Chapter 77
Eun Mirae took me to a room much smaller than the one from earlier.
A small box sat in the middle of the room.
Eun Mirae carefully opened the box.
Inside was a single metal fragment.
Its surface was badly worn, and faint, unidentifiable patterns were etched here and there.
It definitely looked like something that had broken off from something else.
I stepped closer and examined it carefully.
“Is this the relic?”
“Yeah. It was found in the upper-20s floors of the Tower. We still haven’t figured out its exact use.”
Eun Mirae let out a sigh before continuing.
“Well, we might not even have known whether dwarves made it in the first place.... But thanks to you, we at least have a hunch.”
“I’ll take a look.”
“Go ahead.”
I activated the ring on my finger.
A thick book appeared before my eyes.
A dwarf’s book packed with countless blueprints.
I flipped through the book earnestly, looking for anything with a similar pattern.
Thankfully, I found it quickly.
[Magic Battery]
[Grade: Epic]
[Emergency! Casting time is slow? No problem!]
[Activate stored magic instantly!]
[No magic talent? No worries! Instant one-touch activation!]
[We also sell spells for storage!]
[Inquiries: Bihyeong’s Smithy]
“There’s even an ad in here....”
The Magic Battery’s effect was simple.
An item that could store a single spell of your choice.
It seemed pretty useful.
You could store a powerful spell in advance and save it as a trump card for an emergency.
‘And I especially like that it can store other people’s spells too....’
I readily decided to restore it.
“I found it. It’s something called a Magic Battery.”
“Can you restore it?”
“Yes. But....”
I said, checking the book’s description again.
“My crafting level is short by exactly two levels.”
“Hmm....”
At my words, Eun Mirae seemed to think for a moment before quickly reaching a conclusion.
“Then level up here.”
“Huh?”
“All the materials you need are in that warehouse over there. You can level up here and start the restoration right away.”
Eun Mirae’s words were far too simple and clear.
I hesitated for a moment.
To raise my crafting level, I needed to make something.
And conveniently, there was one thing I absolutely needed to make.
“Um... then would it be okay if I made this to raise my level? It does take a fair bit of material, though.”
I thought of one of the blueprints I’d been keeping an eye on.
Flowing Hand.
A magical prosthetic hand that could change shape to fit the user’s body.
It was the item I needed most right now, one that could replace my ever-escaping fingers.
I’d been putting it off because the materials were rather expensive.
Eun Mirae readily agreed to my suggestion.
“Of course. Use as much material as you want.”
I told her the item description from the book and the restoration materials.
Eun Mirae seemed to memorize everything after hearing it once.
She nodded and said casually,
“Wait here a moment.”
Eun Mirae left the room and soon returned carrying a large box.
A box with all the materials I needed neatly sorted by type.
It felt like she’d hauled in an entire warehouse from a giant supermarket.
“Whoa....”
I let out an exclamation of admiration.
If I had to buy these materials at the market, it would easily have cost tens of billions.
Is this really a government research institute?
As expected, the scale was different.
“Let’s see....”
I took out the materials I needed and lined them up on the table.
Then I activated the crafting system.
A blue magical anvil and hammer formed.
I placed the materials on the anvil and began hammering.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The rhythmic sound of hammer blows echoed through the room.
Eun Mirae, resting her chin on her hand, watched this whole scene with great interest.
How much time had passed?
At last, an elegant silver prosthetic hand with graceful curves was finished in my hands.
Fingers that moved smoothly like liquid metal. An intricate mana circuit was engraved on the wrist.
[Successfully crafted item ‘Flowing Hand’!]
[Crafting skill proficiency has greatly increased!]
[Crafting level has increased by 2!]
I’d gained two levels from a single craft.
Now I could make the Magic Battery.
I was just about to begin my next craft.
The quietly watching Eun Mirae opened her mouth.
“Since we need to keep that as a sample, make one more for me too.”
She said, pointing at the ‘Flowing Hand’ I’d just made.
“If I make two, the materials will run out.”
I said, looking at the few materials left in the box.
Eun Mirae simply shrugged as if it were no big deal.
