THE MOMENT
"This is it pal," Smyth grinned. He guided his best friend forward with an encouraging wave as he stood behind the door. Someone had just knocked and he wanted to make sure the magical white shotgun was the first thing they saw. The next few minutes held the chance to change their lives forever.
"Here?" Wilson asked as Smyth kept redirecting him to different spots. Smyth hadn't realized how long he was taking until the knock came again.
"That's fine!" He nodded at Wilson, then reached for the door handle. "We'll never have to worry about money again!" he chuckled to himself and pulled the door open. He'd already checked through the peephole and knew who his guest was. He went right into his pitch.
"Welcome to Wilson & Smyth's Magical, Mystical Weapon Shoppe, Please come in!" he bowed next to the open door and gestured at Wilson. The portly gunsmith held out the white double-barrel shotgun for their guest. "This is our first flagship model, it took years to perfect!" And, as far as Smyth knew, it really was perfect. Thanks to his and Wilson's combined expertise, the gun was even more efficient than traditional spellcasting. It allowed for more powerful effects while still using less Mana than a normal spell.
The young woman wearing a white leather duster walked right in and took the gun from Wilson's hands. She brushed her violet hair out of the way and began an in-depth appraisal of the weapon. She hefted it at several angles and peered down the sight. Then, she carried it out through the door.
"Need a fire test," she said. Wilson & Smyth had an enclosed target range just outside their shop. They'd used it to test the gun they made; but, the long-term plan was to keep the range as part of the business once they actually opened. They just needed to get over this small hurdle first. "Ammo?" she asked and held her hand out.
"Right, of course!" Smyth nodded. He reached into his pocket and withdrew a handful of magical shotgun shells. Each one was glassy, almost translucent, with a faint core of glowing light in the center. The glow indicated the element and Smyth handed her a mixed bundle of red, blue, green, and yellow ammunition. The woman dropped most of the ammo into the pocket of her duster; but, she took the time to load two shells into the white gun.
She clicked it closed, raised the weapon, then fired at the closest target all in one single motion. The hay target burst into flames as she turned slightly to fire at another target. That one froze over. She took a step and fired again at a third target, seemingly without reloading. But, after she blasted a fourth target with electricity, Smyth saw her reload. It happened in an instant. She popped the gun open with one hand and reached into her pocket with the other all while she walked casually. She had it closed and fired twice more in less than a second.
"Whoa, never seen anyone move that fast...," Wilson commented to Smyth under his breath. After she finished all the shells Smyth gave her, she nodded to herself and then returned to the pair of entrepreneurs. The flames on the first target had begun to die down while the one next to it began to thaw.
"My name's Victoria," she nodded at Wilson, then Smyth. "Congratulations, you passed the first step. If you can improve the design by late August, Sharp Development will stock this weapon in our shops.
"First step??" Smyth asked. He was under the impression this was the only step and he did not appreciate the new information.
"Improve?" Wilson asked. His voice sounded mildly hurt. He'd put a lot of work into the design; he was the gunsmith half of their duo and even Smyth agreed he was doing most of the work.
"I'm sure you can understand that we get countless groups trying to develop products worthy of the Sharp name," Victoria said. "It's easier to set a high baseline to ensure we only get competent developers. Now that you've proven yourselves to be at least that, you can start trying to meet our expectations."
"Try?" Smyth scoffed. "I dare say we already have!" He stepped closer to Wilson and put his arm around his partner's shoulder for encouragement. "Wilson here created the most efficient magical firearm possible!"
"Sure," Victoria nodded. "I'll agree with that. He created the most efficient weapon possible, with what he knows so far. But, that's not everything, and he's not even the first to get this far. This is the baseline, remember," she grinned.
"So far!?" Smyth asked. "I've studied magic for decades! What more is there?"
"This, for example," Victoria replied. She tossed something at Smyth with a high arc and he caught it. On closer inspection it resembled the magical ammo he gave her; but, it was notably different. Instead of the glassy, clear outside the shell was made from translucent red crystal. A faint, bright, purple glow emanated from inside it, different from the other elements he was familiar with. The bullet itself didn't feel much different from the ones they used during testing; but, he could feel intense magic from it. The other bullets felt as inert as rocks; but, this one felt like pure magic.
"What is this...?" Smyth asked and handed it to Wilson.
"It's called Sol Caliber," Victoria answered. "Your gun needs to be able to fire these."
"It can already!" Smyth defended their project out of habit; but, even Wilson shook his head as Victoria corrected him.
"If you tried it, you'd destroy this weapon," Victoria gave the gun back to Wilson.
"It's just a supercharged spell? What's the big deal?" Smyth asked.
"It's a little more involved than that," Victoria shook her head. She reached into her pocket and pulled a standard magic shell from her pocket. She held it up between her fingers to show them.
"This is Spell Ammo, it's the energy of a spell cast locked into a bullet, right?" Wilson and Smyth both nodded. "The spell is already cast, the magic is already spent, and this bullet will cast a pre-determined spell."
"Yeah, we know how they work," Smyth nodded. Creating ammo was a necessary part of their experimentation.
"And, like any spell, you use your soul when making these, right?" she asked.
"Of course," Smyth nodded. "It's not much, just a little spark to trigger the magic."
"This," Victoria held up a red bullet with her other hand. "...is called Sol Caliber because only Unique Soul #47, El Sol can make it. It's not just a spark of energy from a soul," she grinned. "This is the energy of an entire soul. That's the kind of output your weapon needs to handle."