After a brief indoor snowball fight, which he easily lost, Kaleb got around to answering Jar-lock’s question.
“I don’t think I’ll be joining you for this one. I wanna knuckle down and finish some crafting ideas. But contact me if you run into anything you think I can help with.”
Jar-lock and the others were all smiles and accepted his answer. After a short goodbye, the three magic users left his neighborhood. Left alone with his two in-game companions, Kaleb set about Imprinting the Strengthening Rune to the bone gun. It wasn’t as draining as the protection Rune but it still used a good chunk of his Mana.
As he worked, Roy finished the leather cestus gloves and Daivor took apart a bullet nearby. The three worked in silence until Kaleb prepared to Imprint the Resizing Rune on the cestus. Only then did Roy ask.
“How were we going to attach the bone plates? Epoxy.”
Kaleb smacked himself in the face as he turned to Daivor. “That’s what I forgot to buy. An adhesive for the bone plates.”
Daivor nodded as he added. “Your friend also left without you completing his armor. But it was an emergency and you haven’t cut the bones into the correct shapes yet, anyway.”
Kaleb sighed at having forgotten so much and walked to his computer. Thanks to the HLO and speedster’s like Chip, the things he needed were never far away. He perused the online shop for a little while until he found a high-grade glue. It was good for leather and said to hold both chemically and magically. It was a little pricey though. Biting his lip he asked.
“Anything else we need before I submit this order?”
Roy and Daivor both tilted their heads in thought. Daivor was the first to bring up a point. “You need different bullets. This gun is a .38 caliber, all you bought were .22 and .50 caliber bullets. So unless you plan on Imprinting Resizing Runes on all your duck friend’s bullets, buy some .38 rounds.”
“Can’t I put a Resizing Rune on the cylinder?” Kaleb asked.
Daivor shook his head. “You would have to put two of those Runes on the gun. One on the cylinder and the other on the barrel and that’s just inefficient. There are only some many Runes an item can hold and to waste two on the same Rune isn’t worth it.”
Kaleb nodded as he added a box of .38 long colt rounds to his order. He spared a glance toward Roy who had set his own project down and was looking at the bone gun.
“Are you going to build another gun? Because if you are, I would look for things that would help with that.” Roy stated.
“Yeah that makes sense, but the only thing I can think of is a CNC machine or something like that. But those are expensive as hell and I doubt we could fit one in here. So I’m stuck using the lathe, it’s far slower but I think we can make it work.”
Roy shrugged his shoulders. “I honestly, can’t think of anything else then. Besides it’s not like the store is going anywhere.”
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Kaleb sighed. “I know, I hate making Chip run back and forth because I forgot something, though.”
Roy barked a laugh. “Ha! He probably enjoys it. Couriers sit in a room until they get an order from their area. Ever watch a speedster try to sit still? I don’t think they can do it. For some of them staying still means a kinetic energy build-up which can be very dangerous.”
Kaleb absently sent his order through as he asked. “How do you know so much about speedsters?”
“Hey, I’ve wanted to be a Super ever since I knew what one was. I studied everything about the HLO and its subsidiaries.”
“Subsidiaries?” Kaleb asked as Daivor went back to his work and he and Roy walked out to meet Chip.
Roy nodded. “Yeah, Y’know, like their Super Recovery Service, Homeless shelters, Monster Retrieval, Education services, and the gun dismantling services. All of those are handled by separate companies under the HLO umbrella.”
“Wow, I did not know that. The HLO is everywhere, huh?” Kaleb asked as Chip arrived with his order.
After a brief chat with the speedster Roy and Kaleb went back inside. Roy picked up the conversation. “They are into everything. Some people don’t like it, for whatever reason.”
“When you have one company in charge of everything it’s bound to make people nervous.” Kaleb said dropping the box of .38 rounds down next to Daivor.
“But it’s the HLO! They handle Supers.” Roy said.
Kaleb nodded as he gathered up a few of the bone plates and his new glue. “So some of the most powerful people on the planet and this company tells them what to do?”
Roy shot him a weird look. “Sure, if you say it that way it sounds a little sketchy. But the HLO works for the government.”
“Yeah, but you can understand why some people would be skeptical of the one company that all supers HAVE to work for.”
“I guess. But you don’t have to work with the HLO. There is the Bounty Post and the Hunters Association. But they are not government certified.” Roy explained.
Kaleb set about attaching the bone plates to Mass’ cestus gloves. “What are those? I’ve never even heard of them.”
Farrah spoke up from his wrist. “Earlier versions of the game had three companies you could sign up with. The Bounty Post was for PVP and would let you hunt other players for higher standing in the BP. The Hunters Association was all about hunting magical creatures. But once Ozarious took over the HLO the other two companies kind of faded into the background.”
“Huh, that’s weird. But, it is an ever-changing game world.” Kaleb said as he finished one glove and moved on the second.
As he did, he noticed Roy standing nearby looking lost after Farrah’s explanation. “What’s up, kid?”
Roy shook his head. “Nothing. I was just wondering if you had anymore projects for me?”
Kaleb thought about it before he shook his head. “Not really. Once Daivor and I figure out how to make bullets from the Ifrit bones, we will probably need your help. But until then you are free to complete your own projects.”
“Yes!” Roy cheered. “Thanks, Doc. I think I know just what to work on. Can I use some Ifrit materials?”
Kaleb smiled wide and nodded as his assistant ran off into his house. Daivor’s gruff voice said what Kaleb was thinking. “He’s a good lad, a little excitable, but a good lad.”
“Agreed.” Kaleb said smiling and finished his work.
Looking over the two orange leather gloves the bone white plates stuck out horribly. He also couldn’t think of any Runes that the big guy would want. He would definitely have to contact the pair and see what they wanted. As he looked around, he saw Daivor chipping away at an Ifirt bone with a small knife. Nearby was one of the vials of Ifrit blood he and Roy had collected. Seeing the blood sparked an idea in his mind.
“Hey, Daivor. What would happen if I focus my magic through the Ifrit blood while I’m Imprinting?”
Daivor looked up in surprise and glanced over to where Kaleb was looking. As the Gnome turned back, he had a large smile on his face. Daivor stood and walked over to the vial of Ifrit blood.
“It SHOULD make the Imprinting way easier and quicker. But you will have to drench your hands in the stuff. The blood will call to the skin and the pull on your magic will be that much stronger. But the whole process will be quicker.” Daivor explained.
Kaleb scratched his chin before nodding slowly. “All right. I will try it. If the change is insignificant, then we will have to find another use for all that blood.”
Daivor nodded as Roy returned carrying a box of materials and asking, worriedly.
“Whose blood?!”