Episode 32: This Isn’t a Gun, It’s a Staff [1]

 

-Wheeeeeeeeng…..!!

Gray flames matching Baek Si-ah’s eye color were spewing from what appeared to be an air intake or exhaust port on the back of the silver-white armor.

The moment I saw the 2-meter-tall massive frame accented with gray highlights, I felt an overwhelming sense of accomplishment – as if I’d witnessed the birth of a masterpiece that could send mechanical enthusiasts to heaven.

‘Something feels different from the original.’

In the original story, Baek Si-ah’s armor… well, it wasn’t this knight-like design that could sweep through enemy lines. Instead, it was optimized for a ranger/support striker who provided artillery fire from the rear.

But looking at the armor Baek Si-ah was wearing now… I couldn’t see any artillery barrels. It was just pure armor…

[“I’ve only made the base unit for now! I plan to modify it later with additional parts to allow three form changes – ranged, defender, and striker configurations!”]

‘Ah, so this armor is… just the base model.’

-Clank… Hssssss…!!

With a hiss of steam, the armor dissolved into particles of light, revealing Baek Si-ah wearing Raon Academy’s gym uniform underneath.

“This Mithril is incredibly durable! My ability lets me equip it like a transformation sequence… Oh! And I also discovered…”

‘She sure talks a lot when it comes to machines.’

Watching Baek Si-ah enthusiastically list the advantages of her mecha like she was delivering a technical report reminded me of a crazy friend from my past life. That friend had once said, “Studying is fun, why do you look so miserable?” before getting into CATOOST – South Korea’s top engineering university.

Anyway, to summarize Baek Si-ah’s explanation:

First, she seemed to have created armor superior to the original version. And this was her first attempt.

Second, future prospects looked extremely bright. We agreed to create additional parts using materials suitable for each type later.

Lastly, even after setting aside Eve’s portion, we had a considerable amount of Mithril left – enough to comfortably produce additional parts for Baek Si-ah’s mecha.

“Alright, now that you’ve received your reward, it’s time for me to make my request.”

“Ah! If there’s anything you want, I’ll make it all! Except this mecha and my life…?”

‘Geez, when you offer your life so readily, it makes me feel guilty…’

I showed Baek Si-ah – who had returned to her normal self after finishing her machine talk – a blueprint I’d drawn.

“Is this… a pistol without a magazine?”

“No, it’s not a pistol. Could you look into my eyes for a moment?”

I cast a light hypnotic suggestion on Baek Si-ah, implanting an illusion that would let her see my explanation like augmented reality. Since it only lasted about a minute, I needed to explain quickly.

“It looks like a pistol, but everything from the core to the exterior will be made of ultra-high purity Mithril. We need durability as the top priority so it can withstand any magic I use… And since we’ll be engraving high-level spell formulas, the overall mana efficiency needs to be excellent. Is this possible?”

The blueprint’s design was quite detailed. Baek Si-ah asked me to wait just five minutes.

“Ah, and you mentioned saving Mithril for the Chairman’s staff?”

“Since I’m giving you the leftover Mithril, don’t worry about that… If you can make a staff that satisfies me, I’ll give you all the Mithril needed to make your striker parts.”

“R-really?! I’ll make it as efficiently as possible!”

At the promise of extra Mithril, Baek Si-ah happily ran off still wearing her suit.

‘Hmm… Wouldn’t it be easier to operate with machinery? Did she jump into the furnace wearing her suit because she wants to personally control even the minute details?’

Instead of operating the furnace with devices, she was moving around inside it wearing her suit. What unbelievable durability.

<><><><><><><><><><>

<Information>

<Name: Baek Si-ah>

<Age: 18>

<Alignment: Inquisitive, Madness>

<Skill List>

<Genius Blacksmith (A)>

<Greatly increases success rate for weapon crafting and enhancement>

<Craft Master (S)>

<Can materialize anything whose structure is perfectly understood. Self-created constructs gain additional effects in combat>

<Stats>

(Receiving <Craft Master (S)> buff from [Battle Suit MK.1])

<Physical Strength: B>

<Defense: B>

<Magic Power: C+>

<Stamina: B>

<Agility: B+>

<Luck: A+>

<><><><><><><><><><>

‘…Incredible.’

These were the base specs without any additional parts… just the bare frame.

Though most of Baek Si-ah’s original stats were pitifully low, the S-grade <Craft Master (S)> buff had dramatically increased her abilities.

‘Should I ask her to make me one too?’

