Kim approached me. “I heard you are taking special orders.”

“Sure, am.” I answered. “What can I make for you?”

“I want a set of knives and place ware for the café I got going. I need mugs, plates, bowls, and all the silverware. Can you handle it?” She asked.

I nodded my head. “I can.”

Now Kim rubbed the back of her head. “Um, I, also need to say thank you for all the work and food you have provided. It’s been a lifesaver.”

I scrunched my nose in response. “Hungry people do stupid things. Its always good to make sure no one goes hungry. You gotta stay on top of stuff like that. A situation can go from bad to worse in a heartbeat.”

“Do you got any more new ingredients in the works?” Kim asked.

I shrugged. “I got some plants I am working on. Don’t know the results yet. How do you feel about mushrooms?” I inquired.

“Depends.” Kim answered. “Are they are edible?”

“Technically, all mushrooms are edible.” I answered with a smile. “Some just the one time though.”

Kim leaned forward and punched my arm with a laugh. “You idiot. You know what I mean.”

“Yeah. I do.” I said as I rubbed my arm. It didn’t actually hurt, it was just the principle of the thing.

Kim looked at me with an expectant gleam in her eyes. “If those mushrooms turn out to be the delicious kind, I could create some incredible dishes. Think you could spare some for culinary experiments?”

“I’ll see what I can do,” I promised. “If they’re safe, I’ll bring you a sample batch to play with.”

Her face lit up with the prospect. “That would be amazing! I’m already dreaming up a mushroom risotto or maybe a hearty stew. There’s so much potential.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Just make sure you save a plate for me. Your cooking’s about the only luxury we have around here.”

“You’ll be the first to taste it,” Kim assured me. “But speaking of luxury, how elaborate can you get with the silverware? Anything to make the café feel a bit more… upscale?”

I considered for a moment. “I can imbue them with a bit of magic to keep the food warm or drinks cool. Maybe even make them self-cleaning?”

“That would be incredible,” Kim said, her eyes widening. “It would save so much time on cleaning and make the whole experience more magical for the customers.”

I nodded, already envisioning the enchantments I’d use. “Consider it done. I’ll start working on the prototypes and let you know when they’re ready for a test run.”

Kim beamed. “Thanks, Gavrin. I really appreciate it. Your talents never cease to amaze me.”

I shrugged off the compliment. “It’s nothing. We all do our part. You keep us fed, and I’ll keep you supplied with the tools you need. Teamwork’s what’s going to get us through.”

Kim gave a firm nod, her expression one of determined optimism. “Exactly, and together, we’re going to turn this place into a little slice of heaven. Or at least, the closest thing to it we can get.”

With that, Kim headed back to café, her mind already racing with new menu ideas. I watched her go, a smile tugging at the corner of my mouth. This community might just be worth it.

I settled down into my seat. I had molded it from earth and leaves using my magic. I sent a message out to Scott to not let anyone disturb me for awhile, I was going to be crafting.

I found that having contact with the ground made my magic work better. I had to remake my boots to be made from all natural materials, otherwise it wouldn’t work.

My mind melted into the ground and I soaked in the cool embrace of the earth. It felt like coming home. The soil pressed against my consciousness with a familiar pressure, dense and nurturing. Delving deeper, I felt the pulse of life coursing through the veins of the world, a rhythmic cadence that harmonized with my own heartbeat. My awareness spread through layers of sediment and stone, a spectral root searching for its prize.

Each granule of earth had a story, a whisper of the ages passed down through eons. I sifted through memories of ancient forests now petrified into stone, of mountains ground down into sand by the relentless march of time. I was looking for clay –the heart of ceramics—but not just any clay. I needed a material kissed by the arcane, suffused with the magic that saturated the land since the Lightning fell.

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As my consciousness traversed the labyrinth of rock and root, a symphony of elemental voices filled my senses. Stones murmured in deep tones, saturated with the weight of the earth, while water trickled with its liquid soprano notes, the essence of adaptability and change. Fire crackled faintly in the distance, its bass undertones speaking of transformation and rebirth, while the breath of air whispered secrets in light, flitting melodies, symbols of freedom and inspiration.

There was a harmony to it, an otherworldly music that I followed, my magical senses attuned to the delicate balance of elemental forces. Then, amid the geological chorus, I sensed it—a vein of clay that thrummed with a subtle but unmistakable magical aura. Its luminescence in the arcane spectrum was a beacon, drawing me closer.

