"Ma'am, could I ask a question?" Nathan stood before Helen with Leah by his side and Riley helping to pack up. Most of the other cadets had already taken their leave.
"Go ahead." She had a rather disappointed look on her face. "I would like to know why you made the test about the sniper components."
Their practical class had ended with no one passing, It came as a surprise to Nathan. He had thought of it as easy but ended up with half mark.
"Because you guys aren't innovative enough." Helen simply replied as she walked up to Nathan. "Ever since our technology reached the point it is at now, there has been little to no improvement and that is just wrong.
"We now concentrate on cultivation and forget that our technology also needs improvement. This test was an opportunity to see those that could be smart enough to improvise and be innovative. Turns out, you guys are stuck on the old rules."
Nathan remained silent. He could not argue with her words as it did make sense. He hadn't exactly thought of improving on what they had. He was just too slow.
No one could blame him though. With so much riding on his shoulders, he wasn't exactly the perfect hero that would know what to do and when to do them. He was an ordinary guy that had to make do with what he had and take things in stride.
"I understand." Helen shook her head and walked past him. "I thought you would be different though. Hassan has spoken about you a few times and what he has told me about your expertise with gadgets made me look forward to meeting you.
"Now, I guess I feel a bit disappointed." Leah felt a bit bad for Nathan. She tried to signal Helen with her eyes but the latter did not bother a glance in her direction as she berated as well.
"Leah, you too. I would expect that my own family wouldn't be so backward in thinking. We won't win the war if we stay this way, we have to keep advancing." Riley walked up to her with a crate. "This is the last of them, Ma'am."
"Put it with the rest." She gestured after which she turned to leave the lab. Nathan remained rooted in his spot while Leah left him to follow after Helen.
"Are you going back to the dorm now?" Riley asked as he dropped off the crate. "You go ahead. I'll catch up."
"Is that the point of the mission given by the system?... I thought I had an edge with gadgets but Ms. Helen proved otherwise." Nathan was deep in thought as Riley stepped out of the classroom, making him the last one still around.
He glanced over at the last crate that Riley had dropped off. His eyes were trained on it for a few minutes before he suddenly walked towards it and picked it up.
He walked back to a platform and placed the crate on it. He pulled back the lid and removed the Sniper parts inside. The gun had been dismantled for it to fit into the crate.
He pushed the crate aside and stared blankly at the parts in front of him. He inhaled deeply before he took action.
He rearranged the Sniper within a few minutes before taking it apart again. Just then, [Ding… User understanding of AWM-98: 5%]
He did not bother with this though as he quickly shut off the blue notification. He put the Sniper back together again and then took it apart. Another notification was heard.
He repeated this action for an hour, dismantling and rearranging the Sniper almost ten times, each time much quicker. He was so engrossed in this that he had no idea that Leah was watching him by the door.
She watched him for a bit before she spoke up. "What are you doing?" Nathan jolted back in surprise as he looked at her. "It's you?... What are you doing standing over there?"
"I should be asking you that. I came to check if Riley had properly set up the crates as aunty told him." Leah quickly defended. "Oh, yeah he did. Sorry about the mess, I will clean up once I'm done."
Leah glanced outside before stepping into the classroom and allowing the door close behind her. It was a contraption that would open when one was in proximity to it and close when the person moved away from it.
"It's fine though, I have no problem with whatever you are doing… What exactly are you doing?" She asked curiously. Nathan chuckled awkwardly before a complicated expression engulfed his face.
"Your aunt was right. We are slow in our thinking. If we want to win the war, just focusing on cultivation wouldn't cut it. How many humans can reach the high peak of cultivation?"
"You don't have to feel bad about what she said. My aunt can be crazy when it comes to tech and she can also be pretty strict when she wants to. She only said what she did to push us forward."
"I know that. That's why I'm here right now. I had said that I would create a system that catered to people like me that are weak and without genius. To do that, I have to think up ways to create gadgets that would do that. That's the only way."
"So is that why you were dismantling the Sniper?" Nathan shook his head.
"I want to understand the basic components of a weapon. This would help in two aspects. To create a better weapon for the talented ones and to create a new one with lower specs for the weaker ones."
"You plan on doing that all night?" Leah asked with Nathan nodding in the affirmative. "… Could I perhaps… Join you?" She adjusted her glasses and managed a glance at him.
"Sure thing." She walked up to the platform as they got to work on the weapon. They spent the entire night working on it, trading ideas as they worked.
***
"Whew, No pressure. You have still got plenty of time." Nathan said aloud with his eyes closed. He sat cross-legged with the blue crystal before him. It had reduced to almost a quarter of its original size.
"Is that what you tell yourself?" Reyes asked as he lay on the bed, scrolling through a holographic screen before him. Its contents were on basics for Sniping.
"You could be quiet and I wouldn't know you are here," Nathan remarked. "Heh, sorry bout that. I'm just saying, only five days left and you still haven't formed a core."
Nathan opened his eyes and glanced at Reyes, the latter shutting his mouth as he returned his focus to the screen in front of him.
He sighed heavily as he turned away. Though Reyes was joking with him, he was indeed right. They had been given an entire month to form their tachyon cores but unfortunately, five days were left and he still hasn't formed one.
What's more, he was the only one in his squad left that hadn't formed one. Elena had been the first, forming her core in the second week. Reyes had formed his core in the third week. Even Leah had formed hers two days ago.
He felt inclined to cry at this point. This wasn't a case of him not trying his best, he got the basics right. He had already paid off the energy deficit he owed the system.
All that was left was to form the core, but molding it was harder than he thought. "At least explain to me how you managed to do it." Nathan pleaded with Reyes pausing his reading before switching off the hologram.
"It's not something I can explain. It's just a feeling. Picture yourself creating a jug and then filling that jug with water." Nathan facepalmed. "That did not help."
"Yeah… thought as much. Don't feel bad, I'm sure you'd get it down soon." Reyes consoled as he returned to his reading, switching the hologram back on.
"I need a break." He walked out of the room and out of the male dormitory, his destination Academic building RM. He had been spending time then lately.
Helen had allowed him access to the weapons there which allowed him to complete the side mission and also increased his insight in the process.
It was a good place to unwind for a person like him. Just as he stepped into the practical classroom, he found Helen taking notes. She heard the door open and put her head up.
"Oh, you came today. Any luck with the core?" Nathan shook his head. "Not at all. I'm at a loss with the explanation I keep getting from my squad members."
"Been there." Helen chuckled as she returned to taking notes. "What are you doing?" Nathan casually asked. Over the last few weeks, he and Helen had become a bit familiar with one another.
"Just had some crazy ideas. Thought I should put them down for whenever I can try it out." She said with a giddy smile. Nathan noted the excitement on her face before a thought came to mind.
"Helen, you are a cultivator, right?" "Yeah, Been stuck at the second base though. Don't have time to worry about increasing my cultivation base. As far as I'm concerned, Technology is superior!!"