New House
"We've arrived," Del said.
Cole helped him to disembark from the horse. The house had been fixed. The hole had also been patched as well. The house had also been repainted in the same white color. The grass in front of the house had been cut as well.
However, the house seemed to look emptier from the outside. There was simply no life inside of it. Maybe because the house was owned by a dead person called Osmond Menzie before Count Dela Rose transferred the ownership to Del Moore.
"It's rather decent, don't you think?" Cole looked at the house.
"Yeah, besides, you can do your research way more freely, right?" Del asked.
"Right," Cole looked at his backpack that contained Darium and magical stones.
Back in Midham, Del and Cole bought a backpack for Cole alongside magical stones and Darium to fulfill his promise. Del didn't care whatever experiment that Cole would be doing, but he certainly wanted to know whether it could enhance his weapon or not.
"Do you need beaker glasses or something?" Del asked.
"Don't worry, I also had bought it," Cole said.
"Good, I shouldn't bother you then. Anyway, Cole, you said earlier that you can make a combustible powder for me, can you make it in your research?" Del asked.
"Sure, energy from the combustible powder can be taken as data for my research as well. We just need a hard measurement unit and we're gold," Cole said.
"Sure, hard measurement unit shouldn't be hard," Del said.
"Haha, yeah, well, I only need a ruler anyway," Cole said.
"Ruler? Hmm, I think I can get you one," Del said.
"Thanks, Del," Cole said.
Del opened the door of the house. It smelled like freshly painted wood the moment Del opened the door. The furniture of the house seemed to have been stripped out. Maybe it was taken as a payment for the house itself.
There was still one couch in the living room and a table. For Del, the space would be great for a further upgrade in that house. For example, he might be able to put more modern appliances like a coffee maker or a fridge.
Still, the first and utmost priority was to buy a radio so Del could call a [Killstreak]. He might need Cole to carry the large radio transceiver called AN/PRC-77, a Vietnam-era radio transceiver that was basically a radio as big as a backpack. He actually just wanted to use a handie talkie, but Del doubted it would reach the AC-130 flying high above.
Del sat down on the couch, "Cole, have fun setting up your experiment, I wanted to relax a bit here."
Del put his backpack that was filled with coins and his clothing to the side. His MG-42 was laying down on the coffee table alongside the Kar98. There was also his helmet on the table. He thought for a moment while looking at that equipment.
He felt that he needed an upgrade. This time, he wanted a total upgrade. His white shirt literally stood out in the jungle environment. His black pants were useful, but not rugged enough for their purpose of carrying bullets. He also wanted a more proper combat uniform.
"Pidma, are you there?" Del asked.
[I'm here, what do you need?]
"I want an upgrade for my uniform, do you remember that you offer me a quest?" Del asked.
[The quest is unavailable at the moment. A group of adventurers took it a week ago when you're in bed because of Cassandra]
"Ah, well, shit. How much the full-set of uniform anyway?" Del asked.
[What uniform?]
"US OD," Del said.
[United States Olive Drab?]
"Yup," Del replied.
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[Displaying Full-Price of Full-Set OG-107 Uniform] [Total Balance: 38742.5$]
[Full-Set OG-107] [100$]
[Vietnam Era Combat Boots] [50$]
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"Why the heck this uniform cost holy shit expensive?" Del protested.
[The uniform is more durable than the clothing that you are wearing]
"How so?" Del asked.
[It is made from a special blend of fabrics. It is more comfortable to wear in a long run. It is more durable as well]
"I see, give me one then," Del said.
[Very well. Calculating Remaining Balance: 38592.5$]
A uniform appeared on the couch. One pant and one olive-colored combat shirt appeared on the coach. There was also a pair of boots on top of it. Those things were squeaky clean. Del picked up the shirt.
It was colored in olive, there was also an empty spot for a name tag. The shirt was also way thicker than his white shirt. He felt that the olive drab shirt would be a great upgrade for his next quest from the guild. It also looked like that he would visit Alder more often than usual since that town was closer than Midham.
BOOM!!!
