Chapter 165 - True Caliber

"What did you do?"

As Rynold's face brimmed with a big smile, Prominence Alpha was curious as to what Rynold had just done. After all, he had been silent for some time, heavily concentrating on the small crystal in the palm of his hand.

"I imbued a magic array onto the crystal itself," Rynold answered, "I have no idea why I haven't thought of something like that before but look."

Rynold held the crystal up.

Holding the small crystal with his thumb and forefinger, Rynold watched as the light passed through it. From there, one could spot small and detailed lines that were methodically placed all around the crystal.

By reinterpreting the magic array from the one he had gotten from the book, Rynold felt proud. He repurposed an already existing magic array and implemented it over a three-dimensional object.

The crystal was now as long as Rynold's forefinger and a few centimeters wide. Additionally, its shape was now a cylinder that had pointed edges.

In his hand were the accumulation of his experiences with Mana as a whole.

"Impressive," the Spirit of Fire noted.

"What's impressive is the material itself. I doubt that I could repeat the same result with anything other than this crystal. Thanks to its properties, I managed to make it exactly how I wanted it. The only thing now is to test the thing out."

Without hesitation, Rynold's Mana poured into his palm where the crystal was. His intent was as clear as the blue sky; the crystal shone with a blue light within just a second. The next second that followed, the crystal shot out the blue light into a concentrated projectile.

It was exactly how Rynold had imagined it to be.

"Woah..."

Truly surprised by the result, Rynold felt incredibly happy. Although...

"It could be a bit stronger, though. The projectile wouldn't deal any significant damage while fighting other Magic Users. But, overall, I'm pretty happy how it turned out."

Rynold turned around and faced the Spirit of Fire. With a massive smile on his face, Rynold proceeded to finish the rest of the device.

Adjusting a couple of parameters to the original plan, Rynold soon figured out a way that tied everything together. So much so that this new plan was significantly simpler than the original.

With that, Rynold got to work.

Throwing metals around whilst simultaneously working his hammer, Rynold went all in. His actions were evident of his newfound motivation. His spirits significantly rose because of how the crystal turned out, and his movements represented that.

And, soon enough, Rynold released a breath of hot air.

"Let's see," Rynold said as he placed his hammer on the table, "The barrel's done. Crystal's also ready. We finished the enclosure and housing. The only thing left is to put everything together."

With a semi-nervous feeling, Rynold got to assembling the pieces.

[Calculating...]

As the system prompted a window that confirmed the completion of his new creation, Rynold's heart rose to his throat. He slowly became a nervous wreck as the anxiety started pouring in.

[Calculation Complete!]

[Name Item.]

'Oh, thank the gods.'

===

[True Caliber]

Ranged Platinum Tier Weapon (Firearm)

Durability: 738/738

A weapon made suitable for any situation. During its creation, the creator's will has been imbued into the weapon itself.

Additional Passive Skill: The Creator's Intent

- This weapon cannot be used by anybody apart from its creator.

Additional Passive Skill: True Mana Conduit

- Bullets fired from this weapon depend on the user's will. All properties of the projectile fired from this weapon must be accurately predetermined before firing. Mana Cost is applied accordingly.

Additional Active Skill: Reserve Shot

- Reserves one type of bullet as predetermined by the user.

- Upon activation, the predetermined bullet will fire and deal additional damage. Additional damage is based on the number of unreserved bullets fired when there is one bullet in reserve.

- Can only hold one bullet in reserve at any given time.

- Cooldown: 30 minutes, triggered upon activation of the skill.

===

A flurry of emotion started to well up from deep within Rynold. His eyes wide, mouth agape, Rynold couldn't believe what he was looking at.

Holding True Caliber in his hand filled him with much-needed confidence. Not only that, but Rynold also felt great pride in his new creation.

This was his first weapon that had actually reached Platinum tier. Meaning; it was steps above any other weapon he had made before. Furthermore, what surprised him was the exclusivity option the weapon held.

True Caliber could only be used by Rynold alone.

However, this weapon was far from the average one that people would use during fights. It didn't have any straightforward passive or active skills that dealt significant damage or boosted Attributes.

No, this weapon required significant brainpower to use. Perhaps, even then, Rynold's current capacity won't be enough to pull the strength of this weapon in its entirety. If anything, Rynold was severely limited in what his brain could handle.

Or was he?

With his Attributes oriented to the path of Intelligence, Rynold had the necessary cranial capacity to carry out whatever projectile he could think of. Unfortunately, Rynold would then have to think of these things during combat.

Thinking in high tension environments may not be the best of ideas.

Regardless of that, though, Rynold was truly glad. It was more accurate to say that he felt elated by the result of his hard work. With that said, he was eager to test things out.

"Let's go and give this new thing a try."

Holding the weapon by the handle, Rynold looked at True Caliber with great importance. The handle had a beautiful sheen to it as the black barrel looked wide enough for grenade shells to pass through. Looking closely, a blue light came from within the gun that pulsated ever so randomly.

With a smile on his face, Rynold turned to the door and left for the courtyard with the Spirit of Fire following him.

