“Woah!” The single exclamation of surprise was all that his mouth could conjure up as he walked inside. There hadn’t been a door into the building, just the open space where a doorway would have gone. So the sight now before him had been immediately viewable from the moment he had stepped in front of the entrance.
For having a single building be the start of a Kingdom, the System hadn’t slouched. What Jordan had seen during the initial construction had now provenly just been the blueprint for the general construction. After that had been done, the System had clearly gone to town to handle the interior design itself.
After only being able to do it himself to a limited degree earlier, he certainly wouldn’t complain now. Because anything he would have designed for the inside would never have been able to match what the System had chosen to do.
Overheard lighting in the form of long fluorescent lamps illuminated the space. Concrete shelving lined the walls to each side, with pairs of cabinets occasionally in between them. On one side was the space he’d left for a future ladder, but now that plan wasn’t needed, as one made of concrete and fixed to the wall had been provided as well. At the middle point of the left and right walls was a single, long table. Above each one was a set of cabinets for even more storage capacity.
As Jordan looked around, a sense of warmth removed any leftover chill in his bones. And as if to prove that it wasn’t his imagination, a light breeze carrying the cool night air hit him in the back. With how much colder it felt now compared to just earlier, it made him shiver. But it seemingly indicated that along with the lighting, the building had also come with built-in heating. Something which was freaking amazing, at least, in his humble opinion.
Yet the crown jewel of it all had to be saved for last. Opposite from the doorway, there were two things of note. One was a concrete door, which in itself was puzzling. Because as far as Jordan knew, where he’d come in from should have been the only entrance. And even that hadn’t been granted a free door to come in through. But far more prominent was the object next to the door, which took up a large amount of the central space of the back wall.
Unlike everything else that was solely made of the same concrete as the building itself, this thing was primarily made of metal. The machine was rectangular in shape, longer than it was tall. As Jordan walked closer to it, he estimated that it was about 10 feet long, and then 5 feet in both height and width.
The object itself was fairly sleek and minimalist in its actual design. It was made of some kind of blue-grey metal and uniformly polished smooth on all sides. The only exception to this was two spots. On the front side was a sliding door made of glass, and then about four feet away from it was a second one.
In Jordan’s mind, the best way to describe them would be cubicles. Because on the side of each sliding door was a bit of empty space, as if something was meant to be put inside them. The pair of spaces inside the machine wasn’t too large, as they seemed to be also rectangular at three feet in length and one foot in height. Considering their length and the space between them, each was at the edge of the front side.
Okay, you definitely have some kind of purpose. The question is: what? Hmmm. What if I do this? Now just a few feet away from it, Jordan came to a stop as he tried something. His idea was to see if using Appraise on the large object would yield any results.
Name: Industrial Transmuter
Charge: 100%
EXP: 0/10000
Rank: 1
Description: The First Boon and centerpiece of Industry’s future potential as a Kingdom. It acts as both its own device, and the central power source of the Kingdom’s first building. This System-created machine is one of a kind, as it allows for the recycling of any object into another of the same materials and mass. The only limitations are the size of the item transmuted and the user’s imagination.
“No fucking way. That can’t be right, can it? I- I need to test this out, now!” Jordan excitedly said as he hurried toward it. The demon of sleep was temporarily banished as the adrenaline rush of pure wonder kept it at bay.
“Let’s see, what to… Hmm. Ah, sure, let’s go with this!” His mind had raced for an item to use a a test. Everything in his pocket space was an option, but he wouldn’t want to screw up anything useful like the Healing Wand. Even if his incompatibility had stated that he couldn’t use it, he would bet that he’d only get one chance to use the Transmuter, or else he risked the magic inside being ruined forever.
From the tattoo, he then produced an arrow. The Ranger had been given plenty as part of her starting set of equipment, as someone who had never practiced archery in his life, they weren’t exactly needed. They were meant to go with the bow which was also magical, but they were just another weapon. In essence, there wasn’t much they could do that his Energy Pistol couldn’t do anyway.
“Alrighty, so let’s put you in here, and then what?” Jordan asked himself as he placed the arrow into the space on the left. At first, there was no reaction. So just nodding to himself, he then closed the sliding glass. The moment it was fully closed, there was an audible click.
Jordan blinked as a rush of understanding and knowledge then hit his mind. He glanced between the two slots. The young man rubbed his hands together as he processed the information he had just gained.
Okay, so that explains the Charge but lack of how I can recharge it in the description. Unlike the Energy Pistol, I can’t just use my infinitely regenerating TP and call it a day. Instead, I basically have two options, Jordan thought to himself as he then held up one finger.
Option one. When I activate the Transmuter, I can use the item put in one space and turn it into another item that’ll pop out the other side. All it takes is a mental command, and then literally just my imagination to turn it into whatever object I can mentally picture. If the picture is valid for the amount of material put in, then it’ll automatically transform. If not, then it just won’t do anything.
He then held up a second finger. Or, it can go with option two. Which-
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His thoughts were interrupted as he glanced at the notification. He then dismissed it.
Option two is how this thing can recharge itself. Rather than turn the object into another object, the material can be converted into energy. That energy is then used the power the device itself, and apparently this base’s lighting and heating too. Luckily for me, that last part isn’t too major of a concern. From what I can tell, the lights and heat don’t actually take that much of its energy at all, Jordan finished the thought.
About 100 days was how long the Charge would last if he never touched the Transmuter. Which was honestly pretty great, because that would make it an excellent measure of keeping track of time. While his TP regen versus a Skill’s upkeep was good at tracking minutes at a time, longer amounts would have been harder. He would just need to it the old-fashioned way of manually recording-
“Wait, why am I being an idiot? The other Quests are still doing that for me. Man I’m dumb if I already managed to forget that,” he chastised himself. Jordan then pulled up the screen in question just to see if it’d updated at any point since night had come.
