Chapter 13: The Great Inventor Rekka
Theoretically feasible.
But the problem was—
'Why would I build something like this?'
Thinking under the influence of the Path of Erudition was a dangerous, slippery slope. One simple question spawned countless branching theories, and a single stray idea birthed an avalanche of chaotic extensions. Just moments ago, Rekka had only wanted to cobble together a simple self-defense gadget. Yet somehow, his brain was currently running complex simulations on the most energy-efficient method to erase an entire galaxy from the cosmos.
...
"It's time for lunch."
Dan Heng's voice preceded a polite knock on Rekka's door. Finding it unlocked, the stoic guard pushed it open and stepped inside.
"Okay, just a moment."
Rekka casually tossed a sparking tool onto his desk, pushing aside a mountain of chaotic blueprints.
Dan Heng's cool gaze swept over the cluttered room, finally landing on a massive, precarious pile of bizarre contraptions. "What are these?"
"Oh, you know. Strength Transfer Gloves, Big and Small Pills..." Rekka gestured vaguely at the pile of mechanical monstrosities.
Dan Heng pointed at a very specific, unassuming metallic gauntlet. "What is that one for?"
"Ah, the Strength Transfer Glove." Rekka picked it up, letting the metallic joints clack together. "If you wear this and shake hands with a powerful person, it forcibly splits the physical strength of both parties straight down the middle. Absolutely equal."
Dan Heng stared at him. "...No other side effects?"
"None whatsoever."
"What's the principle?" Dan Heng's brow furrowed slightly.
"Conservation of Energy."
"In other words, if I put on this glove and shake hands with you, half of my physical strength will be given to you?"
"Correct. You become weaker, and I become stronger. But it's temporary, not permanent. The stolen energy gradually returns to the original owner within a set time frame, so it doesn't cause any lasting changes to your body."
It sounded suspiciously like the concept of Equilibrium.
Dan Heng remained silent for a few long seconds. Then, he calmly extended his right hand.
"Try it."
"Are you sure?" Rekka raised an eyebrow, a mischievous glint in his eye. "After shaking hands with me, your strength is going to drop significantly."
"Let's try it."
"Come on then. Since you offered, I have zero reason to refuse a free walking power bank."
Rekka slipped the metallic glove over his fingers and grasped Dan Heng's hand.
A sudden, intense sensation of loss hit Dan Heng instantly. His survival instincts screamed at him to pull away, but the moment their skin made contact through the conductive mesh, the transfer was already complete.
Dan Heng's knees buckled. He stumbled forward, his vision swimming with brief disorientation, and had to throw his free hand against the metal doorframe just to keep himself upright.
He took a slow breath, steadying his suddenly heavy limbs. "...Is this your invention?"
"Yep. Your strength will gradually trickle back to you over the course of about an hour." Rekka held up his own hand, clenching it into a fist. The air popped under the sheer force of his new grip. "Your baseline strength is truly terrifying, Dan Heng. Good thing I only siphoned your raw physical power value; I didn't average out anything else."
In reality, Rekka had designed this highly specific gadget for one singular purpose: winning an arm-wrestling match.
"Understood." Dan Heng straightened his posture, his breathing returning to a calm rhythm. He turned and walked out into the corridor. "Let's go eat."
"Wait for me!"
Rekka hurriedly followed, kicking the door shut behind him.
"Sorry for the delay." Rekka strolled into the parlor car, pulling out a chair for himself before politely kicking one out for Dan Heng. "Just doing a little experiment."
"An experiment?" March 7th's ahoge practically twitched as she pricked up her ears. "What experiment?"
"Just a simple little test. By the way, Senior March 7th," Rekka leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. "I wasn't entirely satisfied with our arm-wrestling match earlier. I'd like to formally request a rematch."
"Huh?"
March 7th had just shoved a massive spoonful of curry rice into her mouth. She coughed violently, pounding her chest as she swallowed the spicy food.
"Are you okay? You lost so miserably just now! You didn't even last a single second, and now you want to go again? Are you a masochist?"
"That was just a warm-up," Rekka dismissed with a wave of his hand. "I accidentally got a cramp, my grip angle was off, the atmospheric pressure was wrong, and I wasn't fully awake."
"Yeah, right." March 7th rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. "You're really quick to make up excuses."
"Don't believe me? Let's prove it right now." Rekka slammed his elbow onto the table, raising his hand. "One round to decide it all. The loser has to do all the dishes today."
"Fine! Since you want to wash dishes so badly, I'll grant your wish!" March 7th slammed her own elbow down, locking her fingers with his. "Uncle Yang, Sister Himeko, you two be the witnesses! Just so a certain someone doesn't try to back out after losing!"
Welt adjusted his glasses, his calm gaze shifting between the highly confident Rekka and Dan Heng, who was quietly eating his lunch with noticeably slower, heavier movements.
