“Third floor,” Ren murmured, adjusting his bag filled with precious skins. “Time to process some hides.”
The workshop was a spacious area filled with work tables and shelves of tools. The air was thick with the smell of tanned leather and fixative products, each scent telling a story of materials transformed.
A short man with a thick grey beard worked at one of the tables. He was barely 10 centimeters taller than Ren, but his hands moved with the certainty of years of experience, each motion precise and purposeful.
“Excuse me,” Ren approached, “Mr. Isaac?”
“That’s me,” he responded without looking up from his work, his focus absolute. “What do you need, boy?”
“I’d like to use the workshop to process some skins.”
This caught Isaac’s attention. He turned, his shrewd eyes studying Ren… until they noticed the mushrooms in his hair. His expression softened with a hint of pity that Ren was all too familiar with.
“What kind of skins?”
“Shadow Stalker.”
Isaac whistled softly. “How many?”
“Almost a hundred.”
“Look, boy,” Isaac set down his tools, his expression turning serious, “Shadow Stalker skins are delicate. One mistake and…”
“I know,” Ren interrupted, determination in his voice, “but I’d like to learn.”
Isaac sighed, scratching his beard thoughtfully. “I’ll show you the facilities, but I insist you should let someone with experience…”
“Could I pay you to process the first ten?” Ren brought out some skins carefully. “I’ll pay for the service and materials. I just want to see how it’s done.”
Isaac studied the skins with a critical eye, his expertise evident in every glance. “Good quality… would be a shame to ruin them.” He considered the proposal for a moment, weighing options. “Fine, but it’ll cost you 100 crystals per skin, 50 for labor plus 50 for materials.”
Ren nodded and watched attentively while Isaac prepared his workspace. Knowledge flowed while the artisan explained each step, every detail adding to Ren’s understanding.
“First, the base solution,” Isaac mixed several liquids with practiced ease. “Three parts fixative, one stabilizer… This works for any skin you want to treat.”
Ren began noticing details. The Shadow Stalker skin fibers had a peculiar pattern, unlike others which meant they may needed different proportions for optimal treatment.
“Why use standard fixative?” Ren asked, his curiosity genuine.
“It’s what I always use,” Isaac responded without pausing. “Works well enough.”
“Wouldn’t powdered crystal fixative be better?”
Isaac paused briefly. “Would be slightly better, yes. Also three times more expensive… not worth it.”
‘The skin doesn’t have its own mana,’ Ren reflected while the mushrooms in his hair pulsed softly. ‘It would need much less crystal powder than normal…’
He observed how the standard fixative saturated the fibers. It was too much. The fibers didn’t need that amount because…
“Why use so much fixative?” Ren asked, his mind connecting patterns.
“Better ensures preservation,” Isaac answered without stopping. “Especially with delicate skins.”
Based on the responses, knowledge whispered that the proportion could be better. Four to one would give the skin more flexibility without compromising durability.
“Then, we immerse for exactly ten minutes,” Isaac continued, his movements precise. “Not one more, not one less.”
‘Maybe eight and a half minutes would be ideal for Shadow Stalker skins,’ Ren thought, but limited himself to nodding.
Isaac’s expert hands worked with mechanical precision, stretching and treating each skin. His movements were perfect, but the materials…
Ren took mental notes of each step. The technique was impeccable, but with the right materials…
“Done,” Isaac displayed the first batch of processed skins. “See the difference in texture and shine? You could sell them for 300 but now for 450.”
Ren nodded. Subtracting the 100 crystals per skin, the profit was 50…
The result was good, but could it be exceptional?
♢♢♢♢
“Still want to process the rest?”
“Yes,” Ren began storing the treated skins carefully. “Thanks for the demonstration.”
“You’ll regret it…” Isaac murmured, though there was a glimmer of respect in his eyes. “The facilities are available to students, but if you damage anything, you pay for it.”
Ren went down to the warehouse with a clear mental list. Jessy was still at her window, organizing papers with slightly more success than before.
“Back so soon?” she smiled warmly.
“Need standard fixative,” he told Jessy, “but also some Bronze-grade powdered crystal.”
“Bronze grade?” Jessy consulted her manual. “That’s 10 times more expensive, quite fine…”
“Only need one small 100-crystal cost unit,” Ren began calculating. “Also stabilizer and half premium stabilizer.”
While Jessy gathered the materials, her eyes stopped on something on her desk.
“Oh!” she exclaimed. “The note! Almost forgot again!”
She took an elegant envelope and extended it to Ren. “Arrived this morning. It’s for you.”
Ren accepted the envelope while paying 500 crystals for his materials.
“Thanks,” he stored it carefully. He would finish with the skins first. That fresh knowledge in his mind shouldn’t be wasted.
As he climbed back to the workshop, a smile formed on his face. The mushrooms pulsed softly, as if approving his deductions.
♢♢♢♢
Ren organized his workstation methodically, aligning the materials in the order he would need them.
“Let’s see…” he murmured while measuring the base fixative.
Unlike Isaac, who used a full measure per skin, Ren added only three-quarters. Then, with extreme care, he dusted a tiny amount of powdered crystal over the liquid.
The fixative glowed faintly upon contact with the crystal, exactly as Ren expected. The skin’s conductive fibers only needed that minimal mana guidance.
He prepared the stabilizer solution in another container, heating it precisely to a Shadow Stalker’s body temperature, slightly cooler than what Isaac had used. Knowledge told him the fibers would respond better this way, as they did when the beast was at rest.
The first skin was immersed in the modified fixative. Ren counted the seconds carefully, observing how the fibers absorbed the solution. When he extracted it, he noted with satisfaction that the shine was even more intense than in the skins Isaac had processed.
“Eight and a half minutes,” he murmured while transferring the skin to the salamander solution. The fibers began tensing and relaxing in a rhythmic pattern, expelling soft fats and proteins.
With each skin, Ren refined the process. He discovered he could reuse the salamander solution more times than normal, Shadow Stalker skins barely altered its composition if they had no residue from the first process.
The crystal fixative also yielded more, as the conductive fibers only took what they needed.
Isaac approached occasionally to observe, his expression oscillating between skepticism and curiosity. By 2 PM, when Ren had processed almost half his skins, the artisan had to admit the results were exceptional.
“Never seen that deep shine,” he commented while examining one of the finished skins. “And the flexibility…”