April 22, 2024
Start
One well-known fact about abyss mages is that they can manipulate elemental energies without the need for a Vision. One lesser-known fact about them is their ability to detect elemental energy especially when conjured by Vision holders. Such ability constitutes why abyss mages can slip past just about everyone's notice, and why they're so slippery when being hunted.
You don't send a Vision holder to track down an abyss mage. They will know.
You don't send a hunting crew consisting of the ordinary. They will likely die.
The only ways to get them are either to chase them to a corner, set a bait they cannot ignore, or fight them straight on… the last one being a rare opportunity not everyone likes to take. They are aware that they cannot fight in equal measure against trained Vision users like him. They're not dumb brutes like hilichurls.
They know where to hit when to retreat, and who to avoid.
As to how they gather information has been a long-standing debate - while no one knew who first coined the name, the Abyss Order is an organization, monsters as they are.
It's why Kaeya did not join the escort team and instead observed in the distance in case it got to the worst.
Anytime now. Kaeya peered through his brass spyglass, hiding behind a smokestack, now with a little less enthusiasm in his anticipation. So far, there's no sign of any anomaly.
The logistic party escorted by ordinary knights stopped. They let the transport balloons idle on the street. They hauled boxes in and out of a building with palpable dread.
Anytime now fucking damn it… wait.
Lanterns hanging on buildings and street lights flickered. The warm light flared and glimmered across the street as if ghosts had a sudden interest in studying how their lamps work. The knights reacted. Some drew their swords as others dropped down boxes haphazardly. Archers readied their arrows. Mercenary crossbowmen aimed at the alleys.
…
And nothing. A few seconds later, the lights went on as normal.
Harassment tactics. Kaeya sighed. His half cape waving from the cold wind. He walked on the rooftop to survey another ambush site. Fuck. We've got a long night ahead of us.
…
"And that concludes my report on John Smith's hand-gun production." Albedo put the files on the table. "Shall I excuse myself?"
"You may." Jean heard Albedo's footsteps and a door clicking shut.
Jean Gunnhildr sunk her face into her palms. If it was anyone else, she wouldn't have shown such an improper display of appearance. Certainly, she doesn't know what to make of when the production of his hand cannons is scalable. And by scalable, Albedo meant that in every way.
Jean skimmed through the diagrams of other machines that John designed. While she could not make up much of the details, she understood the essence; like the hammering machine, these are specially designed to ease labor. She recognized one of the papers to be a miniaturized sawmill the size of a table. So… a table saw?
This means… the power hammers used for making guns can be made more, by making machines that can make more of these machines. Which means that production can expand exponentially.
Insane would be an understatement.
The only chokepoints would be the fuel source, allocation of space, logistics, and manpower. The last one is not as much of a concern.
There would be no need for an army of expert craftsmen with master crafts on their tally or laborers who can carry boulders. Even a few able-bodied knights with no experience with a chisel or a hammer can get the small… factory in the headquarters running. In the matter of labor, there's no shortage of knights loyal to Mondstadt if Jean decides to expand production.
As for the chances of bandits with less-than-benevolent intentions who will try to learn the whole production process?
Practically impossible.
As the city of wine, slip-ups of the production method will be inevitable, but they will need more than bits and bobs of information from drunkards - that is if people scouting for information would even take them at face value. They have no choice but to get every piece of the puzzle. To add, it was a responsible move on Albedo's part that he allocated tasks only within his reclusive company of introverts and oddballs.
The technology and methods wouldn't be easily replicated. At least in the humble industries of Mondstadt.
Her worry of bandits getting their hands on guns may have been misplaced. The only reason why she might have overreacted with the whole censorship fiasco is that if a bunch of amateurs in the forge can make a small cannon, then bandit groups in the wild and the black market can do so too.
Which was not the case.
It was very far from the case.
Even if John were to make the means to make hand cannons that bypassed shortcuts from Albedo's magical skills to influence metals, people will have to go through the same trouble as John had gone through. Albeit with less successful results in their endeavor.
Which brings her to a matter of the one who started everything.
She doesn't know what to do with John.
It's… hard to believe that not even a week ago, John was this… scared young child terrified of his own shadow.
In his first day in Mondstadt, he used to look at everything and everywhere as if it was about to get him. And now he's eager to get back at the Abyss Order with this oddly enthusiastic smile. Just earlier, he was begging for Kaeya the chance to shoot an abyss mage in the face.
How surreal.
"Master Jean." Huffman saluted after entering her office, "I bring letters from a detachment stationed in Springvale."
