After 20 days of travel, we were able to find sign of recent goblinoid patrols. We were getting close. As the likelihood of discovery by overwhelming forces was going to be continuously increasing from here on, Regina began to join my ashen infiltrator in scouting ahead. A carriage is not an easy thing to hide, so extensive notice is required to even make a viable attempt at avoiding a patrol.

I intend to bring the carriage and horses with me into Bhan Dhorul if possible. The horses are expensive after all, and while I packed many of the tools that I have been lugging around via carriage into my walking chest specifically because I am more likely than not going to lose my horses and carriage here, some things such as the portable anvil are not great candidates for packing into the trunk due to their weight, while other things like my alchemy workstation are still being used to make healing potions. If we have to abandon the carriage in a hurry, though it'll be frustrating, it will not be unexpected. But if it ends up not being required? Look, just because I'm a pessimist doesn't mean I can't hope for things, ok?

Getting extra time crafting will more than make up for the loss of the remaining contents within the carriage. Because yes, of course I am continuing to craft. Among the things I accomplished during the ample time I was in Diamond Lake was to create a fully functioning version of the repeating crossbow, and I have been using my 2 manufacturing scrolls to produce superior quality versions of these weapons, creating a combination of the lighter and heavier versions of the repeating crossbow.

To summarize, I originally went the gravity fed method since this entire planet is low tech, but over additional design iterations I ended up switching to spring fed quarrels. I did not start off as an expert on the subject, but approximating and replicating the design for the Chu-ko nu was relatively simple; though using it for my initial model I discovered that my aim was horrific when trying to fire it. There were a number of reasons for that, but the largest culprit was the sheer amount of motion required for each shot. For a mass battle being less accurate should not be a major issue, but few of my battles up to now have involved more than a handful of people, so after the initial design I modeled further iterations after my memory of the “Jörg-Ko-Nu”, which is a more modern design by a hobbyist who I no longer remember the name of. Jörg, I assume?

Things I remembered from his design and was able to carry over to this implementation included a trigger mechanism, a safety providing the ability to decock it without firing a bolt, slight improvements on magazine channeling to reduce the number of jams, a spring trigger opening the magazine to expedite reloading, and a spring on the loading mechanism so that I can fire it upside down or at odd angles. Not that I would plan to shoot any of these crossbows upside down under normal circumstances, but my experiences with weaponry on earth hammered home to me how important it is to be able to rely on your weaponry in unreasonable situations, so for everything I make, I keep an eye towards being reliable despite unfavorable circumstances.

One example of the sort of problem I've run into; you might think no one would ever pour a bucket of sand into your chamber immediately before you need to put a rifle to use, but having had someone accidentally kick a bunch of sand into my chamber while running up to me just before a firefight started, and consequently having to remediate a jam with every single round fired while in the middle of a gun fight… He knew we were about to start firing, too, there was a reason I was already on the ground and my dust cover was open. He just… wasn't thinking.

That's not the sort of problem you want to deal with even without people shooting at you. It makes for a terrifying and highly disadvantageous situation to be in when you are in a fight. With that in mind, ever since I started making combat equipment in this world, I've tried to be mindful that it's difficult to predict exactly what circumstances you'll be fighting under, and I've tried to adapt accordingly, implementing improvements where and when I can.

I am certain that there remains ample room for improvement in my crossbow designs from here, for instance one idea that future iterations might incorporate is that it might be worth working out a clean way to replace the entire magazine with other preloaded magazines rather than trying to reload individual bolts; but if I do that I would only be doing it for my and companions personal weaponry, I wouldn't want to make them to sell. I've no intention of trying to fully modernize weaponry in this world. There's ample reason to believe there are people already in this world who possess sufficient personal power to do a convincing impression of a nuclear bomb. There are also people who can survive it. Their rarity is a boon, and convincing a bunch of fools that lesser means, like fancy crossbows, are enough to give them a shot at people like that? I can't help but feel over accessibility of lesser weaponry is going to cause more problems then it would solve here.

The magazine idea has specific reasons for not having been prioritized though. I do not want to have to expend a large number of uses of the manufacture spell on magazines, nor do I want my Homunculi crafters to prioritize magazine creation over other, more lucrative or practical options. Beyond magazines however, my intention of limiting access to more advanced weaponry is more practical than anything else. Most of the improvements I've thought of would require modern materials. For instance, I have not yet seen anything made of rubber since coming here. Springs can take some of the load rubber does, and I can make those, but there are many things rubber just does better. For instance, if I could instead get more elasticity from the strings themselves, I should be able to increase penetrative power, further increase range, and so on. That should result in a pretty significant improvement in the overall design and effectiveness of the crossbow. If I could find some rubber.

Similarly, if I were able to create fiberglass, that would go a long way towards increasing the quality and reliability of the design. Unfortunately, and I hate to have to admit this, I don't know how fiberglass is made to even be able to attempt to reverse engineer it. This isn't the first time I've found myself frustrated by only being able to use knowledge that I possess without being able to look anything up via the internet, especially since the knowledge I do have from my old life also had to survive being crammed into a baby brain, not to be pulled out and put to use for another decade beyond that. I've forgotten a lot.

As things currently stand, detachable magazines aside I think that this is the best quality crossbow I will be able to design without identifying and incorporating the improved materials or magic available in this world. It might be a strange thing to say, but in many ways Magic is this worlds Science.

Regardless, my current focus is on making money, so I am crafting more of these repeating crossbows with the intent to sell. When I get the ability to properly enchant a weapon rather than what I am currently capable of, which is to apply a temporary enhancement, I will probably use the permanency of enchantment as the catalyst for switching my personal weaponry to a removable magazine design, thereby improving my overall reload speed and implementing my final design improvement idea.

