With the introduction of the new AI, progress has increased by several times. Daedalus’s army of GARs worked night and day on the large underground bunker that would become my permanent base. With a mental command, I checked up on the progress of the construction.
Daedalus: Total progress at 5.77%. Current task: Excavation and reinforcement of surrounding earth.
“Good. Continue your work.”
I only received a dull acknowledgement as a response. Unlike Eve, they had very little in the way of intelligence. Their entire purpose was to attend to their designated tasks, and outside of that had no real ideas or thoughts.
Over the last 4 days, I examined all the books and information gathered from Ocaephis before sending it off to Eidolon for categorization and storage. I had ordered Fuxi to briefly pause his fabrication to make a few storage chips for Eidolon to use. The books revealed so much useful information, things I had never even conceived of before. For one, there were more races than just the humans and elves. The nation of Aktosia that bordered Pithus to the northeast was inhabited by the gremlins, a race of tiny humanoids that specialized in a strange type of robotics and machinery. They were said to only stand about a meter tall, with large bald heads, thin twig-like arms, and black skin. The book I purchased had an illustrated diagram, allowing me to see the fact that the gremlins had bone spurs all along their bodies, with many concentrated along the joints. The book went into further detail, explaining that gremlins had found a way to make metal constructs that served a similar purpose to golems, albeit without the same intelligence and emotions golems were capable of. Their machines of war were popular among the other nations, but their cost oftentimes overshadowed their usefulness. In fact, the ballistas that I had seen along the wall at Ocaephis had been purchased from the gremlins.
“It would be interesting to see how the machines of the gremlins would compare to those of Earth.”
Along with the gremlins, there were also the yanwu, which controlled the distant kingdom of Thenia. They were a strange race, whose members could take many forms. A book, titled The Sinful yanwu, explored their curious origins and anatomy. The yanwu were said to be the result of forbidden experimentation of ancient mages that dabbled in the Law of Life, although most considered it to only be a legend and not fact. Most yanwu were horrible animal-human hybrids, with many possessing asymmetrical and distorted features. Some might have one hand in the shape of a cat paw while the other hand would be more human-like, or have tufts of fur growing out of random places, or have impacted and misaligned teeth. Due to their horrifying yet varied appearances, the yanwu were treated as abominations by the other races. The few that were blessed with more normal or above average appearances were forced to reproduce with others with similar good looks, and then be sold as slaves for the highest bidder. The yanwu had many different hybrids in their ranks, including both carnivorous and herbivorous animal hybrids. Although their diverse physiques made mass-production of weapons and armaments difficult, the heightened senses, battle prowess, and animalistic ferocity of their members more than made up for it.
The last nation on the continent was called Senland, occupied by the elf-human crossbreeds. By far the smallest nation, Senland only had 1 port city, and often struggled economically. Their saving grace was the Vikkan river that stretched through the country, and whose offshoots provided many resources. Senland harvested the large amounts of clay found within the river, turning them into beautiful sculptures, ceramics, and pottery before selling them to the neighboring empires. Another reason it had not been conquered yet is that it was a central location between Pithus, Hvenesia, Akasosia, and Thenia. Should one of the empires attempt to invade, the others would see it as danger to their borders, heightening the tensions between them.
The elf-human hybrids themselves were unassuming, with most appearing to be humans with extremely pale skin and slightly pointed ears. Depending on how strong the elf blood in them was, they might be born with 6 or 7 fingers and toes, as well as slightly lustrous hair. Due to the war between Hvenesia and Pithus, the half-breed children would be deported from both countries to Senland, while the parents were typically executed as traitors.
“If I ever have the chance, I would be interested in doing some genetic testing of the other races to get a better idea of what exactly they are.”
“[I believe such knowledge would be invaluable.]”
Aside from learning about the other races and nations on the continent, I was able to gain a new level of understanding of the vitae vortices and their effects by studying a book called ‘Vitae and its Mysteries: A Guide to the Effects of Vitae on the World’. When mages manipulate Laws, they release vitae into the world. The more they manipulate the Laws, the more vitae is released. Once enough Vitae has accumulated in the world, a vitae vortex is formed, a swirling and violent storm of vitae. The vitae concentration is said to be much more potent within the vortices, making the Laws much more powerful within them.
If a normal mage’s power outside of a vortex could be compared to a candle, inside a vortex, they would turn into a bonfire. Due to the high concentration of vitae, everything within the vortex becomes permeated with it, with the objects and creatures closer to the center having a stronger concentration of vitae. As I had previously learned, vitae vortices were how vitae-infused materials were created, but interestingly, the book explained that the animals caught within the vortices would also be influenced. The vitae would soak into their flesh and blood, which in turn would allow them to influence the Laws like mages.
