Testing Atlas 2.0

Job Details:

Job Sign-Up: Page 15, Post Number 364

-Outside Dr. Reid's Laboratory, 3:30 A.M.-

Wearing her green, white, and gold outfit with black bike shorts underneath the skirt, Argent Gloves on her hands, backpack of supplies on her back, Ses Revanche in her right boot, and not enough coffee in her bloodstream to make her qualify as fully awake, Leona was standing outside Dr. Reid's Laboratory at a time so early that normally she was not awake unless she was on a job. It was so early that almost no one was on the streets except for people getting home from work or people going to work and there were only a few of those commuters on the streets. Leona would not be here if it were not for Dr. Reid. Around midnight Leona had received a letter from Dr. Reid. The Wizard Saint was asleep in her room and had to be awakened by the staff member who had brought her the letter, which Leona opened and read.

According to the letter, Dr. Reid had managed to fix the Atlas Project slightly earlier than her estimate of a month or more. She had spent many long days and quite a few long nights working on repairing the suit's electrical systems, improving the cooling system, and building a new, more powerful generator just for the Atlas, but now the doctor's project was fully operational. It was up to Leona to test the upgraded Atlas and see if it had finally been fixed or if it would need still more work before it would meet the doctor's expectations. Answering the call with enthusiasm, Leona had gotten a shower, gotten dressed, and had gathered some of her gear before leaving Silver Wolf Guild Hall as fast as she could go, but she had left behind her Silver Longsword... not that she needed it for a job like this.

Speaking of the letter, Leona needed to refresh her memory on what today's password was. She took off her backpack, opened it up, reached inside of it, and fished out the letter, which had been gently folded and placed on top of her folded desert cloak. She unfolded the letter and then read it with the help of her night vision mode since there was not a nearby street light to help her see. Near the bottom of the paper was today's password, which was "Olympian."

Having refreshed her memory for long enough to actually remember the password, Leona put the letter in her left hand, walked up to the intercom grille, and pressed the button to the right.

"Password?" The voice asked.

"Olympian." Leona answered.

"Splendid. I'll let you in!" The voice said with a cheerfulness that was not shared by the drowsy Wizard Saint. Leona waited patiently and was rewarded when the door opened and Dr. Reid was standing inside the doorway. The long-haired blonde looked like she had not slept in several days and her outfit had a few oil stains on it.

Dr. Reid was wearing the same midriff-baring pink tank top and khaki cargo shorts with brown work boots that she had worn during Leona's last visit, but the shorts and boots had a few oil stains on them and the tank top had a small oil stain near the bottom right side. Dr. Reid's hair was also rather frizzy like she had suffered an electrical shock at some point during the repair work. The doctor looked at Leona and the Wizard Saint noticed the beginnings of dark circles around the doctor's eyes.

"Hey Leona! I'm sorry for looking so awful, but I put in a lot of work on my project. Come inside and I'll show you! After coffee, of course!" Dr. Reid cheerfully greeted Leona. The Wizard Saint blinked. How in Ishgar could the doctor be so cheerful this early in the morning?

"Um, sure." Leona said awkwardly. She walked inside and Dr. Reid shut the door behind her and locked it.

-Inside the mini-kitchen-

Leona walked over to the small square table, took off her backpack, opened her backpack, refolded the letter, put it neatly inside, then closed up the backpack and set it to the right of the chair with its back to the garage. Dr. Reid walked over to a cupboard and pulled out two white mugs. One of them was her mug that read "I'll sleep when I'm dead!" in bold black letters. The other one was a plain white mug with nothing on it.

Dr. Reid took both cups over to the coffeemaker and poured two cups of Motor City Nitro. She then took them into her hands and walked over to the square table where Leona was standing and set the plain white mug in front of Leona's seat. Dr. Reid then pulled out the chair opposite Leona and sat down in it. Leona wordlessly sat down in her chair.

"I've got some good news for you." Dr. Reid said calmly before sipping from her mug.

"I read your letter, Doctor. I read that it took a lot of hard work, but you managed to get the Atlas operational again." Leona replied calmly before picking up her mug of Motor City Nitro and sipped from it. Dr. Reid nodded slowly.

