In DanMachi, I Was Targeted by Freya from the Start! Chapter 47

However, with one slip in control, his magic power surged out of control. The entire gemstone shattered, and all the magic power he had just expended went to waste.

"Failed again. One more time—"

He took another gemstone and continued...

Bang—

"One more time..."

Bang—

"I refuse to believe this! Again!"

Bang—

"Just a little more. Again..."

And so, second by second, time passed. The gemstones in Cao Ye's hands steadily dwindled, while the fragments left behind by his failures piled up higher and higher.

Swish—

"Success!"

Who knew how long had passed before his second success finally arrived.

It was an exquisite sapphire. Though it had not yet been set into a ring band, that was merely a later step. The most important part had already been completed.

First, create an Imaginary Space. Then stabilize it. Finally, fix it in place. That was the entire process.

It sounded easy, but only after actually attempting it did he understand just how difficult it was. Still, through this process, Cao Ye had become increasingly proficient in using Imaginary Magic.

Compared to before, he had made a small improvement this time. The space had reached 15cm*15cm*15cm.

That was quite an improvement. After all, you had to take things one bite at a time. With Cao Ye's current strength, he simply could not control a larger space. One careless mistake and it would collapse.

[Daily Mission: Create 3 magic items!]

[Completion Progress: 3/3]

[Mission Reward: Diamonds*20]

With twenty diamonds in hand, Cao Ye was nearly exhausted. This was delicate work, both time-consuming and labor-intensive.

Of the three spatial rings, two had spaces of 15cm*15cm*15cm, while the other had a space of 20cm*20cm*20cm. It was Cao Ye's greatest masterpiece so far.

"I wonder how much these three rings can sell for!"

Cao Ye weighed the three rings in his hand. His savings had already been completely drained.

And he still owed Freya twenty million Valis. Making more spatial rings would also require more gemstones, and those all cost money.

He casually tossed the three rings into his pocket and prepared to head out.

He was a complete amateur when it came to selling equipment, but someone else was a professional. Wasn't this exactly what connections were for?

"Hehe~"

Elsewhere, Tsubaki stared at the ring on her hand with a silly grin.

Freya, who was reading nearby, became somewhat curious at the sight. Tsubaki had been grinning foolishly all morning.

"Tsubaki~"

"Huh? Lady Freya?"

Hearing Freya call her, Tsubaki answered as if waking from a dream.

"What are you smiling about over there?"

"Was I smiling?"

"You've been smiling all morning. Didn't you notice?"

"Um, I didn't."

"Go on, then. What are you so happy about?"

"N-Nothing~"

Instinctively, Tsubaki hid her left hand behind her back, doing her utmost to conceal the evidence.

But she did not know how to lie at all. Her behavior was practically a confession.

"What's on your hand?"

"Nothing."

"Really?"

"Really."

"It hasn't even been that long, Tsubaki, and you've already learned to deceive a god? Don't you know that children of the Lower World cannot lie before a 'god'?"

That single sentence left Tsubaki utterly cornered.

Even if Freya had not been a god, anyone could have seen that Tsubaki was lying. But Freya's words completely cut off her retreat.

In the end, Tsubaki slowly brought out her left hand, and Freya saw the gemstone ring.

An orange gemstone set in a silvery-white band. It was not particularly extravagant, but a brilliant gleam flashed across the surface of the gem. This was no ordinary gemstone ring, but a magic item.

"Tsubaki, where did you get this ring?"

"Lord Cao Ye gave it to me."

"Cao Ye?"

"Mhm~"

"Looks like that little one really did manage to make something."

Freya naturally knew that Cao Ye had been busy all this time, though she had not known what he was busy with. The ring on Tsubaki's hand was likely the final result.

That made her curious. What special effect did this gemstone ring possess?

Because the development ability "Mystery" was so rare, there were not many magic items in circulation on the Orario market, and none of them came cheap.

The most famous was the "All-Rounder" from the Hermes Familia, one of the adventurers who possessed "Mystery."

Doing Business with Tsubaki!

"A spatial ring?"

Inside the forging workshop, Tsubaki looked at the ring before her with utter confusion.

Over the centuries in Orario, there had been geniuses who awakened "spatial-type skills" or "spatial-type magic," but rings with spatial storage had never been heard of.

"That's right. This ring contains a space measuring 15cm*15cm*15cm. You can try it."

As he spoke, Cao Ye handed the ring over. Tsubaki looked deeply skeptical, but she still put it on with some hesitation.

