"Oh yeah! Well pick one of these buildings here, this is the Silver Rectangle as you can see, and it-" "GLOSS IT'S THE IRON SQUARE!"
"Cald it's clearly silver and a rectangle, I have been thinking about it okay?" Glossarai said back.
"But there isn't Silver here...They would actually use the iron...And square sounds better!" Cald replied.
"Okay fine, call it what you want. Either way, this is the smithing section, there is a jewelry area I was thinking I could put in over there, and a leatherworker set of buildings just North of us...I will need to see what resources they will need besides leather cause we can't help them with that." Gloss went on.
"So we can just claim one of these shops and we are fine?" One of the previously quiet Wolf Beastkin spoke.
"Hmm well, maybe we should show you around first." Caldesan led them into the nearest building while putting her helmet in her inventory.
Gloss then began to describe everything that was already in each building. There was the main floor with 'Stations' ready to be built in, with walls in between each one. The stations are even in size, 10 meters wide and 5 meters deep. Each one had lights, a faucet for water, a waste hopper that you could dump items into, that would be destroyed, and room to build a forge. However the Pioneers couldn't figure out how to make an open flame smelter for heating items, so they just put steel beams, concrete bags, and copper tubing with a hole in the ceiling for smoke to exit. They could make their own with these resources.
There was also a back room with shelves built into the walls and a break room with a fridge, a sink, a microwave, and a table and chairs. There was a restroom, a shower, and a room with large lockers with places to hang clothing and equipment. So they could wear normal clothes to work, change there, and shower, then go home in clean clothes. There was also a small series of bunks in case they were working very late and just wanted to nap.
The 5 'stations' were in the very front entrance to the building with the breakroom and those other amenities in the back left. The very back right was available in case they wanted a direct path to their market for finished items, so they could have a back and forth from their shop over in the Market District. There were six evenly stacked item hoppers on one wall with what looked to be piles of ingots of different metals there. Caldesan walked over to the item hoppers.
"So right now we only have Iron, Copper, and Steel ingots, but we can expand that soon, and we put a hopper for charcoal, but do you need that? I wasn't sure if you needed that." Caldesan asked, Glossarai looked over curiously as well as if she was waiting to see the outcome of a previous bet between her and Cald.
"I would 'ave ta see the coal, how clean it burns, how much smoke it makes, the purity. Speaking of which can you hand me an ingot of your Iron? Among others...I wonder how pure this is." Bale asked in his grumbling grumpy voice.
Cald smiled and said, "Sure!" She then walked right up to the Iron Ingot Hopper, put her hand on the visible ingot pile, and then turned to Bale.
Bale had his hands out ready to accept the single ingot she grabbed, but when she dropped it in her hands it was a pile of 12 ingots.
While she handed it to him she said, "One iron ingot, voila!!" Cald had a smile the whole time and Bale raised an eyebrow and looked at her while she just dropped 12 times as much as he asked to see in his hands.
"What are ya talkin' bout missy, this is 12 ingots."
Cald looked confused, then thoughtful. "Ooohhhh Gloss, it's cause back in Satisfactory the single ingot was this pile here. That is interesting. Oh man, Gloss, we might have made it so they have too much per smithy! Is that bad?"
"Oh, yeah that is interesting, so Mr. Bale, could you tell me how many ingots you would use per day?" Gloss asked.
"NO, take these things outta my hands so I can inspect ONE! Then we can talk about how much I be using!" Bale nearly yelled.
"Oops! I got it!." Cald said, she then put her hand on the ingots, and all of them disappeared.
She then put the whole stack back in his arms as a frown formed on her brow. This went on another 10 or so times as Bale was starting to growl in frustration from the weight.
The weight of each ingot can weigh upwards of 25 kilos or approximately 55 pounds. To multiply that by 12, it added up very fast. Every time Cald dropped the stack into his hands he would grunt with the effort, but Bale was exceptionally strong so he was able to hold the weight.
"CALD STOP! Just grab one!" Gloss could no longer watch Cald try to figure out that she would have to separate the pile before grabbing one, as she just walked over and grabbed one in each hand and threw them into the waste bin.
"Gloss you are doing it wrong, just grab one from the stack THEN put the rest in your inventory! Hah! What would you do without me Gloss?" Cald said.
Gloss then realized she was right and was just throwing the ingots into the waste. She sighed.
Cald handed the ingot to Bale and he began inspecting it. His left hand was covered in a scaled glove that had arcane-looking circles that glowed and then seemed to flash with energy. He looked at it for a long time.