"Bring them here."
Jean cut open the letters as Huffman walked out of her office.
The defense of Springvale has been going well. Letters from Lisa and others shared good news; Amber and the town hunters made a great deterrent against monsters. Eula and her company received praise from the refugees she rescued. Meanwhile, Klee has been a great asset… though uh… it might take a while for the town's local ecosystem to heal. As for Lisa, the townspeople and the posted detachment have benefited from her potions and magic.
As for the other villages… no status report as of yet.
And that implied a few things, all of which are not good.
They must deal with the threats in the city as fast as possible.
…
On the third floor of the apartment, Ematol peeked outside the window just enough to expose her head.
"Hear anything?"
Phonia shook her head, "Just some kids crying next door."
"Gugh." Ematol rolled her eyes. She gripped her hand cannon a little tighter.
The two were checking for any anomalies. The logistic teams on the ground were busy making themselves look busy and important. Not that they needed to. There had been things that needed to be moved somewhere. Only this time, they all weren't hauling important things; no medicine, no alchemy materials, no metals to feed the local arms industry. Just boxes of vegetables from merchants and farmers who got stuck in this mess willing to contribute.
It makes up for a very tasty target for any abyss mages stalking in the dark.
That wasn't enough.
"It's Sir Kaeya." Hertha pointed at the figure on the rooftops. "He's moving."
"He left?" Phonia's eyes trailed to the disappearing silhouette. "He must be checking other sites."
"What about John? Where is he?" Ematol saw a hooded figure on another building. "Oh. There he is on the ridge. He's… dual-wielding handguns. He's moved somewhere. And… now… he's doing squats?"
"Is he the kind to do whatever is on his mind?" Phonia assumed her duties, looking over the street for any abnormalities. "How much has he done by now?"
"Twenty… and counting. He's not slowing down."
"Oh." She looked at other buildings. The other squads in civilian clothes were sitting on the balcony, their hands close to their holstered hand cannons. "No wonder why he can run."
Ematol chuckled a little loudly. "The other companies couldn't catch him earlier… can you even imagine tha-"
"Sh-shh! Is… that a hilichurl?" Phonia narrowed her eyes at the humanoid thing holding a shield walking out of the alley. One of the mercenary crossbowmen alerted others as he shot it dead. "Oh dear. It's starting."
Ematol cocked her hand cannon, whereas Phonia prepared her earplugs. With her sensitive ears, she didn't need to hear what was about to come.
"There's more!"
The two readied to shoot. A hilichurl appearing out of nowhere means that-
Frost chilled the air.
Ematol leaned a little outside. She saw a hovering silhouette with runic glows surrounding the creature like moths around a flame. It waved its staff. Its end glowed brightly icy blue.
With a chittered laugh, the cryo abyss mage shot condensed cryo crystals to the streets. It froze abandoned food carts. It broke market stands and booths. It turned walls into glaciers. Every combatant on the streets scrammed. Some retreated to the unfrozen buildings just as planned. No one wanted to die from something they can't kill - or rather what they're not tasked to.
Hilichurls poured out in many alleyways in waves. They broke everything on sight; they laid claims on the transport balloons as they clubbed it into debris.
The cocky abyss mage celebrated in the air. It floated a little higher above the height of the buildings. Unbeknownst to the abyss mage, everyone who wanted it dead need not worry about friendly fire. They had a clear line of sight - and there was nothing behind it but the sky. There's no better opportunity.
Ematol's heart pounded against her chest.
This is it.
With her hand cannon, Ematol lined up the iron sights to the target - she centered the front protrusion to the middle of the ring rear sight. She squeezed the trigger. The hammer swung and struck with a click. Instead of a single large bullet, six lead pellets and waddings burst out from its muzzle.
BANG!
Recoil.
Smoke.
Vertigo.
Her ears rang.
From her perspective, the smoke blocked her sight like frosted glass, but she saw a rabbit-eared silhouette falling like a swatted bug.
Her mind blanked.
No way
She leaned out the window. Every hilichurls rioting on the street then looked at the source of the sudden thunder that struck out of nowhere - one that sounded too close - in a rainless and cloudless sky.
There she saw it. Everyone saw it. A small monster in a blue coat, with abyssal energy leaking as dark smoke instead of blood from its brutal execution.
She shot it dead. It's dead. And she killed it in a second. The monster that terrorized the city was killed by someone who can't even swing a sword right…
It was that simple?
I… killed an abyss mage?
And all it took for her was a few practice shots in the training hall.
