Chapter 467: Justifying The Means<blockquote>
I would like to officially inform all my readers that I have started writing a new story called Heavy Metal [ A Monster Evolution LitRPG ] </blockquote>
"Are you sure about this? Have you tested it properly?"
Rastix nodded vigorously at the question, almost dropping his prized new creation. Rnd raised an eyebrow at the concoction as he was unable to confirm the short man''s im. The gnome looked unusually enthusiastic, a lot different to his usual demeanor since most of his previous experiments had failed.
"Yes, yes! Well, as much as I could before the explosion. But the preliminary tests were very promising. Here, let me show you, just let me use some of your equipment.”
Rnd wasn''t sure about this but was curious about the new creation, so he nodded. The scene of the experiment was clearing up, and the extent of the damage was about the same as always. A hole had been blown through one of the walls, and several alchemical tools were strewn about the charred remains of a workbench. Fortunately, the area was walled off so that even if an explosion urred, it would be contained.
To enter this area, one needed to go through a specific gate that required proper credentials. It was there to keep all the kids that lived nearby from getting injured. He had already installed a venttion system to take in the fumes as sometimes, they were quite toxic. One of the authorized individuals, Bernir, had also arrived at the scene. He brought his runic prosthesis and was in the process of examining the damaged items.
"Leave it for now. Let it air out before you start any repairs."
"Aye, boss, that might be better..."It seemed that his assistant had also grown ustomed to these urrences and was just shaking his head in resignation. The potions he made weren’t selling too well either, as his shop couldn’t offer a better product than what was readily avable in the city. At the moment, they were thinking of pushing potions in bundles with runic weaponry to entice their clients, which was a somewhat sessful tactic.
"Alright, Rastix, let''s head back to the workshop and see what you''ve got."
“Let’s just use mine, it’s closer.”
Bernir chimed in, and the three nodded. Soon they were walking, and just as they expected, a few rascals were waiting by the automatic gate to peek at the explosion. The moment they saw the three craftsmen, they giggled and took off running. Rnd didn’t react much, but it seemed that the kids had started to like him. Previously, many of them were afraid of his gaze, but once he removed the hood and helmet, they saw that he was just a man.
Rnd led the group to Bernir''s workshop, a spacious area that was once an old shed. Once there, he started reminiscing about the good old days when everything was quite peaceful. Back then, it was just him and his assistant, hammering away at pieces of metal. It was a tranquil time, and they spent their days expanding toward a future that had now be reality. Nowadays things were a lot more nosey, with many people running about making all sorts of noise.
“Hey…”
To Bernir’s shock, Rastix started clearing his workbench which was covered in some tools. They all started hitting the ground with a ng, causing Bernir to wince as his carefully arranged tools ttered to the floor.
"Careful with those! Some of those are custom-made!"
Bernir protested, but Rastix was too excited to heed his warnings.
"My apologies, friend! But there is no stopping brilliance, I promise, this is going to be worth it!
Rastix eximed, his eyes gleaming with excitement as he ced the sk in the center of the now-cleared workbench. After setting it down like some kind of costly artifact, he started to look around. From the tools avable, he picked out some scrap metal along with some leather scraps, which seemed to be there to emte skin or flesh. Using actual flesh for this demonstration would have been better, but no pig legs were nearby.
Soon he applied a thinyer of the adhesive to both surfaces and then carefully pressed them together. Almost immediately, the adhesive started reacting with the two materials, forming a bond. Rnd used his enhanced eyes to look closer and saw that the reagent was causing both sides to fuse with each other before hardening.
As the adhesive cured, the bond between the metal and the leather seemingly grew stronger by the second. However, even though it looked promising from his standpoint some more tests needed to be taken before they could move on to real testing. Rastix was also aware of this so he grabbed a hammer and a small chisel to showcase the strength of the bond.
After cing the chisel in the middle of the two materials, he started hitting it in an attempt to separate them. To Rnd’s and Bernir’s surprise, instead of the two sides separating, the tool started embedding itself in the leather. Even after the whole chisel pierced through the middle, and after leverage was used, the two sides didn’t want toe apart. Rnd, who had the most strength, took it into his hand and attempted to separate the two parts, eventually ripping them apart.
“These bonds are deep…”
Once the two sides were separated he could see just how far this alchemical adhesive had gone in. There was a thick bondingyer which was not actually glue but some type of newyer of material formed from the reaction between the metal and leather. It seemed to have somehow melted both sides andbined them together to form some kind of leather-metal mix.