"Hard work is an understatement, Leona. It took four days to build the power generator alone. It took about ten days to fix the suit's electrical systems and another ten days to improve the cooling system." Dr. Reid gave a rundown of how long fixing and upgrading the Atlas took. Leona blinked, then took a sip of coffee to buy herself time to think about what to say. After a few moments she lowered the mug and spoke.

"You clearly put a lot of work into getting the Atlas Project operational again, Doctor. I'll be glad to test it for you." Leona asserted. The doctor smiled a little.

"I know that I called for you at a really early hour and I'm sorry for that. But I'm glad you're here, Leona. I'm glad that you decided to help me out with this. I don't have anyone else I can trust and I'm not just saying that to butter you up after how I treated you a few weeks ago." Dr. Reid expressed gratitude for Leona's help. She also gave a sort-of apology for a few weeks ago when she refused to help Leona in her quest to start learning robotics. Leona felt a brief but powerful twinge of resentment over what had happened that day.

"It's no problem, Dr. Reid." Leona said calmly and sipped some coffee. That incident was in the past and it needed to stay there. Dr. Reid was letting Leona help her with a project she trusted no one else to help her with, so the Wizard Saint needed to let the matter drop so that their professional relationship would not be jeopardized.

However, Leona could not help but to feel like she was being deliberately held back by Dr. Reid to reduce the chances of her becoming a competitor to the established robotics expert.

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-Inside the garage, twenty minutes later-

Having left her backpack in the mini-kitchen, Leona walked into the garage, picked up a pair of black headphones and put them on her head before turning them on. Dr. Reid followed suit, then pointed towards the Atlas, which was in a "sitting" position on the garage floor almost exactly where it had been left when Leona "parked" it a little over a month ago.

"OK, Leona. You know the drill. Get in and power it on and we'll put the new and improved Atlas through its paces. I didn't make any changes to the controls, so all the controls you learned using the Hercules and previous Atlas are exactly the same on the new version." Dr. Reid informed her on what she was to do. Leona nodded and walked towards the waiting Atlas. Once she was in front of it Leona grabbed the left handlebar on the shoulder, climbed on board, turned to face the doctor, and gently lowered herself into the Atlas.

Once she did that she looked down at the control panel and quickly located the power button, which she pressed. The Atlas stood upright with only a modest jolt and Leona's hands quickly located the control sticks for the arms. She grabbed them and waited for Dr. Reid's instructions while checking the temperature gauge.

"How's the temperature gauge looking, Leona?" Dr. Reid asked the Wizard Saint.

"The needle's in the green, Doctor." Leona answered the question.

"Excellent. The improved cooling system I installed is already paying for itself." Dr. Reid commented. Leona silently waited for instructions on how to proceed.

"OK, Leona, this first test should be familiar to you. Take the Atlas for a walk around the garage. Start out at half-speed and when I tell you to do so go to full speed." Dr. Reid instructed Leona. Recalling how to move at half-speed, Leona put her right foot on the right pedal and began walking towards the wall to her left. Once she reached it she turned the suit right and continued walking slowly along the perimeter until she was commanded to go to full speed.

When she received the command to go to full speed Leona put her left foot on the left pedal: with both feet on the pedals the Atlas moved faster. Leona finished walking along the perimeter of the garage and followed the instructions to bring the suit to a stop a meter in front of the doctor.

"OK Leona, how does the temperature gauge look after your walk?" Dr. Reid asked Leona. The Wizard Saint looked down and saw that the needle was well within the green portion of the temperature gauge.

"The needle's still in the green, Doctor." Leona replied and looked up at the doctor. She could see the smile on the doctor's face when she was told the temperature was well within safe operating parameters. The doctor soon gave a new set of instructions.

"OK Leona, let's try out the dash feature. I built a new power generator just for this suit instead of using a spare from the Hercules, so you should have more than enough power to go the distance, so to speak." Dr. Reid informed Leona that the next test was a test of the suit's dash ability. Leona turned the suit to face the garage doors and prepared to stomp on both pedals when she received a warning.

"You might want to back up about three meters before the test, Leona. I estimate that the improved dash can cover sixty meters." Dr. Reid advised Leona. Leona silently turned the suit right, walked a meter, then turned the suit to face the mini-kitchen and walked towards it until she was told to stop.

