kscans

Chapter 145 - Yuri, Take Up Your Gun 2. Development Policy

According to Dalia, the archer from Lucky Footsteps, the bows in this world, partly because they use monster materials, were shortbows but had a maximum range of five hundred meters. Their effective range was about three hundred to three hundred fifty meters for arching shots, and one hundred fifty to two hundred meters for direct shots. A firearm with a shorter range than that would likely be a highly portable and concealable pistol, or a submachine gun with a high rate of fire and suppressive power. From Yuri's perspective, who did not desire close-quarters combat, the merits were indeed small.

Here, Yuri considered the function of magic power in ball-type magic. As far as he knew, ball-type magic worked by first using magic power to manifest the magic power of each element in the form of a ball, and then launching it at the target. This meant that magic power was also used to maintain the ball's shape. For magic like Light, Dark, Fire, and Wind, where the projectile had no physical form, the magic power consumption seemed to be high. The Water Ball from Water Magic and its derivative, the Ice Bullet, also apparently consumed a comparable amount of magic power to maintain the projectile.

"...So... that means that magic other than Earth and Wood is inefficient at this stage..."

There was also the issue of power, so it was hard to make a snap judgment, but if ensuring range was the goal, he wanted to choose magic with the best possible magic efficiency. Furthermore, if he also considered the power upon impact, the choice had to be a Stone Bullet.

Incidentally, there was apparently also lightning magic, but that was a high-tier or composite element, so at least for the current Yuri, it was unusable. Also, it seemed to be an element more suited for area-of-effect attacks rather than long-range attacks, making it unsuitable for sniping. In conclusion, the best option was still Stone Bullet type magic.

"In that case... assuming the projectile itself handles the impact force, the problem becomes how to launch it efficiently..."

As mentioned earlier, the magic power in ball-type magic is also used to manifest the projectile. Therefore, preparing the projectile in advance and then launching it should be more magic-efficient. However, there was one problem here.

"Hmm... as I thought, using ordinary stones reduces its effectiveness..."

Perhaps it was a matter of magic affinity, but the effect of the magic was not good unless the projectile was also made with Earth Magic. Moreover, metals like iron had inherently low magic affinity, so that idea was also quickly discarded.

"That would mean... a system where you launch bullets made beforehand with Earth Magic using magic power... Considering the air resistance of the bullet... isn't that just like the bullets from my past life?"

Perhaps it was a case of convergent evolution of technology. Things developed for similar purposes tend to take on similar forms. If that was the case, it would be faster to just develop a magic tool version of a rifle from his past life.

"In this case, would the Magic Stone be what corresponds to the cartridge?"

He considered using a single magic stone to fire multiple bullets, but that would inevitably require a huge magic stone. It would be better to handle a single bullet and a single magic stone as a set, just like the bullets from his past life on Earth.

"In that case..."

Yuri reconsidered. What were the merits of making a magic tool instead of just using ordinary Earth Magic (Stone Bullet)? The development would need to follow that policy.

"First is extending the range."

Precisely because the magic of this world had a shorter range than a bow, it seems they had been hell-bent on increasing its power. However, for Yuri, who held the firm conviction that he was weak, placing himself outside the enemy's attack range was the fundamental premise. Thus, he inevitably reached the conclusion that it was better to attack from farther away than either magic or bows could reach. It was the same whether the opponent was human or a monster. Being able to attack from a distance was, above all, the most important thing.

And so, the highest priority for development was decided.

If he were to reference the rifles of his past life on Earth, he should either cut rifling into the barrel to improve straight-line stability... or achieve the same effect with magic.

"Next... is probably rate of fire and rapid-fire capability."

If he made the bullets in a form similar to his past life, it would be better to improve the rate of fire using the same method, which is to say, a magazine system. Should he start with a relatively simple revolving magazine, or go straight for a detachable box magazine?

"And of course, there's increasing the power."

A Stone Bullet was simply magic that hit an enemy with a stone projectile. The damage it dealt depended on the impact at the moment of collision. However, the bullets of his past life had vicious innovations like explosive rounds, armor-piercing rounds, and hollow-point rounds. If he could recreate those, an increase in power should be possible.

"Then there's ease of maintenance... it has to be usable even in poor and harsh environments."

No matter how excellent its performance, a weapon that could not withstand the rough use of a warrior could not be called practical. It had to operate without issue whether it got a little wet or covered in mud, and be easy to disassemble and maintain, or it would not be able to withstand use in actual combat.

"I guess I have a general direction for development now..."