When Rimuru and I arrive at the village with the massive army of Orcs and several Dragonewts in tow, the Hobgoblins, Kijin and Star Wolves that we left behind freak out at first. After explaining what happened though they calm down a bit. They are a little worried about the Orcs though. The word of the Orc invasion got out thanks to Gobta but considering it's us the inhabitants of the village calm down.
Rimuru immediately gets down to business naming all the Orcs to keep them alive. If the Orcs aren't named they will die in a few weeks so Rimuru has to do this. I've got other things to do so this one is on him.
As I leave I get ready for the completion of my lab. I still haven't completed it yet so that comes first. After a few days I complete it though, finally getting the lab to full functionality. As I finish building it I finally get to focus on a question that had been on my mind.
How strong is [Detonation]?
{Answer- [Detonation] is the physically strongest skill in your arsenal.}
Huh, I wasn't expecting an answer but I guess this is better than talking to myself. So, can I get a description?
{Description- Unique Skill [Detonation]
Subskills:
Magicule Collection: Collects and condenses the users magicules into a small area
Ignition: Sets all magicules within a certain area to commence self destruction. If not stopped within a narrow window of time all magicules within the set area will explode.
Potency Multiplication: Adds nearby magicules to the already expanding explosion adding to its potency and size. Size of potency increase depends on magicule density in the air.
Skill effect:
Detonates Magicules in the air up to half a mile away from the user creating a localized explosion. The strength of the explosion can be controlled by pouring more or less Magicules into the attack.}
I mumble to myself, "So a mini-Magicule Bomb. Don't know what I was expecting considering I got it from analyzing the Magicule Bomb I guess. Well, that's actually really good." So now I know what it does, but I still don't know how strong the attack is. To fix that I fly relatively far away from the village to the top of a nearby mountain. There I prepare the attack.
I use [Detonation] on the side of the mountain. This blows a hole ten meters deep on the mountain sending massive chunks of debree everywhere. The shockwave blows down nearby trees sending them hurtling down the side of the mountain.
"Not bad," I say to myself, "Definitely more powerful than [Black Flame] but it seems to cover less area."
This will definitely be useful, it's more concentrated than [Black Flame], my previous strongest attack, in power but also size. It's more easy to aim though because it can happen anywhere within a half mile area around me. Definitely my strongest attack by far. I'll still need to test it out more to see any other hidden uses though.
With my experiment over it's finally time to make the invention that my lab has been desperately needing for months. Functional lightbulbs.
Using small amounts of Magisteel with a copper and aluminum alloy I can make a material that lights up when filled with Magicules. By putting this material on a glass case I can make something closely resembling a light bulb.
Next is a functional switch. By making an artificial Magic Stone that releases Magicules when touched by Magisteel making a switch for the bulb isn't that hard. As for the wire a mixture of normal metals works and just like that I've got my own lightbulb. A large part of the basics for this design was actually made by [Great Sage] when I asked for it so I can't say it's my idea though.
After it's completed I test it out. In the first test it functions perfectly but in the next it's dimmer. Trying it again it's back to its normal brightness. What the?
{Notice- Unique Skill [Genius] has been activated.}
Analyzing the mechanism again I quickly get the answer. "So that's what's happening."
Without [Genius] I hadn't seen a flaw with the design. I mumble, "It's like redstone."
The farther the bulb is from the source of the Magicules powering it, the dimmer the light. By separating them more and more I end up getting less light than I should. The flow of Magicules seems to slow down the farther they have to travel. It's harder to regulate them than electricity it seems.
"[Great Sage], why didn't you say this?"
{Answer- This is unnecessary information for the given instructions. The order was for a functional lightbulb not an effective one.}
"Was that sass in your voice!?"
{Negative.}
"Yeah, yeah, let's go with that."
Redesigning it to have the interaction between the two objects happen right next to the bulb I finally have a functioning lightbulb design. I install the lights around my house and lab over the course of a few hours and draw the design on a piece of paper.
I'll show this to the Dwarven squad right after I do this.
I go outside and grab a piece of tough plant fibers from a strange plant I found growing near a small pond a few hundred meters away from my house. I weave them together into a bone-like shape and reinforce it with wood. I then cover it in a thick layer of monster skin freshly harvested from a Charger Boar. When I'm finished I end up with a chew toy the size of my entire arm.
I look at my shadow, "Ranryo, come out here."
Ranryo jumps out wagging his tail. "Yes, Master!?" He asks."
"Here you go." I throw the bone shaped object at him.
Catching it in his mouth, he asks through [Thought Communication], "What is this, Master?"
Smiling, I say, "It's a present. It's called a chew toy. You can probably figure out what it does based on its name but you can do whatever you want with it."
"I humbly thank you for your generous gift."
I walk up to him and start petting him. "You don't have to thank me. You're my friend. It's to thank you for your incredible work in the Orc War." As I pet him he starts wagging his tail eventually reaching a high enough speed to create a whirlwind. "Ha, calm down there Ranryo."
"Eh, I apologize, Master."
"Don't worry about it." After a little consoleing Ranryo takes the toy and jumps back in my shadow.
With that over with it's finally time to introduce these new lightbulbs to the Dwarven squad. I sprout Phoenix-like wings and start flying towards the village which at this point has finally graduated into a small town as I see a few hundred Orcs have already begun working. That was fast.
Off in the distance I see Hakurou's training area as I see him clashing with an exhausted looking Gobzi and Gobta surrounded by unconscious Hobgoblins. So Gobzi was strong, I knew it.
Landing next to Rimuru I see him looking really relieved. "Why do you look so happy?" I ask, genuinely interested.
