“Usage is… um.”
Silence fills the air as Tay and the artisans continue to be dumbfounded, while I’m stuck in deep thought.
Where the heck should I use this?
Given its size, even after processing, it’s going to take up a lot of space.
It’s too heavy to attach to a ring or bracelet.
I’m not a mage, so making it a jewel and sticking it on a staff is also awkward.
There’s just no way.
“I’ll set it into the sword’s hilt.”
I have no choice but to insert it as an ornament on the sword.
I could always use a necklace or pendant, but wearing those feels awkward, so no thanks.
Just as I’m lost in thought, I notice lips mumbling all around me, as if they have something to say.
Ah! Speaking of which, I almost forgot to say something I hadn’t said yet.
“I refuse any involvement from other craftsmen. I want it only completed by this girl’s hands.”
“Uh, um, excuse me, sir! You seem to be misunderstanding something—this girl is still an apprentice, not a registered artisan…”
“I don’t care. Is the commission fee 100,000 gold?”
“Uh? Sir, that isn’t the—”
“I’m asking her.”
Silence
Tay just stares at me blankly.
She can’t even muster an answer against her frozen state.
At this point, Tay must feel like a useless artisan, having lost a ton of her self-esteem.
She must want to accept this commission badly.
It’s just that she’s too flabbergasted to say anything.
“I’ll take that as an acceptance. Please, do a good job. Once it’s finished, contact me at this address.”
“Client!”
I fling the paper with the Mana Stone and hotel address at Tay and leave the workshop.
There’s a ruckus behind me, but I couldn’t care less.
After all, genius artisan Tay will take care of everything for me.
No need to worry.
“Alright. Time to go earn some money.”
So where did I get the commission fee of 100,000 gold, or about 1 million won?
There’s no way I would have that kind of money.
After selling all my low-grade and mid-grade Mana Stones, I barely got around 30,000 gold.
Which means I need to earn the commission fee from here on out.
No problem, there are plenty of dungeons around Basel.
[Trait: Reputation]
[Checking your reputation score.]
[Yoo Jin: 0.02%]
[Known to a handful of people. Presence is extremely small.]
[???: 12.0%]
[Starting to gain notoriety. Presence is growing.]
In the midst of all this, the reputation of ‘???’ has also risen.
Seems like the passengers onboard the carriage are excitedly spreading rumors about an unknown swordsman.
It’s surreal to see my reputation increase even in invisible ways, in real-time.
The description states I’m starting to gain notoriety, but I have no intention of creating a bigger fame for this unidentified swordsman.
This is sufficient for confirming the performance of my reputation trait.
From now on, I will create a fake identity and operate it properly.
“Sir! You should at least tell me your name!”
I hear the anxious voice of the receptionist from behind.
“I’ll use Mi Jeong.”
“Mi Jeong? As in that?”
“Yes. Now, I’m busy, so goodbye.”
“Sir! If you leave like this…”
[Mi Jeong: 3.8%]
[Receiving a weak admiration.]
[Warning. You are impersonating someone else.]
Okay. Confirmation complete.
Even while impersonating someone else, my reputation still rises.
This trait seems to have limitless ways to be utilized.
*
“What in the world is going on?”
“I heard a human man just randomly handed a top-grade Mana Stone to Tay…”
“What kind of person is that?”
I’m flabbergasted.
What just happened?
As I’m stammering in confusion, that human man had thrown the Mana Stone and vanished in an instant.
“Is that really a top-grade Mana Stone?”
“Yes. I appraised it, so it definitely is. It’s one of high purity, even among the finest ones.”
“Then why on earth did he give it to Tay…?”
“Did he mistake her for someone else?”
“Sounds plausible…”
The artisans gather to discuss among themselves.
Honestly, it’s quite rude to say such things, but I can’t help but agree.
It’s true.
That human must have made some big misunderstanding.
Otherwise, there’s no way he’d entrust a top-grade Mana Stone to me.
“Let me say it again. You must have misunderstood.”
“Heh, heh… I just went to this address, and the hotel room is currently empty. Should I wait until he returns?”
“Hey, you! A commission just came in, and you’re just sitting around instead of moving your butt!”
“Uh…?”
Just then, my master’s sharp remark hits me like a lightning bolt.
What does he mean by that?
“Hahaha. Elder, it seems our client mistook Tay for someone else…”
“Mistook? Did that trash of a girl not look me in the eye when she was talking? What’s there to misunderstand!? Accepting a commission and wasting time is a disgrace to artisans! Everyone, shut up and get back to work!”
