Chapter 29 – Revolver

Sal breathed heavily and grimaced as he tried to keep hold of the table. His body felt like it was shutting down regardless of what he tried, and it was a terrifying sensation. The last thing he wanted was to collapse on the floor and to have Upgrade and Chatfield worrying about his health. He didn’t want to gain a reputation for not knowing his limits and pushing himself too far.

With gritted teeth, Sal forced his essence to connect to the cores in the hopes that it would help him recover, but the connection did little to ease his suffering. A few moments of tortured breathing continued before Sal adjusted his knees so that he could sink to the floor without landing on his face. When he finally managed to get into a kneeling position, he let go of the table and sank backward to sit on his heels. Raising his chin, he looked up at the ceiling and ran through the last few moments to determine what had happened.

After a few minutes, his breathing returned to normal and the previously encroaching darkness receded. Sal grasped the edge of the table and slowly got back to his feet with a relieved sigh. His eyes caught sight of the monocle and he wondered whether it had disguised his fatigued state. The only other thing he could think of was the sudden lurch of essence pulled from his body during the pairing of the revolver with the tracker. Sal closed his eyes and focused on his internal core, curious to see whether there were any clues there about what was happening.

After a few moments of quiet meditation, he saw his threads in place and they looked to be quite healthy. Each thread connected to their respective gates harmoniously, and Sal was left even more confused than before.

When he opened his eyes, he concluded that he was just exhausted. It wasn’t an essence-related issue this time, and all he likely needed was rest. It took great effort for him to avoid making eye contact with the revolver and tracker, but he knew it was for the best. If he inspected them now, it would lead to an Appraisal and he’d start using the tracker on that crate of materials.

Sal saw that there was enough space beside Upgrade on the couch for him to sit down and lean his head back. It wouldn’t be comfortable, but it would be enough for what he needed. When he started toward the couch, he realized how sluggish his movements were.

A random thought popped into his head about making a device that would heal fatigue or accelerate his rest periods. He wondered what sort of abilities he’d need to manage something like that, and what kind of materials it would require. As Sal sank back into the couch, his thoughts were completely forgotten as he slipped into a deep sleep.

When Sal awoke, he felt something was wrong. He had gone to sleep in an upright seated position, but awoke horizontal. There was a slight pressure on his upper chest and what felt like a pillow cradling his neck. From the subtle movements of his arms, he could tell that he was covered in a blanket. Sal opened his eyes and was not prepared to see Upgrade’s face inches from his own. Her right hand was on his chest, and his head was resting on her thigh. It jolted him awake, but she just laughed and removed her palm from his chest.

“Morning, sunshine. Did I scare you? You seemed comfortable enough a few minutes ago.” Her tone was teasing, and she gave him a mock frown before patting his chest reassuringly. “Imagine my surprise when you cuddled up right next to me.”

Sal’s face burned with embarrassment and he sat up abruptly. He mumbled an apology to Upgrade, but she leaned her head closer to him again with a grin.

“Sorry, what was that?”

Sal threw off the blanket and got to his feet, ignoring Upgrade’s laughter as he blearily looked at the table. Chatfield must have moved the visor and revolver at some point as they had changed location from where he left them. Sal was grateful that Chatfield was nowhere to be seen, as it would have been doubly embarrassing to have him witness him using Upgrade like a pillow.

Upgrade yawned, stretching her arms over her head before she got to her feet. “You sleep okay? Looked like you were having some pretty rough nightmares for the last while.”

There was no hint of teasing in her tone, and Sal shook his head. Even if he did have a nightmare, it was rare that he’d remember them. His dreams were nowhere near as vivid as what others described in their own.

Upgrade’s frown came into view as she stepped around to the other side of the table, facing Sal. She looked at him with a raised eyebrow and gestured at the couch.

“You were thrashing around a bit. I tried waking you up, which is why you were draped over me like that. When you calmed down, you looked peaceful, so I just let you sleep.”

