Chapter 90: First test

"I wonder if it will work…"

Staring at the wand-like item in my hand, I couldn't help but worry a bit. What if doing something that worked in Ayda's world wouldn't have the same effects on earth? What if earthy gems couldn't be carved like the ones one would normally use for that matter?

With all those questions swarming in my head, I couldn't really do anything to answer them outside of actually working for the sake of it. Thankfully, I didn't need to start from absolute scratch. While I felt a little bad about it, I managed to extort a fresh stone from Huskarl along with the one she carved.

For starters, I had to find a place that the girls referred to as an energy clog. Judging from my own guessing, there was a huge chance that this sanctuary of mine would be a jackpot. I could tell it from how I required quite a lot of different measures just to clear a small area of the place from the magical energy, back when my mother was still amongst the living.

From this alone, I had quite high hopes for the church of mine to serve as a perfect location to store freshly carved stones and wait for them to turn into proper magic ones. Although it was only a guess, this was something that I could actually test quite easily.

And I did it by putting the stone carved by the hand of a professional, directly on the table in my basement.

"Now, now… It's time for me to work I guess…"

Speaking to myself, I sat at the table before pulling out the fresh stone from my pocket. Again, it's reddish hue was charming to my eyes, almost making it seem like a sin to attempt to change its natural-born beauty. 

But if I wanted to test the grounds for my plan, I had no other choice but to do it.

"Let's see how it will work…"

According to the few words of advice that Huskarl graced me with before I left, just by focusing my mind on carving, the small spike should activate by itself. While it would be powered by my own magic fueling the small magic stone at its top, I didn't really need to consciously keep the flow up.

With the tool in my hand and the stone right in front of my eyes, I pulled out my smartphone. After just a short moment of tinkering, a makeshift stand created from three pencils and a bit of tape held the phone in place, allowing me to use its flash option to make my work a bit easier. All the same, dialling the number to Pavlo and turning the speakers on.

"Hey man, what's up?"

Even after everything that happened, the young master of the Baskar family didn't really change that much. If anything, his attitude towards me softened up a bit more, allowing him to finally start treating me like a proper ally and friend instead of some foreign power. Thinking about this, I couldn't tell whether this was something he adopted by himself, or if someone influenced him to act this way. Being in the position I was in right now, there were bound to be people attempting to take advantage of every single possible weakness of mine, even amongst my supposed allies.

"I'm calling for a small favour. Would you mind procuring several gems of different types along with the precision carving equipment? Preferably, I would love if you could organise someone experienced in faceting… But also someone that you can either fully trust or fully lock up within our lands."

Bringing the tip of Huskarl's wand towards the surface of the stone, I focused my eyes on the simplest rune inside the book that Ayda lent me. According to her former student, this was a rune that even a newbie like me would be easily capable of carving. And from the looks of things, it seemed that she wasn't that far from the truth.

Because while carving the straight lines into the stone was relatively simple, the feeling of having my magic energy gently sucked was weirding me out as heck!

"Woah, is this some kind of economical invention that we could bank on later on? Are you going to make it a local product, or maybe you need some sacral tools?"

Pavlo's inquiries would sound a bit more serious if the tapping of his fingers against the keyboard didn't reach the mic of his phone. Smiling to myself, I continued to add more and more lines to the carving. 

"For now, it's just a test. I might be onto something interesting, but there is a huge chance it will be a misfire. So well, while I would love for this matter to be dealt with a priority clause, don't get your hopes too high for it. Also, I need at least a few stones quite urgently. Would you mind sending someone to the market right away?"

Asking this question, I finally pulled the spike away from the stone. Blowing gently a bit of air to clear out the dust, I compared my creation with the diagram on the book's page.

"Ehh… Sure. That means I will have to make a call, sooo…."

Even through the phone, I could tell how deep Pavlo's sigh was. Once again I recalled how I had absolutely no clue about the current state of finances of my faction. That was another reason why I wanted to create some kind of novel industry so urgently. While I could tell that assets of the Baskar family were still way off from being exhausted, there was a limit to how long I could rely on someone else's financing. Ultimately, even though we were allies, the more they contributed towards the effects that my ideas would show, the fewer profits I would obtain myself!

"I get it. Thanks in advance!"

Putting the tool in my hand away on the table with a move as gentle as I could possibly execute, I quickly moved my hand and closed the call. Stretching back on the chair, I took a long look at the effects of my relatively short work. 

With two stones now lying side to side, all I had to do to check whether or not my basement was a suitable place to store those stones, was to wait. 

But I never was the person to just waste time idly!