Silas stood calmly in the lab, his eyes fixed on the machines and instruments there.
"If the lowest grade is already this good, I wonder how higher ones will be," he muttered with a whistle.
"Rion, release the things stored in your space."
Almost immediately, everything he had bought for the rifle appeared on the table that seemed reserved for holding such things.
Without further thinking, Silas got to work. Drawing from the mental blueprint, he began to piece things together.
The machines in the lab whirred to life as he activated them one after the other.
Smelting and coupling.
"Huff!" He gasped as he collapsed into a chair.
He had done his own bit; what remained was for the machines to assemble the two rifles.
"Who knew it could be this tiring even in the virtual server," he joked.
Then, he remembered something.
"Rion, how much time remains for me?"
"3 hours."
Soon, the machine beeped with a sound of completion, prompting Silas to run towards it.
He looked at the rifle, fully assembled, lying on the tray.
His eyes beamed with delight as he stroked the body.
It was a sleek, black rifle with a small orb-like object where the magazine was meant to be.
He began to recall the abilities of the rifle.
From the fact that it could directly use the aether of its wielder in place of its battery, to the fact that it could transform between forms seamlessly.
This was what made Silas cherish it the most.
He tapped a button.
The rifle shifted, its nozzle elongating and a lens unfolding at the top.
In less than 3 seconds it had transformed into a sniper rifle.
"This one drains the most aether among the three forms, but its damage is also the highest," he mused.
With a single gesture, the form shifted again, everything folding into itself, till it became a pistol, fitting into his grip perfectly.
"At least, the main functions were a success. I only need to check its power now."
"Rion, how much time is left?"
"27 minutes," Rion replied almost immediately.
"The time is not enough to test it out in the arena, maybe tomorrow."
He stored the two rifles into his AI space. "This space has become wider," he noticed.
At the previous tier, his space could barely hold one of the rifles. But now, it was holding two.
"Rion, how much space do you have? Just tell me how many of the rifles you can contain now."
"Master Silas, I can hold about 5 of the rifles with a little bit of space left," Rion replied instantly.
"It has truly increased more than I expected."
"Send me out."
His body flickered as he gave the command, appearing in his room once again.
Right on cue, as he appeared in his room, a maid came to inform him of his food.
He shook his head slightly as he walked to the dining hall.
In less than 30 minutes, he was done, returning to his room after bidding everyone farewell.
He thought of something while he was eating. 'Why not just create a store to sell my creations?'
Since he advanced to a tier 2 citizen, he had been granted the right to own properties in the virtual realm.
Without wasting time, Silas began to plan everything.
"Rion, what is the average price for a 50x50 land in the virtual server?"
"In the Orion Sector, it costs between 25,000 to 30,000 credits."
Silas heaved a sigh as he heard this.
"So much for such a small piece of land?" His mind could not help but replay the moment when he received 10,000 credits.
He shook his head slowly. "How much have I earned from the manuals now?"
"3560 credits."
"That is not enough and I even need to wait till the end of this month to cash it." Silas rubbed his temples in frustration.
"What is the credit limit for a tier 2 citizen and a beginner scientist from the Human Bank and what is the interest?"
"From the bank, a tier 2 citizen can borrow up to 10,000 credits with a 10% interest that has to be paid within 6 months. While a beginner scientist can borrow up to 50,000 credits without interest and a 6 months deadline."
"Becoming a scientist is the best thing that has happened to me today," he chuckled.
"Rion, check the price for a land in the central plaza."
Since all lands were controlled by the Orion Sector, the prices were fixed in each region of the server.
"19,000 credits. It is also very close to the research institute."
"The price of land in this region is relatively cheap compared to the average," Silas beamed. "Borrow all 60,000 credits for me."
The assistant beeped in his mind, notifying him of the 60,000 credit deposit in his account.
"Purchase a piece of land now, we will check everything tomorrow."
He was eager to build his own very store the next day.
The feeling made it hard for him to even sleep after shutting his eyes and laying on the bed.
He rolled multiple times, his eyes even opening between those intervals.
'Why is it so hard to sleep?' he wondered, shaking his head.
He stood up from the bed. Still doned in his night garment, he walked out of his door, towards the kitchen.
"A mid-night snack wouldn't hurt."
As he walked, he heard the steps of someone also passing but he brushed it off, thinking they were maids.
"Isn't that Lord Alfred?" He whispered, following Alfred from behind with slow, cautious movements.
"Silas, do you wish to spar with me?" Alfred said casually, as if all of Silas's efforts were futile.
"Why were you walking alone at this time?" Silas asked, walking towards Alfred.
"Your crazy governor burdened me with too much work this month; I only got myself some free time now," Alfred puffed up, exploding in rage as if he had been holding all his emotions, waiting for someone to finally pull the switch.
Silas just smiled wryly. Even he knew how much work Alfred handled when it came to governing the planet.
"The governor sure is useless," he muttered, entering the elevator together with Alfred.