Volume 2 Chapter 12: The Gift

(Walson)

(A little while before Grace stormed the Unicorn Dorm...)

God damn! What did Melon did? Look at those rare materials she brought back! It's in Tons!

I asked her about what kind of thing she did to get a lot of precious material like this, and to be honest, I was a little bit worried that she had done some illegal things, after all, if she rob a gang, we are going to need to up our defense, just in case they are going to take some reveng.

Thankfully, Melon told me that it's a reward that some girl gift to her after she defeated something called "Ground Dragon".

No wonder, earlier, when I was making food, I got a notification that said I leveled up a lot, it's scared me a bit to be honest, now I know where those points come from.

Speaking of dragons, I've seen some small dragons, which are technically big lizards. However, I'm not sure what a real dragon is supposed to look like.

Melon took a fourth of the [Dragon Reverse Scale] and gave me the rest, as well as [Dragon Claws] and [Ground Dragon Crystals]. I told her that she can decide what to do with her own spoils, but she insisted on me having them. She claimed that she can't put them to good use like me.

... Well, if that's what she wants... then let's try not to make her effort a waste.

There are two [Ground Dragon Crystals], more commonly known as the [Dragon Core] that store and release their mana, just like how the heart pumps blood out. They have the appearance of golden octahedra and are as big as an open palm. I can feel the power it contains just by holding it.

The [Dragon Reverse Scale] is a meter wide oval shaped thing. I mean, it WAS an oval until I pickaxed it to remove a quarter of it due to Melon's request. Now it looks like a three-fourths pizza

I wonder what Melon will do with that part of the scale? Indeed, I'm not planning to get it, but I'm still curious.

I guess I shouldn't be that nosy. Oh, this act of disassembling a monster corpse and using it to make tools and armor reminds me of the game Monster Hunter.

The [Dragon Reverse Scale] enhances the amount of maximum mana that can be stored in the equipment and allows the user to have [Dragon Soul] skill available. 

Able to create items from Dragon remnants is one of my dreams in this world, so I was pretty excited about working on it, But I'll wait until I have a perfect blueprint of the most suitable equipment for us to wear before making it.

As for the crystals, there is something which I want to use them on, and which I finally completed this very morning after repeatedly overusing mana for more than 2 months.

Well... this could be counted as a good-bye gift, doesn't it?

I took out the [Ender Pearl] Grace gave me when we're nine.

It seems to be shinier under the afternoon sun. it's an item that Grace used to teleport to me. 

Yeah, at this point, I guess past tense would be fine. She wouldn't need to anymore.

"May your future be a happy and bright one, Grace."

I took a [Blaze Rod] and ground it into [Blaze Powder]. Next, I combined the powder, which is from the Nether, with the [Ender Pearl], which is from the End.

Soon, the two things from two very distinct worlds had combined into a sphere that looks like a pearl, but with a fiery pupil in it.

An eye-shaped gem? Is that how one is supposed to describe something like that?

[Eye of Ender], it's an item that a Player would use to look for the gate that would teleport Players to the End in Minecraft.

I have the feeling that the foundation of its ability "to find doors that lead to another world" is an ability "to analyze the structure of the world."

Say, it might be able to see "things" that normal people can't usually see?

This [Eye of Ender] will form a critical part of the wand/staff. To give a rod magical power, you need a magic circle, magical minerals or ore, and a medium/foci.

For the ore, you can use anything such as a gem, a pearl, etc. With that, it will be less likely to break when the user inserts too much mana.

The original plan was to use the [Eye of Ender] for the ore, but thanks to Melon, I'll add in the [Ground Dragon Crystal] too. I took the [Eye of Ender] and Crystal and crafted it into a single object.

After crafting, it still looks like a crystal, but it changed into a strange, purple-ish color from its original yellow gold. The [Eye of Ender] is now half-way in the crystal, with the crystal sort-of-but-not-quite looking like an eye socket, and the pupil is trying to look around, moving… feels weird. I'll have to deal with that in a minute.

The medium is used to increase the compatibility of the wand and its user. A common choice is the user's hair. But since the Ender Pearl was directly from Grace, I'll use it instead.

Next, for the rod, I used the [Millenium Fairy Wood] with [Mithril Powder] for increasing the efficiency of mana circulation. The silver mithril powder dusted across the deep black of the fairy wood. Now it looks like night sky with stars, just like Grace's hair.

After some craftings, the wood had turned into a staff. Then I put the eye crystal and the rod on the crafting table for the last time.

"Oh, man..." Now it's a staff in my hand.

A dark black staff with a pearl that has a burning pupil. I chiseled and carved the part where those two parts connected into a dragon claw with my pickaxe, it now looks like a dragon is holding the pearl.

Looks dark, but also elegant. Time for the last step, also the most important step. I inserted my mana, and [activated] the staff.

As mentioned before, there's a central magic circle acting as a core in every single staff, and that was the hardest part for me. Just for making the core, I spent tons of time brainstorming with the knowledgeable Lady Dryad.

Remember I said that I've created a whole new branch of spell casting that is similar to the coding back in my original world? I designed this core based on that, and I also added a seed into the core, which is from Lady Dryad.

Basically, I've combined my special programming magic with the liveliness of wood attributes. This thing is based on something high-tech from my original world, but I'm not telling you what is it~

I named it [IRIS].

[IRIS] shined brightly after I inserted my mana into it. The [Eye of Ender] I placed on it shines brightly and starts to shake slightly, its pupil dilating, shrinking and growing like it's really alive.

"I'll give you to your owner soon. For now, sleep."

After I give this order to it, the [Eye of Ender] darkens, and [IRIS] returns to silence. I grabbed a piece of cloth to cover the whole staff, and added a note to it.

Hmm… Since it's a gift, maybe I'll do a bowtie?

Alright! The gift for Grace is half-way done, now for her body armor. I designed it based on the robes of magicians and wizards back in the video games I've played back on Earth, and knitted using silk made from spider strings.

Then, I colored it using charcoal made from [Millennium Fairy Wood], with some [Black Iron Powder] (the powder of my knock-off version of steel by combining iron with coal) and [Mithril Powder] for a better and stronger defense.

For her hat, I borrowed the design from fanarts about "Enderman Girl". The ingredients are the same as above.

I bet it'll look great on Grace!

I enchanted the wand with [Knockback II], [Unbreaking], and [Sharpness] because Grace LOVES to hit people with her wand. You know, custom-made means to include the user's habit into consideration.

Finally, the gown. The design is based on a fashion coat for women back in my world. No need to explain the enchantments, Every kind of enchantment for protection is on it.

I should also mention that I used a complicated, time-consuming knitting technique. Omitting a string of jargons, I made the robe waterproof that way.

Great! Now her armor is also finished! Now I just need to grab a gift box, stick in all the stuff, and make a pretty bowtie… 

Wasn't this our promise, Grace?

It's still two days before our coming of age. I've heard some rumor - something like she's going on a date on that day.

What makes their date soooo fantastic that the entire city should know? Don't be mistaken. I don't f***ing care. Dunno anything about celebrity life.

I waited in front of the girls' dorm but failed to find Aure, so I paid a girl one gold coin to leave the box at Grace's door. Hey, I paid you well, and you have just one job to do, so don't ruin it!

It's getting dark. Almost the time that some guys of the [Mart Chamber of Commerce] threw a 3-day party in the red-light district. They invited me and said that they will pay for me since it's my coming of age!

... Maybe I can start to celebrate a bit earlier?