Chapter 108. Strengthening Artifact (1)
After having pushed the villagers onto ‘Hernelia’, the daughter of Evantus, Ian returned to the warehouse where Cleven was confined to. His original plan was to return to the house with Cleven then devise a way to resuscitate his memory and mind.
“…..?”
However, the situation has changed a bit. Cleven had already awoken from the sleep spell, and was in the middle of crafting a small wooden sculpture by using several tools and materials that were inside the warehouse.
“Ah, you’ve come? Master!”
Immediately, a different personality had emerged. He was calling Ian as his ‘master’ and his voice and tone matched that of a child’s.
“Ah…. Yes.”
Ian decided to play along for now. Since he was suffering from psychological problems, there was a need to most carefully observe. Especially when there was a personality with whom he could actually communicate with.
“Are you crafting a sculpture?”
“Yes. I’m crafting a dragon that my master likes.”
“Master… one that I like?”
“Yes. Have you not always told me? That dragon is the most perfect life form on Earth.”
The wooden dragon, which the bastard was sculpting, showed certain noticeable differences. The difference was night and day when compared to the shabby stone sculptures that were placed in the middle of the village. This sculpture displayed the true liveliness, in the likes of the dragons that Ian had personally seen.
“You skill is excellent.”
“Ha-ha, it is all due to you, master.”
Hm, master… it was certain that he had called the name of ‘Fran’ in front of Jackson, the chief of the villagers… is the person, Fran, and the entity of the master one in the same? Or different?
‘Should I ask subtly?’
As such thought was about to come to his mind.
“Master.”
Cleven stopped moving his hands that were crafting and vacantly stared at Ian. To be precise, he was looking at Ian’s hand. Why is he acting in that way all of a sudden?
“That…. That ring.”
“This ring?”
Ian was wearing two rings. A silver ring that he shared with the princess was in his left hand, and in his right was the Morgrian ring, the artifact that that he had received from the Morgrian family in recognition of being an eternal guest.
“The ring you are wearing in your right hand.”
It was the Morgrian ring that was attracting the attention of Cleven. Is it because it was a well made artifact? A master in the areas of artifacts could certainly develop some interest…..
“It’s very shabby?”
“…..What?”
Ian’s anticipation has missed the target. The bastard did not look at the Morgrian ring with an enthusiasm. He only saw it as a poorly made ring that needed many touch ups.
“Master, could you remove that ring for me for a minute?”
“Give it to you? Why?”
“Yes. Please quickly. It will only take a minute.”
His tone was that of an impetuous child. What is his current personality based on and for what reasons? With a bit of imagination, Ian removed the Morgrian ring from his finger.
“Don’t break it. OK?”
“Of course. Have you ever seen me making a mistake?”
“…. Not really.”
As it has only been a few hours since we’ve met first. With a quiet laughter, Ian handed him the ring.
“Hm…..”
Then the bastard’s attitude had suddenly changed. There was no more expressions fitting a child. He appeared like a rather fastidious expert.
“There are a lot more problems than I thought.”
“What kind of problems?”
“It is hard to explain…. It may take a while.”
Cleven restrained from speaking many words. The bastard picked up the chisel. Ian shook his head upon looking at his actions. What can he do with that weak chisel? Could he even make a scratch on the ring?
Woooo-!
But, soon his curiosity was satisfied. The bastard had applied mana on to the chisel. As a result, Ian’s eyes were opened wide.
‘He was a sorcerer?’
He must be one, based on Ian’s logic. Isn’t the act of endowing mana onto an object the exclusive ability of sorcerers with mana brain and mana heart? Based on that logic, Cleven was clearly a sorcerer.
‘I mean, being a sorcerer….’
Ian shook his head after thinking for a short time. There were still many questions about Cleven being sorcerer. To be able to wield that much mana, he must have been at least a 3rd class sorcerer, yet he immediately fell asleep with Ian’s sleep spell. That is, Ian used a very ordinary and weak spell, considering the target to be a small child. Yet, he was not able to resist it.
‘There had to be some resistance if he had 3rd class level mana?’
It had nothing to do with having lost his memory. It is because the mana in the body would have autonomously resisted.
“Hmmm.”
Ian looked at Cleven. He was certainly a very mysterious child. Perhaps, he may not even be a child.
‘Need to observe bit longer.’
Finally, Cleven began to work. The mana at the end of the chisel was touching the ring. His hands moved with audacity, yet with fine details of a thin blade. How much time has passed while in anticipation? The work appeared to be coming to an end.
“Hugh! Here, please take it.”
“Are you finished?”
“I’m not sure if you would approve.”
Ian took back the Morgrian ring.
“Nothing in particular has been changed…..’
There were not any changes on the outside. Perhaps, I will know upon wearing it.
‘Uh…..?’
Ian placed the Morgrian ring on his finger. His complexion began to change rapidly. He felt something as soon as he put the ring on. To define the changes he was feeling.
‘It was on a different scale.’
The power of the Morgrian ring can be defined as ‘escalating the mana recuperation power’. However, the level of escalation has changed. On top of the recuperative power, the very fundamental limitation of mana has also been raised.
‘The level has changed.’
In the previous life, the level of artifacts in the Ivory Tower was measured based on what could have been verified. Depending on the powers, they were categorized from very low to very high and Morgrian ring was an artifact that was categorized as ‘low’. That was certainly the case.
Re-edited by FlawFinder May 22nd 2020