“Ma-master! Are you sure I’m supposed to take on this Mana Stone? Really?”
“I didn’t say it. That filthy human man told you to.”
“Uh, no. Something feels off here. I’m just an apprentice. How am I supposed to handle a top-grade Mana Stone…?”
“Shut your mouth! If you’re not confident, just refuse the commission!”
That’s actually right.
I can refuse.
No, I should refuse.
There’s definitely been a mix-up here.
If someone like me touches this precious Mana Stone, I’d only screw it up.
“But Tay…”
“Yes?”
“If you refuse the commission, you will have to leave the workshop. I can’t keep a parasite who can’t even manage one full task around.”
“Ma-master…!”
That was a thunderbolt moment.
If I refuse, I will be kicked out to the streets.
But if I accept the commission, I’ll turn this possibility-laden Mana Stone into a worthless rock.
I kneel before my master, holding back tears.
Please don’t kick me out.
But my master simply turns his head away, firm.
Once he’s made a decision, he never takes it back.
The matter has been settled.
If I don’t want to be driven into the streets and starve, I must process this top-grade Mana Stone.
“Ugh, Master. If you could just help me a bit…”
“No can do. Didn’t that man say it must be done only by your hands?”
“Then at least give me some advice…”
“Tay. I won’t say a word to you. Forget everything I taught you until now. Just touch the Mana Stone according to your own instincts. Got it?”
“Ah…”
Tears are welling up.
I have been completely abandoned by my master.
It seems even having a disciple like me is an embarrassment to him, as I’m banned from using his teachings.
If I ruin this Mana Stone, it will be entirely my fault.
With no intervention from any other artisans, it is purely my responsibility.
Only then does the weight of that responsibility hit me, making me feel suffocated.
“Get back to work already!”
“Y-yes, Master! I’ll do it, I’ll do it!”
I flinch and run back to my spot.
It’s an open workbench with no partitions separating it from everyone else.
The only tools available are in an old toolbox…
I sit down at my workbench and place the top-grade Mana Stone on it.
As I watch, I’m lost in thought yet again about this beautiful Mana Stone.
Now I must handle it.
I have to brutally shatter its value with my own hands.
As those thoughts swirl in my mind, tears roll down my cheeks.
“Seems like the elder has been quite moody lately. Looks like you’re the one to take the brunt of it.”
“After holding it in, he must’ve exploded. Tay must have been terribly infuriating.”
“Sigh. What a waste of such a Mana Stone. Top-grade Mana Stones are so precious nowadays. To just throw that away…”
I overhear whispers around me.
I freeze up, continuing to shed tears endlessly.
But no matter what, no one will help me.
Of course, .
Why would they risk sharing the blame for my failure by saying a word on a task that’s destined to flop?
‘Why me, of all people…?’
That human must be a filthy rich tycoon.
So filthy rich that he enjoys tossing top-grade Mana Stones to a girl who looks like a pest and watching her reactions.
I just happened to be the unlucky winner today.
“Ugh…!”
“Oh, Tay is starting her work.”
There’s no helping it.
Wiping my tears, I jump into work.
I’ve never even seen a top-grade Mana Stone, let alone learned about its properties, so I can only dive in recklessly.
I start by analyzing and understanding the unique vibrations of the Mana Stone, one by one.
‘How on earth should I process this? I feel so lost.’
I have no clue.
How to process the beauty created by this irregularity doesn’t come to mind.
With tears dripping down, dark thoughts keep invading my head.
My hands are cursed from the start.
It seems I have a curse that compels me to finish what I can’t let go of, even if I should just let it be, and in the end, I must see it through.
Even when everyone says, “This should be enough,” and finishes processing their low-grade Mana Stones, I can’t put it down and keep on toying with it.
I can’t understand the criteria for “this should be enough.”
What does it even mean to have finished?
Isn’t the artisan’s job to maximize the potential of the stone, highlight its advantages, and minimize its disadvantages?
Isn’t that what artisan spirit is about?
How could I possibly sell a stone that’s still incomplete after getting paid?
I can never do something like that.
My cursed hands, my nature, won’t allow it.
It was the same when I handled the high-grade Mana Stones.
My tendency to finish everything perfectly ruined everything.
High-grade Mana Stones had to be finished in an incomplete state by nature.
But my cursed hands, unable to endure the imperfection, kept cutting away and ended up delivering a result far smaller than the raw stone.
No matter how high the quality, if the size diminishes, the output lowers, which means nothing at all.
My hands were never meant to handle high-grade Mana Stones.
