「Grohm: Nelomar is still alive?」

Grohm had been surprised to see that ring delivered to him.

「Grohm: I was still young when I enchanted this ring! Oh, how unrefined I was.」

He shook his head, contemplating.

「Allen: It’s not a problem if I add some custom feature, isn’t it?」

「Grohm: I suppose not. It originally only provided lighting and clarity of mind. I had spent most of the magical capacity on multiple fallbacks, anticipating the enchantments would decay. Hmm, I was less refined back in the days.」

Grohm launched himself on a long-winded retelling of those times, of Zavir’s prowess and official recognition from the kingdom. Being tasked to enchant the ring for such a renowned Alchemist had been an achievement in itself.

「Grohm: It’s an honor to repair this piece. And I’m glad it’s something that can help someone who dedicated himself to his craft for the benefit of all.」

「Allen: I want to add a processor and program a system to help him maintain his focus and memories.」

I was going to recycle what I had done for my ring, which kept track of quests and stuff. I didn’t have to start from scratch, so it wouldn’t take too long.

「Grohm: You seem good at crafting introspective constructs. Should be viable, yes.」

And so Grohm and I spent a good chunk of the day refurbishing and improving Zavir’s ring. It had been made of different alloys, mainly adamantium with masterwork refinishing of mithril and gold, plus some small Aetherium crystals, fitted in to serve as batteries. The engraving said “Alchemist of hope”. He had concocted some antidote to a lethal demonic disease, which had granted him kingdom-wide recognition.

Hearing all of these praises only made me more determined to beat the old geezer back to shape. The smirking apprentice morons were gonna seethe real hard if I managed to dig up all the secrets master Zavir had hidden within his brain.

So the final full feature-set was:

- automatic lighting, good for old people

- automatic temperature regulation, to avoid back pain and stuff

- mana siphoning from the atmosphere, pushing the excess into the holder

- task tracking, to keep him focused

- quest system, just curious to see if the old master would get addicted to those dopamine hits

- hallucinatory overlay for names and titles, I didn’t want to reintroduce myself every ten minutes

- the least sarcastic construct I could craft, to handle all of these systems

The plus was that I could control it remotely thanks to my 【Debug Ring】, so I could make some code adjustments without much trouble.

We finished the ring the next day. Proper testing had been completed, and we were both satisfied with it.

「Grohm: It is done. Yes.」

He said, nodding in satisfaction. I nodded as well, for we had done an excellent job.

「Grohm: I would like to deliver it personally if you don’t mind.」

「Allen: Of course not. I’ll show you the way.」

And so we both headed off to the Alchemist’s Guild. A quick stop to notify the cougar that the ring was about to be delivered, to which she praised the gods and told me I knew where to go. And so we went.

As we approached, I heard the laments. A couple of clerks were attending the despairing Alchemist, reminding him that his precious ring was being repaired.

Grohm took the lead.

「Grohm: Grandmaster Zavir Nedomar.」

Zavir turned silent as he gazed at him.

「Zavir: You… I remember you. You look more mature and wiser…」

He said, his brows furrowing up.

「Zavir: Grohm Khalkear?」

Grohm bowed.

「Grohm: It is an honor you remember me. I’ll never forget how you cured me of that demonic disease.」

I was surprised. Grohm hadn’t told me he was one of those who had contracted the deadly disease.

「Zavir: And I… I will never forget the gratitude I felt that day. Oh, but the ring… where-」

Grohm produced the ring and offered it to the old Alchemist.

「Grohm: We have restored—and even improved—the kingdom’s token of appreciation. Please put it on.」

Zavir gladly accepted the ring, his eyes moistened by emotion. He slid the ring back where it belonged on his wizened finger.

The two clerks sighed with relief and took their leave to attend to other matters.

「Grohm: How do you feel Grandmaster Zavir?」

The old man remained silent for a moment, massaging his ring.

「Zavir: My mind is still clouded, but… I feel… more present.」

He turned to me.

「Zavir: Have we met before?」

「Allen: I’m Allen Smith, your apprentice.」

「Zavir: My… Huh. Why do I see words over your head?」

「Allen: It’s the Assist System. It will show up when you don’t remember or have difficulty doing so.」

「Zavir: Is that so…」

「Grohm: Grand Master Zavir, it was a pleasure to meet you again. Yes.」

「Zavir: The pleasure is mine.」

They shook hands. Grohm turned to me.

「Grohm: Allen. I trust you will fill this honorable man on using the ring to its full extent.」

「Allen: Of course.」

I nodded. Grohm patted my shoulder and began walking away, stopping after three steps.

「Grohm: I hope… this can repay even a little of what I owe…」

「Zavir: Nothing has helped me more than this ring.」

Zavir said, bowing his head. Grohm smiled and was gone.

Deep.

「Allen: So, can we start my apprenticeship now, master?」