Chapter 280: Parul’s Magic Wand
After my clumsy carving, I finally managed to sculpt the basic shape of a staff. I didn’t want to polish it myself anymore and decided to use the machinery in the workshop.
The grinder had a metal grinding disc on its surface, made of rough metal. A pull of the lever would start the machine and the grinding disc would spin at high speed.
All I had to do was place the staff blank on the grinding disc. Wood shavings flew everywhere as the irregular wood began to transform into a smooth and flat surface, with excess parts being ground away.
This grinder even had a water spray cleaning device that continuously sprayed water between the grinding disc and the processing materials, washing away excess wood dust, which was very convenient.
Soon, the shape of the staff’s body was complete. The handle wasn’t carved yet, but the length already matched my measurements.
At this moment, a memory was triggered. A staff of this length signified that its master would bring disaster, and its radius represented a personality that would be like a little bird clinging to its master or a moth flying into a flame, pursuing love…
So verbose! Neither of those is right. How could I possibly be that kind of person? Get out of my head!
Then, my mind went quiet. I continued my work, polishing the staff with sandpaper and wool wheels. Although my experience was lacking, getting the general shape right should be enough, right?
Next, I separated the staff body and handle and hollowed out the inside of the staff body with an air drill. This way, the basic form of a magic staff was created.
Next was the core. Unfortunately, the insect legs I cut off during my mutation had already been taken by Amelia. I didn’t know if they were made into specimens or simply ground into powder. So this time, I only brought the dragon tendon of the plague dragon. I’ll save the unicorn feather for now.
I cut a piece of dragon tendon, the length determined by my memory and knowledge. Then, I inserted it into the staff body. At this point, it would be even better if a magically conductive gel was poured into the staff.
The knowledge in my memory gave me several options for magically conductive gel materials. There were animal materials, such as the fish maw of a certain marine strange fish; artificial synthetic materials, such as conductive magical gel often used in alchemy; and plant materials.
I rummaged through the chests and cabinets in Old Fegen’s workshop and found plant gel – a bluish-white pine resin from a magically infused mutated pine tree. When heated and melted, it could be poured into the staff.
Reinserting it into the handle, theoretically, a magic staff was already complete. Taking Old Golden Tooth’s advice to borrow the workshop was the right decision. The equipment and materials here were very complete. If I had tried to polish and hollow it out myself, who knows how many days it would have taken to finish.
Even this time, I was prepared, thinking it might take a whole day to finish this staff, or even fail to complete it. In the end, it only took two hours, less than half a day.
The newly formed staff glided in my hand. I could already feel it resonating with my magic. Although I couldn’t do my best, like using my own mutated parts as the core, at least it was made by my own hands, and its compatibility with me was inherently one level higher.
With a casual wave, a spark of fire shot out and hit the furnace. The furnace, which had already shown signs of dying down, reignited with a roar.
Demon’s Fire. Before, I needed hand gestures, spellcasting materials, and incantations to cast this spell. But now, it could be released with just a thought. Although the power was greatly reduced due to the omission of so many steps, in actual combat, this kind of instant surprise might be needed.
Now that I had my own magic staff, I finally looked a bit like a witch. It’s just that this pale wood made people think that the staff was dangerous, and its owner might be a Necromancer or something.
The handle of the magic staff was uncarved, as I was not good at carving, and it retained its irregular wooden shape, which instead had a natural, primitive beauty.
The knowledge in my memory told me that it could actually be improved. At the bottom of the handle, a gemstone that matched one’s attributes could be inlaid, or a colorless diamond, used to store magic power or prepare an instant-cast spell.
Old Fegen actually had gemstones and diamonds here. He so trustingly left such precious things in his workshop, not afraid that I would take them away. Truly a dwarf.
I heard that dwarves are a very contradictory race. They possess two completely different personalities: greed and generosity. When it comes to gold and silver treasures, they are incredibly greedy, wishing they could possess all the treasures in the world.
But when facing friends, they are very generous. Treating friends to a meal that depletes their entire fortune or supporting friends is very common. Moreover, they are thick-skinned and not very meticulous about financial management, a race that earns quickly and spends quickly.
But dwarves hold grudges. Even though they leave gemstones and diamonds lying around, if anyone dares to take them, they will remember it clearly and pursue them to the ends of the earth.
Of course, I was willing to buy Old Fegen’s diamonds fairly and pay him with gold coins. But he wasn’t here now. To avoid entanglement due to lack of communication, I’d better not. I’ll mention it next time.
Next, I should modify the sleeve dart weapon. I placed the sleeve dart weapon on the workbench and used a fine Phillips head screwdriver to disassemble it. I also needed to wear my work goggles with adjustable lenses on my left eye to see clearly.
First, I disassembled the tightly fitted sleeve dart weapon. According to the knowledge in my mind, I fine-tuned the angle and position of its dart projection. This step was not difficult at all. I could even strengthen the ejection force.
Next was the launch tube. This part could fire poisoned darts. I also studied it carefully and made modifications. The range and power of the poisoned darts should be higher. The only downside was the limited number of poisoned darts currently available.
Although I had learned how to make poisoned darts by looking at samples, the poison was a concocted assassin secret recipe. Many of the ingredients were difficult to find, and I didn’t have the time to slowly carve the darts.
Then I realized that I could even continue to modify it. According to the knowledge in my memory, this sleeve dart weapon theoretically had several modifications, such as adding a hook, or being able to launch a grappling hook, or even adding a miniature gun inside.
Ha… this thing is becoming more and more like a Swiss Army knife, with all sorts of functions. But now that I know about it, I feel like my hands are itching. How about trying to modify it?
A gun would be too complicated for me here, as it would require finding many parts. But a grappling hook seems possible.
I needed a hook claw, a rope, and an ejection device. The hook claw was easy to find. I found a folding hook claw in the workshop. It was usually folded into a dart, and when shot out, the claws would open and hook onto the target.
But the rope gave me some trouble. If it was too thick, it would be inconvenient to wrap around my hand. If it was too thin, it would break easily. Finally, I found a roll of silvery-white thin thread in the trap modification area. It was as fine as fishing line, as strong as steel wire. Most importantly, this thread was surprisingly soft and felt like silk to the touch.
The silk of the Lancelee Giant Spider, extremely hard, difficult to cut even with a knife, and very thin. It’s an excellent material for industrial stitching and fixing, my knowledge tells me.
