"Should I use the simulation option to create a simulated model first?" Hax thought for a moment. "Nah, I'm going to challenge myself. Making a pistol is not that hard. I can not rely on the system like a baby."
A few hours later, Hax took the hot red metal out of the furnace with a tong. It struck his face with heat like how a sun would on a hot summer day. He placed the metal on the anvil and grabbed a fuller. After that, he put it on top of the heated iron and hammered it down.
He flattened and stretched the iron before he used the swage to shape it into a barrel. To his surprise, the barrel came out as he intended it to. It was unexpected since this was his first time making a barrel with his hand.
He put the barrel to the side and grabbed another hot metal from the furnace. Next, he wanted to make the recoil spring. This one was a lot harder since he had to make the iron into the shape of a wire first.
"Now how do I make a wire from an iron ore?"
[User please check the blueprint]
He heeded the instruction and checked the blueprint again. Suddenly, the hologram panel zoomed in on the recoil spring and a video panel popped out beside it. It showed a metal being compressed and cut down with various machinery.
"But I don't have any machinery. All I have are these primitive technologies."
The video disappeared and was replaced by another video that showed a hammer pounding on iron. Then it showed another scene where a man cut the iron into thin wires with a blade stuck on a wood. The mechanism was similar to a lever, where he needed to pull the blade down with his weight to cut the metal.
The video showed the thin wire inserted into a hole of a mandrel, a pointed cylinder of iron.
"I see. So that's how."
Hax proceeded along with the video, sometimes playing back the video because he missed the step. Luckily, he made no mistake and did not have to repeat everything from the beginning. At last, the first steel spring was born in this magical world.
Hax wiped his sweat. "It's no time to celebrate yet."
He continued his work by relying on the system. It was a huge help to him as it provided him with a video of how to make each part of the pistol step by step. Parts after parts gathered on a box beside him. After he made the magazine he swipe his sweat and sat down to rest.
He looked at the pistol parts on the box and frowned. "The pistol is going to be very heavy since all the parts are made of iron. Should I make some of the parts out of wood?"
With curious eyes, he looked around the forge and saw a pile of wood at a corner. The wood had already been processed since it had a shape of a blocky pillar. It was probably used for building houses or firewood for the furnace.
"Bodin would let me use that wood, I think."
Hax grabbed the wood and brought it to the anvil. He took a chisel from the equipment table and carved the frame of the gun. The hologram that floated in front of him helped so much just by being there. Whenever he needed a more detailed image he could just look at it or control it with his mind to look at the image from a different angle.
He also made the trigger and much of the exterior from wood. But he avoided making the internal part of the gun from it since it would take so much pressure from the recoil of the gun. Parts like the hammer, firing pin, lever, and slide are all made out of metal.
Hours went by as Hax churned out parts after parts. He put them all on the box and checked whether he already made all of the components.
He pointed at the parts one by one as he called their name. "The slide lock, the firing pin, the hammer, the frame, and that is all. All I need to do is make the ammunition to finish it."
He grabbed another hot molten iron and pounded it with his hammer. He carved it with a chisel into the shape of a bullet. Of course, he did not forget to add gunpowder inside the shell.
After creating some of them, Hax grabbed a bullet and examined it from different angles. "It's perfect."
Satisfied, Hax made more bullets and even carved another magazine out of wood for them. He put all of the bullets and parts on the box. With both hands on his waist, Hax smiled.
"Now it's assembling time!"
With the help of the hologram and his shallow knowledge in physics, mathematics, and mechanics, Hax assembled the pistol in no time. To be honest, the knowledge he gained didn't help that much compared to the help the system provided through the video.
"What do I need the knowledge for. Even a child can make a gun with these videos."
[Knowledge in any field is highly precious to humanity's development towards greatness. Relying on existing blueprints will slow down innovation.]
"Who needs innovation if I have all the blueprints?"
[Innovation is the core value of humanity. For millenniums, humankind has continuously created and innovated. Removing this core value would allow the aliens to defeat mankind.]
Hax sighed. "When you have a road laid down in front of you, it's hard to take a step into the unknown and reinvent the wheel. It would be better if you give me all the blueprint, but I don't think you will do that."
With a pistol in hand, Hax glanced at the hologram. He expected an answer, but it never came. That confirmed his assumption. The system didn't seem like it would make it easier to earn more blueprints in the future.
"I believe it will stuff me with more knowledge and force me to make something that the system hasn't seen before. Not that I should complain."
The metal barrel gleamed as the light shone through the window. Its silver frame and wooden grip made an interesting appearance for a handgun. Hax picked a bullet and loaded the gun.
There was a thick tree trunk, cut off into a circular shape at the center of the room. Not sure why it was there, but Hax thought it would be a good practicing target. He cocked the gun and aimed.
