Chapter 114 : Chapter 114
Chapter 114 : Sealed
Guided solely by the virtual blueprint, Sal fixed his mechanical arm in place with Essence Control that had become like instinct.
As Upgrade had said, it took practice, but soon it became as natural as a habit ingrained in his body.
He connected his Essence to a new Core and lined up the necessary materials one by one beside him.
It amounted to nearly a third of the Scarlet Screen, but that wasn't important right now.
Sal thought there would be no problem as long as he just followed the instructions written on the blueprint.
Intentionally making a low-rank Tracker wouldn't be easy, but accomplishing the entire process solely with his Essence was an even greater hurdle.
He wished Martin and Gosha were by his side to help with at least the small parts, but he couldn't rely on the team forever.
‘I have to learn how to do everything alone.’
He started with the earpiece.
The earpiece was going to be made of Moonsilver, requiring nearly a bundle of it.
Sal set up over a dozen thin sheets within reach and began bending them with his claw-like mechanical fingers.
He would just shape the rough form first and add layers later.
He planned to fix two pieces as if wrapping the Scarlet Screen and then fuse them with Essence.
Sal was grateful for the monocle and the composure effect it provided.
There was absolutely no hesitation that would normally arise; he was filled with complete and calm composure.
With a smile, he continued to mold the Moonsilver into the shape he desired.
Whenever the form became too thin, he added more of the glittering metal.
The sight of the mechanical hand melting the metal with Essence to fill the gaps was mesmerizing, almost hypnotic.
The Mythos Crafter ability acted like an invisible barrier around the designed form.
Molten Moonsilver filled the Essence mold without any gaps.
The optimal temperature naturally came to mind, and his hands moved instinctively to match it.
At the same time, he worked on the backplate of the Tracker with his left hand, cutting the work time in half.
‘Essence consumption is much higher than usual, comparable to when making the Legendary rank sniper rifle.’
Sal could only guess it was because higher-grade materials required more Essence to decompose and refine.
Just in case of any danger, Sal connected one additional Core.
He wanted to avoid the possibility of even minor instability causing cracks in his work.
After confirming that the Moonsilver was properly formed and met all the requirements of the blueprint, he let them cool and picked up the Scarlet Screen.
According to the blueprint, they had to be stacked in layers to increase efficiency.
Sal's hands began touching the first layer almost instinctively.
He fitted fragments of various sizes together to make a large square shape.
Then, fusing the fragments with Essence, he created a Scarlet Screen plate large enough to work with.
Doing this would reduce fragmentation much more than just clumping it into a lump and refining it.
Once the plate was complete, Sal placed the visor template on the edge according to the drawing and cut it out.
Then, using that as a pattern, he cut out four more pieces of identical shape.
Breathing evenly, Sal checked the blueprint again and replaced his mechanical hand with an engraving tool.
He had to engrave runes on each of the five thin visor pieces, all different from one another.
As the engraving needle glowed with Mythos Crafter's Essence, Sal began carving the necessary runes.
It was a task requiring caution, as the pieces were as thin as needles and could easily break with even a little pressure.
It was the most nerve-wracking part of the process, but Sal continued working calmly.
Once finished, he stacked them without hesitation.
Sal pressed the five sheets to compress them into a single Scarlet Screen layer and fused them into a flawless piece with Essence.
While infusing Essence, he bent the piece to complete the desired angle.
The piece was shaped to fit between the earpieces, wrapping around the front of the face and covering the right eye.
Using an accessory tool whose name he didn't even know, Sal carefully shaved off the excess of the visor.
The tool was already in Sal's hand.
He didn't doubt it, as the Mythos Crafter ability informed him it was optimal for this task.
He held it up to his face to check if it fit snugly and didn't dig into his nose.
It was the moment he executed personalized customization for the first time in the entire crafting process.
Confirming it was trimmed to fit perfectly, a smile spread across his face.
He was even happier because the runes engraved on the five layers overlapped and were clearly visible.
Sal checked the Moonsilver again.
‘It's cooled down enough.’
Although no flaws were visible on the surface, Sal examined it meticulously before continuing the work.
The next process was wiping the surface of the Moonsilver clean of dust before engraving runes.
Even with a light rub of the mechanical hand, the Moonsilver's subtle misty radiance was revealed.
Sal leaned in and immersed himself in work again.
As he overlaid the virtual blueprint on the processed Moonsilver piece, lines of light for the engraving needle to follow were revealed.
Sal followed those lines perfectly, tracing them twice to ensure they were done correctly.
Unlike when crafting the sniper rifle, this time it seemed to work properly from the first engraving.
Things might change once Essence was infused into the finished product, but that was a concern for a little later.
Glancing at the blueprint, Sal smiled again at the thought that it was time to assemble the pieces.
The blood-red visor fit perfectly into the groove carved in the Moonsilver.
It was designed to slide in smoothly rather than snapping into the earpiece.
With a cheerful click as the pieces combined, the visor was firmly fixed.
‘It’s not over yet.’
He had to fuse them naturally into one using Mythos Crafter's Essence.
However, just as he was about to do the final touch-up and inspection, Sal realized the Essence in the Core he had just connected was insufficient.
Raising an eyebrow, Sal shifted the flow of Essence to the next Core.
He was relieved to confirm that the energy stored in that Core was nearly full.
Instantly, his Appraisal ability activated, informing him they were Rare rank Cores, resolving many questions Sal had harbored.
It was natural that the output was low since he usually used Epic rank Cores for crafting.