She paused for a moment as though she were lost in thought. When her eyes refocused on Sal, she smiled. “I hope you know you can talk to me if there are things weighing down on you. I don’t want you burning out anytime soon, so if there’s any way I can help keep that head of yours in good shape, let me know.”

Sal returned her smile as he glanced over at the couch. “Don’t worry, you’d be on my list of people to tell if I was struggling with something. I don’t know what that was, though, so I’m not going to dwell on it.” Sal’s attention came back to the table and his smile grew into a wide grin. “Besides, we’ve got something much more fun to look at. Did you check it out?”

Upgrade shook her head as she placed her elbows on the table and leaned forward to get a better look at the revolver. “I didn’t get a chance yet, but it looks damn impressive. Did you do an Appraisal on it yet, or were you waiting for us to wake up? Chatfield should be back in a bit; he had a meeting he needed to get to. The Hunter Bureau isn’t the type of organization you keep waiting.”

Before Sal got started with the appraisal, he told Upgrade about the sensation of extreme fatigue he experienced earlier. He was curious whether she had any insight into what had happened. Sal went through everything, making sure not to leave out any details. When he finished, he was glad to see that Upgrade looked somewhat bewildered. It meant that he hadn’t screwed up by missing something obvious.

Upgrade looked at the revolver and then back at the visor. “Ah! I think I know what happened.” She tilted her head to one side as she gestured at the visor. “You put in the Synergy trait at the very end and let it activate?”

She was looking expectantly at Sal, who merely nodded in response.

Upgrade smiled as she tapped the visor meaningfully. “Synergies can only exist on an equal basis. If one of the pieces is a Rare grade and the other piece is Uncommon, it won’t work as they aren’t capable of Synergizing. Rather than failing outright, I think your ability understood the issue and fixed it.” Upgrade slid the visor across the table to Sal.

“That is no longer an Uncommon-grade item. My best guess is that it forcibly upgraded so both pieces of equipment were on equal standing. Since your internal core is fine, it likely used you as the conduit for essence transfer between those cores and the visor. You were essentially the vessel for the essence, and I’d say your monocle calmed your senses to the point that you didn’t even notice it happening.”

Sal stared at the visor in disbelief. He hadn’t looked at it properly since he had crafted the revolver, but now that he was more awake, he could clearly see that it had changed in appearance. There was one way to know for sure, and Sal activated his ability with a smile.

“Let’s find out if you’re right.”

Name	Scarlet Moon Visor [Set 1/2]
Origin	Crafted
Age	New
Grade	Rare (Low)
Dimensions	Visor 2.5”, 4” | Earpiece 4”, 3.5”
Materials	Infused Moonsilver | Scarlet Screen | Refined Mythcraft Essence
Attributes	[Sealed] [5/16 Unlocked] Analysis: Ability to interpret visual data and information. Insight: Wearer can analyze patterns and predict outcomes. Deduction: Wearer can rapidly process real-time information. Lock: Guaranteed to track sighted targets. Synergy: Abilities are shared among set items.
Abilities	Analysis | Insight | Deduction | Lock | Synergy | [Sealed]…
Power Source	External Essence [Scarlet Moon Revolver]
Evolution	Yes - 3%
Quality	Perfect
Condition	100%
Value	Est. $85,000.00 – $105,000.00

As Sal stared at the results, he finally realized just how overpowered this set was going to become. With his jaw wide, he glanced at Upgrade, who waited expectantly. Sal could barely find the words as he examined the monocle.

“That monocle is a Low Unique grade, and it has four abilities unlocked. This visor is a whole grade lower, at the lowest form of Rare grade, and it has five abilities unlocked.”

Sal’s mind whirled at the revelation. He took a step back from the table and turned to Upgrade in shock.

“The shirt you made has four, and it’s an Epic grade, two whole tiers above this. The Siphon blade that Blink uses in the Reavers Guild, it has four abilities and is at the same level as this… How is this even possible?” Upgrade clapped excitedly as she moved around the table to stand beside Sal.