“It’s fine. You’re the only one who can use a skill like this anyway.”
A faint smile formed at the corner of her mouth.
“That means you and I are the only people in the world who know exactly how much material it takes to make one.”
I didn’t understand what she meant for a moment.
Then, a few seconds later, I realized the meaning and murmured unconsciously,
“...Isn’t that embezzlement?”
At my words, Eun Mirae burst into a small laugh.
She came up to me and gently ruffled my hair, as if praising me.
“You even know difficult words. Amazing.”
Pat, pat.
It felt strange, as if I were being treated like a child, but for some reason I didn’t dislike her touch.
Ruffling my hair, Eun Mirae whispered as if sharing a secret.
“I’ll tell you something good. Securing as many resources as possible for research is also a sign of a great researcher.”
I was momentarily at a loss for words at her sophistry.
“Uh... y-yeah, I guess.”
In the end, I could only nod awkwardly.
“And since we’re securing research resources anyway, we should preserve this whole process as perfect data too.”
Eun Mirae took out her phone.
“Uh, are you filming a video?”
“Of course. This is a moment that belongs in human history.”
“...Really?”
“If I say it is, then it is. Well, even if that weren’t the case, we need to keep data on the experiment process. That’s how we get approval.”
A plausible pretext for preserving the data.
Thanks to her, I’d be leveling up with free materials, so I had no real reason to refuse.
“All right, first, a greeting and self-introduction.”
“Ah, hello.”
I awkwardly nodded toward the camera she held out to me.
The hammering resumed.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
I carried out the exact same process.
“Ugh.... It’s done.”
By the time the second ‘Flowing Hand’ was finished, I was completely exhausted.
This was my first time making an actual item, not a nail or a ring.
It wasn’t just mana consumption; it was work that required intense concentration.
The speed at which mental fatigue piled up was considerable.
Especially my hands and arms, which throbbed and felt like they were heating up.
“Oof, my hands....”
“Good work.”
Eun Mirae said quietly as she approached.
She looked at my reddened arm and hand, then naturally took my wrist in hers.
“A cold compress should do the trick. Hold still.”
“Ouch....”
Eun Mirae began kneading my arm and hand with her cold hands.
An excellent cold-compress massage from an A-rank mage.
Her cold hands carefully cooled every joint of my fingers.
The burning pain gradually subsided, and the cool sensation seemed to ease my fatigue.
“Ah, right. I’d like to watch the video too, if that’s okay?”
“Of course.”
Eun Mirae obediently handed me her phone.
I pressed the play button.
On the screen, there I was, crafting an item with a mana hammer.
“Huh?”
But the video’s framing was really strange.
I said I was filming the item-making process, but...
The screen spent far more time showing my face than the nearly completed prosthetic hand.
It had captured nothing but my slightly furrowed brow from concentrating and the sweat beads forming on my forehead.
“Hey... is this really okay? The item barely shows up.”
At my comment, Eun Mirae answered without changing her expression.
“Oh, I’m editing all that out, so don’t worry.”
“Editing?”
“Yeah. I promise no one else will ever see your face, so don’t worry about it.”
“Well... okay.”
I decided to just accept it and move on.
As long as my face wasn’t being sold off, it was fine.
We chatted idly while taking a short break.
“You live in Daejeon? Then did Kim Suho bring you from there?”
“No, not exactly. I used magic for part of the way.”
“Daejeon, huh... I used to live there too.”
“Oh? You’re from Daejeon?”
I lifted my head in sudden, inexplicable delight.
Seeing my reaction, Eun Mirae let out a small laugh, then said with a face full of quiet pride,
“No, I went to university there.”
“Ah, maybe the...”
For some reason, I could sense it.
That Eun Mirae had tremendous pride in her alma mater.
And that she was subtly hoping I’d guess its name exactly.
A mischievous thought crossed my mind.
“Ah! You graduated from Daejeon University! Wow, we’re alumni!”
“...This brat.”
The corners of Eun Mirae’s mouth lifted slightly.
She knew perfectly well that I’d intentionally gotten it wrong.
“You knew and still did that?”
Tap!
With a light sound, her finger flicked my forehead.
