I unwrapped the package and slid the content out on to the work bench. It landed with a 'thud' sound as I slid one end out while I removed the rest of the packaging. I looked at the slotted barrel and could not help but let out a low whistle.
"Phwheew~! Damn that's one beautiful barrel". I stroked the barrel as I studied the surface, as if I was reunited with a long lost lover — just like Pepé Le Pew when he sees Penelope Pussycat.
"Ah, ma petite chérie~" I said in the best French accent I could as I felt the cold touch of Storm Steel against my skin. I studied the barrel for a bit before realizing that the color was a sheen darker compared to the Storm Steel plates sitting in one corner — the failed suppression plates that I had yet to smelt into ingots.
I was already at the grotto by the time the sun was up. I had elected to skip breakfast this morning and only grabbed some dry food from the pantry before heading out. Now that the evaluation was over, Marta would hopefully be more comfortable with my disappearing acts.
The conversation with Branwen last night stirred something in me. I did not have a concrete plan on how I would even convince the military that whatever I was creating, or created by the time of my inevitable conscription, would be worth more than putting a lightning mage on the frontlines.
But I was a man of action, and I knew that whatever plan I did come up with eventually, it would not matter without a working prototype. The package Branwen brought yesterday was sitting on my work bench in front of me.
"Hmmm, Branwen did say she had to use a regular forge, did that mean there was a bit of carbon that got mixed in?" briefly concerned that the carbon would affect the baseline lightning conductivity that I needed.
"Well it won't be the worst thing if it makes it stronger like when iron is worked into steel" I decided to conduct some tests before wasting my time inscribing the enchantments.
I started with the conductivity tests that I did on the original Storm Steel, channeling lightning mana through them and watching it with my Electro Perception. "Hmm, that's good. Conductivity stays about the same, but retention is just as bad as the forged Storm Steel"
I proceeded with the durability tests and was surprised that it seemed to be harder than regular Storm Steel. It seemed that my theory about the carbon was right on the money. "Way to go Brannie" impressed by her workmanship.
"She could have charged me triple and I would have gladly paid".
I pulled out my notes, studying the improved design that I had thought through ever since Mark I failed. I had made some changes to the transference enchantment that would be carved along the body of the barrel. Instead of runes running in parallel, which would increase the load and rate of dissipation, I had changed it to be sequential.
I also changed it so that there would be a Storage Rune right before each Output Rune coupled with an Operator Rune to adjust the timing of release for each coil. Which also meant that I no longer needed my Lightning Brain mutation to time the release of each pulse.
The other benefit of working on the suppression device was that my understanding of runes had increased, which was what allowed me to improve the design. Compared to the complexity of trying to suppress a mana core, precision release of lightning mana was nothing.
I was still limited to etching for the time being as short of using mithril or some special enchanting compound, there was no benefit to using another material as the inlay. Especially since Storm Steel was already superior compared to any other material I could get my hands on right now.
The other problem with increased hardness of the Storm Steel barrel was the increased effort needed to etch the runes. After a back breaking fifteen minutes just to inscribe the first rune, I got up to stretch my neck and crack my knuckles. "Baah, this is gonna take the whole morning", I sat down and got started on the second rune before I could find another excuse.
Turned out I was wrong about taking the whole morning. "Fuck this shit. I'm finally done", I got up and stretched my whole body as it was sore from staying in the same position for hours. It was already past noon by the time I was done with it. 'Whole morning' was an understatement.
"Someone should invent more ergonomic tools for enchanting" dropping the tools on the work bench as I looked at the slotted barrel with runes running down both its sides. The cave was also starting to get stuffy with the summer heat, and I had not invented an exhaust fan in this world yet.
I decided now was as good time as any to take a lunch break, and continue working outside the cave after that. Lunch was usually a simple affair when I ate on my own, functional eating to keep looking like the two 'Chris' from the MCU. My Nature's Constitution meant I did not have to work out, but I still needed to give my body the required sustenance to keep it in shape.
I sat by the cave entrance, pulling copper rods through the wire drawing tool that I had wedged into one of the cracks in a giant boulder. The gentle summer breeze coupled with the sound of flowing water was a welcomed change compared to the stuffy cave where my work bench sat.
I had recovered most of the coils used in the trap while hunting the Storm Runner, but I needed a little more copper wire due to one other change I made to Mark II's design. Two other issues I faced with Mark I were the over heating from the coils and the recoil. While the Storm Steel barrel was a lot sturdier, there was no reason to risk a single failure point if I could redesign the other parts. I increased the number of coils from 3 to 5, but reduced the output of each coil to reduce the heating and spread out recoil.
My fingers were starting to get sore from the drawing by mid afternoon. While I was on borrowed time, there was no sense in trying to rush it by just a few days but ending up with poor quality wires. I decided to call it a day and continue tomorrow, giving my fingers and shoulders a chance to recover.
