Demonstration (2)

Everything was going smoothly.

Morgan, pleased with the conversation that went without a hitch, smiled and said,

"Ah, this is quite unexpected. I'm thrilled that the master of the Silence Tower has agreed so wholeheartedly. I'm delighted to have the chance to build a rapport with the tower magicians."

"Am I the first?"

Reed indirectly asked if he had no contact with other mages.

Morgan answered with a smile, without a moment's hesitation.

"If I said I had no contact at all, that would be a lie. But this is the first time I've faced such a young and capable mage."

Morgan skillfully avoided the question, like a snake.

"I can't help but feel a great honor."

Reed didn't ask further, finishing his question as if he was very happy to be the first.

If he gave the impression that he was suspicious here, he would only be giving him an excuse to respond.

So Reed just smiled.

Hiding a dagger deep in his heart.

***

Reed was aimlessly walking in the garden of the Hupper Kingdom.

He had roughly set the place and schedule and discussed what kind of performance he would show.

Morgan was in a meeting to calculate the costs for this demonstration and banquet with the representatives.

Although it was co-hosted by the Silence Tower and the Hupper Kingdom, it was inevitable that the Hupper Kingdom, which was providing the venue, had a stronger influence.

Reed didn't unnecessarily fight.

There was no need to rashly touch Morgan, who was planning to lead Adonis to ruin.

A father trying to ruin his own flesh and blood.

A third party trying to prevent it.

'Salvation...'

In this ironic situation, Reed let out a hollow laugh.

'If I look at this situation, am I the protagonist?'

Adonis Hupper, to become the third disaster.

Reed, who stepped forward to save her, who will become a villain in the future.

'What I want is...'

It wasn't a villain falling into corruption while bearing a regrettable past.

If there was a chance to change their past, Reed wanted to change their past.

That's why Reed never thought of backing down from this plan.

'I need to remember as much as possible what they are plotting over there.'

What Reed knew was that Adonis Hupper resists a nobleman who is trying to harm her and ends up killing him.

Because it was a grand banquet, many people knew about it, and public opinion flowed against Adonis.

And then, Adonis was ruined.

"Ah!"

A young voice screamed and rolled on the floor.

When Reed turned his head, a well-dressed boy was lying on the floor.

'A face resembling Adonis.'

A man with an identical face, enough to be mistaken as Adonis's sister.

It was undoubtedly Morgan Hupper the Second.

"Are you alright?"

Reed approached him and held out his hand.

Morgan the Second grabbed his hand and smiled awkwardly.

"Thank you, uh...."

Morgan the Second hesitated.

Reed politely greeted him.

"I am Reed Adeleheights Roton, the Master of the Silence Tower."

"Oh, you're the Tower Master! My name is Morgan."

"Indeed, you're a prince."

Morgan the Second scratched his head and laughed.

"It's a bit embarrassing when you call me a prince."

A very honest expression of emotion.

The face was undoubtedly Adonis, but the personality was definitely different.

'The faces are definitely similar.'

During "Disaster 7", he was a boy who was in the midst of his second growth, so he had a masculine impression.

But now he could see why they were called siblings.

"Cough, cough."

Morgan the Second coughed.

Seeing this, Reed made way for Morgan the Second.

"I apologize for my rudeness. Please, go ahead."

Morgan waved his hand and spoke.

"No, cough! Cough! I always have a cough, so it's a daily thing, don't worry about it."

"Do you have a chronic illness?"

"It's not a disease. I'm just a late bloomer so my body is a bit weak."

That was a story Reed knew well.

The Queen of Hupper Kingdom contracted an incurable disease during her pregnancy with Morgan the Second.

Both the mother and the child were in danger, and one of them had to give up their life.

Since there was no way to cure the incurable disease, they decided to save Morgan the Second, as per the Queen's wish.

The great love of a mother saved her immature son.

"People say I'm a living miracle."

A living miracle.

It also implied the sarcastic meaning that it was a miracle he was alive.

Did Morgan the Second really understand that meaning?

Reed pretended not to know and changed the subject.

"Will you be attending this banquet, Prince?"

"You're hosting a banquet?"

"Yes, we're planning to present Elf and Druid music right here in the castle."

At that, Morgan the Second's eyes began to sparkle.

