"Here!" Wu said, drawing a newer version of the schematics on the ground next to the previous one, "Instead of taking inputs from the bowstring, we are combining the segments of the bowstring and detection sub-Casts into a single block. Does that make sense?"
https%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FmFEexUj.jpg [https://i.imgur.com/mFEexUj.jpg]
"Right..." Lera squatted down on the ground next to Wu, and she nearly fell back on her butt, "Wait...you want to directly tap into the gemstone?!"
"Yeah." Wu said, "Obviously, the weapon amplifies the input of the Wave and created the attacks by taking some energy from the gem, right?"
Obviously?! Lera blinked a few times and nodded along. Sure! Obviously!
"Um...ever heard about the conservation of energy?" Wu asked, and Lera gave him a poker face.
Well, seeing that this universe hasn't imploded so far, it is safe to assume that it's the case. Plus, Wu has been noticing that the color, texture, and density of the gemstone looked a lot like the tiny granules that he used to blow up the previous owner of the One-shotter, "The Wave has to come from somewhere. That's what this stone does."
"Ok, but even if what you are saying is true, the gemstone is still in the section right before firing!" Lera said, "Doing anything about it would be way too dangerous!"
"True." Wu said, sliding his finger towards the top of the schematics, "But if the gemstone is uncontrollable as you thought, why could we control the size of the projectile then?"
Lera bit her lips as she checked the schematics and her duplications again, and she couldn't really give him an answer.
That settles it.
The plan is to break down the legendary bow physically into individual parts and retain the ones they need while ditching the two limbs which are where the Detection Blocks were. Keeping the area around the grip where the gemstone and its main control/containment unit was embedded, Lera then started creating a new Cast according to Wu's instructions.
First, they will make a proxy of the sub-Casts which detects the Wave amount and bowstring tension.
By playing with the two severed limbs of the Bow, the two of them noted down a range of values that was output from the sub-Casts before creating a single Cast that gives off the same kind of magnitudes of the Wave.
Connecting the single Cast with the remainder of the Bow, Lera then sent a small drop of Wave through the entire system before a tiny tennis ball-sized orb of the Wave shot out from the tip, crashing into the ground and carving out a tiny tunnel of sorts.
"YES!" Wu cheered and jumped up as Lera watches on in surprise. Then, she turned to look at the red face of Wu and shared his joy. He looked down at her and reached his hand out, "GIVE ME FIVE!"
"Five...five what?" Lera asked, reaching out and holding his hand.
"Ah, that means slapping my hand. Lightly." Wu said, "On my world, we celebrate by doing this."
Lera's eyebrows jumped up once, and she gently tabbed her hand against his. As she drew her fingers back, it lightly tickles Wu's palm and sent a jolt of electricity through his body.
After some adjustment, Lera's able to control the output of the Bow by changing how much she's injecting the Wave into the two input slots in her Cast.
Second, they will make a duplicate of the gemstone control sub-Cast and connect it with the custom Cast made by Lera.
That turns out to be far easier than expected because she already has a duplicate of it written down. The true difficulty lies in connecting the duplicate with the gemstone itself. Any mistakes here could mean disastrous consequences for them, and it didn't take long for Wu to suggest a slight change in the plans, connecting instead to the output lines from the gemstone itself.
"But it's not touching the gemstone!" Lera said, the pen held in her fingers and hovering right above the body of the bow.
"We just need a parallel line coming out from the gem. So it doesn't need to be directly touching the stone. The output lines are the ones that's already touching it." Wu said, and Lera bit her lips before making the connection.
Setting up switches along the way that can be used to easily stop the flow of the wave by cutting the lines of Casts physically, the first iteration of Wu's pistol is completed. By adjusting a pair of dials on the custom Cast made by Lera, Wu is then able to redirect a tiny portion of the gemstone's output and use it to control the actual shot of the Wave.
Setting up a medium 'bow tension' and a medium 'Wave amount', Wu turned the face of the bow towards the tree that's barely clinging on to its life, and he flicked the switch.
The bow let out a gentle hum as the lines of Casts lit up, and a light orb made of the Wave spiraled into existence from seemingly nowhere. Then, it jetted away through the air, slamming itself into the body of the tree and creating yet another crater over its trunk.
