Chapter 369 - 367: Fel Energy Bomb

Chapter 369: Chapter 367: Fel Energy Bomb

After the New Year’s celebrations, Duane and Natalia went to inspect the Time Closet.

Previously, when Natalia lived at the Silent Shore, she would visit often. But ever since moving to Black Forest Island, she could only keep in touch with Zelina and the others by letter. The two of them, the largest shareholders, had both become hands-off owners.

Still, they had to admit the Time Closet was developing quite well, and Derek and his associates showed no signs of embezzlement. This was partly due to Duane and Natalia’s powerful backing; the Time Closet’s success depended on the reputations of Kennedy and Duane.

On the other hand, as a vassal of the Kennedy Clan, Derek wouldn’t try anything funny with matters like these. After all, any wrongdoing would be easily exposed with a simple investigation, and they weren’t foolish enough to try.

Of course, it was still feasible for them to pursue their own interests in certain matters.

For example, they were the ones who decided on material suppliers, sales distributors, and contracted shipping freighters.

Duane and Natalia conferred and decided to have Julian and Ralph bring some men over to check on things whenever they were free.

The Warm Sun Soup and the Time Closet were both enterprises of Black Forest Island. Trusting their managers was one thing, but conducting regular audits was another matter entirely.

Derek and his associates had no objections to this.

Their only request was for Duane to design some more new and original clothing styles to further boost the Time Closet’s popularity.

Duane had been so busy running around these past couple of years that he hadn’t released any new clothing designs. As a shareholder, he had indeed failed to fulfill his duties.

So, he stayed up that night drawing several gothic, dark-themed formal gowns, a few styles of suits, and more. The most revolutionary design of all, however, was the bra.

He’d made this discovery while taking off Natalia’s clothes. It turned out the women of this world either wore restrictive corsets or bound their chests with straps or strips of cloth—methods that were neither attractive nor offered much support or shaping.

When Duane presented the design for the bra to Natalia, she was both curious and shy. But she knew that once this item was released, it would be welcomed by all women.

It was just... selling such an item felt a little beneath her dignity.

So, after some discussion and at Duane’s suggestion, they decided to open a new type of clothing store catering exclusively to women. It would hire only female staff, which would protect customer privacy and allow women to feel comfortable expressing what style of bra they wanted.

As for Duane, once the floodgates of inspiration opened, there was no stopping him.

’Since I’ve already designed bras, it wouldn’t be going too far to draw up some designs for stockings, miniskirts, and sexy lingerie, would it?’

This was the only way to live up to the title the world had given him: "The Trendsetter of Fashion."

Kennedy Magic Research Institute.

Duane went alone to visit Vice Dean Louis, bringing the timer he had designed.

After carefully studying the mainspring and the interlocking gears of various sizes, the Vice Dean couldn’t help but marvel at the ingenious design.

Then, she presented the results of her own design.

Before Duane were two fist-sized, black wooden spheres.

"The inside of this sphere is lined with an Extraction Spell Scroll," she explained. "I used a Secret Silver Wire to connect it to the energy channel of a Magic Crystal Stone. This allows the stone’s energy to activate the scroll and trigger the Extraction effect."

Holding the sphere in one hand and Duane’s timer in the other, she continued, "Now, we just need to use your timer to control when the Secret Silver Wire connects to the Magic Crystal Stone. That will achieve the timed effect you wanted."

Duane nodded slowly.

It wasn’t a difficult modification. In fact, he had already designed a slot for this purpose. The Secret Silver Wire just needed to be placed in the slot. When the mainspring finished unwinding, it would push the wire forward.

This pushing action would connect the Scroll, the Secret Silver Wire, and the Magic Crystal Stone. The instant the connection was made, the Magic would activate, turning the Fel Energy Ore into a bomb.

"But I have a new idea," she said. "Duane, come with me!"

Louis stood and led Duane to the mountain behind the institute. The ground there was pockmarked with craters, as if it had been repeatedly bombed.

