Chapter 428: Magic Items

"Mr. Jacob, do you mind gathering all your energy in your heart?"

"W-What?" Supervisor Jacob frowned. "Do you notice another problem?"

"No, no. I'm just thinking I can fix your problem in one minute."

"Really? Didn't you say you needed ten minutes? Fifteen?" Supervisor Jacob frowned.

"Yes, but I've just found another solution that will do it faster." Auric nodded. "Unless you want us to keep arguing with each other because you couldn't put the right amount of energy in it."

"…" Supervisor Jacob inhaled deeply before nodding. "Okay."

Supervisor Jacob accepted it and gathered all his energy into his heart.

After that, Auric used his own power to create a sphere around Supervisor Jacob's heart, sealing the flow of energy entirely.

Then, Auric channeled his own energy to stimulate the energy around his body so that they would make contact with the outside world.

He had to match the energy so that they would create a passage.

The first one was connected within five seconds. The energy stuck in Supervisor Jacob's body started flowing out naturally to merge with the energy in the air.

With the first connection completed, Auric became more comfortable with the rest and finished everything in just thirty seconds.

"I felt like something bad was sucked out of my body… What did you do?"

"I was merely letting all the bad energy in your body flow out naturally." Auric shrugged. "In a way, this is much easier for me to treat you."

"If you could do something like that from the start…"

"I couldn't, but if I could, I could probably treat you in less than a week?"

"…" Supervisor Jacob looked at Auric in shock.

"What? I couldn't do it before. Now that I've officially become a Rank 3 human, my senses are better." Auric shrugged.

"Oh. Congratulations…"

"Thank you." Auric smiled. "And now, we're done with your treatment."

Auric just opened the door to show that there was nothing left to do.

"So, how in the world did you do it?"

"I was using…" Auric wanted to tell him about the passive energy, but he suddenly remembered something.

"Auric?" Supervisor Jacob frowned. The others were also confused by Auric's sudden stop.

"What's going on?"

"I might be able to solve one of the two biggest problems I'm currently facing." Auric snapped his fingers. "I'm sorry, but let me do this first before I forget."

Auric was rushing back to his office, but stopped for a few seconds before entering. He waved his hand at Supervisor Jacob. "And you've recovered, so bye bye."

"…but I want to see it too." Supervisor Jacob looked as though he had been wronged.

"…fine." Auric hurried back to his office and picked up the magic item.

He originally promised to discuss things after fifteen minutes, but he ultimately holed up in his office for two hours.

Once he came out, he brought a glove, a pistol, and an assault rifle.

"What's that?" Supervisor Jacob asked.

"Magic items. The ones I have been working on. Sorry, it really took a long time, but let's go to the rooftop." Auric was the first to rush as though he couldn't contain his excitement.

Maya and the others were looking at each other. This was the first time Auric was so engrossed in his own work, so they could somehow understand him.

"Are you going to be alright? I mean, aren't you busy, Ellia?" Katarina asked.

"I've cleared my schedule for today, so not really." Ellia shook her head.

Once they arrived at the rooftop, Auric pointed to the side. "Since Mr. Jacob wants to see it, you might as well experience it yourself. Please stand over there and put up a shield."

"So, I'm the target?"

"I can do that." Stella volunteered.

Auric just shrugged. "If you don't want to, then…"

"Okay, okay. I got it!" Supervisor Jacob stopped him and moved into position.

Auric first grabbed the pistol and asked, "Okay, so who would like to conduct the first test? Just shoot him."

"That sounds fun!" Maya grinned. "Should I?"

"You are definitely enjoying this, Maya." Supervisor Jacob gritted his teeth.

"I mean, when can I shoot you without caring about repercussions other than now?" Maya grinned and snatched the pistol from Auric. "So, what is this all about?"

"I call this one, Mana Pistol. Basically, you don't have to use the energy. You just need to pull the trigger and be done with it." Auric was using his Dream Creation to create the basic form of the magic circle, so the design and finish were quite rough, but the function would remain the same.

He embedded a piece of the artifact that he had refined into the pistol.

"Normally, we use the artifacts directly to create magic items. But this time, I'm using only a piece of the artifact. A small part. You don't have to use your energy. Just pull the trigger."

"Okay." Maya nodded. She aimed and pulled the trigger in a split second, not even warning Supervisor Jacob.

Supervisor Jacob, on the other hand, was shocked and put a barrier out of reflex before shouting, "You motherfucker! What the hell are you doing?"

He couldn't maintain his calm and just cursed at her. Of course, Maya knew Supervisor Jacob could react to it, which was why it was fun.

Maya didn't care about it. Instead, she looked at the pistol in shock.

Ellia, Katarina, and Stella, who were watching from the side, also dropped their jaws.

"Auric… you…" Maya looked at Auric and asked, "Did you just make an artifact that could be used by normal people?"

"Maya, you—" Supervisor Jacob was about to give Maya an earful, but he stopped when he heard what she said. He suddenly realized what had happened.

Normally, to use a magic item, one would require channeling their energy to activate the magic item.

