The devil was all mixed up and didn't see Adam's move coming. He hesitated and tried to act clueless, saying, "Oh, oh, oh! You're talking about Sofia, right? I guess she'll be a good choice too!"
"Sofia? She's got different skills, and she's not the right fit for me. You're the best choice for this, Dear Garfield."
Hearing Adam call him that was something the devil had secretly hoped for, but now it felt really harsh. "What do you mean... I'm lost..."
With a quick snap of his fingers, Adam's fingertips lit up with fire. "The Original Flames are like a willpower, a top-notch being that's really open-minded."
"And so?"
"You're a willpower-based spirit too, a will that roams the ethereal universe. What if I set you on fire, could that merge and transform both you and the flame?"
The fire at Adam's fingertips shaped into the devil, then burst into a new form that was hard to make out.
"I'd say it's quite possible," said Adam.
The devil thought he was the unluckiest devil out there, making one last plea, "But I'm not supposed to show up in Titania right now, am I?"
With another snap, Adam put out the fire.
"Usually, yes, but I've already made a deal with Qi 31. I've decided to take a shortcut, and you're going to have to take some chances with me. Besides, if a transcendent being finds me, both of us will end up back in the Mage World anyway. For you, it doesn't really matter if it's sooner or later."
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})Adam's reasoning made sense, but the devil felt more and more trapped. He worried, "But master, I'm made of willpower. If you light up the willpower and it doesn't work out, I won't get another shot at life!"
"Oh."
"Maybe you should have a little faith in yourself, and trust me."
...
Adam was busy gathering energy these days.
His gears quickly became a hit after a brief test in the market, turning into must-haves. These gears could slightly boost fighting skills and really help newborns survive, making them a big hit with all Titans.
Now, it wasn't just the newborn Titans buying them---many cities on the front lines were placing huge orders. The gears were snatched up as soon as they were made.
Eventually, Adam had to sell the copyrights of the gears and outsource production to keep up with demand.
Gears for Knights were also in high demand, especially with the newly promoted Knights who didn't have strong attack moves yet. The magic arrays on these gears, when activated, showed off impressive strength.
Orders were rolling in non-stop every day.
Sales of Warlord-level gears were just okay. Titans at this level already had their own solid combat strategies, and adding new, unfamiliar gear could throw off their rhythm.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})Only a few curious Commanders bought them to test and research, but always with Adam's permission.
Adam didn't think his security measures on the designs could be cracked, so he freely allowed research access.
Yet, the real winners were the Vital Generator and Flexible Shield. After countless unsuccessful trials, Adam found the perfect formula.
The finished Shield was super flexible and protective. It could fend off corrosive liquids, oxidation rays, and bites from Metal Eaters, thanks to the electromagnetic conversion arrays inscribed on it. It also helped cool down the Vital Generator and mend minor damages.
These features were crucial for all the Titans on the front lines. Adam gave the first finished products to friends like Iron 27, Windflame 222, and Bluewater 147. Once they tested them, the Flexible Shield instantly became a must-have.
But the knowledge and techniques around the Flexible Shield were high, so Adam had to produce them himself. Thus, even with a room full of avatars to assist, Adam found demands for the products outpacing his supply.
This was the only piece of gear, at that time, suitable for all Titans below the Royals. Many Titans even camped outside the workshop, hoping to grab one as soon as possible.
As a result, Adam gained a huge amount of Honors. Besides trading them for high-quality energy blocks needed for upgrades, he also bought a large stock of high-purity metals and special alloys. He used some to build his level-three body, and the rest were for the devil.
His body still used mithril, as there wasn't enough time to research and substitute it with a better conductor for electromagnetic forces. However, he was very thorough in preparing for the devil.
Since the devil was to meet the Titan Royals on his behalf, life preservation was paramount. Adam selected an alloy with the strongest energy and physical resistance to blend with mithril, then began inscribing gravity-related magic arrays inside. His plan was to transform the devil into a Titan with spatial abilities.
The concepts of gravity and space were too complex. The challenge of fitting this into the Spark Code information made progress slow.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})Qi 31 was highly interested in Adam's work and visited the workshop frequently. He shared all the advanced knowledge he could, especially on Spark Codes, asking for nothing in return. He even assisted in crafting the armor.
Initially, Qi 31 had hoped for Adam to be his assistant, but now it seemed the roles had reversed.
Adam didn't keep the making of the gravity metal a secret from Qi 31; after a casual question about it, Qi 31 didn't really care about that anymore.
Qi 31 was just a little unhappy that Adam seemed so busy with so many things at the same time. But after seeing how Adam could juggle hundreds of tasks at once, Qi 31 just went with it and stayed quiet.
By the ninth month, Qi 31 couldn't hold back and asked, "Why do you want to wait until you're a Commander before heading to the royal city with me?"
Even though things looked good for Adam, from what he saw, moving up in Titan ranks was tough and would take long. Without the right knowledge, just having enough Flame energy wasn't going to cut it.
Qi 31 had seen too many Titans get stuck at a certain level and end up dead in wars. Plus, Adam already knew Spark Codes better than he was.
"I'm not strong enough yet. Don't worry, I won't get stuck at my current level for long." That was always Adam's reply.
Adam was telling the truth. He used to be a level-three mage, and now he was just getting used to a new body and getting his power back, so hitting a roadblock was unlikely.
But Qi 31 didn't know all this. Seeing how chill Adam was, all he could do was silently stress out.
This worry turned out to be a good thing for Adam. On top of Spark Code stuff, Qi 31 started giving Adam energy blocks non-stop, which really saved him a lot of Honor.
So, by the thirteenth month, Adam had everything ready to level up. His space metal was also ready, and as soon as a new spark moved into the space metal body, a strong Titan would be born.
