Chapter 143: Knowledge of Artifact Crafting

In the days that followed, Faye rushed to Magna’s room every morning with the first light, nagging him to train with her, always using her ultimate card. ’’I’ll be leaving soon, so this is my last request.’’

Every day her guilt-tripping and unmatched stubbornness won out, so Magna ended up spending his days as her training dummy.

She was actually quite fast while in her Serene State for spellcasting, so training with her genuinely helped raise Magna’s reflex and agility stats, the two that were hardest to grow.

In the end, he had nothing much to complain about anyway.

By the time a Witch arrived from the Tower to pick her up, Magna’s stats had increased incredibly again.

Strength: 196 - 225

Agility: 148 - 207

Reaction: 137 - 198

Stamina: 215 - 255

Mana 89%

Especially since his lowest stats so far were starting to catch up with the other two, making him more balanced overall, which was quite good for him.

The garden of the Winterborne Mansion was quite lively and crowded today, as even all the maids had gathered outside to say goodbye to their Young Lady.

Celeste kept smiling the whole time, though it was clear she was forcing her emotions down to keep from crying, as she bent down and hugged her little daughter.

’’Don’t forget to keep writing to us, okay? And make sure to listen to Lady Vanessa’s words. Don’t cause her any trouble there. ’’

These were only two of the many pieces of advice she had been repeating since morning, whenever they came to mind.

Titus was even worse than Celeste. His eyes were all red, his whole body trembling, every muscle tensed, with the veins on his face and neck standing out from holding himself back from crying.

He couldn’t even form long sentences without choking up, as he bent down to hug her too.

’’Eat... Safe... Love... ’’ He just threw out the words, leaving her to piece them together herself.

The one who looked the most normal among them was, surprisingly, Faye, who didn’t look the slightest bit sad.

She even looked happy and full of energy. ’’You eat too. I love you too. ’’

After getting free of her father’s arms, she turned her attention to Magna and walked toward him with quick steps.

After all this time, since Magna had been growing unnaturally fast, he was already considerably taller than her, so she had to tilt her head up a little now just to look at his face.

Looking at his face, she put one hand on his shoulder, her expression quite serious. ’’Behave well while I’m gone, okay? ’’

’’Huh? ’’ Magna frowned hearing that, then gave a sigh. ’’Yeah. Take care there. ’’

He didn’t feel too good about being lectured by a little brat, but his frown eased when she gave him a tight hug next.

’’Don’t forget to find me when you come. ’’ She said, and with that, she let go and turned to walk toward the carriage waiting at the garden gate.

Magna watched silently as she boarded the carriage, one pulled by two black horses with leathery bat wings and bat-like heads.

There wasn’t any driver on the carriage, only a Witch sitting inside waiting.

As soon as Faye boarded, the two strange horses suddenly started flapping their wings and running, and soon they lifted off into the air, easily dragging the huge carriage behind them into the sky.

’I wonder if I could invent some kind of jet or something. ’ Magna thought silently, watching how slow it actually was.

He wasn’t even aware it had become a habit of his, thinking of random things whenever he felt bad feelings like worry and pain.

Celeste, Titus, and all the maids stayed there even after the carriage had flown off and disappeared from sight.

As Magna started thinking about heading back to his room to finally read some books, thinking he would finally get some peace now, Titus turned and started approaching him with stiff steps.

’What does he want? ’ Their eyes suddenly met, Titus’s eyes bloodshot, his face flushed bright red from holding himself back.

While Magna started to feel slightly awkward and tense, Titus finally spoke.

’’Train. ’’ He only threw out that one word before turning and walking toward the training area.

He was apparently asking Magna to train with him.

Magna wanted to turn him down, but seeing the man’s body still trembling and his steps unsteady as he walked, he could only sigh in helpless resignation.

The daughter was gone, but now, apparently, he had to deal with the father.

—

When the sun started to set, Titus finally let him go after a nonstop training session.

It was actually more like sparring than training, as Titus just swung his huge slab of a sword around freely, while Magna had to block or evade the crazy man’s every attack.

He came dangerously close to getting hit a few times, only managing to dodge at the very last second thanks to his increased reflexes and agility, escaping sudden death each time.

Luckily, Titus had managed to hold himself back at least a little, despite the grief he was feeling. If he had used all his strength, even Magna’s high stats probably wouldn’t have saved him anyway.

When Magna returned to his room, he was so tired, both physically and mentally, but still, after taking a shower and eating his dinner, he forced himself to finally read a few books.

This time, he specifically chose a few books about artifacts, hoping they would help broaden his perspective on spells.

As he read, he felt quite glad he had chosen to study the subject, as he came to understand just how varied and incredibly useful artifacts actually were.

To put it briefly, they were like various gadgets meant to help a person in all kinds of ways.

If Magna had to compare them to something, they were like a wristwatch, a flashlight, a canteen with a dimensional feature that could hold way more water than it should, a bag with the same kind of feature, a compass, or a rope that could stretch far longer than normal, all kinds of things that made life easier.

For example, even the carriage that had come to pick up Faye earlier that day looked like it was actually an artifact, one that reduced its own weight so the two bat-winged horses could pull it.

Apart from those everyday utility spells, useful for everything from communication to transportation, there were of course defensive and offensive types too, like Titus’s frost armor and helmet.

Among them, he found things that caught his interest quite a bit, clothes that let a person glide through the air for a short time, though not quite fly, or boots that let someone jump incredibly high.

Of course, even the simplest of these were expensive, since artifact crafting usually required costly materials, and artifact masters themselves weren’t easy to come by either, since it was a demanding job requiring high talent and handwork.

Magna read through all the books about artifacts he could find in Celeste’s study, learning as much as he could until he started to feel sleepy.

Before going to sleep, however, he picked up the book he had left unfinished earlier.

This time, he decided to at least read the story of the Matriarch of Death.