Chapter 4: Junk Chimera part 1
*Author's Note*
Sorry for the massive delay in chapters, working an internship over the summer tends to be a very busy thing. I promise that chapters will be coming out more frequently given I have the time to do them.
Additionally, I wanted to thank all of you for following my writing regardless of how poor it may be. I've always wanted to write a story like this so this is me trying to improve my writing to a degree.
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Kaden stood in the open field as the wind blew past him. A calm day with moderate weather, perfect for a picnic or a day in the park. Unfortunately, with the Expo rapidly approaching, Kaden didn't have the luxury for any of those types of activities.
"So, you're sure about this working?" Claire looked at him with an expression filled with doubt and hope all at the same time.
"I'd say about 80% at this point, with your help. If I didn't have it, I'd only give this around a 40% chance of even working." Kaden was confident in his odds this time around.
Claire sighed as she looked at the pistol at Kaden's hip. It looked normal to anyone who didn't know what kind of things were a part of it, but she knew better. On the interior was an intricate magic circle that was only complete with the pulling of the trigger. Kaden had been struggling with that part of the project due to his lack of magic aptitude along with his unfamiliarity with it. He could disassemble any gun in a matter of minutes but figuring out the basics of magic were still far beyond him. Claire's assistance had spurred Kaden to give the project one last try since this was his last opportunity before the Expo to really come up with something to show. If this didn't work, he might as well not even bother going to the Expo at all.
"Though I am surprised," Kaden added. "Someone finally got those materials that we needed for the bullets. I was worried I would have to pay a bigger company to get them."
Kaden was looking away from Claire, but if he had been looking he would have seen her balk in her movements for a split second.
"Yeah… It's good that those came through when they did…" Claire hesitantly responded.
*A few days earlier*
"So, what are we doing again?" The small girl clad in light blue asked the girl leading the group towards the cave.
"...Let me check again." The black haired girl pulled out a device and messed with the screen, pulling up the request that they had accepted from the guild. "We're here to get some materials for a gunsmith, says he needs them for the Expo."
"A gunsmith…" The purple haired girl standing next to her chimed in. "Does he run a shop?"
The black haired girl shrugged, "That seems to be the case, he wouldn't be needing materials for the Expo otherwise."
"Maybe we should visit his shop once the request is filled to see what he needed the materials for, plus I want to pick his brain about weapons…" The purple haired girl admitted her real curiosity as she started thinking about what she could ask him.
"I wouldn't do that, Nepgear. If he's trying to get these materials for the Expo, he'll be better off just focusing on his work. He doesn't need anyone bothering him." Uni definitively shut Nepgear down.
"Awwww" Nepgear looked disappointed. "But these materials are magic conductive! He's a gunsmith, right? Why would he need these?"
"Like I said, he probably has something in mind for the Expo in a month." Uni was certain in her assertion, which Nepgear found odd but she kept that to herself for now.
"It's okay Miss Nepgear, I'm sure you can figure it out if you get the chance to talk to him." The small girl in blue quietly responded to Nepgear's slight sadness.
"Thank you Rom, I'll definitely find the time to question this man at some point…" Nepgear was determined to ask this supposed gunsmith about his plans.
"Oooooh does Nepgear have a crush?" The girl in pink smugly mocked her.
Nepgear responded with a straight face, shaking her head, "Not at all Ram, I just want to ask him about his work that's all."
"Mrrrrr, you're no fun to tease!" Ram was frustrated with Nepgear's lack of response.
"Alright you lot, cut it out! We're not here to argue. We're here to complete this request and help out a citizen. Got it?" Uni attempted to shut down any kind of conversation.
The other girls all nodded but all noted that Uni had a light blush despite her more frustrated expression when she spoke. Ram almost went for another teasing line but saw Rom looking at her disappointedly and decided that she would rather not at this point. As Nepgear continued to mumble to herself, the girls continued on their way to the cave where the materials were to be found.
Let's just hope I can help him out with my power for once, not that I think he needs it or anything
Uni assured herself that this was unequivocally the right thing to do, even if she had an unsaid bias.
The rest of the day was spent as the four CPU candidates struggled to get their hands on the materials. From monsters attacking to the rough terrain, the four had their work cut out for them. After a few hours though, they exited the cave tired, but unharmed.
"That was exhausting." Ram plopped herself on the ground and took a breather.
"For once, I agree Ram." Uni was taking a breather but had a look of satisfaction on her face.
"You know, I'm surprised it took us this long to get the materials. You would think that this guy would have gotten them himself if he was so desperate for them." Ram jabbed at the requester despite never even meeting him.
"Now Ram, not everyone is as combat capable as we are or even as people like IF or Compa are." Nepgear chastised Ram.
Ram sat there in silence, not in the mood to get lectured by someone that wasn't Blanc.
"Let's just get back to Lastation and hand in this request, I want to go get a bath and take it easy now that we've got this done with." Uni had a tired expression as she transformed to take flight back to town.
The other candidates nodded and transformed as well, joining Uni in flying back to Lastation. Drawing looks from ordinary people as they flew over the streets towards the guild. Entering the guild only drew eyes from a few people as the girls approached the counter and placed the materials on it.
"Here fulfilling the request from…" Nepgear looked at Uni since she was the one who chose the request they had taken.
"Kaden, the gunsmith." Uni spoke to the guild worker as they examined the materials.
"Yes, let me just make sure these match the request and then you will all be free to leave." The guild worker was meticulous as they examined the materials while the girls stood there waiting.
After a few moments, "Yes these match the materials he requested. Thank you for fulfilling the request. Your payment will be distributed as soon as the request is marked as completed." The worker bowed in thanks and took the materials behind the counter into a storage area.
