9 New toys

"The roof is finally done," I let out a sigh, laying the last bushel of thatch on the roof of the structure I have been slaving away on in the afternoons for a while now.

I have been building myself a laboratory as a space to work on some inventions I have in mind and also because constructing a building is a great method of strength training.

It's a small structure, two rooms, one containing a forge and anvil and the other containing worktables and cabinets full of miscellaneous materials.

I climb down from the roof and begin forging the last few pieces of my first project. Forging is hard as fuck, especially with me micromanaging the temperature of the fire with my mana, and I have been struck on this last piece for weeks.

I begin heating up three long pieces of scavenged iron I stole from unused weapons in Uncle Rhoam's chest. Once they are hot, I place a layer of fire mana over my bare hands, protecting them from the scorching heat.

Then I start rolling the iron into thin, almost string-like strands, something only possible due to my unique forging technique.

One string, two, five, ten, twenty, once I reach thirty wire-like purified iron pieces, I stop.

Taking a deep breath, I delve back into my forging, weaving the iron thread together into a thin rope. Using an improvised wooded syringe, I drip water into the center of the iron rope before finally finishing.

I am left with a ten foot – long metal cable with my mana-made water running down the core.

I take my new creation into the other room, where my gauntlet and some metal pieces lay on a worktable.

First, I weld a barbed repurposed spearhead onto the end of the cable. I then coil the cable around a metal tube inside a compartment on the wrist of the gauntlet.

I close, and weld shut the compartment, and only the small spearhead pokes out of the wrist of my gauntlet.

Finally done, I hurry outside to test my new invention.

Manipulating the water inside of the thing metal cable, I shoot the wire up to the branch of a tree, firmly embedding the spearhead in the bark, then I pull myself up, retracting the wire back into my gauntlet.

Yup, I have basically made a short-range Spiderman web-shooter, but it's so much more than that.

Back at the training yard, I uncoil my wire, then start practicing using it as a vicious, snake-like whip, shredding through the wooden armor on the training dummy.

The wire has one last trick up its sleeve. Embedding the spearhead into the dummy; I push lightning mana into my new toy, pumping five thousand bolts into the poor mannequin.

Seeing the effectiveness of the wire, a gleeful cackle escapes my mouth, "BEHOLD MY UNLIMITED POWWWAA HAHAHAHAHA."

"QUIET DOWN back there. I'm having my afternoon nap," a sadist king yells from the cabin. I shut up. I'm definitely gonna feel that mistake in training tomorrow.

A weapon as fine as this deserves a name, and I have a perfect one: a majestic name that will strike fear into the hearts of my enemies, THE THRONGLER.

I start incorporating The Throngler into my morning drills and spars with Rhoam. In the afternoons, I begin work on the last weapon I plan on implementing into my core fighting style, a fucking gun.

Lynel, meet minigun, Hinox, say hello to RPG-kun. But those are way beyond my skill level. For now, at least. I will start with a simple six-shooter.

As for ammunition, while I do remember the ingredients to make gunpowder, I don't remember the ratios. I don't really want to experiment with explosive material for extended periods, at least for now.

I get to work crafting the body of the pistol; I make the grip and base of the weapon from my old handheld crossbow.

Without gunpowder, the issue of how to propel the bullet is tricky, I experiment with many different designs, hydraulic lifts, slingshots, and springs, and eventually, I end up with a suitable design.

The design divides the barrel of the gun into three parts, one with a spring, which is primed by cocking the weapon. The next chamber is specifically made of highly purified iron to withstand small explosions from fire mana I channel into the weapon, and the last was the chamber for bullets.

With the weapon complete, I begin the production of bullets. I first make a mold and craft some basic metal bullets, I try to make bullets infused with fire or lightning mana, but they simply explode. It seems my skill isn't high enough for that yet. For training purposes, I also make some rubber bullets.

​​It takes months to make this little gun comfortably in my gauntleted hand; the amount of tiny pieces having to fit together perfectly is far more complicated than I thought, but I know it will prove to be completely worth it.

To cap it off, I make a little holster and bandoleer with some extra clips of bullets and take my new creation to the training yard.

I take my first shot at the training dummy and miss; I adjust the sights, then I shoot and miss again, adjust the sights. My third shot hits cleanly with a loud "DING."

When I go to check the effectiveness of my weapon, I see that the bullet passed clean through the dummy's helmet and sunk halfway into its head. Success!

Looking smugly at my revolver, I decide the weapon needs a fitting name… hehe, say hello to Mr. Jack.