“I think… this mana stone… might be a failure…”
Roll…
Tears flowed down my cheeks.
I messed up.
I completely betrayed the trust of the investor.
I couldn’t lift my head with those thoughts.
What expression is the investor making right now?
What kind of gaze is looking down at me?
I was terrified to find out.
“I shouldn’t have failed…”
There’s no way I could have failed.
At first, I thought so.
As always, once I touched it, my hands moved as if possessed.
Usually, there would be some hiccup along the way.
But this time, my hands kept moving endlessly.
There was not a moment to rest.
I didn’t know when this flow would break.
As long as my hands were moving, I couldn’t stop.
I repeatedly scratched, struck, and shattered.
Continuing to work while peering through my goggles, my eyes stung.
Since no sunlight came into the workshop, I had no idea how much time had passed.
Of course, that didn’t matter.
I burned my soul to process the mana stone, and I was nearing completion.
Only the finishing touches remained.
My eyes twitched from fatigue, and my arms trembled, but I didn’t let go of the tension until the end.
Clang!
I removed the last fragment from the mana stone.
The processing was complete.
Only then did the tension release, and I collapsed to the floor, drained of energy.
I dared to think this was a great success.
Never before had a mana stone I had worked on reached such a level of excellence.
I could confidently say that.
It had to be like that.
But the moment I brought the tester to check the mana stone’s emotions…
“Wha…?! Why is this happening?!”
My eyes widened.
The gauge on the tester shook with various readings.
They were all pointing to zero.
Not just a small value.
Zero.
Mana capacity was zero.
Mana transfer efficiency had plunged into the negatives.
It was performing worse than when it was just raw stone.
In fact, it was worse than handling mana with bare hands.
“Why…?!”
There’s no way this could happen.
There were clear signs of success.
I was in a panic, unable to speak for a while.
I lost count of how many times I placed and removed the cursed tester.
After zoning out for five minutes, the news came that the investor had entered the VIP waiting room.
Now that the processing was complete, I couldn’t delay any longer.
Swallowing my tears and composing myself, I packed the worthless mana stone into a box.
Holding a stone worse than garbage, I stepped into the elevator.
“Huh, I’m so sorry… I’m really sorry, Investor… I messed up…”
And in front of the investor, I burst into the tears I had been holding back.
Such a disgrace for a failure…
“You believed in me… entrusted me with such a precious mana stone… and I ruined it…”
Where did it all go wrong?
I had no idea.
Usually, when I make a mistake, I can feel something is off, but this time there was none of that.
Is it because this was only the second time working with a black mana stone?
Had I become overconfident after successfully processing the first one?
My mind ran wild with all sorts of thoughts.
“Tay.”
“Yes…?”
“Look at my face.”
“…”
Nervously, I swallowed and finally lifted my head.
I suppressed my fear and faced the investor.
But unexpectedly, the investor didn’t look that disappointed.
With a faint smile, they placed their large hand on my head.
The heaviness of it made a small sigh escape me.
“Ah…”
“Calm down. I’m not angry.”
“Yes…”
“The explanation for the mana stone isn’t finished yet. We need to go all the way through.”
“The mana capacity is zero. The mana transfer efficiency is minus twenty… and, and…”
“Any additional functions?”
“Huh?”
“Additional functions. Was there none this time?”
“…”
I froze in disbelief.
Ah. The additional function.
Thinking back, the last black mana stone I processed had gained the ability to store a small amount of mana inside.
So what about this time?
I forgot to check that.
All that shock over the performance…
“Ah, I haven’t checked yet!”
“Come on, now! You’re still far from being a pro. Bringing the completed product before confirming the quality?”
“I’m so sorry…”
“Right. This is the part you should be apologizing for. Performance? If it turns out well, that’s great. But I didn’t ask you to give me a good mana stone. I asked to receive the mana stone you processed. You didn’t do it carelessly or mess up, right?”
“No! At the time of processing, I thought it was perfect…”
“Then that’s enough. Good job. You did well. If the result came from your best efforts, I won’t care about anything else. How can you invest without risking anything? It’s all about taking on risks when investing.”
“Investor…!”
I did well. I worked hard.
Hearing such words I never imagined, fresh tears streamed out again.
If I heard they were disappointed in me now, I wouldn’t have the confidence to stand up again.
This was a product of my utmost talent without a single mistake.
I had no confidence that I could do better than this.
The investor knew this and patted me on the back.
They believed in me.
They believed that I never compromise when it comes to mana stone processing and that I always do my best.
That trust was supporting me.
Pushing me forward.
Making sure I didn’t fall.
Making sure I didn’t stop.
“Then! I’ll check it right now! What additional function is there?!”
Besides, it hasn’t even been determined as a failure yet.
There’s still the confirmation of the additional function.
Maybe in exchange for the mana capacity and efficiency, an incredible additional function was unlocked?
If that were the case, it would make sense.
It explained why my soul went into the product yet looked such a mess.
Bolstered by the investor’s encouragement, I checked it and…
“Huh? There’s mana inside!”
I discovered a function similar to the one from the last mana stone.
As I poured mana into the stone, it didn’t spill out but rather got sucked in.
No matter how much I added, it just kept going.
Thinking back to how tiny the storage was in the last piece, this was astonishing.
