I Became a Witch and Started an Industrial Revolution

Chapter 102: Gunpowder? Ingenious Tricks.

Main Continent

Kingdom of Pue Lent

Royal Institute of Magic and Alchemy

“Bang!”

A sharp gunshot rang through the firing range of the institute.

Watching the light flicker on the target, the headmaster of the Royal Academy frowned. He turned to the dean of the Alchemy Institute, who was reloading the gun after firing: “Second-level, this is the weapon you claimed was rising in popularity across the Subcontinent? Such pitiful power is hardly worth my time.”

The visiting king, having heard there was some novel contraption to see, had come along out of curiosity—but after witnessing its effect, he too looked disappointed. A mid-level magician could easily produce a blast of similar power with a single spell.

And judging by the dean’s sluggish pace reloading the bullets… by this time, a magician would have already released three magic bolts in succession. Who would ever give their opponent so much time to act?

“Wait…”

The headmaster suddenly realized something. After focusing his senses, he concluded, “This thing has no magical fluctuation?!”

The king’s interest was immediately piqued. Taking the firearm from the other man, he followed his instructions and fired it using the slow-burning match cord. “Oh! It truly requires no mana. Interesting~”

“Yes, Your Majesty. The energy isn’t driven by magical elements, but by this black powder stored inside—called black powder.”

The dean of the Alchemy Institute picked up a small cloth pouch and poured the black powder onto the table to display it before the two men. “This isn’t an alchemical product. It’s merely a mixture of mundane natural substances. Once it meets open flame, it violently explodes.”

“The mortals of the Subcontinent contained it within iron tubes, using the explosive force to propel metal pellets—thus creating a weapon for their armies.”

The Royal Academy’s headmaster ignited a wisp of flame at his fingertip and touched it to the powder on the table. With a “whoosh,” it burned rapidly and released thick smoke. “Quite interesting~”

“But…”

He shook his head disdainfully. “Just mortal ingenuity. The energy is chaotic, the form is rigid and unchangeable. It cannot compare to the malleability of magic.”

The king toyed with the crude matchlock in his hand and laughed at the slow-burning match cord that gave off faint white smoke. “This could be used in the army? Ingenious tricks indeed.”

“Although the invention surprises me, it’s still futile for commoners to think they can challenge magic with such things. It changes nothing. A single area spell from a Mechanical Body soldier could wipe them all out.”

The headmaster nodded in full agreement. Though the power was somewhat noteworthy, it was no more than the level of an ordinary low- to mid-tier magician.

And in the kingdom’s army, even the most basic soldiers were mid-tier. Once they donned magical armor, such a weapon could barely even scratch the surface.

Yet the dean of the Alchemy Institute didn’t share their complacency. “Though these weapons pose no threat to us now, their creativity unsettles me…”

“They’ve completely abandoned the magical path and developed weapons of this magnitude. Because of such inventions, a new kingdom has risen upon the Subcontinent. That’s something we should be cautious about.”

The room fell silent. The king studied the matchlock in his hand, pondering the dean’s words. Suddenly, he seemed to recall something and asked, “That steam engine that doesn’t rely on magic—did that come from the Subcontinent as well?”

“Yes…”

Hearing the answer, the king narrowed his eyes, sensing a faint trace of danger from these things.

Then the headmaster stepped forward and said, “I’ve examined those so-called steam engines. Their shells are nothing but hammered iron sheets—any ordinary blacksmith could make them. The steam inside is simply water vapor.”

“Just like this so-called black powder—ordinary natural materials. Those Subcontinent mortals, used to primitive living, probably still climb trees to pick fruit, haha. Discovering something from nature by accident is perfectly normal.”

“The mortals there have lived for thousands of years and can barely produce things that might scratch a magician. A mere flick of the hand could annihilate them.”

Hearing that, the king’s earlier wariness instantly vanished. He chuckled, “You’re right. After thousands of years, this is all they’ve achieved. Without magical talent, they can never compete with magicians.”

The dean listened and also found their reasoning sound. Looking down at the matchlock that the king had handed back, he thought of the king’s towering, ten-meter-tall Magitech Mech and shook his head, setting his concerns aside.

‘His Majesty and the Headmaster are right—it seems I was overthinking it.’

“Mm… The Subcontinent isn’t worth our attention. Just a bunch of uncivilized savages. Our focus should still be on our ‘good’ neighbors—they’ve started their shady tricks again.”

‘Hmph, those filthy, fur-covered beasts are growing bolder by the day. Seems they’ve forgotten the taste of being torn apart by our Mech Corps!’

Meanwhile, the “female barbarian” leader Mitia was taking Eliza on a tour of the Seris Federation’s secret experimental base—where all of Seris’ cutting-edge black technologies were concentrated.

Some projects struggled with material costs, some could barely function, and others were single-use consumables—technological creations that would never leave the lab anytime soon.

Mitia brought Eliza here not just because these strange inventions were interesting, but also to send her a message:

See? I trust you this much—our most confidential secrets are open to you. Content orıginally comes from novel⦿fire.net

She wasn’t afraid of things backfiring or Eliza leaking information. First, even a nation under someone like her—who had direct insight into future technology—couldn’t yet meet the industrial requirements to reproduce them, let alone outsiders.

Second, their people naturally stood on the same front—betrayal wasn’t an option.

The Witch race, strictly speaking, was an extremely closed clan. Mitia had to demonstrate her value to gain the family’s attention and preferential resources.

Just like during the incident when the Federation was attacked by the Iron Giant—if not for Sherria’s presence, Mitia and a few ordinary soldiers might have paid with countless lives to resolve it.

If nothing else, simply having two white-haired witches visiting Seris made any infiltration attempts by the enemy akin to handing over prey on a silver platter.

Many of these black technologies were magitech creations—like the magic rifle Miwei now carried everywhere as if it were her most precious possession.

Such fusions of magic and technology were considered the darkest of forbidden creations in both this world and the previous one. All theories and data were verified and derived through endless experiments—no one could offer any shortcuts.

Aside from these black technologies, there were also experimental prototypes—technological creations not yet ready for mass production.

For example, the Magitech Engine—the one that used bursts of magic dust explosions to amplify the power stroke. Due to difficulties in cylinder fabrication and its excessive energy demands, it had been sealed away.

“Sealed” didn’t mean abandoned, only that it wasn’t yet suitable for mass production. Mitia had never stopped improving the technology. By now, she had developed it into an inline six-cylinder piston-type combustion engine, even with a prototype turbocharger.

But those small things weren’t the focus today.

What she wanted to show Eliza was a colossal creation.

A true giant—

【Aerial Airship】