A relatively peaceful month passed until Bastion was summoned to Professor Hammerfist's personal forge to discuss his prize for placing in the top four of the competition.
He made his way over to the Volcanic Forge, where the professor stood in soot stained overalls, admiring his work. A dark red cannon with bright crimson veins glowed ominously across its surface. The cannon was larger than the professor's original specifications, closer to Bastion's own design. It stretched nearly two meters, chambered for 90mm, and looked absolutely menacing.
"It's bigger than the specifications," Bastion said as he stepped closer to examine the cannon.
"Had to make it smaller 'cause of the materials, but it barely dented Rank 3 armor once I tested it. This thing'll punch through plate, the bastard wearin' it, and the whole damn army behind 'em," Hammerfist grunted, eyes still locked on the weapon.
"It's beautiful."
"Aye, she's a beauty."
They stood there a few quiet moments, admiring the cannon together, until Hammerfist finally spoke again.
"Still delivers what was promised: magic sights, air cushion, heat resistance, impact resistance. All you need now's the right projectile. Just follow the formula you gave me in your original design and she'll handle the blast just fine. If you're gunnin' for Rank 4, load it with explosives and shove it down their throat. Best I could do with what I had."
"Thank you, Professor. It's perfect. What about the other project?"
"That one's gonna take more time. The rotation and fire rate sent the enchantments into overdrive. Needs a magic crystal just to keep up. I'm workin' on a way for the wielder's mana to feed it directly."
"That's way over budget and out of scope. I don't want it pulling anything other than passive stamina from holding it. Just strip the air cushion, throw the tripod back on, and make it fire stationary. I'll deal with the recoil."
Hammerfist gave Bastion a long, appraising look before shaking his head.
"You'd fly off without the air cushion enchantment takin' the brunt. You're strong enough to lift and shoot it, sure, but you're still too damn light. That tripod'll flip clean off the ground if you aim low."
"I'll take care of that problem," Bastion said confidently.
Hammerfist gave him another appraising look and then shrugged. He's just the smith who's making it, not the dumbass firing it after all.
"Fine. Have it your way. What are you going to do about the projectiles? You need six thousand for a minute of firing. I can make a mold for you, but it'll take time and materials to cast that many Rank 1 projectiles."
"I'll handle that part. I'm taking smithing classes, so it'll work well as practice."
"Casting's the easy part. It's clipping and polishing that'll take time," the professor warned.
"That should be good practice then."
"Even I'm not that cruel to my own students. I'll make a bigger mold for you as a bonus. I'll even throw in a polisher for good measure."
"Thank you, Professor."
Bastion stored the cannon and accompanying bullet mold before heading out of the Volcanic Forge.
The mold was the size of a table and could produce a hundred 90mm slugs with ease. He needed to craft a thousand Rank 1 rounds, which would cost a few mithril coins. It would take him a week to personally cast, cut, and polish each slug, but it was time well spent.
His real problem, however, was the Rank 1 explosives needed to launch the slugs. He needed an expert to create the pucks, so he met with Seraphina the next day to discuss it.
"You finished the gun?" Seraphina exclaimed.
"I used the prize from placing in the top four to have it made. Now I need Rank 1, 90mm explosives to launch the rounds. I figured ground Fire Crystals and Fireheart Resin as a binder would be enough force to maximize the cannon's limit," Bastion replied.
"You're too naive, my knight in shining armor. Leave the explosives to the experts. I'll get you what you need."
"Just don't go overboard. I don't want the cannon blowing up in my face. And no Phoenix Ash either. It would melt the cannon."
"Sure thing. I'll give you some samples and a manufacturing method simple enough for a child to follow."
"You're the best," Bastion said, placing a kiss on her cheek.
"Hehehe..."
The next day, Seraphina delivered as promised with three sets of 90mm pucks that fit snugly onto the back of each slug using Fireheart Resin as an adhesive.
"This one's made from powdered Fire Crystals mixed with purified charroot resin and pressed into a clay mold for a steady burn. This one uses refined Fire Crystal dust blended with sun-hardened Blaze Tree sap and a drop of stabilized salamander oil for a balanced ignition. And my personal favorite, finely ground Inferno Core compressed with liquefied Drake Bone ash, sealed in a mold with Fireheart Resin for a high-intensity, clean detonation," Seraphina explained, introducing each one in turn.