"OK, stop!" Dr. Reid commanded. Leona wordlessly stopped and turned the suit to face the garage doors. She waited for the command to dash.

"OK, now activate the dash. You might want to hang onto the control sticks and brace yourself." Dr. Reid suggested. Leona sat up straight and tightly gripped the control sticks, then stomped down on both pedals at once. The Atlas rocketed forward, causing Leona to be slammed back into the seat and to hang onto the control sticks as it covered a lot of ground in a very short time. Once the dash had ended Leona was roughly sixty meters from where she had started.

"Leona, how's the temperature gauge looking?" Dr. Reid inquired. Leona looked down at the gauge and saw that it had hardly moved.

"There's no signs of overheating. The needle hasn't even moved from green." Leona answered the question.

"Does the suit still have power?" Dr. Reid asked another question. Leona turned the suit to face the doctor, then raised and lowered both arms of the Atlas.

"OK, it still has power. That's good. Very good." Dr. Reid commented on the demonstration. Leona lowered the arms and waited for instructions on what to do next. Drawing on her past experience with the doctor, Leona was anticipating another strength test for the suit. The last test of the original Atlas before it experienced technical difficulties was the suit's ability to lift crates one-handed and Leona anticipated repeating that test with the new and improved Atlas.

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"Now that we've established that the suit still has power, I'd like to push our luck and see if it can handle a second dash." Dr. Reid requested of Leona.

"OK. Just tell me when." Leona calmly stated. She gripped the control sticks again and prepared to perform the dash on the doctor's command.

"Whenever you're ready, Leona." Dr. Reid gave her the command. Leona wordlessly sat back in the seat and gripped the control sticks, then slammed both of her feet onto the pedals. The Atlas rocketed forward and did not jar Leona as badly because this time she had braced herself before dashing. Once the Atlas had stopped sixty meters later Leona looked down at the temperature gauge.

"What's the temperature gauge looking like after the second dash?" Dr. Reid asked Leona. The Wizard Saint had anticipated that question and was quick with a response.

"The needle's moved slightly into the yellow. In fact It's just over the border between green and yellow." Leona gave the doctor a status update moments after the question was asked.

"Excellent. Now turn the suit around and walk towards me at full speed." Dr. Reid instructed Leona. Leona wordlessly turned the suit around to face the doctor, then gently placed her feet on the pedals to get the suit moving at full speed. After walking across the garage Leona stopped a meter away from the doctor just like last time.

"OK. Now power down the Atlas for a few minutes. I'll set up the garage for the next test." Dr. Reid instructed Leona. Leona blinked and recalled what she had just heard.

"OK." Leona voiced her intent to comply after the brief pause. Leona located and pressed the power button and the Atlas powered down, gently lowering to the ground in a "sitting" position. The Wizard Saint then climbed out of the suit and jumped off of it, landing gracefully a short distance in front of it.

"Go take a break while I set up crates for the next test. We'll be testing the Atlas' strength." The doctor told Leona. Leona nodded and walked into the mini-kitchen to get some more coffee while she could.

-Inside the mini-kitchen, thirty minutes later-

Leona was sitting at the small table with a half-empty cup of coffee sitting in front of her. She was trying to pace her caffeine consumption so that she did not suffer a crash until after the testing was complete, but she was failing miserably. She was on her third cup of Motor City Nitro and was about to go for a fourth. Leona was paying the price for not getting enough coffee back at Silver Wolf Guild Hall.

She wondered when the doctor would finish setting up crates. As she was sitting at the table Leona periodically heard the sound of beeping and a whirring sound, both of which did not belong to the Atlas. Dr. Reid had to be using another piece of machinery to put the crates into place.

Leona did not dwell on the noise too much. She finished drinking her third cup of Motor City Nitro and stood up to get her fourth cup when she paused in place and asked herself a question. She had already consumed three full cups of Motor City Nitro.

Did she really need a fourth cup of coffee that had three times the caffeine of standard coffee?

Leona looked at her empty cup, then at the coffeemaker. She was sorely tempted to get a fourth cup. She wanted it so much that she could taste the coffee already.

Leona looked at the coffeemaker and was tempted to just get the fourth cup and get it over with, but then she decided against it. She needed to save some coffee for Dr. Reid. Besides, she was drinking the coffee Dr. Reid had bought for herself and drinking it all would not be very polite.

