Chapter 64
“Ah, n-no. Thank you for taking it out for me.”
I hurriedly reached out to take the book Adrian was holding out.
The library was always kept at a cool, stable temperature to preserve its valuable materials, so there was no reason for it to feel hot inside.
And yet, somehow, it felt as though the temperature around me had gone up a few degrees.
Rubbing the back of my neck, I sat down at the nearest reading desk and opened the book.
Then I began turning the pages, looking for the entry on Green Pine Stone (Noksongseok).
Thankfully, the book was neatly organized in alphabetical order—typical of a K-game world—so it didn’t take me long to find the page I wanted.
‘Green Pine Stone…! Here it is.’
As expected, the page was filled with a detailed illustration and a lengthy description of the gem.
Unfortunately, though, it didn’t have the information I was looking for.
It only described things like hardness, luster, and light transmission—lots of technical mineralogy talk.
There wasn’t a single mention of magical attributes or enchantment compatibility.
Disappointed, I puffed out my cheeks and closed the book.
Seeing my expression, Adrian approached quietly and asked,
“What kind of information are you looking for?”
“Oh, they say the probability of magical effects depends on the type of gemstone. So I was trying to find data about that…”
Hearing the gloomy tone in my voice, Adrian told me to wait a moment, then disappeared behind a bookshelf.
A few minutes later, he returned with a much thinner volume compared to the mineral compendium.
『On Magical Enchantments According to Gem Type』
The title instantly reminded me of those academic papers I used to wrestle with back in university.
Just the memory of those long nights gave me a phantom headache, but I took a deep breath and opened the book he handed me.
Unlike the mineral encyclopedia, this one wasn’t organized alphabetically, which made it a bit harder to search through.
Still, since it wasn’t very thick, I managed to find the section about Green Pine Stone.
Accessories made with the bluish-green gem “Green Pine Stone” tend to acquire magical effects associated with attack or mana, similar to other blue-hued stones. In addition, like other green gems such as emerald, jade, and peridot, they also frequently take on healing-related magical effects.
“Perfect. Exactly what I needed.”
‘Hmm. So it’s less consistent than pure blue stones, but it still works well with mana-based enchantments.’
If I had the time, I’d store the Green Pine Stone safely in my inventory and go look for sapphires or lapis lazuli instead.
But time was a luxury I didn’t have right now.
‘Alright. Let’s go…!’
After thanking Adrian several times, I returned the book and headed straight to the blacksmith’s workshop.
Jewelry crafting required the use of blacksmith tools anyway.
In larger cities, there would be separate gem workshops, but expecting one on this tiny island village of Mid-Isle would be too much.
Honestly, considering the size of the place, having a blacksmith’s forge at all was a blessing.
When I arrived, Smith was already inspecting the raw Green Pine Stone I’d brought, tapping and weighing it with a satisfied grin.
“It’s not pure all the way through, but still a fine-quality piece,” she said.
“Wow, you can tell just by looking at it?”
I stared in awe. To me, it all looked like the same lumpy rock.
Did she have x-ray vision or something?
She laughed. “Come on. With my experience, I can tell just by the sound it makes when you tap it.”
Ah, the realm of professionals indeed.
So I nervously followed her instructions and began polishing the stone.
My Jewelry Crafting Skill was level 5, but truthfully, this was my first time handling an actual gemstone.
Until now, I’d only used monster bones to make accessories.
When I carefully cut the stone with the cutter, I found—just as Smith had said—that it contained veins of plain rock mixed in.
After separating the gemstones along those seams, several jade-sized pieces of Green Pine Stone emerged—each about the size of my fist.
‘…Hmm. Smaller than I thought.’
When I’d first discovered the ore in the mine, I’d been thrilled, thinking I’d found a gem the size of my head.
But it turned out that the “big” rock was just a cluster of smaller stones stuck together.
A little disappointing, honestly.
‘No, no. Be realistic. Even fist-sized gems aren’t easy to find.’
