Chapter 82: Chapter 79: The First Step in Alchemy
Black Tower of the Forge, Public Lecture Hall 3.
On the lecture platform, a tutor nad Eric was explaining "The Identification and Handling of Crystalline Magic Materials" in a monotonous voice.
Even though it was rely an Alchemy Puppet granted teaching authority, the sharp light glinting from its optical lenses was enough to make the nearly one thousand Advanced Apprentices below sit up straight and pay attention.
After all, the being behind this puppet was a Morning Star-rank Wizard who specialized in Floating Battleship design.
No one would dare skip his class.
"...Crystalline magic materials, based on their internal Magic Conductivity structures and elental affinities, are primarily divided into four main categories: energy-gathering, conductive, transformative, and storage."
"The common explosive crystals we discussed in our last class are a typical example of energy-gathering materials. When struck by an energy impact of a specific frequency, their structure instantly collapses, releasing the energy stored within..."
Allen, sitting by a window in the back row, watched the lecture platform with a focused gaze. His primary cognitive thread was recording and learning every word from Wizard Eric, simultaneously storing the audio and video in DSeek’s database.
His main consciousness, however, had already subrged itself deep within his mind, into a private domain composed of azure data streams.
「Two months had passed since the mandatory mission in the Silent Forest.」
The near-death experience, along with the 1,740 Low-Level Magic Stones he had ultimately acquired, had fully triggered the phobia of insufficient firepower etched into his very bones.
The high-energy ray from the Micro-Light Scale Armor Beast, which had been nearly impossible to dodge, was like a steel needle jabbed deep into his mory. It made him clearly realize that in this world, the tactics of first discovery and beyond-visual-range strikes were still supre.
The anxiety from his lack of firepower, combined with his preliminary deconstruction of this world’s transcendent power system, created an urgent need for a tool that was truly his own—one that could execute his tactical philosophy.
’Grenades are one-ti consumables, an ergency asure, not a conventional deterrent.’
’What I need is the capacity for a surgical strike.’
For the past two months, Allen had devoted himself completely to studying the specialized courses for Advanced Apprentices.
Advanced Runic Studies, Material Science, Alchemical Construction... these tos, which others found boring enough to be soporific, were disassembled, categorized, restructured, and learned with DSeek’s assistance, becoming the foundation of his knowledge base.
He was now capable of creating so low-level Alchemy Weapons.
’Developing a new weapon will not only test what I’ve learned recently,’ he thought, ’but also help
accumulate experience for building Gundams... or rather, Golems, in the future.’
He already had a preliminary idea: to design a Magical Firearm.
Within the azure interface that unfolded in DSeek, a project was opened.
[Project Codena: "Judgent"]
[Objective: Develop a man-portable precision Magical Shooting Platform]
[Core Design Philosophy: To subvert the traditional Alchemy Weapon concept of "Power = More Magic Power
Better Materials." Instead, a modular, upgradable, and expandable weapon system will be built around the core trics of "Energy Efficiency," "Ballistic Stability," "High Precision," and "Concentrated High Lethality."]
’This won’t be a one-off design. I want a universal weapon platform that I can use, but one that can also be mounted on my future Golems.’
The Wizard Civilization, of course, had guns.
He had seen Alchemy Weapons called "Magic Energy Rifles" in the apprentice trading area, and their function was sowhat similar to the gunpowder firearms of Earth’s era.
Furthermore, there was no shortage of Alchemy Items that functioned like submachine guns, grenade launchers, or man-portable rocket launchers, but their prices were each more outrageous than the last.
The crucial point was that none of the gun-type Alchemy Tools on the market t his requirents.
He created a new docunt in DSeek with a clear, eye-catching title:
*Feasibility Analysis Report on the "Judgent" Man-Portable Precision Magical Shooting Platform*.
The first part of the report was his detailed comparative analysis of the four mainstream types of ranged-attack tools on the market.
On the DSeek interface, 3D models of the four items floated side-by-side above a dense list of data.
[Magic Energy Rifle]: Structure is similar to gunpowder weapons, using tal projectiles inscribed with Runes. Pros: Simple to operate. Cons: Low energy efficiency, trajectory is heavily affected by the environnt, produces significant noise and muzzle flash, making it unsuitable for stealthy sniping. Essentially designed for Wizard Guards and rcenaries who are not adept at casting Magic.
[Heavy Magic Crossbow]: Imnse power, uses special Enchanted Crossbow Arrows. Pros: High single-shot damage and strong penetration. Cons: Extrely expensive and cumberso, arrows are high-value consumables, and the drawing or charging process is slow, preventing continuous fire. Classified as a siege or fortification-breaching weapon.
[Magic Staff]: The mainstream casting dium. Pros: Versatile, can cast a variety of Magic, excels at area-of-effect suppression. Cons: Extrely dependent on the user’s own Spiritual Power and casting skill. Achieving a precise point-kill requires years of practice. Moreover, it has a noticeable casting wind-up and produces intense energy fluctuations, making the caster an easy target for focused fire.
[Single-Use Witchcraft Scroll]: Seals Magic into a special Scroll. Pros: Instant-cast with consistent power. Cons: Extrely expensive. A single Scroll capable of threatening an Official Wizard would be enough to bankrupt Allen. It is considered a strategic deterrent or a last-resort trump card.
Allen’s gaze swept over the data lists.
’The developnt of firearms on Earth was based on their use by mortals, balancing power with precision, which led to the creation of sophisticated aiming systems.’
’But the developnt of ranged weapons in the Wizard Civilization followed a completely different path.’
’For a Wizard, various perception-type Witchcraft spells are the best sights. They can lock onto enemies with their Spiritual Power and track targets with Magic.’
’As one advances, there’s barely enough ti to master the knowledge of one’s own specialized school of magic. The number of high-powered Witchcraft spells is countless, making firearms completely incomparable.’
’So, the "firearms" here are nothing more than simple projectile launchers, an early-stage transitional tool. Very few people have ever thought of attaching a "scope" to one.’
But Allen knew that this kind of perception could be jamd and deceived.
The Micro-Light Scale Armor Beast he had encountered in the Silent Forest had nearly fooled everyone with its optical camouflage and its ability to hide its Magic Power fluctuations.
If Baston’s shield hadn’t been tough enough, Bloom would already be a corpse.
In the report’s conclusion, Allen summarized his findings clearly in a single line: The market lacks a reusable, long-range firearm that is easy to use, highly concealable, and capable of beyond-visual-range precision kills.
The second part of the report contained the preliminary design sketch for "Judgent."
It looked like a sniper rifle with a sleek, industrial design aesthetic. Its body had smooth lines, but instead of a traditional barrel, it featured an energy-focusing channel.
The stock had a bay for a replaceable Magic Stone power cell, but the most striking feature was the complex, modular sight mounted on top of the weapon’s fra.
[Multi-Function Tactical Sight Module]:
Features: [Optical Zoom], [Thermal and Night Vision], [Magic Vision].
The third part of the report was a strategic value analysis.
He wrote: "This weapon could change the conventional combat patterns for apprentices and even low-rank Official Wizards. It transforms the concept of ’sniping’ from a specialty of a few elite assassins into a replicable, standard-issue tactical weapon. Once the design is finalized and the costs are streamlined, its value in low-intensity conflicts will be imasurable."
Just then, Wizard Eric’s voice drifted from the lecture platform:
"...And transformative crystals, such as the ’Light Crystal,’ can change the form of input energy. A stream of Magic Power passing through it can be converted into a highly-focused laser beam. This is the basis for many Alchemy Ray Devices..."
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