The three walked along the street, chatting about recent interesting events.
"Og has started trying to forge himself a set of engraved war armor. He feels that the armor realized through construction methods is still too weak."
"Moria is studying the 'Seven Gates Technique' and has now completed the first two gates. The protective spells he can cast now have already surpassed Chief Spencer's."
"Xavier successfully summoned an Evil Eye last week and engraved a contract stone tablet. They say that Evil Eye has a fiery red appearance and exudes an aura of tar and flames."
"Marg has already finished her new Orb, crafted with an electro-marrow stone as the core, capable of unleashing powerful lightning spells. Among the apprentices in the same year, there aren't many who can beat her now."
"Chief Spencer is focusing on the Sovereign Spell system and is currently studying the ancient dynasty's stele inscriptions and imperial seals."
It wasn't just Sylutia; the other apprentices of her year had also made significant progress over the past year, each finding their own direction forward.
"Everyone's working so hard," Sylutia said with emotion.
After purchasing the necessary daily items, the three arrived at a clothing store and began browsing.
Among the three, Peline was the first to choose a set of black clothes that matched her temperament. Paired with her gray-blue ponytail, it combined youthful vitality with the sharpness brought by the black color.
Next was Imei, who selected a set of scholar's light robes. The hem was of moderate length, making it easy to move even in the forest, and the robes were made of sturdy leather material, so there was no worry about them being torn by branches in the woods.
Finally, it was Sylutia's turn. She hesitated for a good while before choosing a set of clothes with a black and red color scheme. The cape and outer skirt of this set were also made of sturdy leather, able to withstand light shots and scratches from tree branches. After putting on this black and red formal gown, Sylutia's slender waist was accentuated, and because the cape half-covered her chest, her curves appeared a bit more prominent.
The lower skirt wasn't very long. Considering the complex terrain of the mountains, which wasn't suitable for bare legs, the girl also bought a pair of tough, thick black stockings.
After changing into the clothes, she tried them on in front of the mirror. Her originally gentle temperament, due to the black and red color scheme, took on a dark elegance and a sense of aggressive danger.
This should be the second time she was wearing black and red clothes; the first time was back at Meteorite Lake.
Seeing Sylutia in this outfit, Peline and Imei's eyes lit up.
"This set suits the Chief perfectly."
"It gives off a feeling of reliability and strength just by looking at it," Imei added.
So, had her previous dressing style really been too weak? Sylutia complained a little inwardly. It was probably because of her stellar orbits; she didn't really like people with strong aggressiveness, so she rarely wore this type of clothing herself.
However, having walked a journey through Clovante's life last year also gave her new insights into style and aesthetics, and she was no longer as resistant.
"I'll take this set then." She bought it together with the other two, and then they left the commercial street.
After returning, Sylutia checked and decided to craft the mechanical crossbow she had designed before setting out this time.
Because she had learned the advanced 'Dense Runes', she could engrave finer and more powerful runes and also use these runes on the items she crafted.
First, she needed to prepare Scarcegold of Third Tier quality as the main material for the mechanical crossbow. Second, she also needed a small amount of Mithril for rune engraving. Sylutia made a list and then went to the academy's Task Hall to exchange her credits for the required items.
After that, she spent about two thousand gold coins to buy gemstones and other accessories.
With everything prepared, Sylutia rented a forge room, began using Magic Hand Manipulation to control the various tools and materials, and started forging.
First was the main body of the mechanical crossbow, then the various components she had designed in the blueprints. After all these were forged, quenched, and completed, she carefully assembled them, ensuring that each part fit perfectly and that the structure was neat and stable.
After these steps were done, she began engraving runic circuits and inlaying gemstones onto the mechanical crossbow.
Because she had previously helped Siena craft the Engraved Rifle, she had accumulated a lot of experience, so applying it to crafting the mechanical crossbow this time came very naturally.
She carefully engraved the runic circuits bit by bit, then carved grooves on the surface again to write the second layer. By this time, Sylutia's forehead was also covered in sweat droplets from the high temperature of the forge room.
About an hour later, the rune engraving on the mechanical crossbow was complete. Next came the engraving and inlaying of the gemstones. Embedding complex textures into a gemstone to produce special effects was an advanced technique in rune engraving.
Another hour passed as Sylutia engraved different effects onto the gemstones. Finally, she reassembled all the components of the mechanical crossbow and then infused it with the power of the Secret Word Aspect.
A faint purple glow wandered across the surface of the mechanical crossbow, then transformed into a weak white light, and finally completely subsided, settling down.
[Star-Piercing Mechanical Crossbow] (Fourth Tier · Perfect), crafted from Scarcegold and Mithril, engraved with · Lock · Quicksilver · Star Break · Star Attraction · Energy Infusion? five enchantments, capable of focused shooting.
Among them, 'Star Break' is a compound rune, with the specific effects of Star Chase + Armor-Piercing.
'Energy Infusion' is a mid-tier rune, a higher-level form of Charging.
Overall, although the materials only used Third Tier as the main body, paired with a small amount of Mithril, due to the exquisite nature of the runes and enchantments used, its quality reached the level of Fourth Tier · Perfect. This was the limit that the current materials could achieve. To further improve the quality, higher-tier materials would be needed as the foundation.
But this wasn't the end. Sylutia took out the crossbow bolt storage box, which she had also crafted, and its interior held six gemstones, three purple and three blue.
[Crossbow Bolt Mechanism Box] (Fourth Tier · Rare), a cylindrical mechanism box with Scarcegold as the main body, inlaid with six gemstones, capable of temporarily adding Sharpness and Sturdiness effects to the bolts inside. It could hold up to 12 bolts when fully loaded, connecting with the mechanical crossbow to achieve automatic loading and firing.
[Scarcegold Crossbow Bolts (20)] (Fourth Tier · Superior), crossbow bolts crafted from Scarcegold, engraved with four enchantments: Demon-breaking · Penetration · Tailwind · Acceleration.
Filling four enchantments into a single tiny crossbow bolt; such bolts might seem lower in quality than the previous two items, but in reality, crafting them was much more difficult.
After forging and debugging all of these, Sylutia contentedly placed the crossbow bolts into the cylindrical mechanism box and then connected it to the lower side of the mechanical crossbow. This way, as long as she continuously input power, the spring inside the mechanical crossbow would compress and release, achieving automatic loading and charging.
Such a weapon might not be very effective against Fifth Tier beings, but against creatures below the Fourth Tier, it was incredibly useful.
After completing it, Sylutia put it away with great satisfaction.
The quality and performance of this 'practice piece' had exceeded expectations. It had allowed her to practically apply the knowledge she had learned over the past six months and also clarified many detailed issues she had not understood during her studies.
Next time, she could try crafting a Fifth Tier creation. However, the rare materials needed would probably have to be sought in the Shadow World.
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