Navigating through the darkness, my presence as a ghostly wisp of intention, I arrived at a cavern deep within the earth. It was a natural cathedral, its stalactites adorned with mineral deposits that glittered like stars in a subterranean night sky. The clay I sought pooled in the center of this chamber, its surface smooth and untouched, its presence pure and inviting.

It was a canvas of potential, a repository of creation waiting to be shaped by an artist’s hand. The clay was infused with the essence of the land – a confluence of earth and magic, forged by the pressures of the deep and the whispers of ley lines that danced through the veins of the world. Here, the boundary between the mundane and magical blurred, and the clay was a bridge between worlds.

As I hovered over the clay, an intimate connection formed. I could feel the possibilities it held—dishes that could warm the heart with more than that just food, ceramics that would be vessels for not only sustenance but for the magic that now infused every aspect of our lives. I reached out with my magic, and the clay responded, rising to meet my touch, yearning to be brought to the surface and into the light.

I wrapped the vein of clay in a cocoon of earth magic, gently coaxing it from its resting place. The cavern hummed in acknowledgment, its energies converging to assist in the clay’s journey. As it ascended, passing through the layers of rock and dirt, the magic within it pulsed in anticipation of the wonders it would soon help create.

Once back on the surface, under the canopy of stars that seemed to reflect the twinkling minerals of the cavern, I molded the clay with both hands and magic. Guided by intuition and the whispers of the earth, I shaped plates, bowls and mugs, each a masterpiece of natural art, waiting for the kiln’s fire to give them final form.

The kiln was a construct of stone and spell work, a crucible where earth would meet fire. As I prepared the clay, shaping it into plates and bowls, cups and saucers, my magic seeped into its pores, priming it for transformation. With every touch, I imparted a fragment of my will, a promise that these vessels would hold more than mere food and drink; they would cradle warmth and camaraderie, the essence of community.

Igniting the kiln, I did not merely summon fire; I invoked the spirit of the flame—luminous, alive, a primal force that danced to the ancient music of destruction and rebirth. The fire mana answered my call, wrapping around each piece of pottery, with a tender ferocity, a lover’s caress that promised both tenderness and turmoil.

The heat from the kiln was a living thing, a dragon’s breath that warmed the night air and cast a glow upon my face. I watched as the fire caressed the curves and edges of the clay, the orange and yellow flames licking and coaxing the material into its final form. My heart raced in time with the crackling of the blaze, a symphony of creation the resounded through the clearing.

But it was the glaze that would capture the magic—a translucent layer that would protect and enhance. I poured my mana into the glaze, tinting it with iridescence, with hues that reflected the verdant canopy above and the rich soil below. The glaze bonded with the clay, a seamless fusion of earth and enchantment that shimmered with contained energy.

The transformation was more than physical, it was magical. The final forms resembled natural artifacts, sculpted by the artful hands of the wind or the persistent caress of water over stone. They bore the colors of the forest and the sky, the glaze holding fast to the enchantment, ready to react to the touch of those who would use them. I smiled at the items I had created.

Congratulations! You have crafted:

Enchanted Ceramic Set

Plate: Enchantment: Sturdiness. Durability: 100/100. Quality: Superior. Weight: 0.5 kg. Traits: Resistant to breakage, minor heat retention to keep food warm.

Bowl: Enchantment: Warmth. Durability: 100/100. Quality: Superior. Weight: 0.4 kg. Traits: Keeps contents at optimal temperature, enhancing flavor without overheating.

Mug: Enchantment: Refreshment. Durability: 100/100. Quality: Superior. Weight: 0.3 kg. Traits: Keeps drinks at ideal drinking temperature, either warm or cold, enhancing taste.

Set Bonus: When used together, the Enchanted Ceramic Set enhances the nutritional value and taste of any food or drink placed in them. Additional Trait: Easy to clean, requiring only a simple rinse under water.

I was pleased with my creation. I had received a skill upgrade several days ago when I started crafting in earnest.

[SYSTEM ALERT: SKILL FUSION DETECTED]

Congratulations, Gavrin! Your Verdant Crafting skill has successfully merged with your Verdant Dominion skill, creating a new, more powerful skill: Verdant Mastery.

Verdant Mastery: This skill combines your affinity for nature and your prowess in crafting, allowing you to manipulate and cultivate the natural environment of your Dimensional Shard with unparalleled precision and creativity.

My abilities to manipulate earth related things kept going up. I could use the softer metals now, but it took more mana. I still enjoyed crafting things made of earth and plants. It somehow felt better. The metal was unliving and felt cold and odd in my mana sense.