"Wait... if you didn't want the wormhole... then what did we just trade for...?"
Mid-sentence, Luca suddenly realized the truth.
The Ancient One didn't need the [Hex Core] itself, or the "Dimensional Wormhole" item.
For the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj, the valuable part was the new, unclaimed dimension that the item had connected to.
With this unclaimed dimensional energy, the sorcerers could cast spells without being so stingy about their mana, or fearing the price of drawing power from entities like Dormammu.
For a Sorcerer Supreme like the Ancient One, simply seeing the coordinates of this unclaimed dimension was enough.
From the moment she laid eyes on the core, she could access that energy freely. If she wanted to, she could probably walk in there and become the god of that dimension with a thought.
The key word was "unclaimed."
As for wormholes? She could punch a hundred of them before breakfast.
The [Hex Core] was just a stabilizer—a glorified tap for mortals like Luca who didn't have the magical prowess to drill their own holes in reality.
"So basically, she didn't even need my permission."
"This Dehydration Gun... I got it for free?"
Calculating it like that, Luca made out like a bandit.
Luca got a powerful Core Component for free.
The Ancient One and Kamar-Taj got an infinite mana battery.
And any future demons planning to invade Earth just earned themselves a beatdown from a bunch of sorcerers with unlimited MP.
Everybody wins.
---
Three Days Later.
Aurantius Industries Temporary Warehouse.
The heavy security detail had been dismissed. The only people left in the vast warehouse were Luca and his loyal bodyguard, Dunshan.
Dunshan looked at the massive Boxer mech lying on the floor, then at his young master, his expression skeptical.
"Young Master, are you sure this will work?"
Luca laughed, unconcerned. "Relax, I've already tested it."
Ignoring Dunshan's doubt, Luca opened a sleek briefcase and pulled out what looked like a cheap, plastic toy gun.
He aimed at the Boxer.
Click.
He pulled the trigger without hesitation.
A beam of pale blue energy shot out, hitting the mech's scrapped-together arm.
Instantly, a blue energy coating spread over the entire fifty-foot machine like a digital skin.
ZWOOP.
In the blink of an eye, the massive mech vanished.
Air rushed in to fill the vacuum where 270 tons of steel used to be.
On the concrete floor, all that remained was a tiny, glowing blue cube.
"It... it actually worked??"
Dunshan, usually the picture of stoic professionalism, stood jaw-dropped.
A 12-meter tall, 270-ton behemoth just... disappeared? Because his boss shot it with a toy gun?
Witnessing this firsthand was more shocking than seeing David Copperfield vanish the Statue of Liberty.
"Young... Young Master? Is this really something science can do?"
Luca coughed twice, putting on a serious face.
"Ahem. Dunshan, you just don't understand high-level physics. Ever heard of Pym Particles? No? Well, these are their cousins. Mom Particles. Same effect, complex principles. Just remember: if it exists, it's reasonable."
Having bullshitted his way through the explanation, Luca walked forward.
This was the power of the [Dehydration Gun] he had synthesized over the last two days.
He hadn't wanted to keep the unstable [Hex Core] around too long, so he rushed the synthesis.
And it was worth it.
He had tested the gun extensively. Living things, inanimate objects—it didn't matter. Everything hit by the beam turned into a thumb-sized blue cube. The only difference was that larger objects took a split-second longer for the energy coating to cover them.
Luca walked to the center of the empty warehouse and picked up the tiny blue cube.
It was 3cm x 3cm and weighed almost nothing.
A satisfied smile spread across his face.
No matter how many times I see it, this is incredible.
Thinking this, Luca reached into his pocket and pulled out a metal object that looked like a large pill capsule.
He clicked it open.
Inside the capsule was a slot perfectly sized for the energy cube.
"Heh. And now I have a Hoi-Poi Capsule."
"Let's test the deployment."
Luca stepped back, standing next to the still-bewildered Dunshan.
He pressed the button on the top of the capsule and threw it.
Click.
The capsule hit the ground.
POOF!
A cloud of white smoke exploded outward (purely for effect). The Boxer mech reappeared instantly, settling back onto the floor with a heavy thud.
"Nice. Very nice."
Luca walked over to retrieve the empty capsule shell, which had been ejected a few feet away.
The "Hoi-Poi Capsule" wasn't a new system item. It was just a little gadget Luca whipped up to complement the [Dehydration Gun].
The mechanism was simple: the bottom held the dehydrated cube, and the top held a small reservoir of water. Pressing the button triggered a timer, which then released the water onto the cube and popped the capsule open.
Since the Dehydration Gun's cubes revert to their original form upon contact with water, the result was an instant deployment.
The capsule shape and the smoke cloud? Pure fanboy aesthetic.
Satisfied, Luca pocketed the capsule. He looked out the warehouse window at the darkening sky.
Instead of going home, a strange smile played on his lips.
"I almost thought I was going to miss it..."