Another Stupid Isekai

That day started with me going to a bath. It felt nice to soak yourself in the warm water, and with this luxury being absent in my life for most of the time, I was more than happy to do it every day.

Then I went to the cafeteria, to enjoy another privilege I couldn't in the wild, warm food. Now with the ability, I had to create a fire, I started considering cooking, but the idea got soon abandoned by reality. With how busy I was covering two hunting grounds each day, there was no time for that.

I entered the hall grabbing people's attention. I did my best to ignore the curious looks and just stood in line like everybody else. The worst part was the whispers. I caught myself thinking about what they could be possibly saying about me. I did my best to kill those thoughts, and just get the bowl of hot soup. Then I ate and left.

I went to visit Hatta, but he wasn't in his office. The guards told me he went to the gate, leading to goblin territory to have a talk with Jayadeva about the machinery he made. They were supposed to test it for the first time. I ended up going there to have a look.

I noticed them on the walls from afar. They managed to pull the construction, I helped them put together yesterday, up there, and were discussing something, pointing in the direction of the forest. I also saw stairs made of wood, that allowed people to easily climb up. I came closer, and shadow walked up there, surprising everybody.

- Morning.

- Holy shit... Peter! Couldn't you say anything before jumping like that out of nowhere?! Or just use the freaking stairs we build especially for getting up here?! - Hatta was clearly angry.

Jayadeva just smiled at me awkwardly, as he probably also almost got a heart attack.

- I could, but where is fun in that?

He just shook his head and turned back to the engineer and his helpers.

- So In theory we should be able to reasonably compete with orc mages?

- Well... yes. This should give us even a little bit of edge distance-wise, but we need to cut down the trees first. We will be shooting way closer to the straight line than them. They actually can lob their fireballs, and easily hit the city, while we have a wall of trees in front of us.

- That can be done. We can actually use wood to make parts and other things.

- No, we can't. I meant... The parts part. Without electric or petrol saws that would take ages. It's way more efficient to use crystals and get the materials that we can easier work with.

Hatta sighed.

- We could use those for constructions though, and maybe at some point, we will have advanced enough technology to process it all.

- I'll find a use for all that wood. Ok, show me how it works.

I Moved to the side and kept silent to not interrupt them. Jayadeva gave few orders, and his helpers quickly stretched the string using a mechanism with wooden gears, then they put a big bolt, and the engineer aimed at the closest tree, then released the projectile. He hit the target and the bolt exploded in thousands of wooden splinters that rained down. Some part of it managed to survive the impact, and a solid piece, embedded in the tree trunk, was left.

- Looks promising - I said, grabbing the attention of others.

- Yes, it does - Hatta agreed.

- What if we would reinforce everything with magic? I bet Rishi could pull it off.

Hatta immediately looked at Jayadeva.

- Uhm... Well... I would have to talk with my son to confirm, but it could work. I have no idea about the effects though. Maybe we could achieve a longer range and more power.

- You could also attach explosives to the projectile - I kept proposing.

- That's actually a problem. My knowledge in chemistry is limited, and I believe there is nobody currently in the city with any sufficient knowledge of explosives. Plus there is a limit to the chemicals we can get from the device. I'm afraid that without upgrading it or finding somebody knowledgeable we are limited to our options. I made some black powder, but that's basically it.

- Just get a class. I bet that would help.

- Yes. We can provide the points - Hatta immediately agreed. - Just tell me what you need, and I do my best to organize everything.

Jayadeva nodded.

- I'll have a conversation with my son, and provide you with a list.

- Great. Do it as soon as possible. By the way... Good to see you are back, Peter, and thanks for the crystals.

- It's good to be back.

- I actually would like to talk with you about something. Do you have some time to spare?

- Yeah.

- Follow me then - he said, and started walking towards the stairs. We made it down together, and only then he started talking.

- I don't really know how to put it, and not sound ungrateful, but... The crystals you brought... That's not enough.

- I knew you are gonna say that.

He sighed.

- I wish I wouldn't have to. You are helping a lot, but we simply need more. Who knows when we can expect another attack?

- I think that if we won't fight among ourselves, that there shouldn't be another attack.

- But you have no evidence for that.

- Well... Yeah. I don't.

- As much as I would like to share your belief, I can't bet the fate of the whole city on that. I know you want to get stronger yourself, and I'm basically pulling your leg, but I need your help.

- What about others?

- Will is already in the canyon with a bunch of other people. The rest is squeezing as much as they can out of every available hunting ground. I don't want to force people to throw their lives on the line. There is just too much to be done.

- Ok. Next time I'll get you more.

- I'll find a way to pay you back, Peter. At least a bit out of what you contributed.

- There is no need. I know you wouldn't ask if you wouldn't have to.

- Unfortunately, I do.

We kept walking, slowly heading to the city center.

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