"But the most important one is still this last prize!"
Duke's gaze lingered on the final item that appeared in his inventory.
"The Force Seed!"
The moment his eyes fell upon it, a shifting sphere of light appeared in his palm. Streams of energy swirled around its surface like glowing planetary rings, radiating an otherworldly brilliance.
"The core concept of Star Wars itself…"
Duke studied the seed in his hand. The energy flowing within it felt boundless, embracing light and darkness, defense and offense, creation and destruction.
It contained everything, the essence of all things under heaven.
Without hesitation, he pressed the Force Seed into his chest. Though his magical system was already complete, gaining another energy system would only enrich his arsenal.
The instant the seed touched his chest, it fused into his body. Duke's vision went blank as cosmic illusions flashed before his eyes, galaxies collapsing, planets shifting, stars being born and dying in endless succession.
His body lifted weightlessly into the air. A tranquil yet inexhaustible power flowed around him, steady as a great river merging into the sea.
No one knew how long had passed before Duke slowly descended again, gathering the new power into himself. Looking at his palm, he stretched it forward toward a stone in the courtyard.
With a light gesture, the stone flew into his hand. A push of his palm, and the stone shot away, embedding itself deep into the wall.
"What an incredible power. My magical talent is strong, but it's biased toward support. With the Force, my combat methods will be far more versatile, and my overall strength that much more complete."
His entire mind sank into the new sensation. He could feel the vigorous life beneath the earth, and the terrifying energy brewing above the skies.
His perception expanded dozens of times over, embracing every change in the world around him.
"So this is the true nature of my surroundings…"
When he opened his eyes again, Pride had just finished coaxing the last crystal into place. The makeshift workshop Duke had requested now stood complete.
"That'll do for now."
Stretching lazily, his bones crackling, Duke could feel his physical condition subtly improved from fusing with the Force Seed. The change wasn't dramatic, but it was tangible.
"Time to get to work."
He stepped into the crystal workshop, laying out tools and materials in their proper places. By the time everything was ready, it was already noon.
After lunch, Duke brought Lux to the backyard workshop.
"This is the temporary workshop Pride and Gluttony built for me. With the conditions we've got, this is as good as it gets."
He set aside his lab coat and fastened his toolbelt.
"We'll make do with what we have."
Lux's eyes sparkled as she took in the workshop. This was her first time seeing a real forge she could work in.
"Duke, I think it's amazing already!"
She walked about in awe. Duke lit the furnace, shaking his head with a faint smile. "When we get back to Piltover, I'll show you my private workshop."
"Really?!" Lux hurried to strap on her own toolbelt, mimicking him.
"When you reach the level of a true apprentice, I'll prepare a workshop for you."
"For now, you're here to assist me."
"Alright, what's first?"
"The forge is lit. Next, we'll break the design down into workable parts."
Duke lifted his hammer and grinned. "Let's get to it."
"Right!"
Two days later.
"Yes, just like that."
Standing beside Lux, Duke guided her as she lowered the final piece of armor plating into the special quenching solution.
"Don't let your hands tremble. Move from point to surface, steady and controlled."
"Don't fear the smoke. Keep your grip firm, don't slack."
"Good, now ease one corner in, then submerge it slowly."
"Alright, softer now, lighter pressure, make sure it's fully immersed."
Following his guidance, Lux held the tongs with steady hands, lowering the glowing metal into the solution. With a hiss, smoke billowed out as the heated metal rapidly cooled, forming a hardened layer.
"Like this?"
"Perfect. Now we wait. Once it's cooled, we'll move on to assembly."
On the racks stood a completed prototype suit of armor. Though only a stopgap model, Duke had poured no small amount of effort into it.
Its design borrowed from Vayne's Project: Purifier aesthetics, painted in hues of violet and blue. The plating was layered with beskar metal, resistant to extreme damage. Its core was a seven-core magi-engine, supported by alchemical circulation systems and hextech power transmission.
Twelve rune arrays etched into the armor granted double-layered enchantments.
Inside was an AI system, along with sixteen recon micro-drones and thirty-two armed micro-drones distributed throughout its structure. It also carried sonar radar.
Its main weapons were dual arm-mounted crossbows powered directly by magic, which could combine into a heavy crossbow. Every third strike delivered explosive impact.
The suit allowed Vayne to slip into bullet time, dispatching enemies in the blink of an eye.
And Duke hadn't stopped there. He prepared specialized arrows, knockback bolts that pinned enemies to walls, adhesive bolts that immobilized targets, explosive bolts, acid bolts, smoke bolts, plus nets, splitting arrows, freezing bolts, lightning bolts, and more.
As if that wasn't enough, he added kinetic air weapons, an electromagnetic storm system, and a sonic resonance device.
Truly, armed to the teeth.
Of course, Lux had only been assisting, quenching plates, hammering, fetching parts. The heavy lifting had been Duke's alone.
When the plating was done, Lux set it aside while Duke donned Edith, his mechanical arm system. Six arms extended behind him, welding sparks flashing as the armor quickly took shape.
Within ten minutes, the suit was complete.
"Sensei, is it finished?"
"Almost. Just one last step."
He lifted a box, waved his hand before the armor's visor, and the AI lit up.
"Compression protocol."
"Command confirmed."
The armor disassembled itself and folded neatly into the box.
Duke removed his toolbelt. "Go fetch Vayne. Tell her it's ready."
"Got it, Duke!"
When Lux left, Duke lit a cigar. Three days' effort had produced a working prototype for Vayne. From here, he'd have no free time left, the council led by Tiana surely had countermeasures prepared.
But it didn't matter. Whatever their schemes, Duke would flip the table if necessary. After all, reducing the Ayn family to ruin had been no more than a casual demonstration.
Moments later, Vayne entered the workshop, eyes lighting up at the box on the table.
"It's done?"
"All set. We just need to run gene-code and iris verification. Once that's complete, it'll be bound to you."
"When we return to Piltover, I'll craft you an even better one."
Step by step, Duke guided her through the identification protocols. When the scans finished, the armor activated, flowing out of the box like water and wrapping seamlessly around her body.
In the next instant, Vayne vanished, only to reappear behind Duke. Her arms draped over his shoulders, chin resting against him.
"The armor is excellent. I love it. Do you want a reward?"
"Perhaps… bedtime push-ups?"
She whispered in his ear with a sly smile. Duke scratched his temple.
"Push-ups are out of the question. My waist won't take it."
"How about you demonstrate a full set of squats instead?"
End of chapter....
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