As soon as the tongs inside the furnace reached the ideal temperature, I grabbed the crystal and placed it on the table. It was ti to inscribe the runes.
I closed my eyes for a mont and took a deep breath. My spiritual energy was already scarce, and I knew that any mistake would cost not only ti but also my endurance.
With one hand over the crystal and the other drawing symbols on it with the tongs, I began to chant the incantations I had morized. My voice echoed softly in the room, each syllable charged with precise intent to imbue the runes with power.
At that mont, I felt a faint vibration in the crystal—a sign that my magic was being absorbed. But along with it ca the inevitable drain on my spiritual energy. My body trembled slightly, a chill ran down my spine, and my vision darkened at the edges.
I gritted my teeth and pressed on. This was only the first step.
Ti seed to drag on as my spiritual energy was drained. My fingertips tingled, and my breathing grew heavier. Then, just as I carved the final rune, a sudden sharp pain struck my head.
I let go of the crystal and brought a hand to my nose, feeling sothing warm trickling down. When I looked at my fingers, there it was—blood.
"Tch… I was expecting this."
It wasn’t the first ti I had depleted my spiritual energy to this extent. My body simply didn’t have enough reserves to withstand such ticulous work. If not for the support of the virtual lab, I wouldn’t have been able to inscribe these runes with the necessary precision.
Shaking my head, I wiped the blood on my sleeve. This was nothing. I couldn’t afford to falter now.
I took a deep breath and continued.
Now that the crystal was properly enchanted, I could move on to the next stage of construction.
.
.
.
.
After completing all the steps, I held the finished capsule between my fingers, watching tiny droplets of enchanted liquid shimr on its tallic surface. A subtle, bluish mist escaped from the test valves, swirling through the air like an ethereal veil.
The pulsing glow of the healing crystal inside the capsule reflected in my eyes, still linked to the virtual lab’s detailed zoom. The projection allowed to see even the finest lines of the runes engraved in the magical core.
With one final precise turn of the screwdriver, I felt the internal gears align in perfect harmony. The final adjustnt to the sealing ring ensured that no energy would be lost—the system was sealed.
I took a deep breath and rotated the capsule in my hand, inspecting every detail. This was the mont of truth.
I gently pressed the test switch.
A click echoed through the room, and for a brief mont, a breath of enchanted vapor escaped from the side tubes. The capsule glowed intensely—a soft, comforting light—before gradually stabilizing.
That was the confirmation. It worked… A satisfied smile ford at the corner of my lips.
["Instant Healing Capsule successfully constructed!"]
The virtual lab’s ssage appeared before my eyes, but I had already known it before seeing the words. I could feel it. The device was flawless.
I looked around the ssy lab—leftover materials, scattered tools, open flasks… A controlled chaos, but nothing I couldn’t clean up later.
Lifting the capsule toward the furnace light, I admired it.
"If each of these sells for 15 magic crystals…"
I quickly ran the calculations. Healing potions were essential items, but they had the limitation of needing direct application to wounds. This capsule, however, would envelop the user’s entire body, healing non-lethal injuries quickly and efficiently. Its value was far greater.
If I manufactured at least 34 of these, I would recover the lab’s initial investnt. The only issue was that doing so would completely drain my remaining reagents.
My decision was already made. Before selling, I needed stock.
Mass production.
But without drawing attention.
This also proved sothing important—my precision, enhanced by the Virtual Lab, gave an overwhelming advantage over others. For ticulous tasks, where every detail mattered, I was one step ahead.
"The next step is to keep focusing and advance to Acolyte Level 2…" I murmured to myself.
If I could improve my capabilities, I could establish an efficient cycle: produce healing capsules, sell them to acquire magic crystals, and at the sa ti, expand my knowledge. But there were no shortcuts.
According to the Virtual Lab’s calculations, I still needed nearly a year to reach Acolyte Level 2. If I tried to speed up the process without allowing my body to adapt to the magical codes, I would end up creating an overload. And that ant only one thing—collapse.
.
.
Six months passed without realizing it.
I walked through the corridors of the Tower, feeling the weight of ti on my shoulders. I kept my head down, lost in thought.