Finally, Bale looked up at the Pioneers, "Well, I can honestly say I have never seen a non-treated iron ingot this pure. You didn't get it from these mountains did ye?"
"Hmmm well that's not entirely true, it is from here, but we laid the vein," Glossarai said.
"You laid the vein..." He just looked Gloss, dead in the eye.
"So? Do you like the ingot? Also, how many do you use per minute?" Caldesan said.
"Per minute?!? Lass' do ye even know what yer askin? I couldn't use 12 of these in a day unless I had all the energy and strength in the world. And you are asking about per minute? Just how many ingots have you made here?" His tone was cold and slow, but it wasn't threatening, it was trying to clarify to maintain his sanity.
"Well, each building has 50 ingots per minute incoming! 600 per minute total for the whole block! We will have a full container of 4,800 Ingots for every metal by this afternoon." Caldesan said excitedly.
Glossarai was just then remembering that the obscene amount of production that Satisfactory has at the end game would not quite be fathomable to the normal person.
"What's wrong?" Caldesan asked.
Almost every person was staring off into the distance, trying to process the ramifications of what was just said.
Marchen then spoke up, "And you said you can 'Make a gold vein' and have many ingot piles like that also, yes?" While staring straight at Gloss. He saw the recognition in her eyes, if not her aura, as she realized that they could literally make gold. It wasn't an expression of greed, it was rather one of fear.
"Oh, I get it, you guys are worried we will make a bunch of money and not share it?" Caldesan asked.
"No Cald, we just created enough money to flip an economy upside-down...Okay, do we destroy the Caterium...er gold and pretend like it never happened?" Gloss asked seriously.
"Honestly we might just need to pretend that...that never happened," Marchen said.
__________________________________________
Glossarai was taking care of the smiths, setting up anything or making any changes they wanted and during that time Caldesan was hard at work creating the renewable farms. It was a mod that took in a few different resources which included water, biomass, and power. The power was negligible and the water was connected through the ground with water tubes already. Caldesan just had to connect everything to the town's power grid and set up what each would make, or at least leave it so they could choose.
She counted and there were 24 of these farms in the Industrial District. She had made another water retrieval section where they could access a huge stack of water. This water could be diverted to the farms in case the other water source ran out or something along those lines.
The waste destruction plant was just another spot where they could manually throw waste onto a series of belts that were at the base of some ramps. It would suck the trash to unknown locations to be destroyed, which was just the standard item sinks just located underground. But there was enough room for if they ever had garbage trucks or other types of vehicles to go through and dump onto the belts with ease.
That was about all for the Industrial District so Caldesan made a few warehouses that could be used for a bunch of different purposes. All had the basic needs plopped into one corner, with room for vehicles to enter bay doors and a parking lot outside for each building.
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Caldesan went to find Gloss as all they had left was the Administration District and this town would be complete!
"Hey, Gloss! The farms are all done! And hooked up!"
Cald had yelled that while flying at a moderate speed, it was easily transmitted through the voice chat they were in. "Cald, please stop yelling in my ear."
It was then that an odd screen appeared on both of their HUDs.
UPDATE 5 INCOMING
Prepare for relaunch in 3, 2, 1, and Engage.
And just that fast Gloss had time to yell, "Oh shit, we are updating."
"What?" everyone around them said.
"AHHHHHH!" Cald yelled.
And just like that, both Pioneers fell limp. Caldesans fall was horrible to watch as her body rag-dolled, but no words or sounds at all were spoken. It was like both were just immediately dead. But then they turned into immovable silver toolboxes.
"What just happened?" Pault Freeman asked with a shocked look of horror on his face.
"Did they....are they...." Nalah started to breathe heavily as she tried to move Glossarai's box.
"I don't believe they died." High Priestess Alana spoke.
"What do you mean?" Marchen asked, trying to pull himself from his stupor.
"Well, I believe Glossarai used the term 'updating' right before she....turned into that," Alana explained.
"So, what do we do to bring them back?" Nalah asked worriedly.
"I don't know," Alana said.
__________________________________________
Back at the desert base two Pioneers were refilling inventories and talking about update 5. "BEAMS GLOSS! BEAAAMS!"
"Yeah, I know! There are a lot, I am personally most excited about the trains, I mean they added collisions but the new controls are amazing! I can't wait to finish the tracks on the way back to Idlefrost."
"Oh, we should get going, wanna just fly back there?" Cald asked.
"Yeah I am ready, I have everything I need for now." Gloss said.
