“Son, I have cancer. I am not going to be able to help you pay for college anymore! I'm so sorry...” Rex's mother wailed on the phone.

 

“It's okay, mom. I don't care about school, as long as you're okay!” Rex told his mother firmly. “You focus on getting well. I can handle this, mom, but I wouldn't be able to handle not seeing you for Christmas dinner.”

 

“As a mother, it should be my duty to raise you..” She said choking on her words.

 

“You always have, mom. You being around helps me more than anything!” Rex insisted.

 

After talking for a while with his mother he hung up the phone. His confidence was gone, as he had a very serious expression. Looking around the small studio apartment he began to do some calculations.

 

“If I can convert to instant noodles 5 days a week, I can do this!” Rex said as he tried to pep himself up.

 

Looking at the bed that had no frame and a desk he built himself, he nodded with confidence.

 

-

 

“Oh, that was from my college days, HAHAHA! I lived almost as bad then, as I do now.” Rex smiled as he talked to himself.

 

He was drenched in a cold sweat and had permanent shakes. His waist was covered in thick bandages, but the infection had already set in. It had been 5 days since he was hurt in the swamp. He had started hallucinating yesterday, as the fever was getting worse.

 

“It's probably sepsis...” Rex concluded.

 

In front of him was his only real chance at the moment. He had made a slurry of various sugar-rich foods, mostly coconut milk. He had added the moldy bread he had been slowly growing for several months. It was his only real chance to survive this. Sulfa drugs would kill him with an allergic reaction, especially in his weakened state.

 

What he was doing, was following penicillin's production method. You needed a very sugar-rich broth, as this is what the mold eats to grow. After a week the mold should start dying as they will run out of food, and will empty all their antibiotics into the broth. Then you just use solvents to remove everything, but the antibiotics.

 

Rex had worked so hard for this mold in the beginning, then after the kiss incident, he seemed to forget about it. The last 5 days in here, had given him a lot of time to think. He realized that was the first time his plans had truly failed. Before that, he had been treating this almost like a game. After that incident, he just wanted to spend his life living like a turtle.

 

“What's wrong with that? Don't all humans deserve a minimum standard of security? If humans didn't value comfort and safety above all else, then wouldn't we have all killed each other already?” A 35-year-old Rex said.

 

This was the version of himself that died that day, in the other world. He had started to appear yesterday, or maybe the day before.

 

“Shut up! That is so fucking boring! I want to explore! To conquer! I'm gonna be the New Goddamn Emperor here!” This was a version of the 8-year-old Rex.

 

This version of him was wearing finery and a crown. He was very verbose and confident. Rex had begun referring to them as Safe for the 35-year-old and Sound for the 8-year-old. They argued constantly and seemed to be opposites.

 

“And do you know what will happen? You'll just die out there. Humans are weak, and now we are even weaker.” Safe began but Sound cut him off.

 

“Shut up! When have humans ever relied on the strength of their arms?! We can go and do what we want, and a bomb can be our response if they stand in our way!” Sound began but safe stopped him.

 

“You are no different than a Hitler or Stalin. Then what? When your people start having issues, do you just kill them? Where does it end, how much blood will you spill?” Safe said.

 

Rex covered his ears, he was so sick of it all.

 

Dunk!

 

Looking over he saw Kira walking into the Lab. She had been getting sadder and sadder the last few days. She would bring him food, and try to smile.

 

“Are you...Sniffle... doing better today?” Kira asked, trying not to cry.

 

“I'm fine, I only need to endure this a couple more days.” Rex tried to smile at her.

 

“She is going to be such a nice piece of ass one day.” Sound said with a breath of longing.

 

“What the hell is wrong with you! She is a child!” Safe said slapping the back of Sounds head.

 

Rex forced himself to stare at Kira, as she sat down next to him. If she knew the state he was really in, he doubted she would be able to stay strong right now. Rex and Kira had started their plans and now they needed to see them through. They had gotten some shocking news 3 days ago, and they needed to change plans.

