93 A little chat with a Spring Flower (1/2)
Nighttime has passed as per time's natural intentions and midnight is near its approach and we find Gray in the basement of Magus Emporium as he seemed to be occupied at the Enchanting table, right after concocting some potions at the Alchemy workstation that will prove useful in their travels and combat. Somewhere behind him was the Druid Lily in her human form as she was merely observing the elf in his task of Enchantment as she has nothing better to do.
And also, this is a golden opportunity to have some chat alone with the Paragon himself since Selena is dealing with her required four hours of sleep a day inside her and Gray's room as per her nature as a Sentinel.
For the past few days after Lily's true persona was revealed, the young woman made her presence a constant factor in Gray and his group. Of course Gray and Selena were a bit wary at Lily being rather closed, especially here at their home, but Rarsu appeared to show no worry as he paid her no mind as if she was the insignificant mischievous sparrow that she is.
Besides, the female Druid has already done this for the past three months as she slept here in this establishment while in her sparrow form without the sibling's knowledge, opting to make her residence at the attic. Now that her human form is revealed, subtlety was no longer an option as she made the Magus Emporium openly as her place of residence here in the town, making herself at home as she slept at the sofa in the living room instead for the past week.
”It's getting pretty late, Baron Gray,” Lily said as she now referred him by his proper noble title. ”Shouldn't you be getting some rest for the travel tomorrow? Your sister already retired to your quarters hours ago.”
”I'll sleep after I'm done enchanting this ring,” Gray answered her as the said normal-looking silver jewelry was seen lying flat on the center of the Enchanting table. Inside the receptacle is a red Caecus shard, the third tier of its kind. ”Anyways, Master was able to procure more shards for us, but only the red and yellow kind. The rarer ones are definitely hard to come by these days.”
Additionally, the shard is already prepared and filled with green-colored energy, so no Disenchantment is necessary for this circumstance.
”I see.” Lily nodded with a smile as she took a step closer at Gray's side. As a result, the elf could not help but be slightly mesmerized as her sweet heavenly fragrance invaded his sense of smell as they stood rather close with each other while the girl eyed him directly. ”And if I'm not mistaken, then you are going to imbue the ring with a Dexterity Enchantment, correct? Not that I'm questioning your preference, but shouldn't Intelligence be more beneficial and suited for us Mages?”
”Yes.” Gray nodded with a slight reddening of his face at the pleasant scent that Lily is radiating and how close she is to him. Of course, the elf was in a collected state of mind as he's still in focus with his Enchanting. ”You do know that I possess the \u003cArcane Physique\u003e. As a result, I also need Dexterity and Endurance so that I can keep up with melee combatants in case my range capabilities involving magic is forfeited for some reason. My Intelligence is already high enough, so I'll be focusing on some of the other things that I'm weak at.”
”Alright then.” Lily smiled sweetly at him once more as she continued to observe Gray with his Enchanting.
With everything now in place, Gray touched the two demonic hands near each side of the receptacle and channeled Mana into it while uttering the magic words, Fascinar, allowing the Enchantment process to truly begin.
As a result, the Magic Circle that was engraved on the table glowed in green color, indicating that the ritual is successfully ongoing without issues. Eventually, the green magical energy integrated itself within the ring to mark the ritual's completion.
”Alright, the next Enchantment then,” Gray muttered to himself as he took out another red shard, but this time filled with the color red instead. The said color represented the Endurance Enchantment and will be added in the ring.
Repeating the same process, the elf successfully created his intended magical item in the end, a ring imbued with the magical enhancements of both Dexterity and Endurance.
Of course, as the Enchanter, Gray had every right to name the item as he saw fit to his preference.
\u003cRing of the Agile Defender\u003e
\u003cUncommon Jewelry\u003e
Level Requirement: 18
Attribute Requirement: None
Enchantments: +12 Dexterity, +9 Endurance
Item Description:
A ring that provides both agility and hardiness to the one wearing it.
Indeed, Gray's face lit up with utmost satisfaction at seeing his work turned into a success, marveling at the adequate effects that'll prove to be beneficial in his future endeavors.
Of course, adding a third enchantment is also an option but it accompanies a greater risk of the item breaking instead. Rule of thumb, it's always safe for two enchantments on an item only, and Gray does not want his hard-work going into waste just because he got a little greedy. Although, a way to partially solve this dire issue is to use a shard of a higher quality than the red one, reducing the risk factor by a considerable rate.
And speaking of the issue about rings, a person is only allowed to equip one on each hand. Gray tested it during his training three months ago to see if he can use one ring on each finger and benefit from their every Enchantments. Unfortunately, the System rejected such notions and forced the rings to be unequipped from him, much to his utter displeasure.
Going back to the topic of Enchantment, Gray was also notified by the System that his Enchantment profession bar progressed to a significant percentage.
\u003cEnchantment\u003e (Lvl 5, 5.71%) - The ritual of imbuing magical properties into items.
Indeed, he has practiced the craft religiously for three whole months, honing his skill with meticulous grace and consideration to reach the level that he is currently at.
”Nice.” Lily complimented him. ”It appears that the meanie has taught you well for the past three months.”
”Meanie?” Gray was well aware of the girl's comical resentment with his Master, but he decided to play along as it's rare to have some conversation with her alone, given that he's always with his little sister Selena most of the time.
She may be from the Order but that does not mean that it's not allowed for Gray to show some friendliness and a welcoming gesture to her.
”Why that stuck-up lizardling Master of yours!!” Lily began her ranting about Rarsu with a pout. ”Did you know that when we first met, he threatened to cook me into a bird stew!! I mean, who does that to his fellow Druid? It's literally cannibalism if you think about it!!”
”Yeah, Master also told me about that a few days ago.” Gray chuckled in response as he found it funny at how Lily is ridiculously passionate in her complaints. ”Technically, it's your fault since you were eavesdropping in our conversation, the part when I first learned that I was the Paragon.”
”W-well, he should have been nicer then.” Lily frown as she crossed her arms with a harrumph.