He held the gun with both hands, one to push the trigger, and one to stabilize his aim. Straightening his arm, he closed one eye and fired.
Bang!
The bullet struck the cut-off tree trunk and blasted a hole in it. Wood chips and dust floated around the room as smoke came out of the barrel.
"Powerful. Bodin will definitely like this. Haha. Wait I almost forgot. System, where is my reward?"
[Congratulations. You have completed your first mission 'A tiny step']
[You have been rewarded with 1 blueprint 'Manufacturing bot']
"Manufacturing bot? I hope that's useful. I'm just gonna check it later. I need to show Bodin my weapon first."
With haste, Hax put the gun and ran out of the room to look for Bodin. He couldn't wait to show the man what modern weapons can do.
Sometime later, Bodin entered the forging room, with a simple robe and a bow. Hax told him to bring a bow to emphasize his point that his weapon was much stronger.
"Where is the weapon?" Bodin asked.
Hax grabbed the pistol and waved it in front of him. "This is it."
"It's as small as my hand."
"This is why you can also call it a handgun."
"But are you sure it can do the job?"
"Don't worry about that. I'm as confident as a dragon."
Bodin nodded. "Dragons are indeed known for their confidence. Can I hold it?"
"Sure."
Bodin received the pistol and almost dropped it to the ground. "It's heavier than it looks."
"I made most of the parts from iron, but I will be working on that."
Bodin frowned. "It doesn't seem powerful though."
"Why don't we bring it to the test." Hax pointed. "Shoot that tree trunk with your bow."
"Alright." Bodin grabbed an arrow and fired.
The arrow zipped and struck the circular wood.
"What do you think of your arrows?" Hax asked.
"Well, it performed as expected. But my arrow slightly missed the target that I aimed for. I rarely use a bow."
"Then what do you think of this?"
Hax shot the tree trunk again, this time the damage was more pronounced as a lot more wooden chips burst apart. The trunk was fine as a whole, but the deep hole and the chipped parts of it made it clear that any human being would succumb to the damage. Humans were fragile. One organ failure and they were done.
There might be exceptions in this world though.
Bodin watched with widened eyes and open mouth. "So powerful. How did you do that? That strong power is probably comparable to a level-1 magic bow."
Hax blinked. "I can't believe this pistol is that weak."
"What you call weak is unfathomable to us. It might only be as strong as a level-1 magic bow. But you need to know that only magicians can use them."
"Why would magicians use a bow?"
"There's actually a division among magicians. One call themselves body magicians and the other called themselves pure magicians. I don't know. Only they know the terms."
The door creaked and a man entered the room. "It's warrior and magician. And there is even more classification according to their specialty." The man sighed. "I keep telling you this, but you keep calling us all magicians."
"Who cares. All of you use magic is it not?"
The man gritted his teeth. "We do. But it would be good if you identify me as a pugilist. I felt embarrassed when you called me a magician in front of others."
"Why would he be embarrassed?" Hax asked. "And who is he anyway. I never see him with you before
"He's my bodyguard. He's name is Gaelin and he's a magician. " Bodin held his shoulder. "Ignore him. Magicians tend to be weird sometimes. I'll tell you about him more in another day. Most of them are smarts, but I heard the smarter they become, the weirder they came out to be. Now, let's continue our discussion."
Hax shrugged. "So what do you think of my product?"
Bodin opened his arms. "It's perfect. Not only it is powerful, but it's also cheap. All you need is iron while magic weapons need a magician and other rare materials to make them. But those are not important. The best thing about your product is that anyone can use them!"
Hax nodded. "That is true. Young and old, man and woman. As long as they have a hand with five fingers, I can assure you they can use this weapon."
Bodin laughed. "Gaelin, did you hear that? This product will sell like dragon scales. Almost anyone would buy them. The question is, are you willing to keep selling your product to me? You can take fifty percent of the profit."
"I have no problem with that," Hax said. "It's better to leave the selling to you and the manufacturing to me. But I don't think I can keep up with the demands. I only have two hands and there's not much I can do with them."
"What about assigning workers? You can teach them how to manufacture these weapons and all you have to do is supervise."
Hax hummed. "I don't know about that."
The thought of sharing this valuable knowledge did not feel good to him. If others knew then it would be impossible for him to monopoly the production of handguns.
[Missions]
Mission: Knowledge Sharing
Requirement: Humanity exchanges experience and knowledge to further improve themselves and humanity as a whole. As a harbinger of modern knowledge, it is your calling to educate the masses and bring mankind to the top of the food chain. Please teach 10 people how to manufacture the low-caliber pistol.
Reward: 1000 Access Points.
"Wow," Hax said. "It's just what I need."