"I'll have to test them in the dungeon, but are you sure they won't overload the barrel?" Bastion asked, skeptical.
"They're all Rank 1 explosives, so as long as the barrel has heat resistance, it should be fine. It does have a heat resistance enchantment, right?" she asked, slightly concerned.
"It does... So why are you suddenly concerned about heat resistance?" Bastion asked skeptically.
"Don't worry about it. Just try it and let me know," she said before dashing off.
With a sigh, Bastion stored the pucks and set off with his party for their scheduled dungeon dive.
Right before the boss battle in the werewolf dungeon, Bastion took out the pucks and several 90mm slugs he had personally crafted the day before, combining them with a light slathering of Fireheart Resin.
He slung the cannon's strap over his shoulder, opened the chamber, and loaded the weakest bullet made with powdered Fire Crystals before sealing the hatch. Holding the two handles on top of the cannon for stability, he aimed from the hip, bringing the sights up. After a thorough check, Bastion deemed the weapon ready.
"Ready?" Bastion asked the party.
"Ready, Master," Elyra said.
"Are you sure that's safe? It doesn't look very safe," Lilia commented.
"It's fine. Just stand beside me because the air cushion at the rear is going to be brutal."
The party entered the boss room, and Bastion immediately opened fire by feeding a drop of mana into the cannon to trigger the explosive. It roared with a deep, echoing boom that shook the stone walls, launching the slug with a flash of red light. The recoil was nonexistent, and the projectile punched through a Rank 1 werewolf with such force that it embedded itself into the far wall, leaving a smoldering crater in its wake.
"Not bad," Bastion said as he cast Diamond Rain and stored the smoking cannon.
They cleared the boss room quickly before teleporting out and diving back in for another run. Once they returned to the boss room, Bastion loaded the second puck filled with refined Fire Crystals.
This time, the recoil pushed him half a step back despite his firm stance and the wall shaking air cushion. The projectile caused every monster near the line of fire to explode into chunks. The far wall collapsed under the impact, leaving behind a massive crater.
"That's what I'm talking about!" Bastion roared with glee as he stored the cannon and cast Diamond Rain.
The fight was much easier with three Rank 1 werewolves already taken out.
When they returned to the boss room, Bastion eyed the final 90mm round made from finely ground Inferno Core with skepticism. If the previous shot had already pushed him back despite the air cushion, just how much more powerful would this one be?
"I'm not the expert. Trust the expert. Trust your future wife," Bastion muttered like a mantra as he loaded the bullet into the cannon.
Once they entered and Bastion opened fire, a tremendous roar shook the walls, shattering all the glass in the ballroom. The cannon turned into a massive shotgun as the bullet tore itself apart inside the barrel. Everything within the cone of the blast was reduced to blood mist, while those farther back were shredded by flying shrapnel.
Bastion, meanwhile, was sent flying backward, crashing into the closed double doors they had entered through. Fortunately, he wasn't knocked out and recovered quickly.
As he cast Diamond Armor, he noticed his health bar sitting at 75 out of 90. The crash had done more damage than he expected.
"Damn it, Seraphina. I told her not to go overboard," Bastion muttered, slicing a werewolf in half.
The battle was even easier than their previous run, thanks to the drastically reduced number of enemies.
Once they finished the battle, Bastion inspected the barrel and noticed mild surface scratches along the rifling. It wasn't a problem in the short term, but the weapon's durability had clearly taken a hit. At this rate, it might not even survive a thousand shots as promised.
Still, the test was considered a success given the sheer devastation it had unleashed. If it could reduce Rank 1 werewolves to blood mist with just shrapnel, it could severely damage Rank 2s with the same spread and would likely penetrate a Rank 3 if the bullet remained intact.
"Now all I have to do is find better bullets than Rank 1 Blood Iron," Bastion said out loud.
"Why don't you just enchant them for durability?" Lilia suggested.
"You're right! That should keep the bullets intact. I can even add wind resistance reduction for better penetration."
"Does that thing really need to get any stronger?"
"You'll thank me if we ever get ambushed by a Rank 3."
"Why are you even considering that as a possibility?"
"Just in case."
With the new toy a relative success, Bastion now had to figure out how to feed his other dangerous toy in the works.
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