 

The Divine tree of the elves was felled by their own hands. High King Amyllyr and Wyndyllynn had both perished due to old age, and a small portion of the old had access to the fruit. Dryfys was crowned High King, and Ivangor was made the supreme General in charge of conquering all other races. Ashanda was given charge of finances and Illisayd was responsible for the ministry.

 

“We played right into his hands! They blamed the tree dying on the beastmen, and now Dryfys has near-unanimous support of the elves.” Rex sighed as he thought about it.

 

“It's okay, no one would expect a turtle to just shatter its shell, and reveal massive muscles. That elf must have been under an insane amount of pressure to come up with this.” Safe consoled.

 

Sound looked at Rex and Safe like they were stupid.

 

“Refine the uranium, and make them glow! Problem solved.” Sound said it like it was 2+2. “It's not nearly as hard or mysterious as they make it sound. You could do it right now...”

 

“Rex, are you sure your okay?” Kira asked him, with a shaky tone.

 

“Yeah, I was just thinking.” Rex replied he needed to ignore the hallucinations.

 

Taking a few deep breaths to center himself, and shake the fog out of his head, he made some decisions.

 

“Kira, the succubi need guns. You are going to need to take the sisters to the swamp it's gonna be messy. Go through the paperwork on my desk until you find one labeled “Potassium Nitrate extraction from the soil” and follow it carefully. You want soil with white crystals in it, it'll look like salt. Look around the areas that the sewage flows out of.”

 

Why does concentrating make me feel so sleepy?

 

“While you are doing that, you need to start making some simple guns. I left the blueprint for the one I made on my desk somewhere. You should be able to understand it, I added the Rockwell hardness needed for the parts.” Rex explained, “The gunpowder is easy, we have lots of pyrites. Just pack it in a tube and place a pot at the end with a small crack in it. When it's hot, the sulfur will collect in the jar as it tries to escape.”

 

That should be everything she needs from me, I think?

 

Kira was already pilling out the paperwork Rex had told her to, this was necessary for the cruise ship plan. The first few days that Rex had started making the antibiotics, in between, he started writing down everything he knows. It was in case he didn't make it.

 

Kira looked at him holding back tears, as she held the papers tightly to her chest.

 

“Are you sure you are gonna be okay?” She asked him again.

 

“Yeah, I will be fine.” Rex replied trying to smile at her.

 

Leaving the chair would reveal just how shaky he was. She was worried enough, he didn't want to give her more concern.

 

The succubi had begun making money, hand over fist. The war with the beastmen was inevitable, and at this point, they were probably going to try to conquer them. The elves would be sending the largest army in their history to attack the beastmen at the start of the new year. Winter would be setting in, in a month, but the island hadn't changed.

 

This was enough to delay the elves though, so now they were opening the slave market wide open. They didn't use them in war, and they would be taking a lot of elves out of the forest. So the massive slave population would need to be reduced. This was happening way ahead of time, Rex did not account for someone like Dryfys. The problem was he knew nothing about the man, nor did they know of his ambitions.

 

“He isn't a problem, you should be thanking him. He is shamelessly surrounding himself with all of the most handsome male elves! It's like he is openly telling you to let the harem grow!” Sound shouted out excitedly.

 

This was a problem, Dryfys had fired all of the female workers, and replaced them with men. Rumors were spreading everywhere in the elven lands, but no one could question him. The issue was the specifications were so strange, they had to be a certain height, age, weight, build, and muscle. It even restricted entire sub-species.

 

“He is a deviant! How did no one know this about him!” Even Safe was appalled by this behavior. It was just so blatant.

 

The other issue was that he was remodeling the entire castle into a pleasure palace. It would have hanging gardens and terraces. He almost wanted to double its size. Rex didn't buy any of this, for a man this decisive to be a complete deviant didn't make sense at all.

 

Looking at the antibiotic broth he was making, he noticed it was turning that same light blue color as the mold. Recently, he had started to have a crazy idea. He was only going to get a single shot at this, and he was thinking of adding the remainder of his mana to it. When he had made the great weapon of the succubi, he had refined down hundreds of stones, and he had gotten more since. He usually stored it in water.

