There was only one path open to me.
Thanks to my drug-addict parents selling me off for some petty cash when I was young, I ended up as a servant in a workshop.
Not long after, I heard both of my parents died from acute addiction.
Even after hearing the news, I didn’t feel much of anything.
I only felt a sense of liberation that the blood ties binding me were finally gone.
Fortunately, the people at the workshop weren’t bad.
Though I was in a status no better than a slave, I received a promise that if I worked hard for the value I was bought for, I would be granted freedom.
So for a whole year, I tirelessly served the artisans, and as a result, I successfully paid off my debt.
I was free now.
But I had nowhere else to go.
At the workshop owner’s suggestion, I started learning the craft as an apprentice.
The workshop that had been my master was now my workplace, home, and learning ground.
“Hey, you! Why are you so slow? By now, you should have finished ten, and you haven’t even done one yet?!”
“……”
Constant scolding and reprimanding.
I was used to it.
I’d heard those words through my serving days too.
I knew well that in this workshop filled with rough people, they had no choice but to shout like this to teach.
So I endured and bore it.
Other artisans also tread the same path.
I wasn’t the only one struggling.
If I held back my tears and worked hard, someday I would see the light.
Born lowly, there’s no rule saying I had to live that way until the end.
Even if I received nothing from my parents, I would gain confidence in one particular field.
With that thought, I practiced day and night without rest.
“Tay. Accept new apprentices.”
“Oh, hello? So you’re my new apprentices?”
“……”
A bunch of rookie apprentices came in.
Clueless newbies.
I didn’t even know where they were picked up from.
I heard the workshop master picked them up from the slums…
“These dull things here are low-grade mana stones. They shine when lit up, but if the reflections inside aren’t pure and irregular, they are mid-grade mana stones. Of course, we have appraisers, but they are often busy, so we need to know how to distinguish them ourselves. Their main job is to evaluate the price of high-grade mana stones.”
“Yes!”
Having cute apprentices was quite delightful.
Watching them go through the same tough time I did made me chuckle.
I used to be like that too.
Remembering that made me treat my apprentices even better.
“Well done! Allen! That’s impressive, huh? You will assist Karl from now on! It makes sense for you to learn how to handle high-grade mana stones right away!”
“Thank you, Workshop Owner!”
The apprentices began to get ahead.
As a third-year, I was still just serving the ordinary artisans.
The apprentices quickly left my side and started working with high-grade and top-grade mana stones.
That was when I started to feel out of place.
I was quite slow.
Only after the apprentices surpassed me did I realize something was off.
“Tay is kind, bright, and quick-witted; she’s great, but…”
“Her hands are really slow.”
“I know, right? Watching her is frustrating.”
“We can’t just keep her as an apprentice forever; we need to cut her loose at some point. But since she’s favored by the Workshop Owner, it might not happen. Sigh.”
“There’s never been an apprentice who lasted three years, right?”
“None. Tay has been the longest.”
Occasional whispers stung my heart deeply.
I realized too late.
I was lacking talent.
Not everyone struggles through their apprentice days like me.
I was a freeloading parasite.
A parasite feeding off free food as an apprentice.
I could be raised as an artisan if I shed my apprentice label, but if I did, I might starve, so they kept me as an apprentice.
That warm-hearted consideration stabbed at me painfully.
“Allen received his first-class artisan certification! Now we have one more artisan in our workshop who can handle high-grade mana stones! Everyone, please congratulate him with applause!”
“Wow…”
It had been two years since the apprentices came to the workshop.
They were all starting to find their places.
Everyone had begun receiving commissions, except for one who quit being an apprentice.
There were even kids who became the best artisans of the workshop, handling high-grade and top-grade mana stones.
Meanwhile, I remained as I was.
I was sometimes just touching mid-grade mana stones.
Occasionally, I was just a servant to the lesser artisans.
Now, nobody tried to teach me anymore.
Everyone gave up.
Because I was too dull.
No matter what they taught me, I couldn’t learn.
Even if I could learn, it was way too slow.
“Is this going to be the workshop I’ll work in? I followed the promising Workshop Owner only to find this place is a total dump!”
“Hahahaha… Let’s guide you to your workplace.”
“What about that girl? She looks dreadful.”
“That kid is an apprentice. She’s been here for five years.”
“Five years? What’s up with your apprenticeship program? Get her over to me! I need to make her useful ASAP. What’s the point of keeping a parasite in a workshop with a shortage of hands?”
That was my first encounter with my master.
Just as I was thinking about returning to slum life, my master appeared like a savior.
My master was already famous outside of Basel.
Apparently, upon encountering a workshop owner during his travels, he was so impressed that he immediately transferred to our workshop.
“This isn’t a training ground for a kid like you! Drop the low-grade mana stones! Why are you wasting time on something that needs to be processed quickly? From today on, you’re learning how to process high-grade mana stones.”
“What?”
In shock, words didn’t come easily.
They wanted to teach me high-grade mana stones when I couldn’t even handle low-grade and mid-grade properly.
Naturally, several artisans protested.
Claiming it was a waste of mana stones.
“Look at this! What do you think?”
“Um. It’s a well-processed mid-grade mana stone. I can’t find any flaws. Did you specialize in mana insulation? It has added effects despite being mid-grade?”
“This is processed by that parasite. She’s making something a masterpiece and causing a fuss over standard mana stones; her skill isn’t bad!”
“If she can’t produce speed, it’s meaningless…”
“What do you mean it’s meaningless! High-grade mana stones require a lot of work and time! You should be giving her those high-grade mana stones!”