"You only briefly mentioned that the Fel Energy Bomb could be used in warfare, but you didn’t have any specific ideas on how," she said. "I’ve been thinking about that during my research."

As she spoke, the corners of her mouth curled into a slight smile.

She had always believed herself to be second to none when it came to invention, but Duane’s brilliant and imaginative ideas had earned her deep admiration. At the same time, they sparked her competitive spirit.

Evidently, figuring out how to create a bomb for use in warfare had become the arena for their contest.

Duane pointed at the craters blasted into the ground, asking in astonishment, "So, you’ve already developed it?"

Louis’s smile grew wider. "Well? Are you surprised?"

Duane, of course, had no idea what she was thinking. But even if he had, he would still have been amazed by her ability.

"Can you tell me how you achieved it?"

"Of course!"

Louis took an identical black sphere from her pack. "Just like the one I showed you earlier, the Fel Energy Ore is sealed inside, but I’ve modified the internal structure."

As she spoke, she slid a wooden panel off the side of the black sphere, allowing Duane to see the structure within—

The Fel Energy Ore was fixed in the very center, and below it... was that a rectangular box?

Secret Silver Wires extended from all sides of the box, connecting to the Extraction Spell Scroll lining the sphere’s inner wall.

He asked, confused, "What’s this long box for?"

"It holds a secondary Magic Crystal Stone, which I’ve secured with a brace."

Louis slid the wooden panel back into place and cradled the black sphere in her palm. "This wooden pin also serves to secure the Magic Crystal Stone inside the box, preventing accidental detonation from impact during transport. You need to pull it out before you throw it."

Hearing this, Duane was stunned. "It’s... a safety?"

"A safety?" Louis’s eyes lit up. "I like that word!"

She made a mental note of the term, deciding to replace "wooden pin" with "safety" in her notes when she got back.

"You pull the safety, hold the device like this, and throw it," she explained. "When the bomb hits the ground or is struck by an enemy’s Magic or Fighting Qi, it will inevitably experience a violent impact."

"This violent impact will instantly break the brace supporting the Magic Crystal Stone. The stone will fall from its housing and make contact with the Secret Silver Wires. The moment the circuit is complete, the energy will trigger the Extraction Spell, causing an explosion!"

With that, she forcefully hurled the Fel Energy Bomb into the distance. The instant it landed, it let out a massive BOOM.

Splinters and dust flew everywhere, shredding nearby leaves and leaving clear blast marks on the ground and trees.

"Well?" Louis asked proudly.

"I’m in awe of your creativity, Sir Louis!"

Duane couldn’t help but give her a thumbs-up. She was the first person in this Otherworld he had come to truly admire.

"I prefer ’Vice Dean’ over ’Sir,’ actually."

"Alright, Dean!"

Duane laughed. "Sometimes, the idea is more important than the execution. Clearly, you have mastered both. I’m truly impressed!"

The smile never left Louis’s face. His praise was music to her ears, making her feel utterly delighted.

But as someone who loved research and invention, she still felt compelled to point out the remaining problems.

"The wooden sphere is too fragile. If it shatters, it will inevitably damage the Parchment scroll inside. But if we switch to an iron sphere, I’m not sure if it would limit the bomb’s power. It would also be much harder to assemble."

She could easily slide a panel out of the wooden sphere and put it back in, but doing the same with an iron sphere would be far more difficult.

Duane pondered this.

’The power isn’t a concern,’ he thought. ’We can just use a larger piece of Fel Energy Ore.’

’The casing is the real problem, though.’

After a moment, Duane suggested, "My Territory has a type of extremely hard wood called Black Iron Wood. That should work for the casing."

While Black Iron Wood wasn’t as hard as iron, it was much harder than oak or the wood Louis was currently using.

Louis’s eyes lit up. "That’s an excellent idea!"

Duane shifted his focus back to the matter at hand. "I’ll report this to Count Kais when I get back today. If we get his approval, we should start producing these Fel Energy Bombs as soon as possible, just in case."

Louis’s research had come at the perfect time.