Chapter 97: The Mystery of the Cube 2

"But the most interesting thing is the lock."

Isadora leaned back slightly in her seat.

"Is that what prevented its use?"

"Exactly."

Adam laid the bow flat on the table.

"If you simply inject mana to activate it, the circuit detects an incorrect sequence. The mechanism locks, and the weapon returns to its compact form."

Elaria understood immediately.

"A safety feature."

"Yes. A kind of anti-theft protection."

Adam traced several almost invisible lines with his finger.

"The mana must flow in a specific order before it can be used normally. It’s probably a procedure taught to soldiers who used these weapons."

Selene smiled.

"So if an enemy were to get hold of the bow..."

"They would have a useless cube in their hands until they knew the sequence."

"Not bad." "

Adam nodded.

"And each new user will have to perform the same maneuver before they can properly power the weapon. Otherwise, as soon as they try to produce an arrow with their mana, the safety system will shut it down."

Elaria had already moved close enough to observe his every move.

"Show us the sequence."

Adam repeated much more slowly.

"First here."

A faint glow traced the first circuit.

"Then the left branch."

The mana split.

"Back to the center."

A pulse.

"Then this loop. And finally, a reverse pulse."

Click.

The lock released.

Adam circulated the energy a second time so they could memorize the order.

"Nothing particularly complicated once you know the way." "

Vespera replied:

"But almost impossible to guess without knowing what you’re looking for."

"Exactly."

Adam then handed the weapon to Elena.

"Try it."

She cautiously repeated the sequence.

The first attempt failed.

The bow immediately began to recoil.

Elena interrupted her mana.

"Too fast?"

"At the third junction. You fueled both limbs at the same time."

She tried again.

This time...

Click.

The mechanism remained open.

A slight satisfaction appeared on her face.

"Okay."

She assumed a firing stance.

Already skilled with weapons, Elena quickly found the correct posture.

A mana arrow formed.

She didn’t fire it.

" Isadora didn’t seem particularly interested in the idea of ​​testing an ancient weapon in the middle of dinner.

Elena dismissed her and passed the bow to Selene.

Then Elaria.

Then Vespera.

Each repeated the procedure.

Shiora, after successfully testing it herself, observed the weapon with a very different kind of interest.

"How much is something like this worth?"

Isadora looked at her.

"We’re not going to sell them."

"I was just asking."

Adam smiled.

"Of course."

Once they all understood how it worked, the conversation changed completely.

The object was no longer an incomprehensible antiquity.

It was a usable weapon.

And they possessed more than five thousand of them.

Selene was the first to analyze its military potential.

"Compact." "

She lifted the cube after letting the weapon close.

"Easy to carry. No need for a quiver."

Elena continued:

"And no reliance on a stock of arrows as long as the soldier retains mana."

Vespera added, however, an obvious limitation:

"That also means that an exhausted soldier will no longer be able to fire."

"Obviously," Adam replied. "The weapon doesn’t create energy. It simply transforms the mana supplied to it."

Isadora asked:

"Into power?"

This time, Vespera took the bow.

They briefly left the table to use a secure area of ​​the mansion where a shot could be safely tested.

After a few controlled tests, the conclusion was quite clear.

For an individual weapon...

She was excellent.

A properly powered arrow possessed raw power comparable to that of a mid-level offensive spell cast by a competent mage.

Adam looked at the mark left on the reinforced target.

"Not bad for something you can carry in a pocket." »

Selene crossed her arms.

"Especially in the hands of an entire unit. »

Isadora remained silent for a moment.

Then his decision fell.

"We’re going to stop letting them gather dust in the treasury. »

Elena turned her head towards her.

"Do you want to hand them out?" »

"To the knights, gradually. »

Isadora had no interest in blindly equipping thousands of people the next day.

The weapons had to be checked.

Tested.

Their consumption measured.

Their reliability confirmed.

But if the results remained positive...

There was no reason to keep over five thousand functional weapons in crates.

"Elena, you’re in charge. »

The signet immediately nodded.

"I will start with a small group. "

" GOOD. »

Isadora continued:

"Checks mana consumption, power according to the user and the resistance of the mechanisms after several hundred shots. Only then will we decide on the scale of the distribution. »

Adam agreed.

This was much more reasonable than giving five thousand ancient artifacts to the army after three tries.

Meanwhile, Elaria seemed to have completely forgotten about dinner.

She turned the bow in her hands with fascination.

"I’ll take one. »

Isadora gave him a look.

"To study it? "

" Obviously. »

Elaria activated the sequence.

The bow unfolded.

She immediately observed the now accessible joints.

"Now that we know how to hold the form open, I can finally reach the disassembly points. »

Adam followed her gaze.

She was right.

In cube form, the various pieces fit together so tightly that it was almost impossible to reach the internal mechanisms without breaking them.

Deployed...

The weapon revealed several attachments.

Joints.

Plates.

And probably maintenance accesses left by its creators.

Elaria already had this expression.

Adam knew her.

The one that announced several hours without sleep and a workshop full of spare parts.

He immediately raised a finger.

"Don’t forget that you’re leaving the day after tomorrow. "

" I know. »

"And that tomorrow you must prepare for your absence. "

" I know. »

"And dismantling a technology that has been dead for a thousand years will probably take more than one evening. »

Elaria stopped.

Then looked at the bow.

His expression became almost pained.

Shiora laughed softly.

"He’s learning to handle you." "

" Unfortunately. »

Adam smiled.

