In just a few minutes, Ryan had created several amulets.
He carefully put them away, but then a thought struck him. He retrieved a weapon from his personal space - a double-barreled shotgun about the length of his forearm.
"Weapons need to be strengthened as well," he muttered.
When he had faced the werewolf transformed by the witch earlier, he had noticed that this weapon lacked power.
Against normal werewolves, it was barely enough to kill with one shot. But against the witch's werewolf form, even two head shots caused only minor injuries, far from fatal.
And that was just for werewolves.
Though werewolves were strong, they ranked low compared to other magical creatures. Legendary creatures like griffins or cyclopes were leagues ahead, each capable of killing a werewolf with ease.
And dragons? They could destroy entire lands with a single thought.
With this shotgun alone, he'd be lucky to even scratch a dragon's scales, let alone kill one.
He didn't expect to encounter creatures of that caliber anytime soon, but it was always better to be prepared.
"If one shotgun isn't enough, I'll get a couple more," Ryan decided, stroking his chin.
He refused to believe that there was anything that couldn't be killed. Dragons, celestial beings, demons - whatever the enemy, the only reason it couldn't be defeated was a lack of firepower.
As the saying goes, the truth lies within the range of artillery. If shotguns couldn't do the job, rockets would. When missiles failed, there were always atomic bombs.
Even the gods couldn't withstand enough firepower.
If he couldn't get rockets, he could certainly get more shotguns. In America, as long as you had money, buying guns was as easy as buying groceries.
He rode his bicycle into town and bought a used pickup truck. After asking around, he found a less-than-reputable gun shop and bought a large supply of legal firearms.
The gun shop owner gave him a strange look, but he wasn't about to turn away such a lucrative customer. He eagerly cleared out a significant portion of his inventory.
By the time Ryan returned home, the pickup truck was nearly overflowing with weapons.
He couldn't help but marvel at how absurdly easy and cheap it was to buy guns in America.
Small caliber pistols were around $100 each, decent revolvers were $200-$300, and most rifles were in the $500-$1,000 range. Only sniper rifles were expensive, costing a few thousand dollars.
With just a few hundred thousand dollars, Ryan had bought an entire truckload of weapons.
After unloading them, he organized the firearms by type: pistols, shotguns, sniper rifles, and rifles.
He decided to start with the pistols and immediately began the sacrificial process.
While shotguns had devastating power, pistols were more practical for everyday use. Their compact size made them convenient, and their controlled range reduced the risk of collateral damage.
He looked at the pile of pistols and grinned. "Let's see what we can get."
"Sacrifice!"
A flash of light illuminated the dimly lit room.
Dozens of pistols of various models disappeared in an instant, and in their place a single black revolver materialized in his hand.
The revolver had a sleek black finish, adorned with red spiral patterns that shimmered faintly. It exuded both beauty and danger.
Ryan narrowed his eyes as he examined the weapon.
It was surprisingly heavy - at least three times the weight of a normal revolver. Fortunately, his enhanced physique made it easy to handle.
Still, he wondered, What's the point of just having a heavier weapon?
The ability to sacrifice was supposed to work on the principle of equal exchange. Sacrificing dozens of pistols to get just one didn't seem fair. It was the first time he had encountered such a discrepancy.
Curious, Ryan loaded six bullets into the revolver and aimed at a large tree outside the window.
~Bang!~
A low shot echoed, and the red patterns on the gun glowed faintly.
A burst of fire erupted as the bullet fired.
~Boom!~
The bullet hit the tree, punching a fist-sized hole straight through the thick trunk.
Ryan felt a slight tingling in his wrist from the recoil. He stepped outside to inspect the tree and was amazed at the damage.
This wasn't something a regular revolver could do.
The power was comparable to a large caliber sniper rifle.
Reflecting on the shot, Ryan realized that some unknown force had enhanced the bullet, increasing both its speed and destructive power.
Had he just created a magic weapon?
The thought brought a satisfied grin to his face as he admired the deadly beauty of his new revolver.