Even with the continuous loud thud from outside, Albert comes to the library today, mainly to teach me materialmancing again. This time, it’s about how to create things that require two materials or more. The prerequisite of doing that is having two containers very close together, and that’s it.
“This is very useful, especially if you want to make armor-piercing bullets,” Albert says.
“Armor piercing?” Like AP bullets? It’s easy to create, to be honest, just put a steel core encased in copper and you’ll have an armor-piercing bullet. However, with materialmancing, I haven’t found a way to do so.
“Yes, do you really expect a regular bullet to penetrate a soldier wearing thick steel armor?” He asks me back.
To be honest, he has a point. Even though this world is still colonial-medieval, the manufacturing technology of this world should allow it to produce a highly precise component. If there’s a reincarnator in this world, I am surprised there is no computer yet in this world. Well, I guess, I’ll find that out sooner or later.
“Thick steel armor?” I ask.
“Yeah, people like your father will wear far thicker breastplates on their chests to protect themselves from bullets. There’s a reason why rifles don’t exactly make knights obsoletes, instead, they change form into some sort of heavy infantries.”
Heavy infantry. I don’t know what the definition of heavy infantry in this world is. However, judging from it, heavy infantry is a soldier that wears heavy armor. It’s not a really big surprise, considering that people of this world have magic. However, what kind of bullet penetrates my father’s chest, though?
“Alright, can you tell me why my father has a hole in his chest armor?” I ask.
“That’s the job of an armor-piercing bullet. Make no mistake. Your father’s armor can shrug off a bullet fired from an MH rifle,” Albert adds.
“Really?” I want confirmation.
“Yeah, the thing that almost killed him is a Mithell-tipped bullet fired from a rifle,” Albert adds.
“Hmm, what’s Mithell?” I ask.
“Something stronger than steel,” Albert answers.
“Is it openly sold?” I ask.
“You’re more likely to find it as a ready-to-wear mithell armor in military stores or mercenary stores rather than finding it as a raw material, Helen. If you find one, it’s not going to be cheap either,” Albert adds.
“May I know why?” I ask again. Why a material usually used as armor be seen as expensive? A bullet should be cheaper than armor since it uses much more material. However, back to my first point, some things are hard to mass-produce in this world, including bullets.
The only reason why I can make more than thirty bullets is that primers are mass-produced in this world, thanks to industrialization, I think? However, it also means that anyone going against my father also has firearms that can pierce non-hardened armor, such as thin metal breastplate.
“Anyway, let’s try making this bullet, shall we?” Albert asks as he puts the copper container right next to the steel container. “Remember the process, make a bullet cavity in your blueprint first, then confirm the different materials that’ll be used on each layer. Try zooming in into your blueprint so the accuracy is more than a millimeter, change it into a micrometer if you want it to be highly precise.”
I open the blueprint for the 5.56x45 bullets. I make a hole inside of the bullet but still leave enough copper as the jacket for the bullet itself. The bullet becomes hollow, and I add another layer for the second material. The second layer fills the same exact hole that I made earlier. I choose the material to be taken from a secondary container.
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I put my hand on the container and begin crafting one bullet. It doesn’t take long until the bullet comes out of my hand. However, unlike the previous bullet which was fully made from copper, this time, it is only encased in a thin copper jacket. It’s cheaper than going full copper, and steel is better at piercing armor. Though, lead is even way cheaper.
I put the bullet back into my pocket. Maybe I can create another magazine and thirty more bullets to deal with armor threats. Talking about preparation, does Albert have any idea about what happened last night?
“Albert, do you have any idea about what happened last night?” I ask Albert.
Albert’s smile then goes away after that question. Immediately, sweat begins to flow from his face, with his hand holding onto his chin. “Last night? I think nothing happens last night, young miss. As far as I can recall, I slept pretty soundly.”
I see lies coming out of his mouth. Missing eye contact, weird intonation, and an unconfident voice are not Albert’s usual tones. He’s usually very confident with his tone, but this time, he is not even sure about what he just said.
“Are you lying?” I ask.
“Lying, to you, young miss? I’d not dare, hahaha,” he gives out a fake laugh.
“Are you sure, Albert? Because I can tell you were lying to me. Can you please be honest with me, about what happened last night?” I ask Albert again. Hopefully, he gives me a straight answer this time.
He then sighs, as if the whole weight on his shoulders just flies away, “Young miss, I’ve been told that this is adult business, not something that you should know, you know? Your father will kill me if I tell you.”
“Are you kidding me?” I reply.
“Hmmm?” Albert mumbles.
“I want information, and I want it now before I have a cannon round flying to my window and killing both myself and my sister. If you keep covering it, sir, I really don’t like that. I want to know what happens because combat with bandits shouldn’t continue until this far noon,” I give my own opinion, and hopefully, Albert listens this time.
Albert stands up from his chair and walks towards the white door of the library. He opens the door and peeks outside. He then turns his head to the left and to the right. He closes the door again, then he locks it from the inside.
He then sits down, but closer to me. He then put his mouth next to my ear, and he then whispers, “How much do you want to know, young miss?” The tone of a loving teacher is gone, replaced by a cynical and pragmatic tone.
I then whisper back, “Everything.”
“Last night wasn’t bandits, it was Alduria's regular army. They’re shooting at our side, even their own people from the same military. Those twin military officers are still trying to defend this territory, but I don’t know how long they’ll last,” Albert explains.
“Why do they do that?” I ask.
Albert then squints his eyes, “Young miss, you are asking too much for a 10-year-old, are you sure you are even one?”
“Huh?”
“Anyway, both sides maintain quite a number of casualties last night. However, the fight has continued this morning,” Albert adds.
“How are my odds?” I ask Albert.
“So-so, young miss. I’m not sure what your fate will be if you get captured by the regular army. There’s no courier that can go in or out of this region without being noticed by the regular army,” Albert adds.
Hmm, it will be hard. There’s a chance for me alone to get out of this region, emphasize on a chance, thanks to my previous life military training, aka the S.E.R.E training. However, escaping together with Rachel will be more than a difficult task.
“How long would the mercenary and the regular soldiers from our side last?” I ask Albert.
“I don’t know, a week, give or take if it ends up being a siege,” Albert adds.
7 days or 168 hours to prepare for the inevitable. I really need to prepare for escaping this region without causing too much attention from both my parents. I want to be seen as ‘harmless’ crafting instead of preparing for incoming doomsday.
My material is limited, but I need to make the most of it. One bullet is better than no bullet. Besides, there’s no guarantee whatsoever that my father’s army will survive the confrontation. I’m not alone, but I still need the plan b of the plan b.
Albert then puts both of her hands on my shoulder, “Helen, remember that I always watch your back, no matter you are going. So, don’t be scared, alright?”
I nod. “How are you going to achieve that, Albert?” I ask. Albert is a teacher, and even though he is a legendary gunslinger, I have my own doubts about it.
“You’ll never know.” He giggles and I reply with a nod.
That concludes today’s lesson.