by R. A. Mejia
Still, I wouldn’t know if it worked until I tested it. I grabbed a paper cartridge and was about to load the Flintlock Rifle with it when I remembered that I wouldn’t need the gunpowder in the cartridge. As a matter of fact, I wouldn’t need anything except the minié ball.
“Command: Place a pile of minié balls on the table,” I called out, and with a flash, the requested ammunition appeared on the table. I grabbed one of the small cone-shaped bullets and placed it down the tip of the rifle then used the ramrod to force the ball all the way down the barrel. I infused the inside of the barrel near the muzzle with a touch, brought the butt to my shoulder, and took aim at the closest target. My right index finger reflexively reached for the trigger, and I laughed at my mistake before calling out the Gust spell. Another burst of air came out, but no bullet came out with it.
I looked down the barrel, something I’d never do if there was gunpowder down there, but couldn’t see much. I infused the Light spell onto the tip of my right index finger and used it as a flashlight to illuminate the inside of the barrel. In addition to noting that the rifling on the inside of the barrel was wearing down a little and would need to be repaired, I could also see the minié ball just sitting there at the bottom of the barrel. I shook my head in frustration until I realized that the infusion of gust came out of the muzzle, not the back of the barrel. So, of course it wasn’t going to shoot out the bullet. Instead, I had a minié ball stuck in the back of my rifle barrel and no way to get it out.
I called out a command to the Metalman OS and pliers, screwdrivers, and other tools appeared on the table. I planned on taking apart the rifle to get the bullet out when I remembered that this was a virtual space. I called out, “Command: Remove the Flintlock Rifle and replace it with a new one.” The gun in my hands disappeared with a flash of light, and a replacement appeared on the table. I double-checked that the barrel was clear, and when I confirmed that it was, I chuckled at the usefulness of this virtual practice space. No more time-consuming mistakes to slow down my experiments.
With the new Flintlock Rifle sitting next to the pile of minié balls, I realized that I’d been going about this all wrong. I didn’t need to infuse the barrel directly. I grabbed one of the minié balls and applied an infusion of Gust to the slightly concave back end. Hopefully, when the spell was activated, it would act like a propellant. I rammed the minié ball down the barrel of the rifle, took aim, and called out the spell name. There was no smoke, no bang, just a quiet thump as the minié ball rocketed out of the barrel of the rifle. It impacted the closest straw dummy with a thud.
“It worked,” I said to myself as I lifted the rifle in the air and did a little happy jig. When I stopped, I walked past the table and up to the straw dummy and poked my finger into the hole the minié ball had made. There was a nickel-sized hole in the target, but when I compared it to the golf-ball-sized hole made by the gunpowder-fueled shot, I realized that there was a trade off with the new firing method.
I repeated the experiment with another ten shots and aimed at the increasingly distant targets. I found several results. One, I could shoot faster and more accurately when there wasn’t any smoke to obscure my vision. Two, the air-powered shots definitely did not have the same power or range that the gunpowder ones did. The air-powered ones just stopped hitting the targets at about three-fourths of the distance as the gunpowder-propelled shots, the ones that hit at that range only did minor damage. The effective range of the air powered ammunition was about half that of the normal ammunition.
Well, the tradeoff would be worth it if I could get off more shots before the enemy noticed me. But with the air powered ammunition, I’d never be able to kill at extreme range. Still, I could imagine the power of being able to silently kill an enemy. The only downside would be the time it took to infuse the next silent bullet after the initial shot. Both the glow and the time it took to cast the infusion would make it a specialty shot.
Regardless of its limitations, I was still excited about my success and decided to extend the experiment to the other infusions. After all, having multiple types of ammunition might be useful. I tried every kind of combination of infusion with both the paper cartridges and the minié balls, and the results were mixed with a few failing explosively. I learned that infusing Firebolt directly to the paper of the cartridge was a great way to set off the ammunition without having to use primer powder or the flintlock, but caused a large enough explosion to fracture the barrel of the rifle. But the infusion ultimately added too much time to the reloading process. However, there were some interesting effects when I infused other spells into the minié ball that topped the paper cartridges.
When activated after the shot landed, Alarm created a zone for the alarm to guard. It was a neat way to create a remote alarmed area. Gust just helped pop out the bullet from the wound. Thaumaturgy was a terrible experiment. The infusion caused an extreme amplification of sound to whatever it was infused to. The cannon-like sound staggered me when I activated the infusion while it was in the barrel. Similar to Thaumaturgy, Echo just caused an amplification of sound with an added echo effect. It might be good to use for a distraction, but not much else. Light created a tracer round that glowed as it was fired. It made tracking and adjusting my aim easier, but would really only become useful when I could fire multiple rounds one after another without standing the rifle on its butt to muzzle load. Earth Grasp did nothing when it landed; however, when it was shot into the ground, it acted like the normal spell and created a grasping hand. Oddly, when Minor Regeneration activated after the shot landed, it healed the wound it caused. I could see a really powerful application for this as a ranged heal if the ammunition didn’t do so much initial damage. Perhaps it would be better to add this to a non-lethal kind of ammunition like a blow gun dart or a rubber bullet?
