After a long, but well-deserved rest, Rion made his way to the makeshift training room he had set up in his house.
The room was dimly lit, with the only sources of light coming from a few flickering bulbs overhead. In the center of the room stood several dummies, their wooden frames waiting to be put to the test with his newly crafted weapons.
With purposeful strides, he approached the sturdy table in the corner of the room where he had arranged his newly crafted weapons. Carefully, he used his fingers to trace the edges of each of his creations before placing them down, taking a moment to inspect them one last time before testing their capabilities.
First, he picked up the metallic gloves, its sleek surface cool to the touch. As he slid both hands into the gloves, it molded itself snugly to his fingers. The thin fabric lining felt comfortable against his skin as he flexed his fingers, testing the range of motion.
Due to the technologies embedded within, the gloves were capable of delivering a powerful knockback force upon contact. This feature could be used to create distance between himself and adversaries in close combat or to disrupt their attacks with a well-timed punch. Also, by activating the magnetic forces within the glove, it would stick to any nearby metallic surfaces, perfect for navigating environments where conventional means might be limited.
To enable the gloves to stick to metallic surfaces, he had incorporated a clever mechanism activated by the wearer. He installed a winding mechanism powered by a spring-loaded system, which, when triggered, would engage powerful magnetic clamps within the gloves. With a simple twist or pull, the wearer could activate or deactivate the magnetic adhesion feature, providing versatility in various environments.
With the components in place, Rion conducted a series of rigorous tests, pushing the gloves to their limits to ensure it met his exacting standards. He punched through solid barriers, activated the knockback mechanism to send the weighted dummies flying, and experimented with the magnetic capabilities, clinging to metal surfaces with ease.
Satisfied with their effectiveness, he deactivated the magnetic adhesion feature, carefully removed the gloves and set them back on the table. He then picked up the gray handguns next.
The guns were sleek yet imposing, their matte-gray finish giving them a utilitarian, no-nonsense appearance. They were slightly larger than traditional handguns, their bulkier frames necessary to house the array of powerful magnets within. These magnets created a strong, focused magnetic field that served as the primary propulsion force to accelerate projectiles at to incredible speeds with pinpoint accuracy.
As he removed the safety and pulled on the trigger, a series of mechanical clicks could be heard. This was because he had not loaded the bullets into the gun and just wanted to test the mechanisms.
After making sure that the mechanisms still worked well, he carefully picked up the cartridges and loaded them into magazines, leaving him with 10 magazines of the brass-plated rounds and 1 magazine of the red coated rounds. The brass-plated rounds were specially made to be ferromagnetic in other to maximize their interaction with the magnetic field the pistol generates, allowing for efficient acceleration through magnetic repulsion.
As for the red coated rounds, they were highly incendiary bullets that incorporated an explosive component located within the tip of the bullet. Upon firing, the explosive material would detonate upon impact, creating a burst of heat and shrapnel designed to inflict maximum damage. These incendiary bullets would serve as a trump card in particularly dire situations, where sheer stopping power was essential.
«Whizz!»
Taking aim at the nearest dummy, he pulled the trigger, sending one of the ferromagnetic projectiles hurtling toward its target. As it differed from traditional handguns that rely on explosive propellants to fire projectiles, the magnetic handgun did not sound like the loud bang of a traditional firearm discharging.
Instead, it produced less noise with most of the sound being made by the impact of the projectile against the dummy. With a satisfying thud, the dummy recoiled from the impact, confirming the handgun's effectiveness. Elated, he put the safety back on and set it on the table.
The next thing he did was to pick up the dagger handle. Eager to test it's capabilities, Rion's fingers deftly pulled the discreet lever on the side, activating the hidden mechanism. To his satisfaction, a sharp blade emerged from the handle, gliding smoothly until it reached a length of about 30cm.
A grin spread across his face as he marveled at the precision of the foldable mechanism. The blade was sharp, and the entire process unfolded with a quiet efficiency. The lever allowed him to control the length at will—short or fully extended, adapting to the demands of the situation.
Eager to test the balance and handling of his creation, he gripped the foldable dagger handle firmly. With a swift motion, he swung it through the air. The blade, now fully extended, cut through the space with a controlled precision.
The weight felt just right, the balance impeccable. He could sense the aerodynamic design at play, allowing the blade to move effortlessly through the air. The adjustability of the blade's length didn't compromise its stability or maneuverability.
He then assumed a stance before taking a series of practiced strikes at the nearest dummy. With each movement, the blade extended and retracted flawlessly, delivering precise and controlled strikes with deadly efficiency.
With a satisfied nod, Rion flicked his wrist and retracted the blade back into the handle. He then dropped it on the table and picked up the last item, the bulletproof vest.
The gray finish of the material gleamed faintly as he reflected on the changes he had implemented. He had actually not done much to the original, merely thinning it down and increasing the durability. Strapping it on, he moved with ease, testing its flexibility and comfort.
