V2: Chapter 5:

…

Another day.

Another shitty set of rolls.

I sighed, as I looked over the artifacts that we gained from our most recent delve.

None of which were for me.

"That one will go over to Riegert." Ilych raised one up. It was a silly-looking, large pauldron that obviously took after a certain, grimdark series. On the overworld map, it was as good as a hat to identify your Champion. It gave about a twenty percent increase in damage resistance, but reduced range by 40%. Worthless for ranged heroes, but perfect for melee fighters who didn't have range to begin with. If you put the whole suit on, your Champion look like a lawsuit waiting to happen, but they'll kick a lotta ass with 90% increase in damage resistance and basically no downsides because range didn't matter to melee combatants. "The next one is for you."

Ilych nodded and put on the amulet without even questioning it.

That one was a cooldown decrease item. Some would say that it's best used by caster-type Champions, because it provided a 50% cooldown reduction, but we didn't have one of those yet. Sure, a twenty second decrease was bigger than a 2 second decrease, but if the former didn't exist the latter was infinitely more effective.

That's just how math works.

I think.

Besides, it's funny to see regular units flying up into the air every two seconds instead of four. It's like having a spectacle fighter on the field as your Champion.

Ilych put up the final piece that we found and I sighed again.

"That one's for Rita." It was a set of bracers that had moon sigils on it, which only worked for Elven Archer Champions. Another reference to another game, but this time for a company that were the ones getting sued. I wondered if they were doing better since I died. Better as in making good games again, and not better as in cashing in on shitty mobile games for grandmothers. Probably not. "That one should give her arrows better effectiveness against monstrous creatures."

The bracers and the greaves of the set also covered the most skin.

The torso portion was basically silver bikini armor accompanied by a half-cape that barely reached the small of the back.

I'll give you one guess why that cape only reached halfway down.

Forum wars about Rita being better in the bikini armor or her usual leotard and fishnet mix were a weekly occurrence.

I'm sure the devs encouraged it.

I switched sides depending on my mood/what fanart came out that week.

But I'm digressing.

"We still haven't found what we need." I grumbled aloud and Ilych nodded. She stole a glance at the latest iteration of the rifle I'd been doing my best to develop. After a brief talk with alchemists, we were on the road to figuring out the percussion cap system, but chemistry in this world was less developed than I thought. They were testing out existing compounds, so that the cap getting hit will send sparks 100% of the time into a tube connected into the powder well. The current methods were only 25% effective, though a soldier could just keep re-cocking the hammer until it worked, technically. "The ancient weapons were guns, before they ran out and resorted to common artifacts. Still, there should be traces left behind. Even a single sample will change everything."

I let myself collapse against my chair.

I did my best to drive away the thought that my knowledge was useless, therefore making me useless in the process, and recalibrated.

The event that unlocked the rifle and ammunition upgrades to the gunpower infantry had certain parameters. People extensively researched what those were, because people wanted to get guns as quickly as possible for both the meme and meta reasons. Needless to say, even with the forums banning any deep-dive information posted, the meta and meme communities working together cracked the code within three days.

The power of degeneracy can never be underestimated.

The earliest of the three speedrun methods was to get it through sheer luck by triggering a 1% event chance while exploring any Ancient Ruin. That was my current strategy. The official name of the event was probably 'Ancient Firepower' or something along those lines. I liked to recall it as 'Peace was never an option' event, because why bother with diplomacy research when you can pump everything into gunpowder research and just kill everyone else?

Since that wasn't happening, or at least didn't seem like it was happening, I refocused on the other early unlock methods.

The second was getting a third Citadel, since having three allowed them to power their Ancient Foundries up. The event boosted all the Citadel's outputs, and after a spot of research, unlocked most of the Ancient's secrets and archives. That was meant to explain the rapid rise in technology in the midgame. Everyone found out the truth, everyone did their best to figure shit out, so that everyone could survive.

