The Tower Master wasted no ti. At Luca's words, her staff clicked against the polished marble floor as she guided him toward a workbench stacked with scrolls, fragnts of crystals, and half-finished artifacts. With a swift motion of her hand, she cleared space, revealing a curious-looking ring—roughly forged, etched with faded runes, and humming with unstable Aura.
"This," she said, her tone slipping back into the calm authority of a teacher, "is the crude prototype I spoke of. It can store items briefly, but the Aura leakage makes it dangerous and unreliable. We never solved the stability issue."
Luca leaned over it, his fingers brushing against the uneven inscriptions. He could almost feel the resistance in the artifact's core, like a vessel desperately trying to contain a flood but leaking through a hundred cracks.
"Try linking your ability," she instructed, stepping close behind him. "Channel your aura through the artifact as if you were expanding a boundary. Picture the internal space as a sphere and stretch it… carefully."
Luca obeyed, closing his eyes and guiding his aura forward. The runes flickered faintly, glowing blue before sparking violently. A crack shot through the tal surface, and the artifact buzzed angrily before going dim.
He exhaled, shaking his head. "Failed."
"Not entirely," she corrected imdiately, her voice sharp but encouraging. "You pushed too much aura too quickly. This isn't like expanding your own domain. Artifacts are delicate—they need gentle precision, not brute force. Think of it as… coaxing the space open, rather than tearing it apart."
Luca frowned in concentration, then nodded. He tried again, this ti easing his aura into the prototype. For a mont, the unstable artifact accepted it, the runes glowing steadily. But then, his focus slipped, and the light sputtered out once more.
"Again," she urged softly, watching every movent, every flicker of his expression. "Don't just impose your will—listen to the artifact. Let it tell you how much it can bear."
Her words sank deeper than he expected. Luca steadied himself, controlling his breath. On the third attempt, he carefully extended his awareness into the artifact, his ability unfurling like an invisible thread. Instead of forcing space to open, he aligned with the artifact's existing frawork, weaving his expansion seamlessly into it.
This ti, the runes flared with life. The artifact pulsed once, then settled into a steady glow.
The Tower Master's eyes widened, her hand flying to her lips. "You… you stabilized it."
A grin spread across Luca's face as he felt the difference—the once-cracked vessel now held a steady, contained void inside it. "Looks like we got it."
Her voice trembled with excitent, but she quickly caught herself, folding her hands behind her back to hide it. "Now… test it. Use sothing ordinary. We must confirm it functions properly with different objects before we dare risk anything valuable."
Luca wasted no ti. He reached into his bag, pulling out a few mundane items—a quill, a folded scrap of parchnt, and a dull copper coin. Each object trembled faintly in his hand as he focused his aura through each of them. With every attempt, his movents grew steadier, his fingers tightening slightly around the artifacts as though anchoring his control.
The quill trembled as faint runic light seeped into it, the space within stretching unnaturally, almost like a bubble forming inside glass. For a mont, the lines wavered and the quill nearly snapped apart, before stabilizing with a faint shimr. The parchnt was next—its fibers strained as the hidden space expanded within, settling more smoothly this ti. When the coin resonated with his aura and the tiny pocket of space inside it held firm without resistance, Luca's lips curved in a faint smirk.
The Tower Master leaned forward, her sharp eyes following every flicker of light. "Your control is improving," she murmured, her staff tapping lightly against the marble floor with restrained impatience. "Each attempt, the flow grows smoother."
Luca nodded, wiping a thin bead of sweat from his brow. "Feels less like wrestling with it now. More like… guiding it where it wants to go."
His hand hesitated before reaching deeper into his bag. From the inner pocket, he drew out a simple jade bangle—smooth, ordinary, and without a hint of enchantnt. He turned it over in his palm, its cool surface reflecting the faint glow of the runes.
"This will do," he muttered, more to himself than to her.
He inhaled deeply, then guided his aura into the jade. The unstable tremor that usually resisted him now softened, like silk being stretched instead of stone being cracked. The space within expanded gently, accepting his ability. The jade bangle shimred, faint veins of light crawling along its surface before settling into a steady glow.
When he opened his eyes, the artifact pulsed with a stable rhythm—alive, but under his control. A slow grin spread across his face. "I think… this one worked."
The Tower Master reached out, her hands surprisingly delicate as she took the bangle from him. Turning it over under the lamplight, her lips curved ever so slightly. "Yes… you've expanded the internal space. Remarkable."
Then, her tone slipped into calm authority again. "Now let inscribe so runes to make it fully functional."
She placed the bangle on the cleared marble surface, her staff hovering above it. Thin threads of mana spiraled from the crystal tip, etching glowing runes into the jade. The air thrumd with restrained energy, the runes settling into the surface with a soft hiss, like molten tal cooling into shape.
"There," she whispered, straightening with a flick of her wrist.
"Let's test it," Luca said, anticipation sharp in his voice.
He picked up a quill once more, guiding it toward the bangle. With a pulse of thought, the quill vanished, slipping into the artifact's new inner void. The Tower Master's eyes glead, and she imdiately gestured for more.
The parchnt disappeared next, followed by the coin, and finally even the small crystal fragnt she offered him from her own table. Each item slipped seamlessly into the artifact and reappeared at his call, without the instability that plagued earlier attempts.
The Tower Master allowed herself a rare, unguarded smile. "Perfect."
Luca chuckled under his breath, relief washing through him. "So it really works."
She closed her hand over the jade bangle for a brief mont, then extended it toward him with solemn dignity. "Take it. The first ever functional storage artifact of this world."
Luca accepted it with both hands, the weight of her words sinking deep into him. The bangle glead faintly, but its significance shone brighter than any rune.
As Luca looked up, the gleam of satisfaction still lingering in his eyes, the jade bangle lay warm against his palm. For a mont, he studied it in silence, then without hesitation, he reached forward and gently took the Tower Master's hand.
Her fingers twitched at his sudden touch, but before she could pull away, Luca slid the bangle through her wrist. The cool jade settled snugly against her skin, contrasting the faint warmth of her pulse.
She froze, her eyes widening ever so slightly, stunned by the gesture.
"L-Luca… what are you doing?" she asked softly, her tone wavering between surprise and sothing unspoken.
"Take it, Master," Luca said firmly, his voice quiet but resolute. "I couldn't have done it without you."
She blinked, flustered, and instinctively tried to tug the bangle free. "But how can I take it? This was your effort, your creation. Sothing like this belongs to you."
Luca shook his head and tightened his hold over her hand, stilling her movents. His smile was faint, but his words carried a sincerity that left no room for argunt.
"You are the kindest to , Master. Although I can't do much for you at the mont, please accept this… just as a small appreciation."
The Tower Master lowered her gaze, her long lashes veiling her expression as she stared at the bangle now circling her wrist. Her eyes flickered, unreadable, as if caught between duty and sothing far more personal. Then, slowly, she raised her head, her lips curving into the gentlest of smiles.
"Ok then… I will cherish it."
Luca's answering smile was warm, but after a pause, he tilted his head slightly, his tone carrying an unreadable weight.
"But… there is one problem."
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