The Acceleration Sheath
Kwaaaaaang!
With an ear-splitting blast, the thick iron door collapsed inward.
Do-yun roughly waved away the rising dust with one hand as he strode inside.
“Finally made it.”
Reaching the armory had taken longer than expected. Just like the laboratory, this place activated all kinds of defensive systems unless specific rules were followed. Do-yun had tried to force his way through and ignore them entirely, but the defenses protecting the armory were designed less to repel intruders and more to stall for time.
Probably to buy time for armed soldiers to mobilize.
He had been fairly startled when a perfectly intact passageway was suddenly sealed off by iron walls. It was even worse when he smashed one with Bash only to find another pristine iron wall waiting beyond it.
“How many of these damn iron walls did I even break through?”
Muttering under his breath, Do-yun quickly swept his gaze across the surroundings. The hangar-like space was littered with all manner of firearms, ammunition, and gear. Among them were familiar-looking rifles, but others were so alien he could not even begin to guess how they were meant to be used.
Do they fire beams from the muzzle or something?
Just looking at the weapons was enough to feel how far ahead the Company’s technology stood. Pocketing one for a sidearm would have been useful enough, but that was not why Do-yun had come looking for the armory.
There it is.
An elongated barrel. A massive weapon with cooling systems and power circuits plastered all over its smoothly finished armor plating. What filled Do-yun’s vision radiated a weight that did not look as though it had ever been designed for a person to carry.
In practice it isn’t any different.
The device’s name was railgun. A weapon that accelerated a projectile with enormous energy and then launched it at extreme velocity. A bullet fired past the speed of sound was said to possess truly overwhelming destructive power.
“Wow, are you going to take the whole thing?”
Ciel stared up at the railgun with her mouth open. The weapon was so enormous it occupied nearly half the hangar.
“I told you. I’m only taking the important part.”
There were limits to what a Yellow Crystal could turn into an item. The absolute maximum size was something that could be cradled in both arms. Anything larger would be impossible to carry even if it were itemized.
“Let’s see. Where’s the core component?”
Do-yun began tearing the railgun apart from the outside.
Crunch.
A Strength stat that approached fifty crumpled iron plating as if it were nothing. He stripped away heat sinks and insulating layers, severed complex circuitry, and dug deeper. Before long his eyes lit up as he found what he was looking for.
“Got it.”
What he held was the initial section of the railgun’s firing path—the single most critical component that first imparted acceleration to the projectile. Under normal circumstances a bullet would gain its thrust here and then scream down the long barrel at supersonic speed. Do-yun intended to put it to a rather different use.
If I tweak it a little, couldn’t it accelerate a sword as well as a bullet?
While he turned the component over in his hands, Ciel spoke up in a worried voice.
“Uh, Doyun-nim? Is it really okay to tear it apart so roughly?”
Her gaze was fixed on the savagely dismantled remains of the railgun. Sparks and flames were bursting from the places Do-yun had gouged open.
“There has to be a reason they made something this huge, doesn’t there?”
Ciel was right. The railgun had not been built this large from the start. Device after device had been bolted on to handle the monstrous output and heat, and the result had simply grown enormous. A core component alone, stripped of its cooling systems and stabilization circuits, would produce no end of problems.
Do-yun, however, was not particularly concerned.
“I’m not planning on cooling it anyway.”
If anything, he preferred it to run hot. The conditions for unleashing the first form of Sun Swordsmanship required not only speed but heat that surpassed a critical threshold. If the acceleration process also generated heat, meeting those conditions would become that much easier.
“What if it melts completely?”
“I’ll enchant it so that doesn’t happen.”
Durability reinforcement and fire resistance. The exact same enchantments he had applied to his sword would go on this as well. Investing two Runes of Evolution was a shame, but once finished the potential would more than justify the cost.
Let’s see.
Do-yun slowly looked down at the component in his hand. Built to fire projectiles, its shape was long and complicated—far from ideal for a scabbard. Of course, he already had a solution prepared for that.
Transformation (F)
The surface of the component rippled like water and began reshaping itself into the optimal form Do-yun envisioned. Precise measurements or calculations were unnecessary. The mystery of the skill simply cut the piece to a width and thickness that fit his sword’s length perfectly.
Once the shape had mostly settled, Do-yun did not hesitate. He drew out a Yellow Crystal.
Do you wish to itemize the selected target?
The moment Do-yun nodded, light flared. When it faded, only a completed scabbard remained in his hand.
◈ Attack Power +30 upon drawing
◈ Swift Draw
— Draw speed increases in proportion to the mana infused.
From the outside it looked like an ordinary scabbard, but the interior was entirely different. Because it had been remodeled from a railgun barrel, fine rail marks remained inside, and the structure was designed so that the blade would immediately enter an accelerated state the moment it was sheathed.
Clack.
When he slid the sword home, the soft ring of metal seating itself echoed quietly. The seamless internal fit was so perfect it looked as though the two pieces had been forged as a single set from the beginning.
Might as well give it a test run.
Do-yun immediately poured mana into the sheath. An instant later, with a sharp thunk, the sword shot free of the scabbard and went clattering across the floor.
“Recoil’s stronger than I expected.”
He paused for a moment at the unexpectedly violent force, then picked up the ejected sword with a dry laugh. Without the stamina system his wrist would have been wrecked on the spot.
