When Gerhard created the empty instant dungeon, he finally relaxed. It was quite stressful, knowing that each step and each potential encounter could be your last. But he had taken precautions, and it had proven correct. If he hadn't levelled his skills and overall level, he wouldn't have made it. The initial strike of that Mutant would have most likely taken him out, or at least knocked him out.
Gerhard sat cross-legged in the centre of the rusted chamber, his inventory window floating in front of him. Inside were the spoils from his recent excursion.
- Scrap Metal
- Mutated Bone
- Rotting Bone
- The Scavvy Autogun
- The Kantrael Lasgun
- The Broken Cleaver
And even the planting pot, he had created. He exhaled slowly. It wasn't perfect, but one had to start small. And so far, this was more than he expected. These were exactly the kind of items he needed.
Weapons were complex objects for him, at least right now. Taking them apart would give him materials and new blueprints. Reassembling them would train [Creation], which would prove invaluable.
Grinding both skills at once was what he was going to do now, just like with the metal pots a few days earlier. And so far, time was all he needed. He had realised that he wasn't really hungry. Not even after a full day of training. Sleeping restored him to full health and Mana, and he never felt the need to eat. There was the desire to eat, but it wasn't something that was necessary to keep him alive, he realised.
And that was another benefit.
Gerhard grabbed the first weapon, the Scavvy Autogun. So far, all the weapons he had salvaged were damaged or not fully functional. But that didn't mean anything. A bit of 'sacred oil' as the Mechanicus would say, and the weapons were good to do. But Gerhard wasn't content with that.
He placed the rifle on the floor. The weapon looked even worse up close. The barrel was scratched, the stock had been badly repaired with scrap plates and wire, and the firing chamber smelled of some kind of toxic oil or fluid, and cheap ammunition.
"Alright… let's see how you work."
He used the skill [Dismantle].
The magazine came out first, then the firing assembly, trigger group, ammo carrier and the barrel. The rifle slowly separated into dozens of components.
[A blueprint has been acquired.]
[Autogun – Scavvy Pattern]
[Dismantle level increased by 1]
Gerhard pulled the parts closer. He cleaned them first, then he used spare scrap to reinforce and replace several pieces. Thanks to the blueprint he now has, he didn't have to create it from scratch; he could use the [Creation] skill.
The firing pin was replaced, the barrel was straightened, and the bolt assembly was tightened.
The components shone slightly as the system assisted him. Metal clicked together, springs aligned, and screws locked. After a single second, the weapon finished assembling, and Gerhard was presented with a new Autogun.
[Underhive Autogun – Rank: Uncommon]
A reinforced autogun rebuilt and improved by Gerhard the Gamer. While still crude by Gamer standards, the weapon's internal components have been cleaned, replaced and refitted.
- Durability: 120/120
- Damage: 24
- Critical Chance: 4%
- Magazine Capacity: 30 / 30
- Rate of Fire: High
- Effective Range: 90 m
- Accuracy: Moderate
- Recoil: Reduced
Special Effect:
Reinforced Mechanism
+10% reliability
+5% rate of fire stability
-
Gerhard blinked, surprised at what he saw.
"Nice."
The weapon had improved significantly. The durability was higher, so was the damage per shot and the critical chance. The accuracy had also improved, which was nonsense, but thanks to this being a Gamer-crafted item, it made sense.
And most importantly: Rank: Uncommon. This was the first weapon he had ever created that was uncommon instead of common, average or simply damaged.
[Creation level increased by 1]
Gerhard immediately took the rifle apart again. No need to leave it here when he had time and the need to improve his skills and create better weapons.
[Dismantle]
The weapon separated faster this time, and less material was lost. The grind had just begun.
Take apart.
Rebuild.
Maybe make a better one.
Level up skills
Repeat.
.
Next came the Cleaver weapon. Gerhard placed the cleaver on the ground. The blade was thick and jagged, rather heavy too. It had originally been a large Power Weapon and is designated as a Dreadnought Close Combat Weapon by Imperial standards. Naturally, it had been broken down and changed from its initial purpose and size to be wielded by the Scavvy.
Gerhard nodded. This was a very good chance for him to play around a bit, since there was a lot of material to go around.
[Dismantle]
The handle came off first, then the blade. He separated the grip wire, removed rust and straightened the metal. For the first time, he held an interesting object in his hands.
[Power field generator]
A generator capable of generating a power field, also known as a disruptor field.
-
A disruptor field allowed weapons to disrupt any solid matter they came into contact with, including Power Armour. Gerhard had struck gold. If he could find out how this worked and gain a blueprint, he could make great strides.
Another skill might be necessary for this, though. He might have to look into weapon creation in particular, as well as the physics behind them.
[Dismantle level increased by 1]
Now he tried to improve it, following what he had just researched. He reinforced the handle with scrap metal, sharpened the blade, and removed much of the metal to make it smaller and more useful to him. Finally used the skill.
[Creation]
The metal vibrated, and the blade reshaped slightly. It was far smaller than it had been before, just like he wanted. The balance improved, and the handle tightened, allowing him to wield the power cleaver with one hand... as long as he grew stronger. Right now, it was still a bit too heavy.
The Power Cleaver, like any Power Weapon which emitted a coruscating field of energy, was fully capable of cutting through almost any material, both flesh and steel. This was a very powerful weapon.
[Underhive Power Cleaver - Rank: Common]
A heavy power weapon reconstructed and improved by Gerhard the Gamer. The blade has been rebalanced, reinforced, and reduced in size.
Damage: 420
Attack Speed: Slow
Critical Chance: 10%
Durability: 120/120
Effects:
- Heavy Blade
The thick metal blade delivers powerful chopping strikes, but is slow and heavy to wield.
