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.
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