Chapter 675: The Duke of Ash Enlightenment

Ezra looked at the firearms suspended in the air before him.

The Colt 1911.

Acu-Vector Mk.I.

Big-4Barrel Revolver.

Horned Pistol.

E-V 26 MK.II.

AK-47.

AK-12, and FAL Battle Rifle were all floating in front of him.

Each weapon remained still, held in place by the Duke’s Alchemy.

Ezra’s gaze moved across the collection.

"The firearms I introduced all seem to have lighter handling."

He answered Duke Valentine’s question without needing to think for long.

Ezra already understood the major differences between these weapons and the firearms he kept for his personal use.

He had made deliberate choices when designing the guns he presented to the family, and those choices affected more than their appearance or weight.

One of the main factors was the use of polymer parts.

However, that was only part of the reason.

Ezra had never used polymer components in the firearms he created for the Ashenlocke House.

He hadn’t even used the materials required to produce polymers to create his own firearms.

Instead, he had adjusted the physical properties of the materials used for specific parts of his guns, making those components lighter without relying on the same method.

The difference came from his own approach to Gun Alchemy.

Of course, this method was exclusive to the firearms he created for himself.

It was one of the reasons his Gun Alchemy Circles differed from the general circles used by most Gun Alchemists, including those commonly used by the Ashenlocke House.

The difference wasn’t always obvious at first glance.

Many Gun Alchemists of Ash also used their own variations of Gun Alchemy Circles.

The symbols and markings they added to their circles served as personal signatures, identifying the firearms they created.

But Ezra’s changes went beyond that.

No one knew about the small differences in the Alchemy symbols and lines he used.

Those changes affected the physical properties of the materials involved in creating his firearms, allowing him to achieve results that other Alchemists might not expect from the same materials.

He had kept that part of his method to himself.

Now, back to the reasons these firearms are easier to handle.

Their lighter handling wasn’t only the result of their material properties.

Ergonomics also played a major role.

The controls had been improved, and the adjustable stocks allowed different Gun Alchemists to hold and operate the rifles more comfortably.

Rather than forcing the user to adapt entirely to the weapon, the design made it easier for the weapon to fit the user’s body and movements.

The components had also been arranged and designed to make the firearms easier to carry and handle.

Then there were the accessories.

The optics were particularly useful.

They gave the user a better way to aim at a target without constantly relying on Cognis enhancement to improve their sight during combat.

The Springfield M1903A used by Veda had an optic, but the ones fitted to Ezra’s newer firearms were more advanced.

They offered the Gun Alchemist a better way to observe a target through the scope, reducing the need to keep enhancing their vision with Cognis.

Every small improvement contributed to the overall result.

Better handling.

More convenient controls.

Improved components.

More useful optics.

Taken together, these changes made the firearms Ezra introduced more efficient than the current weapons in the Ashenlocke Series.

And that wasn’t even counting their increased power output.

Duke Valentine had watched Ezra use the AK-12 during his fight against the Young Ghost Crawlers.

At the time, he had noticed something about the way Ezra handled the rifle, but he hadn’t fully understood what it meant.

But the more he watched...

The more something occurred in his mind.

It was like a click in his mind.

A click that changed the way he viewed his own Alchemy Strategy.

The sensation had first appeared during the Royal Academy Club Tournament.

Valentine had felt something stir in his understanding, and he immediately returned to the Ashenlocke Estate rather than risk losing the thought.

Once he was back, he obtained the recordings of Ezra’s fight against the Elder Ghost Crawler and the Young Ghost Crawlers from the Royal Academy.

He watched the clips repeatedly.

Each time, he paid attention to the way Ezra moved with what seemed to be the AK-12.

He studied how the rifle followed his body, how Ezra shifted his position, and how he handled the weapon during the fight.

Ezra hadn’t seemed to be struggling against the firearm.

The movements were smooth.

He didn’t waste time making unnecessary adjustments, and the weapon seemed to follow his intentions as he changed his position to deal with the enemies.

Valentine had watched those movements until he could begin to understand what had caught his attention.

After studying the recordings, he obtained an AK-47 and the prototype of the AK-12 that was still in production.

He handled both weapons himself.

The difference was clear once he had the firearms in his hands.

The AK-12 wasn’t simply a newer weapon with several improvements added to it.

Its design changed how it felt to handle, and that difference became easier to understand when he experienced it directly.

There was a distinction between knowing that an upgrade was better and understanding why it was better.

A person could compare the specifications of two firearms, examine their components, and identify the advantages of one over the other.

That was one level of understanding.

But when someone actually handled the weapon and felt how its design improved the experience, the knowledge became different.

It was no longer just a conclusion drawn from figures and observations.

It became something the person could understand through experience.

For Valentine, that difference mattered.

Even a tiny reduction in the amount of Cognis wasted could make a difference to an Alchemist.

The improvement might be measured in fractions so small that an ordinary Alchemist would overlook them, but those fractions could matter during combat.

Every unnecessary movement cost time.

Every adjustment that could be avoided was an opportunity to act sooner.

The difference might appear insignificant when examined on its own.

In a fight, however, small advantages could add up.

