Last Gun Alchemist

In the days leading up to the Royal Academy First Semester Ending Ball Party at the Palace, the Ashenlocke Estate remained peaceful.

Ezra’s days passed without much trouble.

He continued with his usual activities, though there was one place he visited more often than others.

The Ashcraft Research and Development Facility.

Together with Vera and Elder Ivanhoe, he regularly visited the facility to inspect the progress of their work and discuss the development of their firearms and equipment.

Whenever the two young Alchemists arrived, familiar faces greeted them.

The researchers and craftsmen were always cheerful to see them, and some would approach them as soon as they entered the building.

There was always something to discuss.

For Ezra, much of his time was spent with the Alchemy Circle Conversion team, where they examined the Gun Alchemy Circle he had created for the AK-12.

The team had already made improvements to the design.

Now, their task was to evaluate the finished work and determine whether any further changes were necessary.

The head of the team was particularly impressed.

The Gun Alchemy Circle Ezra had designed could produce the AK-12 assault rifle, its thirty-round magazine, and its 5.45×39 mm ammunition, perfectly without any unnecessary consumption of Cognis.

All three were part of the same development project, and the Circle had been designed to accommodate their production.

After examining the results, the head of the team found little left to improve.

The design was already well developed.

More importantly, the work showed how far Ezra had progressed in Alchemy Circle Conversion. He had reached the later stages of the intermediate mastery stage, a level that was becoming increasingly clear through the complexity of the Circles he could create.

The researchers continued their examination of his other inventions.

However, there was not much to inspect beyond the explosive daggers and some other gadgets.

Elder Ivanhoe, on the other hand, had taken a particular interest in Ezra’s Black Magnetic Alchemical Gloves.

He found their functions very remarkable.

The only problem was how difficult they were to use.

The gloves possessed three main magnetic functions: Polarity Lock, Attraction Force, and Repel Force.

Each function had its own use, and together they gave Ezra several ways to control magnetic force during combat.

Their output was already impressive, reaching a constant magnetic force of 15kN.

Yet that was only the base output.

By directing additional Cognis through the Alchemical Magnetic Configuration and its Circuit system, Ezra could increase the magnetic force to 30kN.

When he released a full burst, the output could reach 60kN.

Elder Ivanhoe had to take all of this into account when evaluating the gloves.

Their capabilities were not limited to attracting or repelling metal. The force they produced was strong enough for Ezra to move his own body.

He did not need to rely on a nearby metal object to assist his movements during a fight.

The magnetic output alone was sufficient to push him through the air, allowing him to glide and increase his speed.

The gloves were more than a tool for controlling metal.

They could also serve as a means of movement, giving Ezra another way to approach an opponent or change his position in battle.

However, the more Elder Ivanhoe learned about them, the more he understood the difficulty of using such equipment.

The same conclusion was reached by the Master Craftsmen who had a say in the Ashcraft department of the family.

The gloves had impressive functions, but their use required considerable skill.

A device could be powerful and still prove unsuitable for general production if too few people could use it effectively.

Elder Ivanhoe was the leader of the group, so his opinion carried greater authority when it came to the final decision.

After considering the results of their evaluation, they decided to develop a more controlled version of the Black Magnetic Gloves.

The new model would retain the useful functions of the original design while being easier for other users to handle.

The explosive daggers were also selected for further development.

The Sticky Explosive Balls received the same decision.

However, the explosive cards were left out.

Their use was too complicated for the needs of the Ashenlocke Household.

The Alchemical Circuit system had been designed to delay the explosion for a few seconds, and using the cards effectively required the user to account for that delay.

Throwing a card was not as easy as it sounded.

A Gun Alchemist or any other Combat Alchemy Path Alchemist needed to understand the timing and make sure the card reached the intended position before it exploded.

That level of precision would make the product difficult for many Alchemists to use.

The Ashenlocke Household did not need equipment that only a small number of skilled users could operate.

The goal was to develop products that Gun Alchemists and practitioners of other Combat Alchemy Paths could use without facing unnecessary difficulties.

Otherwise, the demand for production would remain low.

And that was not what the family needed at the moment.

They needed products with high demand, equipment that could be manufactured in sufficient numbers and used by a wider range of combatants.

After the evaluation, three products were selected for further development:

The Explosive Daggers,

The Sticky Explosive Balls,

And a new model of the Black Magnetic Gloves.

As for Vera’s creations, the Ashcraft facility had been working on understanding the new models of the Acu-Vector Series.

The Acu-Vector Mk.II.

The Acu-Vector Mk.III.

And the Acu-Vector Mk.IV.

Each firearm had its own design and method of operation.

The Acu-Vector Mk.II was built around an attack that resembled a timed bombardment.

To use it, the wielder had to fire the weapon upwards.

The shell carrying up to hundreds of 2.5 mm needle ammunition would rise to a high altitude before the needles began their descent.

Once the shell reached the required height, the needles would fall towards the ground like rain.

They were only 2.5 mm thick, but their small size did not make them harmless.

