Is This Reasonable?

His gaze swept over the information on the panel, then he looked at the metal-cased pistol in his hand, which didn't even have a paint job.

A strange expression crossed Luca's face.

He'd already thought the experimental pistol made by his own company looked familiar.

But now that the panel had identified it as the [Dominator] pistol, he felt that it bore, at most, a two- or three-tenths resemblance to the "Dominator" from the anime.

"So the so-called Core Components aren't determined by how similar something looks?"

"And the synthesis materials this time don't mention a power source or ammunition. Could it be because those are already included in the Core Component?"

Various thoughts flashed through his mind, but in the end, Luca temporarily suppressed his curiosity.

After all, even if he wanted to keep experimenting, his home didn't have the materials needed to synthesize the [Dominator] pistol.

It wasn't as if he could substitute the "miniature projector" mentioned by the panel with the brick-sized TV projector at home, could he?

He glanced at the battery indicator on the ion-beam pistol's grip.

Gina had only fired three shots, yet the battery was already down to its last bar.

That was why, despite the pistol's considerable power, almost nonexistent recoil, and minimal ion-beam degradation at medium range, it was still only an experimental prototype.

Its power supply was inadequate, and its endurance in combat was too poor.

"Mm, its high production cost is probably another reason."

He tucked the pistol into his coat. Although he couldn't synthesize the [Dominator] pistol for now, he seemed to have the materials for something else right there.

Luca took off his backpack and rummaged around inside.

He pulled out a strangely shaped monkey toy.

In its hands were two comical-looking "cymbals," and a huge winding key was fixed to its back.

As soon as he picked up the monkey toy, a translucent blue panel appeared above it.

[Powder's Monkey Bomb]

[Arcane World 1/5]

[Creator: Powder]

[Core Component: Toy Monkey]

[Synthesis Materials: 3 unstable energy crystals]

[Item Description: A toy bomb with a simple structure but enormous destructive power. Its power comes entirely from three Hextech Crystals. Turning the winding key starts an unstable timer. It can move slowly over short distances, and repeated cymbal strikes trigger the unstable Hextech Crystals to explode. It has no safety features whatsoever.]

[Helpful Reminder: Dear user, before using the bomb, please make sure none of your friends or family are within the blast radius!]

That's right. This toy from the original owner's childhood could also be used as a "Core Component" for synthesis.

Even the synthesis materials were surprisingly "simple"—only one kind was needed.

But until now, Luca hadn't even known what kind of crystal in the real world could be considered an "unstable energy crystal."

With the sole required material nowhere to be found, synthesis was out of the question.

Fortunately, this wasn't an ordinary real world.

Luca's eyes gleamed as he looked at the two headless Chitauri corpses in the house.

If he remembered correctly, in the Marvel Spider-Man movie, the villain Vulture had acquired all sorts of high-tech weapons by salvaging and modifying items left behind by the Chitauri.

The purple energy crystals commonly found on the Chitauri were highly unstable. They could even explode after passing through an airport security X-ray scanner.

Those purple crystals should meet the requirements of the Synthesis Panel.

No sooner thought than done.

He strode over to the headless corpses and, ignoring the bloody mess on the ground, began inspecting the bodies and their weapons.

The two Chitauri had only been equipped with ordinary folding beam guns. They weren't very powerful, and their mechanisms were tightly compacted.

Though the guns glowed purple, Luca couldn't figure out how to take them apart in the short time he had.

But compared to the relatively complex weapons and armor,

the conspicuous crystals embedded in the backs of the Chitauri's hands seemed to be telling him there was no need to go to all that trouble.

After failing to pry the purple crystal loose, Luca simply picked up one of the Chitauri's folding beam guns and used its blade to chop at the alien's wrist.

Two Chitauri corpses, four hands, four purple crystals.

After a moment's thought, Luca gave up on trying to pry out the crystals with the blade. Instead, he drew a circular formation on the floor.

He placed the monkey toy, the Core Component, in the center of the circle, then set three Chitauri hands with purple crystals embedded in them at the three corners.

Sure enough, the three purple crystals began glowing with a faint white light one after another.

"It worked!"

Without hesitation, Luca put his hands on the edge of the circle and silently thought, Synthesis.

Immediately, the light flared. The circle before him was engulfed in an instant.

When the light faded,

a strangely shaped toy monkey stood in the center of the formation. A blue spherical crystal hung between its cymbals, and two identical crystals were stuffed inside its body.

The purple crystals embedded in the backs of the three aliens had vanished, leaving only their neatly severed hands behind.

"Huh? The purple crystals turned blue?"

Luca had thought that this seemingly simple item might only need its crystals polished and placed in the right spots after synthesis.

Now it seemed that no matter what materials he used, the synthesized item would always revert to the form it had in the original work.

The Chitauri's purple crystals had actually turned into blue Hextech Crystals!

Why was Luca so sure?

Because, at that moment, one of the three blue crystals in the [Monkey Bomb] was once again emitting the distinctive faint white glow of a "Core Component"!

Carefully picking up the [Monkey Bomb], he unscrewed its detachable head, opened it, and took out the Hextech Crystal glowing with faint light.

A pale blue panel appeared once more.

[Hexcore]

[Arcane World 2/5]

[Creator: Viktor]

[Core Component: Hextech Crystal]

[Synthesis Materials: 1 stable small reactor, 4 different magic runes]

[Item Description: A stable and perpetual energy source imbued with magical power—the ultimate expression of Hextech's aesthetic. It provides boundless energy and can also make living things undergo Glorious Evolution. That is, if your body and mind can withstand the corrosive effects of arcane and runic power.]

[Helpful Reminder: If you don't want to destroy the world... or yourself, it's best not to let this come into contact with any living tissue.]

Looking at the panel's sudden description—"boundless energy," "Glorious Evolution," and all—

Luca only wanted to ask one thing.

"Is this reasonable??"