Chapter 91
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 91
Chapter Title: Lesson 20. Familiars Get Copied? - 1
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Ban Yu-won stared at the growth in those four concepts with an intrigued expression.
To put it bluntly, these were concepts he never would have seen grow like this in a dungeon.
Yet in the few days he hadn't checked his internal concepts, they had quietly sprouted, with Charm even reaching a whopping 100.
'All related to my retainers, huh.'
No, Honor and Domination felt a bit different.
Honor seemed to grow the more famous his name became, almost as a byproduct, while Domination hadn't grown because of his contract with Mira—it felt more like it had surged from smashing the constellation's schemes head-on.
Still, one thing was clear: these concepts were all factors that placed him above others.
'Perfect. I'll need to stockpile a ton of them from now on...'
—Whirr.
Tike, sitting on the workbench, let out a camera shutter sound as it faced him.
Ban Yu-won couldn't exactly tell where its eyes were, but he figured the lenses were probably it.
"Ready, Tike?"
—Whirrr.
"Is that thing actually talking?"
Just as he was staring intently at Tike, committing its face to memory like a girlfriend heading into surgery for double-eyelid work, a buzzkill comment flew in from the side.
It was Mira, holding a wrench in one hand and something indescribable like a pry bar—actually, an iron crowbar—in the other.
Appearance-wise, she looked like she couldn't lift anything heavier than a fork, so the tools didn't suit her at all—not that that was the main issue. The real question was whether those two gadgets were even necessary for the task ahead.
"Senior, I don't want to nitpick when I'm the amateur here."
"Mira."
"Mira Senior, does that thing actually help?"
"Call me 'Honey' if you prefer."
"Sorry, Mira."
"Good."
Mira nodded and gave a quick explanation of the items in her hands.
"These two tools are artifacts crafted by Professor Campanella herself. They boost work efficiency and success rates, and they even let the tool change form according to the user's will."
"Professor's artifacts...? Got them as her prized disciple?"
"Ridiculous."
Mira snorted.
"I only became Professor Campanella's proxy because, out of all us losers, I was the one who could somewhat understand her work. 'Prized disciple' is way too flattering."
"..."
"Plus, I can use Changeling to wipe away minor mistakes in the artifact creation process."
"That's busted."
That alone seemed like enough talent to be a prized disciple, but from their chats over the past few days, Mira had a habit of undervaluing herself. No point saying anything—she wouldn't listen.
He could work on that slowly through more talks later. For now, Ban Yu-won focused on the task at hand.
"Just need to attach this barrel to the drone, right?"
"Keep the camera function intact, if possible."
"Won't touch that part, so it should be fine."
—Whirr, whirrr.
Leaving Tike to nervously adjust its aperture over and over, Mira picked up the centerpiece: the multi-barrel.
"This thing already feels like a mid-tier artifact on its own... How the hell did you snag something like this from Room 17?"
"Sorry I'm too awesome."
"Ever been hit with a pry bar?"
"My bad."
An elf using slang like "pry bar"? The fifty million elf fans nationwide might be disillusioned.
While Ban Yu-won was lost in pointless thoughts, Mira began the work.
First, she tapped the drone a few times with the crowbar's hook—not a pry bar—and then made a motion like pulling out a nail from a nail-less spot.
In that instant, Ban Yu-won's eyes caught strings of excess, meaningless scrap concepts spilling out from Tike.
At the same time, Tike's exterior began to change.
The clunky, cumbersome parts from combining the drone and camera were shedding or reshaping into a sleeker form.
"What am I watching right now?"
"Pry bar magic."
"Don't mess with me."
The process was different, but modifying an artifact's concepts didn't look all that different from how Ban Yu-won normally handled concepts to craft artifacts.
Deciding not to interfere, he watched quietly and soon realized why Mira called it "magic."
Every motion she made while gripping the pry bar—screw it, he'd just call it a pry bar—manifested actual magic, transforming simple machining into magical engineering.
'Hmm. Guessing Professor Campanella used the pry bar for all sorts of work herself, encoded that into magic and imprinted it on the tool, so now it replicates the process effortlessly. Basically, an all-purpose tool.'
The wrench probably did something similar.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say these tools contained every ounce of Professor Campanella's artifact-crafting know-how.
Ban Yu-won's All-Reading Eyes could clearly see the immense years embedded in them.
They weren't just powerful items—they held her life's story.
And she calls herself a loser after receiving them?
"Mira, this is an order."
"Huh? Suddenly want a kiss?"
"Apologize to Professor Campanella."
"..."
Caught off guard, she froze mid-motion, frowned slightly, but then...
"Can't argue with an order."
She gave a tiny nod and dove back into work.
Then, glancing back at him, she said,
"Still wanna kiss?"
"No."
"Got it."
Nodding, she turned back and finally started fusing the multi-barrel to the drone.