She picked up the visor and turned it over in her hands. “I tried telling you about this yesterday! It looks like it’s picking up a new ability with every grade level. If that sixteen number is accurate, then it means you’ll eventually get it to Mythic grade, or Legendary if my math is wrong. Either way, that’s an insane achievement! Are the abilities good?”

Sal had to refocus to read the information on the visor, which was a little more challenging as Upgrade was constantly turning it around.

“Analysis, which is the one we knew was there and the reason for the visor in the first place. It has Insight, Lock, and Deduction…two of which are on the monocle. That Lock trait is probably the same as the one we put on the sniper rifle, but it’s much more potent. I would need to check, but it looks like it’s a more powerful variant.”

Upgrade grinned. “Which leaves Synergy as the last one, which binds the visor to your revolver. Okay, that’s enough stalling. It’s time to Appraise the gun. I need to know!” She placed the visor down and waited expectantly for Sal to continue.

Sal was more than happy to oblige, as he was curious himself. He picked up the revolver and was struck by how impressive it looked. A singular red streak connected the sights at the top of the barrel, clearly the influence of the scarlet screen that joined the pieces of moonsilver. The body of the gun was a vibrant silver that shimmered under the light. It was as if the mist effect from earlier was somehow trapped beneath the surface. Sal started the Appraisal and hoped that it would be as impressive as the visor. He was not disappointed

Name	Scarlet Moon Revolver [Set 2/2]
Origin	Crafted
Age	New
Grade	Rare (Low)
Dimensions	6 inches barrel | 11.5 inches length | 5.5 inches height | 2.1 lbs. weight
Materials	Infused Moonsilver | Scarlet Screen | Refined Mythcraft Essence | Hellfire Titanium
Attributes	[Sealed] [5/16 Unlocked] Tether: Shots tether the gun to its prey, siphoning target essence with every shot. Leech: Synergized equipment will benefit from absorbed essence. Burst: Greatly enhances shot potency by utilizing stored essence. Reaction: Essence-based bullets will have increased effect. Synergy: Abilities are shared among set items.
Abilities	Tether | Leech | Burst | Reaction | Synergy | [Sealed]…
Power Source	External Essence
Evolution	Yes - 3%
Quality	Perfect
Condition	100%
Value	Est. $120,000.00 – $165,000.00

When Sal finished reading out the results, he was surprised to see that Upgrade looked disappointed. When he frowned, she put up her hands and smiled reassuringly.

“Sorry, I think I was expecting something a little more dramatic after the visor. That sniper rifle had Hunt, Headshot, and Grounded, which are all fantastic. You still have one that amplifies shot damage, which is great, but I was kinda hoping that it would have something really useful.” Upgrade tried to change the topic and gestured at the revolver.

“It’s really great, though. Five skills and the evolutionary potential to get to the pinnacle of grades is fantastic. Hard to believe that the estimated value is so low, though.”

Sal chuckled. “It’s a set item, and they’re valued individually. You shouldn’t pay much attention to the value part, as it’s incredibly subjective and only an estimate. With the number of abilities, it would absolutely make a fortune at an auction house.”

His smile faded ever so slightly as he looked at it again. It was better than he had expected, and he wasn’t at all disappointed in the results. Burst added shot potency, which would be good, and maybe it would stack with the Reaction ability, too. Tether, Leech, and Synergy were necessary for the revolver to function and grant essence to the visor. Sal laughed as he shook his head, finding the whole situation ridiculous.

“Even if it’s not a heavy hitter now, we’ve got another eleven abilities to unlock that might make it more fearsome.”

Upgrade grinned and gave him a nod. “You’re right. Who knows how powerful it will become in time? Now…I don’t think that Chatfield will mind us skipping ahead, but do you want to start analyzing the materials in that crate?”

Sal didn’t need any more prompting as he lifted the visor and placed it on his right ear, smiling broadly as a series of runes started to activate in preparation. Before he could say a word, Upgrade’s stats started appearing.