novelzi Chapter 21: Materializing Problems
Chapter 21: Materializing Problems
Chapter 21: Chapter 21: Materializing Problems
"This won't do. We need something else," I muttered, staring at the progress bar that barely budged past 93%. The base construction had stalled, and no amount of wishing was going to make that bar reach 100% anytime soon. I needed a plan, and I needed it fast.
The rest of the camp looked like it was about to fall apart at the seams. The walls( or what I call the questionable looking fence?) were half-finished, the huts weren't nearly as structurally sound as I'd hoped, and Boulder still insisted on adding a giant statement rock to the center of the camp that nobody could agree on whether it was a brilliant design choice or a serious safety hazard.
I glanced at the progress bar again, willing it to move. It didn't. Dang it, I need to do something about this.(●__●)
"Alright, time to scout for new materials," I said decisively, clapping my hands together. "Something stronger. Something that doesn't break when you look at it wrong." Sounds impossible with all this chaos in camp already
( ́・_・`)@@@@
Grumpy, who had been pacing back and forth with his usual scowl, immediately perked up. "You sure you're not just giving up? I mean, from what I can see, we're practically done. There's a watchtower the lizardmen built, new huts for the ogres, goblin, lizardmen, imps and the others to live in! That's already better than before!"
"Grumpy," I said, narrowing my eyes at him. "This base will crumble under the weight of its own stupidity if we don't fix it. And, stronger threats might show up one day, we need something to protect us if it happens. That's why we need better materials." It's true, while I may not have been here for long, I know that there are still bigger fishes in the sea, after all, that's how my company even went bankrupt back then, but we can talk about that later.
"You're the boss, so let's go find your *magic materials*." Grumpy's tone was dripping with sarcasm, but I could tell he was ready to move. He was always ready to complain about something, but he was surprisingly efficient when it mattered, I guess he's what you'd call a tsundere( ̄ω ̄)
I turned to the rest of the group, mentally calculating who would be useful for the job. "Alright, I'll take Grumpy, Tink, and Boulder with me. We'll find some materials in the forest and so make sure this place doesn't fall apart while I'm gone."
Tink, who had been absent-mindedly fiddling with a set of mechanical gears, looked up with his usual wild-eyed enthusiasm. "New materials? Oh, this is gonna be great! I've got some new inventions that might—"
"No explosions this time, Tink," I said, cutting him off before he could get any ideas.
"Just a few little ones?" Tink's eyes sparkled with mischief.
"No," I said firmly. "Not unless you want to be exploded by your own inventions." Which, jesus christ, stop doing so.ಠ_ಠ
Boulder, on the other hand, was already eyeing a nearby rock. He wasn't exactly excited about going on an adventure, but I could tell he was itching to smash something. If anything, Boulder was good at solving problems with brute force, and we needed that energy right now.
"Alright, you guys stay here and make sure Scarface doesn't lose it with the others," I said, looking at Gorn, the goblin leader, who had been lurking behind one of the unfinished walls. "Gorn, you're in charge with helping Scarface lead while I'm gone. We don't want him to lose his mind over the stupidity of the villagers."
Gorn's eyes widened, and he nodded quickly, giving a mock salute. "Understood, Boss. I'll make sure Scarface doesn't... go insane from their antics."
"No explosions!" I reminded him sharply.
"Right, right," Tink said, looking disappointed but quickly going back to his work. What is wrong with this guy and explosions?!
Boulder, as expected, stomped off in search of rocks, while Grumpy started cutting into the nearest tree with a combination of efficiency and disgruntlement.
"Hey, Boss," Grumpy called out after a while, "You sure this is wood? It's tougher than a rock!"
"That's exactly what we need," I said. "We can reinforce the base with this. We'll just need to get it back and make sure we can use it without it breaking everything."
After a few more hours of collecting materials, it was clear that we were going to have to haul these new resources back to camp. I wasn't thrilled about the thought of carrying giant pieces of wood and boulders through the forest, but it was the only way to make sure the base would actually stand.
---
By the time we returned to camp, I was exhausted, and the others weren't much better off. We had a pile of new materials, sure, but the work wasn't over. Scarface, however, seemed to be holding it together, though I could see the vein on his forehead twitching as the ogres tried to lift a boulder three times their size while arguing over how best to do it. I gave him a thumbs-up from a distance.
"Scarface!" I called. "We're back with new materials. How's everything holding up?"
Scarface shot me a look that could have killed a lesser being, but he simply nodded curtly. "We're managing... for now."
"Good. Don't let them drive you insane," I warned again. "I mean it."
Scarface rolled his eyes but didn't respond. He was too busy making sure the imps didn't accidentally set fire to the base, the lizardmen didn't eat the new rocks, and the ogres didn't decide it would be a good idea to throw one of the goblins into the sky.
---
By the end of the day, the new materials were already being used to reinforce the base. The tough wood was holding up well, and the rocks were surprisingly easy to carve with Tink's latest invention. He calls it "Boulder's tool" as for why, I think it's because of Boulder's increasing annoyance with how the rocks ain't doing what he wants, he got hit by Boulder because of that though(^_^)
The progress bar finally jumped from 93% to a solid 95%, which was something to be proud of, even if we weren't done yet.
I looked at my team—Boulder, Grumpy, Tink—and Scarface, who was still trying to manage the chaos. "Alright," I said, rubbing my hands together. "We're making progress. Let's keep it going."
And as we all settled down for the night, I couldn't help but think—maybe, just maybe, this insane bunch of idiots might actually finish the job. If they didn't burn everything to the ground first.