The workshop still smelled new.
Not in a literal sense—but in the way unused potential always carried a faint pressure in the air, like the room itself was waiting to learn what it was meant to become.
Adam stood in front of the central workbench, hands resting on the polished surface.
The materials Celest had shown him earlier were still laid out in neat order.
Copper wire.
Mana stone.
Conductive resin.
A simple starter kit.
But Adam wasn't looking at them anymore.
His gaze had drifted toward the empty space in the workshop floor.
"…I don't want to just make tools that help me cast spells," he muttered.
He tapped his fingers against the bench.
"I want something that changes how I move."
A pause.
Then his eyes sharpened slightly.
"Something that lets me leave the ground."
Celest was sitting on a nearby bench, watching quietly.
Luka leaned against the wall with his arms crossed.
Bradly stood perfectly still near the entrance like a statue that had been politely told not to breathe unless necessary.
Celest tilted her head. "Leave the ground… as in flight magic?"
Adam shook his head immediately.
"No. Flight magic is probably too complex right now."
He pointed at the floor.
"I want something physical. Something I can build."
Luka raised an eyebrow. "Like what?"
Adam hesitated.
Then said it.
"…Gravity boots."
Silence.
Even Bradly blinked once.
Celest slowly repeated, "Gravity… boots?"
Adam nodded faster now, his excitement building.
"Yeah. Not actual flight. Just something that lets me reduce my weight or redirect force. Even a short hover would be enough."
He paced slightly.
"If I can control momentum and weight even a little, I can train faster. Move faster. React faster."
Luka pushed off the wall.
"That's… actually not a bad idea."
Celest gave him a sideways look. "You're encouraging him too quickly."
Luka shrugged. "He's already going to try it anyway."
Bradly adjusted his monocle.
"The concept is theoretically feasible. However, stability will be the primary issue."
Adam nodded immediately.
"That's why I want to try it."
He looked down at the materials again.
"I just don't know how yet."
Celest stood up and walked over.
She placed a hand on the workbench.
"Then we start simple."
A soft pulse of mana activated the surface.
A faint grid appeared across the table.
"First question," she said. "What are you actually trying to control?"
Adam thought for a moment.
"Gravity?"
Celest shook her head gently.
"No."
She tapped the table.
"You are not controlling gravity."
She tapped Adam's chest lightly.
"You are controlling your relationship to it."
Adam paused.
"…That sounds more complicated."
Luka laughed. "Welcome to magic."
Bradly, however, nodded once.
"Lady Celest is correct. Most advanced movement enchantments manipulate vector resistance rather than external gravitational force."
Adam stared at him.
"…I understood like 40% of that."
"That is acceptable," Bradly replied.
Celest picked up the copper wire.
"Think of it like this."
She began shaping it into a rough spiral.
"If mana wraps your body like you learned yesterday…"
The spiral tightened slightly as she infused mana into it.
"Then this will wrap your movement."
Adam leaned forward.
"…Movement wrapping?"
Luka chuckled. "That sounds worse than it is."
Celest continued.
"You don't need to cancel gravity. You just need to reduce how much of your body is 'committed' to it."
Adam slowly nodded.
"I think I get it."
Then immediately added:
"I also might not get it."
Celest smiled. "That's fine."
She placed the shaped wire down.
"Try anyway."
Adam stepped up to the bench.
He picked up the copper wire.
It felt simple.
Too simple.
Like it shouldn't be responsible for something as insane as hovering.
"…Okay," he muttered. "Let's try step one."
He closed his eyes slightly.
Mana flowed through him easily now—far more naturally than before.
He guided it into the wire.
At first, nothing happened.
Then the wire trembled.
A faint glow appeared.
"Good," Celest said softly.
Adam focused harder.
He tried to imagine it like mana wrapping—but outward instead of inward.
Like building a shell around motion instead of body.
The wire bent slightly upward.
Then—
BZZT
It snapped violently and flung itself off the table.
Adam flinched.
"…That wasn't supposed to happen."
Luka snorted. "It exploded emotionally."
Bradly picked up the charred wire.
"Mana flow was unstable. You forced output without defining structure."
Adam groaned.
"So I messed up immediately."
Celest shook her head.
"You didn't mess up."
She picked up another wire.
"You just didn't give it rules."
Adam exhaled slowly.
"…Rules."
He looked at the new wire.
"Okay. I'll try again."
Attempt Two
He focused differently this time.
Instead of pushing mana outward, he imagined a boundary.
A thin layer around his feet.
Not floating.
Not flying.
Just… reducing contact.
"Like stepping on lighter ground," he muttered.
The wire glowed again.
This time steadier.
It hovered slightly above the table.
Celest's eyes sharpened slightly.
Luka straightened.
Bradly observed silently.
The wire lifted—
Held—
Then dropped suddenly.
clink
Adam opened his eyes.
"…It worked for like two seconds."
Celest smiled faintly.
"That's progress."
Luka nodded. "Yeah. Most people don't get even that on the first day."
Adam stared at the wire.
"…It felt like something was pulling it back down."
Bradly replied immediately.
"Mana decay. Your structure lacks persistence."
Adam frowned.
"So I need it to hold itself longer."
Bradly nodded once.
"Yes."
Celest added softly:
"And you need control while moving, not just stillness."
Adam paused.
"…Right."
That made sense.
And also made everything harder.
He set the wire down again.
"I'm not stopping until I get a stable hover."
Luka laughed. "That's the spirit."
Celest sighed lightly but smiled.
"You're going to exhaust yourself."
Adam looked at her.
"I already do that every day."
That made Celest pause.
Then she gently placed a hand on his head.
"…Fair."
Attempt Three — First Real Structure
Adam changed approach again.
This time, he didn't try to push mana directly into motion.
Instead, he visualized something else.
A framework.
A platform of invisible force just under his feet.
Not lifting him.
But "agreeing" to reduce weight impact.
He placed the wire flat.
Focused.
Mana flowed carefully this time.
Slower.
Controlled.
The wire began to glow in a steady circle.
Celest leaned slightly forward.
Luka narrowed his eyes.
Bradly's monocle caught the light.
The wire rose—
Slowly.
Smoothly.
It hovered.
Stable.
Adam's breath caught.
"…Wait."
It stayed up.
No shaking.
No snapping.
Just floating.
"…It's working."
Celest smiled.
"That's it."
Luka crossed his arms, impressed.
Bradly spoke quietly:
"Stability confirmed."
Adam grinned slightly.
"…Okay. Now I just need to scale it."
And that was when it failed.
Not dramatically.
Not explosively.
Just suddenly.
The wire collapsed downward—
And a sharp pulse of mana backlashed.
WHUMM
Adam stumbled backward.
Celest instantly moved, catching him before he fell.
Luka stepped forward. "Too much load?"
Bradly examined the wire.
"Overcompression. The structure held—but the output demand exceeded the input capacity."
Adam exhaled sharply.
"…So it worked."
Celest nodded.
"It worked."
A pause.
Then she added:
"But only for something light."
Adam looked down at his hands.
"…Then I just need to make it stronger."
Luka grinned.
"Now you're thinking like a craftsman."