Chapter 163: Chapter 106: A Truly Black-Hearted Master

"Tell me something I don’t know... Huh?"

The guard captain’s expression tensed. Seeing an extra black figure inside the watchtower, a flash of terror crossed his eyes. "Alert!!"

Everyone froze, then they all took two steps back and stood back-to-back, warily scanning their surroundings. Only then did they notice the extra person in the corner.

The black figure raised a finger to its lips. "Shhh. You’re all too loud. You’ll wake my little darlings."

"Dammit, Ruan!" The captain didn’t dare relax his guard for a second. He yelled the name, then drew his sword. "I don’t care who you are! You trespass in this watchtower, you die!"

With that, he led the charge against the dark figure, the City Guard close behind.

But the vice-captain, Ruan, ran for the alarm on the wall. If he could just press it, a signal would be sent to the City Guard headquarters in the heart of the city-state. If only...

WHOOSH!

The dark figure shot through the crowd, appearing in an instant before the vice-captain and blocking his path.

"What?!"

"Oh, I can’t have that. If I let you warn those nobles, my mission will fail."

The figure held an old-fashioned rapier. With a flourish, it chuckled. "My little darlings, they’re all yours."

Countless silkworm-cocoon-sized gray insects surged out from beneath the figure, lunging at the City Guards.

The captain’s eyes widened in horror at the sight of the tiny insects. "Look out!!"

"Aaargh—"

A moment later, everything fell silent. The City Guards still stood diligently at their posts, only now, their eyes were threaded with crimson...

...

...

DONG, DONG...

The bells of Krimms Cathedral rang out. Wei’en set down his quill, a smile touching his lips as he looked at the completed design blueprint on the parchment.

’Since the standard-issue firearm from the Secret Investigation Department is too weak, I’ll just have to build two high-powered guns myself.’

With his experience from building the Mechanical Puppet last night, combined with the firearms knowledge he’d gained through his gun-related skills, he was confident he could create guns far more powerful than any currently available.

These two blueprints were for a sniper rifle, designed for long-range kills, and a Revolver.

Compared to the standard-issue firearm, the Revolver’s power and effective range were much greater.

For easier reloading, Wei’en had intentionally designed the Revolver to be oversized, with a fifteen-round cylinder.

’Based on the activation threshold of my Death trait, one full cylinder should be enough to trigger the instant-death effect on a typical captain-level enemy.’

The sniper rifle, like the Revolver, also had its ammunition capacity increased.

Wei’en wasn’t foolish enough to add a scope. With a perception range of nearly two kilometers and his exceptional physical conditioning, he could see distant targets as clearly as if he were using one.

Therefore, he focused more of his energy on designing the Rune Array.

That’s right.

Inspired by the Mechanical Puppet, Wei’en decided he would install a Rune Array on the sniper rifle to enhance its performance.

Using the Rune Array as its core would also provide the sniper rifle with much greater kinetic energy.

Of course, he wasn’t choosing a rune like "Heart of Fortitude." He had specifically searched Jerry’s notes and found two others.

One was the Rapid Rune, which increased the bullet’s velocity. The other, which mainly boosted the bullet’s power, was the Blast Rune.

According to Wei’en’s plan, as long as he could use the sniper rifle’s immense power to injure an enemy, he could then use other firearms to trigger his Death trait.

Especially against monsters like the Sutle Dog.

If he hadn’t stunned the Sutle Dog by summoning the Necromancer’s Claw last night, it was hard to say if he could have even hit it, given that spell’s incredibly long casting time.

’But with the sniper rifle, it won’t be so much trouble.’

Additionally, due to the Revolver’s smaller size, Wei’en chose not to inscribe a Rune Array on it.

’I’ll just modify the Secret Investigation Department’s standard-issue firearm and try to preserve its ability to use Magic Potions.’

After he finished making these two firearms, he also planned to build a Gatling-style machine gun to take full advantage of his Death trait’s activation.

’Hmm, the mental image is a bit jarring... I’m a Wizard, after all.’

’If I really make a Gatling gun, I’ll give it to Unit Zero. I’m sure its frame can handle that style.’

However, this approach wasn’t without its problems. The biggest issue was ammunition... The round bullets issued by the Secret Investigation Department were clearly not suitable for the new firearms.

So, Wei’en had also specially designed the bullets.

To avoid trouble, he decided both new guns would use the same caliber of bullet. In the future, he would only need to set aside some time to replenish his spent ammunition.

"Tsk, I hope Unit Zero develops a bit faster. Then I can hand off this kind of work to it."

The very definition of a heartless master.

[You have successfully drawn the Rapid Rune. Special Reward: Survival Points +3, Spirit Level +1.]

[You have successfully drawn the Blast Rune...]

[...]

[Congratulations, you have obtained the knowledge of a max-level rune. Your Runelore proficiency progress: 12/100. Special Reward: Spirit Level +1.]

After spending 20 Survival Points to max out both of these runes, he combined them with the keystone (Death God) rune and the Spirit Rune to create a Rune Array suitable for the sniper rifle.

Wei’en nodded in satisfaction as he looked at the newly designed blueprint for the sniper rifle.

The gun was 1.5 meters long, with a 50-centimeter barrel. The receiver, excluding the stock, was nearly 80 centimeters long.

And to avoid attracting attention, Wei’en had deliberately made the sniper rifle’s design less refined, making it fit in more with the style of this world.

The gun’s body was covered in gears, pipes, and decorative rivets, giving the entire weapon a much more rugged appearance.