That was why Ezra’s statement during his first presentation of the Colt 1911 and E-V 26 MK.II had begun to make so much sense to him.

An Alchemist couldn’t afford to dismiss a small saving simply because it appeared minor.

To an ordinary Alchemist, a fraction of a millisecond might mean very little.

To an Alchemist fighting an opponent of similar ability, it could be a gift.

Valentine had continued training after making this discovery.

He wasn’t trying to copy Ezra’s fighting style.

That had never been his goal.

What he wanted was the concept behind it.

He wanted to understand how Ezra could handle a firearm so naturally that it seemed to move as an extension of his own body.

The weapon didn’t feel like a separate object that he had to control through conscious effort at every moment.

Instead, his movements and the firearm worked together.

That was what Valentine wanted to achieve.

He wanted to handle a firearm as naturally as he moved his own hand.

The thought reminded him of a few concepts he had encountered in the small studies shared between the kingdoms.

The Swordmasters of Avalon had a saying.

One mind. One sword.

The Martial Artists of the Zenith Empire had their own expression.

One mind. One body.

Valentine had once regarded those phrases as little more than interesting words.

They were concepts mentioned in studies circulated among the kingdoms, and copies of such works were kept in the Royal Study of the King of Britannia.

He hadn’t thought much of them before.

Now, they had taken on a different meaning.

The idea behind those teachings had become part of his own enlightenment.

He could see how the relationship between a person and their weapon might go beyond simply learning to use it well.

A skilled fighter could understand the weapon’s handling and control its movements through practice.

But what Valentine had witnessed in Ezra suggested something more.

The firearm’s design could truly reduce the gap between the user’s intention and the action itself.

The weapon became easier to control because it worked with the body rather than against it.

And the less effort the Alchemist needed to spend managing the firearm, the more attention he could devote to the fight.

Valentine had finally found the direction he wanted to pursue in his own Alchemy Strategy.

And that was how he gained his enlightenment, which helped him breakthrough to the Alchemist Scholar Rank.

"I know it’s more than that."

Duke Valentine spoke calmly.

At the same time, all the firearms suspended in the air vanished.

Ezra blinked once.

His face remained as plain as ever, and he didn’t display any obvious surprise.

Still, his eyes followed the space where the weapons had been.

A fine dust drifted down through the air, slowly settling onto the sandy ground of the training quarters.

Ezra watched a few particles fall before turning his attention back to the Duke.

What does he mean by that?

He thought about Valentine’s words.

He had already answered the Duke’s question about the cause of the improvements in the firearms’ handling, but the Duke seemed to believe that the matter went deeper than their weight, ergonomics, or components.

That was worth paying attention to.

Tsk. This might be a pro...

Ezra hadn’t finished the thought when the Duke spoke again.

"But I won’t push further, since I don’t think the Ashenlocke House is ready for something as big as that."

Duke Valentine said it with a relaxed expression, as though he had merely decided to leave a discussion for another day.

Ezra’s thoughts changed at once.

I guess I don’t need to lie about the polymers.

He had been considering how much he should reveal about the way he created his firearms.

If the Duke continued asking questions, Ezra might have had to find a way to explain the differences without exposing the details of his personal Gun Alchemy.

But Valentine had chosen not to press the matter.

That eased one concern.

Another question soon took its place.

But if the Duke has already noticed the difference, how did he figure out how to create a firearm with the same lightness?

Ezra paused in his thoughts.

No. I’m looking at this from the wrong side.

His gaze returned to Duke Valentine.

What did he actually gain from this?

That was the more interesting question.

The Duke had discovered something through Ezra’s firearms that help him breakthrough, but Ezra still didn’t know exactly what that discovery was.

His interest grew.

Valentine noticed it.

The young Gun Alchemist hadn’t changed his expression much, but the way he watched the Duke had become more attentive.

His eyes no longer rested on the place where the firearms had vanished.

Instead, they remained on Valentine, waiting for him to explain what he had learned.

"Young Gun Alchemist."

Duke Valentine called to him in a calm voice.

Ezra looked at him.

"You must have heard about Master Symbols already from one of your courses at the Academy."

As he spoke, the Duke raised his hand and pointed towards Ezra.

A Colt 1911 was hovering at the tip of his extended finger.

Ezra’s eyes moved towards the pistol.

He wasn’t surprised again by the unnatural speed at which the Duke created the Firearm after the first time he experienced the speed.

The Colt 1911 remained balanced in the air, its position controlled by the Duke.

Valentine held his finger steady for a brief moment, allowing Ezra to see the firearm before moving his hand slightly.

Whoosh!

The pistol shot through the air towards Ezra.

The movement was sudden.

Ezra reacted at once, bringing both hands up to catch it.

His palms closed around the firearm just before its momentum could carry it past him.

The force behind the flight wasn’t particularly strong, but the speed was another matter.

The Colt struck his hands with enough momentum to push his upper body backwards.

Ezra’s position shifted on the throw pillow, and he nearly rolled off it before managing to steady himself.

He tightened his grip on the pistol and adjusted his posture, preventing himself from falling.

For a brief moment, he remained in that position, holding the Colt 1911 with both hands.

Then he looked back at Duke Valentine.

The Duke’s expression remained calm.