That wasn't happening because it'd be suicide to get a third Citadel now. The initial output bonuses weren't enough to overcome the remaining factions dogpiling you. Maybe if the bonuses were flat additions… no that'd make the endgame impossible.

Anyway, the third and final way to access rifles and cartridges was… unpleasant.

Trade.

With everyone running around, getting everything that they can out of ancient ruins, the 1% chance of the technology dropping became practically guaranteed. By contacting your opponents with your Champion, by having theirs and yours adjacent to one another, whilst non-hostile, you could initiate a trade deal through diplomacy. Later in the game, with communication networks properly set up, the Champion-to-Champion requirement was no longer necessary, and the Diplomacy Tab was always available for use.

So, if I ask around, contact my rivals, and hash out a trade deal—guh.

Memories of terrible trade deal after trade deal flashed before my eyes.

All my money for a single Rare Artifact?

Five whole territories of a contested region for ten turns peace, even though I just kicked your ass?

Three of my 5k research point projects for your 1k research project?

Just thinking about trade made me want to reconsider if breathing was worth it.

I'd rather wait for the midgame and the painful event chain that unlocked it to pop, rather than trade.

"Well, nothing to do besides keep fighting the good fight, I suppose." Trade in-game reflect trade in my current reality. If you asked for something, if you wanted something, people weren't going to hesitate to make you bleed out the nose for it. Especially if you were the dominant power, such as my current case. People were already sniffing around the establishments I went to and asking questions. Even with how slow information travelled in this world, it still travelled quickly, and so people were looking at guns with greater interest than I liked. Khanrow sent me a letter saying that gunsmiths outside of the Academy region were getting hired left and right, and he only just managed to get a dozen or so. "Trading for what we need will cost us too damn much. All we can do is keep fighting and looking."

Ilych, once again, deployed a tactical nod and provided no further input.

I almost missed her talking about the winds all the time, because her being cool and aloof and out of armor was distracting.

Her being crazy gave me another chance to rethink things before I make a mistake.

Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

Still, even without that particular safety net, I was still doing fine.

The battle against puberty was a harsh one, but I was managing so far.

Oh, and revolutionizing guns to gain an advantage without giving everyone else guns was hard too, I guess.

…

Interlude: Celia.

…

"Catherine, explain."

"The King of Wisdom has created a weapon that he intends to use to revolutionize warfare."

I looked over the weapon my agent had purchased, which my guardian and advisor looked over as well. Catherine was centuries old. A phantom that could barely be seen, or wander far from the object which anchored her soul to reality. She usually spent her days in the library, perusing tomes which were turned by her attendants, and answering questions to the best of her ability.

"I need more than that. How exactly does that work?"

"My honored mistress, may I suggest that you inspect and consider the weapon first, yourself? It will be good training, especially with the opponents we have."

First and foremost a teacher, the Phantom bid me to make my own assessment first, and so I did.

I frowned at the weapon and looked upon it with crossed arms and a furrowed brow.

There were improvements to it that made it very different from the hunter's tool that I was familiar with. The most glaring change was the new form of ignition. A 'flintlock' mechanism that channeled sparks into the tube… and the second was the 'cartridge.' A paper tube that contained the correct amount of powder and bullet to invalidate several concerns that usually permeated the usage of guns. "The new mechanism appears to be an unrefined design, which means that the Forgers intend to improve on it soon with something far better."

The Forgers of Mountains were a dedicated and prideful people. Anything that they considered imperfect was soon to be replaced. Compared to the rest of the weapon's meticulous nature, the ignition system of the firearm crafted by the famed Erol was robust, but unrefined. Something he obviously intended to scrap and reuse for his true inventions later.

But I had no clue as to what that design was.

Catherine spoke shortly after I did, as to help me in my observations.

"My lady, please consider the new munition's packaging. The container is of great import." I turned to look at the small paper parcel stamped with Erol's crest. Two hammers across a shield. Simple and succinct. Each parcel contained ten of the paper cartridges. "Servant, how many of these parcels were available at the storefront?"