My current preferred model, the one I started using on this trip, is larger and heavier than what you will usually see portrayed in media, and it uses heavier bolts with greater penetration than what one would see in modern crossbows that are usually built for fun rather than to kill.

Attempting to use any of these crossbows is still embarrassing for me since in this life I am nowhere near as capable when using weaponry of any type in this life compared to my old life, but by using Regina as the control for testing, there is no doubt that my new crossbow design resulted in a superior weapon compared to any of the other crossbows I've seen up to now.

For noncombatants and people like me whose class isn't combat focused and their combat related growth is consequently slower, I see a lot of potential in repeating bows and crossbows applied at a wide scale. In Reginas hands, even these crossbows are not superior to her bow, but they are clearly superior to my old crossbow. Even the lighter version that I am planning to sell to the dwarves at unreasonable rates should compare favorably with their current crossbows in terms of power and range, and mine should allow a significantly larger number of attacks between reloads than theirs.

As great as these repeating crossbows are though, neither the "Instant Legolas" nor my versions of the “Jörg-Ko-Nu” will ever be suitable for classes that are focused on combat, and the more focused they are the more true that becomes. Regina, for instance, is well practiced and talented with her bow. Far more talented and capable than anyone I had seen on Earth… And yes, I've seen some pretty cool videos of archers doing some pretty amazing things.

Everyone with a few levels in any area here exceeds the best that earth has to offer in that area. Regina is already more accurate and reliable at longer ranges and against moving targets than even an Olympic Gold Medalist in Archery would be. She can hit running targets from a hundred meters away, use the arc of her bow to slide an arrow just over the top of a wall before curving the trajectory downwards at an unreasonable angle, and much more besides. That's not to say she doesn't miss, of course she does, but if you watch even the most famous of Earths archers doing trick shots, for any given trick shot where they might need a dozen takes to complete, she would probably hit it about every second or third arrow, and she can do it while under pressure, actively dodging return fire, and usually while in motion herself. There is simply no reason to consider trying to give her a similar “upgrade”, because for her this set of equipment upgrades would end up restricting her ability instead.

But for me? Although I am a terrible fighter compared to someone like Regina or Bucky or even Joaqim, I would compare favorably to a random person selected off the street even with the system sabotaging my efforts; especially since those sabotages are becoming less frequent as I have been gaining levels. But I'll not be curving arrows or bolts around walls, bouncing arrows off walls to get over shields, and similarly difficult shots. For me and people like me, who don't focus on combat, an "Instant Legolas" bow or a tactical version of the “Jörg-Ko-Nu” will improve both accuracy and firing speed, with the only real drawback being that when a reload is required it can take a little while to fully load. Meaning that for most of the sentient population, my new crossbow design should be an excellent technologically appropriate self-defense tool. I am already mentally counting the coins that mass production will reap for me.

I digress. After spotting signs that goblinoid patrols can be found near us, even though my “Know Terrain” schematic does not reveal the dwarven city location as being present within its 100-kilometer range, Regina returns to her position as a scout, this time on foot. It is a pity that I cannot as easily take advantage of her (or more often be taken advantage of by her) when we rest the horses now, but I must confess the idea of running into another patrol of dire wolf riders terrifies me, doubly so when I remember that the first time I saw such a patrol, it was not 5 wolf riders, but 22 of them.

That first time we only lived because the squad we spotted could not be bothered to pay any attention to us, and even the second time despite the significantly smaller number of riders, our victory was pyrrhic, a victory on paper only, with half our team dying. No, having her scouting around on foot is for the best; she is faster than a horse and far more difficult to notice while on foot than she would be with her old horse. The more time notice we have of incoming patrols, the more time we can spend either coming up with a way to hide, or abandoning the carriage and running away.

I have half of a plan where if we can capture one or two members of one of their patrols, I can plant a suggestion that the carriage is laden with explosives, and then have it roll through their army all the way to the Dwarven town with them scattering to avoid being close to it while I steer it invisibly. Aside from the associated risks of riding directly through their army however, we are still too far away from their army or the settlement, and even days away the patrols are usually too large for us to have any real confidence in a victory.

5 more days pass without issue, but of course creeping up to an entire army without being spotted is nearly impossible with a carriage. It hurts my feelings, but I eventually accept that we must abandon the carriage, both because the terrain along the less traveled path we are needing to take has simply become inhospitable, and because at the rate we are seeing patrols, trying to keep the carriage with us will almost certainly end up with our discovery and subsequent death sooner or later.

I transfer as much of the crafting tools as I can, including as much of the alchemy gear as possible, to the walking chests. I also have the clay crafters clamber inside the walking chests. With no tools, there is very little the clay crafters can do, and since I no longer have space to spare within the chests themselves, my crafting will also be restricted. The wooden crossbowmen are moved to the horses, who we then guide by the reigns.

As for the carriage itself, we do our best to hide it by moving it into a depression in a wooded area and covering it with foliage. It will not stay hidden forever, possibly only for a few hours, especially considering how often we are having to avoid patrols, but if we are sufficiently lucky, we might be able to return for it eventually.

By this point, I can finally see what I believe is the entrance to their settlement, carved into a mountain face just inside of the 100 km range of my know terrain spell. Speaking of which, I am disappointed by the effectiveness of my locate city spell, which has a significantly shorter range, but which I'd still created on the basis that it might bring my attention to settlements that were harder to locate. So far, it has done a poor job of locating anything, regardless of the time I end up trying to activate it..

Luckily, Locate City is one of the cheapest possible schematics to create so the loss is not great, it is merely notable because I rarely find myself regretting my expenses. Even the carriage, should I lose it along with the horses that had been drawing it, has provided amply sufficient value for me to feel it worthy of having spent the money to acquire it.