Having just recently visited his own friend's smithy and shop, Noctis pondered within the vacant warehouse where he had done the majority of his inventing and planning. Putting his name out there was still a somewhat risky prospect, but the revenue to be made by selling his creations was seductive to say the least. However, it wasn't just the profit that spurned Noctis drive to commercialize his skills, but the idea of innovating and improving in order to become the best at what he did, something to leave his mark on the world. This mentality influenced not only his physical abilities as a fighter, but also his intellect and daftness as a creator.

Yet through all of this ambition, a nagging feeling ground away at Noctis, eating up his motivation voraciously; he had yet to create something entirely original and new, aside from his specialized gas, something that came to him through luck more than skill. The longleg had made several improvements or innovations on already well known techniques in order to fit his personal needs, but they were simply that, personal. In order to drive his craftsmanship even further, it was possible he would need to take requests as opposed to simply creating what came to him organically.

Still, that was a matter for the near future. A more immediate concern was preparing himself for the assault on La Bomba and his priests. Noctis had drawn up a few schematics to this end, but had yet to gather the necessary materials let alone begin construction. The simpler of the two inventions was the extinguishing cloth, a basic fabric mesh in the same vein as his duracloth, only instead of reinforcing the material with steel fiber, a flame retardant wool would be processed and implemented into the design. Having leftover fabric from the creation of his duracloth, all that was left was sourcing the wool and the necessary chemicals to treat it.

The pressure vessel, however, would take some more hands on work. Creating a basic steel container wouldn't be sufficient, in this case. It needed to be tempered and durable in order to hold his gasses at high pressure, and an one way opening for the gas to enter and build itself up. It wasn't overly complex as a design, but the intricacies involved were something that would test Noctis' capabilities in the moment. Getting some basic steel and tempering it wouldn't be difficult, especially with his closest ally working as a blacksmith, and basic wool could be found at a variety of markets across Baltigo. With his shopping list memorized, Noctis set out to gather his materials.

As Noctis prowled the streets in search of supplies with his hands comfortably resting in his pockets, he felt an ease he hadn't felt in quite some time. The once desolate warehouse where he had started his experimentation had developed over time to be somewhat well supplied and furnished for his needs, in part thanks to the 'good' Doctor Goldov, who more than likely simply wanted the longleg out of his hair and his lab. Being able to just go out and buy a handful of things necessary for his work as opposed to resourcing everything from the ground up let Noctis know for sure that he was making steady progress.

The wool, as anticipated, was an easy and mundane transaction at a small textile stall within the Ninth District. Buying several large spools of the common fabric, Noctis hauled his bulk purchase back to his workshop to store them simply so he didn't have to carry them around while he searched for steel. Opening the larger panel doorway likely made specifically for large deliveries, Noctis tossed the rolls towards the back end of the warehouse, where many of his supplies sat ready to be used at will. Tugging the large chain on the bottom of the door, Noctis pulled the entrance shut, tethering it to the ground.

With half of his shopping done in less than an hour, the longleg was feeling invigorated. Noctis thought on the places he could purchase some basic steel before he altered it to his heart's desire. Devroux's shop would be an easy option, but Noctis had yet to pay him back for the broken window, and wanted to steer clear of asking anymore of him until he was prepared to reimburse the mink. Leaning against the overhead doorway caused the metal to rumble and gyrate, leaving Noctis off balance as he rebounded to adjust himself.

Still, in the process of such a menial act, the sound of the entrance caused the gears in Noctis' brain to start turning. He was going to have to start the process of setting up shop at some point, and renovating the workshop was definitely a step on that journey. Yet, Noctis thought to take it one step further. He could recycle the steel that composed the door into his pressure vessel while still having enough left over to make others should he need to, either to sell or for his own use. From there, Noctis could use the large gap in the wall where his door used to be to set up a storefront visible from the street.

It would be more work in the long run, but in terms of immediate efficiency, it was too attractive, too bold to pass up. Plus, Noctis really wanted to kick the door down. Really, that's what ultimately justified Noctis decision as a grin came across his face, planting his foot flat against the metal. "May as well..."

With his current strength and assets as a member of the longleg tribe, it didn't take much more than a slight, swift press to cause the door to crumple inwards and break off it's railing, falling inward onto the ground a few feet away. Needless to say, it wasn't nearly as satisfying as Noctis had hoped, as he absently stared at the vandalism he had caused perhaps too hastily. "Sigh..."

Stepping over to the ruined door, Noctis pulled the large blade strapped to his back out of it's holster, aiming the blunt end towards the steel before pressing down firmly to begin the process of breaking up the metal into smaller, easier to melt pieces. It wasn't particularly grueling or time consuming work, but it was certainly boring, as the only thing to keep him company was the sound of buckling and failing metal struggling against his blade. After only a few minutes of tedium, Noctis found himself left with a pile of steel scraps from the door. Now, began the more involved process of melting them down to initiate the tempering process. Noctis was no smith, he had no crucible on hand and no forge, but the process of melting down metal was a simple one.

"Get it real hot with lots of airflow." Noctis thought to himself, using his ability as a gas human to lift the metal into the air and hold it in place with a rotating sphere of wind. However, this only served to act as a makeshift crucible. The real struggle would come with multitasking his ability, inserting a flammable, burning supply of gas into the air vessel in order to supply the much needed heat. With a free hand, Noctis started to gather the hydrogen in the air, the most flammable gas in immediate abundance around him, around his palm. With his final free hand, he pulled an ignition stone from his pocket, striking it along the face of his weapon Kuroi which rested on it's flat end along the ground.

