"We entered a large white building; within it were many illusions plastered on every wall.
We silently followed our guide, someone from the invisible guard; they guided us quietly to a special containment cell.
At the center of the room sat our employer; it was easy to recognize him—his bright red hair immediately gave away his identity.
He was sitting on the chair with his legs crossed, happily chatting with a few researchers standing by his side, as they were constantly shuffling boxes full of demonic artifacts around.
The amount of demonic energy present in the air was so dense it made breathing a little uneasy. As I looked around, I quickly realized why; all around us were piles stacked upon piles of demonic artifacts, from simple tools to weapons.
"You just don't get it." He replied with fervor as he pointed at the stack of paper in his hands.
"I fixed the issue. It's written here! Everyone complained about the chain slowly eating away at their hand, so I made sure that the chain couldn't hurt them. All the damage done by the chain is stored, and when you get hit by the ball suddenly, all that damage is transferred to the enemy," he explained as he kept pointing out various parts of the report he was holding.
"Young master, the problem isn't the ability; it's the fact that no one will ever use such a weapon. If someone had to choose between a spiked ball on a chain and a gun, crossbow, or hell, even a sling, in most cases they're not going to choose the spiked ball." The stressed researcher replied with just as much fervor.
"You're wasting time and energy on useless weapons; we have so many prototypes here that would be more worthwhile investing in rather than those strange weapons." He insisted.
"Yeah, but they lack charm, don't you think?" He answered as he crossed his arms.
All the other researchers sighed loudly upon hearing the young master's answer.
I didn't expect to hear something like this; the moment we walked in, I didn't even know if I was even allowed to hear this conversation.
Maybe it's better just return later when—
"What I want to see is the Fracture shaken to its very core; the past where everyone used and embraced long-distance weapons has to come to an end, and I want to be the one responsible for that," he proudly announced.
"Again with this argument." The young researcher next to him sounded incredibly disappointed upon hearing those words come out of his mouth.
We can first sell the products for cheap; people will buy them anyway because they have our family name as their brand, and then slowly but surely they'll start to realize their charm. He confidently stated this while putting away the reports he was holding.
Our guide remained silent, kneeling on the floor, waiting to be acknowledged.
"So, what about the feedback of our last batch? Did the tester find anything wrong with the weapons I provided them?" He asked another researcher, one that looked much older.
"We received a letter telling us they have no plans to stay as our testers for your prototypes." He replied.
"What were their reasons?" The young master frowned upon hearing the terrible news.
"Your sentient weapons project seemed to have taken a heavy mental toll on most of them, so they decided it was best to not handle any more of your tools if it poses a risk to their mental well-being." He explained to the young master.
"So handling a sentient weapon takes a toll on the mind; I wish we could've gotten a more detailed report on that." He mumbled as he finally turned over towards us.
"Oh, who are these new people?" He suddenly asked the guide as soon as he noticed us.
"Your new bodyguards, sir." The guide responded.
"Mhhh, did Mother assign them to me?" He asked the guide.
"They were all handpicked and trained to be by your side at all times." The guide responded.
"Ah, that's why you ordered me to make replicas of your equipment; I thought it was strange…"
Don't tell me he's going to use us as guinea pigs…
"I hope you'll be able to get along with your bodyguards." The guide stated it before turning completely invisible, erasing even his presence.
"Sure, sure, I'll do my best to… wait a second."
Suddenly the scarlet prince stood up; he wandered around the room in search of something.
"What are you looking for, young master?" The older researcher asked him.
"The replicas." He replied while looking through the many boxes stored in the room.
"Oh, those. They are still in the testing phase; we won't be getting them back until next week." One of the researchers replied.
"Huh, well, since I would hate to leave them empty-handed, feel free to pick anything here that might pique your interest. These weapons are not meant for sale anyway. If you like them and would like some changes, you can submit a report; I'll gladly tune the artifacts to your likings." He explained. He was speaking so fast I could barely understand him.
"What do you mean, tune the artifacts?" I asked.
As far as we know, once an artifact is created, it cannot be modified.
"It means I can make them however you like, sort of; you'll understand more over time; no need to rush things right now." He replied.
