Chapter 330: The Choice

Chapter 330: The Choice

“Not only do I know you have two IDs, I also know you have two Magic Weapon Summoning Books. Don’t even think about playing tricks on me. Get back to work, honestly.” Zheng Yichen waved his hands impatiently to shoo him away. When Carlin had asked for two Contracts, Zheng had known the guy definitely possessed two Magic Weapon Summoning Books. Remembering Carlin’s IDs, Zheng casually tested it out. He tried the Linlin ID, then glanced at Carlin. “This is the one, right?”

“Um… right you are, Boss.”

“Hmph…” Zheng Yichen gave a dry laugh. If he hadn’t known through some snooping that Carlin and this other person were siblings, and if Zheng had admitted knowing the name Linlin, would they still be asking for extra rewards? The Spatial Ring was the biggest reward they were getting! Anything else? Forget about it!

“Go on, get out of here. You can pick your items anytime. I’ve got work to do.”

After Carlin left, he immediately used the link Zheng Yichen provided to enter an ‘Armory’. Through the Magic Weapon Summoning Book, he saw a dazzling array of items inside. Just stuff like Tactical Eyepieces alone numbered over a dozen, never mind the other strange objects. Special hand-crossbows, weird forearm guards, things that looked like fire-poking sticks…

It was truly dazzling to the eyes.

“What are all these amazing things? I suddenly realized how little experience I have!” Carlin exclaimed with deep feeling. He recognized only a few types; the vast majority he’d never seen or even heard of. “And this style… I think I understand something now!”

“Understand, but don’t talk carelessly,” Karin silently communicated with her brother. They both recognized that their Boss likely had some special connection with Tianwang. Furthermore, many people had the Magic Weapon Summoning Book, but how many people had access to such a privileged Armory like this? So, it wasn’t just a special tie to Tianwang; he probably had some link to the Creator as well. Otherwise, where did such convenience come from?

“I know, huff. Thankfully, there’s no time limit on picking, or this would be truly frustrating,” Carlin kept scanning the items in the Armory. Since he was viewing it all through the Magic Weapon Summoning Book, Zheng Yichen had synced all the item details to the core of the book when he stored them here. By focusing on any specific item, Carlin could see its relevant information.

Zheng had spent half a day setting up this Armory. It was a spontaneous idea after bringing Carlin under him. Thinking like a future Boss, he’d surely have many underlings later. When they made good contributions, giving out rewards via normal means would be troublesome and slow. Wouldn’t it be better to have this online reward system instead? Sure, it looked a bit like those Quest Systems from games, but Zheng didn’t care. He’d decided to be a changer in this Otherworld, so why be bound by its rules and common sense? Making others adapt to his common sense was fitting for his identity as a Transmigrator.

As for his own common sense? Why shouldn’t he define it? He had the means. But Zheng didn’t plan to roll out this reward System widely just yet. Not long ago, Loris warned him that taking steps that were too big or too fast might not be ideal. This special reward method should be implemented slowly. Introducing it suddenly would be too much of a shock. Better to let people slowly adapt, like boiling a frog in gradually heating water. Once things were fully developed and everyone was already comfortable with it, accepting it would be natural, without any major upheaval. Perfect, right?

While Carlin was overwhelmed by choices, he received another message from Zheng Yichen: in emergencies from now on, he could contact Zheng directly through the Magic Weapon Summoning Book. This method was very safe… Well, if the Boss said so, Carlin had no objections at all. Direct contact it was – fast and convenient.

“Hmm… this wrist-mounted crossbow looks pretty good. Highly concealable, and can launch special bolts… Oh oh, this Sleeve Blade is good too! Just one character difference, but a completely different effect.” Carlin kept searching for the equipment he wanted. Every piece of gear here was definitely a ‘Magic Arm’. Where on earth did his Boss find so much Enchanted Material? Wow… apparently, the wrist-crossbow and the Sleeve Blade could be combined. But that counted as two items! What a cheap trick – they should obviously be one integrated piece… Carlin grumbled internally, feeling conflicted. He finally chose the Sleeve Blade. Another one, the wrist-crossbow, had impressive penetrating power, but he could get that later. The Sleeve Blade was a bit larger, practically a forearm guard itself, making its functions much more versatile.