"Alright," Welt said, a faint smile touching his lips. "I'll be the witness."
"Come on, come on! Ready—" March 7th leaned in, her eyes burning with competitive fire.
Their hands clasped tightly together.
The very second their skin touched, March 7th felt a strange, subtle shift. Something was slightly off.
"Start!"
"Heiya!"
March 7th threw her weight into her arm, fully expecting to slam Rekka's hand into the table instantly, just like she had done an hour ago.
Instead, her arm hit a wall of solid resistance.
The two were perfectly, absolutely evenly matched.
"No, that's not right!" March 7th's pink eyes widened to the size of saucers. She stared in absolute disbelief at Rekka, who was casually resting his chin on his free hand, looking completely relaxed.
Despite her straining muscles and gritted teeth, the match ended in a deadlocked tie. Neither could move the other an inch.
Rekka finally let go, shaking out his wrist. "Strength Transfer Gloves. How about it? Pretty effective, right?"
"Strength Transfer Gloves?" March 7th repeated, her voice pitching up.
"Yep. First, I borrowed Dan Heng's strength to average it out with my own baseline. Then, I used that new average to average out with your strength."
"You shook hands with Dan Heng just now?"
"Yes."
"And then half of his strength was given to you?"
"Yes."
"Then you shook hands with me again, so now our strength..."
"Is perfectly averaged out, yes."
March 7th stared at her own palm, flexing her fingers as if they belonged to a stranger.
"So now my strength has become weaker?"
"To be precise, you've become weaker, and I've become stronger. We are now on the exact same physical level."
"You—!"
March 7th shot up from her chair, her face flushing with annoyance at being completely tricked. But before she could start yelling, she froze. She blinked twice, her anger melting into deep mathematical confusion.
"Wait, that's not right. If you averaged with Dan Heng first, and then with me, does that mean Dan Heng's strength was also affected by my strength...?"
"It doesn't affect him further." Rekka held up his index finger, slipping into professor mode. "You can think of it like averaging the water in two cups first, and then taking one of those newly averaged cups and averaging it with a third cup. The averaged strength lasts for an hour before gradually returning to the original owner. You can understand it as a temporary loan, not a permanent deprivation."
"So Dan Heng right now..."
"I have become weaker," Dan Heng admitted calmly, taking a slow sip of his water. "My strength is currently about half of what it usually is. However, it is only my physical muscular strength that has weakened."
March 7th opened her mouth, closed it, and stood there momentarily at a complete loss for words.
"Eh! — Wait, isn't this a super overpowered gadget then?!"
The sheer tactical potential of the device finally clicked in her brain.
"As long as you shake hands with an enemy, then you... wait. But what if the enemy is weaker than you? Or, what if the enemy is a giant robot?"
"It works on machines too, as long as they possess hands," Rekka explained proudly. "However, it is completely ineffective against enemies without hands. No handshakes, no transfer."
Welt reached across the table. "May I borrow the glove for a moment to give it a try?"
Rekka handed it over.
"What would happen if I also shook hands with Dan Heng right now?" Welt asked, slipping the metal device over his fingers.
"It would average out his current state with yours again."
"I see. It is a process that constantly forces the variables toward the mean."
Welt reached out and grasped Dan Heng's hand.
The moment their skin connected, Welt clearly felt the latent strength within his own muscles flowing outward like water draining from a sink. Across the table, a soft, sharp intake of breath came from Dan Heng as a sudden rush of new energy flooded his weakened system.
"Fascinating." Welt let go, flexing his fingers and analyzing the heavy sensation in his forearms. "There really is a distinct physical sensation of being drained. Although there are obvious limitations regarding physical contact, in critical moments, this device might play an incredibly unexpected role. For instance, when facing enemies whose raw physical strength far exceeds our own, forcing a level playing field would yield significant tactical benefits."
"However, Rekka..."
A sweet, melodious voice drifted from behind Rekka's chair.
Himeko had appeared at some unknown point. She was smiling, her posture perfectly elegant, but a terrifying aura radiated from her crimson eyes.
"Could you please explain..." Himeko held up a highly complex, glowing metallic sphere. "...what exactly is this 'Galaxy-Destroying Bomb' I found sitting casually at your doorstep?"
[Inorin's Note:
Enjoying the story? Dropping a quick review, comment, or Power Stone means the world to me and keeps these daily updates flowing!
Want to read 50 chapters ahead or just want to help keep a shameless translator alive? (My livelihood actually depends on this, haha 😭). You can support me directly here:
(P.S. Just remove the brackets and replace the [.] with a regular dot . to use the links!)
✨ Patreon (50 Advanced Chapters): patreon[.]com/InorinTL
☕ Ko-fi (Support / Sponsor): ko-fi[.]com/InorinTL
Thank you so much for reading and keeping this project alive!]