 

Mana usually seemed to settle in whatever was most dense. If he boiled water, it would concentrate until there was no water, and it was forced into gas. Most of the solvents used would evaporate off, and he wondered if this mold could be made stronger under mana's influence.

 

What do I have left to lose?

 

-

 

Kira was holding the papers tightly, she wasn't as naive as she once was. Whenever Rex did anything with her whether it was chemical, physical, or just his plans, he always carefully explained everything to her. She wasn't nearly as dumb as he thought she was, he was preparing for if he didn't make it. The amount of paper he consumed was already very large. The succubi also used it so she had some sisters produce it.

 

Kira had copied the same bartering system the prisoners used to run the succubi. The weapons were only the start of their production. Soap, paper, alcohol, and cheese were all things she had taken over from Rex. Food was no longer a problem, and the sisters no longer had to worry about conserving energy as much. Kira had heard about the world Rex came from, it sounded beautiful. She wanted to build something similar for the succubi.

 

Walking into the central plaza of the town, Kira walked over to a bell. This was something she had recently installed. She got the idea from the one in Rex's lab that he used to inform him of a visitor. This one was used to call whatever, sisters weren't busy. Lately, with the spying operations becoming more specialized due to being able to plant sisters in more important positions, more succubi had been coming home.

 

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!

 

Kira didn't have to wait long before she heard flapping. They were going to go collect saltpeter from the swamp, it would be very dirty work. When she thought of that vine monster in the swamp, she would become angry. But right now they needed to take advantage of this time when the elves would be reducing the number of their slaves.

 

Operation cruise ship was what Rex had dubbed this plan, but she would need to start it alone. The succubi on the mainland were creating a network to move slaves to a designated area. The succubi were planning to steal a ship, and use it to bring the prisoners to the island. Plenty of races had been conquered and enslaved, by the elves over the years. The elves also used the slaves for their manual labor. They controlled them using enchanted collars, a relic of the era when enchanting was at its peak.

 

The succubi on land would begin leading the slaves to a dock the succubi would set up, then the succubi on the island would take them in. This had been difficult to explain to the succubi, but she had made them understand using the exchange.

 

The 2 things that had always kept the succubi united, was how different they were from the other races around them, and that they all shared the same ancestor. While the great ancestor was long dead, the first succubus was a rallying point for the entire race. The statue of the great ancestor meant you were acknowledged as the leader. Kira would be getting this statue when she came of age.

 

-

Meanwhile...

City of Prosperity Dryfys, At a large auction hall

 

Dora had decided, that she liked having lots and lots of money. She had opened a weapon shop, and at first, had no idea what she was doing. Then she started using her charms on the male shopkeepers around and learned very quickly the best way to run a business. She had hired several people to run the store for her, she didn't know why Kira hadn't thought of this.

 

She was spending her days shopping in bliss, just like today.

 

“Our first item is a rare specimen, we have a lizardman! These are said to be the descendants of dragons, HAHAHAHA! They are just slightly stronger lizards though. We will start the bidding at 100 silver.” The elf auctioneer yelled out loudly to the crowd.

 

Dora looked at the lizardman carefully, but she didn't know much about them. They were fairly rare though that was for sure. The usual family used about 5 coppers a month, and 10 coppers made a silver. Weapons sold very well to the elves, but soap sold even better.

 

The elves used what they called soapstones to wash, and that was what Dora had found in the store. Kira had told her she needed to collect as much of it as possible. She was working on a deal currently with a seller, but they had yet to contact her.

 

“120 Silver! Going once, going-” The auctioneer began, but Dora called out.

 

“125 silver.” Dora called out.

 

She didn't care about the other shoppers, she only cared about winning. Mistress Kira was attempting to do something no other succubus had, which was making them a new faction. In time, the slaves the succubi bought and saved would become the backbone of their future country.

