Modern Age Online

Electrician skill increased to Level 2

Current success rate increase 3%

Chance of electrical injury due to incorrect wiring 15%

Chemistry Skill increased to Level 2

General knowledge of chemistry Increased

Chance for a rare mixture increased to 3%

Chemistry Skill increased to Level 3

General knowledge of chemistry Increased

Chance for a rare mixture increased to 4%

Metalworking Skill increased to Level 3

Speed at working with metal raised to 4%

Chance to change the condition of lower grade metals: 3%

“Are we sure about this, Professor?”

Two Gun’s voice pulled Kaleb away from going over his notifications. Working on one of the old cowboy’s revolvers had given him some decent increases. He, Daivor, and Roy had spent the past couple of hours working on a basic prototype for the new battery. It took a few tries, as well as a couple of loud explosions, before they got the mixture right. Without the proper equipment, they couldn’t really gauge the battery’s output. But Kaleb figured the small cylindrical battery with a faint blue glow had to be powerful, given how the thing seemed to hum.

After the battery was done, it was a simple thing to modify one of Two Gun’s existing revolvers to house the battery. Wiring the thing up had taken significantly longer, and the thing still looked like a gun with a tangle of wires coming out the back. But they had figured that function was more important than form at the moment.

Kaleb glanced over at his friend as the old cowboy took off his hat and wiped sweat off his brow. Two Gun was wearing both hearing and eye protection and was standing in a shooting stance as Daivor and Roy puttered around him. They were just outside the air hangar, standing in front of Two Gun’s makeshift firing range. Kaleb’s two assistants were double checking the wiring on Two Gun’s weapon before they did their first test fire.

“It’s as safe as we can make it.” Kaleb shrugged. “We tested the various metals until we got the right one. Then we zeroed in on the right ratio of Weikacol with enough conductive liquid. Really, the biggest pain in the ass was working your revolver into the right shape to slot the battery and all the wiring afterward.”

“Still not too happy with you chopping up one of my two means of defense, by the way.” Two Gun muttered.

Kaleb waved him off. “It was necessary. The cylinder was in the wiring's way and if all goes well, the battery should power all the shots you need.”

Two Gun grumbled as he twisted his revolver in his hand and looked over the reworked cylinder. Kaleb and Daivor had removed a good chunk of the cylinder and replaced it with what they were calling New Metal. Another chunk of the non-terrestrial metal they had that could carry the new solutions charge. They had built opposing connecting points into the battery and the cylinder, so the new battery slotted in and stayed in. If all went to plan, the battery would charge the new cylinder, which would then convert that energy into a small bolt and then shunt it out of the barrel.

“Besides, you still have me to protect you, dear.” Called Claire’s voice from inside the hangar.

Two Gun and Kaleb turned to see the large green Xarthaksian women doing squats in her workout area. Kaleb raised an eyebrow as Two Gun grinned and blew his wife a kiss.

“How is she still at it?” Kaleb asked aloud.

“Alien constitution, my dear professor.” Claire shouted back.

Two Gun snickered. “Also helps that she is kind of a gym nut IRL.”

Claire stopped her squats and started her cool-down, stretching her arms and legs while shooting her husband a withering look.

“This coming from the man that had to be dragged away from his farm work by his workers and family.”

“That’s WORK!” Two Gun shouted back good-naturedly.

“Everything looks good, boss,” Daivor said, web cabling over to Kaleb’s shoulder.

Roy nodded as he moved over as well. “Yeah, we should be ready. Although overheating may still be an issue.”

“We accounted for it in the wiring and we did what we could with the New Metal. But we do not know how much of a charge this thing is going to let go.” Daivor shrugged.

“All we can do is hope that any excess energy will dissipate quickly rather than be transferred.” Kaleb said, rubbing his chin.

Two Gun glanced between his gun and the trio. “Anything I should be worried about, Prof?”

Kaleb shrugged, his mechanical arm whirring slightly. “I honestly can’t say. But if your hyper-senses see the gun heating up, throw it away and run.”

“This gun isn’t gonna explode. Right?” Two Gun asked wide-eyed.

Kaleb just gave another shrug as he and Roy took a big step back. Two Gun swore under his breath before he planted his feet and squared his shoulders. Claire had either stopped or finished her cool down workout and was now beside Roy, watching. The old cowboy sighted down his gun, took a deep breath, slowly released it and pulled the trigger.

The effect was instantaneous. Two Gun’s revolver made a slight whirring noise, then a short elongated beam of blue energy rocketed from the barrel and burned into the dirt backstop. Roy and Daivor gave cheers before they were quickly shouted down by Two Gun, who gave a yelp and dropped the gun.

