Starting the first simulation run again was an interesting experience. For some reason I could now just tell that there were lower-graded cores around me. Was this something the brothers had been detecting about me the whole time? I’d have to ask them once I was finished. True to Mel’s word, my attributes seemed to have not taken any hit yet despite their return to their starting point. This let me make short work of the dungeon.
The worms, slugs, and snails piled up as I increased their modifiers, making sure not to push beyond what my core was capable of. Within an hour, I was already back at level one hundred and two. I was reasonably sure I could at least climb just past level two hundred again without hurting myself, but anything beyond that was likely out of reach for the moment.
Chip was nice enough to spend the day resting on my lap as I slowly went back and forth between the simulator and applying my skill and attribute points. I was sure his presence was helping me keep going, as was the constant food Cecile was keeping in front of me. For now, I decided it was best not to make any changes, as I was used to what I had. Once I was done with the simulator, I would explore what my new limits were, but without time to really practice anything and another project that I wanted to complete before we arrived, it was best that I stayed within what I was familiar with.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, I felt the tiniest bit of a headache forming and decided it was time to call it. I had managed to hit level two hundred and one anyway, nearly exactly where I had expected to end up before pushing anything.
“You doing okay, Dave?” Cecile asked, looking up from a plant he was carefully pruning. He had caught me rubbing my head.
“Yeah, the headache just started, but it’s more an annoyance than pain. Plus I’m done with the simulator for now. I don’t want to risk pushing any further with our final dungeon of the planet coming up,” I said, which was mostly true. I had considered risking it, but the pull of my new affinity ability was too strong at the moment. I couldn’t get the idea of a mallet that fought on its own out of my head, and I felt like the ability had almost implanted a blueprint into my mind for it.
“Good, don’t push it. I’m only just now starting to feel whole again. We’re going to need everything we have for the desert,” Elicec said. It seemed his near-death experience had brought back much of his original abrasiveness. I couldn’t fault him. The amount that I had nearly died so far had pushed my anxiety to levels I didn’t know it was capable of; somehow, I was managing to keep the existential dread at bay at the moment, but who knew how long that would last?
“I won’t. I’ve got some other things to occupy myself with,” I said as I reached into my System storage and produced the dungeon core, who was now going by the ridiculous name of Corey. “You may remember this dungeon core from our first dungeon together. They are going by Corey now and are less determined to steal my body.” Both of the brothers stared at me like I had lost my mind.
“Uh, Dave, you sure whatever you’re doing is a good idea?” Cecile asked. Elicec just started angrily.
“Nope, but after talking to Traveler for a bit, I’m willing to risk it. So that thing we aren’t supposed to talk about, well I think I can use it to give Corey here their own body, assuming they’re okay with the idea. How would you feel about being the core for a mallet?” I asked, looking down at the core in my hand.
“As in, the mallet becomes my body? It is an interesting thought. I’m not sure how feasible it would be, though, unless you have some way to extend out your mana channels into it Do you?” Corey asked.
“I believe I do. I’m not sure what the range will be yet, and this is going to require a lot of guesswork, but I think I know what we need to do,” I said. Elicec’s anger looked to be fading the more Corey and I discussed it. That was a good sign. I didn’t want to alienate him.
“You really think you can make a new weapon?” Cecile asked. I did, my confidence in the idea had been growing throughout the day.
“Yep, I’ve got an engineering affinity after all; time to put it to some use,” I said, careful only to mention the affinity itself.
“I agree. I wish to join your group as a living weapon, but I have one request,” Corey said.
“And what request is that?” I asked, curious what a dungeon core desired once they were more sane.
“The other dungeon core within your storage, I have managed to coax it awake. It was not easy, and I’m not sure how much intelligence it will ever truly gain, but I do wish to continue to work with it,” Corey said. I had no real issue with that. There was a minor worry about them teaming up against me, but I was reasonably sure I was a bit beyond their ability to actually hurt me. The number of simulations I'd won against both of them made me reasonably confident there.
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“Yeah, sure, considering I might have some bigger plans for you one day, Corey. We can always give the wasp core the mallet if you want to move on,” I said. I wasn’t sure exactly what those plans were yet, but there were some hints kicking around my brain about possibilities. First, though, the mallet had to go correctly.
“Hmm, I have two dungeon cores from the frog and the crystal on its back. Would you be interested in them as well?” Elicec asked. The anger on his had entirely disappeared, replaced by a look of curiosity. Good to know he was as much a slave to the need to ask questions as I was.
“Yes, I would gladly take them if Dave is okay with adding them to his storage as well,” The dungeon core said.
“Sure am. Hand ‘em over,” I said, reaching out and grabbing them once Elicec produced them. “Alright, well, now that you all know and are in agreement on my plan, I’m going to make an attempt at it, probably in the back of the bus, just in case it goes wrong. I don’t think it will, but I don’t want to hurt anyone. So, for now, all you dungeon cores can hang out on the table. Corey, you’re in charge of them,” I said, not getting a response from any of the cores besides Corey.
“Understood, please be safe,” they said.
“I’ll be fine, I’ve got the plans right in my head to get his working,” I said, standing up and walking towards the back of the bus. I heard Cecile start a story about his home shortly after I had settled into a new seat.
Before anything else, I checked my attributes. I wanted to test some possible new maximums there. Both of my luck skills now capped out at five hundred, as did my core and soul attributes. I wasn’t sure I’d need them for the experiment, but it didn’t seem overly likely to hurt anything. Skill-wise the only one I was worried about was malleting for the moment, and that was now able to hit fifty ranks. I hoped that by extending my own mana channels into the mallet, the dungeon core would gain access to my ranks. I had no idea if this was true or not, but it seemed plausible, and even stranger, it felt right.
Finally, I looked at my core menu itself and selected the mana tinkering ability. For the price of fifty skill points I was able to upgrade the ability. I assumed that meant this also reset on a core fortification. It was a heavy expense, but I still had plenty to spare. I started by moving it up to rank five and was greeted by a new menu.
Crafting Blueprints
Dancing Mallet
Channeling Boots
Dancing Phillips-Head Screwdriver
Channeling Gloves
Dancing Flat-Head Screwdriver
Channeling Shirt
Dancing Prybar
Channeling Pants
Was it my core or the System that pushed me down this direction? The System had certainly started the path, but at this point, was it still in real control? I wasn’t unhappy about it exactly, but the question of how much free will I had in all of this wasn’t lost on me. I wasn’t quite willing to push at those bounds yet, but in the future, who knows?
I selected the dancing mallet option and was greeted by a list of required materials that, surprisingly, only required the mallet itself, my mana, mana channels, and a dungeon core. I had been worried I’d need more of what I had used in constructing my own core, and I only had scraps of that left. I made a note to remind myself to start gathering materials if this was something I wanted to take full advantage of, and I very much did. Below the list of materials was the description for the item.
Dancing Mallet
The Dancing Mallet utilizes a dungeon core to control the mallet. Once slotted into the item, the Dungeon Core gains access to any skills the creator may have that would benefit it. It will also suffer any condition affecting the creator’s soul or core. One mana orb may be socketed alongside the Dungeon Core, giving it access to the mana skills the creator has unlocked within the orb.
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The path of crafting is a difficult one; it can be profitable for those able to push their abilities, but the problem of how to push their abilities exists. The System rarely gives quests worth enough experience in the later stages of someone’s career, and if their only focus has been on the craft itself, how can they hope to gain experience through fighting? It’s almost as if this is by design to control the supply of the best items.
System Paths, Careers in the Spiral by Glarppp