The children's intentions were admirable—they genuinely wanted to contribute to Zaun's protection and prosperity. However, their practical engineering skills hadn't quite caught up to their ambitious designs.
After hours of intensive work, they'd only managed to complete the energy core replacement for their combat suits. When it came to the actual transformation and enhancement systems, both found themselves hesitating, unsure how to proceed with their grand visions.
"I think it should connect like this," Mylo insisted, pointing to a specific junction on his suit's blueprints. "Linking these two energy conduits here would perfectly channel the suit's power output."
Powder disagreed completely with his approach.
"That's not right at all!" she argued. "We need to consolidate all the energy into a single, concentrated system to maximize the enhancement effects."
Their heated debate caught Viktor's attention. He'd been genuinely curious about what the young inventors would produce, especially given their access to Marcus's advanced teachings.
Emerging from his workshop, Viktor found both children clutching their respective design documents while glaring at each other with stubborn determination. Neither was willing to concede their position.
Seeing Viktor appear, both immediately turned toward him with hopeful expressions.
"Viktor, which design is correct?" they asked in unison, clearly hoping he could resolve their dispute.
Viktor accepted their blueprints and began examining them carefully. However, the more he studied their work, the more concerned he became. Perspiration beaded on his forehead as he realized the scope of the problems.
Neither design was remotely safe for actual implementation.
Powder's concept wasn't really a reinforced combat suit at all—it was essentially a human bomb that would detonate instantly upon activation, taking both the user and nearby enemies in a mutual destruction scenario.
Mylo's approach was equally problematic, though in different ways. While his design wouldn't cause immediate explosions, the long-term effects would be almost as devastating to the user.
"When you were developing these concepts," Viktor asked carefully, "did either of you consider the potential side effects of your equipment?"
The question left both children looking completely bewildered. Their previous projects had involved relatively simple weapons with minimal risk factors—they had no framework for understanding how advanced equipment could harm its users.
Seeing their confusion, Viktor immediately understood the scope of his teaching challenge.
"Alright, I see what happened here," he said gently. "Both of you need to follow me. If we're going to design proper equipment, we must consider every aspect of user safety and operational parameters."
While explaining the fundamental principles of safe engineering, Viktor began developing his own design concepts. The children's core insight was absolutely correct—Zaun's military capabilities relied too heavily on ranged energy weapons. Against enemies capable of resisting or deflecting such attacks, their fighters' physical vulnerability would become a critical weakness.
Only by enhancing their defensive capabilities could Zaun's forces face more dangerous opponents with confidence.
Viktor hadn't forgotten the warnings contained in Jayce's research notes or Professor Heimerdinger's lectures about the world's truly powerful inhabitants. Some individuals possessed abilities that could permanently reshape entire landscapes, wielding power that defied conventional understanding.
He refused to allow Zaun to become a plaything for such beings. Their community needed every possible advantage to maintain independence against threats both known and unknown.
Under Viktor's patient guidance, both Powder and Mylo gradually recognized the fatal flaws in their original designs. Though their concepts showed creativity and ambition, implementing them as initially planned would have turned every user into a casualty of their own equipment.
Understanding these problems, the children returned to their drawing boards with renewed determination. They were committed to creating the best possible designs, regardless of how long the process required.
Watching them work with such focused intensity, Viktor retrieved his own drafting materials and began sketching his emerging ideas. The workshop fell into comfortable silence broken only by the soft scratching of pencils against paper.
...
"Look at this! These are our completed works and our final assignments for the first study phase!"
Powder and Mylo proudly displayed their finished combat suits, whose dramatically different styles immediately caught everyone's attention.
"So... after all that effort, you two created some unusual-looking clothing?" Claggor commented, clearly struggling to understand how months of intensive research had produced what appeared to be fancy outfits.
"You really should have studied more!" Powder snorted, pointing proudly at her creation. "This is a complete redesign based on Vander's combat suit. It enhances every aspect of the wearer's capabilities while providing comprehensive protection."
Without waiting for further questions, Powder activated her equipment. The suit immediately began integrating with her body, flowing like liquid metal until it completely encased her in gleaming silver-white armor.
Marcus had personally designed the transformation system at their request. What had started as a simple convenience feature had become an impressive display of advanced engineering that made equipping the suits both dramatic and efficient.
Watching Powder's metamorphosis, everyone stared in amazement. Even without understanding the suit's full capabilities, the visual transformation was genuinely stunning.
"Powder, how did you accomplish that?" Vi asked, voicing the question on everyone's mind.
"Pretty impressive, right? Marcus designed this transformation system for us. Even without this dramatic activation sequence, the suit itself represents serious engineering achievement."
To demonstrate her point, Powder picked up a steel pipe as thick as her arm and casually twisted it into a perfect spiral.
The display of strength shocked everyone present. Only Vi, with her hextech gauntlets, had previously been capable of such feats. Even then, most people could bend steel with great effort—actually twisting it into decorative shapes required exponentially more force.
Seeing young Powder accomplish this so effortlessly made clear just how dramatically the suit enhanced its wearer's capabilities.
"This technology will significantly improve our combat effectiveness," Vander nodded approvingly. The suit would provide his people with crucial advantages in dangerous situations.
Turning his attention to Mylo, Vander continued, "I've seen Powder's work. What about your design?"
All eyes focused on the boy and his distinctly different creation. Unlike Powder's intimidating combat armor, Mylo's suit had a sleeker, more utilitarian appearance.
