[BONUS] HALF-BAKED HACKS

[Bonus chappy thanks to Mr. Ham <3 (2/6)]

Without disrupting the little array the mysterious person had going here, Leonel began to mine the Dark Force-tainted Evolution Ore.

The number was quite a bit and could only be measured in kilograms, as per usual.

"Anastasia, what do you think would happen if I dumped these in Cleansing Water? Would they become a purer version of whatever this mutation is? Or would they return to the original Evolution Ore they came from?"

"It's hard to say, you'll probably just have to test it out."

Leonel nodded. The deciding factor would probably be if these ores had fundamentally changed enough in character to become a new type of ore entirely. If not, the latter would occur, but if so... he might be able to create a far stronger version of what was in his palms now instantly.

'Well, this experiment will decide whether I continue to be a good person or not.'

Leonel smiled and tossed one of the ores into the Segmented Cube, then observed it from outside. There was a hint of a sizzle, and Leonel raised an eyebrow.

It actually looked as though the ore was trying to fight back against the influence of the Cleansing Water. No, more accurately, it was trying to absorb the character of the Cleansing Waters as well, something that made Leonel chuckle.

He had come a long way since Aina gawked at the fact he used Cleansing Waters to flush his toilet, he knew just how valuable these waters were now. It was doubtful that these Cleansing Waters came from the Crafting of the Minerva Race.

It was more than likely that the reason the Minerva Race picked Anastasia to Craft the Segmented Cube in the first place was due to the existence of Cleansing Waters in the first place.

If he was correct, everything else was secondary to its existence, and Cleansing Waters were definitely a huge deal.

"Speaking of which, Anastasia. You probably comprehend Cleansing Waters more than anyone else, right? You aren't holding back on me, are you?"

A snort echoed in Leonel's ears as he continued to watch the situation of the ore.

"You finally think to ask?"

"You know, sometimes, you can just tell me things out of the goodness of your heart."

Anastasia laughed, but quickly stopped. It seemed that she felt that she would prefer to try and pretend to be stern instead.

"There's nothing much to explain. Like I said, my mind isn't as flexible as yours is. I might be able to speak and interact with you, but I'm ultimately a World Spirit. I can only tell you that Cleansing Waters are the ultimate cleansers of the world. They have no match."

Anastasia said this quite simply, but Leonel suddenly felt a hint of sadness. It didn't come from Anastasia, but rather himself. Sparks flew in his Dreamscape and connections he had ignored until now formed one after another.

He had come across so many World Spirits now, especially after the wars he waged in the Dimensional Verse. They were all simple blobs of instinct, each one not having thoughts of their own.

He had always dismissed this as a matter for Incomplete Worlds. Anastasia was a World Spirit from a Complete World, she was different... no?

But now, in this one conversation of hers, she first mentioned how odd her memory was and how when she regressed, she lost much of the context of things. When she helped Leonel look for things, she could find them, but she couldn't analyze them and logically break things down like Leonel could. Even with her own Cleansing Waters, she could only give Leonel a rough description of it and couldn't even decide for him whether it would work for his plans or not.

These all sounded like things that should frustrate Leonel, things that he should reprimand Anastasia for, but that wasn't how he felt at all... he just felt sad.

All of these things made it feel like Anastasia was one step above a normal animal, but a step below a human.

She could interact with the world on a higher level than an animal, but her mind was less flexible than a true intelligent being.

Soon, Leonel's sadness turned to discontent.

"That Minerva Race is filled with nothing but half-baked hacks," Leonel suddenly spat, his good mood spoiled.

Anastasia was stunned, why did he say that all of a sudden?

And why was she crying all of a sudden?

"... You idiot... The Minerva Race was well known to have the greatest Crafters to ever existence..." she said between sobs.

"Then Existence is filled with nothing but half-baked slobs who could have never been allowed to pick up a Force Quill in the first place. What do you think, Tolliver?"

Bloop* Bloop*

Tolliver had been mostly silent these days, but Leonel could tell that he was taking in this new world. The sights and feelings were all new, and Leonel could feel that the little guy was passively sucking up a large amount of Force every second.

Unfortunately, Leonel couldn't wear it as an arm sleeve like he liked to do before, in case it caused him trouble. But now he had gone back to doing so, so Tolliver heard him loud and clear.

Although Leonel didn't say it in so many words, Anastasia understood his intentions quite well.

One day he'd improve the Segmented Cube and instead of Anastasia's prison, it would become her home.

Leonel continued cursing under his breath as he mined.

"Best Crafters in Existence my ass."

They Crafted Anastasia as the final hope to save their Race, apparently. But this incomplete prison was the best they could do? The more he thought about it, the more furious he was.

Anastasia slowly calmed down and the two got their answer.

The mutation had indeed progressed far enough, and the ore became an even purer form of what could now only be called Dark Evolution Ore.

"Someone is coming," Anastasia suddenly said.

An image of a young man wearing a pair of goggles that reminded Leonel a lot of Goggles' own pair appeared. © content.

He looked a bit flustered, and even a hint guilty, but the excitement in his eyes shone bright.