Next morning...

Succubus homeland, Rex's Lab

 

Kira slowly opened her eyes as she laid on the cold floor of Rex's lab, lightly stretching out her arms and legs. Standing up and yawing she stretched her shoulders and tail.

 

Remembering why she was was asleep here, her mind began to race as she looked around. She saw Rex sitting at his desk gazing into a large pot. He seemed much more lively than she had seen him since he got sick.

 

“Rex! You are okay!” She cried out happily.

 

“Oh, Kira! This is awesome, you somehow joined my dream! Enough nonsense, you must see this quickly before you wake up!” Rex called excitedly.

 

Kira was incredibly confused. Looking at his eyes they were brighter than she had seen them since he came here. Walking over slowly she decided to see what had Rex so excited.

 

Grabbing the edges of the pot, she looked in carefully. She saw a thick glob of blue fluid, that stretched around the inside of the jar along the edges. It moved like this in a very conscious manner, as if it was cleaning it. Once it finished and combined to form a ball, it seemed to shake lightly a few times.

 

“It must want more.” Rex said as he poured a vial filled with a light yellowish liquid.

 

Kira recognized this instantly as the hydrochloric acid she made. Rex was pouring it on the creature as it seemed to shake happily.

 

“I started with weaker acids at first, but hydrochloric is the strongest acid I have currently by pKa.” Rex said. “I should properly explain how acids work first.”

 

“Elements join together in a form of marriage for security. Think of electrons as money, and you need a certain amount of it to achieve harmony. Acid is like a pimp in a brothel. It releases hydrogen atoms that react with an element present and then strips pieces of it off as gas. It's like using prostitutes to break apart marriages.” Rex explained as he looked at the gooey creature.

 

“I know this is a dream because I was hit in the head by the flask my medicine was in. It desperately wanted the mana I keep stored,” Rex explained calmly as he reached down and pat the little creature.

 

“What did you do then?” Kira asked in horror.

 

She was well aware of how much liquid mana Rex kept stored. They killed hundreds of sharks a week, and he happily broke down all of it.

 

“This is a dream, Kira.” Rex said with a flat face as if talking to an idiot. “Obviously, I gave the little guy all of it.”

 

Petting it more vigorously, he even sank his fingers into it.

 

“He has consumed three times his volume in acid so far, this just isn't possible if this wasn't a dream.” Rex explained excitedly. “I keep trying to summon the really good acids that are inorganic.”

 

Rex put on a serious face as he began to make strange hand motions. Reaching a crescendo of motions he raised his hands into the air, invoking loudly.

 

“I call upon thee! Aqua Regia, Hydrofluoric, Fluoroantimonic, Piranha Solution! Come forth!” Rex looked around eagerly.

 

Kira was stunned as she had no idea what he was talking about.

 

“We had Fluoroantimonic acid at the gas refinery I worked at. It has to be stored in PTFE containers, as it will dissolve glass. A drop will eat through your flesh faster than you have time to pour open baking soda on it.” Rex sighed sadly. “I can only think that the image in my heart is too weak to call it into this dream. I only ever saw its containers after all.”

 

The creature seemed to enjoy playing with Rex as he poked his fingers into it, as it seemed to poke him back.

 

Kira could feel a profound sense of danger coming from this little blue blob. The mana it possessed was nightmarish, easily on par with the great weapon of the succubi, but it seemed so little. Looking at it, it almost looked like a moving bead of glass, as it had a shiny outer layer. You could smell a sharp acrid scent of acid coming out of it though.

 

Rex picked it up off the table with his bare hands, as it seemed to form a ball as he held it. He brought it right up to his nose as he began to smell it.

 

“Aqua regia is a combination of nitric acid and hydrochloric acid, it is used to dissolve the noble metals. This little thing has drunk large quantities of both. You can smell how acidic it is, but I haven't gotten the slightest burn.” Rex said as he began digging his fingers through the goo. “It is like there is some kind of surface tension it just won't let me break. It's like an incredibly thin condom filled with canola oil, it is so weird to feel. In total, I think it has absorbed 15-20x its mass in chemical weight.”

