“So, what’s the plan?”

We were on the coastline beyond the port. A little farther ahead lay a sandy beach, but there was no need to go that far.

We had come here to steal—no, practice—Linford’s sniping magic, and for some reason, the man himself had tagged along.

“What’s the plan…? Well, first, I’m going to try replicating Linford’s magic by constructing a barrel using magic.”

“Hmm.”

Linford stroked his chin in thought before asking something crucial.

“That’s all well and good, but shouldn’t you take a break first? I haven’t recovered enough magic to demonstrate my sniping magic for you.”

“Ah, I’ve already recovered enough MP to practice, so I’m fine.”

I had left myself with about 5,000 MP earlier, but it had already regenerated past five digits. Checking Linford’s MP… He had barely recovered to 900, not even breaking four digits. I had never really thought about it before, but now I was pretty sure Rio and I had some sort of MP auto-recovery skill.

“I see… Impressive.”

I wasn’t sure what exactly was impressive, but Linford seemed genuinely impressed. His attitude had noticeably softened compared to our first meeting yesterday.

“Shu, I’ll handle the barrel construction, okay?”

“Yeah. I’ll focus on creating the projectile. It’d be great if I could also apply that effect.”

The impact penetration effect could only be applied by me, meaning Rio would have to be the one constructing the barrel.

Listening to our conversation, Linford suddenly had a realization.

“Ah… I see now!”

Yes, exactly. There was no need for one person to handle both the barrel and the projectile. If we each focused our magic entirely on one aspect—one on the barrel, the other on the projectile—the power would naturally increase. Of course, I also wanted to be able to fire it solo, but for now, teamwork was the way to go.

“But are you sure this is alright? We’re basically trying to copy your magic, Linford… And you’re even willing to demonstrate it for us.”

Regardless of whether someone was an adventurer or not, keeping one’s trump card secret was a common rule in any profession.

“Ah, don’t worry about it. This magic played a big role in my rise to S-rank, and plenty of people already know about it.”

Was this what they called the price of fame? Well, if it was something unavoidable, then no matter how widely known it became, it wouldn’t be a problem. Given the range, an attack like his was nearly impossible to defend against if fired from outside the target’s awareness.

“Besides, the city is in danger. Now’s not the time for me to be worrying about personal secrets.”

“In that case, I’ll gladly accept your guidance.”

Thus, the three of us began discussing and constructing the framework for a new sniping spell.

“I was thinking of incorporating the mechanics of a railgun.”

““A railgun?””

I suggested it, hoping for high power regardless of practicality, but while Linford seemed completely lost, even Rio raised an eyebrow.

“Uh, it’s a system that uses electromagnetic induction for acceleration… It’s also used in linear motors, you know?”

“Ah, that. I see.”

“L-Linear…?”

Rio understood immediately, but obviously, Linford, who lacked modern knowledge, did not. Even Master hadn’t known about electricity or magnetism-based magic, so it was entirely beyond Linford’s grasp. I tried explaining it as simply as possible, but I wasn’t exactly an expert on electromagnetism either.

“Haha, sorry, I don’t get any of that. I was born a commoner, so I’m not very educated…”

“Oh, so you were a commoner…”

So he really was a noble. Now that I thought about it, Master had mentioned that those with family names were usually nobles. I had completely forgotten.

Still, even a properly educated noble would probably struggle with modern scientific knowledge.

“I became a noble after reaching S-rank. I don’t have a domain, but I hold the title of honorary baron in the empire.”

Apparently, an honorary title was only valid for a single generation. For a commoner to be knighted was a massive leap in status. While an S-rank adventurer didn’t really need a noble stipend, perhaps it was a symbol of prestige.

“Of course, I am obliged to serve the empire.”

Linford spoke with pride, though there were likely additional restrictions imposed on imperial nobles.

“Ah, but I got off track.”

Linford corrected himself and returned to advising us on constructing the barrel. He explained that the firing mechanism was built upon existing magic that propelled objects. The process of forming a cylindrical barrel and using wind magic for propulsion was remarkably similar to how guns on Earth functioned.

“I see… Something like this, perhaps?”

Rio formed a simple projectile using earth magic, then compressed the air behind it. She then began constructing a twenty-centimeter-long barrel with magic.

The projectile was just a crude lump of rock, significantly smaller than the barrel’s bore, and the barrel itself lacked rifling. But even so, Rio had successfully constructed a rudimentary sniping spell through sheer mimicry.

“Firing.”

With a weak “pfft” sound, the projectile was ejected—but it barely traveled a few meters before falling to the ground.

Despite that, Linford’s eyes widened in shock, and his mouth hung open.

“Hah… So geniuses really do exist.”

Alright, time for me to work on developing the projectile next.