I cackled with glee after I saw the effects of my most mana expensive infusions, Minor Acid Globe, Firebolt, and Extended Air Blade. When added to the minié ball and activated after the shot landed, each added elemental damage to the already deadly ammunition. Minor Acid Globe melted the straw dummies, Firebolt cause them to catch fire, and Extended Wind Blade just cut them in half from the inside out.
While I enjoyed experimenting with infusing my spells into the ammunition, I knew that in the real world it would have limited benefit. Each infusion would need the appropriate component and mana cost to cast, and I was limited to one type of infusion cast at a time. So, I could only have one Firebolt ammunition prepared in advance. If I had more than one prepared when I called out the spell name, all of the infusions would go off. Which would be a serious problem if they were strapped to me or near any friendly group members.
The limitation really made me wonder what my class ability Fabrication IV would do. According to its description, it gave me the ability to create any small magical item in my schematic database. I wasn’t sure exactly how that would work, but if it acted anything like the previous versions of the ability, I’d first have to scan or make a magical item before it could be replicated. Which still might require me to figure out how to make a permanent enchantment of my ammunition before I could recreate it.
I infused one of the minié balls with the Gust infusion then scanned it.
Minié Ball - Gust Infusion. Components: 0.06 lb of gunpowder, 0.07 lb of lead, 0.01 lb of paper, 5 Mana.
I was surprised to see the schematic included the infusion and the mana I’d used to fuel the spell. I tried to fabricate an infused minié ball but got an error message stating that I lacked the needed materials, so I commanded the Metalman OS to create them. A pile of gunpowder, lead, and paper appeared. But no mana. I tried to fabricate the infused minié ball, and there was a drain on my mana, then the cylindrical tool popped out of my left forearm and created it in under a second. I was impressed by the speed and was glad that I’d invested ability points in dexterity and added skill points to increase my efficiency in fabrication. I loaded the Flintlock Rifle, aimed, and called out the name of the s
pell, and just like before, the round shot from the barrel with a whoosh of air.
It worked. I could fabricate the special ammunition, and it was faster than infusing them manually. I created more of each type of infused ammunition I’d tested and scanned them, just to get the schematic for it. But with further testing, I noticed a flaw in the design. The fabricated ammunition had all the same properties and requirements as the original. They required that I have the base materials in my internal inventory or at hand, and that included the magical reagents I needed for the infusions. In addition, just like a normal infusion, the magical potential faded after thirty minutes if it wasn’t used, and the ammunition became mundane. It meant that I could not create a bunch of magical ammunition in advance and store it in my internal inventory space. At least not this kind, though I wondered if a more permanent enchantment would work differently.
I received my ten-minute warning that my time in the Stasis Program was coming to an end. I used the time to continue to practice creating, loading, and firing the infused ammunition to get used to the new method until the timer ran out and the world went black.
Chapter 34 - Parker
The world returned around me, and I found myself sitting in the lab. Gnomerad and Tognomey were standing in front of me poking something, and there was a notification in my vision.
Fabrication of Mechanical Companion complete. Please refer to the documentation: “You and Your Mechanical Companion” for further information about your pet’s upgrades and abilities.
I pushed Gnomerad to the side, and while he gave a shout of annoyance, I ignored it and focused on the knee-high machine that he’d been poking at. It looked like a steampunk version of a spider with eight segmented legs made of wood that were connected to a squat cylinder central body that looked like a bongo. The shape made it hard to tell which side was the front and which was the back at a glance. The machine remained unmoving until I reached out and touched it. At my touch, lights along the side of it came on and it rose up on its eight legs and swiveled in place until two large glass orbs on one side were looking up at me. I guessed they were the machine’s eyes and they reminded me a bit of the large eyes of a puppy, which prompted me to reach down to pet the wooden body of the spider machine. It shook a little then leaned into the rub after a moment.
“Hello, little guy,” I said and the machine tilted its head to the side and a new notification appeared in my vision.
Would you like to designate your Mechanical Companion as ‘Little Guy’?
It took me a second to understand that the Metalman OS wanted me to name the machine. I said ‘no’, which caused the notification to disappear, and I thought about what I would call my new little friend. Itsy Bitsy? Tarantulon? Anansi? Shelob? No, while I appreciated the classic references, none of those felt right. Then I recalled who my favorite superhero was and the perfect name just popped into my head. I’d always loved that series, not just because of the fights and the hot redheaded girlfriend, but because the main character was more than just an over-muscled face breaker. He was a science nerd that used that knowledge and intelligence to overcome his enemy’s superior strength while engaging in witty one-liners.