 

This thing had eaten all kinds of different chemicals, he just held them over it, and if it reached for them, he poured it into the jar it was in. It had gone through a slew of changes through the process to what it currently looked like. It had gone from a cloudy foamy blueish liquid to a light blue, clear, and glassy look.

 

The creature continued to shake silently in Rex's hands as he continued to play with it. It looked like it was trying to show its affection for Rex as it rubbed against his face.

 

“I am going to be so sad when I wake up and this little guy is gone. This has been one of the most fun dreams I have had. I feel like this little guy has become a part of me, well he was originally my medicine.” Rex explained happily. “That's another way I could tell I was dreaming. All that rotten skin is falling off like ash, I feel great, Kira!”

 

Looking at Rex, she had never seen him so excited before.

 

“Rex, this isn't a dream...” Kira said flatly, her gaze not leaving the little creature.

 

“Kira, you are being silly.” Rex said as he pointed at the little creature in his hand. “This is impossible, Kira. I wish it was real too, but it's not.”

 

“Rex! You are not asleep!” Kira said feeling dumbfounded.

 

“Hahaha! You are just mixing up being asleep as awake, alright let me explain how biology-” Rex started.

 

Slap!

 

A spade shape bruise began to slowly form on Rex's cheek for a little succubus tail.

 

The little creature in Rex's hands began to bubble and hiss angrily, as it began to slowly expand in his hands. Rex looked down at it startled and began to slowly rub his hands over it. The gooey creature seemed to calm down after a second, but Rex's face was transforming into horror.

 

“Kira... What have I done... “ Rex muttered in fright.

 

-

 

Rex had made a microscope, albeit a crude one. It was more like a telescope with a small piece of a mirror at the bottom. In between two flat pieces of glass was solid red. Rex had collected some blood and was observing it through the microscope.

 

“It's inside of me. The mold never filtered out, it didn't even die from the solvents.” rex said as he spotted a small creature.

 

The mold cells looked almost fuzzy and covered in hairs compared to the blood cells. They were floating around in the blood happily and were moving around the other blood cells. Rex had to clear his eyes a few times, to confirm what he was seeing.

 

Taking a deep breath, he pulled out a sample of water from the swamp. It was filled with bacteria, he took some of it with a glass rod and added it to the slide of blood.

 

Placing it carefully back into the makeshift microscope he looked closely at the changes. The mold had moved immediately, and he could see it secreting a chemical at the bacteria. The effect was instant as it began to deflate as it secreted its inner fluid. The mold had killed it instantly and was currently stampeding through it. It was even killing parasites and other micro-organisms, it killed everything but the blood cells and platelets.

 

“It's a mold supremacist, it's taken over my body and made it its home.” Rex said as he continued to watch the interactions.

 

The blood cells and mold though seemed to be like good neighbors, sometimes they bounced into each other harmlessly. Looking down on the table he saw the little gooey creature. It constantly vibrated under its strange rhythm, like ripples on a pool. It seemed to be able to reprieve the world around it, and if he had to guess, it could probably sense vibrations.

 

Its viscosity was adjustable, as it could squeeze through paper. It could even dissolve it near-instantly, turning it into black ashes. This also confirmed another guess of his, as the acid it released was very close to aqua regia. This meant it could also refine the materials it had consumed into more powerful ones. Aqua regia was very distinct from its yellow-orange fumes when it dissolves something. Rex had never handled aqua regia before, but he was very familiar with its descriptions.

 

If they hadn't been outside he would have to seriously worry, as the fumes can kill you. It was the first time he was thankful he hadn't invented the light bulb yet. If the goo had released that acid in a closed area and he had breathed in the fumes, then that would be it for him. Aqua regia was specifically used to purify gold, and sometimes platinum, as it can dissolve them and their impurities in one go.

 

“I bet it could even take in potassium cyanide...” Rex muttered in horror.

 

The more he learned about the creature the scarier it got. It was water-soluble, but could also rapidly reform. It also didn't have a weak point he could find in it and was completely immune to physical trauma. It also treated Rex strangely, and he figured it had to do with part of it living in his body. Communicating with it was impossible, but it seemed like it could weakly grasp his intent if it was simple enough.

