Chapter 56: My Rifle Is 0.8% Complete

Raven discovered that morning that building a rifle became considerably more expensive when you first had to invent the industry required to manufacture one.

He sat beside the window of his room with three sheets spread across the table and the map of Asteria covering most of the remaining space.

A fourth sheet rested separately.

It contained the simplest design he’d managed to produce without FORGE rejecting it outright.

It wasn’t pretty.

It wasn’t even really a rifle yet.

It was a collection of functions organized around an idea.

A conduit strong enough to guide a projectile.

A chamber capable of surviving a violent release of energy.

A source of acceleration.

An independent activation mechanism.

Some way to store mana without turning the weapon into a bomb while it hung across his back.

The Earth equivalent would’ve been ridiculously basic.

In Veyr, it required components scattered across half the kingdom.

Raven placed two fingers on the diagram.

"FORGE."

The interface appeared immediately.

«"FORGE — Level 1"

Registered Projects: 1

Open Project?»

"Yes."

The lines changed.

«"PROJECT: PROTOTYPE RIFLE"

Project Type: Artificial Projectile Weapon

Design Origin: Foreign / Terrestrial

Mechanical Understanding: Partial

Native Material Adaptation: Incomplete

Completion: 0.8%

Required Core Systems: 5

Functional Components Acquired: 0

Current Construction Status: IMPOSSIBLE»

Raven stared at the number.

Zero point eight.

He had fought a Level Thirty-Four Blackmaw Tyrant, taken enough damage that an Earth doctor would’ve probably started seriously discussing the amputation of several things, consumed regenerative marrow from an Elite creature, unlocked a second Authority, and spent most of the previous night trying to convert his knowledge of weapons into something that could exist under Veyr’s magical rules.

Zero point eight percent.

He opened the details.

«Completion does not represent material acquisition exclusively.

Project Completion includes:

— Mechanical design development

— Functional compatibility

— Material compatibility

— Trait/Skill integration viability

— Energy architecture

— Structural stability

— Manufacturing feasibility

— User understanding

Current progress primarily derived from conceptual architecture and host mechanical knowledge.»

That made more sense.

It also meant acquiring five organs wouldn’t magically make the number jump to one hundred percent.

Raven had expected something like that.

FORGE wasn’t a shopping list disguised as an Authority.

He could bring it every correct ingredient and still fail if he didn’t understand how they were supposed to work together.

He looked at the percentage again.

Still offensive.

A knock sounded at the door.

"Come in."

Valeria opened it without waiting for a second invitation.

She was already dressed for travel.

Raven watched her for a moment.

Dark fitted riding pants, tall boots, a wine-colored shirt beneath a light black jacket, and a short cloak folded over one arm. Her hair was partially tied back to keep it from falling across her face on the road.

She didn’t look like an aristocrat preparing to spend the morning in Greyhaven.

She looked like someone who had already decided to leave the city.

Raven looked behind her.

"Where’s your luggage?"

"With Roland."

"That didn’t really answer the question."

"It answered it exactly."

Valeria stepped inside and closed the door.

"Good morning."

"I’m still deciding."

She noticed the papers on the table.

"Did your revolutionary tube survive the night?"

"Conceptually."

"That sounds concerning."

Raven turned one of the sheets slightly.

Valeria approached.

The interface remained visible only to him.

"Zero point eight."

She stopped walking.

"What?"

"The project."

"Zero point eight what?"

"Percent."

Valeria looked at him.

Then at the drawings.

"After everything you did yesterday?"

Raven nodded.

"I killed an Elite to advance zero point eight percent."

She took a second.

"When you say it like that, it sounds like a terrible investment."

"It is."

"And you’re continuing?"

"Yes."

Valeria smiled.

"Good. I just wanted to make sure your common sense was still exactly where we left it."

Raven closed the interface.

"The Blackmaw doesn’t directly count."

"Then why did you mention it?"

"Because I like complaining with data."

"That I can respect."

Raven pointed toward the black plate leaning against the wall.

"The carapace might end up in the weapon, but FORGE still doesn’t know where. Most of the progress comes from the design and the fact that I understand some of the mechanical principles well enough."

Valeria picked up one of the sheets.

Raven didn’t take it from her.

At this point, she already knew the general intention.

A few incomplete drawings weren’t going to change much.

"What does ’understand well enough’ mean?"

"That I know what each part needs to do."

"But you don’t know how to build every part."

"Not with this world’s tools. And some of them can’t even work the same way."

Valeria studied the barrel drawing.

"So you’re trying to copy something from your world without being able to copy the materials that made it possible."

"Not exactly."

"That sounds exactly like what you’re doing."

Raven shook his head.

"At first, yes. Now I’m trying to preserve the function and replace the mechanism."

That caught her attention.

"Explain."

Raven picked up another sheet.

"In my world, a chemical reaction creates high-pressure gas. That pressure drives the projectile through the barrel. Here, I don’t necessarily need to reproduce the chemical reaction if I can find another way to generate the same acceleration."

Valeria pointed toward one annotation.

"Kinetic Pulse."

"One possibility."

"And Black Mithril?"

"Replaces industrial materials I can’t manufacture yet."

"’Yet.’"

Raven looked up.

"I don’t know FORGE’s limits."

Valeria smiled slightly.

"That sentence sounds dangerous coming from you."

Raven took the sheet from her hand.

"I also need to find out whether the construction system can accept completely different magical components inside the same structure."

"Shouldn’t your Authority know that?"

"It knows whether something is theoretically compatible. That doesn’t mean it’s going to design the weapon for me."

"So it really does force you to do the work."

"Yes."

"I like it."

Raven looked at her.

"I didn’t expect the two of you to get along so quickly."

Valeria sat on the edge of the bed.

"What do we still need before we leave?"

The question came too naturally.

Raven put the papers away.

"’We’?"

"For Sablewood."

"I don’t remember hiring you."

"And I don’t remember applying for employment."

"Then we’re making progress."

Valeria seemed satisfied with that answer.

Raven wasn’t.

Which probably meant the conversation had ended exactly the way she wanted.

"I’m going to the Mercenary House first," he said. "I need to register the route."

"Because of Orbrecht."

"Yes. Then supplies, alchemical preservation materials, tools, rope, oil, and food."

"A lot of food."

Raven looked at her.

"Predatory Regeneration."

"I know. Yesterday you almost ate an entire leg of lamb by yourself."

"It was small."

"It was an entire leg."

"The lamb was small too."

Valeria laughed.

Raven picked up his jacket.

His shoulder barely protested when he moved the arm.

Predatory Regeneration was still working.

The difference from the previous morning was considerable.

The smaller cuts had almost completely disappeared, and the deeper injuries had reached that uncomfortable stage where the body could function again but still remembered every impact whenever he moved too quickly.

He had consumed an absurd amount of food to make that happen.

The cost was acceptable.

As long as he could afford it.

"And you?" Raven asked.

"Me what?"

"Don’t you have obligations?"

Valeria looked genuinely amused.

"Raven, I’m a von Nacht."

"That didn’t answer the question."

"It means I can leave Greyhaven without asking permission from anyone here."

"Your family."

Her smile shifted slightly.

Didn’t disappear.

"They know where I am."

Raven recognized the answer for what it was.

He didn’t push.

Everyone had doors they preferred to keep closed.

He had several.

"Then let’s go."