"Elves and Druids! My maid once mentioned that there would be a device that could play their music at any time... Was it you who made it?"

"Yes."

"Wow...."

Morgan the Second grabbed Reed's hand.

He exclaimed with an excited voice as if he was in front of his idol.

"I've heard that it's really difficult to listen to the songs of Elves and Druids. I'll definitely come to listen, Tower Master!"

Reed looked down at him.

'So innocent.'

A child who grew like a greenhouse plant with his weak body.

But his curiosity was no different from his own daughter, Rosaria.

'To take over the body of such a child... The heavens are indeed indifferent.'

Hatred towards Morgan was building up.

Unaware, Reed looked at Morgan the Second with a hardened face and said,

"I hope you'll come for sure."

"Thank you, Tower Master."

Morgan the Second responded with a bright smile.

Eventually, Morgan the Second was led back to his room by his maid who came to find him late, and one person came to fetch Reed as the meeting seemed to have concluded.

The negotiation between Morgan and Reed, both not overly ambitious, ended very smoothly.

***

The Tower of Silence.

Finally, the moment came when the project led by Kaitlyn bore fruit.

"It's done!"

With Kaitlyn's victory shout, the assistant magicians who participated in the research celebrated by giving high-fives to each other.

And Reed checked the message that popped up before his eyes.

'Let it be a good option, let it be a good option...'

———————————

[Research progress has reached 100%.]

[The research, "Weaponization of magnesium gauntlet using magic stone" has been successfully completed.]

["Success Reward" is given.]

- You can craft a Magnesium Magic Gauntlet.

- You can enhance the attack power of the Magnesium Magic Gauntlet.

———————————

"...What?"

Reed double-checked the contents as if he had seen it wrong.

Attack enhancement.

It meant that the magic gauntlet he was creating would have additional physical attack power.

"What the fuck… …!"

Curse that he had stopped using while living with Rosaria slipped out of his mouth.

Hearing his curse, Kaitlyn and the assistant magicians stopped their cheering and looked at Reed, whose face was crumpled.

'Just my luck to get a 3rd-tier...'

Reed couldn't control his emotions, scratching his ash-grey hair to vent his frustration.

'There are durability and defense enhancements, but why does it have to be attack enhancement?'

"Um, well..."

While he was disheartened, Kaitlyn carefully observed Reed and apologized.

"I'm very sorry that the result you wanted didn't come out..."

"...No, it's not your fault."

Although Kaitlyn has the characteristic of an 'Eccentric Inventor', a double-edged sword, it doesn't affect the random probability.

It's a game system, so it's no one's fault.

'If I had to blame someone, it would be the damn god. Yes, it's just an additional option. There's no need to fret over it.'

Reed had poured almost all of the Magnesium into this gauntlet.

Considering the time and money invested, it was not something he could easily write off.

'Phew, attack enhancement is just an additional option.'

He was just upset that the additional option was so mediocre, there was only a tiny change in the picture that Reed had painted.

"Kaitlyn, how long will it take to make a prototype?"

"We can make one within 3 hours."

A top-notch magic engineering talent indeed, possessing "Crafting Lv. 5" and "Magic Engineering Lv. 5".

Reed admired her internally and gave her an order.

"Make one right now."

"Understood!"

Kaitlyn started crafting the gauntlet from the processing of Magnesium ingots with the assistant magicians.

The whole process was quite different from that of blacksmiths.

If the blacksmith's method is to hammer heated iron on an anvil, causing sparks to fly, the magic engineers were focused in front of machines that glowed faintly with blue mana.

They used mana as an anvil and hammer to shape the parts of the blueprint.

The sight was incredibly beautiful.

'Such tremendous concentration.'

Kaitlyn Ramos.

She had a somewhat lacking and easy-going impression, but once she started crafting, she became completely absorbed in her work as if the world had narrowed down to one place.

A single rose blooming in the blue flame melted and beautifully mixed in.

What she is handling now, the 'engraving tool', is one of the most mentally draining tasks in the process.

Other magicians would see a drastic increase in the chance of issues if they used it for more than 5 minutes.

In Reed's case, he would start to feel hazy after 10 minutes.

Once, out of stubbornness, he tried using it for longer, but while his mental strength was being drained, the engraving came out a mess.

