"What can I help you with?" The bartender said while he cleaned a cup.
Looking at the empty surroundings, Grid was sure this was the right place.
"I want to sell something."
"We only serve liquor here, sir, we don't buy anything."
"I know you would say that," Grid said, throwing the diamond.
It flew toward the bartender gracefully, with a curve it perfectly landed at the bartender's hand.
"Straight forw..." The bartender stopped speaking, looking at the glass-like quality of the crystal.
It's important to note that a 1-kilogram diamond is a theoretical concept. The largest known diamond, the Cullinan Diamond, weighs 3,106 carats (621.2 grams). A diamond of that size is already incredibly rare and valuable.
So, looking at this beautiful baby that was the size of a big orange fruit made him speechless.
He knew what he was holding, the shine of it and its hardness when it touched his hand gave away its identity.
"W…wait a moment. I will check if it's authentic." Bob stammered from shock.
His hand shook from excitement; if this was truly true, this would be priceless.
After checking it for a few minutes, Bob became certain of its authenticity.
Even though it was still unrefined, its flaws seemed so slight that one would have thought it was carved from a bigger piece. It was shaped like a rigid round rock with a smooth surface.
If one didn't look at it carefully, one would have thought it was a piece of round glass with a rough surface.
Grid waited in the corner for the bartender to identify it. His patience knew no bounds; having lived and can live for a hundred years and as a mage, time was not a problem for him.
"Follow me," Bob said in a serious tone.
He walked towards a door with a rusty lock.
Looking at the interior with his mana vision revealed that it wasn't too shabby.
Inside, rows of guns and other illegal objects lined up.
"Sir, may I know your name?" Bob said with a smile.
"Don't test my patience. I know what you're doing. You better drop it or everything explodes." Grid said in an icy manner.
The room temperature began to drop, and Bob's instincts started to go haywire.
A beast capable of tearing his limbs apart showed its fangs. It would pounce on him if he made a wrong move.
"I…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to show it like that. I just want to know if we know you." Bob said, stammering.
Grid already knew how many people were inside the room carrying guns hidden in the blind spot, but with his vision, everything was revealed.
"There are five people here including you and me. You might think I'm at a disadvantage, but one wrong move and everyone perishes."
Grid opened his hand, and a blue flame revealed itself. The surrounding temperature started to rise, and Bob, who was near, started to feel the heat instantly.
*Sizzle*
His face started reddening, and his sweat dripped towards the floor before evaporating.
The heat reach the corner of the room, the others hiding started to fell the heat making them gulp their saliva.
*Vop*
The flame disappeared as Grid closed his hand after five seconds of silence.
Magicians were immune to their own spells, so the heat didn't bother him, but that didn't mean he didn't know how hot it was for normal humans.
One touch of the blue flame would burn a human to ashes in second.
Bob, who was in front, nearly wet his pants. He had met a madman.
He didn't know how the man did it, and he didn't even want to know it how.
'Fuck, I meet a madman. What kind of madman would carry something so hot in here? Fuck!' Bob thought.
"Yes, sir. I'm sorry about that. What do I need to do about this?" Bob respectfully bowed his head while holding the diamond closed to him.
Sweat began to drip alongside his beard.
"I want you to sell this. I don't care what you do with it either cut it, break it into pieces, and sell it. I want to cash it right now." Grid said with stoic a voice.
"Br…break it?" Bob's brain stopped responding.
'What the fuck again? Who would break this baby? I would wrestle with anyone who would try to break this.'
"Yes, sir. It might be impossible to buy it right now, as it is priceless in today's world, but…"
Before he could finish, Grid threw a 1-gram diamond.
"Buy this. I need money right now, and also put it into a credit card."
"Here, sir. This credit card has one million darius. The password is 2388… Also, how do we contact you if we manage to sell this?" Bob asked.
"I will come back here in one month, and remember, don't ever try to run or I'll hunt you till the end of the world." Grid threatened, causing the surrounding temperature to drop suddenly.