So many things were happening in her mind that she didn't notice her partner shove her gently to the side. It was Phonia's turn to shoot. She leaned outside the window exposing her whole torso and pointed down her gun at one of the few mitachurls.
BANG!
Its mask became unrecognizable. It's head even worse. Her initiative inspired the rest. Everyone else followed. Without the main threat, squads came out of hiding, with some brazenly exposing themselves and shooting from the balcony. Two shots from a second-floor building. Three from another.
The hilichurls suffered from the storm of thunder and lead.
John fired both his guns from the rooftops. Shotgun pellets killed three and incapacitated four. He slid them inside his denim pants, unholstered another two from his belt, aimed at a tight group of monsters gathered around the transport balloons, and shot them. Two gunshots. Four dead.
Argh someone else got it first. He thought regrettably. He wouldn't have worried about his line of shot if he had been in a lower position. He reloaded each of them one by one. He heard a laugh. From one of the apartments, a knight threw glowing jars from the third floor, turning the street into a brief inferno. Is that Ematol? Oh. Yeah. That's her.
The sudden silence of guns was the signal. Before the monsters could fully realize what was going on, mercenaries who retreated came back rushing to finish the job along with knights from the logistics team. The soldiers of fortune poured out from buildings and joined together in a wall of spears as they slaughtered the shellshocked monsters - but they too hesitated to push forward for they too cannot tolerate what the fuck were the thunders from earlier. Knights stabbed and slashed ones that slipped past or got too close.
Few managed to escape. That was nothing to worry about. A few rats in the alleys meant nothing that could be solved with a search-and-destroy party.
And they won…
Just like that…
…
Captain Hertha is grateful that cleaning up hilichurls does not require cremation or burial. Their masks and minor coverings are simply discarded like any other garbage. As for their bodies, they are gathered in a pile and slowly dissipate into smoke. This phenomenon, persisting since the dawn of history, is a mystery that science has yet to solve. Notably, records of their existence predate even ancient civilizations such as Liyue.
For some reason… hilichurls had only become a major threat starting from the Cataclysm.
As to how the surge of monsters correlates to the fall of Khaenriah?
It's just as mysterious.
"Damn… what the fuck were those?"
Hertha looked toward the source of the noise. Soldiers for hire were congregated in front of monster corpses, engaged in conversation. Their faded outfits suggested years of experience. Their eyes were fixated on the horrific remains of the hilichurls, riddled with holes like a damaged straw basket. Judging from their conversation, they were commenting on the damage inflicted by their weapons. That is if they were aware that it was caused by mere lead.
However… one corpse easily caught everyone's attention. It's practically an attraction not different from a theater show. Except there was no festive joy. Just… something that cannot be easily described. No one outside the Knights of Favonius might ever believe that the one behind the kill was some random alchemist.
"I never knew the knights had secret weapons this terrible. Do you think they're selling them?"
"Dumbass. Do you think they'll just give it to anyone? I mean, look at this! I wouldn't want anyone to use it on me. What if bandits get a hold of them?"
Secret weapons? Hertha almost broke her silence in her eavesdropping. She can't find the reason why that was amusing. From their perspective, they've never seen a gun before, and there'd be fewer who've seen naval cannons in action up close. Odd how they see it as this wonder weapon that can blow up enemies into chunks when she wasn't so different from them just this… afternoon.
Afternoon? That doesn't sound right.
Oh my god… that was just a few hours ago?
It was hard for her to grasp how quickly things had changed. Just yesterday, John was a simple worker under her, doing manual labor just to survive. And just a few hours ago, he was practically running the entire Investigation Company. He had gone from being a helpless person they found in the wilderness, to a laborer moving boxes for a living, and now... a weapons manufacturer creating powerful weapons that could transform Mondstadt.
Had already changed Mondstadt; never in the history of the Knights of Favonius ever recorded an alchemist, practically a non-combatant, killing an abyss mage.
That's not normal.
And the first domino of events fell just earlier in the middle of the day?
Hertha sat on a nearby bench - no one needed her for now; the cleanup crews could work without her input. Her weight sunk deep into her seat.
She felt like she was slapped in the face; that was really just earlier.
John feels… unreal; he's like some kind of fictional character that jumped out of fiction.
Suddenly, she had this surge of emotion; Pride. Pride that she was one of the people that helped him in his project. Pride that she was a part of what made this ambush possible. Pride that she was one of the few that ever listened to John's speech.
Windmills. Sails. Cavalry.
Guns.
