Seraphina had used her trump card against Bastion. A Banshee Scream Potion attuned specifically to the diamond he used for his Class Rank Up.
To create it, she needed a strand of his hair, which was easy enough to obtain. She was already in the palm of his hands, and asking for one did not raise any suspicion. Bastion didn't even bother to ask what it was for. He trusted her enough not to use it against him in a significant matter.
Seraphina felt a twinge of guilt after using it on him, but she believed it would serve as a valuable lesson. One that would push him to address a glaring weakness.
After her victory was declared, the crowd did not erupt into cheers. Instead, an eerie silence fell over the arena. Whatever had just happened was so shocking that it stunned the audience. A fully prepared knight had fainted without even touching his opponent.
The audience was horrified by the realization that a single potion could take down a powerful knight like Bastion in an instant.
He might not have been as beloved as the Saintess, but the heirs were well known cash cows, and all four were admired for their charm and appearance in their own ways.
Bastion especially fit the image of a knight in shining armor, a dream figure for any princess at heart. His strength was unmatched in his year and likely beyond it, yet he had been completely brought down by a single potion.
Seraphina casually walked out of the arena while Bastion was being carried off by the staff. It only added more salt to the wound that was her growing reputation.
Still, she did not care. Bastion would not care, and his opinion was the only one that mattered. The only other thing Seraphina cared about besides Bastion was taking down the Demon Lord, and judging by Aurelia's progress, she was going above and beyond.
The final battle of the tournament between Aurelia and Seraphina ended in a hard-fought victory for Seraphina after a grueling contest of endurance.
Aurelia stood tall beneath the radiance of the goddess, steadfast as she endured Seraphina's relentless barrage of alchemical assaults.
Freezing potions, explosive vials, firebombs, tremor brews, and mana-disrupting concoctions rained down on her one after another. Yet Aurelia refused to yield, weathering the status effects and sustained damage with unshaken resolve.
But in the end, Seraphina's deeper reserves and immense wealth proved overwhelming. As Aurelia's mana and stamina dwindled, and with no chance to retaliate between the relentless potions she was forced to mitigate one after another, she was ultimately overcome.
A week later, Bastion finally woke up after some rather expensive infusions of healing potions.
'I lost without a real fight,' Bastion reflected.
His concerns before the battle were justified. He had never imagined Seraphina possessed a potion capable of completely neutralizing his entire Class, which gave him good reason to be wary.
Taking time to analyze the battle, he realized his critical mistake had been moving closer. Seraphina's potions needed to be within range to take full effect, so he could have simply kept his distance and pelted her from far away, though hitting her would have been unlikely given her high dexterity.
He then studied the effects of the potion that had brought him down and concluded it was a sound-based concoction, resonating with the diamonds in his body granted by his Diamond Body ability.
To avoid falling victim to the same tactic again, he would need to prepare sound-dampening equipment tuned to disrupt his diamond's resonant frequency. A straightforward solution once he learned more about enchanting.
He could craft armor or a ring imbued with sound dampeners calibrated specifically to his diamond's frequency.
Unfortunately, this was not something he could have made by a third party, or else his resonant frequency might become public knowledge. For now, only he and Seraphina knew it, so he had to personally create the equipment to keep it that way.
"You're awake, Master," Elyra said at his bedside.
"It would seem so. What day is it?" Bastion asked, still slightly disoriented.
"It has been a week, Master. Your injuries were deep and widespread, so it took continuous infusions of healing potions to repair your body."
"I see. Did we have to pay?"
"No, Master. The academy took responsibility and covered the cost."
"What about my prize?"
"Your homeroom teacher, Professor Thornton, will present your request to the relevant professor."
"All right, no time like the present."
"It's the middle of the night, Master."
"No time like tomorrow."
The next morning, Bastion was discharged, and then he sought out Professor Thornton before formally submitting his request for the prize.
"Are you sure, Bastion?" the professor asked. "You could ask for Rank 2 armor instead, you know."
"Too heavy for my current strength. Maybe when I reach Rank 1."
