The Wizard in the Game Is Rewarded in Reality

Chapter 14

“Have you already completed it?”

“Yes, elder.”

The Twelfth Elder looks at me with astonished eyes.

“You engraved a 2-circle magic circle on the ring in just one day?”

“Your advice was a great help, Elder.”

The Twelfth Elder makes a peculiar expression.

“Most people wouldn’t even notice the advice given to them. And it wasn’t direct advice either, was it? This result is entirely due to your talent and effort. Of course, we still need to check if it works properly.”

We head to the place where we test the power of magic together.

“Fire Arrow.”

Ping- Paang-!

The magic power is stronger than the artifact I made on the metal plate yesterday. I think the reason is because of the material.

Gold.

Its mana conductivity is far superior to that of ordinary metals.

“Good. It should be usable about five times.”

“You’re accurate.”

“Shall we hear it now?”

The Twelfth Elder asks as he hands back the artifact.

“At first, I thought of drawing the magic circle on the narrow surface of the ring. Wow, but that didn’t make sense. To do that, the size of the rune characters would have to be extremely small. So I changed my thinking as you advised, Elder.”

I draw a circle along the inner surface of the ring. After drawing two circles, I engraved the rune characters between them. Even so, the size of the rune characters was very small, but it was overwhelmingly larger compared to drawing them inside a small circle.

I placed the mana stone on the outside.

I connected the mana path between the rune characters and the circles on the inner surface, and engraved the mana path leading from the second circle to the mana stone.

“It’s a geometric pattern. You did this on purpose, right? Symmetrical. It looks like a decoration.”

“That’s right. Because of the mana path connecting to the mana stone, it looked a bit unsightly. So I decorated it with lines unrelated to the magic circle.”

The Twelfth Elder nods with a satisfied smile.

“Well done. It’s exactly what I wanted, no, it’s beyond that. You’ve achieved overwhelming results, so you pass the task.”

“Thank you.”

The Twelfth Elder asks, looking puzzled.

“Your reaction is different from what I expected. I thought you’d be very happy.”

The moment you can create a 2-circle artifact, you are recognized as an enchanter by wizards. It means I was recognized as an enchanter in just a few days.

“I’m happy.”

“No, you’re not.”

“I said I’m happy. Ah, I’m thrilled! Really happy. I’m an enchanter now.”

“What on earth is the matter with you? The achievements you’ve made will be unprecedented in the history of the Magic Tower. And yet, you react so indifferently-.”

In truth, there is a concern.

“It’s because I can’t create artifacts in the world I live in.”

“What do you mean? You can’t create artifacts? Does mana not exist in the world you live in?”

“No, it exists.”

“Then what is the problem?”

The Elder asks, seemingly unable to understand.

“It’s because of mana stones.”

“Mana stones? What’s the problem with them? Are you saying that mana stones are incredibly expensive in the world where outsiders live?”

“That’s right. A single nation monopolizes the mana stone mines. So, other countries have no choice but to buy mana stones at exorbitant prices.”

“It must be a formidable nation.”

The Elder knows well what it means to monopolize resources in the Infinite Tower.

The Magic Tower also monopolizes several floors of the Infinite Tower. Among the monopolized floors, there are mana stone mines.

“It’s not the 68th floor, is it? Are you monopolizing the 29th floor mine?”

“You know well.”

“Of course.”

Suddenly, a question arises, and I ask the Elder.

“Is there a mine on the 68th floor as well?”

“Of course. All the mana stones used by our Magic Tower are mined from the 68th floor mana stone mine. For your information, the 29th floor only has low-quality mana stones.”

“Does that mean you’ve conquered the 68th floor as well?”

“Not just the 68th floor. Our Magic Tower has conquered up to the 73rd floor. It might sound like boasting, but our Magic Tower is currently conquering the highest floors on the continent. The Empire of Knights, Cardinal Empire, is conquering the 62nd floor.”

I am at a loss for words.

I knew the Magic Tower was formidable, but I didn’t realize it was to this extent.

“Our Magic Tower obtains herbs used in alchemy, rare materials, mana stones, and rare ores needed for enchantments, and many other things from the Infinite Tower.”

“Have other nations acknowledged the Magic Tower’s monopoly on mana stone mines and other resources?”

There must be resistance, right?

It’s the same on Earth.

No one is unaware of the sacrifices and efforts the United States made to seize the 29th floor mana stone mine. Many Awakened lost their lives, and lobbyists traveled the world lobbying the powerful in each country.

“What if they don’t acknowledge it? Without the help of our Magic Tower, conquering the Infinite Tower itself would be impossible for them. Well, they might manage to conquer it somehow, but it would be highly impractical.”

