"You three! Don't run!"
Batson shrugged off the broken boxes and stood up among the debris. As expected, the first to recover is the tough Batson, the rest of the children are still down. Batson was furious, sprinting towards the trio with a speed beyond any dwarves. The moronic three ran immediately.
"Goodbye, see you later !"
"Shut up, stay where you are!"
By the way, the kids left behind were caught by the adults and lectured for breaking the boxes.
Some distance away from the central square is a shopping mall away from the residential area. There was a building double the size of its surrounding buildings. It emphasized sturdiness more than appearance. This is the smith shop 'Termonen workshop'.
Batson chased Eru and the others all over the streets and finally ended up here. Compared to Eru and company, Batson was on the verge of dying of exhaustion after the chase.
"You... You guys... are too fast..."
"Thanks to our daily training."
"Huff... how did you train to be so good..."
Eru smiles casually. In terms of stamina, Batson has the edge, but he can't match up to Eru and his magic.
"Ah... forget it, I don't care anymore."
Batson is exhausted, and feels that all of this is just silly. He gave up and laid on the ground with his limbs spread out, and finally caught his breath after a long while. He gave a contented smile and laughed softly.
"But it was fun smashing into them head on."
"Hey hey, we can do it again if you like it."
"No way."
After a short while, Batson stood up calmly and pointed to his house.
"Eh, alright. Want to visit my place? I'm thirsty."
Maybe it's because they are near the workshop, they can feel the heat even from the outside. Batson's craftsmen parents are probably working there.
"Oh, I have never been to your place."
"Yeah... You will get hit if you disturb them. Don't be too rowdy."
The trio entered Batson's home and saw his father and a few craftsmen working in silence. Batson's father has a long beard and a wide body, it is easy to tell that he is a dwarf. His punches are no joke.
Opposite the work tables are the shop front with the finished merchandize on display. Batson explained about each one of them with pride.
"Look, all these are made by my dad."
All sorts of metallic equipment can be seen, from swords, lances, shields and armour to woks and pots. As expected of a dwarf craftsman, they are made delicately, every one of them is a master piece made to the perfect size and colour.
"Woah... Your place is selling lots of stuff."
Eru browsed the merchandize curiously while Ady followed him. Chid grew excited when he saw the weapons such as swords and lances. Batson was extremely pleased when they praised his father's work.
"Hey Bat, do you craft things too?"
"Ah... my dad seldom lets me touch metals, but I can do carpentry. I am a dwarf after all; even my dad praises my work!"
After hearing Ady's whimsical query, Batson pointed to an item in the corner of the shop. There are some simple wooden household items there. It looks plain, but the workmanship is good. Batson's skill is clear to see. The trio were impressed. At this point, something at a corner attracted Eru's attention.
"Can you make 'magic staff'?"
"... Magic staves ? I can make that if there are materials for it. I made these to earn some pocket change."
In order to use magic, humans have to use external 'crystal catalyst' to convert mana into physical phenomenon, and a magic staff is the most common example of that. Simply put, the crystal catalyst is attached to the end of the staff for ease of use.
Most staves are made from trees called 'white mist'. Because the wood from these trees is an excellent mana conductor, it is a popular magic ingredient. The plain staff crafted by Batson is also made from that.
"When practising magic, I always felt that..."
Eru's shifted his gaze to the staff on his waist. It was the magic item he has been using since the very beginning. It was shorter than most staves and fits with his small stature.
"What is it? Something wrong with your staff?"
Eru twirled the short staff wand in his hand and smiled at the confused Batson:
"Don't you think a magic staff is unwieldy?"
Besides Batson, Chid and Ady was puzzled by Eru's comment. They have gotten used to using the staff as a tool to use magic and have no complains. They don't get what he means.
Eru thinks it doesn't feel right because of the memories of his previous life. Because he remembers the world where science is king, he feels that this is awkward. Strictly speaking, magic staves are items that are used to cast spells. Apart from 'strengthening' magic, human spells are usually 'shot', releasing powerful effects. Eru thinks that magic a staff is a type of 'projectile weapon'.
Eru recalls a scene from his past in Japan... a room filled with models. Among these collections, he owned an airsoft gun, a realistic looking 'Winchester M1894' rifle which left a deep impression on him. Firearms, especially rifles resemble magic staves. The correlation made him think is there a way to implement the shape of the rifle onto a magic staff.
