"Don't be shy, give it a try."
Hermione swallowed hard and looked in the direction Makiya was pointing, only to find a small door tucked away in the corner.
Pushing it open revealed a simple shooting range behind it, spacious enough for two people to practice at once.
Those two targets that Harry had previously ravaged had been moved here by Makiya without any changes, continuing to squeeze out whatever value they had left.
The ground around the targets was pitted and uneven, clearly devastated by a massive amount of magical bullets.
Hermione, always bold yet meticulous and willing to try new things, held the Uzi with one hand and funneled magic into it. Suddenly, a series of light pops rang out.
Pew, pew, pew, pew, pew!
A flurry of light blue magical bullets poured from the muzzle like raindrops, slamming into the hard oak target with a continuous muffled thud.
Hermione was startled by the sudden discharge and instinctively lowered the gun. Regaining her composure, she turned to Makiya in surprise. "This gun is completely different from Harry's two!"
"Of course. You can tell they're different just by looking at their designs. For instance, this one..." Makiya pulled out an old-fashioned flintlock pistol and raised it toward the target under the three children's gaze.
As magic flowed in, the bullet didn't fire immediately. Instead, it gathered and intensified within the gun barrel's runic circuits, a faint blue light spilling from the muzzle.
Whirr... Bang!
Two seconds later, a fist-sized orb of magical light blasted out of the old flintlock. Harry and the others barely had time to react before the projectile crossed the range in the blink of an eye, striking the dead center of the oak target.
A massive impact erupted. A wave of blue magical energy enveloped the entire target, sending it flying backward instantly to crash heavily against the earthen wall.
Compared to the 'scratching' effect the submachine gun's hail of bullets had on the target, the flintlock was significantly more powerful, despite its slow fire rate and the need to charge it with magic.
Makiya had made slight modifications to all the firearms on sale, restricting part of the runic circuits' functions, which significantly reduced the power of the bullets.
After all, he was selling these in bulk. If a single shot sent a young wizard flying ten meters away, Dumbledore would likely raid his little shop that very night.
However, if a wizard knew a bit of alchemy or had delved deep enough into magical research, they could manually remove the small 'flaws' Makiya had added.
Very few wizards could achieve that, and those who could would likely deal even more damage with a wand; firearms were merely a nice bonus for them.
"Different firearms have different styles. You can all try them out and pick the one that feels most comfortable," Makiya said, handing the flintlock to Ron.
The design, modeled after the French M1763 flintlock pistol, was exquisite and elegant. Ron couldn't bear to put it down. With Harry's help and encouragement, he aimed at the target and fired the first shot of his life, as if opening a door to a whole new world.
Hermione felt the flintlock—which required charging—was too rigid and stiff. She was much more interested in the high-rate-of-fire weapons, even if their individual power was lower.
While the two were testing the guns, Makiya reached out and summoned a pile of miscellaneous items, handing a stack of flyers to Harry.
"I have other very practical gadgets here. Space is limited, so we can't test them all, but you can check out these flyers."
Photos in the Wizarding World were magical; with the right spells and developing potions, they could act like GIFs on paper.
Harry picked up the top flyer and saw it featured footage taken in the Forbidden Forest. A hand appeared in the image, throwing a strange, white, cube-shaped alchemical item into the air.
As magic circulated, the cube hovered steadily two meters above the ground, continuously emitting a blinding white light as it chased after a poor little deer.
The second flyer showcased an even stranger-looking object that could fly and trail a large, dense cloud of smoke that refused to dissipate.
Harry recognized the item on the third flyer; it looked a lot like the grenades he'd seen on TV, but the effect was entirely different. The oddly shaped grenade would burst into a large cloud of white and green mist.
"Tracking Flashbangs, Smoke Drones, and Dittany Healing Smoke Grenades," Makiya leaned in to explain. "Remember to refill the Essence of Dittany yourself after every use of the healing grenades."
"But we don't have any money!" Ron squeezed in at some point, his face full of regret. "I mean, Harry might have money, but Hermione and I don't have many Galleons."
Hermione thought for a moment and corrected him. "That was the price list on the counter just now, wasn't it? I took a look. If I use all my allowance, it's not like I can't afford one."
Hermione's family wasn't poor; both her parents were dentists.
In Britain, dentistry was a high-income profession, making her a bona-fide little rich girl.
It was just that there were annual limits on exchanging Pounds for Galleons, which made her life seem a bit tight.
Out of the Golden Trio, only Ron was truly poor. Mr. Weasley's income from the Ministry wasn't low, but supporting seven children made things stretched thin. Furthermore, the Weasleys had a unique perspective on money, leaving Ron with virtually no spare cash.
"Don't worry, almost no one pays the full price in Galleons." Makiya led the three back to the counter and smiled at Ron. "If you are indeed Ron Weasley himself, then you can take a pistol right now. Mr. Fred Weasley and Mr. George Weasley have already paid the price for their brother."
"My brothers?" Ron's eyes widened. "That's impossible! I mean, they only ever prank me and watch me make a fool of myself in front of everyone. There's no way they'd buy me something so valuable. Besides, where would they get the money?"
"Knowledge is priceless. They exchanged some excellent ideas and alchemical knowledge for it," Makiya told Ron. "Your two brothers are very talented wizards. They will surely achieve great things in the future."
'Provided they don't die,'
Makiya added silently in his heart.
Ron scratched his head, unable to fathom how his two prank-loving brothers could ever be associated with the term 'talented.'
Regardless, he was very happy that his brothers had actually remembered him for once.
"Can I pick any of the guns?" Ron asked excitedly, reaching toward the lethal-looking weapon displayed in the center of the shop.
It had a strange but cool design, a massive body, and an ultra-long barrel covered in mysterious runes. It looked both noble and ferocious.
"Only the pistols. That Barrett is off-limits," Makiya interrupted Ron's fantasy. "In fact, that one is not for sale. Don't even think about it."
Ron regretfully withdrew his hand and walked over to the pistol counter, browsing with great enthusiasm.
Hermione looked troubled. Her money wasn't enough for a gun, and she didn't have any magical items or valuable knowledge worth bartering. The shopkeeper clearly wouldn't accept basic magic found in textbooks.
Harry hesitated on the side, wanting to pay for Hermione but worried about hurting her pride.
Noticing Hermione's awkwardness, Makiya smiled and said:
"Miss Granger, there is actually another option. You can sign a magical contract with me and submit a ten-foot-long usage report and suggestions for improvement in three months. Several other wizards have chosen this method of payment, and I think you'd be quite good at it."
"Of course! Ten feet? No problem at all!" Hermione smiled confidently. Writing essays had always been her forte. Ten feet sounded long, but once she started citing references, she could write it in no time.
The wealthy Harry didn't care about a bit of pocket change. From Makiya's words, he gathered that wizards from other houses had also visited the alchemy shop. For safety's sake, he shelled out for a bunch of gadgets.
Tracking Flashbangs, Smoke Drones, Dittany Healing Smoke Grenades...
He bought them all!
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