Small Explosions [Takumi]

[Lucretia Odovacar]

The park was sunny and warm today.  Lucretia never thought she would be coming back to this place, but there was an experiment she wanted to do.  She was getting more and more irritated as time went by with her lack of offensive options.  She did well with in a group, but having to investigate with another person would seriously slow her down.  Much of her investigating could be done without provoking any creatures, but not all and she didn't like being limited in that way.  Thus, perhaps in a combination of lack of sleep and irritation, she decided to see if she could produce a bomb that would be useful against these things.  There were two she wanted to try; one more like a grenade that would have considerably lower power but could potentially be used in closer combat, and one that would produce a much larger explosion, but would be unwise to be near when it went off.

Explosions weren't her area of expertise, but for the smaller bombs she was able to pull some electrical tricks to get it to work.  All she needed was to fill them with some propane or other flammable gas and then cause a spark.  She wasn't worried about getting hit with the fire because flames barely even hurt anymore, so it was a reasonable weapon choice for her.  She would just have to be careful about using it around others.  The larger bomb was made from fertilizer and household chemicals using a recipe she found on the internet.  It was surprisingly easy really.  Building a manual detonator for both was almost trivial for her at this point.  She just had to be careful about inserting it into the bombs, and them make the detonators themselves easily recognizable so she didn't accidentally blow herself up in combat or set off the wrong bomb.

Thus, she headed to the park to test them.  Lucretia acknowledged that testing in the midnight world would make more sense, but she didn't really want to wait that long.  She hadn't slept in nearly two days, so it was only a matter of time before she just got too tired to do anything.  Besides, the creatures here were really weak.  Weak enough that she probably could beat them up in her sleep if they were stupid enough to attack.  Hopefully it wouldn't come to that, but at least she didn't have to worry about anything.

Lucretia picked a nice open spot with a few benches and statues to hide behind a short distance away.  She took the time to flatten some of the grass and trim some of the overgrowth so she could see, but that was about the only preparation she had to do.  She started with the smaller one.  She tossed it into the open area and ducked behind the statue before setting it off.  There was a loud pop as it exploded.  It was about as loud as a gunshot, though it didn't sound like one since it was exploding differently than a gun would.  A few flames erupted from it and some of the surrounding grass caught on fire.  It was nothing a little bit of stamping would fix, so the area was in no danger of catching on fire.  Once it was out, Lucretia examined the area.  The explosion was about as big as she thought it would be.  In other words, it was quite small, and was therefore unlikely to affect even melee users if they were fighting together.  Perfect.

She planted the next bomb in an area not too far away, but far enough away that she wouldn't mistake the effects of the first bomb for something the second bomb did.  There were a few fairies and trolls gathering around the explosion area, but they didn't seem too interested in getting close to Lucretia.  Once the second one was properly placed, she ran back over to the statue for cover and let it off.  This time, there was a loud boom and dirt and plant life flew everywhere.  This one didn't cause any fires, but there was a small crater in the ground instead.  It wasn't the most powerful bomb, but it would do for now.  All she had to do was examine the damage and then she could head home to prepare some more.

It would be an improvement to her current damage output at least.

[Takumi Fujioka]

Takumi was just doing his usual rounds in the demon park. He was getting pretty hardy endurance-wise as he continued exploring all around. Scouting back here again wouldn't be too hard for him at this point. Still, there were people who seemed to still have him beat. Even if his offense was absolute zero, his support skills could get him somewhere. Plus, its not like he couldn't kill any enemies. He had proven to be perfectly capable in using the environment to his advantage.

He was walking at his normal pace in no direction in particular. He couldn't really explain what he was looking for quite well. He knew that strong enemies that needed large groups could appear, but he wanted to find out where they showed up. Apparently a strong Ogre had shown up in these parts, so he had dedicated this time to locating a second one. He had already been out and about for an hour or two, ran into some fairies that bothered him a bit, but otherwise had no lead. But then the boy heard something off in another direction. It sounded something like a gunshot. Was there someone else nearby? He almost stopped himself for fear of getting hit by a stray bullet, but what were the chances of that? He chose to press forward.

He only needed to walk a little bit further until he happened upon an area where a small explosion seemed to happen. How odd. The boy only walked a little further; perhaps two or three steps. Boom. Takumi felt a physical force exerted against him as he felt back. As he landed, his vision was hazy, his ears were ringing, and the wind had been knocked out of him. He felt his head which seemed to be throbbing now as he slowly pulled himself back up. He had already began to consider the possibilities of what had just happened. While there were several that were plausible, he had to go on a single thought. Landmines. He slowly got up, brushing the dirt off himself. His face was a little dirty. Also, was that blood? It seemed that he was bleeding from his forehead. With a quick heal, he wiped off most of the blood on his face. What a pain.

This definitely wasn't the work of one of the demons. Someone likely left this here. And judging by the timing of the last explosion, someone was nearby. It was either the owner of the bombs, or had been a demon that met its demise. Whatever the case, Takumi figured it was worth a shot to try and locate them. If they were hostile, he could most likely escape alive. Fighting back wouldn't be an option even if he wasn't totally against it. Anyone here? I found your bomb. Found was an exaggeration.

[Lucretia Odovacar]

This test was a complete success.  That was enough to satisfy Lucretia for the time being since it's not like she brought some other mixes with her.  She might try some more later, but it was something she was a little hesitant to do given these did what she wanted them to do.  Chemistry and explosives were a bit out of her area of expertise, and they were obviously quite dangerous.

