*Krrrrrrnk*
The thin, high-quality silver wire made a metallic noise as it passed through the holes of a wire drawing machine, making the silver wire thinner and thinner.
William worked quickly and delicately, the silver wire becoming thinner and thinner until it reached the ideal thickness.
Setting aside the wire drawing machine he used in the first step, William continued with the next procedure: twisting the thin silver wires together with the help of a small tool similar to a crank and a small hook attached to the wall.
With multiple turns of the tool, the silver wires were twisted together, resulting in the three silver wires joining together into a single intricate and shiny metal braid.
"Next step..."
William muttered unconsciously once he had enough silver wire coiled, using a thin central shaft as a base, William wrapped the silver wire around it, forming a spring.
"Now the links."
William finally took one of his special tools from his roll-up leather case, a pair of delicate scissors with an owl engraved in the centre connecting the two blades.
William adjusted his silver-rimmed glasses, which served to protect his eyes and increase his ability to see details at will.
The small rings fell one by one into a container as William cut the spring vertically.
The process continued for the next four days, which included braiding each small ring onto the next in a spiral until it completely formed a type of chain known as Chain Rope. He then had to weld the pieces together with a blowtorch. Finally, William carved small runes into the clasps, which increased the chain's strength and flexibility.
The end result was an elegant silver necklace enchanted with runes to make it more resistant and able to be fused with pendants, medallions, or charms.
"I finally have a worthy place for you."
William put the thin necklace around his neck and took a small black box from one of his desk drawers. Inside was the Selkie medallion made of Mitral.
The silver threads of the necklace intertwined and held the medallion firmly in place, engraved with a bear standing on two legs and roaring.
[Selkie Medallion - Effect - Its wearer has a one in three chance of getting lucky. - Active Skill - Cooldown: One Month.]
After a full month of holidays at home, William's system finally showed signs of life.
The whole process could have been much faster if William had used pieces already manufactured by the family's main jewellery workshop, as he normally did in Nevermore.
Hurry up and come down for breakfast so I can take you to the airport.
A text message from his sister Victoria pulled William out of his contemplation of his new medal in the small round mirror on his desk.
"And what's her name, Will?"
Catherine began the interrogation without stopping her silver cutlery, and William didn't stop eating his waffles covered with icing sugar and red berries either.
"..."
William remained silent, perhaps thinking that if he feigned ignorance, the subject would go unnoticed.
"The girl you video call all the time."
Victoria was also curious. She had heard her brother talking to someone in his room. At first, she thought he was talking to one of his parents, but after discreetly peeking in from the doorway, she saw that he was talking to someone on his laptop.
"The girl in the photos on your desk, they look like they're having fun together."
Uriel also joined his wife and daughter in the offensive to tease his son.
William had two options: either act shy or face it head-on. He chose the latter without hesitation, thinking that would put an end to future jokes about their relationship.
"Her name is Enid Sinclair, and she's a very pretty girl."
William handed his phone to his mother so she could see a photo of Enid hugging a large white wolf.
"Oh, she's very pretty and looks lively."
Catherine smiled fondly. This photo reminded her of her student days, when her husband also used to change shape into different animals at her whim.
"She looks very colourful, unlike you, who always wears white."
Victoria also glanced at the photo.
"How long have you been together?"
"A few months, since the middle of the first semester."
"You should invite her home if you really like her. The winter holidays would be a good time, so you wouldn't have to wait a month to see her."
Catherine would like to meet her future daughter-in-law. Since her eldest daughter was at university and her son was at boarding school, she felt she didn't get to spend enough time with them, so this year she imposed a new family rule that neither of them could travel anywhere for at least a month, a period that ended today.
"You wouldn't have to fly nine hours to San Francisco anymore."
Uriel also agreed with his wife's suggestion.
"Really?"
"Of course."
"I'll talk to her about it, but her relationship with her family isn't the best."
William loved the idea of spending the winter holidays with Enid.
"What do you mean?"
Catherine sensed that the conversation had turned to a somewhat serious topic.
"I'm sorry, but I want Enid's permission before I say too much."
"You're right. If it's a sensitive issue for her, it's best to get her approval first."
"Changing the subject, what kind of Outcast is she? Did you get yourself a vampire, or were you enchanted by a mermaid?"
Victoria asked the question.
