Isekai Online Game Developer

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Alchemy is useless.

This was a well-known fact in this world.

Alchemy began long ago when a man with the elemental attribute of ‘lead’ attempted to turn lead into gold.

Naturally, it failed to capture anyone’s interest.

After all, it was just the futile struggle of an ordinary man born with a wrong elemental trait.

People who had become adept in higher metal properties had no reason to indulge in alchemy.

Everyone could use magic, no matter how trivial.

In a world where magic engineering developed from the Trinity,

there was no place for alchemy.

Thus, alchemy attempted what magic could not accomplish.

For instance, creating an elixir of immortality,

or attempting to melt metals in various combinations to make the legendary philosopher’s stone.

Of course, there were some meaningful discoveries along the way.

Refining metals and advancements in certain pharmacology.

Because of this, blacksmiths and pharmacists did benefit, but the masses had no interest in such matters.

They merely viewed alchemists as fools who toss strange things into pots and stir.

In this era, very few bothered with such practices.

And among those few was one here.

“Oh, a new release from the Illusion Tower.”

Alchemist Alken.

He was a man living in a small mountain village of the Frank Kingdom.

Living off the modest foraging of herbs.

Life for the people of originally small countries was like that. It was hard to save money since the empire took everything.

Recently, after the establishment of international law, even small countries were starting to grow.

And Alken could have gone to the city to live a more affluent life,

but he didn’t particularly feel like it.

He had been barely surviving as an alchemist for nearly 30 years.

Even if he were urged to go to the city, he wouldn’t know what to do.

And now, times had never been better.

The Illusion Tower created an illusory reality.

With so much fun to be had here, why would he suffer to earn a living?

He thought he only needed enough money to fill his belly and buy new games.

And so, Alken bought and played a new game called ‘Hidden Attack.’

“What in the world is this…”

As soon as he logged in, an unrecognizable world unfolded before him.

A gray world he had never seen before.

It was an alien world that was honestly hard to accept.

However, as it was a game from the Illusion Tower, it had to be fun.

Trusting the Illusion Tower, Alken quickly became accustomed to ‘Hidden Attack’ after playing for a few hours.

“A gun, huh? Interesting idea. How does Riot come up with these thoughts all the time…”

If he had such creativity, he could have made the elixir of immortality by now.

With a sigh, Alken immersed himself in the game.

Tap-tap-ting!

‘Hidden Attack’ was quite brutal.

For Alken, who had only ever experimented with living frogs in pots, it was a strong stimulus.

Unlike previous games that were merely ‘games,’ ‘Hidden Attack’ felt like it was genuinely killing people.

Ordinary humans can’t easily accept the feeling of having committed murder.

It’s not uncommon for knights or adventurers returning from war to carry trauma from their kills.

Yet, in ‘Hidden Attack,’ it seemed there was none of that, likely due to the ‘gun’ as a weapon.

“Killing someone feels just like playing a game. Well, it is a game.”

As long as you aim accurately and pull the trigger, someone dies.

It was similar to practicing archery.

But compared to a bow, a gun was just a matter of flicking a finger.

The unrealistic background and attire contributed as well.

In the game, Alken habitually dismantled the gun.

If he could create such nonsense with alchemy, it would surely be a hit.

Though until now, creating in-game items through alchemy had been impossible.

Like the obsidian or ender pearls in Minecraft.

“This… seems like I could really make it?”

But this one looked somehow simple.

“Just make the body and create the bullets, right?”

Attach a magazine full of bullets to the firearm and fire.

That seemed to be the entirety of its mechanism.

Of course, there would be more complex structures inside, but Alken couldn’t think about what happens within the gun.

And the Illusion Tower hadn’t exactly implemented the interior workings of a gun.

They’d only modeled the exterior and the bullet explosion.

Thus, it was impossible to disassemble the gun.

“Bullets seem important.”

So, Alken focused on the bullets.

The shape of the bullets was a pillar form made of a strange metal, tapering towards the end.

However, it appeared that what would come out upon firing was a small sphere.

And only the shell of the bullet seemed to shoot out sideways.

“So this explodes here, and inside, a sphere flies out…”

Then the bullets must explode to release the spheres.

That meant something that triggers an explosion is inside the bullet.