 

“Alright, we have a very rare item. Coming straight from the frozen north, and a line that has produced beast kings in the past!” The announcer called out excitedly.

 

A beastman was pulled to the stage by various chains. He was almost 8 ft, tall and had very thick fur. Sweat was dripping off his snow-white fur, as he panted heavily. His arms and torso were massive, and his hands were easily as big as dinner plates. He looked like a walking polar bear. A thick muzzle was placed over his mouth and he couldn't speak, and many think chains were wrapped around him.

 

“This is a generational slave, who has never known freedom. Despite the chains, he is quite well-behaved, but he can't handle the environment here. We use him to fish as it is all he is good for.” The announcer said.

 

“We will begin bidding at 150 silver.” The announcer said.

 

“200 silver.” Dora immediately announced.

 

With the size of those arms, he could carry so much of her shopping bags while he waited to leave! She often got showered in gifts when she was in public, it was wonderful as she could put it right on her shelves to sell. The woman she had originally taken over had, had a drastic change. Her breasts were very large for an elf, and she had curves instead of the normal slender frame.

 

“210-” an elf began, but Dora cut him off.

 

“300!” Dora yelled out angrily.

 

This price shut everyone up, as 200 was already a bit high for just one slave. This was also a slave with clear problems, no beastman would let you shave them, but the bear was sweating like a pig. He would probably die if they made him do hard labor.

 

The Bearman was looking around at the elves hatefully. The beastman also used slavery, as they picked it up from the elves originally. His mother had suffered in these lands his entire life, they came from the very far north of the beastmen plains. She said her father came from a place that was always covered in snow. The only comfort he felt was in the ocean, or if he soaked himself in cold water. He had dreamed of escaping to the beastman lands since he was a cub. He was so tired of the heat.

 

Dora was completely unaware of this as she won another auction, she sent a report of the slaves won to Mistress Kera, who would then summarize it for Mistress Kira. Her job was only to purchase the slaves, then send them on their way.

 

Knock! Knock!

 

A pissed-off scowl appeared on her elven face, then instantly disappeared.

 

“What is it?” She called out.

 

She was in a private booth, so she shouldn't be disturbed unless it was important.

 

“Mayer, who sells soapstones, wishes to speak to you.” A female attendant called.

 

Dora frowned as this was a name she wasn't familiar with. Then again if she could get the soapstones it would be a win-win.

 

“Send them in.” Dora called out.

 

She sat up and adjusted her dress, she didn't want to appear as slovenly.

 

The oak door was pushed open, and an old elf woman came in. She looked deeply fatigued and had weathered clothes, not meeting the appearance of a merchant. Behind her stood another old elven man, he was struggling with a large trunk. They closed the door behind them, and Dora just watched them with caution. The private rooms only had a few chairs, but they didn't seem to want to sit.

 

“You've been sending slaves out of the city right?” The old woman asked.

 

“I have no idea what you are talking about.” Dora began, but the old woman stopped her.

 

“We want you to take someone out of here!” The old elven man said desperately.

 

Reaching down he opened the trunk he was carrying, and a little girl fell out. She was unconscious and appeared to be asleep. Tears started coming out of the old elves' eyes as he patted her head.

 

“My father and mother worked for Lady Wyndyllynn their entire lives. My brother and I as well worked for her son. Our lord and lady lost their lives during the last great war. My brother died so that I could take Welch away.” The old man looked at Dora intently. “If you can take Welch somewhere safe, then I will offer you the deed to a Soapstone mine.”

 

Dora did not need a mine, this just sounded like trouble to her. She realized though that she couldn't decide on this either, she would have to send a message to Kera.

 

-

3 days later...

Succubus homeland, Rex's Lab

 

“Hey, I don't think you should be doing this.” Safe was saying to Rex.

 

Rex was sitting in front of a large flask. Inside was a light blue liquid that was slightly cloudy. Right now he was waiting for the acetates he used to evaporate off. The flask had a tube that led to a pump he had made.

