NOVEL NEXT Chapter 188: Karl's Spear
Adrian decided to work on Karl's spear first. The project was relatively simple compared to the proclamation orb.
'This should be done within an hour.'
He materialized the spear from his [Inventory] and placed it on the central workbench. It was, to put it mildly, unimpressive.
A simple metallic spear. It was as average as a weapon could be. Its only remarkable quality was that it was enchanted, and even that wasn't satisfactory to Adrian's critical eye.
The reforging process that had imbued it with magic was poorly done, leaving micro-fractures in the steel that lessened the overall integrity of the spearhead.
To sum it all up, the weapon was a disappointment.
But that made Adrian even more eager to get his hands on it. Like most of his projects, he wasn't just building something new; he was elevating something flawed to a state of perfection. He was excited to get working.
A quick use of his [Analysis] skill gave Adrian all the necessary information he might have needed but couldn't gleam from just looking at the spear — its exact weight and material composition.
He approached the design studio and made a quick sketch of the spear's base design.
After replicating the spear into a three-dimensional, glowing hologram, Adrian spent the next ten minutes making meticulous tweaks to the design.
He accounted for the new additions they had agreed upon: the new, far superior alloy for the head and shaft reinforcement, the intricate runic pathways for the mana detector enchantment, and the minute internal channels needed to house the power source.
The process was very easy for Adrian because he didn't need to invent any minor technology from the ground up.
He was simply working with components and principles he had already mastered. The most time-consuming process, paradoxically, was maintaining the spear's original 'feel' and weight.
Adrian knew this was a custom project. Henceforth, his highest priority was to impress his customer, even if he had to compromise on some of his own design principles.
He virtually shredded off most of the metal from the original design, leaving only its core skeleton.
He then proceeded to use a special alloy formula —the most durable one he had developed — to coat the spear, maintaining every tiny detail like the length of the shaft and the thickness of the blade down to the micrometer.
To ensure he didn't go past the strict weight requirement when he added the runes and the necessary mini magic crystals, he had to carefully calculate and cut down on the total metal used, making the spear deceptively light for its strength.
'It would have been a whole lot more complex if not for these mini magic crystals,' he mused.
The development of mini magic crystals had been a huge turning point in his Magi-Tech advancement.
It was a mechanism Adrian had developed to carefully fracture a magic crystal along its internal energy lattices, splitting it into smaller, functional, but less powerful pieces.
The innovation was revolutionary. It solved the dual problems of mass and cost. For example, if one needed a magic crystal to power a simple mana-infused fan, it was always incredibly wasteful to use a whole 1-Star crystal for such a mundane task.
But with his method, a single 1-Star magic crystal could be split into up to ten functional units and used much more efficiently across multiple small devices.
With the tiny, precisely cut mini crystals laid into the holographic design to power the mana detector.
Adrian coated the framework finally with the shimmering alloy. As he used his fingers to trace the completed hologram, spinning it around to ensure he had preserved every aspect of its original form, Adrian smiled. "Perfect."
With the design completed, he designated the next ten minutes to personally creating it himself in the workshop.
As he worked with care, Adrian considered whether to imbue his Mark on the design. He ultimately rejected the idea.
He was well aware that doing so gave the invention a fundamental connection to him, and tied it into his greater network of creations. He didn't want that for Karl's weapon.
"I'll prefer if it forms a connection with the owner instead," he decided. "If that's even possible."
He didn't want to be attracted to Karl's weapon, especially with how much his friend valued its identity as his partner.
This decision of his made him wonder about the System's grading. Does Autonomy represent an invention's independence and its ability to stand on its own? Or does it represent its perfect dependence on him, functioning as an extension of his will?
The former seemed more logical. An autonomous creation should be one that doesn't need him to function at its peak.
Adrian shrugged off the philosophical thought and resumed his work. By the time he was done with the fabrication of the spear, he laid the newly forged, unpainted weapon down on the table for what was to come next.
He could still remember Karl's words, and he couldn't help but smile. 'Imposing, huh?'
He returned to the studio and did a quick design of what he thought would be the best appearance for the spear, and it finally clicked.
The primary colors were a deep, arterial crimson and a rich, dark brown, as Adrian had observed that these were Karl's favorite colors to wear.
Since Karl wanted something to strike fear into his enemies, Adrian decided to give it a shot.
He went for a savage, almost tribal aesthetic that represented Karl's fighting style. He was quick to attack, fearless, and never relenting. And then there was his grin, always present, exposing a row of teeth while fighting.
Adrian couldn't miss out on that aspect. The final design featured a dark brown shaft that transitioned into a bloody crimson at the spearhead. At the base of the blade, where it met the shaft, he designed a subtle, stylized motif that looked like a snarling wolf's maw, its fangs framing the blade. It was fierce and perfectly suited for Karl.
By the time he was done with the design, Adrian proceeded with the next stage by walking up to the paint section of the workshop.
He was lucky to have the Factory. The normal way of coloring metal in this world involved crude dyes and paints that would chip and fade in a single battle.
But the Factory's provision was different. It allowed him to break down pigments into a fine, energized mist that was then bonded to the object's surface on a molecular level.
Within a few minutes, Adrian was done giving the spear its new, terrifying look.
He admired the creation, tossing it up in the air and catching it to confirm it still had the same weight and feel as before. Adrian was satisfied. The moment he laid it on his workbench, the System pinged:
[You have completed an Invention!]
[Analyzing Invention: Karl's Spear]
[Type: Magical Weapon]
[Functionality: A+]
[Practicality: S]
[Complexity: B+]
[Integrity: A+]
[Autonomy: A]
[Overall Grade: A+]
[Remark: A simple tool, perfectly remade for its intended user. It is a weapon that forgoes complexity for reliability and personal comfort. A testament to loyalty, both from the creator to his friend, and from the wielder to his weapon.]
[Reward: +10,000 EXP | +10,000 TP]