Richard shifted his focus away from CIndy as his eyes focused on the materials on the table.

It was a mishmash of metals, bones and other items that Ragnar personally went out to hunt for while most of the man made things like metals came from Richard’s storage.

Still, the only things on the workbench were materials, despite this, nobody seems to care. The others didn’t really bother with the workbench as the Goddess dragged Hana and Kyla around the cabin while Cindy was just standing opposite of Richard after she didn’t get the reaction she wanted from standing behind him.

Ragnar on the other hand just headed straight for the kitchen.

He already asked before but even if he was nothing more than a spiritual entity, his physical form could still enjoy some of the smaller things in life.

Food for example was one of those "small" things.

Fortunately, the Goddess was kind enough to buy a whole cabinet filled with spirits, Ragnar didn’t care about exotic foods. He preferred the food he hunted and cooked himself while the alcohol was the only thing he wanted to be bought.

Meat apparently tasted the same but spirits were different as fermentation was an artform that was perfected over time.

Richard didn’t mind those things, with the current rate of their spending, they would likely use up quite a bit of the money he saved up but he already had plans to resolve that issue.

For now though, the focus was on the upgrade of his gear.

With magic, the glock he had on hand was useless, in fact, the many javelins made by Ragnar- even though he used regular wood and bone, was far more useful and powerful than the gun which Richard had.

It was not even because Ragnar used magic when he wielded the weapons, it was born from the mystical methods he used to make the javelins.

Based on the methods shown by Ragnar, Richard had made his own technique.

While copying the man was easy, Richard quickly realized how the specific brand of magic that was used by individuals with mystical talents differed from those that didn’t have them.

While others may have set up an elaborate ritual and did actual smithing and other kinds of preparatory work.

The brass knuckles for example were just normal brass knuckles that were "enchanted" and the tools that Cindy used were likely made using the same methods but through different techniques.

In comparison to those methods, Richard’s technique that was derived from what he saw Ragnar use was-

"Alchemy?"

Cindy asked as she watched Richard manipulate the coals, iron and copper, melding them together to create an alloy.

The ratio of material he used for the coal (carbon)-iron-copper alloy which was 1-1-1, Richard didn’t bother to research about alloys as the ratios were a product of trial and error.

No heat was used, only his hands mixing the materials together like play-doh. It was crude and looked stupid but his methods incurred a jealous look from Cindy.

"Cheater"

She cursed at Richard while staring intently at his hands, her eyes were not trying to memorize the movements but trying its best to track the mystical effects that were occurring right before her eyes.

Richard was capable of influencing the world, much like all the demigods of myth and legend, he could conjure whatever miracle he wanted to. But the push back from nature would ALWAYS be more harmful if not managed correctly.

Right now, Richard was using a method where his will imposed a certain rule, a mystery some would call it while others would describe it as a spell.

Whatever it may be called, the function of Richard’s technique was simple.

’His hands could mix metals together’

That was the rule, what Cindy did not know was that the technique originated from Ragnar’s method which was closer to blacksmithing.

In essence, the core of a mystical beings’ magic was their own "belief". Due to their mystical origins, their belief was capable of directly altering reality unlike that of humans that needed the collective thought of millions.

But because their influence was greater, the backlash they get would also be more intense if they make even a small error.

Richard’s magic was focused on small scale changes, shifts that could barely change the balance.

He did not create something out of nothing, nor does he will into existence a phenomenon that is impossible to occur.

Instead, all he did was twist the rules a bit.

Metal is soft, it could be mixed, it’s like clay...

So long as Richard maintains such "truths" around his hands, there would be no significant backlash.

If Cindy wanted to do the same thing, she would need to prepare tools like gloves.

She could brainwash a hundred people, make them believe that "metal is soft" and that "metal is like play-doh".

Infusing her own beliefs on how such ideas would manifest into the minds of those people before killing them. Turning their body into a liquid solution that could be used to draw an image of a magic circle that creates the spell Richard used.

The magic circle would be posted online, maybe turned into a story or folk tale. It didn’t matter if people didn’t believe it, all she needed was a couple thousand people to be "aware" of the effects of the magic circle.

By using the blood solution of believers to draw a magic circle that "emulates" the effects of Richard’s spell on a pair of gloves. She would have created an artifact that could allow her to copy Richard.

But that is the very reason why she viewed Richard as "cheating".

Yes, she had an arsenal of tools, pets and spells she could use on the fly. She could match Richard in terms of magic but that was only because of her "first mover advantage".

Cindy has spent more time mastering and working on the mystical arts than Richard.

To the non-mystic folks of the mystical world, time = power. The longer you practice the mystical arts, the more spells you learn, the more foundations you build and the more tools you have at your disposal.

Training was not meditation or "accumulating natural energy".

There was no actual "training" in mystic arts, just learning, adaptation and survival.

"I understand why the ancient mystics hated your kind"

Cindy muttered as she watched Richard crush a piece of bear bone that had the bear’s soul infused into it. The bone powder was coated on the alloy before undergoing another round of "kneading".

After doing all that, Richard carried the lump of metal and bones to the fireplace.

