One Slot Remains

Arthur approached with a smile while I was lost in thought staring at the mobile magic cannon.

“What do you think? Impressive, isn’t it? Nothing like the mana cannons at the baron’s castle, right?”

“Well, I suppose so.”

“Don’t bother acting calm. No matter what offer you received, this place is far better than the baron’s castle. So hurry up and wrap things up with the baron.”

From Arthur’s words, I understood the count’s true intention in showing me this place.

They were trying to crush my spirit.

It was absurd.

They clearly wanted to pull me into the count’s castle no matter what.

Yet all I could do was laugh.

If anything, it only fueled my determination.

You made a mistake. You shouldn’t have shown me this.

I smiled quietly so Arthur wouldn’t ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠notice.

The mobile magic cannon was already registered in the system.

All I needed now was time to reproduce it.

At the same time, the Sunogi came to mind.

A weapon that combined mobility and firepower.

If I could make it personal rather than large-scale and add precise aiming, that would be ideal.

This will be useful reference later.

Seeing the mobile magic cannon only made me more impatient.

Ideas kept pouring out.

All I wanted was to craft something new right away.

I also desperately wanted to learn the magic books I had obtained.

But Arthur, oblivious as ever, kept praising the mobile magic cannon for a while longer.

The conversation alone had drained me completely.

Exhausted, I went to find lodging.

Although the count had prepared a place for me, I deliberately chose somewhere else.

The lodging Count Arno had arranged felt strangely unsettling.

Once I returned to my room, I opened the box the count had given me.

Inside were two magic books.

These are… better than I expected.

A quick glance at the contents showed that 《Elemental Control》 was a basic 2nd-class combat magic.

It covered the fundamentals of fire, water, wind, and earth, yet its applications seemed endless.

《Mana Enhancement》 was even more intriguing.

It was an auxiliary magic that amplified mana during enchantments.

This would be especially useful to me.

Though the meeting with the count had been uncomfortable, it had turned out to be surprisingly fruitful.

Now everything depended on how I used this situation.

First, I need to master these spells.

There was no need to plan which magic to learn first.

What I needed now was patience.

I simply read like a madman.

As the night deepened, long messages began piling up in my message box.

“So, what has he been doing?”

Count Arno Grandmeson sipped tea in his office while calmly receiving the report.

The one reporting was not Chief Mage Arthur.

It was a young man dressed in plain commoner’s clothes.

He was the ordinary, unremarkable type one could see anywhere.

Yet the way he addressed the count was anything but ordinary.

“He has been holed up for several days and hasn’t come out, Father.”

The man in commoner’s attire was Bruno Grandmeson, Count Arno’s sole heir.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Absurdly enough, the count’s successor was inspecting the territory dressed as a commoner.

At this age, the son of any ordinary noble would be attending an academy, a university, or at least a noble social gathering.

But the father and son chatted as if none of that mattered.

Their casual tone suggested a close relationship.

“Oh? Is that so?”

“Yes. He only has his slave bring him meals and shows no other movement.”

“Ah, that female slave…”

Count Arno fell into deep thought after hearing the report.

His brow furrowed as if something felt familiar yet elusive.

Bruno asked cautiously at the sight.

“Shall I look into it further?”

“No, no need. It’s just that the female slave somehow looked familiar. Probably just my imagination. All pretty women look similar anyway.”

“I suppose so.”

“Don’t worry about it. More importantly, Mage Theo has been staying inside… Interesting.”

Count Arno’s eyes deepened as he sipped his tea.

Then a small smile appeared on his face.

“It seems he liked the gift. He’s desperate to learn new magic. But it won’t be easy without a teacher.”

“He does seem to be trying.”

“Good, good. The more he struggles, the more he’ll realize he needs the support of our Grandmeson family.”

Count Arno wore a satisfied expression.

Bruno, however, spoke with a hint of concern.

“Isn’t this too much investment? He hasn’t even joined us yet, and giving him magic books… especially showing him the magic cannon unit…”

Count Arno clicked his tongue at his ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠son’s worry.