"I must say," the Spirit of Fire said as Rynold aimed True Caliber forward. "It doesn't look impressive."

It was understandable, Rynold thought, because the gun itself didn't really look like anything much. But, any opponent who would think that would only underestimate the weapon's potential.

"Just watch."

Rynold concentrated his Mana and molded it into a straight-laced bullet. This first shot wasn't anything special but a way for him to test True Caliber's potential.

Pew!

The small bullet fired from the gun with a quick swish sound. Surprisingly, the size of it didn't even fill the entire barrel of the gun. However, both the speed and the power were there as intended.

"Isn't it the same as a regular firearm?" Prominence Alpha expressed his doubts once more.

"Test shot, man. We aren't even having fun yet. But, that all changes now."

Concentrating once again, Rynold creatively molded his Mana into something a lot more unpredictable. One that had a trajectory that even he won't be able to so easily dodge.

Bang!

This time a different sound came out as a bunch of small beads released from the barrel with extreme velocity. It spread out in a cone shape in front of Rynold.

It, for clarification purposes, was akin to a shotgun shell. Buckshot.

"Not good enough for you?" Rynold gleefully asked, "Then, how about this one!"

Rynold concentrated once more as the Mana poured out into the gun. His intention was clear as the sky after a storm. Rynold wanted to test out the upper limits at his current state.

"Let's go!"

As soon as Rynold fired, a big chunk of blue Mana shot out from the barrel of the gun. Compared to the other projectiles he had fired before, this particular one lacked speed.

However, as soon as it landed on the ground, an explosion occurred.

Boom!

The blue Mana projectile exploded into a thick smoke of violent Mana. Rynold, with a big smile on his face, knew that he had the firepower of a grenade in his hands. Unfortunately, that smile soon faded the moment he realized the property damage he had inadvertently made.

Thankfully, the explosion landed on a desolate corner of the courtyard.

"That's enough for today, don't you think?" Rynold said as he guiltily turned around and entered his workshop.

"I see now by what you mean," the Spirit of Fire noted as he nodded approvingly. "To be able to adjust the projectile according to any situation that would occur. Truly a magnificent creation. However, there are still some downsides as to using this particular weapon."

Rynold sat down on his favorite stool as he urged Prominence Alpha to explain.

"One such downside to using this weapon would be the windup before each shot. When facing against an opponent with great speed, you would be at a severe disadvantage in between shots. Not only that but this weapon is limited by you alone.

It may pose significant power now; however, projectiles made from Mana alone won't be able to overcome every obstacle in your way. You must find a way to increase your Mana and Augment-related abilities to strengthen both yourself and this weapon."

As Rynold listened to the Spirit's detailed explanation, he couldn't help but feel defeated. There were still some glaring issues even with the creation of this new weapon. However, Rynold certainly wasn't as narrow-minded as before.

Nodding in complete agreement, Rynold thought about what his next steps were.

"My Augment magic isn't on par with the others. Even if we all started at the same time, Oliver's Equip magic is leagues better than mine. Hell, I don't even know how powerful Jack's Enchant magic had gotten."

Agreeing wholeheartedly, Rynold knew which areas he lacked.

The level of Augment magic that Rynold currently had was nowhere near the same level as those of the others. In fact, True Caliber's utilization was heavily based on Rynold's use of Augment magic.

That being said, the power of True Caliber would be limited by his level of Augment magic. Sure, Rynold could now use Light-Attributed Mana to protect himself. However, implementing that same Attributed Mana into this new weapon would require some practice.

Rynold then turned silent for a few moments before suddenly standing up as if an epiphany had just struck.

"We're training, then," Rynold announced with a determined look on his face. "I'm leaving you with Lissa in the meantime while I go find Oliver."

"Shouldn't you train here, instead? Preferably with my tutelage?"

Shaking his head, Rynold slowly walked towards the door.

"I'm not good with traditional training. Besides, I should probably go make sure Oliver doesn't get into any trouble. So, are you coming or not?"

Rynold knew full well that he would only be able to get stronger when he was out in the field. Being stuck in the workshop for long periods of time significantly stunted his growth. And, with this new weapon, Rynold was more eager than ever before because he wanted to test it out in the field.

Besides, at this point, Rynold was used to clashes where he put his life on the line.

The Spirit of Fire snickered before changing back into his orb. Before leaving, though, Rynold put the Summoning Orb and some other things into his inventory. After which, he then proceeded to lock the door to his workshop.

As he stood before his courtyard just outside his workshop, Rynold took in a deep breath. Feeling the fresh air enter his lungs, Rynold smiled.

For a brief moment, Rynold enjoyed the serenity of this place. The calm. The quiet. The peace. He remembered a time before any of these crazy things happened. Despite that, though, he slowly learned how to appreciate any good moment that came.

'Right, let's go.'

Snapping himself out of his daze, Rynold left to find people starting with Neana. He figured that if anybody were the first to know that he was about to leave, it would be her.

Hopping aboard his personal Floating Platform once more, Rynold left for the residential district.