Then everything made sense, in a sense that is more tangible than mere concepts - it's one thing learning ideas, it's a completely different thing to see it in practice.
His weapons and machines use power not derived from oneself. That's what makes them effective; for one's power has limits, hence you must source it outside.
She gets it now.
Her spine tingled. Her arm hair stood on ends as tiny bumps prickled her skin. The overpowering goosebumps surged over her whole body.
Just what kind of changes John will bring to Mondstadt?
After the very successful ambush, she couldn't help but see him in a different light; guns have certainly exceeded her expectations… and John just… knows how to make them en masse? Out of thin air? Just as he appeared out of nowhere?
Regardless, that's a topic that mattered little relative to what was at hand. What matters right now is how their new assets can be utilized effectively.
Not just in ambushes, but in field application.
If… the production of his guns keeps up, we can arm every knight in the city…
This means, that they need not worry about abyss mages anymore; If the Abyss Order is aware that the city becomes an entire kill zone, then they'll take second thoughts about ever attacking. The Favonius wouldn't have to sacrifice any seemingly significant asset as bait. Like their catapult or transport balloons.
She cannot overstate how convenient many things have become.
They can finally focus their effort outside.
… How surreal.
If guns can bring this much change, how come firearms never spread? She could only think of why it didn't start from Fontaine because their guns work drastically differently than John's design. They do have power sources unique to the nation of Hydro.
As for Snezhnaya…
Oh dear.
If they have firearms replicable with available technologies… then she understood why they had strict gun laws. Why despite having the technological advantage they all have, they only arm their common soldiers with blades.
Oh my god. She felt her body turn cold. Once the Fatui learns of this, they'll target John.
And if she's right, the entirety of Fatui will target the Knights of Favonius will all their might to suppress the technology.
They don't want to spread something that can push the playing field to an equal level.
Cannons exist. Conflicts exist. With all the factors that should have incentivized cannons to be miniaturized, how guns never managed to spread to the hands of people must not be some mystery.
It must have been influenced one way or another.
She recalled what John asked just this morning.
Are you telling me no one tried miniaturizing a cannon before?
He definitely knows something.
She heard cackles of gunshots from a distance. Those not in the know flinched from the noise.
The other ambush sites must have had their haul.
…
The ambush squads relaxed on balconies, looking over the cleanup teams gathering bodies and limbs of monsters to a dissipating pile… who all cannot concentrate with John's ensuing terrifying shenanigans.
Jean stood aghast at John who hummed a happy tune.
"John, please don't hold it like… that."
"Like what?"
John held the nearly-unconscious legless pyro abyss mage with both hands like some doll he wanted to show off, or like a cat presenting their avian prey to their master. As to whether he shot them off after he captured it is… not what Jean was willing to learn.
"Like… that."
"But it's mine." John smiled childishly as if the monster he killed was some… interesting bug he found. "I shot it. So it's mine."
That was mildly disturbing for everyone around the vicinity. How can he talk about it like it's some game he caught in the forest?
"I'm gonna bring it to Albedo. Maybe we can do some alchemy stuff. Or… I don't know, dissect it."
While the nobility has since dissolved in history, people often forget that Jean Gunnhildr was a noblewoman subjected to a set of practiced decorum since childhood. She has an image to uphold when in public, one she does with great patience in stressful situations.
John is testing that patience.
"How are you nonchalant about this?"
"What's wrong with dissecting it? It does magic. Maybe I could learn something from it." John looked at the red abyss mage like some new toy. "I wanna learn how to shoot fireballs! Maybe this little guy is the key." he grabbed the abyss mage with a single hand, and then it shook back and forth, as he unholstered his gun and pointed it at its mask. "Hey. You. I know you're alive. Teach me magic or else I will kill you."
"Gughh mmm…" The pyro mage drunkenly groaned. It squeaked painfully, "I beg you. Let… me go."
"Not if you teach me." John pressed his hand cannon's muzzle to its head a little harder. "Teach me. You have three seconds. One… Two…"
"No. Please! I can't teach you!"
"Fine. What if I dissect you alive and see how your organs work? Cut them one by one to see which one makes magic?"
"No!" The abyss mage squirmed in fear and screamed pathetically. It shouted half-unintelligible pleas for help and forgiveness. "Someone get me away from this monster! I'll do anything!"
The irony struck everyone who heard.
The scene before them struck a complicated feeling so damn surreal.
How can anyone react after hearing a monster calling somebody a monster?
