My Joker System: From Low Mana Trash to the Mightiest Wizard!
Chapter 52: Joker’s First Artifact

Chapter 52: Joker’s First Artifact

"Joker...?"

"Yes, I’m Joker."

Inside an establishment dimly illuminated by blue orbs caged in metallic bars attached to the walls, and filled with an eerily silent ambiance, a young man wearing the Grand Magic Academy’s uniform and a half-laughing, half-frowning jester mask stood in front of a counter.

Hal had decided on the alias "Joker", and a jester as his registered mask, thinking it was quite symbolic and suitable for him.

"Are you...joking?" responded the staff member with a confused frown, making Hal slightly anxious that his registration hadn’t been activated yet.

He had just completed the process half an hour ago, after all.

If he was forced to take his mask off...

’Oh well, no one should remember my currently insignificant face anyway, as long as I don’t run into anyone from the academy...’

But then, the staff member suddenly burst out laughing.

"BAHAHAHA! I’m just joking, Joker! BAHAHAHA! Look at me, Mom! I joked with the Joker!"

Hal was dumbfounded.

The sheer audacity of the man in front of him to spout such bullcrap-tier jokes without hesitation...

Honestly, he couldn’t help but respect the guy.

"Here’s your Arcanist Alias Identification Card, Joker. Your room is on the fourth floor, fourth corridor from the staircase."

Hal nodded and retrieved his card, shaking his head slightly as he left.

He could still hear the man chuckling to himself:

"Hahaha, these goofy Arcanists crack me up every time, man..."

Still, Hal was quite satisfied with the empire’s mask-and-alias practice, inwardly applauding whoever had made it legitimate.

Arriving at Room 420, Hal turned the knob and entered.

’Nice and peaceful, at least...’ he mused with a smile.

The room had quite an ancient vibe to it.

The same blue orbs, though brighter, for lighting; stone walls; and just enough space to craft low-tier artifacts that required fewer materials...

It wasn’t as impressive as what he was used to back in Aeloria City, but it would do.

He would only be crafting a tiny trinket anyway.

Placing his sack bag at the center of the table, Hal retrieved three items from it: three Garbird Prime Feathers, one F-ranked arcane core, and a five-centimeter-long Arcroot Vine.

He had swapped the Reptilian’s E-ranked core for an F-ranked one, as he was running low on funds and had decided to sell the former to Wanzin’s Arcane Emporium for five silver coins.

Furthermore, this was his first time crafting an artifact, and he didn’t want to waste such a nice core with his unproven skills, though he was inwardly quite confident due to the sudden burst of knowledge he obtained as a reward from the Act 2 quest.

An F-ranked one shall do for now. It was the original requirement, anyway.

Sliding the sack bag over to the edge of the huge table, Hal took a deep breath, starting the crafting process the next moment.

"So...the first step is to prepare the artifact’s core..."

Size, Suitability, Stability, Strength—the four S’s of an Artifact Core.

The first refers to capacity: how many links and materials it can handle without crumbling.

Suitability refers to aesthetics—how appropriate the core looks in relation to the artifact’s purpose and appearance.

Stability, on the other hand, ensures that the artifact won’t randomly shatter or be destroyed due to mana fluctuations.

And lastly, Strength: how strong and effective the artifact’s effects are compared to others of the same type and tier.

A Prime Gar Feather Trinket was the common-tier artifact Hal planned to craft today.

For a trinket, the core should be small enough to hang around the waist or hip area but still have enough capacity to hold three Garbird Prime Feathers and the Arcroot Vine together.

Its stability and strength would depend on how skilled the Arcanist was.

"Phew...Let’s begin..."

Taking another deep breath, Hal grabbed the core, closed his eyes, concentrated, and began absorbing the mana inside.

Adjusting the size of the core was quite simple, as one only had to absorb the mana essence inside and it would automatically shrink.

The difficulty, however, increased drastically when trying to shape it by absorbing mana essence from specific parts of the core, such as sculpting it into a diamond for a better appearance.

This was his first time crafting an artifact, and Hal had no intention of trying something so complicated just yet.

A simple round core that fits the size requirement according to his knowledge would suffice.

"Yeah, this should do," Hal muttered as he raised the core close to his eye and rotated it, examining it up close.

He had already secured the size and suitability of the core.

Now, he had to stabilize it with arcane links, as the tome and the professors called the interconnected strings of mana that could be inscribed inside.

Hal had never woven one before, but to his surprise, his fingers moved with the control of a somewhat seasoned novice.

Soon, a small and simple four-link mana web, shaped like a reverse cross, hovered in the air, drifting toward the core and being absorbed by it.

The core then lit up slightly, displaying an even smaller version of the arcane link inside.

It pulsed faintly with a mystical glow, fascinating Hal.

He was so impressed that he grabbed one of the tools included in the payment for renting the crafting chamber—a magnifying glass—and placed it next to the core, observing the inscribed arcane links with astonishment.

"Damn... I might get hooked on this..." he muttered with a slightly racing heart.

He wanted to craft more complex artifacts...

Placing the observation tool down, Hal picked up a Prime Garbird Feather.

He carefully determined where its essence points were before trimming it down, making sure to avoid the crucial parts.

Soon, the feather shrunk to an appropriate size, though it was still not quite as small as Hal wanted it to be.

Hal had no choice but to make do with what he had managed to prepare, however, as the limitations lay in his skills and the material itself.

If he trimmed it further, the essence points would be damaged and the effectiveness of the trinket would be reduced.

He temporarily placed the feather down and retrieved a pricking instrument made from the femur of a D-ranked Corrupted Imp.

The material’s properties prevented excessive mana essence leakage after puncturing the core, giving Hal ample time to attach the hollow shaft of the Garbird Prime Feather to plug the hole.

He then sealed the puncture completely with a circular, sealing arcane link, finalizing the position of the trimmed feather.

Next, Hal did the same for the other feathers and the Arcroot Vine, which would serve as an attachment string.

He prepared the materials according to his knowledge and a surprising level of mastery before attaching them to the core and plugging the holes.

His hands were somehow more dexterous and skillful than he had imagined, resulting in somewhat perfect material preparation, except for the feathers’ appearance...

They weren’t ugly, but they weren’t exactly the most aesthetic either.

Still, he wasn’t planning to sell his first artifact, so appearance didn’t matter as much.

Strength and effectiveness were far more important.

After Hal completed the last few sealing links, the core suddenly lit up, sending consistent, modest streams of warm energy to his body.

[You’ve completed Act 3 of "An Arcanist’s Humble Beginnings".]

[You may claim the reward: [Chaos’ Arcane Links (First Set)], at the quest screen at any time].