Unaware of the Goddess’ reaction, Richard ignored the only problem in the room, Cindy, as he started to work on metal.

Once more, he shaped it by hand but he didn’t use everything for a single tool.

What he needed was a weapon that he could wield with great effectiveness.

Before, he would have focused on guns, projectile based weapons but now, the training he had with Ragnar ingrained into his body the strength and ability of a true warrior.

Although it was a miracle that he could achieve such capabilities in a week, with how much pain he had to suffer through- Richard believed that the abilities he earned were well warranted.

Of course, the practice he had with Ragnar led him to have one weapon in mind- the best weapon for his situation...

"A halberd"

A pointy stick that had an axe head and a hammer like head, it allowed Richard to do almost every type of strike.

The spear tip for stabbing, the axe head for cutting and the serrated hammer head for concussive damage.

But, what made the halberd different was the fact that its shaft was not made of wood.

This was Richard’s personal weapon, he can’t just make a halberd top and insert it into a random piece of drift wood! The shaft was part of the halberd and so it was made from the very same metal.

It was a full metal halberd, it had some weight to it but the magical properties came in handy at this point.

The weapon was basically an artifact at this point and the more Richard perfected the halberd, the more chunks of metal fell on the workbench.

Cindy eyed the discarded pieces as she tried to sneakily pocket some- 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"Don’t try"

"Tsk"

Unfortunately for her, Richard was not a typical mystic. Now that he could use magic, he could freely use that title but he was more a "battle mage" than the typical "wizard" that people picture magic users to be.

Apparently, Merlin was also somewhat skilled in close quarters combat. Not good enough to match the warriors of his age but compared to Richard before his training? Merlin was basically a black belt.

But now, Richard should have surpassed Merlin in terms of CQC... at least, Ragnar believes that to be the case.

Richard continued to work on the halberd as he defended the discarded pieces of metal from Cindy’s grubby hands.

He wouldn’t mind sharing with her some of the blood, guts and bones of the mystic bears. In fact, he still had the gall bladder, Ragnar said that eastern mystics used it for a tonic and had it soaking in a jar filled with Jack.

Whether a commercial whiskey could suddenly obtain mystical powers is something he didn’t know though and the Goddess didn’t say anything.

Though she did give a short history lesson of how a few mystics were snake oil salesmen.

It seems like the tactic of mixing a few good products among trash was a tactic that was used long before modern scammers invented false advertising.

Though the mystics were at least giving out true cures.

Mystical remedies worked quickly but the mystics who sold remedies used science to cook up their lies. They claimed a need to consume or use products for a month, selling worthless products for thirty days before giving them the true remedy on the last day of sale.

Though it led to problems where consumers give up half way, such events were boons rather than issues as the true loss only comes on the thirtieth day.

It also helped that illusions to fake an appearance were basically the basics of magic.

Of course, Ragnar, who lived in an era where mystics were just a normal part of the world didn’t have any knowledge of such techniques.

Hell, the only people he knew who could use those techniques were slimy bastards, tricksters like Loki and the annoying Merlin.

Fortunately for Richard, the Goddess was kind enough to share with him knowledge of how to create illusions.

Though he still had to do his own research and experiments to make it work. He could likely do the same trick as the mystic forefathers.

Changing his face, using illusions to prove his mystical prowess and then selling some extremely expensive real medicine made from mystical bear organs soaked in jack.

Sure there was the issue of the Freemasons and other organizations that work to "Hide the Mystical World" but it’s not like Richard was planning to do something as crazy as mass produce mystical potions.

In fact, according to Cindy, some Asian nations still have actual shamans doing rituals to cure diseases.

While most of them were fakes, there are those who are true mystical healers and witch doctors.

As he thought of such things, his halberd was completed.

It had a simple form, there was a surprising lack of decoration.

Moreover, the crimson alloy somehow turned into a shiny silver like regular steel while the shaft had a wood grain like appearance and texture-

It even had the smell of wood!

"Was that necessary?"

Cindy asked while she inspected the spear as Richard started to collect the discarded crimson alloys.

There should be at least a few kilograms of the crimson alloy remaining.

Before learning magic, Richard would have struggled to carry the halberd but now?

Having your bones broken, muscles torn apart and fixed quickly might have some amazing health benefits.

After all, not only did his physical abilities increase, his overall look also changed.

Though none of the women reacted while Ragnar only told him that he finally "looked like a man".

The difference in culture is truly intriguing. Richard wanted to know how Ragnar thought about modern day men, especially the recently famous "slim fit" look that many Korean male stars sported.

But that was something he would think of later as he still had to deal with the remaining alloy.

"What are you gonna use them for?"

Still not giving up on the crimson alloy, Cindy asked Richard with a curious tone of voice but her expression had the "pleading puppy dog" look.

