The Legendary Junkmaster

Chapter 16: Upgrade (1)

In the end, it took Jason two full days to finish assembling the rest of the Primals. All in all, he was happy with how they had turned out. He immediately took them down to Al's store to collect his payment. Al seemed to be in a cheerful mood as he received the weapons from Jason and paid him the amount they had agreed on beforehand.

Jason had taken note of how Al had not put his first copy on display, which meant that it had either already been sold or he was holding it back for now. No matter what Al was up to, Jason was happy to receive his credits for his hard work. He was surprised when Al offered to buy any more copies he made or anything new that he came up with.

Jason was further taken aback when Al offered to give him an apprenticeship in his store if he provided at least two more useful items. Jason had only considered the proposal for a short while before firmly declining the training. What was the point when he technically already had the knowledge? He just had to unlock it with the help of Syssie.

He did agree to sell future items to Al, though. At least until he built up a name for himself. Only when he found himself back in his room did he realise the crux of that matter. 'How the fuck are the people who buy my Primal from Al meant to know I made it?' Jason slapped his own forehead for his stupidity. He had overlooked entirely such an important detail.

Syssie chuckled away in the corner as she was amused by Jason's thoughts. "Only just figured it out, huh, kid?"

Jason glared at the AI as she mocked him. Did this mean that she had already considered it but had chosen not to say anything? "Why didn't you say something sooner! Now I have no proof that it was me that made those weapons!"

Syssie continued to laugh at his dilemma. "Well, I can't go spoiling you now, can I? You're going to have to think for yourself sometimes, you know?"

Jason just groaned in response. What Syssie had said was indeed true. He could not afford to solely rely on the AI for everything. If he did, Syssie may as well live his life for him and leave Jason as a spectator! 'Ugh, what's done is done. There's no going back for now.' Jason allowed himself one final complaint in his mind before clearing the matter from his mind.

He turned his attention back to considering how to upgrade the Primal. His Melee Schematic skill had no use just now since it required compatible components to be within his line of sight for them to be considered. 'There's a couple of options I can at least consider for now before shopping around for components.'

Jason already had the few components that he had bought from the market laid out on his desk. These were mostly parts that would replace the main body of the weapon with a more robust material. 'I can either consider giving it an option to become even longer, making it a two-handed spear at that point. Or I can think about adding some kind of utility ability to it.'

Both options had their own pros and cons. The first option would give the weapon more reach and would become even heavier in its baton form. This would add to the damage it caused when used as a club. At the same time, it also made the weapon weaker. It would involve more moving parts that could break at any point. Not only that, but the added weight would make it more suitable for someone who at least had a proper basic knowledge of using melee weapons.

'That pretty much crosses that out of contention. If I made such a thing, it would be more of a hindrance to Dani when she borrows it. I can maybe revisit that idea when I have a better understanding of everything involved with such a project.' Jason analysed the idea before firmly crossing it out without hesitation.

'So that means I have to go for a utility ability.' This would provide the weapon with more versatility. Jason was not stupid, so he knew that it would add a little weight to the weapon. So long as he stopped himself from going overboard, then the extra weight should not make much of a difference.

'What should I go with then?' Thanks to his ability, he had a very shallow understanding of his interface's primary skills. Everything below them on the tree was a sort of sub-skill that further unlocked higher knowledge in each field. 'Should I make a trigger that lets it fire dart-like weapons?'

Jason toyed with the idea as he tried to figure out how useful that would be. It would give the Primal a proper ranged attack method. However, the amount of ammo that could be loaded would be minimal. 'I would probably only manage to fit enough for six shots onto it.' Jason groaned as he realised that this was not really a viable option.

After all, once all six shots were used, then the mechanism would be dead weight. Making the Primal more cumbersome than it was handy for. 'Ok, since a ranged option is out the window. Then should I try finding a way to increase its power in melee combat?'

This was a hard option to figure out, and honestly, it left him stumped. The only thing he could think of was making it out of more robust and heavier materials. Which he already had to hand. However, he was confident that this would not be enough to elevate the weapon to an E rank from F.

Syssie just nonchalantly giggled from time to time, laughing at his internal struggles. Jason really wanted to throw something at her, and only the fact that it would not actually hit her prevented him from doing so. "I need a break."

Jason was in a foul mood as he stood up from his chair. As he wandered out into the hall, he could hear the sounds of his grandfather snoring peacefully. He tried to be as quiet as possible, shifting himself down the hall to take a peek into his Gramps's bedroom. On another dirty mattress placed directly on the floor, laying there was the old man.

He seemed to be in fair health, which meant that nothing had gone wrong whenever he had left the house without Jason. 'Like, seriously. What are you even up to that's making you so tired?' Jason was seriously confused by Harry's behaviour ever since they returned from the industrial zone.

Jason had already fixed his bedroom door and would always close it properly whoever he went to sleep. However, each morning his door would be slightly ajar. Which meant that Harry was at least checking in on him before leaving.' Ugh, I'm sure he'll tell me when he's ready. Actually, scratch that. He definitely won't.'

Jason felt stupid for worrying about the old man. He was a capable veteran, after all. It was unlikely that he would get himself into something that he could not handle. At least, that was what Jason hoped. Jason left the old man to his peaceful slumber as he trudged down the stairs, hopping over the ever-present hole that could cause a severe injury if he was not paying attention.

He wandered into the dusty kitchen and glanced at the sink. For the longest time, he had wondered what such a thing had been used for. However, his ability told him that it used something called 'plumbing' to provide water to households. Jason chuckled at all the times he and his Gramps had argued over its possible uses.

Neither of them had right all. Still, when Jason tried the tap, absolutely nothing came out. There was no sounds or anything to tell him what might be wrong. 'Maybe one day I can make this work again.' He sighed as he turned towards the worktop that held two buckets of water that Harry must have drawn from the well this morning.

Jason took a cup from one of the cupboards and dipped it into the lukewarm water. All of his thinking had left him with a bad case of dry mouth. As he chugged down the liquid, he felt a slight sense of relief as he went to fill the cup for a second time to take it up into his room with him. At that moment, his eyes landed on something that had been a source of disappointment for him some time ago.

The black box that was actually a car battery still sat on the kitchen table. The only difference was that Jason's brain actually paid attention to it now. Focusing on telling him what it could be used for and how the principle could be used in his new weapon design. Jason's eyes narrowed as he quickly thought up several ideas.

"Electricity" Jason mumbled as he got lost in his own thoughts.