I hadn’t fully seen what had happened.
Even with my speed, I wasn’t confident I could have defended against it if I hadn’t seen it coming.
I summoned CR1’s status sheet and clicked on the Whisper Pistol enhancement.
[ Enhancement: Whisper Pistol (Right Forearm)
Function: Fires rapid condensed mana bullets with near-zero muzzle flash.
I looked at CR1 and asked, "How are you feeling?"
"I feel that my beast core has been drained of 1 per cent of my mana," CR1 responded.
I nodded in understanding.
"Release all your ammo."
I wanted to find out how long it took to reload.
CR1 nodded. He stretched his right hand forward and released all his ammo.
Eleven bright red lights flashed through the cave, slamming against the cave walls.
The cave trembled for a brief moment before becoming stable.
This was an accurate shot, which I had expected from a Cybernetic Beast. Find the newest release on Novᴇl_Fire(.)net
Dust rose and subsided.
The caved-in section of the wall that had been struck had deepened straight into the stone and spread, releasing denser, steaming smoke.
CR1’s Whisper Pistol made an almost silent click.
I summoned his status sheet once more to check.
Sure enough, it had reloaded.
I was satisfied with the experiment.
I picked up the other Whisper Pistol and activated Fusion Synchronisation, melding it with his left forearm.
Since each pistol only had 12 rounds before a reload, it meant that CR1 could reload one arm eight and a half times before running out of mana.
Both arms would require 4.5 reloads.
And even then, it wasn’t really a problem, since Cybernetic Beasts possessed infinite stamina, allowing them to function without suffering mana exhaustion.
At the same time, they could automatically recover mana faster than a magical beast of the same level.
With CR1’s current firepower, I had no doubt he could take on a late-stage rank-one lesser beast with little to no effort.
I set the cartridges aside.
I summoned CR2 and CR3.
"Reporting for duty, Master," they announced respectfully, their long forearms pressed against their metallic heads in salute, just like CR1.
They glanced curiously at CR1’s Whisper Pistols.
"Look at these and tell me which one you want. I’m going to integrate them into you."
My intent was also transmitted directly to them.
They nodded in understanding.
CR2 picked the Zenith Rail Lance, and CR3 selected the Prometheus Scatter Cannon.
With these weapons’ high firepower, if I wanted to maximise the number of weapons they could carry, I couldn’t meld them on their forearms like I had done with CR1,
I took two Zenith Rail Lances, placed them on her shoulders, and activated Fusion Synchronisation, upgrading them.
Then I picked two Prometheus Scatter Cannons and did the same, upgrading both of his shoulders.
I summoned their status sheets one by one.
Enhancement: Zenith Rail Lances (Shoulders)
Function: Electromagnetic rail lances for surgical, armour-piercing, high-penetration single shots.
Special: Single-shot mode ignores a portion of layered defences, while precision mode reduces energy per shot.
Enhancement: Prometheus Scatter Cannons (Shoulders)
Function: Multi-chamber shotgun with selectable mana pellet of kinetic, incendiary, and breaching.
Special: Instant swap between shells. Incendiary pellets apply a lingering burn effect, which increases further with fire attributes.
Both upgrades had special functions, unlike the Whisper Pistols.
I recognised one of the cybernetic upgrade traits.
Not only could they create mana bullets, but they could also form high-efficiency pellets with variable forms, perfectly matching the weapons’ designs.
I no longer needed to worry about reloading the missile launchpads.
Although the Whisper Pistols had mana bullets, I was still unsure how both weapons would function since they generated their own unique types of ammunition.
I smiled from ear to ear.
The only thing that disappointed me was the ammo count.
I almost wanted to order them to fire, but stopped myself.
"How much do you think each ammo costs altogether before you can reload?" I asked, glancing at CR2 and CR3.
"Calculating mana cost for initial reload: it consumes 12% of my mana per reload. That’s 2% of my mana per shot," CR2 responded.
"The cost of mine is 16% of my mana per reload. That’s 2% per shot, including kinetic, incendiary, and breaching mana pellets," CR3 responded.
The Zenith Rail Lance had fewer rounds, but its cost was still similar to that of the Whisper Pistols.
The Prometheus Scatter Cannon had the exact mana cost per shot, but the reload consumed far more.
Considering the amazing upgrades both weapons brought, I realised that I was too naive to think they would cost the same as the Whisper Pistols.
Fortunately, the drain was still manageable and no different from magical beasts expending mana to unleash their special skills.
I hoped that the mana costs wouldn’t change.
"Go ahead and shoot."
I pointed at another section of the wall, higher up and farther than where CR1 had fired, so I could properly examine the improvements the upgrades had brought.
They both nodded in understanding.
I also noticed their eagerness to test out their new weapons.
A slender lance resembling the Zenith Rail Lance emerged just above her right shoulder.
She leaned forward slightly as the weapon powered up.
A crimson mana slug core shot forward, slamming into the cave wall.
The cave trembled faintly.
A carved-in crater appeared where the shot had landed, and at its centre was a deep, circular hole deeper than the damage caused by emptying an entire reload of the Whisper Pistol.
I wasn’t worried about them missing their mark, as they all had targeting visors. Their effectiveness was only slightly inferior to Felix’s special skills.
I didn’t instruct CR2 to switch to rapid precision mode.
There was no need, unless I wanted the cave to collapse over our heads.
The Zenith Rail Lance retracted, disappearing into her cybernetic shoulder.
CR3 stepped forward next.
His left shoulder shifted, unfolding into the Prometheus Scatter Cannon. The muzzles flared outward, unleashing a cone of destructive pellets.