Kaitlyn (1)

A general store.

Literally, it felt like a small store that bought and sold all sorts of items.

From simple herbs to kitchen utensils and even longswords used in battle, a wide variety of items were on display.

No, it wasn't even a proper display, as the items were piled up, making the store look cluttered like a secondhand bookstore.

However, the smaller the village, the more important it was to have a place that dealt with such a variety of items.

The general store was the only place to get what they needed when they needed it.

Tinkle tinkle.

A person in a robe with a hood entered, ringing the bell on the door.

While tucking the red hair sticking out from under the hood back in, the woman walked over to the counter and put something on it.

A hefty money pouch.

Inside it were 1 UP coins, filled to the brim.

"I came to buy some lizard poop you mentioned last time."

It was a casual tone, but her voice was unmistakably feminine and high-pitched.

The general store owner recognized the words and responded.

"You mean magnesium when you say lizard poop?"

"Yes, that's right."

"I'm sorry, but the price of magnesium has gone up sharply, and the merchant guild bought it all up."

At that, the woman slapped the table with the palm of her hand.

"What? I reserved it, so why did you sell it to them?"

"I'm a merchant too, how could I refuse when they offered more money? You didn't even give a deposit in the first place, did you?"

"I didn't have money at the time, what do you want me to do?"

"What can I do if you don't have money? I can't help it either."

That was the law of Cloud merchants.

It would have been the merchant's fault if the deposit had been paid first, but this was a matter where the woman had no say.

"Where in the world would a fool buy that lizard poop? Did you secretly withhold it because I was going to buy it?"

The woman didn't care to call herself a fool.

"You! Do you think I'm some kind of unscrupulous merchant? If I were to do business like that, I would have gone to the city!"

"Ugh! So, why did that damned merchant guild buy it?"

"Recently, someone has been buying up large amounts of magnesium. Who was it... someone called the Master of the Silence Tower."

"Silence... Tower Master?"

"What was the name? It was a noble-like name."

The general store owner didn't know the name, but the woman did.

Reed Adeleheights Roton.

She had known about him even before the name Roton was attached.

"Anyway, I'm sorry. I need to make a living too, so what can I do? If you're going to buy something next time, I'll definitely have it ready for you. But the price has gone up since then."

"How much?"

"70 UP per 1kg."

"…Never mind."

The money inside the pouch was exactly 50 UP, so she couldn't even use it as a deposit.

'If I pay 20 UP more, I'll have to live on dew for a few days...'

The woman was neither a sage nor a druid, but a human, so eating was absolutely essential.

The woman took her money pouch and left the general store.

Then she looked up at the sky.

'Without a doubt, that sky doesn't care what I'm thinking.'

As always.

"Why is Senior Reed buying magnesium?"

Kaitlyn Ramos.

She called that name again, which she thought she would never have to call again.

***

Tower Master Research Center.

Reed was murmuring, looking up at the object placed on the anti-gravity floating device.

"Is it complete...?"

An item made after days of struggle and wandering.

It was the first time he had used a magnesium plate to create an item, so he had gone through 15 trials and errors to maximize the efficiency of the magic stone.

———————————

Magnesium Gauntlet (Trial Version)

Type: Equipment Item

Durability: 50/50

Defense: 28~30

"Production Lv. 3": The joint connection is weak, making it vulnerable to durability reduction.

"Magic Engineering Lv. 4": Charging rate - 95%, duration - 70 hours

"Magic Lv. 4": The power of the manifested magic increases by 1.1 times.

A gauntlet made using magnesium.

When charged, it is stronger than ordinary steel.

———————————

The length that reached up to the elbow was a little longer than the arm size of the wearer, Reed.

'It feels like a weapon of some ancient civilization.'

Looking at the mana channels he had created, it looked like a maze had been drawn.

It felt like a tool for showing off rather than for practical use.

Now there was only one thing left.

Only the actual test remained.

As Reed reached out to the anti-gravity floating device, the assistant magician standing behind him opened his mouth.

"Are you going to try it on yourself?"

"Yeah."

"It could explode again."

"…"

At those words, Reed suddenly started to feel afraid.

