*****

To test whether I could genuinely craft Magic Equipment, I tightly gripped the Necklace of Warding.

This wasn't like brewing an EX-Potion, which I could whip up even with some battered old herbs. The Necklace of Warding was a top-tier item, undoubtedly crafted using the finest premium materials.

I was about to attempt an Enchantment that even Vanessa—the most skilled alchemist in the royal capital—had been forced to give up on.

Even with Sacred Alchemy deployed, I didn't think it would be a walk in the park. But if I wanted to pull off making true Magic Equipment, this was my only option.

Picking up a single Sacred Mana Stone, I condensed and hyper-concentrated my mana before deploying my Sacred Alchemy.

The nostalgic sensation of mana rushing over me like physical pressure made my skin tingle. Unlike a standard field deployment, this heavily interfered with the space around me, making the very air in the room grow incredibly tense.

「M-Mia?!」

「Leon, don't talk to her right now. You'll only get in her way.」

Leon, who knew nothing about Sacred Alchemy, looked completely startled, but it couldn't be helped. It would be a disaster if he mistook it for Ancient Alchemy, and since I had no idea what might happen, I couldn't risk dragging him into it.

(But things are different now. Even if it's just temporary, we're members of the same workshop working together to craft Magic Equipment.)

Once things settled down, I'd have to consult Master Clein about whether I should tell Leon about Sacred Alchemy.

Right now, I needed to focus on what I could do and make absolutely sure I didn't run out of mana like last time.

Ignoring the worried glances Master Clein and Leon were shooting my way, I poured all my focus into the Necklace of Warding.

Deploying Sacred Alchemy provided an overwhelmingly greater amount of information compared to activating a standard Enchantment skill. The state of the mana was so crystal clear I could practically touch it, causing an amazed sigh to escape my lips.

(Vanessa really is incredible...)

She had spun the mana so meticulously, as if sewing it together thread by thin thread. There was no way I could ever replicate this level of sheer quality.

But thanks to her incredible work, I could clearly perceive the final mana pathway and exactly how to apply the Enchantment. Now, if I could just use Sacred Alchemy to enchant the spot completely devoid of mana, it would become Magic Equipment—

The moment that thought crossed my mind and I tried to channel the Sacred Mana Stone's energy into it, it snapped and deflected right back at me like an allergic reaction.

(Wait, what? Even Sacred Alchemy isn't working?)

(...No, that's not it. The quality of the Necklace of Warding is just too high, so the raw energy from the Sacred Mana Stone isn't compatible with the Magic Equipment yet. In that case—)

I attempted to perform a multiple deployment of a Formation field over the Sacred Mana Stone's energy that I'd extracted via Enchantment, trying to alter the very nature of the mana itself.

(With my experience brewing EX-Potions, I should be able to manage at least this much. No, scratch that—I'm going to make it work out of pure spite!)

Even if I was just an apprentice, I was still an alchemist. I could tell exactly how much painstaking effort and emotion had been poured into crafting something this remarkably intricate.

Since this piece was built on an alchemist's absolute pride, I had to treat it with the utmost respect.

「Magic Boost!」

(...Not enough. A tiny change like this is basically non-existent. At this rate, it'll just get deflected again.)

「Magic Boost!」

(...More, I need to alter it even more! It has to be worthy of becoming Magic Equipment.)

「Mia!」

「Mia...」

As I continuously burned through hyper-concentrated mana, the tension thick in the workshop's air reached its absolute boiling point.

(If I keep playing it safe like this, I'm just going to drain all my mana without finishing the job. The Magic Equipment will never accept it, and it'll just keep rejecting the flow.)

(If that happens, Vanessa will never return to the world of alchemy. And I definitely don't want that!)

Remembering the lonely expressions Vanessa would occasionally make, I gathered and compressed my mana even further.

「If you can craft a necklace this freely, it's bound to be incredibly fun...」

Prepping materials was tedious, deadlines were brutal, and your hands constantly got dirty, but giving up on it entirely was such a massive waste.

(When you know such a thrilling world of dreams and have the skills to create things, you should just enjoy it for what it is.)

Thinking about alchemy so much that she couldn't even focus on her actual job, and constantly goofing off to act like she didn't care anymore... she was just lying to herself because she was overly conscious of everyone else.

Anyone could tell she desperately wanted to do alchemy deep down. The moments she talked about Magic Equipment were the happiest I'd ever seen her look.

That was why, once I finished the Necklace of Warding, I was going to brag about it as much as humanly possible—until she wanted to start over and craft one with her own two hands again.

「Full Boost!」

The energy from the Sacred Mana Stone began to glow with a brilliant golden light, getting sucked directly into the Necklace of Warding as if it had finally found its rightful home.

Once I saw that every single drop of mana had been absorbed, I deactivated my Sacred Alchemy field.

「...Alright!」

The necklace left in my hands radiated a spectacular gold and silver light, enveloped in an aura of pure mana.

Gazing upon its otherworldly presence, I instinctively knew that anyone who looked at it would call it one thing and one thing only: true Magic Equipment.

*****

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