Alferd approached the trembling slime, holding a dry twig between his thumb and index finger like a surgeon holding a scalpel.
"Okay," he whispered. "Physics. Mass times acceleration. If I reduce the mass to this twig and the acceleration to a gentle nudge..."
"Just poke it, Sir Alferd," Elara called out from behind a very thick oak tree. "Do not swing. Just poke."
"Right. Poking."
Alferd extended his arm. He aimed for the center of the jelly. He barely flicked his wrist.
SNAP.
The sound wasn't a snap; it was a sonic boom.
The twig didn't just move; propelled by infinite strength, it accelerated to Mach 5 instantly. It became a blurring streak of amber light.
THWACK-BOOM.
The twig struck the slime. The slime didn't pop; it atomized. The kinetic energy transferred through the jelly, obliterating the rock behind it, drilled a hole through three subsequent trees, and vanished over the horizon with a whistling scream.
A mushroom cloud of dust rose from the impact site.
Alferd stood frozen, his hand still extended. He looked at the smoking crater where the slime used to be.
"I... I think I put too much spin on it."
Elara stepped out from cover, looking at the destruction. "You turned a stick into a siege ballista. The slime is gone. The loot is gone. The ground is gone."
"So... zero silver?"
"Negative silver," she sighed. "You owe nature an apology."
To be continued.....