Online Game: Confessing to a Noble Lady at the Start

A few hours later, Victor looked at his mana bar—still at 90% full—and finally abandoned the idea of draining it completely.

At this point, he truly believed that Vega was some kind of deity.

Vega nodded in satisfaction, perhaps because Victor's display of magic had finally satisfied its curiosity.

"Interesting indeed. Should I make you continue for a few more hours so I can further analyze the mysteries of your spellcasting?"

Victor silently protested with a glance.

Seeing his deadpan expression, Vega decided to let it go.

"Alright, we'll stop here. So, what's your plan now? Are you going to spend the whole day in the backyard?"

Its deep-set eye locked onto Victor, as if trying to uncover more of his secrets.

"I'm going to the market to buy some things."

Victor replied indifferently. The crow still clung stubbornly to his shoulder, unwilling to leave.

"I'll come with you. I want to see what you're buying."

Hearing Vega's words, Victor exhaled and called for a servant to prepare a carriage.

Victor entered the shop, scanning the shelves filled with various materials before walking straight to the counter.

"What do you need?"

Seeing a customer, the shopkeeper immediately stepped forward to greet him.

Victor tapped the counter lightly and spoke in a calm voice:

"Lizardman tails, harpy feathers, beetle shells… Thirty different materials—give me a bag of each."

"Alright! What a generous customer!"

The shopkeeper cheerfully responded while tallying up Victor's order.

"This totals thirty full bags of materials. Would you like us to have them delivered to your home?"

Victor waved his hand, rubbed the ring on his finger, and in an instant, all the materials vanished.

Seeing this, the shopkeeper's smile widened even further.

"Haha! A man of great wealth, I see!"

"Be sure to come back again!"

After Victor left, one of the shop assistants approached the owner.

"Boss, who was that guy?"

The shopkeeper smacked him on the head and scolded, "Don't ask! Anyone carrying a high-tier storage ring like that is definitely someone important!"

Only Victor knew the truth—he didn't actually have a storage ring. The one on his finger was purely decorative. He had simply placed the items into his player-exclusive inventory—even Vega hadn't figured out how he did it.

Vega spread its wings, its signature hoarse crow voice ringing in Victor's ears as it cawed incessantly.

Victor ignored it.

His focus was on the crafting menu flashing before his eyes.

He had bought all these materials to create essential early-game consumables.

In the original game mechanics, every player—regardless of class—had access to an extensive and specialized crafting recipe book. As a former player, Victor could summon this interface effortlessly.

Satisfied with his haul, Victor returned to his mansion, heading straight for the basement. Digging through a few corners, he pulled out a pile of empty glass bottles.

"What are you up to?"

Perched on his shoulder, Vega felt an inexplicable unease.

Its instincts told it that Victor was about to do something crazy again.

And those instincts were never wrong.

Victor began mixing the various ingredients with his hands, his palms glowing faintly as energy pulsed through them. The crackling sounds of alchemy intensified.

"Stop! What are you doing?!"

Vega flapped its wings in alarm, convinced that Victor was about to blow up the basement.

But Victor ignored it completely, his focus only growing sharper.

With a bright flash of light, the empty bottles on the table were suddenly filled with a red liquid.

Vega stared at the pile of healing potions before muttering in disbelief:

"You're seriously something else. Why does making healing potions look as dangerous as making explosives?"

Victor chuckled softly, nodding in satisfaction as he read the potion's description.

[Healing Potion (Small)]: Restores 300 HP per use.

As expected, tangible, quantified numbers were the most reassuring thing to Victor.

Vega's single eye glowed with a faint blue light as it observed the numerous potions on the table.

The red liquid inside them was slightly dark in hue—the deeper the red, the stronger the healing effect.

Jumping off Victor's shoulder, Vega landed on the table, popped open a bottle, and took a sip.

It felt a strange sensation wash over it, then smacked its beak before looking up at Victor…

"Did you really make this potion yourself?"

Victor admitted it, but Vega fell into deep thought.

"What's up with this kid? The potency and effectiveness of this healing potion are comparable to the low-tier healing magic of the Goddess of Healing. Does he have some kind of divine power hidden within him?"

After thinking for a moment, Vega realized that Victor having this ability wasn't necessarily a bad thing. After all, they had already signed a contract, so at the very least, he had a skilled craftsman by his side.

Vega suddenly asked, "Have you considered selling some of these? With this level of quality, you could make a fortune."

Victor shook his head. These potions were for his own use—he didn't need money right now, so there was no reason to sell them.

His hands glowed with a dazzling blue light as he repeated the process, crafting a new batch of mana potions.

Every time he watched Victor create something, Vega felt a small sense of shock.

**Crafting items by hand—**even master craftsmen couldn't do that.

Could it be that Victor had actually awakened a one-in-a-million Creation-type magic?

At first, Vega had only been drawn to this human's soul, but now, the more he observed, the less he understood him.

As a mage, mana potions were far more important than healing potions.

Sure, Vega had an infinite mana hack, but just because he could help didn't mean there wouldn't be a price to pay. Victor had no idea what that price could be.

Better to rely on himself than on others.

A moment later, a system notification rang out:

[Crafting Skill Level Up! Current Level: LV2]

With this breakthrough, Victor stopped making potions and looked at the new items that had appeared in his crafting menu.

Then, he looked up at Vega, who was perched on the table, saying nothing.

The crow felt a little uneasy under his stare, until Victor finally spoke:

"You're basically a crow, right?"

Vega: "Huh?"

Before it could react, Victor plucked a jet-black feather from its body.

[Magic Creature Feather + Transparent Mana Stone]

"Looks like I need a Mana Stone," Victor muttered.

He still remembered—Mana Stones were rare items capable of recording sounds and storing magic. Some had even tried to use them as bombs, but the attempt failed.

Since the magic stored inside a Mana Stone gradually dissipated over time, its cost was incredibly high. If someone had that much money, they might as well just buy real bombs.

With all the materials gathered, Victor began crafting.

The ingredients melted together into a liquid, then solidified at a visible speed, gradually taking the shape of a glove. Several transparent Mana Stones embedded themselves into it.

A fingerless glove materialized before Victor's eyes.

Vega shuddered. "You can craft gear with your bare hands too?"

Victor ignored him, his gaze locked onto the glove.

Several flawless, transparent Mana Stones were embedded within it.

[Hand of the Mage]: A high-tier crafted item that can store up to five different elemental spells, allowing instant, chant-free activation.

This item was essential for mage players in the early game, perfect for emergency situations.

Victor channeled his magic into the Mana Stones, slowly infusing different spells into each one.

With every new spell, the color of the Mana Stones changed.

Once all the stones were filled with magic, he finally stopped.

Vega, now used to his ridiculous abilities, simply remarked, "So this thing can store different elemental spells and doesn't require chanting? That's insane. Mind telling me how you made it?"

A wild blue flame flickered in Vega's single eye as he stared hungrily at the glove.

Victor, seeing his eagerness, simply shook his head.

"Classified."

"Tch, so stingy," Vega scoffed.

To think that he, a feared dark god, was asking a human for knowledge… If his fellow deities found out, they'd laugh him into oblivion.

But Victor wasn't ignoring him out of arrogance—it was because his player-exclusive abilities had to remain a secret.

If word got out that he could craft powerful items by hand, it would undoubtedly attract dangerous people.

For his own safety, he had to keep a low profile.

At that moment, a voice called from outside:

"My lord, Miss Gwen has arrived."