This feels so wrong. A sigh leaked out of Jean's lips, "John… Stop that. If you want to see a demonstration…"
Jean summoned her sword. She struck a pose pointing a sword to the sky. Teal winds swirled and surrounded her in a whirlwind where she was the eye of the storm. Her Anemo energy dispersed and unsummoned her sword.
The onlookers gave her a quick applause.
"Wait!? You can do that!?" Uncaringly and recklessly, he choked the abyss mage a little harder. "How!? Teach me magic!"
He really doesn't know what a Vision is. Jean tilted her head. "If you mean magic, I'm sure you mean elemental manipulation. In which case, you can't. You will need a Vision."
"You dog of the gods!"
"Yeah, I can… see." John shrugged, confused. "My eyes work just fine. I can't read and write yet if that's your concern, but it's only a matter of time."
"No, I mean-" Jean resisted her facepalm. She patted the teal trinket on her hips. "This. You need this."
"Where can I get one?" He asked instantly.
"You… can't." Jean smiled with tired eyes, mildly amused by his notion that anyone could buy them from a store. "You can only get them from the gods."
"Don't be tempted by the lies of the heavens!"
"Can I ask them to get me one?"
"The power of the Abyss will serve you better!"
"No, it…" Jean sighed at the absurdity. "It doesn't work that way."
"What's the name of these gods you speak of? It can't hurt to try."
Jean opened her mouth but hesitated to answer. She has a feeling something stupid will happen. But if she doesn't, there's no doubt that something more stupid will happen; John will pester someone ill-equipped to deal with his oddity.
"… Celestia. Only the heavens themselves can grant you a Vision."
"Heavens?" John screamed to the sky. "Hey! Celestia! Can I get a fire Vision!? Please!?"
Jean's eye twitched, "It's Pyro Vision… and as I said, it doesn't work that-"
From John's chest, glows a light with the warmth of a star, intense and bright- "OSHET" John swung the abyss mage, like a fly swatter, against the light in panic as if some fucking hornet flew to his face.
"GoGH!?"
A shiny ornament clinked as it bounced on the street. After a few seconds of processing, John jogged to it and picked it up.
John pointed the Pyro Vision to the sky and conjured a small ball of fire floating above his head that lit the streets brighter than the lamps.
His System is flooding with updates and notifications.
"Cool! Hey! Celestia! Can I get a… a wind Vision like Jean's!?" There was only muted silence. "No!? I can't!? Well, it's alright! Thank you for this thing!"
"I…" Jean and everyone else watched with mouths agape. "What?"
"What?"
"Master Jean." John held the abyss mage by the neck like he was presenting a duck he hunted. "Where can I keep this guy?"
"Nowhere." Jean glared, "You are not going to keep that thing like some pet."
"I am not some animal!"
"Oh okay. Fine." John sighed. He threw the abyss mage to the dead pile of hilichurls like some trash bag. He aimed his hand cannon.
"WAit! NO! I'll be your pet! Woof wo-"
BANG!
Its head exploded into chunks of meat and bones.
"I'm going back to the headquarters, Master Jean." John blew the smoke from the muzzle, holstered it, and pocketed his Vision. "I'm going to find Albedo. Maybe he can teach me how to use this thing. I can't just throw fireballs around without proper safety and preparation…" Then he yawned a long one, "On second thought… I'm going to sleep. Have a good hunt, everyone!"
John walked out of the ambush site, waving goodbye.
…
Well… if anything, he's responsible with his power. Many thoughts swirled in Jean Gunnhildr's mind. All the witnesses shared the same sentiment. Twelve seconds of silence passed without anyone making a move. Bystanders coming from somewhere who didn't witness the event approach hesitantly caught in the odd spell that has everyone in a state of paralysis.
"Uhh… so is everything alright?" Said Kaeya who just arrived. He asked a nearby knight, "I heard a gunshot. I came as fast as I could. I thought everything was over already… Woah! Hey. Is that an abyss mage? What happened to it? Did a bear chew off its head?"
A random knight muttered a little loudly to his squadmate, "That abyss mage just barked…"
The squadmate replied, "And he got a Vision just by asking the gods…"
"What?" Kaeya looked around and then turned to the one who could clear up some confusion, "Jean, what happened here?"
"John happened." Jean flatly answered.
A random knight shouted towards the heavens, her hands cupped around her mouth. "Excuse me! Celestia! Can I kindly ask for a blessing? Can this humble one receive a Vision? Particularly an Anemo Vision if it's not too much to ask!"