Keeping in mind the possibility of needing more materials in the final stage, Sal placed additional Moonsilver and Scarlet Screen next to the Tracker.
Judging by appearance alone, one could only tilt their head in puzzlement.
With its jaw-droppingly luxurious appearance, it was hard to believe it turned out to be Uncommon rank.
But putting such thoughts aside for a moment, he had no choice but to pour in Essence.
His mechanical fingers flowed Essence, filling every gap between the separated parts one by one.
The shaved edges of the visor glowed smoothly as Essence brushed past them.
It was a painfully slow process, but Sal continued working carefully without any haste.
Injecting Essence allowed Sal to verify that the evolution runes were working properly.
Even the visor runes, which were potentially problematic, were operating smoothly without issues.
If there had been a defect, he would have had to restart the entire process from the beginning.
‘There's nothing more to improve here.’
With a relieved smile, he stepped back and withdrew his Essence.
His mechanical suit transformed back into his original Epic rank uniform and half-gloves.
Only then did Sal notice Upgrade was in the room.
"Perfect timing!"
Sal said with a grin, but Upgrade looked at him with a puzzled expression.
Seeing Sal failing to grasp the situation, Chatfield spoke up.
"Argento, Upgrade has been here for two hours."
Sal blinked, glancing at the still glowing and vibrating Tracker.
"Sorry. I guess I was too absorbed in the work. Did I miss anything?"
Chatfield shrugged, leaned back while perched on something, and pointed at Upgrade.
"Nothing much. We were just discussing the reform proposal for the freshman production process, and my suggestion was... what did you say? Crazy? Right, that's it. We were talking about how absurd my proposed freshman curriculum is."
Then he glanced at Upgrade, sending a look as if waiting to see how she would refute.
Upgrade rolled her eyes, approached the table, and stared intently at the glowing Tracker.
She glanced at Sal with a forced smile.
"We agreed to follow proper procedures when crafting, didn't we? This has no blueprint, and no trace of using a printer."
Sal pointed to his right hand with his left hand.
"Did you see my mechanical arm control earlier? It was incredible. This is significant progress!"
Before Upgrade could retort, the light from the Tracker faded, revealing the result.
Everyone couldn't hide their astonishment at the sight, and Sal checked twice to make sure it was indeed what he had crafted.
The Tracker, once impressive with its glowing earpiece and blood-red visor, had transformed into a shabby object: a dull gray device wrapping around the front with only a dim red lens attached.
Sal immediately activated his Appraisal ability to look into it.
Name: [Sealed] Visor [Desynchronized]
Origin: Crafted
Age: New
Rank: Uncommon (Low)
Specs: Visor 2.5", 4" | Earpieces 4", 3.5"
Materials: Condensed Moonsilver | Scarlet Screen | Refined Mythos Craft Essence
Attributes: [Sealed] [2/16 Unlocked]
-Analysis: Ability to interpret visual data and information.
-Synergy: Abilities are shared between set items.
Abilities: Analysis | Synergy | [Sealed] | [Sealed] | [Sealed] | [Sealed]...
Power Source: [Desynchronized]
Evolution: Yes - 0%
Quality: Perfect
Status: 100%
Value: Estimated $32,000.00 - $48,000.00
He had somehow dragged it up to Uncommon rank, but the amount of information was too much to grasp fully with just the Appraisal ability.
The only fortunate thing was that it possessed evolution traits.
Sal stared intently at the design.
The appearance was disappointing, below expectations.
He slightly regretted synchronizing it with a weapon.
If he had ignored all that, if he had forgotten the fact that this was someone's mysterious test, he would have obtained at least a Rare or Unique rank Tracker equipped with an internal Core.
The materials cost nearly ten times more than the monocle, yet the value was only a third of it, making him frown involuntarily.
Of course, the value might rise if it evolved, but in its current state, it felt like a waste of resources.
Sal turned his gaze to Upgrade and Chatfield.
They were looking at the Tracker with admiring eyes.
Chatfield was holding the concept version he created with his own power, eyes wide open, turning it this way and that.
Sal thought Chatfield was surprised just like him, but the monocle told a completely different fact.
Judging by Chatfield's expression and gestures, he was greatly delighted.
It was unexpected.
Because Sal considered it a failure.
"Sixteen!"
Upgrade shouted again, and Chatfield nodded with a smile, rolling it around in his hand.
Sal wondered if Chatfield possessed an instinctual ability to understand the concepts he replicated.
Upgrade turned sharply toward Sal in excitement and grinned broadly.
"Sixteen! Sal, this is truly ridiculous."
Sal looked back and forth between the Tracker and Upgrade, trying to grasp the situation.
The abilities were all sealed, so it would take a long time to unlock them, and he didn't know in what order they would be revealed.
Plus, without an energy source to synchronize with, he had absolutely no idea when he could gather the necessary Essence.
Upgrade stared at him for a moment, then reached out and snatched the monocle off his face.
"You okay? This isn't a situation to rely on something like a composure effect. Do you know what sixteen ability slots mean?"
Sal blinked a few times and shook his head to express he didn't know well, trying to collect his thoughts.
Upgrade exchanged meaningful glances with Chatfield and smiled brightly.
"If we count each stage within a rank as an ability unlock... your sixteenth ability will open when the Tracker evolves to Mythos rank. Even in Legendary rank, I've never seen more than ten! This is phenomenal, Sal."
Regaining his senses, Sal looked at the Tracker with completely new eyes.
As a bright smile spread across his face, Chatfield's voice rang through the room.
"Shall we order food first, or arc you going to make the gun on an empty stomach?"