The Lord Just Wants to Have Fun

Carpenter and the soldiers searched the entire cave area until evening but found no further traces of another troll.

Returning to the fortress, Carpenter reported to Philip.

“It seems like that one was a lone troll. But still… It’s not like we’re dealing with orcs or goblins. A troll making it this far down the mountains is… troubling.”

“It’s probably because of the drought. The food supply in the Prill Mountain Range must have significantly decreased.”

“We need to strengthen patrols along the territory’s borders.”

“At least expanding the garrison turned out to be a brilliant move.”

Carpenter paused for a moment before asking again.

“So, I heard you set a troll’s face on fire using something called a… firebomb?”

“Oh, yeah.”

To be honest, Carpenter never expected his lord to stay and fight instead of fleeing.

The old Philip had been too timid and afraid of bloodshed.

“The lord really has changed.”

He was now paying off his debts, handling the territory’s affairs that he had previously neglected, and even taking charge during crises.

As someone who had served the previous baron for a long time, Carpenter felt an overwhelming sense of pride seeing Philip’s growth—
though he made sure not to show it.

Instead, he spoke in a firm tone.

“My lord, if something like this happens again, you must not look back—just run. You were simply lucky this time.”

“What? And just leave Sir Terry and the soldiers to die?”

“Sacrificing themselves for their lord is their duty. Never forget that the lives of countless citizens depend on you.”

Philip gave a sheepish smile.

“If I were truly a responsible guy, I wouldn’t have spent every spare moment obsessing over my hobbies.”

Yet, surprisingly, the people’s opinion of Philip wasn’t bad.

He was still seen as a young noble under the influence of his old retainers,
but at least he wasn’t a tyrant squeezing them dry, nor was he wasting money in the capital.

And recently, he had received praise for protecting pasturelands and increasing the number of sheep.

Carpenter’s expression suddenly turned baffled.

“My lord… What exactly do you plan to do with the bat dung you brought back?”

Philip smirked as he saw Terry scowling.

“I’d like to know as well. That damn bat dung nearly got us all killed!”

Philip let out a quiet chuckle.

“Curious? Unfortunately, this isn’t something I can share with just anyone…”

“Is it as special as the silver extraction method you developed?”

“It requires even greater secrecy.”

Carpenter’s eyes widened in shock.

He hadn’t thought it was that important.

“This concerns the territory’s military strength. I’ll tell only you two—but this stays between us.”

Back at the fortress, Philip gathered several tools and materials before retrieving the bat dung (Ya Myeong Sa).

He soaked it in water, then strained the solution through a sieve.

After that, he poured the filtered liquid into a pot and began boiling it.

As the water evaporated, a white powder started to form along the bottom of the pot.

“Is this… salt?”

“No, it’s saltpeter. Also called potassium nitrate. It can be used in cooking, but…”

Philip scraped the residue from the pot, gathering the white powder into a small pile.

Then, he took a pinch and tossed it into the fireplace.

BOOM—FWOOSH!

A sudden explosion erupted as the flames roared higher.

Carpenter and Terry’s eyes widened in shock.

“My lord… What is this?”

“It’s a new flame—one that will change history.”

Philip’s lips curled into a satisfied smile as he thought of gunpowder and firearms—
the inventions that had reshaped entire civilizations.

****

A few days passed after Philip returned to the manor from tactical training.

Philip spent his mornings handling administrative duties as a lord and his afternoons in his workshop, perfecting black powder.

For the mixture, he followed the 18th-century European formula:

Potassium nitrate (saltpeter) – 75% (from bat dung, Ya Myeong Sa)
Charcoal – 15%
Sulfur – 10%

To prevent static-induced explosions, he even coated the grains with graphite using a process known as “corning.”

Then, one day—while reviewing reports in his office, a system scroll suddenly popped up.

[The forge has produced the 350th Zippo lighter.]
[A total of 3,500 points have been accumulated.]

“Old man Hans, thanks for your hard work!”

At first, the blacksmiths struggled to make even 20 per day, but now they were producing over 30 daily.

Their experience had naturally improved over time.

“Finally! I can make my own musket!”

Most of the parts for the firearm were already completed—
The gunstock and butt had been crafted by a carpenter,
and other small components had been painstakingly made by hand.

Now, all that remained were the barrel and trigger mechanism.

“Let’s begin!”

Philip activated his Golden Hammer skill.

A large golden anvil and hammer materialized in front of him.

He placed high-quality steel onto the anvil and visualized the parts he needed—
a musket barrel and a trigger assembly.

“A smoothbore musket would only cost 3,000 points, but… a rifled barrel would be far superior.”

Rifled barrels increased range, accuracy, and power.

That’s why Philip had waited for more points rather than making a simpler gun earlier.

As soon as he finished mentally designing the components, a new system prompt appeared.

[Consume 3,500 points to craft the requested components?]

“Of course.”

With that, Philip swung the Golden Hammer.

CLANG!

A thunderous sound echoed as a long musket barrel and trigger mechanism formed atop the golden anvil.

