"So, are you saying that if we offer something to this Forgotten Shrine, we will get random benefits and even protection," Tahlia recapped my explanation for the newest addition of Calamity Object to this cave system. "But if we offer it once, we must keep it going and never stop, as the Calamity Object won't disappear after the ordeal."
"And we will be cursed with deadly misfortune if we stop doing the offerings," Verina continued. "Sounds like your typical Calamity Object."
Lupina chuckled with an unsure gaze. "Uhm, now that we are in a rather precarious situation with two Coffepots Objects above-"
"Qliphoth Objects," Verina corrected.
"Qliphoth Objects," Lupina cleaned her throat. "It might be bad long term, but won't be good for the short term?"
With everyone lost in what was the true course of action to choice, I stepped in. "In the slight chance that we were forced to resurface. Sure, the Forgotten Shrine might have become our greatest boon.
"But notice the 'might'. With a chance to receive the needed blessings to survive this hellhole, there is also a chance that we might receive a subpar trinket that we can't even use in time of need."
"That makes sense…" Lupina's wolf ears curled forward as she twirled her fingers.
Now that we collectively decided to just ignore the Forgotten Shrine, the underground project continued.
The Burrowing Terror still oozed the helpful slime even after an hour of its arrival and death.
Using the rather charred remains of the Crawlers that were spawned by the Crawler Nest, I did a testing on some application of the mineral-melting slime.
The Crawler's back carapace possessed a rather similar intrinsic look and trait similar to the Sandstalker's claws.
They were metallic.
And so, I did what needed to be done to satisfy this curiosity.
"... The carapace dissipated."
It might be quite a stretch, but it seemed like this slime might be useful against the Qliphoth Objects above, since the two of them were donned in some kind of metallic armor.
Using this, we might increase our possibility of killing one if we were forced to fight with it.
"Verina, stop what you're currently doing and help me with something," I shouted.
Verina immediately scurried over to my side. "Is this a date?"
"No."
"Can we make it a date?"
"No dating within the ordeal. I'll reconsider it only if we survive."
As such, we used the leathery material of the Crawler Nest and the rest of the Crawler's organs to craft a contraption that could safely store the Burrowing Terror's slime and then unleash it when we needed it.
With slime having the perfect viscosity to be forced into a small gap and blasted like water from a hose.
What was better than to make a liquid-blaster to utilize it? The kind that kids and adults bought in toy stores for the sake of humid fun.
"Huwaa, they are forging something again," Lupina watched while intimidated, as both me and Verina were performing our job with inhumane speed.
Unlike our Fortcracker Project, this one required an utmost focus and dexterity since most of the components were smaller than a thumb.
Like usual, I called Sage Internet to help me with the design and schematic, before I decided on a high-pressure liquid gun with a separated pressure chamber and an extra air canister that Verina could easily fill for more thrusting power.
"So this is similar to my musket," Verina said, ogling at the schematic I drew on the wall with confusion. "How does it even work?"
While our hands were moving, I guided Verina to understand the basic principle of this thing. "When this trigger is pushed, the downward motion of the pistons draws the water through a suction valve and into the cylindrical piston chamber. When the piston moves up again, it pushes the water out of the piston chamber and through a pressure valve towards the small muzzle."
"Ah," Verina nodded. "I don't understand."
"Let me guess, you want something from me so that you can finally understand it?"
"I didn't know that you could read my mind, Narcissus."
"If that's the case, then feel free to not understand a single thing."
Ten minutes later, we were done with the first prototype.
"Woaah! It squirts out the slime like a ray!" Lupina could be seen wiggling her tail as her eyes sparkled when she pressed the trigger.
"Looks like the works as intended," Verina commented.
"However, the pressure is less than what I imagined, especially with a pressurized air canister the size of a palm..."
Unsatisfied with the result, I tinkered with the slime-blaster for a few minutes.
After the whole thing was reassembled and ready to be used again, we tasked Lupina to test this new shiny thing.
I did this because she got an increase in Mood when she interact with things that she hadn't seen before.
"T-The ray becomes stronger!" Lupina shouted. Panicked out of the sudden increase in pressure strength but still excited like a little toddler.
"As expected of you, Narcissus," Tahlia sheepishly commented, still not forgetting that one event before the Ordeal of the Midnight. "You're almost inhumane when it comes to crafting. If only we got our hands on better tools and material…"
To be honest, I didn't know what I'm doing.
Or to be precise, I knew that there was something wrong with the pressure chamber, and tinkered it in the hope of improvement.
But now that it has improved, I had no idea what made it improve.
Not wanting to waste more time on pondering the slime blaster, Verina and I proceeded to craft more of it so that each of us could have one.
And for the sake of simplicity, we decided to name this slime-gun 'Hardmelter'.
[Hardmelter (Masterpiece 100%) - 3.0 kg: The Hardmelter is a high-pressure liquid blaster assembled from the hardened carapace and fibrous organs of Crawlers, blind insect-like creatures that navigate the underground tunnels. Reinforced with Crawler limbs for added durability and shock absorption, the weapon incorporates a modified organic pump system for pressurization and compact canister of pressurized air, enhancing the thrusting power of each shot by providing a steady, powerful force to propel the corrosive slime. The ammunition, a potent slime harvested from the Burrowing Terror, a massive worm-like Calamity Object—it can dissolve rock and metal upon contact, slightly effective to corrode soil, but ineffective against organic matter and tissues]
I'm always amazed by how the world's system interpret my creation like they were here right beside us, watching and hearing our action and conversation.