+100% damage against unarmoured targets
- Power Weapon
+10% damage against all targets
-
Gerhard swung it experimentally. The weight was still too high to wield effectively and swiftly in battle. But he managed to reduce the strength requirement from 50, which was ridiculous, to 30. He still needed training to use this. But he could also improve it.
"That's actually good. Much better than the Rust Sword."
[Creation Lv. increased by 1]
[Dismantle Lv. increased]
Again, he dismantled it and again, he rebuilt it. With each cycle, he lost less material, assembled it faster, even without using [Creation], and gained more EXP.
.
Finally, he picked up the weapon he cared about a lot. The Lasgun. It was the first weapon he got, which helped him fight Zombies, Scavvies, and a Mutant. It was reliable, despite the power pack about to break apart.
[M36 Kantrael Pattern Lasgun - Rank: Common]
- Durability: 97/120
- Damage: 55
- Critical chance: 3%
- Charge Capacity: 150
Problems detected:
- Misaligned focusing crystal
- Capacitor instability
- Damaged power conduit
-
He began carefully dismantling it.
[Dismantle]
As before, he went ahead and recreated it, trying to improve some things based on what he now knew.
[M36 Kantrael Pattern Lasgun - Rank: Uncommon]
[Dismantle Lv. increased by 1]
[Creation Lv. increased by 1]
He began repairing it, using cleaned parts, replacing connectors, and generally trying new things. Over and over, he recreated it and dismantled it, for as long as he could.
[Creation]
[M36 Kantrael Pattern Lasgun – Rank: Uncommon]
- Durability: 140/140
- Damage: 60
- Critical Chance: 3%
- Charge Capacity: 150
Special Effects:
- Stabilised Beam
+5% accuracy
+5% energy efficiency
- Improved Cooling
- Slightly faster firing recovery
-
Gerhard stared at the weapon and then slowly grinned.
"Oh… that is beautiful."
[Creation Lv. increased by 1]
[Dismantle Lv. increased by 1]
Then he immediately dismantled it again.
.
Hours later, the dungeon floor was covered with parts. Springs, barrels, capacitors, blades and more. Gerhard's hands moved automatically, like a factory machine.
[Creation] and [Dismantle] increased several times, but Gerhard wasn't focused on them.
Now he had a reliable autogun, a powerful cleaver and a better lasgun. And more importantly, he now understood how to build them.
But after all that work, Gerhard was now more than ready for some training. He had been so engrossed in the work that he forgot to train at the same time. So, that's what he did.
[Mana Shield]
MP: -30
At level 17, it cost 30 MP to activate the skill and 18 MP per minute to keep it active. He had 350 MP total and, thanks to his WIS of 16, had a Mana regeneration of 9.1 per minute. So, to keep [Mana Shield] active, it cost him 9 MP per minute.
This meant that Gerhard could keep the single mana shield active for 35 minutes. Not bad.
But not enough!
[Mana Shield]
MP: -30
[Mana Shield]
MP: -30
[Mana Shield]
MP: -30
Gerhard activated three Mana Shields, additionally reaching four in total. As soon as he had done that, he got back to working on his armoury. [Creation] and [Dismantle] were used one after the other, cheating the process as much as possible.
.
Amidst the training regimen, Gerhard had an epiphany. The usage of the Power Claw, even if he had worked on it, was clunky and too sluggish. It wasn't really working for him. He had dedicated some time to training with it and increasing his physical stats.
But it wasn't working for him. No doubt, it would be useful, as soon as he started to think bigger, but right now, in the Underhive and against Mutants and other denizens of the dark, it was not a good choice.
So Gerhard took it apart again.
[Dismantle]
Gerhard crouched over the components. The device was damaged, which he hadn't noticed earlier. Several coils were bent, and the energy channels were misaligned. At least that's what [Observe] told him.
He began preparing the necessary materials, then cheated. He simply used the skill.
[Creation]
Energy flickered along the coils as the Gamer system built. Metal clicked into place and circuits aligned. After a second, the process finished.
[Power Field Generator – Rank: Common]
Gerhard exhaled slowly.
"Good. Now comes the interesting part."
Gerhard gathered materials from his inventory and began assembling everything into the shape of a blade. Nothing like the crude cleaver he had created earlier, and not like that metal blade he had been using till now.
This would be a proper sword. The generator would sit inside the guard, coating the blade to create a Power Sword. Once everything was prepared, he activated the skill.
[Creation]
-
[Power Sword - Rank: Common]
A power weapon created by Gerhard the Gamer using a salvaged disruption field generator. When activated, the blade is surrounded by a destructive energy field that can cut through most materials.
Damage: 380
Critical Chance: 8%
Durability: 140/140
Energy Consumption: Moderate
Required STR: 20
Effects:
- Power Field: Ignores 65% armour resistance
- Disruption Edge: Greatly increased damage to metal and machinery, ignoring most armour.
-
Gerhard stared at the sword for a long time. Then he pressed the activation stud. The blade hummed. A blue crackling field spread along the edge, fully covering it. The air around it vibrated faintly.
Gerhard picked up a thick piece of scrap metal from the ground and brought the blade to it, touching it slightly. The metal offered no resistance whatsoever. The blade simply passed through it.
Gerhard blinked and, once more, like a man possessed, a slow grin appeared on his face.
"Oh… that's much better."
[Creation Lv. increased by 1]
[Dismantle Lv. increased by 1]
Gerhard swung the weapon experimentally, testing the balance and the weight. It was lighter and almost as powerful as the power cleaver. But the damage stat of the sword didn't really represent how much damage one could do with the weapon. It was a game stat, but pure damage often wasn't what decided victory or defeat in this world.
"Alright then. Let's test it."
[Instant Dungeon Exit]
[Instant Dungeon Create - Zombie]