"Bullets"

Of course, the answer to the question was simple.

While Richard preferred the spear as it was basically a medium for his magic and a tool that matched the abilities drilled into his body.

The power of a gun was still not something to be trifled with.

While bullets were unlikely to work on mystical practitioners who were already expecting to face them.

If Richard used enchanted bullets then he could potentially catch them off guard!

Imagine, a wizard claiming to have absolute protection behind his physics defying magic formation. One that would make it impossible for even a nuclear blast to harm him.

Then Richard fires a gun, the wizard laughs and the bullet somehow pierces through the formation-

BANG! The bullet that should have been repelled nails the over confident idiot right between the eyes.

Of course such a method only works once, but it could be used multiple times so long as its secrecy is maintained.

"You should add some to the gun, maybe dust the barrel with it"

Cindy gave her own thoughts maintaining the cutesy persona but her words carried not a single shred of cuteness at all!

But her idea was interesting and following her recommendations Richard started to dismantle the gun.

Somehow, the silent battle that the two were having vanished as they started to play around with the materials on the workbench.

"A homing function! If we create an artificial spirit- maybe we could use the civil war souls. The spirit would inhabit the pistol and work to guide your bullets"

"Sounds good... but wouldn’t that make the fire rate slower?"

"100% accuracy should be better than having a high fire rate"

"You have a point... also- it would be cool to curve bullets, if only I had an Angelina Jolie by my side instead I have An Jie Li na Jiu Lee"

"That’s gonna get you cancelled"

"I’m already on America’s Most Wanted List, you think I care about getting cancelled?"

"So what are you gonna do? Make a brotherhood of assassins?"

"Sounds good, I have a viking, a asian witch, an ageless goddess... Whoa! I just need to go around looking for a few more mystics and I’ll have the whole series!"

"Cringe"

The two had such a conversation as they worked together to rebuild the pistol.

Though most of the work was done by RIchard as he was the only one who could actually shape the alloy.

Still, Cindy was an experienced maker of artifacts and all manner of mystical items. She can make anything from inanimate objects with minor mystical effects to actual living humans.

Her abilities had limits but her experience was far beyond what Richard had.

Moreover, if anyone was used to turning mundane items into mystical objects within their group? It would be her.

Even Hana who had quite a sizable amount of experience herself could only show off her abilities in rituals. As a shaman, the best thing she could make is an elixir that had a 50% chance of getting you high.

"I now understand why ancient people were buried with their armor"

Richard muttered as he was forced to drip some of his blood on the pistol.

"It’s an easy way to bind the weapon to you, that way, even when the artificial spirit gains an ego, it would remain subservient to you"

"I see"

He didn’t know about this before but now, he could see how Kellin created the brass knuckles.

"You could also use your own blood to make a pact with others"

Richard didn’t need that small bit of knowledge but he was still thankful for it nonetheless.

The two worked quickly and as the method of creation was basically just Richard molding everything by hand and thought, the gun was quickly remade with a plethora of mystical effects.

Not too explicit or strong that the gun itself would be rejected by the natural order but strong enough to allow the user of the gun to be extremely deadly.

If that weren’t enough, the bullets were also remade.

The bear blood was turned into powder and became a more powerful and silent version of gunpowder.

A total of 500 rounds, just about 30 magazines worth, were made. Still, there was about half a kilogram of the crimson alloy left.

As he finished the creation of the gun and bullets, the moment the remaining alloy was piled up-

*smile*

Cindy stood next to the pile with a big smile on her face.

Since she helped him... Richard couldn’t really decline her now could he?

"Fine, take some of the bone and blood"

"I want the pelt"

"Ragnar took dibs on them"

"Eyes"

"Take three"

"Pairs?"

"Pieces!"

"Gallbladder"

"All of them are soaking in jack, want a bottle?"

"Fat"

"Ask Ragnar for some"

"Penis and balls"

"I think those were soaked too, not jack though, I think it’s some kind of gin or something"

"I’ll take it!"

With that, Cindy and Richard finished their quick haggle session which was just Cindy asking for materials in exchange for her services.

Of course, Richard added on some of the things she had done for him before.

He wasn’t that ungrateful.

As Cindy left him, Richard finally breathed out a sigh but he could hear Ragnar groaning in the kitchen moments after the young witch entered.

’Sorry brother... I can’t say no to her after she saved my life’

He thought to himself even though it was a forced excuse, there was some truth to it... some truth... she did save him.

Knowing what was about to happen next, Richard hid the bullets in a safe that was conveniently hidden underneath the workbench. But he did keep about 40 rounds out as he wanted to test the gun.

Of course he was also going to test his halberd.

Richard moved quickly, after he finished locking the safe up, he shoved all the bullets in a pouch, put the gun in his bear leather holster that was recently made and carried the halberd with him as he left the workshop.