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The meat and body parts of these animals were even more valuable than the vitae-infused materials, as the consumption of these meats could strengthen the body of those that consumed it, although it would not allow them to manipulate Laws. The more concentrated the vitae in the meat, the stronger it would make one’s body when it was eaten. However, the book explained that it differed when it came to insects. Insects caught within a vitae vortex would immediately burrow into the ground, traveling to the nearest aggregate. Aggregates were places where insects infused with vitae would gather, and oftentimes had cities built around them. The aggregates had a similar appearance to anthills, leading deep underground. Every aggregate was inhabited by millions of giant bugs, making eradication nearly impossible. But to some, aggregates were a great opportunity. Soldiers in training would often be tasked with conducting cleansing runs to get them used to battle, while selling the chitin and body parts of the insects could bring large profits.
“I guess I was wrong before. Vitae isn’t a type of cell, but something different. Unless vitae can take several forms?”
“[If you acquire more samples and test subjects, you may be able to get a better idea of what exactly vitae is.]”
“Eh, either way, no use worrying about it now.”
Taking my mind off of my studies, I went over the other developments that had occurred over the past few days. Fuxi had fabricated everything aside from the squall model combat drones and the dianmu model gunner robots.
Fuxi: Current progress: 47/200 dianmu model gunner robots fabricated, 0/500 squall model combat drones fabricated.
Pitman: Current stores: 553 kilograms of iron, 485 kilograms of steel, 271 kilograms of copper, 169 kilograms of nickel, 304 kilograms of zinc, 23 kilograms of rarer assorted metals.
Peregrine Model 1.0: Current stores of natural resources: 473 kilograms of fruit to be refined into plastic.
“Lets go ahead and call those plastifruits then.”
Peregrine Model 1.0: Understood. New designation ‘plastifuits’ registered.
Boar Model 1.0: No intruders reported. Continuing normal security procedures.
“Good. That reminds me, I should go see Aurea and Mors, and check up on the elves. “
Taking control of one of the available Ashray simi-liquid infiltrators, I accustomed myself to the strange sensation of being made up of millions of tiny pieces. Ashrays were composed of millions of tiny robots that could shift and move to alter their physical appearance. Their only downside was their core, a ball approximately 12 centimeters in diameter that resided in their center. If the core was destroyed or separated from the nanobots, the nanobots would lose cohesion until a core was reintroduced. Concentrating, I took the shape of a young man, about 6 feet tall, with black hair and dark brown eyes. I quickly realized I was nude, and reconstructed myself to give myself the appearance of wearing a set of cotton clothes and leather boots.
“That’s so convenient. No wonder liquid and semi-liquid robots were so popular back on Earth.”
I remembered how big of a fad semi-liquid robots were when they were first introduced. Sadly, they were way too expensive for my dad to afford. Stepping out of the mine, I made my way up the hill and to the log cabins. Hearing my footsteps, Aurea popped her head out the door, expecting to see Mors or one of the elves.
“Who the hell are you, and how did you get here?” She demanded to know once she saw me in my new body.
I laughed, “Calm down there. It’s me, Evan.”
“Really?” she asked with suspicion in her eyes.
“Yep,” I replied, holding up a hand and shifting the nanobots to create a rippling effect down my arm. “I just have a new body, that’s all.”
Aurea let out a sigh of relief, “Don’t do that again, otherwise next time I might accidentally stab you.”
I laughed before inquiring on the whereabouts of Mors and the elves.
“Oh, Mors is hanging out in their cabin right now. We can go over now if you want?”
“In a bit, I actually have something for you.”
“Really?” she asked with anticipation in her eyes.
Taking out the pistol I had brought with me, I handed it to her grip first. “Be very careful with this. It’s basically a handheld bow that shoots tiny pieces of metal.”
Aurea accidentally pulled the trigger as she grabbed the pistol, causing a small pop to erupt. Fortunately, the bullet only hit the ground, leaving a small indentation in the dirt. The sudden sound startled her into dropping the pistol.
“Woah woah woah,” I said, taking control of the situation. “I said be careful.”
“I guess I can’t really expect her to know what the trigger was.”
“[It was your fault for not properly instructing her on how to hold and use it.]”
“Yeah yeah Mom, I get it.”
“[I am not your mother.]”
“No, but you’re acting like it.”
I picked the pistol up, explaining, “You see this bit here? That’s called the trigger. It’s what shoots out the small pieces of metal. Never have your finger on it unless you are ready to shoot it.”
Grabbing her hands, I gently guided her on how to properly hold the pistol, as well as explaining its functions. I made sure to drill the proper safety procedures into her, knowing that an untrained individual with a gun was only slightly less dangerous than a trained one.