How Many Stars for a Perfect Score?

Of course, that was easier said than done.

In reality, Chariot spent the entire seven days of the mana turbulence repeatedly testing the material.

It wasn't until the mana turbulence was nearly over that he finally submitted a satisfactory result.

Chariot: "I’m telling you, this material is absolutely foolproof. It even increases the muzzle velocity of the beams. It doesn't matter how high the temperature gets; it can handle it."

Tower: "I think you might have misunderstood something."

Chariot: "What?"

Tower: "The mana conversion for these forty floating cannons isn't just fire-based. There are water, wind, and earth types as well."

Lan Qingyou explained her concept to Chariot.

The reason for this was to capitalize on elemental advantages. After all, who knew what kind of freaks she might encounter out in the wild?

Chariot: "Oh, I already accounted for that. Don't you worry. No matter the element, no matter how much wear and tear they go through, there won't be any problems."

Chariot replied with a face full of pride.

Was he kidding? Who did she think he was? If he couldn't even anticipate a small detail like that, he might as well give up being a master of machinery and go back to being a blacksmith.

With Chariot's guarantee, Lan Qingyou was satisfied.

After all, the guy didn't talk nonsense. If he said it would work, it would work.

Chariot: "Though, I originally thought you'd make humanoid golems. I didn't expect you to go with beast shapes."

Tower: "I might make humanoid ones later, but definitely not now. My skills aren't quite there yet. In some ways, beast forms allow me to maximize my concepts and attack patterns."

Chariot: "That’s true. Say, do you want to try a spider form? Its terrain traversal is unbeatable. You could even design a seat on it to use as a resting spot."

Chariot: "And since you can fly, we could make the seat an ejector seat. It would be impossible for anyone to catch you then."

Tower: "Oh! That's a great idea. I'll take it. I'll try to design something when I have time."

The day after receiving that inspiration from Chariot—which was also the day after the mana turbulence ended—Lan Qingyou took her golems out to hunt.

Bang! Bang!

Thud!

Crack!

Not long after she flew out, she encountered a D-grade forest wolf. She immediately released all the bronze beasts from her cards, giving the creature a taste of a righteous gang-beating.

Biu— Biu—

As beams of light shot from the triangular cones one after another, the forest wolf was sliced into several pieces.

“Hmm, it’s pretty much what I expected. However, the Blade-roller's blades don't seem as sharp as I imagined. Should I just change them to saws? Mana-powered ones—the kind that shuts them up the moment it touches them.”

After testing the abilities of several bronze beasts, Lan Qingyou was very satisfied with everything except for the Blade-roller, which needed some improvement.

Furthermore, because it was her first time controlling two triangular cone light-spears simultaneously, her mana points were instantly drained.

Though she had mana potions to recover, she still felt somewhat mentally fatigued.

Thus, once the experiment was over, Lan Qingyou recalled the bronze beasts into her cards and rode her Magic Broom back to the shelter.

Chariot: "I see. It sounds like golems really aren't suited for slashing weapons like swords. I'll think about it based on what you said, or maybe you can add a few strokes to the blueprints?"

After hearing Lan Qingyou's experimental results, Chariot understood perfectly.

After all, the bronze beasts had no muscles. Weapons like blades that required physical force to hack and slash were indeed unsuitable.

Chariot: "By the way, how about installing some spring-loaded guns in the Blade-roller's belly as mid-range weapons?"

Tower: "Why don't you just put an iron maiden in its stomach while you're at it?"

Chariot: "Haha, that's not a bad idea either."

Tower: "Fine, I'll revise the blueprints and get them to you later."

Since these were her own tools, she naturally had to be hands-on with the design. Besides, there was no need to trouble others for such minor changes.

It wasn't like she didn't know how to do it herself.

After spending half a day revising the drawings, Lan Qingyou took the meal Gu Xiaobei had brought and headed down to where the tent was located.

The magic tent had remained deployed ever since that day.

Even during the mana turbulence, it hadn't been packed away.

Now, Lan Qingyou was going to check on its condition.

Despite being exposed to the elements for over a week, the fact that it was still standing meant the mana turbulence hadn't caused it any significant harm.

Because she had installed a blue glow ball in advance, not even a single monster had come to attack it.

Consequently, its energy levels were still the same as before.

Lan Qingyou was quite satisfied with this, though she wondered how it would fare during a mana tide.

Tower: "@Empress, by the way, how is the testing going on your end?"

Empress: "What testing?"

Lan Qingyou’s out-of-the-blue question left Jiang Lan completely dazed.

Tower: "The test for the blue glow balls."

Empress: "Sorry, sorry! I've been so busy selecting seeds these past few days that I forgot. Each glow ball covers a radius of about 25 meters, with a light range of about 20 meters. I'd give the repulsion effect three stars."

Tower: "Wait! What do you mean three stars? How many stars is a perfect score?"

Empress's sudden rating system caught Lan Qingyou off guard.

Empress: "Five stars is a perfect score. The reason I said three stars is because some monsters, especially plant-type ones, don't seem to be affected by the repulsion."

Ah... so that's what she meant...

Plant-types...

Tower: "I think I understand where the problem lies."

Lan Qingyou frowned slightly, and after a moment of thought, she had the answer.

When she made the glow balls, the 'ingredients' she added were intended to repel large, carnivorous, and aggressive monsters.

Naturally, they wouldn't be very effective against plant-types, which didn't have a particularly keen sense of smell.

Improving this wouldn't be difficult. At most, she just needed to add a few more ingredients targeted at plant-types.

For example, she could mix in some green Glow Potion that emitted a light plant-types hated, and replace the blue slimes with green slimes.

While the lighting effect might look a bit ghastly, there was no such thing as a truly perfect solution in this world.

Alternatively, she could use pungent chemical smells or the scent of rot that plant-types loathed.

However, that method would be a bit of a double-edged sword that hurt her as much as the enemy.

Tower: "I'll make some new ones for you when I have time later. You can check the effects then."

Having made her decision, Lan Qingyou sent her reply.

Empress: "Are you planning to head out?"

Tower: "Yeah, I've been preparing for so long just for this trip."

And it was true.

The Magic Broom, the thrusters, the magic tent, the golems, and the repelling glow balls—all of it was preparation for her journey.

Now that everything was ready, it was time to go out and see the world. Even if it was just for three to five days, why not treat it like a vacation?