 

A lot of people don't realize you can drastically lower the boiling point of something, by putting it under a vacuum. This is how most of the solvents were removed. Acetates can be made from acetone, and he was also using dilute chloroform. Filtering it was difficult as all he had was paper to use, which isn't the best. It was also doubtful if he could even mass-produce it.

 

“I need to make a microscope.” Rex muttered to himself.

 

“Why do you need one of those? When have we needed one so far? Drink it!' Sound demanded.

 

He had been listening to these two voices constantly the last 3 days. Looking down at his lower stomach he could see, all the wounds were turning black. They had just gotten redder and angrier, and it released a bad smell. Since it wrapped around his body, he had to sleep leaned over his desk. Putting pressure on any part of the wounds was almost unbearable, and they constantly burned.

 

“Son, you have always been so smart. Have faith in your work.” A woman hugged him from behind, bringing his feverish mind some comfort.

 

His mother had appeared as a hallucination as well. Probably since yesterday.

 

Looking over on the floor of the lab, he saw Kira sleeping. No matter how bad he got, she refused to leave him alone. She had brought food, and water over the last 7 days. She also helped keep him clean, even as his flesh was rotting.

 

He had had time to decide on what he wanted to do in this world.

 

“I've gotten sick of hearing your voices these last few days, but I've been hearing them since I got here.” Rex smiled sadly at himself as he saw the light blue fluid stop bubbling.

 

“The succubi don't respect me, because I never gave them much of a real reason too. I didn't demand respect from them. I acted like I always had, a factory worker.” Rex said as he removed the vacuum tube from the flask.

 

“I also didn't feel like dealing with the prisoners properly, a few shotguns would easily do it.” Rex said as he lifted the flask to his eye.

 

Something was unsettling about this fluid, it had a natural glow. It was incredibly weak, but it was there. This had happened slightly after he added mana to the initial broth. At first, he thought he was hallucinating, but Kira could also see it. He had barely lost any mana in the purifying process. The more he worked with it the more confident he became.

 

'Well, not like I have any other options.” Rex tipped the flask into his mouth.

 

The taste was truly foul and seemed to stick to the tongue. It was a struggle to drink a couple of mouth fulls. He would need to take it over the next few days carefully. If he didn't eliminate the infection, then it would be immune to the antibiotics.

 

This was one of the worst ways to administer a drug like this, It was very wasteful. The acid in the stomach would break down some of the antibiotics. He had no way to make a hypodermic needle go into a vein. Not in his current state where he couldn't walk. Placing the flask down that was barely touched, he leaned forward on his desk. The cool metal top was nice against his burning hot forehead.

 

Rex closed his eyes, and let sleep take him.

 

-

 

Rex realized he was dreaming as he saw a large cityscape before him. Skyscrapers reached to the sky in orderly rows and walkways connected various buildings. Various factories moved all kinds of products around.

 

He could see a 5-mile track that looked like a series of rollers. A Rough Billet of steel the size of a car would get rolled into it at high speed. By the time it reached the end of the track it had turned into a long steel sheet.

 

Machines were freezing the air into a liquid, then distilling them into the various gasses it was comprised of. Scrap plastics were being heated and blown into a fluff, then turned into a fabric. Hot plastic was being shoved into molds, then air blasted in to make molded items. Cars were being put together piece by piece on assembly lines. He even saw weapons factories.

 

The beautiful city was currently under attack, These weird black creatures were everywhere in the city. Anywhere they went everything started to fall apart, it was sad to watch it happen.

 

Bright lights started to appear in the sky like stars, as they quickly got closer to the ground leaving trails like meteors. They soon slammed into the ground one by one, leaving craters. They seemed to move around the buildings though.

 

Large metal structures were in the craters, that appeared like 3 story buildings. Metal plates began to be ejected off the structure as openings were made. Armored knights began pouring out the buildings, but they weren't carrying shields and swords.

 

Flamethrowers, chain guns, and automatic shotguns began laying waste to the black creatures in the city. Soon tanks and Helicopters also joined in. They all were made of a shining light blue metal.

 

“Comrades! For our new Home!”