"She is a werewolf."
William replied as he wiped his mouth with a napkin.
"Interesting choice."
Victoria smiled at the answer, as did Catherine and Uriel.
- Portland, Oregon - 24-Hour Shop. -
A luxurious sports car pulled up with smooth, perfect movements, its 'Alfa Red' paintwork gleaming in the sun.
"Wow, did you see that sports car?!"
"Oh, it's an Alfa Romeo 4C, it's gorgeous."
At the shop called 'The Leprechaun', two young teenagers crowded around the glass window, admiring the car known as a 'Modern Classic'.
"It's a car without power steering, so the driver must be a car fanatic."
"I want a car too."
Both young men, dressed entirely in green, looked like they had stepped out of a St. Patrick's Day celebration. The shop, "El Leprechaun," specialises in lottery tickets and scratch cards. The bright, colourful cardboard sheets promised, with catchy slogans, to make you a millionaire if you had the necessary luck and money to bet on it.
"Tsk, he's just a nasty rich kid."
Jake cursed when he saw a tall young man dressed in white with golden hair walking towards them, or to be more precise, towards the shop where he worked.
William got out of the car while fixing his hair. It was time for his sister to repay the favour she owed him.
"We still have some time, so pick a few and let's go."
Victoria got out of the driver's seat. This $70,000 sports car was hers. The reason she worked during the first half of her holidays was to earn money to spend on her hobbies.
Jass, a young man with freckles on his cheeks, swallowed hard when he saw the attractive girl with golden hair and elegant bearing get out of the car.
"Why did you choose such a strange shop?"
Victoria looked around. There were few customers, and the boys at the cash register kept staring at her, which was unpleasant for her.
"I did some research online. This shop has a wide variety of lottery brands, they change their inventory quite often, and they did so just yesterday."
William's fingers caressed the lottery tickets hanging from the shelves as he walked down the aisles.
*Vibrate*
Suddenly, she felt a slight vibration in her chest. It was the medallion hanging around her neck inside her shirt.
"I'll tease you if you don't win anything after saying that in such a confident tone."
Victoria carelessly chose three lottery tickets at random; she would also try her luck since she was here.
"That'll be $210 and 50 cents, cash or card..."
Jass did his best not to stutter in front of Victoria.
"Card."
Victoria naturally reached out her hand to William, who narrowed his eyes, thinking his beloved older sister would pay for it.
"If you want to bet, you pay."
"Stingy."
Each scratch-off lottery ticket cost William $50. Each ticket had a little elf dressed in green holding a pot full of gold in his hands, a type of elf called a leprechaun of Irish origin.
[The pot of gold at the end of the rainbow - Scratch and find your winning numbers among the forty squares on this ticket and you could win up to $25 million!]
Both brothers leaned on the car while William took one of his rings off his finger to use it to scratch the boxes.
The silver boxes were scratched off one complete row at a time.
"Useless..."
William quickly switched to the second scratch card and scratched again, but nothing, not a single dollar.
(Maybe I'm misunderstanding how this thing works.)
William thought sadly, the description of the Selkie medal was quite vague and ambiguous, when you really need luck, when your life is in danger or when you want to win a vain bet for money.
"Yes!!!"
Victoria held and shook her younger brother's shoulders, celebrating with a bright, charming smile that she had managed to win two hundred dollars from a scratch card that didn't cost her a penny.
"Technically, I won two hundred dollars."
"Ha! You're a minor, so you can't even claim the prize."
William snorted in annoyance. What he said was true; the Oregon Lottery Commission does not allow minors to gamble.
"Tsk... maybe I wasn't entirely wrong!"
William wanted to shout with excitement. Right in the middle of one of the columns of boxes, he scratched off the symbol for the 'Leprechaun's Pot of Gold' worth one point five million dollars.
"Oops!"
William snatched the lottery ticket from Victoria's quick hands.
"Ten percent!"
"Five."
"Six."
"Deal. You'll have to go fill out the paperwork and take care of the taxes at the Oregon Lottery offices in Salem."
"Taxes?"
"8% state and 24% federal."
"That leaves us with about eight hundred and eighty-five thousand."
Victoria quickly signed the back of the lottery ticket to avoid any mishaps such as losing it or someone borrowing it without thinking to return it.
"Come on, you still have a lot to do at the airport."