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The Big Oof! Volume 2 Chapter 69: Danger Putty
🕑 Added 2023-11-20 15:21:50 +0000 UTC64 AND 69 LOOK THE SAME! I SWEAR I'M NOT DUMB
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“I’m gonna tell!” Yana yelled, putting her hands on her hips as she glared at Bennett. “I’m gonna tell and Eli’s gonna kill you when he finds out you spent all his money!”
Bennett froze for a moment before narrowing his eyes at the fairy hovering around his head.The engineer’s grip clutched even tighter to the coin purse full of magical ingredients. “Snitches get stitches. Well, he’s not going to care how much I spent if this works.”
Yana buzzed in front of him and glared at the man as she placed her hands on her hips. “It’s not gonna work cause you’re an idiot you idiot!” She yelled, her tiny wings fluttering angrily. Her face turned a vibrant shade of violet, matching her glowing eyes.
In turn, Bennett simply rolled his eyes at the fiery fairy's dramatics and walked on past her. “It’s gonna work.” He said, leaving her to float in place. “It worked on that paper so it's definitely going to work on this magic gooey shit.”
With a growl, Yana practically pulsated with irritation from such a casual dismissal. "It's resin, you idiot! Resin!" she shouted, bonking him on the head with her tiny fist. "And you’re so dumb I only taught you how to make things pop not go boom! What makes you think the essence of a fire elemental form to your will!?"
“Ah, but that’s where you’re wrong.” Bennett replied as he pushed open the tavern door. “All I needed was to learn the core principles and the first step. ”
Inside, the tavern ambiances seemed to swallow them as patrons laughed, chatted and cheered. The scent of ale and sizzling meats wafted through the air as a man emptied his coin purse buying a round for everyone present.
“To a successful pay day!” He yelled while Bennett slipped past him and headed straight to the stairs with Yana close on his heels.
As they ascended, the noise from the tavern grew faint, replaced by the muted murmurs and creaky footsteps of the rooms above. Throwing open the door to Eli's room, Bennett immediately sat at his makeshift workbench and dumped the contents of the coin purse on top of the table.
The luminous putty like substance dropped onto the table top with a solid thump. Taking a good look, Bennett’s fingers wiggled excitedly as he stared down at the vibrant display of fiery hues. Picking it up, the man started gingerly ripping it apart and segregating the fragments by their size and intensity of glow.
“You’re gonna waste Eli’s money for some stupid experiment, based on ‘core principles’ that you don’t even understand!” Yana chided, pointing at him in annoyance. “You’re not gonna be the only one he's gonna be mad at, ya know!”
Bennett grinned devilishly as he held up one of the smaller fragments towards Yana. "Only if it doesn’t work. And if it does, this could change EVERYTHING."
Before Yana could retort, Bennett eagerly reached into his drawer, pulling out his enchanting tool. "I already know how the underlying principles of ‘booms’ work.," he began while using his fingers as air quotes to emphasize ‘boom’.. "From a physics and engineering standpoint, I understand the energy conversions, the force dynamics, and the chain reactions involved."
“The what and what, what?” Yana lifted and eyebrow while she hovered next to Bennett’s head with her hands still on her hips.
Pausing for a moment, Bennett wracked his brain as he tried to think of a way to simplify the physics behind explosions. "Alright, let me put it this way: when things go 'boom' and throw everything around, it's because of a rapid release of energy. Things move, they collide, they create heat and pressure."
Yana squinted, her wings giving an exasperated flutter. "Okay, ya. I’ve been doing that for eons, but what does that have to do with Eli's money and the elemental poop?"
“... Poop?” Bennett froze as he slowly turned his head to Yana. “As in… what comes out of your butt poop?”
Furrowing her brow and crossing her arms, Yana looked at him as if he'd grown a second head. "Yes, poop. Do you think mortals can just waltz around and slay an elemental whenever they fancy?” No you idiot!” She threw her arms out pointing at the goo. “This is poop.”
A colorful arrangement of expressions quickly formed on Bennett’s face as he brought his head to his head. But before his digits made contact, they froze in mid air as a scowl formed on his face. “Fuckin… God damnit. Whatever, we’re still doing this.”
