After finishing his meal, Iske left the dishes in the sink and returned to the dining table. He carefully placed the ring and the piece of paper on the surface, his eyes lingering on them for a moment.

He moved to the sink, washing the kitchen knife. Once satisfied, he returned to the table and laid the knife beside the ring and paper, his setup complete.

In that moment, he pressed a finger to the crimson earring on his left ear, feeling the cold metal beneath his touch as he clicked it. A surge of energy pulsed from the earring, coursing through him in a fierce wave.

It spread swiftly, lighting up every nerve, and every muscle, heightening his senses with abnormal strength. He closed his eyes briefly, grounding himself in the rush, letting the power settle until he felt fully in command.

As the energy became fully his, Iske opened his eyes and glanced down at his hands feeling the war power through his body.’ So this is the feeling. This is how mages feel when they use mana.’

Iske belongs to the Grace family, one of three most powerful families in the continent, a family composed of mages, and even though Iske was not one of them, he still had Artifacts that compensate for his inability to use mana.

His earring is an Artifact, a powerful object that contains magical abilities, it was an Artifact given to Iske by his family and one of the only few things he was allowed to remain with after being disinherited.

The earring’s primary function was to grant the wearer a massive surge of mana, infusing them with a temporary reserve of energy to use magic. However the effects last for just a limited time.

‘With this, I can become a mage for five minutes’

With the mana coursing through him, Iske wasted no time. He took the kitchen knife, now enhanced by the charged energy, and steadied his hands. Carefully, he began to engrave intricate magical symbols onto the ring's worn surface, each stroke deliberate and precise.

The process was painstaking, demanding Iske’s full concentration as he engraved the symbols onto the ring. Each line and curve had to be perfect, the settings precisely aligned and calculations flawless. He needed this ring to deceive Jasper.

Iske guessed that Jasper had yet to become the boss or had just achieved that position, meaning he’d be lacking in strength. And in a world where holding power demanded constant vigilance and intelligence, a smart alliance could be Jasper’s best strategy.

Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!

What could be more enticing than an alliance with a young man of one of the continent’s most powerful families?

Iske knew that just claiming to be a member of the Grace family wouldn’t be enough to fool someone as sharp as Jasper. He would want proof. That’s where the ring came in.

‘I’ll present this ring as a token, something that only someone from the Grace family would have’

Iske was crafting a convincing replica of a Grace family ring to extort Jasper. But the process was complex.

First, he needed to make the ring appear worthy of his family—no one would believe an old ring from an antique shop was an authentic Grace heirloom. Then, he would have to bathe the ring in mana or blood from a true member of the Grace family to seal its legitimacy.

Fortunately, for now, Iske could meet both conditions. With the surge of mana he had for the next five minutes, he could infuse the ring, leaving traces of its signature behind, even when the earring effect’s dissipate.

To strengthen its authenticity, Iske planned to use his own blood as well, adding a final, personal touch to the deception.

To achieve this, Iske engraved precise magical calculations in the form of symbols onto the ring, ensuring that the old metal could sustain both his mana and blood without disintegrating.

It took Iske three minutes and a half to finish the ring, and he immediately grabbed the paper for its final touch. In the ring he engraved magic to show his legitimacy in a deeper level, with the paper he will show the legitimacy in a superficial level.

Iske carefully engraved a few symbols onto the paper, then wrapped it around the ring, binding the two together. With precision, he sliced his finger with the knife, activating the magic on the paper with his blood.

In an instant, the old, rusty ring transformed. Its surface darkened to a deep, obsidian-like hue, gleaming with an unnatural sheen. At its center, the golden crest of a rose appeared, encased in a shield surrounded by a swirling darkness, as if the ring itself had come to life.

Iske observed the transformed ring, a satisfied smile spreading across his face. “It's done,”

He carefully analyzed the ring, looking for any imperfection that could make his plan fail, but found none. His magic was perfect.

The magical symbols on the ring served only to make it durable, and worthy of the Grace name, able to sustain mana and the potent blood from Iske and sustaining the faint signature from his family.

While the magical symbols on the paper were mainly to make the ring look majestic, ensuring the ring looked beautiful and authentic, Iske carefully fused the two—making the paper and the ring operate under the same magical system. The real challenge, however, was maintaining the effects.

Magic is fueled by mana, and without it, magic cannot exist. Since Iske’s mana only lasts for five minutes, he needed a way to bypass this limitation. The answer came from his own blood.

Although he lacked a core, his body still had a natural affinity for mana, inherited from his father, a mage. This connection, though faint. Using that Iske engraved an effect into the ring, one that would draw upon his blood in significant quantities to sustain the magical effects when his mana was depleted.

‘It worked perfectly, though I’ll probably die from blood loss if I use this ring for too long, good think is that I don’t need it, I just need to deceive Jasper with it, and then never use it again’

Observing his magical ring invention, Iske's smile widened even more.

‘All those nights spent learning about magic were not wasted.’ he thought, with a sense of pride.

Suddenly, Iske felt the surge of energy within his body fade in an instant, leaving him drained and fatigued.

‘No... the effects of the earring have worn off’, he thought groggily, the exhaustion settling over him as the power faded.

Iske struggled to keep his eyes open, but the weight of exhaustion overwhelmed him. Slowly, he collapsed onto the table, his eyelids fluttering shut as he succumbed to a deep sleep.