"Ah, I would recommend against picking from that pile over there; those are the failed prototypes." He said, pointing at one particular corner of the room, one filled with all sorts of stuff, from giant swords and shields to maces and spears.
"Of course what you see here is confidential; if any of you leak anything you see…" He then slid his thumb over his throat.
"You get it. The usual stuff." He commented with a smile.
Was that… funny to him?
"So can you pass me last week's report?" He then returned, talking with the other researchers.
The others stood still; no one seemed willing to dare move. We simply remained standing on one knee and bowing our heads to him. I was the first one to break that position.
I headed to my right, stacked against the wall where metal boxes were filled to the brim with artifacts; the moment I opened one, most of its contents spilled onto the ground.
I saw many different objects. The first artifact I took was in the shape of a bracelet, a dark and smooth bracelet.
Now, what does this do?
Attached to the bracelet was a small piece of paper containing some information.
Prototype: G-04-11-04
Ability: absorbs the damage taken by the user, breaks after reaching its limit.
Huh? Breaks?
I then kept rummaging through others and quickly found every prototype, starting with the word "G," which always broke whenever they reached their limit.
Prototype: A-05-05-12
Ability: Once something from the pouch is ingested, it temporarily infuses the user with large quantities of demonic energy.
What strange equipment! What about the weapons?
Among all the possible weapons, one stood out from the rest: it was a simple sling. It was contained in a glass container along with 5 distinctive rocks, separate from the rest.
"That one is planned to be sold; you cannot take that." The scarlet prince shouted before I could even touch the glass container.
Slowly but surely the others too began looking for something to equip themselves with.
"Hey, did you expect this when coming in here?" Someone whispered to me."
"Not at all. I knew they sold weapons, but I didn't think I would see this many artifacts stacked in one single room."
"Right? Amazing, don't you think? We'll never possibly run out of weapons, and we'll always be the first one to get the best ones; there's no way anyone would ever be bested in that regard."
Yeah, but the tendency of the young master may be a little… problematic. Have you not heard what he said earlier? Isn't that like… a massive red flag? What if we found ourselves equipped mostly with swords and stuff?
I wanted to reply with this, but I didn't have the courage to say it in front of the young master; instead, I painfully nodded back as I kept looking for a weapon.
I tried looking for something that could be used at a safe distance but couldn't; there were some crossbows, but those were already taken. There was a massive sniper rifle on display close to the ceiling, but that was too heavy for me to lift.
Fuck.
Veronica had already taken the last crossbow; if I truly desired a ranged weapon, I had to fish it out of the discarded weapon's pile.
Well, this is but temporary equipment; it's probably fine to get something that isn't ranged.
Everyone was obsessing over many other artifacts; most of the other boys had yet to pick up a weapon; they were just awkwardly staring at the few lucky ones who got a hold of something better.
Let's see…
I skimmed through the description of each weapon, and by far I saw that all of them had many powerful abilities, like an axe that can slowly paralyze a target after it strikes them, a spear that, after landing an attack, cannot ever miss, or a sword capable of increasing its length.
All of these sound a bit gimmicky; the spear is strong, probably the strongest of the bunch, but at the same time, the condition to activate its powerful ability is nigh impossible to achieve.
The sword was probably the better choice, so I kept it by my side as I looked for other possible alternatives. Then I saw in the corner of my left eye something shining in the piles of prototypes.
I quickly got ahold of it before anyone else could: another sword. This was much larger and longer but weighed half as much as the one currently in my possession.
Prototype: W-03-12-01
Ability: Stores in its memory any move performed by the user and can unleash said moves at the will of its user.
Ah, I guess my instincts were off this time.
I tried making a swing, and suddenly the ability clicked in my mind; I could see the move I did repeat in front of my eyes on a loop. Once I activated the sword's power, I saw a faint spark, but apart from the attack, it was nearly invisible to the naked eye.
Huh? I thought it would move my body, but this is… interesting.
"Please do not test your equipment here; it's quite a sensitive area, and if you happen to trigger a chain reaction between artifacts, it could turn very ugly for you. Even I wouldn't be able to save you from it." The young master warned us.
Ah, figures.
"I'm talking to you three; there is a testing area nearby. If you wish to test your weapons, you can head there. You can ask directions from the many researchers present in this building." He added.