Acknowledgement (Part 2)

“Hey kid! Are you done?” Mr. Crutz yells out from his workshop.

“Yees~!” I finished drying up the last plate and walk towards his workshop.

As I enter the workshop, the scent of clay envelops me, growing stronger with each step. A table adorned with an assortment of sculpted clays immediately catches my eye. Among the creative chaos, one table stands out, displaying a cylindrical object in progress. Seated comfortably at this table is Mr. Crutz, who points at the chair next to him.

“…” I take a seat at one of the desks. Before me, a peculiar object rests—a flat disc of sorts, its purpose intriguing and enigmatic.

“This here is called a potter wheel. This thing will help you shape out the object.”

“…”

Mr. Crutz walks me through the steps of shaping and the subsequent processes involved. One of the processes he explained is the firing process. This is where all of the clays are put inside a burner so they can be turned into ceramics. When it comes to the firing stage, he reveals an advantageous connection he shares with the village's blacksmith, which makes this stage easier.

“Put simply, all that you need to do is help me shape these bowls so we can speed up our process. We’ve been having high demands as of late, so it’s convenient that you came along…” Mr. Crutz said with a smirk on his face.

“…”

I completely forgot half the things he said.

“What? I’ll pay you, so you don’t need to worry. I treat my workers well after all…” Mr. Crutz crosses his arms.

“…What workers?” I ask, redirecting the topic.

“The ones at the blacksmiths. Without them, I might as well not make anything,” Mr. Crutz said as he ties his hair into a ponytail, “Here, let me show you how to do it.”

Mr. Crutz stretches his fingers, a subtle crackling sound accompanying the motion, before gently placing a shaped clay atop the waiting disc. With a deft touch, he activates the machine, setting it into motion. As the contraption begins to spin, Mr. Crutz hovers his hands above the machine, followed by the clay emanating some sort of blue hues.

“…?”

It’s… shaping itself?

The clay exhibits a brief moment of uncertainty, its movements appearing somewhat erratic. However, in a matter of seconds, the clay finds its equilibrium, its earlier wavering replaced by a sense of controlled purpose. Slowly but surely, it begins to take on the graceful form of a bowl.

“And we’re done.” Mr. Crutz then turns off the machine.

“That’s fast!”

“Hehe… now that is how you make a bowl…” Mr. Crutz said while scratching his nose.

“Uhh… I didn’t get anything out of that…” I replied.

“Of course, you wouldn’t.”

“Haah??”

“If you want to use magic to shape it, then you need to know how to shape it by hand first.” Mr. Crutz explained.

“Ehh… Why though?” I slump my shoulders.

“It’s because you need to know the basics first to have that muscle memory. It’s like drawing a… that thing that you Otherworlders use to make buildings…” Mr. Crutz explained as he furrowed his brows and massaged his forehead.

“Schematics?”

“I think that’s it… Point is, our magic is mostly used to assist us to make things faster since the chief of this forest puts a spell that lowers mana output.”

“…? What do you mean?” I tilt my head.

“Ever since you came to this village, do you feel weaker?” Mr. Crutz asked.

“No, not really…”

“Huh, really? That’s weird… Did her spell break by any chance? I still feel weaker though…” Mr. Crutz said as he opens and closes his hands.

“Maybe it’s because I’m an Otherworlder so I’m not affected?”

“No… We’ve had people like you come here as well, and even they got their mana outputs lowered…” Mr. Crutz puts his hand on his chin, “Hey kid, can you try out this spell for me?”

Mr. Crutz then brings up his right hand, and stones start appearing one by one in his hand. In total, there are five stones that are floating.

“Stone Bullet!”

Five of those stones all shot out at once, going at a fast rate before gradually losing speed and falling to the ground.

“…With my original mana output, I could easily burst through that door, but she weakened us enough so we can do magic without doing excessive destruction…” Mr. Crutz said while looking at his palms.

“…Why did the chief do that?” I ask.

“…It’s because something bad happened a few years ago… Let’s just say that we did something terrible before that pushes the current head chief to lower our mana output to make everyone here on equal ground…” Mr. Crutz said, furrowing his brows.

“… I see.”

I wonder if he’s referring to the civil war Celicia mentioned back at the dining hall.

“Anyway, can you do the thing I just showed you kid?” Mr. Crutz asked.

“I don’t know how to do magic though…”

“Just focus on putting your entire energy on your hand and imagine the rocks to floating on them.” Mr. Crutz explained.

“…”

I point my right hand towards the door, focusing my strength on my right hand. I can feel something warm coursing through my veins, gradually gathering up on my right hand. There’s an odd feeling as if something is being pulled out of my hand till I noticed that there are five pebbles floating on my hand.

“Hey… I’m doing it…!” I said while I switch my gaze over to Mr. Crutz.

“This is basic magic that anyone can do kid. No need to get that excited about it,” Mr. Crutz waves his hand in response, “Now, imagine that you’re going to fire those pebbles and shout out stone bullet to activate it.”

“…Stone bullet!”

Five pebbles shot out of my hand with the speed only lasting for a second before it immediately lost speed and fell to the ground, all five clacking as it made contact with the surface.

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…So… the reason why you weren’t affected was because—”

“Don’t you dare say it!” I immediately point towards Mr. Crutz.

“Was because you’re too weak…?” Mr. Crutz looks at me with drooping eyes.

“Stop looking at me like that! It doesn’t make it any better!”

“Oh, you poor thing… To think that you’re so weak that the head chief doesn’t acknowledge you as a threat…” Mr. Crutz replied, a small smile appeared on his face.

“Shut it old man! I don’t want to hear any more about it!”

“Okay—okay… let’s just focus on your shaping skills for now.” The old man replied.

“Oh? I didn’t think you’d stop like that…” I replied, genuinely surprised at this outcome.

“Oh no, I still think it’s hilarious…” The old man said with a smile on his face.

“Haa—Haa—Haa… that so old man?” I cross my arms and sit back down.

“But I can tell you weren’t enjoying it, so I stopped…” The old man explained.

“…I mean... I am annoyed about it, but it’s not like I’m angry about it…” I said, scratching my right cheek.

“That so? Then can I take back my apology?” The old man said with a smirk.

“You didn’t apologize about anything old man…” I drop my shoulders, letting out a sigh.

“I admit that I was wrong about it, so I’m still counting it as one in my book hahaha…” The old man smacks my shoulders and then rests his right hand on it.

“Haah… Whatever old man… Can we get started already?” I replied indignantly, but I don’t try to remove his arm from my shoulders.

“Yeah—yeah we should…” The old man pulls his arm away from my shoulders, “Don’t call me old man though. I’m still young…”

“Suuurreee old man…” I give him a side glance with a smirk.

“You child…”