The needles were designed to penetrate the bodies of Adept Alchemists, allowing the weapon to threaten opponents who possessed a much higher level of strength than a lower-rank Alchemist.

Rather than relying on a single projectile to strike a target, the Mk.II could spread its ammunition across an area from above.

The attack would come from the sky, making the weapon particularly different from a firearm that simply fired towards an opponent standing in front of it.

The Acu-Vector Mk.III followed a different approach.

Its general method of operation was similar to the Mk.I, but each shell carried twenty packs of 3.2 mm needles.

When fired, the ammunition would spread out like a shotgun blast.

This gave the weapon a wider attack pattern.

Vera had designed the Mk.III with a structure similar to the E-V 26 Mk.II Ezra had created, drawing on its exterior, internal arrangement, and firing and feeding systems.

The design allowed the firearm to handle its special ammunition while maintaining the general operating principle of the series.

Then there was the Acu-Vector Mk.IV.

Unlike the other two models, the Mk.IV was designed as a submachine gun.

It could rapidly fire individual needles measuring 2.5 mm in thickness. Instead of releasing its ammunition in a spread or sending a shell high into the air, it relied on a continuous stream of small projectiles.

Its magazine could hold close to two hundred needles.

That capacity was one of its greatest advantages.

It allowed the wielder to fire repeatedly without having to reload after only a small number of shots.

However, the magazine also came with a drawback.

Its length.

Holding nearly two hundred needles required a long magazine, and that made it one of the main disadvantages of the design.

Even so, the three new Acu-Vector models were promising additions to the Ashenlocke Household’s firearm production line.

Their different functions gave the Kingdom more options when it came to military equipment, while also strengthening the Ashenlocke firearm production brand.

The Mk.II offered its descending rain of needles. The Mk.III could spread its ammunition across a wider area, while the Mk.IV focused on rapid fire and a large ammunition capacity.

Each model served a different purpose.

Both Ezra and Vera continued visiting the Ashcraft Research and Development Facility regularly.

Their work there had not stopped, and the craftsmen remained occupied with the new designs.

However, the production process had to be put on hold for the moment.

The Royal Academy First Semester Ending Ball Party was drawing near.

The Ashenlocke Household had other preparations to complete before the event.

New elegant suits and ball gowns had been sewn for the family members attending the Royal Academy, and their own preparations had to be taken into account as well.

The party was not an ordinary gathering.

It was intended for Royal Academy students, the top families of Britannia, and the families of those students.

Only those who met the requirements would be allowed to attend.

With the ruling family involved, the event was bound to attract attention from across the Kingdom.

The Ashenlockes could not afford to arrive unprepared.

Their private Royal Steam Dirigible was already being prepared for departure.

The crew and servants had to ensure that everything needed for the journey was in place.

Food ingredients were brought aboard. Drinks were arranged, and the necessary maintenance checks were carried out. Other supplies were also prepared before the airship could take off.

Every detail mattered when preparing such a large vessel for a journey with members of one of Britannia’s most prominent families.

While the crew handled the airship, the Ashenlocke family members prepared themselves for the trip.

The days passed.

Finally, the day of departure arrived.

Ezra boarded the Ashenlocke Private Royal Steam Dirigible without showing any particular excitement.

Lucy followed closely behind him as the two entered the massive airship.

Inside, the vessel was already prepared to receive its passengers.

The large interior provided space for the family members to settle in, while the crew continued with the final preparations.

Other members of the Ashenlocke family boarded as well.

Some walked inside at an unhurried pace, while others made their way towards their assigned private suites.

The atmosphere remained calm, though the airship was filled with the quiet activity of people preparing for departure.

Outside, the sky was being examined.

The crew needed to determine whether the weather would require the activation of the Dirigible’s Force Field shields.

Heavy snowfall could make the journey more difficult, so they had to be ready in case the conditions worsened.

Once everyone was aboard and seated in their respective passenger areas, the preparations reached their final stage.

The Ashenlocke Private Royal Steam Dirigible began to rise.

Its massive body lifted from the ground, and the force of its departure swept the surrounding air aside.

Snow covering the ground was blown away as the vessel climbed higher.

The airship continued its ascent.

Buildings and streets grew smaller beneath it.

The Big cities and small cicties that made up part of Metallica gradually shrank into the distance, until they became difficult to distinguish from above.

The familiar landscape of the region slowly disappeared beneath the Dirigible.

They had begun their journey back to Eldenford.

However, this time, they were not heading towards the Royal Academy region.

Their destination was the Palace region, where the ruling family of Britannia resided.

Across Britannia’s skies, the Ashenlocke Dirigible was far from alone.

Other airships were also departing for the same destination.

Private and public Dirigibles moved through the sky, ranging from massive vessels to medium-sized ones.

One after another, they travelled in the same direction.

The Royal Academy First Semester Ending Ball Party was about to be held in the Royal Grand Hall.

For many of the students and their families, it would be an opportunity to enjoy an elegant evening, meet familiar faces, and spend time among Britannia’s most prominent households.

It would be peaceful, exciting, and lovely.

But for some people, it also had the potential to become a very, very unforgettable night.