“Alright, let’s start with making a ring.”
Loren placed a gemstone on the workbench and picked up a carving knife from beside it:
“Making accessories can be roughly divided into three steps: shaping, engraving, and infusion.
“First, shape the material into whatever you want. This step usually involves carving, though so tals can be lted and cast.”
Loren moved quickly, his carving knife dancing back and forth as the gemstone on the workbench transford into a circle. After he polished it, it beca a smooth ring.
“Next cos engraving—carving the corresponding runes onto it. You can also use other things to write the runes.”
Loren then pulled out a more precise carving knife, its tip about as fine as a needle.
Even for such delicate work, Loren moved just as fast, and that was with him deliberately slowing down so Paqina and the others could follow along.
As the knife tip traced across the ring, Luna couldn’t tell the difference before and after, but Paqina watched, completely srized.
Soon, Loren finished his carving. He infused his magical power into the ring, and the grooves he had carved began to glow. Now Luna could finally see what Loren had etched into it.
But it wasn’t over yet. Loren set so tiny gemstones into the ring and even filled the grooves on its surface with a silvery-white tal.
“So beautiful...”
Seeing the ring’s appearance, Luna let out an admiring sigh, her eyes practically sparkling like stars.
The ring’s base was like white jade, adorned with faint silver patterns and accented with golden gemstones. Even the finest craftsman couldn’t have made a more exquisite piece.
“This isn’t finished yet. It’ll look even better when it’s done.”
Only one step remained—infusion.
“The final step is infusion. It requires so equipnt and a ritual.”
Loren found a strange device in the laboratory. It looked like a platform with a magic array at its center, a smaller platform at each of the four corners, and sothing resembling lightning rods curving inward toward the center.
“This is an infusion platform. It’s used for many rituals, including making accessories.
“Essentially, this thing is like a universal ritual. If I had to lay out all the rituals contained in it, I might need a sports field.
“But if you’re making sothing truly high-tier, one infusion platform obviously won’t cut it.”
Loren set the infusion platform in the middle of the lab, then cut his own finger and began drawing the ritual circles and runes on the floor beside it.
After that, he placed so materials on the platforms at the four corners of the infusion platform before finally activating the ritual.
Paqina’s eyes widened, afraid to miss a single detail.
As the ritual activated, the magical power in Loren’s prepared materials was drained and channeled into the ring, which gradually emitted a dazzling glow.
When the ritual ended, the ring had beco a finished accessory. Loren put it on to test it, and after confirming its effectiveness, he handed it to Luna:
“This ring is called the [Silent Moon]. Wearing it will calm the mind, enhance perception, resist ntal attacks, and boost self-healing.
“Under moonlight, all these effects are greatly amplified. Most importantly, it generates a barrier that enhances defense.”
Luna gazed at the exquisite ring in her hand. After a mont’s thought, she slipped it onto her ring finger and clenched her fist.
A blush crept up her cheeks, and the corners of her lips uncontrollably curled up.
The ring was custom-made for Luna by Loren. The Night Amulet from before had given him the idea—since the light emitted by her Arcane Ability also counted as moonlight, any accessories related to moonlight would be perfect for her.
Luna herself understood this clearly, and a warmth swelled in her heart.
She had always thought she had no presence, but Loren actually cared about her.
Paqina, watching this, felt a tinge of envy, but she didn’t show it. She had never considered herself close to Loren. How could soone as important as him possibly have much connection with her?
At best, Loren saw her as talented and happened to teach her a thing or two.
Paqina was also insecure, and working hard to improve her grades was her way of coping with that insecurity.
Occasionally, she would envy her classmates’ families, envy that they had people who loved them, while she had nothing.
Even with Loren standing right in front of her, she still felt he was distant—so far away that she couldn’t reach him.
That was also why Paqina hadn’t agreed to follow Loren before. She felt she didn’t deserve it.
“What I just made is a high-tier accessory. Making ordinary accessories doesn’t require this much trouble, and you don’t even need to draw an extra ritual.
“Here’s the thod for making a Ring of Wisdom. Give it a try.”
Loren handed two sheets of paper to Paqina and Luna, with the instructions written on them.
The Ring of Wisdom was the lowest-tier accessory, its effect being just a simple 1 to Intelligence. It was completely useless for Loren and the Witches now, but it was perfect for them to practice with.
Plus, since the production process was restricted, accessories weren’t cheap. Even if Paqina decided to sell them later, she could make a good profit.
“Oh, and if you want to mass-produce and sell them, make sure to ntion my na. The people who monopolize accessory production will co after you if you make them privately, but with backing you, they won’t dare touch you.”
“Okay...”
Paqina was exceptionally eager while making the accessory. Even if she thought Loren didn’t care much about her, she would treasure this ti spent with him.
Not just because what Loren taught her could change her life, but because this was the first ti she had ever felt cared for, protected by soone.
After that, Loren temporarily ignored them and began processing Furad’s fang.
Such high-tier material was difficult to work with, so much so that by the end, the entire laboratory was covered in runes drawn by Loren.
Loren had used up not only the materials he had just brought from the warehouse but also the ones he had originally brought himself, including several bottles of Dragon Blood.
But it was worth it. In the end, Loren managed to create a powerful accessory:
[Crimson Elegy]
Effect: Upon dealing damage, absorb and store the target’s life force. The stored life force can be consud to heal oneself.
To put it simply, it was like having a lifesteal blade with infinite overheal—way more brutal than plain lifesteal. It was essentially lifesteal that ignored the health cap.
With enough stored life force, as long as you weren’t one-shotted, you could heal back to full health—you didn’t even need to deal damage.
With the Justice Card, even the Orthodox Gods couldn’t one-shot Loren.
And storing life force was easy. There was even a perfect opportunity right now.
Loren planned to personally execute the Church’s traitors. His persona was that of soone who hated evil with a passion. Choosing to personally deal with those Langton family traitors was only natural, right?
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