Could this be a mana repository with an enormous capacity?
Just as the anticipation built within me…
“Hm. It’s going in but not coming out.”
“Yes…?”
It sounded like a thunderclap.
The mana I poured in… couldn’t be pulled back out…?
What use is that?
“It’s a failure…”
“Hey! Pull yourself together! Focus your eyes!”
My head spins.
.
.
.
‘What is this?’
Tay really messed up this time.
This is a huge disaster.
Especially since…
[Accumulation: 80/62,500]
The moment I put mana inside the stone, such a display popped up.
Looking at Tay, who appears oblivious to this, it seems this isn’t a function of the stone itself.
And Micheng, who lies on the sofa with a displeased expression, isn’t reacting either.
This must be a system window visible only to me…
‘Accumulation? What happens if I fill this up?’
There are too many unknowns.
For now, when I hit the traits for the stone, it displayed:
[Kali’s Dead Soul]
[Status: Fine]
[This magical tool was made by processing the dead soul of Great Druid Kali. It will bloom at the right time.]
The description is far too insufficient.
Absurdly so.
So why do I need to charge mana, what does bloom mean, and what happens when it blooms? Those details are completely absent.
One thing is certain: ‘bloom’ is not an everyday occurrence.
It’s an additional function significant enough to interrupt with a system window.
In my experience, such cases only happen when I discover an extraordinary hidden item.
“What do I do?! It only goes in and doesn’t come out! Uugh! This is total junk!”
“Stop crying already.”
So what? Has Tay reached the realm of creating hidden items now?
It’s so absurd I can’t even chuckle.
During the processing, her hands danced as if possessed by a god.
Seems like the artisan spirit entered Tay’s body and left.
‘So what now?’
The mana left to reach bloom is 62,500.
Even if I poured every single bit of mana I’ve inflated as a Guardian Knight, it would take at least 250 days.
So what if I ask Mia to take care of it?
Elvenguard naturally has an environment where mana fills up.
If I ask Mia to steadily pour in mana from the inside, maybe I could aim for bloom in three months.
But… no. That’s too risky.
I can’t just hand it off to a third party without knowing what ‘bloom’ is.
Who knows?
The odds are slim, but a calamity could strike that Elvenguard can’t handle.
Or maybe there’s some great reward, and Elvenguard swallows it without letting me know.
It seems I have to keep this mana stone and gradually fill it with mana myself.
Considering I need to leave some leeway for mana, it’d probably take over a year to fill it all up.
Of course, that’s if I do everything alone.
I could also get help from others.
Who knows, I might even end up getting a large amount of mana donated.
Perhaps I could quickly witness ‘bloom.’
‘Good. The high point could increase.’
A mana stone that’s undergone processing by a skilled artisan shouldn’t suddenly turn into a dangerous bomb.
The likelihood is high that ‘bloom’ will benefit me.
Even having to accumulate 62,500 mana?
It could very well be an item that significantly raises the high point.
Since I have my primary mana stone, needing a high-performance stone isn’t urgent.
I’ve already surpassed high-end quality.
Gaining even slightly more stats won’t matter much.
A random box aimed at high points would instead be far superior for me.
“Investor, you don’t need to pay for this one. Well, technically, I should be paying you… since I ruined a perfectly fine raw stone…”
“Forget it. Take the money. I wanted this mana stone.”
“But, but this is obviously a blatant failure!!”
Tay raised her voice, as if to argue against me.
Maybe she’s disappointed in herself, and now she’s taking it out on me.
I feel like I need to be a bit stricter.
“Who says this is a failure?”
“This is utterly useless…”
“Who says that? You never know. Maybe if you put in a sufficient amount of mana inside, a special effect might activate.”
“That’s…!”
“I’ll guarantee it. Something amazing will happen. If nothing does, you can come back and ask for a refund. Does that work?”
“Yes…?”
“And you think you ruined a raw stone? That’s nonsense. If it had remained as raw stone, it wouldn’t have been useful at all. It wouldn’t be better than what I’m using now. But because it passed through your hands, it’s gained this fun function. How about we get excited together to see what happens when we fill it with mana?”
Tay’s about to burst into tears again.
Don’t she get tired of it?
I pulled her in and hugged her before she could start crying again.
Then she tightly embraced my waist, desperately suppressing her tears.
“Thank you… I’m always grateful… If it weren’t for you, I… I…”
Tay couldn’t finish her sentence and finally broke down in tears.
What would happen if I weren’t here?
She worries over the smallest things.
Even without me, you’d have made a name as the best artisan.
Though it might’ve taken a bit longer.
Seeing she’s calming down, Tay gradually lets go of me.
Since her hands are dirty, I wipe her eyes for her.
Then I remembered another favor to ask.
“Oh, right. Can you please hold onto my letters in this building? So nothing leaks out. You’re the only person I can trust.”
“Wha… Yes, of course! If it helps you, I will! But whose letters are you receiving so carefully?”
“From the priestess of Elvenguard, the eldest daughter of Evgenia, and Countess Briam.”
“You’re using my workshop as a contact for your affairs with mistresses?! No way!”
“Hey. Affairs? Come on…”
Tay shook her head in horror.
That’s a bit excessive.
I’ve distanced myself from that kind of affair a long time ago.
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