—
Wiiiiiiing…!!
A hole either for air intake or exhaust on the silvery-white armor was emitting gray flames, the same color as Baek Sia’s irises.
The massive frame, standing at 2 meters tall, had gray highlights added, creating a design so impressive that it made enthusiasts of firepower feel like they were ascending to heaven. Truly, this was a masterpiece worthy of admiration, giving a great sense of accomplishment.
‘Something seems different from the original work.’
In the original, Baek Sia’s armor wasn’t like a knight sweeping through enemy lines; instead, it was designed for long-range bombardment, supporting the protagonist from afar. It was meant for a ranger-class character optimized for ranged combat and serving as a secondary striker.
However, looking at Baek Sia’s current armor… there was no visible cannon for bombardment, just the sheer look of the armor itself.
[“First, I’ve only created the base chassis! Later, I plan to add customizable parts to make it suitable for long-range combat, defense, or striker roles, allowing three form changes!”]
‘Aha, so this armor… is the base, then.’
Klak… chi-iiiiik…!!
With a sound of steam escaping, the armor disintegrated into a light cluster before disappearing, revealing Baek Sia in her Raon Academy gym uniform.
“Adamantite is truly incredible! Its strength is amazing! I can even transform into this gear thanks to my abilities… Ah! And I’ve also realized something else…”
‘Always the one with a lot to say when it comes to machines.’
Seeing Baek Sia rattle off a long list of advantages about her armor, like she was writing a report, reminded me of a genius friend from my past who attended the Korean Institute of Technology (KATUST) after declaring “Studying is fun, so why do people look so sad?” while preparing for university exams.
Summarizing Baek Sia’s explanation:
First, Baek Sia crafted armor that outperforms the original version in her first attempt.
Second, the process seems to promise a bright future for her projects. She plans to purchase and craft appropriate materials for different parts later on.
Lastly, even after setting aside some adamantite for Eve, there is still a significant amount left for additional parts for her armor.
Enough to craft extra parts for her gear.
“Great, now that I’ve received my reward, it’s time for you to fulfill my request.”
“Ahhh! If there’s anything you want, I can grant it all! Well, except for my life and the armor…”
‘Well, if you’re willing to give your life for it, then I’d feel kind of bad…’
As soon as the mechanical talk ended, Baek Sia returned to normal and showed me a design sketch.
“Is this… a pistol without a magazine?”
“No, it’s not a pistol. Can you spare a moment to look into my eyes?”
I subtly cast a light suggestion on Baek Sia, inducing a vision of augmented reality that explained the concept. It’ll only last a minute, so I quickly explained:
“Though it looks like a pistol, every part—from the firing pin to the outer casing—will be made with high-purity adamantite. It needs to endure any magic I use, so durability is the top priority. Additionally, embedding a fairly high-level magical sigil will require good mana efficiency. Is this possible?”
Baek Sia said she’d need five minutes given how detailed the design was.
“Oh, and didn’t you ask for some adamantite leftover from my staff construction?”
“Since I’m giving you the excess adamantite, please don’t worry about it… If you can make a staff that satisfies me, I’ll give you all the adamantite left over from striker parts.”
“Really?! I’ll do my best to maximize efficiency!”
At the mention of extra adamantite, Baek Sia, brimming with excitement, ran off in her suit.
‘Hmm… operating machines would be more convenient. Did she enter the smelter in her suit just to manually adjust every tiny detail?’
Instead of manipulating the smelter remotely, Baek Sia was directly operating inside while wearing her suit. This material’s insane resilience is incredible.
—
<< Information >>
<< Name: Baek Sia >>
<< Age: 18 >>
<< Affinity: Inquiry, Madness >>
<< Skill List >>
<< Master Blacksmith (A) >>
– Greatly increases the success rate of weapon crafting and enhancement.
<< Craft Mastery (S) >>
– Can perfectly materialize anything structurally understood; additional combat effects for her own creations.
<< Stats >>
([Battle Suit MK.1] equipped, boosting effects from << Craft Mastery (S) >>:)
<< Strength: B >>
<< Defense: B >>
<< Magic Power: C+ >>
<< Stamina: B >>
<< Agility: B+ >>
<< Luck: A+ >>
—
‘… Amazing.’
These stats reflect the raw base chassis, without any parts upgrades.
Even though most of Baek Sia’s stats were in the lower range, her S-ranked << Craft Mastery (S) >> skill has significantly boosted her capabilities.
‘Maybe I should have her make me something?’
