Vicente's guns were the most important and valuable things in the Mazzanti family. They kept him alive and were what had made his family capable of growing considerably in recent months.
If they had any defects or problems that would limit him in the future, he needed to know as soon as possible so he could think of countermeasures.
Benson knew how vital these weapons were to Cesar Mazzanti, so he decided to use something he had already realized to draw his student's attention to his plans.
"Vice, I don't know where you got the idea for your weapons. But as ingenious as they are and as useful in the hands of low-level people, they have a fundamental flaw that will limit you in the future."
He slowly picked up some materials from the surrounding area to show Vicente as he spoke.
"Vice, what happens when a reservoir has much more in it than it can handle?" He asked as he held a brown ore in his right hand and infused mana in it.
"It explodes." Vicente took a few steps back before the ore exploded.
"It does explode. But an ore suffers from this because it has low properties. An artifact's properties can exponentially multiply if you manipulate its metals. But even after that, such artifacts will still have their limitations." He picked up a 1st-grade dagger and infused it with his mana, quickly making it explode.
"Different metals, different forging processes, in short, anything you can think of can enhance these characteristics. But at the end of the day, the ingredients of an artifact will always have their limits, and so will the artifacts.
Your weapons are excellent, but it's unlikely that you'll ever be able to create 4th-grade weapons." Benson's eyes narrowed. "A Sovereign's mana is so rich that magicians of that level or higher can't infuse all the mana they have in their bodies into weapons. At most, they can infuse fractions of their power or even use artifacts, but without infusing their mana into them."
Auxiliary artifacts were very good for low-level magicians and ordinary people in general. But at a high level, individual power was the most important thing. Even people with low talents prefer to use their special abilities rather than artifacts once they reach the 4th-stage.
That didn't mean they didn't use artifacts. But they didn't rely on them!
That was the point. Such strong experts used artifacts to help them at certain times. But they relied on their pentagrams and spells when it came to life and death.
Benson knew it and also knew that if Vicente wanted to grow by relying on his weapons, his limit would be the beginning of the 4th stage, something impressive, but it wouldn't put him at the top of Polaris Realm.
"In other words, your weapons will be limited to the 3rd stage. In addition, you won't be able to do anything. Whenever someone tries to use more power than an item can handle, the weapon in question will explode, just like the items I showed you." He finished exposing the weakness of firearms.
Vicente didn't doubt Benson, for his master's words were based on the principles of forging.
'Materials have limitations. If they can't improve them qualitatively, the day will come when my men will be so strong that my weapons will be useless.' Vicente became more serious.
"If I become..."
Benson understood what Vicente was about to say and expressed. "My answer is not generated by any limitation on my part to see the way ahead.
I may not know everything you will one day, Vice, but the basic laws of forging don't change, regardless of the level of the blacksmiths.
So, becoming a 4th or 5th-stage blacksmith won't solve your weapons problem once and for all. At most, you'll be able to improve your artifacts so that they can withstand being used on high-level bodies."
"If that's true, then there shouldn't be any higher-level blacksmiths, master. After all, what good is a 5th-grade weapon if it can't be used to strengthen a Paragon?" Vicente asked.
"Such a weapon is great in the hands of a Mage or a Sovereign." Benson surprised Vicente a bit.
That was the purpose of artifacts in this world. Use high-level artifacts when you are still weak to increase your potential in battle!
Using 5th-grade artifacts between two Paragons would add nothing to the battle. However, a Sovereign using items of the same rank would have a great advantage over other Sovereigns.
However, using these weapons couldn't be based on putting all of one's mana into these items because then they would be damaged, as Benson had said.
"The problem with your weapons is that they depend greatly on how your men infuse mana into them and fire energy-charged bullets," Benson explained differently. "In the case of a magician using a sword, they will rarely infuse their weapon with much mana. On the contrary, they will use their mana in their own body or in their techniques. That changes everything."
Vicente listened to his master's answer and thought. 'It seems the problem with my weapons is that they are not designed to help. They completely replace the powers of the magician behind them. They rely only on mana and their own properties.'
"But Vice, as much as you can't increase the characteristics of your weapons much further, it's not necessarily the end. You might be able to reach the 4th-stage because of what these weapons can offer you. Also, if I'm right in my theories, the robot armor might solve your problems."
"That? But wouldn't it have the same limitations as my weapons?" Vicente didn't understand.
"Not exactly," Benson said after thinking about his project for a long time. "Your weapons depend on the power of the user to work as they do. Even if you can change them somehow, it won't change much in the future.
But my armor, built by you, has the potential to be independent of the user. Everything about it will depend on you, the creator. If you can give it some of your characteristics and make it work properly, it can be as strong as you are!"
Hearing Benson's excited tone, Vice understood what his master was trying to tell him.
Such armor might be of little help to Vicente, but for his weaker men, it would be just as important, if not more so, than for him!
Considering his situation, Vicente couldn't help but remember his sister and how something like this could be perfect for her.
'If Benson is right, even if Nina doesn't awaken her magical powers, she could still be a powerful woman wearing armor like this! He encouraged himself, feeling he could no longer turn back, and looked at this project with fresh eyes.
"Okay, I understand. I'm interested in studying this armor right away, master." He said the words Benson had been waiting for.
