"Again!"
Luca beckoned to Shield Mountain with a hint of excitement in his eyes.
Shield Mountain only saw it as the boy's competitive spirit, unwilling to admit defeat.
So, he helplessly attacked again.
"Master, watch out!"
As he spoke, Shield Mountain threw a punch.
The rapid punch, combined with the friction of his sleeve against the air, actually produced a whistling sound.
However, despite appearing ruthless, Shield Mountain, with his exquisite fighting skills, could ensure this punch wouldn't harm Luca in the slightest.
Who would have thought that before this heavy punch could reach Luca...
It was instantly caught by Luca's raised palm.
Thud~
A muffled sound.
Luca took half a step back, but the mechanical arm on his right didn't budge an inch.
Instead, it gripped Shield Mountain's fist so tightly that even the battle-hardened soldier's mouth twitched.
Yes, another feature of [Sweet Surrender] was its immense output power.
Even though this mechanical arm seemed to exist only for comedy in the original Devil May Cry world, apart from its somewhat lackluster healing effect...
It depended on who you compared it to.
The original owner, Nero, was a Devil Hunter specializing in killing demons.
Even if the mechanical arm he used wasn't primarily designed for combat, its output and durability were fully capable of handling high-intensity battles against demons.
However, perhaps because Nero's physical fitness far exceeded that of ordinary people...
The "Gold Finger" didn't grant [Sweet Surrender] a rule-based ability to protect the wearer from harm, unlike the [Kick Power Enhancement Shoes].
For the current Luca, his physical fitness had become a burden for this mechanical arm.
Aside from simple "gripping" and "punching"...
Other actions requiring coordination with the shoulder or body, if using the mechanical arm excessively, could lead to muscle strain in his fragile body.
This was why he took time every day to spar with combat experts like Shield Mountain.
It was actually to adapt to this somewhat overpowered arm.
If the description of [Sweet Surrender] didn't include the "flexible manipulation" trait, Luca even doubted whether he could truly master this arm.
However, a combat expert like Shield Mountain wouldn't be subdued so easily.
Seeing he couldn't break free from the grip, he immediately raised a leg and kicked sideways at Luca.
Helpless, Luca could only use the mechanical arm to push hard, creating distance between him and Shield Mountain.
Simultaneously, he raised his arm and aimed at a large tree nearby.
Then.
With a whoosh, a grappling hook shot out rapidly from the elbow of Luca's white right arm.
Before Shield Mountain could rush back to him...
The grappling hook embedded in the tree trunk immediately began to retract rapidly. The micro-motor at Luca's elbow spun, emitting zzzt white smoke.
His whole body was pulled by this immense force, flying directly toward the big tree.
However...
Thud~
A muffled sound.
Luca, "flying" at high speed, slammed solidly face-first into the tree trunk. He immediately grimaced, covering his head and gasping.
"Hiss, stop stop stop, my arm is gonna break..."
Shield Mountain, who was about to continue the attack, stopped immediately and looked at Luca with a helpless, wry smile.
"Master, you really shouldn't add these weird functions to your prosthetic. Dangerous moves like that can easily injure you."
But before Shield Mountain could finish, Luca's mechanical prosthetic began vibrating and glowing green again.
The slight muscle strain caused by the rapid grappling hook movement was fully healed by this gentle energy in the blink of an eye.
Yes, the last function of [Sweet Surrender] was the built-in grappling hook ability common to all of Nero's mechanical arms.
This grappling hook skill could pull enemies or objects closer for attacks.
It could also allow Luca to move quickly between buildings.
However, just like the arm's output power which Luca couldn't fully withstand...
This immense pulling force could easily cause muscle strain.
Currently, all Luca could really do was pull some lighter objects directly to him using the hook.
But Luca believed that as his physical fitness gradually improved and his proficiency with [Sweet Surrender] increased, he should eventually be able to swing between buildings like Spider-Man.
Probably...
Hmm, maybe I just need to synthesize a body enhancement item sometime...
Luca thought, rubbing his arm which was actually fully healed.
Just as Shield Mountain was about to advise Luca again not to add so many dangerous functions to his mechanical prosthetic...
Wrench's excited voice came from the main gate of the front yard.
"Master Luca, Master Luca! The stuff you asked for is all here!"
Seeing Wrench running towards him excitedly holding a big box, Luca waved to Shield Mountain to pause the combat practice, then walked quickly towards him.
"Master Luca, this is..."
Before the chatty Wrench could explain, Luca interrupted quickly.
"Did the micron-level nerve stimulation units arrive?"
Wrench shook his head decisively.
"No, it's the materials you mentioned yesterday, Master!"
"So fast?"
Luca was delighted. He immediately took the box from Wrench.
Then, without waiting for Wrench to ask further questions, he trotted quickly towards the villa's basement.
"Hey, Master, wait for me! Let me see it this time!"
However, before Wrench could take a step, he was immediately grabbed by the scruff of his neck by Shield Mountain from behind. He could only watch helplessly as Luca walked down the stairs.
Ignoring Wrench's resentful gaze...
After quickly arriving at the underground laboratory.
The first thing Luca saw was a fully automatic turret "looking around."
[H-28Q Apex Turret]
In fact, this item was much simpler than Luca had imagined.
Aside from its unreasonable friend-or-foe identification mechanism based purely on Luca's subjective judgment...
And the black-box-like energy core that converted all attacks into magical lasers...
In other aspects, including its folding form and sensing Luca's approach, the turret itself didn't seem to have many special features.
After all, although it could be folded and retracted, the retracted turret was still a metal box about the size of a suitcase.
So, usually, Luca would only bring it along when going out by car. At other times, he just left it randomly in the villa.
This way, even when he was asleep at night, the continuously working turret would attack any intruders.
However.
Today, Luca's attention wasn't on this turret.
Setting the box in his hand aside temporarily, Luca, full of excitement, walked quickly to an orange sphere emitting a faint fluorescent glow.