Philip immediately inspected the barrel’s interior—
The rifling grooves were perfectly carved.

“This Golden Hammer skill is seriously amazing!”

Mau, his guardian angel, suddenly appeared to nag him.

“I am working. I’m making Zippo lighters. Once those spread, Eldir’s name will be remembered again.”

Philip ignored Mau’s complaints and assembled his musket.

He carefully fitted the barrel and trigger into the gunstock, then added the remaining components.

The finished firearm resembled a classic flintlock musket—specifically, the Brown Bess.

“But appearance alone isn’t enough. It needs real power.”

Deciding to test it immediately, Philip grabbed the musket and headed to the backyard archery range.

While the servants prepared targets, Philip sent for Carpenter and Terry.

When the two arrived, they stared at the weapon in Philip’s hands, clearly puzzled.

“What is that?” Carpenter frowned. “It’s too thin for a spear and too long for a club.”

“I have no idea,” Terry admitted. “But since the lord made it, it must be something special.”

“Something special? You’re supposed to be his bodyguard, and yet you don’t even know what your own lord is making?”

“I’m not allowed inside the workshop when he’s experimenting.”

“Oh wow, what an honor.” Carpenter scoffed sarcastically.

While they bickered, Philip calmly prepared his musket.

Poured black powder into the barrel.
Inserted a lead bullet and rammed it down with a ramrod.
Opened the frizzen and primed the pan with gunpowder.

“Alright, loaded.”

He aimed at a knight’s breastplate set up as a target and pulled the trigger.

BANG!

As soon as the flint struck the frizzen, igniting the priming powder, a deafening explosion erupted from the musket barrel.

A burst of fire and smoke shot forward, startling Carpenter and Terry, who instinctively flinched at the sudden noise.

But despite their surprise, they clearly saw what happened next—

A small lead bullet, propelled by an immense force, tore through the air—
and punched straight through the knight’s steel breastplate.

‘Incredible!’

‘This is far stronger than a crossbow!’

The breastplate was one of the sturdiest parts of a knight’s armor,
designed to deflect arrows and crossbow bolts due to its curved shape.

And yet, the musket ball had blown a clean hole through it with ease.

‘It’s like an aura-infused arrow struck it…’

‘But the lord doesn’t even use aura… does he?’

While the two were still grappling with what they had just witnessed,
Philip continued testing the musket at different distances, checking its effective range and penetration.

After several test shots, Philip lowered the musket and examined the results.

Terry, who had been inspecting the holes punched into the armor, turned to Philip with a serious expression.

“My lord, can I use that weapon as well?”

“Of course,” Philip replied casually. “With the right training, even children could use it.”

Terry’s face immediately hardened.

Because that meant that this weapon—which could easily kill a fully-armored knight—could be wielded by anyone.

A weapon that made knights obsolete.

Of course, it wasn’t without its drawbacks.

Terry had been closely analyzing the musket and had already identified several weaknesses:

Reloading was more complicated than using a bow or crossbow.
It relied entirely on the burning black powder (made from bat dung).
Unlike bows, which could arc shots, it could only fire straight.

‘If someone spots the shooter aiming at them, they can just dodge.

After all, a trained knight—especially one with aura—had inhuman reflexes.

Still, the sheer power of the weapon couldn’t be ignored.

While Terry was deep in thought, Philip carefully inspected the musket.

He checked for any cracks in the barrel or damage in the sealed breech.

Fortunately, everything seemed perfectly intact.

As for firepower—

‘It’s exactly as powerful as I expected.’

Philip recalled that historical musket balls had higher kinetic energy than modern rifle rounds.

That meant…

“This should be enough to kill a troll.”

But he wasn’t going to get overconfident.

Even on Earth, animals like grizzly bears and hippos were so tough that they sometimes survived gunshots.

“I’ll just have to aim for weak spots—eyes, mouth, groin…”

And if necessary, he could develop specialized bullets like dum-dum rounds or armor-piercing ammunition.

While Philip was lost in thought, Carpenter suddenly spoke up, his voice tinged with excitement.

“My lord… this new weapon… will you be issuing it to the knights as well?”

Philip nodded. “If possible, I plan to equip even the soldiers with them.”

At that, Carpenter’s eyes gleamed.

Unlike his son Terry, who was carefully analyzing the pros and cons,
Carpenter was a simple warrior—and he was already completely sold on the musket’s raw power.

A weapon that could let ordinary soldiers kill even powerful monsters?

If hundreds of soldiers wielded this weapon,
then securing the Prill Mountain Range or even conquering surrounding lands would become laughably easy.

His throat went dry as he watched Philip calmly clean the musket barrel.

“My lord has created something terrifying… Is this the power of Eldir’s Apostle?”

For the first time, Carpenter felt that he had underestimated Eldir,
the god of blacksmiths, metal, and craftsmanship.

And if Eldir was truly using Philip as his chosen Apostle, then…

Carpenter’s face grew determined as he gazed at his lord.

“If my lord is going to spread his wings, then I must do everything in my power to help him soar.”