 

This was how he got it to pass through the paper, by strongly imagining it leaking through it. Then he imagined it destroying the paper, and it released an angry, orange-yellow fluid. It was making it on-demand, meaning it had some way to store the chemicals it consumed. Aqua regia was unstable and decayed very quickly, you had to make it as you used it, and store it as its components.

 

“The great weapon of the succubi wasn't enough? Now I made an actual living chemical weapon...” Rex muttered as he watched the goo.

 

Channeling a picture in his mind it slowly extended out a small tendril. Rex pressed it between 2 slides and slid it under the microscope. Looking closely, he discovered a problem.

 

“I have a minor in chemical engineering, not biochemistry. I have no idea what I am looking at.” Rex muttered.

 

This wasn't some chemical, it had become a living being, it had transcended anything he knew of.

 

“That's it, I am done playing with mana. It just turns into something horrifying, every time that I do.” Rex muttered.

 

Under the microscope lens, he saw so many unique cellular structures, it was more complex than the blood he had examined. These structures were also constantly in flux as if it was incredibly unstable. Yet these same changes happened so uniformly, it was too uniform to be unstable, as if it was constantly reacting with itself. He had no idea where the chemicals it stored were, or if it was creating something completely new.

 

Opening the slide up, the little creature retracted the goo back into itself. It could separate and recombine as well. The fire did nothing to it, as it could just readjust its chemical composition to something flame retardant. It also didn't feel pain, as it lacked a nervous system. At least he assumed it did, who knew what was happening inside it.

 

“If I brought you back to earth, I'd be rich. Then immediately arrested as a war criminal.” Rex muttered.

 

Today had just been too much shock for him.

 

“Guns, Kira was making guns. I need to also reduce some nitrates.” Rex muttered.

 

The elves had moved in a way he never expected. They were ramping up for war, and he had 3 months tops before slaves began pouring in. It finally dawned on him just how dumb he had been. It was time to slow down and set up a foundation. His thoughts were brushed away as the gooey creature wrapped around his wrist. It then transformed as it began to contract and harden.

 

It looked just like a light blue gel bracelet. It was about 3 fingers wide and half a finger thick, yet it breathed quite well for a plastic.

 

“Oh look, you can even induce polymerization in yourself.” Rex said in shock. “I think I will just call you Blue.”

 

Rex was horrified because he had drunk its ancestor. Looking at the creature, he was hoping he'd get some idea what was happening in him. The issue was that he felt incredible. He was asleep for about 3 hours before Blue woke him up. They had spent about 5 or 6 hours messing with chemicals before Kira woke up. Remembering this caused Rex to stop.

 

“I FED IT ALL OF MY ACIDS AND SOLVENTS!” Rex screamed out in the air.

 

Seashells... you can do anything with seashells... and salt, I have lots of salt...

 

Thick tears began to stream out of Rex's eyes.

 

-

Meanwhile...

Beastmen plains, Antarii plains

 

Rex would be both shocked and appalled by what he would see here. Over 200 succubi had gathered in a secluded mountain range. The beastmen had many places in their territory that were uninhabited by anything except monsters. This cave system was one such example.

 

Cotton filled over half the cave and was the fruits of the succubi efforts. This had caused one of the first major philosophical debates the succubi have ever had.

 

How does one fly cotton efficiently?

 

80-90 pounds of cotton was a lot of cotton, even compressed it creates great drag. It was a huge volume of cotton, and because they refused to give up an inch of their spoils, a great debate had begun. It lasted for 3 days and 3 nights before a solution was finally reached. For creatures as uneducated as them, it was monumental.

 

A succubus should never do things alone!

 

They had found the longest cave they could, and were compressed into a giant snake of cotton. They would wrap vines around at intervals and fly them in a straight line as a team. They felt this was a truly touching example of teamwork.

 

-

3 days later...

City of Prosperity Dryfys, on the top floor of a tower

 

A lot of elven mages love the peace afforded by the tower. The ability to just look down upon your fellow race stirred the ego in the elves. Dora had bought one cheaply on the edge of town. Dora was holding a deed in her hand as she looked at the fresh ink she signed. She just copied her meals handwriting, all she needed was a signature after all.