With renewed determination, Bennett grabbed ahold of his enchanting tool and immediately got to work. Brilliant blue light emanated from the tool, illuminating the room with an ethereal glow. Yana, despite her earlier annoyance, was intrigued. She floated closer, watching the interplay of magic and elemental residue.
“You’re doing it wrong,” Yana chimed in, her eyes following Bennett's every movement.
Bennett, without looking up, snapped back, "Shut up, Yana. Just let me concentrate."
The air grew thick with tension, the only sounds being the soft hum of the enchanting tool and Bennett's focused mutterings. Every so often, a spark would fly or a beam of light would shoot out, but Bennett's determination remained unyielding.
Yana, not one to be easily silenced, hovered closer, scrutinizing his work. "Oh is that what you’re doing? You might want to consider adjusting the-"
"I said, shut up!" Bennett exclaimed, his patience wearing thin. He turned to her, squinting his eyes in frustration.
An angry huff left Yana’s mouth as she fluttered her wings angrily. "Hmph! Fine, mess it up for all I care," she retorted, plopping down on the table and propping her head up with her hands. “I didn’t even want YOU as my servant, I wanted only Eli!”
“Ya, ya, ya. Whatever.” The engineer dismissed her grumblings as he refocused on his work.
With minutes turned into hours, Bennett's focus was on the main function of the essence. The elemental energy held within was incredibly potent, but its erratic nature made it a lot more practical to help test Bennett’s theory even though it was more difficult to control. On the table before him lay a series of intricately drawn symbols and runes, reminiscent of coding algorithms and mathematical equations. They were Bennett's attempt at 'programming' the energy's release, at bridging the gap between the physics he knew so well and the arcane magic of this world.
He muttered to himself, cross-referencing his notes, "If I adjust this rune here, it should regulate the energy flow like a capacitor in a circuit, maintaining a steady discharge rate... but if I add a conditional loop here with this sigil, it can modulate the intensity..."
Suddenly, Yana's voice cut through the room, dripping with an air of bored superiority. "You're doing it wrong," she drawled lazily, not even looking at his runes.
Bennett sighed and slowly lifted his head up towards Yana. "Okay, and how’d you regulate energy." He asked incredulously. “And I don’t mean all your magic energy bullshit, I mean physical energy and its effects.”
She sighed, not bothering to look up from the flames dancing from her nails. "You’re overcomplicating things. Think of it like water flowing through a pipe. You have a source, a direction, and an exit. Now, if you add too many branches or turns in the pipe, the water will lose its force. Start at the source, choose your direction, and let it exit smoothly."
“Uh huh.” Bennett replied, the skepticism clear in his voice. "I'll stick to my method, thanks. I’ve been working on far more complicated systems."
Yana chuckled softly, her laughter like the tinkling of tiny bells. "If you say so." She stretched out her wings, preparing to depart. "I’ll let Eli know I tried to stop you."
With a graceful flutter, Yana made her exit, leaving a trail of luminous fairy dust in her wake. The door closed behind her with a soft click, sealing Bennett inside with his work and his thoughts.
The engineer shook his head in an attempt to shake off the doubt she’d instilled and refocused on his runes, convincing himself that his approach was valid. His fingers danced across the table, rearranging runes and adjusting the configurations based on his calculations.
As The day wore on, the only sounds in the room were the occasional taps of Bennett's fingers as he typed away on his datapad and the soft hum of his enchanting tool. The concept was simple, or at least, it was in Bennett's mind. He envisioned harnessing the immense energy of the fire elemental's essence, not by sheer might, but by understanding and then manipulating the very fabric of its existence.
His workbench was littered with diagrams and equations he scrawled into its surface, reminiscent of those found in physics, with some elements looking like bits of programming code. The theory was there: the elemental energy was like a densely packed line of code, waiting to be executed. If Bennett could decode it, understand its structure, and then recode it to perform as he wished, he could create a safe and controlled explosion of energy.