In fact, the gauntlet had exploded during the 12th trial and error.

However, instead of answering, he glared at the man who had said that, and the magician who had made a slip of the tongue covered his mouth with both hands and stepped back.

"Don't worry. I made it. If it fails, of course, I have to pay the price for that, right?"

Roughly avoiding the subject, the assistant magicians looked up at Reed with a slightly awed expression.

'He truly is a Tower Master.'

'Just a few months ago, he wasn't like this...'

Most of them were apprentices and had no direct contact with the Tower Master, but they were well aware of his notoriety.

A crazy man who would dismiss anyone he didn't like, treating the deputy Tower Master and the Guardian of Silence like a dog.

However, after overthrowing "Project Flower Garden", such rumors disappeared entirely.

A Tower Master with drive and ruthlessness, but at the same time, he had the ability to embrace others.

Furthermore, this time the adopted daughter he brought in was a genius who was worth more than gold, but he never got conceited.

Ultimately, Reed's successful resolution of the conflict in the Hupper Kingdom greatly improved his image within the tower.

Reed mentally prepared himself and inserted his hand into the gauntlet.

He slightly manifested mana and touched the magic stone part. Then, the gauntlet started to react and move.

The volume gradually reduced, and it fit snugly on Reed's hand.

Reed tried moving his fingers.

It moved more smoothly than when wearing a glove.

It fit Reed's hand perfectly, just as designed.

'And fortunately, there's no explosion either.'

The current production project was over.

[The progress of production has reached 100%.]

[The production project, "Magnesium plate armor production - gauntlet " has been successfully completed.]

["Success Reward" is given.]

- You can now create a gauntlet using magnesium plates.

The magnesium gauntlet prototype was made over the course of three days.

'Should I reduce the actual weight a bit more... or rather, should I increase my strength instead?'

The weight itself was lighter than the gauntlets used by knights, and the defense was on the lower side.

If the weight was reduced any further, it would be like making ceramics instead of a gauntlet.

'Let's increase my strength a little.'

Tower Master doing strength training... It might be a bit funny.

Reed checked the current status of magnesium research using the authority of the Tower Master.

-Magnesium material enhancement (research progress: 60%).

-Magnesium plate magic stone efficiency enhancement (research progress: 80%).

[T/N: Previously referred to as "Enhancement of magic stone efficiency in Magnesium plates"]

-Magnesium enhancement: resistance to elemental attacks (research progress: 70%).

-Magnesium plate armor production - gauntlet (production progress: 100%)

When the efficiency-enhancing research is completed, the continuous effect will increase by about 30%, and when the material enhancement is completed, the defense of the gauntlet will increase by about 5.

At that level, it might not just be as good as the steel technology that the empire boasts, but it will rival it.

'Still not enough.'

The functionality was absurdly lacking.

Reed didn't make the gauntlet in this form simply to create armor.

'This is my magic support tool and a card that can be a trump card.'

The ultimate goal of this gauntlet was a modified weapon like the staff or wand used by mages.

Of course, this was not Reed's unique idea.

'Because Kaitlyn Ramos raised her insufficient magical power with this.'

The magnesium 'magic' gauntlet was the unique magical tool she created, breaking away from the conventional form of staff and wands.

It was as if Reed had brought forward the weapon that Kaitlyn would create in the future.

It was also as if he had stolen a future idea, but Reed didn't feel much guilt about it.

Because the idea in the future also existed in the past.

'Because Reed had the same idea too.'

Strictly speaking, it was a legacy left by that nerdy Reed, not the Reed possessed by Jung Jinhyuk.

———————————

Weaponization of magnesium gauntlet using magic gem.

Type: Research Project

Author: Reed Adeleheights Roton

Check whether the magnesium gauntlet can be weaponized using the magic gem, which can be considered the core part of the staff and wand.

Establishment of hypothesis: X

Research progress: -

You can create a Magnesium Magic Gauntlet (100%).

Random enhancement (Attribute Enchantment/Magic Enhancement/Attack Enhancement/Defense Enhancement/Durability Enhancement) can be applied to the Magnesium Magic Gauntlet (100%, limited to first-time only).

