The Strongest Gun Magus: I Cast Bullet!-Chapter 83: Spirit Reinforcement Spell

Reynard’s main focus was on the Lore of Spirit.

Although it was called this way, at first glance, it seemed to not relate to spirits at all. It felt more like a Lore of Forcefields.

Which was amazing. Reynard imagined that if he could engrave a spell into the barrel of a gun, then a spirit shield could protect it during a shot, allowing for larger calibers using cheaper materials. Or, perhaps, making a gun with a fully spirit-made barrel.

However, as he studied the spirit magic, Reynard realized that he was wrong about its nature.

Instead of transforming mana into a solid substance, as he expected, the spirit spells seemed to use mana to summon forth something from beyond the world. The summoned "spirit" was already in the shape defined by the spell, and any further mana was only used to keep it chained to the material world.

Reynard had no idea what it was or how exactly this substance worked, but he managed to get a few basic principles that allowed him to control the shape of the summoned "spirit".

More or less.

***

Reynard experimented with his new spell on a steel breastplate. He bought it on the market to save himself time, but made many additions.

What originally was a simple and unadorned armor was now covered in magical runes. A large emerald was inserted under the breastplate’s collar.

After Reynard finished checking that every last rune was correct, he put his hands onto the breastplate and poured his mana into the runes. One by one, they sparkled with blue, then went dim again, until Reynard’s magic reached the emerald.

Then, the breastplate became enveloped with a half-transparent blue film.

Reynard tapped the film with his finger, but not a ripple came over it.

Then, he took a smithing hammer and smashed the breastplate as hard as he could.

THUD!

Several sparks went over the runes. The blue film rippled, and a tiny crack appeared inside the emerald.

But the spell held, and the breastplate stayed unbent.

Reynard grinned with satisfaction.

The spell he called "Spirit Reinforcement" could be considered a success.

It was quite crude, but it worked. The runes created a spirit barrier in the shape of an item they were placed on, and a gemstone with a lot of Earth Mana in it (such as the emerald Reynard inserted) fueled the barrier.

The idea with gemstones came to Reynard after studying the Ring of Permafrost and asking Amelia more about the creation of similar items. Until now, he has never created items with powerful enough magic that they required additional sources of mana.

Reynard ran his fingers over the smooth surface of the Spirit Reinforced Breastplate and frowned.

"Hm... Now, to think about this, if I wanted to replace the emerald before it shattered entirely, I wouldn’t be able to, because the spirit shield covers it as well. And I didn’t add any means to turn the shield off without breaking it... Oh, whatever. It will still sell for a hefty sum. I just won’t mention that it’s a shitty prototype."

Reynard definitely wanted to make something like this for Marien, but she deserved a better-crafted gift. An armor for her would have to be elegant and light.

And Amelia...

’It won’t be awkward to make a gift for her, right? I feel like she would appreciate something spy-like. Like a writing feather that can become as sharp and tough as a dagger. Or a completely spirit-forged dagger if I understand how to summon spirit items in the shape I need...’

With these thoughts, Reynard continued his experiments.

***

His next advancement was a Spirit Reinforcement spell that can be turned on and off with a pulse of mana.

Reynard commissioned a beautiful, gold-adorned breastplate from a much better metalsmith than himself. Then he engraved runes on its back and added additional gemstones in the front that served as capacitors.

This Spirit Reinforced Breastplate would only cover the vital organs, but Reynard was sure Marien would refuse to wear any helmets on principle.

She was extremely happy to have and wear the breastplate, at least.

"Thank you so much! Oh, and I didn’t prepare any gifts for you yet... It’s your eighteenth birthday soon, isn’t it? I will find something special... Someone like me can definitely give only the best presents!"

"Soon?... I guess you are right, my princess! Well, how the time flies." Reynard smiled. "And yours is quickly after that. I will need more gifts... For our future wedding, as well!"

Marien blushed, giggling.

"I hope there will be Midnight Skylark sun cakes at this wedding... Maybe we will share a couple with guests, then!"

Reynard and Marien laughed at this together, and Reynard took her hand and kissed it.

Both of them were daydreaming about this moment, and both of them were hoping to see Amelia at this wedding as well. But for different reasons.

***

Finally, Reynard began work on the true application of the Spirit Reinforcement spell.

Putting the correct runes on a barrel of a gun was a challenge. He had to make the gun slightly larger than he planned to in order to fit it and the amethyst he placed as a capacitor.

The spell itself worked as intended, and the spirit barrier didn’t impede the other details of the gun.

Reynard went outside of the Darland city, to an empty forest grove where a lot of trees had bullet holes. There, he took the Spirit Reinforced Revolver, put a single 15mm cartridge in the drum, and spun it.

’I just realized that I could have invented Russian roulette,’ he thought with a wince.

Then, since he didn’t want to play it, Reynard rolled the drum until the loaded chamber was on top and aimed at an old hole in a nearby birch.

The hole was left by a smaller bullet from his other revolver.

Reynard cast Spirit Armor on himself, took in a deep breath, activated the spirit barrier of his gun, and made a shot.

BANG!