"Come, follow me quickly," said the Professor as he stepped back into the portal after inviting Wein Arcveil. Wein shifted his gaze and looked at Director Claudia.
She gave him a signal, and Wein slowly rose from his seat. He hesitantly stepped forward, followed by the green-haired girl, and entered the portal.
As usual, within seconds of stepping through, Wein was presented with a rather narrow but cluttered room filled with various items and desks.
A laboratory—very fitting to describe this messy space, he thought. It looked like it hadn't been maintained at all.
"This laboratory is never tidy, don't look at it with such disgust," said the Professor. He seemed reluctant and didn't like Wein Arcveil's presence.
Wein didn't know what to say, so he simply smiled and followed the green-haired girl toward the Professor.
"I'm Professor Issac Kloryvitch, and I've heard a lot about your ideas regarding the military," he said, extending his hand.
Wein immediately shook it and smiled once more before the girl introduced herself.
"I'm Sherry Darknion, Professor Issac's assistant," she said with a bow and a smile directed at Wein Arcveil.
"Alright, straight to the point. I want you to help create a weapon that's as accurate as a pistol but has long-range capabilities."
Wein quickly pulled out his pistol from his pocket as a reference, but both people in front of him were startled and jumped in shock.
"Hey… hey!" said Professor Issac in surprise, while Sherry took a few steps back. Wein smiled and said,
"No, I'm just pulling this out as a reference," he said, moving the revolver away from his face before looking back at them.
"You gave me quite a scare," muttered Professor Issac, patting his chest as he finally calmed down, realizing his life wasn't in danger.
From his previous life—and seemingly in this world too—this revolver used .45 or 9mm bullets depending on the type. Based on the memory fragments Wein had seen, only those two types of bullets existed here.
That meant he would have to use magnum-caliber or larger bullets for the weapon Professor Issac wanted to create.
"How long will you need, Wein?" asked Professor Issac, pulling out several blueprints from his drawer before closing it again.
He handed the papers over after standing up from his hunched posture, and Wein immediately took them.
He looked up in thought, then replied, "I'll deliver this in a few days," while putting the revolver back into his pocket.
"Alright, I'll be waiting," said the professor. "You can also take a look around with Sherry," he added calmly. He seemed to have grown comfortable with Wein and was no longer suspicious of him.
Sherry walked ahead, ready to act as a guide. Wein, still curious about several items that had caught his attention, decided to look around at Professor Issac's creations.
"Want to take a look around?" asked Sherry softly, walking with very slow steps.
His body, which had long been tense, tried to relax as he followed Sherry, glancing left and right at the many tables filled with various items.
---
Loraine Eleanoir
"As scheduled, you can be sent home tomorrow afternoon, as the fog is expected to completely clear by midday."
Loraine felt relieved upon hearing that. The radio in every room was finally delivering useful information.
She sat on the floor with Wein's two wolves asleep on either side of her, lounging on the carpet while listening to the radio and reading a book.
After a few moments with her mind blank, Loraine slowly rose and gently moved the wolf's head off her lap.
She stood up and pulled the chair in front of the desk, then sat comfortably before pulling out a sheet of paper and a pen.
How should I start… I haven't even written a letter to my family, she murmured softly. The pen began to dance across the blank page, slowly filling the void.
Forming words and letters in the ancient CyFil language, Loraine easily completed the first few lines until a sudden thought crossed her mind.
But after thinking about it more, Loraine felt it was someone else's right to discover it—not hers—so she continued writing the letter to her family.
---
Wein Arcveil
His eyes were immediately drawn to it—staring at the object as if his body wasn't ready for it. What he saw seemed unreal and out of place in this world.
Something ahead of its time. Naturally, Wein approached and examined it more closely, even though it was still labeled as a prototype. At the very least, he had a strong sense about it.
"That's a failed weapon," said Sherry. She then turned and approached the weapon as well.
With a thick grip and a blade powered by lasers, it was a sword capable of slicing through normal blades and killing anyone.
"But unfortunately, until now, the technology isn't advanced enough to produce a laser powerful and stable enough," Sherry explained.
But that was to be expected. Even in Wein's more modern old world, flying cars were a failure—let alone creating a laser sword.
Wein moved on, looking to see if there were any revolver-like or more modern firearms in the room. He figured if a laser sword existed here, there must be other types of guns too.
In his efforts to find a pistol, Wein came up empty, feeling a bit disappointed. But the laser sword prototype somewhat made up for it.
---
He returned through the portal and emerged alone. Wein exited the portal after finishing in the laboratory, now back at the dormitory.
Wein wanted to meet his two wolves, but then remembered he hadn't prepared or packed his room and clothes for the return trip.
He needed to get everything ready before going back to the Arcveil residence tomorrow afternoon. It was going to be a tiring night.
When he reached the upper floor, he looked down the corridor and saw a beautiful girl with white hair walking ahead while talking to the two dogs at her sides.
Oh… it's Loraine. He couldn't believe how someone could be so beautiful and make his heart race every time they met.
Loraine soon noticed his presence, which was hard to hide. Before she even reached him, the two wolves immediately ran to Wein's feet.
They licked and tried to climb on him. Wein, though exhausted, tried to calm them down—but he understood their feelings.
"Thank you," said Wein, looking gently at Loraine. Like the falling leaves of autumn, Loraine looked at Wein and spoke the words that needed to be said.
The two of them chatted briefly for a few minutes before Loraine decided to go prepare her belongings.
Wein had a similar plan in mind.
Before turning away, Loraine grinned widely and softly opened her mouth. "Alright, goodbye, Wein," she said.
"Goodbye, Loraine," replied Wein Arcveil as he opened his room door and led both wolves inside.