The candidates all looked at one another and decided to go their separate ways for now, considering that they had spent more than enough time together that day.
*Back to the present*
Kaden was busy fiddling with the setup he had brought with him to the field outside of town while Claire watched him work. His hands moved swiftly as he loaded the ammo into the magazine and tied a string to the trigger of the pistol. Claire sat on the grass next to him and saw how careful his movements were. Precise yet quick, Kaden had almost no time to get this project done now that the Expo was only a few short weeks away.
"You know this might still not work, right?" Claire questioned him.
Kaden shrugged, he had his fair share of failures on this project in particular. If this didn't work, he'd just give it another try, no harm no foul. Then again, if this didn't work he probably wouldn't have enough time to get another prototype made.
"Look, the odds I gave are the ones I'm the most confident in. If this doesn't work…" Kaden couldn't think of a proper response.
Claire almost looked like she regretted saying that but she was a realist on the best of days and a pessimist on the worst. She only hoped that she didn't encounter any of the people who knew her. Kaden would have a meltdown if that happened now.
"Alright, it looks fine to me." Kaden stood up and looked at the little stand that the gun was sat upon. It was nothing special, just a tripod with a modified head for the pistol to be held in. It was pointed at a tree with a small sign nailed to it that would show if the pistol still worked as a gun and would make it obvious if the new materials actually functioned.
"Come on, let's back up and hope it doesn't explode this time." Kaden waved Claire to follow him with the string on the trigger held in his hand.
As they walked back, Claire glanced at the pistol hesitantly. She was worried that it wasn't going to work, but she was more worried about what it would do to her boss if this didn't work. What would he do for the Expo? Would he even bother participating in it anymore? Would he just close his shop and give up? No, that last one was too far, but the possibility still existed in her mind.
The two got a few meters back before turning to look at the gun. To anyone else, this would have looked like the typical munitions test. But to the two of them, it was a monumental action.
"Here," Kaden handed the string to Claire. "Without your help, this wouldn't have been possible for me to finish. You get the honor of testing it."
Claire took it hesitantly and held it, her hands shaking from her nerves. She nodded and looked at the gun.
"On the count of three, I'm pulling it." Claire stated as she felt her body tense from the nervousness.
Kaden just nodded and let her handle it. On his last prototype, the pistol had exploded very unceremoniously and he was left alone to clean it up. That was also the day that Claire came to his shop…
*Months earlier*
Kaden sighed as he dropped the broken shards of the pistol onto his workbench in frustration. He had tried nearly everything but nothing seemed to work anymore. This integration work was beginning to look like the end of it all for him at this point. The shop brought in money but it definitely wasn't enough for him to keep trying to get his personal project worked on. He had sold a bunch of his personal belongings only a few weeks ago to get more materials but that money would run out given time and he had nothing else to sell in that situation.
He almost punched his workbench in anger before realizing what he was doing and stepping back out of the back of the shop to look at the store. As he stood behind the counter, he felt a pang of regret through his mind and body as he stared at it. He would be the worst apprentice if he let the shop fall to ruin at this point and CPUs be damned if he could let that happen. He would just have to give up on his pipe dream if it came down to it. It would at least start letting him spend money on luxuries and maybe replace some of his belongings.
The bell at the front door of the shop rang, alerting Kaden to the presence of a potential customer and he put on his customer service smile as he greeted them.
"Good afternoon, welcome to Monument Weapons, how can I help you?"
The girl who entered looked around the shop before settling her eyes on him.
"You're the owner of this place?" Her question was a strange one to ask.
"Yup, the one and only. Is there something specific you need?"
"Well, I was hoping to find a place for employment…" She looked embarrassed(?) to ask that question.
"Ummmm, sure? Do you have any qualifications that could show me that you can help out here?" Kaden was hesitant but maybe getting a fresh mind could help with his project.
"I can work with energy based weapons, I've been complimented on them pretty often." The girl looked proud of her work.
"Okay, do you have a piece that you can show me?" Kaden questioned.
"...Not right now, but…" She approached a laser rifle on a rack and pulled it off. "I can show you how I do maintenance on weapons."
Kaden nodded and went into the back, grabbing a work mat for her to show him her work.
Not only was she skilled, she was better than Kaden with the rifle. She pointed out where he had gone wrong in servicing the weapon and even gave him tips. Kaden was extremely impressed.
"Alright, you have the job." Kaden said with complete certainty after putting the rifle back on the rack.
"Really?! That was easier than I thought." The girl almost looked disappointed.
"Your abilities are no joke, so I'd rather have you working in my shop than anywhere else."
"When do I start?"
"First, your name kiddo." Kaden replied
"Oh, I'm so sorry. My name's Claire." She put her hand out for a handshake.
"Okay Claire, you start tomorrow. If you're lucky, you might be allowed to help me with my expo project."
"Great, I'll see you tomorrow!" Claire almost sprinted out of the store, clearly excited about getting a job.
"Enthusiastic, isn't she?" Kaden mumbled to himself as he got ready to serve more customers and began thinking about the expo project. He had almost 6 months left, surely he would get it working in that time, right?
*Back to the present*
"3… 2… 1…" Claire pulled on the string. The two were so quiet you could probably hear a pin drop.
The trigger pulled back and the gun fired in almost slow motion. It glowed ominously as it charged with mana once the circle was completed and the bullet left the barrel with extreme velocity. A shell casing fell onto the grass as the pistol vented the smoke from firing the bullet.
The impact was far but Kaden and Claire saw it. At first there was a bit of hesitation but after a moment, the tree with the target looked like it had been frozen around the point where the bullet had struck.
It was a success.