"Two boxes full with at least a hundred each. A third halfway empty. Three more waiting to be re-used."

I nodded at that.

"The cartridge allows for the mass-production of munitions. Not only that, but the container parcel itself is covered in wax, while a small cloth covers the cartridges inside. It will allow whole armies to be armed with the weapon to never be without ammunition, as long as their supply lines hold." Catherine nodded at my assessment, while I continued to stare and discern what I could from the information at my disposal. She would stay silent, so that I could practice my ability to infer and discern. I was tempted to look at the weapon, but I knew that I was still missing something. I noticed it after a few moments. "Ah, the cartridges themselves are roughshod, while the container is not. A component is missing in the cartridges that Erol expects to introduce soon."

Catherine nodded and spoke.

"Correct. Your focus on the weapon itself had made you focus on what the King of Wisdom might do next, but you almost missed the forest for a single grove." Catherine passed by my side. The air barely lowering in temperature in her presence. I saw the vague outline of a robed figure in the edges of my vision. Once upon a time, Phantoms were able to manifest more substantially and had far greater powers at their disposal. They used to even be able to wield weapons. "This is the beginning of a complete change in warfare as we know it. An age where hundreds or thousands of guns point at one another from vast distances and armies are culled within minutes. Much like a crossbow, a peasant can be taught to use this within weeks, and Erol has already espoused the accuracy and range of his new weapon quite thoroughly."

I nodded at Catherine's words.

Erol had seized opportunity quickly in order to sell his wares. The exhibition had been a simple shooting range, comparing a crossbow, his old weapons, and the new. His fame attracted attention quickly, as did the promise of a new weapon. Everyone knew that the old firearms could only be trusted within a hundred paces. The new gun and the new munition combined allowed him to double the range of the rifle, and he invited experienced hunters from the crowd to test it, and all were fervent admirers of the weapon after their first shot… especially with the lack of need for powder horn.

Powder horns which would've needed barrels of gunpowder to be transported in wagon trains. A deadly thing to transport if a mage could be placed amongst raiding teams. Meanwhile, the new parcels were inconspicuous, soldiers could carry dozens of them on their person if needed, and perhaps even delivered by scouts flying swiftly through the air. A winged horse could carry another grown male with its rider and equipment.

I had to take a deep breath and lean on the desk over the weapon… no… the cartridges.

More than anything, the cartridges made the King of Wisdom's intentions clear.

"He intends to fight all across the continent and take every single Citadel." Compact, streamlined, and perfect for logistics. I'd heard tales of how his army doubled in size when they marched towards their foe. He made friends of every tempted tribe in his path, felled every foe, and ensured the safety of his men. The constant reinforcements he received, meant to replace wounded during the journey, instead made his army swell and swell in size. I'd thought it was conjecture and rumors, but the simple package I now looked upon stated that was not the case. While everyone else looked to establish themselves, build up their lands, and make armies… the one I declared my rival was laying the foundation of complete conquest over the whole continent. It was dizzying. "What can we do?"

Catherine, thankfully, had an answer… even if it was blunt.

"The same. As everyone else will, I imagine. All we can hope to do now is catch his stride and chase after him. In all my centuries, I never imagined learning once again, but here I am." Catherine's little jibe at herself made me smile. I felt a ghostly hand drift over my shoulder. It was a comforting sensation that I'd known since I was a child. "Do not fret, my dear. You are young. You are learning. You are wise, talented, and great in a multitude of ways. Do not be disheartened. Our struggle will take centuries, and you will only grow stronger."

Though I derived some comfort over my teacher's words, a hint of fear stayed within my chest.

I did have the advantage of time on my hands… but that was only if Jack would allow me to have it.

And, as the weapon before me showcased, along with the trail of destruction and innumerable treasures found on Academy grounds, I knew that he would not.

Unlike my ancestors, I did not have time on my side.

I needed to be better now, simply so that my people would not be swept aside.