As one passerby just found out apparently.  Lucretia hadn't been paying attention to what was out there given how weak the enemies were and the low odds of anyone just happening to pass through this area at the exact same time as her test.  It wasn't like her to be this careless, and was likely a sign that she needed to get some sleep.  At least it was someone that could probably take it.  He might be interested in having some explosives himself because his attack power was somehow even lower than hers right now.

"Sorry," she spoke using her actual voice as she approached him.  "I was just testing.  They work very well.  I could give you some if you want."

It looked like he had already taken care of healing himself, so there was no need for her to do that.  Once she was close enough, she at least offered to help him up.

[Takumi Fujioka]

Just as he was about to finish brushing himself off, the apparent owner of these bombs showed herself. Of course, it was that girl from the meeting. The one that could scan everything. She could make explosives too? And. . . the first thing she says after apologizing for having a bomb blow up in his face is 'I could give you some.' He certainly wasn't mad, but this girl certainly was something else. No thanks. I think I'm fine with my shield. He didn't want to just tell her he didn't trust the explosives. After all, they probably did function just fine. He just didn't see any need for them.

You made these yourself? They don't look manufactured from somewhere. I know a bit about engineering, but explosives aren't exactly something I studied in school. Somehow, he had a feeling she wouldn't even detect the sarcasm from that statement. Still. This girl certainly had more abilities than she let on initially. Recalling that meeting, she was one of the more serious ones there. Some of them he wrote off as idiots, others were focused on eating and treating it as a social gathering, but this one seemed to take it at least somewhat seriously. He took a moment to mentally analyze her. There was a chance she was just an 'all-business' type who hated fun. One of those sticklers. It was possible. But the more likely answer was that she was probably a little awkward. Well, 'how little' was something he could determine later. It wasn't really a concern, but it was good to note what sort of assets you had on your team and what they were like. Their weaknesses are just as important as their strengths.

I take it you're making these for self defense then? You haven't developed any offensive skills as I am to assume. Like me. Though, it seems our skills differ a little bit. Certainly, she had that scan of hers. He only had a heal and then that defense ability. She was something like a non-combat support, while he was a main-line defender. So, like a tank? Did that make her a cheerleader? No. Bad thoughts. He almost cracked a smile imagining this girl trying to cheer on the group in a cheerful tone. Bad idea.

[Lucretia Odovacar]

Lucretia was a little confused by his decision not to take any explosives.  As far as she remembered, he couldn't even attack properly with that shield, making his damage output potential even lower than hers somehow.  As far as she could tell, even if he did whack any creatures over the head with them he was so clumsy about it that it wouldn't even hurt them.  Now that she thought about it, maybe it would be for the best that he not have any explosives.  There was no need to argue about it.

"I would hope not," she raised an eyebrow at his comment.  "It would be dangerous to teach everyone about it.  I do not think most people would find it useful anyway.  I had to search on the internet for awhile for how to make the bigger one.  The small ones just use an electrical trick I knew."  She paused for a moment.  "Always make sure your propane is safely stored or that might happen.

"Self-defense?" she paused for a moment and thought the idea over.  "Maybe.  I do not normally start fights, but I do want to be prepared for anything that might happen.  I do not want to have to avoid fights just because I cannot fight if that makes sense."

[Takumi Fujioka]

Dangerous to tell everyone? Somehow, Takumi knew exactly what she meant. He hardly trusted people as it was. For them to have explosives only made him think of all the bad possibilities that could arise. It was probably for the best to keep such knowledge away from them. That didn't make this girl any better, of course. He was wary about her having them too. Listening to her pause over the self defense question made him raise an eyebrow. Was this for something devious? No. He highly doubted it. This girl, though. I suppose that makes sense. I've essentially given up trying to fight. I had considered the possibility of purchasing a gun to make up for it, but I worry about what could happen. In the worst case scenario, he would miss. Not only that, but he could end up hitting an ally. As hardened as his heart was, he couldn't handle knowing that he shot and potentially killed a person. He was better off as support anyway. If he did his job well enough, worrying about fighting could be handled by others without worry.

Well, surely you don't just make explosives as a hobby, right? He was half expecting to hear a yes in response. He would hope he wouldn't of course. He didn't need to see one more person as a liability through all of this. What was her name again? Well, whatever. She was the scanner girl; one of the other two supports besides him that he was aware of. Well, that he honestly considered fully-fledged supports. That weirdo that abandoned him and the others when he went down seemed to be incapable of basic thought processes. His faced had subconsciously turned into a grim scowl as he recalled that time. As he finally realized this, he softened his expression. Hopefully he didn't scare this girl. My name is Takumi by the way, in case we didn't speak before. You might have got my name otherwise, but I'd rather give my name myself if I am to give it. He mostly just changed the subject on impulse in case she did see that expression from him. No need to make her uncomfortable, after all.

[Lucretia Odovacar]

There was a slight pause before she began to speak, "I am not sure if it is a good idea to give up on attacking completely.  There have been a few times where if we did not all attack we may not have survived.  That cerberus in the crossing for example.  Having a poor offense also limits what kinds of solo investigations you can do.  Maybe just supporting the attackers is fine when you are in a group, but always expecting to be in a group is dangerous."

She opted to just ignore the next question, mostly because she wasn't sure how to answer it.  The idea of having hobbies at all just seemed foreign to her after her productivity awakening.  Lucretia used to be able to waste time playing video games or whatever in the past, but now the idea of doing so just felt painful.  Taking what little time she had to do something that accomplished nothing in the end just sounded unappealing, and by her understanding, that's what hobbies were.  She'd rather be doing something.

"I am Lu--Odovacar Lucretia.  We did speak once at the meeting, and I believe I got your name then as well."