Still, this stalemate tied up everyone's attention and left them no time to cause trouble. Ham was actually happy to see it, since it meant a long stretch of quiet days. The only problem was that someone had already started preparing for a new job instead of staying idle, and Ham had to admit he had misjudged things again.
Originally, he thought Belial had accidentally fallen into some frontline hell and was doing dangerous temporary work. To pull him back, someone would have to go to a front line and use the System to broadcast a call. But now that person had already gone out, reset everything, and only then realized the so called temporary work was more like a child's game.
One side was relaxed, while the other could truly die. The goal stayed the same, to pull someone back, but the target had changed. "Elfido that stubborn donkey cannot be taken out yet. If something happens on the other side with Gold Rank, then it is really over."
Thinking this through, Ham remembered that Belial was currently in the Abyss. Since raw combat power was not an issue and he could kill freely, maybe the problem could be solved from another angle.
"Bella, wait a bit. I will send you a device soon. After you connect it and deliver it inside, it should create the bait effect Belial wants." "That is why I always find you amazing. Where do these things even come from? I searched all over The Continent and only found some broken Nanomachines."
"Haha, who knows. I just dug them out of ruins left behind by fragments of old gods. Sorry, do not ask more. Only I can enter that place." "And you know, I lost a lot of memories too, so I only recall things occasionally."
"Oh, I see. I really understand amnesia." Having also lost large parts of her database and memories, Bella deeply sympathized, since she herself could only recall faint familiar fragments at times.
"By the way, Ham is someone who survived from ancient times too. Do you know who I am?" Bella suddenly brightened and asked this eagerly. Tugging at the tip of his tail, Ham laughed awkwardly and said, "Kind of. Maybe you look a bit familiar, at most that much. What about you? Do you feel familiar with me, or remember what you are?"
"No, I do not know." Bella shook her head, then clenched her fist excitedly. "But based on old records, I guess I am something like the twelfth god killing spear that destroys everything, humanity's ultimate final strike against calamity. Something like that. Let me tell you quietly, I am already planning to build my new body."
Her guess was not far off. The data she read from that fortress recorded exactly this, and the core database also listed similar weapons. So she was definitely some kind of super cool final weapon.
"More or less," Ham replied with a laugh and nodded. Then he slipped away, thinking that there was no way any ancient ruins could survive those chaotic battles. Everything had been wiped out completely.
Those so called lost ruins were just pieces that had fallen off her back back then. Even though Fate had long been broken, Ham could still barely count as a crimson level existence, poor but not empty handed. With a casual wave, he tore open space and jumped from the center of The Continent straight to a secret underground laboratory beneath the capital of Parret in the Empire.
"Let me see where the person is. At this stage, it should be possible to build it." The laboratory had none of the usual gloomy atmosphere. Instead, it was brightly lit, with magical energy lines glowing with Magic everywhere.
Workbenches and advanced instruments filled the space. It looked nothing like what Otherworld should have, and far surpassed the visible technology level of The Continent. "Ah, found it."
After looking around, Ham saw his target. Vera was fully focused on adjusting fine wires and tightening screws, working on a massive gray white mechanical shell lying on the ground.
Do not ask why a public the Lord still did such manual work. It was a secret, and doing it this way built attachment to the machine. After witnessing truly terrifying battles by top powers, Vera realized that realistic machines had no future, and only Super Robot Class had a chance.
So after returning, she threw herself into building her newest machine. More precisely, she was creating external equipment for the black machine she picked up last time, now named Violet. Violet's internal structure shocked her deeply. How could something perform a full rotation flip and land smoothly when the joint design made that impossible?
Even more importantly, Violet occasionally showed signs of its own preferences. It cared about energy temperature, storage space size, and even read comics. After seeing this, how could she go back to realistic machines?
Even with significant research into Violet's internals, actually building parts herself was extremely difficult. She had to invest in this laboratory filled with custom built precision equipment and machine tools. She even unlocked a strange "level fifty fitter" skill from some unknown add on, because the required precision was frightening.
"Welding torch," Violet said. She handed it over.
"Drill bit." Violet handed that over too.
"Screwdriver." "Here."
Ham handed Vera a screwdriver. She took it and subconsciously replied, "Okay, thanks."
"Hm?" Something felt wrong. Did Violet suddenly learn to speak? Vera turned around.
"Ahhh! Who are you!" "Hey! It is me! We even traveled together last time. You forgot that fast?"
"Why are you shouting like that? You scared me half to death!" Ham patted his chest, still shaken. Gritting her teeth, she said, "No, why are you here? This is my lab. Shouldn't you be staying in Dragon Valley?"
"I just went back to handle a small matter. Once it was done, I came to see you, didn't I. Oh right, I also need you to help me with something."
"You are still as overly familiar as ever, but how did you even get in. My laboratory's Spatial Barrier protection is at the highest level."
"And no, wait, what is going on with your appearance now."
After relaxing a little, Vera immediately noticed Ham's striking features. The black-haired dragon girl from before now had hair of a pale platinum color, and even the tail behind her matched it. Her overall presence felt different, and much of her former foolish air seemed to have been washed away.
"Just treat it as a small accident that already got resolved."
"The hair color is only a side effect, and as for how I got in, don't forget how strong my Spatial Magic used to be."
Vera thought it over and recalled the other party's absurd luck. If she really used something like random spatial Teleportation while thinking about this exact location, then finding the place did not sound impossible. It was like on a battlefield, where no matter how well a soldier hid, there was always that one stray bullet that seemed to have eyes.
"But next time, you had better not barge in during a critical moment. Stay properly in the reception area at the door, or else."
Vera narrowed her eyes and took out a faint golden scale. "Or else I will tell your parents."
"What a childish tactic. When did Sylvia give you that."
Using the secret art of telling on someone to their parents made Ham suck in a sharp breath. She covered the back of her head, half expecting another blond dragon girl to suddenly appear and pin her to the ground. No one knew why, even after getting her head straightened out, she could still be pressed down instantly by Sylvia.
"Don't rush. I came to ask you for help this time, to use your ability to create things out of nothing and make something for me."
"You are not planning to have me build some nonsense thing, are you. Let me say this first, I can do it, but my fees are very high."
Back when she was on the run, Ham had used that ability plenty of times in front of Vera, so there was no surprise. Vera instead started calculating in her head, thinking this was probably just some toy. Her research funds were running low anyway, so this was a good chance to charge heavily.
"Payment is not a problem. Here, I will give you the design and the manufacturing method first."
"Give me what… huh."
Ham jumped up and quickly tapped Vera's forehead. A faint golden pattern flashed, and at the same time, the voice of the System rang out in her mind.
"Received: shorthand name: Red Ascension-Class Signal Soul-Band Intermediary Amplifier."
"This technology project is temporarily opened as a single item. Prerequisite technology tree not achieved. After ensuring production of finished product: 0/1, it will automatically close."
In her mind, a branch representing the technology tree suddenly extended at high speed. It twisted and spread wildly, almost instantly surpassing all the technology projects Vera currently understood and had unlocked. It finally stopped at a certain node and unlocked it.
Vera froze for a moment, then stared at Ham in shock. "You… who exactly are you."
"Don't ask for now. It sounds like riddles, but when the time comes, you will understand."
"That thing has far too many prerequisite technologies. You can only fabricate the intermediate consumables out of nothing, and I will bear those costs."
"These are for you."
"Huh."