The coins from his first quest still weighed in JP's pouch, but it wasn't the money that made his heart race. It was the blue glimmer of Mana Sediment Crystals tucked safely in his satchel.
He hadn't told Lyra everything. Not about the crystals, not about the emberstone fragments, and certainly not about the ideas brewing in his head.
"Adventurers blow their coin at inns and taverns," JP muttered to himself as he slipped past the village gates at dusk. "But me? I'm investing in the future."
The outskirts of the village stretched wide—rolling hills, patches of woodland, and streams cutting through the land. Perfect for foraging.
By day, JP wandered with keen eyes, picking through rocks, plants, and even broken tools discarded by farmers. With Appraisal, each scrap revealed its secrets:
Copper Ore Fragment – Conductive, usable for wiring.
Mana-touched Reed – Flexible, able to hold enchantments.
Beast Hide Scrap – Durable, minor insulating property.
He filled his satchel slowly, carefully, always checking over his shoulder to ensure Lyra hadn't followed him.
At night, when the village lights faded behind him, he huddled under the trees with only a campfire for warmth. The emberstone fragment pulsed faintly in his palm, its stored heat radiating into the night air.
"No need to waste coin at the inn when I can make my own comforts," he whispered, feeding the stone into a small clay chamber he'd rigged together. The chamber radiated steady warmth, turning his makeshift camp into a cozy refuge.
Days passed like this. Foraging, experimenting, hiding.
On the third night, after countless attempts, JP finally cracked the problem. Using thin strips of copper ore hammered flat with a stone, bound by beast hide, and charged faintly with a mana crystal, he crafted a crude but functional device:
A Mana Lamp.
He set the crystal into a copper cradle, whispered [Appraisal], and watched as the words confirmed his success:
Item: Crude Mana Lamp
Effect: Converts ambient mana into faint illumination. Duration: 12–15 hours.
Quality: Low, but functional.
The crystal glowed softly, casting steady white-blue light into the forest clearing.
JP sat back, a wide grin spreading across his face. "Not bad for a first invention. Better than candles, safer than torches. This… this could sell."
He tucked the lamp into his pack, his heart pounding with excitement. A new world, new tools, and endless possibilities.
But he kept it secret.
Whenever he returned briefly to the village to buy food or supplies, Lyra's eyes lingered on him.
"You've been scarce lately," she said once, her tone casual but her gaze sharp.
"Just… thinking things over," JP replied quickly. He changed the subject, never mentioning the lamp or the nights he spent outside the safety of the walls.
He didn't distrust her—not yet—but the inventions were his edge, his lifeline. And in this world, an advantage hidden was an advantage protected.
As the lamp's glow flickered gently beside him that night, JP lay under the stars and whispered, almost reverently:
"This world tried to starve me once. But if I play it right… I'll never be desperate again."
And so, the electrician-turned-alchemist began carving his path—not just as an adventurer, but as a pioneer.