As they left the sorting room of their desert base Cald took a second to watch the updated trains interact, they no longer collided and instead waited at the intersections, it was extremely entertaining to watch. She smiled behind her helmet at Gloss and she replied to the gesture, "I know, right? I could watch the trains all day!"
"Haha me too!"
Then they took off into the desert, not going very fast, as they were putting in new signals for the train tracks the whole way back. They were also creating a second track for the other direction on top of it. That way it took them nearly 3 hours to get there but there were now more people in the town, and when they came back they noticed things had changed slightly, it finally had the feel of a town.
__________________________________________
Shivan Treska, the Adventure Society Representative sent to meet these Pioneers, was riding upon her horse. The fact that the horse was an Ice Construct created by her power was not something to ignore. It was equally as impressive as the Giant Ram that the Dwarven Crafter next to her was riding.
She thinks crafter but the dwarf is a wide-scale architect and builder. His stone-shaping skills were that of legend. It is said he made an entire mountain interior into a large-scale home for his family. "So, Algarad, what do you expect to see?"
A deep rumble from the older dwarf came in the form of a thoughtful sigh, "Ahhhhhhhh, well hmmm, they could be something. I do see something strange in the distance that my eyes cannot yet see clearly."
"I see it too, it is a strange structure that goes into the distance."
"Hmmmmm, well if that is something that these new Pioneers have created, then I am very much looking forward to seeing what kind of magic they possess." Algarad Deepdelver said slowly.
Shivan smirked back at him, before looking back at the small army of guild personnel that is following them, "We must go faster, there is something to see up ahead."
Everyone moved to comply with the terrifying spell sword and her evil smile.
Nearly 20 minutes later they came across the beginnings of a road, with towers lining the edges of it.
"What is this Algarad?" Shivan asked while gesturing to the metal-looking beam that curved around on the concrete towers.
"Hmmm, I am not sure, it almost looks like something could travel along it, but it is strange that it only has one track. I am not sure, but it is made with a precision that I could only copy on stone. This is obviously a metal of sorts. Steel I think." Algarad said.
"And this road? These lights that do not flicker?" Shivan asked.
"My Stone Sense is saying it is a mixture of different stones..but it is also not. It is like it exists not entirely on this plane. It would be nearly indestructible in this way. How curious." Algarad said. His fellow Crafting Society associates were taking notes of every word.
"Well, this should be a faster journey on such an even road," Shivan concluded.
The group picked up the pace and finally made it around the southern mountain until the steel beam and road they had been following came to a massive structure that looked like some sort of temple or palace.
"It almost looks to be made entirely of metal. A metal mage perhaps?" Shivan speculated.
"There must be at least two then, the work with this stone mixture is incredible," Algarad said. "This road goes all the way up over there! But what is that bridge?"
As the party of representatives looked up a few figures seemed to be flying through the clear tubes, they were shocked when Earth-Shrine Guardian Lorella was suddenly standing at the base of that huge building.
"Ah, Algarad Deepdelver and Shivan Treska, welcome to Idlefrost." The town leader gestured up the road leading to the plateau between the sibling mountains.
There were 4 waterfalls and an overlooking deck to the left of the road and the town itself seemed to be raised nearly 20 meters since the last time they were here. The waterfalls were not from cliffs but rather from the roof of large rectangular buildings.
"Lorella, it seems your town has received a massive upgrade?" Shivan said.
"Very true, these are means of construction I have never seen before," Algarad said still in shock.
"Well come and see our city, it is not even finished and yet it is an amazing place," Lorella said. The other people she had with her were political representatives. They just had knowing smiles as they exchanged brief greetings with the Guild members and their associates.
They finally coaxed people through the Hypertubes to land in the market district of town. "This is incredible it's like you have a whole different world here!" One of the aides to Algarad said excitedly.
"Aye, it is lad, this is amazing indeed. How long did this take to build? I have been here, not 3 years ago, yet a project like this...I would say at least 10 years by the fastest methods known." Algarad replied.
Lorella laughed quietly, "I too was shocked to see that the Pioneers are beyond normal expectations. What the most powerful destructive mage on the planet could do, they could build just as fast."
"It is truly a sight to behold." Marchen said, "It is as if they conjure resources from the fabric of reality, and these wonders we are surrounded by are just brought into existence from their minds."
"You speak highly of them...Where are these Pioneers then?" Shivan asked.
"They are on their way here, and should be here within the hour." Apprentice Shaman Nalah said.
