Self-Loading Sling

The Self-Loading Sling is a finely made ranged weapon whose defining function is automatic ammunition loading. Bought by William Oh from Leon, it initially appears to be an expensive luxury for a simple weapon, but its ability to operate one-handed makes it unusually well suited to William’s resource-conscious fighting style. In practice, it does more than replace a manual loading motion: it changes what ammunition William can use, how quickly he can attack, and how he preserves Charge for more consequential abilities.

Design and Acquisition

The Self-Loading Sling is described as finer than any sling William had previously seen. Its cords are thicker than usual and embossed with scales, while its cradle depicts a snake eating its own tail. The decoration gives the weapon a distinctive serpentine identity, but its important feature is mechanical rather than ornamental: a decorated feeder pouch accompanies it, and anything placed inside that pouch is loaded into the sling one piece at a time when its wielder intends to use the weapon.

Leon considers the sling relatively unpopular because it provides no damage boost. Its value instead lies in convenience and tactical flexibility. He offers it to William for two gold, emphasizing that it is a ranged option usable with one hand. William accepts because his own Phantom Hand can also be used to load a sling rapidly, but doing so costs 1 Charge when the necessary material is present together and is limited by the Phantom Hand’s small current volume. The Self-Loading Sling therefore lets him reserve Charge for more interesting interactions rather than spending it on repetitive ammunition handling.

Operation in Combat

The weapon’s function becomes visible when William uses it against a wounded camel. As he aims, the magical sling grows slightly heavier while a lead bullet fills it from the feeder pouch; he then releases the shot. The automatic process turns ammunition preparation into part of the weapon’s action, allowing William to concentrate on aiming and firing rather than interrupting each attack to load the sling by hand.

Its greatest advantage appears during the fighting retreat against the Kaith. William empties the good sling bullets from the self-loading pouch and replaces them with jagged, half-fist-sized stones dropped into the pouch by Loth’s insects. Because neither the sling nor the pouch needs to be loaded manually, William can fling rocks at a rate most slingers could scarcely match. The stones are irregular, so his accuracy suffers, but the Kaith-covered opposite bank is so densely occupied that precision becomes less important than volume of fire.

The sling’s performance is also amplified by the Greater Sting Ring. Each stone that strikes a Kaith melts several inches through its chitin, inflicting intense pain and sometimes killing the creature instantly when the impact lands near the spine or brain. The weapon itself does not add damage, as Leon noted, but its rapid feed makes it possible for William to exploit the ring’s effect repeatedly and at exceptional speed. Its apparent weakness in the shop—lack of a direct damage bonus—becomes less decisive when paired with a damage-enhancing relic and abundant improvised ammunition.

Tactical Significance

The Self-Loading Sling illustrates William’s preference for adapting systems and equipment rather than relying on a single ideal weapon. It is not valuable because it is universally powerful; Leon specifically presents it as an unpopular item that was obtained cheaply. Its value depends on the user’s circumstances: William has a one-handed fighting need, a Charge-limited Phantom Hand, access to unusual ammunition, and a relic that makes even crude stones dangerous.

The weapon also turns battlefield material into usable ammunition. In the Kaith encounter, the stones are not carefully selected projectiles but debris supplied by Loth’s insects. The sling’s automatic feeder makes that poor ammunition viable by removing the time and labor that would normally make repeated loading impractical. What begins as a compromise in accuracy becomes a sustained barrage because the weapon changes the relationship between ammunition quality and firing speed.

This gives the Self-Loading Sling a significance beyond convenience. It redistributes the cost of ranged combat: William accepts rougher projectiles and reduced accuracy in exchange for extraordinary rate of fire, while the Greater Sting Ring supplies the missing lethality. The result is a weapon system assembled from several modest advantages rather than a single overwhelming enhancement. The sling’s power is therefore relational, emerging from the interaction of William’s Abilities, Leon’s equipment selection, Loth’s battlefield support, and the Kaith’s concentration across the opposing bank.

Role in William Oh’s Build

The purchase occurs while William is evaluating how his abilities may develop and selecting his Primary Abilities. That context matters because he is not simply acquiring a weapon for immediate use; he is building a workable combat arrangement around the restrictions imposed by the system. The Self-Loading Sling preserves Charge, supports one-handed ranged attacks, and remains useful even when conventional ammunition runs out.

Its later use confirms the logic behind the purchase. A tool that seemed unimpressive because it lacked a damage boost becomes decisive when the environment supplies ammunition and William finds a way to magnify each impact. The Self-Loading Sling consequently represents the resourceful side of William’s identity: it rewards preparation, improvisation, and an ability to recognize practical value where a more conventional evaluation would see only an underpowered weapon.