Awfully kind of you to leave me a clue as big as this. I can't quite figure out if your head is gigantic or your ego is. No matter. Even if Arun tried to voice his thoughts, his words would have come out as lethal poison instead. As hurt as his body and soul were, his anger, which now slowly turned to hate, fueled him.

Arun gave Paradox the note. He was formed with a tiger's marrow and had an acute affinity for the hunt. The smell of its prey would be enough.

It helped that Paradox was almost a living being instead of a normal puppet. A few sniffs through his metal nostrils, and his instincts awakened with the scent. It looked up to Arun as if it was ready.

Time to give pursuit... or so I'd like to say. Arun examined his state. He wanted revenge, but if he pursued it hastily, he would die for naught. His ki was recovering at a slug's pace, and his body was not in good shape either. He couldn't go after the thug... not like this. I need a weapon, he concluded.

But he had nothing of the sort and no way to get one in a short amount of time. That's when he remembered his gift. A smile widened as he glanced upon his storage ring.

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The trash mound, where all the garbage from the main city ended up, was also the reason why the slums were associated with a bin by the rich folk. But one man's garbage was another one's treasure, or, in Arun's case, weapon material. It wasn't uncommon for rare materials to make their way here, which was also why many desperate people searched these parts.

Even in a large wasteland like this, Arun spotted a couple of people. Their clothes were ragged, and they looked only skin and bones. These people had likely not eaten for days. Arun shed a tear while thinking of the relatively sheltered life his grandmother and grandfather sacrificed themselves to give him. He might not have felt full, but he didn't know hunger either.

That tear only helped his hatred grow. They were good people; they didn't deserve what happened to them.

He had to hurry up. An hour had already passed since he discovered it. He didn't think the thug would run anywhere, but he wasn't prone to taking risks either. There were many materials here, normal ones used in everyday life, but he needed more powerful ones to defeat a high-human stage. Even from those rare materials, only a select few could be used to make his weapon. To find the correct materials, it would have taken him weeks had he not made his trusty companion.

Arun was betting on one of the theories he read about materials. It stated that every material had its sort of memory. For example, a stone that sat on top of a snowy mountain would have ingrained the memory of snow and cold in it, making it compatible with them. An equipment made of said stone, in addition to possibly gaining related attributes, would 'feel' and react in some way if similar areas would be in their reach.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

How would this help him? Well, it so happened that the steel from which Paradox was made sat in a storage with other precious materials close to two decades, ever since the steel was fabricated. Their memory was likely ingrained. Thus, Paradox might be attracted to said materials. It was a bit of a long shot, but it was his best shot under the circumstances.

The little steel tiger maneuvered through the mounds with ease. It seemed as if it was onto something. Paradox's movement came to a sudden halt on top of a particularly tall hill. After a good moment of sniffing, it started digging. Arun, who was not quite as nimble as his companion, had some difficulty climbing. He made it up just in time to see Paradox pull a spherical device from the rubble.

Arun came closer to examine the find. Its black exterior was absorbing all light, making it seem like he was staring at a ball of darkness. Hypnotized by the mysterious item, Arun attempted to pick it up but was interrupted by Paradox just before his hands touched its surface. Arun was confused by this action until he took a closer look at the object. The area surrounding it was displaying abnormal behavior: one side was freezing while the other was melting.

Arun smirked. "So that's it! You've made me rich, Paradox! A generator, a working one at that!" By using the extreme reaction between heat and cold to generate energy, generators like this, granted, much larger ones, were used to power up entire cities. He couldn't even begin to imagine how something like this would end up here, especially because it was still working and... new? He had never seen this design before.

A shame that I have to scrap it. So, I know that's black iron covering it but I wonder what's inside. With that said, he activated his storage ring. He was surprised when he first received it but even more surprised when he found a low-grade mobile furnace inside it, along with some currency foreign to him.

"This... my goal is in sight with this." Once he placed the furnace, Paradox picked up the generator and threw it inside. He was lucky that it was the size of a football ball; else, it wouldn't have fit inside the small furnace. Now he began separating the components. Little by little, the black iron seeped away until the insides of the generator were revealed. Arun almost lost control of the process when he recognized them.

Firecrystals and hielore. These were not the sort of materials that money could not buy. Not reasonable amounts, anyway. Truly cream of the crop.

A pity I cannot use them right now... there's no way a low-grade furnace is enough for these. The black iron on the other hand... Ah, I know just the weapon. "Paradox, be so kind to bring me a durable yet somewhat flexible piece of wood. As fast as you can."

It did not take long for the order to be fulfilled; Paradox brought Arun something that he recognized as ki-reinforced Elmwood, a material commonly used in construction thanks to the exact properties Arun needed.

With the materials gathered, Arun concentrated all of his remaining ki into making the weapon. After all, it was not like that measly amount would help him in a real fight; there was no need to hold back.

Unlike when he crafted Paradox, this process was straightforward. He just had to shape the weapon. But the craft... it wasn't perfectly balanced anymore. It wasn't necessarily the ingredients but... the mental state was far from serene, and it only worsened in time. His rage, his hatred, his confusion on why anyone would do something like this, his grief, his broken heart, unbeknownst to Arun, they all passed on to the spear. From once a pure soul, a monster was created.