It took four days and seventeen hours for the portal's mana to reach operational levels. In that ti, Gin had devoted nearly every second to research and creation.
Finally, he completed the developnt of a device that could operate without further intervention.
Security had been a top priority.
He designed the equipnt to be impenetrable to unauthorized analysis.
If the security system were breached, the device would imdiately self-destruct.
Once completed, he installed the equipnt at Café Wizard and demonstrated its usage to Wayn. She would train the other part-ti staff mbers.
The café typically ran with two to three employees rotating through shifts. Gin planned to soon offer permanent positions to core staff like Wayn, preparing them for the larger ventures he intended to undertake.
With his tasks complete, Gin crossed through the portal.
He erged in an alley near the Tree Guild. One observation stood out during the trip—he never arrived precisely at his intended location.
The portal seed designed to place travelers in a safe, isolated spot within a set radius of their target.
When he had checked the surrounding area, there had indeed been soone nearby.
The sheer intricacy of the portal's design impressed him more with each experience.
The amount of magical complexity required to account for such contingencies was staggering.
Gin powered on his Shadow Realm phone.
Imdiately, a series of ssage alerts chid. All were from Jay, demanding to know why he hadn't answered and what he planned to do about the new requests.
The tone of the ssages grew increasingly irritated before finally transitioning to sothing close to pleading.
Amused, Gin was about to call him when the phone rang. Of course, it was Jay. Gin leisurely answered. Jay must have been caught off guard by the unexpected call.
After a five-second pause—
"Hey!"
The loud, almost desperate shout echoed from the phone. Gin instinctively pulled it away from his ear as Jay continued ranting.
"Why the hell was your phone off?! Do you know how many tis I tried calling you?"
Gin waited patiently for the outburst to subside before bringing the phone back to his ear.
"Relax. I didn't hang up," Gin said, cutting through the frantic energy.
There was a deep breath on the other end, followed by a calr, albeit strained, voice.
"You didn't forget about the workshop request, did you?" Jay asked.
"Of course not."
"Phew. I was worried there for a second."
"We didn't set an exact date," Gin pointed out.
"True, but leaving things hanging for this long isn't exactly good business practice, you know?"
"So, I should head there now?"
"That'd be great. I'll send you the address. I'm heading there too. See you soon."
"Got it."
Gin hung up.
Shortly after, a ssage with the workshop's location arrived. He glanced at it and made his way to the main road.
The Shadow Realm had its own array of apps, including ones for calling taxis and ride services—eerily similar to Earth's conveniences.
'Sotis it really feels like I never left London,' he mused.
These small monts of familiarity stirred a subtle but unsettling sense of dissonance.
It was as if he occasionally forgot which world he was in.
'Am I actually... losing focus?'
For a mage, such confusion was rare.
Their minds were trained to remain clear and compartntalized, capable of processing multiple streams of thought simultaneously.
This slip in perception was troubling.
'Another issue to ponder later,' he thought with a sigh.
His ever-growing list of problems threatened to outpace even his heightened ntal capacity.
Before long, the taxi he summoned arrived. Gin climbed in and directed the driver to the workshop's address.
The taxi dropped him off in front of Runewright Workshop, a three-story building situated along a street lined with other small workshops. Runewright was one of the larger establishnts in the area.
As Gin was taking in the surroundings, Jay suddenly burst out of the workshop.
"Hey! What are you standing around for? Co on in!" Jay said excitedly, grabbing Tae-su by the arm and dragging him inside.
The first floor served as a reception area, where several individuals who appeared to be staff were gathered. Jay wasted no ti introducing Gin to an older man who seed to be in charge.
"Master Walter, this is the mage I ntioned—GIn."
The man, who appeared to be in his fifties, extended a calloused hand.
"Walter ," he said with a polite nod.
Gin's eyes montarily glead with interest. It had been a long ti since he'd encountered another person with a Korean na. He shook Walter's hand firmly.
"Gin," he replied simply.
Walter gave a slightly awkward smile and released his grip.
"I've heard you're quite talented," Walter remarked, casting a brief glance at Jay.
Clearly, the broker had done so serious convincing. The trust and admiration in Walter's eyes hinted at Gin's persuasive abilities.
Gin decided to skip the small talk and get straight to business.
Words were unnecessary when his skills could speak for themselves.
"You're working on a new type of shield, correct? Could I see one of your prototypes, even a failed version?"
Walter's eyes widened slightly in surprise.
A mont later, his face broke into a warm, approving smile, the lines around his eyes deepening with genuine enthusiasm.
Gin signed the contract that Gin presented to him before inspecting the shield. Naturally, he reviewed every clause thoroughly and made necessary modifications. Originally, the contract guaranteed a 20% stake in the project, but Gin adjusted it so that the percentage would increase based on his contributions to the completed product.
With the formalities handled, he followed the others to the second floor, where the shield awaited him. It was a circular shield, about 60 centiters in diater, designed with a subtly curved surface to deflect incoming attacks.
The workshop seed intent on enhancing its defensive properties by embedding magic.
Gin inspected the shield ticulously.
Their goal was to imbue it with a passive magic effect that would allow it to redirect or disperse damage, much like the ability he had personally applied to his own body.
Applying that concept to the shield wasn't beyond his skill. However, doing so without consideration would only transfer the shock directly to the user, which would create a new problem entirely.
For now, Gin focused on analyzing the shield's current state.
The construction was unusual.
It wasn't crafted from a single tal but instead layered with different materials, forming an intricate internal circuit.
He quickly deduced its purpose—channels designed to guide kinetic energy to the shield's edges.
'Innovative design… but can it really work as intended?'
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