The only person Caster could think of who might be after his life was Saul, the one who sent him here. But Caster quickly dismissed the idea. It didn’t make much sense. How would Saul have found him so fast? And would he really risk making a move in the count’s territory? It seemed unlikely, but not impossible.Caster leaned against the wall of his workshop, deep in thought. “It’s probably more connected to Vanny,” he muttered. The fact that they’d bailed him out of prison without him asking—now that was suspicious. He’d heard rumors too, about shipments being robbed and a rise in thefts around the city. Something wasn’t right."Maybe the demon manager knows more," Caster thought. But first, he returned to his workshop. To his surprise, he saw a guard outside—a worker from Vanny Royale. It made him pause. “Do they really care about me as a worker, or am I just an asset they’re protecting?” He wondered. Inside, other men were already checking out the broken window and the mess in t

The night was lit up by the lunar glow of the moon. The sky was clear and the stars shone like diamonds, which were twinkling above in the astral plain, as far as the eyes could see.The boy that sat down was full of purpose he was in a room which was only lit with candle light. His outfit – a delicate tunic inlaid with fabulous gems – looked elegant and silent in the lanterns’ glow. A more than moderately-expensive necklace was hanging pointlessly around his neck, and his loud black leather shoes, stuffing on his sleeves promoted his nobility. Congregating with a white feather on the side of his head and an insignia ring around the finger of one of his hands.The man, who appeared to be of noble birth, was busy reading what seemed to be a lengthy missive. After he had read the last line, he threw the parchment to the ground and held a single finger at the thing. She watched in awe as flames burst from his palm and consumed the letter in a stream of fire mana.“The thieves guild won’t

Caster was having trouble connecting a boot to a glove with his magic. He could only get the spell to work a few centimeters before it became unstable. But he discovered that this technique allowed him to put spells on softer materials like cloth.As he read through the book, Caster felt a surge of excitement. The system prompt appeared: **Ethereal Pathway Skill L 1 has been learned. Intelligence +1**. He grinned, pleased with the boost to his mental abilities. The hours of studying had paid off, and now he had what he needed to create magical weapons and armor. However, he still struggled with crafting anything beyond the spells."I need to think creatively," he said, tapping the quill against his chin. An idea struck him—why not get a steel sword from an armorsmith or weaponsmith and then add his spells? He could sell the enhanced weapon for a good profit."But what if the weaponsmith finds out?" Caster wondered aloud. He knew that craftsmen could identify their own work, just like

Caster examined the piece of lesser sharp iron in his possession, thinking it would go well with the knife he was making—if only he could shrink it enough to fit the small blade."This should work... if I can get the size just right," he mumbled to himself.Determined to create something useful out of what others might see as junk, Caster grabbed a rusty horse hoof rasp. It was a tool used to file down hooves, and though it was old and half-rusted, the eight inches near the handle would work perfectly. "Steel, not iron," he noted with satisfaction, pleased to be working with something stronger this time.He carefully heated the metal in the forge until it turned a deep red. Once it was ready, he began hammering the handle end of the rasp on the near side of his anvil."Flatten it... about half an inch should do," he muttered, focusing on each strike of the hammer.Using the handle end of the file saved him a lot of time."Don't forget to smooth out the sharp edges," Caster reminded h

Caster wasn’t there for the usual items; instead, he headed straight to the display of enchanted weapons. These were the ones with lesser magical enhancements, stored safely behind glass cases. To purchase or inspect one closely, you needed to call a clerk over. However, Caster had a different plan—he just wanted to study them through the glass.As he approached one of the cases, he noticed the steel weapons inside, each crafted better than anything he could produce at the moment."Steel Axe of lesser sharpness… Steel Dagger of lesser sharpness," Caster mumbled to himself as he scanned the display. He browsed through the weapons, noting that most had the popular sharpness enchantment. But then, he spotted something more intriguing."Steel longsword of lesser scorching... there it is," Caster murmured again, a hint of excitement in his voice. This was a new enchantment he hadn’t seen before. From his knowledge, he knew this spell would imbue the weapon with flames that wouldn’t harm t