"Me too! Please!? I can-"
Then everyone followed. The ambush site turned into a noisy marketplace with everyone yelling out their requests. Every member of the Knights of Favonius was shouting like they were in some big, crazy auction, each trying to shout louder than the next to get the auctioneer's attention.
"PLEASE! I NEED A VISION!"
"I SWEAR I'LL BE WORTHY!"
"WHY DOES JOHN GET A VISION? WHAT ABOUT MY FIFTEEN YEARS AS A KNIGHT!?"
This continued on and on in their mad and desperate anticipation, but no matter what they said, their pleas were ignored by the heavens.
As Jean tried to process everything from the start, she asked herself if she was inside some kind of fiction.
Her eyes bore at the headless abyss mage rotting alongside its brethren. There's just something... that mere words cannot describe in how John just casually shot it dead after throwing it to the pile of hilichurls killed.
Abyss mages are not some things anyone can mess with.
They are very terrible foes that have been plaguing humanity for countless generations. They are known for their wicked nature. Their infamy across the lands and history are more than mere tales used to put children tucked in their beds. Countless knights have lost their lives in unfortunate encounters and countless more innocents in their terror.
And in just three days, John Smith offered the Knights of Favonius not just a huge advantage not just in the defense, but a serious means to their problem; if the Knights of Favonius could finally deal with the festering issues inside the city, they could finally expand their focus outside the walls.
End
Edited some stuff just today. Geez I need a beta reader.
What is up all!
Anywho!
So, how did you like the fight scene?
You see, fight scenes have been my biggest weakness. If you've read my other story, I wrote it so... clumsy. The other fight scenes from previous chapters are... sub-par in my opinion. Is there anything that I should note? Is the pace alright? Does it play right in your imagination? Etc etc?
Moving on.
Here's the thing.
Checking the release dates of the chapters, I update a chapter every three days on average. (which is fast if you ask me)
That said…
I think updates will be less frequent from now on.
Why?
Well, I'm going to concentrate a bit on digital illustration.
My art skills are intermediate level if I say so myself, and I'm very interested in selling my soul to furries. I heard they're very generous when it comes to commissioning artists. My art skills have been rotting from disuse, but it shouldn't take a while to restore when I was at my peak before AI image generation stomped my confidence years ago.
(How there's a correlation between being a furry and being rich is a mystery to me. Now I'm not saying I'm a furry, but hey, between starving and being a furry, I'll take the latter.)
Anywho!
If you want to support this story, buy me coffee in my Ko-Fi! Check my profile. My Ko-Fi is there.
What will I use your donation for?
Snacks.
Coffee.
Meals.
…
Where do you even find furries?
Replies to recent reviews
ShinySpiritomb
You have a point there. Rare are good stories, and rarer are the ones finished. And just like you, I like tech uplift and tech disparity stories. Don't worry, I'll alert you in the AN if I post my own original story and where you can read it.
And thank you for the feedback! I tried to encapsulate the perspectives of the concerned characters. I'm glad you pointed that out.
As for the Fatui? Well, it's only inevitable. Knowing them, they're using the siege to their advantage just as Kaeya surmised.
snipervtk4
Honestly? I can't say. I'm just improvising at this point. But for brass casing, it's going to be introduced very soon. John's weapons research is only sped up thanks to Albedo's expertise. Working with brass shouldn't be an issue for them.
(Of course, don't expect assault rifles in the next few chapters.)
As for recoilless rifles? While John has his System and Albedo's centuries of experience, there's still a matter of manufacturing. I'm using our real-life technological history/breakthrough as a… measurement of John's tech tree progression. So no recoilless rifles in the foreseeable future. (RPGs on the other hand…)
And by the way, welcome to my story!
ThatGuyYouMet
Thanks! Cooking chapters every 2-4 days can be mentally draining at times, but it's just so worth it.
As for an intelligence agency? I entertained that idea long ago. But the Favonius is undermanned as it is. Besides, you already have Diluc for that. He's the richest man in Mondstadt and he's got friends from afar, if you know what I mean.
Yeah… it'd be hard to hide his identity considering he's pretty much famous already, hence why I made his alias a one-time thing. I didn't put much thought into it.
Arekuruu Oni
Oh! You again! Hi :D. I want to say thank you for your other comment. It gave me confidence.
And yes… Honestly, I don't think this fanfic is going to feed me all the snacks I want, so I don't think I'll ever plan on locking some chapters behind a monthly paywall.
but anywho! About lemons… or the horni… ah. yes… smut…
Hngggg
(Totally normal response there)