"I take that as a compliment. »

Elaria nevertheless kept a copy for her research.

Now that the locking mechanism was understood, she could at least begin to examine the weapon without risking destroying it simply by trying to open it.

They finally returned to the table.

The rest of the meal was naturally dominated by two subjects.

The journey to the elven kingdoms.

And the five thousand ancient bows that had suddenly gone from being unusable objects to being a real military resource.

Adam ate in silence while the others chatted around him.

However, one thought kept coming back.

He had obtained Weapon Mastery this morning.

And in just one day, this skill had already solved a centuries-old problem.

Not because she told him how to make the bow.

He was still completely unaware of the exact composition of certain pieces.

The principles behind certain circuits.

The method allowing the mechanism to contract so perfectly.

Or the way the weapon precisely transformed mana into a projectile.

But she had given him the key needed to use it.

And this simple key now allowed Elaria and Vespera to study the rest.

Adam was beginning to understand why the First Hero had been able to use artifacts that no one else knew how to use.

The meal ended some time later.

Isadora was the first to get up.

"Good. Tomorrow, we’ll make the travel arrangements."

Lyriana nodded.

Elaria was still holding her new antique bow.

Elena, meanwhile, had already started thinking about the military trials she would organize.

Shiora had probably mentally calculated the cost of five thousand bows even before Isadora forbade her from selling them.

Selene seemed simply eager to see Adam test one of them in combat.

And Vespera...

Vespera was still observing the circuits.

Adam sighed.

"I have a feeling this weapon has just created a lot of work."

Elaria replied immediately:

"Useful work."

He looked at her.

"You’re really starting to overuse that phrase."

A slight smile appeared on his lips.

Then the group dispersed.

But unlike the previous nights, no one actually went to sleep.

Not yet.

They all had something to do.

Move out.

The Bridal Chamber was now set up, and each woman had decided to transfer her personal belongings there.

Elena went back to retrieve her clothes and personal effects.

Isadora had to decide what she really wanted to move from her apartments.

Lyriana owned relatively little, but still wanted to retrieve her equipment.

Selene announced that she could finish in a few minutes, which no one really believed.

Shiora went to organize her trunks.

Elaria obviously took several books, notebooks, and personal items—but Adam reminded her that the Chamber wasn’t a laboratory.

Vespera must have received the exact same warning.

Adam watched them leave in different directions.

The mansion was likely to be the scene of a strange procession for a good part of the evening.

He, on the other hand, had practically nothing to move.

The Bridal Suite had replaced his old bedroom as his main personal space.

So he headed straight for the new passageway.

After passing through the large double doors installed in the private corridor, he reached his old bedroom door.

It was open.

Perfect.

As long as it remained open, time flowed normally and the restrictions related to rest were not in effect.

Adam entered.

The immense, dark, red and purple space opened before him.

The gigantic bed.

The relaxation area filled with cushions.

The access to the dressing room and the baths.

The contrast with his old bedroom was almost absurd.

Adam walked to the edge of the bed.

Then sat down.

Finally alone for a few minutes.

He took a deep breath.

It had been a long day.

A very long day.

Training with Selene.

Smithing with Elaria.

Trade preparation with Shiora.

Magic with Vespera.

Now, a journey to the elven realms.

And over five thousand ancient weapons had just found a new purpose after centuries.

"Just another day in Valoria, apparently."

Adam slumped back against the mattress.

He remained like that for a few seconds.

Then another thought came to him.

The Superior Draw.

He had deliberately avoided using it when he first unlocked it.

A draw cost a thousand Satisfaction Points.

Much more expensive than the old system.

But the available rewards could reach Gold rank.

And since he had unlocked it...

He had never actually tried it.

Adam sat up.

"Okay." "

A translucent window appeared before him."

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

System

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Available Functions:

Status Inventory System Shop Lottery Relationships

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Adam selected the fourth option.

A second window opened.

Two choices appeared.

The old Lottery.

And below...

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Superior Pull

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Cost per pull:

1,000 Satisfaction Points

Available Ranks:

White Blue Purple Orange Gold

Maximum Rank:

Gold

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Adam stared at the window for a long time.

A thousand points.

When he first started accumulating Satisfaction Points, this sum would have seemed enormous.

Now...

He had enough in reserve to actually use this feature.

He thought briefly about the rewards he had already obtained.

Skills.

Weapons.

Items.

Technological blueprints.

Rings of Promise.

And above all...

A Gold-rank Bridal Chamber capable of completely transforming their lives.

The potential of the Superior Draw was therefore impossible to ignore.

Adam ran a hand over his chin.

"Just a few draws..."

He stopped immediately.

Then narrowed his eyes.

"That sentence is dangerous."

He knew this kind of mechanism far too well.

Once.

Then again.

Then another time because the previous one wasn’t good enough.

And a few minutes later, the entire reserve was gone.

Adam looked at his Satisfaction Points.

Then at the glowing button.

He thought one last time.

Tomorrow would be dedicated to preparations.

The day after tomorrow...

He would leave Valoria with Lyriana and Elaria to meet Astraea.

If he needed to acquire anything useful before the journey...

This was probably the best time.

A smile gradually appeared on his face.

"Very well."

He raised his hand.

Then he selected the Superior Draw.

The window lit up.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Superior Draw

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Confirming the draw...

Cost:

1,000 Satisfaction Points

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Adam stared at the interface.

"Let’s see what you have in store for me this time."

And he confirmed.