After a few seconds of contemplating, Virgil could go for a warding charm this time. With how it could ward off some of the deadlier side effects of magic, its charming process would be more intricate than the basic charms.

Even if Virgil didn't have to face life-threatening magic every day, it would be useful to have an item charmed with warding around. Who knows, maybe he would end up working with a cursed weapon one day.

To cast a warding charm, he must first focus on the amulet, and *recite the words*.

"Warding."

At the first chant, faint magic energy manifested in front of his eyes.

At the second chant, his throat tightened as the magic swirled around him.

At the third chant, the magic was strangling him as he heard Carson's faint voice. But if he ever lost his focus at this moment, he would be practically dead at the next second. So he continued with the chants, despite his voice getting choked by each syllable.

After moments of being suffocated, he could finally breath—as his surroundings now only consisted of Virgil, the amulet, and the magic energy itself. After he coughed the remaining energy out of his throat, it gathered around the amulet.

"For warding—"

As he moved on to the next chants to imbue the energy inside this amulet, his chest tightened. But this time, it felt just like the anxiety he felt years ago, when his family was teaching him charms.

It was the day young Virgil almost gave up on charms, around a week before he lost an eye from it. He remembered the disappointment weighing on his shoulders well. But right now, he wasn't giving up like that day. He couldn't give up again.

"For warding, I offer this gem to!"

With the firm chant, the suffocating feeling broke apart, as the magic's essence poured into the amulet. After a few more chants to seal this magic within the amulet, a new feeling overwhelmed him.

"...I did it."

With how Virgil just spoke in his native language, his surroundings shifted back to the alchemist tower's room—with Carson looking worried, and Ace sighing in relief.

He did it.

Using his remaining energy, Virgil picked up the amulet and sensed for any charms within it. It was definitely imbued with a warding charm, but it didn't feel right—something was off with this charmed amulet. In the book he studied from, a warding charm would feel as if it was being protected by the gods or alike. But this, it felt as if it was merely guarded, nothing special about it.

But despite that, it's still charmed with warding, right?—that was what Virgil would think, if it weren't for another memory from the same day.

"Try again. It wasn't supposed to react like this."

It was the exact sentence he recalled from his family, when he was already drained from the whole charming process, just like right now.

"May I?" Ace asked, pointing at the amulet as Virgil's recollection paused. As Virgil handed the amulet over, he had already expected an indifferent response from Ace.

"Is this warding?" Ace asked, and Virgil nodded back. "Nice."

As Virgil smiled at Ace's response, he let his body fall down onto the carpet. Even if the response was positive, his family would say otherwise.

He should practice more.

As he was about to get up, Carson approached him with the same worried look when Virgil fell downstairs days ago.

"Are we going home?" Carson asked.