Chapter 5 - The first arsenal

Kael sat beneath the strange black sky, surrounded by books and pieces of metal.

In front of him lay several pages covered in his handwriting.

He had spent the last few weeks learning the fundamentals of Darven weapon forging.

But he had reached a conclusion.

Making random weapons wasn't enough.

If he wanted to truly understand his bloodline, he needed to master different types of firearms.

Kael opened one of the Darven books.

A page contained several drawings.

Pistols.

Submachine Guns.

Assault Rifles.

Sniper Rifles.

Machine Guns.

Heavy Weapons.

Kael's eyes moved across the list.

“So this is the path.”

He picked up a pencil.

“I'll start with pistols.”

The Pistol

Kael selected ordinary iron.

He wasn't going to waste mithril or adamantite on his first serious experiment.

He placed the metal in front of himself.

Then he closed his eyes.

Mana flowed into the material.

Unlike his first attempts, he didn't immediately force it into shape.

He could now sense the metal's structure.

Slowly—

It began changing.

The frame formed first.

Then the barrel.

Then the grip.

Kael carefully refined each part.

His forehead became covered in sweat.

This time, he didn't stop until the weapon was complete.

He held it in his hand.

It was a simple pistol.

Not a perfect replica of any weapon from his old world's history, but clearly inspired by a modern semi-automatic handgun.

Kael examined it.

“Much better.”

He wasn't finished.

He infused a small amount of mana into the weapon.

The metal responded.

A faint blue glow appeared along the frame.

Kael's eyes widened.

[Mana-infused firearm detected.]

[Basic Firearm Forging proficiency increased.]

Kael smiled.

He had finally created a weapon he could be proud of.

But he immediately noticed its weakness.

The weapon couldn't withstand repeated mana infusion.

The iron began developing tiny cracks.

Kael frowned.

“Ordinary iron isn't enough.”

He dismantled the pistol.

Then he began again.

This time, he used a small amount of mithril.

The difference was immediate.

The metal responded much more smoothly to his mana.

Kael worked carefully.

When he finished, the pistol looked completely different.

Silver-white metal.

A dark grip.

Thin magical markings running along the frame.

Kael raised it.

“This one is better.”

He gave it a name.

Darven M-01.

His first personal firearm.

The Submachine Gun

Kael didn't stop.

The next weapon was more complicated.

A submachine gun.

He chose the MP5 as the basic inspiration from the weapons described in the Darven books.

The design required much greater precision.

Kael spent several days studying it.

He learned how different components interacted.

How the weapon's balance affected handling.

How the internal mechanisms had to work together.

But whenever he tried to create the complete weapon through Metal Control—

Something went wrong.

The first attempt failed.

The second became warped.

The third broke apart.

The fourth consumed almost all of his mana.

Kael stared at the ruined weapon.

“Again.”

He tried again.

This time, he slowed down.

He created each component separately.

Then combined them.

Hours later—

A finished weapon rested in his hands.

A compact MP5-inspired submachine gun.

Kael stared at it.

It wasn't perfect.

But it worked.

He smiled.

“I'm getting better.”

[Basic Firearm Forging proficiency increased.]

[Metal Control proficiency increased.]

Kael looked at the notification.

His improvement wasn't coming from his level.

It was coming from practice.

That realization made him even more determined.

The Assault Rifle

The next weapon was much more difficult.

An assault rifle.

Kael chose the AK-47 as his inspiration.

The weapon was larger.

More powerful.

And required far more precision.

Kael spent nearly a week studying the design.

He practiced manipulating larger quantities of metal.

He learned to control several components simultaneously.

His Metal Control improved rapidly.

But his mana remained a limitation.

Whenever he attempted too much at once, his concentration collapsed.

So Kael changed his approach.

Instead of trying to create everything simultaneously—

He divided the process.

One component.

Then another.

Then another.

Slowly.

Carefully.

Eventually, the pieces began fitting together.

Kael wiped the sweat from his forehead.

“Almost…”

He made one final adjustment.

The weapon was complete.

An AK-47-inspired assault rifle.

Kael lifted it.

The weapon felt heavier than the pistol.

But it was balanced.

Solid.

Powerful.

Kael stared at it for several seconds.

Three weapons now rested behind him.

A pistol.

A submachine gun.

An assault rifle.

Each one represented a step forward.

But Kael wasn't satisfied.

He looked toward another page.

A long rifle.

His eyes narrowed.

“Sniper rifle.”

The Sniper Rifle

This weapon was different.

It wasn't simply about power.