A few seconds later, Tsubaki shifted her gaze to Cao Ye. Though she said nothing, her face was filled with doubt. She was practically about to ask, "Where is the space?"

"Pour magic power into the ring and you'll be able to sense it. Not too much—just a little is enough."

"I'll trust you one more time~"

She turned her attention back to the ring and carefully poured magic power into it.

In an instant, Tsubaki "saw" an illusory space. The sensation was incredibly wondrous. Such a tiny ring actually contained a space within it. It was simply unbelievable.

"It's actually real!"

Tsubaki was stunned. As a smith—and one capable of forging magic swords—it was the first time she had ever seen something so extraordinary.

Seeing Tsubaki's delighted expression, Cao Ye smiled. He knew she had discovered the ring's marvel.

"How did you do it?"

She instinctively asked the question in her heart, but immediately regretted it afterward. Something like this was naturally someone's personal secret.

"I awakened a 'spatial-type' skill. Then I had just leveled up and gained the 'Mystery' development ability, so after researching it for a few days, I managed to make one of these."

"Wait, you leveled up?"

"Just a few days ago."

"How long has it even been since you received your Falna, and you've already leveled up?"

"A little over a month."

"You really are a little monster—"

Looking at Cao Ye, Tsubaki no longer knew how to describe him.

In terms of strength, he had been able to fight the Monster Feast on the seventeenth floor alone even at Level 1, and he possessed powerful skills. And now, he even had a talent for "crafting." He was simply a monster.

Most importantly, he was only Level 2, and had just leveled up at that.

"You brat, what do you want by bringing this thing to me?"

She took off the ring. Though she found it amazing, it was still Cao Ye's property.

"I'd like Miss Tsubaki to help me appraise these spatial rings. I don't know anything about this sort of thing. And if it's convenient, I'd also like to ask Miss Tsubaki to help sell them."

"You really have it all planned out, huh? You want to use the name of our Hephaestus Familia."

"It's mutually beneficial. With spatial rings, wouldn't the Hephaestus Familia's reputation improve even further?"

"That isn't for me to decide. I'll have to go back and ask Lady Hephaestus. As for the price, since these are 'spatial creations' that have never appeared before, they naturally won't be cheap."

Tsubaki rubbed her chin. Since nothing like this had ever existed before, she could not settle on a price right away.

She was a smith, not a merchant. This was not her specialty.

"Just give me a rough estimate, so I have an idea."

"Then... five million?"

After pondering for a while, Tsubaki named a price.

"Five million is acceptable. After all, the materials are just a gemstone and some refined metal. Altogether, the cost is less than ten thousand Valis."

That was right, less than ten thousand Valis. In Orario, gemstones were not rare.

There were places in the Dungeon that produced all kinds of gemstones. But aside from their appearance, they had no other value. Other than some girls using them to decorate accessories, there was little demand for them.

Under such circumstances, Cao Ye had acquired an entire box of gemstones for less than two hundred thousand Valis.

"This line of work is exorbitantly profitable to begin with. Whether it's smiths, potion makers, or magic-item creators like you, if the ring's space weren't so small, it could sell for ten million Valis."

Tsubaki said this with confidence. As a smith, she had more authority than anyone on such matters.

Every weapon she made sold at astronomical prices. They easily went for several million Valis, and the better ones directly sold for over ten million. Yet the cost of those weapons was merely monster drops from the Dungeon and some metal.

"Oh, right. What kind of spatial accessory would Miss Tsubaki like? A ring, bracelet, necklace—anything is fine."

"Uh, are you planning to develop this into 'accessory-type' equipment?"

"Something like that. Spatial accessories—that's a pretty good name too, don't you think?"

"No need. I don't like wearing accessories."

Tsubaki waved her hand. Although she had helped Cao Ye, she had never considered it anything important.

On the contrary, she had long since forgotten about it.

"Miss Tsubaki saved my life before. I would never dare forget such a debt. It's only an accessory—the cost is insignificant. It'll just take a little time."

"There's really no need. I don't have anything I need to store. Keep it for yourself."

"How could you not? You can store healing potions, antidotes, and panaceas. They can save your life in a critical moment, and you won't have to worry about them breaking or getting lost."

"Then give me a ring~"

Tsubaki could see Cao Ye's determination. She did not care about it, but he was clearly set on giving her one. It was only worth five million Valis, anyway. At worst, she could give him something later.

"Alright. Once I get back, I'll definitely make Miss Tsubaki the finest spatial ring."

"Then I'll look forward to it."

"Oh, right. I'll leave these three rings with Miss Tsubaki for now."