The Research Team had been working overtime and going home late at night for the past four days. Klaus supervised them directly and left the guild work entirely to Justin.
They were willing to work more than 12 hours a day to create their second artificial arcana, and their efforts were not in vain.
"Damn. We're finally done!"
Like a battery running out of energy, Jonathan sat slumped on the chair, and his body was aching and weak. The other employees also looked similar. They looked pale, and some of them had bags under their eyes.
All the employees in the Research Team were utterly exhausted. However, there was a hint of satisfaction on their faces.
"Good job." Klaus stood among them with a large black suitcase. Unlike the others, he looked fresh and fit. "I see you've worked hard to create our masterpiece."
"But it is still a prototype," Jonathan said. "It's far from perfect. We can still make it even better."
"That's right. But for now, it is enough." Klaus checked the watch on his hand. "We still have two hours before we go home; use the remaining time to rest."
The employees grinned; some went to the kitchen or put their heads on the table. As Klaus was about to leave, Jonathan called out to him.
"I just wanted to say thank you, boss," the dark-skinned man said.
Klaus raised one eyebrow. "You did the hard work. I should be thanking you."
"Yeah, but I feel grateful to have joined Mors Industries. You know, being part of a team that makes great discoveries. We're making a breakthrough. If I had turned down your offer back then, I probably would have missed out on this great opportunity and regretted it for the rest of my life."
"None of this would have happened without you either," Klaus replied.
He knew that Jonathan meant it, and he felt relieved about that. Out there, many people took credit for themselves even though it was the result of someone else's hard work.
Most people thought, "It's all about me," but Jonathan was the opposite. The man was humble and not hungry for praise. Klaus appreciated a man like him.
"It's not wrong that I invested 300,000 dollars in you. You are truly valuable," Klaus praised, whether as an asset or a person.
Jonathan huffed. "I don't know how to say it but thank you again for trusting me."
Klaus smiled. He patted Jonathan on the shoulder before he left the room.
As Klaus stepped into the corridor, a brown-haired woman stood and leaned against the wall. Waving, she signaled to Klaus that she was waiting for him.
"It's nine o'clock at night. Are you working late?" Klaus asked.
"I was just curious about my employees who took overtime for four days straight. I wanted to see you but didn't want to disturb your concentration. So, I'm waiting here."
Klaus nodded.
Her eyes fell on the black suitcase in his hand. "Is that the second prototype?"
"Yup. You want to see it?"
"Sure."
The two of them headed to his office, and inside, it was dark, and things were still neatly organized. Klaus turned on the room lights and put away everything on his desk, and then he put down the black suitcase.
Before opening it, Klaus saw Alex squinting. The woman was curious about what invention they made.
"Are you ready?" asked Klaus, a little teasingly.
Alexa snorted. "Just open it."
Klaus chuckled.
He opened the black suitcase, and the bespectacled woman looked at it for a long time. No words escaped her mouth other than the twisted expression on her face. She could not have the right words to describe it.
Alexa picked up the artificial arcana and took a good look at the details. It was shaped like a pistol, but the barrel size was twice as big as the average size, and some parts had a glowing blue light.
"What is this?" said Alexa in wonder. "Plasma gun?"
Klaus chuckled. "Well, it's no ordinary ion weapon."
Naturally, Alexa raised both eyebrows.
Klaus asked the artificial arcana to set it up for Alexa and returned it to her. He pointed at a flowerpot in the corner of the room, telling her to aim the gun at it. The bespectacled woman did so but hesitated as she was about to pull the trigger.
"Are you sure? Want me to shoot a gun in your office? We should try it at the lab or the shooting range."
"No need to worry. It's okay," Klaus whispered.
As Alexa pulled the trigger, the blue light on the weapon glowed momentarily. A high-compression wind shot up and shattered the flowerpot. The woman was surprised when she saw the damage the gun had done. Not catastrophic, but deadly enough.
"Wow. It is amazing. The recoil feels weaker than a normal gun."
Klaus grinned. "Right, and it's still a prototype."
"What the actual fuck is this?"
"It's called Elemental Gun."
Klaus then explained it to her.
Elemental Gun was a weapon that used monster cores as ammunition. The runes affixed to the gun would convert the mana in the monster cores into elements that existed on Earth.
Despite its futuristic appearance, it was only a common-grade arcana. It was made from earth materials and three times more potent than conventional weapons. Indeed, the materials used were a little expensive compared to ordinary guns. Still, when compared to arcana, it was five times cheaper.
"Wait a minute. I was amazed by this gun, but I had forgotten it was an arcana. I'm not an awakener. How can I use it?"
Klaus grinned. "Because we designed it that way."
"What? No way."
Typically, only awakeners could use arcana because it required mana to function. However, this artificial arcana was utterly different. Ordinary people could use it.
Before creating it, Klaus saw what had never existed and was used by the awakeners. That was a projectile weapon.
So far, the awakeners had only relied on elemental manipulation and melee weapons to kill the monsters. Firearms were only for soldiers and police officers or ordinary people. The firepower of conventional armaments was very weak. From here, he saw an opportunity.
Ordinary people did not have weapons powerful enough to kill monsters. They could not rely on the awakeners forever. There would be situations where they would have to fight for their lives.
Therefore, Klaus created a weapon that could allow them to fight or defend themselves. Moreover, recently many uncertified awakeners have become criminals and targeted ordinary people.
It was the perfect solution to the problem of those who had never experienced an awakening.
Klaus was the only one who knew the secret of this weapon's creation. Even if the Research Team knew about the arrangement of runes and applied them, they could not create their version of runes.
"For now, the Elemental Gun can only manipulate the elements of lightning, air, and light. And it can only be used for one or two shots. We will be improving its efficiency again."
Nodding, Alexa was still glued to their newly artificial arcana. "Klaus. It's a big breakthrough. Not only are we going to dominate the market, but we're also going to change the current situation. So far, there is no marksman role in awakener. This artificial arcana could create a new alternative."
"Yeah, I know, but at the same time, we will attract the attention of the Five Pillars. Those guilds will target us when they find out this fact."
Alexa hissed as she heard that.
Even if Mors Industries was under the auspices of LR Enterprise and LR Electronics, it was still not enough to protect it from the power of the Five Pillars. Right now, the Rays of Hope were still weak. They would use various means to absorb Mors Industries into a part of them.
They needed allies that had outside influence beyond the five big guilds, like the Awakener Association.
"I made a deal with the Awakener Association, but they broke it. I've shown them that they made the wrong decision. Unfortunately, they are too blind to see it." Klaus growled through his teeth.
Alexa pursed her lips. "I don't know your problem with them, but you're right. Don't beg for the people who betrayed you."
It was quiet for a moment. Those two considered finding the right solution to start marketing the products.
Alexa snapped her fingers. "I have an idea. Instead of looking for allies secretly, we should announce it openly."
Klaus turned his head, raising one eyebrow. "You mean?"
"It's better for us to go straight to the public. Tell them openly that we're a good ally. They will compete for our cooperation. Even if they have power, public sympathy is still much stronger. They won't dare mess with us directly."
Klaus pursed his lips. "I think we can use that idea. But how are we going to do it? A press conference?"
Alexa shook her head. "No, we're still a small company. There are other, more conspicuous ways."
"What's that?"
Alexa picked up her smartphone and showed it to Klaus. Then, he squinted at it.
"It's..."
"Yeah. In three months there will be a big event that will be held. It's the Golden Hammer Expo!"