Requesting Rank 2 armor seemed practical, but the materials and technology behind the Rank 1 cannon he desired were ultimately more expensive than a Rank 2 armor he could get at the Crafters Guild.
Besides, he could always craft his own armor later, spending only on the materials, which would ultimately be cheaper than the Rank 1 cannon and Rank 2 armor.
"Very well. I'll forward your request to Professor Hammerfist. He should be able to fulfill it."
"Thank you, sir."
A week later, Bastion was scheduled to meet with Professor Hammerfist, who would oversee his request. He met with a dwarf who had been teaching advanced smithing at the academy for over a century.
"Where did you get knowledge of this?" Hammerfist asked, his gaze sharp.
"You only need to know it was neither shared with me by anyone nor by me with you, as this is a crafter's request, not an exchange of information."
The dwarf eyed him suspiciously for a moment before giving up and turning his attention to the task at hand.
"Very well."
He accepted the explanation and slid over schematics featuring the perfect combination of components and magic circuits.
The design was shorter and slimmer than Bastion's original specifications, but judging by the increased explosive force indicated in the bullet compatibility schematics, it was clearly an upgrade.
The cannon measured 1.5 meters in length with a 90mm caliber and was engineered to be fired from the waist. The magical schematics included a top-loading breech that automatically opened after each shot, allowing a new round to be inserted and locked in place with ease. The barrel was rifled and reinforced with heat and impact resistance enchantments, and even featured a wind-based enchantment to cushion the recoil at the rear of the cannon.
Bastion's initial blueprint included a mounting system, recoil slide, and manual aiming apparatus, but these were ultimately deemed unnecessary after the addition of a wind enchantment and a set of magical sights that materialized in front of the wielder during use.
The result was a fully integrated weapon system, capable of being hip-fired with the precision of a sniper rifle and the damage of a light tank main gun.
"How's the maintenance?" Bastion asked, glancing at the schematics.
"None. If it ever needs maintenance, it's already scrap."
"Usage limit?"
"I guarantee at least a thousand shots."
"More than enough. Please proceed with construction."
"What do you plan to use this on?" the dwarf asked probingly.
"Rank 3 assailants, if they show up."
"Just don't fire it in the academy."
"No promises."
They discussed the remaining details until Bastion confirmed the request. Afterward, he brought up another of his projects.
"Now, if I were to build a fully automatic 20mm version of this cannon, do you have any recommendations?"
"How would you even make it automatic?"
"Six rotating barrels," Bastion explained. "A rear-mounted ammunition feed system that aligns each round with a firing mechanism. Once aligned, the firing pin strikes and detonates the round. It would be belt-fed, with all the ammunition stored in a spatial bag filled to capacity. The estimated rate of fire would be 6000 rounds per minute."
The dwarf's eyes lit up before he quickly composed himself.
"Ahem. I'd need to see detailed schematics before offering any suggestions. And I won't be building it for free."
"How much would it cost?"
"For six one-meter barrels chambered in 20mm, with the rotary system, feeding mechanism, and spatial bag, I'd estimate ten mithril coins. That includes materials and my labor. However, if your schematics are as good as you claim, I'll cut it down to material cost alone."
"Done. Here's the full payment up front, including a bit extra for any unexpected costs," Bastion said as he handed over the schematics along with two mithril coins.
The dwarf ignored the coins entirely, focusing all his attention on the schematics. His eyes grew wider with each detail he read, until he finally burst into laughter like a madman.
"Good lad! Consider the commission accepted."
"Thank you, Professor."
Professor Hammerfist ran out of his office like an excited child on Christmas morning, leaving Bastion behind to return to class.
More accurately, he returned just in time for final exams, as the academic year came to a close and a two-month summer break began. That left Bastion with an unusual amount of free time.
He had no intention of rushing home only to endure a series of tedious social gatherings, so he chose to stay where he was.
Lilia, on the other hand, returned to Aurenthal, where her parents had long since retired from adventuring.
Seraphina, meanwhile, had finally decided to ask for Bastion's help in her ambitious plan to defeat the Demon Lord.
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