A significant portion of his calculations involved the conservation of energy. He realized that what he was working with wasn't just raw power, but it was a carefully balanced system. Any changes he made had consequences elsewhere in the system. It was like adjusting variables in a code and one change without compensating elsewhere, could cause the whole thing to go inert.
The key, Bennett believed, was in the rate of energy release. If he could apply some sort of dampener or nozzle to slow it down or speed it up just right, he could dictate the power of the resultant explosion. And he aimed to do this by introducing a series of conditional loops and statements into the elemental energy's matrix, akin to using ‘if-then-else’ structures.
Hours felt like minutes to Bennett. He lost track of time, his entire world becoming the rhythm of his work. With each adjustment, he ran a small test, watching eagerly for the desired result. More often than not, he was met with minor sizzles or flickers, but nothing that matched the explosive result he sought.
But Bennett was close, he could feel it. And with each failure, he gleaned new insight, bringing him one step closer to the breakthrough he so desperately sought.
Suddenly, the door to the room slammed open, revealing an irritated Elijah, his eyes scanning the room, eventually landing on the nearly depleted stash of elemental resin. "Bennett! You little shit! You spent my money on actual SHIT!?" He demanded, his voice echoing throughout the room.
Yana, sitting cross legged on top of Elijah's head, smirked and stuck her tongue out at Bennett, clearly relishing the moment. "Told ya I’d tell on you," she jeered with a smug look on her face.
Bennett only threw up a hand that demanded silence as he made one last tweak to the array of runes before him. "If this works, that 'shit' will be the best investment we've ever made."
“It’s not gonna work.” Yana interjected, but her tiny voice was left unheeded as Elijah closed the gap and looked over his Engineer’s shoulder.
Squinting his eyes, Elijah attempted to make sense of the intricate web of symbols and patterns Bennett had etched onto the table. He only had a basic understanding of programming and whatever was on here seemed alien to him. "What exactly are you trying to do?" he inquired, his voice a mix of curiosity and caution.
"I'm channeling energy in a controlled manner," Bennett explained, not taking his eyes off his work. "If I've understood the core properties correctly, and if my modifications hold, then we effectively have gunpowder.”
“You haven’t understood them.” Yana yawned, but was once again ignored.
Elijah glanced up towards Yana with a nervous look before turning back to the diminishing lump of elemental resin. "And if it doesn't?"
Bennett paused, lifting an eyebrow at the man. "Then it essentially becomes mud."
Yana chuckled from atop Elijah's head, swinging her legs in amusement. "You’re gonna create a new crater in town."
Drawing a deep breath, Bennett grabbed a small chunk of resin and placed it at the center of his rune matrix and began flowing energy into it like Yana had taught him. A soft light emerged from the runes, spiraling up and encompassing the resin, which began to glow vibrantly.
Oohs and ahhs were had by Elijah as he took a cautious step back, eyes fixed on the resin before him, while Yana held onto a tuft of his hair for better grip, her earlier smugness replaced by genuine intrigue.
As seconds turned to minutes, the light from the resin intensified, the entire room bathed in its radiant hue. And then, just as suddenly, it dimmed, leaving behind a semi-solid dough that was dense with energy.
Bennett let out a relieved laugh. "See? Controlled release!"
Elijah eyed the now stable dough with a mix of awe and skepticism. "So, was it worth all my money?"
With a grin, Bennett grabbed the resin and bounced it up and down in his hand. “It should only have as much power as a firecracker and only ignite with electricity!” He proclaimed proudly, feeling invincible with his newfound discovery.
Without warning, and much to the shock of Elijah and Yana, Bennett cocked his arm back and hurled the energy-packed dough at the far wall. As soon as the thing made contact-
BOOM
A deafening explosion erupted, blasting through the wall and creating a massive, man-sized hole. Wooden splinters and random objects were sent flying in all directions. Dust and debris filled the room, the force of the explosion knocking Bennett and Elijah off their feet.
When the dust finally settled, Bennett, coughing and covered in dust, looked up in bewilderment. The entire section of the wall was gone, revealing the streets of the town beyond the now gaping hole.
