"Can you do it?" The older researcher asked me.
It was obvious he was doubting my capabilities. The other researcher was looking at me in a similar way.
"This is extremely easy," I replied.
"But what about the other faces?" I asked.
"What do you mean?" The elder seemed confused by questions.
"I mean, what if you don't roll the max number? What do you get?" I further clarified my questions as I juggled the dice with one hand.
"You don't get anything; if you get something, no matter what, you wouldn't be gambling." He explained.
"I think I can fix it," I claimed.
"How?" Both researchers asked.
They were both left stunned by my statement; even my uncle raised an eyebrow.
"Let's say, twin dice, you get to mentally pick how many faces the dice have, and based on how you roll, you get a stronger boost. If you roll the same number, it counts as a critical hit, and the boost is doubled." I explained.
"No, we didn't want to improve the artifact; we wanted to know if you can—" Before he could finish the phrase, my uncle stopped him.
I was already speaking with the demon, so I didn't even hear what he had to say.
What do you think of my idea? Cool, right?
I asked the demon.
You removed the fun out of the item.
He answered as he rolled his eyes at me.
Huh? I made it better.
I protested.
You made it consistent.
He argued back while poking me with his index.
What's the problem with that?
It's not as fun; when you get a jackpot, you feel the rush of euphoria because the odds are stacked against you, so you feel like you really won.
He explained with a grandiose gesture.
But then the item would be useless in a battle.
Whatever, at this point I'm talking to a brick wall.
He said as he tried to slap me.
"So... what are you wai—"
I began the process; I melted some of the scales around my fingers to create a pair of identical dice.
This time I paid more attention to how the demon was crafting the artifact; I saw him turn his scales into a long thread.
He mixed something in between those long threads and then began to weave them into an oval shape.
He would pull, mix something, twist them, and repeat this process until the item was complete.
The two elders were both shocked to see the result; even Leo was ecstatic, so much so that his grip loosened, and I fell to the ground.
"Ah… sorry." He quickly apologized as he took the newly made demonic artifact and handed it to the researchers.
"This… Is there a reason why it's different from the original?" The younger researcher asked as he exchanged some wordless looks with the other one.
"Huh? Not particularly, I just wanted to show off a bit." I replied.
"Was it that tiring?" He then asked.
"Not really, it's just… I'm not used to training this much." I apologized.
It was a bit embarrassing to admit; I'm sure I must've looked pathetic when compared to my cousins.
The uncle then took a look at the dice; in his hands, they immediately turned into different ones. They had so many faces they looked like a sphere; he gave it a try and seemed satisfied with the result.
"This could fetch a high price." He seemed pleased with the outcome as he kept throwing the dies and picking them back up.
"What do you think?" He then asked the others.
"It definitely has potential; with this, we could start production of unique weapons never seen before in the market." The younger guy proclaimed.
"We could easily mass produce cheaper versions of what our competitors sell and drive them out of business." The older guy said.
Ugh… making replicas doesn't sound good; why am I copying others when I can do better?
The demon burst out laughing in a loud laugh that seemingly echoed in the whole room.
"You're really funny at times. You're not even the one who makes the weapons; where do you get this sense of pride?" he said, mocking me.
Just having the ability is good enough, and I'm sure with time, I'll learn how to do it and will end up doing it without your help.
"Ha! You wish, you rotten child."
Is that a challenge?
"It seems the young master is too tired from his training." The young researcher claimed as he helped me get back on my feet.
"Huh?" I was too occupied paying attention to the demon in front of me. I forgot I was still talking to the researchers.
"Well, I don't think I can continue to do much in this state, so how about we take a break? I'm exhausted here," I proposed.
"In the meantime, you can take a look at the other weapons Luca has made so far." Leo proposed as he took out the rifle he used earlier.
The researchers struggled a lot to even lift the weapon, and once it was fully in their hands, it didn't take more than a couple of seconds for them to drop it on the floor.
"Why the hell is it so heavy?" The younger one complained.
"What's the use in a weapon this heavy?" The younger one kept complaining while the older one approached Leo to ask more questions.
"Are all of his weapons this heavy?"
"Not at all." He replied.
"Mmhhh, it seems we'll need further testing to fully grasp the nature and the limits of this ability before we start production." The older one pointed out as he was caressing his beard.
"Well, we'll leave our dear Lucifer in your care then while the rest of us will resume our training." Ilay said as he picked me up and handed me to one of the guards standing nearby.
I was then carried away to another room, one filled with many different kinds of demonic artifacts, from rifles to crossbows, daggers, and many other accessories.
There I was served some tea and was given plenty of time to rest. The other researchers in the meantime were talking amongst themselves, arguing and bickering about nonsense the whole time.
"Mhhh, I think I figured out the problem of the weight." One suddenly shouted.
Huh? What are they talking about?
I turned around to see what they were doing, and I noticed they had dismantled both the sniper rifle and the machine gun.
"It seems there is a minimum amount of weight for each part, no matter if it's a screw or a much smaller part. But the distribution in weight seems still a bit off…" The younger one claimed as he shoved a sheet of paper in front of the older one.
"Did you have to be so loud about it?" I complained as I got up from the couch I was lying on.
"Young Lucifer, could you please make a nail? Just to test out a theory of ours, a simple nail without any powers."
Huh? What's all of this about?
"Please don't call me by that name; it's embarrassing," I clarified for the researcher.
"Why would it be embarrassing?" he asked.
"Well, it's obvious, it's… it's the name of the devil?"
"Is there a devil with such a name?" He asked the others.
They instead raised their shoulders and kept quiet.
I quickly complied, making a small staple and handing it to the researcher, who eagerly weighed the item.
A large grin emerged on his face as soon as he could prove his theory.
"So, we got one rule out of the way; each component of the item has a minimum weight of 300 grams, quite a limiting factor." The other was noted down.
"As for the weight, it seems to vary depending on how much demonic energy it was imbued with, but there doesn't seem to be a direct correlation with the density of particles to weight." The old one added.
"I can't believe such a troublesome artifact turned into such a powerful demon." The old man commented as he was writing down the details they had discovered on a brand-new notebook.
"What do you mean?" I asked as their argument piqued my curiosity.
"Oh, well, the object you tested your power on back then is the self-replicating knife, a real troublesome artifact." The younger researcher explained to me as he tried to put the large spiked ball on the table.
"It's an item that self-replicates whenever it takes a life; it was a hassle locating every single one of them." The older researcher complained.
"Why would you locate them?"
"Because it's hard to keep it under control; if everybody can have a demonic knife, the number of people falling for their corruption will also increase as they will fall victim to its demonic energy."
"If the item then develops further, it can cause a real danger; that's why taking even a single one out of the warehouse is prohibited," the younger one explained.
Ah… I didn't think about… wait, what did he just say?
"So how much do you think we should wait until we can start selling my weapons?" I asked.
"Until we're fully done with testing, this can range from five to seven years; this should be just enough time to observe everything in full detail." The younger one said.
The old one said the same thing at the same time using just slightly different words and offering a different range of time.
"That's a long time; do we really need so much time to start selling?" I protested.
"Yes, we can't allow you to sell weapons strong enough to destabilize our status within the Fracture or elsewhere." The old one answered.
Damn, so boring, so when will I start receiving my allowance? Will I even receive one? I should've just kept it to myself; that way I wouldn't be stuck in such a boring place.
"In the meantime, we'll take our time to teach you everything you need to know; don't worry about it."
That felt like the killing blow.
Ugh, goodbye gaming nights.