 

“Cheapest slave I ever bought, they even offered me a mine to take her off their hands.” Dora smiled happily as if she made a great bargain.

 

When they had approached her originally she had been troubled on how to handle things. This was the first time the succubi were starting to see things other than them, as more than food. It was a change that was taking some time among them. Dora wasn't sure how to deal with Welch who had a much different status than the others. It seemed way too troublesome even for the mine.

 

But with the guards starting to search every elven city, in an attempt to remove malcontents. You could only call it a purge, showing just how decisive Dryfys was. Thus the two elves had approached Dora, and sold Welch as a slave, as it was the only way to save her life. They had no way to get her out of the elven lands. Threatening Dora was pointless, as they already knew she wasn't an elf. Any of the demons could easily escape the city.

 

Only one of the various demon races had the ability to blend into another race's society. The vampires, the succubi, and doppelgangers could all do it. The demons had the smallest army, but the strongest information network. It was impossible to ambush them in the current society, and finding their spies had been hard.

 

Vampires could create slaves that were called thralls. They were half vampires but were incapable of taking the final step. These thralls provided food to the vampire who they served. Doppelgangers consumed their victim completely, then they could become what they ate. They were the hardest to find but had habits similar to succubi. You just looked for unexplained disappearances in an area. Doppelgangers couldn't fly like a succubus could, so their movements were much slower. You could use this to get an idea of where they were.

 

Succubi could see through their camouflage, making them excellent spy hunters. Rex wanted to keep careful note of the demons, as he didn't want to alert them to the succubi activities. Testing the waters was a bad idea until he had an advantage over them. Fortunately, they could not see through the succubi in the same way.

 

Dora walked on top of the tower, carrying a large trunk. It was currently late into the night, a new moon had just risen. Sneaking the slaves out of the elven lands was an easy task for the succubi.

 

A succubus stood on top of the tower holding two torches. She was making signals into the sky. Behind her, a succubus was wheeling a trunk into the middle of the tower, around the seams white fur was poking out. She was having to put her back into it to push it on its wheels.

 

A thin chain descended from the sky, a product Kira had made to facilitate this. In the air were close to 80 succubi holding the chain in a line in the air.

 

The chain was secured around the trunk forming a net around it. The succubus signaled the succubus with the torches. She waved her torches vigorously, and soon the trunk began to be pulled into the air. After their payload was dropped on the edge of the elves' settlement, they would return for another. Welch's box was soon pushed into a pile.

 

This had been the start of operation underground cruise ship.

 

-

Meanwhile...

Succubus homeland, Rex's Lab

 

Rex sighed sadly as he stared at the potassium nitrate he had gotten. He had painstakingly saved every drop of his pee for months and barely made enough gunpowder for 3 shots. The succubi had scooped some sludge in a big pot, and he had gotten nearly a pound. It was very abundant after a few hundred years of collection.

 

The prisoners used the holes to drain the sewage or the mine got intolerable. This was thanks to the dwarves, who were very familiar with living underground.

 

Rex added the sulfur and ash and began mixing them. He used wood tolls for this to avoid making any sparks. This greatly upset him, as making black powder was wasteful. It had the main drawback of smoke, but there's another one that no one will tell you about.

 

It will oxidize and destroy metal. If you look at a black powder weapon that is used regularly, the barrel will almost always have oxidation on it. It also destroys brass, it was why Rex didn't want to use black powder. When Brass is heavily oxidized it loses its ability to expand and contract and will shatter like steel. Brass is used in places where you have high heat and pressure, Steel doesn't like to rapidly expand and contract. Steel tends to shatter in those situations, most of the pressure of the bullet is handled by the casing.

 

Rex looked up to see about 30 succubi, some of them were even taking notes. His treatment had improved rapidly and he would never acknowledge the reason.

 

-

 

A succubus was walking into the middle of the square in the succubus homeland. She carried a bucket of warm soapy water and a towel. In front of her stood a new statue. Since the succubi had learned to cast, they had been making more and more things.