I can’t fully understand the Elder’s words, but it seems that the help of the Magic Tower of the Kingdom of Kryaksha is absolutely essential for conquering the Infinite Tower on the continent of Azelium.

“Haah-. The problem is that it doesn’t work in the world I live in.”

“You’re worrying about something trivial.”

“What?”

Trivial?

If you knew how much a mana stone costs, you’d faint.

“As I mentioned before, I’m not rich.”

“Is the price of crystal high in your world?”

“Crystal? I don’t think so.”

Crystal is a gemstone, but it’s not expensive for a gemstone. A low-quality crystal, even as big as a fist or larger, doesn’t cost more than a few tens of thousands of won.

“Then that’s settled.”

“What’s settled?”

“If the price of mana stones is too high to use, why not create something to replace them?”

What? There’s such a thing?

*

“I greet Elder Pal.”

The elder, whose bald head makes him look like a medieval monk, is in charge of the alchemy faction within the magic tower.

“Finally, I get to see you. I was dying of curiosity because the damn tower master kept you hidden so tightly.”

Elder Pal says with a smile.

“You haven’t learned all the enchantments yet, have you? What brings you here?”

“I came to learn about mana paint.”

“Mana paint? Why would you want to learn something that’s not very efficient? Well, it might be useful in an emergency.”

After explaining the situation in reality, Elder Pal nods as if he understands.

“If that’s the reason, I understand. Even if mana paint isn’t very efficient, it’s only compared to mana stones. Have you heard about mana paint?”

“No, I just heard that it exists.”

“I see. Sit down.”

As I sit on the sofa, Elder Pal brews some tea.

“Try it. The aroma is quite nice.”

“Thank you.”

“Let me briefly explain about mana paint. Mana paint wasn’t actually discovered by our alchemy faction. It was something used in ancient times, and about 70 years ago, senior wizards recreated it. In ancient times, when wizards like you existed, were there artifacts?”

“······.”

When I couldn’t answer, Elder Pal smiled gently.

“There was. Although artifacts have only recently begun to be officially produced and integrated into people’s lives, they certainly existed back then. At that time, they were not conceived as magical items but as a means to convey ‘records.’ Among the documents left by ancient wizards thousands of years ago, there are some that were uniquely crafted. They are records imbued with mana.”

It’s a fascinating story.

“While researching how mana remained in the writings even after thousands of years, we discovered mana ink. Do you know about the relationship between magic and gemstones?”

“I don’t know well.”

“Gemstones. Some gemstones have a close relationship with magic. Rubies can amplify the mana of fire. Sapphires, water; emeralds, wind; topazes, earth. Diamonds, although they have lower mana amplification, are not limited by attributes. That’s why wizards embed gemstones in wands or staffs.”

“Ah-!”

“What role does crystal play?”

“I don’t know.”

“It’s natural not to know, so don’t make that face. If you don’t know, you just have to learn. Of course, if you still don’t know after learning, that’s a problem. Crystals can store mana, not amplify it. That’s why crystals are used in communication magic and video storage devices.”

Elder Pal sipped his tea before continuing.

“The records of ancient wizards were made using mana ink derived from crystals. The crystals are finely ground and mixed with dye. When mixing, mana must be infused into the crystals. This way, the mana ink retains mana on its own.”

“Can it be used in artifact production as well?”

“Of course. However, the efficiency of the magic manifested will be lower than when using mana stones.”

“To what extent?”

Elder Pal spread his hand wide and folded two fingers. Seeing that, I couldn’t help but sigh.

“Only thirty percent?”

“Hehe. Not thirty percent, but eighty percent. Of course, artifacts made with mana stones can be reused even after all the mana is exhausted, but those made with mana ink must be discarded once all the mana is used up.”

That was a bit disappointing.

Elder Pal looked at me with a peculiar gaze.

“You eat well.”

After feeding the formula, I wash him with lukewarm water. They say that if you get used to bathing from a young age, you won’t dislike water when you grow up.

Perhaps because of the warm breeze from the dryer, Seolgi soon falls asleep.

They say that for both humans and animals, eating and sleeping are everything when they are babies. It seems to be true.

Leaning against the bed, I access the online market on my phone.

“Crystals…”

Contrary to my worries, there are quite a few places selling crystals.

“Oh, that’s good!”

I even see places selling crystals in powder form. I was thinking of grinding the crystals into powder myself after purchasing them, so this is very welcome information.

After comparing prices, I ordered crystal powder.

“What should I make?”

Now that the materials are ready, I need to decide what product to sell.

I want to create an artifact with a gold ring, but the cost is too high. It seems better to make high-grade artifacts after earning some money first.

After much deliberation, I decided on what artifact to make.

“Yes. I’ll go with you.”