CH695 Technological Challenges II

***

Anyway, as the leader of their group—and an Artisan himself—Alex was undoubtedly occupied with countless other responsibilities.

Expecting him to personally inscribe runes onto every individual bolt was simply unrealistic, even if he were not burdened with other work.

As for asking him to directly empower the weapons themselves, that was an equally difficult undertaking. The current crossbow models had already been refined close to their maximum practical efficiency.

Any further enhancements—even rune-based ones—would require increasingly advanced methods and far more time-consuming craftsmanship.

By comparison, improving the firing rate was a far more achievable objective, especially since there was still considerable room for optimisation in that area.

In truth, there were still other ways to further improve the weapon’s offensive capability. Although Sugud had already refined the bolts to what he considered their current peak—taking into account factors such as weight, balance, rigidity, head design, and material density—there remained potential advancements in bolt shape and aerodynamic efficiency.

The issue was that achieving further improvements beyond the current design in these areas would require facilities far superior to those presently available to him.

In fact, many of the limitations Sugud currently faced could be overcome entirely if he simply had access to better equipment, infrastructure, and resources.

When he claimed that he had reached the limits of the weapon’s current iteration, he was not referring to the limits of his skill as an Artisan. Rather, he meant the limits imposed upon him by his available conditions and resources.

’If we manage to secure our own territory—or establish a stable channel back to Pangea—most of these issues would resolve themselves naturally,’ Alex mused inwardly.

Another potential path forward was the transition towards hot weapons.

Alex had long suspected that introducing firearms, cannons, missiles, and similar weaponry from his previous life—especially when integrated with magical technology—would become an enormous game changer.

Much to his surprise after transmigrating into this world, Alex discovered that the civilisations here had largely refrained from developing hot weapons despite already possessing the fundamental ingredient required: gunpowder.

Naturally, it was not referred to as gunpowder in this world. However, a similar explosive powder already existed and was commonly used in—of all things—festival firecrackers. Producing a functional firearm prototype would not actually require excessive effort. Yet these civilisations had never seriously pursued such a path.

Through his research, Alex eventually realised that the reason came down to a fundamental difference in perspective.

Humanity in his previous life had developed hot weapons largely to compensate for their inherent physical weaknesses. In contrast, within a magical world such as this one, cultivation and ascension allowed individuals to transcend those very weaknesses through personal power.

In such a society, a weapon system heavily dependent upon consumable ammunition was naturally looked down upon, as it was considered an inefficient waste of valuable resources.

This was especially true because progressively rarer and more valuable materials would inevitably be required in order to scale the destructive capability of those weapons across the higher ranks of power.

’Indeed, it would not be inaccurate to call hot weapons a massive waste of resources,’ Alex mused inwardly. ’A tremendously powerful waste... but a waste nonetheless.’

Alex knew he could not abruptly change the mindset of the people in this world. As a result, he had deliberately chosen to begin with a softer approach in the form of crossbows. At the very least, bolts could often be recovered and reused depending on the extent of the damage sustained.

His hope was that once the people around him became accustomed to projectile-based weaponry, it would become far easier for them to eventually accept the resource-intensive—or outright wastefulness—nature of true hot weapons.

Originally, Alex had expected to introduce the new weapon system only after they had fully reached the developmental ceiling of crossbow-based warfare... much like the point they were approaching now. However, reality made it clear that the timing was still not right. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

’The manufacture of hot weapons is an extremely resource-hungry process. More accurately, it requires a large industrial foundation—or outright industrialisation of an entire territory—to properly support it,’ Alex reflected.

At the end of the day, it all circled back to the same issue preventing Sugud from advancing the crossbows any further without relying upon Rune-Tech: such systems demanded strict production conditions, advanced infrastructure, and a continuous flow of massive resources in order to remain viable.

Alex inwardly shook his head, pushing the wandering thoughts aside.

He refocused his attention on Sugud.

"Do you already have a framework for how you want the runes to function? Once I understand the mechanism, I can determine what runes will be necessary," Alex said.

"It’s all here," Sugud replied immediately.

Without delay, he handed over a sheet of paper containing his proposed requirements.

Alex skimmed through the document before giving a slight nod.

Sugud’s requested functions were actually fairly straightforward. In truth, they were the sort of inscriptions that any competent Runesmith worth their title should have been capable of handling.

The only reason the matter had become so troublesome was because runes simply did not function naturally within Verdantis.

Alex once again felt the urge to sigh.

The limitation of Rune-Tech—the fact that he alone could currently use it—was becoming an increasingly troublesome bottleneck.

’I wonder if there’s a way to allow others to use Rune-Tech without them having to walk the same path as me...’ he pondered silently.

"How is the progress on producing the additional crossbows we’ll need to equip all our forces with the newer iterations?" Alex asked.

Sugud scratched his chin sheepishly.

"I am still trying to formulate a workable solution. As you already know, the number of crossbows we need is far beyond what I can personally produce alone. I have been searching for a method to streamline the manufacturing process, but I am hesitant to involve outside craftsmen due to concerns regarding secrecy and security."

Alex simply nodded without saying anything further.

Since Sugud had finished his report, he turned his attention towards Eleanore.

"With the exception of their Guild Master, Saul Redwald, treatment for all BattleBane members has been completed successfully. They now all possess a clean bill of health," Eleanore reported.

Alex raised an eyebrow, wondering why she was informing him of this when he himself had participated directly in the treatments.

Fortunately, Eleanore did not leave him wondering for long.

"I have developed a preliminary plan to treat Berserk Humans using a similar combination of spell, potion, and formation therapy," she explained.

"From observing the BattleBanes’ treatment, I realised that combining multiple therapeutic methods significantly reduces the strain placed upon the patient’s body.

"In the case of Berserk Humans, the situation will be far more severe since the infection affects their entire body. The physical burden will be considerably greater than what the BattleBanes endured. Because of that, I believe it would be far wiser to employ a layered combination therapy rather than rely solely on a single potion-based treatment."

"You want my help with the formation, don’t you?" Alex asked immediately.

"Yes and no," Eleanore replied. "I would certainly appreciate it if you could modify the treatment formation we used for the BattleBanes so that it better aligns with the more extensive therapy Berserk Humans will require... however, it is not absolutely necessary. If needed, I can still use the existing formation as it is.

"What I truly need assistance with is the potion refinement process itself. The batch-processing capability of your pill alchemy method would make handling the medicinal side of the treatment vastly easier."

"So instead of refining the medicine yourself, you intend to pass the work to me?" Alex raised an eyebrow.

***