v1c7 (2/2)

To make the core stick which applies the riflings is hard labor. But if it is finished once with liquid magic metal I’m able to give riflings (to gun barrels) in large quant.i.ties.

Hence the cold hammer method was used even if it is troublesome at first.

However I had more trouble making the core stick than I’d guessed.

I made a great number of versions that I adjusted often, and endlessly looked for the most suitable results for nearly 2 months.

But thanks to my understanding of gun barrel riflings I successfully made it.

I soaked the core stick in liquid magic metall and imaged that it hangs on it and poured magic power to engrave high quality riflings in the barrel after it stabilized, I was able to make it.

Besides that there was much trouble… I made light of the revolvers inner structure that was simpler(lol) than an automatic, yet afterwards I noticed the difficulties of adjustments repeated in trial and error, I got mad over the cylinder that stopped rotating at a fixed position, but at last I was able to reproduce the structure.

And then the thing I made was prototype #1!

A solid-black “S&W M10” revolver.

I also made the front sight and the rear sight. The grip is made not of wood, but knitted metal anti-slip grips. The trigger guard, ejector rod, and recoil s.h.i.+eld are also properly made.

Furthermore, although it’s not needed, I also carved flutes (grooves cut to reduce weight) on the side of the cylinder for show.

The metal looks like it is really heavy, but thanks to magic liquid metal’s property of “having strength in proportion to magic power being poured”, it is almost as light as a toy “S&W M10”.

When I tried shooting air, the click of the hammer and the sensation of the revolving cylinder felt good.

I shot air like this until free time is over. Switching gears, the next challenge begins.

Today I was finally doing test firings. The problem now is the bullet.

In the reincarnated world, there is no black powder, nor smokeless gunpowder.

“If I remember correctly, the way to make smokeless gunpowder is…… mixing nitroglycerin and soaking cotton in it right? Un, the hurdle is too high……”

Then, even if I could make smokeless gunpowder, packing it in bullets and when it fires the bullet comes out—it’s not as simple as that.

Because the required combustion rates for handguns and rifles are different.

In the case of handguns, they need “fast burning propellant that can finish burning before the bullet exits the barrel” because the barrel is short. Therefore, modern handgun propellants are in small granules, not fine powder like black powder.

If a log of wood and an equal ma.s.s of wood chopsticks were simultaneously ignited, which one would burn up more quickly?

The answer is obvious, it’s wood chopsticks.

It’s because wood chopsticks have a larger surface area.

Just like powder, granules burn quickly.

But it’s not something that should simply explode.

As I think about it problems pop up one by one—but all those problems are solved in one stroke with magic power.

Magicians can convert magic power directly into fire, water, wind, electricity, earth, and so on.

Water and earth in particular could be created out of thin air. Even fire and lightning can’t possibly come from the energy stored inside the magician’s body. It seems to possibly be a violation of the law of conservation of ma.s.s, but even though I don’t understand the process, matter and energy did certainly appear (I can somewhat deduce that energy was born out of thin air but I don’t know whether it’s correct). However, no matter which “system specialization” a magician has, imaging is important for the creation of matter or energy.

In that case, being able to handle, even if only weakly, the four elements of magic “fire”, “water”, “air”, and “earth”, and having practical knowledge of gunpowder, I think I can produce a smokeless gunpowder subst.i.tute using magic power. With that thought, I repeatedly did trial and error using the magic power control technique I’ve learnt.

I have the basics under control. Next I should control the combustion speed using the power of imagination.

I chose the time when cylinder adjustments had been finished to make prototypes of cartridges unloaded with powder.

At first, instead of being so big that they didn’t fit in the cartridge, I made ones that do not catch and  fell down instead.

Right now, having finished doc.u.menting minor adjustments, work on the bullets, except the powder, had roughly completed without a problem.

I checked the memo containing the adjustment records and put in only my right hand in the magic liquid metal.

Parts composing the cartridge—the size is .38 special (9×29.5mmR).

I put magic power inside the case.

I released magic power for the powder with the image of detonation, combustion, and explosion, and again compressed and solidified it.

Careful magic power control is necessary, but I’ve had practice. Having safely finished the solidification, I let out the breath I unintentionally held.

In addition, I made a bullet core as the cap.

As for the metal properties, I imagined lead.

I covered the faux-lead with a thin jacket.