"Holy shit, what the fuck was that?" Del stood up from the couch and grabbed his MG-42.
The explosion came from right behind him. Del didn't check that side when he assaulted Osmond so Del didn't know where the explosion might come from. Del walked in the direction of the explosion with MG-42 in his hands.
Del crossed the hallway of the house and he found Cole in the opposite room with glass shards on his hands. The room had been turned into some sort of research lab in less than an hour. There was a wooden table filled with glass beakers of many sizes.
"Bro, are you ok?" Del put his MG-42 on the ground and he looked at Cole's wound.
"I'm fine, in fact, I just made a progress," Cole said as he pulled the glass shards from his hand.
"Really? What kind of progress?" Del asked.
"I just found that mixing Darium, Areal Acid, and Water will create a combustible powder. I am just too dumb to ignite it when it is still inside of the glass beaker, haha, silly me," Cole laughed as he applied a healing spell on his hand.
"How much did you ignite anyway? How the hell it made that kind of explosion?" Del picked up the glass shard.
"I don't know, maybe around 400 ml of that mixture," Cole said.
"I see…"
So this world also used the same unit as Earth. That was quite surprising to be entirely honest. It was a good thing so Del wouldn't have to learn a new measurement unit of that world. If that was the case, communicating with Cole wouldn't be hard.
"What's the product of that reaction anyway?" Del asked.
"Gas, mostly gas, Darium and Areal Acid creates Dareal Acid. Dareal Acid and water create a paste of Dareal Acid. The powder Dareal Acid blooms and turned the water into a thin paste. When burned, it dissipates into water vapor, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide," Cole explained.
Del tried to remember some of the chemistry that he learned in high school. The reaction made sense, at least, for Del's lack of knowledge of that world's chemistry. Basically, Cole just created a propellant for his gunpowder.
Heck, it seemed that recruiting this chemical engineering student wasn't a bad idea after all. He basically had accidentally made gunpowder even when Del didn't ask him to make it yet. Well, it was a good thing, Del could start improving his propellant soon.
"How much solid did you put inside of that beaker glass anyway?"
"I only put 50 grams of Darium, more or less, the rest are acid and water," Cole said.
"I understand, Pidma, are you there?" Del called Pidma.
[Yup, what can I do for you?]
"I need bullet casing without the propellant, can you help me?" Del asked.
[Sure, what caliber do you need?]
"As usual, 7.92 Mauser," Del said.
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[Showing Available 7.92x57mm Ammunition Casings + Bullets]
[Ammunition Level: 1] [Tech Level: 3] [Total Balance: 38592.5$]
[7.92x57 FMJ] [10x] [15$]
[7.92x57 HP] [10x] [30$]
[7.92x57 AP] [10x] [48$]
[7.92x57 API] [10x] [60$]
[7.92x57 APS] [10x] [72$]
[7.92x57 HE] [10x] [90$]
[7.92x57 HEAP] [10x] [120$]
[7.92x57 IHEAP] [10x] [180$]
[7.92x57 AM-AP] [10x] [210$]
[7.92x57 AM-HEAP] [10x] [240$]
[7.92x57 AM-IHEAP] [10x] [250$]
[7.92x57 AM-APDS] [10x] [270$]
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"You know, I want to try it with IHEAP ammunition, I will buy 10 of them alongside the reloading kit," Del said.
[Dispensing Ammunition and Reloading Kit. Remaining Balance: 38212.5$]
A small cardboard box appeared in Del's pocket. Del grabbed the box. It contained casings for the bullets alongside the bullets themselves. The tip of the bullet was black with a red and green circle. It might contain magnesium for its incendiary property, but Del wasn't sure.
There was also that reloading kit on the corner of the room. Well, all was set then.
"Can you make that same paste?" Del asked.
"Sure," Cole stood up and he headed back to the table.
He mixed a crushed black powder into one beaker glass. He mixed two liquids into one beaker glass and he poured it into the beaker glass that had that black powder. The result was a black thin paste that was pourable into the bullet casing.
"Alright, time to experiment."