CHAPTER 118
With a blink, Tom was back on their bed next to Everlyn. A moment later, him face lost the unanimated look as her life flooded into him. Her finger went to her lips and a few seconds passed as they waited.
The portal crackled into existence beside them.
Once it had materialised, it had its usual effect and felt like a bonfire to his senses. Like always, he wondered why people weren’t yelling questions, but Tom knew better. Unless they physically saw it, they wouldn’t sense a thing.
Hurriedly he plunged his hand in and in moments found the stone. It was static in the air and did not move when his fist ran into it. Tom closed his fist around the purchase and instantly it had weight.
He pulled it out, and the portal snapped out of existence behind him. The small stone lay hidden in his hands. He had acquired it for less than two hundred thousand, but based on tier it was worth at least five times that.
Next to him Everlyn nudged him and so he opened his hand. The tier seven stone at least appeared visually more impressive than the lower tier ones he had gained in the past. It looked like a semi-precious stone cut like a many-sided die or a gemstone. Lots of flat edges with the opaque stone being white with swirls of gold and orange in it and it had an internal glow that let them see the detail despite the lack of light in the room.
“Pretty.”
Tom ignored her and tried to identity the object he held.
High Tier Spell stone.
Tier: Unknown
Properties: Unknown.
Compatibility: Unknown.
With a deep breath, he raised it to his forehead and concentrated. There was no question about which one of them should use the skill. There was no way Everlyn - a scout! - could use access to oracle spells. The best user for the stone would be Michael or Clare, someone in the healer role who probably didn’t need supporting oracle skills as much as everyone else, but if he was being honest the only person he trusted was the woman next to him. He hoped that neither of those two were the killer, but he could not be certain, so it was on the two of them to accept what could be a blessing or a curse.
On him.
The cold stone pressed against his forehead’s skin, and then it sunk into his skull. There was no pressure or pain. It was like the stone was vanishing, but the sensation was disorientating.
His palm slapped against his forehead with the stone gone.
“Nothing,” Tom whispered. “Nothing. Not even an inkling of a change.”
Everlyn looked curiously. “Apart from the stone dissolving. Do you think it worked?”
He winced at that thought. “That a lot of credits wasted if it doesn’t.”
“I am sure it worked, and there is only one way to find out.”
“Sleep?”
She nodded and gave him a peck on the cheek.
Tom focused, and quickly he slipped off to sleep. The dreams were the usual random chaotic streams of consciousness, but then there was a shift and despite being asleep he knew the prophetic dream began.
One second he was dodging and jumping on orange snakes that burst like balloons under his feet and then the next he was looking down at two dark-skinned hands massaging a rock. The eyes flicked up and the familiar insides of the shelter they had used on the plains when fighting the wasps were above him. Tom tried to look further to see whose past he was reliving, but he had no control and the gaze once more focused on the rock being kneaded. The rock was like ‘almost dry clay’ in his hands. It moved slightly under the forceful squeezes, but the reaction occurring within the stone was a different order of magnitude. Tom experienced how much the mystery man loved what he was doing. The feel of the energy ricocheting internally and the fact that no one around him had a clue. The power fluctuations kept increasing.
‘This is it.’ The man thought.
His fingers kept going speeding up. There was a sense of anticipation.
Tom, from his watching position was wondering how this related to the killer. Was the murderer creating a component that he used in the ritual or something else.
The man’s movements suddenly stilled, the finger actions became more precise. The crashing internal energy crystallised and washed through the stone and transformed it.
‘There,’ the man’s body he was incorporating thought happily. There was a deep sense of satisfaction. The rock that had been completely ordinary was now tier one.
The pebble dropped from the man’s hands, and he picked up another ordinary pebble. A tier one rock was useless to him and there was no market on the auction house. This was only practice. The man’s mind contained dreams of ranking up his skill, and then gaining better starting materials. Eventually, he would create tier three and four material and that he could sell and then he could make a living doing what he loved best.
The dream ended, and he sat up straight in bed in shock. He remembered every little detail and he could feel sweat covering his body and an edge of exhaustion. The Skill had used a resource that was no longer available.
Everlyn woke next to him. She was as light a sleeper as he was and his sudden movement had woke her. “You know who it is?” She guessed immediately.
Tom froze as his brain as he attempted to interpret the meaning of the dreams. It was easier than with a natural dream, but even while it had been perfectly clear the instant after waking up, the fragments of memory were now running away from him just like they did with normal dreams. It was already becoming a hazy recollection. What had happened? Was it related to the killing?
The tent, the hands fiddling with the rock.
He hesitated.
“Well,” she touched his clammy skin sympathetically.
“No.”
Everlyn paused momentarily. “What was it? A trial a scout missed?”