"Come, let us head to the viewing deck so that we may watch for their arrival." Lorella offered and people just nodded as they looked around.
"How do they get the water up there?" Algarad asked. "They are using water summoning arrays or no conjuring? How is that accomplished?"
"It is quite a sight to see, they can harvest water and essentially bless it clean. It is water with all the minerals needed for consumption yet it is also extremely clean and filled with mana." Pault Freeman said.
"Oh?" Shivad asked.
"Indeed, this water is essentially blessed and cleansed." Pault continued. "Not only that, these are apartment buildings, they are entirely piped with water and waste extraction..it is incredible."
The Guild groups were examining everything when the call came.
"Ah, here they are now, our Pioneers." High Priestess Alana called.
"HEY EVERYONE!" An energetic voice came from the flying Pioneers.
"It is good to see you two healthy and flying. How did the update go?" Marchen asked, trying to somewhat hide the fact that they sort of turned into immovable boxes.
"Well yeah, it is incredible! We can't wait to show you what we can do now! The Administration District is going to be incredible." The one on the left said.
"Well Pioneers, we have some people to introduce you to..." Lorella gestured to a goddess of a woman with pitch-black hair and gorgeous dark skin. "The Adventuring Society Representative Shivan Treska." She had an ice-blue unsheathed sword that shimmered with an icy aura at her hip. Her leather armor was extremely well taken care of with magic circles glowing all around it. She had wrist bracers and a silver circle on her brow. Leather pants and boots that were the same dark grey leather as her chest piece. Her two panther ears were up and forward and a lithe black tail snaked around her.
"Good to meet you, Pioneers, I am Shivan Treska." She almost purred through her R's through it sent a chill down Caldesan's spine as she audibly gulped.
"And this is Algarad Deepdelver, Representative of the Crafting Society."
"Fine to meet both of you, those are odd helmets you have there," Algarad said.
"You don't like them?" One of them said as they tilted their heads.
Lorella hid a giggle.
"Uhh, no, not that ladies, it's just I haven't seen anything like it before. I am naturally curious about everything."
"Perhaps you should introduce yourselves...Pioneers?" Lorella asked.
"Oh of course." The one on the right said. They both made similar movements and removed their helmets at the same time. The reaction from the crowd was not just limited to the new party. It seemed as though they had ascended to another tier as they both looked slightly different. Their eyes were now fiercely glowing blue for Caldesan and purple for Glossarai.
"So I am Caldesan, and this is Gloss. We are the Pioneers!"
"Cald this isn't an anime intro." Glossarai whispered, "Sorry about that, I am Glossarai but you can call me Gloss."
"Nice to meet ya," Algarad said.
"Good to meet you both," Shivan said.
"Well, I want to build! We have some crazy upgrades and both Gloss and I have great ideas for administration buildings!!! Dibs on the Adventurers Guild building!"
"Dibs on the Library!" Gloss replied with a smile.
"Dibs on the Bank!"
"Hospital!"
"Courthouse!"
"Wait, what do you mean Adventure Society Building? I thought we already had a branch here." Shivan asked with a frown.
"Oh Shivan, let them build it first, and if you don't like it they can remake it. Trust me, I asked them to build a road in one hour..an impossible task.
And they made the massive train yard, the item bridge, and the road up here." Lorella said.
"Now where would the Crafting Society building go?"
"Oh my! Cald, Dibs on the Crafting SOCIETY BUILDING!" Gloss said loudly as Cald was about to claim the same.
She instead turned her head away and "HMPH"
"Hey! Don't Hmph me. You get the Adventure Society Building and I'll do the Crafting one. It's only fair."
"Fine! But mine is going to be way more amazing!"
"A moment, please," Algarad asked with the patience of a saint. "You are both capable of creating buildings by yourselves?"
"Yup!"
"Yes, we together have built this town in the last few days, but we are not yet finished." Gloss said.
"So how did you come up with your designs? Where did you get the materials, what is that steel structure that travels along the road?" Algarad asked.
"Hmmm, well we make most of our building designs based on certain styles....which we mostly just put together. I will be honest, Cald here is better at decoration, while I am better at efficiency. Both are important though, and we like to make our designs help to facilitate that." Glossarai said.
"As for materials, it is mostly steel, iron, plastic, and concrete. And the train tracks are just that, tracks for a train!" Caldesan said.
"What is concrete and what are trains?" Algarad continued.
Lorella sighed while making eye contact with Nalah and Alana, both were wearing smiles. It was nice to have the Pioneers back, even if their antics were never-ending.