I looked down at the mechanical spider and said, “I’ll call you Parker.” A notification popped up that asked if I wanted to designate him with the name, and I confirmed that I did. The tips of the spider machine’s legs tapped against the lab’s floor as it danced in place. I guessed that he liked his new name.
“Why is it doing that?” asked Gnomerad with an annoyed expression on his face.
“I know it might be a foreign concept to you, but Parker is happy,” I answered.
I heard a low chuckle from Tognomey but Gnomerad ignored the comment and continued, “Parker? You named it? Why bother naming a machine?”
I looked from Gnomerad to Tognomey and asked, “Don’t you name your pets?”
Gnomerad scowled and said, “No. I don’t have pets. I summon golems that exist to serve me.”
I should have known that would be Gnomerad’s attitude but I had to ask, “How are you supposed to tell them apart to give orders?”
Tognomey coughed into his hand and interjected, “No, Repair. Unlike some humans, it’s not a gnome thing to name the animals or machines they work with. I’m surprised that it's something Metalmen do.”
“Well, maybe it isn’t something Metalmen would do. The notification just asked if I wanted to change the little guys ‘designation,’ but I liked naming him Parker. It gives him some personality, and he seems to like it.” I scratched the center of the mechanical spider’s head again, and one of its legs started to shake.
The gnomes looked at each other and then they started to write down what I’d said. Tognomey asked, “What else can you tell me about what your pet can do?”
I didn’t know what to tell him since I didn’t know myself. I called up Parker’s Character Sheet.
Designation: Parker
Level 1
XP to Next Level: 200
Weight: 20 lbs
Carrying Capacity: 20/60 lbs
Companion Points: 1
AC: 12
HP: 7/7
Mana: 5/5
Str: 12
Dex: 16
Con: 12
Int: 4
Wis: 11
Cha: 6
Traits: Mechanical
Skills: Trap Making
Abilities: Bite
Inventory
(none)
“The sheet says he has the trait Mechanical and the skill Trap Making, which makes sense since I got his schematic from scanning a Trap Spider. He also has the ability Bite, although I’m not sure what it does.”
Gnomerad rolled his eyes and said condescendingly, “I bet that it lets the machine bite.”
I would have smiled at the snarky response if I could have, but I just ignored it instead. “Query: What is the trait Mechanical and the ability Bite?”
Mechanical: A creature that is not biological but artificial and does not need to eat, drink, sleep, or breathe.
Bite: A melee weapon attack. Reach 5 ft., one creature. On hit: 3-6 piercing damage.
I already knew what the Trap Making skill did and conveyed the information about the other traits to the gnomes, who wrote it down. Then I spotted an interesting difference between Parker’s character sheet and my own. He had something called Companion Points.
“Query: What are Companion Points?” I asked the Metalman OS.
Companion Points are used to upgrade your Mechanical Companion. Upgrades include new or improved skills, traits, abilities, or stats. Upon leveling up, 1 new point is added.
I asked the Metalman OS to bring up the recommended documentation ‘You and Your Mechanical Companion.’ It turned out to be a primer for having a pet. The document said that the progression path for a Mechanical Companion was similar to how a Metalman progressed. It would gain XP from combat or other tasks that it had skills for, although what skills and abilities it got were at the complete discretion of its owner and were purchased with companion points.
There was also a whole list of upgrades that could be done automatically to a pet like Parker. I could increase his armor class, add a weapons slot, equip him with tools, increase his carrying capacity, add an internal storage system like the one I had, and many others. I could also upgrade Parker manually with anything I had the skill to create. For example, I could upgrade his legs with larger, more powerful ones if I could design and craft them.
I liked the idea of upgrading Parker, and some of my class abilities started to make a lot more sense now. The ability to add items or weapons to a frame or to increase stats through fabrication, for example, were abilities that would benefit Parker just as much as they’d benefit me.
The documentation was unclear on just how much each upgrade cost, and it apparently depended on the specific Mechanical Companion. It was easy to add claws to a bear machine and would only cost a single companion point, but wou
ld cost many points to add a claw to a machine fish companion.
I pulled up available traits for Parker. Like much of the information in the Metalman OS, the list brought up had too many entries to sort through manually, and I reduced the list by asking for only the ones that could be applied to Parker for five companion points or less. I didn’t see myself spending more than that on any single ability.
The list was long even after reducing the number of skills available to Parker, and I couldn’t see him using some of them. I mean, how often would he use the mime or swimming skills? Combat skills cost three points but most non-combat ones only cost a point.
Traits were another matter. They cost three Companion points but provided a percent bonus to some task and altered Parker’s personality in some way. The Treasure Hunter Trait gave a fifteen percent bonus to spotting hidden objects and treasure, but it also made him more likely to activate traps accidentally. Pokes the Bear made Parker more aggressive, but it also increased his chances at taunting an enemy. There were more traits, but they all had drawbacks. I might take one of the traits eventually if I’d decided on how I was going to use Parker, but not for now.