When he thought that far, Alken sent a chat to the other alchemists playing the game.

“Don’t overlook alchemists: Guys, do you think we could make this?”

“There’s a person in here: It’s a weapon, but a blacksmith has to make it, not us…”

“Don’t put frog legs in: Ah, those foolish alchemists tsk tsk, still boiling frogs in pots, are they?”

“There’s a person in here: You’re an alchemist too, right?”

“Don’t put frog legs in: I got a job at a nearby pharmacy recently o(￣▽￣)o”

They didn’t seem particularly enthusiastic.

Even among alchemists, very few seriously practiced alchemy.

“There’s a person in here: Didn’t you blow up your pot when you were trying to make obsidian before?”

“Don’t overlook alchemists: I really think this could work…”

“Don’t put frog legs in: Just shut up and play the game.”

In the end, no one took an interest.

But perhaps because he had roughly figured out the principle,

Alken began to try creating the explosive substance by himself.

*

“Bang bang! Take this!”

“Ugh! Grenade throw!”

Children pretending to have a shootout with sticks on the street.

It was a sight that had become common since the release of ‘Hidden Attack.’

Smack—

“Ugh!”

A kid got hit on the head by a stone thrown like a grenade.

Whether it was an accident or not, the kid seemed at a loss.

“It’s alright. Grenade throws can hit teammates too, so make sure to aim well.”

“Ah…! Yes!”

“Hahaha–”

As I reassured them, the kids laughed, delighted, and ran off.

Seeing them was nostalgic, reminiscent of my younger days.

“…Can kids really say such things already?”

“Well, they’re just playing.”

Naturally, ‘Hidden Attack’ was marked as age-inappropriate for under 15.

But like modern times, it seemed there were kids secretly playing ‘Hidden Attack’ with their parents’ artifacts.

Rikal watched the children with concern.

“Killing people stains the soul. It’s not good for children to understand that.”

“True, I caution buyers to prevent kids from playing. But surprisingly, I didn’t think you’d care, Your Highness. It used to be normal for kids to go to war. Many don’t understand why kids shouldn’t play.”

Before the peace era, it was common for children to wield swords and axes in battles.

And compared to modern times, children in this world lived lives much closer to bloodshed.

Thus, many couldn’t understand why there were age restrictions.

Unexpectedly, Rikal seemed worried, who appeared devoid of blood or tears.

“But that doesn’t mean it’s good.”

Mumbling, Rikal walked on.

I ignored him and went shopping.

“By the way, where did you see and create that gun?”

“It’s just from my thoughts.”

“So it means it’s something that doesn’t exist in this world?”

“Exactly. I could probably make it if I wanted, but I don’t know how. Why?”

“Having a gun would increase military might by hundreds of times. Just imagine a world where wars are fought with guns.”

Perhaps due to his recent work, Rikal was quick with calculations.

Naturally, as a lord, it would be normal to want to introduce guns into the military.

But sadly, I didn’t actually know how to create one.

I had only implemented it as an illusion.

“Try asking the royal scientists to make it.”

I realized too late.

If firearms were actually introduced, the impact on this world would be immense.

The order of the world might change.

“They won’t be able to make it. Useless fools.”

“I see.”

“Don’t you really know how?”

“If I did, I would have made it instead of making an illusion.”

“Hmm.”

He seemed to have visited after a long time,

wanting to know how to make a gun perhaps.

Sorry, but even I don’t know that. If I did, I wouldn’t be doing this whole Illusion Mage thing.

“I understand.”

“Go on.”

Rikal seemed to turn around, perhaps done with business, heading back to the academy.

Looking at the time, it was about time for Zebit to go live.

“I probably couldn’t make it right away.”

Guns and gunpowder appeared quite late in the history of my previous life.

Given this world’s level excluding magic, it wouldn’t be easy.

Sometimes people like Rikal showed these thoughts, but they seemed impossible.

If they could be created, that would be great.

After all, the world needs to advance.

“I’m a game developer.”

That would be a good thing.

But making a gun would take quite some time.

I brushed my thoughts aside and chewed on a donut as I headed back to the tower.

And so, a few months passed quietly, and the thought of making guns seemed to fade away,

until a beggar… no, an alchemist came to the Illusion Tower.