"Alright, no problem. Let’s do as you suggested," Jason said. "Besides, you mentioned before that I must learn how to make the ammunition I want."
Alka had indeed mentioned this before; after all, seeing Jason’s gun back then had reminded him of this very point. More bullets, like his cards, could be effective in a wider range of scenarios, allowing them to handle sufficiently dangerous situations.
"Okay, let’s decide on that then," Alka confirmed.
The Spell of Ice and Fire could be inscribed on bullets, but the time and effort expended wouldn’t match the resulting product. This was mainly because these two Spells belonged to a more advanced category, while other Spells that could replace them were common, everyday ones. Those were too low-level, creating a significant gap. Making these two advanced Spells into modules only requires the effort of creating them once. After all, modules aren’t consumables, so the effort expended and what is gained can then be proportional.
"Are those leftovers from when you made the shell for Lucilia?" Jason asked, pointing at the large basket of discarded puppets behind Alka. This was his first visit to the manufacturing hall. Typically, only Alka, Lucilia, and Chadite came here. Chadite mainly came to make interesting clothes with Lucilia. After all, Lucilia’s body was small now, which greatly reduced the Difficulty of making clothes.
Hearing Jason’s words, Alka turned his head to look and nodded. "Yes, they are previous prototypes and are now useless."
"All useless? I remember you spent quite a bit of material making those puppets." ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ 𝗻𝗼𝘷𝗲𝗹•𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮•𝕟𝕖𝕥
Alka had previously invested virtually all his extra wealth into this. What Jason didn’t know was that Lucilia’s wealth had also been invested. Chadite, due to his good relationship with Lucilia, had also contributed a considerable amount of funds. The material consumption alone had reached several hundred Golden Sails—a hefty sum. However, fortunately, they had finally obtained the desired product, one even better than they had anticipated.
"They’re useless now," Alka said. "But since we got the final product we wanted, it wasn’t a loss, just necessary expenses."
Upon hearing Alka’s words, Jason nodded. "If only these could be reused. What a pity." He nodded slightly, a hint of regret in his expression, then left the gloves on the table. After saying goodbye to Alka, he returned to the deck above.
Alka looked at the heap of discarded puppets. Reuse, huh... he murmured to himself, then refocused on the work at hand, diligently drafting blueprints.
Two days later, Alka was still in the manufacturing hall. Of course, he hadn’t neglected to eat or drink; he maintained his usual routine. Besides Meditation and keeping watch, he spent most of his time in the manufacturing hall.
He picked up the Magic Bullet Emission Gloves. Using a pair of tweezers, he gently inserted a small blue crystal, roughly the size of a pinky fingernail, into an opened corner. Wearing the Hand of Precision for such highly intricate work ensured no issues would arise. The blue crystal emitted a chilly mist, and once released from the tweezers, it settled securely within the glove’s palm. Seeing no issues, Alka wiped the sweat from his face with his sleeve.
He then picked up another red crystal, inserting it through another open seam on the other side. This red crystal radiated heat, and enduring the contrasting cold and warmth was a bit of a challenge. Nevertheless, it was still fitted snugly in place.
After repairing both openings in the gloves, Alka admired the renewed gloves. Since he was already working on them, Alka had also made some simple aesthetic changes. The gloves were now a Holy Light creamy white, adorned with subtle golden edges. Red and blue striped veins ran along them, converging at the central Gemstone. The wrist portion had been trimmed off, and the Crystal Stones from it were separated and positioned on either side of the central Gemstone. The Crystal Stones on the back of the hand were encased in a semi-transparent metal shell. This casing protected the Crystal Stones while also allowing them to better gather ambient Magic Power, lessening the burden on the user’s own Magic Power during use.
Admiring the creation in his hand, Alka nodded in satisfaction. He rubbed his fingers together. A blue Flying Bird emerged and flew from the entrance towards the deck.
Moments later, urgent footsteps approached. Jason ran in, looking excited. His eyes sparkled at the sight of the gloves in Alka’s hand. The color scheme was exactly to his liking. He walked over and took them from Alka.
"Did you modify them?" Jason asked.
"Yes," Alka replied. "Many of the old techniques were outdated, so I simplified its structure."
"Thanks! It looks much better than before," Jason said as he slipped them onto his hand.
Seeing Jason’s fascination, Alka picked up a metal cylindrical device from beside his feet and handed it to him. "This is Juanlu’s portable furnace. Take it to him, and also call Lucilia down."
Jason observed the head-sized metal device, nodded, and cradled it in his arms. He then dashed upstairs, already eager to test his new gloves’ functions. Hopefully, I can show off to Pororo!
Behind him, Alka’s voice rang out, "And remember, starting tomorrow, come here from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM to learn how to inscribe ammunition."