*Blink*
Grid disappeared suddenly, but his voice echoed, still lingering in the air.
"Fuck! Did we just offend a ghost!" Bob muttered.
His three subordinates slowly walked out from the corner, covered in sweat.
"Boss, are you sure that thing is not a ghost? I might be not be able to sleep peacefully tonight."
"WTF, Jerry, you're bigger than that guy. Why are you more afraid than I am?" Sian said while also wiping away his sweat.
Jerry had a big frame with a muscular body, while Sian had blue hair and a lean body that would put others to shame.
"Stop your beckering, Let's just get over this shit we just got into. Find some clients we can sell this, or maybe auction it." Bob replied.
"But boss, are we safe if we sell this? I think we might get killed because of this." Jake, an average-looking guy with a thin beard, asked with uncertainty.
"Do you want to get killed by being shot or burned? Do you know how hot that was. It felt like I'm near hell or something. Better ask yourself that." Bob replied.
Grid, who had no idea what they were talking about, started a shopping spree, unlike others who shopped for clothes and other essentials. He shopped in the junkyard, buying even rusty things like steel and other metallic objects.
After collecting all of it, he bought some vegetables and meat for tonight's dinner.
*Blink*
He teleported into the kitchen of their house, putting all the food he bought before going back to the delivery location he had given to the junkyard.
*Blink*
Minutes later, the materials finally arrived at the location. He looked at the mountain of metallic junk carried by a truck.
He was still fascinated by how science advanced without the accompaniment of magic.
Although the atmosphere of the planet was full of mana particles, it seemed it didn't interact with humans and objects.
Maybe some universal laws prevented it from interacting with objects and living beings.
After the truck dumped the junk, it left. After looking around and seeing no humans in sight, Grid touched the junk of metals before teleporting along with it.
*Blink*
Inside his lab, Grid started tinkering with the new metal alloy. It had been two days since Grid collected the metal junk, and now, he had managed to build the scarab factory he needed.
Five large square boxes made from metal stainless steel alloy, with a metallic shine that was taller than a small struck.
He named it Clockwork hive, made from a complex array of mechanical work, using modern techniques, making it the only metal scarab factory in existence whether in his past life and present.
The Chitin, which he called the metal scarab that resemble a small insect golem, was its product. He just needed to add the materials needed for the little golem inside the Clockwork hive, and it would produce Chitin automatically.
If he had enough materials, he might even be able to build billions of Chitin.
With the final touch, the hive's mechanic gears and wires started working, the clink of gears turning.
*Clink*
The gears of faith finally started running, the earth entered the new era of mechanical magic invention but thats for the future as the story progress.
"Finally, the masterpiece is done. With this, my work will become easier."
*Clank*
The five Clockwork Hives started consuming the stainless steel alloy, which had been his most fond metal. It had the properties to hold magic circles, and mana easily flowed inside it.
As the grey metal flow inside, it's color changes.
At the front of the hive, metal marbles colored in obsidian black with the size less than a centimeter dropped to the floor. Every second, this obsidian marble like golem increased.
Hundreds started flooding the floor. The shine of this marble was beautiful, its black body like obsidian sharp yet strong.
After 30 minutes of waiting, the machine finally consumed all of its material.
It produced tens of thousand Chitin per hour, he would need roughly days to make a pile of it that could flood an average human.
With the project ongoing, Grid decided to try using the first batch of Chitin. With ten thousands of Chitin, his grand plan was finally starting to work.
The marbles started breaking apart, showing their six little legs qnd pincers.
They started gathering together before crawling towards his body. Grid decided to focus all his attention on the obsidian colored metal Chitin, and its movement started following his instructions.
It formed a box before gathering together again, forming a circle.
It then changed into a spider web like structure before crawling back to his arm, forming a dark gauntlet.
Grid punched the floor with all his might.
*Bam*
The explosion erupted, and sparks flew. The floor cracked before mending back.
The Chitin gauntlet is still intact without any damage.
"Finally, work's accomplished."