Facing the group's expectant attention, Mylo showed no nervousness whatsoever. He activated his own suit and completed his transformation with practiced confidence.
"Powder's design prioritizes direct combat capability," he explained, "making it extremely effective for both offensive power and defensive protection. My suit takes a completely different approach—it's designed for functionality and versatility rather than raw force."
To demonstrate, Mylo walked directly up the nearest wall as if it were horizontal ground. The vertical surface posed no obstacle to his movement whatsoever. He even traversed onto the ceiling and waved cheerfully while hanging upside down.
"I initially considered creating something similar to Powder's design," he continued from his inverted position, "but looking at Zaun's coastal location gave me different ideas. If we could move as easily in the ocean as we do on land, wouldn't all those marine resources belong to us? So I designed this suit to enable unrestricted movement in any environment."
His explanation made everyone's eyes light up with possibility.
Previously, Zaun had been surrounded by contaminated water and industrial waste that made ocean access both dangerous and pointless. Even if they'd wanted to explore underwater, the pollution would have killed them.
But the environmental purification systems had changed everything. Zaun was now surrounded by clean ocean water representing vast untapped resources that they'd completely overlooked.
While Silco's crystal mine was approaching exhaustion, the seas around them contained wealth beyond measure. With Mylo's suit technology, they could freely exploit marine resources and elevate Zaun's development to entirely new levels.
Both designs offered distinct advantages, and everyone felt satisfied with the young inventors' work. One suit emphasized combat capability while the other prioritized utility and exploration—together, they addressed multiple strategic needs.
"Everyone, I also have something to show you," Viktor announced as people began to disperse. He produced a mysterious metal container that had been sitting quietly in the corner throughout the demonstration.
Though everyone had noticed the box earlier, Viktor's reluctance to discuss it had discouraged questions. His sudden willingness to reveal its contents sparked immediate curiosity.
Under everyone's focused attention, Viktor pressed a glowing button at the container's center.
The box slowly opened with mechanical precision, revealing strange-looking equipment that none of them could immediately identify.
"Viktor, what exactly is that supposed to be?" someone asked, echoing the group's collective confusion.
"This is an auxiliary system I've designed," Viktor explained, donning a pair of mechanical gloves connected to the mysterious device. "It can assist us with many different tasks and significantly improve our operational capabilities."
The moment Viktor put on the control gloves, the equipment fully deployed. What had seemed like random mechanical components revealed themselves as sophisticated robotic arms that integrated seamlessly with Viktor's natural movements.
Now everyone could see that Viktor appeared to have four arms instead of two, with the mechanical appendages responding to his gestures with fluid precision.
"These auxiliary arms dramatically improve work efficiency," Viktor continued, demonstrating their range of motion. "They can also operate via remote control, minimizing risk factors during dangerous production activities."
The design had been inspired by watching Powder and Mylo's creative process. Whether mining resources or defending territory, physical conflict seemed inevitable, and conflict inevitably resulted in casualties.
But what if the arms engaged in dangerous work or combat could be operated remotely? Human safety would improve dramatically while productivity increased substantially, accelerating Zaun's development in every sector.
"The manipulator can reconfigure itself for different situations," Viktor added, "and when facing serious threats, safety limiters can be disabled for maximum combat effectiveness."
As he spoke, Viktor commanded the arms to transform. In seconds, they shifted from humanlike hands to rapidly spinning drill assemblies, then to other specialized configurations.
After demonstrating several different operational modes, Viktor directed the arms to fire concentrated energy beams at a steel testing plate. The red beams struck with tremendous force, heating the metal until it glowed cherry-red and began melting. Within moments, the plate had been cleanly bisected.
Watching the demonstration, everyone drew sharp breaths of amazement. They'd underestimated Viktor's creation—this was genuinely formidable technology.
"That beam looked like something Marcus would produce," Vander murmured, "though not quite as terrifying."
He'd witnessed Marcus's eye-beams firsthand, experiencing power that still made him shudder in memory. While Viktor's beams weren't quite that devastating, they still represented serious offensive capability.
"This could match our existing equipment," Claggor observed with genuine awe.
Their current weapons had been personally crafted by Marcus, each piece possessing tremendous destructive potential. However, such equipment existed in very limited quantities.
Viktor's manipulators could be mass-produced, and when combined with Powder's combat suits, even ordinary citizens could achieve formidable fighting capabilities.
"Excellent! With these technologies, Zaun's military power reaches an entirely new level," Silco declared, his eyes bright with strategic possibilities. "Even if we face genuine mages, we'll have the capability to compete on equal terms."
The crystal mine situation had been weighing heavily on his mind. Recent attacks had intensified as various factions positioned themselves to claim the valuable resources. Though the mine was nearly exhausted, even its residual crystal deposits represented enormous wealth to potential raiders.
He'd been discussing this problem with Vander for weeks without reaching satisfactory solutions. Deploying large numbers of Zaun's forces to defend the mine would leave the city vulnerable to internal chaos, while insufficient protection would guarantee loss of their assets.
The situation had seemed impossible until now, but these new technologies offered genuine solutions.
After seeing the capabilities demonstrated by all three inventors, Silco felt confident they could resolve the mining crisis while pursuing even greater opportunities.
"We can handle the mine situation," he told Vander with renewed confidence. "After securing those assets, we should turn our attention to marine resources. With Mylo's suits, we can exploit ocean wealth more efficiently than Bilgewater ever managed!"
Both leaders had developed comprehensive plans for Zaun's future, and these new inventions would finally make those plans achievable.