 

This statue featured two individuals, a girl, and a boy. They were made in great detail, even their burlap rags. They stood standing together, both looking to the sky. Their arms were raised to support a glass orb filled with fluid. The bottom of the statue had an inscription that read.

 

“In the great weapon of the succubi we trust and name this day as AS 1 of the succubi.”

 

This was the day that succubi agreed they became a true nation!

 

-

 

“Alright, any questions on making gunpowder?” Rex asked.

 

None of the succubi had any real questions to ask, he just mixed 3 powders. If they did he would be shocked at it, he even made measuring cups based on the exact amounts needed. Rex had concluded that they weren't stupid, they were just not taught anything of worth.

 

Out of the races he had run into the elves were the most educated, but the supremacy was baked into their bones. The high elves were the worst offenders, as they had a slave collar that could strip someone's ego. Since he was here he finally starting trying to learn some of the world's history more in-depth. The books the old elf left were a big help.

 

“I have a question!” A succubus asked.

 

“Yes?” Rex asked curiously.

 

“Is this necessary to make the great weapon of the succubi?” She asked seriously.

 

Am I only going to be remembered for my mistakes?

 

They ardently refused to name it, as no name could describe its wrath!

 

You should see the monstrosity on my wrist!

 

Blue could easily convert back to goo, but when he was in plastic form, it could hide its mana from the succubi. It was probably similar to how they had issues seeing it in plants. It took 2 days to rebuild his acids and solvents because Blue also discovered that strong bases were very delicious. Bases did the opposite of acids and took hydrogen atoms from other compounds, which also caused them to fall apart. It is why they will also stop acid in its tracks. An acid uses hydrogen to pull atoms apart, and a base will happily suck up that hydrogen.

 

This only accounts for natural acids and bases, as synthetic acids can produce a similar effect using other elements than hydrogen. These acids don't form naturally though and tend to be incredibly unstable.

 

“The great weapon of the succubi takes a large foundation to safely produce. One can't fly without first walking.” Rex said.

 

He had no idea if that was the case, looking over he saw Kira working on her enchanting. She was probably the most serious student Rex had ever seen. The only thing he helped her with was math. Right now she was carving thick glass beads, they had come out a red color. It was a refrigeration device for the wearer.

 

The first enchantment she learned was the plate he had originally made. Then from there, she was going further and further. Right now she was trying to train herself, and the only way to do that was to experiment. One of the slaves couldn't handle heat well, and Kira used this as an opportunity to challenge herself.

 

“I understand now.” The succubus said with a deep look of understanding.

 

Wait, what do you understand? No, come back here!

 

Rex raised his arm pointlessly as she flew away. Every time something like this happened, it created some kind of misunderstanding or just a mistake. He realized that he existed as a combination of Safe and Sound. The sound seemed to say, just whatever came to mind, and it was always reckless and overconfident.

 

It always sounds so nice, making a check that your butt cannot cash!

 

“Hey, Kira, you said tomorrow the cotton should be here right?” Rex asked.

 

“Yes, it should be around mid-day. Why?” Did she ask?

 

“ I want to get the sisters to help me, it should be a lot of fun.” Rex said. “I also have a new enchanted tool to design.”

 

Kira instantly perked up at this, taking on the air of a wizened master.

 

“I need something that can produce a small flame in very heavy wind.” Rex said.

 

Rex wanted a torch lighter, complete with the fuel tank. It could even be sold to the prisoners with tobacco, he could only imagine how hard they would work if he turned them into smokers.

 

“That won't be hard if it is a small flame.” She said.

 

“How many guns have we produced?” Rex asked.

 

“10, it took a bit of time to get the initial molds.” She explained.

 

“Tomorrow send me the 10 succubi you trust the most, we need to start preparing to get our cruise ship.” Rex explained. “Make about 50 more of them, then stop. If I knew the cotton was coming I would never have made them.”

 

Rex buried his head in his hands at this point. Turning the gunpowder back into its components would be a waste anyway. They had already made 3 pounds of gunpowder, so at this point, they were set on this path.

 

“Oh yeah, Dora sent me a weird white stone to look at. She said it smells like soap.” Kira said as she remembered.