"Fuck… Fuck! You fucking idiot!" Elijah yelled, trying to shake off the ringing in his ears. He stared in shock at the destruction, pieces of the wall embedded in the opposite wall and the ground around them littered with debris. “Fuck! We’re going to have to pay for this, you dumb piece of shit!”
Yana, who'd taken shelter behind Elijah's hair during the explosion, emerged, looking more irritated than scared. She fluttered over to Bennett and smacked him on the forehead with her tiny hand. "I told you! I told you that you and your stupid runes were wrong! Look at what you've done!"
Bennett could do nothing but stare at the gaping hole in shock as Yana buzzed around his head. "Ahahaha! Idiot, idiot, idiot!" she hissed. "What were you saying about working on far more complicated systems!?"
Elijah, however, was not in the mood for laughter. "Do you have any idea how much this is going to cost us? Do you have any idea how many favors I’m going to owe Ulina!?!" He pointed accusingly at Bennett. The realization of the damage, both to the tavern and their dwindling finances, was sinking in, and panic began to set in. “You fucking stupid bitch!”
Bennett finally managed to speak, his voice still trembling with shock. "I...I thought I had it. I was so sure that I'd worked out the correct configuration."
Yana perched herself on Elijah’s shoulder, her scowl subsiding and turning into a smug smirk. "I told you what was wrong and you didn’t listen!” She snarked, pointing at the man. “I told you, I told you, I told you!
Behind them, the commotion attracted the attention of the tavern's patrons and staff, all of whom came rushing up the stairs to witness the scene of devastation. Murmurs and gasps filled the air, and within moments, a crowd had gathered at the doorway.
“Elijah, what in the hells!?” Ulina stormed in, her striking features contorted in fury.
Elijah held up his hands in a placating gesture. "Ulina, I swear, this was an accident. Ben was... testing something, and things got out of hand."
Ulina's gaze shifted to Bennett, her eyes narrowing dangerously. "Testing? What the fuck was he testing!? A weapon to end the heavens!?"
“Something like that!” Yana snickered, hovering around Bennett's head with a cheeky grin.
A deep groan left Elijah's mouth as he face palmed hard enough for an audible smack to ring out. “I'm so sorry, Ulina. I'll pay for the damages. Somehow." He added, looking at the size of the hole and realizing the depth of the hole they were in, both literally and figuratively.
Yana, not missing a beat, piped up from her perch, "Don’t count on them, they’re broke as a dried twig! I heard that elemental 'poop' is quite valuable on the market these days!"
The crowd that had gathered in the hallway only grew, whispers and murmurs echoing the space as more and more faces appeared, trying to get a glimpse of the commotion. Many of them had a mix of shock, curiosity, and amusement painted on their faces.
Then, amidst the crowd, a familiar, mischievous face popped into the doorway, pushing through with her signature confident and sultry strides. Her eyes danced over the destroyed room, lingering on the hole in the wall, before they locked onto Elijah. An evil grin spread across her face, one that promised nothing good.
"Well, well, well, what have we here?" Indi purred, her grin widening. "Seems like you've gotten yourself into quite the situation, haven't you, Eli?"
Another and much more painful sigh left Elijah’s mouth as his voice turned into a whisper.. "God damnit…"
She tsked, wagging a finger at him. "Oh darling, always so serious.," she gestured grandly to the destruction, "But this is something for a few favors." She wrapped around his arms with eyes shimmering with mischief. "And it looks to me like you might need some assistance covering the costs, seeing as you’re all… ‘broke as dead twigs.’." She said looking at Yana, giving her a wink of thanks.
Elijah didn’t even acknowledge her as he rubbed his eyes trying to dispel the migrain that was threatening to destroy his mind. Caught between a rock and a hard place, he took a deep breath, his eyes meeting Indi's. "Fine," he finally conceded, "what are these 'favors' you're talking about?"
Indi's grin practically split her face. "Oh, you'll find out soon enough," she purred, her eyes gleaming with satisfaction. As she released her grip on Elijah and stepped back, her gaze linger on Yana for a moment, turning on her heels and sauntering out,
The humans cursed their luck as the harbinger of debt left a wake of tension and dread behind her.
