bowed her head to the point that it almost reached the ground. “I-I will give you another one as compensation! Or I can pay you back…!”
“No, it’s fine.” Zich took the artifact back and made a kind smile. His companions who witnessed his smile stiffened momentarily, but Elena didn’t notice their movements.
“This might be a bit offensive, but honestly, it wasn’t a very amazing artifact.”
“Ah, yes…that’s right…” Elena’s pride was hurt. However, what Zich said was true, and she was in the wrong this time, so she nodded. Moreover, the continuous failure and humiliation she experienced for so long prevented Elena from clearly expressing her opinions and thoughts.
“However, even though you can’t put mana into your artifacts, we were a bit interested in your craftsmanship skills.”
“I-Is that so?” Elena’s heart swelled up knowing that someone knew about her strengths.
“That’s why one of my companions wanted to talk to you. Would you be able to spare a bit of your time?” Zich moved a step back.
Then, Lyla moved one step forward. “I’m Lyla.”
Elena looked between Lyla’s outstretched hand and Lyla’s face. Elena wanted to immediately nod her head and agree since Lyla was one of the few people who recognized her skills. However, Elena was also from a highly esteemed family. She was wary of strangers who suddenly approached her.
Lyla made a bitter smile and said, “I understand that I seem suspicious, but I really just want to talk to you for a bit. Won’t you accept my request? All I want is to exchange a few words here.”
“W-well, if it’s just that…” Elena cautiously grabbed Lyla’s outstretched hand. “I’m Elena Dwayne.”
* * *
Zich and his companions left Lyla with Elena and left. Lyla sat next to Elena. The two women filled up all the space in the small cart.
“Um…what do you want to talk about?” Elena awkwardly began. Since she had to suddenly talk to a stranger, she froze up a bit.
Lyla laughed. “You don’t have to be so nervous. I just saw the artifact you made and thought it was amazing.”
Lyla pointed at an artifact on display. “Can I see that for a bit?”
“Of course.”
Lyla lifted up the artifact. This item was also made out of iron; however, the magic circles etched onto it were different. On top of a rectangular surface, magic circles were drawn and in the center, complicated lines crossed each other.
“A magic circle made from combining four magic circles together. This is a good idea.”
“Ah, you recognized it?” Elena’s face brightened up.
“But all four of the magic circles don’t work by themselves. Did you only take the parts you needed from each magic circle to make one magic circle?”
“Yes! I thought that would make it more efficient.”
“Could I try using it?”
“What?” Elena blinked. “Um, as you know, my artifact is incomplete so…”
“If you just give me permission, I can complete the artifact.”
Elena became speechless; putting magic force into an artifact made out of iron was an extremely difficult job that needed a lot of concentration and detail. At the very least, not something one could do in a random street like this. However, the beautiful woman in front of her was saying she could put magic force into it as if it was no difficult matter for her.
“Ah, do you not like me touching the products on display? Then I can also buy th—”
Elena replied, “Ah, no! You can do it!” Yet the doubt in her eyes did not disappear.
‘Even in the magical tower, there are very few people who can put magic force into iron.’
However, very soon, Elena could only dumbly look at the scene in front of her with her mouth wide open.
Ziing!
The iron plate on Lyla’s hand lightly vibrated. Elena felt mana slowly come out from Lyla’s hands as the latter tapped the iron plate. Elena watched Lyla’s face as she did this. Lyla’s face was peaceful; she didn’t close her eyes to increase her concentration or frown. There was not even a single drop of sweat. The only expression on her face was calmness.
From what Elena knew, there was no one who looked so peaceful when putting magic force into an artifact, especially while putting magic force into an iron plate on a random street. Was she actually just pouring mana on top of the iron plate? Elena couldn’t help but think so.
When people just poured mana on top of an artifact, the artifact obviously didn’t work. Even knights could pour mana on top of iron; this was actually one of the ways they battled and trained. In order to complete an artifact, a mage needed a perfect understanding of the artifact’s structures and the magic circles inscribed on it and had to pour in mana while feeling out the magic circles on the artifact. This was the reason why making an artifact was so difficult; thus, other magicians also frequently used a support system to help them instill magic force in an artifact.
It was reasonable why Elena was doubtful of Lyla’s actions. However, Elena’s doubts began to slowly change into surprise, then shock, and then admiration. Her sensitive mana detection abilities could sense that the artifact was steadily becoming more and more complete.
“It’s done.” Lyla gave off an impression that she had done nothing difficult; as if she merely swept the yard a bit and came back, she put down the artifact with ease.
Elena looked at the artifact and gulped her saliva. “C-could I hold it for a bit!”
“Yes, you can.”
Elena held the artifact as if it was a once in a lifetime treasure and swiped the surface. It was the same as last time. Instead of a cold aura, the iron plate was now letting out a subtle warmth. “Would I be able to try using it once?”
Lyla nodded her head, and Elena quickly activated the artifact.
Crackle!
A fireball the size of a walnut soared above the artifact. As if it was a predator searching for its prey, it swirled around ferociously. Elena stared at Lyla; her eyes were filled with admiration for the person next to her. Lyla didn’t avoid Elena’s eyes; instead, she made a subtle smile. However, Lyla sighed internally.
‘My heart doesn't feel too good, because I feel like I’m tricking an innocent kid.’
Of course, Lyla thought that talking with Elena was fun and interesting. Since Elena only sold artifacts and magic circles, the incomplete artifacts that she put on display were filled with creative ideas. Just conversing with Elena was a fresh experience for her, and there was a high chance that Lyla’s skills and understanding of magic could also increase. However, there was only one thing she felt uncomfortable about.
‘This is also part of the plan.’
Lyla recalled Zich’s shrewd laugh and the words he said as he told her to chat with Elena.
‘What do you think a hurt and disappointed child would feel when a person they always dreamed about suddenly appears in front of them? Of course, they’ll immediately feel intense admiration and the walls in their heart will crumble down. And at that moment, if you just act a bit nice to them, they’ll completely become enamored with you. Then, it's game over. All we have to think about is how we can use that kid from now on.’
They weren’t going to do anything bad. Lyla comforted herself like this and smiled awkwardly at Elena looking at her with eyes full of admiration and respect.