“My son, why do you think I showed him that?”

“To crush his spirit and demonstrate our family’s overwhelming power, of course.”

“That would work too. But it’s not enough.”

The count explained calmly, as if teaching his only heir the hidden meaning.

“Bruno, listen carefully. When recruiting talent, you must always stimulate their greed.”

“Greed…? But isn’t promising support already enough?”

“Ah, magic books and such? Many people are swayed by those. But not Mage Theo.”

Count Arno continued speaking to the unconvinced Bruno.

“The Purification Ring he made. He distributed it at a very low price. A very clever strategy.”

“Doesn’t that mean he couldn’t even judge the value of his own creation properly?”

“Not at all. Instead, he gained the trust of the mercenaries. So it’s no loss whatsoever. What if Mage Theo made other expensive items? They don’t even need to be expensive. At that quantity, even one gold would be enough.”

If cheap items were this effective, how powerful would expensive ones be?

It would stimulate buyers’ curiosity.

Moreover, if the performance justified the price, complaints about cost would disappear.

Building that kind of trust meant the cheap Purification Rings were not a loss at all.

“In the end, money can’t stimulate his greed. He knows he can achieve everything himself.”

“Then…”

“We must show him a technological gap. Make him crave the technology itself.”

“You mean stimulate his greed with the technology alone.”

“Exactly. The current Sunogi is decent, but we need to make him desire something even greater. Whether he can reach it or not.”

Bruno nodded.

Seeing this, Count Arno smiled contentedly and sipped his tea.

Yet Bruno still looked more worried than his father.

“But what about Baron Sellevan? If he finds out we tried to recruit Theo, it could become troublesome.”

It was a reasonable concern.

Bruno had asked carefully because it could damage their reputation.

But Count Arno spoke as if it was nothing.

“Well, does Baron Sellevan even have the capacity to care about such trivial matters?”

“Pardon? What do you mean…”

“You’ll find out soon enough. It seems the baron will be quite busy from now on…”

Count Arno looked slightly regretful as he gazed at his empty teacup.

But the moment he thought of Theo, that regret vanished completely.

“Perhaps… we’ll see results sooner than expected.”

Bruno simply listened and reflected on his father’s words.

He still lacked the skill to manage the territory and had much more to learn.

“Aah! I finally finished!”

I couldn’t help but cheer when I closed the last page of the magic book.

Lena spoke in a surprised yet congratulatory voice.

“You really mastered all of that?”

At Lena’s words, I checked the messages again just in case.

Even after checking again, I had mastered all ten spells.

Just seeing the messages made me feel proud.

“Yeah, I’ve definitely learned them.”

“That’s amazing! There isn’t a single mage who learns magic this fast!”

“I suppose not.”

“Learning ten spells in just a few days… Honestly, would other mages even believe it if I told them?”

“Exactly. So don’t go around telling anyone.”

Lena’s excitement made me smile without realizing it.

Having once been a slave-trading mage, I knew better than anyone how absurd my current achievement was.

“Then shall we try a simple experiment? It’s been a while.”

“Yes, I’m always ready, Theo-nim!”

“Good. Let’s begin right away.”

Lena had become much brighter since obtaining the Crafting Assistant job.

Perhaps this was her true self.

Since I preferred her like this, I prepared the experiment with her help.

My experiments always ended up being crafting.

That had been my foundation since my hunter days.

“Let’s test 《Mana Enhancement》 first. Lena, help me make one Purification Ring.”

I ignored the dizzying messages.

Right now, I needed to focus on the magic itself.

I felt a stronger mana flow than usual.

The effect of Mana Enhancement was clear.

“How is it?”

Lena examined the new ring with curious eyes.

“T-Theo-nim! This is truly amazing! It seems much more effective than the original Purification Ring!”

She couldn’t hide her astonishment.

It was far more powerful than the previous version.

The number of uses had doubled, and the effects had increased.

But that wasn’t the end.

There’s still one enchantment slot remaining?