Well, since I can’t summon and dismiss suits like Baek Si-ah… it probably wouldn’t be as useful for me.

‘I’ll just ask her to make a good staff.’

But it’s been way longer than five minutes… Why isn’t she coming out?

…

…

…

[“S-sorry, Guild Master!! I got carried away and spent three hours making not just your staff…!”]

“It’s fine. I see you made all the extra parts too?”

Baek Si-ah approached carrying enough Mithril to make Eve’s staff.

Apparently she’d made all her parts too – various additional components were now attached to her [Battle Suit MK.1].

‘She must be confident.’

Though I wasn’t sure why she’d do this unless extremely confident – what if I wasn’t satisfied?

[“You’ll be completely satisfied! The structure is so simply designed that maintenance is easy… It’s intuitive enough that just channeling mana will let you cast much stronger magic than usual without fine adjustments.”]

With that, Baek Si-ah handed me a pistol.

‘…Isn’t this a DeXrt Eagle? The design matches the BB guns I played with before.’

As I examined the heavy-looking pistol, I channeled a thin stream of mana to figure out how it worked… The formerly silver barrel began glowing with lavender-hued magic energy.

[“While making this, I realized why you wanted a staff shaped like a pistol. By sacrificing length for a thicker core, the mana amplification rate increased tremendously. Accuracy issues can be fixed with additional parts like mine… Anyway, it’s an amazing idea! So good I’ll apply it to my gauntlets too…”]

Then Baek Si-ah handed me a small dagger the size of an army knife.

[“Ah, and… since there was extra Mithril, I made this knife in case you need close combat. Also some attachments like a silencer part that connects to the core and functions like a sniper rifle…”]

-Whoosh!

When I swung it, the weight felt perfect. After attaching the barrel extension part, the pistol transformed into a sniper rifle-sized gun with mechanical sounds, showcasing the pinnacle of Baek Si-ah’s engineering skills.

“Truly… perfect. Finding you was a godsend.”

[“Ahaha… Thank you so much, Guild Master.”]

Seeing Baek Si-ah cutely scratch her head in full armor created some cognitive dissonance… but at least I’d quickly secured my main and secondary weapons.

“Engrave the Breath of Stars. Trace its form across the sky, oh shining star.”

-Fwoooooosh!!

First, I needed to engrave Stellar Magic into this pistol.

‘Who knew I’d use the inscription technique Eve taught me like this…’

I planned to engrave two constellations onto the pistol’s magazine area.

To do this…

-Crackle!

[“Guild Master?!”]

“The Chairman might come running, so be careful?”

I casually crushed my earpiece since she’d find out anyway. The duration was about 1 minute, so I needed to explain quickly.

‘I won’t use Mephisto’s fragment, pouring all my mana here…!!’

I’d originally planned to engrave just one Stellar Magic, but seeing this weapon made me greedy.

‘How could I resist a pistol that transforms into a sniper rifle? That’s cheating levels of coolness.’

“Sagittarius, Pyxis.”

The additional effects I’d gain were…

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

[Item Information]

[Silver Gun (Name Not Yet Decided)]

[A staff resembling a pistol made from ultra-high purity Mithril. While stability suffers from extreme focus on power, its destructive capability is tremendous]

[Engraving Information]

[Sagittarius and Pyxis effects collide to create a new effect!]

[Guaranteed Hit: All projectiles fired will fly toward the intended target] (Duration: 30 seconds) (Cooldown: 1 hour)

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

It was a great success.

‘Though I couldn’t fully incorporate Sagittarius’ Guaranteed Hit & Source Destruction effects… Good thing I anticipated this and engraved Pyxis’ effect too.’

The 30-second duration was disappointing… but being able to guarantee hits even against empty air for half a minute was a huge advantage. I should be satisfied.

Now, the name. I needed to name it…

‘Since it’s a silver gun…’

“Silver. Silver sounds good.”

From today, your name isn’t Choon-sik, but Silver.

‘As for the dagger… I’ll probably die from mana depletion if I engrave this too, so I’ll do it tomorrow.’

Since I already knew what to engrave, I could do it tomorrow…

-Grooooooar……!!

‘?!’

An enormous magical energy approached from behind.

Startled, I turned my head to see…

“Se. Ah. Ya?”

Eve stood smiling at me as if she’d teleported, while Baek Si-ah looked flustered seeing her.

‘If I get dragged away now… nothing good will happen…!’

“Miss Si-ah.”

[“Yes?”]

“Don’t you need a sparring partner?”

Save me, please.