“I don’t…” his brain kept going repeating the dream. It had been prophetic even if it was nothing like what he had been expecting. Which meant it was important to him, even if only as a pathway to enrich him.
How?
Those hands massaging the rock. Understanding flared through him. “My golem.”
“What?” Everlyn asked in understandable confusion.
“There’s a crafter who can upgrade my golem.”
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“There’s a what?”
“Dark hands. He was playing with a stone for fun and tiered it up.”
Everlyn studied him for a moment. “Male?”
“Yes.”
“Age?”
“I don’t know, but the hands were callused.”
“I know the guy. Hao, he is a stonemason and you’re sure he’s not the murderer?”
Tom shrugged. “I don’t know. The dream wasn’t about him killing anyone, if that’s what you’re asking. And he was slow. If he was the killer and he gets discovered soon, I won’t get much out of him.”
“We’re not making that inference.” She slumped back flat onto their thin sleeping mats. “Damn.” She snuggled close to him. “Well, that was a bust. Bloody oracle skills are always so random. We’ve only been sleeping for a couple of hours. Maybe the next one will be closer to what you want. Think about the murders when going to sleep.”
“Sweet dreams to you too, because that’s what I’m going to have.” He said sarcastically.
She hugged into him. “Sweet dreams baby.”
Tom fell asleep quickly and then woke abruptly.
Everlyn was already awake and was locked away in her system room. He stepped into his own.
Everlyn Louise Campbell has invited you to her personal system room.
Do you wish to accept the invitation?
Tom immediately accepted and appeared briefly standing next to the table. Everlyn was consulting the books again. Her face lit up when she saw him.
He found himself back in the real world as Everlyn hugged into him aggressively. “You’re awake.” Her hand ran up his chest and she kissed him passionately.
“What’s with the passion? It’s been like six hours.” And even if Everlyn needed less sleep than him, she still required four or five, so for her it had not been long.
“Oh, it’s not the time. It’s the saving me from hell. I’ve been reading about bloodline curses for an hour and a half. You’re my hero!.” She stopped and her face became serious. “And?”
Tom shook his head.
“Do you think one per night?”
“Probably till my levels rise.” Tom agreed.
“And you wasted it on finding a crafter that ten minutes of chatting could have discovered.”
Tom didn’t like the sudden turn of the conversation. “Hey. Remember, I’m a hero for saving you from your study.”
She blew him a raspberry, then an impish smile. “You want a reward.”
Tom’s eyes widened slightly. “Do you have to ask?”
“Can you reinforce the room?”
With a bit of focus, he emptied his mana to make extra stone flow. First, he sealed the small gap that they now left in case they were needed. Then he added yet another layer of sound protection. “Done.”
She smiled coyly. “Who am I to deny you a prize.”
Her hand ran down his chest. An hour later, they emerged. No one else was left in the cave.
They picked up their breakfast. A slow cooked stew where the meat fell apart when they put their forks into it.
“Yummy.” Everlyn murmured appreciatively.
“And potatoes. I love potatoes.”
They ate in contented silence.
“Hao,” Everlyn suddenly yelled out and waved. The man jumped and Tom’s eyes fell to his hands and he recognised them. A crafter and had been number twenty-two on day one, so a survivor as well. That wasn’t too surprising given the no nonsense attitude he remembered from the memory that he had shared.
Then Tom noticed the company he was keeping. Hao was one of the suspects. Wrongly imprisoned Tom knew, but he wasn’t going to say anything.
“All of you come over.” Everlyn said cheerfully and with their bowls filled with stew they all came over. Tom smiled neutrally. They all looked under-slept, which given they were in the prison that was not surprising. They had to be expecting one of their fellow prisoners to betray them at any moment.
Garrett was one of the older biological bodies going around. Late twenties and screamed toughness, a reflection of a hard life of manual labour on Earth as opposed to attributes.
“Do you know Tom?” Everlyn asked.
“No,” Hao answered with a shake of his head. “I know of Tom.”
“Yeah, he has a reputation.” Everlyn laughed. “But I had an idea. Tom made that golem. You’re some sort of stone magic dude aren’t you?”
“I’m a stonemason.”
“Do you have tricks that can improve his golem?”
“I don’t think so.”
“The golem’s upgradable.” Tom interrupted. “If I get better materials, I can incorporate them.” He appreciated the approach Everlyn was taking by talking around the issue they could hide his new Skill. “A more ornamental exterior might help as well, but that’s more complicated to install now and Keikain did a good job.”
Hao started eating a thoughtful expression on his face. “I might have something to help.”
“Really what?” Everlyn asked cheerfully.
“Nothing is for free.”
“Talk to Joline.” His girlfriend answered her eyes going hard. “I’m sure she’ll be willing to help fund upgrading the golem. It might save our lives.”
“You guys are rich aren’t you.”
