Chapter 41: Mini Mechanical Warriors
[Simulation complete. Host, please make a selection.]
[1. Randomly acquire three skills and feats obtained during the simulation.]
[2. Randomly receive three items obtained during the simulation.]
This time, the choice was obvious. The One Piece world hadn't yielded many great items, and he certainly hadn't found any Devil Fruits. Zhou Ning chose the first option without hesitation.
[You have selected option one.]
[You have acquired the feat: Intermediate Endurance.]
[You have acquired the skill: Esperanto Expertise (Expert).]
[You have acquired the skill: Armament Haki (Basic).]
A flood of new knowledge surged into his mind, making his head feel like it was about to split open. It took him a long moment to recover. Zhou Ning rubbed his temples and opened his status panel.
Sure enough, the panel now displayed two new skills and one new feat.
[Intermediate Endurance]: An advanced version of the [Basic Endurance] feat. Grants a +0.2 bonus to physical strength and a +2 bonus to willpower. The effects of hunger, thirst, cold, and other negative debuffs are significantly reduced.
[Armament Haki (Basic)]: A skill that can increase one's attack and defense power. It can be applied to the user's body or imbued into an object.
[You have mastered a new professional language. Your Linguist level has increased!]
The Linguist upgrade granted him one point in Spirit and a free attribute point, though Zhou Ning decided to save the attribute point for later.
Activating Armament Haki, a black film materialized over Zhou Ning's hand, followed by a layer of faint ripples.
Just as I thought. Armament Haki can be layered with Ripple.
This would take his offense and defense—especially his offensive power—to a whole new level.
All things considered, Zhou Ning was quite satisfied with this trip. Although he had died a bit early, he'd still acquired a powerful skill and an excellent feat, which made it worthwhile.
Intermediate Endurance was a rare feat that added a growth modifier, and Armament Haki (Basic), besides being stackable with Ripple, could be considered a buff-type skill. With this, his set of two buff-type skills was complete, bringing Zhou Ning one step closer to creating his own new profession.
…
The next morning, Zhou Ning went to the university's Alchemy Building to work as usual. Though he planned to resign, he still had to work his last few shifts. He would discuss the specifics with the professor after the semester started.
That morning, brewing low-level potions and organizing materials netted him a total of 1,000 experience points. It wasn't until Luo Xi arrived at noon for the shift change that he noticed her surprisingly good mood. She was humming when she came in, her voice sweet, as if she were humming around a piece of candy.
"What's got you in such a good mood? Find some money?" Zhou Ning asked with a smile.
"Nope." Luo Xi shook her head, her cheeks puffing out slightly as she explained with her usual seriousness, "Professor Weasley is increasing my allowance to six Victoires a month."
"That's great," Zhou Ning said, giving her a thumbs-up. "You must be the first person to ever get the stingy Professor Weasley to agree to a raise."
This comment clearly pleased Luo Xi. Professor Weasley was as famous for his stinginess at Wake Forest University as he was for his good temper. A smile touched the corners of her mouth, and after a moment she added, "By the way, Professor Weasley asked me to remind you not to forget the orientation the day after tomorrow morning."
"Got it." Zhou Ning's smile faded as he nodded. I wonder what Sherlock is thinking, he thought. He knows it's dangerous but isn't calling it off. Is he that confident?
Seeing Zhou Ning fall silent, Luo Xi asked shyly, "I should be there, too. Will you need my help?"
"If I do, I won't hesitate to ask," Zhou Ning replied with a smile.
The two chatted and laughed while finishing Luo Xi's red bean cakes, and before they knew it, it was already one o'clock.
After leaving the university, Zhou Ning headed to the trading district. He bought iron ingots, iron plates, bolts, gunpowder, and other alchemical materials from various herbalists, alchemists, and engineering supply stores. Most of the materials for the miniature mechanical warriors could be bought in regular shops, though he had to visit several different ones to find everything he needed.
This cost Zhou Ning another 23 Victoires. The 160 Victoires he'd just received yesterday evaporated before the coins could even warm in his pocket. Easy come, easy go.
At two in the afternoon, he returned to his alchemy room and, without even taking a break, began to clear his workbench. He laid out the purchased materials one by one and began crafting behind closed doors.
Okay, let's see, Zhou Ning thought, reviewing the recipe on his panel. Making a mini mechanical warrior requires thirty-three iron ingots, twenty-one fine iron bolts, and twenty-nine units of gunpowder. I've already got the firearms...
The first part of the process was essentially building an ordinary mechanical puppet. With his [Tony Stark] talent and Expert-level Precision Mechanical Production skill, this was a simple task for Zhou Ning.
A short while later, Zhou Ning set down his hammer with a sigh of relief.
A panel prompt appeared:
[Mini Mechanical Warrior: A mechanical puppet that can be equipped with any small firearm for combat, defense, or display.]
The lucky guy who'd obtained [Puppet Alchemy] in his past life didn't have this recipe. His initial recipe had been for a simple mechanical squirrel pet. Zhou Ning guessed this meant the initial recipe was determined by one's existing life skills. His [Mini Mechanical Warrior] recipe must be the result of combining Puppet Alchemy with his Expert-level Precision Mechanical Production.
Building the warrior was only the first step. Next, Zhou Ning had to refine it using an alchemy array and seal it into a parchment card.
The following steps required mixing a pure water ball, dragon's blood grass, and ice mint into a spiritual powder—the material used to draw the alchemy array.
Two pure water balls, seven grams of dragon's blood grass, five grams of ice mint... Zhou Ning meticulously followed the steps.
Half an hour later, the alchemy array was complete.
Holding his breath, Zhou Ning placed the finished miniature mechanical warrior and a blank parchment card inside the alchemy array. Once everything was in place, he poured an alchemical catalyst—a mixture of special herbs—over them.
Sizzle!
A cloud of mist erupted, filling the alchemy room. When the mist cleared, a card engraved with intricate patterns lay quietly in the array's center.
[You have created the [Mini Mechanical Warrior] card! You have gained 7,000 experience points!]
[Mini Mechanical Warrior: Use to summon a miniature mechanical warrior to aid in battle. Duration: 30 minutes. Cooldown: 30 minutes.]
"Alright!" Zhou Ning exclaimed, overjoyed.
One small step for alchemy, one giant leap for Yu-Gi-Oh!
Zhou Ning tapped the card and selected 'Use'. A puff of mist appeared, and when it cleared, a mechanical warrior half the height of a man stood before him, holding the M1 Garand rifle Zhou Ning had equipped it with.
Perfect! Zhou Ning snapped his fingers.
For the next few days, aside from his morning shift at the university's alchemy lab, Zhou Ning devoted all his time to his own workshop.
Once the first batch of herbs from the Golden Oak Herb Shop arrived, crafting the special bullets was no problem. His second attempt yielded a 79% success rate, and he completed all fifty bullets that afternoon. He delivered them, along with nine guns, to the Xilin Grocery Store in the west end of the city.
He returned with a new order for more guns and bullets, worth over 180 Victoires.
According to Sherlock, the guns Zhou Ning had won from the prize pool were a huge hit with the Imperial Guards, and even agents from a neighboring department were asking where they came from. Zhou Ning suspected Sherlock was buying so many guns just to resell them at a markup.
The Golden Oak Herb Shop proved quite reliable. Thanks to Richard's influence, the materials he needed were never out of stock. Batches of herbs were delivered to Zhou Ning's laboratory right on schedule. For two consecutive days, Zhou Ning was swamped. His daily output of special bullets reached nearly 200. The experience he gained was considerable, and his pockets were once again full.
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