Chapter 64: The Blueprint of a Weapon

The heavy doors of Assessment Hub 7 swung open.

The familiar, chaotic noise of grinding gears and shouting mechanics washed over us.

I walked in with my heavy coat draped over my uninjured shoulder.

Nyssa and Kaelith followed closely behind me.

’This place just gives me chills! Oh! That horrific surgery of my Arm!’

The moment we stepped inside, the atmosphere in the workshop shifted.

CLANG CLANG CLANG.....

The mechanics closest to the door stopped hammering.

They stared in absolute terror.

We were not intentionally flexing our auras, but three C-Grade Apex variants walking into a room created a suffocating physical pressure.

’We probably feel like a natural disaster walking into a tavern,’ I thought, amused by their pale faces.

’I should learn to control my Aura nowadays. Even if I am level 20. I have good enough power. Evolved Beings cannot be measured through Common Sense.’

Master Brakka was hunched over his central workbench, cursing at a rusted gear.

"Ah! Damn it! Another Failure!"

He wiped grease from his forehead and finally looked up.

His mechanical blue eye whirred loudly, focusing on me, then Nyssa, and finally Kaelith.

He dropped his heavy wrench on the steel table.

"By the Great Cog," Brakka muttered.

"Did you three swallow a dragon core or something? The mana density around you is making my tools vibrate."

"We had a very productive morning," I replied with a grin.

I walked up to his table and placed my scorched, blackened Vanguard Arm heavily onto the metal surface.

Brakka leaned in, his organic eye widening in absolute horror.

"What in the name of the Forge did you do to my masterpiece? This was forged with great care, you know. It had the capability of handling the heat that could melt steel." he yelled.

"Did you put it in a Dragon’s Jaw or something?" he asked rhetorically.

I could only scratch my head in response.

He poked the blistered, warped brass with a pair of tongs.

"The internal boiler is completely fused. The kinetic dampeners are slag."

He looked at the burn marks where the metal bolted into my shoulder.

"You channeled raw, catastrophic mana straight through the chassis, did you not?"

"I had to act as a grounding rod," I explained calmly.

"If I did not vent their excess evolution energy through my arm, we would have leveled the entire block."

Brakka stared at me like I was completely insane.

"You used your own nervous system and my mechanical arm as an exhaust pipe?"

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!" He gave out a hearty laugh, looking at me like a madman.

He threw his hands up in the air.

"You are a madman! But I suppose that is what I should expect from the new Nobility."

He scoffed sarcastically, tapping the blackened brass.

"Look at you, Lord Grik. Parading around with an Aetherion scholar and a living shadow."

"I bet you expect me to drop everything and serve my grand sovereign right now."

"Your sarcasm is noted, Brakka," I chuckled, leaning against the table.

"But yes, I need this fixed immediately. And I want to discuss some future upgrades."

Nyssa stepped forward. Her glowing emerald eyes scanned the broken arm.

"The current design relies purely on kinetic force and steam pressure," Nyssa observed.

"But with Grik’s C-Grade core, we are wasting his magical output."

’She is right,’ I thought, a sudden memory from my past life surfacing.

’Back on Earth, there was that famous comic book hero with the iron suit.’

’He did not just punch people. He shot concentrated energy blasts right out of his palms.’

[A/N: I am ...(iykyk)]

"Brakka, listen to me," I said, pointing to the palm of the mechanical hand.

"What if we hollow out the center of the palm? We could install a focal lens connected directly to my core."

Brakka scratched his green chin, his mechanical eye spinning.

"A focal lens in the palm? To do what?"

"To shoot concentrated mana blasts," I explained, drawing a circle on the table with my organic hand.

"Instead of just punching, I could release a high-density kinetic beam from my hand."

"Like a localized cannon," Nyssa added, her academic curiosity igniting.

"I could weave an arcane circuit into the metal."

"It would funnel his excess thermal energy perfectly into the lens."

Brakka stared at the two of us, his jaw slightly open.

"A palm cannon," he repeated slowly.

"You want me to turn your arm into a portable siege engine."