"I finally finished naming all the Orcs."
So he's already finished with that. "Nice, then come with me, I've got something to show you." Let's see how he reacts to my first ever modern luxury recreation. Later, I'm planning to steal his ideas like the Magitrain but for now these are going to be my own ideas. This is something to be proud of.
Confused as I drag him along he asks, "Why?"
Because we arrive at the Dwarve workshops pretty quickly I don't get to answer him. Kaijin and the rest greet us as I tell them to come with me. While they are confused with the sudden meeting they all wrap up what they are doing and come with me.
I dump the raw materials on the table to give them an idea of what they need. Of course, they still don't know what they are for so they just look at me confused. "Let me explain." As I explain every detail on the Magibulb they show an intrigued face, particularly Gurd and Myrd who both have more close ties with construction. During the explanation I mention the word lightbulb which draws Rimuru's attention as well. Once I finish everyone knows why I brought them here.
Rimuru says, "So you finished what you said you were gonna do. So you want to put Maigibulbs in all the townhouses?"
I say, "Yeah, I needed you here to inform you and get your approval. I feel like we both need to say yes when something this big is added to the town considering it's both of ours. So, are we gonna do it?"
He excitedly says, "Yes, of course!"
Just what I wanted to hear. So with that I finally showed them how to actually turn these raw materials into functioning lightbulbs which they quickly get the hang of. They're really impressive. After they recreate a few of them I put the task of making them to the Dwarves and leave them to their craft.
Walking out I see Benimaru arriving with a shipment of food from the Dryads with some Goblin Riders behind him for extra protection of the food. A group of Orcs walk by me carrying large wooden beams to start they're endless work while others are still waiting for orders. A see even the occasional Lizardman and Dragonewt. This town sure has gotten lively.
About a month and a half after the Orc Lord fight everything went as smoothly as it possibly could. I occasionally worked on inventions here and there. I won't make something big like a gun or car until after my Demon Lord transformation at least for now though. I know guns already exist in the east but I think they would kill the fantasy vibe we've got going. On top of that, crazy things like that, this early would just cause more problems down the line.
Right after Rimuru named the Orcs a bunch of Lizardmen showed up. He didn't look like he looked forward to it so I decided to step in for him. To him it may have seemed like a nice thing his brother did for him, which I guess was part of it but more importantly Dragonewts are very useful and having them be more loyal to me will be very useful.
Other than that event life for the most part has been very nice. Of course, there was a problem that showed up. Sanitation. This is a fantasy world and something they never bring up is the lack of plumbing. I thought it was time to fix this so I began working on a sewer system. That's what I am currently doing but for now life hasn't been on my side.
We keep running into caves, underwater rivers, and we even dug into the bottom of an underwater lake. Doesn't really affect me but I'm not the only one digging. I'm pretty sure one of the Hobgoblins has PTSD because he refuses to go near large bodies of water.
Half-way through the work I got sent another wave of hell in the form of Gabiru. Apparently, he was annoying Rimuru so he sent him to me for some hard labor punishment. However, he does more harm than good with his constant rambling and seemingly random singing. One day I snapped and punched him, dislocating his jaw and knocking him out.
I said, "Holy shit!" And instantly threw a healing potion on him fixing his jaw which I later regretted when he recovered and immediately started singing again.
After about a week more work though the sewer system is finally complete after the 2 month mark from the Orc Lord battle. I run out dancing because I no longer have to hear Gabiru's singing.
On my way out I run into a group of Goblins. Haven't seen those in a while. I ask, "What are you doing here?"
Apparently they were going to our town to ask to join. I explain to them that I'm one of the two leaders causing them to immediately prostate themselves in front of me.
"Please allow us to join you, Lord Migeru!"
Accepting them I take them to what's now a town. Naming them takes a while but it doesn't prove too hard. They were so weak I replenished my Magicules faster than they were using them up.
Introducing them to Rimuru he got the idea to turn these new Hobgoblins as well as some volunteers into a sort of military branch. He calls it the Green Corps. After a little work this becomes official and Goblon, a subordinate of Gobzi, leader of the Goblin Guard that has been training with Hakurou to protect my lab, somehow becomes the leader. They become Goblons Green Corps, part of the Hobgoblin army led by Rigur consisting of the Goblin Riders, the Goblin Guard(Still training), and the new Green Corps.
After that ordeal is over I walk out and notice something I didn't notice before. Some of the houses look more Western in design. Apparently Gurd got a chance to see my house and took its design into consideration when designing the buildings in town. Due to that the buildings ended up looking different. A mixture of the original design and my house's design. Just like I thought, my presence here is changing this town.
A week later Hakurou asks for me. When I arrive I see Gobzi with the rest of the Goblin Guard behind him. Gobzi himself seems to have evolved as well.
[Great Sage], what happened to Gobzi?
{Answer- He has become a Goblin General. A sort of offshoot of Hobgoblin. In the process of evolution he has also obtained the Unique Skill [General's Orders] as well.}
A Unique Skill!? What does it do?
{Answer- It functions like your [Hive Mind] further powering up subordinates but has no time limit.}
Not bad. So they're strong now. That's good but after taking a closer look at them this seems to have come at a cost. All of them except Gobzi looks traumatized. Maybe I shouldn't have told Hakurou to not hold back. Moving past that at least some are finally ready to defend my lab. Some however aren't so lucky. They are forced to stay behind because they aren't deemed ready by Hakurou. May Veldanava have mercy on your souls.
After putting them to work defending my lab my work is done.. Next thing to prepare for. Gazel Dwargo's arrival and Milim!