Without looking, she tossed out another random line mid-work.
"You're kinda creepy."
"Says the girl who just suggested a kiss out of nowhere."
"But fairly speaking, if you order me three times, shouldn't I get one order back?"
"Trying to flip the contract on its head? Some Changeling you are."
"Done."
"What—oh."
Suddenly, Tike sat on the workbench, perfectly integrated with the multi-barrel as if it had always been that way.
It retained its sleek fighter-jet drone shape from before, but the bulky camera part had vanished cleanly, leaving only the lens aligned atop the barrel.
At a glance, it looked like someone had just slapped a double-barrel shotgun muzzle onto a drone.
"This actually works? I've said it before, but I can't turn mass-produced junk into artifacts."
"It's enough. Perfect."
Ban Yu-won showered Mira with praise as he admired Tike's aesthetically flawless rebirth.
Sensing his sincerity, Mira blushed faintly and handed Tike over.
"I'm yours, so my failures are yours too. Don't blame me later."
"Then your successes are mine too. You keep those."
"No, everything's yours."
Well, couldn't argue with that.
Ban Yu-won took Tike.
It whirred and clicked affectionately at him.
"Not done yet. Hang in there a bit longer."
Golden strings unfurled over his outstretched hand like a long thread.
Concepts pre-extracted from the Code Core.
Marksmanship at depth 100 (wrung from goblins firing arrows), Gun at depth 100 (guns and cannons were inherently fuzzy concepts, so naturally compatible), and capping it off, Magic at depth 100.
As an artifact with its own ego already, this combo should suffice without needing careful blending.
"What... is that? It's beautiful..."
Unable to read strings without All-Reading Eyes, Mira could still see the golden mana.
As she watched in a daze, it all got sucked into Tike, latching onto the unintegrated concepts floating inside, forming rules—then linking into a seamless flow.
Dazzling light erupted.
Succeeded in rebirthing mediocre materials into a superior artifact through a master artisan's touch and harmonious concepts. A thinking, acting weapon will always observe and protect its master from the closest vantage. Life depth: 460, Present Energy depth: 295, Soul depth: 655.
Lens captures target's weakness, slightly slows movements, and makes them easier to aim at. Mutation depth: 20.
Sevenfold Magic Cannon 120, Life 120, Projection Art 80, Soul 80, Resonance 25
"Oh, ooh."
—The Constellation [Clock of the Toy Legion] seal-claps at the birth of a never-before-seen authority. Though it still thinks something's off.
Mutations are the best! No intention of repaying, but thanks, Constellation!
Tike's original concepts, plus Ban Yu-won's new additions, fused with the mutation-born one into Projection Art (the skill to shoot what it photographs).
If the constellation was right, this wasn't just any concept—it was an authority-worthy ability!
'Easier combos from nearby concepts are weak; complex ones hard to even find at the root are way stronger. Calling it an authority makes sense.'
Tike, realizing it'd transcended from camera drone to heavy firepower, whirred and clicked in joy.
"That's right—next time someone calls you a low-pay cameraman, blast 'em. Got it, Tike?"
—Whiiiirrr!
Reborn as a flawless superior artifact, Tike changed again.
A bit larger overall, its silver drone body now gleamed metallic black.
The seven barrels and camera lens had elongated and toughened, turning outright menacing.
No one could deny Tike was now an outstanding artifact and weapon.
"What... what just happened?"
Mira, who had watched the concepts absorb and Tike's level clearly rise, asked in a hoarse voice.
Ban Yu-won shrugged.
"We made an artifact together."
"Don't shove your success onto me."
"We made it together, Mira."
Mira stayed hyped and incoherent for a while after, but eventually had to admit her role in birthing an artifact.
"It's different from Ketra... way different. That thing wasn't even an X..."
"Mira, you just said something no elf should. And stop comparing to Ketra Senior. Feels like I'm the current boyfriend getting nitpicked against the ex."
She flinched and mumbled timidly,
"You're better in every way, so it's fine."
"Don't sneak in implications of past boyfriends either."
"...Wanna try the pry bar now?"
"You can put the tools down."
Ban Yu-won chuckled and nudged her aside (cold sweat beading on his forehead) before stepping to the workbench.
He opened his inventory, dumping twenty-five longswords, then placed the Executioner's Longsword beside them.
"Swords... How do you plan to process already-finished mass products?"
"I've seen your and the professor's methods. Now..."
Ban Yu-won spread his hands.
Life 3,000, Magic 2,250, Sword 2,000, Swordsmanship 225...
Purity was pitifully low, but concepts Eve and Lilith had desperately gathered over two weeks.
Plus Resonance 55 shared from them, and 25 Soul fragments at depth 1 forged from Soulflame.
"I'll show you my way."
Vast strings overflowed in an instant, rippling like a golden wave.
Speechless, Mira pulled Tike close and began filming the scene.