Leona took one last longing look at the coffeemaker, then turned around and walked back to her seat. She sat the cup down in front of her and sat down to wait for Dr. Reid to finish setting up the garage for the next test of the Atlas.

-Inside the mini-kitchen, one hour later-

Another thirty minutes later Leona was starting to get really bored. She could hear the sound of machinery going in the background, but she did not think that setting up crates could take this long to do. Maybe the doctor had experienced more technical difficulties or was just being meticulous in the placement of the crates. Leona crossed her arms over her chest and waited for the doctor to walk in and tell her it was time to get back in the Atlas.

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-Inside the mini-kitchen, one hour later-

Leona wondered if Dr. Reid was ever going to finish setting up the crates. It had been two hours since her break had started and the Wizard Saint was getting restless. She stood up from her chair and pushed it in, then began stretching her legs in an effort to stay alert. She was not so much sleepy as she was bored... the caffeine contained in the three cups of Motor City Nitro she had consumed an hour ago made it nearly impossible for her to sleep even if she wanted to.

It was immature for someone of her status to get bored with waiting, but Leona was bored. She had waited two hours for word on whether testing the Atlas' strength was a go or if it had been canceled due to some unforeseen complications resulting from the dash test and she had not heard anything from the doctor. With nothing to do to pass the time but stand around or pace around the kitchen, Leona decided to pace around the mini-kitchen to do something other than sit around.

Leona had completed her third lap around the mini-kitchen when Dr. Reid walked in and waved at her.

"Sorry about the incredibly long delay, Leona. The crates are set up now. We can resume testing the Atlas whenever you're ready." Dr. Reid informed Leona. The Wizard Saint was galvanized by that announcement and her boredom instantly vanished. It was time to get to work again and she could not wait to resume testing the Atlas.

"All right, Doctor. I'm ready." Leona replied. Dr. Reid stepped aside and motioned for Leona to go into the garage and the Wizard Saint did so with alacrity. Leona wordlessly walked into the garage and made a beeline for the waiting Atlas, which was exactly where she had left it.

-Inside the garage-

The eager Leona picked up her headset from the wooden table and put it on her head. She powered it on before approaching the waiting Atlas. She carefully climbed on board the Atlas and turned to face the doctor, then gently lowered herself into the suit. As Leona put her legs inside the suit's legs and grabbed the control sticks Dr. Reid walked over to the wooden table and put on her headset.

"OK Leona, can you hear me?" Dr. Reid asked Leona.

"Loud and clear." Leona answered. Dr. Reid gave a thumbs-up and Leona returned it.

"OK, now power the Atlas on." Dr. Reid instructed. Leona quickly located the power button and pressed it. The suit raised itself into a standing position and the Wizard Saint was ready for further instructions.

"OK, turn right and you'll see a metal crate. I want you to walk towards it, then lift it with both hands." Dr. Reid instructed Leona. Leona turned her head right and she saw a metal crate that was the same one used for testing the Hercules and first model of the Atlas. She turned the suit right and walked towards it at half-speed until she was within range of it, then stopped. Leona carefully extended both arms outwards, then pressed and held down the red buttons on top of each control stick to open the hands. Once the hands were near the edges of the crate Leona slowly brought the arms in until the hands touched the edges.

Once they touched she released the buttons and the hands closed around the crate, grabbing it in a firm grip. Leona then slowly moved the control sticks up and the arms began to lift the crate off of the ground. The Wizard Saint held her breath as the arms continued to rise until they could go no higher.

"Excellent. Now set the crate back on the ground." Dr. Reid instructed Leona. Leona moved the control sticks down and the arms began to lower the crate towards the ground. She watched the process while still holding her breath and heard the sound of metal hitting concrete. Leona pressed the buttons to open the hands, then moved the arms outward until they were away from the crate. Once they were clear Leona pulled the control sticks back and the arms returned to the neutral position.

"Well done, Leona. Now if you'll look to your right, you'll see a crate smaller than the one you just lifted. I'd like you to try and lift that one with just one of the Atlas' hands." Dr. Reid gave Leona instructions for the next test. Leona turned her head right and saw the crate in question roughly five meters away. Leona turned the suit right, then walked towards the crate at half-speed until she was within grabbing range. Once she was within range she stopped the Atlas.