It was the first compliment I ever heard.
Though the tone was rough, my master was definitely shouting for my sake.
From that day on, I started learning how to handle high-grade mana stones from my master.
“Raw stones cost more than most artisans’ monthly salaries. If you waste it, I’ll have to starve for a month. Understood?”
“Yes, yes!”
“Don’t be too tense either. If you stiffen up, your parasite-like skills will only decline. I’m prepared to starve for three months, so take it easy.”
High-grade mana stones were completely different from low or mid-grade stones.
It was my first time being this close to the actual thing.
The arrangement of the crystals was brutally regular and consistent.
Unlike the low or mid-grade mana stones that allowed flexibility in processing, high-grade mana stones required uniform work.
Indeed, my slow hands didn’t become a significant issue.
At least not when it came to high-grade mana stones.
Skilled artisans also spent an entire hour just scratching the surface of high-grade mana stones.
It wasn’t just me being slow.
It wasn’t just me falling behind.
I could do it.
That thought seemed to fuel me even more.
“Tay, just quit.”
“M-Master?”
“Get out of this workshop. No matter how I look at it, this isn’t your path.”
“……”
The master’s expression hardened as he received my results.
He turned his back to me without hesitation.
The master, who used to teach me kindly despite his rough tone, now faced away.
‘This isn’t my path?’
This was the only path open to me from the start.
Struggling down this single path, now you’re telling me to turn back?
It felt like my heart was breaking.
“This workshop is the only place for me… I’ve devoted my life to it, Master…”
“Life? What life? You’re still just a child! Just go away already!”
“Please, please! I won’t ask for anything else. I’ll start serving again. Just don’t throw me out. Okay?”
“……”
I couldn’t even imagine another path.
That’s why I cried and clung to my master.
As a result, I successfully remained a parasite.
But I no longer received kind looks.
Even my master only coldly asked for necessary tools and nothing more.
He taught me nothing and asked for nothing from me.
Even when I processed low and mid-grade mana stones for a hundred days, the reaction was lukewarm.
They did sell, and at quite a high price too.
But given that it took six times longer, it was questionable if I was really making any money.
By the time the second batch of apprentices began to surpass me and shed their apprentice labels…
That was during my sixth year as an apprentice.
I completely lost my confidence.
I had long given up on the dream of living a self-sufficient life.
I would live forever as a parasite in this workshop.
Just because the workshop owner favored me.
Because of someone who left the workshop long ago and never returned, I’m still slurping up the workshop’s food today.
“Good day, customer. What brings you here?”
“I want to sell some mana stone raw materials. One of them, I’d like to commission for processing.”
“Please come this way.”
It was just another day.
Serving my aloof master and spending my free time processing discarded mana stones that were deemed defective and mindlessly working.
“This is the mana stone I’d like to commission for.”
“This is…?!”
A brilliant light poured out from the reception area.
Startled, my eyes instinctively turned toward it.
It was a top-grade mana stone.
In six years, our workshop had only handled top-grade mana stones five times.
I caught a glimpse of the top-grade mana stone as it briefly revealed itself.
It was radiantly beautiful, resembling a universe contained within.
I was mesmerized by its alluring irregularity, standing transfixed for a while.
“Tay! Fetch the tool! Quickly!”
“Ah, yes…”
But I quickly averted my gaze and returned to the workspace.
That place was a different world from where I lived.
A world where money exchanged in the hundred-thousands, a world I couldn’t dare to covet.
Just glancing at it was a huge offense for a parasite like me.
“Um. Can I select the artisan to process this before discussing its purpose?”
“Of course, that’s perfectly fine. It seems you know our workshop’s artisans.”
“I do. An absolutely wonderful person.”
I stood quietly beside my master, waiting for the next instruction.
Before I could hear another comment, I turned my body completely from the reception.
But gradually, footsteps began to approach from that side.
“Hahaha. It seems you want to entrust it to someone you know. But listen to me. Among those three, they are undoubtedly the best in our workshop. Whoever it is you’re looking for, you’re better off leaving it to one of them…”
“Oh, there you are.”
“Excuse me? Who are you referring to?”
It seemed they weren’t choosing someone with a first-class certification but picking another artisan.
I instantly recognized who it was that they were looking for.
It was my master.
My master didn’t have a certification, but his skill in handling top-grade mana stones was on par with Allen’s.
He just preferred to focus on high-grade mana stones, being too lazy to bother with the certification.
He claimed he wasn’t an artist but an artisan, saying it was his mission to provide high-quality high-grade mana stones.
He left the life of a famous artisan who made enough money with one top-grade stone to spend a year cruising on a yacht.
What a cool person.
Having reached the peak in his field and then choosing to step down.
It was someone like him that attracted those kinds of customers who came from afar.
Just as I secretly smiled while thinking about my master, I saw a look of bewilderment on his face as he took off his goggles.
“Tay. Turn around.”
“Yes?”
Then, with a look of disbelief, he spoke to me.
What on earth was happening?
When I turned around, I locked eyes with a nicely dressed human male.
At that moment, I hadn’t washed and was covered in soot; just making eye contact made me feel ashamed.
The cleaner, more elegant, and cooler he appeared, the more I felt diminished in comparison.
My body instinctively shrank away.
But the man kept gazing at me with a smile.
Is it really me he’s looking at?
In confusion, I pointed a finger at myself and expressed my doubts.
“I’ll leave it to that kid.”
“W-What?!”
And today.
My world changed.