An unhinged smile arose on Wu's face, and he started chuckling in place as Lera covered her mouth with shock.
He has just done it.
Albeit building off the hard work of both the makers of the One-Shotter and Lera, Wu has just controlled the Wave all by himself.
The powerless savior, the one that had to rely solely on the things he brought along from his world to barely survive has just taken his first step in this world.
It is truly ironic that the first piece of technology he made is a weapon. Perhaps that's just human nature. He looked towards Lera who stood in place in shock, and he reached out his hand for a high five.
Now that the prototype has proven its viability, the next task would be to pack everything tightly together in a far more Endless Woods-friendly format. Wrapping the page of Lera's Cast around the body of the bow and making a gun handle from a piece of wood, Wu then changed the position of the switch to be where the trigger of guns usually are, right underneath the 'gun barrel'.
Now, instead of the bow being nearly as long as his torso, he can now carry it around far more conveniently. Setting both dials to be at their medium settings by default, Wu then stood like a gunslinger with his hand hovering over the pistol.
"PEW!" Wu shouted, suddenly drawing the pistol as a bird chirped in the distance. A bolt of the Wave shot out from the tip of the gun, and it flew through the forest before the blast rammed into the side of the bird's body, dissipating immediately and sending it tumbling to the ground, "As expected from the fastest hands in the Eastern Continent! HAHAHAH!"
Lera watched on as Wu continued blasting away at the trees, rocks and bushes around them with his One-Shotter pistol. Like a kid who has just gotten a new toy, Wu spent hours living out the dreams of being an action star until the sun finally sets all around them.
"Damn. That felt good." Wu said, finally taking a seat next to Lera who's roasting the bird that Wu shot earlier.
"I honestly can't believe it worked..." Lera admitted, turning over the body of the bird and applying some of the seasoning given to them by the Dwellers, "But in hindsight, there were no reasons why it shouldn't work..."
"Exactly." Wu said, putting the pistol down on the ground, "That's the power of Science, Lera. It's an equalizer for those without natural power."
"That sounds incredible..." Lera said as she put out the fire for the roast and let the bird sit over the smoke.
"And the gemstones too...I can't believe none of you have looked into these natural resources yet." Wu said.
"When the majority of the people can control the Wave, there is no point looking out for those that couldn't..." Lera said with a sigh, "I mean, that's why the first war was fought."
The people of this world was so close yet so far to being able to create a world suitable for everybody. The Casts themselves are devised so that the Wave Users can better control the flow of the Wave. Then, working off the assumption that those that are truly capable should have a naturally high amount of the Wave that they can access, more and more complex Casts and Manifests were created.
That's where the majority of the resources went to, and even Lera had to admit that she also took the ability to use the Wave for granted, thinking only for herself.
"It will be okay." Wu said, swallowing as he waited for the roast bird to cool slightly, "On our world, science is just a tool and a means to an end. It can create the worst weapons of destruction, or allow for the most incredible of miracles...As pretentious as it might sound like, I am not just going to expand and grow the science of this world, but also hopefully guide it in the right direction."
"I believe you. Now eat." Lera said, tearing off one leg of the bird and giving it to him.
"Never could have done this without you, you know?" Wu said genuinely before biting into his food, "Hmm~"
As the two of them enjoyed the freshly roasted meat in the dark, Wu couldn't help but wonder how things would be if not for the help of Lera. Then, as they lied next to each other under the night sky, Lera instead wondered if Wu still need her anymore now that he has taken his next steps as the savior of this world.
Whatever it takes, she will make herself useful to him. However, what will happen once he has figured out the functions of all of her Casts? Would he choose to rely on the strengths of Ver, than her utility?
The Lera before would have been buried by the echoing insecurities in her mind, but after all that has happened between the two, she realized that she can now face these questions more rationally than before.
If Wu has figured out all of her Casts, then she will just have to keep making newer and better ones. And if he needed to rely on the strengths of Ver, then she will just have to make herself stronger too.
They are equals in this journey, and they will continue to help each other forward.
With her hands resting on Wu's slowly rising chest, Lera felt for his heartbeats and closed her eyes for the night.