A short while later, he subjected the vest to a series of simulated attacks, striking it with various blunt and piercing objects. The vest held strong, absorbing the impact and dispersing the force as intended. With a confident nod, he knew he was well-protected for whatever challenges lay ahead.
He also tested his creations with his Resonance ability activated and confirmed that using ability to empower his weapons enabled them to perform admirably, exceeding his expectations. With his creations tested and proven, Rion couldn't help but feel a surge of satisfaction as a small smile played on his lips.
Although he was only able to simulate the effects of his gear during the design phase, his intuition and expansive knowledge base had made it so that his mathematical model was mostly accurate, barring a few minor variables.
As long as he gathered a decent amount of useful data through constant usage or dedicated testing sites, it wouldn't take too long for him to adjust his formulas and develop a more accurate model. This way, the subsequent iterations would be more efficient.
However, as he arranged the creations neatly on the table, his mind began to drift, and suddenly, a realization struck him. He glanced at the date on his phone, and it displayed that it was the 17th day of the 10th month. It then hit him – today was his birthday.
"Happy seventeenth birthday to me, I guess."
A wistful smile played on Rion's lips as he considered the fact that his body was one year older. At least now, he was eligible to recieve the remainder of his trust fund.
Even though 10,000 kila was a fraction of his growing wealth, he would still need to work at the workshop for close to a month to recieve this sum.
Oh well....
He redirected his attention to the gear before him, pushing all thoughts about birthdays to a corner. They were impressive, yet he knew they were but a temporary solution. His mind lingered on the thought of better materials, more advanced facilities that could elevate his designs further.
"At least now I've got a fighting chance against that smoke-lunged bastard and whatever else the world decides to throw my way," he quipped, a wry grin tugging at the corners of his lips.
As he caressed the creations on the table, a wistful sigh passed through his lips. Despite the undeniable benefits of his upgrades and creations, there was a tiny part of him yearning for the tranquility of a more peaceful life.
"That choice is gone for me. I can only persevere on the path I have chosen."
To live comfortably in this world, he needed to command both strength and wealth in order to gain the resources he sought. He reaffirmed himself one more time about the necessity of the path he had embarked on, utilizing his greatest resources, his memories.
With a resigned sigh, Rion decided to take a moment for self-improvement. He sat on the floor in a meditative posture, embracing the solitude of his room. With a focused mind, he initiated the [Energy Absorption Technique I] to actively recover the energy he had spent.
It felt like he had a small gravity well inside him and was using it to entrap and drag origin energy towards himself. The fascinating aspect about this was that as soon as this formless energy entered into his body, they made their way towards his charged cells with no conscious effort on his part, almost like iron attracted to a magnet.
The process was oddly satisfying, like watching a drop of water disappear into thirsty soil. The room became charged with a subtle energy as he absorbed ambient origin energy and converted it into fuel for his internal reservoir.
Given that his internal origin energy was getting refilled, he also simultaneously practiced the [Energy Training Technique I], circulating his internal energy, guiding it through the pathways in his body before slowly letting it out.
As the energy circulated, the barrier around his charged cells subconsciously reached out and captured a bit of the energy as it passed through, infusing itself with it.
"I have gotten much better at this." He muttered.
Weeks of trial and error had enabled him to outline the most stable path to circulate his energy. Compared to the first time where it felt like his energy bounced around him like an angry wasp trapped in a jar, his energy now flowed smoothly, weaving through his body in a way that felt almost natural.
Almost. There were still moments when it hit a snag—like a tiny traffic jam inside him.
He continued this until he could faintly feel a tingling, prickling sensation throughout his body. This was his body's way of informing him that he had reached his limit and his cultivation for the day had to come to an end.
According to the guide, practicing the [Energy Training Technique I] burdened the cultivator's body, in addition to the stamina and mental energy cost. It was for this reason that strykers had an easier time practicing most origin techniques compared to adepts.
However, there was a saving grace of higher grade origin techniques imposing lesser burden on the cultivator's body. One could clearly see the importance of a good origin technique from this result alone.
If a cultivator was able to start cultivation with an excellent origin technique, the minor accumulations over the days and months would allow one to travel much further down the path of cultivation than those that did not have one.
It was a pity that such higher grade origin techniques were not only precious but were also incredibly rare. Even some small-scale guilds didn't have much of them.
The bright side to this was that origin techniques could be interchanged at will, so if he ever acquired a higher grade origin technique compared to the one he had, he could just switch it out and start to practice the new one.
Rion stretched as he stood up, feeling a profound sense of fatigue. The weariness weighed heavily on his muscles, leaving him drained and devoid of energy. With the day's creations safely stored, he made his way to his bed, ready to rest and brace himself for the challenges that awaited him in the days to come.