Everlyn lowered her voice. “Not anymore.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” the man asked suspiciously.
She leant forward and whispered in his ears.
“Are you serious?”
She nodded.
“What’s happens if? I’m… you know… Aren’t you worried?”
He didn’t know what version of the truth she had told him, but he trusted her to have made the right decision. If it was a full confession, Tom would not berate her for that.
She was better at this crap than him.
“No.” Everlyn said flatly. “There’s a reason I’m confident we’re safe.”
That was a lot of faith in DEUS Tom thought but he said nothing, allowing his girlfriend deal with the situation.
“Does that mean I’m no longer a suspect?”
“No.”
Hao nodded and then pulled out a statue complete with swirling patterns and semi-precious gems. He activated it and a blast of energy expanding in a sphere around it and then halted just beyond the three of them. Tom could feel the energy separating them from everyone else. He assumed it was a privacy enchantment. “Back to your original question.” Hao said. “I have a trait to let me tier up rock.”
“Can you improve tier two material?”
Hao nodded.
“Great. The golem is made of tier two obsidian and basalt. Hundreds of kilograms of each. I can probably replace it a hundred kilograms at a time.”
Hao still said nothing and Tom remembered how much he had struggled to tier up a single piece of stone, but that was a month ago. The fact he was not saying anything now told Tom that Hao had improved his skill somewhat.
“I have stuff to practise with.” Tom handed across a couple of off cuts he had kept for patching.
“Can I break this into smaller bits?”
“Yep.”
There was the crack and the twenty-kilogram slab, which was not large split into twenty hand sized pieces.
“Stone mason comes with some skills.”
Hao looked up ruefully. “Yes, I love the class. I would prefer to create pieces of art instead of building walls, but I imagine I won’t get a choice. Are you the type of mage who can only create a single golem?”
“Definitely not. My magic is not restricted and I could create a hundred, a thousand, a…” Tom smiled. “A million would take too long, but I’m pretty much only hampered by materials. Golems are resource expensive and they require more than stone.”
“But what Everlyn said is right. The more realistic it is, the more detail that goes into it the stronger the golem is.”
Tom scrunched up his face in response. “Sort of. It’s complicated, but generally yes. Uniquely crafted forms have more chance to exceed their inputs.”
“If we create an army of golems, maybe we can win all the rounds.”
Tom laughed. “No, the sort of mass production, with the materials available, even you might produce rank eight golems. If you sculpt them that might go up to ten, maybe eleven on the outside. They’ll be useful for the area, but not against the event.”
“Pity.” Hao’s hands massaged one of the smaller chunks like he had seen in his dream. This close, he could see the force going through the rock. There was very little mana invested, but what was extraordinary was how quickly it folded through before being reflected and then traversing backwards. Almost no energy was lost to the outside as the magic changed the internals of the rock, permanently changing its structure.
“I love the waves.” Tom told him.
Hao looked at him with more interest than before. “You can see the waves?”
“My Remote Earth Manipulation is really high,” he admitted. Plus, his general sensitivity to mana was elevated because of all the work he did with Spark. He had developed the ability to sense mana flows through his years of intense practice. Hao didn’t need to know that and Tom as always wanted to keep his abilities to himself. Fate had been different. Telling everyone everything he knew had strengthened humanity, which made it worthwhile.
“I love the waves.” Hao whispered to himself. “I find the process so beautiful. Takes a long time but I can do this all day.”
“I enjoy watching it too. But I can’t stay,” Tom interrupted with a bit of regret. “I have things I need to get done.”
The stone mason chuckled and looked up. “Still a little till dawn.”
Tom thought about it and then decided half an hour wouldn’t hurt.
“You’re right. All I was going to do was chat with people and be seen. Tell me about yourself?”
“I was a dad.”
Tom listened as the story played out. The details like the fact his job was a maintenance worker across six sets of cheap flats in China. He was basically a mixture of rent collector and a super flexible handyman who would fix toilets, doors, hot water systems, lifts and basically everything that went wrong in the buildings. That was just detail. Ultimately, he was a father and husband.
“And how old was your son?”
Hao smiled sadly. “Sixteen. Unfortunately, old enough that he would have had to go through the tutorial. He wasn’t ready. He was still a kid who liked to play table tennis. I don’t know whether I want to meet him now or if I would prefer he didn’t make it into the top million. If I had a choice, then it would be that he didn’t spend decades by himself.”
“I agree with that.”
“How about you Tom?”
Tom gave a quick abridged version of his family life and then the timer he had set up went off. “Sorry, Everlyn will get upset if I stay too long.”
“This?” Hao waved at about a quarter of the pile that had been converted.
“Can you keep it? I’ll aim to do something more substantial tomorrow night.”
Hao nodded and Tom headed to find Everlyn and to go exploring with her.