After strolling through the streets for a while, Ethan spotted a store which dealt with gems and jewelry. Entering, he spotted a person manning the shop and immediately went over.
'I'd like to purchase a few gems,' Ethan said coming straight to the point.
The shop owner did a once-over of Ethan. Shabby but new clothes and a country boy look who was just seeing the world. His trained merchant eyes caught upon the details quickly. He was slightly doubtful if Ethan would be able to afford the gems but he sure wasn't going to say no to the slight chance of a windfall knocking his door.
'The small ones are 1 gold each, the ones in the other tray are 3 gold. Most of the other gems are displayed in the case,' the owner said firmly.
'System, can these be converted to mana gems?' Ethan asked in his mind.
`Yes host, you might need a lot to practice before you make a successful magic gem though.`
Ethan mentally nodded and purchased 30 of the small gems. He wasn't concerned about the quality of the small gems he was purchasing as the transmute cube was sure to upgrade it. When he handed over a third of his entire wealth without a blink, the shop owner couldn't help but be struck in amazement. A hidden tycoon!
Unaware of the owner's thoughts, merrily left the store after completing the purchase. Next on his list was registering himself as an adventurer so he could have a proper identification.
Making his way to the adventurer's guild, he made a beeline for the registration counter.
'Hello sir, are you here to register for a card?' the receptionist asked.
Ethan nodded.
'Which rank are you filling in for sir? Please note that filling in for a rank higher than F is accompanied by a mandatory examination to test your level.'
'Please fill me in for the beginner rank,' he replied. He knew he had no skills currently and thus filled in for the last rank.
The receptionist registered the rank and handed a crystal tablet to him. Hearing her explanation, he understood the tablet displayed his name, age, and job. This process was to verify the details matched so as to prevent impostors and formation of multiple identities.
Ethan put his hand over the tablet and immediately his information appeared, glowing on the tablet.
Passing the verification, the receptionist stamped his card and handed it to him.
'Thank you,' Ethan said, smiling politely before leaving. No one noticed as his smile morphed wickedly as he left. No one noticed the blue screen which had popped up in front him during the scan.
`Ding! Identity probing object used on host. Conceal Identity?`
He glanced at his adventurer card.
Name: Enos Wald
Age: 17
He grinned even more widely. He never expected he'd be using the gaming alias of his hidden smurf account on Earth in this world. Concealing his identity undoubtedly gave him a sense of freedom as he knew no one would be able to easily track him down in the future, especially as he could form multiple identities.
'Thank you system, you seem to have some hidden abilities,' Ethan appreciated.
`You're welcome host,` it answered in a pleased voice.
Ethan once again wondered who or what the system was. It's replies were always human-like, and it knew a lot of information about this world. He'd asked about it before but the system itself did not know why it knew these things. Whatever it may be though, he was glad he had the system to help him.
Contemplating deeply, he reached the inn before he could reach a conclusion. Heading back to his room, he rubbed his hand in anticipation.
'Alright system, teach me how to make magic gems,' he said excitedly, letting the small gems rain onto the bed as he removed them from his storage space.
`Alright, the first step is sensing the mana in your body and surroundings. Since you have a large amount in your body, it should be easy for you too sense them quickly. After that, control the mana and ease it into the gem's lattice. Try to fill the same amount of mana in each area. If one area becomes too dense, the gem will crack and break.`
Hearing the simple method, he closed his eyes and tried to sense the mana. After a few minutes, he could feel something more prominently in the air and his body.
Excited he shouted out loud. 'I think I can feel something there in the air!'
`Congratulations host, however please don't break your concentration or you'll stop sensing them,` reprimanded the system.
Nodding his head vigorously, he settled back down and closed his eyes again.
In a minute or so, he could feel the same thing again. However, instead of shouting out like last time, he kept himself calm and tried to move some of it in his body.
After a while of mentally forcing the mana to move, it suddenly heeded. Ethan tried his best to guide it toward his fingers which was holding the small gem. Several times he nearly lost his concentration while trying to move the mana and the clumps he'd bought together dissipated but he kept trying. His mind was at it's limit from so many tries and was throbbing softly. Finally, he managed to guide it to his fingers and forced it to pass through his body and into the gem.
He could sense the mana occupying the lattices in the gem. He repeated the process until the gem showed signs of mana occupying almost every space in the lattice. On the last brink of effort as his head screamed in protest, he at last filled the last lattice which was almost empty and at once broke his concentration.
Upon opening his eyes and paying attention to his surroundings, he realized his he was sweating profusely. The tiring process had taken a toll on his body, especially his mind, but upon seeing the fruits of his effort he couldn't help but smile widely.
The previously small red gem was now covered in a fine luster and seemed to shine from within.
`Congratulations on making your first magic gem host.`
'Thank you system,' he replied. Then thinking of something he pulled open the Transmute Cube panel. Willing the gem to be stored in the slot with his mind, he watched as it vanished from his hand and appeared in a slot depicted with a red gem icon. Clicking the gem on the screen, a line of text was displayed.
Low grade magic gem
Satisfied, he reached for another small red gem but his stomach growled. Astonished, Ethan looked outside and realized it was already night. He hadn't realized that quite a few hours had passed as he made the gem. It seems artificial magic gems are really time consuming to make.
Patting his stomach, he decided to have some dinner before working on making more magic gems, and headed downstairs.