Time remaining for this Quest Series: 365 days
Seems like that was a no, at least so far. At this point, he could see it being of two things. Either the time remaining first thing in the morning, or when it’d been the moment they received the Quest. If Jordan had to make a guess, the latter would make more sense in order to keep it exact. So it’d probably tick down by one day by tomorrow when the sun was directly overhead for noon.
Anyway, his suddenly being forgetful aside, it was testing time!
From his pocket space, Jordan pulled out the book his group had used to record their Stats, Classes, and such in. He skipped to the first empty page he found before also grabbing a pencil. While the System had provided the general necessities of what he needed to know, it didn’t tell him everything. Which meant that experimentation was required. And if he was going to test the details of the Transmuter’s rules, then he was going to it right by recording his findings from the start.
“Test Number One: Arrow to Arrow,” he mumbled while writing down the words as the page’s header. As the name implied, he would start with something simple first. Turn the arrow into another by simply picturing one with a different design for the tip. Aside from that change, everything else would remain the same.
With his request made, Jordan felt the machine kick into action. Literally, as the whole thing began to vibrate while the actual transformation was happening. The vibration was powerful enough for him to feel it through his shoes. Though it only lasted a few seconds before coming to a sudden end. Apparently, it was already done.
Jordan noted that it’d taken what felt like roughly four seconds. In addition, he then took a look to see what the energy level now displayed.
Charge: 99.5%
Half a percent, not too bad in his book. He wasn’t sure if that was exactly 0.5%, or if the System had simply done a bit of rounding like it did with his Stats. Now there was the same question for both the time taken and amount of Charge used. Were they simply fixed with every use, or dependent on the object transmuted?
As for the arrow itself, Jordan took a few steps over to the exit cubby. Sliding open the glass, he pulled out the item within.
Hmm, slightly warm to the touch after being transformed. As for the actual result…
It was a perfect replica of what he’d pictured. The arrowhead now had a serrated edge as a change from its previously regular edge. But the biggest difference was on the surface of the metal body itself. Because etched into the metal was a smiley face with sunglasses.
One might wonder why he’d gone for that in particular. And while his answer to the person asking would have been “Why not?” the truth was a bit more practical. For this test, he’d decided to see just how detailed of a change he could get it. As far as initial results went, this made for a promising start.
“Alright, now what happens if I try this?” Jordan asked himself as he pulled out a fresh arrow, just to keep the starting item identical.
The second test would be similar to the first, just with one difference. It would be Arrow to Arrow: Overcharge Edition. This machine should be considered a piece of technological equipment. And if that were correct, it would make it a valid target for the Skill, so why not?
What was the worst thing that could possibly happen?
----------------------------------------
A large group of Crabs had gathered and now waited. Over 50 members strong, their group had been one of the larger ones to start together after the Merging. Almost all of them were Level 2, with several at Level 3 from the fighting they’d done so far.
The flooded cave system they’d started in had been filled with all manner of beast, yet they’d fought through, pushing forward even as lives were lost. For no sacrifice was too great when it came to the reason they’d traveled and now stood in place, waiting. Because when their Golden Prince called, death would be the only excuse to not answer.
They stood still in rows of five. None moved, none spoke. Were it not for the slight movements they made, one could have easily mistaken them as statues at first glance. They’d been ordered to wait, and so they did nothing but wait.
Finally, the one they’d been waiting for entered the tunnel and approached their group.
It was technically a Crab like them, but it didn’t matter if the System said so. Because if anyone acknowledged this being as even just being the same Species as them, that fool would have been torn limb from limb as a blasphemer. For none of them would dare to compare themselves as being equal to their leader and object of worship in any measure.
If normal Crabs were comparable to small elephants on Earth, then their leader would be bigger than the largest kind of elephant. While their bodies were various shades of red and orange, their ruler’s was purely golden. Even the golden tattoo on his claw was of an inferior luster compared to the glory of his natural form.
While those gathered were wearing their System-granted gear, he was not. For no equipment could possibly be an improvement over his blessed body. The only thing he wore was part of his standard attire from their world, which was an oversized top hat with an attached monocle.
And finally was his majesty. The divinity that made every other Crab recognize him as a superior being whose very birth had been a sign from the pantheon they worshipped. Even his own father, the official king of their home, had always bowed when he entered the room.
“My subjects,” their divine ruler began. Just those two words were a blessing for all of them to hear. Several of the gathered Crabs began to shake in place as simply being directly addressed was a joy beyond joy.
“Die by my claw, so that I may rise unto greater heights. Give your lives so that my glory may never be challenged.” With that command, he approached the far left Crab at the front line. He raised one claw that was nearly as big as the smaller Crab’s whole body, but then paused.
Still shaking with joy at being the first chosen, the Crab cried out. “Eternal glory to the Golden Prince! Eternal glory to Wilfred Wilbur Wyndham III!”
Crunch!
Goo splatted across the ground as a single blow crushed the Crab like a stomped soda can. As the Golden Prince moved to the next in line, a different Crab with metallic claws quietly turned the corpse into an Advancement Crystal. This Crab was the butler to their ruler, a member of the Ironclaw family that had dutifully served the royal family for dozens of generations.
One by one, the gathered Crabs’ lives were snuffed out. Even the smallest amongst them, the youth, were not spared. And in the glory of the one who personally killed them, all would exclaim one last cheer before the end.