Chapter 9
Inside the time-accelerated pocket dimension, a dozen people of various races sat around Keith, fumbling around with their mana. Though they appeared like any other, they were the best array artisans in the Innate Nation, their array crafting levels surpassing 750. In addition, they had all recently unlocked the Mana Manipulation skill.
At Frisk’s request, Keith was tutoring them on how to level it effectively, and seeing them make swift progress made him envious. Unfortunately, after reaching level 500, Keith's mana control exercises had no further effect, so he lacked the confidence to resolve his predicament. He could only give it another try.
Three hours later, Keith had gone through his exercises dozens of times when he realized something was amiss. While training, he had spent over ten million mana to keep Mind Division and Mind Enhancement active, yet to Keith’s surprise, the Mana Sickness notification he expected to show up never arrived. Apparently, his Mana Body had significantly boosted his resistance to the erosion of mana. Interesting.
At this point, Keith decided to increase the complexity of his exercises by adding to the number of shapes he formed. When that did nothing, he started morphing them into different objects as they moved.
Finally, a notification appeared.
Congratulations! Your Mana Manipulation skill reached level 501 from 500!
From this, Keith deduced that to level Mana Manipulation further, complexity was the key. Now that he knew the path forward, Keith became fully engrossed in his training.
Congratulations! Your Mana Manipulation skill reached level 502 from 501!
Congratulations! Your Mana Manipulation skill reached level 503 from 502!
Congratulations! Your Mana Manipulation skill reached level 504 from 503!
Every notification was like consuming a drug, and the surge of motivation that came with every level up numbed Keith to the passage of time. The days came and went; before he knew it, he had reached level 557.
By now, the senior array artisans no longer needed his guidance. Standing to his feet, Keith stretched his stiff shoulders and explained, “Professors, I’ve shared everything I know. The rest is up to you.”
“Thank you,” a female dwarf looked away from her mana exercise and spoke gratefully.
Keith shook his head, “I did what I should.”
“If I learn anything special, I’ll be sure to inform you,” said Gregory, a bespectacled male orc who worked for the government.
“Same here,” said the rest.
“We might as well end our group training sessions,” Gregory adjusted his glasses. “Before we separate, I want to announce something. Frisk has hogged this pocket dimension long enough, and I’ve already received the necessary authority. Starting now, each of you can use this place as you please.”
The expressions of the array artisans transformed into that of delight. They had caught wind of the time-accelerated pocket dimension long ago and were beyond envious that Frisk had it all to himself.
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“NOO!” A desperate howl came from afar as Frisk ran over, his unkempt appearance disgusting all who saw it. Followed by a musty air, he confronted Gregory with a pointed finger. “You can’t do this to me! This is my workspace! Mine!”
Gregory stepped back to avoid the smell and spoke evenly, “Mr. Frisk, behave yourself.”
Frisk let out an exaggerated harrumph. “I see how it is. You people work me to the bone, and after squeezing out all the value I have, you toss me to the side.”
“You exaggerate, Mr. Frisk,” Gregory replied, considering Frisk’s antics as nothing more than that of a misbehaving child. “I don’t need to explain to you, of all people, that the time-accelerated pocket dimension holds immense value for scientists. It was already generous enough of Lady Yara to allow you exclusive use for so many months.”
Frisk didn’t give up. “My work efficiency will plummet with all the racket they’ll create. Can you take responsibility for that?”
“Put up a noise-canceling array,” Gregory shrugged.
While Gregory and Frisk argued back and forth, the respected array masters behaved as spectators, their expressions full of schadenfreude. They both admired and envied Frisk – admiration for his talent and envy for his treatment. Frisk was spoiled rotten by the Innate Nation’s upper echelons, so seeing Gregory knock him down a notch gave them great pleasure.
After a few minutes of tit-for-tat, Frisk abruptly grew calm. Giving Gregory a smirk, he asked, “Are you certain you want to impede my current project?”
Pausing, Gregory looked past Frisk to a half-finished artillery cannon thirty feet long in the distance. Arrays undecipherable to him covered the metallic weapon from head to toe. Having never seen such a massive contraption, Gregory was uncertain. Turning back to Frisk, he conceded, “If that thing’s importance outweighs over a hundred top array artisans working in this time-accelerated pocket dimension, then fine, I’ll speak with Lady Yara to allocate another Mana Reactor for you to use as you wish.”
“Heh,” Frisk raised his chin. “That thing over there? Would you believe me if I said it’s capable of posing a lethal threat to level 1,000s?”
Everyone froze except Gregory, who laughed in anger. “Mr. Frisk, while I can normally tolerate your antics, joking about something like that isn’t funny in the slightest.”
To the upper echelons of the Innate Nation, the level 1,000 opponents standing against them were their greatest worry. Yara and countless others had spent decades searching for methods to overcome this obstacle and found no easy answers, so for Frisk to come out of nowhere with a solution left Gregory uncharacteristically flustered.
Frisk found Gregory’s disbelief understandable. Slouching slightly, he explained, “I stand by what I said.”
The pocket dimension turned so silent you could hear a pin drop. Taking a deep breath, Gregory hid his shaking hands inside his sleeves, asking, “How quickly can you produce them? How many? 5? 10?”
“10?” Frisk’s eyes almost popped out of their sockets. “It takes at least three Mana Reactors to power one of them, more if you want to reduce the cooldown time between shots.”
“Three each?” Gregory gasped.
Frisk shook his head. “That’s already pretty good, in my opinion. Why don’t you see if the other dimensions can produce something like this?”
“You’re right,” Gregory calmed down. Smoothing his clothes, he said, “I need to report to Lady Yara as soon as possible.”
Before anyone could react, Gregory sprinted for the exit, though right before he vanished, Frisk shouted, “Don’t forget your promise!”
****
The Innate Nation’s Skynet covered three zones: Serenity Canyon, Mandara Desert, and Typhoon Beach. From the outside, the Skynet was nearly invisible, and only if someone were close would they notice a shimmer in the air. On the inside, a flurry of activity was underway.
When the Skynet first activated, the Innate Nation’s leadership knew they had at most a week or two before foreign forces discovered its existence. Before that happened, they had to build a defensive line spanning three zones strong enough to defend against their opponents. And so, for the past four days, millions of people from the military and civilian sectors worked day and night, constructing fortifications.
For this grand undertaking, the Innate Nation invested a significant portion of the resources it had accumulated over the past year.
On the first day, they set up a network of teleportation arrays throughout the three zones, allowing for easy transportation of personnel and materials.
On the second day, they carved a path hundreds of miles long, removing any trees, mountains, or bodies of water in the way.
On the third day, they laid the foundations for a grand wall and numerous fortresses.
On the fourth day, the Innate Nation’s leadership turned to their array masters and said, ‘No matter how expensive, we only want the best.’ Delighted, array artisans, both old and young, came out in full force, using the crystallization of their knowledge to erect mighty arrays. Whether it was the floor, ceiling, walls, tunnels, or furniture, they slapped the best array they could make on it.
And yet, just as the Innate Nation was on the precipice of finishing the wall, an elite delegation from the Elemental Dimension rapidly approached, brimming with the intent to kill.