"Remarkable…"
Rnd muttered while intending to examine this new bond closely. While this was more than he expected in this short amount of time, he couldn’t just use this on Bernir without performing multiple tests. What if after a few days or weeks, the bonds ceased to exist? Wouldn’t parts of his flesh turn into a strange mix of metal that would need to be removed if it failed? Then it could also be rejected by his body and be infected. At this moment, he still had a working elbow with most of his forearm missing, and losing even more due to insufficient data was not something he could allow.
"It does seem that you’re onto something here but, we need to perform some tests.”
“Yes, of course! More tests, that of course means… more funding!”
The gnome beamed with pride, his chest puffing out as he watched Rnd examine his creation. A sigh escaped his mouth at the mention of more funding but if this concoction worked well, then the runic prosthesis would be moreplete. A fucion between metal and flesh was normally not possible and no one had really tried to perfect it. This was uncharted territory that probably required a more drastic approach.
‘Should I get a few pig carcasses for him to experiment on, or…’
Rnd didn’t want to waste too much time on testing the bonding concoction. From what he knew, people worked on animals before moving on to clinical trials. Bernir was the only real patient here, and even if it worked on dead animals or living ones, it was still not the best option. However, in this world, there existed monsters, some of which were quite close to humans in their physiology. There was no reason to work on animals or humans when there were other options avable.
"Alright, Rastix, we''ll need to conduct a series of tests to ensure the durability and safety of this adhesive. Once we''re satisfied with the results, we can move forward with integrating it into Bernir''s prosthesis. Give me some time, I’ll have something prepared.”
Bernir nodded in agreement, and he couldn''t help but feel a twinge of excitement at the prospect of having a more responsive arm. Throughout the week he had tried getting used to the harness but it was quite not the same as having a real arm.
“Can I help with something, Boss?”
Bernir asked as he spotted Rnd deep in thought.
“I’m not sure you’d want to see this…”
“Why wouldn’t I? This is about my arm, and shouldn’t I know the whole process behind it?”
“I guess you’re right about that… but you don’t have to force yourself.”
“I’ll be fine.”
Rnd was contemting something unsavory, something that some people from the modern world might consider inhumane. He wasn’t sure if this was the right thing to do, but to help his friend out, he was willing to resort to drastic measures. The loss of Bernir’s arm urred while protecting him, and Rnd wouldn’t rest until he made it right.
“Alright, Bernir. If you’re sure you want to see this, then I won’t hold you back. But I must warn you, it might be a bit… unconventional.”
“Hah, don’t worry Boss, I’ll be fine.”
Bernir reassured Rnd with augh, and soon the three craftsmen prepared a new n. Rastix would give them half of his new product and return to hisboratory. There, he would reexamine it and see if he could improve upon it. He was also tasked with preparing a counter potion that could restore the changed flesh to its former state in case something went wrong. Meanwhile, the other two would head to the city and then Arthur’s estate, but before that, Rnd needed to make a call.
“We haven’t done this in a while, huh Boss?”
“That’s true.”
“You really do fit the role, should I carry your cape for you, Sir Knight Commander?”
“Cut it out.”
“Hehe.”
Rnd rolled his eyes at Bernir’sments as he had to get changed into his armor. It was a more ceremonial piece with less functionality than his mithril armor but it still had some good spells on it. The cape that was attached to it shifted around to create a robe that covered his whole body. While he intended to head to Arthur eventually, first the two would need to visit a less savory establishment. Rnd didn’t want to go there but knew that it was better if he personally handled this to hasten the process.
Elodia was there to wave both of them goodbye and the two delved towards the city while Rnd attempted to hide his true identity. This was quite hard considering that he was a well-known Knight Commander and some of the soldiers just recognized the way he carried himself. Nevertheless, after having a few people point their fingers he along with Bernir ended up in the city pleasure district.
“Boss… why are we here, if Mrs finds out, I’ll be in a heap of trouble…”
“We’re not here for that, just keep on walking and try not to stare.”
Bernir seemed to have trouble keeping his gaze away from some of the workingdies. Even though it was the middle of the day, many establishments were trying to entice new customers. It was working, as his assistant was easily drawn by the gazes of half-dressed women and the allure of cheap alcohol. On several asions, Rnd had to pull him back as he was about to walk into an establishment that Armand frequented. Luckily, his idiot brother-inw wasn’t around to ruin everything this time, and the two disappeared through a series of narrow alleyways.
They ended up at a nondescript building at the end of a side alley. The sign above the door was faded, but Rnd knew it was one of the Thieves'' Guild-run ces he had called earlier. He was here to seal the deal for a few unconventional goods needed for the next trial on the artificial limb. He knocked on the door in a specific pattern, and after a moment, a small hatch slid open. A pair of sharp eyes peered out at them.