The other item he chose next was… a Sniper Rifle… According to its info, it was indeed called that. After reading its detailed description, Carlin immediately fell in love with it. Even seeing it for the first time, it looked like a stick, but the effects described captivated him deeply.

All along, an Infiltrator’s role was similar to an assassin – aiming for the enemy’s backside, mostly close-quarters fighting. What ranged attacks? Those didn’t exist! Super-long-range attacks were basically defined by Spellcasters; other classes like Warriors basically said goodbye to that possibility.

But this ‘gun’… yep, ‘gun’. The name couldn’t help but make one think of the long spears soldiers used. Without knowing its effect, he wouldn’t immediately think of a firearm. But its range? Carlin adored it. 1,500 meters with undiminished power; 3,000 meters accurate range; maximum lethal range 7,000 meters… According to details, by that distance, the bullet was basically drifting. Any killing power relied entirely on residual momentum from its flight, and hitting anything depended purely on luck. Killing ordinary folk or people with some strength was doable. Against a Ranked Practitioner at that range? Basically useless.

The range seemed mind-blowing, but it was purely boosted by passive Magic. After all, it was just an ejected bullet. Zheng’s design included wind Magic rune arrays inside the barrel – temporary enhancement Magic. As the bullet passed through the barrel, it activated these runes, imbuing it with wind Magic. This Magic countered air resistance and greatly extended the range. But because it was a temporary, burst-type buff, the Magic imbued on the bullet decayed very quickly. According to Zheng’s experiments, Carlin saw quite accurate data. Magic decayed exponentially once it started; not that Zheng couldn’t make it last longer; it was just unnecessary.

No matter how far the range, over distance, there’s always time lag. It was a bullet, not a beam of light. Outside extremely special environments, obsessing over range was pointless. What should be focused on were the bullet’s speed and power! So what if the range was vast, but you couldn’t pierce armor? Or if you pierced armor, but failed to kill? Useless!

“Comes with one magazine of special bullets… Wow, that’s great! What else?” Carlin checked the attached notes. One magazine held ten bullets: six Explosive Rounds causing high-intensity detonations upon impact; three Armor-Piercing Rounds with powerful penetration against high defense or shielded Mages; the last one was a Fortified Bullet, combining both effects with even greater power.

“If only all ten were like that…” Judging by the quantities, Carlin understood the scarcity of the three types. Besides these special bullets, it also included one hundred fifty ‘regular’ bullets. Calling them regular, but when Carlin checked them, he noticed weak fluctuations – definitely made from Enchanted Material. “What a waste…” he muttered.

He carefully stored the Sniper Rifle. Once he took it, the magical mark on it activated, just like the Sleeve Blade. It recorded his Mana signature. If it ever went over ten meters away from him, it would self-destruct… Carlin didn’t mind this. Such unprecedented gear shouldn’t have its secrets leaked. These safety measures were just right! Besides, neither item would usually be more than ten meters away. The Sleeve Blade was worn on him. The Sniper Rifle? That was long-range; for melee, a kitchen knife would be better! Touching the Spatial Ring on his finger, Carlin breathed out slowly. In short, after seeing all the amazing gear in the Armory, he’d found even more reasons to strive. The Magic Arms in the Summoning Book worked well, but that didn’t mean they were the only things worth using all the time.

Carlin loved trying out new weapons. Just imagining silently snipping an enemy from over a thousand meters away felt thrilling! Remembering crude firearms? Compared to this elegant artifact, they were just toys! Even with better enhancement Magic, Carlin, being somewhat appearance-conscious, couldn’t acknowledge those rough tubes as real ‘guns’.

“Sigh~ Work harder! I want a full set!” Recalling the various equipment in the Armory, Carlin took a deep breath. This wasn’t the only gun available. Others described included a handgun for close combat, a submachine gun for rapid assault, a standard rifle, and even a wildly destructive weapon called a ‘rocket launcher’. Carrying those without a Spatial Ring would have been impossible.

But things were different now… He had one!