It took another 3 days before I finished preparing the copper wires I needed for the coils. I had decided to take my time to make sure it was evenly drawn to prevent spots with higher resistance. The wires from Mark I had already melted and fused together so I could not study it in detail but there was that possibility as I remembered rushing it.
The last thing I had changed about the design was adding an actual stock instead of using the batteries. I did not know what I was thinking when I designed Mark I, probably skipped some common sense in my eagerness to create a working prototype. The batteries were mounted to the bottom of the slotted barrel instead, feeding into the enchantments running along its side.
I also commissioned some leather bindings through Garrick to help hold the components together on top of the welding. I was not sure how much it would help but it probably would not hurt. I had fashioned a much stronger anchor and wedged the whole assembly into a boulder while I aimed it at the tree. I did not want to chase Mark II across the forest between every test shot.
I aimed the weapon at a tree about forty meters away, close enough to assess the impact, but far enough that a stray piece of wood from the tree would not accidentally lodge itself in my eye. Instead of the brash decision to up the discharge to 50% like the last time, I had sequenced the testing at 5% increments to gradually assess the output along with all the other factors of the coil gun, such as the heating, recoil etc.
I placed the iron slug into the breech, and then set the discharge to 5% of the battery's maximum capacity.
The slug did not even fly out. "Fuck" I cursed, as that meant that the timing of discharge for individual coils was off.
It took a whole day for me to adjust the timing of the runes before I got it to work again.
FWOOP — THOCK — the sound of air being compressed as the iron slug flew out of the barrel before hitting the tree.
The results were better this time, as the iron slug managed to hit the tree but did not have enough momentum to leave any lasting damage. It sailed through the air and tapped the tree gently before dropping to the forest floor.
I checked Mark II's structural integrity and noted that there was no deformation, enchantments were still clean and active on the side of the barrel. I checked the coils and it was warm to the touch, some heat generation but I could probably carry on with the next test.
I inserted another slug, and adjusted the discharge to 10% this time.
FWOOP — CRACK — the sound much sharper this time, closer to a snap when the wind exited the muzzle.
The slug struck the tree harder this time, driving partway into the bark with a starburst pattern around the point of impact. I could probably make the slug more aerodynamic but I wanted to keep the testing conditions the same as Mark I. Something to take note of if Mark II survived till the end.
The gun was still intact but it was already heating up. I could feel the heat coming off the coils just by putting my hands close. I chose to take a break while I waited for the coils to cool naturally.
Test three. It was close to thirty minutes before I deemed the coil gun had cooled down enough for the third test at 15% discharge.
FWOOP — CRACK — THUD. This time the slug broke through the bark and hit the back side. Gun still intact, though the coils were a bit too hot for another test immediately. No signs of melting which was good. I decided to unseat the anchor and find another spot since the tree was quite damaged by now. I needed to let the gun cool anyway so might as well use the time for something productive.
It took a while to find another suitable spot, somewhere with a big enough boulder or cliff face, and a sufficiently large tree to point at. Hopefully trees grew faster in a world with mana or I would run out of trees nearby pretty soon.
I set the enchantment to fire at 20% once I had it set up and the coils had cooled sufficiently. This time feeling a slight wind blowing at my face when the slug exited the muzzle.
FWOOP — CRACK — CRACK. Part of the trunk was blown clean through but I could not see where the slug was, probably losing momentum after the impact.
"Holy shit, it worked." I quickly checked the set up and the coil gun held, though I could tell this was probably the limit of the discharge currently as the copper coils were quite hot. The organic insulation I had used was probably one step away from melting.
"Ok, so this means that a fully charged battery can give me 5 shots in theory. But I would have to wait like a whole hour between shots"
The damage output was technically "practical" in terms of required lethality, even for a magically reinforced human body. Even if the first shot did not kill them outright, it would maim or disable them.
The next thing to be tested was whether I could actually hold the coil gun as it fired. There was no point creating a gun that took fifteen minutes to set up every single time before I could shoot.
I took the opportunity to have lunch while waiting for the coil gun to cool down before I dismantled it from the anchor.
I had also recharged the battery while I waited, as it was down to less than half after factoring in the leakage over the last day.
I walked a bit further out since I did not have to anchor it to a rock, I wanted to preserve the trees around the grotto to maintain the cover from other beasts or the occasional hunter.
"Phooo~" I took a deep breath as I lowered my stance, trying to brace myself for the recoil. I was hoping my increased strength would help me withstand the recoil, but half expecting I would fall on my ass.
I set the discharge to 20% and fired.
FWOOP — CRACK
The stock of the gun hammered into my body and sent me flying — the image of Team Rocket blasting off at the end of every episode flashed in my head as I braced for the landing.