The craftsman who made the enhancement armor came all the way to Velbur, but in the end, he couldn’t completely fix my equipment.
Browning had the skills, and Velbur had the materials. But time was running out.
If the firearm had broken, I could have either found a similar item anew or, if I was lucky, procured parts for the same firearm. In reality, Browning had brought a pile of parts and equipment while riding the train.
Among them were of course parts for the enhancement armor he had created, but those alone wouldn’t suffice as the outer layer of the armor was too damaged.
Browning almost fixed everything he thought of as ‘consumable’ parts. The mana stones suitable for the enhancement armor slots and gears that were too small and prone to breaking were nearly all replaced.
However, there was far too little time to replace the entire outer brass plate. If patching up was one issue, many areas that were supposed to be detachable for easy replacement had warped, making it impossible to even force them together. The gauntlet plate was made as a consumable, but the frame holding the gauntlet itself was not.
Even with spare parts available, it meant I’d need complete disassembly and reassembly to replace the frame.
“Since it’s a gauntlet plate, a simple patch job won’t work. If I just hastily put it together in a few hours, it’ll fall off the moment a battle starts.”
Saying it could last even once was meaningless. It would be a problem if the gauntlet fell off before even blocking an enemy attack. It was hefty because it was made for blocking attacks, and if it fell and trampled my foot, that’d be a huge issue.
“Isn’t there a way?”
“Um…”
As Browning pondered, stroking his chin, he said, “How about we strip off the gauntlet plate entirely?”
He proposed an idea that was the exact opposite of the previous design plan.
Shwoosh.
When I slammed the button conveniently placed on my chest, it made a sound like a steampunk train letting off steam.
No, it wasn’t just a ‘like’ sound. Steam was genuinely bursting out.
That was the design Browning hastily changed. He filled the water in the steam engine attached to the back to the max and instead of a simple mana stone, he used concentrated Marmaros as fuel and cranked the enhancement armor’s engine to its absolute limit.
In the process, he responsibly made it easier for over-expanded steam to escape without bursting.
When I asked if such a design was considered for safety, Browning nodded.
…But when I asked if it was safe, he didn’t answer.
Given the urgency, I had a feeling it was better than nothing, so I allowed him to modify it.
And I was clearly witnessing the effect of that modification.
Geh!
There was no ‘artificial intelligence’ in the enhancement armor. Naturally. In a world where computers are the size of buildings, it couldn’t fit such a thing inside this small enhancement armor.
The armor itself works with internal steam and hydraulic systems, along with various interlocking parts that ‘assist’ my strength.
The problem was that this overheated armor didn’t just stop at ‘assisting’ my strength.
With just a little joint movement, the steam engine went wild, amplifying my strength to the max. Previously, when I moved the armor roughly, it made creaky sounds, but now ominous sounds came from my joints.
It wasn’t broken, but—
Well, whatever.
Let’s say it’s better than nothing.
One step, two steps, three steps.
As I leaped step by step like an athlete in a running start, my vision soared into the air. Perhaps the steam fiercely spraying from my ankles was helping lift me? I thought that for a moment, as I was soaring upward far too easily.
When there were about five steps left between me and the Emperor—
Hup!
I jumped into the air and twisted my body. My field of vision turned upside down in an instant, just like when I had leapt from the underground of Lutetia to the second floor. I spun in the air just like then, but this time I flew much higher and faster than the last time I had jumped on the stairs.
In the inverted vision, I could see the white steam pouring out from beneath my feet had not yet dissipated. And just as I heard a swoosh ominous sound, I saw a sword-like cutting edge flying toward the place where I stood just moments ago, leaving a long mark behind.
“Oops.”
A completely unexciting voice echoed.
I roughly aimed my gun toward the direction of that voice and pulled the trigger.
Bang, and a loud noise erupted. The sound of the bullet exploding was louder than the gun firing. A hole appeared in the billowing cloud of steam that followed the bullet’s trajectory, and at the same time, I could see red flames flickering from its end.
Swoosh—
However, it seemed my shot did not hit properly, as a long streak of light rose, slicing through the round pillar that had been punctured.
I lurched my body again. I felt steam escaping once more from my ankle with a pshhh sound. The water likely boiled with Marmaros inside, but the cloud of steam pouring out around my ankle felt strangely cold.
I landed on the ground, rolling to the side. Immediately, I pulled back the firearm’s bolt to eject the cartridge—
And then I did it once more.
“Umm.”
As I dodged the second strike, a voice came from beyond the cloud of steam.
“Have you improved since then? It doesn’t feel as if time has rewound again.”
The figure strolling towards me with a thud-thud sound— well, there’s no need to mention who it was.
In this situation, only Lucas and the Emperor would chuckle happily.
With his fiery red hair, it was certainly not the Emperor.
“But it still seems insufficient. It feels like it would take at least ten years to fight without ‘cheating’.”
“……”
Even he didn’t bother to answer the provocation. I steadied my aim toward Lucas and pulled the trigger once more.
At the same time, Lucas swung his sword. As if trying to deflect my bullet—
“Ah.”
But in an instant, the relaxed look on Lucas’s face crumbled.
While my gun had a magazine inside, it also contained components that separated the magazine and chamber.
In other words, if needed, I could fire one shot like a single-shot rifle and then chamber another round separately.
Generally a useless mechanism, but for someone like me wandering around with various types of Marmaros bullets, it was quite handy.
Glancing at Lucas, who was gripping his frozen sword with a frown, I released the magazine block and reloaded.
“Ten years might be too soon indeed,” I thought.
I might never grow enough, even if it took ages, to beat someone like Lucas who had a natural talent for combat.
But isn’t that precisely why humanity’s technology has advanced?
Knights dominating the battlefield can fall from a single stray bullet without proper aim, and heads can be blown apart by shells raining down from above.
Even if there are monsters that can deflect incoming bullets, it’s only natural to die if a bullet pierces your body.
And I can certainly say one thing.
Despite how it looks, I’ve never stopped training with firearms throughout my life. I’ve shot in real combat until it became tiresome, and I’ve seen more people die from bullets than I could possibly count on my fingers.
I just hope he doesn’t underestimate me.
Bam, bam, bam.
I pulled the bolt as fast as I could for rapid-fire.
For one wielding a ‘sword’, the change in weight of the sword can be somewhat dangerous. A sword is a weapon meant to be ‘swung’. If a gun is too heavy or too light or if its weight balance is off, it won’t be comfortable to use, but it can’t compare to a ‘sword’.
Lucas was a skilled swordsman. Even with a heavy chunk of ice attached to his sword, his skills wouldn’t diminish that much.
But even so, he wouldn’t be able to deflect a flying bullet.
Deflecting bullets transcends the realm of human skills. It’s a feat only possible in this world’s ‘setting’, making it utterly impossible in reality. Even in this world, the act of deflecting bullets itself was pushing the limits of human ability.
So if a penalty were imposed on a human who reached that limit, it’s natural that performing such an act would become exceedingly difficult.
“……!”
Clang! The large ice block attached to his sword shattered into pieces. I couldn’t tell if it was because of the ice shards flying all around that obscured my vision or if it was because he wasn’t able to sufficiently absorb the bullet’s energy, but for a moment, Lucas’s body swayed.
The successive shots that followed didn’t hit him.
But in trying to dodge quickly, Lucas had no chance to strike back at me.
And I had time to calmly observe such Lucas.
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