Julian picked up the unfinished bird-shaped ring along with Sanar, then stepped back through the doorway. The moment he exited, the great bronze door dissolved silently into nothing, as if it had never been there at all.
He slid Sanar onto his ring finger. The metal tightened with a smooth, gentle motion until it fit him perfectly, snug but comfortable. That automatic resizing was not something he had to forge in specially; it was a built-in trait of any ring made with the Celebrimbor style.
The blank ring he tucked back into his hiding spot beneath the loose board, then he collapsed onto his bed. Exhaustion crashed over him like a wave and he blacked out almost instantly.
...
Sleep brought him back to the elf.
Once again, Julian found himself in a dreamscape of blazing forges and glowing anvils, where the tall elf craftsman worked. Only this time, the elf was not forging. He was standing still, holding Sanar between long fingers, examining it with sharp, discerning eyes.
"Hmm," the elf mused, tilting the ring toward the light. "It is certainly not on the same level as any of my works, but that is to be expected."
The haughty tone made Julian want to roll his eyes, but he restrained himself.
"It is interesting, however, what you chose to embed into it," the elf continued. "I never considered crafting protections directly into the wielder's mind. In hindsight, perhaps I should have. Not that it matters any longer."
For a moment his expression turned distant, tinged with a quiet sadness, as if he were remembering something long lost.
"Regardless, it is adequate for an amateur like you," he said at last. "So I will formally grant you my blessing to continue my legacy. No..." He paused, then gave a faint, almost wistful smile. "Our legacy. May it serve you better than it did me."
The words echoed, the dream blurred, and Julian's awareness snapped back to his body as someone shook his shoulder.
...
"Had trouble getting to sleep at a decent time?"
The caretaker's voice was gentle but concerned.
Julian rubbed at his eyes and yawned, still feeling drained, though not to a crippling degree. "Nothing to worry about, Miss Smith. I will be fine in a bit," he mumbled, another yawn breaking through at the end.
She did not look entirely convinced, but after a moment she decided to trust him. "Alright, if you are sure. You overslept and missed breakfast, so wash up and get ready for school," she said, then stepped out of the room, closing the door behind her.
Julian pushed himself upright and stretched. A series of pops ran through his joints, oddly satisfying, even though his muscles throbbed with dull soreness from the previous night's work at the forge.
The crafting method spread the strain of forging across the entire body. Every muscle had been engaged to support his spirit's exertion. As a result, he was physically exhausted from head to toe, as if he had done a full-body workout.
It was brutal but effective. Over time, this would strengthen his body significantly. Celebrimbor had deliberately included this side effect in his style. In his eyes, any successor who bore his techniques should not be helpless in a fight. Power, after all, was not just about magic, but overall quality.
...
Julian quickly washed his face and hands, changed into fresh clothes, and felt his thoughts sharpen as the lingering grogginess faded. With his mind clear enough to focus, he pulled up his system interface and used it to appraise Sanar.
The familiar translucent panel appeared.
{RING NAME: Sanar
Grade: UNCOMMON
Abilities: Mental Shielding, Autosizing, Defensive Counterattack
Description: A simple band forged in the Celebrimbor style by Julian Iron, imbued with the will to guard his mind against all foreign intrusion.
System appraisal: A respectable piece of magical jewelry produced by a novice.}
Right after that, another notification appeared.
{CONGRATULATIONS ON A SUCCESSFUL FORGE! YOU HAVE EARNED 50 RING POINTS!}
[RING POINTS DETECTED. UNLOCKING SYSTEM SHOP FUNCTION.]
Julian blinked at the messages, then gave a small, satisfied nod. I was not expecting a stellar rating on my first try. This is more than acceptable. But what is this about a shop?
Curious, he opened his status screen again. Underneath the line that showed his current points, a new tab had appeared, labeled simply: SHOP.
Let us see what you are hiding, he thought, mentally selecting it.
The answer appeared at once. A list unfolded into four primary categories:
MaterialsEquipmentTicketsBooks
That layout does make sense, he admitted with a small nod.
He checked Materials first. The list went on and on, filled with nearly every substance he could imagine for ring creation, along with their prices in ring points. Common metals, exotic alloys, rare magical ores, and even outright dangerous items like active uranium.
Julian immediately decided he would not be buying anything that could kill him before he had the means to defend himself properly.
Next he opened the Equipment tab. It contained every piece of gear he had seen in the astral forge, individually listed and priced. A quick comparison told him that, at the moment, the only thing he could afford was a hammer. Everything else demanded far more points than he had.
The Tickets tab was where things became really interesting. Inside, there were three subcategories:
RouletteBuffsMystery
The first two were self-explanatory. Roulette tickets clearly functioned like the crafting style one he had already used, while Buff tickets seemed designed to grant temporary boosts or advantages.
The Mystery section, however, came with extra explanation. Mystery tickets were exactly what their name suggested: uncertain, risky. According to the system, they allowed him to gamble a fixed amount of ring points for a chance at receiving an item or ticket of much higher value.
The catch was right there in the numbers. Each ticket only gave a ten percent chance of success. Nine times out of ten, he would probably lose his stake.
Finally, Julian opened the Books category.
His breath hitched. The catalog included every book ever written, each with a price attached. Ancient grimoires, modern textbooks, obscure manuscripts, even things that should not exist in this world at all.
Some of the prices were outrageous. One title in particular caught his eye: "Mysterium Xarces," listed at a staggering twenty billion ring points.
Julian stared at that number for a moment and let out a low whistle.
Yeah. That one is going on the long-term goals list.