"It doesn't matter which hand you use to grab the crate, Leona." Dr. Reid offered advice. Since she was right-handed, the Wizard Saint decided to use the suit's right hand to grab the crate. The crate in question was roughly the height of Leona's knees and shorter than the crate she had just lifted, so lifting it with just one hand should be well within the Atlas' abilities.

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Reaching out with the Atlas' right hand, Leona carefully reached for the edge and opened the hand. When the hand made contact with the edge Leona took her thumb off of the button and let the hand close. It gripped the crate as securely as it would have had Leona used both of the suit's hands.

Once the crate was gripped Leona slowly and carefully raised the right arm, watching it like a hawk as the crate was lifted into the air. She was not sure how exactly the crate was being held so tightly with just one hand, so she asked the doctor.

"Doctor, how am I able to lift the crate with just one hand?" Leona asked Dr. Reid while continuing to watch the Atlas' hand and arm for any signs of trouble. She had gripped the container on the right side, not the bottom right corner.

"That's easy. I installed special magnets that only activate when you open the suit's hands. When they close around metallic objects those magnets give a secure grip." Dr. Reid explained how the hands had such a secure grip. Leona was impressed by how the doctor had thought of everything when she upgraded the Atlas. The explanation also reinforced why Dr. Reid had not helped Leona with her quest to learn robotics. Leona felt a twinge of resentment when she thought about that subject, but it quickly faded.

"OK. Thanks." Leona thanked the doctor for the explanation. She appreciated the fact that it was given in layman's terms because she was not educated in technical jargon. Leona mentally returned to the present and soon noticed that the right arm had gone as high as it could go and was making a whirring noise.

"The right arm's gone as high as it can. The crate's still being held securely. However, the arm's making a whirring noise." Leona notified the doctor that the right arm might be having problems.

"The whirring noise is happening because you've raised the arm as high as it can go, but it'll go away when you lower the arm. Now set the crate down on the ground in front of you." Dr. Reid instructed Leona. When she heard the doctor's instructions Leona's face turned red in embarrassment from the simple nature of the problem with the Atlas' right arm. She then did as she was told and began to slowly lower the right arm until the bottom of the crate touched the ground. Her right thumb hit the button and the hand released the crate.

Leona carefully pulled the arm away from the crate and took her thumb off of the button, letting the suit's hand close. Leona returned the arm to the neutral position and she waited for instructions from the doctor on what to do next.

"Good. Now return to me and power down the Atlas. I'd like to ask you to do something else for me." Dr. Reid gave Leona her next instructions. Leona turned the suit around, walked forward at half-speed, turned the suit left, and walked towards the doctor until the order to stop was given. Once it was given Leona stopped two meters from the doctor and powered down the suit, then climbed out of it and leaped off. She landed in front of it on both feet and walked towards the doctor while powering down her headset.

Leona took off her headset and stopped in front of the doctor.

"What did you want me to do for you, Doctor?" Leona asked Dr. Reid. The long-haired blonde powered down her headset and motioned for Leona to follow her to the mini-kitchen for a conversation. Both blondes put their headsets on the wooden table and went into the mini-kitchen... Leona took the lead and Dr. Reid followed.

-Inside the mini-kitchen, ten minutes later-

Dr. Reid sat across the table from Leona with a clipboard and ink pen in her hands. Leona wondered if she would have to fill out a form of some kind like she had when she had tested the Hercules. Dr. Reid put the clipboard on the table and pushed it towards the Wizard Saint.

"I'd like you to fill out this form letting me know what I need to improve for the next iteration of the Atlas." Dr. Reid said to Leona. Leona took the ink pen and looked at the form. She took the cap off of the ink pen and set it to her far right, then began to fill out the form. This was going to take awhile.

-Inside the mini-kitchen, one hour later-

Leona had finished filling out the form in forty-five minutes, but she took an extra fifteen minutes to go over it again and make certain that she had filled out everything the doctor needed her to fill out. The Wizard Saint read over the form and noted where she had given the upgraded Atlas good marks in every performance category, making certain to praise both the overall reliability of the Atlas and its ease of use.