My skin was pale, as if the sun were sothing distant.
My right hand, hidden inside my sleeve, clenched a prototype of the healing capsule.
It had been half a year since I had been pretending to unsuccessfully produce capsules…
I glanced at the Acolytes passing by , absorbed. In six months, many things had changed in the tower.
Mary was still alive, but she remained locked in her room. Even when I invited her out, she refused.
Mateo had made an incredible breakthrough in the field of automatons, creating a new technology.
Charlotte, after years of attempts and failures, had finally built a functional engineering item and earned Miguel’s recognition.
But what worried the most...
Oliver, the 5-star Acolyte who had beco Marcelina’s apprentice, had already advanced to level 2.
I rembered Liam’s expression when he told that news. That sa Liam who had been humiliated by Oliver in the balloon. When he spoke, I tried to hide my reaction, but I couldn’t completely disguise the envy burning inside .
The truth was simple: the fifth-degree Acolytes were on a different level.
Their bodies adapted faster. They could build magical codes without the constant fear of collapsing under the pressure. And I was not one of them.
I didn’t have deep feelings for Liam, nor did I consider him a rival. He was just another ordinary Acolyte.
This sester had been entirely dedicated to the healing capsule.
After I exhausted the reagents in the lab storage, I bought a large quantity of ingredients, conducted nurous construction sessions, and invested all the profit I earned selling cocaine into the developnt of this device.
Of course, I also made sure to create a facade, hiding the existence of the Virtual Lab. I tried to build the capsule without its help most of the ti. The result? Success rate: zero.
So far, I had wasted a dozen magic crystals.
But it was all part of the plan.
I occasionally brought the "problems I pretended to encounter" to my ntor, Miguel, asking for advice on the basics—how to sculpt crystals more efficiently, how to avoid instability in the rune circuits.
Behind this mask of apparent difficulty, the reality was different.
With the Virtual Lab, my skills had already surpassed Mateo’s.
The only one who still surpassed was Miguel, and that was because he was a mage.
Today would be an important day.
Today would be the day I "accidentally" succeeded in building a healing capsule and let Miguel evaluate it.
To make the ruse more convincing, I carefully controlled the process. I deliberately introduced subtle mistakes—small defects in the gears, slight imperfections in the rune sealing. Nothing that would compromise its function, but enough to make it appear like the imperfect work of a level 1 Acolyte.
Even so, for soone at my level, it would be considered a great achievent.
My hand instinctively tightened around the capsule.
After today, I would be able to start selling them in broad daylight.
After today, the profits would begin to flow freely.
Jas was already close to advancing to Acolyte level 2. I couldn’t fall behind!
I entered Miguel’s lab.
He was busy adjusting a magic circuit when he looked up at . "Tyler, do you have more problems with the construction of the healing capsule?" He asked, furrowing his brow slightly.
There was sothing in my posture today that made him watch more attentively.
I took a deep breath.
"No, sir!" I said, trying to sound upbeat, but keeping a slight trace of hesitation. "I had success once last night!"
The circuit Miguel was holding trembled in his hands. "What?" His eyes narrowed. "Although your engineering talent has impressed , making a healing capsule is not that simple!"
I could feel the genuine surprise in his voice. It was exactly the reaction I wanted.
In the past six months, Miguel had seen my progress. I bombarded him with questions, made sure to demonstrate a gradual learning curve. But in his mind, it was still too early for to achieve such a success.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mateo tremble slightly as he sculpted codes into a raw crystal.
Black smoke rose from the crystal.
He sighed and turned to .
Charlotte, on the other hand, had a different reaction.
She simply leaned back, her eyes fixed on .
There was contempt there. A reflection of what had happened in the Den of the Useless.
But now… I felt that this contempt had turned into sothing more.
Every ti I passed by her, she turned red.
Maybe it was anger mixed with sothing she didn’t even want to admit.
But her pride, the fact that she was one level above , prevented her from showing anything else. This made sense—no matter how bad, not even the worst female Acolyte would date soone inferior. Well, that’s the damn curse won carry. They’ll never be happy because they’re always looking for a better partner than the one they have. Their hypergamy is like Superman’s kryptonite.
...
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