However, Maya only pulled the trigger without even using her own energy. And that gun fired a bullet made of wind energy.

Auric grinned. It was working. After treating Supervisor Jacob, he thought of the idea.

Auric explained, "I am using the piece of the artifact not as fuel or a battery for the magic item to function. Instead, I use it to gather the energy from the air. In other words, it's a magic item that can be used over and over again by a normal human."

"Well, another day, another time for 'My Boss is a Genius' moment." Katarina facepalmed, remembering the time Auric discovered the fusion technique.

"I got the idea after treating him." Auric pointed at Supervisor Jacob. "I thought that if I could just connect the accumulated energy in his body with the energy from the air, I could create a continuous flow of energy into the magic item. The energy would be stored and released, so yeah, it still needs recharging, but you don't need anything else."

Maya looked at the gun and said, "I don't think you should make this gun or even mass-produce it. There will be a lot of criminal organizations that might buy this for their activities."

"I know, which is why I'm preparing the second weapon." Auric picked up the assault rifle. "Can you use this?"

"Well, yeah." Maya looked at Supervisor Jacob. This time, she was too shocked to even think about doing something slightly 'evil.'

Maya aimed at Supervisor Jacob and waited for him to get ready.

"Go ahead." Supervisor Jacob nodded.

"Channel your energy into it. I have used an artifact that matches your element to make it."

She then fired it.

Suddenly, the energy surged and fired a powerful beam toward Supervisor Jacob. Of course, Supervisor Jacob stopped it, but he was quite surprised to feel that a Rank 2 battle technique had just hit him. "What is this?"

Auric smirked. "That is the second magic item. It uses the same concept, but with a little tweak. I store the passive energy inside the magic item, so when active energy flows in, the two types of energy will combine to create something similar to my fusion technique. It will amplify your power."

Supervisor Jacob was dumbfounded. "How much energy did you put in?"

"Only at the level of Rank 1 battle technique," answered Maya.

"That magic item is made of a piece of a Rank 3 artifact, so yeah." Auric nodded in understanding.

Supervisor Jacob looked terrified. 'Is it all right to let him do all this?'

"Wait. This is the second magic item… What about the third one?" Maya looked at the glove lying on the side.

Auric picked up the glove and brushed off the dust before handing it to her. "I prefer to call this one a magic weapon. It's the same principle as the second weapon, but it's customized for each user. You are using your body to fight, so a pair of gloves will be good for you, Teacher. I can only find a Rank 4 artifact for this, so it might not be the best choice for someone like you, who is about to reach Rank 6, but it's the best available on the market. Unfortunately, I only managed to create one, so I need to make the other half later."

Maya put it on carefully and asked, "How should I use it?"

"It has two functions. The first one is energy release, and the second one is energy coating. When you pour your energy into the glove to create your…" Auric pointed at his arm.

"I call this technique Night Arms."

"…to create your Night Arms, you also pour energy into that glove. Even 10% of your energy is all right."

"Won't that make it weaker?" Maya tilted her head in confusion.

"Just try it."

Maya followed his instruction, but to her surprise, her Night Arms flared up. "Wait, this… this is stronger than my technique. It's about 5-10% stronger."

"Yeah. I couldn't find the best artifact for you, so it can only amplify your power by that much. The artifact on the glove will absorb the energy in the air. It's still passive energy, so once it merges with your energy, it will amplify your power. Imagine using your Night Arms with two sources of energy fueling them. It's only natural for it to be stronger."

Maya froze. Supervisor Jacob almost had a heart attack.

Katarina was just shaking her head helplessly, as she had grown accustomed to this. Stella couldn't help but ask, "Wait. A customized magic weapon? Doesn't that mean other people can have it too?"

"Yes. Once I know your element's rating as well as your preferred weapon, I can probably make one for you." Auric nodded. "It's still the prototype. I need to change the design a bit so that no one can reverse-engineer it."

Ellia couldn't help but imagine what would happen if her sword ended up being turned into a magic weapon. If a Rank 3 or even Rank 4 artifact were used, the power of her strike would be much stronger.

"There is one more function. You can discharge all the energy from the glove to unleash an attack with it, which amplifies your battle technique, just like the performance of the second weapon. Of course, it needs to be recharged before you can use it again."

Maya looked at Supervisor Jacob, speechless. This was more than enough for Supervisor Jacob to just nod and form his shield.

Maya then raised her hand and swung it down. Her energy expanded into claw-like shapes and hit Supervisor Jacob.

Auric smiled because he could tell from Maya's expression that the amplification was successful.

Those who knew the truth thought being able to create a gathering technique was shocking enough. Then, Auric revealed the artificial heart method.

Auric didn't stop there and got a fusion technique because he needed it.

This time, Auric ended up revolutionizing the magic item industry with his own creation. It might not be possible to mass-produce, but if he had many disciples to create the magic weapons and if the creation process was ever revealed, the world would undergo a big change.

They couldn't help but wonder what Auric would do next. Will he go to the moon to use it for something?