Claire rushed forward, placing herself between her husband and the gun. Two Gun took two steps back and waved the others off.

“It’s fine. It’s fine. I just saw the barrel turn orange, so I let go.”

Kaleb and Daivor rushed to the gun just in time to see the orange hue of the barrel die down. They gave the gun a cursory look over before turning back to Two Gun. Roy was talking to the Cowboy asking how the gun felt. Was there any kickback? How was it different from normal, and other such questions. Claire was staring daggers at the weapon as if she thought it would jump up and attack her husband.

Kaleb gulped as he stared at the towering 7-foot woman. “Uhh, looks like everything’s cooled down over here. The gun barrel will not survive multiple repeated shots, though. We are going to have to replace it.”

Two Gun finished Roy’s questionnaire and walked around his wife. He placed a calming hand on her arm as he asked.

“Do you have anything that will work?”

Daivor and Kaleb smiled at each other as they both seemed to think the same thing.

“Ifrit Bone” they said together.

Roy sighed aloud as he put his head down and started toward the hangar. Kaleb raised an eyebrow at his Gnome companion, who just shrugged. He picked up the revolver and left the couple outside to talk things over. They would have to cut the barrel off, then rework a piece of Ifrit bone and attach it to the body of the gun. He was wondering if welding would work when he looked up and noticed that Farrah was finished with her work and was stretching in front of her desk.

Noticing his gaze, the bunny-woman smiled and shouted, “All the paperwork is filed with the authorities and I have one drone watching the entrance.”

Kaleb nodded. “That was a good idea. Anything else you need?”

“Ha! How much time do you have?” Farrah laughed. “I still need a few more monitors and drones to have a hangar-approved Command Center. Not to mention there are a few niceties I would like for my room.”

Kaleb walked over to his small Mechanics Room, the only area of the hangar the system had recognized as a room. They needed to get more rooms up and operational. The bonuses for them were too good to pass up, and they would help to get a decent layout of the hangar going. Kaleb sighed as he set Two Gun’s revolver down on his charred and half-exploded workbench.

Gesturing at Daivor and Roy, who still looked a little crestfallen, Kaleb said. “You two can start work on the Ifrit bone while I get Farrah some funds.”

Farrah zipped over so fast Kaleb was sure she had used her Super-speed.

“Funds?” she asked happily.

Kaleb rolled his eyes as he led her into the hangar’s office. D34d-I still sat at the desk poring over various folders and files, drinking a cup of something. The Alien duck had a small smile on his face as he shifted the various papers around. Kaleb ignored the duck as he walked over to the Hangar console that controlled their Super-Group’s Lair.

“I’m going to take out some credits so Farrah can get the monitors she needs for her Command Center.” Kaleb said over the pale blue screen that obscured his vision.

He heard the ruffling of papers followed by a quack.

*Quack*

“That’s fine. We have more than enough petty cash to get a few monitors. I would also advise you to figure out how to share the Lair screen. I imagine handling finances and other such things would be easier with an interface.”

Kaleb sighed, but nodded. He quickly transferred the funds Farrah would need into her waiting credit stick, then poured over the menus. He was scrolling through various tabs before he found something that made him grin.

*Quack*

“What is it?” D34d-I asked as Farrah zipped out of the room.

“Claire’s little workout area is apparently a Xarthaksian Workout Room. Gives a bonus to stamina regeneration and a boost to Endurance gain while in the room. At least it would if we paid the cost for the setup. 2,000 credits for an open area workout room.”

Kaleb heard the office chair move as D34d-I got up. He briefly wondered where that chair had come from as Farrah had procured the original chair that was in here. The four-armed duck appeared at his side, looking up at the blue screen.

*Quack*

“That sounds very useful. Can we make it so the rest of us get the bonuses?”

“Sure. We just need workout equipment more suited to people more normal-sized. I think the bonuses stay the same.” Kaleb answered, back to navigating the various tabs and menus.

The Hangar interface screen was surprisingly deep and Kaleb wished he had time to dive through all of it. But for now, he contented himself with finding a way to pass on access to it. He eventually found it under the Super-Group section of the Lair menu. Once he got their Super-Group registration number and linked it to their Lair, the screen lit up and he could allow access to various sections of the menus.

“Okay, looks like I can give people partial access depending on what they do for the Super-Group.” Kaleb said as he heard D34d-I shuffling back to the desk.

*Quack*

“Great. For now, how about just giving me access to our finances so I can get everything into the system? This working on paper only shit is nonsense.”

Kaleb snorted as he gave the duck access. Once he did, his hand froze as he looked at the Super-Group’s account.

