As the Winter Tour holiday approached, the students at the academy began making plans for their own activities. Although Ang had received invitations from Hepburn and Lilithija, he had his own arrangements for this year's Winter Tour. Qatar, Hepburn, Lilithija, and several other senior students had recently advanced to Rank 1 Mage, and they had invited Ang to celebrate with them. However, busy with making Power Armor, Ang had not found time to visit them personally and offer his congratulations. Instead, he sent each of the promoted senior students and Qatar a red envelope containing 50 magic crystals as a special gesture.
The friends who received the red envelopes were all pleasantly surprised and wrote back to express their thanks. By tradition, congratulations on promotion usually came in the form of gifts, and the value of the gift was not important; what mattered was the sentiment behind the blessing. Ang had originally intended to choose gifts as well, but pressed for time and unfamiliar with their preferences, he had ultimately chosen to send magic crystals instead. It was simple and direct, saving him a great deal of trouble while allowing him to feel a special kind of friendship through everyone's gratitude.
As the Power Armor business gradually got on track, Ang finally had some time to relax. He carefully read the letters from the senior students and Qatar, and felt gratified. Although there was still a gap between his magic rank and theirs for the time being, Ang believed that his strength would catch up with them sooner or later. Especially in the crafting of Power Armor, he had already demonstrated his unique talent.
As his techniques continued to improve, Ang's workers also showed heartening growth. At first, these workers had merely been temporary helpers responsible for simple smelting tasks