Leona also noted where in the Requested Features section she had written a request for the doctor to look into adding a "reverse" feature so that the suit's pilot would not have to turn the suit around every time they wanted to go backwards. That was the only real criticism of the upgraded Atlas, if it could even be called a criticism. Dr. Reid had put a lot of work into improving it and it showed.

Once she was satisfied with what she had written Leona put the cap back on the pen and pushed the completed form over to the doctor, who was sipping her fifth cup of coffee since the testing had ended. The doctor noticed the form and looked at the Wizard Saint.

"Are you finished, Leona?" Dr. Reid asked Leona as she dragged the clipboard to her with her left hand.

"I'm finished, Doctor." Leona replied. Dr. Reid raised the clipboard with her left hand and began to read what Leona had written.

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Dr. Reid briefly looked over the form that she had Leona fill out, then set it to her right. She gave a small smile.

"I'll read over it later, Leona. But for now I'd like to thank you for helping me test the upgraded Atlas and for testing the preceding model. I'd also like for you to keep this confidential until I give you permission to talk about it." Dr. Reid said to Leona and thanked the Wizard Saint for helping her test both the upgraded Atlas and the earlier model. The long-haired blonde also asked that Leona remain quiet about the Atlas until given permission to talk about it. Leona found that particular request easy to comply with.

"All right. I won't tell anyone about the Atlas." Leona replied. She had not told anyone about the Hercules or about the previous Atlas. In fact she did not tell anyone about her work. She did not even keep a journal, so Dr. Reid's secret was safe with her.

"Thanks. I'll keep in touch with you." Dr. Reid said. She then stood up from the table. Leona stood up from the table and grabbed her backpack off of the floor beside her chair. Since her work here was done, the Wizard Saint would be heading back to Silver Wolf Guild Hall to continue pursuing a project of her own. She would return to the guild library and resume looking up magic ingredients that could be used for magic weapons, namely weapons with sound-based or anti-armor effects. She wanted to craft a new knife and give it magic properties to make it a more effective backup weapon than a plain old knife.

Leona put on her backpack and began to walk for the exit. She had a lot of work to do and not a lot of time to do it in. The coffee was going to wear off soon and Leona had better do some research while she had the will to do it.

-Silver Wolf Guild Hall, Leona's room, four hours later-

Having changed into her green tank top and green, white, and gold skirt without bike shorts, Leona tried to muster the will to go do some research in the guild library. However, the caffeine was starting to wear off and she was not going to get anything done when she was feeling like she had just ran a marathon. Rather than try to fight through the fatigue and end up doing a poor job with her research, Leona would just go to sleep for awhile and go to the guild library when she woke up.

Leona reclined on her bed and closed her eyes. She did not need to force herself to sleep because she was already tired from getting up so early to go help Dr. Reid. Soon Leona went to sleep. When she woke up she planned to do some research so that she could make some progress towards completing one of her personal projects.

-Silver Wolf Guild Hall, Leona's room, ten hours later-

Having woken up after a ten-hour sleep, Leona was feeling slightly better than she was earlier but was still not quite up to doing research. She was not sure why that was. The research into magical ingredients was of interest to her and the end goal was a practical one, but she just could not muster the will to see the research through. Maybe she just needed more coffee before going to the library.

Leona sat up on her bed and pondered the wisdom of loading up on still more caffeine after coming down from a caffeine rush hours ago. She was not sure if that was a good idea. Then again, she was not the Wizard Saint of Intelligence. Leona needed something to get her going on her research again and she could not think of anything else.

Coffee it was.

Leona straightened out her clothing, stood up, and walked out of her room in order to swing by the guild cafe before going to the library.

-Silver Wolf Guild Hall, the guild library, one hour later-

Having spent forty-five minutes in the guild cafe drinking coffee and having spent fifteen minutes in her room looking for the notebook in which she wrote down the previous ingredients of interest plus a pencil or pen, Leona was now in the guild library and sitting at the same table in the far left corner of the library and reading from the same thick green book on magic ingredients she had read last time. She was reading through the book looking for any ingredients that could give a weapon an anti-armor effect.

So far Leona was not finding any such ingredient. She was finding plenty of ingredients that gave a weapon elemental effects, effects like Fire effects, Ice effects, and even a Lightning effect, but she was not finding anything that would give a weapon an anti-armor effect. Leona took a deep breath and continued to flip through the book while jotting down anything of interest, which was not a whole lot. She chalked it up to developing a form of tunnel vision that blinded her to the utility of anything but an anti-armor effect.

