After taking the first bullet out of the box. I quickly dissected it. Looking at the menu form the tech bench, I found a scanner that would break down its materials. I wanted to be able to make my own. The more of this process I did myself, the better the bonuses. A small try popped out from the wall. Placing the dissected bullet onto the tray, things went pretty quickly. I was completely loving all this new sci-fi stuff.

  The scanner took a few minutes before spewing out its findings.

  System Analysis complete.

  Proprietary materials used. Patent held by Mage Tech Inc.

  Base material found.

  Casing is made of Dertainium.

  Pellets are a Feron compound.

  Well, it was a start. I brought up the descriptions of both.

  Dertainium.

  A common element found on most planets. It is a hard metal that conducts mana. Used as a base metal in almost everything.

  Feron

  An uncommon metal, but still fairly abundant. It is naturally a soft metal that conducts mana extremely well. It is often used by alchemists because of its ability to soak up the properties of a potion. Once forged, the metal gains some durability. It is not recommended as the main material for weapons or armour on its own.

  Well, that got me thinking. Obviously, the Feron couldn't be used on its own in most cases but I did see a few small ideas pop in my head. I could make small pellets to use for a scatter shot, giving it a double whammy. Both the potion itself and the pellets could do some serious damage to internal organs. As to a slug, I could use Dertainium for the slug with a thin layer of Feron to hold a small amount of potion within the slug, which could, on impact, crumple the feron, releasing the liquid, and the feron bits would also add their own damage.

  “Well, that was a start, but how would I trigger it. “

  Pulling out my Rune craft kit and opening the box, I found several carving tools, specialised ink, and a small tablet. Starting up the table, it held information on all types of basic runes. This was going to take a while.

  Time definitely got away from me as I heard the portal open, Katie's voice pulling me out of my frustration.

  “Hey slut. I knew you would get caught up in this. Tony should be arriving in fifteen minutes. “

  Looking up, I swore, not realizing I had spent most of the day going through the damned runes and not finding anything that I could use. I saw a grin on Katie's face, her hair plastered in sweat with bruises along her arms. She wore her leather chest armor, which looked like a halter top, showcasing her full breasts within the covering, while giving a nice view of her toned stomach. Metal bracers on her forearms give her the look of a short Amazon. Leather pants hugged her legs and hips with boots to match. “ Damn, you look sexy.”

  I grinned as she came over and gave me a kiss.” Go and do what you have to do. You can show me later how sexy you think I really am.” She offered me a wink as she turned, walking out, making sure to shake her ass just a little before disappearing through the portal.

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Tease,” I said to the empty room, but a smile on my face washed away some of the frustrations I was feeling. Perhaps a break would do a bit of good. Come back later with a fresh outlook. Of course, going from one problem to another. How to get Tony to bond with me. I know I couldn't get him to swear loyalty or something. That would just sound silly anyway.

  The main room was empty while I made my way to the elevator and up to the penthouse. Leaving the workshop behind, I started considering our next move now that everyone was involved.

  Leaving that thought for later me. I made it into the living room just as Tony entered. He was in his usual suit, but now for the first time I noticed the bulge under his left arm. Well, guess that would be [Perception] at work.

  He had his usual no-nonsense look about him. With a soft click of the door behind him, his eyes met mine. “ So you want to tell me what all this has been about, Sara?”

  Of course, right on the point. I felt my stomach twist up in knots as I was still unsure how to go about this. Walking into the living room, I stared out of the large windows for a moment. “ I want to, but this is going to sound weird, Tony, but we will need to make a pact first. “ Now, how stupid did that sound. Like I was some little girl saying we need to pinky swear to keep a secret. “ I know how it sounds, and trust me, even I am aware of how silly this appears. But I can't say anything till we are bound together in some sort of oath. “ Sighing, I heard his footsteps come closer, seeing his reflection in the window. His features seemed to soften a little.

  “Look, Sara, it does sound silly. But in many ways, at times, you remind me very much of your Grandfather. He was a smart man, but like you, a bit flighty sometimes. It was hard to understand what he was thinking or planning till everything got set in motion. Still, when he was serious about something, his eyes held a certain look. I see that look in yours now. So I will humor you.”

  Meeting his gaze, he offered me a smile, “So if you need me to do a pinky swear. As long as it does not negatively affect or inhibit me from doing what I need to do or affect my life outside of this, I will.”

  Well, that was surprising, but then I didn't know much about the history with my grandfather and his family. Still, I silently thanked Grandpa for surrounding me with such loyal people. Thinking about it for a moment, I turned towards him and let out a very nervous breath, hoping this would work or I would look like the biggest idiot on the planet.

  “Tony, I promise that no matter what, I will always treat you and yours like family. I have nothing but your best interests at heart. To that end, I will always do everything in my power to protect you, never purposely steer you wrong, and make sure you are ready for the future.”

  I let out a breath, looking at him as he seemed confused for a moment. Still, he went along with it as he offered his own. I could only imagine what he was thinking.

  “Sara, as strange as all of this sounds, I did promise your grandfather before he passed that I would always do my best to protect you from harm and to help guide you when I could. I still hold those words close to me and stand by them even today.”

  I guess it was good enough.

  Tony Apicellico has accepted your bond.

  I saw his eyes glaze over and caught him as he stumbled from whatever the System was doing. I guided him to the couch,amd he seemed to fall asleep. Leaving him to his conversion, I messaged Marie through our party chat and asked her to come up to be here so when he woke up someone would be here to explain everything to him. It was in that moment that I realized how I could make the bullets do what I wanted.

  We passed each other as I was exiting the elevator. I quickly filled her in, and without complaint, she headed upstairs. I think I was getting used to this whole having a slave thing. It did feel a part of who I was. I knew I still had a lot of soul searching and acceptance to do. Even with me slowly moving forward, I still felt overwhelmed, plus now with this whole Death World thing hanging over our heads.

  Sitting back in the chair of the tech room. Looking at parts on the table, dissected shells, blueprints up around me, I sat there feeling I was missing something. I brought up my status, looking at my skills, but that wasn't where my focus was.

  Rune Crafter

  You can etch very basic runes into anything you have imbued with your Mana. This is the first step to making your own equipment. Note that this skill is limited to your own equipment and will not have the same range of runes as the Enchanter.

  So something tickled me about this. It did not say I couldn't design my own runes. Or combine runes together. Just said the range wouldn't be the same as an Enchanter. The description was very basic. Yet it left some things unanswered. Also, I had my own unique runes. That then got me thinking, and I brought up the blueprints for a basic handgun.

  This time, I went for one powered by a mana crystal, not a beast core. I still would have to work on Marie's weapons to safely deliver her brewed potions, but in many ways, I just felt like I was looking at this in too much of a mundane manner. Also making a shotgun was far more complicated then I thought I would be. I could do it but I was starting to feel like I was running before walking.

  Surprisingly, the crystal-based gun was just as complicated as a kinetic weapon but with fewer moving parts. It did have more points to create mana channels and hard points for runes.

  I brought forth Ari. Hoping that she could appear in the lab. I assumed she couldn't appear in the shop because it was off-world, maybe it was just some other reason.

  Watching the little demon appear on the table, I smiled. She looked a little annoyed at me. Didn't blame her. “ Hey Ari. I am sorry for taking out my anger on you after you've been nothing but helpful.” She smiled at me .

  “Ohh, a Human with fucking manners.” sighing, “ It is OK, Sara, at least you didn't yell at me like it was my fault. So how can I help you?”