———————————

After seeing the research project, Reed clicked his tongue.

'The failure rate is 60%.'

Attack enhancement was the damage dealt when striking with the gauntlet.

It was the least necessary thing for Reed, who only had stats unrelated to strength.

If ranked by tiers, it would be like this:

Tier 1: Attribute Enchantment, Magic Enhancement

Tier 2: Defense Enhancement, Durability Enhancement

Tier 3: Attack Enhancement

If only the Attribute Enchantment, which imbues a specific attribute when using non-attribute magic, and Magic Enhancement, which increases the original power of magic, were applied, there would be nothing more to ask for.

'If the mana absorption function is added as well...'

In a one-on-one battle between mages, Reed could have an absolute advantage.

This was an achievement that even Kaitlyn Ramos couldn't achieve in her early days.

Reed deliberately did not reveal it.

With the current skill level of the tower's mages, they couldn't even come close, and revealing it would just let everyone know what Reed was doing.

'Dolores, of course, but neither Rosaria nor Phoebe should find out.'

Although Dolores is currently an ally, she has sided with the Tower Master of the Thought Tower, so there is a possibility of leaking information.

Phoebe was inherently naive and untrustworthy.

Rosaria... didn't need an explanation.

The first person who needs to know this important matter is the future pioneer, Kaitlyn Ramos.

"Phoebe."

"Yes!"

The half-dragon assistant, Phoebe, came running at his call.

"How's the investigation on Kaitlyn Ramos's whereabouts that I asked you about before?"

"Ah, well... I tried asking around several places, but they said they don't know much about it..."

"Really? Was there anyone who knew about her?"

"I first contacted the Escoleia Magic Academy, where she studied, and they said there was a student like that, but..."

"But?"

"She was expelled."

"Expelled?"

"Because of a plagiarism dispute, she was excluded from the scholarship recipients, and eventually got expelled."

Escoleia is a prestigious academy, and the tuition alone is over 20,000 UP.

While the amount is easy for nobles to afford for education, it's impossible for commoners to graduate unless they study hard and receive a scholarship.

Since Kaitlyn was involved in a plagiarism dispute, she must have not been able to endure it.

"A mage involved in a plagiarism dispute... Then, she's likely to be in a small village."

Mages must value and respect knowledge.

Once involved in a dispute, they cannot survive in places with many people.

There are only about 20 kingdoms, but there are hundreds of small villages on the continent.

It's become even more difficult.

"Please keep up the good work."

"Yes."

Although it was tough, Phoebe smiled brightly and nodded.

After completing the research, Reed left the cleaning to the assistant mages and exited the research building.

Reed, now dressed in his uniform, took the elevator straight down to the reception room.

Waiting in the reception room was the one-eyed rat, Leto.

"Your humble servant, Leto, greets the Master of the Silent Tower."

It was Reed who had called for Leto.

"You delivered all 4,000kg on time."

"How can I do business if I'm not trustworthy? Thanks to you, my Master, I've had precious experiences traveling all over the place."

Leto flattered him while rubbing his hands together.

"So, can you get me some more magnesium?"

"Of course, it's possible, but..."

Leto paused before continuing.

"The truth is, even we are having a hard time finding that lizard poop lately."

"Having a hard time finding it?"

"It seems the rumor has spread that you, the Master of the Silent Tower, are looking for magnesium."

It wasn't surprising.

He had bought an enormous amount of 4,000kg, so traders must have preemptively bought it in case.

However, the Tower Master couldn't continue to secretly buy magnesium either.

It could bring about even greater misunderstandings.

"So, how much has the price of magnesium gone up?"

"It's 70 UP per 1kg."

"70 UP..."

The original cost was 42 UP, and it was 50 UP when purchased from Leto. In no time, it increased by another 20 UP.

Magnesium itself was a common ore, so the price shouldn't have increased much under normal circumstances.

There's no doubt that the traders knew Reed was looking for it and stocked up on it together.

"Still, it's worth buying for now."

The Master of the Silent Tower.

He was a man who had nothing but money.