Chapter 11

"I need three portions of arcane fuel for a small magic furnace, magic ink made from rock giant blood, and a green gemstone, any quality will do, even if it's broken."

Upon hearing the materials Gordon wanted to purchase, Duro, with his keen business sense, immediately asked, "Mr. Gordon, are you planning to create a magic item? That's not an easy task."

Enchanting items not only requires solid theoretical knowledge but also a great deal of practical experience. Every mage values their enchanting skills highly.

For example, when Gordon worked in a magic workshop, the employer kept the process of inscribing runes, engraving magic arrays, and crafting items absolutely confidential. Only when it came to the final enchanting step, which involved casting spells on the items, would Gordon and other part-time workers be involved.

In such a tightly guarded environment, Gordon could not access core technologies and could only earn a bit of hard-earned money.

The workshop owner hired low-level mages like Gordon merely to save daily spell slots and increase equipment production. After all, a mage's daily spell slots are limited, and if they relied solely on their own spells, they wouldn't be able to produce many enchanted items.

But things are different now.

In the past, in the game *Ancient Era*, Gordon, as a 20th-level mage, was himself a master enchanter. He once did over a hundred quests to gain favor with a grandmaster enchanter NPC to obtain a +5 legendary staff enchanted with sonic and lightning damage.

Sweeping, cooking, washing clothes, organizing books, tidying up the enchanting studio...

During the two months of hellish life almost like a servant, Gordon, while cursing the game designers for creating such a malicious and painful task to torment players, memorized dozens of unique runes and special arrays of the enchanter.

Although the geography, culture, history, politics, and religious beliefs of the Teylor world are vastly different from those in *Ancient Era*, since they are based on the same setting, there are still many commonalities.

For example, by comparing his knowledge with the memories of his predecessor, Gordon discovered that the functions of the 74 monosyllabic runes and 182 polysyllabic runes, as well as the basic principles of array operation, are exactly the same in both worlds. Therefore, Gordon was confident that he could apply much of the knowledge from *Ancient Era* to this world.

In response to Duro's question, Gordon fabricated a reason: "Recently, while studying the materials left by my mother, I felt a breakthrough in the field of enchanting, so I decided to start trying to make magic items myself."

"I see."

At first, Duro's smile was somewhat formal, but upon hearing that Gordon was planning to make magic items himself, he suddenly showed genuine enthusiasm: "Mr. Gordon, if you create a finished product, could you show it to me?"

"Your store doesn't seem to sell magic items, does it?"

"That's right," Duro explained, "The owner of the potion shop next door is planning to return to the south, so I bought his shop and intend to expand my business to include a store selling magic items. Recently, I've been looking for sources of supply. If Mr. Gordon really creates magic items, I would be very willing to purchase them at a favorable price."

"Of course." Gordon nodded and made a promise.

A flawed small green gemstone for two gold coins, a small bottle of magic ink made from rock giant blood for forty silver coins, three portions of arcane fuel for thirty silver coins, and a standard No. 1 vellum paper for ten silver coins.

In a moment, three gold coins turned into ten silver coins.

Back home, after some preparation, Gordon began to create his first enchanted item.

Since he needed to make money through enchanting, he decided to check the spells he currently knew.

"System, spell list." Gordon muttered.

Rows of characters that did not exist in this world appeared before his eyes.

Cantrip spells: Light, Mage Hand, Message, Minor Illusion, Prestidigitation, Frostbite, Secret Mark, Minor Magic, Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Read Magic.

1st-level spells: Enlarge/Reduce, Mage Armor, Arcane Lock, Eagle Eye, Feather Fall, Jump, Shield, Magic Missile, Detect Secret Doors, Detect Undead, Identify, Protection from Negative Energy.

A small number of attack and defensive spells, a large number of divination spells, and a few utility spells. This is the typical spell configuration of a low-level adventuring mage.

Such a mage can assist teammates with utility spells and serve as a communicator and alarm in an adventuring party. When exploring ruins, they can cast various divination spells on themselves to act as a human radar, providing early warnings of traps and magical mechanisms, and helping to find secret doors and hidden treasure chests.

Adventurers would certainly welcome such a mage who can make positive contributions to the team. However, the problem is that a low-level mage with this spell configuration lacks offensive and defensive capabilities and has poor self-preservation skills. Powerful adventuring groups usually have their own dedicated spellcasters and wouldn't be interested in Gordon. On the other hand, low-level adventurers, while welcoming any mage, are themselves of questionable strength and have poor self-preservation skills. Joining such a group is almost like committing suicide.

