Modular New Magitech Devices

"Yes, we carved Energy-Storage Runes into these guns, but they still need a trace of magic power to activate them, much like Mana Bombs." Betty nodded slightly. "Just inject magic power, and it will fire a ray straight ahead. This model fires Corrosive Rays, while the sleeve-arrow version fires Scorching Rays."

"Doll, give it a try. Attack... attack the bottle on that table over there."

After thinking for a moment, Roger handed the gun in his hand to Betty.

"Why don't you try it yourself?"

Betty casually took it and began aiming with practiced ease.

"I'm afraid it'll explode the moment I inject magic power." Roger stared seriously ahead. "What if you want to rebel and seize my divine throne?"

"Hmph! Who cares about your divine throne? No, you don't even have one yet! The Technology God is still only an embryo, not even a Nascent Deity." Betty snorted and pulled the trigger.

In an instant, a green beam shot from her hand. The cup in the distance immediately began dissolving at a rapid pace, eventually turning into a puddle of liquid. "Well? Not bad, right? Does it meet your requirements?"

"It does, very much so." Roger nodded in satisfaction. "When this gun is fully charged, how many rays can it fire?"

"About ten."

"Only ten?" Roger could not help frowning slightly.

"Ten is quite a lot. An ordinary Low-Order Mage can only fire about that many times."

Betty looked at Roger with some displeasure. "Of course, if you want more shots, we can make these guns larger. Or you could carry several Ray Guns at once."

"No, no, this size is just right." Roger hurriedly waved his hand. "What I mean is, could we separate the Energy-Storage Rune? A person could carry one Ray Gun and several Energy-Storage Runes. They would only need to replace the rune to fire another ten shots!"

"What do you mean?"

Betty froze for a moment, seemingly unable to grasp it right away.

Roger carefully organized his thoughts. "I think Ray Guns are different from Mana Bombs. We can use an entirely new model. For example, when you first get this gun, it has no Energy-Storage Rune and no Spell Model. It only has a basic frame."

"Then, if I insert a Spell Model representing corrosion magic, this Ray Gun becomes a Corrosive Ray Gun. If I insert Scorching Ray, it becomes a Scorching Ray Gun."

"Of course, it still cannot fire at that point. I also need to insert an Energy-Storage Rune. That way, it can fire ten shots in a row. Once those ten shots are used up, we can remove that Energy-Storage Rune and replace it with a fully charged one."

"One gun can fire different types of spell rays and shoot endlessly just by changing the Spell Model and Energy-Storage Rune?!" Betty stared at Roger in shock, her gaze seeming as though she wanted to pry open his skull.

"Yes. I think these new magic items are fundamentally different from traditional ones. They can use the magic power they store to do many things. Since that is the case, we naturally need to find ways to strengthen that capability."

Roger said with a chuckle, "Modularity is the first method I came up with. Through it, we can greatly improve the versatility and scalability of Ray Guns. As long as it is a ray-type—no, as long as it is any kind of projectile spell, it can be used. As long as we have enough Energy-Storage Runes, it can be used indefinitely."

The more Betty listened, the more astonished she became.

She seemed to have gained an entirely new understanding of the magic items Roger had invented recently.

Originally, she had thought the greatest advantage of these magic items was that they eliminated the need for chanting. But High-Order Mages did not need to chant in the first place, and Legendary Mages certainly did not. At most, this would affect low- and mid-order mages and apprentices.

But the instant the concept of modularity appeared, she suddenly realized that it was far from simple.

Any new magic item of this type could be assembled from many components, conveniently disassembled and replaced to achieve different effects. Just like her, every part of her body could actually be removed, and different combinations created different... appearances.

"I understand what you mean." Betty gave Roger a deep look. "Before, when I said these new magical devices were revolutionary, I was being somewhat polite. But now, I truly think these new magic items are revolutionary! Honestly, I even think these new magic items should be given a new name."

With traditional magic items, mages pursued luxury, expense, and durability. Countless extra mechanisms and runes were often added to every item, making them more like works of art. It was perfectly normal for them to be passed down for hundreds or even thousands of years.

The new magic items Roger proposed were clearly completely different.

"A name? How about Magitech Devices?" Roger said almost without hesitation. "After all, the greatest feature of these new items is that energy conduits formed from runes replace the manual injection of magic power, isn't it?"

"Indeed." Betty nodded slightly. It was quite a good name.

"Doll."

"Huh?" Called by Roger so suddenly, Betty was clearly taken aback and looked at him in confusion.

"Is there really no other way to charge Energy-Storage Runes? Can only mages fill them with their own magic power?"

"Yes. All the knowledge Kenuosencha and I possess says the same." Betty was extremely certain. "If you want to speed it up, there is only one way: have mages enter areas with abnormal magic power. Magic power recovers faster in such places, which can speed things up considerably."

"But can't magic arrays draw upon the magic power that exists everywhere?"

"Even when using normal magic power, they draw upon the magic power that exists everywhere. But to draw upon that magic power, you need a Spell Model and must use a mage's own magic power as a catalyst. Without intervention, magic power cannot gather on its own."

"Fine, I understand." Roger nodded helplessly. "Then modify the gun according to my requirements and make it modular!"

It could not charge automatically and could only be filled through a mage's guided injection. That was truly troublesome!

This would become the greatest problem restricting the development of Magitech Devices.

Mages were scarce to begin with. One Mana Bomb required a Low-Order Mage to work for nearly two days. How long would a Ray Gun take?

And what about even more Magitech Devices in the future?

Especially those large-scale Magitech Devices he had imagined. Would they need a whole crowd of mages to charge them too? That would probably drain those mages into dried husks!

Wait!

Roger suddenly realized that he seemed to have seen information related to this somewhere.

In the Magic Web Space.

Someone seemed to have discussed a similar topic.