Leona wanted to make a weapon with that particular effect the most because it seemed to be the most useful for dealing with a wide variety of enemies. She tended to deal with human adversaries like bandits the most. Next came zombies. After zombies came various animals like zombie dogs and werewolves. Any effect that could increase a weapon's cutting power was useful... at least to Leona.

Leona continued to flip through the book and frowned. She was seeing quite a few effects of mild interest, but none of them were what she was really after. Maybe she should settle for something like a weapon that could use a sound-based effect to disorient an opponent. While it lacked the raw power of something that could cut through armor and magical shields, being able to use a disorienting effect against a particularly tough enemy or a group of enemies was an alternative well worth looking into.

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-Silver Wolf Guild Hall, Leona's room, three hours later-

Having read the book on magic ingredients from cover to cover and having found little of immediate use other than recipes involving mandrake root, Leona decided to call it a day and left the library to go back to her room. She was sitting on her bed trying to decide whether she wanted to do something else like look for a tutor to teach her the language of Midi or just go to sleep again when a plain white envelope was slipped under her room door. Curious as to what it could be, Leona walked over to it, picked it up, and carefully opened it. Inside was a sheet of paper that had been neatly folded.

Leona set the envelope down on her desk and opened the folded paper. She then began to read the note, which was written in neat handwriting.

"Dear Wizard Saint:

I know that it's pretty late in the day, but would you mind coming back by my laboratory? There's something I'd like to talk to you about that I forgot to discuss while you were here because I was so busy focusing on the Atlas that it slipped my mind. The password to get in is still "Olympian. I apologize for calling you back to my laboratory so late, but I'd appreciate it if you'd drop by."

Leona read the brief note from Dr. Reid and decided to go despite how late it had arrived. She was not sure what was so important that it merited sending a note, but the Wizard Saint would check it out anyway. The worst that could happen was that she wasted a few hours.

Putting on her socks and boots and grabbing her backpack of supplies, Leona left her room and set out for Motor City. She hoped that whatever the doctor had to discuss was worth the trip.

-Dr. Reid's Laboratory, inside the mini-kitchen, four hours later-

"It's nice to see you again, Leona! Sorry for calling you on such short notice!" Dr. Reid said to Leona while going over to the coffeemaker to pour herself a cup of coffee in her ever-present mug. She did not seem to be bothered by Leona's casual outfit of green tank top and green, white, and gold skirt with matching boots.

"It's no problem, Doctor. What did you need? Is something wrong with the Atlas again?" Leona asked the doctor. The long-haired blonde shook her head.

"No, Leona. The Atlas is in great shape. I've read over the form I had you fill out and I'm not sure if a reverse feature is feasible to add, but I appreciate the praise you have for the Atlas' reliability and ease of use. I'm glad that the upgraded Atlas is as easy to use as its predecessors." Dr. Reid informed Leona that the Atlas Project was not why she was called here. That answer made Leona curious as to what the real reason was.

"I called you here because there's something that I want to give you, Leona." Dr. Reid soon told the Wizard Saint the real reason she had been called back to the laboratory. Leona was curious. What did Dr. Reid have to give her?

Dr. Reid walked out of the laboratory and into the hallway that led to the doctor's house. Leona waited in the mini-kitchen and eyed the coffeemaker, debating whether she really needed to load up on caffeine for the third time today. Motor City Nitro tasted so good and the caffeine certainly helped keep her awake. Leona eyed the coffeemaker and was tempted to find a mug and get some coffee when Dr. Reid entered the room again bearing a thick blue book.

"Here's what I wanted to give you, Leona. It's a book on magic ingredients that I got a few weeks ago from a friend of mine. I don't have any use for it myself, so I promised her that I'd pass it on to someone who can use it. Today I'm keeping that promise." Dr. Reid told Leona and held out the book with both hands. Leona looked at the book and saw that aside from a few signs of wear on the cover and a few dog-eared pages it was in very good shape.