"Shit!" Noctis yelped, the sparks from the stone were abundant and immediately caught the mass of hydrogen around his palm ablaze, causing Noctis to lose his immediate concentration on the suspended metal as he struggled to keep the source of gas just above his hand to keep himself from being burned. The sound of metal fragments clattering onto the ground let Noctis know he was free to maintain his focus on the burning gas he maintained above his palm.

With his source of heat now secured and sustained in one hand, Noctis was free to try again with dividing his attention between two simultaneous applications of his devil fruit. "Alright, now carefully..." the longleg muttered to himself as he positioned his hand out to bring the metal bits back into the air, surrounded by a barrier of wind to keep oxygen flow maximized. Beads of sweat began to form along Noctis' face as he carefully took his burning gas source and moved it closer to the wind crucible. Slowly and surely, Noctis let the burning hydrogen enter through the sides of the rotating sphere. The instant the flame found itself burning in the center of the spinning mass of air along with the metal, Noctis was free to consolidate his focus on maintaining the crucible while supplying a steady source of hydrogen and oxygen to the inner chamber.

Almost immediately, the heat in the crucible flared, taking Noctis by surprise as the warehouse began to heat up dramatically. It wasn't enough to break his focus like before, but the efficiency with which he was able to fuel a fire surpassed even Noctis' own expectations. Needing to heat the metal gradually, however, Noctis was forced to dial down the ratio of hydrogen and oxygen being supplied to the burning core. It took several moments of trial and error, but Noctis finally settled on a comfortable and steady temperature as he continued to maintain the air holding together the now molten metal.

Extinguishing the burning flame within was a simple enough task, as Noctis gradually lowered the amount of fuel he was providing it until none remained. Now left with the rapidly cooling molten steel, Noctis had to act quickly and with precision in order to turn the crucible of air into a mold. With both hands extended, the longleg began the process of morphing the shape of the rapidly rotating air from several directions at once. Creating a general cylindrical shape first before forcing air to flow into the metal before it set, creating a hollow pill like form of red hot steel, surrounded by winds that not only shaped it, but cooled it rapidly as well.

Once the shape was made, however, holding it in place while cooling it was a far less intense endeavor, as Noctis allowed the now tempered steel vessel to cool fully before altering it with more typical means. With the still warm pressure vessel cooling down naturally, Noctis allowed it to come to rest gently upright against his blade, the threat of severe deformation now gone. In the meantime, Noctis could get started on something far more relaxing and less prone to catastrophic failure.

Walking over to one of his recently acquired rolls of wool, Noctis hoisted the material over his shoulder and walked over to his makeshift workbench, constructed from the containers left behind in the warehouse from the previous owners. Stacked along the edges of the metal and wooden crates were various supplies given to him or smuggled out of Goldov's Laboratory. The chemical agent he had used to treat his duracloth mesh was left carefully labeled and set aside in multiple plastic bottles. Using the same process, Noctis sought to create a near identical mesh, only instead using the natural flame retardant properties of wool to replace the steel fiber that had been used in his previous invention.

Whistling a tune, Noctis rolled up his sleeves and tossed his cloak to the side, ready to get to some more hands on work. Pulling a plastic tub from the stack of donated materials, the longleg poured out enough of the treatment agent to fill the container to it's halfway point. Taking the wool, Noctis slowly unraveled a meter of the fluffy fabric, cutting it off and setting the remainder on the floor next to him. Taking a pair of disposable gloves, Noctis brandished them like a professional before dunking the wool into the container of potent liquid, letting it saturate and weigh itself down and flat. After a few moments submerged, Noctis removed the darkened material and wrung it tightly, letting all of the excess agent fall back into the container. Now left with a relatively thin strip of treated wool, Noctis left it to hang off the edge of the metal crate he worked on to dry.

It was but one step of many identical steps, but compared to the concentration required previously, the tedium didn't bother Noctis nearly as much as it would have normally. Working away, Noctis managed to pump out a dozen or so strips of wool in less than an hour, letting them dry as he hesitantly turned his attention back to the pressure vessel that had given him so much grief.

Sliding his textiles on his 'desk' off to the side, Noctis stood from his seat and walked over to gently tap the steel vessel with the back of his hand, checking to make sure it had cooled thoroughly before he began his modifications. Sure enough, the steel that was once warm was now slightly cool to the touch, allowing Noctis to pick it up and walk it over to his station. Currently no more than a pill like capsule, the gas human still had to 'create' an entrance to allow his gas to enter the hollow chamber within without escaping afterwards. A simple threaded cap would be more than enough, and even allow it to almost disguise itself as some sort of thermos or drinking cup.

Taking the edge of his weapon, Noctis pressed firmly down onto the vessel roughly three quarters up it's length horizontally in order to start threading the container. However, as soon as force was applied, a burst of air expanded rapidly from the small slit Noctis had created, having been trapped inside during the formation of the vessel. It came as a shock, but the longleg honestly wasn't sure why he didn't anticipate it. He was the one who put the gas inside, after all. Despite the steel container not letting up with it's surprises, the air leak didn't create any damage that couldn't be worked around, leaving Noctis feel somewhat fortunate.

Pressing down further, the vessel slit itself along the edge of Noctis weapon clear to the other side, leaving Noctis with two pieces, one slightly longer than the other as intended. Not wanting to press his luck any further, however, Noctis elected to leave the steel shaping to people more adept than himself for now. Setting the two pieces down onto the workbench, Noctis reluctantly gave Devroux a call on his baby den den mushi, letting him know he not only had a favor to ask, but also to show him his new fire-resistant creation, offering the mink a free prototype as a way to make temporary amends for breaking the window of his shop until Noctis was able to amass the funds required.

[exit]