"I really am a genius—"
Ian looked at the blunderbuss Alchemy Flintlock in his hands with satisfaction.
Yesterday, Ian had sorted through the materials and first studied the principles behind Alchemy Flintlocks, laying the groundwork for making cannons later. After all, a cannon was basically just an enlarged flintlock.
He'd succeeded on his very first attempt today. Calling himself a genius was just bragging, of course. In Ian's eyes, the design of a muzzle-loading flintlock was quite simple to begin with.
The main firearms used by the kingdoms nowadays were flintlock muzzle-loaders, with calibers of roughly 13 to 20 millimeters.
The bullets were generally made of lead. One reason was the cost, and another was that lead was soft enough to seal the muzzle when loaded from the front. The gunpowder was black powder, packed in paper cartridges to keep it dry and speed up firing.
Compared with ordinary flintlocks, the greatest advantage of Alchemy Flintlocks lay in their materials. Their barrels could withstand higher temperatures and pressures. They generally used more powder and had larger calibers, giving them greater power and range, though their accuracy was still mediocre.
Naval battles were frequent on the Sea of Miracles, and flintlocks were mostly used at close range. That was why they were generally designed with flared muzzles and fired buckshot. Their calibers were all over 25 millimeters, and they were known as "deck clearers."
The one in Ian's hands was one of these.
Ian hadn't been a military enthusiast in his previous life. He knew, roughly, that guns and cannons would develop toward rifling, more ammunition, and breech-loading. He also knew that metal cartridges consisted of a primer, propellant, bullet, and casing. Anything beyond that was too much to ask of him.
Still, with an Alchemist's ability to transmute materials, he felt that if he studied the subject properly, he could improve the firearms and cannons currently in use.
For now, his priority was to make Alchemy Cannons and Alchemy Gunpowder. There was no need to rush technological advancement.
Ian immediately set to work on making an Alchemy Cannon.
Elsewhere, by the sea at the foot of the cliff, the boom of cannons rang out now and then on the sea breeze.
Wawa had grown noticeably larger again. He was now over 24 meters long, and his draft and width had increased as well.
Compared with the growth of his body, the space inside Wawa was expanding even faster. It had now exceeded 1,500 cubic meters.
Of course, his appetite was enormous too. The expensive spiritual materials Ian had bought were disappearing at a visible rate every day.
Wawa didn't burn oil. He burned gold coins. Ian simply put all the spiritual materials into Wawa's space so he wouldn't have to see them and fret.
On the centerline of the upper deck at the bow sat a 24-pound Alchemy Cannon, mounted on a strange base. Beneath the cannon was a sliding carriage, set into a circular mount.
The idea had come from Ian, and Wawa had formed it.
The sliding carriage replaced the wheeled gun carriage. After firing, it absorbed the recoil along its rails, while the base could rotate a full 360 degrees, allowing the cannon to attack enemies from any direction.
At that moment, a chain that looked almost alive, if somewhat clumsy, was deftly "grabbing" tools to clean the barrel. It then loaded the gunpowder and cannonball, rammed them down, and completed the rest of the steps before firing. Under Wawa's control, the cannon adjusted its direction and angle.
With a BOOM, the cannonball shot nearly three thousand meters, kicking up a huge splash on the distant sea.
The cannon slid backward along its rails with a sudden jolt from the recoil, but the warship only shuddered and quickly settled again.
A cannon that could fire a round in under a minute was considered acceptable. A skilled gun crew working in perfect coordination could fire every thirty to forty seconds.
But the entire process just now had taken less than twenty seconds!
There was no doubt that Ian's experiment had succeeded, though it differed considerably from what he'd envisioned.
During his initial attempts, Wawa had indeed been able to withstand the recoil of a 24-pound Alchemy Cannon, but the resulting vibrations throughout the ship were so violent that they seriously affected the next shot.
Fortunately, the braking mount Ian had proposed had solved the problem perfectly.
But a new problem had arisen: the Activated Rope couldn't learn to fire a cannon!
The Activated Rope's ability to control sails was closer to an instinctive use of its spiritual power. Teaching it to operate a cannon was like teaching a child with an intellectual disability to do arithmetic. Neither its hands nor its brain could keep up.
In the end, impatient Wawa simply tossed aside the Activated Rope and took over himself.
The one operating the cannon just now had been Wawa's "hand"—the warship's anchor chain.
After a few more days of growth, Wawa's tentacles had disappeared completely, replaced by two anchors with long chains and an even sturdier hull.
The chains were much longer than the ship itself. The anchors served as both hands and feet, as well as weapons. They were slow because of their weight, but when swung around, they were terrifying. Ordinary wooden sailing ships probably wouldn't withstand more than a few blows.
In Ian's view, having Wawa operate the cannon was a waste of his talents, but it was a stopgap measure.
And as Wawa grew, his anchor chains would get thicker. Whether they'd remain as nimble as they were now was anyone's guess.
So the problem of finding a gun crew still hadn't been completely solved.
Compared with the problem of finding a gun crew, Ian's research into Alchemy Cannons and Alchemy Gunpowder was progressing at breakneck speed.
Ian figured that in three days at most, he'd use up these materials and have more or less mastered the methods for making cannons up to 24 pounds and Alchemy Gunpowder.
Ian and Milta had dinner in the dining room on the warship's lower deck.
Ever since they'd moved all their supplies aboard yesterday, Ian and Milta had been living on the ship.
Since there was no need to operate the sails, Ian envisioned his warship as carrying almost nothing but gunners and combat personnel. So, unlike the harsh living conditions aboard other sailing ships, the rooms on his ship were designed to be relatively spacious and comfortable.
There was a captain's quarters, officers' quarters, ordinary crew quarters, a kitchen, a dining room, a storeroom, a sickbay, and so on.
Ian had taught Wawa some modern room designs, such as bathrooms, flush toilets, and freshwater plumbing.
Sanitation was the greatest challenge of the Age of Exploration. Many people died not in battle or at sea, but from disease.
Wawa had easily formed a freshwater pipe system within the hull, running from the freshwater tank to every bathroom and the kitchen.
For this, Wawa had set aside a separate hundred cubic meters of "space" to store freshwater. No sailing ship could hope to match that supply. At twenty liters per person per day, it was enough for the two of them for 2,500 days.
Wawa could also draw in seawater and store it temporarily for flushing toilets or washing away garbage. Wastewater flowed directly into the sea through pipes that could be closed whenever needed.
He also formed beds, wardrobes, tables, and chairs. Though Wawa was still small, he was stable, and his unusual body was excellent at blocking sound.
The living conditions were even better than those at the inn on Central Avenue in Paradise Port. As soon as Ian and Milta moved in, they didn't want to return to the tower.
At dinner, Milta seemed to want to say something but held back.
"If you have something to say, just say it. You don't have to hold back."
"Captain, um... What's our ship called? And don't we need a flag?"
Ian was taken aback. The warship was Wawa's body, and he'd always called him Wawa, but that obviously wouldn't do when talking to others.
For one thing, it might make people suspicious about the warship. And, of course, the name wasn't imposing enough!
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