Kaitlyn, however, kept her focus on the task.

For a whole 30 minutes.

Curious about when she would take a break, Reed watched her work quietly, but she carried on without stopping for those 30 minutes.

She only put down the engraver, which looked like a soldering iron, after all the engravings were completed.

She quickly fitted the completed engraving into the Magnesium gauntlet and finally inserted a crystal orb into the round hollow on the back of the hand.

The time it took to create the Magnesium Magic Gauntlet was three hours.

Just as she said, it only took three hours.

"It's complete."

———————————

Magnesium Magic Gauntlet Mk.Ⅰ

Type: Equipment Item

A gauntlet made using Magnesium.

Unlike regular gauntlets, it is equipped with a magic crystal orb to assist in casting magic.

When charged, it is harder than a steel gauntlet.

(Equipment)

Durability: 60/60

Attack Power: 10~13

Defense Power: 38~42

"Crafting Lv. 3": A flawless work of craftsmanship.

"Magic Engineering Lv. 4": Charge rate - 100%, Duration - 100 hours.

"Magic Lv. 4": Equipping a "Colorless Magic Crystal" grants the following effects:

- The power of manifested magic increases by 80%.

- Mana regeneration ability increases by 50%.

———————————

The material enhancement has increased the defense power, and the attack power, which is an additional option of the magic gauntlet, has been added.

'The attack power itself is about the level of the lightweight knuckles used by fighters.'

Reed, who smirked at the thought of whether magicians could use it for self-defense, immediately tried on the gauntlet.

The wide-open entrance automatically contracted to fit Reed's hand size as soon as he inserted his hand all the way in.

'In terms of operability and movement, the one Kaitlyn made is a step above.'

It was an overwhelming talent that could be readily acknowledged, even without a critical evaluation.

Now that he had confirmed the operability, what about the main ability?

As a test, Reed attempted to manifest mana.

He focused and sensed the mana at his fingertips.

Then, a blue mana sphere began to manifest above Reed's palm.

'It's similar to when I used a wand or a staff.'

Manifesting mana purely with bare hands is difficult.

However, if you use a medium like a wand or a staff, you can supplement the ability even if your "Mana Response" level is low.

The focal point of the gauntlet is the magic crystal.

By processing this magic crystal and attaching it to the gauntlet, Reed has created an object like a wand or a staff.

Thanks to the "Colorless Magic Crystal" equipped on Reed's gauntlet, he was able to show a power distinctly different from when he manifested mana with his bare hands.

'I can handle two elements.'

Fire and lightning.

Among them, he imagined the shape of fire.

Imagination is important for a wizard.

He imagined that the blue mana in his hand would become a sphere of blazing flames.

Whoosh-!

As soon as he finished his imagination, the pure mana quickly turned red and became a fireball.

Reed turned his head.

There, a straw mannequin, sent by the earthen tower owner for magic power measurement, was standing with its arms spread.

Reed moved his body like a pitcher and threw the sphere towards the mannequin.

The fireball that hit the head exactly exploded as soon as it made contact.

Bang!

An explosion occurred from the head of the magic power measurement mannequin, shaking it severely.

As a straw mannequin made to be hit and destroyed, it was unshaken by Reed's attack, leaving only a burnt mark.

'What would have happened if we had missed such a talent?'

If Reed had done what Kaitlyn was doing, it would have taken more than five times as long without a doubt.

'But the quality would have been about 1/5th of hers.'

"You did well, Kaitlyn."

"I only did what was expected. I enjoyed it very much."

Because Kaitlyn was a natural magic engineer, even difficult and strenuous research was nothing but a pleasant thing for her.

For such a remarkable researcher, Reed decided to give a reward.

"I'm thinking of a bonus of 10,000 UP, what do you think?"

"10, 10,000 UP?"

Kaitlyn stammered at the amount Reed proposed.

"Is 10,000 UP too little? Hmm... then let's make it 20,000 UP. I'll also give you a three-day vacation. Think about where you'll spend that 20,000 UP and take a vacation."

Kaitlyn knelt down.

The situation he had witnessed once before was unfolding again.

"Your grace is immense!"

Kaitlyn Ramos.

She obtained a vacation and a bonus.