"For example, the knights fight with a sword and staff in each hand..."
Even the knights whose main weapon is swords knew the importance of magic. Right handers hold the long sword with their dominant hand, the staff with the other hand. If a shield is equipped on the left hand, they will normally hold the staff behind the shield.
"I think it is a hassle to hold them separately, that's why I have been thinking about combining them."
"I don't get it... But even if it can be done, how do you want to go about it?"
As he thought , Eru had a stroke of inspiration. Guns and swords... These two simple terms made him think about bayonets on rifles. It is simply attaching a knife to the tip of a gun barrel, using the rifle as a melee weapon. This concept is brought to this alternate world by Eru .
"Yeah, I just thought of an interesting idea."
Eru smiled gently, making Batson feel a chill up his back.
Later, Eru returned home, sat in front of a table and drew the design he had in mind. His focus surprised Chid and Ady who tagged along.
"What is that? What a weird staff."
That is the first thing Ady said after looking at the finished diagram. 'Bayonet'... a rifle that fires spells with a blade mounted on it, the first 'magic staff' of its kind. For Ady who has only seen normal magic staves , it is very exotic.
The next day, Eru visited Batson's home again with the design in hand.
"Like I mentioned yesterday, can you make a staff like this?"
Batson was at a loss as he stared at the unexpected guest who showed up with a design in hand after just one day. He decided to look at the plan first and started confirming the details. Batson made a strange face.
"Eru, what... is this?"
"Winchester Rifle."
"What? I never heard of a staff by that name, and the shape is weird... Why is the bottom so wide? And what is with this protruding piece here?
"Well, this is known as the stock..."
Some things can't be explained with just a design drawing. Eru answers Batson's queries and explain in detail.
"Eh, I will give it a shot."
Batson didn't really understand, but he took on the job anyway. He promised Eru he will craft this strange magic staff. Eru was relieved, and felt this is a good chance to see Batson's artisan work.
Several days later, Eru visited Batson's place for the 3rd time on Batson's invitation. The unique weapon designed by him was presented in physical form.
The handle resembles the stock of a rifle, thick and slightly bent and there are no triggers. A crystal catalyst is attached to the tip of a part where the sight of a gun should be. There are no chambers and magazines as it is not an actual gun. In place of the barrel is a short sword fixed in place. This is the bayonet designed in this alternate world... 'Gun staff'.
"The carpentry is done by me, my dad helped me with the metallic bits."
"Did he lecture you? If it is too much trouble, making all of it out of wood would have been fine too."
When Eru visited a few days ago, he heard that Batson's father was very busy. Eru did not press him either, and just asked him to do what he can.
"Eh, for some reason he was very interested when I was making it and gave me a hand."
Eru nodded in agreement. He thanked Batson and took 'that' in his hand in a hurry. He tried out the size, weight and balance, the finished product is no different from the design. The dwarves are incredible, their skills are truly astounding .
"Alright, I completed it as you asked... it turned out weirdly, what do you plan to do?"
"It will be quicker to show you."
Eru tried wielding the 'staff', and asked Batson for a place to test out magic. The two of them headed to the yard behind the smith shop. A few target boards meant to test out swords were erected. Eru aimed at one and slashed at it, casting an intermediate wind spell just before it hit... Sonic blade. He used the crystal catalyst on the staff to convert mana into physical phenomenon, emitting a shockwave from the blade, splitting the target cleanly in half. Eru took aim at the top half that is falling and cast an intermediate fire spell... fireball. It connected with the target and exploded, leaving a cloud of dust in its wake. The incredible performance of the staff made Eru smile, but Batson was stunned.
"How should I put this. This is too weird and out of this world ."
"Eh. Let’s leave it at that. Batson, you did great! Seems that using magic in the future will be interesting!"
"Eh, as long as you are happy."
"By the way, can you make another one for me?"
"Don't be so shameless with your request."
Eru got the 2nd bayonet staves he wanted. These two bayonet staves officially named 'Winchester' were kept in a sheath made for them and worn on Eru's waist. Eru kept them with him at all times.
The completion of the gun staff which is suitable for close quarters f