The next few hours I did nothing really—unless you counted thinking as doing something.
After Luka and Celest surprised me with the workshop, I had been itching to start making something immediately.
But the second I sat down at the workbench...
I hit a wall.
What exactly was I supposed to make?
I knew better than to start with something overly ambitious.
Sure, I had ideas.
Lots of them.
But ideas and reality were two completely different things.
I'd never actually forged anything before. I had read books, studied engineering, designed machines, and spent countless hours modeling concepts back on Earth, but none of that changed the fact that this would be my first real project.
If I started with something too complicated, I'd probably waste materials—or worse, convince myself I wasn't cut out for this.
So...
I needed something simple.
Simple enough to finish.
Complex enough to teach me.
And useful enough that I'd actually wear it.
I leaned back in my chair, staring at the wooden ceiling.
"A sword..."
Too many variables.
Balance.
Edge geometry.
Heat treatment.
Mana conductivity.
One mistake and it would be nothing more than an expensive piece of scrap metal.
"Armor..."
Too much material.
I'd have to shape dozens of plates and somehow make them comfortable enough to move in.
"A gun..."
I immediately shook my head.
Absolutely not.
Introducing firearms into this world sounded like an incredibly stupid idea.
Even if I could make one, I wasn't about to be responsible for changing warfare forever.
"Jetpack..."
I actually paused to consider it.
"...No."
Not unless I wanted my first invention to also be my last.
"Storage ring..."
That one tempted me.
But dimensional magic was still way beyond my understanding.
I wasn't about to start experimenting with spatial runes without knowing what happened if I made a mistake.
Best-case scenario?
Nothing.
Worst-case scenario?
I accidentally folded myself into another dimension.
"...Yeah, let's save that for later."
I sighed, spinning a pencil between my fingers.
Ideas came and went for nearly three hours.
Some were ridiculous.
Some were dangerous.
Some were both.
Eventually my eyes drifted toward my own clothes.
My black dress shirt.
Dark slacks.
Simple.
Comfortable.
Professional.
Then...
An idea clicked.
I sat upright so quickly my chair nearly tipped over.
"...Of course."
Why hadn't I thought of it sooner?
I didn't need to reinvent the wheel.
I just needed to improve something I already understood.
An outfit.
Specifically...
A tuxedo.
A smile slowly spread across my face.
Not an ordinary tuxedo.
One forged entirely from iron.
At first glance, the idea sounded ridiculous.
Iron was heavy.
Rigid.
Uncomfortable.
But that was exactly what runes were for.
The metal itself would provide durability.
The enchantments would handle everything else.
I grabbed a fresh sheet of paper from one of the drawers and immediately started sketching.
First came the jacket.
Classic single-breasted design.
Slim fit.
Clean lapels.
Matching trousers.
Dress shirt.
Even gloves.
As the outline took shape, I began writing notes in the margins.
Primary Material: Refined Iron.
Primary Objective: Everyday formal clothing with combat capability.
Now...
The enchantments.
The first rune was obvious.
Gravity Reduction.
A standard gravity rune could drastically reduce the apparent weight of an object.
If tuned correctly, an iron jacket weighing nearly twenty pounds could feel no heavier than an ordinary cotton coat.
Simple.
Reliable.
Already proven.
The second enchantment required more thought.
Most adaptive runes were designed for weapons.
They allowed sword hilts to adjust slightly to a wielder's grip or spears to subtly alter their balance.
But...
Runes didn't care what they were engraved on.
If I modified the inscription...
It should constantly reshape the metal just enough to perfectly match the wearer's body.
No stiff shoulders.
No uncomfortable sleeves.
No loose fabric.
The suit would literally tailor itself.
I couldn't help grinning.
"Now that's cool."
The third layer would reinforce the structure itself.
Iron was already durable, but mana could dramatically strengthen metallic bonds.
Instead of merely making the suit harder...
I'd increase its toughness.
Hard metals cracked.
Tough metals absorbed impacts.
That distinction alone could be the difference between surviving a strike and shattering like glass.
Then came my favorite part.
At the bottom of the page, I carefully drew a rune unlike any described in the books I'd been reading.
I'd designed it during my spare time over the past several weeks.
Not because I needed it.
Because I was curious.
The concept was deceptively simple.
Instead of relying solely on the wearer's mana reserves...
The rune would continuously draw tiny amounts of ambient mana from the surrounding environment.
Not enough to disturb natural mana flow.
Not enough for anyone to even notice.
Just enough to sustain the other enchantments indefinitely.
In theory...
The suit could remain active for months without requiring manual recharging.
I tapped the end of my pencil against the paper.
"...Assuming it doesn't explode."
Actually...
No.
I was fairly confident it wouldn't.
Eighty-five percent confident.
Maybe eighty.
I frowned.
"...Seventy-eight."
Close enough.
I looked over the completed blueprint.
A black tuxedo forged from iron.
As light and comfortable as cotton.
Strong enough to stop blades.
Perfectly fitted to its wearer at all times.
Powered by the mana naturally flowing through the world itself.
The more I stared at it...
The more convinced I became.
It wasn't flashy.
It wasn't world-changing.
It wasn't some impossible invention that defied logic.
It was practical.
Useful.
Elegant.
And most importantly...
It was something I could actually build.
A smile crept across my face as I set the pencil down.
"Alright..."
I rolled up my sleeves and stood from the workbench.
"Let's see if I can turn a blueprint into reality."