“But they insisted all legal procedures had been followed and turned him away,” she relayed.
After that, her uncle found several assignments from who knows where. They were the sorts of things nobles would buy, such as dog collars and gate keys, which led to an explosion of responsibilities Jack had to do. He worked so much that it ruined his health, and he had to return to the countryside.
Olivia’s voice kept catching in her throat as she told the story. Gordon listened with a stern expression that flashed with anger at several points throughout the tale.
A silence enveloped them once she was done. Then, he slowly opened his mouth and said, “I think I have a general idea of what happened. My question is, what do you want to do next?”
Olivia let out a sharp breath and looked Gordon straight in the eyes. “I want to work in the capital.”
She asked him if he could introduce her somewhere and bowed her head, and he responded by looking at her in thought. He opened his mouth to say something, but then his eyes fell on the letter on the table. “Maybe this is fate,” he murmured. After a small sigh, he met Olivia’s eyes and stated in a level tone, “There are several places you could work in the capital, but are you sure that’s what you really want?”
Olivia nodded with a solemn look. She’d given it a lot of thought over the past two days and was certain.
“I see.” Gordon closed his eyes. After a moment of contemplation, he slowly asked, “According to your father, your specialty is magic jewelry?”
“Yes.”
“Why did you choose that?”
“Because I liked the magic jewelry my father made.”
The corners of his mouth twitched up at her prompt response. “All right. That’s understandable. Right. I made a promise to your father, but first, I’ll need to see how good you are.”
Olivia wondered what this promise was but nodded.
She’d only just been bowled over by the vast city and huge store and wasn’t feeling confident, but Gordon was likely going to support her. He needed to see what she was capable of.
He grinned. “Good. Let’s jump right to it.” He shoved himself to his feet and opened the door to the hallway. “This way.”
Olivia clutched her bag once more and stood, feeling nervous as she followed him.
They left the room and walked down a narrow hallway. “When you say you need to see how good I am, what did you have in mind?” asked Olivia.
“Thought I’d throw you in the deep end and have you make me a core.”
She nodded in understanding. The core was the energy source for a magic item, made from a magic stone with a magical effect applied to it. How well the core was made significantly impacted the final item’s quality, which was why it was used to test an artificer’s skill.
Gordon opened one of the doors along the hallway and led her into a large workroom with one wall covered in cupboards. There was a row of large worktables, and one was occupied by a man in glasses who looked like a craftsman. He was busy fervently scribbling something down.
“This workroom is for guests,” explained Gordon as he gestured for the man, who stood up to greet them, to sit back down. “The real workrooms are on the third and fourth floors.” He brought her to one of the large worktables in the back and opened a cupboard. “I’d like you to take care of this one.”
He took out a black brocade tray with a blue feather and a blue, gleaming magic stone about half the size of Olivia’s pinky nail. She looked intently at the tray’s contents.
A sapphire and an ice phoenix feather. Both look expensive.
Many of the magic stones were mined. It was harder to mine larger stones in pristine condition, which added to their value. The stone on the tray was beautiful and large, making Olivia think it must be expensive.
The feather also came from a bird that only lived in the north. Olivia judged it to be expensive too, since it was in such good condition.
In a serious tone, Gordon said, “Today, I’ll be having you use these to create a core that activates when the wearer has been harmed or is at risk of being harmed. The triggering conditions and effect are detailed here.”
Olivia accepted a sheet of paper filled with tiny writing from him. This sort of work would be considered challenging. Enchantments using ice phoenix feathers required fine-tuned control—he chose this specifically to test her skill.
All right. Get in the zone.
Forgetting to feel nervous, she became engrossed in reading the document.
“I see,” she muttered. “The triggering conditions are either when the wearer wishes to activate it or when the wearer’s magic aura detects intent to harm the wearer. The enchantment’s power must be limited to half capacity should the wearer not intentionally activate it…”
She talked to herself as she read and reread. Gordon watched her, looking a little concerned.
About five minutes later, Olivia had completely grasped the specifications. She looked up at Gordon and asked, “May I borrow a magic plate?”
“Sure.” He handed her a silver-colored metal plate about the size of a chair’s seat from the next worktable.
She placed it on her worktable, sat down, and took a small toolkit from her bag. From her kit, she took out four items: a quill with a white feather equipped with a magic stone, a protractor, a ruler, and a compass. She diverted her mana into the pen and began drawing a magic circle on the plate.
“Activate when the wearer wants it to. The wearer can also adjust the power. But if the wearer didn’t purposely want it to activate, it should be kept to half the available power. And then…”
Gordon stood behind her, watching as she drew and muttered to herself. “That’s precise,” he murmured.
Once the magic circle was complete, Olivia sent a small jolt of mana through the plate to test it before setting down her pen. “The magic circle is complete. May I apply the enchantment now?”
“Go on,” Gordon granted, and he took a step back.
Olivia stood, placed the ice phoenix feather and magic stone on the circle, and held her hands above them. “Activate magic circle.”
Mana poured from her hands, and the magic circle glowed.
“Levitate.”