Back on Earth, a gemstone this size would probably be on display in a museum—one of those “cursed diamonds that doom their owners” or something.
Just as I started to cheer myself up with that thought, Smith brought me back to reality.
“By the way, just so you know—once we polish it, it’s going to get even smaller.”
“Huh?! Smaller again?”
It was already so much smaller than I’d expected!
Seeing my shocked face, she chuckled.
“You said you wanted to make accessories, right? You can’t exactly lug around a giant rock on your neck. How are you supposed to fight like that?”
“…Right. That’s true.”
I felt a little embarrassed, realizing I’d gotten greedy after seeing such a beautiful stone.
Still… wasn’t it a waste to grind down such a pretty, shimmering jade-colored gem just to make it “prettier”?
As I lamented over the bits being cut away, Smith clapped me on the shoulder.
“Don’t worry. Even the gemstone dust will come in handy somewhere.”
“Dust? What’s it used for?”
Surprised, I looked up at her, and she explained in her usual calm tone.
“Alchemy and magitech both make use of powdered gems. They conduct mana better than normal minerals.”
“Oh, I see.”
I’d only ever brewed potions for drinking, so I didn’t know that alchemy could also produce materials for crafting or enhancement—like coating fabric to make enchanted cloth or sprinkling it on weapons to boost defense.
As I stored that new knowledge in my mind, I continued polishing the gems in a sort of trance.
Before long, several beautiful, smooth jade-green spheres lay on the table.
Now all I had to do was make accessories with them.
But of course, another problem came up.
“Next is the frame. You can’t put these pretty stones in something like iron or copper. What do you think?”
“Yeah… I agree. That wouldn’t look right.”
I nodded vigorously.
Putting a cool-toned blue-green gem in a warm-toned copper setting? A crime against aesthetics!
Iron wasn’t ideal either—besides, in my previous life I’d had a metal allergy.
Anything other than surgical steel, gold, or silver would make me break out in hives.
Even if I didn’t know whether this body had the same issue, just the memory made me instinctively recoil.
After some thought, I decided that silver would be the best match.
Smith nodded approvingly.
“Exactly! Silver and Green Pine Stone are a perfect pair.”
And so, for the second day in a row, I opened my wallet.
This time, to buy a small amount of silver for the accessory frames.
After spending all day in the mines yesterday, my Mining Skill had reached level 9.
I’d be able to mine silver once I hit 10.
Still, since I didn’t know when the next area would unlock, I figured it was better to save time by buying the material now.
‘At least it’s cheaper than buying finished jewelry.’
Even though I didn’t have rent or regular expenses, spending money still made me feel oddly guilty.
Maybe it was because I knew I could make it myself with just a bit more effort.
On Earth, I never felt this way about buying factory-made products… strange.
Shoving the thought aside, I focused on crafting.
A necklace, a pair of earrings, a bracelet—then multiple rings of different sizes.
Humans have ten fingers, after all. That’s ten potential slots for rings!
And who said you could only wear one per hand?
In the game, you could equip only two rings total—one on each hand. Such an unfair system!
Of course, it would be ridiculous to go into battle with both hands weighed down by jewelry, so I wasn’t actually planning to do that.
Still, I wanted to make use of every possible magical effect I could.
Finally, with the leftover small gems, I made a hairpin.
Naturally, the game didn’t have an equipment slot for hairpins—
But who cared? If I enchanted the thing myself and wore it on my head, who could stop me?
The only being that could was the goddess herself—and if she had a problem, she could come down and say it to my face.
‘Instead of sending useless cash-shop NPCs, maybe she should try that for once.’
Just remembering that glittering “Cash” human-thing I’d met made my blood boil again.
It was like they could see straight into my thoughts and mock me for it.
Still, I couldn’t shake the image of the animals I’d seen in that shop.
Honestly, while I was mining yesterday, I’d thought more than once how convenient it would be to have a pet to pick up all that ore for me.
Trying to shake off those distracting thoughts, I gathered up my completed accessories and returned to the dormitory.
And just like that, another day came to an end.