It required precision.

Extreme precision.

Kael selected the AWM as his inspiration.

The long weapon required him to maintain incredibly fine control over the metal.

Even a tiny mistake could ruin the entire weapon.

Kael spent days practicing.

He manipulated thin pieces of metal.

Held them perfectly still.

Moved them by fractions.

Stopped them instantly.

Started again.

His Metal Control became more refined.

Eventually, he began working on the sniper rifle.

The process took nearly two weeks.

The first attempt failed.

The second failed.

The third was almost perfect.

But the weapon cracked when he infused mana into it.

Kael stared at the damaged metal.

He didn't become angry.

Instead, he smiled.

“Now I know what went wrong.”

He selected mithril.

Then began again.

This time—

The weapon survived.

Kael held the finished sniper rifle.

The weapon was long and sleek, with a dark metallic body and a magical scope.

He looked through it.

His eyes widened.

The forest looked completely different.

He could see enormous distances through the magical lens.

Kael lowered the weapon.

“This isn't just a weapon.”

He looked at the scope.

“It's a completely different fighting style.”

He stored it carefully.

He wasn't ready to use it in battle yet.

He needed practice.

A lot of practice.

The Machine Gun

After mastering precision, Kael wanted to test raw firepower.

He opened another section of the Darven books.

Machine Guns.

One design caught his attention.

The M249.

Kael studied it.

The weapon was much larger than anything he had created before.

It required far more material.

And more importantly—

It would require much more mana to create.

Kael gathered ordinary iron.

Then mithril.

He began.

The process was exhausting.

His arms trembled.

His head hurt.

His mana repeatedly reached its limit.

Several times, he had to stop and rest.

But he refused to abandon it.

After days of work—

The machine gun was complete.

Kael looked at it.

It was heavy.

Very heavy.

He tried lifting it.

“Why did I make this so heavy?”

He laughed.

Then he remembered something.

The Darven bloodline wasn't limited by normal weapon designs.

He could modify weapons.

Improve them.

Make them magical.

Kael placed his hand against the weapon.

Mana flowed into it.

The mithril responded.

The entire weapon began glowing faintly.

Kael felt a strange connection.

He could sense every piece of metal.

Every component.

Every weakness.

He could even feel how the weapon was distributing the force generated inside it.

Kael smiled.

“That's it.”

He had discovered another use for Metal Control.

Not just creation.

Enhancement.

He could reinforce his weapons after creating them.

He could strengthen weak points.

Repair damage.

And potentially change their properties.

A new notification appeared.

[Bloodline technique discovered.]

[Metal Reinforcement.]

Kael stared at the message.

His breathing became slow.

This was something his father hadn't mentioned.

Maybe even the Darven family hadn't discovered everything.

Kael smiled.

“Then I'll discover it myself.”

One Month Later

Kael's training camp had completely changed.

Weapons were everywhere.

A Darven M-01 pistol.

An MP5-inspired submachine gun.

An AK-47-inspired assault rifle.

An AWM-inspired sniper rifle.

An M249-inspired machine gun.

Each weapon was made from different combinations of ordinary metals and magical materials.

But Kael wasn't simply collecting weapons.

He was studying them.

Every day, he practiced with a different firearm.

He learned their strengths.

Their weaknesses.

Their ranges.

Their mana consumption.

Their weight.

Their handling.

And most importantly—

How his Metal Control could improve them.

Kael opened his System.

[STATUS]

Name: Kael Darven

Age: 11

Level: 1

Mana: 18

Strength: 8

Agility: 9

Vitality: 8

Intelligence: 11

Metal Control: 41

Skills:

Basic Mana Manipulation — Intermediate

Metal Control — Intermediate

Basic Swordsmanship — Beginner

Basic Weapon Forging — Intermediate

Mana-Infused Weapon Creation — Beginner

Metal Reinforcement — Beginner

Kael stared at the numbers.

His level was still one.

Yet everything else had changed.

He had become stronger.

Not because the System had given him power.

Because he had earned it.

Kael closed the screen.

Then he looked toward the remaining books.

There were still hundreds.

And he hadn't even touched the advanced weapons.

His eyes stopped at a particular page.

A large weapon.

A tube-shaped launcher.

The title beneath it made his eyes widen.

RPG-Type Heavy Weapon.

Kael slowly smiled.

“So that's next.”

He looked at the pile of mithril and other magical metals.

For the first time, he realized something.

The Darven family hadn't left him an arsenal.

They had left him the knowledge to build one.

And Kael intended to build it.

One weapon at a time.