“How the fuck do we have close to 60,000 credits?!” Kaleb shouted, closing out the window.

D34d-I gave him a look over the rim of his own translucent screen before quacking.

*Quack*

“Well, for one thing. Mass and I added our own not inconsiderable amount of credits to the groups’ pile.”

“No way you two had that much.” Kaleb interrupted.

*Quack*

“True. But we also sold that enormous pile of ant carcasses to the DAD. Or didn’t you notice our runway is now free of the things?”

Kaleb sputtered for a few moments before he realized he had seen nothing out on the runway. Scratching his head in confusion, he asked.

“When did that happen?”

D34d-I shook his head. “While you were blowing up that little mini-lab of yours with your teenager and Gnome.”

Kaleb grimaced. “I don’t know why, but that sounds dirty when you say it like that.”

D34d-I just gave a snort and waved Kaleb out of the office. Kaleb shook his head and walked back into the hangar just in time to see Claire and Two Gun enter the hangar again. He waved the pair over to his Mechanic’s Room and went to join his two assistants. They seemed to be arguing over the best piece of Ifrit bone to use. Well, Daivor was arguing while Roy just didn’t seem to be in it. Kaleb shook his head and decided to ask the boy about his mood as soon as he talked to Two Gun and Claire.

The husband and wife looked questioningly at Kaleb before he spoke.

“I just learned we have a sizable nest egg we can use to build us all a nice little workout room.”

Claire raised an eyebrow. “Finally noticed the ants, huh?”

Kaleb just cleared his throat, embarrassed, before Two Gun asked. “So what do we need, and is it worth it?”

“Oh, it’s worth it.” Kaleb said, quickly explaining about the benefits and cost of the Lair-approved Workout Room.

The pair agreed to go on another shopping trip to gather what they needed. After Kaleb directed them toward the Office to get some funds, he turned back to his mechanics room. Roy was watching the Gnome magically grind a piece of Ifrit bone into the shape they would need. The boy seemed listless and more than a little distracted. Kaleb tapped on the boy’s shoulder.

“What’s up?”

Roy started for a second before he realized it was Kaleb. “Nothing important, Doc.”

Kaleb sighed. “It’s obviously got you distracted. So it’s important enough. So what’s going on? And don’t hit me with any of that teenage ‘you wouldn’t understand’ nonsense. You’re going to be eighteen in a few days.”

Roy gave a genuine grin as he shook his head. “I don’t know, Doc. It just feels like I am standing on the backs of giants here. All my gear is from a magical creature you killed. Everything I’ve built is using either your or Doctor Kersait’s notes and advice. You know, it’s like, what have I accomplished?”

“Who cares where the stuff came from?” Kaleb asked, confused. “You use what you have to make the most of the things. And when the chips were down, who saved my ass in Under-town?”

Roy snorted. “Rhyme.”

“Shut-up.” Kaleb rolled his eyes. “My point is: You’re doing fine, Roy. Get out of your own head and help me and a magic Gnome make an Alien-powered revolver so my cowboy friend can shoot magical creatures in an enchanted forest.”

Roy’s snort transformed into a full on laugh as he shook his head. “Crazy world we live in, huh?”

Kaleb’s smile faded a little when he remembered he was in a video game and Roy was an NPC in that video game. Sure, the advancements in AI had made gaming almost as realistic as real life, but the distinction was still jarring. With Kaleb having spent many so much time in-game already, the line was getting a little too blurred. He had to shake his head and remember he was here to decompress, not have an existential crisis about the nature of reality.

Roy looked down at their Gnome friend, who looked like he had completed his work on the piece of Ifrit bone. The gnome had carved a long piece of bone into the vague shape of what he needed. Kaleb saw sweat on the Gnome’s brow as he leaned down to get a look.

“You’re better than a lathe, Master Gnome.” Kaleb grinned.

Daivor shook his head. “Don’t think I’m gonna be doing that all the time. You still have to use the lathe to get the thing to the right proportion. Not to mention, you have to hollow it out. Although I think we can skip the rifling this time. The way that blast left the barrel, I don’t think it will matter.”

Kaleb nodded, ready to get down to business. “And what will you two be doing?”

Daivor walked over on the table toward Two Gun’s revolver. “Working on this one. We have proof that the battery works. Now it’s just testing, testing, and more testing. But first, I bet we can make this gun look all pretty for your friend.”

Roy just nodded along, and Kaleb shrugged his shoulder. “Well then, you two get to work. I’ll be at the lathe.”

Kaleb started up the machine and was well into shaping the Ifrit bone when he heard a shout from behind him.

“Oh wait, don’t touch that!”

BOOM