Huh? Why did the frequency of forehead flicks suddenly seem to be increasing?
Of course, this time it didn’t hurt either.
Eun Mirae looked back and forth between her finger and my forehead with a bewildered expression.
“Ugh, what is this? Why are you so hard?”
“I’m kind of tough.”
“What an incredible constitution....”
After the short break ended, I got back to restoring the item.
This time, there was no playful atmosphere.
Reviving a dwarf relic.
Since failure meant it was something I couldn’t just obtain again, I had to concentrate even more than usual.
I created the mana anvil and hammer again.
I placed the fragment in the center of the anvil and arranged the necessary materials around it.
I raised the hammer high.
Clang!
As the first blow landed, the surrounding new materials began to melt and emit light.
My role was to guide it.
I infused the hammer with information about its original form and brought it down.
Sparks flew, and waves of mana rippled outward.
The fragment connected with the new metal, slowly taking on its original form.
Clang!
With the final strike of the hammer, a blinding light burst forth.
As the light faded, a smooth silver belt lay there.
‘I seem to be handling belts a lot lately....’
A shape that felt all too familiar.
I almost, out of habit, buckled it around my waist and shouted a transformation phrase.
But sensing the gaze watching from beside me, I endured it with superhuman strength.
“Well done. You succeeded perfectly.”
Seeing the restored item, Eun Mirae walked over.
Eun Mirae once again ruffled my hair.
“Once the research is done, I’ll give the item to you.”
“Really?”
“It was a promise. Besides, well, I’m not climbing the Tower or anything.... I don’t really need the item.”
Eun Mirae placed the belt on the analysis equipment beside her.
Complex data appeared on the monitor.
The expression on Eun Mirae’s face stiffened in an instant.
“This is....”
“What is it? Did something go wrong?”
“No, the restoration is perfect.... The problem is, this battery isn’t empty.”
“Huh?”
“There’s already a spell stored in here. It must have revived along with the restoration....”
“What kind of spell is it?”
“No idea. That’s the problem.”
At Eun Mirae’s words, I grew serious too.
I took the belt and looked it over.
At first glance, it was nothing but an ordinary item.
“It’s a random box. You never know what’ll happen if you use it.”
As I stared seriously at the belt, Eun Mirae added,
“But the chance of this spell harming the wearer is low. They wouldn’t have made an item like this for self-destruction.”
“That’s.... a relief.”
“That doesn’t mean you should use it recklessly. It’s impossible to know what effects it might have on the surroundings. Unless you’re using it as a gamble in a truly desperate situation, it’s better to seal it away.”
I took the belt.
For some reason, the belt in my hand felt heavy.
Eun Mirae went back to the monitor and started saving the data.
“I’ve got all the data for now, so I’ll spend some time analyzing it. But don’t get your hopes up too much.”
Eun Mirae fell briefly into thought before continuing.
“Although... I’m going to an overseas academic conference this time, so I might be able to get some related information there. It’s where magical scholars from all over the world gather, so maybe someone will recognize it.”
“An overseas conference?”
“Yeah. Magical scholars from all over the world gather to present and exchange their latest research. I attend every year too.”
A conference where magical scholars from all over the world gather.
I found myself a little interested after hearing that.
Noticing my expression, Eun Mirae asked casually,
“Have you ever been overseas?”
“I haven’t even really been on a proper trip within Korea.”
At my answer, Eun Mirae fell into thought for a moment.
Then, as if making a big decision, she said,
“Then maybe I could take you along sometime for a visit. How about it?”
Eun Mirae’s offer was quite bold.
But I still wasn’t ready to venture out into the world.
“Maybe later, if there’s a chance.”
Eun Mirae didn’t press any further, and simply gave a small nod.
All my business was finished.
Eun Mirae saw me off all the way to the research institute lobby.
Just before we parted, Eun Mirae said one last thing to me.
“You can come by again next time, so contact me when it’s convenient.”
For some reason, I could sense a faint touch of disappointment in Eun Mirae’s voice.
I nodded and left the research institute.
After a while, once no one was around, I summoned the sandworm again.
***
And that was when I got home.
“What’s this?”