“Magical items, while usually ineffective so far against demons, may be useful in unique circumstances. Unfortunately, it requires a user to get way too close for comfort. However, some combatants found use in grenade-based magical explosives, and enchanted projectiles.”

- Excerpt from “An Emergency Treatise on the Subject of ‘Demons’” by Daniel Specke.

+++

+++ Lieutenant Hans Hoffman +++

Rousselot City

“So you specialize in err, alchemy type of magic?” Hans asked as the old man continued checking his wares. All around them were different glass jars filled with colored powders. Now, Hans was no chemist, and he was no mage, but he knew these things were serious business. He almost felt a childish elation with it.

“Yes, sir,” the mage answered. “They can be used to so much stuff. Healing. Explosives. Explosives mainly. You can’t believe how many folks love explosives nowadays. They like putting them inside hollow lead balls. Or the new fused exploding shells they use with cannons. Desperate times call for new weapons after all.”

“And you help supply that?”

He opened one of the jars. It was marked, “Quick Freeze”. That certainly sounded like a good thing. At the moment, Hans was searching for anything that’ll screw up the water-based capabilities of the “Tentacled Eel”. Who knew? Maybe throwing a grenade filled with “Quick Freeze” on it would work?

“Yep. Here, this…this is enchanted gunpowder,” the man said. “Musketeers use it for special hollow lead balls. It’s quite tricky to place them inside it, as without some magical guidance, it has a chance to detonate when the gun is fired.”

“I’d absolutely rather not freeze myself if I fired that.”

“But…” the mage smirked. “I have a service to offer you. I can enchant the bullets so this powder only detonates when it hits its target. That requires some AP, so I expect…twenty Imperial Marks per ten musket balls. Are you up for that?”

“So that’s why they don’t usually use it,” Hans muttered. “It’s expensive.”

“It is. I think I’d use quite a massive amount of AP myself to get these things inside,” the mage said. “This is why most musketeers utilize their own magic for their bullets. It’s also generally more effective, but as you’ve said—your situation is less than ideal. That’s why enchantments exist after all. So that he who has no skill or magic—can still use something similar to it.”

“Yeah,” Hans said. “Any other special bullet types? Damn it…I’d need to buy some pistols too.”

“I recommend the new ‘dog locks’ or ‘snaphaunce’ ones around the market here,” the mage said. “Very expensive, but I heard they’re simpler to use than the wheel locks most folks use nowadays.”

“How much is it, do you wager? Also, why the hell would they be more expensive if it’s simpler?”

“Still new developments. The Army hasn’t adopted it, so the cost is high.” The man frowned. “Probably twenty to forty Imperial Marks.”

“Okay…that, well…” Hans sighed. He had no idea how to operate a flintlock, much less the previous locks that came before it. “How much is a normal wheellock at least then?”

“Sixteen Imperial Marks, last I checked,” he answered. “What? Didn’t you and that Virtus woman save the city? Surely, you have the money to buy anyway.”

“We’d rather save,” Hans said. “And…I need at least four of them on my holster anyway if I wish to even fight my target. Ready loaded. That sounds expensive.”

“What about your guns then?” he asked. “I see that pistol on you. Looks like a very good one.”

“Oh, this?” Hans pulled out his Ruger. Then, he had an idea. Releasing its magazine (which he always kept loaded due to his rapidly increasing paranoia), he showed his bullets on the table.

“This sir, are 5.7x28mm LFI high-velocity rounds that my pistol, this Ruger ZO8 I’m holding, and my PDW, the MS22 SMG, use. Err, well if you’re confused about the names, it’s just my ‘long gun’. I didn’t bring that other gun, but I did bring the whole magazine containing thirty rounds for my PDW, alongside the rounds for my pistol. Can you enchant the bullets itself for a total of forty rounds?”

The mage looked at the rounds that Hans presented, and immediately, he could see a glint of interest spark in his eyes as he inspected one of them.

“These…these aren’t normal musket balls, aren't they?” the mage asked.

“Yes, they are…err, a more advanced type. The ‘gunpowder’, or well, really, we call it smokeless powder, is inside the cartridge. It’s a bit hard to explain, but inside, again, is the special gunpowder it uses. My gun essentially ignites it, and the bullet, the tip over there, is fired, while the cartridge case itself is ejected. I need you to enchant it without touching the inside. Like…literal, magic it, or whatever.”

“Give me ten of these bullets,” the mage said.

“What?”

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“And…” he smirked. “I’ll normally charge you eighty Imperial Marks for the scale of the job you want me to do, but I think I want to study these rounds in detail. This…this is an absolute mechanical masterpiece. Quite frankly, while I’m a mage who specializes in ice-based magic, gunsmith related work with my colleagues on the side. I’ll charge you thirty Imperial Marks instead. Oh…and can you give me a quick run-down about that pistol of yours, and how it works from the inside out?”

“Are you planning on…learning how my gun works?”

“Hey, again, I work with blacksmiths and gunsmiths at times,” he flashed a grin. “I think I’ll have a new experiment with my friends in town the next time we do another project.”

Hans stared at him. This was a massive deal. He gets special enchanted bullets—at the cost of possibly giving a mage who was clearly greedy for knowledge of the technological know-how for weapons centuries ahead.