"Exactly," I smiled. "I also want retractable plating. Something sleek that can absorb impact and redistribute it."

"Like a reactive armor mesh," Nyssa nodded quickly.

The old Goblin mechanic groaned loudly, rubbing his temples.

"You two are going to give me a migraine."

"I can build the palm cannon, yes. The physics are sound if the scholar here handles the arcane routing."

"But I do not have the materials for that kind of reactive plating or the specialized lenses today."

"It will take weeks to source Arcanium pure enough to handle that kind of blast."

"That is fine," I told him, patting his shoulder.

"Consider it a blueprint for the future. For now, just fix the current damage so I can actually fight tonight."

Brakka sighed, grabbing a heavy grinder and a fresh sheet of reinforced brass.

"Fine. I will hammer out the dents, replace the boiler, and reinforce the primary joints."

"It will be functionally the same as before, just a bit more heat resistant."

"That works perfectly for tonight," Kaelith said, her voice echoing with dark authority.

An hour later, my Vanguard Arm was bolted back onto my shoulder.

’The Surgery was alright! Guess my own Evolution has it’s perk huh?!’

It looked mostly the same, polished and heavy, but the new brass plating was significantly thicker.

We paid Brakka handsomely and left the workshop.

"Time to head to the PM’s house. We need to discuss our next plans with him."

We headed straight for the PM’s house, the lavish estate we had secured for our operations.

The sun was already beginning to set, casting long, dark shadows across the city streets.

Swoosh

Kaelith seemed to glide through those shadows, completely unbound by normal friction.

We arrived at the back courtyard of the PM’s house.

Rolf was already there, leaning against a stone wall and sharpening his broadsword.

He looked up as the gate creaked open.

The huge Werewolf froze, his jaw dropping as he took in our new forms.

"Boss?" Rolf asked, his voice full of disbelief.

He looked at Nyssa’s glowing arcane circuits and Kaelith’s pitch-black eyes.

"I leave for one date, and you all turn into actual gods?"

"It was a very eventful night, brother," I laughed, extending my organic hand.

"And don’t exaggerate. We are nowhere near close to real gods! And you should work hard today. I believe you will evolve soon enough."

Rolf smirked at me and said, "Of course, I will! You think I don’t know that! I will evolve and beat that Evolved ass of yours!"

I smirked back giving him a firm handshake, "Sure! I am looking forward to it!"

Rolf grasped my forearm, pulling me into a tight, brotherly embrace.

Even with my new C-Grade Goblin Leader Aura pressing down, I made sure he felt the same respect as always.

"You look terrifying, Kaelith," Rolf noted, stepping back.

"Thank you," the assassin replied with a sharp, feral smile.

"Alright, enough reunions," I commanded, my tone shifting to strict business.

"Nyssa has awakened a new trait due to her Evolution. She can now perceive mana better than anyone among us. It will surely help us in finding their whereabouts in no time."

Nyssa stepped forward, pulling out the city map from her satchel.

’Apparently, she had already finished gathering the information that was required for this mission. What a good Girl! I just want to dote her so much!’

Her emerald eyes glowed brightly as she placed her hand over the parchment.

"With my new Reality Weaver trait, I scanned the underground mana currents," she explained.

She dragged her glowing finger across the map, stopping at a completely unmapped sector beneath the central factory.

"There is a massive arcane void right here. All the ambient mana in the sewers is being sucked into this one point. I believe this will be the place where we will find their Hideout!"

"The Ashen Maw’s sanctum," Kaelith confirmed softly.

"Then our target is locked," I said, rolling my mechanical shoulder.

We walked to the heavy iron grate hidden in the corner of the PM’s estate.

Rolf grabbed the rusted bars and easily hauled the massive grate open.

’I just hope there are no unexpected Variables. We are strong enough, but just in case I should make preparations!’

The dark, damp smell of the lower sewers drifted up to greet us.

"The purists think they own this world," I said, looking at my pack.

"Let us go show them what real monsters look like."

I stepped off the ledge, plunging into the darkness below.

The hunt had officially begun.