"I skimmed through it a few times out of idle curiosity. It was written roughly six years ago, so while it's not the most current book on the subject, it's still reasonably current. It lists ingredients that can be used to make weapons with magic properties. I figured that you'd get a lot of use out of this." Dr. Reid told Leona a little more about the book, keeping it extended towards Leona. The Wizard Saint hesitated for a moment, then took the book into both hands. She looked at the doctor, who was smiling at her.

"I figured that I owed you that much for your help with my work on both the Hercules Project and the Atlas Project. I also owed you something for shutting down your ambition to learn robotics." Dr. Reid explained why she had given the book to Leona. The Wizard Saint had to fight the surge of emotion that threatened to rise to the surface. For a moment it felt like she was being given a bribe to placate her after having her ambition to learn robotics shut down so suddenly and dramatically during the last visit to the doctor's laboratory, but Leona manage to suppress the negative feelings and be grateful that the doctor was trying to make amends with her.

"Thank you, Dr. Reid." Leona thanked the doctor for the unexpected gift. Dr. Reid waved off the gratitude.

"It's nothing, really. I owe you a lot more, but this is the best I can do at the moment." Dr. Reid replied, hinting at future rewards should Leona keep helping the former with her work. Leona was not helping Dr. Reid for the rewards, but a fairly modern book on magic ingredients was not a gift that the Wizard Saint would turn down. Maybe she could get her personal research project back on track with the new book.

"I have a feeling that you're eager to go read the book. I won't keep you here any longer. I'll keep in touch and send for you if I need your help again." Dr. Reid informed Leona. The Wizard Saint took off her backpack and opened it, then carefully put the book inside. She closed the backpack and put it on her back again, then faced the doctor.

"And I'll answer whenever you send for me... if I can. If I'm not busy with Wizard Saint duties, I'll be certain to show up here." Leona said to the doctor, affirming that her job as a Wizard Saint came first.

"OK, Leona. I can't ask for more than that. Thanks again for your help!" Dr. Reid bade Leona farewell. Leona waved goodbye and made her way towards the laboratory exit. When she got back to the guild hall she was going to take her new gift back to her room and begin reading it right away.

[Post Word Count: 1,200]
[Total Word Count: 6,948/7,000]

-Silver Wolf Guild Hall, Leona's room, four hours later-

Sitting at her desk with the new book on magical ingredients open in front of her, Leona also had her notebook and pencil ready. Fifty pages in and she had found a few interesting recipes for Wind-based effects, but that was a bit redundant considering that her Wind Strike Magic revolved around... well, Wind-based magic. Leona was not sure if she needed to spend time and effort harvesting ingredients for a weapon that could do what her magic already allowed her to do, but she decided to make a note of it for future reference. She grabbed her pencil and wrote down in her notebook the page numbers in the new ingredient book where she could find ingredients that conferred Wind-based effects to weapons. A few minutes and a fair amount of effort later she had finished the task.

After writing down the page numbers for that segment Leona carefully read through the book in her search for an anti-armor effect and was not finding anything on it. Perhaps such a thing simply did not exist. Or maybe she needed to find and buy an up-to-date magic ingredient book so that she could learn what she was after. Leona began to think a little and thought about another possibility.

Maybe an anti-armor effect for weapons did exist, but the knowledge of how to make it was a trade secret reserved for blacksmiths that was passed down from master to apprentice.

Leona thought about that possibility and thought about how she could go about learning that secret. Becoming a blacksmith in her own right was one idea, but it was not a very feasible one. Learning the trade would take a lot of time and effort, time and effort that might be better spent learning skills relevant to the modern era like robotics or computer programming.

Leona did not know what the right choice was. She was not sure whether she should even bother with making a magic knife when she should instead spend time on finding a conventional lead-firing pistol or a laser pistol. For now she would let the matter drop because she was too tired to think clearly.

Leona set down her pencil on her notebook, gently closed her new book, and stood up from the desk. She walked over to her bed and reclined on it, then closed her eyes and went to sleep. She would continue her research tomorrow... if she was able and willing to continue it. Sometimes it was a matter of having the time to conduct research. Sometimes it was a matter of having the will to do it.

Leona would get back to her personal project eventually. For now she was content with the progress she had already made. She was also happy with her new book on magical ingredients. It was an informative book that she would be frequently consulting in the days ahead.

[Post Word Count: 492]
[Total Word Count: 7,440/7,000]