Chapter 1638: A Man, a Rifle, and a Very Patient Pekko ( 1638 )

After breakfast.

Javier leaned down over a massive adamantite chest, its dark metallic surface gleaming under the sunlight. He rummaged through it with both hands, his shoulders hunched, his head half-buried inside as he pushed aside old prototypes, discarded designs, and forgotten experiments.

Buddy stood beside the chest, his head tilting from side to side as he watched his master disappear deeper into the pile.

Javier climbed up the side of the chest, swung one leg over the edge, and dropped inside. His voice echoed from within, muffled and distracted.

"Not this... not this either... nope..."

He picked up a strange, half-finished device, examined it briefly, rubbed his chin, shrugged, and tossed it over his shoulder. It clattered somewhere behind him. His face shifted into a flat, unimpressed expression.

"Nyeh... not this one."

"Cuquawked?" (What are you doing, Master?)

Javier kept digging, lifting each item, glancing at it, and tossing it back.

"Just want to find something."

Then his fingers brushed against something long, cool, and heavy. He paused, his brow furrowing, and pulled it out.

Matte black, with a heavy barrel, a folding stock, a precision scope mounted on top. A line of small crystals glowed faintly along the foregrip, faint light shifting from green to amber to violet as he turned it.

"Ooohhh!!!"

Javier’s eyes lit up. He held the rifle up, tilting it in the morning light.

"How could I forget about this!? This is the best weapon I ever made for long-range precision! And I completely forgot about it!"

He ran his hand along the barrel.

"I made all kinds of mana sniper rifles, but this is the most advanced. I never even tested it. It can hit a target from over three kilometers away, through wind, fog, and moving cover. It has a self-correcting barrel that adjusts for the shooter’s breathing and heartbeat. A scope that sees through mana interference, illusions, and concealment spells. And the crystal formation keeps the barrel cool, so it never overheats no matter how many shots you fire."

He paused, his grin turning confident and sharp.

"Maybe I should make a sniper rifle squad out of my puppet knights. Or upgrade Armand’s special sniper squads with this weapon~"

Buddy glanced down at Javier with a flat stare, his beak pressed into a thin line, his eyes half-lidded with the expression of someone who had seen this exact scene play out a hundred times before.

Javier, completely oblivious to Buddy’s unimpressed look, was already in his element. He moved with the practiced ease of someone who had built and rebuilt this weapon a dozen times. He pressed his thumb against a small latch near the receiver, and the power crystal magazine slid free with a soft click. He held it up briefly, turning it in the light, then slotted it back in with a satisfying snap.

His fingers found a rune button on the side of the rifle. He pressed it once. A soft hum vibrated through the frame, and the crystals along the foregrip flickered to life, glowing a steady green.

Then he reached for the charging handle, pulled it back with a smooth, practiced motion, and released it. It slid forward with a sharp metallic clack, locking into place.

Javier stood, the rifle in his hands, and turned toward the sky. He shouldered the weapon with a fluid motion, settling the stock against his shoulder, his cheek resting against the frame. The scope lined up with the distant horizon. The morning light caught the matte black barrel, the faint glow of the crystals tracing a line along the foregrip.

He held the pose for a moment, still and steady, then lifted his head from the scope. He dropped the rifle to his side, holding it casually with one hand, his other hand resting on his hip. He glanced up at Buddy, his eyes half-lidded, a confident smirk curling on his lips.

"You know, Buddy?"

"Cuquawked?" (What now?)

Javier held up the rifle slightly, tilting it so the crystals caught the light.

"This beauty here isn’t just a normal mana rifle. I designed it from the ground up. The power crystal magazine slots in here..." He tapped the housing with his finger. "...with a reinforced feed system that won’t jam, even under rapid fire. And this rune button here..." He touched the rune on the side. "...toggles between safe, semi-auto, and full-auto. Simple. Easy to use in combat."

He turned the rifle over, showing Buddy the other side.

"See this pin?" He pointed to a small metal tab near the trigger guard. "That’s the barrel lock. You press it to release the barrel for cleaning or swapping. And here..." He moved his finger to a series of etched runes along the receiver. "...these are the calibration runes. They let you adjust the mana output, the range, and even the elemental conversion of each shot. You want a fire round? A frost round? A lightning round? You just press the right rune and the rifle does the rest."

He aimed the rifle at the sky again, his eye pressed to the scope.

"And the best part? The crystal formation in the barrel automatically vents excess heat, so you can fire it all day and it won’t overheat. No cooldown. No break. Just pure precision."

He lowered the rifle and glanced at Buddy, his grin widening.

"Pretty cool, right?"

Buddy stared at him for a long moment, his expression flat and unreadable.

"Cuquawked." (You’re such a nerd.)

Javier held the rifle up and turned it in the light, still talking.

"And the best part? The whole thing’s modular. Every part can be swapped out in seconds." He tapped the scope. "This scope can be replaced with a thermal optic, a mana-resonance scanner, or even a night-vision module. Just pop the pin, slide it off, slide the new one on."

He moved his finger down to the foregrip.

"This foregrip can be swapped for a bipod, a vertical grip, or an extended crystal housing. And the barrel itself, this one’s standard length, but I have a short barrel for close quarters and a heavy barrel for armor-piercing rounds. All of them use the same locking pin, so you can switch them mid-battle if you need to."

He moved to the stock.

"And this stock folds, adjusts, and can hold a spare crystal magazine right here."

He kept going, his voice picking up speed, his hands moving from part to part with the practiced enthusiasm of a man who had spent countless hours designing this weapon and every one of its components.

Buddy let out a weary exhale from his beak, the sound long and slow.

Sigh...

Master, when he gets this deep into his passion...

He’ll talk about it for hours. Hours and hours.

He’ll tell you about a hundred different variations and a hundred different uses.

And he won’t stop until someone interrupts him.

Buddy shifted his weight, glancing toward the veranda where the girls were still at the table. Liana was stacking the empty plates, Gloria was folding napkins, Felicia was wiping down the wooden surface with a cloth. Delya was collecting the chocolate wrappers, Mimi was licking her fingers clean, Gracelle was carrying a tray of cups toward the kitchen, Celine was helping Liana clear the table.

Then he looked back at his master, who was now explaining the exact thread count of the reinforcement screws.

Well~

He does look happy when he’s in his element.

I guess there’s no harm in letting him enjoy himself for a while.

Buddy settled down onto the sand beside the chest, folding his legs beneath him.

"Cuquawked~" (Go on, Master. I’m listening.)

( End Of Chapter )