I put in a primer at the bottom part with magic power to induce a small explosion, and finally I covered everything and the bullet is finished.

I take out my right hand from the magic liquid metal.

A cartridge from the memories of my past life was created in the palm of my hand.

It looks no different from the real thing.

“The problem is whether the bullet will come out properly or not”

I put the cartridge in the revolver at once.

It fit in the cylinder without a hitch.

I picked up a discarded brick and set it up on a wooden box I found laying around. An impromptu target.

I set it up about 9 meters away.

I held it with my right hand and jammed it in with all my might.

I made a pose of holding the revolver in my right hand and propping it up with my left.

The basic standing handgun posture.

Though my mind is 30 years old, my body is still 6.

In preparation for the recoil, I strengthened my body with body strengthening arts.

I thumbed backpulled the hammer and with my breath held, I quietly sqeeuzed the trigger with my index finger.held my breath.

I quietly pressed the trigger with my index finger.

KABOOM!

“gukaa…!?”

It was not the sound of a gun being fired.

It was a kaboommisfire!

The revolver was blown up from the inside.

Thanks to body strengthening arts, the fingers on my right hand, which was close to the explosion, were not blown off.

My thumb and index finger were barely safe.

“It hurts so much I want to puke~”

“Wha, what was that loud noise just now! Hii……!?”

Elle-sensei noticed the sound of the misfire, and came running to the backyard in confusion.

Looking at my injuries sensei let out a small shriek.

Her face paled as if having lost blood.

Soon she ran over looking like she was about to cry and immediately checked my injuries.

She checked to make sure that there are no injuries besides my right hand.

After judging that it was not a fatal injury, sensei’s face regained its color.

Sensei stopped the kids who appeared, having noticed the sound, in a sharp voice.

“Everyone, don’t come! The older kids please take the young ones inside!”

On that order, the kids went back inside the orphanage.

“Lute-kun! Just what did you do that it becomes like this!”

While scolding me, sensei holds her hand out at me who is holding my hands while cowering.

“Light that burns in my hand, Heal!”

“…… Ooo.”

As expected from a B ranked magician.

A warm light springs forth from her hands and went to my blown-off fingers like a magnet.

The scars recovered perfectly without a trace.

“Thank you very much, sensei”

“Don’t “Thank you” me! Just what did you do to get that serious wound!”

“Well, I put too much magic power in this newly developed magic device ……”

Explaining the handgun from the beginning would be too long, it would take time to make it understandable.

Cutting down on the explanation, I made a suitable cover story.

Elle-sensei took a glance at the magic liquid metal inside the cask.

“…… I don’t understand what Lute-kun is making, but since you’re making noise and making everyone worry come along to the office for a scolding.”

“O, okay! I’ll go so please don’t pull on my ear!”

Elle-sensei dragged me by the ear just like a Showa-era mother and went back inside the orphanage.

Arriving at the office, I sat seiza on the floor.

She made me listen to a long long sermon.

Of course, I didn’t get dinner.

After being heavily questioned, I was banned from doing experiments for the next 30 days and ordered to do punishment work for making an uproar.

30 days after that little accidentthe misfire, the ban on experiments was lifted!

While I was doing punishment work, I finished enumerating the points for reflection of last time.

The revolver misfired, but the rifling was clearly carved on the bullet core that hit the ground.

This proves that the bullet travelled through the barrel properly.

The problem was perhaps caused by the powder subst.i.tute having too much magic power and the image of the explosion being too strong.

During the black powder era, the sh.e.l.l casing was filled with powder.

But after smokeless gunpowder was invented, the cartridge only needed to be filled with half the amount of powder.

The s.p.a.ce that remained is called “air s.p.a.ce”.

When typical powder is ignited, this s.p.a.ce became a buffer to defend the bullet against the sudden increase in pressure and regulate its speed.

According to specialists, sh.e.l.l cases were originally supposed to only be filled with “the right amount of the right kind of powder”.

And yet from my amateur judgement, what happens if I do not consider the air s.p.a.ce or choose the type and amount of powder when reloading (reusing) the cartridge?

The worst case—catastrophic failurea misfire.

I had polished and polished my imaging power in order to build the revolver for no less than half a year.

Because of that, the strength of the image and the magic power that I put in was too much.

When making a new revolver, I should regulate the amount of magic power and the strength of my image, also determine the right amount of powder to put in.

From now on the time for trial and error and making notes begins.

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