‘Why can’t I halt my hands…?’
Just the processing commission alone for the Mana Stone is worth 100,000 gold.
Even handling it carefully feels insufficient, yet these damn cursed hands are moving recklessly, cutting away at the Mana Stone.
This beautiful color distorts slowly under my hands.
While the structure remains irregular and each feature differs, the gap between high-grade and middle-low grade stones is worlds apart.
Yet my hands move fluidly as if handling low-grade or mid-grade stones, without hesitation, as if it’s something I’ve always done.
My motions are slick despite my ignorance.
Like a fish in water, my hands move in absurdity.
“Oops.”
At some point, my hands freeze.
Lost in their way, they flounder in the air.
I quickly realize what’s wrong.
I have no tools.
The tools needed to work delicately on the interior are what I don’t have.
“Here.”
“Master?”
Thud.
I jump at the loud sound, turning to see my master’s shelf right next to me.
Why is this here? Looking up, I see he’s outright brought his shelf from his workspace.
Without a second to say anything, he turns his back and leaves.
“Stop talking and start working, you pest!”
He’s got a point.
Even the time to express gratitude feels wasted.
I owe it to this Mana Stone, which is far beyond my ability, to pour my heart and soul into this project.
This could be the last work of my artisan career, so I have to give it my all, leaving no regrets.
*
“What? Did Tay work overnight?”
“Tsk. What a pity. Wasting that much time to ruin a top-grade Mana Stone…”
“Wait. Is that really what Tay worked on? Why does the color look strange?”
Of course, it looks strange.
I’m doing everything purely according to my whims.
18 hours into the work.
I’m starting to feel drowsy, but I maintain my focus.
Any slight mistake means losing tens of thousands of gold.
After several more hours of intense concentration, my unruly hands finally stop.
This time, it’s not because something is lacking.
There’s simply nothing left to touch.
It’s complete.
As realization dawns, tears burst forth uncontrollably.
“This isn’t right…”
I ruined it.
I knew from the start that I would mess it up, but this time I really botched it.
I could have done so much better.
I could have drawn out the potential beauty of this Mana Stone better.
If I did it again, I feel like I could do so much better.
I could craft a stone far superior to this.
But it’s already too late.
Having ruined a top-grade Mana Stone, I’m sure there will be no place left for me.
I’m going to be kicked out of the workshop.
“Hey, elder! Look at this! It’s what Tay crafted!”
“Tay!”
“Ugh, sob! I’m sorry! I’m useless! I can’t even do what I’ve learned! Sob… sob…”
Maybe they’re shocked by my result as my master and the artisans swarm around me.
They must have had zero expectations of me, so why am I so emotional?
Maybe deep down, everyone expected me to create a phenomenal Mana Stone, holding a flicker of hope.
Perhaps I was dreaming the impossible dream.
“Ah, client.”
“I thought it was about time you’d finish up, so I came to see.”
Just then, the door swings open with a familiar voice.
It’s that elegant human man.
I can’t even look him in the eye.
I’m too embarrassed and sorry; I can’t show my face.
As I sit quietly, endlessly sniffling and sobbing, I see the human’s stylish boots stop right in front of me.
Then he lifts the Mana Stone that had been sitting on the workbench.
“Is this the finished product? Hmm. It’s worse than I expected.”
“Who knew that human’s eyes were that poor? Where would you find a stone of this caliber that’s better than this one?”
“Master?”
At that moment, the human man’s indifferent comment triggers my master’s fury.
This is the first time I’ve ever seen my master like this.
Only then do I raise my head to take in the stone I’ve created.
I hadn’t looked at it while working intensely, but now I appreciate its form.
The sunlight hits it just right, causing the Mana Stone to emit a radiant glow.
Trapped inside was the galaxy, now spilling out, painting images in the air.
My mouth slowly drops open.
And then the human man smiles at me from above.
“It seems I’ve created ambiguity with my words. When I said it’s lacking, it was only in comparison to what this girl will create in the future.”
“Eh? What does that mean…?”
“Take this. Here’s the next commission. This time, we’ll be making a ring, so give it your best shot.”
“Ah…!”
Thud.
I catch the bag he casually tossed my way.
Peeking inside, I nearly lose consciousness.
No need to appraise it; it’s undoubtedly a top-grade Mana Stone.
“This time, you must do better. Do you understand?”
“Ah, ahh…”
Tears well up.
What I remember afterwards is somewhat hazy.
I was immensely sleepy, dazed, and overwhelmed with emotions…
One distinct memory is me hugging the human as I sobbed uncontrollably.