Then again, even if he finds out how it works, replicating it requires specialized manufacturing techniques. They still haven’t even simplified their gun locks enough to fully optimize them. The best he’ll learn is the idea of cartridge rounds…

And in exchange, I get to fight like Adelyn.

“Fine, it’s a deal, sir.”

He extended his hand for him, and the mage greedily took it. He could already see it in his eyes. This man was definitely planning to make a crap ton of money from this. And Hans imagined that due to the demonic threat, people who sell guns—and even better guns, would be the bastards making bank in this day and age.

+++

Hans pulled the trigger.

Immediately, the shot he discharged flew straight into one of his targets—a cup that held some water. His shot glowed an icy blue as it traveled at seven hundred meters per second. The shot slammed into the target, producing a split-second bluish flash, leaving his target completely frozen.

He lowered his Ruger as he heard claps approach him.

“Bravo! Bravo!” Captain Strobel said. “That…that was a powerful one. Damn…I didn’t expect you’d be one to splurge so many Imperial Marks for damned bullets, but hey, I suppose these enchanted bullets are some good stuff.”

The mage, who Hans found out was named Moritz Pilzer, approached from behind and inspected his work. A proud smile graced the old man’s face as he looked at it.

“Well, I suppose all the AP I used for that is worth it,” the old man laughed. “Now I have two months’ worth of cash for my own self-leisure.”

Hans looked back. “Months worth?”

Captain Strobel laughed.

“You absolute daft man, that money you paid is some massive stuff,” he then pulled out his own wheellock pistol and fired a sudden shot. The shot glowed red and shattered the frozen mug with ease. “Improved Shot II right there, son. All it costs me is ten AP. Sure as hell doesn’t cost me a month of my pay from the Countess.”

Hans looked at his Ruger. Well, considering they earned a few thousand Imperial Marks from the Countess due to the killing of the beast, he never really had time to think about how much the money was. Quite frankly, it could be said that at this point, they already have money that would set them up for life if they split it (which was their agreement).

Of course, Hans didn’t handle the money, Adelyn did. He always had been a moron with money, he admitted again considering how much he spent just for a few dozen bullets for his gun. She on the other hand had so far used it more sparingly, buying supplies, and books, and even spending it to find allies and connections in the city.

He, on the other hand, blew the equivalent of Captain Strobel’s monthly salary straight into magical bullets. Truly, the peak of his financial skills.

“Well, I think I’ll need this, so I had to do it,” Hans said. He looked at Moritz, who began to chant with his staff on the box filled with 5.7x28mm bullets. Truly, this was the strangest thing that Hans had seen. Someone chanting as if blessing his weapons that dealt death. “And I don’t have the levels to get some fancy schmancy skills yet. Think I’ll just leverage the money I got instead for now. Stopgap measures.”

“Well, it’s not so much of a bad idea,” Captain Strobel said. “You two did get a lot of money, after all. You better spend it for the next mission. Because who knows if you’d have to engage a demon outside of your vehicle. Getting prepared is for the best.”

“Yeah,” Hans nodded. “Though considering these enchantments on bullets exist, I wonder…how effective is it against demons?”

Captain Strobel looked at the shattered frozen mug. “Hmm…it’s always better than musketry unaided by magic. But still, it’s not an end solution. Say, your bullets, even if you freeze the creature at certain sections of its body during an engagement, it’d probably just shatter it anyway. Maybe you’d be able to temporarily immobilize it though.”

“Do you think it can…just, do the killing itself?”

“No, I doubt it. The shots of your enchanted bullets are for freezing the target. Demons are probably extremely warm inside. And they’re…very physically rugged. The effects of that will most likely be temporary, perhaps counted in seconds. Still, synchronize it well with other weapons, and it might work. Say, freeze it first, then fire a musket ball with ‘Improved Shot I’, or whatever good skill…yeah, I suppose it might.”

“Well, we’ll never know if we don’t try, after all.”

“Exactly why there is a huge lack of effective anti-demon weapons and skills,” Captain Strobel shook his head. “While we can try using enchanted musket balls, cannon balls, and shells, it’s hard to pin a demon into the perfect situation where we can try it in full. For most engagements, demons will simply avoid our cannons. Avoid our shots. Then annihilate us with their powers. That leaves very little room for experimentation, and thus, learning.”

“I can see that,” Hans said.

“It’s done,” Moritz said. Hans then went straight for the box, his bullets still glowing a subtle light blue, before they returned back to their normal color. “That should do you well in combat. Though, I do not recommend it against demons per se. Most likely, it’d kill you in seconds before you can even throw half of those shots.”

“Well, it’s not like I’d ever fight one alone,” Hans said. “This is just another tool in my arsenal.”

Good. Now I can tick off the first thing on my checklist. A possibly effective magical solution to a magical problem. Considering how impossible it would be to grind levels for a few days and get to the next level requirement for new skills or upgrades, this will be a nice stopgap solution. He smiled. I hope this turns out useful.

And well, if not, he’d be dead anyway, in which case, he now knew where to go.

Straight to this old man.

“Thanks for this one, I’ll be happy to come back if I need more.”

Moritz nodded. “Sure, just throw more Imperial Marks at me, and I’m open.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”