*snap*

A tiny spark lit up the fireplace but there was no wood, looking into the pit, Cindy found that there was a cavity in the fireplace and within it was-

"Blood..."

Knowing Richard and based on the materials he had used.

"The bear’s blood?"

"Yeah, Ragnar found a bear that lived for 400 years, apparently, when bears turn into mystical creatures, they develop rings around their eyes as they grow a sense of intellect on par and sometimes even greater than humans. He hunted down a whole pack of these monsters and turned them into material"

Richard explained mercilessly, something Cindy didn’t expect. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

She knew that Richard was not a tree hugger but he didn’t like taking life just because. Even if the bears were good materials, he won’t just kill them, maybe one but a whole pack?

"There were victims weren’t there?"

If she followed the thought process of Richard which she had mapped out, the only logical conclusion as to why he could apathetically use their remains was simple.

"24 skeletons, seven of which were of children"

Cindy did not say anything else, whether it was the use of the wandering spirits or the use of the bears-

’The spirits could turn into monsters that would threaten others, the bears could hunt down more victims... foolish’

She thought while staring at Richard’s back, the cold and calculating former billionaire was surprisingly soft.

But given how he allowed himself to get stepped over by a woman out of love-

She can’t really say that he was good, but she won’t curse him as being all "that bad".

After all, human nature was just that simple after all.

A father could get mad at a kid because his son was hurt in a fight, even if the fight was started by his son, the father would always take the side of his son unless he didn’t care for him.

Mothers would call their children "good" even if their child was recorded committing a crime.

Teens get mad at others, some get mad at the world, they blame their failings on society, unable to accept that maybe they were the ones who lacked something or failed.

It was not something that always happened, sometimes parents were logical, but they are just as likely to get emotional and act irrational.

That was just how humans are.

Even the toughest man could cry like a little girl depending on the situation.

Humans are irrational-

But that irrationality is what birthed heroes.

The same irrationality that makes parents turn off logic to take their children’s side is the same irrationality that allows soldiers to turn off their survival instincts to ensure their friends survive.

’It’s also that irrationality that allowed normal humans to take control of their fate, to take hold of the power once wielded solely by "Gods", but such power... what does it cost?’

Cindy found herself thinking about philosophy as she stared at Richard’s back.

The man was seriously working on something that others would call an act of madness. If his former friends and associates saw him now, Richard would likely be labeled a madman.

Yet that very madman was creating an item that few would believe to exist-

The fire slowly died and as it disappeared so did the blood.

Richard reached into the pit and dragged out a lump of crimson metal.

It was what others would call a "magical metal".

Created through the souls of mystical beings, it was created by the hands of a mystic who carried with him the heritage of a true mystical being.

The world would normally correct mystical phenomena but there are things that could not be reverted to a state of "order".

Like Cindy’s pets that were amalgamations of life-

Or the tools she had which were artifacts made from the belief of many lives.

The metal which Richard created was the same, a mystical material forged through the enforced belief of mystical bears.

Under the natural laws, bears shouldn’t be able to live past 100 years, even if they did, they would be so weak that they’d just die due to a collapse of their physical body.

To escape the natural cycle, the bear must have obtained its own true ego. The development of such a soul is like an ascension.

Though it could happen naturally, based on Richard’s confirmation that there were "victims".

Cindy surmised that the bear pack that was taken down by Ragnar was responsible for a portion of the people who went missing in the woods.

They accumulated the souls of their victims in their own bodies and their hunts had become a part of the overarching legends that surround the woodlands of America.

It was an expansive legend about "the monsters in the woods", a legend that was collectively used by various mystics in their magic.

Even the mystical masons used this source which is why they didn’t actively try to erase the traces of the "mysterious disappearance". Some even actively supported the spread of such tales.

Despite there being victims, in exchange for having access to superhuman powers- even the organizations that claim to promote "order" were fully willing to support the madness.

That was the attraction of power.

Cindy could see it in Richard, the spark of his own greed and desire.

While he maintained the calm and foolish facade, it was impossible for him to completely hide his reactions. The joy he felt as he laid his eyes upon the crimson alloy.

But she didn’t voice it out to Cindy, what became of Richard was nothing for her to concern herself with.

After all, she wasn’t his enemy, instead, she was one of the people who helped him.

"Whatcha gonna do with that?"

Her childish act contrasted with her thoughts, but her youthful appearance, a benefit of her genetics allowed her to do the act without looking unnatural.

Unfortunately, Richard was still as stoic as ever, although his feelings were hidden, the small eruption of emotion he had was not the lust or desire she wanted but one of pity.

It was a witches nature to sense emotions, that was their very first lesson.

But sometimes, Cindy wished she didn’t have such abilities.

"Awe~ come on, tell me!!!"

But that didn’t stop her act at all as she continued to pester Richard with the same old act. Even if he disliked it or looked at her with pity. Everything starts with repetition, once he gets numb to it, things would become more natural.

The longer she keeps up her act, the more she could set Richard’s thoughts into a set course.

The battle had already begun long ago but whether the participants were on the same field or not- only one person knows and that lady was laughing her ass off on the second floor.

<hahahaha!>