The previous Gordon once took a risk and almost died.

After browsing the spell list, Gordon had a plan.

He first took out the magic furnace, added the fuel, and then placed the necklace he obtained from the skeleton inside. This magic device, about the size of an incense burner, can be used to melt and purify metals. Although it was somewhat old, this magic furnace had three heat settings and six temperature options, making it a valuable magic tool.

The arcane fuel, similar to solid alcohol, quickly converted into heat energy.

The necklace, under the high temperature and the licking flames, melted into a liquid. The black oxide waste was clearly separated.

The flames extinguished.

Gordon cast Mage Hand to lift the scorching metal liquid into the air, then picked up specialized tools and began to hammer and shape it...

Soon, as the silver cooled, a ring was born in Gordon's hands.

The design was very simple, with no artistic embellishments. This was a ring that nobles would not even glance at, suitable only for those unsophisticated country bumpkins who would treasure it. But for Gordon, who was experiencing silversmithing for the first time, this was enough.

Next, Gordon laid out the No. 1 vellum paper he had bought.

Vellum paper is made from special plant fibers mixed with several magical powders and is widely used for writing magic scrolls and drawing arrays. Different grades of vellum paper can withstand different levels of arcane energy, and the prices vary greatly.

Using a bee needle pen dipped in light green rock giant magic ink, Gordon began to draw on the paper.

"Runes El, Ohm, Zod, for absorption, storage, and release." The three runes were drawn in an equilateral triangle at the center.

Continuing, Gordon drew a simple human figure in the center of the rune triangle.

"Miniature human array. Runes Ber, Vex, for concentration and restriction." Two more runes were drawn in the lower abdomen of the human figure.

The work of drawing runes and arrays must be done with great care and precision. Once the ink is applied, it cannot be erased or modified. A slight mistake could waste a sheet of vellum paper. Moreover, the overall layout and geometric configuration of the rune array have extremely strict requirements. A slight error could lead to the failure of the enchanting process, and in severe cases, could cause an energy explosion, endangering life.

In a highly focused state, Gordon worked for eight hours before finally completing the rune array on the paper.

After a brief rest and a meal to replenish his energy, he began the next step.

First, Gordon set the green gemstone into the ring.

The green gemstone represents life and is often used in enchantments that enhance living beings.

A green gemstone ring was precisely, effectively, and quickly crafted by Gordon, with almost no mistakes.

Gordon had to thank the skill points he invested in "Flexible Craftsmanship." This skill increased his success rate by 30% when making magical trinkets and improved the final product's quality by 20%.

The final step was the enchanting spell.

He placed the green gemstone ring in the center of the magic workbench, in a dedicated slot. Around this slot, the workbench was covered with magical patterns.

Gordon placed the paper with the runes and array, face down, on a transparent crystal plate slightly below the workbench.

The principle of the magic workbench is to use arcane energy to activate the array on the workbench and then accurately etch the content drawn on the paper onto the target item.

Enchanting spells are a basic skill every mage must learn. Not only are they used in making magic equipment, but they are also needed in concocting magic potions.

The language and gestures used in enchanting spells are slightly different from those in regular spellcasting, but they follow a pattern and are not very complex. Gordon's mage level was not high, but his foundation in this area was solid.

"Enlarge." Gordon changed his gesture, chanted a few magical syllables, and a pale green light ball shot from his palm, slowly merging into the magic workbench.

The dark workbench, after absorbing the light ball, suddenly emitted a bright light, and the paper on the crystal plate instantly turned to ashes.

Gordon took the ring from the slot. He found that the ring now had an array etched on it, as if it had been carved into the silver and then filled with metal liquid.

"Completed!" Gordon put the ring on and tested its effect.

He nodded in satisfaction and softly said, "Activate subsystem—Trinket Crafting and Enchanting. Record the enchanting process I just performed and standardize the workflow."

"Understood... Editing complete. Do you want to save this enchanting pattern?"

"Yes."

"Please name the ring."

"Heroic Ring."

After the system recorded the process, the next time Gordon performed the same enchanting, he could use the subsystem's assistance to increase the speed and efficiency of the process and reduce the workload, making him less fatigued.