: FACTORY

Leonel shot up. He jumped so high that he thought he would have crashed into the ceiling barely half way up, but he soon realized that somehow, the walls of the Segmented Cube had become far taller. In fact, when he looked around, even as he began to fall back to the ground, his eyes couldn't help but widen.

'This…'

Leonel was still in the bathhouse. At this point, any blood that had been here had long since disappeared. But, this was to be expected. After all, the self cleaning function of the Segmented Cube's bathhouse was unmatched for obvious reasons.

However, what Leonel saw wasn't the bathhouse he was used to, but what felt more like a bath mansion… No, a bath estate? No… A bath island? What the hell was going on…?

The bathhouse had suddenly become enormous. The pool couldn't even be described in meters anymore but could only have its dimensions broken down in kilometers. It was impossibly vast and could accommodate tens of thousands of people without issue.

At the same time, this was just the tip of the iceberg. Leonel could see that there were several more bathrooms, resting rooms, in addition to new additions like saunas and massage rooms? It felt like an ultimate destination resort where the 'pool' had instead become the beach front for everyone to admire.

What was most shocking was that in the sky… No, it was the fact that there was an actual sky at all!

The dome of the bathhouse had become glass and above, blue skies, white clouds and a yellow sun could be seen. Leonel had the feeling that it was artificial, maybe due to a faint connection he had with the Segmented Cube, but it nonetheless all looked so real.

When Leonel finally snapped out of it, he shuddered remembering what had happened to him. He could vaguely remember the sight of a little girl with motes of light for feet and legs in his half unconscious state. But, right now, she was nowhere to be seen.

Without a choice, Leonel could only do what he did best and ask the dictionary for help. Luckily, it was able to give him the straight answers he needed. Nôvel(D)rama.Org's content.

There were three types of answers the dictionary could provide. One was where it scanned and provided an answer. This was where its greatest limitations lied. The second were recorded segments. This was where his father got a chance to be annoying. And, the final were recorded answers.

Recorded answers were a bit different because they weren't recordings of his father but rather recordings of things Leonel believed his father had written.

For example, Leonel's Force Crafting lessons were 'recorded answers'. And now, the deeper matters of the Segmented Cube seemed to have been unlocked as lessons as well.

Leonel blinked. He hadn't known that the dictionary had hidden another tutorial for him. Usually, he needed to figure out the new abilities of the Segmented Cube on his own and the only way he could do that was by walking around.

But, obviously, with how large it had suddenly gotten, there was absolutely no way that he would be able to do the same now. Even though he could try, it was even more likely that he would miss something.

Leonel, though, was quickly overwhelmed. As deep as his Force Crafting lessons were, the operation 'manual' of the Segmented Cube was just as if not more intensive.

It was a lab, a home, a hideout and a spaceship all in one. The fact that even Leonel was overwhelmed wasn't a surprise in the slightest. He had expected it to gain one or two more benefits with each step forward, but this was an exponential change he wasn't quite ready for.

"Yip! Yip!"

Leonel smiled as Little Blackstar jumped into his arms. If there was anyone who was worried, it was this little guy. Unfortunately, after bringing Leonel to the pool, there was nothing else he could have done.

"Don't worry, I'm here now, aren't I? I have a present for you."

Leonel grinned and was about to take out a certain vial when he remembered how heavy it would be. He was definitely under no illusion that he would be able to easily carry it now.

Leonel could have given Little Blackstar the vial to absorb previously. But, he had been worried about the little guy running into trouble during a moment he couldn't reach out to help. Now, though, the fact he waited made these matters almost too perfect.

The Suspended Animation ability of the Segmented Cube had evolved from freezing biological processes to now being able to accelerate them as well. With its help, Little Blackstar would be able to absorb the blood in a stable environment while also finishing with greater speed.

"How long will it take Little Blackstar to finish absorbing the Void Beast blood with the help of Accelerated Animation?" Leonel asked.

[ *Ping* ]

[ 13 months ]

Leonel raised an eyebrow. That long?

"How long would it take without Accelerated Animation?"

[ *Ping* ]

[ 21 years ]

'A 20 times acceleration… I guess I can't be mad at that…?'

"Is there anything else I should prepare?"

Usually asking open ended questions like this to the dictionary resulted in it rambling for hours. But, Leonel still did so. This was Little Blackstar's life, after all. He couldn't play around with it.

[ *Ping* ]

[ It is advised that Seed read the [Force Conversion] manual ]

'[Force Conversion]? Wasn't that what that little girl had said?'

The more Leonel listened in on what [Force Conversion] could do, the more shocked he became. And, the more shocked he became, the more possibilities sprang up in his mind. Each plan seemed crazier than the last. With the Segmented Cube's help and his Crafting skill, he should become a very rich man, very quickly. If he used this properly, his plans would immediately take several enormous leaps forward.

In the end, he came to a simple conclusion. The Segmented Cube was a Force Crystal factory.