“I’ll need more practice before I can use this in a real fight.”
If even a brief infusion of mana produced that much kickback, the longer the blade remained inside the sheath, the greater the repulsive force he would have to withstand. Until he grew used to it, he would have to focus every scrap of concentration simply on keeping the sword under control.
Still, it should definitely let me meet the conditions for Sun Swordsmanship.
Do-yun was looking down at the sheath with a small smile when he heard it.
Footsteps.
Unfamiliar footsteps echoed from beyond the armory entrance. Do-yun immediately sharpened every sense and listened closely.
Another challenger.
Judging by the sound, there was only one. He carefully picked up a nearby rifle. His choice was an older semi-automatic model. Its firepower might be weaker than the modern energy weapons scattered around, but something familiar still beat a weapon he had no idea how to fire.
Clack.
Do-yun settled into a natural shouldered stance and leveled the muzzle toward the entrance. The moment a silhouette appeared through the swirling dust, he squeezed the trigger.
Tatatatatang!
Rounds poured from the semi-automatic rifle in a continuous stream. Yet the bullets never reached their target; every single one was stopped by a blue barrier that sprang into existence in midair.
“Oh my, there was already a first guest!”
The figure that stepped out from behind the barrier was a twin-tailed girl with goggles pushed up onto her forehead. Small, slender frame and a clear, cheerful voice. Judging by appearance alone she radiated not the slightest hint of danger, yet Do-yun’s eyes had gone cold and still.
Reassembly Angelina.
She was a dangerous individual whose face appeared on the Hall of Fame rankings with rather frequent regularity.
“No need to be so wary! I just came looking for some usable materials!”
Angelina raised both hands and offered a harmless smile, but Do-yun could not lower his guard for a second. He remembered all too clearly what she had done on the seventh floor.
She revived the Destroyer I took down and made it her subordinate.
He had no idea what method she had used, but when it came to machinery Angelina clearly possessed innate genius. What kind of creations would she produce from the materials found here?
“Not going to step aside?”
Instead of answering, Do-yun simply pulled the trigger again.
Bang!
The result was no different. As if it were only natural, the bullet was deflected by the blue barrier. He had known he would not do any real damage, yet he had not expected it to have absolutely no effect whatsoever.
“Tch.”
Do-yun tossed the useless firearm aside and reached for his sword hilt. Watching the motion, Angelina’s eyes suddenly lit up.
“Oh? That’s quite the fascinating item you have there.”
Her gaze was locked on the sheath at Do-yun’s waist. Her eyes darted rapidly, as though she could see every detail of its internal structure.
“A sheath that utilizes railgun principles. So you’re an inventor like me!”
She had seen through the sheath’s secret in a single glance. From the outside it looked like an ordinary scabbard; realizing its nature should not have been easy. Did she actually possess the ability to see internal structures with perfect clarity?
“Hmm. In that case I have no choice. Since you arrived first, I’ll have to yield.”
Angelina folded her arms and slowly nodded. Do-yun kept his guard up, wondering what she was plotting, yet when she truly turned around and began walking out of the armory he could only tilt his head in confusion.
Like Elysee or Seo Hwi, is this one another of the unusual types?
Perhaps because every challenger in the Tower of Ascension had once reached lofty heights of power, they tended to show surprising leniency toward others who wielded similar strength. Of course the degree varied from person to person, but the Angelina before him seemed to have formed a positive enough impression of Do-yun that she was willing to abandon the armory’s wealth of materials.
“But! I absolutely have to say this one thing before I go!”
Just then the girl he thought had already left came marching back. Her brows were trembling, her face etched with clear irritation and frustration.
“Do you really have to use such an inefficient form? The energy loss is far too severe!”
She was pointing straight at Do-yun’s sheath. The scabbard he had barely forced into shape with Transformation must have looked full of shortcomings to an expert’s eyes. Looking at her, Do-yun spoke on impulse.
“Then can you fix it for me?”
It was not the kind of request one made of someone one had just been shooting at. The moment the words left his mouth he regretted them, yet Angelina accepted the proposal with startling enthusiasm.
“But of course! I’ll show you the skill that even my master marveled at!”
She thrust her hand forward, clearly demanding the sheath. Do-yun regarded the gesture and fell into a brief internal debate. He had been the one to ask, but was it really all right to hand the scabbard over so readily? What if it got ruined after he entrusted it to her?
I’ll trust her this once.
The pure passion filling Angelina’s eyes was not something that could be faked. She genuinely believed she could improve the sheath’s performance, and someone with as much pride in invention as she appeared to possess did not seem likely to lie about something like this.
“Then I’ll leave it to you.”
Do-yun was just about to unfasten the sheath and hand it over with a word of thanks when—
Thud.
A dull sound rang out, and several warm droplets spattered across Do-yun’s face. He lifted his head and his expression froze solid.
A sword was protruding from Angelina’s chest.
Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth as she stared downward in incomprehension. The blade was yanked free with brutal force; her body crumpled, and the one who had driven the sword through her stepped into view from behind.
“A pleasure.”
A man in solid-looking armor, his expression dark and heavy. It was a face Do-yun already knew. This man, too, had appeared on the Hall of Fame rankings more than a few times.
Executor El Sion.
The man holding the massive greatsword was standing right in front of Do-yun before he even realized it.