Well, unlike Baek Sia, I can’t go around putting on suits and diving into smelters, so it probably wouldn’t be practical for me.
‘I might as well ask her to just make a good staff.’
But… it feels like it’s been more than five minutes… Why hasn’t she come out yet?
…
…
…
“Ah… I’m so sorry, President! I ended up keeping you waiting for three hours because I got carried away with making just the staff…”
“It’s fine, I notice you’ve managed to create some additional parts as well, huh?”
With the amount of adamantite needed to make Eve’s staff, Baek Sia approached, her [Battle Suit MK.1] fully equipped with additional parts.
‘She must be confident.’
Though I’m unsure why she’d be ready in case I wasn’t satisfied, this isn’t the behavior of someone without self-assurance.
“You’ll be thoroughly satisfied. The structure is simple and easy to maintain… the design is intuitive, so inserting mana alone will generate much stronger magic than usual.”
After saying this, Baek Sia handed me a single pistol.
‘… Isn’t this a DeXt Eagle? It’s the same design from the BB guns we used to play with.’
While rotating the hefty pistol, I lightly sent a flow of mana. The originally silver gun barrel began glowing with a light-purple mana.
“Looking at it now, I understand why you asked for a pistol-shaped staff. Sacrificing the length allowed for a thicker firing pin, which significantly boosted the mana amplification rate. Accuracy issues could be solved with extra parts like mine… It’s a great idea! Great enough that I’ve already applied it to my gauntlets.”
Baek Sia then handed me a small military-style dagger.
“Oh, and since there was extra adamantite, I’ve made a knife in case you need to engage in melee combat. I’ve also made a silencer-like attachment to extend the barrel, allowing it to become a sniper rifle…”
Swoosh
When I swung the knife, the weight felt just right. With the barrel extension part attached, the pistol emitted a mechanical sound as it transformed into a large anti-material sniper rifle. Once again, Baek Sia’s craftsmanship left me in awe.
“Absolutely… perfect. Finding Sia was a stroke of luck.”
“Aha… thank you so much, President.”
Seeing her shake her head in her armor made me feel a slight sense of oddness, but… for now, she had quickly assembled both my main and secondary weapons.
“The engraving is ‘Breath of the Stars. Draw your figure in the skies, shining star.'”
Paaaaaaah!!
I should first inscribe Stellar Magic onto this pistol.
‘I didn’t expect to use the sigil technique I learned from Eve this way.’
I plan to inscribe two constellations on the pistol’s magazine section.
To do this…
Crackling…!
“President?!”
“Director might also come, so be careful.”
They probably already know anyway, so I crushed my earring lightly.
‘Rather than using part of Mephisto, I’ll channel all my mana into this…!!’
I originally intended to inscribe only one sigil, but I can’t help but get greedy once I see a weapon like this.
‘How can I resist a pistol that transforms into a sniper rifle with such romantic lethality?’
“Sagittarius, Pyxis.”
This will grant additional effects of……
<< Item Information >>
<< Silver Gun (No Name Set Yet) >>
<< A pistol-like staff made of ultra-high purity adamantite. While lacking stability due to its power-oriented design, it unleashes incredible might. >>
<< Inscription Information >>
<< The engraved constellations of Sagittarius and Pyxis merge, creating a new effect! >>
<< Perfect Shot: All projectiles fired will head directly toward the desired target. >> (Duration: 30 seconds) (Cooldown: 1 hour)
<<>>
It was a great success.
“Though I couldn’t fully capture the ‘Perfect Shot’ or ‘Elemental Destruction’ from Sagittarius… I’m lucky to have anticipated this and added the effect of Pyxis.”
It’s a bit unfortunate that the duration is only 30 seconds, but knowing I can hit anything I aim at in that span is an incredible gain. I should be satisfied.
Still, the name… it needs a name…
‘Since it’s silver…’
“Silver. Let’s go with Silver.”
Starting today, this isn’t Chunsik anymore; it’s Silver now.
‘For the knife… marking it now would probably cause magical exhaustion… I’ll do it tomorrow.’
I have a rough idea of what to engrave, so I’ll do it tomorrow…
Gooooh…!!
‘?!’
A massive wave of mana behind me.
Turning my head, I caught sight of Eve, smiling as though she’d instantly teleported here. Baek Sia looked flustered upon seeing her.
‘This way… I’ll definitely be in serious trouble!’
“Miss Sia.”
“Yes?”
“Do you need a sparring partner?”
Please… save me.
—