"Who seeks entrance?"
"An old weary friend in need of a favor."
The eyes scrutinized them for a moment longer before the hatch slid shut. There was the sound of heavy bolts being drawn back, and the door creaked open. A tall, lean man with a scar across his cheek stood in the doorway, eyeing Rnd and Bernir suspiciously.
“Come in, good friend.”
The man grinned widely at Rnd, who had just pronounced the thief''s password for this specific location. The man seemed rather docile, thanks to the type of password Rnd had offered - one reserved for VIP members, which he was. Once inside, Bernir started fidgeting, as he was not used to seedy ces filled with intense-looking individuals.
“Just ignore them and follow after me.”
“...Ah, s-sure boss.”
“We won’t be staying long, don’t worry and whatever you do, try not to stare for too long.”
“...What will happen if I stare for too long?”
“Not much, you just might get stabbed…”
“What?”
Bernir started sweating and moved closer to Rnd as they ventured further into the strange building. They went through another secret entrance that led them to a winding corridor. While people like Bernir were aware of the existence of the Thieves'' Guild, most never had the pleasure of wandering through their underground tunnels. This particr tunnel led to a loud ce where Rnd would retrieve something important.
“Yeah, get him!”
“Nooo… what are you doing? I’m going to kill you if you lose!”
“Haha, I’m going to be rich!”
Rnd tried to ignore the shouts of the people, but they were quite loud. This ce looked like some kind of underground arena. People were holding up strange pieces of paper used for betting. In the center was a small ring about fifteen meters wide. Inside it, a lone man was fighting against a green monstermonly known as an orc.
This ce was an illegal fighting ring where betting was allowed, and Rnd, as the Knight Commander, was well aware of it. After thest incident with the crime lords from the city, a few agreements with the Thieves'' Guild were made. He, along with Arthur, made the decision to allow certain establishments that operated in a gray zone. They were required to pay a fee to continue existing, and as long as they didn’t engage in activities like killing, very, or selling people''s organs, it was deemed eptable. Thispromise was seen as one of the lesser evils for the city.
Arthur realized that he couldn’t keep expending resources battling the Thieves'' Guild and all the criminals. Thus, they decided to work together to a certain degree. As long as they didn’t cross certain lines, Arthur and the knights wouldn’t intervene, but this didn’t mean they wouldn’t step in if the Thieves'' Guild made things too obvious. If someone was getting robbed or reported something, they would follow through to clear up the issue. However, if people wanted to waste their money on betting and the pleasure district, then no one would stop them.
This might have seemed quite hypocritical considering his recent sh in the Theodore Valerian-run city. However, they ensured that certain thresholds were not crossed, and the thieves'' guild master was on board with everything. She had promised to keep her guild orderly and would not go out of her way to protect any killers that might wander in from outside. It was somewhat of a necessarily evil and it was better to keep them in check, then risk another guild forming with a guild master that wasn’t willing to cooperate.
“If it isn’t the honored guest, pleasee!”
A man greeted them, appearing a bit out of ce with hisrge belly and fancy attire. He seemed to be the owner of the establishment Rnd sought goods from. Alongside Bernir, Rnd followed him into a dimly lit room, presumably his office. Two intimidating guards stood behind, though their prowess paled inparison to Rnd''s which they were certainly aware of. The man showed a lot of decorum and his bodynguage was quite submissive.
"What brings you to our humble abode, esteemed guest?"
"I wish to procure a few monsters from your collection. Do you happen to have any goblins or hobgoblins avable?"
The man''s eyes lit up with interest, and he leaned back in his chair, stroking his chin in contemtion.
"Goblins, you say? Interesting choice. We do have a few in stock, though they''re not the easiest creatures toe by. How many are you looking to purchase?"
"I’ll take two each to be on the safer side.”
The man nodded thoughtfully and swiftly agreed to the deal. Rnd sensed he might be under pressure from the thieves'' guild leader he had contacted earlier. With the goblins and hobgoblins now in their possession, the tests could continue further. It took Bernir a moment to realize the purpose of the goblins, but he remained steadfast in seeing the n through to its conclusion.
“Good, there will be a few men waiting outside to guide you, follow their instructions while transporting the monsters, do I make myself clear?”
“Of course good sir!”
The man smiled content with their agreement, and bid them farewell with a wave. Rnd''s status exempted them from payment, and soon he was escorted out of the fighting establishment. The monsters would be packed up and transported to the hidden skill training facility at Arthur’s estate since, for the time being, Rndcked a simr ce to house them. Once they were delivered and secured, they could proceed with the final adjustments on the runic prosthesis.